| Ameilia et. al. visited this last weekend. As always, Barbara enjoyed playing with grandkids. |
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Doesn't this look like fun? |
| But this time, Barbara had bigger fish to fry, and shanghaied their father to evaluate a vehicle. The VA has offered to furnish and install (on her car) a lift for her electric wheel chair. Contrary to the information the contractors first supplied, they were unable to use the Kia, as it's under carriage was "too flimsy." Since then, Barbara has wanted to procure another horse. |
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We settled on a Mercedes-Benz (if you crash into a tree, that's the way the Mercedes bends) ML3 class. This is a sport utility vehicle, and was advertised as being "loaded," although looking at the options listed on the Blue Book site, one might arrive at a slightly different conclusion. None-the-less, after Wyatt begrudgingly gave it his blessing (As you know, Wyatt never whole-heartedly blesses anything that doesn't say, "FORD" on the side.), we moved forward with the acquisition. |
| The beast is ten years old, and cost us just less than 17 cents on the dollar of its $34,300 new. I don't think it wanted to leave the rich surrounding, to which it had become accustomed, and come live with us. As evidence of this I cite the difficulty *we encountered in attempting to transfer the title. *(Mainly being Barbara doing the running back and forth from town.) On the first try, the DMV guy smiled and said, "We can't do this today, because the owners are listed as, "and/or" and only one of them has signed the release line on the title." On the second try, the DMV guy smiled and said, "We can't do this today because the second owner signed the title in the wrong spot." Hopefully, the third try, which is happening as this is being scribed, is the charm. On Monday Barbara plans to take it into South Tucson and have the lift installed. Then, perhaps she'll be able to use the $5,000 powerchair issued to her. | |
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I took a quick drive to Woodruff to visit my brother, Mark. Other than being tied to an oxygen generator, and needing a cane to ambulate, he seemed to be doing well. Being a novice in dealing with the medical/industrial complex, he didn't have too many answers to questions about what happens next in his quest for the return of good health. This doctor is on vacation this week, and that doctor is waiting for test results, etc., etc., etc. I guess the bottom line is that he isn't dead yet... Stay tuned for late breaking news.
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| I didn't have a chance to talk to the locals, but it appears that an effort to consolidate governments in the Snowflake/Taylor area is underway. From the signs here and there, I surmise that this effort is meeting with some opposition. | |
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I think we have settled on dates for our next bicycle extravaganza. AJ's semester ends some time around May 19th, so we are riding May 22 thru 30. I am persuaded that the method employed on our Provo to Canada trip works best for a fat old man, so we plan to start in Douglas, ride north (on the down hill portions only) to Muley Point, Utah, and then turn around and ride back south (again only on the down hill portions). |
| In an effort to evaluate the Bike-E recumbent, I took it on a morning jaunt to Picacho. Clearly, I don't like it as well as I like the Linear, but I experience difficulty articulating what characteristics are objectionable. Perhaps I just appreciate the feeling that under-the-seat steering gives of flying down the road with nothing in front of you. The main objective of this exercise (in addition to the obvious need for conditioning and the obtaining of a chocolate dipped medium cone) was to decide whether or not to replace Bike-E. To this point that decision continues to elude me, and perhaps this issue (like so many before it) will be decided by inertia. | |
| We had talked of doing it for years but, until now, had not taken the plunge. We purchased two peach trees. As it turns out, all commercial peach trees have a top grafted onto a different rootstock. The tops are cuttings from trees that produce known varieties of fruit. Their offspring seldom have the same characteristics as the parent tree. That is confusing, but the bottom line is that caring for peach trees is a bit of a pain, and we may be in for more than we bargained for. At any rate, I am digging up the back yard, and in three to five years, may find myself pontificating on the virtues of homegrown peaches. But with all things considered, I suspect the smart money would bet against that. |
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AJ was kind enough to supply me with an iTouch. I have tried to stay current with innovations, but the cold hard facts of the matter are that anyone born before the invention of the transistor will never be completely comfortable functioning in cyberspace. Still, I try (and try not to ask the question, "Why would I want that?"). |
| On this iTouch is a program entitled Ward Tools, which was the motive force behind my desire to make this quantum leap (from an iPod to an iTouch). I don't know where he got it, or how he knew what to get, but this application (I'm still not comfortable using the word, "app" [if, in fact, it is a word]) is exactly what I wanted. It requires help from the ward clerk to download the information from MLS, but after some small struggle, I made it work. Now the device contains almost all the information that a clerk might want to know while sitting in leadership meeting where needs of ward members are being discussed. It also has the hymns, lesson manual, scriptures, Ensign articles, etc. that a member is likely to use. I even sing from it, more for the novelty than any other reason. I have been assigned to teach the Priesthood lesson this coming Sunday, and am considering using just that device. Then again, maybe that would be a bit ostentatious. |
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On a bit of a sad note, Sun Life Family Health Center has made the decision to close the X-ray department at the clinic where I work. The main tube (what ever that is) in the X-ray machine burned out, and its' replacement cost was circa $9000. According to the powers that be, SLFHC has lost a half million dollars on that department over the last ten years. That figure seems a bit steep to me, but maybe... Three observations. First, I will miss Chris, the X-ray guy, because I liked him. Given the male to female ratio of the employees there, the estrogen levels occasionally get a bit out of hand, and it was nice to have someone around to whom I could speak logically. Second, I will miss Chris, the X-ray guy, because I have been tasked with ordering office supplies for the clinic--a job he performed. Third, I will miss Chris, the X-ray guy, because his departure may herald a new round of cost cutting measures that will eventually result in closure of the lab where I work... Food for thought? |