I set up my father's computer a couple of weeks ago. He needed written directions to use Word. I had to fix the inevitable paper jam and explain the directions again. Update: He wrote a letter in Word to a friend from the Navy, printed it, put it in an envelope, and sent it via USPS. I saw the first attempt. I'm sure the recipient is wondering what's up. His spelling is atrocious; I did not remind him about spell check because it would have been too confusing. His words had numbers and stuff. The first line of the letter I saw, without the numbers, read: "Well, I'm back in business with email. My daughter got the computer running again for me." Early tomorrow morning the boys, soon to be 3 and 6, will be coming to our house for a sleepover. Their mother, my daughter, is having her tonsils removed. After spending the last year with one throat infection after another, and ending a month ago with an abscess that wouldn't go away, the ear, nose, and throat specialist strongly urged her to do so. Part of her problem is that she is allergic to most antibiotics. Her regular doctor rarely prescribes antibiotics, preferring to let her fight off most infections naturally and save the drugs for emergencies. This last infection took two rounds of different drugs to finally cure her. The boys are more excited about the sleepover than having any sympathy for their mother. I'm sure they have big plans for the week. They were mad that it didn't start tonight. Auntie, my other daughter, gave them Spider-Man beds for the special sleepover when they were in Chicago visiting her a few weeks ago. Let's hope their parents have packed enough for this sleepover. Last time, one child had no underwear or socks. We spent four nights and five days at the family camp by the lake. It was such a wonderful, relaxing place. It has all the modern conveniences that would make an early pioneer woman jump for joy. Lucky me! This is the stove I get to cook on. Oops — this picture shows the stove needs polishing. Funny thing: the burners don't turn on by simply turning a dial. This is what we had to do so we could cook. We were completely out of wood. Of course, we also had to gather more wood for the fireplace in case we needed heat. After you prepare a lovely meal, you have to pump water and heat it on the stove to wash the dishes. Here's our "ice box" — just kidding. We do have electricity, so we have a modern refrigerator; the ice box is used as a pantry. We had the boys spend one night with us. They were able to spend two full days playing in the woods, swimming, going for boat rides, and fishing. We didn't catch anything big enough to keep, but this little guy was so cute I had to post the picture. On a side note, this is my husband's fishing boat — the boat he just had to have. In the five years we've had this boat, he has never caught a fish that was a keeper — not for lack of trying.

Woo-hoo! I just got off the phone with my father. Today he received a letter in the mail notifying him that he won a sweepstakes. Lucky me; I know he will share the wealth. I don't know what I'm going to buy first — should it be jewelry, a new car, a trip? It really burns me that they market to senior citizens, raising their hopes with all the double talk. He wasn't listening; he won't be getting a check for hundreds of thousands of dollars. I tried to tell him not to send any money. At times he gets so angry at my mother if she explains that it is just a con to get his money; other times he understands. I have tried to explain different ways to my mother to make him think she sends the check, and she is getting much better at it.

Our anniversary didn't turn out to be the wonderful romantic evening I had planned. My husband's cousin and fiancée came into town unexpectedly. They canoed on Lake Superior in the morning and met us at camp later in the day. We went for a paddle-boat ride on the lake and then went swimming. The rain only lasted for a minute. A quick change and we were on our way to dinner. We have a great lodge with good food only three minutes from camp. We'll have to make a date for the romantic dinner another time. Party chair

Isn't this the cutest? This is one of the bar stools that they had painted for the patio. I wanted to get a picture of the bar, but didn't have a clear shot when I thought about it. They found four more stools at a garage sale that morning and are getting those done too.

Tee shirt

We had a grown-up night this past weekend. My husband and I were invited to my cousin's house for his and his girlfriend's second annual margarita party. They have a great backyard, lots of room; I'm not sure how many acres. Of course there was too much food and drink. I wish I could invite my own friends to this party. We don't really know very many people who get invited, except the family members, of course. Some of them I don't really talk to much. She bought him this new shirt for the occasion. I went to my parents' tonight to set up his computer again. He took it apart a few months back and moved it into another room in his basement.