New Baby!

Jon and Lila are expecting in mid March. This is son number 2 for them and grandson number 4 for me. So very excited! So far...so good. Mom and baby are doing well.

Sharing the Love

Fellow BCBSNC employees and VetNet members

The Plan (that's what we call BCBSNC) supports a number of groups within the company that are supposed to foster networking and collaborative efforts throughout the company. There's one called WEN (women's employee network), Spectrum (LBGTQ), SEAnet (parents of special needs kids), YoPro (young professionals), etc. I belong to VetNet (veterans and family members of veterans and anyone interested in veterans' issues). All groups are open to everyone, but the variety allows you to jump into something that appeals to you. Most groups do community charity events all year. This year, VetNet, joined with the USO in adopting some families of active duty military stationed at Ft. Bragg. My department collected money, then me and Sharon went shopping last Thursday. It is such fun shopping with other people's money to get gifts for people in real need. Our family was 2 mommies with 9 and 11 month old kids. I know we are helping them have a very Merry Christmas this year. Kinda makes you feel all warm inside.

The Curse of Neptune

50 bags of insulation to haul off

On October 2, Sunday morning, I was out back filling up a water bowl for the dogs. As I was standing at the faucet I heard water. I opening the crawl space door--water was spraying out. We had to call an emergency plumber to come out and fix a hose that had burst. Getting a plumber out on a Sunday morning is not cheap. While he was crawling around under the house, he noticed the joists were soggy. He recommended a sister company, CARE Inc. They came out and set up dehumidifiers under the house and in both bathrooms and then they pulled out all the insulation. They submitted a nearly $6000 bill and Mike said, wait a minute. They really padded their bill, expecting insurance to cover the bulk of it. Mike complained about their estimate so they reduced it to about $4000...still a rip-off, but a lesser one. They wanted to charge $900 to haul off the insulation and we said, no, we'll do it ourselves. Mike got a musician friend of his to haul it off for $400. Then we got another musician friend to come and fix a few more leaks under the house. THEN we got yet another musician/handyman to shore up the joists, fix my bathroom and put the insulation back. The bathroom remodel is almost done. I needed a new floor, toilet, vanity etc etc. We've done very little to the house over the past 16 years, so just about everything is falling apart now. I can't even enjoy getting a new bathroom, because all I see are bills. I've been completely out of sorts for weeks now. My routine is severely disrupted with all this repair work going on. And the dogs are most displeased. They aren't crazy about strangers in the house. When it's all finally finished and I can once again use my own bathroom, it will be wonderful. I'm trying to be patient.

Hanging out in Carrboro with James the Elder

James Arthur in Carrboro

My boys are growing up. And James A. is going to have a new baby brother in March, 2017. Very exciting. His mother is graduating from UNCG in a week or so. James is attending a montesori school in Chapel Hill. It is located in the building that used to be Wee Care, the daycare center where I sent Hannah. The circle of life!

JA comes to visit

Now Open for Business

Hannah is now selling clothing from LuLaRoe. She has been busy, busy with getting her inventory logged in. It's mostly an internet shop, but luckily I can shop right in the showroom AND hang out with 2 cute little boys. Everything seems to be going well. I really wish her well with this. It's a great company and the clothes are adorable.

JA 2 years old!

We didn't let the 98 degree temp deter us--I met Jon, Lila and baby James in Hillsborough for a belated birthday celebration. I can't believe he is already 2 years old. Such a sweet little man. We took a brief stroll on the river walk over the Eno and ate at Weaver Street Market. The river walk is beautiful and I plan to return when the weather is more compatible to life. I hate hot weather. In the picture above, Lila is with James in front of the twig house-an art installation on the river walk.