Long day today. I drove a field trip for GC - was blessed to hear the choir sing at a senior center. They actually did two back to back concerts there in different locations in the center. However I only got to hear the first one as one of the girls passed out during the last song. She is ok - did not eat properly this morning. However she needed someone to sit with her out of the chapel where the second concert was done as it was too warm for her to be in. I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with her some during that time though I missed hearing the group sing and Stretch speak. We arrived back at the high school at 2:25 and I needed to be at the middle school by 2:45 to drive my afternoon route. In the meantime I had to switch out buses and hopefully make a restroom stop. I managed both but all that combined made for a very long day.

Dipstick did a good job of making supper tonight - he asked if he could fix something. He was not interested in doing scrambled eggs and potatoes so he found a recipe, went to his grandmother's to get a couple of missing ingredients and made a good beef stroganoff for supper. I was thankful to not have to cook.

Stretch and Squirrel went to youth group after play practice. On Wednesday evenings they usually eat out as it is closer and more convenient then trying to get home to eat before church. (With the price of gas it is probably about as cheap also). Usually we have Lil Bit with us but her mom is on spring break this week and did not need a babysitter.

I am once again in the shop office typing this up as internet in the house is not working correctly. It has been raining all day - not heavy...mainly a nice light mist. However that is projected to change to snow overnight provided the temperatures drop enough. While I am weary of the cold I much prefer the lightness of snow to the dreariness and mud of rainy days.

I have not had time to continue with my project of scanning slides. I did finish the ones that I knew were Mom's family and need to transfer them to disc. I want to send a disc to an aunt who can probably do much identification of those family members. Dad can do some but probably not all. While I recognized my grandparents I did not try to identify them as I usually was not sure who else was in the pictures.

OK. Guess it's time to post this and head into the house to hopefully find a copy of something done for the shop. Guess I need to find my cut and paste functions on this system as that is simpler than typing things out twice.

5 inches...

Edited to add: I wrote this last night and didn't post immediately. As of posting this morning, we are closed today. Dipstick is also.

5 inches of snow back on the ground and we are already on a 2 hour delay for tomorrow morning. Often when a delay is called the night before we don't even go to school. The snow is prettier than the grey cold mucky mud we had by the end of last week. But it was rather nice to be driving on dry roads. Thankfully we had today off already so don't have to make it up. Dipstick had another snow day today...mainly due to ice, freezing rain and sleet this morning. That was all before the snow started.

Things around here have been crazy busy again. Saturday I drove bus for Gospel Choir - they attended the state ISSMA competition. They did really well - took gold. Lots and lots of people...and I had to park the bus a long ways away. Thankfully this year we had sunshine even though it was cold. Last year I drove down in snow. It makes for a very long day. (Driving 6 days last week means I'm doubly grateful to have today off - it gave me a chance to begin to catch up on laundry and other house chores).

Things have settled down slightly in relation to Stretch's musical. The girl who originally had the lead part quit so there's still changes going on. Squirrel was out of school a full 5 days. He ended up at the doctor a week ago - bronchitis and sinus infection. Dipstick came home sick this past Thursday - he was out Friday as well but will be going back the next day he has class.

One of the reasons last week was so busy was that I ended up spending a lot of time doing shop stuff - either running parts or doing paperwork. We are still looking for a different book-keeper - probably be another couple of weeks yet.

More...

Squirrel is ill now...I got a call from the school yesterday to come pick him up. That is the first time since we lived in OK that I've had to pick him up during the day I think. Even then it wasn't because he'd gone to the nurse - it was usually because he'd tossed his cookies. Usually if he makes it to school he is there all day. He is running fever and fighting a headache and sinus junk.

I am off this afternoon - attending a funeral with B. It will be rough on B and Dipstick both. Stretch will meet us there...and then return to school immediately after for play practice.

Speaking of play (musical) practice there is apparently a huge uproar over one of the students who did not get a part. She has had parts in the past but this year they are afraid she would get hurt during set changes. (She is special needs and requires an aide with her most of the time - as well as being a senior) Of course the people who don't like the school system are really all over this. I feel sorry for the other kids involved...and sad for Stretch and the girl who has the lead female role. Not sure how to phrase my feelings beyond that.

We still have snow on the ground - I am loving it though not the bitter cold that we've also had. My feeling basically is that deep snow (2ft+) on the ground for an extended period of time is what winter is supposed to be like. And I've felt all along that if it is supposed to be winter and is cold we might as well have snow on the ground.

On a different note...I am learning once again that most humans have a tendency to go back and prod a hurt spot simply to see if it is still sore. I know I certainly do. Without saying too much...I've lost a friendship that I worked hard to keep strong. I made some mistakes in the relationship - especially when the other party involved started working for my husband. However I attempted to keep the work relationship separate from the friendship and to discuss stuff in an adult manor. But she has said some stuff that imply an intimacy with my husband that is not acceptable. Prayers would be appreciated.

Randomness

* 3rd snow day in a row for tomorrow
* At least 10 inches over the last 2 days - not counting the ice
* Still under a Level 1 Snow Emergency until 7 am tomorrow morning
* Planning to go sledding tomorrow - once snow emergency levels have been lifted
* Hubby is ready for boys to go back to school
* 2 of 3 boys are ready to go back to school

* Hubby and Stretch are both recovering (recovered) from the sinus infection/flu/bronchitis
* No one else has it - yet
* Waking up with a blinding headache means one does not accomplish much
* Copious amounts of coffee, water and pain meds helped
* Tomorrow I will not sleep so late in hopes I don't wake up with a headache

* Have realized I am an "out of sight, out of mind" person in regards to my craft supplies
* Have recently found some neat stack-able bins that will hold my rubber stamps so I can see them all at a glance
* I need some more of said bins
* And more shelves
* Or less hobbies
* Scanning slides has not happened in a couple of weeks - not as interesting when I can't identify the people and places. All I know is they are related to Mom

* Boys taught me the computer game "Mahjong" and it is very addictive
* It is also fun

* We have eaten through a batch of peanut butter cookies and have a double batch of another kind to bake
* Baking is a comforting thing to do when one can't go anywhere due to snow
* This is an exceedingly random blog post BUT at least it's a post
* I have not kept up on reading blogs...

Ramblings

Been a week or so since I've written. The most major news since then is that this past Tuesday Mom was transferred to a nursing home. She was transferred on her birthday - apparently has a nice big room where she can see down the hall with plenty of space for pictures and a few plants. However she apparently left the hospital with a bug of some kind and hasn't been doing excellently since. I will be calling Dad tonight to get more of an update.

We've got snow on the ground again. Had a snow day yesterday - probably got 4-6 inches on Tuesday when it snowed all day. We got a bit more this morning - the big fluffy flakes that I think are so pretty and that add up quite a bit faster. But no delays this morning even though the roads were still fairly slick.

Yesterday morning we got the house picked up and the Christmas tree down. After lunch the boys all went to Suz's to sled and I napped. After I napped I worked for awhile scanning slides into the computer. I bought a new scanner - much more simple than my original one. This one has a tray with space for 4 slides. You slide the tray through and each one comes up on the computer individually. Then you take a "snapshot" of it and move on to the next one. Each one self-adjusts as far as lighting and color is concerned (before you do the snapshot). Then you can save it to a folder on your computer. I hope to get a couple of discs made to send to my sister next week - one for her to take to Dad and one for herself personally. Eventually there should be a collection of discs as there are several hundred slides at least.

My one resolve for this year is to try to use my time more wisely...especially those 5-10 min. snippets of time that one has daily. Whether that means I clean something that doesn't get cleaned often or start a blog entry or read a devotional or whatever...rather than just playing computer games when I don't have time to do anything else. So...we will see how that goes.

It's getting late so I'd better scoot and get supper dishes loaded into dishwasher. Hoping to at least be able to crawl into bed earlier than normal tonight. Last night was a late night - we had Lil Bit for the evening as her mom's classes started back up.

Memories

Mom is coming up on being in hospital for a year. I am hyper aware of that. She's had several not good days and appears to be getting weaker. The questions are there - if the treatment plan had been followed completely would she be doing better? If the diagnosis had been made earlier would things have been different? How many others are simply tossed away because they don't have someone to advocate for them? Mom has Dad and my sister talking to the doctor and striving to make sure she gets the best care possible. My youngest brother David is researching and digging for more information...watching her symptoms and trying to figure out what the changes mean.

Along with the questions on her care come the questions I wish I had asked her. How in the world did she keep meals on the table for 6? Two main meals and breakfast. We didn't have a microwave or prepared foods or even much in the way of canned foods. Everything had to be cooked from scratch on a gas or wood burning stove. Did she ever have days when she was just ready to tear her hair out dealing with us kids? We fought often...especially my sister and I. I don't remember ever hearing her and Dad disagree in front of us kids yet I know they must have had disagreements at times. I remember only one time seeing her weep - we were getting ready to go on a trip from the coast to up-country by bus. Something wasn't going well and Dad was short with Mom. I don't know how it was resolved but I know that it was somehow. I remember lying in my bed at night and hearing them reading the Bible and praying together out loud - low murmer of voices. In the mornings Dad would be up way early to read his Bible and pray, Mom would wake later and read hers in bed while Dad was getting breakfast. (Mom had to eat within 30 min or so of waking up or she would get dizzy and shaky - I am like her in that respect - have to have breakfast and coffee fairly soon after I wake).

The laundry we 4 siblings brought home from boarding school at the end of term must have been absolutely mind-boggling. Each time our quilts had to be washed as well as most of our clothes, other bedding and towels. While we had a washing machine of one sort or another for most of my memory, we had no dryer. Everything was line-dried outside. My job was often to help hang the clothes. I tended to enjoy doing that most of the time as it gave me time to think and dream about what my adult life would be like. If rain threatened there would be a mad dash outside to bring in the remaining laundry that hadn't been brought in yet. Seems like we never finished doing all the laundry until it was just about time to return to boarding school a month or so later. Of course, after it was brought in it all had to be folded and sorted and put away. Some things were ironed.

I remember having other students at school comment to me on how "cute" it was to see an older couple like my Mom and Dad walking around campus holding hands. They often did that when they were up visiting - and they usually made the trip up at least twice a term. (Terms were 3 months long with a long weekend - mid-term - in the middle). I don't remember what I thought about Mom and Dad holding hands in public at my school - just the fact that others thought it was neat. I know that mail call was huge - always hoping for that letter from Mom or Dad. They took turns writing to us - individual letters to 4 kids written by hand or typed. Eventually there was a computer but Mom's letters were still mostly handwritten and Dad's were often.

Returning to school was always an adjustment. My sister and I would spend the week prior to return to school time baking cookies to take back with us. Molasses crinkles were made, brownies of various sorts, probably oatmeal raisin cookies...I don't remember the rest. There was hot cocoa mix to be made, tea and other school supplies to be purchased. Eventually the packing was done, the last snacks were organized and time came to head to usually the train station. (Occasionally we took the bus to the capital but that was a much more crowded unpleasant trip and the train was preferred). A "picnic" supper would be packed along with sweet rolls for breakfast. Eventually our stuff would be hauled to the train station and packed into our 2nd class compartment. (First class was too expensive and we were too many to ride 1st. In 2nd there was room for 6 people to sleep). Until bedtime we would read or talk or journal or walk the hallways of the train. Come bedtime it was time to pull the bunks up and make them into beds. There was only one window in the compartment and a small sink. Once the beds were made up there was no room to sit and really only room for a couple of people to stand at a time. Who-ever had the middle bunk on both sides had a small sliver of window to look out. There wasn't much to see except sometimes at the little places we stopped but it was fun to try. When we did stop one could often hear people talking and smell smoke. Mornings would come early...we would all be up by around 6 or 6:30. By then it would be light out and we would be watching the animals in the game reserve we were riding through. Dad used to joke that we were watching the gnus (news) and we would try to see how many different types of animals we would see. The train would usually arrive at the station around 8:00 am and the process of getting cabs and unloaded would begin. That day would be spent shopping in the capital before we headed out to the school later in the day or sometimes the next day. Mom and Dad would get us settled into our dorm rooms and then they would have to leave to return to the capital before it got really late. They would head back to the coast the next day. Adjustment to school was always tough for me...for the first 12-15 hours I would stay in my dorm room unpacking, reading my mail and eating from the snacks I'd brought from home. I would not go to the dining hall until the next day.

Enough of the memories for today.

Sunshine

Sunshine today...at least for a time. The temps are back up in the mid 30's. While I am thankful for the sun I'm not eager to have all the snow melt away. We have had snow most of the week - accumulating probably 3-5 inches I would guess. This morning there was just a fresh dusting. Today is supposed to be the warmest day all week - tomorrow and Saturday we have the chance of freezing rain or more snow. I will take the snow but would prefer not to have the freezing rain. We will see.

Have intended to blog all week but anytime I thought about doing so it was too close to bus route time or bedtime or someone else needing on the computer. So it never happened. Today again it's getting close to bus route time but I won't be home this evening as Stretch has his school Christmas concert tonight. (His last - those are starting..not sure I'm ready for that) I was looking for baby pictures of him last night - thought I had them all out to scrapbook but finally found them in a labeled box. It was fun...brought back memories. Now just to find the time to scrapbook them and finish his School Days album and...the list goes on.

Today I managed to get all the laundry folding done (first time all week) though I'm busy making more to fold. Also got the kitchen cleaned and dishwasher ran again so am basically caught up on dishes - at least until tonight. I also got a nap in thankfully. And supper is in the crockpot.

Had a good visit north to see Mom and Dad. What really made the trip was that I also got to see my sister Karen as she was down trying to schedule a meeting with the doctors caring for Mom. We spent Friday evening and most of Saturday together - mostly at the hospital but the point is that we were together. After she left for her home on Saturday Dad and I took Mom for a walk - the first time she had walked anywhere in several weeks. We did that again Sunday and Monday before Stretch and I left for home. Each time we went an increased distance and her increased strength and stability were obvious. While this is not an indication of "healing" it does show that the steroid treatment is still effective in keeping the disease somewhat under control.

Other than that...activities are ramping up for Christmas...between tonight and this time next week there are 3 different school band/choir concerts to attend. We only have 1 more week of school before the break - this entire year seems to have just flown by. I have done no Christmas cards yet...would like to get a note done to go in them. Will just have to wait and see.

Better scoot for now -want to let the chickens out today and feed and water them before bus route. I've kept them locked up all week due to the cold.