Presents from my husband!

Randy is much better at being thoughtful in a timely manner than I am, but I am learning to follow his lead.  Happy Holidays to everyone.  We've made it through another year and with each other, family, and friends, there are countless reasons to cheer!

Randy has already given us the best presents possible:  he is meeting with a contractor we located on Angie's List (a GREAT place to look for references on all sorts of services) this coming Thursday.  This gentleman will go over the entire house with a fine-toothed comb, make a list of everything that needs to be done, prioritize the list, and discuss where we need to start.  We also learned that the stimulus funding for heat pumps/central air is still available, so Randy spoke with several companies today, too.  The big catch on that latter task is that the appliance has to be installed by Dec. 31.  That's when the funds stop.  With any luck, we may actually be moved into the other house by the end of February/first of March!

Hugs to all!
Charlotte

Best Wishes

Hopefully I'll get something interesting put up here soon, but just in case it's late, everybody please enjoy your holiday and happy New Year.

fries

Wendy's has improved their french fries. We have done some research on them in the form of a taste test. While I wouldn't call our research extensive, I would at least go for representative. A couple different stores in maybe three different states, so it's not just a local thing.

Anyway they are very good. Wendy's calls them "natural" cut, which is market speak for "we left the skin on". Maybe they are trying to imply that their competitors cut their fries "unnaturally"? They come out with just the right amount of crispness and so they have managed to secure our seal of approval.

Back Home

It's a day after we planned to be home, but we made it back. Sure is a long drive.

Pretty much all good news to report:

Bob (Charlotte's Dad) has made so much progress it is amazing. We arrived on Sunday and he had only been out of the hospital for a few days. From then to Friday he improved tremendously. He had enough appetite to eat a real Thanksgiving dinner, he is now able to walk around outside while before it was an effort to get around the house, and he feels so much better. He has a little sparkle back in his eyes. So it great to see him and see the changes.

Lots of thanks to Liz and her family for the welcome, the run of the house, and the entire visit. More thanks to Danette (hope that's how you spell the name), Liz and Susan for saving the day after Charlotte's medicine turned out to be MIA.

And on general trip comments, what a beautiful place. We may get some more pictures loaded of some sunrises. I missed my chance at some great views of the rockies when I had the pleasure of going to Cripple Creek. I did get a few shots at the Garden Of The Gods though. The weather stayed dry the entire trip which was quite a stroke of luck. We did see some of what Coloradians consider "normal" temperatures, which approach single digits at night. Still overall, a great trip and good to be home.

Somewhere in Tennessee

It's been a long day.  I got up at 4 a.m. so Millie, our most timid cat (but her sense of her own power grows every day), could take a nap in my arms.  This is her favorite "mom" time, and she won't get it again until a week from this Sunday.

Randy and I are on our way to Colorado Springs to visit my Dad and have Thanksgiving with him. We have the most precious gift for giving thanks--Dad's new lease on life.  He has been on the medical rollercoaster, being diagnosed with emphysema, pre-leukemia, leukemia, and congested heart failure--all within the past two months.  But a bone marrow test has revealed the chemotherapy is working.  His bones are creating blood cells again, and many ancillary problems are nothing more than side effects.  It has been a horrible fright for him, and for the many folks who love him, warts and all.

Liz is the heroine of this saga, though.  The arrival of her usual healthy father was going to be a relief.  Dave was at work in Germany and she was teaching full time, as well as taking Nick and Esther to their plethora of extracurricular activities.  When Dad arrived, she was stunned by how ill he was.  Suddenly, her plate included more, not less, work for her--and she did it with the logistical skill of a professional manager, a profession requiring a cross between a bulldog and a bulldozer!

So, here I sit, in a motel room in Tennessee, listening to Randy sleep after a long day of driving, and pondering on matters of love, mortality, hope, and their devolutions as thoughts trudge the low end of life's continuum..  Love can be a pickle-puckered heart, but hummingbirds and honeysuckle tickle those whom time has roped-a-doped.  Float and sting, butterfly bee, tiredness now conquers me.

A few more pictures are now posted on the picture page.  Don't forget to read Randy's posts!  His are masterpieces and more outward-centered than mine.

The machines are taking over!!

OK, the title is an exaggeration, but there is more than the beginnings of a problem here.

Remember when people called other people on the phone and talked to them? Well more and more that’s not what telephones are used for. Now machines call you, and often get to talk to your machine. Now that doesn’t seem like an enormous bother, unless you can’t talk on your phone when you want to.

Last night several phone systems in New England were temporarily shut down when the campaign RoboCalls tried to remind every telephone line available that today was Election Day and oh, by the way, vote for me.

So what’s the solution? I understand that even though it would be morally defensible, sending 50,000 volts back through the line is legally questionable. Who would have guessed THAT would be illegal? Whatever the answer, they do seem to be having the effect of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. More and more people are getting rid of their land lines. Where does that lead? Will we reach a point where offices and agencies are the only land lines and they are used to be able to get in touch instantly with their customers (and potential customers)? Whatever happens, it’s worth remembering that less than 20 years ago people drove places, went shopping, even spent the entire day at work or school, and managed to do that without talking on the phone. Makes you wonder how cell phones became a necessity.

Colors of Fancy's Flight

File:Male adult Gouldian Finch.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

cool

There will come a time when I mention (OK...whine about would be more accurate) how hot and muggy it is during the upcoming summer. So here is the wonderful counterpoint. The weather here is beautiful. I believe tonight will be our first night this fall when it will drop into the 40s. The day is so clear and crisp, and the cloudless sky is the special sky blue color that is so hard to find anywhere else. Charlotte maintains that worldwide there is one single "sky Blue" color that is only seen in that realm. On days such as this I think I agree with her, which is VERY different than saying "you might be right dear".

Have a fine weekend everybody, Randy

redwood update

Well we went back to look at the redwoods in the daytime. Williamsburg has two of them. Apparently they were planted in 1953, so as redwoods go these are whippersnappers. Nevertheless, the one that is biggest at the base is about four to five feet across. Being in a much more open environment than their western relatives, they have grown lower branches and the wide one has its trunk branch in to two a short way up. That’s why it’s hard to quote a specific diameter, it’s not very round at the bottom. The tallest one is 93 feet tall, which doesn’t sound like much as just raw information. But the impressive part is at 93 feet, they are downright stubby. They have had a lot of storm damage and so with the broken off trunks and the growth of branches down low they are short for their awesome size. It’s hard to imagine how big they would have grown in 57 years without storm damage. It just makes it more necessary to see the tall ones now that I’ve had a taste of these babies.

As a side note, I have learned that it’s not clear how to measure trees. How far up do you measure the circumference? Do you give more weight to the height or the width of the longest branches? Differences in these ideas lead to even the “official” tree people changing their minds. As a result, the honor for the biggest tree in Virginia has changed a few times over the last couple decades. Obviously that is quicker than the tree grows. The trees didn’t change their size. The shuffling of the order comes from the changing way they rated the trees. It’s probably good to remember that the trees don’t care about any of this, they just keep on being as majestic as they know how to be.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. All the pics we took are on the other computer.

Glitches, fixes, and wishes

This is an attempt to circumvent a glitch in the program. Have not been able to add a new post in normal fashion, so I have deleted the content in a draft post and am replacing it with new content.

We have all heard of bunions. Maybe we're not sure exactly what one is, but we've heard of them. Well, a new term has crossed my path--bunionette. Isn't that cute as a buttonette???? Not only cute. I have two of my very own. Baby-sized bunions on each little toe, and each of these toes also has another bragging right. They are hammertoes. The left little toe wins, though, because it also has a bone chip. The toe was broken at some unnoticed point.

This information was brought to my attention when I saw a foot and ankle specialist about a big toe with a big bone spur. The next time this doctor and I talk, it will be to schedule surgery for my left foot. Can't do it now because Randy and I are in the beginning stages of our move. He ordered a very large shed, had a concrete floor poured, and the shed is now erected. Once it is painted, we will start moving items from the POD in front of his house into the shed, get rid of the POD, and start sorting through items in the house while also having a contractor go over, under, and through the place, then tell us what needs attention.

For those of you who last heard we were building a modular home, that plan has been tabled. Getting a construction loan was next to impossible when we tried (just as the Great Recession was in full gear), and covering the cost ourselves would leave us permanently home-bound due to lack of travel funds. We agreed within minutes that a sound roof, firm floor, and working appliances were all we really required, so repairs and remodeling are our current plan. Traveling with Randy is way too much fun to give up!

That foot surgery mentioned above? It requires 6 weeks off my feet, followed by 4 more in a walking boot. It will wait. We are moving to the Right House this year, where 6 weeks off my feet can be spent looking out on acres uninterrupted by fellow humans and inhabited by deer, turkeys, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, and who knows what else? Oh, there is Randy's favorite, a red-tailed hawk.

Beyond Charlotte's Web

Randy is right.  Those s'mores are great!  But too many great things have been coming from the culinary aspects of life, taking advantage of shortcomings in exercise.  So I cut out a picture taken at NASA for a person of the week silliness and have it in a clear magnetized frame on the refrigerator door.  You know how the young you looks in the mirror and wonders who that old woman is looking back at her?  It works that way for overweight people, too.  I have been svelte for all of 3 years in my life, plump for most of the others, and outright morbidly obese for the rest of my years...but when I looked in a mirror, I was always surprised to see the slob with the floppy layers of flab looking back. I was plump, not grotesque!

I am not the woman in that picture again, but I am the woman with more worn out parts than I can count.  Exercise hurts.  It hurts worse when I don't.  And behind that white fridge door lie the comforts of the coward. Great s'mores?  No s'mores!!

By the way, please look at the top of this page.  Beside the Home tab is a new one entitled Our Pictures.  There are a few pics there, but they are just the final proof I added the page properly.  Keep looking there, too, when you visit, for photos from both Randy and me.  We decided the pictures on our blogging page were taking up too much room, so I did some snooping and learned we could add separate pages that all linked to the blog.  Hope you enjoy it...and please don't forget you can all blog, put up pictures, etc.  This is a family/close friends point of communication, not something limited to Randy and me.

On a final note, please add my Dad to your private prayers and to your prayer circles.  He has known for several months that he has emphysema, but he just learned he has some type of advanced pre-leukemia condition that the doctors are attacking full force.  He has moved to Colorado permanently, and Liz is coordinating his schedule.  Today, he had a shunt (?) put in.  Liz can share more details than I can remember; add her to your prayer lists, too.  She is a full time teacher, mom and chauffeur of two very active children (one teen, one a bit younger), and wife to a husband whose own father will not be with us much longer.

God bless them all.

Many hugs.
Charlotte

S'mores

Just a quick note to mention that Charlotte got to try her first S'more yesterday. Even though it would seem they should appeal to my sweet tooth I don't care for them, but she thought they were pretty good.

Yes, you can toast marshmallows in the microwave. They brown from the inside out and grow to about five times their size. Maybe they would grow bigger, and maybe they would explode, I'm to scared to find out.

Hope to have the Redwood picture soon. Have a good weekend, R

redwood

We've been dreaming about a trip to the northwest to see, among other things, redwood trees. They are really interesting, some of the oldest living things on the planet. So it was with this in mind that I was kind of shocked this morning to see one. It was as if God decided to give me a quick preview by bringing one of these trees to me. A new geocache popped up and I went to find it on the way to work. And low and behold there was a redwood tree growing right in the middle of the William and Mary Campus. It was small by redwood standards, maybe seven feet in diameter, but of course that makes it a big tree. If I understand it correctly it also makes it something of a lightning rod for the area as well.

Anyway, just wanted to pass that along. We will visit it again. I'll see if I can get a decent picture of it and maybe a little history of how it came to be there.

Have a good weekend, Randy

Quick quote

I this day and age this seems to fit well here:

"The email of the species is deadlier than the mail"

Looks as if it's been forever since I posted anything on the blog so here is a short note and a couple pictures. We went to South Carolina to visit folks and enjoy a little southern hospitality. It was a good visit even if the ride was long. Here are a couple pictures of a spot we stopped at. The town of Lexington North Carolina has statues of pigs around town. It's a bit whimsical, sort of like Norfolk's mermaid sculptures except all the pigs are different. This little cafe had a candy striped pig, and any place that is proud of their fresh rubber bands is OK by me.

Enjoy the weekend, Randy

Home, Sweet Home

Randy and I are going to renovate his current home, rather than break the bank putting in a new house.  This decision is letting us move ahead now; Randy ordered a very large shed that will be erected within a few weeks, and we will move the contents of the POD into the shed, followed by moving items from my house, plus items in his house that need to be stored during the renovations.  Getting the POD removed will save money, too!

Somehow, this job termination is going to work to our advantage.  When one door closes, another opens.  While waiting to see what that is, I can do a lot of the legwork to help get the other house ready for us to move.  Already have one contractor lined up to give the house a thorough check-up and give us a list of repairs that need to be done before we can move on to things like expanding the kitchen, replacing the front porch, etc. 

Knowing the exact location of our abode now frees me to plan some landscaping.  I have many plants to move from here to there, including 7 azaleas, 1 rhododendron, a few lilacs, forsythia, flowering almond bushes, 2 butterfly bushes, some black bamboo, several varieties of daylilies and oriental lilies, irises and irises and irises (I have about 20 different colors and color combos, plus about 7 reblooming ones).  Also have peonies and ferns and sedum and variegated vinca minor and lots of different dahlias, one large native geranium, one clematis vine...guess I can stop here.  EXCEPT, Randy took me to a yard sale yesterday that was not a typical yard sale.  It was advertised in the paper as a 3-day event and plants, nursery quality, were the main attraction.  I got 2 Japanese maples for a total of $15!  Japanese maples are not cheap; Lowe's charges $40 for ones equal in size and quality to either of the ones I got, and Lowe's price is typical.  I got a third one that is more commonplace than the other two--it will be maybe 30' tall and its foliage is deep purple throughout the growing season.  Randy likes the dark purple's contrast during summer.  I also got 2 redbuds that are about 2 1/2' tall, one ginkgo (besides pretty leaves, they turn pure yellow in the fall), one spirea bush, and one camellia variety I've wanted for years but never bought. 

Here are a few pics of flowers in full power!!!  

More Life Lemons

Randy finds such fascinating articles and topics to post that I am almost embarrassed with the "news on the home front" that I post. But I'm going to do it again, so here we go.

I lost my job last week.  This is not a surprising development, as you know, but it is unsettling despite being expected.  I do get a 2-week severance check, and there is also a possibility I can collect a bit more long-term disability from my employer's health insurance company.  The HR representative advised me to try and she will do whatever she can to help me get it through.  (I received short-term disability during knee surgery recuperation and got long-term when that ran out.  I didn't understand HR's explanation of how I could still qualify for more coverage, but if they say to go for it, I'll go for it).  The straw that broke my employer's back was a 2-week absence due to a migraine that would NOT break.  I saw three doctors during those 2 weeks.  If the headache itself eased off, the nausea got worse; sometimes, the headache was present and the nausea subsided.  Anyway, after stopping a medicine I'd started about 2 weeks before the migraines, and after finishing a course of cortisone, the headache is gone.  I am still getting headaches fairly frequently, but they are not migraines.  The neurologist will likely order a CT scan at my follow-up since even "normal" headaches on a frequent basis are not the norm.

Randy and I have been discussing this situation and agree this is the time to take care of a few health issues I'd hidden from my employer because they didn't require prompt attention.  I need to have a large bone spur on my left big toe surgically removed.. I also need surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.

Okay, the bad news is out of the way.  Blue skies ahead!

faster than the wind

Here is a thought that will make your head spin. As you probably know a sailboat (or a sail car) can go faster than the wind speed by traveling across the wind direction. But can you go faster than the wind going straight downwind? Turns out the answer is yes, at least for this "car". If you watch the video, notice the wind flags streaming away from the direction of travel when it gets to top speed (over twice as fast as the wind is blowing). I'm still scratching my head.

5 year old thought crime

This boy and his friends found a pocket knife in a park on the way to kindergarten. He picked it up and thought about taking it with him, but decided it was a bad idea and left it there. His friends were talking about it in class, and the principle suspended him because at one time he intended to bring the knife to school. Here is the story:


The principle later reversed his ruling, but what was he thinking? A five year old makes a good decision, and gets punished for it? Wow.

sharp

Sorry it's been so long without a post. I'll put up this short video to show people how sharp a knife can be. My knife can usually slice butter if the day is warm enough, but this is an entire new world of sharp:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kzmFaD_lRw&feature=related

Assumptions

Assumptions are two-sided things. On the one hand, where would we be without them? Certainly, man would never have reached the moon, let alone walked on it, since the foundations of science are built on assumptions. Philosophical arguments are also based on assumptions. So much of our lives are based on assumptions, that, with time, we forget that they exist (at least I often forget!).

What the heck am I talking about? An assumption I thought was based on strong evidence came back to bite me today, and I am so happy about it that I can hardly contain myself. A young woman at work, an "adoptee" of mine, got married and became pregnant did not share these changes with me. A shared acquaintance told me last week. I assumed our relationship was kaput, which I regretted; mostly, though, I was happy she finally had the love and life she truly deserved. She called me at work today and we had a wonderful chat!!! All is well.

I am back at work, as most of you know, but some of you are not aware that I am NOT back in my old office. Lots of absences over the course of two years obviously affected my performance at work, and I knew when I took leave to have my knee surgery I would not be back in that office. No one said this to me, but what was written between the lines was plain to see. I thought I would be heartbroken when I walked into a new office. Not only was I not heartbroken, I found I was relieved. I adore the people I worked with for so many years! But guilt would be my dominant feeling if I returned to that building-I let so many folks down, put extra work on people who already had more than is realistic--and these were people I would walk an extra mile for if I could.

Have you noticed that Randy has been better at posting here than I have been????

Spring is in full swing. So far, I have not done a lot of gardening, but my knee is letting me do more than seems possible this soon after surgery. The last measurement of how far I can flex the knee was 122 degrees--this is very good, the pros tell me. The new bike Randy got me last year can be dusted off and I can ride it again!!!

Randy also bought a truckload of COMPOST for my favorite hobby. I am not putting any new plants in the ground this year--underground terrorists (voles) are such a nuisance that they are even hurting the black bamboo! I fought like heck last year to save a lot of plants and I don't have the time or energy to do it right now, so pots and planters are multiplying and being put to good use. This also makes my plants easier to move when it is time. Randy and I made some revisions to our plans for a house that make a move this year a near certainty, so most of that awesome compost will be dumped at the Right House (as opposed to here, which is dubbed the Left House).

It is past bedtime, so that's it for now. This post is brought to you on my new netbook, which is about half the size of a laptop and has as much memory, plus a much larger hard drive, than my old desktop computer. It also has a built-in webcam, with microphone! If you don't do major games or a lot of photo work with something like Photoshop, this is something to consider. Can't be beat for portability...or cost.

Hugs and much love to all.

Charlotte

Knowledge Capture

This is a new term that is getting used at work. I guess the word training was just a little too bland. I am hoping to get a job in the Euphemism Management Department when I grow up.

Take care, Randy

Princeton

We took June back home over the weekend. Nice trip and I can't imagine we could ever get luckier with the weather. Just wanted to put up a picture of Charlotte with April. We meet April for the first time, and he is very much a people cat.

Tech

I was reading something the other day and the author referred to somebody who was “good at tech”. By that he meant they understood anything remotely electronic, be it a computer, a new phone, or maybe figuring out how to hack a video game.
It just struck me how much our world has evolved that:
1. We can lump all technology together in to one general term.
2. How improved that technology is over the course of only 10 or 20 years.
Now drifting off from the last one, I’ll comment on some recent “tech”.
As Charlotte mentioned, the car has push button everything. I get back in the Honda and am startled at having to extend my hand to arms length to adjust the volume on the radio!
We were talking about the weather at work and one guy said it was 59 degrees this morning. As he explained, “I look at my phone as soon as I wake up and it tells me the temperature”. I guess eventually parents will have a phone app installed in their kids before leaving the hospital. I’m not sure what will happen when the contract expires.
And lastly I’ll mention the new camera that I’m still learning about. It adjusts for daylight savings time unless you tell it not to. And it has an adjustable eyepiece so you can see the display better. But the camera is so smart they worry that I am getting dumber. The instruction manual tells you how to adjust it, then warns “Caution: do not stick fingers or fingernails in your eye while adjusting the viewfinder”.

Nothing in particular...

Have I mentioned lately what fun it is to have Randy as house-mate and companion??? Here are a few of my pics from our latest trip. The "horse" may be an actual wild African horse, not a domesticated version of any horse breed, but that is only my best guess. It is part of an exotic animal exhibit, but this picture was taken from the road side and the animals appeared to be in compounds away from wherever the public visits. The picture of a latch is from the Frontier Museum. The odd hook caught my fancy; Randy has some interesting guesses on why it has this unique shape. The rooster is part of the mophead herd. He has no mophead, but maybe he is the male part of the equation that creates all that fluff on the hens? I don't know, just know that we will have a few of these hysterical critters when we move...for the eggs, for the meat, but mostly for the guaranteed laughter! They are friendly critters...that "meat" part might be beyond me. Shooting a deer I haven't raised, petted, held, etc., is one thing, but this mophead for supper stuff??? As Randy noted, they are NOT really mopheads. That is what I called them the first time we saw them...an aptly descriptive term still preferred over their true breed name of Polish Crested (which I did not know on our first encounter). Third pic is a chicken coop at the Frontier Museum...the ways the corners are finished differs from what I'd seem previously in wooden structures. Randy sits on the caboose we barely missed staying in...we WILL stay there at some point. It is cute as a button! Don't want to stay there in bad weather since the quarters are close, but in nice weather, it will be fun. I have forgotten the details of the stone ruins...one is an old bridge, the other a building that was nearby. Randy will provide particulars, if anyone is interested.

I am back at work, half days. No longer in my old office, but counting my blessings that I am back at all. So far, putting an office together has been my only task...I am sharing quarters with another admin lady, but my computer (laptop) is new and had none of my electronic files, including my encrypted spreadsheet with all my passwords! Just got the files added Friday. Applied for a renewed PKI account (encryption) and it has been fully approved. This week, I will pick up the codes and get it working again. Have requested a decent chair...the one I'm using has no adjustments for the back, arms, etc., and has no head support. Need paper, pens, binders, etc.; am putting an order together for those. Do have a printer/copier already. Thought I'd lost my beloved 2-monitor set-up, but since they give me a regular monitor and my laptop, I've set them up to function as 2 displays for a single unit.

Randy and I bought a used Murano to replace my Echo. The Murano is now named Merry. She has push-button everything, leather seats, power seats, settings for how I want the driver's seat and pedals, plus how Randy wants them...with the push of a button, the seat returns to my setting, the pedals do the same, if Randy drove the car last. Merry has a sunroof, much to my delight, and the passenger's seat lays flat. All I have to do is pile some pillows on the floor, so my legs are as horizontal as my body, and I can daydream while looking out the sunroof, and/or nap in comfort. This also reduces the need for me to get out and walk every single hour ( because of my knee replacement). With my legs raised, there is no need for it. We even dual temperature controls.

That's it for now. Hugs to all!!!!

Safety Corner:

Can you spot the safety violation in the photo?

Highlight the text in the brackets to see the answer:

{ The passenger does not have his goggles on }

Scenery on a caching side trip

Mop Head


Inside Cabin

Back from the trip over the weekend. It was great, very relaxing and peaceful. We were going to stay in the caboose but there was a water heater problem and we ended up staying in the cabin. As you may be able to tell, that wasn't a great burden. We mostly took it easy... Took a few pictures, Charlotte visited her favorite antique store, and I found a few geocaches.

Coming back we stopped by the Fronteir Museum and visted Charlotte's Mop Head chickens again. They are actually named Polish Crested but the nickname Mop Head sorta stuck.

A little west of Charlottesville we had a flat and found out it's impossible to get a tire fixed on Sunday evening, so we limped home on the spacesaver spare. Kandy would be proud, as we adhered to the 50 MPH limitation at the urging of my cautious bride. The new car (thanks again Jeff) has a trip computer and I can assure you that you get great gas milage at 49.5 MPH.

That's all for now, see ya, Randy

Figured I would sneak in a few lines to get in the habit. Charlotte has been doing half days at work (4 hours, not 12) and is glad she didn't jump in to 8 hour shifts right off. We'll be packing for the trip tonight so I suspect we won't get anything else posted until next week sometime. Here is a picture, more to figure out how to post them than anything. It's a Sky-scape, one of our favorites. Y'all have a good weekend, R

SPRING IS HERE

Glad to hear you replaced your wrecked car! Enjoy your Nissan.

Have a wonderful week-end at your surprise destiation and remember Randy,"Be careful".

Also glad to hear Charlotte, that you felt well enough to return to work. You go girl! Of course, I knew that we couldn't keep you down when five days after surgery, you were in the shower without any help (no home health nursing care there.)

Pops is enjoying this beautiful sunny day by organizing his garage. I don't know whether that's the "old" or "new" garage but he is outside where he loves to be.

Today, I am laundrying all the winter things to put away for summer. It can't get here fast enough for me. I will be "Sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time" at Buckroe Beach a lot this spring - "Watching the waves roll in." Of course, when those steaming hot sultry days begin around the end of June, I'll hole up in my comfortable den sipping lemonade.

The dryer just buzzed. So long for now.

Love,
Mom

Well, I see that I haven't posted anything in more than a year after I last said I would. So I figured I would post instead of adding a comment. To me this is the electronic equivalent of jumping in with both feet. So here goes:

The "new" car is indeed great. Considering that until recently we thought of power seats as the height of excess this is really a big step. We're looking forward to a trip in it. Thanks Jeffery for the help.

Also looking forward to the camera on the trip, and I should post some of the results here. Hey, it should be easy to beat my old record for timelyness. So See Ya Later until then, Randy

this 2 blog

2010: Let's try this blog thing again.

Hi, guys,

It is March 15. Clocks turned forward an hour yesterday, normally a cause for irrepressible glee. Let's settle for happy this year. A long absence from work (since Dec. 3) ended today, without resentment, surprisingly, but with an indifference absent from my relationship with NASA before. Even that is okay; life with Randy is my "real" life and work is simply something to do to take care of necessities.

Had a total knee replacement Jan. 11. Mom and Pops invited me to recuperate at their house during the first few weeks, while in-home nursing and physical therapy care was in progress. What a stroke of genius (Mom!!). Two whole weeks of enforced laziness, with not a single responsibility or worry. By day 5, after surgery, I was walking around the house without any external support. Now, three months later, the right leg is improving nicely, but my energy levels are limited. So work, at least for this week, is limited to half-days.

I had a car accident in November and the Echo was totaled. No damage to me, thankfully. Last Thursday, Randy and I replaced my little all-manual gas sipper with a Nissan Murano. It is gorgeous...and decadent. Everything is automatic and there are luxuries that defy imagination. We are taking off this coming weekend, to celebrate my return to work and to take a break from our usual version of reality. I can't wait for some napping during the drive...the passenger seat lies flat and there is a sun roof to watch the clouds and singular blue of heaven while I drift into dream. Randy has some surprises planned...he did find an antique store to turn me loose in, but beyond that, I don't have a clue.

We have a new bed. Big whoop??? You bet! It is a Comfortaire...an air bed with dual controls to determine the firmness/softness on each side. Yes, this is just like the Select Number bed, but it has a far smaller customer base...and is the original air bed. Proportionally, Comfortaire has the best customer satisfaction ratings of ANY bed. Innerspring mattresses, no matter how well made, start to sag after a few years. There is nothing to sag in this bed. There are layers of various types between the air pockets and the mattress topping, so the cats cannot puncture anything and ruin the bed.

Does the bed help with arthritic aches and pains? YES. Randy has not had a back ache in the morning since we got it! My right knee and leg still ache a bit, but other usual stiff joints are barely noticeable.

Last, but not least, we bought each other our big holiday presents for the year. Some great sales landed Randy an SLR camera so he can expand his artistic talent with this media. I have yet to remove the virus that has my laptop computer frozen, and have lusted after something more portable anyway. A sale offered one of these new, tiny netbooks for $250, and I asked Randy for it. May I say now that it is adorable and does everything my desktop did. It has 1GB of memory and 150GB of storage...not much by today's standards, but exactly what my desktop has and more than enough for my purposes. It also has a built-in webcam and microphone!. It weighs a couple of pounds and has a screen that is barely more than 10" in size. This is not a problem, but should it become one, there is a port to connect a regular monitor. It has USB ports, too, of course, and external speakers can be added. It also came ready for use with a wireless network, so nothing more was needed to connect to our wireless account. The battery can last almost 3 1/2 hours without recharging, giving me the freedom to sit outside and write when the mood strikes.

Guess that is all for now. This blog is going to get more use than it did when I first set it up a couple of years ago. After the scare with Kimberly, nearly everyone in the family is familiar with how to use a blog...and well aware of its benefits. You can share your own news and views as a comment (I am fairly sure comments can be hidden, if desired, but will check into that). Pictures, videos from the web, all sorts of things, can be included here, making it a more varied and entertaining mode of communication. There is not enough time anymore to keep up with everyone through email alone, anyway.

As usual, hugs by the bushel are attached. Take as many as you like and pass them around!

Love,

Charlotte