Well here it is the 29th of May 2007 and I am at my daughter's house in Maryland with the grandkids getting ready for a birthday celebration of the girls today. We are having a outing and a BBQ in a local park later today. With what had happened in the past week I havc made it known that I will not be doing anything that has to do with a sharp knife. With my luck I would probable cut off a finger or something. Now in a couple of days my wife and other daughter will be going to Colorado for my nephew's wedding. He is the last of my sister's kids to get married. Her 3 daughters have already gotten married. I have asked her if she is experiencing empty nest syndrome yet but she says no. She gets plenty of time with kids at the school where she teaches. Her youngest the one that is getting married and he is 25 years old or older. I wish him and his wife the best of luck as they will be starting a new chapter in their lives.
Last night I finished a three years of a course called Men With a Mission. This has been a very fruitful three years. Now I want to go teach the course at my church in Hammonton, NJ. I just pray that it will be accepted by the elders and pastorial staff. Giving this class will be a great testamony to God by teaching men to become more involved in the ministry and the church. It is not to try to put down the women of the church because the women are what keep most churches running today. God Bless these ladies but I feel that the men need to be more involved. I pray that this will catch on and there will be men that want to become involved in the church. I pray that God will take this course and use it to build up his church.

Catching up at last

Now that my wife has retired I finally find that I have time to finally catch up on things around the house that I have been neglecting for the past three years. I finally had a chance to replace some tile in the kitchen that I have been meaning to replace for at least three years. I still have several tiles to replace but the job is finally getting done. I also have been able to get out into the yard and try to get things straightened out there. I have been able to put in some rasberry plants, blueberry plants, some grape plants. I am finally getting the property lines clearly marked and want to put up a fence around the property. The only problem I have is that I am a little accident prone and do stupid things. I managed to stab my left hand with a knife and sever the flexor tendon on the index finger of the left hand. Now I have no flexion of that finger. I thought this would be a big hassle but I am finding I can do most things that I could before I can still do. The biggest problem that I have found is that since I was trained in typing by the touch method is that my typing speed has suffered. I am trying to learn how to type without the index finger of the left hand. As all you typists out there you know that is an important finger used in typing. I will get along however. I never realized how much you would miss just one finger. But then again I nver realized how easy it is to do without the use of one finger. But one word of caution if you are reading this is be careful and don't do as I did. I was trying to seperate frozen hamburgers with a sharp knife when this happened. I knew better but being who I am I thought I could do this without any problems. Guess what, It didn't work out quite the way I had intended. That's life. I thank God that it wasn't worse. It very easily could have been.

Things around the house

Here it is about the end of the first week I have spent at home in quite some time where I didn't have to take care of some kids and I find that I have accomplished several things and I find that I have several more things to accomplish. Will it ever end or will I ever get caught up. The answer to that is "I hope so but probably not". So I guess what they say about having a house is the truth. It is a hole the length times the width that you are always throwing money into. Hopefully as time goes by there will be fewer things that I have to do and more time to enjoy doing a few things that I like to do. i.e. ride my motorcycle and things like that. Maybe I should just take the time and do it instead of do things around the house. Can't really do that however until other things get done. I think I will go outside today and get a few things done outside. It is such a pretty day it is a shame to spend it indoors. Besides I need the fresh air. I know that it is thursday and hopefully I will be able to get a few things done today. But they will never get done unless I get outside and do them. I just seem to lack the energy right now. So I guess I will just close this blog and get outside and do them. So until later. Have fun.

Retirement and the Nanny

As I sit here after my wife retired last week and has gone to take care of the grandchildren for a while, I have the time to do a few things around the house that have been lacking for some time. I have kept busy doing several things so far this week. I have hardly had any time to get on the computer and see what is going on. I will say this however, since I have been taking care of the grandkids for the past three years and being at home while my wife is taking care of the grandkids it feels a little strange. I suppose I will get used to it however. Yesterday I had the chance to do a few things in what I call my tool room. I put in a counter that will give me some space to work. I have make a few places to use for storage of parts and etc. Hopefully if this continues I will be able to make a place for almost everything. Hopefully. How am I going to adjust to having the free time and not with the kids every week. I really don't know the answer to that at this time. At this time I am having a few mixed feelings about this situation. I guess that comes from taking care of them for so long. However time will tell so I will just wait and see. Its not like I won't seem them any more. Maybe now I will be able to just be the Grandpa and enjoy them on an occasional visit. Maybe I will enjoy that more. I have however made a lot of friends in Maryland where the grandkids are and I will miss not seeing them as often. The church family I have in Maryland has been a real blessing to me. I will not forget all that they have done for me.

Is Spring really here?

Yesterday on Friday it was the best day of the year so far this year and I was anxious to get out on my motorcycle and just ride and allow the wind to blow in my face. Because of this I decided to ride from MD to NJ last PM. The problem is I waited about 1 hour too long. That last hour on the Motorcycle was downright cold. That was from 8 PM to 9 PM. After the sun went down it got chilly quick. But I had dressed for the cold and the ride was great. I think everyone should enjoy a good motorcycle ride just once in their life. The clear view of everything around you, the smells that we miss riding in the airconditioned car with the windows up. The fresh air blowing all around you. I think that there are many advantaged to riding today especially when the gas prices are now around $3.00 a gallon. Even buying the premium it is much cheaper than riding in a car. I drove 150 miles on 2.7 gallons of gas last evening. That computes out to be a little over 55.555 miles a gallon. I can live with that. The great thing about that is I have a big motorcycle and I get a comfortable ride. So why not admit it? I really enjoy the motorcycle. It is however tough to carry a lot and you cannot carry many passengers and with Grandkids they cannot go with me but lets face it. Everything has its drawbacks or is it a blessing? I will let you decide if you are reading this. May you at least once enjoy the ride on a motorcycle and I will wish you good weather. Oh yes it is a little tough in the rain and snow but that goes without saying. I will close in saying "Happy riding and RIDE SAFE!!!!!!!

Peace at last

This past week was Easter and our grandkids were here for the week while my daughter's kitchen was being renavated. Four grandkids ages 8,6, and 4. The 6 yr old are twins. This is a handfull for anyone of the retirement age. Don't get me wrong I love the grandkids dearly. However I am getting to the age where it is hard to keep up with them and my patience is getting to be less and less. I was very happy yesterday to take them home to their mother for a couple of days before I have to go see them again. To take them home was a 300 mile round trip. I did however attend a class last night before I returned home. I have been taking a 3 year course for Men With A Mission. I have 3 classes left before I finish the 3rd year. I have really enjoyed this class and have learned a lot. I hope to teach this class to others after I complete the course. I only hope and Pray that I will be equiped to teach this class. It is a lot of information to be able to give to other men. So this has been my past week. I know how really blessed I am and I need a way to express my feelings sometimes So I blog. If you are reading this you might know how that works. So if this is your case Blog. It helps to relieve tension.
Thank you for reading my ramblings. If you wish to respond please do.

Easter

Well here it the day before Easter and Guess What! Its trying to snow this am. This is late for snow and low temps but it is freezing today. Temp this morning was 32 degrees outside. So what is on tap for Easter. Today we are going to have the Easter get together here at our home. We are going to grab that Easter Bunny and squeeze all the eggs out of him and have an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. We are having the Grandkids, Nieces and Nephews and friends. Hopefully everyone will have a good time. What a thankful time of the year to be able to have so many people and family for us to have here for a get together. The worst part of this is cooking an cleaning after the Easter meal. But how thankful we are to be able to have plenty to eat and a place to call home. So if you are reading this I hope and pray that everyone should be lucky to be able to celebrate this Easter Season. Have a nice holiday.

Life is Fragile

Well here it is 3:45 AM and I am sitting here at the computer after the past couple of months of being on a medication that causes one to have an extended bleeding time. The problem is that it can't be regulated on me and I have had problems with bleeding in different areas. These past couple of months with the trying to regulate the medication with sometimes 2 or 3 lab tests a week and the lab values are out of whack. I have had several area on my body that there are large bruises for no apparent cause. Quite often the areas are painful and swollen, not to mention black and blue. What is a person to do. I have been questioning the need for the medication. All the medical text books and standard of practice is that someone with my history should be on this medication for the rest of my life. The problem is, with these spontaneous bleeds when will and where will the next bleed occur. Will it be in my brain, maybe the GI tract or some other area that will leave me either dead or totally incapacitated. So with a great deal of thought I approached my cardiologist with my worries and thoughts on the subject. Of course he was quick to point out the reason for being on the medication therapy. However after discussing my thoughts and worries the cardiologist did agree with me and decided the possibility of having a bleed in a critical area outweighs the benefit of taking the medication. Having been in the medical field for over 25 years I know the reason for the medication. I have had a heart attack, bypass surgery and heart irregularity known as atrial fib. I know the treatment is this medication but I also realize what would happen if I get a bleed in my brain. In fact as I sit here my nose is bleeding and has been bleeding for the past several hours. Even though it is more of an ooze it is still bleeding. My medications have been changed however I still have to wait until my bleeding time gets back to normal which will happen in 3 or 4 days. In the mean time I have to put up with it being out of the norms. All this has had me thinking, What will happen? Will I get a bleed in someplace critical? Will I end up having a big bleed in the brain and be confined to bed for the rest of my life? These feelings and thought have all passed through my head in the past couple of weeks. I have during my lifetime had to face this possibility more than once. Can I say that it won't happen? No but I can do all I can to prevent it instead of doing something that may make the possibility of that happening. So my medication has been changed. Yes I still have to get blood tests and other testing but the medication that causes the bleeding has been discontinued. Have I done the right thing? I think so. I guess what I am trying to say is take the responsibility for your health. Don't blindly do what doctors tell you without weighing the different options. Hopefully I have made the right decision. Only time will tell.

Spring is coming

As I sit here thinking about the coming spring I can't help but to wonder at the many suprizes that spring brings. Every year there is the melting of the snow and the renewing of the flowers, trees, grass and what not. I can't help but marvel at all the new that reappears each spring. I have often wondered how everything in the plant world seems to die or go into hibernation for a period of time just to re emerge in the spring. After I see everything coming out of its hibernation I love to see the new vivid colors of the flowers, the green of the grass and the tree leavcs and the hustle and bussle of all the animals that start anew each year. Just stop and think could you dream up such an existance as this. I cannot. I just have to stop and thank God that this was not left up to me to organize. I could never pay attention to such detail. If it were up to me it would not be nearly as beautiful. Thankfully it is not mine to do. So lean back, look around and enjoy the surroundings.

On the Road again.

Yesterday as I was driving on I-95 from Philadelphia area to Baltimore area where I drive a couple of times a week I was paying particular attention to my driving habits. Now I have been driving for some 40+ years and I realized how bad my driving habits can be. Instead of driving in the far right lane as I am suppose to do according to the Law I found myself driving in the middle and far left lane. While driving through Delaware where the Speed Limit on I-95 is 55 miles Per hour I was thinking. Why doesn't the state of Delaware have a speed limit of 65 like the states on both sides of Delaware on I-95. Every time I enter Delaware I find a big traffic problem. It is always backed up. Now I have driven in almost all of the United States and I find that the smaller states have the biggest problems. Maybe it is just my perception of the problem. I listen to the CB Radio where most of the Truckers stay and I hear the same complaints from the Truck Drivers. This is not to say that the other states don't have problems but Delaware just seems to me to be more congested. In the State of Maryland on I-95 most of the time I do see police officers out on the road trying their best to keep things in check. They use unmarked cars. This is not to trap the motorist but it is a deterrent that helps keep the motorist to obey the laws. This is almost an impossible job. There are just more motorists than police officers so they cannot be everywhere all the time. I know this because at one time I was a state police officer in the state of Colorado. My job was not only to keep the laws and try to keep the motorists from breaking the law. The biggest part of the job was to assist the motorist if they needed assistance. Now the other day I saw a stranded motorist on one of the Interstate Highways on the opposite side of the road and on my CB radio I went to channel 9 (the distress channel) and radioed a State Police officer to ask him to assist the motorist and his reply was "I am a police officer and not a mechanic." Now I thought the police officers were suppose to help the public but I guess in the past few years since I was a police officer the attitude has changed. If it has God help us as the police officers don't seem to want to help. I only hope that this was a police officer that is in the minority and the attitude of the others is to help if needed. Not just to keep the laws and issue citations. I hope this is the case. So the next time you are driving out on the nation's Interstate system keep an eye open and see if your perception is the same as mine. I would like to know if my observations are just my own or do others see the situation the same way I do. I do know by the observations that I have made that many drivers on the road seem to drive like the laws do not pertain to them so they seem to drive with any regard for the laws such as posted speed limits and the other laws. If they could only see in the hospital emergency rooms the some of the problems that are created by not obeying the laws that have been created and the accidents that happen maybe they would have a little more concern for the law. I know that most people seem to have the attitude that "nothing is going to happen to me because I am a good driver." Well they don't call them accidents because they were planned. If they were planned there would not be a need for EMS personnel, Hospital Emergency rooms and Rehab centers. Also the cemeteries have many people that said "Nothing is going to happen to me because I am a good driver." Maybe it wasn't their fault but that doesn't change the outcome of the accident. A person that has died as a result of an accident is DEAD and that can't be changed. If this has happened to someone that you know or someone that is in your family you know what I mean. Please don't let it happen to you. So please give this a little thought and let me know how you feel about this. Thank you.

Thinking for yourself

As of late I have been thinking a lot about this and I guess this is the best way to express my thoughts. In today's society I believe that a lot of people have lost the ability to think for one's self. I have noticed that quite often people will listen to the news and hear an item that is expressed by a newscaster with a name and people will take that for the gospel. They do not take the time to get all sides of a story. They do not have all the facts to make an intelligent decision on the subject. This is especially true today when the local news stations will report a story but do not report all the facts. Today in this society people are quick to join in something for a cause but have not stopped to get all the information before joining in the cause. If people would take a little time to stop and think I believe they would make a more informed decision.
Another area that bothers me is people's view of the political arena. I know that no matter whom is in office there will be the people that do not like what is going on. However that individual was elected by the people and should be supported until they are voted out of office. Just because someone belongs to a party (Democrat or Republican) they should not be put down or not supported because they belong to a party that you do not support. This I see happening today in the political arena. While it may be true that I do not support all the decisions that have been made today in the political arena I must support the elected official of whichever party he/she is associated with. After all it is very easy to criticize someone on the job that they are doing but I do not see the people doing all the talking out trying to do the job. One of the biggest pet peeves that I have is hearing people complain about whomever is in office but they did not bother going out to vote. If the individual does not vote they deserve what or whom they get and should not complain about the job that is being done. So if you are one of those that did not vote I would appreciate it if you did not complain to the people that voted. After all the people that voted had a say in whom was elected and they have to put up with what is going on.
I guess I have been on my soapbox long enough. I will close today but will take up another subject at a later date.

Getting Started

As starting out at this I must admit that I am new at blogging. Thought I would get my feet wet. So we will see what happens from here. I am located in Central Southern New Jersey However I am originally from the Rocky Mountains. This has been a big change for me. The flat lands of New Jersey are a far cry from the Rockies. One plus to NJ is the greenery that is not in the Rockies. There is so much varied plants in this area. The climate however is much different. In NJ there is so much more humidity that makes it sometimes unbearable. Especially with the real hot and the real cold. But I guess that is the difference between the two areas.
I have some strong opinions on many various times that I will discuss from time to time. Hopefully I will not ruffle two many feathers but I do believe what I believe. Please feel free to comment on my blogs. Thank you.
A little about me, I am a 60+ year old male that is married and have grown children and have grandkids. My wife is the light of my life and the kids and Grandkids keep me going. I only wish that sometimes I were a little younger to be able to keep up with them. That wish however is something that will never happen so I have to be content with who and what I am. I only can strive to be a loving spouse, father and grandfather. I only hope that there are good attributes.