uh oh!

 Am I a little OCD?

    If I happen to be in a business with cards or flyers on the counter, I will straighten them and sometimes make sure they are all the same distance from the edge of the counter.

    Our dinner plates are stacked red/blue.  I load the dishwasher with them red/blue.  I alternate the bowls red/blue.  If they are not alternated, I feel a bit off.

    When I let the dogs out at Emily's, I check the kennel doors, the kitchen gate, leave the house, then go back in and check the kennel doors,  and kitchen gate.  I count the dogs 3 times.  I check the yard to be sure I did not forget any, even after I count!

    At night I check the doors twice.  Sometimes I get up in the middle of he night and check them again.

    Except last night.

    I cooked brats on the grill......it was almost 50!   Well, it was near 40 when I finally went out to cook, but it was warm compared to a couple of weeks ago.  The grill is in the garage and I pull it out to the driveway to cook.  When it cools, I drag  it back in.

    The brats were good, by the way. 

    Bedtime came and I let Beth out then in, checked the front door, checked the slider to the patio, went back and checked the front door again and went to bed.

    If I had checked the back door I would have found it was not locked.  And if I had looked into the garage, as I have done thousands of times before bed, I would have seen 2 garage doors open.

    I am not afraid of people stealing stuff, I am afraid of animals coming in and making my garage a home.  Of course, if there were burglars out there, the open garage door and the unlocked back door would have made it very convenient.

    But I can't explain my attention to detail in those instances with how my garage looks and how the basement looks.

    I put most of the Christmas stuff away, but there is crap all over down there!  How many containers for cookies do we need?  Why are there so many bags not put away in tubs?  Why are there so many tubs without lids and lids without tubs?

    If I am OCD in one area of my life, why not in all of my life?

    I sleep a certain way.  I do dishes a certain way.  I put things in the pantry a certain way.

    But the rest of my life is a hodgepodge of stuff all over and not put away.  

    That's why it takes me so long to find my scissors, or car keys, or ringing phone, or wallet, or......you get the drift.

    But dammit!  Those dishes are red/blue every single time.

Peace and Love

a mystery

 Sometimes life presents you with a mystery

    Something you can't figure out.  Like, why the printer does not print.  Why several things go wrong at once.  Why some food spoils faster than you can eat it.

    Why my underwear was on the sidewalk in front of the house.

    Yes, my underwear.  On the sidewalk.  In front of the house.  

    Jackie had her hair done today.  We left about 12:30, got home about 3.  I noticed a blue object on the sidewalk as we pulled into the driveway..

    Got out of the car, thinking it was a delivery that didn't make the porch, and found a pair of my underwear.

    Yes sir.  Blue boxers.  In a heap on the sidewalk.

    I don't think they walked out there by themselves.  I thought maybe dog Beth grabbed them and ran outside with then, but Julia never saw her do that.  And Beth has never done that before, so the chances of her doing it now are pretty slim.

    It's a mystery.

    Funny thing is, I have not gone outside on the front sidewalk since the UPS guy came with a delivery yesterday.  I went out to meet him and grab the boxes.  The underwear was not there  when I went out, and I was typing in the den when he pulled into the driveway.

    Like I said.....a mystery.

    Ghosts?  Perverted burglar?  Curious neighbor?

    Who knows.

    Julia saw them when she went out with Beth this afternoon, but refused to pick them up.  Go figure.

    Mystery 2.

    Why isn't my printer printing?  

    No mystery on the next 2.  Garage door guy came and replaced my keypad to c open the overhead door.  It works much better.  Electrician came and cleaned the controls on the attic exhaust fan, which now is not running constantly.  

    Mystery 3.

    What's next to break?

    Got a neat Christmas ornament today......from two of the people who were in London with me.

    It is very appropriate.

Peace and Love

We were in London last July

And I lost my passport.  This ornament will be a reminder of a frightening, yet still somehow funny, experience.  Thanks  Cathy and Sheri!

who dat?

 I don't follow college sports

    Yes, I do watch a bowl game or two at the end of the season.  I have not been to a college game in 100 years. And I only watch the NCAA basketball  finals when the time comes.

    I have watched 1 women's game in person and none on tv.

    Until tonight.

    No, I did not watch the entire game.  But I watched enough to see the Caitlin Clark mania.

    Iowa played at Northwestern tonight, (Game on Peacock) and for the first time in women's basketball history there was a sellout at the stadium.  Some tickets on the aftermarket were going for $158.

    Clark is a senior at Iowa and has a scoring average of about 32 points per game.  She is also the Big Ten assist leader.  A friend in Iowa said to watch her if I ever had the chance.

    College students can now be compensated under the Name Image Likeness provisions of collegiate sports.  How big is Caitlin Clark?

    $739,000 big this season, if the Google geeks are correct.

    A basketball card of hers was rumored to sell for $78,000, but that was a rumor.  I have not checked to see if that was true.

    No matter where Iowa goes to play, the stadium seems to sell out.  She is a draw.  I watched her take some 3 point shots and she seems deadly accurate.

    She is bringing a new awareness to women's basketball and that is good, in my opinion.  I wish her well the rest of this season, in the playoffs, and in the pros.

    I went to Cypress House for a coffee after a Pickin' Station visit today.  I was real excited to see they had a cherry dark chocolate mocha on the menu.  It was written on the outside board.

    I told the Cypress House girl I wanted a cherry dark chocolate mocha and she looked at me like I was daffy..

    "Terry, we don't have that."

    "Yes you do.  It's on your menu board."

    "It is?  I have to see that."

    We march outside and I say, "Lower left corner.  Cherry dark chocolate mocha."

    She looks at it and says, "Uh, Terry, it says raspberry dark chocolate mocha. Not cherry."

    By golly!  She was right!!!

    How in the hell did I get cherry out of that?

    I had one anyway and it was very good.   But it wasn't cherry.

    One downside to the doctor visit yesterday.

    I weighed in at 196.  I weigh in at home every Wednesday  after I shower and I have been around 192, but I know I don't wear 4 pounds of clothes.

    Sure enough....this morning I was 195 on the scale.

    I gained 3 pounds in the last week!  Mainly due to cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate hearts.  And I am sure raspberry dark chocolate mochas don't help either.

    My New February resolutions are:  avoid French fries; walk; limit chocolate hearts to 1 per day;  cut back on pop; be aware of what I am eating, and how much.

    I really would like to be 190 by my birthday.  That was my goal last year, but I never made it.  I hope to this year.

    And that is my boring life for today.....

    Except I did something I hate.  I was on 20th Street and a guy was waiting to cross the road.  I did no stop for him.  My excuse is he was on a bicycle and it was a pretty crappy day to be riding.  But state law is I have to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.  I think he was ready to cross.  There is a button to push to turn on the flashing yellow warning lights....that would have been a signal.  I just did not see him. I will be more aware next time.

Peace and Love

Here are some of our offerings at Pickin' Station.

doctor, doctor gimme da news

I had my first medical appointment of the year today 

    Some background. 

    I had a cardiologist since 2006, when I had my heart attack.

    He met me in a room at St. Anthony Hospital and said he wanted to do an angiogram, and stent me if I needed it.  There happened to be an opening at that moment, I think it was 6:30 or 7 pm..  I could also wait until the next day.

    I went that moment.

    I remember conversations in the cardio lab.  I heard someone say they needed a 14 stent.  I asked if that was 14 centimeters.  He replied, "If it is, it will have to come out your nose."

    We always talked about biking.  I told him once that I had ridden 300 miles that summer.  H looked at me and said something like, "I just had a75 year old patient who rode 1,500 miles.  Come back when. you have something to brag about."

    He wasn't being snotty, but he was trying to motivate me to ride and exercise more.

    He was my cardiologist until 2022, when he retired and I had a new heart guy.  But I did not connect with the new guy in a way that may me comfortable.  When I tried to schedule an appointment last August for December, they said he did not schedule that far out and they would call when December came. Well, they did not call.

    So I opted to change to a cardiologist at Kishwaukee Hospital.

    Why him?

    In 2017 I saw my regular guy and during the conversation he asked me how I was mentally, and I said I felt like I was going to die, but nothing seemed wrong.

    He wanted me to have an angiogram but my insurance did not cover the procedure at St. Anthony so he recommended this heart guy in DeKalb.  That doc was booked but a new doctor had just joined the staff, so I made an appointment with him.

    He did the procedure, inserted 2 small stents, and I did a couple of follow up visits. 

    So I am back with the Kish guy.

    He did an EKG today and said it looked the same as the one I had before surgery in 2020 and the EKG done in 2017.  He said my heart was stable.  

    I asked about a stress test, and he said he would not recommend it now because I was not having any symptoms or problems.

    But he did change my blood pressure medication.  And I need to monitor it at home.

    I did not know that the feeling of impending doom was one way our bodies tell us there is a problem with the heart.  I have had 2 doctors tell me this, as well as a nurse who worked in ICU.

    New doc said if I ever have that feeling, call or go to the ER.  He also said the same for chest pains, shortness of breath, or  dizziness.

    He did ask why I came back specifically to him.

    I told him, "You once had my life in your hands and you did ok."

    He laughed, which is always a good thing.

    Well, that's a much ado about nothing!

Peace and Love

Happy Poop Day

 I bet you didn't know it was Poop Day!

    That is the day when enough snow melts that 3 months of dog poo are revealed!  It should be a national holiday!

    The sun came out, the snow disappeared, and lots of animal waste was revealed.

    I patrolled the front yard, but never attempted to get to the back.  Beth seldom goes in the back when there is snow, so I figured to save that for another day.

    Some of you know this story.  Years ago we had a house with a gravel driveway.  Our first dog used the driveway in the winter.

    I would go out and blow the driveway after a snow.

    Spring came and I was out in front of the house looking at the roof.

    Several globs of a brown, oozy mess were on the roof, melting and making heir way to the gutter.

    I had snow blown the  dog poop onto the roof!  It was ugly looking.

    I also learned how to correctly position the snowblower so it was not aiming toward the house.

    While cleaning up after Beth I ran across a huge pile that was not hers.  Somebody's dog or a coyote, but it was out of the area  in which she deposits.

    Eating something?

    Aren't you glad you are reading this?

    In tech news, turns out I did know how to move pictures from my phone to the computer.  I figured it out by myself.

    Pictures in a text get saved to photo.  Then I download the photos to the computer.  It's easy and I am surprised I forgot how to do it.

    The biggest news of the day was the sun shining for more than 2 minutes.  It looked so good this afternoon.  

    I really think I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.  January and February were always my worst months of teaching.  I was grouchy, irritable, and in general a pain in the butt.  I am still that way, and I think it is the lack of sun.  When Ol Sol came out today, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

    My step was lighter, until I stepped down and hurt my back.  That put me in a bad mood again.  I was sore, aggravated, and wanted to take a nap.

    But I didn't.  Because I had poop to pick up.  And recycling to take care of.  I seemed to have missed the last pick up of both. 

    And I made doctor appointments!  Going to see a heart doc for a routine visit, my personal care physician for an annual check, and my audiologist for a good laugh.

    Such is life at this age....doctors followed by more doctors.

Peace and Love

My highly annoying duck whistle and a new hat!

Me, Philip Johnson (aka MooNiE), and Terry Camplain
Notice the picture?

lots of laughs

 I went to a comedy show today

    Philip Earl Johnson was in town for an afternoon show at the Lincoln Performing Arts Center.

    Most people know him as the performer MooNiE, who does shows at Renaissance faires around the country.

    But today his show was very different.

    No juggling.  No tight rope.  No whistling.  No fire eating. 

    He talked!  In his Renn Faire shows he does not talk, he communicates by whistling.

    So his show today was a bit out of his comfort zone, but it was great.

    He told great stories, sang some great songs, and created lots of laughs.

    Afterwards "special" people got to go to an after show gathering featuring hot chocolate, cookies, and Philip.  He talked, we laughed some more, he answered questions.....it was a great event.  By the way, you were special if you bought the after show ticket.

    I bought 4 tickets to the show.  But Jackie decided not to go, the fourth person decided not to go, so Emily and I went.  I sold my after show tickets to the Camplains.  TC and I even had our picture taken with MooNiE in front of our picture in the theater.

    But due to my complete lack of computer knowledge, I can't get the pictures moved from the phone to the computer.  Emily took them on her phone and messaged them to me.  I thought I could air drop them from my phone the the computer, but the computer does not show up as an air drop destination.

    Maybe tomorrow.

    Exciting football games today!  I missed the Chiefs win, but watched most of the 49ers-Lions game.  I was disappointed the Lions did not win, but happy the 49ers did.

    My next problem is the Super Bowl.  I like both quarterbacks.  I hate to root against either  of them.

    Such a conundrum, eh?

    While I was at the show, Kevin, Jen, and Sam came over to watch the games.  Julia made dishes from India for super and a good time was had by all.

Peace and Love

woof, woof

 Terry is not writing this tonight

    I,  Beth, the family dog, am doing the writing.

    I know you don't believe it, but miracles happen all the time!

    It is sort of like the movie Freaky Friday, where the teen girl switches with her mom for he day.  Or week.  I don't remember.

    So I have taken over his body and he is in mine.

    They put me in a kennel every night.  But they don't shut the door.  I like it.  I feel safe and warm in there.  And if I have to go out, I can go up to their bed and whine.  Except I did that the other day and neither one of them woke up, so I went and got Julia.

    Terry doesn't always understand me.

    Sure, it may be 30 degrees but I love to go outside and just watch the world.  He goes out with me at night and I can see him start to shiver and tell me something that I don't understand because I don't speak human talk.  But he seems to be adjusting.  he gives me treats, lots of love, belly rubs, food, and he lets me go outside and stand on the sidewalk until he starts to shiver.

    Jackie can't pet me as much as she would like.  I can tell.  But I can't get up on her chair, and she can't get down to my level, so I may seem a little stand offish toward her.

    I know whenever she eats, I will get some food food.  Usually it's because she gives it to me, but it also happens when she drops food.

    Julia gives me breakfast every day and lets me out first thing in the morning.  Then she goes downstairs to work.  But before she starts, we play!

    I love playing downstairs because it is carpeted and I can run and not slide across the floors like I do upstairs.

    Life is pretty good here.  I would like more attention, but what dog wouldn't?

    When Terry goes down on the floor to put Jackie's socks on her feet, I love to stick my nose in and lick his face. It drives him nuts.

    I also like to bark at imaginary shapes!  When I do that, someone gets up to look outside to see what is happening and there is never anything there!  It's a hoot to watch them scurry around.

    At night I like to find a dark place to sit, so Jackie can panic and tell Terry to find me.  Sometimes he forgets to bring me inside, so me hiding in a dark spot is a fun game to play.

    I am a female dog.  When I have to go to the bathroom, I have to look away from him.  It's a modesty issue.  He looks away too because he knows a lady needs her privacy.

    It's almost been 1 year since we met.  They came to a meet and greet in Sterling and met me, but I was going to somebody else.  That person ended up not taking me, so Terry and Jackie did.  Julia has been a big help to keeping me healthy and happy.  And Emily gives lots of advice too.  It really is a family affair.

    I can feel myself starting to weaken....time for me to return to my dog body.

Peace and Love