Hi ya'll. So much to report. Mostly fun stuff. I got to go see Seabrook yesterday. Amazing!! It is so beautiful and Buck has done such a great job with his little shop and keeping current (right, Buck?) We also had a fantastic salmon and oyster BBQ. It was such a Northwest experience I almost cried:) We (Jabe and his darling family, Buck and his cute family and Dad mother and I) tried to watch The Black Panther but what with the little kids and Dad's frustrating vision, we got about 30 minutes in and realized it just wasn't working. The party broke up around 7:30 and dad actually went to bed then. I didn't see Dad today until 12:30. He said he had a great night's sleep but getting up and going was hard for him this morning. Just like anyone, he has good days and bad days. The bad days scare me and I now know why Mother would think he wouldn't make it until October.

The way I see it, Dad is trying to process all of this even more that we are. His sickness, the implications of his death, dealing with dying, and dealing with the cancers that are inside of him. I don't think he is trying to be deceitful he is just undecided. He's not lying, he's just confused. Right now he is asleep again so on the average he has about 4-6 waking hours in a day. When he is awake we reminisce about the old days and talk about his condition. Yesterday Dad told me about a quilt Mother was making as a cover for his casket and Mother showed me the fabric. It will cover the casket but not be buried with him as it will be on display in the house. He talked a little bit about the funeral and about the getting his affairs in order. Although, in my opinion, his affairs aren't in enough order. We'll see after he goes to see the lawyers next week.

About moving downstairs, Dad is adament that that not happen yet. However, as sneaky as Mother is, she has procured a hospital type bed that should be coming today. I'll let you know how that goes down. SPOILER ALERT: I don't think it will go very well.

As far as eating goes, his caloric intake is so different from day to day. That first day I was here Dad ate great, then last night he ate like one oyster, one cracker and a spoonful of potato salad or somthing like that. Mother did blend up a handful of pork to put in his gravy to drizzle over his potatoes he had for lunch. She is always thinking up ways to get Dad his calories. Next step, mix his Ensure Plus with his regular chocolate milk. For a guy who says he can't taste very well, he sure seems to be able to sense when Mother tries to sneak good things into his food. Like protein powder, or, Ensure into his chocolate milk.

This is my last full day here. If there are any concerns you have or any questions, now is the time to ask them. I leave tomorrow afternoon.

Love you all. When you come, don't forget to look through the photo albums with your names on them. They are a hoot! Jen