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Good things happened yesterday.

My girlfriend Lara emailed to say spouse losing his job wasn't a good enough excuse for me to miss our annual gathering and she would pay my share of the house rental. The news made me cry, and made me wonder what I ever did to deserve such wonderful friends.

My other girlfriend explodingalice, whom I must actually meet someday so I can hug her neck, sent a book I had coveted, Finding Serenity. I'm having difficulty not reading it right now! (I have two book group books to finish before reading something 'off list.') Thank you, Alice, from the bottom of my heart.

And the books that I ordered before spouse became unemployed arrived, all seven of them. My last indulgence for the time being. At least I won't be giving the postman any more excuses to hate me.

I know I said I'd write about Richard's funeral, but I'm not finding anything really special to say that I haven't already said. He was Catholic, and the service was at his church, but the priest didn't perform a full Mass, at least not like the Mass said at my uncle's funeral in January. Not being Catholic, I don't know what's considered normal for memorial services. At Uncle George's funeral, we prayed the Rosary, but not at Richard's. Anyway, as none of Richard's family was up to the task, the eulogy was given by the priest as well, and he said some lovely things.

The circumstances surrounding Richard's passing are just too awful. It was a stupid accident, and he bled to death in his kitchen, and wasn't found for four days.

The following obituary was published in the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record:

Richard A. Levesque, 63, of Hot Springs, died Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Born Feb. 21, 1945, in Staten Island, N.Y., to Odilon Albert and Josephine Dumont Levesque, he was a U.S. Army veteran of Vietnam, serving in Army Intelligence; a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus; County 76 Treasurer Master Gardener; and a national member of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Survivors include two sons and daughters-in-law, Jean Paul and KaShonne Levesque, of Marietta, Ga., and Andre-Pierre and Alicia Levesque, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; one brother, Raymond L. Levesque, of Aurora, Colo.; two sisters, Denise Mercurio, of Pine Bush, N.Y., and Jeanne Cullen, of Daytona Beach, Fla.; seven grandchildren, Adam Levesque, Cullen Levesque, Mia Levesque, Evan Levesque, Darren Levesque, Emma Levesque and Kay Levesque.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, at St. John’s Catholic Church with Father Erik Pohlmeier officiating. Pallbearers will be Gene Lichliter, Joe Yadron, James Lockwood, Duane Vandenburg, Bill Staton and Roger Giddings. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. today, Thursday, with Rosary recited at 6 p.m. at Gross Funeral Home chapel.

After the service, two long-time friends and I went out to lunch and had a nice long visit. After dropping off Cynthia back in Little Rock, I drove to Batesville to stay with Mom for a couple of days. As previously mentioned, we sprouted a wild hair and decided to go to Alabama. Next time I sprout a wild hair like that, I'm cutting it off. But I did get to see my sister and BIL and the latest batch of puppies. I fell in love with this little guy:


Meet Chance. Try as I might, I couldn't convince my sister he needed to go home with me. She thinks he's a show dog or something.

Phoebe, the cats, and I are on our own for the next few days. Spouse is attending a corporate convention in Las Vegas. He called a while ago and said the company booked him into a two-bedroom suite at the Mandalay Bay, with the convention going on downstairs in the same hotel. He will be sharing this magnificence with another store manager from somewhere. Spouses were not permitted to tag along. Hmmm. Sounds fishy to me.

A dear friend lost The Best Dog Ever a few days ago. Phoebe asks all those who are so inclined to please drop by the linked blog and say a few kind words. Thank you.

Arriving in today's mail: a wonderful package from buffra which included [fanfare, please] an implied porn Christmas card! Thank you, friend. Your generosity is much appreciated.

Thank you, antof9!

The pity party is officially over, for today at least. I reserve the right to throw another one at any time.

Seriously, though, it's true about "the least little thing and I'm a basket case" comment. Anxiety lives with me on a constant basis these days. I wish it would just go away. I'm worn out by the continuous emotional upset. My poor husband. Mr. Tolerance.

tzurriz is my BX convention roomie. Woo hoo!