Can you believe it? Two posts in one day! As I was ironing this morning, I was listening to Matt (and Meredith and Al and....) and they were talking about the Presidents plan to help people facing foreclosure. Since the dropping dollar was on my mind and Matt had already told me that if I was planning a trip to Europe to put the brakes on it, well, I decided to write the President a letter, cause, you know I am sure he reads my blog.....



Dear Mr. President Bush,

After hearing about your plans to help people facing foreclosure due to the economy, I decided that maybe you could help us out. You see, we make our monthly mortgage payment every month. That is not the problem. I heard this morning that the dollar has dropped in value even more and our upcoming trip to Italy will cost us even more because of this drop. We would very much appreciate you making our March mortgage payment to free up that money for us to make up for the drop in the U. S. dollar. You wouldn't mind doing that for us, would you?

Next time you are in Maine, give us a call.

Sincerely,

Frannycakes

This morning, I got up at 5:30 and got my shower so I could get dressed before Dick went to work. I went back downstairs to get some more coffee and check the news and a few blogs. I clicked on the TV and who do I see? Matt Lauer telling me that if I have a trip planned to Europe to put the brakes on it......the dollar value has dropped. Great. Do you think he just doesn't want me to go to Italy and instead go see him in New York? Could it be?

Today will be a busy day. I have finished packing my suitcase but still have to finish Dick's. I have some ironing to finish....fun to do with a broken arm! Notice I didn't say "good" ironing. I need to take Weezie to get a shot so she can stay at her boarder. And at 5 I have a haircut appt. Nothing like waiting till the last minute, huh? I like to live like that.....just ask Dick.

I made red chicken stew yesterday while I packed. So dinner is ready for tonight. Dick is picking us up dinner for tomorrow night after we get back from Boston. Hopefully Julianne will be riding with me to Boston is pick up Gran Gran. I should have everything ready already, so maybe it will be a relaxing evening. Did I say relaxing......You know that won't happen. It couldn't. The weatherman said this morning that we are getting another snow storm Friday night. I love the snow but it is time for spring. The snow is starting to obstruct my view of the outdoors. At least from my recliner in the den.....

I guess that is all I have right now. I will try to post again before the trip....Tootles!

It Cannot Be Denied........

Yvonne has left a new comment on your post "Frannycakes is back. I am in a much better mood th...":

.....I have a red couch, chair and ottoman.....
It was so much fun talking to you! We'll have to do that again real soon!!

Frannycakes is back. I am in a much better mood than I was yesterday morning. After a night of nonsleep (is this a word?) and pain, I was pretty ticked off about the whole situation. Plus, I had let the pain med's wear off and the full force hurting was going on. So I learned not to blog when in pain. I also had to apologize to my home healthcare worker (Dick) for being irritable while he was dressing me and doing my hair........more on that later!

Home Healthcare Worker, who shall be referred to now as HHW, swears I was going antique furniture shopping when I fell. Many of you probably remember that I WAS antique furniture shopping when I broke my petite feet. And if you didn't already know that, I did not mistype feet. The word Frankenstein comes to mind....

I had gotten in the car with several purchases I needed to return. I also needed to return some fabric samples from the furniture store. Guess what? I ordered my new.......drum roll please.........RED sofa, chair and ottoman! Yes! Unfortunately, the sectional was just too big for our room. I can't wait for it to come in. It should be here when we get back from Italy or very shortly after. So.....I got a little bit sidetracked. Sorry. Red sofas do that to me. We still have a lot of snow here... and ice... that I slipped on when I got out of the car to check to see if I had broken a tail light after I hit the 4 foot snow bank in the front yard. I have already given you all the nausea details. If you would like more of those, I can give them!

We went to the ER in Lewiston that we had taken Chris to when he had his kidney stone. If you remember, I wrote about how he was treated with lightening fast speed because he had a male doctor who had had kidneys stones in the past. I swear. I have never seen anyone get hooked up with pain killers so fast. The Brotherhood looks out after each other. And while we really didn't wait in the waiting room very long, I was not given The Brotherhood treatment. We actually thought they had forgotten about us a couple of times. Dick took a nice nap. Then he got bored. He demonstrated his dance moves wearing a white plastic glove. (Michael JACKSON.....his cousin!) Then he moved to the little lighted thingies and wanted to look in my eyes to see what it is they look at. I swear! He just about blinded me doing that! Then he wants to look in my ears! They came to get me for my x-rays and decided to give me vicoden on the way....By mouth....they asked if I had eaten....ummmm.....not since breakfast, so he went and gave me two packs of saltines. So I have a mouthful of dry saltines trying to answer questions NOT about my arm like "Your not from around here, are you?" I am amazed they were able to pick out my soft southern accent spoken through dry saltines that were spewing from my mouth like a dust storm! I am sure I left a trail of crackers from the ER to X-Ray.

After another little wait and having my eyes examined yet again by Michael, I mean Dick, I was informed I did indeed have a fractured humerus. After another wait, two nurses came in and put on my new straight jacket and informed HHW of all the things he would have to do for me. I loved these Angels of Mercy! The one thing they did not tell us that HHW would have to do is.........MY HAIR! This is not good folks. It is not good even when I do it. I have realized that I will just have to pull it up in a clippy every day. We are having a hard time even doing that! Thank goodness I will have some females with me on the trip. Now I have to get up before 6 in the morning or I won't be able to get dressed all day. And I have to take a shower at night. Thankfully I have a wonderful HHW who takes care of me.

I talked with my brudder last night. Everyone in his house has been battling the flu. I talked to Virginia, who called sounding like she was concerned, but was enjoying the humor of my humerus. I talked to Elaine, who also seemed concerned, but wanted to rub it in that had I followed HER advice and stayed in SC for the girls weekend that started last night I wouldn't be having this problem. I talked to Gran Gran and Debbie who were concerned and Debbie, bless her heart, volunteered to take my place on the trip to Italy. Now wasn't that sweet of her? I kind of talked to Vickie while she was talking to Dick as I dried off from my shower. (If my HHW doesn't watch himself, I am going to report him for his inappropriate conduct while helping me shower and dry off. I swear!) Mom and Dad called. They were concerned. Daddy was aggravated with me. It seems that he only checks my blog once a day and it was before I had posted yesterday! So Tommy.....you get your 20% back. I know, I know......most of you don't know what I am talking about.........Mom and Dad love me more than my brudder. Up until Daddy's birthday, Tommy was getting 20% of their fortune. That would leave me with 80%. He messed up. Thinking that having his very adorable children sing Happy Birthday to their grandaddy might assure him of another percent or two, he gambled. And lost. They called on the 12th and his birthday was the 16th. Bawahahahahahaha! Daddy wanted me to be the one to tell him he had lost his 20% and I was now 100%. You know....cause they love me more! Then I had to go and screw up and post on my blog AFTER he had checked it that day. Dang it! So you still have 20% Tommy. Consider that your Christmas present from me!

My biggest surprise last night was a phone call from a blog friend! Yvonne called me! We have so many things in common that it is scary! We have decided that we are actually twins that were separated at birth! She is the skinny twin.....! I am afraid that my soft subtle southern accent may have startled her. She sounded like the professional, successful woman and mother that she is! Hopefully we will have the opportunity to meet soon! Thank you for calling Yvonne!

Can you tell I am limited in my activities right now? Have you also realized that I typed this using one hand? My college typing professor would be so proud! Hopefully spellcheck is working again or you will see how bad I type one handed!

Better go.....talk to you later! Tootles!

update: Big Head Fred has volunteered to come and help me!

Humerus?

There is nothing humorous about this post. I am not a happy girl. Proceed with caution.

I fell on our ice covered driveway yesterday around lunch time. After laying there deciding that I was not going to pass out, but pretty sure I was going to throw up, I got up and went inside. I stopped at the bathroom to take care of that problem, but the passing out possibility has entered the picture again. So I make my way to the sofa but have to stop by the kitchen garbage can to try and throw up again. I finish and grab the phone on my way to the sofa. My arm is screaming at this point. I call Dick to please come take me to the hospital. Long story short, and I will fill you in on everything later, I have a fractured humerus. They do not cast this type of fracture. You get a sling with a swadle (belt that velcro's around your waist). You sleep on your back without the sling. The pain killers have helped, but not the whole time. I didn't sleep well and I am hurting. Bad mood? The worst.

I will talk to you later.

Hey Yall! Yes, you are reading right. I have updated. Let's not make a big deal out of this.......even though it has been a long time!

Okay....what has been happening in Frannycakes life? First of all, I had a wonderful time in South Carolina, as usual. Elaine, the hostess with the mostest, entertained me with the thing we do best together....shopping. You know how it is when you have something special to attend (wedding) and you are not sure if what you have to wear is good enough? Well, we shopped, we purchased, and we returned. What did I end up with? A new top that I wore to the rehearsal dinner...on sale for $24. I also bought a new pair of suede boots cause I live in the frozen tundra. They were 75% off cause they are virtually useless in South Carolina right now! I can't wait to wear them. Of course I have to wait till the slushy mess around here is over.

Friday I went to see Julianne at school and spent the day with her. We had a great time. It makes me feel good to see Julianne happy. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We love us some Mexican food! Then Julianne humored me and took me to the Goodwill, my favorite store. And I was not disappointed! One lucky family member will receive an almost new pair of designer needlepoint shoes. (I would tell you the name of the company but I am too lazy to run upstairs to get the shoe and bring it back down!) I looked the company up on the net, and priced the shoes.......$350!!!!!! Julianne spotted the shoes (of course she would!) and said we should get them. Someone is going to be very happy and if they don't fit her, then I will probably sell them on Ebay. I know I have said it before, but our Goodwills in Maine are very, very different from the Goodwills in the South. Did I tell you what the price was on the shoes? $2.99! I think I should be a Goodwill Personal Shopper!

My Valentine took me to dinner to celebrate Valentines Day. We had a great meal at Le Fleurs in Jay.

I think I have found my red sectional! Only it probably won't be a sectional. And maybe not red. We think the sectional will be too big for the room. Bummer. And I have a trillion different choices in the upholstry line to choose from and I have already told our "designer" that I can't make a decision. So there is no telling what I will end up with. Hopefully I will order it this week.

Guess where I am going THIS week? Raleigh! To see my BOBO! I can't wait to see Maeby Shea and of course, Linley Shea. Chris said that Maeby Shea went for her shots Saturday and she weighed 13 lbs. I can't wait to spend some time with them.

Whew! So much to think about. I am in total brain overload right now. Which is probably the reason I have not posted because my mind is going 100 mph! Yep...that is it. I return to Maine on Tuesday. Wednesday, I go pick up Weezie from Julianne. Thurday I pack and clean. Friday I take Weezie to the boarder on the way to get Gran Gran in Boston. Saturday we leave for Italy. I was asked this week if I was excited. Well, yes, but no. I am unable to think that far ahead of time even if it just next week. Too much at one time! It seems like my life is like that. I go for so long doing nothing........them BAM! Everything at one time! I guess the alternative is doing nothing. So I shouldn't complain but that has never stopped me before so don't expect it to stop me now! I will be excited about Italy as soon as I get back from Raleigh!

Chris called yesterday and he is sick with a bad cold....hopefully not the flu....

Jamie and Lesley are going skiing next weekend! I know they will have a great time. Don't break anything! Grace Darling had her "little no babies" surgery last week. Since she had a problem with licking her incision, she left the hospital with a cone. She is a cone head! And she is not happy. Hopefully, it will be off soon.

Dick and I had a fairly relaxing weekend. Saturday we went to LL Bean and got him a pair of shoes for Italy. Of course we also got a lot of other stuff too. They were so crowded that I couldn't shop for me. So maybe I will go over tomorrow and look around. We ate BBQ on the way home in Augusta and I ran into Kohls to pick up a couple of things for the trip. I am returning everything I purchased....just didn't look as good at home! Oh well. Sunday, we went to Auburn and got a case for our new fabulous camera. I need to get a degree to use it, but....it is a fabulous camera! That afternoon Dick watched the race while I piddled around. Dick said he was not going to work all day today. I asked him if he wanted me to go to work with him and nag him all day about leaving early....he said I could.....of course that owuld involve me getting up early and getting dressed. I am still in my sexy flannel pj's right now. Guess you figured out I didn't go to work with him!

We are getting rain here this morning. The temerature is just a little above freezing and chunks of ice are falling off the roof and making lots of noise. It sounds like someone is trying to break in. As usual, our guard dog Weezie does not break a snore then it falls. I feel so safe!

I guess I should go get a shower. I have so much to do and you know what I want to do when this happens.....TAKE A NAP! But I will fight it and get ready cause I really need to vacumm. And dust. And...........just fill in the blanks....it all needs to be done.

I will talk to you later! Tootles!

This will be a really quick post because it is late and my feet are hurting. But I had to let you all know that I feel like I have had my batteries recharged. Tonight, the daughter of one of my best friends got married. Ashley was a beautiful bride! The wedding was in Georgetown where Dick and I lived off and on for about 17 years. At the reception, I got to see many people that I have not seen in a long time. And after living in places where you know no one and people could really care less whether they get to know you or not....well.....it felt good for people to want to give me a hug and catch up. It was wonderful to see everyone. And it made me miss Georgetown so bad. So bad! But my emotional batteries are recharged and will sustain me for a while. Thank you Ashley for getting married. And thank you Georgetown for not forgetting me. I love you all.

Hey Yall! I just wanted to let you know that Frannycakes will be leaving on a jet plane Thursday for a little vacation.......that is if she can make it to the airport. It has been snowing off and on for the past couple of days and is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

I will be leaving my beloved computer here. I know, I know. The horror of it all! If you need to get in touch with me, you can email me. Hopefully 'Laine will let me check my email at her house. I just won't be checking it as much. I will be thinking about you all!

Tootles!

Hey Yall! It is dreary looking outside. We are supposed to get a little snow, rain and ice. We should be over it by Sunday. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH Yes, you read that right.....BLAH!

Even though it is now February, I still have a hangover from the January blues that I seem to get every year. That is about the only kind of hangover I get. I know that made it sound like I want a hangover....I do not. I had a few of those during my earlier years and I really don't want to repeat that wonderful feeling.

I made my bedskirt. It looks marvelous! It was easy and fun to make. It makes my bed look so big and HIGH! I have the material to make my curtains. I really wanted to find some trim for the curtains, but I wasn't able to find what I wanted at the price I wanted to pay. I need 18 yards. So I have improvised.....I will let you see the finished product when I am....like....finished!....and you can tell me if it looks hokey (cheap). If this was my forever and ever house, I might pay for the trim I want, but unfortunately, this isn't the forever house. We are closer to that house, but not there yet. I got a pattern for the curtains for my kitchen. I am excited about that. I may be sewing alot this weekend. I really want to finish my bedroom before I go to South Carolina. I need to sew all weekend for sure! But I might need to sleep some too....we will see.

I can't remember if I told yall we were going to Las Vegas. Well, that trip has been cancelled. I didn't think I would care that we weren't going, but I guess it did cause it has made me even sadder. Suck it up Frannycakes!

We are, however, going to beautiful Italy. So I shouldn't be too sad should I? Dick and I don't seem to be able to talk about what we want to do there because he has been busy and I feel like we will just be going there with nothing planned. Vickie has been so nice with suggestions. I just don't want to be the one responsible for everyone having a good time. Too big a trip for that, right?

The shower is calling my name and if I don't go to the grocery now, we will be eating cereal all weekend. Hey! I may be on to something! Dick, take a deep breath....I will have "adult" cereal for you! I will take care of my man!

Talk to you all later! Tootles!