February 26, 2018
12:22 p.m.

Howdy! I think it is actually 1:22 p.m., but I am still on Colorado time even though I am currently in Louisiana.

You know, when it is snowy and cold and sixteen degrees, going south is not a bad idea at all! It s in the low-to-mid 70s here. The humidity is odd to a desert-raised gal, but it makes my skin feel good.

My son and his wife got married last April and we enjoyed some celebrations with them in Colorado at that time. However, my daughter-in-law's family wasn't able to join us at that time and wanted to do something for them in their homeland, so here we are!

We began our travels on the 22nd, going from Denver to Oklahoma City. Spent the night with my daughter and on the 23rd continued on to this southern state, where it is warm and humid and very green in February.

To get here, we had to go through Dallas, Texas. No offense to you Texans, but I could never deal with that traffic and those bridges on a daily basis. That was a nightmare. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to leave a city behind me, and I am already researching alternate routes out of here!.

We went through a very short portion of Route 66. Historic--I guess that means returned to the original gravel. Haha. That was a terrible stretch of road.

It was dark by the time we arrived, so I didn't get to see much of the lay of the land until Saturday morning. It is pretty here. Everything is spread out. Wherever we go, it's a trip.

Saturday was the big celebration, a craw fish boil. I have never in my life eaten craw fish, and had vowed to give it a try, even after I saw the darned things. They look like big bugs. Ugh. But, true to my word, I tried it. Not bad. I will probably have some leftovers today, in Jambalaya.

Still, I prefer lobster.

We're going to be here a few more days, and I will likely be adding some pictures in the future, but at this time, I am enjoying watching Marvel movies with my daughter-in-law's mother, who is hosting me. We have been having a good time.

I will update you soon!

Cheers!

February 15, 2018
8:23 p.m.

Wow, I am such a schlub!

I composed a wonderful, happy blog about getting the water heater installation completed, and then it never got posted.

For some reason, last Sunday night the Internet did not want to cooperate with my posts, and once I submitted my little story of the day--or whatever, you know me-- it just hung out, cursor button spinning on the screen.

I finally gave up and shut it down for the night, and then forgot to update everything the next day--and the whole blog has disappeared!

I posted yesterday without giving it a thought. Today I checked things and realized--whoops!

So, although the absolute shiny-new happy has worn off a little, I am here to tell you that I have a new water heater! Hurray!

Sunday was all about connect this and connect that, and by evening I was taking an honest to goodness warm shower without having to heat and haul a single pot! Ahhhhh! Sweet!

Then we started to tackle backed up laundry and discovered that--uh oh!--the hot and cold water were reversed.

That got resolved pretty quickly, thank heavens.

My clothes are clean, washed, dried, hung and folded. Another hurray!

I made arrangements to have the old water heater picked up and paid for the service. Then, when we put it out for pick-up today, someone came along and took it!!! Luckily, my son called and got me a refund! Hurray for my son! Oh, gotta credit daughter, too, for telling him that I shouldn't have to pay.

Jeez. If I knew someone would come and snag the thing--probably a scrap-metal collector--I would have had it out of here a couple days ago. However, I suspect that whoever took it was someone who trolls the park on garbage days to see what he can scavenge. Today is garbage day; that fact is the basis for my suspicion. Aren't I clever?

Anyway, I'm just glad to be washing and drinking with relative ease again.

You may know that I write about a character who speaks to her dead relations. I should probably have one of them remind her how good she has it in these modern times! Ha ha!
_________________________________________________________________________________

9:05 p.m.

Back in the day, I had a friend who, when her child needed to clear her nasal passages (aren't I so, so polite?) she instructed her to "blow her brains out."

I have a cold. It is a miserable, snotty cold. I have blown my brains out so many times now that I can literally feel the brain matter shrinking. I can't even think straight.

How on earth do humans manufacture so much mucus? Jiminy crickets! Too bad it is not a marketable commodity--I would be stinking rich.

Hahahaha!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Um... I think that's the NyQuil talking.

In case you missed it, I published a little Valentine vignette here yesterday.

And now---

Good-night!

February 14, 2018
8:12 p.m.

Ah....to have reached an age where no kids come running to me to help make a Valentine mailbox! Whew!

Although, honestly, I might be better at it now than I used to be.

Oddly enough, there was no school today for my grandson--parent teacher conferences. He missed every day last week, and his cold/headache/yuck has now been passed to grandma. Whoopee!

What I'm getting at is, he didn't exchange valentines with his classmates. They also didn't have a Christmas program, or lunch with mom on Thanksgiving or trick-or-treats. I don't know what the deal is with this situation. Probably funding. Small school, poor neighborhood.

That's kind of sad, right?

Kids need art and music programs!! This is not cool.
_________________________________________________________________________________

I believe I should give you all a gift for Valentine's Day. It's not a big, long story, just an evening with my character, Emma, her family, a ghost and a history lesson. 

Here it is:

Valentine Knights

A Valentine Vignette by Paula Shablo

Sunday, February 8, 1970

While the children ran to change from church attire to weekend grubbies, Jill Knight cleared the dining room table, putting the dishes and platters from Sunday dinner into the deep double sink. She returned to the room, washed the table and then turned at the sound of the door opening.

Jack came in from the garage with his arms loaded with a strange assortment of items: shoe boxes, construction paper, ribbon and yarn. He had a paper bag tucked under one arm. Barely arriving at the table before dropping something, he plopped his goods down and began dividing them into four separate piles.

“Remember the good old days when only one child was in school?” Jill giggled.

“Oh, yeah,” Jack grinned. “Last week, wasn’t it?”

“Seems like it,” Jill agreed. She went back into the kitchen.

Jack pulled a couple of pots of school paste and jars of glitter out of the paper bag and set them in the center of the table.

Jill came back with a plastic table cloth. “Look what we forgot,” she said.

Jack groaned. “Do I gotta?” he pleaded.

“You gotta,” Jill commanded, and giggled again.

Jack started moving things.

Moments later, with the table cloth in place and each child’s work station equipped with art supplies, work was ready to commence.

Emma wasn’t fussed about Valentine’s Day per se, but she never minded an art project. “What are we making, Mama?” the ten-year-old asked. She already knew, but figured an explanation for the younger siblings might be in order.

Nine-year-old Melody sang, “I’m wishing for some Valentines in boxes we make!” to the tune of Disney’s Snow White’s song “I’m wishing for someone I love”.

“That’s sweet, Mel,” Emma said.

Melody curtsied. “Why, thank you very much!”

Dana eyed the art supplies dubiously. She was seven, and skeptical of any project involving glue. She did not like to dirty her hands.

Six-year old Matthew frowned deeply and declared, “Balentines is stupid! I hate girls!”

“Tough,” Jill told him. “Your teachers have sent notes home with instructions that say you are all to make Valentine mail boxes for your party on Friday.”

“Phooey ka-pooey!” Matthew scoffed.

“And I got a list of the names of everyone in your classes,” Jill continued, undaunted by her son’s distain. “You’ll be giving valentines to everyone in your class.”

Emma gasped. “But Mama!” she cried. “I can’t be giving a valentine to Bobby Robbins! He’s a twerp!”

“Emma!”

“He is, Mama!” Melody agreed. “He stole Matt’s Tonka truck and wouldn’t give it back until Emma gave him a kiss!”

“Melody!” Emma shouted. “You promised!”

“Oops! Sorry!” Melody looked crestfallen. “I just don’t want you to give him no valentine.”

“I’m not!”

“He did what?” Jack demanded.

“Nothing!” Emma cried.

“I might have to kick his butt,” Jack grumbled.

Dana giggled. “His butt,” she said. “Butt, butt, butt.”

“That will do, young lady,” Jill scolded. “Why didn’t you tell us, Emma?”

“Cuz I can do my own butt-kicking when the time comes,” Emma declared. “And he is not getting a valentine from me, Mom!”

“Well,” Jill drawled, “the notes say that all children are to receive a valentine from each of their classmates—”

“Mom!”

“But, in this case, I’m not going to force you to do it.”

Emma breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mama!”

Jack shook his head. “Little blackmailing sh—” he started.

“Jack!” Jill warned.

All four children giggled. They were not unfamiliar with the word their father had started to say. There were no saints in the Knight household, try as they might.

The children sat at their places. “Emma,” Matthew said, “will you cut hearts for me? Please, pretty please?”

“Sure, buddy,” Emma agreed. “Hand me some paper, Matt.”

Soon enough Emma had all the pink and red construction paper. She was the oldest and the most adept with the scissors. She folded and cut out hearts of various sizes and piled them in the middle of the table for all of them to share.

“Are schools still insisting on promoting this nonsense?”

Emma looked up. Behind her father stood a short, chubby woman with iron-grey hair pulled back into a fat bun. Loose wisps curled at her temples and neckline. “Oh, hello,” Emma said. “What nonsense?”

“Celebrating Saint Valentine’s Day, of course.” The woman put chubby fists on stout hips and shook her head. “You do know the history, I assume?”

“Um…introductions, maybe?” Emma chided.

“Oh! My dear child, you are quite right.”

The Knight family was at attention by this time. Jill and Jack, who knew many more of the passed-on members of their clans, were particularly interested.

“My name is Marvillosa Lujan.” The woman grinned. “I’m a teacher.”

Emma repeated this, and Jack said, “That’s my Aunt Marvie!”

“I’m not really his aunt.” The woman shrugged. “I’m his father’s niece. When my parents died, I went to live with their family, along with my sister and brother. But we were so much closer in age to the children that we were raised as siblings. So when our aunts and uncle had kids of their own, we were called “aunt” and “uncle” instead of cousin.”

“Like Uncle George,” Emma said.

“Yes. He’s my cousin. Your grandfather’s nephew, really, but George is older. Your Grandpa is quite a bit younger than our mothers—his sisters—were.”

Jack nodded when Emma repeated this information. “Dad had two older half-sisters who were old enough to get married by the time he was getting out of diapers, I imagine,” he mused. “Well, George is about six months older than Dad…no wonder they grew up more like cousins than uncle and nephew!”

“That’s confusing,” Emma complained. “How am I supposed to keep track of that stuff?”

“Write it down,” Aunt Marvie commanded.

Emma blushed.

“What?” Jack demanded, unable to hear any of the exchange that Emma didn’t share.

“She really is a teacher,” Emma said.

“Oh, yeah,” Jack agreed. “A tough one!”

“Hmph!” Aunt Marvie exclaimed. “A good one!”

Without any prompting from Emma, Jack added, “I probably learned more from her than from any other teacher I ever had until college.”

Aunt Marvie nodded with satisfaction. “That’s more like it!”

“What’s your beef with Valentine’s Day?” Emma asked.

“Uh oh,” Jack groaned.

“I don’t have a ‘beef’,” Aunt Marvie said. “I just object to the fact that it’s all hearts and flowers and gushy romance, and not one word about how it all came to be.”

“Like Christmas and Easter,” Melody agreed, once Emma had passed this along.

“Exactly!” Aunt Marvie looked excited. “Oh, Jackie, she’s a smart one!”

“She says you’re smart, Mel,” Emma said.

Melody beamed.

“There’s usually a dark and bloody history to the holidays we celebrate, and Valentine’s Day is no different. Do any of you know the history?”

“Well, obviously, I do,” Jack said, with a smug smile. “I paid attention in Aunt Marvie’s class. Or else!”

Jill smiled. “I never met your Aunt Marvie, but I have no doubt she had her hands full with you, Jack Knight!”

“You can say that again,” Aunt Marvie agreed. “But does no one else know the history of Saint Valentine?”

“Well,” Jill said, “the Sisters told us that he was a Priest who was beheaded for disobeying the law and performing illegal marriages.”

“Very good. Why were they illegal?”

Jill shook her head. “If I ever knew, I have forgotten it now,” she admitted.

Aunt Marvie nodded. “So have many,” she said. “It’s just another holiday now. Another reason to put money into the pockets of rich merchants.”

“Wow!” Emma said. “That’s harsh.”

“Is it? Let me tell you the story. Think of harshness as you listen. Think about how you’d like to remember Saint Valentine in the future.”

Crestfallen, Emma said, “I’m listening. So will we all.”

“Saint Valentine was just a man,” Aunt Marvie said, “a good man who believed in God and in the good Christian church that was becoming stronger in his time. But he was a Roman priest who lived during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II, who was known as Claudius the Cruel.

“The Romans, who were a warrior nation, were always in conflict with one neighbor or another, always building and rebuilding their great empire.

“All this fighting required soldiers, and soldiers were being killed with amazing regularity. As they always are; don’t forget that.

“Emperor Claudius believed that the men were declining to join his armies because they were married with children and cared more for their families than for the cause of adding to the holdings of the Roman Empire. So he authored an edict in all the land: that it would be forbidden for young men to marry. All marriages and engagements were officially cancelled.

“Valentine believed in the sanctity of marriage between a man and one wife only, unlike the majority of Rome’s population, who lived together in sin or practice polygamy—”

“What’s polygamy?” Emma asked, and then added, “Oh, excuse me.”

“Polygamy is when a man has many wives,” Aunt Marvie replied, smiling. “A very good question.”

“Like King David,” Melody said.

Aunt Marvie clapped her hands. “Oh, she’s wonderful! I would have loved to have her in my classes!”

“You’re making a lot of Brownie points, Mel,” Emma said.

“Yes, you’d have made Aunt Marvie a lot happier than I did,” Jack added.

“He can say that again!” Aunt Marvie said, and everyone giggled when Emma passed that on.

“This is all really interesting,” Emma said. “Were people upset that they couldn’t get married?”

“Well, you can just about imagine it, I’m sure,” Aunt Marvie said. “Young people fall in love, and when they are forbidden to be together, why, it only serves to make them want it even more!

“Valentine could no more encourage couples to simply live together in sin than he could tell them to jump off a cliff. The new Christian Church encouraged marriages within the church, and when the edict was passed, Valentine began performing marriages in secret.

“Of course, after a time he was caught and thrown in prison. Claudius the Cruel ordered that he be beaten, stoned and decapitated in punishment.”

“What’s decampingated?” Dana asked.

“Decapitated,” Jill corrected, casting a worried glance at her husband.

“Off with his head!” Melody said. “Like the Red Queen in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ said.”

Dana said, “But no one really did that. Right?” She looked tearful.

“The Red Queen was just an old grouch,” Emma said quickly. “Valentine was a long time ago; he’s dead now, that’s all.”

Aunt Marvie clucked her tongue. “It matters in the wider scheme of things, how he was put to death. But not to such a young child. I’m sorry, this is a distressing tale.”

“Didn’t stop her from telling us when we were six,” Jack said.

“Tell your dad to mind his P’s and Q’s.”

“Dad,” Emma began.

“Never you mind,” Jack said. “I can figure that out on my own.”

Emma had taken crepe paper and twisted it and then glued it around the top edge of the shoe box she had covered first with red wrapping paper. “I don’t know why everything has to be all red and pink and white,” she complained. “I want blue and purple!”

“Purple everything!” Dana agreed.

“Them’s the rules,” Jack grinned.

“Ugh.”

“Can you do that to my box, Emmie?” Matthew begged.

“Not all by myself,” Emma told him. “But if you bring it here, I’ll teach you how and help you.”

“Yay!” the little boy grabbed his box and ran around the table to his “big sissa”.

Jack and Jill helped Melody and Dana with theirs, and Aunt Marvie resumed her story.

“Once Emperor Claudius had had Valentine executed for breaking the law, it was learned by the Church that he had cured the daughter of a prison judge of her blindness, and that man converted.

“Before he died, Valentine wrote a farewell letter to the man’s daughter and signed it ‘From your Valentine’.”

“Oh!” Melody cried. “How sweet! Is that why we send cards to our Valentines?”

“So the legends say,” Aunt Marvie said. “But I feel like it is important to know why Valentine was granted Sainthood after his death, and why there came to be a holiday in the first place.”

“Are she comin’ back to tell stories at Christmas?” Matthew asked.

“Is she,” Jill corrected.

Matthew sighed dramatically. “Is she?”

“Well,” said Aunt Marvie. “You never can tell!”

“Looka my box!” Dana cried, holding it up.

“Wow, that’s so pretty!” Everyone exclaimed. She had folded strips of construction paper and glued hearts on them so they sprang out from the sides of her box.

All the boxes had turned out pretty, and they finished up by decorating the tops and cutting delivery slots into them.

“Thank you for coming, Aunt Marvie,” Emma said, and the whole family echoed her. “That was a great story!”

“It certainly was,” Jill added. “And all the time it took to do this work just flew by. What a wonderful lesson.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Aunt Marvie said, and vanished.

“Happy—well, dang!” said Emma.

“Hmm.” Jack stretched and put his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. “Tomorrow after dinner you have to write all your cards. I hope someone comes to tell us a story while we do that.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Emma giggled. “I don’t think I can write and listen and talk all at the same time if they do that. Are you going to write my cards?”

“I take it back! I take it back!”

“Let’s get this all cleaned up,” Jill laughed. “It’s almost time for—”

“‘Hee Haw’!” the clan finished.

Sunday evening family time at the Knights.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The End

 ________________________________________________________________________

If you have a Valentine, give 'em a hug and have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

Good night!

February 10, 2018
6:39 p.m.

The irony of the last few days has not been lost on me. Fickle weather!

We have had an unseasonably warm winter, up until the last two days. Yesterday was overcast, foggy and freezing, with intermittent snow showers and some rain. Today it snowed most of the day and was again super cold. Both days included a very sharp wind.

Naturally, the nearly 40 degree drop in temperature coincided with the installation of my new water heater.

Nothing about this install was ever going to be easy. We had been unaware of the leakage going on, so the floor underneath had plenty of time to soak through and rot, and had to be replaced. Pipes had to go, because leak plus heat equals rust. You know--a big mess. Undeniably dangerous, too, I'm sure.
Anyway, there were issues to begin with, and then--the heater got dropped on the water line, which broke.

Yep. Water all over, in the freezing cold. People had to be called, water main had to be shut down, breakage repaired. Pressure build up released through the hydrant across the street sent a river down the road. Awesome.

That took some time, by golly!

In the meantime, the water was now shut off completely, and the gas had to be shut off as well so a new gas valve could be installed, so we pulled out the space heaters and got them going.

Then my son and the handyman got the new water heater put in place in its outer wall closet, but there were accessories that had to be obtained, so off we went to purchase those.

We got the gas turned back on, so heat and cooking were re-established, but there would be no water just yet.

It's winter, which means limited daylight, and as the practically non-existent sunlight waned, the temperature really dropped, and thus ended day one.

Today was miserably windy and cold, with heavy snow, and our poor hired help did as much as he could before he had to admit defeat. He was kind enough to deliver to us several gallons of water so we can wash and flush the toilet. He said he felt bad about not finishing today, but we don't blame him at all, not a bit. No one could be so heartless as to expect a man to be out in that weather working with bare hands on cold, cold metal! We are just grateful he brought all that water.

I gathered some snow to melt earlier, which my son scoffed at, and I haughtily reminded him that it was no less than the pioneers had done before we all got spoiled by modern luxuries. I'm a bit sore from all this hauling and heating water, but you have to admit, I still have it easier than a lot of people ever did.

(Hasn't stopped me from griping, though!! Hahaha!)

Anyway, it's supposed to warm up tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get this thing finished up soon.

In the meantime--Brr! It's cold out there!
_________________________________________________________________________________

8:36 p.m.

Just wondering why it feels so late! Must be the cold. It's still snowing and blowing out there. Those who ski should be happy campers in the morning.
_________________________________________________________________________________

I think I might crawl in bad and watch the new episodes of The X-Files on Hulu.

Oh my gosh, I'm an advertisement! You're welcome, Hulu.

Good night, all!

February 9, 2018
12:05 a.m.

Oh, dear, I just realized what time it is!

Nine a.m. appointment with repairman. Getting a new water heater. Hurray!!!

Just took a warm bath after heating four pots of water so I wouldn't freeze. Hauling water around is heavy work. If I had to do it every day I would probably be in better shape.

But I'm so glad I won't have to.

At least, I hope I won't.

Pray to God that everything goes well in a few hours and we won't have to jump through thousands of hoops to get this done.

Seriously. Please. Pray hard.

This is me, after all. And we all know what that means. So prayers are much appreciated.

And now I'd better get to bed so I can try to snooze a few minutes between now and then.

Good night!

February 7, 2018
5:33 p.m.

When you place an order and it goes into Internet limbo--not good. Luckily, I discovered the issue when I checked the status this morning and it said "Status Unknown". Called the store. They couldn't find the order, and they had been waiting for everything to go through so they could set up delivery.

I mean, it was crazy dumb. I talked to them yesterday and placed the order for the water heater online. The store set it aside to wait for the order number and set up a delivery time.

And then--nothing. If I hadn't checked today, they would still be waiting or else would assume that I had changed my mind.

And my order would be circling in limbo until someone finally pushed it through and we might--MIGHT--have gotten a water heater next week or something.

I use the Internet for everything, but when it goes kerflooey, it really goes! Especially for me. Yee-haw! Good thing I know my own luck and stayed on top of things when I didn't hear back from them to set up a time.

Sheesh!

Went to the store in person, paid in person, delivery should be sometime of Friday. Just hope I can get it all installed and everything before the predicted storm hits over the weekend. But...who knows? We will be okay either way.

No matter what, we will soon have hot showers. Even if I have to go build a stall in the yard and run a hose and heat the water myself! Hahaha!
_________________________________________________________________________________

I just checked the weather, and it no longer looks like we're getting a storm. More like a dusting. Which is fine with me until after all this crap is taken care of.

The weather is so weird. It's February. There should be snow on the ground. Instead we are walking around in t-shirts. It's cold after the sun westers, but until then, it's like fall.

We'll probably have April blizzards.

It wouldn't be the first time.

But I still think it's weird.
_________________________________________________________________________________

8:11 p.m.

It has been a strange day. One of those days where nothing too terrible goes on, but still nothing goes quite the way you thought it should.

Fixed the water heater issue, but still don't know for sure what time delivery happens on Friday. Gotta get the floor fixed first so I will call the handyman tomorrow to set that up.

Plan for certain things blew up because places were closed or closed at noon. What's up with things not being open on Wednesday?

Strange.

I think I will have a cup of cocoa and call it a night.

Tomorrow will be a good day!

Nighty-night!

February 6, 2018
5:34 p.m.

Happy Birthday to my son-in-law, Jason. It took me awhile to find the appropriate photo to go with this birthday wish! Hope you're having the best birthday ever!!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Updates to the hot water heater saga.

I have the absolute BEST parents ever. They called and offered to help their poor kiddo (me) out with getting a new one.

I don't know how anyone gets along without GREAT parents like mine. They are life savers.

Thank you, thank you, God, for sending me to them.

Anyway, there will be drama forthcoming, I'm sure. (Because it is me, after all!!)

I wasn't able to get the water heater I originally picked because it wasn't HUD certified for mobile homes. but I finally found one that is and got it ordered today.

Naturally, deliveries are backed up until Friday, and a lovely winter storm is predicted for Saturday. But, God willing, things will work out for an earlier delivery. You never can tell.

I still haven't gotten any of the accessories. There's no way I don't need them--because of the leaking, pipes and fittings will need replacing, and also the floor. Yay. But hopefully I have chosen the right guy for the job of repairing the mess, and for installation of the new unit.

In the meantime, I remind myself that back in the day, my parents pumped water and heated it up for use. They had wood-burning stoves that had to be lit and tended, and no indoor plumbing.

They survived. So will we.

Yesterday I heated water and took a lukewarm bath, and I have lived to tell the tale. We just turn on water long enough to gather what we need for the tasks at hand, like washing dishes or cooking, and then turn it off. It's not a HUGE deal, knowing that it won't last forever.

And we don't have to go out in the cold to an outhouse, so there's that! Ha ha!
_________________________________________________________________________________

8:24 p.m.

On the minus side of the coin, my daughter and grandson are sick, the toddler is insisting that only SHE gets to be sick and get my attention, and I decided NOT to make chili on a night when no one can actually eat it and be okay tomorrow.

So I'm eating mozzarella sticks for dinner. Very nutritious. Uh huh.

I don't care. They are yummy.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Tea and honey is not impressing the grandson. But I hope he'll choke some down. Honey good--sugar not so good.

Whee. It is fun over here tonight.

Granddaughter is at my side, hiding under my fluffy robe and playing with some electronic game. She's quite a character. Up until recently, she called me Gampa. She's made the transition to Gamma, but I miss being Gampa. She has now taken to calling her parents by their first names instead of Mommy and Daddy. Unless she's tired or really wants something, anyway. I think she's about a year ahead of schedule for that.

She counts everything, and quite well.

If you ask her a question, she doesn't answer yes or yeah. It's "Yeow." Very drawn out, like "Yee-0ww". She's going to outgrow that. What a bummer.

The hiding thing is new. Suddenly it became a fun thing to be unseen. Anyone coming home from work or the store might be required to find her. She's still at an age where if she can't see you, you can't see her, either. She covers her eyes and she's magically invisible. It's so cute.

Also--she forgets nothing. I wish my memory was half as good. I used my stool to reach something in the top of my closet one day and didn't put it back where I got it. (imagine that!) When I went looking for it, she told me where it was. I didn't really remember putting it there until she took me by the hand and led me to the closet. There it was! 

I should probably take her with me everywhere I go. Just to be safe.
_________________________________________________________________________________

I can't believe it's already February. I have to call tomorrow and get my appointments for preventive care goodies at the doctor, and whatever else they think I need to get done before I go back to Wyoming for a little while.

Doctor, dentist, eye doctor. Got my new glasses RX and haven't even shopped for glasses yet. I don't know why. Have to finish the dang root canal, too. Yuck. I could potentially spend next week in offices. Whoopie.

None of it is a big deal. Except the root canal. I got treated for an infection last time I was in, and then I got sick, and the it was Christmas, and then I got sick again. Enough already. Gotta get it done!

I need to stay away from my family, so they don't pass on their illnesses. Wish me luck with that!

Right....
_________________________________________________________________________________

Did I tell you I am now a Goodreads author? I'm excited about that. I get to belong to a group that includes some of my favorite authors.

It's kind of like getting to hang with the popular kids when you're just the class nerd. What can I say?
I like Goodreads, have been reading reviews there for a long time, and I feel kinda cool.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Good night, all! I am off to re-fill water jugs and go to bed.

February 2, 2018
5:59 p.m.

Some days it might be best to cover my head and stay in bed. Like, forever.

It's not bad enough that it was so sunny that there's no way our Colorado groundhogs didn't see their shadows. Six more weeks of winter.

Punxsutawney Phil, the "official" groundhog, saw his shadow today, according to news sources. His opinion is supposedly the only one that really counts, so we should be in for six more weeks of wintry weather.

Now, considering the fact that we in my area have had very little wintry weather so far, I guess that's not a bad thing.

Of course, if we look at the calendar...yep! Six more weeks until spring.

Truth is, in this area, we are more likely to get the wintry weather after the calendar tells us it is spring.

Crazy rodents!

Anyway, that was the very least of the not-so-great news this morning.

My water heater has bitten the dust!! Waaaa! I am so sad.

I wish I could just sell this old heap of hooey and buy a new house. But, as I am not anywhere near rich enough to do that, I guess I will just get nickled and dimed some more.

You can tell me to shut up just any time now. Whiney girl!

Maybe make that winey girl? A little sip of the old red?

Nahhhhh....

So the water is shut off. There's no separate shut off valve for the water heater. How dumb is that? We just have to turn it on periodically to flush toilets and get wash water.

The search is on for a water heater and installation without going too broke. Or... I dunno.

Ugh.

And, damn! It's not even Monday! This is Monday stuff, people.

Sigh.
________________________________________________________________________________

9:23 p.m.

Just have to throw this out there for the record: I hate politics!

My friend called #45 "Mango Mussolini" today. I am still laughing. Thanks, Tim!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Today I became a Goodreads Author!! I'm very excited.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11234163.Paula_Shablo

I am going to have to learn how to do things on this site, but it's just neat that they let me be one of their authors! I feel special.

Please give me a follow, huh? That'd be so cool!
_________________________________________________________________________________

February 3, 2018
12:56 a.m.

Whoa! What happened? It's a new day.

Gonna call it a night.

Thanks for letting me vent, vent, vent.

G'night!