Mom (about her horse, Sprite): You were always a good horse.
The day began with a clean house. Then we began the sorting process. We went through Mom's cedar chest, the books, the crystal, vases and silverware and the paintings. The house is a mess, and I won't pretend it's an orderly mess, but everything has stickies on it now! This made Mom feel better because she is worried about people not getting things. There are heirloom items for all of the nieces, but boys are harder to "shop" for. The girls will be getting not only a piece of their Aunt Frances, but a piece of Grandma Lorna or Della.
Mom was very helpful in identifying the origin of the items in her cedar chest. We made sure to write where everything came from, because no one else will ever figure it out. Mom's cousin Steven Call drove up and spent several hours with us. Mom enjoyed seeing him again. We also had visits from Hillary and Brock, and Uncle Garry also came by and stayed for a while.
We have an appointment tomorrow with the mortuary in Bakersfield. The booklet the hospice nurse gave us places her breathing patterns (occasionally stopped for 10-15 seconds at a time) under "one to two days to hours prior to death". I think I noticed this earlier, but Hillary pointed it out today. 
Thu May 04 2006 23:03:
Anne is writing down all the conversations we have with Mom, and some of them are pretty funny. Here is my favorite:
Anne: Thank you.
Mom: Even if you did sit down once.