Saturday

It is very cold here today..to be exact 9 degrees. Yesterday Rob and I ventured over to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We were in Intercourse to be exact visiting the Kitchen Kettle Village and the Candle Barn. It was a pleasant day but each time we had to go out into the twenty degree temps it was rough. We ended the afternoon by going to a buffet type place that my family has raved about for years and we had never been to. It's called the Shady Maple. When I was younger I loved places you could eat all you could want. Not now. I had some salad and one plate and a small desert and could not wait to get home. My stomach hurt! One of the things I had was a piece of fried chicken. I avoid fried foods and rarely have them. It didn't sit well at all. I have decided that others may enjoy this type of eating but I would rather be home having something baked or grilled and eating smaller portions. I did appreciate one day to do something. Although I was out of work for four months I never spent one day doing anything pleasurable. The days were filled with all things medical; paperwork (for the insurance company and disability), phone calls with the infusion company and doctors and doctor office visits and hospital lab visits kept me busy. At this point I am still waiting for my January money from disability. So far I received $150 which was used in ONE day for two co pays and a script. I will be returning to work this Monday. I am eager to get back and have a steady paycheck coming in. With this economy and living in a state which is very expensive to live in, it has been a real stress er. I missed a total of five months work this year which reduced my income drastically. Rob was out of work and on unemployment from January to June. In July he began a job where he took a pay cut because of the economy. I have never been so concerned as I have these past few months.

My sister is turning 50 tomorrow. She is going to be in New Jersey soon and we have a small cake for her. We all give cash as it's so hard to know what to buy people. On her last visit I gave her the box containing her childhood Blue Willow dishes. (We each had our own set.) She was thrilled that when my mother wanted to get rid of them and at the time she didn't want them, I took them and put them away in my closet for her. Her set was intact, not one piece broken.

It looks like it's going to start snowing. My aunt said it was snowing this morning in Maryland and I feel sure it's going to make the way the east coast. I just hope I don't have bad roads to travel on my first day back on Monday. Wish me luck.