Change of Plans...

The day started out sunny but then the thunderstorms moved in and it's been raining ever since. Linda's daughter and her family arrived to have breakfast with us...Teagan and Ila were a big hit with the residents. Stephanie and Jessie also joined us. We had tropical french toast for breakfast (pineapple in the french toast batter) and it was really yummy. As soon as everyone left, we were told that we needed to call our regional boss. Did so and found out that we need to return to our facility in Winston-Salem, right after lunch on Thursday. We'll finish our training there. Our managers have been without co-managers since last November and they are pretty frazzled. There are floating managers that come in to give them some days off but do not do any of the operational things that need to get done. After a short while I can see where the work would pile up and it would get to be pretty overwhelming. We are still off today but will now go in tomorrow to start cramming in some of the info we haven't gone over yet. We'll probably work open to close Tuesday and Wednesday and then we'll leave after lunch Thursday for the 5.5 hour drive back to North Carolina. I'm looking forward to getting back there....starting to learn about our property and residents and get settled into a sense of normalcy. It will be hard to say goodbye to the people here. All of the residents are really great.

Today is my son, Jay's birthday....my "baby" turned 23 today. We talked for quite a while on the phone this morning. Is always nice to chat with both of my kids....am truly blessed.

Havin' Fun with the Kids...

Been hanging out with my kids since I got here Sunday night. Having a great time catching up on what's been going on in their lives. Last night we watched an old movie on Hulu website.."The Island of Dr Moreau"...with Michael York and Burt Lancaster. It was very weird and icky. Won't be on my list of movies to watch a second time.

Earlier in the day wewent on the outskirts of the city to a park that was huge. Jay said it's one of the largest in the country. There were statues all over the place as you drove around and as we went up a hill we turned to see this great view of the Philly skyline in the distance so we turned around to take this pic. (Click on the image to enlarge it) Since we were at the top of a hill and near a parking lot, Jay got his roller blades out of the trunk and got some skating in. He and Becky did some synchronized skating and then he skated to the bottom of the hill while we drove the car to pick him up. Jay's birthday is on Saturday so we're going out for his birthday celebration tonight when Becky gets off work. He's my "baby" and will be 22...He and I are going to get some inspection work done on his car today so he can get that out of the way.It's a little overdue....

Yesterday while we were driving around we went to the Italian Market district
Apparently every morning this place is really hopping with street vendors and people shopping. By the time we were there it was pretty empty (around 12:30). We walked by some shops where there were huge things of cheese hanging from hooks on the ceiling....they easily must have weighed 30-40# apiece. Never seen such a huge block of cheese. Becky had taken us to this area to have lunch at Sabrina's Cafe....a small cute place that was packed with people. We decided to eat outside rather than wait for an inside table. Although it was a little nippy yesterday, it wasn't too bad if you were dressed warmly. I had a wonderful veggie burger with the works on it and not only was it huge but it was a home-made veggie patty and it was outstanding. Also had thick, fresh cut sweet potato fries...Everything was great ! A risk you take when dining outdoors is exposure to the "elements"....While talking with the kids, waiting for our orders to arrive, I got a little "gift from heaven". I see this blob on the front of my coat and look up to see a bird flexing on a wire overhead. Ewwwww....thank goodness it was a "small" bird. Such is my luck!
Here's hoping that you all have a wonderful day...filled with little gifts, heaven sent or not.