baby Jane update

The surgery was longer than expected, and the first time they took her off the bypass machine to test the functioning of the repaired heart, they weren't happy with the results, so they put her back on bypass and did some more work. According to RFMom the surgeon said it was "interesting" and "she has an unusual physiognomy." Just when parents would prefer boring! Jane had a good night (still sedated overnight) and has been de-tubed and is breathing on her own and is recovering at a faster pace than they expected as of this morning. She should be transferred out of pediatric ICU into the regular ward tomorrow, and home in about a week. So, a long long day of worry yesterday, but it looks like the outcome is good! Thanks for your support.

in my bag today

I just cleaned out my bag. This is what I found:

digital camera
wallet
sunglasses case
swiss army knife
mini mag lite
little leather bag with tampons and stuff
tube of hand cream
2 books (Matthieu Ricard, Happiness; my library class textbook)
2 empty ziplock bags
1 pen, 1 pencil, 1 highlighter/pen
2 plastic forks, 3 plastic spoons (1 broken)
1 cheerio
1 popsicle stick
1 piece of bark mulch
1 Riesen candy wrapper
2 daily report sheets from Dillo's day care
birthday card from my sister, in envelope
formal letter with position upgrade and raise information, in envelope
12-inch piece of sparkly green string

Hmmm.

the past...

A guy I went to high school with - I think he left after my freshman year - died this summer. I remembered him well from French class, and often wondered what happened to him, but I couldn't recall his name. When it came in a list of "In Memoriam" through my alumni email I recognized it at once.

When I knew him, Ian lived in Belize. His father was a diplomat. He was attending boarding school; he was creative and intelligent but kind of unstable. My vague impression was he left school because of mental health issues (this was the sort of thing that was never talked about). When I saw the obit, I wondered if he'd committed suicide, but apparently not. I hope this vibrant spirit found some peace in life; it sounds like it from the following.

From The Washington Post
Ian Michael Toney Piano Technician

Ian Michael Toney, 36, a piano technician and repairman, died July 6 of pneumonia and a lung infection at a friend's home in Washington. He lived in Reston.

Mr. Toney was born in Seville, Spain, and lived in various countries while growing up in a diplomatic family.

He worked for American Airlines at Dulles International Airport, was a framer at an art shop and worked for several years at Foxes Music in Falls Church.

He graduated from the Chicago School for Piano Technology and had operated Ian's Piano Services, repairing and tuning pianos in the Washington area, since last year.

He enjoyed playing the piano and writing poetry.

Survivors include his parents, Gerald and Tuula Toney of Reston; and a sister, Lisa Toney of Ashburn.

The Elephant's Child

I was looking for the 1987 recording of Kipling's The Elephant's Child, read by Jack Nicholson with music by Bobby McFerrin. Amazon has a listing, but it's 'not currently available.' (We had a cassette when it came out. It's GREAT.)

So I checked Ebay. $200, people! Egads! Windham Hill needs to re-release that baby!