Ending 2006 on a Less Than Auspicious Note...

We had a wonderful visit over at Dad C's house last night where we celebrated his 79th birthday with him (along with almost all of his descendants). We have had so much to be thankful for this year...good health of all three of our kids, Doug's progress, the delight the three of them have brought to us and our extended family members, another year of a very joyful marriage,the fellowship of dear friends, a new puppy, the acquisition of a second car, a new job that allows me to be with my family each Sunday and go to church with them once again...just to name a few things right off the top of my head. So, ending the year on a less than auspicious note is pretty inconsequential!

Having placed my disclaimer(!), let me say that it is an awfully good thing that we acquired a second vehicle because yesterday the transmission died in our good van. We had to have it towed to the next town and it is now being rebuilt (for a hideous price!), but, hopefully, once it is rebuilt we will get a number of good years still out of the van. Our brother-in-law told us last night that he has never had any luck with rebuilt transmissions in his vehicles, though...so, who knows! Guess there is no gaurantee that even if the TRANSMISSION holds together after this, that the REST of our van's engine will...it has over 111,000 miles on it. (We got way over 200,000 miles out of our Taurus wagon before we finally allowed it to drift on to the salvage yard.) Who knows, with a polished up transmission, maybe we will get 300,000 miles out of our beloved van. In the meantime, thank goodness for the reliable little clunker car we have on the side (the one we got just to putter back and forth to work in, to save on gasoline costs). I had been so annoyed through the year at the odor in it that keeps reasserting itself...smells like old smoke mixed with vinegar...and the dashboard isn't a pretty sight...but, that stinky little car is looking awfully good to me this morning!

All day yesterday my throat had a tickle in it that I couldn't clear and by late in the evening I was feeling achey all over and my neck was really stiff and sore. Then I spent most of the night wide awake with killer heartburn and a fever of 102.7 added onto my list of complaints! (I have been drinking regular soda pop left and right the last month...and caffeine ALWAYS brings on horrible bouts with heartburn for me...so, I have only myself to thank for the heartburn! You know, as a nurse, I am amazed at patients who can barely breathe yet can't wait to pull off their oxygen long enough to go outside to get a few deep drags off a cigarette. Yet, I drink pop KNOWING it is poison to MY system. We people are illogical creatures.)