Drifus’ Travels

Well to all of my non-readers Happy New Year, wow I can hear the echoes, echoes. Well the dating world changed recently and I have met 2 people, one in person and one I chat with from Texas. Both are going well based on their geographical location, it keeps me busy and I am having fun.

I am not sure where I left off with my house purchase so if there is some repetition, sorry I am too lazy to read my previous posts. Well I have some kitchen utensils and plates, bowls etc. I have always found the kitchen to be the easiest to deal with, I guess 7 years in food service can help.

Now furniture was a real pain in the ass, I looked for months, I had decorators come over, I visited every furniture store in the St.Louis area and even checked out things online. Well 3 months in the making and I now have a recliner and sofa, both are black leather. The real issue was the room I have is a dining/living combination and it’s more rectangular. So length of a sofa was a big issue, most of what I liked was over 90″, I did however find one in the mid 80″ range. Finding a recliner wasn’t too hard, especially after going to name brand stores who would want upwards of $1700 for a recliner. We I bought one I really like for under $400, both the chair and sofa are brand new and I still have the tags on them.

So now the next endeavor is the dining room or dinette room as it should be called. I like the thought of a counter height square table with a built in lazy susan, that when the edges are flipped up it becomes a round table. I have also entertained a square to rectangle table without a lazy susan. Still on the fence with this purchase but within 30 days I will have it in the house.

O forgot to mention that I did find bedroom furniture, it’s dark merlot in color with a black leather head board. Which is nice when reading in bed. So now I have a dresser/mirror, 2 nightstand and a queen bed.

So once the last of the furniture is purchased I will revisit the kitchen as there are many gadgets I still want to add. A bowl-lift mixer with all of the attachments, magnetic spice rack, I want to also “gut” the little pantry and add shelving that adjusts. Other things like a mandoline, a rasp and other veg. fruit carving items. Now am I chef, well not professionally but now that I am alone on my own I plan to learn how to make great meals and blend some nice drinks to go with it.

While this latter stuff is going on I will get back to finishing the wired network and micro server room. This will allow me to then start on the home automation and add some additional insulation and sound proofing.

I have CAD drawings of my place so I can play with ideas until I run out. Eventually the main upstairs bathroom will get a make over. Yes the house is only 5 yrs. old but the previous owner didn’t do much and when she did, didn’t take the time to research what she was doing or hire it out. If I had the money I would gut all of the inside perimeter walls and add some additional power wires and make sure the insulation is as high an R factor allowed in that space. Then I would have it professionally re-drywalled and painted as I know I could do it but sometimes things should be hired out to ensure it’s right. But that is a pipe dream for another time. Other things I am planning is to make this place as “green” as possible, wrapping water line, wrapping and sealing duct work. Add flashing insulation to the attic, after i finish wiring for ceiling fans and network.

As much as I like living in my RV I think I could handle living in this condo, I can spend more time on the changes I want to make while someone is outside taking care of the exterior. I do have a little green place I can “play” and from what I have seen the more you grab the less they cut. So my patio and to be built deck may help with that. Well it’s almost Friday and I can talk about the garage another time.

Nite all.

Well I have solved all of my BB (BlackBerry) issues. I updated the OS from RIM and then installed apps the I actually use on any given day. Now on a fresh boot of the phone I have just shy of 26M of memory. By the end of the day I still have 24M, the only other time I reboot the phone is when loading a 20M Cacheberry file. It’s not necessary but why invite trouble if you can avoid it. I do wish the phone had infrared, yes it’s old school but you could more, like TV, VCR, DVD etc controls, a remote you would have to look for.

I guess I shall let the cat out of the bag, I have bought a house, call it a large hobby. There is nothing wrong with the place I just thought that with the market like it is, it would be a shame to pass up an opportunity to own real estate. So now I am out of the RV for quite some time. I will probably list it for sale in the spring as I know I will not be using it anytime soon. So anyone looking for a 2006 Montana 3400RL that has traveled maybe 320 miles and looks like new let me know.

Ok on other fronts, online dating again. Yes I am about as sick of it as you are reading about it. Online dating has to be the most depressing thing in life. Death is less depressing because it’s over, dating goes on and on unless you say stop. What if you don’t find a person or maybe the ones that contact you aren’t close to what you are looking for. Like I am sure I have mentioned before, I have contacted people and never hear back. At least you can check your sent messages and see that they were read and or deleted. I think sometimes children are more mature than adults, a simply “sorry not interested”, “I am dating someone”, “my dog has 10 days to live so I want to be there for him”. Think of online dating as being at a bar or some local pick up spot, someone comes up to you and asks you to dance or have a drink etc, do you just sit there and ignore them? Really? I think not, you would say thanks but I am not interested, or I am with someone, at the most you would have some light conversation out of politeness. Well same goes for the anonymous online dating it’s just COMMON HUMAN F’n COURTESY!!!!!

Anyway back to the depressing part, for the most part I have given up on being invested in it. My new approach is more like a science project, I change my profile (it’s all true, I just add and subtract things). I change the “title” of my posting and I click on a bunch of profiles so they know someone looked at theirs, yes I do read them. I am not going to collect data on my “experiment” as it’s not scientific by any stretch of the imagination.

It just came to me On-Line Dating (O-L-D) hummm

Well I guess I should sort of update things from the last entry. The Blackberry Storm is still a really nice phone, though if you have an application with a memory issue (leak) the phone can be a pain to use as it will really slow down. I have scheduled mine to reboot about 30 minutes before I wake up which helps. I have also removed or downgraded apps that I have installed and have had mixed results. I think I might just “clear” the phone completely and start over, this has worked before on my Windows based phones.

I guess I did write to soon about Beth, cancer is back and she is back to Chemotherapy (chemo). She is two treatments into to it and for the most part is sick less than last time. So I guess the fight is on again, she is also possibly going to work on her blog this time. Check the home page for the link.

Never made it to a spa but I am not dead yet either, The RV is in storage and still looks good, I think I might get a cover for it so the graphics on the side won’t fade. I have been looking at some private campgrounds around here and it looks like I can get a lot for a few thousand and the yearly fee would be less that I pay to store it, plus I would have a weekend getaway when I want to. The only problem I am finding is that most are only open from April to October, I have not confirmed if access is allowed and services are shut off or what. I kind of like being in my RV in the winter watching the snow fall, I fell like I am closer to the snow than in a sticks and bricks home.

A home show came through town last week which we attended, this was actually a re-modelers show opposed to new homes. A lot of it seem to be the same as the year before, lots of windows, doors, enclosures, decks and fences. There was 1 yes 1 company that did HA (Home Automation), I do not know why there was only one, sure it’s not completely cheap especially for an existing house but there are so many “powerline” and wireless options. I like the thought of being able to monitor my whole house, in todays busy lives the sooner you know something the sooner you can react. Say you have had you system installed for a few months and you have a monitor for your electrical usage. Then one day you noticed an increased usage, you know nothing has changed (new appliances, computer etc). Well instead of waiting until the next bill and getting a surprise you can investigate now. Now is better because I am certain you will spend more time fighting with the utility company “after” you get the bill. So you see the spike in usage and being your investigation, after some time you notice an extension cord plugged in to an outlet outside of your house. It’s your neighbor using a some power tools to build a shed in his backyard. Now granted this is hopefully something that hasn’t nor will ever happen to you but knowing what’s going on around you is nice.

I did find some good information at the home show, I found a company that does silicone injections for foundation walls with cracks and it looks like it will be rather inexpensive. (more on this in a future post) I also saw a company that rids and prevents “street creep” Google it, again another repair that will probably only be about $500 for a single car driveway. They basically cut about a 3″ of concrete out of the width of the driveway and then press this “rubber” psuedo tube in the cut and it cushions your foundation from your driveway. They said that here is St.Louis with the range of our temperatures a 100′ slab of concrete can move 3/4 of an inch. WOW

There can be so much to write and yet so little time to get it written.

I guess I will first start with an article I read about what you write on the Internet. This article basically if you write something it can be found and not always by who you want. An example given was a future employer, may find something an old “Spring Break” picture or video of risque nature, etc. Well first off “think before you submit”, secondly, to all employers “GET A LIFE”. Just because some lousy choice you made decades ago isn’t on the Internet does not mean you didn’t do it. If we all conformed to these types of paranoia there would be nothing to see or read on the Internet. So people please continue to post stories and pictures etc, all of us enjoy each others failures as well as successes. Ok, for now I am done with that rant.

Not that anything here is in chronological order or some times previously mentioned. I just wanted to note that I finally installed the hitch to my car, now for a light duty trailer and bike rack! I have to say that after 12 years and 151K miles she is probably the 4th best thing to happen to me. (After my kids and current partner of the opposite sex) Heck next year it will have lasted longer than my marriage and she has been much more fun.

I finally got rid of my Motorola q9m it was decent but I am glad it is no more, I am now a Crackberrian (user of a Blackberry device). Why no iPhone you may ask, simple AT&T, been there done that, I’ll stick with “V”.

I have been watching the unreal estate market and am considering purchasing a property. I have really enjoyed doing some lite home-automation, but this would give me a chance to go as far as I want, plus resale would increase.

I had another birthday, this year I acquired some more “Snoopy’s” for my collection via antiquing, went out to an italian restaurant, so half of my birthday was good. As for dinner it was a last minute decision and supposed to be good, I beg to differ. While on the subject of birthday I plan to go to a spa, no I am not an effeminate male just like to try something off the cuff. About 5 years earlier I had my nails done (manicure), again just something to experience. Though I can say I look forward to a hour + massage, I am about 40 years over due.

Beth is doing well all cancer is gone still, let’s keep it that way!

Well I know I was going to write more but I have decided to do other things.
C ya

Well here I am again talking about online dating. Things have been going surprisingly well, I have made a few more contacts and went out on another “encounter”. I will not use the term “date”, that comes after an encounter or two. Once you mutually agree to continue seeing one another it’s a date.

Anyway this encounter was very nice and was better looking in person than her posted pictures – weird. We met at a place called House of Rock here in St.Louis. It’s not a very big place but the drinks are decent and every seat is close to the live band playing that night. That night Trixie Delight was playing, they covered AC/DC, Motley Crue, Chili Peppers, AudioSlave etc. This I think is a band worth seeing, they are a lot of fun and really get into what they are doing. Anyway we were able to get some conversation in and have a few drinks before the band played. To sum it up, she has the personality that I would like to be around but I need a little more in the “looking” department. She was not ugly, just not for me. Whomever finds her will have a really great time I am sure of that.

On the Beth front, life just became wonderful, she went to her doctors appointment and as far as the doctors are concerned she is cancer free. They are going to take a few more weeks and really study the adrenal gland they removed, which is good that they want to look at something this close. I feel that most people never take a second or third or even indepth look at something until after the fact. So as you can imagine Beth is as giddy as a little school girl. Of course I am happy for her as well.

Well I wouldn’t usually write about this but I finally bought a BowFlex. It’s the Power Pro Model, this is similar to their base model today but I have the leg extension kit. I will be purchasing the upgrade rods so I can go from 210 to 410, and adding a lat. bar. This is a vertical pole with a horizontal rod that you grab on to work arms and back muscles. Don’t worry I am not going to start an online weight loss / training site, I have plenty of other things to do. Well for the most part this sums things up. C Ya

It’s been a while since I communicated with my audience of ZERO. Any way Online Dating took a turn in a positive direction. I contacted a user and OMG!!! they responded. Well we chatted for a while and have gone out a few times. She’s had quite a life which I will not go into as fairness to her. She is a really mellow person, maybe a little to mellow for me as I am used to being with a ADHD person who can control most of it. It has been to take someone out to dinners, movies etc as I know I am rusty. So I see this is as win-win situation, she gets out of the house and some adult company (he he) and I get to show someone a good time and learn to “date” again. I am looking for a LTR (Long Term Relationship), but I have lived with someone since I left home and now maybe I should live with myself for a while. By this I mean get a place of my own and build my empire (decorate it, customize it) and then do the dating thing. I have had the perfect relationship for the past 7 years and I hope I can find one more to take me to death. So if you know someone tell them to go to PlentyofFish.com and look up Drifus66 it might be the best thing they have done for themselves..

Ok Highway 70 in the St.Charles, Mo area, WTF!!!! Some guy goes through a chain-link fence from the other road and end up on the highway causing a nasty pile up. I felt sorry for the people eastbound, I later learned that the highway was closed for 3 hours. Now my question is why does it take so long to get accidents off the road? You save the people and get them in ambulances (buses) and take a million pictures and push it all on to a few flat-bed tow trucks and be done in say 45 minutes. At least the police went up an exit and diverted people of to the outer roads to find other ways to their destination. They should have moved back to the 70/370 interchange and diverted people there instead or both. Since we do not have up to the minute traffic information you could not avoid it until you were Fk’d. NOW to make it even worse ALL westbound traffic had to stop and gawk, again WHY!!! Police, fire trucks, ambulances were all there it was covered. Look forward and drive!!!! I doubt you know them and even if you did you were not going to get close enough to see, help etc.

I demand that the United States Department of Transportation begin to retrofit ALL concrete medians with 8 – 10 ft high walls. We can’t teach people to just drive, so we will tax them to prevent them (hmm slogan) from potentially hurting if not killing someone else. Remember YOU are not important WE all are!!!!!

unMemorial Day, why “un” because it’s not necessary, simple if a guy is wearing some sort of military medal etc, you can or should go personally thank them. Donate to a Veterans charity, I think that these would be more meaningful and do more than watch veterans walking in parades. They did their job with time served, we should make the effort to help them personally. If you took all of the time, energy and money on parades around the country there probably not be any deficiencies in helping veterans. No I have not served in the military, I am just sick of people getting the shaft and the wealthy just walk over people like they are “Terminators”.

Well enough ranting and raving I could go on but you wouldn’t come back, and that would be sad.

Well I have been super busy with work and doing my part in moving into the house. We had a BBQ on Easter Sunday and had her kids over and her youngest brother. A good time was had by all. I spent a fair amount of time working on Steve’s computer which I ended keeping for half a week, grrrr. Beth is going back to the doctor this Friday to discuss next weeks surgery to remove the adrenal gland. . They want to remove it due to a mass they see, we hope it’s not cancer but Beth is not feeling 100% confident about what they might find.

Well the office for the most part is in place there lots of finishing to do but we can get our work done quite easily. As I may have mentioned that being directly connected to high-speed cable is great. I have some network tweaks but we are getting some nice speed nonetheless.

Had a meeting with my employer and got some very irritating information. I may be out of a job in Oct. 09, we now have a cap on vacation rollover, before there was none. Our vacation is now use it or lose it, which to me if you do not use it, it should be paid out to you an the end of year, after all it’s earned time. Earned usually implies being paid in some form. On top of this, these changes came without warning, notice etc. I have been saying this for almost 30 years now, American is becoming more Communist every year. I like working and love my job but companies are getting ridiculous, if they feel a pinch they stick it to employees first, did AIG retract bonuses? Hell No! I think I need to live in another country to appreciate this country again. Iceland? Can you use another IT person?

Bad news always first. I took Beth to KUMC for her re-checkup since the previous results were mixed. Well cancer is back and spreading, this time on the adrenal gland and the upper lobe of her lung. It’s not completely serious yet. She got a referral for a doctor here in St.L and they want every record of her cancers for the past 13 years. Well guess what one hospital has not done their due diligence and preserving and properly storing her records. This is where she was treated for cancer the first time, the doctor wants to know what she has been treated with and how much she has been given. Apparently there is a limit of what “they” feel a person should have in a lifetime. Without treatment they give her a year and with treatment possibly 3 and who knows what kind of clinical trials they might have then.

Good new now, Beth has bought a house and closes on March 27th. It’s an all brick house that ironically is a month older than her. It’s a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house that’s approximately 1094 square feet. It’s mostly original with wood floors throughout, original pink tile in one bathroom and a light yellow in the other. The kitchen is very dated with dark brown cabinets and has a makeshift pantry added to the end of the counter. One interesting feature is there is a clock in the wall, it looks to be powered by electricity with no access to it. It has wooden circles representing the numbers and, with just hands rotating. Whats even more interesting is that you could change the wooden circles and create your won clock faces. The basement is pseudo finished, instead of drywall there is plywood walls and doors with makeshift frames. The best thing is that it sits on 1/2 acre in a cul-de-sac in a single road neighborhood, it’s very quiet. One of our visits to the house a neighbor came out and introduced herself, her name is Rosemary and she has lived there for 52 years, the original owner of her house. Her and Beth seem to hit it off quiet nice and plan to have coffee or tea together.

Other tidbits, I was going to visit my kids for spring break but that fell through. I contacted my X and she said that she would get back to me. Well long story short she was confirming whether her parents were coming and when their house sold and could not make the trip she then said that I could have the girls. Well I found this out on the 20th, the day spring break started. Needless to say I can just drop work and being on call and drive to Minnesota. So without pointing fingers as to why I can’t really visit, I told them most of the truth, that I had to work. The whole thing is really crappy and I am sure she will drop the ball again. Had I visited I was going to take them shopping and to see some movies, instead I sent them the 2 disc set of Twilight, which they didn’t get to see at the movies for whatever reason.

I almost forgot there is a house for sale 4 doors down from Beth, I haven’t seen it yet but I have the flyer and the inside pictures look great. The woodwork has been left alone, no paint etc and overall the house looks to be in great shape. It’s more that I care to spend on a house and it’s more house than I would ever need. But I would live to be close to Beth as we get along so great, living farther away would mean spending more time in the car and on the phone, boring. So I plan to go and look at it and if for some odd reason it’s there in Aug. (when I’ll be ready) i’ll make an offer. Here is the gist of the house, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, updated kitchen, 1700 square feet and 16000 square feet of yard. (48,000 square feet equals an acre). The main level outside is brick and has dormers on the second floor. Ok so BR1 would be the master, BR2 and office/collectibles, so I guess I shut off the rest of the house, like Beth I would be living alone. I tried to convince her that I could buy this house and we could trade as she would need the room more than I would as her kids are in town. But she likes her yard and I agree.

My aunt is coming out to visit next weekend before she heads of to Scarborough, UK to return to school. I’ll know more next week.

Well today is mom’s ceremony in San Jose, Ca. Jason, Heather, Tim, Grandma, Alan, Patty and dad will attend. My mother was a wonderful person, she loved helping people which is what she did as a Social Worker for St.Joesph Hospital in Kirkwood, Missouri. She also worked at St.Louis County Hospital before that. She would always do her best to place people who could no longer care for themselves. She always made sure it the best place for them and their needs.

I find it ironic that what she did for a living is how she spent her final years, living at a skilled nursing center.

My dad has had it rough the past maybe 10 years, watching the woman he loved slowly deteriorate. He has never put a guilt trip on me for not visiting the years I did not make it out. While I know he still has/had feelings for mom, I am hoping that he will move on very soon and live for the now.

Well we are back from San Jose California as of Wednesday night. The flight out was ok, nothing to noteworthy except maybe flying with 2 laptops, a GPS and a digital camera isn’t always the most fun. Surprisingly no hassle besides the extra long scan time. The layover in Denver was painless, a friend of our was going to meet us there but we asked her to decline due to the fact she would have to pay to enter the airport. The last leg to San Jose was decent as well, then the rental car clusterf**k. For the most part I don’t mind people of other nationalities working in America as long as there are legal and pay attention when working with you. Case in point, we check in to Thrifty Rental Car and there was this oriental lady who was very pleasant. The problem was is that she was obviously trained to think each transaction would be identical. I made the reservation in Beths’ name and used her bank card, when we arrived we wanted to use her company card instead. On top of that this lady would only speak to me. This ordeal took about 25 minutes and to this day I do not think she understood. If she would have slowed down and listened to us it would have been a 10 minute check-in, by the way we were the only ones in line the entire time.

So we drive to my dad place arriving at about 10:30pmPST and drag our stuff in, hug dad and meet his roommate, Sean. The 4 of use are talking about different things just catching up on things and about 1:30amPST we turn in. It is Sunday now and we head out to Denny’s for breakfast, I try to get to CA every year but this time it’s been about 3 years. I had forgotten what it’s like to feel like a minority, there were at least 100+ seated, 15 employees, 25 people waiting to be seated and us for 4 white breads. WOW! I did notice that Hispanics and Latinos have large families usually 6+, which can work to Caucasian families advantage. It’s easier to get a table for 4 then 6+, similar for a party of 2 vs. a party of 4.

Well anyway we order food and it is delivered rather quickly and of course it was very tasty and surprisingly for as busy as they were it was all correct. After breakfast (11:00am) I dropped dad and Sean off as Beth and I had to get a few things at Walgreens and would return later. We got back and hung out and talked about the mishap with scheduling moms cremation. Dad thought it would only take a few days but in actuality it would be 2 weeks. This explains why Beth and I were in CA much to early, but actually I am very glad, it was nice to have one on one time with dad. If we had come out for the actual ceremony we might have got lost in the shuffle, this was much better.

I know I am missing some things but on Sunday night we are sitting in the living room and Beth thought the floor looked extra shiny in one area. Upon inspection it turned out it was wet, after more investigation we saw water pooled in the mildly sunken hearth of the fireplace. Well this cleanup turned out to be a 3 hour chore and a call to maintenance (this is a condo). Meanwhile Beth and I go outside to see if we can divert to flow of water, Beth grabbed a ladder and cleaned out the gutter which looked like a tsunami coming out of the downspout. I grabbed some bricks to force the water away from the house, while things looked good we headed to a hardware store for a hose to connect to the downspout. Now it gets funny again, we are in California it rains there more than at my house in Missouri. So first we ask and were told to go to an area of the store so we both scour the shelves and find nothing. Next we headed outside to the plant area since these things can be stored outside without issue, again nothing. So we ask another employee and he directs across the store and we hunt again, viola we fine ONE style yes ONE! In Missouri even at the smallest hardware store I know I can fine at least 3 for sure. Well we grab the one style they have and headed back home. Once back home we fit the drain hose over the gutter and use the bricks to hold the hose in such a way that the water is diverted down the sidewalk. So now that we are wet and finished we head back into the house and finish mopping up the water. I would say that we probably mopped up about 10 gallons including what was in the soaking towels that were thrown in to the wash. We go back to visiting and monitoring the floor and all looks good. The maintenance people come by and take pictures of the damage, the water seeping up from underneath the Pergo floor (which is apparently the more expensive version plus no longer made). The maintenance guys then went outside and tried to find where the water was coming from. They suspected the chimney and wrapped it in plastic. They said that they would report the damage to management and recommend replacing the whole floor.

We Monday rolls along and we just kind of taking it easy and my dad says to me “like you fixing things right”? of course Beth and I say “sure”. He tells me that the upstairs toilet has been giving him fits for some time and that they (Sean and him) have replaced some of the parts. I go up and take a look and see part of the problem, the chain is too long and getting sucked under the flapper. While I make the adjustment, you guessed it, the metal arm of the flusher breaks and there is no way to use whats left. I tell dad of the lack of progress and that I am heading back to the hardware store for a part. While I am there I decide to get a handle with a plastic arm as it will last longer and to completely remedy the situation I also purchase a new flapper. Once back home I install the 2 items and everything was fine, dad said the next day that he believes it’s fixed, YEAH!

Also on this dad and I went shopping for an Urn for moms remains as she wanted to be released over the Pacific Ocean. We went to a local mall and checked around and were not having much luck. The last person we talked to said go the Macy’s Mens store at the other end of the mall. We headed down there and each went a direction to cover more area. In a few minutes I found one that I liked but as I was walking around I began to like it less. It began to look more like a lantern without windows and more medieval, not good for an item to remember your mother by. I catch up with dad and he likes it too but I tell him I am no longer sure. Well we are walking around together now and I stop at a table with 3 vase-like items and I am starring at them. Dad comes up behind me and sees the 3 I am looking at, I am actually focusing on one in particular. It’s kind of dark green brushed metal, I’ll have a picture posted soon. Well dad looks at them and points to the one I had already picked, I tell him that is the one I liked as well, so we leave the medieval one behind and head off to purchase the vase. We get to the counter, the listed price was $159 marked down to $139, we the lady that was ringing us up (who is very pretty by the way) says that she is going to take an additional 20% off, then she scans it and it’s been marked down another 50%, so were out the door for $78, nice. So now we needed a top for the vase, to make a long store short we found an unfinished drawer knob and a stain marker at Michaels, it turned out great.

Like I said I am missing some events, now it’s Tuesday and Beth and I offer to do any errands that dad needs done related to moms death. So we are assigned to take the urn to the Neptune Society so when they are done with the cremation they can put her ashes in it. So off we go and find the place, we also ask to see the area that will be used for the ceremony. This is what is done after the ceremony.

Sea Scattering/Naiad:

Our yacht, the Naiad, provides sea scattering services. Ocean scatterings take place at designated areas in the majestic San Francisco Bay including locations near the Golden Gate Bridge. A memorial service can be held onboard before or after the scattering service. The Naiad is available for private services and sea scatterings in the waters near the Golden Gate Bridge. Light refreshments and flowers are included in the price of your service.

So after going here we headed off to Mission Skilled Nursing where my mom spent the last 7 years of her life.

These are pictures of the ceremonial room.

Dad asked that I go here and take what I want, but bring back the TV & VCR. So I went through 3 large bags of things. The pictures above I found plus a whole lot more, a couple of teddy bears, her glasses and her teeth. Don’t ask why, I am sure I will part with them, I think for the most part was when my grandmother died I wasn’t given this opportunity. So I grabbed what I felt were the more important things. I called my brother later and asked if he wanted anything and he said that he did not want anything. So I am the keeper of the items for now.

This was hard to do as many times visiting my mom here we probably the most painful times during my moms battle with cancer. It’s very hard to watch a parent diminish and wither away. I am thankful I hadn’t seen mom in a few years, I am sure she was very gaunt looking and that’s an image I rather not have to remember her.

Well there is where it hit me that she was really gone. I eventually composed myself and packed up the car and left. The rest of the trip was more or less uneventful. The plane from Denver to St.Louis was an “express jet” WOW they are small. I began to feel claustrophobic as the plane was nearly full. I looked out the window and also grabbed one of my magazines and I began to feel better.

Well that’s enough of this, I promise the next post to be lighter and shorter…