Blog Renewal

If this blog is meant to be a journal of my life, I've left out whole chunks of it for future generations. So, I'll try to dredge up some activities. Still waiting on the camera cable to download pictures.

I've just finished my bargain breakfast of cantaloupe (1/2 price at Publix) and vanilla yogurt (0.25 for a 4-pack). I had put couponing on hold last week because of being out of town, but that cheered me up a little. $110 worth of groceries for $76. I don't like going in the drug stores especially, but there are too many free or under-a-dollar things to just pass by.

Have I mentioned how much I love our Publix here? Probably 20 or 30 times! It's like when people walk in the door, they become nicer. It may have something to do with the disposition of the manager because he is unfailingly cheerful and helpful. I think he's the manager. I never look at the little pictures they have on display. He's a young guy of 31, he mentioned today when we were talking about the senior discount. I always ask to make sure the cashier includes it, and he says he always gives it to people he thinks are over 30 because people are funny about their age, and he doesn't want to miss anyone or insult anyone.

I was searching for something in the frozen food section and ended up chatting with a lady there. I'm not even sure what led us to this topic, but she mentioned that her husband died last year and that their 61st anniversary would have been last Friday - the same as ours, Aug. 27th. She told me how lonely she was and how she missed the things they did together, like buying groceries. You could see how painful it was for her to be walking down the aisles by herself. She knows it will get better, but in the meantime it's a pretty hard thing. Maybe I'll run into her there again. I can't help thinking about her.

I had an email from an old friend last night, one of my very first friends, Tonnie. She had just gotten on Facebook and wanted to see if I wanted to go to Dairy Queen in her Fiat. Such memories. That car was small enough to drive down the sidewalk on River Falls Street. Don't ask me how I know! We were friends from church even though in different grades and in the band together and had a bunch of fun.

They had a cabin at Gantt Lake and her dad taught me to ski.

She comforted me after I ran over a dog the night I got my driver's license. Actually I think she enjoyed telling that story a little too much.

We told each other all our secrets - and they're still safe, not that it matters any more and not that we can remember most of them.

She was in our wedding and I'm sure was the instigator of the roadblock afterward to make sure our car was properly covered with shaving cream.

I'm looking forward to lots more remembering.

I talked to both daughters yesterday. Elise is loving her new job a lot. We seem to talk every day now while Emily stays so busy that I don't talk to her often at all. Her friend Natalie has just been visiting for a week, and they had a lot of fun, and Ryan's parents are going to visit in 3 weeks. Such busy lives. Makes me exhausted to hear about everything they do.

I want to sew this week now that I've gotten most of my work behind me, but it's harder than it should be to do it. Seems like there is always something getting in the way of it. I've been reading a bit and need to go to the library today. Debby gave me 2 books while we were at the beach, and I'll start one tonight.

I just finished the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It's about a 50-ish brilliant woman who develops Alzheimer's disease. Seen from the affected person's perspective, it is just a terrifying disease, not only for the affected person but for the caregivers. This is the author's blog explaining how she came to write the book. I haven't read it yet (the blog), but I'm looking forward to it.

Even though the temperatures are still hot, I can smell fall in the air in the early mornings and at night when I let the cats in. They want to spend more and more time outside chasing dragonflies and just basking in the sunshine.

And it's football season! I believe there is a game tonight to watch. I'll have to try to remember how to work the TV remote again.

Now it's off to Wal-Mart for Mama's medication refills. I'm not sure I can contain my excitement.