"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Well, I'm shopping at Home Depot and your mother is at Borders," Walt replied. Tom laughed. It was so "us"!
It was good to sleep in this morning. From my spot on the couch in the parlor, I was "aware" of movement in the house, but had no idea that three people had gotten up, showered, dressed, eaten breakfast, and headed off to work/school.
It was 7:15, with sun streaming in the window, before I finally sat up to check the time. How lovely! I had an hour on the computer while Walt woke up and did his wrist exercises before the day actually started.
We had kind of a quiet morning around the house, since we were the only ones here. I wanted to help clean up from the party, but Alice Nan had said to leave it all and when I started to think about where to put stuff, I realized that was probably safest. I know how frustrating it is for me when people help and then it's weeks before I can find stuff I use all the time!
Around 11 a.m., we were finally packed into the car and we drove over to the assisted living facility where Walt's mother lives. She had just come back from a late breakfast and was in that post-prandial lethargic mode. We sat and talked with her, snoozed with her, and just kept her company until about 2 p.m. when her nebulizer treatment was finished. Then we left her to nap some more and we went off in search of a light lunch--and some shopping.
While he wasn't exactly shopping yet, Walt wanted to check out mats for the treadmill, which is scheduled to be delivered on March 17. The delivery people had told me that we could pick up a hard rubber mat at Home Depot and Walt wanted to know if he was going to have to rent a truck to transport it from Woodland back to Davis again (apparently not).
I decided I really was not needed to go shopping for hard rubber mats (especially if we were not going to actually BUY one now!), so I went off to Borders to check out books. I was curious to see if "Schuyler's Monster" was on the shelves. When I was there 2 weeks ago, it had been delivered, but had not made it to the shelves yet. They had a grand total of ONE copy. But the copy isn't there, so either (a) they never got it, (b) they still haven't put it on the shelf, or (I hope) (c) someone has bought it.
My friend Diane had recently told me about a woman who writes mysteries that feature dogs. Kind of the canine equivalent of "The Cat Who..." books, I assumed. I had purchased one of the books and had it with me, but it was back at Alice Nan's house. In the meantime I had finished the book I was reading, "Saving Sprite" (I will be writing a review about it later. I didn't think much of it. Ashley, if you want it, let me know and I'll give it to you.).
Anyway, faced with returning to Walt's mom's place for more napping, I wanted another book to read, so tried to find this author. I couldn't remember her name and was hoping some titles would leap out at me. I started at the "Z" end of the Borders Mystery section and naturally, her name starts with a "B" -- Laurien Berenson. But I bought another of her books, "Dog Eat Dog," and started reading that in the Borders cafe, with my bottle of sparking water, waiting for Walt to return from his mat-hunt.
Then back to Maravilla for more napping and finally, when Alice Nan arrived from her trip to L.A. for the day, we all went to the dining room for dinner.
This place really is lovely, if you have to be in assisted living. Everything just feels plush, the attenndants really seem to attend and the dining room is like going to a nice restaurant every night. There are tables for 4 or 6 people, all with cloth table cloths, good tableware, flowers, and attentive servers, who have been trained in how to serve. The room is dominated by a huge fireplace and big windows look out onto the courtyard.
Oh, it's not the Ritz, but so much better than other places she could have been. And the food is creative and doesn't all taste like it came from the grammar school steam table. I had almond encrusted breast of chicken with mango chutney; Alice Nan had vegetarian cabbage rolls and Walt had a shrimp louis salad. All was very tasty (Walt's mother had the same dinner I did).
When we finished dinner, we took her back to her room and left her to watch "Jeopardy" with Alice Nan while we went and checked the progress that has been made on Tom & Laurel's house. The kitchen, which was down to the studs, with only a concrete floor, when I saw it two weeks ago, now looks like a real kitchen--or it would if all the living room furniture weren't piled in it (they installed new carpet in the living room today). I am so incredibly impressed with the work Tom has done in the house. Like the work that Ned has done on the room they added to their house, it just boggles my mind that my children have all these amazing talents. It must be a throw-back to a former generation!
Laurel gave me a tour of the baby's closet, where everything is organized and color-coordinated and made easy so that if Tom dresses his daughter, he can find coordinated clothes. The thought did cross my mind that I wondered how long this organization and coordination was actually going to last but then, knowing Laurel, I suspect a very long time.
I gave Tom my guesses on the birthing pool. I'm guessing March 24 and that the baby will be 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long. Coincidentally, March 24 is the date Laurel has picked too. She's very definitely hoping she doesn't match Walt's mother's prediction, April 8!
So our day was pretty low key, but it seems like we did good stuff and it was fun to see the nursery all painted. I told Tom that the next time I see him, he'll be a Daddy! Now that feels strange!
We head back home again tomorrow (and then I have one day at home before a much anticipated, much needed Cousins Day!). This has been a very short, but very nice trip.
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