I slept til almost 7AM this morning. Of course, Chelsea had gotten me up during the night for a trip outside to her bathroom.

We got everybody fed and me showered.

Joan, the cleaning lady came a bit after 8AM. Chelsea was very glad to see her. Then Chelsea and I took a nice long walk. Chelsea came beck into the house spinning like a whirling dervish, she was so happy. I spent the rest of the morning writing, quilting and cooking.

Bobbie got her at about noon. Chelsea was SO glad to see her. We had mac and cheese, hot dogs and fresh Brussels Sprouts for lunch, then after we bottled the grape vine wine and racking the Bay leaf wine, we had strawberries and ice cream for dessert.

After we finished, Bobbie and I went over to Mother's house and Bobbie took all of the cactus that nobody else wanted and will try to preserve it. The cactus was Dad's hobby. He gathered them from everywhere. I remember us harvesting them when he came out to visit me and my ex in California. We, along with my inlaws, took him out to the dessert to drive the desert and he gathered some of every cactus he could find.

Mom and I were laughing remembering one time we were in some public building, like an arena or a theater or a museum, I have forgotten which. There was a cactus in one of the hallways that Daddy did not have, so he broke off a piece and put it in his pocket. I was humiliated. Fortunately no one caught him and now I find it amusing.

(I have no IDEA what happened to the above paragraph! But I cannot fix it so you'll have to just read it the way it is.)

The rest of the day has been very quiet. I fixed a light supper and worked on the computer and cuddled Roxie. She has been very needy lately. So I cuddle a lot. It is not bad for my well being either.

Today, for some reason, I remembered an event, small but scary, that occurred when Bret was just a little guy before Bart was even born. My neighbor, Joyce, and me with our boys, Bret and Chip in the back seat were out on errands. I was driving. Joyce went into her bank as part of or errands. I stayed in the car with the boys, who were probably between two and three years old. Suddenly, out of the bank front door ERUPTED two policemen with rifles in their hands looking around for I don't know what. They looked around and then retreated back into the bank as I sat there frozen wondering how I would get two munchkins down in the back out of car seats at once if bullets started flying. I never found out what it was all about. Joyce, when she came out, was not aware of a problem. But that incident is burned in my brain. Now I am wondering what ever happened to Joyce and Chip. I have not seen or heard from them in at least 30 years. And we were the very closest of friends.

Hang on to your friends and treasure them.

Love
Mary