Suela, I'm so sorry.

shrift, whoohoo, sounds promising.

-t, that sounds like excellent engineering, not, you know, laziness.

My news for the day that I can't share anywhere and also that I don't want to jinx: my parents, whose house has been on the market for almost two years, are going to sign an offer tomorrow! Lots of logistics, but the idea is that they will be buying and renovating my sister's neighbor's house (who has been patiently waiting for them for these two years to be ready to buy) in Dallas. Their buyer has sold their house, but haven't closed yet, and this deal is contingent on that. My mom has been making herself insane over all this. But the end result is that my dad, who has Parkinsons but who has seen marked improvements on his medication, will be able to manage the move, and then as his condition continues to deteriorate, my sister's family will be able to help my mom as his caregiver.

Up until recent years, we'd assumed that the SO & I would be their primary caregiving support, since my sister was, you know, in Africa. But since continued political unrest and minor things like ebola have brought them home, they are now the more stable of the two of us. He's VP of the company now, and she's finishing up their decades-long translation job.

The SO & I are probably looking at some transitions our own selves. This year's sabbatical has been lifesaving for us, but we still have a lot of mental health damage, and as we get older, we can't envision continuing to do this physically and emotionally taxing work indefinitely. So getting mom & dad settled in with my sis, while it will be an enormous undertaking and will take a lot of effort over the next couple of years, would be a tremendous weight off our minds.

And I'd only say this here where y'all won't take it the wrong way, but also losing the SO's dad means that we would no longer be expected to come back to help care for him. So if we get my dad sorted, his mom's in pretty good health generally, so we would suddenly have a lot of freedom to look at our own future. Scary, and exciting.

So overarching ~ma, please! But mostly sale & move~ma for my folks.

Oh, and that also reminds me: I strongly suspect I'll be helping them move, and their closing date is currently set for the end of July. The SO tours in early August, which probably means I'll be spending some time in Nashville again 'round about then. Will Nashville peeps be around? I know Kate may be a little occupied! Ooh, and I need to email you, amyth, about your friend J. we met. (I really like her, btw!)

Sale~ma, Liese!

Shrift, I have a great-aunt in Albany, which is across the bay and not far from a subway stop (BART?). Her neighborhood looked nice when I visited, and she's pretty happy there. Of course she's 90, so her lifestyle and yours might be pretty different. Anyway, I hope you get a living situation that suits you with minimal bother.

That's a lot, Liese! But sounds like a lot in a good direction, overall. (And you don't have to explain to me about not taking things the wrong way...)

I hope the sale goes through as expected! That sounds like a really good plan for all of you. And good luck dealing with all that freedom (that sounds snarky but is meant sincerely and earnestly)

Shrift, without a car, I think SF proper or at least a place on the Bart lines would be best. As much as I would love all the sushi we would probably eat if you were down here, it is not that easy to get around without a car.

Thanks, guys. Yeah, I'm provisionally enthusiastic.

I went ahead and got up before six today thinking I'd better get stuff done before it got hot, but now that I look at the weather for today it doesn't seem like it will be that hot. I mean, hot, but not too hot to move. I guess that's good? I can always nap even if it is not necessary due to temperature, I suppose.

I will walk the dog now before it gets any warmer, though. He feels the heat more than I do, poor furry baby. I have positioned the rabbits fan (rabbits are notoriously sensitive to heat so she gets her own fan) so they can share the breeze and he is loving it.

The picture that sums up why I chose Hemsworth as M last night. [link]

I'm giggling over the fact that he's in front of a "Cornhole" sign. Because I am 12.

Congrats, shrift!

And lots of ~ma, Liese

Sanguine is kind of a funny word choice in context, Burrell.

Oops, um, welcome to my brain.

Oh and Franny update: still coughing, temp high this morning but below a fever, so I guess we wait and see how the day plays out.