Sierra looked beautiful as she made her first communion, and I got some great photos. The service was not as long as I had feared, and surprisingly there was no Latin - though I thought the priest sounded mean/scary even when he was talking about happy things.  We could not go to the lunch afterward and had to zoom off because Andy & Sandy had afternoon theater tickets; Ed suggested we wait and give Sierra her gifts tomorrow when the family will be here for Mother's Day.

Mom and I got to have dinner with Lucille tonight. She is having health issues (no real surprise for someone in her 90s) and has an aide with her around the clock, but is still the same feisty Lucille I've known for years. She and Dave moved into Riderwood just a couple of months before Mom and Dad did (14 years ago) and the four of them became great friends.

Pippa was glad to see me when I got back here around 8:00. Of course part of that was because she hadn't been fed her dinner yet, so that was first on my agenda. Still waiting for Andy & Sandy to get back from the show (at Arena Stage) and dinner with friends. The play sounded good, though none of us had heard of it.

The windows were done by late morning, and then Sandy and I picked up Mom and met with Richie for a spur-of-the-moment lunch at a nearby Asian restaurant. I had the sushi and sushimi lunch special, though given the cold, wet weather I probably should have opted for a hot dish. Always great to see Richie - lots of memories from way back - and the four of us had a wonderful time together. He tried to talk me into staying a couple of extra weeks (not likely) for Andy's 60th birthday celebration on the 29th, which would mean I'd get to see all the old crowd.  Of course I could always fly out again the end of the month... though also not likely.

After lunch Mom and Sandy and I stopped at a Christian store to pick up gifts because we are going to Sierra's first communion tomorrow.  (Sierra, 7, is the daughter of Sandy's son's fiancée.) Attending a communion will be a 'first' experience for me, and I just hope the service isn't too long... 

By the time we finished with everything it was mid-afternoon so a decision was made for me to return home with Sandy after dropping off Mom; that way Mom will still have the car to come over here tomorrow morning. It flat poured on us coming home, and I'm pretty sure this crappy damp weather is the reason my thumb/wrist has been aching today.

Another yummy dinner and then more Rummikub (I have yet to win over here!) Now I'm nice and warm in bed, with Pippa sleeping on the floor beside me.  She has definitely attached herself to me.

Yesterday was a spent at Mom's, helping her celebrate her birthday.  (We didn't have a birthday cake after lunch, but ever seen a birthday candle held over a Hershey Kiss?) Of course we played a number of games of Rummikub, and the score has started out very lop-sided even though we're pretty evenly matched.  ( Maybe I should have let her win despite her crappy tiles? Nope! <g>) 

I went through the earrings she's culled from her collection; a couple of pairs will be added to mine and the rest will go into the next yard sale. She also had several bags of clothes she no longer wanted for me to rummage through, and there were some pants I liked - but all were too small for me.  As was the shirt/sweater of hers I changed into before Andy & Sandy picked us up to go out to dinner last night. 

We dined at the same restaurant where we had celebrated Dad's 90th birthday seven years ago.  Their food is certainly scrumptious, though pricier than I'm used to. It was a wonderful evening, and Mom seemed to really appreciate her special day.  She got very pretty heart earrings from them, and the giraffe bag from me. Plus she got to blow out another candle when dessert arrived. I took some photographs (of course the camera gave me fits and refused to cooperate, though I think I did get a couple of usable ones) but have no way to access and share them until after my return home later this month. 

Alex had called to wish Mom a Happy Birthday just as we were getting ready to head downstairs to leave for dinner, so that was of necessity a short conversation.  Lisa called Mom after we dropped her back home after dinner (which took longer than it should have because our waiter actually did clock and go home between dinner and when we wanted to order dessert!) I was a little concerned when she texted me that Mom wasn't answering her phone even after several tries at calling... but it does help considerably if you have the right phone number...!

This morning it's still raining.  I don't have the car yet (I was not going to drive it back here in the dark, and Sandy was not going to drive it back after having wine with dinner) and she can't drive me over until the workmen finish replacing a couple of bad windows with something (mold?) between the double panes. We hope they finish in time for us to do lunch with Mom.  One of the windows is in the worst possible spot, in the living room next to where the bird feeder hangs outside, which really compromises the view - and of course photographs.  Wednesday I saw some beautiful red finches feeding.

I was glad to fall back asleep when I woke up around 3:30 - it was going to be a long travel day.  When my alarm went off at 5:00 I grabbed my 'coffee' and headed out to the hot tub for a short soak. Patti people picked me up right on time, at 5:45, but shortly after getting onto I-17 we ran into some sort of mess, and even the HOV Lane wasn't moving. Let the stress begin.  Luckily it did clear up and we were moving again. But when we pulled up at airport there was a LONG line curbside, and only 2 skycaps (one of whom was on the phone and didn't actually seem to be working.) So I headed inside, where the line to check bags moved much more quickly. Security was another story, and when I finally got to my gate they had started to load the A group.  By the time I boarded I got the last available (reclining) aisle seat in the back, and then finally was able to relax, settle in, and have my breakfast yogurt. Happily it was an uneventful flight, and my luggage made the same trip I did. Sandy was there to pick me up, and we headed to Mink Hollow, where I got a very enthusiastic welcome from Pippa, their 18-month-old golden retriever. Later we found her chewing on my earring (I was unaware it had fallen out) and rescued it with only minimal damage. When Andy got home we had a very enjoyable evening of conversation over a delicious dinner and a couple of games of Rummikub. I shouldn't be tired (it's still early in Arizona) but I am.

Hoogie came by this morning, so irrigation should be all taken care of.  I had a good upper body workout at the gym, though I expect taking a 2-week break from working out will put me back a little in that department.  It's a good thing I noticed (before it was too late) that on Tuesdays my session is at 10:30... 11:00 is on Fridays. 

Cleaned the bag filter in the pool (Tom did it before he left, but it was still crammed full by today) and paid some big bills that have come in  (house and car insurance) and have generally been zooming through my to-do list.  Still need to actually pack, though I've been piling up clothes (and other stuff) which means it shouldn't take that long to actually put everything in.

Alex must be finished with his first round of Memphis in May, and is now on break until the second round.  It appears that he found a fine place (Rock Island, TN) to relax!

It sure looks green there, while here we will be getting our first taste Summer tomorrow when the temperature is expected to reach triple digits.  Obviously I'm getting out of town just in time!

Yesterday I had a tune-up at the chiropractor.  It's been a while since I've gone because my back has been behaving - and I'd like to keep it that way!  There has been some tightness in my back, and Dr. S fixed that problem... by adjusting my foot.  It was out-of-whack where I had the stress fracture, even though I thought I was all done with that. I guess I've been walking a bit off because of it, and that threw everything off.  He really does know his stuff!

The rest of the day was spent doing stuff around the house.  I've started packing, and also worked on the binding for Andy's gift; because of my thumb I had to keep resting, but it's almost done and I should finish up this morning.  I'm trying to pack light (always bring too much stuff) but will need a second suitcase because of the quilt's bulkiness.  Guess that means I'll have room to bring back extra stuff I acquire while I'm there? <g>

Still waiting to connect with Hoogie to show him the irrigation set-up and hand over a gate key.  We talked again yesterday and he was going to come over "later", but that never happened.  I'd really like to get that crossed off my list.  Seems like I've been adding things to the list the past couple of days, so today should be rather busy.  Only 'real' thing on my agenda is the gym at 11:00, otherwise it's all stuff to get ready to leave for 2 weeks.

This morning I did some more mucking of my sewing stuff, and while I can see progress there's still stuff strewn about.  Seems to be an endless battle.

We had a Newbie at boot camp in the gym this afternoon, so I'm no longer the only one doing abbreviated reps.  The good news is that today I made it almost all the way through, lasting 45 minutes. Unfortunately I'll miss the next two Sundays (plus I will no doubt be doing a lot of eating on vacation) so there could be some backsliding when I return.

When I took down the curtain over the kitchen sink the other day (before trying to remove the broken window) I could no longer ignore how dusty it was (along with the other curtains) so today they all got washed and ironed.  Patti invited me to dinner (Gary left this morning to join Tom in Oregon digging for rock) and we pigged out at Pita Jungle.  Afterward she helped me hang the curtains back up; it's very convenient having a tall friend.

Around the time we finished Alex texted to see if it would be a convenient time to FaceTime. I was actually able to do it <surprise!> and so got to see/hear some of the Paul Simon set from Memphis in May. Plus Patti got to see FaceTime for the first time.