Q: What Goes Step, Shudder, Step, Shudder?

A:  My elliptical.  To the left is a picture of one of the four guide wheels on my elliptical.  It is under the right foot and rolls along a track.  Lucie and I are on the elliptical every day and the other day it was vibrating with every other step.  Elliott and I got under it and he watched while I stepped.  He found this wheel is cracked and when weight is on it, it flattens.  Stupid thing is hard to get to and wicked expensive to replace.  I am going to pull it today and see if I can replace it with an in-line skate or skateboard wheel.

It's funny, there have been a lot of little issues come up lately that have been resolved pretty inexpensively.  My cholesterol medicine is about gone and I remembered I had a bottle of 80 mg pills (I take 40's).  So I grabbed a pill cutter and halved them.  The Tivo remote was driving me crazy as the down button wouldn't work (press it and it would select every other position but down.  A&E found it very funny to see me get so frustrated with it.).  I fixed that with a tiny screwdriver.  And the washing machine was fixed with a $9 part.  There have been a bunch of other little things too.  It seems God is giving me little projects to keep me busy and my mind occupied while I wait on His timing.

Below is a bonus picture of the Ravens missing a game tying field goal which sent the Patriots to the Super Bowl.  Elliott and I just about lost our voices watching the game.

I Am All For A Good Deal But...

I got this in the mail today so I scanned it and sent it to Consumer Reports Magazine.  On the back page of every issue they print bloopers like this.  We'll see if I get published!!

Putting The Pieces Together

Last night I was cooking up some pork chops on the grill and found my grill light wasn't working.  I love that light.  It has a flexible neck so I can aim it right on the meat and has magnetic feet so it doesn't slide or move around.  So while the chops were cooking, I took the light apart.  One of the batteries in the cartridge that holds 3 batteries corroded and the whole thing was a mess.  I took it inside and pulled it all apart and cleaned it up.  Put new batteries in and fired it up:  nothing.  So I took it all apart again and wiped everything off, made sure the batteries were aimed in the right direction and tried again.  Nothing.  As I was taking it apart for the third time, I dropped the cartridge.  The batteries went everywhere and little connector pieces came off the cartridge.  I thought I would never get it back together but I got all of the pieces and fitted them back in and voila;  the light came right on!  As soon as it lit up, I had an illumination myself.  Looking at my situation now, all I can see is a bunch of separate pieces that used to fit together nicely.  I cannot see how it will all come together and how life will come around to "work" again.  Seems like no way that can happen.  But of course it can and will and I believe that.  I just had to smile and thank God for that little life lesson.  It will work out and be as good or better than ever!

By the way, the pork chops were fantastic!

Christmas 2011

Thanks to the generosity of a lot of people, we had a Merry Christmas this year.  Lots of stuff but more importantly, lots of thoughts behind the stuff.  We are very grateful and humbled.  Made what could have been a disappointing day into a very happy one.  You will notice one big brown element managed to work herself into just about every picture...  (I even covered her up in the Ashleigh picture!)  She and Britni eventually got busy on their stocking bones and stayed clear.  Though a few of the later presents got an "anointing..."

Following up on my last post, my feet are doing much better.  The orthotics came in and immediately added a lot of relief.  Not 100% yet but doing a lot better.

Golden Arches

They aren't golden in appearance but they are in cost...  After many months of battling with heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, I finally decided to get my feet casted for custom orthotics (shoe inserts).  I have done the night splint thing, icing twice a day, stretching, meds, "regular" shoe inserts, taping, elastic supports, cortisone shots...  you name it.  The doc was great and took all sorts of measurements and observations.  Turns out the Achilles tendon in my right foot is very tight and the arch in that foot flattens when standing (it is fine when resting).  So the inserts will position my foot and hopefully take some pressure off the Achilles (which reduces the constant pulling and subsequent pain).  Should be about 3 weeks before the inserts are available.  Of course my insurance doesn't cover it...  But I couldn't take it any more.  He gave me a bonus cortisone shot today which hurts going in but provides immediate (albeit temporary) relief.

In my last blog I mentioned the theme of God creating something out of nothing.  Well, we are at the "nothing" point now and are anxious to see what develops.  It seems every lead has dried up but we know that can change in 30 seconds.  Still searching online, networking, going to my required Unemployment classes and doing what I can.  And God keeps providing.  Just waiting for the big breakthrough...

P-R-P

Pumping - Raking - Praying.  That's what I do these days...  The pump I bought last spring to remove the rainwater from the pool when the water gets too high tripped the GFCI outlets every time I plugged it in.  Only used it about three times.  It was out of the store return time frame window but the manufacturer was great and gave me a return number.  Walked into Lowe's with that number and got a new pump.  The pool cover is porous and rain water gets in.  The water gets too high and the regular pool pump is winterized so I need this to keep the level low.  Mocha doesn't like that plan - she is heavy enough to lay in the middle of the cover and create her own lake when the water is too high.

Did the annual leaf raking and blowing yesterday.  The fenced in backyard acts as a giant leaf catcher.  All of my neighbors' yard are windswept clean - mine is full of leaves.  Or was.  I blow them all to the back fence and then "shovel" them over into the woods.  Not hard work but time consuming.  And it gets dark so early now...

It was nice to have Ashleigh home for Thanksgiving.  We had a couple of families over and had a nice, laid back day.  Pretty thankful for all that we have.

The outside time doing mindless work lets me pray and think a lot.  I am not writing much about my job search and the circumstances about my unemployment but I can say Lucie and I are VERY encouraged about the "coincidences" that remind us that God is in control and it is all part of the Plan.  Sermons at church about hope and peace, things people say, verses-of-the-day, and other little "random" reminders keep us positive.  A couple of things that have seemed to be a recurring theme - that God sees our lives from the end and knows how things will turn out and how He is able to create something from nothing.  So we are doing our part in terms of job searching, networking, cutting expenses, etc. and waiting for God to pull us through.  Looking forward to telling the happy ending to this story...

Agitating Again

Today I was doing my domestic duties which included doing the laundry.  I noticed that the top part of the washing machine was not agitating like the bottom was.  It just sort of sat there.  Well, Google is my friend so I went online to find out what was up.  Come to find out, these little Agitator Dogs fit inside the agitator and have tiny ridges that engage grooves which in turn spin the agitator.  Apparently after 18 years, those little ridges wear down and no longer engage.  Some guy even made a YouTube video of how to replace them.  Made a phone call to the local Sears place and then Mocha and I made a run over.  Less than $10.  When Elliott came home from school, we re-played the video and put these dogs back in their houses.  Ten minutes later all was good.

Can't wait to see what's on the agenda tomorrow...