DEC 17 2016

MY 8:05 SNAILMAIL WAS PRETTY GOOD IF I MUST SAY SO MYSELF-- ?3RD GRADERS SOMEWNERE IN NEW YORK...WILSON SCHOOL THEY TYPED IN QUESTION S AND I ANSWERED THEM ON LINE.. I LISTENED TO THE  RECORDING THIS MORNING TO CHECK WHAT I HAD SAID  AND IT WASN'T BAD.. I EVEN PUSHED MATH SCIENCE !! PIECE O CAKE .. I COULD DO THAT ANY  DAY... AS LONG AS I GET REMINDED....!!!! THE NEW HEATER ARRIVED AND THANK HEAVENS BUD CAME AND INITIATED IT TO LIFE IN THE DEAGLE HOUSE---- THOSE ARE GOOD HEATERS  ( PROBABLY 4.5 STARS FROM THE CAW RATING SYSTEM...?DALTON GARAGE HEATER? ABOUT $600 PLUS $100 FOR CORD)... BUD'S THEORY IS THAT WITH NOW 4 THE SAME WE CAN SWAP PARTS AROUND UNTIL WE GET NEW PARTS.  HAVE I  RATED SUPPLY COMPANIES?   GRAINGER IS HIGH ON MY LIST-- THEIR CATALOG  IS 4" THICK AND A PRIED ITEM WITH REPAIR PEOPL E IKNOW.. BECAUSE TEHY SELL PIECES OF THINGS THEY SELL.... IN THIS CASE THEROMTATS KIND OF THING....  IT ALL GOT TAKEN CARE OF WHILE I HAD AN UPPER GI  FORTUANATELY  I CANNOT SHARE THAT EXPERIENCE WITH YOU ALL... BECAUSE  I SAW THE NEEDLE GO INTO THEIV TUBE AND THOUGHT  I'D COUNT BACKWARDS FROM 99-- I ASKEE THE NURSES TO KEEP TRACK...AND I NEVER GOTHTE SECOND 9 OUT.  THEY TOLD ME... MY APMT WAS 1 ---NPO AFTER MIDNIGHT-- WHICH IS WHAT THEY TELL YOU IF YOUR APT IS FOR 8:00  SO I FIGURED 8 HOURS NPO.. GETTING UP AT 4AM, I HAD COFFEE AND A AHNDFUL OF SHREADED WHEAAT WHIC FOR AN APT AT 1:00 SHOULD HAVE BEEN FINE..  EXCEPT THE CALLED AND WANTED ME TO COME IN FRO A 9:00 SO I QUICKLY EXPLAINED AND RAN OUT THE DOOR ANYWAY .. HOWEVER WHEN I GOT THERE AND WE WENT OVER THE SHREADED WHEAT DETAILS  THEY SAID THEY COULD DO IT AT  11 SO GO AWAY AND COME BACK..   WELLLLLLLL-- THE 3 HALLS TO GET THERE WAS SO LONG I HAD TO GET A WHEELCHAIR TO GET THERE THE FIRST TIME.. SO I ASKED FOR A NICE WARM BLANKET AND QUIET CORNER  AND I WOULD NAP TIL THEY WERE READY... THEY CAME FOR ME ABOTU 1:00 WHICH WAS MY APT IN THE FIRST PLACE....  IN THE MEANTIME I DECIDED TO WRITE A BOOK  ME, DOGS AND THE NASTY  ELECTRICAL ELEVATOR.  I HAD BEEN IN A CURTAINED ROOM FOR 3HOURS WITH NO TV.. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING... SO I BEGAN THINKING...  SEEING AS I DIDN'T HAVE A PENCIL I PROBABLY FORGOT  ALOT OF IT  BUT THE CONCEPT IS NOT TOO BAD... MOST OF IT I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN IN THE DAILY DOGGIES...  I COULD USE SOME HELP BEING REMINDED OF SOME OF THE  MORE AMUSING STORIES BUT IT IS ALSO COLD OUT-- SO IF I DECIDE TO PUBLISH APRIL FIRST , THAT SHOULD GET ME ENOUGH DAYS BY THE FIREPLACE. DARN GOOD EXCUSE IF EVER I HAD ONE.!! I FIGURE I WAS A DOG TRAINER BACK AT 5 YEARS OLD  -- FROM WERE I AM NOW, SOME OF THE ANTICS I HAD TO GO THRU TO GET HERE ARE COMICAL-- LIKE  CLARINET LESSONS- OR COLBY COLLEGE-- I REMEMBER  ALL THE TINFOIL WE PEALLED OFF OUR  GUM WRAPERS AND ROLLED INTO A BALL  SO THE GOV'T COULD MAKE AIRPLANES AND WE COULD WIN WWII. ************* Dear Carlene, As Christmastime gets closer, I wanted to thank you (again) for the wonderful gift of Clark. What a difference a year makes.  Our annual work Christmas party is at the department director's house.  Beautiful, but it has several steps leading up to the door, and no railing.  Last year, I brought a walker to help steady me.  But you can't use a walker to get up stairs on your own.  This year, it was a breeze.  Clark was my "portable railing" getting in and out, and he was perfectly behaved around lots of adults, kids, and food! Last year around this time, my mom said to me " maybe next year at Christmas, you'll have a service dog".  I had just booked a flight to come visit SDP in January.  I was well aware that planning to fly to Massachussetts in the middle of January could end up being a poor decision, but I remember thinking that I just had to go and try.  I am so glad that I took the chance!  Clark and I have been together for 9 months now.  And Mom was right (as usual)--I have my service dog this Christmas!  Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who stayed up with him when he was a puppy, fed him, cleaned up after him, trained him, and everything in between. Caroline ****** TODAY WE TOOK OFF FOR A MINI TRIP! TOOK OFF ON A JET PLANE TO VISIT SOME FRIENDS. BELLA HAS BEEN DOING AMAZING WITH HER RECOVERY AND IT HAS BEEN VERY BUSY THE LAST FEW WEEKS THAT WE NEEDED TIME AWAY. SO WE DID JUST THAT. DECIDED THE GIRLS LOVE THE BEACH AND SWIMMING SO WE FOUND A BEACH. GEORGE ALSO DECIDED HE LOVES THE BEACH WHEN THEY ARE QUIET AND HE HAS FREEDOM TO RUN AND PLAY! BUT IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY EVEN THOUGH WE ARE ALL VERY TIRED FROM TRAVEL AND WAKING EARLY. SO OFF TO ENJOY THE FAM! LOVE BELLA AND GEORGE ****** Calendars came. They are wonderful this year! I would like to keep them all and hang one in each room; especially in the bathroom where there is time to ponder each photo. But they will make perfect gifts. Knowing that Ava would be the belle of the ball at our support group Christmas party, I couldn’t resist dressing her up a little. As long as I kept the hat behind her ears, she took it in typical Ava fashion... “my people are nuts but I’ll go along with it”. I was ready to take everything off but she never seemed bothered. Of course, she wasn’t dressed like a lit Christmas tree.  Christmas with Ava! It makes me feel warm and cuddly inside. On the outside, I can walk across our frosty deck to the car, and not have to stay home when Jim is working. She is such a wonderful gift! We plan to come up for a day or two when Jim is on vacation between the holidays. We'll let you and Pam know when the time gets closer. By the way I meant to apologize for not even folding laundry last time we visited. Caroline and I had such a wonderful time getting to know one another, but the best part was watching the happy siblings together. Merry Christmas, Cindy and Ava