On Monday, Jan. 26, the weatherman was predicting a stormy Tuesday so I hurried up and wrote my news and took it to Altamont. I drove my vehicle down the driveway to a shed where I have frozen food, as it is too icy for me to walk. I can send Brandon or Jenn, but I like to look in there and pick out just what I want. I took out some venison, two loaves of bread and a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables, in case I want to make our favorite tuna casserole.

Tuesday, Jan. 27, arrived with two extra inches of snow on the ground and four more inches of snow fell during the day. My sister, Pat Sykala, kept me informed how our nephew, Mike Richardson, was doing. Mike was taken to Bassett Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 22, and was resting comfortably, getting treatment and should be home soon. I made a big pot of venison stew and Brandon, Marcia, and Kyra joined me for dinner.

Wednesday, Jan. 28, was 4 degrees at 7 a.m. I mailed out my check for the property tax and then called my insurance to try and find out why my prescription went from $90 to $150 for a three-month supply. It took a couple of hours, but I did find out.

The pharmacists gave me the generic instead of Celebrex. It is called Celecoxib. I don’t know if they were out of Celebrex, but they could do this because my doctor hadn’t written DAW, or Dispense as Written, on my prescription. I am going to start getting that prescription through mail order because it is cheaper.

I asked the clerk who waited on me why it had jumped $60, but she had no idea. I called my prescription drug plan, and they couldn’t figure it out. Then when I called my plan, I got a person who took the time to find the answer.

Thursday, Jan. 29, the temperature was 0 degrees at 7 a.m. My daughter, Marcia Pangburn, dropped her daughter, Kyra Swan, off at 7 a.m. because she was sick with a sore throat.  Kyra is in eighth grade. They had no heat at their house as their furnace broke down during the night. Marcia and Kyra enjoyed dinner with me.

On Friday, Jan. 30, we received six inches of snow during the day, and it was 6 degrees above zero at 9 p.m. Marcia dropped Kyra again as she was still sick. That night I was lucky to have Brandon, Marcia, and Kyra eat with me.

Saturday morning loomed in with a 7 degree below zero temperature. I enjoyed an afternoon visit with Tom Ryan, one of Danny’s co-workers and friends from UPS. Then I made a big pot of Chili con carne and boiled some potatoes and again Marcia, Kyra, Brandon, and Jenn joined me for dinner. At our house, we always mashed a boiled potato in our bowl and poured the Chili con carne on top of it. Marcia remarked that it reminded her of old times.

Sunday, Feb. 1, came and I went to church. I called my granddaughter, Danielle Ricketts, to see when she would be home so I could visit. I really wanted to play with baby Zoey. Then I came home and watched the Super Bowl game.

Mike Richardson came home from Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown on Friday, Jan. 30, in Hospice Care. His family thought he was waiting for the big football game. He was unresponsive but hung on. Mike died on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 7:20 p.m.

He had planned to get married for the first time and did that on Jan. 10. Mike was a friend to everyone and will be greatly missed.  He took great pride in teaching his nieces and nephews to hunt. He was only 53 years old and the oldest child of Len and Linda Richardson. He spent many years on their farm in Reidsville, and then the family moved to a much larger farm in Starkville in 1978. We have beautiful memories of Mike.