Sorry my friends , I am taking time off to attend to some personal business . Back in a day or few , God bless you all .

   Another Tuesday , have most of my work done by 6 PM . Then , suddenly , without warning , it's 10 PM . I still need to shower and get ready for bed . Today I trimmed my beard down to a fu manchu and a soul patch . While I was doing it I played dress-up and took pictures . From range ruffian to hipster asshole in a few easy stages . Now freshly showered , and most everything but this computer is in bedtime mode , and I hope to be done here soon . For supper my wife made goulash , the first time in literally years . We had salad , ciabatta garlic cheese bread , and I fried the morels from yesterday . Quite the excellent evening meal , even the boys enjoyed it . Their disparate schedules mean having the supper meal at two different times , only difficult if we have something that needs to be served freshly cooked . Like mushrooms . Still worth the trouble , anyway . Dark clouds and lowering skies today , only a little rain though . And now I'll be leaving you , so be good to yourself and others , good night and God bless .

    So today is passing me by , faster and faster . By midnight time is zipping by at a ridiculous pace , shredding plans for resting . Slept later than intended again , but this seems to make no difference in what time I get to sleep . Days when the alarm goes off at 4:30 AM , and I get back up around 7 , I still have problems falling asleep before 2 or 3 AM . I didn't do much , fixed supper for the boys , the elder got rained out so he was back here by 8:30 . Hamburger Helper and butter beans , on a dreary afternoon . I emptied another 1&1/2" of rain from the gauge today , we probably still aren't up to average for the year . My knees are pretty good today , don't know what has made the difference , there seems to be no correlation between weather and/or medication , and pain .
   A friend gave us a half gallon pail of morel mushrooms , tomorrow I will prep and fry them for me and the boys . My wife doesn't eat them , so the mess will be enough for we 3 . And between now and bed I will keep an eye out for our local vulpine visitor , mr. fox . I didn't put out any garbage for him today , he will have to get by on rabbit , squirrel , and groundhog , of which there also are plenty . But I digress , what I meant to say is good night , and God bless .

  It's Sunday , I just finished a wonderful home made breakfast , and sent our son on his way to today's Cardinals game . He is treating a female friend who has never bee to the ballpark , hope they don't get rained out . I know it's really early , for me anyway , but I'm just not feeling it . Good day , God bless .

   I'm back momentarily , at almost 9 PM , to relay another wild animal sighting in my back yard . My wife called my attention to the surveillance monitor , to see the fox . Not sure of species as the infrared video is grayscale . Over the past couple months , I have been sometimes putting table scraps out for the feral cats that frequent the 'hood . Last week we saw a raccoon in the back foundation beds , and in the past we've seen deer and coyote . So the actual genuine wildlife are benefiting too , and I hope left over fast food doesn't cause them any illness . 'Cause most of it gives me the squirts . Anyway , I found the sighting of mr. fox was interesting , I hope you do too . So , good day once again , and God bless .

   Happy Birthday to Me ! Today is my 59th birthday , and it's my 225th post on this blog . It's after 3 now but I've been up since 7:30 . I did the pre-flight on my wife's car so she and our friend could go to the Cardinals' game . I have the game on in 2 places so I can try to spot them above the outfield , only 12 rows up . They are good seats if you hope to catch a home run ball . Of course , that may be the only reason the camera is directed there from less than a hundred yard perspective . Our younger son bought these tickets then learned he has to work tonight . He bought tickets for tomorrow , and gave today's to us . I didn't feel I could endure 3 or 4 hours of being mostly on my feet , or tolerate being in a crowd of 40 thousand , no matter how well I'm medicated . Our friend is a long time loyal fan , so my wife invited her to share the exposition today , as she hadn't been to a game , at least in this park . Today was Yadier Molina alternate jersey day , the first 25,000 fans over 18 got a jersey , which made today's tickets 3 times the price of tomorrow's , but we hope it makes a memorable day for our friend . Any way , our son gifted them , and their use was a necessity , thank you son , it is a wonderful gift . In the bottom of the seventh inning it is 4 to 1 in favor of the Pitodor Pirates . Tonight is also our oldest granddaughter's first prom , as you can guess she is thoroughly excited and her mother is a nervous wreck . And by the time Nana rides the Redbird Express back to the car , and they stop to eat , it will be after 9 before they get home . And at 10 after 6 , our beloved Cardinals suffer a 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh PieRats . I'd bet the girls were headed to the bus well before that . Too bad they didn't get to see their team win .
   I've been debating sharing today's post to my Facebook timeline , and including acknowledgment of all those who sent me birthday wishes . I don't think I will , I think I will just write a short status instead . So far I've had over 40 birthday messages , all from people I appreciate hearing from . I've tried to respond to each personally , as in an acknowledgement specifically to each person . So , now , at 7 PM , I am calling this post complete , and relaxing 'til my wife gets home . Good evening , and God bless you all , and thank you for taking the time to read .

    Nice day , a little cool this morning , about 75 this afternoon . I didn't do much at all , and nothing outdoors . Knees more painful today than the last week or two . Don't know if yesterday's 1&1/2+ inches of rain. has anything to do with it , but crops and gardens needed it . I'm not spending any time on a lesson today , except for thinking over one on temperance . You'll certainly be the first to know . For now , good day and God bless .

   Way behind again , but there's nothing new about that . No progress today , took older son home , folded laundry , that's about it . Right now I'm sitting here , listening to the thunder and the rain against the window . My knees are in misery thanks to the cool and damp . The naproxen doesn't help much , but I take it because the pain isn't enough to justify an opiate pain med , and my other meds preclude most analgesics . I really dread next week when the night-time temps will be in the low 40s . Yes , that's correct , no apostrophe , the number is plural , not possessive . No early alarm for tomorrow , maybe I can sleep through the pre-dawn hours . Anyway , good night , God bless , do good things .

   Had a pretty good day again , got stuff done , enjoyed the mild weather . The older boy got done early today , and volunteered to mow . I moved the lawn furniture and replaced it as he worked so it didn't take long to finish . I had sprayed weeds the other day , and didn't think they were dying quickly enough , so today I mixed up brush killer and sprayed woody invasives  and re-sprayed some of the weeds . This evening I mixed some rose food and fertilized my perennial ornamentals . I treated myself tonight to a Pepsi , I usually drink coffee or unsweetened iced tea . I'm not diabetic , or even pre- , I just don't usually enjoy that sticky feeling , and sugar is not what I want when I am thirsty . Tomorrow before it rains I think I will hang my other hummingbird feeder . For the other birds , I have a large tin of stale popcorn from Christmas that I scatter a bit from most dry days .
   Our younger son has tickets for the Cardinals game Saturday , which is my 59th birthday . He also has tickets for Sunday , so he offered us Saturday's , even though they are much more expensive . I decided to stay home , the crowds and the walking would be too much I fear . So , my wife is taking our friend , who is a long time fan but has never seen a game " live and in person " . At age 35 she is past due , and I'm sure she will be thrilled at the experience . Now , my dear readers , I leave you with wishes for a good night , and God's blessings .

   I am here and mostly fair to middlin' , got my welding done so I can mow tomorrow . I have so many projects planned , and so little energy to do them . I'm still trying to get my wake/sleep cycle normalized , the 4:30 alarm doesn't make it easy . One son is on day shift , the other on 12 hour nights . For my birthday this weekend I might just sleep the day away . Haven't done that in a long time .
   I wore my knee braces for a few hours today , they help with walking , uncomfortable for sitting very long . I haven't tried kneeling yet , which is usually extremely painful . I think I will use them tomorrow for my yard work and see if they help . They chafe a little , and leave cool cyborg-like patterns in my flesh when I take them off . Still taking the naproxen on occasion , but it doesn't really help much . I don't know yet what the next phase of treatment will be .
   Good night , friends and neighbors , and may God bless you all .

   I am a little agitated and confused , so tonight is a break . Good day , God bless .

   Another blessed beautiful day here on America's middle coast . I didn't get the grass mowed or the mower welded , but I managed a few little things over the course of the day . My wife made the ham from an " eyeball " recipe we've perfected over the past 30 years . Cloves , mustard , pineapple juice and brown sugar are the main components , and it is both sweet and savory . Our 3 youngest were here for dinner , youngest daughter's husband , youngest grandson , older son's SO Nurse Ratched , and a couple of younger son's transient friends . I did get my welding machine out where it can be used , and popped out a few dandelions from the back yard . It's supposed to rain tomorrow , if it does I won't feel so guilty about doing inside projects . I have some roof coating I need to dig out from the closet under the stairs , hoping to refinish my garage roof soon . I also need to clean the condensate drain on my HVAC unit while it is idle between seasons . Maybe it won't rain enough to prevent outdoor activities .
   On this Resurrection Sunday , or Easter as it is commonly called , I have no special lesson or message for the day . Every day we live , we should try to live as Christians , and demonstrate to the world how Jesus teaches us to live . Let's be thankful , and praise him , on every day and not just the holidays . Good evening and God bless .

   OK , spring is finally here , for the most part . It has been another nice day , even though I didn't get much done . I folded laundry , fixed younger son's supper , made a hanger for one of the hummingbird feeders , then filled and hung it . I looked over some other projects I have planned , and started clearing a path to my welder . Mayhaps tomorrow , in between bastings of the ham , I can get my mower repaired . Tonight we are continuing a tradition of watching The Ten Commandments , with Charleton Heston . Tomorrow we will feast on our specially prepared ham with sweet gravy , baked beans , mashed potatoes , green bean casserole and deviled eggs . We've always had ham for Christmas and Easter , and I always say it's to piss off the Jews and Muslims . Actually , I think this may have been the motivation eons ago , to set the Christian celebration apart from those others . Regardless , pork is good in most of its guises , but I do find head cheese absolutely disgusting . The same for snoots and feet , even though I know lots of folks who enjoy all three . Our youngest 2 children will be here , son-in-law , and youngest grandson . My scheduled help didn't show up yesterday or today , so I guess I'll be mowing tomorrow . So , anyway , for now , be kind and compassionate , praise His holy Name , be thankful , and may God bless you and guide your hearts . Good night .

   Yes , I am up and well today , fairly stable of mood , rose at a decent hour . Went to dinner with older son and Nurse Ratched , seafood night but I had a double burger and fried mushrooms , I'd been craving for a week or two . They treated , which is always nice , and we bumped into an old friend . Judging by the way my sandwich was dressed , we should invest in tomato futures . One lonely thin slice on a half pound or more beef . It was still an excellent meal , and we look forward to eating there again in the future . Well , I have at least 2 days before the 4:30 alarms begin again , so I'm seizing the opportunity to try to catch up on my rest . Therefore , I wish you all good day , and God bless .

   Not as busy a day as the first half of the week , slept till nearly noon without meaning to . Didn't get much done , laundry and supper . Hoping to get to bed soon , maybe get back to a more realistic sleep/wake cycle . Good night , be good to one another , may God please bless your lives .

   Once more I slip out the door . Actually did some work today , so you all get the short end . Good night and God bless .

   Here we are again , mostly done early with Tuesday-specific tasks , but still working on other things . Right now , because microsoft discontinued support for the XP operating system , I'm trying to upgrade my other networked machine to Vista  . I can re-install all my software , after I get a driver to connect my ethernet card to this OS . Somewhat frustrated , not in the mood to write , tired and cold . Good night , God bless .

   Long-ish  day , my turn at the physical rehab center .I was measured and fitted with braces for both knees by a pleasant young therapist . I wore them home and learned they are less than comfortable for driving , and the lower attachments chafe a little walking around . The pressure , more than a wrap bandage but tolerable , helped some with the aching . I have some equestrian wrap bandages , self adhesive , in neon colors . Maybe if I need to run a few furlongs , I should just package my knees up like gifts , and not install the hinges . The girl said I probably have some arthritis , now I'll have to see about visiting another specialist . On our way back , we had a late lunch at Golden Corral , where being a veteran knocked 10% off the total bill . We visited Rural King to pick up pork gravy mix and some spices , and check out the clearance items . My wife grabbed the last 3 wooden hockey games for 70% off , for the 3 youngest grandsons . A quick trip south to see Nurse Ratched's twin brother , who flew in last week for their brother's wedding , from his duty station in Hawaii . The scrawny boy has grown into a fine , strapping young soldier , and has a lovely 3 year old daughter . Then another stop , at my sister's on the farm , to drop off a couple photo slide show discs of pictures I salvaged from her 13 year old computer . Yes , she has much newer machines that she uses now . I got to see her younger daughter and her 2 kids , so the return trip was spent in pleasant visiting . Now , it's 1 AM , and I have to make sure older son is up at 4:30 for work . Good night , one and all , and may God bless .

   Took kind of a layabout day today , pajamas and coffee . Listening to the Amusing Race , which my wife is watching . Something about a loser coming on his leg . Mostly the same as all the other so-called reality shows . I have a full day planned tomorrow , I'm tired , and sore , so Good night and God bless .

  Trying to get my day moving , just getting started and now have an ocular migraine , which is not a headache unless you try to work while you have it . It is a disruption of vision , usually controlled by closing and resting the eyes . OK , tried that about 10 minutes , now the pattern is in a different area of my vision . This phenomena presents as roughly circular bright "lights" or "spots" , like seeing stars in precisely arranged , technicolor , spinning patterns similar to a kaleidoscope , but not quite as symmetrical in shape . They are triggered , most often , by a sudden bright flash or glare of light . Sometimes , as when this episode started , they are in the center of my vision . Others , like after closing and resting , like now , they are larger but centerless . In the center , they essentially block my functional vision , making it difficult or impossible to perform tasks that require any precision , like reading or driving . When it's just a narrow ring around the perimeter , it's not as bad but can still impair function .
   Well , my eyesight normalized enough to allow me to climb onto the garage roof and make repairs , and organize a few tools . Now I am sweaty and out of breath , but hopefully the patch will last a while . I still need to get the welder out and mow the back grass , but right now I must rest a while . Now it's 4:30 PM , and I'm logging out to go eat . I will be back later to continue today's post .
   And now , it's 8:30 but we've been home a couple hours . We went to our favorite Chinese buffet , [ China Buffet ] , and I had 4 plates for my first meal of the day . I've had a craving for this since our trip to Hokkaido , and it was worth the bloat , and the wait . Back at home I did some more arranging in the garage and eyeballed some other projects , big and small . Now , lacking only a small amount of catching up , I will do just that , after I wish you all a good night and God's blessing .

   Another good day , a little cooler but still sunny and nice . I moved enough things around in the garage to get my mowers out , and made a temporary repair to the handle of the old one . I fixed supper for our younger son and me , and made sure he was up for work . Then I put fresh gas in the mower and mowed our front lawn , which had been looking somewhat ragged . Tomorrow I'll move a few more things to uncover my welder to repair it properly . Then I hope to get the roof fixed before it rains Sunday . As you can probably guess by now , this is where I whine about exhaustion from a little physical labor , and slip out the door . Or port , as it were . Good night , folks , and God bless .

   Hello and good afternoon ! That exclamation means I am in somewhat a good mood , thanks to some of you . Last month there were enough clicks on my advertisers to earn 29 cents . I am not being sarcastic , this is a real and definite indicator of progress , and I am quite pleased .
  I logged out for a couple hours to take older son home . I had heated up leftovers for supper , and I was the only one who ate , so I took the rest to our friends on our way to get gasoline for the trip . The wind was horrible on the southbound leg , not so bad on the return , at dusk . The boy filled my gas tank on the van , first time it's been filled in months . The gauge doesn't work , so $15 here and $20 there makes it hard to compute the distance to empty . It took 11 gallons , $37 , so I still had nearly a half tank . This afternoon I washed , dried and folded 2 loads of laundry , one of work clothes for the boys and one of ours . Together with heating supper and whatever other little chores I did , I feel I accomplished something . Even though I didn't do anything outdoors on this beautiful day . Tomorrow I'm going to try to repair the broken handle on my older mower , my grass needs mown soon , and everyone who might use them prefers old red to our much newer rear bagger . My good string trimmer is a Stihl FS85 , low hours , used every year , bought new Christmas 1999 . I have a couple others , different bands , that are much newer and more lightly used , but need repaired . Maybe this summer I'll fix them up for gifts or sale .
   Well , it's not terribly late for a change , and I still have a few other things to catch up with , so good night , and God bless .

     Not too bad a day today , warm out , not too windy . I am ready for it to stay warm , maybe my knees won't ache as bad . I picked up our friends and their laundry this evening , and we enjoyed a pleasant visit while their clothes washed . We had tacos , etc. for supper , but I was hungry later so around 9 I heated up a half-dozen stuffed scallops , no one else wanted any so I ate 4 myself . Now I'm hoping they don't disrupt my digestive tract . So , it's now nearly midnight , the alarm still goes off at 4:30 for 1 more day , I'm tired , good night and God bless .

   It's nearly 1 AM and I'm just now starting here . Tuesdays are always long and busy but I'm usually done long before now . Last night I got about an hour and a half of rest , then took a 4 hour nap through lunchtime . My knees are still bothering me , with or without the naproxen , so I only occasionally take one before bed . They certainly don't help with that sharp pain when climbing stairs . I hope my appointment next week refers me to a specialist , rather than just doing PT . I don't want new knees , I'd just like these to hurt some less . I don't want to have to move upstairs just yet , and I can't afford an elevator . So , now , after 2 AM , I'm going to close in my usual style , good night and God bless .

I'm sorry , I'm a bit dazed and confused , so no content today . God bless you all .

  I haven't decided why my pageviews graph looks like a mountain range . It doesn't seem to follow the amount of my output in any meaningful way . I did pretty well most of the day , my youngest son barbecued pork , brats and potatoes , all very good . I did some yard work , and finished an indoor project that improves my living area in the basement . Everything was going quite good , 2 satisfying meals , I made us omelets for brunch this morning . Then about 10 PM I sat in my recliner to fill my pill organizer for the week . I take my baby aspirin , heart medicine , and antidepressant when I first get up , before my coffee . I take my Flomax sometime in the evening after supper , and around 9 PM I take another heart pill , blood pressure pill , and atorvastatin for cholesterol . Because of the way the VA distributes medications , I have to split 3 of these tablets in half , so that's 14 ovoid shaped tablets a week I have to divide . I managed to drop and lose 1 whole pill and half a Lipitor , which is fairly large . When I'm tired , especially , I become rather clumsy at times , which is very frustrating as when I was not too much younger , I was reasonably graceful and physically skilled . I know part of this is due to aging and part is the medicine I take , but that doesn't make it any less disturbing to me . So , now that I have gotten myself under control , completed my game playing for the day , and shut off most of the things that need powered down at bedtime , I am going to surf just a short while , run my daily maintenance , have a snack and get some rest . The youngest starts graveyard shift tomorrow , I thought I might be able to sleep some more , but tomorrow the older son catches his ride ( with his brother-in-law , the oldest daughter's husband ) at 5 , so at least one more day of a 4:30 alarm . Regardless , good night and God bless .

   Hey , it's 3:30 on Saturday afternoon , and I'm here to whine about my day so far . And now it's after 9 PM and I'm just trying to get started telling you about it . Illinois Healthcare , the state insurance exchange , has been calling , telling us if we don't choose a provider , they'll choose for us . The letters we got last week and the week before say May 13 is the deadline . We've already been through this , and will get the provider numbers next week when we both have appointments , mail in the forms , and still have WEEKS before they are due . This stirs up my mental state , because there is no way to talk to a human , unless it's after you give these corrupt SOBs your social and date of birth . As that's not happening here , there's no way to " contact us " . Except to email the webmaster and bitch about the telephone harassment , which I did . So now I'm no doubt in another career bureaucrat's database as a squeaky wheel , or an enema (enemy) of the state . As I've mentioned before , I'm a liberal Democrat , but Illinois state government is a cesspool of unqualified patronage appointments and arrogant , demented assholes . So , being initially "stirred up " by the telephone call for the second day in a row , a Saturday no less , the combination of family obligations and a neighbor asking to borrow a tool to complete a project beneficial to us both , the whirlwind outside my mind rubbed against the one inside , and I try to avoid taking the ballistic antihistamine unless it's getting really bad . Wow , is that a preposterous run-on sentence or what ? Anyhow , I spent a few minutes visiting with younger son and his friend , then put things away when the neighbor finished . By that time I had installed an herbal decompression mechanism on the internal whirlwind , and was able to normalize and recover , and send that bitchy email .
   So now I've caught up with some of my newspaper reading , had deli fried chicken and bacon jalepeno potato skins and mac and cheese for supper . Gonna go up soon and find more to eat , which will actually only be my second meal today , and I need to maintain my rotundity . Yes , spell check says that is a word , and it's correctly spelled . It means roundness , basically , and is sarcasm , as I weigh 100 pounds more than I did in high school , and could stand to lose about 70 of those . Anyway , take a breath , count to 10 then count your blessings , put on an honest smile , and follow that good old Golden Rule . God bless you all , and good night .

    sorry once more , but I was here . good night God bless .

   No excuses , tonight I'm just not feeling it . The rain is pounding my office window and I'm not sure how long it will last . The rain , that is . So , after getting here and leading you on , pretending to write , I wish you all good night and may God bless .

   I am here , it's that day again , every week like clockwork , or should I say calenderwork  . Kind of damp and gloomy but we didn't get the heavy downpour and hail that the Metro area got . They are calling for serious storms tonight and tomorrow , we shall see . I haven't felt too bad today , surprisingly my knees aren't any worse than normal , in spite of the dampness . Of course , normal is severe pain climbing stairs , and a dull ache in the evenings . I need to get out back and repair my garage roof , when we have a not-too-windy day , and I have someone here to act as safety watch . The deductible on wind damage is $1000 , so I will try to repair it myself for little or nothing .
   So , in spite of all my good intentions , paving the road to Hades , I must tell you all , good night and God bless .

   God bless you all , I'm taking another night off .