Richmond, VA

Merry meet Friends,
Michelle here, bringing lots of love and light!

"To be alive: not just the carcass
But the spark.
That's crudely put, but...

If we're not supposed to dance,
Why all this music?"  ~~ Gregory Orr

This has been a whirlwind week of events.  In order to dispense medication on the job and to become state certified, I need to take a 68 hours Med Tech course (I had a 32 hour course from a previous job with no state certification), and I need to take a Direct Care (CNA) course for 6 weeks.  The CNA course is on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 - 8:30pm.  The Med Tech course will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 8;00 - 4:30 am.  I just finished the first week of the CNA course.  

On Tuesday a friend of mine, Ramona, called and asked if I wanted to have breakfast.  I had just finished a green smoothie so I wasn't hungry.  We continued to talk.  She said she needed to go to Sam's Club and Regency Mall and invited me to ride.  We had an enjoyable time and by this time we were both hungry.  She suggested River City Diner on Brook Road because I wanted waffles.  I get on these taste kicks and want what I want.  My son Jason is mystified by this.  He doesn't understand me eating by what I 'feel" to eat or having a taste for something.   Anyway, Ramona recommended the red pepper she crab soup and the chicken and waffle sandwich.  I must say the soup was delicious with chunks of crab.  If I cook chicken, it's organic but if I eat out, then not so much.  Having said that, the chicken and waffle with the special "syrup sauce" was delicious as well.

The reason Ramona wanted to go to Regency was to get a whipped curl creme by Tree Naturals which is sold on line or at Epic Curls in Regency Mall.  I have Tree's leave in conditioner which I learned was too oily for my hair; given in a short tutorial by the owner of Epic Curls.  She knew her stuff!  I knew that I didn't like the definition of my curls after using the conditioner, so I was happy to hear this explanation.  More so because I wanted to give the products a chance since this young sister is a Richmond native. The hair milk was suggested for my hair.  Let me tell you, when I say I love this product, please believe me.  The definition of my curls is on point. The shampoo, which I don't have but will try smells heavenly! Tree knows what her "curlies", as she likes to call us, needs. My friend Beryl's daughter, Davia is a hair model for Tree. I was glad for the unexpected turn of events on Tuesday.

On Wednesday evening I had class again.  On Thursday six high school friends and I went to Charlottesville for the day. We started hanging out as a group on my 59th birthday and it has continued for each person's birthday and other events.  My friend Alma has donned us "The Golden Crew".  We met in a church parking lot, then piled into the van and headed to Golden Corral for breakfast. After eating our fill, we were on our way to Charlottesville.  The scenery was pretty and the banter was typical of this particular group.  The group included Venetia, Betty, Linda, Wanda, James, Earl and myself.  We stopped to take pictures and to look at the mountains.  We thought a Ross' department store was there but alas, it was Roses.  That didn't stop Venetia, Earl and myself from looking around while the others had a very interesting facts of life class by James.  LOL   

Because no one was hungry I suggested going somewhere for a drink.  We found an Applebee's and headed to the bar.  I guess we looked like a fun group because a gentleman asked if he could join us.  After being the person to suggest having drinks, I didn't know what I wanted.  I changed my order four (4) times!  Luckily, the bartender hadn't started any yet.  I ended up with a perfect petrone margarita.  Did I say "a"?  It was more like two.  We had a great time laughing and joking with each other and the guy who came over to sit with us.  The bartender said she would take our picture and we let her.  We then headed over to the, chosen by James, place for lunch.  It's called The Wood Grill, another buffet.  James picked a winner though because the food was good.  It had everything one could possibly want and tasted better than most buffets.

On the way there and back, Venetia had questions she wanted us to answer pertaining to high school.  It was insightful to hear our older selves speak about our younger selves.  James serenaded us with song.  I asked him to sing something for me that I didn't know.  He asked anyone to call out a word and he would find a song containing the word.  Earl shouted out "trouble" which stumped James.  I immediately thought of "Trouble in Mind" by Nina Simone.  James did eventually sing something I had never heard before.  Linda sang us one we didn't know either.  We arrived back safely with plans to do it again soon.  Soon is next month and we, The Golden Crew, are headed to DC where hopefully, we will be met by Clyde and maybe others will come along.

On Friday, my friend Millie and I went to Williamsburg for lunch at a restaurant called Food For Thought.  We had gone there before. I wanted to go back on a Friday because they have oysters.  To my dismay, the oysters are served only at dinner.  Millie and I enjoyed the food anyway and we always enjoy each other's company.  This time we didn't walk around the outlet mall.  On Saturday I worked from 12pm-8:30pm.  I like that shift because I'm not relieving anyone and no one relieves me. The shift ran smoothly and went by quickly.  I baked a Lemon Chess and a Coconut Pie to take to some of my coworkers. I am now being asked to sell them.  It works for me.  It was a busy week and I went to bed early.  I like impromptu and planned activities and look forward to more.

As the quote above says: "If we're not supposed to dance, why all this music?"  I'm hearing the music, I'm listening and I'm dancing.

Until next Sunday,
Merry part and merry meet again,
Blessed be,
Gypsi Mama Michelle