I drove up from Chicago yesterday, arriving in the Twin Cities around 7:00.  I visited my father, who is finally out of the hospital after a very rough stretch, and then camped out at my mother's old house.  There, I got to see for the first time about twenty more of my mother's paintings that my sister just discovered in a box last week.  Many, like the one pictured above in a poor quality cellphone photo, are unfinished, but even those are simply gorgeous.

   This morning, it was back to visit Dad and take him to the barber.  For lunch, I stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant that I always go to when I'm here.  The fortune in my cookie:  "You shouldn't overspend at the moment.  Frugality is important."  Maybe I shouldn't have ordered the eggrolls. 

   Tonight, I'm back to see Dad, plus visit my friend Jeff.  In the meanwhile, I'm going to try to get some work done.  Now.  Here I go.  Just watch me.  Any second now.