a balmy sixteen degrees..

Yes, I talk about the weather alot. Perhaps because I have a big stupid fluffy doggie who needs to be walked down the road each morning, rain or shine. Or perhaps because we don't have any good firewood this year, and keep the thermostat so low that unless we are baking cookies, it is cold in here. Charlotte Claire and Camille finished their cereal and are cuddling under a comforter with sippy cups of warm cocoa, watching "Dinosaur Train". Smart girls, very smart.

Anyway, I looked up the forecast for the next couple of days....tomorrow, snow in the morning and snow showers in the afternoon. Saturday, high of 12 degrees, low of five. Sunday, high of NINE degrees, low of MINUS five. This is not Alaska, Mother Nature!

Tomorrow I am going grocery shopping with my brother, Bob. He is buying the food for a wedding this weekend, the wedding for our friends Mike and Rachael. He has to pick up the rolls at Price Chopper, and I want to go there too, so we are going together. I am looking forward to spending some time with him. It does make me want to go out and clean out the van a bit though...

I wrote a letter to Benjamin this morning. It feels like an accomplishment. My handwriting skills have never been good...I used to get "C's" in penmanship, and the comments on my report cards always included the advice to "be neat!" I got problems wrong in math because I couldn't read my own numbers. I could type the letters and print them, but that just seems to impersonal. So I write, and my hand cramps up....and the kids interupt me, and blah, I feel like I have accomplished something when I finally get that letter in the envelope with a stamp on it, and into the mailbox.

Our trip plans are coming along just fine....Emily Anne will be joining us!!! This is very good news because:

1. She is a NIGHT-SHIFT nurse. This means she is used to being up at night and can DRIVE at night.

2. She is a nurse. Nurses are always good to have along.

3. She is a nurse. This means she has a JOB, which means she has her own MONEY.

4. She is FUN. She is of the Tribe Of Joseph. (read Anne of Green Gables to find out what that is)

Abigail is also going, she also has a job, so this is good. She is also tons of fun. Aaron is thinking of going, he has to see if he can keep up in school....Mirielle will miss some classes to come...and of course Ashley will come, and me. I told Ashley we are going to get to know each other quite well, all staying in the same room...I hope the hotel people don't notice that we will have six people instead of four. One room is expensive enough.....

The scalloped potatoes were very yummy, by the way. Ten pounds of potatoes, and there is only a small bowl leftover. hmm. I am guessing the kids liked them too.

Tonight, we have to eat dinner AGAIN. blah.

But last evening, Emily was here for a few hours...finally. And of course I stayed up way too late, talking with her....anyway, she was talking about some of the patients she has had...no specifics, of course, she wouldn't violate the privacy act....she has a twenty year old cancer patient who needs an organ transplant but cannot have one because of having chemo in the past year...so he is dying....she has a 40-ish man who is dying of cancer....the floor she works on rarely discharges patients, to put it nicely. She is getting a little tiny bit used to seeing death. I told her the nurses should all go to therapy. I couldn't handle it. She did encourage us to, "not complain. Seriously, do not complain about your life. I am not going to." and she put on a face of resolve. I guess seeing what she sees day in and day out, one can either get depressed or be bound and determined to live life to it's fullest and take things right. When one chooses the latter, it shines on those around them, too. That's why it is so good when she is around.

I need to work on the laundry mountain. Among other things. It is so discouraging to clean up this place, then look at it again the next day...and they just keep wearing socks and undies and using towels....blah. So....out of my chair....