Puzzled

We finally finished it! Took a bit longer this year for some reason ;).

So how the heck is everyone, anyway?? I got a nice e-mail from Chris & Sami (Michele) earlier in the month, so I got to read about their Christmas and New Year's Eve. How are you liking your Wii? Dave, do you have a Wii yet? I haven't even seen one let alone played with one.

Mom and Pop, Gavin received his first shipment of Dr. Seuss books from Scholastic on Monday. Thanks so much! Brandon and I are probably way more excited about reading them than he is, but I'm sure all that will change...

Love to all!

pretty amaryllis

This is the picture I promised you yesterday - I think. Pop took the photo and is making me post this.

Happy weekend!

Greetings to you all. I'll start by saying that Julie's amaryllis is gorgeous, but now mine is also blooming. It's not red but white with delicate pink shading. If I knew how to take a picture and post it, I would. Perhaps Pop can do it for me.

We went to see a movie this afternoon. The Bucket List. Cute, heartwarming. The critics weren't crazy about it - too cliche - but Pop and I enjoyed it. Perhaps now that I'm working less we can see movies more often.

We've sent out some email invitations to the Souper Bowl party - as you know. Now we need to distribute the neighborhood invites and mail a couple of others to people who are living in the dark ages without internet access.

Gram is going along pretty well. She hates therapy - same old same old - but it's a necessary evil. Perhaps by the middle of next week they will be able to involve her right leg in the therapy. Meanwhile, I know she'd appreciate phone calls 1-630-353-5710. If she doesn't answer it means she's in therapy. She really enjoyed Dave and Melissa's surprise visit last Saturday.

I finally got a letter from Social Security, and my payments are scheduled to begin on the second Wednesday of February. Apparently there's a one month lag. Work continues on the dental crown. The cost went up another $325 because the had to build up the tooth surface and use pins in order to have enough surface to attach the crown. Supposedly. Nobody warned me that so many of my parts would start wearing out. Maybe they did, but I wasn't listening.

I finally packed away the Christmas decorations yesterday. Tomorrow I shall do the same with Gram's. The city finally got around to collecting the leaves that have been in the streets for the past 2 months. Winter came before they were ready and the snowplows made a royal mess of the leaves. Yesterday they came through the neighborhood with a giant front end loader and dump trucks to cart away the wet mess.

The crock pot is working on making our chili for dinner. On Saturday we're going out to dinner with Lynn and Phil Ritchey to a place in Wheaton called Adelle's that was reviewed favorably on Channel 11.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. What will you be up to??

Mom

Checking in

Hello, family! While you're baking in 60-degree weather in Illinois we're enjoying a battery of snowstorms. We've gotten about 8 inches at our house in the past several days with more on the way. Brandon's been doing more shoveling than his poor ol' back can handle! I got out there this morning and did a little while Brandon's mom was still here watching Gavin. She came up on Saturday afternoon and stayed the night so she could babysit for us on Sunday while we went boarding. We were gone for 6 whole hours! The snow at Beaver was great and Gavin and Grandma Debby enjoyed each others' company. It snowed the entire day, so Debby stayed the night again last night, opting to drive home this morning when the roads would be better. The picture is of the amaryllis that Pop brought out to us in early December. It's in full gorgeous bloom right now. I'll be sad when it poops out but it's been lots of fun watching it grow. Thanks again, Pop!

PEEP PEEP !!!
Here I am Peeping Don. No that doesn't sound to good so maybe just the Peeper. Not to good either. So I guess I'll just go by Pop. Hope everybody had a safe and sane New Years Eve. Mom and I spent a quiet evening at home and made it until midnight in New York. Actually I did. I had to wake mom to say Happy New Year. We then went up to bed and turned the TV on. It was a struggle but I made it for Chicago. Mom didn't. I have to say the TV coverage of the Chicago event was pretty lame.

I have been having back trouble for over a month now and it has gotten pretty painful especially at night. I have been going to Dr. Fay and he sent me for Xrays but they only showed minor degeneration due to age. Nothing that would cause my pain. Wednesday night it was so bad I couldn't sleep at all even with mega doses of Ibuprofin. I saw him again yesterday AM and he pretzeled me and said if I wasn't substantially better by Monday he wants me to get an MRI. The rest of the day and night I was able to go without pain killers. Hopefully everything will be back to normal by Monday.

I have been working on the Christmas cards gluing them to the wood, cutting around the perimeter and giving them two coats of lacquer. Now they need to cure for about a week and then I can start making the puzzles. Dave & Melissa, I hope yours turns out. It was a bear to glue together. I only have forty four to do this year.

LOVE you all

Pop

Hello again

Gram seems to be doing pretty well at the Westbury - much better than I anticipated at least. Her leg still is swollen and discolored, and she's determined not to put any weight on it as yet. She spoke to a doctor there this morning who indicated that the hemorrhaging is likely due to the cancer (lymphoma) although they still don't think the lymphoma is active. At any rate, here is her phone number for anyone who wants to give her a hello: 1-630-353-5710.

Did anyone notice that it wasn't completely dark at 5 PM today? The days are getting longer. Can spring be far behind?

How about a peep from someone besides myself?!

Mom

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a happy and blessed 2008.

Gram was whisked off to the Westbury yesterday afternoon. So we've left the hospital, still with no clear cut diagnosis, nor do I even know which doctor to contact who was responsible for the decision. I'll have to make a phone call or two on Wednesday. Meanwhile, I hope the nursing home will be sufficiently attentive to her, since she's not supposed to have any weight bearing on her right leg. I didn't stay there long last evening, since they hadn't even officially admitted her. They were to bring her dinner to her room. Today I'll go back and fetch the things she will need from her apartment.

We had a quiet new year's eve. I fell asleep as usual, and we just went upstairs to bed after 12. We had a beautiful - to look at - snowfall last evening and through the night. Pop is out running the snowblower and then we shall have breakfast. Temperatures are supposed to drop all day long. Pop has been having a rough time with sciatica lately, so Dr. Fay told him that he's not to shovel any snow. He had x-rays taken and there's no problem other than age related deterioration. He's not even supposed to exercise until his pain subsides. It's a wonderful life!

Time to make breakfast!

Mom