Just about a year ago I wrote about my father being diagnosed with prostate cancer. I am relieved that I can say he is cancer-free. After his PSA rose again last summer, he chose to have radiation treatments and in November was declared cancer-free.
About the time he got his all-clear, his brother had a very high PSA. The doctor felt it could be an infection and treated him for that to begin with. Unfortunately that was not the case and my uncle has now been diagnosed with cancer. This is the brother that he is closest to... both age wise and as friends. Mike is 15 months older than Dad and they are like "2 peas in a pod".
Mike and his wife have 4 children. 2 girls and 2 boys (not to mention the grandkids and great-grandkids!). The oldest girl is 9 months older than me and the next girl is 9 months younger.... We were close growing up and I still spend a lot of holidays with their family. They consider me a part of their family and have for many years. When I heard about his diagnosis, I was floored. Not only does he have prostate cancer, he also has bone cancer. And from what I have learned the bone cancer is not only in his back but also small spots on his one hip, a rib and a lymph node. And, the prostate cancer is Stage 4.... He is having treatment for both cancers so we can only hope for the best.
I am again raising money for our county Relay for Life. But, you know what.... Mike's 2nd daughter has raised money for Relay for several years also. Last year, our efforts were for my Dad. This year they will be for her Dad.....
I.hate.the.word.Cancer.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
I'm such a procrastinator!
Yup.
Tax time.
I said last year that I would keep up with my Quicken program to make tax time easier in 2007. I lied. Well, I did good until April but let things go after that.
So this weekend I sat down and got all the papers in that Longaberger basket (at least it was a smaller basket this year!) together and started the process. Amazingly, all the data input was done in less than 8 hours. Then it was time to double check everything and do the bank recs. Got that done this morning.
Next I installed my tax program and started the process. Getting rid of Schedule C sure makes it go faster! I then e-filed my federal return thru the tax program. Also, love the state of Ohio tax website where I can file both the state and school district returns for free. All 3 done by 5:00.
Now to get back the refunds :)
Tax time.
I said last year that I would keep up with my Quicken program to make tax time easier in 2007. I lied. Well, I did good until April but let things go after that.
So this weekend I sat down and got all the papers in that Longaberger basket (at least it was a smaller basket this year!) together and started the process. Amazingly, all the data input was done in less than 8 hours. Then it was time to double check everything and do the bank recs. Got that done this morning.
Next I installed my tax program and started the process. Getting rid of Schedule C sure makes it go faster! I then e-filed my federal return thru the tax program. Also, love the state of Ohio tax website where I can file both the state and school district returns for free. All 3 done by 5:00.
Now to get back the refunds :)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Blizzard - Day 2
Woke up this morning to hear that my employer canceled 1st shift :) Made me a happy camper especially after I looked outside.
The drifts at the garage door were close to 2 feet in places. Not sure the 4-wheel drive would have made it thru since I would have had to back out.
As the day went on, I was getting more and more upset since the guy I hired to clear the drive never showed up and he had told me yesterday he would do it again today! Not to mention the 3 closest neighbors to me are all guys in their 30's. Of course, one is the guy who flaked on me. One used to do it but stopped several years ago (when flake took over). And, in a dire situation a couple of years ago I asked #3 to help and offered payment but he refused. Today all 3 of them looked at my drive, saw that I was home but did any of them ask if I needed it done.... NO.
I tried shoveling an area for the dogs and had to quit after 5 minutes. Went back out later and just tried to knock some of the snow in the deep areas down so it wouldn't go up the exhaust pipe in the morning. Didn't get very far with that either.
But, about 5:30 the dogs started going crazy so I thought my friend might be out there. Nope. It was some guy in a pickup and I didn't recognize him. He was plowing my driveway. When done he just drove away.
For once, somebody did something nice for me without me asking....
Thank you whoever you are.
Today's pics:
7:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
The drifts at the garage door were close to 2 feet in places. Not sure the 4-wheel drive would have made it thru since I would have had to back out.
As the day went on, I was getting more and more upset since the guy I hired to clear the drive never showed up and he had told me yesterday he would do it again today! Not to mention the 3 closest neighbors to me are all guys in their 30's. Of course, one is the guy who flaked on me. One used to do it but stopped several years ago (when flake took over). And, in a dire situation a couple of years ago I asked #3 to help and offered payment but he refused. Today all 3 of them looked at my drive, saw that I was home but did any of them ask if I needed it done.... NO.
I tried shoveling an area for the dogs and had to quit after 5 minutes. Went back out later and just tried to knock some of the snow in the deep areas down so it wouldn't go up the exhaust pipe in the morning. Didn't get very far with that either.
But, about 5:30 the dogs started going crazy so I thought my friend might be out there. Nope. It was some guy in a pickup and I didn't recognize him. He was plowing my driveway. When done he just drove away.
For once, somebody did something nice for me without me asking....
Thank you whoever you are.
Today's pics:
7:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
BLIZZARD!!!
Ohio version that is.
On Sunday, it was a winter storm warning.
On Monday, it was changed to a heavy snow warning. Tuesday 1 a.m. to Wednesday 7 a.m.
Today at 1:15 p.m. it was changed again.
Blizzard Warning until 7:00 Wednesday a.m.
My employer decided that we could leave early once any necessary work was done. Several left before lunch and the rest of us stayed a little longer. The IT guy and I left at 2:15. I wasn't worried about getting home since I have 4-wheel drive. The drive wasn't too bad since it was all in town driving. Days like this I'm super glad I live and work in the same town. The wind had really kicked up by this time so there was lots of snow blowing across the roads.
I was actually more worried about my driveway. The guy I had arranged to clear my driveway this winter (lives across the street) hasn't done it yet! Sunday I saw a friend and asked if he would do it for me. He also lives in the neighborhood so he wouldn't have to go far. He said he would. He knows what time I get off work so I was afraid that since I was early, it wouldn't be done. At first it looked like it wasn't but then I realized that there were piles along the edge of the driveway that weren't there before. He called after I had been home a couple of hours and told me he had done it late morning-early afternoon. When he called we were having very high winds and it was still snowing. I couldn't even see my tracks from 2 hours earlier! He wondered if he needed to do it again before I go to work in the morning. Luckily my employer has no problem with us waiting to come in during daylight hours so I told him that. I also said I'd just put it in 4-wheel drive and barrel my way out if needed!
Here's my driveway at 7:15 this morning....
Here it is at 2:45 this afternoon....
And, here it is at 6:00 this evening....
These 2 pictures show the bush in the front flower bed at 2:45 and 6:00.
And this is how far the snow has drifted against the garage door a little over 3 hours.
Now I have to admit, it is pretty to look at now that I am home and I don't have to go back out. But, even with that, can I say how much I hate winter?!?!?!?
On Sunday, it was a winter storm warning.
On Monday, it was changed to a heavy snow warning. Tuesday 1 a.m. to Wednesday 7 a.m.
Today at 1:15 p.m. it was changed again.
Blizzard Warning until 7:00 Wednesday a.m.
My employer decided that we could leave early once any necessary work was done. Several left before lunch and the rest of us stayed a little longer. The IT guy and I left at 2:15. I wasn't worried about getting home since I have 4-wheel drive. The drive wasn't too bad since it was all in town driving. Days like this I'm super glad I live and work in the same town. The wind had really kicked up by this time so there was lots of snow blowing across the roads.
I was actually more worried about my driveway. The guy I had arranged to clear my driveway this winter (lives across the street) hasn't done it yet! Sunday I saw a friend and asked if he would do it for me. He also lives in the neighborhood so he wouldn't have to go far. He said he would. He knows what time I get off work so I was afraid that since I was early, it wouldn't be done. At first it looked like it wasn't but then I realized that there were piles along the edge of the driveway that weren't there before. He called after I had been home a couple of hours and told me he had done it late morning-early afternoon. When he called we were having very high winds and it was still snowing. I couldn't even see my tracks from 2 hours earlier! He wondered if he needed to do it again before I go to work in the morning. Luckily my employer has no problem with us waiting to come in during daylight hours so I told him that. I also said I'd just put it in 4-wheel drive and barrel my way out if needed!
Here's my driveway at 7:15 this morning....
Here it is at 2:45 this afternoon....
And, here it is at 6:00 this evening....
These 2 pictures show the bush in the front flower bed at 2:45 and 6:00.
And this is how far the snow has drifted against the garage door a little over 3 hours.
Now I have to admit, it is pretty to look at now that I am home and I don't have to go back out. But, even with that, can I say how much I hate winter?!?!?!?
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Artic cold weather...... I HATE IT!
I.hate.cold.
I.should.really.live.in.Florida.or.Hawaii.
But.I.live.in.Ohio.....
We've had the very cold temperatures here the last couple of days with wind chills below zero. I don't function well in cold weather. Heck, even my dogs don't like it outside. They go out and do their thing and come right back in. Pepper usually likes to check things out when he's outside. He is very content to spend time outside, sometimes I can't get him to come in but not these days.
Now for the point of this blog. I've got a garage and I put the garden hoses in the garage during the cold months. In October, I brought them in and for a few days there was water dripping out of them that had been in the hoses. But, I haven't seen dripping water since early November.
The scene today.....
Dang if it ain't cold!
I.should.really.live.in.Florida.or.Hawaii.
But.I.live.in.Ohio.....
We've had the very cold temperatures here the last couple of days with wind chills below zero. I don't function well in cold weather. Heck, even my dogs don't like it outside. They go out and do their thing and come right back in. Pepper usually likes to check things out when he's outside. He is very content to spend time outside, sometimes I can't get him to come in but not these days.
Now for the point of this blog. I've got a garage and I put the garden hoses in the garage during the cold months. In October, I brought them in and for a few days there was water dripping out of them that had been in the hoses. But, I haven't seen dripping water since early November.
The scene today.....
Dang if it ain't cold!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
SS Blog Challenge - Slide Show
I haven't done an SS blog challenge for awhile but this week's peaked my interest.
Here's your challenge: choose a group of photos and make a slide show! Choose key photos from a single event, or showcase a collage of photos from all over the place. It doesn't matter! But choose a grouping of photos and tie them together somehow with a story or an essay or a letter.
Since this blog is supposed to be about my Havanese, what better subject to do a slide show on. Pepper is almost 7 and Paige just turned 5. So I do have lots and lots of pictures of them. These are just a few of my favorites that also depict their lives. And, yes, they do LOVE to pose for pictures!
So here it is, my slide show on my Havanese babies....
Here's your challenge: choose a group of photos and make a slide show! Choose key photos from a single event, or showcase a collage of photos from all over the place. It doesn't matter! But choose a grouping of photos and tie them together somehow with a story or an essay or a letter.
Since this blog is supposed to be about my Havanese, what better subject to do a slide show on. Pepper is almost 7 and Paige just turned 5. So I do have lots and lots of pictures of them. These are just a few of my favorites that also depict their lives. And, yes, they do LOVE to pose for pictures!
So here it is, my slide show on my Havanese babies....
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