Digital Choke Daynotes

 Monday, March 28, 2005       mail    link   the story

A pleasant Easter Sunday with the family. We did the Easter Egg hunt. For the grandkids, we put in some spare change in the eggs, rather than candy. And their Easter baskets had books and some toys, along with a bit of candy. They had fun looking for the eggs, and were happy to get the money inside the eggs.

Today is a day off for Pam and I, due to a holiday. We're waiting for some relatives to arrive today. Then we're off to my sister's house for a family get-together. Pam has been making home-made rolls all morning. She uses a breadmaker to make the dough, then forms them into balls and lets them 'proof'. Then into the oven, which causes the house to smell really good. And they taste good also.

In fact, it's off to grab a couple with some butter and strawberry jam.

 Thursday, March 31, 2005       mail    link   the story

It's been a busy and interesting several days. Let's see if I can catch up.

Monday night was a family gathering at my sister's house. We have a rather large family, as you might have guessed from my Father's obituary. There are ten children, 32 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren. And just about all of them were there for the gathering, along with spouses.

We all had a good time visiting with each other. After the initial shyness, the little kids were having fun playing with each other. We had a nice pot-luck dinner, then a bit of remembering stories about Father. He was an excellent chess player, and a bit of a card shark. Even with his macular degeneration (reduces vision to just the peripheral), he was still able to beat you. I never played chess with him, but others said that he was able to beat you in less than ten moves.

Father was also an avid gardener. It was mentioned that his front yard was just average looking, but in the back yard, the raised beds and more than 50 years of cultivating and mulching produced the best fruits and vegetables that you could image. (Note to Brian Bilbrey, who talks about his gardening experiences: you would have enjoyed a tour.)

And, even with the size of the family, every single one was loved and appreciated. He was patient with all of us as we struggled through our lives. He never judged you, but would help you make the right decision if you asked.

The service was on Tuesday, and was well-attended by over 200 of his friends and relatives. It was a tribute to his long life.

So his passing was sad. But the family's knowledge of his reunion with his brother Glen (my father) and Adele (my mother), along with his parents and others than went before, was comforting. The whole family truly believes that "Families can be together forever". I'm not here to preach my religion to you, just wanted you to know that our beliefs helped during this time.

At the cemetery, we had a short ceremony, then we all visited others of our families that were also buried there. There's my father's parents, my parents (both), a stillborn brother.

I can understand if you are a bit puzzled. So some background for those that are interested.

My natural father was killed in a scooter accident when I was 1 1/2. My mother passed of cancer when I was six. So my aunt and uncle, who had 6 children at the time, took in my two older sisters and I. They totally 'blended' our family together, adding one more after we moved in, which gets us to the total of ten children. So, although Father is really my uncle, he is really my Father.

So, although a sad occasion, the whole family had a nice gathering to honor Father's memory. And we made plans for the bi-annual family reunion this summer. It will be at the cabin in the mountains (built by our grandfather during the 1930's).

Which is a whole other story.

 Saturday, April 2, 2005       mail    link   the story

No post yesterday. I was being a bit of an April Fool-azy last night.

But I did notice this site where you can make your own AF search. Go to http://www.mymsnsearch.com/ . You'll be slightly amused.

And there is this site, which is cataloging all the different AF sites...here: http://urgo.org/aprilfools.html . Going there should waste a bit of your surfing time.

Got a few things done around the house today. Nothing major to do here, since the house is only a few years old. I discovered one of the bathroom faucets had a bit of a drip problem, so I took it apart to go get a new washer. I went to Home Depot and Lowe's, but neither had the right part. So I brought it back home, reversed the ceramic washer, put it back together, and no leak.

Pam picked out a new back porch light at Lowe's, so I installed that. And I washed the exterior windows. And spent a bit of time on the back porch reading.

So, a relaxing Saturday, with not too much work involved. Works for me.