Another great visit with Mom

During my scheduled visit with Mom, Randy needed to use our car for his work with Aaron. So I bought a roundtrip ticket on Amtrak. Amtrak doesn't go all the way to Peoria but I was able to switch to a bus in Bloomington. Unfortunately on the way out I had a 4 hour layover Bloomington; it was actually supposed to be a 5 hour layover, but the train was an hour late leaving St. Louis, so that broke up the trip a little bit. To fill the long day I packed some snacks, Diet Cokes, books and my IPod. I had to carry everything on the bus so after I read the books, I left them in the station for someone else to enjoy.

After I got to Mom's, though, I kept busy. Fortunately my sister let me use her car, because Mom and I hit a record number of yard sales and estate sales. And we ended up at Walmart every single day. And no trip with Mom is complete without going to the thrift store "Ecetera" in Eureka, followed by a trip to the "Busy Corner" in Goodfield for a piece of pie. That fit right into our plan because our daily menus were always heavy on comfort foods like biscuits and gravy, mac and cheese, and baloney sandwiches. 

Before I arrived I had asked Mom to find some tasks for me to do, and she came up with some unusual ones. The kitchen/dining room floor is about 40 years old and, not surprisingly, it's beginning to get loose in some spots. Randy had already picked up some glue for me to use, so I would gently lift one corner of a tile (scared it would shatter) and try to get some glue under it. Often the whole tile would come up, which actually made the job easier! 

I was also able to paint a bed frame and some shutters, and cut the legs down on a chair that was too tall. These are an odd assortment of tasks but they things she can't do for herself, so it was my privilege. And just for fun, we did a home version of Glamour Shots. By my next visit, she will probably be ready to be on a calendar!