Chapter 283

                                            

Editor's note: Chapter 283 is being published ahead of deadline due to a mid-winter vacation to the Grand Canyon area and sunshine. No guarantees if next week's blog will make deadline either.

Editor's note #2: Although Chapter 283 was prepared to be published before our vacation, the editor did not actually push the "publish" button...now it's late. Take my birthday away. 

Really, not much that's blog worthy has happened around here. Really. I've been sick with the flu all week and a 3.5 hour trip to urgent care reinforced my belief that I was sick. I would never have gone to urgent care but we are going on vacation this weekend and I wanted to get myself some of that Tamiflu stuff that supposed to be so wonderful. Looking online at the urgent care wait times, I couldn't find anything under 2 1/2 hours. Time I felt would be better spent in bed rather than the Wheel of Germs that urgent care is. After I had been imitating roadkill for a couple of hours, Darla called to tell me the urgent care wait was down to 18 minutes. Although I didn't want to go, I dragged my carcass up and headed for said Wheel of Germs. 

18 minutes, my ass! After waiting for over an hour for my turn...and letting a barfing little kid in before me...I finally got to a room where I was left to molder even longer. Once behind closed doors, the Wheel of Germs became the Wheel of Practitioners. First I have to see a nurse, then a "care practitioner" what ever the heck that is, then someone to swab my nose to be sure I was dying of something before someone else came in to verify that, indeed I was, and that I qualified for Tamiflu then my care practitioner had to return to give me the script for it. Meanwhile I watch the Wheel of Practioners literally spin by. It was verified that this was not a strain covered by the flu shot. Good deal since I forgot to get my flu shot this year. Now I don't feel as guilty.

I won't set this picture to x-large. Too scary for everyone!

I tell you, if Tamiflu cuts the symptoms and duration of flu by half, I don't really see how 'cause it was still a pretty rugged experience. 

Throughout the entire experience my loyal little buddy was at my side...well actually my feet. It probably had more to do with my blazing electric blanket providing a warm place to lay more than actual loyalty, but I like to think it was. He's actually kinda cranky here because I woke him up when I took the picture. 

Really? I was trying to sleep here.

On a brighter note, when the kids came over last weekend, they brought me a lovely Valentine gift made especially for us (and 3 other luck folks) by Reagan.  

 Carissa did they layup with the masking tape on the canvas, but Reagan did the hard part "painting" around all those difficult little corners that comprise each letter.  The master at work.

Before I contracted the plague, I was grocery shopping and noticed something I had never ever seen nor heard of before.

Why? Why would you boil green peanuts? Ok, maybe if you were really really poor, but now? Mac 'n Cheese and Top Ramen are so much cheaper. Like green coconuts, green peanuts have a jelly inside the shell that is used to nurture the nut. The canned peanuts do not really have any skins or peanut flavor just a milder flavor more like a pumpkin seed. I looked for recipes on how to prepare a can of peanuts, but found nothing is done with them. Just eat 'em. Those crafty southerners.

 Reagan likes looking at her photo book. Carissa tries to keep photos of Chris' family in it to keep her familiar with them. They used to be just pictures in a book, I wonder if she recognizes them now that she's been to visit them?

Bad hair day. 

Cousin Carter has a bad hair day too. 

Do they look like cousins?

It's just like my Jaguar at Grama and Grampas!

I love my roomy new car seat. Plent of room for a girl to settle in. 

 Have a good week everyone!