Easter!
Busy day here at the homestead.
Mom is doing well with the chemotherapy that started on Friday. She didn't get 'slammed' today as the nurse indicated she might. Yay!
Mom is doing better with the fractured tibia. She has mastered the wheel chair and the walker and can get around pretty well inside the house. Getting out of the house is another story. To get out of the house, she has to step down from the doorway (where she fell in 2007 and broke her wrist, so she is tentative) to the porch. From there, she uses the walker across the porch to the first step down. She is less tentative and fearful at this point because she has the porch rail and column to hold as she steps down. She then moves to the end of that wide step, to the edge, where she has to step down with just the walker to reach the sidewalk and the waiting wheel chair. By the time she accomplishes this feat of escaping the house, she's pretty exhausted! So, she has only been out for doctor appointments and chemotherapy since she fell on March 19.
She wanted to get to Mass last Sunday for Palm Sunday, but she just couldn't face the exit strategy. Today, Easter Sunday was going to be (and WAS!) way too full of people for her to be comfortable in her wheelchair. Plus, finding a parking space and getting her out of the car and to the Church was more than she felt up to trying. So, Father Dan made a special visit to the house this afternoon - for a blessing and communion.
We knew Father Dan was coming today and mom was feeling she needed to spruce up for company. Because the chemo is the hair-losing variety, she didn't want to go to the beauty shop and spend a bunch of money on her hair. Enter Kathleen - apprentice hairdresser! I bought her color yesterday and this morning her hair was transformed into a lovely light golden brown - L'Oreal Excellence -- because she's worth it!
We were running out of time to get it set before I had to leave for the noon Mass. Being an apprentice, I'm neither quick nor skilled, so I only got about 1/2 of the back done. Mom finished the front and sides herself.
Fr. Dan said he'd be by at about 3 PM. We figured at 2, she'd be able to keep it set for another 30 minutes until it was good and dry. No such luck! Fr. Dan called at 2:15, having overshot our neighborhood, to get more guidance from his location. He's a bit directionally challenged (self admitted, so I can say it!) even with good directions! This was such a blessing today. Otherwise, he'd have arrived without warning - an hour early - and Mom would have been mortified to have her hair still in curlers! We pulled out the curlers and fluffed up the 'do and she was well-satisfied that she looked presentable.
I'm so glad we took the time to get her fixed up today. While the process wore her out a bit, she feels much better for looking a little more together.
Fr. Dan took his leave. Then, Mom and I had a small bit of lunch, after which we adjoined to our separate areas. She to nap a bit while watching tv; me to clean up my desk to pay bills later.
For Easter, I planned a ham dinner: spiral sliced honey ham, au gratin potatoes, crescent rolls and a veggie. A Big Sunday Dinner! Unfortunately, the gathering was small for our Big Dinner - me, Mom and my younger son. I'm pretty sure we'll be enjoying our Big Sunday Dinner all week! :)
Mom keeps apologizing for all the extra work she sees me doing, wishing she could help make dinner or clean up. I keep telling her it's okay. I don't think she believes me.
In knitting news:
I am almost finished her shawl -- about six inches left to the end - pictures to follow a light blocking. I'm also half done with a lovely cotton angora twist rib hat for when her lovely hair leaves her head and she needs a covering to keep her warm.
I'm itching to cast on for something else ... but I am resisting - until I finish her shawl. I don't know what I want to try next. But it will be something that will give me a bit more instant gratification than a 6 foot shawl! :)
Hope you all had a lovely day! Alleluia!
Until next time.
