Work Week Wrap

Weeee!! Another few hours until I'm off. Whew! I'm not afraid to admit that I am whacked. After that incredibly long stretch of daily rain we have finally had a nice bit of weather this week. I've missed out on most of it being on nightshift and abed through the day. It has meant a lot of light broken sleep leaving me due for a good rest.

The house population here has continued to dwindle and that makes things all too manageable - to the point of boredom. Hmmmm; that beats some of the excitement of recent weeks. No one seizuring lately, T.G.

Had a call earlier from my daughter. She was playing it cool and not letting on about flying in Monday. I played it cool too, not letting on Lynda had told the secret (because Lynda would strangle me otherwise).

I just finished Norman Jewison's autobiography, thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it. Picking a favourite movie from all those he directed would be a difficult choice - Moonstruck? In The Heat Of The Night? Hurricane??

Of the music I picked up on that same library visit I'm most enjoying Habib Koite's 'Afriki' cd and Lyle Lovett's Large Band release. I'm always a sucker for Annie Lennox's beautiful, strong voice and she offers another great collection of tunes on 'Songs Of Mass Destruction'.

Another of those pesky birthdays has passed this week so I guess I better update my profile to reflect that. Born in '54 and turned 54. I share that August 20th birthdate with Robert Plant, Connie Chung and the recently late Isaac Hayes. Maybe Lynda and I can get out for dinner and a movie to celebrate Sunday night.

The thistle and goldfinches? I showed Lynda the couple of pics I have so far (not good) and now she's on the case as well. Between the two of us......

I haven't done very well lately keeping in touch with most everyone, whether by email or commenting on posts. One note for now though - Robin - thanks for your recent visit and comments. I haven't commented lately on your photos because it seems redundant to keep telling you how good they are. Maybe we can agree that I will just do that bi-monthly or quarterly. But guess what?? You are still showing signs of improvement with those sunflower shots and especially, eSPECIALly 'Another Rainy Day'. Amazing! Great eye!! Just sayin'.

And who can believe there is just a week of August left and Labour Day hard on it's heels, school back and all. Wow. Time flies when you're busy. Time for a holiday; maybe I'll pick up and head for the cottage for a while and enjoy what is left of summer.

500th Post.... Woot, Woot !!!

'Thank ya. Thank ya very much!!'


That is 500 since my debut back in October of '06 - not a great total for that amount of time, but not bad either. There have been a ton of words and hours spent here. (There coulda, woulda, shoulda been a lot more photos ... technical glitches notwithstanding)

Site meter stats show that readership is still low with just 3,100 visits and 5,400 page views. (sometime I have felt that half those visits were mine)

Most searches that bring people here have to do with the quote - change being the only constant (along with death and taxes).

I'll continue to noodle along following my nose and tippy-tap typing away; I'm still finding my way about the place. TTFN.

Words and Music

A rushed 5 minute pitstop at the library tonight on the way to work yielded a veritable trove of (mainly) very recent music releases and 3 more biographies / autobiography.

The Books - Jodie Foster profiled by Phillipa Kennedy.
Susan Sarandon by Marc Shapiro.
Oscar winning director Norman Jewison's self penned bio.

The Music - Mark Knopfler - Kill To Get Crimson (2007)
Annie Lennox - Songs Of Mass Destruction (2007)
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band - It's Not Big It's Large (2007)
Habib Koite & Bamada - Africi (2007) [he is a gifted young guitarist from Mali]
Eric Bibb - Diamond Days (2006) [an American acoustic blues guitarist based in England]
Ellen McIlwaine - Spontaneous Combustion (2001) [a remarkably talented slide guitar player]

So far, on first listen; Habib Koite and his band are remarkable; Knopfler's offering this time is mediocre; Ellen McIlwaine and company sound great.

Frivolous 2

The original 'Frivolous' post was back near the beginning of July and it was about a big thistle we have in one garden. The plan was to help it grow to see how high it would go. It didn't exactly go according to Hoyle - I had hoped for somewhere between 8 & 10 feet. It stalled out at about 6 & a half.

Anyway, the reason I mention it is that as some of the buds mature and begin to dry they are attracting neighbourhood goldfinches. They come and perch on it and pluck the flowers causing the fluffy seedlets to float away on the breeze. I tried unsuccessfully today to get photos of them and will post any decent ones I manage to get in days to come.

Remember To Act Surprised......

Before coming to work tonight I gave Lynda a quick call at her work playing catch up on a few details. I asked about a couple of calls that showed as coming in the previous evening to see whether she had spoken to the callers. She allowed that yes, she had spoken to one of them, my daughter... and started to relate some of that conversation. 'And I'm not supposed to be telling you but you should know she and Zeph are arriving sometime Monday for a couple of weeks. Act surprised!!!'

Hell, I'll act any damned way you please..... just get'em here.

It's just 8 weeks since I was out to see them in Vancouver but apparently the changes in Zeph are pretty remarkable. He has a growing vocabulary, cottoned onto walking in a real hurry and is into everything. I can't wait! Woo-Hoo!!

Excuse us while we spent a few days child-proofing the house.

Three Lives..... Part Three: Anon

The details of this story continue to swirl about my head and I don't know if or when I'll be prepared to tell it.

Perhaps it isn't a story for me to tackle.

Three Lives.....Part Two: Michelle

Courage.

There was a call on Saturday. Yeah, one of those ones..... Lynda's friend Michelle had finally succumbed to cancer. Michelle was a trooper, endlessly optimistic, doggedly determined, never-say-die kind of gal.

She'd had a mastectomy 5 years ago, then chemo and radiation therapy. Spent a year recuperating and then was advised to have her other breast removed as a precautionary measure. Got better, back to living and enjoying family activities, back to work, involved. Feeling good and living a mindful, healthy life style.

Shocking news 20 months ago when at a regular screening there were spots showing on her lungs - she had never smoked. Further testing showed cancer on her liver and brain. Into an aggressive regimen of treatment and for a time things looked like they might turn around. The various tumours growth was arrested, then the size began to diminish, there was cause to be hopeful. In time though it became evident that the treatment was failing - new tumours were showing up where there had been none.

Michelle offered herself up as a guinea pig for any new treatment option without the hope that anything would ultimately make a difference for herself. She knew the value of clinical trials - eventually someone may benefit from her experience as she had benefited from others.

Michelle was 51 and leaves a husband, a son and daughter. RIP

Three Lives..... Part One: Amy

Loss.

On a Saturday night while Lynda was away I attended a meeting that is held close to home. I hadn't checked the start time and was a bit surprised that it was already underway when I arrived. I settled in standing at the back of the room in the coffee corner alongside an old friend, Linda S. While the speaker was up front doing his thing I was scanning the crowd to see who all I knew and wanted to talk to after the meeting. 'Yup, know him...& him. Can't recall his name but we've talked. Oh, there is whats her name...Kate?' Turned out I knew about half the folks there, maybe 25 of 50. Right at the end of the meeting they present chips for various lengths of sobriety, working down from 9 months to 6, 3, 2, 1 month and then the 24 hour chip - desire to stop drinking. Up from her seat pops this young woman heading up to get her chip and I nudge Linda, 'Is that Amy??' Yes, dammit, it was. And she wasn't looking too good.

I first met Amy a few of years ago when she was at a local women's treatment facility; she and a couple of other residents were at a meeting I had escorted our guys to. We spoke a few times at that meeting place while she was in treatment and we continued to run into one another at other meetings once she had completed. She had streaks of success in sobriety but would get away from meetings and program people, back to old friends and places and find herself drinking and drugging again. After one long stretch of relapse she began the long intake process for another larger women's treatment centre located in Toronto's west end and eventually entered treatment there. Another three weeks stint; a holistic approach this time. Back to 12 step meetings strong after she completed and she built on quite a string of small successes.

She and I head out a side door when the meeting is breaking up. Amy had noticed me, come over and given me a hug, started to tear up as she waved the chip in front of our faces. She had picked up again, had way too much to drink then into the drugs. Her friends found her 16 hours later and got her to the emergency room to be treated for an overdose. She is dark around the eyes, complexion mottled, voice shaky, hand holding cigarette ajitter - looking way more than her 25 years. Hmmm.... younger even than my own daughter. We talk about what lead to the relapse; what she can do to stay clean and sober on a daily basis; who to hang with; how to fill idle time. She is settling but goes quiet - then, 'I should have my 2 years now....'. "But we only have TODAY, Amy. We're sober today." She is just 3 days clean and still landing. Amy starts to relate what she recalls of her hospital stay - the room in the emergency department, how she was treated, the nurses and doctor, how long she waited.

The doctor returned to give her the test results before discharging her. That she was lucky to have survived, lucky to have been found, lucky that she hadn't ingested that little bit more that would have pushed her over the line. He went on to say that as a routine part of of the work-up they had done a pregnancy test; that her few weeks old fetus wasn't so lucky. That it was being spontaneously aborted as they spoke.......

We stood and talked through silent tears in a church parking lot on a summer night and she was able to unload some of her shame, guilt and remorse. She spoke of the life force she had wasted, the child she would never have and how she plans to get her life together.

I saw her at a meeting Sunday night and she enters treatment once more in a months time.

Recent History.....

Lynda's trip to Trinidad. She enjoyed the opportunity to go be & see some place new but found 2 full weeks away a bit too much. There was a group of them who went - Lyn's best friend J; J's 2 grown kids; & various relations & friends. They stayed at J's brother's place. The few places of interest that Lynda would have liked to check out never made it onto anyone else's 'list-of-things-to-do'. It wasn't safe for her to travel about alone being a) a woman & b) white. There was one minor threatened assault incident but otherwise J's male relatives looked out for her. She says she wouldn't go back especially as a vacation destination.

With having Owen for his visit so closely on the heels of Lynda's return we have got caught up in dribs and drabs as things have occurred to us.

While she was away I: read. Finished Chronicles: Part One - Bob Dylan. Still into Malachy McCourt's memoir; A Monk Swimming. It is getting repetitious - drinking, fighting, working occasionally, name dropping.

- watched a little TV. A few hours of Olympic coverage. Nice to see that Canada is now getting on the map with some medals; 9 now I think. Australia's haul is impressive considering we have similar sized populations.
- caught a repeat broadcast of a performance by Steve Earle with tracks from his most recent CD - Washington Square Serenade. Broadcast here on Bravo - here's a link to their site - http://www.bravo.ca/television/rehearsalhall/. I couldn't find another scheduled time for broadcast but I'd recommend watching your local listings for it. This series of performances is called 'Live at the Rehearsal Hall' and happens to be located in Toronto. Seen MSN's 'Live @ Orange'? It's in Toronto, too.
- also watched a rebroadcast of a documentary about the incredible expansion of Dubai, UAE. Mindboggling changes. The main reason I was initially interested is one of my nieces and her husband returned a few years ago after having worked there at a private school for 8 years.

- made it out to a couple of AA meetings that I otherwise wouldn't have attended and spent some time with a couple of program guys.

- doing regular searches of newspaper want ads and web based job sites looking for other work.

- had visits with both of my older brothers - relative rarities, no pun intended. Good visits.....

- had the unexpected pleasure of becoming Facebook 'friends' with a blog buddy - Cool! (I don't do a lot on Facebook really but it's a good way to share pictures with the kids.)

Coming up - I'm hoping to check in with both kids within the next day or so to see how they, their partners and kids are doing.

Grand-Parenthood.....

.... is a blast. The three of us toured all over and stayed occupied. L'il O is back home with his Mom & Dad; Lynda is zonked, abed for the night; I'm back at work getting organized for the week.

We hit the lakefront park for a few hours in the sun; one of his uncle's places for a bbq; a swim at his other uncle's condo; we coloured, played with trucks, walked dogs, watched movies, shopped .....

But why are we so tired now that he's gone???? This is proving to be a long night..... done in.

Gotta Love It

We must be crazy.

One day to play catch up and get re-acquainted. Then we agreed to take L'il O for 4 days.

Ah, summertime!!

Rain, Rain Go Away

When I wrote about the storm yesterday I had no idea what we were in for. After a steady two and a half hour downpour there was a break for a couple of hours complete with sunshine and rainbows. Then it socked in again around 3:30 and came down in buckets until almost 9. By days end we had received over 2 inches of rain. Incredible. On the drive to my meeting I was peering through the windshield trying to make out where I was on the roadway. Dodged my way around a couple of flooded underpasses and stalled cars. Damn near drowned running from the car to the meeting hall. Once there, the surprise was on me - I was asked to speak and did. I hadn't done that for quite a long time, months and months now. Don't think anyone was hurt in the process.

So far today it has been catching up on the domestics so that Lynda isn't walking into a mess later ( not that it is awfully messy ). Laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, dishes. It's well under control and time for a break. I'm supposed to be meeting her and bringing her back from her girlfiend's place around 11 tonight.

My oldest brother and his wife have arrived in town and are staying at Mom's so that seems to be a good way to spend the afternoon; with the bunch of them. TTFN.

**update** I shouldn't do these metric conversions in my head. There are 25.4 mm to the inch and we had in excess of 100 mm so that is 4, count'em, 4 inches of rain yesterday.**

...and yes, bro and sister in law are fine. Thanks for asking.

And Another Thing.....

... while I'm thinking of it......

There was a spectacular explosion and fire in Toronto early Sunday morning at a propane storage and distribution facility. I was outside at work around 4 a.m. and thought the whomp, whomp was distant thunder. Wrong - it was the tanks exploding, 40 miles distant, one after the other. It can be seen on amateur video on Youtube.

This isn't a complaint now... I'm just only saying, but... this has now officially been the wettest summer ever in these parts. And there is a long way to go. We've had a lot of fine, clear, sunny weather too but I can't recall the last day that we didn't have some rain. Most storms have been sudden and intense. This morning I got the front lawn mowed, moved into the back yard and got the hill and about half of the flat done when the thunder rolled and the skies opened up again. Another intense downpour with lightning, thunder and a mix of hail. Good for the corn but not much else - well the lawns, I guess. It is usually dry and scorched by this time of year. And poor Freedom quivers and shakes through each thunderstorm. I swear she is going to have a nervous breakdown if she doesn't get some doggie valium.

Here is an excerpt about Zeph written by his mom - there are too many photos to choose from to send off to all of you! zepherin is now saying: ball, mama, mum mum (the name of the crackers he loves), dada, woof woof, and then a few sounds that we understand to be: doggy, kitty cat, angel, harley and hello. last week around this time he was taking up to six steps and then falling but now he is walking around like a mad man! still falling but he seems like a completely new baby now. he has only got six teeth so far but by the look of his shirt today (lots of drool) and how he is chomping on anything and everything i am guessing a few more teeth are on their way. his favourite foods lately are blueberries, pasta and sauce, mum mums of course and he LOVED his first taste of chocolate cake (sugar!) for his birthday party.

Last night I got out to a meeting that I had never attended previously; that with former neighbour and friend Terry. Tonight is my home group. This afternoon and tomorrow I have to spend some time cleaning the house before Lynda arrives home Tuesday night. It really isn't in too bad shape and shouldn't take long. She called once again last night and she's feeling really overdue to be home. There has been a lot of fun to be had but I suppose 2 weeks is way too much. I know I'll certainly be glad to see her - I've been missing her since day one. Yeah, I know - such a tough guy...... not.

Look Way Up.......

Just a couple of things to note if you have clear skies at night. With having quit smoking I've gotten away from this star gazing business but I did notice.....

Jupiter blazing away in the south south-eastern sky; the most luminous object in view.

Tonight and for the next few nights the Perseides meteor shower will be at it's height.

Hey! It's free, it's all natural and only mildly addictive. Enjoy....

Implications and Relativity

Pause for thought indeed:

Just a note of interest - 90 years ago TODAY, Aug. 9th, 1918 your Grandad was wounded in the Battle of Hatchet Wood, part of the Battle of Amiens. But for a Medic, a Dr. Veitch, who saw a flicker of life in his lifeless body, & dragged him to medical help, none of us would be here at all! Gives pause for thought , doesn't it!!

(Great) Aunt Jane.

Let's see. Grandad & Nana's 5 kids including my dad and aunt Jane (+ their spouses). Myself, 3 siblings and our 12 cousins (+ all our spouses). Our generation's 22 kids (+ their partners). 10 more so far in the next generation with more on the way.

One life, one marriage can have quite an impact over time, can't it?

EVERYTHING Else

One Thing -
On Fridays I can come to work later so around dinnertime I thought I'd try to squeeze in a walk with one of the dogs. (I find it easier to walk them separately.) As Milo and I set off I scanned the sky and although there were some tall, dark clouds sailing to the west I thought 'no probs'. Off we went around the block, through the greenspace behind the house, out and across the main drag and up the long face of a ridgeline. It's a headland that runs south toward Lake Ontario but it is truncated and ends before quite getting there. We had done most of the climb up through the neighbourhood when a few drops of rain started coming down. A quick look at the sky told me those clouds had covered the ground in one heck of a hurry. Uh, oh.......almost to the top, might as well keep going. There we were just cresting the hill when the skies opened up, flashes of lightning staccato brilliant and great long clashes of thunder. No easy way to go; same distance either way. A quick descent down a staircase cut into the hill so that we may not draw lightning and cozied up in the lee of some overhanging tree branches. It made no difference as we were already soaked so we walked the rest of the way home in driving rain. No sense standing there getting shivery cold. Milo didn't seem to be bothered by any of it except getting his ears wet. I towelled him off thoroughly, then stripped off and headed for my second shower of the day. (Third if you count the rain shower.

Thing Two -
I finished Volume One of Bob Dylan's 'Chronicles' and found that by the end I had enjoyed the read. At some points through the course of it I had been frustrated but hey! who am I to criticize?? I had written earlier that I had approached the book with no expectation - I realize now that statement was a lie. One thing I guess you can't expect from Bob is a direct, linear recounting of the times of his life. I suppose the most interesting thing is coming to have an appreciation of how his mind works in regard to some things. I'm glad I will never be in a position to interview him; it would be like trying to nail a raw egg to the wall. There is speculation Volume 2 will hit stores by years end.

Tres
I'm a hundred pages into Malachy McCourt's memoir 'A Monk Swimming' and thoroughly enjoying it. The Irish are renowned for their use of the English language and McCourt certainly qualifies as Irish by that count. There were times last night I found myself sitting alone in this office, reading and laughing aloud. Good entertainment.

Number Four -
Ever feel like you'd love to be able to reach out through the phone line, draw someone close and give them a big hug? Through last night I was talking to one of my kids, talking about an ongoing problem in their lives and hearing the pain and frustration they are feeling. A little reassurance here, some encouragement there, 'I know, yes, you're right...','I understand...'. There are times I wish, when I wish I could compress thousands of miles to mere inches in order to have someone within arms reach and just hold them awhile.

This Old Dog

Woo-Hoo!! There is plenty, and I mean PLENTY, I don't know about computers and all they are capable of so..... when I manage to do something that is new to me, (and do it right on the first try) it is cause for great celebration!!

If you scroll down and look below the blog archives you will see the widget I installed last night. Woo-Hoo again!! A local time clock - Eastern Standard Time.

Kel (of thexfacta) and I had some side correspondence happening and she mentioned that she sometimes finds the time difference confounding...and I had to agree with her. The southeast coast of Australia is 14 hours ahead of us and across the date line. This should help make things a bit clearer for both of us.

Oh, there might be some hope for me yet.

Old Love

My friend Audrey is continuing to recover from her fall. She transfers today from hospital to an old folks home for a therapeutic month long stay. The cast was removed from her arm, the elbow examined and re-xrayed and a new cast applied. The focus during her stay will be on her broken hip; physio to push her mobility, exercise for strength, and weaning her from pain-killing medication.

She's a feisty one; she wants time out to attend a local district AA conference at the end of next week. It would be the first one she's missed in ..... well, too long to say.

Whistling Past The Graveyard

Another small self imposed backstep.... a pause in which to ruminate, then distract myself with one diversion or another.

Had a little on-the-job incident the other night which, while it played itself out, was alright.... there wasn't any time to do otherwise but act, to do, to sustain this fellow's life. On the inside I was freaked; the seizure so intense he was unable to breathe and foaming at the mouth. On the outside, calm, assuring, snapping off directives, noting time & symptoms. The result of a too quick withdrawal from alcohol and tranquilizers.... nasty. Luckily EMS was there within minutes and I quickly handed off to them.

Back on the job debriefing and de-stressing. Grateful that things turned out alright for him. It could have so easily gone way wrong..... and that is where my head got stuck. 'What if...?' ... it had happened on the bus? .... in a parking lot and not on a lawn .... there had been no one around to help him? .... to summon professional help?

In an effort to not think I immersed myself in reading, in music, in email and internet. And after a time leave 'what if' alone; deal with the reality of our lives. He lives and breathes, he got medical attention and returned briefly to our care. He's in more appropriate hands until he is stable enough to return and complete his stay. Namaste.

We had just a few brief talks over a 24 hour period but he sure knows how to leave an impression on a guy.

Zeph Is 1... Woot, woot!!

Here he is as he starts into his birthday cake.....
..... and he's a winner, the champ! All gone!!
His grandmother encourages him to explore the natural world even if it is at the expense of her daisy patch.
She loves me, she loves me not...... poor daisy didn't stand a chance.

Minds Awhirl

The material I've been reading, music I'm listening to, people I'm following up on and researching on the web have stirred my mind and emotions and awakened many memories. Now looking at that statement I know there is much more driving this state of mind - personal milestones, life stage, conversations with both kids, a visit on the weekend with one brother, free time to look back on the path that lead to this time and place. (and loneliness - Lynda has been gone almost a week; another one to go)

Part of what is driving this backward look is having been reading memoirs and relating what was going on in my life during those times. I had no expectations when I cracked the cover of the book but the tale isn't unravelling as I thought it might. There are detailed examinations of some few periods or events; then whole decades are dismissed or glossed over. In getting critical and frustrated with their effort I began to wonder how I would approach a project like that. I have to admit that I'm getting old enough that when I recall some things I'm unable to say the event happened when I was 25, 29 or 33. My memory certainly isn't perfect and my recollections may have been tweaked to suit me or embellished often enough that I believe them to be true.

The music I've been listening to all 'fits' into the same loosey-goosey sort of bag.
Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Steve Earle - Washington Square Serenade
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves

As I listen I check out lyric sheets, band members, guest artists, back-up singers, web pages, myspace pages, read reviews, watch video performances - follow my nose for hours and dig around. Last week when I picked up the cd's from the library I made an offhand comment about Steve Earle; how I thought he had gone wacko back around 2000. I'm happy to report that, in my humble opinion, he's back!! From all I've read it is largely due to his love for and marriage to Allison Moorer and their relocation from Nashville to New York. They've put together a terrific album - well written, arranged, performed and produced. Satellite Radio, Jericho Road, Days Aren't Long Enough are standout tracks.

I love this John Prine release with it's collection of duets - it must 8 or 10 years old now. (Good guess; it's a 1999 release) Must see what I can find that is current. I saw him once about a hundred years ago and I'd gladly plunk my money down to do so again. Here is a link to see he and Iris DeMent performing the title track, 'In Spite Of Ourselves'. Iris' song 'Our Town' is also worth checking out - nice guitar work, lap steel, fiddle. I'd like to know if there is a term to describe the vocal technique she uses on this - there's a very controlled, sustained ______ something???

About Lynda - We've had a few very brief check-in calls back and forth just to affirm things are okay, love & miss one another..... sigh....

Monday was Zeph's first birthday - Saturday is the party. I'm looking forward to Sarah's update. Oh, oh... just found some fresh pictures on Facebook - best do that from home. Maybe I'll call them when I get up this afternoon.

Bifocally Challenged

They say you're getting old when...... your arms aren't sufficiently long that you're able to focus on, and read standard sized type.

In around the time I turned 40 I got my first pair of reading glasses - the half height frame type - and I got by with just a couple of prescription changes into my 50's. About a year and a half ago I got my first pair of bifocals primarily because I was tired of keeping track of the reading glasses, fishing them out, putting them on, taking them off, stowing them.

I wasn't able to get used to said bifocals and so they have been safely stashed away until last week when I really got sick of scrambling to find the reading specs. Since Friday I have been forcing myself to use them all day, each day and although I still don't like them I guess I'm getting more used to them. To the point that I'm not so aware of them being on. My distance vision is fine but I guess there has to be some lens effect via looking through any sort of glass - I find myself peeking over them to see anything far away and have been taking them off to drive especially when it is dark.

Guess I should have heeded Dad's warning......... "You'll go blind if ....."

BTW

..... all the problems of yesterday with publishing to the blog and viewing the site meter evaporated all by themselves. Go figure.....

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Pretty In Pink

This is among the first photos I've seen of Madison. She is one week old today. I'm sitting here with cold chills. Woo-Hoo!! Grampa again!

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Something Strange Going On

So I get back on here after having walked the dogs after dinner, buzzing through friend's sites and decide to check my own in order to have a look at the site meter.... guess what??? It won't open in any of a variety of different ways - I keep getting a pop-up error message and locked out.

Any ideas?? You can email me at heyimtheluckyone@hotmail.com.

I'll check in a few hours from now and again in the morning to see if there are any potential solutions being proposed.

A couple of years ago my blog got flagged and I was shut down for 4 or 5 days. I hope it isn't that again.

Nuthin' Doin'

So.... that photo software installation didn't go so well and I can't seem to find a way around the problem. Crap.

I did however get into my daughter's Facebook photo album and copy this picture of Zeph from a pool party they had last weekend. (I didn't know I could do that until just now.)

This has been a strange day - a real mix of weather - sunny, cloudy, grey, showers. A couple of hours reading, a couple on the computer, a few phone calls. My boss just ticked me right off with a last minute request that I completely rearrange my schedule for next week. 'Uh.... sorry John. Ask someone else.'... or try planning ahead for a change. My hands are tied here... I'm home alone.

Last night I called my uncle to wish him a happy 92nd birthday. Unfortunately 9 p.m. was past his bedtime so I talked with my cousin for a while instead. My cousin is the only other (extended) family member that I'm aware of who is in AA - he preceded me by 5 years.

One thing that definitely gave me a laugh today was the 'reveal' at Amuirin's 'Stop and Wander' where she dubbed a bunch of her blogbuddies with new names. Fallavine the Wise, here. Nice to meet'cha. (and nice to be included) Of course, once the initial impression has washed over paranoia creeps in. Is it some sort of ageism thing where wisdom is associated with advancing years? I am old enough to be her father. I do have another of those pesky birthdays coming up this month, after all. Nah, couldn't be. Stop complicating things and just enjoy. Okay....

If you think my desk is messy you should see it up here, meaningfully tapping his noggin.

Playing About.....

Finally, after a good deal of diddling, I managed to fix the character mapping features on this computer - []{};':"?/`~ - See??!! All back now - forward slash, apostrophe, quotation marks, question mark. Lord but those things do come in handy sometimes.

On that subject: the 'Help' menus sure could be set up to be more helpful, couldn't they? Who knew there are regional language settings? That is one problem with inheriting systems from people you can no longer refer to for information.

Maybe I'll see if I can't download some pictures finally.... here goes nuthin'.