Hey, Charlie??? What the HELL is the matter with you? Why can't you get back to blogging every day! You'll be very sorry you didn't... Well, I'm annoyed with myself, I must admit. But it's one of those 'something has to give' things. I can't get over how much there is to DO every single day.

Well, it's my attempt to play catch up, anyway!

Saturday:
Marilyn had Court orientation first thing in the morning.

Then we ran some errands, but didn't do our manicures -- we just couldn't get ourselves to go.

One of the things we did was to drop by Sue's house briefly.

Then Marilyn and I took a ride to Kelly Point Park and took a walk there. (We're trying to get a lot of walking in right now.)

We were up late to see the Men's Finals for the Australian Open Tennis Championship of 2018. But we didn't even manage to stay awake for the end of the match as it ran so long into the night! Roger did win, and we were pulling for him.

Sunday:
We got up in time to go do our manicures. We both went VERY SHORT this time around. We both want to be able to work on learning the guitar and there's no way to make chords with long nails! Not even as long as we normally have, which really aren't that long. I think it would be safe to say my nails are actually short right now. And neither one of us cared much about the color, either. Hahaha.

After getting our nails done we stopped to see Sue and take her to get Starbucks. But we were in a hurry as we needed to get home and change into our uniforms for the funeral we were attending. We wanted to be there early as we knew it would be a big turn out. It was downtown, so we needed to get parking, as well (not easy downtown). And walk to the event.

It was held at the Portland Art Museum in the ballroom, and was packed with people. This event was for the amazing Vera Katz. Vera Katz (August 3, 1933 – December 11, 2017) was an American Democratic politician here in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, and later became the 49th mayor of Portland. She was elected to the Oregon House in 1972, and served as mayor from 1993 to 2005.

I have a photo of Vera with me here in my home office. Marilyn knew Vera quite well and did a lot of work with her when Vera was our Mayor. (Marilyn was invited to her retirement party, which was a big deal at the time. Marilyn took Jeff as her 'date' so he would be able to attend...) You can read more about Vera HERE.

After that we picked up Sue and went for a short ride up the Gorge (Columbia River Gorge). We stopped in Cascade Locks and had a bite to home before heading back and dropping off Sue.

Marilyn and I considered going to a movie on Sunday but were just too tired, so decided to skip it. There are several movies we'd like to see, but we haven't been up for it much recently.

Monday:
This is ridiculous, but I don't remember yesterday that well. I was doing things around the house and messing with the festival website.

The main thing I recall is Marilyn on the treadmill running and me walking back and forth downstairs in the family room to get my steps. I was struggling with my damn Zip Fitbit which appears to be broken! The way these are made if you have to take the battery in and out (and they just eat batteries), then the little panel that opens and closes ends up cracking!

I did finally get 5,000 steps, anyway...

Oh! Marilyn brought home veggie burritos from Chipotle for dinner. That was nice!

Marilyn had to go to the dentist and came directly home after.

Marilyn has been waking up every morning at 5:01 a.m. Just an aside...

Tuesday:
I spent time on the festival website again. And trying to work with Barracuda (our SPAM blocker), which I still don't understand all that well. (sigh)

I went out and once again fixed the umbrella for the critters by the tree. While I was there Carl dropped by and chatted with me. He's a black neighbor who would really like to start doing some yard work for me. He also mentioned today that he paints houses, so you never can tell...

I made it clear I don't want to fire Hector. But if Hector decides he can't keep going with the yardwork, I'll need somebody new. I also might want him to finish up the job Hector started on the tree (and never finished). Depending on how high Carl's bid is, of course. He's supposed to come by on Friday.

We ate leftovers from the Chipotle order for dinner tonight. We frequently eat leftovers now, as we rarely ever finish a meal. I had leftover Bong food for lunch (I stretched that meal into four different meals, actually!).

When Marilyn got up early this morning it woke me and I checked my blood sugar, which was low again. So I had some dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is actually good for you -- and I've gotten so I don't care for milk chocolate anymore -- who would have ever thought that would happen??? I just eat enough to bring me back up again without spiking, anyway. Lows happen for me when I eat very little and also exercise. But I'd rather be low than high...

Loving my new insulin pen, by the way! What a change from syringes with those miserable big needles that always hurt.

I tried to call June today, but missed her. I hope I can see her tomorrow...

We just each had a bowl of raspberries before bed. They weren't the best -- rather green and sour. Oh well. We don't eat many sweet things anymore, so we enjoy this treat quite a bit. (We don't eat that much period, if you want to know the truth.)

Speaking of, my weight was down a pound today. That makes me happy!

Marilyn had massage therapy tonight with Amanda in Donald, Oregon (that's a LONG drive). I did the treadmill while she was gone. I was listening to chords on my phone (using a speaker) and watching the movie "A Hard Day's Night" (the sound off) on TV. I got 6,000 steps today!

I got my paperwork for my upcoming appointment. It's tons of pages! I looked it over today and it's daunting. But I did force myself to go and type up my entire list of prescriptions and supplements -- and Marilyn was kind enough to print it out for me! So that was a step in the right direction, anyway. I wonder why they have to make all of this so hard to do? (sigh)

Well, we're heading to bed shortly. Believe it or not, it's not midnight yet!!! Maybe we'll make it to bed early tonight -- at least, early for us!

Sweet dreams, guys!

Marilyn and I had PLANNED to run errands and things (including shopping) today, but we were both not feeling all that well, to be honest. Still fighting our colds. Interestingly enough, these have never been HORRIBLE colds (in spite of all the running around we did in New York City in the cold -- or everything we've done here at home since). But we're both stuffed up and fatigued, more than anything else. So we took it very, very easy today. Watching TV and sleeping on and off. And playing some Zuma and messing with our iPads. That was our Marilyn Monday (and we're getting to the last of those!).

It was a gray day anyway, so I don't think we missed anything by not going out. We did NOT decorate our tree, but oh well. The HOUSE is decorated -- both living room and family room. And we have some if not all of our outdoor decorations up, too. So it's okay. Some years we've let the tree go with nothing but the lights, so that would be okay if it came down to it...

We're heading to bed shortly, as WE HAVE WORK TOMORROW. And aside from work, we're going to sister Sue's house to watch the Christmas Ships (she usually has people over every year).

She called to talk to me about coming tonight and has also asked June and Jim to come. I know she invites some of her cribbage friends, too. But she told me Larry and his family will NOT be there. I hope June and Jim do come. It's been years and years since we've gone (I can't even remember the last time!). But she does have a perfect spot to watch the ships.

I need to share news about Larry that's important, but I think I'll do so in a PRIVATE 'friends only' post, as it's complicated. Anyway, this news is probably impacting them not coming tomorrow. But they're coming over later in the week, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Marilyn and I were LOVING watching My Fair Lady (the movie) on TV -- and singing along with every single song. We know the entire thing by heart.

Interesting Note: When we were kids we could learn MUSICALS easily the first time we heard them!!! We'd go away singing all the songs and doing the harmonies from the get-go. I don't know how we did it, but it's true.

Anyway, it's a pleasure to revisit musicals we know so well and love to sing! Obviously we're not that sick if we're both able to sing...

Steven (at work) is bringing the kids in tomorrow to see us. He always tries to have them visit the two of us as we enjoy it so much! And Marilyn has promised me Chinese food for lunch (!!!), which I love.

But we'll need to leave early and on time to be at Sue's when we need to be!

Well, off to bed so we can get sleep before facing our busy day and night.

I do plan to go back and fill in as many days as possible for this month. I'd feel awful if I didn't record all the joy we had in NYC, for example.

My, I can't believe this year is almost over! We had some highs and many lows, but it has ended really well for the two of us.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!!! I love you all.

Marilyn left very early. I didn't wake until 7:30, but then got up and went to turn on the furnace -- it was very cold in the house. I ended up lying on top of Marilyn's made up bed, putting one of those amazing, soft and warm blankets over me. Both cats came to hang out with me.

I listened to the answering machine and got the info for the LifeWatch guy -- called him and resolved the situation with sister Sue. They wouldn't refund the $140, but also won't turn her account over to Collections, so all is well that ends well. It could have cost more and been a bigger mess. I gave Candy the return address for the equipment -- she came home today and sent it back. Marilyn is still angry, as they DID have a record of her conversation with them telling them to cancel the whole thing. Sue apparently talked to them way back in January -- but she can't recall when the package arrived...

Candy said Sue has given her the checkbook, which is good.

As for the rest of my day:

I picked up the kitchen, put away dishes and did another load. I was trying to get out a lightbulb and ended up spending ages cleaning the hall closet. I have another big box of things for the Goodwill. And some rather nice decorative pillows. I also cleaned out more of the downstairs fridge.

Sue called many times. Marilyn considers that a good sign that she's better and more normal -- lonely and bored and wanting company. I tried to be friendly and kind for each call -- even when I had to get up off the floor or climb down from a stool inside the closet. Hahaha.

I also did the garbage around the house and the recycling. A good start for tomorrow.

Finally, I brought out Thanksgiving decorations for the family room and living room and put those out.

Actually, I got a lot done, especially considering I didn't feel all that well. Marilyn thinks I have gastroenteritis. I've been feverish, having bad stomach pains (and other gastro issues -- ugh), been nauseous and had a raging headache. All signs of gastroenteritis. I was blaming my IBS-c -- but she thinks I have a little bug. She reminded me that she felt genuinely SICK yesterday, so...

I barely ate today, and went I got those awful stomach cramps didn't want to eat more...

The weather today was filthy. Terrible rain, wind and very chilly. It looks like we had another branch come down from the tree...

Marilyn had lunch with Marcia and Gail today. And her usual very busy day. She didn't get home until around 7:00.

We went to Rieaid to pick up meds after Marilyn got off work. Then briefly to Freddies to pick up a few things. (Forgot molasses cookies, though. We haven't had them in ages now.) And I got Activia yogurt for my IBS-c...

We just watched "Help!" again tonight. Makes us very cheerful. Marilyn did fall asleep, though. Little wonder.

I hope I get better tomorrow. Friday is the festival Toy Drive -- and it's all hands on deck. Besides, I'd hate to miss it.

Long entry.

That's it for today, I think...

Sweet dreams!

Cousin Linda is 62 today! Marilyn and I hope to get together with her and at least have coffee to celebrate... Time flies! Seriously, it's easy to remember when we were all teens. Hahaha.

I was SO TIRED last night that I couldn't even force myself to blog. I'm always more tired in September and October EVERY YEAR. And this year is no exception. (sigh)

I got a TON done both yesterday and today. Personal errands and WORK-RELATED projects, both.

Yesterday (Tuesday, September 19) I contacted Comcast and got all the information for Sue's phone account. Then I helped her to start erasing all the old messages that were blocking her phone. She had items going back to February of 2016!!! This was when she went into the hospital and then that nursing facility for a time. She hasn't had her messages working since that time! I'm really pleased with how it went and how diligent Sue was both yesterday and today going through everything and get it cleared out. Now people can leave her messages again!

This matters, as she has doctors and so on trying to reach her about appointments and prescriptions, so it's difficult when they can't leave a message (in case she's not there or she's sleeping when they call).

I want to fix messages on her cell phone, too -- but I need Candy's help to do that. So far she hasn't responded to my text messages about it. She made it clear she doesn't want to do anything, so I'm trying to take the burden off her. But I guess she doesn't think it matters if Sue can get messages on her cell or not.

Marilyn and I think it matters because it will connect her with her friends again! They don't really call her anymore and it's partly due to being unable to leave messages. I get it, because it's been equally annoying for Marilyn and me when we're calling her...

Lots of website work going on right now. And today I was trying to CHANGE THE SUBSCRIPTION area on the website, now that we're not using Cooler anymore and have changed to MailChimp. But I don't have ACCESS to the area I need to reach.

This has been my issue with the 'new' website ever since we switched over back in 2014. I've never had total access to the site and can't touch certain portions. I've been pushing and pushing to get it ever since. And it came to a head today.

I guess we'll see tomorrow whether I finally get it or not!

We're dealing with a DRASTIC change in the weather here! We've had horrible rains and thunder and lightning storms. We were in bed and heard a TERRIBLE crash last night. I was convinced someone was outside the garage messing with things (as we've had that happening lately). But it turned out to be a huge branch that came crashing down and hit the house. We both went out to see it and got wet from the rain...

It's not only sopping wet and pouring, but it's COLD. I actually considered turning on the heat (!!!) today! In all the time we've lived in this house I have NEVER turned on the heat in September! In fact, I find it annoying if I have to turn it on before November!

Marilyn has been dealing with the cold in her office, too, which is total glass on two walls. They reset her thermostat and messed it up (as they often do). But happily Steven was able to reset it enough that she wasn't too cold yesterday or today...

Marilyn didn't get home until 9:00 p.m. last night. So getting home after 7:00 tonight seemed early. She picked me up without coming in and we ran straight to pick up my meds at Riteaid (they had called me yesterday).

Speaking of, for whatever reason my Metformin needed a new prescription! What the hell? It's paired with my Glipizide (both diabetes meds), so I was already annoyed they weren't getting filled together. But there's NO CHANGE there this time, so why did it need a refill when the other didn't? And WHY didn't the clinic call it in when I saw Leslie back in August??? It shouldn't fall on either Riteaid or me to make sure it's there, but that's how it goes...

Marilyn actually authorized me to set up training with Inflow (our telephone support company) for Donn and me if I want to do that. I discussed it with Heidi from Inflow and she sent me to a TWO HOUR online instructional video that I'm very slowly and carefully working my way through. She's going to give me two weeks to absorb the info and then discuss what things I might want to work on. We haven't had in-house training from Inflow since 2010 -- and that was before Donn came to work there. So it could be a good idea.

On the other hand, as I go through all this stuff, I'm rather surprised by how much of it I already know. I need to write it up and start training Donn and Wanda on the material.

I used to train Christine on some of this, but we let it go over time. And I've barely touched on it with Donn to date. I think it could be helpful for someone else to understand the back end of the phone system. Currently I handle it all, which is no problem. I have the aptitude and am almost entirely self-taught. (The original training from Inflow wasn't helpful -- Hailey and I basically jumped in and figured it out ourselves. She learned the front end and I learned the back end. But Hailey hasn't been on staff for several years now...)

I totally digressed from Marilyn and me out shopping after work! Once we got my meds we dashed over to Freddies and picked up quite a few things. I have a long list, and we got most of it. We needed bottled water and cat food and kitty litter and garbage bags and light bulbs and chili and canned white beans and refried beans (we eat a lot of beans!) and bread and so on... We shopped quickly and got home around 8:00. Still earlier than Marilyn got home last night!

She never had a break either yesterday or today. And she said both Jessica and Carol were still working when she left tonight...

We both came home and fixed sandwiches for dinner and I made a pot of coffee (we drink Yuban). Then she was ill. She said she started to get a headache driving home and her IBS-d made her very sick after shopping. She's downstairs now sleeping on the sofa. She was feeling pretty lousy.

I felt crummy all afternoon, too. My seasonal allergies are bugging me. And my hips are KILLING ME. You wouldn't think the pain could get me down like this, but it does. I'd like to be more active, but it's hard when the pain is this bad.

We had watched The Beatles in "Help!" (the restored DVD) last night, but Marilyn had fallen asleep. So we put it back on tonight to watch the end over. And she had to watch it twice to see it, as she fell asleep again.

We really love the Beatles! And we love that movie. It takes us back, that's for sure.

We were HUGE fans of the cartoon series, which isn't really available to purchase. I'm going to watch some of it on YouTube, though. We never used to miss it.

Next up we'll watch the DVD of "A Hard Day's Night." We have that waiting to view...

I finished "Forever Amber," which made me sad. Not the ending, but because I was enjoying reading it so very much! What a wonderfully written and engaging book! I love historical novels so much.

Now I'm reading the book Dick Van Dyke wrote about aging. I want to start reading it to sister Sue, too.

I heard from my jury friend Lucy today!!! (Via Facebook.) That made me happy! I didn't know her last name until today, so I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to connect with her. I had given her and another woman my business card, so she had everything she needed to contact me. Anyway, I'm very glad she did. I really think we have a lot in common. I saw that she's done NaNoWriMo, which is something right there! I'd love to give that a shot again one of these years. But it's hard going, no doubt!

I actually did some fiction writing last night!!! I doubt I'll share (it's slash fanfic), but at least I gave it a shot. That's the first time in ages. It reminded me how much I love writing.

I did my pills when we got home tonight. I need to start doing a week at a time, but as long as I have them ready in advance of taking them, I'm happy.

Well, I'm dead beat, so off to bed. I'm just yawning and yawning! I'll need to phone Hector about the gutters. I sure don't want issues with them right now.

Sweet dreams, friends.

As you can see from my subject line, today was a very eventful and busy day...

America has a new president. It's an emotional subject for people, however they might feel. I want to be sensitive to the feelings of everyone. But I have to say I always believe in honoring the OFFICE, regardless of who might hold it -- and that hasn't changed for me. And I'm STRONGLY OPPOSED to the burning of our nation's flag, regardless of why it's being done.

Here in Portland we had protests. I'm very tempted to discuss this, but I won't go there. Except to say I'm against violence and I'm against destruction of property, whatever you might be protesting.

I'm sorry to see anyone on either side injured. I pray that we'll be able to move on and try to come together. Yes, we must be vigilant to guard the RIGHTS of every citizen. We need to speak up when injustice takes place. And we need to remain hopeful and strong and united, as much as possible.

Aside from that, it's always interesting to observe the ceremony surrounding important events like this. As someone involved in special events, it was fascinating to observe the details of the day.

Rich came by to pick up the wood from our downed tree to use as firewood at his home for him and his wife, Merlin. He came in and had coffee with us, but both he and Merlin were making a point of staying away from the media and online today to avoid being upset. (The election and the results have been very upsetting for them.) I know a lot of people who decided to avoid viewing things on TV or going online. If it upsets you, that's clearly a wise choice.

I helped Rich load his wood and Marilyn and I did some raking of all the leftover branches that were in the driveway. It's a REAL MESS out there from where the tree was down. (sigh)

Jeff came over while Rich was getting ready to leave. We had coffee with Jeff and discussed the Inauguration. Then we talked and talked about work-related subjects for HOURS.

Jeff left in the late afternoon, right before we needed to get ready to go to my doctor appointment, which was at 4:25 p.m.

I had good reports. My A1C was better. My kidney function is better. The numbers were good, with room for improvement (of course).

I'm VERY ANNOYED that I didn't blog the last time I got my steroid shot! I know it was Latoya who gave it to me (in the right hip). And it was just the typical steroid shot I've had in the past. But TODAY Leslie gave me what she called a bursa shot (injection), which is: A bursa is a gel-filled sac that helps muscles and tendons glide over bones. You have bursae in your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and other parts of your body. When bursae get swollen, they can cause joint pain. But a steroid medication injected into your bursa can help reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain.

This bursa injection can ONLY be done by someone qualified. Leslie made a point of saying she does NOT do these for knees, by the way. But she did both of my hips. Here's a description of the procedure: The skin is cleaned with antiseptic liquid. You lie down and turn on your side to expose the area for the injection. I was given TWO shots in each hip. First was a local anesthetic, then corticosteroid was injected. According to what I've read, usually the doctor will give you instructions for after the injection, but she didn't really do this. However I read online that you should completely rest the part of the body injected for 6 hours, then limiting use for between 1 and 3 days (or sometimes longer). (Interesting! Very different from previous steroid shots. I remember having tenderness in the past, but never being told to take it easy...)

I just found my entry from 2015 (October 2) where Latoya absolutely gave me this shot...

Well, I wanted the shot this time more for my flare-ups than for allergies -- though I imagine it will work for both. (I don't have as much trouble with allergies in the winter.) Here's the AMAZING THING: Right now I have almost no PAIN at all in my right hip. Usually I have constant pain there, varying in how bad it is. But I'm almost never totally pain free (or close), so this is astonishing!!! I guess it's a good sign.

This is obviously what was done for June with her knees. Now I get it a lot better. I've previously had a more generic injection...

As I've noted in the past, these shots usually raise blood sugar levels for a few days. But I'm used to that...

Anyway, Marilyn was with me for most of my appointment, but did leave during the shot. She was surprised by how long it took. In the past it's been very quick.

After that we were in rush hour traffic, so we went directly home and each fixed something to eat. Later on I made popcorn.

And we were watching the Australian Open and Star Trek. Rafa won!!! (Star Trek is like comfort food -- I guess comfort TV. Hahaha.)

We were having fun playing our game tonight, too...

I took a short nap at one point. I'd given Henry is meds and then he and I snuggled for a bit... He hasn't been doing very well, poor guy. Winter is VERY HARD on him.

After we heard the 11:00 news and found out the local protests were over, we got in the car and took our bills down to the main post office downtown to mail them. Then we came straight home. No, we happily didn't see anything. We knew from the news that it had been quite a mess, though... (sigh)

Time to head to bed (it's VERY LATE now).

Australian Open Tennis is on the TV as I sit here typing this. Marilyn is playing a game of Civilization (!!!) on her desktop -- she hasn't done that in a couple of years. Wow.

I always said that game 'saved her life' -- it was how she would shut off her head from all the stresses of work years and years ago. I think we got our first version of it back in the late 80's or early 90's. A gay friend gave it to us (Terry). But we quickly moved on to a version we'd purchased. Watching her play really takes me back. And it's very good memories, believe me!

She used to play Civ while I was playing The Sims on my desktop. In my case 'playing' was a relative thing! I could spend hours just searching for items to use in my game. It was incredible how many websites there were creating stuff for The Sims! Skins (meaning faces, hair, clothing designs and more), floors, walls, hacked items and much, much more. So inventive! I loved it back then...

The interesting thing? When did I EVER have all that time to play The Sims??? Yes, I still play games (like SimCity BuildIt). But I don't begin to spend that kind of time! If I did that, I'd never get anything done. Hahaha. Maybe I remember it as more time than it really was. I don't know...

Well, we're going NUTS from the damn weather here. It started to rain today. You'd think that would be a good thing, right? Rain comes in and scours all this damn snow out. But hell no. It's just a nasty mess. It's supposed to freeze again tonight, which should make things very dicey for getting to work tomorrow...

All we can do with the rain is watch. There's a huge puddle in back on the brick patio that's a spot we've never had this kind of water gather on. Hopefully it won't get into the house. At one point today I went into the garage and noticed wet on the floor!!! Don't get me wrong -- the garage gets wet from both the front and back door (it's not tight by any means). In fact, we have most things that sit on the floor resting on plastic crates that lift them from direct contact with the cement, which simply can't be expected to stay dry.

In this case I finally reasoned out that there had to be snow under the car that had been frozen there, and had started to melt (as the wet seemed to be coming from the area of the car -- and not the doors). Weird.

By the way, the garage does NOT seem at all warmer -- so how it could allow anything to melt is beyond me! I just brought in bottled water and it's far colder than the water in the fridge! I'm not kidding.

It will actually be great to get back to work. We're so far behind. And we have a ton to do. We'll see how it goes, I guess...

I hope we'll be safe DRIVING and WALKING. I can't believe how many of our friends have fallen and have injuries.

Obviously we've already dealt with the tree here. And we have SEVERAL branches down on that same tree and other trees in the yard. Oh well. That's what home ownership means.

Just thinking about the Inauguration. (Sister Sue has been to these -- imagine that. Wow.) Our office will be closed on Friday, in case of protests. The area just outside our office is a gathering place for such things.

Marilyn and I finally had something to eat this evening. She had a frozen dinner, and I made a couple of fried eggs on toast. That's all we ate all day long. We just weren't hungry (not sure why)...

One productive thing! I took down 'Christmas' in the family room, finally. You'd think I would have gotten that done during all this time at home. But it's hard to explain how I just haven't been able to get myself to tackle it. It's a big task. I guess I have to be in a certain mood, as crazy as that sounds. With all this weather crap, I just couldn't get my head there. Oh well.

Now that I've done the family room -- which seems strangely empty right now -- I shouldn't have any trouble getting the living room done. This means taking down the tree, as well as all the other decorations. Yes, I KNOW it's well past time. We normally would NEVER leave it this long. I can't remember ever doing so before this year...

I've got a stiff neck and seem to be fighting vertigo again. Damn. I don't have time for it. And that's that.

I guess that's it for today. I hope all is well with you!!!

Yes, Marilyn and I are still around -- sorry I've been MIA here at LiveJournal!

Driving has been extremely difficult. But for some reason (???), Marilyn has been willing -- and even eager -- to drive in the snow and ice! She's never been like this in our entire lives, so I'm quite surprised. She just never fails to amaze me, I must admit! And we've had no issues driving (unlike so many others).

Actually, Marilyn mentioned that she wants to start blogging again, which would be AWESOME, I think. And clearly I'd like to get back to my old routine of blogging daily. It's such a great way to track my life, in all honesty. It's funny (or maybe NOT!) how much you can FORGET if you don't have a way to remind yourself! Hahaha.

Today was exhausting. But I'm PROUD of both of us! We had decided (Marilyn's idea, actually) to try and remove some of the snow that was against the house in the back yard. We wanted to do what we did the year we had the freezing rain back there, when we had to move the ICE away from the house to avoid it flowing into the window well. This time it's more about the part of our foundation that always floods into Marilyn's bedroom if we're not very careful -- but it was also about the window well (the windows into the family room downstairs).

Marilyn's bedroom and our family room are in our basement -- the basement is pretty awesome, running the full length of the house. Our house is actually much bigger than it looks from outside because of this. The family room is the length of the living room, and Marilyn's bedroom is in the area equivelant to my bedroom and our office upstairs. (Plus we have a second bathroom downstairs that's below our upstairs bath.)

The back yard leans in toward the house, I'm afraid. Well, it's high in the center and low toward the house and toward the fence (to be really clear). But we worry about water near the house, obviously!

This recent snow was incredibly DEEP for Portland. Actually, it's unheard of for us to have this damn much snow. I haven't been keeping up, so unless you live here, there's no way for you to know how bad it's been for us. Most people are pretty much trapped in their homes. Everything has been closed down and streets are AWFUL for driving. That's been especially true out here in North Portland!

We also had a HUGE PORTION of our tree near the garage come down under the weight of the snow! The same tree that we lost a large portion of in the past due to wind. This time instead of coming down in our alley, it came down in our DRIVEWAY. It's a good thing we park our car inside the garage, or it would have been crushed under the downed tree! We were TRAPPED for a couple of days until we got a guy out to remove the tree ($250). He and his helper only did so much -- WE actually had to go out and help with a bunch of it! Thankfully Jeff was here that day as we used shovels and metal rakes to clear the driveway down to the pavement. Exhausting.

It's been ridiculously COLD for Portland -- temperatures well below freezing. So nothing can moderate, so far. Amusing aside: the umbrella against that tree where I feed crows/birds/critters did NOT come down! It's still standing! I haven't been able to put much out there, though. I need to clean up the HUGE MESS and the water dishes, but today it was all about the HOUSE, so I had to prioritize, obviously. There's some food out there, but no water, I'm afraid. Poor things...

It's hard to keep the house warm. I should 'stick the oil' soon and be sure we're okay! I forgot that today. (sigh) I went out before noon to start the job of moving the snow OFF THE TARPS that protect us from rain. Then a few hours later both Marilyn and I went out to do a ton more -- moving snow from the window well area -- and finish moving it off the tarp. We could maybe move more snow toward the center/far side of the yard (closer to the back fence), I suppose. But it's better than it was, thankfully!

Not bad for two 60-something women working all alone, I have to say...

But we were, admittedly, tired and sore after that. I slept for HOURS when we came back in (and after we each had a cup of soup to eat).

Mostly you feel like sleeping or lying around doing nothing, to be honest...

The office has been CLOSED (everything -- including government offices and schools -- is closed), but we still went to work on Friday, even so. So much to do right now!!!

We're closed Monday and Friday of next week, so we'll only have three work days next week!!! What a mess.

Marilyn and I still managed to enjoy our usual Saturday night, though! We ate some slices of summer sausage and crackers for dinner and had popcorn. (You know, that wasn't much food today, really -- especially considering the physical work we did!)

Svengoolie was a 'repeat' from October: "Black Friday." In honor of Friday the 13th, I'm sure!

I'll make some notes (sigh) and try to fill in some blanks. And I really should share photos of this snow, because it's amazing for us! We're just not prepared for this kind of weather here. Trying to even find footwear to put on to keep our feet dry and warm is frankly IMPOSSIBLE. Marilyn and I don't ski or hike anywhere with snow! The boots we have are designed to look nice and that's it. So we do our best to wear what will keep us as warm as we can. But good God our feet have been COLD recently! Hours walking in and standing in the snow way up our legs. Good grief.

I don't even own a warm hat to wear on my head! Actually, I think I have two -- and these are at the beach house, of all places! Not any help here... Hahaha. Marilyn has one warm hat, anyway. And I do own a warm jacket and she has a warm coat. And I have warm gloves (she has gloves, but they're not warm). Boring, I'm sure. But staying warm has been pretty essential -- and impossible. I wear two layers on my legs whenever I go out, as I don't want a damn flare-up of my knees or ankles. It doesn't help my hip that much, but oh well...

I think I've carried on long enough. I'm bored and I imagine you are, too! Hahaha. There's nothing else going on for us to speak of. Well, there's a TON to relate about work -- but I just can't go there right now.

Much of my work recently has been negative -- IT has NOT been going that well in the New Year. Thankfully I had some 'wins' on Friday, or I'd be pretty crazy by now...

I'll share about some TV, movies and books next blog, I promise.

Things are supposed to start moderating Monday night -- with RAIN on Tuesday. We're going directly from this horrible snow situation into heavy rain -- and warnings about flooding. (sigh) I pray already that our house won't flood.

That tree has another huge branch just hanging there. In fact, we've got branches down in several of our trees around the house. There's a HUGE branch that could come down over the house. Our hope is that we won't have anything come down on the house. It's hard to know what will happen when things moderate...

Your good thoughts and prayers are appreciated, of course! Our dear friend June is terribly sick with a cold. Sister Sue's cold seems better, thankfully. Marilyn and I are hanging in there...

I know many parts of the country (and the world) are having much more serious weather problems. But this is pretty bad for us. I don't mean to whine, really. Today was beautiful and we were happy to be strong enough to get out and do work to protect our home under blue skies and sunshine!

Sorry this is so long!

Stay warm, safe and healthy, friends! And sweet dreams!

We FINALLY had this horrible icy weather MODERATE today. But it took a long, long time! You could see branches in our back yard trees just coated with ICE from freezing rain for most of the day. The streets were okay and most of the sidewalks and walkways -- but there was still ice all over the place. (sigh)

Sister Sue had her Christmas party at the house of her gay friends today (whom she knows from cribbage). They have this party every year. We both hope she had a great time!

I was glad to see all the birds and squirrels out eating and eating (all day long) under the big tree in front of our garage. I always feed and water the crows and other critters there. And recently I added the old (well, not-so-old) umbrella there, to keep the majority of the snow and ice from covering up their food. (We didn't use it anymore. We'd offered it to Sue and family, but they didn't want it. So our plan had been to donate it months ago. Now I'm glad we didn't, as it worked pretty well for this new purpose!)

I didn't go out to bring up the roll carts (garbage and recycling) until fairly late. It was already dark out at that point. There was a HUGE BRANCH that came out of the tree -- but it certainly could have been worse! I managed to drag that off the driveway, then I got a rake and got up all the smaller pieces that were left behind. I started wondering how 'rocks' had gotten all over the driveway -- then realized these so-called rocks were actually HUGE chunks of ICE that had been all over the branch that fell!!! I even picked up a couple of big pieces and brought them in for Marilyn to see! Good grief.

I spent part of the day cleaning the kitchen floor, which really needed it. I'd made it pretty bad going in and out during the bad weather, tracking a ton of mud and detritus (leaves and pine needles and so on). So first I did a ton of sweeping, then I mopped like mad. It really turned out nice!

I also cleaned up some of the bad spots on the hardwood floors in the living room. I still need to do the hallway floors and my bathroom, but at least I got a good start. I was sweating like mad and soaked to the skin when I got done. I even had to change shirts and use the hair dryer on my damp hair.

In other news (smile), I'm happy to report that Marilyn was feeling a little better today. That cough of hers still seems pretty bad, though! It really disturbs me to hear it. But thankfully she has a couple more days before heading back to work.

I'd like to say she could stay down both days, but we're both obligated to attend a concert with our friends Carla and Gary tomorrow -- and there's really no way around it. This is the couple we'll be going with to London next year. And she's invited us many, many times to see this performer with them. So this time Marilyn agreed. Hopefully it won't wear Marilyn out too much.

It reminds me how I was nodding off when we went to the Huey Lewis concert months back. I know it's hard to imagine someone not being able to stay wide awake at a concert -- right? Well, it's just a sign of how ill I've been in 2016, I guess... I can basically fall asleep almost anywhere, under almost any conditions now. And, no, that's (obviously) not a good thing. (sigh)

I still find it pretty damn COLD in the house, even though we're up into the 40's now. At least we don't have to keep running our cold water all the time. Hahaha.

Marilyn and I enjoyed the day -- and especially the Friday night TV, as always.

Oh! And earlier in the day we watched the movie "The Shining," which we only ever saw one time (right after it came out. We were always big Stephen King fans, and this movie was based on his 1977 novel. Originally we didn't care for it much -- and interestingly enough, neither did the critics! But since then, critics have changed their opinion!!! Actually, it's now considered one of the greatest horror films ever made. (American director Martin Scorsese ranked it one of the 11 scariest horror movies of all time.) Marilyn had it playing on some channel with commercials, then we decided to watch it uncut.

I felt very differently about it this time around and really did enjoy it. I think back in 1980 I was just too critical of the fact that it didn't seem to stick to King's novel that closely. Plus I remember thinking Jack Nicholson was way, way over the top. And I'd never been much of a Shelley Duvall fan. But now I think they both did a great job. And Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers were amazing! Plus the location was really wonderful. Very scary stuff -- without tons of gore.

If you've never seen it, you should consider it. If you saw it back then and felt negative -- as we did -- you might want to give it another chance.

There's a LOT to be said for horror that isn't just blood and disgustingly mangled bodies.

We also rented "The Exorcist," planning to watch that, but we ran out of time. (We have a lot to watch on Saturdays!) I suppose we'll try and see it tomorrow...

We were among those too frightened (mainly of being totally grossed out) back when this film came out to go and see it. Stupid! This is really a classic movie. We're also fans of the prequels they made (there were two versions -- we liked them both). More about this film soon!

Can't think what else I'm forgetting to share. But I need to head to bed...

Sleep well, stay healthy, happy and WARM, friends!!!