Hello Everyone.

Happy fall equinox! Today is the first day of fall and what a glorious day it is here at our Shambhala. I will try to complete this e-mail today but if its a day late please excuse me.   

Last weekend was another wondrous time filled with love and light surrounding Oma/mother/Gretel. Birgit came with flowers from Seattle on Saturday and spent a day here to care for mother while I finished putting the roof on my workshop and sealing it up for the winter. Soon the rains will come and then it will rain for weeks on end. Birgit and mother had a grand time together, driving around the island, going to lunch in Friday Harbor and generally enjoying each other. Mother told me over and over what a "schaetzle" Birgit is.   

Then on Sunday while mother and I went to town to pick Laura up at the ferry Birgit lovingly prepared a whole lot of food. Potato Salad, carrot salad and her specialty red beets!!! When we returned we had a grand feast on the deck! Shortly thereafter Birgit had an accordion student come and get her lesson before she caught the ferry back to the city at 5:30.   

Monday found us staying close to home most of the day just enjoying the wonders of our Shambhala. Rob came over for lunch and we enjoyed the wonderful food Birgit prepared the day before again. He helped me with a window in my workshop and we had a nice chat before he left.   

Then after a wonderful afternoon nap, we decided to go to county park to watch the sunset! And another grand display it was. Yesterday Laura too returned home and today we are settling back into our regular routine.   

After the visiting nurse, Trish, was here last week we made some changes to our night-time routine and medications and were able to increase our sleep periods from a mere 45 minutes between pee breaks (which made for serious sleep deprivation on both our parts) to as much as 3 hours between trips to the bathroom. This was great as it allowed me to catch up on some sleep and feel much better and find more patience. Last night though we have reverted back to 1 1/2 hour increments and sleep is becoming more dear.   

When mother lies back in her bed as I prepare her with creams and powders to keep her comfortable at night I am noticing more and more the large swelling in her abdomen. It protrudes beyond her layers of fat now and seems to be the size of a grapefruit. I expect that this is contributing to the pressures on her lungs and now her kidneys and other organs which is probably the reason she feels that she has to go to the bathroom all the time. The drugs make this pressure tolerable but there are only a few "sweet spots" during the day when she is lucid and clear and happy.   

Much of the rest of the time is spent sleeping or trying to get comfortable. Since sleep is usually of short duration I don't find much time for chores, taking care of bills and paperwork and writing e-mails. But  somehow I do manage to fit it all in. I certainly love doing it all and find myself grateful beyond measure that we are here together at home in this beautiful Shambhala at this time. Every once in a while I imagine what it would be like in a small air conditioned apartment in the city or a hospital ward and I just cringe. We are so blessed indeed.   Anyway chores are a calling...   

On a beam of light,  
Thomas