The sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.

(a quote by Jules Renard)

The sadder truth is that I am not going to make anyone nervous that way!

I am so far behind in everything!

Ok, not everything.

I think my bills are up-to-date, but not my bookkeeping.

My desk at work is pretty current - if you disregard my trouble file.

I haven't written to my missionaries or my granddaughter in weeks! Not entirely true, I have written letters and started letters - if only I had mailed them! or knew where they are now!

And the house - what a mess!

So, what's new in life?

I came home from work the other day - last Friday? - to find a note on the door of the room that is going to be mine - "The bed is finished!" The boys made an all-out effort to get it put together before I got home and surprised me! It took another couple of days before we got the mattresses on the bunk beds, but now I am sleeping in there. It is more comfortable than my old mattress. Still old, and not quite enough support. Replacing everyone's old mattresses is on my list.

I have so far only moved one dresser and most of the clothes out of the closet. There is a lot of stuff to sort out. It all will NOT fit in the new room. Some will eventually go into the "office" but that room will be Joseph's room for a while. I should sort quickly (ha!) in case there is anything worth sending to the Scout yard sale this month.

General Conference was, was always, a delight for body and spirit. How wonderful it is to be able to listen to living prophets! and they're nice people, too. We shared picnic lunch with at least a dozen missionaries both Saturday and Sunday. All the family brought something for the picnic, making it much easier for me. As it was I shopped Wednesday after work, and did prep work Thursday and Friday evenings. No fried chicken this time. What I think of as Super Salad - greens mix, with lots of options, including grilled chicken strips (I get if frozen from Costco) , and also chili and franks. Easier and well received.

I don't have time to post notes from conference. Sariah posted excellent notes, and of course the entire confernce is available online.

Andrew is actually making real progress on his Eagle project. After considering several ideas, he decided to collect books for underprivileged kids/schools in the Philippines. Which led to some concern about the cost of shipping! He contacted the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco to find out 1) could they really use books, and 2) would they help with the shipping? The Consulate directed him to Books for the Barrios in Concord who would be happy to receive the books and ship them on. He has gotten signatures from them for his Eagle Project Workbook. Still needs to get the Scoutmaster's signature. Scoutmaster refused to sign until the shipping issue was resolved. He has an appointment with the substitute District Advancement Chairman tomorrow evening. Andrew also interviewed his person for one of the Communications merit badge. I don't know if he did the write-up on it or not. He interviewed Tom about being a good father. So, he needs to do his write-up, and one more requirement - he's going to do a flyer for his Eagle project, meet with a counselor, and he will have his last needed merit badge. It's a race to the finish, but I think he will make it.

I have a cold. a not very nice one. So far, I am managing to crawl to work and, relying on the miracle of modern drugs, basically function, but my head is clogged.

Oh, yes, I adopted a couple of rescue birds. My friend, Carolyn, from the dog park sometimes walks her neighbor's largely neglected dogs and cares for them when she is away. Last time she was watching them during a 4 day absence, she heard a noise in a dark corner. A pair of cockatiels. She told her neighbor, "I didn't know you had birds! You forgot to tell me to take care of them." The neighbor responded that she hadn't forgotten, she has been leaving them, hoping they would die. Carolyn took them, of course, but she didn't really want them. Remembering how we loved Rosie, I told her that we would adopt them. One is yellow-ish white, much like Rosie, the other is standard grey. They both look thin and bedraggled, but come over to the side of the cage when someone visits them.