SUNDAY

Had a good sleep at Ellen's and once we both got up, she made scrambled eggs for breakfast. We then fussed around with my laptop and did a few other things until we took off for Santa Barbara.

Arrived at Villa Alamar about 12:30 and found Betty eating lunch in her room. Carolyn had told us Betty had a cold, so I assume that's why she wasn't in the dining room; Ellen and I both wore masks--just took them off for pictures. El gave Betty one of her delicious persimmon cookies and left the rest for her to have later; I left her presents for Carolyn to open later.  Here, El is reading to her aunt a birthday card in that wonderful way she has: 

This one of Betty and me isn't that great, but it's all we took:

We stayed only twenty minutes or so, then kissed Betty goodbye and left. We met Carolyn and Finn at the Benchmark Restaurant after Ellen maneuvered her way through a jam-packed downtown. Enjoyed immensely our talk and I was delighted to be gifted with this:

I had gotten a book from Greg, too, with some of Tennessee Williams' plays: 21 Wagonloads Full of Cotton, which I'm looking forward to dipping into. 

We had a good time with Carolyn and Finn, discussing life after death, near-death experiences, and who believes what, if anything. Said goodbye in late afternoon and El drove me home. She helped me in with my bags, books, and parcels, then we hugged goodbye. (What would I do without her?  I don't even want to think about that.)

I stopped in on Suzanne, who will be leaving for her nephew's tomorrow. I gave her her Christmas present, then we talked over various family matters (hers) for some time,

An hour or so later, Vickie stopped in and we discussed the cane thing my children had brought up during the Zoom call. I showed her both Ellen's cane, which she had left and my own, which I had found. Vickie then insisted in getting a walker she had used and demonstrating it. Much as I like Vickie, I do NOT--no way, no how--want to use a walker at this point. I'm not too happy about the cane thing, let alone.... Well, I'll let it alone.

Had a late dinner, then unpacked most of my stuff, which I'll be repacking shortly, as I'm staying over at El's on Christmas Eve and Christmas night.