F 1 D 0 -- 2001 12 09 at 05 35 Enough is Enough. I'm on the telephone, and Anita storms in, saying she needs to borrow my cell phone. Urgently. Ah, but who does she need to call so urgently? She has made perhaps 50.00 tonight, and needs to spend it on crack. No, she can go use a payphone. I'm not loaning my telephone for this. But Tonight is the night for hard talks. Now during this call, I'd been baking bread. So eventually, the bread machine beeps, and that means it is done. The bread came out of average quality. I give it a 6 out of 10 possible points. But even imperfect bread is a nice thing when fresh from the oven. It is a banana bread. Recipe will be included separately. I slice some for Mike and Anita. She comes downstairs, and wonders why I'm baking it in the basement, but doesn't really wait for my answer. She can tell something is wrong. Eventually I manage interrupting her long enough to say, "You aren't going to like what I have to say next. I want you to find another place to live, preferably in the next 48 hours." I have spent the last two hours trying to tell her the precise reason why I cannot take this any more. Truth? You, dear reader know more about it than she does, as she doesn't let me get any words in edgewise when she's high. But I interrupted just enough to get the point through. This isn't working and she's getting bolder about using drugs at the house. She gets drunk almost daily, and when that isn't true, she sleeps all of the time. The whole thing is unsatisfactory. "It is time for you to move on. You can do this." And she can. This girl can make friends quickly, and survive. I went to the contradance tonight. I had fears that the dance would be strange, awful or badly planned. It was not strange. It was not awful. It *was* badly planned, but that didn't hurt it. Tom Caldwell was our caller. He's a local guy, but he's been practicing calling, and doing it better and better each time. My complaint for tonight's dance was his inclusion of some very bold dances. Bold? Yes. Dances far far too difficult for the many new ones who join us. He persevered, and broke the normal rules for teaching. The normal rule: teach the dance quickly twice, start up the musicians, continue calling and things work out as dancers move. Stop calling after a couple of minutes. Tonight's rule: teach the dance slowly five times, helping out individuals who seem lost. Start the musicians so they play slower. Keep calling through the whole thing. Hm. Let me try to remember the tougher dances... Here's a square dance we did. Head couples: forward and back. Head couples: ladies chain. Four men: star left half way; while Four women: advance clockwise one place. (men are across the set from home) From this position: turn by right hand once. (this person may or may not be your partner) Four men: star left half way; while Four women: advance clockwise one place. (all men are at home) From this position: turn by right hand once. Four men: star left half way; while Four women: advance clockwise one place. (men are across the set from home) From this position: turn by right hand once. (this person will not be your partner) Four men: star left half way; while Four women: advance clockwise one place. (all are at home with their partners!) Swing your partner! Head couples: forward and back. Head couples: form a circle. Turn it 3/4. (so you can see your corner just beyond) Head couples: pass through! Corner: turn by the left (about 3/4) Partners: Pull by right. Next: Pull by left. Next: Pull by right. Next: Pull by left. Partners: Dos i Dos, then Promenade home. We repeat this dance, but for the side couples. Then we do "a break": All four ladies: Ladies Grand Chain. (ladies form a Right hand star, turn half way) Opposites: take the lady out with a courtesy turn. Head couples: ladies chain to your RIGHT. All four ladies: Ladies Grand Chain. Opposites: take the lady out with a courtesy turn. Head couples: ladies chain to your LEFT. All four ladies: Ladies Grand Chain. All couples: You are with your partner! Swing! Here is a contradance we did which served to boggle many minds. "Out of Balance." 1 Neighbours Balance and 2 ... swing 3 Balance circle; Partner California Twirl with wrong hand (now facing a new couple) 4 Balance new circle; All turn single and advance counterclockwise one place "Petronella" 5 Partners Balance and 6 ... swing 7 Men take right hands; Women take right hands; Balance Star, then turn star 8 ... men 1.5, women a little more to meet new neighbours Again, in spite of any complaining, the dance really went well. I enclose these dances just to show their complexity. (A contradance always has eight distinct things which happen, to correspond to the eight phrases of eight beats). I went to see a lovely customer, Rosalee, and her husband the doctor. He was not worried about my eye, nor my blood pressure. And he suggests that I do the prostate exam and blood test about the same time, closer to my 50th birthday. She just wanted me around to make sure she could synchronise her electronic calendar thing (not a Palm or Visor, but a Sharp unit, something like a calculator). We checked the antivirus situation, and I showed her what is needed to download and to install it. She did well. Her husband wanted to know how to plug in the serial connection for the calendar. I figured the best way was for him to do it. Rosalee would have rathered that I do this myself, but I drew a picture, and showed him how to plug it in. Daunting for non computer people, but piece of cake when he saw for himself that it only goes in the one way. Today was an eating day. I made up the remainder of my pork roast in the fry pan, and it did well. I've been sipping diet gingerale as I write. I baked. It came out ok, even if it decided not to rise enough. I'll figure out how to do that again. That's all I know.