Elliott Eats an Éclair

April 25, 2015 – Elliott Eats an Éclair

Elliott’s recovery is going very well.  In addition to regaining his strength, he is definitely regaining his appetite.  My brother (visiting from New York) and I joined him for lunch today in the main dining room of The Virginian.  First, he polished off a full meal, which included three-cheese quiche and his favorite vegetable (mashed potatoes and gravy).  Then I watched in amazement as Elliott gobbled up a chocolate éclair in four huge bites.  If he continues eating at this rate, he’ll soon outgrow all the new clothes I bought him!  Elliott’s former daily uniform was a pair of khakis, a belt to hold them up, and a dress shirt.  When he went into rehab, I had to go out and buy him a new wardrobe consisting of exercise clothes for his physical and occupational therapy sessions.  

 

It’s great to see Elliott so full of energy and enthusiasm again.  While he’s been busy getting stronger, I’ve been busy making plans for his homecoming.  If all goes as expected, he’ll be discharged from rehab on May 5.  There are a lot to decisions to ponder and arrangements to make regarding homecare, emergency alarm systems, special furniture, and more.  I seem to spend hours everyday making phone calls, sending emails, and doing online research.  Of course, I also squeeze in a daily visit to Elliott.  There’s not much time for anything else. 

I did, however, set aside a few hours one day this past week to work in the glass studio in Lorton.  In addition, I’m in the process of setting up a new blog, which will serve as an online gallery of my fused glass work.  My goal is to post photos before May 9, when Matt and I will be participating in the next Mantua Made Market, just in time for Mother’s Day.  As soon as the new blog is ready for viewers, I’ll let you know.  

A recently completed piece of fused glass (8-inches square)

The other big project on the horizon is the baby shower for Elisa that I’m organizing and hosting next weekend, along with Teri (Elisa’s mother-in-law) and two of Elisa’s friends.  I never anticipated what was involved in planning this type of event.  In fact, I was so ignorant that I didn’t even realize a shower had to have a theme.  So I’m learning a lot in the process, and becoming quite familiar with Pinterest and Etsy.  One room of the house has become the staging area, where I’m accumulating all sorts of Parisian and French themed items that will be used for décor, favors, prizes, etc.  After much deliberation and consultation, I finally settled on a French-influenced menu.  Now I’m concentrating on selecting, scanning, printing and framing baby photos of Elisa.  I have a list of tasks for each day of the coming week.  And I just realized there’s one thing I overlooked, i.e. French music.  I’ll tackle that tomorrow.  Thank goodness Elisa introduced me to Pandora.  

Just a few of the many shower items

In the midst of all this activity, I nearly always make time for a daily walk.  On these days of daffodils and dogwood blossoms, it’s a joy to feel the sunshine on my face, to marvel at the colors of the tulips, and to stop and smell the lilacs.  Even the deer seem to share my enthusiasm for the season.  I recently discovered them gathering at the backyard bird feeder for happy hour.  

The scent of the lilacs is intoxicating.

 

So that's why I have to refill the bird feeder so often!