Normal service has been resumed - well sort of. C isn't going to Memphis, I think he's as pleased about it as me:-)

Another attempt failed and I'm having to report to both camps now 'cos I told C's Mum we were trying - I did it to cheer her up - after all she was pretty low the first couple of days and a lot of conversations she had with me or C or his Dad she doesn't remember, but guess what, she remembered that one!!!!!!

I'm flexing my credit card but not in a stupid way ie spend spend spend. I'm buying an item and then paying it off when the bill comes in, or I'm buying an expensive item and transferring money from my bank to my credit card account (which is also my bank) each week so it's like layaway.

C sprang one on me over the weekend, he's got a great deal at the beginnng of Feb for Las Vegas, he wanted to go around Valentine's Day but it's way expensive then so we are having an early one. We'll drive down and I've agreed to drive for a bit to break up the journey for him - should be fun.

OK well that was fun!

Let me start at the beginning. December 17th came and went and no parents - well C's Mum had the "lurgy" and they weren't allowed to fly until the 19th. So C was back from Memphis or Orlando or wherever the hell he went this time. I'm beginning to lose track. Anyhoo I digress - we went to meet them at the airport and A looked terrible really pale, having trouble breathing, really teary. I got her home while the boys went to fetch the hire-car.

By morning she was worse, so we took her to see our Doc at the Health Centre, her diagnosis, double pneumonia, DOUBLE FREAKING PNEUMONIA - nice to see the NHS is still living down to it's rep. She was shocked and so were we - but we all turned into nursemaids and fetched all the antibiotics and medicine and tissues and mint tea (??) the doctor ordered. We put her to bed and it took about a day for the pills to start to work. After 3 days her appetite was coming back and she was spending the whole day out of bed so Christmas Day went ahead, except for the Dinner which we put back to Saturday as her tastebuds hadn't quite recovered.

Christmas Day was great we had all the pressies and chicken salad for lunch - and it snowed and thawed and then snowed again, this time it was serious snow, heavy wet flakes and the temperature plumeted. I handed out torches and we needed them. The power went off at 5.30 boxing day morning - the hummidifier stopped which woke C up and he dug out our emergency (analogue) phone and dialled the power company to report the outage. By boxing day evening, even with a roaring fire in the living room A couldn't get warm and she'd started coughing again - not good.

The following morning we parked the parents in the Marriot downtown. C didn't want to leave the house - most of our "neighbours" packed up and left - that didn't inspire confidence in the power coming on anytime soon. C and I got as much firewood as possible and camped out down in the basement in our sleeping bags under the duvet. We continued to phone the power company and were assured each time we phoned that power would be restored soon (the cheques' in the mail!!!!!!!)

Day 4 without power, our next door neighbour R went and bought a generator and has offered to share it with us and we were seriously thinking about it. C has now got the grievences line number but all they do is phone every couple of hours asking us if we have power!! Ferking useless!!!!!!!! C finally snapped, we had some very dodgy characters cruising the neighbourhood (empty houses being easy to burgle and all) so I called the police and told them that we had no power and could they send a patrol to keep an eye on the only three streets that were dark and ripe for burglary. We had dinner at the hotel and on the drive back - hoo-flipping-ray the power was back on. Hmmmm?? Could have been a massive coincidence, probably was but we had power back. Let me just say this so that it's off my chest and I apologise for shouting UTAH POWER SUCKS!! THEY MAKE UK POWER COMPANIES LOOK GOOD. If we had a choice we would tell them where they could stick their power. The bloody company is based in Oregon for crying out loud.

One thing that came across loud and clear to all of us - we are in the heart of mormon territory - and the only people who really helped us were our next door neighbours R, T and the kids who are not mormon and our friends T - thanks for the kerosene heater, B and L thanks for the offer of the spare room. T and H likewise. Our other neighbours with the exception of Mr C who gave my hubbie a life down to the snow blower dealership were too busy looking after their own god-fearing skins to help out anyone else.

The next missionary that comes by will get a bit of an earful - poor sod!