Bill III story

Hey, I've had a couple of stories on Ben and Brooke, but not so much for Bill (except his natural inclusion in the nickname blog).

Speaking of natural, the natural story might be one to talk about his brain power. Off the charts. But we'll save those -- and there are LOTS of brain stories -- for another day.

This story is when Bill got contact lenses. I think he was 16. He has had glasses since grade school (yes, sorry for passing those genes along, buddy). So I was fine with him getting contacts, no big deal. When the doc put them in, the doc left the room, "We'll just let those settle in and check back in a bit."

If you haven't had contacts, they are a like putting a little piece of gravel in your eye. Bill had a funny reaction, not complaining of pain, but laughing, from embarrassment I think because his eyes were making a lot of tears. This laughing got weird, short breaths, then he asked, "Why are my fingers going numb?" Heck if I knew. Why would your fingers go numb from contacts? I got a nurse.

"Oh, he's hyperventilating and he's about to pass out."

Maybe that's why one of my favorite phrases for people under stress is, "Just keep breathing. Deep breath in, deep breath out."

Plan B for vacationing

At this point, Mike and I were very tentative for making a trip south. He has not had the "Synvisc" shot yet. I have been reading on-line, and I have more information which the doctor's office had not told us: I see that he will have three shots, one week apart.

So the math does not work out for us to leave and join our friends in sunny Southern California: even if he were to get the first shot on Monday or Tuesday, his third shot would be about the day we are supposed to leave. And we don't even know if the med will work for him. He is in the wheelchair most of the time right now. If he was full-time on the walker, like he was a month ago, I would say we could still go.

Our plan B is to cancel this trip, and maybe take off one week a month for the next five months for more local trips in the fifth wheel (assuming he is mobile!).

More technology

Should I get a Droid? That's the Verizon competition to the iPhone, and it is made by Motorola. It uses the "Android" operating system.

cons: I understand you have to close the browser before you can make a call. Cost, of course, although the add-on to our current plan is just $30 for unlimited data. Learning curve. Have to figure out how to program it to the car's bluetooth (or I guess it's really re-program the car?). Also reprogram the other bluetooth headsets (to use in the truck/van).

neutral: touted for Google maps / GPS features, but not so important for me (I generally know where I'm going).

pros: combine my current phone, PDA, and mp3 player. Add a really good camera (5 megapixel, I think?), so eliminate Brooke saying "Get a new camera, Mom." Web browse when we are traveling, and eliminate the problem of RV parks not having wireless internet (or having a weak signal or low capacity, and some not having secure networks). Eliminate Scott pointing at my poor little HP-iPAQ and saying, "Are you still using that thing?" Eliminate calling Bill to have him look up something for me when I'm running around.

Holidays

Gee, no one has commented on my anti-smoking snowpeople cartoon.

Not much new to entertain ya'll with. I just wrapped two gifts. Mike is napping, then he wants to do some final shopping -- I get to pick out a Swarovski for myself!

Scott, Helen, and Ender are stopping by tomorrow and we are planning on going to dinner before they continue on their journey to Salem.

Just think -- a week from now Christmas will be over.

Happens every year, just like that!

Insurance and doctors

Can't live with them, can't live without them. Or so we're told.

Sixteen days ago, Mike's visit to the knee doctor: he's had all the cortisone he can, so they're going to try a different viscous-type shot. Has to be pre-approved by the insurance company, and they've already checked that shouldn't be a problem because they have tried the other pre-requisite steps/treatments to date. It also has to come from the insurance company's pharmacy, so overall it will probably take two weeks.

Mike called the doctor's office today to follow-up. They had not put the order in. Don't know why.

Cue the primordial scream.

So not only is he primarily in the wheelchair all this time, the complicating factor is that my employer is changing insurance companies January 1. So might Aetna stall just long enough...

You betcha.

Shopping

I don't like shopping. I went today with "C" and the first two stops were fine: Ace Hardware (got a guy-type gift for the family gift exchange) and Powell's Books (to send to nephew Logan for Christmas).

Then off to Lloyd Center. Ugh. Luckily, it didn't seem terribly busy/chaotic/weird.

And luckily we weren't at Washington Square. The two times in my life that I have passed out have been at Washington Square.

The first time was shopping for Christmas! Overheated (wearing a heavy coat), very crowded, walking behind someone who was smoking (yes, my dear Brooke: people used to be able to smoke everywhere), and it was all downhill from there, culminating in the crowded Sears tool section.

The second time was after I got my ears pierced. In hindsight, I was probably holding my breath during the pokes, and walked out of the store okay -- but not very far!

So we will call this shopping trip successful. Some measuring stick: Grandma didn't faint. The smell inside Macy's door (I think they call it "fragrance") was obnoxious, but I didn't faint.

Bicycling and Ben

The Ben-bicycle story is from 2006, my first Livestrong ride. I got Ben signed up too. The starting point was Delta Park/Portland Meadows, riding out Marine Drive to Troutdale, up to Mt Hood Community College (technically in Gresham?), and back.

When it was finally time for us 40-milers to leave, Ben darted out with a yell, "I'm gonna beat you, Mom!"

Just before the halfway mark, one of his pedals came off the crank arm. The support team didn't have a replacement or a way to makeshift something, so Ben got vanned back to Portland Meadows.

Funny his breakdown occured right before the big hill, rising from the Sandy River up to MHCC.

Bicycling and Brooke

Okay, here is the quick Brooke-bike story.

I was driving home one afternoon, early for some reason, when Brooke was in about fifth grade.

Here's the road (if the link works) I was on, Browning in Salem. No shoulder except some gravel, no bike lane, no sidewalks.

And I pass my beautiful daughter Brooke bicycling home, NO HELMET!

Fourteen years later, I think her ears are still ringing.

Bicycling

Well, I thought it was about time I post something on bicycling, since you are looking at "JulieBike" blogspot. (I have already posted some nickname explanations, including the Hooligan thing.) I'm not a big-time rider like cousins Rick, Fernando, and others. I haven't done the Cycle Oregon. I don't race. I don't do the big group weekend rides. Or crazy stuff, like Portland's Bare Naked Ride or the ZooBomb (is that the right name?). I don't ride year round in the dark and rain -- I have been in the dark or rain, but those are future stories.

We used to bike as kids, back in the good-old safe days, after school, in the summer, just out and about. As an adult, I only biked occasionally. Brooke tells me she was scared when I put her on the child carrier seat, the original kind where the kid was riding over the back wheel. We did not have the kid trailers back then. Sorry Brooke!

(Oh, maybe tomorrow I will give you one short story about her cycling as a grade-school kid...unless she recognizes where I'm going and posts it first!)

I got active again almost four years ago. I saw an article about the Livestrong ride (not a race) that was going to be the second annual fundraising ride, 2006, in the Portland area, one of three nationally. The first year it was held, Mom and Dad went down to the end of the runway to watch some of the riders go by. That was September 25, 2005, four days before he passed away. So I signed up for 10 miles and had three months to prepare for the June 2006 ride.

Started "training," short rides (couple of miles) in my area. Then a longer 8-mile route - funny how I don't notice how steep the hills are when I'm in the car. And I soon found out there's a reason cyclists wear those funny padded shorts or pants. 'Nuf said on that.

Figured out how to load the bike on the front of the bus, so I could bus to work in the morning and bicycle home (8.5 miles).

For the Livestrong ride, I switched when I picked up my registration packet: 40 miles instead of 10! Woo-hoo! Not as much to brag about compared to the people who were doing 60 or 100 miles. In fact, it was very sobering, humbling, to be passed by people who had the sign on their back, "I am a Survivor."

My sign: "In memory of Dad."

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts? How can she blog about brussels sprouts?

Most of the family knows this story. So read along and let me know if I'm embellishing over time. Or skip off and clean the bathroom. Your choice.

Dad trained me to not like brussels sprouts. That was not his goal. I was about fifth grade, I think, and the vegetable for dinner one night was B.S. (My apologies if the initials offend you, but I don't feel they deserve the energy it takes to spell them out every time.) The rule was, you have to try everything at dinner.

I tried, but I gagged on the little buggers. Literally, could not chew and swallow one little B.S. Dad decreed, "You can go after you try one, but until you do, we're staying right here." My brothers were excused, Mom was working around us to clean up, and it was showdown time.

Really, I tried. I brought home good grades, I did what I could to please my folks. But those weird green things? And how do you describe that taste? Maybe it was just that smell, where your brain says, "Whoa, kiddo, something with that smell was not designed to be eaten and enjoyed."

And we sat.

And Dad fell asleep at the table.

Mom said I could go.

Technology and "proprietarian-ship"

So now I have a techno project. I wasn't planning on having a techno project.

The project I want to do is take out the shower door in the trailer, and just put up a rod with shower curtain. The shower door is an accordion, metal frame, glass panels door. I would post a picture, but that's part of my problem.

I want to send a picture(s) to a friend to get advice. I took a few pictures, then realized I needed the flash to be off (too much glare reflecting from the metal frame). So that took quite a few minutes.

Note to self, next time take the reading glasses, even when there is "no reason" I'm going to need them.

So now I just need to upload the pics, attach to an e-mail, and go do something else exciting for the day, right? No-ooo. This cute little laptop doesn't have the Canon driver loaded. Go to canon.com, and there is no driver for Vista operating systems. So I need to fire up the desktop and do the upload there.

Properietarian-ship? I just coined that word. Why should I even need a driver? The camera should have a nice little .jpg or .bmp file, and I should plug it in through the USB, and I should be able to transfer it just like I'm dealing with any other drive partition. But Canon has it set up so I have to use their proprietary software to get to my own pictures. Except they don't have the software I need for my machine!

Some day, eventually, I also need to flash-drive pictures (not so much of the shower, but all our other treasured family pics) to this laptop so they can go to the 1.5TB backup drive. That is so very much not happening today.

I love computers. I love number too -- a post for another day about the evil numbers I have been wrestling lately. Really, they are possessed.

Okay, off to the evil desktop PC. Hope your bits and bytes are behaving themselves!

Telemarketers

Ooh, here's a common enemy to unite the troops!

First, you've probably heard this tip: register your number at donotcall.gov. Very easy, and now it doesn't expire -- you used to have to re-register about every five years. We very seldom get calls, mostly the ones that are exempt (charity, political ads, research polls).

I got the all-time most annoying call a few weeks ago. "I would like to speak to Mr or Mrs Jackson." My standard reply is, "Who's calling please?" The answer this time was in such a thick accent I COULD NOT understand one word. So I simply hung up.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again! Really, I thought, you have got to be kidding me.

"Mrs. Jackson, why did you hang up on me?"

"I could not understand a word you said, and we are on the do not call list."

"This is not a marketing call. If you did not want to be called, why did you mark the ballot?" Then a bunch more unintelligible words. No, I have no idea what he was talking about with a ballot.

I cut him off. "I cannot understand you. Do NOT call again." And he didn't.

Do you have a good story?

Nate's birthday

Happy birthday to Nate. His Oregon Ducks gave him a great present. And may I emphasize that they had to come from BEHIND to win?

Today is also Nate's dad's birthday.

This is your birthday song. It isn't very long. Hey!

Ben's birthday!

Ben is 26 today. So really quick, here are three of my favorite Ben stories.

1. Call from Salem Hospital 3:00 in the morning, need permission to treat Ben. He was found drunk in the middle of a street. He was about 16 at the time. When I went in to the emergency room, the first thing he said (or slurred) was "Please don't cancel my snowboard camp." Oh, and it was the day before Mother's Day.

2. Call from Sprague High. Ben had been hanging posters for some garage band's upcoming performance. He was told he needed to have permission, needed to take them down, he refused, was put in the "Options Room." Okay. Then the secretary took a breath, "And now he's chained himself to the desk in protest." I laughed. [Admit it, you did too.] She wasn't so happy. I tried to control my giggles and squeaked out, "Um, is there something you need me to do?" "No, we're just required to let you know." Later his friends put up signs, "Free Ben Bolen, prisoner of free speech." Brooke was mortified (a year behind him in the same school).

3. Call from my Dad. Notice all of these are me getting a phone call from somebody. Anyway, odd that Dad calls me. "Hey, Dad, how are you doing?" "Not very G** Da***d well. I just saw my grandson getting arrested on TV." During the war protests, crowds were ordered to stay out of the street. Ben stepped off the curb to see what was going on down the block. Charges (disorderly conduct, I think) later dropped.

Our free spirit, kind hearted, vegan, charitable Ben. Happy Birthday. I love you.

My dark post

Warning: I know in advance this is going to be a dark post. If you want light and breezy, go to a different day than this one. I just have to unload these thoughts. Then I can return to blah-blah-blog tomorrow.

I had an opportunity to talk to one of my (many) cousins yesterday, and we ended up on the topic of dads -- and sometimes moms -- who don't stay around. She was one of the kids who went through it, as did mine.

Then on the way home, the radio news was talking about the latest domestic violence homicide. I think it was the fifth time in about five weeks all in Washington County. Every time these start up again, these waves of violence, I'm taken back to early 1989 when I was divorcing, and I wasn't feeling safe, and the county had three murder-suicides within two months. I even went to our security department and my agency director to tell them there was a possibility of trouble. Not probable/likely, just possible. They told me, more than once, if I felt like things were turning bad, to not even think about staying, but to get out of the house and just get away, deal with it later.

As a community, I hope we can get that message out. If you know someone whose relationship is on the edge, tell her (or maybe 'him') to find a safe place. I told a co-worker once that her niece, who was getting a restraining order, could come to my place anytime with no notice. I had never met her, so it would have been difficult for him to trace her. She didn't have to take me up on the offer.

And we need to get a message out to the guys. This message really has to come from other guys, and it goes something like this: "Dude, this is not a case of win or lose. Yeah, maybe this is a change you didn't ask for, and yeah maybe it sucks. But don't get all butt-ugly attitude on us, don't embarrass yourself, and don't go breaking things or hurting people cuz it ain't gonna make it any better. If you think you're losing your mind, come talk to us and we'll share our limited brains with you, and figure out what you need to do to move forward."

I don't know how guy-speak really works, so consider that a working draft.

I could talk more on the subject (example: we lost a co-worker about five years ago to a murder-suicide), but this is more than enough.

Back to your normal programming tomorrow. If you stuck with it, thanks for reading.

Nicknames

Looking at my last post, N8 is Nate, if you hadn't figured it out. B3 (more on her later) also calls him Neighbor, Nate-Bear, Bear. So today the topic is nicknames.

First, what is the source of the word "nickname?" Middle English, about 1400 or so, "an ekename" became misdivided in speech to "a nekename" or "a nickname." Eke is to stretch out, as in eke out a living. An ekename was an additional name, but can also be thought of as economizing as we so often shorten the name.

First: my name and nicknames. Dad bestowed the Julie = Hoolie = Hooligan moniker. When people ask, "were you really a hooligan," my stock answer is, "Well, I'm not the one who put cars in ditches!" Another nickname is Jewels, most fondly coming from my Aunt Char.

Brother Bill is William, Billy, JR. The cousins still call him Billy. In high school, a neighbor dubbed him JR because he was too old to be a Billy any more, and of course he was a junior, so two Bill's in one house was two-too confusing.

Lordy, so what do I do but name my first son Bill! In family referencing, when someone needed to distinguish him, he became "Little Bill." Still Bill to me, definitely not little at 32 years old and about six feet tall! And with three kids start with the letter "B," my shorthand for Bill is B1 (not to be confused with thiamin!).

Brother Michael has always been just Michael. Not Mike. A couple of cousins used to enjoy going back to school after the holidays, when they could say, "I had dinner with Michael Jackson." Oh, and add to the confusion that brother Michael is married to Julie Ann, and I'm married to a Mike!

Husband Mike is usually just Mike. Sometimes Mikey.

Son Benjamin is Ben. B2 (not to be confused with riboflavin). Like most kids, his in-trouble name was the long version. You know, to get attention, it's "BEN-ja-min." But the I'm-running-out-of-patience is "Ben-ja-MIN." Some of the fun versions are Benny, Benjer, Ben-german (he has more of the German look from his Grandpa George).

Daughter Brooke is mostly just Brooke, B3 (not to be confused with niacin). Brookie, the rookie of the family, the youngest. Lots of fun to have discovered the brand "Brookie's Cookies." N8 just calls her "B."

Scott has also been known as Scooter (Scott R). Dianne used Scotty once in a while.

Dianne sometimes gets lengthened to "Di-ann-ie." Brooke calls her monkey (I don't remember the origin, back in middle school I think).

Granddaughter "C" could have many short versions of her name, the long version is always used.

Grandson Ender is named after the hero in the book series "Ender's Game." That character's given name was Andrew. We'll see what nicknames develop over time -- he's only two months old.

Nate's 30th birthday

N8 turns 30 next week, and "B3" is collecting stories (goal: 30 stories). He doesn't blog or read blogs, so I figured it would be safe to post my thoughts here. Ssh, don't tell.

I have more of an observation than a specific story. I appreciate that N8 is very handy. He and Brooke helped her Grandma so much while they stayed with her, from installing a retractable screen door to mowing and pool maintenance. Their own house has been an incredible project for almost a year; I'm especially impressed with the wall-removal, railing-install craftsmanship. Brooke found someone who's a bit like her Grandpa, and I mean that as a compliment to Nate! Love you, and happy birthday!

Thanksgiving and forgettin' stuff

Our family Thanksgiving tradition: forgetting something.

I know that the only people reading this already know the secret. But somewhere in posterity it needs to be recorded and will become very important. Or not.

For Thanksgiving dinner, something is always forgotten. Not on purpose. There's so much food, it is just not missed. The rolls were left warming in the oven. Or the vegetable was still in a steaming pan on the turned-off stove (amidst other now-empty pans). Or Ben's vegan dumplings never made it out of the freezer.

So this week was the usual routine. Made cranberry sauce on Sunday. Mike went through all of it by tonight, so I made another batch.

Last night tried a new recipe for a sweet potato - pineapple bake. Pretty easy, healthier than the brown sugar - marshmallow concoctions. We'll see how it goes over.

Tonight I also prepared a breakfast casserole to put in the oven first thing in the morning (Scott and Helen are spending the night before continuing on to Salem tomorrow).

Made a vegan pumpkin pie. Then as I was taking it out of the oven and sliding in the apple pie, I thought, "Darn, I was supposed to make a regular pumpkin pie too. What was I thinking? So should I make it tonight? Tomorrow morning, but will it set up in time?"

Then, "Oh, yeah, we already have it. We bought one of Costco's this year." doh.

Called Ben to see which basting he wanted for the Tofurkey (he chose the orange juice - soy sauce).

So I continued on with a new recipe for a fruit salad. Had to cut up a fresh pineapple, which is a pain. Then two mangoes, which are just the worst. Then two kiwi, but someone finally told me the trick on those. Don't try to peel the stupid little bugger. Cut it in half (around the "equator" so to speak), then scoop it out with a spoon.

Tomorrow I'm sure I will remember to pack all of that, along with the fixings for the green salad, veggies for Ben's meal, the three types of whipped toppings, napkins.

For now, I'm off to slumberland.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I'm ready to kick back and enjoy 'the kids' company.

It's Easy Bein' Green

Yes, I'm challenging Kermit the Frog. It is easy being green. Or at least, it's easy to start being greener step by step. I'm a little better than some, but I will admit right here what I do and don't do:
I do recycle like crazy.
I don't cut back on buying stuff as much as I probably could.
I used to ride the bus and bike for more than 50% of my commute miles
I don't ride the bus right now (weather, time, change in routes/timing, emergencies with Mike) nor commute on the bike (same things, plus it's dark and I had a couple of close calls last year that convinced me to wait again until spring)
I do drive a hybrid
I don't have an alternative to the diesel pickup for pulling the fifth wheel trailer, at 11 mpg
I do compost food scraps into my home-made worm bin ("C" and I built)
I don't grow all my own food
I do have a solatube for an interior bathroom (LOVE it)
I don't have solar power or solar hot water yet (except the fifth wheel has a solar panel)
I do use tap water (not bottled water)
I don't have a good routine for buying local, seasonal food
I do have solar accent lights around the back yard
I don't have xeriscaping (taking out grass and putting in drought resistant, native plants)
I use non-phosphate dish and laundry soaps
I still have plenty of other chemicals around

Oh, that reminds me, gotta go. I saw that Mike threw some empty pill containers in the trash. I need to move them to the recycle bags!

C's birthday

So granddaughter "C's" birthday party was yesterday. She really has a BIRDday birthday this year (on Thanksgiving), but she will be with her mom, plus there's the whole holiday interfering with friends schedules thing. We went to Tony Starlights, where they were having a Johnny Mercer tribute (wrote "Moon River," "Tangerine," "Jeepers Creepers," and a hundred others). And the night was also a benefit for the NW Down Syndrome Association.

Oh, why do I use the "C" for her name? Just for protection. I mean, no one is reading this blog anyway (Hi, Amy!) but she is a minor and there are creeps out there. I trust her dad is watching her facebook settings.

Back to the celebration. Lots of fun. She was pulled up on stage right away to be recognized, and she got to play percussion for one song. Okay, it was a cowbell, and she hit it three times when he signaled her. "I'm an old cowhand from the Rio Grande." Yee-haw!

'Nuf for today; gotta take out the garbage. Maybe tomorrow I will post an antithesis to Kermit the Frog, because I believe it IS easy being green. Curious? Stay tuned.

Oh Mom: I changed the settings for comments so you can leave it as anonymous if you can't get it to work right for you. And I took off the "word verification" routine. So give it a shot again.

Oprah who?

Honestly, I can't say I ever watched an Oprah show. Yes, I know who she is, of course. But since I work, talk shows in general are just not my thing. I am not against her show, and more power to what I understand Oprah has done in getting people to read, taking control of their own lives, taking care of others.

In general I am not into girly stuff. Or so-called women's magazines. Or shopping. Or hanging out with six women where five are talking at once (what is WITH that?). Or 3" heels -- I'm already 5'7" and my husband is shrinking to the point where he's an inch shorter than me.

Mom said once, "With Julie, what you see is what you get."

I'll take that as a compliment!

Employment

Brooke works at Oregon's Employment Department. So I am inspired to write about employment today.

Oregon's unemployment numbers were released Monday (11.2%) and Washington's numbers yesterday (9.3%). We in Clark County have the unenviable, #1 unemployment in Washington state: 13.7%. In part that means our residents are still looking for work (Oregon reported a flat trend, they said, because many people have given up).

Our county government is hurting. We are going through another round of cuts. Does it impact me? Only that our pay is still frozen. I've had two years at the same pay, and next year will be the same. But at least I'm still working and have insurance coverage. I know three people in one department were terminated last week. A woman I know in another department will lose her position at the end of this month. One woman in our larger department of the Auditor's Office is seeing her position cut in six months, but she has been cross-training and filling in for someone who is on disability leave, and that person will probably take permanent disability soon.

It would have been very easy to cut the three of us who are internal auditors. Mike and I would have been fine. Luckily people see value in the work we do, so I'm going to keep earning that respect, repaying the honor of serving all county managers and the citizens of the county by doing my best work every day. I'm not the one to turn to for touchy-feely, morale building, or hand holding. But give me a task, and I will get it done. Maybe with some dry humor thrown in.

Aging in place

One of my goals in this blog is to stay away from whining on and on about health issues. I have read other people's TMI emails / postings and asked, "Wow, what were they thinking in posting all that stuff?"

[If you are thinking in horror that you sent me an update and I reacted with the above question, then you probably did NOT send too much information. It's the clueless folks who don't see themselves as pushing the edges of social ineptitude.]

Yet I cannot ignore the fact that Mike has Parkinson's. As we looked to move to Clark County, our number one criteria in buying a home was for a single story. I told Brooke that we would only stay in the house we finally bought for two years or so, because of the front steps. She said "what steps?" There are three sections that have two steps each, which you don't even notice if you're a 'regular' person. You just walk up the walkway. Brooke reminded me of this story recently, as we were comparing stories of when the limited mobility really sunk in.

Lately I've thought a lot about the need to plan for aging in place. Mike's daughter, Dianne, has a degree in health care administration, emphasis in long-term care. I'm hoping she can give me ideas of what we need to think about. There are a lot of different scenarios. More immediately, we need to have a plan in place if something happens to me, even short term (say, I blow out my knee again).

Side note: when I mentioned this to Mike, his response was, "Well, you have been keeping lots of healthy food on hand. I open the fridge and you have things like grapes, sugar-free jell-o, yogurt."

"Wow, Mike, I'm really not talking about food."

That is as far as we got.

So if you have tips and resources, bring 'em on.

Beaver Football

Our home season is over, and thank goodness for decent weather. The first game had showers right up to game time, but then stopped for all of the play. In our regular seats it wouldn't matter, because those are under cover. The wheelchair seating is much lower (row 39 instead of 63), but just into the rain exposure.

I'm also thankful for the special ADA shuttles with the wheelchair lift. We had the same driver (out of three possible) for all but one run; I think her name is Kimberly.

Go Beavs!

Here's me being quiet for a couple of days

No blogging for a couple of days. Off to the Beavers last home game tomorrow!

Miracle cure for baggy eyes?

So yesterday I went for a facial. As Angela was doing "magic stuff" around my eyes, she said, "This will help with puffiness and bags."

"Really," I asked, "it's a miracle cure to help Mike sleep all night so I can sleep?"

The boss's hubby

My boss, Linda, called yesterday morning. She was scheduled to be at the VA all day with her husband's appointments. When I saw her number on my phone, I picked up with, "Hey, you're not supposed to be thinking about work today."

"Well," she said, "we're being admitted."

Obviously Vince was being admitted, "But it feels like us." I don't have permission to disclose what he was going through, but his chest pain was not from a recurrence of pneumonia. So Linda was a bit put out, especially since she had tried to get VA to see him a week ago.

My hubby came to the office at 4:00 because we had a flu shot clinic (regular seasonal flu, not H1N1 yet). Afterwards, we trondled off to the VA campus. What an adventure. First I had to unload the wheelchair and leave Mike at the front door while I figured out parking. Then there was no information desk open, so we had to ask at Emergency where to find Vince.

[side story: Vince last name: Richard. Mike last name: Ramsby. So as we are leaving the E-room, who are the calling next? Richard Ramsey. I kid you not.]

They are very concerned about the flu up there. Signs, "Restricted Access. No visitors under 15." Surgical masks available. Hand sanitizer every other step. The wing we were going to had three doors, and it seems like each were labeled, "Restricted, use other door." Anyway, we finally found them, he's looking good. He's an active 80 year old, by the way. Mike and I left in time to still use the carpool lane on I-5 north (hey, that can be a whole blog). Went to Olive Garden for dinner, then home in time for NCIS.

Anyway, think happy thoughts for Linda and Vince. Linda can always use any "calm Karma" you send her way -- ooh, another future blog!

Do I really have anything to say?

So what in the world can I blog about? All our great kids, of course. Gardening, but everything's dormant now. Work, but that might turn into whines. Holidays -- need to get Thanksgiving figured out, and also remember birthdays for Christine, Ben, Nate, Sonja, and Dianne before year end. Ooh, weight loss, always an exciting topic. Do you want to vote? Anyone out there besides Brookster?

Two months later

So if I come back to this once every two months, I will have something readable by ... 2020?

Figuring it out

So I'm starting this and have boo-booed already. Need to save this before I go to another tab. Let's just get set up and come back later to talk about gardening, family, cycling, work, etc.