Photo of the day, Saturday

Shower DAY!! Yee Ha! At long last Holly was able to get a shower and man does it help someone's personal outlook, you know, "look sharp, be sharp". It was a better day today and we anticipate a better one again tomorrow. It's so good to see her getting better finally, I know that with the clavacle stabilized she's going to be getting much better, much faster. Here she is all clean and sparkly.


Lots of errands/chores today. I have nothing but admiration for single parents after a few weeks of doing the little bit that I do. And I know I'm still not shopping and all the other stuff.

Tonight we're going to see if we can catch a flick and just chill out. You should too! Tomorrow the boys and I are going to a practice session for the upcoming Klondike Derby, yep, sounds cold.

Have a great day!
Pat

Photo of the day, Friday

Ah the weekend. A chance to catch your breath. Well, at least catch up on laundry.



Holly update: She had a pretty good day today, still pretty tender, but her PT/visiting nurse stopped in today and that was good. Gave her a chance to relax and recuperate. And to top it off a nice neighbor stopped in and washed her hair for her. Tomorrow is shower day, at last, and she's chomping at the bit to get that going. That draw is really good and we'll have some fun while were at it. Do you think I can talk her into a racquetball game? It's a pretty small court so she wont have to wheel around too much. Nah, probably not.



It is truly humbling to see how many meals we have been provided with. I haven't done any actual cooking, just reheating and the occasional scrambled egg. The funny thing is, I like to cook, but all that's required to get a meal together is way bigger than just standing in front of the stove.

Here's a shot that my Grandfather put together of my Mom. I know that I get part of my sense of humor from him. Of course Mom was a joker too!

Have a great day!
Pat

Photo of the day, Thursday

Holly Update: Today was a hard day for Holly. There is a quite a bit of pain associated with a surgery and keeping up with the pain meds is oft times easier said than done. That said, she's in fine spirits for the most part only near the end of the cycle is it "uncomfortable". I have always hated when people say uncomfortable rather than it hurts like the dickens. Tomorrow will be a better day and surely by the weekend we'll be well on our way, after all, Saturday is shower day!

Georges Pizza is open again! I got that from my Google page that picks the headlines of the Austin Daily Herald. Go on and click on Georges Pizza to read the full article. Don't you love the Internet? I sure do.

Today's photo demonstrates one of my worst planning efforts. As you can see, the Honda is trapped behind the ramp. Not good, hopefully the winter is long and hard and Holly heals well before motorcycle season is upon us.

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Wednesday

Today Holly had her clavicle repaired. A good friend of hers is married to an anesthesiologist and he has a great reputation for putting people under and not having them get sick. As a favor he requested that he be assigned to her case and was. It was a great experience for her as he is awesome getting an IV started and had orders in the prep room that no one was to start her IV, he would personally. He did and it went in like butter, if that's even an expression. The surgeon was as awesome as last time. We were told to get there by 5:30. Upon arrival we learned that no surgery starts early on Wednesdays, due to meetings. We were pretty upset and she was hurting from being up so long. Then we heard that snow had really messed up traffic into Grand Rapids, it was backed up all the way to 14 mile road and if we had headed in on time, we'd have been very late. Favor! While Holly was in surgery I went to the cafeteria and had a fairly decent breakfast, then back up to the waiting room. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep in a rocking chair and didn't wake up until Dr. came to find me. He was really nice and just rested his hand on my shoulder to wake me up. I was allowed to sit with her in the recovery area, it's a new pilot program that they are trying to see if that helps people come around better. Back to the starting room for a final check, a few more cat naps, dressed and we were out the door. Less than 10 hours, even with the delays, and I still think that's pretty darn amazing.

She's resting comfortably and even sat up and had dinner with us tonight. It's awesome, I think we're finally on the road to recovery. Praise God!

I have a Birthday Shout Out to my nephew Bryce today. Happy Birthday Bryce! I have only a few shots of the lad. It's kind of funny, he's the eldest nephew, you'd think I'd have more, but if I do, they aren't digital. Anyway, Bryce is a great guy that is learning to make his own way in this world and I have to admit, it's a tough time to do that. Happy Birthday Bryce, I hope this is a great year for you.

I thought he was elfish in this shot
Good one with him and his sister Kelsey
This is quite a few of the younger generation. Lets see, Front row, Bryce and Thomas, second row, Spencer, third row, Matt, Ian, Kelsey, Reed, Taylor and Mike.
This was everyone that was there that Christmas. Wow! What a handsome crew! Byrce, thanks for making me look so hard.

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Tuesday

Holly had a bit of a tough day today. But we're hopeful that the surgery to her shoulder tomorrow, while initially painful, will at least start the healing process in her shoulder. The surgery is at 7:30 AM, Wednesday, and it's kind of like an international flight, you need to be there 2 hours ahead of time. I will post again tomorrow after we get home. Oh, yeah, it's outpatient. It is truly astounding what is considered outpatient anymore.

An interesting convergence of things caused me to try to post a video today.

• Classmates.com sent me a note that Jerome, a classmate of mine from very long ago, is now part of their database
• That put me into a nostalgic mind set
• A friend sent me a pretty cool video that reminded me of a prank that we did as teens
• I wanted to try something new

My own story, while not captured on video tape, (I mean really, we only had 8mm cameras back then) went like this.

I grew up in a small town in southern Minnesota. During the summer of 1973 or 74 we played catch with a Frisbee on the main corner every night. One night we lost a Frisbee because it dropped into the back of a pickup truck headed south. Anyway, a bunch of us were really bored, some could drive, some could not. An idea for a prank was presented and found to meet the criteria that it needed to be funny, weird and dangerous. We pooled our funds and went to Severson's IGA and purchased 2 rolls of aluminum foil. We all piled into the 65 Ford LTD and headed out to Five Mile corner, you know, near I90. Once there we took Jerry, he was the shortest, and wrapped him head to toe in tin foil, shiny side out. We laid him in the back seat of the LTD and headed back to town. While driving we "glowed up", a glow in the dark Frisbee with a flashlight so that it was nice and green. Once on the north edge of town we parked the car in a dark location and got Jerry out of the car and positioned him in the East ditch. After a brief tactical conference we headed to the West ditch with the Frisbee. The next car was seen coming into town and as it approached it slowed down to the 30 mph speed limit. As it neared our position we launched the Frisbee so that it sailed 30 feet in front of the car. The driver was alert and slowed down to a crawl. Jerry climbed out of the ditch and, with arms lifted high, made for the slow moving car. The driver saw this apparition and stomped on the gas and zoomed out of sight down the road. We're all busting a gut laughing and since it's such a small town, not much else happened, Jerry tore his beautiful foil clothes and we called it a night. Next morning at breakfast Mom seemed distracted with something funny. Did I mention that Mom was the bartender at the Municipal Liquor Store? Sorry, she was. I asked what was up and she told me that Dorthy had gone so far past the bend that it was doubtful that she'd get back. I asked why and she related that Dorthy burst into the bar and ordered a double. While panting was unable to answer any questions, at least not until the double arrived. Then all Mom got out of her was, "They really are coming, they really are coming", well that was all until after the 3rd double. Then she heard, "the little shiny men from mars". Mom called the significant other of Dorthy's to come and get her, and was still amused in the morning. I didn't clear up the mystery for Mom until 3 years ago. We had a good laugh over that.

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Monday

Holly had a great day today, friends called, some stopped over to have lunch, another brought a pretty good looking meal and then our neighbor stopped over and told us that we'd be getting some housecleaning help. It was with mixed emotions that we accepted that one. You always think that you can get it all done, so pride's in the way. But it's a relief to know that the main floor will get some attention. We're not not all that messy, just a bit disorganized.

Today's photos are of my Great Niece Lexi and her Daddy, Lexi and Teddy and one of the proud Grandma holding the little darling.

Have a great day!

Pat

Photo of the day, Sunday

An awesome sunny, but chilly day here.


Spencer and I went to church in the morning to be with our Sunday school class. Very cool, one of my friends, Chloe a 2nd grader, handed me a bag. Inside the bag was a freshly baked loaf of bread. How fresh? It was still warm, even after the chilly drive to work.



After 1st service I bolted and went home and picked up Holly so that she could be at second service. It was great because it was a baptism Sunday. Those days are really special. Today there were 6 or 7 on the schedule and 3 more came up later, spur of the moment, and asked to be baptized. Very cool.



After church it took 30 minutes to get clear of all the well wishers. We picked up another meal too. We got home and found another meal on the front porch. I put the one from Frontline in the freezer, that's where I was told to put it and we re-heated the one that was on the porch. Holy cow! I didn't know that she was that good of a cook. Now I understand why Steve has to exercise.



Between napping, laundry and insurance paperwork, my day has been totally used up.



Holly's doing great. She went to church and sat in her wheelchair for the whole service and really was enjoying chatting with all of her peep's. After lunch we both took naps and she woke up really refreshed. In all, a great day!


Have a great day!
Pat