Quick update

There isn't much to write about but i want to at least let everyone [all two of you] know that i am still alive and kicking. Not kicking quite as hard maybe, but still kicking. i am really liking the way the backyard is looking though i am having difficulties getting the pool balanced. The grandkids came over Saturday and though there was a bit of a green tint to the water they had fun.

Don and Kathy are leaving Wednesday to go to Delaware for a week and when they get back Kim an i are leaving next Wednesday to spend some time away at Calloway Gardens in Georgia. We are Reeeeaaalllyyy looking forward to having a few days away! The day we are leaving is also our anniversary; forty two years and going strong. After we enjoy those few days away, we start the countdown for our BIG vacation in February. We decided to go on another cruise. We love to cruise and it has been quite awhile since our last cruise.

We are going on a seven day cruise and the price is awesome. this is probably the best deal we have ever gotten. I know that i will be chomping at the bit for the next seven month, two weeks and three days. Just kidding [sort of]. We are also going out of New Orleans which means a much shorter ride back home than if we had to go out of Miami or Ft. Lauderdale.

Well that is about it. I told you there wasn't much going on and it is getting near my bed time. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. Stay in touch, post a comment, whatever. Oh, i am also trying my hand or fingers at setting up a facebook account. I'm on there, see if you can find me. I'm looking for you.

A month inreview

Once again it has been a month since my last blog. My daughter keeps chastising me about not keeping up on my blogs, at least i know someone reads them. Well i am sitting on the patio on this Sunday night writing this blog on my laptop. It is still warm but nothing like it was a couple weeks ago. We just got back from a family gathering at Brian and Diane's. Family goes and family comes.

Michele and the kids returned home after spending about three weeks visiting with us. This week Kim's sister Colleen came for a visit from Colorado. So it goes when you live in Florida. As i wrote in the last blog, we were preparing for Michele's visit which almost didn't happen. They came, they saw, they swam they had a wonderful time. We really enjoyed having them here. They had a car while they were here so they could come and go as they wanted and didn't feel like they were imposing on anyone. Steve came down for a few days and it was great to see him also. He had never been down for a visit and i think he enjoyed himself too.

The problems i wrote about the pool in the last blog are pretty much taken care of. I finally got all of the leaks fixed and the water balance is really close. I went into the pool yesterday for the first time since having it relined. I am really not a pool, water sport person but after spending a little bit of time working outside yesterday i thought a dip in the pool would be refreshing. Kim, Colleen and i lounged around on tubes and loungers for a while and it was quite relaxing.

The last few weeks at work have been very busy. The time around July Fourth is usually quite a busy time for us and this year was no exception. It is slacking off a bit now and we should be able to catch up on some back burner projects. Don is taking time off at the end of the month which will give me more work which i don't mind at all and then when he comes back i am taking a few days off. Kim and i are going to Callaway Gardens for our anniversary. I am really looking forward to that already!

The backyard garden is really looking nice. I call it my little tropical paradise. I will try to remember to post some pictures next time. No pictures on the laptop so next time i will have to post from the PC. I had my oncology check up this week and the numbers are still good. Praise the Lord we are still in remission. That is about all for now, it is getting near my bedtime.

A true week in review

This time it really has only been a week since my last blog. The pool was filled and ready for the party and arrival of the grand kids although not without a few problems. The water needed to be tested and chemicals added to get the right balance. I'm not sure it is still exactly where it should be but it looks good and the kids have been having a ball. There was a number of leaks and even a huge leak that occurred during the night which drained the water level at least three inches before the pumped was stopped. It turned out a fitting came apart and i had to get the PVC glue required to make the repair on Friday night to get ready for the Saturday party. It all worked out, though there is still a leak i need to work on fixing.

I got to ride the bike two times this week which was really nice. I rode Monday and then again Friday. It was kind of a rough week so Friday's ride was especially nice. I was going to take off Friday but a few problems came up and i decided it was best to go to work. Thankfully i was able to leave a little earlier and take the long way home. I actually felt better after the ride. Every time i think about getting rid of the bike i just go for a ride and that ends that thought. Well tomorrow it starts all over again but i am thankful that i have a job.

If you read Michele's blog you will see that there were some problems and they almost weren't able to come down for vacation. If you didn't read her blog the bottom line is that there were car problems and they wouldn't be able to drive down as planned. But by God's grace everything worked out and they are here now as we speak, or read or whatever they call this form of communication today. Bottom line is that they are here and the pool is getting used.

Update from last weeks blog; the yucky looking sores from the bug bites is nearly healed. I am really trying to be more aware of the fact that i am VERY susceptible to bug bites and though that isn't going to stop me from working in the yard i am taking precautions against the bites. I also did a lot of work around the yard Saturday morning to get everything ready for Brittney's party and actually got tired enough to take a nap after lunch. Unfortunately my family got worried that i was napping. As much as i appreciate their concern, I am of advanced age and have a serious medical condition. My family is great in their concern even though i don't get much sympathy, so the nap gave me a little rest and a little sympathy.

That about wraps up this week. I am looking forward to another wonderful week in sunny Florida. We have the whole family here for the next couple of weeks and even though any kind of normalcy goes out the window it is great to be able to get everyone together. I am looking forward to getting a couple more rides in and maybe get a day or two off from work. Everyone have a great week and remember that everything works together for good to those that love the Lord.

Week in Review

Alright, so it has been more than a week but two weeks in review as a title just doesn't cut it. It has been a sort of interesting couple of weeks but let's see if this old mind can remember what happened. One of the things that I have been been working on is getting the pool repaired. The liner was ripping badly and we decided to get it relined, a not inexpensive project. After getting different quotes we decided to get the job done. One of the caveats was that it had to be done by the week of June 8 so my grand daughter Brittney who is turning 16 could have a pool party at our house on June 13. Also my daughter Michele and the kids are coming that week and the pool has to be usable. The pool was drained more than two weeks ago to take measurements and I was getting very apprehensive when I wasn't seeing any progress. After many calls and visits to the pool place i was assured that the job would be done in time for the party. We went shopping Saturday morning and when we returned there was a truck in the driveway from the pool place and the pool was being repaired. It looks awesome and as i sit here it is still filling and should be ready for the party and arrival of my grandchildren who hopefully will spend many hours enjoying the pool. Kim and i plan to use it more also, but time will tell.

Last Sunday i got another ant/bug bite on my foot. Ever since the leukemia if i get a bug bite i wind up with blisters and all sorts of problems. I still don't get any sympathy though so life goes on. But let me tell you this was nasty. There was a blister on my foot the size of a ping pong ball and it was gross. Thankfully my loving wife actually likes that kind of thing and has been taking care of it all week. Couldn't help it, i had to post at least one picture. There were actually three more bites but luckily for you i can't seem to locate those pics. Suffice it to say that between the welling and all the stuff that goes with it it has been an interesting week. It has actually been healing very well but for some reason it seems to be is swelling up again. Probably because i have been on my feet working on the pool and the house to get it all ready for my grandchildren which i know they will appreciate.

Work has been interesting also. Even though it has not been exceptionally busy there seems to be a lot going on. Probably because i was planning on taking off last Friday so i could get some things done around the house and at our church. Thursday it seems that all kinds of things were going on and i even got a few calls Friday while i was off. Of course if i didn't get any calls i would think that no one even noticed that i wasn't there. I managed to get some odd jobs done around the house [honey-dews] and do a couple of A-V things at the church. Just being off work and doing other things was great.

I am looking forward to seeing Michele and the kids and even Steve will be here for a few days in the next couple of weeks. I know it will disrupt my normal routine but it is going to be a nice time of family get togethers. We are looking forward to barbecues and pool parties and going to the beach and just enjoying time together. Kim and i have determined that this year we are going to enjoy this beautiful place that we live in. I spent a lot of time during the spring landscaping and trying to make the house look nice and other that routine maintenance the rest will have to wait till next year. It actually looks pretty nice around the old homestead and we just want to enjoy it.

I am probably forgetting something but this old mind can't seem to remember what it might be. All i can say is that i am most blessed. I have a loving family, good health, a job and so much to be thankful for. Kim and i have our devotional time every morning and i thank God for my loving wife, family, church and His never ending watch care. What more could a man ask for?

It seems that i always have to start out my blog by saying, "can't believe how long it has been since my last blog", but honestly i do have a good reason. At least in my own mind i do. There has been a lot going on this past month and i just didn't take the time to blog, but here i am. There has been a lot going on at work and also trying to get things done around the old homesite. In addition to that i am getting older and really don't care to work as hard as i use to. With that said, let's blog.

I celebrated a birthday this month and thankfully it passed by quietly. But Kim celebrated a very special birthday and thankfully it didn't pass by quietly. She said more than once to me that this was the best birthday ever. The weekend before her birthday Kathy planned a "surprise" party for her. Kim of course suspected but she didn't know exactly when. So just in case, whenever we were going out anywhere she made sure she was wearing something nice and had her makeup right. The theme of the party was that everyone had to bring "60" of something. It was hilarious to see everything from 60 twinkies to 60 kisses.

On the morning of her birthday she went outside to find baloons, streamers, signs and much more lining the front of the house and the inside and outside of her car. And this accomplished under cover of darkness by her good friends, Diane and Michelle. What a wonderful way to see my wife start her special day. After we cleaned up her car enough for her to drive safely she went to work. I left work a little early because as usual i hadn't yet purchased a BD card for her. Fortunately i was able to find just the right one. the problem was the present i got for her. I had looked into and planned to get her a parasailing trip. Of course i was waiting till her BD to give it to her. Remember the party the Saturday beforew her BD? Well guess what one of her gifts was from our neice. Need i say more.

Well i guess if she likes it, now she will be able to go again. Maybe i will have the guts to go with her. I know she would like that, but i don't do heights very well. Fortunately i also had another gift for her. This is the one that was taking a lot of my extra time this past month which is why i couldn't blog or do other things that needed doing. After i saw Kim's reaction to this gift i was so glad that i did invest that time. I gave her a five page story of her life from birth to this BD. Notice that i have not once mentioned her age, but remember the party theme. At least this was a gift that no one else could give her because it was from my heart.

I still have one more gift for her; i made reservations for dinner tonight and have not told her where we are going. I hope it will be special and i will have to report on how it worked out on my next blog. I am so happy to have this wonderful, young looking, caring woman for my wife. It is hard to know what to get or do for her but i hope to always be able to show her how much she really means to me and how much i really love her. Happy Birthday Baby!

The only other thing that is happening is that we are getting a new pool liner installed. The old liner is a little over eight years old and has started tearing along the top. I have been patching as best i can since last year but we decided to bite the bullet and see if we could afford to get it relined. Last week after getting some price quotes we signed the contract, picked out the new liner and this week drained the pool. It is now just a GREAT BIG vinyl covered hole in the ground. We told them that the one criteria to starting the job was that it has to be completed the first week of June. They assured us that it would. We are hosting a sweet sixteen party at our house for our lovely soon to be sixteen year old grandaughter. In addition to that Michele and our three grandchildren from Delaware will be coming down for a visit in June.

We are looking forward to a whole bunch of summer fun coming up. I tried getting the bulk of the yard work done so all i have to do during the summer is try to enjoy it. Of course we never know what life will bring but that is the plan. Hopefully i will update a lot sooner next time.

Wow, it has been two weeks since my last post; where does the time go? As you saw in the last post we are making strides in changing the looks of the old home front. This Saturday was spent working in the yard trying to make more changes. Also because our small group was meeting at our house today I needed to make sure things looked neat around the old homestead, bosses orders. The nice thing is that i really like working around the yard and making things look good, I just need a little motivation. What better motivation than trying to make the love of my life happy; and Fozzy loved the yard. Just kidding folks.

Actually it was great to hear Kim say that she could see my plan for the yard and it was starting to come together. I have some neat flower beds starting and if i could just get some grass to grow we would be finished. Alright we wouldn't be finished but that would be enough for this season. I am determined that this year we are going to enjoy the beauty around us and spend more time with family and wherever God may lead us.

It has been a wonderful couple of weeks since my last blog. Work has actually been pretty good. There is still enough projects going on that i am involved in. The stores are doing really well considering the economic times. Don and i are able to spend time together at work mostly doing moves and such, but at least we get to spend time together. I am looking forward to the nice weather when we will be able to ride our bikes together to work. The days have been great but the mornings have been a bit cool; alright i'm a woos.

On April 9 i went for my regular blood test, IVIG and checkup and i am still in remission. I praise God for the miracles of modern science and His grace. From what i have been told, ten or fifteen years ago i would not be a survivor at this stage of my cancer. Because the numbers were good i don't have to go for my next checkup, IVIG till July. I'll let you know where we are at that time and your prayers are definitely coveted.

We had a great day today. Our church service was wonderful and we were able to get together with our small group at our house and i don't think anyone even noticed the work i did around the yard. We had a great time of fellowship and i got to take a short nap in the afternoon. Of course there were many things i could have done, but name one that would have been better than a nap on cloudy Sunday afternoon. Besides, Fozzy was feeling neglected and he needed a little quality time, which for him is laying on your lap while you rest, read or whatever.

I am looking forward to another great week. I have a loving wife, a nice home, a job, great health, wonderful family and a God who only wants the best for me. We have a lot coming up in the next month with birthdays, weddings, family visits, pool parties and so much more. I will try to be a bit more diligent in keeping up with my blogs. I guess it doesn't really matter if anyone else reads these ramblings but it helps me to focus. If you happen to stumble on this non literary compilation of letters i hope it somehow brightens your day. Till next time.

It is Sunday afternoon and i am sitting on the patio wirelessly connected to the web on my laptop posting to my blog. Love this technology. Well to start off, if you remember my last blog i was whining about the changes in insurance companies and how to get new insurance i would need to remove the slide and diving board from my pool. I had a picture posted of the area where the slide use to be. Once again i will wait if you need to review or [gasp] read the last blog because you haven't read it yet.
OK, so as you can see from the picture here i made some changes. I am calling this my slide garden. A few dollars worth of plants, a bunch of pine straw, some rocks and voila' a new garden spot. I am looking forward to the flowers coming up, attracting the butterflies and hummingbirds.
Kim has been away the past couple of days at a conference in New Orleans with some of the ladies from church. As a matter of fact, as i sit here typing this she is on her way back expecting to arrive in a couple more hours. While she was away i spent two days working on the lawn. She hasn't seen the changes yet which include the completion of the slide garden and two more gardens i put in the front of the house. I will post pics of these at a future date. It was hard work and of course i overdid a bit but at least i was able to make the place look nicer.
Kim and i were talking last week and saying how we are getting tired of just working on our jobs and then working around here and really not enjoying the beauty of the place where we live. We realize of course that we need to do our job and chores and take care of what God has blessed us with but we are not getting any younger folks.
We were also talking about family birthdays and the ages of our grandkids. I was lamenting the fact that there are no grandkids with a single digit age. Now i know that i am still young [in my head] but there appear to be circumstances all around me that belie that notion. Like the fact that i have a grandaughter who is 23 and a great grandson who is two and looks like he is five. There is also the fact that i use to be able to work in the yard from early morning to late evening without a problem. I tried that the other day and about halfway through, i was hurting in places that i didn't even know existed.
All that said, we have determined that we are going to try and enjoy ourselves this summer. I am determined to make things look nice around here mostly with low maintenance plants and such and spend more time with my wife and family. People spend hundreds of dollars to vacation here and spend time on our beaches and yet i haven't gone yet. I am so thankful for all of God's blessings and want to try and get my focus right.
Well that is enough ramblings for now. I am pleased with the way thing are looking around the yard and looking forward to seeing Kim when she gets home. I am thankful that God has given me the strength to be able to do these thing and have a family that i look forward to enjoying time with. God is good.