January 4

I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted. Happy New Year. I hope everyone's year got off to a good start.

Sidney and I saw Kirk last on December 30. We went over and spent some time with him at the clinic again. We sorted a deck of cards and then shuffled them and played Go Fish. We had tried this before with a Go Fish deck but had been unsuccessful. The Go Fish deck has the name of the fish and the picture. Kirk can't read the names or tell what the fish were. He did much better with a regular deck. First he sorted the deck by suit and then each suit in order. He needed little help and corrected his single mistake. Then we shuffled and played a fun game of Go Fish. He did well.

Sidney helped him do some exercises and then we played Sequence Rummy. It's a special deck of cards that has sets of three cards that are related to each other. The goal is to get the most sets of three which are series together. For example one series is how to wash a dog. Another is getting a hair cut. Sidney won that game but Kirk did OK with coaching.

We spent part of New Years Eve with friends. We ate snacks and watched a movie. We tried to see Kirk on New Years Day but I didn't call ahead and the house was empty when we got there. Everyone had gone to the other house and we didn't know.

We finished a lot of chores around the house over the last two weeks and got Christmas down on New Years Day. We also parted ways with Kiwi. It was a difficult decision but I could not continue to care for him and I haven't been able to give him the attention he needs since the accident. He needed a full family who can spend more time with him and not just meet his most basic needs. He went to a family who home schools and lives near us. The daughter wanted him. She also loves falcons like Sidney and works with birds. She has the resources to get Kiwi trained back to being a family guy. We will miss him and we tried very hard.

Sidney and I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Houston. It was a rocky trip from the start. The folks who normally keep Stormy had to go out of town on an emergency and I tried various kennels which were closed. I finally got the vet and Stormy's bordetella was out of date. Fortunately the vet boards and she could get her treatment and stay there. The main purpose of the trip was for Sidney to see her friend in Katy. And we were going to stay with them. However when we got here, the friend and her whole family has the stomach bug. So we were a bit homeless and not sure what to do. We were going to go to our back up plan but she wasn't home and I couldn't remember how to get in. We finally found some people at church to stay with and ended up having a really nice time. We ate meatloaf and spoiled their dogs. We slept and then Sidney and I ran errands and went to a cool little museum. Then we watched Into the Woods before going to another friends. We got our refill of Lupe Tortillas before going to bed. By this time I was putting a lot of energy into fighting a cold.

Sunday was church to refill batteries. We miss our Katy church and it was good to visit sing in the choir, take communion and refill with hugs, lots of them. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch and stopped at the YMCA to say hello to a few old friends before hitting the road back to San Antonio. Fortunately no traffic trouble getting back to San Antonio so it was an easy trip. Stopped and got groceries before getting ready for the week. Back to school and work tomorrow.

In addition to feeling bad, it appears the computer has kicked the bucket again. Just what I don't need. I'm in over my head and don't know what to do.

I am meeting with Kirk's team tomorrow for his one month review and plan for the next month. I know they will recommend for him to stay another month. I will try to get a short post up tomorrow. Continued prayers for memory are appreciated.