1. It’s Friday after an intense few days. I am taking the day off and as I sit here doing, well, nothing, I totally think it was a good move.

2. About Dad. For those who weren’t aware of the “whole” story, here is a recap.

Mom and I moved him into a memory care facility in mid July, and since that time we have seen a rapid decline. Within a month he had moved beyond the legal capacity of this original placement. We were going to move him up to a Portland area facility on Wednesday.

Mom had driven up here Monday to sign the papers and do a few preliminary things. She was staying the night with me before driving back down to the beach to move him Wednesday. Monday evening the original beach facility called and told her that Dad had “taken a turn for the worse” but they indicated that they still thought the move was on.

Tuesday morning Mom drove back to the beach as planned, and when she walked into the room, she knew he couldn’t be moved and that death was near. Neither of us was expecting, however, that he would die that evening. But Wednesday about 3:00am, hospice called and said Dad had passed. Mom called me 30 seconds after my alarm went off and told me the news. I got dressed, got in the car, and went down to the beach.

We went through the mortuary process to have him cremated and quickly decided to postpone a memorial service for some period of time (we still aren’t sure when). Thursday morning we moved him completely out of the beach facility, and I headed back home.

3. When I got home the whole situation hit me like a ton of bricks (only half a ton before…) and I decided to wait one more day before going back to work. So far today I have slept and started a load of laundry.

4. I need to pack because I am still planning on heading down to Medford for the Watercolor Society of Oregon convention where my painting “Sizing Up the Competition” is entered. It seems like a big chore.

5. Wednesday, after we were coming back from a final viewing of Dad’s body, I spotted a bald eagle and Mom and I pulled over to take some pictures. Turns out there were three bald eagles and a red tailed hawk. The red tail was dive bombing the eagles. All three were loud and very active while we were standing there.

I can’t speak for Mom, but I thought a lot about Dad as I was standing there taking pictures. He would have loved this. He loved bald eagles and photos and was always stopping to see something.

After we started up again, Mom told me a story.

During Mom and Dad’s wedding week, she and Dad and Uncle Darrel (Dad’s brother) and his wife (Aunt Robin) went for a drive to a place where they new the bald eagles hung out. There was a big eagle in a tree, and Dad want a picture of the eagle flying. So the three of them hollered and waved their arms, trying to get the eagle to fly. The eagle, of course, just looked at them. So they gave up. At which point, the eagle flew.

Typical.

6. Finn is getting a little vacation too, because he stayed down with Mom. She gives him lots of walks and treats.

7. Confession time: I did not finish the “30 paintings in 30 days” challenge in September. I had a big day on Sunday the 28th and actually didn’t feel well. I posted about O.F.F.F. and was planning to cheat with a double post on Monday. And then life got in the way. And I got a little lazy. So… I did 27 paintings in 27 days. Not too shabby.

8. If I do a challenge like this again, I’m going to focus on one topic. But it will be a while.