Well, it happened! Dad sold his truck, in a pleasant and smooth transaction. A man named Mike came Saturday afternoon, in fact, earlier than expected. Ray had been back to John's for more wood and gotten home about noon to empty it and sweep it out. Mike got there about a half hour later. We were quite nervous by then, but he was very happy with the truck and had brought a cashier's check for $500 less than the asking price, which Dad was very willing to accept. After signing papers, he drove away and we said goodbye to a good and faithful truck. Dad treated us to dinner at Porterhouse, including champagne, and we all had a lovely time. At one point, he said, "it's hard to imagine that in a few months something bad will happen, and we won't be as happy as we are now." Ah, yes, fleeting happiness.

Yesterday, Ray and I had to be at UUFA at 8:15 to get ready to sing. I also had to speak briefly at both services, since I am "retiring" from the lay ministry. There are several new ministers and I will have plenty to keep me busy, and happy not to attend those long Thursday night meetings. I guess I'll go to one more this month. I also think we should have some sort of party. My Dad was there for the first service.

The thing I hate about having two services, especially when I have to be at both of them, is that the second ends at 12:30 (if it's on time). By then, I am starving. It would be one before I got home to eat, assuming I had something already prepared. I often have a snack--this time it was a banana and half a piece of peanut butter toast. Anyway, I am not in much of a mood for chatting and just want to get somewhere to eat. On this occasion, Janna and Ron, Becky and Kent were waiting for us at Five and Ten. Actually, they had already ordered, not that I blame them. Ray and I were the only ones to have alcohol (I guess some people don't drink that early in the day?), a mimosa for me and red wine for him. I had a lovely dish of sliced ribeye (a much smaller portion than I would get at, say, Porterhouse, but it came with coddled egg and several other accompaniments, including fried potatoes). Then we were the only two to order dessert. What is wrong with these people? Well, yes, I know they are all on diets for one thing. I also thing they eat out much more than we do. For us, it's a big special treat and we like to do it up right. Rhubarb flip cake, with a dab of whipped cream, of course. It was wonderful. Rhubarb is hard to find around here. We tried to grow it for a few years, but it is gone now.

I did harvest 5 strawberries yesterday. They were heavenly, but small. I would need about 50 plants to make enough to eat and freeze. Maybe it makes more sense to let Washington Farms grow them for us.

Janna's birthday is today. She had requested that we attend the Jason Carter for Governor fundraiser yesterday, so we went to the Melting Point after brunch. It was pretty hot by mid-afternoon, but we sat in the shade on the patio. There were a lot of young people there, more men than women, interestingly, and few that we knew, mostly politicians. Jason (Jimmy Carter's grandson) spoke for about 15 minutes. He is a pleasant, lucid, young man, father of 2, married to a teacher. Education is important to him. He is the only Democrat running, I believe, and so I will of course, vote for him. The Republican incumbent is pretty awful. I am cross, though, that Jason (as a state senator) voted for the "guns everywhere" bill. He was asked about it, and explained pretty clearly that he thought those decisions should be up to the communities. I don't have a lot of flexibility on that issue, though. I did write him a small check as a present for Janna.

By the time we got home, about 3:30, I think, my Dad was gone. I felt bad, but I tried to call him a few times and he never answered. He had watered some and done some other gardening. It was pleasant in the house, but hot outside. Ray and I were both tired and had trouble getting the energy to do anything. I finally managed to put away some socks and reorganize my shirts so I can find what I want to wear for my interview. We took turns reading to each other, while the other one de-cluttered some. It worked pretty well, but for the last chapter or so, we were both lying on the bed while Ray read.

Trying to figure out what to eat was hard. We didn't have much of anything in terms of leftovers. Our eggs are dwindling... I should buy some "store" eggs for baking and save the good ones (Gladys lays about 4 a week). More chickens are on my wish list. We did have some homemade bacon that Mike C. had made and given us to taste. Ray sliced off a few small pieces and cooked them up. I put in a couple slices of red onion and then some potatoes. Meanwhile, Ray washed some lettuce and we cut up some tomatoes too. So we had a BLT salad with potatoes. Pretty tasty...not quite filling enough, so we had popcorn later...

Which reminds me, it's lunch time now and I must feed myself!