Picture Of The Day 01/30/10

From 1999: Scott & my brother Rick, and Danielle.

Picture Of The Day 01/29/10

A very contented Tails kitty snugged inside my sweat jacket.

Picture Of The Day 01/28/10

Blood Orange: A tasty 100 calorie snack.

Picture Of The Day 01/27/10

Traffic from the grocery store to my street half a mile up the road. It's never backed up like this but the snow and cold temperatures made the streets very icy today.

The Worst Nightmare Ever

So, after a phone call last night with distressing news, I just could not get to sleep. I tossed, I turned, I finally turned on the TV and watched it until almost 4 AM. Finally I must have fallen asleep because....

I found myself at my father's wake. It was pretty much as I remember except the funeral home was a lot darker, and all the light was provided by candles which were flickering eerily The other mourners wee all seated, the women with their heads covers with black veils, the men all wearing hats, had their heads down so I could not see anyone's faces..

Because of the dim light, the walls of the funeral home were not visible which made the room seem even stranger, giving the illusion that the room was cavernous. As I walked up to my dad's casket I was filled with a cold sense of dread, of a certainty something horrible was about to happen.

I knelt down to pay my respects and looked at my father. His body was all shriveled and dessicated as if it had been buried for quite a while already, though his suit appeared to be in perfect condition as did his casket. This scared me particularly because no one else seemed to act as if this was anything but natural.

Suddenly his eyes opened and he sat up unnaturally fast and turned to me, gasping out "Let me die! Why won't you let me die!??"

I ran, screaming from the funeral home!

I awoke, shaken. I could not stand to stay in bed so I got up and went out into the living room. Another cold sense of deep dread hit me as I saw the casket sitting behind my couch, illuminated only by two large candles on tall stands, one at either end. I could not turn away as my father once again sat bolt-upright and repeated the same words!

I truly awoke at that point, terribly shaken. I thought about the dream, I knew he had been sick for along time.. but I can't fathom why he was asking to die, when he was already dead. I realize I was very upset about some family issues when I retired, but the dream in no way had anything to do with that.

It will soon be time for bed, and I am hoping my dreams will be more pleasant!

Picture Of The Day 01/22/10

Uh oh!! Tails' Spider Sense is Tingling!!

Picture Of The Day 01/22/10

The view from the road today. Frost and killer squirrel alerts!

Picture Of The Day 01/21/08

A very comfortable Tails kitty is staring at me!

Picture Of The Day 01/19/10

I bought Scott & Danielle sneakers this evening. I really wanted to get this pair myself because of the awesome picture they were sporting. However since I do not need sneakers right now I could not justify the expenditure.

Picture Of The Day. 01/19/10

My house, near the park
Looking cool, in the dark!

Picture Of The Day 01/09/10

A vibrant blue sky is beautiful complement to the snowy Michigan landscape.

Filmmaker Art Clokey Dies at 88

The headline this post is entitled with brought a bit of sad melancholy to me just now when I read it on-line. My brother and I grew up watching Gumby and Pokey. The full story can be found at this link.

If you've never seen Gumby, click and watch the video below. For our younger viewers it may interest you to know Gumby was the first Claymation style animation, done laboriously a frame at a time.

Picture Of The Day 01/05/10

Waxing nostalgic with a picture of Scott and Danielle from Halloween 1999.

Picture Of The Day 01/03/10

After five long years of service, particularly this past year where I used it over 150 days straight 90 minutes a day, my exercise bike is dying! It's been squeaking after the bearings heat up and the pedals have some play in the shaft. The ride also is nowhere as smooth as it has been. I was hoping it was just a case of needing some lubrication, but alas it's not that simple.

After today's ride I got on-line and started looking for repair parts. I took off all the covers and looked at the mechanism shown below:

Fortunately I was able to find a place on-line that still supplies parts for this model a Keys Fitness CM560R. For $54 a set of crank bearings and sleeves have been ordered. Should be an interesting repair job as the pulley and belt system is under a lot of tension with a very tight spring and of course I have no repair manual for the bike.

It should be quite the adventure, and if I can get it repaired I'll save the cost of a new exercise bike which would be a very good thing!

Picture Of Day 01/03/10

Someone looks guilty.............