We got an early start on the day... Tyler and I both got to bed early and slept like rocks. After the first pot of coffee, we went to the hardware store and got the plumbing stuff to fix the stool. It took the normal three times to get it right. We were sitting downstairs congratulating ourselves after the second time when the water started dripping from the ceiling.

After the plumbing was done, we went out to Wal-mart and got mom a blood pressure monitor while she took a nap. We stopped and ate at a Taco Bell. I remembered why I don't like Taco Bell... their food sucks.

We woke mom up and played with the blood pressure machine for a while. Mom's was 168/88, mine was 136/76 and Tyler's was 100/70. I know that is is stuff that you all want to know...

Then we had our trip-of-the-day. We went to the cemetery at Marshall and removed the decorations from the graves there. My father and sister are buried there, along with most of Mom's relatives. My ex-sister-in-law is also buried there, this was a surprise to me. And, of course, my uncle Earl and grandma Mable, mom's brother and mother, respectively. We spent some time wandering around, looking at the stones and names and dates. The oldest grave was in 1898.

Noticed that there were quite a few infant and young children, less than three years old, especially in the period 1902-1917. Typhoid and flu, big killers back then.

We stopped at Braum's on the way back and had malts. I haven't had a chocolate malt for a while, I was happy.

Tyler and I took naps shortly after we got back, and I slept until about 19:00. I hope that doesn't screw up sleeping tonight.

Mom has a next-door neighbor named Davey, and he accumulates junk. I noticed that he had a topper in his back yard that looked the right size, so we tried it on the Toyota, and it kinda fit. I bought it from him for fourty dollars, a good deal for both of us. It's pretty rough, aluminum with lots of dents, but serviceable. The front window is broken, so I will have to replace that. We just sat it on the truck and we will secure it tomorrow. Davey gave me some bolts to put it on with, and Mom has a drill. I think that the little boat will go on top of it with no problem.

Mom had some steaks, so I broiled them in the oven for supper. Kinda tough, but well-flavored. Tyler is upstairs now taking a bath, and it is my turn when he gets done. Mom doesn't have a shower, and I'm pretty sure that Tyler hasn't taken a bath in a bath-tub for quite a while. It's pretty inconvienent when you're used to showers, but it gets the job done.

Tomorrow will be another full day... mom and Aunt Bea have a rental house (My grandmother and uncle Earle used to live there) and it needs some work done on it, and the lawn needs to get mowed and cleaned up a little bit. The renter there is one of mom's cousins who has separated from her husband, and she is out of town for the week. Her graddaughter won a trip to the Bahamas, and took mom and grandma along with her. Ain't that nice!