[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers! Not much newsy from my corner of the world. There was a huge fire in a warehouse on the other side of town. We could see the smoke across the lake. The fire inspector says it started from a shorted wire in a semi parked next to the building. The warehouse contained tires and wooden flats (?) which didn't help. There is a credit card gas place for cars and trucks right across the street so the firemen were busy trying to keep the fire from spreading. I guess some of the nearby buildings were scorched. Tomorrow is a half day at school and I am ready.

"Gma" -- I'm glad you are knitting again! It doesn't seem possible it has been 8 weeks, but I'm sure it has to you. I know Thomas will love his scarf!

Susan -- I was just thinking about the shortest day myself. For some reason it seems like it takes longer to notice it staying lighter later than getting darker earlier in the fall. All of a sudden it seems like someone flipped a switch and it's dark at 5:00!

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday tomorrow. I have got a lot to get done this weekend if I'm going to have people here Monday night. I will survive!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning ladies! We are hurriedly coming up to the end of the year and plowing towards 2008. Unbelievable! It is nice to have cyber friends that continue to wish you well!

Jean: Thanks for the wonderful Christmas card. It was adorable and my first one! I didn't send cards out this year so I doubt I get very many. I now have almost 6 rats finished and 2 to go. I have little red beads for their eyes and I am going to try and sew on a little black tip to their noses. I want to put on whiskers, but I don't know if it will work. I may try putting on some white and see how much they droop. I use DMC thread for all that stuff. I will be glad when it is done and I can wrap it up for T. I am going to tell him it is the only rat that is allowed in his house. He is always threatening to buy a pet rat! I always tell him if he ever buys any kind of pet rodent I won't ever come to his house again. That is about the truth. Several years ago, when we still lived in Indiana and my younger sister and her family lived there, they bought my niece a guinea pig and I could hardly step into that house knowing it was in her room. UGH!

Susan: It was one of those mental weird things where I associated my knitting with being in the hospital because I had taken it with me and tried to knit while I was there. I just couldn't knit when I came home and then a few days ago, I just felt like picking it back up again and I am already going to town. I had a beautiful yellow sweater on the needles and the rat scarf barely started so when I finish the rat scarf, I will finish the sweater then start a red one. The yellow one is for my best friend for her birthday in May and the red one is for my sister in CA for her birthday in April. I will then probably make one more for my other friend whose birthday is in August.

It is pretty cool here today. I am keeping an eagle eye out on the weather for South Bend while we are there. I don't have boots etc to wear any longer and I am scared to death of slipping and falling. I usually mess up my knee again and with the bag and the incision I worry about what falling would do with it besides, who likes to fall, right? I may make Jack take our jug of the melt stuff I have in the garage so we can spread it if I need to get into somewhere and can't.

Jack found out he can apply for FMLA and use his sick time while I am in the hospital next year and not have to use his vacation time to take time off to be with me. I think he is allowed around 10 days. At least I won't be alone all the time like I was last time. That really plays with your mind when you are alone all the time and are sick. I hope when they go back in and hook me back up that I heal quickly and go back to normal.

Well gals, I need to get going. I have some stuff that needs to be done in the house.

You all have a nice weekend!
Faye

ONLY ELEVEN DAYS UNTIL

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers! We got out of school early for teacher in-service. The special ed. teachers were having a "working" lunch trying to arrange the study halls for next semester. There are 22 students on the 8th hour list with two teachers (me being one), and they will split because none of the available rooms will hold that many. I submitted a list of whom I have worked with and/or whom I would prefer to work with so we'll see how the list divides up. There are two teachers that no one wants their contact students to have for study halls so that makes it tricky. The other teacher is the BD teacher and she automatically gets the BD students. It's cold here, 8 degrees on my way home, but the sun is shining so it looks nice outside. I made WM and grocery store stops on my way home. I know I will have to go back for what I forgot tomorrow sometime.

"Gma" -- You are most welcome for the card. I had to at you calling T's scarf the rat scarf! Could you use the teeny little black wires for whiskers? They would have to be removed to wash it, but would be cute. I don't know if they are floral wire or just craft wire; I have yarn whiskers on my sweater. They are kind of woven on top of the original knit, so I bet you could do that with the DMC floss. Taking ice melt along with you to IN is a good idea. We still have some slick areas where the sun doesn't hit, it has melted, and refroze. Couldn't Jack use the FMLA days since your surgery was an emergency? I thought by law that any family medical event was included. I never thought about that at the time.

I have to get the laundry going and start working on cleaning and cooking for card club Monday night. Have a nice weekend!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[gma22]

Good morning Magnolias! Just a short one this morning as we have Thomas's recital first thing this morning. I ended up down on the recliner and slept in it so I have a sore shoulder now. I would wake up every time the rain made noise through the fireplace so I am a bit tired this morning.

We have to finish up getting supplies to take with us to Indiana. I have to get some air tight containers so we can get some sandwich fixins as everything will be closed on Christmas day coming home. I also have to finish up Thomas's Christmas present wrapping as we are having Christmas with him on Thursday.

Jean: Jack has his paperwork done for FMLA and can submit it any time then just take his time when needed. He can take several days without pay, but we don't want to do that unless we have to so we are just going to use his sick time saved up. Looks like another weather front is moving through again. I sure hope the temps can stay up in Indiana so things are just wet and not slippery.

I guess I better get going and get Jack up.
Have a great Saturday!
Faye