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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I Almost Forgot



My youngest son and I have a running joke about his birthday. If I get the year right, I forget the day. If I get the day right, I try to make him a year younger.

November 22, 1972. I think. No, I'm sure - I was there.

Happy Birthday to Timothy. He was born the day before Thanksgiving, weighing in at a huge 2 lbs. 15 oz. (1.32 kilograms). If you haven't seen his pictures scattered around the blog, he's now around 6' (1.83 meters) and right at 200 lbs. (90 kilograms?)

Obviously he grew but we had a couple of scary days when he first arrived.

Love you sweetie. I know you hate it when I say you'll always be my baby but you'll always be my baby.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!



Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck

Tomorrow may be busy so, just in case, I'm wishing all my online friends a Happy Thanksgiving now. If you don't live in the States, have a wonderful next Thursday.

Ray saw the surgeon for the last time yesterday. Clean bill of health and no more insulin or horrid testing four times a day. He'll still have to careful for a while and stay with some medication but the worst is behind us. Right now, he's trying to get a dvd/vcr player hooked up for me in here and has almost succeeded. He has audio (ABBA - Waterloo) but no picture. Or did. Now he has a blank screen but it's still better than I could do.

I'm going to leave him to it and go prepare dinner. Take care everyone.

P. S. 15 minutes later. I left the room for a few minutes, came back and he has audio and video. We had the wrong cable. Now happily watching (more listening to) Marriage of Figaro which I can see from the kitchen.

Monday, November 19, 2007

This Is So Funny!! (In Dutch)

Or at least I thought so and I don't pay much attention to ads as a rule. The language isn't English (maybe German - I'm not sure) but you won't need it; it's a visual.

Update: Thank you mijk for letting me know it's Dutch. I flipped a coin between the two languages because I wasn't sure. I looked it up (which I should have done in the first place). The "H" in Hema stands for Holland, it's a large and very well known company over there.

Delilah, from whom I swiped the link, says it's not over until the last confetti falls.

(Hint - keep your eye on the radio - I almost missed it).

We had a peaceful weekend. It's getting chillier by the day but the sun is now shining and I didn't need a jacket in the few minutes I stepped outside this morning (to dump the trash - I have such an exciting life).

Rebecca and Rochelle called. They're still doing well with track and field and Rebecca tells me she's being good. No soon had she said that than she and Rochelle began squabbling about something while I was sitting there with the phone to my ear. In a minute though they were laughing again. So was I; it was all so familiar.

And I may have already said Ray has what I hope will be his last surgical checkup today. He doesn't look like his old self; he looks better. Still a little discomfort; it was major, major surgery after all but he's well on the way to recovery.

Hope all of you had a good weekend. Thanks for the comments and take care everyone.

Friday, November 16, 2007

How Did I Manage This?

cash advance

I've been trying to post a lovely video from YouTube but either YouTube or Blogger isn't cooperating. Maybe I can get it on over the weekend. While I'm at it, thanks to Karen H. for the Community Blogger Award. My other project for the weekend is to add buttons to my sidebar. It's not that I can't do it; I can but silly blogger gets cranky.

Right now it's double spacing between paragraphs.

Aha!! It's fixed. I think. No, it isn't.

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend. My friend Janet brought me some of these persimmons from her tree today. She tells me they're milder and sweeter than the usual persimmons and they can be peeled and eaten like an apple. I'm looking forward to trying them.

CALIFORNIA FUYU (Oku Gosho?):

Medium, round with a slight point, orange to deep red-orange color, sporadic male blossoms, often seedy, non-astringent, firm-ripe.
I ran into Jim's oldest child today at Barnes & Noble. Samantha turned 18 in July, is working, going to Junior College here in town, and has a Driver's License. She's as sweet and beautiful as ever. I know it was just yesterday that she was born. Where does the time go?

Not a lot going on. Ray continues to improve and the girls were doing well when I spoke to Rebecca a couple of days ago. Perhaps they'll call tonight.

Our morning temperatures are supposed to drop to right above freezing around Thanksgiving. Brrr!! At least we don't have snow. I have our summer clothes put up and our winter clothing sorted, washed, and on hangars. We'll be needing the warm sweats before long.

And I've been cooking more "comfort food" as the weather cools. Tonight was just soup, sandwich, and yogurt because I was a little late getting home but tomorrow I'll do better.

I think I've finally caught up with most of you even if I didn't comment on all. Thanks to all of you for your comments and have a good weekend.


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

You Should Be a Doctor

You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive.
Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily.
You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful.
You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you.

You do best when you:

- Are always learning new subjects
- Use your knowledge to solve problems

You would also be a good therapist or detective.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

You Should Be a Doctor

You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive.
Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily.
You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful.
You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you.

You do best when you:

- Are always learning new subjects
- Use your knowledge to solve problems

You would also be a good therapist or detective.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Barbie Ages Gracefully

Tammy and I share several readers so some of you may have already seen this hilarious post.

For those who haven't, click on the link. It made my day. I thought Tammy had originated it but she mentioned in the comment box that it came from an email that had been circulating for a few years now. No matter, it's still funny.

(For some reason, the link goes to her entire blog instead of the post. Right now, it's the second post from the top - easy to find.)

Delurking Day and Pictures of Jim, Melissa and Two Youngest

Zachary James Kent Clark - 5 days old. Look at those cheeks!!

Jim and Melissa

I don't know why this is so fuzzy but at least you can get an idea of the little porker's size

Jonathan showing off for his dad. They're playing pass the pacifier.

More Jonathan showing off

Melissa and Zachary - once again fuzzy

It's my opinion that Jonathan put a hex on my camera for all the pictures he wasn't in.

They took me to brunch yesterday and I remembered to bring the camera. I had the pictures yesterday but by last night I was too fuzzy myself to do much. Blogger was down until six and by then all I wanted to do was relax. I have a couple of cute videos too, maybe for my next post. Jonathan and his dad were playing games. Jim's on leave for the rest of the week and that boy will sure miss him when he heads back to the border.

Melissa looks great. She and I are much alike in that respect. Have the baby, get up, and plow another acre. I've never had a nine pounder though. My biggest was seven pounds (3.18 kilograms or 1/2 stone) even.

Zachary woke up just before we were ready to leave. Great set of lungs on the kid!!

Jonathan is 18 months old. He's talking a little and understands most of what we say to him. He's as much of an imp as he appears to be.

Jim's oldest child, Samantha, is now 18. She has a driver's license, a car, a job, and has started Junior College. Her two brothers are both in high school. Little Jimmie (not very little anymore) is a junior; Michael a sophomore. He's six months older than Elcie.

All is well here. Ray was supposed to see the doctor yesterday but our friend's car broke down in our driveway so I rescheduled for next week. I think it will be better timing. His leg is almost completely healed and I have a feeling the surgeon may discharge him when he sees him next. The nurse will be here this morning and I'm sure he'll be pleased too. The worst wound has healed to the point where I can no longer "pack" it. By next week, they may even take him off the insulin. No more finger sticks 4 times a day and no more jabbing of needles. Yippee!!

The car is fixed. One of the cables shorted out the battery. Of course I feel guilty.

I've had a burst of ambition the past couple of days. Put our summer clothes away, hung the winter things, sorted our dresser drawers and made more space, redid the closets and the two pantries. I'd done a fair job when we moved in but now that I've been here for a while I have a much better idea of space. It's amazing how little space the two of us use. Music, books, and videos are the biggest culprits and, even with that, we're doing fine thanks to the extra shelving my friends installed.

Dawn and I did our grocery shopping for the month on Saturday (I went a little overboard) and then I snuck out for coffee. I'd been housebound all week and was going a little stir crazy. It doesn't seem to bother Ray; he'd rather be home.

The girls call often. Rebecca had a good Halloween and birthday (same day) and she told me the last time we talked she was good all day. She and Rochelle had a case of the giggles for some reason.

I woke up a little after 4 this morning. I had the alarm set for 5:45 so I could take out the garbage. Last week I took it out after dinner and by morning my next door neighbor had piled my "wet garbage" can so high sanitation wouldn't pick it up. Dawn and I unpiled it into a huge trash bag and left it on the neighbor's front lawn. Once I could close the lid (still with a bunch of the neighbor's garbage inside), I called sanitation and they came back. It's the second time it's happened. Sanitation suggested that I put them out early in the morning; the theory being be that people who do that sort of thing aren't apt to be up at the crack of dawn.

I'm glad I hadn't put the recycle can out. Heaven knows what that would have looked like. Recycle is "clean" trash (paper, cans, bottles) and I usually can skip at least one week. She doesn't bother with the recycling - just jams everything in however she can. She didn't even put her own overflowing cans out. I don't know what she did with them but the last time I saw them they were both spilling over.

I know it was the neighbor because we found pieces of her junk mail which should have been in recycle anyhow. She's moved since but just one door down. She won't have curb pickup where she is now because she's in an apartment, not a house. The dumpsters on the back alley are big and maybe that will give her enough space.

I was not happy but in a few more weeks Ray will be able to help or go back to his old "garbage job". The cans are on wheels and not all that heavy but I'm short and they're not so I struggle.

Sorry about that. I got a little obsessed about garbage, didn't I.

I have country style boneless spareribs in the crockpot. They'll be done by dinner. This morning should be my usual coffee date with friend Janet. I haven't heard from her yet so don't know if we're on or not. Hope so - we had to skip last week.

I've fallen behind on so many things lately. Reading your posts, welcoming new visitors, the blog roll, adding banners to my sidebar. I'm ashamed. Some day I'll catch it all back up.

Meantime, welcome to Karen H. of Caraway, AR which is right up the road from Jonesboro where I lived for eight years. That brings my J'boro metropolitan area friends up to 4 I think. Diane and her two sisters (Cecil and Donna) and now Karen. Oops, it's 5. I omitted Diane's daughter Jessica who has her own blog.

And to Naomi, Old, Old Lady of the Hills (in Los Angeles). I think I mentioned her wonderful blog before and may have included a link.

I'll go back through the comments and see who else I missed. I have several new names on the guest book. They haven't commented so I'll thank them here for signing. I need to have a "delurking day". Now is as good a time as any. If you're reading and not commenting, drop by and say hi (if you want to - there are no rules).

Carmen's husband, Mike, left a last post on her blog thanking everyone for their support and prayers. I thank you as well. I wish the outcome had been different but, since it wasn't, may she be pain free and at peace.

And now I must go deal with the garbage. Thanks for the comments and take care everyone.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Veteran's Day 2007






These few lines were written by a home schooled girl named Beverly Hernendez.

Today we salute our heroes,
We pray for all the ones we have lost,
We pray for all the ones who are still alive,
We rejoice for the ones that come home,
We are happily rejoicing for all our loved ones,
So on this day we do all these things for our loved ones.


And from Wikipedia:

Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, United Kingdom), also known as Poppy Day (Malta and South Africa) and Armistice Day (France, New Zealand, and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the day internationally) is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. The observance is specifically dedicated to members of the armed forces who were killed during war, and was created by King George V on 7 November 1919 (possibly upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917).
The name was changed many years ago here in the States to Veteran's Day.

I couldn't get all the flags on there so will those of you from Scotland, New Zealand, and elsewhere please forgive me.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

It's a Boy!!

I just talked to my son.

Zachary (Jim forgot to tell me his middle name) was born about an hour ago. Weighed in at 9 lbs, 1 oz. (about 4.17 kilograms). That's a big baby.

Melissa doing fine but I imagine she's exhausted. Hope to have pictures in the next couple of days.

Monday, November 05, 2007

San Francisco!! Updated


Home again after a great day and a restful night. I headed home a little after 7 this morning and came in about 10:30, just in time to chat with Ray's home health care nurse. Ray did fine without me which is good since I'm invited back for birthday party in early December.

I may try to get back with more later and maybe a few pictures. Meantime, here's what I wrote to a friend of mine(Chris at Rude Cactus) who was asking about weekend statistics. The picture at the top is the infamous porta potty. It came out a little dark but you get the idea. They have them scattered around downtown. If you're not out in 20 minutes, the door opens and you will be embarrassed. It's sanitized automatically between uses. They seem to be working well but I knew eventually someone would figure out how to beat the system.

"Trips to San Francisco - 1

# of crazy bus drivers on Bay Bridge - 1
(next time I'll get off the train early and catch BART in).
He wanted to look at my camera (to count the pixels) which was fine until he took both hands off the wheel to do it. "Excuse me sir, shall I drive while you play with the camera?"

# of toilet stories to almost compare with your's - 1
(the person who successfully got around the time limit on the free porta potty at Powell & Market (the cable car turnaround in the postcards) by opening the door long enough to throw out an article of clothing; thereby extending his time another 20 minutes. I didn't hang around for the entire striptease.

Note: My friend Chris holds the record for weird things happening to him in and around public bathrooms). It's a running joke as any of you who read him will know.

Perfect line by a train conductor - 1
"would the person who left his bike parked upside down in front of the luggage rack please contact the conductor? I'd like to tell him were he can park his bike".

Time spent with my two blogging buddies and their families eating takeout Chinese and yakking - priceless!! (Even though the other two out of towners couldn't make it).



Update:



Several people have wondered about the porta potties and the 20 minute time limit. Or, for that matter, why anyone would want to homestead them.



Here's the story from what I remember when SF was first talking about installing them. (They're French, by the way).



I should have explained that the porta potties were installed for two reasons:

Because it's very hard to find a public bathroom in downtown SF (or at
least it used to be). Tourists were becoming desperate.

Market Street (especially the part that I mentioned) has more than its
fair share of homeless. The porta potties were installed partly as a
humanitarian gesture and partly to give them somewhere other than the
bushes to relieve themselves.

So what happens (and what the time limit was trying to prevent) is
some of the homeless would spend the day in the porta potty away from
the cold and wind. I'm sure that's what was happening when I was
there. An hour off the street.