those waking hours

I wake, typically, with a sudden jolt of pain in the middle of the night.  Familiar pain, unwelcome, nonetheless.  So I get up to eat a pain pill, knowing I will spend at least a couple of hours slipping closer to normalcy.
Yesterday I visisted at Melissa's, with Tree.   
Had the pleasure of observing Logan's reading skills, which duly impressed me.  He says Math is his favorite subject.  I told him it was my worst.  He is just the sweetest boy, I can hardly explain.  Such a gift.

Loving his first pet, Linny, the Guinea Pig

The weather was, and has been, damp and cold.  It sinks right in your bones, and aches you up.  Thinking I need to get some Tiger Balm.  I prefer the White, but that is a little harder to find.  I like white flower oil, too, but I'd probably need to go to Chinatown to get that.  Actually will be in Brooklyn's Little Chinatown next week when I go to the Cancer Center to see my oncologist.  Store fronts, though, are usually in Chinese, and it's hard to navigate.  Not sure what each store actually sells, except for the food stuffs, mostly.

Had a pleasant surprise last night.  I was chatting with my 2nd cousin, Martin, on Facebook.  Martin is my mother's nephew, and somewhat of an ancestry hound, who found my mother several years ago.  My mom, more or less, orphaned by 5 or 6, when she had already lost both parents, has had many mysterious parts to her life.  In another country, Guyana, she had 6 half brothers and sisters.

It has been interesting to learn things from Martin, who has done (and is still doing) many years of rigorous research.

Anyway, tonight I mentioned how I have never even seen a picture of my maternal grandparents.  I doubt I'll ever get to see my Greek grandfather, Peter Nicholas, but last night Martin graced me with a photo of my Portugese grandmother, Mary Serrao (1882-1931), and here she is...

I  think she is rather stunning and modern in her look.  She has the same pin straight hair as my mom had.  I see my mother in her face.  That twinkling in the eyes.  I'm so happy to finally see her!