Catching up

Since I last posted we've had Mother's Day and Memorial Day...both of which constituted a command appearance in Tallahassee.

Mother's Day was, of course, at the country club. Mother, Bert, Nancy P., Nancy & Mark and I attended. Good food and fun company. Both Rosie and Prentice called...LOVE hearing from them! Prentice is going to do my kitchen for me!!!!! I'm thrilled!

Yesterday was Memorial Day. Once more at the country club. This time it was different. It was a wonderful bar-b-que cooked outside and eaten outside. Nice weather, clear (no smoke) and breezy. Had to fuss at Mother. She jumped on Nancy (verbally)...I told her in private not to do it anymore. Hope it works, she hurts Nancy's feelings so badly and so often. I blow up at her when she pulls that stunt with me, but Nancy internalizes and stews.

Got two kittens last week. A little grey tabby and a little grey-black thing. Not from the same litter, in fact not even from the same towns. They get along quite well and are (as kittens are) a hoot! They are living for now in my bathroom. Thank goodness it's very large and they have lots of romping room. They were both 6 weeks old on Friday and are just too tiny to be loose in the house. Too many places for them to get stuck or lost. Them come into my room with Shirley to play...they LOVE Shirley! Goodness and Mercy are afraid of them!!! Oh, Smokey and The Bandit!

HWB's baby still hadn't arrived as of last Friday. The first due date was the 11th, then they changed it to the 19th. Told HWB when I left on Friday that maybe the baby (don't know the sex) would wait until this coming Thursday...full moon.

Had Nancy over for a little cookout on Sunday. Actually grilled! Hot dogs and hamburgers. Had slaw, yellow rice and black bean salad, baked beans, curried deviled eggs and sweet tea. Nancy brought cherry ice cream and brownies. Good eats!

Hope to post a little more often now that my new computer is acting better.

EEK!

With the weather as hot and dry as it is now work is even slower than it would normally be this time of year.

Yesterday I was looking for something to do (I can only surf the net for so many hours a day without going totally batty!), so I decided to clean out the refrigerator at work. I found things from Easter still in there! Then I found a white kitchen trash bag that I didn't recognize. Tried to pull it out, but it was quite heavy, so I just pulled it forward enough to look in it. My mistake! It was a rattlesnake...bigger around than my upper arm. Scared the pea turkey out of me!!! Stuffed it back and closed the door...left HWB a note on his desk and just had the heeby jeebies for the rest of the afternoon. I sure hope it's gone when I get in this morning!

Hot, hot, hot

All last week we got up into the 90's...they're saying this morning it'll be only in the 80's! Thank goodness! I started using the air conditioner last Sunday. I hate that!

I'm getting ready to pay my electric bill, $50.71...bet it'll be the last one that low for a while...oh well.......

Not much going on, working, cleaning house, trying to stay on top of the yard work (being very sparing with the watering).

Our local Congressman called yesterday (old classmate) and invited me to join him and some other classmates at his house for dinner....just couldn't. Had just taken the garbage out to the road and was dirty and sweaty from yard and house work and still had a multitude of things to do in order to make my week doable. Was offered a rain check. Accepted.

One more episode of Survivor on Thursday and then the finale on Sunday. Always hate to see each season end!

The Beach

Oh, it's over! It went much too quickly! Our beach vacation is now in the past...it was wonderful!

Thursday Nancy and I set out in two cars for St. Teresa. We each had a dog and enough supplies to last us through hurricane season!

It was around 6:30 when we got there and had to turn on the power to the house and the pump house and then turn on the water, so it was 7ish when we got the cars unloaded, etc. I made a vat of Mexican pasta salad and that was just right for supper (and 3 more meals!) and I took the little tv and dvd player from here so we were delighted to put our feet up, eat and watch Survivor! Actually the reception with rabbit ears was just awful, but we got enough of it to sorta follow the game and see who got voted off (Mookie!!!!). Then we sat on the porch and froze to death while we watched the storm (no rain of course, just major wind) blow in.

Neither of us knows how Friday passed as quickly as it did...we walked the dogs on the beach several times (plastic bags in pockets), ate, napped, ate, carried an 8' ladder through the woods to look through the windows of a house that's for sale, ate, rocked on the porch and then it was time to cook out. Nancy brought her grill and supplies along with two beautiful steaks which she grilled to perfection. She made her famous baby greens, blueberry, feta, pecan salad with videlia onion dressing and loaded potatoes! My one contribution was Texas toast that I grilled and it was good! We ate and watched "Two Weeks Notice" and had trouble keeping our eyes open!

Two of Nancy's friends came down Saturday morning and we ate and played bridge from 9am till 5pm. Then we went back to Panacea and ate at the Harbor House. Fantastic seafood, great service and a table over looking the water! Saw something none of us had seen before, this big machine with long arms scooped up boats from the water at the pier and loaded them into little cubby holes stacked 4 or 5 deep! Fun to see! After dinner Donna and Noreen went back to Tallahassee and Nancy and I took our loaded take out boxes and went back to the house. We watched "The Devil Wears Prada" and drank wine until 12:30, that's very late for both of us!

The refrigerator died sometime Friday. Luckily each of us had taken a cooler and the BP down the road had ice.

We saw a bald eagle, many woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, wrens, terns, cranes, and several formations of pelicans that flew right in front of the porch lots of times! We saw porpoises directly in front of the house a few times and a funny little lizard with markings on his back like a rattle snake and horny protrusions all over his head! Great fun!

Sunday was another beautiful day, just much too short! We left at 3:30 and Shirley and I were home by 5...not bad! We are both looking forward to doing this again sometime...hope it's soon!

I'm so glad I took today off from work, too! I am SO tired even after a good nights sleep and every part of me hurts from my feet (I'm sure from walking on the beach so much) to my neck and everything in between!

Even though it was wonderful, it's sooooo good to be home! (Goodness and Mercy sure are glad we're home, too!)

Yesterday we celebrated Mother's birthday. It actually isn't until tomorrow...she'll be 82. It's funny, I was trying to think of something pleasant to say about her...she'd like this...she looks remarkable for her age, dresses beautifully and finally changed her hair-do. Okay, except for the hair-do part she'd like that. Nancy and I drove down to the Seineyard and met Mother and Bert. As usual, we pigged out and had major leftovers to bring home. I just had shrimp, scallops, grouper, fries and a hush puppy for breakfast (wonderful) and there's still more left for lunch!

Our busy time at the nursery is done...hate that! I absolutely love it during the busy time. I still enjoy it because of the people there and the surroundings, but I am crazy bored now. I'm not good at busy work and am tired of surfing the Internet for 6-7 hours every day.

I'm really considering early retirement. I could do that September 1st...just couldn't live on the amount of money I'd receive. Sure wish I could find something to do to bring in enough money to make the difference in SS $'s and real life!

Haven't done anything toward remodeling the kitchen yet...wish Prentice were here. I know he could do it and I know I'd like it. I'd like that entire room gutted and redone. It's sorta an awkward room, open on both ends and taller than it's wide. Wish there were a tv program to do it for me!

Finally had to break down and get Shirley a new harness. After she was spayed a few months ago she really puffed up! Now she knows how I feel! Of course when she hurt her hip that slowed her down considerably, but it's well now I think. Anyway, she now is the proud owner of a lovely hunter green harness and it looks soooo good on her!

Wild weather!

On March 3rd we got under an inch of rain. We didn't get more until last night. We got about an inch. We've been so cold that I've built fires and so hot that I entertained the idea of turning on the air conditioner (but didn't!). Now it's cold again and I'll have a fire going for at least the next three nights! Crazy!

Lately it's been impossible for me to get on blogspot to post. Then today I tired once more and did.

Last Sunday was Easter and after almost 4 years I finally got to meet my new step sister. She and my sister have the same name, so that shouldn't be a problem. We had a good time and good food.

Missed work Monday because of a weather induced migraine and even though I went to work on Tuesday the dumb head ache lingered until Thursday in one way or another, mainly visual.

Friday we closed at 1pm for an employee cookout. I did everything but the meat. We had pheasant, wild turkey, quail and venison along with a giant salad, baked beans, rolls and brownies. It was good and I came home at 3:30. Not bad.

Next Saturday we're doing Mother's 82nd birthday and then the following weekend is the beach! Sure am looking forward to that!

Spring Gardens

The azaleas made one of their best shows this spring...I so enjoy this yard! Three sides are bordered with 6'-8' tall azaleas in coral, white and purple. Everything was in bloom at once with the red buds and dogwoods dripping with wisteria and orange trumpet vine and spirea blooming all around and, of course the camellias! Of course I took no pictures, just hope the mental image lasts!

Now I'm waiting for the hydrangeas, irises and crape myrtles to do their thing! Ain't spring grand!

Reconnedted, finally!

It's been a couple of weeks or so since I've posted.....dumb computer was in and out of the shop and then was totally dead for a while. Finally I went to Tallahassee Saturday and got a new one. A nice little Gateway desk top variety that no other hand or brain has interfered with. I guess this is the first new computer I've had and getting it all set up and on line was a major challenge.

Actually, the set up part was a piece of cake except for the monitor...I couldn't get the base attached. It took several attempts with breaks in between before it finally dawned on me that perhaps I should turn it around and try it that way. Presto! went right in! It's one of those skinny LCD monitors and it's absolutely amazing how much more desk top space is available now!

No real news. Work was CRAZY busy for a couple of months, now (as of Friday) it's dead! Of course, the weather plays a major part in that. We are quite dry and hot...88 yesterday and it's been several weeks since it's rained and the weatherman just said there's none in sight this week! In fact he said "get your sprinklers out"! I'm doing a little hand watering, nothing else.

Mother and Bert will not be going to Italy after all. Mother had an incident last week. She woke up with the room spinning. Bert ended up calling for an ambulance and they went to the emergency room. They found nothing wrong, gave her a shot and a prescription and sent her home. Bert told Nancy that there was no way he'd take her out of the country and risk something like that or worse happening. They'll do something in the states.

Helen's still hanging in there. A few weeks ago she went to the doctor for testing and they found that she's diabetic. She's not eating right and probably won't. The tumors are slow growing, but they found they had increased in size. Her memory is so severely impacted. It's quite painful for me to talk with her. In one conversation she'll repeat herself many times and each conversation is a repeat of the last 100.

I've had a hard time getting on Blogger lately, not to read blogs, but to post. I've tried several times from work and off and on yesterday. This is this first time I've been able to log on. Wonder if they're having problems?

Saturday morning in Tallahassee

Yesterday I met Mother and Nancy at Bradley's Country Store at 8:00 for breakfast. We each had a Pepsi and a 12" country sausage with sauteed onions on a bun! Good eating! We sat out under a very old oak tree to eat at a picnic table that looked like it grew there! The weather was perfect and we really did have a nice time.

After we ate we walked across the road to let Maria potty and to look at some goats in the field...the goats were a hoot! They had wide rather high ramps that they were playing on, butting each other off and running up and down. Fun to watch. Mother said she couldn't walk the whole way (maybe 50 yards) so she went back and sat in her car until we got back. Then we sat back out at the picnic table and talked for a while more.

Mother had called earlier in the week and said she was going to have my kitchen remodeled. Yeah! I did tell her I thought it was a wonderful idea, but I would have to have final say on style and color. She very begrudgingly agreed.

So when we left Bradley's I followed Mother to Lowes...only she got confused and sorta turned around and had to pull over and I had her follow me. Anyway, we got there. We looked at lots of styles and when she saw what I had in mind she seemed less worried. My back was bothering me and I suggested that we each take some brochures home and look at them and then on another day we could look again. We did get a light for the dining room, but she called a while ago and suggested that I put it in the funny little room off the kitchen and go with another one we saw for the dining room...think she's right. I'll have the kitchen, dining room, funny little room and the kitchen painted all the same color...sorta a moss green, nice depth and rich color. I want to have the carpet ripped out of the dining room and of course the floor in the kitchen redone. The window over the sink also needs to be replaced.

This is rather exciting! I'm going to have to have an electrician put a 220 outlet for the stove on the opposite wall of the kitchen and they'll have to do wiring for the hood and the dishwasher and hang the two light fixtures and put an outlet on the front porch and put a light outside the french doors and I have two light bulbs that have to be changed.

Then I'll need a painter and a plumber!

I'm afraid this may become a bigger project than Mother thinks it will be. Those walls in the kitchen are plaster and I'm afraid that when the cabinets are taken down it'll all come down too and then there's the sheetrock thing that'll probably have to happen. Also, the floor isn't level at all and it needs to be jacked up...could be a very major undertaking!

Leah Jane had a brunch for Ann's birthday today. We began with Blood Marys and ended with birthday cake with a lovely casserole and sausage and biscuits and hot fruit in between! There were 6 of us and we laughed and ate and had fun!

We had a storm!

We all knew on Thursday morning that a storm was coming...we talked about it at work and it was on the radio and tv.

When I got home a little after 1 on Thursday I cleared the patio of furniture and plants and things...just put them against the house and shrubbery in the back, brought some of the little things in. The only thing I left in place was the rug that I have out there.

I sat bolt upright in bed at 2 am Friday morning thinking that something had fallen on the house. The wind and rain was Charley loud and then another giant boom of thunder with the lightening happened and the power went off. The storm really didn't last all that long, maybe an hour or so and then it was just hard rain.

This mornings paper said that it still hadn't been confirmed that at tornado had touched down in Jefferson County, but the physical evidence pointed in that direction. Any way, we were without power county wide for 6+ hours. After seeing what happened in Andolusia, AL I think we should all count our blessings!

The power came back on around 9:40 am yesterday morning. Then I showered and dressed and went to the bank. They had only been open for about 1/2 hr. when I got there and the line was a million people long! I waited. Deposited my paycheck (such as it is!) and headed to the Social Security office in Tallahassee.

Turns our that when I got there they hadn't been open very long either. Seems there were pocket of power outages all over Leon County too. My sister said here power went off just long enough for her to have to reset her clocks, but then stayed on.

Anyway, since I moved into the house about 2 years ago I haven't gotten a statement of benefits from SS and seeing as how I'm turning 62 this year I thought it was time to make sure that I really was still in the system and I need to know what I can expect to draw if I do take early retirement. I'll only have SS and have no savings or other source of income. The young fellow that waited on me was rather condescending and a little less than helpful at first. I told him I wanted to change my address with them (I'd already tried on the phone and on line and since I'm not at present receiving benefits I had to wait until the IRS notified SS about a change of address). Well, damn it, I just didn't care for that! The IRS has managed to find me to deliver tax return forms for two years, but it seems they still hadn't told SS that there was an address change. This sightly bored young man gave me the same run around. And finally I said, "Just when do you think they'll get around to sending me this information? I'm thinking about taking early retirement this year and I need to be able to make some plans." With that his head whipped around to me and he looked at me and said "Just how old are you?" and I said "I'll be 62 this year." At that he became quite chatty and helpful. Changed my address in the system, printed out an estimated benefit statement and gave me some advice. The way things look I'll really have to keep working full time...and I'm just so tired!

Left there and went to K-Mart and Walmart. Got pet food and kitty litter.

Got to my sister's house around 1:30, just as she was pulling into her driveway. We sat and visited for an hour or so and then went to pick up Maria from the vets. She was there to be spayed. Well, it turned out that she has a blood clotting factor problem and they didn't do the surgery. She's to be on medication for 3 weeks and then they'll check her again and probably do it then.

We took Maria back to her house and then went shopping at High Cotton!! Love that store! and, everything in the store was 20% off! Didn't get much, a candle and a pair of dish towels, oh, and we both got cards for Mother and Bert's birthdays! They're hoots! Had fun.

Then, we went to the Outback Steakhouse...got there at 4:20 (gift certificates from the Merrit Island group) and ate hardy!!!

Got home at 6:30 and was POOPED!!

Fell asleep in my chair watching tv and woke at 10 and got in bed. Didn't get up until 10 this morning. It's 4:15 in the afternoon and all I've done today is put the patio back together and clean the stove top...I've not even finished the newspaper!

Thank goodness tomorrow's Sunday!

Company!

Tuesday night Prentice and Cynthia came to visit on their way back to NC.
It was good to finally meet Cynthia and as always WONDERFUL to see Prentice!

Wednesday morning before they left out they came by my work and got a glimpse of the nursery where I work. It's never easy seeing someone you love leave, but it was easier for me for them to leave from where I work than from home...it's always so empty at home...at work I had work.

Our weather has taken another wierd turn. Yesterday it was hot! I tried to sit on the patio to read the newspaper and had to keep chasing the shade!

It's winter here!

We had really become quite complacent here about the weather! Just because it has been so spring-like that everything is in bloom and we've been wearing light weight clothing we forgot that it's only February! NOW we remember! It's cold!

Every night I carry in 3 armloads of fire wood and use it all! I'm so glad I got the long cord of wood back when folks thought I was nuts to worry about it, because it's at a premium now and hard to find. I'm keeping the thermostat set on 60 and with a roaring fire we are staying quite cozy.

Last night I did add another comforter to the bed, but with Shirley, Goodness and Mercy on the bed with me I probably could have done without it. However, they are saying that tonight and tomorrow night will be much worse.

Had to make a mad run to Tallahassee for HWB yesterday. He's selling things on e-bay and had promised a fellow that he'd overnight a dumb golf club...our Post Office closes at noon on Thursdays as well as the bank. So I missed my afternoon off, but at least it was out of the office! Got back to the office at 3:15 and home before 3:30.

No plans for the weekend, I'd thought I'd take Nancy her birthday present which finally came in, but I used my Tally trip yesterday to drop it by her house. What a relief! I'm looking forward to staying in and vegging all weekend! Maybe I'll finish that new Stephen King book I've been reading for weeks. It's very good, I just don't have much spare time!

The animals are in heaven with their new fenced area...Mercy goes out a lot, but is always ready to come in when I whistle.

Two New MOTHER stories

Last Saturday Mother, Bert, Nancy and I had lunch together at the Seine Yard in Woodville. Lunch was wonderful as always and we had a very nice visit.

As Nancy, Bert and I were having dessert Mother suddenly piped up with "I haven't had chocolate this year"...I thought just a moment and told her that that wasn't true...about a month ago Mother, Nancy and I had lunch together and afterwards went back to Mother's house where she took a large box of chocolate out of the freezer and we sat out on the porch and pigged out! Then two weeks ago after shopping the three of us went to Ruby Tuesday's and Mother was the only one who had dessert...a giant chocolate cake thing with ice cream and stuff and she finished it all! After I reminded her about those two times that I knew of she said "Oh, does that count?"!

The restaurant was quite crowded when we were ready to leave. Nancy and I dodged the crowd and got to the front quickly, but were stopped by a large crowd coming in. As we stood there waiting to get around I felt a little tug on my sleeve. I looked down and it was Mother. She said "I'm Jane Fl*****r", I smiled and said "I'm Jane C*******d. She got a strange look on her face and said "Oh, I looked across the crowd and saw you and thought 'I think I know that lady, she sure looks familiar.'"!

They are going to Italy in May. I hope Bert keeps a close eye on her...she may get lost!

Yesterday was my 3hr. off day. I cleaned out the carport, moved my old wood pile to the new one, did some weeding and planted a couple of crape myrtles. My arms and shoulders ache this morning!

Yeah! It's FRIDAY!!!

Early Spring!

Well, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow this morning, predicting an early Spring. Do you suppose Global Warming has anything to do with that? This has been an extremely odd winter with bitter cold and summer-like heat...with the heat predominating. Has been good for the utility bills, but everything begins to bloom and then we have a freeze! Had 3 1/2 inches of rain last night with lightning and thunder that made one think of summer! Odd, odd, odd!

Yesterday was my sister's 58th birthday. I'll be going to her house tomorrow and then we'll meet Mother and Bert at the Seine Yard at 4:00 for a SEAFOOD celebration! I always get the same thing there and have a ton to take home afterwards...plan-overs!

It's very quiet here at work this morning, HWB has been out of the country on a fishing trip for a week and Paul left yesterday for a trade show in Mobile. I had 3 deliveries scheduled for this morning and 2 of them have called to postpone their loads until Monday because of the rain last night. So our driver will have one short jaunt to Tallahassee and then he'll be off for the rest of the day...wish I were too! Didn't even have my afternoon off yesterday so today bodes long!

Leah Jane invited me to a Super Bowl party on Sunday...I begged off!!!

Had a man out Tuesday to give me an estimate on doing a fence for me.......3 legs 50' each and a couple of gates...$1,500.00! At the rate my sock drawer is filling it'll take me another 5 years to save that! I'm thinking about trying to do it myself...don't know if I can or not, but it's worth a try!

Winter has finally arrived...sorta...

By watching and listening to the news I know the rest of the country has had rather odd weather this winter, but I'm sure it feels more personal where you are.

So far we've had more warm weather than cool this winter season. My wood pile has hardly been touched! Of course we have 2-2 1/2 more months to go, so no telling what'll happen!

There was a nice little article in the local paper on Friday about me earning certification.

Helen's calling less than daily lately...that's a good thing!

I spent Saturday in Tallahassee. Mother met Nancy and me at Talbots and we did some major shopping and then went to lunch. Had a rather decent time...at lunch Mother got rather nasty a couple of times and the second time instead of ignoring it I called her down...she went mad! I told her she got her panties in a wad just too easily. She looked at me and said "my what?" ... I said "your panties" ... she looked at Nancy and said "what about my panties?" ... Nancy said (loudly) "They're in a wad!". Mother took in a large gasp of breath and started laughing. She laughed until she had tears rolling down her face. It ended up being quite funny.

Mother went home after lunch and Nancy and I went to an art gallery and had a very nice afternoon. Got home around 7pm,

Sunday was Prentice's 37th birthday.

Mysteries of life?

Wow! This past week I've been sick as a dog! Everyone else in town has been too. All the guys at work started a couple of weeks ago with flu, even Paul and HWB. I kept things wiped down with antibiotic wipes and was compulsive about hand washing...really thought I'd escaped and then last Wednesday started running a fever and feeling just awful. I actually slept for 48 hours, getting up long enough to take care of basic needs like litter boxes, Shirley in and out and my personal needs. By Saturday afternoon I felt well enough to sit up in my chair in the living room for about 4 hours and then on Sunday felt almost human.

Went to work yesterday (Monday) and had the longest 8 hours I ever remember. I'm still very tired with chest congestion and achy muscles, but think I'm on the up hill side of this. Funny thing, I had the flu shot!

In two weeks my baby boy will be 37 years old. Wow! Wish I had an address for him. He's sorta out of pocket now that he's in North Carolina.

I Passed!!!!

I took the 3 hour certification exam yesterday and passed all four sections. HWB also took the exam and passed the first 3 sections, but didn't pass the 4th which was the 90 minute open book part. In his defense, he didn't read the book (I read it 2-3 times and studied several sections again and again). He'll have 2 more times to take it. I hope he will.

Now, I have no idea what this certification will do for me, but I'm quite proud to be able to say that I'm now a Certified Horticulture Professional! Certified by FNGLA (Florida Nursery Growers Landscape Association)! This certification is good for 3 years and then I'll either have to take it all over again or have 15 hours of study in selected fields. Of course by then I'll be 65 and may not care to continue...we'll see.

We've had lots of rain since Christmas. It's raining right now and is expected to continue until Tues. or Wed. I do like it, but it's getting a bit soggy!

I have a new favorite movie, "The Devil wears Prada"! What a hoot!

The new year

Happy 007 everyone!

I stayed home New Years Eve, nothing very new about that! Was in bed by 9 o'clock, but woke up about 20 till 12...just in time to see the ball drop and go back to sleep.

I did spend the day Sunday (New Years Eve Day) in Tallahassee with Nancy. We did some shopping and some eating and visited a while. Was home before dark. Nice day.

Monday Leah Jane had folks over for bloody marys and Ann and I stayed for New Years Day food. I took a mess of greens (a mixture of turnips and mustards) and we had venison sausage, black eyed peas and cornbread. What a feast! Home by 3.

It was so hard to go back to work on Tuesday. This short week has felt 4 weeks long!

My certification exam is tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Christmas 2006

I woke this morning at 5am with the sense of anticipation that I've had every Christmas morning for the past 61 years! 61 Christmas mornings! I find that just amazing! Wonder how many more are written in my book of life?

It's pouring rain and warm this morning. A few tornado watches in the surrounding area and high wind alerts everywhere. Boy! We really need this rain, what a Christmas gift!

At 9 this morning I'll go get Ann (I think she'll follow me...she needs to get back for 2 parties) and we'll go to my sister's house in Tallahassee...she's planning a light breakfast for us. From there we'll go to Wakulla Springs Lodge for a fabulous Christmas dinner buffet. I was there two years ago and the food was unreal! An entire room was just desserts!!!!! (I have a couple of baggies in my purse!)

Mother and Bert are going to Quincy to Bert's family. They were planning to go to the mountains as they did last year, but Mother said she just couldn't make the trip...truth be known, there were a couple of parties she didn't want to miss!

We closed the nursery at noon on Friday and will reopen Wednesday AM.

Around 2 on Friday afternoon HWB called and asked me to go up to the parent company's office and meet a fellow with cases of candy he ordered and lead him to our office to unload in the kitchen. I got there at 2:15, the fellow didn't arrive until almost 3! Got that all done and was back home (in the rain) by 3:30. Built a little fire and just vegged the rest of the day! Lovely!

Spent Saturday and Sunday doing little chores around the house and enjoying the rain. Had a fire last night and Shirley, Goodness, Mercy and I enjoyed it while watching Christmas movies on TV. Very nice Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas everyone! My love to you!

Sick people

Ann has been sick for the past week...Fever, bad chest congestion, cough, etc...Yet she has insisted on going out and going to work. I decided after sitting across the table from her on Sunday that I wasn't going to be exposed to her or any other sick person if I could avoid it. You know me, I even told Ann that it wasn't fair of her to go around folks while she's sick. She did go to the doctor yesterday and got a prescription...Said at 5:00 yesterday afternoon that she took it at 2:00 and was much better! Yeah, right!

Well, I begged off on the Historical Society dinner last night because Ann was going...Plus Leah Jane's showing signs of getting sick, too. We had reserved a table together and I just couldn't see sitting with the two of them for a couple of hours. I lied and said Prentice was to call at 8:00 and I didn't want to miss his call!

Shirley had her stitches removed yesterday afternoon...All two of them! She's doing great!

Nancy and Maria have settled into a routine and Nancy's enjoying having her, but she's still angry with Mother!

My final exam is scheduled for January 6th. Fancy that.