Midnight Musings

Well, we all survived the denture clinic visit, though the dental mechanic was a bit shaken a couple of times - like when Dad assured him that he'd actually swallowed his bottom plate in his sleep. That's my Dad - if he doesn't recall what happened he's quick to provide some explanation that more or less suits the circumstances. Usually it's more plausible than "I swallowed my teeth in my sleep". I've known people to have long conversations with him, and never suspect that he has no short-term memory, and very disordered thought processes. Most people don't suspect he has dementia till they ask him the same question twice and receive two very different but equally believable responses. He often has me wondering. I just have myself convinced that he's quite lucid, then he does something like give me a very convincing description of his lovely baked lamb lunch, when I am still sitting at the lunch table where I witnessed him eating grilled fish, chips and salad. Poor old thing. I keep trying to banish the thought that I'm just 25 years behind him ...

The weather was much better here today - still hot but not sweltering. I was pleased to see Miss Maddie brightened up considerably, and even took herself out for her usual 10 minutes in the sun this afternoon. She politely but firmly requested her tea at 4pm, so it looks like her appetite is improving. Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Maddie. We're going to the lake for lunch with a large-ish group of friends and their dogs, and that's something she usually really enjoys. I hope the weather is kind to us tomorrow! I've given up reading the weather forecasts, as they're always promising rain that doesn't arrive. There I go - I promised myself I wasn't going to whinge about our weather while half of eastern Australia is flooding, and part of Western Australia is burning. I have nothing to complain about!

I've had to re-think my text plan for Midnight Journey. When I actually checked the words of "'twas the night before Christmas" I found that the last line is "Happy Christmas to all ..." not "Merry Christmas to all ...". Silly me! I really do want a "Merry Christmas" message, so my revised plan is to stitch some sort of fancy-ish "Merry Christmas" under the reindeer, and have the entire text of the poem framed with Midnight Journey. I'm thinking of dividing the poem in half, printing it out on a nice parchment-style paper, then placing one piece at each end of Midnight Journey (horizontally). I'm not sure that what I wrote sounds as nice as what I'm envisioning, but I think it will work well. It will also make the framed piece wider, which will suit the spot where it will hang. I need to have the framed piece very wide and as small in height as I can make it. I still have a few days to make a final decision, so I may change my mind again. And again.

I have to be up and walking in the pool in less than 7 hours, so I'm off to bed - soon. I may just finish stitching the reindeer's leg first ...