I slept badly, waking up a lot. One time I had a major coughing fit. And lots of weird dreams, involving helicopters and whales and young people running business scams and living in chaos. I made them eggs...I can't see thst any of it relates to anything.

Yesterday was very overcast and cold--it went from 32 to 34 and back during the day, with drizzly rain. I felt very un-energetic in the morning. But we had a good pilates class and then went to Kroger. Ate leftover goulash and chicken soup for lunch (excellent). Looked at some recipes and dozed on the couch. Took a bath. Went to the movies with Becky and Kent and then to dinner. It was snowing when we came out--just a few pretty flurries. When we got home, Ray drained the solar water heater. Watched some TV and went to bed. Ray built a wonderful fire which is still glowing.

I am awfully grumpy this morning. Perhaps it is the cold rainy weather that seems to be worst every Saturday. The fire is not warming me up yet.

Yesterday at work, Meredith was not there (moving into her new place). Amanda and I finished up the end-of-the-year letters, I hope. Taylor and I started working on a report for a small grant we got to buy food and supplies for the shelter. We have to go back and find every check and every receipt to submit, documenting we spent the money as promised. My new file cabinet came (yay!) and I stuck the files in. One of these days, I will need to go through and archive old things and set up the system for this year. I left before 2 and went by the bank and the post office. I had to stamp a bunch of letters and mail them.

I also took some of my old clothes to a couple places to try to sell some of them. I got $13 at Cillies for a few things, but I have a lot left. Then I parked outside Ray's office and read my email on my iPhone for a while. It got a little cold by the time he came out.

We came home to feed Zoe and let her out and then went to Janna's for dinner--Becky and Deb's birthdays. It was a weight watchers meal, but pretty good and satisfying. Time for me to eat again now though. We didn't leave until 10.

Yesterday I slept in a a little--no time for blogging. I woke up before 5 and as I was waiting for it to be 5:30, suddenly it was 6:45.

Wednesday I worked on the end-of-year letters, and left about 3:30. I made the macaroni and cheese for potluck, because he was working on the financials for the Democratic committee meeting. Tanya and Miles stopped by with some eggs. We went to potluck and choir, and went to bed early.

Yesterday morning, my parents headed off to Florida in the car. It looked like a great day for driving. I have such mixed feelings when they're gone. I worry about them driving and miss their company and help. But I also feel kind of giddy and relaxed in a way I don't when they're here. Ray and I can eat what we want (beans) and listen to what we want and watch what we want. When we get up in the morning, we make noise and play music.

Yesterday, I waited for the new file cabinet I ordered to be delivered. The old one was inoperable. I had moved it out of the way and moved things out of it in anticipation. In the midst of this chaos, I attempted to finish my tax letters, meet with the director of a program that some of our residents might be able to move into, and work with Meredith on things. She was supposed to have lunch with the board president on Wednesday, but she canceled. You may remember I had similar difficulties with her not following up on her promises to me. Then they were going to get together yesterday, but she couldn't make that meeting either. She called at 3 and Meredith left early to have a long conversation with her off site. She is having some challenges with the Job TREC program, as I expected. We are very much on the same page. She feels even more strongly than I do and has been discussing things with me, which I very much appreciate. It does mean that she will ask me a question as I am working on something else... I got most of the letters done and will finish them today, then buy another roll of stamps and mail them. Meredith is off today, moving into her apartment in Athens. In some ways, it will be a relief to have her gone. She is very intense. I am glad we are on the same team!

I had lunch with Ray and left about 5. He drove himself in the truck, so he could stay for the Democratic committee meeting. I had the house to myself for a couple hours. I have to say I am not very good at being alone. I brought my computer downstairs, built a fire, made supper, and worked on keeping track of my food for the last few days. I was really glad when he got home. We ate well and healthily and watched some of the Notebook on TV--a love story--as well as Enterprise, a Star Trek series. An interesting contrast. To bed a little late.

I open my eyes a little and look at the digital alarm clock by my bed--4:45. I start to go back to sleep. Then I am suddenly wide awake. Thank God I'm fine. I was in a car accident yesterday and my back is not even stiff.

I stopped at a government building after I left the Shelter to turn in an amendment to a grant request. As I came out of the driveway, I looked right, I looked left and then bump--an incredible noise and jolt. How could this have happened? I am shocked, then angry. My excellent driving record is gone. I was just a tiny bit careless, perhaps. A little too casual. I throw the keys on the floor. Shit! I can't open my door. I crawl across to the passenger side and get out that door. The other car is pulled up to the curb, the left side scraped and indented across two doors. I stand by the door, but the driver doesn't open it or the window. I see he is talking on a cell phone. I move around to the other side and stand on the sidewalk waiting. He is wearing a baseball cap, but as she rolls down the window, I see that it is a woman with very short hair. "What street is this?" she says. "Satula", I say. "Are you calling the police?" "Yes," she says. "Are you all right?" I ask. "Fine," she says. She makes another call. I go back to my car. I call Ray. "I've been in an accident. I think the car is totaled. Can you come here?" "where are you? he says. I stumble, trying to tell him, but eventually he understands. "I don't know if the car is drivable. Maybe you should call home and have Daddy come get you." "Yes," he says. "that's the best thing to do." "And call Sate Farm." "Right."

I hear sirens. The ambulance arrives. I am surprised, but I assume it is routine. The police are right behind. A policewoman asks me to move my car. "I'm not sure I can. I couldn't open the door, so I crawled out the passenger side." She opens the door on the driver's side. It creaks and resists, but opens. I get in and it starts right up and I pull around behind her like she asks. I say, "Why is the ambulance here? She told me she was fine." "She asked for it," she tells me. "Don't worry, everything's okay." she says. "It's normal. she was probably shook up." "Well, yeah." I say with feeling. She was probably terrified.

As I look around, I see a red pickup truck down the street. I take a picture with my cell phone. This is what I think happened. She came around a corner and was hidden by the truck. It's a small black car. She pulled onto the other side of the street to go around him and hand not gotten back over when I started out. A combination of things that led to expensive and aggravating, but fortunately not injurious, consequences.

I give my license and insurance card to the cop and she says, "Wait a minute, just stay in your car. No need to be cold." I call Ray again and tell him the car drives. He calls the body shop back to cancel the tow truck. Eventually the cop gives me back my license and a ticket--failure to yield right of way. She says I can go to court and protest it or I can pay the fine. I feebly say, "the pickup truck..." She says they have to put that on there, it's routine, and I nod. I have heard this before from other people. The car that hits the other car is the one at fault. "You're free to go." I call Ray one more time. "Is Daddy there yet? I can come get you." "No," he says. "Go to Patton Brothers. They're expecting you. I'll meet you there." I start the car again and drive to the body shop. We've been there before, but it's been years. I am sad and a little nervous. Is the car really safe to drive? I imagine people are looking at me--other drivers are saying to themselves, "better give her a wide berth."

At the body shop, they are kind and ask how I am. "A little upset," I say... I wait a few minutes and then Mike comes out with a clipboard. We look at the damage together. It is really not too bad. The bumper has torn up, the way they are designed to do. It looks like the door, the hood and even the headlight are okay. We go back inside and he adds it all up. $2200. Whew, not totaled. My baby--I've had this car almost 8 years, over 150,000 miles and I am glad it can be repaired. Although a tiny part of me was hoping this would mean we could get a new Prius. They get even better mileage. Ray and my Dad arrive. They are sympathetic and give me hugs. Mike gets what he calls a spoon, but looks more like a apatula, and makes it so the door can open and close without rubbing.

Ray drives me home; we stop and get gas. Daddy goes on ahead. I am okay. We will have to pay $250 deductible because I am at fault. And the citation; I don't know how much that is. We go back to the scene. The truck is gone, but I show him how it was and he starts to get mad. "Yeah," he says. "It wasn't your fault at all." It is nice to have a champion, but I don't really think the court would agree, so I probably won't go. We'll see how much it is. I think "thank goodness for insurance." And probably for the way they make cars to protect their occupants.

With my iPhone, I have updated my Facebook status to say I have been in an accident. My older daughter Amelia is on the phone when I walk in the door, talking to my Dad. I talk to her a bit, but have nothing really to say. "I'm fine."

My Mom has been making dinner. It smalls good. And we all have a drink. It is nice to have a family to take care of you in these situations. I just sit and try to calm down, while other people do things around me. My father cannot get over the idea that I would rush to tell everyone via Facebook before I even got home...I guess I just felt the need to connect with people.

So, other than that... my boss was there when I arrived yesterday (a few minutes late). She said she was at 62%. Kerri showed up for the staff meeting, but she didn't feel good either. Brandy had called in sick as well. I felt very vulnerable, like I would probably catch it too. Meredith and I talked about lots of things during the day. I didn't really go into the problems of delivering the grant, but I did mention the fact that I couldn't get onto her computer to find out about mailing it because she changed the password. She said, it was in the Shared Documents file and I said, but that is on your computer. Then she talked about google cloud computing, where everything is stored on line, and she is going to be trying to set that up. I didn't say, maybe that isn't the first thing to worry about... We talked a lot about the Job TREC program and changes that need to be made. Sometimes I think she is a lot like me, but then she says something that reminds me how different we are in age...or yesterday she said something about how she hates when people cry. "Do that in your car," she said. So I will have to try to restrain myself if I feel like crying.

I had lunch with Becky and janna in Five Points--15 minutes there, 15 minutes back, 30 minutes to eat and talk. It's nice to have friends. Of course, I didn't tell them I was going to have a car accident later that day.

After dinner, we played a little cards and watched a little TV and went to bed. I said, "thanks for not yelling at me." Ray said, "I never get mad about big things." Which is true. And that's nice.

I tend to be pretty optimistic when i wake up each morning...and a little down when the day comes to an end and it hasn't lived up to its potential. I try to work on being grateful for the little things (and not so little, like being alive and employed and warm). So here's to another new day!

My new boss, Meredith, did not come in yesterday, and Kerri came in but left again, sick as well. I am quite worried that i will get it. I actually stayed out of Meredith's office, hoping to escape her nasty virus. Here's hoping that getting enough sleep and healthy eating will protect me. My parents are heading out of town Thursday. If I was going to get sick, I would rather they not get it, so maybe it could be after they leave... A toilet overflowed this weekend, so one of the first things I did was call a plumber. He came while I was out and worked for a while, but said he would be back later. Late in the day, I called to find out whether that meant later today or another day. He got caught up in some plumbing emergency somewhere else and will be back today I hope. That means she and her children have to go to the staff bathroom.

Meanwhile, I had forgotten that I agreed to speak to a UGA class about homelessness, one on housing policy. I got a little carried away, telling this room of 50 bored students how they should not buy the latest fads and that would solve the problem of poverty and homelessness. Nobody seemed moved. Then I went to lunch at the Georgia Center. The professor was buying. The menu said, "Ask about our sustainable entree." So I did. It was prime rib, which seemed an odd choice to be sustainable, but I ordered it. It was fine, with mashed potatoes and broccoli, not the best prime rib I ever ate, but good and relatively inexpensive (although I wasn't paying) at $8.95. The broccoli was so lightly cooked I couldn't eat it. sad. I had water to drink, no rolls and no dessert. yay me. I was talking later to my parents and trying to decide what was the best prime rib I ever ate. I came up with the Dog Team--sniff. I miss that restaurant. Maybe things just don't taste as good to me now as they did then.

I went back to the shelter and stayed until almost 5. One of our residents had a bad weekend, getting in an accident and totaling her car, getting a ticket and quitting one of her two jobs. It looks like the last reimbursement request I submitted last year for one of our grants was never processed. I am thinking maybe Alison was supposed to sign it and send it in and never did. So that's $3760 we lost...I emailed them about it, but think it is too late. And my locking file cabinet, where I keep personnel files, checks and even cash sometimes, has given up the ghost. It pretty much doesn't open and close any more. I sent Taylor to look for one at the Habitat store--I guess he didn't find one. I'll have to get it open at least long enough to move everything to a new one.

I picked Ray up and came home. He insisted on making supper. I was a little at a loss as to what to do with myself, but it was very nice and delicious. We finished our card game (started in the basement during the tornado) and I won--it was a very high scoring game, with everyone getting more than 200 points. We set up the card table in front of the wood stove and it is very pleasant. We were finished in time to watch our favorite show. It was a rerun but we laughed a lot. It was almost funnier the second time. I did not fall asleep until I went to bed, just after 10.

Sigh. Monday morning...who knows what this week will bring?


It poured all day yesterday. Ray and I walked a little in the morning, when it was raining but not pouring, so I guess it didn't pour all day. We had French toast for breakfast, but only a slice each.

I sang in choir and ray was the sound engineer. The service was excellent--about not expecting everyone to be like you. there were 10-20 visitors; I have no idea why. mostly young couples. We had our 4th sunday lunch afterward. Ray made tuna-noodle salad (it was the men's lunch).

Then we rushed off to see Avatar--a really fun way to spend 3 hours on a rainy Sunday afternoon. The matinee was only $9 for 3D. The movie draws from Terminator and Star Wars, as well as Fern Gully and the Great Kapok Tree (? a Dr. Seuss book?), and is even reminiscent of Ice Age 3. It is a fairy tale with a love story and a happy ending. But there are some good messages and, as others have said, it is groundbreaking film making. The hero is a paraplegic, which is nice. since I generally only go to happy movies, it is always depressing to leave the fantasy world and remember how flawed our world is--getting moreso all the time.

Of course, we knew the danger--it seemed like we did nothing all day. I made supper and thought about the meals for the next few days. After supper, there was a tornado warning so we went down cellar and played cards for a few hands. There's an old card table down there that we set up under the light, with the least broken chairs we could find. We had to make forays upstairs for paper and nuts to keep score with and thought how ironic it would be if a tornado hit just then...how did your father die? well, he was getting the paper to keep score...

Then I read some, because it was football on TV, and went to bed by 10.

It's raining again. I like the sound of it. It's not very cold in here, because Ray built up a fire last night.

He slept until I woke him in time to go to Pilates class. We enjoyed it very much. On our way home, we stopped at Kroger and EarthFare for him to get grocery certificates for the Fellowship, so I did a little shopping both places. In the afternoon, we played cards. I lost by quite a bit. The Captain keeps talking about Avatar, which they saw Friday, so Ray and I nearly went. The times are awkward, though. If we go to a 4:00 show, it will be too late to make supper when we get home. 8:00 is too late for me to start a 3-hour movie, usually. Maybe we'll go today.

Had a pleasant dinner. My Dad said why didn't we just have plain food; I was working too hard. I assured him I prefer to cook (and eat) more interesting things. Actually tonight's menu was not very hard or time-consuming. Ray and my Mom helped. Rachel Ray recipes are supposed to be 30 minutes, but usually take me much longer. I think when it calls for the zest and juice of one orange, they don't count that time in the 30 minutes. Assuming you have someone to prepare it for you, or you keep already zested and juiced oranges in your fridge...

I was falling asleep watching TV and got up to take a bath. then watch a little more TV and really fall asleep. In bed by 10.

I'm glad it's Saturday. Yesterday was a hard day and I am still grumpy about several things.

This was the day that Meredith and I had to finish up the grant that was due by 5:00--postmarked and emailed--and then I was going to talk to her about some of the other things on my list. She has been working hard all week and pretty much doing it all--not wanting to delegate anything, since she's the director and it's her job. All of which I totally understand and I have plenty to do myself for now. She has also been driving back and forth to Gwinnett County where they are staying with her Mom and starting to move things here to an apartment. And not eating and sleeping. Needless to say, she crashed and burned yesterday afternoon. She was green and had to get her husband to come take her home about 3. The grant was supposedly done and I just needed to mail it and email it after looking it over once more. The biggest problem was that both she and the Board president were supposed to sign it and she had not noticed that? I was reluctant to call her and the Board president did not respond to my phone call. I had Amanda read it over and made some small corrections to typos. Then I saved it and could not find it anywhere. I went into panic mode. I had Jaron call the post office and it turned out they closed at 4:30. I didn't have the actual instructions for submitting the grant, like the address. I tried to log onto Meredith's computer, but she has changed the password--again, her prerogative, but... I found what I needed, printed it, signed it, emailed it...and hand delivered it to ACTION, Inc. before 5. I don't feel as confident as I would like that everything was done right. It was a very stressful couple of hours and I realized in the process that I have managed to avoid that sort of experience for the most part. Working with other people does not allow me the degree of control I need to avoid it, but I will certainly do the best I can.

Ray and I were planning to play racquetball, but it was 5 before I picked him up, and my cell phone had died. Apparently the iPhone needs charging a lot more often than my last few phones. We did go to Ramsey, parked, and stood in line to go in, but there were no racquetball courts, naturally. And we didn't have much time anyway. Sometimes we might have changed and walked on the indoor track, but we were trying to get to the Fellowship by 6:30. We just walked back to the car and drove to a restaurant we hadn't tried in Five Points. We sat next to the Posses and chatted with them. The food was excellent and we were through by 6:15. I had a hot toddy and it was good. It had turned cold again, although not below freezing.

At the Fellowship we watched a film made by C Reed, the sister of member Lee and sister-in-law of Clela. It was preceded by wine and cheese. I wasn't feeling very chatty and mostly kept to myself. Ray was racing around helping set up the sound system. There was a great turnout. The sanctuary was almost full and there were quite a few from the gay and lesbian community, as well as foster care advocates from DFCS and CASA. The movie is about a gay couple, one of the men a UU minister, who adopt 5 children, most of whom have been in many foster homes. One had 3 failed adoptions...two sets of African-American brothers and one Hispanic child. The movie said his Mom came across the border and then left him in the hospital. I wish I knew the other side to that story. Anyway, they are awesome guys and it was sad to see the difficulties the boys had because they have 2 Dads. They moved several times, in part because that is what ministers do, but also because they were looking for a more accepting community. I believe they are now in San Francisco--with 5 teenagers! The Dads are probably in their 50s--they were together 20 years before adopting them.

One of the hard things is that C's husband was the director (she is a cultural anthropologist) and they worked on it together for about 6 years before he died somewhat suddenly of cancer. She finished the movie and has been traveling around showing it. This is her last planned showing and I don't know what she will do now. She is staying in Athens for a while. Their daughters are grown. Clela has been accepted into the Peace Corps (hard to do for people over 60) and will be leaving in a few months, so maybe C will stay with her brother for a while.

When we got home, the Captain was still up. They had gone to a 4:30 showing of Avatar (in 3-D) and then gotten takeout dinner on the way home at the meatball place. I had been looking forward to seeing that all together, although they are certainly entitled to go on their own.

I am looking forward to some physical activity today and some relaxation. I hope it works out.

Worked hard all day--9 hours, if you count lunch. It was a potluck holiday party. We were going to have it before Christmas, but it was hard to schedule, so we had it yesterday. And Meredith was there. Yay. We did a white elephant gift exchange, which was mostly pretty fun. I also gave away a few of my presents that I have been hoarding.

Went to the bank in the pouring rain, partly to take Ray to his class after he returned the car to me. He would have had to walk a ways in the wet. Meredith sent me a draft of the grant and I made suggestions which she generally accepted. Maureen from the board, a CPA, met with me and answered some Quickbooks questions--and some end of the year questions. Then there was an operations committee meeting, which went well. Meredith kept saying, yes, I'll handle that, it's my job... kind of fun. I left at 5, even though it was still going on.

It was almost 6 when we got home and my Mom had started supper from one of the recipes I had left lying around. While I was finishing it up, Ray was working, Captain was reading NYT magazine, Mom was resting. It was cold and rainy outside, but we had a fire and it seemed like a pleasant place to be.

Somehow Ray and I ended up watching TV until late in the night. He was correcting quizzes and I was knitting (or un-knitting--I had the wrong number of stitches and went back a ways before deciding I should just decrease 2). And now I woke up before 5:30. Oh, well, weekend will let me catch up.

It's raining out, but at least it's not cold--lover 50s I think, but my weather widget is not working this morning.

Day 2 with Meredith went well, I was a few minutes late and she was already there. she's a little stressed, mostly because she is trying to move to Athens and work at the same time. They sold their second car, so sh was dependent on her husband. She has been cooking for them and her Mom and now she can't.

We had lunch at the National to talk about some of the personnel issues that I didn't want to discuss in the office and she agreed with me totally and we talked about where to go from here. She was surprised that none of our case managers are licensed and we decided that as we replace them, we will make that a requirement--and up the salaries. She seems to value my opinion and support, so that is good.

I turned in my December reimbursements and picked up Ray a little after 3:30. I put the ziti in the oven that I had taken out of the freezer the day before. It was very much appreciated at potluck. I was falling asleep in choir. Ray was tired too and we went right to bed. I slept well.

Day #1 with my new boss, M., was good. She got right to work, occasionally asking me for information, meeting with staff, and working on the grant due Friday. We are supposed to talk about it today. I had a few twinges when someone asked her something instead of me, but I will get used to it. We had a staff meeting. She thanked me for staying on top of things. I met Ray for lunch. I worked on the reimbursements and she signed one. I picked Ray up a little after 4 and we were home a tiny bit before Captain and Vanessa. They had been to play bridge. Made and ate supper.

I went to Sky's house for a meeting about green features we want to make sure the new community center has.

When came home, Ray was watching the Bourne Ultimatum, not good bedtime fare! But we still went up about 10.

It has now been over a year--my first blog post was January 11, 2009. I did not expect to be so faithful in my posts. I know of about 5 people who read this, quite regularly. So tell me, what do you like and dislike? More about the weather and my health? Do you care what I watched on TV??

I have started keeping track of my meals and health on sparkpeople.com (pattyinathens is my user name). If you friend me there, you can access my home page and see in great detail what I have eaten and how much weight I've lost (none yet). Likewise, I generally post on Goodreads details about books I'm reading. I could keep up with movies on Facebook, but the process is a little cumbersome. I can never figure out how to get to it.

Yesterday, we went to the Fellowship. It was a very good service, featuring 3 baby dedications--fun. Maddalena wore a white christening gown. She is 8 or 9 months old. Camden was in a little plaid shirt and pants, looking around. Evelyn is the youngest; she was in a red velvet dress. Her brother Luke stole the show. He must be two and he couldn't stand still. He wanted to sit down and play with the stones we use for joys and concerns. Boys! They all had lots of family visiting and it was lovely to see. I don't think my children were dedicated, although I remember discussing it. Dave talked about Gandhi and the Dalai Lama (as preparation for MLK day, today). I enjoyed it and we sang lots of moving songs. Do you know this one? "If every woman in the world had her mind set on freedom...?" Don't worry there are verses for men and nations too. The last line is "there would be no more war." I got a little teary at the end of the service. There is so much more to do. I am pretty sure I can't be Gandhi and give up my worldly possessions... or send a big check to Haiti.

At home, I started working on macaroni and cheese. There was a Kenney Ridge meeting at 4 and I assumed it would be followed by a potluck dinner. Ray called around and found out that, no, there was not one this time, just the meeting. So I finished the macaroni and cheese and froze it, went to the meeting, and made something different for supper. While I was out, my Dad got the chicken bones he had been saving in the freezer and made stock. Yay! When we got home, they were having drink and snack. They wanted me to join them, but I had to get supper started.

Between phone calls from both daughters and one sister, as well as some serious dozing, we watched the Golden Globes. It was fun.

This morning, I am thinking of Molli. It is an hour earlier in Mexico, but I know she is up, on her way in a car to the airport in Veracruz, with a chatty driver. She is headed to LA for a few days of training at her company's HQ.

Ray and I were very busy.

We took a little walk in the morning. After breakfast, we went to Pilates class--the first ever for Ray. It was good and we will probably go every week. It was raining when we came out, so no chance of cutting down trees, digging up the ground, or doing laundry. We went by Plato's Closet, where they only took one item from our bag of clothes. While we were waiting, Ray browsed and bought some shirts and one pair of work pants. I bought a book and a new pair of sneakers for racquetball. It was over $50! Not as good as Goodwill...they didn't appear to have women's clothes my size, and I know they cater to much younger people.

We had lunch and did a little tidying, including vacuuming, before Captain and Vanessa's bridge guests arrived. She had made and frosted an apple cake for them. Ray and I stayed upstairs on our computers while they were here. I balanced the checkbook and listened to music with the headset. Otherwise I would hear my dad saying to my Mom, "why didn't you bid...?" After a couple hours, I came down and started working on supper, in part because it was a little chilly in the house. Then I heard a lot more--apparently nobody had much in the way of good cards and it was not much fun. When they left, my Mom put her head down on the back of the couch. "What's the matter?" I said. She said, "that is the most unpleasant woman I ever met." This is a pretty strong reaction for my Mom. Apparently she complained about everything, wearing her coat because she was so cold, even though Ray stirred the fire up and they were just inches from it. She took a bite out of two different pieces of chocolate (hoping she would like the second better than the first) and left them on the table. She didn't want any cake because she is dieting, but nibbled on candy all afternoon. And I guess the worst thing, she bragged about what a great player she was, but neither of them played very well at all, making it hard for my parents to play because their bids were so unreliable. She insisted on enforcing all the rules, but they never knew whose turn it was to shuffle or bid and he once bid out of turn. Anyway, it was almost funny.

We had dinner, which was somehow not as good as I hoped. I think the three dishes I made were all good, but not particularly complementary... after dinner, we attempted to watch TV, but couldn't all agree. My Dad was grumpy about how we were always going out. Most nights he would be asleep, or at least in his room, by the time we left for contra dancing a little before 8. We had a great time and came home very sore and tired. We saw lots of people we hadn't seen in ages, like Susan and Tim. Their daughter is in a grad. program at Auburn for something like agricultural sociology (think Omnivore's Dilemma). It sounded pretty neat. She did a nine month trip with Heifer International and now her brother is doing one too.

It rained for about 15 hours, I think, but it is not as cold now. We didn't even have the woodstove going overnight.

Yesterday was a good day. Sunny and not too cold. I was (and am) excited that it was my last day as Acting Director and when I come to work on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday), there will be someone there to discuss things with and take over some of the work. She will probably be there right at 8 and I will not have to worry so much about what time I arrive. Perhaps this is not a good thing...

I worked a lot on reimbursements and have three ready to submit. I had a good break enjoying lunch with Becky and Janna. We could have talked twice as long, but it really re-energized me.

We had three interns, Jaron, and four staff members and all the desks were in use. I am not sure where Jaron will sit when the director is here. I feel good about what we have done in the last 4 1/2 months. I think the shelter is better than it was when I started. Certainly the residents are relatively quiet and agreeable, although I can't take credit for that. I do think Kerri has had the supportive environment she needs to tell them she is not going to get involved in drama and pettiness.

Ray and I had a good game of racquetball--I won the second game by a couple points. We had intended to go to the Fellowship for a movie, but it turned out to be next week. We went to dinner and enjoyed it very much. I had one of the strangest experiences of my life though and it was in my dreams all night long.

Ray saw someone coming in and he said, that is the ugliest woman I've ever seen--it's Jay. I said no, it doesn't look anything like him. Fortunately, we had been told about this situation, or I don't know how I would have reacted. Someone that we knew slightly for years--his children were friends of our children, we know his wife--is now a woman. She sat down at a table far away and it did indeed look like a man dressed as a woman, but I didn't think she resembled Jay at all. Sure enough, after a while, she came over to our table and talked a while. She was meeting some people and they had a miscommunication, so they were running late. Not surprisingly, Jay liked to talk and so does Janine. Wearing a wig, a dress, and high heels, she told us about how upset her children are and how surprisingly supportive the university and her department are. We were agreeable and supportive, I think, but it is very hard for me to accept. She wanted a hug, which I gave her. She is taking estrogen and talked about how that made her love chocolate. She could have had surgery a couple months ago, but it is too expensive. We were glad to have recently seen TransAmerica and know a little more about it than we might have otherwise. Some people want to tell you more than you want to hear and that is Jay/Janine.

After that, we went to the movies--full price by ourselves, something we rarely do. The good news is that although my ticket was $9, Ray is over 55 and therefore a senior citizen and only paid $6.50! We saw Meryl Streep and Steve Martin in It's Complicated, a light, romantic comedy, funny and entertaining, and enjoyed it very much. The parking was terrible, I guess everyone was at the movies, and we didn't see the beginning, but we will sometime. There were hints of Julia Child in Julie and Julia. The Meryl Streep character studied baking in France and owns a big restaurant called the Bakery. I don't suppose people want to see movies about slobs and failures, but one does get tired of rich people who are good at everything. The house is clean; she is building a big addition with a view of the ocean, she is an incredible cook and great in bed.

I slept well.

Exciting news--AAHS has a new director! I met her yesterday morning. She seems energetic and smart and I think we will get along well. If anything, we are too much alike. She has been Development Director at a Food Bank in Austin, TX, has her MSW and her M. Div. Her husband is an MBA student at UGA and they will be looking for an apartment and trying to use one car.

I had trouble focusing after that. I gave her a copy of the grant I have been working on and decided not to do anything more on that until she looks it over and we can talk on Tuesday. She wanted to come in on Monday, even after I said it was a holiday, but finally said there wouldn't be much point if I wasn't there. I moved some of my things from her desk back to mine, like my children's picture. And copied stuff from her computer to mine. Talked briefly with E. from HED about one of my grant proposals, which I also need to discuss with M. (new director) next week. Went to the bank.

Ray couldn't leave until almost 5 and the traffic was slow. Vanessa was still a little groggy from her colonoscopy and the Captain tired and stressed. But he had put the pot roast on and I added the carrots and potatoes, so we had a great dinner after a while. To complicate things, our vendor of shrimp had called that afternoon and the Captain had to go meet him to pick up shrimp and scallops. They are very good quality, large and fresh, but not cheap. We enjoy having good seafood in the freezer, though, to add to our meal preparation options. He had to spend some time repacking them in 1-pound bags.

Read a little, watched TV, went to bed. Slept well. Still cold here (23 this morning), but sunny during the day and up to 60.

I am running late this morning, slept in. I was awake at 5 and didn't realize I had gone back to sleep until Ray was getting up.

Monday a man came by the shelter from the water department to alert us that our meter reading was way up and we probably had an underground leak. I was pretty worried about it. Yesterday I had Taylor look around the outside for puddles (or frozen water) or soggy places. Nothing. Then he started checking the rooms and found a toilet running. When the Mom came home, I said, please let us know when there is a problem like this. and she said I didn't notice...I don't know if she is being defensive or what. Taylor went to the hardware store and got some waterproof glue and fixed it. Yay! It was a great relief. He is sort of the handyman intern and I feel a little guilty about it, but he has saved us so much trouble and money, it's great. There's still a lot that needs doing that is beyond his level, light fixtures and moldy ceilings.

It was the day to do payroll, but I couldn't start until afternoon, because Kerri was teaching. Then I had to wait for someone from the board to come and sign the time sheets. I had a backlog of things from the last month to sign. She was later than she thought she'd be.

Meanwhile I was worried about the grant due a week from tomorrow. It is for capacity-building and can't be used for direct services. So my plan to hire a job coach was nixed. And I hadn't been getting any help from the board. I finally talked to two board members today and they told me they are offering the job of director to a young woman who I will meet in a little over an hour. She has no experience with homelessness or running an organization, but she is supposedly smart, personable and hard-working. I am excited.

I had a nominating committee meeting at the Fellowship. It went well. Then dinner and choir and home.

Yesterday morning went fine. I walked to the Bottleworks to have lunch with Julie Knowlton, which I enjoyed very much. Then drove Ray to Aderhold for his class. I had a two hour lunch! but since i am paid hourly it is fine. I met with Tephra and Saskia and Paul about working together and it went well.

Ray and I came home and I had lots of energy, made supper and dessert and then went to UUFA Board meeting, which was good. Home a little after 9 (missing Molli's call). Went to bed and read for a while.

working on the budget and the reimbursement requests. The interns are back and it was a full house yesterday. I went to lunch with Andy and enjoyed it. She is finding Pre-K lots of work these days. Jan is supposedly retiring this spring.

Played racquetball with Ray at 4--we were both tired from working, but it was really good. I won the second game...ha.

Got home about 5:30, made supper, ate supper, played cards, watched TV. All is good.

Monday morning again. I am feeling a little bit like "where did the time go?" "What did I do with my weekend?" as well as "will it ever be warm?" It seems so cold and dark much of the day. Not that i have anything to complain about. It's colder and darker lots of places. We had sun again yesterday, and our stove and heat keep us warm. But there is a sort of permanent hunch that I get when it's cold and I am sure it is bad for my back. I think my mother has more pain when it is cold.

I made pancakes and finished the chocolate cookies I started the day before. Ray went walking, but it was only 18 degrees and I did not join him. I did a load of laundry...he and I went to the Fellowship. He played John the Baptist for the kids. He has been growing his beard. I was a merchant. We both remembered our lines pretty well. Dan E. was Jesus. He didn't have as many lines. There were maybe 20 or more kids and they seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards we discussed with the 5 and 6 year olds. They liked it, but didn't have much to say about the message. I missed being in the service. It was the annual "burning bowl" service, where you burn up the things from the old year that you want to get rid of (like greed or jealousy).

In the afternoon, I went to an open house at a pilates studio, Balance, which has a Saturday morning beginners class. It is on Tracy Street, near Canopy and the homeless shelter. It's a nice space and I liked her (Amanda). I felt silly, driving all the way there just to meet them and see the space, but maybe that will make me likely to take the class. Ray might join me. That would be good.

Vanessa made supper. I planned meals for the next couple days. Ray worked a lot, but decided he had time to play cards after supper.

Vanessa's birthday! (she's 82)

Yesterday was bitter cold. It was 13 when it started to get light and I went downstairs. No one else was up, smart them! I turned up the heat and threw some wood on the fire. (it was not very effective, as my father pointed out when he redid it, because I didn't put enough kindling on. I know this, but the kindling was outside and I was not about to open the door!) I ate a healthy breakfast, measuring the amounts. When my Mom got up, we heated up the treats I had gotten for her the day before at Big City Bread: 2 mini-coffeecakes and 2 muffins. For one thing, it allowed us to turn on the oven, adding a little more heat. Fortunately, it was a sunny day and between the sun, the rejuvenated fire and the heat, it got quite pleasant in the house. I got the gift certificate for a spa visit that my sisters and I had bought and gave it to my Mom with her breakfast. She seemed pleased.

Ray and I went to Trumps, where the Athens Area Democrats were having their monthly breakfast. He had to pay the bill (he's the Treasurer). I sat in the car and prepared some deposits, learned my lines for the play this morning, and read some. It got so warm in the car in the sun that I had to take off my heavy sweater. When he came back, we went to get my iPhone! The place in Beechwood that he called still didn't have any, so we had to drive to oconee County (I hate buying things there because the taxes go to them). It was even cold in the store. The salespeople had their coats on. A nice woman helped me. She seemed to think I should be more excited... We looked at cases too, but I decided to wait until I had it for a while to decide what case I wanted (they started at $25). she copied my contacts from my old phone and showed me how to use it. $30 more per month for the data plan! I haven't played with it a lot yet, I am trying to be moderate and just use it as I need it. We did play with the GPS on the way home--pretty cool!

After lunch, we played Oh Hell most of the afternoon--hard to get my mother to say what she wanted to do, but she seemed to like that idea, even though she lost pretty badly. The 3 of us were close, all over 200 at the end...and I won!

She had picked Five & Ten for dinner and we enjoyed it very much. It was cold even in there and began to get noisy by the time we left (7:30). We were there early for the Prix Fixe--Ray's the only one who chose to get it. Vanessa and I split an entree (flounder with polenta and greens--yummy), as well as lobster bisque and Caesar salad. We each got our own dessert--apple streudel tart with lemon verbena ice cream for me. Excellent creme brulee for her. Ray had something called Jameson Pudding as part of his dinner--very light and fluffy.

We finished our game when we got home and I dozed through two episodes of As Time Goes By, staying up until 10! I think my Mom enjoyed her birthday.

It was so cold yesterday, what little snow fell was still on the ground by nightfall. Now it is about 15 degrees. There were some icy places, but we didn't have any trouble. I think it was worse in Atlanta. Worked hard on reconciling the bank statements and the budget. Had lunch with Becky and enjoyed it, but apparently what I ate disagreed with me. I was home working on supper and getting ready for drink and snack when I had serious stomach cramps and diarrhea. Ray finished getting supper and I lay down and read for a while. Joined them at the table and the veggies were great. Couldn't get myself to eat much fish, although they seemed to like it. It had a balsamic thyme sauce.

We had snow yesterday, just flurries, but it was pretty to watch coming down. They have been predicting the possibility of 2-3 inches last night and people have been talking about it--who will cover the shelter if it snows, etc. The Captain was at Kroger yesterday afternoon, buying wine, and it was a madhouse. No parking, no carts. Vanessa is scheduled for a colonoscopy next week and had an appointment to meet with the doctor. She waited over an hour.

Yesterday I started working on the budget for the shelter for this year--not easy with no guidance, but you have to start somewhere. At noon, several of us attended the Homeless Coalition meeting. Good to network with others in the field.

At 2:30 I left and went to pick up Ray. When we got home, he called the satellite repair man, who said he would come that day if possible (even though it was snowing). Ray told him if we were going to be snowed in, we wanted our TV to work. I worked on supper and then took a break. Captain and Vanessa arrived after her doctor's appointment and Carl the repairman said he was on his way. Ray was supposed to leave for a Democratic Committee meeting, but he wanted to stay to talk to Carl. After he left, Carl got the TV going again. He checked out all three of the TV's to make sure they were all working and fixed the place in the living room where we could plug it in if we want to move it. We talked to him for quite a while, an interesting guy, retired from the marines, talked to the Captain about taking up sailing and the time he fell overboard from a destroyer. Someone saw him go and threw a rope down before he even came up. Otherwise, he would probably have been a goner. We had a lovely drink and snack in front of the stove and dinner when Ray got home. Then we could watch TV. I didn't make it through one show and crawled up to bed at 9.

Back to Normal?

Classes start at UGA today, although Ray doesn't teach until tomorrow. He is getting up at 5:30 and walking for an hour in the dark and cold, so he can get his exercise in and be ready to go when I leave for work. That way I can drop him at his office or he can catch the bus.

Went to a workshop about some new grants using stimulus money. It was pretty cold in the meeting room at the library. It is hard to explain what made me so cross about the process. One of the things is the people in charge are not any more qualified than I am. I applied for one of those jobs and didn't even get an acknowledgment. They are requiring every applicant to do this complicated on line assessment. I can't answer some of the questions without the board and they haven't responded to my emails. It is not a huge amount of money ($5000-$30000) and the process is pretty difficult. I guess if the board does not help, I can't apply. No word on a new director...

Between routine work and the 2 hour workshop, it was 2:00 before I knew it. More end of year donations to deposit. Ray and I went to the Ramsey Center gym at UGA and played a little moderate racquetball, just one game to 11. I was nervous about my back, but wanted exercise. Then we walked 4 laps on the indoor track. It is still really cold here, 25 this morning.

Came home and didn't do much, on the computer. Went to potluck and enjoyed dinner with Amber's children. She is the choir director and has a 2 year old and a baby. The younger one is very loud and demanding--she tried to grab food from her parents' plates and howled whenever they walked away. The rest of the family is very quiet and shy. It just made me laugh.

I enjoyed singing, but dropped my music once because I was falling asleep. Came home, read a little, went to bed.

This cold weather is really starting to get to me. It's 20 here this morning and has been below freezing every night for a month. Now I realize that is normal in some places, but it has never been so cold for so long in Athens, that I can remember. My wonderful house is not really designed for it. It has too many windows. During the sunny days, it's lovely, and the wood stove takes the chill off sometimes. But getting up in the dark and the cold is miserable. And we have actually had the heat going a lot. I think it's important for my mother (and myself) to keep it warm in here.

Tree is gone and everything put away. The plan was to move the TV into the living room (where the tree was) so we could watch TV sitting in front of the fire. However, Ray has not been able to make the connection to the satellite work. He has been to Radio Shack and Lowe's and called service several times. Eventually, we will have to give up and pay $100 for a service call--or move the TV back into its old spot in the study. My hope was to work on cleaning up the study and maybe build shelves there, more easily done without the TV.

Yesterday I worked 7 hours, bookkeeping and submitting reimbursements, but I found a mistake and will have to do one over today. Fortunately, it is pretty early. Then I went and bought a new printer for Peggy and installed it, for which she will pay me. I was home by 4:30, reading and eating potato chips and having a drink. It was not a good day for losing weight. Ray made supper and then we watched DVD's, which we can do even without the satellite hookup.

I am a little nervous about sitting in front of my computer. Maybe that contributed to my back attack. Yesterday I went to work in the morning, but I took a muscle relaxant and a pain pill. It did help with the pain, but I wanted to go to sleep. I hope I didn't make any mistakes in entering deposits in the computer. Ray picked me up about 11 and we went to the bank and then home. I slept and dozed most of the day, reading a little. A heated neck wrap helped some.

Vanessa made dinner. I couldn't sit at the table long, on the hard chair, but sitting on the couch was good. Sometimes I dozed upright. Ray tried to move the TV into the living room, so we could sit in front of the fire and watch TV at the same time. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the satellite to work. He called the company, they sent him out to buy a connector, it still didn't work, he called back. He was very frustrated. I say just move it back in the TV room. He is thinking of having a man come out for $99. The Captain was very sad not to be able to watch TV. I think we all were. It makes you realize how dependent you are.

Back Trouble

Yesterday was a wasted day. All ws well as I got up and made pancakes and got ready for church. One the way, in the car, my back started hurting in the way it does--spasms that are more or less frequent and sharp. All through the service, I was trying to adjust my posture to find a place that didn't hurt, to the point that people asked me afterward what was wrong. We stopped at Publix on the way home to get mushrooms for dinner. When we got home, I ate some leftovers and took my muscle relaxation pill and lay down. All day, I was dozing and trying to get comfortable and taking medicine and reading a little. Finally at bedtime, I took a Lortab and that let me sleep all night. This morning my lower back is stiff and sore, but no spasms. I hated to just lie there and waste a whole day. Ray waited on me, but I was pitiful. It was cold, but we had sun and wood fires and the heat going. This morning it is 19 degrees out here. I hope all is well at the Shelter.

A lovely holiday, but very cold. My parents and I were trying to think of an outing or a project we should do, because it was clearly too cold for working outside. Ray slept until after 10! His thought was "let's play cards." He and I walked to the mailbox, Captain and Vanessa walked even farther, even though it was bitter cold and windy. The ground was frozen and it never got above 35. But the sun was strong and it was 75 in the house by mid-afternoon. Of course, we fired up the wood stove morning and evening. I vacuumed and made bread. Ray brought 4 wheelbarrow loads full of wood onto the porch. Vanessa made cookies and she and I undecorated the tree and packed things up. Ray took down the lights, with the new 10-foot stepladder the Captain gave us for Christmas. He tested the bulbs and replaced the ones that were out. I broke one glass ball, handing it down to Vanessa. We packed up the Christmas dishes and glasses. It was a little sad, but good to get it done. The Captain worked some on his column and Ray especially worked on the jigsaw puzzle. The sunlight made it easy to see. We did laundry too, and that was our day.

Mixed feelings

So sad that Molli is gone--I cried a couple times. Having a couple more days off--a good thing. It is so cold here though. Yesterday there was some good sun to warm up our house, along with the wood stove and cooking. The Captain went out for a little while, but his digestion was bothering him. He ate and drank too much bad stuff New Year's Eve, apparently.

I got her up, she was all packed, made her a bagel to take with her. Ray and she and I drove to the Athens airport. We were in plenty of time, although there were others there ahead of us. We waited until about 8:30 before security started up. There were very careful and thorough, but it's still a much more pleasant experience. The plane was a little late, it didn't leave until 9. I drove home (after chatting with the police chief who was there, driving one of ten hybrids he says the department owns to save more gas for the cruisers). Vanessa and the Captain were up. I finished the muffins, put a few pieces in the puzzle. Ray called when they had landed. His flight back was canceled, so it was 2 before I picked him up again. We went to the grocery store, made an extra casserole for the freezer, played cards.

Happy New Year!

Yes, I am once again up at 5:30, even though I only went to bed about 5 hours ago. I wake up every few hours, drink some water, try to go back to sleep, and when it gets this "late", I just don't go back to sleep. Maybe if Molli weren't leaving today I would be more relaxed and sleepier. Maybe I'll take a nap later today.

I am so sad she is going. Yesterday I was pretty mopey because Amelia was gone. Today I am distraught. As I said to Molli, it would be worse if I couldn't wait to get rid of them. It is like living in a gray or two-dimensional world after living in color for a while. Not that anything is different, just they understand me and love me and have the same interests and values I do. Well, anyway, it was nice to have them and now they are leaving.

It was very cold in our house yesterday--gray and drizzly out and hard to get it warm, although it was by the end of the day. Molli and I ran some errands. One of the things she did this trip (and has done on other visits, perhaps less extensively) is shop for Adrian, as well as herself and others. Yesterday we visited Rugged Wearhouse and bought several pairs of pants. I picked up a couple shirts for my Dad and a pair of cheap sunglasses for me.

We also went to the post office and mailed a couple of packages with post-Christmas presents. Molli sent coffee to Seattle--it cost more to mail than to buy it. And I sent a package to Santa Fe (book rate). It has some piano music for my nephew and a nice surprise for the family. Book rate is so cheap, I should only buy books as presents. Then we went to Kroger to get eggs and orange juice and bananas...I treated Molli to a Cinnabon on our way home, something really decadent I would not normally buy. We had leftovers for lunch, plenty of good things to eat, especially ziti. Suddenly, Molli remembered we were supposed to pick up Vanessa's medicine at the drug store while we were out. They were closing early because of the holiday, at 2. It was 2:01. We called and Andy said he would wait for us. What a nice man! When we got there, he was helping someone else and another person came in, too. I am glad he can't say no...

We played some cards and Molli made a chocolate cake, with vanilla frosting and strawberries on it. Molli and Ray and I went to dinner at Deb and John's, with Janna and Ron. My parents were invited, but I sort of discouraged them from coming. I think it was a good call, but I feel a little bad. Deb was disappointed. After supper, we played Taboo and had a great time, the girls beating the boys pretty badly. We all know each other pretty well, so it is easier to get your ideas across, especially Molli and I. Ron thought we must be using telepathy. The boys kind of wait until they know the answer, whereas we were just guessing and brainstorming and would usually come up with it faster. It's hard not to use the forbidden words, though.

We got home much later than we thought, about 11, in time to open the Spanish champagne. I was so tired and sleepy, I was not much fun and could barely stay awake. Amelia called from Central Park. She was running a race with Kevin and his sister Kasey. It was snowing and cold and she wanted to get started. I guess I will hear how it went a little later.