Saturday Sadness For Some

Suzanne and I left at 9:40 for Church of the Assumption through the driving rain. The funeral was at 10:00 and turned out to be quite interesting. There were more there than I had expected, but then, Mary was one of 13 children and had four of her own, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Suzanne had told me she had to leave early, as she was scheduled to do her eucharistic minister rounds. 

Assumption is a beautiful church. The windows, in particular, are striking; I wish I had gotten a picture of them. The altar itself was lovely and I snuck as picture:

Next to the priest is the copper urn holding Mary's ashes and, circled by roses, is a picture of her holding the trophy she won for golf? billiards? tennis? Not sure. Vickie is in right front pew next to the aisle.

Before the mass, there were some primary prayers, songs, ceremonies, family members speaking, the priest orating, and so on. At the mass, he also announced that those who wanted communion could go up, those who simply wanted a blessing could, too, and those not of the faith were included. I was amazed. Did that mean they could receive communion? I have no idea. 

Anyway, Suzanne left and I went with Vickie to what was called "the reception." This was at a large, non-fancy Mexican restaurant and I'd say at least 150 people were there. I decided not to sit with Vickie, as I didn't want her to think she had to take care of the old lady. Instead, I sat with Mary's sister, her husband. their two sons, and their daughter-in-law and enjoyed talking to them. One of the sons, Vincent, is an R.N. in the operating room at Community Memorial. The food--buffet--included chicken and cheese enchiladas, rice and beans, tacos, and Mexican sweetbreads for dessert. I'm not a big fan of Mexican food, but this wasn't spicy, so it was good. 

Got home at 3:00 and it was still pouring, as it had all day. I quickly changed clothes, put on my boots, and went over to Von's for cucumbers (the ones I had had gotten soft) and vinegar. Made crystal pickles, then put dried beans, onions, and broth in the slow cooker; had some for dinner. 

Son Mike PMed me, asking if I was available for a chat. Sure thing and he, Paula, and I talked face to face for almost an hour. I was so pleased that Paula stayed, too; we had a good rapport. After that, I went out in the wet (it had stopped raining--finally--but lots of water, of course) to get the  mail. Luckily, my once-a-week medication came in (I take it on Sunday mornings and just did), so I'm set with that.