I dunno what it is exactly. I am relatively impervious to moe-skee-toes but sometimes just their general presence will make me itch like crazy. Today, I was standing next to our handy-dandy Planet Ann Arbor Reeeecycle cart opening mail and a few wee little moe-skee-toes were buzzing my shoulders. No gallinippers in my yard. Yet. I did not get even one bite but somehow, my ankles were reverberating with ITCH!!!

The itch did not subside until I walked over to the Plum Market and back, *washed* my feet and ankles and rubbed some anti-itch cream on them. Which I usually try to avoid.

The Commander had a lot to say today and one of the highlights was that she had a new *purple* shirt. Dogmomster was up there over the weekend and she and The Comm went shopping and that’s what they came up with. I think The Comm likes the shirt but is a bit dumbfounded that she owns something *purple*. I think it is a wonderful color for her! I wonder if she remembers the periwinkle blouse with all the fancy tucks in it that got the “wrinkles” the time I had scarlet fever and hallucinated. Periwinkle is not all that far away from purple.

I have been [mostly] cryptic about the fact that my mother (aka The Commander) has moved to an assisted living facility this summer. She is 90 (!) and, up until April 10th, 2011, she was able to live in her own very lovely home. A small stroke made that situation a huge challenge.

So, she is now living in the Freighter View assisted living facility. It is a gorgeous facility and she has a beautiful room with window views to the west and north. She is right across the street from the Soo Locks and is able to watch lake freighters go up and down up close and personal. And she has friends there, among the staff and residents.

Still I feel guilty. “Leaving your mother in that place,” as one friend calls it. And her mom is in a beautiful facility too. I live five hours away from The Comm. I am not there to drive her to and from appointments and social activities or to her house to sort stuff out. But quitting my career, which keeps me sane, not to mention that it will give me my social security quarters, is not a good option for anyone in any living generation of my family.

The Comm reads this blahg and she also knows how I feel about all of this. She is an ultra-smart woman and the stroke didn’t really affect her brain or speech or whatever. I’m just saying here that I wish I could get up there more often than I can. Winter will undoubtedly be hard.

I am doing my best to adjust to this new reality. I think The Comm is doing better at adjusting than I am.

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