Monday, Jan. 19, was a very icy day. We had freezing rain the night before and that caused many accidents. I wrote the news, and knew my daughter, Marcia Pangburn, would have Tuesday off because she worked Sunday, and Monday.

I prepared a venison dinner for Brandon Clark, my grandson, and me but I knew Jenn Smith and her son, Iain Bullis, wouldn’t eat venison. Iain brought his own yogurt and some Smiks (French fries), and Jenn ate potatoes.

I did offer to prepare something else for them, but they said they were fine.

After dinner, Brandon, Jenn, Iain, and I went to visit my grandson and Brandon’s brother, Miles Pangburn and his wife, Melissa, at their cute little house in the woods on Smokey Hollow Road.

We enjoyed our visit and then Brandon and Jenn checked in on her Dad, Mike Smith, at his home on Warner’s Lake.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Marcia did have the day off, and she took me to Altamont. From there, we went to her doctor’s appointment, as her cold seems to be hanging on. We enjoyed lunch at Marcatos in Delmar, and had a relaxing time.

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, I had cold chills all day even though the thermometer reached 30 degrees. Brandon had to call off his dinner visit with Samson and Nichole because he had a doctor’s appointment with a specialist.

He suffered a broken jaw about 10 years ago on a job in a Schenectady warehouse and that was bothering him again. The doctor wants him to get an MRI.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, I woke up with a stomach virus. I should have known with the chills I had. I took it easy all day, drinking black tea and eating dry cereal. Oddly enough, Iain also woke up sick and Nichole had started getting sick Wednesday night.

Nichole and Iain both missed school on Friday mostly because their moms thought they were still not well enough to go back.

On Friday, Jan. 23, I got moving early. My granddaughter, Kyra Swan, called me at 7:40 a.m. and said she missed the school bus. I got dressed, warned up my vehicle and drove her to school.

Then I came home, ate breakfast, and went on my errands. I had to go to the bank, drugstore for a prescription, supermarket, and I needed 50 pounds of birdseed. It’s been very cold for the wild birds so far.

I came home and fried up some venison tenderloin and potatoes I had left over to heat up for Brandon and Samson that evening. I also made a Five Cup Fruit Salad that Nichole always asks for. I rode with Brandon to pick up Samson and Nichole, and then I ate with them. Jenn had baked corn muffins and she made macaroni and cheese.

On Saturday, Jan. 24, I went to the movie Paddington with Jenn and Nichole. Brandon, Samson, Iain, Kyra, and Joe Burke went to see the movie American Sniper. Afterwards we all went to Maple on the Lake for dinner. Jenn picked up Marcia and she joined us for dinner.

Nichole spent Saturday night with me and she got sick around midnight. Incidentally, Iain got sick around the same time. I guess that bug is in the air.

Nichole and I stayed home from church and Jenn and Iain also stayed home, but then both children felt fine.

Brandon took Samson, Nichole, and Kyra tobogganing on the new toboggan they got for Christmas.

My sister Pat Sykala, picked me up and we drove to Little Falls for the third birthday party for Justice. She’s my brother, Len’s, great granddaughter. Her mother Sarah Allen, is Chris Richardson’s daughter. We got to see Len’s children, Teri, David, daughter-in-law Wendy, and daughter, Cheryl. Len’s other grandchildren Kristy, Natalie, and Hailey were also there.

Family is priceless.