Monday ChitChat

We've been busier than usual with grandkids, since Gina is still in the hospital, and Ron and I stay with the kids whenever Josh and Cyrise go to see her.

Gina is doing great, has gained back all her weight, wakes to eat every 3 to 4 hours, and is eating even more than they require. She nurses well, too. I'm praying she will be home in the next day or two.

The extra time in the hospital has given Cyrise a bit more time to prepare for Gina's homecoming. We've washed two large bags of little girl baby clothes. It seems like a lot, but not when you remember that little babies often have to be changed several times a day. We still need to get the car seat cleaned and the cover washed. We got her a little support cushion that fits into the seat.

She will sleep in a bassinet for awhile. The kids are still trying to work out sleeping arrangements in their two bedroom house. They have a twin bed and crib in the kid's bedroom, but now they need a trundle or bunk bed.

Do you remember the mandolin that Ron got me for Christmas last year? It was a kit he ordered from a company he sometime uses for his woodworking tools. It was put aside and out of mind after my cancer diagnosis, but Ron recently got it out and started working on it again.

It didn't take him very long at all to get it finished (he still wants to put some coats of wax on it), and I'm so happy with it! It will take me some time to learn to play it, but I can tune it and have learned a few chords. I still need a strap and some picks. It's easy for me to pick out melodies on it, but learning to play chords is new to me. I also have a bit of arthritis in my fingers, so I don't know how much that is going to slow me down. So far it hasn't bothered me much.