We had church with no music this morning. Seems like we called it "Music Appreciation Day" last year when this happened. It was a good service, a bit dry for my taste, but concise. My friend Yvonne visited, her first experience in an Episcopal service, and she liked it. Just wait 'til she hears the music! Coming from a Roman Catholic background, she was quite impressed by the prominence of women who were serving at the altar. She said she'd never seen that before today.
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She and another friend Deborah and I went to lunch together afterwards at Amerigo's, where several people inquired about Jean. She's still in the hospital, so I visited her after eating, and told her about all the people who asked about her, not only at the restaurant, but also at church. She's doing well in her recovery and expects to come home tomorrow. By the time I get back from Tampa on the 12th, I expect her to be fully recovered. I just hate that I won't be here to give Pam a break, she's looking pretty tired. Jean has made new friends of all her nurses and other attendants. One of them left her a book of poetry (written by his father) in the middle of the night.
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I've got a couple of neighbors who will be helping with the dogs while I'm gone. They came over this afternoon to get better acquainted with Gus and Jay-Jay. One of them was a former service consultant with AT&T, but got bumped after the merger. From the way she talked, I retired at a good time. Retirement benefits aren't what they used to be, she said. I've heard that from other people, too.