You Never Know

You never know when you will see someone for the last time. In June I took my granddaughter Ashlyn, my daughter-in-law Angela and her mother Joanne (I call her my granny-in-law) to the scrapbooking class I take every month from my good friend Lynn. We had a great time.

Last Friday, I brought Joanne here and I showed her how to make cards. She made two birthday cards and a thank you card and was pleased with the results. We spent a really delightful couple hours together. I brought her home and told her to be a good girl -- she laughed.

Sometime during the night Monday/Tuesday, Joanne passed away unexpectedly at home. Oh, she had been ill, had lost a lot of weight, and was heavily medicated; but she was in good spirits and seemed to be improving and looking forward to a number of things. We buried her today.

Here's the photo Lynn snapped, as she often does. Joanne is the lady on the right in turquoise. It made her family happy to see she had been having a good time so recently. And it made me remember something I believe, which is to never miss a chance to tell someone you care or to pass along a compliment or a happy thought.

Name That Leftover

One day last week when we couldn't cram one more thing in the freezer, we played a rousing game of Name That Leftover. We always freeze leftovers in single servings, and I used to be good about putting them in labeled freezer bags, but got lazy about it this past year. Jack is the master sniffer, and bears the brunt of smell-testing the things that look alike.

Me: "Does this smell like spaghetti or chili?"
Jack: "Spaghetti. No, wait, I see beans. Chili."

Me: "What do you think this is?"
Jack: "I've never seen that before."

Me: "How old is this meat loaf?"
Jack: "Are you sure that's meat loaf?"

Everything got thrown out, labeled or eaten. And now -- most important -- we have room for ice cream!