Saturday, March 18, 2006


My sister called me Monday, and told me my mother is in the hospital with an abcessed foot. She is a diabetic amputee, so the foot is her right foot, and she is in danger of losing it. It will be hard if she does. She stays in bed pretty much most of the time, anyway. I don't expect she will live out the next year, especially if she loses that foot.

I have been trying to set up doctor's appointments, but had to cancel my eye doctor because of this cold. Also had one today to talk about my latest blood test results, and she had to cancel because of some emergency. I have a Monday apptment for 3:30 instead. I think I will have some medication changes.

We had the funeral last Wednesday, and it was a nice funeral, if you can really say that about such an occasion. People sang beautifully, and the deceased was a talented singer, so I think he would have loved it. One of the women who sang hit such a high note, all I could do was say "Wow".

My friend was upset when they wheeled her husband's body out of the building. I went to see her Wednesday night this week to bring her some chili for dinner and some marble cake. Her house needs cleaning and she seems overwhelmed a bit, but we are going to a Women's conference tomorrow, and I'm hoping it lifts her spirits a bit. We like to go shopping for clothes together, but I haven't had the money for it lately. I already have some clothes, and have more clothes to make when I get down to sewing more. I love spring clothes. I want a chocolate brown top to go with one of my skirts. I'll have to check my fabric inventory.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Goodbye, I love you

Last night my friend's husband died. I was told by DH just as I was trying to catch a few zzz's before waking up for church.

When we got to church, the Bishop made the announcement that J had passed away. I heard audible "Oh nos" from the front pews. It was not expected that he would pass this soon.

Our church service was a fast and testimony meeting where everyone has a chance to testify. I sat there thinking I didn't want to testify, but finally I had to give in. Many people before me spoke of the death and the family of the deceased. They all are just getting to know the family, and I guess in many ways, so am I, but I think I know my friend better than most of the peeps at church. The peeps at church are great when it comes to compassionate service and when I testified I told them so. I am grateful to know that when something comes up, there are people there who are willing to help. Meals, cleaning a home, whatever is needed - the people at church are very generous with their time and talents. As I walked away from the podium after bearing my testimony, my friend S and I clasped hands and she told me she loved me. I said I loved her, too.

The Bishop closed up the meeting by talking about his final words with J Saturday night. J told the Bishop "I love you" and the Bishop said, "I love you, too." It was very moving and emotional. I felt the love of the peeps in the ward was hyped up over this passing of a new member, which made it a special sacrament meeting for me.

J was baptized last Saturday, and he was the newest member of our church. His wife and 2 children were baptized last August. He sang "How Great Thou Art" in his terrific voice, vibrating the room with it's rich tones. I cried then, and we didn't know he had cancer at the time. He had been sick and lost a lot of weight, but the doctors had not found the cancer yet.

J sang again at the talent show in October. It was the same song, but this time I knew he had cancer, and I wept. I did not know he was terminal, though. DH told me about the terminal part in January and I was so dissapointed, even though it was evident at Christmas time J was very, very weak.

Well, it's over and I guess that could be good for him to be out of his misery. Now we have the task of funeral and all that goes with it.

We celebrated DH's birthday by going out to Isabella's Tavern and Tapas on Friday. It was very good. The service was good, the food was good, prices were good, and I loved the atmosphere. Isabella's has an online menu, but I'm too lazy to link it. DH ordered the asparagus fries, which I loved and will order the next time I go. There were 3 big stalks of asparagus fried in a crunchy batter with tiger sauce for dipping. He ordered some salmon, a portabello mushroom dish, and I ordered shrimp in spicy oil with caramelized onions (there were 4 pieces of garlic in with the onions), beef meatballs, and chicken breast in a sauce made with sesame and chocolate, but it didn't taste like chocolate. My favorite out of the three was definitely the spicy shrimp. The chicken was too dry and the meatballs were not anything special. I ordered a piece of raspberry cheesecake for dessert and DH helped me eat it, of course. He never orders dessert, just shares with me. That was fine with me. We will return to this place, but while we were in downtown Frederick, DH noticed the other fine restaurants in the neighborhood, so we have so many new places to try.