Friends:

Well here it is; 9 Dec 01. I looked back at the records from my little weather station. In 89, it was 25 below zero on this date. My notes say that all of the rural churches cancelled services because they couldn’t heat the buildings. I guess God was frozen out. In 90, it was 10 below zero on this date. In 91 it was 2; and so it goes. Last night it dropped to 17; and that is the coldest temperature that we have had this fall.

The 20 year old TV quit working this morning. I had to go buy a new one. It took me an hour to figure out how to program the stations that we get. We are in a rural area and pick up stuff on bunny ears. These new-fangeled TV’s are set up for cable or dish. I had to go through the programs and find how to turn off all of the cable stuff. It sure gives a better picture than the ol’one.

The pup, today, realized that squirrels exist. Our house is all glass on one end. He now walks around on his hind legs to look at the squirrels. He still ignores the turkeys and the deer. He fell in the pond this morning and I had to clean the ice from the fur. ;o))

We need new puters at home. What we have coming is a G4 laptop and a G4 Twin 800. I am setting-up to do photo-reproductions. It will include an Epson Printer with special attachments to print B & W photos. It will be a learning curve.

That is what is up here. What is up with you at the end of the year?

Best Wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 09, 2001

Answers

Your timing is kindof bad for me on this one, Z, unless you want to hear about the diarrhea and stomach pains I had yesterday. I didn't think so. Feeling much better today, however. Went to the store and got lots of nuts, and a bag of gummy worms. I'd thought about buying nuts for Thanksgiving, but I'd bought the prime and turkey previously, and SO bought the rest. I didn't think it appropriate for me to extend HIS spending beyond the recipes needed for the Thanksgiving feast. [I'd ALSO thought that when I went back to the store for the rest I'd get enough to send some things to the local food bank. I didn't think it appropriate for him to pay for THAT either.] Of course NOW, I have only enough money [if I remember to deposit some checks tomorrow] to pay a few bills.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

Nita:

Z, unless you want to hear about the diarrhea and stomach pains I had yesterday.

Been there and done that; so to speak. I know what you're saying. We usually give money to the United Way. This year we didn't. We have been giving money to the local food bank. They were running out of food. And our unemployment rate is less than 2%. Must be worse in other places. Trickle-down bullshit.

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 09, 2001.

"What is up with you at the end of the year?"

Life has been busy. Jack is a dull boy.

Our '94 Civic's starter began to die in October. This week it was in the shop - again - getting a new starter put in - again - because the last starter was defective - again. We're on the third replacement starter.

So far, so good. But the two bad replacements worked for about a week before dying, so it is premature to celebrate. The bad parts were on warranty, so we haven't had to pay for the extra work, but it does chew up my time (and patience) shuffling it into and out of the repair shop.

My wife is still cleaning up the last details of her father's estate. He died in late June and our lives have been very disrupted since. There is a chance that almost all of the estate will be disposed of by New Year's Day. We are both looking forward to it, the way a marathoner looks for the finish line after passing the twenty-two mile mark.

The gutters are still full of leaves. It makes me wince to look at them.

-- Little Nipper (canis@minor.net), December 10, 2001.

LN,

Sounds like you need a product called Gutter Helmet, it's a quality product, I installed many of them and no one was ever unsatisfied.It'll save you all that grief and the pain of falling off the roof.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), December 10, 2001.

Well......

I still can't find a job here in paradise, at least not the quality of work I had in the wine/spirits biz in Tune Town.Businesses here just aren't that concerned with customer service, if ya buy it fine and if ya don't, that's fine too!Iv'e never seen anything like it, forgive my quuizzical look.I never thought I would see the day when I repeatedly heard the statement "sorry, you are over qualified" or the Mgr's look at my resume and get me out of the store, pronto.(I think they feel threatened?)

So it's looking like a change of careers is in the works, at least until I can get my own lil biz going.

Coincidentaly, I too am thinking about getting into the photo restoration biz Z, along with a couple other digital services and have been shopping for digital photo album software but as of yet I haven't found anything that jumps out at me.

Hmmmm....What do I want to do when I grow up???

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), December 10, 2001.

Well, I did the Christmas shopping today [which means I did my BROTHER's Christmas shopping for Lucky.] He called this week asking if he could just send me money and have me get something for her. He's done this in years past, and in the years I've not agreed, he's purchased REALLY goofy stuff, like a huge Bible with her name engraved in it, or a [what do they call those things that old people throw over their legs while sitting in a chair?] She can hardly see ME, and she could care less about the bible, and she wouldn't be caught dead with something thrown across her lap. It would seem too much like being an old person to her.

So, I went to the deadest mall in the DFW area. It still has a Sears, Dillards, Mervins?, and lots of specialty shops. The pet store there has closed, or I would have gotten Ekans some food. [I think Ingrid forgot about him.] I bought her a black pocketbook to match the shoes that my brother bought her this past summer, some new stockings, and a two-piece outfit. It's not easy to buy stuff for people her age. I went to several stores looking for the weird underpants that she wears, and finally bought five pairs of briefs that appeared to have a LITTLE leg. Those will be from ME, and I'll give them to her tomorrow. I may need to get one of those fabric markers and print her name on them. She's claimed for years that they go to the laundry and never return. This must be true, as she's down to three pair, and bloodied that one pair on Thanksgiving.

I missed going to the bank. The mall experience took too long. I'll go there tomorrow before heading over to see Lucky.

Z: I saw some wildlife today. There was a caterpillar crawling around the foyer in our house. I left him alone because there was frost on the ground outside, and when I went to look for him again he was gone.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), December 10, 2001.

I forgot to add that I pissed off "Jack." That's the guy who clerks at the specialty store I mentioned once before. I was wearing my "Don't Blame Me...I voted with the Majority" sweatshirt and a few people came into the store after me. I hung back, and one guy asked if I was next. I said, "No, go ahead. He and I enjoy discussing politics for a few minutes."

So, Jack and I started discussing politics after the last customer left. He started talking about M...something [I thought I'd memorized the name, but by the time I got home it had slipped through the sieve.] I said, "Who is that?" He said, "Israeli intelligence." I said, "I trust THEM more than I trust the CIA." Well, Jack's eyes rolled and his lips got small and [thankfully] the phone rang and I could run out of the store.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), December 10, 2001.

Got cut up but good last wednesday. Dragged around that pole with all kinds of goodies, including the bag connected to the cathader going into my bladder. walk, walk, walk, the thing to do after major surgery. Got on the couch and settled in to heal. Got stitches running from the inside of my knee, up to and across my groin on the right side. The left side has a pretty big area stitched up-the area where the graft of the bypass was done.

My 11 year old came home from spending the weekend with friends and has decided to take care of me, since her older sister decided this was a good time to leave the nest. 11 year old said she was in charge of my recovery, She meant it too. I fell asleep before 10 PM, needed to give myself a shot in the belly at midnight, she woke up at three am and forced me to get up and give myself the shot.

The surgery worked, I now have a healthy flow of blood from my left leg back to my heart. The constant, chronic, overwhelming, debillitating pain I have lived with for 3 years, that forced me to keep my legs elevated 23 hours a day, that prevented me from walking more than 20 minutes at a time (or the leg would swell up double in size)~is gone.
The surgery worked. I am in pain from 70 stitches and work done from the surgery, but that is normal pain, it gets less painful every day, I don't mind it at all. Word has it I will be able to heal and be "normal" within 8 weeks. I can even sit with my feet on the floor, rather than elevated as I sit. The cronic pain, the mind numbing, wanna scream, negitive mood, pain which only allowed me to sleep 2-3 hours in 24, and dream of pain when I did sleep kinda pain~~~~is gone. If it weren't for the pain from the surgery, I would probably think I was dead because of not feeling THAT pain. Surgeon said the harvested vein was perfect, not a bit of plaque or colesteral buildup, it was the biggest one he had ever seen and the connection to bypass the blocked vein went perfect. I took a taxi to the doctors office today, but rode a bus home. I walk kinda funny, but as long as I use my elgs and allow them to stretch, they should heal strait, the scar won't pull the skin tight, making me walk bow-legged.

I am in such a better mood now that I am not in constant pain and restricted to a recliner. So I have been a bit busy with an experience I hope to never have to repeat. I like showing people my scars *giggle* it looks painful. The only downside is I may not be able to wear a bikini again, what with the scar and all

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), December 10, 2001.

Cherri, I am so glad that everything worked out. I had no idea you were experiencing that kind of pain.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), December 10, 2001.

Welcome Back, Cherri!

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), December 10, 2001.

The absence of pain... a true gift.

Very happy for you Cherri. Welcome back.

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), December 10, 2001.

Cherri:

Good news. You can now whip north Seattle back into line. ;o)

Best Wishes,,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 10, 2001.

Good for you Cherri!

-- helen (wear@bikini.with.pride), December 10, 2001.

It's cold here right now. It's ALSO raining. Those two combined add up to ice storms for North Texas. I still haven't adjusted to ice storms. In Illinois, it got WAY colder than here, ice fell, snow followed, or snow fell and ice followed, but there was never JUST ice [at least that *I* can remember.] Just yesterday I went shopping wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans. Today my ears nearly froze off just spending 10 minutes outside talking to Lawnmower Dave.

Oh...the price of gasoline has dropped below $1.00. This was ALSO the first year in probably 20 that I purchased a dress [actually a two-piece number] in Lucky's taste for under $29.99. The mall stores had sales that were 50 and 75% off the original price. It was a truly sad experience shopping at the "not quite dead" mall yesterday. There were very few clerks in the stores, very few customers, and the people who set up those little stands in the walkways had absolutely NO business at all. It's bound to "trickle down" someday, right?

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), December 11, 2001.

Anita:

Don't you hate the ice. I moved here from a town that go 400 in of snow a year and had no snow plows. Snow is not a problem. Ice is a nightmare. Not so much because I can't handle it with AWD, but because the other morons don't know what they are doing. Well the local station said we should have rain tonight because the low will be 48 F. It is now 38 F and dropping. I will withhold judgement until tomorrow.

Gas has been as low as 86.9 here. It is now into the low 90's and has been there for weeks. I have not bought a dress. ;o))))

Best Wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 11, 2001.

I know Christmas is coming. It's December. The stores are busy. The snowturds have come south for the winter and are clogging up the roads. The yearly Deedah/Clark Griswold light extravaganza is up on the homestead. I watched "Christmas Vacation" (twice) and "Scrooged" (once) and anxiously await the TBS 24 hours of "A Christmas Story". Did most of my Christmas shopping...

Still, somehow, daily temps in the low 80s doesn't lead to a Christmasy feeling.

*sigh*

I love it here, but every once in a while I miss looking at LL Bean catalogs with the thought in the back of my mind that I might actually BUY something in it. My "winter" coat is now 13 years old, and still showing zero signs of wear. Being worn only a few days a year will do that for clothing.

Anyway, enough rambling.

Happy to hear that you are well Cherri, sending you a cyber-hug.

((((Cherri))))

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeeD@yahoo.com), December 11, 2001.

The only problem, all that pain put me in a negitive, grumpy mood alll the time, I don't know if I will be able to muster up the vitrol I used to against that pansey assed, awol going, crack smokin, drunk who was placed into office for the sole purpose of doing the bidding of his highest contributors. But then again, I can always try.

ROFLMAO (OUCH~gotta be carefull about laughing for a while.

I have made my self a goal, to be in the left seat of a 737 flt sim in 8 weeks.

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), December 11, 2001.

Cherri--

So glad to hear that your surgery was successful. Some day, if you're in the mood, I think many of us would be interested to hear more about the medical problem that caused you so much grief.

In the meantime, just remember----Dubya loves you.

-- (lars@indy.net), December 12, 2001.

We are now entering our summer, and have had a number of days with the temperature at around 30C (86F).

The new house we started building 6 monhs ago is almost finished, and we have been living in it while still working on it. Winter was a bit cold being in a house with no exterior cladding other than a few sheets of plywood. It was cold enough that we went for over a week with no running water, and had to dip a bucket into the tank for such simple purposes as flushing the toilet. But we are now fully blocked in on three walls, and are about to start the last section. This will be the hardest one, as instead of prepared concrete bricks, we will be using natural stone from a local quarry.

This area is going ahead so rapidly that it is almost impossible to get tradesmen or contractors when needed. It will be another 6 to 12 months before we get our irrigation pond dug, and so far we still have no telephone other than a cell phone. (Hence I'm only online once or twice a week from work.)

So far we have planted 180 trees and hope to put in another 400 over the next 3 years. Our horses are loving the freedom of wandering around a large paddock, although I do feel sorry for them on very hot days with not much in the way of shade. There are a couple of mature trees on one side of their paddock giving some shade in the afternoon, but no morning shade as yet.

Our cats are having fun catching rabbits, and there is hardly a day goes by without at least rabbit being dragged into the house. At least it saves on cat food. :-)

Best wishes to all

Malcolm

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), December 12, 2001.

It's great to hear you're ok, Cherri! Welcome back!

The very best home health aide my dad has (like a father/son relationship now -- and he's like a brother to me, too) was, I found out (from a call by the agency), in jail for up to $2,000 of unpaid traffic violations -- he was wanted in many cities and counties. I spent a chunk of the past week trying to pay his fines and costs and get him out in time to resume his shifts with my dad.

Why did it take so long?

When I finally located him in the Oakland County Jail, I traveled an hour to get there only to find him passing me on a bus literally within one minute of my getting to the jailhouse door (I was told he was on it when I got there). They were evidently transferring him to Detroit, the officer at the jail told me. But they had no record of what precinct. She essentially just told me, “good luck” and added, “maybe he’ll call you.” I said, “no he won’t – he has no idea I’m coming to get him out.”

After half a day on the phone from my dad’s (including calling his mom because they had to have his birthdate to look him up in the system), I finally located him at the 9th precinct. Then I found out we needed more cash. I raised the additional cash and was ready to pick him up later that evening when the precinct said he was transferred to Detroit Receiving Hospital for asthmatic problems. After assuring me he was ok, the officer said I couldn’t get him there – I had to wait for him to get back to jail – maybe the next day.

The next day, I called again and was told he’d arrived back at the jail. I got my stuff together, raced into my car ("I'm gonna nail him this time"), and drove to Detroit to find out he wasn’t there –- now he was in court.

I scrambled into my car and tore off to the court (it had become even more of a personal thing to me now -- an obsession -- I was gonna find him no matter what) -- and he wasn't there either. I was told the Judge had let him out. Released on personal recognizance.

As I stood there open-mouthed, hair all over the place, and still almost out of breath, the officer added,

“You know, it's interesting he’d voluntarily turned himself in in the first place. I understand he felt guilty about all the tickets...”

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), December 12, 2001.

The only problem, all that pain put me in a negitive, grumpy mood alll the time, I don't know if I will be able to muster up the vitrol I used to against that pansey assed, awol going, crack smokin, drunk who was placed into office for the sole purpose of doing the bidding of his highest contributors. But then again, I can always try.

Now *THAT'S* the Cherri we know and love! Nice to see that things are getting back to normal for you. :)

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), December 12, 2001.

I can't drive, well I would probably drive anyway but the car is dead and social services has provided me with a person to come over once a week to help me. I need a ride to the store, although I walk baby steps so I might use one of thos carts, and the laundry mat- I'll wait until next week for that (washer blew up a week ago)I can hand wash what we need.

Dubya looks kinda pekid doesn't he? thin faced, drawn and very grey compaired to the election. I don't know what is benifitting me the most, the lack of pain or the amazing amount of sleep I am getting in one throw. Dreams without pain. You know how you can have those bathroom dreams when you really gotta pee? Well I would dream of pain, running around loking for drugs to stop it, a doctor to cut the leg off, or some dreams would have the leg injured, crushed under a steel beam. If you wanna know what happened to make it like it was, I'll tell you the story, as I lived most of it during the Y2K discussions on till now.

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), December 12, 2001.

Good to see that your surgery was a success.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), December 12, 2001.

aekrhj;aoiehf;ioehfo;ahf;iahef;oiawhef;ihef;iowehf;ieofhasdjhfsdjhcjxz hcvzjchvlkxvhcxjvhzlhcxjkv

and then:

asdhf;iouajr;ijewroifrewf74we7465ae7f37ds8f78DS7F3A7SD3F7ASD86F7AS3D8F 7ASD8F73S8D7F3ASD87F38ASDF73A8SDF7A8DF73ASD8F7AD8F7ASD687FAS6DF73ADS8F 7A3S8F7S6D8

AND IF THAT WASN'T ENG0UGH:

ADSLHF;JH23987408912 75874IDJFHADJHFP98 QW4R82[4P02375R EAIOFJ;AOIJ;SODUF [Q0WEUR09QUWE9UAEIFJ;AOIDUSFPQAUEURQA9IU'S9OUFD'SADUF;IOSDUFPOSIDUFGSP ODIFGUSDGPISFDUGPSODFIUGP

So the moral of the story, if you have been following closely is:

asdjhfljkadhfpe7r834750894375hdljhfiuayr89q347y897ry7

-- alkjdshfluueqwon vpqweyr (sdfhlhagsdh@sajf;kdh.alsfho), December 12, 2001.

Now WHO can argue with THAT?

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), December 12, 2001.

alkjdshfluueqwon vpqweyr,

I was going to attempt to decode your post, but I noticed that you repeated a lot of the same characters. Not very convincing.

-- (please@try.again), December 12, 2001.

Cherri,

I had no idea that you were in so much pain.. physically.

Keep on keeping on.. ;)

(((((Peace and Love)))))

-- Peg (pegmcleod@mediaone.net), December 12, 2001.

This has nothing to do with anything, but I tripped over a wheelbarrow in the dark and now I have a black eye. This was a bad moment for my husband to stomp out of the house to yell at me for something. If the neighbors call the cops, all I have to do is sniffle while they look at my face. (bwahahahaha)

-- helen, bruised, hormonal, and pissed (and@mildly.upset.too), December 12, 2001.

Handing Helen some chocolate....

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), December 13, 2001.

Thanks! He handed me a chocolate bar this morning. All is well...

-- helen (chocolate@soothes.all.wounds), December 13, 2001.

Thanks for the good wishes, It makes me feel better.

I can't sit long, but can use pillows on the floor under my knees and "stand" on them to type. The "helper" didn't work out, had a neighbor take me to the grocery store and a few other places, I kinda over did it and am going to crawl on the couch with my legs elevated.

Thanks for welcoming me back. The pain from the surgery hurts, but not to the extent of the earlier pain and without that to funnel into politics, I may end up being less outspoken (yea..right! giggle).

When I can once again sit comfortably I will write about my owie and how it got to be there.

It's slow, sure you don't need some input from me now? I know, I'll start a thread. (I hear the groans)

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), December 13, 2001.