Starting again. Don't know where the time goes. My last post talked about my knee and hip replacements. All have turned out well and I feel like a new person. I promised in my last post that I would post more often. Well that was over a year ago. Now I have to go back to scratch, see where I am and start all over again. Kids, grandkids and spouses all doing well. More later.

3 out of 4 and still going

Too many things have been happening since my last post. I promise to do more and blog more often.

This year has been one of R & R; remove and replace. I've had two knee replacements and one hip redone since February 7th with the last knee done on September 14th of this year. My hip was replaced on June 22nd.

This year is going to be another R & R year; recovery and rejuvenation. Enough for now. Take care and keep on keeping on.

Classmates

It's hard to believe that it's been so long since I've done anything on this blog. As you can imagine life happens and many things have gone by the board. The daughters and their husbands are doing well, my son is now married and he and his beautiful bride are shaping their futures and all of the grandchildren are growing and well. My oldest daughter is expecting in January (another girl) and we're looking for some sudden inspiration for the perfect name.

I just heard from my college roommate (haven't talked with him since college graduation) and of all things the next day I heard from a grade school classmate. As you must guess the two happenings are connected and will be the basis of another, more interesting blog. So, for the night, I think I'll sign off. I want to give all of this more thought and digest the news of the day. I'm listening to the news as I write this and can't believe all of the crap that's going on in Washington. I think I'll join a web site or blog that makes a passion out of getting rid of all the incumbents in Washington. Just think how 454 (I think) members of Congress have screwed us all.

Take care and have a good night.

Time Flies

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 8 months since I last did anything on this blog. A lot has happened since then as you can guess. Triplet Betty became a sergeant at the LAPD and the triplets celebrated their 3rd birthdays in June. My first daughter is taking classes to be a pre-school teacher, my son is a middle school English teacher and my two other granddaughters are becoming fluent in Spanish. Everyone is in fine health (thank God) and now I'm promising to write more in the near future. So, for now, take care and be in touch soon.

Believe It!

It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since I've posted anything to my blog. As you can imagine a lot has happened in that time. I'm sorry I missed the chance to post all the things as they happened. It would be nice to see all of them in retrospect.

But for now just want to say that all is well. The Triplets are just fine and are 28 months old which means that they are in the middle of the terrible twos and are certainly making the term seem mundane. Mom is out buying a tent for their cribs. We sure hope that this works.

Sorry to say that it is late in the evening and time to hit the hay. I'll try to get more postings in the next day or so. There is so much to tell and most of it is very funny.

Take care and see you soon.

Baby Houdini

Beth and Steve both had to work this Sunday...Steve normally has the day off but with the tensions in South Central L.A. he had to go in to work on his day off. They needed someone to babysit the triplets for Sunday night and, of course, we volunteered...

Beth was asleep when we got there (she worked all night until 6:00 AM) and Steve was out with the triplets...we made ourselves at home and it wasn't long before he showed up with them...they welcomed us with smiles and Kiley came up to me with outstretched arms...what a nice welcome!!! We put them down for their naps and it wasn't long before Beth woke up...It was hot, not much sea breeze, and fans didn't do much good.

Steve got ready for work and Beth showed us all the formula formulations for the kids...Steve's partner showed up and the babies really reacted to him...they smiled, let him hold them and Kiley even managed to wave "good bye" to them...We took the babies to Hof's Hut for lunch...what a bunch of fun that was...they got more food on the floor than they did in their stomachs...and the only way we could keep anything on the table was to move their high chairs away from the table...then they started climbing out of the high chairs...we finished lunch just in time.

Jane was born with club feet, mostly because there wasn't enough room in there for her so she had to curl her feet over her stomach...the doctors cut her achilles tendon, had her in casts a number of times and now they insist that Jane wear a pair of shoes to bed each night...the shoes are angled about 45 degrees and are connected with a steel bar...they even look uncomfortable...

Beth went into great detail about how we have to put her shoes on her at bedtime...first we had to loosen the laces to the max, put her feet into the shoes (right foot first), pull the strap tight up to the seventh hole, lace the shoes up as tightly as we can and then double tie the bow so it won't loosen...she might curl her toes so we have to make sure that her foot is flat and the heel is all the way into the shoe...One way to make sure is to pull on the toe edge of her sock so her foot flattens out...

My Bride is very detail oriented and these instructions were burned into the deepest recesses of her psyche...the steps were very clear...and followed to the letter..."hell", my Bride said later, "I broke a sweat doing all this...I was sure it was done perfectly"...and indeed it was...We put the kids into their car seats in the back seat of the pick up truck and headed down to the harbor so they could cool down, relax and be able to fall asleep when we got home.

The ploy worked perfectly...The kids were quiet and wonderful...not a peep out of them...not even any fussing, shuffling, moving...nothing at all...What beautiful, well behaved babies...we went all the way to the harbor, all the way to the Crab Pot and we decided that maybe we should turn around and get the kids home before they got too much of a nap and couldn't fall asleep...

As we made the U turn at the Crab Pot I happened to look into the back seat at Jane...I laughed until I started to get tears in my eyes...There sat Jane, asleep, holding her shoes, steel bar and all, in her lap just like she'd hold her stuffed bunny...How in the world, after all the effort checking, double checking, double tying and pulling at the toe of her sock, did she get out of those shoes and put them in her lap...and we never heard a thing...We both laughed until we almost cried.

Beth later told us that she will co-operate and keep the shoes on during the night like a good girl...HOW did she get out of those things without a sound?...Kids are amazing!!!

Time Flies

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted anything for over a month...and you can't believe the things that have happened in that period of time...in fact so many that I don't remember all of them...the thing that stands out is that my Mom passed away on August 5, 2005...she was 87 years old...it was a small funeral with only family and friends but the service was memorable and Father Scott did a wonderful job with the service...Father Scott goes back a long way with us but he didn't know it until we were at the cemetery...he was the pastor at St. Anthony's High School when my brother, Bob, was the caretaker of the football facility and my Mom went to church at St. Anthony's...but we couldn't expect him to remember any of this...

We're all trying to adjust to Mom's passing...she had spent the last five years in a nursing home...we wish she hadn't had to be there...dementia is not an easy thing to manage or handle...

Enough for tonight...I'll probably have lots more to say tomorrow...we're in an oil shortage now...and a terrible asphalt crisis; even worse than the first shortages in 1974...prices are skyrocketing, supply is dwindling and on a day to day basis, customers are threatening, tempers are short, money is being lost, fortunes are on the line, new home building is being delayed, and there are people out there who are still saying to us that they want us to "sharpen our pencils" on our bids for their associations...the incongruity of all of this is laughable, if not downright ludicrous...

I'm tired...time to call if quits for tonight...I'll have a lot more fun stuff tomorrow...good night sweet prince....