-----------------------------------horses grazing in the fields of Gold, PAI loaded the car full of recycle-able goods... and headed over to Gold where there is a recycle plant. Unfortunately, by the time I got there.. it was closed. Apparently, it closes daily at 3pm; instead of the 5pm that I was told. Ah well. No bother. It was a very nice ride; and I can do it again tomorrow.
For dinner, my daughter and I stopped at the Sweden Valley Inn again. She has never been there; so we sat and ordered some food. She got the "double baked" potato soup... which was absolutely fabulous... loaded with yummy melted cheese on top. Then she had a salad with shrimp on it. I had a cheeseburger with bacon and blue cheese, and an order or mozzarella sticks and some fries. As a special treat... I had another one of those butterscotch schnapps hot cocoa drinks I mentioned a couple of days ago. It was still just as good as it was the other night.
As a bonus.... we sat more in the dining area this time ... and there are lots of vintage photos on the walls of places around town... but circa 1900 through the 1950's. I was able to take photos of a couple of them... and will post them on my flickR account as soon as I can.
My dad managed to fall in the shower today... banging his hip that he had the surgery on. Fortunately... he didn't seem to do any damage.... I think he hurt his pride more. Problem is... my mom tried to pull him up... and hurt herself as well. Sort of a comedy of errors I suppose.... but not funny at the time.
I mention this only in the context of .... I never really thought about this time in my life. When I was younger, I dreamed of being in love... perhaps having children... traveling.. that sort of thing. And after I got married... I would daydream about growing old with my hubby... always in a "rose-colored glasses" kind of way.
I don't recall however, dreaming of being middle-aged. I don't like to think of myself as middle-aged. I am not sure what that even entails. But I don't like it much. It is very strange to have my kids on the cusp of getting married/ leaving home... and at the same time... being in a position of taking care of my parents and helping them out as much as I am able. It is a very strange in-between time. I am sure I will get used to it.... but for now, it is almost freakish.
**all photos by Elaine A. Russell