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| So here is the infrequent update. Good News once again! Tim's MRI and check up went very well this week; all is stable. The best news we can hope for. Back again in three months. Yes, we encountered the start of construction season around Chicago. I made a tactical error on the drive but luckily Tim was my navigator and got us back on the right road as quickly as if we had stayed stuck in traffic. On the return trip, which was now a "two ship", we did a reroute out the Kennedy, by O'Hare and down the Tristate. Let's hear it for IPASS! This week is spring break for Purdue, poor Tim hasn't gone anywhere except for his MRI.... Also the start of March madness. I will be glued to the TV the next couple of days. Glad the warm weather was at the start of the week so we could enjoy being out in warm temperatures (upper 70's for several days; set records and all). We were able to get at spring pick up and early garden chores. Now I can't wait til the bulbs appear and bloom. I must get at inside paint/remodel projects before it gets so nice I will want to be outside only. Also MUST get a dress chosen for the wedding. My one and only assignment so far. Church activities have kept me out of trouble or in trouble however one wishes to view it! Jana and I will be helping organize the photo shoot for a new church directory. Something both of us thought would be very helpful for the whole congregation as there have been so many additions over the past three plus years. Unfortunately the dates chose for the picture taking is during SAFECON so I won't be any help after April. At least I gave a forewarning about all of that. Here comes the Captain. Time to go into Lafayette and get some groceries. | | |
| This first posting "after the storm" will be brief as Tim and I have lots of work ahead of us just to get the driveway clear so that he will be able to make his way to the University this afternoon. For the fourth time in its history (according to one report I read) Purdue "recessed" classes. The powers that be decided to call off all classes for a 24 hour period from noon Tues thru noon Wed. I am sure this was to help keep people off the roads. Snow was still coming down at a good rate and the wind was "rearranging" it everywhere anyway. The mayor of our city of Delphi declared the city a "disaster" yesterday morning; I am again positive this was in an effort to keep people off the streets and roads. Our main road, Dayton or 800, was plowed several times in a loosing effort. We did not attempt to do any snow blowing yesterday...that is until we realized that we were not getting heat in the house. So at 2200 on the night of a blizzard do you think anyone would even answer a phone? YES! They did and it was agreed that no one would attempt to come out yet last night. (All this happening while Mike is on his way to Frankfurt Germany.) Tim and I braced for what would probably be an extremely chilly night. Then the light bulb came on about 2300. I got all suited up, got out a ladder and climbed up on our roof. The vents were buried under over two feet of snow! Once I shoveled off the drifts and came back in, the furnace was back up and running! Hooray!!! Tim just gave me a bad time, because I wouldn't let him go up and check it out last night. After he went to bed, I did just that. The wind was fairly brisk, but not as strong as it had been all day. Now we dress to go do battle with what remains; over a foot of snow which has drifted into four foot piles in places. More later...... | | |
| Yes, it is game day! Bears vs Colts, a family divided. Kind of anyway. I believe the males in the household are Bears supporters, while I favor the Colts. Who do I believe will win? Da Bears. It has been awhile since I posted anything. Plenty has been going on, but most of it routine. I find myself at the Delphi UMC about three days a week, volunteering seems to be my "calling" in life. I do wonder how much of an upset to the household flow it would be to have a part time or full time job that paid a salary.... The biggest news for the month of January was sad. One of our dearest friends from Lake G succumbed to cancer and a Purdue student disappeared without a trace. While the search for Wade Steffey goes on, the trail is not promising. My thoughts and prayers for his family are constant. I can't imagine the angst they are dealing with.  Perhaps February will bring better news. We are experiencing the coldest weather we have had since moving to Indiana. Nothing like Minnesota cold, but we are getting older and so it still seems brutal. (Sorry to say I am getting "whimpy", but that is the truth.) It's almost too chilly to be in the "storage room" on the treadmill today! Glad to be inside watching NCAA basketball and the Super Bowl this weekend. | | |
| Yes, Mike and I made it up to see in the new year, but just barely. And that is if you count the fact that I got in a two hour snooze while watching the Bears vs Packers game. (kitty M on the lap = Jill snoozes.) I do believe that will have been Farve's last game; time will tell. It certainly would be a great game to go out on. Thanks for the memories Brett... We sent the old year out on a warm note; 54 degrees was the high around here yesterday. We had showers go through and even had a rainbow late in the afternoon. I took several pictures of it with Tim's camera; I don't know if I had it in the proper mode, so will have to wait til he and Matt get back from their jaunt to Lake Geneva to see if the rainbow has been "preserved". Around 2000 a gust front went through with gusts in excess of 50 mph. This state has unusual weather from a "northerners" point of view. Last year just after new years day, we had a thunderstorm go through so perhaps this "global warming idea" has merit. Backing up to Christmas, Mike got called out on another trip to Denver; just out and back. Tim, M, and I packed up Tim's car and drove down to Sellersburg to visit Matt who also was called out on Christmas (to pick up a liver). In the haste of getting going, I left my purse at home. I panicked a bit when I got everything off loaded at Matt's place. However, I was able to confirm with Mike that I had indeed left the purse right where I always leave it. He saw it at home before he launched on his trip. That pretty much took plan "B" out of the picture. Plan "B" would have had me fly out of Louisville out to Denver for Tom's 60th birthday party on Dec 27th. Well because of the Christmas snow storm, loads were extremely heavy for starters. But all I needed was one seat. Without any I.D. that wasn't going to happen. Matt was again called out on a trip to Florida and back on Dec 26th. This one he did single pilot and was a long day for him. While he was gone, Tim and I hung out at Matt's place. I did some wash and a little cleaning to pass the day (couldn't go shopping if I had wanted to!) and Tim enjoyed playing Mario Bros on the old Nintendo which Matt has hooked up to his "entertainment" center. Tim and I went out to lunch at one of Matt's nearby and good Mexican restaurants, Tim buying mind you. We also went driving around the Sellersburg and surrounding area looking at subdivisions. There are hills not far from where Matt lives so the topography is not at all like central Indiana. I would like to do more exploring when Matt and Corrie are around so they can show us the "sights". There is a city called Floyd's Knobs near by. I do believe they get the "knobs" part from the hilly terrain located there. I also believe it is a fairly nice place to live based on prices of homes I saw listed in a real estate magazine. Might need to check it out... On Friday I had a six month diagnostic mammogram. All is the same as the last one I had down here. As I suspected, what was seen on the first mammogram was "usual" tissue, just dense. Frodtert still hadn't sent my old images to the clinic here, so we are putting in a second request for those to be sent. One more six month check should put me back to yearly exams. On one last note. With the weather being so nice this week, we were able to walk the trails around Delphi three days in a row. It feels good to get back to taking an hour to "exercise". My goal for the new year is to start running regularly again. AND to be ready for the Sears Tower Climb next November. I will use the old Nike mantra "just Do it". Take time to enjoy life this year. | | |
| Our Christmas arrived early in the form of Good News. Tim had his latest MRI on Dec 21st in Evanston and we can report that all appears to be stable. There is a small area of concern that has been present since Dec of 2005, however it is not growing so we feel it is scar tissue. Dr P is always cautious and checks the images with their doctors who "read" the MRI's before telling us "all is stable". There are always those few minutes where Mike, Tim, and I gaze at the images and look for ourselves for possible changes while she consults with her team. We "go over" the images on the computer with our limited knowledge and search for clues as well. I will always get anxious when we go with Tim for his check ups, he never seems ruffled. This MRI was his first since coming off the Temodar, so as parents, Mike and I were quite relieved with the findings. Since Sunday (Dec 17th) Tim was in Chicago with a group from his campus church doing work with Jesus People USA. The timing was perfect for Mike and I to pick Tim up from the JPUSA location on the north side of Chicago and drive up to Evanston. The Purdue team did a lot of wrapping of Christmas presents and also loading them on and off trucks for distribution. I am sure Tim will have more detail on his site eventually. Mike's December flying schedule has really been "up in the air". Due to a 777 being taken out of service, his trips to Frankfurt Germany have been switched to a 747. Therefore he is now pretty much "on call" over Christmas and perhaps into the entire week after. Now with Denver having their snow storm, he will be filling in gaps as crews are running out of duty time and aircraft are out of position. Today Dec 22nd he will fly to LAX overnight then return via DIA (Denver International) on Saturday. That place is sure to be a "zoo". I am losing hope that I will make it out to Denver for my brother Tom's 60th birthday party on Dec 27th. Right now there are zero open seats anywhere near the Rockies. And for that matter, as I write this, the Denver airport is still closed... The only plan for Christmas that remains definite is that Tim and I will be part of our Delphi church's bell choir both in the morning and evening services. After that, we will "wing it"! Wishing everyone who peaks in a very Merry Christmas and safe travels where ever you may be. | | |
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