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Wow....has it been a loooong time since I got on this blog and updated. An indication of how whack*a*doodle my life has been of late. A couple of weeks
ago, Bruce was going to be out of town on business for a week, so I took advantage of the time to follow Jacob, Deana, and babies to Bakersfield for
a fun but quick trip to see Jackie, Danny, and family in Bakersfield. We arrived
around noon on Sat., and had a fun day of visiting, and playing with the kids in the pool. What fun. Miraculously it wasn't even all that hot!!! (I've definitely been spending too much time in Paso this summer, to even think that way!!!)
Anywho....we had fun all day, and then when we got little ones off to bed, we had a wonderful dinner, Salmon smoked with onions & capers...marinated pork loin, roasted veggies, cucumber mint chutney, red potatoes with rosemary....
it went on and on....so yummy. And I didn't do any cooking...just loved on babies, and encouraged the troops. My penance for not cooking was washing the dishes, and Jackie and I cleaned up while the gang hung out by the pool on a delishishly lovely evening. The next morning after breakfast, Jackie and I purveyed a quaint antique shoppe, and snagged a few little treasures. Then it was a quick hug, and goodbye, as I slipped off to drive down to Costa Mesa to pick up Dad and his friend, Fred. They had enjoyed a week-end long dixie-land jazz music fest. A couple of real fanatics. So Sunday was a long day of driving, then I had to get ready for my trip to join Bruce on his business trip in Virginia. We had such a great time. While Bruce was working, I explored the little towns, drove the green and hilly country roads, and hit a few shops. Then when he returned from work each evening, we'd head off to dinner somewhere, and enjoy a long meal, and catch up on our days. One night we went to this really cool Brazilian fixed price dinner, with a unique delivery of the meal, you go to the buffet for soup, salad veggies, etc...but the meats are walked out by the carvers, on skewers, and you leave a green sign up if you want them to come to your table and shave some off, red if you're done. They had skirt steak, sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, chicken, sausage, etc.... even grilled pineapple. It was delicious, and quite different. Then an Italian meal that was the closest thing we've had since returning from Italy. The best tiramisu ever.....!!! One afternoon, we drove around the back roads, and found a cute BBQ place, all decked out with every kind of piggy you can imagine, and more. Posters, figurines, pictures, wood cut-outs, ALL over the place. And great BBQ, with
collard greens, baked apples, and hush puppies. Oh, and all the sweet tea you can drink. Fun, and way tacky, which I think meant they had the best food. Low overhead apparantly. We took the train to DC on Sat. morning, and stayed at a really cool hotel...Hotel Monaco. It's across the street from the Smithsonian Art and portrait gallery, which was really cool. And right on the next block was
the spy museum, lots of fun!!! We enjoyed watching a re-enactment of Lincoln's inaugural ball. Beautiful building, and amazing portraits from the civil war, and all the presidents. We enjoyed a sea-food dinner at Mccormick & Schmicks, and then walked a couple of miles around for a night viewing of the white house, and some of the federal buildings. It was lovely, not too warm, and my feet held out for the most part. Our stay was short, just 2 days, be we enjoyed seeing the sights, and the rest from our regular lives. Good thing, because we no sooner returned, and Mom had a bad fall that would change the course of her decline from Alzheimer's disease. She had a cerebral bleed from hitting her head, and
we've spent the last week watching and waiting to see where we go from here. She's suffered some damage, and is less able so speak, and will most likely not be able to walk anymore. Once she stabilized we moved her to a skilled nursing facility, where she is on hospice care. She is awake, and can speak some, but with difficulty. She is comfortable, and our goal is to ensure she stays that way, but with care that she won't have to endure any invasive treatments. God has answered our prayers that she not suffer, for she has little awareness of her surroundings, and is not anxious. She is not tormented by not being "home", and she seems more at peace than she previously showed. In that, we feel blessed. But it has been an incredibly difficult time, and the trial has weighed heavy on my heart. My family grieves, and I have felt more heart-broken for the loss of Mom than I could imagine. She is loved and missed more than I can express.
How I long to share my joy of my grand kids with her....she would be so happy to see them, and watch them grow. Lily is such a beautiful soul, so content and happy. An easier baby, there never has been. And Caleb, oh my. What an exuberant life he leads. So full of character, so bright, and loving. They have
stolen my heart, and I'm glad to give it.
So off I go, to share a quiet evening with Bruce. We'll play a game of strategy, watch a movie, and share a dinner of spaghetti together with Papa. He is so quiet, but strong. He is equally tired, and could use our prayers. His health has suffered, as has his broken heart. But we can count on God for His comfort, He never fails to lift me, I just have to get over myself long enough to cry out to Him and ask. So I did, and He did. He is ALWAYS faithful.
