Just before my 69th

Have just started my yoga and meditation routine again...that half hour in the morning is amazing that it changes my attitude so much.  I need it.  It's like water or air.  How come I let myself slip away from it for so long?  Duh!

I write emails daily to two dear old friends, who I'll call The Brain and The Flowery One.  So I've got emails that I've sent, and they've replied back.  Much of my life is recorded through these dates, though it's a bit of a strange format.  But it's a great resource when writing a book.



<Friday, August 19, 2011 4:19 PM  (NOTE: I turned 69 on Aug 23, 2011)
<TO: The Flowery One and The Brain

<Oh, that's such a lovely complex...and your patio (even without all the plants) is also very nice.  I didnt' realize your fence just was waist high, so you've got view of sky too.  Nice. 
(NOTE: I'm responding here to a picture of The Flowery One's patio picture.  Also I tend to not correct my misspellings while I'm first waking up in the morning, so the more typos there are, the earlier I was writing.)

The Flowery One's patio

<I've done some errands and bought some ginger ale for The Enlightened One and myself...she's talking with the Hospice nurse and says she's eating a little bit for each meal.  But she is tired a lot, so I just gave her a hug and said I'd see her in 10 days.  
(NOTE: My friend, The Enlightened One was dying of cancer, and had already started having Hospice visits.  I hated to be away to visit my family, but didn't see that things would change rapidly [hindsight is 20-20])

<My dear old IBS is rearing its ugly head, as I thought would happen tomorrow.  nah, it couldn't wait.  So Iv'e bveen creative at finding bathrooms while doing my errands.
(NOTE: This writer does have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which causes all kinds of problems in travelling.  Later in this year I will finally have some good medications that allow me to go anywhere, oops pardon the pun, I mean they would allow me to travel!!!)

<I loaded the crate of pottery that I'm offering to my son, The Consultant's family...hope I don't have to bring it all back.  Well, maybe some would be ok.  But I sure don't need it all collecting dust.  I'd rather my grands have it already.

<So the laundry is done.  I bought 2 new bras, cause there are only 2 that fit still (I know,  Flowery One...you don't have to deal with that any more...lucky you.)  The Enlightened One offered me all of hers, but they wouldn't go around my big old tubby form, she's a little bit of a thing.
(NOTE: The Flowery One is a breast cancer survivor!)

<Anyway, I've been washing one out every night, having only 2 at this point that fit, and decided that was just not the way I'd be welcome in a family bathroom!

<I'm going to put my feet up, then take the ice cream cake to the pot luck at 6:30.  Will pack after that.

NOTE: the above email had deleted a few items.  Other than those, it's pretty much the way it was written.   I won't copy emails verbatim, because that would be pretty tedious.  But I wanted you to have a feeling for my way I'll be retrieving events that I've recorded in this way.  The condition IBS is one that is seldom brought up in conversations, however many people suffer from it also, so I'm letting you know about my situation here, especially since it dictated some of my decisions along this trip.