the cats are sitting outside in the sun and all is well. in living upstairs in a huge slant ceilinged attic of a 1934 home, with sun windows later put in the ceilings, even going thru raggedy old dusty papers is fun. I am still waiting to find a government bond my aunt gave me as a graduation gift. I have never seen it as many times as I look, and it maybe have been tossed years ago. Treasure hunting is paying off, pictures Russ and Brooke drew…I am reading a book about Mandalas and they say a healthy kid will draw circles when he is young and turn those circles into sun or big round faces, or bodies, even if nothing else is in proportion, big circles are the starter, that is how these pictures are.

when I walk to my bank, it is sad. I remember banks in Elmhurst when I saw a kid, patterned glass ceilings, marbled columns and floors and counter tops, frosted glass between tellers, gold toned braces holding the glass…

I heard on MSNBC yesterday that banks earned 67% of the national profit last year. I don’t exactly know what that means, but it made sense when they were talking about it. On WGN Chicago radio this morning, John Williams show, he had banks and horror stories as the topic again, such monsters they are. You can download the podcasts of  his shows and hear it yourself.

As for my,my Senator Tim Johnson, on the banking committee, is working on my hoo ha with the wasp nest of Wells Fargo lying to me, and then each person telling me a different thing of what I did wrong to not lock in the lower interest rate. As a nurse who has taken doctor orders for 35 years, I have the  sense to take notes and go thru them with the caller, check off a list, and ask when it is done if there is anything else I need to do,and he said, “nope, that is fine.”

I am glad I have a senator who will get involved and  have the letter from him to prove it. the attorney general of Illinois apparently is not getting involved. I can hear birds by my skylight twittering away in the sun..

I am doing nursing registration papers and Russ is doing work visa, Illinois is getting my money again for copies of RN certification and marriage certificate..but it is all going to be worth it. Made $200 on Ebay past 30 days and didn’t even try, just relisted some junk. somebody bought my Campfire girls ceremonial gown from when I was in my teens. Ya never know do you? Renter is moving in Sunday, she is from Washington state and transferred to a Buffalo wings and bar franchise just down the block. She has no car. As soon as I put my ad in again for renters she found it, phoned from Washington state, and said she was looking for a room close enough for her to walk to work. Praise God!! I am also excited that I have a new best friend with access to chicken wings and I can go there and get a dacquiri on a rough night and walk back home. Snow is melting today.

I have finished 4 books in a month, I work 8:30p to 7am on sat/sun/mon and on SAturday I work 9-5 while she goes to church and gets out of the house. Hey, anything beats a nursing home!

I now have inheritance that covers all costs to get me there. I have valuable experience for my resume and home health ease in the future. My neighbor and I bartered favors and she deep cleaned my kitchen today, man the stove cleaning fumes floated right into my attic/treehouse abode. I think I will live. She said she worked all day on one corner of the kitchen-cleaning grime covered bricking behind the stove and walls ovens. goodness, I have been hanging around with the wrong crowd all these years and I think I will keep it this way. It takes all kinds for sure.

I gotta get outta this place, hope I don’t have flashbacks of scraping ice off my car windshields and windows each 7am, oooooh, what a winter finale to this life.

I am looking forward to those warm welcoming open arms in Brighton.

My friend Jake, a fellow DJ, sent me 7 cds of music he created for me and I am listening to them for the first time. I am in flow, blessed, and where I should be. Jacob Kleinschmidt the kids childhood friend, is helping me move furniture and was thrilled to get Russ’s old ghostbuster costume I made him, saying his nephew Liam loves Ghostbusters, still wears the uniform, even wore it for Halloween, and now it is too small for him, he’s got a wedgie going, but he still wears it! Jake said his daughter like dukes and I was able to pull out about 5 beanie babies pertaining to ducks or birds.

I found a good place for my clothes and coffee cups and stuffed animals and more and more clothes and coats-The Women’s Shelter, WAVI-Working against violence. I am glad it is going to a good cause. I take a huge laundry hamper down there every other day. hurrah!

it has been so cold my cat Sydney has been sitting on the cablebox to stay warm. I came back from a job interview (have to get some money in the bank before I move there) and I came back, she had puked by the cablebox but off to the side, but not enough off to the side, because I haven’t had cable since Wednesday, or maybe Tuesday.

Imagine me in my free time poking a hairdryer into the cable box to no avail.

so music, reading, radio and having fun poking around with my own thoughts and praying has been the routine. My dad had his 90th birthday Jan.7. He has been living with my brother and his family since summer. and Dad says these are his final days. He is daydreaming off and talking to my mother about repairing clocks (they collected old clocks, last count at home was a good 500). He told mom he would go into the basement and look for parts, but earlier said he always wondered what it would be like here……

I am so happy for him. We Hilligers stay sane and with healthy bones and we keep on walking and he is still telling me he loves me. As the Motown song goes, “that old heart of mine, been broke a thousand times……”

my Dad, they drove to Rich's in Wisconsin, he always dressed up nicely

I had a great Christmas. I got a job offer Christmas eve afternoon which is local and sounds wonderful, and I can stash my cash for the move. The blizzards raged for over two days with up to 70mph winds. 400 miles of interstate was closed in this why am I living here state of south dakota-wyoming to minnesota borders. I know every inch of interstate 90 at christmastime from here to Chicago, so I am glad to be home and safe and watching BBC and Christmas movies. I hadn’t see Elf before with Will Ferrell, but any movie with Bob Newhart and Louis Prima music is wonderful, as I rode my stationary bike @ last.

The snow kept coming down and footprints to the garage were soon drifted back over. The cats sat on the porch and watched and even scooted about outside, but when their little silouette of cat ears and head are in my porch window, they come inside and sleep on the radiators.

hung on my bedroom wall over 20 years, now I am moving and will give it a new home. isn't it amazing?