Mitch Graduates

Friday night I attended Mitchells Graduation from College of San Mateo. He graduated with Honors (see his blue medalion) with Associates of Sciences Degree and a certification in Drafting. Mom stayed home and greeted us upon our return. It was a 2 1/2 hr ceremony so she got the highlights only. Mitch is off Saturday a.m. to Camp Mather and will be gone for two months... he will be missed by Mom, me, Jones and Olive soooo much. I was able to run down to Gary and Joannas last weekend and was very greatful Olive could take such good care of mom. Got to visit with Janice and Rita. Kristen came up and Heather and Matt , his mom Shirley, and cousin Danna came up for a great evening of Shish-ka-bobs and home make ice cream by Kristen. We had lots of laughs and a great time.

Frank's visit

Frank came up to see us last week, and dropped in three times. CC even got dressed for one of those visits. See her hair is growing back a little but quite a ways to go to cover up those family ears. We never get tired of hearing Frank's stories. He really had Glad going on the phone with his tale of his one day WalMart greeter job - we all just laughed. He brought over Spencer on the lst visit - who has grown so tall and slender , he was just great to talk with about his sports and school. The next visit on Wednesday he brought in lunch... broccoli salad (guess he did not know about his sisters extreme dislike to that vegetable... wonder if he know she doesn't like cats!) but the cheese enchilada was really appreciated and she loved the small amount she ate. She headed for the back room and laid down with her pain meds for the rest of the afternoon. The third visit Frank brought over the younger half sister Shirley. They all sure look alike, don't you think? Frank said Colleen is always so "up and chipper on all her phone calls" ... that is just the way she is, she never complains. I encourage everyone to keep in touch and visit when you can.

Memorial weekend is here. We had intended to go to Coarsegold but mom was not feeling up to it. Mitch has plans of his own on Sat and Sun so I won't leave her alone unless I can get Olive to be here for Saturday, then I can get a quick trip down there for the peddler faire and to see Gary, Joanna and Janice and the family for a quick overnighter. Hope this works out... if not I can use the extra time to do gardening, housework, run some short errands and just be with mom. ... or a new gig saw puzzle. Mom finished a new collage yesterday - has been working on it for about two weeks... I remember when she popped 'em out in a few hours. But she was pleased to have it done and admired her work lovingly. I ordered the "new" Danielle Steele book (coming out on Jun 2) in large print for her... she has all her books, perhaps I'll read to her. Speaking of Reading... I rented on DVD " the Reader" with Kate Winslett . Mom and I watched together the other night (of course she doozed off and on thru most of it) and everytime she woke up... was in the middle of a nude scene. She finally commented... " I've never seen such a thing on T.V" (she reminded me so much of Granny at that point) I laughed and explained the "story behind the movie" so she had something more to think about... her final comment before she headed off to bed.... " I can't even remember the last time......"

May update

Oh my it has been a while since I updated. We got thru Mothers day. Mom got in lots of calls from the normal crew and a few extras called in, thank you Mary Ellen for the Washington call and Rolph (as mom changed his diapers!). She spent the day as usual in her big chair. Mitch and I got to take in a movie and dinner while Candi came up to sit with mom for the afternoon. Mom is still doing well with blood tests every three weeks to make sure the cancer is kept at bay - the tests have been good so far. She has put back on about 5 lbs which may be the reason some of the back pain is coming back and keeping her in some pain and discomfort. She has built up a tolerance to her pain killer so we have been using morphine to combat... a very low dose but it seems to do the trick. She has not wanted to get out of the house but she did take a trip down to Candi's to she her finished landscape/rails and ramp/ housepainting which was completed by a volunteer organization "Rebuilding together". I'm hoping mom feels up to a short trip to garys on memorial weekend - after all what's the difference sitting in the car for three hours vs. sitting infront to the t.v. in the big chair for three hours. I just got back from the Pacifica Garden tours and am inspired. This picture is of the Memorial Garden off Hwy 1 to commemorate 9/11. I hope to get our backyard in shape over the summer while Mitch is away working at Camp Mather all summer. That will keep me busy and not worrying about him everyday.