Blog Frustration

Well, dear (not-forgotten) blog readers, much to my consternation, I cannot seem to find any of the photos that I just uploaded of our time here so far in Chitown. I've had several questions regarding my job, our activities, etc. When I can get some technical assistance, I shall upload all sorts of fun goodies.

For a short history of the last month or so, I've been working 8-hr shifts 3-4 days a week. This particular facility is extremely different than my last place of employment. Some days have been great; other days have been really tough, but I am quite happy to report that the income is good and that I've been sleeping better and am overall doing quite well with job stress. Some of my patients have been more "acute" than I'm used to seeing (i.e. ending up in critical care, etc.) but I suppose it's good to have some exposure to these sorts of events so that I can recognize problems sooner should I continue in this line of work. I've also been working just about every weekend since my first week on the job, so it will be nice to have the holiday off. Yay!

In other news, Jane (Mim) and I have been walking with some aerobic walking videos. While my goal is not really to lose weight as much as it is to keep my endocrine problems under control, I find my joints hurt less at work and I don't need to sleep 10-14 hours a day anymore. (Some of that may be due to the fact that I'm not working nights right now, either.) We've been having dinner together just about every night with the family, followed by cigars-and-wine sessions with good discussion out on the lawn or in the garage. (Pictures to follow when my technical difficulties clear up.)

Mike likes his internship. He's been working 6 days a week (pastors/pastoral interns have Mondays off) and seems to be acclamating well to the demands of the job. The mentorship seems to be an equally good fit for Mike and his mentoring pastor; they seem to be getting along really well. Mike now has two sermons online. I just attempted to add a link, but again, technical difficulties. I really am not quite adjusted to this computer yet.

Last week, we had the opportunity to go to a wine tasting dinner. The food was absolutely incredible; I kept the menu so that I can try to make some of it at home sometime (ha ha ha).

And last but not least, gardening season has begun!! I'm trying very hard to keep my plants from getting beaten about by the wind; I've forgotten how different Chicago is from San Diego. (Duh!) This year, I planted some pots for Bill and Jane with some of my personal favorites. (You got it; pictures to follow...Technical difficulties and all....) They include red double-impatients (the blossoms look more like miniature roses), a non-stop begonia, regular white impatients, and a Martha Washington geranium. This one happens to be salmon-red. There are other colors that I like better (lavendar/purple, for example), but this particular geranium was difficult to get this year. I got the last one at my favorite greenhouse in this area. (Kudos to Anne for getting me hooked on Hackers!)

So anyway, dear bloggers, hopefully I will be better at keeping up with y'all. Until next time, when I will hopefully have some pictures for you!