Broken Bones, Blasphemy and The Blimp

Lack of updates lately doesn't mean things haven't been busy. I spent some time at home recently for my 4th 'vacation' of 2008 (Previous vacations: OH 1, SD 2, DEN 3) - to help out my folks a bit because my dad broke his foot/ankle/leg and was immobilized for a period. He's doing much better now, but is still expected to be off of work for a total of 3-4 months. Yikes. Anyways, it was good to see my folks, but I wish it were under better circumstances.

I finally registered HAL in Kentucky. It only cost me $706.50 and 6 weeks of life without HAL having a vanity plate. Feels somewhat blasphemous or like I've taken HAL's personality away by putting a basic plate on him. Fortunately - KY (huh-huh) only requires 1 plate on the rear of the car, so I am able to keep my Montana JAZZCO plate on the front. This should tide HAL over until KY (the state, not the jelly fools...) calls me to tell me HAL's new plate is in. Anyway...here's a pic of HAL feeling a little down while hanging out in my garage.

I did get to see my old friend the Goodyear Blimp a few times over the course of my visit home. The Spirit of Goodyear is based at Wingfoot Lake in Akron and often can be seen floating over my childhood home. Here's a brief video clip and a still photo for your enjoyment.





That's about it for now - Frozen Four coming up soon...and a trip to see some old and very good friends in Billings. Woohoo!

Snowy Deck

Hey All...

Here is a pic of my deck this morning!!!! Well...not exactly, since it was 60 degrees at 7am this morning. This picture is actually from a snow storm we had February 7-8 here...I had 14" of snow at my house in about 24 hours. My deck built up almost 3 feet drifts along the back of my house. Thought this was kind of a cool shot - though I'm really just happy that this piled up snow did not fall into my kitchen when I opened the door.

Al is TEN!!!

March 1, 2008 marked the 10-year anniversary of when Laura gave me Al during a vist to her and her sister Barbara's home in Beavercreek, Ohio on a break from school in 1998. Al (full name Al Sleet - The Hippy Dippy Weather Lizard) has been a good luck charm and a travel companion of mine every since. I never travel out of town without him.

Al spent his birthday relaxing on my bedroom television (he is a monitor lizard after all) with his friend Leaky who became my 2nd good luck charm and travel companion in early 2000. I spent Al's birthday sleeping because I'm on midnight shift.

Happy Birthday Al!