This is a post-dated entry, so while it will seem on time, it is late. I’m catching up on a few days of posts and my calorie counts are not accurate. Still, I want to make sure all days are tracked to whatever degree is possible. I did my best as the latter part of the week was extremely busy and stressful.
CW: Calorie counting and weight tracking after the cut. Please do not proceed if you have an eating disorder and/or find posts of this sort triggering.
Hello everyone! I’m sorry that I’ve been quiet for a few days. I’m overwhelmed, tired, and today just kind of sad too, though I don’t want to talk about that here.
I meant to make this post on the 9th, Christopher’s actual birthday, but didn’t manage it. We had a lot of fun! Even though it was just us, I had a bit of a party atmosphere ready when he got home, including the presents you all sent:
I’m really grateful to Mikey, Kinder and Wish who were sweet enough to send train track switches for him. I got him one as well, which made for five packs, or a total of ten switches. He was really surprised and happy, and we played with them all evening!
For “cake”, I made him brownies and decorated them:
We tired ourselves out playing and even had vintage episodes of Thomas running on the projector. It was wonderful. Afterwards we had pizza. I meant to even decorate the pizza but I forgot.
I love playing with trains with Christopher. It’s very much a “kiddy” sort of activity (though I don’t think he likes to be reminded of this) and the only one in which both of us lose ourselves completely. I am really one hundred percent in heaven, it’s this thing that is “just for us”, and there was a moment when we were there sitting surrounded by trains, cross-legged, watching an episode of Thomas in that enormous projector screen, I felt so small and happy, and reminded yet again, that I really married my best friend. I can’t believe I married someone who would do this with me and enjoy it unironically. To this day I am baffled by my good fortune.
This is unrelated, but Kotoko has been climbing higher and higher on the condo, which considering her arthritis, is quite an unusual sight. Here I got some photos of her and Tomoyo, whose ear happens to be flipped wrong. That’s always funny.
Remember the whistle Christopher got me at the train museum? I removed the wrinkled sticker, sanded all the glue down, designed my own on sticker paper, trimmed it with washi tape, then added multiple coats of spray-on gloss Mod-Podge over the space of two days (of course I covered the tip with painter’s tape). Afterwards I used a hard coat, brush-on waterproof Mod-Podge which gave it a nice wood-like texture and excellent protection.
Even the end tip of the whistle is red. It looks so much better than how it was. It’s all my own now! But I’m glad we got it at the museum. For one, because of the memory of getting it there and supporting the museum. But also because it just sounds so damn good.
That aside… I’ve been doing tons of housework. Also playing a little bit of Café Enchanté. And today, my little Percy came in the mail:
Percy is one of my favorite trains, but I don’t think this train figure captures his innocent face at all, or even his proper shape. Maybe later I’ll find a better Percy.
