This & That

Boy is it hot. Not as hot nor as humid as it has been for so long in most of the country, but hot for here, at least. I don't do well in the heat. How on earth did I survive 19 years in Phoenix? When it is hot I lose all my energy, not that there is much of that commodity anymore. The heat quite literally gives me a headache. It must be the barometric pressure. I just can't seem to function. Where is our Oregon rain?

We called the VA on Tuesday, only to be told that Richard's power wheelchair order had been canceled on August 25. Long story short, because our vehicle will not accommodate a lift, the VA canceled the order for it. But the tech misunderstood and canceled both the lift and the chair. OOPS! We protested, the tech said she would check with her supervisor and call us back. She did, and actually praising God when the call came. Seems the chair manufacturer had not received the cancellation order and the chair had been delivered to the VA in Roseburg that same afternoon. Richard will get it some time next week. At least that is the plan. PTL. Now we need to figure out a way of hauling the chair around. I'm thinking a very small trailer, but we need dimensions before we can even start looking.

Chris and I have been painting in the living room for a couple weeks now. He painted the 2 feet of wall and trim around the ceiling and I painted the walls up as far as I could reach. I'm not supposed to climb on ladders any more. We both worked on the lower woodwork. Next week we will start working on the entryway. Then there is the bathroom and the master bedroom to do. It has been about 10 years since most of the inside of the house was painted. Much over due. I will post some photos when we get done (probably a month or six weeks from now).

On Thursday afternoon, when I went out to the car, I noticed cracked glass - the windshield was broken. It must have happened Wednesday night, because it was OK the afternoon prior. So the car has an appointment on Richard's birthday for a lot of cosmetic work where adjacent paint was deeply scratched as well as a new windshield. PTL for good insurance. Please pray this claim doesn't raise our premium.

I have been tracking my ancestors for several months. This process has been both frustrating and rewarding. Frustrating because some key people seem to appear out of nowhere and clue after clue have fallen short as to when and where they arrived on America's shores and who their parents were has petered out before those questions could be answered. Rewarding, because I have discovered so many awesome connections and incredible stories that accompany them.

The most frustrating of all, is the fact that I have not been able to find information on Richard's family beyond what I already had from his mom. BUT TODAY, I stumbled on a possible lead. Seems in order to file for social security you have to fill out a form that includes parental names, and to submit proof of age in the form of records (birth certificate, church records, etc). Under the Freedom of Information Act, the government is required to disclose this info. I need to submit a written request, enclose a check for $27.00, and wait several weeks/months, but "Papa, I may ID your mom & dad after all". Also, a couple weeks ago, I went on line and located an anthropological Spanish professor at the University of Arizona who was willing to translate my mother-in-law's grandmother's hand written journal (it is written in an obsolete Spanish dialect). We may get somewhere with that side of the family after all.

Enough "This & That" for now. Have a good week.