Scattered Thoughts . . .

Y esterday, at the last minute, we decided to invite a few people over since the weather was so nice for a change.  We've had far too much rain since April so it was nice to have a clear, sunny day that wasn't too hot.  Will (Sheila's dad), Frank and Christine came over and we had a really nice time.   I had an exceptionally rough week as far as my health goes but I was feeling well enough yesterday to have some guests over for a bit.  My spinal injuries were excruciating for the past week.  I couldn't even sleep for a few days because the pain was into the unbearable level constantly, even at rest.  I also needed a cane to get around for most of the week and even getting around with the help of a cane was excruciating!  I think I overdid it in the yard over the previous couple of weeks and then my spinal injuries flared up enough to impinge nerves in my lumbar spine where I have permanent irreparable damage. This caused pain to my hips and throug...

W e had some friends and Sheila's dad over yesterday to christen our new grill.  The weather was great and it was nice to catch up with some old friends that we haven't seen since before the pandemic. I started the day by preparing some shish-ka-bob skewers.  Cutting up five filet mignons, red onion, an assortment of peppers and fresh mushrooms was time consuming and a bit painful with my broken cut-off thumb.  Skewering everything took a bit longer and was bit more painful than anticipated too.  I left the potatoes and cherry tomatoes whole on their own skewers.   Usually, people assemble the skewers with all ingredients on each skewer so that each person can simply eat a whole skewer of grilled shish-ka-bob.  I don't like doing that though.  Each of these ingredients requires a different amount of time on the grill so I prefer to separate them by the amount of time required on the grill.  The meat and potatoes require the most time... ...

W e finally had an opportunity to get together with a couple of close friends this Labor Day weekend.  We haven't socialized with friends in three years due to the pandemic.  These two friends were actually the last couple we socialized with prior to the pandemic and that was for a Christmas dinner in 2019.  We were long overdue for some quality time with these friends! I should point out that the reason we hadn't seen these friends in so long wasn't strictly due to being cautious about the pandemic.  Certainly, that played into it but it was not the sole reason for not seeing them for so long.  At times Sheila and I had the virus...  other times our friends had the virus...  and other times we both had scheduled commitments with our respective families and grandchildren.  So, health concerns and family commitments also delayed us getting together sooner.   We were out in our backyard until after midnight which was the latest Sheila and ...

This Thanksgiving, as with most every Thanksgiving in my adult life, we are hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner with close friends.  We have done very little socializing in the past year due to a few different health issues starting with Sheila second bout of breast cancer and ending (hopefully) with my two and a half months of significantly poor health due to some poor decisions by a couple of so-called specialists. Needless to say, we're both looking forward to socializing with some close friends today! As most of my friends know, this is perhaps my least favorite holiday on the calendar for far too numerous reasons to mention here.  That being said, decades ago, I found that I do enjoy the day whenever I host a small gathering of friends for the day.  Better yet, I always enjoyed being on-duty in the Air Force and putting together a celebration for all those working with me. The same holds true for Christmas... which happens to be my favorite holiday on the calendar! S...

Sheila was in need of a few laughs and a distraction... actually, so was I... so, yesterday, we invited Frank, Christine and Sheila's parents over for dinner, a few drinks and a few laughs in the comfort of our own home. (I had already moved all the building supplies for a new living room and kitchen to a different section of the house to make things a bit more comfortable for Sheila so we were ready for a few guests as well.) We had a great time and are very thankful that everyone could squeeze us in at the last moment. Sheila and I were definitely entertained and had a great time!  That was much appreciated. Today, Sheila is digging through her medical insurance handbooks and we are discussing each thing she comes across that may apply to us. So, I'd say a little bit of the anxiety and tension is back again today... a little bit of reality, I suppose. Liza and the grandchildren will be stopping by to see Gee sometime this afternoon so that will allow us to push aside the ...

I have a little bit of time this morning so here are some of the photos from our Christmas dinner at The Whip in Stowe. Well, really, it was a  lunch-drinks-appetizers-drinks-Christmas dinner at The Whip in Stowe.  As I wrote in a previous blog entry, we all had a great time, as always! The pork belly with toasted garlic chips over spinach made for a nice lunch... delicious! Sheila says the crab cakes were delicious as well! Christine managed to get another nice shot of Sheila and me... This couple in the background (below) was photo bombing me whenever I shot photos toward their table... and enjoying it! I'd rather have that than people trying to hide their faces. I didn't notice the photo bombing nor the celebrity  ( Rusty DeWees )  sitting at the next table in the background until after taking a few shots. Actually, I  didn't notice the photo bombers until Sheila told me why they were laughing and so amused... it wasn't unt...

I often write about and harp upon the need for understanding when it comes to people struggling with chronic illness and/or life threatening illnesses. Tonight it is time for me to harp on this yet again because Sheila is hurt and I am subsequently angry and rapidly losing my patience with far too many people who don't seem to "understand". As a result of this lack of understanding, I am truly at my wits' end and we are exceptionally close to again shrinking our circle of family and friends if this very tiring behavior does not change. I, myself, have a long list of health issues and struggle with significant disabilities every day. The major difference today, however, is that I am referring to and coming to the defense of Sheila since she is very upset right now and has been very upset at the last two family events because of this rather callous behavior. It has gotten to the point where Sheila actually dreads attending any family events because so many people na...

The official start of our Christmas season commenced last weekend with an afternoon and evening spent with friends. It has unofficially become an annual Christmas tradition to meet for dinner in Stowe every year. As always, we had a really great time... dinner was great... the drinks were great... the atmosphere was great... and the company was second to none!   Here are a few photos... Our 'frog bread'...  nothing like a loaf of bread that looks like a frog when you've been drinking all afternoon!