Election Day

Early in the year, at the height of the Primaries, something happened that annoyed my mom, whatever it was obviously forgotten as almost all of the histrionics of that time faded. But she scoffed and said she wouldn't be around to find out what happened anyway.

Well, she was (happily) wrong. She did get to vote in the election, by mail.

Anyone that has known her for more than an hour knows how she voted. And she is happy with the result, and like others, happy she lived to see it.

Birthday Girls

We all got together on Sunday to celebrate Kathi, Eileen , and Pattie's Birthdays. Kathi's is in late October and our "Irish Twins" Eileen and Pattie are early November.





We all made it out there, and Mom enjoyed herself, having a piece of each of the different cupcakes.

Breakfast at Mom's

This is a picture from last Saturday.

The weather is still perfect here in October, and we got to enjoy a
nice morning outside. It got too hot later and I was unable to convince Mom to head to the track nearby for the Breeder's Cup races.

In all honesty to everyone, these type of breakfasts will we fewer (and definitely not far between) in the future. Mom has been slowing increasingly, and rarely gets out of bed, sleeping upwards of 20 hours a day. We all knew this was coming and certainly are not surprised. Her medication contributes to this, obviously, but her pain seems to being regulated.

We all feel lucky considering all the circumstances when we first heard this news over a year ago. Please keep our Mom in your thoughts and prayers.


Matthew

October Notes

Hello All,

Roni was out visiting last week. She was filling in for Pattie who accompanied Eileen on a business trip to Hawaii and got some much need R & R. (And got sick as well, as have almost ALL of us EXCEPT Mom!)

Roni and Mom just relaxed, compared knitting , and watched lots of old movies. That's been a standard of ours since Mom can't get out as much. We've been watching mainly older movies, some old favorites (Harvey, Here Comes Mr. Jordan) and some of which Mom hadn't seen (Sunset Blvd., The Philadelphia Story)

But they are mainly a distraction from Mom's biggest interest, the upcoming election. Like most American's she is very interested in the goings on, and follows closely.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to send emails, cards, and notes. Mom (and the rest of us) enjoy them immensely.


Peace,


Matthew

More Hawks

One of the side effects of Mom having so many bird feeders is that the congregations of birds is the sound of the dinner bell ringing for our larger feathered friends. They've been quite active the past week, it's like the animal planet in Mom's backyard.

Slightly less exotic is the neighborhood squirrel , who has taken to laying flat on the cement to cool off in the heat, something none of us have ever seen.

We are taking turns looking after and staying with Mom and enjoying the show.

Hawks and Toes

Mom had a great treat when granddaughter Kyra came over to give her a pedicure. It was especially nice as mom can't get around as well anymore and going out to get one would have been very difficult.


August's visitors included Mary and Jack as well as Uncle Rich, who delighted everyone with childhood stories that Mom wouldn't have (or just hadn't) told us.





We have had a hospital bed delivered, and set up in the living room. The hospice nurses are still coming by regularly , and mom has slowed down quite a bit. We are taking turns staying the night with her - and by taking turns, I mean that we relieve Pattie (our rock) occasionally.

From Mom's bed she can see the tips of the San Gabriel mountains
to the north, but more importantly , still has a good view of the swarms of birds that are attracted to her numerous feeders. There are literally thousands of birds in her back patio daily (or hundreds of birds making constant trips)

This occasionally drops to zero when the neighborhood cat lurks nearby, Or when a winged predator such as a hawk lands. We had just such a sighting a couple of days ago. You can't see it in the photo but, trust me it's there - click on the photo and look in the third (middle)pane on the right , perched right on the chair. Although mother can't stand cats and what they do to birds, she gets a kick out of "her" hawk.

Love to all,

Matt

Mom's Magnolia Tree

FROM Pattie:

Matt,

I don't know if you know the story of the magnolia tree. Mom loves them and when she and dad were first married, they planted one. Then they had to move. Then they planted another one and then they moved again. This went on until Mom finally stopped getting magnolia trees for fear they would move again. When she moved to her house after Dad died, we thought to get her one, but figured she'd think she would have to move...the final move. So we didn't.

When she was diagnosed I thought about it but didn't do it fast enough. I went to Armstrong's and they had a tree (a stick really) that had a few blooms. Next to that was a stick which looked to have some buds that I thought would bloom.

So I brought it home to Mom and planted it. Turns out they were just the leaves. Since I had waited too long, we figured it wouldn't bloom again until the winter. December or January. So guess what I found Thursday on the stick (Mom's term, not mine)? That's right...it appears to be blooming.

Mom is very excited about it. Anyway, I thought you could put these pictures up. The last one is the new double finch sock thing that we got. Mom is loving that too. The birds are all going crazy as usual.