Hello from Home

Well, I’m home. It was very hard to leave Arizona. Mom and I both cried at the airport. This had been the longest we’d been together and we had a blast. We laughed till we peed. We played 154 games of Scrabble. (I won that marathon by 4 games.)

I got home and rediscovered that I am married to the most amazing man. Nelson cleaned, straightened, retted, decluttered, put together, and fixed the entire house (minus the basement). He got my great-grandmothers chiming mantle clock fixed and the grandfather clock that we bought my parents for their 25th anniversary (and I inherited when Daddy died). I absolutely (and whatever word that goes beyond that) love it when Nelson cleans because it means something to him and it stays cleaner longer. The beyond amazing thing is that he also got rid of stuff. I’m married to a pack rat and getting rid is not in his vocabulary unless he’s selling it. And he’s done both! He’s been getting rid of stuff on FreeCycle and selling things on Ebay. I’m so proud of him and my home feels so much more like a home!

I got my Asher fix last night, too. Beth came by so that I could see Asher and her new short haircut. The cut is adorable. It’s really cute and sassy, but it makes her look grown up. That’s a tough one: to look in the face of your baby and see a young woman. Perhaps nostalgia was high just after coming home. Anyway, it was also good to get hugs, kisses, and all the updates from Asher. He was very good too, at putting all the toys away to keep it clean for Pepa!

Then today I got up to go to work. When I walked into Maam’s house, she was eating breakfast. I said good morning and her face fell right into her oatmeal and her mood grew instantly dark. She was not happy to see me. I spoke briefly with the morning LPN and she said that the family had been letting Maam be alone some and the LPN wasn’t surprised Maam was unhappy. I called one of the daughters and got her message machine so I called the farming son up the lane. He understood and said that since one of the other brothers was doing some work around the farm and he was going to be around that they would check on her today. It looks like I’m out of a job.

So I came home and have begun to make calls and get working on other options. I called one of the members of the local group looking to do grants for the ministry here in town. I also called Curves. The owner called me with an offer while I was at Mom’s. I had already agreed to work one Saturday a month for my membership. The gal she had working M-F 4-8 finished nursing school and accepted a job so that slot needed to be filled. Initially I decided against it since it was only 20 hours and it conflicted with the companion job. But now 20 hours looked way better than none. So I called and put my name in the hat. The manager is out of town until tomorrow, so we’ll see.

I’m going to meet with a woman next week to discuss a proposal that she needs written to get funding and she has the names of two other people seeking funding. Guess we’ll see where that goes, too.

Well, I need to get some other writing done. Until later…adieu.

Friday's Report

Scrabble: T 64 Mom 53
Only three and a half days of Scrabbling left.

I've been out of sorts this week. Nothing feels right. I have thoroughly enjoyed scrabbling with Mom. It has felt good to work out. But something just isn't right. I don't feel settled. I've had a couple opportunities to soak in the mountain scenery. I just can't put my finger on it. I haven't wanted to write and I can't read at all.

Perhaps it will remain a mystery. I'm just wondering where I put my sorts and if I'll be able to buy new ones if I need to...

Sunny days to you!

Sunny Sunday

I'll be heading out church in a bit. Mom and I got 2 games in already so we're at 34 to 26. We're so silly while we play. George goes either to the pool or the workshop or hides out in the bedroom. He goes to the bedroom because he needs the TV on so loud he's afraid it would make it impossible to carry on a conversation. He's right. I used to feel guilty about hogging Mom, but I'm over that.

I found a second spot where I can pick up the internet. It's a better daytime spot so that I don't get glare on the computer. I'm sitting out front under the palm. It's quite nice today. Not near as breezy. This morning I was visited by a sweet little humming bird. It's noise startled me. I wish I had my friend Jules' camera. The birds and bugs are quite friendly and would make such cute shots.

Tonight we're going to a place called the Gaslight in Tucson. I'm nervous about riding with George, but I'll just pray really hard. It's a dinner theater but the plays are all spoofs on the classics. Tonight's spoof is on Frankenstien. The dinner is diner food eaten right at your table/seat. It'll be fun. Mom and I are wearing our matching shirts.

More later!

Righted Again

The score that is: Me 21 Mom 15. I had a much better day. Who knows how it will go today. We just chatter away. We've had the baseball games on the TV in the background. I went to bed last night before the Sox and LAA was over. I'm happy with how the AL is going, but I don't know if the Rays can beat the Sox. I'm rooting for the underdogs in the NL...I hope the Cubs show up to play!

Yesterday at Tubac we were going to hit three stores. The first, a quaint little bookstore, was empty. This made us both sad. If you know me, you know I love books. The second made up for the disappointment. We got neat stuff. I got a new ring. Mom and I found matching T-shirts and she bough them. They're pink with flowers and hummingbirds--very sweetly done. When I was a little girl I thought the Mother/Daughter outfits that were in the Sears Christmas catalogue were so neat--they looked so close. It wasn't to be then--I'm so happy it works now! Oh, and the third store was closed. There's only one more store in town I enjoy visiting. We'll catch it later.

Today: yes, more Scrabble with games on in the background. I'll go work out later, too. I may walk down: just to soak in the surrounding air and magnificent view. I tried to take a pic of the mountains with my cell phone to post, but it's a baby phone and made the mountains look like ant hills.

Fresh breezes to you!

More of the Same!

Last night when we finally decided to call it quits for the day I was down by a game. Ack! I took care of that this morning by soundly and swiftly winning two games to be back up by one. So the total tally is Me: 13 Mom: 11

I went to work out this morning and timed it to be at the library when it opened. Problem with that is that the library doesn't open until 10 on Fridays and I arrived at 9. Sigh. Fortunately I brought the laptop and was able to access the internet while sitting in their covered porch area. I just love wireless!

Today we're going down to Tubac the artist village south of Green Valley to visit a couple of our favorite shops. I just love that town and would love to just browse, but that's a bit much for Mom so we hit a couple spots and head home.

The weather continues to be great here. I almost (emphasis on almost) feel guilty when I call Nelson. It's so miserable back home. It truly sounds like Fall fell hard this week.

Nelson had his FCE (Functional Capacity Exam) at the Rehab Center on Tuesday and Wednesday. The last time he had it done he had gone through some good pre-conditioning. This time no so. He's exceptionally sore. The results of this will determine the direction we go for work once he's released. So we'll see what we see when we see.

Well, I better head home for a shower. Sunshine and clear skies to you today!

What day is it?

And don't even ask me what time it is! My internal clock is all discomboobulated.

I went and worked out this morning. First time since May. It felt sooooooo good. I'm just twice as excited to get back at it!!!

Scrabble score: Me 11 Mom 5

The weather is gorgeous. Mom apologized because it's going to cool down to the 80's this weekend. I muddle through somehow. Giggles.

More sunshine to you!

Sunny Greetings

Just a quick entry to let you know that I arrived at Mom's. We've already started the Scrabble marathon and I'm up 4 games to 0. Nelson says I need to be careful or Mom will quit paying for my ticket to come visit.

I'm not getting the internet at her house so I have to come to the library so my entries and notes will be less over the course of the next two weeks.

Mom dropped me off at the library this morning after we visited at the Senior Center that she has a membership with here in town. She got me guest passes so I will be able to go work out there. In talking with the receptionist we learned that the best time may be in the evening around 7PM. This would would work for Mom, too as they don't use the car in the evening. It will be good to get back into the habit of working out.

It will be especially good since it looks like I'm going to go back to Curves. During the fair I visited the Curves booth and signed up for a 2 month free membership. When the owner called this morning to follow up on that she told Nelson that her original offer still was good: I could have a free membership if I was willing to work one Saturday a month. Nelson and I talked about it and I decided I'll give her a call and take her up on it. I'm looking forward to working out again. I felt better and I know it was good for me. Imagine that: me taking care of me. Hmmm, maybe I'm growing up!

Well, I'll check back later. Have a blessed day and know I'm sending some warm thoughts your way...goodness knows there's enough heat to go around: it's going to be 95 here today. TTFN