I woke up at 7:15 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate the last doughnut and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I went back to bed and slept until Mom called me at 9:55. I let Hope loose. She had been crying and wrinkling up the rug.

 

I drank several cups of coffee with vanilla syrup before noon.

 

I read in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

 

Mom and I sat on the porch and talked. I had my iPod playing in my Bose SoundDock.

 

I ate a Lean Cuisine meal with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

Mom went up to James’ house. She came back a while later with turnip greens. She washed them and cooked them.

 

I checked email and my blog.

 

I read some more in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It is a very good book. I am enjoying it. I only wish it was not so long. I have lots of other books I would like to read too.

 

Hope and I walked up to the mailbox and got today’s mail.

 

Mom cooked cornbread. I ate cornbread and leftover collard greens with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

Tonight Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman come on. I will be watching television.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I started reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and stayed up until 11:00 last night. Hope licked my face and woke me at 7:45 this morning. I took her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. Mom asked me if I wanted some toast, I said yes. I ate two pieces of toast and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I turned Hope loose after she did her morning business.

 

Mom was ironing clothes. I used my new razor and got razor burns under my arms. I am not used to an electric razor. I took my shower. I got dressed in a new outfit I bought at Target Friday.

 

Mom had me help and we tried to put the weather stripping on the doors. It would not work. I had tried to tell her I did not think it would, but she is stubborn and does things anyway.

 

I drank several cups of coffee with vanilla syrup before noon.

 

Mom got the outdoor Christmas lights out. I replaced the bulbs that were missing. She strung them around the outside of the screened front porch. Mom also put more balls, more icicles, and tinsel on the tree on the porch.

 

I walked up to the mailbox with Hope. I thought we might have checked the mail too early yesterday, but there was no mail in the box. I stopped and talked to our neighbors for a while before walking home.

 

Mom cooked ham. I had a ham, cheese, and homegrown tomato sandwich and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

Alicia’s children were visiting her and we met them. Mom decided to give both of them a hand painted angel and gave the little girl a Christmas tea set. I decided to give her a Fisher Price Doodle Toy. I had to move a lot of stuff that was piled on top of the toy. I put the bags on my bed. I took the things up to James’ house and gave them to the kids. They were very appreciative. I drove back home. Mom told me that Hope cried the whole time I was gone.

 

I went through the bags of stuff and stacked it neatly without the bags back in the place it came from. It sits between my bed and a chair that is full of stuff. My room is very cluttered because it is the only place I have to put things. I guess I need to completely stop buying stuff and get rid of some of the stuff I have.

 

James’ ex-wife, Linda, came to visit us. I continued to work on my room and brought the bags out to put in our recycling bag. Linda wanted to know if I was hoarding bags. Mom told her no the bags had had stuff in them. Linda said Hope was mean. I did not like that because Hope is not mean. She is just troublesome. She is not a mean spirited dog. Linda is the most unhappy person I have ever known. She simply hates her life. Seems like the medicine she is on would help her be more pleasant, but it does not. She says she wishes she were not here. I wonder if she is suicidal. I hope she is okay, but I really dislike being around her.

 

I stripped my bed and washed the sheets. That is a major undertaking because the bed is wedged between things. Linda left and Mom and I talked about how miserable she is.

 

I set up Mom’s medicine for the next two weeks. It took about an hour to do that.

 

I ate leftover collard greens and cornbread with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I got the sheets out of the dryer and made my bed. It took a long time to do it. I usually just leave the bedclothes as they are after I sleep on them. I rarely make the bed. Hope was in the middle of my bed making. She would not stay out of the way. I think she found it interesting that I made the bed.

 

I am going to read a little bit in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

 

I hope everyone had a good weekend and hope that the week goes well for each of you.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:00 this morning. I took Hope and tied her up in the kitchen/laundry room. I ate a piece of pecan pie and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose. Mom was gone off with June.

 

I checked email and for comments on the blog.

 

I drank several cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I listened to my iPod in my Bose SoundDock.

 

I washed a load of blue clothes. I unloaded the dishwasher. I cleaned my bathroom. I washed a load of white clothes with towels.

 

I addressed some of Mom’s Christmas cards.

 

Mom came home. She and June replaced the gingerbread cookies that came in the Christmas cookie jars with other cookies. I like the gingerbread cookies so I did not see the sense in doing it.

 

Alex called. He is not coming home for Thanksgiving. He is trying to decide whether to come home for Christmas and New Year’s Day. His CD/DVD drive on his computer is not working. He may have to send it off to be worked on. He has a three-year warranty on it through Best Buy. I hope he can get it fixed quickly.

 

I ate a bologna, cheese, and homegrown tomato sandwich and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I addressed some more of Mom’s Christmas cards.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I went to bed at about 11:30 last night because I chatted with Alex a while. I woke up at 8:30 this morning. I carried Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate a doughnut and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I turned Hope loose. I drank a couple of cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I checked the refrigerator and it was at thirty-nine degrees. I am so happy it is working now. I just hope the part actually fixed it.

 

Mom packed the cooler while I drank my coffee. I got dressed in a long sleeved shirt and had to change to a short sleeve because I was too hot. Mom did some measurements of the doors and then looked for a small measuring tape. She could not find it. I tied Hope on her leash. We packed the Explorer and left for town.

 

We went to Lowes and Mom bought some weather stripping to go around the doors. She also bought a strip to go across a joint in the linoleum. We went to Target. I bought some clothes, three Christmas dog shirts, and a bottle of Downy. We went to Sam’s and picked up our medicine. We shopped the store. I purchased The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, which is Oprah’s new book club selection. I also purchased a package of dog toys and some bottled water. My bottles I have been refilling are getting old so I wanted to replace them. We went to Wal-Mart. I bought several grocery items and a Remington electric razor for myself. I have been using blades for several years, but the shaving cream and blades are quite expensive. An electric razor may be more cost effective. I am going to try it anyway.

 

When we got home I let Hope loose. We unpacked the Explorer. I put my razor on the charger.

 

I watched some of Oprah and Dr. Phil. Oprah’s show was about hoarders and I can relate. I have a lot of stuff. My room is very cluttered. I really should get rid of some of this stuff. It would probably make me feel better.

 

I ate a piece of the pecan pie I bought at Wal-Mart. Mom made cornbread. I warmed collard greens. I ate collard greens and a piece of cornbread with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for late lunch and supper.

 

I checked email and tried to log into MSN. It took over twenty minutes to log in so I called MSN tech support. They had me do some things to the computer and it seemed to resolve the issue. I spent about an hour and a half with tech support.

 

Mom bathed Hope and I brushed her out.

 

I am quite tired so I may go to bed early.

 

I hope you all have a good weekend. I am looking forward to relaxing some.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:15, took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room, and tied her up. I ate a biscuit and sausage with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose after she did her morning business.

 

I checked email and for comments on my blog.

 

The refrigerator was up to almost seventy degrees. I asked Mom if she thought someone from the church could put the defrost heater in. She called James and asked if he could come do it. He came down. It took us about an hour and a half to get the freezer defrosted enough that he could get to the part. It only took a few minutes to put the part in. The refrigerator seems to be working fine now. I am so glad it is finally fixed. We will not know for sure that it is working right until a week or two passes.

 

I ate a few gingerbread cookies and skipped lunch.

 

I wrote Mom’s Thanksgiving cards for her and my carpal tunnel syndrome started bothering me. I went to my closet hoping to find my braces. I did not find them, but found eight boxes of Christmas cards. I decided I should send Christmas cards this year. I addressed fourteen cards. I told Mom I needed to have her cards so that I could start addressing them. I addressed twelve Christmas cards for her.

 

I ate leftover salmon patties with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I took a shower and the hot water felt great to my wrist.

 

Alex is online so I am chatting with him. He was very angry earlier today, but now he is in a better mood.

 

I do not have a lot to say this evening. I hope all of you are having a good week.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I went to bed at 9:45 last night. I was so tired. Mom called me at 7:20 this morning. I did not want to get up so I let her call me a second time and got up at 7:25. Hope was in the floor wanting to leave our room. I picked her up, took her to the kitchen/laundry room, and tied her up. I ate a doughnut and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I got dressed and packed the cooler. I put my library books in a tote.

 

June called Mom and was ready to go to the auto shop. Mom brought the Explorer down to the back door and we loaded it up. I drove to June’s house then followed her almost to the shop. I turned into the shop and she drove past it. She turned around and came back. We left the car at the shop, took June in the Explorer, and went to the library. I turned in some books and picked up three. We went to the gas company where Mom paid for the propane that was delivered to our house yesterday. We went to June’s bank where she closed out an account. We went to June’s daughter’s bank where she deposited the check. We went to Old Time Pottery for Mom to get some sheers to match curtains she bought a couple of weeks ago. She did not find exactly what she wanted, but got something she thought would do. June did some Christmas shopping. I bought some dog toys. We went to Monterrey to eat lunch. I had not had quesadilla fajitas steak in several weeks so it was very good. We went to Sam’s Club. Mom and June bought cookie jars to give as Christmas gifts.

 

We went back to the auto shop. The owner of the shop told June that her car did not act up while he was driving it. He said that he could only guess at what was wrong with it. He suggested trying a couple of parts. When she asked what she owed he said nothing. She will have to wait until Friday to bring the car back. We loaded her purchases into her car. She tried to give me twenty dollars for what we had done and I gave it back to her.

 

We drove home. I turned Hope loose when we got there. James called while we were unloading the Explorer. He was coming down to get Mom’s tractor, charge it, and work on it.

 

I read some in Becoming A Professional Life Coach by Patrick Williams and Diane S. Menendez.

 

I checked my email and found Alex online. I asked him about the Marine Corps Birthday Ball and he told me he did not want to talk about it. I guess it did not go well for some reason. I wish he would tell me what happened. We chatted a few minutes. He was not responding very quickly when I wrote something. Hope started bothering Penny so I had to tie her up. When I came back, Alex was offline. He had to go to work.

 

Mom came home. I watched part of Oprah and some of Dr. Phil with her. She fixed salmon patties for supper. I enjoyed eating them.

 

I watched some of the news and then read some more in Becoming A Professional Life Coach.

 

I am still feeling very tired and my back hurts. I overdid it helping James with the wood. I am hoping we can take it easy tomorrow. I need the rest.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:15 and took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room to tie her up. I ate a doughnut with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I untied Hope after she did her morning business.

 

James called and said he was going to work with the wood again. I got dressed to help. James called when he headed to the field and Mom and I walked down there. We loaded the wood we split yesterday onto the truck and trailer. I chained up what was left of the tree and James pulled it out with the tractor. Mom sent me to the house to get water for her. It was a good thing I went when I did because we had forgotten to cut off the stove. The cornbread in the oven was almost burnt. I took the cornbread out and turned the oven off. I carried Mom a flavored bottled water and James a car cup full of ice water. We rode up to James’ house and stacked the wood so he could get to it easily. We rode back down to the field on the four-wheeler, which had the chainsaw on it and was towing the wood splitter.

 

I went to the house and talked to one of my friends on the phone. I drank some water and checked to see if Alex was online. I was hoping to chat with him and find out how the Marine Corps Birthday Ball went. He was not online. I called the library and renewed my books. I have to take two to the library tomorrow or get charged overdue fees.

 

I went back down to the field and James was almost finished cutting up the tree. The chainsaw would not start so he was taking a break. After two tries, he got the chainsaw started and cut up the last of the tree. He decided to break for lunch. We all went to eat.

 

Mom and I ate turnip greens and cornbread for lunch. James called to say he was going back to the field before we could relax any. We went back down to the field and Alicia was with James. We loaded the last of the split wood on the truck. James moved the truck so that the trailer was not far from the splitter. We split the big logs. There were fifteen of them and seven and a half filled the trailer. We stacked the rest of what we split in the field.

 

We rode up to James’ house and stacked the wood off the truck and trailer. James says he has enough wood for a hard winter. We will not worry about him being cold.

 

James stored the splitter in Mom’s barn and we came home.

 

Mom cut collard greens and cooked them.

 

I tried to relax. I checked email and saw that Alex still was not online. I have not heard from him since Saturday. He was having computer problems then.

 

I took a shower. I also took four Advil because my back is hurting terribly.

 

I ate leftover lasagna with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I watched some of the news. The drought coverage is worrying to me. We have a chance of rain tomorrow and I sincerely hope we get it.

 

I am very tired. I am going to try to relax the rest of the evening. Maybe I can read some.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 7:55 but went back to sleep because I did not want to get up out of the warm bed. I got up at 9:00. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her on her leash. I ate a cupcake and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose, but she attacked Penny so I tied her back up.

 

I talked to Mom and helped her play Spider Solitaire. I thought she would already be gone because she and June were supposed to go out. June was waiting for her son to call and tell her when he would come to pick up the living room furniture Mom and I are giving him.

 

I checked email and did some blog surfing. I found out Norman Mailer had died at 84 years old and was a little saddened by it. I feel he was one of the most talented writers of our times. I read The Castle In The Forest earlier this year and felt it was a brilliant work of art. Even though it was about Hitler, it was incredibly imagined. I was hoping he would live to write some of the works he hinted at doing in that book.

 

June came over about 11:30. She said that her son would come around 2:30. She and Mom went to town.

 

I read in Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

 

I went out to the storage building and moved some of the stuff that was blocking the path to the furniture outside.

 

I wrote an entry about the 232nd Marine Corps Birthday on my blog.

 

I picked Hope up and carried her around for a while. I let her loose and within minutes she was after Penny so I tied her up again.

 

I ate a bologna, cheese, and homegrown tomato sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch. It was very good.

 

I read some more in Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

 

James came by and I told him that Mom was not home. I told him that she and June had gone to Sam’s and June’s son was supposed to come get the furniture at 2:30, but it was nearly 4:00 and they had not shown up. He said they must have done something else.

 

About 4:30 June and Mom and June’s son, Terry, came around to the storage building. I went out and helped them move the rest of the stuff that was in the way outside. I helped load the furniture onto the truck. I brought the phone out to Mom and told her she should call James to see what he wanted. She called him and he told her he had something for her. She and June drove up to get it. I told Terry about Freecycle. I think he might be able to get some furniture through the organization. He does not have a bed. I hate knowing he is in need and not being able to do something about it. Mom came back with a walking stick that opens up into a knife. I told her it was not such a good idea because she was more apt to get hurt by it than defend herself with it. She asked me to go out to eat with them, but I said there were leftovers here and I would stay home. I need to save what money I have left for the month. Eating out is a luxury I can little afford.

 

I ate leftover turnip greens with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I put Penny in Mom’s room and let Hope loose.

 

I read some more in Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

 

Mom came home and gave me the leftovers from her meal. I enjoyed the fish, slaw, hushpuppies, and half of baked potato. She also shared some peanut brittle with me. We gave some small pieces to the dogs and they loved it. Penny was begging for more.

 

I finished reading Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I enjoyed this book a great deal. I feel that the practice of mindfulness that it recommends could transform each of us and our world. It is a long book, but I would recommend it highly.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

Today is the 232nd Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. It is a proud moment for all our Marines. Take a moment to be thankful for the men and women who keep us safe.

 

Semper Fi,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 7:25. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate two cupcakes and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I went back to bed and slept until 10:15. I had some strange dreams while I slept this morning, but I do not really remember them.

 

Mom had already given Penny a bath. She trimmed Hope’s feet and gave her a bath. I put Hope’s Lil’ Monster tee shirt that Mom gave us on.

 

I drank four cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I checked my email and for comments on my blog.

 

Mom wanted me to help with decorating the Christmas tree. I was totally against it because I do not think Christmas trees should be put up before Thanksgiving. However, I did help her by putting hangers on ornaments. I put the boxes the trees came out of back into storage.

 

I ate a bologna, cheese, and homegrown tomato sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

Hope and I walked up to the mailbox and got the mail. When we got about halfway up the driveway Mom was making motions for us to hurry. As we got closer, I saw she was talking on the phone. I gave her Hope and the mail and took the phone. It was Alex. He was talking about the Marine Corps Birthday. He talked about the story I had sent him that he had started working on. We talked about the water wars here in Georgia. The endangered species seem to be more important than the people of Georgia are. We talked about the presidential elections. He does not think much of any of the candidates. We talked about how happy he is that he is a Marine. He told me he did not intend to spend any time with Richard, his father, over the holidays. Alex is outdone with Richard because he has done hardly anything for Alex. We talked about three hours. He was using the computer to call me. He is almost out of minutes on his cell phone and is saving those minutes for emergency use.

 

I took a shower. I ate leftover turnip greens and cornbread with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

I chatted with Alex a few minutes. He was praising Yoda, because he was watching Star Wars. Yoda has always been one of his favorite characters. He said, "He’s the boss of all bosses. You can’t fight Yoda and WIN; you just don’t LOSE if you’re really LUCKY." I agreed that Yoda is fantastic.

 

I checked email and deleted unwanted email.

 

I watched some of the news and Insider. Then I watched Deal or No Deal with Mom.

 

Tomorrow is a big day for Alex because it is the Marine Corps 232nd Birthday. The ball on Monday is the big event, but tomorrow is an important day to Alex because he is so proud to be a Marine.

 

Hope has been loose today and we have been able to keep her from bothering Penny too much. I wish she would act this good all the time. I would not have to tie her up so much were she this good.

 

I am thankful:

 

1. Mom is well.
2. Mom gave me the Lil’ Monster tee shirt for Hope.
3. I gave James the Merle Haggard CDs as an early Christmas present.
4. I bought some new CDs for myself.
5. I had Alex’s files and could send them to him so that he could work on his stories.
6. I had money for groceries.
7. Alex called me today.
8. I bought a two-foot leash for Hope and she is much easier to walk with it.
9. I had enough money to pay the insurance on the Buick.
10. My computer works well even though it is getting old.

 

Always,

Jo Ann