More Pain and Suffering or The Mail Must Go Through

Yesterday, Anne saw the mail lady on the street when we had finished our walk and she went over and got our mail. The mail lady said that she was glad she came over because she wasn't going to be able to deliver our mail since the sidewalk was blocked and the snow was too deep to walk across the front yards like she usually does. Never mind that all of the houses are also accessible through the alley which was plowed and people could get into their houses that way. I guess the mail has to be delivered to the front door. Anyway, after having said I wouldn't shovel today, I went out and cleared the sidewalk from our front walk to our neighbors house where he had cleared his walk. Our two neighbors to our left have young, strong men living there. We only have an old man who is getting stronger every day. I did that and made a path to the street where the plow had come by since the last path I made to the street. I came in and said "I am done shoveling for today."

I got out of my snow clothes and thought I deserved a drink which I was about to procure when the phone rang. Anne answered it to learn that another neighbor who lives behind us had been away during the storm and just returned home to find that her garage was blocked by snow and that her front walk was blocked by snow. I put on my boots, got into my coat, found my hat and gloves and went out to help shovel her front walk. Anne came out to help also. She was visiting relatives where they only had a dusting of snow. Where was she visiting, you ask? Why, Rochester, NY, of course.

I did finally get my drink.

Guilt and Pain and Suffering

They sound like serious topics and they are, especially when they happen to me. I think I am genetically incapable of sitting down and relaxing without feeling guilty about it. Two days ago we had a big snow storm from which we acquired about twenty four to thirty inches of snow plus drifting. Yesterday, I went out with my shovel and snow blower and cleared paths, our parking area and several neighbors driveways also. Then the plow came by and we did it again. When I was all done for the day I discovered muscle groups in my body that I had completely forgotten about. I said to Anne today, "Anne, today I will rest and not do physical labor." She agreed that it was a good idea. So I proceeded to not do anything physical and I sat down to read.

I enjoy reading and find it relaxing and informative, except, I also feel guilty because I am indulging myself when, surely, there must be some labor to do. In the past (pre-retirement) I would set about to do my chores and work and only then would I read. This usually had the effect of bringing on a state of unconsciousness as I sat in a comfortable chair with book in hand. Now, (post retirement) I can read anytime I like, except I feel guilty. So, today, Anne wanted to go for a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon. We did and found that pedestrians are not provided for in snow removal efforts by the Borough, so we abbreviated our walk. When we got home I noticed that the end of our alley was full of uneven snow tracks and therefore got my shovel and cleaned some of it up lest it freeze and get even worse. Then we removed some more snow from the alley opposite our garage and then went after the snow on our porch. This is the part where the pain and suffering comes in. We were just about done when I said that I thought I should stop, because, in addition to the pain already exhibiting itself in my legs, arms and shoulders, my back was now beginning to complain about the workout.

I don't think I did any long lasting damage to myself, except that if my cardiologist ever reads this, I'm in deep doo-doo. I then came in and did some reading. Tomorrow, I think I should rest, but I may have to clear a path to the street in front where the plows piled a mountain of snow. See? It's not my fault.

A note about my novel. In case I didn't mention it, or in case some of you were moving or doing other things and weren't paying attention, my daughter and granddaughter got me signed up on a site that expected members to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I got to about 10,000 words and then ran out of month. I haven't abandoned it, but am thoughtfully researching some points. I figure that if I'm going to spend the time to write something that long, or longer, I should try to do a credible job of it. Unless you're very, very good, I don't think you can write the great American novel in so short a time. At least, I can't. I'm sorry, please don't ask, but I can't reveal the story line, so you'll all just have to wait and wait and maybe wait some more.

Charlotte's Web / Bonnie

We saw Charlotte's Web last night at Two Rivers Theater in Red Bank. It is a childrens' story, but was well and cleverly done by mostly adult actors. It is a story of a runt pig that is headed for the chopping block, but is saved by the actions of a smart and talented spider. Speaking of talent, I am always amazed at how much of it there is out there. Of course, these were professional actors, but nevertheless, I think they have day jobs too. It just seems that you can encounter good entertainment in many venues, be it theater, music or whatever right in your own back yard.

Our friend, Bonnie, passed away yesterday. She was a lovely person, just turned 61, also talented and a well liked teacher. Lung cancer got her in the end. I don't want to preach at anyone, but if any reader smokes, I urge you to do whatever it takes to give it up.

Downsizing and My Own Phone Line

As I have mentioned before, we are trying to downsize in anticipation of buying a smaller house and moving. We set our criteria for bedrooms at three when looking for houses, but I am seduced by the houses that have a fourth bedroom. We don't need it, but... it would be nice, especially if we have family or friends come to visit. Plus it would be a good place to keep some of the furniture we have now. I did say we are trying to downsize, which means, in my mind, getting rid of stuff that we don't need. Today I spent almost the entire morning carrying boxes of Christmas decorations from our attic to the first floor in anticipation of decorating the tree and finding out what we no longer want. There are 31 steps between the first floor and the attic and I must have made 20 trips, at least. That's 620 steps and 620 steps down, which must be the equivalent of climbing some national monument or other. Of course, when you're coming down a national monument you don't have to carry boxes.

So now I have filled pretty much our whole parlor with boxes and bags and this is just Christmas decorations, a fraction of what is stored in the attic. It's a big attic.

I know that whatever house we buy probably won't have a walk up attic, if it has an attic at all, so we must seriously get rid of stuff. We have been offering stuff to anyone who comes into the house, but the piles are dwindling very slowly. Do you suppose that no one is interested in the treasures of a lifetime that we have been carefully storing for all these years and that none of it is really worth anything?

On reflection it may seem a sad commentary that I am now seduced by a room. None of the ladies of my acquaintance need have any fear. I have in recent years been seduced by tools, boats, toy trains, musical instruments and garden tractors, but I now have an assortment of all of them, except a garden tractor. I don't have a garden tractor. In my current state of affairs, I am down to drooling over the four walls of an extra room. Sad, but true. I don't even know if I will get the extra room, but it is looking more and more attractive with each flight of stairs I ascend or descend.

I also mentioned in the title an extra phone line for me. I rarely get phone calls. When I do it is usual some recorded message reminding me of a doctor appointment or telling me that my prescription is ready. Yesterday, however, I decided to use the phone to initiate a call. First I had to wait my turn while others completed their telephonic business and then wait some more while additional business was conducted. I then got my chance, but not without attempted interruptions and concerns that I was not listening for call waiting for a return call that others were expecting. Never was a phone call so fraught with anxiety. And, what was it that was so important for me to use a phone? I had to call to sign up for a new Medicare Part D drug plan for the coming year. My old plan had raised its rate from about $15. a month to over $41. Now, I don't use the plan to get any drugs. The plan has never paid a penny on my behalf. Anything I take is in the form of generics which I get directly from a drug store cheaper than I could with a plan. I have the plan only so the government doesn't charge me a penalty for not having one. The process is a daunting one. First you speak to a lady who has to read to you all sorts of disclosures and then you are connected with a robot lady that asks a series of questions to determine if you understand what you're doing. You are admonished to answer "yes" or "no" clearly and distinctly and not to make any extraneous sounds as that may cause the system to boot you out. Heaven help us all. While this is going on, I am cringing in fear that call waiting will produce a signal or someone will come into the room and make a sound that the robot lady finds offensive and that she will then punish me by kicking me out and making me go through the whole process all over. Well, I only have to go through this once a year (and you can't do it online), so maybe I won't get a separate phone line just yet. I don't need a phone to be seduced either. I can go online to Craftsman tools or go onto Homestead.net to look at that fourth bedroom.

Blindsided

Anne and I took a walk in Cheesequake Park yesterday along the Blue trail. That's about 2.5 miles along various water features. We were surprised that we didn't see a single animal or bird. We arrived at a bird viewing blind by a lake and went inside to see if we could spy a fowl. We saw nothing. Anne didn't like the height of the viewing windows, so she stepped outside to get a better view. A great blue heron squawked and flew out of a tree right next to the blind and flew across the lake. I guess you could say that we were blindsided.

Okay, Writing

On the last post I said I wasn't writing, but then late at night I did write. I guess I have written something every day, except today. Today we talked to my cousin who lives in Toms River and Florida and we were considering the possibility of doing something similar, that is having a home in an adult community here and one in an adult community in Florida. Then I found out that living in an adult community wasn't the same as watching an adult movie. In the former case the word "adult" just means "old." I also felt that if this idea should leak out, our children might start commitment proceedings against us. We had been talking about buying a house in Rochester and now we are thinking about being snow birds? I think that we have abandoned that idea although my cousin thinks it is the best life possible.

I don't feel like writing every day. It's a good thing I'm not trying to make a living by being a writer. I would be very poor. It's just that I don't get inspired each and every day. Some days I think of something to write and other days I don't. Creativity can't be rushed, so I will not worry about it, at least not tonight.

I did do something useful today. I grilled some nice London broil. I used my grill light because it was very dark outside. The light worked fine and the meat came out fine. I even found my way back into the house with it. The characters in my novel aren't too helpful. They can't seem to decide what to do next. Do they expect me to decide for them? Maybe I need some new characters.

Does anyone know how to make the task bar go away in Windows 7? I have set it for "autohide," but it doesn't do it. That's probably why I can't write, because I'm distracted by the task bar.

Not Writing

I haven't written a word today toward the end of completing my "novel" by the end of November as per the nonawhona site, or whatever it is that my daughter got me sign up on. I may write something, but I have not so far and it feels liberating. I was busy though. I had to go out and get a new smoke alarm for our upstairs hall. The old one started chirping the other morning about four or five o'clock. They can never chirp during the day; always at night. Are they programed to run out of battery power only when it's dark? I got it down and figured I would change the battery. But, no, not so fast, innocent consumer. There is no battery to change. This was one of the new, "maintenance free" smoke alarms. You can't replace the battery. You must take your smoke alarm to the nearest trash can, throw it in and then go to the store and buy another. Marketing people must get a tremendous rush when they think of things like this. "Don't let him just have to buy a battery for a few bucks. Make him go out and get a whole new alarm." And you have to go out because, while you may have had the foresight to have a new battery on hand, I bet you don't have an extra smoke alarm sitting in a drawer.

So, I have not written yet. I have been smoke alarming. That's my excuse.

I went to the dermatologist this morning and try as they might, they were unable to discover any part of me that needed surgery. I have to go back in three months at which time they will scan me and try again.

Bust at Green Bay

This is the story as I heard it, third hand anyway.

Readers may know, or not know, that our son, Peter, is a died in the wool Green Bay Packers fan; has been since he was little and Anne got him a Packers helmet at a garage sale. Teddy got a Steelers helmet and has been a fan ever since. I don't know which one is a more ardent fan for their team. I do know that when their teams lose, there is a lot of depression. As you can imagine there has been a lot of depression over the years.

That's the background. Peter took Anthony and Alex to Green Bay this past weekend to watch the Packers play the Dolphins. Alex, much to Peter's consternation, has become a Dolphins fan. Roxanne sent him with a Dolphin shirt and jacket, but Peter dressed him with his shirt covered with a Green Bay jacket. After all they were at the holiest ground in sports, Lambeau Field. As the game progressed, the Dolphins were down and Alex became concerned that they would lose. Maybe he didn't see any other Dolphin fans and thought that his team needed some support. So, he took off his Packers jacket revealing his Dolphin shirt and his true self. Surrounding fans made comments like, "So, you're coming out of the closet." and "Now we know your true colors." None of which was too bad except the show of support worked and the Dolphins won. One out of three was happy after the game and Peter assured Roxanne that he would bring Alex home with them. I guess he had better start feeding him some Wisconsin cheese.

Tetracycline

This is an antibiotic I have to take twice a day for seven days following my surgery. That seems simple enough except that when you read the directions, things get complicated. You have to take it one hour before or two hours after a meal. I thought that I could get up an hour before breakfast, take the pill and then go back to bed. But, no, you can't lie down for thirty minutes after you take it. You also have to wait for two to three hours after eating certain products that contain milk, calcium and a host of other things. I mentioned to the doctor that the last time I took this I had a lot of gas and general stomach discomfort. He said that is common with antibiotics and that I should take an over the counter drug called acidophilus, a pro biotic contained in yogurt. I have to take that three times a day with meals, but it needs refrigeration after opening, so I can't keep the bottle on the table where I can readily see it. I have to remember to get it out and, of course, then put it back. The directions with the tetracycline also warn to stop taking the drug if I have shortness of breath, and a range of other maladies. At least it doesn't warn that it can cause suicidal thoughts and tendencies. There is a drug advertised on the morning news that has those possible side effects. Why anyone would take medicine that can cause suicidal thoughts and tendencies is really beyond me. It's interesting that the cost of the tetracycline was $2.05 and the cost of the acidophilus was $14.99. With all the pills and supplements that I take I hardly have to eat anything else. So, I must now get organized so that I take my pill on time. This whole business has me scratching my head. Oh, I had better not scratch too hard. My hair might fall out. I'd better check those instructions again.

Canoeing, Lunch, Surgery, Autumn

There are a lot of topics in the title so let's get going. Yesterday we decided to go canoeing because I didn't know how I would be at paddling after my surgery today. We went to Lake Lefferts in Matawan, our fall back site. It is a nice lake and the houses are mostly all hidden by trees, so, as Anne said, you think you are in the Adirondacks. It was breezy with a little chop on the lake so we paddled for an hour. There are three lakes, or one lake separated into three parts by bridges and you can spend an easy hour and a half just paddling. You can fish there too, but we just paddled. After that we went to lunch at the Brass Rail on Route 79 in Matawan. It used to be called the Poet's Inn. It has been redone inside and is very nice. they have a $5.00 lunch menu which offers soup or salad and a choice of 25 items. I had a corned beef and Swiss sandwich on toasted rye which came with fries and chicken noodle soup. Anne had a chicken breast sandwich on a long roll and cream of asparagus soup, which was quite good. The portions were good and the service was quick and friendly. If you hanker for a glass of wine, that costs $6.00 or $7.00.

So, surgery was today on my right shoulder. My appointment was at 1:40 and I was to call the office an hour before to make sure everything was on time. We were going to have lunch, but they wanted me to go over then, so I said I would. They took me in right away and it took about 45 or 50 minutes to remove the offending cells and to stitch me up. I am now carcinoma free, I guess and I hope.

Autumn is coming tomorrow night around eleven o'clock. I don't know if I'll stay up to witness the yearly event or not. There really won't be much to witness at that hour, so it might depend on what's on television. I love autumn. I love the change in the air, the leaves, harvest time (I don't do harvest myself, but I love that other people do it.) and all of the great food that seems to appear at this time of year. I like to experience the color as leaves change and I wish they would stay just that way for months, through winter actually. I now put socks on in the morning until the chill leaves the air. My usual summer attire, when the pool is open, is a bathing suit, tee shirt (any old one will do) and sandals without socks. As the weather gets cooler, I substitute shorts for the bathing suit and add socks and sneakers. When it gets really chilly, I might have to put on a sweat shirt and long pants. This will be my second autumn and winter as a retired person. My, my, that time went by alarmingly fast. I note that I have yet to become proficient at playing the banjo, piano or mandolin and that I haven't mastered, or tried to master, a foreign language. In my defense I should also note that this past summer was exceedingly hot and a great deal of time was necessarily spent in the pool as a refuge from it. I enjoy being outside in the fall more too. I did enjoy most of the times that we went to the beach, except for the time when we got sand blasted and bug bitten, but I enjoy long walks on nature trails in the fall. So, Thursday will be the first real day of fall and I should hesitate not upon my going out, but go out at once, lest before I know it, winter descends. Well, there's always cross country skiing.

A Medical Day

Today I had two doctor appointments. The first was with my GP where my vital signs were present, I got a flu shot and got my ears cleaned out. That comes from saying "What?" too much when the doctor is questioning you. I asked about the call I got from the colonoscopy guy's office when I was told that I was due for one since it had been five years. I thought the guidelines were for ten years when he didn't find a single thing the last time. The guidelines have changed and now it's five years. That aside, I was pronounced fit to proceed to my next appointment.

Next up was the cardiologist. This is the conversation as he entered the room with a woman doctor?, PA?, nurse? in tow. No "Hello" or "How are you?" [Of course, if he had said that I would have said, "I don't know. That's why I'm here."]:

Doctor: "Are you still retarded?"
Me: "Yes."
Doctor: "For how long?"
Me: "Since September and I highly recommend it."

The woman must have thought we were both insane.

I like my cardiologist. My vital signs were present there also and, even though I had lunch between appointments, I lost a whole pound between doctors' offices. Not enough though. I still have to lose more. Then we discussed Rochester and movies. He is a real movie buff. His parting words were that I shouldn't move.

Fall, Chores, What Next?

We got the pool closed for the season. Hopefully, I won't have to open it again because we will be moved by the time June rolls around. Not much progress on that front so who the heck knows. In the meantime, I have been doing some house chores like painting outside windows. But, of course, one doesn't just paint, one scrapes and caulks before one paints, which is more tedious than the painting part. Also, I do not like being on a ladder high above the ground. I feel that if God wanted us to be able to reach high on the side of our dwellings he would have given us longer legs or instructed us in the Bible to build shorter houses. I hope our next house is a ranch because I don't mind too much getting up that high. A ranch qualifies as a short house in my opinion.

I feel good that I got three windows painted. That may not sound like much, but it took two days, mostly scraping and caulking. There are a lot of windows in this house, but I think they don't all need painting. The ones I did were the worst. There are still more windows to do and there is the never ending task of sorting and disposing of stuff accumulated over the years. Some of the stuff is really just stuff (junk) and is easy to throw out. Other stuff isn't junk, but isn't stuff we want to keep anymore. Our kids don't seem all that anxious to have a lot of it, so I will proceed to Plan "B." Plan B is to secretly bring these things to our children's homes and hide it there while they are otherwise preoccupied. That may seem underhanded, but I believe that's how we got a lot of these things ourselves. My parents, I believe, would just bring stuff and leave it. Then they actually moved in, then died, so we wound up with all of their things with no one to complain to about it. I haven't died but I still think it's a good plan. If anyone complains I'll act all innocent.

So, what's next? I'm sick of all this house stuff and I think it's time for more relaxation. After all, I'm retired. Isn't that the time I'm supposed to do all of the things I always wanted to do but didn't get to do while I was working? I certainly didn't dream about scraping, caulking and painting windows. I mean I'm not that bad. I will have to concentrate on more enjoyable things to do, but I do wish that this house situation was more finalized because it leaves a hole in my thinking and planning. I don't like holes in my thinking. I think it is time for lunch now. Anne is a a Master Gardener meeting so I have to fend for myself. Peanut butter and jelly, here I come.

Ribs

The spare ribs turned out pretty good. I don't know why they are called spare ribs. It's not like the pig had an extra pair that he donated to the cause. Anyway, it took about two hours to cook by the indirect method, that is to build the fire on each side and put the meat on the grill in the middle. We used a rub consisting of equal parts salt, black pepper, brown sugar and paprika, plus a few other things to add interest. We then added barbecue sauce from Stick Fingers in Charleston, SC flavored with Tennessee whiskey. I credit Scotch with helping to make the meal a success. No, I didn't apply the Scotch to the meat, I applied it to me, or rather in me. Whatever the reason, it all turned out swell.

The Sequence Has Started

The weather has gotten cooler and Fall is fast approaching so it is time to cover the pool. I have started the sequence of adding the winterizing chemicals and by Saturday I should be ready to put on the cover, maybe Sunday. The pool is not so inviting as it is in the high heat days of summer and more leaves are falling in, so I think it is time. We went to the beach at Sandy Hook yesterday afternoon. The crowds have gone home, but the flies didn't. They don't seem to respect the fact that I sprayed Deep Woods Off on my legs. But, I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this isn't the deep woods, it's the broad beach. I guess I need a different kind of Off. Besides the flies there was the wind. It was blowing sand at our backs constantly. Anne went in the water and I was contemplating the same, but she didn't stay in complaining of those small, one celled jelly fish, plus cool water. It was the first time this summer that we had a land breeze and hence the flies.

I must not tarry long at my writing because I am cooking spare ribs on the grill and I must attend to my duties lest I produce a meal not worthy of me. I'm using an indirect grilling method, so we'll see how it all turns out. I will report, but only if it is a success. If not, I will just ignor the topic and write about something else.

School Days in Sunny Florida

Well, school has started in southern Florida. Anthony is in the 6th grade in a new school. Alex is now in 4th grade in the same Lakeside school. Roxana reports that Alex wants to study hard to get on the honor roll just like Anthony did. Anthony's new middle school campus has seven buildings and he has to change classrooms now for some classes. He only got lost once on the first day of school. He is taking ninth grade math and a few other advanced classes. I know he didn't get the math skills gene from me. Math was never one of my strong subjects. So things are off to a good start in south Florida and will be more improved when Pete gets home from Haiti next Thursday and has two months off before he heads to DC for language training. I'm sure he will miss being in the thick of things, but will certainly enjoy the time with his family. They have vowed not to take another assignment where they are separated.

Rescue at Sea

Yesterday evening Anne and I went to the beach at Sandy Hook. It was about 5:00 o'clock when we got there. We spotted an empty place near a life guard stand and had just arrived, but had not yet spread out our stuff when, all of a sudden, the two lifeguards leaped from their stand and rushed toward the water. There were not many people in the water and we could see the object of their attention waving his arms and splasing furiously. As they ran, one lifeguard gave many short tweets on his whistle to alert the other lifeguards. One guard from another stand rushed over to the stand near us and grabbed the yellow rope attached to a float the guards had with them. As they approached the swimmer, he slipped beneath the water. We couldn't see what was happening out there, but soon the guard on the stand began pulling the yellow rope until the guards with their prey were close enough that they could stand. Soon they were able to pull the man from the water, a burly lifeguard. The whole thing had been a training exercise. Very realistic though.

We went in the water which was warm, but there were some jellyfish floating around. It was a very lovely evening at the beach with some built in drama. Better than television.

I Think I Should Write Something

I don't have anything particularly exciting to write about, but Anne is out at a Master Gardener meeting, I don't want to watch television, I'm not into any book right now, I practiced my banjo earlier, although, God knows, I should practice all day, so what else is there to do. Besides, this lets me use the back lit keyboard on my new laptop.

We still have nothing definitive from our seller in Rochester. We spoke to him on Thursday and he agreed with everything we said and said he would speak to his estranged wife about a price for the house and get back to us on Friday. On Friday, I got an email from him (be still my beating heart) that he couldn't get us the information until tomorrow (Saturday) because he got very busy. Saturday came and went. Sunday came and went. Monday came and I emailed him suggesting a price and a closing date. Monday went. Tuesday came and went. Wednesday came and has almost went. In the meantime we have signed a contract to sell our house. I have little patience left. It is getting depressing.

I hate to throw out books, but I'm throwing some out tonight. Maybe someone, somewhere in the world would want them, but I don't. Old reference books, college history books, an out of date thesaurus. We won't have room for half of the books we have now in our new home, assuming we get a new home, so I have been busy sorting through stuff. I previously posted about how I really only need three books because I won't remember what I read and each will be like an entirely new book each time I read it. I am looking up over my desk to the books lining the wall above me and am getting even more depressed. That's only one area of shelving with books. I told our buyers that I was thinking of selling them the house furnished and just walking away with the clothes on our backs. they looked horrified. We aren't nearly as bad as some people. Everything is at least neat and somewhat organized. I mean there aren't piles of stuff all around the floor or anything. We just have too much stuff.

I got a call from the dermatologist today that the biopsy they took from my right shoulder is positive for basal cell carcinoma and they want to excise it. Of course they do. That is scheduled for August 30th. I figure, let's get it over with. Sigh.

I find that I'm not following up on my retirement rule to work in the morning and to relax in the afternoon. I have been having a great urge to keep on  working in the afternoon as well and then giving in to the urge. I know that some of you readers are thinking, "Give us a break," and "Woman's work is never done," and things like that and maybe some things that are more unkind. But, at least I'm giving in to the urge, sometime.

This morning, in addition to tying up books and magazines, I also filled out our applications for passport renewals. You can do it online and then print them out. It seems simple enough, but I wanted to check everything carefully. Then I took them to the post office and mailed them away. Hopefully, we will have our new documents before we travel to Mexico, maybe sometime next year.

I guess I've run out of things to say, so I will stop saying them. The AARP magazine that came today has an article about how people become creative in their "later" years. I should go and search out my creative muse or muses. I think they're hiding out somewhere. "Here muse, let's have a little talk, you and I."

Who Was That Guy Anyway?

Yeah, the guy that invented the computer. What kind of a person would do such a thing? I seem to remember that I was perfectly happy (technologically speaking) before we had these things. I remember calling people on a telephone that was wired to the wall so you couldn't misplace it. There were clocks  that told what time it was so if you were late for something it was your own fault. You could write a letter to someone on a piece of paper and for a small number of cents a man in uniform would deliver it for you. You could buy a small notebook made out of paper to write things in so you wouldn't forget. If you ran out of pages, you could buy another one and another and another. My father-in-law did that and he kept them all well marked and organized.

The other day I bought a new computer for my lap, although I hardly use the one I have on my lap. I use it on the top of my desk.  I bought it at Staples like my daughter suggested. She was right. The prices are better and they now have the equivalent of the Geek Squad only their prices are cheaper.  They were very helpful in answering questions. I had them set it up and get rid of the "bloat ware" that seems to come installed on all new computers. They did it in a day. Then came the hard part; getting all my pictures, music, etc. from my Apple iBook to my Toshiba PC. A Google search gets you a number of sites that tell you how to go from a PC to a Mac, but precious few that say anything about going the other way. I found one that was promising and it started out telling me what to do and then half way through switches to how to go from the PC to the Mac. There were even comments from people who couldn't fathom why anyone would want to transfer anything from a Mac to a PC. Hadn't we, the great unwashed, learned anything about computers? Didn't we know that Apple was the second coming and that those who used them had reached Nirvana? Yes, I know all that already, but I got this one for less than half the price of the Apple, so end of story.

So, anyway, I was getting confused about all the steps to take to copy my music from iTunes on my Mac to iTunes on my PC. I decided to burn my music library to a few discs and see what would happen. The end result was that my new computer copied all of my music, but didn't copy the playlists. I reasoned that I should  quit while I was somewhat ahead and to just reconstitute my playlist manually. That's not too big a deal. The next job was to copy the pictures. In our household we have had the practice of downloading pictures from cameras to my iBook and to Anne's PC, so most of the pictures are in both places. Rather than to spend a lot of time figuring out a cross platform transfer, I just copied the pictures from her new laptop to an external hard drive and then plugged it into my machine and voila, there they are in Windows Live Photo Gallery. I'm still manually entering favorites, blogs and such stuff. Not a bad thing, because I now have to look at some of these things I've been carrying and realize that I no longer need or want them, but this process is taking hours and hours. I now have to become familiar with Windows Live and Windows 7 because they seem to offer a number of free applications. What they also do that's not so nice is to populate my Favorites Bar with stuff that they want me to have, but that I don't care about. There may be a way to stop that, but I'm a few years away from figuring it out. I also have to move my Contacts, but it is time to review that list also. Who the heck are all of these people? I know one thing for sure. If the name of the guy who invented the computer is on that list, I'm deleting him.

Haiti

Our son, Ted, found the attached in a Google search. Peter had to write his account for the State Department, but was somewhat embarrassed that they published it. http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/memories_haiti_quake

I Fell Out of the Boat, Which Wasn't So Bad, Except for My Knee

We spent a week with Anne's brothers and their wives and our son Leo and his wife and various relatives and dogs at Anne's brother's cabin near Canadice, NY. Andy, Anne's brother, likes to go on the lake with a small boat and motor and just putt around. Canadice is a restricted lake in that it is part of the water supply for the City of Rochester, so you're not supposed to make contact with the water; no swimming, wading or anything. So, when we were coming back to the take out spot, Andy asked me if I would put on the waders and pull the boat in. "Sure, no problem," so I slipped into the waders and when we got close, I put one leg over the side and promptly slipped, landing on my left knee, which was just recovering from a prior fall. At this point my right leg was still in the boat being difficult to extricate while I was floundering around trying to get up. I almost succeeded when Andy, seeing the my leg was still in the boat, freed it and sent it overboard, whereupon my efforts to right myself were thwarted and I fell again. Fortunately, the water was only about ankle deed, but I felt like a walrus flopping around. Also, fortunately, there was only one other boater there to witness this debacle and he was very kind about it and didn't laugh until he was far away.

Andy and Art, another of Anne's brothers, decided that a shower was needed at the cabin, so Andy built an outdoor shower consisting of a wooden framework with a bucket that you fill with water and then raise with a rope and pulley until it is above you. There is a lever at the bottom which you operate to let the water fall on you. Art made two kettles from old propane cylinders for heating the water (don't worry, he knows how to cut them without causing an explosion) and he dutifully sat by the outdoor fire making hot water for anyone who was brave enough, or felt dirty enough, to venture into the shower.

Now the shower is in the woods and no one can see you in it, so it had no sides until some of the ladies protested causing tarps to be erected. The water was another concern. It was fairly clear when it came out of the spout (well water), but after it was heated, it took on the color of something from the Big Muddy. I thought I would at least look like I had a nice tan and the gray would have been washed right out of my hair, but, alas, by the time we got home and took proper showers, I look once again like a gray haired paleskin. Despite this, the shower worked surprisingly well and at least gave you the feeling that you were taking a nice, hot, clean shower, out there in the woods

I Don't Think I Get It

When I first retired I vowed that  I would work in the morning and then relax in the afternoon. It seems like too much relaxing, but the way this summer has been so far with the heat and humidity, it's hard to get the motivation to do much in the way of physical labor. I still try to do some work in the morning although it is becoming apparent that I am doing more relaxing than working. Some days I don't get much done. This morning, for instance, I went to the bank, Home Depot and Lowes. I was looking for a grout removal tool. I know I have one because I saw it not long ago, but, of course, I don't remember where I saw it. I don't really need two of them, so I resolved to undertake a more thorough search. It was raining very lightly when I went into Home Depot, so I carried in my umbrella, but didn't use it. When I arrived at Lowes, it was hardly raining at all, so I left my umbrella in the car. Big mistake. When I started to leave Lowes, the sky opened up trapping me there for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. I next went to Best Buy and while the skies were sunny, I brought in my umbrella. They were still sunny when I left. I went to Best Buy to see if I could get some first hand information about laptop screen resolution vs. graphic card vs. processor. I got some information, but after I left, I thought of many more questions. They always want to know what I do with the computer. I know what I do with it today, but I don't know what I may want to do tomorrow or what programs may become available requiring who knows what processor or memory or graphics card and on and on. In the past I always bought a computer with the biggest hard drive, the most memory and the fastest processor that I could reasonably afford. Now I'm told I don't need the fastest processor. Anne thinks I'll be wanting a new one in five years anyway, so why spend extra money for things I may never need. She may be right.

But, I digress. I was talking about retirement and my approach to it. Time is going by with alarming speed and I feel that I don't have complete control of my life. Maybe no one does. And, there is too much relaxing by the pool. Whenever I sit by the pool, I think it's a Sunday and that I should have a drink. I don't have one each time (maybe only twice a week), but I think I should. Well, it looks like I still have to figure out retirement. Also, I think part of the problem is that we're still waiting to hear from a certain seller in Rochester. This is a big deal, but my mind is and has been in idle about it for a couple of months. I think when we finally hear something positive, I will shift directly to over drive and I'm sure that will be the subject of another post or two or three.

Starvation Island

We finally got out kayaking. I had been admonished by my friend, Laura S. (also known as Mrs. T) because I had yet to be kayaking this year. Well, wouldn't you know, but the very next day I got a call from our friend Jim who asked if we wanted to go kayaking on the Navesink River Saturday evening. So the Corp of Adventure consisting of Jim, his wife, Alice, their son, Mike, Anne and I met at Lafayette Park in Rumson and launched our vessels. We paddled down the river and under the Oceanic bridge towards parts unknown. The river used to go right out into the ocean without having to make a left turn and go around Sandy Hook. The opening has long ago silted over and now Sea Bright pretty much sits where the opening was. That's good because I didn't want to get carried away paddling and suddenly find myself in the North Atlantic as darkness approached (we launched at 6:30 p.m.). We passed by the residents of Rumson (I'm sorry, the river front residents of Rumson) enjoying the summer evening on the lawns and several boats and skidoos passed us.

We could see it in the distance and as we got closer we could discern some sort of structure on the land. Starvation Island is a small, uninhabited (so they say) island in the Navesink where the students from the Monmouth Boat Club sail during their summer lessons, take a break and then sail back. A nice day's adventure for new, young sailors. We drew closer still and I, using my acute skills of history and seamanship recognized that the structure we saw was clearly a pirate stronghold. It consisted of a rough lean-to with a pile of fire wood and something that looked like a rustic trash can. I suggested that we circumnavigate the island. The men suggested that I go first. The ladies were still far up the river leisurely chatting and occasionally dipping their paddles in the water. So, I started out, cautiously, keeping a low profile and noiselessly as possible got around the island. We didn't actually see any pirates, but I thought I could see some movement of the reeds and grasses and hear a murmuring from within. We got back to our launch site in the twilight and were glad we had escaped the clutches of the pirates of Starvation Island.

My, My, How Time Flies

I have been reprimanded by a couple of followers of this blog for not blogging. Well, I am guilty. Something must have happened since May that was worthy of blogging about. We had a picnic here for the Matawan Memorial Day Parade, I had surgery on my face that is healing nicely, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary and summer has already arrived. Tonight we await thunder showers that never seem to come. [There is now some light rain.] For a couple of weeks, the prediction has been for rain or showers in the late afternoon, but they never materialize. I was waiting to paint our garage doors for over a week after I primed them because of the threat of rain.

We took a trip to Rochester to visit family and to look at a house that is supposedly for sale. The owners showed it to us very enthusiastically and we liked it, but we can't seem to find out if it's for sale. Oh well. The thought of possibly selling our house has motivated us to start cleaning out, something that we have been doing gradually and talking about for some time. What do we do with all the stuff? Where did it all come from anyway? We have concluded that we certainly don't need it all or even most of it, but most of it is also not stuff we would want to consign to the garbage heap. Anne thinks we should have a garage sale. I'm not sure that's worth the trouble. You have to organize and label everything, sit there while people come around looking for little glass dishes and bowls and then make a pittance for your efforts. We have an old Coast Guard uniform of my fathers from World War II, old wool bathing suits from who knows when, a World War II gas mask (I'm keeping that), a thing that is used to convert 8mm movies to VHS tape, an 8mm projector, fishing poles, reels, tackle (what happened to my promise to myself to go fishing when I retired?), scuba fins, weights, masks, cameras, photographic equipment, oil painting supplies, watercolor painting supplies, easels, paintings, pictures, picture frames, record albums, tapes, CDs, books, books and more books, not to mention trains, trains and more trains and the list goes on.

So, you see what I mean. The task of sorting through all of these sacred possessions is a daunting one. Even if we stayed here, we knew we wanted to eliminate a lot of stuff, but the thought of moving to a smaller house makes the job mandatory. Oh shaw, I'm getting myself depressed. But, I guess it's good to know that I won't get bored any time soon.

I should put a new picture or two on here, however, that always seems to present some difficulties as the pictures don't seem to want to go where I want to put them. I think I'll do that another time, but for all of my fans, please take note that I have, in fact, updated my blog.

Florida Adventure, April - May 2010

There follows a complete and accurate account of Anne and Bill's excellent excursion from Matawan to Florida and points in between. The writer has not relied on what small amount of memory remains to him, but has written notes of the trip contemporaneous with their happening, or something like that.

April 30, 2020, Pembroke Pines, FL


  Every time I come to Florida I think it is the perfect place to live. We used the pool at the complex today, a beautiful day. Not many people at the pool in the early afternoon before school lets out. Not that many after school lets out either. Of course, I'm thinking how nice Florida is while sitting on Pete and Roxanne's screened (roof and three walls) patio looking at the accordion type metal hurricane shutters on each window and the 12' patio doors. I haven't experienced the Sunshine State during earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes or volcanic eruptions, so I can't speak to its pleasantness during these events, but there is something exotic about the palm trees all about.

At dinner tonight on the patio, we were learning (trying to learn) Spanish from Santos and Jorge, Roxanne's parents. Anthony was chiming in frequently with various words. We have been here in November and now in April and in both months the weather has been seductive. The cares and concerns I seem to feel at home in New Jersey seem to fade from my mind. Why is that? My life is still my life and nothing has really changed except the geography.

The ride down here wasn't as arduous as I had supposed. [The return trip proved more tiring.] We spent the first night with Anne's sister, Peggy and her husband, Greg in Annandale, VA. The second night in Florence, NC and the third night in St. Augustine. The longest part of the trip, in my mind, was between St. Augustine and Pembroke Pines. That was about 5 1/2 hours driving time plus a little more for rest stops. [As I learned, this was as nothing compared to the nine and ten hours days on the way home.] I think that was because on the first two days we got started in the morning. In St. Augustine we started the morning with a half hour walk on the beach. We then toured Our Lady of La Leche shrine, the Fountain of Youth and the Castille de San Marco National Historic Site with 1,000 color coded elementary school children. Each group had on a different color tee shirt, the varieties of which were amazing. We got on the road about 1:30 p.m., so I was already getting tired by the time we started out.

I drank from the Fountain of Youth a cupful of the fable water, but as yet I cannot perceive any retardation of the aging process.

Friday Night at the Cigar Store


Peter likes his cigars and Roxanne has bought him some very nice ones and found out that there was going to be a man rolling cigars at his favorite shop starting at 6:30 p.m. We didn't get there until close to 9:00 p.m. and I though they would be closed. Not so. When we arrived the son of the owners was outside and greeted Peter with a hearty handshake and embrace. He remembered me also from  our visit in November and greeted me warmly also. I didn't get a hug from him, but I did get a hug from his mother who also remembered me. I didn't even buy anything the last time.

In addition to selling cigars, they have a selection of fine wines and this night, as in November, they were offering a free wine tasting. They had a representative of the distributor pouring and explaining the fine points of the varieties offered. She poured enough in our large glasses for a fair taste of each wine and was ready with another selection as soon as we were ready. When she left, around 9:30 or 10:00, the owner lady took over and filled our glasses half full. I bought two bottles of wine and Pete bought several cigars. They gave him several extras as well. The people there know and respect what Peter has done in Haiti. I think he is also a good customer. I would be too if I smoked cigars. I don't remember a store where I was treated so nicely. We left about 10:30 p.m.

First Communion - May 1, 2010


St. Maximilian Church is large and is usually filled when we have been there. Although there was a First Communion Mass in the morning and two more on May 15th, the Mass at 1:00 p.m. was filled to capacity with people standing all along the sides and in the rear of the church. The children (and therefore us) had to be there at noon. The Mass lasted one and a half hours, so it was a lengthly time.

Alex announced in the morning that he didn't want to make his First Communion and kept saying it until his mother and father told him that he was getting dressed. We never know what Alex may do, so after he got dressed, he wanted to practice receiving communion so Anthony acted as the priest and pretended to to give give communion to Alex who dutifully bowed, said Amen and then pretended to spit out the host.

During the homily, the pastor asked for second and third grade volunteers to come up to answer a few questions. Alex wanted to go, but Roxanne discouraged him. The questions were "What is your name?" What is your favorite food? and If you could eat as much of it as you wanted to without getting sick, how much would you eat?" Those were simple enough questions and Alex could have handled them easily, but he could also start asking his own questions. When we attended his first reconciliation (penance), the pastor told the children that Jesus was going to be there with them that afternoon. Alex was sitting in the front row and, not being shy, asked every priest who came in to help with the service, "Are you Jesus?" Well, what do expect a third grader to ask?

Mass went along swimmingly until just before the Lord's Prayer, after which the communion was to start. We were about two rows behind Pete, Roxanne, Alex and Anthony and to their side. When the congregation rose, Anthony remained seated and was obviously in distress. Peter walked him out of the church as we started the Lord's Prayer. "Our Father, who art in heaven." What would happen if Anthony was sick and was unable to participate? "Hollowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Still no sign of them. "Give us this day our daily bread." Then they walked back in and Anthony resumed his place and was smiling. "Deliver us from evil." The procession started and Alex followed Anthony and did exactly as he was supposed to do. We were so, so proud of both boys. They were so handsome in their suits and white ties.

We returned to Casa Kolshorn after I got slightly lost coming back from the church and shared a wonderful bar-be-que of skirt steak, Bubba Burgers, salad, a bakery cake and a cheese cake made by Roxanne with a number of Roxanne and Pete's friends and Roxanne's parents.

Key West, May 3, 2010

I finally got to Key West. It is someplace I have heard about and read about for a long time and now I have done it. I'm glad we went and I found it interesting, but I believe that I would not want to live there. To be fair, we only went for the day and didn't stay overnight which had been recommended to us. We were tired from  walking in the 90 degree heat. If we had stayed overnight we could have proceeded at a more leisurely pace. However, Pete and Roxanne were amenable to a one day trip. That allowed Pete to spend all day Sunday with the boys since he is only home for a little over a week. I felt that our visit to Key West was something like an orientation trip.

Key West is not a place that I would describe as kid friendly. It is more of an adult party town with many bars and restaurants and restaurants and bars. They are everywhere. One of the most popular nighttime activities is bar crawling. Anne and I are not big drinkers and while there is live music at most of the locations, it is not something that we wanted to do. We did stop in a bar called Fat Tuesdays and I had a drink called "Swamp Water" the main ingredient of which was rum with an additional shot for a buck. I drank about a third of it when I had pains in my stomach like severe indigestion, so I stopped. I had the same experience on Saturday when I had two double Margaritas, after two beers. I think I should stick with my Scotch. No such problems when I drink that.

When we arrived at Key West around 1:00 p.m., we were hungry  and decided on a Cuban restaurant. I had a Negro Modelo beer and a Cuban sandwich. Anne had a fish sandwich. Either one would have been enough for us both to share.

I bought a fedora hat and a shirt that I had a dye transfer put on the pocket that said "Key West." When I went into the store selling the shirts, I asked how much they were. The lady pointed to a small tag on the rack that said $34.95. I had been in another store where the same shirt was $14.95, but they didn't have my size. I said "$34.95?" The lady said that was correct, but that I was lucky because they were on sale today for $20.00 and any logo of my choice was free. Sometime you just get lucky.

We visited Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West where he lived for seven years. After his death, his sons sold it for $80,000. The people who bought it (the Dicksons) were so continuously disturbed by people knocking on the door that they decided to move out, turn the place into a museum and charge a righteous admission fee - a good money maker for them.

It was five o'clock somewhere, actually, right there about the time we were in the Margaritaville store and bar. The habituants, however, had started their toasts about 3:00 or 4:00 and were likely to continue until 4:00 a.m.

I think that some of the other Keys would be interesting as they offer snorkeling, glass bottom boats, fishing and other water sports with a less congested environment than Key West. Key West reminded me of a cross between New Orleans and Ocean Grove, New Jersey. It takes about four hours straight driving from Penbroke Pines. On the way back we stopped at a McDonalds for a light snack and got home around 10:30 p.m.

Alligator Alley and Alligators in the Backyard - May 10, 2010


We took Peter to the Fort Lauderdale airport for his flight back to Haiti and then proceeded West along I75, Alligator Alley which runs from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples, Florida. We didn't see any alligators this time, but had seen some along here the last time we were in Florida.

When we arrived at our friends, Rosemary and Bob's house in Trinity Communities (New Port Richey) we learned that the water level in the lake behind their house had risen and now is about 50 feet behind their screened pool enclosure. From that point waterward there is thick vegetation about ten feet tall with about a dozen trees much taller with Spanish moss clinging to the branches and bending them over. In the late afternoon and evening you can hear them grunting, the alligators that is. They sound something like pigs. Then there are bobcats, water moccasins and mink all walking or slithering through the back yard. We were safe, of course, because nothing could get through the fiberglass bug screening that surrounds the pool.

Bob and I walked to the edge of the bushes with my binoculars to see what we could see. We didn't see any alligators, but only a large rabbit.

We all went to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. It is very large with many interesting exhibits. My favorite aquarium, however, is Jenkinsons in Point Pleasant. Okay, the aquarium in Monaco was better, but is far, far away.

Charleston, South Carolina - May 13, 2010

After we left New Port Richey, we drove and drove and drove to Charleston. The city is about one hour east of I95, but that road seemed like a five hour journey. The Tom Tom led us into town. We had used the street address to find our motel and when it said "You have arrived at your destination," we were next to a dilapidated building with a sign that read "Jesus Saves." The GPS should have told us to turn right instead of left and then we would have truly arrived at our destination.

We used the afternoon and evening to walk around Charleston and to eat pulled pork bar-be-que at Sticky Fingers on Meeting Street. The next day we toured Magnolia Plantation which included a house tour and a boat ride. We saw plenty of alligators on the boat ride.

We left Magnolia Plantation at about 1:00 p.m. and decided to drive until we got tired and stop for the night. A few hours later we stopped at a practically deserted South of the Border and bought a sub sandwich. We drove and drove some more until I felt that we had probably traveled enough. We stopped at a rest stop at which I bought a bottle of Mountain Dew. That rejuvenated me with vim, vigor and vitality so much so that we drove to Peggy & Greg's in Annandale, VA, riding through a prodigious thunder storm and arriving at 11:00 p.m.

We visited with Peggy & Greg until 1:00 p.m on Saturday and then headed home. Of course, the Beltway turned into a parking lot almost as soon as we got onto it. It seemed like forever, but we only lost about 20 minutes. We arrived home very tired, but glad to be here. There's no place like home and that's because that's where all my stuff is. Our next trip of any significant distance will probably be by air.

Anne asked if I didn't feel like it was time to go back to work since we had returned from a trip. I said "No, I don't feel that way." She said that she felt like that. I said "I'm not going."

 

The Porch is Done, the Porch is Done

It was done last weekend, but we just put the furniture back today. Actually, it's not done. I still have to do the railings by the front steps, but the painting is done and that's good. The railings will have to wait for another month as I have other things to do in the meantime. I just wanted to report that the painting was done, lest some reader conclude that I was slacking in my responsibilities.

I Am Tired Tonight

I decided that today was the day to get busy scraping and sanding the porch, so I got busy doing it. I opted not to rent a commercial sander. I had done so the last time we painted the porch and was not all that pleased with the results. Also, the paint on a good portion of the floor was solid and in good condition. I got on my knees, with knee pads, of course, and proceeded to scrape away loose paint then to sweep up the debris. I then sanded as best I could and again swept up the debris. I divided the porch into five sections, I think (remember I'm tired) and did the same for each. By the time I was half way through the third section, the nice, cushy knee pads were feeling mighty thin and my arms and back were feeling like they had done some work. It was also getting embarrassingly difficult to get back up each time I got down. But, in the end I did it and feel quite good about the accomplishment. The next step is painting, which will be a piece of cake compared to today. I will use a roller on a pole so that I can stand the whole time. With the painting, the most work is putting masking tape on everything that's not supposed to get floor paint, something I wish prior owners had thought to do. It is particularly difficult to get paint off brick and they were not especially careful when they painted resulting in a lot of extra work for the current occupants. Again, this is one of those jobs that people may not notice has been done. With tables and chairs on the porch, the floor will be less noticeable. After all, when we invite people over and use the porch, we aren't expecting for them to stand around marveling at the floor. If they did, I would think that our entertainment or food service skills were somewhat lacking. It would be okay though if someone said, "Oh, doesn't the floor look nice. Did you have it painted recently?"

Another Busy Day

Today I actually got started painting our porch columns and soffits. I had filled in gaps with wood putty and sanded and scraped until I didn't care anymore and now the painting has started. Anne did the outside soffits while I did the inside and columns. Two more columns to go and more soffits tomorrow. Then it's on to the porch floor. The floor needs to be sanded and I'm not quite sure how to do that this time. The last time I painted it, I rented a commercial sander (the vibrating kind, not a drum sander) and I wasn't really happy with the results. I'm afraid that a drum sander would be too aggressive and could cause more damage that I care to deal with, so I will have to figure something else out. I have a powerful pressure washer, but that didn't do so great either. The most powerful nozzle started scoring the wood and the next most powerful didn't seem to do much. I may be on my hands and knees for this one. The painted columns look great. If you get close, you can see the imperfections, but from a distance they sparkling white and bright. I said to Anne that this is one job that people won't notice that we did, but would notice if we didn't.

I am a little less than a third of the way through reading Under the Dome by Stephen King. Other than the fact that an impenetrable dome plops itself down over a town, the story seems like a plot for a B movie. Mr. King has, so far, not provided his usual harem, scare'um, out of nowhere effects. But, they may be coming. Kids are starting to see weird things in their minds. He has some time left, like 700 more pages, so I'm hoping he comes up with something. He does have a way of making you want to keep reading though. There is a list of important characters in the front of the book, but so many of them had been killed off by page 100, I wasn't sure how he was going to make it to page 1074. I'll have to keep on reading.

I noticed that when I published this post (this is an edit), I got an ad for NJ Hardwood Flooring. How do they do that?

A Busy Day

It was a busy day. I got up early to get a routine blood test, had breakfast, mowed the front lawn, had lunch, went to the dentist for my next to the last appointment for my new cap, worked on scraping, filling and sanding two more porch columns and watched the aftermath of a bad accident around the corner from our house. I saw the fire company extricate a man from an on fire, turned over car. According to neighbors, he was traveling at a high rate of speed south on the north bound side of Route 34. The car left the road and traveled along a couple of empty lots and then turned over and caught fire. Apparently there were no other cars involved. One of our FBI neighbors said he saw no skid marks anywhere. I don't know what happened to the man, but I saw them put him in the ambulance and then the ambulance just stayed there for quite some time. Paramedics arrived, but they didn't even get out of their rig. From my years on the first aid squad, that to me, means one of two things. He was not injured and was sitting in there chatting with the first aid people, or he was lying in there having had his last chat. I sincerely hope it was the former.

Every job seems to take longer than I think it will. I had allocated about an hour or so to dealing with the two columns, but it took most of the afternoon. Of course, I stopped to go see the accident, but I didn't stay there that long. I shouldn't complain because I have every day to get this stuff done, but at some point I would like to get it done so I can move on to the next project. I suppose I could approach there little tasks as a model ship builder who I once heard say, "It doesn't matter how long it takes to finish one model, because when I finish with this one, I'll be starting another one." I guess, but I'm not building model ships here. I do get satisfaction and have pride in what I have done when these jobs are completed, so I should stop complaining and go do something constructive.

The Twins and Seven Presidents

The twins are staying with us for two nights so that their parents can get a little away time and have adult conversations. Yesterday we went to Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park in Long Branch where there is a nice playground and, of course, the ocean. It was very warm at our house, but freezing at the beach with a strong breeze blowing off the ocean. The kids loved the playground and the beach. We hunkered down near some dunes to shelter us from the brunt of the wind, but Timmy and Bridget ran back and forth to the water to bring water to make sand things with the beach toys that we brought. By bedtime, two people were very, very tired and it wasn't the twins.

Today was not as nice as predicted, but while Anne was at the oral surgeon, the twins and I set up a racing car set in the cellar. Two days ago I had lugged the thing up to the attic figuring I wouldn't be needing it for a while. Timmy spotted it up there and kept pestering me to get it working, so I did. After lunch we went to Holmdel Park to take a walk around the lake and to use the new playground at the top of the hill where there is a big climbing dome. We also stopped in to the interpretive center at Longstreet Farm where the kids remembered seeing a cat. The lady there let them see the cat who was in another room resting. Riley (the cat) looked like a larger version of Bootsie (our deceased cat). There were a few sprinkles while we were at the park, but not enough to stop the fun. In the parking lot, a woman was returning to her car with a large collie and Bridget said, "Oh, I love that kind of dog" and called "Hi, doggie" to it. The woman brought it around for the children to pet. She said it loved children, which was obviously true and the kids loved the dog as well.

Books, Spas and Automobiles

I have finished reading the books in Six Gothic Tales. They were Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, Mission to Malaspiga by Evelyn Anthony, Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, The High Valley by Jessica North, Thunder Heights by Phyllis A. Whitney and Tregaron's Daughter by Madeleine Brent. They were all written by women and the chief character in each was a young woman who in one form or another manages to get herself tangled in a web of mystery and danger and they were all very enjoyable. I have also just finished reading Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer a tale about the attempts in 1922 and 1924 of George Mallory to conquer Mount Everest. We learn at the very beginning of the book that his body was found in 1999 about 600 feet from the summit and the question is whether he made it or not. This is a novel, but a compelling tale and you start to feel the agony of the climbers around 27,000 feet, 2,002 feet from the summit. This was another good book. Thank you, Christine, for recommending it. I have been doing all of this reading because I want to start on Under the Dome by Stephen King, which was a birthday gift from daughter Christine and family. There is not a word on the dust jacket of the book except the title, author and publisher, so what the heck is this story about? I guess I'm about to find out.

We were sitting in the spa the other evening and I was looking at the planes passing overhead. I wondered where all of the people were going to or coming from. Some planes were very far up and others were much closer to the ground. Not that close that I could see the pilot waving from the cockpit, but closer than the ones higher up. Anyway, pilots don't wave from the cockpits anymore, not like they did back in 1954. I thought that each passenger in each plane has a story, a family and a life, 99.9% of whom I will never encounter. I thought the same thing watching cars and trucks passing in front of our house earlier in the day. It reminds me of The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant in which civilization is described in terms of a river flowing past the banks. I never read that, but maybe I should. I have time now, when I'm not sitting in hot water looking up at airplanes.

Water, Water, Everywhere

We have spent the last two days blotting the water out of our cellar. We had about an inch over the entire floor, a first for us since we have been in this house. Sometimes, after a heavy rain, we get a little water in one corner, but never over the whole floor. So, we used a pool cover pump and a wet vac, both of which worked well. Our neighbor, Phil, came over and did Yeoman service. He worked harder than both other methods despite the fact that he had water in his own basement which is equipped with wall to wall carpeting. Some of my model train stuff got wet. A lot was stored in cardboard boxes under the train set, where it had never even been approached by water. I went to the Depot of the Home and bought a number of plastic boxes so that I don't have to worry about this again. Our cellar seems to have several low spots, so a sump pump would not have helped; maybe several would do the trick. Fortunately, we didn't have anything of great value on the floor. Most things subject to water damage were up on wood pieces or something to protect against water. It was a lovely day today, but I was beneath the earth's surface attending to my problem. Tomorrow, Good Friday, will hopefully, be good, at least better in the water department than today.

A new picture has been posted over to the right. It is me and five out of seven of our delightful grandchildren. That was the only one of several where everyone was recognizable and in good humor.

Saturday (After my Birthday) / Liquor

I didn't want to forget about my birthday just yet, although having birthdays isn't as exciting as it once was.

Today, I went into the cellar to clear out some shelf space in our cold room (that's what it says on the blueprint from 1911) for wine bottles that had been stored on a table in the main part of the cellar. Anne noticed that the sun would hit them, even on cold days and warm them. Not something that should happen to wine. After I had accomplished this, Anne said, "We have an awful lot of liquor down there. We should use it up." I said, "Okay. I will proceed to do that." I don't think we have an "awful lot" of liquor. We have a number of bottles of various kinds of spirits that have been acquired as gifts or by purchase over the years. Some are actually quite ancient.

Since Anne went to a shower this afternoon, I decided to go down into the cellar and proceed to carry out her instructions.

I lined up the bottles on the drain board by the sink. I picked up the first bottle, pulled the cork out of it and poured it down the sink, except for one little swallow, which I drank.

I picked up the second bottle, pulled the cork out of it and poured it down the sink, that is, all except for one little swallow, which I drank.

I picked up the next bottle, pulled the sink out of it and poured it down the cork, except one little swallow, which I drank.

I picked up the next cork, pulled the bottle out of it and poured it down the sink, all except one little drink, which I drank.

I picked up the next sink, pulled the cork out of it and poured it down the bottle, all except one little drink, which I sank.

I picked up the next drink, pulled the swallow out of it and poured it down the sink, all except one little drink, I think.

Now, let's see how many bottles do I have left, which I drank. I ask you, though, wasn't that a terrible thing for my wife to ask me to do? But, bless her little heart. I know she only has my best interests in mind. And you listen, buster. Don't say anything against my wife, because I have the wifest little nice you ever saw, which I drank.

Birthday, the Day After

I got through my birthday without pestilence or a plague of locust descending upon us. Since Anne had such a beautiful day for her birthday, a week ago, I thought surely that one of those would befall my day. It turned out to be a nice day, not as sunny as was predicted, but nice anyway. We started out with mass, had a lovely breakfast and then went for an hour long hike on the Blue Trail in Chesequake Park. I did not bring binoculars, but wish I had because we saw a bit of wildlife including a raccoon, osprey and cormorant, along with ducks and geese. We went to dinner at Charlie Brown's and then went to a play at Two Rivers Theater in Red Bank. The play was Orestes by Euripides. It is a Greek tragic romp written 2400 years ago, but is still funny today, with some tweaks to the language to make it more relevant to the modern audience. It is amazing how human emotions and conditions can transcend the centuries and be recognizable even now. You see, Apollo (the god) ordered Orestes and his sister, Electra, to kill their mother because she had killed their father, Agamemnon, who had killed their sister, Iphigenia, to get the winds to blow so that his ships could get to Troy to do battle because of the trouble started by their aunt Helen. Well, now the whole town is upset and has condemned Orestes and Electra to kill themselves for their deeds, but they reason that their mother was a bad person anyway and they were ordered to kill her by Apollo, so they hatch a scheme to save themselves and be hailed as heros for what they did.

My birthday celebration really started on March 12th when my friend, Marie, took me out for a delightful lunch. Today, two former coworkers, Laura and Kate, are taking me to lunch. On Sunday three of our children and their families are coming for a March birthday celebration. By the time all the celebrating is over, I will have gained an unmentionable amount of weight. On Monday, however, the gaiety ends because I have a dentist appointment to begin putting in a crown or cap or something. A couple of weeks ago I had a root canal done in preparation for this. Oh, joy, joy, I can hardly contain myself.

Birthday

Tomorrow is my umpty umth birthday. Oh, what the heck, I'm going to be sixty seven. Why hide it? That's how old I am. I can't do anything about it. Today was my pre-birthday celebration day. Since we are going out to dinner tomorrow evening and I am the designated driver, I decided to have my birthday drink ( a wee dram or two or three) today. Anne made me one of my favorite dinners, chicken cordon bleu. Yummy. We had peanut butter Girl Scout cookies and chocolate ice cream for desert. That is living.

We also took a walk in Holmdel Park. It was windy, but pleasant. I listened to music of Chris Via and the Giles Mountain String Band. Chris, who I met at the Folk Musicians' Retreat made my new banjo, the one I got myself for a retirement present. Neil Turner, who I also met at the Retreat, made the neck, shipped it to Chris who then finished the neck, built the pot and put the whole thing together.

So here I am on the threshold of another birthday, getting another year older. Really, I've been getting a year older all year. Tomorrow I will only be another day older, but the number changes. It increases. Sunday we will have three of our four children and their families gather at our house. This, to me, is the best birthday present and I am thankful for each of them, Anne, my health and my friends. I guess my health is okay. Who ever knows? I'm still here, so that is one criteria of well being. A former colleague from work lost her brother this week and he was only forty nine and in "good health." They say he was in good health, but he obviously wasn't since he had a heart attack. He and they only thought he was in good health.

Today was a beautiful day to be outside to appreciate my health and the world. I like to get outside, even away from the house, to experience life. I like our house and being in it in the winter and lousy weather is fine, but when the weather improves, it is beneficial to go out, to go to the ocean or the bay and see the rest of the world. Tomorrow is predicted by the weather gurus to be a nice day and I will go out in it and breathe in whatever it has to offer.

Just so you don't think I spent my day boozing and listening to mountain music all day, I did do some constructive things. This morning I went into the garage and rearranged the seasonal power equipment, the snow blower, wheel barrow, lawn mower, etc. I tried to run the gas out of the snow blower, but did not succeed. I guess there was more gas in it than I realized. I cleaned up the mower housing and pull cord mechanism which had been getting stuck and I swept a large portion of the garage. I also did my weight training. It takes some time to lift all those little dumbbells. Then we went for our walk, then I read some and then I listened to music. I try to get something productive done each day, usually in the morning, before I allow myself to relax or do something frivolous like playing the banjo. I've got myself curious now about what I will do tomorrow.

Depressing Days

Rain, rain go away. Today was another one of those dreary days when doing outside activities was not very enjoyable, so I didn't. I sometimes wish for a day like this so I can do things inside that I can't do because I am forced to do things outside. Actually, I am happy to be outside when there are nice days like we had this past weekend and it seems that spring should provide those days for us, having given us a foretaste. I decided to practice some music. (You'll have to amble on over to my other blog, Barrister Bill, to follow my musical career.) I could have gone down into the cellar and organized stuff, but that's always there to do. If, at some point, I don't take a break from household chores, I will never do any fun things.

I also took some time to read some more of my Gothic Tales. In addition to Jamaica Inn, I have also read Mission to Malaspiga, by Evelyn Anthony, The High Valley, by Jessica North, and Mistress of Mellyn, by Victoria Holt. I thought the last one was particularly good. Lots of twists and turns. I have just started Thunder Heights, by Phyllis A. Whitney. All of the stories, so far, have as the main character, a young woman who somehow goes to stay with a very wealthy family and then finds herself in a dangerous situation. I'm not going to tell you any more because I'm afraid I will give away some of the plots and that wouldn't be fair. I am enjoying all of these stories.

I mentioned to my daughter, Christine, that I wished I had some way to keep track of the books I read and what I thought of them. She recommended a free site called Goodreads where you can list books that you have read, comment on them and read comments that others have made on books that they have read. I joined up, but I haven't actually listed any books yet. I'll get around to it. I had better do it soon or I will have forgotten the names of the books I read, never mind what they were about.

What is it about Facebook? That is the most frustrating site. One minute something is on my wall, or whatever they call it, the next it is gone. Some friends' posts don't show up and I have to go looking for them. Very annoying.

Tomorrow the sun is supposed to come out. Maybe I'll be able to get outside and catch up with some chores.

The First Day of Spring

Yes, indeed. Spring arrived at 1:32 p.m. this afternoon and I have been busy greeting its arrival, although not in the manner that I had expected. When spring arrives, a young man's fancy turns to...to..., I forget to what a young man's fancy turns, but my fancy turns to thoughts of kayaking. However, we must first accomplish our garden tasks. My assigned task was to continue to rake out the flower beds, but first I decided to turn on the outdoor water faucets, which consists of simply turning on the outdoor water faucets, except the one by the garage. On that one I had installed a union (plumbing gizmo) so I could separate the pipes in the winter to avoid freezing and splitting of pipes and all sorts of mayhem. I put pipe dope on the connections and tightened them then went to turn on the water. Of course there was a drip, so I went back into the cellar to turn off the water, came back out, disassembled the whole thing, put on more pipe dope, reassembled the contraption, went back down the cellar to try again. Still a leak. I should add at this point that turning on the water to this particular line requires one (me) to climb on top of the clothes dryer and reach down behind it, almost to the floor to get at the valve. In addition to this exercise, I discovered that I had two bottles of pipe dope. On one, the in bottle brush had detached itself from the jar lid which serves as a handle. On the other, the brush had detached itself from the tube that holds it to the lid. It was interesting.

Water was leaking from two spots that I could see, so I decided that I needed a new thingy that joins the pipes together, but I didn't want to go to le depot de la home, because I don't like to do that on weekends. I have often told our children that they should never buy anything until they first check with me to see if we might have a spare one here to give to them. It has frequently proved true that they could go down into my parts department/supply room/museum and come up with what they needed. Even one of our neighbors, also not wanting to go to the Home Depot, came and asked if I had a piece of 1/2 inch conduit. Of course I did, so I gave him a piece. So, I went down there myself and, not surprisingly, I came up with just what I needed, a 3/4 inch nip (that's what it says on the plastic wrapper that it was in). Getting the old nip off wasn't as easy as finding the new one, but I succeeded, thanks to my renewed weight training. I then reassembled the whole mess, went down into the cellar, climbed on the dryer, reached down behind it and turned on the water. I have to say that I was fairly pessimistic by this time, but voila, no leak. My next step was to get out all of the hoses and attach them, which I did without incident.

Spring comes upon us quickly every year it seems. Only last week we were dealing with rain and floods and a few short weeks before that, a major snow storm. Then, all of a sudden, here comes spring. I like spring, but it brings with it a plethora of chores that must be done now. Not in a couple of weeks or months, but right now. Most of those chores have to do with gardening and outside maintenance. There are also the other handy person things to do that were saved until spring. What happens to me is that I don't to the spring things because of other things, so I say I will do them in the fall, which, of course, I don't do, but there's always next spring. Happy spring.

St. Patrick's Day

I was busy working on the porch today in preparation for the painting thereof. Trying to get some of the dirt off of the soffits is proving challenging. I scrubbed with washing soda without any noticeable effect, although the water in the bucket got dirty.


This afternoon, in honor of Anne's birthday tomorrow, we went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3-D. It was so-so, but it only cost us $4.50 each as seniors. Avatar cost $4.00 apiece, so even the movies are getting expensive. Next thing you know, they'll be charging us $5.00 to see a movie. At least on Tuesdays we can get in free, but our theater doesn't have 3-D. Tomorrow, we will go down to Point Pleasant to walk on the boardwalk and have lunch. On Friday, still in honor of Anne's birthday, we will see Children of Eden by the Spotlight Players at a church within walking distance. In another couple of weeks, still in honor of Anne's birthday, we will see Nunsense in Atlantic Highlands. Next week is my birthday, but I have nothing planned except lunch with some friends. That will probably be equal to a week's worth of entertainment.

Windshield Wipers

I just changed the windshield wipers on the minivan. That's basically Anne's car and she has noticed a deterioration in the wiping ability. There are people out there somewhere whose job it is to design all sorts of connection types for windshield wipers. If you change them frequently, you probably remember how it was done the last time and it's a snap. But, most people don't change their wipers more than twice a year, if that and, up to now, I almost always had them changed when I was getting the car serviced. Now that I'm retired, that's one luxury that has to end. So, I'm confronted with not so clear instructions and tiny pictures showing me what to do. I got them changed and I hope I did it correctly because the last thing I want is for Anne to tell me that a wiper fell off while she was driving in a rain storm. Since I have now been successful with the Pontiac, I will move on to the Chevy. I have a different brand of replacement blades for it and, I'm sure, a different connection gizmo. I wonder how people get jobs like that. Do you apply to be a windshield wiper designer? Are there courses for that? Can you get a job doing that after you retire from something else, or do you have to start young? Do they have contests and award prizes for the most convoluted design? I wonder about all of this.

Rain, Rain, Rain / Splitting Firewood

There's a song about raining, raining, raining. I think it may be by the Dillards. Whether there is or not, there ought to be. I don't remember this much rain and wind together since we lived in this house (about 11 years). Now, I could be wrong. I have been wrong once or twice before, so this could be the third time in my life. It's supposed to subside by midnight. This afternoon we went to the Matawan library to hear Heather Mulvey sing Celtic songs in honor of St. Patrick's Day. This is the third time we have heard her and she really is good. She has a beautiful voice.

My back and shoulders have been slightly sore since Wednesday when I split some firewood. We were running low and with the forecast for a wet weekend, I thought it might be nice to have a fire in the wood stove on Sunday. When we had two large trees removed a year or so ago, I asked the tree service to cut fire place size logs for me which they did. I then carried a number of unsplit ones down into the cellar to let them dry. I pulled them out now for splitting. However, I learned that you are supposed to split firewood when it is still wet. Letting it dry only makes it harder. I don't know how to do anything easy, but, now I have a small supply of split wood and a couple of sore shoulders.

My computer is not behaving itself properly. It is taking a long time to play YouTube videos. I like to listen to various artists who have folk music videos, but lately, it is taking forever to load them. I tried Anne's new computer and found no problem loading them on it. As a bonus, I discovered that my ear buds produce a much fuller sound on Anne's computer. I had always thought they were fine on mine. What to do. What to do. I'm not ready to get a new computer yet. When I do get one, I believe I will get a PC laptop instead of a Mac this time. Apples are nice, but they are very expensive. I really don't want to think about that now, but I may be forced into it.

Gothic Tales, Pictures, Spanish

The title to this post is ambitious so I'd better get busy. Previously, I wrote about starting Jamaica Inn by Lady Baldwin (D.B.E.) better known as Daphne de Maurier. I had read it before, but it is a very well written tale of murder and mayhem. I shouldn't tell about the story as I think it will detract from the excitement of reading it. It is told from a young woman's point of view, written by a woman, of course, and will be enjoyed by any man who likes a good adventure story and by any woman who might fancy putting herself in the place of Mary Yellan, who, upon the death of her mother goes to live with her aunt Patience and her uncle, the landlord of the infamous Jamaica Inn. Twists, turns and surprises along the way. Get thee to the library, or wait until I'm finished with the book that it's in and you can borrow it from me.

Speaking of the book that it's in, it is a Reader's Digest book called Six Gothic Tales. All of the authors are women and all of the tales are condensed versions. I usually abhor condensed versions of books, but I found this book lying around and the stories looked interesting. The next story (book) which I have just started is Mission to Malaspiga by Evelyn Anthony. Once again, the central character is a young woman who has just lost her brother in what appears to be murder orchestrated by aristocratic members of her own family to whom she is distantly related. It involves drugs, international intrigue and affairs of the heart.

Pictures - I am now through 2007 and am ready to start on 2008 which appears to be the last year of the mysterious numbered files. I can't wait to see what other surprises are in store for me there.

I decided, again, that I want to learn Spanish. I have a series of eight CDs by Michel Thomas which I listened to three times and was no better off for my efforts than when I first began. I thought I would buy the Rosetta Stone program and went on the internet to find out that I could pay $699. for the whole five series course or $263. for the same thing at another site. Huh? I mentioned my intention to Anne who said that Katie had used that in school and was very disappointed in it. Now, Katie is 13 years old, but I trust her judgment and do so especially in matters of learning in which she is currently specializing, whereas I am not. Therefore, I will not get the Rosetta Stone program. Looking at my book shelves, I discovered that I had another Spanish language program called Learn to Speak Spanish Deluxe. The box has never been opened and I don't recall where it came from, but it is titled in the very thing I want to do: learn to speak Spanish. I have now opened the box and will proceed to load the CDs onto a computer. I guess I'll have to do something else with it as well before I can actually speak Spanish. I also discovered Learn to Speak French Deluxe in another unopened box. I will perhaps need that as one of my Facebook friends, Esther, from Haiti thinks I speak French and wants me to learn Creole. This is why my days are flying by.

More Pictures and a Reading List

In the continuing saga of the many family pictures, I have struggled through 2005 and have now entered the year 2006 and have taken a break. I think we have way too many pictures. Years from now, will anyone care to look at several pictures of the same person from different angles? Do I, now, care to look at pictures of scenery? By and large, the answer is no. When you are actually visiting a place, you somehow think that you can capture the beauty or grandeur of the place in a photograph, but you can't. It is only a rare photo that evokes the same emotions of actually being someplace. So, as the result of this carefully thought out philosophy, I don't take many pictures of just scenery. I want someone, hopefully someone recognizable, to be in the picture. People pictures are more interesting to me, again, pictures of people who I know so that they have some meaning.

We have too many pictures. We have a walk-in closet in our house in which I installed steel shelving on both sides to hold pictures. Anne's father was a serious amateur photographer, took thousands of slides, made his own pictures from negatives and kept a photographic history of his family. I have many pictures from when I was growing up too. We have many pictures of our family as it grew, matured and multiplied, many before the advent of the digital camera. The idea was that Anne would digitize all of her father's old photographs and slides and have copies for her brothers and sister. That's a nice idea, but it is somewhat overwhelming to actually scan thousands of slides and photos. Well, we'll see.

READING LIST

I like to read, but, in the past, I have found that I didn't have much time to do that. Now that I'm retired, I think I have some more time, although the time seems to be fleeting even now. I recently read some James Joyce: The Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Chamber Music. Now I have taken up Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier, which is a gothic tale and one ideal for a winter's night with the wind blowing and snow or rain swirling outside. I think I read this before, but, so far, I don't remember much of it. That's one advantage of getting more mature and getting oldtimer's disease. You only have to have a very few books, because as soon as you read one, you forget what you read and can then read the story anew. This story is well written and draws the reader into it from the very first. What will happen to the young girl who, on the death of her mother, has gone to stay with her aunt and creepy uncle who is the landlord of the Jamaica Inn where guests no longer stay, but people come and go and there is a brisk tavern business, on the foreboding Bodmin Moor.

I thought that renewing my blog postings would act as a sort of journal for me and for anyone of my friends or family who cares to stop on by here, but I realize that there is no index for it, so how do I find anything I wrote in the past. I suppose I should be assigning descriptive words somewhere, but I haven't. I also find that I don't read older posts that I have made, so I am sometimes unsure if I already said something. What to do? Do I try to go back and see if I did, or just write about it all over again? Well, dear reader, consider that, like reading, writing is a new experience for me each time.

The heading "Reading List" might be misleading since I haven't given a list or anything, but the idea is that I should probably write a precis [that's a word that hasn't come to mind for a while] of the story. At least I would then know if I had read it and what it is about, in case I want to read it again voluntarily. Maybe someone else who is a reader of this blog might also benefit from such a thing. The seed has been planted and we will now have to stay tuned  to see if I do that.

No Pictures / Root Canal

Don't worry, there are still pictures (movies too), but I just didn't feel like dealing with them today because I had my first ever root canal. I went to the same doctor that Anne had used a couple of times and she is really nice. She made me feel as comfortable as she could and worked very efficiently for over an hour on me. There was no pain and the worst part was not knowing how long it was all going to last. When I have had a cavity filled, I have a pretty good idea of how things are progressing by what's going on in my mouth. Never having had a root canal, I was clueless as to how long things would take. I am not feeling any residual pain, except for a slight headache, so I'd say that things went very well. Although the doctor and her staff couldn't have been any nicer or more professional, I hope I never see her again, in that setting at least.

Pictures / Root Canal

I'll start with the root canal first. I have to go to the endodontist on Friday for that exciting procedure. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it, but, I ask you, what are my choices? I was to see the dermatologist last Wednesday, the Cardiologist yesterday (Tuesday) and the endodontist is Friday. When does it end? Okay, I know when it ends. Then I go see the mortician, but hopefully, that won't be for another 50 years or so. It will take me that long to get the pictures on the new computer organized.

I have been working every day on those darn pictures and I hardly feel that I'm making any progress. Right now I'm trying to get groups of pictures in categories. I haven't even started to label each of the thousands of photos and now the computer wants me to identify each individual person in every picture so it can show off and tell me who they are when they appear in any picture. There's one good thing that comes of all this. With new computers coming with cameras, GPS and face recognition built it, I think I will simply take the laptop along and when a picture opportunity presents itself, I'll just point the computer at it and say, take the picture, label it with the names of the people in it and the place where it was taken and refer to my calendar and also put down the event taking place. Why should I have to do all of this stuff?