Potpourri fall '11

We'll start with my new found friend, the portable urinal. I moved back into our bedroom while my bride was out of town, but when she got back and she spotted the urinal hanging in a handy location on the headboard, it was gone. Oh well, form wins over function again. I think the phrase was something like, "either it goes, or I go"... You know the joke..... I'm gonna miss her!!! .... No, I chose her and am glad I did. I guess I can go back to the tension between the stress of a full bladder and the stress of getting out of bed in the middle of the night.

Next is sports. In a year when "my" StL Cardinals looked like they were going down the tube only to come through and become 2011 World Series Champions and the University of Illinois football team starts out like a house afire and is starting to faulter while I also had to witness the second lost match of the Illini volleyball team, the addage of "it ain't over til it's over" rings so true. I have to say that the NFL season is over for me already. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the Colts with Peyton. Seems like Mathus and Freeney can't even hold the opponent when they are on the field the whole game. Jake Cutler spending more time on his back than on his feet is also disheartening. This past Sunday, I didn't even watch any NFL... So we wait now for basketball.... Obviously not the NBA. The Illinois hoopsters start this week and could be interesting... We'll see.

Oh, my knee. There isn't really anything I try to do that I can't except kneel. It is still swollen and they say it will be til Christmas. Keeping up with the exercises and riding a lot of bicycle inside and out. I have a lot of hope for a pain free winter.

Another chapter of our lives seems to have come to an end. While I was taking time off to get my knee fixed, Oregon State University hired a board certified (ACVR) radiologist to work with Dr. Steiger. Good for them, sad for us. Our late winter trips to Corvallis had become quite special for us. Hopefully there will be some instance where they will need me again or we may just have to go for a "for fun" visit. We wish them success in building a great program.

As I write this, my bride is waiting for the gremlins to come to the door to dive into the basket of candy. I'll have to make this quick because it's time for their arrival to begin. Last year at this time she was in a wheelchair following her foot surgery.












One of my magazines had an article about using power tools to carve pumpkins. I thought it was something new, but when I went to research a bit, I found that people have been doing this for a while. I chose a safe and simple design and had at it. I have included pictures of the first one. I then duplicated it and we have 2 of them flanking our front door to greet the little ones. I won't get into why I used this design rather than a face other than, Halloween is not my favorite holiday and I didn't want to go "all out" in embracing the traditions.

That's what's on my mind at this time. Happy November.