We had Mrs. Ha's mom this weekend, it went well, though it was still stressful. We didn't get her quad cane, which is helpful for going up and down our stairs, so I bought one Saturday afternoon. Forty freaking dollars, and it doesn't even have a sword concealed in it! Needless to say, it now stays with us. One bright spot was playing Carcassonne H&G with the girls.

Aunt Flo is visiting now, it's always one relative or another.

I also picked up my new Tracfone, a Nokia 1100, and so far I like it. It's a very minimalistic monochrome phone, with a nice long battery life. It makes and gets calls, maybe some texts, and that's about it. I can program my own tinny ringtones, too.

I had to front the money for the girl scout cookies, and it's taking a toll on my pocket book, as we still have a few cartons to deliver. One guy even up and moved on us, the jerk.

Mrs. Ha is unemployed, they gave away her job while she was on leave on her clinicals. That smarts, though the money was pretty shitty. Still, financially things are a little rough. She had an interview at a local hospital, and will apply online at another, and at an outpatient lab.

In other Mrs. Ha news, she finally moved into the 1990's and got her own email address. My ISP is now giving me 7 boxes to play with, WOOT. Ten year and old I each have two, leaving one for Mrs. Ha, one for five year old and one for the pets.

Tonight is Belsnickel night, a charming Bavarian custom that is common in the hills and dales of western Pennsylvania. He rings the doorbell at night, children that have been good get token presents, children that have been bad are taken away and chained to a tree by the river. It's a great way to see how guilty the girls feel, and also induce nightmares. Bavarians sure are sensitive.