On the road to Thanksgiving!

Ellie is home!! What a journey this has been thus far.

For those of you on the Prayer Warrior e-mail list, this is old news. When I opened my mail box last night and saw the messages from Ellie and Penny, my heart just overflowed with joy as the tears spilled down my face. We rarely have the opportunity to be a part of an incredible struggle which has a happy ending. I am so proud to have joined my small voice along with yours and together we made a chorus of petition and love that has reached across the cosmos, from our small blue planet to the ear of the highest power. I feel so humble.  I feel so grateful. I feel so blessed. May the blessings that you have asked for Ellie, her family and her medical team, be returned to each of you.

I have many things for which I am thankful. Family, old friends and new friends. Thursday, I had lunch with two women whom I dearly love. My senior friend,"N", has gone from nearly hell to nearly heaven. She realized, while in the horrible facility, that the time had arrived when she needed more help with her daily life. Her sons and grandson found the most wonderful assisted living facility for her where she has her own small one bedroom apartment. After another stay in the hospital and a second stay in a different rehab facility, she is finally settling in. Her bedroom furniture is in place, artwork hung, mirror on the wall; everything cozy and familiar. Living room furniture and a tiny table for four will arrive on Monday. I hope that soon, her regular group of senior lady pan players will find their way to her new home.

For a number of years, I have lunched about once a week with my other friend, "S". We are sisters bound by books and politics. Often, as we loaned each other books, she would say that I needed to meet her friend "N"or ask if I minded if she shared my books with "N".  Finally, a couple of years ago at a fund raiser, "S" arranged for me to sit with "N" and we became three for lunch. Later, we became four at lunch with the frequent addition of "M" and sometimes, Most Wonderful Daughter in Law will join and add a younger viewpoint. We span a range in age from 40 something to 80 something but our political views are progressive and we all love to read ("N" has just recently stopped) and engage in honest and active discussion. The years are taking a toll on our bodies but the spirits remain vibrant. I am thankful for the love and friendship of each, for the love that flows between us, for the knowledge that, to the best of our abilities, we will be "there" for each other, whether "there" may be.

There are other women, equally dear and important in my life. Thank you for being my friends and my sisters; for being one of the threads from which the fabric of all of our lives are woven. I love you all.

I started with this day with what I think is a slight hangover. I am not a beer drinker. I prefer wine, dark rum, brandy and single malt whiskey as my weapons of brain destruction. But beer went so well with bowls of homemade chile topped with cheese, onions and bits of hot fresh cornbread. We celebrated my son's birthday last night. How I love my funny family!

I arrived at Paul and Kim's with the birthday cake (double chocolate Nothing Bundt drizzled with real butter, cream cheese frosting) around 4:30 in the afternoon. Kim and I sat around talking and drinking a boutique beer. A special friend in California had ordered three pieces of our jewelry. He is someone I met on one of the online dating sites. Lovers, no. Friends, yes. He has since met his special someone thru his work and happiness is his. He shares it by buying our pretties for his lady love. Thanks for the order, Steam Man!

We transitioned from jewelry back to the dating site. In the past week and a half, I have read some very intelligent profiles (and some very strange ones) and have made a new friend in Florida. (Hi Mike, am I making you crazy with my punctuation or lack thereof?) Kim is in the process of getting ready to host a ton of us for Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning like crazy. She looked around and suggested the next time I am contacted by a guy who wants to be my slave; I should ask him if he does windows and is willing to clean out the garage! She might get out one of her wench bodices, some high heels and be willing to oversee his work. Rick, who thinks he knows nearly everything at 16, had wandered into the room and plopped down on the couch. He announced that he may spend all of his life in therapy and be scarred forever by our conversation. We've heard this before!

We began discussing Draculya. Kim loaned me "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova and I haven't been able to put it down. One of the better aspects of living alone is that you can read all night or as I do, read, sleep for a while, read until dawn. I LOVED this book, not just the story, but the writing. Kostova's ability to advance the story through different voices and view points, combining the past and the present into a seamless flow is wonderful. It's hard to believe this is her first book. Yes, the story advances very slowly and the book is 642 pages long but I wouldn't cut a single page.If you are interested, it is out in paperback or try the library.

Paul came home, changed into his jeans, grabbed a beer and joined us in the book talk. He has been immersed in the history of the Ottoman empire for about a year now and pursued Vlad the Impaler as a detour. So he pulled "Dracula, Prince of Many Faces" from one of their many bookcases. This is a scholarly book, by Professors Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, tracing the historical facts and history of Vlad Dracula. No, we are not "Twilight" fans. I do like some vampire fiction but that's for another post. I know I keep promising a post on what I have been reading. One of these days...

Kim went off to stir the chile and make some adjustments therein, so Paul and I wandered on to his current reading about Alfred the Great. We stayed immersed in books and history until our friends began to arrive. There was no set time for dinner. People came when they were able, helped themselves to steaming bowls of chile in two different degrees of warmth, selected what they wanted to drink and joined whatever conversation they liked. At one point we had current political discussion at the dinning table, another discussion about pirates, women pirates in particular, in the living room. Kim jumped on the computer and found a biography of an Elizabethan period, female, Irish pirate, which she read to us. A couple of the kids were out on the patio sitting around the fire bowl and talking.

When it appeared we had everyone who was going to come, we indulged in the cake. There were special brownies for those who have special dietary needs. Everyone is included. I have much to be thankful for - friends and family - good books to read. I left with the Dracula book and a novel: "Deus Lo Volt" by Evan S. Connell. This joined the five library books that were lying on the front seat of Bogiebx. Most excellent evening!

Bottom line, from 4:30pm to 10:30pm, I drank two beers and a part of the third. I enjoyed two bowls of chile with all the fixings and cake. Hangover, hmmmm, maybe there is something in the beer. Anyway, it's been a long day and Aleve has helped!

I think I will have a bowl of chicken soup and retire to bed with my riches of reading material. Where do I begin?

If I don't post between now and the official day of Thanks and turkey, please know that you are all treasured in my heart and I wish the very best for all of you.

Light and Love,

Granny B