A beautiful day!

I just returned from a reasonably long walk - a victory for me since I seldom exercise (and I need to do it, because I'm 30-40 lbs. over my ideal weight). Next time, though, I should take my allergy medicine, since everybody is mowing the lawn now and the grass irritates my eyes. But it's a beautiful day. I heard children laughing down a street and it made me smile. I saw a couple on my court - at different times as they drove by in separate cars. When I got home, my husband was doing some trimming outside. The first time he realized I was going for a walk was when he heard the front door close. I imagine he was pretty surprised.. He probably would have declined if I'd asked him to come along, though, since he went bike riding earlier today - and he walks much faster than I do. Anyway...one small victory...

Friday's folklore class went well. Actually, I'd goofed off on the readings (and studying) a bit over the past week (thinking, for some odd reason, that the next quiz was still another week away), so I was very happy when the Prof. laid a very short multiple choice quiz in front of me (the last quiz was essay). Add to that the fact that he gave us three more questions worth extra credit, and I'm very happy. I think I did alright... The first part of the class was spent watching a folkstreams.com video called (I think) "Land of the Blues" and discussing outlaw ballads. I've signed up for a Shakespeare/comedies class for the fall.

I am extremely happy to report that my mother and older brother have finally found a duplex they like and they've bought it. It's been a rough few years for my mom. After her boyfriend had a sudden heart attack, my older brother (who is disabled) moved to Florida to try to help her out. Unfortunately, the trailer on her property in which he's been living has been falling apart. (They prefer to live separately (yet close enough to help one another) so he couldn't/wouldn't move indoors. It's probably best that he didn't anyway, since he smokes and she doesn't. ) And she can't sell her property because nobody would want to buy the old house (even though it's alright for renting) *and* it's due to be rezoned (eventually...when the powers-that-be get around to it/they refused to do it any sooner) for business. Of course, she couldn't afford to pay to have it rezoned or to have the building razed for a business and residents on the street are divided anyway about whether or not they want it rezoned. Soooo...it's been a big headache for her (and I've worried about her, of course). After all, she's in her 80's now (but functioning very well).

So the good news is that she and my older brother now own a condo in Cape Coral. The feral cat my mom tamed (Did I mention that she is good w/cats, dogs, foxes, raccoons, feral cats, etc. - it's amazing!) will move with her to the new place. Somehow, she and my brother will have to coax the cat that belongs to the neighbor across the street to go home instead of hanging out there anymore. Even if that cat didn't have it in for her pet feral cat, that cat would never be happy as an indoor cat and he just couldn't roam at her new place. The homes are much closer together. I'm sure she'll miss all of the nature that surrounds her at the place she's in now, though. She has tall trees and a good-sized piece of land there. She loves to watch the birds feed just outside of her window. Oh well, she'll still have good memories. She lived with her boyfriend (whose wife died of cancer) for nearly 17 years (I think) and they performed in bands for dances down there until it just became too much for them to cart the organ and drums around. I'm hoping that my older brother will meet some women his age at the new place, too (shh...don't tell him). He has debilitating back problems, but he's really a nice guy - and he's only three years older than I am).

Soooo...that's the good news for today. Oh! And I loved, loved, loved subbing the second-graders last week (because they were such sweet and well-behaved kids), but I did not like getting red mud all over my nice black suede shoes during the field trip. I still have to find a brush around here and try to get it off. It may not come off, though, because I wet my shoes and wiped them with a paper towel after I returned to the schools.