Dear Kids,
         Having shingles is wretched. My symptoms change every day.  Friday night it was terrible abdominal cramps, but when I went to the ER, they couldn’t find anything wrong.  Now my left leg is numb, and I stumble when I walk.  The drugs I’m taking make me groggy, and I can’t think.  Worst of all, it doesn’t get gradually better.  I’m worse off now than a week ago.  But enough of that. There’s lots good going on.
         We have kittens!  Nora brought them last night, when they came for our conference party.  They don’t have names yet, but we’re working on that.  One is grey, and I think it’s a male.  The other is a little Oreo cat, probably a female, but their behinds are so furry it’s hard to tell.  Tina is furious, of course.  But in time she’ll have fun playing with them.
          Vanessa’s family came by last Sunday with their new golden doodle.  They bought him in Heber, and he’s a total family dog.  He made himself right at home in our house and outside. He barked at the neighbor’s dog.  He’s used to playing with kids, so he came to the right family.  His name is Chevy.  Or is he a her?  Come to think of it, I can’t exactly remember.  It’s the drugs I’m on.
         Dad worked all week to install a new garage door opener at the cabin.  The code is still 6403, and then you hit “enter” to get in.  To close it, just hit “enter.”  There’s a new gate code, too, 0612.  But it doesn’t work yet. For now, just use the old code, 7281.  It’s probably best for now to try both of them.
         How about the conference announcement, the new 2-hour block?  It was on the top of my list, for rumors to be true.  And maybe they’ll have more changes to announce today. We’re certainly going to be watching and listening!
          It’s all good!  Lots of love, Mom