Just Another Manic Monday

By now you know that my favorite day is one with nothing much in it. I like getting home from the school drop-off to have the hours spreading before me, free of all obligations but a quick tidy of the house and writing. Today isn't going to be like that.

My dear friend Stina's grandmother died last week and the funeral is today. I didn't know Nanay but I have to go for Stina. Not that she'll notice. As the oldest grandchild all the arrangements have fallen to her while her dad and his sibs have spent the week not coping with their grief and being generally dysfunctional. Stina hasn't had any time to grieve because she's been scheduling rosaries, finding ministers for the mass (it's not taking place at our church - which would have made her life much easier), dealing with the funeral home, planning eulogies, prayers and the "dead spread" for afterwards. Poor darling called me on Friday because "You're the only person I can think of who doesn't want anything from me". I hope I'll get at least 2 minutes with her at the reception but given that half of the Philippines is coming to the funeral, it doesn't look good.

This evening I'm babysitting for some neighbors so they can go to a Purim celebration. I am hoping to be amply paid in hamantaschen...which are fabulous little triangular cookies (to resemble the shape of Haman's hat). They are usually filled with some sort of jammy concoction or poppyseeds. Yum. Purim celebrates how Queen Esther saved the Jews from the evil conspirings of Haman. It's a great story about how a beautiful woman did all the heavy lifting for a people. Go read it.

In between these two events I have other things to do. The Child has been congested and snorky for months and this morning woke up complaining of a sore throat. I'm sure it's just the consequence of post-nasal drip but something must be done. Of course, her solution was to stay home. But as this condition did not prohibit her from playing volleyball yesterday (still undeafeated), hanging with the M Street Gang nor watching and then discussing endlessly the special features on the Harry Potter 4 disc, she went to school. She fought valiently, to the point of planting her face, on purpose, in a pool of berry sauce I'd made for her pancakes. What gets into these young people?

I need to make pie crust for tonight's quiche (we'll be eating in shifts, what with my babysitting gig and The Child having volleyball practise), pungle some bills and tidy up a manuscript. I need to dust and beribbon 40 lanterns for the school auction this weekend, make some calls and possibly color my hair.

Finally, I have to find out if the Archbishop has issued a dispensation for Friday. In years past, when St. Patrick's day has fallen on a Friday in Lent, we have received a by on the "no meat" thing so we can have the traditional corned beef. But if he doesn't then we'll be celebrating with colcannon. Or maybe a scallop and mushroom pie. Actually, that sounds pretty tempting...