Removal of the mammoth conference table was quite the production on Sunday afternoon.  Patrick ran into some difficulties disassembling it, primarily due to some stripped screws, and then getting "just" the top around the corner and down the stairs presented quite a challenge to the men who came to collect it.  But now that's done, though it was too late to visit Ramona.

So we did that yesterday, after dropping off the car for a much-needed oil change and tire rotation, and walking home (finally getting in a walk!) and then spending the morning cleaning out Steve's lab in order to move some things into there. Ramona didn't know we were coming, and though I had gotten to say HI to her on the phone the other evening she didn't know that she'd actually get to see me.  It was also nice that I got to take a peek at her sheltered workshop, and also had a chance to see her boyfriend Scott again.

We started off our busy afternoon at Starbucks, where they enjoyed eggnog and I had some peppermint hot chocolate to energize us for the day and evening ahead, and she got some of the gift cards on her list. Next stop was to have her hearing aids cleaned and checked.  As Marcela expected (because Ramona was speaking so loudly) one wasn't working correctly, and has now been sent off for service.  After that we stopped to get her glasses adjusted, which has helped some - though not as much as Marcela had hoped since they still seem to be falling off her nose.

Finally time to shop!  Ramona, ostensibly shopping for the rest of the gifts she needs for family and friends, kept getting distracted by things she would have liked for herself.  I can't image one staff member taking all six of the housemates to shop, but between the two of us we were able to keep her pretty much on task.

After dinner out, we headed back to Ramona's to wrap her gifts.  The residents "remembered" me because of the quilt I'd made for them in 2014, and which hangs in a prominent place.  It was a wonderful day spent with Ramona, and because we got to spend the time interacting and doing things with her it actually worked out much better than if we'd gone to see her dance recital. 

Our current plan is for Marcela to bring her back to Phoenix in March; we all had such a good time the last time they visited, and had been about to arrange another get-together when Life intervened and Steve got diagnosed.

It's been quite a busy week here, and every day was filled to brim and seemed like two days at least.  Last night it was 10:00 by the time we got home, and several evenings (like last night) I didn't get to bed until mid-night!

Marcela is such a bad influence <g>, because, as she says,

she's on a "different time-table of Life"!