* My mom called yesterday afternoon, both to thank me for ordering something they needed that has to be ordered online (my dad's mobility is getting better but I guess he's not up to going to the computer yet - long story short, their wifi is broken so they have to plug directly into the DSL setup, so the computer is in an inconvenient place. My brother floated the idea of an iPhone with a data plan, but my parents are...frugal bordering on cheap about some things, so no).
Anyway, she also told me that she had called Lulu and Hazel's to order the Olfa mat, and that they will call ME when it comes in so I can come get it. And she also said: "Oh, they praised your workmanship on the quilts you bring in for them to do, they said they were very nice" and that makes me happy because they didn't have to say that, but they did. For me, it's a rare instance of someone "talking nice behind my back" - saying a nice thing about me I might not necessarily hear and wasn't there to hear.
(All too often in my life I've either overheard, or been maliciously told, the unpleasant things some people say behind my back and I hate that, I hate it almost more than anything. If you have a problem with me, SAY IT TO MY FACE.)
The woman (I don't know which of the sisters it was, I don't know them apart yet) also asked my mom, when she found out that she was in Illinois, if they were having the snow and terrible cold, and she noted that one set of her grandparents lived in Missouri and they were dealing with it. So yeah, they are just generally NICE* people who run that store and that's part of why I keep going back, and if I know they have some supply I need I'll buy it there rather than at a big-box. (Which reminds me: when I go to get my mat I should buy another bottle of "Best Press," I'm running down on it)
(*And yes, in my world, "nice" is a good thing. I know some people deride it as a "weak value" or something like that, but I think being a generally polite and pleasant person, and being comfortable with that kind of small-talk, and being able to make other people feel at ease, is something that's not lauded enough in our culture. I think most people know someone who, being around them makes you relax a little, you feel at ease....we need more people like that.)
* I finally finished reading "Eagle of the Ninth" last night. (I had forgotten that I hadn't finished it....went away for Christmas, didn't want to drag along a huge - and expensive - hardback Folio edition).
I liked it. I liked it a lot. Not least because it had (without giving too much away) a happy ending. I LIKE stories that end with the goal being achieved, with the protagonists coming back safe and mostly sound, with things wrapping up pleasantly. All too often in real life, people's stories are either cut off short (Yes, I still sometimes think sadly of my friend Steve) or they don't get that happy resolution, so it's NICE to have stories that have that.
And I suppose some people would argue with the book and my choice of it for a couple reasons.
For one thing, apparently it was written as "YA" fiction, and I'm not going to go into the whole rant about "adults are allowed to like stuff that was aimed at kids" but I'll note it was an enjoyable and well-written story, the vocabulary wasn't "dumb" or limited, it seemed to be fairly "true" to its setting (if there were anachronistic elements, I didn't notice them). And I do find, more and more, the novels that were written 50 or more years ago for teens or older kids are as enjoyable - sometimes more enjoyable, because it seems those who write for "kids" feel more free rein with subject matter - and have an equally-complex vocabulary to most "adult" novels published today.
The other quibble some might make is "representation" - in that there are no "leading" female characters. (I would argue: "but Cottia" though she's absent for much of the action. But she, though somewhat briefly drawn compared to Esca or Marcus, is an interesting and strong character on her own, and I think will make a good match for Marcus - at least, I assume that's where things are heading, and I hope they do). Though I will also note about another level of "representation" that's apparently caused some recent kerfuffle in some Classics circles, where some people have said "But there weren't people of color in the Roman world!" and the people who actually KNOW Classics, like, teach it, are all "Hold my libation..." (Because there were. Apparently there were African legions, for example). One of the characters in the book is a Counsul who is Egyptian. It seems implied he's of Arabic heritage, but not a lot of description is given...and I think somewhere it is also implied that there were members of Legions who were of African descent, and possibly some other ethnic groups.
But anyway. On the "woman thing" - I don't NEED, at least for me, for the lead characters in a book to be female for it to interest me, no more than I would particularly WANT to read about a character who was "just like me." (In fact, I'd find that boring or stressful - lives too much like mine, watching them from afar, I'm more inclined to cringe at decisions they make that could be decisions I made, or do the "no, don't DO that!" wail at someone about to make a mistake I once made). I dunno. It's kind of interesting to "visit" a very-heavily male world, and the whole not-really-buddy-movie-because-there's-too-much-peril of Marcus and Esca on the road to Valentia. It's kind of like the reason I like historical novels, or stories set in other countries: I want to get OUTSIDE of my head for a while, and reading about Marcus and Esca, that does it. (It's also interesting to consider the different ethical implications of things: Marcus' quest is, in a way, to avenge his father - or at least to correct the false impression that his father was a deserter or a coward. And yes, they "stole" the Eagle from a pagan tribe that had been using it in religious ceremonies, but the feeling was that it could be used to harm Rome, and yes., of course, Rome is the oppressor there, but....still, it's interesting to consider the different perspectives)
(And yes, I get that representation might be different for other people - seeing as that while I am female, I am also white, cis, hetero, Christian - so pretty much "majority" everything else. But I can read books about people not-like-me and if it's a good story, it's still a good story)
And anyway (waving my hands irritably), it's just a good STORY and I don't want to consider some of those implications when I'm being entertained.
I have the next two books in her series - I guess they form a trilogy, and the other books (which Folio has not re-released yet) are later generations of the family. I'm going to start "The Silver Branch" soon; I am wondering if we see Marcus marrying Cottia and settling down on the land he's been awarded by Rome.. or if it's going to be their child who has an adventure in that story.
* I'm wheezy today. Don't quite know why, though it might be a combination of things: Did the cross-country ski exerciser workout this morning (the past week or so I've mostly been doing it in the afternoon and that might be....better for me? I seem stronger and to have better "wind" then. And after that, went out into the cold and didn't have the cowl pulled up over my face....because I was wearing a new "liquid" lipstick and didn't want to risk smearing it (the things we do for vanity).
Got over to my office and got the telltale bandlike pain all around my torso, when the intercostal muscles spasm. (I've told doctors about this in the past and they have always been, "Well, your heart has checked out perfectly healthy, and you have a history of asthma so..." they don't seem worried about it so I try not to. Though it's hard NOT to worry while in the midst of one of the spasms; they are kind of painful).
I wrapped up in the big blanket I keep over here (hoping maybe warming up my core a little would help) and eventually it passed but I am still kind of sore, and I was wheezy and had no "wind" during my lecture this morning so yeah.
After I get out of lab - well, after I pick up my W-2, which I have to do today as I forgot yesterday - I am going home and taking a long warm shower, and I'm also setting up my humidifier in case the dry air is making things worse.
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