Update on My Father-In-Law

My father-in-law is better...but he has pneumonia...the doctors think. I have no idea why having pneumonia is "better," but maybe what this means is that the blood clot is going away.

Thanks for keeping him, my mother-in-law, and the family in your thoughts and prayers. I'll keep posting updates as I hear them.

New Design

While this is a rather new blog, you may have noticed that there was a change in the design and colors today. The pixel painting in the upper right hand corner, with the plaid background, is a drawing I created using my Paint Shop Pro 6. And yes, it is of our house...at least the way I want it to look when the front porch has been repaired, the exterior paint job finished, and new flowers planted. Right now it's still looking a little run down around the heels! I took a photograph of the house and using PSP drew over the house with digital paint, changed the colors, highlighted and added shadows, and then used a filter to create a plaid background. I'd love to get some stationery made with this printed on it...actually, I could print some myself! What do you think?

Another Gun Brought to My School

As I added a feed to one of the local television news stations on the right-hand menu on this page (near the bottom), I noticed one of the headlines was "Airsoft gun brought to Spokane middle school." Clicking on the link brought up a photo of my work location and the story of how a pellet gun was brought to the summer school program being held there. (Sigh!) This is the third incident (that I know of) where some type of gun was brought to school in the past 12 months. It's a tough neighborhood, and a tough population of kids, which is why we have chosen not to have our own children attend that particular middle school or the high school that it feeds into. Guns don't scare me; it's the fact that it's the kids who have not been trained properly in gun usage and safety who are the most likely to pull such a stunt. Their reasons for bringing a weapon to school are to show off, protect themselves, or use it for revenge--none of which are very reassuring.

[By the way, the news article was wrong. The school is located in East Spokane, not West.]

June 15 - 29

Here's a summary of what's been going on in our lives. School got out June 15th, the same day Norm's sister and brother-in-law stopped in on their way to Mt. Rushmore from the Portland area with their new-used 5th wheel. We enjoyed the visit and admired their new rig. I have to say that my sister-in-law is pretty handy with the sewing machine and does a great job at decorating!

Saturday, June 16th, Norm's niece Becky graduated from Eastern Washington University with a B.A. The next day, we celebrated the 5th birthday of my sister's middle boy, River, at Chuck E. Cheese's. All last week the kids and I just enjoyed not having to do anything, not being at school, sleeping when we wished! I did work hard for my presentation to the Bonner County Genealogical Society up in Sandpoint, Idaho. More on that here. And Missy started working with her youth group cleaning up the Indians stadium after games to earn credit towards church camp next month.

This week, Missy began her first week of Driver's Ed, two hours a day, three days a week, for five weeks. She and a friend turned in a dozen-anda-half applications and resumes apiece at various business at our nearby mall. Matt started his virtual math class online; he will be in 8th grade next year. The online class is for 9th grade math, and next fall, he will spend one period a day--his math class--at the high school, taking the 10th grade course. I spent several days--ugh!--entering months of receipts into my Quicken program on the computer. In the midst of it all, I discovered that someone had used our credit card number to apparently create a false card and swiped it to make two purchases of gas in Mexico last month! I reported it right away, and it seems to be resolved, thank goodness!

This morning we received an e-mail from Norm's sister telling us his father has been hospitalized for a blood clot in his lung. Things seem to be stable, now, but please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

We have had gorgeous weather for this time of year. Generally, we get a lot of rain during June, that doesn't let up until around the 4th of July. This year, it's been drier and hotter. My rhubarb is more than ready to be picked and frozen, ready to make pies. This year, we got a small yield of sweet, juicy, and huge strawberries (we learned late last year that they shouldn't be fertilized, which is why we never had any fruit before!). My peonies and wild roses were gorgeous, and I'm so sad my digital camera is broken; I would love to post some garden photos on this blog. I planted some petunias again, and the alyssum is starting to bloom. I'm not putting in any perennials until after the porch gets fixed and the house painted. I don't want to spend a lot of money on flowers just to have them trampled during projects and repairs!

Last week, they tore down that house across the street next to KFC. They're going to enlarge the restaurant parking log. It's so sad! The house could have been sold and moved elsewhere. I blogged about it here. Next door, the new duplex is getting finished on the inside. They drywalled most of the week. I hope we get some quiet, clean, private neighbors. It will be unsettling to have people living so close. Their front doors will be on our side, and as that lot is a couple of feet higher, they'll be looking right down into our yard and windows (we have had the blinds shut on that side for some time, now).

In other neighborhood news, the Chevron that we frequently patron, has been sold to a firm from Seattle. The place has been owned by a couple that have wanted to retire. It was a modern version of a mom-and-pop shop. Their adult children worked there, and they always have hired friendly employees. I hope things won't change too much when the new owners take over.

So that has been our summer vacation so far! Thanks for dropping by!

This Week's Family Celebrations and Memorial Events

June is an eventful month in this family. Between Norm and me, we have seven birthdays, an anniversary, Father's Day, and usually a graduation or two to celebrate within our extended families. My grandfather's passing in January brought down the number of birthdays from eight to seven.

This week's celebrations and events:

• June 25th - Happy Anniversary to my parents who are celebrating 42 years together!
• June 26th - In Memorium. My cousin Chris was born on this day 40 years ago. He passed away December 15, 1985. He was more than a cousin; he was a good friend. I miss him and his sister Carrie tremendously.
• June 27th - Happy 63rd Birthday to my mom!
  

Oh, Just One More Thing, Ma'am...

Just what I need: another blog. Problem is, there's too much I want to write about that doesn't fit under genealogy. So here it is, a place to post my other random thoughts and maybe try my hand at some fiction, daily life, rantings & ravings. This is for Everything Else In My Life, and that's why it's called "&Etc."