Homeward Bound

My first couple of days of summer vacation have been pretty laid back. I am trying to focus on getting the wood done once and for all, so I can clean up the lawn a little bit--I'd say we have a good five cord of wood to get the winter going. I can't wait until the winter when we can burn again. I hate the summer heat.

Does anyone remember Ramblin Root beer? It was the best out there, and now its gone. And we are left with insipid brands like Barqs and Mug, which both suck.

Why, every summer, is there some great white mystery involving some attractivete, rich woman who is either a)kidnapped on a cruise b)kidnapped from her house c) murdered d) abducted by aliens. Kind of funny how these things all seem to happen ONLY from the months of June-August. I can't believe it--right now Bush is singlehandedly ruining the world as we know it, and we are watching stories about some spoiled white girl who loved margaritas and "was just so sweet to everyone she met" that suddenly went missing. I wonder how many ethnic, less attractive, less monetary wealthy people go missing every day--even in the winter!

Today's picture is that of, quite possibly, the most physically strong person I have met. This is Grandmom, Amanda's . . .well . . .grandmom. She has been in intensive care almost exclusively since New Year's Day. What started off as a "simple" triple bypass ended up as a "sextuple??" bypass (six). Complications involving this surgery resulted in her being minutes from death a multitude of times. We remember lucidly phone calls from Lynne saying things like "if you want to see grandmom alive, come down ASAP," yet she has continued to defy the expectations of both physics and doctors alike with her miraculous healing. On Memorial Day weekend, we were down in Portland doing what we thought was "saying goodbye," since her lungs had shut down, they were FULL of fluid, and blood pressure only existed because it was being provided for her through electricity. It is kind of surreal walking out of a room saying goodbye to someone knowing that that is probably the last time you will see them. There comes that point when you have to physically say bye and physically walk out the room, and that is heartbreaking.

But, this picture was taken just yesterday in Portland. Grandmom is getting one final surgery on Monday to get a feeding tube removed, and then she is scheduled to come home on Tuesday or Wednesday. WHich is good for me, because I can finally get my pork and sauerkraut and my Barnes and Noble gift certificates for Christmas. Look, I know grandmom has been just barely hanging on, but, people, lets have some respect for me and my pork.

I'm just kidding. No hate mail please.