My poor neglected blog

My poor neglected blog. I am just not getting around to blogging and I actually forget about it until I read fun things that others are blogging and think, "Oh, my blog!"

My brother and his family came to the Tri-cities for Labor Day weekend so he could attend his 30th class reunion. I'm glad he could go to that. I realized too late that despite the fact that I had my camera in my purse (i.e., available), I failed to take one picture. Drats. They were also scoping out the area for a special trip my sister-in-law is hosting for her Young Women this month. She has invested a great deal of effort into the event. It was great to visit with them. I consider this one of the better visits we've had.

I did finish the pajama pants for my brother's kids. I was glad I could fit them to the kids. Now I still have some pjs to finish for my boys and for my sister's boys.

B's temporary summer work ended on Labor Day weekend. We're back to being two peas in a pod.

There has been so much to do with "Tom's house," that I feel my life is not my own, and I'm not even the one "driving nails." And when I'm not working on something to do with Tom's, I'm 100% of the time very stressed about it. I think the A/C is completely installed. Hallelujah! I should post some before-and-after photos of the exterior. The stucco has absolutely brought the whole project together.

Young Women volleyball season has started and so that has added another evening obligation once per week for the next two months. Luckily, even when I have to be the "coach" like I was last week, I really don't have to do much knowledgeable :-) coaching (unlike basketball which is the next sport). We combine with another ward for our team and that ward supplies the coach but I fill in sometimes when the coach can't come (but I am there every week because I'm responsible for our ward's part of the program). I've submitted the name of a sister in the ward to take over this responsibility but I've heard nothing back.

We had a successful personal progress activity this week at my house. October doesn't have a scheduled personal progress activity but I'm thinking we may need to keep up the habit . . . . This personal progress "thing" is also my responsibility. If we had a lot of "spare" help in the ward, I'd toss this off to someone else but I think I'm it for now. Plus, I'm passing off a lot of my own personal progress this way. I'm going to do it the girls' way rather than the short-cut that is allowed to the leaders.

So this week was Monday--family home evening; Tuesday--personal progress; Wednesday--volleyball; Thursday--taking J and three friends to and from a merit badge class in Hurricane; and Friday--an evening off; and Saturday is a temple baptism YM/YW trip tomorrow morning. Of course, Sunday is Sunday and we start all over again. At least I don't have to give the lesson on Sunday as I now have a Laurel Advisor (yea!).

My mother seems to be on a tiny plateau (tiny because I don't know how long it will last). It is less of a plateau than her sliding down a slope and getting snagged on a thin branch that holds for a while. She's been sliding down that slope since Christmas. Enough has changed in her status since then that I am casting about to figure out how to best interact with her. We're some place "new" in her decline and I'm still trying to adapt.

I hope I haven't come across as a whiner. Things are busy but good.