| January 2005 |
 A clear, cold day. The livingroom (where the sofa is now) is rather chilly, but when we take the sofa out, we can insulate the windows with plastic. Then there will be room for our computers plus my sewing. Next on the list is to convert the loft (where Sgt. Bill is sleeping now) into our "reading center" since we have a lot of books and parting with them would be like losing old friends, since some of them are no longer in print. We will have all our books in there (except computer, sewing and woodworking that are in CURRENT use...) plus a place to sit and read, with good lighting. Perhaps there will be room in there for Annie's Scrapbooking or the Model Building. We can hope! Thanks, Bill! Can you extend your leave for another month so you can help us do all this moving? !!! A Pox on Our House? I phoned the Urgent Care Clinic and talked to the nurse there, explaining that my 17 year old daughter likely had the Chicken Pox. She was very kind, but practically laughed and said it was probably strep throat, which occasionally causes a rash, just bring her in and they'd do a throat culture. She advised there'd be a bit of a wait though. Well, naturally there would be, it was a Monday Holiday after the New Year and that's the way it is. I thanked her and said I'd give it some thought. Once the doubt was planted in my mind that I could be wrong, Bill and I decided it would be best to go get the throat culture, since strep could affect all of us. We bundled up and hauled ourselves to the Clinic. Emily had a fever of 102 at the check-in. The nurse gave her 400mg Motrin for her fever. Then we waited... ...and waited. And... Waited... For three hours. Finally, I went back and said that I thought Emily would be better off at home in bed, and they said it would be just a few more minutes... Sure enough we were called into the exam room at last, and her temeperature was down to normal. We waited awhile longer, and the doctor came in. She asked Emily how she had been feeling and checked out the rash. "Well, Emily, you have chicken pox." No kidding. After sitting in the clinic for so long with who knows how many pregnant women or other people who might have been exposed? (Yeah, I know, I don't run the world so things like this tend to happen.) Poor Emily. She was absolutely MISERABLE and couldn't even sleep more than a few minutes at a time for several days. She's hoping for a swift recovery and to get back in school as soon as possible after it starts again on January 11th. Sending Off Our Son The plan had been for Dad-Bill and Emily to drive him down on January 6th, have a day and some in Anchorage together and return to Fairbanks on January 8 or 9. It was pretty obvious Emily wasn't going anywhere for another week or more, and Dad-Bill's Mind of its Own Schedule seemed to ignore the fact that he had plans to take his son to the Airport... Annie the Nanny had to work, so, Mom and Sgt. Bill drove to Anchorage on their own on Thursday. We left Fairbanks at about 11:00 am and arrived at the Westmark Hotel in Anchorage around 6:00 pm (after a couple of stops.) That's about average, time-wise, despite the poor weather. We had a very nice time, despite crummy weather going down there. Doh, we forgot the camera. Bill was the wildlife alert lookout and cautioned me to slow down shortly after we passed Denali Park. "Moose ahead" got my attention and we saw two critters in the road up ahead. They were caribou and usually they travel with a herd, but we only saw the two. "There is where they came onto the road," I said and pointed to a break in the berm to the right. From there, a path of caribou poo was scattered across the road. As we drove over it I said, "Oh no, now I have herd-turds in my tires!" Hey. It was funny at the time. When we got to the hotel we munched on sandwiches left over from lunch, then racked out early. Exhausted, we slept very well. On Friday we got up early and went shopping. For lunch, we had Schlotzky's which was fun, since the original Schlotzky's was on South Congress in Austin, Texas... just down the street from where Deb worked! Austin has changed a lot, and so has Schlotzky's... but it was still VERY delicious and just thinking about it makes my mouth water! As they say, "Funny name, serious sandwich." We shopped some more, then had supper at Applebee's before we went back to the hotel for Bill's final packing. There, we discovered that the suitcase I had would not hold the box of books he wanted to take back with him, so we went to Penney's and took advantage of their 60% off luggage sale. After packing, a wave a panic hit as Bill discovered (he thought) that he'd left his ticket in Fairbanks! After a foggy drive to the Airport (to discover the ticket counter does not open until Midnight) he inspected his paperwork while on the phone with Dad-Bill in Fairbanks... Sure enough. The document he had was his "ticket" -- what had thrown him off was the phrase, "Not valid for travel" -- meaning he had to check in to get the official boarding pass. WHEW! Back to the hotel we went to rest quietly until midnight and time to check in. The line at the airport was VERY long, and I crocheted some on a shawl while Bill waited to check his luggage. Then he came back and told me I should go back to the hotel, it would be easier when boarding time came if I was not there to watch. Since it was already 2 am, and people were lining up at the door to the boarding area, I reluctantly agreed and hugged and kissed him goodbye. After I was outside, I looked back, and watched him walk from the drink machine to the line and realized he was right. Once he was in line and out of my view, I went to the car and returned to the hotel. Yes, I had to wipe away a tear. I slept well and headed back to Fairbanks at 10:00 am on Saturday. Sgt. Bill had bought a book on CD for me, and I listened to it almost the way home. I took a couple of rest stops and arrived in our driveway at 5:00 pm. Again -- 7 hours... typical driving time between here and there, averaging about 51 mph. This was a significant accomplishment for me, since I'd never thought I'd be able to drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks all alone. Brave New Mom. Starting off in the New Year  -42° F / Icefog  Actually it hasn't been all that bad so far, except for last week... and ... what looks like the week ahead. (laughing) Oh well. Summer WILL eventually roll around. It has warmed up, but funny thing is it still FEELS real cold. Okay, I'll admit minus seven is still pretty cold, but golly gee. The month is more than half gone, and we're barely hanging in there. Springtime, Springtime... come soon!!! (laughing) |
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