Miss Brahms Died

Dear Mom:

Did you know that Wendy Richard, who played Miss Brahms on "Are You Being Served" died last February?

I don't remember talking to you about it and I'm pretty sure it would have bothered you a lot to know that she passed away, just one more example of how we're all moving towards the front of the line. What bothered me was her picture in the Wikipedia entry about her character on "East Enders," Pauline Fowler, who the heck is that old woman? What happened to the pretty Miss Brahms? Could I possibly have aged as much as she? Birthdays and death days. They have a way of reminding us of our own mortality.

Last weekend, I spent your birthday at the Boat Show with Jeff. It was a good diversion and helped me to avoid getting maudlin. He looked at GPS systems; I looked at the selection from Ryba's Fudge Shop of Mackinac Island. We talked about buying a larger condo with a boat well but decided against it. We're going to stay where we are and fix things up. I feel better now that we have a plan.

I missed you, though.

Love,

Connie

House Stuff

Dear Mom:

Today Jeff and I went to Home Depot and looked at flooring for the kitchen - his idea! I think I surprised him because I picked out a relatively cheap and easy laminate instead of the tile that was featured when you first walked into the flooring section. I'm pretty excited about the updates he wants to do to the house. I really feel fortunate to have married someone who's so easy to live with.

While I was in the front bedroom working on my IT class, I heard a strange sound coming from the kitchen and it was Jeff drilling holes into the window frames to put the blinds he had found in the basement. I had only mentioned that I wanted to put them up. I had bought them years ago when I lived here by myself. We moved a cart from the basement into the kitchen and put the table in the laundry room. It's just a little thing: working on our house together, but it made me so happy.

Love,

Connie

Snow Train

Dear Mom:

Jeff and I decided to go to Canada for Winter Break because Michigan wasn't cold enough!

We drove up to Sault Ste Marie on Saturday and spend Sunday on the train; that was our Valentine's Day present for each other. It was about 8 hours on the train. We went north for about 4 hours and then the train came back. The scenery was very pretty and Jeff took a lot of pictures.

We had planned to spend Monday at the hotel water park and come home on Tuesday, but I developed a pretty bad ear ache and didn't want to risk swimming. I was really disappointed and so was Jeff; the pool area looked great. On the plus side, the hotel was very nice and we enjoyed the restaurant a lot.

Love,

Connie