I woke up at 7:30. Hope was licking my face. I picked her up and carried her 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 let Hope loose.

 

I checked email and comments on my blog.

 

I drank several cups of coffee with vanilla syrup throughout the morning.

 

I spent time with Mom. I called AARP Medicare RX about a prescription that was denied at the pharmacy for her. I found out that it required prior authorization. I called her doctor and was on hold for forty-five minutes. I called another office and got through. I asked them to get the doctor to call AARP Medicare RX and do the authorization. They said the drug store should have sent them a message saying the drug required prior authorization. I told the lady that sometime our pharmacy made us do the work because they had told me to call the insurance company. Sam’s pharmacy is not always the most helpful of pharmacies. Hopefully, the doctor will call and get the drug approved. It is for Mom’s night cramps, which are very bad.

 

I spent some time on the internet and the phone researching ways to find aid for Mom for next year when she is in the Medicare Part D coverage gap. I was not able to find anything.

 

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

 

I ate turnip greens and cornbread with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

Alex called and said he would only have 96 hours at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. He is going to save his leave for right before he is deployed to Iraq. I am not happy that he will not be spending more time with us over the holidays. I did not tell him that though because I want him to do what he feels is the right thing for him to do.

 

Mom brought two Christmas trees in out of storage and set them up on the porch. I am not at all ready to decorate. I think Christmas trees should go up no earlier than Thanksgiving. We keep our tree in the living room covered until Thanksgiving. I just am really not much into the holidays anymore. I like being with family during the holidays, but mostly they are just days like any other. Mom is all into Christmas. I really do not understand her feelings. After Alex grew up and is not into Christmas so much I am not either. Mom says I do not get anything out of Christmas because I do not put anything into it. Maybe she is right. I just think there is too much commercialism over the whole thing and I do not see it. I see no reason to start selling Christmas in stores before Halloween.

 

Mom cooked eggs and toast for supper. It was nice.

 

I did not write on my NanoWriMo novel today. I may give up on it because I cannot come up with anything to write. Maybe I just am not cut out to be a novelist.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 7:15 with Hope licking my face. I took her 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 talked to Mom a few minutes before she left with June to get her massage.

 

It was quite cold outside. I am so glad the temperatures are getting cooler. I do not like 100-degree weather. I would like us to get some more rain so that the drought would ease up, but that does not seem to be in the forecast.

 

I let Hope loose, but she started attacking Penny so I tied her back up.

 

I drank a couple of cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I read over the last few pages of my NanoWriMo novel and tried to get some idea where the story was going. I wrote a sentence or two and was stuck again.

 

I started reading No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty the founder of NanoWriMo. I read this book a few years ago, but thought it might give me some inspiration now. I found I should have started reading it last month. It goes through the preparation for NanoWriMo.

 

I picked Hope up and carried her around the house for a while. I drank some more coffee with vanilla syrup and let Hope loose. She was only loose a few minutes when she started tormenting Penny so I used a treat to get her to come to me and tied her back up.

 

I read some more of No Plot? No Problem! I drank some more coffee with vanilla syrup. I wrote a few more sentences on my novel.

 

I checked email and wrote a couple of replies.

 

I ate a leftover biscuit and sausage with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

I read some more of No Plot? No Problem! and wrote a couple of sentences on my novel.

 

I picked Hope up again and carried her around the house with me. I sat her down on my bed and sat down at the computer. I went to the Mystery Guild website and declined my main selections so that the club will not send me any books. Hope got down and I soon heard Penny barking at her. I tied Hope up again.

 

Mom came home. She had a nice time out. She went up to James’ house. She came back in a while with turnip greens and the leaf blower. She started blowing the leaves and pine straw off the driveway.

 

I started chatting with Alex. Last night I sent Alex the files of his story Never and his completed novel NobleBoy. I read over Never and was very impressed with the story. He had deleted both these files. I asked him if he had looked at the files yet. He said he had not been able to look at the files because he was defragmenting his hard drive. He did not know I had a copy of NobleBoy and was glad. He completed that novel while he was still in high school. He was not working today because the entire base is doing a motivational run tomorrow morning. He gets a lot of time off, much more than he would in a civilian job. The great thing is he gets paid even for his time off. He is still very happy to be a Marine. He is looking forward to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball next Monday.

 

I took some water out to Mom while she was blowing the leaves. It was getting cold and I thought she should come in, but I knew she would not listen to me so I did not say anything.

 

Hope and I drove up to the mailbox and picked up the day’s mail. I let Hope loose when we got back.

 

A few minutes later Mom came inside and started cleaning the turnip greens. She asked me to find the big soup pot. I looked in the cabinets and finally found it. I got it out and sat it on the stove.

 

I cooked a Lean Cuisine meal. James called and asked if I would like some doughnuts. I said yes and he said come up and get them. I drove up to his house and he gave me an almost full package of doughnuts. I carried them home. Mom ate a doughnut along with her cereal. I ate my Lean Cuisine meal and a doughnut afterward.

 

I chatted with Alex some more. He says my story has too many parallels with my life. I asked him if he thought that was why I was having so much trouble writing it. He said not necessarily. I think maybe I should introduce something completely different into the story. I will try that tomorrow.

 

For now I will say goodnight.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 9:00 this morning. Hope was sick on my pillow before I could get her out of the bed. I took her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I had two cup cakes and a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose after she had done her morning business.

 

I called the library to renew my books.

 

Mom came in with turnip greens from James’ garden. She cooked the turnip greens, corn bread, and chicken tenderloins for lunch. 

 

She called James to see if he was going to go load up the wood he had cut. He was watching Jerry Springer and said he was not quite ready to go yet. He called back in a few minutes saying he was ready. I tied Hope up so that she would not bother Penny or destroy the house while we were gone. We went down to the field and helped him load the truck. It was full when we got finished. We went up to his house and stacked the wood so that it would be available for him this winter. He drove us back. I had to go down to the field and get Mom’s jacket. She had forgotten it.

 

I let Hope loose.

 

I rested a little while and then ate lunch. It was delicious.

 

I read some email and my blog buddies blogs. I read over my NanoWriMo novel but could not come up with anything to write. I am badly stuck. At least I managed to write 6725 words. That is better than I have ever done before.

 

I washed my pillow along with a load of whites and towels.

 

I took the CD set I bought yesterday up to James. I told him it was an early Christmas present. He liked it.

 

I sat down with Mom and watched Doctor Phil. I do not usually sit through his show but this one interested me.

 

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

 

I watched the news. It worries me that there have been more US casualties in Iraq this year than in any previous one. I am worried about Alex going over there in February.

 

Alex had instant messaged me that he was not going to get to come home until November 23. I sent him a message back. He did not answer for about thirty minutes. He says he will leave about 4:00 in the afternoon on the 23rd. I am looking forward to seeing him. We have chatted a while.

 

It is getting late so I am posting this.

 

Hope you are having a great week.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 7:15 with Hope licking my face. I took her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate a piece of apple cinnamon bread and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I was still sleepy so I went back to bed. I slept until 8:45.

 

Mom cooked biscuits, sausage, and bacon. She asked me to call James to see if he was home. I called and the line was busy. I said I would call back in a minute to see if he was actually at home. I called and the answering machine came on meaning that he was not at home.

 

I read my email and checked the blog for comments.

 

James came up in his truck and told Mom I owed him $97.31 for the insurance on the Buick. When Mom told me I took a $100.00 bill from my emergency money and gave it to him. He told us we should not let the dogs wear clothes all the time because it would break their hair and possibly cause ingrown hairs. I took Hope’s military outfit off and took the baby tee shirt off Penny. Mom went with James to cut a tree.

 

I wrote a check to Mom.

 

I wrote a few words on my NanoWriMo novel and printed out a copy of it.

 

I ate a biscuit with sausage, some bacon, and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch. I packed a cooler because we had to go to town for Mom’s doctor appointment. Mom put the check in her purse. Mom came home from helping James and said that the tree would not fall. We tied Hope up and Mom brought the Explorer down while I packed my tote bag.

 

We drove to the doctor’s office and got there at 1:30. Mom’s appointment was at 2:00. At 2:10 the nurse called Mom back to the exam room. We told her Mom was there for a follow-up appointment because she was sick a week before. Mom told her she was doing much better, but still had a little cough. The doctor came in, checked Mom’s lungs, and said they were clear. We asked if she could get the pneumonia shot. The doctor said yes so the nurse came back in and gave Mom the shot.

 

We went to the bank and Mom cashed the check I had given her. We went by Best Buy and I purchased The Very Best Of Mick Jagger and Patriotic Country 2. We went to Sam’s bought a box of Life cereal, a Merle Haggard CD set for James, and picked up my medicine. We went to Wal-Mart and I bought groceries plus Bruce Springsteen Magic and Eagles Long Road Out of Eden.

 

We got home about 6:30 and brought in our purchases. I ate some of the spicy sausage Mom cooked and two cupcakes with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

Hope ate my shoe strings on my good shoes and tore the eyes out of one of my collectible bears. She is a terrorist dog extraordinaire.

 

I read over yesterday’s work on my NanoWriMo novel and checked my email. I did not complete the word count for the day on my NanoWriMo novel.

 

Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman came on and I watched them.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

Hope woke me up by licking my face at 7:45 this morning. I took her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate six chocolate cookies and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast.

 

Mom wanted to give Hope a bath, so she bathed her and I blew her dry. Mom bathed Penny and blew her dry. She dressed Penny in a baby shirt and I dressed Hope in her military outfit.

 

I drank three cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

Mom asked if I still wanted to go to K-Mart. I said yes. She asked if I wanted to take the dogs with us and go by PetSmart. I said sure they can go. I packed a cooler, we put leashes on the dogs, and loaded up the Explorer. I went in K-Mart to get a 2GB San Disk SD Card which was on sale. I wanted to get two but they only had one. I saw a graphic tee that I thought Alex would like and put it in the buggy. I went over to the underwear and found some Joe Boxer boxer shorts for Alex. Mom picked up some Halloween stuff on clearance. I paid for my purchases and went to the Explorer. Hope was in my seat and I had to put her with Mom. We drove over to PetSmart. I found a red two-foot leash for Hope and got her a sturdy collar. Mom got a purple two-foot leash and collar for Penny. I picked up three toys for Hope. Hope visited with lots of people in the store. She is very friendly. We spent a while in the store then paid for our purchases.

 

We drove home. Mom had me leave the Explorer out of the shed because she was going to wash it. Mom gave me a Halloween cup. June called and wanted her to go to town with her. Mom asked me to put the Explorer away. I took Hope with me and drove it around to the shed. Mom asked me if I wanted to go with them and I said no because I needed to vacuum the house, fix her medicine, and work on my NanoWriMo novel. She left with June.

 

I picked up all the dog toys and vacuumed the house. I called Leigh hoping she would come fix my refrigerator, but she did not answer her phone. My refrigerator temperature is up to sixty degrees. I checked email and wrote some replies.

 

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

 

I worked on my NanoWriMo novel. I read over what I had already written trying to get some idea of where the story should go.

 

I fixed Mom’s medicine for the next two weeks.

 

I walked Hope up to Highway 5 and back on her new leash. It is much more comfortable than the old one.

 

I worked on my NanoWriMo novel.

 

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

 

Mom came home. June’s car had given trouble while they were out. I helped Mom get her stuff in.

 

I worked on my NanoWriMo novel.

 

I finally finished my word count for today.

 

It was dark and I helped Mom find something she had lost in the Explorer.

 

I wrote this entry and am posting it very late.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

The phone rang at 6:00 and woke Hope and I. I tried to go back to sleep, but Hope insisted that it was time to get up by licking my face. I stumbled out of bed at 6:20 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her on her leash. I looked around the house for Mom, but she was not inside. I went out on the porch and found her waiting in the dark for June. I went back inside to eat a leftover biscuit and sausage and drink a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola. I asked Mom to come inside with me. She was afraid June would drive up if she came inside. She stayed in the driveway and we talked very loud to hear one another. I asked her if they were going to Dillsboro, North Carolina and she did not know. I asked her if they were staying overnight and she did not know. June pulled up at about 6:50. She decided they should go in the Explorer because her car went dead coming down the drive. Her car is having problems and she has no idea what is wrong with it. I told them I did not know how good the MapQuest directions would be, but that I hoped they would get them where they wanted to go. They packed their stuff into the Explorer and left at about 7:00.

 

I drank some coffee with vanilla syrup and tried to convince myself it was a good idea to stay up. I checked email and for comments on the blog.

 

I read over my NanoWriMo novel and started working on my word count for the day.

 

I called James at about 9:00 and asked him how he was doing. He said good. I asked if there was anything I could do for him. He said no. We said bye. I love my brother dearly, but our conversations are almost non-existent.

 

I picked Hope up and carried her around the house in my arms for several minutes. Then I tied her back up.

 

I worked on my novel and updated my information on the NanoWriMo site. I read some email.

 

I called Leigh and talked to her briefly. I told her that the part for the refrigerator had come. She said she would call me later.

 

I picked Hope up and carried her for a while. Then I tied her back up so she would not bother Penny and so I could write.

 

I worked on my NanoWriMo novel some more.

 

Mom called around 2:00 and said they were enjoying themselves in Dillsboro. She did not know whether they would be coming home or spending the night. She asked about the dogs and I told her Hope had been tied up most of the day. She said I could put Penny in her room, shut the gate, and turn Hope loose.

 

When I got off the phone, I called Penny back to Mom’s room and put her on the bed. I shut the gate so Hope could not get to her and turned Hope loose.

 

I worked on my novel. I finally finished writing my word count for the day. I have completed 5,150 words. It is very slow going for me because I am figuring everything about the story out as I go along. My characters talk and I discover who they are.

 

I ate a leftover biscuit and sausage with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch.

 

Hope and I drove up to the mailbox and retrieved the day’s mail.

 

I took my shower.

 

I edited my novel. I know they suggest you leave the editing until you finish NanoWriMo, but some simple edits hurt nothing.

 

I tied Hope up so Penny could get out of the bedroom.

 

Reba, my best friend, called and we talked about thirty minutes. She has been very busy and has not called in a while. I told her about NanoWriMo and she was glad I am writing a book. She has always believed I could tell a story. She said she and her husband, Rob, are going to write a book about wrestling road-trips in January.

 

Mom and June returned about 8:00. Mom was very tired and said she was not going to church in the morning. She brought me a beautiful cup. I let Hope loose.

 

I ate a barbequed venison sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola. Mom ate a tenderloin barbeque sandwich.

 

I hope you all are having a good weekend.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up to Hope licking my face at 8:00 this morning. Mom was in the kitchen cooking biscuits when I took Hope to tie her up. Mom asked me to look for the sausage because she thought she had a box, but could not find it. I looked in her freezer and did not find it. Then I looked in the big freezer and found it on the top shelf behind the chocolate cake and under some other packages. We got it out and she started cooking it. June called wanting Mom to spend the day out with her. When the biscuits, sausage, and bacon were done Mom took some up to James. I ate a sausage biscuit and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast.

 

I let Hope loose. Mom came home after about forty-five minutes. James had wanted her to stay with him while he ate two biscuits. Mom called June, but she did not answer.

 

I went to my room and checked email. I had many to read.

 

I called Mom’s doctor’s office to get the results of the x-ray she had taken Monday. I had to leave a message for the nurse.

 

June called and Mom readied herself to go to town. I hung around with her until June came. I talked to June and saw the Christmas presents she had bought for her family at Sam’s yesterday evening. June did not want to drive Mom’s Explorer because someone had backed into it in a parking lot last week. I told her she should drive it so they could stock up on more presents. As they left Hope started attacking Penny and I had to hurry to the front porch to separate them.

 

I tied Hope up. I went to my room and sat down at the computer. I pulled up my NanoWriMo novel and read through it. I was stuck with no idea where to go next.

 

I drank five cups of coffee with vanilla syrup during the morning.

 

I called James and asked him if he had received the premium notice for the insurance policy on my car. He said yes, and that he would get to it next week. He asked if Mom was gone. I told him yes. He asked if I knew where they were going. I told him they had went to town to do some Christmas shopping. He said, "My gosh. It is too early to be Christmas shopping. I don’t start mine until after Thanksgiving." I told him Mom had most of hers done already. They were mainly shopping for June’s family today.

 

I called Satia who is doing NanoWriMo and is in my JournalWriting group. I left a message on her machine. I printed off my NanoWriMo novel and re-read it a couple of times. I liked the story that I had written, but did not know what happened next.

 

The doctor’s office called and said they had the test results, but the doctor had not read them yet. They could not tell me if Mom had pneumonia or not. They said they would call back later.

 

Satia called and we talked quite a while. She suggested if I did not know exactly what to say next in my novel to simply skip ahead to a part I did have some idea about already. I thought this sounded like good advice.

 

I picked up the printout and read over my NanoWriMo novel a few more times. I went to the computer and began typing what I thought was the next scene and the story began to flow again albeit slowly. I am not a quick typist.

 

I checked email and read some entries on a blog to which I was directed. I was conscious I was avoiding working on my novel. I went back to the novel and typed a few more paragraphs.

 

The phone rang and I was glad for the interruption. It was the doctor’s office saying Mom’s x-ray results were normal. I was happy because that meant she did not have pneumonia.

 

I went back to my novel and typed a few more paragraphs after reading over what I had written.

 

Penny barked, so I went to the front porch to see if Mom was home. The meter reader’s truck came around the house. I went back to my room and sat down at the computer. I read over what I had written from the beginning. I typed a few sentences.

 

I let Hope loose. I started eating a biscuit with sausage with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for a late lunch.

 

In a few minutes, Penny started barking and I went to the porch. Mom, June, and Nathan got out of the Explorer. I picked Hope up and took her back to the kitchen/laundry room to tie her up. Mom said she was going to show June the furniture that we wanted to give to her son and his family. She went through the house and got the key to the storage building. She walked out to the storage building and called June to come out back. I finished my biscuit with sausage. After several minutes, I walked out to where they were looking at the atlas. I asked what they were doing and they said they were looking for Dillsboro, North Carolina, but they could not find it on the map. I said if they had no idea what it was near that I could not find it either. We walked back around to the front of the house. As we went I asked June if she liked the furniture. She said it was lovely, that her son and his family would love to have it. I was glad because the furniture had been being saved for me and I wanted them to have it. June showed me the things she had bought for her family today. Mom had bought some things too. I helped her get her stuff in the house. She gave me a Subway sandwich. I told her I had just eaten so I would leave the sandwich for supper. June and Nathan left.

 

I untied Hope. Mom suggested I MapQuest Dillsboro, North Carolina after she talked to her friend Joy. I got directions from Douglasville to Dillsboro and printed them out for her. I asked why they wanted to go to Dillsboro. She told me Joy had said it was a nice town to visit with lots of neat shops and a train ride to another little town with nice shops. She and June are planning to leave for there at 6:00 in the morning.

 

Hope got a medicine bottle and ran under the table with it. I took it away when I gave her a treat.

 

I tried to work on my novel some more, but it was very slow going. Hope started gnawing on the books I have stacked in the bedroom floor. I picked her up and took her out of the room.

 

Mom asked if the doctor’s office had called. I told her the test results were normal and she did not have pneumonia. She seemed somewhat better today. She was not coughing as much.

 

I finally finished over 1600 words on my novel. I printed a copy of the new pages.

 

I ate my Subway sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper. Hope started attacking Penny and I was going to tie her up again, but Mom asked me not to do so. Hope is in rare terrorist dog form tonight.

 

I wonder if you all would like to read my NanoWriMo novel. I am thinking of posting it here, but I am writing it in Word and those documents do not transcribe to the blog well. I will have to give it some thought. I do not want to bore you with something long.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

Hope and I woke up at 7:00 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate seven chocolate cookies and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. Mom was still here so I talked to her a few minutes. I went back to bed because I was still sleepy.

 

I woke up at 10:45. Hope was crying to be let loose so I untied her. She went after Penny’s ears so I tied her back up.

 

I drank four cups of coffee with vanilla syrup. I drank the coffee fast to get four cups in before noon.

 

I checked email and made some replies.

 

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

 

I contemplated making another necklace for Mom, but decided against it.

 

I ate a bologna, cheese, and homegrown tomato sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch. The tomato was the last we have in the house. I hope there will be a few more off the vines, but it is late to harvest any.

 

I worked on my NanoWriMo novel. I am stuck now and do not know where to go with the story next. I hope I will be inspired when I come back to it tomorrow.

 

Hope and I walked to the mailbox. I turned her loose when we returned to the house, but she would not leave Penny alone so I tied her back up.

 

I am thankful:

 

1. That James tied off the necklace I restrung for Mom yesterday.
2. For the extra time I had to sleep today.
3. That I was able to mow the lawn this week.
4. That I finished my HP Learning Center classes.
5. That Alex’s inspection went well.
6. For the books I picked up at the library this week.
7. That Mom is a little better tonight.
8. For warm showers.
9. That I am free to do as I like most of the time.
10. For moments of inspiration.

 

Mom came home about 7:00 and I helped her bring her stuff into the house. She brought three sacks of apples from her trip. She gave me a Whopper for supper. I was very happy to have it. I had not come up with anything I wanted to eat so it was a nice surprise.

 

I read more in Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. I like to think I am becoming more mindful because of this book. I am at least more aware of the time when I am not mindful.

 

I let Hope loose. Mom and I kept her away from Penny. She is lying on my bed as I type.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

Hope woke me at 7:45 this morning. She was licking my face. I carried her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate a bowl of Lucky Charms and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I untied Hope.

 

June called and needed us to follow her to the auto shop to leave her car and bring her home. Mom had to get dressed before we could leave because she was about to take a bath when June called. I tied Hope up so she would not get into trouble while we were gone. We went to June’s house and Mom got in her car to ride to the shop. I followed them. June left the car and we carried her home.

 

Mom told me June wanted to go out to lunch when we went and picked her up to retrieve her car. I told Mom I could not pay for lunch. She said June had offered to pay for my lunch. We arrived home and Mom took her bath. I untied Hope and petted her some.

 

I checked email and wrote some replies.

 

Mom wanted to wear one of the necklaces I had made for her. I went to put it on and the knot came undone. I started restringing the beads.

 

Mom called June and they decided it was time for us to leave to go for lunch. I tied Hope up. We drove to June’s house and picked her up. We discussed where to eat on the way and decided to go to New China, which is a Chinese buffet. When we got there, Mom went to the bathroom because she had something on her shoe. She spent about twenty minutes in the bathroom. I went ahead and ate, but June waited on Mom. She came out and they filled their plates. I had a second serving of noodles and veggies.

 

We finished eating and took June to the auto shop. We had to leave because it was getting close to time for Mom’s appointment. We arrived at the office several minutes early. I read a couple of chapters in Coming To Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mom had a 1:45 appointment but we did not go back to see the doctor until 2:15. The neurologist checked her tremors and wrote prescriptions. He gave her a new prescription to help with night cramps.

 

We went to Goody’s because I had given Mom another coupon for $25.00 off $100.00 purchase. She bought three outfits and said for me to get a shirt. While she was being rang up I found some socks that were drastically marked down and told her she should get them. They could not be added to her purchase because the coupon had already been taken off, so we did another purchase. I really appreciated Mom getting me the shirt.

 

We went by the library to return the book with the hold on it. I asked the librarian about books on beading and she directed me to the proper shelf. I picked up several books.

 

We went to Sam’s to fill Mom’s prescription. I picked up another bead kit. Mom picked up one too. She also picked up some bread and two bottles of Sutter Home White Zinfandel for me. The prescription was not ready because the doctor had prescribed a drug that was no longer manufactured. We made our purchases and left Sam’s.

 

We went to Michael’s in hopes of finding some things for beading. We found a few things, but not exactly what we wanted. I purchased some fasteners. Mom got a shepherd’s hook and some crosses.

 

When we arrived home, Mom let Hope off her leash. Hope rode with me to put the Explorer away after we had unloaded it. I started working on stringing Mom’s necklace. I finished stringing it and tried to tie it off, but was not sure it was good enough.

 

I ate a barbequed venison sandwich. Mom ate her tenderloin barbeque in a sandwich.

 

I asked Mom to tie off the necklace and she suggested I call James and ask if he would do it. I asked her to call him. She did and he said he would do the knots. She drove up to his house. She was gone a while and came back with a baked potato for me. I could not eat the whole thing so I put part of it in her refrigerator for tomorrow.

 

My refrigerator still is not fixed and it is only cooling to fifty degrees.

 

NanoWriMo starts tomorrow so I will surely be busy. Mom is going on an apple trip with the seniors at church.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:00 with Hope walking all over the bed and me. She was ready to get up. I took her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her up. I ate seven Sandies and drank a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose.

 

I brought in Mom’s aloe plant so that it would have a place to stay through the Winter.

 

I checked email and comments on my blog. There were many emails to read.

 

I drank four cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I started working on the HP Learning Center lesson three Introduction to CorelDRAW 12.

 

The defrost heater for my refrigerator finally came. Now we have to get someone to put it in.

 

James came down to put Mom’s can crusher in a better position. I went out with them. They drove around to look at the garden and I went back into the house. Mom called me and asked me if I would mow the yard if James started the lawnmower. I said yes. I was very glad to do this because the grass was getting high. It took James about fifteen minutes to start the mower. He helped me get it over the carpet on the walk into the yard with it cranked. I cut the right side and around the house. He told me how to maneuver to the other side. I asked Mom to bring me some water and she did. I cut the left side and around the house. The front porch makes it so the lawn is divided in two. I put the lawnmower away and went inside. I drank another bottle of water right away.

 

I was tired and relaxed a while. I took a shower because I was dusty from cutting the yard. For lunch I ate the chicken sandwich Mom brought home from Zaxby’s yesterday.

 

We dressed the dogs in some baby clothes Mom had picked up for her cabbage patch doll at yard sales. By the way, I posted some pictures of Hope in her military outfit yesterday in the album Hope, My Puppy Dog.

 

I finished the HP Learning Center lesson three and four Introduction to CorelDRAW 12.

 

Alex called. He said the inspection had gone well. He is looking forward to coming home for Thanksgiving. He is working hard and doing well. He thinks he is on target for promotion to corporal. I asked him if he could buy me a copy of Office 2007 at the MX. He said he might be able to do it.

 

I did the HP Learning Center lesson four on Leonardo’s Notebooks. I finished the HP Learning Center lesson 6 on Outlook 2003. I now know more about Outlook than I will ever use.

 

I am glad I finished the HP Learning Center lessons. Now I will get credit for completing the courses.

 

Mom’s homebound buddies from the church, Frances and Wendell, came to visit. I talked to them for a few minutes.

 

I called and renewed my library books. I have to take one in tomorrow because it has a hold on it.

 

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

 

I ate leftover salmon patties for supper.

 

I took the dress off of Hope because she seemed to be having trouble jumping with it on. I do not want to limit her movement in any way. She is very active and jumps a lot. She routinely jumps onto the backs of the chairs in the living room and onto my bed. Anything that limits her movement might cause her to fall, hurt herself, and that would be tragic to me.

 

Always,

Jo Ann