Wednesday

As planned, I met Gail at 9:00 and we went across the foot bridge. We had a pleasant time talking and when we reached the park, I was prepared to continue on, but was surprised that Gail asked if we could go back because it was so hot. I immediately agreed and we turned around.
Gail is fifteen years younger than I am, but extremely fair. She slathers herself with sunscreen, as she should, but I'm mystified that she doesn't wear a hat. I always do when it's sunny, not just for my skin, but to protect my eyes; even with sunglasses.
In any event, Gail herself asked if I'd like her to pick me up the next time, so we can go to another place, presumably with more shade. Sure, I said, and if you like, we could also have lunch in town--all restaurants with sittings in the street, of course. We'll see how that works out. Before she left, Gail gave me a big avocado--there's a tree on her street and the fruit is just falling off it. I'll wait until it ripens, then have a feast.
I got home and started on food prep: cut and chopped several onions and prepared Brussel sprouts for dinner. As much as possible, I like to have my food--mainly veggies--ready to cook when it's time for dinner. I regularly have vegan dinners and I want a good volume, as well as a source of protein, often beans.
I was delighted when Ellen called to say she had to go to her school and would pick up a sandwich for lunch, and meet me here. I had eaten already, but got myself a beer and some pretzels and met her in the middle. We sat outside and talked over her upcoming school year. While we chatted, manager Bianca came out and gave me the Visa card for the filing cabinet refund.
El left and I prepared to go over to Von's. At that point, my brother, Larry, called from Miami. He and two of his daughters, Elaine and Nancy, were walking in the park and the four of us chatted for a good 45 minutes. Larry put us on speaker for a time, which was a little hard to hear, since they were outside, but we managed. As we talked, it occurred to me again how lucky I am to belong to this big family of ours.
I called Jim in the evening and we had a long talk. His semester--all on-line, of course--started on Monday with his intro to logic class. I was surprised and pleased when he suggested we meet for lunch one day next week and use the Starbucks gift card I gave him. Sounds good to me.