Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 In Review

Year in ReviewIt has been a very exciting year. Friendships renewed, trips taken, new friendship formed and a whole lot of changes in life. 2009 has been a wild ride. Thanks to all my friends "old" and new. Here's to another great run in 2010.

New Year's Eve

The rain in coming down here, but we've seen evidence of some ice and snow in other places not too, too far away. Looks like everything is turning to strictly rain here.

We're only working a half day at the office, so I'm taking a little road trip to NC for a New Year's Eve party.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day:
Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.

Dr. Seuss books for the older kids



Just in case you weren't feeling too old today .......

The people who are starting college this fall were born in 1992.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Their lifetime has always included AIDS.

The CD was introduced two years before they were born.

They have always had an answering machine.

They have always had cable.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

Popcorn has always been microwaved .

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ' or 'de plane Boss, de plane'.

McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Pass this on to the other old fogies on your list.

Notice the larger type?

That's for those of us who have trouble reading.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Chilly Day

Throw another log on the fire! It's getting down below 20-degrees this evening. I've been cold virtually all day. I almost can't wait to snuggle under the electric blanket tonight!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Heading Towards the New Year

The final countdown to the New Year is in full swing, only four more days to go until 2010. Everyone is getting their New Year's Eve plans into place.

We're back in the office this week for a second abbreviated week. We're closing early on Thursday for New Year's Eve and then be off on New Year's Day. It's a great time to clean up some of the smaller outstanding projects and prepare for the New Year.

I've been setting up a printer, updating some software, installing drivers and other miscellaneous computer tasks that just, take time, and are always better done on a slow day.

We've had a really great cheese ball here in the office. Our hygienist put it together on Christmas Eve and it has time to mellow over the weekend. It definitely got better with a little age, although it was great on the first day. I may make this for New Year's Eve.

Festive Holiday Cheese Ball

2 8oz packages Cream Cheese
1 packet Hidden Valley Fiesta Dip
1 can chopped Black Olives
1 can chopped Green Chilies
1 jar chopped Pimentos
Chives
1 can of Underwood Deviled Ham

Blend ingredients together well. Form into a ball. Roll ball in chives. Serve with Ritz Crackers.

Makes 2 medium sized cheese balls.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day:
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Shopping Excursion

Mom & I headed out to do some post-Christmas shopping this morning. I really wasn't looking to buy anything. Just heading out to be with Mom. Well, that changed once we got out. I found a number of sweaters, a couple of shirts, and a new pair of sneakers! Who'd have thought it, as much as I hate shopping. I surely did a great job of it today.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Day

I was all snuggled in the bed this morning under the electric blanket (Thank you Walter) snoozing away when the phone rang at 5:30 a.m.! It was Sean calling to wish me a Merry Christmas. Now that was a phone call that I wasn't expecting until much later in the day. He must have had his dad up awfully early this morning, because he sounded all bright and chipper at that hour.

Things have otherwise been quiet around here. Walter didn't get up until nearly noon, and will be leaving here shortly to visit with Kelly & her family. I'm sure that they will have a great time.

Walt has built me a fire. I'll be enjoying that this afternoon while it's all damp and rainy outside. I'm glad that the temperature isn't below freezing. That would be all we need - freezing rain - on top of the snow that is leftover from last weekend. Doesn't look like the temperatures are going to drop below freezing until Saturday night so we just may be able to dodge the possibility of ice. Carla has been enjoying the fire too. She has been sleeping on the sofa.

Maybe, some day, we'll have a Christmas miracle and Danielle will decide that she would like to have us as part of her family once again. It would have been nice to finally meet the grandson, and see the granddaughter again. Here she is almost 4 years old and I haven't seen her since she was very little, with the exception of an hour at a Mother-Daughter banquet when she was 1. It's been a long time. Someday just maybe.


As the rain began to taper off the fog began to take over. If this had been Christmas Eve I would have been certain that Santa would have used Rudolph to lead his sleigh. Pretty thick stuff out there.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas To All

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve

We've have been busy elves this morning getting ready for our family Christmas Eve get together. There was a house full here this evening, 15 in all.

Around 6:30 this evening, the cell phones began ringing off the hook, the kids got phone calls from Santa just as we were getting ready to exchange gifts. I don't know which one was more surprised Terry or Walter. :) It was funny, once Santa called, all the kids wanted to hurry things along so that they could get home and get into bed so that Santa would make his stop. Very fun.

Miss Kelly served as our guest elf this evening. She did a fantastic job overseeing package distribution. The kids all really had a good time with her.

Terry enjoyed helping her open her gifts. He even followed her instructions, quite well. I think she reminded him on one of his teachers. Which is kind of neat since she is an education major.


Sean stopped by before 9 and visited for a short while before heading back home. He seemed quite pleased with the body pillow that he got for his bed. It will be a nice cushion for him to sleep against. He even got his own surprise phone call from Santa just a few minutes after 9. So much fun.

Walter & Kelly headed out around 10 for midnight services. They both looked terrific when they left.

Christmas Eve Photos

Thanks Mom for sharing the photos - I only was able to take 41 shots myself. Bad angle and too many other photographers in the room.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Office Christmas Luncheon

The office closed up early this afternoon for a Christmas luncheon. We all had a great time at Firebirds. It was very nice to have the time to talk with everyone and the food was great. We did have an extra special guest join us for the event, Dr. Martin's 8-month old granddaughter. She was the hit of the party.

Now for four days of fun and festivities. Merry Christmas everyone and may you all have a fantastic holiday season.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Venturing Out

After a whole weekend of being snug in the house, I ventured out onto the highway to the office. I was lucky that Walter had gotten out with a couple of the neighborhood guys and shoveled out the driveway on Sunday afternoon. There were some places on our road that were still icy, but passable. When I got to the office there was a big surprise! The parking lot was almost a whole sheet of ice. With a little help I was able to pick my way across the parking lot without falling flat on my backside.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.

Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.

It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Elf'n Fun

Got this last night, one of our friends put this together over at the Office Max Elf Yourself site. What at hoot!

The Sun Has Returned.

The sun has returned from it's long absence. I've forecast for highs in the low 30's for today. Things may or may not begin to melt off. I'm sure it will be helpful where they have scrapped the roads. It's the overnight that won't be pretty. Icy conditions everywhere that the snow has melted, and us without any more salt. I for one have absolutely no desire to slip and fall again, twice in one month is plenty for me.

Everyone stay safe if you're venturing out on the roadways. The secondary roads are still treacherous even with a 4-wheel drive.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison

Jesus Knows You're Here

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said,

'Jesus knows you're here.'

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.

When he heard nothing more , after a bit, he shook his head and continued.

Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard

'Jesus is watching you.'

Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.

Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

'Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot.

'Yep', the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he is watching you.'

The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?'

'Moses,' replied the bird.

'Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'

'The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus.'

True Story of Rudolph

A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.

His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.

Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946, Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn't end there either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation of Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Catching Up

I have finally gotten back on the computer after the hard drive meltdown. There are still so many Windows updates to get installed. At one point there were 82 that needed installing. Hard to believe that there had been that many since I bought the computer in September. That's over 25 released a month since then!

Since the last big post we went to see the Richmond Pops Band's Christmas Concert, they had as special guests the Richmond Choral Society and Stephen Cramer & Leigh Ann Hinton soloist - U.S. Army Band, Washington, DC. The performance was fantastic.

The big snow storm hit here last night around 5 p.m. It looks like we got about 10 -12 inches of snow here at the house. This morning I heard a truck having trouble out front and peeped out to find not the snowplow that I thought it was, but a flatbed wrecker struggling to come up the hill toward the house. You'd have thought it would have made it up without difficulty, yet it was struggling.

The plows did come by this afternoon, but it ended up making almost a bigger mess than what we had already. They, of course, blocked the driveway with what they scrapped off the road. Since the snow is already so wet and heavy, it is going to be an absolute mess to shovel out tomorrow. I'll need to find me a much better winter coat and some gloves in order to get out and help Walter. Yuck!

He did manage to make it out to Hull Street this afternoon, but then again he has the advantage of 4-wheel drive. Otherwise he'd have been stuck in here as well. He told me that there were a number of cars stuck on the side of our road (1 mile - from the house to Hull Street). One was even going in the wrong direction.

There has been some more snow flying this afternoon, maybe we'll get a dusting more. Everyone will need to be extremely careful out driving this evening. The snowy slush will be freezing over tonight and be very slick.

December Snow Photos

The Richmond Pops Christmas Concert





Glad that I got that shot of the wreath this morning, by the time the late afternoon had rolled around, it had gotten so weighted down with snow and ice that it actually fell off the window. I guess I'll be letting the snow and ice melt off of it before I try rehanging it.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day:


Hear, Hear!!!

When the people fear their government there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. - Thomas Jefferson

Amendment 28: Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.

Let's get this passed around, folks - these people have brought this upon themselves!!!

Math For Dummies

This is too true to be funny.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, At the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain... let's take a look at New Orleans .. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans . Interesting number...

What does it mean?

A. Well ... If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans every man, woman, and child) You each get $516,528.

B. Or... If you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.

C. Or... If you are a family of four... Your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D. C

HELLO! Are all your calculators broken??

Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax (Fed)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)

Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax

Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax

Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax

State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax

Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
(And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes)

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago... And our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt... We had the largest middle class in the world... And Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?
Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to Press '1' For English.

What the heck happened?????

Friday, December 18, 2009

Winter Wonderland??

If, even one of the weather forecasters is correct, we are in for some real winter weather this weekend. Depending upon who you are listening to, we are in for somewhere between 3 to 12 inches of snow. Hmm. I haven't heard anything since I've been at the office this morning, but I'm putting money on the total accumulation total actually being greatly different from what they are predicting. We could just end up with rain, or a freezing mix, or even actually having snow. This area is just so unpredictable. The one thing that is true in all of this is that the storm is coming from the South and when that happens we 'usually' get hammered.

I'm sure about now the local grocery stores are just about out of milk and bread, and they probably have partially bare shelves throughout the rest of the store. I remember back in the day, when I worked for Winn Dixie, people coming in and buying up stuff like they would never be able to get back out to the store for a week or more. (Even if they had just come into the store the day before for their normal grocery shopping!)

We all know from experience living in the Richmond area, that even a few flakes of snow can immobilize the entire area for days. I'm betting that there is more than one kid wishing that this would have hit last night so they could have gotten an extra day of Christmas vacation from school.

There's probably been a run on snow shovels, salt, antifreeze, ice melt, boots, gloves and sleds as well! If you wanted something like this yesterday would have been the day to pick it up. Happy shopping to anyone still in need of winter preparation.

Drive safe. Don't try to dodge the snowflakes, they will melt when they hit the windshield. Once you're home, enjoy it! Build a fire, have some hot chocolate and RELAX!

Here's to a great weekend!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

BAIL'EM OUT!!! ???

"Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now, we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey?!"

"What are we thinking!"

Thursday, December 10, 2009

A Day on the Internet

Great graphical representation of what happens in just one day on the internet.

A Day in the Internet
Created by Online Education

Monday, December 7, 2009

Remember Pearl Harbor

"December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. ... Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory. ... With confidence in our armed forces -- with the unbounded determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat far removed from today's crop of defeatists

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Roaming around at night

Around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning, I did a run to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop on Broad Street. There was was the possibility of getting hot donuts, but not this trip. Although we did get some hot snowmen.

Coming home I got this great night shot of Monument Heights Baptist Church.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Full Moon Behind the Clouds

Software & a Full Moon

Before I could even get out of the house this morning, I was having software "issues". The laptop had a big software update that needed completing before I could leave. It finally shutdown and I was able to leave, once at the office on start up the ever delightful, completing updates flashed on the screen. It just a took a longer to get the day started.

Later on in the morning, our hygienist caught up with me to let me know about another software problem that was going on. To fix this one we had to do a data backup and have everyone out of the software. By the time that we were ready to proceed, I'd been on hold for 20 minutes, patients had arrived at the office for their afternoon appointments. Looks like I'll be getting this one straight first thing in the morning.

While talking to our tech support in California, I found out that Thursdays are typically the big day for software updates and issues. They told me that Microsoft usually issues big software updates on Wednesday night. That answers the issue I had this morning at home and why all the office computers were off when I arrived at the office. Funny thing was that the laptop had started acting a little "funny" just before the update came out. It was like it "knew" it was coming. Then again it could have all been the fault of the full moon - we all know how strange people get during one so maybe it has been built into the computers to act strangely as well.

This morning on the way to the office, Mom caught me and asked if I would try to get a photo of the full moon before it set this morning. It was funny sitting in a parking lot near Midlothian Turnpike with the camera hanging out the window trying to get the shot. Not too bad though for the conditions.

I've been busy today working on the new magazine edition. Trying to get some inspiration for new page layouts. I've come up with several new ideas and hope that everyone likes them when they are presented. I'm still not quite happy with the color scheme, but that will work itself out over the next couple of weeks. I'm shooting to have this all wrapped up before the 21st. That way I can focus on other things over Christmas.

Around lunch time today, I heard a forecast for SNOW for the weekend. I sent Walter to the hardware store for a couple of snow shovels. We got caught without one last year and perhaps, just having one will help to ward it off at least for a while.

Jami's daughter brought in her new daughter to the office this afternoon. She is a doll baby. Tiny little thing too! She's just three weeks old and right around 7 lbs. It was fun holding on to her for a bit. I'd forgotten how fun the little ones are. It's been a long time since I've had one around. It surely wouldn't take long to get back into practice though. I guess it's like riding a bike, you really never forget.

They are dropping like flies at the office. One of the receptionist, came back from lunch with a new job, and will be leaving after the first of the year. It's amazing how you get so dependent upon certain people always being there. I'll miss having her around.

I'll be heading out early this afternoon to get a haircut. I'll be nice to get that done and be home about the same time as I regularly do.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." -- George Washington

Congress at work

Congress at work, wanna bet they did not have to buy the computers with their own money as well.

Nothing else need to be said. This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms. No more lifelong health care, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.


House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two... he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

These are the folks that can't get the budget out by Oct. 1, But they got a salary increase this year. Seriously!!!

USPS Stamp Malfunction

The Unites States postal Services created a stamp with a picture of President Obama on it. Subsequently, it was noticed that the stamp was not sticking to envelopes. This enraged the President, who demanded a full investigation. After a month of testing and $1.73 million in congressional spending, a special Presidential commission presented the following findings:

The stamp is in perfect order.
There is nothing wrong with the glue.
People are spitting on the wrong side.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Hump Day!!

It just dawned on me that it was Wednesday. Wow, the week is speeding right along. I've been busy working on finding just the right cover shot for the next issue of the practice magazine. It took nearly all day, but I'm pretty sure that I've found it.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Dumb Things Do Happen

Boy did I feel like a idiot, last night I stopped by the Barnes & Noble at the Chesterfield Towne Center to pick up a book for Walter. Of course, it was beginning to drizzle at the time and I thought for sure that I'd be able to make it in and out before it really began to rain. Wrong! As I was heading out the store back to the car the rain had kicked up and was pelleting down sideways. Lovely. So off I headed or at least so I thought. I started across the sidewalk and toward the parking lot and the next thing I knew I was picking myself up off the pavement. I know that was attractive looking. I still don't know what happened. My best guess is that I slipped on the curb as I was stepping off onto the pavement.

I'm stiff, sore, and slightly banged up but give it a couple of days and I'll be back at it. Thank goodness for Advil and soaking in a hot tub. Together they sure do ease the ache. I've been fine as long as I don't make any sudden moves into odd positions. Just glad the job doesn't entail doing deep knee bends right now. Give me a few days to get over the aches and pains and I'll be laughing about this. It surely must have been a sight to see.

Speaking of work, we had another implant seminar at the office this evening. Dr. Martin had a very educational presentation for all there. It was a nicely sized crowd of very interested attendees. Our next one will be at the end of January.

Walt was a big help this evening, heading out to pick up Sean from his driver's ed class for me. Some days is seems it does take adults to get something done. With Dean in class and me working the job of chauffeur fell to Walter. I appreciate his pitching in so much.

I got a picture this afternoon from Kelly of the gingerbread house, in progress. It's beginning to look very nice. It seems that the delay in construction is the icing. It isn't drying as quickly as they would like, thus delaying the decorating process. Perhaps they will have opportunity to get it finshed before the weekend.

Now if I could only get to sleep this evening, that would be a spectacular end to the day.