Friday Babblings 3

Wow - another week over! Time goes so fast sometimes I can barely catch my breath! My boss has been in Europe on vacation since June 6th, and will be back next week, and it just doesn't seem like he has been gone almost a month! He and his wife got tickets for a World Cup game, and were hoping to get to see a couple more if they could get tickets. USA lost, well, they tied 1 game, but just getting to be there for those games would be really exciting!

Momma dove is back on her beam sitting on a pretty much non-existent nest! She had some nesting material up there with her, but the wind sort of swirled around strangely one night last week and swept most of it away. I'm not home much - but I never see her leave, nor have I seen a poppa dove bringing her any food! I'm not sure how doves handle all of this - but she seems very content to sit on her beam. Our comings and goings don't seem to faze her. I found the binoculars last week, so I'm going to look at her closely this afternoon.

Dad is doing fairly well, he spent last friday night in the hospital because he just couldn't breathe, but came home on Saturday. Their family Dr - Dr M. is wonderful! In SoCal Doctors DO NOT make house calls. But Dr M was there that Friday to give him a shot of steroids, and has been by 2 more times this week! The steroids have really helped his breathing, so Dr M is going to wean him down and hopefully they will have done the trick. Dad is also taking The Pill - and has had no bad side effects. We are still praying that it will do its job and strangle whatever it is that is in his lung! They should be able to see a difference within another 3 weeks.

Mom always has an Independence Day party on the Sunday before the 4th, so she is going ahead with the plans. She asked me if I thought that was a bad idea - NO!! It is a great idea! It is giving them something to look forward to - something NORMAL to look forward to!! She loves entertaining, and their house and patio is perfect for big groups. Her work is not too bad - she just cleans up and sets out chairs. She provides cakes for dessert, coffee and lemonaide. The guests all bring munchies and their beverage of choice. My mom is a "person collector", so the guests are all ages and interests and the combination of people is always fun and interesting! Her neighbor Mike, always comes - he is a motivational speaker, and Irish. He recites Irish poet's works and is mesmerizing!! Hubby always sings, and this year our friends are going with us and since we all sing in a group together and cover all 4 parts, we will sing a song too! Several others will recite or tell stories - all clean and always entertaining!

Monday morning we are driving down to Coronado Island in San Diego. Computer Guy and his family, and his wife's family always spend a few days there around the 4th. Coronado is a wonderful place, and the 4th brings a parade, picnics in all the parks and in the evening everyone gathers on the golf course for BBQs and fireworks over the bay. Since we no longer have a big house with a big yard and big pool to have our big parties around, we can go wherever we want for the holiday!! We are taking our bikes and will enjoy the island on monday, stay overnight in San Diego, then back on the island for the festivities of the day with the kids and the co-inlaws! Her family is wonderful and we always enjoy being with them! AND, as an added bonus, we will get to OD for 2 whole days on that darling granddaughter!!

We had a serindipity last weekend because of Dad's illness - The VP (youngest son) flew out from Columbus, OH to see Grandpa and Nana!! We haven't seen him since last September, so the visit was wonderful! He wanted to spend time with my dad and mom, and he stayed at our house, so we really had a good visit. He arrived Saturday morning and we spent time with mom and dad on Saturday and then again on Sunday afternoon, then he flew home early Monday morning. He got to see a couple of cousins on Saturday night and enjoyed seeing some old friends at church on Sunday morning. His job is pretty demanding, so if he didn't come that weekend it wouldn't have been til at least August or September - and based on Dad's breathing last Friday, we weren't sure we'd have him that long! He was definitely better this week though. We didn't say it out loud, but since he doesn't get out here often, he might have been saying good bye to Dad. That thought ran through my mind - but I just let it keep running.

Tomorrow, being Saturday, is a sleep-in day - Wahoo!! We have a notary coming at 10 to sign papers on a home equity line for our NRS house. So I don't have to get myself together til at least 9:30!! Now, while we still have jobs, is the time to get that loan lined up! We have to pay a very small annual fee if we don't use it, but it doesn't expire, so it will be available to us when we retire and move! We are contemplating a little remodeling when we move into "The House", and the purchase of a new vehicle for me, so that available money will come in handy!

Goodness, the day before a holiday weekend is soooo quiet!! It's noon and my email and phone has been quiet for over an hour. Our other large offices are 2 & 3 hours ahead of us - and I'm thinking they have probably split! It seems like a perfect time to do the same thing!! Maybe Cold Stone and spending a little time with my book by the pool would be a good use of my time today!! Happy 4th of July friends!!