GRATITUDES:
1. One of my kids is now almost fully independent.
2. Food. Any kind. That is all.
3. The clouds last night.

Now that Lauren has her license, she’s far happier and zooming all about town. Basil is asking HER for taxi service rather than Rory or me and I’ve told her that it’s really okay to say no, but I think she enjoys it. Well, at least for now. I’ve a feeling that the novelty will wear off very soon, but really, my two bobbleheads only have about 6 1/2 weeks left in which to get in each other’s hair. Basil’s trip is about a month away now and when they get back, there will be only two weeks left in which to pack for college. My two have never before been separated for longer than a day so this is going to be uncharted territory for them both. Anyway, we’re going to take as much of Basil’s stuff as we can on board the plane – the fees for checked baggage are ridiculous and we’re spending enough as it is on this whole thing. I had originally thought that I might be able to get away with only a carry-on, but now it looks like I’ll be Sherpa to art supplies and maybe a small appliance or two. We plan to buy the bulk of it all once we reach Portland. Even so, our time will be limited. I don’t think there will be any time for sightseeing, which is seriously disappointing. Still, we may be able to take in some sights along the city’s waterfront and I DEFINITELY want to track down some yummy fish. Where better to do that than in New England, right?

I’m currently parked in the front lobby of the spinal clinic, where I’m awaiting an IV infusion that will theoretically arrest the progress of my osteoporosis. Yep, chemo is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Oy. I stopped at the art store in San Antonio beforehand and I now have a respectable jump-start on acquiring all the items on Basil’s school supply list. This is mainly small stuff that can be brought aboard the plane as carry-on but obviously, some things will need to be squirreled away in the checked baggage, like the scissors, X-Acto knife and refill blades, and the utility knife. Yeah, I don’t think I could explain away those things to any TSA agent.

I have been fighting waves of depression since the week the kids graduated and it’s been a challenge to keep my brain occupied with other things. The next big task is to get Basil prepared for their driver’s test and I’m not even sure that we’ll be able to do this in time, although we now have a somewhat better idea of what will be on the test thanks to Lauren. She saved the checklist that her DPS examiner gave to her and now we have a sort of “cheat sheet” to work from. It will come in handy – I had NO clue what Lauren would be tested on and I was panicking that I’d left something out. This way we’ll at least have more than an inkling of what’s in store for Basil. According to Lauren, the practical exam is very brief and relatively simple. If I can get Basil to ace the parallel parking portion, we’re golden.

Right. It is now the 30th of June. I should probably post this. Just one more thing, though – I’ve gone back to making my own yogurt and the results have been YUMMY. I’m using a pre-made yogurt starter now rather than a spoonful or two of an earlier batch. This ends up yielding a much better, more uniform product, and I can be assured that my yogurt has the all-important little active microbes that make the stuff so beneficial for a person’s gut biome. Not to mention, I no longer have to buy big plastic containers that don’t recycle easily! This was the primary reason why I began making my own yogurt in the first place. I hated the idea of adding to the waste stream by buying single-use plastics, given that something like 90% of all “recycled” plastics end up in a landfill or the ocean anyway. Rory found some glass liter-size German preserve jars that are perfect for making and storing all the creamy goodness, so I can feel good about making a healthy product AND cutting down a bit on our household waste. That’s a win-win for me!