I woke up at 7:30 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her on her leash. I had two pieces of toast with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. Mom let Hope loose.

 

I moved two wheelbarrows full of dead lily trash to the garden for Mom. She blew leaves off the grassed yard.

 

I finished reading The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley. This book did not overly impress me.

I ate two pieces of pepperoni pizza with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for lunch

 

Mom started dripping wax on pinecones. She is planning baskets of waxed pinecones for the preachers Christmas next year.

 

I started reading World Without End by Ken Follett. This promises to be as good or better than The Pillars of the Earth.

 

I ate a ham and cheese sandwich with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

Alex called. He talked about Call of Duty 4. He loves that game. He played it for six hours today. He talked to me about an hour.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:00 this morning. Hope started licking my face before I could get out of bed. I carried her to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her on her leash. Mom was cooking apple pies. She gave me a fried biscuit and a apple pie for breakfast. I let Hope loose.

 

Mom took some of the pies up to James and Alicia.

 

I read some in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley. I checked email and for comments on my blog. There have been no comments here for a couple of weeks. I am wondering if anyone is reading here anymore.

 

I tied Hope on her leash. Two of the preachers and the photographer from our church came to visit. Mom gave them birdhouses and crosses that she had painted. I gave them copies of two of my essays. They seemed pleased with the essays. Mom asked if they would like pies and they said yes. They were very impressed by the pies. I think they enjoyed their visit very much.

 

Mom wanted to go to town and get the oil changed in the Explorer. I called the place where we get oil changes to see if they would be able to get to us in a reasonable amount of time. They said there were three cars ahead of us. I packed my cooler and my tote bag. We went to Big 10 Tires. They told us it would be an hour before they would get to the Explorer. I had on a tee shirt and nearly froze in their waiting room. I should have worn a coat. I read some in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley.

 

After the oil was changed, we went to the dry cleaners to drop off two pair of Mom’s pants to be hemmed.

 

We ate lunch at Sea Breeze.

 

When we arrived home I let Hope loose. Yesterday Hope chewed an electric cord for one of my lamps to pieces. She is still a terrorist dog.

 

I read more in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley. Mom watched Oprah and Dr. Phil and I glanced at them from time to time.

 

I ate the fish and hushpuppies that were leftover from my lunch with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for supper.

 

Even though I put on a sweater, I was cold, so Mom lit the propane heater for a while.

 

I read more in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley.

 

I talked to Leigh, my niece, a few minutes. I wanted to know when she and her family were coming to visit, but she did not know when that would happen.

 

I chatted with Alex for a few minutes.

 

I am thankful:

 

1. I am blessed with talent in writing and art.
2. I have good books to guide my work.
3. I have good tools with which to work.
4. Mom is supportive of my art and writing.
5. Hope did not get hurt when she chewed up the electrical cord because it was not plugged in.
6. The preachers and photographer from our church liked my work.
7. Alex talked to me for three hours on Saturday.
8. I ordered four books from the book club and two of them are free.
9. I have written several poems over the last couple of months.
10. I bought some new shirts this week.

 

I cut off the heater in preparation for going to bed.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I finished reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett on Sunday evening. I enjoyed the book immensely.

 

I woke up at 7:30 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and tied her on her leash. I ate fruitcake with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I went back to bed and slept until 8:30. I let Hope loose.

 

I drank several cups of coffee with vanilla syrup.

 

I dressed in nice jeans and a pretty sweater Mom gave me. I packed my cooler. I packed my library books into my tote. I tied Hope on her leash. I wrote a check to Mom.

 

We left the house at 10:00. We stopped at the church and Mom took in a Christmas gift for one of our friends. We went to the post office, mailed Mom’s Christmas cards, mailed a package to Mom’s brother, picked up some flat rate boxes, and Mom bought some forever stamps. We went to Mom’s bank and she cashed the check I gave her. We went to the recycling trailer and unloaded our cans. Mom received $41.40 for the cans. We went to Goody’s and I bought six shirts. Mom bought two outfits. We went to Family Christian Store and I bought a book as a present for Alicia. Mom bought two books. We went to LifeWay and Mom bought a pocket New Testament for Alex. We went to the library and I rechecked my books and picked up a few new ones.

 

We went to KFC and ate lunch. I had wanted chicken for a couple of days. It was very good. I did not like the Diet Pepsi though.

 

We went to Sam’s Club. I bought World Without End by Ken Follett and 45oz of Tiny T Bonz for Hope. Mom picked up her medicine. We went to Wal-Mart. I bought four toothbrushes and forty-eight Slim Jims for Alex. I also bought some other groceries and a dog toy. Mom bought groceries and some household needs.

 

As we drove back to the house an idiot pulled out right in front of me and I braked hard or we would have had an accident. We got home at 4:20 and I let Hope loose. We unloaded the Explorer. I put my purchases away.

 

I read some in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley.

 

We wrapped Alicia’s Christmas gifts. I took the gifts to Alicia and she put them under their tree. I went out and talked to James at the barbeque pit for a few minutes.

 

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

 

Mom’s homebound buddies from the church called wanting to come over. Mom said it was okay. I tied Hope on her leash. Frances and Wendell came and Mom gave them Christmas presents. She showed them one of my paintings and I showed Frances the ones in my room. I also let them read some of my work. They were very impressed by my art and writing. They said I was very gifted and that I should be making money from my work. I wish I knew how to do so. After they left I let Hope loose.

 

I read some in The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing by David Morley.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

I woke up at 8:20 this morning. I took Hope to the kitchen/laundry room and put her on her leash. I heard the car leave with Mom going to church. I ate a pudding with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola for breakfast. I let Hope loose.

 

I got dressed. I called Medicare to see if I would qualify for the help from Social Security with my medicine next year. The first lady I talked to was going to send me the form, but we were disconnected so I called back. The lady I spoke to said I was already getting the aid. She said that my plan had changed and I needed to enroll in a different plan. I gave her my medications and she came up with a different plan, which would cost me less. I asked her if she could check and see if the plan Mom was on was the best one for her. After about two hours, we concluded there was a better plan for her, but I could not change it. The benefits specialist also looked for prescriptions that would be eligible for extra aid during the coverage gap for Mom. She gave me a list of nine medicines for which the drug companies might be willing to help. I will have to call them and see if I can line up the aid.

 

I was tired after I hung up the phone, but I vacuumed the house anyway.

 

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

 

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

 

Mom came home and brought me a kid’s meal from Folks. I ate it with a Caffeine Free Diet Sam’s Cola. I told her about the Medicare Rx plans, but she does not want to change. She is afraid another plan might not be as good as AARP. I am not going to push her.

 

I shaved with the electric razor, which does not do a very good job. I took a shower.

 

Jeremy, my nephew, came to visit. Mom asked him to put up the new light fixture over the breakfast nook. I had to help turn the breakers off. I helped hold flashlights and get tools. It took about an hour to put the fixture up. After that was done Mom asked him to help hang a picture and he did that. She gave him the Christmas presents for he, Christy, his wife, and Linda, his mother.

 

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

 

I put Mom’s medication for the next two weeks into the dispensers.

 

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

 

I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was decent.

 

Always,

Jo Ann

 

Nothing eventful happened today, except Alex called and we talked three hours. He still does not know if he will be able to come home for Christmas.

 

It is too late to write more. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Mine is great so far.

 

Always,

Jo Ann