R E F L E C T I O N S

This week my daughter stayed over several days for the Christmas holiday.  I had a great time, especially with my grandson Miles. We went to Clearbrook park for a walk, watch the ducks land on the lake, watch how the garbage was crushed by a machine at the local dump and more. Our family had meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas day; once at our house and the other at my in-laws' new home. Breakfast Miles enjoyed the train set my in-laws bought him for Christmas. I'm glad he also loved the play kitchen we got him for a Christmas present. Have a Great New Year!

You may want to bookmark this site for future reference. Link: Diffen - Compare Anything. Diffen. Discern. Decide. Let me know what you think.

Yesterday I took a long nap and when I woke up I felt like I was drunk.  I'm going to skip taking a nap today or maybe only take a short one. I'm waiting until the holidays are over before doubling the dose, as my doctor directed. I found the video and GIF on the web.

Your Thoughts?

These two songs make me laugh each year.  I found a video of what seems to be dogs actually barking the song without some sort of technical electronic modification. Here's Grandma's Song

This adorable puppy must be experiencing its first winter. Some Strange Looking Nuts I found most of these on the   Miss Cellania  blog.

I watched this clever slapstick movie again this morning.  Still getting used to my seizure medication, it brought a much needed smile.  If you enjoy a lighthearted  comedy with chases and collisions, you'll like this movie.  

I finally finished the play kitchen and Lynette put up a tiny live tree. We go for a tiny tree because a large one is just too much work instead of being fun for us. I cut a gash in my fingertip with the power screwdriver while I was setting up the kitchen.  It still hurts but that was my only injury.  I guess I got away easy. Every year Lynette asks me what I'd like for Christmas but I just never know.  I can't think of any realistic gift; no Rolls-Royce, no collection of homes across the world, no fame and fortune.  None of that would truly make me happy anyway. So it will be a pair of pajamas or something like that. Here's a closer view of the kitchen. The photo isn't very sharp.

From National Day Calendar: I mostly use my microwave oven to cook frozen vegetables, frozen muffins, potatoes and "TV dinners" .  It doesn't seem like much but I use the oven every day.   Lynette likes to cook with the stove top and regular oven.

Lynette sent away for a toy play kitchen for our grandson Miles.  This is it partway finished. If he does not like this Christmas present then someday his yet to be born sister may. He'll have many other presents to enjoy. When it arrived the box was so heavy that we could not lift it. We had to drag it into the bedroom where I could put it together. There were no parts attached to each other.  It was like a jigsaw puzzle but in three dimensions instead of a flat two dimensional set of pieces. The instruction sheet consisted of fifteen pages without one word on how to put it together.  I'm not exaggerating.  There was not one word. It was all page after page of diagrams. I'm not a "handyman" so this is a real challenge for me.  But it's fun.  It is difficult but fun, just like a jigsaw puzzle. Here is the cardboard sheet with the screws, bolts and other fasteners, most of which I have no idea of what they're called. So far this will be th...

I visited my Neurologist yesterday. He wants me keep taking my present medication Lamictal and add Vimpat. I can't drive for six months. It's almost like being under house arrest, allowed to go out only when Lynette drives me! It all started when I had a small seizure this past Friday.  Lynette called the medics but I was okay soon after they arrived. I decided not go to the hospital. I'm afraid it might interfere with the good mood I've been in.  My depression has been gone for several years. The goal now is to prevent seizures from getting worse. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

Last week I bought a Pressure Cooker at Walmart to celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary. It's a Farberware 6 quart " 7-1 programmable pressure cooker".  I like it because it can also be used as a crock pot slow cooker. The first thing we cooked was a pork roast.  It fell apart but tasted great. Next we want to try the slow crock pot setting, maybe on chicken cutlets. It's a new toy for old folks.  I even want to try and cook, which is something I usually leave for Lynette who loves to cook. Any favorite recipes you'd like to share?  Strange or funny experiences you've had and want to comment about?

I've never seen these interesting spiders myself but I'd love to see one up close in real life. Here are a few videos. Their eyes are special. This Wednesday I have an appointment to see my neurologist about the small seizure I had last week.  It always happens while I'm asleep so I should be okay during the day.  Maybe a medication adjustment might help.  Thanks for your encouraging comments.

I usually take 3 tablets of Lamictal 100mg in the evening and 2 tablets in the morning.  I was on 3 tablets twice a day but it was too much.  It made me too groggy.  So I went to taking 3 at night and 2 in the morning. Now after the seizure I added another half tablet to make it 2 and 1/2 in the morning and 3 at night.  I felt like I was "drunk" all day.  I could not drive. Caffeine from coffee and tea helped. That's all I can think of for now.

I had a seizure this morning, nothing major.  Four men and a woman who was in charge came to the house.  The four men must have come because Lynette said I was acting strange.  I don't remember it. I remember Lynette talking on the phone and locking herself in another bedroom.  I asked what she was doing and she told me about the seizure.  I couldn't believe it.  I was sure she was overreacting to a nightmare I must have had but I didn't remember any dream.   When the medics arrived they took my blood pressure and some other physical exams.  Then they asked me several questions which was very disturbing. I could not remember my daughter and granddaughter's names for a while.  The year and day of the week was difficult.  The name of the president was a mystery. But after a few minutes it all came back to me, thank God. They asked me if I wanted to go the the hospital but I did not want to go.  I decided to call my neurologist...

The Brooklyn Bridge in New York is my favorite.  For me it's a work of art with much history behind it. For more information follow this link: Brooklyn Bridge - Wikipedia Video: Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge (I found these photos on the web)

I tried doing this several years ago and just could not keep up with it.  Maybe I just lost interest.  My guess is that I started a 30 day project then learned that it was not for me.  It was a mistake. It was something I really did not want to do. Even so, I felt like I had failed at it.  This discouragement led me to just drop the whole 30-Day thing. Here's the video about trying something new for 30 days: For my next attempt I'll try to: 1. Give the project a few days to try out.  If I feel it's worthwhile I'll continue.  Otherwise I'll choose some other goal. There's no shame in stopping a goal that's a mistake.  If I'm going the wrong way there's no shame in correcting course.  (As an example I need about 8 hours of sleep.  If I try to get by on less I'll feel miserable.  So I'll stop and  just switch to another project.) 2.  The goal must be realistic, not almost impossible to do.  (A bad habit mig...

I'd like to share this wonderful yet sad old English ballad that Lynette found on the web.

There are many similarities but I believe there is still time to set things right. Here are some opinions I found from a few articles on the web.  I'll try to condense them and leave a link in case you want to read more. From Salon: 8 striking parallels between the U.S. and the Roman Empire - Salon.com 1 — Staggering Increase in the Cost of Elections, with Dubious Campaign Funding Sources. Our 2012 election reportedly cost $3 billion. All of it was raised from private sources – often creating the appearance, or the reality, that our leaders are beholden to special interest groups. 2 — Politics as the Road to Personal Wealth. “Their focus is therefore not so much on the people who sent them to Washington. Their focus is instead on those who will make them rich.” ( Republic Lost ) 3 — Continuous War: A national state of security arises, distracting attention from domestic challenges with foreign wars. Similar to the late Roman Republic, the US – for the past 100 years ...

" National Button Day is observed annually on November 16.  Founded in 1938,  the  National Button Society   recognized button collecting as an organized hobby.  Both novice and advanced button collectors celebrate  the enjoyment collecting on this day." Quote from the site: Who knew?  I've never heard about this hobby but it does make sense.  If you can collect coins and stamps, why not buttons?  I don't think I'll start collecting buttons myself though.

I found this video on the Plowing Through Life Blog.  It was on an excellent post about Remembrance Day (Veterans Day in USA). Enjoy the video and visit the blog post: Plowing Through Life: Remembrance Day