well, dear reader, it's been a while hasn't it? sorry. i have been having lots of conversations on FB with you and my thoughts have been poured out on FB rather than here. what's new? not much. the olympics ended with me wearing my red mittens sent from my friend dave. we stayed up late last week watching leno to see if he was funny yet. sunday i became very sick and spent a great deal of time "across the hall" in my own house! and yesterday i stayed home from work i felt so "wiped out"! i know, TMI. we are looking forward to spring and our spring visit with lizzie, andrew and mcd. only a few more weeks. but before they arrive, i have a fun trip to see my sissy for 48 hours in carlinville, illinois. i am so excited to be flying to st louis with debra pollard to have a girl friends weekend! can't wait to see what surprises await in carlinville..marge's museum, taylor's chili parlor, the farm and family to meet. speaking of spring, the birds are chirping and the jon-a-quills are blooming. thank you jesus for your promise of renewal. take care of yourself and wash your hands when ever you can to keep the germs and spring fever away!

the olympics are keeping us up later and later but all of that fun will crash and burn at 11 pm tonight as it is back to work tomorrow! ngg is back from her holiday in orlando and we are rested from our stay cation in conyers, decatur and buckhead. i love my job, mr b likes his job and we need our jobs and work days make special days possible. so, thank you winter break, you were a great treat but the same old same old will be comfortable once 5 am buzzes into being. only 5.5 weeks until our family arrives with the spring thaw and the easter bunny. that will be a wonderful and special 2 weeks so lets get started so we can get it done and dusted. miz b

what an ending to a great week. i turned 60 on wednesday with lots of love and well wishes from family and friends and a few surprise visitors! but the best of all was a snow day on friday and the arrival of snowflakes at 1:30 pm after waiting all day when we should have been in school. it was wet and heavy and accumulated very quickly on trees and roads. allen and fern got home safely but my 60th birthday party was the casualty. but have no fear..the little old friends will come next saturday instead. we are on winter break all next week and after leaving ngg's car sideways on the driveway hill, fern got us to the airport and ngg has finally landed in orlando..2 hours late. the olympics will keep me glued to the tv all week as well. i hope you are as happy as i am--- in my old age! miz b

well, it is official...i am old. i turned 60 today with the support and well wishes of friends and family. i have received many emails, face book wishes and cards. but the best gift of the day came from my child and her family....they sent me mail. actually it was MALE in the form of ned the nerd! he knew all my quirks and techno mistakes, about no capitals and my run on paragraphs. he was a treat to be remembered for the next 60 years. nanny gifted me with a blank check to buy a round trip ticket to london for the summer and mr b gave me a round trip ticket to st louis to see my sissy. thank goodness they are round trips...that means they want me back! as my friend david says he discovered 2 weeks go when he turned 60, 60 is a nice round number with no sharp edges and he was right...it didn't hurt a bit. i am blessed by so many. thank you.

it's the day after the superbowl ...and i have to say, the game was better than the commercials this year. i do not like violence, stupid or dumb and too many of the much awaited commercials were violent, stupid and dumb. why show a child slapping an adult over a bowl of chips and his mama? who abused him? why hit people in the spirit of sports? betty white is old and her hip will break. too many old people are abused as it is. men without spines driving chargers? come on, everyone knows men are supposed to support women in all things retail. but losing all your fortune and being greeted with friends and coke...now that message was good. bring it on....i miss fizz most of all in my new tummy life and maybe that's why coke gets my vote for best commercial. on the positive side, one more work week and we can be on our stay cation all next week. bring it on...commercial free.

the groundhogs disagree on their weather forecasts, so i am resorting to my weather rock. if it is wet and cold, then it is raining and winter. if it is dry and hot, then it must be summer! life is good around here, at school and in london. mr b and i are looking forward to our winter break and our stay cation. we are going to take day trips and do some things we want to do in and around atlanta. lunch in decatur, callaway gardens, the dianah exhibit, lunch at the varisty, a little retail therapy...all our favorite things . come join us.

sissy is going to be me tomorrow in carlinville and she wrote to say...guess what's across the hall? a blog?!

sunday night and time to think about monday. the usual has been accomplished..laundry, clean sheets, bathroom, kitchen and house. this should be a good week with few errands and nothing stressing on the calendar. next week is a different story...it's my birthday week. dinner out, haircuts and a birthday luncheon on the 13th. guess i will enjoy my last week of being 59...60 may bring old age if i let it.

it's wednesday and the sun is shining but it is still quite cool outside. nothing earth shattering has happened in our lives lately and for that we are thankful, grateful, graceful and relieved. the stock at target and walmart should be stable as i have made trips to both this week for odds and ends, gifts and such. if i would be a stingy sucker, my wallet would be bigger and my friends would not have junk to enjoy. i like being the giver of smiles. snow is in the forecast again, but i feel certain we will only have a few flakes. my weather rock is currently dry. can you tell i really posted to keep you wondering what in the world goes on in my mind?! miz b

saturday with the laundry under way, the house dusted and vac'd, bathrooms cleaned and plans being made for lunch and dinner and maybe a movie. i am thankful to have a house to clean and meals to cook as the earthquake in haiti has touched me greatly. the photos and written details of the death and dying and destruction have touched me in many ways. i have my sturdy house to fuss over, a kitchen pantry with food to experiment with, running water to use for drinking, bathing and cooking, clean clothes for every day of the week, shoes on my feet, and friends to call on in times of need or joy. have you stopped to think and thank for all you have?

thursday afternoon of a 4 day work week for mr b and me. on thursdays we come home and have a long afternoon nap, dinner, and then a pre-bed nap as we are both pretty tired. today, however, i came home with lots of energy but because of my wicked heel spur, i can't even walk without pain, so who is going to do the vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, dinner cooking and dusting? in the words of a famous person, "frankly my dear, i don't give a damn! " get your dancing shoes ready because this time tomorrow afternoon we can all do the friday dance right out the door into the weekend.

it has been a relaxing but busy 3 day weekend. carpets were spot cleaned on all 3 levels, laundry is done, folded,ironed and put away. closets were neatened again and clean out...again. lots of tv time and time together. paperwork filed away, kitchen almost clean and pants ready to return to sender. so, at 5 am on tuesday, jan 19 we will get up and start a 4 day work week which will seem just as long as a 5 day work week for some reason. the bright spots of the week will be new eye glasses buying tomorrow and having a sammich with the luton on wed. AND the weather outside is sunny, warm and 62 degrees. now that is worth going across the hall for!

i think just a few words are in order for today....3 day weekend. you can fill in the blanks with your plans and ideas for a great rest and recoup holiday. thank you MLK for what you did for ALL people. there again...you can fill in your own thoughts.

it was a good holiday from the real world last friday, sat and sunday. real life hit full force yesterday about 5 am when the alarm went off. it wasn't a terrible day, however. with bunko at 7, how can a day be awful when you are with good friends and food? i won spoons and got my $2 back. yup, it was a good, but long day. major heatwave this morning for us as the outside temp is 30...beats the heck out of 18! saw the foot doc yesterday and am in the process of scheduling shock wave blasting of my heel spur. must have scared the sucker as it stopped hurting last night! gonna hurt in the pocketbook as insurance does not pay for the procedure...$750 for repair. ouch. ok....time to start day two of a 5 day week ...but wait....it's another 3 day weekend at 3 pm on friday. i could get used to this schedule. happy tuesday.

snow day, snow day, snow afternoon, snow night! mr b to dialysis at 12:30 as they are running shorts today and he needs all the time he can run. hoping the roads are passable for him to go and come home before dark. hip still wacky and glad to be home and off of it. high today about 28 and not until tuesday will we see warmer weather. can't wait to see the electric bill after a holiday house and cold weather. seems the heat pump has not cut off in 3 days. brrrr. stay warm.

thursday, january 7th. i gave in to not being able to move, walk, get up or down and stayed home today. i hate staying home as gail as to do her job and mine all by herself and we had lots of classes scheduled today. pain meds are making me sleepy and have helped with the pain. imagine that! snow still on the way but much later than originally predicted. sooooo glad rockdale county has brains and waits until the first flakes fall before they cancel school and activities. right now the sun is shining and it looks beautiful outside. that's about it from goose down. have a good day and continue to stay warm!

snow? not much if any for us but you never know! it has been a very painful day for me...my heel spur has not responded long term to the cortisone shot before christmas and i have wacked out my hip trying to walk gingerly. AND i have been across the hall more times than i care to count today. i have just taken some codeine laced pain meds and am on the way to the chair and heating pad. if you see something fly past your window tonight, it's just me flying high on the pain med. the trailing ribbon you see just might be toiletshoe! and that's enough info and visual for a long time. sleep well once you get to that stage of your day.

bet you thought i had forgotten about you since i didn't post yesterday! nope. we took fern to oxford and had good haircuts yesterday afternoon and also got chilled to the bone. came quickly home, ate leftovers, got a good scrubby and climbed under the covers until time for bed. finally got warm about 9. tried to watch the orange bowl, but the game was lackluster so i went to bed. in a nice warm bed thanks to the electric blanket. up and at em again today! snow in london but everyone is back at school and work. possibility of snow here and as much as i love a good snow day, we can't risk dialysis mess ups, therefore, i'll take a few flakes and call it done. it was a busy but good day in the media center yesterday. today is wednesday and that means there are only 2 more work days this week when the clock strikes 3 this afternoon. stay warm.

the house is back to normal. dusty but tidy and decluttered and far far to quiet. i want my family back and the clutter associated with company as well! got both attics clean and neat and took a fern load of stuff to the good will and cardboard to the recycle bin. still dusty but that can be fixed on saturday when i clean the dining room carpets. i set the alarm clock for 5 am when i was putting clean sheets and the electric blanket on our bed. that little buzz is going to come very quickly! it has been a wonderful holiday. everyone is safe and sound here and in london. both places are bone chilling cold but we have snuggies and blankets and warm clothes to keep us warm. if we didn't have work days the holidays days would not be special, so chin up, back straight and face tuesday with a smile. at least it is a 4 day work week! miz b

it is official. they are gone. gone from our home to theirs where they belong, but snap, it hurts to say good bye. thank goodness we have the modern marvels of computer technology that keeps us in touch by phone, text, i chat and photo. we had a wonderful holiday..a few lazy days, some busy times, visits with friends, a little making merry at mary's, gifts, exchanges, shopping, food, good food, junk food, movies, computer time, a new car, snuggie sharing, rounding up the flotsum and jetsum all over the house, tears, well wishes, more tears and hugs. that about sums it up. watching your child grow and mature and become a wonderful wife and mom makes you proud. maybe we had a little something to do with it, but maybe we didn't. thank you liz, andrew and mary catherine for a wonderful holiday. only 14 weeks to go until we can do it all over again! safe journey. we love you so much. mummy

today is the last full day of our two week christmas visit by our wonderful family. no tears from me yet, but they are very close to the surface. as nancy cornwell says, i'm juicy! we have had our trials and tensions this visit as we always do, but that's what makes family family. liz and andrew have spent their christmas cash helping the american economy grow and are going home in more bags than they came in. one more play date in the morning with jaca and i have made a big breakfast casserole and we will belly up to the trough one more time. the fridge is full of food that needs a home....shall we have a left over swap? otherwise, i will call steve and load him up so he can dine in style for a few days. it's the least i can do for our ace number one handyman. day two of the new year was a quick trip to the sock shoppe in griffin for some new smaller dixie belles and some trousers since my closet is getting rather slim. fat, fatter and fattest are now arranged fat and fatter and waiting to be worn. oh how i love how that sounds since i know for sure they will be worn. prayers for us tomorrow as we dialize, fly and start to heal the hole in our hearts from good byes.

well, dear reader, it has been a wonderful day. we got the house neat in record time and went to the movies! have to tell you, the princess and the frog is old time disney...absolutely magical. dinner was easy and good...for those who eat greens and black eye peas and cornbread and pork for luck and wealth. mcd's sugar free cherry pies were enhanced by a little redi whip on top. on top of the pie, mary catherine, not squirted in your mouth like your mama taught you ! oh, it's going to be far far too quiet around here in 48 hours. some say family and fish start to smell after 3 days, but around here it would take 3 years for the smell to start. thank you 2010 for starting off so gently and with good friends. bye bye 2009...you have not been the worst year but we will not miss you. time and progress march on and i hope we are all in step for the next 364 days. wishes on the full moon for those of you far away. sleep well. off to the sock shoppe in griffin at 9:30 tomorrow morning. miz b