Back Again - One More Time

And in a much better frame of mind. Not much has changed but I've had a couple of days to get my act back together. I was putting off writing in the hopes I'd learn something new. Not so far.

I talked to Carol a few minutes ago. For the first time since she went in, she sounded a little like herself. They've been keeping her doped up most of the time and treating the various symptoms as they pop up. Still no diagnosis though and she looks awful. I tell myself people in hospital beds usually do.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers. I may not post everyday depending on what's happening but I'll try to update and stay in touch. I'll try not to be so much gloom and doom. It was a very bad day but the next was little better and the one after that. Your comments and email helped, especially when I was finally able read them.

I called Comcast on Thursday. At first they said it was network congestion and then said they'd send a technician out on Friday. He spent a couple of hours; first checking out cables and then my new modem (two weeks old) itself. Finally said the tests showed nothing wrong but obviously something was so he'd replace it for me - again.

I said if the second new modem didn't work we'd know it wasn't the modem. Evidently it was; this thing has run faster than I've ever seen it and I've always had Comcast. Amazing. Of course Blogger still drags sometimes but that's just Blogger being Blogger.

Somehow though he disabled "allow cookies" before he left. I called Comcast back and while they were searching for how to fix it, I found it myself. Whatever cookies are, they're crucial to access and they're back.

W're been doing what we usually do. I find it helps when I get into the doldrums. The girls (all 3) went roller-skating on Friday and have been having a good time most of the weekend. I did my first of month shopping and am thinking ahead to Christmas. We'll probably put our tree up next weekend. I'm a little cramped for space in the living room. Once I put the tree on the table, it eliminates one homework spot which I'd just cleared when we put the swamp cooler away for the winter. The girls have problems focusing when they all try to use the same table at the same time. I probably would too if I were trying to keep up with one set of numbers in my head while someone else was reciting the times table aloud.

I took Elcie with me for a little of the shopping. She'd been wanting i.d. tags for the cats. We now have them for 2 of them (expensive little things, the tags) with their name and phone number. Elcie created them herself with the Petsmart machine. Our oldest cat doesn't venture far from the yard and so far Moonbeam hasn't either. Spunky would probably hate a collar. Now I get to listen to Princess and Dipstick jingle as they play together.

I brought her home and went back out. Stopped at a thrift store on my way home and found half a dozen pretty, warm sweaters for Rochelle and Elcie, three jackets, and a sturdy raincoat for Elcie. She has one but it's too long. When she sits in her chair, she slides out with only her seat belt holding her in place. This one is better even if it doesn't cover her knees completely.

One of the jackets is an L. L. Bean without a mark on it. I spent about $22 dollars for everything and now at least two kids are in good shape for cold weather. I'll have to look further for Rebecca. She's one of those awkward sizes. She's small for her age and doesn't want to wear "baby" clothes. I'll look elsewhere tomorrow. She has several pretty sweatshirts and last year's jacket still fits so she won't freeze in the meantime.

I checked in on Carol briefly. She was quite groggy and I'm not sure if she remembers I was there although she opened her eyes and talked for a few minutes. I left as soon as I realized she needed the sleep much more than the company.

This morning, the New Orleans Saints ran all over the San Francisco Forty-Niners (American professional football). I was silently cheering the Saints on. My son and my grandson are both fans and I'm a sucker for the underdog. They're having a great year and are in playoff contention. We're not although this year was better than the last several have been. I told my son I have to admire a team which wears a lily on their helmets.

I like baseball much better than football but I subscribe to "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" school of philosophy. I know enough to follow the game and remember the names of the superstars.

Now I'm thinking about a nap.

Katie K at Bosphorus Ramblings has signed up for a new Forum/Message Board which looks remarkably simple. I don't usually do forums and such but I like this one. You can sign up and drop out at will with one post or a dozen. The best thing? We can edit our own comments. What a great idea!!

She wrote a post about our recently completed blogging marathon (see Yoda over on my side bar). She completed it successfully as did I (just barely if I count Tim's posts when my net went down) and she was interested in opinions both on the "forum" itself and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). I left one (without having to register or anything), made a mistake, and went in and corrected it immediately. Sure beats having to leave a second comment to fix the first and I'm notorious for that.

Click on her name if you're interested in finding out more. She has a link to the Forum.

Hope all of you are surviving the snow and the cold snap. I was complaining about hovering around freezing at night until I read that Alberta was a nippy 30 or so below and that parts of Missouri had 1-1/2 feet of snow. On the other hand, Australia is beginning to enjoy the approach of summer although I heard they've experienced some storms.

Take care everyone. Think I'll try for that nap while the house is quiet and Ray is feeling well enough to keep up with the girls. Not much keeping up; they're all elsewhere with friends at the moment.

AIDS Candles

"Anonymous" left a comment (yesterday?) that the candle count was at 211,000. I bet it's more by now.

Impressive and thanks to all of you who responded so quickly.

I'm Back - Again

Another new modem has been installed. Third time's a charm. Except for Blogger, it's running faster than ever before.

Sorry I sounded so down yesterday. I've had better days.

Carol is still in the hospital. She hasn't wanted to see anyone but I'll go over today regardless. Maybe I can at least talk to someone. She says they may or may not schedule surgery for her.

And this is short because now I'm going to try to catch up on reading the email that's piled up. I'll probably zap most of the news stuff and catch back up tomorrow.

I'll be back.