Xbox – Wii Lots of fun, but…

Both of our kids’ families have these games.    But, yesterday afternoon Aaron broke his foot playing track and field on their new Xbox.  Even worse, it was on my watch.   We had been bowling, but Evan, the three-year-old was bored and we went upstairs.  Sounds like Aaron jumped up and just landed wrong. 

Wouldn’t you know, New Years Eve.  He has a temporary boot on and will see the doctor on Monday.  He’s a real trouper and will be fine.    Still, not a good thing for him or the family.  He’ll have a few days yet to get used to the crutches before school starts.

Kim says shoes must be worn from now on when playing the games.  For those who haven’t played, these are a long, long ways from Pac Man and Frogger.  On this Xbox game, there is a camera that looks at you, takes a video of movements and then puts it into the games.  It seems like it’s at real time.  Very interactive and fun. But, be careful.

Resolutions

Just for fun, I did a search on my own blog to see what resolutions I’ve made in the past.  Nothing came up.  Maybe I used “intentions” rather than “resolutions.”  I didn’t spend a lot of time searching because I’m pretty sure any  I made did not make it through the first month.  Resolutions have a bad rap so it seems acceptable to not stick with them.

I did find my first new year blog post.  Hard to believe I’ve been at this for over six years.  Here is what we did in 2004.  Interestingly enough we were in Colorado then as we thought we were going to be this year. 

Back to resolutions.  If there is one consistent theme throughout any health information for seniors, it is how beneficial exercise is for mind and body.  Over the years, I have tried to have some kind of program.  Basically, I’ve kept my weight within the normal limits and had normal blood pressure, etc. because I’ve, at the least, walked two miles on a regular basis, and at the most, had a full hour-long floor exercise program each morning.

It’s been about five years ago that I started slacking off.  No idea why.

I’m not going to say it’s a resolution, but I am going to get back to  moving in 2011.  I have a treadmill in the basement, Kim has a couple machines available at her clinic that I could schedule myself on.  If nothing else, I can bundle up and walk to the mailbox, a .6 mile round trip.

It’s a “no excuse” year.   I turn 65 years old in little over a month and it’s time to do all I can to make these latter years healthy and happy.

Motivational comments encouraged….  

Betting on weather

Doug & Drue (in Colorado) remodeled their basement.  Dan is finishing up the cabinetry for their bar.  It seemed like a small project on paper, but loading them in the back of a pickup makes for a fairly big load.  Then, transporting them eight hours in the winter is definitely betting on weather.

Actually, we missed our window of opportunity.  We should have taken them today, although it was misty/wet here, it was around 50 degrees in the Springs.   Now, snow is moving in out there.

It looks like our next window of opportunity is Saturday.  We can carry the doors inside the truck and Dan says it won’t hurt the rest to freeze.  Just not a good idea for them to get wet. 

It’s been crazy weather.  La Niña is fulfilling expectations with record snowfall in the northern US.  It is supposed to be fairly normal around here this winter.  I did notice the temperature is posted at 53 degrees in Topeka right now and 49 degrees in Mesa Arizona where our friends live.  Their daughter who lives in Kansas City is visiting.  (Seems like we often hit a “cool spell” when we visit too, Jen)

Wondering how the Little Apple (Manhattan, Kansas) KSU faithfuls are doing fighting the snow in the Big Apple (New York, NY).  Thankfully, the game is in the afternoon so it might not be quite as cold. 

First Grade 1952

Before I put all the old black and white negatives away, I am scanning them to store digitally.  I actually feel like I’ve posted this picture before on the blog, but I can’t find it. 
This is Acker School.  It was a one room school, 1st through 8th grades.  Dan and I attended all eight grades there. Really, a beautiful building that is still occupied as a private home. 
I like this picture because on the front row, I’m second from the right and Dan is 4th from the right.  On the second row, my brother is 5th from the right and next to him is Dan’s brother, Ron.  On the back row Dan’s oldest brother Larry is next to the teacher. 
There are greeting cards that have old pictures on them.  I think this one would be a good one.  Lots to look at in this group.  That’s why I put Mom’s name on it because she was the photographer and it might discourage someone from lifting it. 
Note:  I’m adding this the next day after posting this entry.  This is not my 1st grade picture because (duh) none of my classmates are in it.  It might have been taken in the spring of 1952 which would have made me 6, but I would start school the following fall.  It looks like everyone has something in their hand, which might mean the last day of school.  We are dressed warmly, but school got out the last of April—we only went eight months. 

Extension Cords

What….    Probably thinking I’m hurting for blog topics, right?

I was thinking extension cords would be one thing I wouldn’t mind picking up on an after Christmas sale.  Sometimes retailers don’t mark this type of thing down unless it is packaged for the Holiday, though.

I found the slickest cord several years ago.  I can’t remember if I bought it before or after Christmas but it has an on/off switch that sits on the floor and works by stepping on it.  I know this sounds pretty lazy, but sometimes it’s such a hassle to reach plug ins.  A quick way to turn Christmas lights off and on quickly. 

Handy to have but not worth a trip.   

Stepping back—moving forward

When I was a rural mail carrier, the time after Christmas until spring was—I don’t want to say depressing—but just not my favorite time.  Believe it or not, the busy, long hours leading up to Christmas were at least interspersed with festivity and Holiday cheer.  Then, the cold, short, sometime bleak days of winter set in.

Mom’s sudden turn for the worse leading to losing her has been similar to those previous days leading up to the Holidays.  Grief is work but it was interspersed with the joys that come with family and friends coming together to celebrate Mom’s loving and good life and  Christmas.
 
Christmas is over and it’s back to routine. I felt a tug of that old cold, bleak winter feeling this morning when the sky was gray and the temperature cold.  As I sadly began to put away the old photos I had dug out of Mom and her life, I began to think perhaps I should start on some small scale to organize those photos.  Possibly first by decade and Christmas celebrations.  Also, finish scanning the rest of the old negatives where I happened upon this picture of Mom, Dad, and a friend  that none of the family had seen before.

Or, I could finish the photo book of the last decade  I started making as a Christmas present for each of our children and their families before I had to quit.
 
There’s the empty file cabinet that I’m going to put 50 file folders in, one for each state with a map and points of interest cut from magazines that need to be gone through and then tossed.
 
I filled in birthdays on my 2011 calendar.  For some reason, that simple act always makes me happy.
 
At any rate, it is still a cold winter day, but the sun has come out, streaming in our south windows.  The house is toasty warm and so is my outlook.  Mom’s spirit is with me as is Dad’s and all those close to me who have moved on from this life.  As the cards say, memories do comfort.  And, those memories are created over a lifetime.  I’m excited to continue making mine.