After lunch, I drove on up another 12 miles to visit my 2nd ex husband. He had called me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that something he kept from me when we divorced, he wanted to now give to me.
The item had been a bone of contention at the time. It was mine, but he said, if he hadn't gotten it for me, I never would have it and then I told him, if I hadn't seen it and asked him to get it for me, he never would have even known about it...and on and on. He kept it from me just to be mean. It's not like it's worth anything. I had seen it the first time I visited him and asked, when he was done with it, could I have it.
So--30 years later, I got my "Rocky" back.
So silly--we were on our Honeymoon in upper Michigan, walking along a high bank with Lake Michigan far below. I spotted a rock. Shaped somewhat like a skillet, with the "pan" eroded away by the swirling water.
He climbed down the bank and brought that heavy thing up to me and we put it in the trunk of our car. When we got back home, I placed it under the down spout of our eaves trough, in a small garden I had planted. When it rained, the water would come down into the basin and swirl around before running off the "handle" of the skillet into the garden. The birds used it as a birth bath. I loved that dang thing!
So Rocky is now in the trunk of my car, waiting for me to find some strong guy to help me get it out and place it under the down spout off my porch, in a woodland garden I have there.
Too funny, huh? I wish he felt the need to give me back the $10K I loaned him, but he gets less Social Security than I do and has nothing. He looks terrible!! Near 6' tall and probably doesn't weight 145 pounds. His stomach caves in and his rib bones stick out. He cinches his pants in to extra holes he has made in his belt. He looks very creased and old--which, I guess at 87 he should look old. He's still very healthy, takes no prescriptions and put in a 50'x75' vegetable garden this year. He dyes his hair, so it looks reddish, as a lot of hair dyes for men do. He's had white hair since he was 50. It is very sparse now and with the dye, he resembles a scare-crow.
He looks like he is on his last legs. I don't know how long he's got, but...................................I got my rock back.
Seriously, I am not a very nice person!
====================
My oldest grand daughter Helene e-mailed me Thursday and asked if she and great grand girl Della could come and visit on Saturday. Well, of course, being the socially active person I am, I had to check my schedule---------that's a lie, of course I was going to be home like I am every day. They showed up at noon with lunch.
Della is going to be 2 years old October 24th. For the last year, she has hated me. Every time she saw me enter a room or come nearby, she'd start screaming and crying. I wasn't quite sure how it was going to go with us both in the same small house.
I hugged Helene, but didn't say a word to Della. I had Helene sit on the couch with Della, while we talked and I busied myself with getting plates out of the cupboard and putting out the lunch they had brought.
I put her lunch and her Mom's on the cedar chest I use as a coffee table in front of the couch and said, "We can have a party on this little table. It's just your size, Della." She doesn't like to sit in a chair at a big table, so this worked out great. She either stood or knelt by the coffee table and ate her salad. Helene and I chatted of course and laughed and had a good time.
Pretty soon, Della was dumping out her mother's purse and playing with the contents, then she put her mom's sunglasses on, upside down.
Then she started playing with a puzzle, Helene was sitting on the floor beside her, so I scooched out of my chair and got on the floor and started asking her what sound the animals made--that were in her puzzle.
The next thing I know, she picked up her mom's camera and wanted a picture--so Helene took a selfie of all of us.
I managed to get back up in my chair and then Della came over, grabbed the index finger on my left hand and said, "Go find kitties?" I basically took her on a tour of the house, she looked in each room and when we got to my bedroom, she got down on her tummy and looked under the bed. Buddy must have been under there because she pointed, then stood up quickly, grabbed my finger and started pulling me to the living room.
Helene asked, "Did you find a kitty?"
Della nodded and said, "No, no! No want kitty!"
Helene explained that their cat has scratched Della and so she doesn't like kitties anymore and is afraid of them.
What a hoot! They stayed about 3 hours and Della came over and laid against my leg and smiled at me and when they left, she threw me a kiss.
She is pretty smart for not even being two. Of course, her grandma Karen spends each Thursday with her, while Helene works, and knowing Karen, she reads to her and talks to her like an adult. She does have a strong will--just like her grandma did. When she says, "No", she means no and isn't afraid to show her emotions.
It was a wonderful afternoon and I was so happy AND exhausted when they left.
====================
As I was looking at these photos, I noticed that at 2 years old, Della and I wear our hair alike. She just needs a big bow, Like I had.