DIVERTISSEMENT

I would need to look up that word if I came across it out of the blue. It's just a fancy way of saying "diversion". And that's what the visit from Chris, Frances and Owen was, a divertissement of the best kind.


They were here for a few days and then went to San Diego to visit Frances' brother and his wife. Frances has a college roommate who lives in that area, so there was a visit with them and a day at the San Diego Zoo before coming back here. They left to return home this morning after we had breakfast together. I'm not very good at goodbyes. If all goes well, they'll be back to visit at Thanksgiving.

Frances used her organizational skills to help me put some things in proper places. I'm in awe of her abilities and regretful that I lack
that talent. My room has a high ceiling and tall walls, but still, I suspect we have too many framed pictures. I made myself part with three items. The theory is that keeping a photograph makes parting with the item easier. I'm not so sure about that. I get a pang when I look at the pictures. When Tim discovered that I had taken this picture to the donation room, he scurried down and rescued it for himself.

 Chris pounded nails and got some things up on the walls. Miles to go, though. Hopefully Tim and I can get everything in order by Thanksgiving.

Tim's car is a jeep and difficult for me to climb into in the best of times, so it was Chris who took me on my first outing. 

First stop was the post office where our credit union has a branch.
I had three checks to cash, one made out to Mr. Bob. The tellers

were fond of Mr. B. and glad to see me out and about.

I can't recall if I told you about asking a charge nurse a month ago, when I might have a margarita. She thought a minute, no doubt mentally going down my list of medications and said,
"I don't see any reason why you couldn't have one now." To which I responded, "I don't know how to get to a Mexican restaurant". She didn't know, either.

If you're a parent or a grandparent, always take a book with you. For that matter, it makes sense even if you're going solo.

Tim finds it sad to drive past our old house, but he wasn't with us. I'd give my eye teeth to know what the new owner found worth
saving in the back garden. I'm not brave enough to go look.

Last stop was at Diane & Roger's. They called to see if I was open to a visit from them at the Manor and I suggested that we save them gas money.......we were right there. Due to the 100 degree weather we didn't talk for long, but it was a fitting end to our outing.

My brother had a saying as a tot when he wanted a repeat performance of a mechanical toy, "Make it again go". That's how I felt the other day.

GUNG HEY FAT CHOY

YEAR OF THE DRAGON

DO’s & DON'Ts on NEW YEAR’s DAY:

- Greet others with "Gung Hey Fat Choy" which means "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth".

- Give two lee see’s to each child. Because happiness comes in two’s, do not just give one. This is your way of passing good luck to the next generation. Business owners also givelee see’s to employees and associates.

- Wear brand new clothes - preferably in red. Children should wear new clothes and new shoes.

- Don’t wash your hair.

- Don’t sweep the floor.

- Don’t greet people who are in mourning.

- Don’t drop your chopsticks.

- Don’t say the number ‘four’ (Chinese homonym for death) or mention death.

- Don’t borrow or lend money.

As you prepare for this important holiday, think of the changes you want to make in your life ... perhaps spend more time with your family, reduce your credit card debts or pursue a new interest. Gung Hey Fat Choy ... and Happy New Year!

I always feel a little like an impostor when I try to take part in Chinese traditions, reading up on them ahead of time. Only this morning did I realize that I should have sent 2 lee sees. Somehow I had missed that. But last Thursday I tucked 5 brand new $2 bills into the red envelope and hoped against hope that it would arrive in Castro Valley on time. One can't be sure with the post office these days.

Today an instant text message arrived showing that it got there and dear Owen's reaction. 

Hooway!

YEAR'S END IS NEITHER AN END NOR A BEGINNING. BUT A GOING ON, WITH ALL THE WISDOM THAT EXPERIENCE CAN INSTILL IN US. 

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

PS re OWEN

I NEGLECTED to include the line that prompted me to write about Owen and his little "This is a joke" placard. After I made it, he commented that people would think he was a protester. How does a 4 year old even know that word???


A picture came from Chris after they were safely back home. Owen had requested at bedtime that his Dad make him all cozy and this was the result. 

Thanks for indulging this Granny.

GOODBYE, OWEN!

BEFORE THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA contingent left, I fashioned a sign for Owen to hold up when he was telling a joke......sort of a rudimentary applause meter so that folks would know when to laugh when he was delivering his four year old witticisms. I don't know if it'll ever be used but he humored me enough to take it on home with him.

Packed up and ready to leave, down the hall they trudged, 

waited at the elevator,

down the road to their car,

G'bye, love. Come again soon!

"The prospect of going home is very appealing."David Ginola

OWEN TAKES TEA

ON THEIR RECENT VISIT, I made reservations for us to have lunch at a nearby tearoom, a new experience for Owen. Frances thought that he recognized the special treatment.......the waitress pushed his chair closer to the table and tucked a napkin under his chin. His manners were impeccable (thank you, Father) and he was served ahead of the rest of us, finishing his egg salad sandwich before the rest of us began to eat. Out of a choice of lemonade, cocoa or tea, he selected hot chocolate. (At the Manor when offered ice cream for dessert, he had asked what flavors and when the waitress got to coffee after vanilla and chocolate, Owen said, "Oh, I don't drink coffee")

The owner of the T-Room practiced her craft in Russia before moving to the U.S. and no detail has been overlooked in making this place a highly attractive room.

After we finished our sandwiches, salads and scones, I asked Owen if he agreed that we were in a fancy place. Showing his maleness, Owen nodded and replied, "Too fancy". But I'm proud that the men in our family can weather a tea room lunch once in a while. Not all men would be that flexible.

Why our proclivity to exhibit silliness, I wonder? Chris couldn't resist the raised pinky long enough for a photo shot.

I digress, but on an earlier day, Chris had driven me to my chemotherapy treatment, after which we went to breakfast and the resulting photos showed an odd likeness in the handling of a coffee cup. Neither of us is using the handle which seems rather unusual and what are the chances of both of us exhibiting unusual behavior?

"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on."  
                                                 ~Billy Connolly

REWIND TO DECEMBER 26

THERE WAS NO LET-DOWN feeling the day after Christmas, for that was the day our eldest and his family drove four hundred miles from Northern California to see us. Four year old Owen, always a charmer, has blossomed into full-blown boyhood, coming up with his own jokes and constantly building creations in his mind's eye. 

I asked his Dad if he thought Owen might grow up to be an inventor and Chris' response was, "Either that or terribly disappointed."

Because the two guestrooms here at the Manor had been booked previous to my request, our family needed to stay in our room which was perfectly fine with us, but let me explain our dormitory arrangement. Frances slept on our sofa. To minimize the footprint 

they leave behind, they come bearing their own sheets, pillows and towels. 

Owen sleeps in a sleeping bag atop a short-legged cot in the living room. At bedtime he snuggles down, amuses himself with his imagination before dropping off into slumber. Our kids never went to bed that mildly.


Christopher lays out his sleeping bag on the floor with his head to the mirrored closet doors and his feet in the kitchen. He's somewhere there in the red and black fabric.

One morning a soft knock sounded on the door at 5:30 a.m. No one had alerted us that anyone was coming to draw Mr. Bob's blood for a coumadin test, so we weren't expecting visitors. Chris untangled himself from his cocoon, got to the door on his knees, opened it and the nurse asked, "Mr. Humphrey?" which, after all, is indeed his name. Never mind that he looked too young to be living here. Luckily all health workers check a patient's birth date before starting any procedure.

Somehow she picked her way to the bedroom where the intended Mr. Humphrey withdrew his arm from the covers, offered it to her. Mission accomplished, she found her way to the front door and let herself out. 

Retirement home living is different in some ways and that was one of them. Friends express surprise that maintenance people and health workers have access to our rooms if we don't answer their knock. I, myself, am surprised that so many of the staff have found us in our nightclothes and various stages of undress.  These things matter less with age, I think.. My mother used to say, "If you see anything you haven't seen before, throw your old hat at it." So far no one's tossed a chapeau in our direction. 

TOO MUCH TO TELL YOU

HERE IT IS, Christmas Eve and time is getting short and there's so much to share with you that I'm putting it all in one posting.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

My clever brother sent this picture to the guests that came to his house for dinner. He's a fabulous cook and I'm jealous of his abilities. He also sent me this link and I'm passing it along to you:

hhttp://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/holiday11/

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

This is the Big Bertha radiation machine that Mr. Bob visits five days a week. When he's accomplished 35 treatments, he'll be through. Fingers crossed, prayers uttered.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The next picture was taken months ago. Mr. Bob's hair has grown back so nicely that he required a trim yesterday. Our daughter, Susan, asked that he please see that his Andy-Rooney type eyebrows get some attention.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Owen, returning to the Oakland Airport at night, following 4 stimulating days in Florida, visiting theme parks with all their wonders, looked out the window as the plane was descending and observed, "Wow! Planet Earth!"

           ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞


The following is another "old" photo from the archives. We'll be around this table at 4 this afternoon to celebrate Mr. Bob's birthday whether he likes it or not. Remember, he's definitely not big on birthdays, his own or anyone else's.

But on Thursday evening, the guest mariachi band encircled him and serenaded the birthday boy.

  Here's the evidence:

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Another from my brother:

http://www.wimp.com/glassharp/

CHOCOLATE

FUNNY WHAT MEMORIES remain in your head. It's been forever since a friendly customer told me that when his friend was suffering something traumatic, he loaded up a basket with candy bars, popcorn, sodas, cookies and took her for a ride. They parked by a lake and talked and ate and listened and talked some more. That struck me as such a caring thing to do and while I've never found the opportunity to employ the method, it's there in my head if the need should arise.


Something akin to that happened this morning.  Chris bid us adieu.

How quickly time passes. He arrived last Saturday and so soon the time came to part.

Susan came back from taking Chris to the train station where he was to board a bus to Bakersfield from where a train would return him home. She was carrying a sizable box from the mail room. Inside the package was a veritable wealth of chocolate. Chocolate cookies, chocolate kisses, chocolate truffles and something new to me, chocolate kettle corn. Accompanied by the perfect greeting card, this assortment brought a smile to Mr. Bob's face and I actually swooned.

To appreciate the card you need to know that Owen is very much into Star Wars these days, as evidenced by the Halloween costumes their family made. (Much as we love to shop, in our family, we think Halloween costumes should be made. Chris' boots consisted of three layers of duct tape and were a challenge to remove.) 

Inside the chocolatey card, Owen had drawn a picture and dictated a letter to Frances:

Dear Granny,

I hope you feel better soon. I wrote a funny Star Wars joke book. When you feel better you should come over to see the book. There are no pictures or stories about heffalumps in Star Wars. There is no Play-Doh in Star Wars.

I love you, Granny.

             

                        Love,

                              Owen

"After about 20 years of marriage, I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer lies somewhere between conversation and chocolate."
                                                                                                       Mel Gibson