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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Something Lovely for All of Us

I just came in from running around all morning with Elcie. A little necessary shopping (toilet paper, etc.) but mostly having fun. Her sisters went to a Christian hip hop (no that's not an oxymoron) concert in the park last night, spent the night with a friend, and have been invited to another concert in Modesto about 45 miles north of here. They'll ride with some of the people from the sponsoring church. I know them from their summer children's programs so it's fine with me.

Meantime, they came home long enough to dash off to the local park which has free ride and zoo admission all day. They've all but outgrown the rides but still enjoy our little zoo and know each of the animals by name.

Elcie picked out a book on hieroglyphics marked down from $15 to $6. (less my Barnes & Noble discount). If she ever decides to study archeology or the related fields, she'll have a head start. She has some odd interests and, at the moment, Egyptology is one of them. I found an inexpensive cd by Chloe (one of the Celtic Woman group) with some lovely songs. Then we stopped at Goodwill and found 3 pretty short sleeve shirts, 2 video recordings, and a small, vibrating, stuffed shar pei with a bone in its mouth. Elcie fell in love and I didn't figure another $1.50 would break the bank completely.

I just looked at that last paragraph after I published it. We did not purchase a stuffed shar pei. I'm not into taxidermy. I meant the shar pei equivalent of a teddy bear.

Note to Anvilcloud:

(And to everyone else but I know Anvilcloud is a Celtic Woman fan as am I)

Chloe recorded this cd (Walking in the Air) when she was 14. I think she's 16 or 17 now. Some of it is classical; Brahms, Dvorak, Franck, Vivaldi, Bach, and some are also on the Celtic Woman cd's. At not quite $10 American for 15 tracks, it was a bargain and I've already copied it to MusicMatch. Definitely a keeper and I've discovered if I don't copy them straightaway, strange things might happen.


It's been a good day; the best I've had for a while. The happiest thing I can think of to say about the week just past is that it passed. Rebecca received a bus suspension (for singing, of all things) and a referral at school for playing with a soccer ball without her student i.d. I didn't know hers was lost and it's almost too late in the year to buy another one.

Actually, the week wasn't that horrible. Ray's health stays good (for Ray), the weather has turned quite warm, and the Giants moved into first place for one whole day. It's just that I've been lacking in energy and enthusiasm lately. I need to work on that and also counting my blessings.

Carol (my daughter for any who don't know) continues to struggle on. Either the cancer or the drugs (or both) have begun to affect her mental state and she's delusional much of the time. She begs to come home, she's convinced I can do something to end the pain and she cries when I tell her I can't. They have increased her anxiety medicine once again and tell me that most of the time she's okay and that what I hear on the phone from her comes when it's almost time for her medication and the last dosage has worn off. Visiting her makes it worse or so it seems. They suspect the cancer may have spread to the bones and all they can do is increase her meds as much as she can tolerate, and try to keep her as comfortable as they can.

It puts me between a rock and a hard place. I want to see her as much as possible but she seems to do better when I'm not there. And of course there's the guilt if I don't go. She needs some lighter garments with the change in weather so I'll get there in the next couple of days with a package for her. Perhaps that will help.

Anyhow, I came in this afternoon and decided to catch up with some of my online friends. I stopped by Vicki B. to see what she'd been up to lately and found some lovely water pictures. Water and the surrounding environs is the theme for April "Good Planet" and Vicki's A Mark On My Wall is the host blog. Here is the link to the Good Planet archives which has archives of the previous themes.

I included the link to Vicki's blog rather than the individual post. She has a couple of short posts right beneath the Good Planet post with some very cute animal pictures.

Thanks to all for the comments and encouragement. I noticed a couple of new names in the comment boxes. Tiffini, hi and I'll check out your web page very soon. Ginny, you're not new of course but you don't have a blog so if you're reading this hi and thanks for the vote.

I have some new pictures but this is getting long already and once again the "publishing may fail" warning keeps showing up so I'd better not push my luck.


Have a good what's left of your weekend everyone and take care.

15 comments:

Granny said...

Testing. Somehow the "no comments" box got clicked. I swear I didn't do it.

Let's see if it's fixed.

Sorry, Kendra and Angela.

-A said...

Okay - so now I'll leave my comment.

I went to a Christian hiphop concert several years ago with a friend and it was a ton of fun. I bet the girls had a blast. I think it's great that you and Elcie had a little one on one time, I bet its hard to come by around there with three teenage (or close enough!) girls!

Um, seriously, playing with a soccer ball without an ID constitutes a referral? That's ridiculous!

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hi, Ann, and happy weekend to you as well!

It was good to catch up on your week. I worry about you when you go several days without posting, so I'm glad you were just busy with life.

My prayers are with you and Carol.

Love and hugs,

Diane

Patty said...

It sounds like things are going ok around your house. I can't believe they suspended Rebecca for singing..that is so dumb..sounds like the school rules need to be changed. I'm sorry to hear your daughter is struggling so, I know it must be hard on you watching her and feeling helpless to do anything..I think of you often and will say a little prayer for you and the family

Rowan Dawn said...

I did not think you bought a real stuffed char pei... I figured it was fluff and fake fur! It seems like you are really holding up pretty well, considering. those pics on the post below are great, btw!

The Rainbow Zebra said...

Suspended for singing???? That's nuts!

I'm so sorry to hear about Carol (((((tender hugs)))))).

Puss-in-Boots said...

I agree, suspended for singing sound pretty draconian to me! Good heavens, next they'll be suspended for laughing.

I'm sorry to hear how poorly Carol is. It must be very painful for you.

I'm with Elcie, I love Egyptology, too...she'll do well.

I hope the girls enjoyed their hip hop concert, the churches in Australia have concerts like these for the young ones, too. Good idea, I say.

It's good to hear from you, Ann, and I hope the warm weather helps your spirits and your energy. Winter can be so debilitating can't it?

Take care and big hug for you.

Merle said...

Hi Ann ~~ Glad to see a new post from you and glad things are going well with Ray and the girls. I am sorry
that Carol is having such a struggle
and I know how hard that must be for you and for her. It sounds as though they are doing all they can to keep
her comfortable. That must be a relief for you. Take great care, my friend. Much love, Merle.

Pat said...

That sounds a fun day with the girls.
Try not to feel guilty about Carol - some new clothes might cheer her up. It must be so hard for you but keep your pecker up.xoxox

Carole Burant said...

Hello dear Ann...I've just come in from doing some yardwork and now it's time for a break:-) What better way than to spend a few minutes visiting blogging friends!! I'm glad to hear you had such a wonderful day out with Elcie, you need more of those! My prayers continue to be with Carol, I know it's not an easy time for you. Hope your day is going well again today:-) xoxo

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to hear you are feeling happy, but sad to hear about the situation with Carol...lots of ambivalence there

Anonymous said...

lol at the idea of a stuffed shar-pei! Can you imagine how a taxidermist would deal with all those wrinkles?!

You sound in better spirits. I'll be keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers, especially Carol.

Jo said...

I am glad to hear you had a better week, you need some cheerful times. The news about Carol breaks my heart, I don't know how you are doing this. Just know I am thinking of you and praying for you.

Anvilcloud said...

It's a beautiful day here, so we grabbed a coffee at Tims and a sandwich at Subway and ate by the river while listening to Celtic Woman and watching a border collie go through his paces.

Anvilcloud said...

Oops sorry: I meant to commiserate on the state of Carol's health. I can only imagine what you are going through.