Steve and Suzy - Main Blog

Today would have marked my Father's 91st birthday. I always remember this day every year and yet, somehow, don't remember Mom who would have been 85 this past May. I miss them both. I always knew I would.

Wow... no posts since January. No major stuff going on other than life. Laura and her boys came for a couple weeks this summer. We had a really good visit. I miss them too.

Jennifer and her family have been in a few times and they are vacationing this week... they picked a good time to be away as there is so much flooding in their part of the world.

Stephanie is expecting a boy in December. Anna turned one in June.

Katie is still in school but the end is in sight. May 2010 the last I heard.

Suzy started a new job a couple weeks back and getting settled into that routine.

I have been traveling a bit... Cleveland and Albuquerque last week and I just got back from Cincinnati this morning.

We are slowly conquering projects around the house. Suzy and I broke up the concrete that was collapsing at the end of the driveway a few weeks back... it took 8 bags of gravel mix to fill it in. We have dug up the last of the timbers in what was once the arbor in the back yard. Redistributing the dirt and leveling is now on the radar. Gonna take down my Ham Radio antennas too when the mood strikes me... I haven't used them in years. Had a guy trim up the front of the house and mulch. Looking at replacing those tall windows in the kitchen and den too.... not sure how soon. I don't want to get to far ahead but there is quite a list. We would have done more by this point but Suzy and I are busy farming..... on facebook. I think we have that under control now so we can find time for a real project.

Well... until whenever the mood strikes me again --- Steve

Thought I would blog since I seem to be limited in other things I would like to be doing like sewing, quilting, painting, even getting the Christmas stuff packed and back upstairs. Most of it is packed or at least waiting to be packed, but I can't get it back upstairs and Steve really can't either because of his shoulder surgery. We may have to throw a blanket over the Christmas tree box and sit on it until next Christmas.

My hand is doing well, but not fast enough to suit me. I still can't hold a pen correctly, so writing is tough. I have to hold it between my first and second fingers and even that pulls at times, so I have to back off. Fortunately, typing and using the computer doesn't bother me.

My office moved New Year's Eve and we actually started seeing patients on Jan. 2. The new office is nice and I actually like where my space is. I am removed from the busier areas, but not totally away from the things I need to have access to. I have windows behind me, which is good and bad. You can feel the cold/heat thru them, but I got a space heater and have a fan for summer. All in all, I'll take it compared to where I was and having my back to everyone and everything.

Steve is finishing up his physical therapy on his shoulder next week, we think. He has done very well. I wasn't sure how quickly he would bounce back, partly being diabetic and partly because he is somewhat sedentary. Of course, this time of year, work is rather dead, so he hasn't had to get back to being too physical too quick. Hopefully, not for long. The business itself cannot sustain itself unless some of their bids turn into work. He is going to Cincinnati this next week to work on a project for the Reds and to LasVegas at the end of February to do a race. Milwaukee Brewers have called for them to work their season.

Steve got me fixed up on Facebook, but I am having a tough time really getting the hang of it. I know it shouldn't be so difficult, but I guess it has more to it than I have been able to see or understand.

That's about it for this post, guess I will sign off and see what there might be showing at the movies. Saw Mall Cop last weekend....was not impressed(Steve's pick!)Bedtime Stories the weekend before. Maybe Bride Wars or InkHeart this weekend. Will be glad when the temperatures start moderating again and we can get out and do things. Would love to visit, but just hate to be out and about when it is so cold, gray and rainy. Doesn't leave you any motivation to do much of anything. Rain, rain go away, bring us a little....a lot of sunshine!!

XOXO

In an effort (and it IS an effort) to post SOMETHING. Here Goes . . .

It has been about six weeks since either Suzy or I have posted so I will start with catching up on what I can recall.

In early November I had arthroscopic surgery on a shoulder. I have been doing PT since then 2-3 times a week. I am now beginning to get range of motion back that I have not had for well over a year. Strange that I can think of nothing as the reason this problem developed. The MRI showed some inflammation and scar tissue but no damage to the joint/rotator cuff etc. The doctor said he cleaned out the scar tissue and this should promote recovery.

Suzy is going to have surgery on her right-hand for some form of degeneration on her thumb as well as for Carpal Tunnel problems. Unfortunately this on her dominant hand (right) but the doctor thinks the recovery time will be rather quick. She should be able to go back to work after only a few days.

As my job goes I have been to Cleveland a couple times and to Kansas City a couple times... going to Cleveland for the Browns/Bengal’s game this weekend. I believe that is the final home game for them. Not particularly looking forward to it since this is a definite winter weather event. That should do it until January when there is potential for many trips to Cleveland should a major project come through.

As most who read this know by now all but Suzy are now appearing on Facebook.... I went from a couple of friends to over 60 in the last couple of weeks and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down. It is a curious type of environment so I have not decided whether it is something I will mess with long-term. I already am involved in what I would call business networking on Linkedin and Plaxo. It is good to stay in contact with acquaintances but Facebook is a rather hyper active environment.

We are all set for Christmas, or that is what Suzy (the family shopper) tells me, I have had very little involvement... I guess it is a woman thing. I did buy a few things but the majority has been Suzy's doing.

Well I cannot think of anything else, at the moment, so this will have to do.

- Steve -

I'm going to use that as the reason I haven't blogged in a while. It seems that I have acquired so many logins and passwords that I have trouble remembering them all. Some of the ones, I have at work for insurance companies want us to change them every few months, which really messes me up, but they are necessary, so I just have to come up with creative ones that I can hopefully remember.

I can't think of anything that is really exciting or newsworthy, but we sure seem to stay busy doing nothing. My office has been bought by Sumner Regional effective Jan.1. Hopefully, that is a good thing! They assure us no one will loose their job, then Fox News reported Monday that 90 Sumner Regional administrative and non-medical staff members will be cut. Dr.Chaffin insists that it is strictly from the hospitals that they own in Gallatin, Macon Co, and Trousdale Co. Our office will be moving across the street from where we are now to a new building (a couple of years old). That will be nice to have something new and clean to work in. Hopefully, a better floor plan too.

I am glad to report I have about half of my Christmas shopping done. All of the grandchildren are done. I still have to get through birthdays before I can proceed with Christmas. Dan, it sure would help if you could give us a few ideas, please!!

Just so you will know, Steve is having shoulder surgery on Thursday. Similar to rotator cuff, but not. He has bursitis and the Dr. feels like he can go in and "clean" it up some and allow it to then heal itself. He will be sidelined for a few days and then have some physical therapy to get him back on track.

I did get my quilt kit on Saturday. Steve had to go to Kansas City for their game on Sunday, so my friend from work, went with me. I just love that store. I see so much that I would love to have, I can never concentrate on just one thing. I did get 3 pieces that are reproductions of vintage fabrics. They had at least 2 fabrics that are the same as ones in some old quilt squares I got from Steve's mom. I think they were probably some of Aunt Lucille or Granny 'castle's work.
The kit I got is for a king sized quilt, so it won't be finished any time soon.

I can't think of anything else of interest, so I will call it a night. Any of you can feel free to do you own "posting"....Jennifer and Katie to be specific!!!

It has been so nice being off for this long weekend. I wish it wasn't time to go back to work but it is, so I will...tomorrow.

Last Thursday, I flew to Cleveland to meet Steve who had to be there on Tuesday. The Browns had a pre-season game with the Chicago Bears and while I am not much of a sports fan, I have never been to a pro game and was somewhat curious about it. Also, I have not been to Ohio and was eager to see another big city. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but it didn't strike me as too much different from Nashville other than it is decidedly more industrial. There really wasn't smoke and smog puffing out of the towers and several of the plants were actually nice looking and well kept, I thought. In fact, the architecture is what I noticed the most for some reason. Like Nashville they have a lot of urban buildings that are vacant, but there seems to be a lot of activity or plans in the works for some of them. They are very nice looking buildings, lots of visual detail. Makes you wonder about all the potential these places have.

Steve and I went by the hotel to drop my luggage off and he took a cat nap. I changed clothes too, since I left Nashville with 80 degree weather and arrived in Cleveland to 65 degrees. Knowing the game was at night and the stadium is on Lake Erie, I knew I was going to need to wear something warmer. The down side of all the weather change was, I packed for the temperature to be 65(or about that)the entire time, but of course, that changed. Nonetheless, we were joined by a guy that does the sound board and got to the stadium around 3:30pm (game is not until 7:30)and I went through security and was given my pass and wristband. The stadium itself is just vast. I have a terrible sense of direction and if I had to find my way, I might still be rambling around in that building somewhere. I met lots of people and saw lots of areas for lots of different purposes and all of it serves a need for having a football game or having it communicated by radio or television. I found it all very interesting and fascinating at how it comes together. Steve and I went down on the field to fix some connectors. Met even more people and got my first sight of some of the players practicing. Have no clue who any of them were, but they didn't look so tough (from my perspective)! No pictures allowed per the staff pass I was given...big no no, so I had to settle for a picture of me on the 10 yard line.

Long story short, it was a long day and night, finally got back to the hotel around midnight.

Friday was our own. We opted to go to the Cleveland Zoo. Upon arrival we find that it was Senior Day. Finally a perk for being over 55. It was a nice l-o-n-g walk and the grounds are pretty. The animal spaces,not so much. The animals didn't really look happy or especially healthy. They look like they are just there and bored. They are doing construction in some places and maybe it will improve in time.

We drove through some neighborhoods and saw some really nice older houses, mostly craftsmen. Some have been updated some could use it, but all in all, nice areas. If we had really planned better, we might have gone to visit some friends that live within a few hours of Cleveland. That would have been enlightening. We exchange Christmas cards but have not seen one another since 1974.

We went to dinner and planned to go an Indians baseball game, but when we came out of the restaurant it started to rain.

After stopping in a below ground shopping mall for a few minutes we opted to pass on the ball game and walked back to the hotel in the rain. That's romantic, right!

Saturday we slept in, but because of a couple of complaints about the sound, Steve needed to be back at the stadium for a meeting at 2pm. The game again was at 7:30pm between Boston College and Kent State. Steve and I walked around the stadium and watched some of jets that were flying over as part of the air show, also going on this weekend. It wasn't as interesting as the pro game and the stadium didn't pull out all the bells and whistles that the pro team gets.

Sunday we didn't have a lot of time before we had to leave for the airport, but enough we wanted to do something fun. We had been invited to join a guy and his family to watch the air show, but there was also a "Taste of Cleveland" down by the lake. One of the attendents in the elevator had mentioned it and it sounded interesting for the amount of time we had. There were probably 15-20 vendors from restuarants around town, cooking demonstrations and lots of beer. I think Cleveland could probably give Milwaukee a run for its beer drinking. We tried Irish egg rolls, a Hungarian cookie filled dessert, and Thai Mango fried rice. The dessert was forgettable, but the rice was good. We both really liked the Irish egg roll, Steve even picked up a menu so he could try it again on another trip.

An Irish egg roll has shredded cabbage, some corned beef, onion and Monterey Jack cheese, fried in a won ton. They served it with 1000 Island dressing, but it didn't really need it.

Our trip home went well and I was ready to sleep in our own bed. Can't say that I am a fan of "sleep number beds". We visited the Mammaws today and came home for a nap. Guess it is back to the daily grind tomorrow. I really like these long weekends, just wish there were more of them...and closer together.

Enjoyed talking to the girls briefly, miss everyone!! Let us hear from you more.

XOXO

Yesterday (Saturday) Suzy and I decided we needed to make a day trip. It was either to see Katie or Jennifer or Stephanie. Our plan was to go do a visit and come back the same day. The mileage made it easy to decide. Jennifer was 384 miles round trip... Katie was 466 miles round trip and Stephanie was 248 mile round trip... we chose Stephanie. We left the house about 9 am and took the back roads through Clarksville, Dover and Paris TN as I have become fond of taking a less frenetic route... the GPS does help. We arrived at the Masco Farm at Noon. We visited for about 2 1/2 hours... took some photos and a few movies. I am in the process of uploading one of the movies to Youtube... it will be linked on the Anna Movies page on our website and the photos will get posted in the gallery later today. Here is a photo of Stephanie and Anna in the pergola.

Anna certainly is more active now than when I last saw her. I tried calling Laura but apparently it was too early (8:30 am Hawaii time)... I got Jack and we chatted for a few minutes... he was not the normal chatty Jack so I told him to tell Mom we had called. We headed back home, roughly the same path we took coming back. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Clarkesville for a bite, drove home and I became one with the couch.

Today I maintained my relationship with the couch until early afternoon. We then went to see Tropic Thunder... it was a hoot a lot of self depreciation about the movie industry... there were quite a few laughs but it was typical Ben Stiller fare... I give it 3 1/2 stars.

This week I will be in Cleveland Tuesday through Sunday. Suzy will be joining me later in the week. This will be her first trip there. We have a game against the Bears on Thursday and a College game there on Saturday. We are headed back Sunday afternoon. I think we will visit the Mammaws on Monday, as we will be due to visit.

That's all I have at the moment.

Steve