Tuesday Tundra

I finally got up about 0745, I had been laying there watching the snowfall on the skylight for about forty-five minutes and decided to get up. Once downstairs, I let Reggie out and went out myself. I still had my slippers on and was only dressed in my shorts and a tee shirt. Needless to say, I did not stay out too long.

Upon coming inside, I did my morning computer bonding and by the time I was finished it was about 0915. Kathleen had made it downstairs and asked if I wanted an omelet for breakfast, it sounded good, so that is what she made. I also toasted a couple slices of raisin toast and made a pot of fresh coffee.

Before I had a chance to sit down to eat, the garbage truck came, so I went out to pick up the can and bring it to the back. When I was outside the first time there was only about an inch of snow, but by now, it was closer to two inches. This for a day where on the 5:00 news on Monday night they were predicting a trace to at most a half an inch of snow we sure got a lot of snow, I think that the news tonight they said almost four inches.

After breakfast, I sat down to read the paper, Tuesday is not normally a very large paper, and today was no exception, so it did not take too long to page through it. The mail came shortly after I finished the paper, Kathleen got several things and I got my pension1099-R form and an LL Bean fishing catalog and some junk mail.

I went outside a couple other times this afternoon, again in shorts and a tee shirt, but this time I put on my rubberized garden clogs, as the snow was about three inches deep by now. I really did not do much of anything outside, just kind of walked around in the snow.

I gave some thought to getting either my cross-country skis or my snowshoes out and hiking around the neighborhood, but I really did not feel very good. I think I was still reeling from yesterday. So I wound up sitting most of the rest of the day, spending time between the TV and my computer. I also watched the kids, (twenty or thirty year olds), racing their ATV up and down the street all afternoon and into the night. Also the guy across the street was pulling kids, (teen and twenty year olds), down the road on an old car or truck hood.

Finally, around 1830 I asked Kathleen if she planned to eat tonight, she said yes, so I heated up the scalloped potatoes from last night, another comfort food night. Well, I am sure that I will not be doing much of anything else tonight, so I will just say good night!

Miserable Monday

Well, I think that I will include my CarePage here, just so that I do not have to rethink about it. I will probably add a little as I tried to keep the CarePage a little less personal.

Well, I made it through this morning! I got up a little early, as I knew that I needed to get to my 0900 appointment a little early to finish some paperwork.

When I went upstairs about 0815 to change clothes, Kathleen was still asleep, so I changed clothes and let Reggie out and then took off in my Wrangler. That way if Kathleen did wake up and wanted to she could meet me at the hospital.

Anyway, I got there early and started filling out my paperwork when they bought me my first of three complementary barium shakes. Shortly after I finished my first one and finished my paperwork, they brought me my second, yummy!

Kathleen had called a little after 0900 and said that she would be joining me when she got dressed and ready to go out. Before she arrived, I had the first of the many procedures that they were to perform this morning.

I got to change into a sporty hospital gown and then the doctor, a radiation therapy technologist and an inter from OSHU (all females) got me up on a table and then placed a catheter up into my bladder and then injected a fluid into it as the doctor pulled the tube out and then clamped me to keep the fluid in. Lots of fun!

Next I got to get some x-rays taken, but before I was finished there, they marked three spots on my body, which next Friday they will tattoo, so that they can align the radiation to the same spot each time.

Then I got to slip out of my hospital gown and put on my clothes once again. I got to sit in the inside waiting room and even got another complementary barium shake as a reward for...well, I am not sure what, but when I find out I will do my best not to do it again!

Kathleen arrived shortly after I got back and just before I got my third shake that is 1350ml's. After another wait, they called me to go to get my CT scan. After I arrived, I got to get an IV, no problem, except it took three tries and two people to do it, I felt a little like a pincushion.

Once up on the table and into position, the injected some more fluid into the IV and then proceeded to do the scan. Not nearly as bad as the other things that I had been through this morning. Other than the trouble that they had getting the IV in, the rest was a piece of cake.

They did mention that diarrhea is a side effect of some of what I went through this morning, boy that was an understatement...I am in double digits and it is only 1700, I just barely made it a couple times. I get really bad cramps and then I better start making tracks to the bathroom. This has really been a fun filled day!

I go back Friday for the start of my radiation treatments, and I hope to have a little more information at that time. I got home about noon and Kathleen went to Joann's to do some shopping and got home about 1530. We were going to go to Costco, but I do not think that would have been a wise thing for me to go, there is always tomorrow.

I made myself a meatloaf sandwich and had a can of beets for lunch, which was before all the bathroom fun began. I think I have made a bathroom trip at least once every half hour since about 1400, including a couple times just in the time it took to write this, and it is not from drinking all the water that I have been drinking this afternoon.

Well, Kathleen made some scalloped potatoes tonight, kind of a comfort food, I am not hungry yet, but I will be in a little while. I doubt if I will feel like sitting here after dinner, I have been doing a lot of sitting this afternoon and it actually feels better to stand. I think I will be going to bed really early tonight, today seemed to take quite a bit out of me in more ways than one, so I will say my good nights now.

Sleepy Sunday

This started out to be a rather normal Sunday morning. Although when I went upstairs after eating breakfast, Kathleen was still in bed. When I asked her if she were planning to go this morning, she did not look like she would and she even said that she was still tired.

I changed clothes, interpretation... I put on long pants and a sweater, and went downstairs, loaded the dishwasher and started it up. Then I took off for church, since Kathleen did not look like she would even make it to Sunday School this morning I took her SUV. I was too lazy to go through the hassle of getting my Wrangler out of the garage.

Since the Acura was just about out of gas, after church and Sunday School, I went to the gas station and filled it up. I did not think that it was that long, but it was almost a month since I bought gas for it. The Wrangler, I only get gas about every other month or so.

When I finally got home, Kathleen was still upstairs, so I changed clothes again...shorts and a tee shirt, and came back downstairs and heated up the leftover rice and chili for my lunch. Then I read the paper.

I had forgotten that I had washed the dishes, so when I realized it I emptied the dishwasher and cleaned up the sink. Then I noticed that the kitchen recycling was getting pretty full again, so I took it out and put it into the compost tumbler.

I was feeling tired, but I decided that I needed to go through the coupons and cut out what I thought we might use. Then I just kind of vegetated and watched a couple football games.

About mid afternoon, Kathleen asked if I wanted some soup, I was still a little hungry, so I said yes. She made some chicken noodle soup and on a cool day like this, it hit the spot. Well, it is getting close to time for supper, I think grilled cheese sandwiches and some more soup sounds good.

Well, I am too tired to think about anything else to write, so I think that I will end this. Oh, one last thing, I do have that appointment tomorrow to be scanned. That is supposed to take a couple three hours, so I probably will not feel like doing too much after that.

I was hoping to go to the credit union to deposit an insurance check and to the library to pick up a fly tying video, but tomorrow being Martin Luther King Day, I think that those places will be closed. Well, good night!

Saturday Soaps

Well, this morning I got off to a rather slow start. When I finally drug myself out of bed and went downstairs to do my morning computer time, I found out that the computer and phone were not working. The cable TV was working but not the cable broadband or computer phone.

I called the cable company on my cell phone around 0845 and after playing the push the buttons game, I finally got to talk to a real live person. They finally were able to let me know that there was a problem in the area and they had no estimated time of completion. So I decided to make myself some breakfast.

I took some of the ribs and took the meat off it, added some chopped onions, added some chopped garlic, shredded a potato and fried them up. When they were done, I fried a couple eggs. It must have smelled pretty good as Kathleen came down shortly afterwards and asked what I had made. I think it was the onion and garlic combination that produced the good aroma. I like using a lot of onion and garlic when I cook.

Kathleen made herself some hash browns and eggs as well. Since we could not do anything on the computer I decided to strip the bed and wash the bed linen, after that I did four loads of regular laundry, washed, dried, folded and put away.

I was getting tired of picking up the phone to see if it was working yet or not, so I called Comcast and took the option to get called when the system was back up. About 1500 I got a phone call from Dan's father so I knew that the lines must be working. I finally got a chance to check my e-mail.

I quartered an orange, an apple and peeled a banana for lunch. I just vacuumed yesterday, but I could see a lot of Reggie fur on the burgundy rug, so I decided that I had better vacuum again. It seems sometimes he just sheds like crazy and other days not so much.

Luckily, it was Saturday, so there was not a lot of e-mail, but since I do my devotions online and also my Bible reading, I could get that done as well. Of course, if worse came to worse, I could always do it the old fashion way and use my Bible and do my devotions with my computer Bible program, but I have gotten so spoiled.

Anyway, for dinner it just felt like a chili night, so we used some of the left over rice and put chili on top. I had one bowl and started to eat another one, but I decided that I was full enough and did not need to stuff myself.

Well, Kathleen has gone upstairs and I will probably finish this up, watch a little TV, then go upstairs, take a shower, and enjoy those nice crisp sheets. So good night!

Friday's Freeze

Well, it never really warmed up today. It only got up to about 35 degrees today, so most of the snow that fell Wednesday night is still on the lawn, at least the front lawn. The back yard only had snow in the areas where there is shade, the rest of the lawn is clear of snow.

When I went out this morning to take the kitchen recycling out to the recycling tumbler the ground was so frozen that I could feel it on the soles of my feet through my sandals. I also picked up after Reggie while I was out there, which was interesting as most of it was frozen to the ground.

It is cold enough that I gave some thought to putting on some long pants and a shirt other than a tee shirt. It quickly passed though, and once back in the house I was fine again. Kathleen on the other hand was wrapped up in a blanket and was still cold.

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I was at my doctor’s appointment yesterday, I had my blood pressure taken, normally when ever I am at a doctor’s office my blood pressure is on the high side. So I was pleased that it was 130/80, not necessarily great, but not bad for me.

Kathleen juiced some carrots, onions, cabbage and apples, and I had that as an afternoon snack. Normally I have some carrot slice, and quarter either an orange or an apple for a mid afternoon snack. The juice was easier to get more fruits and vegetables, but I enjoy chewing the different ones, although I do not usually eat that many different types.

I spent most of the afternoon paying bills online, reconciling the checkbook and trying to figure out a cheaper way to do our cell phones. I think that I can save about $600 a year by going to a pay as you go phone plan.

Kathleen helped sort out the 2006 bill statements so now I can and did put the 2007 bills statements into the file where I keep them. We also separated out the tax deductible items for when I do the taxes. I have the current Turbo Tax, I am just waiting on getting my tax forms from the various places so that I can begin doing the taxes.

Tonight, we had some of the left over ribs and Kathleen made some more rice for dinner. Kathleen just went upstairs so I guess that I will be down here by myself for the rest of the night. That being said, I probably will not be getting into any more trouble, so I will just say good night.

Tracing Thursday

Well to start with, we got a small amount of snow last night around 1830, it did not snow very long, but it made for a bright night. Then when I got up this morning the snow was still there. I needed to eat and get to the radiation oncologist office for a 0930 appointment.

Kathleen came with me, so that she could take notes. The drive there was interesting as there was still a lot of snow and the roads were icy in a few spots. Anyway I went into more detail in my CarePage so I will not repeat it here.

After the doctor's visit, Kathleen wanted to stop by the library to pick up some books she had on hold, so we headed off to the library. While we were there I renewed my library card, but I did not want to take the time to look for any books. I did do a little browsing, but nothing popped out at me, so we took off.

I also needed to pick up a couple of flood lights, as the ones on the garage had burnt out earlier in the week. One burnt out last week and the second one burnt out Tuesday, so it was pretty dark in the driveway and Kathleen likes lots of light.

I got a couple bulbs that were pretty low wattage, but I wanted to try to see if they would produce enough light for Kathleen. I thought that they put off enough light, so it will be interesting to see what Kathleen thinks when she gets home tonight from her meeting.

After stopping off at BiMart for the bulbs Kathleen said that she was hungry, so we stopped at Shari's and had an honored citizens fish and shrimp dinner. Neither one of us could finish our dinners so we brought them home and finished them off for dinner. Kathleen also wanted some Bushes baked beans so we had that as well tonight.

After we finally got back home, I read the mail and then the paper. There really was not much in the mail, a couple bills, and another insurance check. I just put the last couple of checks into the credit union account. It seems like whenever I make a deposit within a couple days, I get another check.

Well, Kathleen had a 1900 meeting tonight, I was also suppose to be at another meeting, but I was too tired and decided not to go to my meeting. So her I sit blogging. Well, I think that is all for tonight, so good night!

Working Wednesday

This morning I got up about 0700 as Kathleen had said that she was setting her alarm at 0700 so that she could get up and go with Andrea to get her ultrasound at 0900. I wanted to make sure that I was not in the way, so I went downstairs, let Reggie out and did my computer stuff.

When I finished that, I went upstairs to make sure Kathleen had gotten up, she had so I went back downstairs and started to do a little kitchen clean up. Kathleen came down and made herself some oatmeal, so I waited until she finished and than made some for myself. Andrea arrived before I finished and she and sat and watched me finish. I had found the cards that I had bought for the December birthdays and so we gave Andrea her card.

After we all were done, I loaded up all the dishes I could into the dishwasher and started it up. Then I did all the hand washing stuff in the sink. Kathleen and Andrea took off about 0830, as they were not quiet sure exactly where the place was.

I went in and read the paper and shortly after I finished the paper, the mail arrived. Kathleen and Andrea got back while I was still reading the paper. Andrea had gotten some mail so I gave it to her.

Andrea left about 1045, as she needed to go home, take a nap, and then leave for work later this afternoon. Kathleen lay down on the couch and took a nap, so I went outside to do some yard work. I was planning to pull up some more ivy, but when I got out there I thought that it might be a better use of my time if I cut the old raspberry canes out.

Well, I got about half way done, I got side tracked a little as I also transplanted several raspberry plants and cut down a small tree and dug the stomp out. So by the time I got my extra curricular work done I was pretty tired.

It was after 1330 by the time I came in and got cleaned up and I was feeling like I needed to eat something. So I made myself some toast pizza, I used a multi grain bread, toasted it, added some ketchup, Italian seasoning and cheddar cheese. Then I melted the cheese in the microwave. Not too bad for a quick meal. I quartered an orange to top the meal off.

After eating I unloaded the dishwasher and put the items that did not make it into the dishwasher before I started it up this morning. Knowing that Kathleen was not feeling too well, I took out some the meatloaf, from a few weeks ago, out of the freezer for dinner tonight.

We are suppose to be going to church at 1900 for a budget meeting tonight, so we will need to eat and leave early and not have to worry about what to make.

I noticed that the area rug was starting to look more like a white Reggie fur rug than a burgundy colored rug, so I vacuumed the downstairs carpeting.

Well, I think that I will just send this off now, as I doubt if I will feel much like it after the budget meeting. So good night!

Tuesday's Tracking

I did not get up until almost 0830, I probably could have slept longer, but I was awake and knew that Reggie needed to get outside. I made some raisin toast, put peanut butter and a banana on it made a cup of tea and was satisfied.

After breakfast, I read the paper and after finishing it, I took it out front to put in the recycling tote. Kathleen came downstairs and was not feeling well. She finished cutting out the coupons that I left for her to look at, as we were going to go to the credit union and grocery store today.

It was getting to be afternoon and I knew that I should eat something before we went shopping, so I quartered an orange and grabbed some carrots and called that lunch. I let Reggie out one more time and we were off to take care of some errands.

First, we stopped at Montivilla Sewing Center, as Kathleen wanted to pick up her monthly disk and whatever else she gets. Then off to the credit union, while I made the deposits, Kathleen went to the Cingular store to check on the different plans available now.

We are paying too much for our service and want to either get the pay as you go phones or get a different play. We did not make any decision, but I picked up some of their brochures so that I could sit down and calculate out which option would be less expensive and meet our needs better.

Next stop was Winco to do our grocery shopping, I had about eight things on our list, but we wound up with a cart full of things. Since Kathleen was not feeling well, I picked up a couple frozen lasagnas, I got her one with meat and I got mine with soy. Then home to unload the SUV and put everything away.

Kathleen had gotten some chocolate, so when we got everything put away she melted the chocolate and finished making the almond roca that she started the other day. I heated up the lasagna and then we had dinner as she was finishing up the roca.

Kathleen has gone upstairs now and here I am doing my blog. Kathleen has to get her annual report done for tomorrow. I am still tired so I imagine that it will be another early night, so I will just say good night now.

Misty Monday

This morning when I woke up as I lay in bed, I could hear kind of a muffled sound on the skylight in our bedroom and I thought, could this possible be snow. So I got up and looked out the window...no snow, but the ground was wet, nothing unusual for this time of year.

When I went downstairs and let Reggie out, I noticed that there was a very light mist and I decided that what I had heard in the bedroom was an occasional dripping off the fir trees and the accumulation of mist got heavy enough on the fir branches to finally fall off. I guess that we will have an opportunity to see some snow later this week.

The temperature was in the high forties early this morning and eventually got into the fifties, so it was too warm to actually snow, but one can dream. Anyway, that was the extent of the excitement for me to day.

I made myself some oatmeal this morning for breakfast, and then emptied the dishwasher and did some more hand washing of the crock-pot and frying pan. Then I went into the living room and read the paper. The mail came before I finished the paper, so I went and got it, but there was nothing there of any importance. Both Kathleen and I got credit card applications, which we promptly shredded. The rest went into the recycling bag.

After finishing the mail and the paper, I gathered up all the recycling paper and got it ready to be recycled tomorrow. Then I took the plastic bottles and metal recycling out to the front and also brought up the garbage can.

While I was out there, I decided to rake the front of the driveway because I had noticed that during a couple of the heavy rains over the last couple of weeks that the water was collecting in certain areas. I was trying to remove those areas and keep the water flowing down the street.

About 1300 I decided to make myself some lunch, so I took the hash browns and the egg whites that Kathleen had left over from her breakfast, heated up a couple sausages, and had that for lunch. Afterwards finishing eating, I cleaned up the pots and pans that had gathered and put the dishes into the dishwasher.

Kathleen called the radiation office today to find out about my appointment. I was planning on waiting until Wednesday, but I am glad that she called and we were able to make an appointment for Thursday. So hopefully I will find out more about what is going to happen at that time.

I think that we are going to have the leftover spaghetti squash from the other night for dinner. I am watching the Ohio State championship game tonight so I am writing this a little early.

Sleepy Sunday

This was a pretty typical Sunday morning, with church and Sunday School and that is where it stopped being "normal". I had a meeting after Sunday School with the missions team that lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Then the couple that I worked on their computer last week invited us out to dinner.

We went to Sweet Tomato and had a very nice lunch, and we talked for quite a while afterwards. Then after when we got home, I changed clothes, came back downstairs, and read the paper. After reading the paper and recycling it, I sat back down and Linda, our sister-in-law called.

Well, I had been dozing off and on for most of the call and finally knocked out completely. Kathleen and Linda got a big laugh out of it and I got a little catnap. I am still pretty tired, but I do feel a little more awake than I was.

Kathleen reheated the ribs and rice from the other night for dinner. After dinner, I emptied the dishwasher, loaded it up again, started it up and then did the hand washing. I had not done any hand washing for a couple days and the sink was overflowing.

Kathleen has gone upstairs now and I am on my computer doing my blog. I think that this will be another early night. I have been really tired for the last couple of weeks. I am glad that I was able to postpone my jury duty this next week.

I am not sure how I would be able to get up at 0530 and to be able to make the bus and Max connections to get to the courthouse by 0730. So, I will just say my good night now.

Settling in Saturday

Today started out much the same as any other day, I did have to get ready to go to a Discipleship meeting at church at 0900 this morning, but just about everything else was pretty normal.

The meeting lasted quite a lot longer than they normally do, and after the meeting Pastor Brian wanted me to show him how to do something on the computer so that took a while as well. I finally made it home about noontime.

Some one had thrown a fast food bag and a couple drinks out in the road near our driveway, I tried to pick it up, but the bag was so wet that it just fell apart. So I went into the house, got a plastic bag, went back out, picked it up, and put it into the garbage can.

Shortly after I got home and changed my clothes, my mother called and I talked to her for a while and then my sister got on the phone and we talked a while longer. By the time we finally hung up we had been on the phone for almost an hour and a half.

I fixed myself a sardine sandwich for lunch and heated up a couple cinnamon rolls to top it all off. Then I went into the living room and read the mail. I think most of it wound up in the recycling. Then I tackled the paper and after finishing the paper, I pretty much vegetated in my chair the rest of the afternoon.

Kathleen made some spaghetti squash for dinner, with some spaghetti sauce on it, it really tasted good. I settled for one helping and then had an orange for desert.

Well, I am more tired than I should be tonight, but I am tired nonetheless, so I think that I will just say good night.

Friday’s Fretfulness

This has not been the best day of my life. I got up early as I had my quarterly post surgery appointment this morning. I felt pretty good as I went about my morning, I had oatmeal with raisins, a banana, wheat germ, molasses, maple syrup and "Go Lean Crunch", and I even made a fresh pot of coffee. I left for the doctor's office early as I thought that I might have to fill out new paperwork, I did not, but I got there early, just in case.

I even got into see the nurse about 0900, my appointment time, for a blood draw and urine sample. Then back to the waiting room for another twenty-minute wait. Then I was called again, this time I got to see the doctor's assistant. The nurse hen she brought me into the room said that my urine sample was good.

That made me feel pretty good, but about ten minutes later the doctor's assistant came in and said that my PSA levels were higher than they should have been and that the doctor would be in to see me in a little bit.

Twenty minutes later the doctor, the one who preformed the surgery last June, came in and told me that there could be a couple possibilities as to why it was elevated, one he said was very unlikely and another he said my body could be producing PSA from some other source, again, probably not too likely.

The third possibility was that there is still some cancer there that was not detected last June. Since the last two times that I have had my PSA checked, it has gone up each time by .1. So it is now about three times what it was last June, right after my surgery.

He recommended that I undergo radiation therapy and gave me the name of a radiation oncologist that he recommended., so when I got done seeing him I went down to the first floor and talked to the folks at the radiation oncology office.

I could not set up an appointment at the time, as they wanted to get my files from the hospital, on the surgery, and from my urologist, who did the surgery and has been treating me since. They did give me several forms to fill out and bring back with me when I have my consultation appointment.

After leaving the hospital, I stopped at Fred Meyer to purchase some TriMet/Max tickets, as I was scheduled for jury duty next week. Then I headed home.

The mail was hanging out of the mailbox when I got to the front door, so I picked it up and set it on the piano. Kathleen was in the living room, so I told her about my morning and then I went upstairs and changed clothes.

Once back downstairs, I opened up the mail, most of it this time was something that I wanted to look at. Most of it still wound up in the recycling, but there were a few items, a fly-fishing catalog and a discount Christian book catalog, that I kept.

I spent quite a lot of time this afternoon canceling some obligations that I had made, as once the radiation begins I probably will be pretty limited in what I am able to do. I also decided to see if I would be able to postpone my jury duty, they usually require a weeks notification, but since my circumstances were a little out of the ordinary, they have rescheduled me for June.

Somewhere and sometime this afternoon I decided that I needed to eat something, since we were out of leftovers, I toasted some raisin bread and smeared some limburger cheese on it and poured myself an other cup of coffee.

I finally got to read the paper about 1600, for some reason I just did not feel the need to read it any earlier. Kathleen had slow cooked some ribs today and then made some rice, so that is what we had for dinner tonight.

She is upstairs now and I am pretty tired, mostly emotionally, so I think that I will say good night.

Thursday's Travels

I got up a little early this morning, as I needed to leave a little after 0800 for breakfast with my accountability group. We had a good breakfast and fellowship, there were four of us there for breakfast and the other one joined us afterwards.

After finishing breakfast, three of us headed out to seem one of our friends who is undergoing a gamma knife procedure tomorrow morning. We also visited him last month when he was originally scheduled for this procedure, but had to be canceled due to insurance not okaying the procedure in time.

After our visit, the other two took off in one vehicle and I took off in my Wrangler because I needed to stop by the credit union to deposit a couple checks. So after taking care of the checks I called the folks that I had worked on their computer last week to check to make sure that they would be home.

They were planning to be home, so I stopped by on my way home and fixed their computer again. It only took about five minutes and I was on my way again. When I got home, the mail was there and there were a couple more checks, for some reason as soon as I deposit checks, there almost always seem to be more checks in the mail either that day or the next.

There really was not much else in the mail other than my Visa bill; I think that the rest of it was destined for the recycling. After taking care of the mail, I read the paper, as I did not take time to read it this morning.

I was starting to get a little hungry, so I took the rest of the leftover turkey soup out of the refrigerator, heated it up and added son nutmeg. There was just a soup cup left, but it was all that I needed. Afterwards I washed the pot that Kathleen had used to cook the ham and bean soup the other night. Kathleen had put the remainder into a couple bags and put them into the freezer.

Afterwards while I was sitting in the living room Kathleen mentioned that the bouquets that I had gotten her before Christmas were looking like they needed to be taken out, so I gathered them up and put the flowers and the greenery into the yard debris can. Then I washed out the vases and put them back on the shelf.

Tonight we had some more of the ham and bean soup, I added some hot sauce and it really gave it a good flavor. Well, Kathleen is back upstairs on her computer and I think that I will call it a day and say good night for now.

Wet Wednesday

I got up a little earlier this morning; I think I just was tired of listening to the rain on the sky light. At least on the main floor the rain is not as noisy. I let Reggie out and if he did not have to go so badly, I think that he would have stayed inside.

After my morning computer time, I made some oatmeal; I heated up a couple cinnamon rolls and coffee. After eating and depositing the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, I poured another cup of coffee and went into the living room to read the paper.

The mail came while I was still reading the paper, but I waited until I finished the paper to get the mail. I thin that I had four magazines, three catalogs and four pieces of junk mail. For not having mail service for three days, I was surprised that that is all the mail that there was.

Andrea called and said that she was coming over; she got here about 1130 and stayed until about 1600. Kathleen and I had planned to go to the credit union, as we have several insurance refund checks to deposit. I have had some of those checks for a couple weeks, so I guess that another day or two will not make much difference.

The rain stopped for a little while, so I went outside and transplanted another shrub and pulled some weeds. I am hoping to have the weeding pretty much under control come springtime, but somehow the weeds just seem to come out of nowhere and it takes a couple weeks to get the gardens looking presentable. At least this time of year the weeds pull up easily.

Kathleen soaked some beans last night and this morning she added the leftover Christmas ham, so we had bean and ham soup tonight with a couple cinnamon rolls to top it off. Well Kathleen is reformatting her external hard drive and is slightly bored. I think that I have pretty much covered my day, so I will say good night for now.

Catch-up Tuesday

I got up a little before 0800 this morning and after my normal routine, I went into the kitchen. I emptied the dishwasher, then reloaded it with the pans and cooling racks from the cinnamon rolls, and started it up again. Then I heated up a couple cinnamon rolls and made a pot of coffee for breakfast.

After eating, I gathered up the towels, loaded the washing machine, and started it up. Then I brought the rest of the laundry down and when the towels finished I put them into the dryer and then did two more loads of clothes. When they dried, I folded and put everything away.

Then I went downstairs again and read the paper. It was a pretty slim news day, with yesterday being New Years Day, and then I added the paper to the recycling bag. By this time the second load of dishes was done, so I put them away.

I heated up a cup of the left over turkey soup and some cinnamon rolls for lunch and then loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. I thought about sitting down in the living room for a while, but I just saw too many things that needed doing.

Since it had been a couple days since I vacuumed, I decided to vacuum, the stairs, the upstairs and the downstairs. Then I decided that I would go outside so that I could transplant a couple shrubs that were growing in areas that I did not want them. I took advantage of a few minutes when the rain had slowed down or stopped.

Speaking of weather, the news just said that it was 58 degrees today. Last night the temperature started out in the forties and before morning, it was in the low fifties. It is hard to believe that it is the first part of January.

As I was sitting in the living room, I noticed several "stacks", so I decided to go through them, sort out, and throw away. I managed to throw out quite a lot of "stuff" and put where they belonged most of everything else. There is still a lot to do, but I went through what was mine and what I knew I could do something about.

Kathleen heated up a couple cans of corn beef hash for dinner. I am not sure why, but I can eat hash just about anytime. Well, tonight looks like another quiet night, I probably will be hitting the sack early as I am tired so I will just say good night!

Happy New Year!

Well, this will be a short one today, I got up about the same time as I have been lately and after spending some time on the computer I had a quartered an apple, an orange, a banana and had a couple left over scones that Kathleen made the other day for breakfast.

Then I cleaned up the pans that Kathleen made the cinnamon rolls in last night. Then I loaded up the dishwasher and started it up. After reading the paper, I decided to go outside while it was still fairly nice out and cut down a butterfly "tree" and dig out a couple of blackberry bushes that I had noticed the other day.

Before I got finished, it had started to rain, so I finished chopping up the branches that I had fallen and decided to stop for the day. Kathleen was up when I got inside and was putting the finishing touches on the cinnamon rolls and then went upstairs to get ready to go.

So I went upstairs, cleaned up, and even put on some long pants. It is not that it was that cold, but everyone seems to feel cold when I am wearing shorts. We arrived at Aerts a little before noon and were the first ones there; usually we are one of the last ones to get there.

We all had a good time and finally left about 1800, I was more than ready to go, but Kathleen was in the middle of a card game and I guess that it took longer than they thought.

Well, I am too tired to get into any mischief tonight, so I will just say good night for now!

Sunny Sunday

This was a pretty normal Sunday morning, Kathleen's alarm went off at 0700, I got up, and she did not. I made a couple pieces of raisin toast with peanut butter and all fruit on them. I also had a cup of coffee and a half-cup of mango/lime juice. When I finished I cleaned up some of the dishes from last night and put them into the dishwasher.

Then I went upstairs to see if Kathleen was going to make it to Church this morning. She was still in bed and still did not feel too well. So I got dressed and went to church by myself. It was our worship leaders last Sunday, and he spoke as well. After Sunday School, I went home and Kathleen was up and on her computer.

I changed clothes and asked her if she wanted that creamed chipped beef from last night and she said no, so I heated it up and toasted some toast. I had to add a little water to the sauce as there was not a lot left and it was pretty thick. I added some cayenne pepper powder and Tabasco sauce and it tasted as good as it did last night.

Then I went into the living room, read the paper, and turned on a couple football games. About 1400 I decided that I wanted to take a walk, as it was a bright sunny day and I had not done it lately.

I went upstairs and told Kathleen that I was going to take a walk, and she said that I wanted to go as well. So we both go a walk in, we even took Reggie, so the walk was a little slower and a little shorter than I had planned on, but it was good to get out and get some fresh air and move the body.

I could tell afterwards as my hips were really bothering me about two hours afterwards. Shortly after we got back from our walk, Kathleen asked me to bring up a container of Thanksgiving turkey soup, so I did. So that is what we had for dinner, there was about enough left over for another meal out of that container and there is still one more container in the freezer downstairs.

Kathleen has been making cinnamon rolls for tomorrow’s fellowship time with our Sunday School class tomorrow. Our class has been getting together New Years Day for many years and it is always a good time.

Well, I think that is all that I can think of for tonight. I do not think that I will be staying up to see the New Year in, so I will say Happy New Year and good night.

Saturday Shopping... Groceries that is

Well, so much for my experiment of getting up early. This morning I got up shortly after 0800 and slowly made it downstairs. After my usual computer time, I went into the kitchen and emptied the dishwasher, and then made some raisin toast. I reheated the left over coffee from yesterday, cleaned out the coffee carafe and made another pot of coffee.

When the toast finished, I put on some butter, peanut butter and Smucker's all fruit. After I finished breakfast, I put the dishes that were in the sink into the dishwasher and then went into the living room to read the paper.

Just before I sat down the mail came so I got it and all but a check from the medical insurance for Kathleen's medication was junk mail. After finishing the paper, I recycled the mail and the paper and then took the recycling bag out to the garage to go out with the recycling on the next recycling day.

It was a pretty nice day, the sun was shining very brightly, it was chilly, but really nice. So I went outside, picked up after Reggie, and did some weeding. I am trying to make it easier for the spring when the weeds do not need much to overtake the garden.

After cleaning up, I went up stairs to see if Kathleen had planned to go grocery shopping today, and she said that she would. So I went back downstairs and watched one of the bowl games. It was getting past lunch time so I figured that if we were going shopping I did not want to do it on a hungry stomach, I tend to buy a lot of things that we do not really need and often are not too healthy.

I wound up making a ham and toasted grill cheese sandwich, then I went back to watching the game. Kathleen came downstairs a little after 1400; I had just about given up going shopping again today. So I went upstairs and changed my clothes, when I got downstairs, Kathleen was just finishing drying her hair. I mead Reggie a little treat, something I do when we leave him for any length of time, and then brought him in from the back yard.

We finally took off and did our shopping; we even managed not to buy too much that was not on my shopping list of what we needed. We finally got back home about 1630, and put the groceries away. Kathleen asked if I wanted creamed chipped beef on toast for dinner tonight, since we had not had that in a while I said sure!

Neither one of us ate a lot, Kathleen made six pieces of toast and there were two pieces left over when we finished eating. Kathleen has gone upstairs and I am here doing my blog. Since I do not think that I will be doing anything exciting tonight, I will just say good night now.

?Friday?

Well, today was anything but ordinary. I have been waking up about 0330, tossing and turning until about 0600, then falling asleep until about 0800 or 0830. This morning I decided to get up at 0600 and see if that would make much of a difference.

It was much darker outside, and Reggie was not sure what was going on, but he was glad to get to go outside. Anyway, after my morning computer ritual, I went into the kitchen and finished washing a pan that I had left soaking last night to try to get some of the burnt on residue loosened up so that I could get it clean. Then I gathered up all the rest of the things I could find to put into the dishwasher.

I had not had eggs yet this week, so I took out a couple eggs, sliced up some summer sausage and toasted some raisin bread. While that was cooking, I poured myself some coffee. After finishing breakfast, I put the remaining dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on. Since the pan I used to cook the eggs and sausage was cool by now, I washed it as well.

Then I poured myself some more coffee and headed into the living room to read the paper. It did not take too long to read, as there was not a lot of anything interesting. For some strange reason the mail had been getting here around 0930 all week, but today it had not.

I was suppose to be getting together with my accountability group this morning at 1100, so I did not want to get into anything, so I just kind of paced. Kathleen had come downstairs and was making herself breakfast and the mail finally arrived about 1030.

There was not really much of anything there; probably the only thing I kept was my American Express bill. Kathleen did get a few things as well, and I looked over my Arthritis magazine quickly as I need to leave by 1045.

We met this morning for pizza and to watch the Oregon State Beavers beat Missouri in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. It was a good game and we, only three of the five of us were there but those of us there had a good time of fellowship and food.

I got home about 1515 and expected that we would be going grocery shopping. Kathleen was still in her robe and said that she needed to take a shower, but she lay down on the couch and took a nap instead. She has said that she did not feel well, and she certainly does not look like she feels very well.

Anyway, we did not make it grocery shopping another day, maybe tomorrow! Kathleen was going to fix me some clam chowder, but I still did not feel hungry, so I told her not to bother. I probably will pop some pop corn later tonight and call that supper. I can afford to miss a meal every now and again.

Well, this should be another quiet evening, so I will say good night.

Just Thursday

I am not sure why I slept in until about 0830 this morning as I went to bed about 2100, but I did. Anyway, after letting Reggie out and cleaning up the kitchen some more, I made myself some raisin toast with peanut butter and Smucker's all fruit. I used some blackberry and some apricot.

After I finished eating the mail had come so I went and got it. There was a medical insurance statement for Kathleen's doctor's appointment and a new statement from Boeing on my monthly pension amount for next year. The rest of it was junk and was quickly deposited in the recycling bag. While I was in the back porch, I decided to gather up all the plastic bags so that we could take them to the grocery store when we went there today. Most of the grocery stores have a place to recycle used plastic bags.

Then I sat down in the living room and read the paper. When I finished the paper, I recycled it as well. I downloaded a couple of updated programs on my computer which took about an hour and a half, a lot longer than I thought it would and by this time I was thinking about lunch.

I had mixed the baked beans, chili and rice from yesterday last night, so I added some water and microwaved it. There was not a lot, but I decided to just have that as it was after 1400 and I did not want to be stuffed when we went shopping.

Shortly after that, Kathleen came down and said that her stomach was not feeling well and that she was going to take a nap. About 1715, I went upstairs and Kathleen said that she would come up with something for dinner.

At 1800, I decided to make something for myself, since we bought a loaf of bread yesterday, I decided to toast it and add some salsa, summer sausage, Italian seasoning and cheese and then toast it again to melt the cheese. Not bad for making something out of nothing.

Well, it looks to be another quiet night; most of them are nowadays, so I think that I will say my good night now.

Wednesday Wandeings

Today was more or less back to "normal", whatever that really is. After doing my computer thing, I unloaded the dishwasher and scrubbed a couple of pots and pans The mail came as I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen so I went and got it. There was not really anything there and most of it just went to the recycling.

I thought about making some eggs for breakfast again, but decided on the more healthy oatmeal. I also heated up the remainder of the coffee I made yesterday while I made a fresh pot for today.

Since I had the kitchen somewhat clean, I decided that I would shake out the area rugs, sweep the floor and mop it. That made the rest of the downstairs look worse, so I vacuumed the downstairs carpeting.

The garbage truck picked up our trash as I was vacuuming, so I went out to the front to get the empty can and bring it to the back. When I got out there, I noticed that there was a bag of trash, a couple houses down that was in the middle of the street and it was starting to loose its contents, so I went over and gathered up the trash and put it into my empty can. I think that is the fastest that I have ever gotten trash back into our empty can.

Now I could sit down and read the paper. After finishing the paper and recycling it, I took the eggshells from underneath the sink, took them outside, crushed them up, and spread them out among the strawberries. It is my environmentally friendly slug control.


I was starting to get hungry as it was after 1330, so I mixed up the bean and bacon soup that Kathleen had yesterday, the left over Bushes baked beans, and the left over rice from last night and heated it up in the microwave. Before I ate any, I had my Beano, so that the beans would not be quite as potent.

While I was eating the fellow in charge of our men's help group told me of an elderly couple that was having some problems with their computer, so after I finished eating I called them to find out what the problem was.

I though that perhaps I could fix it over the phone, by no such luck, so Kathleen and I went over to their house and I spent about an hour and I think that I got it working properly. I asked them to call tonight or tomorrow if it were not running right.

Kathleen needed to pick up some prescriptions and we were planning to go grocery shopping today anyway. We also needed to take back some Christmas decorations that we got too many of. So we took the decorations back and then only had time to pick up her prescriptions. So I guess we will have to go grocery shopping tomorrow.

Since we did not go grocery shopping, today we did not have a lot to choose from for supper. So Kathleen found a couple cans of chili and we still had some left over rice from last night. She mixed everything together and microwaved it. We added some cheddar cheese to it and again I took my Beano to prevent much bean damage.

Well, Kathleen went upstairs and I think that all the excitement is over for today, so I will just say good night.

The day after - crash day

Well, this morning I got up around 0830 and I could have slept in a lot longer, but I knew that I needed to let Reggie out, so I got up begrudgingly. On my way downstairs, I picked up the towels and then loaded them into the washing machine and started it up. After I finished my morning computer stuff, I emptied the dishwasher and put everything away.

When I went to let Reggie in I noticed that there was water going underneath the sidewalk and was collecting near the window well. So I went down to the basement to see if we had any water coming in and I noticed that it started coming in, in a couple places.

I went upstairs, out to the garage, got a smashed tin can, put it in the hole, and then covered it with some dirt. It seemed to stop the water from coming into the window well, but the other area I could not do anything to stop. Luckily it was not coming in the other area very much or very fast.

Then I made myself some of my oatmeal concoction and some coffee. Then I cleaned up my dishes from breakfast and went into the living room to read the paper. There were several ads and Kathleen wanted to look through them to see if there was anything that we could not live without.

The mail had arrived by this time so I went out and got it and everything but a couple of catalogs and a magazine wound up it the recycling bag. I passed on all but one catalog on to Kathleen.

Then I started doing the rest of the laundry, I wound up washing, drying, folding and putting away four loads of laundry. I think that is all I accomplished today. I spent most of the day sitting in my chair and trying to stay awake.

I made myself some corn beef hash for lunch and went back to sitting. Then when Kathleen asked about dinner I suggested some Bushes baked beans, using some of the left over ham and cooking some rice, it really hit the spot.

Well, I think that I am too tired to do much of anything tonight, so I will just say good night now.

Merry Christmas

Well, today did not start out like most other days. We spent the night at Alyssa and Dan's, as did all the children and grandchildren. Kathleen and I slept on the floor in the family room, Aaron and Tami slept on an air mattress, shared the living room with Andrea and John slept on the couches pushed together, Becca and Alexis slept in the dining room on the floor. That was downstairs, upstairs, Toni slept on the floor in Natalie's room, Chucky slept in Zander's room, and both Zander and Natalie slept in their new sleeping bags that they got from their mom and dad. Alyssa slept in their own bed. They suggested that Kathleen and I could have it, but I thought that Alyssa probably needed to sleep in her own bed.

Anyway, I got up a little before sunrise to let Reggie out for his morning constitutional and I went back inside to get some day clothes on and when I went back to get Reggie in, he had decided to take himself for a little walk. So I went back inside to get some shoes on so that I could go look for him.

I thought that I saw him across the field playing with a little girl, so I went out to the street and started to walk to where the house was, it was still dark enough that I could not see a driveway, so I went back to Alyssa and Dan's driveway and started to walk across the field. The little girl must have seen me as she put him on a leash and started to walk toward me. She let him off the leash about a hundred yards away, and I called out to him and he came running.

By the time I got back inside most everyone was up. I started to put away the dishes from last night and the other adults went upstairs to sing to Alyssa and Dan. Once I had the dishes put away, I started to load it up again and also did a lot of the hand washing stuff. The grandchildren had a snack so I gathered up their dishes and put them into the dishwasher.

The adult females, scrambled some eggs, sausages, toasted some cinnamon bread and made some juice. Andrea had to cook the eggs in two batches, so we kind of ate in shifts. After everyone ate, I gathered up the dishes, finished loading the dishwasher, and then started it up.

Sometime this morning the grandchildren got to open up their remaining presents and even some of the adults got some gifts.

Toni and Chucky had to leave early, as Toni had to work later this afternoon. Andrea and John left next as they still had another Christmas with John's family, they were also hoping to catch a little nap, as no one got as much sleep as they would have liked.

I loaded up our SUV and waited for Kathleen to finish visiting. When she was getting close I opened up the back door and Reggie jumped in and was ready to go, I took the back roads back and even went down to the Columbia River and drove along it for a while and then headed home.

Reggie was glad to get home, I let him out into the back yard and he did not want to come in for quite some time. Kathleen and I unloaded the SUV and I put my things away. After changing my clothes, I went downstairs and read the paper. Lots of adds, not much news!

After recycling the paper, I decided to collect the trash from all the trashcans in the house and took it outside. The trash is usually picked up on Tuesday, so I took the can to the front, even though it will probably not get picked up until Wednesday this week.

Well, I think we will be having some leftovers tonight and I do not think anything else will be happening tonight. I think that I will probably call it an early night tonight, so I will say good night and Merry Christmas again!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

This will be a rather short blog, as we are headed to Alyssa and Dan's for Christmas Eve, a sleep over, and than Christmas morning. We just finished wrapping the presents and the ham smells really good in the oven and Kathleen is packing her things for the night.

This was a pretty normal Sunday morning and day so far. I made some raisin bread for Kathleen and myself for breakfast, then off to church. For lunch, I heated up a can of soup and Kathleen had her left over salmon on a sandwich.

Well, since I cannot think of anything else exciting to say for today, I will wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to all a good night!

Saturday Shopping

This morning started out pretty normally, I was going to make myself some hash browns and a couple eggs, but I thought that my oatmeal concoction might be a little healthier, so the healthy food won out.

After eating, I washed a lot of hand wash pots and pans and things that I do not like to put into the dishwasher. The mail had gotten here, so I opened it, one bill and the rest was junk mail so it went right into the recycling bag.

Then I poured myself another cup of coffee, went into the living room, and read the paper. After finishing the paper and recycling it, I took the kitchen scraps out to the compost tumbler.

While I was out there, I noticed that the field that I was using yesterday to cut down the blackberries was being bulldozed, so it was a good thing that I did what I did yesterday. Today if I had tried doing it, I would be up to my knees in mud.

Since we did not get to go shopping yesterday, we were planning to do it today, but Kathleen was busy going through stuff and finding some things that she had been looking for, for quite a while. Then about 1400 I made myself some chicken gumbo soup and soaked some stale bread in it to give it more volume.

Finally about 1530 Kathleen came down stairs and was ready to go, I was almost ready to say forget it as it had gotten so late, but I realized that we needed to go and we were running out of time. We took back what we had to take back and bought a coupe of things that we were looking for.

It was 1930 when we finally left the mall; I was hungry and tired so we headed for home. Kathleen reheated the stir-fry from last night and we played the sound track from "the Nativity Story", one of the things we bought today, while we ate.

It is now after 2030 and I think that I will just say good night now.

Friday Follies

This morning started up just about like any other morning, I had my oatmeal concoction for breakfast, the mail got here before I had a chance to sit down to eat, we got a coupe Christmas cards and the rest was junk mail. After eating, I put the dishes away from the dishwasher that I started last night and then poured myself another cup of coffee and headed into the living room to read the paper.

I was waiting for a decision as to what we were going to do today and decided to go outside about 1130 and dig up some of the fox glove that had grown up around a couple of the roses. While I was doing that, I noticed that the blackberries were more exposed now and I could get at them to dig or cut them down. These were all on the other side of the fence, so I went around the vacant house and into the vacant lot and began working on the blackberries.

Naturally, I was only in my shorts and shirt, so I did manage to get cut up from the thorns pretty good. I did think about wearing gloves, so my hands were pretty much protected. I really started working up a sweat, and after I finished I thought that I would just go inside and get cleaned up, but on the way back to the yard I noticed a columbine growing near the foundation in an area that I was trying to redo, so I dug it out and replanted it.

After that, I noticed a couple young arborvitaes growing where I did not want them. So I dug them out and transplanted them in a row by the existing ones on the east side of the house. Then I thought that I would do some more pruning on the roses.

I had cut a couple roses off and brought them into the house, I am pretty sure that these will be the last ones this year, so I thought that it would be a good time to do some more surgery on the roses. Then I took a garbage can full and put it into the can for the yard debris.

By now, I was rather hot, sweaty and tired, so I decided to go inside and get cleaned up. After a while, I realized that I was also getting pretty hungry. I asked Kathleen if she wanted the left over salmon from last night, unfortunately she did, so I did the next best thing, I made a Limburger cheese and sardine sandwich. It was good, but not as good as the salmon would have been.

After eating, I went on to my computer to see the status of the package that I was having sent to my mother and sister and her family. I saw where it was delivered at 1346 east coast time; the notice said that it was left on the front porch. I called to make sure that it had in fact arrived and that they had brought it inside.

Mom answered the phone and so I had a chance to talk to her for a little while. She sounded good and it was good to get the chance to talk to her.

I just kind of sat around and rested the rest of the afternoon, I had thought that we might have been going to Alyssa's to help her clean up, but we never did. Then about 1645 I asked Kathleen what she had planned for dinner, she was not sure, but she went into the kitchen and thawed some chicken and cut up some vegetables and made some stir fired with some of the left over rice from last night.

Well, it is now a little after 1800 and I do not think I will be doing anything too terribly exciting tonight, so I will just say good night now.

The Things of Thursday

It really got warm last night. Kathleen got up and opened the windows wider to let more fresh air into the bedroom. I think that my body had gotten use to getting up at 0800, as I seem to do that on a regular basis.

By the time I got my morning computer times done the mail had come, so I went out and got it. While I was finishing sorting it out Kathleen had come downstairs and asked if I had breakfast, I said no, so she asked if I wanted pancakes again. I said sure, as nothing I was thinking about really appealed to me.

We did not have any banana's left, so she peeled and cut up an apple, then fried up some chopped up hazel nuts. I suggested adding some cheddar cheese, since I have seen that with apple pie before. The pancakes really tasted good, especially the hazel nuts. I could taste the apple as well, Kathleen could not and neither one of us could taste the cheese.

After eating I loaded up the dishwasher and ran it, and then I did the hand washing and cleaned up the stove. Once I had that done I went into the living room and read the newspaper. After I finished the paper I read a magazine and a catalog that came in the mail today.

Nothing worthwhile so I recycled them. I am trying to get into the habit of disposing of magazines when I am done with them rather than just keeping them.
I am trying to prevent stacks of magazines, if there is anything worthwhile in it; I just cut the article out and then recycle the rest of the magazine.

We were suppose to be going shopping today, but Kathleen had gone upstairs to her computer, so I heated up the little bit of stir fried left over from last night. Then I went out side, picked up some more branches from the driveway, and put them into the recycling can. When it was full I put the can out by the street.

Andrea drove up as I was picking up some of the branches, so when I finished we went into the house. She had a meeting and was bored sitting around her place. She had some mail here so that was another reason for her visit. She only stayed about forty-five minutes.

Shortly after she left Kathleen came downstairs ready to go shopping, so I went upstairs, got cleaned up and put on a clean pair of shorts. We wanted to pick up a few small items for the grandchildren, but by the time we got done shopping and got home it was after 1700.

Kathleen fixed salmon and rice for dinner, salmon is always good. Well, tonight looks to be a rather normal evening, I see by the weather forecast that the rain is coming in from the coast, so we should have rain here sometime during the night. I think that I will say my good nights now and that way I will have my blog done for the day.

Midweek Messes

I got up about 0800 again this morning, I had been awake for a while and was not going back to sleep. After my morning routine, I went into the kitchen and cleaned it up a bit and then made a pot of coffee and made myself a couple eggs, sausages and raisin toast for breakfast. While I was making breakfast the mail came, so I went out and got it, I think everything was junk mail.

After eating I cleaned up the kitchen again, I poured myself another cup of coffee and went into the living room too read the paper. After finishing the paper and putting it into the recycling bag, I went outside to rake up all the small branches and fir cones from the front lawn. I had picked up all the larger branches a couple days ago, but it still looked a mess from all the small branches and cones that had come down during the high winds.

As soon as I got outside it started to rain, the freezing kind, but I wanted to get the lawn raked, so I just stayed out there and finished the raking. When I did finish raking I had a pretty good-sized pile, so I put it into the yard debris can, then put the rake back into the garage and went inside to clean up.

Since I had not vacuumed the carpet for a couple days I decided that I should do that before it got too much worse. I had already picked up a couple clumps of Reggie fur, but there was still a lot of it left and many fir needles. This time of year, we always seem to have almost as many fir needles inside as there are on the ground outside.

This afternoon, I cleaned up some unused files and removed some unused programs from my computer, then updated a couple programs and generally did some computer house keeping.

Kathleen made some stir fried tonight for dinner and it was good, we have been kind of living off leftovers for the last week or so and it was nice to have something different. Tonight it is suppose to get warmer as the night goes on, I think that it is suppose to get up to the mid to upper 40's tonight.

Well, I cannot think of anything else to write about, so I will just sign off and say good night.

Tueday Things

It was almost 0800 when I got up this morning. After going downstairs and doing my morning computer activities, I went into the kitchen and made myself some oatmeal. It was that kind of morning. Cool and something nice and hot sounded and tasted so good.

Kathleen came downstairs as I was finishing my oatmeal and we talked at the table for a while as we watched the latest on the search for the lost climbers. It certainly does not look good, especially as they discovered that they only had light packs and were not really prepared for a very long stay on the mountain.

After a while, I went into the living room and read the paper, the mail came, but I waited until I finished the paper until I got up and got it. More Christmas cards and a medical insurance statement, all the rest was junk mail.

After I recycled the paper and the mail, I went upstairs and changed clothes as Kathleen and I were having lunch with my accountability group and their wives. After we ate, we all went to see the movie "The Nativity", it was really pretty good and probably as accurate as any "Hollywood" production could be.

We got home about 0700 and as the sun was down it had really started to cool off. The temperature is supposed to hover just below the freezing level again tonight. It has been cold at night and then warming up during the daylight hours. That is soon to change, as they are predicting rain for the next few days. They are also warning of the possibility of freezing rain for the next couple of days. Winter in Oregon!

Well, Kathleen said that we are having chili tonight for dinner, it is a good cold night meal and I like it no matter what the weather. I some how do not think that there will be anything else exciting the rest of the night, so I will say good night.

Monday Madness

Well, I went to bed before Kathleen and she got up before me this morning. She was not feeling well and got up just a few minutes before I did. I gathered up the towels, loaded them into the washing machine, and then let Reggie outside for his morning duty call.

Then I went and sat down at my computer to do my morning readings. When I finished my morning computer stuff Kathleen was coming downstairs and asked if I felt like pancakes this morning.

Since I had though about either oatmeal or eggs this morning, neither one did I really feel like, but pancakes did sound pretty good. We had a banana that was about a week past what I would eat and even beyond what Kathleen would eat so she added that to the pancakes and it really tasted good, I cannot remember the last time I had banana pancakes.

The mail came before I sat down to eat, so I went out to get it and other than a Christmas card, there really was not much there. The towels were done washing so I put them into the dryer and sat down to read the paper.

About the time I finished the paper the dryer was done, so I unloaded the towels, folded them and put them away. Then I took the kitchen scraps out to the composter and then picked up after Reggie. Then I took the recycling and the garbage out front.

Kathleen came downstairs a little while after I came back inside and got cleaned up. We were planning on going to the credit union to deposit a couple checks and then do some more Christmas shopping for the grandchildren.

We looked at a couple stores, but just did not find what we were looking for, so we went to Costco. We were planning on going there anyway, but we were able to find what we were looking for and picked up the spiral cut ham for Christmas. I even got Kathleen a bunch of flowers that she arranged in a couple large vases when we got home.

She asked what to do for dinner, so I suggested that we use the rest of the open package of meatloaf from the other night and a couple of baked potatoes. What that was warming up she asked if I wanted green beans or creamed corn, since it had been a long time since we had creamed corn, I said let's have the corn, so we did.

After dinner Kathleen asked if I wanted some hot chocolate, we had gotten some dark Belgian chocolate mix at Costco, so I thought that we might as well try it. Kathleen took hers upstairs and I have mine here at my computer. I do not think that there will be anything else to write home about tonight so I will say good night now!

Sunday Shuffling

I slept in this morning as we were not going to our church, but Alyssa and Dan's to see and hear Natalie singing in the children's choir, so I was able to sleep in until after 0800. I even made myself some oatmeal for breakfast. We left for Alyssa's church about 1030, got there about 1045, and then drove around the building until we were able to find a parking spot.

We got into the sanctuary about the same time that Alyssa did and then saved the seats as Alyssa took the children to their classes. She and Dan arrived back a little before the service was about to start. Dan's Mom arrived shortly after that and we had just enough seats for everyone.

They had a really good drama to start the service off, then the message and finally the children's choir. They did a really nice job, Natalie keep looking at herself on the big screen behind her so it was a little hard for Alyssa, Dan or Kathleen to get a good shot of her face straight on.

After the service, we headed home to let Reggie out and also to change clothes. We were getting together at Aaron and Tami's house at 1600 to celebrate Aaron's birthday and then on to Chang's Mongolian grill for a family dinner.

Tami's two brother's and sister-in-law were there as were Tami's parents. Alyssa, Dan, and their children came about twenty minutes after we got there and we had already gone and gotten our food cooked.

After I finished eating, I sat with Alyssa and Dan to help with the children as did Kathleen. When they went back for seconds, I stayed there with the children. Then I went back there to keep Dan company after Alyssa's food was cooked.

After Tami's family left three of the grandchildren wanted to sit on my lap, it would not have been too bad it they just wanted to sit there, but they also wanted to jump around and play. After a while the children were getting a little tired and so we all left and then talked in the parking lot and talked for fifteen or twenty minutes.

We finally got home about 1930; I took the final load of clothes out of the dryer and took them upstairs to fold. Kathleen came upstairs as well and changed her clothes, after finishing the clothes and putting them away, I came downstairs and here I sit.

I think that is about all for tonight, so I will just say good night!

Saturday's Summary

I got up about 0800 this morning with a slight tickle in my throat, I still have it. It is developing into a rather annoying cough. Anyway, after letting Reggie out and doing my morning computer routine, I decided to go into the kitchen and make myself breakfast.

I had not had oatmeal in a couple of days so I got some oatmeal, wheat germ, raisins and black strap molasses added some water and put the bowl into the microwave and cooked it for three minutes. I also made a pot of coffee, sliced a croissant in half, put it into the toaster oven, and toasted it. I added cream cheese and orange marmalade to it and that was my breakfast.

After cleaning up in the kitchen, I went into the living room and read the paper. The mail came while I was reading it, but I waited until I finished reading the paper before I got it. There was not much there, other than a Christmas card and a bill, the rest was junk mail.

Alyssa was having Zander's birthday party at noon, so I changed my clothes and put on my "cowboy" duds. Kathleen had made the appetizers for tonight’s progressive dinner and asked if I would take them over to the people's house where we were having the first phase of the dinner.

So I did, by the time I got back Kathleen was ready to go so we took off for the party. We got there a little late, but it did not really matter, as the youngsters were busy running around. I now really appreciate the fact that we have children at a younger age; I do not think I could handle a steady diet of that now.

Alyssa had the whole western theme going, the dining room had bails of hay and the entryway into the living room had a plastic solon door. In the kitchen, she had all kinds of cowboy goodies for the young cowpokes to eat.

I think Zander's favorite part was opening the presents, cards, clothes were quickly tossed to the floor, but the cars, trucks, and other such items were looked at much closer. It was fun to see the children wanting Zander to open their presents, but it did get a bit chaotic at times. Again, children are for the young.

Kathleen and I left a little after 1600 so that we could get to the progressive dinner on time, but as we were leaving my stomach started to really bother me and by the time we stopped to get gas, I told Kathleen that I did not think that I would be able to make the dinner. She did not want to go by herself and said that she was really tired.

So around 1800 I toasted a couple buns and opened a can of sardines and that was my dinner, Kathleen heated up her leftover ham and yam from the other evening. Well it is almost 2000 and I think that I am just about ready for bed; my stomach is really crampy so I hope that I can get a good night sleep so that we can go hear Natalie singing tomorrow.

This getting older is not all that it is cracked up to be. Good night!

Fickled Friday

What a day! I got up about 0800 and could have slept for a couple more hours, between the wind and rain last night and just being really tired from running around yesterday. Anyway, the sun was shining and it was nice and warm out. When I got downstairs, I let Reggie out and looked around the front yard to see what kind of damage was done by the winds last night.

There were many branches down, nothing over an inch in diameter and there were many fir cones all over. I went back inside and started my morning computer stuff. After that, Kathleen had started shredding potatoes for hash browns and dividing eggs for breakfast. She gets the yokes and I get the whites with cheese. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to breakfast.

Before I had a chance to start eating the mail came so I went out and brought it in. Some of Kathleen's medications arrived and other than a couple wood working catalogs the rest was junk, so I deposited it into the recycling bag and than had breakfast.

The sun was shining so brightly it looked like it was going to be a really beautiful day, boy did that ever change in a hurry. I went outside to pick up some of the larger branches and while I was out there I noticed that the shy was starting to get dark and before I knew it, it had started to hail. I stayed outside working for a little while longer, until it started to come down really hard.

It did not hail very long, just long enough to leave a layer of hail on the lawn. Since I had not read the paper yet, I decided that I would do that and see if the sun would come back out.

Kathleen left to her doctor's appointment and I went into the basement to fix the water exhaust for the furnace. These were the parts that I bought the other day at the True Value. It only took a couple minutes and I was done.

Since it was not raining or anything at the time I decided to go back outside and pick up some more of the fallen branches. I was working under the fir trees most of the time and did not notice it starting to snow, just little flakes at first and then they got bigger and started coming down faster.

Again I game in and went inside when I got into the kitchen the phone rang; it was Kathleen wanting to know if it were snowing here. I told her that it was. Just after I got off the phone it really started snowing, almost blizzard like, so I called Kathleen back and told her that the snow was starting to build up and sticking to the ground.

As soon as I got off the phone with Kathleen, Andrea called to see what the weather was like here so she could make a decision about work. By this time the snowing had slowed down and the streets were pretty clear, but the temperature was starting to go down.

When I let Reggie out about 1630 I could really feel the coolness of the outside, it was really pleasant earlier in the day, but now it was starting to feel like winter. Kathleen was home and starting to make dinner, I had taken some of the meatloaf out of the freezer earlier and she was making mashed potatoes and peas to go with the meatloaf.

After dinner, I put the leftovers into the refrigerator and washed the dished that needed to be hand washed. Kathleen has gone upstairs and I am down here doing my blog. I do not think that tonight will be as billowy as last night was, but I think that I will be going to bed early tonight. So good night!

Turbulent Thursday

Thursday started out as a pretty normal day, the only difference was that we left the house about 0930 to go to Zander's pre-school Christmas program. It did not start until 1015, but we had had a lot of rain during the night and I did not know what we would run into.

As we were going there and stopped at a traffic light the cars in the right turning lane were about axle deep in water. I even remarked to Kathleen about the puddles having their own waves. I almost wish that I had brought my fishing gear!

At another intersection, the water from the corner reached to the center of a four-lane road. It was probably several inches deep at the curb and only about a quarter inch at the center. I felt more as if I should have been in a canoe or a kayak going down the street.

Then once we got off the main roads and onto Foster Road, the water in the ditches alongside the road looked more like creeks, the water was really running fast and in several places, it was crossing the roadway. I told Kathleen that I thought that on the way home we would take a different road.

Zander's Program was really good and Zander did very well. While they had their "party" afterwards Kathleen and I held Hayden so that Alyssa could do what she needed to do. When given the choice between a banana or a cookie Hayden said cookie, so it looks like he has developed somewhat of a sweet tooth.

After everything was over Kathleen and I did go home a different way, I needed to stop at Bi-mart and pickup a wiper blade for the back window of Kathleen's SUV. While there we did some shopping and then we stopped by Lowe's to pick up a couple items to redirect the heating vent in Kathleen's craft room.

There was a Fred Meyer just down the road from the Lowe's so we stopped there, as Kathleen needed to pick up a few items for an appetizer that she is bringing to our Sunday School class progressive dinner.

While we were there, she found a slow cooker that she liked better than the one we just bought at Bi-mart, so we bought that one and would stop by the Bi-Mart near out home and return the one we bought at the other Bi-Mart.

By this time, it was after 1600 and my stomach felt like it was ready to start eating itself. I had breakfast earlier in the morning but I had not had anything other than a small cookie that got Hayden started on them. So Kathleen reheated the scalloped potatoes and ham from last night.

After finishing dinner, I went to sit at my computer to do my blog, as I was heading to a Missions meeting at 1900 and would be late coming home. As I was opening the web page, the lights flickered and then turned brown, so I decided that I had better shut the computer down so that in case the power did go off it would not damage the computer.

I did get home late from the meeting and Kathleen said that the power did go off briefly a couple times, so I am glad that I did turn the computer off. Well that was my day yesterday. The wind has died down this morning and from the looks of the yard and driveway, I think I will be picking up branches for a while.

It could be a lot worse, there are several homes that have had trees fall through their homes and while we did have some branches hit the roof, they were an inch or less in diameter and did not do any damage that I can see now.

Well, I think that I will make breakfast now and get started on my day.

Midweek's muddlings

This morning I got up a little after 0700 and after spending an hour on my computer, I got ready to meet up with the guys for breakfast. We met at a different place this morning, it was different, but I am not sure if it was any better. The food and service was good and it did have windows that we could look out.

I had the light breakfast, a couple eggs, bacon, toast and coffee and it was plenty. Everyone had something different, one ordered a pancake and it covered the whole plate. Another had a waffle and it was about the same size. One of the other guys had a side order of a sausage patty, and it was almost as big as the pancake was, it must have been a pound of meat...too much for me.

After breakfast, we went to visit Duane Huntley, in the care facility. He was suppose to go in for a Gamma knife surgery tomorrow, but his insurance has not approved it yet, so he will have to wait until that happens. We spent about an hour talking and praying with him. He was looking good and was pretty alert.

After leaving there, I stopped at Loews, to try to find some tubing connectors to modify or heater water exhaust line. After looking around for about forty-five minutes, I could not find the right combination, so I did not get any of it. Next, I stopped at Kohl's to try to find something for Kathleen and did not have any better luck there, so I started for home.

On the way I got gas for the Wrangler, it had been four months since I got gas for it. That shows you how much I have been driving it lately. I use to fill it up once a week, now it is a lot less frequently, which is a good thing.

After leaving the gas station, I decided to stop at the Parkrose True Value store to try to find the connections. After looking around for a while and with some help from one of the employees I was able to put together something that I think will work okay.

I arrived home about 1240 and Kathleen was just about out the door heading to her hair appointment. So I read the paper and opened the mail, even though the only thing that I wound up keeping was my jury summons for January 9th.

About 1500 I decided to make myself something to eat, so I heated up the little bit of left over turkey soup, split a croissant, sliced some cheese, and made a croissant melt to go along with the soup.

When Kathleen came home, she was not sure what to do for dinner, so I suggested using some of the left over ham from Sunday's potluck and make scalloped potatoes. So she did, I now I feel like just sitting around for the rest of the night. It is not that I really did much of anything today, it has just been one of those waiting for the next storm to get here kind of day.

With that said, I think that it will be an early evening as Zander is having his preschool Christmas program tomorrow and we will need to leave the house around 0930 to get there in time. So good night!

Look Ma, no cavities!

This morning I was up around 0800, I just could not sleep any longer. After I got off the computer, I made myself some oatmeal with wheat germ and black strap molasses. I also put a banana and some raisins in to give me some more iron and potassium. After finishing breakfast, I loaded the dishwasher and did some of the hand washing that was sitting around.

Then I poured myself a cup of coffee and went into the living room to read the paper, and again before I had a chance to finish the mail came. The only thing that I kept was a catalog and a magazine that I set aside to read later.

Kathleen had mentioned that she would like to have leftover turkey soup tonight for dinner, so I went down to the basement, brought up a container of soup, and put it in the sink to thaw out.

Since I do not have a work office, I decided to decorate my fly tying room, or at least one of the desktops. I have several fly fisherman and four or five ice fisherman that are either huddled around the fire or cutting a hole in the ice. Several of the pieces light up and are kind of neat. I also set up my miniature nativity scene. I have not set up my miniature tree yet, maybe later on this week.

Alyssa called and asked if we could watch Hayden for a while, since I had a dentist appointment I gave the phone to Kathleen to answer. I started cleaning up the living room and then vacuumed it along with the rest of the downstairs. Later on Kathleen decided that she was too tired and called Alyssa back, but Alyssa had already made other plans.

Anyway, about 1400 I decided to make myself some lunch, I heated up some stuffing and gravy, and since there was not a lot of it, I also had a bowl of cottage cheese and loganberry jam mixed together in a bowl.

I did a little more straightening up and about 1520 I started to get ready for my dentist appointment. It is a good thing that I left early, as when I got there I had to fill out a new medical history form. Shortly after I finished filling it out the hygienist called for me to come on back to get my teeth x-rayed and cleaned.

After she finished doing that, the dentist came in, looked at my teeth and x-rays, and said that my teeth looked great and he would see me in about six months.

After leaving the dentist office I stopped at Bi-Mart to look for a T for some small plastic tubing for Kathleen, I could not find any and Kathleen called me saying that she had the soup warmed up and ready for me. So I took off and headed for home before going anywhere else to try to find one.

When I got home Kathleen was upstairs in her computer room on her computer, I let her know that I was home and then changed my clothes again and went downstairs. Since she did not come downstairs right away, I decided to check my e-mail and after I finished on my computer, I was leaving the room and Kathleen said that she would be right down.

She heated up a couple rolls from Sunday's potluck and that was our dinner. I added nutmeg to my soup; it is something that I always remember doing as a child at my grandparent’s house. We use that power, but I remember grinding my own nutmeg with a small grater at their house.

Well, Kathleen is back upstairs and I think I will read my magazine and call it a night. Tomorrow I meet with the guys from the accountability group for breakfast and then we are going to visit one of our friends who is in a nursing care facility. I hate to think that I am getting to that age where my friends are in nursing care facilities.

Well, I think I will just say good night for now.

Monday's Mischief

I slept in until about 0730 and got up mostly because I had a lot of mucous in my throat and was having a hard time breathing. Kathleen got up about the same time as well and we talked about having pancakes or waffles for breakfast. I went downstairs, did my computer things, and than Kathleen came down, I asked her about pancakes, and so we had pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. While she was making the pancakes, I made a pot of coffee and she opened up a can of mango juice.

After eating, I went into the living room and started reading the paper, about half way through the mail came so I went out and got it and then finished reading the paper and then the mail. There were not a lot of things worth keeping, so I deposited the paper and junk mail in the recycling bag.

Kathleen had gone upstairs and was working on her computer, and I collected the garbage, took it out to the garbage can, and took the can up to the street for tomorrow's pickup. Then I washed up, heated up the rest of the beef and barley soup from yesterday, and made a grilled cheese sandwich to go along with the soup.

About 1500 Kathleen came downstairs and wanted to go to church to pick up a couple CD's that she left there yesterday. I had planned on stopping by Multnomah and pick up my alumni card so that I could use the library and the fitness center. After that, we headed to Wal-Mart.

On the way, we came to Boyd's Coffee and Kathleen wanted to stop and get some more pancake mix, so we stopped and looked around while we were there. The off to Wal-Mart.

Kathleen and I both got some sweats and Kathleen got some other clothing. She also found a magazine that she wanted to look at as well as some Christmas ornaments and a couple other things.

While we were checking out, she was wondering what to do for dinner as it was about 1800 and I suggested using some of the left over ham from the potluck yesterday. She thought that was a good idea and would have been quicker than anything else that she could come up with.

So after we got home she heated up a couple potatoes, a yam and a couple slices of ham. After eating, I put the dishes into the dishwasher and she went upstairs to do some more work on her computer. I came into my office and here I am writing my blog. Well, I think that is all the interesting things that I can think of so I will just say good night.

Sunday Summary

I woke up a little after 0700 this morning, a little later than I normally do on Sunday morning's, but I was still really tired, but I knew that I needed to get up and get ready for church and Sunday School. So I pulled myself out of bed and shaved with my eyes closed and then took a sh0wer and woke up a little.

After drying off and making my way to the kitchen I made some coffee and toast. Once I finished that I went upstairs and woke Kathleen up and got dressed. I was still too tired to read the paper, and I just did not feel like doing the dishes either, so I just kind of sat around.

We made it to church about fifteen minutes late, but we did make it. After church and Sunday School I cleaned up the class room and then went over to help set up for the pot luck. Afterwards, I helped clean up the fellowship hall and put things away.

When we finally left, I could hardly stand up, I was really tired. Once home I changed clothes and went downstairs to read the paper, it took a long time, as I probably should have taken a nap, I would not have been as tired as I am now if I had.

About 1800 Kathleen made some beef and barley soup and I made some grilled cheese sandwiches. There is something about a warm cup of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich that tastes really good on a winter night. Well, it is late enough, and I am tired enough that I think that I will just say good night now.

Saturday's Stories

The wind and rain woke me up about 0300 this morning and I dozed on and off until about 0600, when I finally fell asleep until 0730. I was still more tired than hungry when I got up so after doing my computer stuff for an hour I went and read the paper. After that I heard the mail come, so I brought it in and sat down to some scrambled eggs that Kathleen made along with some cinnamon raisin toast and a couple veggie sausages.

After eating I went through the mail and sorted out the good from the bad, and put a couple magazines on my chair to read later. Kathleen had to be at church at 1000 to help set up for the Christmas pot luck tomorrow and I went along to help as well. We were planning to come home to let Reggie out before going to Alyssa and Dan's house for a birthday party for me. However, when we finished at church we felt that it would be more of a hassle to go home and then go to Alyssa's than to just go, so that is what we did.

Aaron, Tami and the girls were there as well as Toni and Chucky when we arrived and Andrea and John arrived a short time later. Alyssa had decorated everything like a 50's style dinner and they had 50's music playing in the background. For food there was barbecued cheeseburgers, with all the trimmings, and frys in the plastic baskets with the red and white checkered paper inside. Then for desert there was banana splits with all the goodies for toppings. They also had some anniversary Coke bottles and several kinds of soft drinks.

I took some of the diet Coke and some of the juice from the maraschino cherries and made my own cherry Coke. Natalie and Lexis kept wanting sips of my drink so I really did not get as much as I had planned on, but it was fun watching them enjoy the drink.

Poor Alyssa will have to redecorate the house all over again for Zander's party this next week. Originally she wanted to invite a lot of my friends for a big party for me, but I knew that she also was doing something for her children and suggested that we just keep it a family party for me. I am not big on parties any way and she certainly did not need the extra work and planning for a party for me.

We got home a little bit ago and I am still stuffed. Kathleen forgot her purse, so we will have to go out to get it, so I think that I will just sign off now and say good night.

P.S. I did not write a blog yesterday, I woke up about 0200 with really bad leg cramps and never did get a good nights sleep, so I was tired all day and I continued having the cramps through out the day.

Again good night!