Dad 395: February Vision

(Didn't we just ring in the new year? How can a month be gone already? Enjoy Dad's post!  ~ Tracy)

Derf Here! Another sunny, cold day in the Northeast. The experts tell us a little snow is possible in spurts over the next week. We are in February tomorrow. My mother always looked forward to February, thinking "a short month and winter is winding down." I guess that is my vision of February, too.

Next week at this time we'll know how Belichick and Brady handled the Eagles in the Super Bowl. We will be watching and rooting for them this Sunday. GO PATRIOTS!! (Just heard that Gronk will play!! Great!)

Tune in next week and I'll have more updates on the family as we are hoping that winter will be dying slowly. Sooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Not As Stinky

Today was a much better day at work, although one of my colleagues was out sick. So that was a bit of a bummer.

The pile of stuff that was waiting for me on my desk yesterday morning — which was still there this morning — has been dealt with. Hooray for me.

Things should now settle down until month end. Wait... that's tomorrow.

Never a dull moment.  Job security!

Stinky!

I sort of forgot about my blog for a few days. And — of course! — I remember it on what was, for me, a stinky day.

If anything could go wrong at work today, it did. In the whole scheme of life, though, I suppose it wasn't too bad. When I got home, Lew even commented that I didn't appear to be stressed. And tomorrow is a new day.

As for Lew, his day was great... except for the fact that I had a stinky day.
He cares.  💕

Dad 394: The Patriots They May Be A-Changin'

(And we mustn't forget the Pats traded away Jimmy Garoppolo. Boo hoo! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! A very nice sunny day in the Northeast. I believe we made it to the 40s in some areas today. Tonight will be about 10° and the next few days will be colder. No large storms in the future. February only one week away!

 

Well, I watched the Patriots play two games this year and they won them both. Now it is time to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots have had quite a run with Brady and Belichick. I will be surprised if the team stays intact with the lower-tier coaches. The talk is that the offensive coordinator will go to the Colts and the defensive coordinator will also be a head coach somewhere. The Pats will still be a formidable team, but not as dominant as they have been.

 

Reminder that spring training is only a few weeks away. Go, Red Sox!

 

Not too much going on as everything rolls on as we expect and hope it does. Tune in next week and I might have something worthwhile to relate to you. Sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Total Pip!

 

Derf!

Designer Diaper

Sister Debbie organized a diaper decorating activity for one of Kelsey's baby showers. The Maine contingent got to participate before the diapers were sent off.

Here is Bode rocking a diaper designed by Uncle Lew!

READY for another LOAD!

Lew's Logbook: Window Blinds

(Lew worked hard this week. Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

Over the last few years our window blinds have been breaking down.

We have 11 windows that are the same size and they all are covered by 2” faux-wood blinds. The pulley systems have been breaking on the ones we use the most. When that happened, I would do a quick repair and swap the bad one with a blind that we seldom use.

Well, that caught up to me when I realized that five of the blinds were bad…time for new ones.

So, I go to one of the on-line blind retailers that I always hear advertised thinking that it would be the best option. After plugging in the dimensions, my price per was over $70. Seemed a little high to me.

Next step was to Amazon. I found ready-made blinds the proper size that were only $28 apiece. I only ordered one to evaluate. Of course all the hardware was different BUT they fit better, look better and function better than the blinds we have.

I ordered two more to finish the living room.

Then Tracy says “just do them all.” Okay.

The project is now complete and Amazon saved me about $350, plus the blinds were all delivered to my home. (Did I mention free two-day shipping?)

When Amazon takes over the world I hope they remember that I am one of their best customers.

Look Who's One Month Old!

Bode!

Dad 393: Spouse Re-Charging

(As promised, Dad writes today. Enjoy his post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Another bright sunny day in the Northeast with the temperatures about freezing. The day was exceptionally bright and was so bright sunglasses were a necessity.

 

Totally forgot about blog yesterday so I took the day off. Did get the yard plowed as we had about six inches of snow. Not difficult to move. Got the yard nice and clean today. Next few days are supposed to be great. Patriots will have a great day Sunday for the Jacksonville game. Not an easy game. GO PATS!! Let's go to the Super Bowl.

 

Great-grandson Bode is one month old tomorrow. He has changed from a puffy baby to a fine-tuned one-month-old. Growing up too fast.

 

Spouse continues to maneuver around the house with her one-armed walker (she is doing what her daughters have ordered her to do). She uses her iPad so much that we now have a plug to re-charge it at the couch. I no longer have to re-charge it every night. It is her responsibility to keep it charged. She continues to eat well (as well as possible with her chef). Prayers are still welcome for her physical improvement. Thanks.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Let It Snow!

Wednesday's are normally Dad's day to write, but he is taking a "snow day" and instead will write on Thursday this week.

So please check in tomorrow for Derf's weekly installment on Mainely Tracy.

(P.S. It snowed pretty much all day. Lew chauffeured me to and from work. Thank you, Sweetie!)

Some Things Are Not Meant to Be Shared

Some nasty bug is going around at work. Four people (that I know of) were out sick today.

Me?  I feel fine.  Cold and tired, but fine.

I don't think any of my co-workers read my blog, but — just in case they do — I have a message for them:

If you are ill, thank you for keeping your germs at home!

Happy Birthday, Jerry!

It probably isn't his real birthday, but January 15th is the day we chose as Jerry's birthday.  He is six years old.

Lew and I sang "Happy Birthday" to him tonight. He even received a "Happy Birthday" e-mail from his veterinarian's office. (I showed him the e-mail on my phone, but he didn't seem all that interested.)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Kitty! You make life much more fun!

A Hole in the Wall

Last weekend was so cold that our washing machine wouldn't work. The water wouldn't run into the machine because the pipes were frozen.

We tried various things all day on Saturday to try to remedy the situation, but nothing worked.  Lew and Dad were concerned the pipes would burst.

In what I viewed as a desperate move, Lew cut a hole in the wall in back of the washing machine. It's a false wall, so he was hoping the hole would allow the heat to get in and circulate. (The outside temperature was not expected to increase overnight, so we knew Mother Nature wasn't going to fix anything.)

When I got up early Sunday morning, I decided to see if the washing machine would work — just for yuks.

And guess what?  Running water!!!  It was music to my ears.

A lesson learned:  Sometimes you really do need to make a hole in your wall.

Bathtime for Bode

My sister Kim is so excited about having her first grandbaby and I am excited for her!

I do wish Illinois and Maine weren't so far apart. Photos will have to do for now.

Last weekend I received these from Kim via text message — a bath picture and two post-bath pictures.  (Bode's bath, not Kim's — Ha ha!)

"What's going on here? I am very concerned."

"Wow! That ordeal tired me out."

"Are YOU looking at ME?"

Our Meowing Duo

When you have a headache and just want to crawl into bed, it is a good time to share a cat photo as your blog post.

Here is a cat photo.

Jerry and Marilyn, two top kitties!

Dad 392: Look, Ma!

(I never thought 30-degree weather would bring me such joy! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! We have certainly enjoyed the last two days. Finally reached temperatures above freezing since before Christmas. Perhaps rain in the next few days. No big snowstorms seen for the future!

 

I did not watch any NFL games during the regular season. Well, I will watch the playoffs. (I said I would not watch NFL football until the playoffs.) Now that I'm back – GO PATS! Not too many chances coming down the road. Maybe this will be their last chance for a while.

 

Spouse canceled her appointment last Friday at the doctor. We visit him once a month but he told her not to come in bad weather. She did, however, get to her dentist appointment yesterday for her six-month cleaning. No cavities. Just a regular report. She never has cavities. Grew up in Maryland with chloride in the water. Works well!

 

Looking for the weather to remain warm with no snow. Sooo....

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

The Cold, Cold Weekend

It is currently 29-degrees outside. After the weekend we just experienced, it feels like we are having a heat wave!

Stay warm, everyone!

(Postscript:  The weather really is the hot topic at the moment, ha ha!)

The Blank Post

Somehow I created a blank entry on this blog today.

I do believe it was one of my best posts!

But now I've ruined it by actually writing something. 😜

Please forgive me for not writing anything more spectacular.

It is so cold here that I think my brain waves are frozen. Brrrrr....

The "Tail" of the Black Box

This afternoon at work I was summoned into the owner's office. He was slowly taking the lid off of a black box and I was to look inside at the contents.

My initial thought was, "This is some sort of trick," so I proceeded with caution.

Here is what I saw:

The owner's wife had trapped this little guy inside of their house. They didn't want to put him out into the cold, so the owner brought him to the office — which is what everyone does after they find live rodents in their homes.

When I first met this little mouse, his fate was yet to be decided. By the end of the day, he was granted a temporary home at our workplace. He will be the mascot in one of our medical classrooms.

The plan is to release him into the wild this Spring if he lives that long... and if we don't get too attached to him.

Lenny, the Lab Mouse.

BLIZZARD!

It's pretty bad outside as I type this.

I did go to work this morning; Lew drove me. He wanted to stop at Mr. Bagel on the way, but it was closed! A lot of places were closed for the entire day.

Our office was pretty much shut down by 2pm. My supervisor goes right by my house on her way home (depending on what route she takes), so I hitched a ride home with her. She thought she had two scrapers/brushes in her car, so we were all set to team up to get her car cleaned off... but apparently her husband had removed both items for some reason! So we used our gloved hands and one of her credit cards. Credit cards do make great scrapers.

I am ready for the blizzard to end now, but I don't think it really cares about my wishes.

Dad 391: Weather or Not

(*No... don't bring it on! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! Today was a beautiful day and the temperature went above 20° for the first time in several days. Huge snowstorm for tomorrow and back into frigid air for the next few days (perhaps the coldest weather in 100 years). Probably about a foot of snow tomorrow! Bring it on!*

 

Not much to say tonight except everyone is now back to their work and school. Seems to be normal except for the cold, cold weather. Seems like the big news is the weather. Spring is only a few months down the road. Can't wait.

 

Tune in next week and I'll try to have a better blog. That's it for now!

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Cold

On this 2nd day of 2018, I have only one question:

"Where is my global warming?????"

Brrrrr!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Have you made any New Year's resolutions?

I'm not calling them resolutions. Instead I have a phrase for the year 2018: Follow through.

This is the year I will read some big books that I've had sitting around ("big" as in content and number of pages). 

Lew has been wanting to "de-clutter" our kitchen cabinets and the back room upstairs, so that's finally going to happen.

And — of course — I'm going to eat better and exercise regularly. Really... I mean it this time.

There are other things I'd like to accomplish during 2018, so stay tuned to find out if I follow through!