I made Christmas dinner for just Ed and me, since our favorite friends were unable to come. We used our formal table and had lots of leftovers and Ed ate turkey all week because he loves it and there’s more in the freezer.

I continued with my exercise routines and didn’t have any real dessert, just the cranberry relish. On Christmas Eve, there was the traditional promenading down the streets to enjoy the luminaria set out by volunteers. Our neighbor, Terry, a great cook who could be a professional caterer, set out food at her place and we went over for a while. She is a compulsive entertainer and said she would be happy to do my next party. Sold,I said.

We then crossed the road to another neighbor where I met a lovely woman named Erin, who liked me too. She thought I was funny, so what’s not to like? She said I was her new BFF.

Ed and I did not do a boat parade party this year because he didn’t feel like it. He’s had a lot on his mind including a diagnostic test he will have on the 31st – so we won’t be doing any partying that night. The fancy retro-top I bought at a resale shop (it is covered in silver sequins) will have to wait till next year. No one dresses around here. My sis thinks a pressed pair of jeans is a fashion nirvana. Anyway, she has made a fetish out of being “down home” and when she visited me in New York, wouldn’t let me take her to a Broadway show, or to a fancy dinner at any one of a number of truly elegant places I used to frequent when I had mad money. Even a salad at the Plaza Palm Court would have been nice. But she didn’t want to. She told me I would “go native” once I was here. But my casual wear and what is casual for most people here are two very different looks. I wear eye make-up to take my walk. No one sees me without a face. If I must open the door to anyone before I’m ready, I tell them they are not seeing me. I am powerful that way and they actually go blind while standing there for the few minutes they are in my presence.

Ed and I drove to Circuit City and he got me an ipod nano, 8G, and the next day he fussed with it and inadvertently programmed it to Hungarian (or Sanskrit – I couldn’t tell). Finally he got the manual up on itunes and was able to get it back to English. Whew. Meanwhile he figured out how to load it from CDs we had put into itunes – so I have lots of Chopin on it now and some Beethoven sonatas, and my Holosync material that aids meditation by connecting both sides of your brain. When I was using this a lot, it really sharpened up my thinking. I haven’t been able to use it since my CD player (the large clunky kind) busted. Yes, I dropped it.

My pal, Nadine, who owns and power uses three different kinds of ipod, is coming over Tuesday and for the promise of good, strong, coffee will fill me in on different things I should know to get the most use out of the thing. She can teach me how to transfer stuff, too. Getting this information from Ed is a tutorial for divorce. He is not a patient man.

While I was walking a day ago, I tried to use my cell phone. I can’t see the screen in the sun or even when I step into the shadows, so when a call I was making didn’t go through, I couldn’t tell why. So I gave up on it and when I got back to the house I saw that it was in airplane mode which can happen when you hold the power on button a nanosecond more than what it likes. And what the hell is airplane mode anyway. If I don’t want the bloody phone to ring while I am on a plane, I just don’t turn it on. Sheesh.

I have a Boost phone (the phone of choice for all the drug dealers in America) that I buy $20 cards for every three months and, if I do it by the deadline, I don’t lose unused minutes. So that works out because we are really not cell phone users – I just really like to have it for emergencies and when I travel. It has features I don’t use because I can’t remember how to access them. Marty (Island Girl of yore) showed me how one afternoon but I’ve forgotten. There is, for $1 a day, a feature that lets you and your favorite person, in this case, Ed, talk as many times a day as often as you like. But the button turning it on (zing, $1) was on the side and it was too easily activated when I picked it up. So we turned that off. If I need him, assuming we are, say, at BJ’s on different sides of the store and need to check if we need something, I just dial his no.

Anyway, I read that even using a cell phone once a week can cause serious conditions. Should I believe this?

Also a virulent virus is multiplying rapidly in hospitals and if you are there visiting anyone or for an exam, you are warned to take Clorox wipes and wipe everything you come in contact with including stethoscopes being used on you and then, when you get home, wash the clothes you were wearing separately and use bleach. As for your hands, don’t touch your face or mouth --wash them with soap and water – the sanitized gel or wipes don’t kill this virus.

Living in the modern world is a crap shoot.

xx, Teal