October 8, 2017
6:38 p.m.


Wow! A whole month has gone by without any commentary from yours truly. Whoops! Sorry!

In my defense, it has been hard for me to think of good things to say. The news has been depressingly full of negativity. And somehow, I can't seem to make myself stop watching, reading, etc.

I don't know what has happened to me in the last year! I never used to pay much attention to the day-to-day news feed. There was never much in the way of happy endings and cheerful, heartwarming stories, and who needs to hear bad news? But this past year--holy cow! What a sh**-storm.

This morning I just lay in bed, thinking that there were days when getting up just seemed like a bad idea.

But I got up anyway, and the day has been fine. We have been threatened with snow tonight or tomorrow, so I fought back by making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Mom and Dad have gone to church with my sister and I am marathon-watching Rizzoli and Isles. And trying to make up for my silence over the past month.

You know, multi-tasking.
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My book is nearly ready. Designed the cover using a pretty nice tree photo I took on our trip this summer. Family tree searches inspired my choice.

Now I'm working on page formatting, and that's going pretty well.

After that, another read-through. Whew! First readers are on the job. I'm getting excited!
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We ended the month of August with a trip to Salt Lake City. My mother had cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation on both eyes. September was spent doing four weeks worth of eye drops for healing. She can see EVERYTHING.

When I was growing up, my mother had the best eyesight of anyone I've ever known. She would see animals and vegetation that the rest of us could only pretend to see, too. It was amazing.

And now, it's amazing again. I find that so cool.

Also, she's feeling so much better now that her recovery from surgery has progressed. Now she just needs new knees!!

Maybe in the spring.
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I'm so mad at myself! I am continually flummoxed my technology. Today I accidentally deleted a couple of photos from my phone, and I have no idea how to un-delete. Grr.

(Please don't remind me that I really need to delete a LOT of pictures from my phone. I hadn't downloaded these to my computer drive yet. I'm sad.)
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I'm currently still in Wyoming, and was just in my room looking around. I have spent a great deal of my time here this year, and it shows. I have accumulated a great deal of  "stuff". I guess you can't really spend any considerable amount of time anywhere without stuff growing in your wake. And it's nothing I don't need or use, but....how does this happen, man? Now I have two places with stuff in it! And it's kind of weirding me out!
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10:02 p.m.

Ran off for a bit to have a light dinner with Mom and Dad, and then we sat down and watched "Ever After" with Drew Barrymore. Dad has declared it "the best Cinderella movie", because he loved that she punched her snooty stepsister in the eye. Hahaha!

I gotta admit it--that's pretty cool. I always wanted Cinderella to fight back a bit.
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I love the theme song for Rizzoli and Isles. It makes me want to dance.

(Just in case you care to know!)
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My brother has texted us pictures of the snow in Casper. I guess the storm may be moving our way. Yuck. I'm not ready for snow!

Honestly, my parents and I agree that the summer owes us another month--August or September--because with all the hospital stuff, and recovery times, etc., we feel like we missed about a month. We were so caught in a cycle of changing bandages and taking medications and doctors visits and eye drops, that we kind of lost track of time.

Would anyone object if we went back in time about six weeks and just started from there? (Without the cataract surgery part, though. We just want to chill on the deck.)
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I have ignored the news almost all day. Every time I do that, the next day brings a shock, but I think I'll risk it. Of course, the last time I did that--last week--I woke up to news of a mass shooting, and the death--not death--coma--then really death of Tom Petty. So...

Can I ignore the news tomorrow, too?

It's a scary world.
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Okay, I know this was a short one--you're welcome--but it's time to say good-night.

Good-night!