Pearl Harbor Day and the Day After.

I woke up Sunday with a headache on the left side of my face, and my stomach was churning. I thought I was going to throw up. I was all set to go to church. I was planning on it, but when my alarm went off all I could do was try to sleep some more. I woke up at 9:17 and knew I couldn't make it on time. I went back to bed again, and didn't get up until Lori offered to make me breakfast again. Two days in a row she made me breakfast! I could hardly believe it. She made scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy. We ran out of gravy so I finished off the biscuits with Country Crock and honey. I prefer butter, but there wasn't any softened.
I brought the tree into the house and the remaining snow melted and dripped off of it for more than an hour. Adam had all ready brought up the Christmas decorations and tree ornaments from the basement. He was ready to get the tree decorated before the tree was ready to be decorated.

I started bringing the tree into the house, carrying it stand and all out of the garage, Adam started shoveling the snow off the front sidewalk and steps. Had he started that 10 min earlier, it would have been great. As it turned out he was still shoveling and wouldn't put down the shovel to help me guide the tree into the house. I ranted when the job was over because the Blue Spruce's needles were scratching my arms and legs through my South Park pajamas I was wearing.

I got frustrated with everyone for not helping me and even more frustrated when the stand came loose just as I was setting the tree down. That is when I really lost my cool. After Lori, helped me get the tree back into the stand, I ranted to everyone. I just felt prickly, scratchy, a little sore and frustrated.

After the tree dried off, I put up the lights. Lori called me on her cell phone after I showered and asked me to check the lights to see if we needed any additional strings of lights. Nathan and I checked them and found one that was dead and two more that had some burned out. I was able to replace some of the burned out bulbs from the dead string enough so that only two or three were burned out.

I called Lori back on her cell phone and told her to get two or three strands. She was standing right by them and told me what Walgreen's had. I asked her to get 2 packages of 300 lights. I only used one, but we have at least one other that I did use that won't see another Christmas.
I got the lights on the tree, and then Lori vacuumed around it and put the tree skirt under the tree. Then Lori put the garland on the tree, which then began the tradition of placing the ornaments. Each child has his own box of ornaments and in the box is a list of every ornament he has received or made since his birth. Lori reads the list and helps the child find his ornament and then the child places the ornament on the Christmas tree or has his father and/or eldest brother help him.

When Nathan's turn was over, he took of his mother's gloves from his hand. These were her leather gloves that he used to protect his hands from the Blue Spruce's needles. He never hung an ornament on the tree. Adam and I did it for him.

Then came Evan's turn. He hung most of his own ornaments. I helped him with the heavier ones to find stronger branches. There was no drama or confusion with Evan. He was happy to have his ornaments on the tree. He would get excited about his favorite ones and the place he found for them.

When his turn was done, Adam began. He used the list himself, but he decided to be more selective this year and not hang every ornament he owns. He said he wanted to save room for Lori and I to hang some of ours. Lori didn't want to put any of hers on the tree. I picked five of mine, and Adam hung them.

After that was done, we ate hamburgers for dinner. I went to D&W to get pickles while Lori cooked the burgers, but I couldn't find the Clausens we like best. So, I came home with three tomatoes, a six pack of Labatt's Blue Light and a bottle of wine. We can buy beer and wine on Sundays now, so I bought some--only because I could.

While we were decorating the Christmas Tree, Lori saw a mouse in the kitchen. Her shriek startled me more than the mouse. I thought my brave sons, Evan and Nathan would help me chase it outside, but they cowered away instead. Evan said, "I didn't want to catch it because it would bite me and I would get rabies. What are rabies?" I set two traps for the mouse and this morning, I found it dead in the trap inside the cold air return vent. The cover is loose so the mouse escaped from me into the vent area.

Today when I got home, Lori wanted to use the snow blower. I helped her start it and she used the snow blower on the driveway, while I showered. She came back in smelling of 2 cycle engine fuel, changed her clothes and used some perfume, and we headed off to Logan's for dinner. From our vantage point in the Buick, Logan;s looked too busy so we went to Red Robin instead.

Evan had the 5 Alarm burger. Nathan ordered and he did order quite nicely, the Cheesy Mac N' Cheese. Adam got the Clucks and Fries because he had hamburgers two nights in a row. Lori got the Steak Fajitas, and I got the Pulled Pork BBQ burger, a true fork and knife sandwich.

Lori and I dropped the kids off at home and went to Wal*Mart to get yellow mustard, pickles and coffee. We also got a few presents for our children. We came home and helped Nathan with his homework and while doing so, we hear a crash downstairs. Evan had thrown a burned-out light bulb in the basement and broke it. His punishment was to sweep it up and throw it away. He was OK with that.

Adam set another mouse trap. I am off to bed now.

Getting a Christmas Tree

We had a lot of plans this for today, shoveling the driveway, grocery shopping, moving living room furniture and getting a Christmas Tree. Lori and I woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast. We drank coffee and loafed around in the living room. Neither of us were feeling motivated to do very much. We laughed at ourselves for making plans and rapidly executing them as fast as snail making it's way through a garden.

I have seen large California snails when I was 12. I was visiting my great aunt and uncle for a month. One morning I woke up early when I was staying with them and stepped on several snails that were in their garden. I can honestly say that snails move slowly, because I have seen them.

So there we were this morning sitting in the living room sluggish as snails. Lori suggested that I use the snow blower she got from her grandfather's estate. It isn't that I didn't know how to make it work, I just didn't think we had enough gasoline. I really need more exercise so, I decided I would shovel the driveway, it took me less than hour. The snow about eight inches deep but very light and powder like. It took me less than an hour to shovel the whole driveway. While I shoveled, Lori showered and cleaned the kitchen. She went to the grocery store, while I showered, dressed and watched TV with the kids. Adam and Nathan were watching "Total Drama Island", and Evan was watching The Pink Panther.

When Lori came home, Adam and I unloaded the groceries. Later, Lori vacuumed the living room and made room the Christmas Tree. Then we loaded up into the Blazer and I drove the whole family to the tree lot to purchase a tree. What else would you do at a tree lot? Have a snowball fight, perhaps. Nathan took his cap gun and ran around the trees in the snow. It was his way of spreading Christmas cheer. It was cold. I think we find the coldest day in December to buy a Christmas cheer. We wanted a Blue Spruce again this year and I found a really nice one. The guy at the lot tied it to the top of the Blazer while Adam and I chased Nathan back to the Blazer.

Lori drove us off to eat at a restaurant. Evan wanted to eat at Tres Lobos, I suggested Beechwood Inn because it was a little closer and we haven't been there in a long time. The kids agreed to go, except Evan who was upset. He was so upset that he was shutting down and wouldn't order anything to drink. He said he wanted the seafood platter. Lori broke down and ordered it for him. He ate the Perch, the Lobster tail, and the Shrimp. Lori and I split his stuffed Crab. Lori and I got the Swiss Steak. She ate a salad and I had chili. Adam got a burger and Nathan ordered Cheese Quesadillas. He didn't like it because it was made with a Mexican blend of cheese. He is too picky.

We got home and Adam helped me set up the tree it the garage so some of the snow will melt off the branches. We then watched "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and "Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer." The kids went to bed and Lori and I stayed up. Adam drove Lori on a midnight beer run. I am off to bed soon.

Week Update

I usually spend my Friday's sleeping after getting the kids to school. Today, I went to work and got 10 hours overtime. I was getting a little annoyed and frustrated at work, but I kept my head level and cool, and got through the day and actually got some work done. Throughout the day, I continued to remind myself for whatever I did I was getting paid time and a half to do it, whether I talking to someone, using the restroom, sneezing, coughing or actually working. Jenn was there, but she wasn't working as line support, Nicole was. Nicole is nice and cute, but she is only 23 years old. Jenn is 32, cute and she is my friend. I would call out Jenn's name, she would look at me and I would mouth, "I miss you," or "you are the best." Jenn and I have a good working relationship. She mouthed back, "awwww" Jenn and I have a good working relationship. I was surprised to see my supervisor at work today. He was sick on Thursday, so I actually thought I could work two days in a row without seeing him, but there he was. Nicole wasn't happy to see him either; I can't speak for Nicole only for myself and for myself I have to say that people skills is a growth area for my supervisor.

I have an on-line friend who leads a Bible Study. The group she leads seems to like her and her and her style of Bible Study leadership, however, she feels ill-equipped to lead them. The best spiritual leaders are the ones who understand their weaknesses and don't dominate but facilitate discussions. Bible Studies are about getting people to think, open their minds and let The Word of the Lord speak to them. Asking open ended questions is an excellent way getting the class to really think. I e-mail her questions that she could ask the class.

General Motors has no idea of how to run their company, in my opinion. Last week they dropped their orders and now they have increased them. All this week we were told no more overtime, then on Thursday I worked to 6:30 and then I worked all day today, Friday. It is hard to run a business when your customer's orders resemble a Yo-Yo in motion.

Tonight is beer night for Lori and me. It is late and we are feeling no pain whatsoever. I am watching Seinfeld, the best in timelessness comedy. I am going to watch "Fringe" in a little while. This week was not very exciting.

Adam wanted to get our Christmas Tree tonight, but it was cold and dark. I didn't want to go back out. We are going to get tomorrow in the morning. The kids gave us their Christmas lists. Nathan was the funniest giving as a very dramatic prelude to his list and then only coming up with four items.

Fringe is calling me. The worst part about working Fridays is not being with the kids in the morning. The funniest part is coming home and hearing Lori asking me why I am home early and if I am still working tomorrow. She was thought today was still Thursday.

Smoke in the Microwave

Wednesday night was the first night of the Thanksgiving break for the whole family. The kids were home all day and I had Thanksgiving, Friday, Saturday and today off from work. I enjoyed the long weekend and I think I made the most of it that I could. I didn't do any major house repairs but did spend a lot of time with the kids and even brushed Lori's hair. Of course, I brushed it after I "braided" it and left in tangles.

I balanced the checkbook. The level of depression caused by balancing the checkbook was greater than difficulty of the task itself. It took me two hours to balance it correctly. In other words, I went to bed feeling depressed.

Back to the main point of this blog posting, Wednesday night we had pasta, meatballs and sauce for dinner. Lori added Italian sausage to the sauce and the kids had a fit. They swore that the sausage changed the flavor of the sauce and complained as they ate. They are too picky, in my opinion. Later, Evan was hungry and wanting to eat more of the garlic bread that we had with dinner he put some in the microwave wrapped in a paper towel. We were all in the living room when I smelled smoke. Lori was baking pies for Thanksgiving and she swore nothing was burning. Then suddenly she smelled it just as I ran into the kitchen when Evan said, "Oh no." The kitchen was full of smoke and it was coming from the microwave. Evan opened the microwave door and smoke billowed forth in an eye watering, cough inducing, and nasal burning cloud.

I picked up the charred and smoking paper towel and tossed it outside on the deck where it smoldered and finally burned out. I opened windows and aired out the house. Later I boiled water with oranges in the microwave and cleaned it out; it still smells like smoke when used.Evan felt really bad.

He wasn't yelled at nor scolded. We just told him to ask about how long he should set things in the microwave if he isn't sure.

I survived insanity

Tonight we had tacos. While I was giving a double donation of blood at Peace Lutheran Church, Lori and Evan were watching Twilight at the movie theater. Then they went to Meijer. Evan picked out two new bottle of hot sauce. I pulled out several bottles of unopened bottles of various kinds of hot sauce from the pantry.

Evan said he was interested in them. I opened a bottle I wanted to try, but I should have read the label closely. I poured a little on my taco and was in sheer pain and misery. It doesn't even taste good. Every hot sauce I have had tasted good before it burned. This tasted bad and then burned and burned and burned. Lori tried one drop on a Tostito Scoop and she was in pain. I as glad that she shared my pain with me.

I drank milk and ate a slice of bread. I survived the worst ever. I think I will take advice on the label and try to degrease the garage floor with it.

Feasting and double blood drain.

Thanksgiving Day began with Lori and I watching TV, channel and web-surging and then falling asleep on the couch together with her head snuggled on my chest. After watching "Robot Chicken" channel surfing for a little while and checking e-mail once again, Lori asked me if I wanted to watch the latest, "Fringe" episode. She had already viewed the episode; I hadn't, but she said she was willing to watch it again. She cued it up on my laptop and soon I was seeing double and nodding off to sleep. I woke up enough to shut down my laptop and soon Lori and I drifted away together to dream land and that is how the early hours of Thanksgiving Day greeted us.



Around 4am we got off the couch brushed our teeth and went to bed. Dinner was scheduled at 2pm at my mom's house. It was after 10 am when I woke up put on my running pants and went to kitchen to make coffee. Soon after, Lori came in to the kitchen and offered to make eggs for the both of us. She followed my one piece of cooking advice and greased the pan with butter rather than non-stick spray; butter makes them taste better. She made scrambled eggs with cheese and she made hash browns out of left over tater tots. I made peanut butter toast for Lori. I actually didn't make it she put the bread in the toaster, I just spread the peanut butter on her toast. I made toast with peanut butter and honey. I prefer honey to marmalade, also I prefer marmalade or preserves to jelly and I prefer jelly to jam. I will conclude this useless and boring information by saying, I don't like jam.



Nathan had cereal; Evan had eggs, Adam never told me what he ate. I think he ate cereal but he eats it dry. I gave Evan and Nathan showers, then I took my own shower. We left the house around 12:30; Adam drove. We went to get gas at the South side Family Fair. I used the discount tickets that we got on our grocery receipts. I wasn't paying attention and lifted the Diesel fuel nozzle from the pump, not even thinking or aware what I was doing. It took much longer to fill the Buick up with gas than it usually does because of repeated blunder of not paying attention.


I called my mom on Lori's cell phone and told her that we were running behind. The good part was that we were close to US-31 and Adam set the cruise control to 75. I told him that he had to speed to get us to my Mom's house in time for Thanksgiving dinner. He was upset about that, however, he did comply. He played his latest compilation CD on the way there.

We unloaded Lori's four home baked pies from the trunk and upon seeing my laptop in the trunk as well, Lori looked at me and rolled her eyes. I did use it later, but not for very long. I wanted my brother-in-law to trouble shoot the Internet Explorer error I keep getting. He wasn't sure what it was. He and Evan were playing an adventure game on his laptop.

We got there and dinner wasn't ready, yet. The sweet potatoes and the rolls never got heated through. So, why was I in a mild panic? The turkey was delicious and was stuffed with onions. The dressing was cooked separately, which is the healthiest way to prepare dressing. We ate dinner and the kids went outside to play. We football fans watched the end of the Lions game. It was very entertaining to see the Lions get beat by so much. My brother-in-law Bob was greatly disappointed that the Titans didn't make a field goal at the end of the game and make their score and even 50 points. They could say they scored one point for each state in the union on Thanksgiving.

The kids watched Kung Fu Panda and we didn't leave foe home until 9 pm. We got home and we all stayed up late. I finally watched "Fringe" and Lori and I were again falling asleep on the couch. at 3 am, that most interesting hour, I went to bed and tried to get Lori to join me. She talking in her sleep so I left her there.

I woke up still feeling full from yesterday. I had a blood donation appointment at 1 pm. I ate a bowl of cereal and drank a liter of water, took a shower and went to Peace Lutheran where the blood drive was happening.

Back in August I gave a unit of whole blood. My blood pressure was 108/82. My pulse was 82. My iron count was 15. The Red Cross Nurses asked me if I wanted to donate red blood cells, it is a double donation. I had never done it before. I have O positive blood which is in high demand. So, they pumped out a unit of whole blood, and the machine separated the red blood cells from the white blood cells. Then it purged the line from my arm to the machine. Then it repeated the process and then pumped the plasma back into me.

It was something new for me.

I have cool kids!

JCI has cut back on all overtime that means that I didn't work today. Last Friday I worked 10 hours overtime and Lori had to reschedule my dentist appointment. Today, I stayed home. Last night was Survivor night and we were under a Lake Effect Snow warning so I stayed up late and watched Lettermen on TV and Pushing Daisies, the last two episodes on my laptop, hoping that school would be canceled.

Morning came a little early not only because the late hour I went to sleep but also because of the two mojitos and then Rum and Cokes--well, Rum and Diet Coke with Lime, and after that I drank one or two Molsons; I am not sure of the count. I woke to get Adam and Evan to school feeling groggy and wanting to sleep more. Evan was very co-operative and Adam wore sunglasses to look cool as he went to school for final exams. After their bus left I went back to bed for an hour. I got Nathan up and after he rejected my clothing choices for him, he got dressed in what he wanted to wear and had peanut butter T-O-A-S-T cut into two triangles and apple juice. He complimented by saying, "this is a good breakfast."

He got his boots and coat on while I brought the trash bin back into the garage and then I drove him to school. Halfway to school he said he didn't have his gloves. I asked him to check his coat pockets and he said that they weren't there. I asked him to check his backpack and he said that they weren't there. I took off my right hand glove and asked him to try it on. His hand slipped easily into my glove but he was unhappy with the way his fingers only went half way into the glove. He took off my glove and threw it a me. "My hands are going to get cold at recess." Nathan said in a very pointed manner. "Where are they?" I asked him. "On the kitchen table." He replied


As we got closer to his school, Lakeshore, the road was quite iced over. Which is only fitting considering that the Lakeshore was hit with 10-12 inches of snow from South Haven to Benton Harbor. I dropped Nathan off at school and drove home and went back to bed. Later, Lori found Nathan's gloves in her coat pocket where she put them when he handed them to her at the store. She asked me what gloves he wore to school and I told her that he didn't, and they were not on the kitchen table where he said they were. "You should have asked when you got back." She said quite soundly. I had to laugh about it. Nathan's gloves were in HER coat pocket and she was upset with me that I didn't know where they were. If I had hid his gloves in my pocket and she couldn't find them I know she would be upset with me, but when she hides his gloves in her coat pocket and I can't find them it is my fault that Nathan does not have his gloves. If they were on the kitchen table, I would have driven back to Lakeshore and given them to him. As it was, I went back to bed thinking that they were in Nathan's backpack in the "secret compartment.

Last week Nathan picked up the finished part of the basement and put away all his toys, guys and action figures that had evaded the area. He put them back into the red toy room where they belong. He worked hard and I was proud of him. I told him that he would get a prize for his hard work.

Our desktop compute downstairs is running slow and is just a bit outdated, well it's at least five years old. Computer Technology gets outdated very quickly. For the past year, we have a stick of RAM, 256 MG, sitting on top of the dishwasher. At times it seems that half our lives sit on top of the dishwasher. Isn't that what flat surfaces are for? So yesterday, I asked Adam to help me install the RAM stick in the downstairs desktop computer. I unplugged the computer opened it up and vacuumed out the pound of dust that settled into it. Can dust mites hack a computer? Maybe that is why it has been running slow.

Together Adam and I put the RAM stick in the mother board and then I tested the computer and discovered that we now have a whopping 512 MG of RAM. My laptop has 2 GB of RAM, the same amount as our fabled Flash Drive. I asked Adam to put the computer back together and plug everything back into the mini tower unit. The benefit of having a child with Asperger's is that he knows how everything was and will return all elements back to their proper places and settings.

Then, he and I went to D&W and got beer, wine and food. Friday night is Soup Night, which means we watch The Soup at 10 pm. Soup Night means the kids need snacks. Nathan's reward for picking up the basement was an Oscar Meyer Lunchable, Turkey and American Cheese with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The kid loves peanut butter. I got Flaming Hot Cheetos Crunch for Evan and Nathan to eat during The Soup. Adam picked out a box of sour candy for himself as a reward for helping with the computer.

The smiles on their faces was worth it. Adam did a great job and he did earn a treat. Nathan was thrilled with Lunchable and both Evan and Nathan were elated to have their Flaming Hot Cheetos. They ate have of their bags Friday night and finished them Saturday afternoon.

Today, I watched Michigan lose to OSU and was able download the program to make Adam's Flip Video Camera that he got last Christmas to work. He finally was able to edit and upload his videos to You Tube.

Evan played his DS and played Incredible Machine on the desktop. They are excited to watch Robot Chicken tonight. They are trying to negotiate to watch Bleach at 1 am. They are cool. They know what they like and are thrilled to do it.

These are interesting times.

I am not sure what will happen first; will the American Economy collapse and bring about harder times than the Great Depression of the 1930's or will Global Warming cause flooding and freezing over the Great Lake region? We very well could see the Artic Ice Cap melt for the first time in recorded History and for the first time in American History will we have an African-American President. Yes, African-American, Obama was born in Kenya. At least, that is what McCain camp claimed and I will side with them because Sarah Palin is just so darn cute!

We are all tense at work wondering what will happen if the Big Three go under, especially General Motors. I work for Johnson Control Incorporated who got their start making thermostats for climate control systems. When Ed Prince died his wife Elsa sold the company to JCI. JCI was making seating systems and car batteries at the time and found themselves in the automotive interior business.

Well, thanks to NAFTA most of that business was outsourced to Mexico and Canada, and I was unemployed for nine months. Anyway, here were are faced again with the possibility that our jobs may go away if GM goes bankrupt. Worrying about it won't secure employment for anyone. It is hard to make plans for another job when no one knows what jobs will be available.

What if Congress bails out the GM? They won't run the place any differently. The boys club will still give themselves big salaries while playing nice with the UAW. How many more jobs will they outsource to foreign countries if GM gets the bail-out? We may never know. Besides, if GM does get the bail-out they better hope it happens before Obama gets into office.

If Obama walks the walk of the talk he has been talking, then he could very well insist on pay caps on the upper managers. He wants to share the wealth so it makes sense to me that he would want to put some restrictions on how tax payer's money is to be used. Professional Athletes have a salary cap then why shouldn't CEOs, COOs, and CFOs have salary caps if tax dollars are paying their salaries?

So, we could see the end of the American motor industry and the North Pole ice cap during the Presidency of Barak Obama.

This week

Yes Obama is going to be our next President. I didn't vote for him; I voted for John McCain. I voted for McCain in the primaries since 2000. Obama used the campaign slogan, "Yes we can" I guess he liked to watch Bob the Builder on weekday mornings. I only the show Bob the Builder because when Nathan was 3 he watched Nic Jr. Since a children's television show slogan helped get Obama elected, I have been wondering what would have happened if McCain had used Mr. Rogers theme song for his campaign. It would have been fitting for the elderly John McCain to use an "Old School" kids show theme song at his Town Hall Meetings. It would have been great to see McCain walk out on stage lipsynching. "It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood." It could have been an election maker, but alas we will never know.

It snowed pretty hard on Monday and got in my first accident in years. No one was hurt and the only thing my rusting Blazer hit was a tree. I actually said the words from the computer golf game, Links, "Looks like a hit the tree, Jim." Unlike hitting a tree with a golf ball there was no bounce. I keep seeing Gene Hackman in Welcome to Mooseport waiting for the bounce to happen only to discover that it was Secret Service men who would throw a ball back onto the fairway. No bouncing, just a tree shaped dent in the bumper and some grill damage. It wouldn't have happened if I had put the Blazer into four wheel drive.

I had to put into low four wheel drive to get out of the snowbank and then I had to drive around the block because I couldn't backup against traffic. Then the four wheel drive slipped and I was stuck in neutral at a traffic light. Drivers were honking at me and there I was stuck in neutral. I tried to shift out of 4 wheel drive but the gears kept grinding. Finally, I remembered how to do it the right way and the gears silently shifted and I drove home safely.

As soon as I walked in the door, Lori told me that my dentist, Dr. Oswald, wanted to show up right away to get my flipper. I have a missing tooth. It fell out in 2006 and Dr. Oswald bonded it in place. Two weeks ago that tooth fell out for good while I was eating a fried won ton. I ended up swallowing it. Now I put my teeth, I mean tooth in my mouth every morning and take it out when I eat. My gum is tender where the gap is and tonight while I was brushing my teeth after dinner the gum bled. I will have to watch that, if it continues to bleed I will call Dr. Oswald.

I got home from the dentist ate dinner and then called our mortgage company; we are behind in house payments. Talk about feeling stressed. Today, I have a headache. I made it to work on time and worked the full shift, just 10 hours. JCI is holding it's breath waiting for Congress to decide on whether or not to help the Big Three. Overtime has ended and the numbers are lower. Many managers at JCI are optimistic about the bailout. I don't know; really, I just don't know what will happen. It is hard to plan for another job when I don't even know what jobs there will be if the bailout does happen, and if it doesn't, will there be any jobs at all?

Life is different with a hunk of plastic in my mouth. I tried chewing gum and it stuck to the flipper--not fun at all. I tried removing the gum with my tongue which made me start to choke. It reminded me of the time Nathan was choking on a piece of hard candy at the Nationwide Insurance agency. The lady who gave it to him was from the Ukraine and she was quite worried as he coughed and coughed while the candy was lodged in his throat. I calmly hit his back which didn't work and he coughed some more. The lady, whose name I forget but she did embezzle money from the agency, was still worried and made exclamations that sounded like,"ooouuuu."

This happened about five years ago when Nathan was four. I worked second shift then and spent the mornings with Nathan. He and I had our routine. He would watch Nic Jr in the morning and I would nap for about an hour. I would make him breakfast and lunch. We would listen to music and make each other laugh. He would nap at some point and I would nap again. I would work from 3-11 everyday. Second shift is the worst shift to work, especially when you have a family, but Nathan and I made the most of it.

So there we were in this little office, Nathan choking, the Insurance Agent making her Ukrainian vowel exclamations. I was sitting in a chair and he was standing. I turned his back to me, put my right hand under his rib cage and my left hand in front of his mouth. I had never done the Heimlich maneuver to anyone, but I knew how to to do it. It was strange, it was like I knew exactly what to do and just did it. I pushed with my right hand a the candy fell into my left. Nathan actually laughed when he saw the candy in my hand.

I haven't spent a lot time thinking about that day. It just entered my mind. What will the future bring, more stress and less money perhaps? The checking account is overdrawn, payday is Friday. I have a feeling that my paycheck will pay off the overdraft fees, maybe.

Halloween

Here it is Halloween, Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Reformation Day or Mid-Autumn. This is the first Halloween in our household without Jack-O'Lanterns. I stayed up late last night drinking Molson XXX and watching the Cartoon Network. Around 1am I turned off the TV and started into my laptop screen trying to decide which TV show I wanted to watch on Adobe Flash Player or which film to "watch now" on Netflix. The longer I took to decide the longer it took me to decide and I ended up going to bed around 3am feeling more more dead than alive.

I woke up around 11am with Nathan saying, "dad I need breakfast and mom said it is 11 and you need to get up." I got up and make him Peanut Butter T-O-A-S-T. He had already put the bread in the T-O-A-S-T-E-R. I cut his toasted peanut butter sandwich into two triangles and poured him a glass of Root Beer left over from the two liter bottle from last night.

Yes, last night, Thursday, or Survivor Night in our household. Lori and I ate Chinese from China Inn and the kids had pizza from Little Ceasers. In addition to pizza they had crazy bread, hot wings, and garlic butter dipping sauce. Only 10 hot wings were left over.

Around 11:45 Evan said he was hungry and wanted lunch. He was looking for ravioli in the pantry so I reminded him of the hot wings. He said, "oh yeah, that's what I want." I warmed them up in the microwave and gave them to him with some Ranch Dressing in a custard bowl. He poured himself a glass of Root Beer and I thought all was fine in the house.

I went into the kitchen to eat my own lunch of Chicken Vegetable Soup and a salad. I sat down to eat it when Nathan stormed into the kitchen protesting Evan's lunch of hot wings. "It's not lunch yet. Lunch is at noon. Evan is eating chicken wings and it's not fair!" Those were his exact words.

I went back into the living room where Evan was enjoying his hot wings and counted them all. I reminded Nathan that he(Nathan) had six hot wings last night, and when asked how many he had, Evan replied, "None! I had none!" I told Evan to give Nathan two, then they both would have eaten eight. Nathan agreed to this and Evan agreed to the arrangement. I sat back down at the kitchen table. We don't have a dining room. I began to eat again when Nathan entered the kitchen and said the he wanted lunch. I told him that he just got eating at 11:24 and now it is 11:54. He said "it is is lunchtime. I want lunch, please."

I tried to finish my lunch as I asked what he wanted. He got out the peanut butter jar again, bread again and olives. I said you just had peanut butter, and you want it again. "Yeah, but for lunch I get to have something with it and I want olives." I made him a peanut butter sandwich cut into two triangles and put some olives in a custard bowl. Those custard bowls sure do get around.

I was still finishing my lunch when Nathan returned to the kitchen he wanted to try on his costume. He is a Ninja. Evan is James Bond. He got the pants and the shirt on; they both fit snug but it would work. Finally, I cleaned up from breakfast, lunch, and lunch and last nights dinner, that is, I put all the dishes I could into the dishwasher and ran it. I then went outside and raked the leaves in the front yard.

While I was raking Adam asked me when were we going to go for our drive. I told him as soon as I finish raking and shower, we will go. I told him that if he wanted to speed up the process he could help me rake. He said "no thank you" and I raked leaves into piles and then raked them onto the tarp. Once the tarp was full I pulled the corners together and carried the leaves to the top of the ravine in our backyard and dumped the leaves. I repeated this process several times.

While I was raking I was thinking of what to write to the members of the church budget committee and the church council concerning the status of congregation. They seem to equate stewardship with paying the bills, when the New Testament writes clearly show that taking care of one another is true stewardship.

I got the front lawn raked around 2:10. Adam dumped the last load of leaves for me and I went inside. Nathan and Evan were watching Sponge Bob Square Pants; it was an episode I haven't seen before. Sponge Bob was turning into a snail.

Lori came home with the candy for the Trick-or-Treaters and I went to take a shower. She seemed angry that I hadn't showered yet, so I told her that I was raking the leaves in the front yard. She said that is your thing. Two weeks ago she wanted me to rake the front yard. Am I the only one who sees a contradiction with this? I showed and shaved while she got Evan and Nathan in her car to get pumpkins.

Adam drove the blazer and I rode. He wanted to find the old Starlight Theater in Saugatuck. It was on Blue Star Highway. It was the perfect day for a drive on Blue Star. The leaves are in full color and most of them are still on the trees, that is, there are some bare branches to be seen, but most of the branches are brightly lit in colors of red orange and yellow. The sun was shining, the sky was an autumn blue. A beautiful day to take a drive in the country.

He got off US-31 at the Saugatuck exist. I thought he was going to take the Blue Star exit, but he surprised me. Adam surprised me even further when instead of going South like I thought he was, he turned left and headed North. He said that it was supposed to be 1.5 miles North of the exit. It wasn't there so I had him go further to the gas station. While I pumped my gas, Adam went inside to ask about the Starlight Theater. He said, "The girl in there said she knew nothing about it." I said well let's go down Blue Star again.

He drove South on Blue Star and I thought he might head to Glen, Ganges or Fennville, instead he turned right to go to Mt. Baldy in Saugtuck. As e climbed the 17 flights of stairs to the top two squirrels were in a panic. I looked up and saw and eagle soaring overhead. He was looking for dinner and thought a squirrel would be delicious. The squirrels ran to the trees and hid. When we got the top we took some time to look around a little. The scenic view was breathtaking, really it was, we were both out of breath from the climb. I kid you not. Saugatuck looked peaceful and past the buildings on the strip all we could see were trees in full color. It was a gorgeous view.

I was glad to see from all the carvings on the lookout that Ashley and Jon were together in '03, and that Tatinerina Roquist had been there as well. I looked around and saw a path. Adam and I followed it to a look out point were we could see Lake Michigan. Mt. Baldy is the top of a very high dune over Oval Beach. I almost walked down to see Lake Michigan up close again but that would mean I would have to walk back up that dune. I didn't want to.

The walk along the wooded path on the dune was wonderful. It was just the perfect day for a quiet adventure. There aren't many adventure as quite as quiet as looking and seeing West Michigan autumn beauty from the top a sand dune. Finally we walked back down the stairs and came home. Once home I set up the pumpkin torches. Adam put the black light bulb in the fixture by the front door. In liew of Jack O'Laterns I light orange and black candles on put them by the Oak Tree where those creatively carved pumpkins were placed in years past.

We have a medium number of Trick-or-Treaters. Considering it is a warm night, I thought we would get more. Lori took Ninja and 007 Trick-or-Treating with her sister-in-law, Paula in my father-in-laws subdivision. How many hyphens can I put in one sentence?

Adam and I listened to his compilation CD's on shuffle mode. He and I took turns handing out candy. He played air guitar and solitaire. I wrote this blog.

Happy Mid-Autumn everyone. Remember to read T.S. Eliot's "Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock before this soft October night ends.

Feeling Better

Sunday, after church, I was feeling a migraine coming on. I took ibruprophen and drank some coffee and ate a sandwhich. Later in afternoon, I took the boys to Timbertown to feed the ducks. Nathan really wanted to feed the white duck again. Canadian Geese had come in droves. Can flocks come in droves? Don't know for sure, but there were a lot of them there and more arrived while we were there.

After all the old stale bread was gone, the boys wanted to play in the Timbertown park. I was not feeling energetic and I just wanted to sit and relax. We were in there about five minutes when Nathan said he had to use the bathroom. So I walked ahead of him up a small hill to the flush toilets near the ball park.

As I got to the door to the men's room and smelled smoke. Nathan said he didn't smell anything. It smelled like burring wood. I opened the door and the restroom was filled with thick smoke. We went further inside to see what was burning and the smoke burned our eyes.
I took him to the other side and told him to use the women's room. He was uncomfortable with that, but I told him I would stand guard at the door. When he was finished Nathan wanted me to fix the men's room. His words, "fix it, get the smoke out."

I propped the door open with the Rubbermaid Trash Bin from the men's room, and waited for about 10 min. When the smoke cleared, I went back in there and stomped out the fire. It was made with three roles of toilet paper, a pack of cigarettes and box of candy. My head was really starting to hurt at this point. I was able to manage. The boys played for about an hour. Adam went to the Blazer by this time and Evan wanted to go home. Nathan was still having fun, but I told him we had to go anyway. He wanted to go back to the restroom and so we did. It was much better but still smelled like smoke.

Nathan took his time getting back to the Blazer; a white dog really got his attention, and not me, his Dad. We got home, had dinner, and I went to bed. My head was hurting. The migraine had kicked it full tilt and I was feeling pain and dizziness. I slept from 8 to 5:30 when the alarm went off. I could barely move and felt like I was going to vomit. I ended up vomiting, in a most horrible way around 8 am. Although the pain was no longer in both sides of my head, the pain in the left side was still strong. The pain, which I thought would be cut in half, only dropped about a point, from a 10 to a 9. I stayed in bed all day, only to get up to drink, eat and use the restroom.

Tuesday morning wasn't much better. The pain remained the same and wasn't showing any signs of dropping. I stayed in bed, at it wasn't until 5pm that it was finally manageable. I went to work today, late. Migraines like this leave me weak and feeling tired. I went to work late, but I worked until 6:30. I should be able to work Saturday, which will make up for most of the lost hours.

Not really an exciting way to start the week. It must have been the smoke that put me over the edge. My mom talked to me for 37 minutes on Tuesday, that made me feel a lot better. I told her that I did eat. I had cereal for breakfast around noon. Lunch was at 7 and I had a bowl of chicken vegetable soup and a toast with peanut butter, Jiff Extra Crunchy with honey. and for dinner, a bowl of oatmeal and a banana. I ate healthy.

I called the doctor to get a different prescription because Maxalt just isn't working. He wants me a diet which avoids excessive caffeine, sugar and chocolate. I only drink about 3-4 cups of coffee a day. I rarely add sugar to anything, and only eat chocolate about twice a year. I just need a more effective medicine.\

I am off to bed.

What do you do when your brakes finally fail? Well, I decided to use my vacation day to get them repaired. We don't have the money of course, so I had to take out another 401k loan to get the money. Lori called Tuffy and they said the worse case scenario would be $800. They fixed the brakes on my blazer at the tune of $750. It needed new calipers, new roters, new shoes, new pads, new hoses. It was leaking brake fluid all over the guy said. I could barely stop my blazer. I had to come to stops really slow and the brake would go to the floor. It stopped but I sure didn't feel safe driving it. The money hasn't been despoited in our checking account yet, but I really won't need it it until Tuesday.



I raked the leaves two Fridays ago and Evan built a fire in the fire pit with just a little help from me. Today, you would never would have known I raked the leaves. The backyard was full of leaves. I worked on it four three hours and got most of them, but the wind blew and brought down some more.



The lawn was thick with leaves and tomorrow I am working on the front lawn. I came home from work Tuesday and saw a bucket truck and a larger chipper truck in my yard. The large oak tree in the front yard had a few limbs gone. I came inside and was surprised by all of this and asked my lovely wife, Lori, what was going on. I said, something like this, "are the tree trimmers from the electric company or we paying them?" She said that they came by and asked if we wanted the trees trimmed. They agreed to $100 down. They did a great job and they sped of the leaf falling rate.



Evan is a special child, and he loves trying to be a grown up and do things that he thinks grown ups do, such as, using knives. He was surprised that we gave him permission to make a fire. He tried starting it by burning a twig, I showed him to get a fire started by burning newspaper first. He got it going and kept it going. The idea was to burn all the twigs and branches that had fallen in the yard while I raked.



Today Evan stayed home today because his sinuses were congested. He wasn't feeling well. I let Lori decide. She knows how much school the boys have already missed. He wanted to play outside. I told him that if he felt good enough to play outside then I would drive him to school. He went back to bed for a little while then played downstairs.



We didn't have internet this morning; Lori paid the bill over the phone. Can't wait for my big paycheck and the money from the loan.

Another Friday

Last night was our weekly pizza and Survivor night. Usually we pick up pizza from one of many pizza chains the populate the North Side of Holland. There is only one locally owned and operated pizza take out place near us, but they have limited items. Last night, Lori brought home frozen pizza. The kids ate their fill and their own complaint was that there weren't any hot wings nor were there bread sticks. Oh well, kids, learn to do with less until the money situation gets better here. Speaking of which, I am working Sunday and getting paid double time, I told Pastor Mark that I wasn't going to be there on Sunday.


Speaking of Pastor Mark, yes I was; it was contrived but I was talking about him. I met with Pastor Mark this morning to work out an Evangelism Budget, actually an advertising budget. I agree that we need to advertise, but there is no way the budget committee will ever approve the $7,000 budget I complied. But, I am aiming high.

Because I met with Pastor Mark at 10 am I did not take my morning walk through Riley Trials. I did get Adam and Evan on the bus. Evan was in a good mood and very co-operative. Adam got dressed at the last minute. The bus had to wait for him. I woke Nathan and he ate Peanut Butter Toast and drank a glass of orange juice for breakfast. He got dressed and I drove him to school. I came home, made coffee ate a bowl of cereal, took a shower and got dressed.


How exciting my life is! Isn't these mundane actions of our lives that define who we are or at least anchor us to reality. We all eat, drink, and sleep. But our individuality is best expressed in when in how we shower, dry off and brush our teeth. Everyone has their own technique and style. I will you spare you the details how I wash myself and hair and rinse and towel dry my physical body.


I forgot to take the trash out last night! I usually take the trash bin to the street (we don't have curbs in the suburbs) when I take those large cardboard pizza boxes to the trash. The frozen pizza boxes are smaller and thinner so the trash bin wasn't spilling over and I told myself to take it out later. I failed to remind myself to do that later so it didn't get done. I didn't think of it until I heard the garbage truck and then it was too late.


I arrived at church shortly after Lori got there. I gave her a 10 min head start, by drinking another cup of coffee and pulling up the heals of my Nike's that go squashed from my laziness of putting them on without untying them first. She must have stopped somewhere along the way. I wanted to to all the research in Pastors office so I could give him the information as I complied it. But, the Internet Signal was weak in his study and I had to move to anther room.

I used Lori's phone, the one in her office, to call Yellow Book and AT &T yellow pages. I was able to talk to Ashley at Yellow Book and get the rate for the ad we wanted to run. Ma Bell, (can we still call AT &T Ma Bell?) no? well I will anyway. Ma Bell tried to transfer me to the appropriate representative, but ended up back at the main menu and had to try again. A different person told me that the man I was trying to talk to doesn't work for them anymore so, they finally I was connected to a local rep. He phone rang and all I got was her voice mail. I left her a message to call me, but she didn't. Ma Bell indeed!


I deposited a check at the bank after I left church, and then came home and ate lunch. I had a sandwich and chips while watching The History Channel. I love that channel. It was their show on pirates. It was fun and very informative. Hmmm teaches and delights--that is how William Wordsworth defined poetry? Why yes it is. I love answering my own questions.


I told Lori that I wanted to grill something for dinner. She suggested getting Sizzler's from Bob's Butcher Block. She said four. I got there and told the guy four. I pointed to four. The guy and I got to talking about how good their Sizzler's are and somehow, as I recently discovered I only came home with three. He only charged me for three. I asked for four.


I folded and put away socks while listen to a CD of Buzz songs. Then I read for a while. In between my mom called and Lori came home. I put all the dishes in the dishwasher. Wow! this is a thriller blog episode. I went to pick up Nathan just as the phone rang; it was the High School telling us that Adam left school early so he could walk to the Performing Art Center. It was long walk. Why the school couldn't transport him is beyond us. He will have to ride with someone or Lori will have to drive him. Walking is out of the question; if he doesn't like making the props for The Music Man then maybe he shouldn't do it.

Right before I left to get Nathan I saw a large Praying Mantis on the slider. I didn't want to catch it but I knew the kids would want to see it. Lori said that I should close the screen on the outside and trap it for them. I did. It reminded me of when we trapped a mouse the same way.

I got Nathan at school just as I pulled onto the road, he said, "you have to go back. I forgot my prize." So, I pulled in a guy's driveway and had to back out onto the busy road. Nathan and I went back to his school and walked to his classroom where he found his sucker inside his desk. We said goodbye to his teacher, again, and came home to find that Evan caught the Praying Mantis in the bug box.

I picked Adam up at the Performing Arts Center and came home and started the grill. I was bout half way into grilling the Three Sizzler's and the four frozen sausages when Lori's dad wanted me to come over to his house and talk to me. Imagine me rolling my eyes. Anyway. I listened to what he had to say and came home to a warm dinner. It was still delicious

Some days, I think, not much happened at all, But, perhaps even in the most usual Fridays I can find drama, excitement and something to remember. That Praying Mantis is four inches long. Evan and Nathan wanted the sausages more than the steak. Funny how somethings work out anyway.

Flash Drive

About two and half years ago, my friend Jerry at work bought a 1 gig flash drive. He needed to save data from the computer we used to do vibration testing on our parts. He told me that he submitted the receipt for reimbursement, but if he had to it would come from his own pocket and he was alright with that. This was in late spring 2006 and his 1 gig Flash Drive cost about $90.

Lori wanted to use Quicken on my laptop to enter receipts and balance the checking account. This is Quicken 2002 and I was able to install on my laptop very easily. The next step was to backup the data from the desktop in the basement and restore to the Quicken Program on the laptop. Sounds easy right?

I made several attempts to backup the file onto a CD to no avail. I managed to copy the backup file from the Desktop Hard Drive to a CD but my laptop wouldn't read it. We asked Adam if we could use his 1 gig Flash Drive that I bought him at Circuit City for $6; he said he left it at school, and he forgot to bring it home today. We asked him to bring it home! Teenagers!!!

So Lori and Adam went to Wal*Mart tonight among the few items Lori wanted to purchase was our own Flash Drive. She called me soon after she left asking my opinion on what size memory to get. I told her that I thought 1 gig should be enough but two would definitely work. She said that if she could find a 2 gig for about $5 more than a 1 gig would get it.

Well, she came home with a 2 Gigabyte Flash Drive for under $13! The price on those sure has dropped since the Spring of 2006, although gas prices are considerably higher. I opened the Flash Drive from the packaging, no doubt not an easy task. and was able to back up the Quicken file from the desktop easily.

My trusty laptop restored the file in a second and all the old data was there. It was very simple. It won't break and I will take care of it. It was a good investment, and much cheaper than it would have been two years ago.

Walking and Watching

Saturday mornings are wonderful for sleeping, and that is exactly what I did yesterday morning. I slept until 9:30 and made coffee. I rinsed the pot and cleaned the parts, expect that I forgot to put a filter in the basket and coffee ran all over the counter in a steady stream toward the sink. I dumped out the coffee and cleaned the basket again and started all over.

Lori told me about this new show on the Fox Network that she wants to watch called "Fringe." Apparently, my mom and step-dad are watching it as well. So, if I want to stay in the loop I had to get caught up quickly; the show airs on Tuesdays. So, I watched about five hours of TV on my laptop. The show is produced by, Abrams, the same producer of "Lost," one of our favorite shows.

Don't think I spent the entire day watching "Fringe" and gazing into my laptop screen, because I watched most of the Michigan game. U of M started the game well but Illinois thrashed them soundly. It was sad to watch. I am am avid fan so I watch as much as time allows. Dinner was ready before the game was over. But, alas, I did not see the final blow to what was once a strong football program that had a long winning streak over Illinois.

Before the game started. i took Evan and Nathan for a walk. Evan wanted to walk on trails and Nathan wanted to go the Nature Center. I decided to take them to Riley Woods. They liked the footbridge but were disappointed in the natural woods trails. The Nature Center has wooden paths making it accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.

We walked down the yellow trail and then backtracked back to the bridge. There was a father and son fishing in Riley Lake/Pond. Really, it is too small to be called a lake, but calling that body of water, Riley Pond probably isn't as dramatic as Riley Lake. The kids like drama too. They would parent that there were bad guys in the woods and Nathan would shoot at them with his cap gun. He didn't have any caps so he only annoyed the sparrows.

Nathan got tired and had to rest on a fallen tree for awhile. But, once we got back to the "Lake" he wanted to walk around it. Evan wanted to wait by the bride. Evan and I were sword fight; he with his plastic Captain Jack Sparrow sword and me with a stick that I using to draw maps on the ground to show the kids where we were.

Evan wanted to wait by the bridge as Nathan and I walked around the "lake." Evan joined us by walking around the opposite way. We then walked across the footbridge and to the Blazer.I got home after the kickoff, but I was able to see Michigan make their first touchdown.

As I am writing this, I am watching Crucifixions on the History Channel. Before that, Lori and I watched a show on Nostradamus. I should finish reading his book. Penn of Penn and Teller made a really good point. Where were the Nostradamus experts on Sept 10, 2001 warning us about the attacks? These experts always see the prophecies after the fact.

The History Channel experts claim the Jesus died of a heart aneurysm. That would explain how he was able to cry out just before he died. Jesus was one of many victims of that cruel and humiliating death.

The alarm went off and Lori hit the snooze several times. I thought I was going to get out of bed in time to wake the boys, but I fell asleep again and didn't wake up until 7am. I woke up Adam and Evan in time to drive them to school and we would have been on time, except, Evan could not find his shoes.

He was certain he took them off in the living room while watching Survivor. As I looked through the house I realized that Evan was mistaken. I asked him again where he took them off and then remembered he was watching TV in our bedroom earlier last night. I found them on the floor, under the window next to Lori's side of the bed.

I drove them to their respective schools and walked to the office with them. I believe that makes there tardiness excused. The reason I gave was the truth. Evan could not find his shoes. He is in a special ed class, they have to understand that it can be a challenge for him to remember where he left them.

I got home and woke Nathan up right away. I explained to him that I was running a little behind because I had to drive his brothers to school. He got up right away got dressed and was ready to go. He was happy that I found his missing jacket--it was hanging on a coat hook. Yes, a coat hook that is why he couldn't find it.

I got him to school on time and he rode right next to me. I felt a little rushed all morning, but getting him to school on time made me feel calm and relaxed. So, as I drove him I had to stop at The Riley Trails.

I took a walk on the trails again this morning. The foot bridge was slippery with frost. The woods were peaceful and there was a dense mist rising from Lake Riley. I walked out of the woods and around the lake as the sunlight was shining through the mist creating a bright glare. The amazing sight was seeing the melting droplets on the bridge reflecting in the sunglight. It was bright and sparkling.

I got home was going to blog about this morning right away but Lori called me to remind me that I had a doctor's appointment. Dr. Smith was glad to see that I lost 6 pounds and that I was doing better. He thinks the dizziness should improve. He gave me a perscription for a year supply of Prozac. I got home and I was tired and went to sleep. When Lori got home I was sleeping in bed.

I picked Nathan up at school and then drove to the Eye Doctor to pay a bill. I got home and finally took a shower and shaved. Lori had gone to the store and made a simple dinner of hotdogs and Lloyd's BBQ. I cleaned up after dinner and ran the dishwasher.

Evan, Nathan and I watched The Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network and I watched The Soup by myself.

The Weekend

Friday morning I woke up around 6:15. Adam was already up and I woke Evan up for school. The morning went smooth, the two boys co-operated with me and they got the their bus on time. Evan didn't think it was warm enough for shorts so he wore his jacket to school. The temperature high on Friday was 77; shorts were appropriate weather attire.

I went back to bed until 7:50 and woke Nathan up for school. The night before he told me to pick out a red shirt for him to wear. I forgot, but he made sure that he wore a red shirt. He needed it for the fund-raiser laps he was running at school.

The fundraiser was wonderful! Rather than having the kids sell sub sandwiches and other items that no one really needs, (the kids never win the prizes for the big sales anyway) Nathan's school received funding from corporate sponsors and the parents just had to give $45 for each child at the school. The school raised over $15,000 and there will be no more fund raisers for the year! We are all happy about that.

Part of the celebration was that the kids ran laps. Nathan ran/walked six laps which was one mile. He was really hot and thirsty. He drank one glass of water and had one ICY POP. He still wanted water. All the students went back inside for a half hour of school. I drove to the gas station, bought five gallons of gas and two bottles of water.

I went back to the school and gave Nathan a bottle of water just before dismissal. We came home with the air conditioner blasting. He was happy. That night I gave him a shower because he was going to Marcie's party on Saturday.

Saturday morning I made breakfast for Lori, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, two pieces of toast, orange juice and coffee. As soon as I started cleaning up the dishes, Evan came upstairs and asked for a scrambled egg. It never fails. He could have asked while I was breaking the eggs, but no, he waited until breakfast was over. Nathan just wanted Peanut Butter Toast, which is a very easy breakfast to make.

Lori and the kids went to Marcie's and I stayed behind much to my Mom's and my father-in-law's surprise. No one talks to me and they only give me mean looks. Staying home made me happy. My plan was to watch the Michigan game. Yahoo sports said the game started at 7:30, but it ended then. I only caught the last few minutes and saw that Michigan won with remarkable comeback. I watched the highlights and was able to read the play by play on the game on Yahoo, which on one page said the game was still in progress.

Today, I went to church and I drove my pastor home. That was fun. I told some of my fellow council members about my meeting with Brenda. I hope they decide to let her come and talk to us in November.

Here comes Friday!

There is something about Thursday knowing that I have three days off that really motivates me. Work is like a circus a lot of excitement that doesn't go anywhere. I have to give them credit, there is a lot of creativity in the methods they invent to make parts fail testing.

I got home showered and Lori ordered and picked up Pizza Hut for dinner. Tonight was the season opener of Survivor and that means pizza night. Survivor was a two hour episode and I posted messages at Survivor Sucks. I haven't done that in at least two years.

This season Survivor looks rather entertaining. The Fang tribe is having a hard time getting their game together They voted out a very attractive woman, Michelle who thought the rest of the group was acting stupid, which they were.

It will be interesting to watch this season. Not the brightest players ever assembled.

Anyway, tomorrow is my turn to take Nathan to school and I will stop by Riley Trails again and take a walk. I am drinking cheap Chablis while hanging out downstairs with Lori. Family Guy is on. This has become our late night favorite even more than South Park.

In other news, will the "bail out" happen? Will John McCain make another appearance on Letterman? Why is America fascinated with Paris Hilton? We may never know.

Feeding Ducks and Dinner as Autumn begins.

Sunday after I came home from church around 1 pm; I stayed late to do the attendance sheets and transcribe pastor's sermon. As soon as I changed my clothes I asked the boys if they wanted to go to Timbertown and feed the ducks. I took all the old stale bread that we have been storing in the outside refrigerator. The boys were excited about feeding the ducks, they enthusiastically climbed into the Blazer and we headed out. Adam didn't want to drive because it was a short distance. Nathan wanted to feed the white duck and told Lori before he left, "I am going to feed the white duck and make sure that he gets bread to eat."

The white duck does stand out but when we got there we didn't see just one white duck, but three. Geese look like evolved dinosaurs; two of them, a male and female I suppose (are there lesbian ducks?) were hissing at me. They were standing on the grass near the pond looking mean even after I tossed bread at them. Nathan the fearless made a light charge toward all the ducks and the two geese that were on the grass and all the water foul retreated into the pond.

Surprisingly, there were many gulls there as well. Evan tossed a large piece of flat bread at one Mallard who caught it with half of it hanging out of his bill. One gull chased after that Mallard. It reminded me of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls are saying "mine, mine, mine."

Nathan chased all the birds into the pond after all the bread was gone.

Monday work was grueling. That is all I want to say about it. I get frustrated with the incompetence.

I got home around 6:45 and had a meeting with Brenda from the Mission Investment Fund at 7. I called her confirmed our meeting, showered, dressed and met her at The Holiday Inn Express. I rode in her rented car to Peace Lutheran and gave her the grand tour of the building. She liked what she saw and said, "it is a lot larger in the inside than it looks on the outside." After the tour we got back into her Hertz rental and asked me where I wanted to eat. She said, "you can pick anything just don't say Apple Bee's." She used the word platitude to describe chain restaurants. It must have been the word of the day for her because she used it again that night. The funny part is she noticed it herself.

I didn't tell her the name of the restaurant, rather, I gave her directions. When saw the name of the place, Crazy Horse Steakhouse, she really lit up. Brenda's words: "this place requires a beer." Spoken like a true Lutheran.

Lori complains that money is given to support the ELCA and part those funds are used on expense accounts. To our defence, I have to say throughout the dinner we talked about Peace Lutheran and fund raising and motivating church members to give more. She had some really great ideas such as Faith Promise statements.

Dinner was delicious and we each had a Miler Lite. Brenda was impressed with the service, the quality of food and the quantity. She is coming back in November and wants to go there again.

It was a great way to start Autumn.

Summer's last day.

I woke up this morning headache free.

The alarm went off at 5:30; I asked Lori several time to turn it off and she kept hitting the snooze. Finally around 6 am I got up turned on the light on the bed stand next to her and turned off the alarm and went back to bed. My watch alarm went off at 8:25 and I slept until 8:40 and then rushed to get ready for church. Did I mention that I was headache free? This was the third day in a row of waking up headache free. I have had a headache every morning for the past four months.

I was a little rushed getting to church but I made it in time. Al, the head usher, saw me running into church and held the door for me so I could sit next to Pastor before the prelude ended. He asked me how I was, and I told him I was doing better. I told him that I am taking Prozac at night and that helps me sleep better so I wake up more refreshed.

The Kyrie, which is Greek for Lord, the shortened form of Kyrie Eleison which means Lord have mercy is one of my favorite parts of the liturgy. As the assisting minister it is my part to lead. It is usually song, but I don''t have a good singing voice and I get too frustrated. So, I spoke the leader part as a meaningful prayer.

As the service continued I felt a joyful rush flow over me. I know it came from God. When I offer the chalice to those who prefer to drink from it, I usually say their name followed by, "The Blood of Christ shed for you." Today, there were about seven people in a row who were chalice drinkers and not intinkters. Then, there was a lady who was visiting today. I did something I never had done before. I asked her, "What is your name?" She said, "Elizabeth." Then I said, "Elizabeth, the Blood of Christ shed for you." She smiled.

The service ended and I felt wonderful. I stayed late and recorded last weeks attendance and transcribed Pastor's sermon on my other blog.

I got home and asked the boys if they wanted to feed the ducks at Timbertown. They said yes and I drove them all there. It was 77 degrees and hazy on Summer's last day. After feeding the ducks, Evan and Nathan played and Adam wandered around and went back to the truck and reclined the seat as if he were taking a nap.

Evan and Nathan got hot and we came home and I cranked up the air conditioning in the Blazer.

Soon after we got back, Lori and I went shopping at Family Fare and D&W. She needed Shallots and Family Fare didn't have any. While she was preparing dinner she discovered that one Shallot was rotten so I had to go back and get another package of them.

I relaxed in the hammock and watched gulls glide over my head and squirrels gather acorns in the yard and in the trees.

Dinner was good--Grilled Lemon Chicken Fettuccine.

I am off to bed. Goodbye Summer.

Last Friday of the Summer

Today, I drove Nathan to school and passed again Riley Woods Trail. It is a scenic wooded walking and cross country skiing trails. The trails wind through natural woods and an old Pine Plantation. I have been there before, but it has been awhile.

So today as I headed for home from Nathan's school, I stopped there. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining on me as I walked across the footbridge over Riley Lake and headed into the woods. The trails are cleverly marked yellow, blue and red.

I walked on the yellow marked trails and then wandered over to the blue trail. They are marked with color spray paint on the trees. I got turned around twice wandered off the blue onto the red trail and got turned around again. I headed toward Riley thinking I was close to the parking lot but I came out onto Riley Road.


I didn't panic I headed back on the blue trail heading East until I saw a sign for Riley Lake and turned right and headed for the lake. I walked back into the sun and headed for the footbridge. As I approached the bridge, a Golden Retriever came running toward me. The dog belonged my friend Tom who owns Book Village; I was surprised to see him there.

It was my intention to cross the bridge from both directions, but somehow I managed to walk too far West and too far North. Tom said to me, "you must have been on the red trail." So, after he left I walked across the bridge and back again and then I drove home.

Later, I mowed the lawn, showered, shaved, and picked up Nathan. On the way home, I got gas in the truck and then went home. It was a rather peaceful day and summer is peacefully sliding into autumn. I will return to those woods again.

Labor Day

The original plan was to take the kids to a park before lunch and then to the beach after lunch. I slept in until about 10 and we didn't end up leaving for the beach until closer to 2pm. Evan and Nathan spent most of the morning watching humorous Zelda videos on You Tube.

Here in Michigan there are laws against loitering. You can be as lazy as you want to be in your own home and no one is going to arrest you unless you become public health concern. Which means you have chosen a life style that well exceeds the parameters of laziness. Anyway, you can be arrested and charged with a fine for loitering, or you can pay an entrance fee at a State Park and loiter all you want.

The people who were at Holland State Park today were very creative with their loitering styles. Some set up tent like enclosures to keep the heat of the sun off of them, most of the people were loitering under beach umbrellas, and the rest of us were lying on blankets or towels on the sand.

The sand was very hot and inflicted pain on the delicate naked feet. Although, my feet aren't delicate the sand still hurt like a, well, it hurt a lot. Lake Michigan was between 69-70 degrees colder than yesterday, but very refreshing from the hot air and sun. Adam didn't even swim but the three of us did and we had a great time.

On the way to the beach, I stopped at the Wesco station (I wish I got paid to mention Wesco) and got 5 gallons of gas, four bottles of water and three bags of snacks, one for each of the boys who picked out their own snack. I knew we were going to be there a while, and water would be essential to have. There were given a $1 limit, because money is tight here.

Adam picked out a bag of Jay's Pretzels which he pointed out to me is now owned by the Snyder's of Hanover. Evan got a bag sunflower seeds, and Nathan got Flaming Hot Cheetos.
I just got water. After we swam for a while we went back to the beach blanket. The kids ate their snacks, except for Adam who ate all his pretzels while we were waiting to get into the State Park.

While we were waiting to get in, the line of cars being quite long, I saw many cars parked on the side of the road where No Parking signs are clearly posted. Behind all the cars was a Deputy Sheriff SUV with the lights flashing, apparently writing parking tickets. As we made our way to the beach blanket, I heard one guy say, "I can't believe I got a $50 parking ticket."
I had to laugh to myself.

All summer long we used a bottle of spray sunscreen. It has kept us from getting sunburned even at Michigan's Adventure Water park. Today, it was used up and I threw it away when we got home. I knew it was low and brought a backup sunscreen lotion. I did not want today to be the day we get sunburned.

After we had our water and snacks. I mooched some Cheetos and sunflower seeds from Nathan and Evan respectively. They were complaining that their water wasn't as cold as it was when it was purchased at Wesco (another unpaid plug). So, they dumped out the water and headed for the drinking fountain by the pavilion.

Sand on a beach, who would have thought that going to a beach means that you would get sand on your feet and legs? Well, there I was trying to fill these plastic water bottles with water from the drinking fountain. With full water pressure it wasn't too difficult, but when the faucet was being used to clean sand off of feet and legs of OCD families the water pressure was very low. While I was there attempting fill these water bottles, five families were washing of sand. It is my sincere opinion that if you have a problem with sand, don't go the beach.

My rusty Chevy Blazer has sand on the seats and the floor. Friday, I am vacuuming out the truck. I didn't care about the sand. It doesn't bother me. If I were so concerned about having sand in the Blazer, I wouldn't take the boys to the beach. I felt sorry for the little boy whose mom had pulled down his shorts and was cleaning his bare bottom by the faucet. Don't these people have showers at home? I was persistent and got our bottles filled, expect mine was 3/4 full.

The technique I used was to fill my bottle as full as I could and then pour the water into one of the other bottles, that way, Evan and Nathan had full water bottles. Nathan never drank his. He left it on the blanket and it got warm again. Right now it is in the refrigerator.

On the way to the drinking fountain, we saw Adam walking toward us from the pavilion. He said he was bored and wanted to go home. Our plan was to walk on the pier and then swim again. The look Adam gave me told me that he was really feeling bad that he even came along with us. So, I gave him the keys to the Blazer so that he could open the windows, relax and wait for us.

We walked through the scorching sand to the pier and walked to the end of the pier where many High School/College students were jumping in the water. Nathan said he wanted to jump in, but then changed his mind. I held his hand and was going to jump in with him but he backed away. I told him, "if you want to jump in, I will jump in with you. Don't feel you have to, but if you want to, we should." He said when he is older. So, that has become next year's goal.

We got back to the blanket, again, and all of us were hot and feeling a little tired. Evan was so hot and tired that he didn't even want to go back in Lake Michigan. I talked him into going in one more time, telling him that the Lake is refreshing and he will feel better. I walked with to the water and stayed with him past the sand bar where he lunged forward started swimming. He instantly was invigorated and was smiling again.

I said to him, "five minutes ago you didn't want to leave the blanket and no look how much better you feel." We swam, played tag and splashed each other for awhile and then Evan was tired and wanted to go home. He went back to the blanket to play games on my Trac Phone and Nathan started throwing wet sand at me.

At one point, I grabbed his hand to stop him and his nose got bumped and it started bleeding. I had him lie back in the water as I tried to stop the bleeding. It took sometime but it finally slowed down and we got back to the blanket, gathered everything together and headed for the Blazer.

Adam says he likes to travel light at the beach. Getting him to take a small Walkie Talkie with him as he walked around by himself was like pulling teeth. He took it with him. I tried calling him as we headed to the Blazer but he didn't answer. He told me that the rechargeable battery way low so he turned it off. What was the point?

I tried calling Lori on my Trac Phone to tell her that we were leaving and I couldn't get a signal, not even standing on a sand dune. I gave up after 7 minuets of trying to call her. If it weren't for the digital clock on the Trac Phone, I would be asking, what was the point?

We got home. I husked corn, grilled steak and after dinner, I gave Nathan a shower. It was a good day and a good summer vacation.

Last Day of August

Tuesday, Summer vacation ends for the children. August ends tonight. After church, I made lunch for myself and then for the kids. I started to feel a headache coming on. I was on our bed, relaxing and saw the sunlight on the trees. The kids were playing downstairs and didn't seem interested in doing much of anything.

So, I went for a long walk in the heat of the sun. I got sweaty and tired but I felt good for taking the walk. My shirt was sweaty. After I was home for about a half hour, I took a shower and then grilled the chicken for dinner.

Then during dinner, Nathan said he wanted to go the beach, and Adam and Evan said they wanted to go too. So we got there before sunset. Evan,Nathan and I went into Lake Michigan and played tag and splash tag. Then we walked on the pier and saw my pastor and his wife.

We managed to make it through summer vacation without poison ivy attacks nor major sunburns. I guess I did learn something from last years mistakes. The children learned the benefits of sunscreen. Nathan carries the bottle of sunscreen to the beach every time we go to the beach and asks me to spray it on him.

We managed to develop a routine when we swim which makes it easier for me. Everyone carries something.

Day of Wine, Birdseeds and Heavy Lifting

I haven't met a glass of wine, yet, that I haven't liked and this afternoon was no exception. It was at Megan Hunt's wedding reception. I wasn't invited to the wedding, but I made it to the reception. The appetizers were delicious and I was able to impress a few of my fellow Peace Lutheran members with my self taught chopstick skills. Megan's students made chopsticks with Chinese poetry inscribed on them. She asked that everyone take a set. I took one set but before I left I saw that many were left, so I took two more sets and brought them home for Evan and Nathan who like to use them as well. Evan really tries to use them and has some success with them. They were really happy that I gave them real, authentic Chinese chopsticks.
The wine I drank was white and chilled and tasted really good. I was teased for taking several trips to the table where the wine was and even more for pouring it myself, when Julie would have gladly poured it for me. I demonstrated my wine pouring skills by turning the bottle as I finished pouring to prevent dripping. Dave Barnett thought that I did well.
It was a good reception. I didn't dance though as I have at other wedding receptions mostly because Lori wasn't there. Megan had a laptop set up with a camera. The idea was that everyone was to write a message to them and then they could put the message in their photo album along the message. I just wrote something out to Megan and Kyle and decided to forgo the photo. I don't like getting my picture taken and I really didn't think they wanted my picture anyway. They don't have to keep my message but I hope they read it.
I left soon after Megan and Kyle left. We through bird seed at them; the bird seed was kept in red sacks with Chinese print on them.
At 9 am this morning I walked to Jennifer's trailer to help her pack up all her belongings. Jennifer has moved to Grand Rapids. It was humid and I and the other guys loaded all her worldly possessions in under two hours. I walked home hot and sweaty, took a shower and ate lunch. I made lunch for Evan and Nathan and then took a nap. I woke up around 2. I groomed myself, got dressed and then drove to Target where I purchased a gift card for Megan and Kyle.
Like I said, the wine was good.