For Monday, January 19

Hi

I thought I'd catch up on some writing.

I've been busy at work some days, but on other days I've worked on a different unit or left at home "on-call". Last weekend I worked both days, but Thursday I worked 8 hours on Med/Surg as a CNA. On Friday I was left home. I use PTO (Paid Time Off), but that is OK as I have lots of time.

I've been having troubles with the Escort for awhile, because the clamp to the positive pole of the battery was broken. It went well until the battery died. Replacing the battery was all it took to upset that clamp even further--the clamp is only a copper band.

Thursday when I went to work, I noticed that the battery light flashed all the way to work. I knew I wouldn't be able to get home because of the car lights, so I looked at work for something to keep the copper band on tight. I got about 10 miles or so and the car started to lose it's power. I have a friend that lives about 1/2 mile from there, so I pulled in. He let me borrow a visegrip to hold the clamp in place. I took off from Dwayne's only to encounter the same problem at the corner of 54 and HH. The tach died, then the speedometer died, then the car started dying...jerk, sputter, surge, jerk, sputter, surge. When I turned down our gravel road, I lost the power steering, so I figured I was down. I prayed, "O, Lord, please get me home." Jerk, sputter, surge down to the driveway...died, no surge, then died, dead, as I pulled into my parking place at home. I made it. Whew!

The visegrip was still in place but wasn't attached to anything. I took everything off, put the new cable end on, and it worked, well, it would turn over, so I knew I needed to get the other parts on too. I drilled a hole in the copper big enough for the cable bolt, broke part of it, but managed to get it all clamped together. It worked and ran.

It sat for three days, until Sunday. Off to church, Josh driving, started quickly, but about 5 minutes later, no tach, then no clock, then no speedometer, then no power, Josh pulled off onto a side road. Vicky and the girls went back for tools; we tightened everything up--no go. We went back home in the Jeep, then the guys took Josh's car to church. After church I bought a tow strap--I caint remember what I did with the other one. Later Josh and I went to hitch it up to the Escort to tow it to Mike and Joe's, but wait the car started, so I took off down H. Maybe I could make it. After about 4 miles, no tach, then no speedometer, then no power. I coasted and almost made it to the top of the hill where we used to turn down to Roy's and our former house. Josh and I hitched the tow strap, and he hauled me in to Mike and Joe's.

We all went to see "Fireproof" last night--Sunday--at the Church of God Holiness.

Vicky stays busy, but the cold weather is hard on her hands from the Raynaud's disease.

Anna is busy with school--her last semester. She and most of the others spent two weeks in Kansas City doing clinicals at Children's Mercy and Truman Medical Center.

Josh is busy in construction with Paul and Dennis. He is practicing faithfully with his bow and arrow for next year.

Ezra's studying like mad extra math needed for meteorology. Elon and LaSara are faithfully continuing with their violin lessons. They've been busy with the Nancy Drew mystery computer games that Kara sent.

Ezra and Elon know their chickens and guineas well and take care them excellently.

Choco is doing well. He likes the cold weather and food. Sparky thinks he should eat all the time. Pete got his tail amputated by Bryan after a car--so Bryan thinks--ran over his tail. Pete's tail was like a piece of wood. He hopefully will get his sutures out this Friday or Saturday. He has to wear a big, plastic hood over his head, so he will not take his sutures out.