Thisa and Thata

Got up at my usual, did my thing, then drove over to the park for the Thursday walk. This time, the nurse wasn't in evidence, but no prob, I walked anyway--yes, the whole perimeter of a mile and a quarter. As I finished, I saw Doris; she comes late and walks a half-mile. That sounds puny, but not considering her extreme hip and knee problems. She's already had them "fixed," but they're bothering her again and boy, what determination she has to try to strengthen the muscles around the knees. Doris has to shuffle--and slowly--when she walks, but she does it. Our mutual friend, Sue, had her knee fixed and recommended a doctor at UCLA Medical Center and Doris will contact him. If she isn't a great walker, Doris sure is a champion talker; we chatted for a good 45 minutes, then off I went.
Called Carole Wimberg C., but she was at "work" (volunteers at the front desk in a nursing facility), so I asked her to call me back at 5:00 or so. Showered and changed after breakfast, then met Sue for lunch at Panero. We both had big salads and talked and talked for a long, long time. She's worried about her husband's memory lapses, and he's been tested; no treatment yet. (But in truth, what treatment is there?)
After we parted, I went to Barnes & Noble to try to find a gift for Walter G. Finally hit on metal bookends in the shape of large ampersands; got a card there, too. After, I went to three different stores trying to find a sturdy box to send the damn things in. Finally got a cake box from Wal-Mart. However, it's pretty flimsy, so I'm not sure if it'll be any good--I'll go to Michael's later and see if I can find anything better. Stopped at WinCo for ground turkey to stir-fry with my already-cut-up veggies.
My new friend, Barbara Z., called; I had met her at the Tuscany party and was intrigued when she told me she was going on a cruise out of Singapore. She'll be there from January third to the fifth, so I said I'd send pictures from when I was there and would also ask Mike for recommendations on what to see. She said she's also traveling to Chicago with her son and his family (wife, two kids), so I e-mailed nephew Wes and asked what they might enjoy seeing. He wrote me back immediately and I'll pass the info on to Barbara.
Carole returned my call and we had a long talk, more than an hour, in fact. It was great catching up with her and she invited me to go down for several days to Dana Point, where she lives. Yes, indeed, I'd love to, but it's 135 miles away and I wouldn't dare drive. Will check train schedules and we'll discuss it again.