Saturday, January 17, 2009

Tractors, Hats, Ponies & Bulls



It's Stock Show time in Denver. Sis and TMann are in town for a few days so we decided the stock show would be fun and different. TMann enjoyed climbing in and out of the trucks, cars and tractors, riding the pony and sitting on a Brahma Bull.

Here are a few highlights:




Getting a few pointers before tackling that Big Brahma Bull!!!

Yeah! I'm Cool!!!






Saturday, January 10, 2009

Shaky start to 2009

I'm not going to say that 2009 has started out badly, but I haven't found much to be happy about yet...

1. I did connect with someone from the past which felt very good. However, he shared with me that his Grandmother, Adrienne, who at one time I was quite close to, had passed away last month. I found her obituary stating she had passed away on December 12. While searching for her obituary, I found another one from the same family. This was Adrienne's brother-in-law. He passed away just on January 4. So sad... two family members in less than one month.

2. In October I had received an email response from another friend indicating that things were not good in her life as her husband was near death from cancer. I had not heard anything from her since that point so again I went digging. Again, I found the obituary. Her husband passed away on December 19.

3. I've had laryngitis since December 29. A couple of days I had NO VOICE. I have not been sick ... no cold, no aching, no sore throat... just a funny voice. I finally went to the Doctor in January 8. There has been no definitive diagnosis. He gave me a prescription for a steroid for 4 days. If it is not significantly better by Monday, he is going to recommend a visit to an ENT specialist.

4. One of my best friends was laid off from his job on Friday. This is the second layoff since I met him 4 years ago. He's doing ok, but now is not a good time to be looking for a job.

5. The rest of what I'm worried about I'm not going to write, because at this point in time, it's not mine to share.

I'm going to try to keep a positive attitude about the things that can still be changed or improved. There are things to look forward to, but right now it's kind of rough. Just say a few prayers for our country as we head into a new, unknown era.