Tag Archives: Family

May 8, 2026 – Doug and his computer

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This is not a dig on Doug but the efforts expended were directly related to his laptop.

Doug is the Financial Officer for American Legion Post 42. As far as I know, he’s the only one that’s held that position since the post was started 135 years ago. Considering the span of years, I could be wrong. If that turns out to be true, I believe I’ll at least be close to correct.

He keeps all his files on his laptop and generally shares his information with hard copies for the troops to review. Post meetings are held in the Moose Lodge and they have three large TVs mounted in the room they use. Someone asked Doug if he could display his files on those TV’s. He told this person, “Yes I can.” Then he called me.

We spent an hour or so at the lodge seeing how things work there and we came up with a solution. The first choice, for me, was to use Bluetooth for connectivity, but that didn’t seem to be a choice. Another option was to connect directly to the TV via HDMI. During our discovery, we were able to do that, but making it work would require purchasing a very long HDMI cable. Since the TVs looked fairly new I figured there must be a better way.

So, we got busy pushing buttons to see what happens. That’s my solution for any computer problems and generally it’s productive. It this case it was so it’s all good. I haven’t been to an AL meeting in quite a while but I agreed to show up at the next one to support Doug and his first effort in front of the crowd. I will, I’m sure, be a target for many reasons but I’m not worried. Doug has my back.

The lodge was not officially opened this morning when we did our work but a lady was working in the office. When we were leaving she asked for help getting into the office because she inadvertently locked herself out. The only way in was via the service window in the hall. Doug has trouble walking and the lady in distress wasn’t up to the task so I drug a chair over to the window and inserted myself into the office. Doing this required me to bend myself in half, literally, and slide in feet and head first. It worked. During the process the lady questioned my age saying, “You aren’t really 81, are you?” I said, “No. I’ll be 82 in 12 days.” She was amazed. So was Doug. I bet he was sure he’d have to find a way to , I extract me from the window and the ledge that I was sliding on. But, I fooled all three of us. I was adlibbing everything I did about getting through the window. I amazed myself. Tomorrow will tell the tale about which muscles I tweaked the wrong direction. So far, I feel just fine.

My only fear about the entire process was that bending myself in half might could easily have caused me to expel some extra gas that I seem to have, all the time. The down side of that is that sometimes, expelling gas sometimes results in accompanying debris and the need to purchase new underwear. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

That’s my story for today.

April 24, 2026

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Today for lunch I made a peanut butter and orange marmalade sandwich. Normally I use strawberry jam, or grape jelly but I couldn’t find it but the orange marmalade was right there in front of me. I like orange so I thought it would be OK, but it really wasn’t. It wasn’t a good pairing. So, I’m tossing that stuff out and will stick to the regular stuff from now on. I ate the entire sandwich, in case you’re wondering. I did that thinking, with every bite, it’s going to get better. It didn’t. Actually, it was really bad, it just wasn’t normal. I like normal.

It’s a nice sunny day out there so Max is taking advantage of it, laying in the yard, daring that eagle to show up. Oddly, I haven’t seen him since I reported him last time I saw him. I think he’s waiting for me to forget, then he’ll make a run at Max. If he does, I have no doubt he’ll have his claws full of fury and will let him go. Then Max will strut to the back door, look at me and cock his head a little to the right, which means “Did you see that? I was flying!”

I started cleaning up the computer room, finally. It’s a mess. I started in my corner, stacking papers in separate piles for filing, shredding, or just a ?? pile. much of it goes in the ?? pile. Much of the mess was created when I started digging around in the filing cabinet looking for things I needed to file taxes. During that process I got diverted just about every time I blinked. This resulted in many stacks of paper for many reasons. Finally, I just started stacking them in piles by color. Not the paper color, but the color of what every the business logo was.

After a couple days of this it began evident that doing this was not productive so I switched to piles that were set specifically to Diane, specifically to me, and specifically to Diane and me. That was much easier. Then I worked on each pile to separate them into bills that I needed to pay, bills that were already paid, advertisements begging for monetary donations, and ads.

Now there are stacks of paper all over the floor, a lot like there was when I started this job, so now I’m thinking that if I just shred it all I’m pretty sure if there’s a bill in there someone will let me know. I’m not all the way there, yet, but it’s definitely on the table for consideration.

Then there’s Diane’s computer. She complained about that computer all the time but she wouldn’t let me replace it with something she’d like better. It’s not a bad computer, it’s just slow for many reasons. One reason is because she didn’t like deleting her old email. She kept every one of them. Forever. Because of that I have a hard time thinking about doing that myself and passing the computer on to someone else. One of these days maybe I’ll start drinking wine early in the afternoon so I can work up the courage to clean it up.

Maybe tomorrow.

Letters to Diane – 35 – January 5, 2026

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Hi Sweetie,

Just a short note to share an interesting thing Max has been doing lately. You know that I take him out for romp around the yard before going to bed. Previously, he gladly went out but he’s backed off a few times. Then I open the slider and offer him an off-leash friendly run, he simply lays down. I even walk to the edge of the patio and he just lays there, with the door wide open.

Granted, it’s dark, but that didn’t used to bother him.

He starts this by coming to me and sitting where he can see me, no matter where I might be, and he gives me his tiny little growl. Just enough to make a noise. It’s not aggressive at all, just a simple growl to let me know he’s close and wants my attention.

Tonight he did that while I was working on the church newsletter. I stopped and talked with him a bit, letting him know that I had to finish my job then we could go outside. He seemed to understand because he just laid down by my feet and waited.

When we got to the door he made it clear that going outside wasn’t what he wanted to do, so I worked a little bit on the puzzle near the door. He watched me a bit then disappeared. He actually went to bed and waited for me there.

Such a funny little guy.

I cooked tonight. First time in a while I took the reins and got busy. All I did was slice up two boneless chicken breasts using Lydia’s new knife that is about the sharpest knife I’ve ever used It’s amazing. I had a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies I wanted to get rid of and some extra rice that needed to be cooked so that made a meal. It wasn’t the best stir-fry, but it was good and we ate all the chicken. So, we got our protein. I made way more rice than necessary so bagged it for a later meal and left some in the pan for Max. He was a happy dog and cleaned it up pretty good. That’s probably why he didn’t eat his dish of food I put down for him. Could be his earlier growling was his effort to let me know he wasn’t pleased with my food choice for him (it was turkey).

Here’s another fun photo I like. A good one to end the evening with you.

Say Hi to Brad for me.

Love you

Me

Letters to Diane – 33 – January 3, 2026

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Good evening, My Love,

The only things I can remember about yesterday are a couple of trips around the block with Max, lots of TV, and I went to the bathroom a couple of times. Oh, and I ate lunch. That’s about it. Oh, and Lydia returned safely from her trip out of the country around midnight. I believe I mentioned that she and Jered went to North Carolina to meet an old school friend of his. It was a spontaneous trip, and they had a great time. I think Lydia’s favorite thing about the trip was visiting BB-55, the USS North Carolina. They got to go all over the ship and she took a bunch of photos. She also got me a Mini Lego kit of the ship. The pieces are incredibly tiny and really hard to pick up. I took the pieces out of their packages today so I have to work on it continually to get them all in the proper places so they won’t get lost.

Lydia didn’t get up until noon today due to yesterday being a travel day. Doug came over for a visit while she slept so we had to talk softly to keep from waking her. We had a nice visit anyway, the first one we’ve had in a long time. He doesn’t come down from his mountain very often, so it was great to see him.

I forgot to share with you that when Jennie came over to watch the Ducks the smoke alarm in the hallway by our bedroom was chirping for randomly for a while so I changed the battery. Then it chirped some more then sounded the alarm. Not seeing, or smelling any smoke we agreed that the smoke alarm must be failing so I just took the battery out of it. A little while later Jennie went into the kitchen and discovered that one of the stoves burners was on low and had melted the silicon mat. That had to have been the source of burning the alarm detected. I must have bumped the burner control when I was busy sweeping fir needles up. Those things are everywhere. Arter that little episode, and previous ones we had, I think I might have to get a different stove with controls either on top, or toward the back of the stove. As it is, we have a hazard in the house. A simpler solution would be to not put anything over the burners. Kind of a scary situation, don’t you think?

You’re probably wondering how I could forget to share this with you right after it happened. Me too. We may never know how lucky we are to have a smoke alarm that works even when there’s no smoke even though the source of the alarm’s distress was discovered by the good observational abilities of your daughter.

I promise to be more careful in the kitchen going forward. I suppose I could simply turn off the stove breaker and just use the micro from now on. That would work.

Now I’m stopping. Max is asking for permission to go to bed. It’s 2230 and time to follow Max’s lead. Probably a good idea. I’ll leave you with a fun memory we made in Orlando once upon a time.

I love your smile.

G’nite.

Me.

Letters to Diane – 32 – January 1, 2026

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Dear Diane,

First, Happy New Year. I have to admit this hasn’t been one of my favorite years of the many I’ve been fortunate enough to have ushered in over my lifetime. Most of 2025 was really great, but the ending not fun. I know you were in a lot of pain toward the end and don’t blame you for not wanting to go on. Because of that, the ending was more tolerable for me, but I still didn’t like it, much. I think that’s true for everyone who loves you.

Now, about football. You had the Oregon game set to record so, of course, I had to watch it. So did Jennie. She came over and spent most of the day with me watching football. Oregon was the first game this morning, beginning at 0900 and it was a good one. Most of the came made us all nervous but the Ducks persevered beating Texas A&M 23-0. Yes, they. What made that even sweeter is that Texas was ranked at #4 and the Ducks are #5. It was a fun game and made the day even better. I just wish you were in your chair watching it with me, but Jennie did a good job covering for you. She brought Siah with her and Jasper came later. We had hotdogs for lunch. I ate a can of chili and ate the whole thing because no one else wanted any. That worked for me because I can eat a whole can of chili no problem. You’ve seen me do that lots of times.

During half time of the Oregon game I took Max for his morning walk. I actually got up at 0500 for some reason, but didn’t want to take him out in the dark. We walked all over the back yard, though, and that seemed to please him enough for the time being.

I’m working on one of the puzzles I got for Christmas. It’s a 1000 piece one and looks pretty difficult. So far I have the edge done but had a problem with that. One piece was missing for a couple of days until I got on my hands and knees and searched all over under the table. It was hiding behind a chair leg. I was very happy to find it. The rest is going to be difficult.

Now that it’s 2026 I need to take the tree down. Maybe I’ll work on that tomorrow. Maybe not. It’s kind of nice to look at.

It’s 1800 now and I just got back from walking Max his second time. He earned it, and walking is a good thing for me, too. I’m getting pretty good at it because I haven’t done a face plant since my last one before our trip around Oregon.

That’s about it for today. You know I love you, but I’ll give you an ILY anyway. Just one more thing. When the Winnebago folks visited I gave Sophia the bag with all your Sketchers so she could see what fit her. I got a text from Carolann, who feet at much smaller than yours, thanking you for 3 pairs of sandals she found in the bag. Sophias feet are actually your size so she may wind up with a lot of the shoes. We’ll see.

Here’s just one more favorite photo I have.

ILYATT

Me

Letters to Diane – 31

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Hi Hon,

Here we are on the last day of 2025. It’s only 2030 and the fireworks are going off randomly all around us. It’s not really noisy yet, but it’s enough to make Max hide behind the couch and he refuses to go outside even when it’s relatively quiet. Poor little guy is so scared of the blasts. I think in just a little while I wrap things up and go to bed. Perhaps he’ll curl up with me.

Today I did very little. Jeff stopped by to say “Hi”. He stayed until he remember that he was supposed to pick up Jerrie half an hour ago. Jennie texted me and I’ve been tracking Lydia to make sure she got to North Carolina OK. She did and I’m sure she’s enjoying herself. No doubt she tired, but I bet she’s still having fun. This is quite an adventure for her.

I watched a couple of football games, but my heart just wasn’t in the mood to watch teams I don’t know. My favorite was this afternoon where Miami beat Ohio State. Miami is ranked #10 and Ohio State is ranked #2. know me., always pulling for the underdog. Oregon plays tomorrow against Texas A&M. That’s going to be a good game. Jennie is coming over to watch it with me so I’ll have someone in the chair next to me Like we normally do. Well, she’s coming over because she’s an Oregon fan, not to just fill up your chair. Perhaps Dan will come with her. Whatever the reason, it will be good to have them here. Maybe having company will motivate me to clean up the kitchen. Every time I go in there I shudder at how upset you might be because of my neglect. Now, that’s a better reason to motivate me, not just people coming over.

I’ll have to do laundry tomorrow. Might even take a shower just for the fun of it.

I searched my photos for one that shows me with a beard almost like I have, but none appealed so I just chose this one, because it’s you.

Now I’ll quit. I love you. Please tell Mom and Dad I said Hello.

Happy New Year!

G’night.

Letters to Diane – 28

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Hi there. After I started these letters, it dawned on me that they should be numbered to reflect the date, but that never seemed to happen, until today. Yup, today is December 28. I’m glad it finally came together but it won’t last. After we leave December, they’ll get all out of sequence again. So, there are those people, including myself, who wonder what’s the big deal about the numbers. It’s not really a big deal, as I’m sure you are aware. It’s just one of those little things that gnaw on me after the fact.

Now I must move on.

Carolyn called last night to let us know she had returned from Arizona, and her TV doesn’t work. Well, it works for sound, but there’s no picture. We’re meeting this morning to see what I can do about it. Worse case, she gets a new TV. It’s a small one so it won’t be very spendy. I’ll let you know how it goes.

This morning the temperature was just above 30 degrees. Simply looking at the thermometer made my feet cold. I’m really thankful that you had the wisdom to add an Elmer Fudd hat to my collection. It’s really stunning, don’t you think?

Makes me want to go out and get a flintlock rifle, or something.

That’s not true, of course.

I went to Carolyn’s at 1000 to check measurements for a new TV and to see if there was any hope of making the old TV work. She said they’ve had the old TV for 15 years or so which means they got their money out of it. It was well used.

The first place we went was Walmart and quickly found a 32″ TV for $98 that we thought would be a good replacement. Took it home, unpacked it and set it in the opening of the TV cabinet and it looked really small. I tried to raise it to a level she deemed acceptable but it just didn’t work. I would have used pieces of 2×4’s but she vetoes that. There will be no 2×4’s under her TV. So, I took some new measurements and determined that we might be able to cram a 40″ TV into the existing spot.

Went back to Walmart and got a 40″ Visio, went back to the house, removed the first new TV, and installed the second new TV. It fit perfectly. Carolyn was actually excited, as was I.

We packed up the first new TV and plan to return it tomorrow. Then we went to work training her about how she can get to her programs just like she did on the old setup.

Before we started, I warned her that it’s not going to be an exact replacement because after connecting it there will be differences. The first challenge was connecting the TV to the internet. It’s an automated setup, mostly, but we got the password wrong. Once that was fixed I went through the process of connecting her Dish receiver. It all worked together just fine. Here’s how it works …

  • Use the new TV remote to turn the TV on (top right button).
  • Use the new TV remote to select the TV input (top left button).
    • Select the HDMI-1 choice for the dish.
    • Set the TV remote down.
  • Use the Dish remote to select the channel you wish to watch.
    • If the TV screen displays a pop-up window telling you to press the SAT buttons on the remote it means the SAT button on the left side of the remote.
      • That means the left side literally. Not the left side of the surface that has all the other buttons, but the left side when you rotate the remote CCW 90 degrees then tip it so you can see the left side.
        • CCW means counterclockwise.
    • Once the SAT button is successfully pushed you can ignore all the other buttons on the left side.
    • Rotate the remote 90 degrees CW and push any other button that looks familiar.
      • Watch whatever comes up on the TV and be happy it works.
        • If you know the channel you want, press that number key and press enter.
  • When you’re done watching TV turn the TV off using either of the remotes.
  • The next time you want to watch TV, start this process over.

It’s a process that must be practiced many times to get it right. One day I may figure out how to make the Dish remote work for the TV, or the TV remote work for the Dish but that just couldn’t happen today. I plan to do some research about that. Tomorrow.

Now I must quit and take Max for a walk. It’s dark already and I need to be at the Walters’ house for supper. I ate lunch there today, too. It’s getting to be a thing, I think.

I’m sorry I didn’t have any interesting topics to share. I’ll work harder at this tomorrow.

All my Love,

Jerrie

Letters to Diane – 26

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Hi Hon,

It’s Christmas Eve, but it just doesn’t have the zing it used to have. Today is more like, well, Wednesday for me. Might be because today is Wednesday. I guess the Holiday Spirit just hasn’t touched me yet. I have a feeling this feeling will take a long time to go back to some semblance of normal. No, it will never be normal. New Normal, but never just normal. Without you nothing is normal.

Tonight, Max and I will be alone because Lydia is staying with her family with all the brothers, like she does every year. I think that’s just great and I know she’ll have fun and be safe. Max and I will be just fine.

I went to the Walters home at 1630 for spaghetti supper. We visited until it was time for the 1800 service at Grace Baptist Church. Lydia and Jeran participated in the service, so it was a family affair. Everyone was there, including Jerad. After the service we all returned to the Walters home to watch the children open some of their presents before going to the 2100 service at Bethany.

Jennifer broke all the rules because she bought me three presents and she wasn’t supposed to buy anything. We drew names. She gave me a huge mahjong set that weighs about 50 lbs. That thing is heavy. So now I have to learn how to play the game properly instead of like I do on the computer. I’m pretty sure the rules are different. Jennie wants to play to so we’ll learn together. That will be fun. It’s probably a game you would like.

The services at Grace and Bethany were both good and well attended. The Littles got up and danced like crazy with the hymns and had a good time. At Bethany I was happy to see a lot of people we’ve missed over the years, especially Brooke and Heather, Al and Vonna’s daughters. They hadn’t heard the news that you are palling around with Al up there somewhere, so we had a nice visit after service. We were the last ones to leave. Jennie mentioned on the way out that we would have been the last ones out if you had been with us because you would have made sure the doors were locked, the lights were off, and the furnace was turned down. We were always the last ones out, weren’t we? It was fitting and we didn’t mind.

I got home a little after 2200 and Max met me at the front door as I struggled to get in the house with that really heavy mahjong set. He usually makes me look for him when he’s been alone for a while. He made it clear that I needed to take him out and I was ready for him. I got his harness, but he met me at the patio door with the primer treat, I gave him before leaving, hanging from his mouth. This was a message that he didn’t really want a walk. He just wanted to go outside to pee and bury his treat. I’m not really sure what burying those treats are all about.

I took the treat from him, and we went out back off leash and he was fine. I apparently read his mind because he peed and went right back to the door. When we got inside, I gave him the treat and he promptly ate it. Now all he has to do is eat the bowl full of turkey he got for dinner.

Right now, it’s 2330 and I’m tired. Time for bed. No need to get up early for us except Jeff visited while I was out and left gifts for me and Lydia. I think I’ll make him a batch of fudge tomorrow just for fun.

I’m going to stop now and go to bed.

I still love you, just like I always will.

G’nite.

Letters to Diane – 24

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Good Evening, Sweetheart,

It’s 2200, an hour past my bedtime. That’s not entirely true because I don’t really have a bedtime. I’m sure Lydia would agree. She and Sanchez spent most of the evening dying a dress black for Lydia to wear for her part in a Christmas Eve service at their church. I’ve been told that both she and Jeran have speaking parts so I may have to go to them as well as Bethany’s 2100 service. The Walters family plans to attend Bethany’s, too so it’s going to be a busy day for everyone.

Today there were 30 people in church at Bethany and we had over two full settings for communion. That hasn’t happened in a long time. It was truly good to see all those folks.

After that I came home to rest and walk Max. I took him down to the river because he really likes it down there. Sadly, I forgot to bring his leash, so we had to go back home. He’s almost to the point where he will stay with me off leash, but that’s just in the back yard. He’s really good with me, there. I don’t quite trust him to be that good in a busy environment. I wound up taking him around our block because the 3rd Sunday Lunch scheduled for 1500.

I made fudge for my contribution for lunch. That was Jennie’s suggestion. I probably mentioned that yesterday. It’s really good. Jennie was happy.

Lunch was excellent. Jen made pulled pork and sourdough bread. It was pretty awesome, and I ate more than my share. After everyone was done eating we had our gift exchange. It was loud and a lot of fun as Siah got everyone’s attention so he could pass out the gifts. As you know, we drew names. I got Herther and Jennie got me.

After all the gifts were in place the wrapping started, one at a time beginning with the youngest. So, Siah started the festivities. He did a great job.

I got Heather a very busy puzzle to hopefully challenge her prowess at the puzzle table. I also got her two candles – one smelled like dinner rolls and the other was something with chocolate. As it turned out, Baylee’s name didn’t get drawn because it would have been Tiana to do it and she wasn’t there. So, the candles went to Baylee. She was very happy about that. Jennie got me a mini art supply set which means I’ll have to get busy painting. Jeff got one, too. Her thought was that since I’ve had painting dates with her on a number of evenings, I could have some daytime art dates with Jeff when time permits. I think that’s a stellar idea. Now we just have to make it happen.

People trickled out of the Walters’ home until all that was left was me and Lydia. She brought Sanchez along for the aforementioned dying project they did. Huh. How about that. I didn’t think “aforementioned” was a real word, but the spell checker seems to like it.

Now it’s late and time to dream of you. I’m disappointed that you don’t show up there more often. I really miss you. The bracelet you got for me helps a lot. Thanks again for that.

Good night.

ILY

Just me …

Letters to Diane – 23

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Happy Birthday, My Love.

Jeff was over earlier this morning and we sang Happy Birthday for you. Then we both grabbed each other and cried for a while. I don’t know about Jeff, but for me, I’m still living in a fantasy zone where I’m sure you are just around the corner from me and in one of these moments I’m going to run right into you. I miss you so much that I have a hard time coping once in a while. I know this probably upsets you a little but I can’t help it.

Yesterday, Friday, was lost to me. I remember a moment where Jennie took me shopping for some stuff and Jeff borrowed the truck to transport a fridge for Gilligan. Or, maybe, the fridge was today.

The Oregon game was on today and you had it set to record. Thank you for that. Jennie brought the Littles over to watch the game and to add a few ornaments to the tree. She stayed until half-time when the kids started getting restless then carted them home. So, Max and I finished the game on our own. It was a good game. Oregon beat JMU 51-34. It could have been a lot worse for JMU but Oregon dropped their guard a little the second half and JMU took advantage.

Apparently, the wind blew a bit last night because there were lots of tree pieces all over the yard. Jeff raked them all up and took them up the hill to burn. Maybe that was yesterday. Hmmm. I’m thinking I need to write something every day but sometimes it’s just hard to get motivated to do anything. Walking Max is still a priority so he’s not missing his walks.

It’s almost 2130 now so I’m going to wrap this up. Tomorrow afternoon is the monthly family gathering at Jen and Dan’s. I made two batches of fudge for the masses. I ate a piece during the Oregon game and it’s really good.

You can stop by any time you want. I’m here most days and I’d love to see you. My beard is getting longer every day that you are away. I’ve made a vow that I won’t shave it off until you look me in the eye and tell me how ratty I look. So, you should keep that in mind.

Now, I’m going to bed.

ILY, Always