Moving on... down the street

We've fnally decided to move. Oddly enough, we're only heading three blocks down the same street. Weird, I know -- but the deal made sense to us. Damn, I had forgotten (or blocked out) how much work is involved in moving! But it's okay -- new horizons. Onward and upward.

Hooray and such

Thank God, we made it to the New Year -- and the family still has an even number of legs! They beat the infection, Marty's got his shiny new knee ---- and, just as soon as we got him home from the hospital on New Year's Eve, we ended up having to turn right around and take him back in, because his gall bladder was a mess and needed to be yanked. I mean, is there no end???

But he has his leg, that's what matters most. More recovery time ahead.

D-day right after Xmas

Marty's next surgery is finally scheduled -- for Dec. 27. That's when we find out if they beat the MRSA infection -- or not. If it's "not" -- then he loses his leg. It they cleared it up, he gets a new prosthetic knee joint, and then we keep our fingers crossed for like two years.

It should be a good Christmas, but definitely overshadowed by the worry. Need to just stay positive and hope for the best. We could really use a Christmas miracle.

Will It Blend?

Hilarious, and genius. How do you take a blender, and make it interesting? www.willitblend.com is the answer. Love it.

dem bones, oh, woe

It's been a flat-out AWFUL string of months; I couldn't bear to post anything. Marty had knee surgery, and long story short, he contracted MRSA (aka "flesh-eating bacteria") and now he's in a wheelchair with NO KNEE. He has a "spacer" in his leg that keeps his leg straight (since there's nothing that can bend) while they're fighting to beat the infection. He's been so sick, and we still don't know what the outcome will be. It's a terrible time.

I'm coping with it as best I can, but I'm basically not handling it well, I know. I just go to work, try to stay focused, and keep praying. A lot.

survived the shilleleagh

OK, made it through parade day. Brock walked the parade with me, and damn if everyone doesn't love an Irish Wolfhound. He was so good. It was a fun event, but I was very glad when it was over. Rave reviews all round -- that helped.

It dawned on me that this was Brock's third St. Pat's parade in three states -- he marched in the Seattle parade when he was a pup, then in the San Francisco parade, and now twice in Denver. Love it.

superb silence in the snow

I'm still getting used to being a "denverite". The sudden surprise of waking up when it's snowed all night still really gets me. It's SO quiet when there's a blanket of snow, and it's so beautiful. I still am a terrible driver in the snow, though -- I hope I get the hang of it some day, but I have my doubts. I'm too much of a San Franciscan, and it never snows there!

Bought a new sectional sofa today. Hah. New to ME, that is! With cats, dogs, and kids the last thing I'd ever consider is buying brand new furniture. Maybe at some point down the road. Now, I'm all about the bargain -- and $40 for a big L-shaped denim sofa rocks, as far as I'm concerned.

and now, a flippin parade

Turns out that my job has me planning our major entry into a major Denver parade. Woo hoo! Chalk this up as one of those things I didn't think I'd have as part of my job description.

In a previous live, there was a stint where I met and worked with a string of what you'd call "colorful characters" -- a mafia lawyer, a Sioux money guy, a South African martinet with a Braveheart fixation, and two different burned-out daily newspaper newsroom editors. Sounds more like a bad film treatment, but it was reality.

Don't know exactly why this came to me right now -- maybe its because I've got other "personality types" to deal with right now.

Hell, it's fun. Let's go throw a parade.

Ginormous Fake Tree for Me!

Tooling along down the road, stumbled on a church rummage sale back in August. There, on the sidewalk, was a bent and splitting giant cardboard box containing a fake Christmas tree. Ten bucks. And HEAVY! We schlepped it into the back of the car, stuffed it in the garage, and pretty much forgot about it until now, when I dragged it out to set up for our obligatory holiday festivities. WOW!!!! This tree is a MONSTER tree. 14 feet tall! Since our living room is open to the second story, there's a lot of airspace to fill -- and that's why I bought the tree, because i figured to buy a real tree that height would be close to two hundred bucks, easily. And I'm cheap.

So now, we've got this fake tree that, when covered with oodles of ornaments, hundreds of lights, and miles of garlands, looks amazing.

And going forward, I'll probably always have a soft spot for it, because it was so damn cheap! What a STEAL for Christmas!

All You Gotta Do is Sing

Ayla and I sang in the Cherry Hills Community Church "Christmas at the Ranch" production this year, and it was really very fun. Certainly didn't feel anything like "church" from MY frame of reference -- Catholics don't refer to behind the altar as "backstage" -- but this is (as Marty puts it) a "Branson Extravaganza Church".

But it was so much fun! I love singing with Ayla.