Mom, here

Hi!! Not sure how long this will be, but you have my semi-divided attention until Charles comes home. (For those that get satellite or cable - Unwrapped is on the Food Channel, and I am paying some attention to it.) When the son comes home, he and I are going to knock together a screen to get the coal dust out of the coal before we put it in the Stoker. It has come up with the trick of making a "bridge" in the hopper, augering everything under that into the firebox and then just chugs along. No heat, no fire, not out of coal, hmmm... Frank discovered this new habit a couple days ago and it's tried it a couple times since. We are just going to knock something together, cause when Frank actually sees where I'm headed with this; he'll either tear this apart and rebuild it better, or just make a better one from the get-go.

For those who don't know, yet... I went in for an eye exam a couple weeks or so ago and got a very big surprise. I don't need glasses - maybe. What I do need before they establish any prescription is lens replacement surgery in both eyes. I have cataracts. I was referred to a clinic in Anchorage; called them up and have an appointment for initial exam on the 23rd of this month. They went ahead and scheduled the surgery for the left eye (the one I can tell is cloudy) on the 7th of Nov and the right eye on the 8th of Nov. Been thinking about that and how it flies in the face of "normal". Most folks who have both done have at least a month between them. I got them scheduled back to back with the argument I didn't want to drive to Anchorage three times in 2 1/2 months, and the second surgery would have been too close to my birthday (the 5th or 6th of December). Talked to a gal who used to work for the District last week, who just had her first one done down here by a Dr. she says is one of the top 5 in the entire Northwest United States. She was horrified that I was going to Anchorage for it - and that they had even though about doing them that close together. She also mentioned some side effects that no one else has and the more I think on it, the better I like the idea of not driving that far for it. I'd probably take Kathy with me if I went to Anchorage. She is at a point, physically, that she can't hardly stand sitting long enough to get there or home with the road vibration in her back without 'medicating'. And she won't 'medicate' if she's doing the driving. I can see it now - phone rings; Pam answers, State Trooper asks, "Is your Daddy home?" cause she sounds like she's 12 on the phone... Trooper asks my husband if he knows me and Kathy and can he come get us off the road cause she's too medicated and I'm too blind to come home. Sides, if I have it done here, I don't have very far to go to get back to my own bed...

Fall is full on us. Leaves are about 85 to 90 % turned and probably 20 % on the ground already. Found frost on my windshield the last couple mornings, too. I will be glad when it goes ahead and snows, because then I will have something for the headlights to bounce back off of. Right now, the light just goes out there and gets absorbed by the pavement or the light gobble uppers or whatever it is that eats it this time of year.

Charles went apartment hunting in Palmer on Monday. He and a couple fellas he met in Job Corps are planning on sharing. He wants to live up there primarily because it more closely resembles Colorado, which he does miss. I must say, it bears a pretty strong resemblance to Delta or Olathe. Bout the size Olathe was when we left, and Pioneer Peak isn't hard to look at over the rim of the first cuppa in the morning. He also stands a better chance of getting a good, steady job... Pam is ready for him to move out; Frank is ready for him to move out, but not necessarily that far away; I'm ready for him to build his own nest; I just wish he'd check the floor joists a bit closer before he furnishes it, ya know?

Well, I'm about out of new news for this time around. I should start cleaning out the bottom shelf of the cupboard by the range so I can get it primed and painted. That ain't going to happen tonight, cause Unwrapped is now over and Challenge - Wedding Cakes is now on.

Good Night,
Nema