It's getting old

I had to ask for the snowpack totals today & Don couldn't remember. Then he found them, told me & I forgot & had to look them up. It is forty-eight seventy-three (4873%). I don't know where he gets the inches & he & Nick are having a very LOUD discussion, so I'm not asking. It doesn't help to have broken hearing, it's too loud to ignore!

Forty-four something

I worked almost a 12 hour day today. It felt like the old days, when we did everything in one day & worked until we were done. Sometimes it was 1 or 2 in the morning. But that is what it is again, do everything on one day & work til you're done.

When I finally got home, it took me a while to ask for the snow total for today. When I did ask, Don said, "Forty-four something." He was busy with his game or whatever he's doing & so I asked if it is ksltv.com or ksl.com. He said it was ksl.com, but he'd be there in a minute. Sure enough, he beat me to it. Today's total is 4,429% & the snow depth in Franklin Basin is 15 inches.

Four-one-two-four

And today's total is four-one-two-four or 4,124. It's a lot easier for me to remember when he tells me the total by individual numbers. A total of 5 inches in Franklin Basin or 20 inches. Tony's Grove lost 4 inches & is now down to 3 feet.

When I cover the elections for the AP (Associated Press), that's the way we report the totals, not eighty-four, but eight-four or one-one-two not one-hundred twelve. Franklin County doesn't get very high numbers in elections. We have 18 precincts & they are all Republican.

Three-three-zero-four

Today's total is being reported a little early & that is just how Don reported it, three-three-zero-four (3,304)!!! The snow total has dropped to 2 feet in Franklin Basin & 3.5 feet at Tony's Grove. The snow is melting, but because there is normally nothing there or very little, the snow that is still there is driving the percentage up. Make sense? It didn't to me until it was explained. I kept thinking the rain we were getting was sure dropping a lot of snow in the mountains. I'm relieved to hear it is melting.

Now, I just hope people stay off the wet, muddy roads. We ran an article in The Preston Citizen a week or so about it. It was just below the Rural Route (rowt) News in hopes that it would be noticed.

It sure was nice sleeping weather last night. This morning Don & I got up earlier than Nick did. I usually get a can of soda pop first thing in the morning. But I didn't want to go out through the kitchen & into the laundry room & risk waking Nick up by fussing with the door. We keep the soda pop in the extra fridge in the furnace room. I went out the front door, around to the side of the house & through the side door into the laundry room, retrieved the pop & came back the same way.

By 9:30 Nick was still asleep & I was getting worried. He's been sleeping poorly & last night he took some Zyrtec in addition to his usual night time meds. So, I tiptoed out to the kitchen & looked in through Nick's door. I thought he said "Hello," so I asked him really quietly if he was ok. Well, that did it! I woke him up & it was like waking a hibernating bear. I told Don it was ironic that I had tried so hard not to wake him up by taking the long way around to get the pop & then woke him up, checking to see if he was still alive.

Still going up.

Today's total is 2,781%. What goes up, must come down, doesn't it? And Montpelier again has a severe weather warning tonight. There was a funnel cloud reported over Montpelier yesterday, June 23. Yet Blackfoot only had high winds according to the weather service in Pocatello.

Any guesses?

Up or down? Still going up. Today's total is 2,424%. I asked Don if 2424 wasn't the name of an old song. He said no, the song was named "In the Year 2525." He said the total might be that tomorrow. So, I went off to YouTube to find the song.

I have had 2 visual disturbances today & I woke up with a migraine. I fixed supper & went & laid down. Of course, once I had relaxed, I remembered this blog entry was still up & not finished. I also remembered I forgot to get one of Nick's meds today at the pharmacy. It's one of the meds he needs. He's not gonna feel very good until he gets it. I have one like that. I get sick if I don't take it.

So, I got back up to finish this, & make a note on Cozi (online calendar) to send me an email tomorrow at 11 a.m. so I'll remember to do the things I forgot to do today, sigh.

On Facebook this morning I saw a photo of my aunt's camp trailer tipped upside down & a note that a tornado had gone through Moreland & on into Blackfoot (Idaho) on my cousin's daughter's account.

Maxine Lund's camp trailer 6/22/11 after tornado.

Maxine is on the left holding the child's hand. I'm not sure who is in the huddle between Maxine & the camp trailer. Don said that a tornado warning was in effect for the Bear Lake Valley, this evening, but it had moved off. I remember when we lived in Randolph (Woodruff), Utah, we saw a funnel cloud touch down on Bear Lake back in 1993-95. Don't remember which summer, probably the summer of  '94. I think that's the only complete summer we spent there.

Well, back to bed. Supper was good. The recipe called for 3 TABLESPOONS of lemon juice, so I added 3 drops of lemon essential oil. I could taste it, but Don said he couldn't. I thought it was 1 drop per Tbsp. Maybe it's 1 drop per teaspoon? Hmmm, don't know, I'll have to find out.

Snowmobiling

Forgot to finish the previous post. So, why aren't the guys going to go snowmobiling? I told Don-Mike he needed to go snowmobiling. And then asked why they couldn't do it. He said one snowmobile isn't working, the other doesn't run reliably & they are not registered. So, there you have it.

He's been kind of bored today. He really should have worked on them & then he could go snowmobiling on the 4th of July!!!

From ksl.com

today's total is 2,212%. Don says this can be found on ksl.com's KSL Weather Center & this is found in small print at the bottom under snowpack totals. He is tracking Bear River.

Today is Don-Mike's 26th birthday & he has the day off. He's been a little bored. I told him he & Nick need to take the snowmobiles out & go snowmobiling. How often can you go snowmobiling on June 22?

And the total is

2,040%. I asked Don if he had looked at today's total. He chuckled & said, "Two thousand & forty." I repeated it in disbelief.

Karen Child said a couple of weeks ago some people went snowmobiling up Franklin Basin, I think. They built a huge fire & went off & left it. A week later they went back to check on their hole & it was 14 FEET deep!! Now, I want to know how the fire kept burning in the snow that deep. Wouldn't the water have doused it? What would have kept it fueled?

When I went to the grocery store about 3 p.m. the paper was already out. I, of course, had to check it out. The paper went out just fine without me. I did get a phone call this morning, after 8, but I slept through it. I slept in this morning. I had nightmares & dreamed of dead men, Walt Ross & Wayne Bell, & woke up sweating.

It just keeps rising

And the total for today is 1,755% of normal. It just keeps getting higher. When will it start to reduce, or will it? Maybe we're entering a new ice age.

Work today didn't go as bad as I had been dreading. It's kind of nice not being able to make the copy fit. Of course, I didn't leave at 6. I didn't expect to, really. I took an hour lunch, and clocked out at 6:59. I only left 4 pages, with copious notes. I got there at 8:15. I was only the 2nd person there. I had to unlock the door to get in. Not bad for waking up at 7:55.

I was laying the Social page & they wanted to start Rural Route News on that page. I always say rowt, Rural Route (rowt) News. Today Bob kept correcting me with root, Rural Route (root) News. So, I looked it up when I got home. I thought this was an interesting observation:

Recently I heard someone point out that "root" is more common in the eastern US and "rowt" more common in the west. I think that's true - I grew up in the east and it was always root. 

I actually use both. It irritated me that every time I said Rural Route (rowt), Bob said root. I felt like cheering (rooting) for the home team, LOL.

Anyway, I digress. I decided to put the missionaries right under the only wedding we had this week. By doing that, I could use 5 columns for Rural Route. But it would leave me 3 columns for missionaries & I only needed 2 columns. But I had a Young Woman Recognition Award or a military announcement I could put in the space. I left it without too much of a qualm, thinking I'd get back to it. I started laying out Rural Route & Ann came to the door & asked if we could get another missionary in. I promptly answered yes & got up to go get the missionary form so I could type it in. I told Rod as I was leaving the office, "The Lord does too care about The Preston Citizen."

He said, "No. The Lord cares about his missionaries." I agreed that the Lord does care about his missionaries & didn't pursue my premise that the Lord also cares about the Citizen.

Another update

Don turned away from his computer & said, "RaNae, do you want to update Facebook with today's total?" I told him yes, but it isn't Facebook I've been updating. Today's total is 1,570%, which says it is not melting, but accumulating. This happens at the end of April or May, not June.

It's nice not to have to water our lawns though. It's also nice not to have to worry about going in to work today :D Dreading tomorrow though.

How high's the water?

The update today is 1,406%!! Whoa! There is also a flood alert issued!! I haven't seen "Lake Franklin" lately.

Reminded me of the old Johnny Cash song, "How high's the water, mama?" When I googled it, the name of the song is "Five Feet High & Rising." The first line is very appropriate:

My mama always taught me that good things come from adversity if we put our faith in the Lord.

I'm glad the Lord is taking care of us with cool days interspersed with warm days or we'd have all the snow pack in the mountains wash right down out of there & Lake Bonneville would return.

Note: Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada.

Today's update

We are at 1253% of normal for the water year. It just keeps going up. Cold front coming through on Father's Day. I am sitting here in shorts & cold legs; sandals & cold feet, but … I have a long sleeve shirt on over a t-shirt, so top part of me is not warm, but comfy. How weird is that … for June???

I have to admit I felt a certain amount of relief today for not going in to work. And … no more work on Sundays!!! w00t w00t

Nick's doctor appt. Mother asked me why I was taking Nick into the doctor for a stiff neck. I said Dr. Beckstead speaks Nick's language, I don't. I L<3VE Dr. Beckstead. He is the man! He reviewed Nick's meds. Encouraged him to keep taking the metformin (glucophage) for the insulin resistance because insulin resistance is going to turn into diabetes. He told us that Nick's last blood work showed the insulin levels worse than they have ever been. Dr. B told me when he called me the first time for Nick's insulin resistance that Nick's numbers were the worst he had seen in his entire practice. He also encouraged Nick to lose 1 lb. a week.

Nick explained the stiff neck & Dr. B said in a person his age it usually meant muscle stiffness. I said Nick wouldn't take the ibuprofen because he couldn't see what good it would do. Dr. B said it was admirable that Nick didn't want to take more pills, but ibuprofen was a good choice. However, with Nick's stomach problems, it would be a good idea to take ibuprofen with food (something new for me to file away for future reference).

I also told Nick later that metformin is supposed to help with weight loss. It helps the body absorb the insulin instead of resisting it. Don't know if he understood that, but Dr. B told Nick to listen to his mother, LOL.

Dr. Beckstead told us that Medicaid will pay for a gym membership. He didn't know much about it but he has had patients in the past bring in the paperwork for him to sign. He told me to look it up, I'm good with research. Probably remembering the times I have suggested meds for Nick or refused them. Nick's the one that is good with research, but I'm the one that has to call.

The comment about calling reminds me, I didn't call Citi to see who the chick on our Hardship Affidavit is, sigh.

A quick update

1. It's Thursday, another cloudy day, but instead of the percentage of snow pack going down, it's going up. Don checks the percentages every day. Yesterday it was over 1,000 percent. Yes, you read that right, ONE THOUSAND percent.
2. Still not dressed. I took Mother to her hair appointment in my pajamas. Good thing no one knows they are my pajamas. I went into Cuttin' Curral like this too, sigh. Gotta get dressed.
3. Nick has a doctor appt this afternoon.
4. And the forms just keep coming. I've got to start kicking them back out. Need $$$ to pay the postage though. Here's a funny. Yesterday we got a packet from CitiMortgage with a Hardship Affidavit to fill out. Don was listed as the borrower. But the co-borrower should have been me. It wasn't. I asked Don who this other chick was. He didn't know, but asked me if I had called Citi. No, I hadn't. Another interesting thing. I had already filled out & faxed a Hardship Affidavit on Friday, June 10. AND called to let them know I had faxed 35 pages of forms. THIRTY-FIVE!!

And here's the problem. I forgot why I was making this quick update anyway, sigh. My CRS is getting worse.

Another reduction

But at least it's not a reduction in force (RIF). I was caught in that at the Church Office Building in 1982. But … it almost might as well be. We were cut from 20 hours a week to 15 hours a week or 25% cut a year or so ago, to 1 day a week effective today. I MUST be there at 8 a.m. on Monday. The reduction could be as much as 50%. I no longer do the legals. I no longer print out the final copy for the editors to mark off.

I just barely filed the bankruptcy forms yesterday using the last months wages. Arghhh! Well, I will need to amend the wages won't I? We are also trying to refinance our house. That will probably have to wait six weeks for the paychecks to come through & we see just how much the cut will be. One nice thing about it, I will be able to use my accrued vacation & not lose it like I did last year.


Nick is having a very hard time. It couldn't be anything to do with the full moon? Could it? Maybe, maybe not. I tend to think not. Mother is also having a hard time, sigh. And as for me, I've been cocooning more & more.

A young man who grew up in our ward committed suicide last week. I think that is something every mother fears, if their child has a mental illness. Let's face it, depression is a mental illness, too. It has left our ward family reeling, as well as probably the whole town. I feel so sad for him & for his family.