Hi Everyone..Spring is in the air..except it is snowing here right now.. but it is expected to pass and bring some nice weather our way

My cat went back to the vet 3 times this week..Come to find out she has feline diabetes, so shes on insulin and Im trying to figure out how to get the dosage right..I never thought I would be giving a cat insulin injections..She has lost almost 4 lbs but she finally is getting stronger and her appitite is improving..Im just hoping that this doesnt become a complicated endeavor..The vet doesnt seem to think it will..She has been to the vet so many times lately that when the Dr was done with her today, I put the pet carrier on the examination table and my cat walked in it like she knew it was time to go home..

It was good to get outside again this week and work on my boat and fishing gear..Im looking foward to another season, and I wish I could start tomorrow..My spirits are so much better when I can get busy

How was your week?

On last weeks altered picture of the week I put Bill Clintons face on Hillary's body..So I thought..Hmmmmm..What would Hillary's face look like on Bill's body?..So I did the ol' switch-er-oo, and when I saw it, all I can think of is:...



STOP THE INSANITY!!!..

Two straight weeks of Billary, Steve? It boggles the mind!

Incidentally, on our way to and from a short vacation/fishing/grandchild-visiting trip in Northern Arkansas this week, we passed through Hope and Little Rock. As the billboards on the interstate inform you, Hope is Clinton's birthplace.

We met our son, grandson (15) and granddaughter (3), who came down from Urbana, Illinois, at a fishing camp on Sylamore Creek where it joins the White River. The weather was perfect and, needless to say, a great time was had by all. I could bore you with tales of the brilliance of our grandchildren, but I will restrain myself and only say that there is almost certainly going to be a president of the USA named Smith in the next 20 or 30years. We stayed in a beautiful two-bedroom fully furnished log cabin overlooking the creek, with 200-foot clilffs on the opposite bank.

Wednesday the menfolk set out on the White River in a kayak and a canoe in search of the wily rainbow trout. We didn't exactly fill our limit, but we weren't "skunked" either. Thursday we floated down the Sylamore, a crystal clear mountain stream known for its smallmouth bass. We caught (and released) a few and saw many more. The creek level was sub-optimal for floating, so we did a fair amount of dragging our craft over gravel bars and one portage around a low-water culvert bridge. At the end of the day, I was exhausted but delighted that I had shared that wonderful time with Tim and Nathan. I think this is what retirement is all about!

My week was a blast! The only downer is that the dog is sick today. To the Vet on Monday! (BTW, she eats only dry dog food, so not likely due to tainted food.)

Robert

well the sun is shining here after a gruelling week of rain -and of course it was spring break for the kids so everyone was looking to indoor venues for relief. I personally was ready for hibernation. I did get some things done but the energy levels were not there at all.
update on sugar withdrawl/hypoglycemia program. I am feeling much more stable and my meds have stabalized and I'm not having the yo yo effect I was getting from the quick rise and rapid drops in blood sugar. I am back to eating a more balanced diet (I cut most fruit out of my intake for the first two or three weeks so there was no alternate options for my glucose demons to get a foothold) They had to work if they wanted glucose (sugar). The body is not very willing to adapt so it's like living with an unruly child when you want to make changes -even when you know they are good for you.

I have added a few supplements to my diet which I don't think anyone else has mentioned here. Brewers Yeast seems to have just about every nutrient and is easily managed in tablet form. I tried the powdered stuff and that stuff is definitley an "aquired taste". So I take my Brewers yeast and my One-a-day vitamin and mineral supplement with my regular medication and it has made a difference in the intensity of my tremor, and I've noticed in the last two or three days my energy levels are getting better. That could be the longer days ...not that we actually saw anymore daylight through the heavy cloud cover and intense rainfall.

Well I'm off to get some walking in while I can. If I sit at this computer for too long my butt becomes riveted to the chair and I get nothing done in a record amount of time!

Hi Steve

Things are happening at our house. We contacted a realtor a week ago and she immediately put us to work revamping the house. Because people like hard wood floors, she asked us to pull up the carpeting in the den and expose the wood. We also had a painter come in and touch up all the window frames. The basement is completely empty, my office looks ready-to-move in. She had one open house already...expected a dozen realtors but got 20. On Sunday there will be an open house for the public (we'll go to Mohegan Sun for a day of Video Poker).

all the best,

Lloyd

I haven't checked in for some time. Figured my bad attempts at 's and poetry were as much as you could bear.

Downs:
Two weeks ago I took a nasty fall and had 8 stitches (3 internal and 5 extrernal) along the left eyebrow. Have recovered with no visible scars but an increasing dread of what the future has in store for me.
We have had one of the coldest winters in history. It has been below zero for some part of the day for at least 60 days this winter. Normal is aobut 10. Luckily it was only in the -20s 3 times. Who said we are in a period of global warming?? The forecast is for temps to get above freezing starting today. Ups:
I was presented with my fourth biological grandchild yesterday. A baby girl giving me 2 boys and 2 girls. I also have 10, 8 boys and 2 girls, from adopted kids.
I have a new love in my life. Even though distance and other circumstances will never allow it to be fulfilled, it is great to have those feelings again.

Lloyd, good luck with your house sale. I always found it very nerve-wracking to have a house on the market and trying to keep it looking good all the time. When our three kids were little, and we were moving, we had a "rapid response" to a realtor's phone call - throw the stuff lying around in the washing machine and dryer, do a quick polish of whatever needed it, and take the kids downstairs to watch TV. It was too cold to leave the house every time someone came, so we'd try to make the quiet peaceful family scene as much out of their way as we could. When they would leave, it would be back to the evening routine of supper and bed-time.

I grew up in a big five bedroom log house that had hardwood floors everywhere but the kitchen and bathroom. My mom found them really easy to keep clean, but you couldn't get any liquid on them or it would stain - not like the great finishes available now. We would help polish them after a waxing by skating around with Dad's wool socks on - I don't think they had a polisher for a while.

No snow for three days - Yeehaw! 10 below freezing at night and five above during the day. Everyone is keeping a nervous watch on their basements, and listening for creaking roofs - the art gallery, a warehouse, and several farm sheds have had roofs cave in. We're just not used to so much snow.

Dale: I know what you mean about new grand children. Our latest one (a grandson) is 14 months old now and we think of him as a "gift" in our old age. My youngest daughter is expecting (a boy) in June so we'll be presented with another "gift". We have 3 children and 5 grandchildren (including the one who will be born in June).

Wendy: I envy anyone who grew up in a log house. I grew up in northern Wisconsin where the winters creep into the Spring and sometimes into the summer. So why are we moving north? We love Maine and I especially love the White Mountains.

All the best,

Lloyd

What a week. Left last Thursday for Seattle/Tacoma to say goodbye to my son, who is headed to Iraq

Did tourist stuff. Snowboarding at Crystal Mountain...on Sunday...the only no-rain day. I got a snow-burn on my face from six hours of sitting on the resort patio watching all the fun and keeping watch on the boards not in use

Let's see, I saw the sun on Sunday and a little bit of Monday. Otherwise, it rained and rained and rained. The only other icky thing was the I checked TWO bags under my name, on my ticket. One went to Seattle. The other one went to Ontario, via Denver...
...figure that one out!!

I think every time I travel it is harder than the last time. This time was the worst yet. Exiting all four flights...the wheelchair folks that wait outside the plane door to pick up the passengers that have called ahead for the wheelchair...they all asked me if I need a wheelchair......I said I could do it under my own power...maybe a foolhardy idea, but I did it anyway.

But I am not ready to stop traveling. Not ready to give up or give in

My neuro is continuing...today...to suggest I have early intervention DBS...hummm...and is sending me to rehab for walking issues.

A sick cat and a sick dog this week - I hope they both feel much better already, Steve and Robert.
Good luck with the house sale, Lloyd. They say candles, fresh flowers and the smell of bread baking will sell a house very quickly, I imagine you've already seen to that.
Maine is wonderful in summer - I haven't been there in winter. We were on Deer Isle at Haystack in '66 - beautiful, and the woods were full of Chanterelle mushrooms. Boothbay Harbor we visited in '81, a lovely vacation, I can see why you like Maine.
Grandchildren! They are even better than I imagined. I've always so enjoyed our children, from babyhood to adulthood, even including the tempestuous teen years, and now they've presented us with a whole new crop of marvelous babies, who are so sweet and bright and wonderful that my heart can barely contain the joy they bring.
It is a grandparent's job to spoil the grandchildren and to brag about them. Eleven year old Peter plays classical trumpet so beautifully that you don't want him to stop. The three 4 year olds are brimming with discovery and wisdom, and the three month old has the best and biggest laugh, he laughs with his whole body. Lovely, lovely to be a Mormor/Farmor. (Mom's mom/Dad's mom).

About listless and lazy - that is what I've been for a couple of weeks, not fatigued, just listless and shamefully lazy. I would write more, but I'm too lazy to.

birte

You son will be in my prayers for his safe return..I wish it was 2008!..