Not much happened yesterday, and I did not spend anything other than $1.50 for laundry. (That is happening today, too.) In the evening I babysat the boys so mom & dad could go out, but I came just before bedtime, so hardly got to see them. I did get to see GS1's essay "Family is a Gift." It was very well-written and enormously touching, mostly about his fears for C's health and his appreciation of his whole family for their support and love. Gosh, he is such an amazing kid.

I transcribed three more months of my mother's diary. I am sad to see some patterns emerging -- my father going out and doing his own thing, my mother at home, going to bed early. I remember my father as being very distant from the family; he seemed to have no interest in interacting with the kids, especially the girls. Now, my father had MULTIPLE problems, not the least of which was alcoholism. I suspect that a lot of "going downtown" which is recorded in the diaries is "going out drinking." I am sad to see it happening so soon in their marriage; I guess I had hoped that they had some happy times before it all went sour. That said, they never split up -- they just had an unhappy marriage.

Today's menu: scrambled eggs with peppers & onion for breakfast, chicken fajitas for lunch, macaroni au gratin for dinner.

Yes, I did repurpose the macaroni salad after learning that no one else got sick. I added some white sauce and peas, put it in a baking dish and topped it with parmesan and bread crumbs and baked it in the oven. It's pretty good! And I had no reaction after eating some of it yesterday.

I got a notice from Kohl's yesterday that I had a small bill to pay, only $9. Even though there is plenty of time to pay it, I went ahead and paid so I wouldn't forget it. This does not come out of my variables -- the expense was recorded at point of purchase.

I am glad to have less than a week to go (finally!) before pay day. And nothing big on the agenda. Nothing on the calendar today. Tomorrow C and I may check out some garage sales. It's that time of year!