Wow. I didn't actually intend to take a week-long break from blogging. It just sort of happened.

So, what's new in the "very little happening, very slowly" department?

One of my best friends had the misfortune of having her employer suddenly close their doors last week. No real notice--they just called everyone together and said, "we're shutting down, as of this second."

A shock when that happens, although a bit of severance pay and eligibility for unemployment help to soften the blow a bit. (At least, it did for me when Mr. Snow, my last "start-up" employer, suddenly went out of business.)

Still. It's good for me, you know! Someone to run around and play with sometimes! We had lunch last week and she found us a $2 yarn sale to visit this week. (I'm still restricted from buying any new yarn until I've used up all of my old yarn, but I figure for $2, I can be flexible if I find something really interesting.)

I was crowing about her availability in a different venue and another friend popped up to point out that her university position is very quiet this time of year, and she's always available for lunch and/or whatnot. So, double-good for me!

In other news, Pippi turned 18 this past weekend and in spite of repeated reminders from the R.C., I entirely spaced out calling her. I'm a bad aunt. Sigh. (Although, the girls have known me, or I should say, not known me, for 18 years now, and I think they expect me to have a weak brain....)

Still. Happy birthday, Pippi! ♥ ♥ ♥

And, yes, my new Potter book arrived Saturday. And, yes, I sat down immediately and read it cover-to-cover. Most of it twice.

Without offering any spoilers, let me say that I wasn't sure after the first reading how much I liked it. After the second reading, I decided I liked it very well, but maybe not for the reasons one might expect. And I was glad it wasn't as dark as, say, Book 5, because ick.

And, while we're on the subject of Potter and Book 5, I wasn't going to go see the new movie (I really haven't been seeing them in the theatres) but then the R.C. read in the paper that the current one is being shown at the IMAX 3-D theatre. The ad said the movie was 3D, which I find almost impossible to believe--don't you have to shoot a movie specially to be in 3D and doesn't it cost four times as much--but if that's true, it might be worth seeing.

And the IMAX theater is, of course, air-conditioned. Because, temperatures? Remain hot. We came close to cracking 100 yesterday. Today? 9:30 in the morning and if I move out from under the fan I have blowing directly at me, I start to sweat.

The R.C. and I went out "bashing around" (her term) yesterday and visited a couple of bookstores where, in spite of the Pottermania infesting the world of literature this week, I managed to find some completely unrelated books I wanted. I didn't buy them, what with being on a budget and all, but I'm making a list and when I get a job....

Garden-wise, I'm sad to report that the blight infesting one of my pots seems to be spreading. The collection of what had been my healthiest flowers is wilting fast. I don't know what's wrong with the stupid things. I give them water and don't walk on them or knock them over. What else do they need?

Employment-wise, nothing has really changed. The resumes go out. I get an occasional call asking for more information or something. No one hires me. Sigh.

Sitting around the house-wise, I'm stuck on that stupid GameBoy game and will remain so until I find an hour when I have the endless patience I'm going to need to kill this particular dungeon boss. (It's too hot to be patient.)

The L-i-K-S called and said she'd shipped the "collectibles" of Mom's to me. They should arrive this week, so I'll have to make some choices about the venues I'm researched for selling them. She also said she'd found some more coins, some that might be Civil War era, so I'm excited about getting to play with those!

(And, on a related topic, the nephew, Billy Jo's son, did actually make a payment on Mom's trailer this month, and he's working with the bank to get the loan transferred into his name, so that's one worry off our backs. We still need to figure out where the paperwork is on the third cemetary plot Mom and Dad owned, because we need to sell that, but I think we're getting down to the last of that kind of thing. The L-i-K-S has the filing for the life insurance under control, we all know we'll have to do a final tax filing, and I think that's it.)

I'm sorry my life isn't more interesting or more blog-worthy. I'll try to drum up a little excitement before I blog again.