Thanksgiving Dinners

Yes, I had 3 Thanksgiving dinners; at Dale & Shirley's with the Martin siblings; with Joel & Sharon and the Bearden Bunch, and with Rita and Gregg with Judy's bunch. I really enjoy being around so much family. We all had some good visiting and lots of fun. At Rita's we played "Imagine if . . ." it's a good game to play to see how well you all know each other. Lots of fun!!

Waldo and I are looking forward to going to WA & OR to spend Christmas and New Years with Kerry and Travis and families. I did a little decorating today. I am going to have all my sibllings and spouses over on Dec. 9 for dinner and visit. I moved here to be closer to them and don't see some of them very often. Now that I have help with the heavy housecleaning, I feel ok to have company.

I woke up yesterday morning with a terrible headcold. I could hardly breathe. I took some propolis (a natural antibiotic from Brazil made from bee 'stuff') I then slept 3 hours and woke up with clear sinuses feeling much better. I took another dose this morning and feel like the cold is all gone. I will be teaching 4th grade on Thurs. & Friday this week. I'm glad I'm feeling better; otherwise I would have cancelled the teaching job.

My Legs Still Hurt!

Last week I worked 2 1/2 days. I did 1/2 days for Kindergarten, 2/3 grade, and 5th grade, and a full day of 4th grades. That was Tue., Wed., and Thurs. Thurs. night I went to bed at 8 p.m. I actually fell asleep on the couch before that, but went up to bed then. Waldo was real good about letting me go to bed early. But he was up at 5 am. and had to go potty. Then I lay back down on the sofa until 8 am.

Friday I went out to lunch with Judy and Betty - Judy drove, I was just too tired. Today, Judy, Paul, Renata, and I went to Kohl's sale because Judy had a 30% off coupon. We all used it and pretty much finished our Christmas shopping. The 30% really works nice when they have lots of stuff already on 50-80% off; another 30% makes it worth while to go! Now REnata is cleaning my house and I am going to go take a nap.

And Time Marches On. . .

I had my sleep study last night. The first half of the night I did not have a C-Pap machine on. I don't feel that I slept at all! My my restless legs were so active! About 1 or 2 am they put a C-Pap on me. In a little while I went to sleep and seemed to sleep well until about 6:15 am. I won't find out the results until Nov. 20th when I go to the doctor again. I think they will have to adjust the pressure on my machine. I just now purchased my airline ticket to go to Portland for Christmas. I will leave Msp on Dec. 15th and come back to Msp on Jan 5th. I am glad to have that completed. I should have done it sooner; I might have gotten a better deal. But I don't care how much I have to pay, I will go no matter what. And I will take Waldo with me. I have to call NWA reservations to see how to go about doing that. I hope to go down to Phonix to see Quinton and his family in Jan or Feb. Then I will be able to go on pass, after the holiday rush. Well, I'd better get my morning shower pretty soon. I have all this gunk in my hair and on my body where all the electrodes were hooked up. I feel all sticky and gooey. Yuk!! Waldo has allergies. He chewed on his foot until it got infected, so now he is taking antibiotics. I just wrap it in cheese and he gobbles it down. I heard on tv that one of the CA wildfires was set by a 10 year old playing with matches. A psychologist said the child obviously had psychological problems. She said that any child that plays with matches also tortures animals and has an emotional disease. If that is the case, then 3 of my 4 children are animal torturers with emotional diseases. psychologists that generalize like that kill me. What idiots!!!!

Blame it on the Brain Injury!

That TBI I had in Jan is coming in useful all the time. This time it was with my car. Apparently nothing was wrong with the cruise control. I just pushed one button instead of two to put it into action. I knew that b efore, but somehow I forgot after not driving for a few days. I don't know how many times I tried to get that working and it just wouldn't connect (with just pushing the "on" button). Oh well, at least I remembered how to drive (at least the important parts!!) Tomorrow night I go to the sleep clinic in Chisago City for my sleep test. It's been 10 years since I got the C-Pap machine, maybe the settings need to be changed. I have not been sleeping well for months now. The sleep dr. said the brain injury is not an insignificant part of the problem, also. And I had my eyes checked with an opthomologist. He said my eyes were fine and are not contributing to my constant headaches. Last night we went to Rita's and helped the kids make a Halloween supper. We had dirty rats (big meatballs), green snakes (mashed potatoes), ghosts (cresent roll triangles pulled into ghost shapes with cheese and olives for eyes and mouths.) They also made cupcakes and cookies. Renata carved her first pumpkin (jack-o-lantern. They do not celebrate Halloween in Brazil. Tonight I am going to church to see the movie, "Luther" with the confirmation kids. At 4 pm I have to take Waldo to the vet again. I took him Monday because he has been chewing his nails a lot lately. The vet said to give him a benadryl 2 or 3 times a day because maybe it was just allergies and he was itchy. He also has been sneezing a bit and rubbing his eyes on the rug. So I gave him one last night before bed and he was up ALL night. I think it worked like speed for him. He chewed his back foot all night. Now the one toe is red and swollen so I will take him in for more suggestions. (Maybe he'll give him some speed to make him sleep tonight. I didn't sleep all night either and am so tired today. Actually, Waldo was good last night; most of the time he just lay on the rug in my bedroom chewing on his foot. So he didn't disturb me. I just took hours to get to sleep and kept waking up. I have had many other nights like that lately, so it wasn't real unusual, but still tiring.

Catch-Up Time

This is Lucille's garden in the back of her backyard. It isi a beautiful setting, very peaceful and well-lanscaped and woodsy. I really enjoyed my time there. I made this font purple in honor of the humoungous rutabagas she grew this year. I took one home and it lasted for several meals. Even as huge as it was, it was tasty. I love it in soups, stews, and fried with potatoes and squash.

These are just a few of the flowers Lucille had still blooming in mid-October this year. It is so pretty there. We had a great time.

My car is in the shop today. The warrenty runs out Nov. 1st. When I got back from MT I discovered that the cruise control no longer worked. Figured I'd better get it done before the warrenty is up. I took it in today and they gave me a ride back home. Tomorrow they will have a loaner car for me to use (free of charge) since I may have to go to work.

This afternoon Waldo and I will walk to the vet's. It is about 1 1/2 miles. Waldo has been biting his nails lately so I'd better check if there is something medical there. infection, inflamation, whatever. It's a pretty day out today so the walk should do us both good.

My bed sits on a platform for a base. The mattress tends to slide around sometimes, Usually in this directions since that's the side I bump up against all the time as I sit down. I didn't realize it was so off center when I took this picture! This is an antique quilt I bought in a shop in Stillwater, MN. I know I paid more for it than I would have for a new one, but I love it. The tulip baskets are all applicaded (?sp - I know that's spelled wrong,!) out of cotton on a muslin background. It is perfect for my flower-garden bedroom. I have been spending the last few days reading. While in Mich. I bought a series of books (for 10 cents each) . I have read 6 of them so far. I have 2 more to go, and 6 that weren't available there that I will look for at goodwill and garage sales. I think today I will spend some more time going through my clothes in the closet. Unfortunately, I have gained some weight, so I have to sort thru the clothes and put some away until I lose some weight. It's depressing, but I won't try them back on until I lose 10 lbs. I also have a pile to take to goodwill. I have gone thru the blouses and skirts, but have to get to the pants now. Besides, I still have w--a--y too many clothes for 1 person. I refuse to shop anymore, either new or consignment shops.

My good friend, Marilyn, died last Saturday, the 13th. I just got back from her funeral in MT. She was such a dear person, always thinking of others, making friends and guests feel so welcome, making delicious desserts, and so much more. She will be missed so much. When you talked to her, you knew she was really listening and caring about what you were saying. We've been friends for 37 years. I can't believe that she is no longer with us.

So much has happened since I last wrote. Here are the hi-lights: Had a good trip to Wisc. and Upper Mich. - despite the oriental ladybugs. Spent a couple of days in the hospital. My sister's father-in-law passed away on Friday. My dear friend in Montana passed away on Saturday. I'm going to the funerals, on tomorrow and the other on Thursday. Poor Waldo is going to think I have deserted him. I will write more later when I have more energy. Have to finish packing for my trip to Mont.