Say What?

I'll be publishing this post at a later date as I don't want to create any additional drama for my mother who is just a couple days away from some quite risky heart surgery. My niece, Aleah, has become a cancer in our family and has been using her grandmother (mom) to cause great division within the family for far too long. It's a really sick thing she's been doing and none of us can understand why. Jackie and Jerry have done everything to reach out to her but each attempt is met with venomous responses. The latest turmoil began with plans for a Christmas Eve get-together at our home. We're all fairly certain that this will be Mom's last Christmas with us considering her quickly deteriorating heart health and most of us are of like minds in wanting to get us all together with Mom/Grandma/Great-Grandma for Christmas this year. I asked my brother Keith if he could host Christmas Eve at his house as I didn't think there was any chance that Aleah would c...

I ventured out in my truck this morning and picked up our Sunday paper at the bottom of our driveway on the way out. Today is Monday. I never made it beyond our living room couch yesterday.  I awoke out of a sound sleep at 2:00 Sunday morning to an awful, nauseous feeling. Rather than waiting to see if it would quietly go away I quickly made my way to the bathroom and stood bent over the toilet for just a moment before my insides exploded. I spent the rest of the morning until after 7:00 repeating the above at least hourly. I'll spare you the details. The rest of my day was spent curled up on the couch with our pups. I was concerned for my mom because she was exposed to the bug as well while at our home Christmas Eve. Our littlest visitor that night had just gotten over the illness (or so we thought) and he must've infected many of us. Tammy tried to get a hold of Mom but her phone was off the hook. I texted Tim and he confirmed that she was sick in bed. Rachel texted us fro...

One of the white squirrels (as of last winter we had two) that frequents our feeders met an untimely death this past week. He got tangled up in the cornstalk feeder we have on the side of our house by the bird feeders. I was sad to discover his lifeless, frozen body tangled in the metal tines of the feeder knowing he suffered a difficult death. He was a nice addition to the wildlife we have in the area and I'll miss him. I was standing in line at Michaels Wednesday afternoon waiting to pay for a picture frame and matting that's to be part of a Christmas gift for my mom. While waiting, I spied some containers of gummy candies at the end of the register and agreed with my inner voice that I needed to bring a couple of those home with me to have for a Christmas Eve gathering at our home. I'd no sooner had that thought when I took notice of the woman finishing paying and walking toward the door. Is that Luan I wondered? I couldn't see her very well as I'd just caugh...

I'd taken my red Serotta (what's up with the Hugh Jazz seat bag?) in to Flanders Bros in Minneapolis several weeks ago for some upgrades. Adrian called Wednesday afternoon to tell me it was ready. I combined my trip to pick it up with a stop at J Ring Studios in St Paul for some stained glass supplies. I left my failing Mavic Ksyrium rim at the shop to be sent back across the Atlantic to be rebuilt. Rather than investing $1000+ in a new set of wheels, it makes more sense for me to have the one repaired for a few hundred. I'll be good-to-go for several more seasons with it. It's been over 2 weeks since I've ridden and I'm getting that need again but the break has been nice. I've been able to focus a whole bunch of time on other stuff, namely stained glass. More on that toward the end of this entry. Friday morning I went back to the lighted tree on Cedar Avenue in Bloomington to get some video and daylight shots of it. I wanted to capture it with a bl...

The pacemaker replacement surgery last Friday for mom was only partially successful. A third lead from the pacemaker that winds its way through and around her heart to more fully involve the whole heart had to be disconnected as it was coming in contact with a nerve causing her diaphragm to spasm. She was disappointed because without the third lead (something her other pacemaker didn't have) her condition wasn't much different than before surgery. Tired all the time. They told her it would be 7-10 days before they could see her again to attempt to fix the problem. We didn't have to wait that long. Tracee called me yesterday morning to see if I'd talked to Mom yet today. I hadn't. She said she sounded extremely tired on the phone and that she was going to put in a call to her doctor to see if she could get her seen asap. Mom is always one to minimize her need to be seen and not one to want to be fussed over so the chance that she was going to take the initiative to...

Mom has surgery tomorrow morning to replace her pacemaker with a pacemaker/defibrillator combination. The last time I wrote about this I'd said that her doctor didn't feel her heart was strong enough for this procedure but he's decided to go forward with it anyway. I don't want to look at this as being a last-ditch effort to resuscitate her life but considering how weak her heart is, what else can it be? The surgery is a risk, there's no question about that. The doctor was very clear with her when he told her they lose people in her condition on the operating table. Still, it's about quality of life and should this turn out successfully, she'll have a return to her old self; the indefatigable, independent older woman in her green '97 Ford Escort wagon running around town and occasionally jumping on the freeway to blend with 70mph traffic. I want her back to her old self as do we all. One thing that has caused me to pause and take notice is her attitu...

Another post that won't see the light of day until I've retired. I began a cluster headache cycle at the beginning of October that went into the first week of November. I came off the prednisone (30mg max) and was doing fine until this past weekend when my headaches returned. This follows a pattern I experienced 3 years ago when I had two cycles close together. I took some time yesterday morning to go through my training diaries where I record details of my headache cycles along with the number of meds taken. A couple of the cycles caused me concern because I never want to relive those days. The one from 3 years ago and another from 2003. In each of those cases, I thought the headaches were done but they came back stronger than they'd been. 2007 was probably my worst year because I'd lost my medical during the initial phase only to get it back and then have the headaches return. We were in the middle of the imposed contract days with tensions running high and I didn...

Rachel rolled into town Tuesday night after classes, ahead of what was looking to be some nasty weather for Wednesday that never materialized. She and her roommates along with some friends had their own Thanksgiving dinner at their place before saying goodbye for the long weekend. She was excited to be home because many of her friends were also going to be in town and it would be the first time they'd be back together since leaving for college. Plus, she was going to be able to see Amy, her 4-year-old sister. Amy thinks the world of Rachel and it must seem like ages to a little kid that age to be apart for even a couple months. "Rachel...look at me when I'm talking to you!" Hmm...Rachel is pretty sure she knows where she got that from. Too funny. I've been hearing for years about Keith's deep-fried turkey and finally got a chance to experience it this Thanksgiving.  I was told it's not greasy and I had no reason to doubt it but still, I had to try it ...

As I came into work yesterday, the guard at the gate asked me if anybody had ever told me that I look like Bryan Cranston from Malcolm in the Middle? "I've heard of the show," I told him but "no, I've never been told that." I made a point as I found a parking spot to remember the actor's name so I could look him up later. Years ago my sister used to say that I reminded her of Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. There was a time when Rachel thought I looked like Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys. I'm not sure what to think? A few days ago one of my coworkers suggested I change my Facebook profile picture to Dale Gribble from King of the Hill. And so I amused Leslee and the few people who 'liked' her post on my wall and did as she asked. I'm glad they weren't making comparisons to Howdy Doody or Alfred E. Neuman. I only managed one ride on my bike this past week: the Hampton loop . My riding has slowed to a near halt but I...

Winter arrived Saturday in a rather big way with 8" of wet, heavy, heart-attack snow. My 1986 Simplicity snowblower takes "heart-attack"  out of the equation . Tammy and I had plans to spend a few hours perusing a craft fair at Canterbury but bad roads changed all that. I'd been watching the forecast and spent most of Friday outside putting up our Christmas lights and finishing what little yard work I had left. I suppose it's possible the snow will all be gone by this time next week and I'd have another shot at getting it all done but it's nice to have all my outdoor jobs finished for the year. I also appreciated being able to get the lights hung while it was still warm enough to do it without gloves. We're entering a new collaborative period at work between labor and management called WE; an acronym for Workforce Engagement. It's a program designed to give each and every worker a voice in the direction we're headed as an organization; at...

...did you ever wonder what the lyrics meant? Wonder no more . Mom celebrated her 82nd birthday last week and I don't think the significance of that day was lost on anyone close to her. With the deteriorating trend of her heart's health, I think there's little chance that she'll live to see another. I'd love to be wrong. Jackie and Jerry invited the family over to their home last Sunday to celebrate with Mom. It was an especially nice time and the weather couldn't have been better. Not everyone chose to be there for her and that to me was unfortunate. Some day I'll expand here on the dynamics of my family, but not now. I brought our pups with me and they had a free-for-all in the backyard with Gracie, Tucker, Nell, and Diesel. Whenever there's a get-together at Jerry and Jackie's, you can be sure that you're in for some fantastic eats and this day was no exception. Jackie is without question the Martha Stewart of our family and I mean t...

I came home from work late last Sunday night and noticed the backyard light was on. A doe and her fawn had tripped the motion sensor light and were nibbling on some Euonymus shrubs that line the side of our yard. I watched them for ten minutes before going upstairs to show them to Tammy. They're beautiful animals and I felt privileged to be able to watch them as they cautiously made their way around our yard. It's not in my makeup to hunt them or any other animal. I'm conflicted though because I'm no vegetarian either. I don't have issues with hunting or the processing of animals for food when it's done the right way; it just won't be me doing it. There was a recent story in the news about singer Troy Gentry and his bogus claim to have killed a dangerous bear while on a hunting expedition. It turns out it was a total fabrication and what actually happened should cause any of his fans to use their CDs of his for skeet practice. See for yourself . Like any...

My truck is nearing ten years old. Between new tires, ball joints, front axels, and a fuel regulator, I've had to sink more money into it in the last few weeks than I'd care to think about. I gave it a coat of wax last weekend for whatever protection that may provide from the salt of a pending winter season. I also spent some time cleaning the engine. Before and after . With Rachel at college, it's not likely I'll be driving something newer anytime soon. But that's okay. It fits me like a worn pair of jeans and I don't worry about small scratches and stuff. I just want it to run well. Speaking of Rachel: she was elected to Student Senate for Student Affairs Committee, U of M Twin Cities. She'll be UMR's representative. Our little go-getter. Mom is off to the doctor once again this morning, still in search of a solution for a weak and inefficient heartbeat that has her tired much of the time. She'll have an occasional good day but they're t...

Toby is back to his old self and we're all grateful for that. He's snuggled into my lap as I type this. We made it out to Ritter Farm Park with our pups this week and they were thrilled (at least they seemed to be) to see the llamas again. They were off in the distance when we came by their field but we were able to call them over. Before long, the llamas had their noses through the fence trying to get a better look at the little guys who were being so vocal toward them but sticking close by us for protection. The high water table I was talking about in a recent post that I thought was causing our sump-pumps to run was actually a leak in our underground sprinkler. I was out raking leaves last weekend and noticed a wet area near the surface not far from where the mainline to the sprinkler runs. I shut the system down and sure enough, our pumps quit running not long after. It was a  sizable leak and I'm glad I stumbled onto it when I did. I spent too long repairing i...

My typical routine on my way into work for the all-night shift is to stop at McDonald's in Farmington for a large, light Lemonade. It's always $1.07 and I usually have the exact change in hand for the person at the window. I placed my order last Wednesday night and the total came to $1.70. Huh? I asked the cashier and she said that all their prices were raised since they're having their Monopoly promotion. Again: huh? I paid the extra amount and proceeded to the next window to get my drink. I looked at the advertising on the cup as I drove away and was somewhat miffed to read that 1 in 4 players wins; the other side of that coin being that 3 in 4 players lose out. I'd say that .63c is a considerable amount extra to pay for a $1.07 drink to play their silly game. Oh, and the real kicker...the peel-off game piece on my cup wasn't even there. My guess is the person who handed me my drink had a nice collection going. Somebody please let me know when the promotion is o...

Charlie turned two last Wednesday. Tammy got him some new stuffed animals to go with the dozen others the pups already drag out regularly. I've never had a more playful pup and he knows I'm a soft touch for indulging him. His big thing lately is to taunt us with his toys as if to challenge us to try and get them from him. Or being a mop . Toby and Allie are content for the most part to watch rather than partake in his antics although they both engage him regularly, too. We're careful to spread the love around to them all. It's been 9 days since the rain stopped after dumping anywhere from 5-7 inches (or more) in a day. What's odd is that our sump-pumps are still being triggered occasionally which must be a symptom of an unusually high water table. You read that right: we have two pumps to be extra safe. We put the additional one in several years ago when we finished our basement. They've never run this long after the rain quit and I'm curious to see how lo...