They had to take my computers away to get me to sit down and write my thank you notes.  I’m SO embarrassed.  (Actually, one computer is being fed information from the other, and it just gave me the downtime to start my notes, but my husband would say the opening line is more fun! lol)

I’ve been keeping a running list of people to whom I need to send a thank you note, or a personal note.  That list has been growing, because I’ve added to it, but not written the notes.  What’s worse is that I have scraps of paper all over the place with partial lists of notes to be written.  My mother would not be pleased to know that I FINALLY wrote a thank you note fully one year after a gift had been given.

One of my sisters says that it’s never too late to say thank you.  I hope she’s right, but that still doesn’t excuse my tardiness.

I hope that everyone who gets a hand written note from me knows how heartfelt that note is, and that I’ve thought about them, daily, until I finally got the note written.

I fully expect pithy comments from Cop Car and Frankie, and I bet they have different opinions.  Mea culpa…..maxima mea culpa.  I’ll try to do better this year.

I’m an old dog who needs to learn some new tricks.  We finally broke down and bought a MacBook Air which is  fascinating product, but fairly different than the PCs I’m used to.  I’m playing with it for a few days before we take our previous computer to the Apple Store to have the contents downloaded onto the new computer.

Yes, Apple seems to have made it more people friendly, but there is always a learning curve with a new mouse, a new keyboard, a new computer set up.  I’m finding things I need to ask in my first training session, programs I’m accustomed to like the Adobe Flash Player, and how to play disks.  We opted for the one on one sessions to help me learn how to get around the computer a little faster.

The one drawback I didn’t think about before I bought the Mac was that our office computer is  PC, so the two computers will not be able to talk to each other.  My stepson pointed that out, but then he told me I could e-mail things to myself from one computer to the other, and save them.  And, I bought the Microsoft Office for Mac, so that I can continue to use software which I know.

Onward and upward!

It seems to me that World War I is surprisingly present in my thoughts these days,so much so that I’d be interested to read more on the history of the time.  It started when I began watching the second season of “Downton Abbey.” The story opens with both servants and the upper class going off to war.  The Abbey is turned into a convalescent home, and the kitchen participates in a soup kitchen for soldiers who have returned and cannot support themselves.

World War I appeared the second time this month in the book “Fall of Giants,” by Ken Follett.  I’ve enjoyed his historical novels set in earlier centuries, so I thought I might like this story, which opens just prior to the start of the war.  It’s fascinating to read that the war could have easily been averted, but previous treaties funneled Europe and Russia into a conflagration that covered more than Europe.  I’m barely a third of the way into the book, and the war is about to start.  I’m confident that I will learn a lot about the war, and Follett may give me enough information to know what else I might want to read.

The last of the appearances of WW I came when my husband who is recuperating from knee surgery and trying to find something on TV that he can bear to watch, turned on “War Horse.”   It’s an amazing story, parts of which are very difficult to watch.  In one scene, the horse is tangled in concertina wire in the no-man’s land between the English and the Germans.

I wonder why there is so much focus on this period of history right now?

I hope, as I work my way into “retirement” that I will be able to make the time to read more history.  I’m particularly interested in the period from 1750 to WW II.  These fictional histories have whet my appetite for the information I missed when I studied history at school, low those many years ago.

I’m aware this morning of all those years when I was the one who got to stay curled up in the covers as Dear Husband went off to work!

DH  and his partner owned a masonry business for more than a quarter of a century.  When he was younger he could sleep ’til the last moment and then make a run for it, but as we got older, and our bodies needed concessions, it got to the point where my husband was getting up at 4:30 in the morning to be able to be the first person on the job site.

As he left the dressing room for the day, he would walk to the bed, and either levitate me, or give me a morning kiss for the day.  He never fails to give me that quick smooch before parting for the day.  It had to be tough on him, expecially on winter mornings, when it was still dark out, and he knew he would be heading into terribly cold temperatures, to leave me curled up in the bed, but I think I can count the number of days he overslept on one hand.

So, now it’s my turn.  I have to get up between 6:15 and 6:30 to make it to exercise on time.  On the days that I lead exercise, I often get up much earlier so that I’m sure the classroom is ready and my notes are in place.  I thought about all those years Dear Husband was the one to rise early, and find I can’t begrudge him the chance to sleep in.

He was so cute this morning. *G*

This is the oddest December I can remember.  Usually I am running around trying to get the house decorated and making lists of cookies to be baked.  Dear Husband does the shopping for our granddaughters, and I try to take care of the rest.

But, this year we are focused on keeping to a schedule of physical therapy and doctor’s visits.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday are filled with notes on exercise and therapy, and Tuesday and Thursday we go to the doctor, do blood draws, and do the occasional salon trip.  We actually look forward to the weekend so that we can get a little rest from all the appointments!

Today, the nurse called to say that we need to stop by.  It’s not like we live next door to the doc.  This is a 20-25 minute trip.  I’m sure it must be important, or he wouldn’t have asked us to come it.  I’m concerned, worried that there is something going on that we’ve missed.  It would be nice to get GOOD news.

After the doc, Dear Husband gets his hair cut, and then we’ll do something about dinner.  I have two more squares to be crocheted by tomorrow, so I’ll need to have my fingers fly tonight!

Just in case you’re worried, I’m still thinking of lists of cookies to make. *G*

Today, while I was waiting for Dear Husband at the doctor’s office, I was watching local news on the television.  At least three times, they showed video of a child at Sea World, feeding the dolphins, and what can go wrong when you do not pay attention.

This eight year old girl and her parents had paid to participate in the Dolphin Experience, where she would have the chance to feed the dolphins.  Her parents were busy video taping their daughter for posterity.  The girl had given her fish to the dolphins.  She had been warned NOT to pick up the white tray the fish came in, but she picked it up. As she turned to her parents, a dolphin lunged to get what it thought was more fish, wrapping it’s mouth around the girl’s hand.  When it realized there were no fish, the dolphin released her and slid back into the water.

Of course, her parents have shared the video with ABC, and it’s gone viral.  I have stopped listening, but by dinner time, I expect to hear of a lawsuit that will put Sea World out of business.

Personally, I think the parents should have been paying closer attention to their daughter.  If they have a child who is incapable of following instructions at eight, perhaps this was not the experience they should have signed up for.  The video I saw showed the girl’s hand following the “bite” and it looked as though there were marks, but very little damage otherwise.  I don’t think her skin was broken.

Prior to feeding the dolphins, instructions were given to all the participants, and they were clearly told, “Do not pick up the tray.  Leave the tray on the edge.”  The dolphins know that their meal arrives on these trays, and they will help themselves when they see the trays.

I’m sure opinion will be divided on this issue, but I think the parents needed to be more responsible  for their daughter.  Here’s the link to the video so that you can decide for yourself:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd_1Oyz_MPs

Dear Husband is recuperating from his knee replacement surgery.  He’s now my Bionic Husband, with metal and plastic in his knee.  I can’t wait to visit the airport with him! *G*  His stitches came out on Tuesday, and we now go out for physical therapy.  Following his first visit, he said he liked it and didn’t like it!   Even for this very stoic man, pain has been a persistent  companion for the past nineteen days.  At least it’s easing.

He walked down our long, uneven, driveway to get the mail yesterday., successfully.  He’s begun to shower again (thank God! lol), and we FINALLY got to sleep in the same bed. I know….too much information.  I’ve been sleeping very badly, so it was time  to move him back where it would be easier to keep track of him.

I’m so glad that things are going well.  My Bionic Husband deserves a little comfort in his life.

This week, ~T~, who hosts my blog, has shifted us from Moveable Type to Word Press, so I have a great deal of learning to do about the site, and all the things I can do with it.  I know I can drag and drop widgets, so you might see some things come, and some things go.  One of the best buttons is “Move to Trash.”  We’ll hope that I hit that before sending my laundry lists! lol

It’s good to be blogging again.