Mother is Keeping Me Hopping!

What a week! Mom kind of requested in that way that only a mother can, that she needed some new clothes -- "the next time you go shopping". In all honesty, she really wanted one particular article before Tuesday but she wasn't going to come right out and say that. She wanted a new coat. Her winter coat is pretty but is too heavy for the fall weather. Oh, and by the way she has a dentist appointment on Tuesday and is not sure what she will wear for a coat if I don't get one before then...but no pressure! So Sunday afternoon after my nap I headed to Mason City and I was on a mission. I headed straight to Younkers as I tend to have pretty good luck there when it comes to clothes for my mom. I got lucky and found a coat which was light weight and had a snap-off hood and a zip-out lining and of course -- it was on sale! I also found a new pair of black pants for short people (I get sick of seeing my mom step on the hems of her pants -- she's going to break her fool neck one of these days!), a loose-fitting, 3/4 length sleeve black sweater and two button-down the front blouses. After that, like a fool, I went to Target. It seems like when I go to Target it's either very much a "hit or miss" deal. I had a totally "hit" day that day and just had to tear myself away. I really only went in for shaving cream and mozzerella cheese!

Upon returning to Britt I stopped at my folks' to show her the purchases and they weren't even at home -- they had gone for a Sunday drive. I had to call her later and she hadn't been in her bedroom yet to even notice they were there. After we hung up she went in and looked at them and called me back. One of the blouses was just like one she already had in her closet -- no wonder I liked it! A while later she called back and said that the coat was "Perfect!" and the pants and sweater were a thumbs up but the blouses needed to go back.

Late Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful so I got out the stepladder, Norwex window cloths and hooked up the garden hose and started to clean the outside of the house and polish windows. I got the chairs put away on the deck and the deck scrubbed off (with a little help from the dogs), Mike took out the trash and finished the last two windows that are too precarious for me to reach. The sun was almost completely down by the time we got done but it was a good feeling.

Tuesday brought a day off due to appointments. I had a recheck at the dermatologist and, as previously mentioned, my mom had a dentist appointment. After the dermatologist appointment I returned Mom's blouses and walked through the mall in Mason City. What a sad thing! Not too many stores left there and the ones still there are pretty sparse. Got home in time to get a few things done at home before taking Mom to the dentist. She ended up having to get some more dental work done so they scheduled time for Wednesday. No problem -- I like taking time off work! I went in early this morning as it was the end of the month fiscally and all charges needed to be entered today through the 29th. I took off about 1:15 to get Mom over for her big appointment. She had a 70 minute slot left open for her work. Of course she had a big list of things she wanted me to do for her. I started off at Alco and got her some chair pads and got Dad some BenGay. (Pretty exciting!) After that I decided I was hungry as I didn't do lunch at work so I went to Hardees and had a snack wrap and a Diet Coke. I debated going to the grocery store to work on that list but thought maybe I'd better go see if she was done or at least close yet. I walked into the office and there she sat, all ready to go! She said she never in her life (and that's a long time!) had a shot that she couldn't feel at all but she did today. What a relief to have that over for her! We then headed to the grocery store where I rushed through her list because I really hate to go grocery shopping! I got her back home and was starting to hang her coat up when the doorbell rang. It was her neighbor to give her the address and phone number for their Florida home as they were heading out on Friday and he just wanted to let her know. Bob and Michele Horstman are such good neighbors to my folks, Bob especially. He helps Dad in the yard so much, they just don't know what they'd do without him. I got Mom's groceries put away and did a few errands for her before I headed home.

I've been spending some time this week getting "all my ducks in a row" before I head away for the weekend. I got Christine Carrier to play for me and Cindy Pistek to songlead for Sunday and I picked out the music for them and got the numbers changed and the numbers written on the board up in the choir loft. I also had been working on a major project for the keyboard. I took pictures of each screen as we set up the mass setting and what settings need to be changed for what song. I got those printed out and cut in half and wrote little notes on them and put them in order for Christine as a "cheat sheet". I saw her after mass today when I was getting the aforementioned number placement accomplished and let her look them over.

I also had to get the candles out and the names of the deceased from our parish this past year on display on the side altar before Friday's mass. We lost 10 parishioners this year so I pulled two 5 candle older style brass candelabras and brought them home to polish them. We hardly ever use these but they are so pretty. I got on Pinterest to see how to tackle cleaning these babies. There were all kinds of suggestions -- everything from ketchup to Worcestershire sauce to processes that involved many steps. I kept searching until I found one that used something I already had and sounded like it would be easy enough and I wouldn't be out anything if it didn't work. I started with one and soaked it in a sink full of warm water with a bunch of Bar Keeper's Friend dissolved in it. Let that soak for a couple of hours and took a dishwashing brush to it and then rinsed and dried it with a soft cloth. After that I applied a light coat of olive oil and polished it some more. That cloth still had a bit of tarnish even after all of that. They look so great that now I am toying with the idea of cleaning the others in the set...there are two 3 candle and two 7 candle candelabras that might look nice at Christmas. Technically, per Father Huber, we are supposed to have three candles on each side of the altar and we only have one on each side now. I'll have to ponder this one. I should have taken pictures so I could include them here!

Tomorrow is Trick or Treat so I am summoned to go up and help Mom answer the door. In return she is making Spam sandwiches so I will have my salt fix for the week! Once that is done, I need to come home and pack as we are leaving for Dubuque on Friday afternoon for Micah's last Family Weekend at Loras. Whew! Busy week and it's only half over!