I borrowed these photos from Catrina's Facebook Page. They are from the Abbot Family Christmas Celebration

Good morning. It looks foggy and chilly out, but it's supposed to be nicer later today. Ding is here with me. I went to dinner with Liz and Dave last night at Houlihan's and had a great time and ate a lot after eating a lot at Fitz's with Goldman and Ding at lunch yesterday. I'll soon be porking up at this rate. I may have already said this but Rose and Shirley went to Chicago yesterday and are driving the white car back today because it needs inspection and plates. They weren't looking forward to the long drive. Liz has the day off tomorrow for ML King's birthday so she doesn't have to drive back t chicago until tomorrow. Mark Lary and family are in Colorado at their place skiing for a few days. I'm not sure when they will be back.

I've talked to lots of the family since I've gotten out of the hospital. Brayden called. He and his dad were watching football yesterday. He asked me if I knew the Cardinals had moved to Arizona. Actually, I didn't. Pete called with his weekly Saturday call. He hasn't been down to Quartzsite yet to clean the place out. He has been working on cleaning out the farm place. He said Janet is 'some better' as we used to say down home. Brother Joe and I have frequent IM's. He has diagnosed me since all those doctors and tests haven't been able to. I'm having 'chicken strokes'. These are something I pretended to have as a kid when I'd lay down and flop my arms and legs and holler "I'm having a stroke just like a chicken". It's as good a diasnosis as any I've had. In other news, Margaret doesn't have something to look forward to with her ankle but perhaps it will relieve her of her pain eventually.

Of course, Ding and Rose and Shirley have been in touch with me all the time. Mad Dog went by the lake house to be sure everything was okay. It was. Goldman always wants to know if I need anything. I was hoping to go to Louisville this weekend but wasn't able to make it. When I'm better I want to go to Chicago and stay with Liz and also make a trip to Louisville and stay with Jalen and Brayden, the smartest boys in their class rooms, and Scott, too. Beth went over to Louisville from Kansas City this weekend.

It may be this trial pills that is not agreeing with me. I'm going to talk to the neurologist (Dr. Hogan, the one from southwest Missouri) this week about quitting them. I had an MRI this week while I was in the hospital and was completely goofy afterward. They may be still talking about me in that place. I asked who is the one who told people about what I said, and one of the nurses said "Honey, you told everybody".

I'm just going to post a short update this morning to let everyone know I'm finally home. Again, I think they found several things that probably aren't wrong with me but still, not what is wrong. Rose picked me up yesterday afterday afternoon. It was so good to be here after a long week. The staff and personnel at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are familiar with me now after so many trips there and treat me so very well. I had to go from Monday til Friday without a shampoo or a real shower, and helping staff were 'johnny on the spot' about helping me get showered and a shampooed ASAP to come home. That was just one thing they were so quick to help me with. Of course Rose was my steady companion down there and Ding filled in when she couldn't be. Scott felt bad because he lives so far away.

I'll add more later.

A medical update on Sue: Sue was set to come home on Tuesday evening and again on Wednesday morning. Both times, everything was in place--paperwork, prescriptions, follow-up appointments. Both times, it's like groundhog day; she has difficulty standing; she can't walk well; and she's disoriented. Last night she had an MRI, mainly to rule out bad stuff like stroke or hemorrhage. Today the results showed no obvious bad stuff going on. However, she is still not back to her normal state. Around 11:00 am, they again (this is the 4th time) put electrodes all over her head and began monitoring her brain waves to see if they could diagnose something. This last test requires she be tethered and monitored 24/7. And she can't be released from hospital yet.

All this means she won't travel to Louisville as planned tomorrow evening, a huge disappointment for her. Seems Jalen and Brayden are the best medicines available. Chris, Shelly, and I have made sure she has edible food--Steak 'n Shake, sticky buns, good coffee, etc. The staff at Barnes-Jewish is wonderful, and it helps that many of them have a good relationship with Sue. Lots of memories, jokes, camaraderie, and heart-felt attention to healing. We talked with Dr. Hogan and his wonderful head nurse Peggy Springer early this morning. They are mystified by this new development but intent on understanding and treating the condition.

As always, Chris, Shelly, Mark Goldman, Shirley, Margaret, and long-distance Scott have been wonderful supports. What would we do without family and friends?!!!

There is also news about Margaret. She, you may remember, suffered a really bad break of the bones in her ankle some time ago. Today she learned she will need either to have the bones in the ankle fused or undergo a complete ankle replacement--neither of which is an appealing alternative. She is discerning what to do. The rehab from either treatment is six-weeks long, not something appealing but better than the suffering she is experiencing now.

Of course, it is a whole lot more satisfying to report on all the wonderful developments among the progeny of our far-flung and very large family. But . . . .

Our niece Jana (actually grand-niece, and that she is) keeps a family blog, too. We intend to add a link here so that all of us can keep in touch with the Kansas part of the Felin-Moore wing of the family.

More news I'd rather not deliver: Sue became ill yesterday afternoon with all the symptoms of her recurring low-sodium condition--disoriented, confused, sleepy, unsteady on her feet. The low-sodium is caused by a med she takes to control seizures. But low-sodium can cause seizures. Sounds crazy, but it's true. So she had a seizure, and I called her neurologist's nurse for guidance. "Give her an ativan, let her sleep, and if she's still disoriented, take her to the E.R." I called Chris who is our stand-by guy to alert him. Sure enough, Sue woke still not "with it," and off to the E.R. we went for the second time in less than a month.

The E.R. at Barnes-Jewish downtown St. Louis is an amazing place. Sue got right into a bay, was assessed, and eventually transferred to a room in the hospital. She awoke this morning seemingly fine and was released to come home in the early evening. Shelly, Chris' wife, went to bring her home only to find she had had a relapse. Another night in the hospital. Sue called just now (10:00 pm) and sounded fine, resigned to another night there.

She is on the same neurological floor (the 11th) that she's been on some 30 times over the past five years so all the staff know her. She gets excellent care. It is a small consolation to know that one of the country's finest centers for treating neurological disorders is about 12 minutes from our house.

Once again, I got to spend a lot of time with Christopher, surely one of the finest guys on the planet.

Just a short post post this morning. We have snow this morning but not as much much as they predicted, I think. Needless to say, it's cold and neither Rose nor I have been outside to see.

(Rose went out and got the paper and said we do have as much as predicted.) Goldman and I went out to dinner last night. His Suzanne couldn't join us but we'll go again when she can join us. Ding and I usually go out to eat on Thursday, but he's on call tonight and the streets are probably bad.

Tuesday was a long visit with the neurologist. (He is the one from southern Missouri.) They did an EKG, took several tubes of blood, a urine specimen, weighed me, took my blood pressure and temperature. I probably forgot something. We were there three hours. Half an hour was in the waiting room. These tests were for the trial med that I'm taking that may actually be a placebo. Even the neurologist doesn't know which it is. The drug company knows, and I am pretty sure I'm getting the real deal. Meanwhile I continue to take my prescribed medicine. Next time I see this neurologist, we will decide if I should get some adjustment of medications. He promised to have an opinion, and I hope the drug company will tell us if I was taking the placebo.

Yesterday I got the last staple out of my scalp. Anyway I certainly hope it was the last. I went to my general practioner for this. She had to call her surgeon husband for an opinion about proceeding. It didn't hurt as badly as it did last week for extraction of the other three staples. Rose was tempted to just pull that last on out with a staple puller. (That is actually the tool they use.)

Brother Joe reminded me that Monday, January 4, was the anniversary of Dad's death. He was only 49. He said the kids that were school age were on the way home from the one-room Anderson school when Dad died. Margaret thinks she wasn't really school age but went anyway, and that Bernie came along the road and picked them up. Think how hard that must have been for Mom.

I didn't finish my last post and probably won't finish this one this one this morning but will try to. I'm up early. It's still cold here in Missouri. I hope Ding, Goldman and Mad Dog are still wearing socks. We're supposed to have some snow tomorrow. We're sure competing with Idaho for weather!.

Back to the weekend and the boys. After Goldman brought them back from Sky Zone Saturday, they remembered we had told them they could could go play with Lucas and Josie at Hollensbes. When we got there, somehow it come about that they were having spaghetti for dinner and they were invited to spend the night. We had reservations at a very nice seafood restaurant (our favorite), and guess which one our boys chose? Rose, Shirley and I ate seafood by ourselves. We went over and got the boys Sunday, and Mad Dog took me and them half way to Louisville to meet Scott. They were very tired from their night with Lucas and Josie and were good all the way - our half anyway.

I forgot to add that when Karen came over Saturday, she brought a carton of fresh eggs from their chickens. They have five chickens and get five eggs a day. One of them is named Martha Sue.

There are several more updates to post, but I have to get the rest of the staples removed from my head this morning. Rose has an Apple computer lesson this afternoon, and I'll go with her and walk in the Galleria. It's an indoor shopping mall.

I thank Janet again for sending the Idaho Christmas happenings. Pete had told me a lot last week on his weekly call, but I'm forgetful and get days and events mixed up. Now we have it in writing, so to speak. I just looked at last year's 2L's posting and would love another 2009 like the 2008. Jana and John are coming over from Kansas this weekend, and I hope to get a Kansas update. Then we'll have them all.
We had a busy weekend. Scott and Beth brought Brayden and Jalen over from Louisville on Friday evening. Besides bringing both boys, they brought some of Beth's delicious dessert. We were so glad to have both boys. Scott and Beth turned around and went right back to Louisville. She had a catering order that she delivered here in St. Louis. It was certainly convenient for us.
Saturday morning Karen came over to get some stuff she had left including gift pants for me that were too small. (Pete could hardly believe that when I told him tha I got pants that were too small. Beth's dessert didn't make the pair I got fit any better.) We really enjoyed seeing her.
The boys were wanting to go to Sky Zone that afternoon. Rose had a client, and so we called Goldman to the rescue. He came right away. His Suzanne works on Saturday. He is pretty well over his cold and fever of his Christmas break, and the break was over today. He also took the boys to McDonald's.
While they were gone my long time friends , Dave and Liz, came for a long awaited visit. They couldn't go to dinner because they had a party to go to, but we made plans to go out the weekend of ML King's birthday. Liz has almost 30 years in with GMAC, but the company has changed the rules about retiring and insurance, so the date for her early retirement is in question. Dave is self-employed. One of their sons is about to become a chiropractor. (I wasn't even sure if I could spell it right.)
It's been so COLD in Missouri! When Pete called yesterday it was about thirty in Idaho while it was 5 degrees here. This morning it's warmed up to 6 but the windchill is minus 9. Joe says they have about 3 inches of snow in Springfield. We only have a scattering here. I don't think it's going to melt soon. It's so cold that Rose and Shirley taped a blanket over the fireplace. We use our heating pads every night. Ding, Mad Dog and Goldman have been wearing socks which they don't usually do.
More later but it's breakfas time.

Janet sent this e-mail about the Christmas celebrations in Idaho:

"Hi,Sue. Pete asked me to write and give you the details of the Idaho familys' Christmas activities. We had Christmas Eve dinner at Nancy's, as has been our tradition for many years. Merri and her husband and his 2 boys opted to stay home in Georgetown, but her son Chris, his wife and our 2 little great granddaughters were there, as were my brother and wife, Gene and Cherie. Then Nancy invited Pete and me to Christmas breakfast--delicious with scrambled eggs, ham from the night before, and monkey bread. That's a pull apart caramel bread, absolutely wonderful. Christmas dinner was at our house, featuring our usual prime rib and all the trimmings. Kelly and his boys also opted to stay home in Boise, doing a lot of skiing and hunting over the kids' break from school. All in all, we had a wonderful celebration and I think we all ate way too much. We hope everyone there had as much fun as we did. Love to all, Janet P.S. Happy New Year!"

Thank you, Janet!

Good morning, 2010. I'm the only one up. Rose and Shirley may have seen the new year in but I didn't. I did stay up past my bedtime but not until 2010. I want to be rested for today because Scott is going to bring Brayden over, and we're hoping Jalen too. We have their Christmas stockings ready for their arrival. We're ready to be shed of the Christmas tree but I don't know when we've decided to do that. It's beginning to droop.

Ding and Goldman have both been down with colds. Both were feeling better yesterday and neither had big celebrations planned for last night. Beth was in Louisville with Scott and they also had a quiet evening ahead of them. Rose just got up and said she went to bed at eleven.

Our company left yesterday. It was Jamil who is fourteen and nearly six feet tall, Layla who is nine and a beautiful girl and their mother. They hadn't been here for about a year. One summer they made it to the lake house and we went to Ruthie D's Restaurant which they loved. (It's the place we threaten Brayden with.) They're from Bloomington, IN.

I talked to Melba and to Liz, who are both two of my old GMAC pals, yesterday or the day before. Liz and her husband are coming by tomorrow. I tried to call her back to see if we can have dinner but she hasn't called back yet. Melba has to have some tests next week and then we're getting together for lunch or dinner. Mary Myers and I vowed to spend more time together in 2010. Leslie, my old neighbor in Springfield, and I had a long conversation yesterday. Her son, Jeffrey, is in Iraq again. His family is in Olympia, WA. She and Sam and I are going to spend time at the lake house when the weather permits. Sam loves to fish. (It's 13 degrees here this morning.) Karen is coming by Saturday. Jana and John will be in town on the 9th.

I don't know what time my grandsons will get here but I'm waiting impatiently. They'll probably want to go right over to Hollensbes. I'll wait to call Suzanne to make sure they're receiving.

My New Year's resolution is better communication with my friends and relatives. I need help!!

Happy NEW YEAR to everyone. This may be a short post since I'm the only one up. It's early and I haven'y had breakfast or showered and dressed yet. Of course I'm a pretty slow typist too so that drags out the post. I'll add on later after I get ready for the day. We had a little snow yesterday, but the wind blew and the temperature warmed up and between the two most of it is gone this morning. Brother Joe said the same thing about Springfield.
Joe and I had a nice conversation on IM yesterday evening. He is on the Board of Directors of the Railroad Museum and they are in the process of restoring a motor car. (I hope I got that right. Correct me if I'm wrong, Joe. I can't ask him to correct me this morning because it's his day to volunteer and he's not on his computer. ) He's been going to Kiwanis lunches with Dave the last two weeks . He says they haven't been very crowded because of the holidays.
Pete and Janet had the family over for Christmas Day breakfast. Nancy made her specialty which is monkeybread with ham. Doesn't that sound like a name that Pete made up for it? Monkeybread with ham!! He said last week in his weekly call that there were seven of them there. I don't think he told me which seven. I'll get it straight when he calls this Saturday. He said he's going to have to make a trip to Quartzsite, I think to get some stuff. Caitlin is home but has to go to Spokane to Gonzaga soon. I think I posted she got back from Florence two weeks ago tomorrow. We're all very proud of that girl.
We have company and I have more updates after while. People are now getting up.

Joe sent news and holiday greetings to all through Sue. Here is his e-mail:

From: jgfelin@aol.com
To: marthaboaz@aol.com
Sent: 12/25/2009 5:13:09 P.M. Central Standard Time
Subj: Re: MERRY CHRISTMAS

We made out annual Christmas Day trip to the Berns's house, (Lydia's folks) Dave and M.E, Lisa and Jack, Mary and me. Breakfast at about 9:30 followed by opening gifts. Very enjoyable. Lydia and her foks are going to Eldon Saturday, to see David Berns's folks.

Just a little bit of snow on the ground here but enough to make driving somewhat dangerous, especially farther west. Around Nevada, MO they had about an inch.

Saw Sean yesterday (Thurs) at the grocery store where he works. Brian called him while I was there. Brian is in town but has to go out again Saturday.

They (Sean & Brian)? were going to be with their Mom today, in Bolivar today. Sunday they (?) were going to meet Mike and family at Mikes farm, weather and roads permitting. (Brian would be on the road that day)


Merry Christmas to all

I got the staples out of my head today and, though the doctor told me it probably wouldn't hurt much, IT DID!! Fortunately there were only three of them in my scalp but, as the doctor afterwards explained, the emergency room doctor had stapled hair and all. She was surprised they hadn't shaved that area of my head. She removed them with a regular staple remover, and they looked like paper staples. I'm just relieved that they're no longer in there. She said she could possibly have missed one and just come back if I felt anymore. She must have never had any in her scalp.
Margaret and Norm are hosting their family this evening fot their Christmas dinner. I'm fairly sure the kids all bring something to contribute to their supper as they do here. The younger ones probably are eager to get home and get to bed and then to wake up to see morning and that Santa has arrived. I talked to Scott while ago and asked him when Santa was arriving there. He said he doesn't know but it will happen while the boys are sleeping. He said he's going to bed early even if they won't.
We are hoping to have Jalen and Brayden stay with us a few days next week. The arrangements haven't been finalized yet. They're off school the rest of this year. Drew's off too. He's at Mizzou at Columbia. All three of my grandsons are extra good students. Brayden and Jalen always bring us the papers they get back from tests and stuff. Drew has a 3.0 GPA. I'm a proud old Granny.
We're having steak for Christmas Eve dinner. Rose is sending me a message on her cellphone by dictating an e-mail. She is testing some new application; meanwhile I can hear her. I think she's just practicing. She and Shirley love their Apple paraphernalia.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE to everyone and HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to JALEN. Jalen was 12 years old yesterday. We hope he had a great birthday and now he has Christmas coming right up. We miss seeing him and look forward to the next time wiyh him and his brother and their dad. They are both off school all this week and next week.
I was up at six this morning - first one in the house - maybe because I went to bed so early and it was almost the shortest day of the year. Snow is forecast for today and tomorrow but seldom is that forecast right. It would be nice to have a White Christmas.
Donald and Vita stopped by for a visit on Tuesday. They're in town until Chrismas Day when they go on to Plattsburg to spend the holdays with their families there. They took them all to New York for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and told them that was going to be their Christmas present. What about Santa? ? We talked a lot about old times and wondered how we got so old so quickly. They saw Caitlin in Florence. I may have already put this in the blog. He keeps in touch with Wanda Jean and the address for her is the one I posted earlier in Florida and is the right one for her. We got a Christmas card from her.
They stopped at Margaret and Norm's yesterday. Margaret said they also reminisced a lot about old times. I think there's some disagreement about what really happened 'back in the old days'. Donald says we need Pete and Joe to remember correctly. Margaret was probably better at remembering than Rose and Donald and me.
I'm getting the staples out of my scalp this morning and I dread it sorely. My scalp is still very sore and tender so I'm hoping the doctor will deaden the area somehow. My appointment is at 11:30 and sometimes there's quite a waiting period.
Shirley and I picked up A Barbie Camper for Suzanne and and Doug (aka Santa) to leave for Josie for Christmas. They were a hot item for little girls this year and hard to find. Suzanne came by here to get it last night and said the night before that Josie decided to make a new wish list for Santa. The Barbie Camper and other things she had asked for earlier weren't on the new list. When Suzanne explained that Santa might not be able to bring things on the new list at this late time, Josie explained to her "Yes, he can. Remember. he's Santa". They have the presents locked in a room and somehow Lukas and Josie both know they're in there and have been begging to have just one so they know that Santa doesn't bring them all.
We're invited to Chris and Shelly's tomorrow for turkey dinner. I haven't seen their house with all their Christmas decorations inside and outside so I'm looking forward to it and to the turkey dinner and visiting with the other folks who will be there.
We haven't seen much of Goldman this week but he and his Suzanne and I are going out to dinner next Tuesday. Ding and I usually go out on Thursday nights but the holidays have messed up this week and next week. Next year we'll get back on our regular schedule.

It's been a while since my last post but I've been under the weather and have good reason for my lack of updates. I practically had to beg to get out of the hospital and was released last Friday. As Aunt Janet says, in hospitals they wake you up to give you a sleeping pill. I had to come home to start feeling better. It worked.



We had our family Christmas celebration here on Saturday with a delicious brunch. Scott, Jalen, and Brayden arrived Friday evening from Louisville. Scott's girlfriend, Beth, arrived from Kansas City Saturday morning. Drew got here from Columbia on Saturday. Mark and Karen got here from Kirkwood on Saturday after they picked the eggs and fed the five chickens. Shirley's nephew Michael and his wife Leslie arrived from St. Charles as did Chris and Shelly. Katie and Austin live in Kansas and couldn't make it this year but were sorely missed. Of course Shirley, Rose and I were here and it was a wonderful celebration.



Jalen and Brayden were very eager to open presents and I think ate very little of their meal. Lots of people brought stuff for the brunch besides what Rose and Shirley put together. In spite of several trips to the store last week, we had to send Scott again on Saturday morning.



I got so many thoughtful gifts. Mark Lary had made a trip to Evansville, Illinois, on the day after Thanksgiving where Brick (all three boys' Dad) was born and is buried and made me an album of pictures of the town today. Much of it is the same. The church, St. Boniface, where he was baptized looks to be in use today. His parents' home and service station are still there. There's a grain elevator that's been there forever. I'm eager to go down there myself. I got lots of other super gifts and am still absorbing and appreciating them.



Brayden and Jalen disappeared shortly after they got their gifts opened and went off to play with them. We grownups sat around and reminisced old times.We had lots of laughs. Our tree is beautiful and isn't drooping yet. Rose and Shirley keep lots of water in its' holder. Margaret and Norman sent a lovely poinsetta. It's huge and looks great in the living room.



Rose, Scott, and Mark all took pictures so I'm hoping we'll get lots of them posted. Scott got me a Kodak Easy Share but he's going to have to teach me some more about it. I have something similar that Mark and Karen got me after Katie's wedding and I'll maybe get wiser about both of them - or make one of them just do it for me.



There's more update and I'll post it later.

Joe sent us an e-mail with a link to a video of the Springfield School Board meeting in which the board recognized Joe's daughter Lisa and granddaughter Lydia. It's interesting for several reasons: Lisa's National Teacher of the Year award is an astonishing achievement. Lydia's role in her group (which I don't totally understand) certainly makes her a superstar too. Mary, Joe's wife, just retired from 43 years of teaching. And Central High School in Springfield, where Lisa teaches and Lydia is a student, is one of the best high schools in the nation. Finally, the man on the school board, as Joe tells us in his e-mail, is the grandson of Bess Hosmer, a woman we knew well when we were young She had an insurance agency with her office on the Square in Marshfield. Joe refers to the "Is your dog vaccinated?" If you are curious, the story is posted on this blog, and we all repeat it often, so you, no doubt, know it.

Anyway, I watched the video and enjoyed it very much. Hope you do too! [Joe's daughter is Ms. Lisa Lilley, and his granddaughter Lydia is the beautiful girl just to the left of the woman explaining her group's achievement.

Here is Joe's e-mail with the link:

"Not sure just how to forward this but wanted Donald, Vita & Grandsons to see both Lisa and Lydia's pictures, etc. on the video. Note Mary is also show on the clip.

The Bd of Director making the remarks about how good it is to have some good news and not have to battle the budgets is Andy Hosmer. His grandmother was Marshfield's Bess Hosmer, as in "Is your dog vaccinated"

Hope you enjoy.
Bro Joe




In a message dated 12/16/2009 7:14:54 P.M. Central Standard Time, llilley@spsmail.org writes:
http://springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/board/VideoArchives/2009-2010/Dec15.html

Lisa Lilley

ACTFL 2010 National Language Teacher of the Year
National Board Certified Teacher - World Languages
Spanish, Central High School, Springfield, Missouri"

Update

Dr. Hogan released Sue from the hospital early this evening. She is doing well but is unsteady still from all the ativan. It takes a while to purge your system of that stuff. Her blood sodium level was slightly low. Hogan's orders: sprinkle a lot of salt on your food and eat potato chips. Hard to imagine a real doctor saying that!

Scott and boys arrived around 8:30, and they are medicinal. Things are looking up. Who knows, we might even have a white Christmas.

Sometimes it seems in our household that the only luck we have is bad. I hate posting this new development but feel I must. Sue had a petite mal seizure on Wednesday morning, fell off a kitchen stool, and banged her head hard on the ceramic tile. From the blood that gushed from the back of her head, we concluded she was badly hurt and called 911. Medics arrived, strapped her to a board, put her head and neck in a brace, and off we went to Barnes Jewish Hospital in the ambulance. She regained consciousness in the ambulance. Chris met us at Barnes, and we began the E.R. ordeal.

As soon as practical, she had a CT scan which showed no fracture and no concussion--a huge relief given how hard she fell. She had staples (not stitches) to close the 2 1/2 inch gash, but then had another seizure. This time the E.R. physicians gave her a heavy dose of ativan which put her into a deep, deep sleep.

Chris and I came home in the evening before they transferred Sue to a regular room in neurology. Around 10:00 pm, as I was trying to call the hospital to get an update (a futile effort because HIPPA laws preclude any release of information), a neurologist resident called to make sure she had a good list of Sue's meds. This resident said Sue was in a room and doing well.

Today, the expectation was that she would come home, but she was still suffering the effects of ativan in her system and was too wobbly to move about much. So, one more overnight in Barnes.

Sue's phone number is 314 452-3685, and she is in room 11575, hopefully only until tomorrow morning.

Turns out, after hourly checks of her blood levels, Sue is suffering from low sodium caused by the med she takes to control seizures. Ironical, since low sodium can cause seizures. Now the trick is to either change meds or get the sodium levels up. I think the tentative decision of her neurologist is to work on the sodium so as not to disturb a drug trial she is in that holds promise.

If there is any silver lining in this very dark cloud, for me it was that I got to spend a lot of time yesterday with Sue's son Christopher who is one of the bright lights on this planet.

We are thinking of putting a sign on our front door: "Mash 4077"
"Fur Lined" may go into the trash

It's really cold here in Missouri today with occasional snow flurries, and it's supposed to be colder tonight. Rose dropped me off to get a haircut while she did some of the grocery shopping and Shirley did some of the other shopping. Needless to say, we hurried! I haven't heard from Margaret today. Yesterday she and Norman were going over to Scott AFB to have some prescriptions filled, and I'm sure they stayed home today unless they had to go out. The snow isn't supposed to accumulate much.

Ding and I went over to Belleville last Thursday to see Fat Jack. He was better than he has been in the past few visits. He is doing quite a bit of therapy and had been able to go out to lunch recently. Ding and I plan on taking him out to eat when the days get longer and it's not dark so early. There's a place nearby where we can just take him in the wheelchair. It's called Marco's on Main where Ding and I have eaten several times when we've gone to visit Jack.

Late on Friday Scott and Brayden arrived. We three old ladies were thrilled, to say the least. Brayden slept with Scott that night but was up first. I got up next. We sneaked in and he kissed Aunt Rose to wake her up. She didn't mind that alarm clock. Scott dropped Brayden and me off at the Hollensbe's Saturday morning on his way to Columbia, and Brayden hardly knew his dad was gone the whole weekend.

We had spaghetti for dinner Saturday night, thanks to Brayden. He did most of the cooking. He brought some of his school papers and read to us and did some 'seek and find' puzzles he brought. He amazed us. Shirley taught first grade for years and said she never had a student as smart as he is. I'm pretty sure that my first grade teacher, Arilla Deckard, didn't know what a rhombus was. He and Rose played football and then the three of us did 'pluses' and 'times'. He also likes to do spelling and write sentences.

Yesterday Karen and I went to the poinsettia display at Forest Park. It was raining and we had to walk a little way to get inside. Karen felt bad because she didn't bring an umbrella. I told her we would just walk between the raindrops. We didn't get wet. We had lunch at a place called PI. (Yes, I spelled it right.) Obama ate there about a year and half ago and sorta put the place on the map. He said its pizza was better than Chicago's. It was really good. We had some left and had it boxed to go. When we got back here, we realized we had forgotten the box!

Pete called for his weekly chat last Saturday. Nancy returned from Italy on the 18th - just in time for Thanksgiving. Caitlin is due back this week. I don't know if Kelly and the boys shot anything on their hunting expedition last week. Donald also called. They will be here sometime the week of the 21st and will bring pictures of their European trip and of their trip to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Weren't the photos Mark posted great? He and Karen spent a lot of time putting those pictures on corks. We teased them about having to drink so much wine to get all those corks. After all that cooking Karen did for the dinner, she did another turkey for Drew to take back to school. We all ate so much that there wasn't any leftover turkey!

Here is a link to an article in the Springfield, MO News Leader about Joe and Mary's daughter Lisa who was just named Foreign Language Teacher of the Year in the U.S: http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200912030257/NEWS01/912030348

Joe reports that Sara Palin's photo was juxtaposed on the front page with Lisa, and they were both dressed in similar red jackets. Palin was in Springfield for a book signing that day.

Look at all of these crazy little characters that showed up for Thanksgiving!

It was a great day of giving thanks and sharing with family and friends, Karen started us off with an inspirational poem by Rumi, which must have inspired everyone to dive in, it was not long before most of a fried turkey, a roasted turkey and a duck, not to mention a host of delicious side dishes brought by each of the guests were happily consumed. To top off the meal we enjoyed pumpkin flan for dessert......yummy!