Last weekend we had our first pre-Cana meeting. It was much easier than I thought--they basically just gave us these big bubble sheets of questions to fill out (we'll go over them in our next meeting, in a month or two) and booklets with reading/prayer choices for the service. The couple from the church were thrilled that we were both Catholic--I guess things are more complicated with interfaith couples. And the cohabitation thing wasn't that big a deal. When we told them we weren't having a Mass they were a little disappointed. I think the only reason we decided not to was because of my mother's vicious anti-Catholicism. She said that having a Mass wouldn't bother her, but I assumed she wasn't telling the truth. Mark and I both want one, so maybe we should just go ahead and have one.

I had an audition Monday night for the local volunteer opera company--it went pretty well. I think my interpretation could use some work, but vocally it was good, and I got positive feedback from the auditioners. I forgot to ask when they were making decisions... My mother is making reservations for the trip to Sarasota. I e-mailed the girl from my studio who did the program last year--apparently the artistic director is quite a character. I wish I didn't have my hopes so high about this thing...

The hurricane(s) didn't really make it here, but today's the first time since last Wednesday that it's not pouring. Now there's a HUGE poisonous-looking spider with yellow and red markings camped out on our sliding glass door. Last night I watched with horror as it immobilized a big moth. Mark needs to kill it. Generally I have no fear of spiders--they kill mosquitos, after all--but this thing is too big and too brightly colored to be benign.

The trip up north went well. We didn't spend enough time in New York (six hours!) to be able to visit anyone but my (large) family. Everybody has a huge new house up there. I don't think we saw a single trailer park while we were there. (I let Mark know that this was unusual.) The rest of the weekend was spend looking at old houses and cemetaries. I tripped getting out of a bus on Saturday morning, so I had to spend the next three days hobbling around Connecticut with a sprained ankle. My body is all out of whack from walking funny to favor it.

Have I mentioned that my beloved ten-year-old CD player finally died? I'm blaming Mark. So I have hooked up my six-year-old computer to my sixteen-year-old stereo, and am listening to The Black Crowes. Yay. I really would get a new stereo, but turntables are so expensive now...

Happy belated birthday to Margaret! Has anybody heard from her mommy? :)