Houseguests are a great way to get out and see what’s out there! Mike’s sister and her husband came to stay with us for four days. It was wonderful. They took three weeks to travel down the coast from New York and are driving back up through the Blue Ridge Mountains after their stay in Cary. We have a second bedroom that serves as my office with desk, computer and printer, and we have a daybed for guests. To pull out the trundle however, is not only a major task (for us), but it leaves just a narrow path to the computer and virtually no room for suitcases. So after two experiences with houseguests, the first one with our daughter and granddaughter, leaving the trundle in the down position, and the second one with our two adult guests, with the trundle up, the two twins being the total size of a King, we decided that from now on we will welcome one guest at a time to stay with us. But for two guests there is a great solution: at the Club they have a studio we can rent. It’s on the third floor and has a kitchenette with fridge, microwave and a stovetop, a sitting/bedroom and a spacious shower. It is fully stocked. The bathroom is stocked with towels, soap, shampoo and toilet paper, and so it is perfect for two guests. It gives them the experience of retirement living; we had breakfast and brunch together in the dining room and tea and coffee are always available in the Café.
On Sunday we attended a concert in a historic building in Durham by the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle of which Dennis is a member. It was a beautiful concert, titled A Toast to Women, and it was a delight to hear and watch Dennis on trumpet. Afterwards we had supper at Dennis’ house with the other four members of the family.
On Monday I took them to the South-Point Shopping Mall, the largest mall and farthest away, where I had no difficulty getting all my 10,000 steps in, and then some! On Tuesday we enjoyed the NC Museum of Art, which I had not seen yet either. That is definitely a place for us to go back to.
Doggie Days
I went to see our puppy again before she will go to her trainer. She is beginning to look like a dog and weighs 4.5 lbs. When I put her on the floor to watch her move, she immediately ran the full length of the barn so fast that I did not catch up until she was ready to dart out the door. I almost fell over my own feet and had to grab the door jamb with one hand for stability while reaching for the puppy with the other. I will need a permanent leash for this little one, I thought. And we have a name for her: Lani. A Hawaiian name, it means Heaven, heavenly, royalty.
My next trip was to Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, where I selected parts of a black metal fence, 30″ tall, to go around the area behind the house so we can let her out quickly to go potty when we are not ready yet to take her. Dennis et al will pick up the fence in his truck and put it in the ground when he can find the time in his busy schedule. Three grandsons come in handy! We will end the day with a festive dinner. Dinner out, that is, because I ain’t cooking anymore!
Dining room Hostess seating
At 4:30 p.m. sharp, residents used to race into the dining room with their canes and walkers to get a seat at their favorite table with their favorite people. Then there were not enough waiters to take their orders and the kitchen could not keep up either. So everyone complained about all that and it would take all but two hours to get finished with our dinner. Recently, our table, the four of us from Arizona, suggested to Management to have us seated by a hostess, like they do in restaurants. We started the new program last week. People for the first seating are all still queuing up in a big mass in the hallway, but nobody gets seated until they have all people for a table of 7 or a table of 4 together, and listed with the hostess. She then lets them in, table by table, overseeing the waiters who are taking orders; when they are done, another table gets seated. Another new thing that got implemented two weeks ago is an electronic tablet, on which the waiters text the orders of a table directly to the kitchen. As soon as the orders are filled, kitchen waiters bring out the plates and the waiters take over again and serve the dinners. It sounded kind of complicated at first, and hard to understand for the many older people here, but it is already starting to flow, and we have finished dinner by 6 p.m. or even sooner three nights already. That gives us a nice long evening.
Events, Lectures, Bingo and Bridge
Many activities are scheduled at the Club every week, but being on the outside, in our cozy cottage, we have not participated in many of those; we still have so many other interests of our own. This Friday there will be an art show of fellow residents we will be going to. Several of the residents are painters, we have one woodworker, quilters, and more.
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny