A Weird Year Ends Weirdly

Many have been saying that 2016 has been the worst year ever.  I don't know if it has been that bad (think world wars, the Great Depression, etc), but it has been weird.

For example, our house got flooded in a huge July rain storm.... I got blown off a highway and into a ditch in North Dakota while on my motorcycle (I still have PTSD symptoms every time the wind blows now)..... and, in the past 2 weeks, all the snow in the universe has been dumped in Estevan.

But the topper....... one of the furnaces at the church building quit last week.

Ok - that is not a big shocker.  Furnaces quit.  The interesting part is why it quit.

A bat flew down the air intake, landed on the circuit board and fried himself short circuiting the entire thing.

When the plumber came to check things out, he found a perfectly persevered bat - stiff as a board - looking at him.

A bat!

I am not sure what this means, or what it has to do with anything else, but it just seemed like the appropriate ending to a very odd year.

Up on the Roof

Apparently, I was living on the edge today.

As you may know, Estevan got hit with about 20 cm of snow on Sunday (this to go along with the 25 and 15 or so we had before..... in other words - we have a lot of snow) and so Sari suggested that I ought to go up on the roof and shovel some of it off.

Generally, this is not something I would agree to because (a) I don't like walking around/shovelling the roof in the winter because it is easy to wreck the shingles and (b) it is snow.... eventually it will melt - problem solved!   However, since the house has been creaking and cracking at night lately, I agreed to go up there.

Within minutes of crawling up there, it started.  People slowed down to look at what I was doing.  The neighbour across the street (who gave me a speech about being up there last year and who, when he saw me jump off the roof into a snow pile, grabbed his phone and started calling 911) stopped what he was doing, shook his head and carried on.  Various other people called out and told me to be careful.  In fact, one guy from down the block even brought me his "roof rake" so that I could scrape some of the snow off the roof from the ground.

Don't get me wrong!  I appreciate everyone looking out for my well-being.... they were being nice... but it makes me wonder two things......

1.  When did going up on your roof in the winter become the most dangerous activity in our society????   I am certain that I would have had less remarks directed at me if I was driving a dynamite truck through a war zone!  Yes, I too have heard the story about some dude somewhere who was doing whatever and fell off of something - but really???   Name me three people you know who have actually hurt themselves falling off of anything - much less their roof in the middle of winter.  Besides, by the time I was half done there was so much snow on the ground I could have almost walked off the roof.  In fact, the snow pile was so high I would have been in more danger standing on it rather than the roof.

2.  I must be crossing over into the "crazy old man" age.  You know, that time when you get to be too old to do the stupid things that you used to do.   When you are young and stupid, people just shake their head and leave you alone because - well - you are likely too stupid to listen anyway.  ... but now because you are both "stupid" and "old",  the age factor seems to give people a modicum of hope that you may actually pay attention to logic for once (but - of course - that isn't going to happen).

On the other hand.... I do remember my neighbour yelling at me for jumping off of my Dad's garage the summer I was 10 years old.

Maybe it would be best to just stay off the roof.  :)

Sunday December 25

Coming soon!

A new round of "30 blogs in 30 days" is just around the corner.  Keep checking back!!!  :)

Sunday Stuff (Dec 18)

If any of this sounds interesting to you, feel free to come and check it out.  You are always welcome.

Sunday Dec 11

Sunday Nov 27

Hanging in there

This is just a short note to say that I have not quit blogging forever and to make sure that you know that both Murphy and I are still upright (sort of).

My shoulder (in particular) continues to hurt - a lot!  I guess I should not say "a lot" because I probably would have taken this level of discomfort 6 days ago or so.  I am getting better (no pain medication all day today..... I am able to sleep most of the night now) but this is taking a lot longer than any other injury I have ever had in my life.  It is borderline ridiculous at this point!!!

But - it could be worse I guess.

So - just so you know - I am going to start blogging again soon but at this point it is just hard to sit at the computer.  When I am feeling better, I will be back.

I will let you know when that happens.

Sunday Stuff

Dodging Bullets (Blog 13 of 30)

Murphy and I are still standing!!!  (If you don't know the background to this story, see previous post).

We loaded Muffy up and took him to the vet today.  After watching him not eat or drink (unless I forced him) all weekend, we thought we better see exactly what we were up against.... but of course - like most things this week - that did not really work as we thought it would either.

Have you ever taken your car to the shop because it is not running properly and then when you want it to fail so that you can show the mechanic what it is doing it runs like brand new???   That was Muffy today.

All weekend he just laid there.  No energy!  No interest!  Nothing!  Then we drag him to the vet and all of sudden he acting like he has had 13 Red Bulls!!!!   He is alert!  He is walking semi straight!  A big transformation.

So the vet examined him and said that he likely had a stroke, but that sometimes the effects reverse themselves in a couple of weeks.  (By the way, another benefit of living in a small city for a long time.... when Sari used to clean houses she worked for the vet, so when Carol saw us today she was really good and really kind and did not try to talk us into a pile of treatments just because).

Anyway - we decided to bring him home and not do anything today.  When we got home, Murphy started eating and drinking and acting more like himself.  I think he saw the brink and wants to make sure that he convinces us that he is ok...... "Look!!! (munch, munch, munch)  I am eating!!!! (munch, munch)  And - oooh - water!!!  Let me have some of that!!! (Slurp, slurp)  Ooooh - that is good!! (slurp slurp)   Why don't you put those truck keys away?????  We don't need to go for any more rides!!!! (slurp)"   :)

As for me.... I finally realized that my big problem was that my inner shoulder and back muscles were spasming and that was what was causing all the trouble.  No amount of stretching or icing or heating the outer muscles was going to help, so I broke down and took some muscle relaxer (I hate taking anything for anything - but desperate times.......) and I think I may even be able to sleep tonight (Crazy thought I know!!!).  We will see but I am quite hopeful that I won't need to take a long, one way car ride any time soon either!!  

It has been tiring and painful, but Muffy and I are fighting and hanging in there!  :)

Two Good Men Down! (Blog 12 of 30)

Disclaimer:  NOTHING HAS HAPPENED TO MURPHY!! (I had to put that on there because the last time I mentioned "losing an old fiend" - which turned out to be our refrigerator - the kids immediately thought I meant Murphy).

It had been a tough week for the boys in our house.

When Sara went to get Murphy out of his kennel on Tuesday morning, he couldn't walk.  I mean, like he could hardly stand up.  She had to carry him up the stairs. 

This is not all that unusual these days though.  Murphy is old (going on 14 years) and we had taken him for a huge run in the park the day before, so we just thought that maybe he was stiff and sore.  Old age creeping in, you know.

However, as the week progressed, he didn't.  He wasn't eating.  He wasn't drinking.  When he did try to walk, it looked like he had been drinking.... swerving all over the place, tripping and falling.  He was so bad that we even talked about taking to the vet (if you know what I mean)

However, and strange as it may sound, I talked Sara out of this.  He had an episode like this a Christmas time and came back so I convinced her to go to Manitoba as she had planned and to leave him with me.

I am happy to announce that he seems to be doing better.  He is eating and drinking again.  He can walk a little better now and he does not fall over at all anymore.  To be honest, I think he had a stroke or something, but he seems to be making a comeback (again).

Me - not so much!  The shoulder that was hurting me last week (see post below) is still hurting.  In fact, I had a horrible night last night and at one point woke up in so much pain that I could hardly stand it!  I have tried icing it.... heating it.... going to the chiropractor (twice)..... I have even tried my fail-proof method that fixes all issues.... I tried going for a run.  I say "tried" because my shoulder hurt so much that I could not run at all.

Constant pain is a constant pain!!!

So - you may be wondering - given my checkered past with Muffy - why would I volunteer to nurse him back to health?  Well, it comes down to two things....

1.  I don't hate him as much as I pretend to.  Yes, he is a pain at times.  Yes, he has cost us a pile of money.  Yes, we have to find him a sitter every time we want to go somewhere.  But I will miss him when he is gone.

2.  More importantly......  Sari said "The most humane thing to do for him - if he can't move - is to take him to the vet"........  as I stand there unable to move my arm or shave!   I HAD to get her out of here!!!   It was self-preservation!!!

As I said, I think Muffy is going to pull through, but I am not so sure about me!!! 

And Sara comes home tomorrow (gulp!)  :)

Sunday stuff

A Day in the life of a Sara (Blog 11 of 30)

I (Tim) often talk about myself on this blog.... not because I am an egomaniac but because I like telling stories about stupid things and I supply myself with a lot of material.

However, today I am writing about Sara.  In the past, I have got in trouble at church for making jokes at her expense and stuff (some of those older ladies are super protective of her!!!) but the truth of the matter is that I do not know anyone who works harder or cares for people better than Sara does.

Consider her day yesterday.....

- Up at 6:45 to go to work.  Feeds 80 kids there and actually pays attention to and cares for a bunch of the ones that everyone else just wants to kick (and she does that every day)

- Comes home at 10 to drive me to the chiropractor b/c I can't drive myself.  Sits there until I am done and then comes home, tucks me in bed, gets me a drink and an ice pack (for my back) and loads Netflix on my phone so I can watch a motocross dirt bike show.

- Makes lunch for both of us and then heads back to school for the afternoon where she looks after a whole bunch of other kids and applies for grants to make the school better etc, etc

- Back home after work to check on me and make sure I am ok.  We decide to go for a walk (it is too nice to stay inside) so we load up the dog and go to the park for an hour.  Then she comes home and  makes supper (which was delicious) while doing the dishes at the same time

- After supper and visiting for a bit, she gets up and PAINTS THE ENTIRE LIVING ROOM AND HALLWAY OF OUR HOUSE!!!!  This takes here from 8-10 pm at which time she grabs a snack and comes back down to the family room where I am watching football so that we can visit.

- Off to bed - makes sure I am ok...... goes to sleep and then wakes up 4 times in the night to help me because my back is hurting (gets me a drink/pain medication etc)

- Alarm goes off at 6:45 and she does it again.

Now the really incredible thing about all of this..... she does this almost every day (with the exception of painting the living room and looking after my back - doing those two things every day would just be silly!)

I don't know how she does it.... but I watch her do it almost every day.

Now you can see why I make the odd joke about her in my sermons...... a guy has to feel good about himself somehow!  :)

Unbelievable!!! (Blog 10 of 30)

I have not written in a few days because I was super busy.  In particular, I was at a camp board meeting all day Saturday and then I raced home for the Speedway awards supper that night (raced home - get it!!!??!!!)  :)

Everything was great until 6:30 Sunday morning.

I woke up in more pain than I have ever felt in my life!!!  My right shoulder hurt.... my arm hurt.... my neck hurt...... and I could not make it stop.  No matter how I moved or what I did.

So I got up and walked around for a while.... nothing helped.

Now you may remember that my neck went out about a month ago and I proudly said that I did not take any pain killers for it because I had not taken a pain killer of any kind in more than 10 years...... Well, Sunday morning I started popping Tylenol like candy...... anything to get the pain to stop.

Unfortunately for me, Sari was out of town.  Had she been here, she would have talked some sense into me..... but she wasn't (she was in Minot) and so "sense" was not something that was going to be a part of the rest of this story.

I went back to bed but by 8 am I could not stand the pain again. My right arm  hurt so much again that I could barely move it.  In fact, I only shaved about half of my face before hitting the shower because I could not get my arm up there to do more.

For the first time in the 27 years I have been here I actually thought, "Maybe I need to call someone and tell them that someone else has to look after Sunday morning stuff because I can't do it!"

However, as I said, common sense was not really in play, so I decided to go anyway.

As I drove to the church building, the pain was so bad that I almost threw up!   I have a high pain threshold (remember - not even a Tylenol in 10 years) but I could not take it!!!

When I started class, I  told people that it may be short this week and explained why.  Fortunately, someone had some "Robaxacet" (muscle relaxer) and gave me some.  At the end of class someone said, "You must feel better" and I said "Not at all!" so then another guy yelled out "Take another Robaxacet!"

So there is a new church game for you...... See how many Robaxacet you can take before you can't teach Bible class any more.  :)

Long story short..... I fought my way through class and the sermon..... I also went and did Creighton Lodge (nursing home) singing,..... and taught Sunday night class all while feeling more constant pain than I have ever felt before.

Here is how badly I was hurting..... not only did I take pain killers but...... I went to the chiropractor for the first time in my life.  I have fought through hockey hits that made it so I could not turn my head for 2 weeks without going to a chiropractor..... but when Sari got home and told me I was going, I did not argue.

He told me that I had 2 ribs that were out of place and my neck was all wrong too.  Fifteen minutes on the muscle machine to loosen things up and then five big cracks put things back in place..... but I still don't feel great.

Sara drove me me home and told me I was staying home, but I decided I was going to the office.  I went out to the truck, sat down, started it...... and then just shut it off again.  I could not even sit in the seat.  So I missed my first day of work in about 10 years too.  

I am going back to the chiropractor again tomorrow,  Hopefully, 2 or 3 treatments will fix it.

I need to say here too that Sari missed her calling..... She should have been a nurse.  She is really good at caring for stubborn, grumpy people!  :)

What caused all this?  Well, we had a really stressful camp meeting on Saturday and that is what I am blaming it on.  Too much stress and too many things going on.

I would sue the camp for my pain and suffering..... but I am the chairman of the board, so I would likely have to go out and raise the money to pay myself.

And that would be stressful and I don't think my back can take it!  :)

Sunday stuff (Bonus post)

Short Post (9 of 30)

It has been an extremely hectic day today (planning for camp board meetings, funerals, all the normal Sunday stuff, etc), but lots of good things have happened too.  Here are a couple of them....

1.  We are no longer fridge and stove-less.  The new ones were delivered today.  If you have a fridge in your house and you do not have to go to the garage every time you need some butter - smile and realize how fortunate you are..... that is what we doing now!

2.  You may have seen this already, but I want to pass it on just in case.  A nice story and a great reminder.

http://www.littlethings.com/tara-wood-mr-dan/?utm_source=ama&utm_medium=Facebook

Have a great day!!! :)

In the Eye of the Beholder (Blog 8 of 30)

I saw many beautiful things today, but I want to share pictures of two of them.

First, another sunrise shot. I like sunrises at this time of year.  So many colours and they occur at a convenient time of day.

And, second......

You may wonder about that one, but it is a parts car for my car.  In the spring, we are going to strip it of all the good stuff (windows, instrument cluster, taillights, bumpers).  It represents potential, hope and the friendship of the buddy who got it for me.

As the saying goes, "There is beauty in everything.  You just have to see it!"  :)

Halloween (Blog 7 of 30)

Many times I think, "I wish I still had little kids".  I miss the girls a lot..... but today is not one of those days!!!

It is Halloween and it is raining!!!  Like cold rain!  Like, "I am sure glad that I don't have to go out trick or treating with little kids" sort of rain!  :)

As I remember it, we never did trick or treat in the rain (Sara says she remembers taking an umbrella with her one year - though maybe that was during her "Mary Poppins" phase and she is just confused).

But, on the other hand, rain isn't so bad.   At least it is not snow.  We had that couple of times when I was a kid.

One year I had the coolest looking pirate costume.  I had a plastic mask, a hook for your hand and a plastic costume sort thing (It was like a poncho that went over your clothes).  The problem was it was -40 outside so the mask froze to my face, the plastic poncho thing became so brittle that it was breaking off in chunks and the wind was howling down Caribou street in Moose Jaw so hard that it almost blew us to Regina.

On the upside I think we got more candy at each stop that year because (A) They thought we deserved more for being so brave and going out in the cold and (B) The faster that people could unload all their candy the faster they could turn out the lights and not have to open the door to the cold anymore ("Here, Kid, open your bag..... you just hit the jackpot!"..... Swoosh!!!)

So now we are sitting in our warm house watching other people get wet and freeze with their little kids...... and I still miss it!!  (sniff)  :)
________
One of the teachers at Sara's school had the fun idea of getting the staff to dress up like "The Price is Right".  She made name tags, money total boards, the principle was Drew Carey.... it was hilarious!  The kids were invited down to the office to play "Higher or Lower" and other games.  They gave out prizes and I think someone is even going to win a trip (A trip to 7-11... but a trip none the less).

And here is a "Pumpkin Sampler" courtesy of Sara.

Really???? (Blog 6 of 30)

I understand that life gets busy at times.  In fact, I have had a super busy day today myself.  However, I don't think that I have ever been this busy.

This is what we found in the parking lot at "No Frills" (a grocery store - for those who don't live here) yesterday.

What is it?  It is the plastic top that you find on the inside of a stick of deodorant.

How much of a hurry do you have to be in that - as soon as you get to your car - you have to grab your newly purchased deodorant, rip the top off, fling it on the ground and then race off to your next appointment????  I am just guessing here, but I would say that if you find yourself in that situation, you may be a little over-scheduled.

Of course I could be completely wrong about the scenario.... maybe someone was "power shopping" so hard for their groceries that by the time they got to the car and unloaded everything, they were a completely sweaty mess.  Maybe the deodorant had less to do with being in a hurry and more to do with "self-defense" (so to speak).... some of those cars are really small ya know?  Get trapped in there without some help and things could get ugly fast.

Either way.... They should have remembered what Smokey the Bear says, "It is never ok to litter" (or something like that)  :)

The Decorating Challenge (Blog 5 of 30)

Sara has an eye for design.  For example, take a look at what she has done with our guest bedroom....

Quite homey, no?   I think she should call it "Urban Hoarder" (the bed is under there somewhere)

So, what is actually going on?  Well, as you may know, we just got Megan's bedroom back together, so now we are charging on to the next project..... the living room.  All that stuff in the bedroom came from the living room as you can see here.



Over the next couple of weeks we should have painted walls, new flooring, new baseboards, etc.

New house guests are unlikely though. :)