Dear DEbra

August 30, 2012





Dear Debra:



Yesterday got really busy for me so by the time I was finished for the day I was too tired to write. The Volume of the mail didn’t seem too bad until I got a bin of stuff that really belonged to another department on a different floor. I was so close to being really caught up and this seemed to deter that for me.



Last night I attended a Jewish wake. I have been to one other before but it didn’t include the prayers. It was at the home of my friend’s brother. There was the traditional food and I read along while the others recited the prayers. It was all very interesting. We were home by 9 or 9:30.



When I got home Mom was watching TV. She had been growing tired as her day was filled with shopping for supplies for Chris to work on the front porch and the window. Actually we had to avoid the front porch tonight as he is almost done with it I think.



I really wasn’t feeling well when I got home from the wake.. I think I was having indigestion for most of the night. It stayed with me until mid-morning. The rest of the day I was fine.



You know Mom’s been coughing a lot more in recent days. She says it’s the esophagus. I heard her coughing a few minutes ago and earlier today. I also heard her last night. I don’t want to push the issue with her but needless to say it is a worry.



This is a week for rescheduling. First it was our session and then yesterday I had to reschedule my B-12 shot. I was supposed to get it yesterday around 5. I totally forgot about it until the office called me. It has been rescheduled for September 5th. I need to remind my self of this. Even with my calendar reminders ringing like crazy.



Well I am going to bed. I have another long day tomorrow. I am coming back from work and then going back to New Haven for dinner at the Graduate club.



I will see you at 11:15.

Dear Debra

August 28, 2012







Dear Debra:



Hope your day went well. I am sorry that I had to cancel our session for today at the last minute. I should have called you last night like I wrote last night. BTW, those letters along with this one will be mailed tomorrow on my way to work.



I got up early this morning and got things done. Mom was up before I left but she wasn’t quite “awake” yet. Apparently she didn’t sleep well last night. Before leaving I let her know that if I could take the pain away I would. However, she reminded me that she needs to go through this and she is right. I realize that I need to give her the space needed and not hover like I usually do.



Today I decided to read all the entries of August 28 for the past several years. Some of them were short and sweet some were not so sweet or short. They ranged from Work, Doctor Appointments, vacations, and pen paling.



I am pretty much caught up with everything at work. I have a small amount of readdress mail and mail for the other floors so if I get to work early in the morning (I am thinking by 6:30) then I can get it done.



Sadly a friend of mine from the Mexican Train Game crew lost his mother and so a few of us will be paying our respects at their home tomorrow night. Roberta called me tonight and told me that they will be going over at 6:30 so she offered to pick me up at 6.





When I got home tonight I got to see Chris (my Sister’s youngest son). He was doing some painting preparations for the window and front porch today but he was on his way home when I arrived. He was heading to band rehearsal. He plays in a band and they have a few “gig’s coming up this next few weeks.



I should have been working on Thank you notes from the sympathy cards we received from the funeral. I just can’t do it right now. I am tired by the time I get home. I will have to make time tomorrow.



Finally I am enclosing Bob’s Eulogy that Jim wrote for the funeral. I thought you might like to read it. After a few attempts over the weekend Jim was able to send it to us with Jamie’s help. I think of the two Jamie will supersede in skill for the future.



In the mean time I need to get to bed. It will definitely be a long day. See you soon….



Me.

Dear Debra

August 27, 2012





Dear Debra:



I was just heading to bed in my recently organized room and wanted to quickly write you again. You should see this room it is wonderful. She moved some pieces of furniture in the closet she rearranged my closet and put a lot of stuff on the shelves. She organized a few of the desk shelves and of course cleaned the room. She made my bed. Now all I have to do is find each thing look through it and do what ever I need to do with it (write up and save it)... She put knick-knacks along my old stereo too.



I have to say I had a pretty good day. I decided to drive into work as I was running late. The drive in seemed unusually light for the first day of school. When I got to work I was greeted by JanetN’s presence. We caught up on each other’s lives.



For the first couple of hours I worked on the return mail. One of the girls in Finance brought me lockbox. It was light but lately it usually is light on Monday. I was pleased that Sue R said hello and asked about Mom. I felt comfortable talking with her today. I had an opportunity to ask bout her daughter who now lives in the city and works at one of the major hospital’s there.



When the second mail run arrived it seemed like there was a lot. A few things were returned to me but I just sent it back out. It was an aggravation but I am betting it will come back some time tomorrow. I managed to finish the second wave by 2. I worked on the lobby mail and by 3 I was delivering it and worked on the return mail until it was time to leave.



I held on to my promise to not use the phone for personal calls too much. However, at certain points during the day I did check emails and my forums. I made sure I didn’t stay on them long.



We had some rain mid afternoon. By the time we left the humidity was high. I was really glad I didn’t have to walk all the way to the bus stop. I could hop into my car and drive home. The trip home was heavy but most Monday’s it seems heavy.



It was 4:30 when I got home. The sun was just beginning to hide behind the clouds. I was expecting it to start raining any time after that but nothing. I spent time admiring my room and watching TV.



We had dinner by 6 and it was traditional pot roast. Mom was telling me how her day was. It was quite hectic with the cleaning crew, my nephew Chris preparing for the paint





Job. He never got started on. We hope he comes tomorrow if the rain holds out. The washing machine was repaired. It wasn’t spinning the water out correctly. Yay us!



After dinner I got rid of some emails I knew I would never save or log in the way I do. I might do more before going to bed. I also made some calls and answered some emails.



It would seem my cousin Carol went to the doctor today and got fantastic news. She is cancer free! Her cancer is in remission. This is great news considering she has a great many health issues.



Well that’s pretty much the news I have for you now. I am going to be calling you on the way to work tomorrow. As I mentioned in my previous email tomorrow afternoon is just not going to work. I still have a lot of work to get rid of first. I am sure we will find a time for us to meet.



In the mean time I think I am going to crash….



Take care,



Me

Dear Debra

August 27, 2012







Dear Debra:



Well Good Morning! It is almost 12:30. I can’t seem to sleep and I think I know why. The late cup of coffee I had at the shower. I was afraid I would be up but it was cool in the restaurant so I didn’t really care.



My evening went pretty well. I got to Telka’s house early I thought I was the first one while a few of the girls arrived a minute or two after I did the president of the girls club was there way before any of us. A few more did arrive afterwards



We had a lot to discuss. The Duties of the officers (some of them were new at their positions) was one of the first items. Activities that are being planned and we voted in some new members both in the Woman’s Club and girl’s club. Telka will be sending me the new Phone list sometime soon.



I signed up to be hostess for a few meetings. What that will entail is bringing either a healthy snack, a regular snack or soda every other month I think I signed up for four different months.



The meeting was over by 7:30 and I was taking the Girls club President home. Just as we were leaving Jim called to let me know he and Jamie were able to send the eulogy on the Word Doc. Mom now has it and I am just waiting for her to send it to me.



Once I dropped Kelly at her house I headed to Ethel’s. It was getting dark and it wasn’t even 8 yet. Everyone was out on the lawn at the table. Mom was still there. I was able to get some dinner before it was put away. The dinner included Salmon, ziti, and some Swiss Chocolate candy, and blueberry pie for dinner.



Even though we stayed an hour I had a great time. We talked geo-politics and I was quite surprised to hear John’s views on it. We shared some memories of Bob as well. When it was time for me to leave Ethel and I walked Mom to the car and then we walked to mine, Ethel said that Bob did love me and he always felt guilty when he was impatient with me. Ethel always told him he needed to be more patient.





I was glad that she shared that with me. I knew on some level he did. I have always loved him.



Well it is getting late and I need to get up early or at least attempt to make sure the room is ready for Olivia to come and do her magic. I will chat with you soon.



Take care,





Me

Dear Debra

August 26, 2012







Dear Debra:



It has been a few hours now that we got home from the shower. I will be leaving for the board meeting at Telka’s in an hour. The shower was lovely. I had a good time for the most part.



We had no problems getting to the place but during the shower. Mom really concerned me and I tried to tell Liz and she dismissed as nothing and not to be rude. She thought I was angry with Mom. No I was really scared because she couldn’t remember who Chris (the father to be) was married to(the girl we were having the fucking shower for) and when trying to hear conversations she wasn’t catching things and thought something else was being said. Twice she hit me in the arm when I spoke to loudly or too close to her ear. I insisted she not hit me again. I am really concerned because she comes off stupid and pathetic. I had to be her translator. I am really going to get angry if Liz brings this up and lectures me. I will NOT Tolerate their dismissal of my feelings on this.



We sat with friends and family. We got to sit with Lisa, Olga, and Olga’s Mom and Cheryl’s extended family and friends. The food was delicious. It was buffet style and ranged from breakfast to dinner and supper fair. I won the table ornament a vase with a candle in it. It is currently sitting on the coffee table in the living room.



The one other thing that bothered me is that I had found out that one of Chris’s Great Aunt’s Madeline passed away and it was a woman I worked with many years ago. His Cousin Diane who was my supervisor attended and I felt horrible for because they were so close (mother and daughter). I shared with Diane the news about Bob.



When I got home I called my friend and co-worker Terry and told her of my experience. It would seem only a select few at work knew and didn’t share that with those of us who worked with Diane back in the Butler Building days. I would have gone to the services as well. I am a little annoyed with those people who chose to keep it to themselves. Hell would have erupted if we kept something like that from them.



Do you remember when I mentioned in yesterday’s letter that a cousin of Mom’s passed away this week. Well if you are familiar with the Yale Swim team or the history of it you would have recognized or heard of Phil Moriarity . I think I may have met him a few time at family gatherings. He was my grandmother’s Nephew I believe. I don’t know what the arrangements are yet as they were incomplete by the time the obituary was posted. There is a NY Times article and Boston article as well.



Mom tells me Diane is having a cook out over at the house and wants us there around 6:30. I am going to be there late. The meeting gets out at 8. I am not sure how much longer Diane is staying there as John has decided to not get his leave extended. He will be leaving Tuesday at 6 am and heading back to his unit.



Oh it is a safe by the time you get this letter I would have already called you. Tuesday will not be a good time to meet. Gayle is out of the office until Wednesday and I haven’t been able to check with her if it would be okay to have lunch. So I will call you to change it.



Okay its time for me to take off. I will probably mail this some time tomorrow.



Take care

Dear Debra

August 26, 2012





Dear Debra:



I am sorry I didn’t write yesterday but my day was a little crazy. I woke up with one of my migraines and for most of the morning didn’t do anything except wait it out. I made a few phone calls but haven’t heard back from them. By Noon time I was feeling better and up and moving about.



I didn’t do very much I was supposed to start my thank you notes for the cards and stuff received from Bob’s funeral. I have managed to gather them and put them on top of the desk. I may start working on them after the shower this morning.



I did do some quick shopping for the baby shower I am attending today. I had to get a gift card at Target. It was absolutely crazy there. The main reason was because of Tax Free week was ending. I think the tax free week was supposed to be for school supplies but some how managed to include everything. That doesn’t make sense to me but what do I know?



Earlier in the day I got a text message from Jim. He was upset that I had called him from work one day last week when it was not my break and was worried I would get into trouble. I sent him a message that I would d careful about it. Apparently he shared the message with Mom. They were both concerned that I could get into trouble and possibly get fired etc. I was annoyed that he shared the text message with Mom I mentioned it to him when he called later. I didn’t say I was annoyed but I told him that Mom sent me the text message via email.





When Mom and I did talk about it yesterday I tried to explain that as long as we are on our breaks for lunch and our other breaks we can make calls. She kept refuting the information. So I said to her that I would be careful. What she needs to do is mind her own business about workplace activities.



Last night was Mexican Train Game night. My friend Debby picked me up a little after 5:30. We headed over to M& R‘s house and we met up with our other friends and then started playing. WE had Chinese Food for dinner and then we finished playing the rounds. There are thirteen rounds of this game and sometimes it can take a long time to finish the game. Happily we were finished by 10 and I was home by 11.



Mom was still up when I got home. She was watching TV and I went to bed. I got up during the night to find the downstairs light on. Mom had been in bed already. I turned it off. When I spoke to Mom about it she had forgotten I came home at 11. She thought I got home later. I am not sure if this is part of the grieving process or just Mom’s age. She did it a couple of other times in the last few weeks. She apologized I told her it was no big deal. I will have to keep track of this.



We are leaving for the shower by 11. It is in a restaurant in Meriden. Mom is a little annoyed that we were asked not only to bring a gift but unwrapped diapers and this is going to be taking place in a restaurant. This shower is for Cheryl’s daughter Jessica. They do like to party that’s for sure. They are having an engagement party for their son Mike and fiancée Ashley in September in a place in Danbury in September. They are not going to be married for another two years or something like that.



Well I am going to get some breakfast. I don’t know how long it will be before we eat.

Dear Debra

August 24, 2012







Dear Debra:



Well the weekend has officially started. I had to wait for the bus to Jones Hill Road. Unfortunately there was a guy who clearly had issues. If you think I talk too much you should see this guy. I was really hoping he wouldn’t take the same bus I was (like he thought he would) and happily he didn’t. The ride seemed longer then usual. May be the reason was I was tired.



When I got home I changed shoes and headed to Sylvia’s house and walked the Dog. As in the past I had trouble with the opening the door. She either needs a new door or a new lock. Anyway, the dog walk wasn’t long. He was heading to the main road and that made me nervous. We headed to the other end of the street. I had him on that retractable leash (I really loath those things).



When that was all done I came home and we had dinner. It was Shrimp and mac and cheese. After dinner I started watching TV and started this letter.



I asked Mom about the visit from the Hadlocks. Apparently they got home either last night or this morning. Kevin H couldn’t come over yet. They were both devastated. He will come by another time.



Liz came over today with Nelson 3. Mom had a blast with him. He was exploring everything in the house. They had a great visit. I would love to see Nelson 3. I probably will at the next family gathering.









While I was watching TV I started falling asleep so I have decided to hit the hay. Mom beat me to it. She is already sleeping. I will see you in the morning.



Me.

Dear Debra

                                                                                 August 24, 2012

Dear Debra:

Good Morning!  It is a beautiful morning a little warm but still beautiful.  I woke up around 5:30 but stayed in bed until 6.  I had a great sleep and the neck also feels better.  The ankle is still giving me a hard time but I will stay off of it for the day.  It will be a long day as I am working until 6. 

I have some rather shocking news.  In one of the previous letters that you got I told you I found return mail in one of my file cabinet draws.  I was certain that Diva did it.  I didn’t believe when she told me she didn’t do it.  It turns out that Gayle had put them in the drawers because they were all over the floor.   I told a couple of others the situation and they were surprised.  No more so than I am.

 Gayle is really pissed about something that happened yesterday.  Both Sue and Sally came in and wanted a procedure changed about scanning Medicaid Electronic payments.  It is a rather fuzzy idea in my head but apparently for years the scanning team has done it one way and it has been working. 

          I have to apologize-again I had to turn off my computer to reboot it for some sites.  It didn’t work.  Anyway, I got so busy that I am now just getting back to the letter.  The mail is done now all that’s left is the small amount of readdress and that lovely postage and bad address stuff.  Unfortunately I will only be able to stay until 5:30 as everyone needs to be off by then.  There is electrical work being done and it can’t interfere with.

I called home at lunch time and Mom told me that Bob’s Friend Hadlock was at the house.  This was the couple we tried to contact when Bob Died.  They apparently took it really hard.  I will find out more later I guess.

I am going to be walking one of my other god children when I get home.  Boppie the Puppy needs to be walked but his Momma isn’t going to be home until late.

I think the rest of the night will be thank you notes and laundry.  I was contemplating coming in tomorrow and working but I have too much to do this weekend.

On that note its time for me to say so long for now…

Dear Debra

                                                                                 August 23, 2012

Dear Debra:

          I have been home an hour now.  Mom was clearing the kitchen up from baking a cake for the meeting.  She was also looking at the mail.  We received more sympathy cards.  One after the other was beautiful.   The one I got was from one of the Harris boys.  He is I believe the eldest of the three boys to my Aunt Marie and their father Ernest.  I never met their father.  He was divorced from Marie long before I was even born.

When I got home my little Lilly greeted me.  She gave me such a face bath it was great.   Don was watering the plants on his porch.  WE started talking about the progress of the sewer station.   They workers have taken down part of the front porch fence and a window on the side of the house.   When it was time for them to go in Lilly ignored her “daddy” and stayed with me.  She got spanked on the behind.  It was too funny.  Don says well we know where her loyalty lies. 

Oh I still have to thank him for the computer assist he tried the other day.  I had promised Mom I would and I haven’t done it yet.  He was trying to find something that would extend the little antenna in the back of my tower.

          Hi sorry about that.  I got a little busy.  It is just before ten and I am heading to bed.  The 4^th District went well we had candidates come and speak to us about their current status of campaigning.  We had about fourteen members tonight.    I signed up for phone banking, and sign crews as campaign season is going full force.

Right now my ankle hurts a little so I am going to get off of it.  I will chat with you again tomorrow.

Dear Debra

                                                                                 August 23, 2012

Dear Debra:

          It has been a semi rough morning for me.  I didn’t sleep well last night.  I am not entirely sure why but I was trying to see why one of my favorite sites I visit was not loading up right.    It was intermittently working and it still does.  I am thinking it is the speed my ISP is working on through my computer.

I also missed the bus this morning so I drove in.  I really thought I had enough time until I checked my watch/clock waiting at the bus stop so I had to walk all the way back home and get the car. 

So out I went and stopped for gas and then got behind the slowest drivers I have no idea why they thought going forty miles an hour on the highway was going to do but it was annoying.  I am surprised I made it to work on time.

I have been just working on the mail.  I am still waiting on lockbox.  Something tells me it’s not ready or here yet.  Gayle hasn’t arrived yet.  I am not sure she was feeling well or she was getting ready for a trip North.  She is going to Niagara Falls with her family.  I know she will enjoy it.  She says she has been there before a few times.

Oh guess what?  There is movement at the Sewer Pump House.  I saw some huge vehicles there last night and this morning two guys looking things over.  I am really excited…  The sewer project will finally begin.

Well it is nearly quitting time. I can’t stay tonight as we are having the 4^th District but right now I am so aggravated.  I managed to get all the daily mail done just before 3.  While I was looking for something I noticed that there were a couple of piles of return mail in the drawer.  Now I Have learned after some bad experiences never to do that.  I asked Diva and she boldly lied to me about it.  I am pretty certain Janet didn’t do it but I am going to ask her when she gets back next week.  I am sure Gayle didn’t tell either of them to do that. 

So now I am going to start the bad address stuff for now.  I don’t have much time so at least getting started will be okay.

I will see you later..

Kate

Thankful Thursday for August 23, 2012

Dear Debra

August 22, 2012







Dear Debra:



I was just heading to bed and wanted to write one more time. The last two letters are in one envelope and will be mailed tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know that things in my office are getting back to normal.



I made a huge dent in the work and just have a couple of piles left in the bin that Diva left for me. All that needs to be done is the postage/bad Address tallies from last week and this week. I also have the mail from downstairs to deal with plus what ever comes in tomorrow. I stayed until six. I even managed to get some dishes washed that I have (Yuk) left around.



I really tried not to eat a lot of food. I had a rather egg and home fries for breakfast, pizza from Subway, and someone’s sandwich. It was also birthday day. Belated celebrations and I was offered cupcakes and cake. It would probably explain why I am still awake at quarter of 11. I did cut down on the coffee intake and tried water for the rest of the day. I did have Ice tea once.



Today was to reach out to sibling day. I talked with Liz and with Jim. Liz is okay. She seemed tired as well. When she asked about Mom I told her she was exhausted and she reminded me that was a symptom of grief.



Jim is taking one day at time as well. He was grocery shopping when I called. He spent time with the kids this past weekend. He went out to dinner with Emily and a friend and Jamie has been spending time at the house with him. He has been emailing Diane, Rob, and John for the last several days and they have been in touch with him as well. We had a funny second phone call. His phone butt dialed (he likes to call it pocket dialing) me and so I called him back. We had a good talk.



Jim called Mom tonight and told her that he offered to come and help John and the kids with the “clearing out of Bob’s things”. They were happy for that. Mom and he talked about other things that I wasn’t privy to.



Liz sent us an email invitation from Bob’s best Friend Frank C. He is the one with the abrupt style. Well apparently he has invited everyone to his home for a big Labor Day Picnic. If I gather right he does this quite often. It looks like we are going.



I talked with Mom about Jessica’s gift for the party and we agreed we would get the gift cards and give them as the gifts. So that’s all taken care of.



I have not done the Woman’s club calls yet. I just got really busy and I didn’t want to over do it on the personal calls at work. When I called Telka tonight I told her I would have everything in order for our meeting. She and some members were doing a fundraiser over at Rita’s Italian Ice store down the street from me. I was already for bed by then.



I am going to go to bed now. I have had two servings of Tums and they don’t seem to be working tonight. I will talk with you soon.



TTYS



Me.



PS. I heard from my Cousin JEC. He wrote in his blog The Story of Joe & Floyd  http://motor-row-sail.blogspot.com/ and so at Jim’s urging I wrote him a little note (we were playing a short game of Telephone). I posted a message to him on his blog and he emailed me back today. It was cool.

Today's entry.

Please go to my health blog for Today's early entry.

Dear Debra

August 21, 2012







Dear Debra:



It was wonderful seeing you today. I hope you are able to read and enjoy the letters that have collected in your office. It was fun writing them and then posting them on the blogs. As of this writing next Tuesday at 11:15 will be fine. I am sure you will have gotten more letters by then to keep yourself busy.



I got back to the office by 12:30 had lunch and the finished the rest of the mail. Now there is half of a bin that Diva left for me. She had batched the different insurance providers together and dated the envelopes.



I tired to show her the tally sheet and she was just not getting the information straight. She repeated three times that Gayle just dropped her into the mix and just said get the checks out. I was about ready to explode. I said a couple of things to her one of them were “Can we get past the dropped into it”. I finally ended up telling her to forget it I would tell Janet when she gets back from vacation next week. I just couldn’t be bothered and I had a lot to do.



I left the office shortly before 4 and made it to the Internal Med Office before 4:30. My vital were taken and then the INR was checked. Heavy Sigh it was low. I stick with the current dosage and check it again in two weeks. Avoid really green food. I have enough meds to last until next Monday I will have to order some in a few days.



I was able to go home and have dinner with Mom. She was really tired. I had the feeling she was annoyed with me but she was tired. She made pork chops and vegetables. I loved it.



After dinner I was able to relax for a bit and then got ready for the Ice Cream social. I left around 6 and arrived in plenty of time. As I arrived some of the girls also arrived. We had a large crowd. A few of the mothers stayed for the social as well. It was fun. Telka made a presentation and then a question and answer session along with a trivia match. I didn’t get to stay long for the ice cream. The new Girls Club President needed to get home and I offered her a ride. I was home by 8:30. Telka sent me some emails to make calls to some potential club members and remind them to pay their dues to join.



I have a rather busy weekend coming up. I have to clean my room Saturday and get ready for Game night. That will also be the only day to go shopping for my Niece Jessica’s baby shower. Sunday is the Baby shower. It is in Meriden. I can’t think of the place at this moment but it’s supposed to be nice. I have a board meeting that night.



Next Monday and Tuesday our cleaning lady is as I mentioned going to come and organize my room. I am not sure exactly what that will entail but I will be glad its done. Then I can go through things and decide if they can be tossed or not.



Well it’s getting late and I need to get sleep. It is going to be another long day and I want to be ready for it.

Dear Debra

Dear Debra:




Welcome Home! I trust your trip home was without incident. I am looking forward to our next session. My hope is that you have received all of my previous letters. I can only imagine what the postman was thinking when he saw them.



I do have to apologize for the mix up. I was sure that we decided to on the phone last week that we were setting up our session for today. As I mentioned in our phone conversation today 11:15 should be okay.



Things at home are: going one day at a time. As I said so many times today its one day or one hour at a time. I am making sure that I get things done as Jim has asked. When Mom returned my call today she made sure that I knew how appreciative she has been of my helping more around the house.



We received more condolence cards daily. Mom says she wants to answer them all her self. Unless they are addressed to me only. Those I will do. Once she gets started.



Work was good. Everyone was wonderful today. They were sympathetic and compassionate. During the staff meeting I was presented with a card and monies they collected to give to me. I believe it is over $200. When I showed Mom this evening she was touched. We are still trying to figure out what to do with it.



This week begins the month end follies. You know its pure stress to get in as much of Accounts receivable as possible. You may know that we always have a huge goal set and usually surpass it but getting there has been stressful. Especially with all the new activity (Epic system, new staff members etc)



Gayle had Diva do the work while I was away and she was totally useless. She had everything still on the desk not sure of where anything went. There was still a bin of mail that was batched by teams but not opened or dated for all I know. I ended up staying for an extra hour and half to make sure most of today’s stuff was done. I will add the bin stuff to tomorrow’s stuff as well. To avoid future problems with Diva I printed up the Correspondence procedure so that she will have it the next time I am out. Tomorrow she will get the tally sheet.



I stayed at work until quarter of six tonight. Around 5 I got a call from Internal Med in Milford. They had me down for 4:30 today for the INR. I specifically asked them to give me Tuesday. So now they have me in the right place.



I got home by 7 and we had our dinner. IT was steak and potatoes and vegetables. IT was delicious. Now I am tired. So I am going to go to bed.

I am going to be at work by 7 am.



I will see you at 11:15.

Dear Debra

August 19, 2012








Dear Debra:



Happy Sunday afternoon! I haven’t mailed the last two letters to you yet so I suspect you won’t be getting them until after we meet tomorrow afternoon. This one will probably be with them.



It is a cool 74 degrees with some clouds. I can hear the neighbors down the street playing with their grandmother in the street (it is a dead end so no traffic of significance). Mom is downstairs vacuuming the back windows. She seems a little short tempered today.



Earlier today she had me help her get to the WUWT site so she could post a message. She couldn’t do it from the links in the email that TM sent her. I was trying to explain and the more I explained the agitated we both got. I was about to yell at her. It finally worked. Before we got to the page I told her I had posted a message to the community and she thought that was a good one. I explained that it was before she had asked me to limit my postings to the web (or what ever social network there was).



I was a little worried that once she saw my entry or response she would follow the links to my own blogs. I was almost expecting her to cause an argument if she saw any of them. So far she hasn’t said anything.



Liz stopped by this afternoon. She wanted to see how Mom was doing. We talked about the funeral, and the family, who had come and what Ethel has planned for herself. We shared some memories. Before Liz came she also stopped at Ethel’s to see how they were doing.



Bingo went surprisingly well. I think a lot of that had to do with Natalie the Director being there and laying down some new ground rules:



• Each Person may have a maximum of 2 bingo cards

• You cannot hold onto additional cards (I know of at last one person who does that)

• Each person will be provided with chips

• You can switch your cards only 1 time during the game.

• The caller will check the winner’s card once bingo is called.

• Anyone arguing or yelling may be asked to leave the game.



I think we had about 15 players today. I have to tell you I would prefer 15 or less players because it’s not chaotic for me. One of the residents kept eating the plastic chips. Natalie took him out and back to his room. I had to be the one to take the chips out of his mouth. Yuck.



While I was at the nursing home I also managed to schedule the three holiday activities for the club to do this year. They would be Veteran’s Day services for November. The Christmas Holiday activities that are being scheduled for the month of December are the sing a-long and the gift delivery. They are about a week a part. I sent the info to Telka this afternoon haven’t heard from her yet.



I may be in for some trouble. Before leaving for bingo I replied to a newly posted thread on the IMDB forum for NCIS. The person wanted to discuss Sean Murray’s voice. I pointed the guy to a thread already discussing the very subject. While I was at bingo he emails me and wants to know if I use any of the IM programs. I told him no I don’t thank you. IF he did that just to “pick up someone he is going to be deeply disappointed. He says he wasn’t expecting a reply but was curious. Right and I am the queen of Sheba.



I don’t usually email men unless they are family, friends, or have interacted with them on various message boards for a long time. Even at that I would PM them from the various sites. I haven’t heard from him since then. I will keep you posted on that subject.



I haven’t had any responses to the “what would you do post” to my blogs or email groups that I belong to. It was to get opinions to the letter I wrote to Jana. Did I go about it the right way, should I have been a bit more forceful with her etc.



Well I have some things to pick up in my room right now. Some time this week the cleaning lady will be organizing my room. I know that’s pretty silly to clean the room the cleaning lady is suppose to be cleaning or organizing but I don’t know what to do.



See you in the Morning,





Kate

Need your opinion.

The following is a letter I sent to a former pen pal.  IF you have read the previous entries you will understand:  I would like your view on this letter.  Please be respectful.

I received your letter earlier this week. I am concerned as I thought I explained in my last letter I was out of pen paling for the time being. There were too many incidences that displeased me and caused great concern for my family. Some day when circumstances change I may return to pen paling but for now I am not pen paling.




For future references I don’t believe pen pals should be asking their pals for stamps. So if we do become pen pals at a later date please don’t ask me for stamps. I think it is huge imposition. I will not be doing it to others.

Dear Debra final one before bed

August 18, 2012







Dear Debra:



I just wanted to check in one more time before going to bed. The Novena at Ethel’s was very nice. As I suspected it started late but not because of Ethel. Her friends who were the leader(s) of the novena were late. Apparently there is some joke about time. Basically they are always late. IF I wrote it verbatim it may get lost in the translation.



Have you have been to a Novena? I thought this one might be my first but Mom says she took us to them all the time. Anyway there were a few songs. Then there are prayers (and almost like a rosary citation). It lasted about 35 minutes and then we ate.



Most of the dishes prepared were of Philippine origin. I liked most of it but as I said to Mom outside the house it smelled like it was cooked in urine. I am also hoping it wasn’t loud enough for anyone to hear in the house. I definitely don’t want to be insulting. All this food will definitely reflect in my Coumadin level.



I wrote a brief and probably terse letter to the pen pal Jana I told you about in the last letter? I basically explained I am not in pen paling due to unfortunate circumstances. I also wrote about asking for stamps. I felt it was a great imposition to ask pen pals to provide you with supplies. I will include it with this letter. I am also going to put in my blogs (omitting names) to see what others think.











I have to tell you it has been a beautiful day. It was not hot and even now the temperatures are cool. I won’t need the fans tonight.



Okay I can see by the clock it’s late so I will see you later.





Take care,





Kate

Dear Debra

August 18, 2012






Dear Debra:



It is late Saturday afternoon and it’s been a crazy morning for me. I woke up bright and early to find it raining and a skunk in the heart trap. Now there was no way I was going to even attempt the release of this aromatic animal. So a few hours later Mom called our lawn gay to come and get it. He didn’t get here until around 11.



Just moments earlier a Mama Deer and a fawn walked through Sylvia’s yard and down our street. I was there returning pans to her and as we were talking they walked through. I called Mom to alert her and she thought I was Sylvia. Later on when I got back from the Post office she told me about the deer. I reminded her that it was me who called her.



Mom did some errands while I had some lunch. We got a call from Ethel inviting us to the final night of 9 novenas at their home. It will be about six (something tells me she will be late). We probably will have dinner there as well.



Mom made a comment to me this morning asking me not to post things of “a personal nature” on my Facebook page. All I wrote was the one “I am having a hard time today”. I didn’t give a reason why (but the responses were clear). I was really angry at this request. What I need to get permission to post on my own Facebook? IF she didn’t like that because it included the family she certainly won’t like what I wrote in the WUWT blog. I thanked the community for the kind words about Bob. It meant a lot to all of us. However the thread I was reading there were a few unwarranted comments about the process of fundraising and about Bob.



I was also upset because she took so goddamned long to call the lawn guy. She does this every time. She felt it was too early in the morning to be calling (7 am). Um that’s why they have voice mail and a freaking answering machine.



Yes this may be all the process of grieving but I am not sure it is. I am thinking it has to be a control issue. She does not have the right to do this at all. She has to do something about it or she will be the one losing a lot more.



Listen I need to get going I told Mom I would be ready to go to Ethel’s by the time she gets home from Mass. As you will see we have a lot more to talk about when we meet on Monday.



Take care,

Dear Debra

August 17, 2012








Dear Debra:



It is almost 8:30 and the day is over. It is the first day of the whole grievance process. Jim and Jamie left around mid morning. Before Leaving Jim and I had a talk. In my mind he wants me to start stepping up to the plate. Do more things around the house, taking over more of the responsibilities etc. He was reminding me to make the lists that are rather small and make sure they are done.



So that’s what I have been doing since he left. I made some lists for the entire week. I have been checking them off. Some things will probably remain the same (the shared expenses & how dinner is set up). Mom and I take care of our own things after the meal and I clear the table and she took care of putting the food we ate in smaller containers.



I spent some time with Liz and Nelson after they were out doing their own things but I didn’t stay long. I was getting tired and wanted to take a nap too. Liz also had some things to do as well.



The rest of the day I watched TV and took the nap. I went to visit the neighbors and we discussed things (neighborhood and live in general). We had the dinners that The Bridges Staff brought to us the other day. It was delicious.



I am not sure what tomorrow is bringing. I have to get some more printer supplies as the ink is running low in the printer.



I have to admit I am getting tired right now so I am going to crash. I will write again tomorrow.



Cya then:



Me

Dear Debra

August 16, 2012







Dear Debra:



Well it is after 10 pm. I haven’t been to sleep yet but I hope to be soon. Mom is getting food together to send home with Jim and James. They are leaving early in the morning (I am thinking by 9 or ten in the morning).



My neighbor Don came over this evening and checked out the keyboard and he said it died. He has lent me one for the time being but he tells me that M&T who came over this evening to see us said they would get one of theirs for me. He also looked at my modem to see if he could do anything with the speed and strength. He has some ideas. It was faster earlier but now back to what it has been for the last several days.



Don also informed me while we were away at the funeral and reception there was some domestic problems going on at our neighbors across the street from Don’s house. It involved the police and family members. Neighbors came out to help not sure if it did or not. It’s been quiet since we have been home.



Jim and Jamie both spent time over at Ethel’s house. He was there to deliver papers and final goodbyes for now. He wasn’t there long. He also wasn’t feeling well. He is in bed now while Jamie is playing games on Mom’s computer



I have made plans to renew my driver’s license tomorrow instead of the next few weekends coming up. I want to get it done and over with and will be doing it at one of the Triple A travel/insurance centers.



We were supposed to help set up the DTC tent tomorrow and work it on Saturday for the Oyster Festival but we are just not up to it.



I am starting to get tired. Mom is already in Bed and Jamie is downstairs having ice cream. I can’t believe I am leaving that 13 year old up by him self. How much trouble can he get into anyway?



I have enclosed my short thankful Thursday list. I will see you next week.



Kate

Dear Debra

Dear Debra:




It is 4:15 and we have been back from saying goodbye to Bob nearly an hour. It was a beautiful day and beautiful services. We were surprised that Liz read the second reading (apparently she was too). Despite my aggravations with Nelson last night I rode with Him and Liz from the Funeral home to the church and cemetery.



There were so many people there and there is not one thing I could say “this went wrong” or “this was right”. All of it was beautiful. Today would be the day I need to let things go. Everything was right where it should be.



Jim’s voice did break during his eulogy but he was a trooper. The kids were sitting next to him in the pew with us.



Of course it was hard for me. (But then again when it is not?) All of the Pall Bearers wore the engineer hats that Bob made over the years. The Pall bearers included Liz’s sons Rich, Chris, Four of our cousins:



Bill C

Chris H

Dan H

Mike N (family friend)



My Friend Roberta whom I drove back to the reception with was there with me for a long while. She took care of me.



Many of my cousins who came from out of town were leaving town for their respective home and families. As they left I made silent promise I would keep in touch.



That may be a little difficult as the keys on the last row on the keyboard (Z-M) are not working. I have an email to my neighbor and only guru now and just await his response. Mom thinks I should click on any help tab with in reach (the email ones and what ever else she said to me). I may have to contact Compaq myself.



I am still getting a little annoyed with her when she doesn’t hear what I am saying but that I am working on. She was bound and determined to let me know that I should go into the help tabs. I am not sure they can help and she doesn’t really know what she is talking about.



I am pleased to say that my pet project of sending invitations to the DTC 4th District via calendar maker is working. So far two people responded. 



What I am not pleased with is the following: a former pen pal wrote me as if I didn’t explain to her that I am no longer involved with pen paling at this time. She even asked I send her stamps or a stamp for her to use because she is short on funds. This absolutely annoys the hell out of me. If and when I start Pen paling and the pen pal blog this will be the first thing I write about.



Well I need to go and change. We received a beautiful fruit basket from Congresswoman DeLauro along with more cards and I would like to see them.



Take care,

Thankful Thursday for August 16, 2012

1. I am thankful my family and friends, neighbors were around to support us during this difficult time.
2. I am thankful the weather was beautiful as we said goodbye to my brother.
3. I am thankful for the home I have so it can be a place to think, live, and protect.
4. I am thankful for the week ahead.
5. I am thankful for going back to work next week.

Dear Debra

August 15, 2012





Dear Debra:



For some reason the computer was uncooperative last night and I misplaced the letter I was writing last night. I am pretty sure I will find it later but I just wanted to keep you posted.



Yesterday as I was starting to write the letter I was concerned because I couldn’t remember what I did. I know I just didn’t sit around all day and do nothing. I can sit here now and tell you it started fairly early. It was primary day and so that’s what I did I went and voted and then drove to the office.



I went there to drop off the lobby mailbox key. They have Diva doing it and she is really annoying. I was there for about 45 minutes and talked with the team. I got a lot of hugs and condolences. Gayle seemed to be really busy and I could see really angry about work related stuff so I will probably see her tonight. I went to see SR but she was in a meeting. Apparently one or two co-workers didn’t know about it.



When I got home dear friends came by for a visit. They were not the only ones. We had more flowers, food and more visits through out the day. One of them was from the DTC who turns out is working with Diane on the funeral arrangements. Janet agreed that Cody White was definitely out of line.



We went out and did some shopping yesterday. We got some paint for paint projects that are coming up and picked up some essentials. Near the end of our shopping session we were at Catherine’s Clothes store to pick up a few things and I turned to mom and said we are not here to get regular clothes.



We were home by 4. Jim had gotten home from spending most of the day with Ethel and the kids. He was part of the contingent that picked John up from the Airport. We had some more visitors and more food.



The rest of the night I was waiting to hear from you (wink) and ironed the clothes I will need for the next two days. Jim worked on a Eulogy and Mom watched TV.



This morning there will be odds and ends and Doctor Appointments. Mom’s knee gave out on her yesterday and she has been having a hard time walking. So she left a little while ago and will be back in about an hour.



I was trying to get some more details from Jim about driving arrangements and last minute details. He points out that it could in all likelihood change. So what is just needed is to wait. I do have a couple of things to do.



We do have to be at the funeral home after 3. We are going to a restaurant after the wake and probably go to Biagetti’s.



Well I am going to get ready for the day. I will let you know how things went.

August 13, 2012



Dear Debra:



Things seem to be getting worse for me. I couldn’t sleep right away last night and spent some time downstairs lying on the couch crying. I was aware that I would cry then stop then cry again. It felt like I wasn’t crying right. I came back upstairs and finally fell asleep. I woke up around 8. Jim was still asleep and Mom was upstairs looking at pictures. We had gotten an email from Diane asking for pictures. A part of me wanted to help but when Mom gave me an out I took it.



I have also been pretty angry. I was angry that the stupid Newspaper delivery man didn’t do his job yesterday. As a result I had to go and find one at the stores. I was unsuccessful. I was cursing loud enough out of the final store and this little kid with its mother told me that it was a bad word. I yelled back at her saying yeah I know lady. The mother chastised me and I told her the kid should mind its own business.



The computer that I am currently using has been really annoying me. The speed and signal strength has been very poor. It is currently 1 Mbps and strength low. Yet it is still connected. This has been ongoing for what seems like for ever. I am finding it hard to move from one webpage (website) to another with any consistency. Don says its not the computer but the ISP. Well you know what? They spent more money then I have to be the best and they are not. My Mother barely has any problems (unless she does it herself) with her computer. Why should I always be the one that doesn’t get the same type of service?



Another thing I am not as annoyed with now is Jim has been pointing out that I am talking to my self. I do it quite often but now that Mom can’t hear me I am usually safe. He is also getting annoyed (at least I think he is) with comments Mom is making about wanting to know who the pall bearers are and stuff like that. He flat out told her that is not our issues and concerns and that it is THEIRS (meaning Ethel & and the kids). He also is suggesting or asking about watering parts of the lawn. Not vitally important right now in my book. I wish people wouldn’t come into town and dictate on how things should be done.



One thing I should probably say is that he did ask if it bothered me that he was pointing out he wouldn’t intrude. I told him not to worry that its okay. So now I am careful about talking to myself.



The rest of the day has brought visits from friends and family we haven’t seen in a while. As I am writing this one of my older Cousins from GA is still chatting with Jim and Mom.







Telka stopped by to see how things were doing and Mom was telling her we were going to give the fruit basket she just gave us last night to Ethel and them. That is beyond stupid as far as I am concerned.



Friends who live in Utah/Arizona sent flowers to us today as well. They are now sitting in the living room. Friends that knew my parents stopped by for a visit as well they certainly look good for their age.



I posted on my Facebook that I was having a real hard day today (http://www.facebook.com/#!/kathleen.phelan1) and got a few responses. One of them was my cousin who is apparently been left out of the information loop. I told Mom about it and she said please don’t post anything from the family. IF you want to do it for yourself that’s fine, I don’t how many ways I could tell her I didn’t go into detail.



More and More details of pall bearers and ride details are being worked out as I write this. My brother and I will be probably part of the contingent picking John up at Tweed. From what I understand the reason he couldn’t get here sooner is a few men from his platoon were killed.



I think I am going to escape from reality for another couple of hours and watch NCIS. I will chat with you later.

Dear Debra

It is the end of another long day. It all started for me around 6. I was woken up by rain by 6. It came down hard for nearly an hour and then the sun came out. Then I cried. Mom got up around 7 or so. We didn’t get a newspaper and we were anxious to get it. It has a very large obituary for Bob. I liked it and Mom liked it but not the one from Cody White. Apparently no one did and a large fight ensued with Cody white funeral home. I have printed out the obituary for you to see the objections. Mom thought it was cheesy and was offended by the ads all around it. She knows it could be better. The ones on newspapers sites were a little better.



I went to Bingo this morning and let everyone know what was happening and they all felt terrible. PJ from the Recreation department offered to do run the bingo games but I was okay with doing them. For that moment! I had over 17 players today and that is the most in a long time. Everyone was wonderful and the hugs were great.



Today I was crying more then in the last few days. I don’t know why. Maybe because it is getting closer and we have had more visits from family. We received more food as well.



I also received an invitation to a party at the graduate club in New Haven for a birthday Dinner. Tessa and Mike stopped by to check up on us and also left an invitation to a dinner bake. Mom pointed it out to me and wondered if they had said anything. Yes I acted surprised and touched. We both know this is it. She even asked for Dave’s address earlier so I know she is about to ask him and also sent the thank you note for flowers. When I spoke to him on the phone he hadn’t received an invite yet. I warned him to not let on.



After all that I headed over to Ethel’s. I started to cry when I parked the car next to Bob’s Truck. He pretty much drove it every where. Work, store, our house etc. I walked into the yard and found Ethel, Diane and my cousin Dan talking in the yard. I started crying again and hugged Diane and Ethel, and Dan. We talked about things and the arrangements. That’s when I found Diane didn’t like the obituary on the site. Liz called them up and demanded that Cody white take down the kept the Memory Alive” part down or she would take Bob’s body to another funeral home. You see we discovered that Cody white is now part of a corporation and not family owned as it used to be.



I was asked to send every one to the Give Forward site where you can help with expenses. AS you can see over $6,000 has been raised. At first I was a little leery about doing this as I don’t usually think its appropriate to ask people to help pay for things like that. At first Liz expressed doubts about it but I am not sure what she feels about it now.



I think I was there nearly an hour. I spent time with her and Ethel, and Rob when he arrived with his “son” Ben. Ben is 2 year old Italian Grey hound he rescued and as adorable as he was he was very cautious. While I was there I had gotten an update about what was happening and the fight with Cody, and even with all the hoopla they were okay with the date change because my nephew John was not coming home until Tuesday.



After I left there I came home. Mom’s friend Mimi (and our fellow DTC member) was there for a visit with more food. She brought ziti (From Lidia’s Italian Kitchen series) and pie. She stayed for a visit and we told her what happened.



While Mimi was here my cousins Don and Lorraine came with more food. They stayed for a while after Mimi left. This was all before three. My Brother Jim arrived after 3 and that was just as Don and Lorraine were leaving.



It was just about this time that I sat down and called my friend Mardi. I have been keeping her posted via the blogs and emails and I just wanted to hear her voice. I felt terrible when I had to cut it short when the following happened:



Jim wasn’t even here ten minutes when one of our cousins on the Moriarity branch of the Coulombe tree came by for a visit with his ten year old Golden Retriever Buddy. He fell down our stairs while exploring the house. Apparently his legs can’t handle stairs well. He was so cute. We talked about everything. Memories of living in NYC (he was a model Actor) and his various credits.



As the visit drew to a close I got ready for the ice cream social at Telka’s and Mom and Jim went to Ethel’s. By the time I was finished ironing and showered and dressed they already came back. Ethel and the kids were still out. I left then for the ice cream social.



I was the first one there and shortly a few girls from eh girls club came and so did a couple of the mothers. All in all we had six potential members. Three were for the woman’s club (including Jammie the Clown). Three were potential girl’s club members. Everyone of Telka’s family hugged me and said how sorry they were. After everyone left Telka gave me a humongous fruit bowl with cards from the Woman’s Club and girls club.



When I got home I found Mom in her spot in the back room watching TV. Jim was upstairs reading a book. I showed Mom the cards and I couldn’t help but cry. I told Jim about the cards and he said he would look at them tomorrow.



I offered to go walking with Jim Tomorrow before any major activities begin. We will play it by ear. He wants go see Ethel and the kids. Mom is going to be picking out flowers.



My cousin Joe sent a memorial email for Bob to all the cousins and I couldn’t help but cry hard. It was so beautiful. I am enclosing it for you to read. There have been many loving responses from my cousins out of state. I told mom and jim about it but they already knew.



It is getting late now so I am going to close out and send this out. I will write again tomorrow. Have a great night.



Take care,



Me.

Dear Debra

Dear Debra it is after 10:30 Saturday night. Mom just went to bed and I will be heading there soon. I don’t know or think I will be sleeping just yet. I may have to break down and get some warm milk. It has been a long day.



As I mentioned previously I did some chores and it was really humid. The thunderstorm that came through didn’t do anything for the humidity. MY cousins stopped by for a short visit. They are going to go to the wake but they have to miss the funeral. They talked about everything. It was a great visit.



While they were still here a beautiful floral arrangement arrived from Beachwood Florists. They were from David. I didn’t have a chance to call and thank him for them until I got home tonight.



Liz stopped a short time after the cousins left. She had information about the final arrangements. I have mixed feelings about this. They were not accommodating in any way. We wanted to have the wake and funeral Monday and Tuesday. They couldn’t guarantee anything would be ready by Monday. It was like saying that my brother’s death was inconvenient to them. She also told us that they were telling us how and what to have in the funeral mass instead of us telling them what we wanted.



Apparently the priest of St Mary’s dictated that only certain passages could be read and only certain music could be played and the eulogy can be 1 person had to be five minutes or less. Diane was going to have Broadway singers sing and they refused. I am absolutely appalled that the Catholic Church can dictate to us who gives money how to have our funerals. I just do not like this at all.



Anyway with the changes in day and time I found out that Jim will not be here until Sunday. Claudia will bring the kids up as the day gets closer. That’s what I understand.



The Wedding picnic went very well. The rain shower that came down before I left the house was done and the sun shining. I picked up Roberta a little after 1:30. Both offered their sympathies and hugs and then we headed to Telka’s house. We all met up and waited for one other person (who ended up a no-show).



We started setting up around 3 and when we were finished we chatted with the family. As the guests arrived way after 4 we got into action. There were several people who for what ever reason didn’t show up on time. I thought that was rather rude. I can understand if it was for traffic reasons but other than that no. We were finished by six or seven.



I had called Mom at one point during the event. She was having a ham sandwich and coping (I feel weird saying relaxing). She told me the funeral arrangements had changed. I reminded her I knew that when I left the house. Afterwards I wished I had said something else. I also cried.



Okay it has been a long day and I need to get to sleep. Tomorrow is pretty much the same as today except no wedding party. I may go see Ethel and the kids after church,



Take care,





Me

Dear Debra

Dear Debra:




It is early Saturday morning. The sky is getting ready for more thunderstorms. The ones yesterday were short but did wreak havoc on the landscape. Rain came all over and hard. It caused flooding in a lot of places too.



I want to thank you again for calling back. It’s been surreal with the loss of Bob. I managed to get some more sleep (maybe two more hours yesterday and a full eight hour last night into today). We went to Ethel’s yesterday and spent time there. Liz has been helping organize and getting things ready. Diane was also taking care of things and asking for help as well. Many friends stopped by and many of my cousins as well.



The one thing I didn’t know about that he has been part of a blog that I have been following. It is called Watt’s Up with that? They have been following me as well at my Kate’s Insights. (at least i think)



Bob’s Best Friend Frank was there with his wife and although I do understand his need to help he was flipping obnoxious. I had to apologize or acknowledge to Mom this morning that I shouldn’t have said anything to her about him during this time. He was being dictatorial about things and he should have just stepped back.



This morning chores are going to be done and errands to be run. I believe we are getting together again tonight but not sure. I don’t know if I can do it because I will be at the wedding this afternoon (the club is waitressing at the wedding of a club mate).



Well I need to take off I will write again soon.

Dear Debra:




Good morning. It’s after 9 now and I have been here since 8:05. I took the bus in and will be staying until 6 tonight. Tonight I am going to concentrate on the wedding uniform for Saturday.



I slept well but stayed in bed until 6 this morning. I am still a little achy and my stomach is bothering me again. As I mentioned in my Health blog it’s happened before I just figured I have eaten something that I shouldn’t have.



It was really warm this morning but I haven’t been out since I got here. Word has it that we are getting severe weather the first part of the weekend. I just hope it comes and goes by 2 pm on Saturday. Yeah. Same thing I mentioned at the beginning of the letter.



I sent a text message to Dave this morning. I called him earlier this week but haven’t heard from him. A part of me is panicking and looking for articles on him to make sure he is okay. I guess I could call him again. I don’t think we are fighting. Then again we will if he doesn’t call soon.



As I am writing this I called my nieces. Neither of them answered. I wasn’t really expecting them too but at least I know that I tried. I asked Mom if Jim called when he got to Allentown Sunday. He did and apparently he called again. Now I am calling Jim..(I know this is probably not that interesting) I did catch Jim. He was having coffee at Wegmans. The entire conversation was over in a minute and half. The mail just arrived. He also said “Good Luck” catching up with the girls. I said something along the lines of not going to try. For a short moment I was fretting over the sound of it.















Hey its way past quitting time. I finished the mail about 20 minutes ago. I spent most of the time working. I walked to the bank at lunch time to get Lotto Money and lunch money. I had lunch from the lunch truck outside the building (Szabo’s from Shelton). It was all fried…Shrimp and fries and soda. It came to $10 plus $2. For tip (I am generous to a fault).



I did do some web browsing but I concentrated on the mail mostly. I need to get going now.



TTYL



Kate

Kate’s Thankful Thursday list for August 9

Kate’s Thankful Thursday list for August 9, 2012




• I am thankful for my family warts and all.

• I am thankful my INR was great

• I am thankful for a job I love

• I am thankful for a home I love.

• I am thankful for the friends I have.

• I am thankful for the weather changing constantly

• I am thankful for the volunteer groups I belong too.





Last weekend we had the visit from the PA branch of the family. They arrived while I was at my club picnic. Everyone got together on Saturday and had dinner. They stayed until Monday. During that time they did go up to Amherst College to drop my niece Kristina off at the tennis camp. I admit it was difficult at times because my other niece is going through Teenage Angst (she continues to think every one hates her).



I did manage to get to talk to her about things. Whether or not she act on it is another story. She was wonderful when I fell on Sunday. We were on a jetty/pier that was slippery and I really fell. I think I got mostly bruises.



On Monday I had my INR checked and it was 3.3. IT was over my range but it was still good. I really can’t explain INR to any one I tried looking it up this week and nothing was simple to explain. Actually maybe this one could. I don’t have to have it checked for another two weeks but I have the dosage changed to accommodate it. The only thing is I have noticed I have had a lot of squash and zucchini this week. I believe they are high in Vitamin K.



Work is going okay. My Immediate Boss reinstated the rule that no one could come in our file area and go into our batches. Most of the stuff is online (or I should say on the system). We have a 48 hour window to scan these batches. We are current. IF they need some thing they have to leave it for someone to get it for them. The rationale for this is: too many people are in the batches and things get lost. There have been lots of “this rule doesn’t apply to me” remarks and attitudes. People are starting to get stupid. They can’t even come in to get their mail. I have to give it to them or someone else does if I am not there at that particular time.



I am making a concerted effort to keep the office organized when I leave for the day. I have been doing OT to work on the readdress/bulk/junk mail. The bulk mail could be junk mail but most of it is stuff for the doctors to either read/review/sign etc. My hope is to get it all out by next week some time.



I was able to spend time with my friends who are in the woman’s club with me. Saturday we had our club picnic and managed to chat and talk about stuff. Some of it was politics some of it was about education and travel. I tend to stay out of the politician discussions because well just because. We had our Rita’s Italian ice Fundraiser last night and I think we did well. We are hosting a wedding for a club mate of ours on Saturday. That should be fun we haven’t done that in a while. (We will be waitressing it actually). We have a lot of other things coming up as the summer draws to a close. We have to prepare for our activities for the fall and winter. It should be lots of fun and of course I will keep you updated..



The DTC party is getting into the full swing of the political season. We have a state wide Democratic Primary between Congressman Chris Murphy & Former Secretary of State of Connecticut Susan Bysiewicz for the Senate seat formerly held by Senator Joseph Lieberman. I an supporting Chris Murphy because he has done a lot for the workers. She on the other hand is underhanded distrustful and just plain stupid.



We do have a couple of fundraisers this year to work on and that’s in a couple of weeks. We have meetings and more campaigning to do for the other candidates as well. Mom is having her annual Meet and greet in October. So if you known me for years you know she is already beginning the preparations for it NOW.



It’s been hot for most of the week. There was a break for one day and it went back to humid. We are supposed to get “severe” weather this weekend and it looks like its going to start clouding up tonight. I just hope the rain is early in the morning because Saturday is not only the wedding but my great nephews 19th birthday party.





Okay well it is now getting late and I have to get up early to go to work and to drop off some money for the Relay for life T-Shirt I have to get before that event in September.

August 8, 2012




Dear Debra:



It is after 10 pm. Mom has been in bed nearly an hour. She spent most of the day doing some form of painting and cleaning and was just reheating some dinner around 8 (or cleaning up from dinner) when I came in from Rita’s.



The fundraiser went well. I got there around 5:30 quarter of 6 and showed the girls how “not to drive”. I did a U-turn the wrong way yet didn’t get hit (traffic was light at that particular moment.). Roberta and Mike joined us a short time later (they went to eat dinner), We spent the next two hours out front waving our posters. Many people came and I think we did well. I even bought a couple of custard desserts. It didn’t help the headache much but they were good.



Unfortunately, standing around acerbated the pain in the ankles, knees, and legs. I haven’t been wearing the compression stockings but I will tomorrow. I am thinking the pain was also from my fall on Sunday. It could also be from the foods I had today as well.



I still have the headache that I have had all day. I have taken stuff for it but it just is not kicking in. If I go to bed it may help.



The rest of the day went okay. People were still making some comments about the sign on the file room door. Some understood and others will need to accept it and not be assholes about it.



Tomorrow is going to be another long day. After wards I need to get my uniform ready fro Saturday.



In the mean time I am going to bed…g’night.

Dear Debra:

It is not even 9 am and the office is buzzing with news from over night.  The first one was about an armed man in the Criterion Theater on Temple Street.  I had only gotten a part of it on the radio the discussions ran the gamut of “right to bear arms” to “He is sick”. I think it even said that he wasn’t planning on shooting anyone.

The second one was the New Haven Parking authority will be asking over 500 people to leave Temple Street Garage to make room for Gateway College students to park there.   I knew this would be the case eventually.  I had on more than one occasion heard the discussions over the last couple of years while the new college was being built.  I am glad I got out of there when I did.  I bet it will be hard to get in just for the day.

I called Mom this morning.  She is going to have a semi quiet day.  She is planning on painting some chairs in the back room.  She tells me that she will have Nephew Chris pain our front porch in addition to the new Kitchen window.

Well I have to go.  The second wave of mail arrived.  It looks pretty good.

Take care,

Kate

Dear Debra

Dear Debra:



It is almost 8:30 and I will be heading to bed soon. It has been a really long day. The staff meeting was only an hour but it was full of information. We were basically told to adhere to our official start time and to take our breaks when we are supposed to. For example this is my schedule:



Start: 8 am Morning Break: 10 am Lunch: 12-12:30 pm Afternoon Break: 3 pm.



If we don’t adhere to this we will be disciplined and or terminated. Not very cool don’t you agree? That is just one of the items we discussed. We also discussed trying to keep people out of our file room. We are going to have “dedicated people that come in and get the info they are looking for (if it isn’t available on line). We had complaints from many staff members saying the new rules were not going to apply to them. I love that attitude.



We did get a visit from Pat W. She was the lady who worked with us while “Diva” was on medical leave. Then when “Diva” came back she helped me out. I showed her the office and the huge ass piles of readdress mail I have to do. She said I will get it done and not to worry. She thought I am doing a great job. Actually everyone applauded me at the meeting too.



I worked until 6 to get the daily stuff done. I managed to deliver some stuff before to the other floors before leaving for the day. The office was still in order when I left. I was planning on doing OT for the rest of the week but that changed when I got home.



It was nearly 7 when I got home this evening. Mom was waiting on me for dinner. She made a stuffed zucchini dish and a eggplant and tomato dish she was a little disappointed in. I ate it despite the fact it didn’t looked like it was cooked (It was). She said making these two dishes took most of the afternoon and she isn’t sure why. Who cares? It’s not like there was deadline.



When I got home I found two emails one from my DTC 4th District Chairman asking me to email our committee asking for volunteers for the primary next week. He needs the names by tomorrow night.



The second email was from Telka. She invited me to go swimming at her house if I wanted to. She also reminded me we have a fundraiser at Rita’s Italian Ice Shop. The father of one of the girls in the girls club owns a franchise and allows us to do a fundraiser. This will be our second year. I know I had signed up but totally forgot about ti until Telka reminded me. It was announced on our Facebook page too. I am not sure if it was the same link that I think it is.



While I was on Facebook I saw a new picture of my Nephew Robert. Here it is







It also reminded me of the conversation that Jim and Bob had on Saturday when Jim asked how the kids were. Bob went through the entire list. When it came to talking about Rob





He explained that he hadn’t seen him in over a year but heard from people who saw him and they gave “glowing reports”. At least they know he is well.



My Cousin Carol decided to share a video of the latest Thunderstorm to hit Yulee. Thanks cousin. It’s not like we don’t’ get any up here. Well at least we can see her new back yard. It looks nice. I actually have to admit she sounds incredibly happy being in Yulee. She says her husband is going to be coming home from Afghanistan permanently next month. That will be great.



Well I am going to close out for now. It is getting later than I expected and I need to get to bed. See ya soon.



Take care,



Me

Dear Debra

It is almost 9:30 and I have been here since 8.  I stopped at Paula’s for breakfast and when I got here it was after 8.  The mail was waiting for me.  When I saw the box I groaned.  I was really afraid it was a lot but there were 231 pieces all together.  I expect to be done by the time the second wave arrives.  That’s if Zack is on time.  (He is one of the many Couriers from GOFOR courier service).  If you remember he came very late one day last week because he left when he couldn’t get into the finance office to drop stuff off.  I am trying to figure out a way to speak to him about that without ripping him a new one.  I will let you know how that went.

Hey you will be surprised to find out that Wicked Wolf closed last weekend.  I noticed it yesterday and just found the article (Highlighted) today.  There wasn’t much but I will be finding out. I have been there a number of times for meals and parties.  They seemed good.  I guess with all the different restaurants around town the competition was tough.  Some new restaurant called the Russian Lady will be there.  According to this blog/article it will focus more of a night club then food (like New Haven doesn’t have enough night clubs?)

Well the lockbox mail is done and in about thirty minutes is our staff meeting.  Until the second wave comes I am going to do some of the dreaded readdress mail.  After that I am walking to subway for lunch.

Take care,

Me