I am tired from the week. It went as planned (how often do you get that?). When Ed and I got back from Tampa where I underwent pre-op tests, Asako had dinner ready – pasta and shrimp. She made Valerie stop at a market so she could buy what she needed. She said their outing on the cruise to Cabbage Key was a big success. Francesco couldn’t see anything, but his hearing is heightened and he enjoys the sounds of the sea and the birds.

Susan’s kids came over Wednesday. They got along very well with Francesco and Andrew knew a game where they identify sounds and that was perfect. They hung out in the pool until dinner time and when the kids left, they exchanged E mail info and I suspect they will be in touch.

Asako gave me a necklace and earrings she crafted. They are fresh water pearls strung on German silk cord with a clear stone between each pearl. Eventually I will post a photo. I love the set. It looks terrific.

Francesco wanted to know what it cost to buy a house in this area (at 15 he is planning) and I read him the ads from the paper. Valerie said that when they come back, she will take him to a beach. Actually that cruise includes a beach stop on a barrier island, Cayo Costa, but you have to be prepared for it. They drop you off and pick you up two hours later, and you must bring your own comfort items because there is an outhouse and a convenience stand and that’s it. Francesco very much wants to come back when he can see.

Asako said she also heard from the casting office at the Met and she will be appearing in several of the operas in the new season, so she was happy to get the work. She brought a DVD of an opera she was in – La Sonambula, done in modern dress. She said the critics didn’t like it but that the singing was wonderful. She appears for 12 minutes on stage helping the soprano who chooses clothes for her wedding. She had photos of herself backstage with various co-workers and singers, and at ABT, a photo of herself steaming a tutu for Swan Lake.

As for Tampa, it took hours and I had a second mammogram on the “uninvolved” breast and “densities” were seen and evaluated and finally deemed benign, but warranting a six-month follow-up. I had an anxious hour waiting for a sonogram after the initial pictures were taken. And here is how good this place is. The next day, the surgeon’s nurse called to say that the panel of doctors had looked at the film too and they agreed with the radiologist’s opinion. She was putting me at ease. You are a person to these people. A whole team checks each step of the process. I am so lucky to be able to go to Moffitt.

Meanwhile, since we were gone and the guests were on a boat, my gtf, Nadine, came to the house at 9 to give Brunswick his epilepsy medication. She couldn’t find him. We communicated by cell phone as Ed and I were driving up I-75. She scoured the house, no Brunswick. She has a bad knee so couldn’t spend any time on her knees looking under things. She came back twice and had no luck and finally asked her husband, Mickey, to come with her. He walked in the house and called for Brunswick and out he crawled from under a guest bed. Brunswick loves Mickey. Hilarious. So Brunzie got his med at noon, and we breathed a sigh of relief.

We didn’t eat out at all while they were here. Normally we have at least one dinner at a restaurant, but circumstances got in the way. The result was that I ran the dishwasher twice a day, and ran out of stuff because teens eat a lot. Time to shop.

xx, Teal