She's doing better...

Mom went into the hospital again last Monday and had 18 lbs. of fluid removed by Lasix treatments. She came back to the rest home on Thursday and is feeling so much better. The family is very relieved that there is still something that can be done to make her comfortable.
Her brother arrived on Wednesday from Susanville, Ca. She was so happy to see him. His two daughters drove him down here just to see Mom. They really enjoyed talking to each other and it was so nice to see our cousins again. It meant so much to Mom to see her "baby" brother ( he's 85 yrs old) again and I know it gave her a bit dose of "happy" medicine.

ON Thursday we got Mom settled in and Sis cut her hair for her. She was delighted with the haircut. She said it was really good to be "home" and..., "take a shower". We left her in good spirits. The doctor told her that he would see her again in a couple of weeks because the fluid will build up again and she will need more Lasix to help her body get rid of all the fluid. At some point this won't work anymore, but until then, they can help her. Mom is being so brave.

Sis decided to follow me home, yesterday afternoon, for the weekend. We drove into Sutter Creek for lunch today, but little else. The temperature is hovering right about 100 degrees . Summer has definitely arrived. I watered and "dead-headed" the flowers very early this morning. It was beautiful outside so early. Everything smelled so good. Only the sunrise and the windless air gave a hint to how hot it would be. This afternoon all the birds and even the lizards have found a place to hide from the intense heat. Annibel, our cat is stretched out in the garden, the dogs are in the house enjoying the air-conditioner and the goats are looking at us like we did something to bring on all this hot weather. They weren't happy when it was cold. They weren't happy when it was raining and now..., they're upset because it's too hot. Spoiled goats....

Tomorrow I will continue the saga of Carl's first trip to the Mokelumne River and, also, tell you about a special package I received in the mail.

All is well ; except I forgot the persimmons.

This was a quick trip to see Mom. Just wanted to see her for myself and give her a hug. She's doing so well . She told me that she would probably stay at the care home for a while because she feels so much better, now, and doesn't have to worry about anything like she did at home. We knew that she was having a very hard time trying to take care of everything ,and herself, when she was living at the house but she didn't want to admit it and she really didn't want to leave her home. So all is going well ..., very well indeed. She's happy and well taken care of . What more could we ask for.

I stayed at my sister's house during this visit because I was invited and because Mom's house is kind of lonely to be in without her. It was so nice to be in a home filled with people coming and going, and dogs. I felt very much at home. I had my own beautiful blue bedroom , with a VERY comfortable bed and ATTACHED BATH. That's important when you're my age and get up a lot at night( if you know what I mean ). The three dogs and Ben( my sister's youngest son ) kept me laughing and, all in all, I had a wonderful visit.
My sister's home is lovely and relaxing. I had such a good time. Good food, conversation, and "just chill'in".
Her oldest boy had 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Friday so he was in a lot of pain and I didn't get to see him much, but his girlfriend ( a real Florence Nightingale ) took such good care of him that he has no choice but to get better fast.
The Persimmon tree in sis's front yard (on the bottom middle of the picture above) was breathtaking. The morning I left "the attorney/ farmer dude"( my sister's husband ) went out and picked some for me to take home to the prospector, who loves persimmons and eats them like candy. Somewhere along the Delta highway I remembered that they were still sitting on my sister's kitchen counter.
Agh!@#&*#!!

I'm glad to be home. Now we'll have to find a Persimmon tree around here somewhere. Maybe the farmer's market is still open. The prospector is having a "cow" over the FORGOTTON FRUIT. Like he never forgets anything? Come on!

Tenacious Life

My Mom has had ivy growing on the front porch as long as I can remember. Mom planted it at each porch post and over the years it has grown up across the whole length of the porch . The house is on a "slab" foundation and I always thought that the porch was just an extention of the slab. But, maybe not.....
A wonderful neighbor comes over every morning and brings the newpaper up onto the porch near the front door, so Mom won't have to walk out to the street to pick it up. This is the same person that takes her garbage cans in and out for her and calls to see if she needs help when someone stands too long at the front door. He is 72 years old and tells really corny jokes: But he has always been there for my parents. He is a truly good person.
So yesterday morning I went out to get the paper and underneath the Sunday Times was this.....
Right were the stucco meets the concrete was this one ivy leaf growing out of the space between the wall and the porch. This spot is at least 6 or 7 feet from the edge of the porch where the rest of the ivy is growing. That little slip of ivy had to wiggle it's way under at least 6ft of concrete and find a crack where it could finally grow up to the surface and find light.
So now I'm thinking that the slab and the concrete porch may have been two separate pieces and that there is a gap just wide enough to let a very small ivy root squeeze through because..., there it is, growing where nothing should be growing. I'm amazed that this ivy had the tenacity to search for and find the "light" that it so badly needed.
When I asked Mom to "Come and look at this, your not going to believe it." She said... "I know what you saw." She said she had seen it a few days before and wondered if I would see it too.

Maybe this is a lesson taught by example; of a life that has been worth living and included a great struggle for identity while always finding beauty in every corner. Mom and this small ivy leaf know what life is. I guess they know each other well.

Mother's Day with Mom

I will be in the Bay Area for the weekend. Sis and I are going to spend Sunday with Mom; maybe lunch ,out, if she feels well enough. I'll be back Monday.

Thought I would post a few gratuitous photos of .... what else, the goat babies; interacting with the dogs and getting to know their new world.

Short Trip

I'm going down to the Bay Area to see my Mom for a few days. She's going to be 90 years old this July and has taught me a lot about how to be a brave senior citizen. She has always been my shining example of how to be a really good mother and beautiful human being. I try to go down every month and the time that I spend with her is a gift. I'll take some pictures and post them when I return next Thursday.

There was an eclipse of the moon last night around 7:00 p.m. but we didn't see it because of the clouds. Sacramento did and a lot of the valley towns. We must have been too close to the mountains and too far under the clouds because we missed the whole thing. Darn!

Earthquake centered in Wells, Nevada; 6.3 mag. this morning.