MONDAY AND SOARING SPIRITS

Busy day, but a good one; slept well and didn't get up until 6:30. Called SCAN Transportation to take me to my 11:30 P.T. appointment in Oxnard today. Julie called to see if she could pick me up for the BCNN Christmas luncheon tomorrow. and I accepted. Vickie texted to say she and Suzanne would like to treat me to a pizza farewell lunch; I'll let her know. I may or may not go to the T.O.P.S. Christmas breakfast on Friday--depends on when it is. Hey, my calendar is filling up again. 

Spent some time pulling together more of the memorabilia together. Mike and Ellen got here at 12:30, bringing Ellen's hand truck, which was an enormous help. Mike got it all in the van he had rented and off we went. Before we started, I ran into my neighbor, Katherine, who said she was thinking of eventually moving to The Orchard. Hey, that would be nice--and financially advantageous--see below. 

Because yesterday was the official day of my move (I'm overlapping both domiciles to the end of December.), we stopped at the desk to get my key. We ran into Director Tiffany and Sales Manager Carissa and chatted happily. I mentioned that Kathrine might be interested and was told that if I was the referral person, I could earn a few thou. Sounds good to me.   

I was pleased to see my apartment again. The front room seemed a lot more spacious than I had remembered and I could envision placement of a lot of the furniture. We brought with us some paper goods and hand soap for the bathroom and will add a few more things as we come. I met several other residents and we introduced ourselves, including some men. They all seemed congenial, although I'm not naive enough to think I'll find soulmates, but who knows? We stopped at Wal-Mart after for a few staples, then the kids (😉) dropped me at home. 

Vera  picked me up at 5:15 for the Soaring Spirits dinner at Stone Fire Grille, the last with our dear leader, Vera. (Ugh, that sounds like  Kim Jong il!) There were just seven of us there, but we had a great time:

Around the table: the hunchback, Susan, Donna, Glenda, Lynell, Renee, Gayle, and Katherine (Vera took the pic)

Glenda, Renee, and Vera

Susan, Donna, and Vera. We were all thrilled to see Donna, who had been a member, met widower Mark at an SS gathering, and they've been married for several years. Of course, she's no longer a member--not allowed--but we skipped the rule and welcomed her happily.

Gayle looking pensive; she has a lot of medical and other issues.

With Susan, Renee, and Glenda

Christmas ornaments were exchanged and Vera gave each of us this ornament, which I will cherish:

Vera with Susan, her stand-in leader

We stayed later than usual, until we closed the place at 8:00 am. Vera took me home and we said goodbye. I leave for The Orchard on December 17 and she leaves for Oregon on January 1. I hope to maybe take her to lunch before she goes. Not to get all philosophical, it seems the end of a life chapter for both of us. Anyway, I'm mostly glad for this book I'm reading and look forward to turning the page.