Say What?

Cliff turned one year old on Wednesday! He's been such a blessing in our lives, and we couldn't be more proud of the job Rachel and Drew have done. They're such good parents, always so engaged with Cliff as he explores his world. He's been crawling for over a month and is developing strong leg muscles as Drew shadows him while he takes on the challenge of climbing stairs. Walking can't be far off. I'm three weeks post-total knee replacement surgery, and to be honest, it's been a struggle. But this morning, I'm feeling the best I've felt since before surgery—markedly better. I also used a cane this morning rather than my walker for an appointment. I may be a little premature about the switch, but so far, so good. I think I'm still at least another ten days away from driving myself to appointments.  Excessive swelling in my knee has been the main hindrance to my recovery, but it is also improving. Much of the swelling I was contending with was from...

Tammy and I ignored the election results coverage for most of the evening. We were both burned out and needed a break. I went down to the basement and played pinball for a while, with the TV behind me tuned to MSNBC's election coverage. Pinball and election results have been a tradition of mine for many election nights. It became apparent early on that this would be much closer than I would have ever guessed. I'd seen his recent rallies at half-empty venues, with people walking out early due to Trump's incoherent ramblings about crime, immigrants, his enemies, Hannibal Lecter, etc. In contrast, Kamala's packed arenas were filled with energized supporters and a coherent, forward-looking message of hope for a better tomorrow. I couldn't imagine how the race was as close as the polls indicated.  I was sad to see the results working in favor of Trump. What are people thinking, I wondered. Didn't we have the best stock market and economy in the world? Didn't Bide...

Oscar and Rudy have been with us for four months, and I can say with certainty that they're living their best lives. Lazy mornings spent lounging in bed (not that I ever did that much) are gone. I'm up before the sun every morning to let them out and fix their food bowls before heading out on a 2-mile (3.2 km) walk with them. It's a nice routine, but I must adjust my late-night TV viewing to get to bed at a more reasonable time. It's worth it, though. These little guys are happy in their new home . Tammy will be tasked with the early morning duties in a few weeks when I go for knee replacement surgery. I'm dreading the disruption to our routine this will cause, but we'll get through it. My mother would have been 96 years old today had she still been with us. This photo of her  (May 4th, 2015) was taken on her last outing before she became ill and had to be admitted to the hospital and then to a senior care facility, where she spent months trying to regain her he...

We spent much of last week with friends in Door County , Wisconsin. Door County (a 5 1/2 hour drive from Minneapolis) is a touristy area northeast of Green Bay on a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan. It was Tammy's and my first visit to the area. The peninsula is crowded with vacationers during the summer months, but with diminished numbers as the weather cools, most stores already have abbreviated off-season hours. One restaurant/bar owner we spoke with in Fish Creek said he will be closing soon for the winter and heading south for Florida until springtime.  We'll return to Door County before long to make some more memories .  I had a physical therapy appointment a few days ago for a follow-up about the patellar tendonitis I've been dealing with in both knees since last December. Since stopping riding more than five weeks ago, the condition has noticeably improved. I'm reluctant to begin riding again, though, preferring to remain off my bikes to ensure that I won...

It's the last day of September, and I'm out on our deck with the pups, enjoying our lingering mild weather. Our hummingbirds have begun their migration southward. There's no chance of rain in the forecast, and we could use it. I don't think we had any measurable rainfall this month, and the 10-day precipitation outlook isn't looking so good either.  Tammy and I got our latest Covid and seasonal influenza vaccine boosters Saturday afternoon. We were both in recovery mode all day yesterday. I never tolerate the Covid vaccine very well. Tammy is in Rochester until tomorrow, babysitting Clifford. It's been nice that Cliff's grandmothers have been able to provide daycare while Rachel and Drew await an opening at the daycare provider they prefer. He's getting so much love this way. (The photo is from last week, courtesy of Rachel.) Cliff has such a sweet disposition and is becoming more mobile. He's beginning to crawl when an object he desires is placed ju...

I noticed the date on my watch a few days ago and realized it was the anniversary of my father's passing: September 15th, 1995 — 29 years ago. The date usually gets away each year without me noticing. Although my father and I were very much alike (I'm told), we didn't share a strong bond. Alcohol got the better of him later in life, leaving most of our visits in his last 10 years disappointing for me.  I was relieved for him when he died six weeks shy of his 70th birthday and three weeks shy of the verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. He was fixated on the trial for most of the last year of his life, confined to an easy chair in the living room and tethered to an oxygen machine to help manage his emphysema. I sometimes wonder what my dad would have thought of our politics today. He spent his career in finance and subscribed to The Wall Street Journal, so I considered him a conservative, but he mainly was a cynic of all politicians. He had much disdain for Nixon. I reme...

Oscar and Rudy continue to dominate our home life with their antics and love. They've been with us for nine weeks (today!), and they're thriving in their new environment. A few days ago, I saw a meme that said, "Treat your rescue pup so well that they forget about the abuse they suffered in their previous home." And that's precisely what we're doing. They appear to be responding to their new names, and we're still working on potty training, which has been more difficult for them. We'll get there.  Today marks nine years since I retired. September 3rd, 2015, was the most emotion-filled day of my life for several reasons. Last Friday, we met Rachel, Drew, Cliff, and Drew's mother, Jenny, at the state fair. We couldn't have picked a better day weather-wise, but with that nice weather came record-breaking crowds! We had to skip a few longer lines because they were more than an hour long, and whatever awaited us at the end of the line wasn't wo...

Last week was a week that I'd love to live over again. We dropped the pups off at Puppy Play & Stay and then drove up to Duluth for a few days away to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We had such a nice time, but we did worry about our boys at the boarding kennel and hoped they were doing okay. Given their history, we were concerned that they would feel abandoned again, and that thought kept us checking our phones for the video feed from the facility to see how they were doing. This screenshot shows them both on the yellow and blue stairs, keeping watch over the others. They did well, but the staff told us Rudy was shy and stayed beside Oscar when he wasn't alone. Visit our home sometime, and you'll not find a shy Rudy! On our recent trip to Chicago, I enjoyed getting up early and walking each morning to begin my day. Our stay in Duluth was the same. There is an inviting Lakewalk trail along the Lake Superior shoreline that I fell in love with. After my wal...

Tammy received a call from Paws and Claws Humane Society  in Rochester one week ago inquiring if we were still interested in a bonded pair of dogs at their shelter. We first became aware of them a week earlier when Rachel sent us the Facebook post embedded below. Tammy filled out an adoption application for them, but there was a fair amount of interest, so we didn't get our hopes up. We were surprised to learn they were still available because we thought they'd been adopted—which they had, but it didn't work out. We jumped at the chance to have a meet-and-greet with them and made arrangements for that the next day. We met them in a quiet room last Tuesday, and it took less than 60 seconds to realize that our home could be the perfect fit for them. Their hard-luck story tugged at our heartstrings—having been found roaming the streets of Rochester together and learning that their owner had moved away and no longer wanted them—leaving them to fend for themselves. Who could do ...

I participated in the first annual Madden Memorial Golf Tournament at Southern Hills last Monday. Madden, my niece's son and my brother's grandson had just turned 13 when he died suddenly while riding his bike a little over a year ago. The tournament was a success in every regard, and thousands of dollars were raised for scholarships to be awarded to graduating high school students in honor of Madden. I've golfed in my share of golf tournaments, but this one stands out as the best—by far! I mentioned in a previous post that I would make an effort this year (for once) to keep the deer and rabbits from devouring our flowers. I've been using a product called Liquid Fence , which I spray on our flowers weekly or after a hard rain as a deterrent. So far, so good. Spraying our flowers after each rain has been made more difficult this year by the abundant rainfall we've been getting, but that's not a complaint. I'm okay with the rain, but it's been a problem fo...

Wednesday night. I was watching TV last night when a memory of a dream I'd had the previous night flashed into my conscience. In my dream, I was with Charlie, telling him how much I love and miss him. It was so real I literally woke up in tears. A few days ago marked six months since his passing . I still miss him dearly. Tammy and I have talked about bringing another pup into our lives, but we're putting those plans on hold. It's still too soon for both of us.  My physical therapist gave me the green light to resume riding last week, as long as I don't push too hard. She mentioned it's okay to lean into a little bit of pain — that's expected, but not to overdo it. I've been riding every other day for two to three hours, and my knees seem fine. I've tested my limits briefly to see how my knees react, but I hesitate to exert too much. I'll reserve that for a few weeks when I try a prolonged harder effort. I was recently playing around with an AI app f...

I met with my orthopedic doctor one week ago about the tendonitis I'm experiencing in both knees. He recommended taking some time off and allowing the condition to heal through rest. That's pretty much what I figured he would advise and the approach I'd been taking prior to meeting with him. Dr. Johnson also looked at previous X-rays of my right knee and said it's been bone-on-bone for several years and that I should give consideration to having knee replacement surgery—something I've been hesitant to do because I've worried that a knee replacement wouldn't hold up to the active lifestyle that I want to continue.  I first injured my knee in June 1975 while playing softball. I tore the meniscus when I slipped on some loose sand over hardpacked dirt when running from home plate to first base. The treatment then was to immobilize my entire leg in a full-length cast for 4 weeks. All seemed fine, but shortly after getting the cast off my leg, I managed to tear th...

Tammy and I spent much of this week buying and planting flowers for our flower beds. It's nice to have the work done. Rather than simply turning over our newly planted flowers to the deer and rabbits for them to feast on, I'm using Liquid Fence as a way to deter them from decimating our plants. As much as we love the critters we share our space with, I need to set some boundaries so we can all live in harmony. It's a smelly boundary, though, when it's first applied. I had to laugh at some neighbors walking by holding their noses. The musty, putrid smell goes away once it's dried. I'll report back on our results. Stay tuned! I'm sitting on our deck this morning listening to the birds sing and using my phone's Merlin app to identify what I'm hearing . A hummingbird is flitting around behind me, maybe a little perturbed by my presence as it surveys our two feeders. The air is calm, and the sun is obscured by clouds, making for ideal deck-sitting condi...

As of a few years ago, my daily routine began with about 20 minutes of prayer. It was somewhat meditative but mostly it was simply my way of touching base with God and lifting up my concerns to him: prayers for my family and friends; prayers for marginalized people and those facing hardships; prayers for the leaders of our world; prayers for peace, and prayers of thanks for the countless blessings in my life.  I seldom reach out in prayer anymore and that saddens me. It was an exercise that both grounded and centered me. I miss it. We used to be solid members at  Hosanna , leading a weekly bible study in our home and helping out on Tuesday nights at the church where they would offer a meal and a sermon to those in need within the community. Tammy and Rachel would paint the fingernails of tiny hands while I would apply stick-on tattoos to little arms and faces while their parents rummaged through the community clothes closet for items they could use.   Sunday mornings at ...