Sunday, August 17, 2014

The Faster I Go, the Behinder I Get!

I'm just checking in as there isn't a lot to report. It feels like I've been going non-stop, but as I look back on the calendar, not much has been happening.  With the exception of the last 3 days, my mother has been crying inconsolably for three and a half weeks.  She didn't appear to be in pain and couldn't articulate what the problem was or what anyone could do to help.  It was very difficult to see her in that state and Hospice has put her back on Cymbalta, which may account for the last few days of peace and calm.  

The mornings are my time to sit over several cups of coffee, check emails and wake up slowly.  Given the choice, I never plan to get out before 11AM!  It is then time to go over to Bloom to help Mama with lunch.  Once that's done, the afternoon is mine; but, since she has been on the crying jag, I've also been going over for dinner.  You can see that doesn't leave much time to get anything else done.  I'm hoping that will change if all remains calm.

I did treat myself to a day in Savannah, going to several of my favorite shops and coming away with very little.  Shopping is not my thing, and the trip reinforced that.  I walked through the entire mall and came away with nothing!!  It was at my first stop that I lucked into a few items.

Eating is a common thread around here and I've had some different invitations lately.  One of my neighbor's wife is at Bloom where my mother is, and he (John) and she (Ruth) eat at our table every day.  They have two daughters, one of whom lives with John.  They invited me over for dinner one night, along with several other people.  It was a relaxed and comfortable evening which allowed me to meet several more neighbors.  Two weeks after that, Ruth died suddenly after not feeling well for several days.  John, as much as he grumbled and groused, was devoted to her and their absence has left a void for the regular lunch bunch.  

Last night I had dinner with my friend Elaine, whom I hadn't seen for months.  Several ladies from my synagogue days joined us, along with one of their neighbors who had lived in Saudi at one time  (our time overlapped by two years). The synagogue ladies wanted to get us together and it was great to talk with someone who shared parts of that experience.  Her husband worked for Alcoa and they lived in Al Khobar, but we still had lots to talk about and the other ladies were enthralled.  It was a good night - varied conversation, lots of laughs - and it was especially good to reconnect with Elaine, Sheri and Cokie.

 

About the only other thing of interest was an art gallery talk by Mary Edna Frazer.  She's a batik artist and many of her pieces are aerial views of topography.  Most of those in the exhibit were of the Lowcountry and were quite striking....and familiar.  It is an interesting process and, in addition to being talented, she has plethora of interests - one of those people who seems to do it all!  You can see more of her work HERE.  It was an informative morning followed by a tasty lunch with my friend Chris.  

Almost forgot to tell you that we now have a Whole Foods store on the island......or Whole Paycheck, as some people call it.  About a week after it opened I checked it out and, though expensive, it is a great store and shopping experience.  I was especially interested in the hot food bars which included many vegetarian and vegan foods, including several Indian dishes.  The shelves are also stocked with many items not found in our local grocery stores...I came away with $40 worth without even trying!

Well,, that's about it!  Since I had not photos to deal with, it gave me time to do some playing/experimenting, which you can see from photos above.  I'm hoping this entry will work better than the last few....the last one was better, but the photo captions didn't appear on my iPad (showed up on laptop, but no tablet).  Anyway, now that summer is drawing to an end, things will probably settle and I am not likely to have as many opportunities to take photos.  You probably need a break from them anyway!!


Have a great week!