Yesterday was a day of ups and downs.  We were expecting an important conference call from Becky, scheduled for 11:30.  I turned down a morning trip to the craft store just to make sure I was home in time for it, and used my time to whip up the block for Monica, outgoing chapter chair of Busy Bees.  But Becky's call never came.  At 12:30 I called the office, when I was told that her previous meeting had run way over - hey, these things happen, and I certainly understand that it was not within her control.  But Phyllis (who had called from the office the day before to confirm our "meeting") certainly could have (and should have?) picked up the phone and given us a courtesy call.

So Alex and I went for a bike ride, and then took the chicks out back to hunt for bugs.  He got to play the same "game" with his chick, trying to catch it, that I did.

Dennis made it over to look at the kitchen paint job (in this case the 4th time was the charm <g>) and quoted us a price.  Like everything else, the job sort of mushroomed.  Originally it was going to be "just" the kitchen, though I knew we needed to include the one wall where the dining table sits. Then Dennis said it would be 'no biggie' to add the hallway out to the garage to tie everything in.  But of course the ceiling bleeds into the family room, and from there it was just a short hop, skip and jump to the other two walls in the family room. 

Once all these extras were added I expected his price (much lower than either of us had expected... and it even includes includes the paint!) to rise; after all, he's got to make a living.  But he said no, he would still make a fair amount for his day's work - and he likes to give neighbors a break.   I've seen his work (he did a wonderful job with Marcie & Mike's house), and the price is definitely right, so since the whole house (inside and out) needs to be painted I see further work for him in the not-too-distant future.

We had dinner in Wanda's neighborhood, so (after a quick call to warn her) popped in for a brief visit.  Tom got to see her place and admire more of her quilts.

But the evening ended on a very sad note, with a long call from Marcela.  Steve's pancreatic cancer has spread to his liver, which is no longer able to tolerate the chemo so that's had to be discontinued.  After doing so well (he was diagnosed a year ago, right before Thanksgiving!) he's now in hospice.  They have family there with them now, but I am "on call" to fly out after the inevitable happens.  She and I have been close friends, despite some huge geographical distances at times, for almost 40 years (before either of us had met our hubby.)  As everyone knows, it's incredibly hard to see someone you love going through difficult times and not be able to "fix" it!

This pic was taken on October 28:

Hera are a couple from September -

and in August they were able to make a trip to Canada

for a friend's wedding.