Dear Kids,
         There’s absolutely nothing going on here, probably because it’s January. Our only entertainment is the animals, inside and out.  A herd of deer comes across the road almost every day and looks for food in our yard.  All my mugo pines are in cages, so the deer are pruning them down to the size I want them.  There are three bucks and two does in the herd, and they’re all really big!  One of the does sometimes comes by herself. This afternoon she was standing out by our deck, just looking around.  Tina was watching her from inside our house, through the glass door.
         Yesterday we stopped by John’s house to pick up some things, but I really wanted to play with his cats.  They’re a couple of weeks younger than ours, about the same size, but ten times crazier. Poseidon will jump for a moving light on the ceiling.  They tear through the house, chasing just about anything.  I pointed out to Heather that they’re as big as regular cats, but they still behave like kittens, so they can do a lot of damage.  Heather said they’re “teenage” cats.
         I’m glad to report that Charley is out of the hospital.  He’ll be staying at Bekah’s house for a while.  Bonnie says that he’s getting mentally and physically stronger every day, but he still needs oxygen at night.  She says Charley loves having visits, and since he won’t be able to drive for several months, he would probably like to be taken for a drive now and then.  Maybe Dad and I can do that.
          I’m back to visiting my regular doctors, but just for maintenance.  In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen my colon doctor (Bossart) and my oncologist (Lewis.)  They tested my blood looking for cancer “markers,” and my score was so low that I’m in the normal range now.  That was really good news.  Next week I’ll be seeing our dermatologist, and in March I have an appointment with Dr. Engen, who takes care of any skin cancers on my face.  I wish any of those doctors could do something about my real problem, which is the pain left over from the shingles.  I wish there were a shingles doctor who could cure it for me.  The pain medications make me goofy, and mess up my thinking, but so far I haven’t done anything really crazy, at least that I know about.
         Sorry I don’t have any real news.  You know things are dull here if I write about cats and deer and doctor visits.
         Love to all, Mom