New Dad stuff.

Dede and David visited this weekend. They've taken over Dad's finances (Oh, thank you!) and now they're coming down once a month to handle bills and whatever. David was impressed with how much better Dad is doing. He showed me a couple pages from Dad's checkbook. Last month's page was scrawled all over and there were many errors. This month's page wasn't error free but it was much neater, like Dad is having less trouble writing. David said Dad seems more confident. I've noticed a change, too.

While this is all positive and wonderful, Dad still has Alzheimer's and can't seem to process new information well. He can't get it into his head that continuing to farm Christmas trees is dragging him down. If he let them all die he'd be better off financially. He looks at them growing out there and sees dollar signs. But then David showed Dad the numbers and had him mostly convinced.

Dad and David called Bud Lyon to see if he would be interested in leasing the land and continue growing trees. That's basically what Bud Lyon does. He has leased farm land all over Southern California. Well, Bud has colon cancer and isn't doing all that well. He told Dad that if he'd contacted him 3 years ago he'd have done it. He told Dad he'd think about it.

Well, in Dad's mind it's a done deal. He thinks Bud is going to take the whole thing over. David and Dede explained to him over and over and over that no, that probably won't happen and he really can't afford to take the farm through another tree season. They left feeling like that message didn't sink in. David is going to call Bud and fill him in on the situation.

So, we're all going to have to keep telling Dad he has to shut down the tree business. I think we're going to have a hard time convincing him. Now that he's feeling better he's gotten cocky.

It's interesting that he's gotten so much better. He stopped taking Aracept because it caused him some stomach pain. His blood sugar is mostly under control and he's been exercising. He's been better about taking his other medication and the vitamins. It's those vitamins I'm wondering about. Maybe the curcumin and all that other stuff is kicking in.

It could also be that he's had time to adjust to the idea that he's got a problem. I think it's probably a combination of everything we've all been doing. There really has been a noticeable change in him. Still, this ain't no cure and he still can't handle his life.

We'll take what we can get.

I am awesome.

I did it. I went up Rubidoux five times this week. Today Ken and Jim came with Sherri and me. Sherri and I went up the steep road and Jim and Ken went up the gentler slope. Sherri and I went all around the top and met up with the boys at the bridge. Ken wanted to keep going so Sherri and I went to the top again going the long way. Jim went up the short way.

Ken and Sherri went up to the cross while Jim and I checked out the other sights. Someone had scratched a huge Viva La Raza in the dirt. Ken changed it to say Viva La Bozo and I scratched out a big clown picture. Since it had just rained yesterday it showed up really well but, like the Nasca Lines, it's best viewed from the air. Vandals we.

Scientists say the Sumatran earthquake decreased the length of the day, changed the shape of the earth and moved the North Pole an inch. I think it also made Ken want to climb Mt. Rubidoux. There's no other reasonable explanation.

When we got home we got cleaned up and packed up the rack and some paper and headed to Olivia's. It was in the middle of the lunch rush and Olivia was pretty busy. She had us set it up next to the front door on the counter. Then we had lunch. Now we just have to sit back and watch the money roll in.

It looks pretty good in there with all those bright colors in one place. People won't be able to resist it.

I hope.

Band practice tonight, family stuff tomorrow and Pepito's on Sunday. Dede and David are coming in late tonight for another session of dealing with Dad's finances. Right now we're going to figure out how much to charge people for shipping so we can start selling paper on e-bay.

And then I'm going to go paint. I'm so glad I feel normal again.

Bathtub epiphanies

Jeez, I don't know what happened. I was having a nice soak and stuff just started popping into my head. All the stuckness I've been feeling for the last few months kinda just blew away. I've thinking about fixing up the bathroom and trying to come with ideas on how to deal with the blicky gray tiles. Well, voila, I've got the whole thing figured out now.

I started thinking about the nature of stuckness and what might be the best way to deal with it. I'm going to explore this and see if I can come up with some kind of an est-ian "Stuckness Process". If I can develop it and refine it and make it work in my own life I can write a book about it and get filthy, stinking rich.

But see, that stuff contributes to my stuckness. I often get a great idea and then screw it up because I look too far ahead to the big payoff and then it looks unattainable so I give up, or at best, slow way down. So, (and I know this is nothing new or original) I need to first look at the things I need to do to earn my reward and then do them. I should always be looking toward the next particle that can be handled. Right foot, left foot, repeat.

I've also been thinking lately that I need to loosen up and make some of these ideas that come to me and not set them aside just because they don't fit into the process of moving the business forward. Somehow doing what I'm into at the time ends up benefitting me in other areas. It's interesting that Virginia has re-entered my life at this time. Virginia, you're kind of a catalyst and we haven't even gotten together yet!

Today while I was puttering about one of my thoughts was "life is good". It stopped me in my tracks. I haven't had THAT thought in a long time! But it's true. Dad has had some pretty good days lately. Maybe the circumin is kicking in. He's still foggy but he's so much more relaxed and his mood has been positive. The last several months have been soooo stressfull for all of us. Everything revolved around Dad's Alzheimer's. Now it seems like we're settiling into it and handling things better. He's really been very cooperative.

I've been exercising and enjoying it. It's the best stress reliever in the world (duh, big surprise). I feel very good and I'm losing weight. Keep going, keep going, keep going.

And I've got Jim. He's been amazing through it all. He steps in and handles so many things and makes life so much easier for me. I know he gets frustrated with Dad sometimes and he's extremely patient with him. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in this.

So yeah, life is good. I'll enjoy this and know that at some point it's going to get tough again but for now it's good to get a break.

Whoa.

Eleven pounds. And it feels like three of them dropped off overnight.

I'm headed back up the hill this morning.

Tra-la-la...

It's getting easier!

Well, it's nice to know this old body isn't too far gone to respond to exercise. Sometimes I have felt like I'll never, ever be fit again. But there's hope.

I did the Monday Rubidoux walk with Jeff. He's a tall guy and it's been a challenge to keep up with him but this evening I could and it felt easy. I could carry on a conversation without feeling out of breath. It felt good!

When we were about 2/3 of the way up Jeff's friend, Phil, caught up with us. I guess he often does the Monday evening walk with the Sierra Club group but this is the first time I've seen him there. He finished the walk with us and afterward we went to the Riverside Brewing Co and had a pitcher of beer and some nosh. We talked about crop circles and church. Phil's a believer, Jeff and I are not.

I feel pretty good, not all blasted like I usually feel after a Rubidoux hike. I may just do it tomorrow morning.

Really, I might!

Open mike

Jim, John and I went to the open mike at the Claremont Folk Music Center tonight. We went a little early and met Jeff and bro Bill there and had dinner. Pleasant company.

It was pretty crowded at the music store (too many performers) so everyone got to do only one song. With some of these people, that's a merciful blessing. But others, like Mobile Home Mack and the Trailer Park Trio, you'd like to listen to all night. The crowd called for another song from them.

John and I did Love Me Like A Man. I think it went well considering it was the first time we performed it. Jeff did Wild Honey. I like that song. We jammed on it the night Jeff came to band practice. He sounded good tonight.

It was a nice evening.

Fresh ideas and inspiration

Lately I've been e-mailing Virginia, a woman I first met years ago when we both worked at Licorice Pizza. She's married to Jeff's bro so we've talked a couple times since I've been back in Riverside. She does a lot of bead work and makes these gor-gee-ous dolls. We've been talking lately about getting together to just play with artsy stuff.

We got to talking about learning to work with glass and I remembered that Dad has a kiln stashed out in the barn. I don't know what kind of kiln it is or even if it works but I want to dig it out and see if it can be used for fused glass. That would be sooooo fun! Virginia is learning how to do lampwork. We could make some cool stuff together.

Soooo, I've got to get out to that barn and clean that sucker. Even if the kiln is a bust it would still be fun to create stuff with Virginia.

Not a PET scan

Whatever Dad had today was not a PET scan. I thought it was going to be a PET scan. That's what the doctor had written on the sheet she gave us. But the guys in Nuclear (or "Nukular" for the completely retarded) Medicine sniffed in distain when I said Dad was there for PET scan. They don't do PET scans, puh-leeze! Well, whatever it was it was going to take two hours so I left. I guess I'll find out what it really was when we go back to see the doc.

I went into Redlands and did some shopping. I left some paper samples at a cute boutique. They're going to use them in their giftwrapping service and if they get a good response they'll order some.

On the way to Loma Linda Dad and I got into a tiff. I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say, he was wrong.

This morning Stacey joined Sherri and me on our Rubidoux walk. Man, it really is getting easier to climb that mountain/hill.

Oops.

Today we went to lunch at Akina (a bit a of a diet breaker) and then went to Baskin Robbins (throw the diet to the ground, stomp on it, wire it with explosives and set it off). We were hungry.

BUT...

All this wanton casting off of three weeks of dieting was preceeded by a good, long Mt. Rubidoux walk. Jim and I went there this morning. It was his first time. We took Boz. Well, Jim took Boz.

Now I feel like we should go back to Mt. Rubidoux and do it again!

Check up

Had my physical today. It was ok. I don't really like Kaiser and I miss Dr. Barker. This doctor is nice and she's easy to talk to but I have no history with her. Dr. Barker delivered both my kids and was there when I had my gall bladder surgery. He was my doctor for 19 years. Oh well.

I had her give me a cortisone injection in my elbow. David did this for me a year an a half ago and it worked great until I reinjured it. Dr. Martin does NOT have David's skill with a needle. OUCH! When David did it it barely bothered me. This time I was close to passing out. But now it's done. I should be able to start lifting weights soon.

I've lost seven pounds.

The Timio situation

All this yard work got me thinking about the whole Timio thing. Dede and David are going to be talking with him about the things he should be doing around the farm. He pays no rent or utilities. His family lives here and he runs his landscape business from here. He uses Dad's water for his nursery stock. In exchange for all that he's supposed to be doing work on the farm. He's not doing enough.

This is a very sensitive subject with Dad. He thinks Timio does a lot for him but none of us can see it. Sometimes Timio will help Dad with something or have Rosa or his kids do some yard work. Rosa cleans his house...sort of. She can't deal with Dad's clutter so she can't really clean it. She'll do dishes and his laundry sometimes but one old man alone doesn't make much of a mess. She also will turn on the Christmas tree irrigation and water Dad's tomatoes.

But until recently the landscaping around Dad's house was overgrown and weedy. Dad talked to Timio about his electric bill so Timio had his wife and kids do some yardwork. They've kept it up for a few weeks now....sort of. And they're not doing the back yard.

The real estate deal we're trying to put together so Dad can get some income isn't going very well. The city wants to limit how Dad can use his land. That means Dad needs to find another way to use the property to make money. He could rent out the barnyard to a construction company or a landscaper or whatever. It needs to be cleaned and refenced. But Timio has taken over the barnyard. He has spread out over a large portion of this place.

Since Dad talked to him he has also been having his people transplant Christmas trees. We're getting out of the tree business. If he wants to show Dad that work is getting done he should clean the barnyard.

So... I think (And this is just my opinion. Feel free to discuss it with me.) that Dede and David should talk to Timio about these things;

1. Clean out the barnyard. Dad needs income.
2. Maintain the back yard. Timio's kids use the pool, too. We'll do pool maintenence, they can do the yard.
3. Do some major tree trimming. Cut out the rogue palm trees, do some pruning of the landscape trees.
4. Clear his stuff out of the alley. We're going to move the big trailer back there so it can be used for storage.
5. Get his stuff away from my back gate. I asked him to do this a long time ago. (Ok, this one's for me.)
6. Stop transplanting Christmas trees.

I guess this list should be prioritized. Pick the top two or three and deal with those. I also wonder if Timio should be told that Dad has Alzheimer's. He should be looking for another place to live and run his business. It could take him a while to find something that will work for him. I'm pretty sure that once Dad can't make decisions for himself we'll all ask Timio to leave.

Cleaning the pool.

Anytime we do any work at Dad's house it's extremely frustrating. Nothing is where it should be and crap abounds.

We worked very hard last year getting the pool into useable shape. Jim's been maintaining it throughout the year although it's been a while since it was really cleaned. We went over there today to vaccuum it and get the chemicals current. We thought we could get it all done in a couple hours. It took a while to get started because we had to run around searching for stuff. I don't understand why the pool supplies should in be any place different from where they were left the last time they were used. I'm sure the dogs didn't hide them. Dad and Rosa are pretty much the only people who go back there. WHY are the pool cleaning supplies scattered or missing?????

We managed to find almost everything. What we didn't find was the ring that holds the vaccum filter screen thingy together. We ended up using duct tape. Grrrr....

Jim had to take the whole filter apart to get things working again. I won't blame the "Dad Effect" for that one. It just needed cleaning.

I hacked out some palm trees that had started growing against the wall by the pool. I think they would push the wall out if they were allowed to stay there. That wall holds up the WHOLE yard, including the pool.

Dad has this thing about those stupid effing palm trees that spring up everywhere. He has assigned value to them. He won't allow them to be killed. He has some very nice plants in pots, expensive plants that are infested with these stupid palm weeds. There's a beautiful mimosa tree that is being choked by two palm trees. They're growing in pots on his front deck. He thinks he can eventually sell them! He'll sacrifice thousands of dollars worth of plants and important structures for evil palm spawn that could bring him at most twenty bucks. Well, today I killed three of them. And it felt goood.

I also cleaned up the ton of dog poop in the yard. I put it all into two huge holes that Maggie had dug. I've heard that the way to break the digging habit is fill the hole with the dog's own poop. Don't know if it will work but it saved me from having to haul it all out. I covered it with a thick layer of dirt and tamped it down.

But that leaves the 2 big garbage cans that are full to the brim with dog poop. I guess Rosa's been picking it up and dumping it into the cans. But no one's emptying them. I'll deal with that another day.

Jim dumped in some chemicals but we'll have to wait a few days before he can add the algicide. We're planning to work some more next Sunday. I did ok today. My back didn't bother me much and it was a couple hours of physical activity. And Gracie got to swim to her heart's content.

High carb day

Today we had a little party for Lindsay's birthday. I did a lot of running around, cleaning and food prep. Not a good day for managing the diet. I'll get back to it tomorrow. If I exercise tomorrow I can undo some damage. But dang, my back really hurts. I should go see Dr. P.

We're on the case!

This morning Jim, Sherri, Gracie and I went walking in the mansion neighborhood. It was fun to look at those big houses. When we walked back across the bridge that spans Mission Blvd. I saw a path leading down to a sidewalk that hugs the side of Mt Rubidoux and goes along Mission Blvd. It leads down the the parking lot and dog park on the west side of Mt. Rubidoux. Jim and Gracie were tired so they went back to the car and Sherri and I went down the sidewalk.

When we were about halfway to the bottom we passed by a homeless guy sleeping right there next to the sidewalk. Sherri and I both jumped. We didn't see him until we were right close to him. Man, my chest felt like someone kicked me. We continued on chatting about that little bit of excitement. Then after that was met up with two gang banger types. One of them was holding a lizard he had caught. He was walking along holding a lizard by the neck! Another weird moment.

When we got to the bottom we poked around and explored the parking lot area for a while. There's a ruin of a manmade waterfall at one side of the parking lot. There's a nice old structure that looked like it had been a drinking fountain. We wondered what that area had been used for. It seemed like a lot of cost and effort had gone into making that one part of the parking lot special. All this work had been done in the early 30's. Anyway, it was pretty interesting. After a while we started back up the walk.

A white car pulled in and a guy got out. He fuddled around in his car a bit and then started walking towards us. Sherri and I didn't like the looks of this guy. He was acting fidgety and squirrely and he was looking at us. He started coming up the walk behind us! Just then, Jim pulled up. He had gotten bored waiting for us and decided to see where the sidewalk led to. We talked to him a little bit and then he drove off to turn the car around. The weirdo was still walking toward us. Since we were on this sidewalk on the side of a mountain there was no place to get away from this guy, We stepped aside and let him pass. He was even weirder up close.

We decided to get down off the sidewalk and leave with Jim. When we started walking down the guy turned around and followed us. Pretty creepy. We got his license plate number and left.

As we were driving back to Sherri's car she said she thought he looked a lot like the composite sketch of this guy who murdered a woman in a her home a few days ago. We called 911 and described the guy and told them were he had been and gave the dispatcher his license number. Then we drove back over to the parking lot to see if he was still there and to wait for the police. The guy was still there. He had put on a pair of rollerblades and was skating off on another sidewalk that went under the big bridge to Rubidoux. We were able to get a better look at what he was wearing.

The cops never came. When we got home we looked at the picture in the paper and DANG! It looks just like him! If that composite sketch is at all accurate then this really could be the guy. Sherri's going to call the detective who's working on the case and talk to him. I'll see her tonight at band practice and get the latest.

Either it's the murderer, or we just ratted out a guy who only wanted to go for a skate.

Woo-hoo!

Something's working! I can fit into my jeans again! Zippity-freakin'-doo-dah!

Today, Sherri and I did the Rubidoux walk. It seemed easier this time. Sherri said so, too. We're going to look for other interesting places to walk in Riverside. After the walk I drove around Dean's grandma's old neighborhood. The houses (mansions) around there are soooo gorgeous. It's a beautiful neighborhood to walk in. Maybe we'll do that tomorrow.

Well, this feels very good. I have another pair of jeans hanging in the closet that are the next size down. I'm going to be really happy when I can wear those because that will mean I can wear all the clothes in my closet.

Keep going, keep going, keep going.

The rack

Yesterday, Jim and I built a rack for my giftwrap paper. It's for selling paper at Olivia's. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Jim and I always have a good time doing projects together. We should do stuff like this more often. Well, we'll probably be building more racks soon so, there ya go.

It's a nice little rack. I'm going to stain it and give it the Curioso treatment. It has 4 dowels for the 4 paper designs. Since it will be sitting up on the counter top in front of a big window I'm going to attach a piece of fabric to cover the back of the rack so the paper won't get sunbleached. We should have paper selling at Olivia's by the end of the week.

Jim and I work well together on this stuff. We're a good team. He's also been tremendously helpful and supportive with this whole Alzheimer's thing. He's always looking to make things easier for me. He spends a lot of time with Dad. This whole thing would be a very different experience if I didn't have Jim.

Thank you, Jim

Useless Boz

I found one more thing he stinks at. He's horrible on Mt. Rubidoux.

(Side note) I've been spelling Rubidoux wrong. I'm going to go back over all my old posts and fix it.

I took Boz with me on the Mt. Rubidoux walk. He pulled the whole time. He's always like this on walks. For the first 15 minutes he goes nuts. He runs around all over the place, peeing on everything in reach. He shrieks out these ultra high-pitched sonic blasts that tear through your ears. He has to challenge every dog that goes by, even the ones that could eat him whole in one bite. He pulled me up the mountain, he pulled me down the mountain. It was the pulling down the mountain that really got to me.

I had to struggle to stay upright. Even though he had settled down and wasn't screaming and peeing any more, he was still roaming all over the road. The little dim bulb wore me out. It wasn't a nice, satisfying "oh-I'm-so-good-I-exercised-today" kind of worn out. It was an "oh-gawd-I'm-going-to-lose-consciousness" kind of worn out.

Well, now I know. I took Boz yesterday evening because I thought that he, being a dog, could offer some protection since I was walking alone. Gracie can't handle a hike like that so I couldn't take her.

Gonna get some pepper spray.

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!

She turns 20 today! I'm going to take her shopping. Tonight her honey is taking her to dinner. Last night her L.A. friends took her out. She's having a good birthday. Next Saturday we'll have a party here for all the relatives and friends.

Today, Jim is auditioning for a country band. We went to highschool with the drummer. They're on the verge of hitting the big time. They play Vegas a lot and they're making some decent money. This could be a very cool thing.

I'll try to ignore the fact that it's a country band.

Gotta go take the birthday girl shopping. I'll write more after I hear about the audition.

10,000 steps

I got a pedometer yesterday. At the prediabetes class they said we should try to get in 10,000 steps every day. When we walked around Lake Evans it took about 3500 steps. This morning, Sherri and I did the Mt. Rube walk. That's a whopping 8300 steps. Pretty soon I'm going to Costco. I'll bet I'll get the rest of my steps just doing that.

Exercise is truly the magic cure for stress. As I was driving home I was thinking about the things I want to get done today. When I thought about checking on Dad I noticed that it didn't set me off. I'm cool, baby.

Boy, Sherri and I are going to have to start walking earlier in the day. It was hot up on Mt. Rubidoux. And the smog is coming back. Oh well, life in Riverside.

Setting up a system

Dad came over this morning with all his old diabetes testing stuff. Jim helped him weed through all of it to see what's still usable and what should be thrown away. Then we had him do the test himself with his new machine. It was very difficult for him. I really don't think he'll be able to do this on his own.

He wanted me to write down all the foods he can have. His blood sugar has been so out of control I think he should cut out all breads and most dairy until his numbers come down. I made a simple list of meats and veggies that he can get for himself at the grocery store. Then he started asking questions. (Insert heavy sigh here.)

Dad has a talent for adding complexity to simple, straight forward situations. At first he only wanted to know what foods are ok for him to have. But then he wanted to get into the stuff that's forbidden. He's making notes all over the simple SHOPPING LIST that I gave him. His handwriting has gotten so bad now he can't read it. So then he has to ask questions about the stuff he's already written down. We had to explain everything over and over. He wants every available piece of information but you can't give it to him because he can't handle it. Then you have to add in all the stories he wants to tell that have NOTHING to do with what you're trying to accomplish. These sessions can take hours. HOURS!

Then he wanted to go out to lunch and have us explain how to order food in restaurants. I said, "No, I've already given my whole morning to this and now I'm done." By the time he left I was ready to jump out of my skin.

Right now Jim is making a form that Dad can use to record all this stuff. It's in calendar form and has spaces to check off his meds and vitamins and to record his blood sugar numbers. He can keep it in his bathroom or in the kitchen. We've tried to make it as simple as possible. Dad likes writing things down so maybe it will work.

Later, Jim and I are going to walk around Lake Evans at Fairmount Park. My stress level is getting pretty high and exercise really helps.

Sometimes I think I should exercise three or four times a day.

I'm getting it

Today I figured out that if I ask Dad a question his answer will most likely be wrong. Every day I ask him if he's taken his meds. He always says yes. That's the easiest answer so he goes with it. Now I know I have to dig deeper.

We went to the VA for a class on how to use his new blood glucose meter. On the way there I asked him about taking his meds (he said he had) and about his eating. He ate his lunch while I drove. His lunch was potatoes left over from breakfast and a big glass of milk. I told him I didn't think that was a good meal for a diabetic. He was in a cocky mood which made it hard to talk to him about all the things he should be doing.

During the class we set up his new meter. There is no way he could have done this on his own. It was pretty confusing. When we were done she had everyone test their blood. Dad's blood sugar was 431! We waited a few minutes and then tested it again. It had come down to 345. I asked him again if he had taken his diabetes medication this morning. He said he probably hadn't. My blood pressure took a little bounce.

We stayed after class so Dad could ask the nurse lots of questions and then not listen to the answers. He wanted her to explain the entire diabetes diet. She said he could come to their diabetes lifestyle class. She told him it's a six hour class. He said, "Sure, I'll come. That's great! Whatever it takes!" Hold on there, bub. Who's going to be sitting in that class with you for six hours?

On the way home he wanted to know EVERYTHING about what he shouldn't be eating. He want's it all written out on a big list he can keep in the kitchen. Not so cocky now!

We have to take Dad's care to the next level. I don't think he can deal with getting his own food anymore. He can't grasp the diet. He won't be able to handle testing his blood himself. His med schedule confuses him.

The Aracept is giving him intestinal problems. I'm going to call the geriatric doc tomorrow and see if he can be switched to Namenda.

Days like today are pretty stressful. When I'm done I really want to be done. But often what happens is Dad will come over and want to hang out. Sometimes he invents some little problem that he wants us to deal with. I understand that he's lonely so I try to be patient with him but, EEEEK, it really makes me tense. We're still at the beginning of this Alzheimer's thing. The day is coming when most of our time will be devoted to taking care of Dad. I don't feel too guilty about being a little selfish right now.

Mt. Rubidoux Mondays

I took Boz with me to hike up Mt. Rubidoux. Just as I was getting ready to start up the hill Jeff showed up. Since I was going to have company on my walk I left Boz in the car. I'd rather enjoy a nice conversation with Jeff than deal with a dopey dog.

It was a nice walk. We talked a lot about our geriatric parents (his mom, my dad). Their problems are different but their ability to drive their kids nuts is about the same.

We think having a regular Monday Mt. Rube walk would be a good thing. He wants to get more of his friends involved and I want to get Jim walking with me. Sherri even said she'd like to walk on Monday evenings. Well, whatever happens, I'll be there. It's a good hike and I always feel great after I'm done. And now that the time has changed it won't be so dark coming down, although it might be nice sometimes to hang around at the top and watch the sunset and check out the city lights. The view is very pretty at night.

Goin' to Texas

Tickets have been purchased, relatives have been notified. I'm taking Dad to Texas so he can see his sister, Ruth. She's 86 and isn't in very good health. This may be the last time he sees her. Ruth is my godmother and has always been my most favorite relative. It's sad to see her in her decline but that's the way it goes.

We're leaving May 11th and returning on the 17th. I'm going to take a couple days and go see Dean. I enjoy most of my relatives but we're going to be there a week and a break in the middle of the visit will be nice. And hey, it's Dean! And Austin. I do like Austin.

Today is the air show. We've been getting strafed. Lots of big, noisy planes flying low. Ooh yeah!

Dede and David are here today trying to make some sense out of Dad's finances. We'll probably go to dinner later.

Adios to the Pope.