I'm Breaking My Silence!

Wow! I look at the date of my last post and am amazed that it was nearly two months ago. Time is so fleeting. I get up, go to work, come home, go to bed and then notice suddenly that the first quarter of the year is nearly past. They say you only live once so it kind of chagrins me that I can't remember any notable events during the last 90 days.

Here is something notable, at least to me. Last Friday at work I hear a friend of mine tell someone that he is helping some friends of his sell some cars. My ears perked up at this because one of ours is starting to make some strange noises and a trip to the mechanic seems to always cost somewhere between six and fifteen hundred dollars. Two of the vehicles which he described in no way fit my needs or wants. The third, however, though not really fitting our wants, had potential to fit our needs. It was a 2001 Dodge Caravan.

Debbie had clued me in early that she was not at all ready to be seen driving a minivan but the fact that the vehicle only had 104,000 miles made me want to at least get the VIN so I could check and see if the vehicle had any secrets that I wasn't being told. I had my brother Dave check the Chrysler data base for any recalls of which there were two minor occurances which had been timely repaired. Even Kelly Blue Book screamed "Go buy that car!" I told Debbie that I needed to take her by to see the car because all of my senses were telling me that this was an opportunity that doesn't come around very often. I said all we would do was look at it, drive it, and if she wasn't sold then we'd walk and I was ok with that. We did a quick walk around and a casual inspection of the interior. The car was really clean and nice. Apparently, it was well taken care of by its owner. My friend handed me the keys so we could take it for a spin. We get a half dozen blocks away and she says "We can go back now. This is nothing like I'd imagined. I really want it!"

Isn't it interesting that something which is old and tiresome to one person, can be so new and exciting to someone else.

I'm Back! Thanks for Waiting!

I just completed the first day of my second week back to work. It has been a pretty smooth transition back into the normal work week. I've felt great and have had no discomfort or difficulty during my return. I am so thankful to The Creator for His blessing me with continued health and the ability to do a physical job.

The other day Debbie and I went to a short class at the doctor's office regarding our diet. Well it wasn't our diet specifically, it was more a healthy diet in general. Did you realize that a certain amount of fat in one's diet is healthy. Of course you did. But I was interested and a bit pleased to find that at least two tablespoons of olive oil per day is recommended. That is just soo exciting to me. I have only recently learned to enjoy a vinegrette dressing on a salad and to find that I can have at least two tablespoons of dressing is just amazing. Here is a simple recipe for a vinegrette. You can tweek it in so many ways so be creative and healthy.

Start with 3 parts olive oil and one part acid. (Choose a red or white wine vinegar or a basalmic or white basalmic vinegar) Add a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard, a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, and perhaps a pinch or so of brown sugar. Give it a good shake for a minute or so and taste. If it is too oily still, add a bit more vinegar, too sour perhaps a touch more oil or sugar.

I read a couple of novels over the last couple of weeks. I hadn't read a novel in many, many years and wasn't sure what to expect. I chose my novels differently than perhaps some people might. I suppose it would be prudent to see what most people are reading and choose from that list. I, however, don't always do things the same way other folks do them. I love talk radio and since it was Christmas time suggested to the people around me that I was interested in reading a couple of novels by popular talk show hosts. The hints were heeded and the books arrived at my door step from Amazon. The first book I read was Glenn Beck's "The Overton Window".

This was his first attempt at a thriller I believe and it was ok. The overton window concept is facinating. I hope you'll look it up as I don't have the time to adequately explain it. The story itself was interesting but it seemed to end too abruptly as if the author all of a sudden discovered that there were too many pages. I appreciated that the language and content was not particularly "adult" in nature and because of the PG rating, I don't mind suggesting that you read the story. I might even enjoy hearing how you liked the book.

This post is going a bit long as I am often prone to do so I'll stop for the evening and post on my second novel in a day or two. Thanks for wading through this drivel. Each of you brings a bit of light to my existance and I am grateful for it.

A Blessing in Disguise

My hernia surgery has definitly been a blessing for us this year. Afterall, without the surgery, we would have never had the opportunity to spend time with family to the extent that we did this year. We were blessed to spend time with family down state during the Thanksgiving holiday and again for an amazing six days during Christmas. I have never, in my whole adult life, had this many days free to spend quality time with family.

Let me share a few highlights of the last couple of days.

Hans, Shirley, Jonathan, Debbie, and I drove down to Jacksonville, Oregon on Wednesday the 22nd of December. On the 24th we gathered with a few thousand other believers for an outstanding Christmas eve celebration of the birth of Jesus in the outdoor ampitheater of Applegate Christian Fellowship. There was some inspirational music and an uplifting message from Ben Courson.

It really was an enjoyable event. I even think I saw an angel.

Well, maybe not but it looked like an angel to me!

What a great place to live. There is enough humanity to support all of the comforts that we tend to be accustomed to but in addition to that, there are some common sights that are a bit unusual in populated areas. There were a couple of mornings where we were treated to events like this.

I'll let you in on a secret, we came home with some venison in a jar which I am totally looking forward to adding to my diet but I still haven't gotten tired of seeing them on the hoof.

Monticello Antique Marketplace Christmas Show 2010

I just have to tell you. In case you don't automatically follow Debbie's blog, the Christmas show at Monticello Antique Marketplace started yesterday and once again she is doing fantastically. Ok, there are many other dealers down there doing extremely well also but I just had to brag a bit. After all, there is a small amount of credit in this for me as well.

Come on down tomorrow or in the near future anyway and enjoy a few moments browsing through the show.

The Chronicles Continue

Here it is the next day and in the words of Gus McCrae of Lonesome Dove, "I'm all stove up".

When I first woke up in the hospital I was feeling pretty good. In fact I think I even impressed the staff. I just kept drinking all of the water that they brought till the urge hit me. As soon as I was able to purge my bladder, they were ready to let me leave the hospital. Jonathan made a call to the In-Laws and when they arrived, we were down the road. As it turned out, Debbie wasn't nauseated from nerves, it was actually the flu. She still was pretty sick when I got home. However, as I mentioned earlier, I was feeling pretty good so I sent her to bed and I went to work putting leftovers in the microwave because I hadn't eaten more than a few crackers for nearly twenty hours. Fortunately, we had some chicken, some veggies, and a can of soup and I threw it all together. That might sound pretty crummy but yesterday it tasted great!

This morning I woke up and discovered that the honeymoon was over and I needed some of the high end narcotics I received just to get in and out of my chair.

I've been appreciating the fact that there is a lot of content that can be streamed directly to my computer from Netflix. The only reason to leave my chair is to go the water closet. Debbie is feeling significantly better and is making up for the fact that she was unable to assist yesterday. She's quite a girl you know.

I do want to mention a great big thank you to all of our friends who were lifting us up in prayer yesterday. You need to know that we truly appreciated it. I'll keep you posted as things progess around here.

The Chronicles of Hernia

After much waiting, the final hours approach. I will be arriving at the hospital tomorrow at 9:00am to be placed in the surgery holding pattern. The tentative schedule would have me on the table at noon and out for observation in an hour or so. This is apparently one of most commonly performed surgeries in the world and has a very low risk factor. I am completly cool with the whole thing.

If you'd care to stand with us before the Creator, we'd appreciate it. You might especially pray for Debbie as she is nervous to the point of nausea. What a girl!

Anyway, I'm told that I'll be relatively useless tomorrow evening and will probably just be sleeping it off. Maybe the following day or so I'll have enough cognative ability to give a general account of how everything went. Thanks for your support and I'll try to keep in touch. Afterall, for the next three or four weeks I'll have very little else to do.

I Branched Out On My Own!

Well, I suppose that is a bit of an exageration. Actually, I got a chance to fill up a case at the mall with "guy stuff". It is fun, and I have a chance to clean up my bed room a bit. Here are some of the kinds of things one might see in my case.

Fishing Reels

Old Lures

Game Calls

Shoot Man! I even have old gopher traps and a vintage revolver cleaning kit. You know guy stuff!

I wonder why Debbie wanted it all out of my bedroom?