Things are going well here

Things are going well here.  We're managing to keep our regular lives going and whenever Rob or I get upset about forgetting something, we both know it's no big deal.  We are cutting one another a lot of slack. 

I got the third quilt entered in the show.  I got delayed and was a little worried that the entries would have filled.  They've set a hard maximum on the number of quilts.  Seems that last year, there were more entries than the venue could accommodate.  I hope they didn't jinx themselves by setting a maximum.  But, that number is either 425 or 450, so it's a really big judged show. 

My quilting is going so well that this quilt hasn't moved since last Thursday. 

And, my house is, as always, neat as a pin.

(At least it's not on the dining table, right?)

But, the fridge is full of cooked food.  I made Sesame Chicken and Spaghetti and Kheema Aloo (Indian ground beef and potatoes with peas, cooked in a tomatoes and spices), and a Shepherd's pie.  I shouldn't really need to cook this week, no matter what happens.  And, I have the stuff for a 4th of July bbq. 

And, the yard is watered and the garden is doing well and the baby birds have flown the nest.   I guess that one egg is the one I accidentally dropped before I knew there was a nest in the plant.  Oops!  But, that one meant the one I didn't drop got to live as did the two she laid later.  I guess that's part of life. 

You guys don't have to read the rest of this.  But, I treat the blog as my diary and I need to write it. 

We thought Friday might be Linda's big day.  But, she rallied and her son called hospice and they got involved (finally) and things perked up and we got an extra couple days.  Friday was the day she realized what was happening and she spent the whole day thinking it was Thanksgiving.  She asked me.  Flat out.  And, I said she was winding down like an old clock and she looked off in the distance.  I asked if she knew what I meant and she said yes, and thanked me for telling her.  And, she gave me a painfully long hug (I was bent over a hospital bed) and then asked for the phone and called a friend for a few minutes.  I stayed til the supper tray came.  They moved her to pureed food and we had some good laughs about the barbecue chicken and pork roast puree and why would they serve barbecue on Thanksgiving???  

The nursing home is fascinating.  Yeah, there's lots of gross, too, but I enjoy walking through the halls saying hello.  I told Sydney they just soak up whatever attention I have like sponges.  I say hello to every one I pass.  And, on Friday, at 4:30, I got the hell out of the way because they moved as a herd to the dining room.  One gentleman was leaned forward and rushing at a pace of 2 inches per push and a nurse told him to chill out, dinner's not until 5:00.  And, he insisted over his shoulder that he had to get to the dining hall, it was dinner time. 

She has lots of visitors, and that's a good thing.  She had me and the janitor and a friend and the friend's son on Friday.  When they all left, I told her more men had been in that room that day than a gay bar on Friday night.  I thought she was going to fall out of the bed laughing. 

On Saturday, we went back for lunch and I broke the news that it was June.  She was confused, so on Sunday, I raised the blind on the window and let her see outside and she knew.  It looked hot out. 

She's lost interest in food, but asked for a root beer float on Saturday, so Rob and I went out for a really nice lunch and let her sleep off a pill.  We brought back three floats.  Neither Rob nor I could finish ours.  She ate every bite of ice cream and drank all the root beer, even gurgled the straw at the end.  Yesterday, she was blue.  Didn't want anything.  I tried making some beans and cornbread for her to mash together for lunch.  And, she ate a few bites, but that was all. 

We bring laughter.  No matter how weird the conversation is, or how confused it is, we manage to find a laugh, sometimes after a very surprised look.  She thanked me for being there on Friday and thanked me for my help.  I told her it was my pleasure, but brushing her teeth for her was probably the weirdest thing I'd every done.  We got a good laugh about that, too. 

Hug a loved one.  Share a laugh.  Smile at a stranger.  Fill your soul up with good stuff.