What Did You Do Today?

[DianaB]

I'm so sorry, Janet. I know that this is so difficult for you. You know that I'm here if you need someone to talk to. You and your Mom are in my prayers.

Things are absolutely crazy here!!!! Damon got out of jail on Monday so he can get ready to leave for Teen Challenge. He has to be there by Friday but, I think, Dae Lynn's taking him on Thursday because she has started a new job!! So she's trying to get things together for Damon, find clothes for herself for her new job, and get Karlie ready for school that starts next week!!!

In the meantime she's left me with tomatoes all over the kitchen counter!!! I got them ready yesterday to do something with today but last night Damon went and picked MORE!!! I don't want to can!!!!!! Oh well!!!!

Dae Lynn's job started today and she's going to be a para at the grade school. She actually had several job offers in the last few days but this is the job she wanted. She'll be in the same school as Karlie is and will be working when they have school so it will work great for being with the kids. Plus she'll be home about 3:30 every day. So next week it will just be me and Dean here at home. So much easier!!!

Everything is just happening all at once and it's just crazy......like I said. It's definitely one of those "Calgon take me away" weeks!!!!

For good news......we're getting rain!!!!! Yay!!! It's been raining lightly all morning!!! Sooooo good for our crops!!! I think that the corn's a bust but we still have our bean crop!!!!

Oh....and one other thing.......Glen and I went for a 4 wheeler ride a couple of days ago when we had time alone and it was sooo nice out. We rode around the pasture next to us then up a nearby hill then I wanted to go and look through an old barn that's on one of our rentals that's going to be torn down......the people said that there's nothing there that they want so I wanted to find some old rusty things to put flowers in next year.

Anyway.......Glen went to look at what was in a cellar and he picked up a bucket and saw an animal so he told me to come and look. We took a while trying to figure out whether we saw baby bobcats or some manx cats......they were too big for manx cats and walked like they were young cats....you know that kind of crawl kittens do before they actually walk. Glen was poking them (there were two) with a stick and I told him to pick them up but he refused because they had 5 weapons!!!! I told him to scoop them up in the bucket and bring them out. When he did I scooped one up and held it like a kitten!!!! Every once in a while it hissed and threw out its claws.....and bit a couple of times!!! They were soooo cute!!!! We ended up calling a friend to find out exactly what we had.......baby bobcats!!! He came out with his family and we called the kids to come and see them!! That's not something you find often!!! Several of the kids got to hold them!! The second cat was a male and he was definitely more aggressive!! In all we held them for a couple of hours then we put them back in the cellar. Our friend said that the mama cat was probably nearby watching us but we never saw her. Glen checked yesterday morning to make sure that the mama was taking care of them and she had moved them which is what we expected her to do. The girls took pictures of them so I'll try to get some pictures. I didn't have my camera with me!!! Anyway it was an interesting day!!! I have scratches and Glen has a couple of small bites.......definitely worth every bit of it to hold them though!!!!!

[Marilyn]

Wow, Diana, you are busy!!!! Seems so strange for you to be canning tomatoes this time of year. Tomato canning was back the end of May here. It's too hot and dry to raise tomatoes now. The plants have all burned up and have been pulled up long ago. The farmers here harvested what little corn made this year over a month ago. Milo and beans are long gone too. Most of the cotton is picked, but here is still a little in the fields. I drove past a few fields today where the pickers were operating and the trucks were moving. Lots of huge stacks of the white stuff in the fields waiting to go to the gin.

[Tiramisu]

We are busy bees! Regular work day, got some boxes to start packing, got my nails done, ate Mexican food for lunch and dinner, stopped at walmart for a couple of things, and since I have computer training all day tomorrow and Friday, I'm going to bed.

[Janet]

Ricky took me to the bus garage so I could bring that big yellow monster home. Now I need to figure out a seating chart, load the trash baskets and broom and I should be all set for Tuesday. I'm kind of ready to start on Tuesday, but kind of not...lol. Hope it's not too hot. We do have to go on Monday and get our picture for our ID's taken. Fun!!

I made it over to see Mom around 9:30 this morning. The CT scan had already been done. The Dr. said it didn't show any 'major' damage, but 'lots of little' places. He seems to think that she'll continue to do better with the stroke symptoms. She can smile now, her right arm isn't feeling heavy and her right leg isn't numb any more..... so far. Her speech is still very hard to understand for most people, but for some reason, most of the time...I understand her. The urinary tract infection is still there as is the C-Diff. Her antibiotic was changed from an IV to a pill in hopes that the metallic taste will enable to like the taste of food a little better.

They hadn't ordered breakfast for her yet and she wanted a donut. Then didn't have any in the cafeteria so I drove to the Meijer store and got her one. She ate about 3 small bites and that was it.

Her memory is so bad. She had to have asked me 10 times or more why she was in the hospital and about the same number of times asked what was around her ankles. There was nothing, but to her it felt like it. The have a dry erase board in her room so I wrote "Nothing around ankles" on it. There wasn't enough room to write why she is in the hospital. She seem shocked at other times that she is in the hospital.

Mom is doing physical therapy and speech therapy. I just don't see her getting better, but you know.....everytime we've thought it was the end.....she came back...a little weaker, but came back. Not sure what to expect this time, but I really don't think she will get any better.

I do want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers, it means the world to me.

[gja1000]

i'm sittin' here waitin' for the tile guy to show up. Gary is gone to look at a deer lease a few miles out of town. He found (what looks like) a good deal on a year lease to hunt deer, dove, quail, turkey, and whatever, just about 30 miles from us. It doesn't have a camp house to stay in, but it can be easily driven most days, and if he wants to stay out there for a few days, there is supposed to be a place to hook a trailer up to water and electricity. I hope it turns out to be a good place because he really has missed having a lease to go to for the past couple of years.

After he gets back, I have a lunch meeting with a nurse practitioner friend. I haven't seen her in a while so it will be good to catch up. Then this evening I have a dinner date with 4 friends whom I only see every few months. We are meeting half way between when they live and Austin. It will be a fun evening!

Oh the tile guy is here. YAY!

[gja1000]

Well damn, it was the mowers, not the tile guy. Thats good though because the tile guy had his wet saw (to cut tile) set up in the lawn and I was worried about him setting up before the mowers got here. So, now that won't be a problem.

[gja1000]

The tile guy came about 30 seconds after the mowers pulled out of the driveway! Hopefully, he will finish up the backsplash tile today, not sure about the floor tile. He has to remove some old linoleum and also remove some tile that was pieced in up to the old desk. He has to replace 8 tile, but I think he has to take out pieces of about 8 tile. It may take a while, I'm not sure.

[gja1000]

Well Gary just called and he didn't like the look of the deer lease so he passed on it. It's OK, he really doesn't NEED a lease, but I'm sure he will find one eventually. He said there was too much pasture land and not enough brush land (for the deer to hide). The place also had a high fence (other ranches with a high fence to keep the game IN THEIR ranch) on three sides, so there was only one way for the game to get to this place, which is not real good for seeing lots of game.

[judy]

Your kitchen will be done soon, Gayle!

I was driving up the main road in my community yesterday, making the usual car coming noise, when I saw what looked like a deer around the bend. Ordinarily, a deer would have bolted from the sound of a car, so I figured it's a big dog. Nope! A beautiful deer looked right at me, but not with that "deer in the headlights" scared look. Then it jumped off into the woods. It was a beautiful moment!

I guess some of the deer that live up here are accustomed to the noise, and have become much more brazen. It's also good eating over in the woods for them.

I canceled my hair appointment for today. I have to write the end of a story for my writing workshop tonight, and just don't feel like rushing. I also woke up with a really bad headache, which is now gone. I'm thinking sinus headache, which I have had every morning for the past week or so. Whatever is blowing around, I am allergic to I guess. I am glad to realize this, because it isn't going to last.

Janet, I am so glad Mom is feeling better physically. This is so hard for you though, waiting to see which way it will go. Seeing as she is so stubborn, whenever she does go, it will be her time, when she is ready.l My mom was the same way, and I felt that when she went, it was on her terms. I hope this gives you some comfort. You are in my heart, Janet.

[DianaB]

Marilyn, for us this is the time for canning tomatoes.......from now until frost. Dae Lynn's made some salsa and some homemade Rotel for cheese dip. We have jalapenos to go in it as well. I was thinking that I'd just can some tomatoes for chili and soups. That's pretty easy.

Sandy, It's good to see that you're busy and taking care of yourself!!! I would love to get my nails done but I'm afraid that it wouldn't last one day but what I'd have the polish half off!!! I can barely keep my toes painted!!!! LOL

Gayle, I'm so excited to see your kitchen!!! I loved picking out tile and flooring when we built!!! And then to actually see it all coming together was the exciting part!! The tile styles have changed since we built so I'd have done some things differently but still I'm pretty happy with my choices. They're pretty basic but nice.

I'm sure that Gary is excited to even be looking for a hunting lease!! It will give him something to look forward to. I'm married to a hunter so I understand the desire to do it. I hope that Gary finds just the right spot!!!!

Janet, I so hope that your Mom continues to improve from the stroke. I know that all of this is so hard on you. You are a good daughter!!! Remember how fustrated you used to be with your Mom? Things have certainly changed and you two are so much closer now. I know that your Mom appreciates all that you do for her.

Last night Jaci called and invited Glen and I over for supper. I was soooo ready to get out of the house and away from the kids!! Jaci called and fixed something that I could eat on my diet.....tacos without the shell!!! The kids have been so good about helping me with my diet!! After supper we visited a while then we played cards. They both love to play cards with us!! We were there until 12:30!!! They very seldom invite Nate's parents over but have us over quite often. I think that Nate enjoys talking to Glen!!!

I'm going to have to come up with some things to do that gets me out of the house otherwise I'll probably spend all of my time taking care of the kids or trying to keep things picked up!!!

It ends up that Damon isn't leaving until Sunday. He found out yesterday that his plans to go to Teen Challenge in Missouri won't work because it's out of state and takes a lot of paperwork to do. So the plan now is that he's going to Kansas City which will be a lot closer for Dae Lynn to go and visit. We'll know more today after he talks to his probation officer, lawyer, and.....hmmmm......one other person.

Next week everything should be getting into a "normal" mode. School starts on Wednesday and Dae Lynn and Karlie will be leaving early for that. Damon will be at Teen Challenge and I'll just have Dean at home.......however.......he's a handful to keep up with!!!!......but he's so darn cute!!!!

[Marilyn]

Well, it was another work day.....Made a couple of sales calls close to home, then headed for the office. Handled a few things there and headed for Corpus Christi. Took care of a few things there and headed home. Lunch today was McDonald's on the fly and eat on the road. Hate doing that, but I ate a Filet of Fish and Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, so wasn't too bad. I had water with me so cheap lunch and it filled me up. Now Rex has gone to a meeting with clients and Garrett is eating vegetables for supper. He's on an all vegetable diet for a couple of weeks, so Rex and I will just "fend for ourselves". That means I don't have to cook. I'll clean up a bit around here this evening just in case I get THE phone call.

Karen really thinks she will end up going to her appointment on Monday and they will induce early next week. We were hoping it wouldn't come to that, and I haven't said anything to her, but I'm thinking she will be like me and be in labor for a few hours, not progress and end up with a C-section. She really doesn't want that, but I was told that as slow as things were going 2 cm after 10 to 12 hours of labor, it was the best option for both me and her. So, we'll see.....

[Janet]

Slept a little later this morning and then got my hair cut. Went to the Vet for some Phy-Cox for Penny's arthritis and some flean and heartworm for all of them. So freak'n expensive. I headed over to see Mom around 2. There wasn't much change except she was having a great time playing the bowling game on my IPad2. She beat my score 3 times...the booger. She thought she was something getting all the strikes that she did...lol.

After getting home I finally after all this time hooked my printer up so it will work on my laptop. If I wanted anything printed out I just used the desktop but it runs s o s l o w.

I need to start getting my bus information into this laptop and then I should be all set.

[judy]

It sounds like Mom's memory is coming back, if she is playing bowling on the IPad, Janet! I sure hope so! Is she eating any better?

Marilyn, Jessie had c-sections with all 3 for the same reason. Turned out fine!!!

Diana, you are really going to enjoy your peace and quiet next week! Dean will be just precious, and it will be so nice for both of you! I hope all goes well with Damon getting into Teen Challenge.

Gayle, when is your hunting season? Are there a lot of deer, or has the drought affected them too? I hope Gary finds a good lease. We don't have that up here. I'm not sure how they work it out so the hunters don't shoot each other, but we hear lots of gunshots for about a week. They come from the woods. Lots of guys come up from the city, and you see men in camo outfits all over the place! Some of them never get to hunting, but they can buy a deer on the way out for about $600!

[Tiramisu]

Very painful computer training class! It will be an awesome system when the whole company is up and running, but they expect me to learn how to use it and be the lead for my group of 67 people. Of course, I'll give it my best shot, but they'd be better with one of the younger geeks doing it.

I have the exterminator going out on Monday for the termite inspection and tuesday the house inspector will go out. If those pass my approval, I'll close and own a house next week. I can't wait to have it clean and crisp looking.

I'm going on an outing with my daughter and her family this weekend, then I've got to get down to business with packing and organizing. I didn't bring much from the house, but what I have is really spread out in this little apartment. I have so much junk trinkets.

[gja1000]

Whew! What a busy day!!! I did have a great lunch with a good friend I haven't seen in quite a while. Then I ran a couple of errands for Gary, and next it was time to head north to have dinner with 4 old friends from our time together in graduate school. We sat and talked from 6-8:30, managing to eat dinner too. I hated to leave but we made another date for the middle of October, so hopefully we will do this every couple of months and stay in touch better than we used to.

On the way home mom called to say she needed some incontenence pads - she has to wear them all the time. So I had to stop by the pharmacy and get them and take them to her. I got home about 10:00. Then Gary and I cleaned up the kitchen a bit - we have tile dust all over the place in there. I cleaned off the counter tops and then swept and mopped the floor. I think it's gonna take a month to get all that dust out of the kitchen.

We are supposed to get our stove installed tomorrow, but we had the phone unplugged (the jack is right where the guy was replacing some floor tiles) and so we probably missed the call from Sears to give us the installation. I bet you money they don't come tomorrow. I'm getting tired of not having a stove!