A Study In Contrasts
Lots of contrasts this weekend. An amazingly wonderful house concert with Kristi Rose and Fats Kaplin.....(themselves a study in contrasts in some ways!) Then the kind of sleep where you wake up and wonder why you feel so happy.....followed by Ernie waking me up so I could take a call from my mother's doctor. They sent her back to the nursing home yesterday but the doctor talked to me at length before that explaining that they expected this cycle of the fluid build up with the heart and kidneys weakening to continue and that we would need to decide how much treatment we want her to have. No surprises there of course but still sobering. Debbie and I went to the hospital and found her much, much weaker than she has been in the past by the time she went back to the nursing home. We got her settled at the nursing home and then came home and collapsed. Then the nursing home called to let us know that they had asked my mother if she wanted to be DNR (do not resuscitate) or have CPR if something happened. She chose DNR. The right choice but it still threw us to hear that she chose that.
So after that, we collapsed. Ernie and the boys went over to see her....she got moved to a different room, god knows why. Debbie and I were pretty brain dead. We played some Fats/Kristi Rose...and I made my favorite comfort food of oven-fried curried chicken and mashed potatoes before crawling into bed early with a book and one of Ann's sugar cookies that I had hidden away....
The party however.....the party was WONDERFUL and so good for our souls! We have amazing friends and made new ones as well and Fats and Kristi Rose....well, they are two people blessed with far more than their fair share of talent and charm. Fats dedicated one song to Sophie----"one fiddle player to another"----and I feared she would explode with happiness on the spot but she made it through. People brought wonderful food and drink and gifts, my house looked good and I just felt so happy. After everybody left Debbie, Ernie and I sat with Fats and Kristi Rose and chatted and well.....I just love them. That's all. Love them. It was a wonderful night....oh, I was so right not to cancel it.
Oh......and I think the cassoulet was a a success! Probably not the most photogenic of foods so no pictures but people seemed to like it and I was tickled to have Fats' approval as well!!!
O.k.....some pictures.....
more to follow......oh, and these pictures are from me as well as Don, Chloe, Richard and Susan....thanks all!