After washing all my non-reactive sheets (I still haven’t heard anything from the manufacturer of the itchy sheets) and hanging them on the line, I got ready and went to buy groceries. I picked up my box of oranges, bought some bananas, walked through Bi-Lo without buying anything and went on to Wally World. When I walked in, one of my favorite cashiers spotted me and waved. I made a note of which line she was checking out and went on.

Gathering up all my stuff, I added some Earthbound Farm iceberg lettuce and some Earthbound Farm cauliflower, intending to use two of my remaining coupons. One was $1 off and the other was a free one. Hokay (to quote DS1 when he was a youngster). I made my way to register 3 and had to wait for quite some time in line.

I got up to the register and had my coupons on the respective items. The cauliflower was $3.37 and the lettuce was a dollar-something. I wanted the free one on the cauliflower and the dollar off on the lettuce. She could NOT get the cauliflower to scan so she finally rang it up as conventional which started the problem. Well, for her, it just compounded it because she thought she was supposed to go in to work at 2 and was supposed to start at 10:30. She was already rattled. When she scanned the coupons, it took the $1 off just fine but it deducted $1.88 for the free one.

We were discussing what to do to correct it. She couldn’t back the coupon out so she had me take it, my sales slip and the cauliflower to Customer Service. Talk about flummoxed! The rep at the desk didn’t know what to do. She had me pay her 96 cents to square away the cauliflower and then she refunded me $3.65 which was more than the cauliflower was to begin with. I asked her what she was going to do about the $1.88 that had already been deducted on the coupon and she had no idea. She conferred with someone else and decided to chalk that up to customer satisfaction. So…I think I came out to the good. Maybe. I’m still confused. She wanted to know who was on register 3 and I told her it was one of my favorite cashiers—that I’m willing to wait for her to check me out. She agreed that was a good thing. I just hope it doesn’t get that poor unfortunate person in trouble. After I left Customer Service, I went over and told her I stood up for her.

I pulled next to the house to unload but had to move the roofing scraps out of the way before I could. The weather is supposed to be dry until Tuesday.

DD and I had our Sunday visit. She’s taking classes two evenings a week and enjoying both of them. One is an art class and the other is ceramics. She wants to get a taste of what she used to do a lot before she decides to spend more money and go to the community college.

I wore shorts and a T-shirt to get the sheets off the line. The bed is made up and ready for occupation.

One of my neighbors took the required pieces off the Dish so I’ll get everything sent back tomorrow. I gave them a package of Camparis, a cucumber and an avocado. It will be up to him to eat the last two but she’ll do her part on the first.

I got my This Week fix. I tried Hulu for it and sure enough, there it was. They’ve done away with the Sunday Funnies, though, and that’s sad. It was one of my favorite segments.

The current Wordscraper game is going pretty slowly. The last word I played was “WINCES” and maybe that’s what my opponent is doing.

This is long enough for a post by itself. Maybe I can behave the rest of the week and not have so much to report. Don’t count on it, though.

Monday
When I left for work this morning, my neighbor was out preparing to pressure wash the house. I thought. We talked briefly and I got in the car.

At the hospital, I’d no sooner gotten in the door when I was hit with problems. Big ones. One of them isn’t solved yet and may not be when I go in tomorrow. At one point, I asked if it were snowing. Since it was in the high 60s by then, NO. I figured if it were, I could come home.

It was 4:30 before I managed to get away. I stopped by the church to see what progress had been made and it looks, to me, that it will take longer than this week and next to get everything done. The room looks smaller with all the pews out. I thought it would look bigger.

I have part of a deck!! Woohoo!! The floor is all but done. It still has to be sanded and sealed but it’s there. My neighbor had put the steps around at the side so I could get up on it without making a mighty leap. She’d also put a camp chair at one side so I could sit down so I did. She came over and was telling me about her day’s activities.

It’s well known that I have problems with plumbing in the dead of winter when the exposed pipe running to the septic tank freezes. Bless her heart, my neighbor had gotten under the house and raised the pipe so it will drain freely. The process she described to me sounded anything but pleasant and she said she’d bleached her arm after she was finished. Everything is cleaned out and let the cold weather come on! Well, not really. I’m ready for spring. Anyway, that, I guess, was what the hose was for.

Later, I let Twinkle venture onto the deck. I want to get her something that will let her have a modicum of freedom after it’s finished. She went almost to the edge but turned back when I gave her my “Aa!” sound. I don’t know what that would rhyme with unless it would be “Baa!” and that isn’t “Bah”. I didn’t want her taking a flying leap.

Speaking of words, here’s the first Wordscraper game that my nursing home friend won. The score was 917 to 706. You can tell I’m outclassed.

The second one veered in my favor because I scored 300 points on the first word, ENZYMES.

Even though I won with 873 points to 693, I feel she would have won if it hadn’t been for the luck on the first word.

I woke about 2 this morning and haven’t been to sleep yet. I’ve been to bed but I lay there for more than an hour and never even dozed. I’m going back soon. I took a melatonin and it’s beginning to kick innnnnnnnn. ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Tuesday
It was a couple of minutes away from being midnight when I went back to bed last night. I slept through the alarm (supprise, supprise, supprise to quote Gomer) and got up 45 minutes late.

Today wasn’t nearly as stressful as yesterday. It was busy but not as problematic except for the fact that there was an issue with labels not printing. Someone from nursing wanted to know WHAT they were to do and I told her they’d have to write the patients’ names and other info on the chart pages until they WOULD print. She wasn’t happy but I’d done everything I could. I had notified IT. When I called back to see if I could find out anything else, I found it was system-wide and not just us.

I got home to steps on one side of the deck! My neighbor emailed me later that she’d put them up so I wouldn’t have to walk so far in the rain to get to the front door and she’d even put up part of the handrail. It’s still supposed to have a finished board on top of the one that’s there. She cautioned me about splinters but I didn’t have to hold onto it.

She found the source of my hearing critters under the house. There’s a family of groundhogs that is roaming around. She’s going to fix it so they can’t get underneath again and wanted to know if she should live trap them or leave them alone. I told her to leave them alone as long as they were behaving. I’d like to see them and she said she’d let me know when they’re out there. They turned on my outside light a couple of times last night.

Oh, I won the last Wordscraper game. I had my opponent set up the board for the next one rather than use the standard layout and it’s going to be hard to get where the triple, quadruple and quintuple word scores are. I think she planned it that way. This is the standard board:

Final score was 439 to 331. The standard board is a bit more like regular Scrabble.

Wednesday
Today was another ordinary day until I got home and found a private message on Facebook. It was from someone asking if she knew me. Well, I didn’t know. Only the first name was familiar and it’s not an uncommon name so it didn’t really give me a concrete clue. Then I reread the message a couple more times and it dawned on me who it was. I’d known her with a different last name which is what had thrown me off. I messaged back that, yes, she knew me and I knew her and it had been many a year since we’d been in touch. She and I were good friends in Alabama and she’d stood by me after DH left. When I moved away, we lost touch but I thought about her time and time again.

I was so excited about her finding me, I got on gmail and chatted with DD and let her know what had happened. She remembered her, too, but she wasn’t as bowled over as I was. That was understandable. She was just a little girl at the time.

My friend and I messaged back and forth and she sent a friend request which I promptly accepted. She had been looking at pictures and had come across some of DH, DD and me and wondered if she would be able to find me on FB and the rest is history. I’m so wired from work and from being back in touch with her after all these years I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. For insurance, I’ve taken a melatonin.

Thursday
Well, shoot! I’d failed to plug my waterbed heater in yesterday morning and it was anything but warm when I crawled in. I braved the EMFs and plugged it in to warm it up through the night but it wasn’t working as fast as I would have liked. I turned on the heating pad, too, but it only warmed a small spot at a time and left the rest cold. After an hour and a half, I was chilled to the bone. I got up and started running very warm water into the tub and got in. I soaked until I was as thoroughly warm as I had been thoroughly cold and went back to bed. I still didn’t go to sleep. Along about 1:30 a.m., I dozed off and slept for a little over an hour, waking again at 3. I lay there resting and praying for a couple of hours and then dozed off and on until it was time to get up.

Honestly, I felt so awful that I would have given a lot just to be able to stay home and forget about work. With one person out, I didn’t feel I could leave the other two without backup so I dragged around and got ready. I emailed that I was brain dead and would be in but it would be late. It was about an hour past starting time that I walked in the door.

I put out some fires and manned the fort until the girls had their lunch and, at the insistence of one of them, I came on home. I didn’t pass Go or collect $200. I got undressed and went to bed. Four hours later, I got up (I’d been up now and then for potty breaks but went back to sleep) and had my lunch smoothie for supper. I felt partially restored.

I’ve played my turn on Wordscraper and posted and update on Facebook that got my sister curious. She replied via email rather that to my status. Guess she still doesn’t quite have the hang of communicating on FB. I told her she’d have to wait until Saturday night to find out the answer because I was in the process of blogging and couldn’t go into it tonight.

You might think I wouldn’t be sleepy after a four hour nap but I am. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble tonight. My friend and I have been keeping the private message avenue hot. It’s so nice to catch up! She and I went through a lot of good times, bad times, happy times and sad times together. She knows more about me than most people do and she still calls me her friend. Amazing!

Friday
What a difference a good night’s sleep makes! When one of the girls asked me about how I felt today, I told her I felt 1000% better and I wasn’t joking.

I was the bank/post office person today and don’t you know, it was raining cats and dogs. Hitting it just right, though, I didn’t even have to use my umbrella. I still don’t know if I can hear it on my roof.

The church renovation is moving more slowly than originally planned. I went by this afternoon and was given a verbal tour. Yes, they plan to fix the commode in the women’s bathroom so we’ll have a two-holer again. And the men didn’t realize it had been years since we’d had hot water. There’s a tiny heater under the counter that never gets turned on. I don’t even know if it still works. They’ll be putting an outlet in the floor by both the piano and organ so the cords won’t have to be stretched across the walkway. No central heat and air yet. Maybe at a future date. However, they ARE getting rid of the noisy a/c’s and replacing them with a larger unit that will be up high. I wish the money that’s being spent on that old building was being put on a new one but I was outvoted. I’m sure it will look a lot better inside after the work is completed. I’ll leave it at that.

My old (no, she isn’t OLD, but we were friends 25+ years ago) friend emailed me three pictures she’d found and promised to send more when she finds them. We had all flown down to Panama Beach with DH as the pilot and DD the flight attendant. This is when we were relaxing on the beach. DH had on his signature Ray-bans. Once, he had stuck his head out the window when he was in flight and watched a pair as it fell toward the ground. They weren’t cheap but they were replaceable.

DD and my friend’s son were playing in the surf. Can you tell they’re having fun?

My friend’s son and I went on the paddle boat. While we were out there, we saw a jellyfish. That was amazing. It was beautiful!

I’ve started watching a National Geographic program on Science and the Bible regarding the birth of Jesus. I won’t include the link because it will be taken down by the time I publish this. They are trying to explain everything logically and nothing is logical about it. I may or may not finish it up tomorrow.

Happy Sabbath, everyone!

Saturday night
I finished watching the birth of Jesus program this morning and wasn’t surprised they couldn’t come to any real conclusions. They tried to take issue with the different accounts of Matthew and Luke and say neither one could have happened but why couldn’t both?

We went to “school” instead of church today and I was pleasantly surprised. The pews were set up with enough room for everyone. We needed more hymnals but I knew most of the words to the songs anyway. The pianist asked me if I were going to play and I told her I’m not a pianist. That takes a whole different set of muscles and technique that I haven’t practiced for years. She reluctantly took her seat and did just fine. However, the piano could use some help. Since her husband is a piano/organ technician, maybe it will be fixed.

During the prayer request/praise time, the person I bought most of my tomatoes and melons from last summer said he’d gotten a job in Florida but turned it down. After much prayer, he and his family have decided to make farming a full time occupation. I could have danced in the aisle! I spoke up and said that I’ve been asked on more than one occasion what his plans were and people would be thrilled they aren’t moving.

I requested prayer for my “old” friend (she’s going through some tough times right now) and my sister who is seriously considering a cochlear implant. Prayer was by a man who is most sincere but he tends to pray long and hard. It was a long beautiful long heartfelt long prayer. Did I mention it was long? Not being tied to the organ, I’d gone forward and knelt in what is know as the Garden of Prayer. I was beside one of the deacons and the farmer’s daughter came up and knelt beside me. When the prayer was over (after what seemed like 15 minutes, all I could think of was how Ellen White counseled parents about worship, “When a long chapter is read and a long prayer offered, the service is made wearisome, and at its close a sense of relief is felt.” I know that’s about family worship but I think it could apply anywhere.)

My knees were just about numb at the end and I had knelt at the end of a pew on purpose so I could use it as leverage to get up. Before I could do anything, the deacon got on one side and the little girl on the other and heaved me up to a standing position. I appreciated their thoughtfulness but I would have preferred to do it myself. I’ll stay in the pew next time.

The pastor’s wife had the sermon and it was excellent. She could be a pastor in her own right as far as the services are concerned. I know there’s more to it than that but she’s blessed.

I was blessed to only have to go to the bathroom once between services and just to be on the safe side, I went at the end. Woohoo!! I posted it on my Facebook page but no one has commented on it. Maybe TMI?

Church lasted well past the usual time and I was really hungry when I got home. I took my probiotics and thought I waited long enough to eat but I guess I didn’t. I had a smoothie and got very sleepy. I think it’s the antibiotics sapping my energy. I lay down and went off to sleep for an hour or more. When I got up, I burped a large burp and tasted probiotics. That’s the only thing it could be. I guess I wasted that capsule.

I watched a Science and the Bible about Jesus’ tomb. It didn’t try to disprove anything like the birth one did. It was very interesting. It’s expiring, too, so sorry. No link.

Wordscraper takes a break on Sabbath and I refrain myself from pushing the Play Word button. After sundown, I did my next damage and got 76 points. My opponent is ahead by 35 points (550 to 515) and will probably end up winning. I’ll put up my best fight. Here’s the board as it currently stands.

I went by to see her yesterday and informed her she messed me up. If she hadn’t played WHEW, I could have played a word that would have netted me 170 points. That hurt.

She’s been practicing sitting on the side of the bed for 30 minutes at a time. I can tell that because she posted it on Facebook. Next week, she plans to try standing. Pray she’ll be able to do it. She wants, more than anything, to go home. I’d miss seeing her from time to time but she could still come in to say hello.

I’ve been tracking the Dish equipment so I knew it arrived yesterday but I got an email today confirming it. In tiny letters, it says that, if they determine it has been damaged by improper use, I’ll have to pay for it. I know it wasn’t damaged so I hope they don’t try to hold me liable for anything.

One more thing—I haven’t had to wear a coat all week! It’s been so nice!

Well, that’s about it for this week. I may have topped myself in length. If you have made it this far, you are either brave or foolhardy.

Today was the first day since the first day that I have started taking only one antibiotic capsule. Thursday through Wednesday, I took one in the morning and one in the afternoon. At first, they made me feel dragged out. Gradually, my body got used to it and I was feeling better. Or maybe it was the probiotics kicking in that did the trick. Whichever, it was positive.

Up until Sabbath, I had intense pain whenever I peed. It would start out okay but, as it went along, the pain would almost bend me double. It was a relief to be over that part of it.

A couple of days ago, the girls were asking me how I was doing. I said it was either psychological or actual but it seemed that while my frequency hadn’t abated, I didn’t have the urgency. I didn’t have to wrap my legs around each other and hop sideways to the commode.

Then, last night and today, I messed up. The doctor hadn’t cautioned me against taking baths but there was a need (I’ll tell about that in my weekly post) so I did. I took another one this morning. On one of my trips to the bathroom at work, I drenched my panty liner. So much for baths.

All in all, I believe I can tell a difference. It would have probably been more pronounced and more positive if I hadn’t soaked in the tub but I did and I can’t go back and do something else. In the meantime, I’ll try to behave and hope, not for the better but for the best.

A couple of tourists, we were craning our necks to see the countryside and we were both thrilled to see the Golden Gate Bridge from the opposite end we had before.

The shuttle pulled up to the terminal and the driver unloaded our bags at the curbside check-in. It couldn’t get much handier than that. We had a little while before our flight boarded but it wasn’t enough time for me to unlock my enormous suitcase (locking was permitted then) and rummage around for batteries. We thought.

We headed for the gate where we were to get on the plane and sat down to wait the boarding call. We had flown into San Francisco separately but we were flying out together. I would be spending the next week at my sister’s home. I hadn’t been there since Christmas of 1980 and I was looking forward to our time together and being able to explore the Great Northwest.

Chattering like a couple of magpies, we were startled to hear our names called. We were being paged by the airline desk clerk. Answering the call, we went over to the counter. The airline had overbooked the plane and we were being bumped. WHAT?!! My brother-in-law would be going to the airport to meet us after the two hour flight and there was no way to get in touch with him. Voicing our disapproval didn’t get us anywhere. There were a good half dozen of us who were so inconvenienced.

The clerk informed both of us that we would get lunch vouchers and we’d each receive a $100 voucher good for any flight for a limited amount of time. There was nothing for us to do but accept them. Now, I might have handled it differently but this is now and that was then. My sister gave my my $100 voucher since she didn’t plan to go anywhere any time soon. Just so you know, all the flights I would have wanted to take were much more than $200 and I never got around to using them.

Along with the others, we collected our lunch vouchers and headed for a relatively nice restaurant where we all sat down at tables close to each other. Misery loves company.

I scanned the menu for something vegetarian and comforting. Comfort food almost always translates to fattening—full of empty calories. So what if I was trying to eat vegan. I needed something cheesy and rich. I don’t remember exactly what I got but it was up in the stratosphere as far as fat and down in the depths, nutrition-wise. We sat at a table for two across from each other and glumly ate our free meal.

To add insult to injury, we had to fly standby on the next flight. Fortunately, it wasn’t as fully booked and there were a couple of people who didn’t show. After waiting around for a couple of hours, we were finally able to board. We didn’t know where my brother-in-law was. He could be waiting at our destination, frantic because we hadn’t shown up. Not having cell phones, we couldn’t remedy the situation.

If I’d had access to my suitcase, I could have gotten my spare batteries. I wasn’t about to spend my precious funds on overpriced batteries in the airport shops so I’d just have to go without proof of what I’d seen. It really was kind of a relief not to be squinting at an image on a camera, anyway.

Boarding the plane, we found our seats were bulkhead seats and we could see the first class passengers. My sister let me sit next to the window. She’d seen the sights on the way down. She’d let me see them on the way back.

The plane’s engines were started and we taxied out to the runway. Putting on the brakes, the engines revved until the plane shook like a leaf in the wind. My sister, the one who was scared of ferris wheels, didn’t look too uncomfortable but I was sure she was a tad nervous. I was nonchalant as the Seasoned Flyer.

There were landmarks the pilot pointed out, most notably Mount St. Helens. I was kind of put out with myself for being so stingy with my funds not to buy more batteries but there was nothing I could do about it. I was awed to see that powerful volcano that had brought such destruction to the area in a matter of minutes.

Other landmarks paled in comparison but the countryside was gorgeous from our vantage point. I’d look out my window and then I’d try to make myself taller so I could see out the window on the other side. I didn’t want to miss anything. I’m amazed at people who can settle in and sleep with so much going on beneath them.

Just about two hours had past when the pilot turned on the seatbelt light and the flight attendant instructed us to get ready to land. Now, the big question was, would our ride be there or would he have given up and gone home?

Put this day on your calendar! It was the first time I can remember when I didn’t have to ask for something in the produce department at Wally World. Everything was out where it belonged for a change. I was looking for conventional romaine and didn’t think they had any but found five packages—exactly the number I needed—under the organic.

My food scraps have stacked up because I haven’t felt like taking them out. The compost bin is getting too full so I’ve been dumping stuff at the edge of the woods. I took it all out this afternoon. On my first trip, I was going to get the bucket that’s had ice in it all this winter and use it to carry the rest but the bottom is cracked from all the freezing. Well, shoot! My bucket’s got a hole in it.

Twinkle’s cat box had been ignored, as well, so I took care of it, too. She’d been having to cover up nuggets with nuggets so I know she was happy to have unclumped litter.

Even the bed got changed. I’d ordered non-reactive sheets from L.L. Bean and they’d come last week while I was off. They needed to be washed before I put them on the bed but I used them right out of the package. They’re so crisp, they rattle. They are advertised to be good for a kid’s room. Well, I’m still a kid at heart…

I haven’t felt feverish tonight so I’ll try going to work tomorrow.

Monday
Well, I went and I made it through. I lost my voice several times but, probably to the distress of everyone around me, I’d get it back. I felt better doing something productive rather than veg out in front of the fire.

I went by The Pig and they have beautiful Romas for 99¢ a lub. I saw one of my friends from church and she asked if I’d been by the building lately. Seems the renovations are well underway. She said all the pews are over in the school and the organ and piano are on the platform. They’ll carpet and then move the instruments back to the floor while they carpet the platform. She didn’t know exactly what we are going to do for church this Sabbath and next. Time will tell.

The roof is done! When I went out the front door this morning, my neighbor and one of her helpers was out there waiting for the others. She showed me where a pileated woodpecker has been destroying a stump in the quest for bugs. I’d love to see it. The roof really looks good. I was going to take a picture this afternoon but she ran out and asked me to wait until she gets everything finished. She still has painting and pressure washing and I don’t know what else. Now it’s the deck’s turn.

DD and I never did get around to our visit yesterday. She had a grafting class she was going to and I had my grocery shopping. I called her this evening and she said she’d learned a lot in the class but the knife she’d ordered wasn’t very sharp. She was nervous about it slipping and cutting her. One fellow on Facebook said she might end up with an apple tree growing out of her arm.

I guess it’s back to work tomorrow for sure. I’m going to turn in.

Tuesday
It wasn’t a surprise to wake up to snow this morning but it WAS surprising that it completely covered the ground. The roads were somewhat snow-covered but not slick except in a couple of places but I made it down and back okay. My neighbor told me it had snowed a lot more after I left for work but then most of it melted.

I went out and took some pictures of the snow in front of the hospital (as if it’s still a novelty). A lady was leaving and acted amused that I was doing that. With digital, it doesn’t matter, though. I can take all I want and delete them at will and not waste film.

Today was spent in going back and forth with the Powers That Be at the Big House about our medical necessity checker. It’s possible that the one we’ve been using will be upgraded so the staff can keep using what they are familiar with. The “new” one we have access to is very cumbersome and time-consuming.

I also took some time to educate an interested person in the art of making smoothies. She wanted recipes so I wrote down the one for my blueberry banana one and spinach soup.

I’m just about back to normal now. It’s nice not to feel all clogged up.

Wednesday
Today is my urologist appointment day. Whoopee. NOT. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I’ll tell about it in a separate post.

I’d had my banana/blueberry/spinach/parsley smoothie before I left the house. All I took with me was bananas and a couple of Clementines. I lived until I got home.

I’ve been going around and around with WeatherBug. My Plus version expired Sunday and I wanted to renew but they don’t take Discover or PayPal. I emailed them about the problem and they sent me an activation code good for two computers but I don’t know how I’m supposed to pay for it. Maybe they are giving it to me or think they’ve charged it to my credit card? I’m going to email them once again and see what I can find out, if anything. In the meantime, I have Plus on my laptop and my netbook.

There was a man in the waiting room who was curious about my netbook. I’d starting chatting with DD but she was working, anyway, so I moved over beside him and showed him a few things. His wife came out and said she was glad he was learning. He has a computer at home but said he didn’t know a lot about it. His daughter wants to Skype with him but he was concerned it would cost something. I assured him it wouldn’t as long as both of them were online.

I finally remembered to hook up the adapter for my MP3 player so I could listen to it through the car radio. I hadn’t even known there was such an animal until merm told me. My first foray was the Perfect Health Program. I’ve heard all of it at least twice and parts of it more than that. I don’t agree with absolutely everything he says (like mankind has been cooking for only about .001% of his existence on earth) but he has some very good points, overall.

My tomato/mango soup was in the blender while I was writing that last paragraph and went too long. Oops! I’m not pouring it out and it got a little on the hot side. So…I guess I’m having an almost raw day today.

I’m writing about the procedure and my Wally World pharmacy experience on my Thursday post so I won’t repeat them here. I saw a couple of people in WW that I know. When I got out of there, it had started spitting snow. I knew I didn’t want to go to work so I called (my cell phone got a signal!) and said I was coming home. I did make one stop at The Pig to get some more 99¢ a lub tomatoes. There was a little lady in line behind me who had orange hair. Not red, not auburn. Orange. She looked like she could have just come from a University of Tennessee football game. She would have fit right in. Bless her heart. It reminded me of when my mother would dye her hair and it would come out weird colors.

When I pulled into the driveway, my neighbor met me with the box for me to return the Dish equipment. I had thought it would be more than one box but everything will fit into it so it will cost me $15, not $30 to send it back. That’s even better.

I’d had three bananas besides my morning smoothie so I came in and proceeded to think about eating. DS1 had been trying to call me so I called him back for a short visit. I finished my chat with DD, too, so I’m all caught up in that department.

I’ve had some FOOD and packed the receiver according to the directions that came with the box. The switch and the LNBF (I Googled that and it’s a Low Noise Block Converter) will have to wait for tomorrow. They’re in my neighbor’s garage. I’ll have to get all this stuff back soon so they won’t charge me for it.

Thursday
With the car parked so far from the house, I couldn’t tell the windshield was frosted over before I went outside. It took me several minutes to clear it. That made me late for work. I’ll be glad when the temperature gets high enough not to have to deal with such. The ground was crunchy again, too.

With my forum member admonishing me to get probiotics to counteract the destruction of the beneficial bacteria, I called and found the area health food store closed an hour later than I thought. I wouldn’t have to ask to leave early, after all.

I ran out of dental floss last night but I didn’t have time to go get any more. I’ll have to have dirty teeth until I can buy some.

Four o’clock came and I set out. When I got to the store, it was to discover the only person there was the owner’s husband. He admitted he rarely sets foot in the place but he called his wife (she had to go to the bank) and found out what it was I was calling about and yes, they would take my credit card. I pay it off every month but I get cash back on my purchases so it pays me to use it.

After many minutes, the sale was finalized and I came home. I read on the package that I should take the capsule between meals. Here’s a scan of the package. If you want to really scrutinize it, you can click on the picture and choose the largest size.

It was too late to take any today so I put it in the fridge for tomorrow. I took the instructions for returning the Dish parts to my neighbor. He was getting ready to go bowl (he said he was going to quit if he ever bowled a 666 and has come as close as 667) so he had me put them in the garage with the rest.

Friday
Frost on the car again, this time on the inside of the windshield more than the outside. I wondered why it wasn’t melting as I scraped and later found out I had the heater on instead of the defroster. Late to work today, too.

I’d taken a little container with one probiotic capsule to work so I stowed it in the fridge and took it well away from anything else. I hope it helps me not come down with any kind of candida or any of the other uglies that antibiotics can bring on.

Not knowing what the plans were for church services tomorrow, I called the bulletin secretary (she’s supposed to know everything—HA! If that were true, I wouldn’t mind doing it myself.) and she said services are supposed to be at the school but that’s all she knew. As for anything else, it was still a mystery. I told her I was going to hibernate. My pain has lessened but I don’t feel 100% yet. I’m wondering when I will. Antibiotics can drag a person out.

I’ve been going emailing back and forth with Support from Iogear about the Bluetooth dongle that won’t recognize my mouse. I have uninstalled and installed so many things so many times that I’m giving up. I ordered another one of a different brand that is supposed to work with Windows 7. I’m beginning to think this is a lost cause.

The schedule was quite a challenge this time. One of the registrars will be out until the 24th, I think it is. The others are always willing to step up to the plate and fill in when necessary. I appreciate that.

It was to The Pig to get more tomatoes. I saw one of my co-workers in there and told her about the special. I had a bag with probably 15 of them and she got ONE tomato. She said she wanted one that wasn’t quite ripe because it would be a couple of days before she would eat it. !!! I got dental floss while I was in there. I’ve been looking for unwaxed for forever and there it was! It’s a little harder to use but it does a better job.

I watched one of the National Geographic specials about the Blizzard of ‘93 which wasn’t just a blizzard. I had no idea there were so many people out there having it so rough while we were home with power and water and food and comfort. It was an inconvenience but one we enjoyed. That can’t be said for everyone.

I’m going to bed early tonight. Wouldn’t you say it’s about time? Good night and happy Sabbath!

Saturday night
Whether the car had ice on it this morning, I have no idea. I “slept in” until about 6:30 when Twinkle woke me mournfully mewling outside my door. I got up, took my thyroid med and started the distiller. I didn’t realize the container was almost empty. I went back to bed until it was time to get up and eat but I never did go back to sleep.

I had my devotions and forgot to exercise. Yesterday, I hadn’t read the chapter, Samson, in Patriarchs and Prophets so I did that. If you’re interested, it starts on page 560 and it’s fascinating. I’d had my morning smoothie and crawled back into bed to listen to the Sabbath School discussion on Pine Knoll. The first part was a baby dedication, the only one Dr. Gallagher has ever done in that setting. I would have loved to have witnessed it visually. He seems to be a natural with babies. It was the most appealing dedication I’ve ever heard. After a few minutes of the discussion, I dozed off and on for the rest of it. I’d heard the whole thing through the week so it wasn’t like I was missing something.

At 11:30, I got up and took my probiotic capsule. I set the timer for an hour so it could pass through my stomach and into my gut. Then I had my second green smoothie.

It was a beautiful sunshiny day but still on the cool side. I’ve been feeling more cold-natured since I’ve been taking antibiotics. Strange. I didn’t go out except to get the mail and the package with the dongle was in it! I installed it, and after some tweaking, it works! I can point and click from my easy chair. Woohoo!

I won’t bore you with all I ate and drank today. I’ve taken my second antibiotic capsule.

Ranger BIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL was the same as last week but I listened to it, anyway. I watched a National Geographic special about coyotes in Yellowstone Park and it was sad and glad at the same time. I started one on PBS about Darwin but it wasn’t my cuppa tea. Then I started one about Faces of America until I needed to quit and start on getting this finished up and published.

Well, that’s about it. Maybe next week I can report I have a deck!! Hope springs eternal…

I’m like one of my co-workers who likes to allow plenty of time to get somewhere and I ended up at the office ‘way early. I signed in, and, after the person at the window made sure of who I am, she had me sign a form consenting to today’s procedure(s). It was pretty much standard but I scanned it, anyway. I was to have dilation, a scope and possibly a biopsy. I understood there could be complications including a resulting infection, etc., etc. I didn’t see it mention death anywhere so I signed. I told her that I no longer have Medicare Part B, wrote a check for $50 and sat down to wait. Being always prepared, I pulled out my netbook and started blogging.

You can read about my waiting room instruction on my weekly blog post after I publish it Saturday night.

The nurse came and called me back. She asked if I could empty my bladder. Could I empty my bladder??! Problem is, I can do that just about any time and that’s why I was there. I went into the bathroom and did as instructed.

She had told me to go into the last room straight ahead and when I got there, it looked ominous. A small autoclave sat on one counter of the larger-than-the-last-time room and instruments that looked like they were for medieval torture were precisely laid out. A spotlight on an adjustable arm sat next to the wall and the exam table was another one of Those That Humble Women. There were a couple of chairs—do some people bring observers?—so I sat down on one of them and pulled out my netbook. I’d just awakened it from standby when the doctor walked in.

He commented on my computing and I told him what I’d been doing in the waiting room. He wasn’t aware there was guest access in the building. I told him it didn’t reach back where we were. As a matter of fact, the strength is very low in the front.

Not wasting any time, he told me to strip from the waist down (he said it more nicely), cover with the paper sheet and sit on the table. He’d be back with the nurse and we’d get started. I told him the lubricant from before had been irritating but he said the only kind he would be using was what would numb me.

I’d barely had time to do what I had to do and seat myself when they knocked and walked in the door.

Moving efficiently, they prepared the Instruments of Torture. The nurse pulled the spotlight over where I would be the center of attention. Before he could scope me, the doctor had to dilate my urethra and before he could do that, everything had to be cleaned. I appreciated his appreciation of cleanliness. The nurse hung a bag of fluid on an IV pole and I wondered if I would have an IV, as well, but it was for the scope.

Taking a bottle of Betadine, he thoroughly swabbed my exposed parts. Then he put some gel into a syringe and explained that it was to numb my tender region. Inserting it, he emptied the syringe.

He picked up the first of the Instruments of Torture and said that he would begin dilating me. It didn’t hurt at first but then it began hurting a little bit as he was inserting it farther. He pulled it out and picked up one that had a larger circumference. That one hurt worse. I guess the look on my face gave me away because he said he needed to do one more larger one and would I be able to withstand the pain. I told him I would. That one didn’t hurt quite as much as the second but it isn’t something I’d want to do for fun.

He hooked the tube from the IV to the scope after he’d cleaned said scope thoroughly. When he inserted it, I felt nothing. He looked around briefly and then pulled it out. He said that my bladder looks fine but the urethra shows signs of chronic cystitis and that’s what causes my frequency. Since the opening to the bladder was (past tense) so small, it didn’t empty completely and that allowed bacteria to build up. He wanted me to take an antibiotic. I asked him if there were any way around that. He said we could treat the symptoms. Well, I don’t like treating the symptoms so I agreed to the first antibiotic I’ve had in five years.

When he left the room, the nurse told me she was going to clean up while I got dressed but she would keep her back to me. I told her she’d seen everything and she agreed. She said she was nervous the first time she assisted but now it’s no big deal. I wiped up as best I could and got dressed. She’d warned me about the Betadine but I knew what to expect. I thought.

I stopped by the restroom on my way to make my next appointment and when I wiped, I found that the pee had turned the Betadine black. That was interesting.

The lady at the desk and I agreed on a date and time a little over a month away and I left.

I hadn’t intended to go to Wally World but I hadn’t known I’d have a prescription to fill. I turned right and went clear to the other end of town. It’s quite a little distance.

The prescription counter was my first stop. I asked the woman if there were a generic for the medication and she said yes. I told her that’s what I preferred. She took my birth date and told me to give them about 45 minutes. I shopped to kill time. At least I only bought good whole fresh food except for a bag of frozen mixed fruit. Oh, I got Twinkle a new stainless steel food bowl, too.

I was glad I got back to the pharmacy a little early. There was a long line. Finally, after many many minutes, it was my turn. The woman couldn’t find my prescription. She searched and searched and came back with it only to find it was someone else’s. Back to Square One, she went through a couple more bins and there it was. She said, “It was in the last place I looked!” As my mother would have said, why would you look after that?

Signing for the prescription, I told the woman I’d pay for it with my other purchases. Not so fast. The pharmacist wanted to talk to me. She called him and he came over. He was pleasant, tall, bald and nice-looking. He said, “Tell him he needs to take this twice a day for a week and then once a day for the rest of the month. Oh, and tell him his urine can be either blue or green.” I said, “It’s me.” He looked puzzled and I said, “I’m Tommie.” He backed up a little and said, “Your water may turn blue or green.” I don’t know why a male has urine but I have water but, okay. He told me to take it with food and wanted to know if I had any questions. I asked what when he would suggest I take it and he said breakfast and supper for a week and then breakfast only. He said the breakfast dose would be flushed out of my system by my intake through the day. He handed me the bag and I put it in the cart.

I went to check out. I had to wait in line AGAIN but that particular WW is very busy. When everything had been rung up, I was given the total and I about fell over. I asked what was so expensive and the cashier said she was wondering the same thing and looked at the sales slip. It was my prescription. Almost $64 had pushed the total ‘way up there. I had already scanned my credit card so she told me to take it to the pharmacy and ask about it.

Going back to the pharmacy, I pushed the buggy with the load of bagged groceries. I didn’t know if I should or not but I wasn’t going to leave them behind and I’d parked in the back 40. There was another line so I went to the consultation window. After what seemed like half an hour (I know it wasn’t but I was getting tired of that WW by then) I asked one of the girls if I could speak to the pharmacist. She said to go to the other consultation window. I had met with him at the one I was at but I obeyed.

The pharmacist came over and I told him I’d asked for generic but this was almost $64. I told him I wanted to put it on my Blue Cross card. It was no problem. He credited my credit card and “filled” the prescription. One of the girls would take care of the rest. She was going to have me sign for it again and then stopped and said I wouldn’t have to and I was good to go. I told her I needed to pay the copay. She laughed and said she guessed so. It was $10. A far cry from $64. Later on, I looked at the slip and it is the generic but it isn’t on WW’s list for $4 prescriptions. I’d hate to see the price for the name brand. As it is, it’s over $1.50 per capsule.

Settling into the car, I knew the last place I wanted to go was to work. For a wonder, I got a signal for my cell phone and called to let them know I was coming home. The registrar wanted to know how my appointment went. I told her it was fine but the prescription mess about had me wrung out. Guess my patience had worn thin.

A big mistake. I failed to let them know I don’t care if my child gets into my meds so I got the “takes a world class body builder to get into the container” container but I’ve taken my first capsule. My pee isn’t blue or green yet but I guess it hasn’t been long enough. I do know it hurts like the dickens, though. Not as much as after I’d worn the Foley catheter for all that time following the incident with DS1’s birth but bad enough. According to what I’ve read, I can expect it for several days. Mercy! At least it only hurts when I go.

I posted a short message about my experience on the forum and Shari is advising me to take PRObiotics which doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I’m going to call the only health food store in the area to see if they carry them. I’ll have to leave work early if they do but maybe my boss will say okay.

DS1 called me this afternoon and wanted to know where I’d been. He’d called the hospital several times. I told him I’d been to the urologist. His reaction? “FINALLY!” I told him this was my second visit. Now we all get to hide and watch and see what happens.

Postscript: I wrote this last night while everything was still fresh on my mind (aren’t you glad?!). Since then, I haven’t noticed my pee is a different color but when I flush, the porcelain is lightly stained. The pain is somewhat abated. Frequency is still there because my urethra is swollen and it’s hard to empty my bladder. However, I am hoping that will go away and I can average longer than an hour and a half between trips. My longest reprieve last night was two and a half hours. Fortunately, I went right back to sleep after every visit. I don’t usually wear a panty liner to bed but I did last night so I wouldn’t stain the sheet. I guess I’ll be doing that for a while.

After work, I went over the mountain and got a bottle of probiotics to the tune of $40+. (The place closed an hour later than I had thought.) I got home too late to take a capsule since it’s supposed to be taken between meals. It was time to eat so I could take my antibiotic. I’ll have to take a probiotic capsule to work with me tomorrow. BTW, I looked up the average price of the name brand antibiotic and, for 40 capsules, it is over $127.

By now, I knew the general lay of the land and was able to get around more by instinct than a road map. We got back to the hotel with no problem whatsoever. Once there, it was like we were coming home.

I’d been in fancier establishments but none quite so picturesque. The entrance to the lobby was through these doors.

The design on the front of the check-in desk was mosaic and beautiful.

The time before, our room had been through this wonderful archway of heavenly smelling jasmine but now our room was around at the back.

We settled into the luxury of two large beds and air conditioning! It was a great time to be alive. No more gasping for breath in the middle of the night.

Our sleep was restful and deep and I was thankful my sister had made an executive decision to go back to comfort.

Next morning, we found some breakfast and then it was time to turn in the car. The girl at the counter in the hotel gave us some wonderful news. All we had to do was call the rental place and they would come pick it up. There was no danger we would have to ride with the Lady from the Demolition Derby. We took our suitcases and walked the short distance to the shuttle station stopping to take some pictures of the restaurant where we’d eaten our first meal, seemingly so long before.

Getting to the shuttle station, I was careful not to make the same mistake of having my camera in the luggage compartment below when there was so much to see and photograph. I kept it in my hand and at the ready.

It wasn’t long until we were under way and heading out of town. When we got to the outskirts, there was what appeared to be an abandoned roller coaster. My sister had graciously allowed me to sit by the window so I could take pictures to my heart’s content.

I took one shot

and then another

and lined up the third. When I squeezed the shutter release, nothing. I had my camera but the spare batteries were in my giant suitcase in the luggage compartment. I wouldn’t be able to take pictures of anything else until we got to our destination. I was bitterly disappointed. I wanted a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge and other San Francisco landmarks but it was not to be.

Resigned to my fate, I decided to enjoy the ride anyway and turned to visit with my sister.

I took the plunge and called Dish Network after consulting How to Cancel My Dish Network Satellite Service. After reading that, I was primed and ready to go. The fellow asked why I was canceling. I told him I was having a metal roof put on my house and, besides, much of what I watched was on Food Network and I can’t see spending more than $400 a year on that. Actually, it’s closer to $500. Anyway, he offered to send out a tech to put the dish where it wouldn’t have to be on the roof and said he’d find me a cheaper package. I was curious about the cheaper package because I had the lowest priced one out there. He said there was one for $15.99 that would end up being around $24.99 with the local channels. I told him that’s what I had and with all the taxes and fees, it’s over $40 a month. He sounded kind of deflated and wanted to know if there was any way I would decide to keep the service. I said, “Yes—if it’s free.” He mumbled, “We can’t do that.”

He proceeded to tell me about how I would go about returning the equipment. They want the receiver back with the remote and something off the dish, itself. It will cost me around $30 to send everything but I’ll be shed of that bill then so that’s okay with me.

As I also said last night, the cable came to hook my computer up to my TV. At merm’s direction, I had ordered it from overstock.com. It was $16.49 with 15% off and $1 shipping. The total came to $15.84. Not a bad swap, I’d say. My monthly bill from Dish for the cheapest package was $40.37. (I just found I could have gotten a 25′ cable from Amazon for ‘way less but maybe this one is better.)

When I got it home, I discovered that the cable is very beefy. It’s covered with a metal mesh so no animal would want to chew through it. It’s resting at the moment against my laptop’s “lid” so I have it cushioned to prevent its being scratched.

Hooking up the cable was the easiest part, though nothing turned out to be as complicated as I thought it would be. I pulled the TV around, got my flashlight and plugged it into HDMI 1. Then I strung it across to the computer and plugged the other end into the HDMI port on the back. That much was done.

Finding the remote (as I said last night) was the hardest part of the whole thing. I hadn’t needed it for months—maybe even years. I can’t remember when I had used it last. I did manage to unearth it, though, and the setup for it was as easy as turning on the TV, pushing the Menu button, scrolling down to Input and selecting HDMI 1. It prompted me to name the source so I selected PC.

Immediately, I had a picture! To prove it to merm, I emailed a couple of shots to him.

I was almost in business! I could have listened to it by turning up my computer speakers but I wanted the sound to come from the TV and/or the boom box I plugged into the TV long ago.

I’d emailed merm (once again I’m repeating myself) about the sound but before he could reply, I had that done, too. I went to my computer’s control panel and selected Hardware and Sound and then Manage audio devices. When I made Digital Audio (HDMI) the default, the sound would come through either the TV or the boom box speakers. Woohoo!

Today I got my weekly fix of This Week on abc.go.com and Face the Nation on cbs.com. The only aggravation is that This Week is chopped up into small segments that don’t play sequentially. Face the Nation goes really well. This Week may have lost me as a viewer but it isn’t the same without George Stephanopoulos, anyway.

This evening, I watched another 30 Days program while I ate my salad. The commercials aren’t quite long enough for me to go to the bathroom. Each program has a grand total of two and a half minutes given to sponsors and they come in 30 second messages. Beats whats on regular television.

I took another picture so you can see how sharp the display is. If you ever watch Morgan Spurlock, you know he is always very animated so he’s a little fuzzy but look at the columns behind him. They aren’t moving and they look good.

My next project is getting the cable fixed so it won’t be across the walkway into the kitchen. If I were drunk (which I won’t be but you never know when I might be unsteady due to other reasons) I might trip on it and break a bone. I’d really like to have it run under the floor some way but that would be a project for my neighbor. With as much as I’m saving, I’d be able to pay her to do it.

The only frustrating thing about this whole experience is not being able to get my Bluetooth mouse to work with Windows 7. I haven’t given up, though. When I get that licked, I’ll be able to sit in the living room and control the computer in the kitchen (unless I have to type something). There may be a wireless keyboard in my future, too. Hmmmmmm.

Getting rid of the Dish took a long time (merm and DD can tell you that) but the break isn’t upsetting at all. I thought I would have major withdrawal but, so far, so good. I may have it later. If I do, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, I’m saving $484.44 a year. And that, my friend, ain’t chicken feed.

My neighbor was over here painting the fascia board so it could dry before the rain came. She had other plans, too. I’ll get to that later.

I was out and gone by a little after 11. I made all my usual stops plus the used food store before I came home. I had a hard time finding ripe bananas so I went back to the produce place and found that they had huge bags of ripe bananas for $1. Needless to say, I got one and also needless to say, I have LOTS of bananas. I emailed my neighbor to see if they could use some. I know he told me one day that he doesn’t eat them but maybe she does. I haven’t heard back.

While I was in Wally World, I ran into an old friend and we visited for most of an hour, I guess. She was telling me about her activities in the church. She’s a busy lady.

My neighbors to the north were out working in the yard. The mother and I visited for a few minutes. She said there had been a lot going on here while I was in town and she was right. The tree has been cut up and will be hauled off when the roofing is moved (preferably on the house).

DD had called while I was out so I called her back and we visited. She hadn’t been to her drawing class last week because of the holiday.

The sheets are off the bed and an old pair put back on. I’ve ordered some percale sheets from LL Bean. Twinkle is on her last bag of food, too, so I ordered some for her. The shipping was so high I canceled the order and placed one with another company where I got more food for a lower price (including a 10% discount) and lower shipping. It ended up costing about $24 less. That isn’t to be sneezed at.

I finished watching 30 Days: Jail. I’m getting closer and closer to ridding myself of the Dish.

Monday
I was the bank/post office person today and am supposed to be tomorrow. I started feeling headachy and snotty nosed so I left the key where people could find it if I don’t get better overnight. I have been kind of feverish from time to time this evening, too.

Before I started feeling rotten, I went the help one of my co-workers with a file. I hope I haven’t exposed her to whatever I have. Another person was in her office at the same time so ditto.

The Wordscraper game kind of went belly up. My friend had played a word and when I hovered the point over her name, it showed her with zero tiles. I still had six left so I congratulated her for winning. She messaged back that she hadn’t won, that she still had tiles left, too. I had A N R R U V. When she told me to go ahead and play, I put down two tiles and clicked on Play Word. Nothing happened. Then, when I got on this afternoon, I saw a message that something was wrong and it was being fixed. Well! it was fixed, all right. I had four tiles, A A E O, but it was showing I still had six. I tried playing a word AGAIN and nothing. This is the first time this has ever happened to her so we have given up that game and she’s starting another one.

It was supposed to get up to 62 in the valley today. I don’t know how high it got but there was a cold wind blowing. When I stopped to get gas, the station owner commented that it was turning cold again. I’m afraid he’s right.

I’m going to feed Twinkle and hit the hay.

Tuesday
No blog post about my life tonight. I came home early from work. Bedtime was about 8 o’clock last night but it was after 9 before I went to sleep. I couldn’t find my melatonin, try as I might. I have since then, praise the Lord.

My mother would say my nose is running like a sugar tree. This morning, I was getting ready to put my smoothie in a container to take to the hospital and (avert your eyes if you’re squeamish) I dripped into the mixture. I grabbed a spoon and got the dot out and hoped for the best. I’ve been more careful since.

I would have left sooner but we got access to a better medical necessity checker so I stayed to teach one of the registrars how to use it after I’d sorta learned. She can teach whoever wants to learn before I get back. If I don’t get better soon, that may be a while.

The day was gloomy and there was a heavy fog sitting on the top of the mountain. The roads around here are showing signs of needing to be repaired. All the moisture, freezing and thawing is taking its toll.

Wednesday
You would think I wouldn’t be sleepy at 8:35 p.m. since I went to bed at 7:20 last night and didn’t get up until after 7 this morning except for potty breaks but I’m yawning. There isn’t anything remarkable to report about today. I’ve rested a lot. Haven’t napped, though. I’m a little feverish tonight, I think. I don’t have a thermometer so I can’t tell for sure.

It’s so nice to have good neighbors. I had an email that a package was on the step. She hadn’t knocked because she didn’t want to disturb me. It was my supply of raw cashews from Amazon. My sister wanted to know where I get mine so that link is for her but anyone who wants to can click on it. She might be able to find the ones that aren’t really raw for less but these are topnotch. Having them on subscription is handy, too. If you need more, you can go in and have them shipped “now” and if you don’t need any, you can skip the shipment.

My sister sent a chart that anyone might be interested in. It was in the body of a message and she couldn’t get it to print out right. Well, my friend Google helped me find it. If you want to check it out, it’s here. It says to share it with everyone so I have.

There’s another Wordscraper game going but the previous one was healed and we finished. I didn’t win, BTW. I’m ahead after the first move on the current one, though. One word got me 300 points—”enzymes”. I’ll have to admit I got help on that one but she said it was okay so I played it.

Time will tell if I feel like going in tomorrow. Right now, I’m going to fix myself a cuppa garlic lemonade and go to bed.

Thursday
I didn’t go in but I promised that, if I didn’t feel feverish tonight, I’ll be there tomorrow. The day was spent lounging around and resting, mostly. I did tape off some things in preparation for doing away with Dish Network.

Another package of raw cashews came. I’d gone in and changed my subscription and they were double shipped. They keep well, so it’s no biggie and I can skip the next ones. My neighbor came to the rescue again and delivered them.

Friday
Last night was largely feverish-feeling free.

Early in the morning, I looked at the thermometer and it said 32 degrees. Not bad, thought I, until it changed and I realized that was the temp in the room where I keep my fruit. The outside temperature was 19.

I was doing pretty well staying on track to be on time to work when I walked into the living room and saw Twinkle scratching the carpet. When she moved, there was a pile of upchuck. So much for being punctual. I cleaned it up and got back to getting ready.

On my way to the car (which had been running for several minutes), I heard my neighbor in her garage so I stopped for a word or two. She said she hoped to get the roof on today. That sounded good to me.

I took the plunge and called Dish Network after consulting How to Cancel My Dish Network Satellite Service. After reading that, I was primed and ready to go. The fellow asked why I was canceling. I told him I was having a metal roof put on my house and, besides, much of what I watched was on Food Network and I can’t see spending more than $400 a year on that. Actually, it’s closer to $500. Anyway, he offered to send out a tech to put the dish where it wouldn’t have to be on the roof and said he’d find me a cheaper package. I was curious about the cheaper package because I had the lowest priced one out there. He said there was one for $15.99 that would end up being around $24.99 with the local channels. I told him that’s what I had and with all the taxes and fees, it’s over $40 a month. He sounded kind of deflated and wanted to know if there was any way I would decide to keep the service. I said, “Yes—if it’s free.” He mumbled, “We can’t do that.”

He proceeded to tell me about how I would go about returning the equipment. They want the receiver back with the remote and something off the dish, itself. It will cost me around $30 to send everything but I’ll be shed of that bill then so that’s okay with me.

It was past noon before I got through my emails and the top layer on my desk. I tried to stay in my office for the most part during the day though I had to venture out several times to man (woman?) the front window.

By 4 o’clock, I was pretty well wrung out.

Anxious to see my new roof, I didn’t even stop to get the mail. When I pulled in, I saw it was about 2/3 done. My neighbor met me and said they’d run into a problem. There was a good-sized area of the roof that was rotten so they had to put off finishing until next week. I guess they are going to have to buy material to fix it. She said she’d taken lots of pictures at the direction of her husband who told her, “Tommie will want those and she can’t get up on the roof and do it.” She said she’d email them to me. If they are here by tomorrow night, I’ll post some.

The HDMI cable and adapter came for me to hook up my PC to the TV. Turned out I didn’t need the adapter. I asked merm what to do now and he said I needed to set the TV to the HDMI input. That involves the remote and I have no idea where it is. I found every other one known to man except for the one for the TV. The Dish remote was set up to turn the TV on and off and control the volume so I haven’t used the other one for a LONG LONG time. I’m going to bed. I’ve given notice that I won’t be at church tomorrow.

Good night and happy Sabbath!

Saturday night
Well, I found the remote this morning and it was no problem setting up the input. I had to do a couple of things on the computer (which I’d emailed merm about but figured it out on my own anyway, thank you very much) that got me all set up. It was a very easy process. I even have sound from the boom box which is quite impressive. Not surround sound but better than the speakers I have for the computer. Now I need to get my Bluetooth mouse working so I can control my computer remotely. I tried Yuuguu but that didn’t work out too well.

One of the girls from work called me this morning. She was very upset because her computer had malware on it that wouldn’t let her do anything. When I called her back, I guess she was on the phone with her brother because she said she’d talked to him and he’d had the same thing. He ended up wiping everything out and starting over. I walked her through going into safe mode and she restored the computer to an earlier date and it was okay. I asked her what anti-virus program she uses and she said she doesn’t have one. I had to yell and scream at her then and told her she was playing with fire. I sent her the links for Chrome and Microsoft Security Essentials.

After I had my regular devotions, I listed to the Sabbath School discussion from Pine Knoll.

That was while people were talking. Here it is on the TV after it was over.

I watched the live streaming on 3ABN briefly but the video quality is poor plus the programming was for Christmas. I moved on to Mo PC Web and attempted to watch Kelly Mowrer but couldn’t watch and hear it at the same time since it was out of sync so I listened to it while I fixed a smoothie. It was like a badly dubbed foreign movie. Oh, and every Sabbath has to include Ranger Bill, Warrior of the Woodland, able to jump tall trees with a single bound. Well, I added the last part of that sentence.

I got on the computer then and started looking in earnest and found that youtube has lots of Veggie Tales stuff! I knew there was some, but the whole Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie is on there plus I found out since it is also on Hulu. I hadn’t seen Jonah since I went years ago with DS1 and family when my granddaughter was just a little girl—and now she’s 14. I settled down and watched it and realized I’d forgotten most of it. They take a lot of liberties with the story but the message is still there.

DS1 had looked at some devices for getting Internet content on a TV but they are all pretty pricey. I called him and let him know what merm had me do and it worked! I told him I’d watched Jonah. He said he thought they’d bought the movie. He remembered Carleel and Reginald. Those are two of my favorite characters. We talked for right at 15 minutes. They’re talking about getting access again so he’s pretty interested in doing something other than the over the air digital they have.

Later on this afternoon, I watched a couple of documentaries, one being about an atheist who went to live with a Christian family for a month. It was very interesting. No one ended up converting the other but they had a respect they didn’t before.

Something that surprised me is the quality of the picture is very good on the TV. I expected it not to be and the amateur videos don’t translate that well but the others do. I’m impressed.

Well, I’m still ahead in the Wordscraper game but my opponent keeps playing these high point words. We’ll see if I still lose.

Pray for my sister. She is going to a hearing specialist now and may end up having to have surgery.

Until next week, aloha!

DD and I had a shorter than usual visit. They were going out to peruse a different Asian market. I told her to buy a young coconut and kill it for me.

I called my neighbor and THEY were in town. I told her to holler at me when they got home and I’d come over and see what I could see with her template. She called me and I downloaded and installed Open Office and, sure enough, it opened her document just fine. We went through her programs and I pointed out some that could be uninstalled.

We went over the contracts for the roof and deck and they are now signed and the deposit check is in her hand (or somewhere over there) for the half down for the roof. The other half will be paid when the job is done. She said it can be finished in a day, easily, if the weather will break. Her husband was saying this isn’t a good time of year for outdoor jobs. True, but she’s determined and a woman of her word. One of these days, I’ll come home and have a roof. Woohoo! Now I need to see how to go about canceling my Dish Network.

I sharpened my knife and managed to slice my thumb this evening. It bled and bled until I had to put a bandaid on it.

The weather forecast has been promising 2-4″ of snow in the higher elevations. I don’t know if that includes here or not. So far, not.

Monday
We-elllllllll, snow it did but not enough to keep me at home. When I first looked out, here is what I saw.

Later, I’d gone to start the car and forgot to lock it so when I went do that, I took my camera with me.

There was snow at the hospital, too, though not as much.

In anticipation of getting rid of my Dish, I picked merm’s brain and he told me what he thought would work with my TV so I have ordered $18.49 worth of cable and adapter. Now to wait until it gets here. That will save me a nice amount every month. Enough to more than pay for my DSL. Of course, getting rid of my land line covered that, anyway.

My neighbor was outside when I left for work and was commenting on how pretty it was. I agreed but said it wasn’t enough. I want a BIG snow that will snow me in. I told her the latch was frozen on my storm door. She said she’d look at it but I told her not to bother. I just wanted her to know so if she heard the door hitting the house, she’d know what it was.

Getting home was no problem but I’m wondering about tomorrow morning. We are supposed to get more snow.

One of my NC sisters has just gotten a Dish. Ironic that she took the plunge when I’m seriously considering terminating mine since I can watch just about whatever I want online. She’s still on dialup. I thought she could get DSL but it doesn’t seem to be available where she is. She isn’t interested, anyway. My sister in the Great Northwest will be going broadband day after tomorrow!

Tuesday
Last night, I got the door to shut by pouring boiling water over the latch. This morning, it was frozen solid and I had to use my hair dryer to melt it enough to get it open. When the front light came on, I saw that there was more snow. Not a lot but more. Later, when I tried to open the door, it was frozen again. I’d flipped on the TV earlier and there were warnings about icy spots in the mountains and schools all around are closed. I think they have been closed about as much as they have been open this year. Yesterday, I was short a registrar but today is as fully staffed as it can be with the shortened hours so I called in. I had plenty to do here at home.

I spent a lot of the day working on the kitchen. Didn’t get it all done but put a good dent in it.

A “big” thing was plucking up my courage to put the itchy sheets on the bed. I’d left one mostly folded and lay down on it bare skinned and it didn’t seem too bad. I hope they are over their irritating ways. Time will tell.

Wednesday
The sheets are still itchy. I put on my flannel pjs and slept that way for a few hours, then got up and put on a looser pair of pajama pants. The others are fine for wearing around the house but not for sleeping.

One thing I did yesterday was make kale “chips”. I figured I’d post the recipe if it turned out well but I guess I don’t miss chips anyway. They are crumbly and not especially delicious. At this point, I’ll pass. It’s been going on five years since I’ve had real chips. They aren’t a necessity and the kale “chips” are a poor substitute. If there are people who like them, fine, but I don’t. Twinkle likes kale, though. I was hoping I’d like the result of my labor because kale was one of my favorite greens to eat cooked. No biggie. I’ll live.

I would have loved to take another snow day but I didn’t. I had a hard time with the storm door but the hairdryer did the trick. The car didn’t have any frost or snow to speak of but I let it warm up for a few minutes, anyway.

I’d called to let the girls know I’d be late but I’d be in. Things were rather slow today. One of the registrars went home early. Later on this afternoon, there was a major network outage. My friend in the nursing home and I are involved in a game of Wordscraper and she managed to get in some heavy blows in spite of it.

“No Impact Man” is my latest thing to watch whenever I take a few minutes. Like now, I watched about 15 minutes but I’m getting sleepy so I’ll save the rest for another time. There’s a half hour left. It’s very interesting.

Thursday
I slept in my sweats last night. I’m determined to make the sheets work one way or another.

I was the bank/post office person today and will be tomorrow.

The temperature actually got above freezing in town today. We were all amazed.

For months, we had to turn people away who wanted mammograms. Finally, the machine was replaced with a state of the art digital one. Problem solved. NOW, the lab equipment is being upgraded and we’re having to turn people away who need lab work done. When I was walking out the door this afternoon, a couple came to the window and said the man was supposed to have a faxed order for blood work. I had to break the news to them that, while the order was there, the blood work couldn’t be done until next week. The woman was irate and said they’d driven 40 miles to get it done. I apologized as best I could but there was nothing I could do. They took the order and left.

Friday
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I would have liked to get out and walk but the budget is due Tuesday and I didn’t get it until today. When I went to the bank this morning, it was 47 degrees. This afternoon, it was 54. Spring thaw?

I got more parsley while I was out. It makes a nice addition to my morning smoothie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Come to find out, the lab could do the simpler tests but I hadn’t been told. I don’t know what the man needed yesterday because I only looked at the name on the order. I would have stayed and registered him if necessary. I can’t go back and do it over.

The roofing has been delivered! My neighbor met me when I got out of the car and told me. I went around to the side yard and there it was!! She said she’d gotten on the roof and cleared it of snow but it was still wet so nothing can be done yet. She knows about Sabbath which makes it nice because I don’t have to explain about not working over here tomorrow.

Here’s the material for what will be the deck. The guttering has been stored under the house all these years. My neighbor says she can make it work, no problem.

Last night, I had a Facebook message from one of the young mothers at church. There’s to be a fundraiser for the school tomorrow night and she wanted me to fix a salad. At first I told her no because I wasn’t sure I’d have enough to do that and have my evening meal but after I checked, I told her I’d do it. I’ve washed the romaine, chopped it up, spun it in my salad spinner and put in all the ingredients except for the tomatoes. I let her know where it would be and I’ll hand her the tomatoes at church.

Happy Sabbath, everyone!!

Saturday night
A gorgeous day! Beautiful! Wonderful! I can’t trust the temperature on the indoor/outdoor thermometer because it’s in the sun much of the afternoon but, at 5:15, it was 54 according to the one on the storm door.

My neighbor asked me yesterday what my decision was about whether or not to keep my Dish. I told her merm had advised me about what to order to hook my ‘puter up to my TV and when it got here, I would know. It’s on its way. I have no idea when it will arrive because it’s coming UPS Basic, whatever that is. The last thing recorded is that it left Baldwin Park, CA, on the 17th. I asked her how long I have to decide and she figures they’ll be able to put the roof on one day this coming week. Woohoo!

Church was a video. It was good but I like live preaching better. Our resident trumpeter played a solo for special music. He’d given me the song between Sabbath School and church. That’s the first time that’s happened for a long time. I thought I did okay, though.

I was surprised to see my Tomato Woman wasn’t there this morning. I gave the bag to her in-laws to deliver to her.

My friend, Rose, came up to talk to me after the service and asked for recipes for sauces. I told her to look through the recipes on here. She said so many of the commercial ones have ingredients she can’t pronounce and I said, “So, if you can’t say it, you don’t eat it.” She laughed and answered yes. I really do need to get the rest of the giveaway recipes on that page, too. Where’s that round tuit?

She wanted to know if I eat garbanzos. I said I’d tried sprouting some once and they were nasty (I’m sure I did it wrong) so, no, I don’t eat garbanzos. She meant cooked garbanzos. I don’t cook. From a can? I. don’t. eat. cooked. food. It occurred to me that she didn’t realize I don’t eat any cooked food (unless it’s when I let the blender run just a little too long). There were a couple of recipes I steered her toward and then she left.

I came on home and ate my way through much of the rest of the afternoon.

Latest on Wordscraper on Facebook. There are two letters I can play that will make three words but it tells me one of the words is invalid. I know it isn’t because it is in the dictionary that’s linked to from that very page. The other two words are common, everyday words. Aggravating! Makes me want to reach through the screen and grab the creator of the game by the neck and shake him/her.

Well, that’s my rant for the week. And here’s where I’ll let you rest.

PS: I forgot to say I cast off the sweats in the night and tried sleeping on the sheets. I’d had the waterbed heater plugged up because I’ve been concerned about falling trees taking the power out again and I wanted a warm bed. Anyhoo (my sister hates that), I unplugged and the sheets weren’t itchy. Not smooth but not itchy. So…I wonder if the heater has something to do with it and, if it does, whatonearth is in that material that makes it react? I’ll find out if that’s the thing tonight. I’ll leave a report in next week’s post. Good night!

Once again, the heat was stifling and I slept in as little as possible. I didn’t want to scare my sister so I kept on enough to cover my bod and be decent enough to run outside should there be a fire. It felt like someone had built one under my bed.

Next morning, we dragged ourselves around and got ready for Sabbath School and church. We had to stagger our showers with the people in the room on the other side of the bathroom but, by and by, we were ready to go. We’d eaten breakfast in the room—er, suite.

DD met us downstairs and we went to the church together. She was one of the choristers for Sabbath School and I was proud of her standing up there, so poised. There were lots of songs I didn’t know. I’m used to singing out of the hymnal but these were scripture songs and the words were projected on a screen.

The Sabbath School lesson was taught by one of DD’s favorite professors but it was so learn-ed that it was over my head. Fortunately, it was one big class since I would have been petrified to respond if I’d been called on.

I don’t remember much about the church service. The seniors all marched in and sat together so my sister and I sat with DH’s sister, his brother and sister-in-law who had come out to share in the festivities.

After church, we went to the reception for a couple DD knew who’d married. She assured us that we would all be welcome. They were her friends and there would be plenty of food. It was all vegan which was fine with me. I was trending that way for the severalth time in my life. Sure enough, the tables were laden and there was no problem loading up my plate. There was a casserole with slices of “cheese” on top. My sister accusingly said, “I thought all the food was vegan!” I told her it was. She pointed to the helping of casserole she had and said, “THAT’S cheese!” I was quite proud to be so knowledgeable and told her it was vegan cheese—probably soy based. Personally, I preferred rice cheese since I was avoiding soy.

That night, we went to the current boyfriend’s home to help get ready for the next day. His family was having a reception for him, his best friend from grammar school on and DD. I thought that was very nice of them to include her.

Oh, dear! I was looking for pictures to post here and ran across one that was taken at the Petrified Forest. I thought I’d deleted it but I guess I hadn’t. I didn’t delete much of anything back then. I don’t know what I was saying but it wasn’t purty.

It fell to me to help with the blowing up of balloons. I don’t know how many thousand there were but it was a lot.

I didn’t offer to help in the kitchen. The food that was being prepared was kind of out of my league. I was more the steamed broccoli, cashew sauce, fried corn and sliced tomatoes type of cook. As for THAT cook, she was (as my mother would say) puttin’ on the big pot and the little ‘un.

How the balloons were going to be used, I didn’t quite catch onto it. There were people who were tying them together in some fashion but it was beyond me what the finished product was going to look like.

It was getting to be very late so my sister and I departed for the Sauna. The next day was going to be very busy and we needed some rest.

I was getting up at 8 EDT which was 5 there and, at that, I felt like I was sleeping in. DD came up to the room with her gown and an iron. I’d told her I would iron it for her. It took some doing but, between my sister and me, we finally got most of the worst wrinkles out.

There were shuttles taking the guests to the area for the graduation. From what I’d heard about previous years, the weather was unseasonably hot and, true to tradition, the ceremony was being held outside. Oh, woe! My sister hated to wear anything that exposed her arms so she had on a three piece outfit and one of the pieces was a long-sleeved jacket.

We’d taken the car to the place where we were to catch the shuttle. Mercifully, I had on a comfortable pair of heels because we had quite a distance to walk even then. We climbed aboard the shuttle and settled down for the ride to the clearing.

The chairs were metal folding chairs. We found two seats together—we had no idea where DH’s family was—and sat down to wait. The proceedings were anything but dignified. There were cheers, air horns, and one of the graduates was wearing an Indian headdress. I tried to get a picture of it but it turned out to be a blur.

After the festivities, the cameras came out in earnest. I got one of DD and her other family.

Then there was one of the whole family sans DD:

I was fascinated by the boyfriend’s candy lei:

Then it was picture taking time with our little family. This is my sister and DD.

It was her turn with the camera. I was so large, she almost missed me.

Then she tried again and did better. Or maybe just being half there was preferable?

It was time for The Graduate to be photographed alone.

Getting back to the car proved to be a project. We waited and waited for a shuttle and then found out we were in the wrong place. It was an even longer walk than before to get to where we could take a short ride to the car. I’d driven to the Adopted Family’s home the night before so I was able to navigate right to it in plenty of time for the reception.

The layout was lavish by my standards. I would have probably set out some fruit and veggie trays and maybe some punch but this was a feast. To keep it away from the critters, there was a tent set up in the yard.

Then I saw how the balloons were used. All I can figure is, they must’ve done it before.

The food was wonderful. The mother of the best friend had contributed, too. I ate until I embarrassed myself. MY mother would have said I had a “comin’ appetite”. DH’s family had found the house and they enjoyed the meal, too. It was quite a spread.

When all the visiting was done and the tent of food laid waste, my sister and I went back to the dorm. Our “suite” was as hot as ever and I was dreading another night in it. So was my sister. So much so, she completely rebelled and said she would NOT stay there another night. She went downstairs and called the hotel and they were glad to reserve a room for us. Since it was her idea, she insisted on paying. Everything I had done so far was on plastic, therefore I didn’t argue. It was going to cut the visit with DD short but the hotel was much more comfortable.

We packed our things, bumped the suitcases down the stairs, loaded the car and I kissed DD goodbye.