Monday comes again...

much too soon! By the time I finished my movie and laundry last night it was 5AM...

But it's nice to have the movie playing again in my head as I rethink scenes! The music had stuck with me all these years, and some of the scenes had, but it's not like "Casablanca" where I know every frame by heart...yet!

Off to run errands before work. May the week be kind to each of you!

alan

Love and Kieslowski and...

I can't remember how many years ago I fell in love with a movie named "The Double Life of Veronique". I had read something about the director, Krzysztof Kieslowski in a film magazine, and when the movie came on HBO or more likely Cinemax, I made a point of catching it. I was amazed, awed, stunned, and moved to many thoughts. The beauty of Irene Jacob, the gorgeous and haunting score by Zbigniew Preisner (I will acquire some discs of his scores this year, somewhere along the way). I then devoured Kielsowski's "Three Colors" trilogy, along with most of "The Decalogue" and some of his earlier work before the art house that also rented movies moved and that video rental was no more.

I bought "the trilogy" when it became available on DVD a few years ago, but hadn't collected anymore of his works. Off and on this past year I had been looking for my
"off the air" copy of "Veronique" because like re-reading "Wuthering Heights" or "The Passion" or "Orlando", I have felt like I needed to revisit it.

Either through Amazon or through Video ETA I had figured out that not only was it going to be issued on DVD finally, but in a deluxe package with interviews and extras...

So after we had our taxes figured today, since I had a coupon and we had some certificates for Borders, I used them. Sometime this weekend, family permitting, I'll be curling up with I friend I hope is as dear now as it was then!

Apparently in the transition from the "old" to the "new" my e-mail address got dropped off my profile- it is back again. Things seem to be settling down a bit I think. I do miss being able to use my phone to check my blog to read comments on the "awful" nights at work, but for some reason it doesn't like "the new". Good reason to come home sooner I guess...

May your weekends all find you warm and toasty!

(cuz it's awfully cold here right now!)

alan

Waking up to snow...

again, just a bit this time. Enough to make things look nice in a world that isn't always.

Last week NPR's Bagdad correspondent did a long interview with a Sunni man who lived in a Shiite neighborhood. The militia had driven out most of the Sunni and were trying to force him to leave, but he told them he had nowhere to go. Apparently as all of the "new deal" was announced, he had been visited by the militia commander and told that he didn't have to leave, that they weren't going to operate that way anymore, and that they were even going to ask the people who had been forced out to return.

I thought perhaps, finally, there is a glimmer of hope!

Last night they announced that the man had been executed on Monday by militia...

alan

Blue Monday...

Sometimes it all just goes "screwy"!

Laura's birthday dinner turned out, in spite of it being 20 outside with a 35 mph wind while I was grilling. I split the salmon into halves because one was so much thicker than the other and put the thin one on the "cool" side of the grill, but between the marinade dripping from it and the mushrooms, the thin one caught fire once or twice...still edible, but not perfect like I hoped for!

Dottie was exhausted Saturday morning so we slept in, no movie that morning. With Bill and Laura we watched "The Lake House" and "Robin Williams Live". "The Lake House" we had seen in the theatre, and I loved it (sucker for romance, sorry!) as did Dottie after she saw it. The "Robin Williams Live" was a DVD I gave Dottie for her birthday that we hadn't seen, and though parts were a bit embarassing to watch with your kids, it had me in tears from laughing so hard...it was an HBO special from early in George the 3rd's administration. Made me really look forward to my first colon exam...now overdue by about a year...(not due to fear of the exam but fear of co-pay).

Sunday morning her stomach was "queasy" so we didn't dare do an early movie again. I had hoped to make it to "Pan's Labyrinth" at 10 that morning, then "Volver" at 4 in the afternoon. By then she felt better, but John was coming by to borrow a cord for Noel's laptop, and it's seldom we get to sit and talk to him anymore, so we stayed home and watched TV yesterday. Dottie was actually happy not to have left the house all day...

Sometimes when your "blogfriends" are going through a rough time it's very hard to not want to jump on an airplane just to deliver a hug...

alan

Last Weekend...

Talia enjoyed her birthday thoroughly! The actual day was Friday, and Mommy and Daddy took her and her siblings to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant that night, then Saturday she had her party. It was already beginning to snow by the time this was taken, and after she was done opening gifts the boys went outside to play touch football in the snow, followed by some sledding. When they decided they were cold enough, they came in and we had ice cream and cake.

Dottie took a vacation day for Saturday, so she had to work on Sunday. I got up at 7:30 to clear her car and shovel before she had to leave for work. This is the view that greeted me-




I cleared the sidewalk to her car, then her car and warmed it up, then started on the driveway itself. I wasn't through with it yet when she had to leave. I shoveled for 3 hours by the time I had my truck clear, the driveway back to the garage and the sidewalks behind the house. They still hadn't melted all the ice off from the last "go round" and I knew it would never melt with 6 inches of snow on top...

Of course, Angel loves it!




Between what I shoveled, the salt and the sand, the front driveway melted down pretty well. I heard the plow go by early during the Bears game, of course it filled the end of my driveway back in, so I went out at halftime to clear it again before Dottie came home.




When I got out there I found that the ice on the back sidewalk and patio were lifting enough I could clear them, so I spent another hour doing that. I finished just in time to peel potatoes to go with the roast I had in the oven and make gravy.

Dottie is off this weekend, and Bill and Laura are coming for dinner on Saturday. Since it's Laura's "birthday dinner" she wants salmon and portabellas on the grill, so you know where I'll be Saturday afternoon. I'm hoping to do a movie early both days, and after that we'll see what transpires! "Letters from Iwo Jima", "Babel" and "Volver" are on my list; we'll have to see what's on Dottie's!

Hope everyone is doing well!

alan

I had planned...

to put up some photos of the weekend, both Talia's party and our Sunday snowfall. Overtime on Monday (needed it) and a long day yesterday put that off. Dottie was off Friday, so we went and saw "Eragon" then she had yesterday off and I got up early and we went to "A Night at the Museum". No way was I missing out on Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney on the big screen; everything else was just an added treat!

Then I went to work last night and wasn't smart enough to turn my radio off at 8pm. Amid all the other b-s, I heard W. say he wanted to create a civilian corps with specialized skills to augment the armed forces.

Mercenaries, anyone?

alan

I like this one much better...

You Are An Apple Tree

You are quiet and shy at times, but you have lots of charm and appeal. You are quite attractive: your pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, and adventurous spirit draw people in. Sensitive and loyal in love, you want to love and be loved. You are a faithful and tender partner - who is generous in sharing your many talents. You love children, and you need an affectionate partner.

What's Your Celtic Horoscope?

We're melting!

Finally, a bit of warmth!

It's been so cold that the ice on the hood of my truck has never melted loose. I opened and shut it the other night when I got to work, and the edges came off but the middle is still stuck.

Still watching and listening to too much news for my own good...so many things I wish I knew how to fix!

My grandaughter turns 6 tomorrow; her party is on Saturday afternoon and I'm really looking forward to it. She is the first girl born into our family since my sister in '59, and is being spoiled appropriately. Not that the boys don't get most everything they want, too...lol!

Hoping to bloghop some on Sunday; may the weekend be wonderful for you all!

alan

Courtesy of a Friend...

You Are 44% Abnormal

You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul. You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at high risk for having a social phobia. It is very likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

Crust, but no glaze...

yet! It's so cold that the sleet "grained" quite a bit, with a bit of snow over that, into a rough crust about and inch and half thick or so at this point. They kept the freeways pretty clear, the sidestreets they haven't messed with, so at this point it's not bad "going". Dottie went to work today, I'm off for MLK day, so I took her car in for it's oil change. There were some rollovers on the news early, and I saw one. Just because you can drive 60 doesn't mean you can take the ramp at that speed...

For those who have a holiday today, I hope it's enjoyable; for those at work, may Monday be kind!

alan

Ice is us!

Knowing that this storm was coming our way, I went to Lowe's on Monday and bought extra sand and ice melt for my house and John's. Since he's out of town 'til 10 tonight I'm planning on going by there on my way to work to work on his driveway a bit if it gets as bad as they seem to think it will. If I can get out of my neighborhood, lol!

Laptop is charging, just in case. I can always go to Borders or Panera Bread to pay bills...

But before I shut down my desktop until this is over (in my old neighborhood, the lights tend to go easily) I wanted to wish each of you a wonderful weekend! Dottie is off, and I think we may actually cozy up and spend this one quietly!

:o)

alan

In Shock!

"Yeah, men in position are backin' away:
Freedom is stuck in reverse.
Let's get out of Iraq an' get back on the track,
And let's rebuild America first.

Why don't we liberate these United States,
We're the ones who need it the most.
You think I'm blowin smoke? Boys it ain't no joke.
I make twenty trips a year from coast to coast."

Merle Haggard

When I heard that tonight on the BBC I almost fell off my forklift! They didn't play the whole song, only a few snippets; I came home a tracked down the lyrics, of which these are the last two verses.

Times they are a'changin'!

___________________________________________________________________

Addendum, Wednesday night/Thursday morning-

As the article the header links to attests, the rest of it is an "isolationist" anthem...
My first memories of hearing about Merle Haggard were during the Vietnam era, when he was singing against the protests, so I was quite shocked to hear him come out against the "2nd Iraq War".

I'm not a huge country music fan though I'll listen if it's on. When "the Chicks" came out with their new one I went and bought it to support them; to say thanks for standing up in spite of the flak.

I do have some Jerry Reed and Ed Bruce discs running around; also some Red Sovine and Dave Dudley. On album I have some Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins duets that are mind blowers!

But when I got in her car tonight to drive home I turned off the BBC and hit play on the CD player to listen to Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters, live airchecks from 1939-40.

Within a minute or two "King George" was forgotten, along with my night at work.

I was smiling!

alan

"Early" Sunday...

when you live my schedule...not quite noon yet, I've been up about 6 minutes, lol!

Friday evening at work I spent writing a long rant (in my head) that I had planned to title "No Warrant Needed" for King George; like my thoughts matter to him anyway! Rather than waste my effort, we'll see what transpires in D.C. this next week!

By the time I felt like doing anything yesterday, the massacre in Indianapolis had begun (Colts 23, Chiefs 8). Somehow I know it must be my fault, as it's the only game I've seen all of all year...all night at work Friday people would ask if I thought they would win (this is a team that made the playoffs because 3 other teams lost games they should have won last week) and my reply was that "I will hope, but I won't hold my breath".

When Dottie came home from work last night we went out and found a coat for Talia to make up for the one that was too short at Christmas. Hooray, it's finally over!!! The last Christmas exchange has been made! Just in time, of course, since Talia's 6th birthday is in two weeks; most of the shopping is done thanks to the extras we picked up through Christmas, only a few odds and ends to find now!

I'm really having a hard time not commenting on the world and national things, but I'm trying to focus on the ones I can have an effect on and let the other ones go...feeling guilty the whole time of course...

May this next week be kind to you all!

alan

It was a dream...

Back to work last night; after the initial round of "Happy New Years" and "Welcome Backs" and "was Santa good to you", it was like we never left!

New Year's Eve we did the November, December and January birthdays at my sister's house, along with a New Years Eve party. My Dad used to sit everyone down and show the family slides, and last year my sister and I tried to revive that, much to the chagrine of some of our kids. We only went through 2/3 of them last year; this year we did the other 1/3. I quit playing with photography after Dad died, partly from expense and partly because there were just too many memories, so this 1/3 was the slides of my boys and our family from when they were born 'til Bill was 5 (Dad died in '83). We hadn't seen a lot of these since then; some my sister had never seen. It went much better this year...

My mother didn't go; as she said her legs were bothering her and she'd rather stay at the nursing home. We didn't argue...

We buy gifts for each other and the kids from her; the DVD she bought Noel it turned out Noel had bought herself (The Lake House). Since we didn't buy it for ourselves, though we liked the movie, we kept it and spent New Years Day going back to the antique mall she and Dottie had been to last Saturday to look for a wooden grain bucket she had put back but really liked. Dottie had bought herself a Fairbanks scale that day (she is a descendant of the Fairbanks family), and gone back on Sunday to look for a piece that was missing (no such luck) . So the shopping continued though the holidays were technically over, lol! Tonight Dottie's doing the 2nd round of returns on my mother's clothes, then all we have left is finding a jacket for Talia, as the 6 I bought her was too short (growth spurt!) and they didn't have it in a larger size.

I would have never dreamed when I thought we were so far ahead this year that this would still be going on!

:o)

Time for some coffee and to finish waking up!

alan

Playing with a deck of 51...

One of the earliest songs I remember playing on the radio as a child spoke of playing solitaire with one of those...I still have that mahogany cased Motorola. "How Much is that Doggy in the Window"... Peggy Lee's "Fever"...they all take me back to boyhood instantly.

51 has snuck up on me; 50 didn't bother me, there was kind of a top of the world feeling to it that I loved! Now there's some "going down the other side" of the "hill" involved. Knowing that I may outlive the polar ice cap doesn't help a bit; I never in my life dreamed that would happen in my grandkids lifetimes, let alone my own!

So as I sneak up on 2007, I reflect on the past 50 years and hope that in another 50 we are all still here gathered in our cyber circle. May 2007 bring you each Joy, Hope and Happiness!

alan

I'd rather fight than switch...

if that's what getting into "the New Blogger" is going to be like! Things have been in limbo for a while here!

Hopefully it was just the transition and all will settle down now!

The 2 days of Christmas went well; 1 coat that was too short for Talia and none of the things we bought for my Mom fit (kept telling Dottie 3X, but she didn't believe me). The coat we already tried to exchange, but the only ones left were smaller, so now we get to shop for a different one.

The worst of it was that John only asked for one game, Final Fantasy 12. I bought deluxe editions back in November, the week they came out, and put them away for both boys. Bill and Laura asked for theirs last week as they were on winter break at college; that was fine. Christmas afternoon at his house, John opened his deluxe two disc special edition in the pretty metal case and the game disc was missing!

Needless to say, I was crushed. The only place that sold them was Gamestop; I was there when they opened the next morning, the store I bought it from and was told they were sold out of them and the manager put a used one in our case and couldn't understand why I was upset!

Dottie was livid! I ended up going to another store and buying a 3rd one, giving it to John and keeping the used one...

Speaking of which, I had avoided my PS2 since I hurt myself last year, knowing how many hours I can lose in a good RPG, but last week I picked up one of the games I got last Christmas I hadn't played...I've logged 75 hours at this point...(Dragon Quest 8; I played all of the "old" Dragon Warrior games along with the boys as they were growing up).

Off to run some errands and then meet Dottie at Sears to return Mom's clothes. Border's is across the street and I got a gift card for Christmas...I think I'll be going there while I wait for her to get off work!

Tomorrow I guess I have to re-write my profile, as the half-century mark becomes 51!

I hope all your holidays were wonderful and the New Year brings each of you the joy, happiness and love I wish you all!

alan

Wow!

I'd have never believed a week could fly by so quickly!

Noel's birthday went well. Dottie took her "antiquing" to Atchison as a surprise while I waited for the grandkids to come home from school and fixed dinner. She had a great day, as did we.

Monday and Wednesday there was lots of shopping-more than we had planned on having left at that point! Some things weren't available until last week, others hadn't been put on the list yet...

Our 30th anniversary was Thursday. Dottie's sister Jane and her husband had enjoyed our being in Vermont for their 25th this last summer, and our 25th slipped by in the fog of Dottie being told she had terminal cancer (she didn't, but we were lucky!) when they found the cyst on her kidney, so they made a point of making sure we enjoyed this one. They arranged with our younger son to get us a gift card to somewhere we'd never ever go to eat! Valet parking, the whole bit! We've never gone anywhere like that since we've been together...we just don't do things like that, lol, always figuring we should do something else with that kind of money! John got the card before he left town, Noel gave it to use on Tuesday but with instructions not to open it until our anniversary. Not knowing what was up, we opened it, along with our cards to each other and the gifts I got her at midnight on Wednesday, then she went to bed because she had to work that day.

I had roses delivered to Dottie at work that day as a surprise. They were (and still are) gorgeous! Being between sizes again (going the wrong way, sadly) I called the restaurant to ask about dress code (there are places on the Plaza that are coat and tie only) and they said jeans were acceptable with a nice shirt or sweater, thank goodness! Dinner was wonderful, and it was a great evening until it was time for her to go to bed.

I had known Noel was fighting a cold the day we were there; I didn't know the grandkids had been fighting a stomach bug for days before that. The bug caught up with me about 2AM on Friday, and I'm still not quite over the aftereffects. I hadn't "hurled" in 28 years (for me things always go the other way) but I did that day! I thought I was better on Saturday, and we did some more last minute shopping along with the weekly trips I didn't get done on Friday while she was working; that almost became a mistake.

Sunday I didn't dare go anywhere, so we started wrapping gifts. For once, everything is pretty well done except for a few things awaiting some more last minute things we'll pick up tomorrow. After years of promising we won't be wrapping on Christmas Eve, we might actually not be!

In the "whirl" of it all though, the Chrismas letter didn't get written until last night, and just finished printing because it had to await editorial appproval this morning, lol!

I'm very disappointed in myself for not getting around to check in with everyone last week; I hope you all forgive me!

Just a quickie...(ahem, not that kind)

Dottie's foot is doing better, though if she spends too much time on it it still swells. She worked this weekend, and they had their Christmas parties, 3 per day, plus their normal routines to deal with, so she was pretty wiped out last night. She met me after she got off and we did a bit more Christmas shopping; a few odds and ends left and a box to ship to Vermont. I still need to write "the letter" to go in with the cards...had planned on having it ready to go at Thanksgiving.

In February I had put in for 4 days vacation this week, because Thursday is our 30th wedding anniversary (don't know how she's put up with me for so long!) and I had planned to beg her boss to let her have a couple of days off for it (they aren't supposed to take vacation between Thanksgiving and New Year's). She wouldn't let me do that, telling me she doesn't want to owe them any favors.

Tomorrow is her day off to make up for the work weekend (she had last Friday as well), part of her usual schedule. I had planned a movie and dinner as an early anniversary; she wanted to take me to a jazz club and we were in the process of debating which; then, as always, life intervened...

My sister had planned to have my daughter-in-law to her house for a birthday dinner tomorrow night as my son is out of town on business. Turns out my nephew has a concert, so Cindy's dinner got moved to Wednesday, so tomorrow Dottie and I are entertaining Noel and fixing her "porcupine meatballs" for her birthday dinner. Since she has a link to here I can't divulge more...

By Friday last week I was so tired and frustrated (work has been getting to me a bit as well) that I spoke to my "foreman" (actually a woman who just transferred from Production to Material, and who I've been stocking teams for this last year; she's very good and I'm grateful to have her for my boss now) and she said put in for Monday as well so I did. She brought me back the paper with "OK" signed by our General Foreman an hour or so later!

So, this afternoon marks the beginning of the first time I've taken a week off when the plant was running since I tore my back up almost two years ago!

It feels GOOD!!!!

:o)

Hopefully later in the week I can catch up with all of you...

alan

Slings and arrows of outrage...

At the beginning of the year we had to change medical insurance because our plan was discontinued. Only two options, an HMO or "traditional" were available; our benefits rep recommended the traditional one so we had more control over our doctor choices. We knew it would come with a higher co-pay for office visits and have dealt with that through the year.

Thursday, on the ice, Dottie went to pick up a veggie platter for a party at work on Friday. Some kid in daddy's 4-wheel rolled up alongside her in the grocery parking lot and lit the tires. It slid sideways towards her and she jumped to get out of the way. This is right after she stepped out of her car with the handicapped plate and was walking away from the handicapped parking place (she has a replacement hip and and knee).

Friday her left foot was tender. Saturday it started to swell. She stayed off it most of the day after that. Sunday it looked like someone had slipped a third of a baseball under the skin on top of it, but she wouldn't go to the ER, not knowing how much that would cost us. She wanted to wait for Monday to go see our regular physician.

She called in sick, then called the doctors and got in. They sent her to the lab on premises for an x-ray. The lab said they had gotten an e-mail from our carrier and that they would only pay for foot x-rays done by "National Foot Care" and told her go back to the doctor's to find out where they were.

The doctor's office had no idea. She called me, and I went through 5 phone books and couldn't find them, then went online and Googled and came up with that name and that Ford, Chrysler and Delphi are participants, but there is nothing listed for GM employees.

So the doctor's office sent her to the emergency room...

It wasn't broken, they offered her a "boot" and she turned it down because she knew it wouldn't be something "clean" to wear at work. They offered her painkillers, she turned them down because with only one kidney, she avoids any "extra" things to make it work harder when she can. They were a bit worried about her blood pressure, as it was in the 170/ something range...she is on meds for it and usually it's in the "normal" range. She pointed out to them what she had been through that morning and they didn't seem so worried!

So besides working my 9's 6 days last week and this I've been trying to make sure that there's absolutely nothing for her to do when she comes home except put her leg up.

I will be checking in with you all as I get time...sorry I haven't been around more!

And just so you all can grin a bit, the ornaments are slowly climbing the tree as the ones on the bottom get carried away by Frankie and rehung higher and "deeper" in the tree, lol!

alan

The Weekend Cometh!

Not that I get more than one day of it, lol!

We survived the ice storm, and the heaviest snow missed us by a few miles, starting about 5 miles south of us and getting heavier the further you went. Where my wife works, they had 4" so some of them went out and made a snowman and the rest took residents to the windows to watch. About 40 miles southeast of us they got 18"!

Though I work tomorrow, all 3 grandkids are spending the night tonight. The tree has been up since Tuesday and Frankie hasn't tried to climb it yet, so when I get up tomorrow we're going to decorate it. Hopefully our curious kitty still leaves it alone! (Dottie's plants that have moved to the basement for the winter aren't faring so well; we're going to have to wrap the plant stands in hardware cloth I think.)

I'm trying very hard not to be depressed by man's treatment of fellow man...Litvinenko, Lebanon, Iraq...if I was smart I would turn off the TV and the radio but somehow I can't!

alan