6 movies, 26 hours...

My nephew Jordan came to spend the weekend for the first time since he started working last summer. We made a movie weekend of it, starting Saturday morning with me getting up on 5 hours sleep for breakfast and then an early show of "Letters from Iwo Jima". He and my sister had just seen "Flags of Our Fathers" earlier in the week, via "Netflix", and so with it fresh in his mind he wanted to see it as did we. I haven't seen "The Departed", but I think Clint was robbed!

We went back home for a few minutes after that for lunch and to let Angel outside, figuring out in the meantime he had lost his wallet in the movie with his freshly cashed paycheck in it. Calling the theatre, they didn't find it, so we went back and hung around 'til the next show got out; he got it back, money intact! "Ghost Rider" was next on the agenda; I was already holding our seats while he and Dottie rescued his wallet. Dottie is a big Nicolas Cage fan, and we both like Sam Elliot in anything; it was a good movie. I'm looking forward to the extra stuff on a DVD down the road...

"Wild Hogs" was previewed here last weekend, and that was the 3rd movie for the day. The funniest thing I've seen in ages, from beginning to end! If you are lucky you might get to stop laughing long enough to catch your breath before you can't help but start again...

We went home and I had rented one Jordan wanted to see, "Proof" with Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow, and another that we had seen in the "arthouse" "Keeping Mum" with Maggie Smith and Rowan Atkinson. It's one of those "dark humor" comedies that sneaks up on you and you are enjoying before you realize it. Jordan was quoting some favorite lines from it all day Sunday. Since we had seen it already, I put it in first and cooked a batch of stir-fry chicken for dinner, we ate and then I loaded the dishwasher while it was on. Then we put in "Proof".

I was amazed at Gwyneth's performance. She matched Hopkins at every turn, no mean feat considering his experience in film and on stage. I didn't realize this had been a stage role for her before it was made into a film, and that might account for her astounding performance; all I know is I was impressed by the movie and the acting!

Jordan was pretty well exhausted by that point; he went to bed while we took showers and I watched deleted scenes and making of stuff off the two discs. I went to bed between 3 and 4, then was up at 8:45 again for the next early movie "Bridge to Terebithia". I had read enough to know what to expect, Dottie was a bit disappointed it wasn't more of a "Narnia", but still it was a good movie.

On the way home we stopped to pick up balloons and plate and stuff for a surprise birthday party for my Mom at her nursing home that afternoon. She turned 77 on Monday, and we were expecting cold and rain mixed with snow which makes it fun getting her around in her wheelchair, and knowing we could surprise her by having a party there instead of taking her out, we had been working out times and such through e-mails for a week, finally settling on 3pm Sunday.

Cindy had kept my grandkids over the weekend, so they got to pick out Mom's cake:



I had called on Friday and asked to reserve the table in the lobby for 3 on Sunday, but asked them not to put a name on it. Cindy and the grandkids went down to her room to get her and told her they wanted to go back to the lobby to look at the birds that live there.

The surprise worked wonderfully:



Left to right are my nephew Jordan, Cindy's younger son; my sister Cindy; Mom; Dottie; my younger son John; and my grandaugher Talia.

These were shot with my little Fuji digicam; the quality isn't what the Nikon would be, but we had enough things to take with us I "wimped out" and took the little camera.

Last but not least, since Boo had asked what I look like now:




Sandy pointed out that "only a man would say 20 pounds wasn't that many, lol". I have to confess, I wasn't looking at it in that light, but that having lost 100 that having a bounce the other direction of only 20% wasn't so bad; I know I can walk them off again. The part that was irking me was that 20 pounds was 6" and I had to go dig out some jeans I swore I'd never wear again!

I spent yesterday recovering from the weekend, doing a few little things around the house and trying to track down some Delco Voyager batteries for the bass boat. It seems I can't find them in town anymore, so ended up ordering a set in St. Joseph this morning that will be in tomorrow morning. In my cars I always put in "Die Hard" from Sears because I've had them last 6 or 7 years at a time, but the maintenance free aspect of the Delcos is nice when they are under deck, and some guys I know that fish tournaments say they are getting 5 seasons out of them, so an extra season or two is worth the premium over the lesser ones I can buy here.

Now I'm off to the garage to pull the 25 year old tires off the boat trailer and go replace them. They don't "look" bad, but I don't want to be that guy on the side of the road everyone feels sorry for...

alan

The week is rapidly escaping...

and not a bit too soon!

Tuesday I played hooky, my first vacation day of the New Year. It was Dottie's day off, and after a leisurely morning and breakfast, we went down to look at a power plant lake an hour south of here we used to fish, checking the price on their ramp permits and such. The roads to the marina are all paved now; the free ramp at the north end has been redone as well. It was in the mid 50's, and felt like perhaps spring was trying to get it's foot in the door! Since it's a cooling lake for a generating plant the water is a bit warmer there and there were 8 or 10 tow rigs and trailers in the parking lot, though we only saw one boat on the lake.

On the way home I tried to find another smaller lake a friend, now retired, took me to once about 10 years ago. After some backtracking I found it, but by that point it was getting late in the afternoon and plans for movies slipped away in favor going home and fixing dinner.

I got my unemployment paperwork tonight; there are so many of us that the state gave it to the union to give to us rather than try and process us at their office or send people to the union hall like they used to. I'm beginning to look forward to this next week, it's coming at a good time for getting some things done uninterrupted by work!

And though sweet Boo thinks I should be looking pretty good right now, I've actually slipped the other way a bit. Too many things have been going on for me to get my gym time, and the list has seemed endless at times. I'm up about 20 pounds from where I was last fall, but though it's not that many pounds, the inches are scary!

I'm slowly getting a handle on things though, and these down weeks will help. They've told us we'll have another the end of April; by then the boat and trailer should be ready to go and it will be time to take some grandkids fishing!

Hopefully the week is being kind to you all, and the weekend will bring rest and relaxation for you!

alan

Not the Sunday post I had planned...

but yesterday was spent yet again shoveling snow, then shopping and fixing dinner while Dottie was at work. Caught up with some TV, then after she went to bed I worked on that video game some more, lol!

Today started later than I planned, shopping for some things I couldn't find yesterday, then I came home and downloaded the medical forms I have to fill out for the colonoscopy I've been supposed to have since I turned 50. I'm only a year behind...

Normally I have my physicals in July during my downtime, but last year we were in Vermont. When we came back I put mine off to make Dottie go do hers (she has to have annual exams on her replacement joints as well). By the time we got through those, I had figured out how bad my Chrysler really was; then we bought the truck and since then things have been a bit tight, between paying off the things that weren't covered on hers, paying the regular bills and then throwing in the holidays on top!

I called this last week trying to schedule this for next week when I am laid off, thinking I might want a day or two to recover, but of course the soonest they can get me in is late March or April! I'm betting this won't be the last of my downtime, so hoping if I go for the last week of March I won't have to give up any vacation days!

Daytona is on in the background at this point...scary how few names I recognize in the field anymore!

Somewhere back East I know Tony Stewart's number one fan is having a party!

Off to sort out the 1600 things in my inbox and fill out these (endless) forms!

A great week to you all...

alan

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had intended to get this up last night when I came home...sorry!

NPR's "All Things Considered" said last night that the first recorded Valentine's Day card was sent by a Frenchman from the Tower of London where he was being held, and that it was a note with a drawing of Cupid firing an arrow that pierced a heart. They didn't say what happened to him...

There are so many times a day when I think of the friends I have here- so many times you've each "helped me make it through the night" or day or deal with some obstacle I found in my path through this screwy world! I am grateful to know all of you and to count you among those I care deeply about.

The Happiest of Valentine's Days to all who find there way here!

alan

February 13, 1927

My Dad and his brothers; seated from left to right are Harvey, the oldest, born in 1922; Roudet (Rudy), born in 1930; Bill, born in 1924; and standing behind them is my Dad, Kenneth Ray (Kenny) born this day in 1927.



Dad in the late 50's or early 60's in the living room of this house I still live in. Sometimes the memories here make things easier, then there are days like today...what should have been his 80th birthday.



Dad and the "apple of his eye", my sister Cindy somewhere around 1970. No kidding, she was always his favorite, and never did anything wrong! Uncle Rudy used to tell me that it was always that way; that the oldest never does anything right, and when a parent sees how that works then they do a complete reversal on the next kid...



Dad, Harvey and Rudy are all gone now, in that order.

Most years it doesn't bother me so much, but something about this being his 80th has been weighing heavily on me. The grandsons he'd be so proud of; the great grandkids he never got to see. Though he would be pissed at me for saying it, I'd trade Mom for him in a heartbeat! I know in many ways I would still be a disappointment, and that we would have our disagreements; I know there are times he would infuriate me.

But damn I sure miss him!

alan

I left my last post up...

for some extra days hoping desperately that someone else might go badger the Forest Service a bit. Hopefully they did!

I remember reading somewhere in the last few years that when the "old growth" was being cut in the Northwest last time that it was all being shipped out of the country; we couldn't even afford to buy the timber ourselves! That may have been back when Julia Butterfly Hill was sitting in "Luna" to save her from the axe.

(Sometimes things that happened last week seem a very long time ago; other times things that happened 40 years ago seem like yesterday!)

Found out when I got up today and checked my e-mail that for the first time in 5 years, I'm getting laid off due to lack of car sales. Only a week at this point, but it's a financial reverse I really didn't need right now!

Meanwhile "the Shrub" is out there touting how well the economy is doing under his watch. Housing sales have tanked, all the other car manufacturers have been fighting this (to the point Toyota is offering 0% and rebates on the Prius). Somehow our sales had stayed strong enough I hoped we might avoid the same fate.

The first 15 years I worked I was laid off almost as much as I worked, barely keeping my seniority at times. There are a lot of those I work with who hired in as little as just two weeks after me who did "break time" and now have 1982 or 1983 "seniority dates", meaning they lost 4 or 5 years towards whatever retirement we'll end up with when the time comes. This was always a bad time of year as people are trying to pay off their Christmas debt and waiting for their IRS checks, but these last year we had been very lucky. A lot of my financial woes come from living on plastic back then...

To more pleasant subjects...we're finally above freezing for the 2nd time in a month! Of course, it's raining and at sundown the temperature is going to start dropping until it hits 21 sometime in the middle of the night with the rain freezing then turning into snow. 2-4 inches tonight, continuing tomorrow with a high of 22!

"Lovely weather we're having..."

(from an old Louis Armstrong song)

At least my friends up north get enough you can really do something besides just shovel!

:o)

alan

Way too important to let slide!

A friend put up her first post in a while and in the links she included was one for this. Apparently Bush and friends are after our natural resources again, this time it's the old growth timber in Alaska! If you click on the title above, or here it will take you to a page that explains what they're up to, and how to attempt to stop it.

At some point in my life, like Will Rogers so many years ago, "I gotta see that Alaska". It would be nice if it was still there when I get to!

I spoke to one of the new transferees at work as we were walking in last week and found out she had lived there, and she spoke of catching 30-35 pound salmon 'til her arms ached. I can't imagine!

Please help if you can!

alan

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

Happy Holidays!

I can hear that old Irving Berlin song echoing around inside my empty head...from "Holiday Inn" for those who don't know it.

Dillon's turkey is something he and Grandma made when the three kids were here last weekend; they each cut, glued picked out their own feathers.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, as was gathering the clan again the next afternoon to go see "Happy Feet". Grandpa started something a few years ago when he bought a round of tickets for everyone to go see "Polar Express" the day after Thanksgiving; even though we are a few less this year, it was still great fun!

Also fun was keeping Dillon overnight that night by himself, as he and I had picked up a few models for his first projects several months ago, but those are hard to do when others are around. So that night we put together a "monster truck" and an F4U-Corsair...photos later (if I'm lucky)!

John and Noel have discussed putting in a dishwasher over the years; this year they decided they wanted that for part of their Christmas and birthdays, so I spent Saturday working on that and hauling sheetrock for them as they are insulating and re-rocking the older grandchildren's rooms.

Sunday I hauled sheetrock for the next room and then tried to do our shopping for the week, finishing just in time to get home and fix dinner for us as Dottie got out of the shower after work. A bit of TV, and my four day weekend was gone!

So now it's back to that 6 days in a row thing for two more weeks...my mind says ouch but my wallet is smiling, lol!

Missed you all, hope things are great; I'll be trying to catch up for the next few days, though Dottie is off tomorrow and we're talking about trying to go pick up our tree!

I feel guilty every year when we do that, especially with my Grandma's artificial downstairs, but Dottie loves the smell and it reminds her of home, so I try not to think about it. If I had more yard I'd buy ones I could plant after...maybe someday!

alan

It's really hard...

to go back to work after 3 days off, especially when you know your spouse is still at home!

We managed to get some things done, made it to a couple of movies, then we spent Monday driving around Hillsdale Reservoir, a place we fished a lot before my last truck died. New ramps, lots of new campgrounds, and a new marina with a floating heated dock (maybe a place to take the grandkids fishing after the holidays) that also sells bait and tackle and has a sandwich shop, etc.. The roads that were almost all gravel are now mostly paved; houses are going up at all around it now. We had looked at a place there 15 years ago that had 25 acres and 5 ponds on it; it's been broken up for a subdivision now and only one pond is on the property now. Had I been smart enough to buy it, breaking it up would have paid it off!

At the time though, I was going into the last long layoff I had from GM, before I had enough seniority to stay when they go to one shift. (Before I had 15 years in I was laid off as much as I worked.) The hour drive each way on a dry day would get awfully long in winter weather as well, not to mention the vehicles I'd have worn out doing it, so all in all it's probably good we stayed here. 7 or 8 minutes to work has a lot to be said for it!

"A Good Year" was awfully good (my kind of movie). "Stranger Than Fiction" was good as well, though a bit disturbing as well.

Monday after we got home we went out and rented "Click" and "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift", and enjoyed them both. Somehow the sacriege of dropping a Nissan motor in a classic Mustang disturbed me, but in the "making of" stuff you could see the Ford script on the valve covers and the big 4 barrel on top of the Ford V-8 in the car they said was "the hero car".

The real treat was the surprise at the end of the movie...

:o)

I'm going to try and catch up with you all before the weekend; Dottie's off both days, I work Saturday again, so it's one of those one day weekends for me. Her birthday is next Monday, so I have a vacation day that day. She's taking her last 3 vacation days and between her weekend off, Thanksgiving Day holiday, and her normal Friday off, she gets 7 off in a row. Needless to say if I get here it will be just for a few minutes, lol!

I hope life is treating you all wonderfully!

alan

Sunday evening...

Where my wife works you aren't allowed to take vacation during "the holidays" so she took the days she had left for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, between her normal Friday and Tuesday off. I get Monday for Veteran's Day from GM. so she has 5 off and I am in the middle of 3.

Sorry I haven't been to visit you all, but we have been enjoying some of our time and tryihg to get some things done while we're both off as well. I'll explain more later...

Hope you are all having lovely weekends!


alan

The exodus from Washington!

No, not really...not until January, anyway! But in the spirit of the coming holiday...lol!

When we came off one of the dirt roads and back onto pavement last Tuesday, I heard something scratching in the leaves. I stopped the truck, and on Dottie's side we saw these wild turkeys. I'm pretty sure when this park was built in 1938 there weren't any wild turkeys left in Kansas; I don't remember ever seeing one as a kid. Their repopulation started in the last 25 years, and seeing them further out "in the country" isn't unusual anymore, but finding them here was a real treat!

Hope you are each having a good week!

alan

Photo Sunday escaped 'til Monday!

Last Tuesday before the frivolity we took a ride around our closest lake; having a truck now we revisted some gravel roads I haven't been on since my boys were little.

The color is a bit past peak, but the worrisome thing is that this was Oct.31st and the trees still have so many leaves; the color has turned even more to rust now, but not many more have dropped...if we get any kind of an ice storm, it's going to be a major problem, and we're getting to that time of year!








I worked yesterday; this morning I rolled out at 9, cooked breakfast and we made it to see "The Prestige" at 10:40. From there, we worked on filling Santa's sleigh, since we don't get too many shopping days together, and now have the sleigh about 3/4 full.

Tonight we cleared 5 hours of "Supernatural" we were behind on, along with me fixing dinner and running laundry, then after Dottie went to bed I caught up with "Battlestar Galactica" from Friday night since she had watched it with Bill and Laura. I also watched "30 Rock" since she doesn't care much for that one...

Now the clock is ticking towards 3 and I should really crawl into bed!

I'm off Tuesday and she took a vacation day, so after we vote I'm thinking about trying to talk her into going to "Keeping Mum". So far I've only told her Maggie Smith is in it...I should mention Swayze as she loves him; if I mention Rowan Atkinson I'll be lucky to get to rent it on video, lol!

I have my fingers crossed for Tuesday, but not enough courage to hold my breathe...

alan

A "Toy Story" kind of day...

I had planned to post this before work on Wednesday, but went Christmas shopping instead...so before another day slips away:



John is wearing a pair of my old bibs from 2 years ago with a pillow to fill them out...I think seeing how big I really was (he was afraid to drive because his stomach was in the way) may have given him more motivation to watch his own weight than anything anyone might ever say!

:o)

4AM, off to bed...thinking of you all!

alan

Happy Halloween!

A few weeks ago all 3 grandkids spent the night, and Grandma wanted to make a scarecrow with them. A good time was had by all, though I got in a bit of trouble when I came home at 2AM (kids long since in bed, of course) as she was putting the finishing touches on him and pointed out he looked a bit like he might have been at Roswell!

alan

Blogger and it's snits...

I wrote a Saturday post, but Blogger wouldn't let me upload it and I didn't have hours to keep trying as it was a work day again...if you'll forgive me I'm going to drop it in here:

Ssturday!

For some reason I keep "hearing" an old "Chicago" tune rattling inside my empty head, but with the sun out, errands to run, my truck to wash, and work to go to, I don't think I'll be taking their suggestion today!

Tomorrow Bill and Laura are coming from Lawrence so we can change the oil in their Neon, put on the Blizzaks that I had bought for Dottie's Neon before we traded it for the Malibu and some winter blades, then I have some steaks to go on the grill and a couple of pounds of mushrooms to fry in time for Dottie to come home. My plan is to have her Malibu washed and waxed before 2 when the kids arrive. We have a 60 degree day today, and a couple of 70's tomorrow and Monday, so trying to make use of them, especially after all the cold and rain this last week!

I'm almost afraid to say anything about the national political scene for fear I'll jinx things for next week...

But I can't help wondering what happens if you waterboard a guy with a pacemaker, since that's obviously not torture?

alan

____________________________________________

Now it's Sunday morning; thanks to the time change I got a bit over 9 hours sleep and am waiting for the kettle to boil to make some oatmeal and a latte.

Bonnie Raitt was on Prarie Home Companion last night; at one point she was telling Garrison how nice it was to have someplace on the radio to find some sanity once a week, that she and her band always listen while they're on the road. She said that at least at Halloween there's an excuse for "scary", unlike the rest of the time as of late (me paraphrasing)!

That thought has been stuck in my head ever since...

Have a wonderful Sunday, each of you!

alan

Rinse, Repeat...

Started the next "cycle"...it would be 17 of 19 again, but I have Halloween off, and we get election day as a negotiated holiday. Worked an hour over last night sweeping...I know better, but too greedy for my own good (truck payments, car payments, Christmas is coming, a half dozen birthdays...)!

Mitch's birthday on Saturday was fun.

My sister's younger son Jordan, with my grandaugher Talia and my youngest grandson...



Caleb a few minutes later, lol...



This is Dillon, looking quite grown up for 7...



and of course, my brother-in-law Mitch being served his cake and ice cream by Miss Talia...



Next time I go back to the Nikon and the overhead bracket to get rid of redeye, these were all shot with the little Fuji and unretouched.

Sunday we made the 10:30AM show of "Flags of Our Fathers". Someday this will be ranked above "Saving Private Ryan" in the list of great WW2 movies. Knowing Eastwood shot a 2nd movie from the other "side" of things that won't come out until spring, I'm curious to see it as well.

If I am smart enough to leave when the line stops tonight, I'll be making the rounds this evening...hope I'm forgiven for not getting everywhere everyday at this point!

alan

I ran across this a couple of nights ago...

Maybe it's just me, but I thought it was pretty funny! (click the link above.) I don't know why it won't set up like a regular YouTube video, but this is the best I could do...

Hope someone else gets a weekend grin from it!

I've worked 17 of the last 19 days; finally I get two off in a row. Tomorrow is my brother-in-law's birthday party, delayed from the end of September due to scheduling conflicts. Sunday is hopefully "Flags of Our Fathers" early, shop our way home, then catch up with "Battlestar Galactica", "Supernatural" and some other things we haven't seen each other long enough to sit down and watch!

Lovely weekends to each of you!

alan

Wednesday, 4:10AM...

and I've been bloghopping for a bit over an hour...still need to put tapes in the VCR's for tonight, clock is set for 11:30AM...to much life and not enough hours!

Sunday was a blur of laundry and other chores...looking forward to a two day weekend this week!

"The world is still the same, you'll never change it"...(from a song most of you are too young to remember).

Korea and Iran whipsawing W. and his cohorts while Iraq descends further into chaos and more of our children die each day. More politicians with their hands in our pockets...more appointees under investigation, pleading guilty, going to jail...

and then on the way home tonight I heard that Ken Lay's conviction was thrown out!

I'm not surprised...disgusted, but not surprised!

Sometimes I think a whole lot of villages must have decided to exile their idiots...

to Washington!

alan

Saturday...(does it count if I have to work?)

Dottie was off yesterday; I managed to get up and we made it to an early show of "Man of the Year". I NEEDED THAT!

I don't care how many stars they're giving it, it's a good movie...not only things that need to be said, but some heart to it as well!

We shopped our way home (Sam's, Costco, Wal-Mart) then I went to work; slept later than I should have this morning (it's afternoon, lol) and I'm off to run a few errands before work.

The best thing about working Saturday (besides the paycheck) is cranking up "Prarie Home Companion" on my radio at 5pm! Things always brighten when I hear Garrison Keillor!

Hope you are all having wonderful Saturdays...

alan

Catching up...

Sunday, besides some time with the grandchildren until they left for church, I had planned on making it to the 2nd movie we had planned for the week before, washing and waxing Dottie's Malibu, cooking dinner, and watching some TV.

She picks on me a lot about how many hours I think are in a day...

We went and saw "The Illusionist" last week; I had also planned on getting to "The Guardian", but we didn't make. We did finally get there Sunday afternoon, though it wasn't the 10:30 AM show I had planned on. Good movie...I can see why it's holding it's numbers on the IMDB!

Washing her Malibu got put off; we stopped and picked up new tailights for the utility trailer my Dad had built, as I couldn't get the old ones to cooperate, and I came home and replaced them and got the front mudflaps on my truck just before dark as she started dinner.

Monday I ran some errands then came home and washed the truck and got a second coat of wax on it, looking towards the winter weather that's on it's way and knowing they like to put a lot more salt down here than sand so they don't have to clean it out of the storm sewers.

That reflections shot from yesterday was in the roof of the truck after I rubbed the wax off...

When I was done with the rest of it, it looked something like this:





Those two were shot with the Nikon, which seems to be fine after it's trip back to them to have the CCD replaced for free. The "Reflections" was shot with a new Fuji A350 I bought Monday while running those "errands"; 5.2 megapixel, for $90, the size of a cigarette pack. I had been looking for something that would fit in a pocket or Dottie's purse for times when I didn't want to carry the Nikon and lenses; something cheap enough if it fell in a lake, or something happened I wouldn't be distraught like I would if I lost the Nikon. It seems to work well...

My original plan for Tuesday was to wash and wax her Malibu, but it was already raining by the time I got up, so I rewired a pull switch in the ceiling fan in our bedroom; much easier when you don't have Frankie carrying off the wire "nuts", the pull chain, trying to play with the light bulbs...

Then I vacuumed out our main furnace (there are 3 in the house and one in the garage) and lit it off, as the predictions for Wednesday night range from 31 to 39. By the time I got those done, it was time for work again...

Now it's a bit past 4, and my eyes crossed about 10 minutes ago. Goodnight all! Happy Humpday to those of you who aren't working this weekend!

alan

Reflections on an Autumn Sky

via Silverado...

alan

Late Friday afternoon...

just in from "the rounds" (bank, GNC, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Sam's Club and Costco). It's 3:30, I've got a half hour to unload and put everything away, eat, pack my cooler and be out the door...

Caleb is spending the night tonight with Grandma, Dottie's off this weekend, and I work tomorrow night. The other two grandkids will be here tomorrow afternoon so their Mom and Dad can go to a wedding...

So I won't be around much 'til Sunday evening late!

:o)

Thinking of you all, wishing you lovely weekends!

alan

Wednesday...not quite "hump day"...

for me, anyway; this is the first of two back-to-back 6 day weeks. It wasn't supposed to be, but it seems they want every Saturn we can build between now and New Years, so they switched some days and put these together to get another day's production.

In February we are supposed to put in requests for most of our vacation days so they can allot manpower; figuring out Dottie's weekend schedule against our Saturday schedule, I plotted out a lot of her Tuesdays off on weeks I would be working on her Saturday off that way we see each other on occasion. Yesterday was one of those, my next is Halloween. That will be my first Halloween off since my grandkids got to start "Trick or Treating", and I'm looking forward to it much, though I kind of wish I had next Tuesday in addition...

I had planned on doing two movies yesterday, but we slept an hour later than I had planned on, then had some "us" time (grin). Back in May we had some hail damage repaired on our Malibu, and the "ditch moldings" they had replaced on the roof were coming loose, so I swung by the Chevy dealer to see about having them replaced. They asked if I had a 1/2 hour, and we said "sure" so they did them right then!

While we waited we went down to the "Parts" department to see about some odds and ends for our new truck. I had bought a "bowtie" (Chevy emblem) cover for the receiver hitch that matched the one in the grill the day the hitch was put on; last Sunday while I was in Wal-Mart for about 20 minutes someone stole it. They actually pulled the retainer clip and pin from the hitch, took the emblem, and put the pin and clip back!

$20, it pissed me off some as I'm still paying interest on it, but made me think that perhaps I should worry about my spare tire, as being a "plain Jane" my truck didn't come with the tire lock as standard equipment. Having to replace a $200 wheel and $150 tire would really wind me up, especially when I need it and it's not there!

So I asked about it at the parts counter, and they had the lock in stock, keyed it to match our ignition key, and told me how to put it in. They also gave me 10% off since I'm a GM employee.

While we were there we picked up a set of mudflaps that fit without drilling. Whenever Dad and I fished the powerplant lake an hour south of here, the gravel entrance road would stone the amber running light off the boat trailer, so I figured it was easier to put those on one time than replace the lenses every time we fish there, lol!

After that there wasn't time to do two movies, and "The Guardian" will be around for a while (Sunday morning is looking good right now for us) so my art house movie "won" the afternoon.

"The Illusionist" starts a bit slow, but is a great movie! The snowball that starts so small picks up momentum until it finally ends up in a brilliant conclusion! Holding at 7.7 on the IMDB with almost 5200 votes in means this isn't just me prattling on...it's really a good movie!

For those of you who have a weekend and a chance, it's well worth your time!

alan

Grrrrrrrrr...

Went to bed at 1...woke up at 3 and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally at 4:15 I gave up and came in here to blog-hop for a bit...

Worked 11 hours last night. A long time in the saddle...especially when you consider that 2/3 of it is driving backwards, lol! Home at 4:30, to bed at 5, tried to get up at noon, but after I talked to Dottie I laid on the bed while watching the Weather Channel and waiting for the local forecast; next thing I knew it was 3 something!

When Dottie was still driving the white Chrysler everyday and I had an old AMC around for the boys to drive, I was driving a $400 Dodge pickup for a couple of years. It was a slant-six, running on five when I bought it, and after 2 years it dropped another cylinder. We bought Dottie's first new car about that time, I got the Chrysler, and the truck sat in the back yard for a year and a half.

I bought a wrecking yard motor (it ran when they got it, of course, but I never heard it; I'll never make that mistake again!) and spent part of my model change 2 years ago hanging it. Never got it to fire, thought it was in the wiring, and didn't worry about it. Last year, with my back still in recovery, there's no way I was hanging over a fender to work on it.

I started trying to fire it up again this spring, and finally got spark to it when I figured out it had lower compression than the one I pulled out...

It never did run.

The Chrysler left for the crusher on Friday morning (me still feeling guilty, like I let it down by not trying to save it). This afternoon I hitched up Dad's log chain between the new truck and the old one, and when Dottie came home from work we pulled the old one out of the yard and onto the driveway, then swung the 2nd motor into the back, along with all the extra wheels that were around from things, and I've been throwing all the AMC and Chrysler and Dodge parts out of my garage into the bed this week. It leaves on Monday morning...

I remember people speaking of STB's penchant for organizing and minimizing, and I'm trying to do a bit of that for the first time in my life...

I've spent so much time making things out of junk for 35 years it's really hard to let it go...that fear of throwing away something you might need some dark and stormy night is hard to overcome!

The one thing that's helping in this round is that I also fear taking the new tires on my new truck anywhere near the metal recycling plant!

:o)

A beautiful Sunday to you all...

I'm going to try to go back to sleep now...I had the clock set for 9...

I wonder how far it's going to creep this time...

alan

Three 10's...

and I feel I'm becoming very dull!

Volunteering for overtime beyond our normal 9 hour days...nothing like "hard labor" but I got home this morning a bit after 3:30, and I had left for work at 4. Feeling a bit braindead at the moment, lol!

My wife wasn't selected for jury duty, so Monday when she came home we went and tagged the truck. Looking through the papers I realized the sales tax was as much as Dad paid for his new Ford in '53!

Tuesday I cleaned it up and got part of it waxed, I ran out of time and had to get ready for work. Yesterday I cleared gutters and mowed ahead of the rain that moved through last night.

Today I need to pull the battery and some other parts from my Chrysler before it goes to the crusher. Dottie's off tomorrow because she works this weekend; beyond that I have no idea what's going on, other than one of these days I'm going to get 8 hours sleep again!

This world we live in seems bent on it's own destruction in some form or another; no matter where you look you can find signs of it. There are times I feel guilty that I'm not screaming from a soapbox somewhere trying to point out the lunacy of it all, yet we all have to survive one day to the next as well. Signing petitions, writing letters, writing Congressmen, voting, contributing...sometimes it just doesn't seem like enough!

alan

I made it!

A one day weekend and I actually accomplished some things! (That doesn't happen often, or it doesn't feel like it most times!)

I worked last night 'til 2AM (6 day work week, though I burnt a vacation day on Tuesday for time with Dottie, since she worked last weekend), got to bed around 3:30, then got up at 9 this morning and we went to the movies to see "Flyboys". I am an aviation buff, and we lucked out and got in for $4 each (great movie, would loved to have seen it again, immediately). [There were some discrepancies and Hollywood liberties here and there, but not enough to ruin the movie for me, and probably un-noticeable to most.] We stopped at Costco on the way home, I fixed lunch, then went out and washed her Malibu and then cleaned all the road oil and bugs off it from the summer and got 2 coats of wax on it (getting ready for winter). By then it was dark. We had cooked a roast as she did things in the house while I was outside, so I ran through the shower and we ate while I started laundry, then we watched a couple of hours of TV and she went to bed at almost 1, I finished the dishes and put the last load of laundry in the dryer, and now it's a tick after 2...

Tomorrow if I get done at the courthouse early enough I will come home and wash my truck and try to get some wax on it, if I don't get home early enough for that I should mow and then do the other on Tuesday.

It's really a treat to drive something that does all the things it's supposed to, the windows go up and down, the doors open and close, it makes heat in the mornings when I leave work before I get 3 blocks instead of when I'm almost home, etc.. I still can't quite believe it's real!

Off to bed for me...hope you all had wonderful weekends and Monday is kind to you!

alan

Friday the first...

meaning of course, that Friday comes twice in my work week this week. Or I have a one day weekend...

As well, Saturday is Caleb's birthday party, so I'll be going to it for a few hours before I go to work. Last spring I took the day off for Dillon's party, but I didn't have a truck payment then, the holidays weren't coming so soon...I just can't say "no" to time and a half!

Frankie charged the back door as I was coming in from the garage yesterday afternoon at 3. He had slipped out twice on Dottie, but once he let her pick him up, the 2nd time he ran right back in. That was several months ago. This time, he ran back and forth several times like a little black rocket, refusing to come when I called, then ran around the front of the house and disappeared. For 24 hours. I called, rang a little bell on a toy he likes, both then and when I came home at 2:30AM last night. No luck.

We thought perhaps he would follow Angel back in when he got hungry or cold enough. Today it rained about an inch and a half. When Dottie came home she went out and called for him, but no luck. She let Angel out and the dog immediately went to our fence and was sniffing towards our neighbors doorless yard shed. Dottie put Angel back in the house and went over there, and could get him to meow at her, his pathetic meow he would use if we shut the bedroom door and he wanted in, but he wouldn't come to her. Finally she twisted her ankle on something and between that and the rain came home for a while.

She went back, and got him to meow again, but he wasn't in the shed anymore, he was between it and our fence. This time she stepped on something that crunched and watched him do his rocket impression under the fence and across our yard.

She gave up (it was 8:30 by this time) and came in and took her shower and ate. I called at 9, my lunch, and told her to just get ready for bed, that if he was wet enough, cold enough or hungry enough he would come back in.

At 11:30 when I called at my 2nd break, she had sat in the back room with the door open for a while, but no cat. She said she would put Angel out one last time and then go to bed. When she put her out, she saw Frankie and Angel "nose to nose talking" on the patio. When the dog came back in, the cat finally followed. She called and left me a voice mail about it, then when I got caught up I called her back and she said the cat was very wet and very cold, but seemed happy to be back inside.

I hope he stays that way!

He's now curled up in her chair sleeping...

Busy weekend, won't be around much; I hope you all have wonderful weekends!

alan

Trying again...

at the end of a long day! Vacation day, Dottie's Tuesday off again. Home at 2:30, to bed at 3 something, up at 8:30, truck to the dealer at 10 to have the bedliner sprayed and the receiver hitch installed. Ran some errands in the morning and afternoon, returned the rental and got the truck back at 4:30, ran some more errands then came home for dinner and some TV. My eyes are burning and about to cross...

Hopefully I'll get to the gym when I get up today for the first time in over 2 weeks!

41 for a low tonight...kind of early for that, but kind of glad to see it coming I think!

So back to where I was...



Got a letter in the mail yesterday from Nikon; my camera is repaired, "no charge, good will" written in the estimate column, and they shipped it out so hopefully I'll have it back by the weekend and be able to put up some better photos soon! The night before I found out it was "dead" I seriously thought about coming home and getting it, the tripod and the "fancy" raincover I bought for it and trying to get some lightning pics of the thunderstorm that was inbound; I'm very glad I didn't, or I'd have thought I got it wet somehow and ruined it!

So unlike the last airshow two years ago, all I had Saturday afternoon was my little Samsung cellphone...



A while back I had said I would put another photo up of Angel...I never got one when her hair was really short (and uneven) after her summer "shearing", but here she is partially grown back out...



Happy Humpday!

alan

I had planned on posting pics of the new truck, something from Saturday's airshow, and one of my youngest grandson who turns 3 today.

Sadly, Blogger only let me upload one before it decided to take a smoke break...

So since I was putting them in reverse order to write between them, the only one that's here is of Caleb on Saturday afternoon after the Blue Angels flew and closed the Kansas City Aviation Expo. His Dad had walked the older two down to the porta-potties, and Caleb was enjoying one of his favorite pastimes:



Happy Birthday little buddy!

alan

From the frying pan...

of not being sure I'll get to work or home again, to the fire of paying more than I had planned on...lol!

But then I am kind of contributing to my own retirement this way, so i'm not going to "feel guilty" about it.

This morning I got up, opened the kitchen curtain and peeked outside every now and then just to make sure it was really sitting in my driveway! A black 2007 Silverado, 1/2 ton, V-6, regular (or single) cab, 8 foot bed, automatic, air, AM-FM. Nothing extra except a cruise control. Next week it goes back for a sprayed in bed liner and a receiver hitch. For the first time in 6 or 7 years I'll be able to get Dad's bass boat out next spring (if I can come up with money for some batteries for it, a license, etc.).

I went over my walk away price, but mostly because I couldn't get a 0% loan through GM, like I could have a Dodge or Ford. I also sprung for the extended warranty, just in case...

It was quite a treat drving to work and not having to worry about it falling apart underneath me; at some points I got a bit misty over it; in some ways I feel like I'm betraying the old Chrysler (Dad used to try to convince me I couldn't keep them like pets).

Anyway, the deal is done, and I'm ecstatic, although I'm still not sure it's real...

alan

"A Wing and a Prayer"...

It's been an interesting few days...

My old Chrysler had been making some funny noises, but I had just chalked them up to age. Now that I know what's really going on, every extra squeak and squark causes my heart to leap into my throat, my stomach to clench, my heart to skip a few beats and my mind to wait for "her" to drop down on the right rear and spin to the left (what will happen when that axle comes loose). I keep trying to make sure I'm not next to anyone as much as I can, and have only dared to drive it directly to and from work, not even a few blocks extra to the grocery store or post office, saving the miles she has left for what counts most.

I came over a little rise as I crossed an intersection on the way home the night before last, and "she" made an awful "squark" where she had never made a sound before. For a minute I thought "this is it!". Then she settled back down and kept rolling. That's a 35 mile an hour street, I was doing 30 that night; last night I did 20 as I came over that same spot...

I called the salesman we bought our Malibu from (Allan Hammer at Superior Chevrolet if a local happens to read this, a very good, kind and helpful guy) yesterday and am meeting him at 11 AM tomorrow to try and work out numbers on a new Silverado. Just a "plain Jane", a "work truck"; full-size, 8' bed, V-6, automatic because Dottie doesn't want a stick with her joint replacements, no power locks or windows, vinyl floor, no cruise. The only one they list on their computer inventory that's like that is black, and though I really don't want black, I'll live with it if the numbers are right. I've drawn my "walk-away" line, and though I'm trying to be a loyal GM employee (and support my own retirement, etc..) I will walk away if I have to. Dodge is offering better deals right now; 0% instead of 4.9%, etc.. There has been some talk of making the parking lots at work GM only, but I'll walk a block or two if I have to I guess...

I tried hunting down some used ones, but at the amount I'm looking at, I'd be buying something 6 or 7 years old for almost the same investment; I'm trying to get out of working on things, not bring someone else's headache home!

Hopefully Saturday I'll have something good to post!

alan

My last shot...

at fixing my Chrysler "on a shoestring" just evaporated. Dad had built a utility trailer the fall he started getting sick, and he used a Toronado axle and Chrysler New Yorker springs. I had hoped to rob the boxes on it; they're the right length, depth and hole spacing, but they are the Toronado ones and a half inch too narrow and it's a way I can't improvise and make it up.

Just left the cable company website trying to figure a way to cut channels and knock my bill down enough to try to make up part of a payment; we had already shifted some insurance policies around freeing up money to pay other things down before we went on vacation, and had planned to "knock off" 4 or 5 smaller bills in the course of the next 12 to 18 months, then go buy a pick-up after we paid them off.

As always, "Murphy" intervenes again!

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and sympathy!

alan

Monday blues...

Never plan anything for a weekend, lol!

Mine was to try and rebuild the rear brakes on my Chrysler. (They haven't exactly been working right for a couple of months, but when I do them I need someone to pump the pedal for me to bleed them. I have been waiting for a weekend when we were both off with no other plans, and thought this was the one.)

After I jacked it up and soaked the bleedscrews in penetrating oil, Dottie said we should really shop for Caleb's upcoming birthday. I figured I'd be back in two hours, no problem. The shopping goblins had other thoughts however!

We have 3 grandkids, all moving into the "Gameboy" age. Their dad also has one, so we were trying to find one in a different color to make things easier to keep track of. 3 colors are readily available. After 5 hours of shopping and finally giving up for the day, I came home to check the net and found out that the only others are pre-packaged special editions not available everywhere. By then it was dark, of course.

The "Omnicef" they gave me for an antibiotic works like some kind of "cleaning agent" on me, I've been eating those little pills from Wal-Mart with regularity, and maintaining control of things enough to function, but occasional rounds of frequent trips to the bathroom have been interspersed through the last 4 days; Dottie had been craving "Gorditas" for a while, so that was dinner Saturday night. About 4AM Sunday I was regretting those...and off and on for the rest of the day!

Sunday I tracked down one of those special edition Gameboys, cobalt blue, problem solved. That afternoon I crawled under the back of my 26 year old Newport and realized that the "box" that attaches the leaf spring to the axle on the driver's side was completely rusted through and bending open; the passenger side is thinking about it.

Deciding that adding any further load to it (i.e. braking forces) is only going to add to it's demise, I let the car down and gave up on that for the weekend, figuring I'd call a spring shop today and be able to get a pair of the boxes for $50 or so.

No such luck; a dealer item, no longer stocked or in use anywhere on earth (after many phone calls and a lot of surfing). The best advice says to buy other spring pads, cut off the old ones (torch work) weld on new ones, and rebuild them into something else. Several hundred dollars if I do it myself, more if I pay someone, for something I'm only trying to limp along for 18 months or so before I scrap it! Ain't gonna happen!

These have probably been this way for a while (explaining the funny wiggle I get out of it every now and then), but the idea of driving it now that I know brings a bit of dread. I don't even dare make the extra trips to go the gym in it, figuring if it has "X" number of trips left before the axle lets loose, I should apply them all to going back and forth to work...

I don't know where this is going to end up, but I have to go figure something out!

alan

Evil bugs!

My wife finally brought one home that got me instead of her...a little sinus bug that started last week settled into my crowns and root canals and teeth late Sunday and, being stubborn (and having to co-pay more under my new insurance) I kept trying to fight it off. I went to work on Tuesday, and was actually beating on my leg at certain points to make something hurt more than my teeth did. That night I came home started taking some leftover hydrocodones; it took 4 to take the edge off enough I could sleep a few minutes at a time.

I went yesterday and got antibiotics, took the night off and laid on the couch and tried to ignore things, and am finally better today. Hopefully I still think that at 2AM when my shift is done!

Dottie worked Labor Day and so has to take a day off to make up for it (?) and picked tomorrow, giving her a 3-day weekend starting tomorrow. While I'm looking forward to it and getting some things done around her, I may not be around much while my keeper is keeping on...

May the weekend be kind to you all!

alan

Hmmmm....

Which Cowboy Bebop character are you?

Fell in love with this series a few years ago; I ran across this the other night and couldn't resist...

:o)

alan

"The Life of Riley"

Some of us have it...

(Does anyone else remember William Bendix's show of that name?)



Then there are the rest of us who work for a living!

Between the work hours and the gym hours it's been a busy week; thank goodness I got a 3 day weekend, although Dottie gets to work all 3 of them. I have enough things on my plate to keep me occupied, however, with pleny to spare!

Since I didn't mow for 3 weeks through the worst of the drought, then when I was going to two weekends ago, other things intervened, we just had to go and get about 4 inches of rain last weekend, so when I started my lawn work this afternoon, it was as tall as the mower. I got the front done, having to double cut it to make it look even, and trimmed most of it; the back I'll finish today. I also have to put the passenger-side wiper arm in my Chrysler back together, as it disconnected itself last week at the height of one of the storms. Of course, it's not somewhere easy to get to...

If I get those done tomorrow, then Monday I may try and go walking or ride my bike for a while, and maybe slip off to the the "art house" for a movie before Dottie gets off work.

I also have to box my Nikon up to return to them, as after two and half years, I pulled it out of the bag last weekend at my sister's birthday and the display was black. I changed batteries and CF cards, then gave up and finished fixing dinner.

I had lent it to Noel for "first day back to school pictures" so I thought somehow something must have happened to it when it was out of my hands; checking the extended warranty I found it had expired last February.

Finally, early in the week I went to Nikon's website, hoping to find out they made something that would still use the lenses I bought to go with it; instead I found a notice saying they had found out there was an electronic component that would cause this, or color aberrations (had a few of those a while back, but assumed it was a low battery causing them, as it was almost time to change it when they occurred). They also stated that they would happily repair any affected cameras for free!

Hooray for Nikon!

One of the highlights of my week was hearing "Click and Clack", the "Car Talk" brothers on NPR say that Honda was having to recall several million Hondas and Acuras, but not for a mechanical defect! It seems one of the 1-800 numbers they printed in the owner's manuals for help charges $2.99 a minute because it's "Erotic Encounters" phone number, they were off by one digit...

Better them than us! :o)

Which brings us to my first Photo Sunday in a while. Above is "Frankie" sleeping in my wife's chair, originally my Dad's 1950 Bishop platform rocker. It was the first piece of furniture Mom and Dad bought; he recovered it twice, and it's in need of it again, along with some spring work this time...guess I'm going to have to figure out how to do that before long, 'cuz the one bid I had is more than my house payment!

Frankie has grown a bit since we got him, and is full enough of himself to warrant the moniker "Frankestein" at times, but we love him dearly!



Some of you will remember Angel from a previous post; her hair is about half grown back now after her spring clipping, and another thing I need to do this weekend is brush and bathe her again, then put "the medicine" on her neck, as the chiggers are eating she and I both alive, but Dottie won't let me spray outside because Frankie eats all the bugs that get into the house...anyway, I have a few of Angel I'll put up soon...

All of these, by the way are from my camera/phone; the following are the Saturday night repast while I was fixing it.

A pound of mushrooms...



Something new for us, "Pierogies" (Costco frozen, in Newman's "Pesto")...



And a couple of "Sam's Club" sirloins..



Tonight I'm going to try cubing up a cheap patio steak and making a stir fry with it...no recipe, just a shot in the dark...beef and veggies...

Hope you are all having great weekends and for those who get Monday off, that you have a wonderful "Labor Day"!

alan