Well, I've been keeping pretty busy on my return to SoDak. I arrived back here on Thursday evening and then the nephew had his tonsillectomy on Friday morning. Everything went pretty smoothly there. He was more lively than I thought he'd be after the drugs kicked in, and he could speak. I thought his throat would be sore and he wouldn't be able to talk for a few days. Nope. The boy still talks. A lot. Well, he did well on Friday and Saturday, but things took a turn on Sunday when he woke up with a 104.5 fever. Poor kid. He had some Motrin to bring it down (which he promptly threw up...luckily he kept the second dose down). He got better as the day went on. Similar happened yesterday morning. Woke up with a fever, vomited once (he actually was sick 3 times total on Sunday), got livelier later in the day. We've been trying to keep in resting and doing quiet activities because it's better for him right now. No running or jumping. That can be a little difficult when you're 7.

Anyway, the Sis asked me on Thursday if I would help her to organize her house on the weekend. I almost wept. Now, the Sis is a self-proclaimed minimalist, and I'll agree that she is. However, she has a ton of crap everywhere! It's mostly papers, etc. that just need to be sorted through. So, I set her to work going through boxes of things on Saturday and Mission Organization was underway. I hung up curtains in her sparse living room (which has a Christmas tree in it...and now a bunch of Sponge Bob stuff and the boy's train). No furniture. However, she wants to buy furniture so she needed the space. She still had some boxes from moving in there and so she had to go through it all. After that, she moved onto her office. The boy needed attention so she had to stop midway to go and cuddle with him. The project never resumed, but hopefully she'll continue once she has a little more time. I've given her some ideas for storing her magazines, etc.

Now, although I wasn't going through things, I've been busy. As I mentioned, I hung up drapes. I still have the pullbacks to put up. On Sunday night, I started to hang Roman shades that she'd had sitting on the dining room floor since I was here in June (no time or desire to hang them then...I was studying for exams and being cranky because I had to be here). Well, they're now hung up, even though it was a bit of a process. The blinds themselves were pretty easy. I was just dealing with the window frames and what is either a very hard wood, or something is obstructing behind the wood (I'm betting obstruction!). So, got those hung.

The job today was to hang all of the smoke detectors. Well, the first 2 went up really easily. The third was a little trickier (dealing with the house again and its framing/plaster/masonry, etc). I then moved down to the main level and began on the one in the hallway. Well, I started having problems right off. I'm not sure what is behind these walls. Lead, perhaps?? I managed to break the drill bit and can't find another one (oh yeah, the Sis has limited tools, etc...at least she does have a cordless drill and screwdriver!). I managed to get two holes in the ceiling, but the screws keep slipping. Well, the first issue is that the ceiling is very high (duh! It's a ceiling!). So, I have a chair out there with a phonebook on it so that I can reach! As I'm drilling the second hole into the ceiling, I break the drill bit. Okay, not cool, but I believe I'm far enough in to get a screw in. Okay, slipping screws. Must be time for an anchor. So, I get one of those and began to hammer it in. This is tough because I'm beneath it. I'm also horrible at getting anchors in. I always break them. I now need to research on how to get an anchor in without killing it!

So, this is where I am with this project. I'm a little frustrated, but at least the boy is quiet (and relaxing comfortably--I keep hoping that he'll go to sleep!). So, now I need to figure out what to do next. I may need to find another book to go on top of the phone book so I can get even closer. I may just have to stand on a bar stool (yikes at the thought!!).

Now, during my evenings, I've been trying to spend less time online and more in front of the TV relaxing. I've been working on my cross-stitch and making a lot of progress. I've been pleased. Well, last night as I'm working away, I discover that something just isn't lining up right. I go back, and sure enough, I've f'd something up. It's fixable, but not without a lot of tearing out. So, there goes the relaxing cross-stitch idea! Now I'm annoyed with the damn thing and ready to just chuck it in the closet! But now, I'll keep ripping out. Perhaps the boy and I can sit and watch SpongeBob today and I'll rip (hate SB!). Guess I'll see.

So, that's were things are right now. I am home every day with the boy and hoping that he is feeling better on Saturday when they drive me home. I would feel horrible if he wasn't! We've been playing some games and having some fun. However, now he needs to get a little rest and sleep. I'm probably going to go back down right now to spend some time with him and watch TV. Maybe I'll rip.

©Suz 2009