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Sharpening our Skills

We're starting to visit the Montrose Rod & Gun Club indoor (and outdoor) range more regularly.  Sandi is a natural with her Glock and Combat Commander. 

 

Captive in my own home

Although my recovery is coming along fine, my mobility is limited by abdominal tenderness. I've been on the couch or in bed for days on end and it is annoying to say the least. The other night brought a beautilul sunset with bright long shadows that enticed me from the couch to grab this shot from the window.

Hooked up again

I had my final surgery on Thursday to reverse my ileostomy and I'm being released from the hospital in a few hours. Woo-hoo! All systems seem to be working fine and I'm digesting scrambled eggs & pancakes as I write this. I still have a month or so of healing of the abdominal hole but it is a relatively painless process that simply requires changing the dressing twice daily. I'm happy that things have turned out so well. It has been a trying 9 months.

Final surgery 32 days...

I am scheduled for my final (hopefully) surgery on the 28th of August.  I am literally counting the days.

We started cross-fencing the horse pasture yesterday and were able to push in almost all of the 6½' t-posts with the Bobcat bucket.  So much easier than using a manual post-pounder, especially in our rocky soil.  Still have to do one more fence section and several gates, but it should be completed by next week.  We have plastic post sleeves that fit over the t-posts and hold the 1½" electric tape.I'll post a pic when the tape is on and the project is complete.

Almost July

Surgery went well, stayed in Delta Memorial 6 days.  The re-attachment of my large intestine failed the first few tries, but he finally got it together without a leak.  Because it was tenuous he performed a temporary ileostomy on my small intestine on the right side which will ease the load on the colon for the next month or so.  More baggies ugh! It can be reversed with a relatively minor procedure.  I'm a bit disappointed that I still have mis-routed plumbing, but it should be corrected soon.

We will be staying home for the 4th of July, watching the fireworks from our back porch which has a view over the lake.  They launch fireworks from the lake edge so it should be a nice view.

Mid-June update

As I mentioned, tomorrow I go in for my 2nd surgery.  I'm looking forward to it and getting my intestines back to normal.  The worst part is having to stay in the hospital bed for 7 days.

We are in the middle of our first hay cutting this year, don't know if we will get three cuttings or not.

Before cutting...

... after cutting

Also, we had a baby colt, here are a few photos.  The first is the new baby sleeping with Sandi in the field.

This is a link to a short video taken with my iPhone of the baby and momma.

I'll post more in a week or so... I hope, no promises.

Just updating...

We have been working on the rental and things are going well.  We have a couple all lined up with 3 horses and a teenage daughter, and we hope to have them moved in by the 2nd week of June.  The house is on 1.5 ac and is a 3 BR 1 BA with a really nice bunkhouse behind it.  It looks better than in the photo.

The baby chicks we got in late March are growing up quick!

Same ones now:

I have a 2nd surgery  scheduled for June 19 which will be a repeat of my December  operation, but this one will put everything back together correctly and for good.  Although it will be another 10 day hospital stay and 2 month recovery, I am looking forward to having this health issue behind me. 

Not quite spring yet...

It's been a cold and wet winter here in Delta compared to normal.  For us it's still a lot milder than Meeker and we are enjoying it daily.  We get a lot of light snow that melts off the same day.  The temps are normally well into the 40's by now but have barely broken 30's recently. 

I'm recovering well from my surgery except for a nasty abdominal incisional hernia that can be quite painful when it flares up.  My doctor doesn't want to go in and repair it until I lose some more weight which means it will have to wait until late April or early May.  To date I've lost about 40lbs and I'm on a schedule to lose an additional 25 or 30.  Don't worry, I'm not about to waste away to nothing. 

I'm still working from home and that is going well.  I can handle almost anything from here and the staff in Meeker and Craig handle the customer face-time.  Hopefully I'll be able to start driving there once a week by March. 

We're going to start our spring projects around here, including digging a pond.  I'll take photos and post them here as we make progress.

ttyl

Happy New Year 2008

It's official, 2008 is here and Sandi and I hope it brings the best to everyone.

[taken with the online snapshot feature of my Canon Weather Cam]

From a personal perspective, Christmas could have been a bit more relaxing.  On Dec 16th after 3 days of abdominal pain, I was admitted at Delta County Memorial Hospital where I underwent emergency abdominal surgery for a ruptured intestine.  There I stayed until Christmas afternoon   when they let me go home in Sandi's loving care  .  I went over 12 days without any solid food!  I'll probably not be able to return to work until sometime in mid-January.  I have to tell you that having someone inside your belly hand washing and messing around with all your innards makes you a tad sore and irritable.  Everything is shaping up well now and at least I know that there won't be any more diverticulitis attacks and there is no problem anywhere inside me now. Unfortunately I'll have to endure life with a temporary colostomy for 6 months or so. What a pain in the ass ;)

The bankruptcy at NC Telecom is still in process and the court and main creditor (Ruraal Utilities Service, part of USDA) are putting the pressure on us.  The delay seems to be just getting our attorney and parent company to process and file the needed agreement to clarify and un-comingle the assets.  We really hope to offer a plan and assest purchase in the coming 4 months.

The new house is coming along very well.  The winter here isn't near as burdensome as in Meeker and we can actually keep working on stuff outside most of the time. 

Have a great new year and make it into whatever is best for YOU!

Summer '05

Summer in Meeker is a short-lived thing, and this year it was very comfortable.  Sandi and I took several trips to see Joe and Anita in Missouri, even spent a lot of time looking at property to purchase.  In the end, nothing came of it as there isn't much in the way of work there for me. Things are unsettled here with NC Telecom, and the next few months will tell if I stay there or not. 

In May we took an enchanting vacation to Colonial Williamsburg where we met up with my sisters, Mimi and Diane.  What a fun week!  We went to Monticello and dined and drank and sat and talked.  We stayed at an old converted plantation complete with duck ponds and great dining facilities, part of our time-share exchange program.  It was especially fortutitous since only a month or so later Mimi's blood disease flared up and she was gone in a matter of weeks.   We have great photos of our time together and wonderful memories.

During one of my solo trips to see Joe, Sandi entered some competitive horse events at the Rio Blanco County Fair where she was thrown and sustained a rather severe concussion.  Brandy tells some great stories about how she lost her memory and didn't even know where I was or why on earth I'd be in Missouri.  Apparently she kept repeating the same two or three phrases over and over; "I got thrown form my horse, didn't I?  It was Zanna wasn't it? . . . That bitch.  <squealing>  Bad pony!"  She apparently said this at least 100 time in the first 10 hours after her accident.  It took over three weeks for her to get back to normal and recover memory.  Now she is fine but still doesn't remember anything of the day of the accident after loading her horses in the trailer.

Rumor has it that the main Quintus class-action suit will settle before year end, and our CA State action against them will follow immediately thereafter .  It will be nice to finally pu that era behind us.  The CEO Alan Anderson apparently went to jail for up to 10 years, but I haven't been able to find out the exact time he will serve.  It isn't enough.