White Christmas

It started snowing Christmas day. We had maybe 4 inches on the ground the next day. It's been COLD...so it's all still there, plus some ice. I've been busy trying to keep the bird feeder filled up. Those guys eat like pigs. I'm glad we had a big snowfall, but now I'm ready for springtime.

Office Christmas Party 2010

Annual Department Christmas Party at Jackie's house. She has such a lovely home. She really gets into decorating for the holiday. Everyone was able to be there including 2 retired employees. Jackie's daughter and grandson also showed up. We had the traditional lasagna with spinach/strawberry salad. Patsy has become the happy homemaker since retirement. She made a wonderful raspberry coffee cake. It was also great to see Denise. She finished up her chemotherapy and will be back to work after the new year. She's been missed. It will be good to have her back.

Mommy

Just wanted to post the latest picture of mom. She has been doing well lately. I think all the activity, driving back and forth to dad's house and seeing family members, has been really good for her. The stimulation seems to have made her more alert. She's healthy and seems to be in generally good spirits. It's as much as we can hope for at this point. Sure do miss her cooking though!

Late Thanksgiving

My brother, Taumi, drove down from Virginia and my cousin, Keiko, flew in from NY last Saturday and we had yet another Thanksgiving dinner at Dad's house. So, I've had 3 Thanksgiving dinners this year. Wow. No wonder I can't lose any weight. Nevertheless, it has been such a blessing to spend time with family and for that I'm truly thankful.

Karl enjoying a warm autumn day

Lovely weather we're having. Although it's getting colder. Winter approacheth. Weight Watchers launched their new/improved program yesterday, so I'm all pumped up and psyched out to lose the next 15 pounds.

Early Thanksgiving 2010

Since my little Bert is spending the Thanksgiving holiday with her boyfriend's family in Atlanta, we decided to have our family Thanksgiving a little early this year. We went to Breadman's in Chapel Hill...a Nicholson fave hangout since the early 1990's. It's cheap and casual--which also describes us. I probably went a little over my points allotment for the day, but it wasn't too bad. My Weight Watcher's weigh-in today went well. I'm down almost 15 pounds so far. Hopefully I won't put it all back on during the holiday marathon eating season.

Fall 2010 - View from the front door

Mikey goes to the hospital

OK, so Thursday evening I came home from work and the Rescue Squad was sitting in my driveway. My initial thought was, oh no, Malcolm has had a terrible allergic reaction...then I see the paramedics in the studio with Mike. It seems that Mike fell while trying to get out the door and totally dislocated his shoulder. We spent the next several hours in the ER at UNC Hospital. An x-ray confirmed the dislocation. Mike got shot up with morphine, then dilaudid. The nurse was really nice and good-looking. We called him Handsome Bob. Eventually 2 doctors showed up and one got on one side of the bed and the other one got on the other side and they yanked his shoulder back into place. Very low tech. Handsome Bob gave Mike some versed, or maybe it was fentanyl...I forget, but whatever it was, it worked really well. Mike got another x-ray and then we went home. Got home about midnight. It was a LONG day. It has become apparent that Mike should not be allowed to go unsupervised or unmedicated. He thinks he needs a life alert and a scooter. In the meantime, he should stay out of the studio. This is the 3rd incident related to a fall in the studio.

The major part of the move is done...now I need to do some organizing and decorating. After all, this is my home away from home. And seeing as how I'll be spending the next 15 years in this cube farm, I might as well get comfortable. As you can see, the light is wonderful. However, I do have a partially obstructed view...that big support pole is right over my head. In fact if I zip around the corner without paying close attention, I will give myself a severe concussion and possibly even brain damage. I think my cubicle is smaller than the one I had downstairs, but I hate to complain...seeing as how I fought so hard for my window seat. I don't want to appear too greedy. My across the wall coworker is Beth, who is only in the office 2 or 3 days a week. And my across the aisle neighbor is Ruth, who I used to work with years ago. Another slight drawback...since we're back with the rest of the company, we are subject to the prevailing dress code, which is jeans only on Fridays. We had no dress code when we in the basement, since no one ever saw us. I didn't have any pants that weren't jeans, so I went to the thrift shop (PTA Thrift in Pittsboro)on Saturday and they were having a sale--women's pants 10 cents each. Don't tell ME there is no God. He's looking out for me!!

Moving On Up

After 4 years in the basement, the department is moving back upstairs. I'm supposed to be getting a window seat--it's the little things that really make life worth living. We spent most of last week packing up. In spite of this great "paperless" system, we still have tons of folders in hanging files that needed packing. Tomorrow, all our stuff is supposed to be upstairs and we can start the whole process of unpacking and arranging our cubicles. I'm looking forward to seeing daylight, but it has been very quiet down in the basement...no one could find us. We'll be farther away from the cafeteria though. That might be a good thing.

Me and the Baby Girl

My how time flies...etc, etc. So, what's new in my world? Well, I started Weight Watchers at work 5 weeks ago and I'm down 10 pounds. Only 400 more to go. Mike has been at it for 10 weeks and he has lost 20 pounds. It's a fairly easy diet plan--oh, excuse me, it's NOT a "die-it", it's a "live-it." We've made a lot of adjustments around here and I tell you, it's a lot easier when everyone is on the plan. No more junk food in the house. Anyhow, you can definitely lose weight if you stick with the program. I took mom to see dad last Saturday. I was going to go to the church Fall Festival, but I was tired and took a nap and when I got up I was too out of sorts to do anything. Halloween has come and gone and I have nothing to show for it. Not even a piece of candy. We did watch a lot of old, classic horror films from the 30s and 40s. Great fun. Sunday was the Primary Sacrament presentation at church. The kids were amazing. They really pulled it together. My baby came by briefly Sunday afternoon to do some laundry. I can't believe that she is a fully functional adult now.

the NEW me

Went to Durham after work last night to my daughter's salon. She was going to put this treatment on it called a "Brazilian Blow Out" but it turns out it has just been banned in Canada because of a dangerously high formaldehyde content. So, she opted instead for the "Keratin Express" or something like that. Anyhow, the result is supposed to be the same--straight non-frizzy hair, it just doesn't last quite as long (1 month as opposed to 3). I'm satisfied. The Only Burger truck was parked on the corner, so we wandered down there. Her boyfriend was working, so he hooked us up with some free grub. I had the veggie burger, which is excellent, by the way. I love Only Burger food...but they're kind of hard to find since they move around all the time. They are supposed to be opening a regular eatery soon. That's cool, but there's something kinda fun about standing around a parking lot eating out of a food truck. Today is my day off...I'm doing a lot of nothing. It's a nice break.

Saturdays with the little Nana

Picked up mom at the nursing home again Saturday morning and got her ready for the outing. She seemed to understand what was going on because she was anxious to get in the car and she was smiling when I told her we were going to go see James. It's a little over an hour drive from the nursing home to Dad's house and she was reading road signs all the way. We were over halfway there when I noticed her squirming around in the seat. Usually this means she needs to get to a bathroom. She can't really communicate anymore, so she isn't able to verbalize her needs ahead of time. Unfortunately, I have the nose of a bloodhound, so the drive was becoming increasingly unpleasant for both of us. I think I set the land speed record for the Goldston to Carbonton trip. And that's with my head hanging out of the window. But, not to worry, we got to Dad's house--and everything was well contained. I can deal with the diapers-I'm used to it, but it's NO fun when everything is just running all over the place...if you get my drift. Dad's next door neighbors came by. They haven't seen mom in over 2 years, not since she was going over to their house at all hours of the day and night searching for lost people and items. They were very patient with her. Mom seemed pleased to see the kids and was especially happy when the little boy bowed and said "sayonara" when they left. It was a sweet moment.

The "old" me

This is the current hair style. Something weird happened to my hair the past year and now I can't do a thing with it. My daughter, the professional hair person, says there is a treatment she can put on it to make it look decent, or at least less ridiculous. So hopefully (fingers crossed!) by this time next week, I will be able to post a picture of the wonderful new me...or at least the old me with a better hair style.

Field Trip

It's FALL. The weather is excellent. We even got some rain, which was badly needed. I was feeling brave, so I decided to pack Mom into the car and take her for a drive to see Dad at the homeplace. I got to the nursing home right after breakfast and gave her a shower. It was as much for my benefit as for hers. I can't stand that nursing home smell. We borrowed a wheelchair and then I released her on her own recognisance. She seemed to enjoy the ride. She read road signs all the way and then started counting 1 to 10 in Japanese. She sometimes gets stuck on a thought and it stays with her a while. We had some lunch with Dad. He mangled his hand in the mailbox...that's another story...you can see the bandage. And we had an uneventful drive back to the nursing home. I did have to deal with a couple of poopy diapers, but it was all well contained, so not a major problem. It was good for Mom to get out of the home. And I know it was good for Dad to visit with her on his own turf. We had a good time and will probably do it again next Saturday, weather permitting.

A day at work with some of my coworkers

At The Office

Feet up on the desk, eating bon-bons. Did I tell you that I love my job? I'm working at a certain health insurance company (that shall remain nameless--at least until all the hoopla regarding health reform has died down). I'm reluctant to tell people where I work because then I have to listen to a rash of crap--from both sides. I'm sorry that health insurance is so expensive, but I can assure you that it's not my fault. Even my own health insurance is expensive and I work for the company. My best advice is to move to Canada. In the meantime, I have to work somewhere in order to have any kind of health insurance. And...I really do love my job.

Breaking Bad

My new favorite show. Me and Mike spent an inordinate amount of time the past month renting past episodes on NetFlix so we could catch up. You absolutely HAVE to watch the show from the very beginning. It's not one of those that you can just jump into the middle of and figure out what's going on. It's very complicated. And the character development is intricate. I love this show. It's the best thing on TV right now. Oh, and just so you'll know I'm a well rounded individual and don't spend all my free time in front of the tube...I'm reading a book recommended by my mother-in-law "The Shack." It's pretty good. Certainly more entertaining than the medical journals I usually read. Otherwise, nothing exciting to report. I've given up dieting and housekeeping. It was bumming me out. And it was a terrible waste of time since I wasn't losing weight and the house continued to look like wild dogs were living in it.

Catch Up Part 3.5

I just like this picture. I wish the quality was a little better, but I'm not a professional. It's a miracle that I can even pick up a digital camera and take a picture at all, much less upload it to the web. Anyhow, I like the picture because it captures my baby girl in a happy moment. She's such an angel. She turned into a regular adult person...she's 22 now. YIKES! That is so freaky. She is working at a salon in Durham, doing very well, supporting herself and getting ready to go back to college. The boys are also doing okay...moving along a little more slowly, but as long as they have forward momentum, I'm happy. Mike is teaching and playing a lot. He's got gigs just about every weekend. Mom and Dad are hanging in there. I'm looking at the half full glass.

Catch Up Part 3

OK, so I'm browsing through my saved photos and I found a set that I had taken back in January when my brother was visiting. This was one of those rare occasions when everyone went out to eat together. We ate at a meditaranean place in Durham. Excellent felafel.

Catch Up Part 2.5

A couple more pictures of Bill's carved pieces. I find all this absolutely incredible. You have to see it in person to appreciate the work involved. I could wax philosophical on the creative spirit and the drive within each human to make something beautiful with his own hands. But I won't.

Catch Up Part 2

I made a trip to Eastern NC with Dad. He wanted to go see a few of his family. It was a quick trip to little Washington...we left on Friday morning and came back Saturday afternoon. We dropped in on Dad's cousin Bill. Bill is a fascinating character. He probably has less than a 3rd grade education, but he has an incredible artistic gift for wood carving. He wittles tractors, farm equipment, old trucks and such from blocks of wood. And I mean he literally wittles the pieces out and assembles them into realistic, scale models of the things he sees and has worked with all his life. The tractors and trucks have working gears. Now keep in mind, he doesn't measure anything. He simply looks at things and then carves out the pieces purely on a trial and error basis. It's amazing.

Catch Up Part 1

Wow. Time really got away from me. I decided it was time to post a few odds and ends here to catch up on the year so far. Bert has a new boyfriend, a fellow comic book enthusiast...and he has a sweet dog, Daisy. Poor Daisy apparently used to be a "bait" dog. Vets say you can tell because she has very short cut ears and a lot of scars on her head and neck. Somehow she ended up wandering the streets and was rescued. It's hard to imagine such cruelty. People suck. But Daisy is a real trooper. She not only survived, she is just the best natured dog in the world. She loves people. She even loves the cats, although they aren't crazy about her.

Retirement Party

************Patsy retired after 28 years on the job. After her last day, her kids rented a limo to pick her up after work. We rode in style to the restaurant where they had her party. We made her dress up like her hero, "Maxine." It was a fun party. Very upbeat. We are certainly all really sad to see Patsy go. But, I'm glad she has been able to retire in good health and will be able to enjoy this next phase of life. It's very encouraging to me. I only have 12 years 236 days til I can retire!!

Last Day at Work

My coworker and cubicle neighbor, Patsy, retired from Blue Cross after 28 years. Wow. And what's more impressive, she drove about 50 miles to work each way, on I-40 which is a horrific mess. The crazy woman got up at 4:30 every morning. She always looked perfect when she got to work, always impeccably dressed and color coordinated. I just roll out of bed,put on my shoes and go to work. Kind of like I did when I was in college. I just can't be bothered with primping anymore. I probably should care more...but right now I can't muster up the mental energy. I got a shot of her in her cubicle. The standing joke around the office was about how jam-packed her cubicle was. She had EVERYTHING in there...it was a mini-Walmart...AND she knew exactly where everything was. Amazing.

Uncle Taumi comes to visit

My little brother dropped in for a visit for New Years. Dad was having trouble with the new TV so Taumi drove down for a couple days to take care of it. He's such a good boy. We had the traditional collards and hoppin john (black eye peas) for our New Years Day dinner. It's supposed to bring good luck, especially the financial kind. The greens represent bills and the peas represent coins. The next evening we went out to eat at a mediterranean place in Durham. They made the best felafel I have ever had. So...party time is over. Time to get serious about dieting and exercise. bummer.