What a Week!

Don't even know quite where to start. Guess I'll go with chronological.

A week ago last night (Thursday) Mary Lou and I went to the Taste It Hutchinson event. It was a lot of fun, and quite a lot a pretty good eats.

The next morning (Friday) a friend called and told me a mutual friend of ours had had a stroke at work Thursday morning. This - throughout the week - only got worse. She passed away this past Tuesday morning. Tonight was the family gathering at the funeral home and tomorrow is her funeral. It was all extremely fast and unexpected.

The week has been full of thoughts and memories and concern for her family. Her husband and I are good friends from my old Home Depot days. He's about 12-13 years older than she was and has said several times that he always thought he'd go first. It's going to be tough for him, I'm afraid. Just last month they'd celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Hopefully, his faith and time will help him heal. He's a very popular, personable guy so he'll have a great support system there for him too.

On to other topics: The house is beginning to come together a little bit. I've hung pictures and an ox yoke in my living room...although I may change where they're all at yet. Today I deep-cleaned a bathroom, changing out the "picture frame" on the toilet, and using "Goof Off" on some uk-em-puck that was marring the side of the tub and the base of the toilet. It sure looks better! And I hung a shower curtain (we've had liners, but no curtains.) Also removed and washed the venetian blind in the downstairs bedroom. Man, it was filthy!!!!!

Slowly but surely I'm hoping it'll all come together and be home. I just keep telling myself that it'll be here when I get around to it! And sure 'nuff, it is!!! Darnit!

Monday night we had a townhouse association meeting. That was nice. Got to meet most of my new neighbors.

Then Tuesday night we all went out to eat together. We went to Carlos O'Kelly's and I wound up sitting across the table from Lou and Ed. Now Ed is an absolute riot!!! Very sharp, very quick...we were all laughing all the time at his comments! Someone mentioned that Lou does line dancing and she admitted that she'd danced at the State Fair last week. Really a neat couple. My guesstimate was they were probably about 80. She's 10 days older than him (he likes older women!) Well, before the evening was over, it was told they will be 93 in January!!! I would NEVER have guessed that!! THAT'S what I wanna be like!

I really like all my neighbors...I think I'll like it here very much, once I get my house in order.

Tomorrow is the Fair on the Square in Lyons, and Pat and I were to share a booth. Not sure whether I'll get there or not. I've loaded a couple of cases in my car, but I'll have to wait and see. The funeral is at 10:30...the cemetary is north of Nickerson...so I may go on to Lyons from there. (From Hutch, it's kind of Hutch-Nickerson-Sterling-Lyons...each about 10 miles further than the last.) Wait and see what time it is and how I'm feeling about it.

Well, enough for tonight. Count your blessings and remember that life is short and should never be taken for granted.