Senator Elizabeth Warren was impressive tonight, too. I'm trying not to be political (as I've said before), but these two women have touched me. I loved her story about Francis Perkins.

Loving seeing HGTV's A Very Brady Renovation -- and tonight the remaining Brady cast (the six kids, anyway) are being interviewed, and they are very entertaining. Restoring that house -- actually making the real house resemble the sets we all knew -- is brilliant! Marilyn and I are watching (we're taping and then watching). They said six (maybe ten) million people are watching with us.

Filthy weather today, really filthy. Pouring rain, that I was out in, mind you. I'm not ready for winter. What happened to autumn? In fact, this is Portland! What happened to the end of summer???

Cupping this morning hurt like a bitch -- and she left me for 15 minutes, rather than the usual 10! Yikes. Then acupuncture. I was stunned when my damn noon alarm went off -- I expected to be done well before then.

I left in a hurry, got to the lobby where I donned my socks and shoes. Went to phone Marilyn and discovered I still had two needles in my right ear. Reached over and there were two in my left ear! I had to laugh. It wasn't Sheridan's fault, as I practically dashed out. Anyway, I nearly left without paying! Haha. Got a gigantic bottle of my herbals, then departed.

I went from there to Freddies to shop. Got the items I'd forgotten. Ironically, noe I need to go back again, as I have two prescriptions ready for pickup.

I spent some time working on June's project, but need to go to her place again. What I sent myself was missing the cover! I'm so stumped.

But I was too worn out to do much of anything. Cupping plus acupuncture is exhausting. I really need to rest after that...

Marilyn and I both fell asleep while trying to watch TV tonight. We're just hanging on right now. Her IBS-d has been acting up and she's pretty miserable. (My IBS-c isn't the best, either -- enough said.) What's odd is how absolutely healthy we're eating these days. Salads all the time, and many vegetarian foods...

My new -- old -- Fitbit is awesome! I bought a brand new Fitbit, then decided to see if I could get a new brand for my old one. I got a stunning gold leather one. I love it! Now Marilyn is using my new one. She's getting used to it, so we'll see how it works out.

I just walked out in the backyard in my nightclothes during a downpour to check our tarp. We'd be screwed if it came down! I got soaked, but all is well. I need to really check it out during daylight when it's dry...

Still playing away on our ukuleles. We love them and love playing.

Goodnight!

I Uber-ed into the office before 4:00 and ended up having a nice chat with Rich. We were talking over his year and how he'd ended up feeling about it.

Then Marilyn and I went to the zoo (their summer concert series) to see Sean Ono Lennon and bassist Les Claypool -- The Claypool Lennon Delirium -- and managed to have a great time in spite of the rain. It never stopped rained the entire time. (By the way, we had Cadillac Margaritas there -- the best margaritas ever!)

We went home totally soaked through, but had a blast! Sean's music was great, plus we think we would love that venue on a warm, sunny day.

Hopefully we can save Marilyn's favorite leather jacket! Yikes.

(We were so glad we didn't let the weather keep us from going!)

Marilyn worked another long day. (She had a difficult day, from all accounts.) She was kind enough to pick up my pills for me after work.

I did quite a bit of IT, plus website work, for the festival today. I talked to Donn for ages, and to Kris for ages, too.

I also cleaned the large cupboard directly below where we keep the salt and pepper (and Marilyn's pills). And in the pantry cupboard, too. Apparently molasses spilled there -- what a mess!

I need to phone my hematologist tomorrow. I have those marks on my right arm again. Marilyn and I are wondering if they're related to the need for another iron infusion...

Marilyn got sick after dinner tonight. She's been fighting a bug and feeling a tad under the weather lately. (I actually felt poorly, too, but hopefully it's nothing. I did throw up on one of my favorite Beatle shirts. Yuck!)

We're having quite a storm tonight! Rain and cold -- plus wind! The wind is really rattling the house. Terrible.

Marilyn is asleep on the family room sofa (her cozy spot). I'm in my family room chair, watching TV while I type. ("Hart to Hart" is on.)

Marilyn and I did watch some Australian Open tennis.

(It's actually 3:30 or so in the morning.)

I'm thinking about giving us a jolt of heat. It's really cold in here...

(I'm trying not to worry about Marilyn...)

Marilyn was feeling better, so she went back to work today -- quite early, actually. I got up just before she headed up, and stayed up after that. I had intended to go back to bed, but you know how it goes...

I took down the Christmas tree several days ago, but I hadn't gotten to the rest of the decorations. I had started taking things down in the living room, ut I only got part way done.

Then I got sick, and didn't feel like tackling things. Marilyn was home sick Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, so I didn't want to do the rest. It all goes under the stairs to store, accessed via the laundry room, right off the family room. When Marilyn was sleeping on the family room sofa, I really didn't want to risk bothering her.

But much of the time we were doing what we do when the two of us are sick and home together: watching a bunch of TV. We'll frequently watch a bunch of movies, and this time was the same! Here's a partial list of what we saw:

The 2014 movie "Cut Bank" was really excellent -- I'd highly recommend it.

We enjoyed the 2009 film "

Marilyn and I have been in the process of saying goodbye to our sister Sue for some time now. By that, I mean that Sue's barely there anymore. She has dementia and is getting worse all the time.

Here's what happened today:
1) Sue calls me. She's surprised. She was trying to phone her daughter, Candy. I talk to her briefly, then we both hang up.
2) Almost immediately she phones me back! Again, she's surprised. I'm calm and tell her she needs to try again.
3) She calls back again within minutes. She's frustrated. I tell her to take a few deep breaths. She hangs up and I wait.
4) Soon she phones back again. This time we talk a little. Then she hangs up again.
5) She calls me back again. We laugh and make jokes about it. She hangs up.
6) She calls me back a few minutes later. She seems sure she won't do it again.
7) She calls again and gets very upset. This time I ask her if she has Candy's number in front of her. She does not. I don't know why I never asked her before that! She has paper and a pen and I give her the number. She does not call back.

Much later she does call back and leaves a message saying she reached Candy and got Larry's number from her. (Candy is Sue's daughter and our niece. Larry is her son and our nephew.) She says she wished Larry Happy Birthday. (He is 50 today.) I was in the middle of working and couldn't stop so I didn't pick up. She calls me on my cell, so I pick up and explain. She says she understands, but calls back a few minutes later. I finally give up and talk to her.

She immediately repeats almost word for word the message left me earlier, even though I stop her twice telling her I know. But that's her news for the day, I guess. We chat, but she really can't connect. I talk about the year Larry was born -- he was a 'Tom Turkey,' a baby born on Thanksgiving Day.

She has good and bad days, which isn't new. But more bad ones now. And she knows me, but is very disconnected. That's no surprise. We've been expecting it.

Still it's hard.

I try to speak to her every day if possible. I've been doing that for years now. Usually we speak several times a day. But it's harder now. Partly because I don't always reach her.

Three different times today my friend June asked me questions that I couldn't answer. I didn't remember the answers.

I spoke to my pharmacist this evening. He called on behalf of my insurance provider to go over some meds with me. He mentioned Nortriptyline 25mg from July of this year. I didn't remember it at all, but he said it was a sleep aid. I thought it might be connected to my emergency room trip from July, but he said it was from Leslie. She might have given it to me to help me sleep. I mention not being able to almost every time I see her (which is every single month since April).

Insurance knew I'd never renewed that med and wanted to warn me that people over 60 shouldn't be taking it. Which is fine, as I never did. I explained to the pharmacist that I know all my medications extremely well. I research them all and keep a very organized medicine cabinet and medicine list. Insurance wanted to know why I wasn't on statins! I'm allergic. Then he wanted to know the specifics. I said I didn't specifically recall -- it had been ages ago -- but bad enough Leslie took me off them. Anyway...

Lamar (my handyman -- sure) did not show up today. I wasn't surprised. It was raining this morning. He texted me he was still sick from having his dental work yesterday. (He had two fillings.) That's why he didn't show yesterday, because of the appointment in the morning.

I tried to hang a tarp over his poles. No go. Too tall. Set up so weird I doubt they can ever work the way they are. But maybe with additional poles they might. Too bad he missed the good weather when he had it...

It was a miserable day today!

Yesterday was my big and busy day...

My Potentials Unlimited 'tape' (mp3 download, actually) is playing away. I'm lying in my family room chair and Marilyn is lying on the family room sofa, sound asleep. The tape puts her right off, I'm pleased to report.

I woke up at 6:00 this morning. Marilyn had her exec meeting this morning, so I got an early day at the office.

It was a long day...

Sarah's last day. Now it's up to Kara (pronounced care-ah)! I need to continue working with her, especially on the phones.

Marilyn and I left work slightly early planning to drive to Salem to hear Eric Witchey giving a seminar on how to manage and manipulate subtext, using his background in linguistic discourse analysis and experience in 12 genres to demonstrate how to manage narrative and dialog to imply story that is not part of the explicit text. We haven't heard him in years and were looking forward to it.

We got home and had a terrible downpour. And then another one. Several downpours later I went downstairs and discovered we had flooding.

We had already decided against the drive because of the weather conditions, but the flooding clinched it. Soon we were outside putting up a new tarp (the old one had worn through). And tending to the flooding inside the house.

June phoned and they were having awful flooding!!! Marilyn had been immediately concerned because June and Jim are currently getting a new roof put on...

Talked to June about her iPad, then went over and fixed a few problems. Finally came home to have dinner. I was hungry and tired...

Couldn't bring myself to wash my hair. Instead I was just lying around with Johnnie. It was SO COLD in my bedroom! Turned out the upper window slid down, so several inches were actually open! Too chilly for that.

Marilyn had her special meeting today.

I got 10,000 steps today. Hard to believe, but true!

It's nearly three, so I need to try and SLEEP. I have an ice pack on, as my shingles feel on fire tonight.

The pain varies all the time. I can't believe how it hurts, even after all these months. Yeah, it sucks.

Marilyn and I both think Colin has a crush on Johnnie. Johnnie isn't having any of it. But maybe Johnnie is getting a little better. Hard to say.

We actually had rain this morning. And maybe even some more small amount of rain later in the day (not sure).

I slept in after not sleeping that well last night. But that's okay, as we had no plans early on...

I did go outside at one point to sit with Johnnie. We went over in the grass and had two different people come by walking dogs. I have to hold tight to Johnnie to make sure he does chase them. I always chat with the walkers and warn them that he's an 'attack cat' -- hahaha! They find it amusing. One woman said their dog was very brave until cats got about two feet away.

Johnnie appreciated the petting and attention. He was in my lap and rubbing my face and so on. The most affectionate cat.

We tried a few times with the door open. Colin was WONDERFUL. Very calm. He was willing to meet Johnnie. But the same could not be said for Johnnie, who was spitting. I just think he's very afraid. But it was a beginning, anyway. There wasn't anything physical, anyway.

Marilyn and I did get dressed and went out for our prescriptions and to get Starbucks. But we went right home again.

We spent a lazy day hanging out. Watching TV and fooling around on our iPads. She was on the computer writing fanfic for some time! I did some graphics, but not much...

We ate frozen burritos for dinner and had some beer -- very nice, actually!

We were supposed to maybe go out, but Marilyn wasn't feeling well at that point -- and I was tired, anyway. We napped a lot, which was lovely!

Loving on The Beatles, which makes both of us happy all the time. Hard to even explain it, but if you get it, you get it, I guess.

Before leav8ng upstairs to come down to the family room, I went out on the porch to check on Johnnie. The damn raccoons had been on the porch again!!! What nerve they have. There was water splashed all over (Johnnie never does that!) and not a speck of food in sight. So I got more food and stayed while he ate some. And got him fresh water, too. He'll hide (he's smart). But they'll be back. I can't think how to keep them away and still put food out for him. Oh well.

I do try putting food under the tree -- I know they're hungry, too. But damn, there are so many of them! And they're BIG. I can't feed them all the time! They need to go wherever else they find food besides here, which I know they do (I've seen them running across the street and such). I understand they're hungry, I really do. But it's making it hard right now...

Well, just past midnight and we're actually heading to bed! Surprise!

Sweet dreams, everybody.

I just got off the treadmill after walking for around 35-40 minutes. And then I got terribly nauseous and dizzy and frustrated and started to cry, half in anger (to tell the truth). Geez. No matter how hard I try to be more healthy, my own body is fighting me every step of the way.

Waah, waah. Poor me. What a 'Little Bitch' I am... Ignore that, please!

Okay, moving on now! It's 12:30 a.m. and I need to wash my hair so we can head to bed! Long day tomorrow. I'm meeting with Kris at the office for one thing.

I also really need to meet with Kate and Calisa about the website. And contact David at FISH about another website issue. (sigh)

My Fitbit appears to be broken. I can't believe I need yet another Fitbit!!! The way these are made, the cover tends to crack -- which is what happened to my last one. Seriously??? I was so burned I was going to miss steps coming upstairs to replace the battery. These things eat batteries, by the way. It's ridiculous! I love Fitbit, but certainly think they could make them better!

I did get my 4,000 steps for today -- plus 1,000 toward tomorrow. So that's good. Marilyn got 18,000 today!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I left a message for setting up my referral appointment today, but didn't hear back. Tomorrow I'll need to phone again and leave a different contact number and keep my fingers crossed, I guess.

I was very upset with Latoya, Leslie's assistant, today. She implied I was shouting at her. I would never do that! I hadn't even raised my voice. I can't understand where she was getting that. But, yes, I was disagreeing with her, I admit. You can disagree without raising your voice, though.

I leave a message for her to call me. I've told the front desk the entire message, but still want to tell her. It's that TWICE they have sent the wrong prescription for insulin to my pharmacy. I have two insulins. I don't use the second one. I certainly do use the first one. I'd like to get the first insulin in a pen -- and with my new insurance I'm pretty sure it's going to be covered. But they keep sending the second one to the pharmacy. It is covered, so that sounds like the first one will be, too.

So instead of sending the wrong prescription, please send the correct one. That's the crux of the matter.

When she finally phones me she doesn't want to do this. I ask if it's too much trouble and she basically says yes. She wants me to phone my prescription coverage provider and find out if it's covered or not. So after she has me terribly upset I agree to do that.

I call them. They check and say yes, it is covered. But they tell me I must get my health provider to send in a prescription. Wait. Is there an echo in here???

I call the front desk back and relay the message, telling the woman there is no way I'm going to speak to Latoya again after being upset by her. Yeah, there's no customer service anymore. And, sure, it didn't hurt me to make the call. But it's not my job -- it's Latoya's job. What the hell.

Anyway, assuming she ever does that, I should get my insulin in a pen finally -- which is wonderful!!! It will be so much less painful than injecting with a vial and syringe. I guess I'll find out soon whether she'll get it there for me or not...

I had to also replace the batteries on our Aria scale (it's a Fitbit-tied scale) today. I really like the scale and the fact it's tied to our device. Very nice!

The weather here is pouring nasty rain and cold, too. Just filthy weather! Ugh. And there's no end in sight. I only went out a couple of times all day and hated every second of it.

Took out garbage today and picked up around the house. Wrote some fiction (around 1,500 words, I think). I can knock off a thousand words easily, really, and love doing it...

Marilyn got home at a reasonable hour but very tired. Me, too (surprise). I'm constantly fatigued, but there are apparently a couple of decent reasons for it! Haha. We both had naps and lost track of time and she missed her massage therapy!

The bad thing: we hadn't taken our ballots in yet! And we missed the deadline. And our yes vote was badly needed. (sigh)

We are voters in this house! We rarely ever miss a vote...

Time to dash and do my hair. Sweet dreams, friends.

I worked from my HOME OFFICE today -- as I often do. Sometimes that goes better than other times, I have to say.

Before I go further, Marilyn got 18,000 (!!!) steps today! And has 80,000 for her seven-day total! That's just wonderful, in my book. I was pleased to get some steps just walking around the house. I always try to walk for work phone calls, for example -- and was doing that on the several occasions I spoke to sister Sue, too. But I got on the treadmill just before midnight and got 5,000 steps for today, which made me happy.

Unfortunately my left foot swelled up (???) right after that and the bones on the top of the foot disappeared. Yikes. It's quite tight and painful, too. Thankfully the right foot is fine, though. This is something about whatever the hell is going on with me, so I'm just riding it out for now...

We're really on a roll with walking, both of us, so I feel good about that. We did a TON of walking in NYC in December and are trying to keep it up now. Marilyn is taking a walk every day at work, even in foul weather...

Anyway, she left EARLY for the office, taking along my laptop that I got ready yesterday for my friend Rich to borrow. Actually, his wife Merlin is borrowing it. She's taking classes online and needs a Microsoft-based computer -- and they use Macs at home.

I got started early gathering garbage and taking it out. And continuing to put stuff back from yesterday. I also wrote just shy of 1,000 words on a short story. I've been writing about every other day (aside from blogging). Marilyn and I actually have a book we want to write together. Well, it's HER book, but I'm probably going to help write it. I love writing, so it's delightful to be back at it.

Of course, we both do a lot of writing for work, too -- but this is different. I enjoy all forms of writing, but there's nothing quite like writing fiction.

I did a bunch of festival website work today. Tying up some loose ends, for one thing. But also one of those I-am-a-genuis (hahaha) things, too. With the current website it's more complicated to do certain things. I had 'removed' a page WITHOUT actually taking it down. I got it easily out of the main navigation, but subnavigation is VERY, VERY COMPLICATED. So I was struggling with that. But today I reasoned it out (as Rich put it, 'all by yourself!'). There's such SATISFACTION in figuring out something difficult without needing to ask someone to help you...

My Website Meeting with FISH went well -- when it finally happened, that is! It was supposed to be at 2:30, but Brit couldn't locate David at that point. I don't remember what time they finally phoned me. It was a matter of clearly communicating what I was going for, mostly. I knew from the get-go it shouldn't be a difficult fix on their end (David confirmed it's not), but it will make a HUGE CHANGE on my end for website maintenance!!! I'm pretty excited about it.

They put it in the queue for early next week, anyway. Now I need to do some other website things, but I feel pretty good at this point.

Then next big job is TRAINING other people in the office how to help me out with this work. Currently I am the only one who can work on the website -- shades of the 'old days' that we were supposedly moving away from! Hahaha. As I told Brit, the only reason there's any pressure to make the changes right away is that I don't want to teach anyone anything until we're using the new method!

Our friend Steve (from the Clown Corps) phoned me today. He's a lovely, friendly and very positive man that I really enjoy talking to. He actually called just to tell me that Billy Joel was going to be doing a special program on Sirius Radio about the Beatles!!! I had no idea Steve even knew that I was a fan, but he told me, "I know that you're a big fan of the Beatles, so I immediately thought about you." How kind of him to contact me and let me know!

He also reminded me about an event he's having in March that he very much wants Marilyn and I to attend. I talked to her about it and we both think we want to try and be there. It's hard this time of year if it's not festival-related, but we'll see what we can do...

I was CHILLED all day long. Not sure why!

My friend June (and Jim) gave me a thermometer for my birthday, knowing I didn't have one. I was trying it yesterday and my temperature was really low. It was better today, but still lower than normal. I wonder what that's about? Maybe that's why I feel chilled...

Bong for dinner! (woo hoo) I like my noodles and veggies (sans any meat), plus fried rice (sans any egg). So yummy! I ate little else all day. Marilyn is doing her fasting routine right now -- partly because she's in a flareup and needs to avoid eating except at home.

I was 88 this morning (blood count), which usually would be low for me. But it seemed fine and I didn't have any ill effects. So I think I'm getting lower and getting used to being there. I guess we'll see when I finally get my current A1C (which I'm overdue to have).

I did play the Beatles Channel much of the afternoon and evening, anyway. I love it when Billy Joel -- a Beatles 'super fan' -- talks about their work. It's going on all weekend, which should be great fun!

Can't think what else to share. It feels like I'm forgetting things, it's been so busy. We're supposed to have nice weather this weekend, then rain all next week.

Hope you're all doing well!

Work today.

First thing I contacted PGE to get the details of our missing bill. For some reason it seems like the PGE (power) bill frequently goes missing. But it was very simple to phone and get an automated line that told me the current amount (Marilyn pays online, but needed to know how much).

My personal goal today was wrapped up in our new Barracuda SPAM blocker and getting the final kinks out for our office. There were several questions, so I ended up talking to the Barracuda support line.

First I had to get authorized by Kris (who was the only one on our account). I made the point to the support people that Kris works for me and not the other way around... hahaha...

After that they phoned again to now officially assist me. But I didn't have an online account, so Kris was going to need to do that, too. I did get a lot of information about the account, however. They're impressively helpful in my opinion!!! And I don't say that sort of thing easily, believe me.

After I have an account and am an admin, then I can set up accounts for every person in our office. After that I'll teach them how to log in via web browser and they can white list and black list as necessary.

Actually, we're all pretty impressed by Barracuda so far. It seems to work really well and to be a real time-saver.

It was POURING DOWN RAIN this morning and into the afternoon. Filthy weather! But Marilyn and I went out to Chinese anyway.

The office was having Chipotle, which Jeff had gone out to get and bring back. Marilyn and I joined the staff for some chips and brought our veggie burritos home for later. Then we walked to the restaurant in the rain! It was like trying to cross rivers at some points. Ugh. But I loved my meal and ate it ALL (which I rarely do). I'd barely eaten yesterday, so I was really hungry today.

I had LOW BLOOD SUGAR at around 5:30 in the morning. It was 69 and probably due to not eating enough yesterday...

We stopped and got Starbucks on the way back to the office. We're in love with the Holiday Flat White right now.

We went back to our work, planning to leave by 4:00, as we needed to stop home for food and be at Sue's house by 5:30 -- and the traffic to her house is horrible. Always, but especially during the holidays!

We had a bunch of stuff we'd gotten at Costco that we took over for Sue to serve. Candy was there when we arrived and we helped her set it up. There were lots of snack foods and cookies, all nice.

I had phoned June before leaving. She was waiting for Jim to get home from going to the doctor! He'd left for a 2:00 appointment and wasn't home yet, so she was worried. I told her I'd check with her later and then we departed. It was obvious they couldn't go with him not home... (I'd wanted to encourage them to arrive early if they were going, as it's hard for her to walk and there wasn't much parking right near the house.)

We got to meet a bunch of Sue's cribbage friends that we've never met before, like Martha and Katy. Sue hadn't decorated a jot for Christmas, nor did she have on any Christmas music. So we just talked and waited for the ships to come.

We couldn't see much when they did get there, as they were on the opposite side of the river. The map had shown them on both sides, but that didn't end up being the case.

Finally past 8:00 Marilyn and I departed and came home...

She's doing her hair now, and then I think we'll head to bed. It's past midnight now.

Chubby wanted a lot of attention while we were there. The poor thing seems to be having a lot of trouble breathing now. He's getting older and is obese. But he's still such a good boy. (When he's not clawing and biting, anyway. Hahaha.) I was trying to find out in my blog when they actually moved Chubby inside, but I couldn't, darn it. I'm the one who talked them into it, anyway...

Time to wrap up for today. Such a busy week!!!

Sweet dreams!

Marilyn went to work early. I had been planning to go in, but fell back asleep. So when she was departing, I was awake, but NOT ready to go...

I spent my morning on IT -- related to the SPAM blocker we now have. It's Barracuda (one of the most famous ones), but there are still things that need to be ironed out.

Marilyn had NUMEROUS meetings today, so she and I didn't really get a chance to talk until she was home tonight (well past 8:00 p.m.).

Sister Sue and I did speak, but only briefly. I had tried to reach her in the afternoon, but she was asleep. She had called me in the morning, but I was on the various IT phone calls...

It was a COLD and miserable day -- but didn't really rain until night time, thankfully!

At one point during the day I was feeding not only my beloved crows, but also a flock of seagulls!!! Very entertaining, by the way!

I did get a little bit of laundry done and a load of dishes. And I worked in my bedroom, which has been a disaster. But in spite of hours in there, the clothes still need a bunch more work. (sigh)

Candy came by in the evening for her casserole that I made her...

Between cleaning and IT, I read a bunch of Beatles fanfic online. Marilyn and I really want to get back to writing fanfic again. I read one story that was very emotional and actually made me cry. I guess that's the sign of an effective story! Hahaha. There's certainly a lot to read...

Marilyn is napping as I type this -- she's exhausted (little wonder!). She also came home and did the treadmill! She's amazing.

It's close to 2:00 a.m. right now...

Oh! I got an email back from TechSoup so I could finally (!!!) do what Carol had asked me about last week while we were on vacation.

Speaking of vacation, we're now officially on for another week -- which will include my birthday (Monday) and our trip to New York City.

Can't think what else. I wanted a nap earlier but Henry wouldn't let me be! Then I had a bug on me. Yuck. That woke me right up again... (sigh)

My psoriasis is acting up right now. Not unusual for cold weather, but annoying, even so.

We ate frozen burritos for dinner, which was fine.

We might just rest tomorrow. We're both tired. I guess we'll see how that goes. We do need to go out and pick up prescriptions, though.

(Edited to Add: Congratulations to Paul and Daniel on their big day!)

Sweet dreams!

Marilyn and I stayed in again all day today. I haven't even stepped on the porch to get our mail. (smile)

It was filthy weather today! Just pouring down rain all day long. We watched TV and mess around on our iPads and that's really about it. I guess we really needed the rest after weeks of very busy days -- including busy weekends.

Candy sent me the information about LifeWatch. It's one of those companies with monitors for seniors. They approached Sue via phone some months back and somehow 'convinced her' (while she was very confused) that she needed to purchase the service. At one point somebody from the company phoned Marilyn who very firmly explained to them that Sue was too confused to be making any decisions like this -- and that there was NO MONEY to pay for the service. But apparently they sent some equipment anyway! This has been boxed up since it arrived. But they badgered Sue until she wrote them a check for TWO MONTHS worth of a service that they haven't been providing at all! And now they're threatening her to either return the equipment or make the other payments. Again, for a service they haven't been providing!!! What a damn scam. I always see red when companies prey on seniors!!! I sent them a message and will see whether they follow up or not. Candy had tried phoning them but couldn't reach anyone. I didn't even bother to try calling. Instead I went directly to the website and used the 'contact' page to leave a message. I was very clear about the situation. In my opinion they should refund her money, but we know they won't. She's not in a position to be paying anyone $140 right now, as they are barely getting by...

As for their taxes, Marilyn says we'll try and help them out. She's very good-hearted this way. But eventually we'll have to stop with all these constant drains. I told Marilyn to start keeping a list of all the so-called 'little' expenses, such as every time we're at the store and end up paying for her prescriptions or other purchases. The furnace was a big expense, and her hair (cut and color) is another bigger (if not really big) expense. There have been several meds lately. And some groceries. I, too, want to help. We feel very bad for both Sue and Candy. But we don't make enough money to provide for them, I'm afraid. And I can only imagine how this must bother Larry (and his family) that we help Sue and Candy and not them... (I know very little about their financial situation as we're not close, but Sue tells me things are frequently bad for them these days. Only one of their two cars is running, for example...)

Marilyn and I re-watched 2007's "Across the Universe," the musical movie that features Beatles songs. We both love musicals so much! (Aside from our love of The Beatles, of course.) It didn't get very good reviews, but we both liked it a lot...

My IBS-c is BAD today and giving me fits. I'm cramping and really suffering. No idea why. It's odd, considering we've been eating more and more healthy food all the time. Hard to understand. We've cut almost all meat our of diets right now. (We eating protein, but from other sources.) We have no cookies, etc. in the house, so we're not eating sweets. Actually, we didn't have that much to eat today -- a good thing, considering! (I did eat peanut butter, though, and sometimes it bothers my digestion. So maybe that's it.)

We sent the leftover Halloween candy to the office without eating any of it. We're really trying to stay away from candy. I certainly don't need the sugar. Speaking of, my blood sugar results have been EXCELLENT recently!

I need to get outside and stick the oil tomorrow and see where we are. It was so cold and rainy today that I just couldn't face it. But tomorrow for sure!

Boring day, I know! Hahaha. We're waiting until next weekend, I guess, for our manicures (which was fine by me!).

I hope everyone is staying dry and warm and happy! Sweet dreams, all.

It's been cold and wet on and off all week and today was more of the same.

Marilyn and I slept in. We were both very tired last night -- so tired we didn't even eat dinner before lying down for our usual evening 'nap' -- which turned in to going to sleep for the night!

We got dressed today and headed to the St. Theresa Christmas bazaar, which has always been a favorite. There seemed to be less stuff this year. We were going to eat there, but they didn't have enough chairs around the tables. Then when we tried to buy coffee, they didn't have any. Clearly a sign it was time to go! Marilyn did get a cute retro lamp for her desk at work, though...

We went to a late brunch (lunch?) at Elmer's. It was noon-ish, so you could call it lunch, I guess. But we ate breakfast food. We were VERY HUNGRY as we hadn't had anything to eat since our lunch yesterday! (We ended up sleeping without having dinner, as I said before.) Anyway, I had a waffle and Marilyn had an omelet. We weren't perfectly satisfied with our food, but the service was excellent, as always.

Then we headed back home, listening to Sirius radio the entire time we were in the car. The Beatles channel has been an important daily part of our lives.

Marilyn suggested we watch a YouTube video of a favorite movie at home, and we both did that until she dozed off. I watched the entire thing, though.

We were trying to watch our usual METV stuff, but were pretty bored by it tonight. So we finally got ready and went shopping at Walmart. We've been needing supplements for some time, so that's what we were after. It cost a fortune as we were out of EVERYTHING! (Well, that's ME, actually...)

We broke down and bought a new blu-ray player. Our old one which was never very good died like a dog recently. I had to pry the thing apart and actually BREAK IT OPEN to get a movie out that was inside it!!! And as it was one of our Beatle movies (which are hard to find!!!), this was a big deal. These are now really cheap to buy, by the way. And TINY in comparison to what they used to be like.

Exciting thing??? I've been looking for a FOOT WARMER for years and found one tonight! My feet get so very cold sometimes. I can't even say how often I've searched for this. So I'm excited we found it at long last.

And that was our Saturday, for the most part.

It's now 2:35 a.m. -- and we're just in the door from returning from Seattle, Washington (well, Auburn). And we are ALIVE and WELL. So is the car.

And that is really something of a MIRACLE. I'm not joking. Our joke became how often one of us would say: "What's that in the road?" (Or "What's that parked on the side of the road?" or, "What's that beside the road?")

In one case it was a CAR in OUR LANE (directly in front of us) -- which was flipped upside down. I have no idea how Marilyn avoided it!

In another case it was a HUGE BOULDER from a landslide directly in front of us in the lane. She barely managed to swerve and miss it -- and then barely missed being hit by the jackass behind us who had been tailgating us!!!

More tomorrow. We're very tired -- and worn out from the stress of the trip in a total DOWNPOUR plus wind on a highway where we were going 60 and being passed on both sides like we were standing still!

Marilyn is -- as I always say -- AMAZING. We were a good team, actually. I was also praying like mad the entire trip, nearly non-stop. Thank you, St. Jude!!!

I need to put down in writing the many other obstacles we somehow avoided, too. But we have that funeral first thing in the morning, so sleep beckons!

Stay safe, my friends!!!

Marilyn went back to WORK today. I didn't get up until she phoned me at 9:30, if you can believe that!!!

Thankfully her cough didn't seem that bad tonight. She's amazing.

As for me, I did get the garbage in the house taken out today. And some stale crackers for the crows.

I spent a lot of time on the phone. With my friend June, sister Sue (several calls), the furnace people and on and on.

I had a long chat with the office for our furnace company. And later with Rich, the repair guy. Sue ended up with the furnace OFF and not knowing what to do! But later in the day Candy texted me and all was well. She and Sue were fighting, though, and Sue was crying. I tried hard to comfort her. It's been hard lately, poor thing.

After a lot of messing about, I finally got videos from our Auction to Marilyn. Airdrop is NOT all that easy to use, regardless of what you may have heard (or read).

While things were going along, I did see two episodes of "Monk" I had never seen before -- and enjoyed both! I really like that show a lot. It speaks to me somehow and is another one of those 'comfort' TV shows that always makes me feel good.

Saturday we leave at noon for Seattle and the event Saturday night. It's a three-hour drive. We're supposed to have TERRIBLE weather all day long! Tons of pouring rain and high winds. Great. We're NOT looking forward to those driving conditions in the least...

The event begins at 5:30 and runs into the night. We'll see how we both feel as to how long we stay. We have a room at the Econo Lodge where we can get ready and sleep afterwards.

We have to be up very early to make it to our FUNERAL on Sunday, back in Portland!!!

Gowns for tomorrow's event. Uniforms for Sunday. That's a bitch-load of clothes to have to drag along. (sigh)

I guess we should head to bed soon.

Marilyn didn't get home until past 8:00 p.m. No surprise after she was out all week. She's always and forever swamped with work. She didn't have a single break all day long and not a bite of food until she got home.

Speaking of food, I weighed today and my weight was DOWN! I think I might have lost five pounds this week, believe it or not. Wow.

My blood sugar was 104 this morning. And after breakfast it was 130. Around 4:30 p.m. I had a low of 79 and was so wimpy and shaking. Awful. I guess I needed lunch. I haven't been eating lunch that much during the week -- and I wasn't hungry, so...

I brought it back with a burrito and a very small cookie -- no candy or huge amounts of sugary food, anyway! (The cookie was a tiny oatmeal cookie with very little sugar.)

So far I haven't used the second insulin Leslie gave me. At first I didn't have syringes -- which I just got today, by the way. Now I haven't been HIGH ENOUGH to use it! That's a good thing.

I hope I have a white blouse for Sunday (for my uniform). I wish I knew what I was wearing. I guess I can repeat the gown from the Rosarian ball and the Auction (the third time is the charm?). Oh well. I might have gotten another dress if we hadn't been sick and unable to get out. Who cares?

At least my manicure is lovely!!! (smile)

Sweet dreams! And good weather to all! And stay healthy, if you can! (I clearly won't be dancing tomorrow night! Hahaha.)

Wednesday, October 18:
Home sick. Feeling crummy. I'm dealing with constant pain from my left knee flare-up. Annoying. Aside from feeling lousy... And poor Marilyn has been so sick.

But get this: We DID manage to go out in the evening to the annual Clown Corps Award Dinner. Hard to believe, right? You can force yourself if you try hard enough...

The other 'highlight' of the day? Sister Sue FORGOT the appointment with the furnace guy! She was out at Larry's house. Nobody could get there in time to let him in (and even if we'd felt up to it, we don't have a key to the house!), so I had to cancel.

Then I'm told they don't have another appointment until November 5 at the earliest!

Both Candy and Larry beat me up verbally for not making sure they knew about the appointment. I was trying not to bother either one of them, believe it or not. If Sue had been there, I wouldn't have contacted them at all. But it was my mess...

So when I'm next talking to Deluxe Fuel, they offer to 'fit us in' on Thursday!!! What a break.

Yeah, we watched a bunch of TV, but I'd have to ask Marilyn in order to list things...

Thursday, October 19:
Sue is home, thankfully. But very confused when I talk to her. Not a good sign! But I get her up via the phone for when Rick will appear.

Marilyn talks about going in to the office, but she's still not feeling well enough. So she stays home, thankfully.

I chat with Rick and ask if the furnace CAN BE FIXED without fixing the heat pump outside (which is many thousands of dollars to fix). He says yes, he'll call me. It was under $500, happily, so he fixes it. With the other time he was there it puts us around $700 total. Both Sue and Candy want to pay for it -- but with WHAT MONEY??? So Marilyn pays and it's a done deal. (Well, they're going to bill us here at our house. We're trusted as long-time customers.)

You have to use the 'emergency' setting on the thermostat to get the furnace to work. When Rick leaves the heat is on. Later on Sue is confused by her instructions. So tonight there was no heat. I think I can figure it out if I can get over there. I researched it for a couple of hours tonight. Rick is good at fixing things, but a lousy communicator. And Sue is confused, period. We need things spelled out very clearly and WRITTEN DOWN very clearly -- which is my job!

Marilyn is going to work tomorrow, so we'll go over after work and fix things...

Sue is back to not being able to pick up messages on her home phone, so...

Time for bed. I just did the recycling and composting -- it was raining. Made me think of Dad. (smile)

Sweet dreams. I hope you're all staying healthy. (I hope I feel better tomorrow! Marilyn, too, of course.)

It's actually 2:30 a.m. right now. I'm tired. And I'm cranky. This isn't a good time for all this crap I'm dealing with. (sigh)

First, I get a message in email from Byram Healthcare. This is my medical supplies provider. Everything with them is done with INSURANCE and is always 100% covered. I've NEVER had a bill from them, ever. But when I log on to the MyByram online site, guess what? I'm being billed nearly $100 for my current order! Why? Clearly because my damn clinic still has not sent them the prescription that was supposed to happen. Otherwise it's because the new insulin IS NOT COVERED by insurance -- and I can easily go back to not using it, just saying. If insurance isn't covering it, why wasn't I informed? The level of incompetence is staggering, I have to tell you...

Just like this crap with sister Sue and the 'appointment' she never had versus they say she did. Marilyn told me yesterday that they are ridiculously incompetent at the front desk at Dr. Markin's office, too. In my case I think we're not talking the front desk, however. We're talking Leslie's assistant... (sigh)

So when I decide to log in to the clinic website, guess what? I have some bill there that I've NEVER SEEN (it should have been MAILED to me) that's over due. In fact, it's from LAST YEAR (and more than a year old) and still outstanding. There's a re-billing charge on it. Um, seriously? Because I've NEVER BEEN BILLED even once, much less re-billed!!! I am really too tired to even think about this right now.

I just logged in Remotely to my email at work. And guess what? Outlook had a nasty crash. I've been sitting here waiting and it's still not 'fixed' as it should be. If only we had a decent IT Manager at the festival, maybe we could resolve some of this crap! Oh. Wait. That's me we're talking about! (sigh)

Does anybody remember me mentioning Michelle from Comcast? She called when I was gone shopping on October 4. Her phone message did not include her LAST NAME. It did not include a direct phone number to call her -- I tried the number that came in on caller ID -- it's the generic Comcast number. If you don't have a last name you can't try finding her at the company. She said in her message she would FOLLOW UP in an email -- she didn't. That was ONE WEEK ago. Not a word since.

I phoned Kris about this and he said he'd follow up. I haven't heard another word from him.

Speaking of that, both Kris and Donn and supposedly (???) working on the issue of SPAM blocking for our work email for the entire office. I have heard nothing from either of them. We have until December to resolve this (a month and a half, in other words). I am SERIOUSLY CONCERNED about this subject.

My wonderful WavePad Sound Editor Master's Edition wants to be purchased now. I really should buy it. It's normally $99 on sale for $50. I guess the festival should foot that bill. I need to chat with Marilyn about it.

Exciting (good!) news!!! Marilyn did something to our Sirius radio account. Now I can get it on my iPad and iPhone while she's using it in the car!!! All Beatles all the time, in other words. (woo hoo) One of the best things for the entire day.

Filthy weather. I walked to the corner store to get a lottery ticket and it was POURING down rain. I was sure glad to have my new jacket (it's very warm!) and the hat I got some time back when shopping one day with my friend June. It was raining that day, too, and I got the hat to keep dry. I wore that with my hair tucked in my jacket and my hair stayed totally dry!!! How about that???

Marilyn came home again during the day today. I tried to help when possible. But she's EXTREMELY GOOD at this video stuff, I think! Yesterday at one point she was ready to throw in the towel and go back to doing a PowerPoint presentation (as we have in the past). Then suddenly she 'got' it, and she was really cooking.

She had a complete video as of yesterday, but decided to 'tweak' it today. And did some WONDERFUL stuff. I loved the changes/improvements. If she'll stick with using this App (I started to say 'software' -- yes, I'm old), then I think she'll get to be an expert with it. She's already very good. She hadn't touched it in years until now. And in a couple of days she produced a great video. Most people won't know the difference between how it's done this year and in previous years. The other thing? I'll be given the credit by many people there (just as I was last year). This is her baby. But there's really no telling people I didn't do it -- I've tried before. They always think I'm just being modest. Hahaha. I hate take credit for work I didn't do, but it's honestly not worth the trouble to explain. Marilyn always tells me not to bother. But it bugs me. Hahaha.

Yes, I did help (as much as I could). And, yes, we've done this project together for many years now. And I appreciate the team work aspect, because I love teaming with others to do things. It's pretty much what I'm always doing, really.

The successful video was the HIGHLIGHT of today! Marilyn should be very proud with her final product. And I'm sure people will love it. Plus it really can't have the glitches we've experienced in the past with various PowerPoints that we've done. It's hard to explain if you don't do this 'artistic' PowerPoints the way we do. They have lots of photos and elements and some text and music and special, careful timing. And they can simply screw up and not play correctly. And we like the visual to MATCH the audio! So that matters to us. With video we don't have the issues that can happen with PP. That's a very good thing!

Hurray: I talked to Adeena on the phone for ages this afternoon!!! We're both excited about the Auction on Friday.

No. I did not get my hair colored today (sigh).

No. I didn't fix my hat for the Auction for my costume (sigh).

Marilyn ate a frozen burrito for dinner (heated in the microwave). I ate a can of white beans (heated in the microwave). We were both hungry, but too tired to cook or go get takeout.

We were watching The Wizard of Oz (On Demand) when we both fell asleep. Long day, long week, busy summer and autumn and year. We're hanging in there.

You know, Marilyn and I were talking about LAST YEAR around this time. I'd been sick for months. She'd been seriously sick -- sick enough to wonder if she had cancer (and if she'd survive whatever she did have -- and I mean that). We were both losing weight because neither one of us was EATING normally. Thank God that passed.

But this time of year is always hard on us. I have seasonal allergies that are killer. We think she does, too, in a different way. But her IBS-d is always terrible in the Fall. I always get physical flareups, aside from the allergic things. And we're both always fatigued.

Anyway, we're hanging in there. It's going to be fine. It's not last year, at least! Hahaha.

This cold, wet weather is no help, though...

Time for bed (past time). Tomorrow will be busy again. (I'm sitting here making that allergy noise: where you use your tongue to try and 'scratch' the roof of your mouth very fast. Yuck. I guess I need a pill. Imagine how bad I'd be without the steroid shots!!!)

My hips are better, thank God. My right ankle today? Not so much. (ouch)

Cheese with the whine, Charlie? Hahaha.

Sweet dreams, all. Stay healthy and happy!

Oh! One final note: Sister Sue is dreaming! She uses her oxygen and then has actual dreams when she sleeps!!! REM sleep, people! (woo hoo) If only she'd use it more often...

Tired tonight. We're trying to get as much rest as we can when there's time. The Auction is exhausting...

I started my day talking to Dr. Markin's office -- very annoying. I'm saying to the assistant Marilyn wouldn't set an appointment this week (we've known the date of our auction for months) -- she's saying it was set recently. I'm saying I talked to others in the office SEVERAL TIMES last week -- and wondering why I never heard there was this appointment. And on and on. Annoying. And I wouldn't allow them to phone sister Sue and upset her (like they did yesterday). Anyway...

Then I phoned her myself and we talked at length. Her weight was good. She used her oxygen on Sunday had had dreams when she slept. That means she had REM sleep.

I'm still trying to get her transportation to her labs this week -- but that's not easy. I sent a text this morning to Larry (her son) and didn't hear back until tonight at some point... Marilyn and I will just wait and take her next week. (When the Auction is over.)

I don't understand ignoring people when they try to reach you. I know we all get busy, but still... Oh well.

Marilyn came home from the office so we could work together on the Auction video. I did as much as I could to assist her, but she really did this project. A great job! She got it finished within several hours.

Then we headed to the office. She showed it to everyone and people were pleased.

It was a cold day, like winter, we both thought. Rainy and chilly. We were pleased to finally head for home. We went to Riteaid on the way home and picked up our prescriptions (and I got hair color).

We picked up food from Bong Teriyaki, which is just up the street from our house. Then went home to eat.

After dinner we both were tired and went to sleep. Marilyn has an early meeting tomorrow.

I want to contact Adeena about her costume for the Auction tomorrow. We want her to consider a certain outfit (and help her get it). I hope she's free to talk tomorrow.

Well, off to bed! Sweet dreams to all!

Marilyn and I started our day by heading out to Rose Plantings, an annual thing. The VIPs each get a rose planted at their house, where they host everyone in attendance. The first one would be 'brunch' type food and beverages, the second would be lunch and the third is dessert. Usually it's the Rose Society President, the Prime Minister and the festival President -- but this is Brett's second year, so he already had a rose last year (and wasn't ready to host again so soon!).

However, today Charold hosted as Rose Society President -- and she held that same title 20 years ago!!! And her husband, Rich, has held it twice, too. So this is rose number four!!! They have an amazing and HUGE rose garden at their house and a special spot for these roses...

I took presents for both Charold and Lauren (Adam's wife). I had a rose pin for Charold and a vintage souvenir Portland, Oregon pin for Lauren.

The weather held off wonderfully for Charold's planting. And they had AMAZING FOOD, really good champagne for mimosas (plus other beverages for non-drinkers) and dessert, too. Both Marilyn and I ate (often Marilyn does not). Then it was off to Oregon City -- a long, long drive!

We had to stop for gas on the way there. And I guess everybody was having a time finding the place. Plus it was raining part of the trip.

We finally got a place to park and went in where they had lovely desserts set out. They decided to do the planting right away, trying to avoid the rain. But it did rain a bit and some of us got wet. After we had coffee and goodies -- what an array they had!

After it was all done, Marilyn and I headed back home, getting here around 3:00. Next we packed up things for sister Sue and headed to her house...

It was time for Marilyn to check Sue's pills and set them up for another two weeks. She had somehow NOT taken her pills for four days in a row last week (the first week)!!! She swore she had (over and over and over), but the pills were still there! Which explains why her weight has been up.

Marilyn talked and talked to her and set up pills again (except for the pills that needed to be refilled). She spoke very strongly to Sue about taking her medicine.

I gave her two pair of jeans I had for her. And a calendar to try and help her keep track of things. And some more green tomatoes.

Then we gave her the gift of a hand held video poker game and a hand held slots game. Hopefully she'll be able to figure them out and play them. We know she gets really bored being alone all the time. (Which is why I call her so frequently every day.)

We were leaving and Marilyn felt bad for being 'mean' to Sue -- so we went and got her Starbucks. I ran it in and said Marilyn wanted her to know she felt bad for being mean and that she loved her and was just trying to keep her alive. She left us a nice message on our machine at home thanking us.

We were sitting resting and just watching TV. Then Marilyn remembered that they were dedicating the new Michael Curry Fountain in Heritage Park in Scappoose, Oregon tonight! It had started at six and it was nearly 7:00 -- but was running until 8:00. So we put on clothes again and drove there in time not to miss this event.

The fountain is truly AMAZING. They've been working on it for years. It is like a metal tree and sprays misty water and is lit up and has colors that change, plus wonderful music that was done by Michael's son. Marilyn went over to say hello, as she's worked with Michael before for the festival -- then he said he'd been expecting her (!!!) and told us all about it. (One of the Prime Ministers today told her about and was attending and I guess must have told Michael we were coming, too!)

It was wonderful and we made small video and also took photos (I need to share later). And I went and stood under it and got wet, even though it was chilly. I didn't get soaked the way many children -- and some adults -- did, but I got a little wet. It was compelling, standing in the fountain!

We have a fountain right by the Rose Building (where we work downtown), and people are constantly there and constantly getting right in the fountain. So we assume this will be the same...

After that we drove home listening to the Sirius Radio special two-hour birthday show for John Lennon (Monday is his birthday). We are HUGE Beatle and John Lennon fans, in case I haven't said that before...

We kept driving around to hear the entire show (we missed some while at the fountain). Then we came home and watched the end of Svengoolie and Batman (which we rarely ever miss).

Now we're going to head to bed, as tomorrow should be another busy day...

Sweet dreams!

First thing today I sent a text message to Larry (Sue's son, my nephew) and Nicole (Sue's granddaughter, my grand niece) and asked each of them to phone me here at the house when they got off work.

I did a LOT of stuff on the phone again today. I lost track how many times I talked to sister Sue, for example. And the office. And Marilyn.

I was up early again and working on some of the same projects as yesterday. I'm trying hard to understand about making videos via Apps. I wish I was much better at it. But I'm improving as I go...

It was pretty out, but decidedly an Autumn day. And it's supposed to RAIN tomorrow (sigh) during the OUTDOOR Rose Plantings that we're attending.

And I never did get a white top ready! I thought about it more than once, too. It's a uniform event for us.

I confirmed who wanted what DINNER for the Auction. (Mostly chicken, but Marilyn decided to get the pork.) Sue is very excited about attending.

I put a load of dishes to wash from dinner last night.

I confirmed with Sue's clinic WHEN they wanted her for labs next week. (Thursday, ideally. But Wednesday or Friday will work. And no set time during those days.) My goal was to get either Larry or Nicole to take her. Marilyn had said we could do it on Monday, but that's too soon.

Late in the day I finally talked to Larry at length. Partly about whether or not Sue should live with him and his family.

Even later I talked to Nicole about being a backup if Larry can't take Sue. And caught up with her, as I rarely chat with her. I sent her a cute photo of Colin in his new box while we were talking.

I also got to speak briefly to our dear friend Shari -- even though that call was interrupted. So many of my calls WERE interrupted today!

My present for Sue arrived at the office today -- we're going to try and give these things to her tomorrow, along with a couple of pair of jeans I have for her.

Her weight was actually DOWN for the first time today! That's exactly what that new med should do.

Marilyn had a three-hour meeting with Molly (Wanda's mom). She said Molly is an AMAZING woman with amazing skills. And that we should try to become friends with her, as she thinks we'd really enjoy that.

What am I forgetting???

We ate leftover chili with taco shells I heated in the oven for dinner, topped by grated cheese and fresh red tomato. Very yummy!

I just woke from a nap. Both Marilyn and I were exhausted by 10:00 when dinner was over. Yeah, she got home right around 9:00 again.

Something CRAZY was going on with Marilyn's Instagram accounts today. They were LOGGING HER OUT and not letting her post. Ridiculous. But we resolved it when she got home. Hopefully it's all fine now. We'd hate to see her lose her primary accounts (or ANY OF THEM, for that matter!). It's so silly how it all works. She'll have issues posting no matter what she's saying. I just don't get that at all.

Well, back to bed. It's now 3:30 and we have a big day tomorrow.

We had thought about having Sue over to the house in the evening -- but Larry wants to take her home to his house tomorrow. I just want him to wait until after we've seen her. And we need to do our Rose Plantings before we can even think about that.

I wonder if the guy on Jeopardy won again today? I was going to try and watch, but got so busy!

I resized around 70-some photos Remotely today for the Auction project. I've never done it that way before! It takes some serious time, I'm telling you. Right now I only have 2 more photos to go -- but I know Marilyn will come up with more. Oh! Plus the 15 photos of each girl on the court. I forgot about those!!! I just checked. I did exactly 73 items... My system was to open one photo. Carefully resize. Save it to a folder that indicated it was resized. Then move the original into a done folder so we could still have it full size but not mix it up with other images not yet touched. And over and over and so on.

I also did more work on my work email, which quickly gets out of hand. I'm happy to be down to under 500 items, which isn't that great. But it beats more than a thousand! Hahaha. And lots of people in our office will end up with tens of thousands. Ridiculous...

I am supposed to be doing more on the SPAM blocker thing, but I've been too busy. Soon, hopefully!

Marilyn and I MUST order costumes for the Auction IMMEDIATELY.

We need to get gas for the car first thing tomorrow. I couldn't convince her to go tonight. She was too tired and hungry when she got home. Little wonder.

And that's my day.

Happy dreams, all!