Sunday December 28 2008

Here is the new desk with the laptop and the file cabinet in their own area. The wireless "thingy" is hooked up there - sits next to the lamp. The black book looking "thingy" is my external hard drive. This is quite a roomy spot in the living room, behind the sectional. And this arrangement still gives way plenty of space for the living room area. This is about the last place to photograph and show you how the house is looking. I asked the furniture delivery men to move the file cabinet to this corner, because I had filled it with all that goes in there. They seemed to be glad to do it, but said it was heavy - I wasn't surprised and glad not to have to move it myself.

The family gave me a printer for Christmas and it is sitting on the file cabinet now. (I will hook it up in a few days - I probably have enough to do for a few days and want to have a quiet uninterrupted time to do the printer. Even with the laptop there are still lots of cords stuffed down behind the desk. There are places that need artwork or decor hung on bare walls, but still thinking about what will go where.

Last night I made some phone calls, and especially enjoyed talking to my sister Gloria for a while. We had a good visit. She had a bunch of her family visiting over Christmas and they had left earlier in the day. I tried to call Iris and didn't get her so will try another time. This afternoon I talked to Betty Pfaff and she had some great skiing stories to tell.

Today, as usual when I get up, I had lots of plans to get things done during the day, but as much as I would like doesn't get done. I got the dogs brushed and they enjoyed that very much. Raven made it clear she didn't want me to stop. I did vacuum - after brushing the dogs. I'm planning on having the small art group come over on Tuesday and will fix us some lunch. So need to get the house cleaned up some.

Guess the Power Company had enough complaints about them turning off the power in the coldest part of the year to put in new equipment, and they are now going to wait a few months until they do that. Good thinking!

Can't believe it's nearly New Year's Eve and a new year coming up. Well, better go get a "shower" and ready for watching some TV and bed time.

Saturday December 27 2008

TALK ABOUT HISTORY!

This is a photo Betty had of my high school

girlfriend's wedding. Me on left. then Doreen and

Dick, and my first husband Mike. We were

matron of honor and best man.

About 1958

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Guess too much hasn't been accomplished (by me) today. Scott came to plow out our garage door this morning about 10:30 this morning. He did a nice job. And said he would come back again every time it snowed about 6" and/or blew. He also shoveled off the steps by the driveway. So we're set for a while I suppose. I will gradually get the snow off the deck, at least so the dogs have an area to sit out there, but not until the wind quits! It was supposed to have been about 20 below last night. It didn't feel too bad when I opened the door in the wee hours to let the dogs out. And wow! I was looking back in the innards of pinedaleonline and see that there have been at least six earthquakes near West Yellowstone today, from 2.5 to 3.5. I didn't feel anything. It probably happens more than we hear about.

So..... I only barely got the car out in time to get down to the clinic and get my picc line flushed before they closed - they are only there until noon on Saturday. I'll do it myself again tomorrow. Joe asked if I wanted to go to lunch, which meant he would like to. So afterwards we went to the brewery, renamed Wind River something, and I had soup and salad and he had a BLT with salad. I brought most of the salad home, it was so huge. Perhaps lunch tomorrow.

I've been shopping on line for an economical tall pull on pair of winter boots. It sure does take a lot of time to do that browsing. I wish it were easier to compare, but I've just been making notes of styles and stores. Makes me think I'll make do with the waterproof warm "boot/shoes" that I have. Shoes and socks are getting real hard to get on anymore, as well as coats and pullover things. I also checked out the http://www.drycorp.com/ waterproof cover for the picc line Bonnie found, and asked Barb at the clinic how it sounded to her. She thought I should try it, so I'm going to order that. It's supposed to keep the site dry in showers and such.

Charm reminded me -there will be a "planned" power outage throughout the area tomorrow (Sunday) from 2:00 until about 4:00 P. M. I guess the power company is replacing some major equipment. I hope it doesn't last longer than that. Wonder why they don't plan those things in the summer?

I finally got the carbon monoxide monitors out of the boxes and batteries in them. They have major instructions to read - I'm about half through that. So far they aren't going off - so I guess we're safe from CO now.

Betty called for our weekly visit. She sent me the photo above - she and her Aunt Ann are looking through her old photos. And she inspired me to do the photo essay below because she wanted to see the plows and plowing etc. - so scroll on down for some new pictures.

Saturday December 27 2008

PHOTO ESSAY - SNOW DAYS

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. Sunset Yesterday

Scott Came to Plow

This kind of shows how he uses the plow to

drop it into the drift and drag the snow backwards.

Joe Watches The Plow
(Bad Picture, My reflection in the window)

Street Plow a Few Weeks Ago
(the pictures "got lost" so didn't get
on the blog then.)

Street Plow - He came by Again Yesterday.
He has done a nice job with the roads.
We pay our share of this in the
Home Owners Association.

Raven Next to Garage Drift
She's about 2' tall, so I suppose at this
point the drift is 4'. But It was taller -
Probably settled down and/or the wind blew it.

Not Like At the Rach,
But this is a day and a half's worth.

Could Barely Get In and Out the Front Door.

I shoveled this off Yesterday.

Sunrise This Morning.

It cleared off pretty good with blue sky

until in the afternoon, but no more snow.

The wind is still moving the snow around.

Friday December 26 2008

This is the Aspen Trunk Wastebasket

Craig and Bonnie Made. Isn't it beautiful!

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Here's a picture of the moccasins

Nancy Smith sent.

I love them.

Well..... the wind howled and it stormed and snowed all night - all day yesterday as well. This morning it's not snowing (at the moment) but the wind is still very strong. It blew a lot of the front yard clear of snow down to the ground including the driveway. The front porch has snow piled up to the window. The front walk is totally bare, an anomaly. There is a 5' drift packed against the garage door however, extending out about +20'. It's garbage day but although I can't see that corner directly, I bet the garbage can - which sits beside the garage door - is buried in the snowdrift.

The back deck is piled about 4' deep, being blown off the roof, and snow in the back yard is at least up level with the deck. In the back yard snow has to be 4 or 5' deep there in places - since the deck must be 4' off the ground - i.e. yard level with the deck and more deep drifts piled on the deck. I put the dogs out the front door this morning because once down the steps they can walk around there and do their business. It all changes around hourly. Not sure it got as cold as they predicted. We're supposed to have snow for the next week. I'll take some pictures. The sun is trying to shine and there's patches of blue sky.

Later in the morning the dogs were ready to go out. They dove off the corner of the deck and were able to get over to the part of the yard which isn't very deep. Raven frolicked around for a while. Sparky watched. Then coming back Sparky tried to jump back up at the corner and got hung up. He rolled his eyes back and forth between jumping back up and coming up the totally drifted stairs. Raven made a track up the stairs and finally Sparky decided that was the lesser of the two evils and came up Raven's track. The snow was over his back.

I can see several of the neighbor men out clearing their drives with shovels and snowblowers and getting their garbage cans out to the street. And the big snow plow is going around clearing the roads, so they are on the ball with that.

I flushed the picc line myself yesterday, and likely will stay home and do it again today. Can't get the car out. But we are arranging to hire Gina's grandson Scott to come. He has a snow removal business. He might be able to come later this afternoon. Doing laundry. Might try to hook up my new printer. I heard there was to be a planned power outage on Sunday, but don't know for how long.

Here is a really cute Holiday dog video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUtPKbMwnRo

Thursday December 25 2008

Roses from Joe

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Our Tree a few years ago at the ranch.

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May the Lord Bless and Watch over you

and your loved ones this Christmas 2008,

And may He bless and prosper

the work of your hands in the New Year 2009!

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Joe got me beautiful long stemmed red roses for my Christmas gift. It's too difficult to figure out what to get for him so I didn't try to buy anything. The family sent him shirts and maple syrup, and me a new printer, which I'll put to good use, once I go buy some paper. I haven't got one sheet of paper in this house except post it notes.

Yesterday while I was gone to the clinic etc., we received a very nice Christmas gift. Someone, we don't know who, came and shoveled our sizable cement drive area in front of the garage door. (Our driveway is gravel to the road though). Joe asked if I knew who shoveled the drive and I said "I thought you had shoveled it". I haven't even got a clue who might have done it. Joe said a couple of dark haired kids. So ..... whoever came and shoveled out our garage door, we thank you very much. That is truly what Christmas is about, in my opinion.

We have snowy weather, blowing the drifts, and lots of small flakes falling. Can't quite tell how much has fallen because of it being blown around but maybe 5 or 6 more inches? For some reason, it feels like a dreary day out there, and I don't want it to be dreary. I want it to be beautiful. There is beauty in small parts. It will probably be more beautiful when it clears up. It doesn't feel very cold. Guess it got down to about 4 in the night and is about 20 now. Well, enough of the weather report. We're snug here in the house.

I had asked Joe to take me out for dinner today, but then decided yesterday, I didn't really want to do that after all. And now I'm glad not to go out in the weather. I just don't want to do a big dinner, the cooking, and have a bunch of leftovers to deal with. Joe says he doesn't care what we do. So we're having T-bones and pumpkin pie. I forgot to get the whipped cream yesterday though.

O. Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi" is still well known. It was published in 1906, and he wrote it while sitting in a booth at the front of Pete's Tavern in New York City. It's the story of a young couple, Jim and Della, who are very much in love and very poor. They can barely afford Christmas gifts. But Jim wants to buy Della tortoise shell combs for her long, beautiful hair. And Della wants to buy Jim a fob chain for his one prized possession, his pocket watch. Jim sells his pocket watch to buy the combs for Della's hair, which she no longer has because she sold her hair to buy the fob chain. And of course, Jim no longer has the pocket watch.

Wednesday December 24 2008

Charm and I at Lunch

Charm is one of the special blessings

in my life.

Sunrise Christmas Eve Day

Not much to write about yet. Probably another day much like the last few. At 8:30 a.m. it was 22 below zero. Don't know what it was in the night. The first thing I do when I get up is go turn a faucet on to see if we still have water. And the news is just full of the way people in other places are having awful events with the cold and snowy weather right now. Joe went out to the ranch, and I'm hoping he has no trouble with the roads and getting in there. I don't know how much snow is out there now.

WOW! Nancy sent a wonderful care package with fun things. Bonnie brought it over since Nancy had sent everything to her in one package. It was just like Santa had come and just gave me a lot of joy. And that way I got to visit with Bonnie too. Nancy sent a pair of deerskin moccasins with my spirit colors in beading on the front. I didn't ask yet, but I'm sure Nancy made them. They are wonderfully soft and finely made. Also a fun thing was a back scratcher made out of a palm branch, the wooden part - if you can imagine the scratcher part being the wide end. It is all smoothed off without the spines. And VERY long. It certainly evokes a gift from the Southwest - they are in Wickenburg. THANK YOU MY SPIRIT SISTER, FOR THE THOUGHTFULNESS OF SENDING GIFTS. All I have for you is my best wishes to you both for the Holiday Season and the coming New Year, and thank you for your gift of friendship.

Yesterday had a nice phone visit from Sheral. They are visiting at their son's place in Denver for the holidays. They had been to their daughter's and other son's in Texas for Thanksgiving. The second daughter is on a cruise to Hawaii with her family, and having a ball I'm sure. They are my adopted family.

Charm and I are meeting for lunch at the Bottoms Up to celebrate her birthday. I really enjoyed seeing her this afternoon. After that I'll go to the grocery store, clinic and P.O. again. Might make some Christmas cookies. Might not. Might write the Christmas Cards. Or..... Might not. Have the pumpkin pie filling ready to bake a pie tomorrow. And hopefully the doctor is in his office so I can call and order prescriptions that I've procrastinated on.

Well, I'm pretty resigned now to the fact that I'll have this PICC line in my arm from now on. And am going to put up the hand held shower head that Betty gave me. That should work much better to get some kind of shower/bath and keep the line dry. I just have been in denial about this. To see a hand held shower head somewhere always seems to be a symbol of an invalid or infirmity. So I rejected installing it so far.... because..... I'm FINE! And Bonnie found a website for a place that makes a waterproof cover for PICC lines - will investiage that. She said it says "in the shower or the ocean". I don't know why I almost never think of googling things.

The new washer (second one) is making funny noises this morning.

Better go take my morning medicine. I keep forgetting to do it lately. Only can surmise I must feel pretty good.

Tuesday December 23 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BEVERLY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU

WITH LOVE AND HUGS

FROM YOUR MOM

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Happiness is contagious. The happy people you know are party to your own happiness. Moreover, the happy people you do not know and will never meet also have an influence on your happiness. Happiness (or misery) is epidemic.