Lionfish

Yesterday I mentioned a deluge of paperwork related to my mom's death, but actually it was a very short deluge. Once everything's been decided with the funeral home and the death certificates have been applied for, and the financial paperwork organized, then everything slows down. That doesn't mean there's not TONS more to do, but we have to do it according to the schedules of the professionals -- my mom's financial advisers, attorneys, that kind of thing.

So, long story short, we've done a lot of what we can do in the immediate sense. We're talking to the financial advisers later today but this is going to be a long, slow unspooling. Which I promise I will not write about every step of the way, unless I'm desperate and the only other option is to write about nematodes or the chemical properties of drying paint.

Yesterday we drove up to my brother's office to print out some documents and then went to get coffee. I took this photo (above) around the corner from the coffee shop. I've been there a million times but I'd never noticed this old cleaners' -- and then I realized that the stucco facade had basically fallen off the building, revealing that lettering beneath.

We stopped by an art gallery to make some contacts regarding some paintings that belonged to my grandparents. I don't know that we're going to sell them, but we at least want to know how much they're worth. Hopefully that information is forthcoming.

In the afternoon we did some minor tasks at home, when we weren't bedeviled by my brother's high-intensity dog, Snoop. That's Snoop above in his favorite place of retreat, beneath a hassock in the living room. He's really too big to fit under there but somehow he manages. When he's not powered down, he's thrusting his Kong toy in our faces and growling, in a constant effort to get us to play. It's kind of exhausting, and slightly threatening, but he's only two years old and still has lots of puppy energy.

We also watched "St. Elmo's Fire." My older niece, Jane, was troubled by the storyline involving Emilio Estevez and Andie MacDowell. He does basically stalk her, although back then it all seemed pretty harmless. The "me too" era has rightly heightened all our sensibilities.

We went to dinner last night at a restaurant on Julington Creek that I love, despite the fact that it's always insanely noisy. This was my meal, and it was a first for me -- lionfish. It's an aquarium fish from Southeast Asia with long, feathery fins that somehow escaped into the waterways around Florida and has become an invasive species. The hope is that by creating a commercial market for it, we can help control its numbers. So when I heard it was on the menu I was eager to try it.

The verdict: quite good! It's white and mild and not particularly bony. I'd order it again.

Someone decided that we each had to draw a picture of a watermelon. I went for the fractional option and didn't try very hard. My youngest niece, Kate, drew one that looks a lot like my lionfish.

And finally, this is where I spent last night. Remember how I'd originally planned to arrive in Jacksonville on Monday (yesterday)? Well, my brother and his family weren't going to be in town that first night, so I'd prepaid for a hotel room. Then, of course, my mom deteriorated and all those plans fell apart, but I still had this room to use. And darned if I was going to prepay for a room and not show up. So here I am.

It's actually a nice respite. For once, Snoop isn't crowding me with the Kong and nibbling on my fingers.