Sunday, April 1, 2012 AM

It's still a little early to expect Steve to be up, so the house is quiet, and I have a few minutes to blog.
Betty Pike, my favorite Sister Worker, had cataract surgery this week.  I haven't heard how it turned out, but I've been praying that all went well.
Her plate is full, with Ma Pike being 92 and quite feeble.  She's having to stay at Betty's house some of the time, and she is so independant that it doesn't suit her much.
Betty also does so much for others that she stays busy all of the time, plus having a 'dog sitting' service.
Faune Gerber's daughter divorced on Friday, and Faune is despondant about it all.  She had tried to help them work things out, but Julie is a little hard-headed, and went through the divorce.  She will be moving back into the house with Faune and her husband, Armin.  They've given her two rooms for herself and the two daughters, for which Faune is the 'nanny'.
Faune is an old friend, contemporary, and helper to me.  Steve and I will never forget her for getting our Veteran's Loan for Clairemont approved so quickly.  She sure could run an office.
The work at Creekside is slower inside and very demanding outside.  The yard looks really good with Janie's touch.  She's a wonderment to me.  She brought supper to Creekside last night, and it was fabulous.  Clarence Singleton ate like a horse, enjoying a good, home-cooked meal with true friends.
Clarence is my special case, a fellow most would consider the village idiot.  I felt a special affection for him several years ago because of the teasing he endured at the hands of others, so I "adopted" him, to look after and see that others were more kind and accepting of him.
It was amazing how much more social acceptance he has, and how much happier he is.
We see that he has meals, mostly now at Creekside, but often at the Down Home.  He loves the Fried Chicken Special on Thursday nights, and we pay for him to have his special treat.
Janie, Cherokee, and I have put reflectors on his bicycle, and a horn, along with his handle-bar basket, so that it is easier for him to carry his 'treasures', and so that the reflectors will make him safer.
He dresses mostly in darker colors, so the reflectors are a good idea.  He also prefers to wear pink caps, so I keep him in good supply.  They show better in the dark that darker ones would.
He's not welcome to stay long in most places around Rutledge, but I've assured him that he's always welcome at Creekside, and we often show up for work in the mornings and find him sitting at the picnic table on the front patio.  He's waiting for his friends.
We are getting rave reviews on the work on the yard.  It does look a lot better, more like a gracious home and less like a dump for construction materials.
Janie puts Clarence to work on smaller projects when he's there, and he is good for the 'heavy lifting' jobs.
I've been working a lot on hand-painting the ceiling medallion for one of the bedrooms, and it's glorious.  I'm matching the colors in the wallpaper, which looks like a cross between clematis and wisteria.  It's pains-taking work, but I enjoy seeing a bland, white medallion come to life with vibrant color.  That room has a large, beveled-glass window, and I think it will compliment the color nicely.
This week, Janie and I decided that the wall which enclosed a lot of the front porch just had to come down.  We hired a local handy-man to cut it out with a concrete saw, and it was like turning on a spot light when the light came in.  We're going to be using a railing there, and it will be much lighter and more welcoming.  We're already planning hanging baskets and medallions there.  We love to scheme.
My fet and legs hurt all the time, and the stairs at Creekside don't help a bit.  I go up and down them so many times a day.
My hair is beginning to come back, though all too slowly for my taste.  It's still quite stringy and rather short, so I'm trying to not tease it, hoping that not teasing will help the growth process.  But not teasing it makes it fly-away, and it just doesn't look like me.  I also have to pin it so closely to my head that the pins make my head sore.  I just wish this all woundn't have happened.
I've asked Steve to get the pool ready for summer while he's home this time, but I don't really expect him to.  I'll have to have someone help me with it after he's gone back to work.  If I can get it warm enough, it would sure help my fibro and my PAD.  It would also lift my spirits to know that I could enjoy a nice time in the pool every evening.  That 'floating, weightless' feeling is so nice after a hard day's work.  I heat it with solar, as I can't stand the cool water on my feet and legs.
It's becomming daylight outside, and it looks like it will be foggy early.
I'm off here to paint my medallion.
Special hugs to Faune.
Oh, and I'd better mention Barbara.