I Said Heel

I would rather say, "Heal!"  For several months now I have had mild to pretty darn bad (that is the medical range term by the way) heel pain.  Mostly in my right foot but some in the left too.  I can definitely trace it back to the trip to NYC around Thanksgiving that I took Ashleigh and Lucie on.  I went up to do some work at one of our company's remote sites there and wore my regular shoes.  Lucie had other plans though.  Walking plans.  Walking, and walking, and walking plans...  Ever since that day my feet just haven't been right.  I have tried different shoes, inserts, pads, stretching, etc.  I might get the pain to subside for a day or two, but it is usually right back.  Terrible in the mornings.  Classic symptoms of Plantar Fascitis.  I have had that before but it went away with some stretching.  But this is not stopping.  So off to the podiatrist I go today.  He thinks it is actually bone spurs that have developed and he may give me a cortisone shot.  But enough is enough.  I just hope this doesn't hurt my basketball playing...

Great day in the pool yesterday with friends.  The air was hot and the pool water was 85º.  That is a new high for May.  Here is a video of Mocha making a splash:

Slowing Down A Little

The school year is just about out for A&E.  Most of their testing is done.  Final lacrosse games have been played.  (Ashleigh still has one All Seniors All Stars game on June 11 though).  They have had their banquets and are coasting along enjoying life.  I thought the picture of Mocha flomped by the pool was a good representative picture.

Had a good relaxing day today.  The pool is open and clean and no major work needs to be done on it.  Today the water temp hit 82º.  I did a little cleaning but mostly laid out and sweated and read the newspaper.  We did have a minor catastrophe though - one of our nice outdoor stools rusted through.  No one was hurt but the chair portion separated from the legs.  The other 4 look OK.  I can't remember where we got them despite scouring my warranty folders.  Had to be Lowes or Home Depot but I don't see them online.  I did fill the Tiki torches with oil.  They have a little spout thingy that slides over the bottle now.  It looks like a scene from Survivor at night out there when we fire them up.

Earlier I went to the pet store and found that we were eligible for a free 30 pound bag of food (buy 10 get one free).  That was nice walking out of there with a nice big bag for nothing.  Of course that bag will last us about a week...  (ha ha - actually for all of her 130 pounds, Mocha doesn't eat that much.)

It wasn't such a casual night last night though - we thought it would be a good idea to let Mocha sleep in our room for the night.  For the past few nights Mocha hasn't been ready for bed when we go so she cries and makes little barking noises from the kitchen where she sleeps.  The beagle sleeps up with us every night and is well behaved.  Jasmine used to come up and sleep there at the foot of the bed too.  But Mocha is Mocha and it's different with her.  She jumped up onto the bed to claim the coveted spot but of course she isn't staying there.  I pulled her down and then up Britni would go. Shooed her off and then Mocha would jump on Britni and flatten her.  And then around they would go again.  It was crazy.  I got them each to lay down on their own beds for 20 seconds before the melee broke out again.  I finally had to drag Mocha downstairs and gate her in the kitchen again.  We can try that again in 3 months...

Tomorrow looks like another pool day.  We have some ribs to grill but no other plans.  I might get adventurous and build a stone wall around our fire pit.  We'll see...

Another Driver In The House

Yesterday Elliott got his driver's permit.  And as a bonus, they gave him this highly reflective, highly embarrassing bumper sticker.  Fortunately, for the moment, there is no law requiring him to have this on the car when he drives...  So this morning we will be hitting the road and driving around doing some errands.  I usually bring Mocha with me on my drives but since Elliott will be behind the wheel, I think I will give Mocha a break...

Here is an action shot of Elliott (#33) at a recent lacrosse game.

Ashleigh's Senior Prom

Someone's Getting Old...

This week was Elliott's 16th birthday.  Why, I remember when...  He is now taking driving lessons and is out on a "date" with some friends as I write this.  He is having his party in a couple of weeks due to a bunch of other stuff we have going on.  On his birthday he had a lacrosse game and scored a hat trick (3 goals!).  They won and he was pretty happy.  We raced from there over to IHOP for a fundraiser for Ashleigh's team.  We had had a cake a couple of days before. 

And to add to my aging misery, this week was our 25th anniversary of graduating from Oral Roberts University.  25 years!  Last night was Ashleigh's Senior Prom.  More on that in another post.

Since my last writing, we replaced the carpet in the dining room with hardwood flooring.  The room isn't very big so we got the best product we could.  A crew of guys came out and ripped out the old carpet and I bleached the floor and put several coats of KILZ down.  They came a couple of days later and did a BEAUTIFUL and fast job of laying down the wood.  Mocha loves it - another place to cool herself off on.

No big plans for Mother's Day.  I told Ashleigh and Elliott that they are old enough to take care of Lucie.  She is their mother, not mine (and I took care of my mother!).

Here is a picture of the dining room now.