Sunday

The crossword was absorbing, but tough; I got about ninety percent. Set up my meds for the next six weeks. Called Carolyn and we chatted. She asked me to send her the letter from my father to my sister, so I scanned and did. I called niece Joan and told her it was actually Jim who had sent me the copy; she said she realized it wasn't her after we talked and she'll look for the original. I sent her the scan, too.*

Diane emailed me, asking if I could meet at the Urbane Café on Thursday. Sure, so I'll be at the Soaring Spirits lunch today, the woman's club tomorrow, with Diane on Thursday, at Ellen's on Saturday, and at Olivas Adobe on Sunday. Think I'll ask Jim for lunch on Friday, so that leaves only Wednesday unscheduled. Hmm...maybe that's a good thing.  

Walked to Ralph's and got a 12-can of IPA. Also saw these cute little glass wine holders--with wine in that, that is. They were on sale, so I bought some; will give one to Diane along with some tops when I see her on Thursday. Stopped at the bank to get some cash; I almost never use it, but like to have some on hand.

On my way home, I remembered that my gal, Maria, works on Sundays, so stopped into Great Clips and got a trim. Looks good. 

Darn, I had been sleeping so well lately, but this morning, I woke at one something for the usual, may have dozed until three something, but now it's 4:45 and I'm up. Maybe I can take a nap later, before or after lunch with S.S. PLUS, I went to change the time on the clock in my dining area and now it doesn't work. Changed the batteries, but it still doesn't. Woe is me. 

On a cheerier note, I saw this in the parking area yesterday: 

*It occurred to me that it's possible my mother or my father himself had the letter copied years ago--or that my sister did, since the copy is so poor. I can imagine that Daddy sent it to Gene, but first copied it for Mom. Alternatively, Gene may have done it. What's a little depressing to realize is that, in the family, only Larry and I are still able to remember 1943--sigh... 

Saturday

Went to Von's to get a few items and saw Suzanne on her way out. We chatted a bit and I expressed concern at our neighbor, Patrick's, odd behavior. I'll see if I can find his son and family; I know they live in Ventura. While I was at Von's, Julie called to say 1.) that she'll take me to the Soaring Spirits lunch tomorrow and 2.) would I like to go to the Ventura Women's club meeting and lunchon on Tuesday? Yes and yes, so the week is shaping up.

Jim here at 12:30. When I cautiously asked him about his evaluation, he didn't want to talk about it, which didn't surprise me. I served the creamy egg salad I mentioned before and boy, was that good on sour dough bread. We sat on the couch and talked after. I gave him the info on a Parkinson's support group nearby and he actually said he was interested. He can't go this Tuesday, though, because he has class; maybe next week.

I had stopped into Great Clips (next to Von's) to see when my favored hairdresser, Maria, is in. She is today, so I may go over after breakfast and get a trim. Or may not. 

Happy day: I was sure the time change would screw up my sleeping, but it didn't. Woke up at 5:00, which is fine by me.   

Re the 1943 letter from my father to my older sister: Still bemused that neice Joan should ask for it back, as it's a copy, I looked on this blog and found that a few years ago, my brother, Jim, had sent me letters to and from my father. I mentioned "a letter to my sister, Gene, when she was 19." Surely, that's the letter Joan mentioned; she didn't send it to me, he did. Trying to again find that blog entry.

Found it! From April 19, 2017:

"Got home and opened a packet I got from my brother, Jim. It had in it copies of a letter my father wrote to my older sister, Gene, in 1943, when she was 19; an account by Gene of her bout with melanoma almost fifty years later; the letter (original) my Uncle Tom sent my father in 1938 when the family farm in Roxborough was being sold..." .   

Cranky old lady note,appropo of nothing: I truly wonder about animal-lovers. It seems to me that, more and more, they attribute human charactaristics to the furry ones--dogs and cats, in particular, of course.  If a bow-wow bares its teeth, that's no smile, honey.

Friday

Went to Von's for ingredients to make "creamy egg salad," a recipe I found on the Internet looking for soft foods. I was thinking Diane could join Jim and me today, but as it turned out, she emailed that she was having some unpleasant after effects of her dental procedure, so we'll have to put it off. I made it anyway and then made my signature ice cream. This time, I decided agains strawberry and made half chocolate swirl and half caramel.

Packed my lunch and walked over the footbridge to the place on Telephone Road near the Hill Street Cafe. Ate, then stopped into the library. I hadn't intended to stay, but sat down to read and stayed for an hour. I took the book out, notwithstanding I have about nine tenths of the Stephen King book to go. I just couldn't When Breath Becomes Air,  written by a young neurosurgeon in training, Paul Kalanithi, who devloped lung cancer in his thirties. It's heart-breaking, but it's also a riveting story. He was a wonderful writer and his ideas and thoughts about life and death and what it means to be human are enthralling.

As I was leaving the library, my niece, Joan, called me. She is writing a book about the family and asked if I'd send her back a letter my father wrote to older sister, Joan's mother. I was surprised when she said she thought it was the original, but of course, it isn't. After an hour of digging, I found it--a copy and a poor copy at that. I can't imagine why she'd ever send me the original, anyway, and am surprised she wasn't sure it was a copy.

Called Ellen to tell her I need my Dudley House costume for next Sunday, the 13th, at Olivas Adobe historic site. We decided that, since the buses don'r run on Veterans Day when she's off, I'll go on Saturday. 

Weight report: No, we didn't have T.O.P.S., but I still weighed in at home. I was thrilled to see 127.4, a loss of 3.4. My new regime is working, I'm happy to note, but at this point, I don't want to write about it. 

 

Thursday

 Some out of the ordinary things happened yesterday:

1.) My nephew, Steve Johnson, who writes for the on-line "Lifehacker," did a piece on Thanksgiving and mentioned me. This is what he said:

When I was a kid, my Aunt Mimi would start Thanksgiving dinner every year by serving everyone a small helping of rice as a way of remembering the people in the world who had little to eat that night. I’m not sure how it helped alleviate world hunger, but I did enjoy the injection of a little pathos into Thanksgiving, and thinking, “Better them than me!”

This was accompanied with a bowl of rice; I got a kick out of the article. To read it, go to my page on Facebook (or his). 

2.) Both Lora and I decided to skip T.O.P.S.  today. Sharon called me to say she isn't going (preparing for a trip to Arizona); Julie is back from Europe, but has a doctor's appointment; leader Lennie is in Belize; Bobbi is getting chemo and has to go at 9:00 every morning. I called Bobbi and she feels okay so far. Also called Bev to tell her. I had no contact informatin for Helen, Sylvia, or Carol, so if they go, they're out of luck. Later, though, Bobbi was able to find Helen's number and called her.

3. Coming back from town, the bus I was on had an accident. As it was turning into the transit center, it hit a bike, or the bike hit it. A man was hurt, but I hope not too badly. The bus windshield cracked.

4. I should be ashamed to include this in "out of the ordinary" (but I'm not): I cleaned the hard floors and washed the throws (it's been a while).

5. Best news: Shannon wrote back that she got the scripts and will read them over the weekend. She said she was "honored" to receive them, so good. That doesn't mean she and Jeff will want to produce any, but it was great to know. 

Okay, now for the uninteresing stuff: I called Lynne, the docent director, and changed the time to work at the Dudley House Christmas Boutique as a wrapper to 1 to 3, December 11, so I won't be getting home in the dark. 

Packed and took my lunch to town and ate, as I often do, across frm the mission. Bought some  Christmas decorations (but Mimi, didn't you donate a lot of Christmas decorations not too long ago?  Yes, but these are so cute!). Picked up Stephen King's new Fairy Tale; started it last night and was immediately drawn in. (It's 597 pages long and this isn't large print--typical of King.) Strolled Main Street, but it was so chilly and windy, I didn't stay long. 

Emailed Diane, who said she got through the dental procedure well. My new friend, Bernice, from BCNN, called to tell me about her breakfast "date" with a man who's been pursuing her.  She's 73, he's 79. Incredibly (it seems incredible to me), he kissed her goodbye with tongue and tried to touch her...uh, upper body. She recoiled and said he was going too fast. Can't wait to hear more about this. I can see the movie: Senior Saga!  Can these two stay stay awake long enough to ...?    

My front walk and door, dressed for Thanksgiving:

Wednesday and BCNN

A fun day. Julie picked me up at 9:00 and we went to the BCNN meeting at the yacht club. I was pleased to again see Bernice, whom I had met there before. I was also pleased to realize Connie Korenstein was doing the program. I had just seen her at the Dudley House thing and yesterday, she did a presentation on hats. Here she is at the podium, explaining the "herstory" of women's hats, and some of the ones she owns:

Unfortunately, the one I took of Connie and her two helpers went to video and the still I got from it is blurry, but here it is:

That's Connie in the middle.

After, we went to the Boathouse Pub for lunch and I had a good time talking to, and getting to know, a woman named "El" (for Eleanor), as well as others. Didn't get home until after 2:00 and just did this and that after taking a short nap. 

Talked to Sheri and she asked me 1.) if I'd serve on the Dudley House board of trustees (I said I'd think about it); and 2.) if I'd represent Dudley (along with others) at the historic Olives Adobe open house on November thirteenth (I agreed). Finally, at long last, I was able to send Shannon three of my scripts. Sent the pictures above to Connie and she was glad to get them.

By the way, I know somebody who impersonated a lion for Halloween, so for her, am adding this of my great nephew and his family, obviously all of the leonine persuasion, too.

Tuesday

Met Diane at Urbane Café at 11:30. We both ordered salmon "bowls" and they were so good. Besides a generous piece of salmon, they include seasoned rice, sweet potato chunks, tofu, and spinach, all cooked to perfection and seasoned with a wonderful sauce. Plus they're very large portions--I couldn't finish all of mine, but Diane ate hers. However, I'm pretty sure that was her lunch and dinner combined. Naturally, we brought our own wine and beer.

We stayed until after 2:00, talking and talking and sharing some of our family backgrounds. I told her about Jay--with tears, of course--and she mentioned some problems in her siblings (she's the oldest of five). She told me an anecdote about when her mother was pregnant with her brother--who is seventeen years her junior--which almost floored me. I suggested she come to lunch on Saturday when Jim's there, as I'd like to give her some more tops; then I hope Jim will agree to drive her home. (She's having some dental surgery today, so I'll make soft food.) I had mentioned Pat R.'s lion costume and later, sent her Pat's pics with those feet and that fabulous mane--Diane loved it. 

I bused to town after and stopped in a few places; bought a desk organizer and a carafe. By the time I got home, it was 5:00. 

I was happy to hear from Julie, who's back from her (two-month long) trip to Austria and Germany. She called to ask if I wanted to go to the BCNN meeting today, then lunch. Sure thing and she'll pick me up at 9:00.

                                                               💁💁💁💁💁💁💁

The following is just some "business" stuff I've been doing. I like to put it here in case I need to refer to it later.

Mailed ballot yesterday, resolved BOA two rent payments in August--watch for refund of one of them; suspended paper for when I'll be away; called Groendyke and told Maureen I'll take pics re letter; received the 2019 Anchor Benefit Filing Information from my tenant, Susan, but am not eligible for the rebate because I don't live in the house. Changed the automatic payment to Chase to reflect my new, considerably higher, mortgage amount starting next month. Still to do: Send Shannon scripts!

Monday

I spent the morning on a bunch of pesky stuff, including battling Microsoft Word; I want them to get their mitts off my scripts, so I can send them to Sharon. Decided to get some advice from the tech at Office Depot. Discovered he wasn't in until 2:00, so packed my lunch and walked to Telephone Road. Stopped at the bank, then settled a bench on the county government grounds. I've eaten there before and it's okay--grass, trees and other foliage:

From there, I bused to the mall. It wasn't quite late enough to go to O.D., so I walked to first, Trader Joe's, then Target, in search of grapefruit. Later, I stopped at Audi's. None had grapefruit--fer cryin' out loud, this is California, citrus practically grows in concrete, so what's the deal? Last stop was WinCo, where I FINALLY found a bag of five grapefruit and snapped up. Bought a big butternut squash, too. 

At Office Depot, I discovered I can't prevent Microsoft Word from what they do, but I can either subscribe--I'll consider it--or try another way to send. Well, I'll try. If all else fails, I could simply print the scripts out and send them to Shannon via the U.S. Mail, I guess.

Didn't get home until almost 5:00, but I got plenty of exercise in and I feel good. I'm almost afraid to add that I've been sleeping well, too--hope I didn't jinx that wonderful fact.

Meeting Diane for lunch today--we'll both splurge and order their "bowls"--I love the salmon--but, of course, will bring our own drinks. I agreed to meet at 11:30, and that was a compromise, as Diane usually has lunch at 11:00 (and my usual is 1:00, but I'm okay with it). She keeps odd hours: goes to bed at 8:00, gets up 3:00 or 4:00 am, and is finished all her meals by--I think she said 3:00 pm.

Speaking of, they're having a Halloween party where she lives and she sent me this--Diane as Cruella DeVille. Love it!

About 6:30, when I was having dinner, the doorbell rang and I opened to find six or seven Halloweeners, all in costume, of course. I'd say they ranged in age from about six to ten or so. They were adorable. I don't buy candy, but have a lot of change--gave them each a few quarter and they all said "thank you" and "happy Halloween." Suzanne came out at the same time and she had bought candy to give out. (I don't dare.) We chatted a bit after and she told me Vickie had called asking for prayers. Why? Because now Mary has developed blood clots. Suzanne asked if I thought it was appropriate for her to--gently--bring up the idea of palliative care only. Sure, since Mary is mentally gone and can't make such decisions herself.