Home Projects

I started a home project today, which means we'll be doing this for months. You know how it goes, you paint one room and the next one looks shabby. So you paint the next room, and on and on. You're off to the home improvement races.
We've been talking about rearranging the office for months. It's actally the third bedroom, about 10x10. We have a big corner desk and that's going to move 180 degrees, so when we're sitting at the desk we can look out the window.
Today I took everything out of the closet. Office supplies, books, books and more books. I also emptied the bookshelves that are attached to the wall. What an array of books we have! Crime mysteries, various and sundry paperbacks and medical books (Pat's) Civil War, early arctic exploration, real estate (me) and cookbooks (both of us).
Everything is still on and in the desk - computer, printer, my pile and Pat's pile. He has next week off, so we'll start again on Monday and take everything out, paint and shampoo the carpet. Then comes probably the worst of our task - figuring out what to keep and what to toss. I think the printer and possibly the phone and answering machine will go in the closet, as we had it years ago.
Yeah, this is a good chance to clean out a lot of stuff. I'm excited to have it done, but not necessarily the process.

Why do they make this so difficult?

After my dad passed away, Mom was left with a lot of prescription drugs of his. They don't expire until 2012. If we take them back to the prescribing facility they'll just be destroyed.

Mom and I have asked around to friends and family to see if anyone we know is prescribed these drugs. Nope.

My eye doctor goes to Mexico with Flying Doctors - maybe they could take them. Nope. They cannot provide follow up, therefore can't use the rx drugs.

Dr. Worrell suggested I try the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley. Nope.

They suggested City Team Ministries. I'm waiting for a call back from them.

We have a lot of older people in our Sons of Norway lodge. I can't exactly go up to them and say "Hey Ole, by the way, your doc hasn't happened to prescribe 20mg of potassium, has he? How about lasix? Can I hook you up with some?"

Sheesh, I'm trying to help someone out here. I know how expensive this stuff is and maybe we could make just a little bit of difference in someone's life. The red tape sure makes it hard to do the right thing.

The process

We all continue to mourn the loss of my dad. It comes across me in waves, which my friends tell me is normal. Whatever that is.
Most of the time I'm fine, but at odd times, like when I'm driving around town, I am awash in grief. For Daddy's memorial service I made a slide show thing and I've seen it a hundred times. While I was making it and sometimes when I just want to feel closer to him and I want to see his face, I watch it. Tonight was the first time I was not a bawling mess when I watched it. Yeah, I wept a bit, but didn't totally fall apart. I guess this is part of the process. It'll never end, just get softer, I think.
If you want to see it, click here www.dorrways.com/clydeharris and click on the little thingie below photo gallery. I wish I knew when this gets easier - I guess it never does.

Egg update

It seems the only one of our girls who is laying is Fiona. She laid her first egg on Monday, on Wednesday, I saw her lay an egg. Then Friday and again today on Sunday. She's like clockwork, every 48 hours. We just wish the other girls would get with the program.

Egg!

After months of chicken nurturing, we got our first egg today! We have been through a great leaning curve with housing, disease and death. We got our three new birds a little over a week ago and they have settled in.
We've looked for eggs every day for the past six weeks and got our reward today.
We took pea soup over to Mom's for dinner and it was pouring rain. I went out to change their water and check their food. Mom and Kristen were on the porch out of the rain when they heard me yell "Egg! We have egg!" They both ran out to the coop in the rain and we all did the happy egg dance.
Of course there was a big argument about who should have the first egg. Mom won. She'll have her fresh egg for breakfast tomorrow. Can't wait to hear how it tasted.
I'm not sure who laid it - probably Alice or Fiona, based on the color of the egg. We're hoping this will inspire the other girls to get with the program.

New chickens

We got three new hens this afternoon. From the left, the Partridge Cochin, who we have named Dee Dee, Speckled Sussex, named Fiona and the Easter Egger named Alice.
The Easter Egger is a hybrid breed - sort of a mutt in the chicken world. We can't show her - like we would. She's a funny little bird, full of personality. She was sold to the woman we bought her from as an Americuna, but she's not, as Americunas lay blue eggs. Hers are apparently brownish.

The two bigger birds, Dee Dee and Fiona have been picking on Wili. I guess they are establishing their pecking order. After a couple of hours they seem to have calmed down and we will have eggs..... SOON!

New peeve

As President of District Six, Sons of Norway, I get all of our lodge's newsletters. 56 of 'em. My new pet peeve has appeared in ALL of them.
They all say "I want to thank John and Mary for blah, blah, blah" And I want to thank Ole and Lena for whatever.... Why not just thank John and Mary. Thank you Ole and Lena. Not I WANT to thank you. It bugs me and my family says I'm being too critical.
I have become more aware of this recently and just say thank you. Not I want to thank you.