New journal style, new nickname associated with my journal, a day off with no obligations, and they caught Warren Jeffs at long last. Yes, I am in a good mood tonight.

Going back to the real world tomorrow will not be easy. Especially since I have to drive Mom to work, which means getting up earlier than usual. I suppose I should do something practical like go to bed and get a little bit of sleep. Maybe in a little while. At least it won't be too hot tomorrow; ForcastFox is telling me that the high will be 77 degrees tomorrow, and only 68 on Thursday. Maybe autumn really is coming. I am so sick of summer, and the perpetually broken air conditioning at work (supposedly the new part arrived today - I'll believe it when the air is bearable on a hot day in that store).

So tell me what you think of my blog's new look! I was rather pleased to find a style that is so perfect for a night owl.

Mom came downstairs (quite a feat at the moment) to see what was up in the world just as my computer told me I had an email.

"So what are you up to?"

I looked down at the screen and gasped. "Getting an email from Dad!"

It's official. He's fine. He ended up in Yekaterinberg instead of Siberia this time (that's what I get for forgetting which trip to Russia was which), so he was far from the crash. He even apologized for not sending me an email or calling about it.

Thank you all for your concern. It has been a long week.

So now I have a week away from work. I am so ready for it!



The one bad thing about the shift is that my most stubborn and negative coworker has been transfered to the section she hates the most, which includes the science fiction/fantasy section. If I hear her dismissing all of that section as crap one more time, I will hit her upside the head with a hardback copy of The Mists of Avalon. I am also rather irritated that I am inheriting her old section, and I know there is a lot of work she avoided doing and I will have a mess on my hands.

And now I'm off. For a whole week. One of my friends suggested ditching Mom and driving away but I don't think I'll be doing that.

One little thing happened at the store that I think will amuse you, especially those of you who spend a lot of time with computers.

I was straightening in the computer section when I spotted a picture book stuck on top of some other books. When I picked it up, I realized it was a copy of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It seemed so appropriate to me that I was tempted to leave it there.

Mom continues to improve. She is now relying on Advil instead of the prescriptions and is getting much better with the walker. One of my coworkers had knee surgery a while back and has offered us her crutches, so I should be able to pick them up for Mom on Monday. Again, she wants me to thank everyone for the good wishes and the cards. We celebrated her real birthday with me taking her out for dinner; I think being out of the house was even better than the food. I may have to get one more thing for her, though. She told me at dinner that she had never read Where the Wild Things Are. I'll have to fix that, I think.

And now I will go back to being lazy. It feels so good to not have to work tomorrow and not have anything I have to be doing now.

Mom is home, much to my relief. She was actually released from the hospital yesterday, but I was too drained to post.

Today, we did not go to the DMV as we had planned. It can wait until she wants to be able to go somewhere.

Instead, I called Dad and dragged him with me as I bought Mom's birthday present: a laptop computer. It's a little bit early but I think she deserves it.

Mom has to spend another night in the hospital. She is enjoying the good meds and everyone has been very nice there. Her ankle certainly hurts but they are taking good care of her. The place really is pretty nice - the TV has more channels available than we get at home and she has a semi-private room. I left her with a change of clothes, a shoe, some wet wipes, and a thick book.

She is definitely going to be glad to go home. The main concern right now is making sure she can handle either crutches or a walker well enough to handle being in a house with stairs. If only there was a full bath on the main floor. I have done my best to make the place more accessible but there is likely more work that I will have to do once she comes home and I know what she'll need.

Scout is really going to have to learn to not be Little Miss Underfoot, at least for the next four to six weeks. *sighs and looks at the rotten little twit* It will be a miracle if she does. *fuzzbutt stares back with an innocent look*

Thank you for all the good wishes. I have passed them on and Mom also appreciates them.

edit: The nature walk she planned was a huge success, and she didn't even have to go! They managed to pull it off with no more broken bones. Yes, we're searching for as much good news to pull out of this that we can....