I can’t believe that I have not made the time to post in the past 17 days! Where does the time go? I can recall when I was a child that August seemed to last for years. Now, it flies by.
Let’s see…in the past three weeks…
Dear Husband had to have the car towed three times in one long weekend, and have it repaired three times. Apparently there was an electrical short that was missed during the first two repairs
Dear Husband had to have the boat towed. He was outside the harbor, trying to raise the sails, when a line went overboard and wrapped in the propeller. Needless to say, we will be buying towing insurance in the future. DH was in four-foot seas. The driver of the tow boat said that he comes prepared to dive to free tangles like that, but with the back of the boat rising and falling four feet, he wouldn’t get into the water, and I can’t say that I blame him.
I had “Mom Duty” two weekends ago. Saturday during the day went well, but Elegante Mother was ill during the night. Luckily, I was able to manage her care on my own, and two of my sisters came to our rescue in the morning. My-Sister-The-Nurse arrived at 9:00 a.m. to check on EM, and she gave me the chance to go home early and catch up on my sleep. My second sister came at noon to spell her, so EM got to see three of her four daughters all in one day. EM is fine. She saw the doctor on Monday, felt well, and had no lasting effects from her difficulties early Sunday morning. She has actually been talking a lot more, recently. She’s still having trouble with short-term memory, but she’s able to get her sentences out before she forgets what she wants to say.
Speaking of second sisters, mine just retired as Director of Christian Education at a big church in the suburbs. They gave her an amazing send-off, complete with luncheon and presentation. All of her siblings attended along with quite a few of the next generation. It was quite lovely, and the ladies of the church did a wonderful job sharing their love with her. She’ll have wonderful memories to wrap up in.
I gardened this morning, and I’m going back for a little more punishment this afternoon. It has become popular not to cut back iris leaves in the fall, but I prefer to trim them to prevent wintering over leaves that might be infested with something that could damage the iris. I’ve been cleaning out dead leaves, and opening the plants up to the sun. I also plan to cut back a volunteer mulberry that I can’t seem to kill off, and dead lily stalks and oriental poppy foliage. I prefer to have the gardens go into the winter looking clean.
Dear Husband has not seen much of Elegante Mother during the sailing season. He was home one Saturday when the car was in the shop, and went to lunch with us, but otherwise, she has not had the chance to visit with him. We plan to take EM and Sophie to dinner this evening, so that she can see him. I know that it will make her day. She has quite the soft spot for him.
We had a week of cool, gray, off-and-on-again rainy weather. And this week we seem to be having a week of brilliant sunshine and below normal temperatures. We opened the house Tuesday to air it out while we were cleaning, and by 6:00 I was shivering and closed it back up. It’s always wonderful to let fresh air through. I’m looking forward to more days like that during September and October.
I’m sending two quilts, one large, and one small, to be machine quilted. I wanted to use up scraps and put together a quilt using four patches on point, alternating with rows of solid strips of fabric. It will be a “Use it up, Wear it out” quilt, that I will encourage the kids to wrap up in. The smaller quilt has one of my very rare uses of applique. It was a kit. It came with pre-selected fabrics and a pattern. The colors are absolutely wonderful fall colors, and I’m quite pleased with the applique. It should be back in time to set out for part of October and November. Once it’s bound, I’ll take a picture of it to share.
And, last of all….our exercise guru is taking a week off for some personal obligations and a class. I’ve been invited to lead our class three times. Yesterday went reasonably well, and I’ll lead class again on Friday, and then Wednesday of next week. It keeps me working, and I’m happy to keep the class in session. I’m a sloth. Give me the least excuse and I’ll curl up on the couch, so I’m glad that our guru asks me to help out.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day. Get outside and enjoy the incredible weather, and the long weekend.
Buffy–It’s always wonderful to see you back after any hiatus! (I never know whether I should be worrying about EM or about you or about your DH – thinking you may have wrung his neck for making YOU worry!)
Sorry about your towing troubles; but, isn’t buying towing insurance NOW like closing the barn door AFTER? *laughing* Glad EM is doing as well as she is, of course. She is so fortunate to have so many great daughters (and sons-in-law, or should it be son-in-laws?)
I continue to appreciate your exercise class instructor. She’s smart enough 1) to realize what it takes to keep you coming back and 2) to take advantage of your skills.
Thanks for bringing us up-to-date.
Cop Car, I understand that no news doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is okay where EM is concerned. I have been busy, working on a variety of chores, and simply didn’t make the time to blog, forgetting that my absence might be misconstrued. You’re always welcome to send me an e-mail if I’m away too long. *S*
As for the towing insurance, actually it makes perfect sense to put it in place now. Wouldn’t you rather spend $65 for a year’s guaranteed service instead of risking any number of tows charged at $1,000 each?? And the renewal will come next September, not when all the other boat expenses clog up my budget.
My exercise guru is a really amazing woman. I’m flattered that she is willing to leave the class in my hands! *G*