Thursday

Jim called and yes, he can come for lunch tomorrow, instead of Sunday, when Ellen and Violet will be here.

Met Diane at the hospital at 11:30, a little surprised to see her sitting outside on the veranda. Incredibly,  she was told by an employee that the cafeteria is for staff and visitors only. Well, we're visitors, aren't we? After all, we don't live there. Of course, she meant those visiting patients, but good grief, it's a big place and you'd think they'd be a little more flexible. .

Anyway, no big deal, as the weather was okay--overcast, but warm. We sat, ate, and talked, going over dozens of  topics, as always. Unfortunately, Diane has been feeling low lately and no wonder: her neuropathy is worsening and she's experiencing increasing fatigue. Considering what she has to deal with, I'm amazed at her fortitude and what she is able to do. Usually, we walk together from the hospital to the transit center, only about a half mile, but yesterday, she called the access van to take her home.

We said goodbye at 2:30 and I walked to the mall. Went to Target for a few items, then took the 6 bus home. I watched T.V. for an hour, then took a short--about twenty minutes--nap on the couch.   

So very proud of my granddaughter, Vivian, who completed her internship by presenting at the Boyce Institute of Cornell University. The topic: phenotypes and their role in the water efficiency of maize:

WIDER: It's been some time since I've commented on the national scene, but I just can't ignore the current furor surrounding the prez hoopla. On the demented side, we have an aged moneybags and his pretend poor boy from the sticks (worth five million) and their fundamentalist cult. Representing the Dems' death wish, there's a kind of blackish Barbie doll and The Guy Next Door. It doesn't take a whole lot of smarts to imagine the reasoning of the focus groups for the latter: "We gotta pick a just-plain-folks cohort to appeal to the ignoramuses who vote for personality, not content." Of course, the "content" of both parties is  identical: Smash and plunder throughout the world and don't worry about that three-year-old screaming in the corner with her arm torn off.