Betty and Chip

These are the best of times. Yesterday, I looked around the table during dinner and gave thanks for each person there: Mom, Lee and her husband Jeff, Chip and wife Betty, Shelley and, of course Michael. The only one missing was William. He was working in LA this weekend.

Betty and Chip rarely come to California and we were thrilled to have them to ourselves for an entire day. Everyone begged us to spend the night so I ordered a large top loading liquid oxygen tank delivered for my night usage. But, they forgot the hoses so we had to rig something together.

Michael, mom and I met at Lee and Jeff's house at noon on Saturday. They live in a very old town near Sacramento with the first opera house in the state! Beautiful Victorian homes stretch on for dozens of blocks, one more beautiful than the next. There is a sweet little Main Street where they buy everything from the local merchants. Roofers to vacuum repairs. Lunch was in a very authentic Taqueria, where the food was so fresh and delicious.

We hung around their house in the afternoon; Michael and Jeff hung out in their pool in the 100+ heat then we all went out for dinner. Eating out two meals! A real treat for us!

Dinner was in a former hardware store so the walls were very old brick. The old wooden racks for nuts and bolts still lined the entrance. Lovely dinner. Great food and conversation.

They live near the Delta and the breeze kicked up in the evening. The temperature dropped so with the help of the fan, we slept really well.

My mom looked better since she is no longer in constant pain but she is now so tiny. I swear she has lost a few more inches and weight. She was 5’5” and I’ll bet she is around 4”9” and well under 100 pounds. Shrinking away. Scary.

Betty and Chip arrived Sunday morning. It was even HOTTER! Over 100 degrees! After a simple but great lunch, we all jumped into their pool. Betty and I jumped in again just before dinner.

Dinner was a simple BBQ with light salads and the birthday cake I made for Shelley. She just turned 32-years old! Singing the traditional song in a family of musicians is always a treat.

I was able to spend quite a bit of time talking alone with Betty, some time with Chip and lovely time alone with Shelley. She and I did vow to meet for an afternoon in the city in August. Just the two of us!

Our time together was short but the conversations never stopped. At dinner, there were three loud, laughing conversations happening at the same time. As they all prepared for bed, we headed home to our little house on the coast and appreciated the drop of temperature the closer we got back to our life.