Polite Paradise

A previous coworker, who was also a friend, went off on long term disability for mental health reasons a number of years ago and we didn't have much contact.  She emailed me not long ago, asking if I could help her with a knitting problem.  So we met at a coffee shop on Tuesday and got caught up.  I couldn't help her - her mom's method was different than mine and I couldn't figure it out but all my trial and error got her thinking and she managed to figure it out on her own.  But I sent her a couple of patterns.

I told her my Facebook handle and left it up to her if she wanted to send a friend request.  She just did, this morning!  So I'll be happy to keep in touch with her, even if it only ends up being over Facebook.  She has anxiety issues so meeting in person is difficult.

I can put my bra on normally!   

Since May, I've had a shoulder issue that affected the mobility of my left shoulder so I had to do up my bra in front, at my waist, then twist it around and then pull it up into place.  Not only is that hard on the bra, I invariably ended up with a strap or the band twisted and had a heck of a time getting it in the right place.

I eventually got to the point where I could do it up behind my back at my waist so at least I didn't have to twist it around but since a minor car accident the end of December that somehow jolted my shoulder, I can reach up to the right spot!

I still have a long way to go to get rid of the pain and regain complete mobility but it's a relief to be able to do normal, everyday things!

My FIL recently passed - obviously not the happy part.  My husband and I, along with MIL, went to order flowers for the service.  We let a couple other people know what shop we used because we thought the prices were really reasonable.  My husband had also spotted a blue truck that was designed to be a flower arrangement base and went back to get one to put mints in.  It wasn't there anymore.  So he asked if they had another one.  They did.  And told him that it had been chosen for a flower arrangement.  And there would have been another one, except they called the second customer and asked if the Mustang would be OK, instead of the truck.  FIL was a big car guy and had a truck very similar to the one in the shop.  And loved his sports cars, too.

So when we arrived for the visitation, we had to find out who sent them.  One of my husband's first cousins got the truck and her younger sister (both of whom we are close to) got the Mustang.  We heard the story later; YS ordered online and when she got the call from the flower shop, asked who ordered the truck.  They told her and she said, with some disdain in her voice, 'That's my sister!'  OS's response was, 'You snooze, you lose!'  Definitely made us laugh in a tough moment.  We let my husband's brother decide which arrangement he wanted; he chose the Mustang.  So now we have a matching set of trucks for whatever when the arrangement is done.  Their brother got a lovely little teacup arrangement with a plant in it that MIL will keep.  They'd planned it that way, figuring the boys would take the vehicles and MIL would like the teacup.