It's been a cold January in Missouri, but this morning it started off with 67 degrees and sunshine. Before the day is over we will have experienced all four seasons. We've had sunshine, sun, rain, hail, snow, wind and dropping temperatures. We are under a tornado watch right now too. Thank goodness spring is just around the corner. It is dropping to 13 degrees tonight.

Last weekend Lydia, Joe's grandaughter, had to be at Tantara, a resort at Lake of the Ozarks, for a state high school band competition. Joe and Beth accompanied her, and they had to be there early on Friday morning so I convinced them it was a good idea for them to stay overnight at the lake house. It was very cold so I had one of the neighbors turn the heat up on Thursday morning so the house would be warm when they got there late that evening. The neighbor didn't notice that there was no water. The pipes were frozen. I'm sure Lydia was mortified because she couldn't shower and wash her hair, but Joe said she and Beth had both been Girl Scouts and coped very well. I share a well with a different neighbor and they got things thawed out. Joe and the girls were only staying the one night. I made them promise to come back again under better conditions.

Rose's left eye started blinking funny Friday, got worse on Saturday and worse on Sunday. Sunday there was also some paralysis on the right side of her face. She got on the computer and diagnosed herself as having Bell's Palsy. She decided she should call her primary care physician who instructed her to go immediately to the emergency room at Barnes Hospital. Shirley took her and dropped her off, and we thought she would be back after all the rigamarole one goes through but she called much later and said they were admitting her. They had done a CAT scan and were going to do an MRI on Monday morning. On Monday they did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) which she said wasn't painful, but she was forced to lay flat for quite some time. Chris, Shelly, Ellie, and I went to see her Monday afternoon. The dietitian came in while we were there to see what her dinner choice was. She asked Rose what she wanted to drink and Rose replied "a glass of red wine". That wasn't a choice, needless to say. We left the jospital and were barely out of the parking garage when she called to say she could come home. The spinal tap was clear, and she does indeed have Bell's Palsy. It is a herpes strain, one of many that people have, that may lay dormant or flare up occasionally. The neurologist is treating it with steroids, and Rose has to go back for a follow up visit soon. She still has the paralysis and blinking today but just started her steroids yesterday.

Jana and Ellie came over from Lenexa Saturday for Jana's company party. She and John went to the party Saturday nigh,t and we kept Ellie. Chris brought Aden, Shelly's 2 year old cousin, and they had dinner with us. The two little ones played together very well. Sometimes they talked to each other in tongues that only the two of them could understand. They both liked puzzles and shared and didn't fight over play things.

Monday morning was chaotic around here. John and Jana both had to go to work. Shirley was preparing for a new class that afternoon. Of all days, Ellie got up early. She loves to be read to and I read until my voice was almost hoarse. Shelly took the day off and came to our rescue. Chris assured me that she did not just take the day off for that reason. She and Ellie immediately made friends and the three of us met Chris met at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch before we went to see Rose.