A Breath of Warm Air

The thick frost is nearly melted off the inside of our screen door.

The roads are wet, necessitating a new jug of winter windshield washer fluid and a stop at the gas station to wash my headlights before I could drive home.

The air outside does not take your breath away as soon as you step outside.

Was it only a few days ago that we were the second coldest place on the planet at -51 C?

Tonight, at 9 pm the temperature reading on my computer tells me it is a mere 2 degrees below freezing.

I'm sure the tow truck drivers, who've been working 20 hour days lately, are breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Thank you, Jesus, for a chinook.

Taking a Ribbing

Jim's truck is quite large and 'jacked up'...... a man's truck, for sure, so when he showed up on his lease location in my truck, it was a step 'down' in the macho world in which he works.

So, yesterday, he shows up in a little JETTA!

'The guys' (his rig crew) laughed and asked him, "What are you going to show up with tomorrow, a bike?"

HaHaHaHa

Life demands that you are able to laugh at yourself from time to time.

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No thanks to AMA (except for footing the bill), I had a tow truck here before noon to pick up my truck and take us to the dealership - whom I had already called and explained that the truck MUST be fixed that day.

Thanks to the dealership for giving me a loaner vehicle and getting my truck into the shop as soon as we arrived.

AND it didn't cost near as much as we'd feared.

But....now it seems the switch for the headlights isn't working quite right.

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Jim's truck is still being diagnosed.....since yesterday morning.

That sounds expensive.

Going from Bad to Worse

Yesterday, Jim's truck was taken to the dealership in Camrose to be fixed. They will be working on it today.

I put the trickle charger on my car and plugged it in all day. When Jim got home, he boosted my car with my truck. It started.....barely.

We plugged Dan's car in and let the two diesel vehicles run all night.

At about 2:30 a.m. I woke up to use the bathroom. I checked to be sure the truck and car were still running and was concerned that the truck sounded strange. I debated waking Jim, but knew that something was wrong. I shook him a few times and the only response I got was movement. As soon as I said "Jim, the truck sounds funny" he sprang up and rushed to the window to listen for himself. He pulled his clothes on and literally ran out to the truck.

I could hear the engine being revved up then stop. He came back in a few minutes later and handed me a very cold, round piece of metal. The pulley we had been concerned about yesterday had come off.

Now what to do? We are down to just a little car for Jim to get to work in. He works where cars are not supposed to go......as in, very rough terrain. We considered waking Andrew up and getting his truck for the day, but Jim decided that because of the packed snow on his locations, he could manage with the car for the day. (Albeit uncomfortably)

My assignment......get the truck to the shop first thing this morning....go WITH the truck and make sure it gets fixed today.

I called AMA at 6 a.m. - after getting a busy signal several times, I finally got through to a recording......they are not taking calls unless it is from someone stuck in traffic. That is, if you are at home or at the office, forget it.

So, I called Tony's Towing....got some poor guy out of bed (by this time it was 7 a.m.) and asked if I could bypass AMA to get to them. Yes, but if I don't need the tow before 8:00 could I please call back and talk to dispatch.......

Next up.....call the dealership and insist on their fixing my truck first thing, get dressed, pack a bag with a bottle of water and a book (&/or maybe my x-stitch) and wait for the tow truck.

Oh yes, the wake up at 2:30 a.m.? Jim could not go back to sleep.....he turned on the TV at about 3:30 a.m. and watched all the extra features on the disc we were watching last night. This kept me from really sleeping. Finally, he shut it off and just lay there (resting, at least) until his alarm went off at 5 a.m. I slept for that last hour and a half.

Not that it felt like I slept at all.

I am thankful my bladder woke me up, though......at least we were mentally prepared when Jim left this morning. And he was there to turn the truck off when the pulley broke.

Unbelievable

This afternoon, Jim had me unplug his truck and plug my car in....his plan was to have the engine warmed up by the time he got home and then he would put the trickle charger on it for a couple hours. Theoretically, it would start then and we would leave it run all night (assuming there is enough fuel in it) so that I would have a vehicle in the morning. We would plug HIS truck in for the night and leave my truck running. Not sure what we would do about Dan's car....probably plug it in instead of Jim's truck, plugging the truck in when Dan goes to work.

When Jim got home, however, he called me outside. I was concerned to hear a squealing sound coming from under the hood of my truck. Jim showed me where one of the 5 pulleys on the belt was not turning correctly (as evidenced by the side to side movement of the belt).

This poses an unbelievably complex problem.

Jim was driving my truck because his truck has a number of things wrong with it (mostly having to do with computer/electrical issues). He is not confident that his truck will run all day without breaking down.

My truck is now just as likely to break down - with a potential of the breakdown causing more problems.

Jim has two sets of workers to oversee tomorrow....two wells being worked on at the same time. Two sets of men who would be sitting and waiting if Jim does not show up. That is not an option.

So.....not too sure what he has decided, but he is outside now (at 1030 pm, when he should be sound asleep) keeping my truck running at a low idle in order to preserve the pulley while he waits for the block heater on his truck to do its job and warm his truck enough to start or be boosted.

My truck couldn't have waited until his was fixed before having problems, could it?

Of course, the fact that our area was reportedly the coldest spot on the planet this morning might have had something to do with the pulley not working anymore.

Only one more day of very cold temperatures.....our high tomorrow will be -24 C and Tuesday we will warm up to about -13. By Saturday, the temperature will be just below freezing. Even -24 will be a relief after the -45 this morning and the -30 this afternoon.

Jim is getting very tempted to buy himself a new truck - until he actually looks at the prices, that is. Then, driving an older vehicle that requires TLC but is paid for is alot more attractive.

I'm sure there will be more on our vehicle troubles over the next couple days.

A Rather Long Mish Mash of Happenings.....

Somebody tell me who stole the first two weeks of December?

How did we get to within 12 days of Christmas already?

I seriously do not know how this happened. Normally, I have most of my shopping done by now....this year I've barely begun and worse than that, I do not know what I am getting for most people. Also, I have 3 gifts that I am making.....must get to work on those.

I think I will have to leave working on my basement until the new year - except to find the Christmas decorations/ornaments......I want to make my house at least look like we're ready for the holidays.

But.....what's been going on in the last few days? (Besides getting to be VERY cold, that is)

Thursday morning, Kathryn and I were talking about the weather and the road conditions which were not good and forecasted to be worsening by Saturday when they were leaving from the Calgary airport for England. While we were talking, Kath looked at the flights from Edmonton to Calgary and found that the price for the 4 of them to take that flight was half what it had been when she first checked it out. We decided that it was worth it for them to fly to Calgary instead of my driving them on icy roads in -30C weather.

Thursday night, after I was asleep, my phone rang. It was Kathryn, sounding very desperate...."Mom, I can't find my passport!". Big problem, obviously. It seems, she had the passport in her purse since they went for Taliah's passport a week or so before. It was seen in her purse on either Monday or Tuesday. She had not gone anywhere but the church and one restaurant from Tuesday - Thursday. The church was searched, the restaurant called (even though she didn't think she took her purse there), and the van searched. The house was literally torn up looking for the document. I tried to insert some faith and peace into the situation and encouraged her to pray, trust, and just go to bed. I also assured her that I'd come over in the morning to lend a 'new set of eyes' to the search.

I don't know if Kathryn went to sleep, but I did not....at least not for awhile.

Friday.....when I arrived at the Muyaba house, they were on the way out the door to go get passport photos taken - apparently, Kath had phoned the passport office and was told that it was possible to get a new passport today - IF she had all her documents in order. But no guarantees.

I kept Seth and told Vinj and Kath I'd keep searching while they went to the city to try for the seemingly impossible.

Andrew came over and helped with moving furniture to search. I emptied boxes, tore Seth's bed apart, searched everywhere. Andrew looked in all the registers, among other places. We did not find the missing passport. It is a total mystery where it can be.....maybe Seth took it from her purse and stuck it somewhere - which means it could be in the garbage bin....gone for good. OR they'll find it when they are least expecting to.

Up in the city.... Kath was told she needed this document notarized and she needed her travel itinery - and they needed it all before 2 p.m. She got directions to the nearest notary public and Vinj went to the library (with baby Taliah) to print off their itinery. (this was all done by running the blocks between Canada Place and the other destinations).

At 1:45, they stood again before the lady with the power, handed over the requested documentation, and were told....."We don't need your itinery, we need proof that you've paid for your flights" and "Your ID is out of date.....you can get new ID back at the place you got the other document notarized" and "You need to have it in by 2 p.m."

Obviously, 15 minutes was not going to be long enough to do those things, but people were praying for favor! The woman went to her boss and convinced them to give Kath an extra hour.

Off they RAN again and on their return this time, they weren't given any other assignments....just told they would know at 4:30...but no guarantees.

Seriously, what would they do if she was denied? When you buy the cheapest flights, there are no refunds - not to mention the family in England and Belgium who would be sorely disappointed not to have the anticipated visit.

Poor Kath, this was probably one of the worst days of her life up to now.

Well, the passport was granted. Which makes you wonder why it takes so long to get one 'normally'......even when Jim and I got our passports, we were told that for the applications to be 'expedited', it would take 4 days and cost an extra $70 each. Kathryn's 'less than 24 hours' application also cost an extra $70, but she got it in a matter of HOURS.

The weather had been cold and snowy all day, making the roads very icy, making this mother worry until they were safely home.

I went home to make supper for my man and then back to Vinj and Kath's to spend the night since we were leaving by 5 a.m. to get to the Edmonton Airport on time.

The morning was very cold. The roads were rather slippery. BUT there was little traffic, thankfully, and we made it to the departure level without incident.

I went home for awhile before going into Camrose for some errands.

Kath called at about 9 a.m. Their flight to Calgary had been cancelled and they were moved onto the next flight....which would be at 10 a.m.

That would leave them with barely enough time to make their London flight at 1:30. As I went about my errands, I kept an eye on the clock. When 2:30 passed without a phone call, I breathed easier. They must have made their flight.

And in all that....searching and packing and dropping off at the airport, I forgot to take any photos! I'm slipping, I tell ya!

In the meantime, Jim's truck is quite sick. He has been limping along with it because he wanted me to have my truck while the weather/roads have been 'iffy' but decided yesterday that he needed to be sure he wasn't going to break down on the side of the road when it is 40 below freezing. So, when I got home from my errands, I emptied my truck of carseats, garbage, and paraphernalia that seems to collect in it. He spent 45 minutes in the freezing cold moving his necessary office equipment from his truck to mine last night then left my truck run through the night so my car could be plugged in.

When Jim was outside, I finished making him some cookies and doing the dishes. I admit that I dipped into the cookie dough a few times. I drank a few glasses of water while doing these tasks but I was still thirsty so I took my water bottle (500 ml) and drank it ALL at one time. Immediately, I was doubled over in pain and I felt like all the water was going to come back up. Who would have thought that drinking too much water all at once would make you sick? (I still felt thirsty, BTW.) The discomfort subsided somewhat after Jim had me walk around for about 20 minutes. Still, I went to sleep sitting up because I could not lay down flat. I woke up about 3 hours later to use the bathroom and could then lay down. My stomach was still tender when I woke at 5 a.m., but at least I was no longer in pain.

Weird. But it might just break me of my habit of 'chugging' my water all at once.

This morning my car would not start. Jim plugged his truck in so I'd have a vehicle at my disposal.

Daniel was in bed when we got up, but his car was not in the drive.

A friend drove him home. His car was frozen in the church parking lot.

Dan is at this moment bringing the Christmas tree upstairs. Soon, he'll be leaving to rescue his car.

I think I will spend the day working on Christmas preparations.......for me, so much is in the planning. It is too cold to go outside. Actually, I still do not feel 100% after my little water poisoning episode last night.

Jim's truck is going into the shop on Tuesday morning....somehow, I need to get it to town and then be able to go get Sherry for our trip to Edmonton by 9:30. That is still a problem I've yet to work out. Maybe they'll give me a 'loaner'? Maybe I'll have to take it in on Monday and have Dan pick me up and bring me home when he is done work. IF we can get my car going, that is.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.....I'll try to get back to having the camera a permanent part of my person.

Friday's Favorite Five

What little things brought you moments of joy this week? Join Susanne and the gang to highlight those things that blessed you this week.

Here's my contribution......(in random order, of course)

1. After being snowed in for 2 days (take a look at the drift across the front of my driveway)....

....and then having the grader bypass my driveway, I was very blessed to have my two younger boys come as soon as I called them. They parked on the road and toiled through the drifts in the front yard to transform the tractor from a lawn tractor to a snow remover (why didn't we do that a week earlier?) and then cleared a wide enough spot through the drift for us to come and go.

Even better, Andrew stuck around for an hour or so for a nice visit.

2. Monday, my truck would not start - even though it was plugged in all day. Because we did not know what was wrong with it, I had to cancel my 'chauffer' appointment with Sherry on Tuesday. This was disappointing because I really enjoy the visits. But.......I was blessed to have the opportunity to spend the afternoon with Sherry anyway when my SIL, her Wednesday driver, called and asked if I would take his 'shift' so he could help Kathryn study and prepare for the final exam she was planning to write this week. So.....the blessing is getting to spend unexpected time with a friend.

Added to the time spent with Sherry, she invited me to come in and watch what they 'do to her'. (She is taking radiation treatments for a tumor on her optical nerve). I was honored that she would include me in the process....and happy to gain a little more understanding of her treatment and condition.

3. Corner Gas.

Jim and I watch a couple DVD episodes of recorded TV most evenings. We have just started watching this series.

Is it because we are Canadian? Westerners? Hicks? that we think this program is so hilarious? Or do urban, eastern, or Americans also 'get' the humor? I know it plays on American stations as reruns (We saw them when we lived in Louisiana)......

If you haven't watched this TV show (likely the only quality TV programming to come out of the Canadian television industry) then find it.....watch it.

Jim laughed so hard at one scene in the second episode, he almost fell off the bed.

The beauty of recorded TV is that you can back it up and watch (or listen to) the comedy again - you can just keep laughing without missing the next line. LOL

4. The trim on this house:

This is a house in the village where I get my mail.....'my' village.....my 'home town'.....I've driven past this house countless times. Yesterday, I was surprised by the new trim.....it was such a pretty, bright surprise on a snowy, white day.

5. My 23 month old grandson's 'take' on snow.

When he saw the piles of snow on the branches of the small evergreen tree out their back door, Seth said 'Mommy.....bubbles, flower'. (Ok, so he called the tree a flower.....he's only just started to use words to communicate) Now, don't think bubbles that you make with soap, a 'wand' and a soft breath.....think the overflowing bubbles in a bath.

I think Seth's word is perfect......

You can just see the 'bubbles' on the branches of the 'flower' in the top corner of the photo.

Blessings abound and are everywhere around, if we only take the time to look for them.

Have a wonderful weekend, y'all.

I'm putting my daughter and her family on the plane so they can spend Christmas with Vinjelu's family in England/Belgium tomorrow. As always when I put them on the plane, my heart will be torn.....happy for them, but missing them before they even leave.

Getting back to 'Normal'

Well, the driveway is mostly cleared, the roads have been graded, and my truck is running again.

I spent $120 to have the guys at the dealership put a $5 cord end on my block heater cord...something my husband or any of my boys could have done for me for $5......but they also did a full system check on my charging system, the batteries, and the block heater. It is good to know that everything is A-OK.

As mentioned a couple days ago, there is a water system specialist coming out tomorrow afternoon to check out what we will need and what the cost will be to deal with the iron and iron bacteria in our well as well as to put a reverse osmosis system on. I still need to rig up a light and clear the space in front of where it is all plumbed in. I had planned to run a couple quick errands in town this morning then work on the basement all afternoon. (Wednesday, that is)

My plans began to change after I was already asleep for the night Tuesday......Kathryn called and asked if I could babysit for an hour and a half while she and Vinj attended the Christmas Luncheon for the Ministerial Group in Wetaskiwin. I figured "No problem, I'll just incorporate that into my errands and anyway, I haven't seen the kids for several days" so ..... off I went into the snow to spend a couple hours with Seth and Taliah. I was just considering telling Vinjelu to take my truck to Edmonton this afternoon (it is his day to drive Sherry) when he called and asked if I could take Sherry so he could help Kath get her essay done in preparation to write her final exam on Friday (she's cutting it a little close, since they are leaving for their Christmas in Europe on Saturday).

So.....instead of cleaning my basement, I babysat and then spent the afternoon very pleasantly visiting with Sherry. I was even invited in to watch what they do to her ...... I'm going in next week too, to take some photos. I did take a picture today of the machine, but she said I could take pictures of her when she was 'in her mask'......you'll have to wait to see what I'm talking about. In the meantime, one of the photos I took today will (eventually) be on my Photo blog.

The roads were not good at all and I was glad for my nice heavy 4X4 truck, even though parking could always be an issue. However, even that has been working out for us......with someone pulling out just as we need to pull in.

All this means that tomorrow (Thursday) I'll have to spend pretty much all day working in my basement - and not in the nice, orderly fashion that I wanted to do it in - I'll just have to push aside my obsession with doing things in a certain order and 'just do' the one area that needs to be done by 4:00.

After that, I can work a little bit every day in the order I want to do it.

First up.....find the Christmas decorations and make this place look like December!

I may have to shorten my basement work hours in order to finish (begin in earnest) my Christmas shopping.

Today

Well....my plans did not work out yesterday OR today.

My truck would not start, even though it was plugged in all day and my car was not plugged in because there is only one cord. So, I did not go anywhere. The dogs had to wait until Daniel came home to eat. (He stopped and got some food for them)

Instead, I worked in the basement. You wouldn't know it to look down there, but I actually got quite alot done. I cannot wait until it LOOKS like I've done something.

My plans for today have also changed. Since my truck would not start yesterday, Jim cautioned that even a boost may not be enough - he said either the batteries or the block heater are probably not working. Therefore, I called Sherry to say I would not be able to be counted on for a ride today. Fortunately, she has some folks who have volunteered to be 'back ups' for the days her regular drivers cannot make it. I was disappointed...I've been enjoying building a relationship and learning to know this lovely lady.

I called AMA at 9 a.m. (after my truck still did not start) and the recording had me leave my name and phone number because it would be 2 hours and 55 minutes before they could take my call! That's alot of frozen vehicles! Of course, the number covers Edmonton and Calgary as well as our small area.....the actual wait time for the tow truck may only be 45 min.

In the meantime, I'm going to plug my car in so that if I cannot get a tow truck for a boost (or maybe a tow) until tonight, at least I can get to town to do my errands. At least, I hope so.

Hopefully, the problem with my truck is the batteries....they should be still under warranty since they are only less than 2 years old. OR if it is the alternator, that would be OK too since that was only put in last month...again, warranty would cover it. But....it is that time of year, after all....time to have vehicle problems.

Unfortunately, in the last couple years our vehicle problem month has extended to include November and January, not just December.

Jim is still feeling sick. He got a flu bug somewhere, for sure....stomach flu, that is. He was very sick yesterday - his 'guys' were quite worried about him. I can tell by his voice that he is feeling stronger today - and he also asked for a specific meal for supper. Yesterday he wanted NOTHING to eat.

Daniel had a rare evening at home last night so he completed the shelving in the laundry room for me. That will make it easier on the cleaning of the basement - at least until the shelves are full. I'm going to have to make room for him to build more shelves along the wall in the main part of the dungeon....oops, I mean basement.....so the laundry room MAY begin to look rather crowded before it looks real good. (I have to put the stuff somewhere).

I am motivated, though, to get the basement in order. Now that I have started, I am anxious to finish.

I cannot believe it is already the second week of December! I'd better get some decorating done - and some shopping!

First, though, I'm going to have to have at least one vehicle running.

A Look at Today

I got up this morning (for the first time) at 5:30 a.m., packed Jim's lunch and kissed him goodbye (on the cheek since he was feeling sick to his stomach when he left). I crawled back into bed with my book and a heating pad to warm up and by the time Daniel's alarm went off, I was nodding off again. I got up the second time at about 8:30 a.m. and the first thing I did was bundle up against the 27 degree below freezing temperature to go plug my truck in so I can go get dog food in a couple hours. I also took some water to the dog's house and 'pinned up' an old blanket over their 'doggie door' to keep some of the cold air out.

After that, I came in for breakfast.....a smoothie made with FF, SF vanilla yogurt, a banana and blueberries. I had a cup of tea as well.

Books....one of my favorite subjects......

With my breakfast, I am reading "Flirting With the Devil" by Bill Pride. This is the second time around on this book - I read it the first time way back in 1994 (I distinctly remember reading it when we lived on my grandfather's property in New Norway - laying in bed in the little two room house while my children slept in the army tent a few yards away).

But the book.....Mr Pride addresses the fact that many believers live as if they were unbelievers. He talks about our habit of rationalizing sin and uses Adam and Eve in the act of the first disobedience to illustrate his arguments. He says that Eve fell for

• lust of the eyes (it looked good)
  
• lust of the flesh (it tasted good) (or so the serpent said)
  
• pride of life (it would make them wise)
  

Mr Pride then goes on to show how we do the same thing and go through the same process of rationalization.

The book is easy to read and although sometimes his illustrations are a little....let's say 'lame', they do make his point. He has many good, thought provoking points.

Somehow, it seems that most books I pick up lately have the same theme......'get your act together', 'get serious about being like Christ', 'live for eternity, not for today', 'deal with sin in your life NOW', 'call sin what it is'. Maybe someone is trying to say something to me?

My light reading this week is 'All She Ever Wanted' by Lynn Austin. This story is about four generations of women in one family and how the choices and life of one (Fiona) contributed to the choices and circumstances of her daughter (Ellie) whose daughter (Kathleen) responded to her choices and how those choices affected her daughter (Joelle). Doesn't sound real exciting, but the stories are interwoven expertly and you are drawn into the lives of all 4 of these women. An underlying theme is that a lack of understanding of one another's lives leads to resentment and rejection. Communication and compassion are necessary in any relationship. This is my second time through this book.

The audible book I am listening to is "This Present Darkness" by Frank E Peretti. A Christian Fiction Classic. Who hasn't read this book? I've always believed this book was inspired. It opened our eyes to the spiritual battles raging around us and to the power and necessity of PRAYER. The narrator is pretty good but the quality of the recording is not great....there is a bit of an 'empty' sound in the background, as well as a distant buzz. It is very disappointing. I keep hoping it will change later in the book. I'm still only halfway through the first part of the download (it is in 2 parts) so maybe the second download is better. In spite of this, I am enjoying the story, as always.

The last person I talked to on the phone was Sherry A. I drive her to radiation treatments every Tuesday in Edmonton. She called to tell me that the powers that be have insisted she come in for a morning appointment on Tuesday so she can see the radiologist after her treatment and would that present a problem for me? Of course not. I can go in the morning just as easily as the afternoon.

The last restaurant was Wendy's.....with my hubby....on Friday in the midst of the blizzard. We had gone to town to get some long underwear for Jim (among other errands) and to visit some of our kids while we were in town. Lunchtime came and what else could we do? OK, OK, I'll be honest. Jim wanted a hamburger and fries and frosty. I had the southwest taco salad.

My plans for today (actually, for this afternoon, since it is already after 11) begin with going to town to get food for my hungry dogs. I'll also stop at the grocery store for the people in the house. I will also stop at Staples to take back the clock I bought for the bathroom. The box says 'silent movement' and it is true that it does not tick tock, but it grinds quite loudly.

When I get home, I will be working on cleaning my basement. My husband has made an appointment with the 'water guy' to come and look at our system with an eye to what we need to clean up our water....iron eater, reverse osmosis, etc. I need to at least clear a space around the water system so he can get in there to look. Oh, and I'll have to rig up some lighting since there is NO LIGHT in the main part of the basement. Whoever made this basement really messed up......there are no windows on the east side or north side of the house and no light fixture in the largest area. Then, someone else built a room which contained the only window in the north end of the basement, cutting of that light source. When I had my library built, that blocked off the window on the south end of the house. The rest of the place is a dark, dungeony, black hole. I need to either do something about that myself or get Danny to help me with 'fixing' the problem. At any rate, that is my focus for this week.....move some things around in the basement.

I am listening to silence.....well, what accounts for silence in my house, anyway. There is always the hum of the computer and the sound of the furnace, if nothing else. Right now, that is all there is....not even a dog barking. It is probably too cold and they are too hungry to be barking outside. Guess I'd better get to town so they will at least not be hungry.

I've actually watched a couple movies this week! Thursday night, since Jim was not going to work on Friday, we watched 'Uncle Buck' starring John Candy. A classic comedy. There are some great one-liners in that movie! Not to mention a good look at the 80's silly fashions.

Saturday evening I was snowed in. Trapped in my yard. Not going anywhere, no one coming in. Neither Jim nor Dan would be coming home since there was a huge drift across the driveway (not to mention several large drifts on the 3 miles of road between our house and the highway). I set out to make my weekly pot of soup and to fill the silence with something other than music (I'd had my music going all day) I brought the small TV/video player in to the kitchen and set it on the countertop. I watched "Fools Rush In" while I chopped vegetables and simmered my soup. Of course, that chore did not take as long as the movie, so when the soup was finished, I took the movie to the player in the bedroom and finished it from the comfort of my bed. This is one of my all time favorite romantic comedies....starring Matthew Perry and Selma Hayek. I love the way he proposes to her......"You are everything I never knew I always wanted". Classic. (One of my other favorite aspects of the movie is the way 'Isabelle's' family painted their house in several different bright colors....I'd love to be brave enough to do that to my own house)

So....that's my life at this moment. I'm off to start my truck (I hope) so it can warm up for the half hour or so it will take me to get ready to leave and have a bite of lunch.