When You Come to the End of a Perfect (Satur)Day

Wow. The weather was so perfect here today. Just soooo comfortable outside! Mark and I went to Wal Mart this afternoon and that's all, but we took our time getting ready this a.m., and we had our windows open. Then we spent quite a while at Wal Mart and Mark had to run back to his building for a while (I didn't even know he was gone, I was so wrapped up in looking at $5 DVDs. I found the old Willie Wonka! I've been wanting to get that for a long time! I also found New Moon for $5! We just got milk and bread, but Mark bought a big bag of Cheetos! And he shared them with me! Oh my goodness! I had to send him to the store down the street to get some more (but we haven't opened them yet). We're supposed to fast, but we're doing it later this week, with some of Mark's colleagues here. We're fasting for some of the workers. Some of the fasters won't be LDS, I think, but just joining with us (isn't that nice?). I think we got the 'Oh no, we're going to fast!' munchies. Kind of like the panic that hits before a disaster warning and everyone clears out the store shelves. I know it's not the right attitude, but oh well...we're weak. Mark also picked up some eclairs (bad Mark!). Too sweet, but nummy. : ) Another thing we got (well, two things) were prizes for Tut. For $3, we got a pop up house for Tut to play in, made just like the kids' pop up tents. And we got him a hanging toy on a flexible stick, with feathers and other things hanging off of it. Tut loves it and he loves his house, and he really loves playing with the toy from inside his house. I'll have to get pictures for you, but for around $7 we got Tut exercising and playing. He's in his house on the bed right now. I'll get you some pictures. We also got bobby pins and hairspray for my hair - I'm going to try and fix it like I read about on the internet. Wish me luck! Mark and I have been watching episodes of Firefly, the old Sci Fi Channel series that the movie Serenity comes from. We love that movie! And we love the cast. Nathan Fillian (sp?) is the captain and owner of the ship, and he now plays the lead in the tv series Castle. Browncoats Unite! (Firefly joke) Okay, what have we been doing otherwise? Well, Deedee took us all out for sushi again; Mark and I sang with the staff one night, standing (and sitting) around the piano. There were a few residents who wanted to hear Julie play the piano, which she does beautifully. We finally pulled out the karaoke machine and sang some with that. We all enjoyed ourselves, and we bonded more with each other. The residents here are so sweet, it's a real pleasure to spend time with them. I'm writing a skit that we'll (Jeff, Deedee, Melissa, Mark, Julie, and I) perform a week from Wed., during their 'Happy Hour.' We'll pull some residents into it too. It'll be partly musical, about 15 minutes. These people (and we) are hams, so I'm sure it'll be funny. I'm sure we'll take pictures, etc. to show you, and I can show the script for you off this computer (once I get it done!) So that's exciting. Mark's been really busy at work, since they're making some changes to help with the marketing in both buildings. This place is expensive, and it doesn't take Medicaid patients, so the residents here are wealthy. It's interesting; they're not snobby at all or spoiled acting, although some of them would take your whole day up, just talking to you and getting hugs, etc. They love jewelry (have I written about that before?), and generally love life. It's sad to here them talk about other residents or their spouses who have died. They just mention it in passing and don't really dwell on it, but it's such a stark fact of life for them. One couple I was talking with said that all of their friends and family had died. They're from the east coast, and I was asking them if they have visitors. They are very outgoing, on the whole. I try to visit with the people that are more to themselves. Most of them really appreciate it. Tomorrow we are going to Sacrament mtg., and then coming back here for their Super Bowl celebration. They want all the staff here, and Julie's even flying back from SLC with her son. Her birthday is Monday and they'll be here for it, so it will be great to meet her son and spend more time with her. She's a very fun, giving lady, and so is Deedee. That makes it so nice to work with them. I don't mean to gush about people here all the time; I just want to convey the atmosphere, so that you know it's a good one and know how we live. For the party, they are having little slices of pizza and finger food and probably hot dogs or something else. And they always have popcorn. I plan to just visit with people, but I hope the Steelers win. :D So, the window's are still open and it's still perfect, and we are worn out from playing with Tut, and so is he. So, how is your weekend going? Take care! Love you! xoxoxo