Unwanted Halloween Fright

Two days ago, my sister called me from the nursing home, asking if I had heard from our mother. I said I had not lately heard from her. Kelli told me that she'd been told by a family friend that Mom was dead! Kelli had tried calling Mom, and gotten only voicemail. My nephew hadn't called either Kelli or me. I reassured Kelli that surely someone up there would have called us.

Yesterday evening, having heard nothing one way or another, I tried calling Mom. To my great relief, she answered her phone and announced that "rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." What appears to have happened is that someone up in the hills with a similar first name to my mother died, and when it passed through a game of "Whispers" it had gotten turned into my mother dying instead.

Now the call cut off in the middle, but that's not uncommon. They have bad cell reception and Mom isn't great about remembering to keep her phone charged. However, Mom is not only alive, but said she was feeling pretty good, and was in the process of cleaning and polishing the large amount of wood in the house in which she's living these days. Before the call dropped, she also said that she's spoken to my sister, so there's an end to the panic.

This afternoon, I got texts from the family friend who had frightened Kelli (and by extension me) apologizing for the mistake.

Six Years and Counting

Although we signed on the agreement to buy Fernley House in August 2011 on the day after the 2011 Worldcon, a covenant on the property at the time prohibited the owner from selling it to us right away, and we had to rent it through the end of October. Therefore, today, November 1, is the sixth anniversary of us buying this house.

( Home Sweet Home )

We were lucky to find this house, and we continue to be grateful to the friend who loaned us the money when the finance company pulled out (despite my good credit) and made it possible for us to make a home here.