From the dadster

Hey there, Madel Padel;

So how are things mid-week in the Whitmore household? It's hard to remember how hectic family life could be -- with work, spouse, kids, school, church, friends, etc., all clamoring for attention. Sometimes I get a little lonely & sad thinking about the busy-ness of my life as a young family man, and how all that has pretty much evaporated now. But when I feel like I've been marginalized or trivialized I just sit back and savor some good memories -- about you kids or your mother or my life in the circus or my mission; and then I usually feel fine again.

My dinner party this past Monday was a success. I fed 17 people, including Adam and his kids, and everyone said the food was delicious.  I hope it was -- I blew over a Hundred dollars on it, buying special spices, sauces, noodles, and veggies. I used Sarah's wok to make some really excellent stir fry dishes -- in fact, I'm keeping her wok on loan to make myself stir fries on the weekends when I'm not getting my Senior lunch. I haven't eaten out since I moved in to my own place, and I don't intend to eat out any more. Too expensive.
I made 3 different kinds of Thai salads for the dinner -- two of them were okay, and one of them was pretty awful (I thought); and the one that got eaten up fastest was the awful salad. Go figure.
I even went to the trouble of making my own meat broth by simmering a pot full of meat bones in spring water all day, then straining it, letting it cool, skimming off the fat, and using that as the base for my Thai curries.
I was worried there wouldn't be enough for everyone, so I overdid it -- there were plenty of leftovers, but I had gallon-sized baggies on hand and encouraged everyone to take home something, so now my fridge is pretty bare except for eggs, ham, bacon, pickled ginger, an onion, and ice cream in the freezer.  I'm trying the Slim Fast diet again -- I drink a glass of it each morning and evening, and have my one solid meal at lunch. I've got lots of canned goods, too, so I'm not going to starve anytime soon.
I am reading quite a bit nowadays. Up to ten hours a day. I just finished biographies of Cecil B. DeMille and Mahatma Gandhi, and am reading all the Disc World books by Terry Pratchett. Plus I keep up on my poetry-writing.
 I go to bed at ten and several nights in a row now I have slept right through until 6 without having to get up to use the bathroom. I haven't been able to do that since I was in my 30's!
My feet are starting to swell a little bit again, probably because I sit so much reading, so I try to get up and move around every hour, but sometimes I get so caught up in my reading that I forget.
My Church is just four blocks away, an easy walk for me. It's a really overcrowded ward, with lots of transients, and I feel kinda lost in it -- but I imagine as the weeks go by I'll find new friends and get a calling of some sort. They actually have choir practice in my apartment building on Sundays, in the community room. Talk about convenient!
Well, I guess that's it. I saw Sarah last night with the boys -- Jonny's in Las Vegas on some kind of business trip for a few days. I had her bring over her vacuum so I could give my carpet the once over.
Some of my friends in Thailand have sent me stamp sheets, which I'm using for decoration. Otherwise the walls are bare, and I'm beginning to like them that way. So maybe I won't tack up a bunch of pictures, except maybe a map or two. I love looking at maps.
Take care, daughter mine!