Somebody please align the planets

My newspaper horoscope today said to let go of pet projects, something I've actually done with a bit of success. But I haven't gone deeper to explore the alignment of the planets and what it means to someone of my sign, Cancer. I don't need to--I know they've been out of alignment for several days.
Yesterday I had to take my car for repair--one of those annoying little warning lights went on. $500 later and at the end of the day I got my seven-year-old VW beetle convertible back, supposedly good as new. Meantime, in the early morning I ended up with five-year-old Jacob, so I took him to the dealership and then shopping with my friend Jeannie. This meant a lot of transferring of the booster seat--not a major problem, just an annoyance. At Tuesday Morning, Jacob spent at least thirty minutes in the toy aisle, walking up and down, commanding, "Stand right there, Juju," and then putting his hands to his head and saying, "Come on, Jacob. Buy something." He finally settled on a really cheap $2.99 toy, which he promptly left at my house.
I had not one but three social engagements last night--and they all fell through. First, two good friends were to come from out of town so I could cook them a gourmet meal and we could have a sleepover. One had a death in the family, and they had to cancel. Then I was invited to a dinner party, with my contribution to be guacamole. I had made a large batch of guac when the host called to say he had gout and was cancelling. I gave most of the guac to my neighbors. They were going to a neighborhood BYOB party and invited me, but by the time I got the car home I decided it was hot and I was tired. Truth be told, I was in a funk.
Today started off better, and I was all geared up to take the cat to the vet. With cats, if you miss that first attempt to put one in the crate, you might as well give up. Yep, I missed, and the cat was on alert. So instead I gave him his hydration treatment, for which he was quite docile--I think he's getting used to it. Then I ran by the vets to exchange their crate for a larger one and went to a TCU luncheon featuring a TCU Press book. While there I discovered that I have double-booked myself for lunch Friday--one appt. at 11 and one at 12. I'm going to camp at the restaurant and the noon people will meet me there. Jordan called to ask if I could keep Jacob after school. A friend had unexpectedly lost her mother and Jordan would be making an extended sympathy call. So I expected her to bring him about 4:15 and happily went to get a nap before that. At 4:30, I woke with a start and called to see where she was--at the friend's house. Where was Jacob? At school. The part of the message I didn't get was that I was supposed to get him. So I rushed off to the day-care, which is only across the street.
Tonight made up some for the confusion. Betty and I took Jacob to The Tavern, which we have discovered is one of our favorite restaurants. She and I split deviled eggs--we'd done that last week and loved them--and then an order of scallops with salad. Jacob had a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich with lots of good thin fries. Christian came and met us at the restaurant, so I took Betty home and came home to settle down.
Tomorrow doesn't promise to be much better--take the cat to the vet at nine, meeting with a web designer at ten, lunch with a good friend at 11:30, pick up the cat, and come home and prepare for class that night. What can possibly go wrong? A whole lot!

A pratfall followed by good things

Quote of the day: Author Jonathan Coe, when asked by reporter from The Guardian if there was a secret to writing, answered "Yes." (Stolen from "Shelf Awareness," an internet newsletter for booksellers.)


My spell of bad incidents apparently isn't over. Last night when I went out to feed the dog and clean up his yard, I fell, as the Brits would say, ass over teakettle. I'm not sure what caught my foot, but this was definitely not anything to do with my poor sense of balance. I tripped, pooper scooper in one hand, and went down, fortunately missing concrete steps and some pipes but landing on top of Scooby (at least two people have asked about the dog before asking about my well-being!). I was stunned, as was Scooby, who started to panic, but I talked to him, asked him for a minute to gather myself and see if I could get up--and he, blessed dog, lay very still. Then I got up, without holding on to anything BECAUSE I wasn't thinking about it. (Usually I need to hold on to something to get up from the floor, etc.) No serious damage, though the purple bruise on my shoulder looks horrendous. It doesn't hurt. I have a scrape on one finger, and my middle right finger today is swollen and sore. I'm definitely going to live. Jordan was furious because I didn't have my cell phone--it would have flown out of my hands anyway, if I did have it!


Today my horoscope said that I could come across old friends but would find them dull and boring and should remember that they can be trusted. I was lunching with Jean and Jeannie, so I sent them warning emails. Jeannie can dancing down her driveway, looking like a 60-something sprite, got in the car, and asked if that was lively enough. Teased me all during a great lunch at the ArtCafe in the Community Arts Center, where I was able to arrange for two exhibitions of photographs for forthcoming books. Then I went to dinner with Betty, who was under the same responsibility of being lively--she carried it to extremes by getting lost in southwest Fort Worth. I mean, how many years have both of us lived here?

Friday
I started this yesterday and now I forget why I didn't post it, except that I must have expected to have more to say. Not a lot, unfortunately. As I write, Jacob is asleep in the guest room. We think he's getting two year molars, because he has unexplained fever and occasional bouts of misery--he had several of those tonight, but if I hugged him and loved on him, he got quickly over them.
I bought two mysteries in a series I'd heard mentioned several times on one of the Sisters in Crime lists. Lesson learned: never buy more than one book by an author you haven't read. This is the second--and I hope final--time I've learned that lesson. The idea behind the series is great--note I'm not mentioning series, author or titles--but the writing is wooden, full of cliches and awkward comparisons. Where writing should dance off the page, this lies there in a sodden mess. I kept trying but finally tonight, while keeping Jacob and Shreck company, gave up. Will he ever tire of Schreck? I doubt it.
Meantime, my mystery is going well. I've felt good about the rewrites I've done but haven't moved forward. I hope to do that this weekend. The only thing on my schedule tomorrow, after Jacob's parents come for him, is a grocery trip, so I hope to get a lot of work done. And some cooking--I found a good snack mix I'm going to make for when the grandchildren are here next week--Shredded Wheat, popcorn, nuts and pretzels, seaoned and baked. I'm also going to make fresh pesto because I need to cut my basil back and a roast chicken for a guest Monday night. Should be fun.
I'm really getting excited about my birthday party and a long weekend with all my kids and grandkids. Colin and his famly arrive Thursday night, everyone else will trail in on Friday, so we'll all be here for supper Friday--two big casseroles!. Megan insists I have to have a new outfit, so Saturday is a shopping day, with dinner at Jordan's, and Sunday is my b'day dinner. Jordan and I are both taking Monday off, because most of the kids will be leaving Monday morning. I am so excited, that it's worth turning seventy.