Monday, May. 29, 2006 - 7:45 a.m.

I'm back. I went down to Daytona for the week to help my mom move. She's moved into a hopefully affordable mobile home (swallowing her pride-- she has never thought of herself as a mobile home sort of person, if there is such a thing). I painted rooms. I sorted. I put things in boxes and carried them. I boxed up books and mailed them to myself here. We had no air conditioning until the day before I left, and no hot water either.

I believe that the presence of lawn figurines may be a prerequisite for being allowed to live in mom's new subdivision. It's one of those over-55-only communities. A good third of the lawns have been filled in with pebbles. And the figurines. Gawd. It's a sight to behold.

I just hope that there are nice people for her to hang with there, not just the regulation nitpickers.

My brother. *snort*. I don't want to say anything about that.

I did get to see my nephew, his wife, and three kids. He turned 24 the day I arrived. I can't believe it. They're moving to the Seattle area to be with his mom, and his brother (who has his first child on the way, by the way. What is up with these people? I don't get it.)But they seem to be doing well, other than the fact that they're being evicted. I mean, they get along, they seem solid, they're patient and good parents. And they seem happy. That's what counts.

I'm glad to be home.

Also, my qual paper passed. Yay!

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