Shannon reading – May 17, 2005
Here’s Shannon in her natural habitat: reading. The picture’s pretty fuzzy, but the pose is unforgettable. Great Art probably courtesy of my old SiPix camera, given its high quality, taken on Shannon’s 48th birthday in our house in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and part of my famous Shannon series.
As I look at these pictures, I’m continually struck by how beautiful Shannon was. Not only that, but she was cute too. How did I ever get this woman to fall in love with me? I don’t think I’ll ever understand it.
Today’s biggest news first: Shannon’s ashes arrived today. She’s home. The urn arrived too, so I moved her cremains to the urn. I want to treat them with the respect they deserve, but I don’t think I want to have them in sight all the time either. So I’ve stored them in my bedroom closet for now. While these ashes are sacred to me, they’re also just the remains of Shannon’s body, not her soul.
But oh, I feel so alone.
I spent hours trying to get Mark set up with his own health insurance policy. Never did get it to quite work, unfortunately. I was hoping to drop dependents from my own insurance, thus saving myself about $1000 a month. However, it’s not clear that the company will consider Shannon’s death as a qualifying event that allows me to make that change. If not, I’ll do it at the end of the year. Maybe I’ll be able to buy Mark an insurance policy by then.
Shannon got paid today! The Amazon people sent her all the money her blog earned in 2013: $11.05! No, it’s not much for a year’s worth of work, but she didn’t do it for the money. She did it for the love of children and reading. And she did love children and she did love to read. I wish I could tell her about this.
I think I’m pretty much ready for the cruise tomorrow. I still have to pack, but that’ll happen in the morning. For some stupid reason, I’m planning to drive my beloved pickup. The Taurus is more comfortable, probably safer, gets better mileage, and has much better entertainment options. But it was just washed and I don’t think I want to drive it in the rain. Isn’t that stupid? Maybe I’ll change my mind in the morning. I can always get the car washed again, can’t I?
Anyway. I’m ready to go. I’ve done all my laundry, including sheets and towels, I’ve ironed a few shirts, I’ve done enough work to be prepared to be gone for a week, I’ve printed all the documents I need, and I’m ready to go. Tomorrow I get up at 7:00, shower, pack, and get out of here at about 8:00. Couldn’t be easier.
Mark and I went out to Roberto’s for dinner tonight. He had a fish burrito and I had a chile relleno and a cheese enchilada. Delicious! I’ve loved Roberto’s since we lived in San Diego. For the next seven nights, I’ll be eating gourmet meals! And Mark will be on his own. I’ll make it up to him.
Thanks for letting me take this trip, Mark! Please use the time to relax and heal, just like I’ll be doing. You’ll just be doing it without the good food.
By the way, blogging will continue during the trip. I’ll be buying internet time and using it for email and blog updating.
Nothing else new today, so I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: baked bean heist!
See you on Monday. In Cabo San Lucas.
March 1st, 2014 at 5:56 am
That is Shannon’s natural pose – I remember it well. She always inspired me to read more – I loved her book recommendations. Glad you got her ashes. Have a wonderful trip!