After a visit to Mombo at the hospital I went up the road to L-ville. Mombo is fine. She had a procedure done to clear out an artery and will spend the night for observation. KK and Kyle met me at Fred’s where I will leave my car while I am in Portland doing my investigation of the draw for Brendan. I mean, I know he loves Kara, but SOMETHING drew him there before he knew her, and I must find out what that is. Ian came over to KK&K’s apartment to eat Spinelli’s pizza (they are huge!) and watch a sad Reds game. We only have one more chance. I got to visit the new little wine shop near their apartment and tried KK&Monica’s grapefruity drink that I can’t remember the name of. I also got to try her girlie beer which was good. We sang “Happy Birthday” to ICA. Tomorrow I fly away.

Below you will find an update on little Anthony, a baby my friends and I have been praying for. He has a heart malfunction. His parents are both in the military and are both pilots. His dad was supposed to be deployed to Afghanistan after Anthony was born, but since he was so critical, they allowed his dad to stay here with him. Please pray for these people and this little boy. As it says below, they are relying on prayers to keep them going.

Good Morning Everyone. Anthony has taken a turn for the worse in regards to his heart function and breathing assistance. He has been struggling to breathe the last few days. Despite attempts to keep him on non-invasive breathing assistance; this morning’s chest x-ray showed that the mid-lobe of his right lung has a large fluid build-up requiring his re-intubation. It appears his lungs are having difficulty because of the reduced function of his heart. We were on a plan that was basically pushing him to heart success or failure. He seems to have hit the limit of his heart’s capability. The doctors increased his milrinone and restarted dopamine. We expect to sit down with the Doctors later today and discuss our road ahead-reactivating Anthony’s status on the organ recipient list. Use of dopamine (which is hard on the heart) is an indicator they are working to preserve his other organs in order to make him a better recipient. It is hard to see him look so much better then take such a drastic turn for the worse again. When we know more we will post; but please say a prayer for Anthony. All the past prayers have done wonders and we are very appreciative to everyone who has kept us in their prayers and reached out to us with love and support (it helps us get through this).

The skin in the folds
Of your eyes
Droops down lower
Than then
But when
Your eyes lock mine
There’s a quick’ning
Butterfly wings
In my chest
My breath
Must stop a moment
I knew you then
But when your chest
Was bare
No hair
Adam’s apple
Not yet thrust out
Undaunted
You wanted
To shave soft skin
Touch my soft skin
Butterfly wings
There then
Here when
You touch my hand
Skin wrinkled now
Eyes locked again.

Mombo and I started the day together at Sacred Heart Church where Fr. Pat Dolan said one of his instructional Masses. Afterward James and Susan took Mombo home so that I could go to Danville and meet Jerry at the breakfast bar at Shoney’s. We caught up with conversation and then went to the Peddler’s Mall nearby. I found an Asian cookbook that was reasonable in price, so I bought it for Caitlan since she and Kyle seem to like Asian food. I stopped by Lowes and was able to find the matching paint chips for the loft apartment so that I can match a lighter tone with which to paint the dormer wall. I was able to get the staircase varnished, and then we watched NORTHANGER ABBEY on Masterpiece. I gave Mom some tulips. She is the best valentine ever.

Today I said that I had started my 6th decade. My wonderful groupies quickly corrected me. How can I be starting my 7th decade?!? Oh, my. Now I really am a “senior citizen.” I remember when the word senior held so much anticipation and promise. I need to find another label for myself. “Senior” simply won’t do. Any suggestions? Seasoned, perhaps?

I met Beth this morning, and we went to an Herb Club meeting at the Garrard County Extension Agency. It was quite fun. They had set all the tables around themes such as lavender and dill. We had herb tea from freshly grown herbs, and many delicious treats such as lemon cake and egg salad. We had a speaker that talked about growing herbs for tea and another who talked about her horse rescue mission called JUMP THE MOON. She made organic shampoo and lotion from herbs and had some there to sell. Beth bought some of her lotion. I tried some, and it felt very nice. I was able to buy some organic herb and flower seeds and hope to plant them. I gave some to Beth and Tammy and still had plenty left.

In the afternoon, the other groupies came and we went to a B&B on Maple Avenue for tea. It was a MURDER MYSTERY tea and was a lark. We all dressed up and played characters. Each of us was a suspect, of course. We had wonderful small sandwiches, chicken salad tarts, chocolate dipped strawberries, truffles, cheesecake balls, and many other delicious edibles. Oh, incidentally, I was NOT the murderer.

Here’s the promotional blurb for Hammond’s Hall (the B&B):
“The Mystery Teas are great fun! When you arrive at Hammond’s Hall, you are given a nametag and an envelope containing a description of your character and what you must reveal during the simulation. You then select costume pieces to enhance your character and participate in a variety of fun activities, as part of the simulation, while you dine on scrumptious fare.”
And here’s the link to more pictures.

I drove on to Richmond to do errands, stopped at Kelley Ridge where I found no-bake cookies and handmade jewelry from Tammy awaiting me, and then headed back to the Valley to watch the UK game and Olympic luge and women’s moguls with Mombo. I received phone calls from all of my children (with a serenade from KK and K), Nancy, and Jerry (he serenaded me, too). All in all, it was a lovely day.

The snow has moved in. It sends dust over everything.

Mombo and I got invited to Alyx’s 27th birthday at the Keep. Delicious food prepared by Jerusha and good family time.

Since Dana, Kyle’s mom, is the secretary for the Presbyterian Church, the people there held a luncheon/celebration for Kyle and Caitlan’s wedding. They collected money for them. It was really a nice thing to do.