Ray made it home from his trip safely. I was asleep, but I very glad to have him back.

There was nothing in the want ads for me to apply for. Time to pursue other things.

I had a really busy day, but it was good.

I did not make pancakes for one, so the supply of sour milk is undiminished. That means Sunday breakfast was the same as every other day: yogurt with a peach, toast with peanut butter. I walked out to get the paper with Cameron and got ready for my busy day. I had two dresses and two pair of shoes in the car wtih me.

FIrst, I went to the Forum (9:30). Clela was speaking about her experience in Romania. Fun and fascinating. She went through an incredible process to become a Peace Corps volunteer at over 60. She studied Russian, but they ended up changing where they sent her, so she had to learn Romanian. She was teaching English in a small village in the northwest. She enjoyed it and learned a lot. However, the US is now phasing out the Peace Corps there, as they are no longer a "developing" country. They still have, as she says, lots of problems, but not enough to need our help, or not the kind that are solved by the Peace Corps. There is lots of corruption, so, for instance, there is universal free health care, but you are expected to slip the doctor some money if you want good free health care. And the same thing applies everywhere. The teachers are woefully underpaid and so do not have the same dedication ours do. They do their job, present the information, and if the children learn, fine. And if they don't, too bad.

At 11, the service was about 9/11 and remembering and love and hope. I thought Alison did a great job. We sang, "When I breathe in..." and I cried, as did many others. Ruth and George were there. I told Ruth she was an inspiration to me, something I've wanted to do for a long time and not found the right moment. They are living at Talmadge Terrace now. It was one of my hopes that my parents would get to know them and like them, but I don't think that's going to happen. Julene's parents live there, too.

After the service, I hurried to Daddy's apartment. I ate some bread and meat and cheese for a quick lunch, changed into my good dress, and we drove to the Lutheran church for Bertha's service at 1. I stood at the guest book and my Dad went in and sat down. When Deb and John arrived with dogs, I asked them to sit with him and they did. Just about 1, Mark and Francesca came in with a projector and started setting it up. I said, "you go and I'll take care of this." It took me almost half an hour, but I finally got it set up as best I could. I went and sat outside and listened to the end. My Dad came and found me, he was worried about me. Afterward, we went into the reception hall. At first, I couldn't get the photos to loop, so I sat there and advanced them manually. Of course, all the family was in the recieving line. Eventually, I got it to work perfectly and people really enjoyed seeing the pictures, some very old and some recent. They were really grateful to me. I talked some with Julie Knowlton, among others.

I took my Dad home and he said the service affected him more than he expected. I felt bad that I was not able to sit with him.

Then I went to the dance class. I had about 30 minutes, so I changed my dress back and walked to Yoforia and treated myself to a little yogurt, and read my email for a bit. I walked back to the car and got my dance shoes (actually my mother's shoes) and spent an hour learning to cha-cha. It was surprisingly fun. I had really worried about Ray not being there. As it happened, there were more men than women and I danced with a young man with bare feet. He was sniffing and sneezing, but assured me it was allergies. He said he had been a drummer for x years, so he was able to keep the beat really well. I hope I can remember what I learned and teach it to Ray.

After that, I went to the library and paid my fines so I could renew my books. Then I went downtown to First United Methodist, where they were having a community sing of Faure's Requiem. I was definitely over my head, not having sung the piece before at all. In Latin, of course. I could barely read it. First, I sat next to Brenda Poss, who is a retired choir director from Cedar Shoals. She was singing alto, but I could count on her for the right tempo and sometimes the same notes. Sara Baker came and sat with me, so that was fun. She was singing soprano, too, but had only rehearsed it once. (once more than me). We moved up, so there would be at least one person behind us to listen to. There was an awesome young woman from UGA directing and a 15-piece orchestra or so. It was a 9/11 remembrance, but I mostly went for the fun of singing in a large group.

Then I went home, fed my dog, ate leftovers (including some really old pork that made me a little nervous), and watched a little TV. In bed, I started reading Another Country by Mary Pipher. She wrote about teenage girls in Reviving Ophelia. This is similiar about aging and the elderly. She divides them into young-old and old-old. Young-old travel and play cards and have a great time. Old-old usually have some medical issues. Our current system doesn't allow for these two different groups. If you are old-old, you need to live near family. (in her opinion) but it is hard to move once you reach that point. She is brilliant and helpful and easy to read.