Monkeys in the Cellar

There were two monkeys in our cellar yesterday and today and they can even do jig saw puzzles. We had Timmy and Bridget overnight last night as their parents went skiing at Camelback. At one point, Timmy said to me, "Grampy, can we climb the poles?" I said, "Sure, you can try." I thought it was just something they would like to be able to do, but wouldn't. I turned around and, both of them were climbing like monkeys up and down the poles. Later I mentioned to Timmy that we had monkeys in the cellar climbing on the poles and he said, "No, Grampy, that was just us."

We had a jig saw puzzle set up on the table in the cellar which Anne and I have been periodically working on. It has 500 pieces and for persons 12 and older. I had actually set it out because a few weeks ago we had some company and I thought that maybe someone would like to try their hand at it. It is one of those puzzles with an irregular border and is a little complicated so I haven't found it very easy, although I did find the challenge enjoyable. We had the puzzle about three quarters completed when two five year old monkeys descended upon it and finished it up in about fifteen minutes. Anne asked how they were able to do it so fast. Did they look at the colors or the shapes, or what? They said they looked at the shapes. Well I've been looking at the shapes and the colors too.

We also painted two bird houses that we had in the attic. The twins did a very nice job and hopefully some bird families will think so too.

This has been a rough week for me and we didn't even get the next round of snow yet. Sunday, I was eating some snacks including some nuts and found that a part of a tooth had broken off. I saved it and went to the dentist on Monday. I gave him the piece and said that if he would just be good enough to glue it back on, I would be on my way. Unfortunately, he said they wouldn't work and now I have an appointment scheduled for next Friday for a root canal. In our family, this is not supposed to happen to me. It is Anne who has all the appointments with the dentist, endodontist and and oral surgeon. I still have all of my original teeth with no bridges, aqueducts, canals or anything, so it is very traumatic for me to have to go through this. Today, I went to the dermatologist for my two month checkup and in addition to finding more spots on my face to squirt with liquid nitrogen, she took another biopsy. The last two times they have taken biopsies they have been negative, but I have had to have several surgeries on my face, so I don't like the idea of another biopsy. I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Tuesday. I feel okay and I'm hoping my luck is better there. Well, I think it was Red Buttons who said that you know that you're getting old when all the names in your little black book end in MD.

My one year old grandson, Tyler, gave me a hat that says, "Old Guys Rule." He knows.