Snow, Snow, Go Away!!

We are really having snow here in SE Iowa, but it's nothing like what they're having around Ames. We've probably got 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. This afternoon, however, it started raining! So some of the snow squished down and there appears to be a lot of slush. This could really save us as they are calling for high winds tonight and tomorrow with blowing snow. It seems to me that if it's slush, it can't blow! Dave's been outside working on moving the slush off our driveway so that it won't just be ice. Actually, he's done with that now and he's putting together a generator that he bought - just in case the electricity goes out. We said that we were going to buy one last time the electricity went down, but didn't until today. I guess that's going to be his Christmas present!! He does love to fiddle!!

I've been working on paperwork today and I installed a new external hard drive for my computer. Now I just have to figure out how to use it! I sure wish they gave you user guides when you bought these things. I don't much like reading it online and trying to follow their steps - too much going from one screen to another!

I went out early this morning to see Aunt Helen. She had just gotten back from having a shower. Bless her heart - she said she was really glad to have that shower! I'll bet she was - she hasn't had one since September! It did wear her out, though. She tried to tell me a couple of different things, but I couldn't understand her - she was just talking too softly. She didn't even open her eyes - she just wanted to sleep. Oh well, I talked to her anyway!

I've decided we have a Christmas gremlin! When I put up the tree in our office - my Victorian tree - the top half of the lights wasn't working. In fact, those lights have been out for about 3 days. This morning when I came downstairs, the lights were all on! Don't know what happened - I think it's the Christmas gremlin! I wish he'd wrap all the presents for me! Probably won't though! More later...

Happy Monday!

Last night right before we went to bed, Dave had the TV turned to the weather station and it showed a band of snow over Ottumwa. I looked out the dining room window and it looked like someone had opened a bottle of Fresca! (You have to remember the commercials!) So this morning we woke up to a couple inches of beautiful, fluffy white stuff! The weather station is calling for even more snow tomorrow and Wednesday! Is it time to go to Florida yet?

Today was the cookie exchange that I made the four dozen cookies for. What a fun time. Juliene had invited 11 other ladies to attend, so we all went home with 4 cookies from 12 different selections of cookies. These are not your basic chocolate chip cookies either. They were all what I would call "exotic" cookies - some made with dates, some iced sugar cookies, spritz cookies, cranberry oatmeal Weight Watchers cookies! Juliene had mod-podged decorative Christmas napkins on 12 clear glass plates, and we gathered our cookies on them. Then as we were leaving, she gave us a little paper box, which she had made, with some candy in it. She's a clever lady and a good friend!

The rest of the day I worked on paying bills, shopping online, and writing my annual Christmas letter. We have a great deal of our Christmas shopping done! I just have to get organized so that I know what else I need to get. I know I haven't gotten anything for Ann yet - she and Bob are usually my hardest ones to buy for. This year, however, I am very excited about what I got for Bob. I think he'll be surprised. Tomorrow I go see Aunt Helen and have several items on my to-do list! More later...

Another Productive Day

After church today, I went out to see Aunt Helen. She said she was having a bad day and she was tired. They had just moved her and I think that completely wears her out. I hope she got to feeling better after I left.

I came home and asked Dave to go Christmas shopping with me. He didn't want to, but he did anyway. We got a lot of our shopping done today right here in Ottumwa. It really helps that our families make Christmas lists - at least you don't have to wonder what to get for each of them. We only shopped for about an hour and a half and then came home and had bacon and eggs for lunch! Dave fixed the bacon and I fixed the eggs.

Right now, I'm getting my sports fix for the day...I'm watching ISU-Iowa wrestling on AND the BCS Bowl Selection. I may be on sports overload after this and last night's football game between Texas and Nebraska! Wow, what a game. Maybe I should say what a finish - the last 1:49 was wonderful and indicative of what college football is all about! I know my Hawkeye friends are excited about Iowa going to the Orange Bowl, but we Cyclones are equally excited about us going to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona on New Year's Eve. I was kind of hoping for the Independence Bowl in Louisiana, because we were going to try to make it on our way to Florida. Now that they're going to Arizona, I will be happy watching it on TV. Go Cyclones!!

Tomorrow I go to my cookie exchange. I don't exactly know what to expect, but I'm sure it will be fun!!

Super Saturday

It's amazing what all you can get done when you get off of Facebook!! I mixed up a batch of expresso cookies and about 3/4 of the way thru the mixing process, my stand mixer died a slow death. So I went to O'Hara Hardware and bought myself a new KitchenAid Artisan mixer - a black one! I had no problem whatsoever mixing the second batch of cookies - it's got a ton of power!! In all, I made 56 cookies - I needed 48 for the cookie exchange I'm going to on Monday morning. Unfortunately, I let the last 7 cookies get a little overdone because I was working on making a grape salad for tonight's Vintage Cruiser Christmas party. I even heard the buzzer go off, but I just ignored it, I guess. Oh well - I had 48 good ones so that's all that's important. This recipe is worth keeping - in fact the cookies are really good!

Tonight's Vintage Cruiser Christmas party was fun. I wish Sue and Craig had been there though. It's just not as much fun without them. We had lots of good food, as per usual! The gift exchange was fun again, as it always is. I came home with a cheesecake mix and a decorative plate/server set. Dave got a cool clock for his shop. It's got muscle cars on it and every hour it makes an engine noise. Most of the gifts were very nice, although poor Mike got a pair of boobie danglers (instead of fuzzy dice).

That's all I have for tonight. Tomorrow's a typical Sunday - church, then to see Aunt Helen. More later...

She's Out of Sunny Brook!

Today was moving day for Aunt Helen. When I got there this morning about 9:00 Aunt Helen was fighting with the aides who were trying to get her ready for her ambulance trip to Ottumwa. She fought with me; Ann came in and she fought with her. When I looked at her eyes and she looked at me, it was as if no one was in there. I don't believe she had any idea who I was. She called me lots and lots of names, none of which were Peg or Margaret Mae! When Bob came in she was still fighting, and when the ambulance ladies came in it was just more of the same. When they were trying to move her to the gurney, she started calling out for mama. I decided maybe I should "be" mama and maybe that would soothe her. It didn't that I could tell, but they got her onto the gurney and strapped her down for her ambulance ride to Ottumwa. Ann decided to go with her in the ambulance. When they got Helen out into the hallway, she calmed down. Ann said she didn't say a word all the way to Ottumwa, or even when they took her into Vista Woods! While she was enroute to Ottumwa, Bob, Steve, and I moved everything out of her room into a trailer also bound for Ottumwa. I had driven separately, so I stopped at VW to pick up Ann. I walked into Helen's room and she was sitting up in a chair. She had let Ann comb her hair and brush her teeth. I went over to talk to her and she knew me. I told her that her hands were so dry she needed some lotion on them. She replied, "They're dry as bones!" So Ann got some lotion and squirted some into her hands. Aunt Helen just laughed and laughed! She said we'd better put some on our hands too. So we had fun rubbing the lotion into her hands and arms and the excess into ours. A little later when I told her I loved her, she said she loved me too. What a difference. Dementia is really something! When Ann and I left VW, the hospice worker was trying to get her to eat a few bites of food. She wasn't crazy about the food, but she sure liked the milk and the water. Poor thing, I really don't think the aides at SB ever really tried to help her. I hope not, but she may die tonight; and if she does, I'll rest easier knowing that she's someplace she's going to get some attention.

As for her "stuff" - it's mostly in our sun porch. It's going to be lots of fun going through all that stuff! I'm sure I won't have Bob's help! At least I don't have to worry about it tonight!

Thursday Thoughts

I had my final physical therapy appointment today. Amy made me use 3# instead of 2# and let me tell you, going up one pound is really hard...but I did it! We'll see how I feel tomorrow! It was sort of sad to end physical therapy. Those PTs have been a part of my life for the last 4 months and I'll really miss them. On the other hand, I'm glad I'm better. I have to continue my exercises for quite some time, though.

Last night was such a rough night - I'm existing on about 4.5 hours of sleep. Dave went to the ER at 1:19 this morning. Last night he jumped down from his pickup bed and twisted his ankle when he landed on something on the floor. He thought he'd broken a bone in his foot, but it's just a bad sprain. He woke me to tell me he was going to the ER and that I should just stay home and sleep - wrong again! I couldn't go back to sleep. At 3:50 when he still wasn't home, I called him. He was just waiting and waiting and waiting. He got home about 5:15 this morning! That is totally ridiculous! There is no way a patient should have to wait 4 hours in an emergency room!

As for Aunt Helen, we are moving her in the morning to Vista Woods here in Ottumwa. It will be so much more convenient for Bob and I, plus she'll get better care. Hopefully, we'll be able to get her moved and she won't even know it. Bob said he couldn't get her awake again this morning. She woke up when the aides came in to move her, just long enough to tell them to go away! I'll be glad when this is over. Tomorrow is my PEO Christmas luncheon, but I guess I'll have to miss it.

Hump Day

Sorry I didn't post last night. By the time I got home from my sorority Christmas party, I was too pooped to pop, let alone blog. The party was fun - we had lasagna and a mixed green salad for dinner, plus a cute little ice cream dessert. The social committee this year has done a wonderful job! After we had eaten, we went to the living room and started our gift exchange and secret sister reveal. I got to go first this year - usually I'm one of the last ones! I opened my package to find out that Sue S. was my secret sister...and she was mine!! Out of a group of 19 of us, this happened two times! Pretty funny when that happens. It takes forever to open the packages, because everyone tries to guess who their secret sister has been and each of us hide our names somewhere in the package - except me, of course. My gift is a quilt, so everyone knows it's me when the quilt comes out. I won't be back to a sorority meeting until March, so I had to tell everyone Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Valentine's Day. There's another one of us who goes for the winter too, so she was in the same boat.

Today was my day to see Aunt Helen. I could barely get her awake. She said two things to me - one was my name and the other was for me to go back to sleep. I took that as my hint. Bob called me to tell me that there's an opening over here at Vista Woods, so he's going to check about getting her brought over here. That will sure be a lot better for her and more convenient for us.

Tonight we're getting the trees put up and then I have choir practice. More later...