Well, I saw two doctors yesterday. The Urologist told me that I am doing ok and to keep taking the medicine that he has prescribed. The second doctor is an ear, nose and throat surgeon and he is the one who has been treating/watching these crazy glands of mine. The one that keeps getting infected will be coming out in mid-Feb. We have a wedding on the 14th and he will operate after that. He said to expect a few days of pain (what else is new?) and that the downside to this is the possibility of infection (being a diabetic increases those chances)and nerve damage. He has done thousands of these surgeries and the chance of that is only 1-2%. So, I'll have this done and be finished with the infections that are coming now about every 5-6 weeks.

It is beautiful here today, after a day of cloudy skies, rain and pea-soup fog. It was so foggy by 3:30 yesterday afternoon, that I knew just what it would be like at 7:00 P.M. We did have some wind and some rain late last night and more rain during the night. We'll have a couple of days that feel like spring and then have a cool front come in and put us in the upper 60's. I can handle that!

I am trying to get the energy to bake a cake for church tomorrow. So far, that energy has just escaped me. Maybe this should just be a day to be lazy. I did finish up changing out all of the files in the cabinet and did breakfast and lunch dishes. I did a bit of "condensing" in the craft/storage/computer room and it gave me a little more working space at my table. I managed to make two cards, also, and have been working on a third one.

Susan's family is well now, except for her. She sounds really terrible but says that she is feeling better. Her voice sounds so strained but her sweet nature comes through it all.

We are having Chili for dinner and I'll cook a bit of macaroni to add to what I will have of it. I don't care for that at all and will mix a couple of spoons full of it to macaroni. Bill loves it and so he'll be a happy camper. By the way, Donna, I made your "Oven Chili Fries" the other day and they were very good. You had posted the recipe a while back and I put it into my recipe files. I only added a bit of onion powder to the mix before putting it over the potatoes. We had meat loaf and peas with it and Bill liked it.

Bill is working on a cradle for Jhacob and it will be in the shape of a Mustang car; his Dad just loves the Mustangs. Our SIL used to rebuild them and has trophies from car shows. He is rebuilding one now for a lady who knows their neighbor. Jhacob is so tiny and is sleeping in a bassinet but he'll grow soon; I hear that he is quite an eater.

Speaking of Mustangs, we saw a yellow one yesterday and the license plate was "YLO PONY" for yellow pony. I had a good chuckle over that one. Two other license plates seen yesterday were: "OLD I AM" and "DENT FIX" and we figured that that man was a dentist. Don't know the age of the other driver. From one of my favorite articles in the newspaper: "Seen on a bumper sticker; "Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet Him".

Take care and God bless.

Good afternoon on this rainy day in Texas. The weatherman missed his forecast (so what else is new) because they said the rain would come through last night and today would be nice. That didn't happen as it was okay this morning, but has been drizzly and rainy most of the rest of the day. It is also 54 degrees and yesterday the high was 72 so that is a change.

Lillian, the crib sounds adorable for little Jhacob. I'll have to adjust to spelling his name. That is really different, but I like that! Glad to hear that your family is finally all getting better. I know you hate to have more surgery, but I think it is the wise thing to do with the problems you have had with the gland infections. You can surely come up with different illnesses, don't you think? I know you don't plan it that way, though. Glad you liked the Oven Chili Fries. They are so much better for you than regular french fries and that is why I originally tried the recipe. If I'm not mistaken, it came from the Dallas Morning News.

I am taking some more classes at the Senior Center and had my first class this past Thursday. It is in Excel. I have used Excel in the past, but had forgotten most everything I knew about it so this will be a refresher for me as well as the other two classes I am taking.

We went to East Texas to visit friends this past Tuesday and on Wednesday afternoon late, a tornado touched down near their home. They didn't sustain any damage, but a small church and cemetery near their house did. The church was demolished and several headstones were blown off their bases, but fortunately none of them are broken. Her Dad is buried in the cemetery, but his stone was not damaged.

Guess it is time to put up the ironing board and see if I can get at least part of it done today.

Lillian
I know one of your daughters is gluten intolerant.
I was reading an article abount a grain out of Africa that is now grown in Idaho. TEFF that can be purchased as a grain or as flour that is supposed to be a very good replacement for regular flour.
Hope this can be of some use
Elyse

Lillian, my friend Patsy went to the doctor last week to have a sudden appearing neck lump checked. She has an infected gland and is on some expensive antibotic. She was better after just a couple of days but will finish the medicine. I wish you could have such luck and not have to face surgery.

Cheryll's mother passed away on Thursday night. Cheryll said that she couldn't bury her mother on a Sunday so she is going up tomorrow to make the final arrangements (Mrs. Hicks is already there) Don and I will go up Tuesday for visitation and the funeral. We will stay over and get the food ready for after the burial on Wed. One of the pallbearers called and told her he couldn't make it because his father had died and his funeral would be the same time as Mrs. Hicks burial.

Saw Maggie for just a few minutes this afternoon. She was going home with Brian for the night and Brian will be bringing her over to spend tomorrow with us. Maggie said that they had moved. I wonder if Karen will come here to pick Maggie up tomorrow afternoon. She has got to face us sometime.

We had some recessed lighting put in the bedroom that we are redoing and that has changed the look of the room so much. One of the lights is right over the computer and I love that. While Bennie was here (a young man married to LaRue's daughter)he put up a fan and wired in the new garbage disposal. Brian had put in the disposal but it was wired differently from our old rusted one and some new wires had to be put in. Don handled watching and not doing fairly well. His arm would have killed him if he had tried to put up the fan (bracing had to go up in the attic)Don knows and respects electricity so he didn't say much about Bennie doing the wiring under the sink. Don knew canned lighting was beyond his expertise. Bennie is an electrician with a company but does work on the side. He was tickled with the bread and choc. cake that I sent home with him--in addition to the money for the job, of course.

It has rained here all day and will get cold again tomorrow. Don said that he wouldn't be surprised to see snow or snow flurries on Wed. when we are in Newport.

Everyone stay well, Love, Bernice

Sorry to have been absent for a few days. I'll try to address each one of you.

Donna, We are having the weather system that came your way recently. We had rain, wind and now have very nice lower temperatures. It was so hot and muggy that our A/C was turned on to rid the house of dampness. I just couldn't cool down, either, so that A/C felt so nice. Right now, it is sunny and very windy. Yesterday, we were over 80º and today's high should be around 68. I'm a happy camper!

Yes, Jhacob's name is spelled so differently. His mom wanted it spelled that way. I wonder how it will be pronounced when he goes to school. I did get the spelling of his middle name, Christopher, right. We have a great grandson named Austyn, too. His mom wanted a "funky" spelling for his name. I think of when he is in his 20's and 30's and having a "funky" spelling to live with. I guess that I am in the "old folks" rut with this idea of different spellings.

I have made Oven French Fries often over the years, but didn't use the chili powder and cumin on them. I bake them and have even fixed them with a nice beading on them. All done without frying. They taste good and save lots of calories and fat intake. I'm all for that.

I admire you for taking the college classes. I've heard Leslie speak of Excel, but I don't know anything about it. I've thought of taking some courses, but decided that I wouldn't use the information enough to do that.

Elyse, yes, our youngest daughter, Leslie, is gluten intolerant and she has to be so careful. I passed the information that you sent on to her. She may already know about it. She has books on what brands are really gluten-free ans which are not. She can eat out at the Outback restaurant, but not others. Some say that they have a gluten-free menu and then they have turned around and served her dinner with a big slice of garlic bread on the plate or deep fried/breaded onion rings on her plate. She then has to return the whole thing because of cross-contamination. I keep her kind of bread crumbs, flour, a separate cutting board, spatula, pans and utensils. I can use stainless steel or glass cooking utensils here for her. They are not used for anything else. Thank you for sending the information; that was very kind. Richard sends a recipe for her every once in awhile. They are nice recipes and she appreciates that, too.

Bernice, I have been on so many antibiotics for this gland and they work, but I'll have another infection soon again. The antibiotics aren't to blame; I just keep getting infections in there. It's time to take it out and the surgery will be on Feb. 24. I don't know the time yet. I have to go in and have an EKG and have some blood work done.

I'm sorry to hear of the passing of Cheryll's mother. It is hard to lose our parents. I couldn't get home in time to see either of my parents before they passed away. Mother's was so quick and, with Dad, the doctor told my family to tell my brother and me that we didn't need to fly up as Dad was rallying. Well, that was on a Wed. and we had plane reservations to fly up on Thursday morning. Dad passed away on Thursday afternoon. Cheryll has had her hands full with the funeral. She sounds like such a nice daufhther

I had to leave the computer for a few minutes and came back to see that my message had been sent. Sorry about, too.

Maggie must be handling the move ok. She will know that you and Don are always there and that will make it easy for her.

Isn't it nice to do something new in your home? Just little things make it more modern, but your lighting change was major. Enjoy it all. That electrician was one lucky guy to go home his pay and some goodies to eat. Yum! I'd come to your house to do some work, too, for the goodies.

One last thing, here. From the morning paper: "Seen on a bumper sticker; 'Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once...."

To all, take care and God bless. He has certainly blessed us.

I couldn't believe my eyes a couple of days ago when I looked out the window to see 2 beautiful Azalea blooms and two buds in that luscious brilliant pink color. So many of the plants and trees here nave been nipped by the frost and freeze that lasted for 9 days here. The large palm in the front yard looks like a trunk with dried twigs on the top of it. It will all be trimmed when spring arrives. The Bird of Paradise in the front will be trimmed back to just above the ground but the Azalea bushes show no sign of distress. Of course, it helps that they are all in the south-east area of the house, protected from the north/northwest winds. However they survived, I am thankful to see them.

The man across the street had to cut all of his lovely Bouganvilla bushes way back and the poor kids next door have a whole yard of Halloween looking/ haystack looking plants in their yard. The cold weather was fine with me but the damage is horrible. Not only to citrus and strawberry crops and growers, but because of all of the water used to protect those crops, we now have hundreds of sinkholes (mostly around Plant City where the bulk of the strawberry crops are grown. Plant City is just northeast of Tampa), the aquafer is severely depleted and it has cost a fortune to repair homes and I 4.

It has just started to rain; we are getting the latest storm from CA and TX. It is supposed to rain all day now and into the evening. We surely need the rain, though. We will be cooler after today. Tomorrow should be in the upper 60's, if the weather people have it right.

I have to fix lunch and then bake some cupcakes for tomorrow. It is an old Pillsbury recipe that my family has always loved. They are called Malt Shake Cupcakes and if anyone wants the recipe, I'll post it here.

To all, take care and God bless.

Good Saturday evening....It's been a cold day here..just barely got above freezing and we are supposed to be in the 20's tonight. This global warming is going to freeze me to death.

Lillian, I can't believe your azaleas have buds. We used to have them, but with our winters and our sticky black soil, they take a lot of work to keep them alive so we opted for something easier, but nothing is prettier than azaleas. I love the vibrant pinks best. Tyler, in East Texas, has an azalea trail every year and we haven't been for several years and I told James we should try to make it this year. Our ferns and bouganviellas are in the greenhouse for the winter. James was checking them the other day and said the geraniums are blooming...much better than when we have them on the patio. They don't like the heat we have in the summer. Hope you get a good soaking rain. We had a little over 3 inches in our rain gauge yesterday morning. We lucked out and missed the snow and ice except for just a few flurries of snow, but Oklahoma really got hit hard again.

Since it was cold today, I made a pot of soup and that was our lunch. I made Chicken Enchilada Soup (which isn't very healthy), but we enjoyed it.
Will try to eat something more on my diet tonight.

I am still taking my classes at the Senior Center and am beginning to finally understand Excel. I set up a program on my computer here at the house and it works! I think my instructor will be surprised when I tell him next Thursday. The other class I am taking on Tuesday afternoon is much simpler, but think it will help me anyway. Once I am finished with these two classes, I am going to take another class for my digital camera.
I still need all the help I can get. Our son gave us a GPS and we have enough trouble setting it. It does help you get around Dallas, though.

Have a great Sunday....it is going to be cold getting to church tomorrow.
Wish I could drop in your church tomorrow and visit the coffee shop. The muffins sound great.

We have SNOW. We were to have a wintery mix starting Friday afternoon.The snow started about 10:30 a.m. After a while Don got his plastic and put it out on the deck to collect snow. He got a big pot that he put in the freezer. Soon after his collecting, we continued having snow, sleet, freezing rain; all of it. Yesterday morning Don kept hearing a noise from the heat pump unit outside. He went to investigate. There was a four inch high cube sitting on the heat pump. Some time along the line it melted some and the heat pump blades were hitting ice icicles that extended down into the unit. He had to spent about half an hour clearing that up. Friday the kids were sent home from school early which was a good thing. By dark it was a mess. Saturday it started melting. Brian and Maggie got over here for early dinner and some play in the snow at our house and Brian left before it started icing over. About everything around here was cancelled for this morning because it got down to 21 last night. It is to get warmer this afternoon and melt the ice. Our church had only one service (11:15). We didn't go. We have been hit once in the parking lot and it was not ice covered at that time! I have an eye appointment tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. but I am sure I can get to it. The sun is really drying up the roads and sidewalks right now. We ended up with 4 inches.

Cheryll's mother was buried Wed. Don and I went up on Tuesday for the visitation and funeral. It was colder up there than here. Of course, Newport is almost in the Smokey Mountains. The funeral was very well attended. On Wed. while everyone else was at the burial site, Don and I set up the food for the reception at the Church. We had plenty of food which was my main worry! (Never know how many to expect) We had about 25 who came back to the church. It was very cold that day and the grave site was on a hill. Cheryll said that in the summer it is very pleasant with a cool breeze blowing most of the time. Jimmy, her husband, got one of her neck scarfs to put over his head since he didn't have a hat on. Wish I could have seen that. We went over to the grave site before we left the area. We met some very nice people and we're glad we were able to help Cheryll. Thursday though, we were tired. When we left on Tuesday, I told Don that I felt like we were going on a mini vacaation. We haven't been anywhere since last Oct. to speak of. Upon entering the garage on our return, Don asked if I felt like I had been on vacation. I had to admit, no. He was tired too, and as always a big help.

Lillian, we have some azaleas that are called Encore. They bloom in spring,late summer and fall and are always pretty.

Don fixed us some oatmeal for breakfast. Haven't had that for awhile but it was warming. Think I will fix chili for supper. Don't know what time Maggie goes back to her mother today so I don't know if the kids will be over.

Keep warm. Love, Bernice

P.S. I bet Martha is snowed in. Her area got much more snow than we did. My brother in Richmond got 12 in., my friend in Roanoke got over 10 and my sister in law in Martinsville got 14. According to the almanac (which predidcted this last storm) says that we (Tn) are to get some more snow this coming week.

Schools were out today because of the snow. Not here in the valley (our roads are clear now) but because of Signal Mt. and Lookout Mt. Maggie was to go to daycare but they run on the school schedule so we had her. It was a very nice day with her. I opened the door this morning and this afternoon and was pleasant to Karen. I guess I will do anything for Maggie!!

Went to the eye doctor this morning and Don said that Maggie entertained the waiting room while I was back with the dr. Before I went back, Maggie came across a picture of Andrew Jackson in a magazine. I told her that he was president a long time ago. A young man told her that Jackson was the 7th president and that he was from Tenn. and she said, " Michael Jackson?" Had to clear that one up!

I thought that I was having trouble with my sight. What is wrong is dry eyes and the doctor said that we were going to have to treat it aggresively. I had an infected oil duct also. Once my dry eyes are treated she thinks that my sight will be ok. I am on three different eye drops and they put in plugs in the bottom lids. I have had the plugs before and that didn't help the dry eyes but she said that these were different. I go back in three weeks.

Don went over with Cheryll this afternoon with his truck and helped her load up her Mothers stuff from the assisted living place. Don said that it brought back so many memories of when my Mom and his Dad were in nursing homes. I never visited Mrs. Hicks at her place but saw her down at Cherylls'. Mrs Hicks was able to come and go until about 3 weeks before she passed away. I think that is wonderful.

One of the men in Don's SS class fell at Church this morning. He had to have surgery this afternoon. I have no idea why he was over there but it was early and he fell in the parking lot and layed there awhile until someone else came along. Another friend, Larry, fell Sat. and broke his leg in three places (in his driveway). I believe both cases involved black ice.

Stay warm and well. Love, Bernice

I am waiting until it is time to leave for my class at the Senior Center and thought I would drop in for a visit. My brain will be too tired to write anything once I've spent two hours in class today.

The weather is beautiful here, but we need to enjoy it as we have a front moving in and will have rain tomorrow afternoon and all day Thursday. At least it isn't snow and ice. Saw where the groundhog saw his shadow today so guess we can get ready for more winter.

Bernice, glad you explained to Maggie that Andrew Jackson was the 7th President and not Michael Jackson. You should write down all of her cute remarks so she can see them when she gets older. Sorry that you are having a problem with dry eye. I have it as does James. I have been religious about using drops every night and mine doesn't bother me anymore. The eye doctor told me in December she wished that all of her patients who needed eye drops would use them everyday. I was surprised. I am not always real good about following doctor's orders. I tried the plugs, but all my eyes did was water continuously and they had to remove them. James, however, had them put it and had no problem. Hopefully, the plugs and the drops will work effectively for you. Cheryll is most fortunate to have such wonderful friends as you and Don and I'm sure she is aware of it.

Lillian, hope you are doing okay. Have the azaleas bloomed or have you seen any more buds?

Well, guess it is about time to head for class so I had best get up from here and get my thoughts collected.

Bernice, I'm glad that you are getting treatment for the dry eyes. Isn't that miserable? I have had infected teat ducts (and clogged one, too) and that was no picnic. As Donna said, being sure to use those drops is the key in the treatment. When I saw the eye doctor last week, he indicated that I am close to having to use drops for the glaucoma soon. I have been called "suspect glaucoma" for a long time and am fortunate that it hasn't gone further. I have two brothers with it and, being diabetic, I am a candidate for it, anyway. I'll do what I have to do, when I have to do it, and be thankful for every day that I can see.

Your Maggie entertains all of us. She also has memories flooding back with our girls. When I was a child, I knew that Mother was a schoolgirl when Arizona became a state. I asked her if she had ever gone to school via stagecoach or if she knew Betsy Ross when she made the flag. Mother loved to tell that story and, when I was a bit older, told me that I'd get the same questions from my own children when I married and had any. Well, when Susan heard that old story, she looked at me and asked, "Well, did you?" (know Betsy Ross). Susan was like a little old lady when she was little.

I used to write down things that our girls did, or said, and I'd send them to my parents and Bill's. It was a way of "watching" their grand daughters grow up while we were stationed so far from home. Mother kept those pages for years; I don't know what happened to them when she died. I also wrote down what we saw as we traveled and what was interesting about each place where we lived. Mother was a history/geography buff and she always told me how much those "letters" meant to her. Wherever we lived, we took the girls to explore everything about the area. I made sure that they learned as much as possible about the states/areas where they lived. I, also, have always loved history and geography.

I loved Maggie's idea of who was the 7th president. At her age, I find it remarkable that she even knows about the last names being the same and she could come up with Michael Jackson so quickly. She is a very quick little girl and I know that you weren't at all disappointed that she had a day when her day care was closed and you had to keep her. I commend you, too, in your pleasant attitude toward Karen. Maybe your graciousness will be remembered and ease some tensions.

Donna, I don't know that I could even think of taking classes anymore. What a trouper you are! Young at heart and in mind!

We have a few more azalea blooms and buds and a large blossom on the ground from the wind and rain that we had. Yesterday, it rained all day and into early this morning, then the front brought a bit of a change for us. We were at 46º on Monday morning and closer to 50 this morning. Right now, the sun just peeped out for the first time since Sunday afternoon. We're expecting a real "gully washer" rain on Friday and then more cool. This is the craziest weather that I've seen in a long time. Martha lives in Charlotte, NC and they had snow the other day. I know how crazy it has been in PA, where my sisters live.

I'm sorry to learn of the falls that your friends took. An uncle of mine was more like a brother to us since there was only a few months between his age and my oldest sister, and he went through WWII without a scratch and came home to die in an auto accident when he hit black ice and crashed. I remember a nasty fall that I took on black ice, also, and it can happen so quickly, even when you are watching where you walk/drive.

Kudos to you for following the advice of your eye doctor in using those drops. When a doctor tells me that I have to do something to be well, I try my hardest to do it. Sometimes, I falter in the diet thing, but that isn't the norm.

Today and yesterday have been blah days. Lots of the usual pain and now my lower back is aching like a toothache, too. Ah, getting old is so wonderful!

To all, take care and God bless.

It may be my imagination but I think I am seeing much better today after only one day of treatment. It's surprising how only one drop of each of the three medicines can do any good--1 drop. I have to wait between times to use the drops so that I don't wash one out with the other. My first plugs had to be removed because my eyes watered constantly, also. The dr. said these were different but didn't go into how they were different but I'm not watering all the time like last time.

My friend Sue, who married Jerry at Christmas: Jerry has been short of breath so he went to the hospital yesterday morning for an arterorygram (no idea how to spell it, but they were to check his heart) They didn't do the procedure because blood test revealed Jerry had only half the blood that a nornal body has. Jerry was admitted to the hospital at once and given 2 units of blood. They did an upper GI yesterday. Talked to Sue about ten this morning and they were waiting for a colon doctor to come in and then she was going home to shower. Talked to Sue at 5 and they were still waiting
for the colon doctor and she hadn't been anywhere because she was afraid of missing the doctor. They did give Jerry 2 more units of blood today. I can't believe they are letting him stay in the hospital and not doing much testing. To me, today was a waste of time--just waiting. Don's friend who fell at Church had to have a hip replacement. They were getting him up today and he wasn't looking forward to that.

Donna, I admire you. I have told Don that if I ever express an interest in going back to work or school that I have lost it and get me some help. I know taking classes are good for you but I don't think that I could take the "pressure" any more.

Today has been a bad day for Don, pain wise. It is cold and wet. This afternoon I sent him to his lounge chair with a heating pad for his shoulder. He woke up feeling somewhat better. He got up early today (6) to take his Celebrex, hoping that would help him get back to sleep, but it didn't help.

Stay warm and well, Love, Bernice

Don and I spent the afternoon at the hospital: waiting. Jerry, Sue's husband, was finally scheduled for a colon check this afternoon and Don and I decided to go down and wait with her. Also, she wanted someone with her when the doctor talked to her afterwards. The doctor couldn't find any places where Jerry was bleeding and decided maybe he wasn't losing blood but not making blood. The doctor ordered two tests for tomorrow, an x-ray of the small bowel and a biopsy of the bone marrow. Once he gets out of the hospital, Jerry is a candidate for the "swallow" the camera procedure but that has to be done on an outpatient basis. I don't know when the heart procedure will be done--the original reason that he went down to the hospital. Don's friend that fell at church and had to have a hip replacement passed out this morning and had to be put in iccu. While I was waitin with Sue, Don went hunting for Bills' wife and sat with her for awhile. Don couldn't find his way back to us so he went directly to Jerry's room to wait. Once Jerry got back and the doctor had talked with Sue, I went looking for Don. On the way, I passed the waiting room for the iccu and stopped to talk with Doris. While i was there (it was 3:45 by then) Doris was called back to see Bill. I didn't stay but everyone is afraid that Bill had/has a blood clot. I finally found Don in Jerry's room and about then Jerry and Sue came back to the room. We didn't stay much longer. Jerry wanted something to eat since he hasn't had much for the last three days. He was to eat light. Don and I stopped on the way home to grab a bite. We felt almost guilty eating a good supper while Jerry had to eat light and hospital food at that. Sue said that Jerry had lost the weight that he had gained on the honeymoon cruise.

Family and friends in Virginia are getting more snow. I noticed that for Sat. we were to have rain/snow showers. They have now taken out the rain part and just have snow showers. Last time they said snow showers it was plain snow. We'll see.

Stay warm and well, Love, Bernice

Gosh Bernice, you have sure had your share of sick people lately, haven't you? I sure hope they find the cause of Sue's husband's problems. Seems as though I remember that severe anemia can cause shortness of breath, but I may have dreamed that one up. When I quit work (medical underwriting) I think I forgot everything I knew about medical stuff. This is no way to start off married life and hope your friend from church is out of ICU. If he does have a blood clot, that is so scary. James had hip replacement surgery several years ago and he had leg pain one afternoon and they immediately did an imaging of the leg to make sure there was not a blood clot and fortunately for us, there wasn't. How are your eyes? Improved, I hope.

We are enjoying the sunshine this afternoon as we have not seen it all week, but that is only supposed to last until Sunday afternoon and then it is back to rain and drizzle.

James just heard on TV that a major freeway in Dallas is closed in both directions due to a chemical spill and would be closed for at least three or four hours and it Friday afternoon. What a mess traffic will be there. Glad I'm not out there trying to get home.

Had a very trying day yesterday with my computer class and I was totally wiped out when I got home. I told James I must be nuts! Of course, I am so headstrong that I will work until I finally get it figured out.

Have a good weekend.....

Bernice, Donna is right...you have had your share of illnesses with, and around, you. Remember Murphy's Law? Well, Murphy doesn't just live here with us, he lives with you and your friends.

I do pray that Sue's husband will be alright. How terrifying it is to see your loved one so ill and feel so helpless. We have all been there, I think. Please keep us updated on Jerry and Don's friend from church.

I am happy that your sight is improving. I wish that mine would do the same. There is nothing like sight and hearing to make you appreciate what is around you and that we take for granted. I love to go out in the morning and listen to the birds, watch the squirrels scurrying around and see the beautiful sky. I love December night skies best with all of the stars so bright.

We went to Susan's yesterday for awhile because it was our SIL's birthday. We got to see, and hold, Jhacob and he is so tiny and so beautiful. He has a full head of hair and he slept in my arms for quite awhile. I sure did get some good burps from him and even a smile (which I know was just baby gas, but I felt as though that smile was meant for me). Oh, my, he is so small, but he is gaining ground. Hailee was there for a short time and she is now up to 13lbs. and is now 24" long. She has the chubbiest cheeks and is so quick to laugh. Babies! Oh, how I love them!

I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow for a check up for the clearance for surgery and for a follow up with the back. Oh, this back! I'm going to tell the doctor that, after this gland is taken care of, I want the back to be taken care of, too. It is not healing by itself and the lower back is now a mess, too. This had gone on far too long and I want to get back to normal.

I am making a chicken casserole and it smells so good in here. I haven't been eating right, lately, but I think this will go well for me this evening. Tomorrow will be meat loaf and baked potato along with some veggie that I haven't thought of as yet. I'll again make 3 meat loaves and put two of them in the freezer. Sure helps when I'm tired after doing some work around here.

Donna, I really admire you for your ability to take your classes. I realize that I couldn't do that now because it would all be too confusing to me. I think that I have a bit of a fear of the computer and I do know that I am not too friendly with any of the new electronic gadgets. Gee, the LED clocks still confuse me....so, what does that tell you about me? LOL!

Gotta run and do more towards dinner.

Take care and God bless.