FUN is in the Eye of the Funned.

I'll start out with the old stand-by, "has it been a week already?" And yes, "time flies when you're having fun." So this week I'll tell you about a little bit of fun Mom has had.

Becky has taken Mom out to lunch a number of times, as you know. We have figured out a few places to not go, but besides IHOP on Saturday night, a new little Italian restaurant in town is a safe place because it is not so fast-paced busy and they know us and treat her great. The other place Becky has found is Golden Coral in Burleson. Becky has taken her there several times for lunch and they always meet up with Becky's mom and dad there. Mom talks about them and how they have "special" seats there and how she says funny things that make them laugh. So, this week, for Julie's birthday on Tuesday night, we went to Paisano's, the Italian restaurant, where they had cheesecake just for her and she had a great time even though Stacey and family were there. Then, during the week, Mom asked Becky if they could go to Golden Coral for lunch. Becky reports that she not only asked to go, but when they got to the restaurant, Mom pointed out Becky's mom and dad across the room! Now keep in mind that Mom's language is not quite like yours and mine, but we can usually figure out what she is trying to say.

Mom was having a good week. But that's not all of it! I took the day off from work on Friday so that I could do the cooking for the Taste of St.Bart's Fall Festival on Saturday. The booth I was working in was, what else, the Italian booth. I had obligated a big pot of sauce and several pounds of Penne Pasta. As an added food item this year, I decided to make pizzelles too. I got my puny little waffle iron out and mixed up the batter, all the time talking to Mom about "the Feast" and making pizzelles and the recipe and saying Hail Mary's, hoping that something would sound familiar to her. I could not find the "original" recipe so I was using one out of a recipe book. I asked Mom for her recipe and directed her to her recipe box, which she could not find and "someone stole it" but I found it and Mom sat going through the box mostly unable to read what was on the cards except for a few words. All the time I was talking to her about the recipes and other things. I showed her how my pizzelle iron was not heating evenly and asked if I could use hers. Mom did not know she had one, but we were able to locate one in her room and I heated it up. More talking and Mom got bits of memories about "my Italian ladies at the church" and the pizzelles needed to be stacked in sets of 12. So she stacked - 1,2,3,4,7,9,12. But they were stacked to her satisfaction. When I got tired I asked if she would take over. So she stood teaching me how to do it like the Italian ladies at church. She dropped the teaspoonful on the iron and closed it and I took the pizzelles off when they were done. We finished the batch and Mom was exhausted. So was I, actually.

That evening we had Stacey and family in for dinner for Micah's birthday. David's mom from Oklahoma and his sister from one of the Carolina's was here also. Joe had put a roast in early in the day and we had birthday cake. Mom enjoyed the dinner with no problem and kept trying to give everyone some pizzelles to taste after dinner. People were more interested in the chocolate birthday cake, but the hostess in Mom needed to get out the homemade pizzelles to go with coffee after dinner. She had a good day.

And of course yesterday, was church day. Mom came out of her room dressed in the morning amid all of the chaos of getting everything ready to take up to the church for the festival. When I advised her that she looked very nice but that after breakfast, I was going to help her with a shower, I experienced the "if looks could kill" face from her. She had no intention of bathing or having anything to do with me. When I joined her in her room Mom was changing into a short sleeve shirt so I reminded her about the shower and that it was Church Day - no shower, no church. I helped her undress. Once in the shower it took reminders to pick up the soap, use soap, wash this part and that part, here is the wash cloth, wash your face, turn off the water, push down, no the other way... Mom and Joe went to mass last night after stopping by the festival for a few minutes. I did not join them. And of course, there was IHOP afterwards with Joe, David and Rosaline, David's mom.

It was an unusually active week for Mom and she enjoyed the interaction. Unfortunately her nights were active as well. At 3:00 a.m. one morning, I got to Mom's room and she was dressed and putting her shoes on. It took some yawning and grogginess on my part to convince her that it was not time to get up and I was going back to bed for a few hours so that I could go to work in the morning. I got her settled down without her shoes but still dressed. On another early A.M. I heard Mom yelling and got to the laundry room where she was standing in the open door to the garage yelling at someone.

And that's the way it is, as Mom would say. Perhaps if I took time throughout the week to make some notes here, I wouldn't have to publish the entire book at one time. Food for thought - when I have time to think. Love you all!!!