My Mother Turns 80 Yrs. Old

Song:  Above All

Artist:  Above All

Today was my mother's 80th birthday.

Both of my sisters and my eldest sister's family went out with us to celebrate

my mother turning 80 years old

(My nephews are only here for a couple of days).

We went out to our favorite sushi restaurant.

Although we took my mother's walker...

she really doesn't need it anymore.

We had to wait for half an hour or so for our table.

My nephews were watching a basketball game as we waited in the lounge area.

At our table.

After supper...

we went to my elder sister's new home

(It is just 10 or so minutes from my mother's home).

Although she is still in the process of furnishing her new house...

they have enough to entertain there.

My mother removing her shoes at the entrance, just after our arrival.

My elder sister had ordered the extended granite top island option.

The extension is a permanent dining room table...

with a granite top.

This is their great room.

The last time I had taken photos here was when it was still

just a wooden frame and insulation.

They had gotten a very comfortable leather sofa set.

One of the bedrooms.

The master bathroom tub...

and shower.

I really like the multiple shower heads.

I especially like the overhead rain shower head.

My sister got a flotation tank and put it in one of her closets.

You fill it with 800 lbs of epsom salts...

and a foot or so of water...

run the heater to body temperature...

and then close the door.

It is to provide insulation from all external stimuli as you just float.

There is also the option to listen to music as you float.

I would think that it would be a prime place to listen to Pink Floyd  :)

This is their outdoor covered patio.

They still must put in their patio furniture.

They had an outdoor TV set installed above the fireplace.

Their backyard patio still must be installed.

They had one of their indoor TVs installed (85").

They will get a short table for underneath it.

Since they have the extended island dinning table...

they turned the dining room area into a pool table room.

The Great Debate.

My nephews and I soon entered into a discussion on many subjects.

Both are logical and reasonable...

so, I had a lot of fun talking with them.

My younger sister joined in after a while.

My elder sister came in just before we were to leave.

My mother had fallen asleep on one of the reclining sofa chairs.

My youngest sister is on the left...with my mother in the center foreground.

My eldest sister is in the background with her husband, youngest son, and eldest son.

One of my nephews had found this old photo of my sisters and I from about 45 years ago.

I was about 14 or 15 years old here.

My younger sister is on the left of the photo and my elder sister is on the right...

with me in the back center.

My younger sister, my mom, and I, are preparing to go back to my mother's house.

I had already discussed the possibility of forming a musical group with my sister

and her husband.

She is going to turn this room into a music room...

where we could practice together...

and make some recordings.

We are all beginners in music...

but, there are some pieces I wish for us to practice together.

Her sons are pretty talented musicians...

and they are good at the technical aspects of media usage.

We hope to be able to use them in the future...

to not only play with us...

but to teach us about the recording and sound equipment needed to 

upload to YouTube.

They also have equipment necessary to loop multiple tracks.

My sister plays the keyboards...

and her husband can play various instruments by ear.

(He has an electric Bass Fiddle...an electric Bass Guitar...

a Trombone...an electronic drum machine...

and a few others).

I just play the Bass Flute...

but I also compose music.

I hope to put together some songs we could play easily at first...

and then on to more complicated pieces with multiple instruments...

and a layering of multiple tracks.

I hope we can get heavily involved in playing music

sometime in our future.

I would mostly practice alone...

and then visit every so often to get together with 

my sister and her husband to coordinate our separately practiced pieces.

We are all set to leave.

The nephews are using the upstairs bedrooms during their stay.

My mother had a good time.

She got to see everyone all at once.

My elder sister and her husband love their new home.

And...

it is so near so many great places.

We are going shopping for my mother's birthday gift tomorrow.

We had run out of time on this night.

We are going to get her an exceptionally warm jacket for very cold weather.

I plan to take her out into the mountains this Winter.