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eve_primeToday I woke a bit early, as there was a strange banging sound I could hear even through my earplugs. Once I'd taken them out, I realized that D. was making the noise, in his bathroom, with the water running strong - his bathroom is just the other side of the wall from my bedroom, so it was quite near. I went out and asked what he was doing, and he said he couldn't tell me. He realized that he'd woken me up and asked if he should stop, but there was no reason for him to do so, so I encouraged him to continue and went back to my room.
So, he was making a Mother's Day present in there. What could it be? My first thought was that he was cleaning the messy counter in there, which honestly didn't seem like a great gift since I really don't care about his mess, given that nobody comes into the house but us these days. But then he moved out to the kitchen and began running water and making noise out there - so clearly it wasn't bathroom cleaning. My next thought was that he was making a succulent planter for me (that's something his girlfriend likes), but if so, he was using way too much water. I mean, I'd like a succulent planter, but I couldn't think of where I could keep it. Anyway, then he turned off the water and went into his room, then he emerged and asked when I wanted the gift. I said, now would be fine - so, he said it was really two gifts. One was a bouquet of flowers he'd obviously bought at Safeway, and the other was... he'd cleaned my big vase to put them in. The vase had been part of the "drop the beer-cheese soup bowl and send beer-cheese flying everywhere" accident that J. had had months ago, and eventually I'd brought the vase home but hadn't washed it yet. D. was pleased to hear that it was his nemesis Cheese that he'd defeated. Apparently he didn't trust hot water and dish detergent - he'd researched it on the internet and ended up using vinegar and an old toothbrush. The vase was remarkably clean.
And D. was in a very good mood. If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that yesterday he qualified for Day Two in an online Magic the Gathering tournament. Today if he won 7 out of 8 or so matches, he'd get $2000; if he won six he'd get $1000. By the time I was up, he was already done - and once you lose two matches, you're out, so I figured he'd already lost by that point. Nope - he had already won. He won the first match, lost the second, and won the next six. He'd won $2000! That's (a) his first taxable income ever, (b) more than J. won in any single previous event, and (c) something mostly only elite players were doing today. He had a grin on his face for much of the day. J. was so thrilled for him; he was telling everyone he knew online, practically. D. said he had a really mediocre pool of cards, too. Wow!!!
Soon after that, I got a Happy Mother's Day text from B, then I coaxed J. into driving me to Bi-Mart where I bought a bunch of flowering plants, then I spent a while digging up the grass- and weed-filled planter boxes and moving soil from my dwindling soil pile in the driveway, then planting the new flowers. This was a project I was doing to commune (in my imagination) with my mom and her mother, both of whom valued gardening. I got two planters done and have two to go. (While I was outside, the dad of my neighbor's grandsons was teaching the younger one how to tie his shoe - so heartening!)
We had a delicious dinner delivered from Pastini, which we ate in J's house. I had lasagna and caesar salad; J. had maccheroni and cheese with smoked salmon, and D. had spaghetti and meatballs omitting the parmesan. There was a great deal of Magic-related conversation. Then we returned to my house to watch the movie I'd wanted to share with them for some time now - To Catch a Thief. One of my favorites; neither of them had seen it. It's exciting, sometimes funny, and predictable, yet gratifying. Then D. moved on to doing homework due tonight, and J. and I went back to his house, where he did a bunch of work too and I relaxed and read. I also posted this photo, taken after dinner, to Facebook:
What a fun Mother's Day! Certainly more exciting than the usual Mother's Day.
So, he was making a Mother's Day present in there. What could it be? My first thought was that he was cleaning the messy counter in there, which honestly didn't seem like a great gift since I really don't care about his mess, given that nobody comes into the house but us these days. But then he moved out to the kitchen and began running water and making noise out there - so clearly it wasn't bathroom cleaning. My next thought was that he was making a succulent planter for me (that's something his girlfriend likes), but if so, he was using way too much water. I mean, I'd like a succulent planter, but I couldn't think of where I could keep it. Anyway, then he turned off the water and went into his room, then he emerged and asked when I wanted the gift. I said, now would be fine - so, he said it was really two gifts. One was a bouquet of flowers he'd obviously bought at Safeway, and the other was... he'd cleaned my big vase to put them in. The vase had been part of the "drop the beer-cheese soup bowl and send beer-cheese flying everywhere" accident that J. had had months ago, and eventually I'd brought the vase home but hadn't washed it yet. D. was pleased to hear that it was his nemesis Cheese that he'd defeated. Apparently he didn't trust hot water and dish detergent - he'd researched it on the internet and ended up using vinegar and an old toothbrush. The vase was remarkably clean.
And D. was in a very good mood. If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that yesterday he qualified for Day Two in an online Magic the Gathering tournament. Today if he won 7 out of 8 or so matches, he'd get $2000; if he won six he'd get $1000. By the time I was up, he was already done - and once you lose two matches, you're out, so I figured he'd already lost by that point. Nope - he had already won. He won the first match, lost the second, and won the next six. He'd won $2000! That's (a) his first taxable income ever, (b) more than J. won in any single previous event, and (c) something mostly only elite players were doing today. He had a grin on his face for much of the day. J. was so thrilled for him; he was telling everyone he knew online, practically. D. said he had a really mediocre pool of cards, too. Wow!!!
Soon after that, I got a Happy Mother's Day text from B, then I coaxed J. into driving me to Bi-Mart where I bought a bunch of flowering plants, then I spent a while digging up the grass- and weed-filled planter boxes and moving soil from my dwindling soil pile in the driveway, then planting the new flowers. This was a project I was doing to commune (in my imagination) with my mom and her mother, both of whom valued gardening. I got two planters done and have two to go. (While I was outside, the dad of my neighbor's grandsons was teaching the younger one how to tie his shoe - so heartening!)
We had a delicious dinner delivered from Pastini, which we ate in J's house. I had lasagna and caesar salad; J. had maccheroni and cheese with smoked salmon, and D. had spaghetti and meatballs omitting the parmesan. There was a great deal of Magic-related conversation. Then we returned to my house to watch the movie I'd wanted to share with them for some time now - To Catch a Thief. One of my favorites; neither of them had seen it. It's exciting, sometimes funny, and predictable, yet gratifying. Then D. moved on to doing homework due tonight, and J. and I went back to his house, where he did a bunch of work too and I relaxed and read. I also posted this photo, taken after dinner, to Facebook:
What a fun Mother's Day! Certainly more exciting than the usual Mother's Day.