Hi All - Yes I am still alive and kicking! The last couple of months have been absolutely insane for me - and it will be continuing for a while.
Some may remember that back in June I had to go to San Diego to help clear out my mom's apartment because she was moving into the nursing care center at her retirement home. OMG!!! Who would have thought that so MUCH stuff could fit into a one bedroom apartment! And that was AFTER I had hired a professional organizer for my mom last year to help clear out a lot of her stuff. Thank goodness I did that - I would never have been able to finish in time if I hadn't.
But I had loads of help from friends and family, and we did get it done Whew! My mom is more or less settling in, but it is a big adjustment for her. But she has always had an amazingly positive attitude about stuff, so she is making the best of things. And given her current state of health - she really has very little strength and so she can't get around much on her own - she really is in the best of places and is getting great care.
Then - as soon as that job was done, it was up to the San Francisco area to meet my husband, who was just starting a new job. He is on a 6-months training visa in the US, so I will be going back and forth for a while. He is really enjoying the new job though, so it is a good thing.
Finally, I got to come back home at the beginning of August. Thankfully Tikka is here with me. I was severely kitty-deprived while I was away. I did get to pet the therapy cat that was making the rounds of my mom's place one evening, and I did get to play a bit with my cousin's munchkin kitties, but that was about it! I was having to make do with - GASP - dogs! Some friends have a chihuahua who was happy to sit in your lap and let you stroke her - but it just wasn't the same!
Anyway - I am back to Calif next week, so things will continue to be hectic for a while yet! At the moment I am trying to do some decluttering of my own. My mom's apartment was a real wake-up call. I don't even want to think about what will be said when someone is going through all MY stuff!
In any case, I will try to keep in better touch! And on one of these trips to SF, maybe we can have another No. Calif get-together! It would be very cool if I could make it down to So. Calif for the big MCW gathering, but we will have to see!
