Observations

[larryJ]

We are sort of spoiled around here.  Each of the three bedrooms has a TV.  There is a big TV in the living room and there is a big screen TV in the family room.  Four of the five are connected to the cable.  The fifth one is in the "granddaughter's room" and is used solely for playing tapes and DVDs.  I had noticed sometime ago that the TV in the family room was having a hard time getting started.  But it would eventually turn on and all was okay.  We rarely use the family room during the winter because the living room is warmer.  The other day I was in there to shred some papers and tried to turn on the TV.  Nothing......nada...........it wouldn't go on.  I thought to myself.......well, one of these days I will haul it to the repair shop and have it fixed.  No big rush as we don't use it that much anyhow.  But now we have a problem.

My brother-in-law will have more bladder surgery on Monday.  He has notified us in the last two days that he will be staying here for a week or so while recouperating.  Okay, he can sleep in the granddaughter's room.  Oh wait..........unless you are watching a DVD or a tape, there is no cable to that room.  He loves to watch TV........stupid shows and such.  I said he will just have to do without.  I did make the effort to move the cable box to that room, but it could't get a satellite signal.  Tnen I said he could sleep in the living room.  I heard....But he is recovering from surgery and can't sleep on the couch.  This is a guy who when he lived here spent most of his sleeping time in a recliner!  Oh well, we will see what happen.  I am always up early and let the dogs out so that could be a problem if he chooses to sleep on the coucn.

Sheesh.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

He is dealing with bladder surgery? My prayers are with him. Tumors?

[larryJ]

Yeah, he has bladder cancer and had an operation last September followed by chemo.  Recently, the doctor discovered another tumor which will be removed on Monday.  Thanks for the prayers.

Larryj

[larryJ]

Yesterday when I was relating the story of the availability of TVs around here, I failed to mention the almost near tragedy which struck here last night.  Sir Charles, the cocker spaniel, very nearly lost his life.  There is a small table between the two recliners in the living room.  There is a lamp, a phone and the remotes........and whatever else gets piled on it.  Sir Charles feels that it is his duty to jump up in a recliner when someone leaves the room and remove whatever he likes from the table, i.e., a paper towel left over from snacking in my chair, a pencil, a coaster, etc.  In an ongoing effort to keep hydrated, as we all should, there is usually a plastic glass of water on the table also.  The dogs do have a water bowl handy all the time and it is kept filled all the time.  Now you ask........

Why did Sir Charles almost lose his life?  As I do most of my computer stuff in my recliner with my laptop, when I am not using it I set it on the floor next to my chair in front of the table.  Last night, I left the room for a few minutes and Sir Charles took it upon himself to grab the water and knock it down, spilling it all over my laptop.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  I thought all was lost and spent the better part of an hour cleaning up the mess and trying to get the laptop to work.  Finally, I was able to get it back into working order. 

Now.........as cruel as this sounds, and I make no apologies, I grabbed Sir Charles and the glass and shoved his nose in it and held it there until he remembered he had to breathe.  Dogs know when they have done something wrong as they tend to hide somewhere out of sight.  He spent the rest of the evening in the family room just where he was out of the way, but where he could see me.  When he first came here, he had a nasty habit of chewing on the oxygen hose attached to the concentrator.  This happened several times until I took the useless hose and wrapped around his face and head tightly and quietly told him not to do that any more.  It hasn't happened since.  Perhaps the experience of having his face shoved into the glass will cure him of grabbing it off the table.



Larryj

[Wilma]

I, too, have an adventurous pet.  Like Larry, I have a small table between the two recliners and it holds much the same thing as Larry's table, including the glass of water.  However, Bud does not grab the glass and pull it off, he tries to maneuver over it and knocks it off, water and all.  His favorite thing is to leave Daughter's lap, maneuver across the table, over the arm of my chair, into my lap, over the other arm of the chair and down to the floor.  Or start from the wheels which are always parked beside my recliner when not occupied, go across the arm of my chair, into my lap, across the other arm of my chair, maneuver across the small table, across the arm of Daughter's recliner, into Daughter's lap, across the other arm of her recliner, then down to the floor.  There is no explanation as to why he takes this route to get to the floor.

[larryJ]

Dang old sentimental me......I still tear up when I hear and see the National Anthem played on TV.  Or at the rodeo.  Or anywhere.
I can't seem to control it.  I thought Alicia Keyes did a nice job......well, up to the embellishment on the end.  Not necessary. 

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

My cat's history of the same thing caused me to change the glass to a sports bottle with a fold over ''straw." No more spills. He's gone now and has not yet been replaced, so I'm back to a glass. I still use a sports bottle on my bedside table though.

[larryJ]

Well, as it turns out, what the doctor thought might be a tumor was just a red spot.  Some tissue was removed and tested and he heard today that it wasn't cancerous.  The procedure happened on Monday.  He is still here today.  Why, I don't know.  He feels fine, goes for a long walk every evening, isn't wearing a catheter, eats everything he sees and dirties all the dishes with no intention of washing anything.  Even my wife is wondering why he is here and keeps asking me, "When is he going home?"  Hey, he's your brother.

I don't know about Elk County, but here is SoCal school buses are equipped with the usual flashing red lights and the verbage on the back which says, "Stop when the red lights are flashing."  Years ago, they were equipped with a stop sign on the driver's side which is activated by the driver when he is loading children.  The stop sign is roughly 12 or 18 inches across.  It folds into the side of the bus when it is not being used.  Where am I going with this? 

Yesterday, I went to #2's pre-school and picked her up.  On returning home, we were on a street which has two lanes, one going, one coming.  It is a main street in this area, however, with lots of traffic.  As I drove towards home, I spotted a small school bus pulled over to the curb.........red lights flashing............stop sign hanging out.  The three cars in front of me passed it by without even slowing down.  All the traffic coming towards me kept on going without slowing down.  I stopped and waited until the bus driver was done and pulled out in front of me.  The law in California is very specific about stopping for school buses.  If you see one with that stop sign hanging out.......you stop, no matter which direction you are going.  The fine for failure to obey that law is very hefty.  Last year, the city changed the speed limit on that stretch of street from 40 mph to 35 mph and even to 30 mph along the block that passes the city park.  I've noticed on the mornings that I take #2 to school, there is usually one or two motor officers hiding on the side streets enforcing the changed speed limits.  Too bad they weren't there yesterday when that bus was there.  I wanted to chase those idiots down and read them the riot act.  You know.........."What if it was your kid that ran across the street to the bus and got killed?" ....kind of stuff.  Oh well, can't change the world. 

Sheesh.

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

Oh my ! What is wrong with people! Our emergency eqiuipment can't pass either unless the driver pulls over, stops and waves us around .Even then we creep around, just in case.  The bus driver is the only one who knows what's going on inside the bus. I hope the bus driver gets the tag numbers on those vehicles! It's just not worth the risk.

[larryJ]

As mentioned, Sir Charles had knocked over the water onto my laptop.  I got it to work for a while, but then two days ago, it died.  It refuses to start up.  I did all the fixes that I could, but it is dead.  So today I will going to the shop to have it looked at and hopefully fixed.  Otherwise, I will have to get another one. 

Yesterday, we celebrated Chinese New Year with the whole family having lunch at a Chinese buffet.  We have never been to this one before and I was impressed by the variety offered.  We do this because of our Chinese daughter-in-law.  I am always happy when we can all get together.  Picture this scenario.........

We were in a little separate banquet room with a table for eight and an adjoining table for four.  My wife sat in the first seat of the table for eight.  Across from her was my daughter.  My son took the seat next to my wife and the chair across from him remained empty.  I chose to take the fourth chair on the side with my son thinking my wonderful beautiful daughter-in-law would sit between us next to me.  My son-in-law, rather than sit next to my daughter, sat across from me.  The kids and my wife's cousin took the table for four.  Alas, my idiot useless brother-in-law chose to sit in the seat next to me which left the empty seat next to my daughter for my daughter-in-law.   Arrrrgghh!  Because the idiot is a control freak, he was miffed that we didn't go to Chinatown to one of his favorite restaurants and, of course, made several comments on how yucky the food was.  I am not sure whether the comments came on his first plate of food or the second, or maybe it was the third plate of food he ate.

Observation:  My daughter and her husband are both on a Weight Watchers diet as well as the idiot brother-in-law.  All three of them went back for third helpings, while the rest of us managed to get by with one or two.  I had one.  Guess who are the heaviest people in the room!  Combined with this celebration was my wife's birthday which actually is a few days away yet, but the kids decided to celebrate it at just one gathering.  Which was okay.  A cake was there (not gluten free, I didn't get any) and presents were given.  We all went back to my daughter's house for a few hours and then home.  Towards the end my daughter-in-law did come over and sit by me just before we left and we had a nice chat. 

All is well.

Larryj