So here's the short of it,

Today has felt like a long day!

And here's the long


I went to work for a little bit.  There was a Title I advisory board meeting and it seemed prudent for me to go.  I saw several people that I haven't seen in a bit and that was nice.  Afterwards I stopped over at the office for a little bit.  There are still a couple of things that aren't resolved yet in regards to next year.  I'm confident that it will all work out fine, but I've got a couple of things waiting for that resolution!

This afternoon I laid down to take a quick nap, but very quickly I had a call from Alan and needed to go down and stay with Mommy Anne for awhile.  Alan already had made a date with Liga to go shopping at Sam's to stock up for her new apartment.  She's pretty excited.  I think they had a good time.

I had my first haircut since I first shaved my head last fall. My hair is a little over 2 inches all over my head, and the ends at the back of my neck had gotten pretty shaggy.  I just had Liga trim that up a bit. So slowly things are returning to normal. 

So here's the short of it, 
Happy  Birthday Mommy Anne.

And here's the long

Today is Mommy Anne's 93rd birthday!  Wow!

To celebrate we went to dinner at Elmcroft - me, Alan, and Mom - and afterwards spent a few minutes in her apartment there.  She seemed genuinely pleased to see the folks at Elmcroft.  When she first arrived, she seemed not to remember where she was, but within just a little bit she was beginning to seem more comfortable.  Several of the ladies came over to tell her how glad they were to see her and how much they had missed her.  All of the employees on duty tonight made it a point to come by and let her know how much they've missed her.  Liga is spending the night with her tonight at Parkwood.

This evening when we got home, Hershey came up for a play date.  She and Sophie played around for about 30 minutes and then Mark from down the street (and across from Mom) brought his two Great Danes up to the circle.  We walked and before long we had Charlie, Molly, Cutie Pie, came out to play a bit.  Zoro even joined us there at the end for a little bit.  I'll have to get a picture the next time we have a whole crew of dogs out on the circle!

So here's the short of it,

A nice goodby lunch with Myra and Milko.

And here's the long

This morning Alan and I and Myra and Milko met with the care team at Parkwood to discuss Mommy Anne's course of treatment.  It was very good to have that conversation.  She still has some times when she is very confused and we are still hoping that with continued physical therapy and occupational therapy she will soon be in a place where she can return to Elmcroft.

At lunch we met Myra and Milko at J. Alexander's.   It was good to have an opportunity to visit and talk about Mommy Anne and other things as well.  This afternoon, I spent some time working in the garden.  The first tomatoes I planted have grown so large that they've pushed the tomato cages over.  I had trouble getting the cages very far into the ground this year anyway because the ground is so hard after about 6 or 8 inches down.  So I went to Ace Hardware and bought some old fashioned tomato stakes and used them to hold everything up.  I'll need to get a few more in the next few days.  There were a few black cherry tomatoes ripe enough to add to my cottage cheese salad tonight.  They were really good.  I remember this time last year I was hoping that my taste would come back enough that I would enjoy tomatoes again.  That has come to pass!

Celebrating Mommy Anne's birthday.

So here's the short of it, 
 Tonight we celebrated Mommy Anne's birthday a couple of days early since Myra and Milko were here.

And here's the long.

Mommy Anne will be 93 on the 29th!  We celebrated her birthday early this evening since Myra and Milko are in town.  We went to The Chop House - since they take reservations, it meant we didn't have to sit and wait.  Mom joined us as did Mommy Anne's sister and brother. 

Here they are!  Mommy Anne and behind her Miriam and Arvin.

So here's the short of it,
Tonight was a fun dinner out.

And here's the long


Tonight Alan and I went to dinner with Myra and Milko.  We went to Niko's a fairly new restaurant down in town.  It was really a nice evening.  I never imagined when I was growing up in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky that someday in my future life I'd be having dinner in a restaurant in Chattanooga, with a brother-in-law from Croatia!

Before we went to dinner, we watched the final few minutes of the World Cup match between the US and Ghana.  Milko is a soccer player and coached Myra's son when he was young - it was pretty fun to hear him cheering on the team.

Mommy Ann was having a pretty good evening when we got there.  She had been held captive by the soccer games for most of the day, but seemed pretty OK about it.  She says now that soccer is her favorite sport.

So here's the short of it,

Myra and Milko are here. 

And here's the long

Alan's baby sister Myra and her husband Milko arrived a little late this evening after a flight delay.  We took Mommy Anne from the nursing home over to have dinner at the Assisted Living facility where she has an apartment.  Myra and Milko got there just a little late, but in plenty of time to have dinner.

Earlier today I had lunch with a former work colleague who is now retired.  It was fun to spend some time catching up!  I have had several lunches since I've not been working, and I've got several more scheduled!  What fun.  I had forgotten what it's like to have some time off in the summer.

Late this afternoon I took Mom over to JC Penny to pick up a table she had ordered for her kitchen.  We got it in the wagon - with some manipulating, and got it to her house. Lickety split she had it put together and in her little eat in area in her kitchen.

Mom and Liga both asked me today how I felt about not having to go for Herceptin on Wednesday.  You know, I guess I was just really ready for it to be over!  I didn't realize until Thursday that I had not even gone to the doctor's office on Wednesday!  Amazing - how ready I was to get into a more normal life.

I have a young friend who has had breast cancer.  She has been through the whole chemo twice, and now has a tumor showing up on her liver.  Please remember Amy in your prayers.  She is such an amazing young woman and always cheered me up and gave me encouragement that I could get through the worst of it.  Thanks for your positive thoughts and prayers for her.

So here's the short of it,
 Work called today -

And here's the long

Last night I got an e-mail about a staffing issue so ended up going in to work today.  I'm still not sure we've got it worked out.  This bad economy is really taking a toll on all things.  Chattanooga is looking at cutting bus service, police service, fire protection - our roads are full of potholes.  And our schools are having to cut back on teachers!  It's in so many places.

I missed having garden time this morning.  It was too hot by the time I got home!  Maybe tomorrow morning I'll get some hoeing done.

Hershey is having a spend the night with Sophie.  Mom has gone down to spend the night with Mommy Anne.  She can't really be left alone much right now, so Mom pitched in and did a night.  How grateful we are!

Tonight Liga asked me how it felt not to have to go to the doctor's office on Wednesday.  I realized that I just lived it like any other day.  I didn't even think that I should have gone to the office!