News
Saturday
On Saturday, dad and I went to my uncle David and aunt Virginia’s house. My cousin Jeff stopped by, as well. We had a lovely talk, and a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I got lots of cross-stitch done.
Sunday
Sunday dad and I spent all day with my aunt and uncle. We went to Olive Garden for a late lunch. I met my cousin’s girlfriend. She seemed nice. I got lots of cross-stitch finished. I chatted with my friend Todd’s mom about his death, as well as with Todd’s ex-boyfriend.
Monday
Monday, dad and I packed up and hauled ourselves to Minnesota. When we got there, we had a quick dinner out with the family. Then we dropped dad at home and picked pumpkins for carving.
Tuesday
Tuesday after my overnight job, I pushed to finish a bunch of tasks that I would have done over the 4 days I was gone (I didn’t finish it all). Then I picked up IL5 for a gastroenterologist appointment that happened in the car. We made some minor changes to our laxative regimen, and decided to follow up in December.
Then I took a break and wrote a letter, followed by picking IL5 up for an audiologist appointment. He hadn’t cooperated six months ago with one of the exercises, so we brought him in to finish up his checkup. This time, he cooperated. He’s on a cooperation roll recently!
After the appointment, I worked again on task catch-up, while Aaron cooked chili. After dinner, we carved pumpkins, and I saved the seeds for roasting. Everyone loved their pumpkin. I started another letter and helped IL5 play Wordscapes, which is his new favorite game. D14 watched Grey’s Anatomy, and M12 enjoyed his first day of not being grounded in 2 weeks by watching YouTube on his tablet.
Wednesday
Wednesday, Aaron and I ran to JoAnn Fabrics and bought some floss to finish up my cross-stitch project and to prepare for my next project (a baby Creeper for IL5). Then we went to Target to buy Halloween candy.
In the afternoon, I took dad to his Cardiac Rehab appointment, and made 24 more. So my schedule is filling up!
I cooked meatloaf for dinner then played trains with IL5, as M12 watched YouTube and D14 watched Grey’s Anatomy. D14 had gone to her Science of the Mind club after school.
Thursday
Thursday started out with an appointment at my dad’s primary care physician. Afterwards, I ran errands with Aaron and then had lunch with him while we were getting an oil change. I cooked chicken for dinner, and then the kids got ready for trick or treating. IL5’s blow-up costume was adorable and hilarious but it malfunctioned about 45 minutes in to trick-or-treating so we took it off. They all got a good stash.
Friday
Friday was busy. About the time I was supposed to leave work, my replacement called and said she had slept in. That was inconvenient timing, since IL5 had an appointment. But what to do? I decided to warm the car up so it didn’t have frost when she arrived (quick exit), but my key wouldn’t go in the lock (my fob doesn’t work, and the lock was frozen). After pondering my options, I decided to try warming the lock with my hand. That worked, but then left me wondering what I’d do if that happened when it was below zero. So I bought battery-operated hair dryers – one for work and one for home.
I managed to get IL5 to his first appointment with minutes to spare, then he had a second appointment immediately after that. After dropping him off at school, I almost immediately took dad to his appointment. That ended just on time to get home around the time IL5’s bus arrived. When he was off the bus, Aaron and I went to the mechanic to pick up our car.
The evening was less eventful. I cooked dinner, wrote a letter, and read. IL5 and M12 watched YouTube while D14 played a computer game.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
- Africa Risen (anthology)
- The Week: Conjuring Demons
- Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
- The Week: Battle of the Sexes
- Roam, by C H Armstrong
Reading to IL5
- Stitch Head: The Forgotten Creation, by Guy Bass
D14 reading
- As Good as Dead, by Holly Jackson
- Stalking Jack the Ripper, Kerry Maniscalco
Cross-stitch
Media Completed
This is an speculative fiction anthology written by Africans. Most of the stories take place in Africa – some in the US. The stories were mostly really good, though there were a couple that were too abstract for me. I don’t usually listen to / read short stories because I feel they’re too abstract for me, though. I like lots of development. So don’t worry about that opinion if you like short stories.
Dr Watson meets Sherlock Holmes. They investigate a murder. This was a well-written book, though it had a digression in it that didn’t make much sense at the time. I was left with a couple of negative impressions, though. First, Sherlock Holmes was a bit of a conceited ass, which surprised me since so many people love his character. Second, Doyle doesn’t like Mormons very much.
William Kamkwamba grew up impoverished in a village in Malawi, and his family had no money to send him to school. So he read at a nearby school library. When he discovered a design for a windmill, he decided to build one for his home. His success brought the world’s attention. I listened to the young readers’ version of this book since I had originally bought it for M12. I listened to it with my dad while driving. It was a good, well-written story of a struggle to overcome odds.
Hibernator's Library 