Meet Eddie

Meet Eddie Hanson, my surrogate grandson so to speak. The only "grandson" that I will ever have. He is 11 years old, in the fifth grade (about to graduate 6th in a few weeks) and the one that keeps life interesting around here. Never a dull moment as far as he is concerned.

He is an avid video game player - both hand held and on the computer. He reads a lot and has been since he was five when he was reading books that adults would read. He is quite intelligent and if he applied himself all the time he could go far; however, he is a typical boy and sometimes fun can get in the way. Fun can also get him into trouble at times because he would rather have fun than do his chores, but then I guess that is the way that it is with most kids his age.

He is also involved in karate - one step below the first level of black belt. He has moved up the ranks quickly and with much ease. He has the advantage of being very agile (oh to be young again).

He has a knack for making friends with girls rather than boys. The twins that used to live next door still keep in touch on a regular basis and one of them even considers herself to be Eddie's girlfriend. His newest friend is his skateboard buddy Alexis who is also 11 and lives up the street. Alexis is a nice little gal - she visited with me yesterday while she was waiting for Eddie to come back from running an errand with his mother.

I have the feeling that he is going to be the envy of many a guy because of all of his gal pals.

Sunsets

this picture of the marvelous sunset at the top of my blog as of this date (5/27/09) was taken soon after I left Loyalton after one of my visits to Daddy. I could not pass up the opportunity to stop and make sure that I saved that moment in time. It is something that my dad would have done. He was a great one for stopping and smelling the roses as the saying goes. He appreciated the grand and glorious vistas that God created for our viewing pleasure. Every time that I look at it so many wonderful memories and thoughts flood through my mind.

It is grey and gloomy today - but not anywhere near what I would call cool (in the 80s and very humid). It has even rained a few drops here and there. Not really conducive to bright and cheery thoughts - hence the trip to my blog to revel in my glorious sunset.

A friend from work is retiring as of tomorrow (5/28) and I took her out to lunch today to welcome her to retirement. She is going to do just fine. She has a noble plan for her immediate future and that is to help battered and abused women get a grip on their lives and to let them know that they are not alone in this world. This gal as survived two abusive relationships and finally realized that she tends to gravitate towards abusers and is doing something about it. She is going to use her experiences as an example to others and hopefully help them start new and safer lives. I admire her very much and wish her much success in her endeavors.

Time to move on - get my foot back in "das boot" (only one more week to go - hopefully) and get it propped up.

Late Night Review

It is one o'clock in the A.M. on Saturday 5/23/09. I just finished checking the blogs for family members and saw the notice for a wedding anniversary. Nine years for Nate and Erica - good for you. I wish that you have many many more years of happiness and peace. You guys have had some very busy times in the past few months and I hope that the trip to Disneyland that was alluded to is a good one. I always liked going there - The Pirates of the Caribbean and the Hall of the Presidents were my two favorite places in the park. But it has probably changed a great deal since I was there in the late sixties.

Spring has finally decided that it is going to dry out. A robin has built a nest on a rafter of my new porch cover and is currently sitting on some eggs. I am looking forward to the birth of the little ones, but their impending arrival has put a halt on a project that I was going to do under the new roof. Can't disturb them and won't complete my project until the family has moved on.

I am also slightly laid up at the moment. I pulled a typical "Hudak blunder" on Mother's Day and ended up with a hairline fracture of a bone in my right foot. I have a big boot that I have to wear until 6/2/09 at least. Maybe longer it the bone heals slowly - I hope not, this thing has slowed me down. Not to mention the fact that my knees and some other joints are complaining about the restrictions created by "das boot". All I did was walk across a perfectly flat paved parking lot - goes to show what happens as you get older - never a dull moment that is for sure.

I lost my last remaining brother-in-law on 5/14/09. He was 45 years old. He has been sick a very long time and he finally let go. Multiplesclerosis (SP?????) is a mean disease. It takes everything from you except your ability to think. He was a gentle soul and will be missed. He was greatly loved and tended to by his wife of 23 years. Due to God's good graces and Bernie's tender care David lived far longer than he would have if she had not been around. In the end he was completely bed ridden and unable to communicate except for the blinking of his eyes. He and Bernie seemed to be on the same wavelength and communicated in a way that only they understood.

Well, it is time for me to go out to the living room to turn off the t.v., turn off the lights and crawl into bed - hopefully to sleep soundly.

Out My Bedroom Window

I just finished reading all of the blogs for the family, checking out the El Tigre page on MyFamily.com, and sifting through my e-mails. I looked up and one of the cats was intently staring out of the window. I could not capture exactly what he was looking at (probably a bird in the tree or a squirrel on the ground) but I noticed that the trees and bushes were greening up nicely, that there is a nice little breeze blowing and most important of all -- the sun is shining very brightly.

It has been almost two weeks since we have seen it this bright. It has been grey, gloomy and damp. It has been raining off and on for the past two weeks. Yesterday was my first time out for a while, it was grey, gloomy an damp, but it fit the bill so to speak. I went to a funeral for a friend's mother. Mother nature shed tears for her in the form of rain. She was a sweet lady and will be greatly missed. I am so glad that the sun chose to shine today - it is God's way of saying she is home, she is happy and sporting a smile big enough to brighten this day.

I have decided to set up a small space in my bedroom for my laptop so that I can concentrate on what I am doing and will not be distracted by the television - my main nemisis in life. It has been a downfall of mine since I was a small child and introduced to the blasted machine by my grandfather, much to my mother's dismay. My bedroom has become my haven from all the chaos in the rest of the house. The cats come in here as well knowing that they too will be safe from the turmoil in the rest of the house. This is the one place that Eddie is not allowed to come without first being invited.

I am being seranaded by the birds so I think that I will stop and take the time to listen to them and smell the coming of spring.........

Tax money

This is where my tax money went - all of it and then some. The old porch cover was aluminum/ripple metal that was put on the house literally decades ago. Was really starting to look bad and was becoming a haven for wasps and other flying critters. It was time for it to go. This is a wooden addition that covers the entire cement pad and has shingles that match the rest of the roof. Only drawback is that it does not qualify for a tax deduction - DARN!!!!!

This picture was taken just a few short minutes ago - it shows the clear blue skies. Too bad that it can't show the warmer temps, which will be going down as night falls. All I have to do now is put my wind chimes back up. I do love the music they make and they go most of the time because there is usually enough of a breeze to move them. One day I will take pictures of all the chimes that I have - they sound nice. Don't know what the neighbors must think and to be truthful it doesn't really matter. No one has complained in all the years that we have lived here - 23 this year - so they must not mind........