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 " [ Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a [...] _blank">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] 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 "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_Bank_(film)" target="_blank">Cut Bank</a>" was really excellent -- I'd highly recommend it. We enjoyed the 2009 film "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Brown_(film) target="_blank">Harry Brown</a>, a vigilante movie. For whatever reason, Marilyn and I both like vigilante flicks. Again, I'd recommend this movie. Marilyn had really wanted to see the 2017 film "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_River_(film) target="_blank">Wind River,</a>" that was very moving. Another recommendation. The 2015 movie "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_(film) target="_blank">Spotlight</a>" was fascinating. An expose movie regarding the Catholic church. Highly recommended. It was very hard watching the 2018 movie "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Boy_(2018_film) target="_blank">Beautiful Boy</a>," which deals with drug addiction. But, again, I highly recommend it. Finally, the 2017 movie "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shape_of_Water target="_blank">The Shape of Water</a>," that received 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards (the most of any film in the 2018 race), was amazing. Be sure to catch it! Marilyn and I were way behind on episodes of "Jeopardy," so we watched loads of these, too. I forgot to mention the 2011 movie "<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beaver_(film) target="_blank">The Beaver</a>." I saw ver little of it, and I don't think Marilyn saw it all. But it looked really interesting to me. A film about mental health. I'm probably forgetting other movies, but those were the main ones. Well, going back to today, I took down, packed up and stored away all of the Christmas decorations in the family room this morning. I was being careful and taking it slow, not wanting to get worse or have a relapse. I had Johnnie out after that, as Colin was downstairs sleeping. I watched a bunch of HGTV while working. I had a late breakfast of eggs in toast, using my new little fry pan that Marilyn bought me for my birthday. I did a load of dishes around noon. And did some cleaning and organizing in the laundry room. I was tired, and thought I might wait until tomorrow to finish up, but later in the afternoon I decided to finish in the living room. I've been paring back our Christmas decorations for the past three years (at this house and the beach house), with the goal of having less to deal with. I was happy to get the tree ornaments into one box -- for the first time in my life, mind you! (Yes, it's a big box, but it's still one box!) I got many items carefully packed up for taking to the Goodwill. It was interesting that I had one box less for both the family room and the living room. Under the stairs I have so much less stored than ever before. It's pretty amazing. I feel proud of myself. Marilyn put in an 11 hour day with no break. (And after being out sick, too.) Poor thing, I needed kitty litter and a few other items,so she picked me up and we went to Safeway. I did text with my friends June and Shari today. And talked to sister Sue twice. Marilyn was so busy we weren't even able to chat all day long. She had something like six meetings today! I've turned off the outdoor lights that are on the Critter Cafe. But I need to get out and take them down. But it was filthy weather today -- raining and really cold! I certainly wasn't going to go out there with my cold. My cough might linger, but I really do feel better. I need to take down the front door wreath, porch light(currently red!), swag and indoor wreath. That was pretty much my day! Sweet dreams, my friends -- and stay healthy!!! - Feeling:accomplished
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Marilyn and I were at work by 7:30 this morning -- not bad, huh? We had a very busy work day, each of us. Wanda gave her notice last week during our vacation. So I'm 'training' so I can cover until we replace her. Hahaha! No. I do NOT really know how to man the front desk. But I did begin there, way back when. I used to be the assistant receptionist at one point. I've actually avoided learning any of this work in recent years, I have to admit. Since this 'new' building -- moving in back in 2010 -- I've never really learned the 'new' phone system. I do the back end setup work, but barely even use my phone (I have no call, honestly). So now I'm learning the switchboard phones that are at the front desk. These can be used via computer, but I prefer the manual use on the phones themselves. I find it hard to see the small print on the computer screens... I've always been bad at the Ricoh (our copier), and at the printers, as well -- these are run by the receptionist/office manager. After Marilyn got out of her early meeting I went to Starbucks with some of the other 'girls' -- Carol, Kate and Maleah. Marilyn didn't go, as she didn't want to go out in the smoke. Because of local wildfires, we've been having terrible air quality issues! Marilyn has had asthma her entire life, plus allergies, so... After that Wanda and I started training. Then when Kara came in, I sat in with Marilyn while she interviewed. She was recommended by Kate, and shows a lot of promise. We'll see if she's interested or not. I made a website change, which I actually could do via my iPad. It amazes me how easy it is to do website work on the device, as opposed to the computer. Donn is coming in tomorrow. Marilyn and I had lunch with Marcia today -- Marilyn's monthly lunch with her and Gail (Gail wasn't able to come). We three went to the Spaghetti Factory. A lovely lunch. Wanda and I did aa little more training after lunch... Mostly I worked at my desk in the afternoon. At 5:00 Nominating Interviews began. Wanda left at 5:00. Interesting note: Wanda is taking off both Thursday and Friday. (She did not ask for them off in advance, Marilyn confirmed later. She just took them off...) We got home around 7:30, anyway. I made tuna sandwiches for dinner. Marilyn didn't really enjoy them, I'm afraid. Johnnie was very glad to see me tonight, sweet cat! While doing my part for Nominating -- Greeting nominees -- I spent some time texting back and forth with our friend Shari. That was fun, catching up with her. It's nearly 2:00 now, so we need to get to bed. I'm tired tonight, as I'm not used to working a full day at the office. But I'll be fine. My back hurts tonight, partly because I was napping and was late taking my pain meds at midnight (sigh). Being upright all day is hard on my back, as I normally would spend at least part of the day lying or reclining. Straightback chairs are tough since the shingles. We picked up my medications at Riteaid after work.  - Feeling:good
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The day started out with Sheila have issues with Quickbooks -- yes, again. I can't make this stuff up (as we like to say). Donn jumped right in. I started consulting immediately with Donn. And Kris was right behind that, checking on things. Crazy morning spent on the phone, I have to tell you. And my friend Rob was sending me text messages and nagging me about going to dinner Friday night. It's hard to make people understand how our schedules work right now. But then we talked for ages while we were both working at the same time. Finally we hung up so we could concentrate better. Hahaha. Worked in there was texting to both Larry and Candy, trying to pin them down about wristbands. And to find out more about sister Sue and her new cell phone. That was a ton of text messages to find out that Sue has a new phone, the same number and still isn't answering calls. Nor does she have her voice mail set up. Anyway, everybody wants wristbands, which is good (including Nicole, who also texted me). And it's possible Sue might want to go to the parade, too. There are a number of IT concerns that need to be addressed and are wrapped around security issues. Annoying distraction considering how busy we are. I spent ages on it, anyway... My fasting blood was again good this morning. And I was eating peanuts in the middle of the night. Hahaha. Which shows you that peanuts are, indeed, good for you. Marilyn used to eat them constantly, by the way. Speaking of Marilyn, she just looks MARVELOUS right now! She's lost a LOT of weight and her hair looks great and she looks young and stylish. She told me tonight this might have been one of her most intense days at work ever! She had a lengthy interview, some very important and intense meetings and a ton of other work to do. She was at the office until well past 10:00 p.m. Meanwhile, I was working on website stuff for many hours today. I was sitting in front of my computer and working through a bunch of complicated things. One page just wasn't displaying correctly! Calisa had told me about it after Carol had mentioned it to her. So I went through that code with a fine-toothed comb. Over and over and over again! I was remembering the days when one little piece of code could completely mess up how a page displayed. I cleaned up the code several times, but couldn't find anything. Finally I turned to David at Fish. And it was an issue at his end! So he fixed it for me. Those are hours I'm never getting back again. Hahaha. Oh well. Carol provided the Copy for several pages and I updated it all as we went along. Today was not about Sanctioned Events. Well, I did make one change to a Sanctioned Event page, but it was pretty simple. The rest of it was all MAJOR pages of our site, so I was happy to work through it. Marilyn called to tell me that tomorrow is lunch at Elmer's for the Court -- and she's planning to attend. So she wanted me to invite June to go. She also suggested inviting our sister Sue, but there was no getting in touch with either her or Larry. I tried calling and texting, but no luck. We've done the Elmer's lunch before, and it's fun. Angel will be there as the Clown Prince. And the members of the Court have lunch, then help serve patrons, mingled with those there. This is a great group of girls! I really enjoyed talking to them at the Board meeting. So I'm looking forward to this tomorrow. Hopefully June will feel up to it. She's dealing with the aftermath of her own bursa injections (for her knees). She did what I did and did not take it easy yesterday after her shots! And she was paying for it today. So I guess we'll see how she's doing. If she doesn't go, Marilyn is planning to come and pick me up. Adeena and I wrote back and forth today. She's working on the Starlight script and plugging away at it. It's not easy work, but you can punch it out in a few days if you need to (which most people who do it have had to do). She's on deadline, but right now we're ALL on deadlines! It's that time of year. It was COLD again today. I was barely avoiding getting chilled. My friend Mark and I texted back and forth for a bit in the afternoon. If he's not tied up tomorrow, he might come to Elmer's, too. (The lunch is at noon.) When patrons order the Rose Meal, it benefits the festival! It was amusing this morning! They're doing something at the office with Marilyn and needed a photo of her with Colin! And he just hates having his picture taken. It wasn't that easy to get any decent pictures. Hahaha. But Marilyn was sure looking good! I got the recycling out tonight, barely. I was just so worn out. I know it's not physical, as I didn't get any steps to mention today. But mentally I was exhausted. By around 10:00 p.m. I was really done... My blood sugar was good all day long! Of course, I wasn't really hungry, so I barely ate anything until tonight. And then I had cheese and crackers and some peanuts. Earlier I had a slice of bread. Haha. I can't think what else I'm forgetting, but I'm off to bed. I need to get up and wash my hair in the morning before going to the lunch at Elmer's. I was just thinking about reading all that code today. You know, I really do enjoy it! I don't get much opportunity these days. I used to be looking at code every single day a couple of years ago... I need to post about The Big Valley that I saw part of today. About blue for boys and pink for girls. Hahaha. More about that soon, I hope. Tonight is garbage night -- thankfully not 'real' garbage! And now, to bed!  - Feeling:accomplished
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Marilyn is very sick and really suffering, poor thing. Coughing constantly. I feel terrible for her. Candy is still sick -- and now it looks like sister Sue is sick, as well. This is a nasty virus that has been making the rounds in our office at work -- but around the area, clearly, too. (sigh) Henry was howling like mad several times today. He really, really wanted my attention -- especially when I was very busy... Colin has taken to sleeping in HENRY'S tent in the living room (!!!). Good grief! When he's not sleeping on the soft blanket I put under the Christmas tree especially for him, that is. I think he goes in the tent when he gets cold. And it's been VERY COLD here -- and we're expecting even colder weather Sunday and Monday. I made eggs and bacon for lunch today. And then chili, again, for dinner. Both Marilyn and I like to eat chili when we're not feeling well. And I made hot tea (served sweet without milk). Trying to help Marilyn's poor sore throat. Fridays are always fun, even when we're not feeling well. We love watching the METV shows that start at 6:00 p.m. our time and run all night long. Though for whatever reason we can't seem to remember to tune in in time for "The Wild, Wild West" at 6:00 -- usually we only see the end. This is a series we've loved so much in our lives that we used to have EVERY SINGLE EPISODE on video tape (naturally we've since gotten rid of them -- but we did have them at one point). Watching "Batman" sure takes me back! We loved it as kids and STILL love it as adults. Man, that Adam West! (grin) I did text with Candy, Adeena and Mark today -- at one point with all three at the same time. That was when I was also on the phone with my friend June (plus talking briefly to Sue, as well). Crazy how that works, huh? My focus remains Marilyn, for the record. Friends and family are all asking about getting together with me tomorrow, but I don't see that happening. Jeff has been really firm about it -- but I don't think he realizes how sick Marilyn really is, as he wants to do something with both of us. Oh well. Timing is everything. Marilyn comes first for me, probably needless to say. I can't see me doing something without HER there, after all. (As if I could enjoy myself knowing she was at home REALLY SICK AND REALLY MISERABLE. Not happening.) Anyway, we don't tend to do anything for my birthday, anyway, so that's fine. Sometimes we go out for lunch or dinner. And sometimes we go to a movie. But usually not. (shrug) Every day is a 'party' for Marilyn and me, in spite of illness or other difficulties. We work to make life happy in spite of negative things. And Saturdays are sure party days now that we enjoy the METV lineup so much! Hahaha. Oh! I also made popcorn tonight, which we both really enjoy... I almost forgot to mention this! I put our four pumpkins -- and a bunch of gourds -- out in the back yard. You can easily see them from our huge living room windows. And today I saw that one pumpkin has the top totally torn off and looks gutted. And a squirrel was really tearing into another one and eating and eating! Very cute to see! We did that last year and were quite surprised when they began eating them. So we knew we were going to do it again this year. I wish I had video of it!!! Hahaha. I had hummers again today. I really need to clean and fill the hummingbird feeder again (hopefully tomorrow). We get a lot of the little guys (and girls). I think that's it for now. Continuing to send out good thoughts and prayers to Frank! And I sure hope Marilyn, Sue and Candy get well soon. (And all my friends at work, as well.) I'm sure enjoying my flowers from Rich and Merlin! (I'm having one heck of a time keeping Colin away from them. Hahaha.) Sweet dreams all. STAY HEALTHY IF YOU CAN!!!!  - Feeling:optimistic
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So. It's actually ten minutes to 4:00 a.m. right now. Well into April 22 -- rather than April 21. (sigh) As you can obviously tell, I just never woke up before midnight to blog on Thursday... WTF??? The good news was that Adeena did come in time to pick me up so she and I could get down to the festival office in plenty of time to participate in the jurying for the International Youth Silent Film Foundation (IYSFF) tonight. Actually, we got to the office by 4:30, so we walked over to get Starbucks (my treat this time) before going. On the way we stopped at Anne's so I could get a couple of bottles of soda. (JP never has ANYTHING for the participants. I remember last year he had one bottle of wine for all three rooms full of jurors! Hahaha.) Everybody was saying he'd have soda or he'd have water. I was like, 'oh hell no.' So I suggested WE take along wine, which we did (four bottles -- 3 red and one white). That was pretty popular, actually! (grin) Anyway, at around 5:30 our large group walked up there (it's several blocks). Good thing so many of us went, by the way, because there weren't a bunch of other volunteers -- festival people were pretty much it! It's actually a WONDERFUL experience. I'd say around half of us had been jurors before. Marilyn has NEVER missed going in all these years. Anyway, they break us up into three different rooms and we sit in the dark with our score sheets. Knowing this, I brought along a bunch of flashlights for people to use. I should have brought PENCILS (I'll do that next week for sure!). Fortunately I had my fave mechanical pencil with me. Then we have a batch of movies made by students that we watch (kids 20 or younger can participate). Some of the movies are pretty bad. Others are okay. And then you get one or two GEMS to see! We had two really good ones in our room. After we're done they thank us (more than once) for coming, and we walk back to the office and head for home... It was Adeena's first time. And Christine had brought her son Zander (whom I love -- he's a high school student). Rich brought his wife Merlin. And it was the first time for Katie and Kate. Everybody enjoyed the experience and is looking forward to doing it again NEXT Thursday night. So Marilyn and I came home and threw baby tacos in the microwave, and I put on cabbage to cook for our dinner. Then we napped almost immediately after that. I was so out of it from my half a cup of wine and a long day that I never woke until just before 4:00! Good grief. Today I focused a bunch on website stuff. I think we may have FINALLY finished the domain transfer for RoseCup.Com (at long last). (I wonder if they get that they ALSO own RoseCup.Org or not? They haven't done ANYTHING with that! Oh well. I'm not sure I'm going to make a point of it, frankly, after all this long, long mess.) I called my friend Rob to talk about the visit this year of Ken (from Marching.Com). He turns 50 on GFP day! I guess he's going to be one of the band judges for the parade. Marilyn wanted to know if he was staying with Rob and Jeff (Ken is how I originally met these two years ago) -- or if he needed a hotel room (I guess he might want one for Friday night before the Saturday parade day). I spent AGES (hours) on the eNewsletter today with Kate. And finally called and reached my friend Oliver to have him check things out. I had thought it was the engine (the service we use) that had the problem. But it turns out that Kate had made an error during the upload. Anyway, we finally got the eNewsletter out just fine. Hahaha. (Hours of my time later. But that's okay.) Bad News: Sister Sue was staying overnight Wednesday night at her son Larry's house. She was in Levi's room, got up in the dark to go to the bathroom and stumbled in the dark, taking quite a fall!!! Poor thing! I had phoned to talk to her, and she told me about this and that she was pretty bad off. I'm asking frantically whether or not she's been to the doctor. So finally I call Larry (who is at work) to find out what's what. He says she wounded herself in a couple of places (broke the skin and bled) and he bandaged those. She HIT HER HEAD (!!!) and had a bump and she was very bruised. Sue has ALWAYS bruised easily -- but now she's on blood thinner all the time, so that's even worse. She was in pain when we talked, but I had IMMEDIATELY phoned Marilyn who said we'd go by Larry's assessment (he was there, after all). Larry said he didn't think she needed to see a doctor, so there we are. I always panic and think a doctor visit sounds like a good idea. Hahaha. But I'm just worried about her. As long as she's okay, I guess it doesn't matter... I just worry. I did talk to Tammy more than once (Larry's wife -- Sue's daughter-in-law). Tammy was wonderful with Mom years ago during her cancer treatment, so I feel she's bound to be a big help with Sue. Marilyn asked me to arrange for Sue to get her hair done -- and we'd pay for it. Funny, because Tammy told me they'd been thinking the same thing. But they were going to take her to a beauty college (it's far cheaper that way). I told her the number of our salon (Sue and I go to the same place) and to set it there. So she's going to get the works: Color, cut and perm. I'm sure that will make Sue feel much better (it certainly makes ME feel better after I get my hair done!). Marilyn also feels it will make her DOCTORS look at her differently! There's something about not being gray and looking OLD that might influence how they perceive her. Very good point, Marilyn! I wish it wasn't true, but it is! The older a doctor thinks you are -- and thinks you act -- the more they'll treat you differently than someone they think of as 'younger.' If you think there's no age discrimination when you see doctors, then you aren't older! I can't tell you how many times I've noticed a change in attitude when they realized I was 50, for example (back in the day). And after 60??? Okay then! Sue could use being seen as a younger old person, if that makes sense. Trust me, it does from my perspective!!! Hahaha. Anyway, I was on the phone for several hours about Sue today. Turns out that Marilyn and Candy were texting back and forth about Sue, as well! Somehow Sue had an appointment for tomorrow (!!!) that Candy couldn't take her to -- and that Marilyn didn't even know about. Marilyn manages Sue's website connection with her doctors, so she should get email messages about any and all appointments. So somebody screwed this up!!! Marilyn had to contact them and change the appointment, because nobody could go with Sue. Plus Marilyn doesn't EVER want to go in without blood work FIRST. They can't even discuss her condition without those results, so it makes sense (duh, doctor's office). And I'd had an email from June that her iPad wasn't working. I didn't know what the problem was, so I phoned there early to find out (talking to her hubby Jim). June phoned me back later and we talked it through on the phone. She thought she wasn't connected to the internet (she was). This is something about Gmail where it stops working for some damn reason. God, do I HATE Gmail! It seems to have nothing but problems! I get that tons of people use it without issues -- and that Donn loves it. But I'm the person always dealing with those issues. Seriously. And I have it, but it's never worked all that well for me!!! At least it's working on both June's computer and her iPhone (where I last had to do things to get it working, I believe). Or maybe it WAS her iPad last time, too! This could be about UPDATES -- but I don't like June to do any updates without my help... I guess I need to get over there to see the issue myself. Not sure when I'll be able to do that. We're working this weekend both days. Marilyn has Court Orientation very early Saturday morning. Then we have Clown School. And Sunday is Clown School Graduation (which we never miss). Sue B. was in town today! Her father hasn't been doing well. So she stopped by to see Marilyn today. I'm sorry I missed her. Sue's a former president of the festival (two year term) and friend. She was very active on the festival board for years, and now lives in Oklahoma. (Jeff and his family recently vacationed at Sue and Dennis' home.) I'm sure I'm missing lots of what went on today, but I need to head to bed (it's well past 4:00 now!!!). I finally took my night time meds. So off I go. Not sure if I'm going to the office or not tomorrow. I need to do more website stuff. Katie and I will tackle a VERY HARD PAGE together tomorrow. It's actually easier in some ways to do it from here. I Remote in to her computer and let her do most of the 'driving' on the computer. But I can step in when I need to. And I'm on the phone explaining things as we go. That works very well with Adeena and Christine, so I think that's maybe the best way with Katie, too... I should try that method with Kate for the next eNewsletter, I think. So I can see how she does her work. There were a few code errors -- and I'd love to know how she got them. Well, time for bed! More tomorrow. I can hardly keep my eyes open. By the way, it wasn't such a good idea not to take my contacts out the second I got home from work!!! Yikes. - Feeling:tired
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Marilyn and Adeena left the house early -- leaving me sleeping (such a luxury!). They had Living History again today. Not sure if I've explained this or not: Adeena lives in Battle Ground, Washington. It's quite a ways to come. If she's going to work at the festival office downtown, she drives directly there. If she's going to one of the Living History performance venues (which have been schools, recently), then she comes here to our house, instead. She parks her car out front and rides with Marilyn until they come back home at night. Then Adeena hops in her car and heads back home again. Actually, that saves on parking, which is not true for her when she's downtown! (And downtown parking isn't cheap, by the way.) For the record, parking is one of Marilyn's job-related benefits (part of her contract). We realize how lucky we are to have that, believe me. Like getting our gas provided for us, we don't ever take it for granted. (Believe me, Marilyn earns all of these things and then some.) I got up around 8:00-ish today. But my goal was to really, truly let my eyes rest for a good portion of the day. Especially when it came to being on the computer. So in the morning I tried not to go near the computer much (after checking my email, of course). Today was another warm day, but nothing to the past two days, thankfully! Still, it was in the 80's in the house upstairs (!!!), so not very comfortable. I did run the air a little, but did NOT want to get it too cold downstairs... Sister Sue and I talked this morning. She's doing okay -- and seems VERY good to me! Not at all confused like before. I have to believe that one medicine that they've taken her off of had a lot to do with her confusion. I guess she and Candy have been talking about her going back to Marquis Care at Piedmont again (where she was when she got out of the hospital). I'm not sure how that could happen with her in good health, though. Covering the cost would be difficult, I'm sure. And Candy and Sue together pay for their current home -- so I don't see HOW Candy could expect to pay for it alone if Sue's money was going for some other place... Anyway, I was surprised to hear Sue talking about going there. I certainly hope she's able to remain home! I'd like to see her get back to having her own car and being able to drive. I'm not even sure WHY she hasn't been able to, as TWO DOCTORS cleared her to do so. (I don't know why Dr. Young got involved in that decision, considering he really doesn't have the background on what's been going on with her recently...) Of course, I guess if Candy is determined to KEEP Sue's car, it will be hard for Sue to get it back again. I miss my sister. Sue and I can at least talk on the phone. But we used to see each other all the time! Even during my busy time of year. It's just not fair. I'm really sweating sitting here typing this. It's too hot upstairs. I just turned on the air, so I could give us a shot of coolness. I need to wash and dry my hair, and I'm not sure I could stand to do it otherwise. I did do some festival website work today. Rose Cup was one focus. Plus some other things. The exciting thing I did? I created a Member Login page at our website! In order to do any website work, you have to log in at a certain URL that offers you a login Username and Password area. Previously there was no easy way to access this. But now you just go to our website from wherever you happen to be, then sign in! It's amazing easy. I don't know WHY we haven't had that from the very beginning... Part of the idea came from my learning to access the footer menu area yesterday -- which is where I put the Member Login link (it just wouldn't be appropriate anywhere else). The other part just came to me when I was messing around with some How To pages that FISH had set up for me at some point. We never really went over any of it, so I had no idea how much they'd done until yesterday and today. I started thinking of ways I could utilize this, anyway -- and the login idea just came to me. I think I should recommend it to them for future sites they set up for others. It's certainly convenient! And you see this at many sites, of course -- a place for 'members' to sign in. The public isn't put off by it, because it's commonly used. This sort of tinkering is really make me more creative about the website, anyway. I still want to make notes that we can all use that tell us HOW to do things at the site. And it looks like I can do that right at the site! Very cool, huh? Marilyn got home very early for her -- and what would be a normal time for most people! Hahaha. She was worn out. The Living History stuff is hard work, I'm sure, performing twice in front of groups. You have to be pretty on for that. (Plus she's still trying to get over the lasting effects of her last bug, I'm afraid.) I think Adeena was tired, too. She's been getting up very early and working late. And she still has school and her other job to worry about, aside from Living History and being a festival intern... We ate very little for dinner. Some frozen food I heated up. I did text for awhile tonight with my friend Mark. I miss him! It was nice to catch up a bit... But finally I just drifted off to sleep in mid-text. I'm working tomorrow -- and tomorrow night we have jurying for the International Youth Silent Film Festival, so a big bunch of us will be working late. They don't even provide snacks or beverages for that, if you can believe it! I mainly think that's odd because it falls during what would be dinner for hard-working people like us from the festival. Oh well. I'll make sure I have a bottle of pop to take along, at least! Hahaha. Then I'll have garbage and recycling to do when I get home! I should have put some of that out today, but I didn't even think about it. (sigh) Well, time to go wash my hair! Then head to bed! I do think my eyes are better. I guess we'll see what happens when I'm back on the computer all day long. I need to remember to take a flash light tomorrow night! It's dark in the rooms where we vote and that was a pain last year... Oh! Almost forgot! We got a severe weather warning around 6:00 that was to run from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and could include thunderstorms with lightning and hail! As far as I could tell, we got some thunder and wind and some rain. I didn't see any hail or lightning, though. But Adeena did, heading home!!! Well, good night, and sleep tight! - Feeling:accomplished
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Australian Open Update: Azarenka went out to Kerber in the quarterfinal. Murray took out Ferrer to head for the semis. That's just two matches, but there's been a lot of good tennis on today! Marilyn came home from work pretty tired. No breaks, lots of meetings and work and she's still suffering after her massage (I always think of it as therapy for her -- painful, but essential). I fixed refried bean tacos for dinner. We get those taco shells that stand up (love them!), and I put some cheese in the bottom and bake them in the oven. Then I heat the beans in a fry pan on the stove. It makes for a yummy dinner (we had them with green beans and coffee). We had Jello for dessert. I went to the Jello site, but it SUCKS!!! You can't find ANYTHING there. WTF???Anyway, we had their Temptations Lemon Meringue, which was quite good. (Can't link it, because I couldn't find it anywhere on their site. Good grief.) Here's how I woke up this morning: I feel something 'wet' on my arm. It turns out poor little Henry has thrown up all over my pillows, the bed and my Kindle! What a mess. And what a rude awakening... (sigh) Thankfully the mattress is fine. I had just changed the sheets, too! Figures. But I took off the bottom sheet and washed it -- the top was just fine. Plus the pillow cases. Then I had to scrub the pillows and put them to dry. And do the linens and put them back on the bed. So I was mad at myself that I hadn't given him his pill yesterday. So I go to give it to him today and he fights me! So I'm scratched all to hell, because he was having that pill (and did). There's a big (infected) scratch on my right hand. (Yes, I cleaned it with both hydrogen peroxide and alcohol, but it still got infected... sigh...) I was just glad he didn't puke in my hair!!! He really didn't get it on me at all. But it looks like my leather case for my Kindle paperwhite is ruined. I've cleaned it over and over, but can't get the smell out. At least the Kindle seems to be fine -- the case took the brunt. They've got the cases on sale right now at Amazon, so I'll need to get a new one... I FINALLY finished reading he book, " The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing." About time! It's fascinating. So much of it is based on Marie Kondo being Japanese. And we're so very Western, so parts of it are very different from what we're used to. She talks about the gods, and charms, for example. And in Japan they have a very different idea about space than we do here -- especially those of us living in the Pacific Northwest! I suspect our house is probably twice the size of the 'average' home she deals with (at least). And we're not minimalists at all. I've been feeling that it would be great if I could take everything around here down by a third. I think she shoots to take her clients down to one fifth (!!!) of what they start with! I can't imagine even cutting things in half here. Still, I'm trying to do what I can. I may have to settle for using some parts of her Method and not expecting to do it perfectly. But I haven't given up on trying at this point, believe me! I know if we really, really cut back, we'd be much happier. But so MANY things 'spark joy' for me. I want to tackle paper. But I suspect it will be hard for me. I'm thinking about the TONS AND TONS of letters I have filed away. I don't read them anymore. Well, now and then I'll hunt for a given letter, but I don't read most of them. So why keep them? And the KonMari Method tells you to dump all manuals -- which I've kept tons of. I think I could empty an entire file cabinet drawer just by getting rid of all manuals! (No, I'm not kidding.) I went through my makeup today and got rid of a bunch of it. I'm still tweaking parts of my bedroom like mad. I need to tackle clothes, but will have to spend HOURS AND HOURS on that project. Probably better to wait for a weekend, I guess. I did go into Marilyn's closet and do four of her dresser drawers. She'll probably dump a bunch of what's in them, but I thought it would make her happy to jump start her process. In other news, I talked to sister Sue and to June. And to Donn, too. He had fixed Sue's computer, which needed a new power supply -- he's taking it out to her tomorrow. Donn broke his wrist in China and is now getting in to see an American doctor for the first time since the injury. (He did have it treated there.) He's worried about it, so I'm glad he's going. I'll be GLAD when sister Sue is back on her computer again! I really miss her reading my blog and commenting to it... The rain came back today. (sigh) We're all so sick of it. I spent some time texting back and forth with my friend Mark tonight. It was nice! We want to get together next week and have dinner or go to a movie -- or both! He's a great buddy and I miss him. (He has Christmas presents for both Marilyn and Adeena that sound really cool! I can't wait to see them!) Mark is such a sweet guy... Well, I know there's more going on, but that's all I've got for today. I'm tired. And I've been sneezing all day long. Maybe because of cleaning and the dust. I'd better NOT be getting sick again!!! I have things I need to do!!! I hope all of you are hanging in there! - Feeling:good
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Okay, I'm going to share about my MANY ISSUES with the new iPad here, even though I'm sure that will be both boring and annoying. But I figure someday I'll want to remember the details... Before I do, however, I must mention: Marilyn was interviewed on radio and TV about the whole 'missing iPad' situation from last night! (She looked really GOOD on TV!) People were all over her Facebook post about it, and it just went wild from there! So last night I'm spending ages trying to do this: Take my old iPad 2, back it up at iTunes and restore everything to the new iPad Air 2. In theory this is simple. In fact, not so much! First, I have to (finally) update the ios on my iPad 2 (which I just resisted doing, as the last update caused so damn many issues!). Then I also have to update the ios on the new iPad (which has been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long). It took ALL NIGHT LONG to download the update. Then hours this morning to finish the installation. Oh brother. I also updated iTunes, as in all my research I'd read that it would help the whole procedure... Then guess what happened? Suddenly iTunes no longer reads the two updated devices!!! All that I can see out of all our MANY Apple devices is the one iPad that hasn't been updated. ONE! Where are the five iPods, two iPhones and four iPads??? I call for assistance and am told the iTunes I'm using won't read the current ios on a computer running WinXP. So, what the hell??? Am I supposed to go out and buy a new computer now? I made quite a stink, considering we have hundreds of dollars of purchases over the years from the iTunes store (music, music videos, television shows and movies). Eventually poor Emma who I was speaking with tells me to use a computer with Win 7 (happily I have an old laptop that has it). She understands my upset, as she, too, is a PC and Apple user. She says once I put iTunes there and add our account info, it should take very little time to do the back up and restore -- and she was correct! Restoring to the new iPad carried over all my photos -- but I needed to download all my Apps again! And some of those contained the information that had been there (BLESS YOU ADOBE PHOTOSHOP!), and some didn't (you let me down Leonardo!). I was SO GLAD 1Writer had the tons of documents (including RPs and fanfics) I'd saved there! I was able to save my game (Escape Rosecliff Island) -- but not my game scores. But I'm so glad to have the game that I don't care! (You can't buy it anymore.) You can probably tell that I spent hours and hours messing with the setup of my new iPad. Marilyn went to work VERY EARLY today. She had her first GFP meeting this morning (for 2016). And she had meetings all day long. She took a minute to go buy a couple of hard boiled eggs, then another minute to eat them -- and that's the only break and only food she had all day until dinner! THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY GREETINGS, EVERYBODY! I got ecards, cards in the mail, emails, text messages, posts to my Facebook page (around 100 -- um, make that nearly 200!), private messages at Facebook and phone calls. And a couple of people even sang to me! Everyone was very kind. The original plan for dinner was to try and invite June and Jim to join sister Sue, Marilyn, Adeena and me. It ended up being Sue, Marilyn and me (Marilyn kindly paid). Poor June was down sick (I didn't even get to talk to her). She went to the doctor this week and it didn't go well. (I worry about both June and Jim.) Anyway, the waitress at the restaurant was downright RUDE. I would think she could have tried to be pleasant, knowing it was my birthday dinner. But she gave us bad service and a lot of attitude. Anyway, the food was good -- and Marilyn and I each had a margarita. (smile) AND I wore my new scarf from Charold and Rich. It's so soft and warm! Jeff called this evening (just before we left for dinner) to talk to me and wish me a Happy Birthday. Very nice! And I got this message from former Portland mayor, Sam Adams: I hope it is a great one for you: Happy Birthday, Charlie! (Hi to your Festival team, too.) My friend Shari wrote: Happy birthday to the best friend I've ever had, except for Marilyn. (Isn't that sweet?) Both Rich and Christine from the office called to sing to me! Isn't that cute? And my cousin Linda phoned, too. My friend Mark went back and forth and back and forth with me via text all day long. He's such a sweetheart! We're going to try and see each other next week. Many, many kind words were said to me all during the day. I'm very blessed by wonderful people who care about me. That's my birthday for this year. We're off to WORK tomorrow. And we have a memorial to attend, as well. (I don't think we'll have time for any bazaars...) I have a bunch of stuff to do and I know Marilyn is swamped, as always. I'm looking forward to catching up! I'm still smiling over all the attention Marilyn got about the duct taped chunk of metal that replaced the iPad! I need to share the photo. It's just crazy. (For those of you at Facebook, you can check it out there.) OH!!!!!!!!!! So when Marilyn and I are in the office, we discover an update for iTunes! It covers ios 9 (!!!) and works with WinXP!!!!!!! No, I can't make this stuff up! I plug in my new iPad and it reads it with no trouble! What do you know! I'm sure glad about that! Time for bed!  - Feeling:thankful
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So, Marilyn made me STOP talking about her oral surgery at work today. It wasn't an easy thing, as people kept asking me about it. But she said the moratorium on this subject had ended. Yeah, she's pretty amazing, no doubt about it.
Tonight her mouth was bothering her, though. She actually took some ibuprofen for the pain.
Another very busy day at work for her. I got some stuff done, too, but my day was nothing like her day...
I did answer some emails, though, including from my friend Shari. (Always good hearing from her.) She's dealing with the same issue that most of us deal with at one time or another: Trying to remember account passwords! As somebody who keeps track of the passwords for the entire festival office, I totally understand about that. (sigh)
Late tonight I was trying to sleep, but my cell phone kept making the 'you've got a text' sound. So I got up to check it out. And eventually was texting with Candy (sister Sue's daughter -- my niece), my friend Mark and Adeena (she just got done with school for the year). It was interesting trying to send texts to all of them at one time, I must say. Just another sign of how fast I can type (which I discussed yesterday), because you have to really go when you're texting more than one person at a time...
Candy is pretty exhausted and worried dealing with her mom (sister Sue). Sue is going to see her doctor this Friday. Hopefully we'll learn more soon.
Mark wants to go see the Jurassic Park movie with Marilyn and me -- it's too soon, as Marilyn needs to be 'released' to eat popcorn first. (smile)
And I actually contacted Adeena, as I wanted to know if she was back to work now that school's done. She has to work all summer...
Today was about personnel stuff again for Marilyn. I think most of it is done. But I know there are a few other things to iron out. Jeff was supposed to talk to one person, but he's now out of town -- so it looks like Marilyn will have to do it for him.
What would that place do without Marilyn??????????????????
Today several of us were making jokes about after-festival-stupid: How hard it is to even form a sentence sometimes. And I was horribly forgetful at one point during the day! Most of us at the office are dealing with it. We've been under so much stress for so long that we're barely functional now. Hahaha.
Marilyn sent out a really lovely reminder about the memorial service tomorrow night for Nancy, who passed in January. Rolf wrote her back, very moved. I thought it was just lovely, the things she said. Anyway, we'll WORK in the morning, then go to Marilyn's follow-up appointment for her oral surgery. And then we'll go to the memorial. We're hopeful some board members will show up. Nobody else on the staff really knows Rolf (a past festival president) or Nancy aside from Marilyn and me...
They were very engaged the year he was president. And Nancy used to come in and help the staff with projects! That year they had a special lunch at their house for the staff. And they stayed active for years (and still would attend meetings and things years later). Lovely people who were always very supportive of Marilyn and me. (They were both big fans of the eNewsletter when I used to do it).
I had coffee today with Rich. And I took Josie to lunch (her last day is this Friday).
Marilyn had lunch with Marcia and Gail (she does this once a month). Marcia is a former president and long-time friend, and Gail is on the board and has been for ages. (We recently went to Gail's 70th bday party.) Marilyn was able to eat refried beans and some rice (soft foods).
We again had tuna sandwiches for dinner.
Jeff is out of the office at an IFEA meeting until next week.
Our staff outing at McMenamins Edgefield is set for next Tuesday. (We went there last year, too.) I talked to Donn today, and he's planning to attend. Angel has a summer gig and won't be able to be there, though.
I want to phone Lise (pronounced Lisa) and find out if she'll be able to come.
Still trying to keep my winter pansies alive. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to manage that!
I did talk to sister Sue via phone tonight. She's hanging in there...
Not sure what else I'm forgetting.
Have I mentioned that I lost four pounds? Marilyn calls it the 'Marilyn's oral surgery diet.' Hahaha.
Marilyn's washing her hair (I did that last night). I keep yawning, so hopefully we'll go to bed soon.
I helped walk Christine through making a transparent ping (.png) today, using Paint Shop Pro. She wanted to turn our president's signature into one. It went quite well -- and she wrote down the steps so she'll know for the future. Very cool!
I love teaching people about graphics. I used to love doing tutorials for Paint Shop Pro, back in the day...
Well, off to take out my contacts and take my pills. - Feeling:good
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As I mentioned in my earlier entry, today was garbage day. I was PLEASED to get this all done (including the cat boxes) while it was still light out (and in spite of the heat). Actually, at one point the heat was bothering me so much that I thought I'd need to put this off until after dark. Hahaha.
Jillian didn't finish the GFP script today, so I wasn't able to work on that. I think tomorrow will be fine. The nice thing? Both Marilyn and I will have it over the weekend to finish up (and Kim who does the TV version doesn't need it until Sunday! (woo hoo)
More quinoa for dinner again tonight (leftovers).
Barron phoned again today, but I missed speaking to him. His message said something about Linda going home tomorrow. Oh, good grief. That sounds bad to me. The problem is that Linda can sign herself out, which isn't really good in this case...
Sister Sue and I went to the Old Spaghetti Factory near Johns Landing today (which is near the old offices for the festival). We hadn't been there in some time, and we'd never been to that location together before. We both really enjoyed it.
I almost forgot! Sue and I drove over to Marilyn's billboard and took some photos! I need to remember to send those to Sue (via email) tomorrow so she has them.
I got several text messages from Mark during lunch. I also got text messages from June today. Lovely to hear from my friends!
I did some more laundry today. And finished watching the animated movie "Princess Mononoke." It was interesting and lovely, but the cultural difference made it hard for me to really 'get it,' if I'm being honest. The ending was a bit strange to me...
We missed out on seeing "Interstellar," I'm afraid. (sigh) I guess we'll have to rent it all over again...
Marilyn brought home our "And I Cannot Lie" tee shirts (these are black with white writing). Sir Mix-A-Lot will be appearing at our FIRST EVER Starlight After-Party on Saturday night!
I did some festival website work today and worked on email.
Marilyn had a SUPER-BUSY day and spent a lot of time in the car. Yet I saw her Fitbit and she had a minimum of 7,000 steps (it was synced, so I don't know the actual total). I got some 5,000 steps, myself, today.
We made our high of 84' today (!!!). I was glad I had the air on in the house, that's for sure! We're glad to get the sunny weather, of course, but it's typical that it goes from cool to really hot! Hahaha.
Hector came today and did our yard. He needs to poison the weeds again, because they're out of control! Nasty, frankly.
Not sure what I'm forgetting, but we need to get to bed. Friday (tomorrow) will be another long, busy day. And this is a hugely busy weekend!!!
Good night, my friends! - Feeling:busy
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Actually, the Winter Board Meeting (which officially started at 5:30) went very well. So we did more than merely survive it. That was a bit tongue in cheek...
We got to the Rose Room at the Moda Center (where we held the Board Meeting back in the Centennial year of 2007 -- a lovely venue) before 5:00 p.m. The amusing thing was that we wanted to open the bar right away -- but the bartender wouldn't open until 5:30. Steven was annoyed. He said to me, "We're paying her, right?" I couldn't argue with that logic!
And naturally people were arriving early (starting at 5:00), as they always do for any of our Board Meetings...
The day was a busy and long one. I took Stephanie to coffee (it was her last day), then met with her to discuss the website. She's been training people, so I wanted to find out if she knew anything I didn't know. She had no knowledge at all about the most complicated part of the website (Events, which is basically the Calendar), which surprised me (but probably shouldn't have). She was mostly teaching people how to edit Pages and add images, including sponsor logos and links.
Anyway, mainly it confirmed my existing notes, so that was valuable.
I did some other website work and went through my email. Around noon Marilyn and I headed home for our lunch break. Then we headed back to work. I tried to fix an issue Christine and Rich were having with the two videos they were going to be playing during the PowerPoint presentation for tonight.
It was two-fold. First, we use Win 7 on the laptop. It won't open more than one instance of Windows Media Player. So I downloaded QuickTime and then set all .mov videos to default to that application. The other video was a .wmv, so I left it set for Windows Media Player. Meaning both videos would open in differing applications.
Next, I was trying to STOP the .wmv from autoplaying when opened. (Interesting. LiveJournal finds autoplaying as a word not spelled correctly. It's proper in MY world, however!)
There are several steps involved in halting the autoplay feature. I went in more than once and used these steps -- and even did a restart of the computer. But no matter what I did, I couldn't stop that movie from playing immediately when opened! I have to assume that this was the way the film was designed, which is stupid. One should never make a video autoplay! But we figured out a work-around for dealing with it.
It was a frustrating waste of time, but I did the best I could do, anyway...
I also took a short walk with Rich to get pop and a snack... The more steps the merrier.
The Board Meeting included both food (!!!) and drink (!!!). This hasn't been a given for several years, so it was really special. Festival wine and beer were hosted, plus there was a no-host bar for mixed drinks. The food was really nice! Marilyn and I each had a Bloody Mary (and later I had a beer, too). We have a two-drink limit for Staff, which works out just fine. Because this was a private (not public) event, we were okay drinking in our uniforms. Normally if we're in uniform, we're not allowed to drink.
This was a uniform event so that Board and Staff photos could be taken, and our official photographer Vern was there with a ladder to take these.
During the meeting, we reviewed finances (as always) and had messages from Frank (our president) and Jeff (our CEO). Marilyn spoke to discuss our official charity for this year, then introduce Susan who was there to represent the charity.
Anyway, everything went well, with only a few minor mishaps. Angel was there as the Clown Prince, and did a great job. And it was nice to see all our friends on the board. Thom's wife had chemo today, but is doing well (her birthday is next week). I really love that man! He's amazing. And Jim was there looking really good after recovering from his stroke. He's going to give me lists of ships that have come to Portland for the festival, starting in the year 1980. (Which is not to say that this is when ships started to come here, but rather that he HAS the information recorded for all the years starting with 1980.) He has two lists -- one by order of ships, the other is a chron list. I told him I'd be glad to make these into PDFs and share them at the website.
I'm forgetting a lot of details. Anyway, we took Angel back to the office to change and left there at 8:40 (June actually texted me just as we were driving out of the parking lot). It was raining as we headed to the car -- so glad it didn't rain before that.
From there we went to gas the car. Then we needed to stop at the store and pick up a few things.
We got home and got something to drink (we were both so dry!) and changed out of our uniforms. Then we just sat around a bit, relaxing. It was a long, tiring day. These meetings are generally intense, interacting with everyone. And Marilyn had a role, besides. (Plus I had some issues during the meeting with a co-worker...)
Then Marilyn needed to do the treadmill to get her steps. So I read out loud to her. I already had my steps from walking during the day.
Fitbit Update: Marilyn got 7,800 (!!!) steps today! She was under 4,000 when she started the treadmill. I got 7,155 steps in without the treadmill, believe it or not...
Well, we should head to bed. We're both tired. And Marilyn has several meetings in the morning. I feel like I'm forgetting things, but that's most of our day, anyway... - Feeling:good
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Today would have been Mitch's 58th birthday, if he had lived (1955-2012).
Marilyn and I still miss him all the time, even though he's been dead two years now. (sigh) And sister Sue misses him, as well. Hope he gets good seats in heaven for all the big tennis tournaments. Speaking of, Rafa Nadal will not be playing the US Open this year, I'm sorry to report...
Spent the day at home. I did get up at a fairly decent hour, and I worked on the RHSAA website, getting the work done I was supposed to have finished previously (my error!).
I didn't really eat anything again until afternoon, when I had some soft white (French) bread, with butter. I have to eat something with the pain meds. I'm not taking much, by the way. The worst pain today was a nagging headache... I guess the drama with the tooth is almost over! (woo hoo)
I also forced myself to ice twice today. So hopefully I'm done with that! Hahaha. I hate icing. But it's good for the swelling, so...
Marilyn worked another terribly long day. She got home just before 10:00, then we went out and got McDonald's for dinner -- the first real food either of us has eaten in the past two days.
I'm getting ready to wash my hair, so I can go to work tomorrow.
Other than that, I texted on my iPad with Adeena (who was checking up on me) for quite some time this evening, and was texting with Denise on my cell phone at the same time. Funny, huh?
I did some Instagram Edits, but I guess that's pretty much it.
Henry was begging for food again, so I fixed him and Colin each a very small dish of canned food (a bit less for Colin). They ate it just fine, but Henry threw it all back up again, all over the carpet in the family room. (Why couldn't it have been on the hard wood floor upstairs, or the kitchen floor?) What a MESS it was to clean up. Poor guy! That's the opposite of what we want. He really needs to put some weight on.
Can't think what else I meant to share, but I really need to run, so I can get to bed... - Feeling:good
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Before I go into my main topic, sister Sue offered to take me for Starbucks this morning. Later (around noon) she offered to take me to get Mexican food. I didn't end up going, but I thought it was sweet of her to offer. (She was using her tablet today with her friend Tammy, I'm happy to mention.) Anyway...
Back at the end of June, my local Clinic sent me a letter and invited me to join the newly forming Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), which serves as a voice for patients and family members, comprised of patients, families, providers and clinic staff. The idea is to work together to deliver the highest quality care possible for all patients.
Apparently my name was submitted by Leslie because she felt I had: The ability to listen and hear other points of view, share personal experiences in such a way that others can learn from them, I'm able to be culturally sensitive to others, see the 'Big Picture,' ask the tough questions and what should be done when not in agreement and because I have a sense of humor. The letter read: We need your voice!
Today was our first-ever meeting. I almost didn't go. I had some serious reservations about participation. But Marilyn encouraged me at least see what it was all about, and I'm very glad I did.
There were seven of us there tonight (6:00-8:00), having dinner, telling something about ourselves and then starting some discussions about the pros and cons of our clinic.
I've been going to this clinic since it was back at the original location in St. Johns -- and I was in the womb! A couple of us started talking about Dr. Wolfe, who used to do house calls. I remember him coming to our house when I was a small child and almost died from the flu.
Anyway, I'm still a little surprised to have been selected. But I have this feeling that Mom and Dad, who both went to this clinic, would be pleased.
I have some strong opinions that patients need to be proactive about our own care, and I'm happy to be expressing this for this new advisory council. I think there's some chance they might also ask Marilyn to join. I guess we'll see about that.
Today was another hot day. Again, I know how blessed we are with our A/C.
Ashley called from the office today to check on us. She and Carol and Steven wanted to find out if we needed anything -- and to say they were thinking about us and loved us. Isn't that sweet?
Exciting news (to me): Both Donn and Kris got invited to the Staff Party this year! Isn't that cool? I texted Donn to be sure he plans to go.
And Kris called me with good news today: He has a NEW job (!!!) that he really loves! He's been there a little over a month now. I can't wait to hear more about it, hopefully soon!
And I've been texting with Mark, too. It feels good to catch up with some of my friends.
Just re-watched "The Quartet" again tonight. It's become one of my favorite movies!
And I guess that's enough for today! - Feeling:accomplished
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It POURED down rain twice today! I know the gutters are fine, but it just makes me crazy and nervous! There was no flooding this time -- and hopefully we're done with that for a long, long time...
The amazing dehumidifier keeps working away, drawing water like magic! I can't help wondering how there can be so much.
Did my News item for the weekend for the festival website (and helped Rich with his Press Release). And did some IT-related things, as well.
Sister Sue and I went out for Mexican food for lunch, which was nice. And I got some food to bring home for dinner for Marilyn and me. And they messed up the order. I was so disappointed and disgusted! I'm hoping Sue and I can go back tomorrow, because I feel they owe me a replacement item, considering there was no enchilada for Marilyn to eat tonight... (sigh)
This afternoon my ears were really bothering me. So I took half a Meclizine and in the late afternoon I was lying around and reading my book. Meclizine works great, but always makes me so drowsy.
I was texting with Mark back and forth at one point. His chemo got pushed back into later in the day, so I just suggested he come by tomorrow, instead. I could tell he wasn't feeling well. Little wonder, as stress makes his medical condition worse (and yesterday was certainly stressful).
I did finish "From Russia With Love." It was surprising to me how little I remembered that book, considering I've read it more than once in my life. But I think the movie plot kept jumping into my head. Hahaha. I did picture a Sean Connery James Bond while reading, that's for sure.
I'm home again tomorrow...
Marilyn and I should have gone to get something to wear for Friday night. But we decided we wouldn't go this year. We have a lot of WORK to do, and that's a better way to spend our time. And when we get done, we'll come home and REST, which we also really need. These parties aren't FUN for us, after all -- they're WORK. So unless we have to be there (we don't), then it's best not to go. Plus we'll save money not needing to buy new clothes (and with all our expenses lately, that's a good thing!).
Oh! We watched "The Monuments Men," which moved me and made me cry. Great cast and interesting storyline -- but a lot more boring that either of us had expected! I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. (But I'd still like to read the book...) Still, George Clooney was wonderful (it was starring Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett), as was the entire cast.
Good night, all! - Feeling:tired
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Marilyn and I were at the office by 7:30 a.m. today. Yeah, it was hard getting up -- but SHE is amazing! She just drives herself no matter how tired she is...
Marilyn was beat last night. She worked until past 7:00 p.m. again and had another hard day. (Which has been true for her all this week, actually.) The book project is on major deadline and simply couldn't happen without her input! (Both in the selection of photos and in writing captions.)
Me, today? It's about more IT! (surprise)
I brought the new laptop in and set up our auction software on it (the GreaterGiving program). Then I moved the actual database there. I had to phone the GreaterGiving support people to get this done correctly, by the way. I'd assumed I could put the database pretty much anywhere, then point to it, but that wasn't the case. It's clearly different on a stand-alone computer than on a network, where I can place the data on any drive and in any folder...
I met with Ashley more than once and made sure she was comfortable with the new machine and using the auction software ONLY there -- and not on her networked computer! The minute I put it from the network to the laptop it was converted (to the latest version of the software), so it's even more complicated than just keeping the current data separate from the old data.
I wanted to update all the individual machines in here that were running GreaterGiving -- but you have to update the Server first. I tried that last year and failed, so I'm waiting on Kris. Hopefully he can SHOW ME HOW this year -- then I'll be able to do it alone from here on out. That would be groovy!
Then I worked on the 'new' machine we bought during the festival. I struggled to get it on the network (the process is completely different than it was in the past when I used to do it all the time and knew it like the back of my hand). I finally got it added, then of course couldn't navigate to the server drives. (sigh) So I hunted down the batch file (it took me ages to find it!) and copied it over so it was available on the new machine. Then I had to remember how to add it to the start up, which I haven't done in years, I swear. (Or it seems like years, anyway.) Finally I got that done, so it would get the computer pointed where it needed to be.
Now I'm STUCK on trying to add printers. I got the Ricoh (our copy machine) added okay, but not the other two machines. (big sigh) Not for want of trying, though! Where the HELL the actual drivers are, I have no clue. But I tried tons of drivers per each printer to no avail...
Meanwhile I hunted for photos for Marilyn (no go -- I didn't have the cool photo she wanted) and tried to help her when she had an error regarding some data she didn't save but needed to. There should be some way to avoid this issue better, that's for sure...
Kris was originally coming in this morning. Nope, he ran long. Then he told me 2:30. It's now AFTER 3:00 p.m. (surprise) and he's still not here. I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm starving and don't dare leave to get a bite -- if he shows and I'm not here it's going to be ugly...
So I have three things on my list for him, now, rather than two. I hope he's going to get here and get them DONE for me. I'm in a real bind.
Marilyn and I both knew this would be a long, hard day before it ever started. I'm sure it's all going to turn out well, but we need to hang in there. I wish I could have helped her -- I felt bad for her problem! I certainly hope Kris can help ME, as I'm up that creek without a paddle right now.
You'd think I was an idiot, I swear! I used to be able to do more of this stuff. I'm happy for what I can still do, but still! Damn, it's frustrating. Seriously.
I'm ... hungry ... and ... slightly ... cranky. But fighting it. Marilyn and I have promised ourselves a TREAT at the end of today -- it we're good! So I'm going to ignore the cranky part. Christine laughed when I said Kris was due at 2:30 -- and told me I had an hour to wait, at least. Well, it's been more than 40 minutes since I expected him now.
Oh! Just got a text message. He's STILL at his 1:00 appointment (which I don't think was CLOSE to our office). That's great news (not). He's now saying 5:00 or LATER. Great. Just terrific...
All I want is for him to do all the tasks I need today. But I need to MANAGE that -- IT Manager is the title and managing the work is what I do, after all. (sigh)
On that note, I'm off to look for food, I think. I don't know what, but something. Crap. (big sigh)
I promise my NEXT entry will not be about IT! Hahahahahaha. Right. - Feeling:busy
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Well, the painting is done -- and the guy (John Kennedy -- nothing like JFK) did a really good job, in spite of having no personality. And being pretty much a jackass, too boot. Marilyn found him equally annoying, especially when he had to come to us and admit he'd lost our paint sample cards!
I immediately texted Blake, starting with 'WTF' and telling him the news. John showed us new color cards and we picked colors close (if not the same), so it was fine. I later talked to Blake and complained a bit about John's attitude. I wanted to know why it was fighting making wall repairs, considering Marilyn and I had agreed to PAY for anything not covered by insurance. (In fact we'd asked him to paint her bedroom yellow while already doing this work, knowing we'd pay for the additional job. It was too good to pass up with him already here and everything empty to make painting easy.)
Marilyn and I went to McDonald's and got breakfast (and stopped to get gas). Then she dropped me off and headed to the office -- she had the first draft of the Grand Pinnacle submission from Kenny and needed to started tweaking it out. This will be the focus this weekend, with it needing to go to print on Monday...
I did some stuff online (and on the computer), then I went in to be with the cats. Actually, Colin was hiding totally away -- but Henry was howling like crazy, not liking being locked up in my bedroom. I read a bit, but most dozed -- and Henry dozed with me.
Now Marilyn is home and the painting (as I said before) is DONE. So the whole house smells of paint, but we've got a DAY OFF (woo hoo) from all the workers while the paint dries. The work starts again bright and early on Monday.
Speaking of Monday, it should be a day off for Marilyn -- as she has all Mondays off this time of year. But because of the deadline, she'll obviously be working this coming Monday...
( I just spoke to my nephew Larry...Collapse )
Well, I wrote all this earlier in the day. The painter finished (he had another guy for part of the job) by 2:00 p.m.
Marilyn and I are now down at the office and back at work on the Grand Pinnacle Award Submission -- which she is understandably obsessed with. I'm helping in whatever small ways I can, which isn't all that much. This is her baby -- she does most of the work entirely alone. Kenny (the festival's amazing graphics artist that's been working with us since 2007... or 2008) is doing the layout, and it's going to be a thing of BEAUTY. It's deliberately being made to look like our souvenir program from this year -- which was FABULOUS.
I love the idea of having this as a book -- and one that can be around forever. It's going to be a part of history, in other words!
And, yeah, I am pleased that our names will be included inside, because I feel we've been an important part of the festival -- especially MARILYN, of course!
My photo will be inside, as I'm one of the featured volunteers, with a write-up just about me. I'm humbled by that -- it's a great honor to be focused on from all the thousands of festival volunteers...
Happily, Marilyn's photo is inside it, too -- as she was featured in a newspaper article with her picture that's appearing on one page.
Exciting aside: One of my graphics is being used in this book! It was cool to see it in the sample layout. And one of my photos from the festival this year is inside, too. So cool!!!
Again, this goes to print on Monday, so Marilyn has been living and breathing this thing. I don't know what the festival would do without her. I'm telling you, if we do win (which we certainly should), then it's almost 100% because of HER efforts!
Well, it's around 6:30 and I think I'll go see what else I can do to help her. The house reeks of the smell of paint, but I'm sure it will be better in several days. At least we were able to shut the kitchen door (that leads downstairs) and let the cats roam the entire upstairs again! They hate being shut up in my bedroom -- and I don't blame them! Poor kitties. They still want to go downstairs -- they have no clue why they can't! - Feeling:cheerful
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