Mother's Day, 2011

Well, Mother's Day was surprisingly nice as Mom was really 'on' all day. Brother Mike was in town from Arizona for the festivities so we piled in the car and headed over to Ron and Linda's house with lox and bagels in tow as John picked up the goodies at our favorite spot, Royal Bakery here in Germantown. If you're in the area, you really can't find a better bagel. Very close to New York style bagels and particularly delicious when they first come out of the oven at 7 am. The apple fritters are also quite delicious. Regardless, John went home to WV to be with his Mom and Dad for Mother's Day and a Birthday, respectively.

Sharyn sent over a beautiful bouquet of flowers which arrived at 7 o'dark 30 in the morning. Guess the florist needed to get a jump on the day. Linda gave Mom a pretty set of sheets and some tulips. Sadly, I haven't even had a chance to get out and get a card since my caregivers are both still out but she knows I love her so that will have to do. If you ask me, everyday around here is Mother's Day! After all, every meal is 'catered.'

Anyway, Mom had a very good day yesterday which culminated in fresh rockfish for dinner - thanks John! I'm not usually a fan of rock but Mike and I drizzled the fish with butter, sprinkled with Old Bay and tossed on the grill - literally as the grill basket opened up and I heard Mike yelp for help! We managed to get most of the fish back in the basket and grilled to perfection - except for the small piece that hit the deck and Mike ate (yuck - I told him I wouldn't eat ANYTHING off my deck but he swore it was the best piece. To each his own...). Fresh broccoli and bread dressing completed our feast. We sat outside a bit longer and finished off the tequila Mike brought up (there's not that much in those bottles any more!).

Today is a good day for Mom too. I took her out to the Chinese grocery where she just loves seeing all the weird vegetables and cooking implements. We only stayed out an hour or so as I wasn't certain her portable oxygen was working.

Mom's been clearer in her mind since I've been pushing water and fluids (and, yes, giving in a bit on an extra cup of coffee here and there). And, since our recent ER stint, she's agreed to keep the oxygen on almost all the time now - actually, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Anyway, she's good right now - snoring away in her chair with Matee and Gizmo on her lap.

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

eHow one of the writing sites where I used to earn quite a bit of money monthly has closed their program. I sold them all of my articles for a pretty tidy sum which I'm handing over to Thomas, my extraordinary financial planner. I've got enough for a very very nice cruise out of the buyout but would love to get enough to rent a narrow boat in England one day.

So, here's the new site and a few articles where I'm writing now:
How to get help paying utility bills
How to make a dessert shooter everyone will love

I also am developing a series of articles on Squidoo which just might turn into an eBook one day about being a caregiver for the elderly. Here's my profile - just click THIS LINK.

Ok, enough for now. I have some yardwork to do like weeding Dad's garden which is coming along really pretty this year. We're about to put in a working fountain for the birds. Gotta clean the pool too - been lazy lately. Hope all had a great Mother's Day!