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

 

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