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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Finally An Update

To start with, we're all okay.

My eyes are still bothering me when I stay here too long. Typing isn't a problem; reading is.

Other than that, the last few weeks have had both good and not so good news.

The good news - my son Jim is home until next week. His birthday (40) is tomorrow and we held a bbq this weekend in his honor complete with a Sponge Bob birthday balloon. He brought his oldest daughter (almost 19) and both babies. They're adorable and had a great time. My pictures didn't turn out well but I'll be seeing Jim, Tim and family later this week and maybe get some better shots. What I have are in the Kodak gallery (see sidebar).

The not so good. Next Monday he'll be leaving for Fort Dix, NJ and thence to Iraq. Unless he fails yet another physical, he'll be stationed there for a year. He tells me that as things go, his assignment will be relatively safe.

The good news - Tim has signed up for college courses for summer and fall. The not so good - he lost his job. Hopefully, he won't be unemployed for long.

My daughter would have been 52 yesterday. It doesn't seem like more than a year since she left us.

I haven't seen the girls lately but now that school is out for two of them, I'll schedule some visits for the summer. We talk often.

The garden was damaged but not destroyed during a two day windstorm. We replanted the tomatoes and propped them back up. We have a few small, green tomatoes but some were blown off the plants. The peppers and strawberries are still doing well but I haven't seen any results yet from the flower seeds.

Today is our second Primary election of the year here in CA. I almost forgot to fill out our ballots but they're done and I'll drop them off when Janet and I go for our usual coffee and shopping. It's goofy - we had the early Presidential primary and then turned right around and did another for our Representative (running unopposed), State Assemblyperson (running unopposed), two local offices (also unopposed), one recall (which should have been removed from the ballot since the initiator changed what passes for his mind), and two Propositions (which contradict each other). There should be a better system.

The weather dropped from very hot to chilly back to quite warm again. Disconcerting to say the least.

I've been thinking about taking the blog private. One of the reasons I haven't written much is that I have to be much more careful these days about what I say. It wouldn't affect any of you - I'd send out an email letting you know how to access it and I'd be free to say more without worrying about anyone local reading it that I'd prefer not. I haven't decided yet.

I woke up at 3:00 this a.m. and used the time to make some order out of the collection of paperwork. It's the easiest time to work on it - no distractions. I'll probably take a nap this afternoon. I find myself most days getting sleepy right after lunch.

Dawn should be here any minute now so I'll close this out for now.

Thanks again for hanging in with me and take care everyone.

21 comments:

Susie said...

Hi Ann,
So glad to see an update. You've had so much going on. We had those winds here too. Everything is so dry as well.
Sorry to hear about your eyes, it can make being on the computer so difficult.
I'll keep both you and your family in my prayers.
xo

Anonymous said...

Glad to see everything is alright. Good news and not so good news for your boys, I guess, but that's how life goes, right?

Would changing the font size on your computer screen help your eyes any? I know my father-in-law keeps his quite large in order to help him read easier...

ipm said...

sending you and all yours much love and prayers...

~*Jobthingy*~ said...

glad you are all doing well.

as always my thoughts are with you and wanted to pop in and say hello :)

mreddie said...

It is good to hear from you again and I'm glad all are OK. Sorry to hear about your garden damage, hopefully it will come back OK, plants are usually pretty resilient. Our garden is doing well. ec

Patty said...

Hi Ann, Its good to see a post from you. Glad your doing ok. Please let me know if you take the blog private so I can keep up with you.

Atasha said...

Great to hear from you Ann. Sorry to hear of the bad news, at least all is in good health right?

As far as the weather I can't complain as of yet. I love the mostly cool days we're having but you know this hot and cold business gets people sick if you're not careful.

Take Care Ann.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Regarding your eyes, I wonder if you might have cataracts, Ann? Just a thought...

Thanks for the catch up post and glad to hear y'all are doing okay.

I know several people who've made their blogs private and password protected. I follow at least 2 that I have to use a password to get into. Do what you feel is necessary, Ann. Your loyal readers will understand and follow you.

It's hot here already. Mid to upper 90's for the next week at least. Ick.

Love and hugs,

Diane

Unknown said...

I’m glad to hear that you are all O.K.

Happy 40th to Jim. My prayers shall accompany him to Iraq.

Blessings to you, my friend.

Merle said...

Dear Ann ~~ Thank you so much for updating us all. Do you know my trick of reading small print? ~~ Click on control and the plus sign together.
And to reduce it, Control & the minus sign. This helps me a lot.
I hope Jim will be safe and that Tim gets a job soon. Good about the classes. Take great care, dear friend, Much love, Merle.

granny p said...

Glad you're OK, Ann. I always wonder.xx (If I don't comment much now it's because life has been a bit fraught - tho' some of it good.)

The Future Was Yesterday said...

"My eyes are still bothering me when I stay here too long. Typing isn't a problem; reading is."
I hope you can get that checked out, and hopefully fixed.

"My daughter would have been 52 yesterday. It doesn't seem like more than a year since she left us."
Only the calender changes, it seems. The pain seems to stay current...(:

"I've been thinking about taking the blog private. One of the reasons I haven't written much is that I have to be much more careful these days about what I say."
If you're having troubles, then that might be the way for you to go. I hate to have to say this, but be sure those you email with access instructions are trustworthy, and won't give you away!

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Ann,

I'm sorry to hear about your bad news, but the good news was alright.

I glad you'll get to see the girls again.

If your want to make your blog private that's alright with me, as long as I can still come for a visit and post?

Take care,
Janice~

Pat said...

Have fun with Jim, please wish him a happy birthday and may he stay safe.

Unknown said...

Hi Gran,
Loooong time no see at your blog. Am sorry I have been too self-involved what with a baby coming into my life next month! Cant wait!
For your eyes - just press down on the "Ctrl" button on your keyboard and scroll up using the wheel on your mouse. This will increase the font size.
There is another way to do it. Go to "View" in the menu bar at the top of your browser. Click on "Text Size" and select the size which would suit your eyes.
My mom does this and she doesnt feel so strained reading on the computer screen (she has a retina problem).
Cheers,
Siri

peppylady (Dora) said...

I tried to leave a comment but some some unknown reason it didn't go.

But glad to see you had an opportunity to post.

Darlene said...

Hi Ann :)
If you decide to go private please add me to the invite list.

God bless!

ancient one said...

HI Ann...

Good to hear from you today. Our prayers will go with Jim to Iraq and Tim for a job.

Hope your garden recovers... ours is ok... but today is so hot everything is looking a little wilted.

If you go private, be sure to let me know! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I might not comment, but I am reading and think of you often!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

One of my grandson's has been to Iraq twice now and will be getting out of the Marines soon. He's thinking of staying in but hasn't really made up his mind yet.

Sorry about your eyes. My monitor screen is in front of a window and sometimes I have to close the shades in order to read things. On some mornings my eyesight is on the blurry side and that makes for difficult blog reading. I haven't figured the blurriness out yet.

We had our primaries all at one time.

Loved looking at all the pictures of your family and especially Jonathan's cheesy smile.

Take care,
Sandy

That Uncomfortable Itch said...

Ann, I think of you often and hope all is well. There is no time limit on grief -for any sort of loss. I am sending out good thoughts to you and your family.

PS: I always try to remember that with every good there often comes a bad.

Heather -from Caloden