So today I went to an antique sale in Burlington, Kentucky with my new friend Jerry and when I got back to Sharon and Mike’s where I am helping KK house-sit, there was a tree down in their yard! It looked like it was rotten, but still. . .
The same thing happened to Jerome and Janet when KK and I went to England with them. So I guess the new rule is:
If you go to England with Joan and Caitlan or if your go to England and have Joan and Caitlan house-sit, a tree will fall down in your yard.

So Martha says, “Joan, there’s this guy that is a patient (at her dentist office) that Jackie and I think should ask you out. Can I give him your number?”

Me: Did you tell him I killed two husbands?
Mar: Ha.
Me: Oh, go ahead. Who would call a 57 year-old, twice-widowed librarian?

Two weeks later he called and asked if I would like to meet for dinner at Hall’s on the River (close to where he works–he’s the curator for the new museum at Fort Boonesborough). I said ok. I’ve never been on a blind date.

Me: So when I come in, where should I look?
Jerry: Just ask the hostess. They all know me.
Me: I’ve never done this before.
Him: Me either.

Last night I went. (I never do things like this.) He was nice. He teaches at the community college as well–Art 100 and Art 101 (Drawing). He’s really a conservator, but when he comes in to do that job, he frequently gets hired as curator. He did the new Cincinnati museum. He knows a lot. He’s a re-enactor. He lives in Monterrey.

Me: So did Martha tell you I killed two husbands?
Him: No, she said you were a widow.
Me: Twice.
Him: Were there guns involved?

After the first week of school, I am trying to get back into the swing of a routine, and I hope that can mean dong regular blog postings. We started out with disappoinment at a scuttled attempt for stateside private adoption at Yorkshire Estates. But the week ended with a fun Clan Shower Shindig in Sacred Heart Church basement. Many clansfolk showed up to give their support to Jerome and Janet and to show welcome to Baby Molina. Even though she is not here yet, she is well loved. KK put together a slide show of the pictures we have of her so far. It played to the tune of “Father to Her,” a song by contemporary Christian artist Joel Engle. We all enjoyed watching J & J open presents for Little j, and Janet realized that she might have to take some of the toys away from Jerome (and maybe from Winston) after they get home.

Today Caitlan and I met with our new renter for the downstairs of 4th Street. He will move in at the first of September. We are hoping that between now and then, someone who wants rental property that is already generating income will decide to buy it. But if not, at least we are paying the mortgage.

I now have over 700 students. Both my elementary schools are growing. It was fun this year to see kids whom I remember and to have them remember me. I even got quite a few hugs. The best part of the week is when my very special class came to see me at the end of the week. I have a new little Downs girl, and when she left and I told her I would see her next week, she said, “More sing?” Priceless.

It started out that I was going to teach half the group in the morning and the other half of the group in the afternoon.  The main teacher would be the reading remediation teacher because this was a reading remediation program (now called literacy). We would have 12-15 kindergarten and first graders the first week, and 12-15 second and third graders the second week. I would teach creative dramatics and readers’ theatre. Since I would have half the group, I would have about 6 students at a time–a manageable group for projects. Then the other teacher got pneumonia. Then I found out that all the kids will be coming for both weeks. So now I have all the kids for all day for two weeks.  Needless to say, there is a lot more involved.  There are assistant teachers that take one or two students out at a time for tutoring, but basically I’m teaching a lot of kids of a lot of different ages all day long (I’m free at lunch). And guess what–it’s fun!  I can do anything that I want as long as I keep them busy! We are doing folktales and fables (so far THE THREE LITTLE PIGS and THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE). Next up–THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF and THE FOX AND THE CROW. We’ve done, music, art, puppets, movement, plays, read alouds, and science (today we looked at a video of gopher tortoises and their burrows at a guy’s farm–thank you, Google Video–in order to see how we wanted to paint the shells, legs, and heads on our tortoise puppets). I like this and I  get paid to do it! I guess it’s in the blood (and if you haven’t read Brendan’s blog lately about his and Holly’s parody of HACKERS, you need to–it’s in the blood all right. )

After our big day on Friday, I headed to Danville to stop by the art center and see John’s original watercolor for the Brass Band Festival poster. I had to purchase a poster for myself and have it signed. It is magnificent (portraits of various hornblowers)–reminded me of when Wayne and I first came to Lex and heard Vince play with his combo. Dana and I hit the sponsors reception for some good food and did a quick gallery hop while John signed posters. Then we sat in the courthouse yard and listened to a few bands. I stopped by the Townhouse to see Bruce before heading back to Kelley Ridge to see Greg. It’s crazy how I miss that dog. And having heard about Whaley’s adventures the day before (she ended up at the pound having spent too long a bathroom break outside, but is fine), I was especially anxious to see that he was still there. When I leave him at the Ridge, and it storms while I am gone, I am always worried. I unloaded the car, watered plants, and took a long bath. I’ve really gotten into baths in my tub at Kelley Ridge lately. I lie there soaking in some aromatic bath salts, read a mag, and just relax. It’s good.

Greg and I headed into Rich on Sat. a.m. where I went to the bank, got flea and tick repellant at the vet’s (that along with heartworm med. was a big chunk of change-beware those of you considering buying a pet!), and painted at 4th St. for several hours. These little jobs take such a long time–sanding and priming the surface, filling the cracks, then the first coat, then the second. I had stopped at the corner gas station for half a dozen day-old Krispy Kremes and at the the library for raunchy mystery audio books, so I was all set. Chris’s family was there with his little niece Alyssa who is a real baby doll. She waves at me through the window. Time went too fast so I did not get the outside of the front door painted but did get the plants fed and tile loaded into the car to take to Alice.

Then home to find that the Boltons had mowed my hay at KR–YAY!! I showered and got dressed up, packed a few drinks and a bottle of wine in the cooler, and headed to the Brass Band Festival where John was the featured artist this year. I sat on the grass with Jim, Beth, Martha, Linda, and Rebecca, having carried my chair slung over my shoulder from the car (great invention–chair in a bag). It was nice to enjoy music, conversation, egg salad wraps courtesy of Beth, and a beautiful perfect June evening. When they left I joined John, Dana, Lee, and David at their table. The last band was over the edge with their volume so we left, and I got home about 11:30. I never watch Saturday Night Live any more, but turned it on accidentally and saw a particularly funny sketch where Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin argue over who has hosted the most shows. During the sketch Martin Short and Paul McCartney accidentally showed up–you could tell that Alec Baldwin had no clue that they would walk in–it was funny.

I got to sleep in on Sun. a.m., read some more of my Kingsolver book on eating locally, and then headed with Martha to Northern Kentucky where we met Alice and attended Sr. Marjorie’s 50th anniversary jubilee as a nun. It was a beautiful Mass and very special to see several of the Notre Dame sisters that I have known through the years. Those sisters affected my life profoundly. Then back to Richmond to drop Martha off, to KR to pick up Greg and to Cln Valley to watch MYSTERY (Jericho2) with Mombo. Busy weekend, but full of friends and gorgeous weather.

Today Mom got up at 7:30 because she knew she had to fast before her blood draw. We went to Danville to Dr. Aumiller’s office where they took her blood (we had stopped at Wal-mart first to drop off her film). Then we went into Lexington to St. Joe Office Park. She ate her breakfast and took her meds on the way. We were given the wrong building and office number, but we finally found Dr. Martin’s office where we were to get an xray and then find out if they were going to take fluid out from below Mom’s lung. Well, the xray tech was not there (no doctors were either) so we got orders to go downstairs, get the xray, bring the film back upstairs, and wait to see a PA who told us that indeed her diaphragm was up too high, and she had to continue to exercise her lungs by sucking on her little pipe thing (we call it her hookah), but that it was too risky to take any fluid out now since her stomach was up near where the needle would go in. They asked us to come back in two weeks for another xray. Well that got Mom hopping, and now she is determined to use here hookah EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR so that she can expand her diaphragm back to where it should be. Then we went in a torrential downpour that lasted about one minute to the car, stopped at Wild Oats to have lunch, and then drove to Stanford where I had to sign a contract about selling some land. Since we had done so well, we treated ourselves to chocolate malts at the best sody fountain in the universe in a pharmacy on Main in Stanford. Now she is sleeping and I only tell you all this to remind you of where she was three weeks ago, and how far she has come. PRAISE HIM!

For those of you who don’t know–but I’m sure that you all do–my mom has had triple bypass surgery. I have been updating people by email, but I thought it might be a good idea to do a post as well. She was in the hospital 11 days. She would have been home in 10, but the pulmonary specialist decided not to come in to discharge her until the next day. She is doing really well.  Last week we stayed with her round the clock, but this week she has been on her own during the day when she has been here (I say when she has been here because she has had two doctors’ appointments this week already and has another one tomorrow). We are taking turns staying with her overnight. She saw the surgeon and the cardiologist. She still has some fluid on her lung, so we are coming to Lexington tomorrow to get that x-rayed and drawn off. She also has to have some blood tests. They seem  satisfied with her progress.  I think she will feel even better once she  can breathe a little better. The physical therapist is coming to the house; she has been  doing exercises and going on walks to the mailbox, etc.  She is still using the walker–it’s kind of a security thing. She is still a little worried about her throat because it still hurts–wonders if that is normal.  The doctors don’t seem to be concerned. Her incisions are all healing up very nicely. She’s a real trooper and is making every effort to make her comeback sooner rather than later. A real believer in the power of prayer, she is so grateful for the prayers of those who have offered them for her. So am I.

This is for BCA, ICA, anc CCA.  You can add to the list here or email me.  Audiobooks count.

PLUM LOVE (A Stephanie Plum novel)  Janet Evanovich

HOT SIX   Same (Aunt Janet got me started on these–she’s a bounty hunter from NJ)

 In Process–A ROOM CALLED REMEMBER  Frederick Buechner (writings on faith–he is astounding)

                       ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE (A year of food life)  Barbara Kingsolver  (the family’s year eating local food–there is currently another book out called PLENTY about a couple of journalists in Vancouver who decided to do the same thing in a 100 mile radius)

After Joe died I must have some form of grief induced a.d.d. Anyway, I couldn’t read anything longer than a short magazine or newspaper article. A novel? Forget it. So I started subscribing to magazines–usually they had to be a dollar an issue or less. Also Joe had frequent flyer miles that he did not use, and they could not transfer to me, but I could use them up as magazine subscriptions (some of the magazines I ordered this way were really strange). Most of the magazines were “women’s” or decorating or landscaping. Then once you start subscribing, you get on mailing lists, and they send you junk mail asking you to try just one issue and if you don’t like it you can mark cancel on the bill and owe nothing. Usually you peel off a little sticky circle and stick it on a postcard and mail it free of charge. Some of these are premiere issues of magazines that are not yet in existence.

So yesterday I got one of these in the mail directed to the unique southern personality interested in–are you ready–GARDENS and GUNS. I kid you not. That was the name of the magazine. I looked at it over and over to assure myself that I hadn’t read it wrong. I laughingly took it to Jerome and said, “Can you believe this magazine?!?!” He didn’t find it odd. He started naming off friends and family members that could possibly fall into the “gardens and guns” group.

So today is my dad’s birthday, and I miss him like crazy, and he could have been the editor in chief of GARDENS and GUNS magazine. I just didn’t spend enough time with you, Daddy. I wanted to learn so much more. I wish I could send a subscription of G and G to heaven. Yeah, I peeled the sticky circle off and sent in the postcard for the free premiere issue. I’ve got plenty of G and G guys to pass it on to (no, Joe would have been GARDENS and FISH, and Wayne would have been GARDENS and CARS). Happy Birthday, Dadbo. I love you. You live on.