Package Arrived!

I mailed a package to Andrew the day after Thanksgiving.  You've got to be careful what you send--if a package is too valuable it might not make it all the way there.  :-)  Also, mailing is very expensive.  This package was worth about $30-$35 max, and it cost $26 to mail first class.  (Any mailing method less than first class takes so long and is so erratic it's just not worth it.)  And we found out the hard way that you can't mail used clothing--all his winter things were here (by design) for us to mail--and we couldn't mail them due to postal rules.  

This box contained a scarf I crocheted out of camo yarn, a "gator" that Mike bought him to go around a person's neck and can be pulled up (that's what's over his face in the picture below--I'd never heard of one), a USC knit hat, and a blue knit hat given by one of my students: "My mom knitted it because your son is cold in China."  (Needless to say, I was deeply touched by that gesture.)  He is going to send another picture with him wearing that hat.  He also said he is very glad for the gator because the one he had freezes if he is outside more than about fifteen minutes, and this one is much warmer.

All the mail for the English team apparently goes to one postal box.  One of the other teachers saw this box, took it home, and wrapped the whole thing in Christmas paper so that Andrew would have something to unwrap at Christmas.  (Which I also thought was very kind!)  So--this morning he sent this picture to my phone. My Christmas was made.

Christmas 2013

I have not done much posting this month--for a combined number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is so busy with things to go to, plus exams.  I graded over 16,000 exam questions last week.

It's been a little difficult to get into Christmas, knowing that Andrew is on the other side of the world.  It is where he is supposed to be, but I will miss his not being here for the festivities in a couple of days.  

Mike and ML bought, set up, and decorated the tree one day while I was at school.  They also hung all the outside wreaths and got up other decorations as well, so it was a very, very nice surprise to come home to.  They put the tree in the kitchen so that it would be visible from outside when the lights are on.  It is a nice change.  The only time I don't like it is late night or early morning, when it's nice to sit in the living room with the room lights off and just the Christmas tree lights on.  But--they did the work; they can choose where to put it!

It also is not critical where it is placed because we won't have a lot of gifts to open this year.  My children are past the opening presents stage, and Mike and I combined birthdays and Christmas this year by giving each other jackets that both of us needed.  Plus, we'd rather save "presents" by taking trips at other times of the year when possible.

ML also set up our long-time nativity set.  She and Andrew played often with this stuffed set when they were younger.  Sometimes I would come out in the morning to discover that their dinosaur toys, or whatever, had joined the manger scene as well.

If you look closely, you can see that, in her usual creative way, she has "protected" the holy family in a rather unique way.

I tried a few arty close-ups while taking pictures.  They didn't work great, but are kind of nice for a change.

I have much to do in the next couple of days.  That's the downside of getting out so close to Christmas. The upside--we do not go back until January 6!!

"In The Sweet Bye and Bye"

Because I miss hearing my son sing. :-)  Used with permission from the Calvary Quartet, "Singing Around the Piano" CD.  www.calvaryquartet.org.  Picture is taken of him singing in China last week.  All the voices are good - their blend is great - but I love that tenor voice at the beginning and the end.  :-)

Playing Basketball

Andrew sent this picture this morning of himself playing basketball at the gym at the school where he teaches.  I think he's looking good!

One-sentence Summary of Obamacare

Quotation from a commenter on a Washington Post article.  

"In short 85% of America will have worse coverage while paying on average 41% more, so the other 15% can receive some form of free or nearly free healthcare."

Thanksgiving 2013

It's always nice to go to Mike's brother's house for Thanksgiving.  They have a large home in the country, with plenty of room for anyone who comes - and it's usually a diverse group.  Andrew's absence was keenly felt, but it was a good day.

Here is yours truly with my niece's eighteen-month-old, very sweet, very photogenic little girl.  She commanded attention all afternoon, and she loved every minute of it.  It was difficult not to pay attention to her because she was just so stinkin' cute.  The lady behind me is my sister-in-law's mother, a very gracious lady.

 ML with little Bailey--

We always shoot skeet if the weather is OK.  This is where we really missed Andrew because he always loves the skeet shooting.  ML got two out of four--not bad!!

And of course, Mike, the man with a gun--got two out of four his first go-around, then six out of six his second.  He is quite the shooter.  And his brother, behind him, is a good shooter also--as well as the provider of the skeet and ammo.  Thank you, Steve--

 And one last picture of the day's main attraction--

It was a good day.  Lots of good food.  Family from both sides, friends, and a spirit of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Eve

It's 8:30 on the night before Thanksgiving.  ML will be in later from a friend's movie-watching party.  And Andrew is on the other side of the world.

It's hard having him so far away at Thanksgiving.  I keep reminding myself that he is just on the other side of the world.  But I miss him.

One of my eighth grade students brought a hand-knitted hat to me on Monday.  "It's for your son in China," she said.  "My mom made it for him because it is so cold there."  I was deeply touched.  I meant to take a picture of it--but remembered after it was already packed.

He is not real warm. He stays bundled up, but the temperature is hovering around 0 degrees.  He has heat in his apartment, but it's on the first floor--and heat rises.

Today I packed a small box with that hat, the scarf I knitted earlier that was to go in the box we couldn't mail (found out too late that you can't mail used clothing into China), a "gator" which Mike says keeps your neck warm, and a Carolina knitted hat just to make him smile.  I also included gluten-free snacks--not because he is on a gluten-free diet but because he said that that if you state that on the customs form, it helps get things past the censors without their looking into packages.  (Apparently none of them are gluten-free.)  And he said there is someone there who will be glad for them.

I walked into the post office with the package at 4:37.  And discovered that the post office closes at 4:30.  Se la vie, or however you spell it.  Guess I'll send it on its way on Friday instead.  And hope and pray that the censors really are gluten-free.

An Education on Root Cracks

I've learned a lot about teeth this week.

On Thursday I had a second molar root removed due to what originally presented as a periodontal pocket that was prone to getting food stuck in it.  I thought it was going to be a quick, one-time trip to the dentist with the problem quickly solved.  First mistake.  My dentist said that there was severe decay, that had developed quite quickly over the past year underneath the crown, and he had to remove the crown.  He didn't think he could save the tooth; his reason was because the decay took too much of the tooth for a crown to attach.  Since the tooth was root-canaled, I could get the root taken out whenever I wanted to in the next couple of months.

However, over the few days after the crown was removed, the tooth got considerably more painful, the dentist called in an antibiotic, and I moved the appointment for the root removal up with the oral surgeon to ASAP.  Which was Thursday morning.

Curiously, the oral surgeon who removed the tooth said there was no active infection.  There were some signs of chronic infection, but not anything currently going on.  He did say, however, that the tooth had a cracked root, and cracked roots cannot be saved.  The pain was from the tangled nerve complex in the gums and bone adjacent to the root canaled tooth and cracked root.  He told me all this on the phone yesterday when I was under the influence of Lortab, and that was all I comprehended.

I got on the internet today and googled "cracked root."  Everything was spot-on.  No pain actually inside a tooth that has a root canal, but pain and periodontal pockets can develop around it, and swollen, painful bumps can also form above and around the tooth.  My symptoms exactly.

Now I need to make sure I know how to keep from cracking any more tooth roots.

And I am very thankful for modern dentistry.  And Lortab.

Ups and Downs

I haven't done an ups and downs post in a long, long time.

UP: Both daughter and husband got deer yesterday morning.  Both are happy.

UP: Andrew's colleagues and friends worked together to give him a good birthday.  I was very glad about that.

UP: I made a buffalo chicken pasta recipe last week, with a half a cup of hot sauce!  (Also a half a cup of blue cheese dressing, chicken, and bowtie pasta.  And for the first time Mike was happy (in terms of heat) with something I've cooked.  If he had his way everything we had would be be full of hot peppers.  The hotter the better.

DOWN: Dental issues are no fun.  Believe me.  I had to have a crown removed from a root-canaled tooth on Wednesday; it can't be repaired.  Dentist said - Get the rest removed any time in the next couple of months at an oral surgeon, so I made an appointment for about a month from now.  Well, the pain level and swelling have increased, and I can't eat anything but soft things, as well as have a low grade continuous fever, so that appointment will be moved up to this week --as soon as the oral surgeon can work me in.

Friday's Fave Five, 11/1/13

Link to Friday's Fave Five

1. My brother and his daughter came to see our folks on Sunday afternoon.  We hadn't been with them for awhile, so it was nice to eat Mom's roast beef and sit around the table and talk.

2. Last week we had a morning of team-building exercises.  I'm not crazy about that kind of thing; however, the kids really enjoyed it and it served its purpose.  At least all I had to do was be a cheerleader, and not get down on the ground and act crazy myself.

3. Mike got my car detailed Wednesday.  It looks better than it has since we bought it.  And my dad was willing to take me to work and pick me up since the car was in the shop.  I'm thankful to both of them!

4. I have been grading papers non-stop this week.  Three sets of book reports, three sets of tests, a set of Scarlet Letter themes, three sets of vocabulary exercises, and five sets of vocabulary quizzes.  Plus I've been teaching biology for my dear friend who's been out with gallbladder surgery, and making up a quiz and a test for that.  But as of this morning, most of it is pretty well done. . .

5. AND, yesterday Mike completed his second week of his new job.  No nights, no weekends!

Two sports bonuses:  The Red Sox won the World Series, and it's been fun to watch David Ortiz do so much good hitting.  We watched him hit a home run in person three years ago on the way to Maine, when we stopped in Boston to watch the Red Sox play.

AND, the Gamecocks pulled out a 27-24 win over Missouri, in double overtime, after being down 17-0 at the end of the third quarter!  Improbable but not impossible. . .and they did it!