A New Year

Wow. 2007. What a year 2006 was!

My tax check brought me a new cam-corder. I knew I had to purchase and install a firewire in the pc to upload my new videos, but that would have to come later - actually bought it just a month ago! But I have had some fun taking odd videos of assorted antics over this past year.

Dan found a job up here in Lafayette and moved in. This left his mom, Rose, at home. That seemed to trigger a dimentia that we suspected but were not aware of it's severity. According to the doctors, it is not Alzheimers... just a type of 1 minute loop of short term memory. She realized it herself as well. It was a very difficult move, but we found her a home. She is comfortable and well-cared for, if not happy. She truly misses her home, but is not able to care for herself alone.

Then, with all this stress and many years of smoking, Dan had a heart attack in June. After surgery & stints & a very long recovery, he is now doing very well - except for the odd cigarette sneaked in. His bad cholesterol is actually down to 58!!! He is really enjoying working at the Historical Lahr House and the people he works with... (see pic of Scott singing in blog below - that's his boss) I'm so glad that has worked out for him.

Our event season was light. We drove to Theatiki in Bourbonnais, IL in our civvies. The radio had heat warnings issued, telling everyone to stay in their homes with a/c. Where were all our friends? Yep, dressed in wool uniforms, playing with guns. I've got a few videos of that weekend that I will try to post later. Like I said earlier, we were in shorts and tanks. July was too early for Dan to try to stress out in that heat.

Later in the year Waste' and I began and finished our first agility class. Poor Dan was pressed into making pvc jumps for the back yard as well as a shoot and teeter board. In the beginning, the jumps were easy and the contact obstacles scary. She continued to jump off the dog walk and froze half way up the A frame. With much encouragement and treats these are now her favorite things to do. She especially likes to 'pose' for praise on the contact points.

Our next class begins tomorrow. It is at a later time so if we make noise on the teeter board (she LOVES to slam it down), it will not disturb the beginner class in the next arena. Waste' got a new slip/tug lead for Christmas and we cannot wait to try it out!

I did get to visit my folks for a time this past Fall. My dad had some surgery, so we timed it that I would arrive just as he was released. That worked out well. I even had the chance to teach my mother how to gas up the car for herself. This is unbelievable to me as she had driven a truck as a WAC in WWII - but true nonetheless. I have to say that he looked much better when I left than when I arrived. The largest frustration of all of this is the inept communication between the hospital, surgeons and doctors. I will refrain from going into detail. You are welcome.

While I was down there, my mother presented me with a list of computer issues. One was a problematic keyboard. I never addressed that because it never happened during the whole visit. It did reappear after I left, however. I suggested she call Dell. When ordering them a new computer, I opted for Dell because I had heard how great their customer service is. Well, I was wrong! They (my mother and Dell) spent hours on this problem - days even. Dell sent them a new keyboard and mailed me a bill for it. It appears Dell's customer service is yet another who has outsourced to India. My mother is 84 years old and could not understand a word they said. After a couple of months of this she called the magazine 'Smart Computing' and they resoved it within a half-hour. 'Smart Computing' rocks!

So, that brings my life pretty much up-to-date. Will hope to post more photos and videos soon.

Slainte!