SUNDAY AND REMEMBERING KEITH

 It went this way: sleep until 7:00, take my once a week pill, wait a half-hour before coffee, then take a 45-minute nap before heading to the dining room for lunch. Sat with Kathie, LaVerne, and Mary; Paula didn't show and I'm not sure why. I had salmon for the second day in a row, and it was okay, but not as good as at Stephen's Greek. Went back upstairs until 2:00 Bingo with Sandy. 

That was fun and I won a game. By the time we finished up, it was 3:00 and time for Yatzee. Just Cindy, Beverly,  and I played and I won two out of three (no credit to my skill or anaything, it was just dumb luck that I got Yatzee twice). When we finished, it was time for dinner and I invited Cindy to eat here and sit with us, which she did. It was cranberry chicken salad and very good. When we were almost finished, Keith's brother, Kelly, came over and sat with us, as I had invited him to do the other day. He had brought family pictures and we all enjoyed seeing Keith as a two-year-old, a ten-year-old, a teenager, and older. 

I had wanted to introduce him to Dyan, who had been so friendly with Keith and he asked me to, so I took him over to her table. It happened that LaVonne was sitting with her and I remembered that she was a distant cousin of Keith's. Kelly and I sat down with them, showed the pictures, which they loved, of course, then I called Denise over and she joined us. Naturally, she greatly enjoyed the pictures, too. I said good night in fifteen or so, and left them talking together.  

So-o-o, we remembered Keith with affection and sorrow, which suggested a viewing or a wake. Appropriate, I think, and to an extent, comforting. 

SATURDAY

 Slept well, did this and that, made scrambled eggs for breakfast, then took a short nap. It was then time to go down to lunch; did so and sat with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula. They enjoyed my recounting of my talk with Keith's brother, then Mike called to Facetime, but I asked him to call after lunch. He did and we had a good talk. 

Mike is with Violet at the Savannah College and Design, and is staying at an historic house for "selected" guests. BTW, his ex, Paula, is staying across the hall. They met Violet's three roomates, as their apartments, brand new, contain two bedrooms with two beds, a living room, kitchenette, and two bathrooms. Hey, it's probably as nice or nicer than mine. Violet starts school tomorrow and Mike will than fly to London, where older sister Vivian will start her doctorate studies. 

Went down for quarter Bingo at 2:00 and stayed for dime Bingo starting at 3:00. Darn, I didn't win a single game, but it was fun, anyway.  

Ellen and Greg got here a bit after 4:00 and got to work hanging my towel rack. Finally, at long last, it's up, a nice kitchen towel on it and it looks good. El took a selfie-pic of the three of us: 

We chatted a bit for a while, I gave El her presents, then we left for Camarillo. It takes only about twenty minutes to get there, much of it through farm country.

Stephen's Grille has been opened only a month; it's owned by the same people who had Steven's Greek in Ventura, to which we went often. Unfortuantely, they had a dispute with the property owners, something about the lease, and left there. The new place is considerably larger, fancier, and oh, yes, a heckuva lot more expensive. El had a gimlet, I an IPA, Greg no alcohol and we each ordered a regular meal, plus El had dessert. I treated her for her birthday and it ran into quite a bit, but I didn't care. Here the the two lovelies: 

Service was pretty slow there and we didn't get back to my place until almost 9:00. The two kids came in just for a few minutes, then we said goodbye after a wonderfully enjoyable evening. 

FRIDAY--AND MY DARLING DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY!

No weight report today: My scale is out of juice and, although I have the batteries it uses, I can't seem to open the section, so couldn't weight. Cheryl picked me up for T.O.P.S. and I weighed in, but neglected to record it. I know I lost a miniscule amount--I think I was told a fourth of a pound or something, but it was insignificant. Hey, at least I didn't gain. 

Ellen called me on the way home to thank me for the birthday card from Gwennie and Cessy (meow!). She and Greg will be here today and we'll go the Greek restaurant in Camerillo to celebrate the birth of this lovely young woman:

Darling Daughter Ellen; I don't know what I'd do without her. 

Home at 9:30 and I had a piece a bread and butter, then napped for an hour. Went down to lunch after and sat with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula. The conversation was good and so was the chicken piccata.

I went downstairs at 2:00 for Happy Hour and saw Mindy with a man to whom she introducted me. It was Keith's brother, Kelly, here to oversee Keith's possessions and so on. I asked if I could speak to him for a bit and he was kind enough to sit down with me for about forty-five minutes. It was so good and so fulfilling to talk to him. He told me a lot about Keith and the family background, all of which I found absorbing. Still, though, the cause of death isn't known.

After, I fooled around with the laptop until 2:00 when it was time for Happy Hour. The Dynamic Due were there, as they often are, and I like them so much. Enjoyed their renditions of old-time songs and their tribute to Dolly Parton. Indulged in a Margarita during the program.

Dinner with Paula, Denise, and Mary and they were interested to hear of my exchange with Keith's brother. After dinner, I saw Mindy and she said some of Keith's possession was in the multi-purpose room for anyone who wented them. They were all books and included was the one I had lent to Keith months ago; I took that, as well as two others. 

THURSDAY

Full of new-found energy after my lovely sleep, I stripped the bed, added some clothes, and trudled the load to the laundry room. When I went back to get it before lunch, I found both dryers were taken, but no problem, I took them to the other second-floor laundry room to dry.

I spent twenty minutes on the stationary bike before going down to lunch. Ate with Paula, LaVerne, and Mary. Kathie didn't show, which was concerning since she had told us yesterday that her daughter had had to be taken to the hospital. It seems she broke out in hives after cleaning her daughter's newly-bought home, a fixer-upper that Kathie believes had some kind of toxicity in it. I called her after lunch and left a message. Re-made the bed and put away the clothes. 

I was fooling around on the laptop, then thought I'd get a glass of water, which we keep being told we should drink more of. (No--incorrect! It should be "of which we should drink more," but that sounds so awkward and old-fashioned, the hell with it.) Anyhoo--I went to the sink and horrors--again found tiny, tiny ants. This time, I investigated further; after emptying the surface places and the long drawer, I found a tiny cracker piece in the latter and yes, it had ants around it. I then spent an hour emptying all places in my little kitchenette, washing or wiping them out, washing what they contained (silverware and other kitchen supplies), then replaceing everything. Whew, what a job, but I'm confident I got rid of the problem.   

Had dinner with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula; as ever, I enjoyed their company and our--sometime naughtily worded in Kathie's and my case--conversation. Entree was shrimp and I enjoyed that, too.

Mary Ann has some escrow thing going on, so won't be at T.O.P.S. I texted Cheryl and she'll take me; I'm not opptimistic about my weight though. Showered and washed my hair before settling in for the night.

WEDNESDAY:

 It seemed like a busy day, but I guess it really wasn't. My dermatology appointment was at 12:30, but the uber driver, courtesy of my insurance, picked me up at 11:40. Therefore, I got there a few minutes before noon and had to wait a half-hour. Dr. C. saw me for roughly one minute; she had only to check the lesion on the cheek and zap the thing on my nose. I'll go back in March to follow up.

Home about 1:30 and I had a small portion of potato salad, then put some of my Japanese aritifacts in the walker and, as promised, took them downstairs to Mindy. She was delighted and arranged them in the display case: 

 I geared up for dime Bingo at 2:00; went downstairs, played the game, and won three. By that time,  it was a bit after 4:00. Found my Amazon order at my door and put away the contents. How I absolutely love the fact that I can order what I need, pay electronically, and receive the goods within a short time--in this case, overnight.

Ellen called to say she had made an appointment for us to see P.A. Natelie in October. She also said she and Greg will pick me up on Saturday and we'll go to a Greek restaurant in Camarillo to celebrate her birthday. It's actually on the eleventh, tomorrow, but Greg is off on Saturday, so it's more convenient. 

By the time I was ready to go to the dining room, I was starving. Went down and joined Paula and Denise; neither Kathie nor LaVerne came down, as happens often. We had some good, fun talk and a delicious kind of roast beef and cheese on a roll with French dip. Remarkably, they also had no sugar added ice cream and I had a small bowl of that.  No plans for today or tomorrow, except for T.O.P.S. or Friday, which is fine by me. 

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Note: Happy day--I slept soundly all night! By the time I turned in, it was ten-thirty and I just got up at 9:00. It's remarkable how good I feel after ending several days of restless sleep. I just stripped the bed and will wash, then do some household chores and the exercise bike.  😴YAY!

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TUESDAY

Put in a load of color wash in the morning. Ellen called to say she had heard from Primary Medical about my knee and she'll make an appointment for us to see P.A. Natalie the week after next. Fine by me.

Early on, I called Dermatology Medical to see if I have an appointment today, hoping against hope I didn't., but I do, at 12:30. Called SCAN Transportation and will be picked up at11:46. Okay, I'll miss lunch, but will eat something here.

Down to lunch and saw that our usual table was filled. Kathie was sitting elsewhere and I joined David and Lisa, a nice change. They're the couple who met here at The Orchard and now live together. We had an enjoyablet time, which included a game they play--"Contexto" or something--and we played it. I'll have to look it up, as I may like to play it, too.

Back at my place, I prepared for 2:00 dime Bingo. Went down and enjoyed it; also, won two games. The session wasn't over until 3:30, at which point, I did this and that regarding minor housekeeping. Do-Lannie had done the floors and bathroom and it looks good. 

Had dinner with the companians I enjoy most: Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula. It was a kind of Asian salad, very refreshing and the conversation that went with it was enjoyable, too. There's a new server named Ava, whom we met--she is, of course, in her late teens or early twenties, as they all are. I enjoy interacting with them so much.

Showered, but decided not to wash my hair. I'll wait a while or maybe have Caitlin cut it, if I can ever get hold of her.

Very poor sleep last night, and I'm dragging. Will drink my coffee and try to bouce back. 

MONDAY

Susan picked me up at 11:15 and off we went to the Stone Fire Grille; her little Gizmo came, too, and was perfectly behaved during lunch: 

 There were five others there, including Barbara Q., who hasn't attended in some time. I was so pleased to see her and we had a great time. When that sweet girl, Susan, dropped me off, she said she's pick me up in two weeks for our dinner gathering, so I don't even have to text her beforehand. 

It was almost 2:00 when I got back, but no prob, as I didn't have anything else scheduled. Took my nap, futzed around, and then it was dinnertime.Neither Kathie nor LaVerne showed--they often stay in their apartments for dinner--so Paula and I sat together by ourselves. We had a good talk getting to know each other more and, as mentioned before, I like Paula so much. Although she's only in early seventies and looks younger, she suffered two strokes three years ago, and has been working on the effects ever since. Happily, her speech is perfectly okay; it's her memory and her balance that cause her some problems. Anyway, much as I like the others with whom we usually sit, it was good to chat with her alone.  

I went to bed very late for me: ten-thirty. Even so, I awoke too early and got up, so I'll have to nap again today. That's okay, as I have no plans except dime Bingo at 2:00.