Self Discipline

I was in Yuma this past weekend visiting my sister Martina.  She lives in Oregon.  Oregon City to be more exact.  She and her husband and her two kids drove 21 hours straight to visit my Dad in Yuma for Spring Break.  This is a very cool arrangement.  My brothers and sisters travel hundreds and hundreds of miles to see Dad and I drive 225 miles to visit them all.  Everybody wins, especially me!  Well, especially Dad, but me too :-)

My sister Tina has a GREAT sense of humor!  How do I know this?  Well, she gets me.  And I get her.  Every time we are together we laugh and it’s fun.  We were looking at some of my videos and she asked me to play the one you see below.  She thinks it’s the funniest thing!  That’s because she gets it.  I’m hoping you do too, but judging from what some of my other friends have said, it could go either way.

Yuma Trip July 25-27, 2008

I just got back from Yuma a few hours ago. What a great visit with my sister and her sons and daughter. Not to mention my Dad and Mom too! We had ice cream, swam in the pool, hiked while looking for road runners, played games, went to a baseball game, and just hung out. Did I mention we went for ice cream? :-) Thanx for all the fun you guys!

Click on the pic for more pics on my web site!

Blurred

I’m back from an incredibly wonderful visit to Texas!  It’ll take more time than I have to recap it all here, but I will try in the coming days.

One thing I have noticed lately that is really bugging me is my vision.  Most of the time it’s great.  I have 20-10 and can see both near and far very very well.  I try not to take it for granted.  It’s a gift from God that I really do appreciate and enjoy.  I should probably quit showing off like I do occasionally by reading someone’s e-mail off of their computer screen from half way across the room.  “You can read that from there?”  Yeah.  It’s annoying, I’m sure.

I started noticing this three weeks ago driving back from Yuma after visiting Dad.  It was getting dark and I was still on the highway.  I took off my sunglasses and everything had a slight blur to it.  I could still see OK, but everything was just slightly out of whack.  I thought maybe it was the glasses since they are kinda scratched up.  So, before the return trip from Texas yesterday I bought a brand new pair.  That ought ta fix it!

Not so much  :-(  Same thing last night.  It was getting dark, I took off the glasses and there was the blur again.  I guess it’s time to get my eyes checked, although the rest of the time I seem to have my usual excellent vision.

It’s not likely to last forever.  Dad had great vision and ended up getting cataract surgery.  Aunt Lora V. had awesome vision too, but now is going blind from macular degeneration.  Mamaw had that too.  I think I’ll enjoy what I have while I have it and try to keep my attitude of gratitude!

My advice to you young people;  Don’t get old!

State of Cantelope

I’m over at Dad’s having a nice visit.  We are just sitting around this morning with Dad reading the paper and I am reading the internet and we have FOX News on.

So I was having half a cantelope for breakfast and scooping it with a spoon.  I dragged my spoon through the cantelope and what do you know?  I pulled out a piece of cantelope that looked a lot like the State of Florida!  I ate it, but then realized my missed opportunity.  A piece of cantelope in the shape of Florida could have garnered big bucks on ebay!

Next time I am snacking on melon I will pay more attention.  You never know when it’ll pay of!

Tea para Me

The English are on to something.  It’s the second day in a row that I’ve been enjoying a spot of tea!  I like the Earl Grey (cause I like to taste my tea!) but it’s also Green Tea (anti-oxidants baby!).  Earl Grey Green Tea. I found it at Safeway.  For all of their high prices they have a couple of things I like.  Good produce and good tea assortment.

Which reminds me.  My Dad worked at Safeway in California.  The story I remember is that he was the youngest assistant manager in the state at 19!  Way to go Dad!  I also remember hearing that he would bring home the slightly expired milk.  Good savings!  Of course, it stunted my growth :-)

So, back to the tea.  It’s nice to sip some tea and ramble about whatever for a few minutes with friends or on your blog.  I like mine with a spoonful of honey.  I’m heading out to a dentist appointment and then to the store.  I’m out of the 100% pure unfiltered unheated honey that I get from Sprouts.  I just recently learned that most store honey is heated so that it is in that semi-liquid state.  That apparently kills a lot of the good micro-organisms in the honey that are good for you!  The good stuff has bits of pollen (and bits of bees) and is much better for you.

There. I got off subject again.  Tea.  Yes, the English have it figured out.  Take a break in the afternoon.  Relax for a bit.  Get a shot of some caffeine and you’re ready for the rest of the day!  For me that’s go to the Dentist and get my new bridge installed.  Hit a couple of grocery stores for some supplies.  Then either hike up Pusch Peak like yesterday, or do the bike ride up to the Pima Canyon Trailhead.  I have a long ways to go to lose this weight, but if I keep eating right and exercising, it’s just a matter of time.

Man, this tea is good :-)

Constructive Criticism

So, I’m driving home from a wonderful weekend visit with my Dad in Yuma. I was coming home late because we watched the NY Giants beat the Packers in OT in the NFC Championship Game. Bummer, and who would have thought that Green Bay would LOSE the third coldest game in NFL history at home? But I digress.

I got on the road around 8:40 p.m. and it’s a 3 hour drive, so I knew I was going to be sleepy both when I got home, and when I got up for work this morning. I didn’t realize that construction would add almost an hour to my drive!!! ADOT is doing some work just north of Marana. They have the southbound lanes of I-10 merging into one lane. That caused a back-up almost to Picacho Peak! It was stop (literally) and go (10 mph max) for miles. I got home at 12:35 a.m. instead of 11:40 p.m.

I wonder if there is a better way for them to do the construction, but I can’t think of it. That spot on I-10 is pretty much unavoidable for anyone traveling to El Paso, or New Mexico, or even just from Phoenix to Tucson. I couldn’t imagine trying to be in Las Cruces by early AM and running into that construction!

OK. I’m not going to complain to ADOT. Just wanted to vent. Thanx for listening :-)

Favorie Christmas’ – Comet

It was in the ’70′s, I know that. It was a really cold Christmas morning. We lived on Seven Oaks Lane, about four miles outside of Canby. I’m not sure of the year, but I do remember that they were building more houses and extending the street. I was probably in 5th or 6th grade since I was really interested in astronomy by then.

I’m think I might have got a telescope that Christmas. What I do remember most was the neat time I spent with Dad.

There was a comet that was supposed to be visible in the west. I don’t remember the name, but if you hang on a second, I’ll Google it. Hang on…

I can’t find it. I remember it started with a K. It was some long Russian word, I think. Hang on. I’m gonna Google some more…

I found it! Comet Kohoutek. Visible Christmas of 1973. That would make this story the second year we lived on Seven Oaks Lane. (That puts me in 5th grade) Glad we got that settled! What did we do before the Internets?!

So, Dad and I went outside Christmas morning before the Sun came up to see if we can see this comet. (we never did) We were on the west side of what would later be Edna’s house. We were on the west side to see if we could spot the comet, plus there was a bitter east wind blowing! It was cold :-)

But the best thing about the whole thing? Was spending the time with Dad. I don’t remember what we were talking about. Astronomy maybe. I just remember hanging out with him on the west side of a house under construction on a cold Christmas morning. It was the best! Thanx Dad!

Favorite Christmas’ – Sizzlers!

Not exactly what we got, but close. This is on auction on eBay! How tempting is that?!
I think it was 1971. We had just moved to Oregon and lived in a rental home in the West Hills of Portland. Comus Street. A street with HUGE potholes! The place was way cool! Mostly because of the trees and the creek that ran through, or near, the back yard. We used to play army in the mud. It was AWESOME!Anyway, we moved there in November, I think. So, Christmas was coming. The hottest thing was Sizzlers! Chris and I already had Hot Wheels and had been playing with those for years. Most of my life, probably! After all, I was only 8 :-)

Sizzlers were Hot Wheels that you charged up for a minute and a half and they raced around a “Fat Track” for 5 minutes, or so. Way cool! It was all Chris and I wanted for Christmas.

So, Christmas morning we got up way early (of course).  It was at least 5am, maybe earlier. At 8, who knew it was your Mom and Dad who stayed up late to set up that stuff! So, I remember walking quietly on the hard wood floors. Chris was behind me as we peered around the corner into the living room. There it was. All set up. SIZZLERS FAT TRACK!!! Awesome!

I don’t remember if we got everyone up then or waited. But it wasn’t long before we were charging up our new cars and racing them around the track. Way too cool. Then, our “cousins” came down from Washington and they brought the Fat Track they got for Christmas! We combined ‘em for this elaborate course and raced and raced and raced. Cousin Tony got a great car. His seemed to run an extra two or three minutes after ours would give out. It was probably the best Christmas as far as getting exactly what I wanted. I realize now how much joy that must have given my Dad.

Luke 11:13
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

Matthew 7:11
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Tres Amigos

It was a family reunion of sorts. Dad, Chris and I all met in Yuma for a weekend of visiting and hanging out. I’ve gotta tell you, a fun time was had by all! We were at the iHop in Yuma and wondering out loud how long it had been since the three of us had been together. The answer? 15 years! At my sister Martina’s wedding. Amazing that it’s been so long.

Highlights of the weekend include. Hanging out, visiting, and talking about stuff. Also, I brought some of Grandma’s Famous Spaghetti. That was a big hit. Grandma LIVES!

Another very cool thing was talking about the things of God with Chris. He really is rededicating his life to the creator of all life! Chris is so thankful for all that God is doing for him. To say it was neat would be an understatement!

Oh, I forgot something else we did. Group hug! We’ll be doing it again soon.