Where's my mommy?

This past Friday E and a woman friend ("girl friend" doesn't sound quite adult enough) went to Sedona for a mini-vacation, about 24 hours without e.  This was the first night away from e since those first few nights in the hospital 17 months ago.  Mother and child, and daddy, did fine.  K said it was a tough ninety minutes as he tried to put e to bed without the normal breastfeeding, but finally he succeeded and she slept all night.  Hurray!  Habits are hard to break, but it can be done.

Yesterday afternoon as I worked on my dad's life story, I found a mistake I'd made.  When I'd read the 1940 census entries for his family several months ago, I thought they indicated the family had lived in the same house in 1935 that they did in 1940, so that's how I wrote the story.  In looking through Dad's report cards yesterday, I found he was enrolled at a different school...well, one thing led to another, and I read the census column headings more carefully.  The family lived in the same place, meaning city, not the same house.  Who cares, you might ask.  I do.

"I Will Sing and Not Be Silent"

The Trinity choir sang so well this morning!  Four anthems, each a different style, touched not only the singers but also those listening.  Our director does a very good job of choosing anthems; some are easy, some are a stretch for the group.  While I enjoyed practicing this spring, I'm glad to be heading into a more relaxed season, as the choir term ends.  One more Wednesday night rehearsal and one more Sunday choir, then the choir is off till September.  I may concentrate more on organ this summer because it seems a little easier on my hands.

Potatoes and a puzzle

Sarah and I went to Sprout's last week so she could stock up on produce.  She bought apricots, cauliflower, avocado, onions, broccoli, and lots of other things, including potatoes.  That was the biggest surprise to me--10 pounds of potatoes for 98¢.  Yes, you read that correctly.  When she first picked up the bag, I asked if she really needed 10 pounds, but then she pointed out the price and said she would give away some of them.  So I brought 10 lovely russets home with me.  I don't think I've ever seen potatoes at this price.

Yesterday I helped Randy's aunt and one of her friends work on an old jigsaw puzzle unlike any I've ever seen.  Most of the pieces were small, but they all had lots of curvy edges, as  you can see here.  The box did not have a picture on the front, as we usually see, but a previous puzzle worker had taken a photo of the finished puzzle and included it in the box.  Thank goodness!  Otherwise this would be an even harder task.  Some of the pieces latch/lock together, but many of them just slide into place and are easily displaced when you accidentally brush up against them.  We made a tentative date for next Friday to continue our work.  Lynn has four of these puzzles, but this is the only one with a picture.  I'm not sure I'd want to try any of the others!

This and that

Tuesday I spent about an hour at church practicing the special anthems for Sunday.  While I could have done that at home, I like to work on the piano on which I will perform.  Each instrument has a different feel, touch, sound, so for special occasions like this I spend extra time at the church.  Plus this way I don't worry about interfering with Randy's phone calls.

After lunch I mended two pairs of socks, stitching up holes in the toes, then repaired a couple of pillow covers.  While at the sewing machine I also put new straps on a tote bag I made years ago; the straps had worn away into mere fragments of fabric due to heavy use.  The bag may go in the car for use at the grocery store, I'm not sure yet.  It felt good to finish these chores which had been waiting for months, if not years!  I did pick up the quilt blocks that need re-sewing, but laid them down again without working on them.  And I worked some more on the hymn arrangement I want to play on May 29.  It's fun to experiment or improvise with a hymn.  Certain techniques are easy to add as I play, but this time I'm trying some new things and am actually notating the piece.

Monday musings

My flight Thursday was about 45 minutes late, but Sarah was waiting for me.  We drove right to her rented condo, where Erik was already home from work.  He soon left for an event he had, and Sarah and I ate her home-made turkey soup while watching the movie "Wild."  I was reading the book on my iPad, so I enjoyed seeing what Hollywood did with the story of a young woman backpacking alone on the Pacific Coast Trail a few years ago.  We went to bed pretty early.  Since I was sleeping in the room with the cat's box, I had to leave the door open in case Mo needed to use it.  As I began to drift off to dreamland, I felt something licking my hand and sat up abruptly, which startled Mo.  But after that she didn't bother me.

Friday morning the two of us went to Sprout's to buy produce and other groceries, stopping at Stater Bros on the way home for meat and a couple more items.  She's beginning a new nutrition plan and made an egg/sausage/vegetable recipe for lunch, which we enjoyed with watermelon while watching an old Star Trek episode.  Earlier that morning I had posted a picture of Sarah, Mo, and me which led E to mention tribbles, so Sarah pulled up "The Trouble with Tribbles" on Netflix for our lunchtime viewing.  I noticed a few new details; I guess having a large, flat-screen TV can make things more visible.  After doing more food-prep and cleaning up the kitchen Sarah took a nap and I worked on a Charles Wysocki puzzle.  We all headed north to Solana Beach and Pizza Port for supper.  What a noisy restaurant! But the pizza was tasty.

Saturday morning we finished the puzzle and watched a Food Truck reality show.  Interesting!  After lunch Sarah and I worked on the design of her latest quilt project, then went to Beverly's for fabric to do borders and binding.  I think this lap quilt will be lovely on their chocolate brown couch.  About 4:30 we headed to the airport, where I had a turkey sandwich and waited for my flight home.  The plane was on time, and I arrived home about 8:20.

Lovely visit, short but sweet.  We had talked about going to Balboa Park to visit a museum or two, but I was just as happy to see Sarah doing her shopping and cooking, packing up single-servings to take to work, and resting on her days off.  One thing I enjoy about visiting our adult children is seeing them taking care of things, cooking, planning, being grown-ups.

Today I'm doing laundry and a bit of piano practice.

Here I go again!

This afternoon I'm flying down to San Diego for a short visit with Sarah and Erik, so I will have some waiting time in the airport today and again on Saturday.  I have a couple of books on my iPad, crossword puzzles, Word Twist on my iPod, and new words (on flash cards) to learn for Scrabble and Words with Friends games.  That should keep me busy!  I have not been to Sarah's since she moved back to San Diego from Moreno Valley last year.

No sewing has been done recently.  The jelly nougat blocks are still waiting for their do-overs, two quilt tops need quilting, pieces of old plaid shirts need to be cut into blocks, and I have a list of patterns I'd like to try.  So eventually I'll get to at least one of these, perhaps next month when I visit E.  Next week I will focus on the choir anthems for Music Ministry Sunday, May 22.  While I feel good about my progress, a couple of them could be more polished.

One by one

Yesterday I took some books to the library.  The Friends of the Library accepts donations and then has a huge sale twice a year.  I've only been to the sale a couple of times, but I donate frequently.  They accept books, music books, CDs, even VHS tapes.  Recently I bought a couple of DVDs of Star Trek movies, so I donated the old VHS tapes.

Several weeks ago I finished reading Clutter Free:  Quick and Easy Steps to Simplifying Your Space by Kathi Lipp.  She offers many, many specific tips for reducing clutter in your home.  Near the end she writes about the challenge given her by a friend to get rid of 2000 items in a year's time.  And she did it!  Now she has extended the challenge to her readers.  So I have begun, writing down how many books I donate, the clothing items to Salvation Army, the worn-out sandals in the trash.  Will I hit that magic 2000 mark?  I don't know, but I'm sure, at least I hope, our home will have more clean surfaces, more closet and drawer space, and other people will benefit from our out-grown clothing and books.

Empty house

They did it!  Even though they overslept because e had a rough night, they were ready to go by 7:35 or so this morning.  I kissed e goodbye at the airport, and as I walked back to the car she began to cry.  I got in the van and looked back at her.  Her face was full of confusion.  "Grandma, where are you going?  Why aren't you coming with me?"  I'm sure her dad settled her down before too long.  Perhaps I should not have gone back for that kiss, just left her in her stroller with her folks in the baggage line.  But I know it's important to say goodbye to a child, so I did.

It's been a full week, caring for e and my regular work.  I'm so glad they came, but it was a reminder of how lovely it would be if we lived closer so time together would be more natural, less of a special event.

In a little bit I will head over to the church to get some practice in for tomorrow and the next couple of weeks.  Thursday afternoon I fly down to San Diego for a short visit with Sarah and Erik, so I've planned my prelude and postlude for May 15 knowing I won't get last minute practice.  May 22 the choir presents some special anthems; while I've been working on them for weeks, even months, now it's time to be sure they're polished and ready for performance, so I will be on the piano a lot until then.  May 29 is the choir's last anthem till September.

Day 5, Friday

K worked from home today, so first thing this morning I grabbed many of e's toys and carried them downstairs because K was set up at the desk in the green room, where e and I have been playing.  I am so glad we are able to provide work space for both E and K when necessary.  And, of course, Randy works in his office downstairs.  E found a small yellow bear, "Banana Bear," from her childhood and introduced it to e.  After breakfast e and I walked along the lagoon once more.  She pointed to ducks, dogs and a squirrel, as well as some big black birds.  Back at home she discovered an old pull toy, a telephone with a dial that makes sounds, and played with that for quite a while, talking in the handset and pulling it along the floor, even crawling with it.  And we built towers with the peg board and colored some more.

Later today we expect K's brother to come down from Davis.  It's lovely he lives so close to us, so when K and family come here he can see them.  Much more convenient than his going to Phoenix.  Then after dinner, clothes and toys and work computers will be packed up to be ready for tomorrow's early departure.  E wants to be at the airport by 8 AM.

Day 4, Thursday

Last night e didn't sleep very well, which means her parents didn't either.  But K still got up in time to catch the 6:30 ferry, while E and e slept in till nearly 8.  After breakfast e and I worked on a puzzle and looked at photos till I had to leave for an appointment.  Randy took over till I returned a couple of hours later.  They played in the sink with water, emptied the diaper bag, learned the difference between chairs (rocking, stationary, swivel), and I'm sure more.

I'm glad e naps after lunch. That's the time I can sit with a cup of tea and read for a bit.  e usually sleeps for a couple of hours, as she did yesterday.  When she got up, we spent some time with the crayons and paper, then went outside to check the mail.  Soon E came out to take over, and I went back in to work on supper.

Day 3, Wednesday

E and K left about 6:10 again this morning (Wednesday), and e was already awake.  So I cooked her cheesy eggs and put blueberries, a raisin bran muffin, and avocado on her plate.  We walked down to the ferry terminal to watch the 8:30 ferry arrive.  About 25 people disembarked but over 200 boarded.  Then the ferry swung around and headed back to the city, and e and I returned home so I could finish my shopping list before we went to Safeway.  Because I had shopped ahead a bit, I didn't need much today.

After lunch e really put up a fuss about napping but finally fell asleep for a little over two hours, during which time I planned and wrote out my postlude for Sunday.  I'm combining a Handel minuet (section1) with a hymn (section 2) and was afraid I might forget my plan, so I notated the third section (alternating the minuet and hymn).  At one point in my life I might have trusted my memory, but after messing up a time or two I've learned it is better/safer to actually write the notes out.

We played after e woke up, then Linda came by for a few minutes on her way to Jazzercise.  Randy was outside with e, talking to a neighbor and her two young children.  Then it was time for supper, followed by choir practice for me.  Only two more days of bootcamp!

Day 2

My shift began quite early today as E joined K on the 6:30 AM ferry to the city.  While e was actually still asleep when they left the house, she woke about 6:30.  So we ate breakfast, Skyped with my dad, then took a walk along the lagoon to Safeway (we needed more blueberries).  After a snack of cheese and crackers we drove down to the church.  I remembered to take the stroller this time, but I guess she was tired of being confined and began to fuss.  So I only practiced a few minutes before I put her on my lap and let her play the organ.  I thought that practice might be hard this week, so I planned ahead and chose easy pieces.  When we arrived and stopped by the office, she teared up and cried when the office manager greeted her, but as we were leaving she held up her arms so Jessica would pick her up.  On the way home we stopped at Trader Joe's for a few things, and I saw another example of "stranger danger" reaction when I pushed the cart up to the check out counter and was out of E's sight for a moment.  She started to cry, then saw me and was OK.  The checker gave her some stickers that we enjoyed playing with at home.

After lunch she took a long nap, then we played a bit till my student arrived, at which point Randy took her outside to walk around the neighborhood.  They chatted with several people, checked the mailbox, blew bubbles.  E and K caught the 5:30 ferry and arrived home about 6:15.

Day 1, Bootcamp

Yesterday began with a walk after breakfast, down along the lagoon, watching for ducks and dogs.  Once we stopped so I could point to a snail on the sidewalk, and e began to cry, surprising me a lot.  She doesn't cry when she sees ducks, even when they approach the stroller, so what was it about this little snail?  I have no idea; I'll have to ask her mom.  As we finished the loop and were close to home, I let her walk and push the stroller.  How funny!  She wanted to hold on the way I do, to the curved handles, which means her hands are up over her head and she's looking down at her feet.  But so what?  I was in no hurry, so we ambled along.  Once home we got the soccer ball out of the closet and kicked it around a bit.  Back in the house we colored, read, sang, dressed and undressed the big doll, ate lunch and napped.

After being in bed for three hours, e was ready for bubbles outside and more playtime.  Then she and her parents went out for dinner with one of K's co-workers.

A good day together.