Numbers 6:24-26
The LORD bless you, and keep you;The LORD make His face shine on you,And be gracious to you;The LORD lift up His countenance on you,And give you peace.'
Saturday started out great. The sky was blue, and I felt pretty good. I took my time getting up, and I knew that Riley was intent on getting flowers planted. I simply did not feel like working in the garden. So I went and sat in the back room for a leisurely breakfast. The sliding door to the garden was open, and I could hear Riley talking to someone. Not too much later Riley came to the door and said, "Molly, Rodney Colton is here." Well what a surprise. He and I were in grade school together. He often sat in front of me because the nuns always sat children in alphabetical order, and my last name was Crary. But the reason he was here is because we live in the house he grew up in. He was terribly grown up looking. He was kind of a Beaver Cleaver kind of kid, but no buck teeth though. You know, just a pleasant ordinary kind of kid. I escorted him around the first floor, pointing out all the things I knew were quite different from when he lived here. He said it was his dad who put in the pool, mostly by himself. That's pretty amazing. He thought that was about 1959. He said that in those days the pool was heated, and he wouldn't swim in it unless the temperature got up to 80 degrees. I really don't like swimming in a pool that hot, so I'm really glad the heater is gone.
Then after a while Ken and Marilyn Yeaton stopped by, and I convinced Riley to get cleaned up and go for coffee/tea with us over at Pete's. We wanted to walk, but Riley didn't, so the three of us headed out, and Riley got cleaned up and drove over. It was a lovely morning for a walk. When we got home, the Yeatons left, and we had lunch. And then I set about repairing my Christian Dior nightgown. I've had it a very long time, and when it falls apart I just fix it. Because of the difficulty I've had sleeping and easily turning over in bed of late, the lace on the from was quite torn up. But after working on it for over an hour it looked perfect. Riley bought the nightgown as a wedding anniversary present, and of course I don't know how much he spent, but given how well it has stood up, and that is Christian Dior, it must have been of good quality.
Then we got packed, and loaded up the car to go visit David and Lauren. We got on the road at about 3, and got there just a little after 5:30. At least I think that's how it went. David had made a Mexican drink for us all, but I just drank my water, which was in my new hard plastic Starbucks cup that's made to look like a cold beverage throw-away cut. Riley had bought it for me this morning, because he knew i liked it. I think he had to go to three Starbucks before he found one. Apparently they're very popular. We all sat on the patio and talk a lot about cancer. Well the one with the most to say is Lauren of course, because she's gone through it.
David, their daughter Sophie, and Lauren
One of the things we talked a lot about was "chemo brain". That is something that was really worrying me, and it turned out that that had really worried Lauren also. Lauren has a PhD, and I have two masters degrees, so obviously it matters to us that our brains are working. She said that "chemo brain" is in fact a real thing, and you just get slow and can't quite remember things. But she also said that it does gradually go away. She didn't think she was yet completely free of "chemo brain", but other people seemed to think she was fine. When I told Marilyn about it she was thrilled to think that for a period of time she would be able to beat me at Scrabble. We'll see.
And she gave me the catalogue that she got her scarves from, and it turned out that one of them was one I almost ordered on line. She also pointed out that i could order bangs. I'll have to think about that. One problem is will they have auburn bangs. And then she gave me a very funny book about having cancer called It's Not About the Hair by Debra Jarvis, an oncology chaplain in Seattle. So far I've really enjoyed that book.We played a very strange came called Fuz - well I think that's the name. It's a game that you don't know the rules of until the rule cards appear. It was certainly a very interesting game, but it will take we a while to really understand what was going on. Well I'm not really sure about the name, but I'm pretty sure it was a short name and started with F. See this is me without even contracting "chemo brain" yet. I could be in trouble. Then we taught David and Lauren how to play 10-1. Lauren didn't win, but she was really catching on and wanted to play another game. If I didn't have cancer I surely would have, but it was 11:20 and I thought I better get to sleep. I had forgotten my "be calm" pill at home, but Lauren had some, and put them on the desk in our bedroom just in case I needed them. Well not long after I was in bed I thought of something Lauren had said and it seemed like maybe they do the surgery on you while you are just numbed and not out and that sent my heart racing. So after about a half hour of that I got up and took a pill. Boy was I glad of that. I then went to sleep soon after.
We got up before David and Lauren, but they were up soon afterwards. We all lounged about for a while, then Lauren and I went for a walk, while Riley and David did crossword puzzles. When we got back we went out for breakfast. I had granola and tea, and the others had fancy egg dishes. Afterwards, we went to a farmers market, where Riley and I bought some plants. I had thought it would be nice to have some hanging flower baskets outside the dining room, but they are so expensive. So it was decided we could make them. I picked out three pots of a lovely pink flower that I liked in some of the baskets at the market. Riley bought ferns, which always seem to fascinate him. I think out last stop was a grocery store. Lauren had hoped to buy a gallon of really good milk at the market, but they were out, so she needed to get it at the store. This is because we were going to make mozzarella.
When we got home, I said I was going to lay down for 20 minutes, but I was out for 45 minutes. In the meantime, David went out and bought a push mower, and when I got up Riley and Lauren were in the garage assembling it. When Riley and David went to the from yard to do yard work, and Lauren and I made cheese. I think I will put this event on Molly loves Paris, or on Molly's Recipes. The cheese was really easy to make, and tasted great. Then we all sat down to play cards and eat mozzarella and whole wheat baguette slices. We played two games of 10 to 1, and I think Riley won one, and Lauren won one, and David is still working on his strategy. It was a lot of fun, and we laughed a lot.
Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Then Riley said he thought it was time we headed home, but Lauren asked if I'd like to go with her to Marshall's, and that's what we did. She wanted to find some short summer pants, and she tried on a bunch of them, but they were all wrong. Then we poked around, and we both bought and apron timer, and I bought an 11 inch tart pan and some hand soap for the upstairs bath room. Then shortly after we got back, Riley and I headed for home. I think it was close to 5. We had a very peaceful ride back, but when we got home I was tired and laid down for a while, and then we had a real struggle as to what to have for dinner. Somehow we ended up going to Taco del Mar with Annie and Corey. Then we came home and I fell asleep during the baseball game. It had been a really lovely weekend.
Psalm 28:6-7
Blessed be the LORD,Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.The LORD is my strength and my shield;My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;Therefore my heart exults,And with my song I shall thank Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment