My mind, and the places it goes

Our new stove still hasn't arrived, but our old one appears to be heating today, so I'm about to pop the food into the oven. We've got many, many choices, since we have very, very generous friends. There have been people coming by all day to add final bits of shabbat dinner -- challah, gefilte fish, soup (which was, amusingly, marked: "vegetable soup -- pareve; chicken soup -- not pareve").

Tomorrow, we'll go to shul (as I mentioned in my previous post), and we'll begin mabfan's process of reintegrating into the world. On Sunday, we have The Great Pluto Debate, to which we're very much looking forward, and then on Monday we go back to work.

Have a good weekend, all. I will be reading more regularly again beginning next week, as I go back to work and, thus, my regular schedule.

(Every time I type that subject line, I end up with a song from "The Simpsons" running through my head. My brain is an odd place.)

Today has been a day of many visitors. It has been wonderful to see everyone who has come by; I just wish the circumstances were different.

I played about six rounds of Refrigerator Tetris today (I think I got that phrase from chaos_wrangler or Spouse-of-chaos_wrangler). People have been amazingly generous.

Today, while mabfan was at his doctor's appointment (unreschedulable, thus allowable even during shiva), I went briefly into the office to finish up the work I had for the release that was scheduled for today. And then I brought my computer in to our friends the Apple repair folk, as my hard drive needs replacement. I'm using mabfan's computer to post this.

Amidst all the goings-on here at Chez Burstein, we're getting a new stove. Ours has exhibited an inability to come up to temperature in the extreme hot of the summer, and when we returned from New York on Monday we discovered that it has the same problem in the extreme cold of the winter (for this post, the definition of "extreme heat" is 80 degrees or above and "extreme cold" is 30 degrees or below. Yeah, not so much extremes. Thus the new stove). So it was decided that it was better to replace it than to repair it. The new stove is scheduled to be delivered some time tomorrow morning.

Sekrit message to eal and beths_stanley: I keep forgetting to tell you -- it got here, and I'm looking forward to using it.

Sekrit message to donovanstitch: Thanks so much for that which you sent! I'm looking forward to delving into it!

Shacharit folks come at 7 AM tomorrow (as they have been all week), so to bed I must go. Thank you all again for all your kind messages. They've been very comforting.

We're back in Boston now. I'm way too far behind to even consider trying to catch up, and I can't guarantee how regularly I'll be reading during mabfan's shiva, so please tell me here if there's anything important I've missed.

I also know I've missed a bunch of birthdays. I'll catch up with those, as well, once my schedule is somewhat more normal.

I just want to express, with what few words I have, just how grateful I am for all of you, my friends, and the caring and compassion you have all showed today. There just aren't the words I want to express. They're in my heart and in my brain, but I can't get them here onto the screen.

So just know how much I appreciate every one of your messages, your calls, your e-mail, your comments. I've read each and every one, and I will treasure the knowledge that you are all there.

The funeral arrangements have been made, and will be posted in a locked post that follows this one.

If you're locked out of the post and you want to know the details, please e-mail me at my @livejournal.com address.

We are blessed to have the friends we have; your outpouring of wishes is very much appreciated.