Veteran's Day

Today is the day to say 'Thank You' to a veteran. On this day there's often a lot of rhetoric. . . things that we all want to say by way of thank you, so I won't repeat it here. Mostly, I personally want to say 'Thank You' to all our military, regardless of their service affiliation. We need them all.

With the holidays approaching, military people away from home could use an expression of appreciation from all of us, especially during a time when they'll be away from their families. Every year Dear Abbey supports Operation Dear Abbey wherein individuals can send a personalized greeting or gifts to military. If this is something you might want to do, the web site address is OperationDearAbbey.net. This will take you to a page that has links for all the various options and groups that send gifts and greetings to military.

Another way to show appreciation to our military is through the Department of Foreign Wars. Each year their Volunteer Service collects items that military serving abroad need and makes gift boxes for them. If you would like to participate in that project, call Volunteer Service at 585-393-7761 for details.

Today, during your private time, take a moment and say a prayer for our military. If we all do this, maybe we can get them home soon.

Love to all,
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net

Election Post Mortem

Today has been a sad day for Jim. He's been a die-hard Republican since I've known him and one of the two or three remaining Bush supporters. All day today he's been in mourning, fretting that we're all going to hell and the Democrats are carrying the hand basket. Last night he was simply in shock after a very bad day overall. Monday was not a good day for him either...election aside.

Back in mid-October he ordered some extra special super duper Adams senior golf clubs from Golf USA. A couple of weeks later he called and was told that the manufacturer was in the middle of computer reconsituting/switching servers, etc and the order had been delayed but was expected this past Monday. Since these clubs are supposed to take strokes off his game and make him the envy of other golfers, Jim was eager to get his clubs. First thing Monday morning, he was off to Golf USA. .... :>( no clubs. He was told to check back the next day. Tuesday morning he went back to Golf USA... mind you ... Golf USA is on the mainland and about a 15 mile drive each way. :>( ... no clubs. The clerk said he would call when they came in. About 2:30 pm we got a call from a clerk there that the clubs were in...Jim figured if he hurried right over, he could get in 9 holes before it got too dark. He's at Golf USA by about 3:15 - :>( ... no clubs... the clerk made a mistake. An order had come in, but it wasn't Jim's.

Being the stoic that he is, Jim settled down to watch election returns.... bad mistake. By 10pm he was numb and went to bed. Poor guy. Today we picked up Kathy at BART and on the way home called the store and voila! clubs were in. We went directly to the store and picked them up. It's the first smile I've seen in 72 hours...tomorrow we take Kathy for an early morning dentist appointment. Pray for sun in the afternoon. It will break Jim's heart if it's raining.

Love to all,
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net
jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net

Rain, Rain, Wonderful Rain

Finally, some rain to clean the air and wash the plants. Everything around here is covered in construction dust and even if we hose everything down, the dust comes back as soon as the dirt movers start in again. Rain has been especially welcome because it settles the dirt the dirt movers have been stirring up, and as such, we don't get it all over everything.

We had a window left open and you wouldn't believe the dust and dirt that come in through just one little window. Yikes. I'd hate to be one of the people who drives the dirt mover.

The saga of the office furniture continues. Since the furniture was all built and installed in the office, we thought the incident was closed - not so. The furniture gremlin was not about to let go so easily. We received in the mail a bill in the amount of $411 from Federal Express. This bill was for the furniture that was wrongly delivered and had to be replaced -no way - not our bill. Today we took the bill into Office Depot (even thought I had heart palpitations just going into the store) and talked to the manager. According to him, once about every six months or so, Federal Express incorrectly bills the customer for returns...given the gremlin that's attached itself to this furniture, somehow that seems wickedly normal. Supposedly, we'll get a call with an address to send the bill for Office Depot to pay it. Yeah, right. I'll believe all that when it happens.

We had other errands on the mainland today... a trip to Target, a stop at PetCo (kitties need catnip), and whattaya know...a trip to Golf USA. Speaking of golf - that's where Jim is now. At least the rain has stopped and he can get in a couple of holes before dinner time and I get to enjoy some quiet time.

Love to all,
Corrie and Jim
mzcorrie@frontiernet.net
jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net

Halloween 2006

Halloween has to have Trick or Treaters to be any fun at all. Since Trilogy doesn't allow trick or treating, we had to find our own. Off to Marc and Anita's house we went, armed with a little treat for their kids. As soon as we arrived, it felt like Halloween - kids were already in their costumes, bugging their parents to leave. Nick, who is 13, had already left, but the younger ones had to stay and wait for a parent to go with them.

Nicole was a gypsy dancing girl, Justin was a Ninja, and Samantha was Vampira. They all looked like they were having a great time. Anita took them out to trick or treat, and Marc, Jim and I, hung around the house. Marc answered the door while Jim and I rifled through the candy supply for Reeses and Milky Ways.

Just before we were ready to leave, Nick showed up with some buddies, but even in his hurry, he had a moment for a picture and a hug for grandma and grandpa. Nick's a good, loving kid, always with a smile and a friendly word. Samantha said Nick was a dead guy without a coffin...but Nick looks pretty alive to me. But, from the looks of that bag he's carrying, he might end up pretty sick.

On the way home we saw lots of kids sitting on the curb raiding their candy bags before they headed home. They seemed to know that as soon they got home, Mom would confiscate the candy and begin the 'sensible' doling out. By the time the kids are home with the candy bags, they've already eaten enough candy to be dog sick, so the ''two" pieces that Mom allocates is more than enough.

Jim's off playing golf (like he does most days). When he gets home we're off to Fairfield to deal with the property tax people. We received 3 tax bills totaling $4138 - just for the first installment. Not good -- we're keeping our fingers crossed that the tax collector's office will admit there's been a mistake and will reduce the bill by about half. Not a fun afternoon.

I understand Jim Jr. is doing some job hunting for a part time accounting position. Good for him. Let's all hold positive thoughts that he'll get the job that's a perfect fit for him.

Love to all

Corrie and Jim

mzcorrie@frontiernet.net

jmcrhoads@frontiernet.net