BLUE MOON

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue — the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.... AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

All I want is my fair share....

Poor Bob .... Its not easy being green.

And we bid farewell for a spell to Kirsahn who is now back home in sunny Orlando. After a slight delay at the airport as they waited for other connecting passengers, but then the  pilot put the pedal to the medal and got her there at noon.

Took the dog for a walk in the inclement weather but first put on my ice creepers and was on safe footing.

And now we await the new year....

The true meaning of Christmas!

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"
.
(That's what Christmas is all about...Charlie Brown.)

HO! HO! HO!

So here's the deal with Mom's car. Supposedly what happened is when the mechanic went to replace the intake manifold gasket, he cleaned the surface of the old stuff with steel wool. A few of the fibers got down to the oil pump and caused the oil pump to fail resulting in no oil pressure. What needs to be done now is ... to replace the oil pump the whole engine needs to be dismantled.... it is approximately a 30 hour job in the best of times.... Happening at this time of year will require the car to be at the garage for about 2 weeks . They will need to inspect all the bearings to insure that they have not been damaged... replace the oil pump and clean the engine thoroughly.  My garage man says he will inform the owner of all this (supposedly, he does not know about it yet) and he will tell him that we will need a rental car for the duration and for the garage to make the arrangements for that. After doing a computer search, they have since discovered a bulletin from GM saying, "do not use steel wool to clean the surface. DO YOU BELIEVE ALL THIS?

Look Who's Coming to Town

Tis the season and Kirsten comes to town along with the jolly fat man at the end of this week. Enjoyed Billie's school Chrtistmas concert last night. Hope the weather keeps cooperating. I don't think that I am ready for the real bad stuff yet.... maybe in January.  Should get Meems' car out of the repair shop sometime today.... but if it is later in the day, Meems will be out with my car doing the Brownie thing, so I may just tell them to keep the car until tomorrow, since I will not have a ride to pick it up.  Hopefully, the cars will now last until the winter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOLE PINEAPPLE

Wow! 45 years old... and what a fine son, father and husband Eric has become. We are all so  very proud of you, "Fred." Glad you didn't pursue the drums as a serious profession.

Bog Dziecie Zapwacze

Daddo tells me that is Polish for "God Bless the Children" and I will have to take him at his word since I only know a few Polish words, and they are limited to things like curse words and telling someone to "shut it."

But perhaps my nieces and nephews believe differently of me, and I wanted to share this very short snippet of an exchange that happened when I was up in Michigan for Thanksgiving. It just gave me the biggest belly laugh and I've been telling everyone about it, so wanted to make sure I had shared it with all of the family.

When Natalie and Cole were staying over Mom's and Dad's for the nite, I had been playing with them in the t.v. room when I stood up and announced that I had to "go make use of the facilities."

Cole: "What is 'facilities'?"

Aunt Kee: "Oh, it's another word for 'bathroom.'"

Natalie (nodding with all the solemnity and confidence of a girl who KNOWS): "In Polish."


God bless the children, indeed.

Little Orphant Annie

I had never seen this poem before today. Wished that I had found it before Halloween. But I just loved it so much, I had to  share it.

Little Orphant Annie
by James Whitcomb Riley
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' weep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

                     Ef you

                          Don't

                                Watch
                                      Out!

Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--

So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout--
An' the Gobble-uns'll git you
                     Ef you
                          Don't
                               Watch
                                     Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;
An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns'll git you
                     Ef you
                         Don't
                              Watch
                                    Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns'll git you

                   Ef you

                        Don't

                             Watch

                                   Out!

I Finally Got A Girl

No, it's not Roxy's twin. Say Hello to Princess. She is a 20 pound, 11 week old Boxer Shepherd mix. We picked her up this morning at the Macomb Humane Society. She's not quite as bad as the $150 free fish in my front room, but I don't think I'll let my wife and kids go to the pet store together again.

Tom was asking Santa for a dog, and we thought that we should all view the dog and see what kind of a disposition she would have with the boys. Well, they opened the door to let her into the room and she went right for Billy and Tommy. Enough said. Tom's unexplainable want for a Golden Retriever, turned into a love for our Princess. Even Jim is accepting and wanting to play...sometimes more than Princess is. They said she wasn't potty trained, but so far the only accident she had was in the pet store. I saw she was ready to go, and I was heading outside with her, when a couple of little girls, whose mother I knew, bent down to pet her....oops!!! Too much excitement led to "Clean up on aisle one!" Here, she has done all her business outside, and even pooped on our walk around the block, which Tom volunteered to pick up. I guess we'll see how long that lasts. Now we have the night to contend with. Hope she's ready to entertain company soon. She is very cute and loving.

Why, It's Elementary!!!!

As you can see for yourself, Sherlock Holmes has deduced that today is, indeed, our Daddo's Birthday!!!!

HAPPIEST OF DAYS TO YOU, DADDO!!!! We all love you soooooo much!!!!!

MOM'S LATEST PURCHASE

It is somewhat animatronic and plays many of the familiar tunes from Charlie Brown's Christmas Special. At least its a lot better than the Rudolf one... or the other one she has.... So you will all see it and hear it on Sunday....

Its that time of year...

And now we move on to the main event. Christmas is coming, as the sound goes and the decorations are up in the neighborhood. Charlie Brown rises up out of the chimney to be greated by Snoopy. I am not sure that I like all these lawn ornaments. Just like the lights and holly on the house. Everything else gets gaudy.

THERE'S NO NEED TO FEAR ...

UNDERDOG IS HERE! ... And let the parade begin, along with the season presents and decorations and presents... for prettttty girrrls.

We are all looking forward to a delicious dinner tomorrow at Fred's... and then at 8 o'clock, Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

The Countdown Has Started... One...two...

and in three short days, it will be Thanksgiving... with delicious turkey.... pumpkin pies... Lions football....

And we will all have to wait for Thursday to see the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special... It'll be on at 8 pm then. Although it is not the best of the specials, (The Great Pumpkin and Christmas are much better) it is always a treat to see Snoopy wrestle with the lawn chair.

Hair-Raising!

I tried emailing these, but most of the emails came bouncing back because of maximum size being exceeded. Wussy little email servers of yours!

Anyway, here are the latest hair pix compared with the ones taken 5 weeks ago (obviously the ones where I am wearing the yellow tee shirt is from today). It is nice and thick now and, altho not as long as I'd like yet, definitely more tolerable.

Be Somebody!!!

I know this is not from one of dad's favorite movies, but I thought it appropriate. I am finally working towards a place to sit, write, surf, whatever, without kids being allowed. I know the boys have their own computer, but you know kids..."Well, who's using that one right now?" Thanks to donations from Adam, and dad and mom, and mom and dad getting new computers, I have yet another computer in my home, but this one is off limits to children. Temporarily on my glass outdoor table, which is indoors for the Winter, I have started my private office. Taking a page out of Les Nesman's book, I think I will put tape on the floor, and require others to knock before entering. At least that way, I can lock the door, and pretend I don't hear anybody, if my door is closed. Like my umbrella in my orange juice?

Remembering what is really important...

...I give you the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, which a friend of mine bought at CVS and has sitting on the corner of her desk. It is helping to make me smile on a morning where I am feeling a little sucker-punched at work. Last week I had to lay off 2 of my 3 employees. It was a horrible, horrible week (obviously more so for them than for me). So I took the weekend to recover, tried to think things through, and came into work this week with an "okay, moving forward!" attitude. Only to be pulled into my boss' office this morning (my first question when she requested an 8am meeting was "um..am I being laid off?") to find out she will not be my boss anymore and they are moving me BACK to reporting to my old boss, whom no one (including myself) has any respect for and whom I never felt fought for any of us in terms of raises/promotions, etc. Of course, it's all cushioned in a "this will be better for you, more room for growth, yadda yadda" but I have a hard time believing that right now.

But you know what? It's just a job, and I am VERY grateful to still be employed and still have health insurance. And this is the time of year to be SO GRATEFUL for SO MANY things I have. My health (knock on wood), time with all of YOU coming up, a wonderful boyfriend who has stood by me through cancer and baldness and pissy moods that come and go...and this morning as I was coming into work my phone rang and there was little Edmund, wanting to know if I'd be in town to come to his Santa Breakfast at school. It broke my heart to have to say "no" (and man, those are the times I wish I could live in Michigan, or at least closer so I could get there!), but the fact that I have these wonderful, beautiful, precious nieces and nephews who tell me they love me and want to have me around at things like Santa Breakfasts...THAT is the important stuff. A job is just a job. My family and loved ones are EVERYTHING. And I can look at the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and remember things like that.

To quote Linus (and the Bible) - "For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

That's what Christmas is all about...Charlie Brown.

Tis the season....

and I should be given kudos by all, because I actually did get a xmas list of sorts out there this year. Some of the stuff is a bit on the high side, however this gives my children the opportunity to get together for a joint effort.
Busy shopping on line for a new health care provider. Seems Blue Cross is trying to discontinue the program we had in the past, and their way of doing that is by tripling the rates... We are considering the Henry Ford HAP plan for Seniors, of which we are two of... Looks kind of inviting so we will attend a seminar for it in a couple of weeks.
New computers are working fine so far. WIndows 7 appears to be working very nicely.

Another Day, Another...

You guessed it...Another doughnut! Yes, this being one of the favorites of my boys when we go to coffee and doughnuts, immediately following church, but of course they would want it to be a chocolate doughnut. All is well here. The boys are slowly getting used to their new sleeping arrangements. After a scary scene of James climbing down from the top side of Billy's bunk, slipping and falling to the beds of Tom and Edmund, the bunkbeds are dismantled and stored in the local Sheen storage cellar...dad's basement. Bill and Tom remain in their room but both on regular twins, and Ed and Jim are now in a room together, and I believe will become even more attached. Actually, the greatest difficulty so far has been with, you guessed it, Tom. Even though he has slept in the same room with Bill since Billy has been around two, going from crib and bed, to bunk beds, to twins, to bunks to, twins...blah blah blah, Tom has had such a difficult time sleeping since Billy came down this time. "He's too close to me!"..."He's breathing loudly!", "He's talking too much!", He's breathing too loudly in his sleep!" However, life goes on, and kids will adjust, and hopefully the parents survive. Saw a tribute to Bill Cosby last night, which had a lot of reverences to kids and parenting. Glad to know we are not alone. So, in an half hour, we'll begin the church dressing ordeal. Then there's mass, doughnuts, Grammy's, nap, Nana's, home, bed...ahhh, what an exciting life we lead:) Now, where's that chocolate cake?!

The long and short of it...

...well...it's mostly the SHORT of it at the moment.

Altho I would trade it in a heartbeat to have my long hair back, I will admit that it is very interesting watching my hair grow back in. I finally shed the wig for good (the Good Lord willing) a few weeks ago, transitioned to wearing hats to work for a couple of weeks...had a few people say "hey! You cut your hair!" To which I would mumble something like "um...not exactly" but didn't really feel like going into it for the most part. Then, starting this Monday, I finally felt brave enough to shed the hats and just wear it short. For now, I have to wear it with headbands, because the front is too short to style and is VERY BUSHY! In fact, my hair when I get out of the shower and in the hour or so following that while it dries is one of the most hysterical things I have seen. Still very Heat Miser-ish when it's wet, and Afro-y when it dries.

But it is nice when I put on a baseball cap to do my workouts and there is hair sticking out the back and sides like crazy! What a nice change from when I had to wear bandanas underneath those same caps to try and hide the baldness. I am also finding that I have "growth spurts" with the hair....it sits at one length for awhile and then all of a sudden BAM! It has obviously grown and is sticking out in new places. It curls up at the ends and waves all over in other places...right now I can't tell if this is due to "new wave" from the chemo in my previously poker-straight hair or if this is how my hair would have been regardless had I ever cut it this short, because of the cowlicks. I guess only time will tell.

So I'll be without the wig at Thanksgiving. Poor Jimmy...he won't know WHAT is going on.

Happy Veteran's Day

Let's all quaff a few root beers for Bill Mauldin and the other veteran's who served our country so well. And the Mariner's Church bell tolls 29 times for the poor souls who went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald 34 years ago today. "The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound..."

JOE BTFSPLK

Al Capp had it right with Joe Btfsplk, but now Eric has taken over that role with the dark cloud constantly over his head... especially with cars. Most people would consider if bad luck to have to ever put a head gasket on a car.... Eric is putting on a second one within what.... 3 years. GET A HONDA!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

....to Meems' and Daddo's house we will go...in just 18 short days!!! Brendan and I arrive in Michigan for Thanksgiving on Tuesday, November 24th, and cannot wait! I am always sad to see Halloween go, but I did get good enjoyment out of the month of October, some good scares and lots of decorations and treats...so now it's time to hurtle ourselves into the rest of the holiday season. I am dreaming of turkey and mashed taters and gravy and PUMPKIN PIE and, most of all, being with my family (at least most of them) and NOT being in the hospital (the Good Lord willin')!

And p.s. the glut of holiday commercials has begun, and yesterday I saw a promo for the TBS (or is it TNT) "25 Days of Christmas" campaign...which apparently begins this coming Tuesday...which makes no sense to me but...ah well. When is "CB Christmas" and "Rudolph" on????

It Has Begun!!!

Jim's looks says it all. We wish for it to come, then it hits us and we dumbfounded how early they start each year. So, let it be known, I have just witnessed my first Christmas commercial of this holiday season. It was a Walmart commercial, playing to the carol of "We Need A Little Christmas." True, some of you may have witnessed one already, but I thought Nov. 2nd was a bit early. Have yet to check and see if WNIC is playing their carols yet. Hopefully they'll wait til it gets a bit closer to Thanksgiving. Anyway, I guess we're into it now. God bless us...Everyone!

Ah....welcome back, Standard Time!

Because it is not quite 6am here in Las Vegas and it is already getting light out. I SO dislike having to be up and about during the work week when it is still dark out. I think it's unnatural for it to be dark at 7am when I am leaving the house. And since I will be shooting outside tomorrow and Wednesday, the end of Daylite Savings Time could not have come at a better time. I have seen the light! And I love it!

p.s. Will be home for Thanksgiving in just 22 short days, 3 weeks from tomorrow!! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!! Miss everyone SO much!

THE FULL MOON

And you know what that means.

"Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms and the moon is full and bright." At least, that is what Maria Ouspenskaya playing the old gypsy told Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) in the old Wolf Man movies.

Do You Know?

Is there anyone who reads this beautiful column who might know how to transfer a video clip from Youtube or the like to this blog. I was going to transfer what I thought had some appropriateness to this blog and write a stint about it, but once I found said clip, was stumped. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Maybe I'd be better off to pee on the tree...or maybe just call the tree service and cut down the tree.

Nonetheless, Halloween is over!...Clocks are set back. There is more candy in this house than there is room for. Last night I said to Kate, as kids were crying and fussing about how this costume itches here, and hurts there, and these shoes aren't right...blah blah blah..., "Can't we just go from Eddie's birthday right to Thanksgiving?" Katie's response was, "How about from Eddie's birthday right to Janurary 3rd.

Happy All Saints Day:)

"TRICK OR TREAT!"

"YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!"

And the big day has arrived. It might be a little chilly for the little beggars, so this year I will give them all something to warm their innards. Each little trick-or-treater will get a scoop of mash potatoes in their bags and a ladle full of hot gravy. Yummy!

Everybody drive cautiously out there tonight when the ghosts and goblins roam the streets.

"From Ghoulies and ghosties and long leggedy beasties

and things that go bump in the night... Lord deliver us."

IZZAT.... IZZZATT?

IT IS... IT IS THE GREAT PUMPKIN!

Once more Linus conned Sally to miss her Tricks or Treats and wait for the Great Pumpkin. And I am getting ready to pass out Treats on Halloween night... I have a nice collection of rocks.

A big welcome home to the Meems

I did miss her, even if it was for only a few days, but her trip was for a good cause... running.... er... walking in the Race for a Cure with Kirsten, Dani and Terry. And now we can get back to normal and get ready for the little beggars on Halloween night.

"Double, double, toyle and trouble,

Fire burn and caldron bubble."

Another great one passes away...

Soupy Sales died today. So, so sad and so, so young at 83.. We miss you Soupy!!

Not Right....

Wrong decorations to have snow on them.

sPike Saves a Puppy!!!

This morning as sPike and I were walking along 18 mile a small white puppy (one of those yappy curly haired small creatures) came running across the street towards us. This was heralded by many screeching brakes and cars coming to dead stops. The puppy was followed by a little girl about 11 years old who was screaming and crying "Stop Lilly". She was followed by her father, a fairly good sized man who was yelling at her to stop running as he came charging across the street through the traffic. sPike and I stopped and the puppy began to run towards and back and forth in front of sPike looking to play, I believe, but not getting close enough for me to grab her. A man on a bicycle stopped and tried to grab the dog and fell down into the grass and mud, a motorist got out of his car and attempted to grab the dog but kept missing. Traffic was at a standstill. sPike was calm and just watched the puppy in his casual way as the puppy got closer and closer. I told the little girl to take off her jacket (a puffy purple wintry thing) and to throw it over her dog because the dog was so small and her jacket would cover it. She tried and missed a couple of times but on the third attempt covered the puppy and all was well. sPike was so patient and kind and did not make any aggressive moves toward the puppy so I think he was a hero!!! Traffic then moved on, the girl and her puppy went home and sPike and I continued our walk.

Office Tricks-or-Treats

Since we don't get tricks-or-treaters at the condo, I focus all my Halloween decorating efforts here at work, and people seem to look forward to it every year. In fact, I was getting harassed already when I was at work for one day between my New England and Memphis trips. Apparently, the expectation now is for me to get the decorations up by October 1st. I decorated on October 12th; that was the best I could swing this year.

But I love coming into work and seeing these decorations every day. So I do it for myself as much as everyone else! Most of them are probably in it for the candy anyway.

Denver Marathon Results

So I ran the marathon today. Here's my stats:

3:26:18 finish time / 6th in my division / 114th overall men

I'm not sure how many marathoners there were - or how many in my division. But there were over 15,000 total runners lined up. That included the relays and half-marathon folks. Anyway - it will be interesting to see what it was '6th' out of ;-)

Anyway - that qualifies me for The Boston Marathon for both 2010 and 2011 (needed 3:30:59 or better), which was my goal. My previous best time (at Colfax) was 3:36:59

The day was absolutely beautiful. Maybe a little too warm for distance running. Starting line temp was probably around 45 - finish was in the upper 60's I'm guessing. In distance running, anything over 55 degrees starts to slow you down.

The course continues to be such a great course. Winding through all the major Denver parks and historic neighborhoods, including the downtown area. And things don't start really 'hurting' until about mile 20, so you can enjoy things up to that point :-)

I held a pretty dead even pace throughout. I couldn't have gone any faster and finished feeling tired but strong.

Afterwards we all went to breakfast downtown. Paige, Luke, Kelsey, Corbin, two of Kelsey's friends (Aspen and Kellie) and Corbin's friend Julia.

Now just recovering. No major aches or pains. Just tired and a little sore. This week is a *really* easy week with no real running until Thursday - and even that is more of a 2 mile easy jog. Looking forward to just running in the next few weeks with friends and in a completely unstructured way for a while :-)))

Dog Days Of Fall

Ah, here I sit, ehr, lay. Just waiting for time to pass. Waiting for my mom and dad to return. I'm so bored here. Nobody loves me...nobody takes me out for a walk...nobody pets me. You're right, I can't say that all with a straight face. As seenhere, Spike is in his adopted bed. He sleeps here at night, though he did attempt the bed thing a couple of times. However, with Eric and Katie in a queen bed, there wasn't a whole lot of room for Spike, especially when Eric didn't even like sharing their king with the cats. That aside, he spends most days in the front room, watching the 50 cent fish in its $100 surroundings...but that's another story. Oddly enough, even though he doesn't like me playing the piano at mom and dad's house, when I play here, he just lies down next to the piano, and listens. He follows me most places, and only attempted to bolt once; that was when you mom and dad had just left, and I got home moments later. Luckily, I lunged and grabbed onto his collar, and all trouble was averted. The boys take pride in feeding and brushing him, and Tom does enjoy accompanying us on our evening walks, though I still have not convinced any of them of the joys of picking up poop.

All said and done, he seems to be content here, and we would take him in a heart beat, if need be. But don't go and order us our own just yet. Having an already trained and tame dog is one thing, but I don't think I would have the patience or time to do that part right now with Jimmy still being so demanding. Maybe when I'm certain that Jim will sleep until 6 or 6:30 every morning, and I can actually plan a morning routine, I may contemplate it, but for now we're just happy being Spike's babysitters. I'm sure Spike will still be ready for you tomorrow. He's very good with the boys, but I'm no so sure he really enjoys all the mauling he is receiveing on a daily basis. Be safe and happy...Spike is.

Halloween Decorations at Our House

The 6 foot ghoul is the latest edition to our display. Made it ourselves.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEVIN

Even as a very young boy, Kevin was still very talented. Here he is practicing his scales. Sorry we cannot sing for you, Kevin.... but we do wish you a very Happy Birrthday and the rest of the year. I love you lots

On the road again...

We are off to sunny Florida to visit with Daughter, Molly and Polly and Boo and Dani. Although it is quite hot and humid right now, I think the Meems needs the additional vitamin D to get rid of the last vestiges of her cold, bronchitis and whatever else she may ail with. While there, I will see what I can do to give Kirsten's computer a proper tune up. This time we are leaving sPike in the capable hands of the Sheenboys. He should be a lot happier there than at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.