I work from home four days per week, and I am in the office on Wednesdays. Two weeks ago, I was on the phone with a caller or processing a report, and the power hiccupped. For a minute or so, the power was off completely, then the backup generator came on. I then rebooted my computer per supervisor instructions, and tried to continue working. Nope. Again, the power was interrupted. This time, when I tried rebooting....I got the BSOD. My hard drive had been fried, and now the PC needs to be re-imaged. I had in the interim taken a call using pen and paper to note information, so I moved to a different workstation to complete my original report and to enter the data from the interim call. My supervisor then came by (this was about 2:30 PM, when I had just relocated) to ask if I wanted to stay in the office or go home and enter e reports for the remainder of my shift. I elected to just stay since I was already there, and she said it was fine with her.

I was out last Wednesday, and when I went back into the office the day before yesterday....you guessed it. The computer at my workstation still had the BSOD. A ticket had been called in on it, for a technician to come re-image it, but no one came to do the work. I was informed by Automation staff that most likely no one had come out to work on it "because no one sits there when you are working from home." Bah. Garbage. (Automation called about the ticket still being open, but I'm not holding my breath; the last time this happened, I moved from workstation to workstation for four to six weeks before my PC was finally working again.) So I had to go find another supervisor and ask where I should sit for work. I also had to get access to my e mail and information about how to log in to our intra-office instant messenger program. since my log in had been wiped out and I couldn't recall how to do it. I had to complete some training that required e mail access. I was running back and forth all day (because I was sitting in the back of the office instead of in my usual place in the front). Even going to the bathroom took twice as long as usual.

Just to add to the fun, the workstation I ended up at would nearly have been condemned by the board of health. There were papersand looseleaf binders stacked in a leaning tower to my right on the desk (I didn't dare touch anything, or the whole mess would have cascaded onto the floor in a heap), and there were more papers, newspapers and magazines with torn out pages on the floor under my feet. The shelf above the desk and to my left could have easily held some of the clutter -- but it was mostly empty. There was a large cardboard carton to my right on the floor; I don't know what was in it because I didn't care to look. I kept having to dodge it with my wheelchair every time I had to leave the desk. My own workspace is not entirely clutter free, I admit...but at least the floor under the desk is clear, and there is not a threat of an avalanche of papers. By comparison, my workstation is absolutely pristine.

It is amazing how accustomed one can get to one's own workspace. I had trouble concentrating all day because I felt uprooted. I keep certain information pinned to the walls of my workstation, so that I can simply look up and immediately see the information while I am working, without having to disrupt a phone call or data entry process. Needless to say, that information was not at the borrowed workstation either, and I did not have time to move everything from my desk to the borrowed space. I took my headset, a pen, and a pad of post-it notes, since I do direct entry of information while I'm on the phone. Instead of work related documents on the walls of the new space, I was treated to pictures of Vivien Leigh as Miss Scarlett O'Hara...

I went to bed at 8 PM Wednesday night, and was asleep before 8:30 PM. It was even more of a relief than usual to work from home yesterday.

It's two weeks and counting until Dylan's first Christmas. We've decorated the entire apartment, inside and out, and his face just glowed when he saw everything. We will be having ham instead of turkey for Christmas Dinner, because we cooked a huge turkey with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving. Dylan even had his first Thanksgiving meal...he ate my grandmother's dresisng, yams, some turkey, and some fruit salad. He liked all of it. Sent Lauren some new photos...they are wonderful. Today, Dylan scared me about to death. Jay had put him in his high chair for lunch, and buckled him in with the seat belt. He wiggled around until he was able to stand up, seat belt still locked in place but no longer securing him. He then proceeded to climb up on the table. Of course grampy had to run for the camera to get his picture. We have some great shots of him laughing his head off in the high chair, that we took about a month ago. He's grown so fast, and he's beginning to cruise now. He hasn't been sick at all, except for mild sniffles, and that is a major blessing. We got a watch for Courtney, a Christmas ornament and $5 for KK, and a radio with batteries for Michelle. I also wrote her a note in a Thanksgiving card last month. I want her to know she is appreciated. Think maybe I'll send a copy of the note to Lauren. I need to talk to her about a few things having to do with Dylan and visiting Michelle and the rest of us when she comes home anyway. Got a letter from her that I need to answer this week.

I've been working from home since the end of September...much less stress. Finally back to getting a full paycheck, so we can catch up on some of the bills.

I've upgraded FireFox to the full release, version 1, and I have stored several hundred or so extensions on the hard drive.

I got a cd burner, but I haven't had a lot of time to play with it...eventually, I'll get it figured out. Now I want to get some software for making an image of my disks. Upgraded Langa List to the Plus edition, and joined Live365 again, too.

...Most people will complete the title sentence with "...make lemonade." I, however, am not most people...and what I choose to do with my lemons isn ot such a huge deal, but a lot of fun: I am learning through trial and error to make lemon meringue pie.

Attempt 1: Went into the trash. Filling was good, crust was prefab, meringue flopped. Yuck. it was horrid.

Attempt 2: Crust was homemade; filling was so so, meringue was wonderful.

Attempt 3: crust prefab; meringue terrific. Jury is still out on the filling which may be a little bit runny...will have to wait until tomorrow to find out, as it's in the refrigerator now. The recipe only makes 8 servings, which is not a long term commitment...

I have a recipe for banana cheesecake I want to try as well. I love cooking! I've given up making carrot cake for a while...the last one got put into the freezer, so we're tired of it.

These recipes and more can be found at Kitchen Classics.

Two years ago tonight, my father's mother died. She had been in poor health, and was in a nursing home to recover from having a pacemaker implanted. She had eaten her dinner, and was in her room, in her wheelchair when the nurse or attendant went in to help her prepare for bed. She passed peacefully, for that I am thankful. I called her "Nanny," because she told me that, when she tried to get me to call her "granny," I either couldn't or wouldn't. As I was her first grandchild, "Nanny" she was, ever after.

I miss her so very, very much. She was always "there" for me, whenever I needed anything. She gave me the gift of childhood when things in my parents' house were crazy. She let me play in the mud, and never minded the mess. She helped me sew doll clothes, she let me pet kittens after the supper dishes were washed, and when she baked a cake, she always left enough batter in the bowl for me and my brothers to share. She taught me. So many, many things.

She went to the drugstore one night for medicine when I needed it and couldn't get out, and my own mother wouldn't go pick it up. I never in my life said the words, "I need..." followed by anything she could supply, that she did not try to do. She took me to parties, and to church. She visited me in the hospital, when my mother found it "too painful" to be there. She taught me my first prayer, and hers was the first phone number I memorized.

Once, my first husband was unemployed, and money was tight. My daughter was a toddler, and one day I called to see, if she was going to the store, if she could bring me a loaf of bread or something small like that. For the next six months, without being asked, every time she shopped, she bought "just a little more than she needed" and brought us a bag of groceries. At Christmas, she wrapped presents with one item in each box, so there were lots of presents under the Christmas tree. She told me later, she did it so she could watch our faces light up. She taught me to cook, and she let me help. She let me watch, so I could learn. I still use her holiday recipes. I can still hear her voice, and her laugh...She never went to high school, but she wanted to be a teacher...and she taught me well. She told me, "you were my 40th birthday present, three days late. Her birthday was February 11, 1914; mine is February 14, 1954. We always celebrated together...

At her funeral, in addition to many, many other flowers and tributes, there was a heart-shaped vase with five salmon colored roses in it, one from each of her grandchildren, including my brother who passed on as an infant. My mother told me, "Karen, you are the only one of us who would have thought to do that." That little vase was the only one left on her grave the day of her funeral, which took place on my fourth wedding anniversary (I'm remarried). She kept the history of our family, in photos, and in a scrapbook; she had the only pictures of my deceased brother, and she gave one of them to me to keep. She lit one of the candles at my wedding to my current husband, and the wedding video is priceless to me. How I wish she could have seen MY grandson, Dylan!! I'm never going to forget her, and I will always love her.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The difficult I do immediately. The impossible takes until after lunch...

E mail!
Ever gotten e mail from a celebrity? I just did. A few days ago, I visited a website for comedian Bill Engvall. The site had a link for sending e mail, so I sent him a short note saying how much I like his work, and that I'm going to introduce Dylan to it when he's a little older...

This was his reply:
Thanks for your nice note, Karen. I hope I'm still doing this when your grandson is old enough to have his own kids. (I'd have said old enough to have his own grandkids, but who am I kidding?!)
Bill

Bill Engvall is very funny, and his work is family-oriented. His trademark routine: "Here's Your Sign." We just got the "Here's Your Sign, Live" DVD...it's "awesome" (another one of Bill's routines).

Dylan Joshua, my first grandchild, was born at 11:13 AM this morning. He weighed 8 pounds, 19.5 inches. He and his mother are both doing well. When he leaves the hospital, he'll go home with his great Aunt Michelle so that she can care for him, since his mother is unable to do so for now. i've never been a grandmother before...but I have been blessed to have wonderful grandmothers. This should be fun!