So here's the short of it, 

Good news from the doctor, and bad weather!

And here's the long

I had a good doctor visit today. I was right the soft spot on my breast is nothing to worry about. It's a place where "a lot of tissue had to be removed". It was apparently filled with fluid for a long time after the surgery, but eventually some of that fluid, or maybe all of eventually, is absorbed and the tissue collapses.  There is more currently, but Dr. Witherspoon seems to think that my breast may or may not be nearly healed enough that it won't change much more. I'm really not very focused on whether or not it will continue to change. And now I know the spot is nothing to worry about. 

I had a meeting scheduled today with a disgruntled parent. I drove 35 minutes to a school and the parent didn't show up. We'll reschedule. I wonder what that was all about.

As I was headed back to the office this afternoon a little after 2:00 - oh maybe 2:30ish. I headed down Hwy 153. I gave a little thought to turning onto Amnicola, but it looked awfully dark and I decided to keep going.  In about 3 minutes I could see the leading edge of a  big wind heading across the highway - I could actually see it! I sped up to get to the next exit and get off the road to wait it out. All of a sudden the sky opened up and the rain fell and grayed out the whole road. I couldn't see very far at all, although I could see the lights on the cars behind me. I slowed down, got over onto the shoulder and made my way to the Bonny Oaks exit. There were several cars pulled over on Bonny Oaks.  Within 5 minutes it was gone, and I headed on out. The rest of my drive to downtown involved avoiding downed trees and limbs and water flooding the roadways. Chattanooga has, I've heard 25,000 families are out of electricity. There were lots of accidents, many instances of damages to homes and cars from trees and tree limbs falling. One old brick building downtown which was being renovated had a whole wall collapse.  The news is not good.  Communities all over Hamilton County experienced lots of storm damage. When I got home about 5:00, we hadn't had any damage at all even though just one street over a tree was down in the street. By the time I got home, a neighbor had already cleared it from the road.

I understand that schools spent most of the afternoon with kids in the hallway. I don't think any of that will be on the TCAP test, but I imagine they learned a lot anyway. Tomorrow should be a nice dry and pretty warm day. I'm looking forward to that.

So here's the short of it, 
Tomorrow will be a pretty busy day.


And here's the long

Another weekend is over. Sophie is already sacked out on the den sofa, and I'm still doing laundry, loading the dishwasher and trying to get in the mood to go to work tomorrow. I've got an appointment with my surgeon tomorrow morning and then a physical therapy appointment tomorrow afternoon.  So I'll have to get myself busy to get everything I need to do done tomorrow.

I'm glad that my surgeon appointment is coming up. I have a spot at my surgical site that is changing. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but I'll sure be glad to let a doctor tell me that.  I "think" I know what's going on. The spot is soft, if you will.  It feels like a hole with skin over it. I think it may be the site of the primary tumor, and I think it really is a hole. I'll let Dr. Witherspoon tell me about that!

In the meantime, work is full of great stuff that needs to happen, but it means lots of energy and the nose to the grindstone!  And this nice weather is making me want to get my gardening going on. I want to start some stuff in the little greenhouse.  Mom brought some onion sets up this evening when she came up for dinner. I'll want to get those set out as well.

So here's the short of it, 
Today it felt like spring is around the corner. 

And here's the long

Well, another weekend is already half over. I managed to get a bunch of stuff done today  - so tomorrow I can be in all day. That will be a good thing! I'm looking forward to a whole day at home. It happens so infrequently!

It's time to get started with gardening plans. Valdis put together a small, little greenhouse the other day, and I'm going to start some seeds -- when we had that high wind Thursday night, it blew right over. Thank goodness I didn't have anything in it yet. Alan is going to try to anchor it down real good and then we'll get started.

It was a nice day out today. Nice enough for Sophie to have a lovely morning walk. She'll get another one tomorrow!  

Night.

So here's the short of it,
Work was good today.
 
And here's the long

I feel pretty good about work today. I don't do anything at work that I'm really free to post about. I work in special education, and everything that has to do with specific children is protected under the federal law. Other work that I do has to do with teachers, and that work is confidential in nature because of human resources requirements.  So I really can't often talk about the details of my day to day work. That's the case today, but I feel really good about some of the parts of my day.

Now there's another part that I can talk about.  Everyone in the county had to update our electronic profile. I couldn't get into my profile. When I e-mailed our HR contact, she couldn't find me in the system - HaHa. Since I'm known by my middle name it sometimes causes confusion.  One time when I was being offered a promotion, personnel called to say that they couldn't offer me a promotion, because they didn't even have a record that I worked there! Hardly anyone knows my first name is Carol!  Anyway I finally figured out who I am.  I'm three different accounts, depending on what part I'm trying to access.  I hope I can remember all that the next time it's important!

I'm headed to bed pretty soon tonight!  The whole Nashville trip was very tiring, and by the end of today, I was pretty exhausted!  Night all.....

So here's the short of it, 

 I'm home.

And here's the long

We had a great few days in Nashville at the State's Annual Special Education Conference. There was a good strong strand in gifted education and they were all in the very same room. We were able to get a really good rate at Opryland Hotel this time. It was pretty great to be in the same building where the conference was being held. I was pretty glad when I looked out this morning and saw the rain coming down that I could walk all the way over to the conference inside the building!

It's always good to go and see colleagues from across the state, trade ideas, and just have a chance for a good visit. I sure was glad to get to see folks.

The drive home seemed long - but I didn't drive this time, I was just a passenger!

I'm just about to topple over asleep so I'm checking out and going to bed!!!

So here's the short of it, 
Today has been a long but very productive day.

And here's the long

Today started earlier than I wished. I was awake before it was time to get up because my body is still on Eastern Standard Time. I sure remember younger days when that would not have been any issue!  And it's now after midnight my body time. 

The conference is going well. Our motivational speaker was a fellow named Dr. Dale Henry. I thought he was really very interesting and he certainly got our attention with all his stories. He does lots of training for corporations, universities, and Fortune 500 companies. This afternoon we got to hear two really good sessions. Our friend Bonnie Digby from up in western Tennessee did a great hands on session on integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into the curriculum. They are using it with the Junior Great Books Curriculum!  I liked that. Tomorrow we are presenting two sessions then one of my colleagues and I will head back home so that I can get a work day in on Friday.

We haven't left Opryland since we arrived.  It's so huge it seems like I've walked 2 miles today. By the time I remember how to get from the room to the conference location, it will be time to head home. 

So here's the short of it,
In Nashville ---

And here's the long

I'm on the bed with my foot propped up on a pillow! We had a great day and a nice evening. We had two great school visits to Hume-Fogg in Metro Nashville, and Merrol Hyde in Hendersonville. Both of them are academic magnet schools. Hamilton County doesn't have such a creature - and I kind of doubt seeing that in the long term picture, but it sure was interesting to think of what kind of components from these schools could be implemented. I was amazed that Hume-Fogg has 26 AP course offerings! Including AP Chinese!

We were able to get in a quick lunch at Cafe Rakka, just down the street from Merrol Hyde. It's a restaurant that's been featured on the Food Network. And even though we were quite rushed and only got a sampler, it's good enough that I'd make a special trip to eat there again. We had Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Falafel and Tabbouleh as well as Turkish Coffee. Our Chef is from Syria, and learned to cook from his grandmother. He's also got a law degree and credits his father with teaching him most of his life lessons - he refers to his father as his "professor of life".

I credit Chef Rakka with serving us magnificent food and making a little piece of today really special. I'll have to figure out how to get back there.

We landed here at Opryland by about 5 o'clock and got checked in just fine. It's good to see that it's back up and running since the flood. I'll have to say, however, that my dinner was a disappointment. But right now I'm thinking of how early morning will come and thinking that I'm glad Central Time will give us another hour to get ourselves down to the conference.

So here's the short of it, 
Good mammogram news today.

And here's the long

Today I had my 6 month mammogram of my left breast. They took the mandatory two shots - a vertical and that sideways one. They always have you wait until the radiologist takes a look at the film before they let you go in case they need additional views. Well, when I got done, the radiologist was on a break, and wouldn't be back for 45 minutes. I didn't want to sit around for that long, so they said I could just keep my "bracelet" on and if they needed me to come back, they'd give me a call. In about an hour they called to say I didn't need to come back. So that tells me that they didn't find anything suspicious. I have an appointment coming up with my surgeon, and I suppose she'll say the same thing. It's good to have that over.

I'm sitting here in the den doing my foot exercises and watching TV and getting sleepy. Sophie is sound asleep on the sofa, and Lola is curled up on the other chair snoozing away. Alan is asleep - I'll bet our crickets and spiders are even asleep. My own eyelids are getting pretty droopy. Tomorrow is a really early day, so I think I'll get headed toward the bed myself.

So here's the short of it, 
Sunday of a three day weekend is a lovely day.

And here's the long

It sure has been a lovely day today. I slept a little late and took my good old time getting myself up and going. I really love a Sunday when I know I'm going to have a day off on Monday. That makes the day much less frantic to "get stuff done".  So it's just a more relaxed feeling altogether. e middle of the day to And Sophie has me home in the middle of the day to take her out for a nice long walk. She had a great time playing keep away with Cutie Pie. Cutie races away and gets the ball I've thrown for her and brings it back to me and drops it at my feet so I can throw it again, and Sophie grabs it and runs around and around. I've learned to have another ball so that I can throw it for Cutie and we start all over again. Molly, the English Lab on the circle also came out to play, so Sophie got a really good workout today.

Our Sunday evening dinner was just going to be Mom joining us, but about the time I was putting dinner on the table Liga called just to check in. When I told her we were just sitting down to dinner, she said she had just gone on her dinner break, so she hopped in the car and came over. I like it that she's close enough to make a quick decision and run by for dinner. Valdis and Kalie have both had the awful intestinal bug and respiratory stuff that's been going around. They decided to stay home and not bring the bugs to our house!

So tomorrow, I'm going to have another one of those fairly relaxed days. I'm headed over to Nashville for a few days next week, so I need to get packed and ready to go, but it will be nice to just be relaxed about getting it done.

So here's the short of it, 
Tonight - date night.

And here's the long

The first day of a three day weekend! I could sure get used to a four day work week! It seems like that extra day in the weekend just really makes getting "stuff" done a whole lot easier.
 
So Alan and I had a date night tonight. We went to the Big River Grill over near Hamilton Place Mall. We got there a little after 6 and got in pretty quickly. It was a  nice evening and it's good to be home.

So here's the short of it, 
 Pineville, Kentucky.

 And here's the long


Pineville.  I began 5th grade here. That three story building in the front was the Elementary School. It was grades 1-6.  I was only in the 5th grade for a few weeks and then Dad's Army Reserve Unit was called up because of the Berlin Wall Crisis. It was 1961. We had just moved to Pineville;  I didn't know anyone and was just beginning to make friends. It must have been just about my 10th birthday when I started to hear the words Checkpoint Charlie, and noticed the serious turn of adult conversations.  It seems as though Dad was gone very soon, and then before we knew it we were packed up in a moving van and Mom was driving us across the country on the way to Fort Smith, Arkansas where we would be for the rest of that school year and most of the summer. 

We were back in Pineville by the beginning of the next school year.  My 6th grade classroom is the second set of windows from the left on the third floor.  The set of windows in the middle of the 3rd floor was the library, and I would spend at least two hours every day in the library doing assignments my teacher made for me and helping the "little kids" check out library books.  The years fairly flew by.  The Junior High, grades 7 and 8, were housed on the third floor in the building that's perpendicular to the elementary school. The High School was that two story building at the left rear of the picture.

I never really went back to Pineville except for visiting Mom and Dad after I left for college that fall of 1969. But the years in that small mountain community had a long lasting impact on who I would become.

So here's the short of it,
One nice day and I'm thinking of gardening...

And here's the long

What a day to be cooped up in an office!

It was almost spring like around these parts. And folks are overjoyed that the weather is so nice. All that snow was a bit much for this little corner of Tennessee. It made me start thinking about gardening and what kinds of things I might want to put in our little garden for this year.

Tomatoes for sure! Especially the purple varieties. The Cherokee Purple and the Black Cherry were so sweet and so tasty. I'm going to try Loufa again. Last year, I got big vines all over the place but only one fruit!  I'm not sure what else I'm going to try.  I was thinking that I might want to try some Swiss Chard this year. Dad always loved to do something new. And I've never grown Swiss Chard before. He started growing it several years ago and it was always a treat.  Mom planted some last year, and she was still harvesting it after the first couple of frosts. 


I was talking with a colleague today about canteloupe and she was saying that she'd recently had one that was really small and really sweet.  I haven't had any luck at all growing squash because of the squash vine borer problem here, but I haven't tried canteloupe before, so that might be a possibility as well! 


Oh wow - one nice day and I start getting the gardening itch. 

So here's the short of it,
The surprise project we were working on....

And here's the long

So now I can divulge the surprise I blogged about awhile back.  Liga wanted to make a special shirt for Pennie. She worked out this Logo and then chose the shirt, the fabric paint, and the colors.  It was lots of fun to watch her work through the process from the inspiration, to the design of the logo, through the free hand lettering onto the shirt, and finally getting the paint onto the shirt just right!

We decided together to make an apron with pockets since Pennie's been told not to cary anything heavier than a fork!  This apron has three great pockets so she can carry things.  It's a little hard to see, but there are these great little heart buttons all across the top of the pockets. 



Pennie called the day she got the package and she really liked them!

We loved doing it!

Pennie - we love you!

So here's the short of it, 
What a great and inspiring evening.

And here's the long.

 We went to hear Geoffrey Canada speak tonight as a part of the Hunter Lecture Series.

I think Chattanooga was ready to hear the things he had to say. There will be grants awarded for communities who want to try to replicate the work of the Harlem Children's Zone. Chattanooga is one of the applicants for that grant money.

Maybe the most important thing I heard him say  -  he speaks with leaders all over the country from all levels - from local leaders, state leaders, and national leaders, and they all ask him what we should be doing.  So the biggest secret is this he says, "There is no plan." " If you want to save your Children you have to do it yourself!"  What a challenge.  I want to believe that Chattanooga is ready to take that challenge.

So here's the short of it, 

It's Valentine's Day!    
 
And here's the long.

My physical therapy appointment at 7:30 started my day out really early!  I got a good work out today, and have a list of good exercises to strengthen my right ankle, and some pointers to work on my gait. 

Somehow all my appointments got erased from my calendar for the day - so I spent the day getting coached about where I was supposed to be next.  Thank goodness, I was able to do everything I had obligated myself to do (well, at least all that I know of as of now)  Of course that blank slate I had looked at last night and then thought about using to get some catch up done didn't materialize. 

I didn't get home til pretty late - my lovely sweet Sophie met me at the back gate and was so excited to see me; Lola was all sweet and purry; and there was a wonderful bouquet of roses from my sweet valentine just waiting for me. Alan and I went to dinner and then home.  I'm tired - I slept pretty well last night - better than usual, and I'm hoping that tonight will be restful as well.
 

Happy Valentines Day!

So here's the short of it,
Sweet Kitty Lola...

And here's the long

So tomorrow is a very early day for me.  My physical therapy starts at 7:30.  I'm thinking YIKES! Why did I do that to myself...  Of course, it's because I want the same therapist every time and by the time we looked at my schedule and her schedule that was the only choice for this week.  Dang.....

Yesterday at the pet store I bought a pheromone collar for Lola.  I've used a spray for a couple of years, but when I went to PetCo yesterday, they didn't have the spray.  They did have a collar though.  I thought, how smart is that, instead of just having a spot or two where she can feel very calm and safe, I can collar her and she'll be able to be calmer all the time. She sure didn't like the collar when I put it on her, but she's been OK with it today, and I do think it's made her more at ease.

She sure is a sweet kitty and Sophie really wants to be her friend, but Sophie is so big and scary that Lola doesn't really like it. I hope that the collar will help her tolerate Sophie a little more!

Tomorrow will be here early!  I'm headed to bed pretty soon.

So here's the short of it,

Girls Day Out.

And here's the long

Emily, Lynn, and Liga spent a good part of the day together today.

We went to the indoor flea market and Liga came away with a bunch of fleas - she found exactly what she went for.  I saw lots of neat stuff and bought some tennis balls for Sophie, which ended up at Mom's, and Mom found a couple of things she wanted and I'm planning to go back sometime!  I found a couple of vendors that sell jewelry that looks like it comes from estate sales -  the kind of stuff I like, so I'll go back sometime.

We spent a little time with Mommy Anne on our way over to do the rest of our errands, and it was really nice for the two Moms to get to visit a little. She was in the bed when we got there, but we were able to get her up and out to the day room a little before lunch was going to be served. Arvin saw her later in the evening and she was up and at the dinner table!

We went to lunch together and then to the pet store and on to do a bit of shopping at our new Earth Fare grocery store. All in all it was a great girls day out. I feel really lucky to be able to have a day together with them.

So here's the short of it,
Alan is doing fine. 

And here's the long

Alan had an Epidural today. I took the morning off so that I could be with him and ended up taking the whole day off. His appointment was at 10:00, but they told us that if we got there early he might get finished earlier. So we got there at 9:00. It didn't happen. He didn't get called back until 11:00 and didn't get taken back to the surgical room until after noon. I did one of those pretty modern things, and e-mailed work from my phone to let them know that I wouldn't be able to make it into work after all. Alan's post surgical instructions include, no painting, no treadmill, no plumbing, nothing that would cause him to look up. He does actually remember some of that conversation. They went a bit lighter on his anesthesia this time because he had such a hard time getting it all out of his system the last time. He's fine this evening, although he was complaining about itching all over and he's been napping off and on all afternoon and evening.

I'm starting to get a bit of a cough tonight. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm going to drag out the good old Chestal, a homeopathic cough remedy that a former student recommended. I got it the last time I had a cough, and it helped more than any over the counter brand I've ever tried.

I sure hope that it gets this cough under control before work on Monday!

So here's the short of it, 
We didn't get a snow day; we worked on a 2 hour delay.

And here's the long

I thought for sure that we'd get a snow day today, but there wasn't enough now and it didn't stick on the roads here in the valley. Apparently it was pretty bad on Signal Mountain, because the three mountain schools didn't have to go. I suppose they'll have to figure out how to make that up.






It was awfully pretty to look out the front door this morning and see the dusting of snow. 

And then I loved seeing my solar cat with a bit of snow clinging to her as I left this morning.











It was all gone by the time I got home this afternoon and temperatures are supposed to be in the high 50's this weekend. It will sure be nice to be out in that. 

So here's the short of it, 
Well, the snow has started here...

And here's the long

Hamilton County is on a two hour delay for tomorrow - well at least so far. The weather forecasters are saying this won't be a really bad storm. As a matter of fact it should be all melted by  mid afternoon they are saying. But right now there's a lovely snow covering, I'd say 1/2 an inch or more, on the grass, the trees, and the tops of the cars. But right now there's no snow on the streets and sidewalks.

Here's the forecast from WDEF Channel 12 Storm Team

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for the entire area for this evening into early Thursday morning. Winter Storm Warnings have been issued for NE Alabama. I don’t expect “more” snow accumulations in Alabama.
 
Here is what to expect.

1. Clouds thicken this afternoon, still warming into the low 40s.
2. Look for snow along the Plateau by 4-6pm, possibly mixed with a few raindrops.
3. Snow should continue to spread across the area from west to east with snow in the Chattanooga/Cleveland area around 7-8pm.
4. The “Heaviest” snow will fall late this evening, say 9-11pm. During this time, slushy roads will become a problem, especially secondary roads.
5. Snow ends around midnight, temps fall into the 20s.
6. I expect slick roads in the morning, especially bridges and overpasses and again less traveled roads.
7. I also expect school delays and closings.
8. We will become Partly Cloudy Thursday, highs in the mid to upper 30s.

HERE IS A LOOK AT YOUR FUTURECAST:  
How much snow? As noted below, a general dusting to 1” for most valley locations. Up to 2” in a few isolated spots and mountains around the City. 2-3” likely along the Plateau and the mountains of East TN/NC.


  
Most of the snow will melt by Thursday Afternoon with sunshine returning and highs near 40. Oh, and a high near 60 by Sunday!!
  ----------

 

Even though we have a 2 hour delay, I'll be at work by 9:00 in the morning or earlier. I have a meeting that will be starting at 10:00 and I've got to get set up and ready for that. 

So here's the short of it, 
Another long day of checking in portfolios...

And here's the long.

In spite of the drudgery of the task at hand,  I enjoyed the opportunity to spend the day with some of my colleagues that I don't usually get a chance to be with; but for sure, I'm glad that checking in portfolios is over. I'll be glad tomorrow to just be back into a more normal routine.

Our weather forecasters are calling for snow to begin tomorrow afternoon or evening.  It's supposed to move through pretty quickly and by Thursday afternoon turn into rain and melt away.  We are out of snow days, so any days that we miss after this, we'll have to make up somewhere, and that will shorten breaks or my little bit of time off in the summer.  Yuck!  But in spite of all that, I'm thinking that a snow day on Thursday would be pretty great. I think I would sleep in!

Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Weather

Right Now	Next 36 Hours

	Tonight	Tomorrow	Tomorrow Night
Clear	Mostly Clear	Partly Cloudy	Rain / Snow Showers
30°F	26°	47°	26°
Feels Like: 23°	Low	High	Low
Past 24-hr: Precip: 0 in Snow: 0 in	Chance of Precip: 10%	Chance of Precip: 20%	Chance of Precip: 60%
Wind: From NNW at 7mph	Wind: N at 8 mph	Wind: E at 8 mph	Wind: N at 11 mph

Humidity: 54%	55%	42%	61%
Dew Point:18°

So here's the short of it, 
I'm focusing on continuing to walk further and more briskly.

And here's the long

Wow - I worked today (most of the day) in our Central Office helping to check in the portfolios that we are required to do for those students who wouldn't be able to demonstrate learning on a standardized test. I also will be doing that most of the day tomorrow. All of this testing rigamarole is my least favorite part of our education system.  I agree for sure that we have to hold all of us who work with students accountable for their academic growth. It's just that I don't believe we are doing it in the right way!

I've also got this feeling of tiredness today that doesn't have lots to do with lack of good sleep. I'm not sure what it is. I suppose that I need to get more exercise. I did take Sophie out today and was able to make it three times around the circle at a pretty good pace for the first time since before I broke my ankle.  I think that's progress. I'm starting physical therapy on Wednesday.  They will give me exercises to help strengthen my ankle as well as some work on my gait. I still have pretty pronounced neuropathy in my feet - steps can still be problematic. A couple of weeks ago I had to go down steps in a school, and if I hadn't been holding the railing going down, I would have taken a tumble. I'm also still very wary of uneven surfaces. But I pretty much know my way around the circle, so for the time being, that can be my walking place -- Let's hope the weather holds up this week so that I can get a daily walk in!

So here's the short of it, 
How can two ball hogs get along? 

And here's the long

It warmed up a bit today and I took advantage of it to get out and get Sophie out for a little while this afternoon.  She had a good romp with Cutie Pie. Now, Cutie Pie is a Labradoodle and she is a ball chasing fool.  She would rather chase a ball than anything. Sophie doesn't want to chase a ball, but when Cutie Pie brings the ball back to put it down so that I can throw it again, Sophie likes to grab it and run around playing keep away.  I got a second ball and it worked out fine.  I would throw a ball and Cutie would run like crazy and get it she'd run it back to me and reluctantly drop it. Sophie would grab it up and run off with it and then I'd get the other ball and throw it for Cutie Pie.  Sophie would run around with her "stolen" ball and Cutie Pie would run off to get the one I threw.  It was so funny.

So here's the short of it,
Alan is working with Sophie.

And here's the long

I took a couple of Advil PM last night and then I couldn't get up this morning! Well, I slept in til 8:30 anyway. I suppose I may just do that again tonight.

So, Sophie hates going in the car.  When she was a pup, riding in the car made her sick and she really maybe only had 3 or 4 rides. This fall when it was time to go to the vet, she refused to go into the car, and we ended up getting the vet to bring her shots home since he's a neighbor.  This past week Alan has started working with her to try to desensitize her to the car. He's been taking her to just sit in the car all week long. They sit in the car and he talks to her and starts the car. She so anxious that she won't even take a treat while she's in the car. Today I sat in the car with them. She did NOT want to get into the car. She pulled completely out of her collar! Alan was able to get her into the back seat. She came right up between the front seats and stood there. Next week I think Alan's going to try driving maybe just around the circle to see how that goes! Thank goodness he has the patience to work on that with her.

So here's the short of it, 

 I am so awfully glad the weekend is here. 

And here's the long

Well, Hamilton County didn't get any frozen stuff last night. So it was off to work today. It was a pretty long week all in all. I did some good consulting regarding a student today if I do say so myself, so I ended this long week on a pretty good note. 

Alan and I had a dinner and symphony date tonight and by the time I got home, it was too late to take Sophie out for a walk. It's so much better for her when she has some time to get outside.  Tonight when we got home she was just running from room to room with her toys in her mouth. I really felt awful about not getting her out for a walk.  I'll sure make it up to her tomorrow.

My foot and ankle are more swollen and painful tonight than they've been for several days. Maybe because it was so late by the time I had a chance to sit down and put it up.

So here's the short of it,
My foot is beginning to feel a little better.

And here's the long

So there's one more rainy cold day in this work week.  I have a couple of school appointments so I'll be out in it. I'll be careful.

This evening when I got home I had a walk around the circle with Sophie.  I only went two times, but my foot/ankle was OK. I'm so out of shape and stiff and it's so cold and so wet... walking isn't much fun - well, at least for me. Sophie doesn't seem to mind at all - she just loves to hear me say "out front".  She fairly dances to the door and can hardly wait for me to get the door open. But if I don't go right out the door with her, she waits on the sidewalk or the porch til I get outside.  Then if I have her off leash, she takes off around the circle. Unfortunately, today none of her doggie friends were out except for Winston and his parents have reset the parameters of his shock collar. Sophie's pretty confused that he's not coming to the front to play with her.

We are supposed to get some wintry mix this evening. It's actually been coming down for several hours to the south of us. But it's really just beginning to start here in the city. And the weather is supposed to get a bit warmer as we move into the morning hours, so I'm not anticipating a snow day or even a late start for tomorrow - which of course means that I need to get myself headed toward bed so that I can get myself some good sleep.

So here's the short of it,
Chattanooga Chuck calls for 6 More Weeks of Winter.

And here's the long

Well down in Atlanta at the Yellow River Game ranch groundhog General Beauregard Lee predicted that spring is on the way.  And Punxsutawney Phil, predicted an early spring when he failed to see his shadow Wednesday morning at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

But here in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga Chuck saw his shadow, meaning the Tennessee Valley is in for six more weeks of winter!

"They" say Chattanooga Chuck was right last year. 

Here's what the Farmer's almanac says is coming.  It doesn't sound so much like what we've had... 

Southeast U.S. Long Range Weather Forecast for February 1st - April 3rd

Includes Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida

Select Another U.S. Zone -----------Northeast U.S.Midwest/Great Lakes U.S.North Central U.S.South Central U.S. 

February 2011
1st-3rd. Blustery, rainy Carolinas to Florida. Very unsettled Mississippi and Tennessee river valleys.
4th-7th. Becoming fair, much colder; widespread heavy frosts for Gulf States.
8th-11th. Blustery, with showers,thunderstorms Carolinas south. Snow, sleet Mississippi River.
12th-15th. Fair skies, then stormy.
16th-19th. Stormy, then turning fair and colder. Fog along Gulf Coast.
20th-23rd. Pleasant, then unsettled and unseasonably chilly.
24th-28th. Fair, then turning stormy. Mainly rain, though some snow could fall over the higher elevations of the Appalachians.
March 2011
1st-3rd. Generally fair.
4th-7th. Clear and warmer.
8th-11th. Fair and pleasantly mild.
12th-15th. Stormy for the Mississippi River Valley. Increasingly cloudy farther east, with warm temperatures.
16th-19th. Squally for Gulf Coast. Unsettled weather as far north as Tennessee. Across the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, it's mainly dry.
20th-23rd. Clearing for the Mississippi River Valley. Showers finally spread farther east.
24th-27th. Fair skies. Windy for the Gulf States.
28th-31st. Showers, then fair.
April 2011
1st-3rd. Dry and pleasant initially, then becoming unsettled.

So here's the short of it, 
 What a long day - Advil sure does help!

And here's the long

Well, today was a long one for me.  I didn't get home until about 8:30.  I don't really work that late so much anymore, but tonight we were holding a recruitment fair for people interested in working as a paraprofessional.  The people I screened were all great candidates and several of them had college degrees. These are tough times; I'm glad to have work that I enjoy and believe in.

Anyway it was such a long day and I was not able to put my foot up much so it's pretty swollen tonight. BUT I am back to 2 Advil before I leave for work and two at night, and that seems to really be helping it not hurt so much. I'm really grateful for Advil! Actually let me say that in the true way. I'm glad for the generic equivalent of Advil, Ibuprofen!

I have much to do tomorrow, so I'm going to try to head to bed soon...