This and That on a Wednesday

Boy, the summer sure is going by quickly!  I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of July. 

It rained here today, which we really did need, but I hope it's dry tomorrow.  I want to do some yard work early in the morning.

Eler Beth really enjoyed her shopping trip on Saturday.  She came home with a dress and a blouse and skirt.  She had put together the blouse and skirt outfit herself, and she did a good job.  She also bought a pair of shoes (again, she did a good job of picking them out), and a bracelet.  They had dinner at Panera Bread, and she had the baked potato soup.  After their mall trip she stayed at her cousin's house to play.

At about 9:30 Saturday night Thomas asked me for my nephew Jamie's phone number, because he wanted to ask him if he'd gotten the job he was going for at the company where Thomas works.  Well I don't have Jamie's number, and since I hadn't made my daily call to Mom earlier in the day I suggested he call Mom's house to get the number.  My Mom answered the phone and Thomas found out that Jamie would be starting on Monday.  Then Mom told him that their A/C had gone out.  He repeated what she said to me, and I could see it in his eyes that he was going to do something about it.  So I got on the phone with her, and she said that the air handler (I think) had stopped working.  Their water is very hard, and the part is copper, so it was all corroded.  (Mosie can sympathize, I'm sure!)  Their A/C guy was trying to find an aluminum one, but didn't know when he'd have the part or when he'd be over to fix it.  I repeated this info to Thomas and he mouthed the words "Road trip!"

So at about 10:30 Saturday night we were at Wal-Mart (had to go to two of them to find a window unit!) buying my Mom a window air conditioner that would cool their house.  It wasn't the largest, but it wasn't the smallest, either.  My Mom's house is not very large, and it is extremely tight.  We figured a window unit would keep the whole house cool through the night and most of the day, and during the hottest part of the day it would at least be better than having nothing, or just having fans.  My mother is 84.  She doesn't need to needlessly suffer in the heat.

When we pulled up in the drive it was after midnight, and there weren't any lights on.  I let myself in the back door, turned on a kitchen light and called quietly, "Hello!  It's me!"  Then I walked down the hall to my Mom's bedroom.  Her door and my sister Lois' door were both open, and I figured all the windows were open, but it was VERY hot in there -- to me, at least!

I lightly tapped on the door frame of my Mom's bedroom and called in a sing-song, "Hel-OH-oh!  I'm HER-ere!"  And Mom said, "Well, you came back up, didn't you?"  She thought I was my sister, Dennice.  Then I said, "And I've brought an air-conditioner!  Which window do you want it in?"  "LORI??"  she said.

She kept protesting that she was okay, that it really wasn't that hot, and that she'd do fine.  I told her that she wouldn't do fine about 4:00 in the afternoon and to hush because it had been Thomas' idea, and he wasn't about to take it back.  So my hubby pretty quickly got it set up and we chatted to Mom and Lois for a few minutes before we headed back home.  We could already feel a difference in the house before we left. 

As long as they kept the bedroom doors open it kept the whole house cool until late in the afternoon on Sunday, and then it wasn't as comfortable as it would have been with the central air, but it was better than if they'd only had fans.  Then on Monday the A/C guy was able to replace the copper air handler with an aluminum one.  He'd found a used one, so he didn't have to charge too much.  Actually the amount he charged for replacing it was about the same as what a new one would have cost without the labor.

My Mom is doing very well.  She is still having spells of breathlessness, but all of her tests so far have come out good.  We (and her doctor) really think it is just anxiety (nerves).  As soon as she starts feeling that way she takes half of a Xanex and it helps.  Her doctor is being very thorough, though, and there are two more tests that she'll be having done.

I realized that I haven't done an entry in I Stand Corrected since May, so I did one today.  I have a couple more entries to make tomorrow.  Reading the weekly newspaper from my Mom's town usually inspires me to write something -- it has to be the most stupidly-written newspaper in the state!

I guess that's about all I have to write about right now.  Everyone seems to be well physically.  Thomas has really been working his butt off this week, and I really haven't!  Shame on me!  He has really found his niche with this QC position.  The only part he hates is having to do reports on the computer, and he really wouldn't mind that except he has to hunt and peck, so it takes a long time.  He said he's going to bring me in there one day to type them up for him!  (Actually he could do them at home -- that is to say, I could type them for him from home.  We just have to get it set up where we can access his work computer from our home PC.

Well, that's all for now I guess.  I hope everyone is having a good week so far.