A Crisis, a Trip, Another Crisis and a Scary Mystery (which is actually another crisis . . . )

Did that intrigue you enough to keep reading? Good.

Ok. The first crisis was that, an hour before we were heading out of town with three children, dog and boyfriend (our daughter's) in tow, the clutch cable on the VW bus went out. It took 3 1/2 hours to repair . . . I spent most of it sitting out on the grass trying to provide emotional support for the frustrated husband lying under the bus trying to figure out what to do. The pavement was hot (he burned his back), the cable was the wrong year so too long (a friend showed him how to temporarily fix it) and he was filthy, sweaty and at times either smug over learning how to do something new on the bus and guilty for making all of us wait so long. Our noon departure turned into a 4 pm departure and so we stayed in our lovely, last minute, discounted cabin for a whole 15 hours. Sigh. What time we had there was great fun though. It's interesting to have someone with us that isn't a member of the family. You become much more aware of things you do and say that otherwise, you'd never notice. Jon meshes with us pretty well and after almost six months, we are pretty used to having him around. We swear less, put on more clothes and see a lot less of Niciole. :) Our time at the coast was nice, albeit way too crowded with all of the other people who thought it would be fun to hang out at the ocean on the 4th.

We headed back into town to go to a friend's potluck. It was a really nice gathering but it was HOT and we were weary. We ended up going home, doing a little unpacking and then sitting around watching TV.

On Sunday, Jon suggested we all go to Vancouver Lake for a picnic and swimming. So, off we went. What a lovely park it was too! The kids swam for hours while J and I sat on the beach and talked about life, money, work, family and other profound topics. It was just a lovely day. It was Jasmine's 25th birthday and she was on my mind often throughout the day.

Monday was like a bubble bursting. . .just full of tension and unpleasantness. We had to take the van in for its $750 repairs and I couldn't get it to idle long enough for me to drive. J. was frustrated with the situation (and me), I was feeling completely incompetent . . . ugh. THEN, an editor told me I did a project all wrong and I have three days to fix it. I don't mind fixing it (well, yes I do, but not much) but I mind that my reputation with her has been damaged now. In the evening, Nicole and I went to Lucky Lab for J's VW group. She and I sit alone and write letters, talk and do other fun stuff. It was relaxing and lovely. All of that changed when I got home though and discovered that my blood pressure is 205/115. Scary stuff. I am taking all of my meds as perscribed. I am walking 3-4 times a week. WTH? I have stuff to take if it goes too high. I took it. Nothing changed other than it made me feel like crap. It was a long night. I thought it would be better this morning since I had slept, but no. It's the same. So, yes, I have called and emailed my doctor and am waiting for a response. I suspect it is my kidneys but it is odd to have a jump like this . . and really unnerving too.

So . . . that's it in the Orr house. Think low blood pressure thoughts for me, would ya? I have had enough crisises . . . however you spell that. . . . to last me a while. Really.