Drama queen

So, I was being a bit dramatic in the last post, LOL. Nick started looking at leftovers in the fridge & found some taco salad from about 3 weeks ago. He took it out, the fridge immediately started smelling better, the kitchen then smelled like death. I got a plastic grocery bag out, had him dump it in there, tied the sack shut & threw it in the dumpster. Now, the back yard will smell like death, especially with the sun shining on the dumpster, argh!!

I took Mother to Logan to have her protime taken. It has gone up from 1.8 to 2.3. At least she is out of stroke range. Today when I was taking my meds, Nick stood & watched me. He told me I dropped a pill. I looked down my neck, in the sink, I was standing over the sink, & down at my feet. He told me it dropped to my right. I got down on my knees & looked. I found an axe handle under the counter, where the toe space is, what is that called? I pulled it out, asked what it was. Nick said it looked like a handle of some sort. I said, ya, an axe handle. What in the world was an axe handle doing under there? Nick finally found the pill over by the dishwasher, about a yard from where I was standing.

Good thing he was watching, I would have never known why I didn't have to pee. However, I may not have missed it because I had the Mexican two-step (caution, R-rated definition, but it's just the way I felt today, but not from spicy food).

Then, when Mother was taking her pills, she dropped half of a coumadin pill. We couldn't find it. I got down on my knees again, only this time one of my knees gave out from under me & I sprawled on the floor. I looked in the stove, under the burners, everywhere I could think of. I told her if a mouse got hold of it, it would bleed to death. She huffily told me she doesn't have mice in that house. We do. Nick found a mouse in the lasagna pan on Monday, happily gorging on the last piece of lasagna. He said it was so fat, it could barely get under the burner. When I was telling Don about Mother losing her coumadin pill, he said they caught the mouse last night & Nick was ecstatic.

I told Mother her pill would show up, not to worry about it. She doesn't have any cats to worry about eating her pill. I got her another half of a pill & she took it.

Voting results

Jessi had to go in last night & finish up the newspaper so that the voting results would be in today's paper. I hope she didn't have to drag Keziah out too late.

Only one of the councilmen that I voted for got in, the other one didn't. The hospital bond failed too, darn!!! Well, I at least have the right to complain now, LOL.

How'd I do on my To Do list?? Not too good. Only one more item ticked off, sigh. Mother's protime/INR level was "perfect" today, 3.0.

The focus this month on Flylady is to plan your menus. I started doing this in 1991 or 1992 & have kept up with it for most of the last 17 or 18 years. Some months I'm not as diligent as I should be, but Don does his a month at a time too. He is very diligent.

When we lived in Grace (1991-93), I dsicovered a book called "Sidetracked Home Executives: From Pigpen to Paradise." This book is where Flylady originated from.

Pre-op appointment today

Today I was supposed to be able to sleep in, dream on! At 3:30 a.m., I woke up to Don kissing my hand. Nick was not feeling good & needed to know what to do for diarrhea. I woke up long enough to tell them where the anti-diarrheal pills were. Nick had woken his dad up. I told them where the pills were & for Nick to take 2. At 8:15, I woke up to Nick poking my hand. He wanted to know if he needed to take another anti-diarrheal pill. Yes, if he'd had another bout of diarrhea. He spent most of the day napping, while I had to run errands & go to the pre-op appointment in Logan for my gall bladder surgery on Monday.

I made it to the doctor's appt. a little bit late. Dr. Broadbent explained the procedure, they gave me the paperwork to take to Cache Valley Specialty Hospital (CVSH) for bloodwork & an EKG. Because a friend had told me that he'd done her gall bladder surgery & also repaired her herniated belly button, I asked him if he could do it for me. He wanted to look at my belly button. I told him it was a Dr. Orvid Cutler belly button, but it hadn't survived 2 pregnancies very well. He checked it & said he'd be glad to fix it. A couple of stitches & it would be as good as new. Kewl!! Thx Carolyn.

The hospital stay will be overnight. I have so many health problems Dr. B. wants to keep me overnight. He also put me first on the surgical schedule. I have to be at CVSH at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, which means a 5:45 wake up time.

Before we went over to CVSH, I took Mother to Cache Valley Cardiology, Dr. Otrusinik's office, for her pro-time. It was 4.9! Ack! It had risen from 2.7 in one week. We need to recheck in one week. Mother will have to go down with Don Tuesday morning when he picks me up. Unless Don-Mike has Tuesday or Wednesday off & can take her. Nick also has a dentist appt., Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. I told Don I was glad he'd taken both Monday & Tuesday off, because he could substitute for me on Tuesday.

That's the bad thing about having no siblings, there is no one to spell you. I had a Church member tell me on my mission, actually she told my companion & my comp told me that I take being an only child too seriously. I don't think I take it serious enough. I have some real guilt issues when it comes to Daddy & not being there for he & Mother when he was so sick.

I didn't start out life as an only child. I am the youngest of three. My sister, Wanda, was born in November of 1946. My brother, Eldon, was born in March of 1949 & I was born in August of 1950. Eldon & I are 16 months apart. Life would have been a lot different if he had lived. As it was, he was injured at birth. My mom was in the hospital, but the doctor hadn't made it yet. The baby's head was crowning & the nurse panicked & pushed my mother's legs together, crushing the baby's head. He lived for 12 days. Mother & Daddy did not get a picture of him. Mother's oldest brother was supposed to take a picture of him. If he did, Mother never got a picture. My parents didn't have a camera.

My mother was very sick when I was born, something to do with blood. They didn't expect her to live. She was in the hospital for weeks. She was never able to have another child. She had a couple of miscarriages. I have Rh negative blood & she has Rh positive blood. I think that played a role in the fact that she was not able to carry another pregnancy to term.

My sister Wanda died 10 days after her 24th birthday of the side effects of cortisone given to her for the treatment of lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE. In 1970, they said it was cancer. Daddy died on Grandma Porter's birthday, May 26, 1992.

So, there is just me. Mother, however, comes from a large family of 8, 3 boys & 5 girls. Most of her sisters & brothers have large families, although there are 2 sisters with 3 kids. Their kids are all living, grown, married & have pretty large families. So, Mother feels left out. It really irks me when people brag about their large posterity.

We have a full quorum of family almost every Sunday. I feel overwhelmed with no siblings and sons, not daughters, to help care for Mother. But my sons are a big help. Especially Don-Mike.

Don-Mike & Mother live in Aunt Vi's house, across town. Mother's sister Luana rents it out. Vi was Luana's sister-in-law. There is not room for 5 adults here. It is a small 2 bedroom home. Don & I slept in a camper out back for years. We decided it was time to build on to our house in 2007 & the camper had to be moved. Don-Mike & Nick were sharing a room & they needed their own space. Luana's rental came vacant at the perfect time. It's a cute 2 bedroom home. I think it is the only way Mother would have moved out of her house.

I was going through chemo at the time & it would have been impossible for me to climb in & out of that camper. I couldn't sleep in there during the day anyway, because it was too hot.

Sorry I went off on a tangent. It sounds like a pity party, but it isn't really. It's "just the facts ma'am," as Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet would say.

I am very grateful for my husband & our sons. I am also very grateful to have children as the doctor told me that I would never be able to carry a pregnancy to term. We got 2 out of 6. Heavenly Father definitely knew what He was doing when He stopped at 2. I have 2 very determined sons. They beat the odds of getting here & are persistent. Sometimes not as determined & persistent as I want them to be in some areas, but we'll save that for another post.

As for me, I haven't discovered what my purpose here on earth is.

Trip to Logan

I did remember to dry my clothes & hang them up. This time I hung them up in the closet instead of in the hallway for the cats to lay on. I think the cat poop was from Astro. But he's been dead over a year now. Can you tell when the last time I wore that outfit was??

I also took the towels out of the bath tub & washed them. They were stinky. I was going to put vinegar in the wash, but didn't. They were still sitting in the washer when Don got home. He asked if it was ok to start the washer. I said yes, totally forgetting why I had not washed them earlier.

I had to take Mother to Logan to get her pro-time checked. It was 2.7. We bummed a ride down with Don-Mike & Nick.

Senior moments

I feel old, OLD!!! Today we got a wedding announcement at The Citizen for a couple who, although they are 20, I remember as children!!! I remember typing their Santa letters when they were in the 1st & 2nd grades.

I went to pick Mother up to take her to Logan for her protime (3.3). It took us a while to get out of town. Mother has fluid in her lungs & she needs the oxygen to help her breathe. She is always so short of breath. I put her portable oxygen in the car. I stopped to get her a drink at the Conoco & as we turned out on to State Street she asked about the oxygen. I said I needed to go home anyway, so we'd just go home & I'd turn it on there. As we turned off the highway onto our street I noticed Lady, our next door neighbor's black lab, crossing the railroad tracks heading to the highway. I said to Mother, "Is that Lady?" Mother said, "No, she's not skinny enough." Well, it looked like Lady to me. I stopped the car, opened the door & yelled her name. She didn't stop, nor did she slow down crossing the highway & cars were coming.

I got home & called the neighbor. The phone rang & rang. When he finally answered I said his name & then said, "This is RaNae. Is Lady home?"

And he said, "Who?"

And I said, "Lady, your dog. Is she around?"

"Well, I think she is. I just saw her," he answered. Then said, "Who is this?"

I said, "RaNae, your neighbor. Just now when I crossed the railroad tracks she was crossing the highway going north, up by where *** Smith used to live."

He said he'd go get her. I went back to the garage & was telling Nick about an incident that happened a week ago. A few minutes later, here came the neighbor back, herding Lady in front of his pickup. I saw him out in the driveway as I was leaving & yelled out to him, "Where'd you find her?"

He said that he'd found her up across the big intersection just roaming around. He also said that she had just lost her freedom. He was going to have to chain her up. A week ago, Saturday, she came up missing & they retrieved her from the pound about a week ago today.

When I went down to feed Mufasa, I noticed Lady in her kennel as I came back up. I would much rather see a dog in a kennel than on a chain.

Anyway, when I got here, I had no clue why I was here. I racked my brain trying to remember why I "needed" to go home. Finally, I just conceded that the neighbor's late wife was telling me I needed to come home to save Lady. I don't know why else I would need to go home so desperately & then get here & not be able to remember why.

I have tried all afternoon to remember what I needed. I have lots of senior moments but can soon remember what I had forgotten.

Moving in May, 5/20

Today I took Mother to the Logan Hospital, well actually the Regional Medical Arts Building, attached to the hospital. She needed her protime taken.

I parked clear out by the street, in the shade, & was planning on walking back to the building. There is a dear man that runs a golf cart-type conveyance to take people to & from their cars. I knew he was there today, he helped Mother out of the car at the door. I stepped out from the parked car & there he was, waiting to give me a ride :) I didn't feel like telling him no. He's been there since I was taking chemo. So, I smiled & got in the cart. When we got to the door I told him thx & said we'd see him in a little while.

So, in the building, I took the stairs. I got to the top of the stairs just as Mother was coming out of the bathroom. I thought my knees were going to pass out from lack of oxygen, LOL. Have you ever climbed stairs or walked so fast that your joints feel like they are deprived of oxygen or is it just me? By the time I got in to the doctor's office after my quick detour to use the facilities, Mother was already through!!! Her INR level is at 2.2, low again.

I told Mother to take the elevator & I'd take the stairs. Going down isn't nearly as bad as climbing is. I got to the first floor elevators & I waited & waited. It reminded me of taking Grant Douglas Morgan to the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City once when he was about 2 & losing him on the elevators. I wasn't quite as nervous today as I was 30 years ago, but close. After all the RMAB only has 3 floors as opposed to the COBs 28 floors. Mother is 83 as opposed to Grant's 2. Today I didn't know whether to run back upstairs, wait until she came or what. Three elevators came & went & finally she came out. She had got off on the 2nd floor. So, I was beating myself up for taking the stairs & not taking the elevator with Mother.

Sure enough when we got out of the building, there was our friend waiting with the cart. He didn't even ask where I had parked, just took us right to the car. Mother couldn't figure out how he knew where I had parked. I told her he had followed me.

Cinco de Mayo

I dropped Mother off at the door to the clinic, parked in the handicapped section, walked back to the clinic, took the elevator cuz I didn't think I could make it up 3 flights of stairs, back down after the protime & walked back out to the car. Mother was going to walk, but it was raining again. So, I got the car & drove back to the front door of the clinic.

Mother walked from a handicapped parking space to the restroom at the front of Wal-Mart. She waited at the front of the store, while I walked around Wal-Mart. I had to go clear to the back of the store to get toilet paper. Then I walked all around the refrigerated part of the store & through the freezer section trying to find the pesto. No luck. I just realized I didn't look by the tofu & that's where it is here at Stokes.

I parked out quite a ways at Stokes, the local grocery store, and walked around the perimeter of the store. I did find the pesto. After all that time of looking for pesto, I didn't use it. I didn't know if I dared because I was using a new recipe for chicken cacciatore & didn't know if I was pressing my luck by adding it. Next time I make this recipe, I'll double the tomatoes & use the pesto. Don-Mike suggested I use penne instead of macaroni. I looked at the penne, actually picked it up. Again, I didn't want to use too many "new" things so Nick wouldn't eat it.

We had major thunder storms today. I thought I was going to have to pull over because the hail was driven by such strong winds, that even the fast setting on the windshield wipers wasn't clearing the windshield. I slowed down & people were driving past me like I was standing still. Mother said she remembered one time in Missouri where I had pulled over during a major thunderstorm & she thought someone was going to slam into us. I told her that would happen in Utah, but not in Missouri. In Missouri, when the rain let up, everyone else was pulled over to the side too. Here, they just drive like bats out of hell.

The noise was so loud, Mother & I had to yell at each other to make ourselves heard over the storm. Don called about 3 p.m. After we got out of the thunderstorm, which BTW followed us clear into Logan, my phone was beeping. I saw that the missed call was Don & so I called him. I asked him if he got a "no work." He said no they'd shut the whole plant down. OMG, I had the biggest adrenalin rush. My immediate thought was the plant had been closed & everyone was out of a job. It's not unheard of. I don't even think scared comes close, terrified is more like it. I thought we were in serious trouble. Don-Mike used a stronger adjective than either of those, but this is not an R-rated blog, so I won't share it. But his word comes much closer to what I was feeling & no, it wasn't the "f" word. We don't use that at our house. Well, sometimes it comes out during a meltdown from Eddie or Nick. I've been known to kick offenders. At the very least, a verbal reprimand is forthcoming. It is a battle I choose to fight.

The main server(s) at Don's work had contracted a virus & they closed the whole plant to clean the computers. Thank you Lord, we dodged the bullet for another day.

Lent, Day 36

We have some idiot racing up & down our street & revving his engine right outside our house. I'm so tired of the "kids" on the corner. I was so psyched Saturday, I thought they had moved, but ... no such luck, as we can hear. He does it at 2 a.m. in the morning. I was talking to a neighbor about half a block away about this neighbor a few weeks ago. He called him "ignernt." It tickled me. Something I didn't expect to hear. It's supposed to be ignorant, but means rude, LOL. Supposed to be Cache Valley-ese, but supposedly found in Canada. Hell-oooo!!! Some parts of Canada were settled by people from Cache Valley.

Anyway, today was much better, health-wise. Again, the attempt to get to bed by 11:30 failed & I made it to bed by 11:55. I was awake at 6 this morning & couldn't get back to sleep. My CPAP mask is ripped & air was leaking. I didn't want to get up & disturb Don. So, once he was up & out of the bathroom, I was in the bathroom & up for the day. I guess I'll have to try Mother's "old" mask again (above).

Speaking of CPAP masks, Mother wore her new CPAP mask (left) until 5 a.m. THIS MORNING!!! Woo hoo!! The longest she has worn it since she got the CPAP machine. She just kept the mask on her face when she got up & went to the bathroom. That's when it has been coming off in the past. Don-Mike told her to take the hose off the mask when she goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night & leave the mask on. She said she did that last night. I asked if it didn't bother her & she said yes, but she hurried. I wouldn't be able to do it, I'd fall or hyperventilate or both.

She said she didn't feel very good this morning when she got up. She'd had a weird dream. I told her it was good for her to dream. People with sleep disorders usually don't fall asleep soundly enough to dream.

I cut Don's hair tonight, almost gave him a buzz by using the shortest guard we have. A buzz will be the next cut, no guard on the clippers. The short hair looked so cool, as in not warm, but not cold , LOL, I was tempted to do it to my own. He actually looks cool, as in sharp, with the short hair too. Could be I'm prejudiced :)

Mother's protime was 2.7 today, within normal limits, keep on the same dosage of coumadin & recheck in 2 weeks.

A work day tomorrow & vet appointment for both Brackin & Prissy. Our vet is in Richmond, Utah. I picked up a cat carrier at the vet's today on our way home from Logan. I'd have forgotten if Mother hadn't reminded me. With 2 cat carriers, ours & the vet's, I can take both cats. Then Don can return the vet's carrier on Thursday on his way home.

Lent, Day 35

Today I woke up at 9:10 when Don-Mike woke me up. I had been awake earlier, but decided it was too early to get up & evidently went back to sleep. I need to be to work by 9 a.m. on Monday, so I got up, hurried & got dressed, took 2 meds, lexapro & metformin, grabbed my 2-liter bottle of Diet Mt. Dew & ran to work. I knew I wasn't going to have time to stop at the Conoco & get a refill.

I parked behind The Citizen & bent over to retrieve my cell phone off the floor of the passenger side of the car. I felt really dizzy. When I sat up, I was dizzy & clammy. I thought I was going to pass out. I sat there with one foot in the car & one foot out of the car. I thought they were going to come out & find me dead in my car. Shortly after I started working at The Citizen, one of my coworkers didn't show up for work one Friday. Walt Ross, the owner at the time, tried calling her off & on all day, but she never answered. He finally called her daughter to see if she knew where her mother was. The daughter found her dead on the back step of her house, one shoe on & one shoe off. It was in January.

Anyway, I decided I wasn't just going to sit in the car, I could make it to the door. I was actually wondering if I was going to make it across the alley. I stopped just as I got across the alley, but told myself I could make it to the door. I made it to the door, then encouraged myself to make it to the time clock. I punched in & then bee lined right for the editor's office. I walked in & Rod, the editor, said, "RaNae you don't look very good." I said I wasn't dead yet, so I couldn't call in sick. Just then Doug Webb, the senior mortician, walked up to the door. Rod quipped, "RaNae, he came to get you." Bob, assistant editor, said, "He's too early." LOL We all laughed &, of course, Doug didn't know what we were laughing at. I told him & then Vicki came in & said I didn't look very good. I said I felt terrible, but I thought it was low blood sugar. She had some mini dark chocolate-filled peanut butter bars. She gave me one & I ate it & sat there for a few minutes. I was amazed at how fast I started feeling better. Color came back to my face & I was able to get up & go to our work station. Jessi, our supervisor, said she was going over to the Conoco to get a drink & asked if she could get me something. I said yes & asked her to get me a muffin loaf. I gave her some money. She soon came back with it. I gobbled it up & felt better. I've had a headache all day & have just felt generally crappy.

Don-Mike traded in his '06 Mustang today for an '04 Chevy Silverado 2500-HD (heavy duty) 3/4 ton 4x4 with a 6.6 liter V8 Duramax diesel engine & an Allison 1000 automatic tranney. He got it for $19,900. The salesman said if he hadn't brought in the page from the Internet he printed it would have cost him $2,000 more. He only got $9,000 as a trade-in for his Mustang. He's pleased with the pickup. He's been wanting a diesel for a long time. One of the ladies he works with told him it was about time he got a truck he doesn't have to work on, LOL. It's got a short bed with a camper package & a towing package. It has a running board so it's easy to get in & out of. It has cloth seats & he wanted leather. He had leather in his 'Stang. He has 4 other trucks. I wonder if he'll get rid of any of them.

Last night I would have made it to bed at 11:30 except I spilled a glass of apple juice as I was reaching to get something behind the recliner. I can't believe how upset I was. First, I was upset the glass had been left there half-full. I'm sure Nick forgot where he put it. He's getting so bad at remembering. Second, I had to clean it up. Third, I wouldn't make it to bed at 11:30. I did make it to bed at midnight, but I hadn't got any soft water at Mother's to fill the humidifier of my CPAP machine. Today, I forgot to get distilled water at the grocery store or to run over to Mother's & get any water. Tonight I'll have to use hard water & remember to get some tomorrow.

I have to work every day this week. It's the Tourist Special Edition. I'll have to take Mother to the doctor tomorrow for her pro-time. Wednesday afternoon I have to take Brackin in for his booster shots. Prissy has an infection in one of her eyes. It's gray. I've probably waited too long & she's blind in that eye.

Lent, Day 13

Nick said he went to bed at 3 a.m. last night. He was thoroughly enjoying his new X-box. Now tonight, it was early again, 9:30. Don-Mike went home at 10 & as he was leaving he told me not to forget the mail, LOL. I have mail spread all over the bed. I'm trying to find the mortgage bill. It's past due, but they sold our account & I can't find it, grrr. I'm also trying to find the Discover bill. I tried to buy some prilosec today for Nick & Don & the card was denied at 2 different places, another grrr.

I told Don I'd just throw the mail back in the basket. Actually, I ought to take a couple of manila envelopes & put some of the stuff I have sorted out in the envelopes. I have a pile of "junk" mail too, that should be put through the shredder &/or thrown away.

Last night I went to bed at 11:45, Don followed me 5 minutes later. He never goes to bed that early. This morning I woke up at 9:35 & didn't get up til 10.

Dr. Broadbent's assistant hasn't called with my test results from last Wednesday. I took Mother down to have her protime taken & the INR level is still 2.3. Therapeutic is 2.5-3.5.

Lent, Day 7

OK, I've been at this Lent thing for 8 days, counting Sunday. Still haven't been successful at either one of my goals, but I keep trying.

Report on "doctor day" in the city. I woke up at 9:35 & finally drug myself out of bed at 10, only because I wanted to tell Don-Mike something before he left. I was in bed by 12:15 last night, but couldn't seem to get to sleep. I was still awake at 1.

My appt. for the mammogram was at 1:30, but I had remembered 1 & had set my cell phone calendar for 1. We left a little after 11, & so we had plenty of time to eat. We ate at Golden Corral. I didn't have any trouble with "restaurant syndrome" aka IBS like I usually do. I was careful what I ate though. The spinach & Brussels sprouts looked so good, but that's all I did was look. I took the hydrocodone while we were eating. I wanted to be sure & have it in my system for the mammogram.

At the lab they took 3 vials of blood. I barely felt the prick & there isn't a bruise to show either.

Next on to the Radiology Dept. for the mammogram. I am certainly grateful for the pain meds. I was feeling no pain, actually I did, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been without the pain medication. I am so grateful that Don took the time off from work today to drive us. My boobs are sore tonight. I'm thinking of taking another pain pill, but think I'll settle for ibuprofen.

There are no films of the right breast for either February or October 2007. I said I didn't think they took any of the right side in October because there was another lump in the left breast & they wanted to see what it was. She checked & the records showed they hadn't done the right breast in October. I said all of my surgeries had been done right there at Cache Valley Specialty Hospital, except the one where they implanted 22 needles in my left breast at Ogden Regional. I still have some of those scars. The films should either be at Dr. (Lee) Broadbent's office or at the hospital. I didn't remember taking any films to Ogden.

All I had to do was change gowns from the little cape-like thing to the full hospital gown for the chest x-rays right there in the Radiology Dept. Two x-rays, full & side views. So, now we wait for the results.

Mother & Don sat out in the waiting room while I had all this done. It only took an hour & 10 minutes. Since we were already at the Specialty Hospital, I checked with Dr. (Jeffrey) Bennion's office, the ear, nose & throat specialist that comes to Preston, to see if I could get a copy of Nick's sleep study from Idaho Falls, but since Nick is 21, I can't without a signed consent form from him.

On to the Regional Medical Arts Building at Logan Regional Hospital for Mother's protime. The INR level is 2.3, too thick again. How it can fluctuate from high to low in just a matter of days still amazes me. She did not feel good this morning & tonight when I went over to check on her, she came from the bathroom crying.

She thinks she broke her toe getting out of the bathtub Monday. She slipped. She has a bath mat, I don't know if it was in the tub or not. We saw a shower stool at Cache Valley Oxygen today when we stopped there to check on black crocs. She said the home health aide said she'd be sure they brought a shower bench tomorrow. I should have just bought it, but I didn't have enough money to do it.

I didn't take her to Instacare because they can't really do much besides x-ray it to see if she really did break it & then tape the toes together. She already has pain medication for the pain in her back & hips.

It is 11:40 & I'm not going to update Mother's Caring Bridge site tonight. I've done most of the reporting right here. I can just copy & paste tomorrow.

I slept almost all the way home from the doctor's & I'm still tired.

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.