Leah

Leah is here tonight, sick, coughing, congestion. She has gone to sleep and seems to be resting well. I met Susan in Bardstown this morning, after going to Owensboro to take Olivia to day care. Leah is disappointed that Olivia isn't here. Maybe they will get to be together this weekend. Everybody should be here sometime during the weekend.
On the drive from Bardstown, Leah was so excited by the frozen water falls on the rocks along the roadside. She said they were frozen rocks with ice cubes on them.
The deep crevices in the rocks made me think of the depths I have to go to find myself. I keep losing myself. I know I'm somewhere though, deep, mired down, weary.
As soon as we got home Leah wanted to feed the fish, Zelda and F. Scott. They seemed happy to see her. They love anybody that will feed them.

NO SNOW

I was hoping for snow. The news kept promising snow. Just rain. It's not even very cold outside. I loved being snowed in with books, cats and cokes. When my children were little we were so happy to have snow days. Even though we knew we had to make the school days up, it was such fun to be at home in our pajamas. I used to love those early morning snow day calls, no school. Yeah! I'm going to sub in a kindergarten class next week. Olivia is going with me on Tuesday. I wish she would never have to go to school, or Leah. They are so carefree, school will take that away. I'm trying organize autographs and letters, it is a daunting task. I think the easiest way is to just put them in random order. I'd forgotten I had so many. I also have Mama's collection which is much larger than mine. This may keep me busy for a long time.

Powder

Mama now has her powder. I finally remembered. I even remembered to take it to her when I got home from Owensboro.

Coty Powder

Today I took Mama to Owensboro to get her box of Coty powder. We left as soon as she got finished at the beauty shop. Since we had to get groceries we saved Walmart for last. We keep reminding each other to not forget the powder. We decide to eat lunch at Lic's. Mama has chicken salad and I had a gourmet sub with no corned beef. For dessert we shared a dish of choco cremes. I ate more than Mama. From Lic's we set out for the Dollar Tree, where we spent a week. Both of us found all kinds of interesting things. Mama bought 30 items and I bought 20. Mama said she was Christmas shopping. Next we go to the mall. Mama was looking for Cuddl Duds, which we find at Penny's. She wants to buy me pajamas but I can't find any that will fit both my top and bottom at the same time. Mama waits in the car for me while I go to Hobby Lobby (which I hate). I can't find what I want but find other things that I think I need, which I don't. Then to Walmart. I need apples but don't like the ones at Walmart so go across the street to Foodland and buy ones just like the ones at Walmart. Neither had honey crisp apples, which are my favorite. We decide to eat supper at Waffle House, where we remember we have forgotten the powder. We are both too weary to go back so it is my job to get it tomorrow. Could we have a show of hands of those we think I will remember!

FAMOUS BISTRO

I loved Famous Bistro so much that I just had to share it with Jeanie. As I hoped, she loved it too. Our food was delicious, she had a grilled cheese, the bread was so wonderful, the butter rich and the cheese thick. She ate this with a cup of black eyed pea soup. I ate potato salad and broccoli salad. Endless iced tea washed it all down. Even though we were full, we just had to have the creme brulee. It was to die for. Lunch with Jeanie is always the best part of my week, my time to relax and slow down. Book talk is such a necessary part of my life. My goal for 2007 is to read much much more than last year. Too many things had my attention and my reading suffered. After eating lunch I went to the Museum of Fine Art to see the Anthony Quinn's Eye exhibit. I didn't know he had 3,000 pieces in his collection. The exhibit had 100 (some were originals of his own work) of them along with information about the pieces. I loved the quiet in the museum, and loved the exhibit. I should do many more quiet things. And eat at Famous Bristo every chance I get. I'm sure Jeanie will join me.

OUR TRIP TO OWENSBORO

Mama and I went to Owensboro today. Lunch, the most important thing, was first on our agenda. We talked about eating at Lic's since Mama had been talking about their chicken salad. I like one of their sandwiches but can never remember which one. Ruby Tuesday was an option since we had to go to the mall. Before Christmas I saw a place on 2nd Street that I hadn't seen before and it looked interesting so we ate there. It turned out to be FAMOUS BISTRO. I'm not good at parallel parking so I barely got the car off the street. We chose a table away from the door, a table with photographs under glass. The photographs were current and some faces were familiar. As I started to look around the room I realized the walls were covered with art and old photographs. Some of the photographs were framed individually but many were matted in groups, some seemed connected, some not. The owner, George, wasn't there but we discovered the photographs are of his family, mostly taken in Greece. Mama wasn't able to see them very well but I took some of them off the wall so she could try and get a look at them. Two of the photographs were of an old man, one shot was of him looking in a store window, the other was a full face shot as he walks away from the window. I can't get the picture out of my mind. Above that frame was a photograph of five women. All had their heads covered in scarfs, two had canes. They are all smiling. The largest frame holds several small photographs, the most intriguing is of a woman sitting beside a table with her hand holding her chin, she is in shadows, a lighted lamp on the table is a direct contrast to the face in the near dark. Fascinating. We had wonderful food, salami grinders, potato salad made with new red potatoes, broccoli salad that was to die for. Plenty of iced tea. It was all so good. Then on to the mall. Our first stop was Sears. Mama isn't crazy about being pushed in a wheel chair so we parked at the Sears end. She had a gift certificate and was looking for a rug to put in the front of her kitchen sink. She wanted to buy me everything we looked at. She decided on two rugs, one for the kitchen and one to go beside her bed. Next we looked for a pair of gray pants, which we couldn't find. All the time, she is wanting to buy me things. We are happy to find the battery she needs for her phone that is for the hearing impaired (she can't hear it ring). Just as we get to checkout she remembers she left her gift certificate at home. She buys the rugs and is happy. We head back to the car and go park at Penny's, again to look for gray pants, which we find, but do they fit, NO! So she says she will buy Coty powder, and will buy me some too. No, I say, I don't use it. I tell her I don't think Penny's has cosmetics, she says of course they do. They don't. Well, they used to, she says. And hand lotion too. Back to the car we go. Next to Staples, which we forget until we are far down the street, back we go for her journal. I forgot to get it for her for Christmas so now she has it. She has kept her journal in the same type of book for many years. Now to Walmart. I have to make a return. She needs a watch band, which we find and the kind jewelry lady puts it on for her, we forget the powder (I just now remember), she gets her glasses fixed in the optical shop, then on to the grocery where she finds everything she wants. To the car and home. All day she has worried that she is in my way, I'm bothering her, she wants to buy me things, she should be dead, she knows I'm about dead, are my ribs hurting (yes, they are, but I don't tell her), can she cook my supper, am I weak (no, I'm not), do I need some crackers (no, still full from lunch), do I have to do anything tomorrow (probably), and so on. She doesn't realize that I'm glad to do these things for her. She taught me this behavior although she was always much better at it than me. It was a good day, a happy day. We ended our trip with her hanging her cane in the strap of my purse which hampered her efforts to get out of the car.

After Christmas

Now that it is after Christmas I have time to reflect on it all. I was so tired and had so much pain that I hardly knew what I was doing. I didn't even cook enough to feed everybody. I loved having them all here but I fear I didn't take very care of them. Even now, I haven't completely recovered. Boxes of decorations and wrapping paper are still not in the attic. But the boxes are packed and just need to be labeled and taped. After they're in the attic I'm sure I'll find things I've missed and will have to start a new box. It was worth it all, the girls had a good time and loved all their presents.