Monday, May 14, 2018

#MicroblogMondays: Voldemort Day*/weekend recap

Not the greatest weekend, I'm afraid:
  • FIL (age 89) has been in declining health lately, and (most troubling to us) has no appetite and has barely been eating lately. StepMIL took him to the hospital last week, where they ran some tests, and then on Friday, dh & BIL went with them to an appointment to review all the results. Without getting into all the details, the prognosis is not good. At 89, you know his days are numbered anyway -- but knowing the end will be coming sooner vs later is depressing, to say the least. 
  • We spent Saturday afternoon with BIL, SIL & one of dh's aunts, visiting not just one, not just two, but THREE cemeteries scattered across the city where various relatives (including my late MIL) are buried. How's that for cheery?? (Aunt was happy & grateful to us for taking her, and we all did have a few laughs together in the car.) (We did not visit the cemetery where Katie is -- (a) it's further out of the city proper, (b) nobody suggested it (aunt probably doesn't even known she's IN a cemetery...) & (c) dh & I had already visited there earlier in the week.) 
  • Voldemort Day itself, however, was just for me -- and we decided to deal with it our usual favourite way -- avoidance, lol -- i.e., spending the afternoon hiding out in a dark movie theatre with a big bag of popcorn. We decided to go see "The Avengers: Infinity War" -- we've seen & enjoyed most of the other Avengers movies and have been waiting a few weeks for the initial crowds to die down. 
    • The popcorn, at least, was excellent...
    • There was a still a healthy dose of the wisecracking humour we love (some very funny moments).  
    • BUT. (Spoiler alert here!)  I had already heard the buzz that not all of the Avengers make it out of this one alive...  But I was not prepared for the very dark tone overall, or for the very bleak ending. Not what I needed today -- (no) thank you, Marvel. :p  
  • Came home and started scrolling through my social media feeds. I wound up just skimming & not "liking" or commenting as much as I usually do, because quite frankly it was too much;  I was getting weepy.  
  • To cheer myself up even further (not), I finished off the day by watching the latest episode of "The Handmaid's Tale."  I suppose I could have PVRd it and gone to bed earlier, but I have enough stuff backlogged on there already. Dh says not to watch if it depresses me. It does, but I almost feel like it's my duty as a woman to watch. ;) (It's also really, really great TV, even if the subject matter makes me want to crawl under the covers & stay there. And it seemed like a weirdly appropriate way to finish off Voldemort Day -- the fetishization of pregnancy, and the tension between those who get pregnant and those who can't, taken to extremes.) 
  • I sense Aunt Flo's impending arrival... cramping, and extra weepiness (although I think all the other stuff this weekend was probably reason enough to feel weepy...!). 
  • On a slightly lighter note, dh & I went to an outlet of the national mega-bookstore earlier this week. I was amused to see that all the mom-related stuff had already been cleared out (or at least moved to a less conspicuous location?) to make room for all the Father's Day-focused stuff.  ;) 
  • And on a VERY bright note, my Winnipeg Jets won their series against the Nashville Predators, and won their first game against the Las Vegas Knights on Saturday night. Game 2 tonight!! (also in Winnipeg). 
    • If they win this series (Western Conference final), they go to play for the Stanley Cup!! -- which would be a dream come true for every Jets fan. (You can read the story of the Jets here.) 
And how was your Voldemort Day weekend??

* Voldemort Day:  As in Harry Potter, That Day Which Shall Not Be Named, lol.  

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.  

8 comments:

  1. I’m so sorry to hear about your FIL. Even though he’s 89 years old, it doesn’t make the news any easier. Abiding with you.

    Glad you got to spend time with family, even though it involved touring cementaries. A bit heart broken that they didn’t join you to visit Katie. Glad you and dh made an earlier trip.

    Also glad you spent the day taking care of you.

    Hugs to you today.

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  2. Congrats on your Jets! As a casual Preds fan, Good luck hope ya’ll win it all. My husband has decided he needs to be a Jets fan anyway because his initials are WPG. Taking a personal health day today to recover from all the Voldemort Day fun! Going on vacation next year.

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    1. Thank you! Too cool about your husband's initials, lol -- maybe your next vacation should be in Winnipeg! ;)

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  3. Yesterday I heard a business reporter (I've always assumed she was American but now I wonder if you sounds like her) mention her Winnipeg Jets, and because of you, I at least knew what she was talking about!

    Sorry the weekend sucked, and sorry about FIL. He's the same age as my FIL. Every day is a bonus.

    I had the same reaction to Handmaid's Tale, i.e. I can't NOT watch it. I was furious through most of it on her behalf. The control by men, and the divide between the fertile and infertile. It is brilliant, but I definitely need to watch something cheery after it!

    I'm also sorry about Aunt Flo. I am angry she's still visiting on your behalf.

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  4. Would you believe that every store I went into today, I got asked by a beaming clerk if I'd had a good weekend?? That never happens on any other Monday...

    AND, all the American mommies & teachers in my social media feeds are now counting down the number of days until the last day of school (which in the States can be as early as mid-May, it seems). I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of photos already. (It used to be just first day of school photos, but now it seems last day photos are also a "thing.") Does it ever end?? :p (Apparently not...!)

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  5. What a weekend. I know weekends like that happen every now and then, but I still don't like it. Glad it's over for you.

    I am sorry your father-in-law is not feeling well. I wish him and all of you peace and comfort. <3

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  6. So sorry to hear about your FIL's prognosis. That's a hard, hard situation.

    I haven't watched "The Handmaid's Tale" (yet), though have read the book several times over the years. One of these days, definitely.

    Good luck to the Jets!

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  7. Oh, I'm so sorry about your FIL! 89 is not surprising for such news, but it still hurts. I need to start watching Season Two of the Handmaid's Tale! I LOVED season 1. GRRR. could you go through to the other side of menopause, already? Seems so unfair! And I am not so much a Marvel fan, so I didn't see Infinity Wars, but I think lately they've been on the darker side anyway. :( Booo. I hope you got through Voldemort Day okay, and despite all the awful that you did okay! Go Jets!

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