Good stuff

Picked up Katie at the coffee shop where she works yesterday and had a nice lunch at a little place a couple of doors down.

Saw Melissa for a check of my blood, and all is normal, with platelets at a high of 180! My lungs are clear, but I am still coughing a little.

Then went to Margaret's and from there to the restaurant where she was celebrating her 60th birthday. Margaret and Nick had invited 20 people or more, and we took up a whole back room at the Biltmore Bar and Grille in Newton. The napkins were black, but the mood was festive, and it was nice to see some of Margaret's old friends and new ones. Great food, great service, fun balloons and an incredible mocha birthday cake that looked like a work of art.

I stayed overnight and drove back home this morning. It is hot hot hot and hard to do anything. Time to put the air conditioners in. I prefer real air, but when the weather is like this I'm more than ready to give in.

On Wednesday I went to George's tennis clinic – my first time out. At first I couldn't connect with the ball, but then I got the hang of it, and he said I did well. It's always fun to be around George. "Why are you laughing? You should be crying," he said to two players on the other side of the net who had bumped into each other. But he said it with his little smile, kind of laughing himself.

At the end we always play some doubles. There were four of us, and after a couple of games I realized that I had had it. I asked George to take my place instead of playing badly the whole time and then feeling exhausted. One of the many times that I did play too long, I threw myself onto the court at the end. Walking out before it gets to that point amounts to progress!