Here comes the end - the start of the beginning...

Since I've been in Indiana over the holidays, I decided to look at a computer as little as possible. It would have been a better decision not to look at a computer at all because I checked my e-mail a couple of times and one of those times somebody who had nothing better to do over the holidays than hack people hacked me. Merry Christmas to them, too!

And now back in sunny Texas with work piled up, and more to do on a Saturday than I have time for, and a cold worse than the one I went to Indiana with it's like my week away never happened. Business goes on as usual. Nothing has changed. Conversations go on as if they never stopped. Was I even gone?

But I truly had a nice week away. And coming back hasn't been bad (except it's 60 something every day here - guess it's good I didn't get any sweaters for Christmas!). I'll actually be caught up before the day is over. Still need to run about a million more miles to work off home cooking, but I guess I could leave that for a 2012 resolution.

It's hard to believe it will be 2012 this weekend. Where did 2011 go? So much happened - so much didn't. (Like winning an all expense paid vacation to New Zealand - have to settle with looking at the pictures one of the nurses brought back from her vacation there.) Who knows what 2012 will bring. Trying not to hope on too much and so rest in my God who never changes no matter what year it is. Praise Him for that!!!

Have this wonderful, thoughtful post all jumbled up in my mind I want to get down on paper, but when you work a full 5-day week in 2 days...well, as you can see, it didn't happened.

So, we'll just say I'm heading to Indiana for Christmas tomorrow morning. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Perhaps I'll blog that all-important post while I'm there...more likely, not. We'll let it hold till January (which might actually work out better, come to think of it). So, until then I'm off to Indiana!

Did I mention I CAN'T WAIT?!?!?!

Dear Jenny,

Today is your 20th birthday...wow! It's hard to believe the little red-head girl with the huge imagination is 20. No more broken swings, or "jiggling" clowns, or piano playing in the window sill. You're not cute enough anymore to get by with forgetting how old you are (you never were three...), Tommy the turtle finally found his way out of our yard, and even your ducks have flown away.

But even if you've "graduated" from turtles to a skittish cat or from "jiggling" clowns to a bakery, your imagination has never dimmed - simply channeled. For even though bowling balls that take a full minute to roll down an alley and take down pins in slow motion exemplifies your life, no one can ever say you're not smart. You taught yourself to tie your shoes and ride a bike. You created your own crochet patterns for doll clothes and have delighted many little girls with your sewing creations for their own dolls. And gone are the days of imaginary pianos - today you play a real one beautifully.

I admire the gifts God has given you. I've always wished I was naturally gifted in something besides putting things in alphabetical order. I hope and pray you use them to bless others, just as you have in the past. Never stop being generous. In the midst of all your artistic talents, that is your greatest gift.

Love your oldest sister, Melissa

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

And this week...

I woke up a bit tired this morning...got to bed late and woke up two hours before I had to. I went back to sleep, of course, but not completely. You know how that goes...

Last week I ran circles. Still waiting to see if I lost any weight from that (probably not thanks to Christmas baking this weekend), but I should have. I've never had a week when seven new patients were admitted and six died/were discharged. I've had more than seven new patients in a week. And I've had more than six die. Just not all at once. I felt like telling the dealer to stop shuffling me cards - I had enough!!!!

The weekend wasn't too grand - I mean, work wise. The on-call nurse made a decision I discussed with her until I was blue in the face on Friday...and I'll be playing clean-up on that for the next year or more. (Maybe I'll be gone by then...) I mean, I knew my day was going to start out with an insurance company, but I had not planned on dealing with two. Nor had I planned on three deaths within two hours and another admit this afternoon. My boss made the remark this afternoon, "They need to leave you alone. Because if they don't, I can't bother you." Oh, yeah, that helps!

The home health office manager remarked today that when I leave for the holidays next week I'll be more than ready if things keep up like this. "Or," she added with a wry smile, "you'll just decide not to come back at all. Don't do that to me."

Fortunately for her, right now I'm too tired to think about it...

Gone...but not Forgotten

Excuse me while I drag out my soap box...which has grown since yesterday. Now I am stepping upon it. And for the next few minutes I will pretend I'm Daniel Webster or John Calhoun and wax eloquently:

Yesterday was a very important day in our nation: Pearl Harbor Day. Not only was it the day we remember that attack upon our nation which catapulted us further into World War II, but we remembered that it has been 70 years since that day. It is a day that lives in infamy - and so it should. It is a day that we never should forget.

I awoke thinking upon this day in history, trying to imagine the horror those men stationed in Pearl Harbor lived through and coming up short. When I got to work, I opened my web browser expecting to see an amazing work of art as Google also remembered this day in our nation. Instead blue, red, green and yellow letters starred back at me as if mocking the free nation that allows a company like Google to grow and prosper. And then today? Well, I opened my web browser and a work of art starred back - Google celebrating the art of a Mexican communist artist. I can't even tell you how angry that makes me. How anti-American can you be?

Well, I am not anti-American. I am very proud of the nation God has allowed me to be born in. I am proud of my father who served in the navy, my grandfather and great uncles who all served during World War II, and all my forefathers who defended the freedoms I enjoy in the Revolution, Civil War and almost every war the nation has seen. And I want to thank every single one of the men who served in World War II and the families who sacrificed in ways we cannot imagine today. I, for one, will not forget - ever.

And before I step down from my soap box, I leave you with this: The World War II veterans of this nation are dying. They are old, and tired, and every day one of them passes into eternity. One day, they will all be gone. What will our nation look like then?

The Dollhouse

Okay, so I am finally updating on my dollhouse...because I finally have something worth updating about! I didn't take pictures of all the clean up work I've done trying to compile my six working stations into five going on four. Finally folded the ping-pong table up. I told Haley we can use the wood scraps I've gotten everything out of as scraps to burn in our fireplace. All the pieces I'm currently working on are in the rooms they belong in...table number five will be put away this week. (Well...it will have a puzzle on it instead!)

Now if you're more of perfectionist than I am, please ignore the mistakes I am very well aware are there. One of them you probably won't notice - just think I did it that way! The others I've got to correct, but I thought I'd post the pictures anyhow. It's window time - a little less complicated than I thought, but a process of many steps. Before the week is out, I hope to have the windows in the roof in and the french "door". The others are waiting for some "minor" fixes before they can be assembled...hopefully with the new year.

A view of all the windows installed.

Close up of a single window (yes, there will be shutters).

The kitchen bay window.

Inside library window - needing a touch-up.

Inside the kitchen - also in need of some touch-up.

Everything I wanted to blog about...

When you're gone for a week, it's amazing how much catch-up has to be played. Work wasn't that busy while I was gone, but the guy who comes in to "do" my work always leaves piles scattered about I have to go through and decipher. So, "not that busy" took me more than a day to interpret. As for the rest of my life, it's been thankfully a rather quiet week! And yet things still fell through the cracks.

For example, I wanted to post pictures today and tell of the process of my dollhouse. but as I was putting in windows last night, I had to tape them up so they would stay in position until the glue dries. And I didn't want to take pictures of taped windows. So, I'll post pictures next week of the half of the house that has windows. The other half...well, hopefully before I leave for Christmas.

Then I thought I'd post something on Christmas traditions and keep that as a weekly thing through December. Because I treasure the traditions my family has, even though I miss most of them and don't do them myself because there's little enjoyment in doing any of that by yourself. I've been thinking about them lately for three reasons:

1. My family is doing their day-long shopping trip today and I'm missing it.
2. I've missed all the traditions I'm no longer a part of the last three years.
3. A friend of mine didn't have a lot of traditions growing up and tends to be a little scornful of mine. Or maybe it's envy...

Still thinking such posts would be a good idea, but they'll have to wait til next week as I sort through them. (Yes, we have that many!)

Lastly, I thought I'd post about my new dog. All right, adopted dog. And only for three days. Susan, our social worker at work, went out of town today with her family and the friend who was supposed to care for the dog couldn't. So, I said I'd do it if she couldn't get anyone else. And, so, I have a dog for the weekend. It's a little Shih Tzu puppy of 12 weeks named Chikku. All the thing is a bundle of soft puppy fur, sharp teeth and playful attitude. We played last night until he wore out, but this morning he awoke and jumped from his kennel wanting to play so much he didn't have time to eat. He finally ate something when I locked him in the bathroom wtih his food (at least when he wasn't whining or, I discovered, playing in his water bowl). He happily brought me my slippers and chased leaves out in the yard. And as it was a wet, misty morning he was quite damp when he came in. So, I dried him off with a towel which he thought was great fun. I really need a dog...a companion! I think I'll ask for one for Christmas. :)