I Hear a Noise... I Open the Door...

Today has been cold and wet. Not necessarily raining, but just misting and wet.

On days like today, I usually let the dogs out one at a time. For two reasons. #1 - they are more likely to do their business and not play. #2 - things are less chaotic when it comes time to cleaning them up to let them in the house (one at a time is better than two at a time)

About 20 minutes ago I let them both out. I was in the kitchen, then I heard a noise (like something hitting the side of the house), look out the window and it's the dogs at the kitchen door. So I open the door and saw this:




Cali is MUD (I hope it's all mud) from nose to tail... Now, Pellet - Pellet is clean, just wet.

Efficiency and Wrist Braces

I've had a crazy pain on my right wrist for little over a month. I had gone to one doctor locally, taken some medicine but nothing happened. Finally I decided to go to the specialist. I went to a clinic in Athens - those people are PROS at efficiency. I was in and out in a total of one hour and 5 minutes - that included new patient paperwork, x-rays, doctor consultation, fitting for a brace (see below) payment and walking to and from my car. WOW. I was so excited.

Don't see many places ran like that very often now a days (specially medical facilities).



So the diagnosis again was tendonitis. This time though i think treatment is going to work. Must wear the brace (see above) anytime I use my hand. I can take it off to sleep, watch TV and eat.

On that note, I need to quit typing and put my brace back on. Working with this thing is going to be a blast for the next 4 weeks...

Good Friends, Good Times and Cold Weather

Good friends of ours had a baby 3 months ago (today, actually. Happy Birthday Izzy!).

We wanted to come up to visit them and meet baby before it got too cold for normality. This weekend was the first we could get away from work. Of course last weekend was beautiful here in Idaho and yesterday was 30F degrees as we drove up to Yellowstone...


Regardless, we are having a great time, eating lots of food


and drinking beer along with it (the one on the left is mine... I got thirsty before I realized I had a photo-op with the pretty colors)


Cold weather and all, we've been enjoying the beautiful scenery, pretty color trees, awesome mountains, waterfalls, etc. etc.


More picture will follow later!!

Chef Juan

Today I had lunch at Michelle's house. Juan Ma was the chef - he made a calzone.

He put on his apron for the event


Opening up the can of tomato sauce


Layering the pepperoni, ham and cheese


Coating with olive oil before baking it





Sorry there are no pictures of the final dish. It smelled so good that I totally forgot about the photograph session.

Seems like yesterday that he was a baby dipping his pacifier in ketchup... he started young.

39 Years

A night like tonight, 39 years ago, my parents got married. Due to God's plans, they were only able to share 33 years of them.

My mom was 17 and straight out of high school, my dad was 23 and owned a cattle business where he delivered butchered calves to restaurants through the front door - yes, walking right through customers enjoying their dinner date.

In 33 years, life dealt them all sorts of cards to include the crazy joker and they played them beautifully (in my opinion). They were an outstanding example of love and solidarity. I consider myself very fortunate to have been a witness to their marriage and have had the opportunity to learn from these two strong and amazing people.

Tomorrow's Lunch

One of these was tomorrow's lunch:



See the spot on his head? That's what's called EVIDENCE!!!


It was homemade butternut squash soup. It was so good.

I love you Pellet.

Technology Has Arrived

I'm thinking that this post is going to bring home exactly where I've been living for the past almost 6 years of my life (the middle of nowhere, where everything works "the old way")... but then again, maybe not, maybe what I'm about to tell is not a standard out there. So either way here it goes:

I went to see the local doctor this afternoon because I've been having a sharp pain on my wrist for almost 3 weeks. I go in to the little exam room and the nurse comes in to take my temperature, blood pressure, etc. She has a mini laptop where she enters in all the information as she gets it from me.

Then the doctor comes in also with a mini laptop and she also enters stuff into it. Finally I realize what's going on... they have electronic patient charts!! WOW. So by then I am in awe, so I have to comment on it. I tell the doctor how it's so neat that they keep everything in the computers. She looks at me and shrugs her shoulders (in a polite manner, she wasn't rude) and said something along the lines of: can't imagine it any other way.

Hmmm... not sure about civilization out there but that type of technology is just not a normal thing in Eatonton, Georgia.

So finally I go to leave and they give me a prescription:


Yup - they printed it from their electronic chart, with an electronic signature and everything.

P.S. - the doctor says I have tendinitis...