Developments up north

I spoke to my sister on Zoom last night, as I am wont to do. The cause of death on the certificate is listed as "cholecystitis" (with "general frailty due to old age" as a contributory factor). We have no idea whether or not Mum actually had cholecystitis at the time of her death, but what we do know is that that was what sent her into her final decline, so in the absence of any more obvious cause it seems reasonable to record that. We also don't yet know when the funeral will be, but I'll hear as soon as we do; my sister is going to try for a Thursday, as that's easiest for one of my nieces, who is at university at the moment. I'm quite glad she's aiming for a weekday. I didn't really want to be away at the weekend if it could be avoided. (It will mean a few minor rearrangements, but those are do-able.)

Since she has everything in hand, our other sister, the OT, has decided to go home; she was originally going to stay another eight weeks or so, but she's on her way home as I write. While the sister in Kendal will miss the dogs (they are, it has to be admitted, very cute), she won't miss the barking, or having to restrain them every time someone comes to the door, or the work involved; she likes both cats and dogs, but she has finally concluded that she prefers cats. (I've never been any doubt about the matter. I have always loved cats, whereas I'm not quite so comfortable around dogs - though there have been some very lovely exceptions.)

There's still, obviously, a lot to do; but my sister is starting to realise she's got her life back. She has had a few things she's been doing which have helped to keep her sane. She's heavily involved at her church (does a lot of the music, organises rotas, and so on), and she's also in a local choir; now, however, she'll be able to do a few more of the things she's been wanting to do, and even go away sometimes. She and her husband are celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary next year, so they plan to go to Switzerland, which I think is where they originally went for their honeymoon. And good for them.

She also asked me if there was anything I particularly wanted from Mum's house. Mum had a bronze statuette of a horse and foal which I always liked, and I'd always said I'd ask for that; but when it came to it, I realised I didn't want it. I mean, where would I put it in this flat? It's quite valuable, so it can be sold off with the rest of the stuff and the proceeds divided among the three of us. The only thing I really wanted was the Collected Works of Ogden Nash. Dad bought that when I was five, by which point I was already reading fluently, and it was one of the few consolations of my childhood. No matter how miserable things were, I knew I could ask to read the Ogden Nash (you had to ask every time you wanted to read a book, no matter how many times you'd read it before) and that would make me laugh. I've tried many times to get hold of my own copy since then, but it's been out of print for years; there are a few collections of his work available, but as far as I can tell they don't have any of his best stuff.

I also told her I definitely did not want that ugly vase. She didn't have to ask which one I meant. To be fair, the ugly vase wasn't chosen by either parent; it was inherited from my grandmother, and it's apparently extremely valuable. There'll be some fool out there who'll buy it for no other reason than that, depend upon it.

I leave you with Ogden Nash; this is, very probably, the first poem I ever learnt by heart.

"A gourmet challenged me to eat
A tiny piece of rattlesnake meat,
Remarking, 'Don't look horror-stricken;
You'll find it tastes a lot like chicken.'
It did. Now chicken I cannot eat,
Because it tastes like rattlesnake meat."