There are ups, and there are downs

Ups: having a job to go to so I can help meet our family needs
Downs: dealing with crabby people on the phone who don't appreciate how you are trying to help them
Ups: Dealing with grateful people whose smile you can hear on the phone and whose genuine "thank you" is always a day brightener
Downs: Having people ask you if they need to go get their shot gun when your dog barks at them for no apparent reason
Ups: Having a mom and little boy ask if your dog is friendly, then having the little boy run up to your dog, saying "Puppy, puppy" while said puppy (Raven) licks his face happily and the mom just stands by and smiles.
Downs: When Raven barks at approaching dogs forcing you to walk down the hill to the lake where a cold wind is whipping up off the open expanse.
Ups: Getting Girl Scout cookies
Downs: Checking blood sugar after eating Girl Scout cookies
Ups: Having a great Bible study like BSF to go to
Downs: Being late to BSF because tax clients were coming after 5 to pick up their tax returns
Ups; Being able to pick up my lesson at BSF
Downs: being so late to BSF that I can't join my class. I could sit around and stay for the lecture, but I am just too exhausted.
Ups: I can go home early and crash.
Downs: A new cell phone gets bumped in a bucket of water
Ups: There might be insurance on the phone
Downs: Parenting teenagers can be frustrating
Ups: Today is Mark's birthday, and he is much more of a blessing than a frustration
Ups: Mark is 18 today and he is turning out to be a wonderful young man
Ups: We are so grateful for the years he has blessed our lives
Ups: He is growing up to be thoughtful and independent
Ups: We will celebrate with a special quiche dinner tonight
Ups: Eighteen years ago when he was born blue, he pulled through (the biggest baby in NICU at almost 10 pounds) and showed he is an overcomer.
BIGGEST UP: Jesus is my constant partner in life, through all the ups and downs. When I'm down, he reminds me to look heavenward to remember my gifts and blessings. When I'm up, he gives me the ability to encourage others around me.

Hope you have an UP day.
Happy birthday Mark! Seeing you is always an upper.

Till next time,


Suzi

No technical problems here (yet)...

Well, I'm at the tax office and the only problem we're having is getting people to show up for their appointments (which, I guess, is a pretty big problem). I'm starting to get paranoid because I scheduled the folks but I always repeat the day, date and time. Ah well. At least these people called back and they will meet briefly with Jeff tomorrow. They apologized (they had it marked for tomorrow at 10 am instead of today at 10 am) so it must not be my fault, right?

So, things are humming along here. We had a nice meeting with our small group last night from church. It's fun to get acquainted with some new people as we study James. Last night was James 2--not showing favoritism and faith/works. It was an interesting and helpful discussion.

Back to work--the phone keeps ringing. For some reason, people keep wanting to make appointments to have their taxes done! :)

Till next time,


Suzi

Is It All About The Money? or Techies vs ISP Guys

I love the ISP guys we have for our home internet service--usfamily.net. At work, well that's a different story. I won't name them save to say they are NOT usfamily.

Yesterday I wrote about dealing with our ISP guys on five occasions on behalf of the guys at work. We did not have much success fixing our e-mail problem, so Techies came to the rescue.

Okay, Techies was going to charge $328 to work on two "stations" or computers to fix this e-mail problem. But when they came, it seemed the problem had cleared up. The e-mail had stopped scrolling. He looked things over on both computers, gave me some suggestions on how to get better performance (adding more RAM) and charged us less than half the intended fee.

Well, Jon came back to his computer and it seemed things were going well. But then he discovered that he had lost his address book on his computer. This address book had over SEVEN HUNDRED names on it and they were in neat categories.

So, I called the ISP guys again (they don't charge for tech questions since they bill us for our regular service). The one guy said, "Well, I told you (yesterday) if you delete Netscape (which we did per their suggestion) and don't back everything up, you might lose it." This was not the news I wanted to hear and I don't recall hearing ANYTHING about backing up address books. Am I dumb?

Soooo I called Techies again, thinking maybe this could be part of the billing of earlier in the day since we didn't give their guy enough of a workout. Thankfully, he asked for Jon (I really have no business being the middle man/woman anyway) and I went back to my desk.

I could see by the red light on the phone that Jon and Techie man were engaged in something for quite some time. When I heard Jon say "Yes!" I was very excited. He came downstairs and told me that the Techie guy took over his computer in a remote sort of way. I had a techie do this to my computer at an earlier time, too, and it is amazing to watch, but sort of scary in a Big Brother Is Watching You kind of way. You sit at your computer and watch your mouse fly across the screen doing various clicking and opening different windows. You are not the one doing the mousing--the techie is doing it all from his remote location. Weird yet wonderful.

Jon said the techie did about 80 different things, but in the end he found Jon's e-mail address book and saved it in an excel file "just in case."

I'm wondering what the charge will be for this call, but I think it will be worth it. Jon and I have spent the good part of two days trying to deal with computer problems. Now he's back on line and we are singing Techies praises.

As for the ISP guys--well, we might be looking for a new server soon. Any recommendations?

Till next time,


Suzi

An icky day

I wanted to use another word for "icky" in the title, but decided against it. We had e-mail woes up the wazoo at the office yesterday. My e-mail worked fine, thankfully, but two of the guys on staff were having trouble with e-mail continually scrolling and scrolling and old e-mail from months ago--sometimes long deleted, rearing its ugly head again and again. I was on the phone five times with our server, trying all different things, including installing and re-installing Netscape. Nothing really helped.

Then when I got home I checked e-mail. Everything okay. But later in the evening when I checked it, I couldn't get it to open at all. Thankfully, this morning it opened and everything seemed fine.

Yesterday, I left work early (no, this was pre-planned--the kids had conferences.) I decided to meet Mark at the driver's license place to renew his license (he is turning 18 after all!) since the drivers license renewal place was close to school. However, we did not have his SS number. (I think now Mark has it memorized.) So, I called Grandma, (who has our tax records) but there was no answer. I called Tim's cell, thinking maybe he was on his way to his mom's. Nope--he was at a drywall job. I was beginning to panic. Then I thought of calling Jeff's office, because he has Tim's business records and therefore Mark's number as an employee of his company. But just as I was talking to Dawn (Jeff's wife, my s-i-l) Grandma beeped in with the number. Hallelujah! Mark did the vision test, got his picture taken, and we were on our way.

Conferences weren't too bad, in fact, pretty good. I was able to catch all the teachers without waiting in long lines and was out of there by 5:30. They all had good things to say about the kids.

Now I'm at work waiting for techies to come (to the tune of over $200). They just called for directions here. So, even the techies need to ask for help now and then. I just hope I gave him good instructions...

Till next time,


Suzi

The time is set

I've chatted with Mai, our Japanese exchange student who is coming back for a visit. We've been able to chat the last two evenings (mornings in Japan) on Messenger. She is scheduled to arrive late morning, Tuesday March 7. Woo hoo!

Our year with Mai was fun and exciting. We had expected a quiet, respectful, helpful Asian girl. Mai was anything but quiet--although she was pretty respectful and sometimes helpful ;) (but she did not want to be called Mai the Maid). She had never ending questions and laughter and smiles. We even taught her how to hug, American style.

She'll be here for three short weeks, and I just wish I didn't have to work so much during that time! She's still got lots of friends here, and I just know she won't be bored. She'll just hop on a bus and go to the Mall of America and shop, shop shop if she has any down time at all!

Till next time,


Suzi

Leaning on the Right One

Just when you think you have time to work on one project, something more urgent comes up and takes your time and attention.

That's how it's going at work today, but it could be the case at home or anywhere any day of the week.

This morning, however, we took time in our staff devotions to pray for each other and realize that none of the work we do is possible without the Lord's hand in it. This is especially true when the guys on staff travel to different churches in our conference and walk into difficult situations. The church people look to them to solve their problems or give them some kind of guidance.

At these times, we were reminded today, and really at any time--we should look to God for our guidance. Sometimes we are humming merrily along on our own strength, but then tough times come and we realize how much we really should and need to depend on Him.

As a parent of teenagers, I'm leaning hard on him these days! :)

Till next time,


Suzi

Late afternoon blogging

Here it is, 4:20 pm on my day off, and I am just getting around to blogging. I was going to blog right after my walk with Raven, then decided to lie down for a bit (after my shower and breakfast). I woke up over two hours later. Guess I needed the rest after a busy weekend and Mondays are always jam packed too.

So, after my nap, I had to go to the bank, grocery store, and pet food store (Raven needs to switch over to Science Diet "Light" because he's a few pounds overweight). I guess we should both be working a bit harder on our walking time.

So now I'm home and the kids haven't come back home from school yet--Mark is working with Tim and Christina is going to the basketball game at school. I love my days off, and as much as I enjoy working (both jobs) I do miss the days at home. I'll be glad to go back to two days at home again after tax season.

Well, guess I should start to think about supper now.

Till next time,


Suzi

Celebrating early

Yesterday we had a party for Mark who will have a non-birthday on February 29. He will be 18 (4 1/2)--hard to believe he's been alive for so many years already!

It worked out well to have it early, as tax season is in full swing and everyone could make it on a Sunday evening this time in the season. Closer to March 15, it gets harder with corporate tax stuff due.

It was a full day, with church in the morning and a funeral in the afternoon. This was the fourth person from our old church, Trinity Covenant, to pass away in the last two months. It's been good to see old friends at funerals--I'm trying not to look too hard around the room and wonder who will be next! I'm just glad those who have passed are all in a better home now, but I feel deeply for those who are left behind. Birdie, whose funeral was yesterday, leaves two sisters, nieces and nephews behind. Her sister Marlyce and Birdie have lived together since Marlyce was born--almost 80 years ago. I know this is very hard on her. Birdie just moved from her sister's apartment to a nursing home across the street (they live(d) in a retirement community). Both sisters taught my husband Tim in Sunday school at various times when he was young. We will miss Birdie and her candy-making--our kids always stopped at their home on Halloween for special treats.

On another note, today is Raven's birthday, too. At least we call it his birthday--we got him four years ago at age 3 (so he is 7)--2-20-2002 at 20:02 o'clock (military time). I think he will have a fine day celebrating with Christina home from school (president's day). I'm at work, and Mark is working with Tim today. Not everybody gets a holiday...

Happy President's Day! Happy (non?) birthday Mark and Raven!

Till next time,

Suzi

Bundlin' up

Well, the Weather Bug icon on my computer task bar reads -9 degrees. Raven and I got out around 8 am, so the sun was shining and the wind wasn't too bad. Still cold, though--I am not unhappy to be indoors right now.

Last night Tim & I had a late dinner (well, around 7 pm) at Olive Garden. It's been a long time since we've been there. When Tim suggested it I think I sounded a little too eager. I had the three-meat ravioli--Tim had the healthier shrimp primavera, but he ended up finishing my dinner and we took home the rest of his in a box. Then he dropped me off at the grocery store. The reviewal for our friend who died earlier this week is this afternoon, with the funeral tomorrow afternoon. Tonight we are having dinner at some friends, and tomorrow night we are having an early birthday/family party for Mark whose non-birthday is February 29. So, I'm making cherry pie for dinner tonight (it is February, right Mom?) and I've got to get the house together and the meal planned out for tomorrow. Good thing Mark requested tacos--an easy dish.

So, I'll keep warm running around the house with the occasional outing. I think our friends are grilling tonight. I think they are nuts for grilling in the winter (they do that frequently), especially on the coldest night in two years. But, they are great cooks (both of them--Bobie and Dale) so we are already salivating.

Till next time,


Suzi

Hovering

Well, the weather forecasters may have messed up on the amount of snow the Twin Cities received (we got squat) but they were right about the temperature drop. Raven and I bundled up (well, I bundled up) and headed out into the frigid, dark morning. It wasn't too bad, actually (around zero degrees) but when we walked back home we were walking into the wind. The last block was torturous, but we made it. I stood inside by the front door while Tim sat across the room eating his hot oatmeal and drinking his coffee.

"BRRRRRRR It's frozen out there!"

"Well, maybe you'd like to help me haul in some 12-footers (12-foot sheet rock) today," Tim replied, giving me absolutely NO sympathy.

"Hmmmpf" was my reply. At least we were able to scrounge and find the gloves he got for Christmas (thanks Cheri) and his "bomber" winter hat. Hopefully he'll stay warm enough as he and Terry and maybe Luke haul the rock into the house they're working on.

But even in the cold, there is beauty. I was taking my usual scenic route to work along the Mississippi River road, and I couldn't help but notice the steam/snow or something rising and swirling above the surface of the river. It reminded me of Genesis 1:2: " Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." (NIV) Right after that God created light.

It was nice to be driving in daylight this morning. The days are getting longer, and I'm grateful that the Spirit of God hovers in creation and in my heart. Now that's something to warm you right up and brighten your day!

Till next time,


Suzi

It's gettin' colder....

Temps are dropping here in the Twin Cities, and here in mid-February we are going to have the coldest temperatures of the season. I guess it's payback time for the wimpy January we experienced.

Down in Rochester and Red Wing, MN snow is flying and schools are being cancelled. The snow that was supposed to come here hasn't arrived yet. We may get a couple of inches, but who knows.

I've got my space heater going and am sipping hot tea. Guess spring isn't coming any time soon.

Till next time,


Suzi

Tuesday was much better

Yesterday was a fine day. Thank you for such a nice Valentine's Day, honey, and for your poem (poems). We enjoyed a nice lasagna dinner with Luke and Terry (Mark and Christina came home later for lasagna.) Tim brought home some candy with the promise of more when things go on sale tomorrow (today).

Cheryl here at work has the huge mailing pretty well in hand, so I can go back to focusing on my stuff (updating data base, working on newsletter, etc.)

Not much else going on. No news is good news, I think.

Till next time,


Suzi

With apologies to nephew Richard

Do you remember that song from the musical, Annie? The one she and Daddy Warbucks sing at the end of the movie, with the line, "Yesterday was plain awful...you can say that again..yesterday was plain awful, but that's not now, that's then..." And of course, "the sun will come out tomorrow..."

Well, if you read Tim's blog you know about some of the trials of yesterday. We are really saddened by the disappearance of one of his employee's, who may have had a set-back with his former drug addiction. Please pray for him.

We also got the news that one of our dearly loved ladies from our now defunct church passed away. This is the third death of friends from our former church in two months. I suppose it shouldn't be a huge surprise, since many of them were in their 80s, but it is still sad.

And then, one the way home from work yesterday, my car started talking back to me. My beloved Highlander, the Car That Can No Wrong Because It is New(er) And Has All Wheel Drive, was acting up. First a little light started flashing at me--a cute little picture of a car skidding. Then an incessant beeping noise started. This was followed by the engine slowing down occasionally, and the sound of the anti-lock brakes kicking in when my foot was not on the brake.

Of course, I called Tim using my panicky voice. (This voice never seems to unnerve him, somehow.) I convinced him to call Toyota, and they called me back, assuring me that I could still drive it till I got to their repair shop. Well, I got home somehow and took Mark's car, the Camry to BSF. Tim came home and took the car up to Toyota City. There, they looked at it and said they had never seen anything like it. This was not very reassuring.

Well, Mark took the Tundra and picked Tim up at Toyota City. They have service open till 2 am, and at 10:30 they called back, saying they thought it was fixed--it just needed resetting. At least, they hoped that solved the problem. Otherwise, it would be a $2500 fix with something with the computer, I think.

Well, today is going better--although I wasn't too sure it would. I woke up to freezing rain type drivel, and I had volunteered to give Tim's cousin Terry a ride to St. Paul by 9 am. I got to his house at 8 and we arrived at his destination by 8:35 in spite of reports of spin outs and accidents all over town.

I got to the grocery store at 9 am and have lasagna ready to put in the oven for a Valentine's Dinner. So, things are looking up.

Sorry Richard, I know yesterday was your birthday, and I hope it was a very very happy one. I hope you and your mom have a fun valentine's day.

I know that I'm planning on it. Chocolate, I think, may be in my near future. It's the great comfort food. (Jewelry, perfume, and flowers are comforting too, in case anyone is reading this who would feel led to give some to his Valentine.)

Till next time,


Suzi

PS More good news today--Mai called & e-mailed--she is planning to visit next month!!!!

Running behind

It was touch and go, but Mark decided he needed to stay home from school today. Of course, I was behind schedule, so Tim offered to take Christina to school, but she refuses to ride in his big work truck (it's soooo embarrassing!). Anyway, Pete the boyfriend came to the rescue to pick up Christina so the rest of us could get to work on time.

I wondered if it was a bad omen when I saw a Fed Ex truck on the back of a tow truck trailer. Even the overnight guys are slowing down today. But, when I see what the east coast is going through--and especially New York, I really can't complain about anything. At least we are able to travel without any problem, and rush hour really wasn't bad today.

Till next time,


Suzi

Breakfast with family

I didn't jump out of bed as early as I should have, but Raven and I got our walk in, my shower, and then Tim and I ran over to Chanhassen to meet my sister, her husband and son for breakfast this morning. We had a nice buffet and caught up a little bit. My nephew was there for a Leadership Weekend at the college he plans to attend--he and several other students were there applying for a leadership scholarship. They wrote essays, did team building exercises, etc. Cheri & Pat (my sister and brother-in-law) got to attend some parent meetings and get familiar with the campus and staff.

We learned that Daniel has a new girlfriend, while our boys have just parted ways with their long-time girlfriends this past week. I'm sure they will remain in touch and be friends, but it's still hard, especially right before Valentine's Day. But they are doing well. Luke is heading up for a couple of days with friends at a cabin (really a house) at Two Harbors, MN right on Lake Superior. Mark's keeping busy with his friends, school and worship team at church.

Christina called last night after ten with the strangest excuse for coming home late I've heard yet (and I've heard some good ones)--there were some coyotes in her friend's yard, so they wanted to make sure the coast was clear before they dashed out to boyfriend Pete's car (she and Pete are still together). Anyway, she did arrive home safely, none the worse for wear as far as I know. I haven't seen any fang or scratch marks.

And so, another weekend begins. We had a nice time at our friends' home but we all called it an early evening, which was really not bad. I caught a little bit of the Olympics opening ceremony. Now I can kick back and watch the competition. Or I can work on competing again the clutter in the house, to see who wins--right now the odds are not in my favor.

But the weekend is still young.

Till next time,


Suzi

Lots to do

It's Friday, but it's busy. There's a huge bulk mailing that needs to be done, as well as a smaller first class one, and the newsletter deadline is looming.

After work we are joining our new small group from church for a potluck dinner in one of the members' homes. It should be a fun evening. Tomorrow morning we're meeting Cheri, Pat & Daniel for breakfast before they head out of town. Then I will come home for a nap.

Till next time,


Suzi

Easing into the day

Well things are not quite as busy and active this morning at work as they were yesterday, so I'll sneak in a quick blog. I have more time to collect my thoughts and organize my desk to make sure I'm getting all the communication done around here that need communicating! (That's my main job--communications manager-self-titled.)

Cheri, Pat & Daniel are coming to town--but they're staying on the other side of town by Daniel's new college :) so we'll only have a chance to see them for breakfast on Saturday. I hope it's not too early as it's getting tough getting up at 5:30 four mornings a week. I guess I just love that snooze button too much! (My cell phone alarm goes off at 5.) But whatever time, it will be worth it to see them. We haven't seen Pat in quite awhile since we haven't been to Eagle River in a couple of years, I think. It will be nice to catch up, in whatever brief time we have.

Till next time,


Suzi

Busy busy

It's a busy day at work (conference office)--all the guys are in today so there are phone calls, tasks delegated to me, website stuff to update, e-mails to open and answer, etc etc.

So, hopefully I can blog more tomorrow. At least I'm not giving out any jolting news today.

Till next time,


Suzi

Pooch or parents, mutt or move?

That's my family on the left--Mom, me, Roger, Lori, Cheri and Dad. On the right (above) is Sultan Raven, the famous dog. I'm trying to decide which to blog about today--my parent's sudden announcement of their move, or my pooch's visit to the vet?

Both were rather jolting to the system. I know I shouldn't be surprised by my parents hopping around--after all, they were globe trotters for many years (and after we had all graduated from high school). If not for their world travels, we wouldn't have our Christina who was born in Romania and lived in an orphanage for the first year of her life. Mom always made it back for the birth (or soon afterwards) of our kids. They always made a point of seeing us at least once a year.

Yet somehow, I thought they had settled down to a "normal" life when they announced their retirement. Okay, Georgia was a nice place to spend their "golden" years. But wait--taxes were too high there, so off to Tennessee they went.

Knoxville was nice for awhile. But then they moved on again--nearer to Nashville in Cookeville, Tennessee. They were getting closer to us kids. My brother moved to a neighborhood only 45 minutes away. Finally we had our spy I mean the son in a place where he could keep on eye on things.

We were at my folks just at Christmas time, 2005. I don't know, I think I mentioned that I was amazed that they could keep their nice-sized home so spic and span all the time, knowing that they are spry, but not quite as spry as they were, say, in their 20s.

So maybe that comment is what did it. Or maybe the mayhem of having too many children and grandchildren in the home at one time was the reason for flight. At any rate, Mom and Dad are moving--115.1 miles (I believe that is my dad's calculation) even farther away from us--even away from Roger, the favorite (okay, the only) son.

Well, it will be fun to visit a new home. And I guess the accommodations are limited, so we'll have to get a nearby hotel or bunk with the neighbors or bring our camper. We're happy for you Mom and Dad, really we are. We just wish you were a little closer.

Now on to part two of the blog--Raven at the vet. Those of you with delicate stomachs may not want to read on. Raven had his anal glands expressed today. Uh, huh, you read it right. This time I was in the room because Raven did not want to go down to the lab. The vet tech said it was the worse case she'd ever seen. I assisted by giving her a new glove while the other tech cradled Raven's muzzled head in her arms. Raven also got his rabies update shot, so he's good for awhile now, I think. I also got some stuff for cleaning his bottom and ointment for it. Man, it's just like having a baby with diaper rash. Only babies don't have a lot of fur covering their swimsuit areas, so it's a lot easier to apply this stuff to them.

So, slowly the shock of the move announcement and the trauma and smell of Raven's problem are wearing off. I will look forward to whatever adventure tomorrow holds.

I'm fairly certain Mom and Dad won't be moving too soon after this (but one never knows) and Raven will not need a return visit to the vet (unless something else comes up--or out).

Till next time,


Suzi

Monday morning

I thought things would be hopping this morning at the tax office, but I guess people are still recovering from their Super Bowl parties. Not that there's much for Minnesotans to celebrate--Vikings weren't in it this year and no one from our central division, for that matter.

Still, it's always fun to have an excuse to party. Raven and I watched parts of the Super Bowl (Tim was at Solomons Porch)--I mainly wanted to see the pre-game interview with the Seattle Seahawk coach's wife, Kathy (I think) Holmgren. She and her daughter are on a missions trip in the C0ngo during the Super Bowl--Kathy's a nurse and their daughter is an obstetrician. They are helping out in a desperate situation in the heart of Africa.

Because of this, I was rooting for the Seahawks, but I'm sure they were happy just to be there (although of course everyone wants to win). Maybe the Vikings will be in it next year.

But that could be a big maybe...

Till next time,


Suzi

I came in second place at Blokus

I was pleased and amazed. I knew that being the only woman playing this man's game of Blokus was probably fruitless. I'd rather play a relational game or a word game or even Twister than a game involving any strategy. But I agreed to let myself be humiliated so that the newer players could maintain healthy self-esteem.

So, I was flabbergasted that I came in second place to my husband Tim, the keeper of all pieces blue (it's my favorite color, too, but he ALWAYS hogs it). I was just beginning to feel a little cocky when we played round two.

I lost. And to make matters worse, Tim sat out the next game (which I sat out as well) and let our pastor (who was hosting the evening) USE HIS BLUE PIECES!!!!!

I've never been able to be blue with Tim in the room. And sure enough, Pastor Paul won both rounds of Blokus even though he was a rookie.

So I spent the rest of the evening gameless. I had some hot cider and a couple pretzels, and moved to the Girls & Michael table. They had been playing Sequence, then played Golf, which, I guess is a card game. I tried to crack jokes to feel part of the group, but no one laughed when I said the opposite of Golf is Flog (well, it is Golf spelled backwards). What was I thinking? Then I went on about how golf is a silly spectator sport, and told the old joke about why do people watch soccer (so they don't have to play it) and tried to make the link (pun intended) to golf. I was in rare form, having had four large Diet Cokes within a four-hour period or so.

Anyway, my new goal in life is to someday beat my husband at Blokus. And I want to beat him with the blue pieces.

I'd probably have better chances to play a round of golf with the lowest score. That is the object of golf, right--to get the lowest score? Seems a little pointless (ha, another pun!) to me...

Till next blok, I mean blog,


Suzi

PS If you want to see a Blokus board, check out Tim's Blog.

The coming storm...

It's another quiet day at the office--but probably the last one. Next week the "professional" staff will return from the Mid-winter conference in Chicago, I should be receiving articles and photos for the next newsletter, and with Nicole gone we'll be doing some aspects of her job as best we can. The tax week should be busy--Tim's already been working some evenings for his mom--generally right after his work day, so he's not getting home for supper till after 6 or 6:30. I know it will start to get even later.

I was worried about slipping and sliding again on my walk, but fortunately the roads and sidewalks weren't too icy when Raven and I were out. Temps were up in the 40s yesterday--I don't think meteorologists were expecting it to be quite that warm. Today, however, the roads are slippery (not terribly bad as I take the parkway and city streets all the way to work). Traffic on freeways was backed up according to radio reports--the ramps are pretty slick. Snow is starting to come down at a pretty good rate now--it's mostly light. Temperatures are supposed to drop all day.

Winter is back. I guess the groundhog really did see his shadow.

Till next time,


Suzi

It's quiet

The next couple of days should be pretty quiet at work. I'll be here alone for the most part--our finance guy/auditor may stop in briefly and of course I get to greet our friendly mailman. The guys (otherwise known as professional staff) are in Chicago all week for the mid-winter conference for Covenant pastors.

I plan to do web work, organize my desk, get started on the Imprints newsletter, and answer the phone. Of course, Monday at the tax office should be pretty busy--the first Monday is February is usually hopping, as people have all their information (or should have) and call to make appointments or ask questions.

I'm debating about whether or not to have the space heater on. I might get a little sleepy if I get too warm. On the other hand, winter is back--or coming back anyway. I guess we'll pay in February for what we got off easy for in January. (Apologies to Lori for too many prepositions in wrong places in that last sentence. She is the family syntax expert.)

Well, I better get to work!

Till next time,


Suzi

Update: Even the postman snubbed me here at the office today! It wasn't Pat, our usual cheery guy. The new guy just put the mail in a box outside our door and took off without even checking to see if we had outgoing mail (which we don't). Well, I guess I can't blame him--our office building looks like (and actually once was a residence) a house. But the large words: NORTHWEST CONFERENCE on the door should be a tip-off.
On a brighter side, Byron called to say he'd like to come see me. Byron is our go-to handy guy, and he is fixing a light that needs a ballast (sp?).
But as I'm typing this a Covenant pastor and missionary came to the door and need a meeting space. This quiet day is turning out to be a party day! Don't feel sorry for me!

Traffic and travel

It snowed last night, ushering in a wintery February. It was slippery driving--I'm glad my husband and kids, who were out and about--got home safely. I remembered after I posted yesterday that Jan. 31 is the anniversary of my car accident--where I guy plowed in to me as he ran a red light, hitting my full-size van just behind the driver's seat, totally the car, but leaving me virtually unscathed. That was five years ago. An experience like that makes you appreciate every day that's given us.

Today at work my co-worker is wrapping things up before she heads to Colombia--she and her husband are going to adopt a daughter, their second child--their son was also born in Colombia. I'm trying to learn things I'll need to know while she's gone, and fortunately, another gal will be here to help out in the office.

Pray for Nicole and her husband Matt as they head south to meet their new daughter on Monday!

Till next time,


Suzi