Just a short post to update you on another ex-Xangan you might have known.   Sean, who you may have better known as hilaw is having a real tough time as her daughter died this past June.  She blogs sporadically now at http://axiomatiqa.com/

My wife says she wonders sometimes if I'm allergic to her, because I only get my really bad headaches on the days when I'm not working.  My headaches are normally related to my sinuses, and since my job is very physically demanding and done, at least in part, in a refrigerated trailer, the cold and effort get my nose running and I think that's what prevents me getting them on the job.  That said, I started getting one on the way home from work last night, and this morning it turned into a real big one.  I'm just getting over it now,as the sky begins to darken after a decongestant, Aleve, acetominophen, a good nap and running a massage tool on my neck to ease the stress, and on my cheekbone to stimulate sneezing and clear out my sinuses.  She was hoping we could go out tonight, on a date, so I'm hoping it's going away for good.

Danny (15) and Samantha (17) finished their last show of the play "Twelve Angry Men", at the high school this weekend.  It was done on a simple set, but it was an excellent production, as interesting as some of the more complicated shows they've done.  I was a very proud dad to have two of my kids have significant speaking parts in such a small play.

This is Danny, standing.

Samantha is the girl in black and white.

...and the whole jury panel.

Don't know if I've mentioned my physical therapy.  I'm in therapy for plantar fasciitis, pain caused by inflammation of the tendons that run across the bottom of the foot from the heel to the toes. I've been in a lot of pain at work, lately, an awful lot of pain, for almost a year, now.  That translates into my routes taking a lot longer, which means I'm gone from home several hours longer, every time I go to work.  Since I get paid by weight and miles, I get no extra pay for the extra time, and it has been really tough to keep a good attitude.  This week, after a couple weeks of therapy, I finished one of my routes five hours faster than what has been normal.  Also, I finished my route Sunday  and my feet weren't hurting at all. I'm excited that the pain is diminishing, and I'm learning what to do to keep it at bay.

Life's not always easy, but my life is good.  Maybe I'd like some things to change or be easier, but I would be ungrateful to ask for anything more than what I have.  I truly have a better life than I could have imagined.  I think sometimes I wouldn't appreciate what I have as much if it had come without a lot of pain and hard work.  I hope you all are having a good week, and I look forward to reading about how it's going.

Isabel had a bit of a rash Thursday morning, from her ear down to her shoulder but no fever, so my wife rubbed some benadryl (diphenhydramine) ointment on it and sent her off to school with instructions to go to the nurse if it got worse.  Of course, a couple hours later, while my wife was in her own college class, she got a call from the nurse.  It was really bothering her.  Tina picked her up at school and took her to the doctor, just in case.  Turns out it was a reaction to a poisonous plant.  If it were summertime, we would have thought of that, but it's November for Pete's sake!  Where would she have come in contact with what we assumed would be poison ivy?  The doctor showed her a picture of the three most common plants in our area that can cause that reaction.  Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.  Immediately her eyes lit up and she pointed to the picture of poison sumac, "I picked some seeds from one of those plants.  We were walking through the cemetery and I saw the plant and thought it was pretty, so I picked some seeds and put them in my pocket, so I could plant them when I got home."   Luckily for us, she forgot, and they were still in the pocket of the jeans she had been wearing that day. After three years, I've finally (I hope) gotten rid of the poison ivy on our property.  I don't need a new pestilent plant to fight!

If, like me, you'v never seen poison sumac (toxicodendron vernix), here are a couple examples so you can say you learned something today.

I'll try to catch up a little, each time I get a few precious minutes on the computer. My wife is taking college classes, so I only get computer time when she's off at work or busy.  Her communications class is a huge headache, with more homework than any college course I ever took.

Here is the boat I got in trade for my motorcycle. I made the trade in June, and as yet, we still haven't come up with a name.

Here's Isa, my youngest, taking her turn with the sander.

My oldest, Sandra got her Associates degree last spring and is studying computer programming, now.

My wife's boss gave us tickets to a cruise out into the Chesapeake Bay, near Annapolis, to watch the Blue Angels perform for the Naval Academy graduation.

I'm still trying to better my photography skills, and every now and then I get a lucky shot.  The clouds were low this day, but the sun was bright, so the bird was lit like he was in  a studio.

My muscodines came in with a bumper crop this year.  Too bad just my son and I and the dog, Bella, like them.  Most of them just went to waste, but they were pretty, and they smelled wonderful, so all was not lost.  They came in well, even though I pruned them wrong.  I'm guessing it'll be an even bigger crop next year, if they're pruned properly.

There's a start at recalling our family's summer.  How was yours?

I was reading my last post, and it has been a very long time since I've been here.  So let's catch up.

For starters, here's a picture I took at the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, last week.  It's about twenty five minutes from where my daughters practice for the regional youth choir, so if I don't dawdle, I can get there, poke around for a half hour or so and get back just in time for them to walk out of their hour and a half practice. The bridges in the background are the suspension spans between Annapolis and Kent Island, and the towers to the right are near the Naval Academy.  I didn't get the file to upload at full resolution. Honestly, I can't remember how, but that's a bald eagle on the  post between the two sections of reeds, and there are geese landing for the evening as well. I was aiming to get the geese landing, but I didn't even know the bald eagle was there, 'til I downloaded the files to my computer. We hadn't had many geese 'til this past week, and now there are more every day. I hope not, but that's normally a harbinger of hard weather coming soon.

So for those of you who remember that we were getting qualified because my nephew had been removed from his mother,  the home study went well, but at the last minute, they gave my sister in law a reprieve and let her have my nephew back.  They gave her joint custody with my mother in law, which may as well be full custody because they live about an hour apart.  I'm still a bit angry, knowing she put him at risk so many times, but maybe she'll beat the odds and straighten up.  It's been several months and she appears to be holding down a job.

Earlier this summer, I traded my motorcycle for a sailboat. I finally got my boat. All summer, the kids and I worked filling pinholes and restoring the hull to prepare for paint, but the summer ran out before I had time to get all the paint on, so barring a few nice Indian summer days, it looks like it won't be launched 'til spring. I will, though be posting pictures from the summer.  I was very proud, every person at the boat yard has remarked that they have never seen a group of kids come out and work hour after hour without complaining, throughout a summer, like my kids did.

I'm sure there's a whole lot more, but I'll leave it at this for now.  Leave me a link to your best post from the summer and I'll use that as a starting point for catching up.  I missed you all, and I'm excited to be back.