This week the big news is that Michaela tripped over a roller skate on the back stairs leading from the deck. She did a serious ankle sprain and needed professional care. She got a splint and they had to go buy crutches at DI. That’s Deseret Industries.

Curly was irritated that the clinic didn’t give them crutches so she asked her doctor about a pair. She told them they sell them at DI. They were reasonably priced so they got them. Michaela is almost to the point now that she doesn’t need them unless it’s for extended locomotion by foot.

She told me she has to write a book as a school project but I don’t think she meant exactly that; and she asked if I had some transparent slip covers which I had all kinds of and was glad to assist. Yesterday she and Mykena came over to watch and help me put the finishing touches on my cart. They said how nice the cart is and were enthused about helping out.

If I had bought a wagon at Lowe’s I could have gotten what I need for less money but I didn’t count the cost before I started the project; and it turned out to be more expensive than I anticipated. But I have something home made and it has kept me busy for awhile.

Yesterday Curly took me along as she went to Sam’s Club so I bought a few things I need while she picked up her prescriptions. She is excited that her doctor has taken her off a couple of the most expensive ones and substituted others that are way less costly.

Jennifer is on her way out of town for a breather with a friend. They are going by air for an over nighter and then they will return. I don’t know how many flight miles or air trips she has made so far but they are numerous.

We had rain today. I got rained on when I went to the store on the bike but I didn’t melt. The bike will need a cleaning to get the grim off. We’ve had some warm days too and I’ve taken the cover off the air conditioner so it’s ready to turn on when it’s needed. Jennifer and Lady will be happy for that. I don’t know if it makes any difference to the cat.

Tactility of In Law Relationships


I’ve been so busy today that I forgot the news until just now. I had a strange clairaudient message from Alan’s mother saying that he needs me. I wonder if I should think of it as a freak occurrence and ignore it.

Curly has been in the dumps all days and doing plenty of crying. Her food stamps didn’t come in and she was told she didn’t qualify for the full amount. She’s having trouble with the power and gas companies too. She asked me if I would go up to the Seven Eleven and get her some smokes. I couldn’t tell her no so I got them. If nothing else she’ll have her smokes; they are a lot of consolation to people who use them.

I went over to a couple of hardware stores and got some wheels and materials to build a cart so I can get more food brought home when I go. I can watch for the specials now and take the cart and load up on bargains. In all the running I did today, I must have traveled about six miles--at least that.

The weeks go so fast that I don’t have time to remember much or else it’s my aging brain that doesn’t want to put out the effort to remember. Wayne stopped by yesterday to see Jennifer. He got a new job working for Kennecott and makes 17 something per hour working in their warehouse.

His last employer changed his status to salaried and piled on long hours so Wayne decided he was getting used and abused and he quit. This job should be a good one for him. I hope so.

Ray has been out of town so no news has come from Omaha and Wahoo for a few days. Everyone there has shut down for the time being and no one’s doing the e-mail as usual. That means we don’t get news about Grandma Bonnie.

A lot of the kids in the neighborhood are off track so Mykena has been over a couple of times. Yesterday she came over and was so hyper active she couldn’t talk straight. I had a hard time understanding her. She must have drunk something highly charged with sugar.

The little girl named Natalie saw me outside yesterday and called a hi to me and waved. She is the cutest girl and she’s a great little person. Michaela came over yesterday and helped pull out some weeds and told me about a school project on the mistreatment of chickens. They get their beaks snipped off when they’re little and they are mistreated by their handlers.

She had a picture that showed a caricature of Col. Sanders holding a chicken with a knife in his hand ready to kill it and he has blood all over him in his white uniform. Michaela said she’s not going to eat chicken any more. She showed me pictures of a few of her favorite male celebrities. She keeps them in her note book with her school work.

The weather out here has been up and down with wide variations in temperature and we’ve had some gusty wind some days. It’s the kind that is a nuisance and makes the cold seem that much colder.

My high lite for the week has been digesting the meaning of my visit with Rhonda and her children. I got the call to come up to the hospital just before 11:00 AM so I rushed down to the bus stop and got to the 33rd South Trax Station and headed down town. Because of the Marathon in the valley we had to get off the train by the court house and walk toward Gallivan Center and get on the University Line. It took just about an hour and a half to get from home to the hospital.

When I arrived I was informed that Ms Richmond was there visiting and that I would have to wait until she left. I mentioned to the attendant that she could be there for hours--maybe I should get on and head back out. She said that wouldn‘t be necessary--that Ms Richmond was leaving soon and as it turned out she did; so my wait wasn‘t long.

After the visit was finished I left the room and followed the exit signs until I came to a staircase but the door wouldn’t open; so I retraced my steps back to a desk and asked for directions to the exit. “Take the first left”, I was told. I thought to stop for a restroom break but I passed it by thinking it was on the first floor but when I got down there I couldn’t find one; so I left.

The train was waiting at the station and I didn’t want to miss it so I didn’t try to figure out how to buy a ticket. I got on thinking I could get one down town but when I got there the machine looked so complicated and a train was coming so I didn’t fool around with it.

I got on the train and headed to fourth south. Then an announcement came on that proof of purchase of a ticket would be required if we were checked beyond that point so I got off and figured out how to buy a ticket and waited fifteen minutes for the next train.

When I got back to 33rd South I got the Magna Bus and headed home so I went over seven hours with out a bathroom stop. For an old man that’s not bad.

I got an e-mail from Rhonda that said Kendra is back home and doing well. On Sunday when they got her ready to come home she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay and play. Can you imagine the aggravation? I think I would have wanted to pop her on the butt but that might warp her sensitive little personality. I better not try being a dad any more.

But that isn't really true; I would have been very consoling and considerate of her state of mind. She needs the best attention she can get and she deserves it. We have to be especially consoling and mild in cases where so much is at risk. Rhonda has done very well and so has Nathan.

The grass got long so I got out the mower and changed the oil in it and sharpened the blade; then I went up to the gas station and bought $8.88 cents worth of Unleaded Regular. It took me five minutes to get the pump to work because I wasn’t following the instructions when I put in my debit card. I kept with it and finally got it to work.

I came home and fired up the engine and it started quite easily; so I got the grass mowed and then watered the flowers with Miracle Gro plant food. The tulips have flowered and are beginning to lose some of there blooms already. That’s when they have to be trimmed. Only a few have been trimmed so far. There are ten on the east side of the yard that haven’t bloomed yet but they’re showing sings that they will soon.

The Irises are growing and look healthy; a lot of them have come up and look like they will make it well this season. They bloomed way before Memorial Day last year but his year I don’t know if they will make it by then.

We’ve had some light rain this week which is helpful; it even stormed at last one night and we had thunder and lightning activity. Nick will see some real thunder storms in Missouri if he hasn’t already. Wyoming gets its share too. That’s where Alan was part of this week.

Jennifer is either in love or she’s on a mission to rescue a little boy who needs a mother. I don’t have enough information to make a definite conclusion. From what I’ve seen they seem to be compatible but Jennifer is definitely the more mature and I think the more aggressive. Don’t draw any conclusions from what news I send.

As soon as wedding bells ring I’ll need a new place to live. Love should be taken care of and nurtured with care and every encouragement should be applied with no negative connotations attached to make it positive and successful so that a healthy conditions comes about. The two respondents should be good for each other though; if they aren’t they will help each other to a large dose of hard ship that will come on them at an ever accelerating pace.

We have made a change in the visit time with Kendra. Rhonda was handed some orders at work that have made us decide on tomorrow morning as a better time to go.

Things here for the week have been quiet. We've had a few windy days. More of the tulips have bloomed and they look beautiful.

Michaela washed their car yesterday with a squeegee type thing and didn't have a hose to rinse it off with so it is all streaked and looks like a work of psychedelic art.
In case any of you didn't know Debbie Mitchell and Uncle Bob made the trip to Omaha and are back home now.

I expect to go to Primary Children’s Medical Center this afternoon. RhondaI sent an e-mail from that she will be going there this afternoon for Kendra’s nest chemo treatments. So I don’t have much to say this week until that’s over. Everyone be praying and hoping for the best.

Last Saturday was so long ago as it seems in my mind but yet the week went so fast that it has been like a day. How does one explain such a paradox. I find that inquisitiveness is such a dangerous exercise that I’m hesitant to make an attempt to analyze the situation and I let it ride leaving it alone as is.

Three of the girls in the neighborhood came one late afternoon asking, “Neighborhood do you have any work we can do to earn a dollar or anything?” We looked around the yard and saw some trash so they picked that up and earned a $1.21 each. That was the last of the change I had on hand but when I went to the store the next day I got some more and got a hair cut.

The cosmetologist did an excellent and efficient job; it was all done in no more than ten minutes. But I did have to wait while the previous customer was worked on. The radio was playing and an advertiser did a routine about a cream that’s guaranteed to increase the size of the female breast by two cups.

If you go into a man’s barber shop all you get is football and the ads that go alone with that kind of show. They might be about athletic wear or insurance and muscle cars and what not. Games are a boring subject for me and most of all the ads but the breast enhancement cream was a bit of a humorous thing.

Yesterday I went over to Lowe’s on the bike and bought a porch light for the back door way. The old one was one of those flash on type that turn on when someone approaches it at night. It just wore out a few weeks ago. It was always on and was expensive to operate. The bulb in it was a high power flood light.

This one doesn’t have the automatic turn on feature; it just uses a standard low power light bulb and can stay on all night on a minimal amount of energy. I put a thirteen watt florescent bulb in it and hope that won’t make Jennifer unhappy. She doesn’t like those bulbs for some reason.

Speaking of bulbs Jennifer brought home forty tulip bulbs from Holland and 39 have grown up above ground now with a total of five of them in bloom. They have a nice yellow flower on them and are so pretty.

I’ve been getting e-mails from Alan, Nick and Rhonda giving me news that’s good to get. Jennifer has a project going to raise funds for patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Her good friend Cher has the disease. It’s another issue of poignancy to us. As I understand now the best that can be done is administer medicine that controls symptoms but doesn’t cure.

The grass is coming in with not too pleasing effect. It needs something but I don’t know what; some of the area is overgrown with a strange wild flower and other parts are covered with undesirable growth. The neighbor next door has a hideous lawn full of the same stuff and dandelions. To replace the lawn at great expense when that’s the case seems ludicrous to me.

We’re having a windy day that has been unpleasant to be out in. The temperature is just low enough to make the wind sharp and biting so I’m inside doing not much waiting for the garbage to be picked up. They are later than usual today.

Everybody have a nice weekend and remember in your prayers: Kambra, Kendra especially and all the rest of God’s creatures. Even say one for Lady and the cat.

Well out here it’s time for saturnalia as the conference of the church
gets underway. The faithful won’t see it that way though. They will be
in a reverent attitude and unaware of the party atmosphere that
accompanies solemn events as one sector gets serious about God and the
other goes rampant over carnality of pleasure seeking.
I’ll hang in there through it though and I suppose Alan will be busy at
work, but I don’t know Nick’s weekend schedule. The last I heard the
Taurus was acting up so that had to be fixed. That’s his car in case you
don’t recognized the word Taurus.
Rhonda I suppose will be attentive to the conference proceedings and I
have overheard Jennifer talking about it. I expect them to be attentive
to what transpires regarding the latest church business. It seems to me
that a new president will be sustained by the attending elders in
conference.
Tuesday I tore down the dog house and cut it into little pieces and put
in in the garbage so Lady won’t be spending nights out there any more;
and the memory of it will soon be gone. By now it’s in the landfill. If
someone had a wood burning stove it would have been good kindling wood
but I knew of no one who could use it that way.
Yesterday I made a trip down town to visit a credit union. I got on the
bus and went to the city center of West Valley City and when I arrived I
couldn’t do the transaction I intended because I don’t have a current
driver license or any other picture ID. Since I couldn’t do that I had
to obtain cash in order to proceed.
I looked for a teller machine but couldn’t get it to work so I got back
on the bus and went to my usual shopping place and got the money I
needed and went back. On the way I wondered if something had ruined my
check card but it worked at the store. It took only an hour to do that
and it wasn’t that bad an ordeal It was nice to do business with the
pleasant personnel as I finished my purpose and it got all done in good
order.
On the way home a woman got on the bus and sat close to me and struck up
a conversation that was basically a call to get involved with the
Jehovah Witnesses. I don’t know why she picked on me; I was sitting
quietly and enticing no attention from her.
As it turned out she was on her way home from a car shop where she took
her car earlier to get repairs. Not only was that the case, she got off
the bus at the same stop I did and she walked the same direction for
half a mile as I did.
By the time we were finished discussing biblical topics on the bus we
were friends or neighbors enough to walk together. But it was difficult
because the side walk is so narrow. I finally stepped off and walked
along the curb.
It was an interesting and pleasant visit although I did worry a bit
about her capacity to make the rigorous walk. It was uphill and she
commented about the fact. She had already walked a considerable distance
from the shop to the bus stop where she boarded.
She told me she had stopped at a Mexican restaurant to get a new
sandwich they offer but it didn’t please her much; the cost was too high
for the amount of ingredients it contained. The taste wasn’t all that
great either she said.
She insisted that I take a tract so I took one that amounted to an
invitation to attend a bible study group. She lives fairly close to here
but I don’t plan on responding to the invitation. It might be too
demanding on my time and attention.
She was 72 years old and showed every bit of her age. I wondered if I
looked as old as I am to her. She gets a good discount on medicines that
she takes for high blood pressure and cholesterol. She does a lot of
walking as she visits door to door and attempts to proselytize new
church members she said.
She mentioned that it can be hectic; they found out there it a known sex
offender in the area she works. She used to be LDS but got out of it she
said. Then she asked me about my church experience and why I had quit
all those different churches. I told her there wasn’t anything to them.
That’s when she insisted that I take the tract. We parted amicably when
we arrived at the corner where I went straight and she turned right and
headed toward her house which is near Orchard Elementary School. She
mentioned earlier that her children grew up and went to school in Magna
before Orchard school had been built. They took the bus.
We’ve had cold night with a couple as low as in the low twenties and I
worried about the flowers; but they look OK. Some of the tulips are
getting close to blooming but the Irises look like they will be taking a
long time to do that. Days have warmed up into the fifties. Today the
weather forecasters predict 64 degrees.

We ran into computer trouble that started yesterday and hopefully got fixed today. I had to re run the router software and got good results but we’ll know if the problem is fixed when I try to send this e-mail. I was all over the place with worry as to what happened; these computers are an essential now days. If they go down we go backward to the stone age.

I’m almost convinced these days to make sure and not complain to any one about how they treat me and I’m working on being good to the dog. I don’t leave her out too long on these cold night because she’s old and suffers from the cold in her joints. And I’ve forgiven her for pooping on the floor.

She has a hard time getting up the back steps so I let her in at the front door. I’ve thought about building a ramp for her but she’s probably not smart enough to use it instead of the steps. I know without a problem or doubt when she wants in the house because she scrapes her claws across the front storm door; my only problem is knowing when she wants to go out.

I walked to the store twice this week to get the exercise of walking instead of the exercise of biking. The walking takes a lot more patience but I think it’s better exercise. The one trouble with it is that I’ve encountered dog attacks on my walks in the neighborhood. Those dogs are too aggressive toward strangers.

Speaking of dogs, last week I tossed a basket ball into the yard behind us thinking that it belonged there. It turned out that it belonged to Michaela and Mykena so when I found that out I went to retrieve it. The house is behind us and the two lots are separated by a fence but to get over there it’s a long walk around the block and into a cul-de-sac.

When I got there and knocked on the door I didn’t get a reply except for a dog barking on the inside so I went to the gate that leads into their back yard. Then a full grown Rottweiler with an angry growl came walking down off there elevated back porch and gave me the routine.

I tried to be polite to it and asked if I could come it but it wasn’t amenable to my enquiry; so I saw that the ball was against the fence just a few feet away from me and thought that I might be able to take a couple of sticks and pick it up.

When the dog saw me pick up the sticks it went back up on the porch and watched quietly. The method with the sticks would not work but it did work to take one of the them and roll the ball over to the gate which I could open far enough to reach in and get it.

One of the sticks I picked up had a bunch of little branches coming off of the end of it so that it looked like a scraggy spatula or even a hand. I think that when the dog saw that it might have been a little impressed at the ominous sight of it and decided to back off.

The Rottweiler remained calm during the procedure but as I left it went off on a barking frenzy as though to say I had done some wrong on its territory. I went home and returned the ball to Mykena. She was playing with Aimee at the time.

The tulips today didn’t look like they appreciated the cold we got last night; I hope they are OK. Lady broke the leaves on one of the Irises and that put me in a little tizzy with her. She wants for some reason to walk among the flower and in the mud instead of on the pavement and grass.

At the store I always walk into the entry and grab a hand wipe that the store management provides for germ control and I wipe the hand rail on the shopping cart too. When I got to the check-out the cashier looked in the cart and saw my backpack and asked, “Is there anything else in the cart?” Like am I a thief?

I said, “No” and went through the rest of the check out routine. The helper at the counter put my items in another shopping other than the one I brought up to the check out stand with me. As I walked away with my cart I didn’t notice that I had no groceries in it. The people at the stand must have thought I was asleep or something. They called out, “You got the wrong cart”--both the sacker and the cashier!

I didn’t catch on the first time they tried to tell me so the helper walked up behind me with the cart he loaded and I noticed then; so I reached in and transferred my things into the cart I brought in with me and thanked him and left. After the whole scene I went away thinking it wasn’t I who had the wrong cart it was they. I had personalized the cart I was using by wiping the handle off with the sanitary wipe.

I usually notice little things like that and get a bit perturbed--but not so much that I would turn around and hit someone or get highly caustic about it. I usually want to leave the store with the same cart I came in with. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Some of the family are going to Disney Land on the fourth of April. Deanna, Mike and Taylor are going and maybe Debbie, Denise, David, Darin and Megan will make the trip. I hope they can get together for a fun time.

The return from Milan, Italy (Milano to the Italians) must have been grueling. Jennifer and her friend stayed the night, previous to their flight, at the airport in Milan because accommodations were all booked due to Easter. From the time they left Venice until they returned to Salt Lake, they were put through a thirty or more hour ordeal trying to get rest without beds.

We used to say, "Hang in there Friday's on the way." Then I got into
asbestos removal and that saying had no meaning. It was ten hour days six days
a week and a lot of times it was out of town--just like Alan's doing. But we
didn't gripe we got paid good and didn't have anything else more constructive to
do with our time.
I cleaned out the shed yesterday and used the new vacuum cleaner on it. It
performed well and since it's so big I left it out there instead of in the
basement where it will just be in Jennifer's way. I'm doing some more on the
shed today.
The dog which I stuck in the dog house for the night got taken to a friend's
house. A woman named Helen was supposed to come over Sunday afternoon and get
it but instead a friend named Cher came; I was puzzled but it was nice to see
Cher. She politely took the dog home. She even said she would take the cat but
I kept her; Cher has enough to do.
On Monday another woman, presumably Helen, came and I saw her get out of the
car she was driving and come up to the front door as though she were on a mission of anger to
do malice to me. She was heavy, raw boned and looked pregnant but didn't show
any of the decorum and beauty of a pregnant woman as she hot footed it up to the
door to make her mission statement.
She made her statement that started in the declarative mode and ended as an
interrogatory statement. "I'm here to get the dog?" and she spoke with a gruff
voice. I told her where the dog was and she showed her disdain for the fact
that I didn't make plans for the dog before Jennifer left. Then she said, "If
you were my dad, you wouldn't be living here."
I paid well in terms of maliciousness repaid for having put the dog out of
the house that night. The cat was quite somber for quite a few days and has
been confused as to what happened to Jennifer and Lady, but I think now she is
beginning to adjust and might even like having the dog gone. She can move
around the house and be less intimidated by the presence of another animal that isn't her kind.
Next July/August it will be seven years since Jennifer and I started this
joint enterprise of helping each other manage the vicissitudes and trials of
life and answer such needs as housing and sustenance; now after all that time
it's the right time to make a change. Things need to change and other options
must be looked into so I'm ready to move.
The weather has been nice enough to get some things done around the property;
the tulips and irises are growing but not blooming yet. It will be a while
before they do that--maybe into the middle of May or sooner.

The week included a trip to Sears at 3500 South and 5600 West to pick up a
couple of attachments for a new Craftsman wet and dry vacuum cleaner; it has a
five horse motor and can blow a stream of air at 160 mph. It sucks like a
tornado. That's the good kind of suck and it was reasonably priced.
I'm somewhat happy with it; I can get the basement floor cleaned up really
well and get rid of lint, spider webs and dirt. I am thinking that I can even
take it outside and clean the leaves out of the basement window sill with it.
The one outside my room has a few in it; so I'm going to take it out and give it
a try to see if it works.
If there were too many leaves the vacuum would be overwhelmed but this job
doesn't appear to be too heavy for it.
I needed to get a more suitable brush for the carpet because one of the kind I
need wasn't provided with the machine; but I got a coupon that allowed me 20%
off on purchases of attachments.
And the machine sold on sale when it was purchased. Actually I asked Jennifer to pick it up for me when she was close to Sears last Saturday.
She did a fine job and now I'm happy with it.
In case Jennifer gets this e-mail and reads it, the dog and cat are OK. Lady
bedooted on the floor the first day after Jennifer left; well I didn't rub her
nose in it but now I'm making her sleep in the dog house and stay outside. She
barks like a maniac but I ignore her and don't let her upset me with her noise.
The two cars are OK to this point and I 'm hoping that no one vandalizes
either one of them. The garbage cans were emptied with no problem. We got a
new garbage program in West Valley City at the beginning of this month.
Everybody is doing the recycle program now. We got a new blue can for
recyclable articles and the old green cans are still in use for garbage that
goes to the landfill.
Spring is in the air; that's how it looks around here but the groundhog saw
its shadow in PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa on February 2nd so the rule goes that there will
be six more weeks of winter from that day. The six weeks are just about up so maybe we'll get
the Spring weather. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6898095/
The tulips Jennifer brought home from Holland are doing really well. Almost all
of them have sprouted and are above ground looking healthy. Some of the Irises
are doing well too but a lot of them are not making it. This little bit of rain
we got helped a lot and more is possible. There's a 40% chance of rain or snow
tonight and a 50 % chance tomorrow and tomorrow night. Night time temperatures
will be just a degree or two below freezing and day time will be in the upper
mid forties.