Monday Posting

Thankfully, the weather has moderated some and it's almost balmy out, compared to what it was last week. I'm no longer feeling quite so chilled. I mean, even in my house, which is old and drafty and just...I dunno, COLD, I was having a hard time staying comfortable in wind chills and temps so low. But tonight, it's 20, and I'm happy to see that. We had a frozen pipe, actually 2, last week - one thawed out pretty quickly with a blow dryer, the other one took involving a helpful brother with a radiant heater, and a spouse crawling under the house in a tight crawl space to position the heater and get the pipe warmed. Also thankfully, the pipe didn't split or crack so we got to keep our hard earned money instead of giving it to a plumber.

I'm busy at both schools, and, I have taken on an extra project of supervising a counseling practicum student for the spring semester. It won't require a lot of extra time because I know this person well and she will be responsible and do things the way they should be done, plus it might be something to add on a resume should I ever decide to seek other employment. I am also teaching a class at church, and just keeping pretty busy with ordinary mundane things.

The clock in the kitchen just sounded 10:00. My "adopted son" Michael gave it to me - it has birds pictured on it, and on the hour, a different bird sound eminates from this clock. It took me a couple of days to get used to hearing this, and you should have seen Lydia looking at it quizzically the first day or two I had it. It was pretty comical.

Well, I guess that's about it from my boring life. I will end this with some assorted observations, take them or leave them as you like:

**Congrats to my husband, one of the most rabid Dallas Cowboy fans ever. The Cowboys made mush of the Eagles last weekend and are headed to the playoffs for the first time in several years. The Chiefs remain an embarrassment to us all.

**The state budget crisis is affecting our schools in 259 in a big way. I ran into a teacher Saturday I used to work with at another school, and she told me she has 30 kids in her first grade classroom. They are beginning work on a new wing to the school, but her concern, and rightfully so, is that the district won't be able to hire teachers to staff this new addition.

**Brett Harris - where are you? I miss you on B98. You made me crazy with your ADHD-like radio patter sometimes, but for the most part, I enjoyed your "perkiness". Sign your contact with Clear Channel and get back to work.

**l love the CDs my son gave me for Christmas especially Beethoven's Symphony #9. Thanks, Dan.

**I had a conversation with someone, (let's call them "Lee"), who, let's see, how to say this without revealing too much - Lee had a family member who was in a very serious accident 3 years ago and that person sustained a tremendous traumatic head injury - they were in a coma 30 days and nearly died. However, Lee had the blessing of great insurance coverage from an employer, and their loved one got outstanding medical care, not only at the hospital but also at a follow-up rehab facility after discharge from the hospital. Coincidentally, another family about the same time had a loved one in an accident also with a serious head injury - the patients were in the same area in the hospital and family members became friends as they interacted in the waiting room. However, the person from the other family did not have any insurance coverage. Lee said the person with no insurance was discharged sooner from the hospital, and did not receive the level of followup care at a local rehab facility that their family member received - both were admitted to the very same facility within days of each other. Lee said that person did not have nearly as good as outcome as her/his family member did - and Lee believes it was due to the insurance situation. Just something to think about...

Have a good week, all.