THURSDAY

Believe it or not, I was pretty busy yesterday.  On the elevator going down to lunch, I met another newbie named Judy, who just moved in on Monday; sat with her and we were joined by Lois, whom I met before. I like both of them and will see them again. 

Yesterday was "Italia Day," with Italian dishes and tiramisu for dessert, plus--this was unexpected--red wine. This, I presume, was arranged by Activities Director, Mindy; here she is, pretending to be a tough gal:  

I had signed up for the van to go to Von's, which we did at 1:00. I didn't need much, naturally, just napkins, sweetener and a few other staples; bought some nice blueberries, too. Rick, the driver, first dropped off a woman I don't know to her doctor's appointment, then three of us went to Von's--yes, the one I used to frequent just by walking across the side street. The idea is that Rick drops shoppers off, then then when they're ready, they call and he comes back to pick them up. 

Back in my place, I made some calls, notably to Mary Ann B., to ask her to pick me up for T.O.P.S today--she lives nearby. I then called  Cheryl, to tell Mary Ann will take me.  Kim from SO-FI had called yesterday to see if I could come today while they inspect my former place. Nope and I told them to go ahead without me. 

I got these darling cards from Japan, the first for my birthday, the second for Christmas: 

This one closes to form a candle.

I'm still unpacking, putting things away, getting them out again, moving them elsewhere, and AAGH!  However, I'm making progress, if slowly. 

Sat with Kathy and Cheryl for dinner, plus others, including Beverlee, who was wearing a Columbia University shirt. That's where my older son got his masters degree and when I asked her, found that she had gone there for hers,  too (psychology). I love to meet others from Academia and we agreed to talk again.

Son Mike Facetimed me, just to see how things were going and after some family drama (I was agitated), we had good talk.     

Note to Pat: I forgot to mention my big annoyance: The fact that the monthly charge includes $55.00 for a medical alert. But my health insurance provides one for free, so I don't have to pay that, right? Yeah, you know the answer to that as I do, damnit. 

Well, I'd better straighten up and fly right, as I just got weighed to find an extra three pounds. We'll see if it's even worse at T.O.P.S.--(sob!).