On Thursday we had an exciting outing: Mom had a well-patient visit at the hospital’s heart clinic. The visit was uneventful and Mom likes her new cardiologist. Then we got some groceries, with a stop at the café in the store for coffee and hot chocolate. It was snowing pretty seriously when we left, so we stayed in for the evening. My rental car ( Read more... )

This morning I called Lydia to wish her a happy birthday. It’s strange to be away from her on her birthday. She and Karl planned to go out for dinner, but they will hold the major celebration till I return ( Read more... )

On the 31st I woke up late (the sun was up!) and drove to Dorn’s house in Bird Creek. I saw the new (since I was last there in 2000) chicken coop and got to pet a chicken. The house, with the living room addition Karl helped build in when we last visited, is comfortable and snug, but it would be too confining for me to live there for more than a ( Read more... )

The family Christmas celebration we had a couple of days ago was memorable. Mom and I made a simple dinner of spaghetti, sauce from a jar, and salad. Dorn contributed homemade whole-wheat sourdough bread with sunflower seeds baked into the crust. Dessert was a childhood favorite from a box called Danish dessert; none of Dorn’s kids had tried it ( Read more... )

After a lovely Christmas Eve with Karl’s family at our house, including his Aunt Margie and Great-Aunt Lucille, and a short but nice visit with everyone at Karl’s folks’ house on Christmas Day, Karl and Lydia took me to the airport for my flight to Alaska. Security was a bear, with my over-packed backpack, and the first flight was full, but I had ( Read more... )

Plans have been afoot for awhile and now they're settled: I'm leaving Christmas afternoon for Alaska and not coming home till January 9. Airfares were very expensive and leaving on Christmas Day saved us $250. So I'll be with my family at home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then with my mom and my brother and his family just after. It's ( Read more... )

My mother had a bad winter this past year. She felt isolated out in the country by herself after an initial feeling of loving the aloneness. There had been people staying with her for three months helping out with Dad in his final illness, so I'm sure some solitude was wonderful. But even though Mom and Dad bought the place, called Islandia in ( Read more... )