March 17, 2006 - Late Afternoon

[Picture to come!]

From Christine and her day yesterday with the princess. (She's the statuesque brunette in the picture). "I brought Amanda a rosebush today, with a large pot & some dirt for planting. She smiled & said “Oh, that is so cute!” We (meaning Mandy watched) potted it later in the afternoon. There are 2 bright pink roses in full bloom & 1 on the way. Mandy said “When that 3rd one opens, I’m going to cut it & put it on the table”. Just like old times!

This morning, I went with Mandy to her eye doctor appointment, where Dr. Gilliland was very pleased with how well her left eye is looking these days! Thsi took the place of all morning therapy.

Mandy & I used to take classes at Central Market, the 1st one being a Wine & Cheese Pairing class hosted by Paula Lambert. She is the author of “The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook & Guide”. Back in 2002, she wrote in her book to us, “For Christine & Amanda-So fabulous to hear that you love to cook together. I hope many happy meals come from my book! Best Wishes-Paula Lambert”. Mandy & I thought of her as a celebrity as we took a few of her classes at Central Market & then the Cheese Making Class at The Mozzarella Company. I brought this cookbook for Mandy today, as well as the pictures from our class. She spent about an hour this afternoon reading stories that precede each recipe. When she saw the pictures, she said, “Wow, I do recognize this”. :o)

Mom, Grandma Sue and Kevin joined us for lunch today. Mandy ate very well, spitting out nothing for a change! Kurt is making some great meals for her, full of fresh veggies & fruits, and lots of variety so meals are not repetitive or boring! What a sweet hubby!

When asked about her lunch, she said, “your brother made the soup”, & went on to tell us about how “his daughter would not eat it so he gave it to us”. While Sean didn’t make her lunch today, he did cook when he lived with us for a while, and Amanda loved it all! And his daughter, Taylor, won’t eat much of anything so most of her story was right on!

The only therapy, that we were able to attend, was with Keri, making blueberry cheesecake muffins. Mandy did most of the work & they turned out very well, attracting lots of attention with the smell! Next week, we get to bake tomatoes with fresh garlic & parmesan:) YUM!

My favorite part of the day was when I was assisting Amanda with something. She stopped, held my hand and said, “I want you to be my main person”. No offense to her wonderful staff of RA’s, but this would be my preference too!!"