Yes, it was a very good trip! I hope you had lots of interesting things to talk about while I was away. I'll have a little look tomorrow to see what's been going on.
I missed two allergy shots while away so I had to get one right away on my return. It threw me into a lot of allergic trouble and I actually spent yesterday in bed all day, with my nose about six inches away from a HEPA filter pumping out cleansed air. I'm getting the injections to protect me from reactions to cedar and mountain juniper. I've had good success being protected from the pollen of birch and pine trees so it was possible to enjoy last month, but now the cedar and mountain juniper have begun to pollinate so there's trouble again for about a month.
Things were pretty good while we were away because we were near the ocean, but I found air pollution to be a problem. Oh what a "canary in the mine" am I!
We brought back a little VW Rabbit in very good condition which uses very little diesel fuel. We could go to Southern California and back for $100.00 in fuel. That's pretty good mileage. It belonged to our daughter but they don't need it any more so Ben's going to use it for daily trips into town to his office.
It was such a joy to visit with our three daughters and famo;oes in turn. We didn't do anything much, just talked and enjoyed each other's company. I hadn't seen any of them for a year. It was a very satisfying trip.
They gave me some birthday gifts. I received a Canadian green jade ring, and a cat's eye stone bead bracelet. Also a very funny looking special brush for using on fruits and vegetables. It stands alone on a base and looks like an ET (extraterrestrial, from the movie you know.) We found a really good and inexpensive hotel in Vancouver. Called "The Greenbriar", if you want to know, Neil. I think you're going there with your brother-in-law this summer.
We also found another excellent place looking out onto the ocean at Sidney on Vancouver Island. There was some misty rain, some cloudiness, and also sunshine. I bought six or seven books from an excellent antique bookstore in Sidney. Ben received a glass hummingbird feeder shaped like a red apple and he cooked up the syrup for hummingbirds and put the feeder up this afternoon. Soon we should see the tiny birds there because there are lots around and they used to come to our previous feeder. They are shades of green and their wings move very, very fast, so that you can hardly see them. They can hover in the air, and they love nectar from flowers. Do you have these little birds?
Another gift I received was a lovely mohair shawl that was woven in Ireland. The colours are the ones I often wear, butterscotch, mossy green, tomato red, and so on and it is very cosy. Mohair comes from a certain kind of goat. Another gift was a small Persian hand knotted prayer rug. I hung it on the wall in the stairwell where it looks very attractive. I thought all the gifts were very carefully and lovingly chosen. We're so fortunate to have a good, warm and loving family.
Well dear friends, it's late here and I think I'll go to bed and try to get rested to these allergies won't bother me so much tomorrow. I've been giving loud sneezes and my nose is dripping like a tap. I've used up a lot of kleenex!
Affectionately, Mary
