Kaja turned 95 today, but I didn’t get to wish her a happy birthday, because every time I called her phone just rang and rang. Finally, I called the nursing home where she lives and told the woman I was very concerned, because I hadn’t been able to get in touch with her. The woman said, “Of course you can’t get in touch with her! She’s been at her birthday parties all day!” That’s my Kaja! She’s the most popular person in the entire nursing home and she has so many friends – both on staff and other people who live there.
She has a very active social life there. She does arts and crafts, gets her hair done, plays games, listens to performers, and has all her meals with lots of other people. It has kept her active, happy, and as sharp as a tack. I know I’m only 51 and I’m already losing my memory (it’s scary sometimes), but Kaja is 95 and knows exactly what’s going on. She still remembers to send me a card for my birthday and anniversary, and every once in a while my phone will ring and it’s Kaja checking up on me!
I can’t wait to get back to NY so I can see her again. Eric and I visited her while I was in New York in November, and it is always great to see her. When she sent me my birthday card in December she sent me a sheet of paper telling me to wear Orange this year. She’s really into numerology, and palm reading, and will tell you what colors to wear to make things happen for you.
Apparently, orange is a color of fascination, attraction, encouragement and success! It increases the blood supply to the brain and stimulates appetite (that I don’t need any help with!). It is also the king of creativity and imagination and gives vent to a person’s creative juices.
I remember when my sister Audrey came to visit us once at our house in Whitestone and I took her across the street to meet Kaja. Kaja did a reading for her and told her that she should wear pink. I don’t remember why, but she’ll tell you what your numbers mean for the coming year, read your palm and tell you what colors to wear. Kaja’s amazing! I always tell people she’s mystical and magical. My darling, Kaja!
I went to lunch with Tifney today. They had a half day at work and she picked me up a little before noon. We drove over to the Clairemont Town Square and went to Chili’s. I had a delicious salad with grilled shrimp and Tifney got buffalo chicken sandwiches (they’re little, so they give you four).
My salad was really good. It had lots of veggies and greens, corn, pico de gallo, cilantro, along with big grilled shrimp. Yummy!
After lunch we went over in the same shopping center to MICHAEL’S, because I had to buy something to complete my decoupage project. When Tifney dropped me off back at home I turned around and went back out, because I wanted to return the magnified mirror Susan and Andrew gave me for my birthday. The alarm on the mirror woke me up again at 5:18am this morning. It hadn’t done it for a week or two, and I thought it was okay, and then all of a sudden it did it again. The guy at BROOKSTONE said someone was playing tricks on me. I told him I live alone, and then he said it was “even spookier.”
Anyway, I exchanged it for another style of mirror that doesn’t have an alarm clock and was able to get something else, too, because the mirror I returned was really expensive. It had all these bells and whistles, but all I really need is some good magnification, so I can see myself when I put my makeup on. I love my new mirror and I also got a shower radio, which I'm going to send to Eric.
After that I wandered around the mall a little and then headed home. I worked on my project for a while and then took a nap for 2 hours. When I woke up I worked on the box some more. I lined the entire box with black velvet and some very thin foam, so it's plush and beautiful inside. It is now complete and I will give it to Kristin sometime next week. I’m very excited, because I think it came out great. I have to photograph it and put it on my crafts blog. I’ll let you know when I do!
After I was done I had dinner (a veggie burger and a salad) and I watched GHOST WHISPERER. There were some great guest stars and cameos. First of all, Dan Castellanata played a ghost. He had just one scene, but it was pretty funny.
Then, Bitsy Schram, who used to play Sharona on Monk, had one scene. It’s pretty sad, because apparently she left Monk because she wanted more money and this is the first time I’ve seen her in ANYTHING over the past 3 or 4 years! If that's really the reason she left, that was NOT a great career move!
Teri Polo had a scene right at the end of the episode and it’s clear she’s going to have a recurring role this season. I do like that show, because I’m interested in any stories about ghosts and life after death. I find the show entertaining and it's very sweet.
After that I watched Monk. It was SO good – really funny, as usual. As I was watching, I saw a commercial for a huge 3-day antique show on the Del Mar Fairgrounds. As it happens, I have absolutely no plans for tomorrow, so I’m thinking I just might go!
I haven’t gone antiquing since Eric and I went to Ocean Beach (which was a fabulous day). It will be a gorgeous day (as usual) and nice to walk around and look at lots of old stuff. That’s my idea of a good time!