I’m in the middle of vacation. Not sure what day it is or what my responsibilities are.

We listen to talk radio all day. Go Christmas shopping. Watch rented movies until the sun comes up. Start over. It’s exhausting.

Today was Nicole’s last day of school. So starting tomorrow we’ll be the Four Bums of Washington Square. I’m sure the neighbors are talking.

Actually, we had to get the house all straightened yesterday morning for a house shopper. Took us 3 hours to get everything squared away. Then we went out shopping (listening to talk radio as we drove.)

We came back to find the house shopper and her realestate agent driving up to the house. So we set up a stake-out. Kathy timed them. They were in the house for 6 minutes. I went inside and called up Terri at Harland to get us back on the stock purchase plan. Told her to put me in for the maximum 10%. We have to save money so that we can lose more money on this place.

We’re going to try for sale by owner, especially since the people next door moved, his company bought the place and is selling it for a low $59,000. No room for a realestate commission at that price.

Sunday and Monday were spent coloring, folding, stuffing, and addressing our Christmas cards. The drawing features an elf and two reindeer on the snowy roof of a house, impatiently waiting for Santa who is seen contemplating a manger seen through the front window, his sack of toys put to one side.

Ted started with the D.O.T. Monday. Mom said that they handed him a typed up work schedule. He knows exactly what he will be doing for the next two years!

He doesn’t have to wear a tie anywhere on the schedule.

Saturday night Patsy took the whole crowd (the four of us, Mom & Dad, Carol & Bob, Ted, Grant & Sue) to the August Moon Japanese restaurant. She had come up to see two doctors on Friday about her Bletherospasms.

It doesn’t look as bad as I thought. She looks sleepy and occasionally has to tilt her head back to look through her closing lids. At first I felt like I was keeping her up. But you get used to that. Hope she can keep her spirits up.

Hope there is a cure.

I’m not going to New York tomorrow.

Met Kathy and the kids after work at Olin Mills to choose the Jeb & Kathy picture we would give Mom for Christmas to hang on her 30th wedding anniversary wall for the next ten years. (Diagram that sentence!)

Kathy thought they were all terrible of her. Actually a couple of them were good and one was great, but I wasn’t in that one. Maybe that’s why it was great?

So we’re going to have a reshoot at no extra charge while I’m on vacation.

Question: What’s the difference between a duck?

Answer: One leg is both the same.

Had my annual review last Friday. Disappointing (but not unexpected given current conditions) 3% increase. Some people in our division are no longer in our division. That’s a 100% decrease.

Found out that R&D is interested in me. That’s the best news of the day given that I’m interested in R&D.

Yesterday we (mostly Kathy… I was paying bills) got the house cleaned and we all got out because the people who came through the house a week ago were coming through for a second look.

Getting a second look is very exciting.

I took the kids over to watch the Bulldog-Jackets game. Only, Dad was at work listening to it on the radio. So I watched it with Mom in the kitchen. The kids enjoyed having the run of the house and yard.

Kathy went to the library to study for her “non-verbal communications” course. Couldn’t study as effectively because she couldn’t talk. She likes to talk while she studies. I’ve never heard of this before, but it works for her. I guess she reinforces the facts by employing sound.

She called in sick today and has been reading in bed all morning and afternoon. Mostly catalogues from the Sunday paper. 2:09:18 PM

Carol and Bob called tonight to help get a ruling on their disagreement. Carol didn’t want Bob calling everyone while she was in labor. She thought that would mean people (Mom) would want to come visit, and she didn’t want people visiting while she was in labor.

We pointed out that we enjoyed visits during the middle of the night. However, people had to wait in the waiting room, so we would visit them, not them us.

Kathy put her at ease explaining that the nurses will screen according to your wishes. She pointed out that they were even able to screen Michele.

That put the issue to rest.

8:15:06 PM

Nicole D. Cashel

Fall Qtr. 90’91 Pleasantdale Elem.

Teacher: Lindsay 2nd Grade.

A = 92-100

E = Excellent

S = Satisfactory

A – Reading

A – Mathematics

A – English

A – Social Studies

A – Science-Health

A – Spelling

S – Handwriting

S – Physical Education

S – Art

S – Music

E – Listens Well

E – Follows Directions

E – Works Well Alone

E – Completes Work On Time

E – Uses Class Time Wisely

S – Observes School Rules

S – Accepts Authority

S – Is Self Disciplined

S – Respects Materials

S – Works Well With Others

S – Conduct

Additional Honors:

“A” Honor Roll (1 of 9)

Perfect Attendance/Tardy (1 of 3)

Super Speller Award (1 of 8)

Student of the Month (1 of 1)

Total students in class: 22

This may very well be the best report card any Cashel kid ever brought home in the history of the world.

See: Future Link To MCC.

11:34:34 PM. You may have noticed that a recent F-Key has been installed. Command+Shift+7 is a time stamp?? +8 is a date stamp. Aren’t computers fun?

Today Kathy and Danny met at Olan Mills to get our photo made for Mom’s wall. We had been instructed to face right because Bob and Carol faced left in their picture, and the two couples would be on opposite sides of Mom and Dad’s photo.

This request threw the photographer. She has her prefabbed ritual that involves facing the left. She had to think everything through reversed. She did good. Didn’t break down and cry. Danny watched the strange ritual from the doorway, clutching his cowboy hat, vest, and shirt. I don’t know what makes him decide to wear or carry his various outfits.

After the photo session, we went home and had a luncheon, since both Kathy and I were in our Sunday best.

My seven month search for blank shrinky-dinks came to an exciting conclusion. Milton Bradley quit offering “creative sheets.” Only tiny K&B Enterprises, Inc. offers blank sheets. Betty was very excited that I found her. I sent off my $13 today. $6 for 20 sheets, $3.50 for “Magic Melt” (an add-on that Betty cross-sold me), and $3.50 for shipping.

Poor Danny. Apparently he put a paper sack over his head just before I came home and went hopping about. The result was a busted lip. He was brave, though, as he ate his Kathy’s Excellent Spaghetti one noodle at a time. Cleaned his plate.

Put an air filter in the Fox. Guess I showed those guys at tune-up clinic who doubted that I could do it myself. Took me an hour, though. Getting those darn clips back on is tough without the right tool.

9:54:25 PM. Michele called today. She’s feeling better. She’s thinking now would be a good time to go back to school. But first, she’ll try to collect unemployment. And her landlord is tied up in a lawsuit involving the apartments where she lives, so she may not get evicted for a couple of years. There’s always a bright side.

Carol and Bob made it back safely. Cassie was so glad to see Bob that in jumping all over him, she gave him a bloody nose.

Dad called to report that he and Mom had made it back safely. Mom was off at choir practice already.

4:00:57 PM. Enjoying a beautiful, sunny last day of my four day holiday. Took the kids to work this morning to do some jeans-required tasks. Screwed a drawer on a table, moved an office panel, and sat on the floor with Danny testing AA batteries.

Kathy waited tables and got $41 in tips.

Yesterday morning, I went out on a top-secret mission to K-Mart. Used the Toyota because the Fox had a near-death battery. Came home just in time to see Kathy piling the kids and Cassie into the Fox. I figured someone was bleeding, and they were heading for the hospital.

I rolled down my window and shouted, “What’s wrong!”

Kathy was huffing and puffying as she stuffed away. “This stupid dog isn’t staying in the house. She threw up twice big time!”

I was mad. Funny how people get mad when they think something is wrong and then everything’s o.k. Afterall, using the last volt of energy left in that battery, a volt reserved for getting the car to the shop, demands a real emergency.

I took Cassie to Mom and Dad’s. She went into the pen and immediately started barking at the neighbor’s dog. I watched for five minutes. She didn’t even pause to breathe. People started coming out of their houses, so I brought the dog back home. I started to break out in hives of exasperation.

I started wondering why the dog threw up.

Turns out she had eaten dog food soaked in turkey drippings that had been sitting in her bowl from the night before. I didn’t blame her for throwing up the bacteria laden mess.

Later we dropped off the Fox to have it tuned and recharged. Runs great now, but the guy says my fuel injectors and seats leak. Volkswagons do that, he assured me. It would run for a while but eventually it would quit running all together, if I didn’t have them replaced.

I’ll be sure to have those things replaced soon, I told him. (As soon as it quits running.)

Dear Santa Claus

how are you doing. I am fine. May I please have A new kid on the block fashon desiner, And new kid on the block shoes I Wear Size 4 or 3, And Jorden new kid on the block doll.

Have a safe trip.

Love, Nicole Cashel