Simple Pleasures

On My Camera

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This weekend has been the antidote to last weekend's non-stop pace.   This weekend, I stopped!  After doing my grocery shopping on Thursday evening, I haven't left the house for three days.....and it's been wonderful!  It hasn't been total decadence as I've managed to clean the house, do my usual cooking, write some notes and catch up with emails, prepare for a few things for the coming week, etc.  However, I have done a few things that I don't normally have time for, like having lunch on the patio, reading a book (I'd almost given up reading because I was reading in such small bits of time that I wasn't enjoying it)....and two short sessions of yoga (which I haven't done in ages).  Believe it or not, this is another simple pleasure....being able to leisurely post an entry here!

Medical Updates:  My cousin, Mary Elizabeth (whom we all call Sister) had a mass removed from her kidney on Tuesday and we're all waiting to hear whether or not it's malignant.  It was done laproscopically so she was home the next evening.  My cousin Tommy's biopsy turned out positive and they think the cancer started someplace else other than the liver, which doesn't sound good at all.  He is having more tests and will see an oncologist to determine what can be done from here.  If you remember from some time back, he is my age and only several years ago, to everyone's surprise, had a beautiful baby boy with his second wife.  She isn't a trophy wife, but a lovely girl somewhat younger than Tommy.   He also has a grown son with his first wife, who died years ago from cancer.  He has so much to live for and I hope the prognosis is better than it seems.  Rita called me a few days after I dropped off a birthday gift I'd gotten for her gathering that didn't happened.  She sounded weak and fragile, not wanting to talk too long because her throat was very sore.  Since that time, she hasn't been on Skype, nor have a gotten my usual emails from her, so I'm very concerned.  I'll be in touch this week to see how she is.  Please hold good thoughts for them all.

Politics: Poor Barack can't catch a break!!  One would think the Nobel Peace Prize would warrant some positive consensus.  Not so!!  Our friends, the compassionate conservatives/righteous right/greedy grubbers hopped on it like a dawg on a bone.  More proof of their true nature (with the surprise exception of John McCain....who would'a thunk it??).  Anyway, I think the rest of the world is hoping that we are truly out of the Dark Ages and back in the real world.  My hope is that it strengthens his resolve to do what is needed and right to get us back on a positive path.......in so many areas and on so many levels......although the last thing he needs is more pressure and greater expectations!!  Maureen Dowd wrote a cute article on the subject titled, "Gandhi wuz Robbed", which you might enjoy.  

Locally: This is one of our best times of year and the weather has been great lately.  The mornings are cooler but the days are wonderful...we've even had a couple around 90 degrees.  This week is to be in the high 70s and low 80s, which is very nice, especially for mid-October.  I hope this lasts for a long time as I'm really not a winter person. 

Another disaster averted:  Last Thursday or Friday, my mother called to say that she had lost one of her hearing aids.  I couldn't believe it since it is the type that has the ear-piece that fits over the ear.  Well, I tend to think things like that will eventually "show up", except she had been working out in the year, which makes that less likely.  We thought of every place she might look, with no luck.  Well, today she called and had found it!  Alhamdulillah!!  It was on the kitchen floor (which she had swept in search of it) partially under the electric cat waterer.  She had been cleaning it and somehow the hearing aid must have fallen off and hidden under the water. 

It's been good to hear from and catch up with friends a bit - Eileen, Jan, Jean, Dorothy & Bryan, Cheryl and others. Thanks so much for being in touch.......and keep it up.