Peanut, Notchtail, and Lily brought their two babies to meet us this week. They are nearly full-grown. The undersides of their tails are a darker red than the other squirrels, their tails are smaller and beautiful, and their bodies are sleek. They don't have any battle wounds yet and they don't appear to have deformities like Notchtail and Lily whose tails are missing a lot of hair, and Humpback. (We haven't seen Humpback all summer . . . he may have been the one smashed in the CVS parking lot.)

The babies, Nutter and Butter, are very lively. The way they hop around is very quick and light and silly compared to their elders. They talk a lot and they fight over the nuts we give them. They immediately wanted to befriend us, but are too nervous. They jump away at the slightest sound or movement. Nutter jumped up and banged his head under MK's sliding board. It was cute.

The oddest thing happened. I found a pile of grass clippings on the yard bench where we leave nuts for the squirrels. I asked MK if she had put it there. She said no, she hadn't. We are wondering if the squirrels put it there to hide their nuts . . . they usually hide the nuts in the ground nearby . . . or maybe they were making a nest of some sort . . . it is just so odd. We keep putting the nuts there and they seem happy with that.

Picture of the Funnel Cloud by Shiloh School in IL where Cheri works

A Ghost?

I can't really say I believe in ghosts, but things happen that sometimes make me wonder about the paranormal. For a very long time, I have, off and on, noticed a dark shadow glide across the floor. It moves swiftly like a black cat. I never give it much thought other than it might be some shadow or reflection. But, this winter MK mentioned that she sometimes sees a dark shadow race across the floor, and sometimes she sees it in her room.

This Christmas I received a bottle of Estee' Lauder cologne. I shut it in my closet because the scent is too strong for me. Every once-in-a-while, while resting in my bed and watching TV, I suddenly notice the scent of my cologne as if someone has sprayed it. This is while it is still shut in my closet. I figure there must be a little draft escaping under my closet door.

Today, MK and I were on the couch in the living room on the farthest side from my room and yes, you guessed it, I suddenly got a whiff of the cologne . . . as if someone had just sprayed it. My ghost is definitely a lady. I think it must be Mrs. Casper who previously owned this house. She must be Mrs. Casper, The Friendly Ghost!

How to Become a Diabetic

How to become a diabetic: It's easy. Eat wrong, don't exercise, go through the change of life at about 25, have a genetic pre-disposition for diabetes, and be stressed. That pretty much sums it up.

Becoming diabetic is much easier than controlling diabetes when you have it. You can't heal it, but you can do much to control it. By the time I found out I was diabetic, I could hardly function mentally or physically. Once I was diagnosed I started medication and diet. Exercise is coming along more slowly, but as I feel better I can do more. I had reached a point where I could barely walk because all the muscles in my body were in pain and I didn't have enough energy to breathe, let alone exercise. I felt miserable but didn't know why. I was depressed but didn't know why.

Blood pressure medication combined with diuretics caused water weight to roll off very quickly. That made a very drastic difference in how I felt. Now, I am working on eating properly which is causing some more weight loss. However, it is hard to give up things I love. Once in a while I have a little bite or more -- otherwise, I would never be able to keep it up.

Things like milk, sugar, processed or white wheat, peanuts, red meat, and several other things have been removed from my diet. Apparently, I am allergic to something in that list -- because with that elimination, I have discontinued having the migraines that have plagued me my whole life. I thought it was the blood pressure medication that stopped the headaches, but the doctor disagrees. She said it was something in my diet.

Though I am doing better, I am still having problems with mentally focusing. I am hoping that improves very (VERY) soon. I am grateful to have a reason for why I felt so miserable and that it is something I can control.

The contract for the Johnny Carson transcription was completed a few weeks ago; but no new project as of yet. Once again, very little income.