I went to bed around 8:00pm and watched the TV Guide Channel's interviews and stories about American Idol (the invention of the show AND some contestants).  I flipped between that and "John & Kate Plus Eight" and tried to get sleepy.  I had a hard time falling asleep, but my knee was resting and that was good.  I fell asleep closer to 11pm (my body thought it was only 10pm).  I drug myself out of bed as I'm forcing this time change on my body!

Over the week end I took a couple pictures of Annamarie who felt left out by my recent photo adventures!  So, I'll include them here.  She'll be eight on March 29th.  I think I said 3/30 in another post - that's my cousin's, Claire, birthday - oops!  Anyway, right now, until her birthday, we have two seven year olds!

For the next 3 days, until James leaves early on Thursday, we are going out to dinner each night and I only have to be responsible for lunches - Woo! Hoo!  I don't know why I said that, I don't mind cooking and enjoy doing so, but not having to clean up dishes three nights in a row sounds lovely!  He wants to take us to the "Texas Roadhouse" restaurant tonight for steaks, get Sonic Drive-Thru burgers tomorrow night from their Tuesday night burger sale, and then I think it will actually be Mexican food FOR LUNCH on Wednesday.  He's afraid if he eats a heavy dinner he won't sleep well and will feel miserable on his flight home the next morning.  I understand THAT!

I have Luci's laundry to do and a few pick-ups around here; as well as large week-end pots and pans to wash that the "fairy maid" didn't wash.  She rarely, if ever, comes to do my dishes or housework, but I keep hoping . . . LOL

Rissy and Annamarie behaved well and were infatuated with the play - exactly what I had hoped.  Tangi's son was so sweet and came to our seats afterwards to say hello to the girls.  Her youngest (a year old than Annamarie) introduced my girls to two of her friends at intermission.  Tangi has such polite children!

We got home a little after 11pm, brushed teeth, and fell into bed.  I had already set the clocks forward an hour yesterday evening; so, the clocks read after midnight.  I had a good prospective on how late it "really" would feel the next day!

James took us out for a brunch this morning.  With the time change and all, and then a heavy lunch, we're back home and walking in circles.  We're drowsy and bumping into the walls!  Especially Rissy and Annamarie because we had such a late night anyway and then were cheated out of an hour of sleep!

Starbuck's sounds really good right now - with a double shot of coffee!  I still have to fix something for dinner later tonight.  I have NOTHING laid out thawing!  This should be interesting!!!  Coffee (really black!!!) is the only thing that sounds appealing!

James will leave Thursday morning, early.  He's getting things ready to take home, his suitcases repacked, and has some "empties" for taking food home.  I still have to make another batch of banana bread for him.  I didn't get to it the other day and the bananas turned something "past black" while sitting on the counter!  I HAD to throw them away.  Jesse's friend's (Camilo) wife made 20 dozen tamales for James and Jesse, and James is taking home 10 dozen.  Well, I say that, I'm not sure HOW many tamales he has already eaten!  Maybe only one package!  Everything will be frozen and should make it back to Washington before thawing.

I think I'll get up and walk around before I fall asleep.  This is a VERY relaxing day, so much so, I feel like putting my nightgown back on and heading back to bed!  Very UNlike me!

JanaLyn came over last night and slept in the king size bed in Luci's room with Annamarie.  She was very well behaved and woke up this morning chattering up a storm.  She is always a little hyper when she comes to visit because she is so enthralled with the fact she's with my 3 youngest and with the way we do everything around here.  I picked out a dress for her to wear today (my closet has clothes I think will be cute on her someday - castoffs Luci has out grown) and she has a new nightgown from my drawer (another castoff).  I made donuts for breakfast (32 of them!) and she picked from the maple and chocolate frosted ones and had a sausage link.  She said, "Thank you Granny for making theeeeese!"

Jesse left early to do some more lawns.  This is the start of the season and he is thatching lawns and removing leaves from flower beds.  Hard to believe we'll actually be seeing GREEN THINGS soon!  He plans to be home around 4pm to give Annamarie, Rissy, and me time enough to get ready to go to the theater.

"The Wizard of Oz" starts at 7:30 and goes until 10:30, so I can't take Luci.   She would never make it that late and I'm afraid she'd be loud and disruptive in the theater.  I hate bothering other people in a situation like that and think it's best to wait a year to let her mature.  Tangi's son is the scarecrow and has gotten good reviews of his performance.  Her 3 daughters are Munchkins and the youngest is in the Lollipop League.   This will be a fun show and, the fact so many are in it from Tangi's family, the girls will really enjoy it.

I was hoping to talk to Tangi to get a report on her husband, but I only spoke with her briefly yesterday.  She has family coming in Friday and Saturday to see the children perform.  She's been busy tidying up her home AND making Aubrey comfortable, as well as trying to get back into some kind of routine with the laundry, cooking, etc.  She hasn't said anything negative about his recovery, so I'm assuming it's moving forward, albeit maybe slowly.

Sampson still isn't eating and is moping around.  Also, the doctor found a loose tooth that will have to be removed.  They rescheduled his tooth cleaning for next Wednesday, after he's been on antibiotics for a few days.  That reminds me, I'll have to slip a pill into a hotdog for him and pray he eats it.  We decided to permanently move his bedding to our bathroom.  I hate looking at the lump of blankets in front of our tub, but he has an odor and it will be easier to clean the tile with PineSol than it is to clean the carpets and woodwork in a bedroom.  So, we now have a dog AND a cat sleeping in our master suite!

That's the Saturday news brief from here!  Happy week-end to all! 

As you know, our cat of 18 years, Jesse-boy, was put to sleep February 15th.  We've had our dog, Sampson (close to 18yo), since we were married which means the cat and dog had been together 10 years.  We were concerned about our remaining young cat, Stormy, missing Jesse-boy.  We didn't give our dog a second thought as he is older and sleeps almost always in his bed except to eat and go outside.

Two days ago, he came out to the den and let out a low, deep yelp/bark.  I called Jesse inside from the garage because I'm afraid of Sampson biting me when he's in pain.  We could find no immediate cause, but took his bedding to our master bathroom.  He walked with his tail tucked and his head down - like he could barely move.  Meanwhile, he paced in the two closets that are in our bathroom (both places Jesse-boy slept this past year) and then stood in our shower stall, circling and circling (another place Jesse-boy used to go to lick up fresh water).  He wouldn't come out of the shower stall - yet this dog HATES baths.

He has slept for the past two days in front of the tub and we have found him in one or the other of our closets or the shower stall a couple of times.  He refuses to eat or drink and is shaking.  His nose was warm yesterday (but not today) and dry.  Jesse has to MAKE him go outside, which he does reluctantly and then returns to one of the closets or the shower stall before lying down in his bed.

Jesse took him to the vet to have his teeth cleaned today and told the vet of Sampson's new behavior.  It's the general consensus that Sampson is grieving the loss of Jesse-boy!  I don't know if he finally noticed he's gone, or if he knew right away and is waiting for him to return.  He yelped (that same low, yelp/bark) one other time and the vet tech said it sounded like a cry of mourning.  The vet opted to not clean his teeth today and put him on an antibiotic, because he said dogs can grieve to the point of making themselves sick!

Stormy is still confused about Jesse-boy being gone, but is continuing to be normal - just a little clingy.  Sampson has us concerned because of his age and the fact we never thought Jesse-boy's dying would be an issue with him. 

Anyone have any advice?  I feel so bad for Sampson.

The adults sat in the dining room (children in the kitchen) which I only decorated with a white table cloth and braided, multi-colored placemats.  I had wanted to use china, etc., but wasn't up to it.  What I did was just fine.  My every day dishes are clear, so it looked nice and the food was enjoyed by them.  They were a little late in arriving, so the peas and french style green beans were overcooked to my liking, but they ate every bite we served.  For some reason, one of my Jell-O pies didn't gel and I had to quickly make another.  The second effort didn't turn out like it normally does, either and I had to wonder if the Cool Whip had thawed too much?????  I made a strawberry flavored Jell-O pie and a strawberry/kiwi flavored pie (the lime flavored one is the one that was watery and had to be tossed).   I had doubts about the one with kiwi (didn't sound as appetizing) but had no other packages of Jell-O from which to choose.  Weird, because that's something I never run out of in my pantry!  The strawberry/kiwi pie actually tasted better than the plain strawberry one.  Everyone had a slice of each, so they must have thought it was good, too.  Camilo and Jesse translated between us women and children; and, despite a language barrier, we had some good laughs.

Granddaughter, JanaLyn, will come tonight to spend the night.  The girls can't wait.  They woke up this morning asking, "Is THIS Friday?"  Stephanie asked if she could come to pick up JanaLyn on Saturday and bring a couple loads of laundry to do.  I explained I was taking the girls to the play that evening and wouldn't be able to visit much when dinner time arrived.   She was fine with that.

I wanted to try to bake some banana bread today (before my bananas rot!) and that's it.  All but Luci's laundry is caught up.  I need to stay off of my leg as much as possible.  It's feeling better this morning, it feels painful - like it needs to pop back in place (ouch!), and I don't want to tempt the "hands of fate" by walking too much!  James loves my banana bread (recipe courtesy of Emily and her grandmother).  Nothing low in calories with this recipe, but oh so delicious!  We're having left overs for dinner tonight, to keep me off my leg.  I"ll keep a loaf or two of the bread for us here and freeze the others so James can take them back to Washington when he leaves next week.

Oops!  I hear my breakfast muffins beeping at me (banana nut and apple cinnamon) so I better go!

Homeschool was a disaster - with all 3 of the girls.  I think everyone took stupid pills instead of alert pills yesterday morning.  I quickly brought the educational part of our day to a close and labeled it "one of those" and moved on, determined to not let a false start set the tone for the rest of the day.

I left the house to run quite a few errands.  I stopped at the high school to buy tickets to the Saturday night performance that Tangi's children are in (The Wizard of Oz).  I parked illegally on the street in front of the school because no parking spaces were available in the lot and clicked my remote (what I thought was) two times to lock the car.  I arrived right at lunch break.  I made my way (with the 3 girls) through a sea of purple, blue, and green hair on the heads of oddly dressed older children who all seemed to contain loud voices .  I wove my way around everyone to where I remembered the theater being (it looked different with 300 students in the halls!).  With the assistance of the music teacher (who took pity on us), I found the drama department and enjoyed a short visit with the teacher, Mrs. Brown.  My oldest (Stephanie, almost 30yo) had her for a drama teacher back in high school!

I got seats in the place I wanted, felt like I had made progress, went back out to my illegally parked car with the girls, and found I had accidentally clicked the remote THREE times, which makes the car run with no key in the ignition.  Yes, the gas guzzling Suburban had been running about 15 minutes with the heat blowing away inside, slurping hungrily at our almost $4/gallon gas tank supply, while I tripped through the high school halls!  Oh well!  Not enough to ruin my day.

From there, I went to the post office to get our mail and was pleased to see a few cards for Tangi's husband.  That was when I realized I had left Rissy's corrective shoes at home.  I drove back to Tangi's (3 blocks from the high school - my car was LOVIN' this!) to drop off her husband's cards and then drove ALL THE WAY back home ("Yum!  Yum!" said the Suburban) to retrieve the shoes. The lining has disintegrated in one of her (very expensive) shoes and the shoe store said they'd make it right.    I ran inside (left the girls in the car) and found the shoes, but couldn't find the lining.  The shoes were right by the door (how could I have missed them when we left?) and the lining was on the kitchen bar (oh yum!).

To save time, I took the turnpike back up north.  I keep the dash reading on "instant mileage" and try to drive prudently.  I could see I was getting 10mpg as I fought the north wind on the turnpike.  Maybe it wasn't such a brilliant idea to save time.  It cost more money in gas!

We were starved and went to Chili's for lunch.  It's been a while since I took the girls to lunch and now we have Luci each day with us.  I decided to branch out of my comfort zone and order something different.  I ordered the chicken fried chicken strips with fries and their mixed veggies (they guaranteed me there would be no bell peppers, since I'm allergic to them).  The girls' lunches were fine, but my chicken was fried dry (sandy, almost) and cold, as were my fries, AND my veggies were overloaded with bell peppers.  The waiter was super and replaced the veggies with the non-death type!  I didn't complain about the temperature of my meal because I didn't want the waiter to think I was being difficult.  But, when he asked about dessert I informed him he shouldn't recommend today's chicken strips to other patrons, as they were leathery, hard-crisp, and not their usual tasty tender chicken strips.  He brought dessert with 4 spoons and comped the chicken meal.  I really hadn't wanted him to do that, so I left him a generous tip.  I left Chilis still feeling hungry.

We stopped at PetSmart to get Tango some bird supplies.  It was all I could do to not call Jesse and ask if I could have a $70 black spayed female (8mos old) small size cat.  SHE decided she really liked me and was darling and playful through the cage.  I decided I wasn't up to training anything besides my children and squelched the urge.

We went on to the shoe store.  A small family-owned store that was overly warm inside.  Luci began to act up.  I glared at her and she gave me that "So what?" look.  I found the switch (a plastic ruler) I keep in my purse and decided to correct her when we got back to the car.  WHICH WASN'T ANY TIME SOON!!!!!  Super nice sales man.  But,  my, my, my, it took him forever to cut new insoles for Rissy's shoes.  I ordered a pair of white shoes for spring (for her) and, after measuring her foot and getting my contact info, we FINALLY left.  I swatted Luci about 3 times as she got into the car - hit her fluffy ski jacket 2 out of the 3 swats.  She wailed like I'd dipped her in burning oil!  After a "talking to" we were on our way.

We went to Wal-Mart with a short list that included a RX for Rissy and special toothpaste for James.  Of course, the pharmacy had problems locating Rissy's refill.  I had to pay there, not at the register.  Then I had to call James about his special toothpaste because I couldn't find exactly what he had written down.  Finally, with those two things behind us, we began to follow the list.

I had grabbed a cart with one wheel that had a mind of its own and leaned into it every turn I made.  We didn't take too long to fill the cart with the items on the list and bought very few things that weren't on the list.  I think I added sour cream, grated cheese, etc.  Nothing that deviated in a major way from the list.  For some reason, the day felt incredibly stressful and I stopped in their bakery to look around.  They had a triple chocolate cake that had my name imprinted on it in neon colors.  So, knowing how therapeutic chocolate is (!!!), I bought it.

We drove home and James helped carry in groceries.  That's when he announced my Amish bread starter (a double batch, this time!!!!) had fallen from the top of the refrigerator.  This happened once before and the bag (filled with gases) exploded when it hit the floor, but I had quickly scooped it up and retrieved most of the SINGLE batch of starter.  NOT THIS TIME.  It had slid (I'm not asking who did it!!!!) between the refrigerator wall and plaster wall.  A double batch of sour smelling goo was everywhere and I was already tired.  I had to pull out the refrigerator and unplug the cord.  I can't even described the mess.   James wet and handed me rags as I bent over (in one of my better dresses) to sop up the oozing mess that seemed to rise and multiply in the air. I handed James gooey rags, he handed clean ones back to me.  We must have made a dozen swaps or more.  I was exhausted (bending isn't something I do well - especially after an all day errand run) and I got the walls, baseboards, tile floor, back of the refrigerator, vent system, and refrigerator cord all clean as a whistle.  I had to ask Annamarie & Rissy to come clean the rest of the kitchen floor because of the mess James & I had made while doing the rag exchange.  I felt bad because the day before they had really cleaned the kitchen floor so well - down on their knees and all.  They never complained. 

I had to sit down and catch my breath and cool off.  Rissy was great.  She told me to let her fix the dinner (just chili dogs) and all I had to do was open the can, then, heat up and take out the chili from the microwave.  She got everything else together and on the table.

After eating, we turned on American Idol and I decided to struggle up from the sofa (one more time) and go get a big slice of that triple chocolate cake.  I have laundry divided on the kitchen floor (stuff I didn't get to) and as I went around the corner of the bar to go back to the den, my cake tumbled off of my plate and fell (frosting side down) into the crotch of someone's dirty panties.  All I could do was sniffle, "That was myyyyy piece of caaaaaake!"  James began to laugh.  It had truly been a horrible (struggle of a) day!  I cut another slice and sat down.

I had a Charlie horse in my left calf in the middle of the night and woke up today barely able to put weight on my left knee.  I don't know if the crazy-wheeled cart and my pushing it with my body, or the bending down to clean the Amish mess, did it - but my knee is swollen and feeling like my knee cap has to be popped back in place.

Tonight is the night I have company comining for an "American meal," which will be simple to fix.  I only have to vacuum and set a table cloth over the dining room table.  Everything else will be pretty routine.  Camilo's family is fastidiously clean, I am not; nor will the house be tonight.  I just can't.  I feel too much pressure right now to be conversational - which is a joke, since Camilo's wife speaks little English and her mother doesn't speak English at all!  I speak "restaurant Spanish" and can order from a menu, tell someone everything is okay, and ask to be shown the restrooms!  That's about it!

I need to get dressed and repeat, "I count it all joy!"  "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad!"  And, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" 

The run down for the rest of this week (my days filled up fast):

Today:  Send Jesse to Mrs. Long's with food I've prepared.  Finish cleaning the house (mainly vacuum and polish glass things) and grocery shop.  Of course, there's always laundry and cooking something for tonight's dinner!

Thursday:  The lovely laundry.  Pick up the house for "company" AND have company for dinner . . . Jesse's friend (Camilo) has his m-i-l visiting from Mexico.  She returns on Friday, so we are having his family over for an "American dinner" before she leaves.  Cranberry chicken, white rice, peas, green beans, crescent rolls, and two Jell-O pies for dessert (probably a strawberry and a lime pie).  We'll seat the adults at the formal dining room table and all the children at the kitchen table (both are large tables).

Friday:  MORE laundry.  We are babysitting JanaLyn Friday night so Stephanie can go to a friend's birthday party.  It's at one of those comedy places and sounds like she'll have fun.  That will be the night I serve leftovers!

Saturday:  I'll still have JanaLyn for a while during the day hours; but that night, I plan to take Annamarie & Rissy to see Tangi's 4 children in "The Wizard of Oz" - the final performance.  Her son is the scarecrow and the girls are in the Munchkin crowd in various forms.  My two girls have seen plays at the high school before; but this will be different, as it is a night performance instead of the matinee they normally attend.  I think they will do fine, but not Luci.  Not when the play ends around 10:30pm.  So, Jesse will keep her at home.

Speaking of Tangi:  I spoke to her last night and Aubrey was able to come home yesterday.  He's very weak and groggy, but the doctor felt like he could heal as well at home as in the hospital.  It will be a while before he is recovered.  Tangi will be standing guard the rest of this week since their house has stairs.  He's promised not to go up or down without her being there.  She said the check-out process was amazingly fast - I think they probably needed his hospital bed for another flu victim.   Out hospitals are still pouring over with flu patients.  What a mess.

I've been mentally making a grocery list all morning.  I guess I should grab my paper and a pen and start transferring things to a permanent state.  My mind is not to be trusted! LOL

Jesse has decided not to go to his uncle's funeral in Louisiana.  At least a decision has been made.  I so dislike having things left up in the air! 

I'm catching up on the laundry today.  Jesse's basket comes first and the 3 girls will come next.  I got a quilt and some pillowcases washed yesterday and the bath towels.  It's ALWAYS something with that laundry!

Couldn't sleep last night.  It took me forever to fall asleep.  Probably the coffee laced with "Toffee Coffee" I drank at 4pm.  I should know better!  I prayed a lot while lying in bed - for myself and my walk and for people and families who have some specific needs right now.  Finally fell asleep, but it took 1-2 hours and that's WITH my sleeping medicine.  Woke up again at 5:30am when James opened the door (the alarm beeps when our doors are opened) to go to the garage refrigerator.  (sigh)  It took another 30-45 minutes before falling back asleep.  I feel gritty-eyed today!

I'm making a few things (small meals) to take to Mrs. Long tomorrow.  I'm boiling some chicken breasts to make a chicken salad and some chicken & noddles for her.  I can also whip up some egg salad.  I will make something with ground beef tonight to give to her and we have some sweet potatoes & chicken breasts from last night to send.  That should give her a little something to finish the week.  Seems like a lot of chicken, but I bet she doesn't care.  I'm sure she doesn't have much of an appetite.  I wouldn't.

I'll have to order some flowers for Jesse's family and his uncle's funeral (Thursday).  I did some research yesterday and found the funeral home and a floral shop near by.

I started shopping for Annamarie's gifts for her b-day at the end of this month.  I have a nice start.  I should get online and see if there is anything I can order and have shipped to my door.  Direct shopping and delivery . . . how convenient!

That's the dull and boring agenda for today.  School, housework chores, and cooking.  My days sometimes all run together!

Also, after the call about Uncle Herbert, Sister Tangi called and said Aubrey was about the same but they told him to try eating milkshakes or chicken noodle soup in small amounts.  They have also moved him from pain shots to pain pills to see how he tolerates things; and, they have discontinued some medication.  The doctor said tomorrow it might be okay to go home, but they really don't know.  They'll take another x-ray again tomorrow.  I guess much depends on how successful he is changing over to pills and getting soft food in his digestive tract.  Since he isn't connected to tubes, he can move about more freely and everyone seems to think that will help him with the pain.  I'm not sure how????  Usually moving around caused me MORE pain.  But, at least some of the bloating should be absorbed by his body as he moves about.