Dear Mom and family,
Because my drama club is now scheduled on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, I flew to Berkeley on Thursday, and will fly back today, Sunday. I took an early flight so as to have time to practice music with Oscar before lunch. The terrible fatigue I've had since I had that bout with flu the week before last made the trip more difficult.
You can see how tired I was in this selfie (but color-coordinated!)
Here's Oscar in his music room/study. I like this photo, I like photos of people in their interiors.
I refused to give Oscar a hug because I feared I might still be contagious, and he seemed to take it as a personal affront.
I took the BART back to Berkeley and walked to Andronico's as usual. When I finished buying my groceries there, I did not have my usual energy to lug the groceries and my luggage to the bus stop and take the bus up the hill. I called Nancy and she called Sandy, who was down in Berkeley anyway,
You can see how tired I was by this selfie taken in front of Andronico's as I waited.
It was really nice to be able to see Nancy, as she's in Berkeley every Thursday. We chatted about a number of subjects, including the psychological effects of early childhood trauma, whether in abusive homes or in war.
We really had a nice evening, though this photo, unfortunately the only one I took, does not capture that!
I enjoyed chatting with Karina before she left, in the morning. I'm glad that she ended it with the Turkish guy. In the summer she will be going to Croatia for a wedding, a friend of hers who lives her is marrying a Muslim man in the mosque here, then they will go back to Croatia for a church wedding with the girl's family! Something for everyone!
I was rather surprised, shortly thereafter, when Marisa suddenly left. We were just having a pleasant conversation (during which she did mention that she wanted the back door left open because the shampoo and soap I just had used bothered her) when she suddenly entered the kitchen and said she had to go home and get her migraine medicine, and that she didn't know if she would be back.
"Okay", I said, "I'm sorry." I didn't have time to ask her where Mom's glasses were, or where the shampoo and soap I should use were, or anything else.
I was using the same shampoo and conditioner (Pantene) and soap (from the Body Shop, probably is scented but naturally) I've used for years. Next time I'm in Berkeley I plan to buy some shampoo and soap marked "unscented" and use them while I am there.
After cooking the eggs and sausages, which were well-received, I felt so tired I had to lie down on the couch. I sure will be glad when this fatigue, leftover from that virus I had, is done with!
I am disappointed that the vitamins are not being taken, because vitamins are especially important to a body which is going through the healing process. I wonder if it would be possible to find some vitamins which are smaller pills. I myself sometimes have trouble getting the larger pills down, I have to take a huge gulp of water.
Continuing to not take the vitamins will probably be reflected in the bloodwork results, which in turn will result in vitamins being prescribed anyway. Perhaps when and if the vitamins become a doctor's prescription they will be taken seriously.
In the late afternoon, I went through the songs that Oscar and I usually do, and put them in an order where the slow ones were alternated with the faster ones. The faster ones include the fiddle tunes which he does on mandolin while I do rhythm. I also practiced all of the songs. Doing this preparation resulted in a more polished-sounding music session the next day.
In the late evening, Jennie helped me cutting up vegetables for the stew I was making for the tea. I sauteéd the beef, she chopped the onions and sauteéd them, and both went in the crock-pot overnight.
Sandy had purchased the entire last Downton Abbey series, and as I feared I would not reach home Sunday by the time it was aired in Arizona. So I asked to watch it after dinner. Mom said she would like to watch it with me, but her attention wandered some. For those of you who are following this series, they do tie up all the loose ends, it's like 25 little happy endings in program.
Interesting conversation with Jennie before she left, the following morning. I found out that she is hoping to get a job like the one I had, for the school system, and that during the week she volunteers three hours a day in her son's school. She also sells insurance to Spanish-speaking people, during the week.
The rest of her family are all professional people: her father was a school teacher in Peru, her sister is a lawyer, and her brother, if I remember correctly, an accountant. Jennie was the only one of the family who had a very difficult time in school, and needed much tutoring help from her father just to graduate from high school.
Jennie was married for ten years in Oklahoma City, and moved out to be near her parents after that marriage broke up. She had an affair with an accountant (I only surmised this by "reading between the lines") and got pregnant by him although her doctors in Okalahoma City had said she was unable to have children. The accountant had to go back to Peru, because he had been padding his own account with some of the money he got from his clients, who were immigrants. During her pregnancy, her father "helped me so much, I will always be so grateful to him".
As a single mom, she concentrated very hard at saving money, and in three years was able to save enough for a down payment on a house (during the time that housing prices plummeted). When she moved into her second husband's house after marrying him, she rented out the house she was making payments on, at a profit. At the present time she is renting her house to to her lawyer sister, who never saved enough money to buy a house (and who apparently loves to give large parties).
Her son has been raised by her husband since the son was eight months old, and regards his stepfather as his dad. The boy is apparently very intelligent. She has him in an after school program which involves swimming for exercise, and after that educational programs.
Anyway, I found her quite an impressive person!
Tamika arrived right on time, with an attractive new hairstyle. I asked her about the expensive Super Bowl party she had gone to right after I saw her last, and she said that it was great, but that she didn't get to see the famous rap artists "50-Cent" and Chris Brown perform, because "my cousin got so lit they made me take her home, saying that 'this wasn't that kind of club, for people who can't hold their liquor.' I was so mad because that was why I went, to see them perform".
The dishwasher repair-main had rescheduled for 9:00 AM Saturday, and with Sandy's assistance, he soon had he problem fixed.
In the early afternoon, we had a very pleasant visit from Pam and Sophia. They ended up helping to create the cruditeés platters, and we had an interesting conversation besides. Olaf, Stephan and other boys fr0m Stephan's film class are having a weekend at Inverness, which involves filming. I am irritated at myself that I forgot to take a photo while Pam and Sophia were here; it was one of the highlights of the day.
About a dozen people showed up for the tea: I have become quite fond of all of the regulars. I thought my "Gypsy Stew" turned out great but there's a lot of it left over, in jars in the freezer at Campus Dr. Sandy made a nice rice dish and some incredibly delicious bruschetta appetizers, and people brought very nice dishes.
This time I finally remembered to take photos of everyone at the tea, and even roped in Paulette to take a photo of Oscar and me playing music together.
The first photo shoes Danielle and her friend (whose name I forget and who has started coming to some of the teas). Danielle teaches French, and her friend makes her living caring for peoples' babies, in her home, and has for years. I learned that Danielle and her sister still own their old family home in Provence, and they rent it out on Air-BnB for only 200 euro a night. Mostly they've had good experiences, except for a group of Romanians who put negative comments on the BnB notice board, and also stole all of the recently-purchased sheets!
Benter was wearing a gorgeous African dress. We had not seen her since she went in October to visit her family in Africa. She spent most of her time "in the village" where they do have electricity but most residents still must haul water, including her relatives.
Benter's brother and husband really laughed when I showed them the photo (found on Google Images) of the Trump piñata. (I had heard about it on NPR.) I know I have posted it on this blog before, but for those who haven't seen it, here it is:
We had quite a discussion about whether we should really be worried about the possibility of Trump being elected.
Nice food. Shown left to right: the cruditeés, the bruschetta, Benter's spinache/arrowroot plate, Danielle's friend's croissants, and my Gypsy Stew. Not shown is Sandy's rice dish.
Here are Paulette, Matti, and Marcia. As most of you know, Matti was Daddy's teaching assistant, Marcia has been friends with mom ever since library school.
Paulette took several photos of Oscar and me, and this one I liked most. I love the surrounding of books.
Love,
Lennie
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