Locks of Love

I got a post card from Locks of Love today. It's really neat.

I think that's a very creative picture on the front of the card.

And they had a very nice thank you on the back side of the card. (If you click on the picture, it should enlarge enough so you can read it.)
This is such a worthwhile cause. Anyone who has long hair and is thinking about cutting it, if you've got at least 10" of hair to cut off, send it to Locks of Love!

Summarizing January

Do you realize this month is almost gone already? The time just whizzes by faster and faster it seems. On the down side, as usual I haven’t got near as much done as I’d hoped to do. On the positive side, it means we’re that much closer to February 14th, when Richard, Chrystie & Ellie will be here for a visit, before going back to Shriner’s Hospital, then on home again.

Jess in the last month has gotten steadily better. He’s really doing phenomenally well for it only being a little over 7 weeks since major surgery on both knees. He’s walking well, he’s done with physical therapy, and he only has one more appointment with the ortho-surgeon.

He went back to the office full-time on Monday. He’s had a little work, but it will take a while for people to know he’s back in the office. Also, even when they do, the work generally comes in spurts. He’ll go for days without work, then 2 or 3 people will want work at once.

Nothing new on Jonathan’s front. He helps out around the house and farm, but so far not much luck on a new job. When the economy is slow, and you don’t have a college degree or experience you can use, it makes it kind of tough. All prayers appreciated.

Me, well, I finally made it to the doctor yesterday to see what the problem was with all the blood work they did right before Jesse went in the hospital. As I expected, the thyroid levels were a mess. However, the liver enzymes (ALT & bilirubin) were up also, so the doctor wanted to do a second round of liver profile and TSH (thyroid) tests, and needed to draw more blood. I gave at the office.

Otherwise, I’m back to work online, trying to get everything moved to one hosting service to save money, and pulling my hair out in the process. It's taking a lot of time. I'm learning to hate databases. I’ll be glad to have it all done and able to move forward again.

The guys are supposed to finish getting my shelves up in the office this weekend. I need to finish getting the office stuff moved out of the spare room so Ellie will have a place to sleep!

So there we have it, that’s the way things are in our part of the world!

Happy Chinese New Year!

In case you didn’t know it, today was the Chinese New Year. This year, 2009, is The Year of the Ox.

We celebrated Chinese New Year by Jess going back to work. I fixed his lunch to take to work for the first time in 7 weeks.

In the meantime, I was working away on the computer.

Jonathan was looking for work on-line and trying out a survey site recommended by someone I've done business with before.

No exciting celebrations here, but still, Happy Chinese New Year!

Always Remember, He Understands

A friend sent this video to me, and I'd never seen it before. Well, every time I listen to what this young man had to say, it really touches me.

Sometimes it's good to be reminded. Thanks for sharing Jodi!

Home Alone!

I'm sitting here at my computer getting ready to work, but I just had to take a minute to commemorate a momentous occasion.

I've got the outside chores done with critters fed outside and also inside, I've had breakfast and have a chicken in the slow cooker for supper, and I just took the weekly snail mail out to the mailbox and brought back the garbage cans. I've got some laundry going, and I just put the bird on one of the perches on her door in the office. I'm ready to rock and roll!

And the house is quiet. Really, really quiet.

Why is that you say?

Well, Jonathan is in Huntsville looking for work, and going to meet a guy to play a tabletop miniature war game. Jess went off to work in Madison, as he had a couple of guys really pushing for him to do some work for them. So they are both gone.

Yes, for the first time in over six weeks, I am HOME ALONE! WOOT, WOOT!

In all fairness, the guys have gotten pretty good about leaving me alone during the day while I'm working, and not expecting me to fix them lunch. But it's still not quite the same as being all by myself, no one else making any noise or doing anything in the house, just me, myself and I at home. (Well, okay, the bird and turtle are in the house also, but the turtle never makes any noise, and the bird... sometimes quiet, sometimes entertaining, but usually good company.)

So for today, at least, quiet reigns.

Approaching Normal

Well, as normal as it ever gets around here anyway.

Yesterday Jess went to see his ortho-surgeon for a 6-week check-up. Yes, it’s already been 6 weeks since he had surgery!

The surgeon commented that Jess is doing really great for so soon after surgery. He checked how well Jess’s knees are bending, and how well he can straighten them out. Jess also had a progress report for the doctor that they’d given him at the rehab center.

The bottom line is the doctor left it up to Jess when to quit physical therapy, and told him if he felt like driving to go right ahead and drive. He goes back for another check-up in 2 months, and if he’s still doing so well, that’s probably the last one.

Today I needed to go to the post office, so Jess said he’d come along “just to get out of the house.” Funny thing, but when I started to get in the driver’s side of the car and then thought to ask him if he wanted to try driving, he “just happened” to have his keys. You know, just “in case there was an opportunity.”

He drove us to Fayetteville and back, with no more craziness than he exhibited before surgery, so I guess he’s good to go and can start driving himself around. That’s super!

He’s got physical therapy tomorrow and again Friday, then he’s going to call it quits. He plans on going into his office Thursday just to check in on things, and maybe try to actually go back to work on Monday.

Life is getting closer and closer to normal.

More Of The Same!

There’s no big news around here. It’s mostly just more of the same.

Like… more cold weather. At least it’s not the –58 degrees Fahrenheit it's been in Richard and Chrystie’s part of the world. (Remind me never to visit them in January!) But we are supposed to be getting the coldest weather we’ve had here in 6 years tonight and this weekend. I hate to think what our utility bill will look like next time.

Like… Jess still going to physical therapy Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. But he goes back to his ortho-surgeon next Monday too, so maybe he’ll get a reprieve, or at the very least, be released to drive himself where he needs or wants to go. (He can probably drive already, but if you get in an accident after having knee surgery, and haven't been released by your doctor to drive yet, the insurance won't pay for anything no matter whose fault the accident was!)


Jess testing his new knees in the back yard. He's going out in the
mornings now to help me with chores, so there's some more progress!

Like… same old chores inside and out. You know, feeding the animals outside, feeding the animals inside, including the 2-legged ones. Cleaning the kitchen. Laundry. Ironing. Same stuff everyone has to do to keep a household running.

But! I’ve also been getting more time in working on my “work” websites. I’m learning how to use a different kind of hosting account (reseller) and control panel. I’m upgrading to the latest version of Wordpress, which also has a changed control panel. And of course, I’m learning to use another kind of software and system for making sites and marketing.

And! I’ve been going through my older websites that I let slide during our travels, the holidays, and Jess's knee surgery, and discovering some promising traffic there. I definitely need to get back to work on the better ones, and get them revamped and going good again.

So while it's mostly more of the same, that’s okay. At least we're also making progress!

The B's Knees

As in, Jesse B.'s knees!!!


(And in case you're wondering, the "B" is for Burley!)

Progress

We’ve making progress on many fronts. Maybe not huge leaps and bounds of progress, but still moving forward, so guess that will have to do.

Jess is walking more and more. He’s doing well in therapy. My guess is this coming week will be his last week of therapy. A week from Monday he’ll be at the ortho-surgeon’s office, hoping to be okayed to drive again and quit going to physical therapy.

He’s also slept a little better the last couple of nights, and is also eating more.

Jonathan sold his bow today. We advertised it on a local barter list, then got the wild idea to try Craig’s List. I’ve heard several people talk about it, so although I didn’t figure to get much response from an ad there, I figured why not? It’s free. Unlike eBay, there’s no fees for selling stuff, so all I’d lose was a little time.

I was pleasantly surprised when there ended up being almost immediate response. There were about 5 people who expressed interest, and one guy came out today and bought the bow and accessories. Wow!

As for me, I’m still pushing. I told Jess I need a few clones – one to do the outside work, one to keep the house clean and do laundry, maybe another to do all the cooking, and if I had one to do computer work, guess I’d just sit around and do nothing!

Of course, the reality is I’m doing all those things, and that some days I’m better at getting stuff done than others. But pokey as I might be… I am making progress.

Back To Work

At least I’m trying to get back at work!

Taking such a long break definitely has drawbacks. Things I was doing previously without having to think about it, well, now I have to think about again. And of course, I’m also learning new stuff. The plan and software I was using wasn’t just updated, it’s been totally changed.

It’s just going to take me a while to get back in the groove, but I’ll get there.

Of course, at the same time, I’m still working on putting the office back together. Jonathan helped me get a couple of free-standing bookshelves set up today. We still have to pick up some hardware and boards to be able to finish the ones going on the wall. Then comes the really BIG job… moving everything back in.

Jess got a couple of calls yesterday from people anxious for him to do work. Be that as it may, at the very best he won’t be back at work until the 20th. He has to see his doctor again first.

Jonathan is digging out a bunch of stuff to sell to give him some breathing space while he looks for a place to go back to work. He’d like for that to be in California, but who knows how many applicants they had, and how good or bad his chances might be? I’m just praying for God to open the right door.

Back to work. We’re all trying to get back to work.

Tidbits of Good News

It’s not always gloom and doom around here, although sometimes it feels that way when I’m feeling a little stressed or depressed. And of course, right now BAMA fans are feeling a little blue after losing at the Sugar Bowl. (Dare I say it? It wasn’t a very sweet game for them!)

But hold on! There’s actually lots of good news, too. Since seven is supposed to be such a perfect number, here’s a list of seven of the nicer things that have happened lately, in no particular order --

* Grandson Ryan’s team won the high school 6A Florida State Championship. (Dave, Ryan and Emily in picture at left.)

* I got notice back from Social Security that they do NOT need to do a comprehensive review of my case this year.

* Jess is doing really well with his physical therapy, and eating better. (Still working on sleeping at night however!)

* I’ve got the new software loaded for working on-line, and “attended” the first on-line Q&A session tonight. I need to go through all the training modules so I can understand more of what they’re talking about! On the bright side, I got chosen as one of about 7 people to send in our questions directly to one of the CEO’s. They’ll answer all our questions and make a FAQ sheet for newbies.

* While it’s taking me a while to get used to the placement of my computer desk, having an office I can work in is GREAT. It’s at the other end of the house from all the action – tv in the den, the kitchen and bathrooms – so I’m out of the path of traffic and noise. I sat in here tonight with my speakers on listening, and wasn’t bothering anyone with my stuff, and they weren’t bothering me. FANTASTIC! Once I get all my books and stuff moved in here, it will really be super.

* It’s warmer outside. I can use the water hoses to fill buckets. No ice anywhere.

* My laptop was having trouble staying on AC power, and would keep flipping to battery power. I figured it was either a loose wire in the AC adapter cord, or the plug-in had loose prongs, or the computer itself was going haywire. Hoping for the best, I found a clone AC adapter for $15 and ordered it. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now, and happy to report (knock on wood!), the problem seems to be resolved!

So see, we have tidbits of good news happening here too!

Happy New Year 2009!

Here we are, another new year. Did you make a bunch of resolutions? Any resolutions? Let's hear it, what are they? Cause ready or not, it's ready, set, go - we're in another new year!