A beautiful day

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. We have finally had some yellow & green burn days. It is so nice to see the sunlight.

Today, instead of enjoying the beautiful day, I spent the afternoon at Mother's curled up on the couch, sleeping the day away. Our visiting teacher came & after she left, the fatigue just crashed down on me like an avalanche. I laid on the left side & it hurt, but I was too tired to change sides. The left side is the side where I had the partial mastectomy & all the lymph nodes are gone. I have lymphedema on that side & shouldn't lay on that arm.

I found this picture of our house with icicles on it, but as I look at it, I realize it must have been taken last winter. The shepherd's hook is in front of the bedroom window, the metal storm door is still on the front door & the large front porch is not there. This year, the shepherd's hook is still out on the north side of the house with my bucket garden hanging on it.

The Recipe Corner for this week featured a recipe for Ravioli Soup. I thought it was in last week's paper, so I didn't bother to copy the recipe. I've been planning on making that today because Tuesday is soup day. I kind of winged it. Nick hasn't told me he didn't like it. Next month I'll have to use the real recipe. I get so confused over which week something was published (in The Preston Citizen). Sometimes I'm sure something was published & either it was pulled or it was something that came in & was never published.

Today, I can't remember what the front page story is, sigh, or the front page picture. I'll remember tomorrow when I see it, LOL. I do remember that the Bear River Massacre was lower right hand corner of the front page. I hate reading the story of the massacre every year. I didn't get the page until late & we were really close to deadline, so I didn't read it. I hope there were no mistakes. The anniversary of the massacre is Jan. 29, so there will be a memorial Thursday at 11 a.m. I wonder if my ancestors had to put members of the calvary up that night in 1863 in Franklin. I hope not. I have a hard time going through those river bottoms because I can feel the unhappiness. I've also learned not to look up at the mural in the post office showing the "battle" of Bear River.

EDITED TO ADD: Nick told me tonight that supper was not good & there wasn't enough of it. He didn't get full.

A temple to their god

It's already Saturday again. Wow! The week went fast. This is what our front yard looks like. Water standing over ice.

I worked Monday all day & Tuesday morning, actually until 1:30. I'm supposed to be finished by noon. I stayed an hour and a half to do some research for Rod (editor) for the new recreation complex that the Preston School District is building. I found lots of information over the past year, January through December 2008, on West Side's new free-standing auditorium, but only 4 photo stories of the rec complex. So, I wrote a note to Rod telling him I found a lot of information on West Side's new "temple," but couldn't find any articles on Preston's "temple."

As with most small school districts, sports reign supreme. Someone told me at church one day that Preston School District was building a temple to their god. The analogy tickled me. I've used it a lot. West Side has been working on their auditorium for several years too. They've coveted an auditorium for a long time.

I picked Mother up for her doctor's appointments in Logan, but didn't have time for lunch. We were just pulling into the Logan Regional Hospital when Don-Mike called to see where Mother was. He & Nick had gone to Chester Fried Chicken & bought a family order of chicken tenders to share with her. They know she doesn't get home-delivered meals from the senior center on Tuesday.

We went from the cardiologist at the hospital to Dr. Carlson at the new clinic. He was very concerned about Mother's leg & referred us to a wound clinic at an orthopedic clinic over at the hospital. We went back down to Logan on Wednesday & her wound has to be dressed 2x a day. It also had to be debrided.

On Wednesday, Mother's sister, Maxine, & her husband, Bernard, came down to visit Maxine's "elderly" sibs. They started at Luana's. She had put a hamburger soup on to feed them, but she had visiting teachers(1) coming. Maxine & Bernard went up to Dorin's, their oldest brother, & the plan was to go back to Luana's for lunch. It was getting close to lunchtime, and they weren't back. Luana called Lucy & she said she had a pot of chili simmering & she was going to feed them lunch. Meanwhile, the day before, Maxine had made a big pot of chicken noodle soup & homemade rolls she was going to bring down & share. When she got home from a church meeting Tuesday evening, the homemade rolls & soup was gone. Some of her grandkids had visited & eaten the soup & rolls. Yumm. I told her the good news was that she had something to feed them.

I felt kind of bad. I hadn't made any soup. Mother & I enjoyed Luana's soup Wednesday evening. I'm supposed to cook on Wednesday evening, but I asked Don to call Pizza Villa & see if they'd cook supper for me. I thought that I had time to cut his hair. He's been asking for a haircut for weeks. So, I just got started & got the clippers adjusted so they weren't pulling when I asked what time he was supposed to pick up the pizza. He answered, "7:30." Ack, it was 7:30. I whipped off the hair cutting cape & told him to put a hat on, we'd finish when he got back. At 10:30 he finally remembered that he was getting his hair cut.

Thursday I thought I had to work, but found out I was confused. I have to work next Thursday, Jan. 29. I'll just have to remember that I work the day after the Challenger anniversary. Thursday was busy anyway. I dressed Mother's wound, took lunch money to Eddie at West Side High School, worked for 3 hours & went to Logan to pick up Kim's car & kyped Luana's leftover soup from Mother & used it as the base for meat ball soup.

Friday was another work day & today has been a free day. I'm dressed only because I had to go over to Mother's this morning before her hair appointment & change the dressing on her leg.

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(1) Visiting teaching: A program of the Relief Society that enables every woman to be visited in her home and to receive instruction, fellowship, and needed assistance from fellow sisters. Each woman is typically assigned two visiting teachers who visit monthly.

Will the inversion ever end?

Weather here has been new & interesting. It was 21° this morning & it was RAINING. We were having an ice storm. Don says it's because the inversion is so strong. We've had another red burn day. It's been red burn all week. We are so socked in, even the precip won't break it.

I went to Logan this afternoon to pick up Kim Kent's car. Kim & Shari flew to Connecticut to take care of her aunt & get her affairs in order. The bridge in the river bottoms just north of Franklin was a sheet of ice. There was an accident. A big 4-wheel drive pickup had hit that bridge going too fast for conditions. It looked like the truck was going south & did a 180 (° turn) & started back up the hill going north. The truck slammed against the cement wall of the bridge. There was a police car on the scene & when I got about even with the police car, the car started sliding. Man! that scared me, I just KNEW I was going to be the next car to pile up. I took my foot off the gas & the car straightened up. I went about 45 the rest of the way home.

I went over to dress Mother's wound tonight & when I went, I almost fell under the car because everything is a sheet of ice with water on top of it. I need to get some cleats to attach to my shoes. I think Gloria (Bartlomé) & her family gave some to Don's mom once. I wonder whatever happened to them. I wonder where you can get them.

Nick says it's Saturday

Tonight when Nick went to bed he told me he needed some meds. I fill our med boxes every Saturday morning without fail. I was reading a new blog I found. I got up from the computer & was saying how odd that he didn't have any Friday meds. He said it was Saturday. I said, "Saturday? Are you sure?" Don got in on the conversation & said, "I sure don't want to work another Saturday tomorrow." I work on Friday & I worked yesterday, so I don't know why I thought it was Friday again tonight, but I did.

This morning Nick woke me up, like he does lots of mornings. This morning he was telling me that the cats were almost out of cat food & I needed to get some today. I told him that there was a brand new box of cat food in the furnace room that Lynnette had ordered for us. Remember the 2 big boxes he'd brought in from the front porch? He could only find the box of dog food for Mufasa. I got up, showed him where it was & asked him to move it out into the laundry room for me.

From there I took my meds & then proceeded to spend almost the entire day on the computer. I didn't even think of filling med boxes. I certainly hope no one needs any meds for tomorrow. Since it is Sunday, there will not be a pharmacy open. We should be able to get by unless Nick needs topamax or I need some femara. I don't know of anyone we can borrow those 2 meds from.

Then, since I was rudely reminded that it is Saturday, I was thinking that I need to be to church by noon tomorrow. In fact, when I went over to dress Mother's leg, I asked her if she felt like going to church. She said no. I stopped at the grocery store on my way home to buy some non-stick bandages. I used the last of the bandages that Instacare sent home with us. The grocery store will be closed tomorrow. In fact, the only stores that are open are the new national chain stores that have just come into town the last few years, ALCO & Family Dollar, a few service stations & Burger King. You'd think we had blue laws here. As far as I know, Idaho does not have blue laws. As members of the LDS Church, we are not prohibited, but are strongly encouraged not to shop on Sunday. Preston was founded by LDS pioneers & is still predominantly LDS.

Anyway, there are no church meetings in the wards(1) in our stake(2) because it is stake conference tomorrow. I hurried & called Don-Mike to remind him, so he wouldn't go prepared to teach his Primary class. He had remembered. I wonder why he didn't remind me? I could just see myself going to church & nobody would be there.

Mother's shin is still oozing blood & now the bruise runs from the top of her thigh, down under her instep. She was very confused tonight. I asked her if she had eaten. She said yes & so I asked her what she had eaten. She said she had eaten 2 pieces of toast. I asked her if she had eaten anything else. She said no. I went diving into the fridge to see if I could find any protein. I found a block of cheese that hadn't been opened. It had come from the Elks Lodge when they delivered some boxes of food for her at Christmas. It was clear to the back of the shelf. I could also see some OJ. So, I cut her a couple of pieces of cheese. Don-Mike heard me talking about the cheese, so he came out of his bedroom & wanted some cheese too.

I told Don-Mike that Mother was very confused tonight. He said he'd noticed that too. I told him it was from low blood sugar & we needed to get some food into her. So, she ate her little pieces of cheese & took her meds with some OJ. I'd like to get her home so I don't have to run across town to take care of her. I wish I had a plan or a way to accomplish that.

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1. ward
2. stake - an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the LDS Church. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations.

Dreaded double post

I updated Mother's CaringBridge journal last night, so I didn't make an entry here. If you read both, it probably sounds like an echo. I do add more stuff here. I've tried to keep the Caring Bridge journal more about Mother's health & welfare, even though the rest of us creep in there once in a while.

Instacare called Mother yesterday with the results of the chest x-ray. Don-Mike was home & so he answered the phone for her. She doesn't answer the phone if she doesn't recognize the ring. She has 2 cracked ribs. Nothing they can do, but they reminded her to take deep breaths. Shallow breathing can cause pneumonia. But deep breathing hurts when your ribs are sore. If she starts coughing, she is to check back with them ASAP.

At The Preston Citizen we get weekly tips from a place called Dollar Stretchers. We use them once in a while as 'fillers.' Someplace that nothing else will fit. I wish I had remembered this tip. Put 1 cup rubbing alcohol & 2 cups of water in a quart zip loc bag, then bag that in another quart zip loc bag & freeze it. It freezes to a slushy consistency & then can be used on bruises & contusions. I could have sure used that Saturday night for Mother. I've always used a bag of frozen peas, but Mother didn't have any frozen veggies in her freezer.

I used that tip Monday on the social page for Jan. 14. I went right over to Mother's after work on Monday & did it. I checked it Tuesday on my out the door to DUP. It is slushy & will make a perfect ice bag.

Mother has been sleeping in the recliner in the living room because it hurts too much to lay down & have to get up to go to the bathroom. I dressed her leg again tonight & it is still oozing blood. I forgot to get the neosporin & she needs more gauze pads. I had been to the grocery store & had forgotten. But I didn't have a list. Lists are mandatory for me, sigh.

Don-Mike took Mother & I to Ogden today. I almost fell asleep going to Richmond, 14 miles south, yesterday taking Prissy to the vet. I made it to Franklin (about a third of the way to Richmond) & started nodding off. I should've stopped at La Tienda in Franklin & got a soda, but I didn't want to be late to the vet.

I did stop at La Tienda on the way back, got my iPod working, stuck the ear bud in my ear & cranked the volume up as high as it would go. Prissy cried all the way down & back. Tomorrow I get to take Sammy to the vet. I hope I can stay awake. I'll get a drink & use the iPod down AND back.

Anyway, today I slept most of the way down to Ogden & back. I turned off my hearing aid so I couldn't hear the music. Talking about having the volume cranked up. Don-Mike loves his new Chocolate-3 phone. That's what we were listening to, through the radio.

Mother's left hearing aid is not working. Since it is still under warranty, Dr. Christensen will send it back to the factory. Mother had lots of wax build up in both ears. I needed new tubing for my hearing aid. I sweat profusely & even though I have a dryer to put my hearing aids in at night to dry them out, the tubing still hardens fairly fast.

Rockets red glare

Francis Scott Key penned the national anthem in the "rockets red glare," as the battle raged around him. I am typing this as Don-Mike & Nick are yelling at each other. The battle is truly raging around me. I'm glad Mother is not here. This truly upsets her. I have my hearing aid turned off. I can still hear the raging. I am grateful I am deaf in one ear. It's times like this I wish I were deafer than I am.

Nick's zodiac sign is Taurus, the sign of the bull. He is bull-headed & right now he is a raging bull, LOL. Trying for lightheartedness. Don-Mike is Cancer, the twins or as the website I'm giving you the link for says, the crab. There is definitely 2 sides to this young man.

I took Mother to Instacare today after DUP. It was really funny. The medical assistant that took us back to the triage room looked SO familiar. I kept staring. I apologized & said that she looked so much like my cousin's daughter. She laughed & said, "That's because I am." It was Krystal, Jenni's oldest daughter, Luana's granddaughter. After Krystal left the room, Mother bemoaned the fact that she can't see. She asked me who she looked like, I said she looked just like her mother, even down to the dimples in her cheeks. Except she has dark brown hair & her mother is blonde.

They were all so nice there. The doctor was this cute little girl. I know, if she's a doctor, she's not a little girl. But such a sweetheart & petite. I said to Mother, I'd certainly go to her if she had her own practice.

Mother has been concerned that the lump on her thigh is a blood clot. Her leg is bruised all the way around her thigh & down into her calf today. The big lump is still there. So, I asked the doctor. She said no, it was a surface lump & where Mother is on coumadin, it wasn't likely to be a blood clot. I said that Mother's INR level has gotten so low that sometimes she's had TIA's, little strokes. They took Mother's protime & did some blood work. Her INR was high, 3.8; her hemoglobin was low because of all the blood she lost. They were concerned because Mother's protime was so high. I said it wasn't that high. Therapeutic level for Mother is between 2.5 & 3.5.

The doctor told me I should've taken her to the ER & had her leg stitched. I told her that I didn't take her to the ER because Mother doesn't like the doctor's up here. Her skin is so fragile that stitches won't stay in. I guess they could have used butterfly bandages, but I didn't think they'd believe me.

Anyway, they took x-rays of her chest. First time I had seen a chest x-ray of Mother. You could certainly see the wires they'd wired her chest shut with after the open heart surgery & the pacemaker & it's wires.

Instacare is in the same building as Dr. Carlson, Mother's primary care doctor. The Instacare doctor walked across the foyer & talked to Dr. C about her protime level & hemoglobin. He said that her cardiologist follows her protime. Dr. Larkin, I-care doc, said to have the INR rechecked Monday. We'll have it done Tuesday because that is the day that Mother has the CPAP followup with Dr. C. We have her INR checked before we go to Dr. C.

Nick's been on one all day & Don didn't make things any better when he authorized Don-Mike to be on the Verizon account & not Nick. grrrrrrrr.

I woke up late & prolly wouldn't have woke up when I did, if Nick had not awakened me. He asked me what time I needed to be to work. I said I needed to be there at 9. He said that it was 9. I jumped up, grabbed my clothes & was almost dressed when the editor of the newspaper called to see where I was. I told him as soon as I put my pants on & took my meds I'd be there. Then my supervisor wanted to know what my problem was. She's already warned me that it doesn't matter how long I've been there, I can be replaced, sigh. Well, I have news for her, when they replace me, they'll have to pay the new person more than I'm making! The last 2 people, that I know of, make more an hour than I do. The next time the government raises minimum wage, I'll finally get a raise. I mentioned that to the business manager & she said, "We'll see." I said, "No! I'll see. The next raise will make minimum wage more than I make an hour." She said, "Oh."

Then Don was huffy when I mentioned that the dog hadn't been fed. I told him that I had not done my weekly hard drive back up at work because I would have been later than I was picking Mother up for DUP. We go to lunch on DUP day, because the new DUP captain has ruled that there will be no lunches at meetings, only refreshments. And, of course, refreshments always means sugar. So, next month, when it's our turn, mine & Mother's, to have DUP at Mother's house, we will serve tomato soup in mugs & little triangle grilled cheese sandwiches, LOL.

Tuesday is not a day that Mother gets a home-delivered meal. And, like this morning, I'm usually running late & don't have anything to eat in the morning.

Right after DUP I'd taken Mother to Instacare, came home & taken long enough to heat Mother's supper up. I stopped at the grocery store & came home. Don got his outdoor stuff on & I told him to wait, I'd walk down with him. We walked out of the garage & I couldn't see because it was so dark. I mentioned a flashlight & he said he was ok. I said I wasn't. He huffily told me to go back & get a flashlight. I told him I'd be glad to when I dug myself out of the snowbank I'd fallen into.

Then, Nick decided he didn't like the soup I'd made tonight. I gave him 3 options that he could fix himself. Don-Mike told him there was garlic bread. I'd cut generous hunks of garlic bread - 2 soft inner pieces - which is what Don-Mike & Nick like.

So, I'd been running all day. I was grateful Don watered & fed the dog. He's done that for me the last 2 days. Tomorrow, I'll make a conscious effort to feed Mufasa earlier in the day, before the vet visit. Tomorrow is a vet appt for Prissy. If I had another cat carrier, I'd be able to take Sammy with & save an office visit. He has been in a fight & has a bad eye. I'll try for Friday afternoon for Sam.

What a weekend

I probably should be sharing this over on Mother's Caring Bridge site. Perhaps I'll copy some of it over later.

Don-Mike took the initiative & got his old cell phone turned on so that he has a phone until his new one comes on Monday or Tuesday. I had thought we were going to take his new old phone, or Nick's new old phone & give it to Mother. Nick, however, has found this really cool way of using your cell phone through your landline. It costs $150 just to get the equipment to do it. They, Nick & Don-Mike, want to get that set up before they add a line for Mother. I haven't had the energy to fight for just the cell phone yet, but may have to, as Lyola (Mother's lifelong friend) called yesterday & today. Lyola got a cell phone for Christmas. A Verizon cell phone, no less.

Now, to explain the "new old" phone. About March, Nick had a meltdown & broke his phone. Just snapped it in two. He went online & found some parts on E-bay & fixed it. He got his phone working again. Then something else went wrong, equipment failure. He took it down to the Verizon store in Logan & they gave him a brand new phone. So, he had this fairly new phone, he'd only used it a few months. But with Verizon you can update your phone every 2 years. In September he was eligible for an update. He wanted a Chocolate 3. He got the Chocolate 3. He gave the replacement Razor (new old phone) to Don-Mike because Don-Mike's phone was broken. Something had hit his pocket & smashed the window on his Razor. He wouldn't use Nick's phone. He wanted his own phone. So, for Christmas Don & Don-Mike got new phones. Actually, only Don got the new phone for Christmas.

Yesterday I decided I had to bite the bullet & clean Mufasa's kennel. The snow had piled up on the kennel & we've had a few warm days. One day it was up to 45° & the snow melted & dripped through. Mufasa was up to his ankles in mud & crud. I hadn't cleaned his kennel out in several weeks. So, I asked Kim if I could have Eddie come & help me. Well, he was a big help in getting the dog in & out of the kennel, but not much help in the actual cleaning. Don-Mike told me not to be like my mother & overdo. I told him that I had had an excellent example of how to overdo in watching both of my parents & their siblings.

Eddie tied Mufasa up to a fence pole & went back to the house. It took me 3 and half hours & I did get Eddie down to help shovel some of the soiled straw, but it smelled foul. Eddie had his t-shirt pulled up over his nose so he wouldn't throw up. By then I was so stuffed up I couldn't smell. I sent him back to the house. I brought Mufasa's pans up & cleaned them up & sat & rested for a little while. I was almost finished when Mother called to tell me she'd fallen & her face & leg was bleeding. She needed some help. I hurried & finished what I was doing. It was almost dark & thankfully Don was home.

It's January & Don has to work every day in January. Love the overtime, but sure do miss him on weekends. He gets very tired working every day.

I told Don & Eddie all they had to do was put the dog back in the kennel & make sure the door was secured so he wouldn't get out. I wasn't going to help because Mother had fallen & wanted some help.

Nick ran over to Mother's & I was not far behind him. She had fallen face first over a little flower stand. Quite a sturdy little stand that my father had made for Vera Smith many years ago. When Vera died, Reed brought the stand over & gave it to Mother. Her face had quit bleeding, but her shin took a long while to stop bleeding. She applied pressure & was using paper towels. She kept removing the paper towels & had a heap of bloody paper towels around her feet. By the time we got there, she had staunched the bleeding. Nick wanted to know if we should take her to the ER. I vetoed it, but tonight I'm not so sure. She told me where to get some band-aids. I told her that her skin is so fragile, that if we used a band-aid, it would tear her skin right off. She had some of the stretchy gauze that sticks to itself. Dr. Baker had given us some when she had the Mohs surgery on her arm. I used that & Nick went to the grocery store & bought some more.

Nick came home last night telling Don that it looked like Nana had been beat up. She looks worse today.

Tonight she has a big hard lump on her inner thigh & a huge bruise. She's afraid it's a blood clot. It probably is. Her shin was still bleeding tonight when I changed the bandage. It looked like it had just started bleeding again. Talk about wanting to throw up. My stomach is quite queasy when it comes to blood & gore. I swear that her shin is scraped to the bone. I tell you though, there is no yellow fat on that little skinny leg of hers.

Last night I stayed with Mother a couple of hours. I heated up some soup Luana had brought over & sat & had supper with her. I checked her shin before I came home. It had stopped bleeding.

My arm that has lymphedema in it was aching clear up into my shoulder last night. Today I feel like I've been beat up. My legs & back hurt & my arm still hurts, but I don't look like I've been beat up, LOL.

No insurance???

Today Don-Mike & I went in to the Verizon store here in town. They must not do a lot of business. The girl was on a personal phone call & took her time getting off. She then informed me that I had to have a password to access the account. OOOOO-kkkk, I couldn't remember the password.

Don called after work & I told him that Don-Mike was planning on meeting him to go to the Verizon store so they could file a claim on his phone. Don-Mike, of course, doesn't have a cell phone anymore to call his dad. Don called Mother & found out that Don-Mike had to work - unload flour.

Don called me from the Verizon parking lot & said there is no insurance on Don-Mike's phone. He gave me the password - again. I wrote it down again.

I had just mailed the Verizon mail-in rebates on Tuesday & happened to know where the invoices for the phones were. I dug them out, called Verizon Customer Service & the lady told me that I had declined the insurance. I literally saw red!!! I could feel anger just boil up in me. I told her that I had not declined insurance, but had specifically requested insurance on that particular line because the user was very hard on phones. She put me on hold. Are they trained to put angry customers on hold???

By putting me on hold I was able to calm down a little & look at the receipt. I could see that I had been charged for insurance, but had declined insurance on Don's phone. Nick also found the statement that I had in front of me when I ordered the phones, with all my notes & the password written in 2 or 3 places. I told both boys the password. Maybe we'll all remember it this time or maybe I'd better write it down in my trusty little notebook.

The good news is that they put insurance on Don-Mike's phone because I had proof. We have to pay a $50 deductible on the phone (which was not explained to me at the time of purchase), plus insurance premiums for the past 2 months. The insurance is only on that line. Which, of course, is the only line I wanted it on. We should have put insurance on Nick's phone. The representative told me if we have problems with the phone not holding a charge, that is mechanical & is covered by the warranty on the phone, not insurance.

More good news. We found out now! Not a year into the contract.

How do you unfold???

The more we allow ourselves to unfold,
the less likely we are to unravel.
~ Rabbi Irwin Kula

A thought I found on Brat Factor. So, how do you unfold? This is definitely something to contemplate. I feel unraveled.

We will all have failures and rejections in life. The real question is how will you respond, with bitterness, envy and self-doubt, or with resilience and wisdom?

~ Rabbi Harold Kushner

More food for thought. Wisdom??

Sucker punched

I feel like I've been sucker punched. You know, things are going along pretty good & you think you understand what is happening. Suddenly, everything has gone South in a hand basket. I remember feeling like that in Nick's IEP meetings, especially in junior high. Will I ever understand this damned disease?? Will I ever be able to differentiate between what is Asperger's & what is bipolar??

I'm always off balance, whether it be walking or emotional. Today, while Nick was at Computer Wise, I sat in the car. I noticed that Kurt (Wood, the owner of Computer Wise) had rented the next suite to a psychiatrist. I actually thought of going in there & checking on whether or not they take insurance. I know the new psy doc at the Budge Clinic doesn't. The receptionist was quite rude there & I didn't want the same experience today. I'll check on it another day.

Speaking of being off balance, I've started using a flag pole to walk down to Mufasa. I didn't fall the last 2 days. I flailed around, but didn't go down. I fell 2x the day before, Monday.

Today was 45 degrees & it is currently 44°, so the snow is melting. Mufasa is in a sea of mud. I need to get Eddie over here to help me with him.

Don-Mike just got a brand new phone on Christmas Day. Today, because it was so warm, the snow melted a lot. He was out at the end of the driveway on North State, trying to find the drain, so he could drain the water that had built up at the end of the driveway. I talked to him & told him not to drop his phone in the water. I could just see that happening. Well, he dropped his phone in the water. It, of course, is not working.

I called him to see if he was joining us for supper so that I'd know how much to fix. He didn't answer the phone. So, I called again, thinking perhaps he'd left it in the Mustang. Again, no answer, so that time I left a message. Supper was ready & Nick asked if I'd called Don-Mike. I said yes. So, he tried Don-Mike's phone. No answer. So, he called Mother's landline. And that's when we found out Don-Mike's sad story.

When I upgraded his & Don's phones, I put insurance on Don-Mike's phone. Don-Mike's last 2 phones have been broken. I reminded Nick to tell Don-Mike that his phone was insured. As soon as Nick was off the phone, he asked if his phone could be insured too. It would probably be a good idea.

Now, Mother wants a cell phone so she can call her friend Lyola in New Hampshire & her friend Melba in Ogden, sigh. My phone bill this month was $583.72. There was a balance of $130 past due. We are supposed to get 2 $50 rebates for the 2 new phones, 1 of which is now dead. But that still leaves me with a balance of $353.72.

The good news is Don is working 4 days of overtime this month, the bad news is that the extra money will most likely go to the phone bill.