Ellen Anne Eddy's April 30 Visit and New Book

Our friend Ellen drove down from northern Indiana to deliver a copy of her newly published book, Tigrey Leads the Parade, to Mom.

As she did in Thread Magic, Ellen mentioned Mom in this book also.

Here's her first book, Thread Magic:

Mom, needless to day, was absolutely thrilled to see the finished product of her second book, as we had gotten to see the beginnings of the project when Ellen was here before in February 2009.

Ellen also brought fresh cut tulips from her garden.

And some homemade salve made from herbs from her garden.

and a really fun sweater!

We moved our visit from the dining room to the living room so Mom could introduce Ellen and her books to friends.

An added bonus of being downstairs was getting to enjoy this little furry fellow.

Take Time

This evening Mom opted out of playing cards so she could use my assistance instead to go over to Health Care and locate her friend, Ruth who is - no kidding - 106 years old. Don't let this picture fool you, Ruth is totally engaging and has an amazing sense of humor and a very active mind and memory.

Mom was tired from having her hair done today and is still recovering from the molar extraction Monday, so walking over to the Health Care side was a lot. She wanted to check on her friend though. They are good friends. I was tired and distracted, but this visit caused me to let everything else go and get some perspective!

Chuck's Visit April 23-26

My brother, Chuck's visit started with him treating us to dinner at Max and Erma's as an early Mother's Day treat!

Afterwards, Mom and Chuck fed a bread stick from dinner to some friendly ducks at a local park.

They explored a new little Japanese garden.

Here's one of my many mother and son shots.

A short walk was just right!

Back at Summer Trace, we enjoyed going through a stack of photos that Chuck's son, Erik, sent to Mom of his and Katy's daughters, Chuck and Cyndi's grandchildren, four of Mom's many great-grandchildren.

The next day at our house, we sat outside and enjoyed a little warm weather and nature!

Then we moved inside and enjoy a little air-conditioning and technology!

Back at Summer Trace, Mom introduced Chuck to one of the many wonderful nurses.

After church Sunday we had lunch with Mom at Summer Trace.

Mom really enjoyed introducing her son around again.

A goodbye kiss at the new Indy airport.

Thanks for coming to visit, Chuck!!!!

Catching Up! Multiple Recent Events...

Aphasia Group: I was glad to arrive home from Minneapolis April 13 in time to get Mom to the Aphasia support group she enjoys so much. In the video below, Mary Gospel is asking Mom to say where she is from and, in the process, help the speech students there understand how "aphasia" manifests itself in real life! This is a wonderful opportunity for the stroke survivors to educate future speech therapists. Hopefully it will make a different in the lives of countless others. Click on the arrow to watch this video:

We had a new little furry friend that night, Jan's new "service dog":

The Tuesday Bible Study Mom and I are involved in at Summer Trace is growing. Mom wasn't here this day, but these are some of her dear friends:



Joan, a cancer survivor herself, leads the group. She blows me away with her extensive memory and knowledge of the Scriptures that she has studied so diligently on her own. She is truly passionate about God's word and the new life she has experienced in Him. She is an inspiration to all of us!

Flowers: Mom got a truly beautiful pot of tulips from Bill and Gail. I regret that I didn't get a picture when they were in their full glory! Mom sure enjoyed them.

Weds. night cars: Kings-in-the-Corner and Euchre continue to be a favorite with Mom and others.



Band concerts are always a real favorite. This was the Indianapolis Municipal Band performing at Ben Davis High School Auditorium. We'll be hitting the outdoor concerts soon!

Mom's doing a little conducting of her own in this video: