Tuesday Afternoon

Oh boy. This is fun. And the first sister that says something like "I told you so" as if I didn't know, gets walloped.

First, Paul didn't come home last night (that I noticed). It turned out he went to Mom's to pick her up for mass and she was still in bed. She wasn't feeling well so Paul stayed with her and slept in the spare bedroom. He got up to offer help the two more times she went into the bathroom. It was coming out both ends and I'm not talking toothpaste. By the time I went over at 11:30, she had forgotten she was sick and ate half the meal I made for her (a lovely lemon thyme chicken breast with Amish macaroni salad - thanks to Giant for the recipe). She put that away half way through and got out her gruel she forgot to eat for breakfast. She was pretty hungry. She's now out doing her walk with Melanie.

We went to part of the Blanchard family swim meet at Woodcroft last night. She enjoyed that and I got out of cooking dinner. She was a little miffed that Uncle Jim didn't bother to show up after he said he would (huh????) because she wanted to ask him about the notice she received about extending the warranty of the car. I told her to throw the notice in the bin but she wanted to talk to Uncle Jim because he knows about these things. I encouraged her to call Uncle Jim last night while Melanie and I ran off for dinner. When I got back, she was furious that Uncle Jim told her to throw away the notice since she was not going to need the car anymore.

Uncle Jim came over for a visit today after lunch and Mom gave him the "I'm a prisoner in my own house" speech. He laughed and told the story how Grandmom loved St Elizabeth's because she said she decided to love it when she went in. Mom replied that she was not Grandmom. He kept trying but she wasn't buying it. Eventually she said that she'll move in after he does. We have a long wait on our hands because he's pretty fit and of sound mind. We kept planting seed though and I think it was about another acre today.

She got some mail today that set her (and me) off again. She got a bill from her dentist, Dr. Shelton, today for $135. It freaked her out because a) it was so expensive and b) her appointment is not until Tuesday of this week!!! Oh no! That stupid appointment again! Anyway, I twisted her arm to change the name on the calendar to show the August 5 appointment to be with Dr. Lavin. I convinced her that she does not have to see Dr. Shelton again until December. I also convinced her that there is a difference between July and August. I got her to tape Dr. Lavin's appointment reminder back together again and put it on the fridge. I also got a tad bit testy when she assured me that she didn't know any doctor by the name of Dr. La-vin'. She thought for a good three minutes before remembering her doctor's name, ie., Dr. Lav'-in. Sheesh. She used that to tell me my memory is going faster than hers.

Stuart, I put the dentist bill and a gynie $41 bill in the second drawer of the desk in the dining room. Let me know if it should be elsewhere. Also in the mail today was a notice from Dad's medical insurer. As best I can read it, Mom has to call them before 8 September elect to extend the COBRA coverage for 3 years. The cost seems to be zero but she has to call. Should I do that?

Finally, thanks for setting up the new PC with internet in the basement. It's much easier / faster than using Dad's antique. Unfortunately the wireless works intermittently with my notebook. Last night I was typing a report for work until 10:00pm on my notebook and trying like hell to send it in. Fortunately, I didn't start screaming until I was outside the Starbucks and they wanted $10 per day for access. I was about to drive over and sit in Levelle's driveway to send it when I tried just driving around the neighborhood to find an un-secured access. Fortunately Panera across the street has it but by 11:00pm, it was scary as hell sitting in their parking lot to send it. I may have to go back to dial-up at Dunkirk. Woops, did I say something wrong?

I'm outta here. BTW, I am driving up to visit Alex on Thursday. I'll be back Friday morning but someone else has to do lunch duty on Thursday (or Friday). Volunteers? There is a ton of food in the fridge but someone just has to put it in front of her.