please pardon the merriment

We all met at the Freygangs for lots of food, desserts and fun. We unwrapped the gifts with joy and Lilly saw fit to shred up paper that was strewn about. We are wishing you the very best this season and throughout the year!

We took a break and played Family Feud on DVD and the ladies beat the men by many points. If you haven't played the game -- well, you'll find that sometimes you do very well and other times not so well.

Marcus got a chance to watch movies with Diane and Jim and we found a stinker and a boring stinky one, namely Ghost Rider and Phantom Menace, respectively. Candy Cane wishes and Sugar Plum dreams!!

Drive safely this Winter

I understand that I once had a car

My car needed fixing ... it took that shop 8 days and it still isn't right. I have had to borrow a car. My anger is an ulcer.

Happy birthday Jennifer

In this series, you'll note that I had no good picture of Father as he was upset. James was upstairs ill, and Joe wasn't there for he spent his time being a jack--fill in the blank. It was quiet, calm and enjoyable. She's 20 and there's no way to tell where she's going.

Happy birthday Jenny!

sputter cough

That was my car ... at 1:40 a.m. I had thankfully returned to hometown by that time, but my car wasn't going to make it to the auto shop. I waited on the phone with AAA for 20 minutes to find a driver. Twenty minutes after that, he arrived and took the damaged car to auto shop, me in the cab. Apparently I did more damage to the car when it slid out of control, than I thought.

It was just what I really wanted for Christmas -- a repair bill.

I do, again, thank God that I got it to hometown and that I limped it to a gas station where I could stand in a HEATED place waiting for tow truck. It was also nice I could drive it back and forth to work until Tuesday when I could get it fixed.

View of the farm

I pulled an incomplete James Dean by going off the road last night in terrible road conditions. I was going faster than I should and what I didn't know was that the left lane was 60% worse than the right lane. I skidded out of control, thankfully not hitting the car near me, then sliding across the highway divider and onto the northbound lane and up onto the other side of the road and finally bumping into a farmer's fence.

The car is fine -- undamaged and rides just fine, but I'll need to get an alignment just to make sure. I don't think I would have had such a nice landing with the old car of mine. I have another blog for geared for my reverence for God, but I'll thank God here anyway.

Thanks God for your miraculous saving of me!

The roads were just complete crap yesterday and especially last night with rain, then sleet, then rain again. I don't mind snow, I don't mind rain, but frozen roads I hate. I saw many cars off road -- done for the weekend. God apparently was thinking I was still needed.

for Debbie

Laz

Well, Lois is perpetually tired and no test has shown why. Thomas is therefore, perpetually worried about Lois. With the exception of being tired ... everyone seems to be doing well. There isn't much new save for the onset of dreary weather ... sunless days and frosty cold days and nights.

Marcus is sick of many aspects of his job. In some ways he is making strides, yet in other ways ... spinning his wheels.

looser vice

If there was a vice on our backs, necks and heads, it loosed one quarter turn. Joe had legal problems and it appears, through God's will alone, that he has been spared a worse penalty for a lighter one. Today Thomas gets X-Ray while Lois gets coumadin check. Yep... blood is still red and flowing. See you in three weeks.

tired, sore, more active

Lois is just that! I wish that she generally felt better, but she doesn't. Thomas is doing well and a small bit of stress has been lifted from him. In general, the family is well.

Marcus is diligently working on things for work that the GM apparently doesn't get. Arrogant as it sounds, he feels his knowledge will soon surpass the GM's, for the GM is not tech savvy, appears not to quickly get math, and well ... Anyway, Marcus has accomplished some things and he hopes to get more done still.

Turkey Day

It was a small gathering, quiet, but we had a chance to play games. We also watched Transformers. As you can see, Lilly wanted to be in the center, on your shoulder, and elsewhere. She was whining to get food.

Jessica won all the loot when we played Tripoly.

I give thanks for the time with family and that we were all safe, sound, collected, and had a good time. Thanks God for everything!

+ the man with the earring is Zane, Jessica's boyfriend

step, pull, step, pull

No more! Lois had her stitches removed yesterday and feels better for it. There is no more pulling due to those accursed stitches! I should have looked into getting a fold installed for gorge days like this ... "switching to belly number two now".

Happy Thanksgiving!

help

I helped neighbor today clean out the gutters. He wanted to cut down some limbs, but that wasn't safe. I was looking at either severing his power, his cable, or electrocuting myself. I opted for none of the above. I cleaned out the folks' gutter, then finally started getting leaves. I hope that the city gathers the stuff soon -- piles and piles on the eavesment and on the streets. Naughty us ... shouldn't be on the street.

Thanks to Joe, my battery was changed. It took the removal of a wheel guard, filters, filter casings and tools. It also took about an hour. Thankfully, the battery that was changed appeared to be in need of changing. It was old, old, old looking.

Shuffle

Oh, oh, oh---- it's the Lois shuffle.+ Lois has bouts of yawn = tired. Waking + shower = tired. Eating = tired. You'd think there was a glucose (diabetes) issue, but that might not be it. I think, if she can muster up the courage, walking, walking, walking might be the key.

In a small highlight, Thomas got to golf on Wednesday!

+ to the tune of Harlem Shuffle, one six more-well known versions

Joe V

Neighbor needed to go to emergency room. He couldn't reach family, so he called me. I got him to emergency room for kidney stones. Good news for him, he was discharged today!

Is it an illusion or ...

is there a tall person and short person in this photo. Thanks to Beth for this photo.

Despite gloom... lovely colors of

Despite gloom... lovely colors of autumn. Thanks, God, for car good on rain & colors-however dimmed.

Well enough to walk

The sound might be inaudible, but there is the clear picture that she's happy to be walking. She had been bed-rested for a long, long time.

As I left tonight, she had not yet been moved to another room. She is in an ICU room, but is not in danger, thankfully.

on few monitors

Lois is still in hospital, but she is doing fine and they are monitoring only her heart rate. She had bleeding and clotting from an outpatient surgery, so they had to remove the large clot, then put in a drain. She had a smaller drain they will implant tomorrow and its removal on Wednesday. So, Lois again gets to stay a week in hospital. She never has a short visit.

She is reasonably well and was reading Better Homes & Gardens when I saw her after work. Sleep is not in the cards for me this week. Next week, maybe, but not likely.

My mom made it through

My mom made it through 2 surgeries. 1 more on wednesday. then I can sleep.