Tues, Aug 31, 2010: Two MORE days of my Life.......where???

Hmmmm.....can I remember yesterday morning????? It was just another normal day in the sticknbrick without the 1st Lady being here......quiet! Not that she is a noise maker...don't get me wrong with what I said......but, without any other person inside TheHowserHouse it IS quiet!

I really guess it wasn't quite normal........as I had Michael Goldsmith here for 7:20AM coffee, before he had to leave an hour later for the college campus where he teaches. Soooo, thought I would do something a bit different and I opened up a box and made some Cinnamon Streusel muffins....which turned out pretty good.....not heavy, but light and fluffy. Soft butter and hot coffee to accompany them, along with an hour of non-stop conversation of which the transitions from one topic to another topic were quite erratic and certainly not smooth....haha!!! Not enough time to segue smoothly.....just abrupt jumps!!! But......it was a great hour and an amazing way to begin the day.........with a great friend who was a friend of my son's in Middle and High School, who was a great band member for me in HS, who majored in Mus Ed in college, who was a music instructor in the Columbia, MO public school system, who became my Associate Band Director here in F'town, who took my place when I retired 9 years ago. A list of many associations that we have had together.......

After he left.......I did my normal morning reading of the newspapers which I monitor and enjoy reading. And the day then just flew by.......once I begin reading online......I suddenly become aware that I have been reading for quite some time....and several hours will have passed by. Yep....that is what happened yesterday.....it was after lunchtime before I realized the day had somehow progressed into the afternoon hours!!! WHEW!!! Peace and quiet allows me to do just that.....read without interruptions!!!

Rains came in a huge deluge during the afternoon.....not for very long, but enough that the grass became green once again.....and I could almost hear it growing! The television took up a lot of the evening and then I decided to hit the bed and do some reading.......the book that Julia Child wrote about her life, which has only recently been made into a great movie!!! And....the book is really a good read, even though I have already seen the movie!

This morning.......it WAS normal...no one here again except the sagging hulk of Me!!!! About 10, I happened to be on the patio and I heard some motor running, walked around the house and there was an ambulance, lights flashing brightly, in my neighbor's driveway!!!!! By the time I walked to the front of the house, it was pulling out of the driveway....and off down the street it went.....but, with no sirens!!! Not too much later, I saw Earl's daughter outside....both of his daughters are currently here to assist with the health crisis since last week when Earl and his wife were in that car crash!

Well....he came home from the hospital on Sunday....and has been going down hill quickly since he got back to his home. Not able to get his breath, not able to walk but a couple of steps before he has to rest several minutes and regain his breath......so, off he went to the hospital again. AND......an update from just a few minutes ago.......again, I talked with one of the daughters and she told me he had been sent on to St Louis to Barnes Hospital there. Seems he has a bit of pneumonia and some other factors and issues working against him right now........NOT GOOD!!!! At 84, a car wreck, taking chemo for prostate cancer, stints in his body for heart problems, not getting his breath, pneumonia..........this is NOT sounding very good!!!!

I have to finish up the final stage of that root canal I had some time back by getting the permanent crown on the tooth.....have an appt in the morning with Dr. Jeni at her offices in the Washington-New Haven area at 12:30 tomorrow. Soooo, I think I will run by Barnes Hospital on my way back here tomorrow afternoon to see about him.....IF I can get my truck into the parking garages there!

This afternoon I did go by and visit with Dennis Bess, the president of the Bd. of Education for the school district here....and a local insurance man for Farm Bureau. He and his wife, Joy, are very interested in going to Italy, so I discussed the proposed trip with him and the plans I have for the itinerary. I always enjoy visiting with him.....and I DO miss our Bd of Ed meetings when I served on the Bd as we always got a chance to visit during those times.

Oh yeah......Guess I forgot to mention that yesterday afternoon I spent over an hour on the phone talking with one of the travel "counselors" for the company that I will use for the Italy trip, if I have enough people to make the trip. We discussed my idea of customizing the tour just the way I want to do it.....and he told me that since I have been over there sooooo many times with his company, that certainly is not a problem!! Told me to just work out an itinerary and then get it to him....and he would attempt to put a price tag on it in within a week or two after receiving it!! THAT sounds great!!!! Just anxious to get some figures to work with.....and see if what I want to do for everyone for this trip is feasible and not an outlandish price!!!!

Soooo, for dinner this evening I opened up a box of Zatarain's Dirty Rice, which has all the wonderful hot spices included in the package.......used chicken broth instead of the required amount of water, and then continued to use another can of broth as it simmered away.....I do NOT like dry rice...and this just made it so incredibly juicy and "runny"!!! During the last three minutes of the cooking period, I had prepared some "fresh" shrimp....we had purchased some LARGE fresh shrimp a week ago, quickly froze them.....and then I put about half of them in the Dirty Rice to cook quickly so they didn't become overcooked......OMG. WOW..WOW....WOW....WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt just like I was down in the French Quarter in New Orleans......it was absolutely amazing!!!!!!! And...the good news is that I have about half of this shrimp and spicy rice available for dinner tomorrow night!!!! WOW, but it was soooo damn good!!!!!

And sooooo, this day is about completed!!!!! Tomorrow will be a day away from here......and, as always....the burgler alarms go on the minute I leave town!! But, as I always feel AND say......

LIFE IS JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT!!!!!!!......And, I sure hope it is for all of you, also!!!!! (If not, do something about it!)