Back In NY

It was a beautiful weekend. We made excellent time to Maryland arriving at 10:30 last Thursday night; just under 7 hour drive. I saw my mother the next morning and she is doing well. The assisted living residence is very nice, only two years old. The staff is friendly and attentive and while she isn't all that pleased with the arrangements (she'd much rather be on her own) she is getting used to it and making friends. While they last. She had a litany of deaths, hospitalizations and seniors moving in with their children (hint) that seemed endless.

We took her out for a wonderful crab cake lunch at Stoney's Solomon's Pier on Solomon's Island. My niece and her husband drove down from Astoria (Queens) as well as her father (my baby sister's husband - she died in 2003 at the age of 46) and his new wife(he remarried three years ago) from Port Jefferson. Also my sister's best friend, Ginny, and her husband came down to visit. She and my sister were friends since kindergarten and she still dearly misses her. My surviving sister's daughter also joined us for the luncheon. Truly, these were the best crab cakes I have ever eaten and they were huge. My sister, BIL and I ate dinner at her residence that evening and it was gross.

We had everyone over on Saturday and Sunday evening and had a ball. One of my nephews and his family joined us on Sunday. I haven't seen his sons in about a year and a half. They both grew about six inches. The 14 year old has a size 14 shoe. He'll be like his grandfather's family, everyone about six foot thirteen; my nephew (his father) is only five ten.

My BIL and I had some moving to do and re-arranging Mom's room, moving her TV and taking some obstacles out of there before she trips over it. If she had her way her entire condo would be stuffed into her single room. That and watching Mom's cat stumble about. The vet said the dang thing has cerebral palsy and it acts like it's drunk. Banging into stuff and all weird. But Mom loves it to death and the residence allows her to keep it. She calls it Sweetie Face. I call it the other white meat.

The weather in southern Maryland was absolutely perfect. We got home about 7 PM on Monday.