| Evelyn's home! |
[Jan. 24th, 2009|09:55 pm] |
Evelyn came home this morning. She's on steroids and antibiotics for a few more days, and she has to have a breathing treatment every 4 hours. She's really happy to be home with the cats again.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts. We really appreciated the support. |
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| Evelyn is sick |
[Jan. 23rd, 2009|04:32 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
I hate to break a long spell of silence with bad news, but this is an easy way to share info with the people who care.
On Tuesday, Evelyn got a head/chest cold. She developed a fever on Wednesday, and she wasn't getting better by Thursday, so her pediatrician told us to take her to the ER. They discovered that she has pneumonia in her right lung. All the coughing ruptured some of the small airways in her lungs, so she also developed an air pocket in the protective sac around the heart and lungs. This is not super-dangerous, but it could lead to an infection.
Evelyn stayed at the hospital last night so they could monitor her blood oxygen level. During the night, it dropped into unsafe range, so they gave her some oxygen while she slept. When she's awake, her oxygen level is low, but safe. They took another chest X-ray this morning, but we haven't discussed it with the doctor yet. I'm sure if they saw the air pocket was bigger, they would have told us immediately. We hope they will send her home tonight because her oxygen levels have been pretty good, and her cough is getting better.
Evelyn's spirits are OK. She loves playing with the electric bed, even though it annoys everyone else in the room. We can tell she's getting bored watching TV because we have to keep telling her to get back in bed. Grandma came to Evelyn's "hospital sleepover" last night. If they don't send her home this evening, I'm going to take some movies over and stay with her tonight. It's a good thing we don't have anything planned for tomorrow, because we're all exhausted. |
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| StarWars Pocketmodel review |
[Nov. 7th, 2008|03:25 pm] |
Annoying Glue By Atavus from Indianapolis, IN on 11/7/20083out of 5 Pros: Good family game, Fun Cons: Flimsy Describe Yourself: Casual Player This boxed set is a good introduction to the game, but some of the parts on the pre-assembled model are glued in place. It is impossible to take apart the model for storage without breaking it. Previous boxed sets in this series included a card checklist, but this edition didn't. (legalese) |
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| Changing times |
[Nov. 7th, 2008|03:20 pm] |
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What ever happened to good cartoons? Afternoon cartoons used to be entertaining and vaguely socially redeeming. Now, they are just extended commercials for trading-card games. Sigh! |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|03:42 pm] |
My cold is almost gone! Grandma is out of town this week, so I'm staying home from our building project to watch the kids. It's really great to get back to a normal routine, but it will be hard to leave again next week.
I hope to get some garden plants in the ground this week. It's so good for my soul to work in the garden! This year we're planning tomatoes, peppers, beans, lettuce, carrots, and some more herbs. |
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| Sniffles |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|08:30 am] |
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Thanks to relatively clean living and huge doses of vitamin C, I have managed to avoid getting sick all winter. Now that the weather is getting nice again, I'm getting a sinus infection! Aargh! |
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| Long time no write |
[Feb. 15th, 2008|04:09 pm] |
I just realized I haven't written in 56 weeks. A lot has happened since my last post. Last May, we adopted the cutest little pug/corgi puppy from our neighbors. Unfortunately, after $1500 in vet bills, we had to euthanize him. When puppies are in utero, there's a blood vessel that bypasses the liver because the mother is filtering the pups' blood. This blood vessel is supposed to be re-absorbed after the puppy is born. In our puppy's case, it stayed active, keeping his liver from growing and functioning properly. There was a possibility of correcting the problem with a $5000 surgery, but we decided that was too much money to spend on a "free" puppy.
Since May, I've been "roughing it" on our property in southern Indiana while I'm building a house. I'm home most weekends, but I spend the week staying on a cot in the mobile home we used to live in. While it was abandoned for a few years, vandals stole anything they could. There's no heat except for portable heaters. The only running water we have is from the bathtub, so we have to flush the toilet with a bucket. "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down". If the temperature drops below 25, the water freezes completely. We're building a two story, 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house. It will have about 1100 square feet of finished living space, with a 1 car garage. It has been an adventure! I have handled almost every piece of material that has gone into the house. We almost have the upstairs (bedrooms, kitchen, and bath) finished. When it is done, we are going to rent it to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) innanna7 and her family.
We're making progress on our other major construction project too. Last weekend we tore down the rotten house standing on the future site of the Onnophris temple. It was surprisingly sturdy, considering that the outside walls were mostly rotten and the roof had collapsed in several places. There's still a huge pile of rubble that needs to be loaded into a dumpster, but it's demolished enough that people will quit breaking into it to steal wiring, siding, etc. |
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| Evelyn's thought for the day |
[Nov. 13th, 2006|10:45 am] |
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Evelyn noticed the cat cleaning itself. She said "Look Daddy, he eating his self". Seeing the world from the perspective of a 2 year old is so refreshing! |
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| An odd dream |
[Oct. 31st, 2006|02:35 pm] |
One night last week I had a strange dream. I was attending a class on invoking spirits, which was being led by Lon Duquette. We were meeting in the living room of an apartment I didn't recognize. My wife and kids were there, as well as a few local OTO people, and some "extras" I didn't recognize.
We did a group exercise to invoke a Jovial spirit, in which we stood in a circle chanting the spirit's 3-syllable name. During the chanting, I felt Lon touch my forearm. When I opened my eyes, I expected to see Lon motioning for me to make a silly sign with my hand on my forehead when I felt the spirit's presence. Instead, he wanted every other person in the circle to step into the center and walk slowly clockwise. After a few minutes, we stopped. Lon announced a potty break, after which we would discuss our perceptions.
During the break, I floated up to the ceiling. My 2 1/2 year old daughter came into the room and asked "Daddy, what you doing up there?" When Lon came back, he said "well, that's never happened before". |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 20th, 2006|08:39 am] |
Yippee! Rose is on fall break for a week, so I don't have to rush around getting her ready for school in the morning. Both kids can sleep in as late as they want, giving Dad a little time for himself in the morning.
We have some fun things planned for next week. Rose and I are going rock climbing in Bloomington one afternoon, followed by hiking and an overnight stay at my favorite campsite in Hoosier National Forest.
One afternoon later in the week, we hope to spend a few hours lobbing cannonballs at each other in a rousing game of "Pirates". |
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| Musings on kids and dance |
[Oct. 17th, 2006|12:32 am] |
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It's fun to watch Rose at her dance class because I get to see the "aha" moments. When she is learning a new move or sequence, she looks like she is having seizures, or something. It seems that no amount of watching the instructor or the other students will shorten this awkward period. At some point, after trying the move a few times, something just "clicks", and she can do it easily. I can see the realization dawning on her face before it manifests in her body. It sometimes brings tears to my eyes to see the look of triumph on her face when she "gets it". |
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| testing new goodies |
[Oct. 16th, 2006|08:12 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | the menu music from Barbie "Fairytopia" | ] |
I just installed an LJ client on my palm. So far, it seems to work pretty well! Hopefully being able to compose journal entries anywhere during "down time" will help me post more often. |
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| News update |
[Oct. 5th, 2006|01:34 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
Monday afternoon I got fired from my non-profit, overworked, underpaid secretarial job. They have been looking for an excuse to fire me for about a year and a half. Truthfully, I would have quit this job a few months ago but I was waiting for them to fire me so I could get unemployment.
They are paying me for my vacation, which lasts until Wednesday. I'm looking for something else, but luckily I can afford to be selective. If I don't find a job I like that will pay what I'm worth, I'll just be the "at home" dad for a while and catch up on my project list! |
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| Madonna controversy |
[Aug. 30th, 2006|01:43 pm] |
A while back, I heard on NPR that there are some people objecting to Madonna singing "Live to Tell" wearing a red dress and hanging on a big mirrored cross. Not having the greatest memory, I looked up the lyrics:
I have a tale to tell
Sometimes it gets so hard to hide it well
I was not ready for the fall
Too blind to see the writing on the wall
A man can tell a thousand lies
I've learned my lesson well
Hope I live to tell
The secret I have learned, till then
It will burn inside of me
I know where beauty lives
I've seen it once, I know the warm she gives
The light that you could never see
It shines inside, you can't take that from me
The truth is never far behind
You kept it hidden well
If I live to tell
The secret I knew then
Will I ever have the chance again
If I ran away, I'd never have the strength
To go very far
How would they hear the beating of my heart
Will it grow cold
The secret that I hide, will I grow old
How will they hear
When will they learn
How will they know
Personally, I don't see why people are so offended by Madonna's interpretation. I think she is exploring some interesting territory here. Considered as the inner dialogue of Christ as he hung on the cross, the song hints at a more Gnostic interpretation of his mysteries, and shows his human side as he wrestles with the uncertainty of the path that has been chosen for him. |
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| Another successful event |
[Aug. 24th, 2006|02:57 pm] |
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Yesterday's fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association raised almost $80,000 for the 33 patients we serve in Tippecanoe County. It was an awesome thing to be so busy counting people's money that we didn't have a chance to add up a total until everyone was gone for the day. Thanks to minerva5 for the crash space! |
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| A curious anniversary |
[Aug. 16th, 2006|01:55 pm] |
Several years ago, I realized that 2007 will be the 700th anniversary of the fall of the Knights Templar. At that time, I thought it might be neat to do something special to commemmorate the anniversary. I just discovered that this year is even more significant.
Some of you may already know that the widespread arrest of the Templars on Friday, October 13, 1307 is the reason why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky. This year marks the 100th time October 13th has come on a Friday since that fateful day in 1307.
Now I guess I will have to do something special both years! |
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| One Soldier's View |
[Aug. 7th, 2006|05:04 pm] |
Recently, I've been lurking in several discussions based on the notion of "Military Discipline". Since some of the participants in these discussions may not have any direct experience with the subject, it may prove useful to examine the foundations of this discipline. Every trainee in the modern US military is taught to observe these three general orders:
1st General Order
I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.
2nd General Order
I will obey my special orders and perform all my duties in a military manner.
3rd General Order
I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions, to the commander of the relief.
To members of the OTO, some or all of these should sound vaguely familiar, depending on one's progress through the initiatory system. These general orders are sound advice, whether we're talking about the military, the OTO, or our daily lives:
1. Know the scope of your own authority, and be responsible.
2. Manage your affairs in an exemplary manner.
3. Know the rules, live by them, and use the "chain of command".
Soldiers are not required to follow unlawful orders, but they are duty-bound to use the chain of command to resolve them when perceived.
We're not in a democracy here folks. The OTO is a military order. If we don't like it, we have two choices. We can take our toys and go find others to play with elsewhere, or we can work within the system to affect change responsibly.
As for me, the choice is clear. Long Live the King! |
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| My dad's "celebration of life" |
[Aug. 1st, 2006|11:23 pm] |
Last Saturday was my dad's memorial service, styled by the family as a "celebration of life". It was good to see so many people from different parts of my father's life come together to celebrate in song and remembrance, but I’m still dealing with lingering discomfort about some parts of the service.
The service was co-officiated by the regular pastor of the church in Thorntown, and my step-brother John, who is also a Methodist minister.
The service opened with a prayer and several hymns. My sister tells me that before his death, my dad told her what hymns he wanted at the service. I thought he made pretty good choices, even though they weren't the ones I remember him liking when I was a kid. Tastes change over time.
The bulk of the service was open for people to stand and share something about my father. It took a little while, but eventually several people spoke up. During one pause, my step-brother John took his turn, which lasted about 20 minutes. I felt that John took up too much time, keeping more timid people from saying anything.
I also feel that John didn’t characterize my father accurately. Saying that it was particularly appropriate for Dad, John told a story about a man lost in the woods at night, who gets so scared that he runs off a cliff. He tries to hang on to some roots, but eventually he falls, and is caught in the arms of God. This story wasn’t appropriate for Dad. First of all, he would never get lost in the woods. He was more at home outdoors than in. More importantly, he wasn’t afraid of death, and he certainly didn’t try to cling frantically to life.
At another point, John claimed "I hate doctors, but I know Duane (my dad) hated them more". My dad may have disliked medical procedures, but he never “hated” anyone at any time in his life.
I appreciate the contribution that the Thorntown pastor made to Dad’s service, but I resent the fact that John turned the service into a call to evangelize. It felt like his message was “go out there, find people who have not accepted Christ, and convert them, because it’s what Duane would have wanted.” I don’t feel that this was in keeping with the way my father lived his life. Yes, Dad was a good person and a good Christian, but being a good Christian didn’t MAKE him a good person. The fact that he was a good person made it easy for him to be a good Christian. As Dad got older, he approached his faith with more zeal, but he never lost respect for other people’s views. Dad accepted people the way they are, and he lived his life as an example that people could follow if they chose. Dad was humbly pleased and thankful if his example led people to the Church, but he NEVER judged anyone for NOT making that choice.
Since my dad’s death, I have been searching for a way to satisfy two basic needs. I feel the need to honor Dad’s life in a way that he would appreciate, but I also need a way to express my own thoughts and feelings and grow with them in a way that is personally meaningful. Because I don’t share the same faith that was such a big part of Dad’s life, no “church service” in either of our traditions will satisfy both of these needs.
In Dad’s memory, my boss gave me a membership in the Arbor Day Foundation, which includes ten trees. I think I will find the planting of those trees to be the most appropriate celebration of my father’s life. |
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| Kelly Clarkson concert |
[Jul. 26th, 2006|02:35 pm] |
At the last minute, I was asked to load out the Kelly Clarkson concert last night. As usual, I took a walk through the crowd before clocking in. It was strange to see so many little kids at a concert. I swear the average age of the crowd must have been 15!
The coolest thing about the show was the moving video wall. They had eight 8x8 foot video panels mounted on motorized trollies so they could traverse the entire width of the stage. The trollies each had a cable winch that allowed the screens to be raised and lowered too. The effect was much like one of those sliding tile puzzles. It was fun to watch it operate, but a pain in the butt to tear down. The thing required literally miles of cables and enough truss sections to fill an entire semi trailer. |
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