Friday, May 20, 2005
Today is blood draw day.
You'll notice that I'm waiting for her to awaken rather than awakening her. Both of us stayed up very late last night...I think we finally headed in about 0130. She was in an extremely good mood. The antibiotics, although they knock her for a loop, seem to have eliminated the infection. She knew yesterday's dose was her last and was in a celebratory mood despite the low energy level that always plagues her when she's taking them. When I made my usual weekly trip to Costco to replenish our supply of paper underwear yesterday I picked up a batch of flowers for her that included some deep pink Gerbera daisies and some strangely beautiful specimens that look like orange circular millipedes. As well, because her sweet tooth has been screaming and her blood sugar has been under unusually good control and because I'd planned a Cobb salad for dinner last night, I decided to purchase dessert for her. Costco sells what my mother considers to be a luscious chocolate cake: Five layer, rich, dark chocolate, fudge frosting, with shaved chocolate around the sides. Over the last more than a few years every time she's gone to Costco she's salivated over that cake and I've reminded her that her blood sugar would probably soar into the stratosphere if she had a piece. She's been very good about reluctantly turning away. My relaxation about her health (I believe her diabetes is beginning to pack for the vacation her FNP mentioned it would eventually take) and the trend of her life kicked in yesterday when I noticed Costco handing out samples of the cake. I asked about the feasibility of freezing the cake (it's huge and we'd have to freeze most of it in pieces that equal two servings). One of the women sampling the cake mentioned that she'd successfully frozen it "many times" (she and I joked about who was the more fixated chocoholic, her or my mother). She cautioned me that if I was planning to cut it before freezing I should refrigerate the cake to "firm it up" so it would cut cleanly.
My mother was beside herself when she saw the cake. "Oh, I've had this one before and it's delicious," she said. In reality she hasn't but I'll bet she's had it several times in her dreams. I let her decide what size piece she wanted to eat. She marked out a hefty 2" at-the-rim slice. The dessert set the evening in party mood. She had one fit of looking for cigarettes when we watched a run of My House in Umbria, in which Maggie Smith smokes with much the same mannerisms my mother used to employ.
When the movie ended we reminisced for some time about past family celebrations and how we are priviledged to be a part of a great family.
My mother has, lately and surprisingly, developed an obsession with the series Deadwood. I'm surprised because last year when the series debuted we watched a couple of episodes. I was fascinated but my mother was put off by the language and the violence and didn't want to continue watching it. Lately, when I scan our cable menu for programs, she's noticed the name of the series and expresssed interest so a couple of weeks ago, after reminding her that she'd eschewed it last year and why, I tuned into it, telling her that if she was put off by it to let me know and we'd look for something else to watch. Her attitude toward the series has changed. She couldn't get enough of it. I canvassed video outlets around here and found one that had the first season for rent. It appears to be a popular rental: Only the first and second volumes were available that day. Surprisingly, we went through all four episodes in one evening and my mother was ready for more so we replayed those episodes the following day.
My mother's family has a bit of a history in that area. Although as far as she knows none of her relatives lived in the Deadwood/Lead area at the time depicted in the series, her father was born a slight 8 years after the time the series begins and I remember him being full of stories about that area. He and my grandmother owned and operated Latchstring Inn for some decades in the mid-20th century. They met and were acquaintances of both Potato Creek Johnny and Badger Clark, two denizens of the area. My mother owns an autographed copy of one of Badger Clark's books with which he gifted her. I remember visiting the Deadwood/Lead area and the Homestake Mine when we visited my grandparents at Latchstring Inn during summer vacations from Guam.
This time around both of us were curious about how much of the series reflected truth and how much of it was imagined. I wondered especially about the language, knowing that many of the cuss words used in the series were not in common usage, even in the filthiest mouths, at the time the series takes place. I also find the syntax and word usage fascinating, both of which hit my modern ear as "formal" yet coming from even the most informal of mouths in the series. The link I provided for the series addresses some of these questions, particularly the cursing, satisfactorily. I looked it up when she and I were wondering about the veracity of the detail in the series.
This is yet another series that my mother has asked me to procure so I've ordered the first season, the only season of the series yet available. I'm pleased that her interest in the series has grown. I took a shine to it the first time we viewed it and have had to "sneak" viewings late in the evening when she's retired. Now we can watch it together. One of the aspects of watching it with her that I particularly enjoy is that she is reminded of stories of her, her mother's and her father's lives in that area.
Hmmm...I think I hear my mother rousing. Time to get her ready for her blood draw.
Later.
My mother was beside herself when she saw the cake. "Oh, I've had this one before and it's delicious," she said. In reality she hasn't but I'll bet she's had it several times in her dreams. I let her decide what size piece she wanted to eat. She marked out a hefty 2" at-the-rim slice. The dessert set the evening in party mood. She had one fit of looking for cigarettes when we watched a run of My House in Umbria, in which Maggie Smith smokes with much the same mannerisms my mother used to employ.
When the movie ended we reminisced for some time about past family celebrations and how we are priviledged to be a part of a great family.
My mother has, lately and surprisingly, developed an obsession with the series Deadwood. I'm surprised because last year when the series debuted we watched a couple of episodes. I was fascinated but my mother was put off by the language and the violence and didn't want to continue watching it. Lately, when I scan our cable menu for programs, she's noticed the name of the series and expresssed interest so a couple of weeks ago, after reminding her that she'd eschewed it last year and why, I tuned into it, telling her that if she was put off by it to let me know and we'd look for something else to watch. Her attitude toward the series has changed. She couldn't get enough of it. I canvassed video outlets around here and found one that had the first season for rent. It appears to be a popular rental: Only the first and second volumes were available that day. Surprisingly, we went through all four episodes in one evening and my mother was ready for more so we replayed those episodes the following day.
My mother's family has a bit of a history in that area. Although as far as she knows none of her relatives lived in the Deadwood/Lead area at the time depicted in the series, her father was born a slight 8 years after the time the series begins and I remember him being full of stories about that area. He and my grandmother owned and operated Latchstring Inn for some decades in the mid-20th century. They met and were acquaintances of both Potato Creek Johnny and Badger Clark, two denizens of the area. My mother owns an autographed copy of one of Badger Clark's books with which he gifted her. I remember visiting the Deadwood/Lead area and the Homestake Mine when we visited my grandparents at Latchstring Inn during summer vacations from Guam.
This time around both of us were curious about how much of the series reflected truth and how much of it was imagined. I wondered especially about the language, knowing that many of the cuss words used in the series were not in common usage, even in the filthiest mouths, at the time the series takes place. I also find the syntax and word usage fascinating, both of which hit my modern ear as "formal" yet coming from even the most informal of mouths in the series. The link I provided for the series addresses some of these questions, particularly the cursing, satisfactorily. I looked it up when she and I were wondering about the veracity of the detail in the series.
This is yet another series that my mother has asked me to procure so I've ordered the first season, the only season of the series yet available. I'm pleased that her interest in the series has grown. I took a shine to it the first time we viewed it and have had to "sneak" viewings late in the evening when she's retired. Now we can watch it together. One of the aspects of watching it with her that I particularly enjoy is that she is reminded of stories of her, her mother's and her father's lives in that area.
Hmmm...I think I hear my mother rousing. Time to get her ready for her blood draw.
Later.
