December 23, 2005

Yesterday, what a day! My plan was not to go anywhere but I went to town for a $10 haircut that based on Eldon prices, was worth $14. At Eldon, they get $12 for a whip'er out cut and only $10 here for a nice, worked on hair cut. I did tip the guy a buck but I had my tongue in my cheek trying to suppress my feeling of guilt of not giving him more.

Then, I took Dory to a couple of stores for a few things. Wait! Before shopping for necessities could begin we had to check out the Fortune Casino.

We had already eaten breakfast at home, so the discovery of their special of, two eggs, hash browns and toast for 49 cents was too late. I wanted to order it anyway but Dory said that she was against it. She said that the feeling she had as we stood there so close, might not be, if the size of my middle kept increasing. I've got such a huge middle, I took her comment as a compliment and did not order the breakfast. Worry, worry!

Out of the whole thing, we/I took her to the places that she thought she need to then on the way home.........there was Railroad Pass. We hadn't stopped there yet tho it is only a little over 2 miles from home. Anyway we stopped this time. Stopping there made coming through the pass for home, kind of like a toll. If you go straight thru, you are not forced to pay a toll. Our verbal plans are to do the straight thru thing in the future. That plan is sort of complicated tho, as we have a couple of free ???? meals there that we wouldn't want to miss out on.

"All the fat guys watch me and say to their wives, 'See, there's a fat guy doing okay. Bring me another beer."~ -Mickey Lolich

December 22, 2005

Yesterday was good all day long but it was the best at 5:00 a.m get up time and 10:00 p.m. going to bed time. At least those are my two favorite times of the day. Tho I can't say anything bad about all the stuff between the two times either.

We visited a couple of casinos, Emerald Island and the Fiesta. Made a little money, saw some good prices for breakfast at the Emerald island and had a free Samo buffet at the Fiesta then got home full, tired and feeling like we'd been somewhere.

Wouldn't you think, after cooking the same old stuff over and over for many years, that at least one or two of the dishes would get better? Not so! They are still serving the samoshit! If it was truly free one shouldn't complain but I think we've paid them enough to have better chefs with new and better dishes by now!

Today may be an 'eat leftover ham' at home kind of day. Man, that ham is good and it is still unbelievable that it was only 38 cents a pound. We wish not that we had picked up more than one!

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.~John Lennon

December 21, 2005

We had a good visit with the cuz and his wife yesterday. We were to meet at the Tropicana registration desk at 2:00. Glenda and I got there a little early. Anyway as 2:00 came and went we were sitting at a bank of two machine back to back with another couple machines. We faced the registration desk but had to stand to look over the machines. About 2:10 we decided to walk through the registration area another time and as we rounded the corner we discovered Eugene and Jo sitting at the two machines butted up to the ones we were playing. When we stood to look for them we was looking across and just above the top of their heads. We were all winners in that we got to visit but I paid for my wait while the others received a little pay.

Today is going to be a very nice day weather wise and life wise but we can only hope about financial wise. Without hope life can't be a dream sweetheart!

Hope is but a waking dream.~Aristotle

December 20, 2005

It is only 30* here this morning but that is certainly better than the reported 18* in Rocky Mount! The high here is going to be a lot better too.

Glenda went to Sam's Club yesterday to make a few bucks at the game of bingo. Somewhere along the way the lines got crossed leaving Sam's club the maker of the few bucks. Glenda is no quitter! I bet she will be right back in that bingo fray in a couple of days. Probably dragging me along.

We're off to the Tropicana today where we're supposed to meet one of my cousins and his wife. They are only here for a short time so I suspect it will not be a very long visit. It's hard to visit with all the gambling going on anyway but it will be good to see them again. Especially when the occasion is a wedding instead of a funeral.

Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.~Lewis Carroll

December 19, 2005

Checked in at a few places yesterday (Sunset, Sam's Town and the Gold Rush) so that we might start getting the mailed bargains one more time. It doesn't sound like we'll be getting very much this year. We were gone too long or some kind of deal. Who knows? We still have enough points left to reap a few of the so called free meals. However, the trip around didn't come very cheaply tho we can call it another experience!

I think Glenda told me that today is a do something around the house day so it's possible we'll save some money and some of those food points too. I hated to hear Glenda say yesterday, that we could eat out cheaper than we can buy groceries and cook at home. She did cook a ten pound or so ham that we bought it at Food-4-Less paying only 38 cents per pound. There is enough for many meals I'm telling you. Now tell me it is cheaper to eat out. I'm a little teed that we only bought one.

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.~Oscar Wilde

December 18, 2005

Our might be daily, Las Vegas (Henderson) report for December 17:

No, we don't go to Las Vegas very often. Anyway, we went to the Fiesta (HENDERSON) yesterday and only to the Fiesta. I won really good there until the guy next to me blew his nose or was it when the smoking couple started talking very loud standing almost behind me? It might have been when Glenda came to sit beside me. Whatever, I cashed out my $60 winnings and went elsewhere. Elsewhere, I found more loud smoking people that seemed to suck some of my luck/skill but I'm now remembering that Glenda came along too....Humm. We finally got away with enough to try it again another day but any free meals???? are still in question.

We ended up coming home and eating snacks that we sat out for our most beloved relatives here in Boulder City. They all came and ate some of the stuff that I was unable to eat before they got here. We had a pretty good visit.

Today we may check in at the Sunset and also Sam's. We need to check in so they will begin sending us their enticement lists.

Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich--something for nothing.George Bernard Shaw

December 17, 2005

We left home at 4:50 a.m. on Thursday and drove 904 miles. After a nights restless fight with the animals in Moriarty we got up and left there at 5:30 and drove the remaining 594 miles to Boulder City 89005. Got here tired with no workable phone nor email server.

A real good nights sleep last night and we are almost as good as new. Well, I might should say that we're feeling about as good as we were before we left which is one heck of a long ways from feeling new!

It's a little cool here but we don't need a jacket!

Dory said there is something calling her over the hill so we've got to go over there now to answer.........bye.

A safe but sometimes chilly way of recalling the past is to force open a crammed drawer.~James M. Barrie

December 14, 2005

A rough day ahead of us here. Ninety seven trips up and down the stairs as we lug what few belongings that we can find room to haul. A huge portion of the back seat is taken up by a couple of animals that don't seem to appreciate the good ride at all. Then the up front passenger seat is taken up by another unappreciative being. Unfortunately this one can talk. On several trips I've been tempted to tie her up, put a blindfold on her and lay her in the back floorboard but I can't do it this time because it will be full of other stuff.

So as it is now I've got to get with it and you may not read nary another thing from us for several days.

Merry everything and thanks again for all your prayers!

Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.~Jacques Maritain

December 13, 2005

We're out of here. Heading for Columbia and the doctor appointments. We believe things are as they should be so not too much worry about this visit. Well, there are a few but some just can't be helped.

Daughter Debi is taking a day off work and plans to meet us at the hospital again. She sure is good to have around and asks questions of the doctors that we should know enough to ask but don't.

I'm thinking a little extra prayer would be most welcome!

If you worry, you didn't pray. If you pray, don't worry.

December 12, 2005

No time like the present....Matter of fact if you're not in the present you don't have any time at all. But I just wanted to say I have very little time at the present to devote to this failing endeavor. Yes I'm aware that the quality time I spend typing here is almost a complete waste of my time and some of yours too. Even if you hit the delete button right away without reading this it still takes at least a second then the wonder if you might have found something interesting for once will play in your head consuming a little more of your time. ........ Or it may not.

Gotta go now........We're taking the car to be worked on and dropping Mikey off to get cleaned up then I'm talking Glenda to breakfast in honor of our anniversary today. Wow! I'm just so proud to be here but it seems like it is a lot more years there than what is. Whatever happened to "Time really flies when you're having fun"?

The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.~Unknown

December 11, 2005

I've been told that today is a clothes packing day. Of course I'll want to take what I always wear so what will I wear till we get to Boulder City? I'm thinking Glenda will have the answer for that but will I like it? I wouldn't want to get shot over the deal so I'll just do like I always do, bite the bullet and like it.

We have a few things to get taken care of on the car tomorrow then Tuesday we go to Columbia for all of Glenda's tests. Wednesday is car packing day and Thursday is a driving day. I need to check the driving conditions sometime between now and then. Think I'll wait closer to the leave date. If things go as planned we should get into Boulder City mid-afternoon on Saturday the 17th.

I like getting there but with the animals in the back seat and Glenda riding beside me it sure can be a struggle. I wanted to switch Glenda to the back seat and put the animals up front but Glenda vigorously vetoed that idea.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.~Denis Waitle

December 10. 2005

Got up this morning feeling kind of lost in a non-caring attitude about the day. Don't know what the deal is but I guess I'll haft to ride it out hoping that it will pass soon. Meanwhile, struggling with this doesn't seem to help the cause so in an effort to lessen the chance of worsening the picture I'm not going to pounce around on this keyboard anymore for now.

Happy comes and happy goes. A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth.~George Bernard Shaw

December 9, 2005

Kind of cold here at 7 degrees but our hearth is warm as well as our hearts. My hands aren't cold so something must be amiss in that "cold hands, warm heart." Oh well, the sun is shinning brightly. It is so bright with all the white and the sunshine it is almost painful to look for any length of time out the window but I'm doing a lot of that. I've been seeing two bald eagles flying around in our neighborhood. One immature and one mature bird. Yesterday the mature bird landed in the tree right outside the window in front of the computer. That's less than 20 feet away. Glenda was at the computer at the time and rather than reach 27 inches to her left for the camera she ran into the other room to get me. I did get to see the guy fly off from the window in the other room. Glenda said that he was a huge bird and very indescribably beautiful. After that I got sitting sores sitting here waiting for him to come back.

If you bothered to read this so far, I surly don't want to waste anymore of your time so I'll just slip on out of this little note.......

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.~G. M. Trevelyan

December 8, 2005

Just a short note to let you know we're thinking about you and let you know that we got us a little snow last night and it's still snowing tho only lightly. Schools are closed everywhere and even tho we've received less than an inch so far. I guess it must be very slick. I'll find out after while when I go out to start the shoving it around. I may try the blower first. I don't see any sense in starting the removal attempt until it quits tho.

I thought North Shore was only supposed to plow our road when we got over two inches but he has already been here this morning. I guess they needed a little extra income. The road is about covered again where he plowed too. Of course he didn't plow to the end of the road, stopping at the other side of Parkers drive, there by leaving us to clean our own little part of the road. They may get a call from Glenda before this day is over.

The doctor said I could do some lifting now, just in time for the snow fall. He did caution me not to over do it for awhile.

Good things, when short, are twice as good.~Gracián

December 7, 2005

One of yesterdays visits was postponed until today because the doctor was in surgery. That means a 9:00 for the CPAP mask and 10:00 for the hernia doctor in Columbia then a 12:00 for the dentist and a 1:00 for a tire rotation in Jeff City. Busy is as busy does and I hate appointments!

Ruthie went with us yesterday and that just about convinced me that the old steering wheel was going to be jerked toward I70 yesterday and by George it was. That free meal was costly too. That is the last time I plan to be in that rip-off place this year!

I did walk up to a young security officer while there and stated to him that I wanted to report a robbery. He looked pretty shocked as did the black guy that was standing near us. I told the security officer that every machine that I had played in the casino had robbed me. The first look on both their faces was worth a good bunch of what I had lost.

Of course the meal was.....we were able to eat anyway. The waitress came to pick up some of the used plates which because of the flavor or whatever, had stuff still in them. I told her to be careful with the one plate because it contained mostly vomit. We're really welcomed there any time.

Bye.

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.~Elbert Hubbard

December 6, 2005

Getting out of the house again today. I have some routine visits scheduled with a couple of doctors in Columbia. The last visit should be over by 1:30 and I'm trying not to worry which way Glenda will make me steer the car to head home. If she pushes me toward I70, it is about 18 miles further but could cost several dollars more. There would be a couple of free meals included but who can tell how much free might cost? You don't need to be piped aboard but you do need a card to gain entrance to the casino area.

The gambling boats seem to be the only places that I walk to and into at a slow pace then leave almost at a run. One of these days, as I'm leaving, I hope to get enough courage to let the sounds going around in my throat loose just to see if I can understand them. They would probably come out as things that I wouldn't want anyone else to hear.

A very, very cold day here and I'm again without words to type................................Hum...

A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself.~Louis L'Amour

December 4, 2005

Had some folks over last night and we all played a little poker till around 9:15. We're all too old for any of those late night/all night gigs anymore. It was a nice and enjoyable way to supplement our happiness especially since Glenda and I came out together with a $24.15 winning score. Yes, Glenda won most of it but she didn't enjoy playing very more than the rest of us did.

I took the time to look at today's slate and it was clean. Either Glenda forgot to do the list or she hasn't gotten around to it yet. Could it be that our day will be left to the whims that may arise as the day progresses? I like the reading of that!

One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.~Virginia Woolf

December 3, 2005

Another, "GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING"! That is if you don't let negatives mess around with the GREAT. Today's weather report: (Look for a mixture of precipitation today, possibly starting as freezing rain, shifting to rain, then becoming mixed with light snow late in the evening.)

I assure you the weather isn't going to make or break our day for us. We intend to enjoy it and we thank the Lord for the privilege that allows us to have another day period! Many, many blessings that include small common things that we so often take for granted or overlook are everywhere. Why just this morning I had to pause and give thanks for the renewed ability to put my socks on with both hands again. That tiny little chore had been a huge struggle while I couldn't bend over and was forced to attempt it using only one hand. I'm telling you blessings abound!

Well shoot! We're hoping that you pause a few moments to reflect on some of your blessings.

Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.~Charles Dickens

December 2, 2005

A mite chilly around here at 18* with a little wind bringing the chill factor down to around 12. Not too bad sitting here looking out the window. I'm watching the fog raise off the lake. After it gets so high it slaps the lake surface as it appears to freeze and fall back. You need to look real hard to see this as there is more fog still rising as the frozen fog falls somewhat obscuring the real drama. Imagine that! .......... I think I just did.

Dory is going to the bowling alley for a few games this afternoon leaving me here to take care of the home front and the animals. Russell is going to be gone for most of the day so that puts Daisy on the animal list too. That is going to be some cold walks!

I know that I have a lot more things to say but I suffer from an inability to put my warped thoughts into an understandable row of typed words. An undisguised blessing?

It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them.~Pierre Beaumarchais

December 1, 2005

Here, another nasty, cold and windy day that we're proud to be a part of. When we count our blessings an ugly day pales to nothing. Did you ever wonder how cold has a tendency to perk up a couple things on a woman and shrivel a deal on a man? Nothing wrong about wondering but I guess there might be something said about sharing the wonderment but I can't see why.

I've about decided to get out of the house for awhile today. Since it's so hard to have Glenda driving from the passenger side of the car while I'm driving and seeing as how the hernia operation has caused extreme muscle contractions to be so uncomfortable that I can't possibly ride with her just yet, we're taking separate vehicles. Since watching her drive might cause a contraction, I'll go to Eldon and the library while she heads over to Osage Beach and we'll stager our departing times.

Nope, I don't believe that I can say nothing any better!

A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change.~Katharine Butler Hathaway

November 30, 2005

On a day like today I passed the time away.............with nothing to say again.

Glenda is going to Jeff again today with Ruthie. I know some folks may be wondering???? They each recently had their haircut pretty short. Not quite a butch but kinda short anyway.

I'll just sit around here feeling worthless! Can't lift hardly a thing and when you can't lift anything what good are you to anyone. Well, I'm still good to myself. Here in the back of my mind I'm enjoying every minute and I can still lift the TV remote and a good book! Still can't type, spell nor punctuate but that isn't caused by the belly button hernia operation. It's caused by that blissful state of ignorance that was created by not using a lot of what I was taught over 46 years ago.

No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut and his fingers off the keyboard.~Sam Rayburn(edt)

November 29, 2005

Pretty cold here......Wait a minute! Let me think. Well, there may be some cold that is pretty but you need to be sitting in a nice heated area looking out the window. Probably at a snow covered landscape with a few large flakes still floating earthward. I realize now that I made a mistake when I said it was pretty cold here today. It is a really ugly cold! The sky is an ugly gray with a sharp wind whipping around blowing pieces of the brown covered ground around as it shakes the masses of dirty hanging twigs of varying sizes that not long ago were leaf covered limbs.

Dory is headed to Jeff with the girls and I've picked up another dog to baby sit along with Mikey making Tomi minority a minority. Actually he is a minority in numbers only because I think he can probably put about three dogs to cowering in a corner at the same time.

A strange dog was on the porch a day or two ago and Tomi was at the window growling. It was a mean sound and loud enough the dog didn't stick around. One time we were outside the front door with Tomi when a strange dog started down the steps from the driveway. Tomi huffed up and growled real mean and when the dog didn't take off Tomi ran toward him still growling. The dog immediately left the area.

Nope, nothing to say again today.

Either I've been missing something or nothing has been going on.~Karen Elizabeth Gordon

November 28, 2005

Right here we've made it through all the weather just fine but it sure is cloudy and very windy at this time. It's 45 degrees now but it is supposed to go down as the day progresses, with snow flurries probable. Seems like something like this happens every year around here. Ain't that a shame?

Glenda was going to Jeff City to hang out with her mother for awhile today but Lena brought home about $1,800 more than she took to the boat on her last visit and her friend Pat around $2,000 so they're going back today. I guess they're feeling guilty about absconding with the money so they're taking it back.....Or maybe the big bad greed monster reached out and grabbed them.

That leaves both of us hanging around here trying to keep warm as we enjoy the luxury of retirement with only a smidgen of worry about our cash reserves to bother us. We neither one want to run out of the ability to pay while we're still here to do it.

Good is a word that is only a minor example of what we wish for you today.

Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.~Janwillem van de Wetering

November 27, 2005

Sitting around here in this warm 56 degree weather just waiting for the rain to strike. The possibility of some severe storms this afternoon or early evening is being touted too. I think weather forecasting is a tricky game and they are wrong quite often. Now if they give you a 70% chance of rain, with the 30% of the times that they are wrong, what would really be our chance for rain, humm?

So with that, on with this vegetarian note. We haven't been involved in anything that is worthy of mentioning. We haven't had any great inspiring thoughts pass thru our heads or at least hang around long enough for us to notice them. Jump down, spin around, do the regular stuff. Jump down, spin around, do it again today. I'm kinda liking it myself but it sure serves up a meatless note, doesn't it.

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.~Mark Twain

November 26, 2005

The sun is up and about and this son is up and about too. I'm about to send another short, 'we're thinking about you', note. Nothing to say is normal when you're old and gray. If you're not careful getting older can take the funny out of everyday occurrences. I'm fighting this and will till my last day! Funny is all around us and we need to see it now more than at any other time.

A nice day is happening here. The blue skies are being accented by a bunch of clouds of many different shapes and different coloring for each. Some have a tiny bit of orange tint and some have a big blob of dark gray. The main color seems to be a yucky off white but I think white would be the color classification. Overall it isn't really that pretty by itself. You need a pretty thought to appreciate it and I had a flash of one. Oh where, oh where, did it go?

A laze around day is the only thing I have on my list but Glenda hasn't made her appearance yet. Man, it is so easy now to forget the lifting limit. I've made a couple of errors in the last few days but they haven't caused a problem as far as I know.

With nothing to type, short is the best kind of note.

Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.~Lazurus Long

November 25, 2005

We trust you had a happy day yesterday as we did and hope all your/our coming days be just as happy. I did find a problem with my happy of the day when I laid down in the bed on my back. I couldn't see my feet until I pumped up the pillow, then about all I could see were my toes. It looked like ten little pigs peeking over the hill trying to figure out if the loud moans and groans was a pig call or not. Glenda told me that I had probably ate/eaten too much. Duh!

You do know the sure way one can tell when he/she has had enough is only after he/she has ran out into the too much area. I was enjoying the meal so much that I missed the too much until I got way into the second plate full and it's isn't very nice to leave any on your plate so I didn't. No problem hauling it home. I just sat it on my lap and drove away.

We may slip over to Wal-Marts for a few minutes sometime today. No, we don't want your sympathy, making the trip is of our own choosing.

Never eat more than you can carry.~Miss Piggy (edt)

February 24, 2005

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS, MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE.
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF YOUR THIGHS!

In case you didn't make it get home...we hope your THANKSGIVING will still be a HAPPY ONE.

1 Thessalonians 5:18:
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

November 23, 2005

She did it to me! No, nothing like that! She wangled me into a trip. In less than an hour we're heading out for Boonville and the gambling boat. She tells me I need to get out and about once in awhile but the only reason we're going is because, SHE WANTS TO GO and I'm such a kind and caring person.

Beyond that there is nothing worth reporting this morning.

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.~Barbara De Angelis

November 22, 2005

I'm not too happy about getting up in the morning anymore. I go from feeling really good laying in the bed to barely passable after I get up. That halfway pain sure does daunt my enthusiasm for jumping out of bed. Halfway pain is derived from it's mid-body location. As I've said before it isn't really pain but a nagging uncomfortable ache. It interferes with several of my first of the morning duties then subsides until I sit down. Then it kicks up again for awhile.

It has been pretty cool here so a man does need to wear socks and putting them on is a pretty good challenge. Try putting a sock with good elastic around the opening on your feet with only one hand, you'll see what I mean. Everything is smooth as butter with better happening and it sure is here with us.

Glenda, while still lying in bed, started out this morning with a question that had a four letter word in it that really caused me to cringe. Nah, unfortunately it was nothing like you might imagine. She asked me if I wanted to go to the boat today! You know when she starts, no will not suffice for very many days but I did get a reprieve, (to postpone or cancel the punishment), for this day. We will just need to wait on tomorrow to see what it brings.

Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not been able to answer... the great question that has never been answered: what does a woman want?~Sigmund Freud

November 21, 2005

Tomi is well, Mikey is well, Glenda is well and I'm, well, I'm still plagued by the get up sit down aggravation caused by the hernia operation but it is getting better. One of my sure fire Monday duties is to take the trash out and I can't even do that for the next three weeks. Glen Dandy to the rescue, Glen Dandy to the rescue, Go, Glen Dandy, Go!

We took our aluminum cans in last Wednesday and picked up $9.22 to add to the $12.14 already in our crazy money account. That brought the fund up to more than our checking account where we really need it but we don't want to take anything from the checking for crazy things. Fast foods are one of the crazy dumb things we use it for. Things like french fries, Big Macs and an order or two of Chester Fried chicken gizzards once in awhile. Like a lot of other Eldon residents, just because we're poor doesn't mean we can't still be fat.

It looks like I pretty well covered the Health and wealth leaving happiness still to come. Stab, stab, I'll make a stab at that too. Our plans for the day include a nice and exciting trip to Eldon that to add a little fun to the trip, will include a visit to the library. We'll pick up four or five good books and then leave there and head for home as happy as can be.

That could be called covering it all but it seems like I've missed a few things. I'll go study on that.

It's pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty an' wealth have both failed.~Kin Hubbard

November 20, 2005

Cloudy and some rain in the forecast makes for a perfect day to lay around reading and watching the NASCAR race. The only 'too bad' that I can think of is I'm on my last book and the library isn't open. I may be forced to dig around and read a Sandra Brown love story. Skip thru some of the scenes and those books aren't too bad.

Things with my middle are going just fine. Mostly the getting up or the sitting down is where the problem lies. A minute or so after getting set, the pain or ache goes away as is the same with standing. I can understand what the doctor meant now when he told me that I might be tempted to cheat and lift something before the three weeks are up. He strongly advised me to pass up on any such temptations. It is pretty hard for me to remember that there is a problem now that things feel so good.

A nice day for oneself is best achieved by working toward making it a nice day for another. DO IT!

November 18, 2005

A good nights sleep and I'm feeling fine. Things worked good with the operation and it didn't take all that long. We got to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. yesterday. They took me back around 6:15 a.m. then took me to the operating room about 7:30 a.m. It took about an hour. Then I was in recovery about another hour and then back to a room. We finally got to leave about 10:45 a.m.

On the way home we had to stop in Eldon and get him some pain medication. Got home about 1:15 p.m. I'm doing just great, but have a little bit of pain. I think instead of pain it is more like an ache, not a very good ache either. The biggest problem is not being able to lift anything. One other little aggravating worry is the bleeding. It hasn't run out of the bandage yet but it still is somewhat worrisome.

Glenda has said several times over the past few years that she might volunteer at a hospital doing what I don't know. I do know she is very good at taking care of an out of the groove type person! God bless her!

There are enough abouts in the above message but we didn't think it would hurt to let you know we're still about.

We should not consider painful what is good for you.~Euripides

November 16, 2005

Really cool here this morning, 28 degrees with a stiff wind blowing. The wind chill factor brings it down into the teens but I missed the number. Brr tomorrow night it is supposed to be down to 15 degrees. Where art tho Boulder City? I assure you, it is a place that is heavy on our minds. Of course some of the people there are aways on our minds.

Glenda is going in to Eldon for another therapy treatment on her leg this morning then over to Osage Beach for a few things. I have a couple or three things I would like to get done while I still can. I hate deadlines and appointments but we have both right now and I hate them!

To be wordy without saying anything is truly a waste of time for all. I don't want to waste anymore of your time this morning!

We read the world wrong and say that it deceives us.~Rabindranath Tagore

November 15, 2005

Pretty rainy here at this time and supposed to continue most of the day. It is good that the rain is here now and not Thursday night when the forecast is for temperatures to be around 16 degrees. I don't need a big reason but the cold and the hernia operation should suffice to allow me to sit for long spells in the old recliner without a hint of nagging guilt.

I had a flash of sadness awhile ago. As I looked out the window the rivulets of rain interrupted my view and as my focus changed to some of them, I was reminded of tears. Tears are usually for sad occasions but as I struggled with the feeling, the knowledge that tears are sometimes shed at very happy times too came to bare. Whew! After all that I've ended up somewhere in the middle. That middle is probably the normal state for most of us.

As I sure you can see I've still nothing worthwhile to type so I'm going to quit fighting it this morning.

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.~John Milton

November 14, 2005

Great day in the morning! Just like always it starts out good but it doesn't always keep getting better. This morning it's raining a little with more to come this afternoon. I still have several things to do before I'm put out of action for a short period. No sweat for the wicked....Un, I mean I don't have any job too wicked to sweat about. I kinda like working around here. Working was the wrong word to use but being left alone, messing around just didn't sound proper.

Glenda and Ruthie are going to Jeff to take Aunt Sue out to lunch for her birthday. They will pick Lena up too. I'm sure there will be some shopping involved somewhere in thier day too. I've discovered that they don't haft to need anything to shop.

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.~Colleen C. Barrett

November 13, 2005

Things are looking better around here. The leading factor for me is that my blood pressure is back down to near normal. I hadn't been checking my blood pressure for a long time and the last trip to the doc they checked it at about 160/109. The doc asked me to keep track of it for a week or so and if it didn't go down he would prescribe another medicine. During the week and some days that I checked it, it was always between 164 to 172 on the high side and 107 to 114 on the low. We finally got another prescription and it works (128/79 this morning). Now if we can only afford it!!! It seems like some take their health for granted and end up very surprised when some of it begins to abandon the vessel. Oh, if I hadn't gotten fat!

Today is a NASCAR race day so we're just as content as we can be. Glenda cooked me a pot of pinto beans with ham-hocks last night too, so I'm ultra happy. Oh, why am I so fat?

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy.~Izaak Walton

November 12, 2005

Bowling wasn't that bad yesterday. There was only six of us and only two were women so it went pretty fast. Glenda and Ruthie were the two and they visit and talk all the time so they didn't delay the game much. Oh I did need to say something a couple of times but it was still a good outing. I was bowling for my first time in over 2 years and still had games of 155, 158 and 165. Alas, those scores will be my first and only for the year with the operation coming up Thursday. Glenda really tried hard to beat me on the last game but I held her off. She did make a heck of a run tho and came up just a point short with a 164.

Looks like rain here and the electricity just went off but came right back on. We may not be on-line much longer this morning and I have a few other things to do on here so this is the end my friend.

"Early to bed and early to rise -- till you get enough money to do otherwise." - Peter's Almanac

November 11, 2005

Bowling wasn't that bad yesterday. There was only six of us and only two were women so it went pretty fast. Glenda and Ruthie were the two and they visit and talk all the time so they didn't delay the game much. Oh I did need to say something a couple of times but it was still a good outing. I was bowling for my first time in over 2 years and still had games of 155, 158 and 165. Alas, those scores will be my first and only for the year with the operation coming up Thursday. Glenda really tried hard to beat me on the last game but I held her off. She did make a heck of a run tho and came up just a point short with a 164.

Looks like rain here and the electricity just went off but came right back on. We may not be on-line much longer this morning and I have a few other things to do on here so this is the end my friend.

"Early to bed and early to rise -- till you get enough money to do otherwise." - Peter's Almanac

November 11, 2005

Yesterday went pretty good. Glenda had no bumps in her road so it won't need to be traveled again for several years in the future. It was thought this to be the case but it makes for a more peaceful life to make sure. I had the ore-op stuff and am ready for the next Thursday deal.

Using some threats that I don't want to repeat here Glenda forced me to chauffer her to the little boat in Boonville. I quickly got away ahead of the game but being greedy near as quickly came back to my original investment before I could get the stop order to be received. I did end up even. Glenda doesn't want to talk about her investment experience.

Neither of us had eaten anything all day so around 1:30 we went to their buffet. They charge $8.99 cents for a $3.00 buffet but they gave us each one free and it only cost us $25.00.

Today is Glenda's bowling day and because of her thinking there won't be many bowling today, I've just about decided to I join the old folks for once. I'll need to take a few medical supplies for afterwards. The need to curtail the bleeding of my tongue from biting it for two hours will be a serious need.

'Fun fun fun till daddy took the t-bird away.'

Life is not a spectacle or a feast; it is a predicament.~George Santayana

November 10, 2005

Man going where man has never gone before. An important inner space exploration project has been scheduled and Glenda has been asked to participate. One small poke for man, one huge worry for Glenda. Yep, she is getting her colonoscopy this morning in Columbia....I mean in the rear in Columbia. No special reason, except due to things being the way they have been it was thought to be a smart thing to do. After and during all the drinking of the stuff yesterday, she got a lot of good exercise and also I believe limbered the area up some.

I'm supposed to stop by the hospital to get a few tests or checks in preparation for the hernia operation next Thursday.

No time to give much thought to very many things anymore, we're stepping right along here!

Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.~David Borenstein

November 9, 2005

A nice day starting at 54 degrees with a rather stiff breeze but lots of good old sunshine. Tomorrow morning is supposed to begin with a 21 degree or more, colder temperature. Now won't that be nice?

Zippity do da, zippity a, my oh my what a wonderful day, plenty of leaves are still blowing our way, zippity do da zippity a.

Glenda is going in this morning for a therapy treatment on her leg. It is supposed to show her how to limber it up at home so she is scheduled for only two trips. It is limber enough but it stiffens up while she sleeps or when she sits for an extend period. They said due to the radiation that if she should ever be in a car wreck it would probably break that leg. Also if she should get a splinter or do anything minor like that to the leg she may need to see a doctor because the healing ability of that leg is not near up to par.

It had been a long time since we've had a visit with Ruth and Bob but we had a happy one yesterday. The meal was very scrumptious too. Matter of fact it was so good that I've had to struggle with what was best, the food or the visit.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.~Marcel Proust

November 8, 2005

Today we're invited to lunch in Jeff City. Ruth, whom I call Glenda's God Mother, was the sweet lady who invited us. I think Lena is going to be there too. I don't know about anyone else.

Glenda did pretty well yesterday bringing home a dab of extra money. She had won really good and then made the mistake of returning to the machines after lunch. That cut her winnings from really good down to what might be seen as only good to a lot of people but to us poor folks, $150 is still very, very- really good.

I made a mostly enjoyable round trip yesterday. I went by and visited a little with daughter Debi then went to the new Fabick store in Columbia. Then I stopped by to be prodded by the doctor. He made arrangements to do the deed to the hernia November the 17th.

Debi was great as could be but our visit was interrupted a few times with business. Her boss seems to be a right nice guy. It was surprising to see so much business and manufacturing going on out there in the middle of nowhere.

The new Fabick store was an impressive sight! A huge inventory of equipment too. It location is a little out of the way but still..............I can't help but wonder what if? What if they had built that store fifteen or twenty years ago? Oh well, I'm past all that now.

The doctor, Bruce Brown, is a nice friendly doctor. I hope he is as good as he comes off to be. I wasn't tickled about the facts as he related them but it needs to be done. He said the first week I would be in lots of pain and will be asked not to lift anything over ten pounds for three to four weeks depending on whether he uses mesh or not. That may or may not interfere with our leaving here for Nevada, right after Glenda's check-up or not. So goes life!

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.~John Lennon

November 7, 2005

Glenda is going with a couple loads of woman to Boonville today. It's someone's birthday I think. What a nice way to celebrate!

I'm going to meet the surgeon to discuss the hernia and it's repair. I don't believe I'll celebrate this yet.

We hope you have a bunch of good to celebrate!

The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.~William Shakespeare

November 6, 2005

We went thru hail last night! Mother Nature treated us to a quartet. She set the scene with cloudy skies and a pretty strong wind then she sent lightning and thunder with rain and hail beating on the roof to entertain us. Is being tortured a form of entertainment? With a tornado watch in effect it was a mite scary and the fear that the large hail could possibly break the skylight kept our hearts beating loudly and at a faster rate than normal. I distinctly remember thinking that they wanted to join in and up the quartet to a choir. After all was said and done we came out just fine. Tho, I haven't made the tour of the outside yet I can see that a great many leaves gave up the ship last night. Believe it or not, I can see a few bare limbs this morning.

Earlier I even saw Glenda's bare limbs and I must tell you the wounded leg is looking good. Unfortunately I wasn't permitted a feel to see if it felt as good as it looked! She said I would need to take her word for it. She has another wound in her groin area where they took out a few lymph nodes and I suspect she may have been worried that I'd try to check that one out too.

So much to talk about and yet nothing to say!!!!!!!!!!

Why are women ... so much more interesting to men than men are to women?~Virginia Woolf

November 5, 2005

Couldn't access our email account this morning. We could get on line but couldn't receive or send any emails. In disgust I finally restarted the computer. Wham bam, here we am.

We've got a lazy weekend lined up for ourselves. Of course that is subject to change in a fraction of an instant. That comes mostly form the fact that a woman is involved and her vote counts for around 65 percent while mine struggles to hang around the 35 percent that's left.

I spent three and a half hours and two tanks of pre-mix blowing all the leaves away. This morning you would argue that I didn't blow any yesterday by the way everything is covered again. I still think you need to stay ahead as much as you can or it becomes a pretty hard chore.

I can't think or type but I've given it a shot anyway, now I'll go try another task or two. One I've always been good at is eating and the other is kind of a hit and miss thing called fishing. Bye, bye.

A man buys a house; and now he has a master, and a task for life; he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

November 4, 2005

A cloudy day, 58 degrees and drab leaves laying everywhere even tho I blew most of them away yesterday afternoon. Day after day and we have yet to see a bare tree. If you let the leaves pile up too much they are a lot harder to move along. Oak leaves and acorns are hard to move along anyway. The acorns have the perfect shape to roll the wrong direction or not at all. If they roll into even a tiny crevice you almost need to pick them up and throw them to move them on. Well, I don't think I'll need to mow anymore this year anyway. There is always some good along with the bad.

Going to a doctor Monday to see about getting my hernia taken care of. Should have had that fixed long ago. I think it is called an umbilical hernia. My belly button is an outie now and getting more outie all the time. As I understand it, it's not a complicated procedure and if things go right you get to go home the same day.

Glenda is going to get a flu shot today and then go bowling. Neither of us has ever had a flu shot but with all that Glenda has been through, it is thought for her to get one would be a good idea. I don't believe I need one for a few more years.

We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.~Robert Wilensky ....And I'm proud to have made a contribution to this fact finding.

November 3, 2005

Good morning is about all I can come up with today. I send it along so you will at least know we're thinking about yousss.

Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.~Mark Twain

November 2, 2005

Glenda is going shopping in Columbia with the girls today.....I'm beginning to wonder about Glenda and the girls! I guess it's okay as long as she keeps coming home.

There isn't any argument about it being autumn now. You know, it's right pretty out there. Of course looking through the window I can't see the inches high stack of leaves on everything. That does improve the view. I blew some away yesterday, I'll blow some more away today and then again for a week or so out into the future. Not much of a problem on the ground but I hate doing the gutters!

Yesterday we planned to clear a space in the garage for Lena's washer and dryer so she wouldn't need to go up and down the basement stairs to wash. That plan failed big time when Lena wouldn't let us throw a single thing away, including some empty cardboard boxes and paper bags. I suspect she doesn't want her washer and dryer in the garage, so I don't think it will come to pass. She said she wants a new kitchen floor covering and a dish washer installed. One should always ask what her desires are before making any plans.

Everybody's got plans...until they get hit. ~Mike Tyson

November 1, 2005

Fallen leaves everywhere, just everywhere and another trillion on the trees yet to turn loose and make their contribution to the protecting bed. They're all kinda red, brown, yellow and just a dab here and there of some green still hanging around. It doesn't have a motor but it is still part of the cycle.

Going to Jeff City today to help Glenda's mother with few things. I don't think any of the help will entail too much labor on my part so I'm not dreading it near as much as I could. I'm just a home body and there isn't anything I can do to change that fact. I've tried but there isn't anything I've done that is more exciting than reading a good book. Glenda keeps trying too, and once in awhile she scores one like she has today. Bless her little heart!

"No rest for the wicked", they say, that and the lazy ass of mine makes me about one of the least wicked person in our neighborhood. Unfortunately I am also becoming one of the biggest men in the neighborhood too.

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.~George Moore

October 31, 2005

Got us some rain happening here this morning. One of those nice gentle rains so far but the talk is it could get a little harder with some thunder and lighting dragged along. Whoa! I just heard the first peal of thunder.

A good reading day! One of those that because of the rain you don't get that guilty feeling sitting there. Glenda is going out with the girls to a card party in Eldon. They plan to play 'Hands and Foot' which is a game Glenda has never tried. We did look it up on the internet so she does have some idea of how it goes. It looked to be a scorekeepers nightmare to me.

Glenda had some neighbors over for supper last night, Ruthie and the Struebbe's. The Struebbe's are closing down their house for the year and will soon be on their way to Yuma. Ruthie will be going out in a couple months too. She flies out.

How do you keep them on the farm after they've been out of Missouri a few times? Glenda is frothing at the bit wanting to go but we have got to wait. Frothing at the bit would be like putting a head on your head wouldn't it? Speaking of head, I'm heading out now. Lightning just made a place for itself across the sky. It was an evil looking strike too. There is sometimes a good with evil! I've got to stop this and pull the plug now. That's a good isn't it?

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you sit down at the computer.~Robert Frost (edt)

October 29. 2005

Big problem this morning in getting on-line. We could get on line but our server didn't recognize our IP address so no e-mailing or going on-line to a different source either, for that matter. I called Charter and got so aggravated at the recording that was trying to lead me through a problem solving sequence that I ended up slamming the phone down. I even used Norton Go Back and set things like they were yesterday morning...all to no avail!

I went fishing and worried around about it for some time...........fish wasn't biting either. Anyway in a flash of brilliance I unplugged the modem for ten minutes or so then plugged it back in...................It's working again!

All in all I'm thankful for the little bit of subject the problem gave me to type this morning. I just keep trying and hoping someday I'll get these notes right.

Glenda won a some at the boat and it was just the same darn amount that I lost, if you can believe that. I mean right to the penny almost being only about 90 cents more.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.~Edmund Burke

October 28, 2005

Fog is the word this morning. (Condensed water vapor in cloudlike masses lying close to the ground and limiting visibility.) And fog. (A state of mental vagueness or bewilderment.) Surprised ya huh?

Going for the regular visit with the doctor in Columbia this morning. I hope the two fogs doesn't impede my driving too much. I'm not looking too forward to this visit. The weight will be the biggest topic I suspect. If you think about it for a minute it could become a hope that the weight is the biggest topic. Other than the weight I have no health problems that I know of and I sure would like to keep the don't have. I know, I know, I'm working on the weight.

Glenda has inferred we might slip on up I-70 to visit the quaint little town of Booneville. She said something about checking in at the boat there to see if our ship has come in. Yeah, right.

A ship in harbor is safe -- but woe to those who gamble there.~John A. Shedd (edt)

October 27, 2005

Another beautiful day with nothing pressing to get done except this note and I'm getting a mite tired of it again. I've kept the notes for a couple of years and went back and read some of them this morning. Each one is the same-o same-o so if I don't send one some morning just go back and read the note of a day or two before. It won't be that much different than the one I didn't write.

I got my hair cut Tuesday and just happened to read of a haircut I got last October in an email sent the next day. It is still the same so I copied it and pasted it below. Saves a lot of typing.

I go to the barber shop to get a hair cut! I don't go there for lengthy talks about every subject under the sun and I hate it when it happens. It usually involves the barber who stops cutting hair to talk thereby extending my wait period. You know it doesn't take long to read everything that is interesting in the Kansas City Star and who wants to read eight month old magazines? Today the postman came in talking about the ball game, he took at least ten minutes away from the hair cutting. The sports world doesn't know how many of the worlds greatest coaches are just wasting away in barber shops. I tried not to listen but what I did hear convinced me that everyone in the conversation could do a hell of a lot better job than any of the managers/coaches in the major leagues today.

So there you go......

Don't let your yesterday use up too much of today. ~-American Indian Proverb

October 26, 2005

Not a whole lot going on around here today.....so I say. Glenda has a few things to cook for tomorrow nights bingo supper. She is getting back into the groove and this Thursday was on the list for Glenda and Ruthie. I hate the deal! All that real cooked food smell in the house and I don't get any. Well, I may manage to sneak a bite or two after Glenda goes to bed but hell, you shouldn't eat after 6:00 p.m. You know you don't want to carry all that eatin to bed with you.

I do have seven crappie in the basket and in just a few minutes I'm going back to see if I can add a few more. The first trip to the dock can sometimes give you several fish, then leave you to waste another three hundred casts. With what seems like the fish having a short memory, if you leave for an hour or so makes the chance to catch a few more very possible.

The fog has lifted enough that I can even see the dock now. The TV has said the temperature at the lake was 31 degrees but it is only 41 outside this house. I'll always wonder where they get their information. It is NEVER correct.

A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.~Arnold Bennett

October 25, 2005

A trip to the library and the grocery store in Eldon is supposed to happen today. I had my last haircut on July 12, so I may stop by the barber shop too. I'm sure a haircut will lessen my weight by a couple pounds. I need all the help I can get.

I quit drinking coffee this morning since I've been told drinking it makes you hungry all the time. That or some unknown virus has infected me because it certainly has been a problem for several months now. Ever since the radiation doctor told Glenda not to eat healthy, because the radiated area need all the nourishment it could get, she has been cooking real food. Knowing how complicated it can get cooking two different meals at every mealtime, I thought it might be of some help to her if I jumped right in and ate the same food. It must be in the portions or maybe in the genes because I gained big time while Glenda didn't gain hardly at all. Anyway something has directly affected my jeans and I'm thinking it most probably has been the large portions.

You know that could be the answer. It just might be the weight of my heavy hanging mid-section that's hung there from the top of my head by the common skin. The weight is stretching the skin around and on top of my head so tight it's restricting some of the normal thought process. Wow! Maybe all I need is a belly bra! Problem is I need to stop the tug before I'll have half a chance on how to invent one. I can't stand on my head because that would cause too much discomfort in the crotch area. Humm...That leaves loosing weight a must but if I make it I'll not need the bra....life is so complicated.

It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.~Edna St. Vincent Millay

October 24, 2005

It's cool at 43 out there this morning with a stiff breeze carrying a fresh water smell with it. That could make outdoor chores awfully miserable. But considering the fact that it's pretty windy in here too and the smell is a lot different. That certainly makes going outside for anything more desirous.
The outside winds ability to quickly dissipate the smell of any escaped bodily created natural gas, makes for a nice fresher feeling. I'm going to quit eating those peas for sure.

Glenda has been feeding Mikey a few of the roasted peas and we found out they affect him the same way. During our card game last night we almost had to put him out. It did come to me that if I ever decide to cheat, I can prep him with a great amount of peas before the game then let him hang around the table during play. I mean his really stink! It can make your eyes water and that is when I can change a card or bet without anyone being able to see me. I'll need to come up with a good reason for wearing goggles but that shouldn't be too hard. Anyway I won't be doing any cheating so there.

Sitting here typing this nothing, is cheating me out of some time I could use doing something else and if you should take a minute to read it, that will be cheating you of your time too......SORRY, no more cheating anyone today.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.~Thich Nhat Hanh

October 23, 2005

Catching a few crappie now but nothing good enough to write home about. Is it different that I am at home as I write about it? What should I talk about then? The weather may be worthy. It is 42 degrees and cloudy with sprinkles forecast for today. We also have freeze/frost possibilities for Tuesday and Wednesday night when the lows will be around the 31 mark. I kind of doubt that it will get that low down here but you never know.

I can't tell you how far to the south the sun has moved, you wouldn't believe it anyway. It may still come up in the east but when it comes over the hills across the way, it is darn near in the south.

I believe we have a few folks coming over this afternoon to play a little Texas Hold'um. I need to find some directions before then.

I know when I'm stumbling around trying to type something that sending nothing would say it best but I'm too stupid to use that knowledge.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Sir Winston Churchill

October 22, 2005

Holy catfish litterman! I've been throwing the things I clean out of Tomi's litter box every morning over the seawall into the lake. I've been unknowingly chumming the cat fish. You should see the size of some of them! would have ever thought that cat fish would like the stuff that cats do?

We've got the sun here this morning, shinning a little light on all the subjects. "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way." It sure does wonders in stirring up thought in the old mind but maybe a little too much. Too much thought can hinder the 'think what to type' chore and I believe that phenomenon has struck. Struck me down in the prime of thought!

And I do know that in a lot of cases shorter isn't necessarily better but it certainly is when it comes to my typed notes. Short here is always good. Today again, I'm doing my part. "It’s gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day."

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it will have been a successful day.~Alex Noble

October 22, 2005

Holy catfish litterman! I've been throwing the things I clean out of Tomi's litter box every morning over the seawall into the lake. I've been unknowingly chumming the cat fish. You should see the size of some of them! would have ever thought that cat fish would like the stuff that cats do?

We've got the sun here this morning, shinning a little light on all the subjects. "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way." It sure does wonders in stirring up thought in the old mind but maybe a little too much. Too much thought can hinder the 'think what to type' chore and I believe that phenomenon has struck. Struck me down in the prime of thought!

And I do know that in a lot of cases shorter isn't necessarily better but it certainly is when it comes to my typed notes. Short here is always good. Today again, I'm doing my part. "It’s gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day."

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it will have been a successful day.~Alex Noble

October 21, 2005

If you look out the window and allow the interpretation of what the eyes collect to set your mood, today is going to be a very shitty day! Thank goodness we don't do that around here. We can see the gray drizzly sky with the cold stiff breeze whipping off many additional tree leaves and still come away so ever thankful that we're still here to see it. A day should never be wasted!

The foggy like drizzle obscures our view somewhat so there isn't much beauty to behold. Nothing very pretty about soggy tree leaves splatting to the ground to join the overnight gatherings of their kind. Puts me in mind of the silly habit of making up the bed everyday just to unmake it again every night. The only difference is the leaves are making a bed every night forcing me to unmake it everyday. Well, I had it figured out when I started to type it but I think I might have got lost somewhere along the way.

Glenda has plans to hit the road around noon so she can make it to the bowling alley by 1:00. It is only about a 25 minute trip but you know as you get older you slow down some. A few of the older folks that bowl need an extra hour to make it there on time...........(just joking-just joking.) Anyway if that might be only half right, you can probably see why I quit bowling..........It's too slow of a game for me!

I'll stay in this warm house and most probably read. NO! Reading isn't a waste of time. Tho it may not be conscious you always get something from anything you read. My problem is, without wasting time I can still add to the waist.

Thank you for sending me a copy of your e-mail. I'll waste no time reading it.~Moses Hadas (edt)

October 20, 2005

I saw my first flyover of a stealth bomber yesterday. It was pretty high and quickly behind some clouds but I got a fairly good glance. It was very loud coming, very loud while above and very loud long after it wasn't visible. I think I'm probably glad that we've never seen nor heard them before and hope that continues to be a rarity.

I used the blower on every leaf on the ground that was around here yesterday, including the gutters....This morning you would never think it. The falling oak leaves are natures way of protecting the two billion acorns that the oak trees spread around everywhere. Half of them are intended to cause a sprained ankle or a busted butt to humans in retaliation for all the trees they've cut. The other half is to remake your lawn back into the forest that nature always intended for it to be. If you just like green and with the high cost of gasoline, I'd say let the leaves go and the trees grow, the green in the money is a prettier green anyway and you'd save a pretty penny too.

"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money."~-Pablo Picasso

October 19. 2005

I went to the dock yesterday and made one cast. Caught a 11 inch Crappie then quit. No need to screw around with an average like that. Went down this morning and caught another 11 inch crappie then went stupid and tried to catch more. Out of the next 63 casts I did manage to catch 2 (throw backs) that were about eight inches long. I also caught a limb of the Crappie bed. It had a very odd jelly like thing growing around it. It looked like a miniature pineapple about 3 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches long but you could hold it up to the light and see that it was pretty transparent. I may send you a picture later.

You probably won't believe this but Glenda is going with Ruthie today. They need to pick up a few things and for sure they need to buy a few dollars worth of Power Ball tickets. I just said a few dollars worth but I'm hoping that one of the tickets will be worth a heck of a lot more after the drawing. It doesn't make a bit of difference how many tickets are sold, your remote chance to win will remain the same and it is a little better than none to zero. The odds are based on the numbers not the quantity of tickets sold.


We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?~Jean Cocteau

October 18, 2005

The tree leaves are turning colors now but only about a trillion have fallen so far. I believe fall has fell. I kind of like fall and winter too, as far as that goes, but my beloved wife doesn't possess even a tiny bit of good thought as it relates to winter. People still have to play the cards they are dealt and our hand shows us staying around here at least till after Glenda's December 13th doctor appointments.

If it's mind over matter my mind is really mattered up this morning. No more than I usually say anyway isn't worth sitting here beating myself this morning so I bid you good bye.

Sometimes the mind, for reasons we don't necessarily understand, just decides to go to the store for a quart of milk.~Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider

October 17, 2005

I guess love is more valuable than money. That's what I've got to think because Glenda only brought herself home from the gambling boat trip yesterday. I was glad to see her.

Did you know that gaseous expulsions thickens the air to such a degree that it is necessary to wade in it to move about? Navy beans and roasted green peas together are quite a crack opener. They also go a long way in alerting a person to one of your main senses that we tend to take for granted.......Smell is the one I'm referring to.

The youngest daughter and her husband came by unexpectedly for a visit. I really enjoyed that.

Empty! My head is empty! What a pleasure.....no worries no nothing except bye on my mind.

Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.Elbert Hubbard

October 16, 2005

I'm bankrolling Glenda for a day out with the girls at...........the gambling boat in Boonville. Her wins usually come when I'm not there so I expect a nice return on my investment.

She did act like she didn't want to go but I read enough books to know that sometimes a few words may have an entirely different meaning than what is printed. That works with the spoken word too. You just need to read a few more lines keeping the suspect words at the top of your memory and there of comes the real meaning. No, I can't read her like a book but I didn't just swim in from 20 years on a deserted island either.

I can have my books and read them too. A nice neighbor brought us a big pot of white chili that will sooth any hunger pangs that might develop. I also have a new supply of those gas making roasted peas, courtesy of Glenda. They ought to work really well with the navy beans in the white chili. A man doesn't need to be in church to sit in his own pew and I suspect I'll prove that to myself today, one more time.

My favorite thing about the Internet is that you get to go into the private world of real creeps without having to smell them.~Penn Jillette

September 15, 2005

You don't need a gun to shoot the breeze but your mind needs ammunition to arm your mouth or fingers for the shot. Some of the material for the ammo can be bought or it can come from down home stuff. Either way the mind has got to hand load the materials into the projectile to make it usuable. I haven't been out to buy any materails and I'm thinking, as I sit here, that my home obtained materials must have been wet because I can't get the fingers to fire again this morning. I've spent several seconds here trying, but I can't get it to shoot across this page. That means you don't need to be looking for the 'shot heard around the world' again today.

Too bad, are some of the things in this world but I tend to agree with you that this isn't one of them. Maybe we should even add it to our blessings when we count them.

Glewnda is doing very well and even tho I know that it isn't one of your, 'I wonders', I'm doing pretty good myself. I donth think that I ever wanted to be a big man but I am one! And if I don't get off my butt and throw the books out, I'm going to be a REALLY BIG MAN!

And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.~Friedrich Nietzsche

October 14, 2005

'Nuttin Honey' just about sums it up for another days thoughts of an infertile mind, at least at this time. But hey, I never promised you a rose garden...one momento! I don't think I ever promised you anything. Anyway, who would have ever thought that these notes would be so much like trying to get thru a blackberry patch. What a battle getting from one side to the other. Wow! Then to discover that you didn't even get one berry. I want to say too, if you think reading them and trying to make sense of them is tough you ought to try it from this end. It isn't true that what you get out of a thing is based entirely on what is put into it. The possible interpretations are too varied from one person to the other.

Oh, I thought I had mentioned that another.......'Nuttin Honey'......day. But it should still work as a reminder, you rest fondly in our minds.

If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.~Rachel Carson.

October 13, 2005

Maybe I'm not your type or it might be you're not my type. Whatever it is, here I sit again with only a wonder as to what to type.

Yesterday I read two books while Glenda was gone. Who cares? I also made a few birthday cards and did several other things on the computer. Who cares? See what I'm saying, nothing to type about.

Glenda did learn that her mother is seemingly more healthy than she or Aunt Sue but none bothered to ask the doctor why he had them cancel the knee operation. Oh lead me on Lord, lead me on.

This day so far, has the makings of another 'GREAT' one weather wise and health wise too. Glenda's cold?? is much improved this morning which is real good in one way but it does cause me a little uneasiness. The improved attitude could cause some harping about finishing a few chores that we've let slide a little over the last several months. I can't say this will positively be, but I do have over twenty years hard learned experience with her teachings.

Here are a few commas in case I missed some above. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, You might first want to move and use the ones that are incorrectly placed. Thanks.

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.~Alfred North Whitehead.

October 12, 2005

Well it finally happened. Glenda left me! She is on her way to her mother's house. Left me the cat and dog too. Wowee! She plans to accompany her mother to the doctor where they will find out why he cancelled the scheduled knee surgery with another doctor. No one knows if it was the blood pressure or what. I think Aunt Sue may go along too. Another girls lunch out, I think is part of the deal again too.

Meanwhile this little honey will sit on his buns trying to hold together all that's left........and what's right too, for that matter. I'll not be bored because of all the things the slave owner asked me to do while she is absent. Then I've got four good books too. Yep, on this cloudy day with a chance of rain being said, there's nothing but sunshine coming my way.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator.

October 11. 2005

Shoot! I've always believed that I was a very thoughtful person but I must have been wrong! For the life of me I can't think of a thing worthy of typing. It has been that way for some time now, you as my witness.

I suspect that a lot of folks are like me and can't really read when being bothered by music. So I added a little music to this mornings note in hopes of fuzzing the fact there is no content. Only thing wrong is for some, I had to cut it short, not knowing if they were still using a dial-up service or not. If you just got a short ditty and have high speed would you please let me know.......It's just a nice thing to know!

Anyway, where there is life there is hope and we both woke up full of it this morning. We're trusting you did too!

I still believe in Hope - mostly because there's no such place as Fingers Crossed, Arkansas.~Molly Ivins

October 10, 2005

"It's Cherry Pink and Appleblossom White". A person would need to be half nuts to think of those words while looking out a window seeing only a ghostlike gray fog covering everything which should make Halloween the probable top thought. However, when one is in love they tend to be about half nuts and I just love this retired life. For some reason anything I do or eat usually is in excess so it is a good possibility that I'm a little beyond the halfway point too.

Seeing nothing but nasty out the window while looking forward to another day with nothing on the slate and without a simmer of boredom in my body would sound like someone who is half nuts too. That confirms it! I'm 100% nuts.

Well, well, that little bit of B.S. seems to have quelled the pang so all I need to do now is flush. My flush button is send while yours is delete....Do it!

Glenda is doing well even tho she does live with this handicap.

The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.~Saul Steinberg

October 9, 2005

I've been sitting here for quite a few minutes waiting for the cream to rise, (better words to type), but have about decided that I'm sitting here with buttermilk and unfortunately no cream will rise from that. "What's new, pussycat? Whoa-oh oh."

Oh well, Glenda enjoyed her day yesterday but came home flat worn out. "Early to bed early to sleep, helps your health to better keep." She feels a bit better this morning or so she says....................she refused all of my attempts at a second opinion.

Anyway it's race day starting around 1:30. I hope I'm not burned out after watching the Busch race yesterday. Oh, in case you missed it, our favorite, Dale Jarrett won last week.

Hey, we all just won! We're at the end of this race for today.

To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it, requires brains.~Mary Pettibone Poole

October 8, 2005

It was 41 degrees at 5:25, now at 7:50, it is down to 39 degrees. It is a terrible battle between the sun trying to change that and the wind trying to keep it so. Oh yeah, the fog is really really coming off the lake this morning. It's kinda like looking into my sorry mind. Most any detail that might be sometimes available is too obscured to see well enough to pull'er out and put'er down.

Which brings me to acknowledge a fact that I know real well. I'm just wasting away your time and mine. "Waste not, want not". Now what kind of person is so fulfilled as not to want? Everyone should have a little want! I suppose if I should waste a bit of your time to give you a want, my time isn't wasted.

I think Glenda is going to the Turkey Festival in Eldon today taking Ruthie with her. I've encouraged them to go. You know when a day is named in your honor you should attempt to participate to some degree.

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.~John Lubbock

October 7, 2005

43 degrees outside this morning with a good stiff breeze. That makes for another stay inside kind of day and the wearing of long pants. Shoot it is only 67 degrees inside. The sun did finally find a hole in the clouds but the hole quickly moved on leaving the sun to look for another one. The clouds are mostly white, you know the kind that makes nightmares out of riding in small planes. Nowhere on the ground could you find a road that rough.

The water trying to escape the lake, raising as a fog type mass, makes the lake appear to be on fire. Well, you may need to stretch your imagination a little but it sure does look smoky. Smoldering! That's the word, smoldering. The whole lake looks to be smoldering.

I've let my fingers do the talking and without a tiny bit of input from the head they're just about lost. The old head doesn't seem to want to cooperate so I had best corral my fingers before they get nasty. db

In truth, politeness is artificial good humor, it covers the natural want of it, and ends by rendering habitual a substitute nearly equivalent to the real virtue.~Thomas Jefferson

October 6, 2005

Glenda is feeling better this morning.....just in time for her trip to the dentist, hair dresser and a visit with momma. I think they're going out somewhere to eat and just maybe, Aunt Sue will join them.

Meanwhile back here in the jungle, I may vacuum the house then read a little. No big steps for my short legs.

I don't like to do things when they are hard to do and this note seems especially hard this morning so the end is near......here.

If I were personally to define religion I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circumstance~Theodore Dreiser

October 5, 2005

Now, Glenda has a lot of worry lifted off her shoulders but while there it must have diluted her ability to fight off germs because she is just miserable with what might be a cold. Hopefully that will get better pronto as she has a dentist appointment tomorrow to have a tooth filled and another appointment to have her hair cut. With the big worry lifted, white shiny teeth, a nice new hairdo.....my goodness! If we can get rid of the cold now, we'll have a born again person. Sure she will still be stuck with me but that little additional blessing is like icing on a cake. I guess it's better to be stuck with me rather than stuck by me?

Nope, not a nary thing to say again today. Could you tell?

I happily treated Glenda to a big old steak last night. Well, I marinated one and then when I went out to grill it, the gas tank fed up enough to light the fire then went empty. Glenda ended up cooking it in the house along with the stuff to go with it. She didn't get upset and it turned out good so what more could a person want?

Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.~Oscar Levant

October 4, 2005

Glenda and Ruthie have plans to head for the stores today. Unfortunately the stores that they're heading to are located in Lebanon, Missouri. Not that they couldn't find whatever they might be looking for around here, it's just their conception being that things are cheaper there. I say it doesn't make too much difference. If they shop like they normally do they won't buy very much of anything anyway.

Yesterday I got the lawn mowed, the road and porches blown off and washed both vehicles so I'm thinking real hard that I'll just sit around in the air conditioned house eating roasted peas and read. I really like the roasted peas and roasted soy beans but they make gas like you wouldn't believe. It builds up so strong that a person cannot hold it nor control the expulsion. They crunch pretty loud when you eat one too. I think that crunching gets on Glenda's nerves because I can only eat them when she is away. If I should mistakenly eat some in her presence she usually ends up leaving the room and going upstairs.

The guys on TV are telling us the high here today will be in the lower 90's and with a high humidity of course. About the same of tomorrow but a little rain possibility is added. Read this!..........The high forecast for Thursday and Friday is only in the upper 50's. The possible lows stated were down to 41 degrees. WhoooooWeeeee!

"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while."~-Kin Hubbard

October 3, 2005

Yahoo! Monday is here and we're still here too. Seems like we just had a Monday. Must be something to that saying, "What goes around comes around". Listen here, it isn't necessary to understand'em to type'em.

This day doesn't look that much different from the last few days but I know it is a, 'one of a kind', that will never be seen again. Kind of scary isn't it? When the day is gone the day is gone never to return again. All we may be able keep of it are some memories and then there could be some of what you did during the day still standing the next. I'd say if you don't do anything that might leave a happy memory or do anything that could stand for a few days....salvage something. Do like me, take a picture.

Right on Swifty! Nothing to say for the 156th time running.

Glenda is doing extra well but had a miserable night. She thinks she might have found the cold that I lost after several days of carrying it around. The thing is with me, I never was really sure that I had a cold tho it must have been.

Glenda has a final appointment with the radiation doctor this afternoon. Glenda say's that he'll look at it and ask if there is anything he can do for her and then it will be good bye time. After her last treatment, the crew there helped Glenda celebrate with a few fireworks of some kind.

Hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic, or end up brown. Once you're brown, you'll find out you're blue. As blue as indigo. And you know what that means. Indigo. Indigoing. Indigone. - Tom Robbins

October 2, 2005

I've let the dog out so he could go then fed him. I've cleaned the cat's litter box and fed him. Thank goodness all a human has got to do is push the flush lever but I've fed Glenda too. I fixed myself a couple of eggs and Glenda a bowl of oats. Man that oatmeal making is a very easy thing in this day and age. Push a couple of pieces of bread down into the toaster and toast pops up. Put a little butter and jelly on them and Walla! You have breakfast cooked.

Today is a NASCAR race day so we'll probably hang pretty close to home. Glenda does want to clean up the vehicles interiors, bless her heart. She wanted me to wash the exteriors but the threat of impending rain has pretty well nixed that chore, bless my heart.

Glenda is feeling good this morning, she is threatening to go without the bandage to cover her leg. The place is dry and looks like that would work but it sure makes my legs weak thinking about it. I believe it still need to be protected but I could be wrong.

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.~Benjamin Franklin

September 30, 2005

I did make the time to type a note then after the hurry and all the struggle to do so.............................Nothing! Absolutly nothing at all can I think of to say.

Well, maybe I could take a few strokes here to wish you a great day! HAVE A GREAT DAY!

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.~Margaret Bonnano

September 29, 2005

Glenda's leg is a lot better this morning. I suspect that it will still get a little lame about mid-afternoon but what was sore yesterday morning isn't as sore today. Compared to awhile back, it's looking pretty good too.

Now she is into a very strong dread about biopsy of the growth on her liver tomorrow. She isn't worrying about what the results might be, just the procedure. I think they said they would be taking four or five samples. They also said that there would probably be a large bruise in the area where they put the needle in and she might hurt a little later. Because of the last time we think she may be kept overnight again.

We won't know the results for several days but we'll try to keep you posted.

Anyway, we'll be leaving around 5:00 in the morning so I doubt that I'll post anything tomorrow. That way at least some folks can have a little happy bit of relief.

Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it.~David Sedaris

September 28, 2005

Did okay at the boat yesterday......You don't expect to have a good time and get paid for it bet Glenda and I were. Ruthie seemed to enjoy herself but it sounded like she may have paid a little for hers.

Rain is in the forecast for here again starting just afternoon. We need a few things from Eldon so I think we'll head'er out pretty quick so we'll be home by the time it starts.

I guess the grass sowing can wait a little longer!

Of some things it doesn't take a lot to be too much and I'm sure hoping this doesn't qualify. I just read it myself and decided I would quit now. No need to make it WAY TOO MUCH!

Perhaps too little of anything is as bad as too much.~Edna Ferber (edt)

September 27, 2005

"Baby needs a new pair of shoes", err I guess she does. She is using me as a chauffer again. She has commissioned me to drive her and Ruthie to Boonville where I'm to drop them at the front door of the casino for a short visit then pick them up at the door and drive them home. I don't know what I'll do in the interim, maybe I'll slip inside for a quick observation of the patrons there-in. If gasoline is cheaper than $2.599 in Boonville I may invest ten bucks in a slot machine even while knowing that looking is cheaper.

Glenda's knee was feeling pretty good this morning or so she said. She was able to bend it and exercise it some but it is better every morning. Sure enough after a bit it began to stiffen up........Not so bad as to cancel the trip but not good.

We did get rain yesterday and I suppose it's too muddy to sow grass anyway.

Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time...”, will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to do. -Bo Bennett

September 26, 2005

A lazy day around here was our yesterday. I finished one book and made a large dent into another. Watched the race between paragraphs and fretted that I was getting a cold. I'm still fretting about that this morning.

Glenda is still getting new blisters on the area around the wound and each new one eases some of the positive attitude to lower level. After she gets the leg moving it lets up some but not near enough to practice any new dance steps. She still does all the housework, washing and cooking. I can't do any of it to suit her so as long as she is mobile and able to see the results when I do it, I think her doing it is best. Even outside she never lets me do any of the painting and a few other things. I can't water the plants because of too much water or in a few cases, not enough water. What's a poor boy to do but sit in his recliner smiling as he reads a good book. I do get up to move the vacuum up and down the stairs for her.

Let me say this, before you think I don't do a good job at all of the chores, I DO! I can never see the problem with a Larry finished task but Glenda sure can.

I think she is going to let me rake around in the yard and sow a little more grass seed but here at this moment it looks too much like rain to plan very far ahead. Maybe I should have done it yesterday. I don't want to sow any wild oats in the mud nor sow any of the grass seed in the mud either.

Choose rather to be strong of soul than strong of body.~Pythagoras

September 25, 2005

It kinda tells you what is what when Glenda is up to taking about four pain pills a day then Aunt Sallie and Cousin Leigh Ann come down to play a little Texas Hold'em. Glenda uses only one pill for the whole day. I thought the pain was in her knee area but now I'm thinking most of it could be originating from me. I may need to work on that somehow.

We had a good time at the poker table.....more or less. I was too greedy to stay in long. Broke me pronto. Annie and Glenda were the two winners. Annie got all of her money back and Glenda got hers too, along with mine and Sallie's. She offered Sallie her money back which Sallie refused but so far she hasn't offered me mine. I may be out the five bucks.

They brought a lot of food things along with them and I feel like I may have gotten five dollars worth of eating so I'll not be losing. Matter of fact I gained a pound someway.

What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.~Bob Dylan

September 24, 2005

A lazy day is upon us. I've got the blowing, weed beating and mowing all done. And...I have three new books. Not new but unread by me. A good day is in store!

Glenda has asked the doctor that a prescription for pain medication be mailed to us and we're told it was. (They won't call in a prescription for narcotic type medication.) If it isn't in our mail box today Glenda isn't going to have a very good weekend. She is still experiencing quite a bit of pain from the radiation burns and she is out of the pain pills.

That concludes today's update.

Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.~Elbert Hubbard

September 23, 2005

The thing is.................everything is about the same and having only gone to town one time to take the animals and not wanting to create more disagreement than I have most every day, I'm putting my thoughts into a place were the typing fingers can't find them.

Whoa! That took everything away!...............

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.~Thomas A. Edison

September 22, 2005

Glenda's leg seems to be quite a bit better this morning. Hopefully it isn't only because it's had a good nights rest. It even looks a whole lot less angry too. She is still taking several pain pills a day but, whatever it takes, we say.

A trip to Eldon is scheduled this morning. We have two animals that are a little past due for their shots and that will be taken care of first. Then we'll fill both vehicles to the brim with gasoline in case it does skyrocket in price again. Glenda will make a stop for a few staples at the grocery store while I haul a meowing cat and a mellow dog back home.

After all that we're going to be free, we get to idle! No appointments nor trips on the list till next Thursday. We're going to have us a six day weekend if things hold as they are now. I may be wrong about the next trip but I think it is next Thursday when Lena is getting her knee worked on and Glenda will be taking her to that appointment.

Idleness is not doing nothing. Idleness is being free to do anything.~Floyd Dell

September 21, 2005

The results of Glenda's yesterday tests sounded really good with the specks in her lungs not any different than before and that is the most common place her type cancer metastasis to. After that a stutter was put in our step with the conclusion that the two nodules on her liver may have increased somewhat in size. It could be that the stuff they run thru the veins just made the picture brighter this time making the growths only appear to be larger. In short, a much more painful biopsy is being scheduled as I type. This one will be several pokes instead of just the one. Glenda is not looking forward to this at all. Neither of us are worried about the possibility of the growths being cancerous but we need to be sure.

They want to see her again on December 13, if as we/they believe nothing negative will come from the biopsy.

I just got the message that the biopsies will be performed on September 30 at 7:00 am at the University Hospital in Columbia.

Today she is driving herself to Jeff City for a dentist appointment takeing Mary Jo along for the ride..........and in case it gets too painful to drive. The back of her leg looks to be blistering a little and it's causing her a lot of pain right now.

They can conquer who believe they can.~Virgil

September 20, 2005

Leaving here in about 15 minutes, heading for Columbia. May need to leave a little earlier because of the great amount of fog that was left over from the storms that sashayed through here last night. We had severe storm warnings and a tornado warning but we played like a lot of the New Orleans residents and just slept through it with visions of money rolling in from the government a little later in the week. Nothing but a good nights sleep and a good watering looks like about all we're going to get this time.

Oh yes, daughter Debi plans to meet us for lunch if things go as planed.

Time to go.................................

"The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till the other is ready, and it may be along time before they get off."-Henry David Thoreau

September 19, 2005

The sun did pop out this morning for at least a little while. Maybe all day. High expected to be in the 90's with rain this evening. High humidity?

Glenda's last treatment is today and I think her plans have Ruthie and Mary Jo taking her then a celebration lunch at a Mexican food joint that they've all been wanting to try. I'm not sure how firm this plan is but we'll see soon.

An appointment with a couple of doctors in Columbia tomorrow and a bunch of tests just to make sure there has not been a cheater cell that slipped off and started a new colony. We're sure that is not the case making real relief just a day away. Glenda will continue to have leg problems for a couple or three weeks after today's last treatment because it will take awhile to heal of course. She went a long long time without taking very many pain pills and then when she did she would take only one. She is into them bigger time now, at least three everyday and sometimes four. She works at something all morning but about mid-afternoon she sits down for a rest in her recliner. There are times that she goes from her recliner right on to bed and her dreams.

Nobody ever said that life would be easy and we're very thankful for everyday we get including the hard ones!

"Anyone can escape into sleep, we are all geniuses when we dream, the sick the well are equal there."~-E. M. Cioran (edt)

September 18, 2005

We're just barely here, not being blown away by a storm. There has been some thunder storms but thankfully nothing to blow us away yet. We are still getting rain and I think I'll need to unplug this again right away.

Yesterday we did notice that something had helped our windsock to escape from off the holder on the dock but we think it was probably the storm of a few days ago and we only just now noticed. Of course I promptly replaced it with a one dollar, 36 inch windsock from the Eldon Dollar Store. Hope it stays up longer than the last one! That one cost us almost .00001 cents per day to fly. WE DON'T HAFT TO HAVE ONE!

I think, if the TV is working we'll watch the NASCAR race today. Glenda may watch it from bed as it is extremely painful for her to move her leg around. I saw her eyes tear up yesterday at the breakfast table and asked her about it. She told me a pain at the burn site had just been acknowledged.

We're still praying!

Before you contradict an old man, my fair friend, you should endeavor to understand him.~George Santayana