Odds and Ends

I'm not sure what I've been doing all this time, but I seem to be busy, whether accomplishing anything or not. Frequently, I stop by Belfair Gardens in the morning (briefly) as part of my walk and then visit again for a longer period in the afternoon. That takes a chunk out of the day, then throw in an errand or chores around the house, and the day is gone.

Us with Princess Daxie.

The "other mother" has found her way to Belfair Gardens! Last week was a bad week for my mother and she spent much of it in bed (has also started wandering around at night and becoming agitated when shown back to her room), which is unfortunate since Sunday (23rd) was her 92nd. birthday. On Tuesday of that week, Bill (cousin) and Betty came down with a goodie bag for her. The following day a couple from her church stopped by...I missed them since there was no advance notice that they were coming.  Two of her friends wanted to wish her a happy birthday by phone, so I took my iPad over and we Skyped them....she can hear the iPad better than the phone. On her birthday, we had planned to go to IHOP for breakfast and possibly stop by the house to visit with the cats. When I arrived she was dressed and ready to go, but the minute I said hello she startted crying. The girls coaxed her to go, but we never made it out the door. She got angry with me....and it took me no time to realize that anything I said would inflame that. So, she wanted to go back to bed and I sat with her most of the day, neither of us speaking. I brought Smokey for a visit and she was very chatty with him. In the afternoon, BG had a cake and ice cream celebration for her and she got up for that. A lot of people tried to make it a good birthday, but it just wasn't meant to be.

The star after the show.

This week has been better, with no mention of the birthday week.  On Wednesday we went over to the independent living part of the facility where my friend Sharon and her dog Daxie were giving a show.  My mother and others in the audience (about 20 people) really enjoyed the 30+ minute program.  It is a very cute show and they visit many of the care facilities regularly.  Sharon loves it but Daxie seems to be over it, retiring various tricks that she no longer wants to do.

Well, my hopes to sell the house in NC to my mother's neighbor were dashed.  He called on Tuesday to say that he was retiring at the end of the year, couldn't sell his condo in DC, had just purchased a nearby property, yada, yada, yada.....all of which means that 2 months later I'm back to square one on that issue.  It also means there will be less made from the sale once the realtor gets his cut AND I will have to deal with everything in the house SOON!  I don't know where to start!

And if that isn't enough, I've just been summoned for district jury duty......in Charleston!  Earlier in the week I sent in the info they required and today I faxed a request that my participation be postponed.  I explained my situation and told them I didn't think I could take on anything else, especially something requiring focus and clear thinking.  I hope they will take my word for it.

On other fronts, I'm slowly but surely getting the house in better shape, though I'm not being fanatical about it!  Yesterday I went through loads of recipes, most of which I've never used!  They are now pared down to one little file type box.  The next job will be to go through the island in the kitchen and then recipe books.  So, one small section at a time......

Our weather continues to be nice.  We've gotten lots of rain, which makes walking a challenge, but everything is nice and green......and it hasn't gotten really hot yet.  The political scene has also heated up and the chat on our local Drinking Liberally site has been active.  Here are three of my favorite cartoons from the week.

and my personal favorite.....

This week, the week of July 4th., is shaping up to be a good one, I hope!  Sharon and I are having lunch tomorrow.  Tuesday night is Drinking Liberally and that should be an animated group with all that has happened over the last few weeks.  They've also changed the meeting location and I can almost walk there!!  Gayle, one of my younger friends....the freelance writer who moved back to NJ several years ago....is coming down this week and wants to get together.  There will be a 4th of July celebration at BG from noon to 2:30 and then I've been invited to an evening gathering at my friend Cheryl's.  She and her roommates live right on the May River and one of their neighbors is doing fireworks.  There's nothing after that, but that's a very heavy social schedule for me and I'll probably need the end of the week to recover!

Hope it's a great week for everyone.