Honest,
I think I worked harder today than when I had a “real” job. But at least I
earned my keep. First on my list was proofreading the neighborhood newsletter.
This time it was down to twenty pages, its normal length, but fraught with problems.
The minor stuff involved mis-used italics, consistency of quote marks, and all
those little errors that bother me but most readers might not notice. On the
other hand, one of my neighbors is a proofreader, and she’s fussy. Then there was
a historic photograph that I assumed came from a private collection. Wrong! When
I investigated for a caption, I found out it came from an academic library’s
special collections. So then I had to trace down permissions. I’m in the
process of supplying proof that we’re nonprofit, but it has taken a lot of
time.
I had
a big accomplishment today too. Spoke, via Zoom, to a small book group. A
friend and her four cousins have formed this remote group. Several are members
of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution, and they read mostly Texas history.
They just read The Second Battle of the Alamo. She asked, and I said I’d
be glad to do meet with the ladies..
Not as
easily done as said. First of all, I put make-up on for the first time in three
and a half months. It did no good, because I was horrified when I saw all the
wrinkles that showed up onscreen. Of course, I was looking at an in-the-face
large version of me, but all the others saw was a tiny thumbnail. And since I
usually work at my desk in whatever I slept in until mid-afternoon, this
required that I “dress for the occasion.” So I had on a tangerine-colored top—but
if you could have seen the bottom, you’d have seen lilac shorts (one of those
color combinations that could be great or awful—I fear it was the latter). I
assured myself no one would see. Wrong again! After the meeting started, I
realized I forgot my hearing aids. Had to get up and go get them. Fortunately,
I hope no one noticed since the pictures are so small and the camera mostly
aims above the waist.
Of
course, we were all amateurs at this remote meeting business. At first the
woman in charge tried to get us together via Google Meet. Nobody, not a one,
could get online. So then we went to Zoom. I’m almost pretty good at that—knew where
to click to turn on audio and video. But when free Zoom decides you’ve used
your time, they cut you off without warning—in mid-sentence. My friend said they
were going to restart a separate meeting but after about ten minutes, she said
they all gave up.
Still
for the half hour or whatever it was, it was interesting and a fun challenge
for me to answer their questions about Adina de Zavala and Clara Driscoll and
what responsibility the Daughters of the Republic of Texas bear for the deterioration
of the chapel and how the Alamo ended up in George P. Bush’s hands. And now I
feel more confident about Zoom meetings. I filled out a speaker’s form for the FW
Women’s Club today and indicated that I am not speaking to groups but would be
glad to do a remote meeting. Courageous, that’s me!
After
all that, it was lovely to sit on the patio with neighbors, sip wine, and talk
about nothing much—until a fly decided to swim in my wine, and I had to throw
it out. Still we had a good visit—thanks to Greg and Jaimie Smith for giving me
a bit of human companionship and to Jay Mitiguy for scanning documents for me
and then joining us on the patio. Greg kindly brought packages from the porch
and moved the bougainvillea under the roof overhang in anticipation of the severe
storms predicted for tonight.
I
capped the evening off by repeating last night’s dinner—a salmon croquette
(honest, I like them better cold than hot) and a zucchini casserole (yes, I
heated that). So good. I could have eaten the extra croquette and bit of
zucchini, but I restrained myself.
North
Texas people, please stay safe if we do get those storms tonight.
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