skeleton crew

Dad will be staying home, and I will be leaving for the hospital later this morning. Dad's here to get some chores and paperwork done; he also has to await the arrival of the Belfort Furniture delivery crew, who are bringing a new dining room table to replace the poorly made one that arrived here months ago.

The saga of this table (and the dining room chairs accompanying it) began even before we knew about Mom's cancer. Belfort sent people out to try to repair the table's and chairs' many flaws (warped surface, corners with open seams, legs that don't allow the furniture to stand evenly, etc.), but after two or three such visits, nothing was accomplished. We're at the point, now, where we want the table to be switched for a better one. If the new table proves to have problems, we'll be sending the entire dining room kit back.

Someone-- was it Mike? was it a commenter here?-- suggested looking into Amish furniture. This sounds great, but a quick glance at the Internet shows that there's a wide variety of Amish providers out there, and it's not obvious which ones are legitimately Amish, and which are poseurs playing on the Amish reputation for high-quality, handcrafted furniture. It's a great suggestion, especially if it's true that the furniture is indeed handcrafted, but we'll need to do some research.

So there we are. Dad will remain home, and I'll be off to the hospital soon.

UPDATE, 12:30PM: I still haven't left yet, having opted to flop back in bed for another hour or so of sleep. When I woke up, I delayed further by spending some time re-shaving my head-- an important gesture for me, now that Mom's scalp has been entirely shaved. I joked to Dad yesterday that I finally got my way, because I know Mom didn't want to be shorn like a sheep, whereas I'd been advocating the idea that a bald scalp makes for a better landing pad for all manner of nifty wigs. We'll see how Mom reacts to the latest turn of events when she's awake and articulate.

Sean had texted me earlier in the morning; I assume he's at the hospital now.

Many thanks to the people who continue to send food and cards our way. We might want to hold off on the Korean food for now, because we're a bit overstocked, and Mom's not in a condition to eat it yet. The soups we have can be kept for several days with no worries; periodic re-boiling will keep them fresh.


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