Friday, November 10, 2017

November 6 - 12, 2017, AZ

Friday, November 10.  It's been another week that is just flying by.  The days are full with the usual activities like dog walking, running errands, happy hours, hanging with Tom and hanging with friends.  I've also had opportunities to talk with family members; Pat, Rita, Randy, and Bob.


Randy didn't have good news - my brother Rick who has been doctoring an open wound on his abdomen (suspected to be a spider bite) learned that it is cancerous.  It all started with a blister that he scratched off and then the surrounding skin became infected and was treated with antibiotics that didn't clear it up.  So now we wait for further test results and treatment options.  I don't have a good feeling about this, primarily because of his lifetime of chronic alcoholism and rough living.


On Wednesday, I opened up and cleaned Sylvia's condo at Fountain of the Sun.  Tom came along to help with the outside work of sweeping and hosing down the patio and carport and moving her outdoor furniture from inside.  I got the refrigerator and ice maker going, ran the dishwasher, and wiped down surfaced and vacuumed.  It looked sparkly clean when we left.  Next week, I will be cleaning for Shirley and JoAnne and that cycle will be starting up for the winter.


Also, on Wednesday evening, we met Tom's son Chaney, his daughter-in-law Melissa, grandson Lakin, and ex-wife Kathy at the Harkins Theater in north Scottsdale to see the screening of the IFP Filmmaker Challenge.  It was a completion of local filmmakers and their short films.  Lakin played a role in the movie called "Pause", one of 20 films that met the challenge - a 6-minute movie that met the assigned challenge of a specific prop and a phrase.  Each film was viewed and judged by a panel of 7 professionals and also by audience voting.


We viewed all of the movies and then awards were passed out.  "Pause" took several awards; 3rd place in the Top Film category, then Best Photo to granddaughter Photography, Best Trailer, and the Audience Awards.  I'm glad that I was able to meet some of Tom's family and to be part of this great event, quite exciting!


Connie came over for a drink one evening and we went to Pat and Roger's for a drink last night.  Good friends and good conversation.


Yesterday's highlight was a FaceTime conversation with Camille and Norah - I was asked if we could have another sleepover - hopefully that will happen over Christmas.  Norah was proud to tell me that she was told that she was doing good work on the violin at school and Camille was proud of her swimming accomplishments.


Today was grocery shopping day, as we have emptied lots of stuff in the refrigerator and I would like to have supplies on hand so I can do some baking one of these days.  Tom is a coupon shopper, so it's his job to save us some money on groceries.