Just A Quick Update on the Craziness...

 Ya know, I gotta stop saying, "okay, problem's done, it's back to normal now" because every time I so much as think that... well, there's a new problem. Or three.

As I mentioned in my last post, Miri had a bit of an "oops" while attempting to push the envelope a little on a turn in dance.  The result was her clomping around in a surprisingly heavy boot that made it both comical and worrying to watch her attempt things like stairs, or getting in & out of a minivan, and other sundry ADLs (Activities of Daily Living).

Well, the good news is that she doesn't need the boot any more (effective today!) and -- as long as she's careful, pays attention to pain & soreness, and doesn't start out at too high a level of activity -- she can start dancing again. (A good thing, since she was apparently awake most of last night worrying she wouldn't be able to.)

Of course, the universe had to have some reason to laugh, so during the couple of weeks that the Pipsqueak was clomping around like a bargain basement Frankenstein, I ended up with a  $1,300 repair bill on my car, the pharmacy messed up some of our folks' prescriptions again, AJ's and Dad's old iPhone batteries began to intermittently refuse to charge, and Dad ended up with a double root canal (I didn't even know that was a thing, but... yeah).

To keep a long sob story short, "normal" for the past couple of weeks can best be summed up by this actual screenshot of an error message from one of my favorite ways to waste time games on my phone:

Even my error messages are errors...!

That said, things could be a whole lot worse, and life goes on, complete with the occasional reminder -- right here in my own backyard -- to stop, take a few deep breaths, and appreciate all the nice things that are very much still a part of daily life.  (Like, f'rinstance, everyone in the family testing negative for everyone's favorite virus last week. Yay!)

And on that hopeful note... it's early afternoon so the Pipsqueak is sitting on my living room couch waiting for me to come and help with her math homework, so I gotta run... I'll post more soon, but in the meantime y'all stay healthy out there, 'K?

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Terpsichore

Sorry for the lack of posts -- there's been a lot going on (there continues to be a lot going on) that's not for this blog, and it's also kinda hard to write blog posts whilst struggling (and frequently failing) to keep one's eyes open.

It also don't help a heckuvalot when you have to replace your computer... which is why I'm typing this on a spiffy new 16" MacBook Pro while what's left of my old one is sitting on the floor in a corner of my room just in case I find something I forgot to transfer off it... assuming it will still work, since it's in pretty doggone bad shape. Rest In Peace, my old mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display; you helped me do a lot of good work and explored many a nook and cranny of the Internet with me.  I hope your battery nearly exploding & catching fire, your speakers blowing out, half your USB ports failing, your keyboard selectively failing one key at a time, your shell expanding & becoming misshapen, your keyboard print wearing and turning several characters into large blotches, your screen becoming badly scratched, your cooling fan failing intermittently, and all the other fun stuff from the past three months didn't hurt too much...!

That said (or typed), I figured I'd just do a really fast post (at least in part to see if I can get this version of MacOS to remember all my logins).  Miri's fear of middle school has turned into an occasional embarrassed laugh when we remind her of that emotion, since she's actually enjoying it. (As much as someone pining for time in an actual school building where she can spend actual face-to-face time with her friends can enjoy remote learning via Zoom.). Glitches have been pretty much what one should expect from a conscientious student who also happens to be entering her "tween" years, so all is pretty good in that arena.

The dance studio is now fully open again -- with proper precautions! -- and I have to say the Pipsqueak is spending a near-ridiculous amount of time dancing... as in, Dance Team practice on Mondays, with Leaps & Turns, Jazz Fusion, Musical Theater, Modern, Ballet/Pointe Technique, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Tap, Lyrical, and Ballet spread out over the rest of the week. Oh, and not to forget Chinese dance on weekends.  The thing is, while her grownups range from bemused to truly worried over how many hours she's dancing per week, the Pipqueak is enjoying nearly every minute of it.

She did hit a bit of a speed bump this week, though -- something didn't go quite right while trying to push a single turn into a double.  The result is that now she's going to the studio but sitting & watching with a painful swollen foot that AJ wraps at night before bed.  It can still bear weight (and she can hobble around even while wearing her nine-ton backpack filled with schoolbooks), but the foot is swollen and quite painful and she walks with a very pronounced limp.  (Not to fear, the first of several scheduled doctor appointments is early this coming Monday.)

Since Miri isn't able to dance right now, I thought I'd take the WABAC Machine about two weeks into September to a photo session at the studio.  Apparently the photographer is a semi-pro who earns her living otherwise... but based on what we've seen of her work (I'm only posting a fraction of her photos of Miri, and she shot similar images of all the kids) she's destined for a career change very soon!   These shots were taken in the studio parking lot; the polkadot dress is one of the team performance costumes.

My niece can fly!

A classic carefree pose...

A lack of attitude is NOT a problem!

With just a little luck, the Pipsqueak will soon be reprising these moves (and lots more like them)... until then, she just complains about the soreness a little bit and is keeping her brave face on.

That's all for tonight... Now that I have a working computer again, I'll see y'all soon!