Two Week Countdown!!!

Two weeks from today, if all goes as planned, we should be at the beach.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Hopefully we'll have some beautiful weather. This is where we're staying:

Our little condo should have this floor plan:

We'll have a little kitchen, and the balcony overlooks the Gulf of Mexico.

It's a little roomier than a 1 bed efficiency, so we'll have a little more room to kick around in when we aren't out running around and seeing the sights.

Yep, for a week, that'll be our home away from home! How cool is that?

Taking A Day Off. . . Mostly

I like Sunday’s. It’s as close to a day off as I get. Jonathan and I do go to the grocery store, but other than that and fixing a little something for supper, that’s all the work I usually do.

Now I ought to be finishing up the laundry, but I’m being lazy. I’ll try to fit in a load or two during the week. I didn’t get it all done yesterday because I got a late start on housework. Instead, I spent a couple of hours during the morning on another class. This one was really intriguing, talking about neuroscience.

It was a personal development class, and the actual title was “The Neuroscience of Success.” It’s amazing all the new things being discovered about the brain, and how we learn, and why we do some of the things we do. Totally fascinating! I was intrigued to discover how much our brain opts for a sort of homeostasis, wanting to maintain the status quo so much it will actually often sabotage us trying to change our behavior.

But I will also admit that sometimes I find it rather disconcerting to discover how much of our behavior is controlled by chemicals swirling around in our brain. Fortunately, there are ways being discovered to get around that to some extent (without medication, thank you very much!).

As for today, I’ve worked on setting up humor mailings for next week, and am trying to get snail mail ready so I won’t have to spend much time on it tomorrow morning. I’m hoping my internet connection will behave itself, as it has been winking in and out again today. It’s quite annoying to be working away and all of a sudden you’re no longer connected.

I’m hoping for a productive week with NO major problems. I hope it’s not a case of “To Dream the Impossible Dream.” I’d rather opt for “Let The Good Times Roll!”

Another Week Whizzed By

I’m taking a break from writing posts for a website for those with rocky relationships. Sometimes I feel like Dear Abby for the lovelorn! And no, I am NOT going to tell you the name of this particular website.

I’m not sure where this week has gone. For that matter I’m not sure where August went, or a big part of 2009 for that matter. Just today I got a complimentary calendar in the mail for 2010. I am NOT ready for 2010! It just seems inconceivable we’re so close to a new year, and indeed, a new decade.

Fortunately, this has been a much, MUCH quieter week. I’m ready for boring for a while. Although I can’t really say it was a boring week, just more peaceful, without a bunch of big problems popping up. But not really boring.

For one thing, I participated in 4 webinars: one Tuesday night, 1 Wednesday, and 2 Thursday. All four were about making money on the internet. All were interesting.

I got real excited about one particular idea that was presented, thinking of a good use for it, but it was a new product, and way expensive. I thought about it for a couple of days, and realized it wouldn’t work for me anyway. There were a couple of major reasons, one being it was pretty labor intensive. I need something that doesn’t require constant upkeep.

While it's really good to have learned about the many options available, now it’s time to start narrowing my focus.

I’ve got about 2 months more of classes, then school's over. The time I spend will radically shift from leaning to doing. And I need to start getting a FOCUS on what I want to be doing. Instead of trying a whole bunch of different things, I need a to narrow it way down. I’ve pretty well decided what I want to do, and I’m in the process of working out a workflow. I’m sure there will probably be some tweaking of that as I finish up this last couple of months of classes and new ideas continue to filter into my brain.

Then it’s on my own and time to rock and roll.

Mail Call!

It never ceases to amaze me how many "people" get mail at our address. I just went out and got the mail, and as I sort through it, I see that today we got mail for the following persons:

• Tish K.
• Jonathan Mark B.
• Jesse K.
• Ann K.
• Jonathan M. B.
• Patricia K.
• Dale B.
• Jesse Ronson (whoever he/she is!)
• Michael K. and last, but not least, the ubiquitous
• Occupant

We've also been known to get mail for Richard B., though none today. We also occasionally get some of our neighbors mail.

Considering there have never been more than 3 people living at this address, and I know that at least 4 of the above mentioned names have NEVER lived here . . . well, it's just kind of crazy we get deliveries for so many people.

I mean, come on, it's really bad when you take into account one of the above mail recipients has been deceased for over 16 years.

I guess once you're on a mailing list, you're there forever.

Why I Don't Like IV's

A picture is worth a thousand words. . .

'Nuff said.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait. . .

Sometimes good things are merely the absence of bad things. For instance, like these:

• I looked at all my websites this morning and not a single one had been hacked.
• I looked at my credit cards and there were NO new fraudulent charges.
• I went out to do chores and did NOT see a rat scuttling around in the feed room.
• All the animals look fine, and
• The guys went off to work, as far as I know, without incident.

I also saw a little chick with a mama hen this morning that I first saw a week or two ago and hadn't seen since then. I figured the chick hadn't made it, but there it was this morning, so that's something else good!

We had not one, but TWO good training sessions last night, and my head is spinning with information. Things in the real world are in constant change, and things on the internet are in change even faster.

It's a continual learning experience to keep up, but fortunately, there are basics, and once you learn all that, it's a matter of being flexible about the rest. What's good is I have down most of the basics, and really feel a tipping point should come soon between learning and earning.

And last but most certainly not least, Jess gave me the most excellent GOOD news that he's booked us for a week of vacation in September down at Panama City Beach.

We have a little efficiency place with an open floor plan. It's got a kitchenette, which is good since we can eat a lot of our meals there and save money on food. They even said they have wi-fi available, which is really good. That way I won't suffer from internet withdrawal or miss my classes. (I know, that's sneaking in a little "work", but these aren't going to continue forever!)

And we don't have to worry about a farm/critter/bird sitter since Jonathan is here. That's a very good thing too!

We haven't went on a "we're not visiting someone" kind of vacation in literally years. Those are always nice, but a week of doing nothing but goofing off, wow!

I can't wait to have a GOOD time at Panama City Beach!

Hey, Doc! You're Just Kidding, Right?

Yesterday Jess drove us over to Georgia so I could go to my appointment at the Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Clinic there. We left early, the trip went without incident, and that put us there over an hour ahead of my appointment. That worked out fine, as it gave us time for a light lunch before going over to the clinic.

First up was talking to the doctor. She had a bunch of lab results back from the 12 vials of blood they drew last time. OH. MY. WORD. That was a real shocker and an eye opener for me. I knew my thyroid was messed up, I had low levels of vitamin D, and a couple of other things, but these blood tests were showing viral and bacterial infections. Not just one, nope, how about half a dozen???

It seems a compromised immune system can allow all kinds of things to pop back up that have been latent in your system. Like way back in college, I had mono. That's caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus. So who knew it could reactivate and cause chronic illness, like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? (Okay, maybe YOU knew it, but I sure didn't. But it says so even on the CDC website.)

And no, I am NOT contagious with any of these - I made it a point to ask the doctor about that.

In a simplified explanation of ONE of these tests, you're supposed to have a lab value of no higher than 10. Gee, mine was 5,120. I guess you could say that test was positive. (That was a little sarcasm in case you missed it.)

Besides the 3 virus's lurking in my body, there are 3 types of bacteria. One was for a type of pneumonia, which from what the doc was telling me about it, could explain the asthma-like symptoms I get sometimes.

And then, let us not forget LYME DISEASE.

Oh yeah. It's true. When the doctor asked to test for it last time, I almost refused because it's a really expensive lab test and I figured it was a waste of time. Guessed wrong on that one.

So there we are looking over all these lab results, positive for 3 bacterial infections and 3 viral infections, and the doctor looks at me and says, 'No wonder you're feeling bad!"

She'd written by every one of them "causes fatigue" and by one "causes flu-like symptoms". Her summation of upcoming treatment is to "get rid of these infections as quickly as possible while maintaining a balance of not doing it so quickly you feel terrible all the time."

If that doesn't make sense to you, it's because of a Herxheimer reaction. See, the problem is that when killing off infections, sometimes the toxins from their dying off are released faster than the kidneys and liver can remove them. This can cause fever, chills, headache, and muscle pain - a Herxheimer reaction.

I knew about this from my shepherding experience. The vets give special meds along with antibiotics to help counteract the shock. In acutely ill animals, it doesn't always work and the animal dies.

Hmmmm, well, if yesterday's treatments and today's feeling is any indication, we're not doing so well on that one. I had medications by IV (only took 3 tries this time to get one started, yeah, only) and two shots.

And today I feel like I've got a bad case of the flu.

So can I have a little cheese with this whine? Because this is rather depressing. We're spending a bunch of money trying to get me well, and right now I feel worse, and can't help but worry that I'm just wasting all this money.

And one thing I'm coming to realize, this is NOT a short-term project. It's going to take longer than I'd hoped, and again, in the mean time I have to wonder if it's actually doing any good, or I'm wasting a lot of money.

I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

45 Day Purgatory

It's raining here. Somehow, that seems appropriate.

The Mediacom Cable tech just left. Since the internent is presently working, there wasn't much he could do. The signal is strong right now. (Naturally - it's kind of like having a toothache and you get to the dentist and it doesn't hurt any more.)

However, he did give me some ideas, and some things to note should we have any more problems, as they would help him, or whatever tech comes out, to know where to look. He gave me a great Modem Info 101 lesson, and what the modem is doing as each light comes on.

He was very nice, checked out what he could, and offered some theories as to the problems. Unfortunately, some of these problems can be hard to track down. For instance, equipment can be stressed by lightning or something, and at just the right temperature and/or humidity, quit working. Get away from that, and it works again. Yeah, we've been there before.

And yes, the tv will still be working, but the internet go down.

It's also apparent that I was correct about one thing anyway, that at some point last Friday they messed up my connection from *their* end, because that's the ONLY way you see the installation screen asking for an account number.

As for the "45 Day Purgatory" title, the mail ran while he was here, and I received a letter from the credit card company. Just let me quote part of it:

"We credited your account... UNLESS the merchant resubmits the charge within 45 days, we will consider the case closed. If this occurs, we'll notify you and will re-bill your account for the amount of the credit."

Great. So there's a 45 day Purgatory, while you're waiting to see if you're granted grace, or you have to pay for someone else's sins. You know, purgatory, as in the definition: "any condition or place of temporary punishment, suffering, expiation, or the like."

So by the end of 45 days I will either be free of this mess, or back in hot water, having to pay for merchandise someone else is enjoying.

Yeah, like THAT's fair. What happened to "Zero Fraud Liability"?

Monday And Hoping For A Better Week

Here we are on a Monday, usually figured as one of the "blah" days of the week. Me, I'm hoping for a MUCH BETTER week than I had last week.

I've already made a call to the credit card company. They assure me I got credit for the $848.76 (that amount has become blazoned on my brain, yuck!). The lady I spoke to at the Fraud Department thinks there must be a glitch in the notification system. However, although she assured me I had the credit, she also told me to "keep an eye on it" to make sure nothing posted.

Man, I was soooooo naive about all this. I figured once you called your credit card company and canceled a card, maybe filled out a form, that's the end of it. Ha! And again I say, HA!

Once I get the new card, I'm going to wait a while to activate it. I want to be sure all this mess is cleared up. I'd hate to have to totally cancel the card and lose all the air miles I've accumulated, but. . . I'll just see how it goes.

As for my account at Colonial Bank, which in case you haven't seen the news. . .

• "In its fifth-largest bank failures in the US history, Colonial BancGroup Inc., Montgomery, Alabama, was seized by regulators on Friday. Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T), Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will assume all of the Deposits of Colonial Bank."

Well, near as I can tell from the information online, it's pretty much business as usual for customers, except instead of being a Colonial Bank customer, I am now a BB&T customer.

Fortunately, I'm not a stock holder there, because it's a far different matter if that's the case. The stock is in the toilet.

Also, I've done a quick run through my websites and didn't see any hack jobs, though I still have to figure out how to fix the one he hacked Friday, and update the Wordpress on a second. A series of emails to the server company turns up there was a mix-up there, and I need to reinstall again. More work. . . sigh. . .

But at least there seem to be some rays of sunshine, and maybe something hopeful to start out the week.

PLEEEEAAASSEEEE, let this be a better week!!!!

Enough Already!

So Jess was watching the news tonight, and hollers in from the den, "Guess what? Colonial Bank has failed."

I'll give you ONE guess who's got an account at Colonial Bank. The way my luck's been going lately, you shouldn't need but that one guess.

But just in case, here's a hint. We have two checking accounts. Jess has one that's NOT at Colonial.

So where do you suppose MY account is?

Oh yeah, it's at Colonial.

(Does anyone have a target removal kit I can use?)

The Hits Just Keep Coming

I am working on such a seriously GINORMOUS ulcer.

After my last post, I called LetsTalk.com. Our talk wasn't very fun, but it was informative. It seems this person used MY name all the way this time, and that creates a problem. Because Tina, or whoever it really is, used my name and correct home address and phone number, they wouldn't take off the charge. In fact, she had stuff mailed to MY name at:

4505 Treehouse Lane, Apt. 8C
Tamarac, FL 33319

Looking at Google, that's in the Fort Lauderdale area. Further research shows it's supposedly owned by one Akiba Reid (as of October 2007). Who knows if that's still correct or if they have anything to do with this. (But if I can find all this stuff, surely the fraud people can too?)

Anyway, from LetsTalk this person ordered:

• Samsung Memory T-Mobile Phone
• Blackberry Curve 800 T-Mobile Phone
• Bluetooth In Car Speaker
• T-Mobile My Fave Family Plan 700

She (he?) also made themselves an email address using my name in it. All too thorough.

So after talking to LetsTalk, I called Capital One again. They told me there should be a message in my "in box" on the online account site. It contained a fraud form I had to fill out and send in. I immediately did so, and by the end of the day Thursday, there were adjustments showing up on my account for all three fraudulent charges. What a relief! (Or at least I thought it was.)

Would that were the end of the story. But let's keep things in chronological order, shall we?

Yesterday (Friday if you're reading this later), I woke up to a notice in my email account that one of my websites was over bandwidth. ??? That didn't make sense to me, because it happens to be a site that got goobered up on the transition from GoDaddy to HostGator, and was pretty much just sitting there doing nothing for a long time. I finally got it to show up correctly a couple weeks ago but had done nothing to get traffic to the site so no way it should be over bandwidth.

Have you guessed what's coming? Yep, when I went to the site, there staring me in the face again was that obnoxious webpage from S*n*i*p*e*r of B*a*g*h*d*a*d. He'd hacked another one of my sites. I hadn't moved fast enough to get security up on all of them.

So yesterday I spent the entire day, and I do mean the ENTIRE day, working on security. I went down my alphabetical list of domains that have active sites, and for each site:

1. I upgraded to the latest version of Wordpress 2.8.4, because in the words of the Wordpress developers "... a vulnerability was discovered: a specially crafted URL could be requested that would allow an attacker to bypass a security check to verify a user requested password reset."
2. Once the new Wordpress was installed, I downloaded the wp-config.php file to my computer, added the four new security keys (which have over 60 characters each), and uploaded them back to the site.
3. I doublechecked that I did not have any users still named "admin" (the default WP comes with), cause that makes hacking easier.
4. And finally, I installed another plugin, WordPress Guard, which pops up another security window asking for a user name and password BEFORE you get to the log-in window for the Wordpress administration.

Of course, what this means is that now for every single site, I have different user names and passwords for:

• Cpanel (server side admin)
• each database
• php admin
• Wordpress Admin
• Wordpress Guard security
• and lastly, for each email associated with that site.

Repeat that over 14 times, and you're starting to understand why I have pages and pages of Excel spreadsheets with user names and passwords.

As for the site the jerk hacked, I never did get it working correctly again. I'll go back to it when I'm ready to do a complete update. And I didn't get through all 14 working sites. Nope, I got down to the number 11, which had a really old version of Wordpress on it, thus requiring a manual upgrade instead of an automatic one, and had just deleted the old files off the server . . . when the internet went out.

That meant talking to Mediacom again. I really wish I knew if the newer Fayetteville cable service was any more reliable. It's such a hassle to change, and I'd hate to do it and find out the new service wasn't any better, or the way things have been going lately, even worse.

At any rate, the first call got me nowhere. They couldn't figure out the problem, and scheduled a maintenance call at supposedly the first available time - Monday. (I guess their service department doesn't work weekends?)

In the meantime, I started getting a screen for "Mediacom activation", wanting my account number and a code to register. So I called Mediacom back. Supposedly they tried doing it from their end. Without success. It took a third call with the guy telling ME what to fill in, before the internet service came back.

But once again, to my desktop only. I can't get the new router to work. sigh. . .

NOW we come to this morning, and we're back to the credit card debacle. In my last post I said the last pending charge had showed up on my old credit card. Well, I guess I was right about that, but this morning I got an email saying "we are notifying you that on AUG 15, 09 at 5:38am, $848.76 was charged to your account."

Not to my old account, mind you. No, the last four digits were the ones for my new account. You know, the one I don't even have the card yet, could no way have activated, and why did they put a charge on that account!??????

Another phone call. Another, "we can't do anything on the weekend" sort of deal. I'm supposed to call the fraud department on Monday and ask them what the deal is. That's the same amount that was charged to Dell using my OLD credit card account, which was then credited back, and now why is it showing up on the NEW account????

And if you think it took you a long time to READ this post, just think how long it's been taking me to DO all this stuff. None of which I would have to do if there weren't so many cyber crooks and cyber vandals in the world, creating trouble and work for other people.

I need a break before I break down.

Cyber Crooks And Vandals

Okay, so do I have a target tattooed on my forehead? Or maybe my computer is sending out bad vibes? Perhaps the planets are misaligned preventing my good fortune?

Whatever the reason, I'm working on an ulcer. Seriously.

I'm still trying to straighten out the credit card mess. The last pending charge finally showed up today, so I guess I have to call that company and fight it out. THEN I have to fill a "dispute the charge" form at the credit card company.

What gets me is these charges show up on your account AFTER you've already canceled your credit card. I got an email this morning that the new one has been mailed to me. Unfortunately, I'm still dealing with the fall-out from the old one.

I have a name for the cyber crook. Tina Furetado. I'm not sure of the spelling of that last name though. I was having a hard time understanding the guy who called this morning from Dell's fraud department.

It seems that Tina (and I'm guessing that's not her real name anyway), well, she had a yen for MP3 players. Three MP3 players. And she wanted them shipped to the above name in Florida somewhere.

Sorry, Tina, but you're not getting your MP3 players. Your order has been put on hold, and I hope they nail your sorry hide to the wall somewhere, whoever you really are. I don't hold out much hope for it, but at least your spending spree has been cut short. I'm guessing you got a phone from TracPhone, and minutes from LetsTalk.com, which is who I need to call now to dispute the $200 you charged on there. Gee, thanks. (Read that with LOTS of sarcasm. I mean LOTS.)

But wait folks, we're not done yet! Oh no, not only does some cyber crook in the states decide to have a go at me, but the so-called self-important Sniper of B*a*g*h*d*a*d hacked one of my sites. Again.

Yes, this is the second time this cyber vandal hacked this particular site. I changed passwords and thought I'd beefed up security after the last time. Obviously it wasn't enough. He managed to change my user name AND password, and if I hadn't known enough to get into the MySQL database and fix the user info, I would have been up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

Once I could finally get into the administration side, I had to find where he'd put his code in, erase it and replace it with the correct code. The only good thing about this being the second time around is that I knew where to look.

I am not amused.

So now I'm spending my time looking for better ways to secure the admin sections on my sites. I tried one highly recommended Wordpress plugin, but unfortunately after running tests, the software informed me it wouldn't work with the servers.

I installed another, but I can't tell if it's doing any good. It's supposed to bring up a password protection screen before you ever get to the one for Wordpress, but I don't see it. So I need to keep looking and see what I can do to prevent this.

I can see the cyber crooks having a go at trying to use your credit card and buying stuff. I have more trouble trying to see what thrill these cyber vandals get from hacking your site and putting up their obnoxious webpage - graphics, music, foul language and all.

Maybe they don't have anything better to do, but I sure do. I'm tired of wasting MY time cleaning up after THEIR messes.

I still have Excedrin headache #666, because I'm having a devil of a time.

On top of that, I'm sure I'm getting an ulcer. The butterflies in my tummy are getting HUGE.

Four Really Good Looking Grandkids!

Debra sent me this picture some time back, and I happened across it just now as I was trying to clear my email in-box out a little. She said this picture of the "kids" was taken at their cousins wedding. (I know, I can't really call them kids any more!)

Emily, Lee, Ryan and Kelley

( You can click on the picture to see a larger version.)

No doubt about it, we've got some of the best looking grandkids around!!!

Credit Card Induced Stress

No, it's not the size of my credit card bills that is inducing stress. Well, not exactly.

See, we have a strict rule. . . all credit card bills are paid off monthly. They are used for convenience and to collect air miles for trips to Florida and Canada. No carrying a balance, no incurring interest, just pay off the bill.

Now sometimes my groceries seem to run up a big bill, and it's always seemed weird to me to use a credit card to buy groceries anyway, but see paragraph two - they help to accumulate air miles, no interest involved.

So why the stress?

Well, I do all my credit card stuff online, and I had my account set to send an email for a "high transaction alert" for anything over $200. Just in case.

So my "just in case" happened over the weekend. All of a sudden I get an email saying a transaction has posted for $295.44 to TracPhone. Say what???

At first I thought it was a phishing email. You know, someone trying to get me to click on the link and get my information. But no, it was sent to the correct email, and ONLY my email, and the last 4 digits of my credit card were included in the email, and they were correct.

Hmmmm, well, the transaction hadn't posted to my account yet, so I wasn't sure what to think. I sent a secure email to the credit card company from their site, and got back pretty much a canned response.

Today it HAD posted, so I called TracPhone to dispute the charge. I mean, we DO use TracPhone, but NO WAY had I ever spent that kind of money, and certainly not this weekend. Even with MY less than perfect memory, I do believe I'd remember having spent that much on a phone service just a couple days back.

Folks, I spent over an hour trying to get this straightened out, and although they finally did say I'd get a refund on my account sometime today, I have NO idea if that will actually come through.

So I went back onto my credit card online account again, and reset my transaction alert to the lowest possible setting, $20, cause I wanted to keep track of what was going on.

Good thing. In a little while I got another email saying another charge was pending to LETSTALK.COM for $194.93. Okay, I'd never even heard of that company, so I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that was BOGUS, and someone had my credit card information.

I'd went round and round with Tracphone about that very thing. She said someone had to not only have my account number and address, but the security number off the back of my card. She insisted someone had to SEE my card. I couldn't imagine who. I use it at Walmart and Publix, and those places you slide the card through yourself, and the cashier never sees it.

Sooooo, however it was done, it was obvious someone was using my credit card information. Next I called the credit card company to dispute the claims and cancel the card. There went another hour! First she put me on hold to file the disputes, then I had to insist she cancel the credit card, and put on hold again, and by the time she came back on the phone again, another transaction alert had been emailed to me for $848.76 from DELL SM BUSINESS.

If I wasn't steamed before, I sure was then. Cause, that meant . . .
SOMEBODY ELSE IS USING MY FREAKING CREDIT CARD TO BUY A COMPUTER WHEN I CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY A NEW ONE FOR MYSELF!!!!!

Yeah, that bums me all right.

Bottom line - the credit card is canceled. I've filed disputes on the charges that have already posted, and have to wait and see if the rest go ahead and post. If they do, I have to call back and file disputes on those also.

What disturbs me is wondering HOW someone got this info. I mean, come on folks, I'm pretty much a homebody. I use PayPal whenever possible online, and when not, make sure it's a secure connection where they're scrambling your info. In the real world, I haven't been anywhere lately where anyone would have been handling my credit card.

However, looking back at my credit card use, there is a possiblity. I called a florist in Huntsville last week to order a floral arrangement for a funeral, and had to give them my name, address, credit card number and security code. Yep, they had all the info. So did somebody there use it??? A delivery person? Someone went through their trash?

I guess I won't use my credit card over the phone again. What a pain.

How Did It Get To Be August?

I mean, seriously, I can't believe how fast this year is whizzing by. Tomorrow is Richard's birthday, and that means we're well into August. Yikes!

So what's happening around here?

Well, for one thing, it's summer in the south. To my way of thinking, southern summers are just too dang hot. I don't tolerate heat very well.

Everyone here is busy these days. Jess has been getting a lot of work lately. His work load always seems to bounce from zilch to overload. Right now it's in the overload mode.

Jonathan works pretty much full time hours, so he stays pretty busy too.

That leaves me, and yeah, what with two webinars (online class sessions) a week, and other online work, plus housework and farmwork, I manage to stay pretty busy also. I have a lot to get done, and some things I wish I had done that I'm really way behind on, like going through pictures I've taken. And a jillion other things!

So not much to report from our part of the world, but to say everyone is okay, and things are pretty much as usual.