I've been sitting on my porch in my pj's for the past hour, drinking coffee with my laptop on my lap. The weather is wonderful. Very breezy because of the storm. The light seems to illuminate the green of the trees and grass and makes the colors of the flowers pop. My hummingbirds have been visiting. I mentioned the coffee. It makes me very happy!

All is well with my parents. My father joined the 'Brown Derby Society'-- the counterpoint to the Red Hat Society. How funny! They both made bagel birdfeeders. My mother opted to have breakfast brought to her the first morning because she didn't want to be up and dressed by 8. She regretted it because the whole morning slipped away. She's been to breakfast the last two mornings. I'd love to be a fly on the wall there. I'll be visiting this afternoon. My SIL Cindy stopped by for lunch yesterday. My sister stopped by in the afternoon. I'm amazed that my mother hasn't been asking when we're coming to visit, but so happy about that.

I've been making the doctor's rounds...dermatologist for a routine check, gynecologist for same, and a colonoscopy consult. I'll see my primary for a physical before the dreaded colonoscopy in June. I think that covers everyone.

I'm not exactly sure of what's on my agenda today. I have lots of returns in my car that I'd like to get rid of. I want to visit my parents. I want to start buying plants for my garden. Rob is here and he has some stuff he wants to do. He's sleeping because his body clock is set to his night-time job. I'm up and at-em early. And wired because of the coffee. It's a day that will unfold.

Hope all is well with you. Have a great Thursday.

Moving day and all is well

What a day! It went smooth as could be, much to our relief! My brother (with the help of my nephew Ryan) loaded up his truck with my father's bed, kitchen table (his 'office'), and other big items that were going to The Annapolitan. I followed shortly after with a loaded-up car. In the meantime, my sister drove to the doctor's to get forms my parent's needed, and then to the bank to sign more forms. My brother and I set up my father's room, and got everything in their suite perfect. My sister, Amanda, and my parents arrived, but we made them wait downstairs till we were ready for the 'reveal'. It was perfect!

Here's a link to pictures from the day. Click on 'slideshow' to get the best view.

We really love this place. The staff is unbelievable. Everyone is SO nice. Here's an example... The toilet in their bathroom is really low. We brought a raised seat that fits over the rim to bring it up about 6", but we realized that wasn't going to work for a man. If you know what I mean. My brother spoke to Donald, the amazing handyman, and said we would be happy to buy a new toilet if they could install it. Donald talked to the director, and the next thing we knew, Donald was off to buy it. By evening, it was installed at no cost to us. I'll be sending a thank-you card in the morning. Here's another...at lunch my mother told the chef that she likes hazelnut creamer in her coffee. He went to the store and bought one creamer for her suite and another for the dining room. It seems too good to be true. What convinces me is that every resident we've met says they love it there.

My mother was laying down when I left. My father was watching TV. I got partway to the elevator, then went back. I told my father he should come downstairs, that he didn't need to stay in his room. He wandered around the library for a while, picking out books, then walked outside. He was sitting on the porch chatting with some other residents as I drove away.

So far, so good. Happy sigh.

Homesick before I'm gone

I wish I could write every day. Well, of course, I could. I just don't take the time, and when I'm ready, all my creative juices are gone.

It's the night before my parents move. I realize, tonight, that I've only been thinking about them and what this move will mean for them. I didn't realize the loss I would feel. The fear. My parents are leaving the house they've been in for 49 years. My house. I wonder how that will affect me? I spent last night there. My last night. Tomorrow I imagine I'll be the one to drive them to their new home. My brother and sister took off of work, so we'll all be together. I'm thinking it might be good for us to say good-bye when my parents are busy. I wonder if they'll cry? I'm so glad we all live close by (except one). We'll still be together, just at another place.

Time to lighten up!!! I had two ceiling fans installed today. I had three rooms wired for cable. I had a light switch fixed. I got up on an extension ladder and scooped out flower petals and debris that were clogging up a gutter. It was gross! What I scooped out smelled like elephant. Phew. I did a little gardening: weeded out pear tree seedlings and pulled out spent tulips. We had a crazy thunderstorm that we watched from inside the garage. I had a sloppy cheesesteak for the second night in a row. Am I trying to gain weight? The people I work with would be shocked. Really. They only see me eat salad. I watched TV (The Office) with Emily and Phil, then a few episodes of TV off the DVR. And that's my day. I'm tired, which is a great thing. I feel like it's the night before camp...nervous and excited and homesick already.

Picture Perfect

I finally have a minute to catch my breath and I'm sitting on my porch after dinner. Later I'll regret the things I didn't get to, but for now I'm enjoying being outside. I'm hoping a hummingbird decides to come by. I'm ready for the first sighting of the season.

Work has been a little slow and I've enjoyed some down time. That doesn't happen often, which is a good thing since I work on commission. I've been on a spending spree. I bought a new TV for upstairs. I bought 2 ceiling fans. I'm having estimates done on my deck. I haven't even started buying mulch or outdoor plants. I'm going to have the hall bathroom tiled. All things that need to be done.

I went to the grocery store after work last night and was amazed to see a rather large girl in the next aisle with shorts that exposed half of her bottom. Literally. Both cheeks were totally exposed. I looked the way of another customer who looked right at me, just shaking her head. Every single person in every aisle was staring at Miss Hot Pants, who was oblivious to the commotion she was causing. I've truly never seen such a sight. Everyone left with smile on their face and a connection to all the other shoppers who shared the same crazy sight.

My entire local family plus my GA sister met at my parent's house on Sunday for a faux-Passover dinner. There were fifteen of us! I say 'faux' because there was no Seder, just the right food. It was wonderful to be together, under the family roof. Probably for the last time.

The family, minus my dad.

Emily and her grandpa.

My brother and his family.

My sister Lisa's boys.

Curly-headed sisters.

A blast from the past, circa the 70's. Oh, those were the days!

I'm back inside the house now. Much to my delight...the hummingbird came to my feeders, repeatedly. I'm so excited! My happy time of the year has begun.

Over and out for now!

Life is Good on Sunday

A week has flown by and I've been busy as usual. I spent most of my 'free' time this past week listening to an audiobook. It was a short loan from the library, and I needed every spare moment to listen to it. I've spent a bunch of time doing things to get my parent's suite ready in the assisted living home they'll be moving to on May 25. I'll catch up and fill in all the details when I can. My sister from GA is here, and all four of us siblings have been working hard. We're having a big dinner at my parent's house tonight with all the local family. One last time. We'll be taking lots of pictures.

Hope to be back here soon!

Life is Good on Monday

I am so thankful for this day. I had no plans, and you know my inclination is to always stay busy. The weather promised to be perfect: mid-80's and breezy with low humidity. My mind wondered...go to Marshall's for Spring clothes? Go somewhere near the water? Stay home? Stay home won! I set up my beach chair on the deck with my iHome iPhone dock and a glass of tea. I started out in capris, then changed to shorts, then to my bathing suit. I put sunscreen on and spent hours listening to my downloaded audiobook with the sound of my windchimes and the chirping of birds in the background.

After awhile I switched things up and laid on my hammock listening to my book with my earbuds in. Still in my bathing suit and cover-up. It was heavenly.

In-between I made lunch salads for today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

I started my outdoor day at 11. I finally came inside to start dinner at 6. What a day! Dinner is done and I'm on my porch in my bathing suit and cover-up at 8:00. I've watched a beautiful sunset while sitting out here.

I'll leave you with a picture of what I think will be the first tulip in my garden to open. I forgot to plant my bulbs until I saw the bag in late February. Out of 60 bulbs, 48 have flowers. I can't wait to see them in bloom!

Reasons to be happy, today

I last wrote on Monday, and that day turned out fabulous. Really. My brother and I visited an assisted living home that we thought would be perfect for my parents. We met with a financial adviser who gave us encouraging news. I got back to my own house in the afternoon and strung my hammock in it's spot among the trees and hung out on an 80 degree day with my eyes closed and great music from Pandora radio. It was heavenly. That day was a gift after all the bad ones.

My brother took my parents to the 'home' on Tuesday. My mother loved it! She wants to know when she can move in. My father liked it a lot, but he's not quite on board yet. He will be, and I'm sure he'll be very happy once he's settled in. I've seen him in hospitals and long stays in rehab centers. He's always settled in.

Rob came over last night and we went to Pei Wei, our favorite restaurant, then to Dairy Queen for Blizzards, then watched American Idol. This morning we'll be going in separate directions, but we'll meet up later. Hopefully on the hammock. Today is supposed to be another nice day. Spring weather really makes me happy. Coffee on my day off makes me really happy too.

Happy Thursday!

Darn those squirrels

Finally, we're going to have a real spring day. I'll be out and about, and I'll get to see it and feel it. Those of you who live in my general area know what kind of weather we've been having. We need warm. And sunshine.

It's been a typical weekend for me. You know what those are like. It's been good, though. I've spent good time with my parents. I relaxed. I got a lot done. No complaints.

A few days ago I noticed fallen flower buds from the large pear tree in front of my house scattered around the ground. I'm used to seeing a zillion little stems on the ground after the tree blooms and the petals fall, but not unopened buds. I was looking at the tree from my bathroom window this morning when I noticed a squirrel eating clusters of flower buds. Within minutes, he (I think of all squirrels as male) had stripped an entire branch. I studied the tree. At this point, I'd estimate about 1/5 of the flower buds are gone. That means no leaves will grow from those stems. Who ever heard of a squirrel denuding a tree? Maybe it's the natural order of things? Maybe that tree needed thinning out? We'll see.

I'm off and running. Happy Tuesday!