Good friends!!!!

Yesterday was fun!! J. came, and the four of us went out to lunch. She looked GREAT!!! And she's gotten back her English accent!:) Sounds like she is enjoying her job and life over there, which is really a good thing! It was a bit of culture shock, I think, after being over here for so many years. The one thing she was surprised about (and so were we all!) was how HOT it has been here. Going from 40s/60s to 70s/90s was a bit of a shock. And it started the day she arrived, and will end after she goes home tonight. Tomorrow, it's supposed to be cooler. The first thing she did when she got off the plane (with her jumpers and coats, etc.) was to say, "I have to go buy some short-sleeved, cooler clothes!"

Tomorrow is fencing again-- I'm looking forward to it, but I THINK that I may have gotten some sort of contact dermatitis from the mask... at first, my face (almost my ENTIRE face) was almost like it was peeling. And the right side of my face was swollen some and very red. This was Saturday morning, after fencing on Thursday. Saturday morning, my eye seemed a bit swollen and almost sticky (not wanting to open all the way)... after an hour or so, it was better, but my cheeks were still swollen as well as my chin and under my chin. I took some Benadryl, and I also used some cortisone cream, and some neosporin (not knowing exactly WHAT is causing it), all of which helped a LOT. I could see three separate spots on my right cheek and to the side of my eye that were (and still are!) red. I finally got rid of most of the 'peeling skin' today. It is SO weird... and I think it MUST be due to the mask. ARG! If this happens EVERY week, I can't keep going, and I would HATE to give it up. But, the only other choice would be to buy my own mask, and that is not happening. Not at this stage of the game. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow. If it happens again, that's going to have to be it. It's been miserable, and does NOT look good when going out on auditions!!!!!!!!

My neighbor's son is BACK in Iraq-- third tour. And this time he's going to be there until May. Prayers would be appreciated. This 'stop loss' garbage is just TOTALLY unfair. And if he isn't back when he's supposed to be, he's going to miss his son's wedding, which would be the WORST.