Saturday

Busy but gorgeous morning.  Sis and I have been delivering banana bread to neighb's and while Claire's family is off some where, Mary was home.  Sis has a love-hate relationship with kids mainly because they scare her to death.  All that squawking and unexpected movements just unglue her and when I invited her to go out front while I went to Claire's, she simply wasn't buying.  Nope.  Not happening.  Of course when I asked her if she'd like "to go to Mary's", she flew off her chair, whining, squealing, and ready to tear the door off the hinges.  I guess with Sis, some people have it, some people don't.

When we go to Mary's, Sis is ALWAYS invited in, allowed to roam freely, and generally treated like royalty.  Any crumbs she finds are fair game and while I'm always worried Sis might leave a parting gift, so far she's been on her best behavior.  (Wigman used to do that sometimes when he got real excited so I always keep an eye on her, though Mary could care less.)

Mary just called to tell me she loved the banana bread and had eaten two big pieces for lunch. I had already confessed that mine had suffered a minor cave in, in the center of the loaf, and that I'd googled it to find out why.  (Apparently it happens a lot so I didn't feel so bad.)  Mary's response was that she "didn't give two hoots...just keep it coming".  She was a great cook back in the day and always loves hearing about my cooking fiascoes, of which there are many.  Cheap entertainment I guess.

She told me today that one of the reasons she doesn't want to move to an assisted living facility is because she doesn't want to sit around all day and "talk to old ladies about being old".  She said "I want to be outside working in my yard and in my own house.  And with you and Bruce next door to help me when I need it".  Oh, Lord.

Mary and Bruce, each with a pair of clippers, is like two monkeys with machine guns.  Believe me when I say it will NOT end well.