Running away

And so the story repeats...mom headed out of their new place.  Why? Who knows.  Or rather, we'll never know, but in HER MIND, there is a reason.  Our role is to manage the behaviors and keep her safe.

What's next?  Separate apartments?  One in memory care, the other in a room?  Can we even afford it?  

Hair

So, what's the big deal about hair anyhow?  Especially for men?  I'm wrapping up about a two month period of pseudo baldness in support of a co-worker with breast cancer.  The chemo killed off her flowing locks.

So 4 of us at the office shaved our heads in support...but I was the only guy.  How hard is it to shave one's head?  For me, no sweat...my barber even did the first shave for free!  How cool is that?

But the other three shaving their heads...wow!  For women a hairstyle kinda defines them.  Making a change is a big deal.  But shaving it off?  Up until about two weeks ago, those awesome ladies wore scarves...then the scarves gave way to very short.  The best was the one lady who got a leopard print "do."  It rocks!

Know someone with breast cancer?  Or just someone going through cancer treatments?  Shave the head!  They will appreciate your support and trust me, you'll feel GREAT!

Long-time no write...

Probably the title of a past post, but so be it.

Perhaps writing a bit will help me work through issues at work...

Interesting Navy day yesterday. Sat as the "Senior Member" of an Administrative Separation board. Seems a young service member "popped positive" on one of the regular random drug screenings.

At first blush, an open and shut case...but as is so often the case in life, things weren't necessarily as they all seemed. No one questioned the results or validity of the testing...but the board felt there was something missing in the story and that it wasn't really cut and dry.

After several hours of listening to the story, then another hour of deliberations, we felt there was a case to give the service member "a break." They will continue to serve and time will tell if this was a one-time bump or real evidence of a problem. We all see so many other "dirt bags" taking up our time and don't contribute that to see someone with a stellar record and contributes mightily with many people lining up in support that to toss them aside seemed wrong.

Have a fine Navy day!

I'm slipping...

I had hoped to maintain a level of weekly postings...hmm, I'm getting to the once a month level now.

Life is rather busy at the moment...

School started for the boys last week. I was able to take leave the day before they headed off to school and while Debbie slaved at the school, "the boys" ran errands and then hung out downtown Seattle. We rode the new light rail into town, visited my office, took in the view of the area from the 73rd floor of the Columbia Center and hung out at the library. A good day!

This week was filled with three evening meetings (we could attend...a fourth that we couldn't make) and the boys getting into a bit of a routine.

The first week of the month saw the purchase of a new refrigerator. The GE experienced the same problem that we repaired in March for nearly $400. Rather than spend another $400...we opted to buy new.

Trouble is, top freezer models that can hold 8 gallons of milk and a whole lot more just aren't made anymore (or aren't affordable). We opted for a spiffy Samsung French Door/freezer on the bottom model coming in at 26 cubic feet. Two features we weren't looking for were included...ice maker and water dispenser. Neither in the door. Ice maker where it belongs in the freezer and water dispenser inside the fridge.

The ice maker initially only made 2 cubes at a time...

Samsung gave me the run-around.

Sears didn't seem to think that a brand spanking new fridge should afford any higher priority than 10 days out for a repair. We waited and I complained. The repairman found the kink in the line inside the unit...and Sears will give me $50 in a gift card to keep me coming back.

I'm still not a happy camper. If we had purchased from a local dealer, I betcha there would have been someone standing tall at my door to get the thing working correctly as soon as I called.

See ya Sears!!!

Enough whining. Saturday sees me in front of some folks at the library to teach a class on Excel.

TTFN

Good Fences!

The ones they built in the neighborhood a few years back were pretty good, but alas, the post that supports the gate rotted away.

After only about 2 months, I replaced the post...then this weekend, finally got around to hanging the gate.

Since a "4x4" these days is really a "3.5x3.5" I ended up needing to fill in a 1/2" gap for the fence panel. With some scrap wood to act as shims, the panel is up. I re-seated the edging block under the fence to keep the doggie in and Debbie made it look nice. The boys say the gate works far better now than it did before...there wasn't much cement holding in that post, so I betcha it's been failing for a while now.

Evan continues his intense study of observational astronomy. I've checked out several books for him and he regularly stays up pretty late observing. That said, I think his most productive session was when he arose at 0400 to get a much darker night sky.

Spencer discovered Pokemon...so now his list of things to buy include Lego sets AND more Pokemon cards

Work continues to go well and now I just need to figure out how to work back in Kiwanis!

Debbie now stresses about not being able to complete her project list: the school district called her back so she'll be gainfully employed for the school year. Maybe we'll get to Disneyland this year!

TTFN

It's been too long

The 4th of July weekend winds down.

I did get some reading in...Isaac Asimov's Nemesis. Intriguing. I wonder if he'd managed to live a few years longer if he'd actually tied in the Foundation series to this one?

Next year I will challenge my friends and anyone who picks up the pose on the social networks to spend a bit less on fireworks and give that little bit to a food bank or other agency that needs assistance. I saw no indication of the recession last night...two solid hours of people blowing up their money!

The job continues to go well. Busy but well.

My one weekend project to replace the post in the fence will be a multi-weekend project. The old post has yet to be liberated from the dirt. Fortunately the original seating process wasn't all that good and I don't have a huge ball of cement to dig out. My father-in-law brought over the heavy duty tools -- large pry bars!

More next week!

Challenges, fun and stress

I still like the job. I end the week and feel that I've done something to help the organization. I think it's been fun so far. Quite an amazing thing to be given the title AND the authority that should go with it!

Of course, there are leadership challenges looming...but unlike in the past, I feel I have a great network of mentors to help with ideas and encouragement.

Stress. Believe it or not...church. Myself, and two others lead service tomorrow. I had to think of a favorite scripture and hymn. That was stressful. I haven't studied the Bible that much, and even when I do hear a passage I like, I never think to mark it!

Now to prepare for tomorrow...practice the readings and what we have to do!

TTFN