Finally!

I tried to post this via my new phone (daughter insisted), but I am so technologically challenged - I got to the sign in part and that was that. Well, just as well.

The long awaited news is here. DIL was a scheduled C-section for 12:30. So here we all were - me, G, her mother, her fiancé, her father, his wife, Daughter and SIL filling the waiting room. We were taking bets or at least talking about taking bets until it was a consensus that this baby was going to be a boy. Well, at 2:30 we finally were called back to the nursery. Problem here is that there are two nurseries. We finally went to the back one (naturally) and there was my son looking at a baby that had a PINK BOW in her hair.

IT IS A GIRL!!!!!.

I had hoped and prayed, all the while believing it a boy. But there she was in all her glory - 19 inches 7 pounds 5 ounces. Her nick name by me for writing here is Little Teenie. Her mother is called Teenie by all the kids. It started when she worked in the day care her mom ran. So there we have it. LT for short!!

Happy - that doesn't even cover it.

Conflicting rules

No shadow update as I am writing this again on Wednesday. He probably is doing so well I will find he has jumped to the top of a door!

This one is about Lady Bug's school. I try to keep a very open mind about things that happen at her school and with her teachers. I know there can be simple misunderstandings. This one isn't.

Last year, she participated in a reading contest. For every book read, and test on that book passed, the student got a little tag. L B had quite a collection of those tags, and she was quite proud of the number. The problem last year was that she quickly snapped to the idea that she could read the write up on the dust covers and know enough to pass the test. When the librarian discovered this, she took the tabs away. We all agreed, that wasn't fair. It was cheating.

At the end of last school year, they were given the dreaded summer reading list. But to the Gifted and Talented kids, it wasn't dreaded. They (a whole bunch from the school - not just GT) read those books. So this year, LB took the test on the books she read this summer. She had 28 points. I am not clear if this means 28 tags, or what.

When it was discovered she had read the books this summer, she was stripped of her points. The new rules were that the books had to be read during the school year. The other students in this grade suddenly decided they would not take the tests on the books they purposely read so the same thing didn't happen to them. Their parents, like Daughter, thought if they had the reading list, and read the books, it would count. No one knew the rules would be changed in mid-stream.

But the icing on the cake, so to speak, was the library paraprofessional. After LB had to endure the losing of the points, this person had the nerve to say something along the lines of "she cheated last year, we should expect her to continue to be a cheater."

LB learned her lesson. She read the books according to what she, and others, thought were the rules. This person, who is not a certified teacher or librarian, has no right to call her a cheater. I am fully aware that the school wouldn't run nearly as smoothly as it does without these ancillary people. They work hard for very little money. But this person has no business labeling an eleme ntary child with anything negative. When I taught, that was not something anyone would do to middle schoolers.

A meeting was to be had. I would love to know what happened. They were going to settle for meeting with the Assistant Principal. I said no! This isn't a student discipline problem. It is a staff discipline problem, and the Principal needs to be in the meeting.

As much as I love this grandchild, I will say when she is wrong. I don't see any fault on her part in this. At. All. Especially when other children were getting ready to take the tests to qualify for ....

a stupid pizza party.

Peace be with you - and I'll be back later with an announcement.

Shadow and baby

Interesting juxtaposition there. But then with my brain, it's perfectly normal.

Speaking of normal, to my thinking Shadow is back to normal - if you were to remove the feeding tube, bandage and e collar. The vet called today - from home since this is her day off! His lab work is coming back pretty normal. The liver and pancreas are both skewed, and one will affect the other. The FIP was negative, but it isn't reliable. All the biopsies are normal.

I am afraid this is the rally before another down time which is typical of FIP. Even though the tests show nothing, there is not a good, ultimate test for it. Shadow is eating well. Of course, he is eating the Special Diet food that is probably $3 a can. His normal diet, that he loved, is being offered. That is all - it's being offered - and snubbed.

I think she will take the feeding tube out tomorrow. I hope so. I can't get the cap off to flush it. Sure glad I don't have to feed him through it. So that will mean one less messing with him, and one less bandage - at least a big one. Now if that collar would go ...

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Son and DIL will have the baby tomorrow at 12:30. I have checked and can leave Shadow at the vet's office. I can't get a feel for how long she wants me to be there. I will definitely be there to see "it" right after birth. I had said I would be there are Son, but he will be in the surgery suite.

When Wiggle Worm was born, my heart was so full seeing Son with his first child. He was beaming. I don't think he will be quite the same way tomorrow. He knows what else comes - the diapers, the lack of sleep! But he also knows the love, so I know that will pretty much fill his heart anyway.

The anesthesia makes DIL sick - or at least we believe. But with WW, she had so many ice chips that may have caused her nausea. I think if I had been whisked off for them cutting into me to have that baby would make me sick too.

I also know her room will be filled with about 10 of her relatives. Even though she said tomorrow would be relatives, it won't be just the close ones. So I will let them have their time. I can go anytime Friday.

This will be number five. I never thought I would have five grandchildren. And this couple aren't finished yet. It really blows my mind when I think of it.

Peace be with you.

An update and a funny

Our man Shadow is rocking along. He brought blood on my arm last night!! I was never so happy to have been attacked by a cat in my life. He ate an entire can of the special diet cat food, so that meant no feedings through that blasted feeding tube. With any luck he can have it removed on Friday.

I would take him for the bandage change on Thursday, but that is the premier of the new grandchild.

So Shadow is doing great - right now. I pray it will stay that way.

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Now for our adventure yesterday. It occurred following a funeral. I know the deceased, Kirby, would be laughing still at this happening.

Our community was largely agri-based until about 25 years ago. We were at least 5 miles from the Houston city limits, and the school district spanned far more.

When we moved here, the school district had three high schools that were pleasantly full. There were lots of open fields either filled with cattle or amazing crops of corn or milo-maze. In the early days of our church we were pretty much alone. There was a school complex consisting of the first high school, a junior school, and elementary across the street. On another corner was a Church of Christ. To our west was the school district property that housed the rodeo arena. Yes you read that correctly - a rodeo arena where high school kids participated in a rodeo on Saturday nights. I',m sorry to say that we procrastinated so, as we are apt to do, that the rodeo was stopped due to the litigious nature of our populous that caused the insurance rates to sky-rocket. Thus the rodeo arena was dismantled, and there are no more rodeos.

The particular intersection where the church is located is very busy, and the high school fronts on a major freeway/highway. The schools out here still have homecoming and the associated parades that are early evening affairs followed by a pep rally. I never gave that high school's parade much thought until yesterday.

Yesterday our church, which seats about 300+ was totally full. Some lucky folks were ushered into the choir loft which is a true loft. I had considered that option, since I am at home up there in the rafters, if there were no remaining seats. You would have sworn all attending were good Lutherans since the only available seats were on the first pews. G spotted a first pew over where the band (we have fallen to the modern service to grab the youth too) sets up. Their stands were there all covered up. I felt right at home!

Our previous, greatly loved by some - greatly hated by others, was there to give the sermon. He did his usually great sermon, but that's not the funny part of this story. That comes at the end of the s service. Now when the church is only moderately full, parking is at a premium. By the time we got there - early too - people were parked in every niche and cranny available. The problem was made worse by the hearse and family cars, and so on. They changed the parking pattern for those vehicles.

Some people actually had the nerve to park next door (really on the corner) at the vet/insurance office's parking lot. On Sundays or at night, that is acceptable, but on a business day ... Anyway, G dropped me and went across the street to the other church's lot. They weren't having services

With the mad house that was going on after the service - people trying to leave the church's lot resulting in a dead-lock, I told G he would never get to me, so we walked over. About the time we reached the building that houses our pre-school, there were sirens everywhere. We peered around the corner, and there were people marching! It was the high school's homecoming parade at 2pm! It was stopping traffic all around.

I know if Kirby was looking down at his funeral - which would really end with the celebration of life at his Texas Saloon - he would be laughing so hard. I would have loved to see what was going to happen with the funeral procession. The traffic was building up, the procession was going to be long, and so was the parade. Now if the procession was going to turn right - no problem. The street is divided. But I think they were going to be turning left - to head to the freeway and on to the cemetary.

How could anyone have really known this would happen. I know his family, who probably went to that high school, possibly remember that it was Cy-Fair's homecoming? At any rate, it perfectly capped the funeral in a way that Kirby would have orchestrated. Fitting.

Peace be with you.

And another day

Well, the little darling, er devil is back to biting me, and I am loving every bite. It shows he still has come spunk. The half can of the special diet has been pretty much all he has eaten. Of course, he managed to get the cap off the top of his feeding tube, so it was easy for me to access it. I gave him one feeding, and yesterday I only cleaned it once. He had been playing before that, and after I cleaned it, he was lethargic again.

I offered the food this morning. He ate a few bites and that was all. He now has a little diarrhea. The collar is driving him absolutely nuts. In addition to not getting to his stitches, he cannot clean himself. And he needs to.

We went for a bandage change. Everything looks good. He has gained some weight, the vet says that's probably the fluid he lost while so sick, but she is pleased overall. We are still waiting for some of the tests to come back - especially the FIP (or the one that could indicate the FIP).

So, since the eating is sporadic, I give him a feeding when we came back. He appeared interested in the food too, so he has a veritable buffet in his prison cell with the wet special stuff and his usual dry stuff, and 15mL liquid diet.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Normal things around here are just that. DIL is still doing fine and we are awaiting the birth on Thursday, and I will have a new grandson or granddaughter. I am hoping for a girl, but I have a feeling it will be a boy.

I still hate that they don't find out from the sonogram. I think that is the greatest thing! To be able to plan ahead is just the best thing. If the technology had been available, I would have known. But it is their choice!

For some reason, I predicted the sex of each of my children. It was strange. With my daughter, I picked no boy name at all. I would have been up the creek had she been a boy!

So from the land of waiting for results, I bit you a good day.

Peace be with you.

Quick note

If you aren't an animal lover, this will be boring.

Shadow is showing signs of life again. He survived the surgery well. No foreign bodies. Everything looked good.

He is supposed to be inactive - no jumping. What a joke. The only way I can assure that is to keep him in prison. I can't wait until he can join me at the computer again spending his time looking at the birds out the window.

This morning he ate half a can of the special diet food. Perhaps it isn't FIP. Or is this one of the remissions they write about? I don't know. But if he can continue to eat like this, he will have the feeding tube taken out in another 3-4 days. I hope

Thanks for all your prayer and good thoughts. Shadow would thank you too if he had learned the language yet.

Peace be with you.

Shadow

He came home from the hospital last night about 6pm. I was given a demonstration of the tube feeding process. I just don't know. A friend had labeled me as Nurse K, but in this case, I really don't know.

I had prepared the kitty jail, er the kitty playhouse. Depends on your perspective. I put him in, and the rubbing on the bars commenced immediately. He has a huge "e collar" on. I always thought they were Elizabethan collars, but it is much softer. He also has a huge bandage around his neck holding the feeding tube in place. He hates them. He had the collar off in 10 minutes.

Today he is doing well. He has eaten on his own, and I will try to feed him again in a bit. Perhaps we can get rid of the feeding tube it he keeps eating. Right now he is so frustrated. He wants to groom other parts of the body, but the big blue bib is in the way. He is trying every configuration of his body to get to said parts.

I am supposed to keep him from jumping. What a joke. If he is on his own, he is heading straight for the utility room to jump on the freezer, which is comical in itself. He doesn't want that old dry food that is up there, but he wants up there.

I had him on the couch with me when something startled him. He jumped out straight eight feet. Not jump - right. So the only solution to that is the kitty jail - I mean kitty playhouse, or in the crate we use for traveling, which is where he spent the night.

Well, the master Houdini just got out of the collar again and went right for the stitches. So I must get it on him again.

Still praying for a miracle and this was a simple upset stomach that brought about major surgery.

Peace be with you.

Now what?

Shadow came through surgery fine. There was no foreign body. That was my hope. They have sent all sorts of bodily things (I'm not going to list even the ones I really remember). We have done the best for him that we can right now.

He is coming home with a feeding tube. OMG I have never had to deal with this.

But now I am putting my hopes in something from the lab work that will lead to treatments - not death. If it is FIP - he will be put down. That is a terrible disease. As he was, it was terrible nausea (at least the vomiting that was so bad) and the depression.

I can't sit and see him that way. He has always been such a "saucy" kitty. He is my shadow, he can be really sweet, or he can bite the wowie out of me too. I would love one of his hard bites right now. I just had the weird thought - perhaps he became sick on my blood! If I were still in chemo, I would wonder!! But oh, how I wish for one of those bites again. At least he would be feeling feisty again.

Thanks for "listening". I pick him up between 5 and 6 this evening.

Peace be with you.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

I thought yesterday was bad for Shadow. He got injections of antibiotics, appetite stimulants, anti-nausea, and had blood work done.

The blood work wasn't conclusive, but the liver panel was elevated. I won't go into detail because it is boring for most and I don 't remember all of it. But the vet came back with a list of possible outcomes.

The first, which he fits the profile for - under two, etc, is Feline Infectious Peritonitis. No real test for this. It ebbs, and then comes back. It is a death sentence, and we will probably euthanize him. A nasty disease that he could have gotten from mom. We don't know anything about mom. Shadow was found with what we believe were litter mates in a forest north of here, and they were sick. We just put that off to being on their own with no food, etc.

He could have Hepatobiliary, Pancreatits, or a form of hepatitis. Some of Tuesday, perhaps he swallowed some thread - something he hasn't done since he has been here. All this started on Wednesday - seemingly from no where. But so can FIP.

So he is in exploratory surgery right now. I just keep praying the surgeon will find a ball of thread in that intestine, and we will be good to go. But I also know the other side of this coin.

If you believe in praying for animals, and thank you Cheyenne, please pray for this little guy, my Shadow.

Peace by with you.

Short and not so sweet

As everyone knows, and if you don't here goes, I am an animal lover.

Right now I only have a dog and now a cat (for a year) The dog is Simone and the cat is Shadow.

Well, yesterday Shadow got sick. He vomited all day until there was nothing. No drinking - nothing going in.

We decided a trip to the vet was in order. His appointment was at 1. At 11 I started looking for him. He wasn't in his usual places. I finally found him as secluded under the bed as he could get. This worried me. This is the way a cat that is going to die acts.

His diagnosis is still unknown. They suggested getting him to Texas A&M - they are the major veterinary school, and handle the cases like this. I decided to take a more conservative treatment. So he is back here after being treated with meds at the clinic, living completely under my control in the "kitty playhouse." Thankfully I didn't have son take it down.

He could get over this soon, or he could die. We just don't know yet.

Peace be with you.

Back again

Hello there, let me introduce myself since I haven't been around here for a long time ... Well, it's almost that bad! The wonderful Swiss Army Knife of a mobile phone isn't ! Their internet coverage reached about half way to the SSB. That meant DAYS without the internet, and alas without being here!

When we got home, the backup battery was buzzing, a fact that took me about 15 minutes to diagnose. I went through each and every electrical thing in the study. I finally tugged on a cord in that sea of cords under my computer desk, and it let up. Ummm. I may be on to something here. So I pulled the backup/serge protector out and it was what was buzzing. Yeah - I am electrical wizard!

Then I looked at the new modem. It was dark. No lights happily dancing across the front of that black box. I unplugged it - I was sure. It still didn't light up with its happy little lights winking at me. Obviously, it was Comcast's fault. After all they have been here twice for it not working. First time they replaced a cable. Second time it was a cable and the modem. Their fault for sure.

So yesterday, I called and told them it was dead, dead, dead. And I was sure this is the problem because they have been out, and I checked it. It was dead. They said they would be out today. TODAY! Wow! That's a miracle. So I went to move some of the sundry wires and cables about - push them further to the back - and I thought I would re-connect the modem. You guessed it. It looked like a Christmas tree. So I told them "something had come up" and I had to cancel. Well - it was true! Sorta.

Later I decided to try to install the new router. I tried the new (old) computer that G brought from work - free. We installed Windows and thought we were on our way. It has been a paper weight for quite a while now. I was going to hook it up, and I did. Today I tried to go on line. I don't have the necessary drivers. Well, how 'bout that.

I went back to the old stand by. Re-hooked all her lifelines. Tried to go on line. I can 't. I have to call Comcast after all. Seems these days when you change hard wire hook-ups with different computers - the setting on the modem are wrong. I can't get that one on-line either.

So, ladies and gentlemen. We present Grandma K by way of the wonderful Sprint network. It works like a dream in the city. Oh well. Hello, Comcast? Yes, perhaps you CAN help me over the phone.

Peace be with you.

My stupidity!

I should have known better. I've been stung before. But I did it anyway. I was stupid enough to buy another Dell. I deserve all the hell I get, and it is happening already.

When the Gateway crashed, I lost a program that is so essential to me - my happiness at least. It is a little program that turns the program name of an embroidery program into an icon. Now to the average person, they would probably say "big deal - so what's the problem?" Well when you have several thousands of deigns, it really is a big deal.

If I want to know what a specific design looks like right now, I have to open a program that is meant to change the extension on that file that makes it work on my particular machine. Now why the different machines have to use different files, I don't know. I think it would be wonderful to just get a program and slap it into the sewing machine and go! But it is not to be.

And it appears me seeing the pictures of what that little file looks like when it is stitched out is not to be too. As soon as I start to download the file I get an error message, that on the information page of sites says, it is a problem with the wonderful, highly touted, lousy Windows 7.

So I wrote to the manufacturer of the program. He apparently believes that I can even get into the program, so to be sure, I erased the program and downloaded it again. Same problem, and I emailed him again.

Then I got the brilliant idea to email Dell. What. A. Joke. I got to the guts of the 5 page process, and got the message that process was down. Well, of course. So I guess I will have to call for help (India I'm sure). At least with the lap top they cannot put me down on the floor, dismantling the computer this time.

I guess there is a silver lining!

Peace

Just like a bad check

I guess I am being very hard hearted, but I know some people will never change - even if that person is 18 years old.

SIL's daughter who lied to get them to "save" her from going to California to the tune of $15,000 only to leave the next year when mom moved back to their town, is calling them every day again. She doesn't have any money. Mom won't (can't really) help her. They have been the proverbial grasshoppers from the old fairy tale the ant and the grasshopper. They were aware that college was looming. What did the daughter do, especially this summer, to get ready? Why she got nails (only to gnaw them off later - she is and always will be a nail biter), and hair extension with the money she made from the job she had. She didn't have it long. The boss had the audacity to tell her what to do! So she quit.

She has learned well from mother. Mother does the same thing, and when she went to court to get the child support raised to over $600/month, she blew that money too. Daughter didn't see a dime of it, and the college fund still remained at zero for them.

Birth mother decided Daughter should have the experience of a large away from home college. So they went to that college. Why anyone would want to go there is a puzzle because it is miles from civilization, but that's just me talking. The two of them even got this child a dorm room assignment.

SIL and my Daughter said they would pay tuition. BUT it was to be at a junior college in her city. Months went by without a single call from his daughter. Nothing. Finally when registration time came around, my daughter said if they didn't begin hearing from his daughter - all bets were off. No tuition.

So when she figured out this was a serious condition, she decided to be seemingly obedient. She called. Now that she moved out of her house (at my daughter's request, and I think it was wrong), she is calling everyday. She knows she has stepped into a pit of **it.

I just think this is a big mistake on my daughter's part. This girl said very nasty things about her when she left after the fight for her to be moved away from birth mom. She continued to be very rude to her for years.

I guess I am not very forgiving. I wouldn't take all these calls. I really think this girl is setting them up to get more money. She sees the bank there. My feeling is that she isn't the first person who has had to work AND go to school. If she has all these terrible living conditions both at birth mothers home and her dad's home, then she has to figure out how to live on her own. I just see her trying to get a really easy living with Dad and Step mom footing the bills after being treated like the lowest of low for 15 years.

I just don't see it. Tough love isn't so bad.

Peace.

Heaven save me!

I sincerely hope and pray that in my remaining life time I never ever, ever, ever have to replace a computer or a mobile phone - although you really can't call the phones these days. I am simply too old to be learning all these things.

First is this little "tap" mouse space on this lap top. It is so sensitive that if I breathe on the danged thing, something happens that I don't want - usually erasing something important. I have been trying to get my important files from my external hard drive, and if you can possibly afford it - BUY IT. It saved my behind - big time.

But the problem is that this fancy Windows 7 doesn't seem to particularly like my little drive. Probably the huge folder containing my embroidery files is here - someplace, but it has disappeared from the place I put it. When I transferred it over, in tact, I put it in one of the libraries. In fact, I opened several libraries at the time, which are gone. At least they are not present to my necked eye. There is no easy way that I have found to poke around this hard drive on this thing. In XP, that wasn't a problem.

I have spent parts of two days transferring those files by hand - one by one. It was tedious, plus it never went smoothly. I'll admit I probably did something wrong, but when I would copy a file and try to paste it, it was keeping the paste in the drop down menu. That was annoying as the devil. It kept me from adding new files until I could get back to the copy in that menu. I still don't know how to handle that situation. I finally just kept pasting those files onto this computer and maneuvering about the error messages.

I am not crazy about this keyboard either. It, too, is too sensitive. I can no longer let my fingers travel along while searching my mind for the appropriate next word (anesthesia brain - remember?). I don't like where the tabs for the mouse are either. When it is critical I find one - I am pressing on the computer case!

As for that mini-computer that is laughingly called a mobile phone, I was trying one of the apps to see if it would work. When I told it to call home, I got several responses, but none was the number I asked for. When I told it to call Son, the danged thing worked. I pushed stop as quickly as I could, but it must have gone through. With DIL having some problems with this pregnancy, I'm sure he thought it might be something associated with that, so he returned the call. I wasn't sure where to listen and talk into the thing. But I found it.

Last night I found where the ring tones were. I didn't like any of them, but I chose the one that I thought would be the most irritating - and be heard over the loud music that is on when we travel to the SSB. Rock or alternative stations that play a big mix of music - it doesn't matter. They are loud, and cell phones aren't heard. On my old one, I installed the old telephone of the 50's and up to it. It was heard, most of the time.

I guess my deep down problem is I am getting old. I don't learn as quickly as I did, and I am being bombarded with such changes. Before, when I was working, I could keep up. Things came in small bits and bytes (ha, ha so cleaver there K). I guess I will learn all these things from my sewing machine to this computer and its new OS. It;s just going to keep me learning all the way to the grave!

Peace be with you.

Wonder of wonders

I did something today I thought I would never do. I used to laugh at my kids for this very thing. I would mock commercials on TV. I thought this was absolutely silly and a waste of money. But I have joined all these people. I bought the top of the line Sprint carries. I think there might even be an app to make dinner in there somewhere.

SIL and Daughter took me to the store where they purchased their phones. You see I accidently knocked my air card on the floor when changing files from the Gateway to the new Dell. It shattered into three pieces. Well the cover came off and the sim card came out. When I went to the AT&T store, I could buy a new air card for $99 and add two more years on to my account. Since I am having a brain fart, I think I already went on and on about this. I have told every soul I know and even whined to a fence post.

Anyway, this contraption that owns me now is even its own hot spot. Right now the thing is laying there, plugged in to the wall, gaining strength to overtake me. It is scaring me to death. But it will get on the Internet itself. It just points to my inability to type. I tried to log onto one of my gmail accounts in the store. I never made it.

So now I have two entirely new applications to learn. I really miss the old XP. It was like a good old robe. Soft and fuzzy. Now I am using this Windows 7 wondering where some of the programs I downloaded onto it might have gone. I finally figured out how to make the icons small. They used to fill the whole screen.

So I have the new phone and the new computer. At least my phone bill will be less - in fact about half of what it was when it was cell phone with air card. I am curious about the speed of the new phone/computer/television/and who knows what else I have to find.

Filled with the internet - depleted with the money.

Peace be with you.

Passwords

Are passwords some kind of plot to make those who are seniors believe they are losing their minds? It certainly would seem so.

I am plagued by passwords for the bank, and that one requires you always use the same computer. Changing computers has been a trial enough, but that one was really terrible.

I have passwords for my email account. Ok, I have had that one so long I remember it. It usually is recorded on the computer. That makes access much easier.

I have a password to get to the posting here. I password for online shopping places. Those I usually forget in about 30 seconds. Now I even have passwords for the free embroidery sites. I know there are other places that require a password. That, in itself, illustrates my problem.

I am drowning in numbers. Password experts tell us to not use obvious numbers and letters. They tell us to change them often. I only have so much space in my feeble brain.

I so worry about dementia since my dad died of it. I try to make light of the fact I can't remember names, have word call problems, etc by saying that it is menopause brain or it is chemobrain -even though I competed those long ago. If all else fails, I say it is anesthesia brain.

If I can't remember a person's name, just how am I supposed to remember numbers interspersed with letters that constantly change?? Writing them down is not supposed to be a good answer. What is the recourse?

Peace be with you.

A little maudlin today

I'm meeting DIL in a bit for lunch. She is already having some pretty severe contractions, but her OB isn't too worried. Her next appointment with the OB is Friday, so we will see if she things anything is happening. The contractions aren't regular, but they are strong. She did this with Wiggle Worm as well.

Speaking of that little devil. I am really looking forward to spending some time with him without the circus environment that usually accompanies out family gatherings. Even then, when I catch his eye, I will get a sly little grin when our eyes meet.

They had chosen the name way before he was born. They kept telling us that we had been told the name, but they weren't telling names again as the birth neared. It drove me completely nuts. I like to know what is happening, and how it is going to happen.

With that first pregnancy., we were not told the sex. They didn't want to know. As I said the name wasn't repeated. I think they were as excited to reveal the name after birth as I was to hear. They had named him after my dad. His first name was Frank, but they thought that was "too old" sounding, and I have to agree. You really don't hear kids named Frank much today - at least not in this part of the country. So they used the middle and last name as his first and middle names. I felt honored.

I am not superstitious. I need to say that right up front. But I could swear that little must be Daddy reincarnated. He has that same little twinkle in his eye, and that smile is just like Daddy. But then my son looks like Grandpa Frank's clone. Even his handwriting is similar to Dad's.

That sends me down another rat hole - that's how my brain works these days. I have noticed that G"s as well as his brother's handwriting really resembles their Dad's. Ok - just a little diversion here.

I am looking forward to spending time with WW, although his mom just told me he is in a finicky mood. Perhaps he will get over that before we meet. Just as long as he gives me that look and smile!

Peace be with you

What a time getting on the internet again

Following the crash of the Gateway computer, the router gave up the ghost, and then the modem wasn't far behind - all those things heading to the glorious mechanics heaven in .. wherever.

I had been trying to reinstall the router thinking that perhaps I could bring it back to life, but it must have liked the calling from wherever, so I have decided it has departed for good. It just sat there are sent its little signal for two years, then just died!

I called Comcast on Thursday for the modem - assuring them I had tried all reassessing techniques on the modem. They make you jump through all these hoops before you get a service call and a new modem.

So Saturday, just before the witching hour of 5, here comes the repairman. He worked a bit - replacing the co-ax between the modem and the wall. Then he was off in a cloud of dust, looking forward to his three day weekend. When he was trying to show me how to work the lap tops. they didn't work well. They were "wonky" to say the least! In fact, the modem quit in about a half an hour.

So yesterday, I called and went through the same hoops, and then I got an appointment for today -again between 2-5. He got here at 3 and left about 4:45 - leaving his number if there was a problem again. I think they are on a quality program, and the technician gets black marks.

Anyway it all works - for now! I just have to get used to this new computer. Tomorrow I go out for a new router!!

Peace be with you.

T

"Fall" update

Wow, that title sounds so appropriate for the season. Too bad it is just me complaining again!

Yesterday was really pretty bad as far as soreness. My knee really scared me. Before I got out of bed, I felt some things that weren't right. I couldn't move laterally without pain, and I couldn't push backward without pain. I was about to call the doctor immediately. But being the procrastinator I am, I waited. It was probably a good thing because as I moved around my knee got better - so no damage there. It is doing OK. I knew the blow there was not great because there is only a little roughness on the scar.

My back is another thing. I was already having problems with the left side sciatica. Last week when I became Mrs. Clean, I knew I aggravated that situation. I was set to tell them to fix it this time. Of course they are having problems setting up the surgery center at the close clinic, and that appointment was put off to the 21st. My back is killing me - on the opposite side from impact. The pain will radiate around to my navel, but enough of this stuff. There is more to life than complaining. My main reason for posting about the fall was because we really have a killer step!! That's two of us in the last three months, and four in the last year!

I got the new computer yesterday. It is Windows 7. I am intimated. Things are so different. It suggested I do a backup of the system yesterday. So I got my CDs out. Guess what. It won't write to them - at least for this. I don't have DVDs so I am not using the new jewel yet.

The keyboard is so "touchy." When I was going to put in my name - I didn't get it all in, so that will be wrong for eternity I guess. So here I am on the old Gateway with my air card puttering around the Internet because Comcast IS STILL DOWN!!!

I am going to go to the desk top because I know they will have me become a contortionist to fix it. I was going to get a new router, but with no signal, what's the use right now.

Have a great weekend!

Peace be with you.

Funny, funny, funny *from the slooooow air card!)

The house email is out. I had a little trouble this morning first thing, and then ... well, you know the rest.

So I called Comcast to have a refresh signal sent. That was to no avail.

Like a good, patient customer, I waited a long while, and then called back. One of the choices was to get some ideas about what to try to make sure they were out.

The message warned me that heavy use - like gaming could be the problem. And then, with a perfectly calm voice they said "for more information, go to www.comcast.com. Sure thing! With no connection, I will get right on that.

Here's your sign.

I'm laughing too hard to send you peace.

OK, here's the scene

I am starting up the stairs. The baby blanket I am embroidering for the new baby is about half completed. The land line rings. I am on about the 6th step - right after making the turn from the landing.

I am pondering which way I should go - down and then which phone or continue my climb up the stairs. That phone is in the corner - past all the tables and almost behind the sewing machines. We all know calls on our land lines are of terrible importance. Is it Daughter? I doubt it because she changed cell phone plans and companies, and she only gets a limited number of minutes to and from land lines - hence the cell phone in my pocket.

I decide it is better to turn back and head down the stairs. All was well until I reached the "killer step." This step is notorious around here. It has more of a history than all the rest of the staircase. The rest of the stairs were only trying to kill daughter when she lived here. When she would be going up, you would hear a terribly bit thump - followed by "I'm OK!" Or she would be coming down to meet her date in the den. There would be that thump follower by the "I'm OK!" Surprisingly - she always was OK.

But the killer" step. It lays in wait for those who are foolish enough to be distracted by something. At that point, it will seem to disappear - making the poor soul navigating the steps FALL.

The fall can then manifest itself in many ways. If you are the victim of the step - it's just your pride that's damaged, and you hope no one is around. One of my falls caused my elbow to plow through the wall across the hall. That should stand there proudly as a warning to concentrate on your last steps.

Two weeks ago, Son was coming down carrying Wiggle Worm. He was distracted - and you guessed it. The "killer' step pulled itself away - out of sight. Down went Son. He tried to catch himself with his left foot. It gave way with an audible pop. G heard it. But WW was OK - just wondering why he was seeing his daddy crying.

His daddy was writhing in pain - thinking about the vacation they were leaving on the next day. That required driving about 5 hours down to South Padre.

We iced it, and gave him instructions to seek medical help if it got worse. To make that story short - he went to McMed (G's name for after hours stand alone clinics that seem to pop up like the Golden Arches). He went. Fortunately it wasn't broken.

So, back to me and the step. As I reached that step, by golly - it disappeared. This time, there was no elbow through the wall. I was on the ground completely. My first reaction was that I surely had broken my shoulder. My arm was extended above my head and the shoulder was at the baseboard. Nothing really hurt - but when I broke my ankle in '92, it didn't hurt either. I walked on it. A lot.

As the afternoon went on, the pains began. My side hurt a lot. I thought I surely must have broken several ribs. It hurt to touch and it hurt to breathe. I iced it immediately. I never thought about the newest knee. It was on "that" side. There was a little rug burn and that's it.

I am waiting until this afternoon to call the ortho doc. It hurts when I push back like in a chair, and it hurts to rotate it. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, I missed the call. I was lying there on the floor as the phone rang and rang. It stopped. After just a few minutes, my cell that was in my pocket rang. It was the pain management office calling to change my appointment for next week. Yeah.

Wouldn't you know - this is a long weekend too!

Peace be with you.

Old friend

Here I sit, in the study, tethered to the router that doesn't work as far as sending an intelligible signal past its own walls, thinking about the new computer that may arrive today (it was originally scheduled). I am using the old lap top - the Gateway, which is perched on the computer desk that was put in for the old Dell desk top that I used so faithfully until I got this little gem. It would allow me to sit at the breakfast table, gazing out the window to see the rest of the world - while watching TV - in color.

As I am using this old (by the cyber-space connotation) lap top, I realize how good of friends we have become. There was a real rough spot there when it was crashing. When I really didn't know how to bring it out of the continual loop it was running, and I had no control. But as I was rolling through my blog roll with such little difficulty, I was thinking what old friends we are.

It isn't like this computer is headed to the computer graveyard that I have. I am going to take it upstairs. It will work, like today, in surfing and downloading machine embroidery patterns. It may even upload pictures, like it has been doing in the other place _ thekdesignhome.blogspot.com. Gotta get those plugs in.

But I was thinking of how I will have to reload all the internet addresses that I have now, but then I should remember how just a month ago I was doing the same thing here - after it was reformatted. I think one thing I am a little frightened about is the new one is coming with the new (to me) Windows 7. I don't know a thing about it. I have heard it is a little more complicated than XP. (Strange the sentence I was writing just disappeared!) I used to be able to make these changes easily, but with my aging, an almost monastic life, and the drugs (!), I am worried about it.

So with a little sorrow, fear, but excitement I sit and await the door bell heralding the arrival of the new one that will join all these others in out computer graveyard. It will be welcomed with open arms and treated with such respect while this old friend and workhorse will be relegated to the craft room upstairs.

Peace be with you