Recent Happenings

Shortly after our trip to Maui our whole family came down with a strain of the flu that hadn't been covered by our flu shots. I got it first, then Alex, then Ron. Ron is now finally getting better, but the whole thing drug on forever for us. Glad to be feeling better at last.
This is a busy week for me. Tonight I'm taking a cooking class (French Bistro Cooking) at Sur la Table with my dear friend Liz. Tuesday night there is a local Westmont alumni event, to introduce us to the new college president, at Carillon Point, and I've almost decided to go. I don't usually attend the local alumni events, but I may stop by for this one. Wednesday night is my French class, and Thursday night is the monthly Campbell Foundation meeting, this month on The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology. Busy week for me overall!
I've been in a bit of conflict with my dad recently, and I think this may be the thing that finally gets me into therapy. My grandmother has recently moved into an elder care facility (at 98!), and my dad has been soliciting members of the family, including us, for financial assistance in paying for it. We contributed some, but eventually we offered to buy one of three lots that she inherited from my grandfather that have been in the family for 100+ years, rather than just continuing to give money. We felt that this way the lots would stay in the family, and my dad would have multiple thousands for her care, rather than passing around the hat to everyone in the family each month.
The lots are being used for farming-they are part of a field near Nipomo High School, not far from Santa Maria. They won't be developed until water gets into Nipomo, which there isn't enough of at the moment. My dad is hoping that water will be brought to Nipomo soon, and that then a developer will want to build a subdivision on the field, which would mean the lots would be worth considerably more than they are now. So, consequently, as they're still zoned agricultural, they're worth somewhere between 10 and 20k each at the moment. We are still working on getting them appraised.
My dad wants us to pay quite a bit more for the one we would buy then it is currently worth, which we are unwilling to do. This has caused a conflict between us.
He also wants to have a conversation where he gets to tell us all the reasons that he's mad at us (actually, me), and vice versa. My response is that it's not Festivus ;). (According to Wikipedia, "The holiday includes novel practices such as the 'Airing of Grievances', in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year.") Actually, I think anything like that will be really damaging to the relationship, and I don't want anything to do with it. So, therapy seems like a good idea at this point.