Life goes on

On Saturday night, Elise got a call from the hospital about coming in for a few hours on Sunday to help "babysit" a woman whose husband takes one day off a year for his Superbowl party. So yesterday Elise spent noon to 7 p.m. getting a little bit of pay.

However, I've been noticing that the front brakes on our pickup are starting to make noises. So I'm sure the cost for replacing brake parts is going more than make up for any pay.

The blind lady in our church wants to go visit her sister in Georgia. No one has been found so far that has time to do it. Except Elise, who may be able to go if the trip fits into the last two weeks of February, and it doesn't cost us anything out of pocket. With more fees and such for nursing paperwork, expenses for selling our house, auto repairs, and just the regular living expenses, things are definitely looking tight.

That plus other things related to what is happening around here have definitely contributed to my insomnia experience. I'm afraid it might turn from acute to chronic... I've been trying Valerian supplements upon a suggestion, but so far without much effect. The one study I saw on this herb, in which the results appeared to be statistically significant, showed that positive effects usually started to be observed 14 to 21 days after starting it. So I might have another ten to fifteen days to go before I experience any change.

I've also had a mild cold since Thursday or Friday. I first thought I had a neck or shoulder muscle problem because the right side of my head felt some pain when I tugged on my ear. But then after a couple of days I noticed that my throat was scratch and dry. Things seem much better today, though after riding the bicycle over to the church, the cold air hurt more than it would have if I had been feeling fine, and I also seemed to feel a bit more tired, even after the short trip.

Last week, the weather cleared up after I moaned about the fog. Now, the clouds have rolled back in and we've seen some sprinkles, but no major rain yet. There was a few days of strong auroral activity, but as it typically seems to be, it occurred when the skies were obscured. Now we are in a period of quiet activity.