Tuesday, June 28th, 1997-in which we learn more about Nancy's priorities in life, and Petey acts very grown up (mostly)

Read Honey For Tea; Cadell and reread Heat Lightning ; Dodson today-enjoyed both.  I discovered that at least in 1969 Dodson was married to another favorite of mine, Richard Lockridge, but whether that was before or after his marriage to Francis, I don't know.  Marilyn (Cates-PL) picked us up just a bit before 11:00-she'd had one of those mornings when things fall apart.  Life is really hard for perfectionists.  I told her, truthfully, that I don't do any housework if Petey wants me to play, I go and play.  I'll have all the rest of my life to have a nice shiny house, with no little boys to make messes...and I'd rather have the mess and Petey.  He had a good time with Nicole.  Marilyn's mother-in-law is also a perfectionist and lives near enough to give her an inferiority complex.  I never even met Stewart's mother-and she never got to see Petey...her loss, not mine.  Haven't decided whether to send Stewart a picture or not.  He's a little late (two and a half years) in asking.  Told Marilyn my mother's adage "People come to see me, not my house, and if they come just to see my house, I don't want to see them".  She (Marilyn) gave me some really cute dresses and a car coat that will be nice next winter.  We plan to have a picnic on our front lawn next week.  Pete and I took a long walk tonight-clear up to the railroad tracks so he could see what they looked like.  We looked at the crossing gate, too, and the freight cars parked there.  Someday I hope to take him on an Amtrak train.  Maybe Lorraine Bennett's daughter would let us stay overnight in Boise with them.  I called John Sandquist just before two and he still hadn't anyone lined up to take us to MSTI tomorrow.  I hope whoever does it will be willing to stop at McDonald's on the way home.  Daniel oiled Pete's tricycle for him tonight.  He was outside playing and disappeared-I found him sitting on a lawn chair and visiting with Daniel and Maria, quite grown up.  We each took a bath tonight and Pete gave me a second one by plunking his little wet self into my lap.  When I was giving him his 11:00pm meds, he had a nosebleed and scared both of us-if only there was a magic way to stop him picking his nose! Read him Timothy's Horse and the Nook Family Circus tonight.  I packed a small suitcase for overnight in case we have to stay in Boise.  We've never had to yet, but they're doing so much tomorrow.  Betty Phipps came over this morning with a big double handful of cherries-the little old lady across the street had asked to give them to Pete.  He had a tantrum tonight because I hadn't let him put the cheese on our cheeseburgers.  He wants so much to do grown up things.  Got his train tonight and ran it with the lights off so he could see its headlight.