Portal in his arm for antibiotics is the same as he had a couple years ago when he had to do daily antibiotics for a month. If you've got replacement heart parts, they get very twitchy about any and all infections.

We just plain don't have the money for the work that needs to be done on the furnace. Tom said he was thinking (before he landed in the hospital) about checking into what county assistance we might apply for to bring the heating system up to what normal people have. The original furnace when Tom built the house in the late '70s (from a kit) was hot water -- which was totally incompatible with wood heat. The heat from the stove would screw up the thermostat so that the water would freeze in the pipes. This furnace is hot air -- and, after we get the duct work installed, should be fine with a thermostat.

I don't like to think we're getting to old for this -- my great uncle Ernie's wife was chopping (kindling) wood well into her 90s (for the cook stove!) as well as milking a substantial herd alone. They had no electricity in the house, but there may have been current to the barn, so I don't know if she milked by hand or machine (in which case she would have still stripped by hand).

Gotta go call Tom.

Linn