Joseph Silas Johnson was born 98 years ago today. I still miss him, but there are times when his presence is still very real to me. I've often thought how much he would have enjoyed pc's, or he may have preferred Macs. He was a life-long learner, which inspires me. Happy Birthday, Daddy, I love you.

Almighty God,

you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses:

Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of

your servant Silas,

may persevere in running the race that is set before us,

until at last we may with him attain to your eternal joy;

through Jesus Christ,

the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Mother has a 9:00 appointment with Dr. Carroll. I'm supposed to meet the van transporting her at St. D. and take her from there up to the doctor's office. I hope we don't have to wait as long as we did the last time. I'm taking my camera with me and will try to take some pictures while I'm out. She will enjoy being able to instantly see the pictures I make. She never liked to wait for anything.

I had a restless night. The dogs seemed determined to push me out of the bed. I moved them over a couple of times, but then I would wake up and realize they had pushed me to the edge. Maybe we can get a good nap this afternoon.

2:50 pm. Mother has recovered remarkably well, Dr. Carroll said, and we should be glad we went ahead with the surgery. If we hadn't, the tumors would be large and oozing by now. "It was the right decision," he told me. "I know you had mixed feelings about it, but you did the best thing for her." He has a very warm and comforting manner that I find reassuring. She still hasn't admitted to any pain, even adamantly denied it when he asked her. She was humming the whole time I was with her, not any tune in particular, just humming. When I hummed a couple of tunes, she hummed along, then went back to tuneless humming. I don't think she was aware she was doing it. She managed a smile for us, too.

I ran most of my errands while I was out, then Mike and I went to lunch at No. 1 China Buffet. One of the neighborhood handymen just came to look at doing our tile replacement in the bathroom. He's calling back tomorrow with an estimate. It's naptime.