2008 was quite a year. It began with one of my major storage shuffles. We got shelves for the old shed and my intent was to “organize” things such that I could find something when I wanted to. I’ve been shuffling things all year but the basic task which began the year worked for the most part.
The next important event was a trip to Jacksonville and High Springs for a number of reasons. I went to see Spamalot. We helped K&T to prepare for their Oscar party. Jack had a birthday party. We got to see C&C.
My doctor made a medical breakthrough in February and “cured” my chronic butt pain with a shot of muscle relaxer and a regimen of Prednisone. My butt is still OK so that visit improved my quality of life.
March saw Penny’s birthday and the 19000 step day of the river run—which I walked with the pleasant company of Christy.
C&C visited us at Easter time and shortly thereafter my brother Lou stayed with us for 3 weeks. While he was here I dusted off my Jonboat and trolling motor and went fishing with him. I haven’t used the boat or fished since. Maybe 2009 will bring more fishing.
Karen and Sophie came over in April and we found out Sophie didn’t like to wear sunglasses.
Penny and I ran off to Port St Joe to explore and take pictures. It turned out to be nice but not worth the long drive to see too often.
Our first big trip was to Las Vegas. This was my second trip there and I didn’t gamble on either of them. Las Vegas was picturesque and unique. It is a glaring juxtaposition of water and lush gardens set in the middle of a desolate desert landscape. It was a great trip.
I discovered my own private blackberry patch accessible only by kayak and brought home a few pints of blackberries over the next couple of months.
After catching 2 cats, Velcro and Meredith, in my “raccoon” trap I finally honed my trapping skills and caught the first of 4 raccoons that were devouring the cats’ food.
I went through a period with health issues—sore thumbs and a bad cold before catching raccoon #2, Rocky. I actually caught Rocky twice. He escaped the first time by lifting the sliding trap door. I had to modify the door to latch shut.
Penny found a great bike for me on Craig’s list and we got Penny a small kayak from Academy Sports and a new bicycle in the same trip to Pensacola. Shortly thereafter I got kayak racks and a bike rack, which meant we could travel anywhere with 3 kayaks and 2 bicycles loaded on the CRV (if we wanted to).
We settled in to a period of biking, kayaking and doing stuff at home. I lost my favorite outside kitty, Bianca. I planted a vegetable garden and gathered some more blackberries.
I caught raccoon #3 with relative ease. I was beginning to feel like a real woodsman.
I got caught up in a Woot-off and bought a new desktop computer with a 1TB hard drive and TV tuner. That was followed by a 24” monitor.
I got into another storage shuffle and made some temporary storage on the side of the house—which I’m still using.
It was now time for my once every few years trip to the emergency room with chest pain cause by indigestion.
Summer began and our home air conditioner ended. My computer acted up at the same time due to a window’s update. Finally the water line to our house broke, fortunately before the water meter.
July’s highlight was a trip to Jacksonville for Sophie’s\’s 1st birthday party.
August found us in Montana for a week of beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife—oh, and a couple thousand pictures.
We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.
Lou came back to the area and stayed in Niceville until December. I saw him every couple weeks for lunch and conversation.
My tomato crop was a complete failure.
Hurricane Ike passed us by out in the Gulf and kicked up our surf to 10-15 ft waves.
I kayaked Turkey Creek for the first time.
Penny and I spent 14 enjoyable days at Debbie’s Vermont cabin. We saw what will probably be the best display of fall color. The trees were “on fire” with color this year.
Late October found me catching raccoon #4. Penny and I celebrated the 39th anniversary of the day we met.
I went to the 35th reunion of my fraternity and caught up with a bunch of old friends who, before the reunion were still 20 year olds in my head.
Penny got me a new camera for my 60th birthday—yes 60th. I tried it out for the first time with a beachwalk. We celebrated my, Karen’s and Christy’s birthdays at a Boca di Bipo(sp?) restaurant in Brandon.
Our whole family gathered in FWB for Thanksgiving.
I built a bathroom cabinet for C&C and Penny delivered it to them for their open house.
We spent Christmas in Jacksonville. Sophie made everybody feel special. I know she touched me in a heartwarming manner by smiling and saying granpa when she saw me. We went home by way of High Springs to see C&C and Penny cooked an Italian dinner for everyone.
Yesterday I got a new table saw for the shop and took my last beachwalk of the year. Mother Nature provided a beautiful sunset.
Today I find myself having gone full circle for I am again doing a storage shuffle. I’m setting up the shop for the new saw.
All in all 2008 was a very good year for me. The pain in my butt, my thumbs and my foot have all been put at manageable levels. We did many things. We are not just sitting around watching TV in our retirement. Penny and I are enjoying each day together.
Here’s to a happy 2009.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A Late Christmas?
Today I did 2 things that I usually do on Christmas Day. I got a gift and I walked the beach.
Before Christmas I mentioned to Penny that this year we got gifts for everyone in the family but us. This is because neither of us really needs anything (for which I am extremely grateful) and when we see something we want at a good price we buy it. We don’t wait for holidays or birthdays. Things worked themselves out, however. We got a refurbished 24” monitor identical to the one we have in the den for Penny. Actually we designated it as a Christmas present after-the-fact. I bought that saw I mentioned in yesterday’s blog today and it was designated as my Christmas present.
My saw adventure unfolded as follows. While making C&C’s bathroom cabinet I decided it was time to step up to a new bench top saw. The saw I have was my Dad’s and it was a bottom of the line Sears model. Its blade guard is missing and the rip fence is not parallel with the blade. The blade itself doesn’t stay perpendicular with the table. I kludged up means of accommodating those issues with clamps and wire and being very cautious in keeping at least 8 inches between the blade and my fingers. It just wasn’t a tool capable of turning out the type of work I needed to make decent furniture. I ended up making as square a cut as I could with my jigsaw. Fortunately the cabinet design was very forgiving and could accommodate pieces that were not cut square.
The problem with getting a new saw was cost. Saws with the right features began around $500. There was also the decision of what type of saw to get, another bench top, a contractor table saw, a regular table saw, a hybrid or a cabinet saw. I thought that I would get a jobsite bench top but fate turned me in another direction. I typically get cold feet when buying something major like this (except on Woot) so I did some research and periodically checked Craig’s list to see if anything worthwhile was out there. Most of the saws that showed up were cheap ones—not what I needed. Then on Sunday the Rigid contractor’s saw showed up.
I did some Google research on the saw and it looked good. I contacted the seller and made arrangements to look at the saw. The seller lives in Milton. In between making the appointment and going over there I did more research and everything I read was positive. No one disliked it and for its price the saw had features that were as good or better than higher priced saws. I actually was getting excited because the seller hadn’t used the saw much and was selling it at half the original price.
On the drive over I found myself worrying that there would be something wrong with the saw. Then I decided to take the advice I’m always tongue-in-cheek giving to just think positively and everything will be OK. So I did and it was. The guy selling it worked as head of the pharmacy dept at Sacred Heart hospital. He was bumped from that position by his boss and decided it was time to move back to Oregon. He’s had this saw 4 years but hasn’t touched it for the last 2. Before that he hadn’t used it a lot and that was obvious when I saw it. The saw is not pristine but it still had the protective clear plastic stuck on to ruler markings. It had all the pieces and most importantly the operator’s manual. We plugged it in and checked that it worked then we loaded it in the trailer. The saw has a wonderfully effective and easy to use dolly system built in and we rolled it down his driveway to the trailer. Getting up the ramp was a little more difficult. The saw has a cast iron table on it and it weighs 270 lbs!
Before Christmas I mentioned to Penny that this year we got gifts for everyone in the family but us. This is because neither of us really needs anything (for which I am extremely grateful) and when we see something we want at a good price we buy it. We don’t wait for holidays or birthdays. Things worked themselves out, however. We got a refurbished 24” monitor identical to the one we have in the den for Penny. Actually we designated it as a Christmas present after-the-fact. I bought that saw I mentioned in yesterday’s blog today and it was designated as my Christmas present.
My saw adventure unfolded as follows. While making C&C’s bathroom cabinet I decided it was time to step up to a new bench top saw. The saw I have was my Dad’s and it was a bottom of the line Sears model. Its blade guard is missing and the rip fence is not parallel with the blade. The blade itself doesn’t stay perpendicular with the table. I kludged up means of accommodating those issues with clamps and wire and being very cautious in keeping at least 8 inches between the blade and my fingers. It just wasn’t a tool capable of turning out the type of work I needed to make decent furniture. I ended up making as square a cut as I could with my jigsaw. Fortunately the cabinet design was very forgiving and could accommodate pieces that were not cut square.
The problem with getting a new saw was cost. Saws with the right features began around $500. There was also the decision of what type of saw to get, another bench top, a contractor table saw, a regular table saw, a hybrid or a cabinet saw. I thought that I would get a jobsite bench top but fate turned me in another direction. I typically get cold feet when buying something major like this (except on Woot) so I did some research and periodically checked Craig’s list to see if anything worthwhile was out there. Most of the saws that showed up were cheap ones—not what I needed. Then on Sunday the Rigid contractor’s saw showed up.
I did some Google research on the saw and it looked good. I contacted the seller and made arrangements to look at the saw. The seller lives in Milton. In between making the appointment and going over there I did more research and everything I read was positive. No one disliked it and for its price the saw had features that were as good or better than higher priced saws. I actually was getting excited because the seller hadn’t used the saw much and was selling it at half the original price.
On the drive over I found myself worrying that there would be something wrong with the saw. Then I decided to take the advice I’m always tongue-in-cheek giving to just think positively and everything will be OK. So I did and it was. The guy selling it worked as head of the pharmacy dept at Sacred Heart hospital. He was bumped from that position by his boss and decided it was time to move back to Oregon. He’s had this saw 4 years but hasn’t touched it for the last 2. Before that he hadn’t used it a lot and that was obvious when I saw it. The saw is not pristine but it still had the protective clear plastic stuck on to ruler markings. It had all the pieces and most importantly the operator’s manual. We plugged it in and checked that it worked then we loaded it in the trailer. The saw has a wonderfully effective and easy to use dolly system built in and we rolled it down his driveway to the trailer. Getting up the ramp was a little more difficult. The saw has a cast iron table on it and it weighs 270 lbs!
The saw now sits in the garage while I prepare the shop for it.
My sunset beach walk, likely the last of the year, was a pleasant one. There were very few people on the beach. I couldn’t help but compare it with the beach walk we took on Jacksonville Beach last week where there were people everywhere. The sunset was stunningly beautiful, too. Here are a some pictures.
Kitty Update—All 4 cats showed up tonight. It’s the first time we’ve seen Meredith since we’ve returned from Jax.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Lunch and a Movie
Penny and I did lunch at Slick Mick’s and then took in an afternoon movie. We saw “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. Apart from being too long and slow in a few places, I thought it was a great movie.
The movie is about a man who ages in reverse, descending through the years from newborn senescence to terminal infancy. The film provides much food for thought. It is full of emotional paradoxes and investigates interesting philosophical conundrums. Imagine yourself the sole human being that is getting younger while the rest of humanity ages together. Brad Pitt underplays his role—as if he is in deep contemplation of the consequences of his situation.
I’m usually one to pick at imperfections or gimmicks in films. To me this movie was technically flawless. I found absolutely nothing to distract me from enjoying the movie. I guess that the tiny old man Brad Pitt was generated digitally—but again it was done flawlessly. The film had some Forest Gump feel to it. Some of the relationships seemed forced but this didn’t wreck the movie.
Instead of the “life is like a box of chocolates” line from Gump this movie paints a poignant picture of cruel time and mortality. It shows that age is not a barrier to accomplishment and as far as life goes, “when it comes to the end, you have to let it go”
I’d recommend the movie but make sure you hit the rest room before you go to your seat and bring some tissues with you. If something in the movie doesn’t make you shed a tear you just don’t have any emotions.
On another note I periodically check out Craig’s List here to see if anything good is there. Last night I found a contractor’s bench saw at a good price. I currently have my Dad’s little table saw and I struggle with it to make accurate cuts. It’s got other issue also. I used it making C&C’s cabinet and found I had to be very careful and alert when cutting with it. It’s getting dangerous to use. So I’m going to take a look at this other saw tomorrow. It has a bigger footprint than what I thought I would replace the table saw with but it has a number of excellent features that make it a good buy at full price. I haven’t read a bad review about the saw—it’s rated as either best saw or best buy and owners all say they love it. So if this one is in good shape I’m going to get it.
The movie is about a man who ages in reverse, descending through the years from newborn senescence to terminal infancy. The film provides much food for thought. It is full of emotional paradoxes and investigates interesting philosophical conundrums. Imagine yourself the sole human being that is getting younger while the rest of humanity ages together. Brad Pitt underplays his role—as if he is in deep contemplation of the consequences of his situation.
I’m usually one to pick at imperfections or gimmicks in films. To me this movie was technically flawless. I found absolutely nothing to distract me from enjoying the movie. I guess that the tiny old man Brad Pitt was generated digitally—but again it was done flawlessly. The film had some Forest Gump feel to it. Some of the relationships seemed forced but this didn’t wreck the movie.
Instead of the “life is like a box of chocolates” line from Gump this movie paints a poignant picture of cruel time and mortality. It shows that age is not a barrier to accomplishment and as far as life goes, “when it comes to the end, you have to let it go”
I’d recommend the movie but make sure you hit the rest room before you go to your seat and bring some tissues with you. If something in the movie doesn’t make you shed a tear you just don’t have any emotions.
On another note I periodically check out Craig’s List here to see if anything good is there. Last night I found a contractor’s bench saw at a good price. I currently have my Dad’s little table saw and I struggle with it to make accurate cuts. It’s got other issue also. I used it making C&C’s cabinet and found I had to be very careful and alert when cutting with it. It’s getting dangerous to use. So I’m going to take a look at this other saw tomorrow. It has a bigger footprint than what I thought I would replace the table saw with but it has a number of excellent features that make it a good buy at full price. I haven’t read a bad review about the saw—it’s rated as either best saw or best buy and owners all say they love it. So if this one is in good shape I’m going to get it.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Last Sunday of the Year
Today was a “make sure we don’t trash the house after the trip” day. We did church and then Target. The rest of the day I did laundry and other housework while watching football in between. I at least got all the laundry done.
Even though my fantasy football team finished in 1st place in the league it lost the first game of the playoffs and isn’t in contention for the league championship. It’s still playing other teams but it is for nothing. Regardless of that fact I still find myself tracking the team and wanting to win. I paid more attention to football this year. I watched a good part of the New Orleans game today and it was a thriller. My fantasy quarterback is Drew Brees and he made me 29 plus points today—a very good day.
I also took a stab at setting up a fitness program for myself. Now that my foot appears to be OK enough to use normally I’ve run out of excuses. If I actually start this program you’ll read more about it in future blogs.
Kitty Update—no cats showed up yesterday. Nobody was out there this morning either. Of course, it was raining so they usually aren’t there in the rain. Tonight Lady Marmalade made her appearance followed about an hour later by Buzz.
Even though my fantasy football team finished in 1st place in the league it lost the first game of the playoffs and isn’t in contention for the league championship. It’s still playing other teams but it is for nothing. Regardless of that fact I still find myself tracking the team and wanting to win. I paid more attention to football this year. I watched a good part of the New Orleans game today and it was a thriller. My fantasy quarterback is Drew Brees and he made me 29 plus points today—a very good day.
I also took a stab at setting up a fitness program for myself. Now that my foot appears to be OK enough to use normally I’ve run out of excuses. If I actually start this program you’ll read more about it in future blogs.
Kitty Update—no cats showed up yesterday. Nobody was out there this morning either. Of course, it was raining so they usually aren’t there in the rain. Tonight Lady Marmalade made her appearance followed about an hour later by Buzz.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Back at Home, Tired But Happy
We had a wonderful Christmas Holiday. Penny brought it to a marvelous end last night by preparing a spectacular meal for C&C and his family. She made 3 types of ravioli, roasted asparagus and sautéed spinach with garlic. We stuffed ourselves but somehow still found room for some of her chocolate cherry cannoli cake and coffee.
After a Waffle House breakfast with C&C this morning Penny and I cleaned up the mess we made preparing the meal before driving back home. The drive back was not eventful. Traffic was thicker than usual. I guess a lot of people chose to return home on Saturday and avoid the Sunday crowds. The only down side was that the Wendy’s we stopped at for lunch was slammed and not handling it well.
I’m more worn out than I usually am after driving home. I’m happy, however. We got to spend some quality time with our kids, grand kid and grand animals. Except for Penny’s meal preparation there was little time pressure. We went to a park, we went to the beach and everyone enjoyed special Sophie time.
Now, for the first time in a long while, we don’t know when our next trip will be. We have nothing scheduled. On the drive back we talked about going to New Orleans for a day sometime before Mardi Gras.
There were no kitties around tonight. The feeder did its job and the food is being eaten so I expect at least 1 of them to show up before bedtime.
After a Waffle House breakfast with C&C this morning Penny and I cleaned up the mess we made preparing the meal before driving back home. The drive back was not eventful. Traffic was thicker than usual. I guess a lot of people chose to return home on Saturday and avoid the Sunday crowds. The only down side was that the Wendy’s we stopped at for lunch was slammed and not handling it well.
I’m more worn out than I usually am after driving home. I’m happy, however. We got to spend some quality time with our kids, grand kid and grand animals. Except for Penny’s meal preparation there was little time pressure. We went to a park, we went to the beach and everyone enjoyed special Sophie time.
Now, for the first time in a long while, we don’t know when our next trip will be. We have nothing scheduled. On the drive back we talked about going to New Orleans for a day sometime before Mardi Gras.
There were no kitties around tonight. The feeder did its job and the food is being eaten so I expect at least 1 of them to show up before bedtime.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas 2008
What a great Christmas. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have more family with us.
Sophie was the star today, but you have to expect me as a Grandpa to say that.
The day began with the opening of presents. Sophie got a big red wagon, which was an immediate hit. Tim got a Roomba Karen got a point and shoot camera to carry in her purse. After the presents we had a wonderful breakfast of hash brown casserole and easy-breakfast casserole. Then we went for a walk with Sophie in her wagon and Truman on a leash.
Lunch was Turkey and all the fixin’s. Then since it was 75 degrees out we went for a sunset walk on Jacksonville Beach. Lots of people were walking the beach and there was fog rolling in about 200 yards up the beach from us. The sunset was nice, too.
Sophie was the star today, but you have to expect me as a Grandpa to say that.
The day began with the opening of presents. Sophie got a big red wagon, which was an immediate hit. Tim got a Roomba Karen got a point and shoot camera to carry in her purse. After the presents we had a wonderful breakfast of hash brown casserole and easy-breakfast casserole. Then we went for a walk with Sophie in her wagon and Truman on a leash.
Lunch was Turkey and all the fixin’s. Then since it was 75 degrees out we went for a sunset walk on Jacksonville Beach. Lots of people were walking the beach and there was fog rolling in about 200 yards up the beach from us. The sunset was nice, too.
Today is also Tim’s birthday and we celebrated that when we got back to the house. Of course the celebration included more food—pumpkin role and brownies. We also found out that Sophie likes egg nog. Tim gave her a sip (regular egg nog, no booze) and ended up with her drinking his whole glass full. She got so excited drinking it. Karen fortunately had her video camera ready and recorded the priceless event.
I enjoyed the whole day. It was a very merry Christmas.
Tomorrow C&C will join us for lunch!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
2008 Christmas Eve
Today was a real holiday for me with absolutely no responsibilities. I’m too far away from home to be able to take care of that stuff-so I’m forced to relax and do very little. There isn’t much I can do for Karen and Tim in the couple of days we are here so it’s just good family time and good eats.
Tim started us off today with waffles and bacon. We took turns watching and playing with Sophie. Tim cooked up a batch of ham and bean soup. It spent all day in their crock-pot. We just had it for dinner and Yum! It was good!
We also did Christmas Mass this evening. It was the church’s children’s mass. The children dressed as angels and shepherds acted out the gospel reading as the priest read. It was a neat way to do it. The kids didn’t have to recite any lines. It fit right into the mass instead of adding to it time-wise and the kids had their special moment to remember. At the end of mass the angels and shepherds joined the procession out of the church. The littlest angel was having trouble with her wings and stepping on her dress—cute and appropriate.
After church we went back to the park we hit yesterday and took some family pictures.
Tim started us off today with waffles and bacon. We took turns watching and playing with Sophie. Tim cooked up a batch of ham and bean soup. It spent all day in their crock-pot. We just had it for dinner and Yum! It was good!
We also did Christmas Mass this evening. It was the church’s children’s mass. The children dressed as angels and shepherds acted out the gospel reading as the priest read. It was a neat way to do it. The kids didn’t have to recite any lines. It fit right into the mass instead of adding to it time-wise and the kids had their special moment to remember. At the end of mass the angels and shepherds joined the procession out of the church. The littlest angel was having trouble with her wings and stepping on her dress—cute and appropriate.
After church we went back to the park we hit yesterday and took some family pictures.
The last thing Karen did before putting Sophie to bed was read her “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.
Tonight there is a promise of peanut butter and pumpkin pies.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas Eve Eve 2008
We spent an easy relaxing day in Jacksonville. Breakfast was at Famous Amos, of course. Our first task after that was to bring Karen’s laptop in for warranty repair. I found that Toshiba has a repair center here in Jacksonville. They said they usually turn things around within a week, which was a pleasant surprise. The last time I put something in for repair it was 8 weeks before I got it back. Karen’s laptop arrived with an intermittent problem that caused small black lines to randomly and quickly blink on the display. It didn’t affect the computer’s function but it is an indication of something wrong that would only worsen with time.
We spent the rest of the morning looking at and selecting material for Penny’s next quilt. In one of the stores I saw a plastic Christmas ornament that was supposed to look like a popcorn ornament. The color and shape of the “popcorn” looked to me like a bunch of teeth stuck together.
Tim’s birthday is Christmas day and he already had a home-cooked meal planned for Christmas Eve (tomorrow) so we took him out for a birthday dinner tonight. We ate at La Nopalera a Mexican restaurant with excellent food.
Sophie has been in a great mood. She’s a very happy kid when she has no ear infections. We went to Karen’s favorite park before the restaurant and Sophie played in the sand and on the swings. She went to daycare today but she will be at home tomorrow.
So far we have no plans for tomorrow other than the evening meal and possible evening church.
We spent the rest of the morning looking at and selecting material for Penny’s next quilt. In one of the stores I saw a plastic Christmas ornament that was supposed to look like a popcorn ornament. The color and shape of the “popcorn” looked to me like a bunch of teeth stuck together.
Tim’s birthday is Christmas day and he already had a home-cooked meal planned for Christmas Eve (tomorrow) so we took him out for a birthday dinner tonight. We ate at La Nopalera a Mexican restaurant with excellent food.
Sophie has been in a great mood. She’s a very happy kid when she has no ear infections. We went to Karen’s favorite park before the restaurant and Sophie played in the sand and on the swings. She went to daycare today but she will be at home tomorrow.
So far we have no plans for tomorrow other than the evening meal and possible evening church.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
It’s Beginning to Feel a Lot Like…
Penny and I haven’t put up any Christmas decorations at all. It’s not that we are being “bah-humbug” Scroogish or anything. We’ve just been busy doing other things. My primary diversion for a couple of weeks was making the cabinet in time for C&C’s open house. Penny has been embroidering for that also and cooking.
Since we are having no one over this year we just decided to put our energies elsewhere. We save time by not putting anything up and not having to take anything down. As a result we have been able to keep up with the house quite well these past few weeks. We should hit the New Year with no huge backlog of housework.
Tomorrow is the last day of my Prednisone regimen for my foot. The foot has turned into another hurt that seems like it will stay with me at a minor degree. That’s the way my thumbs are now. They hurt some all the time but it’s tolerable. If I use my hands a lot they will hurt a lot but they calm down after a day or 2. My foot is now similar to that. The Prednisone did knock down the inflammation and let whatever was causing my problem mend itself sufficiently that I think I can start my walking routine again. That’s when I’ll find out if my foot is OK. It’s time to get in shape for the Gate River Run! The lack of exercise over the past 4 months is showing up in my waistline. Not good.
Last night and this morning I pulled out some of the tapes we have of the kids when they were very young. I put together a hasty selection of Christmases past and some other snippets of K&C that were on the tape. I burned them on to a DVD for our holiday viewing pleasure. It is neat to see the kids small again and remember how things were.
The temperature is dropping to 29 degrees tonight. I put some extra blankets out for the kitties and to my surprise Marmalade and Meredith actually curled up in them. Brother Lou called me tonight. He said he forgot to call on Saturday because They are snowed in. He says they have a couple of feet of snow—the worst in a decade—and everyone is blaming him for bringing them the bad weather. I’ll happily take our dry 29 degrees considering what the rest of the country is experiencing this week. It looks like a bad winter ahead this year. Keep warm.
Since we are having no one over this year we just decided to put our energies elsewhere. We save time by not putting anything up and not having to take anything down. As a result we have been able to keep up with the house quite well these past few weeks. We should hit the New Year with no huge backlog of housework.
Tomorrow is the last day of my Prednisone regimen for my foot. The foot has turned into another hurt that seems like it will stay with me at a minor degree. That’s the way my thumbs are now. They hurt some all the time but it’s tolerable. If I use my hands a lot they will hurt a lot but they calm down after a day or 2. My foot is now similar to that. The Prednisone did knock down the inflammation and let whatever was causing my problem mend itself sufficiently that I think I can start my walking routine again. That’s when I’ll find out if my foot is OK. It’s time to get in shape for the Gate River Run! The lack of exercise over the past 4 months is showing up in my waistline. Not good.
Last night and this morning I pulled out some of the tapes we have of the kids when they were very young. I put together a hasty selection of Christmases past and some other snippets of K&C that were on the tape. I burned them on to a DVD for our holiday viewing pleasure. It is neat to see the kids small again and remember how things were.
The temperature is dropping to 29 degrees tonight. I put some extra blankets out for the kitties and to my surprise Marmalade and Meredith actually curled up in them. Brother Lou called me tonight. He said he forgot to call on Saturday because They are snowed in. He says they have a couple of feet of snow—the worst in a decade—and everyone is blaming him for bringing them the bad weather. I’ll happily take our dry 29 degrees considering what the rest of the country is experiencing this week. It looks like a bad winter ahead this year. Keep warm.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
All By Myself
This evening I am home alone. Penny is in Jacksonville. She drove over this afternoon after the laptop and desktop computers were delivered to our house. Her plan is to go to C&C’s tomorrow and help them clean house to get ready for their open house. She’s staying with Karen tonight to stay out of C&C’s way. She’s been planning this trip all week. Yesterday she baked a bunch of cookies. Some are going to Karen some are going to Christy. I stayed home because we’re expecting the delivery of a monitor tomorrow. I just checked the shipping schedule and it appears to be on time.
Penny is being a regular delivery van on this trip. She’s got Karen’s new laptop, C&C’s desktop, and the finished bathroom cabinet that I made for C&C. I put the final layer of finish on the cabinet last night and Penny and I loaded it into the back of the CRV this morning. Here are a couple pictures of it. It's a narrow pantry-type slide out drawer with 3 shelves on it. On top is separate 3 section display shelf. It's sized to fit between their pedestal sink and the wall in their bathroom.
Penny is being a regular delivery van on this trip. She’s got Karen’s new laptop, C&C’s desktop, and the finished bathroom cabinet that I made for C&C. I put the final layer of finish on the cabinet last night and Penny and I loaded it into the back of the CRV this morning. Here are a couple pictures of it. It's a narrow pantry-type slide out drawer with 3 shelves on it. On top is separate 3 section display shelf. It's sized to fit between their pedestal sink and the wall in their bathroom.
We’ve been getting things delivered to the house almost every day for the past week. The juicer Sister Kathy sent arrived on Tuesday. The Skype camera/headsets arrived Wednesday. Today the two computers came. Tomorrow the monitor should come and the blu-ray planet earth DVDs is that I ordered.
The monitor we’re getting was a really good buy. We’re going to use it on the computer in Penny’s sewing room. It’s the exact same monitor that I have on my computer in the den. It’s refurbished and cost half of what mine did. We got a 24 inch HD monitor for the price of what a 17 inch monitor costs.
I haven’t had a chance to try the new juicer yet but it looks like a great one. Sister Kathy got me a Jacl LaLaine power juicer and it’s no toy. A couple years back or so we bought a cheap juicer from the Black &Decker outlet. It was a toy. It was hard to use, took a lot of time and was hard to clean. Although I haven’t used this new one yet it is well built and well designed. You can put whole fruits and vegetables in it. There is no need to cut things up as long as they fit in the 3” diameter feed tube. I’ll be interested to see whether we start using it regularly or if it ends up on the shelf. If it works as well as it appears it will and it’s easy to clean up, I think we may be making ourselves juice in the mornings and juice in the evenings many days. I’ll keep you informed.
My car battery died today, too. Right after Penny left. I looked at it and it was just over 3 years old. It also had a 3 year replacement waranty and a pro-rated 100 month warranty. I have a couple of old batteries that I use for the trolling motor so I was able to use one of those to start my car and go to Sears. The waranty gave me $51 toward the replacement battery which listed at $90. So It wasn't all Bad.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tuesday-16 Dec
I’ve been putting most of my time into finishing the bathroom cabinet for C&C. I’ve now got it finished and 2 coats of stain applied. It came out pretty good. As with everything there are a few flaws but I don’t thing they will detract from the finished product.
Yesterday we did take time to dance. Penny and I went to a Monday wedding of one of the couples from our church that we did marriage-prep with. It was a morning wedding- no attendants but a nice ceremony. The reception was at the Hurlburt O-Club where we were treated to a fantastic breakfast buffet. Eggs, bacon, sausage, salads, fruits and other breakfast things. Surprisingly (to me) everything tasted great! There were only a small number of young people there so the crowd was not as responsive to the DJ. He was a very active DJ. He would come out and join the dancing. He showed how to do the electric slide and then joined in.
Penny had to keep her distance from the speakers (ear issues) so we danced a romantic slow dance off to the side of the room while the DJ played Unchained Melody.
We haven’t spent enough money yet this month so we got new tires on my CRV today. Dragging a loaded trailer had worn the tires sooner than expected. We’re also going to need tires on Penny’s CRV soon. I don’t know if I should bite the bullet and do it now or just rotate and align her tires and see if we can get another 6 months out of them.
That’s it for today—not anything exciting going on—4 cats in the yard, a bunch of green tomatoes and looking forward to a family Christmas.
Yesterday we did take time to dance. Penny and I went to a Monday wedding of one of the couples from our church that we did marriage-prep with. It was a morning wedding- no attendants but a nice ceremony. The reception was at the Hurlburt O-Club where we were treated to a fantastic breakfast buffet. Eggs, bacon, sausage, salads, fruits and other breakfast things. Surprisingly (to me) everything tasted great! There were only a small number of young people there so the crowd was not as responsive to the DJ. He was a very active DJ. He would come out and join the dancing. He showed how to do the electric slide and then joined in.
Penny had to keep her distance from the speakers (ear issues) so we danced a romantic slow dance off to the side of the room while the DJ played Unchained Melody.
We haven’t spent enough money yet this month so we got new tires on my CRV today. Dragging a loaded trailer had worn the tires sooner than expected. We’re also going to need tires on Penny’s CRV soon. I don’t know if I should bite the bullet and do it now or just rotate and align her tires and see if we can get another 6 months out of them.
That’s it for today—not anything exciting going on—4 cats in the yard, a bunch of green tomatoes and looking forward to a family Christmas.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
A How Great Thou Art Day
Nature provided us with a very picturesque day to day. On our way to Waffle House this morning there was a layer of frost on the roofs and the cars. When we got to the end of Mooney road there was a huge full moon behind a light lace of clouds which made the moon look as if it were embossed in the sky.
Tonight on the way to church we had a gorgeous sunset. It was deep red color with sufficient clouds to make it just right. Finally on our return from church we once again saw a huge full moon behind layered light clouds making it picture card perfect.
As I’ve already mentioned, we did our normal Saturday Waffle House run. Then we went to Lowe’s and got some screws and stain to use on the project. And then I spent the rest of the day working on the project until we went to church.
We got to hear Walt Richardson sing in church today. One of the local retired priests died this week and Walt provided us with the performance of his favorite song, “How Great Thou Art”, for us at mass today. Walt used to sing regularly at our church but he is no longer our deacon and we haven’t been blessed with one of his performances in quite a while. This may be the last time we hear him singing. We had our mp3 recorder with us so I recorded him. How great thou art, Walt.
Kitty Update—all four cats showed up tonight. For this past week only Buzz and Velcro have been here. Now that it’s the weekend Marmalade and Meredith suddenly appear out there wanting to be fed. They all seem to manage through the cold weather.
Tonight on the way to church we had a gorgeous sunset. It was deep red color with sufficient clouds to make it just right. Finally on our return from church we once again saw a huge full moon behind layered light clouds making it picture card perfect.
As I’ve already mentioned, we did our normal Saturday Waffle House run. Then we went to Lowe’s and got some screws and stain to use on the project. And then I spent the rest of the day working on the project until we went to church.
We got to hear Walt Richardson sing in church today. One of the local retired priests died this week and Walt provided us with the performance of his favorite song, “How Great Thou Art”, for us at mass today. Walt used to sing regularly at our church but he is no longer our deacon and we haven’t been blessed with one of his performances in quite a while. This may be the last time we hear him singing. We had our mp3 recorder with us so I recorded him. How great thou art, Walt.
Kitty Update—all four cats showed up tonight. For this past week only Buzz and Velcro have been here. Now that it’s the weekend Marmalade and Meredith suddenly appear out there wanting to be fed. They all seem to manage through the cold weather.
Friday, December 12, 2008
To Speak or Type?
I am using the speech recognition feature of my computer for the first time. I’m going to try to write my blog completely hands free tonight.
This computer has had this feature all along and I just didn’t notice it was there. So far, so good.
Today, being Friday, we started our normal weekend with a trip to Target. We followed that with a trip to the mall to finish up Christmas shopping. Since we were there and it was lunchtime we forced ourselves to have Chick-fil-a once again. We hit a couple more places then came home and I went back to work on the project.
I’ve run out of books on tape to listen to so I’ve downloaded a number of pod casts and I’ve been listening to those while I work out shed. I listened to a number of the Fresh Air shows today covering topics including the current economic crisis to orangutan communication. At least I'm keeping up on current events now.
I got all the major pieces of the project cut to size now and tomorrow I will start sanding and final asssembly. This phase will take a little more time because what I am doing will show and I want it to look halway decent. Next will come putting on molding and the finish.
Tomorrow is our normal Waffle House Saturday. We are sort of hazy as to whether the couple is going to come to see us tomorrow or not. When they canceled because of the weather we didn’t get a firm time. They were supposed to call us back. So we’ve got a message into them but here it is Friday evening and we’re still not sure whether they’re coming tomorrow or not.
So that’s my first stab at speech recognition. It’s got a few bugs but with a little practice it’s probably going to be easier than typing for me. It actually looks at all our documents to recognize words we say such as Guglielmoni. Now I’m going to see if I can actually post this would just verbal commands.
This computer has had this feature all along and I just didn’t notice it was there. So far, so good.
Today, being Friday, we started our normal weekend with a trip to Target. We followed that with a trip to the mall to finish up Christmas shopping. Since we were there and it was lunchtime we forced ourselves to have Chick-fil-a once again. We hit a couple more places then came home and I went back to work on the project.
I’ve run out of books on tape to listen to so I’ve downloaded a number of pod casts and I’ve been listening to those while I work out shed. I listened to a number of the Fresh Air shows today covering topics including the current economic crisis to orangutan communication. At least I'm keeping up on current events now.
I got all the major pieces of the project cut to size now and tomorrow I will start sanding and final asssembly. This phase will take a little more time because what I am doing will show and I want it to look halway decent. Next will come putting on molding and the finish.
Tomorrow is our normal Waffle House Saturday. We are sort of hazy as to whether the couple is going to come to see us tomorrow or not. When they canceled because of the weather we didn’t get a firm time. They were supposed to call us back. So we’ve got a message into them but here it is Friday evening and we’re still not sure whether they’re coming tomorrow or not.
So that’s my first stab at speech recognition. It’s got a few bugs but with a little practice it’s probably going to be easier than typing for me. It actually looks at all our documents to recognize words we say such as Guglielmoni. Now I’m going to see if I can actually post this would just verbal commands.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Born on a Blue Day
While working on C&C’s cabinet I listened to the book Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. The publisher describes the book as “a journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today — guided by its owner himself. Daniel Tammet sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head. He can learn to speak new languages fluently, from scratch, in a week. In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of pi, setting a record. He has savant syndrome, an extremely rare condition that gives him almost unimaginable mental powers, much like those portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man.
Daniel has a compulsive need for order and routine — he eats the same precise amount of cereal for breakfast every morning and cannot leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's wearing. When he gets stressed or is unhappy, he closes his eyes and counts. But in one crucial way Daniel is not at all like the Rain Man: he is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life. He has emerged from the "other side" of autism with the ability to function successfully — he is even able to explain what is happening inside his head.”
The fact that the book was read by the author himself added another dimension to my enjoyment.
It was interesting to see little bits of him in myself and the people I know in his personality quirks.
The primary reason he made it was because he had loving and understanding support all his life from his family and friends.
For the first time I was able to understand what goes on in these people’s minds and it opens up a world of new questions about how the mind works.
At the end of the book the author finds it remarkable that he is accepted and honored in the adult world for his differences—the same differences that made him an object of ridicule and taunting when he was a child.
Daniel has a compulsive need for order and routine — he eats the same precise amount of cereal for breakfast every morning and cannot leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's wearing. When he gets stressed or is unhappy, he closes his eyes and counts. But in one crucial way Daniel is not at all like the Rain Man: he is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life. He has emerged from the "other side" of autism with the ability to function successfully — he is even able to explain what is happening inside his head.”
The fact that the book was read by the author himself added another dimension to my enjoyment.
It was interesting to see little bits of him in myself and the people I know in his personality quirks.
The primary reason he made it was because he had loving and understanding support all his life from his family and friends.
For the first time I was able to understand what goes on in these people’s minds and it opens up a world of new questions about how the mind works.
At the end of the book the author finds it remarkable that he is accepted and honored in the adult world for his differences—the same differences that made him an object of ridicule and taunting when he was a child.
Step Away From the Computer
Penny and I went Christmas crazy on-line today. It started at 3AM. There is a WOOT-off going on and we monitor that to see if there are any good deals and to take the challenge of trying to get one or more of their “bags-o-crap”. We also know C&C are looking for an inexpensive replacement for his parent’s computer so they(parents) can do basic computer things more easily.
I awoke at 3ish AM for a bathroom run and woke up the laptop beside the bed. Up popped a 160 GB desktop with all the necessary features for only $169, no tax and $5 to ship. When these buys come up one must not hesitate—they sellout fast—so I quickly checked its specs and pressed the “I want one” button. As I completed the sale the item sold out. I got 1 of the 13 units they were selling.
Later in the morning when I was discussing the purchase with Penny another item, which I thought might be useful for everyone, came up at a very inexpensive price. It was a skype compatible headset and web cam. I got 3.
Since I was watching the computer this was a good time to get gifts for Kathy and Joe. I did that.
Then WOOT dangled a 17” Toshiba laptop out there. Karen is in need of a good laptop and this one looked like it would fit her needs and it was a good price. We got that, too.
All I thought I might buy when the WOOT-off started was perhaps a big SD card for my camera or one of the inexpensive little fun items they sometimes have. I had no idea what we were in store for. Merry Christmas!
I awoke at 3ish AM for a bathroom run and woke up the laptop beside the bed. Up popped a 160 GB desktop with all the necessary features for only $169, no tax and $5 to ship. When these buys come up one must not hesitate—they sellout fast—so I quickly checked its specs and pressed the “I want one” button. As I completed the sale the item sold out. I got 1 of the 13 units they were selling.
Later in the morning when I was discussing the purchase with Penny another item, which I thought might be useful for everyone, came up at a very inexpensive price. It was a skype compatible headset and web cam. I got 3.
Since I was watching the computer this was a good time to get gifts for Kathy and Joe. I did that.
Then WOOT dangled a 17” Toshiba laptop out there. Karen is in need of a good laptop and this one looked like it would fit her needs and it was a good price. We got that, too.
All I thought I might buy when the WOOT-off started was perhaps a big SD card for my camera or one of the inexpensive little fun items they sometimes have. I had no idea what we were in store for. Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
When the Rain Comes
We were supposed to have a couple here today fro FOCCUS but they called and canceled because of the weather. We had heavy thunderstorms roll through and were under tornado watches.
Penny and I had cleared the decks and made the session our priority today so when they called we wanted to go back to our projects. I was able to get back to cabinet building but she couldn’t use her sewing machine in the rumbly weather. It wasn’t a good idea to do laundry or even be on the computer. Penny likes to read on days like this but her health even prevents that today. So she’s not having a good day. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow also then get cold.
I did get to finish the basic cabinet structure and the 3-shelf drawer and put them together today. An open shelf top and all the finish molding and facing remains to be built. Then it’s sanding and finishing. It looks like I can finish this one on deadline.
Christy’s plant in our front yard is in full bloom. Penny and I played around taking pictures of it yesterday. It is keeping many bees busy.
I find all of the lawyer-speak going on about the Illinois Governor selling the senate seat interesting. You’ve got to really analyze what is said because it’s not what it sounds like.
Example: Would you say that such and such was involved? Answer- I cant say that. That sounds like “no” but is simply a statement that the guy was instructed not to say anything.
Example: We- ah – I was not in contact with the Governor’s office. Translation—my staff handled it for me.
Example: I never made an offer to pay for a senate seat. Translation—They came to me with an offer.
Bill Clinton was masterful in saying things that sound good and are true but actually admit wrongdoing. I get a kick out of the journalists accepting answers like this from politicians.
Monday, December 08, 2008
A Borders Christmas
I got an e-mail confirmation from Borders today and at first it looked as if they messed up the deal they offered me. What it looked like was that I was now getting 2 copies of the Blu-Ray version of Planet Earth and being charged $86. I called them and fortunately got the same person I talked with on the previous call. She didn’t understand what her supervisor did either. Long story short, although the bill was confusing what Borders did was sell me 2 copies of the Blu-Ray version of Planet Earth for $9.99 each.
So if all goes through, as I understand it now, I have 2 copies of the Planet Earth coming to me and now I have to get a Blu-Ray Player before I can watch them. I didn’t expect 2 copies and I didn’t expect the Blu-Ray. I’m getting pushed into the world of high definition. Eventually we will either get a Blu-Ray player or a Blu-Ray drive for the computer.
I cut out all the major pieces of the cabinet for C&C today. Tomorrow I will begin assembly. So far it’s an easy project and seems to be going fine. It’s only going to provide 3 –18 inch long and 6 ½ inch wide shelves but it will provide needed storage space.
The tomato plants are still alive and survived the latest round of mid-30 degree temperatures. We may at least get a good batch of fried green tomatoes out of them.
Penny and I had a movie night tonight. We rented Iron Man, popped some popcorn and drank a glass of wine as we watched the movie. We enjoyed it.
So if all goes through, as I understand it now, I have 2 copies of the Planet Earth coming to me and now I have to get a Blu-Ray Player before I can watch them. I didn’t expect 2 copies and I didn’t expect the Blu-Ray. I’m getting pushed into the world of high definition. Eventually we will either get a Blu-Ray player or a Blu-Ray drive for the computer.
I cut out all the major pieces of the cabinet for C&C today. Tomorrow I will begin assembly. So far it’s an easy project and seems to be going fine. It’s only going to provide 3 –18 inch long and 6 ½ inch wide shelves but it will provide needed storage space.
The tomato plants are still alive and survived the latest round of mid-30 degree temperatures. We may at least get a good batch of fried green tomatoes out of them.
Penny and I had a movie night tonight. We rented Iron Man, popped some popcorn and drank a glass of wine as we watched the movie. We enjoyed it.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
The Bargaining Insomniac
Here I sit at 4AM Saturday morning typing my blog. You may ask why I am doing this? Well, that’s what I’m here to tell you.
I am in Jacksonville. We came here to watch Sophie while K&T took their drum line to the Orlando Magic’s game.
This past Tuesday night that cold I was hoping to avoid finally got its hooks into me and it is still with me. This is reason #1 I am awake. I started coughing and couldn’t go back to sleep. Ah, but that in itself is not sufficient grounds to leave the comfy bed you may say. So I will provide further explanation.
Last Thursday I went in to see my doctor for a normal checkup. If you’ve been reading my blog you know that I have had foot trouble since we went on our razzelberry pie and hiking adventure to Montana’s beautiful Glacier National Park. I explained my problem to the doctor (well, actually it was the PA) and he once again put me on a regimen of Prednisone. I’m hoping this will push my foot into healing. This procedure has provided some relief for me in the past with my hands, my shoulders and my back. The side effects I get are 1, a nice feeling of euphoria (which the cold has completely trashed) and 2, I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and can’t go back to sleep. I really thought the cold and the cold medication I’m taking would counter this effect but it didn’t. Instead the coughing awakened me and the Prednisone then took over.
But all is not lost. I do have a follow-on story about my foray into the Borders on line store and my attempt to purchase the Planet Earth complete series (in HD) for $9.99.
I wrote Borders a polite and only slightly ugly e-mail after they cancelled my order. I didn’t get a response so I wrote a second e-mail which again was polite and slightly ugly but this time instead of asking them to make it right I told them (in accordance with all of my “how to negotiate” training) what I thought would be a satisfactory solution. I said I would accept 1 copy of the Planet Earth DVD series –not HD—at the price of $9.99 as a reasonable substitute for the 2 HD copies I had ordered at that price.
After I sent off the 2nd E-mail I got a response to my first and Borders offered me a 40% discount on any single purchase. That’s not too bad but it still was going to cost me more than $9.99. Today I spent most of the day resting because of the cold and Penny checked our e-mails. She brought me the computer after reading an e-mail from Borders. It said that they would sell me the DVD (not HD) for $9.99 and gave me a number to call—so I did.
I made the order. The last thing the girl on the phone said to me was “You got a super deal on this!” I haven’t received an e-mail from them confirming my order yet—but I think I may have won this one.
Yesterday I found another great buy at Buy.com. I could get 2, 4 GB flash drives for $4.99 each with free shipping. I ordered them. I was unpleasantly surprised today when they wrote me telling me they didn’t have the item and were refunding my money. Buy.com has been my favorite site for purchasing on line and this really shocked me. I had their order confirmation saying the item was in stock and they were canceling the order. So, today I wrote them a polite and not so ugly letter and explained how they could make it right for me. It worked with Borders, now we will see how Buy.com responds.
So, now I’ll post this blog, put my feet up and search the internet for more Christmas bargains.
I am in Jacksonville. We came here to watch Sophie while K&T took their drum line to the Orlando Magic’s game.
This past Tuesday night that cold I was hoping to avoid finally got its hooks into me and it is still with me. This is reason #1 I am awake. I started coughing and couldn’t go back to sleep. Ah, but that in itself is not sufficient grounds to leave the comfy bed you may say. So I will provide further explanation.
Last Thursday I went in to see my doctor for a normal checkup. If you’ve been reading my blog you know that I have had foot trouble since we went on our razzelberry pie and hiking adventure to Montana’s beautiful Glacier National Park. I explained my problem to the doctor (well, actually it was the PA) and he once again put me on a regimen of Prednisone. I’m hoping this will push my foot into healing. This procedure has provided some relief for me in the past with my hands, my shoulders and my back. The side effects I get are 1, a nice feeling of euphoria (which the cold has completely trashed) and 2, I wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and can’t go back to sleep. I really thought the cold and the cold medication I’m taking would counter this effect but it didn’t. Instead the coughing awakened me and the Prednisone then took over.
But all is not lost. I do have a follow-on story about my foray into the Borders on line store and my attempt to purchase the Planet Earth complete series (in HD) for $9.99.
I wrote Borders a polite and only slightly ugly e-mail after they cancelled my order. I didn’t get a response so I wrote a second e-mail which again was polite and slightly ugly but this time instead of asking them to make it right I told them (in accordance with all of my “how to negotiate” training) what I thought would be a satisfactory solution. I said I would accept 1 copy of the Planet Earth DVD series –not HD—at the price of $9.99 as a reasonable substitute for the 2 HD copies I had ordered at that price.
After I sent off the 2nd E-mail I got a response to my first and Borders offered me a 40% discount on any single purchase. That’s not too bad but it still was going to cost me more than $9.99. Today I spent most of the day resting because of the cold and Penny checked our e-mails. She brought me the computer after reading an e-mail from Borders. It said that they would sell me the DVD (not HD) for $9.99 and gave me a number to call—so I did.
I made the order. The last thing the girl on the phone said to me was “You got a super deal on this!” I haven’t received an e-mail from them confirming my order yet—but I think I may have won this one.
Yesterday I found another great buy at Buy.com. I could get 2, 4 GB flash drives for $4.99 each with free shipping. I ordered them. I was unpleasantly surprised today when they wrote me telling me they didn’t have the item and were refunding my money. Buy.com has been my favorite site for purchasing on line and this really shocked me. I had their order confirmation saying the item was in stock and they were canceling the order. So, today I wrote them a polite and not so ugly letter and explained how they could make it right for me. It worked with Borders, now we will see how Buy.com responds.
So, now I’ll post this blog, put my feet up and search the internet for more Christmas bargains.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Obits and Planet Earth
Well, we’ve reached the age where we check the obituaries every day to see if someone we know is there. We are hitting 1 about every month now.
I cut some of the pieces for C&C’s cabinet today. It was the first time I used my new jigsaw (I’ve had it for about a year now) on a real project and it works great. Before this I’ve only used those little jigsaws. They work OK but there is no comparison with the ease and accuracy I can get with this one.
We’ve got a pair of mockingbirds that hit the cat feeder all day picking up one piece of food and flying off to eat it. They are brazen enough to do it even while a cat is sleeping nearby. So the feeder is a cat and bird feeder.
I spent about an hour yesterday fighting with the Borders on-line site trying to purchase The Planet Earth Complete Collection in HD for $9.99. They just stated their web site and it couldn’t handle the volume this bargain generated. I finally got my order through and confirmed. I bought 2 one for me and one for Christy. This morning I got an e-mail canceling the order because they ran out of the DVD. I e-mailed them and also talked to their customer support trying to either convince them to substitute for it or make it right some other way. I got passed up the line to a supervisor who flatly said no to anything except cancellation. They need to get a computer system like WOOT has that knows inventory and stops confirming orders when they run out. I’m giving Borders very poor ratings wherever I can but because they are new there aren’t many places to rate them.
I know I said I should give up on the tomatoes but I’m still covering the plants and I’m going to see what happens. The fruit is still growing and some look as if they are beginning to ripen.
No kitties have shown up tonight.
I cut some of the pieces for C&C’s cabinet today. It was the first time I used my new jigsaw (I’ve had it for about a year now) on a real project and it works great. Before this I’ve only used those little jigsaws. They work OK but there is no comparison with the ease and accuracy I can get with this one.
We’ve got a pair of mockingbirds that hit the cat feeder all day picking up one piece of food and flying off to eat it. They are brazen enough to do it even while a cat is sleeping nearby. So the feeder is a cat and bird feeder.
I spent about an hour yesterday fighting with the Borders on-line site trying to purchase The Planet Earth Complete Collection in HD for $9.99. They just stated their web site and it couldn’t handle the volume this bargain generated. I finally got my order through and confirmed. I bought 2 one for me and one for Christy. This morning I got an e-mail canceling the order because they ran out of the DVD. I e-mailed them and also talked to their customer support trying to either convince them to substitute for it or make it right some other way. I got passed up the line to a supervisor who flatly said no to anything except cancellation. They need to get a computer system like WOOT has that knows inventory and stops confirming orders when they run out. I’m giving Borders very poor ratings wherever I can but because they are new there aren’t many places to rate them.
I know I said I should give up on the tomatoes but I’m still covering the plants and I’m going to see what happens. The fruit is still growing and some look as if they are beginning to ripen.
No kitties have shown up tonight.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Afterglow
I’m still feeling the goodness of the past weekend. Family is so nice to have.
The one picture I didn’t put on line is the photo of all of us at the beach. So here it is.
The one picture I didn’t put on line is the photo of all of us at the beach. So here it is.
Today was the day for my pre-doctor’s visit blood work and also a haircut. Brie went back to the Vet today also—Penny took her because I had my haircut at the same time. We still don’t have a final verdict on her condition. The vet is running a culture to see if she still has the infection. We did find out why her appetite has been increasing and why she has been eating like she has a tapeworm. She does. She’s being treated for that also.
I got the shop ready for making the small cabinet for C&C. I also did preliminary planning for the lumber I need to build it. Christy will send me the dimensions of the area the cabinet will go into and I will finalize the dimensions.
All 4 kitties are back tonight.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thanks for Thanksgiving
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We didn’t do anything special we just did everything TOGETHER. I feel fortunate that we had the whole family together. One never knows when we all will be together again—hopefully soon.
The star of the weekend was, of course, Sophia. With 6 adults at her beck and call (and no ear infections to spoil her mood) she was on her game and eating up every minute of it.
Penny made fantastic food, recruiting help where necessary. Christian added his tradition of baking bread for the Thanksgiving meal. We all ate ‘till we were stuffed on Thursday.
Thursday night Karen organized our Black Friday commando teams, assigning each a location to hit early in the morning. We got up at 4 AM on Friday and headed out after a quick breakfast. My assignment was Bass Pro Shop and a meat smoker to replace my ailing one. We purchased Karen and Tim’s gifts on-line on Thursday evening so that eliminated the store Penny was assigned. So Penny stayed home and watched Sophia while the rest hit their targets or should I say their target which was Target.
My experience was interesting. The people in line waiting for the store to open were pleasant. The guy in front of me was hoping to get a fleece jacket. He explained that he was a Baptist and this was as close to playing the lottery as he could get. The woman behind me was hoping for a GPS. Then it began to rain and then pour. I had an umbrella in the car and I got it while the others saved my spot. They had already sent their partners to get their umbrellas. I heard the woman behind me call her daughter Christina so I mentioned that I had a daughter named Christina. She proudly informed me that her name was spelled with a “K”. The rain caused about half the people in line to leave their place and take shelter under the big roof over the boat area of the store. That got us a lot closer to the door. They also opened up early to get the folks out of the rain.
As I entered the store I saw 3 guys coming down the stairs carrying smokers so I knew where to go to get one. I asked one of them where the smokers were as I passed him on the stairs and he said to go left at the top of the stairs and they were along the railing. Having that information got me there just in time to grab the last one. Now all I had to do was carry it down the stair through the check-out and out to the car. The thing weighs about 50 lbs, which would have been ok except the box it was in was about 4 ft high and 18 inches wide and deep. The box had no hand holds. Add to that the complication of carrying a wet umbrella and having wet hands that did not grip the box well and it made for quite an experience and workout. I managed OK. I only skewered one person on the stairs with my umbrella and a very nice woman let me borrow her cart when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
My next stop was Sears but on the way we used our commando communication network (cell phones) to check on how the other missions were going. We experienced 100% success.
The rest of Friday involved a meal at Harbordock’s, shopping some more and a great picture taking session at the beach.
Saturday was football and church day.
Sunday everyone went home.
I picked a few pictures from the weekend and put them here so you can see them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gugliepb/TGVG08
I am very thankful this year.
KITTY UPDATE: The dogs visiting had little effect on the cats. All 4 showed up tonight.
The star of the weekend was, of course, Sophia. With 6 adults at her beck and call (and no ear infections to spoil her mood) she was on her game and eating up every minute of it.
Penny made fantastic food, recruiting help where necessary. Christian added his tradition of baking bread for the Thanksgiving meal. We all ate ‘till we were stuffed on Thursday.
Thursday night Karen organized our Black Friday commando teams, assigning each a location to hit early in the morning. We got up at 4 AM on Friday and headed out after a quick breakfast. My assignment was Bass Pro Shop and a meat smoker to replace my ailing one. We purchased Karen and Tim’s gifts on-line on Thursday evening so that eliminated the store Penny was assigned. So Penny stayed home and watched Sophia while the rest hit their targets or should I say their target which was Target.
My experience was interesting. The people in line waiting for the store to open were pleasant. The guy in front of me was hoping to get a fleece jacket. He explained that he was a Baptist and this was as close to playing the lottery as he could get. The woman behind me was hoping for a GPS. Then it began to rain and then pour. I had an umbrella in the car and I got it while the others saved my spot. They had already sent their partners to get their umbrellas. I heard the woman behind me call her daughter Christina so I mentioned that I had a daughter named Christina. She proudly informed me that her name was spelled with a “K”. The rain caused about half the people in line to leave their place and take shelter under the big roof over the boat area of the store. That got us a lot closer to the door. They also opened up early to get the folks out of the rain.
As I entered the store I saw 3 guys coming down the stairs carrying smokers so I knew where to go to get one. I asked one of them where the smokers were as I passed him on the stairs and he said to go left at the top of the stairs and they were along the railing. Having that information got me there just in time to grab the last one. Now all I had to do was carry it down the stair through the check-out and out to the car. The thing weighs about 50 lbs, which would have been ok except the box it was in was about 4 ft high and 18 inches wide and deep. The box had no hand holds. Add to that the complication of carrying a wet umbrella and having wet hands that did not grip the box well and it made for quite an experience and workout. I managed OK. I only skewered one person on the stairs with my umbrella and a very nice woman let me borrow her cart when I reached the bottom of the stairs.
My next stop was Sears but on the way we used our commando communication network (cell phones) to check on how the other missions were going. We experienced 100% success.
The rest of Friday involved a meal at Harbordock’s, shopping some more and a great picture taking session at the beach.
Saturday was football and church day.
Sunday everyone went home.
I picked a few pictures from the weekend and put them here so you can see them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gugliepb/TGVG08
I am very thankful this year.
KITTY UPDATE: The dogs visiting had little effect on the cats. All 4 showed up tonight.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Lou Flys, Penny Buys
Lou is off. The trip to Pensacola went fine. As usual, Lou had a few errands to run before we left Niceville. We had anticipated this and built a nice pad into our timeline. We had provided all the airlines rules for baggage to Lou. He “borrowed” a carry-on bag from us for this trip.
We had lunch at a Steak and Shake before we went to the airport. We all had a shake with our meal—any excuse to have ice cream.
Lou hasn’t flown in 25 years so all the procedures were new to him. Lou is like a little kid sometimes and needs to be taken care of. Fortunately we were at the airport early and there was no rush or lines. Everyone was understanding and helpful to Lou. Watching him go through security was both funny and worrisome. I’m glad God is watching out for him.
We told Lou that we would stay in Pensacola for a couple hours (until his flight left) so that we would be there if he had any problems. We had just left the Airport when my cell phone rang—it was Lou. He said they put him on an earlier flight and he was off. So he was off!
Penny wanted to go to the Joann’s store in P’cola so we did that. I got a kick out of the sign above the urinal in the men’s room. It said “do not flush diapers…” I guess some men just don’t know what to do with diapers.
We also went to T J Max -- so Sophie has a new outfit.
We had lunch at a Steak and Shake before we went to the airport. We all had a shake with our meal—any excuse to have ice cream.
Lou hasn’t flown in 25 years so all the procedures were new to him. Lou is like a little kid sometimes and needs to be taken care of. Fortunately we were at the airport early and there was no rush or lines. Everyone was understanding and helpful to Lou. Watching him go through security was both funny and worrisome. I’m glad God is watching out for him.
We told Lou that we would stay in Pensacola for a couple hours (until his flight left) so that we would be there if he had any problems. We had just left the Airport when my cell phone rang—it was Lou. He said they put him on an earlier flight and he was off. So he was off!
Penny wanted to go to the Joann’s store in P’cola so we did that. I got a kick out of the sign above the urinal in the men’s room. It said “do not flush diapers…” I guess some men just don’t know what to do with diapers.
We also went to T J Max -- so Sophie has a new outfit.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Reproducing Razzleberry
Penny made a razzleberry pie today trying to copy the pie we liked so much in Montana. She did a good job, it is a great pie. It’s not exactly the same pie as we ate at the Park Café but it is close enough that we can eat and remember and not have to go to Montana to have that taste again.
Karen said Sophie may be getting sick. I talked to my sister today and she is catching something. Her Hubby Joe already has it. Last night I felt like I was getting a cold, too. I flushed my sinuses with salt water last night and this morning and I didn’t feel bad all day. But as I sit here this evening the throat is starting to feel funny again and my sinuses feel a little congested. I’ll try the salt water again. I don’t want to have a cold for Thanksgiving.
Today we made the sunroom ready for company—well, mostly ready. We also did the first shopping trip to get provisions for the upcoming family weekend. Our fridge now has a thawing 13 lb turkey in it, 3 dozen eggs, assorted fruits and vegetables a pumpkin pie, Grands and , of course, 2/3s of a razzleberry pie.
The couples just keep coming. The deacon dropped off paperwork for the next couple we will do FOCCUS with. This one’s going to be a multi-session deal. We have many topics for discussion.
Tomorrow will be taken up by a trip to the airport with Lou. That should pretty much take the day.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Cold Tomatoes
I finally did some web research on growing tomatoes in colder weather. The news was not good.
For example, covering plants works well for nearly red tomatoes, but not as well for mature green ones. Though foliage may sometimes be saved, research shows that chilling injury on green fruit occurs at temperatures of 50 degrees and decay losses rise markedly on fruit exposed to 40 degrees F. Red ones well on their way to ripening tolerate colder temperatures.
And:
The shorter sun exposure shouldn't affect the growth too much (they'll get leggy if there's a real reduction in sunlight), but it definitely will reduce the developing sugars, resulting in a less sweet, almost sour flavor.
So I should probably give up on them.
We had a nice one-session FOCCUS session with a couple last night. Penny likes to provide a meal now when we have a couple over and she made some excellent portabella mushroom ravioli with a butter sage sauce. There were no issues that concerned us with this couple. We hope they have a long and happy life together.
Today our neighbors had an after-wedding shower for their son and daughter-in-law. Penny made fried ravioli and little twice-baked potatoes. Again she did a great job. On top of it all she’s felt good for 2 days straight.
We usually end up trashing the kitchen when any cooking is done but this time around we managed to do 2 major rounds of cooking and the kitchen is OK.
We’ve been driving Brie crazy. We have to squirt medicine down her throat twice a day and she has become weary of us. She spent most of today hiding from us under our bed. I couldn’t get her out. She finally came out around 1 or 2 PM and I promptly closed up all her hiding spots where I can’t extract her. When we looked for her to give her her medicine we still couldn’t find her. She was under a folded comforter in the sunroom. We gave her the meds and then lavished her with attention, brushing her and petting her. That is what we are doing to keep her calmer. It seems to work- she’s been with Penny all evening. Of course she knows she can’t hide. It’s going to get interesting at Thanksgiving when all the people are here and the dogs and we are still giving her medicine. She’s going to want to disown us.
Penny begins buying food for the holiday tomorrow. So grocery shopping is the main event on our Sunday calendar.
I talked to brother Lou today and we are all set to take him to the airport on Monday. He doesn’t know if he will be coming back here next year or not. As he says, it’s in God’s hands.
For example, covering plants works well for nearly red tomatoes, but not as well for mature green ones. Though foliage may sometimes be saved, research shows that chilling injury on green fruit occurs at temperatures of 50 degrees and decay losses rise markedly on fruit exposed to 40 degrees F. Red ones well on their way to ripening tolerate colder temperatures.
And:
The shorter sun exposure shouldn't affect the growth too much (they'll get leggy if there's a real reduction in sunlight), but it definitely will reduce the developing sugars, resulting in a less sweet, almost sour flavor.
So I should probably give up on them.
We had a nice one-session FOCCUS session with a couple last night. Penny likes to provide a meal now when we have a couple over and she made some excellent portabella mushroom ravioli with a butter sage sauce. There were no issues that concerned us with this couple. We hope they have a long and happy life together.
Today our neighbors had an after-wedding shower for their son and daughter-in-law. Penny made fried ravioli and little twice-baked potatoes. Again she did a great job. On top of it all she’s felt good for 2 days straight.
We usually end up trashing the kitchen when any cooking is done but this time around we managed to do 2 major rounds of cooking and the kitchen is OK.
We’ve been driving Brie crazy. We have to squirt medicine down her throat twice a day and she has become weary of us. She spent most of today hiding from us under our bed. I couldn’t get her out. She finally came out around 1 or 2 PM and I promptly closed up all her hiding spots where I can’t extract her. When we looked for her to give her her medicine we still couldn’t find her. She was under a folded comforter in the sunroom. We gave her the meds and then lavished her with attention, brushing her and petting her. That is what we are doing to keep her calmer. It seems to work- she’s been with Penny all evening. Of course she knows she can’t hide. It’s going to get interesting at Thanksgiving when all the people are here and the dogs and we are still giving her medicine. She’s going to want to disown us.
Penny begins buying food for the holiday tomorrow. So grocery shopping is the main event on our Sunday calendar.
I talked to brother Lou today and we are all set to take him to the airport on Monday. He doesn’t know if he will be coming back here next year or not. As he says, it’s in God’s hands.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Support Your Local Vet
We brought Brie to the vet’s today to get that smelly discharge she’s been having checked out. After I washed her butt last night I did some research on the internet and every reference I found to brown smelly discharge said to “get thee to the vet”. If she wasn’t neutered this could have been a life-threatening infection. Since she is neutered and has had this issue since at least January it is likely a less threatening bacterial infection. She’s got some antibiotics to take and if that doesn’t clear it up she may have to have surgery. The theory is that they could have left a small portion of ovaries in her and that is lead to the infection. The vet would have to go in and essentially do a re-do of the surgery. We will hope the antibiotics do the trick. The good news is—except for a healthy and growing appetite Brie is acting normally (for Brie).
We spent a lot of time at the vet’s. I think they forgot we were there. We treated ourselves to Chick-fil-a on the way home and I spent the afternoon making the picture shelf. The basic shelf is now made, the glue is drying overnight. Tomorrow I will finish it up by painting it and then it should go up on the wall Friday and Penny can put pictures on it.
We will likely go to Target tomorrow in order to be home on Friday to listen to Karen host a show on the radio on Friday morning.
It appears that the tomatoes made it through the freeze last night. A small portion of 1 plant was left uncovered and it wilted. I’m hoping for a few more weeks of above freezing weather but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
We spent a lot of time at the vet’s. I think they forgot we were there. We treated ourselves to Chick-fil-a on the way home and I spent the afternoon making the picture shelf. The basic shelf is now made, the glue is drying overnight. Tomorrow I will finish it up by painting it and then it should go up on the wall Friday and Penny can put pictures on it.
We will likely go to Target tomorrow in order to be home on Friday to listen to Karen host a show on the radio on Friday morning.
It appears that the tomatoes made it through the freeze last night. A small portion of 1 plant was left uncovered and it wilted. I’m hoping for a few more weeks of above freezing weather but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday With Louie
Most of my day today was spent with brother Louie. We had a nice lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall Cajun restaurant (not very good) and lively conversation about –would you believe—religion? I played the devil’s advocate and posed some questions to Lou to see what answers he had. He did well. All his journaling has provided him with an extensive knowledge of the bible and a firm basis for his belief.
He had good answers for all the classic arguments and questions that people have about why God has arranged the world in this manner. I don’t agree with everything he said but I am glad that he is very secure in his faith and in the answers he has found. He is happier now than he ever seemed to be in the past.
After lunch we went in search of ice cream that was recommended by one of Lou’s friends. The only problem is the store that sold it is no longer here. We went all the way to Destin to find that out. There was another ice cream shop now occupying the building so we got ice cream there. We each got a banana split in a big cup. That was a lot of food to have on top of lunch and we both drove back to Lou’s place feeling quite full. I did make a stop at the beach on the way back so Lou could use the rest room. I also wanted to get him to the beach one more time. He likes the beach here with its sugar white sand.
Lou is flying out on Monday to go to Oregon. He wasn’t sure if he would ship some of his stuff or check it on the plane. Penny and I looked up the airline’s baggage policies regarding fees, weight and size of bags; printed them out and gave Lou a highlighted copy. We measured his bags and they are the right size to be checked. He just has to keep the weight on each to under 50 lbs.
We will next be seeing Lou on Monday to drive him to the airport and send him on his way.
When I got back home I went about covering the tomato plants once again and sticking the basil plant in the shed to protect to provide protection from the freezing temperatures tonight.
Tomorrow I actually have a project to do. Penny has moved the buffet out of the dining room leaving a big bare wall and needing a place to put the pictures that were on the buffet. I going to make a crown molding picture shelf to go on that wall and hold those pictures.
He had good answers for all the classic arguments and questions that people have about why God has arranged the world in this manner. I don’t agree with everything he said but I am glad that he is very secure in his faith and in the answers he has found. He is happier now than he ever seemed to be in the past.
After lunch we went in search of ice cream that was recommended by one of Lou’s friends. The only problem is the store that sold it is no longer here. We went all the way to Destin to find that out. There was another ice cream shop now occupying the building so we got ice cream there. We each got a banana split in a big cup. That was a lot of food to have on top of lunch and we both drove back to Lou’s place feeling quite full. I did make a stop at the beach on the way back so Lou could use the rest room. I also wanted to get him to the beach one more time. He likes the beach here with its sugar white sand.
Lou is flying out on Monday to go to Oregon. He wasn’t sure if he would ship some of his stuff or check it on the plane. Penny and I looked up the airline’s baggage policies regarding fees, weight and size of bags; printed them out and gave Lou a highlighted copy. We measured his bags and they are the right size to be checked. He just has to keep the weight on each to under 50 lbs.
We will next be seeing Lou on Monday to drive him to the airport and send him on his way.
When I got back home I went about covering the tomato plants once again and sticking the basil plant in the shed to protect to provide protection from the freezing temperatures tonight.
Tomorrow I actually have a project to do. Penny has moved the buffet out of the dining room leaving a big bare wall and needing a place to put the pictures that were on the buffet. I going to make a crown molding picture shelf to go on that wall and hold those pictures.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Cherish What You Have
I read e-mail from one of my fraternity brothers today. He forwarded a copy of e-mail he received from his son who currently is deployed on an aircraft carrier in the Middle East. Like everyone else the Navy is cutting back and that means he has fewer people to do the work so he is very busy. He will be at sea through the end of the year. Then they will hit a port for a few days and sail again. He has a wife and 3-month old baby back in the states. (I don’t know if he has seen the baby) Like many other new mothers his wife is blogging about their baby boy so at least he has that connection. The Chaplin on the ship has a program for parents to record themselves reading children’s books. He records them on DVD and sends them home for free. So far this sailor has recorded 13 books.
Imagine what it’s like missing seeing your baby for months at a time—all the changes he’s missing—all the bonding that is lost. Be thankful there are people willing to make those sacrifices for us. Pray that he and others make it home safely.
We take so much for granted. Everyone we know is a unique and precious gift. As I’ve always reminded the girls enjoy what you’ve got—you never know what tomorrow may bring.
On a lighter note, I made a more accurate count of the tomatoes growing on my plants and it is more like 60. We are going to see our first freezing temperatures tomorrow night and I will cover the plants. It would be neat to get a crop of December tomatoes.
Christy’s camellia plant is beginning to bloom. It usually blooms on her birthday but for the last 2 years it’s been late. It is full of buds and should look nice for thanksgiving.
Tomorrow I lunch with my brother Louie. In 1 week he will be leaving for Oregon. Next weekend we will be helping him ship some of his stuff and on next Monday we drive him to the airport in Pensacola.
Imagine what it’s like missing seeing your baby for months at a time—all the changes he’s missing—all the bonding that is lost. Be thankful there are people willing to make those sacrifices for us. Pray that he and others make it home safely.
We take so much for granted. Everyone we know is a unique and precious gift. As I’ve always reminded the girls enjoy what you’ve got—you never know what tomorrow may bring.
On a lighter note, I made a more accurate count of the tomatoes growing on my plants and it is more like 60. We are going to see our first freezing temperatures tomorrow night and I will cover the plants. It would be neat to get a crop of December tomatoes.
Christy’s camellia plant is beginning to bloom. It usually blooms on her birthday but for the last 2 years it’s been late. It is full of buds and should look nice for thanksgiving.
Tomorrow I lunch with my brother Louie. In 1 week he will be leaving for Oregon. Next weekend we will be helping him ship some of his stuff and on next Monday we drive him to the airport in Pensacola.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Just Like Old Times
Today found me counting punch-buggies (Volkswagen Beetles), cleaning a high chair and playpen and paying $1.88 a gallon for gas. This could be a day from 25 years ago—until I look in a mirror or feel my achy thumbs. (I know gas was cheaper but $1.88 feels like cheap gas now.)
We did more prep for Thanksgiving today and went to church this evening.
I stashed one of my basil plants in the shed and covered up the tomatoes to protect them from the cold tonight. The tomatoes are coming right along—a couple about the size of golf balls and one about the size of a lemon. Overall there are more than 20 growing and the plants are still blossoming. I have no idea how cold hardy they are but I think if we don’t get a hard freeze they will ripen. Pasta Cruda in December with fresh tomatoes and basil?
Our day is full tomorrow with pre-canna. Penny made it through today without major health issues—the first day in a while she’s done that. I’m hoping tomorrow won’t wear her out.
Kitty Update—all 4 cats were back tonight. This week has been a mixture of onesies and twosies until today. Marmalade comes back for the weekend and everyone else shows up. How does she know it’s a weekend and why does she spend them here? Brie is sleeping on the computer desk right now with my left hand scratching her tummy. This is one of her standard actions when she is in her Paul moods. She will follow me around and plop down and watch me as I do things. If I’m opening cabinets she wants to go in them. If I’m sweeping the floor she likes to sit in the dust pile. If I’m exercising on the floor she’s in my face—usually with her butt. Other times she is in her Penny moods and wants to be with Penny. She likes it best when we are all in the same room—as long as I’m not paying too much attention to Penny. She wants the attention. She doesn’t want us paying attention to each other.
We did more prep for Thanksgiving today and went to church this evening.
I stashed one of my basil plants in the shed and covered up the tomatoes to protect them from the cold tonight. The tomatoes are coming right along—a couple about the size of golf balls and one about the size of a lemon. Overall there are more than 20 growing and the plants are still blossoming. I have no idea how cold hardy they are but I think if we don’t get a hard freeze they will ripen. Pasta Cruda in December with fresh tomatoes and basil?
Our day is full tomorrow with pre-canna. Penny made it through today without major health issues—the first day in a while she’s done that. I’m hoping tomorrow won’t wear her out.
Kitty Update—all 4 cats were back tonight. This week has been a mixture of onesies and twosies until today. Marmalade comes back for the weekend and everyone else shows up. How does she know it’s a weekend and why does she spend them here? Brie is sleeping on the computer desk right now with my left hand scratching her tummy. This is one of her standard actions when she is in her Paul moods. She will follow me around and plop down and watch me as I do things. If I’m opening cabinets she wants to go in them. If I’m sweeping the floor she likes to sit in the dust pile. If I’m exercising on the floor she’s in my face—usually with her butt. Other times she is in her Penny moods and wants to be with Penny. She likes it best when we are all in the same room—as long as I’m not paying too much attention to Penny. She wants the attention. She doesn’t want us paying attention to each other.
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Shuttle Jumped Over The Moon
There were 2 events today that I considered going to. One was the night launch of the shuttle, the other the Blue Angels homecoming. I passed on both. There are only 9 more shuttle launches planned so maybe I’ll decide to make one of them. We’ve got pre-cana on Sunday and I didn’t think driving down and back was a good idea. Any delay would make it so I’d either miss the launch or be late for pre-cana. Of course the launch went off on time. I watched it on Fox News and it was a beautiful launch with a full moon for a backdrop. NASA should have some nice pictures from this one.
I didn’t go to the Blue Angels primarily because I didn’t want to spend the day fighting the traffic. I saw the Blues in Jacksonville and their show is great. We can go see them practice several times each year in Pensacola and haven’t done it so it’s just not that important.
The temperature reached 75 today. It is currently raining and a cold front will be passing through such that we are expecting a low Saturday night of 35. B-r-r-r-r.
I’m still not doing anything worth blogging about so this will be short. Tomorrow begins with our visit to Waffle House. Then it’s back to house and yard work.
I didn’t go to the Blue Angels primarily because I didn’t want to spend the day fighting the traffic. I saw the Blues in Jacksonville and their show is great. We can go see them practice several times each year in Pensacola and haven’t done it so it’s just not that important.
The temperature reached 75 today. It is currently raining and a cold front will be passing through such that we are expecting a low Saturday night of 35. B-r-r-r-r.
I’m still not doing anything worth blogging about so this will be short. Tomorrow begins with our visit to Waffle House. Then it’s back to house and yard work.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday Evening
I’ve been cleaning out the sunroom on and off for the past couple of days—clearing out a years worth of stuff gradually piling up there and putting it away in a permanent spot—mostly in the shed. For that reason I haven’t had much to write about.
I usually listen to an audio book as I work and today I was listening to one I had on my mp3 player. About 3 weeks ago, during the WOOT-off, I bought an accessory package for our Sansa mp3 players. Both Penny and I have one. We didn’t have protective cases for them. This accessory pack had 3 cases and an armband carrier in it and was cheap so I got it. I was using the armband today and the little rectangular piece of plastic that allows you to tighten the strap simply fell apart. It broke into 2 identical “L”-shaped pieces so I suspect the bond these together to make the piece. Mine must have been defective.
I checked my receipt and found the case had a 1 year warranty on it so I called the manufacturer. They sent me a form to include when I return the item to them. They will supposedly swap it for a new one. I was pleased that they responded nicely to a rather insignificant product they sell.
Most days we have an apple snack in the afternoon at 3 PM. We cut up an apple (we currently are eating Macintosh) and some cheese and watch the Ellen Show as we chomp. Each day when I cut around the apple core I think of my Mother. When she ate an apple all that she left were the seeds. She seemed to be proud of this and we always made a big fuss about it. In honor of my mom I usually take the square cut core that I remove from the apples and gnaw away the top and bottom to make a traditional apple core and not waste any of the meat of the fruit. If I remember accurately, mom ate everything but the seeds so as not to waste anything –a habit developed when food such as apples was more precious.
There is a Thursday night NFL game tonight. Last week one of my quarterbacks was playing so I had to decide who to play that week on Thursday. Tonight I checked again to see if I had any decisions to make. I didn’t but Christy had a quarterback decision to make. I called her about an hour before the game. She was still at work. I told her what was up and she said she would decide and take care of it. She also thanked me. One never knows how a player will do on any given week. Now that I alerted her to the situation I saw that she changed her quarterback to Bret Favre. At the 2-minute warning in the first half of the game he has made 14.72 points for her so far. That is good. I’m a little more relieved that I called her. I would have hated to be the cause of her losing a game. She has risen nicely to 3rd place in the league.
I usually listen to an audio book as I work and today I was listening to one I had on my mp3 player. About 3 weeks ago, during the WOOT-off, I bought an accessory package for our Sansa mp3 players. Both Penny and I have one. We didn’t have protective cases for them. This accessory pack had 3 cases and an armband carrier in it and was cheap so I got it. I was using the armband today and the little rectangular piece of plastic that allows you to tighten the strap simply fell apart. It broke into 2 identical “L”-shaped pieces so I suspect the bond these together to make the piece. Mine must have been defective.
I checked my receipt and found the case had a 1 year warranty on it so I called the manufacturer. They sent me a form to include when I return the item to them. They will supposedly swap it for a new one. I was pleased that they responded nicely to a rather insignificant product they sell.
Most days we have an apple snack in the afternoon at 3 PM. We cut up an apple (we currently are eating Macintosh) and some cheese and watch the Ellen Show as we chomp. Each day when I cut around the apple core I think of my Mother. When she ate an apple all that she left were the seeds. She seemed to be proud of this and we always made a big fuss about it. In honor of my mom I usually take the square cut core that I remove from the apples and gnaw away the top and bottom to make a traditional apple core and not waste any of the meat of the fruit. If I remember accurately, mom ate everything but the seeds so as not to waste anything –a habit developed when food such as apples was more precious.
There is a Thursday night NFL game tonight. Last week one of my quarterbacks was playing so I had to decide who to play that week on Thursday. Tonight I checked again to see if I had any decisions to make. I didn’t but Christy had a quarterback decision to make. I called her about an hour before the game. She was still at work. I told her what was up and she said she would decide and take care of it. She also thanked me. One never knows how a player will do on any given week. Now that I alerted her to the situation I saw that she changed her quarterback to Bret Favre. At the 2-minute warning in the first half of the game he has made 14.72 points for her so far. That is good. I’m a little more relieved that I called her. I would have hated to be the cause of her losing a game. She has risen nicely to 3rd place in the league.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Weather Wins
Penny and I ran off today and took pictures along RT 30A. We’ve had a string of beautiful days that we had spent doing everything but enjoying the weather. Penny has had health issues which are holding her back and she has been working on many projects. She finally reached a logical break point so I suggested we do the picture thing. We like driving around together so stopping and taking pictures was just a bonus.
We drove down 30A to Seaside (the planned community where the movie ‘The Truman Show” was shot) wandered around and took pictures until we got hungry and then ate at the Seagrove Village Market.
We also took care of some business. On the way out of town we mailed Christy some stuff Penny embroidered for tailgating next weekend. After lunch we did some shopping for Christy’s birthday present and to get some items from Oneida in preparation for Thanksgiving. They were having a great sale.
We drove down 30A to Seaside (the planned community where the movie ‘The Truman Show” was shot) wandered around and took pictures until we got hungry and then ate at the Seagrove Village Market.
We also took care of some business. On the way out of town we mailed Christy some stuff Penny embroidered for tailgating next weekend. After lunch we did some shopping for Christy’s birthday present and to get some items from Oneida in preparation for Thanksgiving. They were having a great sale.
We got back home about 3:30, boxed up Christy’s gift and I headed to the post office to get the package in the mail. (Today is Christy’s birthday-Happy Birthday!) Tomorrow is Veteran’s day and we wanted to get the package into the system before they shut down for the holiday. I mailed it at 4:15 and the final pick-up of the day was at 4:30—so we made it!
Earlier in the day I noted that it looked like a good sunset day. After the post office, I headed to the beach to do a sunset beach walk. It was pleasant walking the beach again. I had the whole place to myself, too. 3 miles of beach without a soul in sight.
The sunset wasn’t spectacular but it was pretty. The beach was littered with small shells and I took a few more close up shots with the steep sunset lighting.
Kitty Update—Meredith showed up last night skinny and very hungry again. All 4 cats were there again tonight. I don’t think we will ever learn where they disappear to for days at a time.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Three Dog Night
There certainly are a lot of commercials in an NFL game. I did some yard work and aggravated my foot so I decided to take a break and watch some football. I had to see if my buddy Drew Breese was doing any good for my fantasy football team. He didn’t have one of his better days but he still got 14.94 points, which is good.
Yesterday I mailed a CD with wedding pictures to Meme. Today Terri put over 1100 pictures out on a photo site. There were many good shots. Tory and Sam have a well-documented wedding.
I did start the day with pancakes. I brought Penny her breakfast in bed. We relaxed this morning, read the paper and watched Sunday Morning before I got going and cleaned out the garage.
We’ve had a long stretch of cool clear weather and we have had our windows open to enjoy it. Last night Three Dog Night had a concert at the fair grounds that are about a mile from our house. The sound of there performance boomed throughout the neighborhood. I didn’t know that group was performing and I commented to Penny that they sounded like Three Dog Night. I didn’t find anything in our newspaper about the event but a short Google search quickly turned up that it was in fact the group and the performance was connected with a fundraiser 'The Loud One' Motorcycle Ride and Concert. This motorcycle ride raises money for the Special Operations Warrior Fund, which benefits local children of servicemen who where killed in action. I always joke about old men singing rock and roll songs when I see it on PBS. To me it is sad to see them trying to perform their old hits. It’s nice they had the hits but it just seems a little pathetic to try to hold on to something that isn’t there any more. From the sound of Three Dog Night I don’t think I would have felt that way about them. They sounded good—their voices were sound and the singers could still hit the high notes. You could feel the energy of the performance from this distance. I did a little more research to see if it was the original members in the group and found that 4 of the 6 members were the originals including the 2 lead vocalists. Good for you Three Dog Night. I won’t find it easy to be hard on them as they bring joy to the world.
I didn’t close the window when we went to sleep and I got chilled in the middle of the night. It made me think of the band’s name and how I could have used even 1 dog. Brie wasn’t doing me any good, she was with Penny.
Yesterday I mailed a CD with wedding pictures to Meme. Today Terri put over 1100 pictures out on a photo site. There were many good shots. Tory and Sam have a well-documented wedding.
I did start the day with pancakes. I brought Penny her breakfast in bed. We relaxed this morning, read the paper and watched Sunday Morning before I got going and cleaned out the garage.
We’ve had a long stretch of cool clear weather and we have had our windows open to enjoy it. Last night Three Dog Night had a concert at the fair grounds that are about a mile from our house. The sound of there performance boomed throughout the neighborhood. I didn’t know that group was performing and I commented to Penny that they sounded like Three Dog Night. I didn’t find anything in our newspaper about the event but a short Google search quickly turned up that it was in fact the group and the performance was connected with a fundraiser 'The Loud One' Motorcycle Ride and Concert. This motorcycle ride raises money for the Special Operations Warrior Fund, which benefits local children of servicemen who where killed in action. I always joke about old men singing rock and roll songs when I see it on PBS. To me it is sad to see them trying to perform their old hits. It’s nice they had the hits but it just seems a little pathetic to try to hold on to something that isn’t there any more. From the sound of Three Dog Night I don’t think I would have felt that way about them. They sounded good—their voices were sound and the singers could still hit the high notes. You could feel the energy of the performance from this distance. I did a little more research to see if it was the original members in the group and found that 4 of the 6 members were the originals including the 2 lead vocalists. Good for you Three Dog Night. I won’t find it easy to be hard on them as they bring joy to the world.
I didn’t close the window when we went to sleep and I got chilled in the middle of the night. It made me think of the band’s name and how I could have used even 1 dog. Brie wasn’t doing me any good, she was with Penny.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Just Like the Good ol’ Days
I just filled up with $1.99 a gallon gas. I can’t remember ever seeing the price of gas drop so rapidly in conjunction with the price of a barrel of oil. The normal was that it rose quickly and dropped slowly. The high price of gas seems to have pushed the world economy over a cliff and now everybody, including oil countries has lost control.
We successfully held our FOCCUS session with the engaged couple today. These two have a long distance relationship; he is here she in D.C. They looked like a good couple, communicating well and willing to work at their relationship. She was a very emotional person who easily cried—even more easily than Penny cries. We’ve learned to have tissues handy when we do this. I think she went through half of the box--but it was cute, not worrisome.
As I write this I have the Florida / Vandy game playing in one corner of my monitor. Florida is just romping over them with 3 touchdowns in the 1st quarter. Time to get Sophie doing the gator chomp!
Now that we have the house in shape I will have the opportunity to get some of the other tasks done around the house. Between our travels and FOCCUS and trying to keep up with the house I’ve bumped a number of should-do tasks down the road. Starting tomorrow I’ll be hitting the do list. Some of this is preparation for Thanksgiving visits by the kids; part is just doing maintenance on the house and yard that needs doing. This assumes I can keep up with the house.
My new flash unit came today—I played with it a little and it looks like it will be a great improvement for the type of pictures I was taking at the wedding last week. I had problems with recovery time on the pop-up flash integral to the camera and with the range of the flash. This new unit solves those issues. Thank you Karen and Christy!
My bag-o-crap from WOOT also arrived today. Inside the medium-sized box was a Go Duster; a battery operated feather duster “as seen on TV for only 2 payments of $9.99” (http://www.goduster.com/index.html?directLoad&uid=054B69F4ACE522575CE4B9F1B6267BB7 ) and a plastic bag with rose bath salts. I think I got my money’s worth. It was worth it just for the excitement of trying to get the order in and succeeding and then the unknown factor of what the heck would be in the box.
Since we did church this evening tomorrow is an open day. I plan on starting it with banana pecan pancakes and take it from there. We may have the first of our Omaha steaks tomorrow, too. We have some food left over from today because we didn’t end up feeding the couple lunch today so I may put off the steaks a day to use the leftovers before they go bad.
Florida now has 4 touchdowns in 4 possessions.
We successfully held our FOCCUS session with the engaged couple today. These two have a long distance relationship; he is here she in D.C. They looked like a good couple, communicating well and willing to work at their relationship. She was a very emotional person who easily cried—even more easily than Penny cries. We’ve learned to have tissues handy when we do this. I think she went through half of the box--but it was cute, not worrisome.
As I write this I have the Florida / Vandy game playing in one corner of my monitor. Florida is just romping over them with 3 touchdowns in the 1st quarter. Time to get Sophie doing the gator chomp!
Now that we have the house in shape I will have the opportunity to get some of the other tasks done around the house. Between our travels and FOCCUS and trying to keep up with the house I’ve bumped a number of should-do tasks down the road. Starting tomorrow I’ll be hitting the do list. Some of this is preparation for Thanksgiving visits by the kids; part is just doing maintenance on the house and yard that needs doing. This assumes I can keep up with the house.
My new flash unit came today—I played with it a little and it looks like it will be a great improvement for the type of pictures I was taking at the wedding last week. I had problems with recovery time on the pop-up flash integral to the camera and with the range of the flash. This new unit solves those issues. Thank you Karen and Christy!
My bag-o-crap from WOOT also arrived today. Inside the medium-sized box was a Go Duster; a battery operated feather duster “as seen on TV for only 2 payments of $9.99” (http://www.goduster.com/index.html?directLoad&uid=054B69F4ACE522575CE4B9F1B6267BB7 ) and a plastic bag with rose bath salts. I think I got my money’s worth. It was worth it just for the excitement of trying to get the order in and succeeding and then the unknown factor of what the heck would be in the box.
Since we did church this evening tomorrow is an open day. I plan on starting it with banana pecan pancakes and take it from there. We may have the first of our Omaha steaks tomorrow, too. We have some food left over from today because we didn’t end up feeding the couple lunch today so I may put off the steaks a day to use the leftovers before they go bad.
Florida now has 4 touchdowns in 4 possessions.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Week in Review
I haven’t written much this week—blame it on a quiet wee and writer’s block. I thought I would combine the past week into a single blog.
Last Saturday we celebrated my 60th birthday and it was good. On Nov 2nd, my actual birthday we attended the Wedding of Tory and Sam, a wonderful wedding despite some glitches with the weather and cake. The most important part of the wedding went fine and Tory and Sam are comfortable with one another and were happy together all day.
Sunday night was spent in Tampa at Kathy’s. Since brother Lou was with us this may be the last time we three are together for a while. Lou actually traveled better with us this time. We were able to make normal stops and even set a record on the way down—Tampa in 6 ½ hours.
Monday’s drive back went smoothly. We dropped Lou at the Church and went home to greet the cat. Penny missed he Kitty all weekend and one reason for the short stay in Tampa was to allow her to get back to the cat.
Tuesday was Election Day. I listened to Karen on our computer as she covered the story in Jacksonville. Our nation elected the candidate of hope. Obama ran a brilliant campaign and showed masterful organizational skills. I know he can’t accomplish half of what he promised. McCain never really had a chance and that probably is good. Obama hopefully will put his skills to good use. He needs to save the economy first and worry about things like health care later. I think he can do it. He has a chance to govern by teaching as FDR did. He has good advisers but he is going to come up against the reality of what power he has and doesn’t have. One thing he does have is a lot of people believing in him right now. We will see how it goes.
Midday Wednesday a big box-o-meat arrived at our door. Kathy and Joe got me an Omaha Steaks gift assortment for my birthday. It included top sirloin, pork chops, stuffed sole, gourmet franks, filet mignon, potatoes au gratin, and steak burgers. This all came in a big Styrofoam cooler—cooled by dry ice—with a cutlery set on top to boot. We are going o be eating well for a long time.
I had to make room in the freezer so I shuffled thing around and removed all the blue ice and cold pads. These I put in the Styrofoam cooler with the remaining dry ice. Our freezer is packed now. It’s a good thing I have some talent in packing things.
I used the cold pads to soak my foot in. I had been soaking my foot in warm water and Epsom salt until now but I found the cold relieved the foot pain better. So the meat coming actually helped relieve my pain by forcing me to use the cold pad.
All this week I have been reviewing wedding pictures, cropping and brightening things up. I finished that today and burned a CD to send to Meme. I also burned a DVD with those pictures and our Vermont and Montana pictures to send to Nana.
I also did some garden work on Wednesday. I’ve got 20 or so tomatoes coming along. Will they ripen before we get a hard freeze? Probably not. The good news is that at least I’m getting some fruit to grow.
I had to make my weekly quarterback decision for my fantasy football team early this week because Jay Cutler was playing Thursday night. Do I play him or Drew Breese? I did some research and while both looked good the predictions were better for Breese. So I didn’t play Cutler. When I went to bed last night the game was into the 4th quarter and Cutler only had 3.6 points. It seemed like I had made the right choice. This morning I look at the stats and he has 26.39 points- 3 TDs and over 400 yards—he must have really been on fire for those last 10 minutes of the game!
Today I got a statement on a small IRA account I have. It’s lost 15% in the past 30 days. Hold on to your hats folks this is going to be a bad time economically.
Tomorrow we have an engaged couple over for most of the day. We have to cover the complete program in 1 day. The woman lives in DC and has flown in just to do this.
Kitty Update—3 cats have been showing up for food for the past 2 nights. Meredith is still gone. It’s raining tonight and there is a big orange tomcat out there so I don’t expect everyone to show tonight. Marmalade is out there and letting me know that she is wet AND HUNGRY!
Last Saturday we celebrated my 60th birthday and it was good. On Nov 2nd, my actual birthday we attended the Wedding of Tory and Sam, a wonderful wedding despite some glitches with the weather and cake. The most important part of the wedding went fine and Tory and Sam are comfortable with one another and were happy together all day.
Sunday night was spent in Tampa at Kathy’s. Since brother Lou was with us this may be the last time we three are together for a while. Lou actually traveled better with us this time. We were able to make normal stops and even set a record on the way down—Tampa in 6 ½ hours.
Monday’s drive back went smoothly. We dropped Lou at the Church and went home to greet the cat. Penny missed he Kitty all weekend and one reason for the short stay in Tampa was to allow her to get back to the cat.
Tuesday was Election Day. I listened to Karen on our computer as she covered the story in Jacksonville. Our nation elected the candidate of hope. Obama ran a brilliant campaign and showed masterful organizational skills. I know he can’t accomplish half of what he promised. McCain never really had a chance and that probably is good. Obama hopefully will put his skills to good use. He needs to save the economy first and worry about things like health care later. I think he can do it. He has a chance to govern by teaching as FDR did. He has good advisers but he is going to come up against the reality of what power he has and doesn’t have. One thing he does have is a lot of people believing in him right now. We will see how it goes.
Midday Wednesday a big box-o-meat arrived at our door. Kathy and Joe got me an Omaha Steaks gift assortment for my birthday. It included top sirloin, pork chops, stuffed sole, gourmet franks, filet mignon, potatoes au gratin, and steak burgers. This all came in a big Styrofoam cooler—cooled by dry ice—with a cutlery set on top to boot. We are going o be eating well for a long time.
I had to make room in the freezer so I shuffled thing around and removed all the blue ice and cold pads. These I put in the Styrofoam cooler with the remaining dry ice. Our freezer is packed now. It’s a good thing I have some talent in packing things.
I used the cold pads to soak my foot in. I had been soaking my foot in warm water and Epsom salt until now but I found the cold relieved the foot pain better. So the meat coming actually helped relieve my pain by forcing me to use the cold pad.
All this week I have been reviewing wedding pictures, cropping and brightening things up. I finished that today and burned a CD to send to Meme. I also burned a DVD with those pictures and our Vermont and Montana pictures to send to Nana.
I also did some garden work on Wednesday. I’ve got 20 or so tomatoes coming along. Will they ripen before we get a hard freeze? Probably not. The good news is that at least I’m getting some fruit to grow.
I had to make my weekly quarterback decision for my fantasy football team early this week because Jay Cutler was playing Thursday night. Do I play him or Drew Breese? I did some research and while both looked good the predictions were better for Breese. So I didn’t play Cutler. When I went to bed last night the game was into the 4th quarter and Cutler only had 3.6 points. It seemed like I had made the right choice. This morning I look at the stats and he has 26.39 points- 3 TDs and over 400 yards—he must have really been on fire for those last 10 minutes of the game!
Today I got a statement on a small IRA account I have. It’s lost 15% in the past 30 days. Hold on to your hats folks this is going to be a bad time economically.
Tomorrow we have an engaged couple over for most of the day. We have to cover the complete program in 1 day. The woman lives in DC and has flown in just to do this.
Kitty Update—3 cats have been showing up for food for the past 2 nights. Meredith is still gone. It’s raining tonight and there is a big orange tomcat out there so I don’t expect everyone to show tonight. Marmalade is out there and letting me know that she is wet AND HUNGRY!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
3 Birthdays and a Wedding
Since I was with just about everyone who reads this blog this past weekend there is no need to provide a detailed description of the wonderful birthday dinner that Penny organized for us at Buca di Beppa in Brandon. I know I had a great time sitting next to my 2 precious daughters, staring into the Pope’s face and stuffing myself with all sorts of Italian food. Of course there was still room for desert—chocolate cherry cannoli cake, one of Penny’s many specialties. Sophie was in a great mood and enjoyed her bite of cake.
Sunday was the wedding of Tory and Sam. We got to see much of the McClure branch of the family (the Shooks and Nelsons). The wedding was nice. Tory and Sam looked very comfortable with one another and despite a few bumps in the peripheral items the wedding ceremony itself was heartwarming. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Nelson.
We have about 475 pictures from the weekend, most of those being of the wedding. I’ll be sifting through them this week and sending the better ones to Meme when I’m through.
Kitty Update—Only Velcro has been out there for food for the 2 nights we’ve been back. I did see Buzz last night but not at feeding time. M&M remain unaccounted for .
Sunday was the wedding of Tory and Sam. We got to see much of the McClure branch of the family (the Shooks and Nelsons). The wedding was nice. Tory and Sam looked very comfortable with one another and despite a few bumps in the peripheral items the wedding ceremony itself was heartwarming. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Nelson. We have about 475 pictures from the weekend, most of those being of the wedding. I’ll be sifting through them this week and sending the better ones to Meme when I’m through. Kitty Update—Only Velcro has been out there for food for the 2 nights we’ve been back. I did see Buzz last night but not at feeding time. M&M remain unaccounted for .
Friday, October 31, 2008
Overwhelming Trick-or-Treat Turn Out
For the first time since we’ve lived here we ran out of treats. It goes without saying that we had more kids this year than ever. The street was noisy with kids and parents in cars and every neighborhood dog was barking. We got hit early with a group of about 40(?) kids from Pryor Middle School traveling en mass. They were followed by 3 girls. When I commented that it was good to have only 3 after that last group one girl said, “We are with them, but we’re not.”
There were lots of little ones and most were polite. We had to turn out our light at 8PM.
The woman who was pregnant when I was putting in the lawn and would chat with me on her way to pick up her son at Kenwood showed up with the toddler who is a little younger than Sophie. She said the little girl had pretty well picked up on this Halloween thing so I lowered the candy bowl to her. She reached in and tried to get a handful. Her mom corrected her and helped her pick just one. The Dad was also along with them and he made a point to say thank you. They seem like nice people.
I’ve got but one more day of being 50-something and if all goes as planned it should be a very nice day. Our whole family will be together celebrating 3 birthdays. It doesn’t get any better than that!
There were lots of little ones and most were polite. We had to turn out our light at 8PM.
The woman who was pregnant when I was putting in the lawn and would chat with me on her way to pick up her son at Kenwood showed up with the toddler who is a little younger than Sophie. She said the little girl had pretty well picked up on this Halloween thing so I lowered the candy bowl to her. She reached in and tried to get a handful. Her mom corrected her and helped her pick just one. The Dad was also along with them and he made a point to say thank you. They seem like nice people.
I’ve got but one more day of being 50-something and if all goes as planned it should be a very nice day. Our whole family will be together celebrating 3 birthdays. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Oct 30
I wrote a blog yesterday, posted it but wasn’t happy with it. It really wasn’t blogworthy. First thing this morning I deleted it. Today I’ll try again.
I got up to the alarm clock this morning. I started sleeping later and later each morning and wanted to stop the trend. I’m going to have to wake up early on Saturday anyway so this will get me ready. Setting our clocks back an hour this weekend will help me recover from the drive we are going on in time to drive back.
I just saw a story on the CBS Evening news about a program where prison inmates are used to train shelter dogs. The program provides the inmates with new life skills, responsibility, patience and yes, kindness and love. The dogs, once trained, are no longer throw-aways but are highly adoptable. What I found incredible was the emotion the inmates had for the dogs. They interviewed a woman serving a life sentence. She kept a picture book with pictures of every dog she trained. She pointed out, with tears in her eyes, her favorite. Another male inmate got too choked up to talk as he was being interviewed. Another had trained 54 dogs and was wiping his eyes as he told the reporter about the program. It is rare to see a good news story like this. It was a welcome relief from the other stories and the constant bombardment of nasty political adds we are experiencing. Coincidentally, Penny’s blog has a dog story in it today.
I finished the David Sedaris book today, “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”. You don’t understand the title of the book until the last CD. He spends the better part of 2 CDs discussing his struggles with giving up smoking. I find it interesting that this guy, who is so self-centered and insecure has easily traveled around the world and lived in the US, France and Japan. Somehow I thought it would take some sophistication and more rational thinking to do that. He just drifts along meeting strange people and making quirky and comical observations. I guess all you need is money and the rest will be provided. Now if I remember I will bring the book with me and let Karen read it. She gave it to me as a gift.
Tomorrow is Halloween. We weren’t sure we would be in town for it until yesterday so we haven’t gotten any candy yet. Last year we got a decent showing of kids. The neighborhood is going through a new generation of kids. Tomorrow is Target day so we will get our Halloween supplies just in time. That’s unusual for us. We usually get the stuff 3 or 4 weeks in advance.
When I worked one option for saving for retirement was the Government Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The plan consists of several funds with varying degrees of risk and return. I always put my contribution into the most conservative fund, the “G” Fund. I watched as several years ago some investments made 20% while the G Fund made 4 to 6%. I also watched as the other funds fell 20% and the G Fund made 3%. I just checked the funds performances over the last year and every fund except the G Fund has lost a lot of money. The G Fund isn’t returning the 6% needed for me to continue taking out the monthly allotment I have been doing. Our plan was to pay ourselves the interest from the plan and keep the principle about the same. In that manner we could get added monthly income for life. But with the return getting close to 0 we are reducing the monthly allotment to the minimum allowed.
.........................The G Fund is the top green line
We will tighten our belts for a while and wait for better times—hopefully not too long. We traveled a lot this year and spent more freely while we could. We knew things would get bad for a while, they always do. The big question is how bad and how long?
I got up to the alarm clock this morning. I started sleeping later and later each morning and wanted to stop the trend. I’m going to have to wake up early on Saturday anyway so this will get me ready. Setting our clocks back an hour this weekend will help me recover from the drive we are going on in time to drive back.
I just saw a story on the CBS Evening news about a program where prison inmates are used to train shelter dogs. The program provides the inmates with new life skills, responsibility, patience and yes, kindness and love. The dogs, once trained, are no longer throw-aways but are highly adoptable. What I found incredible was the emotion the inmates had for the dogs. They interviewed a woman serving a life sentence. She kept a picture book with pictures of every dog she trained. She pointed out, with tears in her eyes, her favorite. Another male inmate got too choked up to talk as he was being interviewed. Another had trained 54 dogs and was wiping his eyes as he told the reporter about the program. It is rare to see a good news story like this. It was a welcome relief from the other stories and the constant bombardment of nasty political adds we are experiencing. Coincidentally, Penny’s blog has a dog story in it today.
I finished the David Sedaris book today, “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”. You don’t understand the title of the book until the last CD. He spends the better part of 2 CDs discussing his struggles with giving up smoking. I find it interesting that this guy, who is so self-centered and insecure has easily traveled around the world and lived in the US, France and Japan. Somehow I thought it would take some sophistication and more rational thinking to do that. He just drifts along meeting strange people and making quirky and comical observations. I guess all you need is money and the rest will be provided. Now if I remember I will bring the book with me and let Karen read it. She gave it to me as a gift.
Tomorrow is Halloween. We weren’t sure we would be in town for it until yesterday so we haven’t gotten any candy yet. Last year we got a decent showing of kids. The neighborhood is going through a new generation of kids. Tomorrow is Target day so we will get our Halloween supplies just in time. That’s unusual for us. We usually get the stuff 3 or 4 weeks in advance.
When I worked one option for saving for retirement was the Government Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The plan consists of several funds with varying degrees of risk and return. I always put my contribution into the most conservative fund, the “G” Fund. I watched as several years ago some investments made 20% while the G Fund made 4 to 6%. I also watched as the other funds fell 20% and the G Fund made 3%. I just checked the funds performances over the last year and every fund except the G Fund has lost a lot of money. The G Fund isn’t returning the 6% needed for me to continue taking out the monthly allotment I have been doing. Our plan was to pay ourselves the interest from the plan and keep the principle about the same. In that manner we could get added monthly income for life. But with the return getting close to 0 we are reducing the monthly allotment to the minimum allowed.
.........................The G Fund is the top green lineWe will tighten our belts for a while and wait for better times—hopefully not too long. We traveled a lot this year and spent more freely while we could. We knew things would get bad for a while, they always do. The big question is how bad and how long?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Not a Manic Monday
Success! I seem to have fixed my computer. I searched the Microsoft sit and after several dead ends finally came across the solution. There is a function built in to the windows operating system that scans the windows software for problems and fixes whatever it finds. All you do is get into DOS mode and type sfc /scannow. Everything seems to be back to normal now. I had managed to go to 4 system recovery points but whatever my problem was it followed me through all the earlier computer settings. So, I’m happy about that.
Penny and I got shot today for the flu. I piggybacked on her doctor’s appointment for the shot. While in the waiting room I read some articles in the Oct Family Circle. Both had to do with raising kids. The first explained how to deal with typical issues as kids grow. Issues that we didn’t have to deal with. They were things like the pressure for girls to dress like sluts, body piercing and tattoos and gloomy Goth dress. The basic message was to start teaching the kids as early as kindergarten about how and why we dress a certain way. That’s a type of training I never got. Growing up I actually believed that “clothes don’t make the man” was true and that people didn’t really notice how you dressed.
The weather turned chilly today and will go down into the 30’s tonight. We haven’t turned the heat on yet but tonight might be the night. Penny likes it a little chilly at night. She derives great comfort from wrapping up herself in a warm blanket on a chilly night. She likes to be tucked in, too. It reminds her of being tucked in by her Dad.
Kitty Update—All 4 cats were here last night at feeding time. After being fed they all disappeared. Marmalade, who has been here constantly for a week has gone all day. Tonight Marmalade and Meredith have shown up so far. It has been cold and windy so maybe they have a warmer place to stay. When I opened the door to feed them Meredith stepped inside and I had to push her back out.
Penny and I got shot today for the flu. I piggybacked on her doctor’s appointment for the shot. While in the waiting room I read some articles in the Oct Family Circle. Both had to do with raising kids. The first explained how to deal with typical issues as kids grow. Issues that we didn’t have to deal with. They were things like the pressure for girls to dress like sluts, body piercing and tattoos and gloomy Goth dress. The basic message was to start teaching the kids as early as kindergarten about how and why we dress a certain way. That’s a type of training I never got. Growing up I actually believed that “clothes don’t make the man” was true and that people didn’t really notice how you dressed.
The weather turned chilly today and will go down into the 30’s tonight. We haven’t turned the heat on yet but tonight might be the night. Penny likes it a little chilly at night. She derives great comfort from wrapping up herself in a warm blanket on a chilly night. She likes to be tucked in, too. It reminds her of being tucked in by her Dad.
Kitty Update—All 4 cats were here last night at feeding time. After being fed they all disappeared. Marmalade, who has been here constantly for a week has gone all day. Tonight Marmalade and Meredith have shown up so far. It has been cold and windy so maybe they have a warmer place to stay. When I opened the door to feed them Meredith stepped inside and I had to push her back out.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Picture Perfect Day
Well, almost. Penny isn’t feeling well since mid-day. Besides that, however, it has been a nice day.
It was a clear cool day with bright sunlight— A good day to be irresponsible and run off with my new camera to try it out. I went to one of my favorite places for pictures, the beach, and spent about 45 minutes wandering around taking pictures not for their artistic effect but more to check out the camera’s functions and ability.
I’m very pleased with the way it works. Here are some sample shots:
The 20X zoom is incredible. The following are pictures taken with no zoom and then with 20X.
It was a clear cool day with bright sunlight— A good day to be irresponsible and run off with my new camera to try it out. I went to one of my favorite places for pictures, the beach, and spent about 45 minutes wandering around taking pictures not for their artistic effect but more to check out the camera’s functions and ability.
I’m very pleased with the way it works. Here are some sample shots:
The 20X zoom is incredible. The following are pictures taken with no zoom and then with 20X.
I sat next to Brie and took a close-up of her.
I tested the macro on our magnolia tree.
I took some indoor pictures of chairs and fans and things to get an idea of the flash capability and it looks very good. No picture worth putting here.
After lunch Penny and I sat down and made out Vermont picture book on Winkflash. We did it surprisingly fast for us. The order is in and we will see if it arrives in time for the birthday party.
KITTY UPDATE—Meredith showed up tonight!!! She was skinny and very hungry and seemed to be happy to be back.
Marmalade is still hanging around all day sleeping outside our back door. Here is a typical pose.
Tomorrow it is back to being more responsible but today was OK.
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