14-02-26

Angela and Morgan were both here yesterday, and we walked out to see the flowers. Morgan was so excited when she saw the pink tulips blooming. And our Japanese magnolia was in full bloom!

14 02 24

My iron count was good and so was my blood pressure.

Morgan... so much fun to watch them having so much fun.

Hugging Bertice McPherson. 

~When we left the grocery store, the blood bank van was parked outside. Barry asked if I wanted to give blood, and we weren't in a hurry, so we did. They had to test our iron count and take our blood pressure first, and both were good. 

~Morgan, about going to the ISIS parade: "It is so much fun to watch them having so much fun." That her mom had called and said they didn't have to come if they didn't want to, with the rain and everything, and when she said, "We're already down here!" Beth had been very happy. Morgan said, "They came to watch us in everything we were in," and talked about how much fun it was --- Rodney, "That's my daughter!" and the throws coming at them. 

~And so I saw Bertice McPherson at the Clay Conference. I stopped her just long enough to tell her we had enjoyed her class years ago. Saw her again at the reception. Complimented the blue moon. She said she was in her blue period. Told her I understood that. She said, "Well, I lost my husband four (?) months ago." And I hugged her. Good long hug, and she said, "Thank you for the hug. Hugs are the best." 

14 02 19

E mail from Darin strauss

Beverly. . Thank you mom. .. Thank you for saying that.

When I finished reading "Half a Life," by Darin Strauss, I thought: "Like that. I want to write like that." I've only had that happen one other time. I went to Amazon to write a review, but that wasn't an option, maybe because I bought the book from McSweeney's. McSweeney's doesn't have a place for a reviews. I started to let it go, especially after I read all the reviews and praise the book has already received, but felt compelled to send him an email anyway. 

So, I did. He sent an email back --- that it was just the thing he needed after a hard day of writing. It made me happy that I had followed my lead. 

~~Beverly called, and we had a long talk. She'd had a hard day --- so much sadness in people that she is not allowed to address. I told her that her love came through the things that she did for them, and that was what they needed most; that she made a difference. She said, "Thank you, mom. Thank you for saying that." 

14-2-18

Looking at Beverly and J.A.'s wedding book with Angela and Morgan

So... we were talking about Thursday, and the schedule, and whether or not Angela could let the dogs out, and Morgan said, "She can't stay until 5:00. We have a wedding planning meeting." Laughter. 

Angela said she and Ryan are scheduled to look at a possible wedding venue. She and Morgan talked about getting things organized. There was talk of being grateful for Pinterest. And then I asked Ange if she would like to see the book I used when planning her mama and daddy's wedding. We spent about 30 minutes looking through it. Laughing at my notes. Morgan said, "My mom doodles just like you do!" Angela said she and her mother do, too. We talked about the flower I draw all the time. We saw Angela's crayon notes added to my notes. We laughed about the chore lists --- that "Clean your room" was at the top of Beverly's. How young she looked in her picture. My Joy Journal note tucked away. My poem about the rose, and why it isn't finished yet. And then I got lots of hugs from both of them.

14-02-18

Writing on the back porch of Phew! with Mama Cat in my lap. It took me a while to get set up, and the door to my writing shack seems to be locked, but even with all that I can feel a sense of relaxation re: the writing. When I am able to get set up over here, good things are going to happen.

14-02-17

Evan called just to check in with us --- his words. He was on his way to class. Tickled me. 

Morgan and I enjoying the new flowers together.

14-2-12

So, my computer is responding exceedingly slowly --- I'm more in touch with aggravation than I am with joy and appreciation, but we'll give it a go...

Beth stopped by yesterday to get her pottery and visit a minute and bring us some king cake. Barry came in to my office and said, "I'm not sure, but I think the Beth-mobile is here!"

Morgan revamped the craft room! It looks amazing. Lots of things vamoosed.

I think we've found our new computer guy. He is easy to work with. And I think we have a solution that is going to work, although I'm still going to have to drag the laptop back and forth, which was kind of disappointing.

Beverly posted some cool things to my timeline.