Sunday...

 ...and I didn't get up until 8:00 am! Dunno why, I just slept late--probably due to my down mood. I guess it's a reaction to my good Christmas holiday. I didn't have breakfast until after 9:00; however, I did complete the crossword puzzle, which was briefly gratifying. 

As ever, I found it amusing that the Ventura Star printed an article rather prominently (above the fold on page three) to the effect that rain was predicted for last night--big news!

My mood improved after Jim called me and we had a long talk. He was a devotee of Krishnamurti and has read all his books. He actually used to go to the Krishnamurti Center in Ojai to hear him speak. I've been at the center several times and have read some of him, also.  Jim mentioned one (which I intend to get) called "The Only Revolution."  I guessed the title means we can revolutionize within ourselves and Jim confirmed that. Anyway, I like K.s outlook on life.

Jiddu Krishnamurti (/ˈdʒɪduːkrɪʃnəˈmuːrti/; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, but later rejected this mantle and withdrew from the Theosophy organization behind it.^[1] His interests included psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation, inquiry, human relationships, and bringing about radical change in society. He stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social.

I spent some time--finally--sorting and filing paperwork, but I must write a few things to myself, including my dental proposal.  My only excursion outside was to walk over to Von's for a few necessities--for me, that meant romaine and broccoli. 

Wrote and mailed a thank you note to Roz for the wine and finally called Sharon, the daughter of my dear departed friend, Marge, to thank her for her note of last month.  She wasn't home and I left her a message.

Betty called and I guided her to Facebook Messenger video, so we could see each other. I was amazed that she finally got it and I enjoyed it--for a time. However, her constantly increasing confusion is so hard to witness. Every time I see or talk to her I notice a decline in her cognitive abilities. Time is a thief, all right.

 

A Song And Salmon

                                "Back in the saddle again...Back where a friend was a friend..."

Roy Rogers used to sing that song and it kept going through my mind as I resumed my usual rituals. Had my coffee, wrote my blog, and checked my email and Facebook; ate my usual breakfast (cottage cheese on Killer Dave's toast, coffee, and a tangerine) while reading the Ventura Star; got a piece of salmon out of the freezer for dinner, then took off for the Market about 10:00. Not the most exciting routine, but I'm comfortable with it, assuming it's punctuated with occasional deviations. 

I am NOT happy over the deviation Yandoo Communications handed me. Tech was due to come between 1:00 and 5:00, so I stayed in. Was on the laptop in the bedroom most of the time, but thought I'd go check the mail. Opened the door to find a card on the know saying "Mitch" had come, but nobody was home. WHAT?! I called, furious, to say I was there all the time. Rep said he had tried to call me, but there was no answer. I got no call, I told her. Anyway, upshot is "Adrian" will come on Tuesday between 1:00 and 5:00. Ellen and I were going to test it after the fix; I called to tell her we'll have to put it off. I was so pissed. However, it occurred to me I should have put a note on the door or something, as I probably didn't hear the bell, since I was playing a game with sound.

Anyway, I rushed out, grabbed a bus, and went to Target and picked up some socks. By the time I got home, I had gotten--grudgingly--calmer. Had a vegetarian dinner, instead of cooking the salmon, which I'll do today. Called Jim after, to see if he's available for lunch some day (any day--it isn't as if my social calendar is full--but he wasn't there and I left a message.

 

Christmas

 It turned out to be a fine Christmas, after all!

Here, I'll just sketch it out:  Ellen served me an over easy/scrambled egg (I don't know, either, but it was good) breakfast, we hung out, went for a walk, watched some T.V. (a novelty for me), and otherwise had a leisurely day until 4:00. Unlike Thursday, which was chilly and grey (it even rained a few drops), Christmas was wonderfully sunny and warm; we even opened windows.  

We also opened presents, of course, but I'm not going to enumerate them here. My real present was the Zoom call at 4:00 pm, our time.* All of my children participated and how I loved seeing and hearing them. Of course, being together literally is far, far superior to any kind of virtual visit, but this was the next best thing. We actually interacted for more than two hours. Greg came in from his mother's in the middle of it, so that was good. 

After, the three of us sat down to chat for a bit while I had a glass of wine, then El--an "earth angel" if ever there was one--took me home. Got in shortly before 8:00, partly unpacked, watched a bit of Doubt (still tedious, I'm afraid), and turned in. Slept like a stone, as the Brits say.

*Significantly, my picture was sharp and clear, and didn't freeze even once, further proof that the problem is with my Internet connection. The technician is scheduled to come today between 1:00 and 5:00, but El and I are going to try it before that to be sure it's still on the blink.

Christmas Eve

Here at Ellen's and feeling good. The Access Van picked me up at 11:36 and took me to Von's in Ojai where El picked me up. She gave me lunch, for which we cracked the bottle of rosa vino I had been given on my last birthday. Since I don't drink alone, I had never opened up, so this was a good occasion to do so. (Verdict? I'm not a fan of rose, as it always seems sort of watery and bland, but it was okay.)

We then watched the remake of The Secret Wife of Walter Mitty (fun the first half, tedious the second) and--more fun--played with the adorable kitties. El made dinner while I hung out. At one point, I tried calling my other kiddies on Messenger video, but couldn't rise any of them.  We had a yummy turkey dinner, topped with vanilla/chocolate cake and, in my case, accompanied by a Blue Moon. 

Our entertainment for the evening was (at my request) several episodes of The Twilight Zone, which were remarkably dated and inept, one and all. El then switched to Portlandia, of which I had vaguely heard and oh, boy, talk about today's humor.  It's hysterically funny, hip, and "woke" and I loved it. 

Speaking of "woke" (I had to ask El what that means), Mike later facetimed us and I sent him a pic of El's tree, which he described as "woke" and a "Charlie Brown tree." 

I somehow like this more than the big, full, added-to, unnatural-looking trees you see everywhere today. They're plumped-up for the market--the one true god is money, no question about that--but this is the way Christmas trees used to look when we got oranges and socks in our stockings.

Mike later sent Messenger pics of the girls wearing my gifts to them: bracelets I bought at a Native American store in Arizona:

Patrick also facetimed from Tokyo, but he was working remotely and wife and son weren't with him. We decided to do a family Zoom call and El sent out the invitation. For our time, it will be 4:00 today--can't wait!

  

   

Wednesday

Talk about a low ebb: Nursing my cold, I didn't go out, with two exceptions: a trip to Von's for a few things and to CVS for Thera-Flu in tablet form. (To me, the kind you dissolve in water is revolting.)

Called the Access Van, asked to get to Ojai at noon, gave them Ellen's address, and was informed they don't take people to homes. Okay, I said, then take me to Von's and that was permitted. Called El later and she'll pick me up there. 

Other than that, nothing much. I fooled around on the lap top, but that got old quickly. Actually turned on the "discussion" part of The Birds DVD to see some of the actors and others involved in the movie discussing it. I figure that was filmed at least 25, if not more years ago, but I enjoyed it more than the movie, which isn't saying much.

El called to ask that I take me temp this morning; she had given me a thermometer. I will and will take it with me to her house. 

I'm looking forward to seeing Ellen, but aside from that, there doesn't seem to be much of anything good coming up. Along with, I guess, millions of others, I can't wait to get this year over with.

But one piece of good news: Mike posted on my Facebook page that my package arrived--on Christmas Eve! (In Singapore, they're a day ahead of us.) I guess it's too much to hope the one to Japan was received. I already know my letter and Christmas card to my almost-ninety-five-year-old in Bangkok didn't arrive yet.  

UPDATE: I had emailed son in Japan to see if the package arrived and just got a reply that yes, it had. YAY!

 

Various Annoyances

Stripped the bed, re-made, and put in a bleach wash early. I was pleased to get a call from my friend, Nancy, and we talked for 45 or so. She still stays in--she doesn't even go to the supermarket, her DIL shops for her--and has gained an unfortunate amount of weight. She does have a number of ailments, including that hemoglobin thing and, most worrisome, shortness of breath. Anyway, it was good to talk to her.

However, that was the high point of the day. I waited around for Yandoo to call. I had been assured by Quentin, to whom I spoke on Monday, that someone would call from the local branch to set up a time to come and find out why my pictures keep freezing. He told me, not just once, but twice that someone would call between 9:00 and 1:00, "no later than 1:00." Did anyone call? Why, no. I called them and repeated the whole damn scenario--I have the ticket number--and waited some more. Finally,  I called one more time near the end of day. At this point, I was given a "hot line," called it, and was told the appointment was for the 29th and somebody would be here between 8 and 12.  Since when? The guy said I had been contacted. Really? How--phone, text, email? He didn't know. So I just ended by telling him I had no intention of paying the extra charge for the upgrade, since it didn't work. He said it would be taken off. AAGH! 

Walked over to Von's for vitamin D and Thera-Flu. When I got home, I realized I already had the first, plus I had accidentally gotten the second that you have to put in warm water, not in tablet form. Had one last night and--ugh! I don't even like the taste. What a day.  

Birthday And The Big World

It wasn't the best birthday I ever had, but thanks to Ellen, it was bearable. Carolyn had suggested she bring Betty over at 10:00 and we'd sit outside, masked and six feet away from each other, and celebrate our birthday. I was looking forward to that. However, I woke up with a cold, called Carolyn to tell her. That seemed no problem, but she called back later to say she had talked to her husband and was uncomfortable coming. Boy, was I disappointed. We did do video messenger when Betty was at her place that was better than nothing, but I was still pretty down.

I did get lots of happy birthday e-mails (thanks, Patti), Facebook entries, and phone calls, including from immediate family, old friends, nieces and nephew, and my brother, Larry. (Sadly, he said Helen is sinking fast. She's not on hospice yes, but I'm afraid, it will be soon.) I perked up my ears to hear some of his children have made reservations for Japan for July. Larry wants to go, then go over to Bangkok to see our brother, Jim, who will be 95 next month.

I also told El I  had a cold. She came over, as planned, with Thai food (and plenty of it--had it for lunch and dinner, too) and we sat outside to eat. Luckily, the weather's been perfect--seventies and no humidity at all--and yesterday was no exception.

We talked about the CO-VID thing and El looked at her phone to see there was a "pop-up" testing site at the park. We drove over, but the information was erroneous, so we came back. We sat on the patio while I opened cards and presents. El gave me a pretty pendent, which will go perfectly with what I plan to wear for Christmas, plus six great big beautiful lemons from her tree. With the avocadoes Olivia had brought over earlier (I gave one to Ellen), I have some nice produce. Also got a gift card from Amazon and a picture of the Tokyo trio, plus an adorable card from Mr. K.: 

Note that he asked Dad to identify his fish and snail by name. 

Jim called to wish me a happy (I was surprised he remembered it) and we chatted, me nosy, he reticent as ever. My niece, Joan, her Jim, and their son and vintner DIL left a message of all of them singing the B.Day song. I called back to say I was a Hollywood agent and wanted to sign them. 

I got a delightful Facetime call from Mike and his gorgeous girls; compared to the crappy Zoom and video Messenger pictures, it was wonderfully clear and sharp. Their apartment is huge and beautifully decorated, nineteen floors up.  

Sometimes I forget what kind of life my granddaughters live. It's light years away from what mine was, the chubby little Catholic at St. James, oblivious to free thought and the big world that isn't Absecon Island. How I envy them.