Midwest Meterological Wonderment

How's that for a blog title?

Unlike other parts of the country we've had plenty of snow this year. Enough that the village snowplow took out our mailbox on Christmas!

Yesterday I showed you a case of whiteout. There have been many instances of that this year. We've also had lots of hoarfrost which is unusual because normally we only see one or two a year. It seems to be a daily occurrence here lately.

I'm sure if you search the term on a search engine you'd come up with a scientific explanation of how it's formed. But in the case of hoarfrost, I don't care. Sometimes knowning all the details just spoils the magic. You know what I mean?

And you can be assured that hoarfost is magic.


The view from my sewing room window last winter.

It creates a fairy wonderland in white. There are some benefits to living in a cold climate. Some of you may not believe that but it's true. Last week when I was driving out to visit my mom, the entire countryside appeared as if the sky had opened up and sprinkled powdered sugar over everything. Every surface was covered. Such a thing of beauty could make a person weep.


Grove of trees dusted in hoarfrost.

This morning we were treated to the magic yet again.

I had to drive a mile or so to the town hall where they issued me a temporary mailbox. Here's the long view from our town hall west towards the town.



It's not exactly a town in the traditional sense. There's a cluster of homes and two churches. In the distance you'll see the old country church. There are no shops or gas stations.

Here's a closer look at the scene.



The Farmer and I were raised within spitting distance of the city of Chicago and city life holds no excitement for us. We don't miss the crush of people, the smell of bus fumes, etc. etc. We're happy to live in a peaceful setting.

Like I said, the natural beauty could make a person weep.

Post Christmas Meteorological Update

Was your Christmas wonderful? I hope so. We had a nice, quiet Christmas here in Illinois and now I'm taking the time to get lots of things done around the house.

Here's a video for you to watch. This whiteout happened just before Christmas but we've had lots of them this year and lots of hoarfrost also. Hoarfrost is the fairyland effect. More about that tomorrow.



Have a wonderful day.

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

The Weather Does Me In

Yesterday afternoon I accompanied the Other Mother to her appointment with her new physician. Thankfully the last one retired. I say thankfully because during an exam at which I was present, he was exhibiting signs of going into a coma. I am serious. He sat through the entire exam, leaning against the table, talking very, very, VERY slowly. The last straw came when I noticed his eyes rolling back in his head.

I bolted for the nurses station and asked, "Is there something I should know about the doctor? You might want to call the paramedics for him!"

The nurse informed me that the doctor had diabetes and his blood sugar was probably low. I was appalled. The nurse could feel my ire rising but she did nothing to intervene. Again, I was appalled. When we exited the exam room the nurse had a can of soda on the counter for the doctor. Seriously? His eyes are rolling back in his head and your only response is a can of soda? It's time to retire when you become the patient during an exam.

The Other Mother seems to like her new doctor, who is a female. True to her upbringing and generational world view, the Other Mother asked the question, "What is she?"

Can you guess the nature of her question? Seventy years ago the Other Mother lived in an ethnic enclave near the city. The first order of business when meeting someone was to determine "what tribe" they belonged to. Were they Italian? Polish? Bohemian?

Like I said, it's a generational thing.

"Her name is Patel", I told the Other Mother.

"She's probably Indian or Pakistani. Why do you ask?"

I already know why she asks, but I want her to think about why she is asking. Maybe next time it won't be the first thing she asks. But then again, old dogs don't learn new tricks very easily.

When we left the doctor's office it had started to snow. It had been cloudly all day but in my heart I was hoping beyond hope that it would clear up. Why? Because last night there was a magical occurrence, an event that is at the top of the list of the most wonderful things I've ever seen.

A full lunar eclipse.

The first time you see one, you're hooked. It's unbelievable. If you saw the moon in full eclipse without knowing what it was, you'd think you were in a science fiction movie.



The video cannot convey the raw beauty of this event. Normally the moon is bright, bright white, with all features washed out. But in a full eclipse the moon becomes three dimensional.

The truly upsetting part of missing this eclipse is that it's the first solstice lunar eclipse in 456 years. The next one won't occur until 2096, at which time I'll be cosmic dust.

Here's a link to one of my geeky astronomy sites. Pass your cursor over the photo to learn more.

POSITION OF THE MOON DURING ECLIPSE

Look at this terrific montage of different eclipses. This is from Astronomy Photo of the Day. Bookmark it! Also, be sure to click on the photo to see the large version.

ECLIPSE MOSAIC

Please pardon me whilst I go into my total astronomy geek mode. I could go on all day, so stop me please! But before you stop me look at this time lapse photo of a lunar eclipse over the south pole.

ECLIPSE OVER THE POLE

OK, now it's time to plow the drive!

Cookie Exchange 2010

It's cookie exchange time again. My talented neighbor Jacki hosts this event every year and it's fabulous. Jacki is an awesome cook. I've often told her that she can feel free to cater my life!

Sorry I don't have picture from that evening. My camera decided to get the flu.

About a month ago I purchased one of Martha Stewart's seasonal magazines and it was filled with really cool cookie recipes. I was determined to create something different this year. That didn't happen. For some reason I fell back on my old favorite, the Butter Cookie Snowflakes.

Here's a picture of what they look like.



Imagine 12 dozen of these lining my countertops. And, although I really hate math, let's do the math!!

12 dozen cookies - 12 x 12 = 144

That's a gross of cookies.

42 swipes of the icing on each cookie.

42 x 144 = 6,048 total swipes.

At least I think that's correct. Math has never been my strong point.

That's alot of swipes. Surpringly, it's very relaxing to me. You clear you mind and just work with the pastry bag.

Here's the recipe in case you want to try them yourself.

SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

The cookie cutter was from Wilton a couple of years ago. There are snowflake cookie cutters available everywhere. Have fun and make some memories.

Breaking News......

This just in.

Discovered at my local Sam's Club.

WHIPPED CREAM FLAVORED VODKA


Photo: White Rock Distilleries

I am not kidding.

Can you imagine the martini possibilities?

I'm off to develop a Bread Pudding with Whipped Cream Martini!

Stinking Thieves, Random Acts and a Fail

You know those alarmist e-mails that warn against dangers on the road, in the parking lot, in the grocery store, etc.? Well, I'll do my best not to imitate those but I will tell you about my neighbors unfortunate incident with some stinking thieves!

She was in the parking lot with a cart full of bags to be loaded in her car. Her purse was in the child's seat area and the cart was behind the car with the trunk opened. She loaded the bags, two by two and the thief timed his walk through the parking lot so that she was turned away, loading bags into the trunk as he passed the cart.

He nonchalantly reached in and calmly took the purse and kept walking. She didn't even know what had transpired until she finished with the last bag and went for her purse. It was gone.

This created a huge mess for my friend. You know the drill. Call all the credit card companies, alert banks, feel violated and lose trust in mankind. Yeah, that kind of thing. But there was one item in her purse that can never be replaced. It was a memento that she has carried for the past 40 years or so.

I came upon the thought that this one person's bad action has caused a huge negative ripple in the karmasphere. Yes, it's true. And I decided to counteract that negative stuff by committing to doing 10 random acts of kindness before Christmas. These random acts of kindness must be done for strangers, not for anyone I know personally. Ten of these acts will possibly negate the one act of thievery.

Yesterday I had my first chance at kindness. I left the house to run an errand and noticed two cable technicians working on one of those switching boxes at the end of our street. It was very cold and in order to properly work on the cables, they were bare-handed. Yikes!

On my way back from the errand (only 10 minutes) I stopped at McDonalds and got two large cups of coffee. I was excited. A random act of kindness was in the works. I could complete one within minutes.

As I approached our road the unthinkable happened. No trucks. No technicians. They had finished their job and moved on.

Uhhhhhh...... FAIL.

Not only fail - it was a fail leaving two large cups of high octane coffee to be consumed. And so, I did, and spent the evening hopped up on caffeine and sewing like a madwoman.

Today's another day. If you're in northern Illinois take heed. I might just be kind to you today.

This and That Thursday

There are all kinds of things to talk about this morning and thus the post title This and That.

First on the list is a further discussion of my fiction reading problem. BV - you are right!! I tell myself all the time to just watch or read and enjoy instead of finding the errors and inconsistencies. I spent some time thinking about this habit and I've come to a realization.

* * * * * * Light Bulb Moment * * * * * * *

I spent many years as a typesetter and proofreader. It was my job to find errors. At one point I worked for a company that published scientific technical manuals and had a top secret clearance. YES!!! I did. My kids always fall over laughing when I remind them that the woman doing the laundry once did classified work! Moms are full of surprises that way.

It was my job to read for inaccuracies, inconsistencies and downright sloppy research. Most non-fiction or scholarly works are meticulously researched and woe be the author in those fields who makes a mistake. After years and years of being trained and paid to spot those things they literally jump off the page and grab you by the throat.

I'll try to put aside the old dog tricks and try to relax and read. My niece-the-librarian has promised to suggest some good fiction for me to read.

Wish me luck.

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Lisa D. left a comment reminding us of something important:

"Can I just change the subject for a second and remind everyone that when a school bus is stopped, with flashing lights on, it means children are getting on or getting off that bus - DO NOT PASS! Sorry, it just happened to my children this morning, 20 minutes ago, and I'm still angry that one of my neighbours didn't feel like waiting 2 more minutes for the bus to leave my driveway."

Amen, sister. Several years ago I found myself in small line of traffic behind a school bus. The bus stopped with lights flashing and the stop arm extended. A moment later the car in front of me slowly pulled out and started to pass the bus. I started screaming and grabbed for a pen and paper to write down the license plate number. The guy in the car behind me launched into action. He jumped out of his truck and bolted up the roadway to stop her.

It was a wild scene. The woman passed the bus and merrily continued on her way. I called the police when I got to work and gave them the license number and a description - quite elderly, white haired, pearl earringed old lady.

Did I mention that she passed the school bus on an uphill curved grade on a snow covered roadway in wintertime?

The police confirmed that the car was registered to an elderly woman who lived on a side road near the incident? They couldn't ticket her because they hadn't witnessed the incident themselves but they did have a discussion with her.

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Yesterday was Do-All-Your-Customer-Service-Calling Day in this house. I had to make a few calls that involved speaking with customer service representatives. One was a state agency and I was dreading that call. It turned out to be a terrific experience. I was so shocked that I kept thanking the woman profusely. She must have thought I was completely mad.

The next call didn't go so well. Have you seen the commercial with the Eastern European man answering the phone in Siberia?

"Hello this is Peggy."

Right.

OK, the call centers are being outsourced. We got it. But, seriously, why do you instruct your employees to identify themselves with obviously made up names? My call yesterday went like this:

"Thanks for calling the customer service line. My name is Cindy. How may I help you today?"

"Cindy? Really?"

I stated my problem and "Cindy" began to walk me through an online solution. It was obvious she was sitting in Mumbai. Mentally I named her "Mumbai Cindy". She spoke excellent English and could actually understand the conversation when it veered from the script. I liked Cindy. I wanted to know her real name. I wanted to slap the manager who decided to call her Cindy.

Was she really in Mumbai or was she an immigrant sitting in a call center in Minneapolis?

"OK, I'm going to give you some codes to enter. Are you ready? A as in apple, Z as in Zebra, I as in India."

Bingo. Mumbai.

I hung up the phone and wondered why I didn't ask Cindy to tell me her real name.

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U.S. Astronaut Catherine Coleman was launched into space yesterday in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket. She's going to the space station with two other astronauts, Russian Dmitry Kondratyev and Italy's Paolo Nespoli.

The amazing thing to me is that it was barely reported in the U.S. Press. The Russian press was on this like they were Oscar winners. Do you think we prefer Hollywood and sport stars to astronauts and scientists? Or is that the presses choice on what to cover? I guess whatever sells.

My son walked into the room one day when I was watching NASA TV which was covering the week of preparation before this launch.

"Seriously, mom. You're one of the only people in the country watching this channel."

I don't think that's true. I think there's at least three other people watching.

Kudos to Coleman who comes across as a warm, funny and very smart woman. She just turned 50 and will spend the next six months working on the Internation Space Station. Kudos also because she managed to endure the weeklong calendar of Russian public relations events including planting trees, walking Red Square, placing flowers at a memorial site, posing in front of very large Soviet-era sculptures. They did everything but bake a cake.

The Russian Cosmonaut appears to be a stern, no-nonsense, non-smiling military type. Good luck being cooped up with him. The Italian is a gentle giant. Literally. At 6 foot 4 inches he's one of the tallest astronauts to go into space.

I'll be watching their mission on NASA TV. They'll be on the Space Station until May.

If you follow this link and scroll down, you'll be able to see CNN's interview with Catherine (Cady) Coleman.

CADY COLEMAN INTERVIEW

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More video.

You've got to watch this video about a guy's Christmas cubicle. When I worked for the newpaper we had a cubicle decorating contest. It was fun. We also had a "Warm and Fuzzy Day" and decorated for that also.

This makes me smile.


CHRISTMAS CUBICLE

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That's all for today. Be sure to come back tomorrow for another episode of "At Home with the Farmer's Wife."

The Christmas Village

During this Christmas season I wanted to share a story I wrote about an incident that occurred while working for the local newspaper. My great-grandma (actually step-great-grandmother) was a German immigrant. She was really sweet to us when we were kids. I remember her fondly. Look at how cute she is.


Great-Grandma Gussie and Great-Grandpa


Grandma Gussie's Christmas Village

While walking through the mall one evening I stopped in front of the Hallmark store and looked in amazement at the expensive porcelain Christmas village displayed in the front window. The buildings were so detailed and realistic. The realism was enhanced by the tiny figurines and street lamps.

It brought back memories of when I was five years old, sitting in front of great-grandma Gussie's Christmas tree. She carefully arranged each blown glass ornament which had been brought over from the old country. Next came the popcorn strings and the old fashioned tinsel which was heavy and the color of blue grey lead. Modern tinsel seems cheap and garish in comparison.

When Grandma declared the tree was finished she would sneak off to her bedroom closet where she kept her lovely Christmas village. They were nothing like the Hallmark set, just 8 simple buildings constructed out of cardboard which had been painted and sprinkled with clear, sparkly glitter. On the back of each building was a place to insert a single bulb. The little village glowed under the tree as the light passed through the red acetate that covered the windows.



Many years before my mother sat in front of Gussie's tree just as I had. Over the years we've discussed our family traditions and wondered what had happened to Gussie's decorations after she passed away.

Last Christmas my mother received a call from her cousin Joyce. They talked about Christmases past when the family attended services in the old German church. After church everyone would gather at Grandma's house for a late night dinner and open gifts around her tree. My mom wondered out loud about what had happened to the decorations.

"Why, I have them," said Joyce.

My mother told her how vividly I remembered the tree and what a special part of my childhood it had become.

At the end of the work day yesterday I received a call from the receptionist.

"Someone wants to speak to you" she said.

As I approached the desk I recognized Joyce. She handed me a box and said, "This is for you. I just wanted you to have them. I knew you would care for them."

I looked inside and felt my throat tighten up. I managed to gather up some words of thanks, fighting back the tears. We hugged and said our goodbyes and Joyce left to finish her Christmas shopping.

It was late and I grabbed my coat and walked out into the cold and dark parking lot. One of the reporters passed me on his way back to the office to file his story. He paused long enough to ask, "What's in the box?"

"Nothing much," I replied. "Just a dollar's worth of cardboard and glitter."

NOTE: Within six months Joyce was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly thereafter. Her beautiful gesture remains as a special moment in my life. It's an example of the beauty of a generous spirit.

I first published this story here in 2007.

Leapfrogging Books

Yes, I'm leapfrogging books again. What's leapfrogging? It's reading more than one book at a time.

I'm getting better about this because I used to have a book in each room and would simply pick up and read based on where I was sitting. My brain can't take that kind of thing anymore so I don't read any more than two books at a time.

Imagine my surprise when someone offered me a book to read and review. Hmmmmm, someone must have gotten word that I was housebound by the weather and without reading material. Yes, we have about 1,000 books in the house, stashed in various bookshelves in every room. Have I read them all? Mostly, but I draw the line at the Farmer's 1997 U.S. Tax Codes which is a little dry for my tastes.

Probably the number one reason the book fascinated me was the cover.



Look at that sumptuous fabric, those beautiful folds in the ball gown. Gosh, I'll never wear a ball gown in my life so this is the closest I'll get.

The book was sitting on the kitchen table when the Farmer spied it.

"What's that?"

"Someone sent me a book to read and review."

"It looks like fiction. You don't read fiction."

At this point I take a moment to think about his observation. Can the cover alone denote fiction. In the Farmer's case it can.

"I know, I know.... I don't really like fiction but I thought I'd give it another try. The book sounds fascinating. It's about Edward VIII, and you know how I love history."

The book is actually based on historical fact. When he was still the Prince of Wales and serving in World War I, Edward fell in love with a pretty Red Cross nurse. Although the woman was aristocratic (the daughter of a Duke), in the eyes of Edward's stern father she was a commoner and thus, he refused to allow them to marry. Rebecca Dean has taken those facts and created a fictionalized account.

The whole subject seems quite interesting in light of the fact that Edward's great-nephew is marrying a commoner with the blessings of the royals.

A short way into the book and I'm already in trouble. It really has nothing to do with authors, it has to do with the fact that I lack the ability to "suspend belief" and simply enjoy a story. It's me. The other problem is that I know too much. Seriously, my brain is jammed with thousands and thousands of bits of information that I may or may not ever need. That is why I was always captain of the trivia team when I worked at the local newspaper.

Here's an example of the type of trouble I get myself into when reading fiction. The author states that the main character steps over her chocolate colored lab. The brain comes to a screeching halt. Chocolate colored lab? I'm pretty sure that chocolate colored labs did not appear until the 1930's. A quick trip to the internet reveals that at the turn of the century labs were actually called St. John's water dogs and they were black.

Do you see how crazy I am? When reading fiction I'm often calling out loud for the author's home phone number because I'm wanting to quibble over pretty insignificant details. I'm crazy that way.

Anyway, I'll continue to read with interest and struggle to calm my crazy tendencies.

I'm pretty sure this post isn't exactly what the marketing group had in mind when they offered the book for my opinion. But...... I gotta be me!!

Winter Driving in the Midwest

Winter driving in the midwest can be a white knuckle endeavor unless you are used to driving in snow, ice and generally dramatic winter weather. I can't say that I've ever been really nervous except for the time I was driving home in a total white-out event.

In that instance the most unnerving sensation was the fact that I could not get my bearings. In a total white-out you seem to lose the sense of which way is up. That day the fog and snow lifted for a few moments, allowing me to spot some fence posts on the right hand side of the road. In great McGuyver fashion I mentally calculated the approximate distance that the fences would be from the road and used that to position my vehicle in order to stay on the roadway. It was quite tense and not something I'd care to repeat.

Then there was the famous RUMBLE IN THE CORNFIELD.

Take a moment to read about that experience. It was a doozie!!!

You've probably been seeing reports on the weather channel about the big winter storms roaring across the upper midwest. It took down a football stadium and yes, it has the power to do those kinds of things.

A friend and I headed out for the food store yesterday afternoon with the intentions of picking up some things to tide us over in case the storms continued. We'd had a small amount of snow but yesterday morning the winds picked up to gusts of 40 MPH and more. That means indcredible blowing and drifting snow.

I had my friend and co-pilot man the camera so that we could show you a few things about the dynamics of wind and snow. Here's the video:



Notice how the telephone poles are leaning after years of being bombarded by the wind.

Here's what happened after my friend stopped filming. There were three snowplows in a row, one after the other. The first one passed and the drifting snow was creating a white out condition. Luckily the snowplows are very brightly colored and have strobe lights flashing so I was able to determine where my lane was. However, because of the white out conditions we could not see that we were driving right into a 3 foot snow drift. Trapped. Stuck in the unseeable.

The third snowplow passed us just as we hit the drift. He saw what happened and backed up to help us. That DOES NOT MEAN he got out of his truck. You do not leave your vehicle in a case like this. You want the protection of a couple thousand pounds of steel in case someone else comes along and slides in your direction. This applies to rain or other types of emergencies. You do not want to be standing unprotected on a roadway.



He rolled down his window and guided me into straightening out my wheels so that I could rock back and forth - car in drive, car in reverse, car in drive, car in reverse, until we were released from the drift. We backed up and the plow passed us, which allowed us to move over to the wrong side of the road which the three trucks had just plowed. This was safe because there were no other cars approaching from either direction.

Up we drove, another 1/4 mile or so, until we reached a place to turn around..... AND GO BACK HOME!!

The most important thing in any situation of this type is to realize that you are putting yourself in danger. If your gutt tells you it's dangerous - listen! There was no reason to continue. There was nothing at the food store that was worth risking our safety. The main road would have been even more treacherous because of the thousands of acres of open cornfields on either side. Those roads can drift shut literally MINUTES after the plows have gone through.

The second thing is not to panic. There would have been no purpose to gunning the engine, either trying to muscle my way through the drift or attempting to fly backwards out of it. As the plow driver knew, slow and steady will get you out. (This did NOT apply in the Rumble in the Cornfield event).

So, here's what I propose. Those of you who live in warmer climates are welcome to come north and I'll provide a winter driving class. What do you think? All the hot chocolate you can drink!!

To Slipper or Not

Do you remember those old time slipper socks?

The upper part of the slipper was a patterned knit, something like a Scandinavian sweater and the sole was leather (or fake leather) that was whip stitched to the top. I remember getting several pairs when I was a kid.

Someone wasted their money for sure because I never, ever wore slippers of any kind. I've always been a barefoot-in-the-house kind of person. My shoes are off faster that you can wink, as soon as I walk in the house.

My distaste for wearing shoes (or slippers) must be hereditary because I don't believe my great-grandmother ever owned a pair of shoes. It wasn't exactly necessary in backwater Florida in the 1800's. My father was not wearing shoes in any of the pictures of him as a kid. Again, they weren't exactly needed in rural Florida. The kids walked to school, played and worked in the fields barefoot.

When the weather turned cold this fall I started wearing socks around the house. Somehow my foot thermometer has changed and the socks felt good. So, last week while shopping in Target I spotted a pair of slippers that were a soft suede fabric, lined with a fleece material. They looked like the slipper form of an Ugg boot. The bottoms were hard soled and I thought, "Oh, so cute. I could probably also wear them as shoes." They were definitely an impulse purchase. They just looked so nice sitting on the display and so I took them home with me.

The next evening it was getting chilly in the house and I made a beeline for my cute new slippers. On they went, so soft and cozy, and I plodded off to the computer to read some e-mail.

Five minutes. FIVE MINUTES. No, I take that back, it was UNDER FIVE MINUTES!! My feet felt like they were wading through pools of hot lava on Mount Kilauea.


Pele hot.

It was terrible, horrible heat and off those suckers went - back in the box, back in the bag, back to Target they go!

This is not a case where I'd be willing to suffer for fashion. Remember wearing 4 inch heels or go-go boots? No more.

My sister came to the rescue and showed me how to make a pair of thinner, cozy slippers from a felted wool sweater. They're just softly warm, very lightweight and they're just enough.

How about you? Do you wear slippers?

P.S. I'll ask my sister if the basic slipper pattern is copyrighted. If it's not I'll share with you.

A Different Kind of Christmas

I invite you to read what Anne Marie at Nada Farm has to say about the busy Christmas season. Can you take a minute to read, it's not very long. Promise to come back here so we can discuss her ideas.

ANNE MARIE'S IDEA

Her words are exactly what blogger Anne Grosvenor extolled us at the get together last year. I was shocked to learn that she passed away from cancer and I think about her and her infectious message, "support each other, be joyous!"


Fleas Navidog - Gingerbread House

Anne Marie continually lays the path for discovering what is important in our lives and how to pare things down to the essentials. We need to determine what is essential for our well being, our peace of mind and our happiness. You'd be surprised at how happy you could be after divesting yourself of layers of "junk", literally and figuratively.


Baby Jesu'

Our children are grown and we slowly came upon the ideas expressed by Anne Marie, namely cutting down on the stuff and fortifying ourselves by spending time on Christmas cooking dinner together and eating the meal we'd prepared.

The realities of our finances sped up the process. We bought less, simply because circumstances didn't allow for more. The big surprise was that we didn't feel sad or deprived in any way. Christmas was still Christmas. We had fun and no dents had been made in our holiday. The less is more attitude continued throughout the year and I've learned new and exciting ways to upcycle things.

As time goes on it's less of a struggle to fend off that "keep up with the Joneses" thought process. It's a constant battle for me. Is it for you?

Create memories this season. Do something fun. Go sledding. Make marshmallows. Have a party and make gingerbread houses together. Sit in front of the fire.

Enjoy!

Since Last We Spoke

Since last we spoke, much has happened and not all of it good. There have been family dramas that are left unspoken, a death in the family and the news of a person in our wider circle being diagnosed with cancer. My brother-in-law wondered out loud, "Is there no end to the difficulties rolling down the hill in our direction?"

Sometimes you wonder.

Since last we spoke, it has snowed.



Not enough to bury the vehicles or cause us to plow the driveway more than once, but enough to frost the landscape nicely.

I love waking up to discover that it's snowed during the night. For those of you who don't live in snow country, you realize the snowfall as soon as you open your eyes. The light is different, soft with a blue and pink tinge, and it's quiet. Sounds are muffled and dampened by the fresh snowfall.

My mission yesterday was to complete some urgent errands that had gone undone as I shuttled back and forth to help my sister deal with our mom's medical emergencies. (Yes, plural!) By habit I grabbed my camera on my way out the door and soon your advice was ringing in my ears.

"Take time for yourself. Don't forget to relax and rest."

And many more wise admonishions, both here and via e-mail. For those reminders I thank you so much.

Driving along in the rural countryside I felt the stress melting away. This is my element, the wide open spaces, the farms and outbuildings, crumbling slowly to dust. They're soon to be gone, a thing of the past. But until that time I enjoy their form and remember their function.



It's about 12 miles to Sycamore and each quarter mile means more mental peace.



Small town America. I love it. I could easily hit the road and write stories about every little place along the way. Would you read something like that? A journal of discovery? I bet you would.

I heard recently from a reader who said that she discovered my blog through a friend, and that he loves to read my blog. I'm always mystified by this and I'm sure that almost everyone who blogs wonders what it is that people find in their words.

Certainly the "really big bloggers" are in the minority, which means there are millions of bloggers out there hitting the keys without any thought of book deals or 15 minutes of fame. Don't you love those little blogs?

I'll apologize for not mentioning my new job!! You see, with all the recent chaos it's hard to remember what I've mentioned and what I've not talked about.

The job.

Hmmmmmm. I told the Farmer that I'm just going to keep getting jobs until one sticks! I think this one will stick. It's working with a company that demonstrates food and other products in local stores. That's right up my alley. I love food and I love talking about food (and other good finds), so I think that's a good match, don't you?

It's not alot of hours which will allow me to continue with some creative efforts and time to blog. I'm not bothered with book deadlines and such so this should create a nice balance.

Thanks again for taking time out of your day to read my blog. It means alot to me that you are out there checking for updates. I feel like you've got my back.

Thanks

Thanks for all your prayers and positive thoughts. My family really appreciates it.

I am so thankful to report that my niece Becky is out of critical care and in a regular room. For those of you who aren't aware, Becky is a kidney transplant recipient who contracted a virulent strain of pneumonia. This has happened before and it's always a dangerous situation. Luckily a pulmonologist read her xrays and set up an aggressive treatment plan. She's feeling 1,000 percent better and is looking forward to being released from the hospital in a day or two.

My mother was in the same ER on the day Becky was admitted. My sister was going back and forth from room to room and I was driving the 1 hour trip to take over responsibility for our mom while she focused on her daughter.

Let's just say that my mom's recent medical journey was a very wild ride. A month ago she was dealing with mild dementia including some short term memory loss. Her neurologist prescribed the drug *Aricept*, which was developed to help memory issues.

My warning is this - if a doctor prescribes this for your loved one, be very, VERY cautious about agreeing to this treatment. There are cases where it works miracles for people but those who cannot tolerate, or have allergic reactions to this drug, go through hell, literally and figuratively.

In a two week period our mom went from having some low level memory issues to being so incapacitated that we were consulting with a social worker to have her moved to the assisted living floor in her building. On this drug she had nightmares so terrifying that she was forcing herself to not fall asleep. She quit eating and called me in a panic, begging for permission to stop taking the pills. After online research I discovered similar experiences of side effects not mentioned on the drug companies website, or mentioned by her doctor.

After she stopped taking the pills the real hell began. Let's just say "major drug detox". She was in the ER three times in 6 days, hallucinating, losing bodily functions and bizarre personality changes. Her primary care physician was so alarmed he ordered an MRI of her brain to be sure she didn't have a brain tumor or bleed that was causing these bizarre symptoms. But no, it was simply the effects of this drug.

I do not care whether a scientist would categorize this experience as "anecdotal". It was not an anecdote to us and certainly not to my mother, who at 82 had to endure this special hell.

I'm going to be busy the next week or so, going back and forth to ensure my mom is recovering well. I'll also be starting my new job! More about that later. I told the Farmer that I'm just going to keep getting jobs until one sticks!!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone. And again, my entire family thanks you for your healing prayers. I'll be checking in with you to make sure you're behaving yourselves.