NorazDad

End of career note

2010-05-28T09:49:00.002-06:00

Well folks, today is the second to last day for me at old Thornridge. More so, I think it's the end of my teaching career. It has been a strange and wonderful journey. Starting at Bloom Trail, quitting to contemplate priesthood and then realizing it wasn't for me, enrolling at UIC for grad school because it was the last one still open for admissions, getting called to interview at Thornwood from my old ISU RA, teaching a year, meeting Mary, getting RIFFed, being off a year and then getting called back to teach at TR. That's the journey in a nutshell. What I did in my career was multifaceted. I started teaching english, theatre, stagecraft, speech, radio and tv and then I became a librarian and then the AV Guy and then a librarian again. I retire as Conan the Librarian.

In the meantime, Mary and I reunited and eventually married, had Nora and of course Daisy Grace. Nora just graduated from Augustana with a degree in English and Speech Communications Ed. She is looking for a job in a very tough market. If you have any leads... It's kind of exciting to be joining Mary in retirement just as Nora enters the profession. I like that kind of symmetry.

Well, I'm sort of killing time in the library waiting to go to lunch with my friend Dave who is also retiring. I guess that's been a kind of pattern for me writing this blog. So, what are the plans? First, it's to get out with my dignity. I really haven't been too tempted to do anything inappropriate, but there's still next Tuesday when I get to address the faculty for the last time. It will probably be a speech full of hope and gratitude. I am truly thankful for the life I have had thus far. Mary and I will be doing some traveling: initially to see Sean in Murfreesboro, then Dan and Nancy in North Carolina on the beach, and then to Italy with Aunt Deb and then to see Carole and Daniel for an extended stay in Florida sometime this winter.
I plan to play a lot of guitar. In fact, I hope to secure my street performer's license next week as soon as I can get to the Mayor's office to plunk down my $100.00. My goal will be to recoup that money by playing on the street. We'll see... I want to play some golf with Dave and his dad, Bill Meder and Nora. I want to fish and kayak. I haven't really spent too much time in that pursuit lately and I really want to do some exploring on the Fox, the Au Sable, the Kank and Hennipen. I even want to try some back waters of the Mississippi and the Rock river down by the quad cities.
Nora is staying down there for the summer so I hope to get down there to visit and play some with her. Hopefully she will be coming up here a bit for interviews. Keep praying for that.
We currently have Charlie, the "grand dog" for a couple of weeks while Nora settles into her new temporary digs in Rock Island. Charlie has had a positive impact on Daisy Grace. She really perks up when he's around. It's not that she likes him, but she knows she better be on her A game or else she might get her food stolen or miss out on going outside or a treat. Daisy's recovery has been remarkable. She's kind of like her old self again, just old. She gets a little wobbly on her feet sometimes and gets confused as to which foot to put forward first, but she can still hop up the front stoop when she comes in.

So, that's it for now. If you would like to visit, give us a call, drop a line or catch me on facebook. If you want us to come see you, do the same. We intend to visit all of our friends and family we have put off for this time in our lives. Keep in touch. We want to see you and we thank you for your friendship, love and concern.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Mary, Rob and Nora and Daisy Grace and Charlie

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-06T18:46:00.002-06:00

So things have been pretty hectic:

Daisy Grace has improved immensely. She is eating, gaining weight and doing most of the things dogs do on a regular basis and it all looks regular. We don't know how long all this is going to last, but for now we are thankful.

Mary, Daisy and I along with Aunt Debbie traveled to DuBois, PA to facilitate an operation on Bette's eye. This involved driving to Pennsylvania, getting a hotel room, staying one night, checking out and loading up the luggage and Bette and her stuff into the old van and driving to Shadyside (a neighborhood of Pittsburgh) checking int0 a suite, unloading, making dinner, getting up and checking out, repacking the van, taking Bette to the hospital for her operation, checking her out and then driving to the airport to pick up Debbie and then driving back up to DuBois to get Bette settled, get us checked into a hotel and then get something to eat. Whooo! Then there was a week of recovery and then another trip to Pittsburgh for post op and then dropping Debbie off at the airport and then back to DuBoise for some more Bette care. Eventually, home.
We had a nice Easter dinner at Aunt Nancy's and Uncle Sam's. We had a nice visit with Paul and Judd and that's pretty much it.
So, all is well with Bette's eye. The trip was a success.

Up to this point people have been asking me if I am counting my days until retirement. I had been too busy with contest play and all to care. However, when I get back to school on Monday, I think I will start the countdown. Frankly, I am getting a bit excited.

That's it for now. There is a new link for this blog so if you follow it, please change your link.
Thanks for reading and for caring.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

This blog has moved

2010-03-10T14:13:00.001-06:00

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Daisy Grace

2010-02-01T08:14:00.003-06:00

Daisy wants all to know she is not ready to join "All dogs who go to heaven". Her eating has greatly improved. I added a little shredded cheese to her diet and yesterday I made chicken soup and gave her some of the soft cooked dark meat. She absolutely loved it. This morning I gave her a teaspoon of yogurt, a table spoon of soup chicken and a table spoon of shredded cheese and she ate it all. This is a big deal. Also there was no evidence of any fluids passing during the night. That is also major. So, we're thankful for some semblance of normalcy. Maybe those Hail Marys and positive thoughts are helping.

It's amazing how she can look to be on death's door one day and actually even a little perky the next. I am sure eating helps. We'll take it day by day.
Peace and thanks for the positive thoughts,
Rob, Mary and Daisy Grace

Daisy Grace Update

2010-01-30T09:41:00.002-06:00

The poor thing is feeling very poorly. She's not really eating much. There is vomiting and some runny stool. She's just kind of lying in the bed I set up in the kitchen. She looks up now and then, but she's mostly sleeping. She does not look to be in any pain. It's very sad to see her this way. She was, and in her spirit is, a wonderful dog that borders more on puppy than "old girl".
Peace to you and to those you love.
Daisyzdad

Daisy Grace Update

2010-01-22T10:05:00.002-06:00

Not much to report other than we're feeding her Yoplait Peach yogurt. The net doctors all said that flavored yogurt has too much sugar so I bought plain. She won't eat it, but loves the peach. Go figure. Life's too short to eat shitty yogurt. She's also liking the shredded chicken. I have not had to do the Sub Q thing yet, but I may take her in today after school to get her re hydrated and to learn how to do the procedure. She's still a skinny little thing...all skin and bones but she still seems to enjoy her regular routines: Hanging out with Mary, sitting on her lap to watch TV or to read, listening to me play guitar in the basement, waking me up at 4:00 in the morning to pee, etc.

Mary is doing well. She's doing a great job of taking care of Daisy during the day. I am very thankful.

Nora only has one more month of student teaching. She's starting to realize that it's all coming to an end and that her new life will begin sooner than she may feel she's ready for. Transition from college will be a challenge that I am sure she will be up to.

For me, it's a Friday and I will be glad with the 3:00 bell rings.

Peace to you and to those you love.

Daisyzdad

So it's been a while...

2010-01-20T09:48:00.006-06:00

I know that I've been lax in keeping up this blog, but just as it helped me work through the pain and recovery of Mary's Lymphoma and ultimate bone marrow transplant and my transition to and from AV Guy and back to Conan The Librarian, I fully intend to use this blog to work through the very painful situation with our little Daisy Grace.

I think I want to start with the tick. Geoff, our groomer or our greuhmer, found a tick in Daisy's face last year. He removed it as it was pretty well embedded in her cheek by her eye. The darned thing would scab over and puss up and then I would drain it, add some Neosporin and go through this whole process over and over again for about three months. When I took her in for her annual, the vet didn't really mention anything other than ticks can take along time to heal. We never talked about lyme or any other tick borne disease or parasite. We probably should have. We didn't notice any major changes in Daisy's health or disposition. She never showed any signs of being sick or lame which often accompanies lyme. She obviously enjoyed staying with Nora this summer as evidenced in Daisy's Christmas letter.

We had been noticing that Daisy was losing weight but we thought that was natural as she was getting older...you know kind of skinny old lady syndrome. Well things really got dicey during Christmas. There was a lot of company: Neffs, nieces, little kids, Charley, etc. She was getting very finicky about eating. I thought it was because of those fools at Purina were messing with her good old ProPlan. "New and Improved" rarely is. We tried regular dry, senior, shredded...where she just ate the shredded and left the hard and dry. It was kind of pissing me off. You know, it's not my fault that the dog won't eat. Anyway, the vomiting started shortly after Christmas. Now Daisy would throw up occasionally just like any other dog, but it was never chronic and it usually coincided with overeating or stealing something she shouldn't have. One time she ate a piece of baked potato that I had dropped off of my fork at dinner and it threw her into a bout of pancreatitis. In the most severe cases we would have to take her to the vet and he/she would give us some pepsid and antibiotics and $200.00 and a week later Daisy would be back to normal.
Well, this time it didn't actually go that easily. When Daisy stopped eating I started to make her something she might like like boiled chicken and beef and rice. She would eat for a day or so and then stop or vomit and stop and man it was frustrating. The proverbial straw happened when we were downstairs playing guitar and she walked into my guitar case and puked...a bunch. Needless to say it was gross, but I wasn't mad because I knew that something was really wrong. So wrong, I didn't resist when Mary and Carole told me to taker to the vet NOW! I did and they tested her and gave her fluids and gave her an antibiotic and some Pepsid and sent us home.

I gave her the meds, continued to cook for her and we essentially treated her like she had and would recover from her usual pancreatitis. Maybe by now I was a little disgusted about my guitar case...but I at least thought she would recover. Things did not improve. Daisy continued to not eat, throw up what she did, drink too much water and throw that up in huge puddles in the kitchen. She also was waking me up two or three times in the night to go out to pee like a skinny old man. Things did not get any better, and she was definitely losing weight. On Sunday we decided to follow the protocol of withholding food and water for 24 hrs before we went to see the vet. This time the vet did the exam and took blood and came back with dire results. Both Daisy's BUN and Creatin were off the charts. These results pointed to a diagnosis of canine renal failure.

What was the prognosis and what were our options? The prognosis is that this is terminal news for a 14 year-old dog...but not today. Our options included a vet hospital stay for several days to rehydrate her and to try to get her levels back down. This would only be a temporary fix and once she was off the IV, the levels would surely return to dangerous levels. I refused. Daisy would not tolerate being in the hospital. In her weakened condition she would check in but would not check out. She would bark herself horse if she could and cry herself to death. No way was I going to let that happen. The plan is hydration and food.

One of the problems with the vomiting is that it is not for lack of appetite, but rather the nausea created by the toxins building up in Daisy's system. The Pepsid helped, but it was in pill form and Daisy would not just take the pill, she needed some food to make it go down and then it just came up again. I asked the doc if the pepsid came in liquid and indeed it did. My plan was to give her the liquid orally a little while before we fed her and then maybe it would have time to work and she would eat and keep the food down. Our pharmacy was wonderful enough to compound the stuff for us and save over sixty bucks from the formulary. With that in mind, we are pretty dedicated to a diet of boiled chicken, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and cottage cheese. We might try some actual dog food sometime down the road if she processes this food well.

Now the hydration is another challenge. Mary thought of adding a little cranberry juice to water to maybe help flush out some toxins. Daisy seems to like it and is keeping it down. The thing is the amount. Tiny little sips throughout the day seems to be the plan. If that doesn't work I will have to learn to inject fluids SUB Q.

As you can imagine, all of this is very disturbing to me and Mary and Nora and maybe anyone Daisy touched, licked or barked at. I am going to chronicle this experience here on old family chat if for no other reason than it may be cathartic for me to work through this process as difficult as it may be and maybe it might help someone else facing a similar situation.

So, if you believe in Hail Marys for dogs, throw a few up for Daisy, if not for dogs, then for us and if not Hail Marys, then please share your good thoughts and healing wishes.

Peace to you and to those you love,
Rob

Friday/Payday

2009-08-28T09:36:00.004-06:00

It's finally a payday Friday. This is our third Friday. The first one evidently didn't count other than to yank us out of our summer mode and prep us for the year. I am currently in the library with two classes and my 4A lunch students. It's pretty chill in here right now. I actually had one of our top ten students ask for music to be played and then complain that Seal wasn't "Rock enough" for her.
Last night was Back to School Night and we had to be here from five-thirty till eight. I could have skipped it being that I'm a short timer and all, but I'd rather take time off when I really wanted to do something else like fish or play golf than just to take off. Really it would be kind of a slacker move and I don't want people to talk about how Nerius took off on BTSN or Parent Teacher Conferences and such.
We haven't talked to Nora much this week. Classes have started and she still has clinicals to do...and then there's work. ...Ah the life of a college student bar maid.
Mary's doing well. Last weekend we went to my step-brother David's daughter's wedding. It was held outside at a farm south of Joliet. The coolest ting was that the bride and her maids were brought to the "altar" in a hay wagon pulled by an amazing John Deere tractor. Rachel and her new husband are really just kids but they are very nice and they have great family and friends for support. I am sure their marriage will be blessed. The big surprise was my ersatz cousin Jeff was there and it was great getting caught up with him. Jeff is Shirley's eldest sister's oldest son and he is in Catholic education in Milwaukee. For those who don't know Shirley is my father's wife. My dad died over fifteen years ago and we have little or no contact with Shirley. In fact, she was not even at her grand daughter's wedding...long story, possibly not bloggable.
Well the wedding was fun and it was fun to get out on the dance floor with Mary again. She even did some hot polka with Jeff. That was fun to watch.
This weekend we have no particular plans and I kind of like it that way.
The guitar is going well. I decided to take a crack at joining the music ministry at church. I really didn't know if I was good enough but at my "audition" the music director seemed to be very excited about adding me to the mix and scheduled my debut for the Saturday night mass on the 12Th of September. I'm already nervous but really excited. I'm calling this activity "getting the guitar out of the basement". I played outside quite a bit this summer. I really liked playing on the boardwalk in Quebec and on the roof deck in Mendocino. I'm not really ready for the street yet...that's my ultimate goal, to get my street performer's license. But lessons and practice make better.
OK it's lunch time. I'm a brown bagger and I like it that way.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Have a great weekend.
Rob

Sorry, it's been a while...

2009-08-24T07:44:00.002-06:00

Hey All,
The school year ended without much fanfare. With Mary's health progressing as well as it has our summer plans are back to being rather full with travel.
Our first outing was a trip to Pennsylvania to see Bette on our way to meet up with Carole and Daniel in Montreal with a final destination of Quebec City. Our plans included snatching Bette up and bringing her to Orland Park for the Fourth of July week on our return. When we got to PA, Bette was glad to see us but her attitude was a little negative. She has become quite forgetful and at times a bit ornery but for the most part she is fun to be with. We really didn't stay very long because Quebec was our goal and we had a few long driving days ahead of us. The trip to upstate New York was beautiful. We stayed in Watertown, NY at a Hampton. Ate at a wonderful local restaurant and hit the road the next day. We crossed the border into Canada and shortly thereafter got pulled over for having a radar detector in the car. The fine was outrageous. The officer said that we should have seen the signs, we didn't.
We got to the Montreal airport with the help of our little friend, the GPS. Though annoying most of the time, she really did a great job of getting us to our destinations. Personally, I'm still on the fence about the GPS. I like knowing where I am going, but there are times when I just don't know and "she" helps.
We had a lot of time to kill in the Montreal airport and it took an hour for Carole and Daniel to emerge from customs and baggage. Once on our way, we were all excited to see each other and to work our way to our destination. We stopped along the way for something to eat. Little did we know that it would be our least expensive dining experience for the whole trip. It took us about three hours to get to Quebec City and we arrived in a rain storm around 10:30 p.m.
Our hotel was quaint but the room we shared was a little disappointing especially after we toured the Hotel Montenoc. The bathroom was small and the sleeping arrangements were tighter than any of us were used to, but we survived and saved a lot of money...on lodging.
While in Quebec City we saw all the sights and eventually felt we "owned" the town. One highlight was our dinner at L'utope http://www.restaurant-utopie.com/ . It was exquisite despite the skater convention that was happening on the street just outside the restaurant. Another highlight was the celebration of The Fête nationale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Holiday_(Quebec) where Mary and I encountered 200,000 drunken revelers waving blue and white flags and singing and dancing in the streets. It was amazing. We were sad to see the week end but we took Carole and Daniel back to the airport and we returned to our Hampton in Watertown. We did in deed snatch up Grandma, but not without a trip to the doctor to see if she was really sick...she was. We took her anyway and and we enjoyed her visit (probably more than she did).
We took Grandma to see Nora's house and school in Rock Island and to pick up Daisy who was staying with her sister while we were traveling. After about ten days or so we took her back to PA and on our return stopped in New Philadelphia, OH to see Jody and Dave and Cindy and Eric. Jody and Cindy were Mary's best friends in Jr. High. It's amazing that she still keeps in touch. Mary was quite the story teller as few have the memory for detail that she has. Jody and Dave were fine hosts and we really enjoyed our visit.
With arrangements for Daisy to stay with Penny and Sadie Sioux, our next trip was to California to visit Aunt Debbie and the boys, Ellen and Emily AKA Callie.
We spent a week at Aunt Debbie's home with visits from Mary's old friend Paula and her friend Rick, Ellen, Emily and Debbie's friends Linda and Eileen. Addison and Austin were home with Addison home for the summer from the University of Arizona and Austin getting ready for his transfer to Berkley to study architecture. Hubbell finally arrived at nine in the morning after an all-night drive from Irvine. Nora flew in on Thursday from Moline after a twelve hour travel day. On Friday we left for wine country with an ultimate destination of Calistoga and the warm and wonderful Olympic sized mineral pool. Great food and wine and weather pretty much says it all. On Sunday we were off to Mendocino on the coast. We stayed in our usual place at the MacCallum House http://www.maccallumhouse.com/?gclid=COj7-73KvJwCFQMNDQodQjPfoQ. The whole stay was wonderful. The kids and I kayaked in the ocean and learned to "rock garden" by playing around the rock outcroppings as the waves carried us over them. Mary and Debbie hiked, shopped and viewed the wonderful Botanical gardens. Nora and I hung out at the beach for several hours one day and vowed to surf the next time we were there or at our earliest opportunity. The whole California experience was great.
School started for me the following Friday (Basterds) but it was to be my last first day of school.
So now Nora and I have completed our first week of school. Nora had to spend the first week of school with her Coop teacher at Davenport West High School even though she doesn't actually start teaching until November. Nora is very happy with the placement and is very well prepared for this culminating activity.
I love it at I will be leaving the profession as Nora enters it. I will be leaving it in good hands.
Other points of interest:

Nora stayed in Rock Island and worked as a server and a nanny this summer and made some pretty good money.
Nora also got a dog. Charlie is a Yorkie ShitZoo mix. We haven't met him yet. We only hope the house training is going well. Ultimately her dog could be our dog...hmmm.
Mary's health continues to be great. Her hair is starting to relax a bit. She's going to the SportsPlex about four times a week.
I continue to practice my guitar. I have joined the church music ministry and will have my mass debut on Saturday night September 12 at 5:15. I am kind of excited about bringing my guitar playing out of the basement and playing with other people...much less for other people.

So that's about it. I have been on Facebook lately and that has taken some focus from this blog, but I really think I prefer the blog to Facebook. I am going to work on melding the two somehow. But hopefully I will be a little more diligent in keeping up with writing.

I am really enjoying this, my last year as a librarian/school teacher. I hope the year flies by so Mary and I can get down to the real business of retirement...traveling and visiting all the great friends we may not have been able to see for a while and making new friends in our travels.

OK, well peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

A moment of peace

2009-05-06T08:35:00.003-06:00

Hey all!
We went to visit Nora at Augie this past weekend. The annual parents brunch for Delta Chi Theta, her sorority, was held on Sunday at a very nice hotel in Davenport Iowa. Mary and Daisy and I drove down on Saturday morning. We got to her house around twelve-thirty and then we went out for some lunch and to run some errands. We me two of her roommate's' parents and thought we might connect with them later in "The District" but that never happened. Nora had to work Saturday night from five to eleven so we planned to just go to her bar The Rock Island Brewing Company (RIBCO) to have a few drinks, watch her ply her waitressing skills and to hear the bands. Once we got checked into our hotel Mary and I went for an extensive walk around Davenport. It's quite the little town. It's on the Mississippi River and it's definitely and old town that has gone through some renovation due to the gambling boat. We did venture onto the boat, but one whiff of smoke and we were out of there; neither gambling nor smoke for us.

Around seven-thirty or eight we went to RIBCO to see Nora. She's quite the bar maid. She's friendly. She listens to her customers and she seems to have boundless energy and enthusiasm. We met the bosses and the bar tenders. They seemed nice and from what I could see their interactions with Nora were appropriate. The District is kind of like a walking mall with no cars and lots of bars and whatnot shops. Our concern for her safety was allayed when Nora told us that the owners/bartenders insist on walking all servers to their cars after their shifts. Oh, by the way the shifts are five to eleven and eleven to three-thirty a.m. Oh to be young... Our time kind of flew by. We had a few drinks, I had a fish sandwich and Mary had a salad and the bands came and played, etc. We got to watch Nora count her drawer at the end of the night and gleefully announce that she had made about $130.00 in tips. Now that's what I'm talking about...

The brunch was very nice. Nora and Elsa were minor celebrities because they were the Pledge Moms who were responsible for the new Delta Chi's. We sat at a complete table. That means that we had a senior, Tommi Nora's big, Nora, Nichola's big and Bri the new girl. The parents were all there and it's interesting to see the ones who know what's going on and new parents who are really wondering what their daughters have gotten involved in. Once the speakers come up one is bound to be impressed with the leadership in the organization. Nora's and Elsa's speech about pledging was funny and informative. The food was plentiful and good. Mary got to talk to the chef and he was able to assure her that the eggs, bacon and sausage and hash browns were all gluten free. OK, too much info...

After we checked out we went back to Nora's place and then to Target to get more bins for the move to her new house. We also met Elsa's parents to coordinate the move of two couches, a big chair, a coffee table and many bins to where she will be living from June 2009 to June 2010. The place is very nice. The current occupants were very kind to allow Nora and Elsa to pre-move some of their big stuff while we had the van. Nora plans to live in Rock Island for the summer and to continue to work and make money. She student teaches in the winter, but will be doing at least thirty hours of clinical observations at Davenport West, the school she will be student teaching at during the fall. She will also be attending the first week of school with her cooperating teacher so she will have a good idea of how to set up a room and start a school year.

Daisy has a hole in her face where her groomer, Geoff removed a tick a month ago and it is still healing. That has us concerned. She may also have a dental issue. Daisy is getting old and she's a skinny little thing. She has us a little concerned.

Mary celebrated her one year "Birthday" on the 29th of April. My God how this year has flown by and the changes that have occurred. Mary is doing very well. She looks good and and seems to feel good. I can't be thankful enough for this miracle.

We plan to travel extensively this summer. We are going to to Quebec City with Carole and Daniel. We plan to snatch Bette up and bring her home for a week or so on our way back. We'd like to stop in New Philly on our way back from bringing Bette back to PA. We will be going to California to see Mary's sisters and I am sure there will be several trips to the Quad cities.

When this school year ends I will have one year till retirement. It seems like a dream..the place is a bit of a nightmare. It is definitely not the school or the district I entered almost thirty years ago. It is time for me to go and for Mary and I to start our new lives. That's when we will hopefully get to the Atlantic Ocean to see Dan and Nancy or to Michigan to see Cindy and John or to New Mexico to see Candice or Florida to see Carole and Daniel or to your house where ever you may be. Then there's Egypt and Machu Pichu and Italy and who knows where and golf and fishing and my career as a street musician and ...I am getting ahead of myself.

I am working on a couple of songs that I might play with the school jazz band at the annual Jazz at the 'Ridge. I'm not sure if I can pull it off, but as I work on the songs I am sure I am learning something new. I'll let you know how it goes.

I am thankful for all that I have especially the for my family and friends and my home. My blessings have been abundant and I look forward continuing to share them.

Share them??? We are hosting a graduation party for my nephew Brian's son Matt who is graduating from Olivette Nazarene College on Saturday. We kind of got volunteered to host. It's OK...should be fun. Carole's coming in. Tim and Gina and Caroline are coming in from St. Looey.
Brian and his wife Debbie (Gosh, I think it's Debbie) are actually throwing the party. Sean will be here and who knows who else. It's nice to be loved.

Enough...I need to get back to work. I just wanted to fill you in on what's going on.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Catching up

2009-04-22T12:30:00.002-06:00

I know, it's been a while. What a reader can glean from my dearth of posts is that I have been pretty busy and that I must like my job. Generally, I would post during a lull in my day. However, the lulls have been few and far between in the old library lately. We are serving about 400 students a day which is a significant increase over the past few years. So, what's been going on?

Mary is doing very well. She has a head of very curly hair. She's still thin, but not so much that one might worry if she is OK or not. She's more than OK. We are rapidly approaching her one-year "birthday" April 29th. Can it be a year already?

Speaking of birthdays, Nora turned 21 on March 6th. We spent months planning what turned out to be a very nice evening out with her friends Mary, Jorie and Elsa and with her adult friends Karen, Dave and Gail, Mom and Dad. We went to El Jardin on the north side of Chicago, drank a few margaritas, ate some awesome Mexican food and then headed down the street to the UberStein for some beer. Nora stayed up north with Mary and Elsa and we came home. All in all it was a wonderful evening. We didn't have the party with the open bar for 30+ which would have cost us a fortune and we were not inundated with a houseful of sorority sisters. Nora had a nice time and so did we.

During the rest of March I was involved with contest play. Last year I had to bail after I designed the set. The play won state. This year I had to stick it out to the bitter end which translates to winning our sectional and taking sixth at state. It was a long haul, but I was paid very well after my twenty or so past contest plays and I had a little fun along the way.

Recently our friend Karen treated us to Rent downtown. I had never seen it other than on cable. It was amazing live. Nora came in for a twenty-four-hour visit. She got a break from sorority life as pledge Mom and even got to do her laundry.

That brings us to Easter and Easter vacation. Aunt Debbie was the first to arrive with Nora, Hubbell and Ellen to follow. It was really fun to have a full house for Easter. Our friend Lee and Fr. Charles joined us for dinner. The true highlight was the road trip with Mary and Rob and Debbie and Ellen and Hubbell and Daisy Grace in the old minivan for a trip to grandma Bette's. We stayed at a Best Wester in the dog room with Ellen and Daisy. It was a challenge. Debbie shared a room with Hubbell. The trip was uneventful. We talked a lot and then listened to a Mary Higgins Clark book on CD. We visited with Bette as much as we could. It was hard with her in the home and us having to ravel to see her. I cooked a meal at Sam and Nancy's. We visited the grave yards. We took a trip to Punxatawney to see Phil and we ended up stopping by one of Bette's old friends, Tucker who took us up to Gobblers Knob. It was very impressive. We also took a drive out to Smicksburg and we saw some Amish plowing their fields with horse teams. They actually sat on the plows behind four horses. Amazing. One row at a time and straight as an arrow. We visited with Paul and Judd. Hubbell and I played golf while Debbie visited with an old friend Kathy, and Mary and Ellen went to the shops with Grandma. Played a lot of guitar on my old travel guitar. We had a few good meals at Luigi's and then it was Hammer Time Home. 8 hrs and only one stop. All in all a great time.

The meeting I am in right now is starting so I'll spell check and sign off. Maybe I'll supplement later.

Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

What do you do with a clean bill of health?

2009-02-04T09:10:00.004-06:00

You gladly pay it...
Mary just completed some PET scans and in reviewing them with Dr. Robin she was told that the first sentence of the report says it all. "No indications of any activity anywhere." Actually that's a paraphrase. Penny took Mary to her appointment. Again, my appreciation for Penny's assistance and for her friendship is great. So, this great news is great news and we are feeling particularly blessed right now.

Daisy's been sick. But she's better now. $245.00 better.

I've started work on the contest play. We're doing Requiem for a Heavyweight by Rod Serling. I went to Lowe's last night around seven-thirty and the place was a ghost town. It was a sad sight, but it was fun to be able to have the whole store to myself. I am sort of looking forward to the process. I am afraid I am already counting the days or at least looking forward to...something else.

We've been summoned to visit Nora at Augustana. We were told that we are the only parents who have not come to visit and to see their house. Mary's certainly well enough and we have parent teacher conferences on Friday that end at eleven a.m. so we can leave early. No doubt dinner and extensive trips to Jewel and Target for groceries and household items is on the agenda. I'm sure it will be fun. The only reason we hadn't been to see her thus far is because she was in Europe until November and then she was at school for only a few weeks before she came home for Christmas and we all needed time to recover from the holidays. As my Mom would have said, "It's time".

OK, that's it for now. Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts...they work.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Fifty-Four and so much more

2009-01-26T07:25:00.002-06:00

So Mary says, "when are you going to update the blog? People read it, you know." Well readers, here it is. I must honestly say that I haven't really been into writing lately. I am mostly consumed with guitar and frankly, Conan is quite busy most of the time. As you may remember, the AV Guy had considerable down time at work, especially when he was at Thornton. Well, he doesn't go to Thornton anymore and now that he's Conan he's seeing about 350 kids a day. So, here's the news...

I'm 54 today. It's great to be alive. I am looking forward to next year when 55 gets me closer to the door.
We were off for two days due to cold and one for Martin Luther King' birthday. It was nice to just be at home with Mary with no particular agenda. I should have written the blog then.
We had a great time during Christmas. It was very busy. Carole was with us without Daniel. We missed him. Sean and Sabrina were with us for about five days. Tim and Gina and Caroline were here for the weekend. Kevin and Alice and the boys were here a couple of times for a short visit. Dan and Nancy and Pete joined us for Christmas and we got to see Dan and Nancy the Sunday before. It was wonderful seeing them. It has been too long. Of course Charles was here, but not enough. We got to spend some time with Ashlee and her daughter Olivia. We did not see her husband Jordan this time. We had a very nice reception for Aunt Stel which included our cousin Ruth and her husband John. It was a brunch that lasted all day. It was very laid back and nice.
We also attended the wedding of our friends Lee and Steve on the 27th. Even though we had a lot of company, we decided that this was an event not to be missed and that our guests would have to fend for themselves while we were gone. They did and we were very glad we got to celebrate with our friends.
Tim and I got to spend some time, maybe a little too much time playing music. I really haven't had much opportunity to play with "others" since taking up the guitar. It was very encouraging and I think we both got something out of the sessions.
We, includes Nora. It was great to have her home for three weeks. Nora had had such and intense first term that getting a break to be a kid at home seemed to be just what she needed. Her friend Carlin spent a lot of time at our house. A few nights we played board games. I think this was a new experience for Carlin. We had a blast. Carlin left to finish her term in London the Saturday after New Years. It's great having her here. I love hearing those girls laugh like the kids they are but won't be for long.
We had a very small new Year's Eve. It was Henry and Pat and Mary and Rob. Nora went back to Rock Island, Karen got stuck in Paris...Tennessee, Angela and Paul (Henry and Pat's daughter and son-in-law) chose other activities and Lee Talley didn't show. I think that was it. I'm blanking if there was someone else, sorry if I am.
Traditionally, we have Dave and Gail to hour house on New Year's day. This year I asked if we could flop and go there. They were delighted with the idea and I was thrilled that I didn't have to cook or entertain. We had a delicious carne asada and corn salsa.
Speaking of food, Christmas was a meat fest with two beef tenderloins from Berkot's. I did a little shallot and mushroom ragout that really enhanced the meat. Sean was the line chef. We plated the food and Sabrina served. We've never done it that way before but it sure saved a lot of confusion. Family style uses up too many dishes and we still have to get up are refill. I really appreciated the extra hands. I did a muscle and clam thing for Christmas Eve. I loved it, Nora got sick on a bad muscle. I did a really nice hash brown casserole for the brunch. It turned out exactly like I wanted it to. It was sort of like latkes without all the grease. Sean did a very nice barbecue while we were at the wedding. Oh, and the cookies and breads and coffee cakes. Sean, Carole and Kevin out did themselves. I'm still paying the price. There were a couple of take outs. They boys over ordered Gino's pizza one night and we sent whole pies home with Kevin, Tim and Sean. I added shallots, portabello munshrooms and scallops to my famous (Frugal Gormet's) barbecue shrimp. Great additions. Will become part of the recipe hence forth.
There was a lot of playing of Guitar Band and Guitar hero.
I think we all loved our presents. Mary got a Kindle from Aunt Deb. It's an electronic book where you download books from Amazon for about ten bucks. It's a real big step in technology and reading. I got a Vox Box that allows me to play guitar along with songs on my computer. It's a very exciting piece of equipment that had immediate impact on my playing. On the crazy side, Nora got me Rock Band which is still a lot of fun. No one seems to be able to do the drums yet. Of course these are just some of the exciting things we received and gave. As usual, no one would know we were in a recession based on the exchange of gifts this Christmas season. It's part of our tradition and we love it.

Well, those are the highlights. I know by waiting I probably missed quite a few significant things and maybe some minutia..oh well. Most importantly, we all had a great time. Mary's health has continued to improve and we are thankful for our friends and family.

As always, peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

Final exam day

2008-12-16T09:07:00.003-06:00

What up Folks? (aka, a gang greeting, though not intended as such at this time),
Today is the first day of final exams. For you non teacher folks that means that we go on an alternative schedule where the intent is for kids to come in, sit down, shut up and take a test that will determine 20% of their grades. It's usually a mixed blessing for teachers because administering the test is relatively easy, but grading them can be a chore. There is definitely a "light at the end of the tunnel" mood about. Though many perceive our profession to be one where we work a bit and then get significant days off, it's the "work a bit" that drives the need for some distance from our students and from the whole school environment. Essentially we need a break from the students and they need a break from us. Traditionally, when we get back in January we start all over again with a new attitude and hopefully some new clothes. Regardless, there was a strong administrative drive to make the school year a cumulative grading system. That would essentially mean that the students would not start with a clean slate second semester, but would instead be carrying the same grades from first semester into the second. This was all in the guise of trying to reduce failures. The faculty generally believes that it would have had the opposite effect: failures would have increased proportionally as the year progressed. Well, it didn't happen. Instead, they created an In Progress grade for kids getting D's and F's. These students will have the opportunity to make up those grades with some kind of tutor after school or on Saturdays. Allegedly all the classroom teacher has to do is provide the benchmarks or assignments the kids missed and the tutor will do the rest. We'll see how this all goes, but the majority of the staff sees this as us lowering the bar once again to accommodate kids who are too lazy to do the work the first time. Few will justify the need for this policy for kids who just needed a little more time to "get" the material. Needless to say...we are ready for a break.

Our holiday will involve a lot of activity. We have been to Karen's annual party. This was, as usual a fun party of mostly teachers who enjoy eating, drinking and chatting. The packages have been sent and the cards are going out tonight. Friday will be our outing with Pauletta and George. Dan and Nancy are coming in and we will be seeing them on Sunday. Hopefully we will see them more than that. Nora is staying at school until Monday because she has a doctor's appointment that she can't reschedule. Her friend Carlin, who has been in London this semester is going to drive down (actually over) to Augustana to spend the weekend with her.
Carole comes in on Tuesday, I believe and then boys start to arrive. Sean will be the first to arrive. Then Kevin, Alice and the boys from Kansas City. We haven't seen them in quite a while. We think they are staying with Charles. Tim and Gina and Caroline Grace are coming on the 26th. We will be attending the wedding of Lee and Steve, two friends from church and Appalachia trips on the 27th. So Carole will have to hold down the fort with her boys and their families. We hope to have a party of sorts in the afternoon on the 28th with Aunt Stel as the honored guest. It will probably be some kind of breakfast buffet. At least that's the plan for now. Carole wants a crash day on Monday before she leaves. I don't think we will do the New Years Eve party early this year. Last year we did it on the 30th for Carole's sake. There will be no Daniel this year. We will miss him greatly. He lends such a spirit to the holiday. Maybe next year.

Mary is doing very well, in my opinion. She has done a beautiful job decorating and has motivated me to help decorate and to get into the Christmas spirit. It has been one heckova year and I think we need some time to reflect on that. Our challenges and our blessings have been abundant this year but all in all, the blessings win out. Thanks for any support in any form you have contributed to them.

As always, you know where we are. Feel free to call, email or just drop on by. There will be plenty of Christmas cheer waiting for you.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Thanksgiving already

2008-11-24T08:46:00.002-06:00

Doing this blog monthly seems to be the norm for me. It probably doesn't stimulate any sense of urgency to read this, but hopefully when you have a minute and think about it there is something worthwhile for you to read. It just so happens that a lot has happened since my last post.

Nora is home and back in school. Though her foreign term was enormously expensive, it appears to have been highly rewarding. There were many stories of extraordinary travel, missed and broken down trains, airline price gouging mixed with cultural opportunities that could not be repeated. She went to Ireland (loved it), Scotland ( loved it and skinny dipped in Loch Ness which made her sick), Amsterdam to see Ann Frank's house (not for the "coffee houses") and to tour the city by canal, Paris where she ran her travel companions into the ground and unfortunately missed the train back to Berlin. The train trip back to London from Berlin was exhausting and cramped. She has a little story to tell about an interaction with a German train conductor which ended with a rather strong exit dialogue. All in all it was eleven weeks filled with the kind of education one can only get by going there. Having lived rather independently for that time has had a positive impact on Nora as a total person. Going back to Augustana has been a bit of a challenge. She is definitely not the same person who left in August. She pre-moved into a house she is sharing with three other girls. Elsa, her pretty much best friend at school had been holding down the fort while Nora was in Europe. They are thrilled to be reunited. Nora has finally met the the third roommate and seems to really like her. The fourth is abroad and will be returning soon.
In addition to all of this, Nora is submitting her student teaching papers this week. This is a big step because it makes the real purpose of her college education a reality and that can be scary.

Mary is doing well. She still has some gastro issues. She may be suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome as a result of the bone marrow transplant. What is IBS? No one really knows. It's a non diagnosis. If they can't figure out what's causing the discomfort and have tested everything then they may declare it to be IBS. Will it go away, will it be manageable, what??? No one knows. Hopefully it will work its way into a non issue.
Mary is also getting ready for Christmas. There is lots of talk about cards, presents, guests, etc. We will be hosting Thanksgiving again. We will have the usual suspects: Karen, Lee, Charles and us. We are going to invite Carlin's mom and brother over this year. Carlin, Nora's best friend at home and away is in London for the year and we know her family will be missing her. Nora can be surrogate daughter for the day and we can be the family. That's kind of how it goes for Thanksgiving. Last year we had Mary's friend Jody and her husband Dave for the weekend. It was really fun and we hope they have a Happy Thanksgiving this year.

We saw William Peterson (Gil from CSI) in a play at Steppenwolf in Chicago on Saturday. It was a classic personally dysfunctional alcoholic Irish play. He was very good. They kind of promoted it as an Irish Christmas Carol. HMMM? I can't say I really got that. It certainly makes me appreciate my family more, though.

My personal news in extensive, so if you really don't care what I've been up to you can probably stop reading now.

I sold my truck to a guy who saw my Craig's list ad in Guatemala. We corresponded all week and I really never got it that he wasn't in the US. After we exchanged title for cash, I saw the guy he came to my house with, who acted as a translator, taking luggage out of his van. I saw the ORD sticker and asked if Henry (the guy who bought the truck) had flown in from somewhere. They guy said that he had flown in from Guatemala this morning and intended to fix up the truck and drive it back to Guatemala to sell it. Whoa! I've been reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat but I never realized it was so flat until Saturday. Imagine, flying to Chicago to buy a truck to drive back all the way Guatemala. We are truly all neighbors.

I had some very serious issues with the school district concerning my retirement. First, they didn't want to pay me for work I had done during the summer to get the auditorium ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony. They also were delaying paying me for my work on the fall play all because they didn't know how to calculate my maximum salary allowable by the state. I had calculated it numerous times but HR just couldn't get it for me or for the other retirees. After many emails and couched threats they finally figured it out and I got my money. My second issue had to do with sick days. Our contract allowed us to receive an additional year of sick leave if we had accumulated 160 days in our career. I had 290. The district sent out a letter that I had received fifty days in October of 2007 which would give me the 340 (two years). Unfortunately, they thought that was all that I needed and they continued to deduct days as I was out legitimately sick or taking care of Mary. When I got my sick leave report it showed 333 days, seven short of the 340. Now I talked to the union and to the administration last year numerous times telling them that they had to award a few more days in the case of need. No one listened. So when I got this report I was pissed. It took several weeks and finally a guilt laden dialogue with the superintendent and with the union president to get it completely worked out. I must say that my faith in the district administration and with our union has diminished tremendously. Hopefully, now that all is resolved I will be good to go in 2010. I will be meeting with the Teacher Retirement System this spring to be sure all time lines are met and what I will have to be on the lookout for on the district's part.

Library life is great. We saw over 8,000 students in October. We averaged about 360 kids a day. I like it busy. I'm not so sure about my partner Lisa. I think she's getting used to it. I really think she likes seeing the books she orders and processes being read by our students. I think that's a relatively new occurrence since my arrival.

My Nephew Sean from Nashville organized a Bears outing for me, his brother Brian and his sons a couple weeks ago. The undefeated Titans were coming to Bear country and Sean wanted to be there for it. Mary and I hosted the gang which included Jesse and Jordan, Matt and his friend Whitney and Brian's daughter Alyshia and her husband. It was very active to say the least. The game was fun. It was my first. Soldier Field is very cool. It looks much different from the inside than from outside. It all makes sense from the inside. One side is kind of traditional seating and the whole east side is primarily VIP. If you want to get inside you only need to the back of your row and you're there. It is quite impressive. We sat in the south end zone. Sean was the only Titan fan and did he get a lot of shit for it. As they took the lead and ultimately won, Sean got progressively more demonstrative in his support for his team. We tailgated on the porch with scrambled eggs and bacon and toast. Next time it will be the works with the grill, brats and all the fixins.
OK, some of those 360 kids need me.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Give us a call, drop us a line or comment on the blog.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Fall already?

2008-10-24T08:54:00.005-06:00

Hey There,

Forgive me readers for I have procrastinated. It has been about a month since my last blog entry.

Nora has really taken full advantage of her fall term abroad. She really enjoyed her time in London. We traveled there when she was about ten and I think she felt a sense of familiar from the start. She organized two major trips for herself and seven other girls: one to Ireland and the other to Scotland. She saw a number of plays and hit almost every museum. Her friend Carlin is also studying in London and they met up for a day at the Tower. There was great controversy between the published dates for transition to Berlin, Augustana releasing them to go and their train tickets. They lost the train tickets because they could not be exchanged and because the the chunnel was partially closed. It was an expensive mess. The cheap flight to Berlin cost double because of the weight restriction on their luggage. Berlin started off rather rockily with Nora being sick and tired. They stayed in a nice hotel until their hostel was ready for them. The hostel is in east Berlin and needless to say is not in the most charming of neighborhoods. However, Berlin has grown on Nora. They have taken several tours. The one with the greatest impact seemed to be to a concentration camp where the spirits of evil and dead souls seemed to be ever present. Nora also organized a trip to Amsterdam last weekend where they visited Anne Frank's house and took a canal cruise. They plan to go to Paris next weekend. Ironically, one of Nora's teachers is her next door neighbor in Augustana. I think she bribed her with a bottle of champagne in hopes of being forgiven for any past or future neighborly disturbances that may have or will occur. Though ridiculously expensive, it appears that this trip and whole experience has been tremendously valuable. More to come...

There appears to be no sign of cancer anywhere in Mary. She is still experiencing some gastro issues. She has been scoped and checked and they think it's primarily a bad bacteria v.s. good bacteria thing. Her weight is way down, but she looks and acts very healthy and for the most part is every bit of her old self...without the stress of teaching freshman English. She and Penny get together for little adventures frequently. We're hoping for confidence to step out a little further. I know this sounds kind of lame but after what she's been through the last few years a little same ole same ole stability is really great. We did attend Henry and Pat's annual weenie roast on an unseasonably warm Saturday a couple of weeks ago. It was very nice, but very hot and mosquitoey. Mary's old beau Bill Binder was there. You will have to ask her for details.

I just finished the fall play. We did it festival style outdoors like we did last year. I did the scenery and the sound. I worked practically every Saturday in September and October to get it up and down. I had a few helpers but the old days of a crew call bring a dozen kids for a fun-filled day of set building are truly days of the past. The best I can say is that it is over and all of the platforms and walls are safely put away in the old scenery storage room. All in all things are going well at school. We have a very crowded library today which will make the day go fast. I am really looking forward to spending a free weekend with Mary Ruth with no school activities. You're probably sick of hearing that I love my Stratocaster, but I do and I can't help but express it as often as I feel it. In addition to deepening my relationship with Mary this weekend, I plan to spend some significant time with my Strat as well. Oh, I put the truck up for sale. If you are interested, let me know. I got one hot bite from a Mexican who lives in the neighborhood. He wants to rebuild the engine and take it back to Mexico.

OK, that's just about it for now. Maybe I won't wait a whole month before I update...but then again???

Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

Killing time during communication period

2008-09-26T13:41:00.002-06:00

It's Friday and it's the end of the day. We have to stay here until three o'clock. This period is called communication period. It's usually a very busy half hour. We have to do hall duty to ensure the kids exit the building quickly and safely. However, a number of kids like to stick around for clubs and activities and to either get started or to start and finish their homework. Usually, the latter takes place in the library which is why this time generally flys by. But today, there are no kids in here so I'm just killing time.

It's been almost a month since my last entry. First off, Mary is doing very well. Things are not all right with her digestive system. You will have to talk to her to get all of the specific details but the whole situation is being treated by Dr. Kaiser. Mary got an endoscopy which revealed no severe issues. She's due to see him again in October. It looks like it's an inflamation issue that comes and goes. It would be funny if I really emphasized the "goes" part, but...
Other than that, she's still enjoying her visits with Penny. She has driven...I know. Actually, once she backed the van past my friend Bill's brand new Altima without incident all was well.
These may seem like baby steps, but considering what she's been through it's probably best to take it easy.

Nora is in London...well actually, she's in Scotland for the weekend. Last weekend she organized a trip for herself and seven girls to Ireland. One of the highlights might have been winning a whiskey tasting contest at nine in the morning. The Blarney Stone was kissed and I think she really loved what she saw of the country. She was not impressed with Dublin but she was ready to move to the Dingle Penninsula. She only has a week left in London and then she and Jori move to Berlin. Other than the transportation issues, I am having a hard time imagining them repacking their suitcases after living the bohemian life for five weeks.
She gets email and talks to us using Skype, a voice over IP service that allows one to use one's computer as a phone. The best part of this whole trip has been that Nora and her friends have been taking full advantage of being in London. They have seen plays, been to football matches, socialized at pubs, met Londoners, dined with some rich American expats, toured museums and essentially left no stone unturned.

Two minutes and I'm out.
Things in the library are great. I like the kids. I like what I'm teaching and I like the teachers I've been working with. My teaching partner Lisa and I seem to be getting along very well. That makes a big difference.

OK, enjoy the fall weather. I'll try to write sooner.
Thanks for reading this blog.
Peace to you and to those you love.

Rinnngggg!
No time to proof this.
Bye
Rob

New News Now

2008-08-29T08:15:00.002-06:00

Hey Folks,
A lot has been going on since our little foray to Pennsylvania.

I had to get ready for school and I had to get school ready for me. I actually started a week early to get the auditorium up to presentational status with lights and sound.
Nora went to school a week early to set up house and her room at Augustana. Nora and her roomate Elsa are not going to start the semester together because Nora will be in Europe for her fall term. She wanted to make sure Elsa didn't have to set up the whole house by herself so she packed up and left for a few days. I think the house is set and they had a wild "last hurrah" or "first hurrah" depending how one looks at it to celebrate the new year and Nora's departure.
Nora and her traveling partner Jori are now in London living it up. They made it to the hotel they are staying at for a few days before they have to meet up with the official Augustana crowd. Jet lag did hit hard, but by day two they were Londoners. They saw the changing of the guard, hit a pub and have been tooling around in the tube. Sounds like fun.
Mary got the official word at Rush yesterday. When she asked the doctor M.D. PhD. when he thought they might declare the transplant a success, he paused and then said, "Now". the look on her face was magical. Now there's still the gastro issue, but I am confident that Dr. Kaiser will deal with that next week when she sees him for an endoscopy. Yeah, another procedure...
I'm back in the library teaching and doing library orientations. It's where I belong.
How about that convention? Some very interesting speeches. I like what the Democrats are saying and I really like where we say we are headed.

Got a class coming in.

Peace

Rob

Remission

2008-08-13T10:07:00.003-06:00

Well, a couple of weeks ago we had a scare. Mary's white blood cell count was very low and no one knew why. Uncle Sam said it was just a fluke. I concurred. Dr. Robin gave her a shot of neupogen and let us go to Pennsylvania. Upon our return Mary had a bone marrow biopsy, a PET scan and another blood test. The weekend was tainted with thoughts of "what if?" in anticipation of the results of the tests.
Results? With a broad smile on his face, Dr. Robin said that everything looked very good. There was no indication of any lymphoma in the bone marrow and that the transplant was still successfully engrafting. "I won't need to see you for a couple of months." Wow! That was what we have been waiting for.
After the appointment I was scheduled to go to the mall for an underwear run with Nora if Mary's results were not completely positive. Thank God they were. Nora suggested we take a trip to Oakbrook (a very upscale outdoor mall north of where we live) and we all agreed. The surprise of the day was a dinner at the Reel Club, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant which features seafood and gluten free dinner rolls. Mary thought she'd risk it and we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. We had a great time as this was our first family outing in over six months.
This is a great relief for both Nora and myself, especially with Nora heading off to Europe in two weeks and with me starting school on Friday the 15th.
Now we just need to get Mary's guts to feel right and with an appointment with Dr. Kaiser on Friday I am confident we will get a handle on that.

Thanks for all of you prayers and support.
Keep in touch.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob, Mary and Nora

Last Sunday of Summer

2008-08-10T14:28:00.005-06:00

Well, it's been quite a summer. Different than our previous summers, we mostly stayed at home: no week with Carole and Daniel at some interesting point of Americana, no California to see Aunt Debbie and the boys or Aunt Ellen and Emily, no Mendocino and no Calistoga. We wanted to go for a short trip to Galena with Meg and Kathy and Karen, but no. We did, however get to spend five days in Pennsylvania primarily to see Mary's mom Bette. Aunt Debbie arrived in Pennsylvania a few days before us. We were fortunate enough to have been invited to stay with Mary's Aunt Nancy and Uncle Sam. With their beautiful home as our base of operations we were able to visit with Bette, Sam and Nancy's daughter Tammy and her husband Arnie and kids Brett and Haley, Mary's cousin Paul and his wife Judd, Mary's uncle and aunt Dave and Maude and a cousin Frank and his daughter Kaitlin.
Sam and Nancy were excellent hosts. We had some great meals and lots of time to visit. Nancy cleanliness obsession was really to Mary's advantage because she is still pretty much immuneosensitive (my word). We did visit some of our town favorites: Peaceable Kingdom for cards and a visit with the proprietors, Maryann and Gene and we saw Jack, a shopkeeper who sells upscale men's and women's clothing. Usually, Mary and Jack talk about their mutual gastro issues while I shop for discounted end of season merchandise. We also got to take a nice drive to the old camp, around the reservoir, past the spillway and through Luthersberg. Mary didn't get a chance to eat out, but Nora and Bette and Debbie went out a couple of times.
My personal highlight was a skateboard ride that ended in some random neighbor's front yard due to an incredible decent and a botched turn at the bottom of the hill. I thought I broke a rib, but it's feeling much better now. I will train better next time. Nora and I got to play golf at the country club. Once again, we had a great time. I love the country club. If I lived in DuBois, I'd be a member.
All and all it was a great visit that could not have happened without Aunt Nancy and Uncle Sam's hospitality. Thanks again.
When we got back, Mary needed to have a bone marrow biopsy and a PET scan. These were due as part of her 100 day checkup but in this case, Dr. Robin ordered the tests because of a severe drop in white blood cell count before we left for PA. On the day of the biopsy, her cell count was up and Mary said that the biopsy did not hurt as much as it had in the past. The PET scan went well. We will be getting results on Tuesday the 12th. Hopes and prayers for a fine report.
I go back to work tomorrow. Actually, I've stopped in a few times to check on the auditorium lights and sound. Tomorrow is the big Ribbon Cutting ceremony. They are making a big deal out of it. We've been told to dress appropriately. Who's to say what's appropriate to wear to school a week before school actually starts. It kind of pisses me off that I am expected to make the administration look good during my vacation but they have the audacity to tell me how to dress. HMMM I'll get past it.
The rest of the week consists of Mary's Dr. appointments: Robin and Kaiser (She's finally seeing the gastro guy. Boy, is he going to get an earful.), Maybe a last golf and then school officially starts on Friday with more auditorium demands which are yet to be shared with me.
Nora is going back to Augustana on Sunday to set up house with Elsa and then return home for a week before she heads off for Europe for ten weeks.
So that's it. Though different, summer has been fun. I have really enjoyed the family/home time. Nora has been great and it has been wonderful to watch Mary's hair grow back and and to see her get stronger even if the leaps and bounds are actually baby steps and bunny hops.
More to come as we get Mary's reports and school starts and Nora becomes a foreign traveler.
Thanks for reading this blog.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob, Mary and Nora.

Dog days of summer

2008-07-25T10:07:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a month since my last entry and frankly not much of significance has happened at the McNaughton Nerius household since then. Here are a few bullets"

Mary's transplant is doing very well. Her guts are not. After months of struggle we have found IntestiNew, a supplement that is designed to repair damaged intestinal lining. It has been Dr. Robin's opinion that in addition to killing her entire immune system the chemo did it's trick on her intestinal mucosa. And as the Celiac is her Achilles heal so to speak, the intestinal area will be the most difficult area to recover. Her hair is coming back and she is looking better every day. She is tired of feeling "just not right" but she's doing everything she can to persevere.
Mary's friend and Daisy's "BFF" Penny comes by pretty regularly to walk Mary and Daisy around the block and to get the latest gossip from Dist. 205. They love to look at the new job postings I print off for them which look like a desperate district determined to reinvent the wheel. We really appreciate her visits.
We should be able to take our trip to Pennsylvania to see Bette, Mary's Mom sometime next week. We will probably stay at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Sam's house. Aunt Debbie may be there as well. Our stay will be limited but we feel it will be worth the risk.
Nora got A's on both of her summer classes and has renewed her loved of reading. She says she has read about twenty books this summer. I love hearing her discuss plans on h0w she will use various stories and films in her classroom some day. Her classes really gave her a solid vision for her future as a teacher. Good luck and God Bless her.
Nora and I had a very successful eighteen holes of golf the other day. I scored an 84 and Nora got a combination of Goods, Very Goods with one Stupendous and only one or two Sucks. I don't think the PGA will adopt this scoring system anytime soon, but it was very effective in contributing to the enjoyment of our time together. As a side note, I thought I had completely blown it with her and golf about eight years ago when we did not have a particularly good experience on the links. Thankfully time and maturity contributes greatly to the healing process.
I have been taking guitar lessons this summer and will probably continue indefinitely. I have been playing my cousin Joan's old Mosrite that I bought from her when I was laid off in 1980. It plays well but I kind of fell in love with a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster in pearl. It's a beauty and I just had to have it. I found it on sale at a Guitar Center in one of our suburbs. Anyway, it's a great thing to study and a great way to exercise those aging brain cells. And who knows, I may become a Rock Star when I retire in 2010. I can take Mary on tour. At least she will know all the lyrics.
Nora will be preparing for her fall term in London and Berlin and I am getting ready for a year of library, auditorium management and set construction. It's just coming too fast.

Well, that's just about it. Basically, we're all well and thankful for the lives we have.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Feel free to write, call or drop by.
Mary, Rob and Nora

Happy 25th

2008-06-25T10:30:00.002-06:00

On the morning of June 25th, 1983 Mary and I woke up to a hot morning with thoughts of preparation for our wedding. We were to be married in Building-J at Prairie State Junior College at one in the afternoon. The morning was hot, Mary was hot and at the time of the wedding the day was sure to be hot. Thoughts of sandwiches, liquor, pop, flowers, music, the minister and our honeymoon downtown consumed us. We dressed for the day: Mary in our neighbor Joan's daughter's eighth grade graduation dress and me in my first suit purchased in my adult life. Both outfits were to be only worn once. Mary's dress was retired as an heirloom and mine, because after I said "I do!" it frankly was never to fit again.
The previous night Mary and I, with the help of Bette and Roy and our friend Tommy cleaned and arranged the wedding venue. Building-J which was later to become the Prairie State child development center, was at that time the theatre. It just so happened that there was no play that weekend and that I still had the keys for the facility (I was an adjunct faculty member) and no one seemed to mind that we were planning on using it for our wedding. Available, accessible and free, what more could one ask?
Well, there is one thing...air conditioning. When we arrived to set up for the ceremony and reception, we immediately noticed the heat and stuffiness of the place. You see, we were unaware that the air conditioning was controlled by Honeywell in Atlanta and with no sanctioned event planned that weekend, no air conditioning was planned either. It took a call from me impersonating an official at Prairie State to Honeywell to get them to turn the air on for the afternoon. Miraculously, it worked.
Mary and I had no Maid of Honor or Best Man. We considered our guests to be our witnesses and thanked them for being such as we handed each a rose as he or she came in. We limited our guests to about sixty. Sorry if you were not invited or sorrier if you were invited and could not attend, ie. Mary's sisters and maybe Jody and Cindy from Ohio and Paula from wherever she was from at the time but that's just how it went. We enjoyed all of our guests. Some of our friends and family were meeting for the first time. That was a bit awkward for some, but I really think everyone was in the spirit of the day and had a great time.
We were married by a Unitarian minister, witnessed by the throng and entertained by a great eighties music mix provided by Tommy and live music by Li and Chris and Tommy. The reception was buffet-style with several huge subs, relish trays and mix and serve your own beverages. The cake was from our local bakery in Riverdale.
We planned for a limited event and the guests/witnesses were thanked and encouraged to leave around five. We did have to clean up leaving no footprint. We distributed the food and much of the beverages among the guests. Our plan was to get home and to get downtown as quickly as we could.
My old '68 Travel all was appropriately decorated with sayings like "Hubba Hubba, Just Married" and such with Limburger on the manifold and tin cans tied to the bumper. The truck was a mess. When we got home, we actually pulled the truck into the garage (probably its first garage stay), grabbed our bags and headed downtown to the Whitehall. We ordered room service and stayed in for the night. The next morning we went to brunch at Arnie Morton's, went back to the hotel, packed up and and headed for home.
The "real honeymoon" consisted of a six-thousand-mile camping trip west to the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Seattle, etc. and down the coast to Sacramento in the 68' Travel all (which blew an exhaust manifold gasket at the top of Highway 1). The details of that trip exceed the editorial limits of this entry. Maybe I'll do a "Westward ho!" entry later.
So, we married twenty-five years ago. It seems like yesterday. When one hears people exclaim "Where has the time gone?" one can only appreciate it once the time has actually gone.
Every day has been a blessing. Many friends and family have been a major part of that blessing. Nora, of course has been a blessing and a gift.
Well, what more can I say? Twenty-five down, twenty-five to go. Please help us and continue the blessing.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

P.S.
Mary is getting stronger. We took her off an anitbiotic that was making her very sick and we halved a dose of an antiviral that was doing the same. Since that time, Mary is getting stronger and looking better. She actually went out for lunch with some friends at Aurelleo's. They serve a wonderful gluten free pizza. Mary's fave rave is spinach, sausage, onion and mushroom.
Nora will be returning to the nest after a month of study at Augustana. We have really missed her, but we know she has enjoyed this time to extend her school year and to spend some more time with her closest college friends.
My golf game is really coming around and I am really digging my guitar lessons.
Daisy loves her almost-daily walks with Mary and Penny.

Summmmmertiiiiimmmme!

2008-06-10T16:26:00.002-06:00

Yep, it's one of the best perks of being a school teacher.
OK, Mary is doing very well. Her blood is good. The grafting process appears to be working. She is still experiencing some gastro-blah. It just so happens that as her stomach started to settle down, they gave her an antibiotic that basically kills everything, both good and bad...that's good for the bad, but bad for the good, like digestion. Oh well... She is still a little frustrated with not feeling quite right, but to see her and to talk to her, one wouldn't know. I do understand her frustration. I wish there was more that I could do to help. It is great to be seeing Dr. Robin again and it's even better that all he really does is look at her blood work and then check her heart and then say "see you next week." There has also been significant measurable improvement on the chemo brain situation. I believe Mary read a book in two sittings this past week. Up to now, she has had a very difficult time concentrating on anything other than flipping through magazines and short newspaper articles.

Nora is at school for a month taking a classes in teaching reading and adolescent literature. She is essentially reading a book a day. That would keep anyone in shape. It appears that she likes the teacher who teaches both classes and the classes seem to be interesting. She's living with a sorority sister; her pledge Mom, Tommy. Her classes are all at night and she is free during the day to study and do whatever. I think there is a kiddy pool involved in the daily routine. We miss her, but it won't be long before she comes home for some vacation and endless loads of laundry before she heads off to London and Berlin for her fall term. We all hope to get a trip to see Grandma Bette some time this summer.

Me, I have a very stressful summer planned. Let's see...golf, fishing, grass cutting, painting, trips to the doctor and after 40 years of owning a guitar, I am finally taking some lessons. Who knows, it may improve my score on Guitar Hero.

We're home, so call, email, drop by if you're well. We would love to hear from you.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

...the end is near

2008-05-23T06:34:00.002-06:00

No, not that...God forbid. School's almost over. That would be work for you lucky retirees. I'm at my kitchen table writing this almost as if I were at work. I got up at regular time in preparation for going to Rock Island this morning to bring Nora home. Actually, it's more like bringing Nora's crap home. She will be driving the luxurious '96 Lumina and I will be in the neglected mini van. So I am actually killing time because I can't leave too early because our little second-year would not be ready to roll until after ten a.m. That's OK. I am sure there was some celebrating the end of this term last night. Hell, I'm ready to celebrate the end of both her and my terms. We will only have Nora home for a week, however because she is going to take two classes in the summer term which are costing us a fortune but will pay off in the long run when she hopefully will graduate in 2010, coincidentally the year of my retirement. Whoo, run ons are fun when they are not being graded.

Mary is doing very well. She says that she feels like shit, but she looks good. Her attitude is positive and her gastro/intestinal issues seem to be subsiding. She is eating much better now and is able to actually ask for various foods maybe because her taste and appetite are coming back. That's an excellent sign of recovery. Our visit with DR. Fung revealed that her cells are doing marvelously and that he is ready to pass her back to Dr. Robin after our visit on Wednesday. That is great news.

School for me is coming to an end. I can't express enough how returning to the library has had a
positive impact on my school experience. I really enjoy having daily interaction with kids. I like the actual library work and believe it or not, I think I am getting along very well with Lisa, the "head" librarian with whom I had a very ugly confrontation my first week on the job. We seem to be getting along. I can only say "seem to" because my perceptions of relationship with certain people has not been on the mark lately. I was going to title this blog "F*cked by the Black Caucus again..." but chose not to because that is not the point of today's post. But, I can't post without making some mention that I was deposed from my role as building Vice-President by a write-in campaign, not by the candidate who won, but by the black members of our faculty who decided it was time to put a black person in that role. It was pretty underhanded, but politically astute and obviously well executed.
I don't actually know who started it, but I have heard that there were phone calls to the black faculty members as to who to write in and then there were fliers placed in black teachers' mailboxes reminding them to do so. I never saw it coming and nore did any of my non-black colleagues. The saddest thing is that the person they elected is a friend of mine and did not want the job. She and I talked many times about whether we should switch roles and have her be the VP and I would be a Rep. She was always adamant that we should keep things as they were. I guess it's for the best. I had been very dissatisfied with our Association leadership for some time now. In fact, I had proclaimed numerous times that once the contract was settled that I would resign my post and let them figure the rest out. I guess I got my wish. So, I'm pretty done with the Association. I'm going fair share or anything like that, but it is obvious that it's time for me to focus on other things.
Oh, F*cked twice??? They did it to me when I ran for President three years ago. Then they cried with who they got. It's not sour grapes, but "Screw 'em" it's not going to be my union in two years anyway. The saddest thing is that this Black Caucus has caused a racial division in our building that never seemed to be there in the past. I guess it's an exercise in power and empowerment. Unfortunately it's misguided and misplaced. This discussion could go on and on, but I have to hit the road.
We will be around this summer. Feel free to call, email or drop us a line. Healthy guests are welcome. We may get Mary on the porch yet.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Who is Dr. FunGuyz best patient?

2008-05-13T08:30:00.002-06:00

Mary Ruth of course.
I did bring Mary home on Friday. What a relief. She only wishes she felt better, but that will come with time, as we are told. Food is an issue at home as it was in the hospital. The issues are complex. First there is taste and texture...little taste and strange texture. Then there's keeping it down and, unfortunately in. Being a trooper, Mary has tried to let nature take its course but that means occasional vomiting and diarrhea. I'm sure that's what you want to hear, huh? Well, Zofran and Imodium are available and her reluctance to use them to their full prescriptive potential has definitely been stimulated by nature taking its course. Needless to say, this is an ongoing issue.
Our meeting with Dr. Fung opened with a hug and a kiss for Mary. Her counts were amazing. He emphasized that this was only day thirteen and that she was released on day ten. (practically unheard of) Her cells are growing and they are very healthy. We don't have to see him for a week. He is almost ready to hand Mary back to Dr. Robin. That will be a joyous time.
We did enter into a discussion about how the timing of harvesting Mary's cells and storing them at Rush could not happen today. Rush no longer harvests and stores just in case cells. It has to do with insurance and politics. Mary and I discussed that Drs. Robin, Fung and Venu should write a paper using Mary's case and a reason that this practice should continue. I am sure we will suggest it.
Well, I don't have much else to report other than I am pretty much done with school psychologically and emotionally. I really only have about eleven days (as if I were counting) plus two years to go. I'm thinking that the the eleven days will feel like two years and the two years will fly by.
Nora is definitely in the home stretch of her sophomore year. She and her roommate Elsa were elected to be pledge Moms for next year. We are told it is quite and honor and a very important role in the sorority. Speaking of sorority, Delta Chi was asked to see the grand inquisitor regarding some pledge practices. Some parent called to complain about his or her daughter's treatment...can you imagine? Anyway, Nora did a find job defending the traditions of the pledge process but agreed to suspend the tradition of leading the girls into Mississippi River with blindfolds on. She also will be taking two month- long courses this summer in order to get some prerequisites for student teaching taken care of. One can pay now or pay later but one thing for certain is that we will pay.
Well, that's about it for now. Keep in touch.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Gettin' out of the klink

2008-05-09T08:22:00.002-06:00

Don't have much time to write. I took today off to get ready for Mary's homecoming which was to be possibly Monday...well she just called and her counts are normal and they are releasing her today. So I gotta "get cutting" as my mom would say. Give us a call at home.
Thanks for all of the prayers and support.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

WBC moving up

2008-05-07T09:10:00.002-06:00

Great news from Rush. Mary's white blood cell count is starting to rise. Considering that just a few days ago she had no count, movement in the positive direction is cause for a little celebration. Karen, Mary's Nurse Practitioner who actually did the transplant told Drs. Venu and FunGuy that she wants more patients like Mary. Despite some stomach and intestinal issues, she's looking good and feeling very positive. She's even started bossing me on 'Homecoming" tasks.
Not much else to report.
Keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Rob

Nadir

2008-05-05T07:15:00.002-06:00

What's not the Democratic National Candidate Spoiler? Check this link and you will find out where Mary is in her treatment.
This has been a very physically and emotionally complicated and exhausting process. Mary is for all intents and purposes doing very well. She up and moving around. There is extreme bathroom time and she continues to wander the ward. The doctors and nurses all expected her to be in bed and under the covers by now, but that's not the case. Complaints??? Sure. She still has food issues. If it's not the Celiac then it's the limited selection or the texture or the taste or the fact that what recently goes in, quickly finds its way out. She says it's like having the flu. Who feels like eating when you don't feel like eating?
Nora was in this weekend. It was great to see her and to have some company at home. Her visits with Mary were very positive. Bringing her humor and her love of family to into this situation was like cracking a window in a stuffy room. She was patient and kind and attentive and, of course, funny. On Sunday, Nora was wearing her Delta Chi sweatshirt and one of the nurses noticed and said "The only Delta Chi I know of is from Augustana." And lo and behold, she was a COG when she was at Augie ten years ago. It was really fun to watch these two strangers meet at Rush and have a discussion about sorority life at Augustana. And of course, Mary was delighted to hear all the little tidbits of gossip and to see a kind of validation of her daughter's activities at college through a well respected nurse on her ward. It is a small world.
Mary has had some other visitors as well. Fr. Charles stopped by last week and our friend Dave Konkol rode his bike over Sunday afternoon. Godpa (Henry Showers) said he would drop in this week while is in the city for a meeting.
So, here is where we stand.

Mary has had tremendous chemo
She's had the transplant of her stem cells
She supposedly has hit her nadir (see vocabulary lesson above)
And she should be on her way to building new bone marrow which is a slow process. (see article) probably ten days or so.
Then she will come home and all will be well again

Thanks for all of your prayers and calls and notes of support. I truly think they have contributed to Mary's healing process (and mine).

Hey, and while we are thanking...Thanks Penny for stopping in and taking Daisy for a walk and for a treat most days. Nora noticed that Daisy is attention starved and that she will be very happy when her mom returns home.

OK, that's it for now. Feel free to call me for Mary's number or to send her a card.

Rush Medical Center

Room 1007 Kellogg

1653 Congress Parkway

Chicago, Il 60612

Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

Birthday!

2008-05-01T07:22:00.002-06:00

"They say it's your birthday".
The transplant is complete. Mary received about 36 CCs of her previously harvested stem cells at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday the 29th of April. The procedure involved thawing three bags of cells that had been frozen in liquid nitrogen for about nine years. Then Karen Samuels, a Jamaican Nurse Practitioner whose passion is hematology and hema oncology came in and reintroduced the cells through Mary's portacath. Much discussion ensued, mostly about Ms. Samuels life story. Though drugged up enough to make a Grateful Dead fan ready for a concert, Mary chatted and "interviewed" for the whole two hour procedure. Once done, we both took naps.
As the days leading up to the transplant were referred to as minus days, the days following the transplant are viewed as plus days, hence the birthday.
Last night, Mary was more her old self than I have seen her in since she went in.
Nora is coming in this weekend and I am both looking forward to her company and for the opportunity for her to visit with her mom.
Gotta run,
Peace to you and to those you love,
Rob

Day minus one

2008-04-28T11:16:00.002-06:00

So, today is Mary's last chemo before the transplant. So far she has been on two-a-days and what days they've been. Due to constant fluid infusion she has gained over twenty pounds in the last five days. Her moon face is a sight to behold. I have a picture, but I don't really want to post it. I hope to keep it as a memory of tougher days when this is all past. I read the printout on today's chemo. It's definitely worse than any of those warnings you hear on TV. It looks like the worse is yet to come in five to ten days when the drug saps just about everything from the patient. It pains me to think about it. Regardless, Mary's harvested stem cells will be reintroduced to her tomorrow. That's the transplant and it is for all accounts a rather simple procedure done by the nurse practitioner. I'm taking the day off in case some great sign occurs like an eclipse or traffic stopping on the Eisenhower Expressway. Actually, I just want to be there for the event be it dramatic or sublime.
They say the grafting process takes about a week to ten days to take effect. It's like planting seeds, they need time to germinate and to grow. Doctor FunGuy says that the cells know where to go and that it just takes time. Unfortunately, the patient will be feeling her lowest during this most important process. I attribute it to the fact that the body is spending all of its energy on repairing itself. That's just my speculation, but I think I'm right. However, what's to be seen is yet to be seen.
Again, give me a call and I'll be happy to give you Mary's number. I know she loves knowing you are all thinking about her and offering up prayers for her and Nora and I appreciate the thoughts and prayers that include us.
Tomorrow is day Zero. The journey begins...
Love and Peace,
Rob

minus day four

2008-04-25T11:18:00.002-06:00

So, it's a seven day regimen and they cound down to zero which is the transplant day. Day six was check in day. We basically met everyone who was to have any interaction with Mary during her stay at "the very expensive spa". What a wonderful place Rush is. We have not met anyone who was not as plesant as could be, helpful or knowledgeable in his or her role. The room is small, but small enough that Mary can pretty reach every nook while teathered to her pump, including her bathroom. The chemistry is pretty intense. She is on a two-a-day right now and for the next few days. The combination of anti-nausia drugs is keeping her pretty dopey. She told me this afternoon that she can't really stay awake for an entire television show much less keeping her mind on reading. Last night we took a little walk around the ward and then sat down in the lounge to watch the news and she had difficulty staying awake for that as well. Actually, I don't blame her. I really don't know why they even call it the news.
I digress...
One thing to celebrate is that the food is not terrible. Although today it's chicken and chicken. Last night it was mashed potatoes and ratouille (not made by rats) and some kind of Key Lime mousse. Her cold beef plate came on bread (bad) and the mousse was on a graham cracker crust which she had to avoid, but the food over all is well prepared and there is variety.
That's all I really have to report for now. Give me a call and I can give you her number.
She's in room 1007 Kellog at Rush if you want to send her a card.
That's all for now.
Keep the prayers and good thoughts coming.
Rob

Fiftieth Post

2008-04-18T11:16:00.003-06:00

That's a lot of writing for me. I know I do a lot of thinking...and a lot of talking, but writing has never really been one of my chosen activities I guess, until forty-nine entries ago. Huh!

Ok, so here's the news. Mary will begin the process of her bone marrow transplant next week, April 22nd with a Rutuxin treatment at Monroe Medical (Dr. Robin's office). Then on Wednesday she will be admitted to the tenth floor at Rush to begin the six-day hard core chemo required to kill her bone marrow. At the end of that process, they will reintroduce the stem cells they harvested eight years ago. And yes, they have been tested and they are viable. Then it will be about three weeks for the stems cells to "graft" and to begin the actual transplant process.
We really don't know what her room will be like other than it is a single on a "clean floor" and she will have a direct phone line. They said I'll be able to bring food in and she can read, watch videos and wander around the floor. Other than that the rest is yet to be seen and to be experienced. Feel free to give me a call, email or whatever. I'll be happy to give you more details as I get them.
In the meantime, Hope and Prayer are in order.
Rob

Time for a quick update

2008-04-08T12:46:00.002-06:00

Hi All,
It looks like I am getting to this blog about once a month. That's not really much, but at least it will give me/us an account of active events in the relatively recent past. Would I write in a diary? Probably not. This works, especially when I get occasional responses from friends and family. I was going to use the cliche of loved ones, but you're all that...

Things are going great...for me at work. I thought I'd get that out of the way first. I never would have believed that such a turn around could have occurred in such a short time. It has taken patience and a stifled tongue on my part for things to come around to my way of thinking. I really love working with kids. I like knowing them by name and by face and I really enjoy having them know me and acknowledge me in the library and in other public places. My co-librarian and I have come a long way. We talk regularly about our plan and how we see things and then we agree on how to handle various situations. Frankly, there is very little we disagree about. I would not have predicted that several months ago. Yeah, AV Guy is all but gone. It's Conan full-time and I'm glad to have him back.

Nora is at the end of her second year. She's almost completed the whole pledging thing for the new Delta Chi's. Her classes are going well. She's been accepted into the education department and has begun doing clinical observations. Her cooperating teacher told her she has a special gift for working with kids. She plans to work this summer and to take Biology at the Junior College.
I am actually looking forward to being with her most of the summer as our travel plans will probably be abbreviated.

Daisy peed on the bathroom rug, got yelled at by Mary and by me and when I sent her out the door she just kept going...about a mile in all. As it happened, a neighbor saw me running after her while I was wearing my pajamas and stopped and picked me up and raced ahead of her so I could get out and retrieve her. It wasn't funny, but you can laugh if you want. My neighbor did.
Daisy has since come back to her senses and is back to normal.

Mary is going through a ton of tests. She had a bone marrow biopsy on Monday the 7th. Needless to say, she was not looking forward to it and it still hurts. She's been carrying around a half gallon of pee she needed to collect for her big testing day at Rush on Wednesday the 9th. We got an itinerary with a highlighted map and strict time schedule which leaves time for lunch on the run. All of this is to culminate in a discussion with Dr FunG uy. Hopefully we will get a schedule of events so we can begin planning the big event.

Just got a call from the Principal...gotta go. I'll let you all know how Wednesday goes. Promise.
Peace and love,
Rob

It's been a while...

2008-03-06T13:09:00.003-06:00

Almost two months since my last post. Sorry. I hope that most of you who actually read this have had a chance to call Mary recently. If not, here's the update.
Mary had a PET scan in January which unfortunately showed signs of progression of her lymphoma. Dr. Robin, her oncologist got right on it and consulted with his colleague and mentor Dr. Venu at Rush to begin consultation regarding a bone marrow transplant. When we got the initial news we thought that this was it; the last straw. There were several days of shock and then we got informed.

Dr. Robin did a bone marrow biopsy to determine if there had been any lymphoma there...there was.
He sent Mary to Ingalls to get a lymph node biopsy to see if the disease had morphed into something else...it didn't.
Dr. Robin then scheduled Mary for her first of possibly three cycles of RICE chemo which would require a three night stay in the hospital.

On a side note, upon admitting her I became as sick as I had ever been with a throat infection which required me to go to the Dr. and to get a prescription and to take the rest of the week off of work. Thankfully, Mary was in the hospital being well cared for while I was racing to get well myself so I could bring her home on Friday.

After the RICE, we were scheduled to visit Rush to see Dr. Venugapal (sp?) where we heard the first really positive news up to this point. Dr. Venu explained that because Dr. Robin had the foresight to harvest Mary's stem cells back in 1999 when she was diagnosed and had them frozen and stored at Rush, the issue of an autologus transplant (from one's own cells) was the best possible scenario for Mary. There would be no need to harvest after the lymphoma breached the bone marrow and there would be no issues of rejection from another donor.
He also mentioned that Mary was for all intents and purposes healthy and had not received any damaging chemo in the past which would prohibit a transplant. Mary was and is an excellent candidate for this one time procedure.

Needless to say, we left Rush feeling more positive than we had in a couple of weeks.

Two weeks later Mary was admitted for her second round of RICE. Again, it was a difficult treatment. She really hated the food, especially the fish. Also by this time her hair started to fall out and the only thing keeping it from flying all over were hair nets which she could just throw away in the morning when she washed up. By the time she got home on Friday she was ready to relieve herself of the dead threads and with the help of Nora, she did. As traumatic as at may sound, Mary's first comment after looking at her clean dome was that "the eye adjusts". Various knitted caps seem to help keep her head warm. And of course, they all match her outfits of jogging suits, sweats and sweat shirts.
Today, March 6th, Nora's 20th birthday we went to Rush to meet with the transplant team. First we met Tina, the nurse who talked us through the process. Then we met Dr. Fung the actual head of the transplant program and then, most importantly (JK) the insurance coordinator. Dr. Fung should really be called Dr. FunGuy. He is warm, intelligent and very positive. He listened to and answered Mary's questions about the procedure and was extremely positive about the whole case. An interesting point is that he kept saying that this is the time. Her cells have been at Rush for eight years and he mentioned that they no longer really store cells as they have been doing in the past. He also mentioned that insurance rarely covers harvesting and storage in advance of need essentially telling us that what Dr. Robin arranged for eight years ago would not really be an option today.

So, we are waiting to see if Mary needs another round of RICE. If not, they are hot to trot to get this thing started. It will take about three to four weeks in the hospital and then some follow up visits and then... Mary will not be able to travel by plane for quite a while. She will be able to take car trips however. So eventually we will get to Pennsylvania and maybe beyond.

In addition to all of this, Nora has completed her second term of her sophomore year at Augustana. She's getting very good grades. She has declared Education as a major. Nora is very involved with her Sorority, Delta Chi Theta which will go into pledging as soon as she gets back from spring break. Speaking of spring break...Nora and her roommate and Mary and Aunt Debbie were supposed to go on a cruise last week. Obviously that didn't happen, but Nora and a four of her sorority sisters did go to Florida to see Aunt Carole and Uncle Daniel and to spend a few days on Ft. Myers Beach. I think all parties had a great time and we are most appreciative of Carole and Daniel's hospitality. Five girls in their condo must have been close quarters. But I hear they all got along well and had a wonderful time.

Me, I really don't miss the AV Guy. He had a lot of time to do things like posting blogs and such, but Conan the Librarian, though busy working a full day with only a 25 minute lunch break is having a lot more fun working with teachers and students. Conan also had a body image to keep up which has led him to the gym several times a week. All in all, I am ready to put in my two plus remaining years as a librarian at Thornridge and then call it a career.

Ok, that's it for now. Give Mary a call if you have a chance or drop her an email. Marymcnaughton@ mac.com (all one line, the space is to fool the spybots) In the mean time, keep us in your prayers. They seem to be working.

Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

...and so I write

2008-01-15T09:58:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!
I know, a blog should be a timely writing event, but timeliness has not always been my strong suit. Today I sit in my new office at Thornridge as Conan the Librarian. Yes, AV Guy is gone but hopefully not forgotten. He was a cool guy. He really liked working with computer and AV Stuff. Conan does too, but he has to do it on the sly. In order to get caught up I may bullet my comments as I have in the past. I will make every attempt to keep this thing up by writing a little more often, but things got out of hand and today is my first chance to actually sit down and write. So here goes...

Christmas was great. Much of what was described in the pre-Christmas blog held true. The opening salvo of drinks and stirrers went right on cue. One of the highlights was the breakfast for Aunt Stel, nephew Brian and fiance Debbie, Neph Matt and his friend who happened to the be the girl who was thought to be dead after a horrendous car crash and ended up being the one who survived three weeks after her funeral. Inappropriately as it sounds we referred to her as the "Dead Girl" until we got to know her and found her to be a lovely and a very fortunate person. Niece Alyshia was there with her husband and of course Carole, Daniel, Mary, Nora and me. Our friend Karen joined us before she was to head off to Paris TN. Nef Sean was the chief cook. He took orders and he and I made breakfast for everyone. It was a collective chaos that was highly entertaining for all.
Christmas Eve dinner involved mussels. They weren't the best, but they weren't bad either. Costco was out so I had to buy Jewel mussels. I don't know if you ever shopped at a Costco, but nothing compares to their stuff in quantity or quality. Mass was nice. Sean didn't go.
Christmas Day was traditional with present opening lasting for hours. Dinner included Charles and the chief guest. We had a very nice rib roast. Very traditional meal.
We got a short break and then round three. This was a party for Nef Tim and wife Gina and baby Grace. Tim's daughter Ashley and her baby who were reunited with Tim for the first time since the birth. This is actually where Matt brought his friend and they stayed the night. Amber and Hawkins were supposed to come, but they couldn't make it. They would have really added some spice to this mix. Three babies under two in our house????? Anyway, it was kind of a Wheeler Christmas. I originally was going to make a huge lasagna, but when I realized how many there were to feed I kind of freaked and switched directions. Fourth of July! Nora and I went shopping and decided that we were going to have a picnic/barbecue and that's just what we did. I grilled chicken breasts, sausages and hamburgers. We had had plenty of great snacks before hand so the meal was sufficient to feed this throng. The funniest thing was when I set out all of the meat on the counter and asked my nephew Tim how much of it should I cook? He said' "All of it." And that's what I did. We had one hamburger and a couple of sausages left over. During the course of the day there were many margaritas made. I personally was done after the first liter of tequila, but there were those who insisted on a beer and tequila run which contributed to things getting a little out of hand. I think there was considerable smoking, drinking and crying on the porch. Mary and I sort of felt like ring masters. The party eventually moved to Tim's hotel and I think we either went to bed or watched a movie. The next day was a challenge for some, but not for me.
Friday was a chill day for Mary and Nora and me. Carole and Daniel went out with cousins Ruth and John. We were supposed to see Aunt Stel again, but due to inclement weather, we took a rain check and watched movies. Sean went back to Tennessee with little fanfare.
Saturday was travel day for Carole and Daniel. We had a nice breakfast and took them to the airport. Wow, what a week. We were back to our nuclear family.
New Year's Eve was a small gathering. We had Pat and Henry as has been the tradition for over twenty years. We had cocktails and such at Karen's for starters and then moved to our house for the main course of the Frugal Gourmet's BBQ Shrimp. Also a tradition for many many years. Nora went to the U of I with some friends. She had a nice time, but a storm broke out and it took her five hours to get home. Needless to say we were worried, but thankful that she got there and back safely. I think she would have preferred to do something locally, but there wasn't much to offer an almost twenty-year-old in Chicago.
New Year's day was for our friends Dave and Gail. Somehow we started this tradition many years ago and have continued it. Even though we are pretty tired of partying and guests by this time, we always have a terrific low key time with Dave and Gail. And this is where I busted out the lasagna.
We took down the decorations on the 2nd and then we had a nice four day weekend in anticipation for the start of the second semester for me and a resumption of the second term for Nora.

We had a great holiday. We enjoyed all of our guests and each other. I am glad it only happens once a year.

All right, I'm taking a break. I'll start a new blog with the transition to Conan.

Peace out.

Rob

That Holiday Kind of Feeling

2007-12-18T09:55:00.001-06:00

It looks like the presents are bought (though not all wrapped), the cards are finally out and the tree remains somewhat vertical. Mary and I await the arrival of our guests. I'm not exactly feeling like a "traditional Joe" but I am getting excited about the upcoming events.
My focus is picking up Carole and Daniel at Midway at 2:00 on Friday. The view of AC gliding down the escalator doing her "Snowy Dance" is a sight to behold. The call to Mary announcing that "Our packages have arrived" ignites our anticipation for the big event: the moment when we pour our first cocktails of the season and Mary and Carole simultaneously stick their musical swizzle sticks in their drinks as we laugh and clap with joy that the season has truly begun. This is a tradition as dear and as ritualized as any Margaret Mead might have hoped to observe in a lifetime of cultural study. The drinks will continue until Mary announces that we need to start thinking dinner, which I will already have thought about and our evening will continue until we need to call it a night.
Speaking of night, Sometime during the day, Brian and his friend Debbie will arrive and they are going to drive down to KKK (that's short for Kankakee) to spend the day with Alyshia, Matt (his kids) and Aaron, Alyshia's husband. As Carole, Mary, Daniel and I celebrate, we will be waiting for Brian and Debbie to arrive. Carole and Debbie have not met. That should be interesting.
Oh Gosh, Nora! We don't exactly know when Nora will be coming in, but for Mary and me, having her home will be the real kick off for the season. What's Christmas with out a kid? Even if the kid is almost 20.
Now Sean should be coming in sometime during this process. I hope it's Friday because frankly I need him to cook. Sean will have carte blanche in my kitchen during this holiday. His first performance will be Saturday when we have our first official party. I guess I'll call it "Breakfast with Aunt Stel". I haven't actually discussed the menu, but Brian and Debbie want campaign and orange juice. Why ruin good orange juice with champagne? Sean has this potato thing. My dad used to make scrambled eggs and bacon for special occasions. But yet there's this breakfast casserole from Paula Dean's book that looks like a real artery clogger...we'll see. Gotta have sausages and gluten free pancakes. Carole will want a dip egg and Mary will say "me too". Special orders for Moms. Oh, and I'm hoping Sean will have made the famous coffee cake. It's a recipe that my mom got years ago and has been a holiday tradition for 40 or more years.
Anyway, Brian and Debbie will be there. Matt, Alyshia and Aaron are coming up. I hope Charles will be with us as well. And of course the guest of honor will be Aunt Stel. So it looks like there will be plenty of people and plenty of food for day two of the Christmas holiday. I think Mary and I are on for communion Saturday night.
Sunday could be a "free day".
Christmas EVE generally involves getting up late, more breakfast and personal agendas. Carole likes to go to the mall. Why? I don't know. Nora sometimes goes. She has taken the kids in the past. This year there are no little ones so I don't know what she will do. Mary and I will do a lot of wrapping. Carole doesn't actually start wrapping until she gets back and then it's all about her wrapping so we better get out of the way. We will have a little dinner (I'm thinking mussels)and then Mass at ten o'clock.
Christmas morning is a gift fest. There are presents opened according to Mary's formula: Oldest to youngest (teaches patience), scones, tea and coffee and then getting dinner started while we all try to steal away a little play time.
Brian and Debbie will have left on Christmas Eve so Christmas may be just seven of us. Charles becomes the guest of honor. And if there are only seven of us, it will be definitely a standing rib roast.
I think the 26th is a recovery day with more guests due to arrive on the 27th for a big Wheeler reunion. Tim, Gina and Grace will be coming in from St. Louis and Amber and Scott and Hawkins will be coming in from Louisville. We will be serving a big honking lasagna. The 28th will be a recovery day for Mary and me. Carole is going out with Ruth and we will all take Aunt Stel out for dinner later that night. Saturday, Carole and Daniel return to Florida and Mary, Nora and I will be sad for their departure but probably glad that we will be our nuclear family again.
Well, that's the plan. I'll do some updates during the week.
In the mean time,
Peace to you and to those you love.
Give us a call, send us an email or just stop by. After all, that's what the holidays are for.
Rob

Transition

2007-11-29T13:54:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving came and went. We had a very nice little group. Mary's girlhood friend Jodie came in with her husband Dave from Ohio and stayed for a few days. We had not seen them for a few years so it was nice to get reacquainted. Our dinner guests included: Bette's dear friend Lee Talley, Karen Eldred who brought a wonderful chicken salad and antipasto (even though we did not have "pasto"), Fr. Charles, Nora, Mary and me. I like serving dinner for eight. We only have to put one leaf in the table and Mary has a greater choice of table cloths. Speaking of table...Mary's table was beautiful as always. I made two pies on Wednesday night. The pecan was the best ever and the "Sho Nuff" sweet potatoe (sic) was once again a big hit. I brined the turkey with two cups of kosher salt, a half cup of sugar, whole pepper corns, dried onions and some Italian seasonings. It was great. Last time I thought the turkey was too salty, but not this time. It was just right. I made rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, mashed potatoes, gravy (which was a big hit) and a small ham for Nora who doesn't like turkey. We were stuffed. Oh yeah, and stuffing made from Mary's flax seed and millet bread. Fabulous!

We mostly hung around. We took a trip to Ikea to get Nora a new futon and that was just about it.
Today Mary, Nora and Elsa, Nora's roommate went downtown on the train to see the windows and to walk Michigan Avenue. At my last check, they were having a great time.

I think the fall tree is coming down tonight and it looks like transition to Christmas looms. Shopping is well on its way. We did a lot of on line and mail order. Why go to the stores when you can just click or call?
Still no news on my job. I guess I'll be doing something next term. Maybe they will just leave me alone.
I'm feeling a little something coming on and I may have to take a day tomorrow. Nora goes back to Augustana on Sunday. Her first term grades were great. I wish I had been able to spend a little more time with her. She has been able to pick up some judging money at three speech contests while she was home. I know she finds being on the other end of the competitions intriguing.
Well, the bell's about to ring and then I'm outta here.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Retirement

2007-11-06T10:26:00.000-06:00

So, the contract has been ratified. Twenty-one months of grueling negotiations resulting in a little pay raise, some improved insurance benefits (which cost a little more), an unknown job change and retirement language that releases me from district 205 at the end of the school year in 2010. Yesterday I attended a retirement meeting. I watched many of my colleagues question and argue and grouse and I watched the union leadership sit and squirm and look as if they had just caught one in the gut. Needless to say, the environment was pretty tense...but not for me. When I left the meeting I wanted to jump for joyand shout, "I'm outta here in 2010". As I got in my car I called Mary and told her that I finally felt good about the contract and the reality had sunk in that I am retiring when I want to and pretty much under my o0wn terms and that I am happy about it.
So that's it. Today I am going to write my letter and take it to the district and walk out with a huge smile on my face.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

It's a Wiki Whacky Whirl

2007-10-31T09:34:00.000-06:00

Hey,
A few of my readers have asked about wikis so I thought I would share what I know about them and how I use them with teachers in the classroom.

Wikis are interactive webs that allow viewer/members to edit the pages in the wiki. In my dealing with teachers, we have created one page per student, created topical or thematic pages for individuals, pairs or threes. The one page per kid works well when everyone is doing the same project and the objective is to post each student's efforts for all to see...and to possibly comment on.
The thematic or topical page concept works well when you have a lot of different of sub topics or chapters or characters or heroes or villains, etc. and one wants to assign a topic to each kid or pair or triad.
I am a fan of giving each kid his or her own page be it thematic or by name. That way each person is responsible for his or her own page. When you have more than one person working on a page, only one person can post to the page at a time or else they will cancel each other out when they make changes.

Here's my wiki link http://thornridge.wikispaces.com/
Basically, I invite teachers to create a lesson using a wiki and then we plan the lesson, create the wiki, invite the participants (kids), teach the kids how to post to the wiki, introduce the lesson and then let 'er rip. At the end, the kids can present their wikis to the class or the teacher can encourage them to just take a look at each other's pages and maybe even leave a comment. The cool thing is that wikispaces is giving away 100,00 free space for teachers. They have only given away 45,000 or so so far so there is still plenty of opportunity to get in for free. There are also other wiki sites. This just happens to be my current fave rave.

There are some parameters one can set for the wiki. You can let anyone view or post, only members of wikispaces or only members of this particular wiki. Security could be important because one can really edit oneanother's pages. We did have an incident where an outsider put some very foul language on many kids' pages. Even though the teacher/owner of the wiki can monitor the changes, if the person who makes the changes is not a member of the class, the teacher might not be able to find out who made the change.

Here's a couple of wikis I worked with:
http://languagearts-collier.wikispaces.com/
https://caged04.wikispaces.com/
https://facomcom.wikispaces.com/

The last one as an attempt to get Faculty Association members to create a discussion forum. It really never took off, but there's still time.

The whole editing process is very intuitive and to some degree limited to basic web elements. One can write code and post that way, but if you're doing code, you might as well just have a big boy or big girl web page. For class work, this is great.

So that's it in a nutshell.

Keep in touch,
Pray for peace and Happy Halloween.
Rob

Times are a changin'

2007-10-25T08:42:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting here at my Thornridge office where I rarely just sit. Thornridge is my "home school". It's where Conan the Librarian was first conceived and where the AV Guy was born. It's also where I am the Faculty Association Vice President and where I conduct most of my political business. My secretary Nancy is out for the day which means that I have to pretty much stay put and keep and eye on the office. Sometimes staying put is enjoyable. It's kind of like being sick at home knowing one can't do too much but can still make the best of the situation. So right now I'll choose to blog.
Mary got back from Pennsylvania. She had a very busy week with her mom and with her sister Debbie. For those who haven't seen her, Mary looks good and her spirits are high. It's great to have her back in all respects.
Last night the Board voted to accept our newly negotiated contract. I may have mentioned that we as an Association were in almost a totally concessionary situation. That means that we were not really asking for much money or major language changes. We were defending the contract we had. The district was looking to increase our insurance liability dramatically. They were looking to cut positions and create evaluation and teacher transfer language that would have given them cart blanche. No freaking way! Well...some freakin' way. We were forced to give up our building level department chairs for district-wide administrative department chairs. That was a big deal but it was the only bargaining chip we had. We also gave up the department I work in. The district wanted one librarian in each building and one district-wide AV Guy. That would never have worked for the libraries. One AV Guy would be OK. Eventually we got them to agree on two certified librarians in each building. At least that way the libraries would be covered and it would be possible for the librarians to perform some of the AV duties. How? That is yet to be seen.
Personally, I'd love to go back to being Conan. The district had diminished my job so significantly that being a librarian would afford me the the opportunity to do what I love best...to teach. And guess what? That's what I'm doing right now. Well, not right now. I have been working on pairing up with teachers to work on wikis in their classes. I've had some great success at Thornton, but it hadn't really taken off at Thornridge until this week. I became aware of a first year teacher who was really having a hard time with the whole experience here. In fact, it was rumored that he was looking to quit. Rather than let that happen without any intervention, I approached the kid and asked him if it might help if we worked together on a project or two. He agreed and we prepared a wiki lesson and we are currently in throes of it as I write. While getting involved with this youngster, the principal approached me and asked me if I would mind staying at TR for a week or so to cover the library while one of the librarians was out sick. I was delighted. I still am. It is exactly the confirmation I needed that my transition from AV Guy back into Conan the Librarian is not only probably going to happen, but that it is going to be a good thing.
This situation with Mr. Lake has been very affirming for both of us. The kids have really taken to this whole project and I think Mr. Lake has gotten a reprieve from the burden of feeling totally alone and overwhelmed. It was great seeing him actually smile with his third block class. When I asked him when the last time he had fun in this class he told me never until yesterday. It was even more affirming that the principal came in during the lesson and was awed at the level of engagement of the students with the project. It's amazing how things work out.
Anyway, back to the contract... What they plan to do with the chairs is yet to be seen. We really have no idea what the plan for these new administrators is. With no building level department chairs this whole place could fall apart.
One great benefit of this contract is that my retirement date is set. Once I send in my letter I will retire June first 2010 with thirty-fours of teaching. I will have to pay a penalty for going out with one year shy of the 35 year regular retirement. I will not receive the benefit of the 6% compounded bump over the next three years, but to get out as soon as I can and with paid retirement insurance till I'm 65 is all the bump I need. The irony is that I am paying for "Rob's wild year" when I quit at the end of my second year. Maybe that's why I took such an interest in Mr. Lake. He may not be able to see that far down the road, but I certainly can look back and see that if someone had taken an interest in me and my teaching back in 1978, I might not have quit and I'd be retiring with full benefits in 2010. However, at the end of that wild year I got a job at Thornwood and I met Mary. The rest is history, a history filled with joy and a multitude of blessings.
OK, that's it for now. Keep in touch. Comment, call, email or drop by. We would love to hear from you or to see you in person.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

It's been a long hard road

2007-10-12T08:35:00.000-06:00

Hi, miss me? Yeah, I know it's been a while but I just didn't have the drive to write. The unfortunate thing is that there is a ton of stuff to talk about so this will be a long entry. Maybe then I can try to keep up and post more often. You could read this in shifts if it gets a bit long or you can just join me on the long hard road.

California
My last post had us planning our trip to see Aunt Debbie and the boys and Aunt Ellen and Emily Jane. Mary and I traveled together and Nora came on a later flight. Mary wore her face mask to minimize germ contact in the plane. She said that it was like parting the Red Sea. She could have had any seat she wanted. Little did the other passengers know that it was for her protection and not theirs. We pretty much headed straight out to Mendocino. Mary, Debbie and I in one car and the kids in another. There was a time that the thought of Nora and the Boys driving to Mendo together would have sent me over the edge. But fortunately, they are all pretty responsible drivers and we are all better off for it. I think Austin was the primary driver and he is very cautious. Because he has been all over California in search of the perfect bike/skate park, his navigational skills are pretty good.
We stayed at our usual place, The MacCallum House. We have been going there since the kids were about three. They think of it as a second home and often talk about buying property there and continuing to meet there as adults. We did all of the usual things. I biked with the boys. Fell on the trail and may have cracked a rib. It is healed now. We played by the tide pools, poked sea annenomie and picked up starfish and urchins. We ate breakfast in the inn and dinners in Fort Bragg. Mary and Debbie shopped and each of the kids got some special shopping time with his or her mom. Mary and I found some wedding rings in the Old Gold store that we may buy to celebrate our upcoming 25Th anniversary. It's so peaceful and calm there. Our only disappointment may have been that one of our favorite stores, Sticks closed and the proprietor moved to Oregon.
When we got back to Aunt Debbie's we had a fabulous dinner at Bing's Supper Club with Nora and Hubbell, ran some crazy errands, went to Costco and had a nice party for Ellen and Emily and then it was time to go. I was to start school with negotiations on the following Monday and Mary was to have her last chemo treatment.
Our trip to California was a lot of fun. It went very quickly and it was great to have all the kids together again. We have to count those blessings.

Chemo Mary had her last chemo on the 13th or August. Her white count was a little low so Dr. Robin gave her a half-dose. I'm not exactly sure why, but this dose really kicked butt. We're thinking it was a cumulative effect of all of the treatments. One might like to look at it as six separate doses, but I think they built upon each other making the last a whopper. The rest of August and September were difficult months for Mary. It was obvious that the treatments were having an effect on her energy, but not on her positive outlook. People who saw her could not readily see her struggle. In fact, she hid it so well, Nora and I were guilty of being impatient and insensitive at times because we couldn't always tell how she was feeling. In September Mary went to the doctor expecting great news but was greeted with a reduced white blood cell count. It was the first time her disappointment was evident. She went back two weeks later with a slightly higher count and a good old cold. She got a prescription to help fight off any possible infection, but I think her immune system was getting stronger as she was able to fight off the cold in less than a week. The good news came just this week when she found that her white blood cell count had tripled. She's good to go. No appointments for two months. A special thanks goes out to Candice and to Penny and Aunt Carole for taking Mary to some of these appointments. Because of negotiations and the fall play, I was unable to go. I can't thank them enough. It is cool though that two of Mary's best friends and my sister were able to assist her in her healing process.
By the way, good to go partially refers to Mary and Aunt Debbie going to Pennsylvania to see Grandma Bette next week. They are set to rendezvous in Pittsburgh and then drive up to DuBois. That should be fun...no, I mean it.

Tonsils When we got back from California, Nora had a week to see her friends off to college and to prepare to have surgery. Last year, Nora had several bouts with strep and numerous other throat infections. We took her to a specialist who recommended a tonsillectomy. Essentially, he said that the antibiotics would stop working and then her throat infections could develop into something more serious. So, we all decided to go for it and on August 21st I went to the surgicenter in Munster for the operation. All I can say is that the operation was the easy part. The doctor warned us that adults take about ten full days to recover and that it did. We had a very uncomfortable kid in our house, but she made it through with enough time to pack and get ready to head off for her sophomore year at Augustana.
Sending a sophomore off to college is a lot less stressful than sending a freshman. First of all, Nora packed her car with a lot of her stuff and took off a day early with her roommate Elsa. Mary and I packed the van with her futon and some other larger items and headed down the next day. When we got to her new digs, The House on the Hill, most of her belongings were nestled there on the third floor. Some of it was unpacked. We only had about four or five trips up from the van. We set up the futons and the beds, helped to rearrange the room and then went to dinner with Elsa and her mom, made a trip to Target and got the hell out of there. No, not really. By the time we left Mary and I were very happy with their room and we felt very positive about the whole situation.

Negotiations I have been on the negotiations team for our Faculty Association for two years. Our contract was actually up in 2005, but we took a pay freeze and rolled it over for a year to allow time to negotiate a new contract. Well, the next year we tried to move the process along, but were met with total disrespect and we found ourselves in a completely concessionary bargaining situation. That is not the typical position for union bargaining. Historically, unions have been the ones who have demanded increases in pay, benefits, provisions and working conditions. When we entered this process, we found that the district was not the least interested in giving anything. They only interested in taking away. Fortunately for us, our contract was strong and financially very healthy. Our strategy was to make some concessions to show good faith bargaining, but also to strengthen some language, get a little raise and pretty much keep our benefits intact. We were always prepared at the table. They were not. They were consistently late and unprepared. When we finally demanded some kind of counter proposal, what we received was devastating. They offered no money. They wanted us to pay half of our premium for insurance which was up from our current seven percent contribution. They were looking to increase class size. They were demanding unpaid professional development hours outside of the school day. They wanted total freedom to move teachers from building to building. They wanted to be able to use any anecdotal information in a teacher's evaluation which could include phone calls, casual observations, notes from kids, etc. They wanted no early retirement option, no paid retirement insurance and no retirement incentives. I could go on and on, but that pretty much explains the tone of their proposals. In addition, our bargaining sessions like the one that caused me to miss one of Mary's appointments had us sit for four hours waiting for a response to our proposal with no contact other than through the Federal Mediator.
Meanwhile, the faculty had done informational picketing before and after school, wore black on Fridays and stormed school board meetings. There was talk of striking among some faculty but that was consistently stifled because any job action would have negated our current contract and we would have had to start from scratch. Also, the district would have locked us out and saved about $160,000.00 a day and would have not let us back in until they had saved a significant amount of money (millions) and we came back begging. No freakin' way was that going to happen. Well, things really started to happen after the September board meeting which was partially delayed when the fire Marshall was called and had to empty and rearrange the room in order to meet fire code. That meeting was electric and filled with teachers, students and parents who wanted to be heard not only for contractual issues, but for curricular and systemic concerns as well. We put a comprehensive proposal together shortly thereafter. We dared not call it our final offer, but rather a kind of "take it or leave it" package. Once they received the package, we met and set October 1st as a date to try to get this thing wrapped up. Naively, we thought it would be an I dotting and a T crossing session. It was way more than that. We spent from 8:00 a.m. until 7:19 p.m. giving and taking, writing and rewriting and cursing and swearing until we came to a tentative agreement. There were so many documents to cover, it took over an hour for our Chief Negotiator, Ken Wendorff and their lawyer, Charlie Rose to sign the documents.
The process of ratification is laborious. First we had to present to our Executive Board. The unanimously recommended the contract to the Representative Council. Rep Council unanimously recommended the contract to the membership and then we had to present the contract to the membership. The membership has had three days to vote to ratify or to reject the contract. The vote to ratify need only be a simple majority...thank God. It appears that some people are not happy with the contract. They seem to be from one building and that is the building I am in right now.
There are some concessions we had to make which were very difficult. Some, like paying our own early retirement penalties were OK considering that the district wanted to offer no ERO.
The most difficult concession is allowing the district to get rid of all department chairs and to make one district-wide administrative chair for each department. Special Ed was the exception. Oh, and Media Services...I gave up my position as well. In exchange, we were able to retain two librarians in each of the schools. It looks like I will have to eventually bump back into the library. How that will happen is yet to be seen.
So here I sit in what will probably not be my office in a few months waiting for the school day to come to an end so we can count the ballots and find out if we have a new contract or not. I'm pretty positive about ratification, but the negativity in this building has me a little on edge.

The fall play So the auditorium at Thornridge burned last December and has yet to be fixed. The board just voted to start work in the next couple of weeks with a completion date in six to eight months. We didn't just want to skip the fall play, so we decided to do it in the courtyard and make a day of it. So tomorrow, we will present Deja Vu, an original play with music. Yvonne Nesbitt's speech II class wrote the play and some of the music. It should be a very entertaining production. It all started with me presenting a play writing formula to the class and them taking off with the ideas they came up with. While they were writing, I was building a stage outside. I'll have to post some pictures of the play. It's pretty hard to describe. In addition to the play, we will have a rap group, several dance groups, a jazz combo and grunge band perform throughout the day. We also have a storytelling area for kids with games, face painting and dancing. The art club will be painting a mural which will be hung in the building next week. Some of the clubs are sponsoring food booths selling hot dogs, nachos, pop, chips and candy. We're starting the day at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m. The weather forecast looks good. All in all it should be a very interesting alternative to a traditional fall play.

Speaking of plays, Aunt Carole came in for a week to see Wicked. Actually, there was more to it than that, but Wicked was the big event. We had a great time.

OK, that's it for now. I will fill you in on how things go with the contract and the play and just about everything else on a more regular basis. I promise...unless I get distracted.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Blog, Blog, Blog

2007-08-02T17:35:00.000-06:00

Ok, we're going to California and I'd like to post a few things before we go, but I don't have time to really write. So, here are the issues, cool and otherwise in our lives and maybe I'll be able to extrapolate later.

I got to see the Clapton Guitar Festival on Saturday. It was amazing...12 hours of amazing.
I read the last Harry Potter. It was a right fine ending to the series.
I have a rabbit living under my porch and it is eating everything green in my front yard. I ordered fox urine crystals to repel it. I also bought fire crackers in Indiana today to dis- encourage its residence.
Nora completed her summer work of teaching swimming.
Mary is feeling a little loopy, but she's due to improve out west.
We are all looking forward to four days in Mendocino. It's an old fishing village which has been taken over by hippie merchants and restaurateurs. We've been taking the kids there since they were three.
I am not happy with my new Ping irons. Can you hear EBay calling?
Daisy is going to spend a week with Penny and Bern and Sadie, the border collie. OOOBoy!
Negotiations are beginning to show some promise.
When we return, summer will be over for me and Mary officially begins her retirement.
Only one more chemo treatment left.
Nora's getting her tonsils out on August 21.
Nora goes back to Augustana Labor Day weekend.

Well, that's about it. Keep in touch. Pray for peace.

Rob

Answered prayers or...Better living through chemistry

2007-07-24T17:11:00.000-06:00

We received great news on Monday, the 23rd of July. It appears that the chemo is working and the PET scan showed significant improvement. Click on the link if you want to know about more about what a PET scan is. Dr. Robin was very optimistic and seemed pleased with the results. He also recommended to continue with the next two treatments. So, Mary did receive another shot of COP on Monday which will put her through the three-week cycle she has been in since April. The cycle??? Well, it's about an hour and a half treatment and then a week of little meals to stave off nausea. Then a little hair loss and then some mild disorientation and then we go on a short trip. In May, Mary was able to participate in her retirement activities. In June we went to see Carole and Daniel. In July we went to see Grandma Bette, Mary's Mum. And in August we are going to California to see Debbie and the boys and Ellen and Emily for just a week. It's sad that Mary has had to plan these trips around the three-week chemo schedule, but with Nora home, it seems like we're only gone for a short time. The bad thing is that on the Monday Mary returns, she has had chemo to greet her. Well, it's working. And for that we are thankful.

We just got back from a short trip to see Bette Ruth. I have frequently called Pennsylvania the land where the sun never shines and the stories never change. Well, it was a little different this time. Bette kind of has a new life since Roy's passing and the stories actually do change and it only rained one day. Our visit was short and pleasant. I played golf at the DuBois Country Club three times. $24.00 with a cart!!! What a bargain. We toured all the significant graveyards. We saw Londons, Scholls, McNaughtons and such. Daisy got stung by a bee at the Catholic cemetery in Reynoldsville. I also took a picture of Daisy by her namesake's grave stone. I'll post later. We saw Sam and Nancy and Paul and Judd and Abby. And we took a five minute trip out into the country to see Lorraine, a single woman hair dresser who lives on what looks like a plantation. And of course we visited with Sue, Bette's next door neighbor who thinks Daisy is "her dog". All in all it was a fine trip. Bette is doing well and we are thankful for that.
Driving to PA takes about eight and a half hours. What did we do? Well, we listened to music shared with us by Nora and by our friend (actually Mary and Penney's friend) and poet, Jordan. Nora had a great mix of country, pop and rock. She even added a little Dylan for her old parents. Jordan has been sharing his music with Mary all summer and we worked through his eclectic selections on the iPod. Mary created a play list of his music and we were able to breeze through some songs and really listen hard to others. "Ricky Ticky Boom Boom" was one of my personal fave raves. I need to work on learning how to post music here to share with you. On the way home we listened to Nora's CD again and then went into a Robin Cook mystery we have been working on for a couple of months. We still have four CDs to go.

Our house is currently Harry Potter oriented. I've got him on my iPod and Nora is three quarters the way through. My sister has already blasted through the book much in the same way as she did all the others. Actually I think when she "discovered" HP she actually read several of the books back to back non stop...lucky Daniel. When Nora's done, Mary will take over and then she can listen with me. I'm a bit of a slow reader. I'm an even a slower listener.

I played golf at Lost Marsh with Dwayne today. It's a very challenging course build right on the old steel mill slag heaps. I lost a lot of balls and had a terrible score, but I really love playing golf even when I really don't score well. I may be in search of a sports psychologist. I can hit them well and then I can't, all in the same round. I don't know what it is. The good thing is that even though its frustrating, it never seems to wreck my attitude about playing. I like the guys I play with and I even like playing by myself. I just can't seem to get the kind of consistency I want. I know it's in my head, not in my clubs.

All right, that's it for now we will be around for the next few weeks so give us a call if you would like. But regardless, keep the prayers and good thoughts coming. They work.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

777 or 07/07/07 or July 7, 2007

2007-07-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

I really couldn't resist posting on this day. A week ago we were in Florida visiting Carole and Daniel. We hadn't been there in a number of years and it was great to be back. The first couple of days we stuck pretty close to home: cooked, shopped and went to Costco to get them a new sound system to match their very cool HD flat screen. We found a Panasonic unit that was a little more money than we were planning, but it looks great, but more importantly, it sounds great. The rear speakers are wireless to the system so they can be moved to any room in the condo as an additional set of stereo speakers when listening to CDs. That's a very nice feature.
On Monday, we traveled to St. Augustine. We stayed in a B and B right on the bay. This is a very nice city. It's considered to be the oldest city in the country. The highlights included the dinners...oh yeah and the Flagler College and some of the museums and the fort. We saw a pod of seventeen Manatee the day we visited the fort. They Manatee were in the bay, not in the fort mind you.
Our trip back to Cape Coral was long due to traffic jams in Orlando and somewhere near Sarasota. That was a drag, but we managed to entertain each other with loud music and bad singing.
Friday morning Daniel and I took a fishing charter by kayak and I caught a huge redfish. That was the only fish of the day, but at least now I know how to fish in Florida. Our guide was a really nice guy. Daniel did not fish. He paddled around and really enjoyed the scenery. We saw a very large Osprey which swooped down right past my kayak. Man, big birds are big.
Brian and his boys came down for the day on Saturday. Actually, they got there late and we swam and ate and talked with them. They are great kids. Mary and I had not seen Tyler and Eric since they were in Junior High or so. They have grown to be very interesting boys. Jesse and Jordan were with us at Christmas, so it was great seeing them again. They are eight and eleven and a whole lotta fun.
We loved our stay, but we headed back home on Sunday, the first. Nora picked us up at O'Hare.
And other than a little trouble finding us in the garage, she did an excellent job.
Mary returned to chemo on Monday and that's just about it. She's doing very well. She looks good and "acts as if". I am very moved by her strength and by her positive nature. Her PET scan on the 13th will give us some indication of how well these treatments are working. Friday the thirteenth is also a contract negotiations day. Hmmm?
Got a few projects around the house I'm trying to get to, but I seem to be more interested in Mary, golf and the prospect of fishing than painting my fascia.
I guess I'm off for now...
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Summer's in full swing

2007-06-20T09:15:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been very busy working on my summer routine. Actually, I have no routine. I like my coffee whether it's at 6:00 a.m. because I have an early tee time or at ten because we stayed up late watching ER reruns and videos. Nora signed us up for this Blockbuster thing whereby movies come in the mail. I really like it. Whether or not we like the movie, we can return it to the store for an instant exchange. We've decided to keep the service for the summer.
Nora did have all four wisdom teeth removed. That was quite a week of whining and complaining. I think she's all better now. She has completed badminton camp and is now into her "real" job of teaching swimming lessons at the city sink (Orland Pool). She is really good with kids and seems to adapt to the schedule well. She's out of the house at 8:00. I don't think she's seen 8:00 since last year. It's great having her home. We realize that it is an adjustment for all of us. She's actually part kid and part roommate. The balance is a bit iffy at times.

Mary has completed her third chemo treatment. For the most part she feels like crap, but she makes every effort to put on a good face and go about her day. It's tough seeing her when she's tired or in pain, but the strength she demonstrates by taking each day as it comes is a testament to her McNaughton character. Our summer plans will continue. We're going to see Carole and Daniel in Florida and we will be going to California in August. We haven't been to Florida for several years (mostly health related reasons) so we are way overdue.

Dan and Nancy and Pete were in for a few days this week. Dan's mom died. That was sad, but it was great to see old friends again. We miss them. They live in Raleigh now. Sounds like a nice place to live. Hope we will get to visit them someday.

I've recommitted myself to exercise. My goal is 45 minutes a day. I took too much time off during my depressed school year and I've come to the conclusion as Earl would say, "that enough is enough". So, it's time to get my FA back to the gym. Been there a couple of times and and I am already happy for this decision. Actually, I am happy for the action. It's easy to decide, but acting is the challenge.

OK, that's it for now. Mary has come down and the day has truly begun.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Keep in touch.
Rob

School's out for...

2007-06-02T10:53:00.000-06:00

For me and Nora, school's out for summer. For Mary, school's out for ever. Yes, Mary is finally retired. She was able to attend a variety of retirement activities. She made a real impression at each one. At he Association Retirement Tea, she thanked everyone and then did an old Acceleration exercise to break the drone of Blah, Blah, Blah; a state change by playing some music and getting everyone to do a little clapping, hand shaking and thanking. The people who knew the trick, really appreciated that she is the only one who kept that technique alive and the ones who did not know what she was doing were entertained.
Today, we are doing the summer budget. We budget out our summer checks so that we can play and pay through to the start of school. Actually, I will resume my pay in the fall, but Mary will be receiving retirement money effective June 1st. It's a fun process and it really lets us know how much money we have to spend as we please.
Nora is getting her wisdom teeth removed on Monday. So it will be a little TLC for a few days this week. She starts teaching swimming soon and will be coaching badminton the following week. I think she is ready to get into a routine.
The trip to St. Louis was a lot of fun. Caroline Grace is a darling baby. She is very expressive and really locks onto people visually. The Baptism was very nice. I love the Little Flower church. It has wonderful stone and iron work. And, it's round.
Mary held up well, though she got pretty tired at times. Tim and I played golf. We got to spend some quality time with Carole and Daniel. Amber, Scott and Hawkins came up. Uncle Rob makes Hawkins cry and it was really new for us to see Amber as a mom. Charles drove with us. His company really made time fly. We were able to get to know Gina's parents a little better. I really like her dad. Her mom is a no nonsense kind of woman. I like her too. All in all it was a fun time and I am glad we went and were able to go.
So, our plans for the summer include a lot of golf and more fishing than last year. We are going to Florida to see Carole and Daniel. We will try to get to Pennsylvania to see Bette and we are hoping we can get to California to see Debbie and the boys.
For now, the first weekend of our summer, it's relax and enjoy. Monday is the first free Monday of the summer.
Keep in touch.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

JeezusLoueezis

2007-05-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

Baptizims all around...
That's my toast for this week.
We are heading to St Louis (Loueezis's brother) this weekend to witness the baptism of Caroline Grace. It has also been announced that Hawkins P will be baptized in late July.
Currently, my life is dominated by Mary's chemo and jury duty.
Yes, in fact, Mary has returned to chemical treatment of her lymphoma. This time it's the old traditional kick your ass, nausiating, hair falling out kind. Let's keep praying and sending those clear thoughts.
I was selected for jury duty in the last weeks of school. What a time to be out... it's over tomorrow.
Still no contract.
Summer's coming.
Keep in touch. We may need it.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

May Day

2007-05-07T13:04:00.000-06:00

April showers should bring May Flowers, but they really brought a lot of change.
Mary has just begun a new course of chemo. I don't have all the technicalities, but it's called COP and not CHOP. It has been around a while and is a bit more aggressive than anything she's had so far. Even though the Zevalin was nuclear, the side effects were not as intense as she is now experiencing. Can you call? Yes, of course...but not before 9:00 after 10:00. Email to marymcnaughton @ mac.com (no spaces). Drop by? You bet. Keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
Mary is also retiring this May. After 34 years, she's leaving the chalk on the rail. More on that later.
Nora is completing her first year at Augustana and will be coming home for the summer on May 17th. Needless to say, she's a little nervous about completing her courses and leaving her new home. It's been quite a year with the highlight being her pledging and being activated as a Delta Chi Theta. We went to the parents brunch on Sunday. It was a lovely ceremony and we met quite a few of Nora's new "Sisters". We were very impressed with the Sorority and the young women of Delta Chi.
I just can't wait for school to get out. I have a few activities planned for the week of the 14th. I can't describe all of them just now, but I'll be going downtown two days in a row: once for a conference and once for jury duty. Then it's the last week of school. We're going to our new niece, Caroline Grace's baptism at the end of the month and then we're out for the summer.
That's the quick and dirty. Keep in touch.
Oh, here's a blog we created for the Association. We plan to stir it up a bit.
http://www.205teachers.org/205SpeaksOut/
Feel free to comment.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

It's time for AV Guy to go

2007-04-24T08:07:00.000-06:00

If you have followed this blog or talked to me in the past year and a half, you know that school has been a real struggle. It all started with the hiring of the new Chief Informational Officer in the district. There was no doubt that this person did not have the qualifications for this job. But then again, maybe he does...for the jog the administration and the Board wanted him to do. Essentially, he is not an educator. To my knowledge, he has very little formal education. I believe he was in the military and he has been through numerous Microsoft training courses...at the district's expense. Regardless, shortly after him coming on board, the three techs, Jamie, Brian and Dave, I had been working with for a good number of years, guys that taught me practically everything I know about computers and the core of a team that kept this district progressing technologically were fired on September 15, 2005. Since that time, the district has had a revolving door of tech support. With each new tech, I tried to begin to build the kind of working relationship I had with "The Boys". It seemed that every time I got close or started to feel some kind of working relationship, the tech was fired or moved. This year has been a little different. We got a new tech team this fall. At first I thought this situation was going to work kind of like the old days...fool I was. Anyway, it's been up and down for the whole year and finally when they "fired" my tech at TR, a kid I really liked and more importantly, someone who was really fitting in at Thornridge with the staff, I lost all hope that there was ever going to be anything like the good old days again.
Mary gets credit for my current transformation. Actually, the transformation has not actually happened yet. I am just setting the stage for it and planning for it right now. It will go into full implementation when the next school year starts. What will this transition include?
Well, the first thing is that I am backing off any technical support for computers. I have been obviously kicked to the curb on something I really enjoyed and began to develop some expertise in. However, the powers that be are going to protect their territory and I am going to let them have it. Maybe all along, I was interloping into areas I didn't belong. However, I was never treated that way and I really believed that I needed to learn certain things in order to perform my job as Instructional Media Specialist. How could I be a specialist if I didn't know how the instructional media worked?
Back to Mary...perhaps I was invading a sacred technical territory. It was and will be hard to back off, but I can and I will. Though it interests me, I will not fix any computers at school, unless it's mine. I will leave that to them. OK, I get it. I'm done with fixing, setting up, trouble shooting, parts swapping, etc. My professional training makes me an expert in using technology to teach and that is what I am going to do. How I am going to do it is just one of those details I have yet to work out.
As you know, I am currently into Blogs, Wikis and web pages. I really think that those WebII applications is were current instructional media is going. I just need to develop strategies for getting people there. Salesmanship will be the key. Once I get a better feel for what my role will be for the fall...you see negotiations could see a comeback of Conan the Librarian...I intend to begin contracting curriculum development dated and implementation dates with select teachers. I already have a dozen or so in mind. In fact, all I really have to do is contact these teachers and ask them how they would like to apply this technology in their classrooms and make the date. Lesson planning and implementation are my forte'. So this should be fun. The key will be to make it easy on the teacher rather than a burden. I don't want to put any more pressure on our teachers than they already have. So that's pretty much it. AV Guy is going away and will be replaced by the Instructional Media Specialist. We'll see how it goes.

That's it for now.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Spring, two days in a row...

2007-04-16T10:31:00.000-06:00

Hey all who read this blog,
I have been waiting for spring and to my chagrin, it arrived on the day we were scheduled to attend our Steppenwolf play and then again on my first day back to school after Easter break.
A you may know, I sold my copper Pings, my driver and a copper putter on Ebay...exactly where I bought them in order to get my new set of fitted Ping G5s. I got to hit them at the range off the mat one Sunday and then I got to play them for a very quick nine before the cold front of the month arrived and didn't leave until yesterday. I took my clubs to Pennsylvania hoping to play at the DuBois Country Club and the weather never broke. So I'm looking outside and seeing a perfect day and I'm stuck in here. At least tonight I'll get to cut the grass. Whoopty-frickin'-do. No, actually grass is better than snow blowing.
The actual highlight of my day will hopefully be picking up my freshly painted truck. Before break I took it to MAACO and I got what I hope will be a very good deal. I upped from the base paint job to the next one up. The quality of paint sounded better and I will get a two year glossy guarantee. I'm not sure how much gloss I can take. It's an old truck and it's got lots of surface flaws, but not much rust. Originally I wanted to paint it John Deere green with yellow accents. Nora was not for it and she was pretty convincing. Actually, she oriented my thinking toward the point of eventual sale... Personally, I think I will drive this truck into the ground and that will be that. But I did decide to stick to factory red. I am getting a new tailgate as well. I'm thinking of putting Ford or Chevy on the back just to make people nuts. It's better than those brass balls I see hanging from F-250s and such. I will have to touch up the rust on the running boards and on the bumpers. I am also going to paint the rims...probably black. It should look great when it's done. I'll post some pics.

Easter was a nice holiday. Nora came in for a few days. Aunt Debbie came in from California on Good Friday. We ate, drank good wine and watched some shows. Mary, Debbie and I left for Grandma's house on Monday morning and Nora went back to school in the afternoon. Evidently she had no classes on Friday or Monday. She was returning to complete her pledging to Delta Chi Theta sorority. That's a long story that will require a separate post. Most importantly, she's done and is now an active member. The abuse has come to an end. I don't think she or we could have taken much more.

Grandma Bette's was fine. She was worried that we were there to ship her off to the home. We were not. We did do some rearranging of her closets and two bed rooms to make them a little more manageable. We did visit with Uncle Sam and Aunt Nancy and Tammy, Arnie, Haley and Brett, but we didn't see too many other relatives. There was a lot of accounting and bill paying. And for the most part we just did our thing with Bette and enjoyed our time. I actually read a book from cover to cover. If you know my reading habits, you know that that is a rarity. I usually have about ten books going at one time and it's really hard to get to the end of any one.
I read The Tipping Point. It was a social economics book kind of like Freakonomics. It talked about the social influences on trends or "epidemics" as the author called them. I got a lot out of the book. I may share more about it later.

School is still a struggle with negotiations up in the air and the basic incompetence of the Administration and the Board. I read an article about the Chicago Public Schools and how they have been dealing with technology. I was really impressed. At the end of the article it gave the credentials of the technology leadership. Every one had an advanced degree if not two. They had MBAs from Northwestern and DePaul, etc. or had thirty-plus years in education. Our situation is such that I don't think our CIO even has a college degree much less any experience in education. It's pretty frustrating. OK, that's it. Enough.

Hey, peace to you and to those you love.
Hope you're getting some of this beautiful spring weather.
Rob

My perfect day at work

2007-03-29T11:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a complete surprise. I had a great day at work. What made it so great?
Well, here's how it went. I started my day with a projection unit and screen setup in the cafeteria for the Career Counselor. Next, I got to trouble shoot a network connection problem with George, our head maintenance guy. We got to run cables, crimp connectors, swap out hubs and punch down wires in the closet. After about an hour of punching, crimping, swapping and running around, we solved the problem and the teacher can now take attendance, do grades and above all surf the Internet. Next I had a couple of Union and personnel issues. They are always interesting. One had to do with a teacher being let go for having the wrong certificate and another was a peer to peer complaint about a dean and how she handled a very troublesome kid. Then the principal asked me if I could use a couple of new projectors and of course I said, "Yes, can I get a laptop with that?" So I got to bid out some projectors and a laptop. Then I had a department chairman who happens to be a picket captain ask me how we could stimulate more response for our informational picketing. That was an engaging discussion. Then, I got a package from my favorite company CDW which contained a new wireless keyboard and mouse for the Principal's secretary. I got to install that and then we engaged in a discussion about The Secret and Anthony de Mello. It just so happened that Judy and I were both dealing with person to person issues and I got to share mine with her and she seemed to feel better about hers after hearing about mine. Then, the keyboard had a problem and I called Jason the tech, and he came and we trouble shot the problem, fixed it and went on our merry ways. Later I got to have a conversation with a teacher about making CAT 5 cables and I learned something very interesting. If both ends match, it's going to be a good cable and that the sequence matters only when one is trying to do a specialized cable like a crossover. I did my hall duty and then I went off to the Association office for a negotiations strategy meeting. Great ideas were shared and plans were made and we all left feeling like we were all still in the game.
I really couldn't wait to get home to tell Mary I had a great day at work. I'm sure she was shocked. And when Nora called and I told her I had had a great day at work, she asked "What made it so great?" And that made it even better that she would ask and be interested.

Maybe these kinds of opportunities exist every day and I am just not aware of them. Maybe yesterday was just special. Regardless, it was the best day at work I had had in a long time and I am thankful for it and I will always remember that day fondly.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

The Blogging Habit

2007-03-22T12:16:00.000-06:00

OK, it's been over a week so I have some issues to cover. Let's bullet...

The Sectional Play contest was very stressful. We tried to be careful with the telephone unit. I had some kids remove it from the truck and put it on the sidewalk for safety prior to bringing it into the theater. As I was touching up another piece of scenery, a fellow play director from Thornton commented on how nice the phone looked when a gust of wind blew the whole unit over and destroyed the whole thing. The enclosure was OK, but the phone and the ringer and all of the parts just exploded. I said some bad words. Fixing the phone became the focus of my attention. I fixed it with lots of hot glue and we unloaded the set and then set it up and I guess all was well. The actor who played the Indian and who is supposed to get cut and bleed to death at the end of the play forgot to put his blood packet on. So, the two things that the play is all about: the phone and the blood were in a seriously challenged state. The acting was great, but one of the actors kicked the phone cord which prevented the phone from ringing. I kind of freaked, but I don't think the audience noticed. No phone. No blood. Oh, and the play went 1:50 overtime. Our ranks were all twos and threes. WE got dropped from a tie for third to fifth. We did not qualify for State. It's too bad, but it's a blessing that we all get to get back to our lives and we didn't have to spend the weekend in Springfield with my crew.
The wine and cheese party was great. Laura did a wonderful job of cutting and labeling all of the cheese, spreads and meats. The guys were invited by GodPa to have cigars in the back yard after "dinner" and we invited Lyall to join us. I think he was moved in that his dad who died a couple of years ago probably never smoked a cigar with his son. Had a couple of long talks with Angela who is now a contributor to this blog. She and her husband Paul are a lot of fun to be around.
I sold my golf clubs, driver and a putter on Ebay and those sales will pay for my new set. In case you are interested, I bought these copper PING 2 eye irons on Ebay two years ago. The first year I played with them, the shafts bent at the hossel so I had to send them back to the guy I bought them from and he re-shafted and re-gripped them. I played with them last year and now it's time for a change. I am going to fitted for a set of PING G5 irons 4 though Sand Wedge. I am going to buy a 16* and a 19* hybrid to replace my two and three irons. I also need a new driver, but I am going to wait on that. It could take me a month or more to decide on a new driver. And with a three bill minimum price tag, waiting until I find the right one will be prudent.
Mary had a doctor appointment on Monday and things look good. She's scheduled for another PET scan in a month, but there doesn't seem to be any activity. She's working out regularly and eating well. Basically, she is doing very well. It is still a blessing that she is not in the classroom right now. The stress of the school environment is not conducive to healing.
Negotiations are going slow and steady. We have a variety of activities planned for the next week or so. The gloves are coming off.
We're going to to St Louis Memorial Day weekend for Caroline Grace's Baptism.
And we are going to Louisville in July for Hawkins' Baptism.
Nora is still pledging Delta Chi Theta. She got sick again and got medicine sooner this time. She's already feeling better.

Gotta go.

Peace to you and to those you love.

Sham Rock& Roll

2007-03-16T10:34:00.000-06:00

I'm here listening to WXRT waiting for an early dismissal. Thornton will play in the State quarterfinals tonight at 8:30 p.m. They have their hands full against Simeon. I wish them the best of luck. After all they are the team from the "Mother Ship". For me, the best part is an early dismissal. I am going to get a fish sandwich from Andy's and then head back to Thornridge. I need to pick up the 24' Budget Rentatruck so we can load up for tomorrow's competition. I didn't get to tell you about last week.
My crew went totally brain dead. Basically, no one took charge or responsibility for anything. They acted as if they had never seen the scenery or had any idea what went where despite the fact that they participated in building it and painting it and had set it up and taken it down a number of times. It was evident that I had no ability to motivate them to perform. I turned it over to Bill and Yvonne, the directors and they spoke to my crew. It appears that they were afraid of me and therefore used a little passive aggressiveness to inform me that they weren't comfortable with this whole process. I let Yvonne explain it to them. Then they started to get it together and I no longer "direct" them and they do their thing which happens to be set up the set and take it down with some efficiency. I don't totally get it, but I'll work on coming to some understanding.
Regardless and unrelated to this issue, last Friday night I zoomed back to school and due to my bad judgement, got the truck amazingly stuck in the mud out back of the school to the point that I had to leave the truck there over night and get a two truck to pull me out the next day. That is a whole nother story. (is nother a word?)
Today we will set up the set, have a dress rehearsal, take down the set, load the truck and go home only to be back at school by 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The Group Interp goes on at 8:30 and the play is at 1:30. Needless to say, Saturday will be a long day with an ending that results in a) going to State or b) not going to State. In this is Bill Kirksey's last year, I hope for him that we make it. As for me, to spend a weekend with these kids in a hotel and on a college campus gives me cause to be concerned...for my sanity. The play has come a long way in a week. We could do it.
Sunday, we are off to Laura, GodPa's sister's house for the cheese party. We used to have an annual cheese party at Henry's Mom's little and hot apartment each year after she received an amazing cheese gift from her rich relative. The party started small and then grew to include much more than cheese. I do recall there was wine involved. And then there were friends and family and kids and...well, you know. Then Nonie died and we didn't have the party any more and now Laura is taking up the tradition. I'm kind of looking forward to it in spirit, but I know I am going to be exhausted after all day Saturday.
I put my copper Pings up for sale on Ebay this week. I am also selling my driver and a Ping putter. My intent is to buy a new set of clubs. I already sold my driver. We'll see about the clubs and putter. I really love this set of clubs. I just want new ones. If they don't sell, they don't sell. I will continue to play with them. If they do, I will have a considerable down payment toward the new ones. More about golf later.
I am also going to get into RC model Airplanes again. I was really into it a number of years ago. The problem was not flying, it was crashing. I met a guy at school who is totally into it and he showed me his planes and it kind of got me hooked again. I have a plane that is almost ready to fly. I was just afraid to finish it. So I think I will finish the plane and either fly it or crash it and see where that takes me. I bought a controller that will let me train on my laptop. That should help get me in the air safely...and then back down again.

Mary is with our friend Lee today. He is getting biopsied. Keep him in your prayers...Mary, too.

OK, we just got the call that we can go in ten minutes. I need to get some equipment and get the heck out of here.

OH...have your read Anthony De Mello? I was just turned on to him and I think this guy has the real secret. Check him out. He's on my Lenten reading list.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Noraz Birthday

2007-03-06T11:14:00.000-06:00

At 7:21 p.m. today Nora turns nineteen. It can't be too cliche to say "It seems like yesterday". But it does. So much has happened to transform that vernex covered baby into the wonderful young woman she has become. I could go on and on, but the subject of this blog already thinks this is a sketchy activity at best so I will share my thoughts verbally when I get the chance.

I did wish Mary "Happy Birthday" today, though. In reality, she did all the work. Labor was laborious. Nancy, our friend and birth coach was there, and most importantly, Dr. Goldstone was there to deliver our 5 pound fifteen ounce bundle of joy. He was scheduled to go on vacation or something so it was fortunate that Nora was a little early. Actually, had Nora come full term, there is doubt whether Mary could have had a natural childbirth. As it was, a drug-free birth contributed to a rapid recovery and homecoming. Alice was there that day to receive us and to make sure everything was ready for the mom and baby. We can't thank Alice enough for all she has done for our family. She is "Alice, Wonderful Alice".

The play goes up on Friday. I did get to practice the setup and strike with some of my crew kids on Saturday. As you know, I was skeptical of their ability to perform, and when only ten showed up and an hour late at that, I was even more so. Well, on our first try we got the set down in four minutes and got it back up in seven. The second time it took us just three-something to take it down and about six and a half to get it back up. That gives us plenty of time. We are allotted twenty minutes to setup and strike total. I learned a couple of things. I don't need as many kids as I originally thought and they were quite capable despite keeping their skill level a mystery to me. Today, I am going to try to get the sound together and then it's practice for the next two days. Fortunately, the SICA competition is evaluative and not a qualifier for State. Next week the competition ramps up to the "all or nothing" round.

Wish us luck.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

In like a lion

2007-03-02T08:03:00.000-06:00

So here I am at my other school again. It seems that I get to write when I am here because there is little for me to do. My secretary doesn't actually talk to me until noon and being a morning person and someone who enjoys human interaction, I find myself sitting here waiting for a reason to get out of this office. I am not totally comfortable here at this school anyway, so just wandering around and making contact with the staff isn't really much of an option. The halls can be dangerous with kids roaming seemingly without purpose. Security used to be a little better, but the kids have broken them down to the point that they are just buddies in uniform. Now don't me wrong, once Doreen does chooses to speak to me, we generally have a nice time. And there are some fine folks here as well. It's just the whole environment is rumbling with a subsonic hostility and I don't feel like I can really be myself. Now, as I was writing this, a science teacher came in for some assistance and we went to her classroom and addressed her issue while engaging in some edifying conversation. It so happens that her husband is a librarian and she really loves teaching here. Then on my way back, I ran into Milton and we had some very pleasant conversation. So, It might just be me. Not entirely...

The mission was great. Night one talked about the need for prayer to maintain a connection with God. Night two Fr. Hicks talked about types of prayer and the third night he spoke on the need to be aware of God's presence in our lives. One of the most interesting points was that we might be able to see God working in our lives easier than knowing when God is working through us as evidence of God's presence in other's lives. It gives me cause to think before I speak or act. If God is using me as a conduit, I don't want to screw it up.

Mary and Nora are back from Grandmas, though Nora plans to go to Uof I tonight and return tomorrow. The weather is iffy and I don't want to be there when she and Mary have the discussion about driving two-and-a-half hours to Champaign. There has been some talk about a train...we'll see.
Hopefully, tomorrow when Nora returns we will spend the afternoon at Oak Brook shopping and at a French restaurant to celebrate her birthday. Nora has informed me that nineteen is the new twenty...

The set for "Indian" is almost done. It is currently set up in the mirror room at Thornridge. I called the PE department chair last night to apologize for tying up a large part of one of her teaching stations. She seemed to be OK with it. The set looks great. We need to dress it with some junk, but for the most part it all a matter of teaching the kids to set it up and take it down within the twenty minute time line. That is going to be a challenge. These kids are not big on organization or observation skills. I'm hoping they will learn to get a feel for the big picture and be able to work as a team and not just twenty-some-odd individuals who are responsible for only his or her half of a wall, bench, phone booth or smoke stack.

Pictures...I know.

I am going to get some pictures up on NorazDad.com soon.

OK, I'm done for now. As you can see it's still early in the day. I may have more to say as the day develops. I think I'll jsut try to stay out of trouble.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Myers-Briggs and Prayer

2007-02-27T10:06:00.000-06:00

So, I'm an ENTJ stuck in the lower right quadrant. I've probably been there my whole life. I went to the Parish Mission the last two nights which was presided by Fr. Jim Hicks. He happens to be the son of a former 205 teacher and is currently the director of an orphanage in El Salvador. It was great hearing such a dynamic speaker and witness a true man of faith. You may know that I have been struggling with "Church issues" for the last few months, the details of which I will share as we get closer to June 10. My focus of concern lately has been on leadership and to see someone new who I could view as a quality leader has given me a sense of hope; hope that not all leaders are inept assholes void of spirituality and intelligence. (Sorry, I have to work this poison out of my system) Anyway, last night Fr. Hicks spoke on how prayer can be a necessary element to nourishing one's spirit. He made reference to some psychologists/spiritual leaders who made a connection between the Meyers-Briggs Typology Indicator and the kind of prayer which might be most helpful/appealing. So I made it my goal to take a look at what's out there. I re-took the test and landed right where I always do, in that lower right corner and then looked at some MB/Prayer sites. Here's a prayer for me:
God,helpmetoslowdownandnotrushthroughwhatIdoAmen. Here's another one: INTJ: Lord keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.
Here's a couple of MB/Prayer sites:
http://www.msgr.ca/msgr-3/personalitytypeprayers.html
http://www.bouldertherapist.com/html/humor/MentalHealthHumor/prayermyersbriggs.html

So there you are. I need God's help to slow down and to be open to other people's ideas. That just about sums it up.

Nora and Mary have been at Grandma's for the last few days. They left on the epic journey by flight to Pittsburgh and bus to DuBois on Saturday. They return on Wednesday. I have to admit I miss them both terribly. Mary most of all because she keeps me on the straight and narrow. She's my sounding board, my inspiration, but mostly keeps me from really screwing up and oh, because I love her more that I can articulate in a blog. Nora because this is her spring break and I will see her a total of three days. Thankfully, she will be returning for Easter weekend and we will see her then. This will be the first Easter in many years that we will be home for the whole weekend and then take off for Grandma's on Monday. This brings me to the whole Lenten discussion that started a few posts ago.

My Lenten thing is to explore my Catholic faith. I didn't get to go to Ash Wednesday, but I have been to many Ash Wednesdays and I am pretty firm on the whole theology and symbolism of that day. Frankly, I'm cool with it. What I haven't done is a parish mission. That started on Sunday night with Fr. Hicks and will conclude tonight. That has been worth while so far. I did go to Mass on Sunday in spite of my late night at Karen's on Saturday. Mass is not really an issue either. I am very cool with that. Last night Fr. Hicks mentioned how some people pray by saying the Rosary, by doing Novenas, by reading the Bible or by celebrating the Mass and the Eucharist. I was affirmed. It's Mass for me and once again, I'm cool with it regardless of the presider.
Because we are going to be home the whole weekend, I think I will commit to the whole Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday Mass. I haven't participated in the whole shebang since I was an altar boy, so this could be very edifying. I remember enjoying participating in all of the activities when I was young. Who knows, this may stir up some interesting thoughts and feelings from the past. I suspect it will.
More as the time approaches.

The kitchen is finally done. I nailed the last of the quarter round on Saturday afternoon. I am very pleased with the whole project. The only thing I don't like is the color of the prefab trim. It's too light, but so what? It's done and we have pretty much a whole new kitchen.

The play is finally in rehearsal. We have a space in the PE department to set it up and to rehearse, but it's a far cry from a theatre.

OK, that's it for now. I missed my workout today because I was helping a teacher set up a laptop and a projector for teaching his music appreciation classes. It was fun being able to do my job without interference for a change. More on that later. I still have a night at the mission. Who knows, I may become a new man...ha!

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

This Google thing is crazy

2007-02-20T13:23:00.000-06:00

I don't really know what's happening with this Google blog situation. At first, Mary was having a lot of difficulty and I couldn't understand why she was irked because she wrote a response and then lost it when Google didn't recognize her. Now, the same thing happened to Carole but I don't think it is happening to Mary any more. So, "What's up with that"? If you have a particularly interesting response, save a copy of it to word or notepad or something and then log in and if you are successful, then paste it in and let er rip. Let me/us know how successful this thing is. I'd hate missing responses due to some Google glitch or whatever.

Hey, It's Fat Tuesday or Phat 2sday in the ghetto. I woke up thinking about what I should give up and I'm not sure. I feel I need to commit to something or else I will piddle this season of reflection away. I am kind of like my sister who does not believe in take aways but rather spiritual enhancements. I'm kind of in both courts. I also believe that the decision is private so I am not going to announce anything. I'm just sharing the struggle.

I've been looking for a phone booth for the contest play and I finally found a company in Hickory Hills that has exactly what I need. In fact, the more I described the condition I needed the unit to be in the more enthusiastically he responded that he had just what I wanted. So that's a big item off of my contest play list. A couple of years ago, SBC or AT&T or some company that called itself the phone company was able to help me. But it looks like the big companies are out of the corner pay phone business and have dished it off to one national provider: Payphone.com.

OK, I'm watching the clock and I can't wait to get out of here. I have a big day. At crew, we are going to put the plexi glass windows in the set and then I'm off for negotiations. I probably won't get home until 9:00. I hate that. Tomorrow, we have school, negotiations, a political action rally that I am in charge of and then the Board meeting. We were supposed to do all this last week, but because of the big snow storm it all got postponed until this week. And what a week it will be. First, our baby comes home for spring break on Wednesday after her finals. Then it's Mary's birthday on Thursday. The big double nickel. Then Mary and Nora are taking off to see Grandma Bette on Saturday. They are only staying a few days. They'll be home Wednesday. Hopefully, I'll get to spend some time with the kid. I do miss her.

OK, that's it. I am going to busy myself until the bell rings and I can get out of here.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

I kilt me a mouse!

2007-02-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

ZZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPP! That's what Nora thought it would sound like, a bug zapper for mice. Actually, it happened in the night as Mary dreamed about mouse families and I dreamed about my Dad balancing our checkbook and paying our bills. He left us with $35.00.
It's a nice device. I padded down in my bare feet at five or so to find the thing blinking, which indicates "the deed has been done".
Well, that's about it. We have a three-day weekend with taxes planned on Monday. Mary's out with the library girls tonight and I am left to my own devices...or vices: Kung fu movies on cable and maybe a beer or two and...pizza, probably pizza, we'll see.
Hey,
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Definitely a snow day

2007-02-15T11:40:00.000-06:00

So, I kind of rushed the post from Tuesday as I got kind of excited about getting out of school early. In fact, we were officially released at 1:50 and I was greeted at the main door by three administrators who were looking at their watches and saying that it was only 1:47 and the throng of us who were "rhet to go" had better find some school business to occupy our remaining three minutes. I chatted with one of the administrators until it was "release time".
The ride home was fun. The little old Toyota loves the snow and our adventure home was unimpeded for the most part. I stopped at Jewel for some fillet steaks and a few king crab legs for Valentine's Day. You see, I was going to spend VD at school organizing a political rally for teachers and then attending the school board meeting. So, I got home, snow blowed in a gale and prepared for our Valentine's Day dinner. We opened a bottle of champagne left over from New Year's and enjoyed our evening...by the way, crab legs in a roaster with white wine and spices covered with foil and baked for fifteen minutes at 350 is by far the best way to do crab that I have discovered so far.
Got the call at 5:10 a.m. "No School, no rally, no board meeting." Happy Valentine's day it was.
Mary and I had a casual morning. I made breakfast and then I plowed. Actually, my neighbors lessened my load with their generosity. One neighbor did my walk all the way around the corner and the other did my driveway. All I had to do was the porch and the street. I will have to thank both of them next time I see them. Mary and I did a little shopping, got our passports renewed (no we don't have international plans) and then made another Valentine's Day dinner of corned beef and kale and carrots. Cabbage was not available. Kale is a very nice addition to soup of all kinds, but especially soups with rich and smoky meats. There's this Puerto Rican caldo that calls for bacon, pork shoulder and smoked butt that really makes a rich broth. The Kale is an excellent addition.

All right, now for the confession. Mary, if you are reading this DON'T PANIC, I have a plan.

We have a mouse living in our kitchen. I know, I know, I know. I have seen evidence of his or her existence for a few days now, but today, out of the corner of my eye, while eating breakfast, I saw it scurry along the baseboard and disappear behind the stove. That's it. To quote the Dixie Chicks, "Mickey's gonna die". And here's how...well first, I suppose you might want to know what I was waiting for. I don't know. I was going to wait till you and Nora left for Grandma's and then go on an all out attack. But after today, it's simply a job that's gotta get done, and here's how I'm going to do it. http://www.victorpest.com/store/product.asp?dept_id=54&pf_id=M252B

It's the Victor electronic mouse trap. I'm going to zap the little sucker and the rest of his family too. Why the mouse zapper? Well, I thought about the old spring trap, but I don't want mouse guts all over my new kitchen floor. I hate the idea of the glue trap. I don't want to see some little guy struggling to get free. That would mean I'd eventually have to kill it anyway. Poison is too dangerous with Daisy Grace around, so I guess he's going to get the juice. I have already bought the unit and it got rave reviews. So tonight will be the night. No more mousie in the morning. I guess I'll spend some time on Saturday looking for pluggable holes in the basement. I've never really examined the entry points for the cable, phone, furnace exhaust, sump ejector, etc. very carefully. I will close those holes, if they exist. I will also have to clean the basement a bit to see if there is any evidence of habitation. One mouse or two? Two can make many more.
I told Nora about this earlier today. I asked her if she had any food in her room and she said that she didn't think so. HMMM, that' not specific enough for me. I'll take a look there as well. Nora also wanted me to mention that we do not have a dirty house. We don't. So, I guess I'll kill me some mousies and then when there is no more evidence of these unwanted guests, it's clean the cupboards and hope we have no more visitors.
I remember a story from my childhood that my mom had made a roast and when she took it out of the oven, she noticed a mouse, not in the roast, but in the back of the oven. I know there was considerable discussion as to whether or not she served the roast. I tend to think not, but then I really don't remember. Maybe Aunt Stel or Carole will. It does make for an interesting dilemma. OK, this has gone on long enough. Stay tuned for more on the great mouse eradication effort.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Snow day...or snowy day

2007-02-13T13:26:00.000-06:00

So, the big storm is upon us. It's been snowing like crazy all day with more to come. It's ot like that birthday present when I was twelve. It's more like a fine hard crystalized snow that's going to blow like crazy and make the highways slick as ice rinks. Personally, I like it. I like extreme weather. My little red truck likes it too. I just have to drop it in four wheel, take the overdrive off and I'm in a real Toy ota. We're getting out a little early today. The anticipation is making the kids crazy, at least here at Thornton. I just like something a little different and to be getting out a little early, well, that's a gift.
Pete drew my attention to a nice little article about praising kids from the NYT Magazine, but I am out the door and will address it in another entry. However, if Pete or anyone wants to get a hold of me you can email me at AVGuy@ Norazdad.com. The spaces are there to protect me from bots. Anyway, I'm outta here.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

What am I doing here?

2007-02-08T19:17:00.000-06:00

It's Parent Teacher Conferences. I am not a teacher per se, but I do get to meet parents. I met the parent of a girl who is editing her volleyball tapes in my office. I get to meet some of the parents of the kids on my crew. Sometimes I just stand in the hall and watch for parents who look interesting and just engage them in conversation. But tonight, I am sitting in my office at TR watching the clock. I did go to Thornton to deliver buttons for our big Invest In Excellence political action rally to be held on Valentine's Day. It's kind of our push to let the Board that we are interested in supporting the cause of fair funding for public schools in Illinois while at the same time hinting that they need to get the negotiations process moving toward conclusion or there is going to be more demonstration of unity among our membership. It should be interesting. It's kind of of a double kick off. I hope we get the return on the level of Devin Hester's first return at the Superbowl, but not the results of the Bears in the final outcome.

Things have been very tense at school lately. Two friends are sick. Both needed biopsies. One friend lost her best friend and niece to some kind of sudden death. I continue my struggle to get adequate technical support for the technology that circulates out of my offices and this negotiations thing seems to be never ending. I am looking forward to a little extra time off this weekend. I would love to finish the floor in the kitchen. Maybe get a haircut. Some kid who was swearing and fake fighting with some girl called me an Elvis assed Mother Fu**er when I forced him to stop his ridiculous behavior and get out of the building. I personally would have preferred Punk assed MF to Elvis. I must be showing my age.

Nora is pledging or rushing or something to join a sorority at Augustana. She has been very well received by the groups she visited and interviewed with. She has shared that it will be a difficult choice to pick one group to join. I found it interesting that her perception was not that each group was homogeneous as in "Deb" "Party" or "Geek" but rather that there is diversity within all of the groups. What a wonderful challenge to choose among such appealing organizations.

Mary continues to get stronger each day. She is building up her strength and stamina by going to the SportsPlex almost daily. I wish I were doing so as well. Even as she gets stronger and healthier, I am thankful she is not in and among the stressors of the daily grind of classroom teaching and student management.

My set is almost done. We distressed the paint job today. I have a kid who is going to "Tag" the set for us. That's paint some graffiti art on one side. The kids and his art teacher say he is really good. My nephew Austin is a bit of a graffiti artist as well. It would have been cool to have him come out and hit my set. When It's all done, I'll post some pictures. I won't even get to see it standing up until the week of the 20th. I really can't wait. What's funny is the kids in the play haven't even started practicing yet. My goal was to get the set done before rehearsals began. It will feel good to have accomplished that task.

OK, twenty minutes left. I think I'll wander around to prove I'm here and then slip out at the stroke of eight.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

It's about the Ball..

2007-02-06T12:29:00.000-06:00

In golf and baseball, it's keep your eye on the ball, but in football it's got to be keep your hands on the ball, got it Rex? Oh well, it's just a game and obviously the Colts wanted it more than the Bears. That's the way it goes sometimes. Actually for me and for Mary, the hit was actually Prince. What a class act, and in the rain. I glad he finally took off his doo rag so we could see his whipped butters. That's better than his bare butt that he flashed at some award show in the 90s. Basically on Sunday, I went to the store, worked on the floor, made pizza, watched the game, the half time show and then to bed. Had negotiations last night so I am looking forward to being home tonight right after school to lay a little more floor. I probably could get it done tonight, but I have Friday afternoon off for Parent Teacher Conferences, so I will spend a little time then. As Mary said, the process has been pretty painless so far.

The star of the project was Greg. He came over on Saturday morning and led the charge for installing the new counter top. I'm glad he really knew what he was doing. A twelve by ten foot unit in two pieces is a lot to line up and get square. I had already disconnected the dish washer and leveled the legs to allow room for clearance with the new floor. Plus the field joint is exactly above the unit, so I really didn't have much choice but to detach it and move to the dog room. I also had to replace the garbage disposal. I had done a lot of research on disposal units, but to my surprise, when we went out for dinner with Pauletta and George, George had a brand new unit to give me. That was worth the price of dinner. Thanks to the bodovum. Reconnecting the dishwasher and installing the disposal was pretty easy in comparison to trying to tighten those damn little screws that attach the sink to the counter. There was a lot of head bumping and swearing during that half hour.
So, I'm here at old Thornton watching the snow fall from my office window. Yesterday a young Mexican man asked me if I wanted to sell my truck. I thought about it. It's tempting. I intend to sell it some day, but there are quite a few loads that I think it is yet to carry for me; one is the phone booth I need for the play. And then there's the snow. There's nothing like four wheeling in the snow. Now, that poor guy will just have to see me again sometime when I'm ready to sell. But for now, the old red truck is still mine.
I'm out for now.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Friday before the Big Game

2007-02-02T13:08:00.000-06:00

So I'm sitting here ready to hit the road. Talked to lots of teachers today who have pretty well had it for the week. Given the option, this would be an empty place. Actually, I've never been here when no one else is. Thornton is not really my school so I don't think I would be very comfortable here alone. Any way...
Greg is coming tomorrow to help me install my new counter top. The challenge is going to be getting the old one off. It's loose at one end, but tight as heck all the way around. He said a combo of prying and cutting the glue will do the trick. Once it's in, I will take some pictures and show them here or on NorazDad. I have the flooring done on the kitchen side and I really think the other side will be as Roy would say, "A clear shot" once I get started. Then it's just replace the quarter round and put felt pads on the chairs and table. All of this is accomplishable by SuperBowl kick off time. We'll see.
So this weekend we're staying in and hopefully finishing the kitchen and maybe watching a little football.
Go Bears.

Birthday Eve...come and gone

2007-01-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

Today, on my last day as a 51 year-old I have only the things I am thankful for to think about.

I have a job with a decent salary and excellent benefits
I am married to a wonderful woman who is intelligent, caring and nurturing
I have a loving daughter who has a firm moral foundation, who takes her education seriously and knows the value friends and family
I have an extended family that I love and appreciate, but may not communicate with often enough. But knowing they are there and that we share the love of family and history contributes greatly to my human identity
I have friends who love me and understand me and tolerate my idiosyncrasies. They too, flesh out my humanity
I have a dog who is loyal and loving and who is disappointed when I leave home and who is thrilled when I come back
I have a very nice house that is our home. It's a place we enjoy sharing with family and friends.

That pretty much completes my list of pre-birthday thoughts. My birthday has come and gone and it was nice, but not every eventful. Nora came home sick on Friday. She drove from Augustana alone for the first time. Mary, Karen and I held a vigil until she arrived. The greetings were low key. We got quick hugs and she was off to bed. Mary, Karen and I were off to Boracos, a local eatery for mu Birthday Dinner. Pizza for me, veal for Karen and a steak for Mary. It was nice. We brought some spaghetti home for Nora.

Saturday, I picked up my floor. I wanted to start the installation. So I moved the fridge and the stove into the middle of the kitchen and started. The first course wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. After a couple of hours, I was able to move the appliances back over the new floor and then I went to the store. I had every intention of flooring on Sunday, but Nora woke up with pink eye and it was off to urgent aid; urgent for us, but not for the doctoring process. Three hours and four new prescriptions later, we had an early dinner and we took off for Augustana. Mary drove with Nora and I followed in the van. Basically, we didn't know if Nora could make the drive by herself, so we went along. It was a quick trip and a quicker return. Needless to say, no flooring got done.

Got a call that the counter top is in, so I need to get my act in gear. I have no set crew today, so right after school, I will do some installation. I'd like to get the kitchen part done tonight so we can see how the counter top will look with the floor, paint and the new stove. I have a little work to do before we install the counter top, though. I need to free the dish washer from under the current counter and I need to replace the garbage disposal. I am going to run the new floor under the dish washer so that if we ever need to replace it, I can get it out. I hope the screw feet will lower enough to allow for the new floor and will still fit under the counter. It will be tricky, but I think it will all work out. This continues to be a fun project. I caught my eye wandering into the hallway this morning. Definitely needs paint. We'll see.

Ok, that's it for now. Birthday's come and gone. It's 52 for the rest of the year.

Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

Tech in the Old Woodshop

2007-01-23T10:05:00.000-06:00

I have jumped into the scenery construction for The Indian Wants the Bronx with both feet and about twenty kids. This was the first new construction project I've done for the theatre for a while, so I took the time to do very accurate construction plans. Based on those plans I did my lumber order and with the the help of the old red truck, I got it to school and began the process. We needed to build five 4' X 10' walls covered in luan and fakey white brick. We needed another four walls 4' X starting at 10' and sloping down to 8'. We also had to build three walls to make one 2' X 1' pillar to help support the whole thing. We finished the walls in three sessions. Now they are ready to paint and a flock of Angels in the form of an advanced Art class volunteered to paint. The play will take place outside of a Ghetto Currency Exchange. If you have seen any, and if you've been to the ghetto you've probably seen many, Currency Exchanges are generally a boxy orange and yellow billboard for money oriented services. Needless to say, lettering is quite important in this design and if you have ever seen my lettering skills...well, you know. Hence, the Angels. I really lucked out here. I know this class will take this task very seriously and will do a fine job. I've seen the sports mural they've been working on in the gym area and it is spectacular. The characters are very life-like and the coloring is rich. I can't wait to see it.
I've begun collecting scenery extras for the set. I stopped by "NO Man's Land" in Harvey today and picked up a red shopping cart. It's in my truck now and I don't know if it will be there when I leave school today. I need a phone booth. The kids want to make one. I want to get an old one. I need a dumpster that the wino can pee on as the play opens. I saw a handicapped parking sign I'll "borrow" near a rail crossing in Harvey.

Working with kids is a trip. After all, I am a teacher by profession. I find it interesting how little experience the crew kids have in assisting each other. I witnessed a lot of one person "screwing" while several others either looked on or not, as assistance was obviously needed. And you can guess, in my most caring and gentle way I let them know that helping one another was part of the reason they were there. Some got it, some did not. The one's who never get it, will not get to go, if we go to state.

Other issues of note, but not in any particular order include:

My flooring is in
My driver's license is due to expire on Friday
Nora has a terrible Pre Calculus teacher and I am stifling the impulse to call the president of the college.

And that's just about it for now. I might start laying the new floor this weekend. They say it should only take a couple of days. And if you know how I work...it's gonna get done once I start.

Hey, Peace to you and to those you love.

Rob

Transition...

2007-01-17T18:33:00.000-06:00

So, we've painted the kitchen two tone green and orange. We ordered the counter top...actual Formica in a very complimentary knockoff granite which picks up the orange and does the green proud, which will come in two pieces and will be installed by Greg and me. One piece would enter the room, but it would never orient to the eventual placement. And we finally found what we think will be the perfect floor. It's a laminate in a teak tone made by Shaw and it includes the backing which will make installation by owner a little easier.
So what's the transition?
Contest play. I started the blogging thing after I finished the fall play. I really had a great time doing Macbeth. It was a tremendous creative outlet and a very successful production. Last year I agreed to get the auditorium back in shape so Thornridge could host the sectional play contest. I did and it was fun to get the old barn back up to speed. However, an arson struck a couple of weeks before Christmas and our beautiful A building which houses the finest of our fine arts was damaged to the degree that it will be off limits to us "until further notice". That means, not only will we have to build the set for the contest play in another location, but we will have to find a place to set it up, paint it and practice.
We're doing The Indian wants the Bronx. It's an old sixties play which incidentally was Al Pacino's first professional performance that deals with racism in the ghetto. The set is a representation of a Currency Exchange that resides at the corner of 147th and Halsted in Harvey. I have purchased the wood from a local lumber yard and it felt good being in that environment again after many years away from the set design and construction business. Actually, one of the highlights of going to Appalachia with the teens from St. Francis is being able to go to the local lumber yards and talking to the guys. One of the guys I like best is Patty. She works the desk at Conglenton Brothers. She's a bit of a tough nut, but she eventually warms up to us Yankees and shares her appreciation for our being there by the end of the week. I have sad news about Appalachia however, I won't be going this year. There are a few reasons why, but I will discuss them closer to June. In fact it will be my June 10th post.
That's pretty much it for now...Nora's on the phone.
Peace,
Rob

"Ain't nothing wrong with that"

2007-01-10T11:01:00.000-06:00

Listen to and dance to Robert Randolph and the Family Band's song of this title. Turn it up loud and cut it loose. You will be better for it.

So how about it? It was great to see some responses from the masses to my last post. Paula, our friend from California, who happens to be a Tech Geek from Silicon Valley told me that I should have a link from by old and stagnant web page to the blog. I guess that's next. Ever since they kicked me out of doing the school's web page, I sort of lost interest in web maintanence. I guess it's time to get back into it. The least I could do is post the link.

The kitchen is progressing. I did Paint. The dining area and ceiling is kind of a light green in the yellow spectrum and the cooking area is an orange leaning toward red. I'm pretty happy with the colors and the paint job. I am still thinking through the flooring, but I am 99% sure that it will be some laminate. Whether it is from the local floor store or from this store on the web is still to be determined. Thursday night we are going to Brakur Cabinets in Shorewood to meet with Greg to look at countertops. He graciously came out and measured so now it's time to pour through the hundreds of designs. We are looking at some kind of laminate with a pattern.

This is the dish pattern that got the whole project started. Mary, Bette and my sister Carole got these for me last Christmas and I totally fell in love with them. Infact, I love them so much, I'm redoing the whole kitchen based on this pattern. Part of Greg's support for a formica countertop over granite or Corian, etc. is that at around a grand, if I ever want to change the countertop in the future, I will not be struggling with replacing something that cost thousands. Good point.

Ok, that's it for now. Maybe I'll take a little time to clean up NorazDad.

Hey, give us a call, email us or stop on by.
Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Back to the Daily Grind

2007-01-08T13:03:00.000-06:00

So the holidays have come and gone. It's a new year and I'm fatter than ever. I arrived at school today to a gift from one of my colleagues, Donna Sweeney. It's a watch with a stop watch, timer and an alarm. It's the kind I used to have when I ran...for exercise. I don't know whether or not Donna was hinting that I need to get my FA in gear or that she was just being generous this holiday season, but I'll take the hint that my cookie and pizza days are over...for now. That even includes the Giordano's that Sean and His friend Dave left in my freezer.
I used to work out daily at school and then I got some flack from the administration about exercising during the work day and I kind of chose not to fight it. Well, I am entitled to a free lunch period whether or not I choose to eat or work out during that time is really up to me. So, starting tomorrow, its not going to be eat and run, but rather run and not eat. This past semester I got in the foolish habit of going to lunch in the cafeteria or to stop at McDonald's for the supremely addictive $1.00 double cheese burger or two. That's got to stop as well. Anyway, It's time to go back to taking my wellness break and saying "No" to school lunch.
I haven't run in a while, so I am sure I will have to take it slowly for a while. The great thing about the human body is that it wants to heal when it's been ill. Well, it's time for me to start that healing process again and hope that I don't get distracted by some nonsense like cheese burgers or cafeteria pizza. Let's see how it goes.

Thanks to all who read and tried to respond to this blog. I don't really know what the trouble was. It may have to do with the Blogger software and what version I started with and the one I switched to. Regardless, I'll keep at it for a while and you are still welcome read and to comment if you so choose.

Our Holiday was great. We did have lots of company, but they were very welcome. Nora took off for school yesterday. I don't think it was an enthusiastic departure. She told us that she really likes to be home. I guess that makes me proud as a parent and it is certainly a feeling I share with her.

My new stove arrives today...yeah! I don't know what I'll cook first, but I can't wait.

Peace to you and to those you love.
Rob

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T11:07:00.000-06:00

So it's finally here, 2007. I'm glad I don't write many checks anymore because I would just screw up the date as I had in the old, non-electronic bill pay days.
Our house is back to the core three. We celebrated a very nice parting dinner with Aunt Carole yesterday and then dropped her off at Midway around six. It was sad to see her go. There isn't enough time to cover all the topics of interest with Carole in just what seemed to be a few days and with all the activity surrounding us. Maybe we can become snow birds someday and then we can spend all the time we want or need together. Who knows? The important thing is that none of us got sick of each other during the visit and parting left us wanting more time. That's a good thing.

Back to the three of us... It's great to be an nuclear family again. We've had company since Nora came home almost two weeks ago. We will enjoy our time together. We all have topics to discuss and a need for some just plain home time.

New Year's Eve was a quiet one after Carole left. Mary and I watched "Some Like It Hot" and then some Chicago music celebrations on the big screen in the basement. Nora went to two parties and came home safely. Today, I plan to take down the very dry tree and scrounge around our larder and freezer to find suitable makings for a New Year's Day meal. Traditionally, we have had Dave and Gail and some others over for lasagna or pizza or some such celebratory meal, but Dave and Gail are in NYC and we are home alone. I like it. It's cool that it's a Monday and we are off. Having a whole week to ourselves will be very nice. It hasn't been like this since August.

I think my stove will be coming this week. I am very excited. I am going to plan the redecoration of my/our kitchen this week as well. I would like to replace the floor, which is currently well-worn linoleum...especially in the cooking area of the kitchen with a wood laminate. There are way too many choices out there. I'll discuss the options later in another post. If you have an opinion, however do not hesitate to comment or to call me. I am very interested in what people have to say about kitchen floors. I am also going to go to the paint store to get my samples as well. If you don't already know, I am going to paint the kitchen around my Palzgraff Sedona pattern. There will be color in this place. Jody will be proud. I am also going to consult with my brother Greg on replacing the counter top. I am not looking to spend a fortune here. He has a very nice laminate in his kitchen and it goes for half the price of the other materials such as granite(too cold) or Corian (too expensive) or ceramic (too hard). OK, I'll discuss more of this later.

Movies, conversation and some good home cooked meals for three is really what's on the menu for the week. Let's start the New Year out right. "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". Sir Paul

Peace to you.
Rob

Happy New Year...well, almost

2006-12-30T10:39:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas has come and gone as have most of our guests. Carole is still here and we are enjoying her immensely. Brian and the Boys left on Thursday morning. We had a great time with them as well. I have never played so many video games in one week in my life. The big hit of the season was and continues to be Guitar Hero for PS2. It's a lot of fun and an amazing hand eye coordination challenge. If you get an opportunity to play...don't pass it up.
Thursday afternoon, Carole, Mary, Nora and I went to the Tut exhibit at the Field Museum and then to the Chicago Firehouse for dinner. Both activities were wonderful. Wednesday night we went to dinner with at Al's Steakhouse in Joliet with Aunt Stel, Ruth and John and our gang. We had a nice time and we all enjoyed our extended visit at Ruth and John's house.
Tuesday was movie and pizza day. We saw "Night in the Museum". It was much better than we thought it would be. It was hard to find a flick that would appeal to all of us and this one did. Then it was pizza at Aurelleos. As usual, it was great. But best of all is that Mary can get a gluten free pizza there. That's a blessing.
Monday, of course was Christmas. We had a blast opening gifts. We really took our time and appreciated everything we received. Mary and Bette surprised me with a new stove. I got to order it on Wednesday from Blinks. I got Mary a modern Victrola that will play her vinyl. Nora got a slot machine as a Santa gift and we all had some fun losing token to it. Charles joined us for dinner. Perhaps I could post the annual picture of him with the bow on his head. We had a beef tenderloin, broc, bagas, mashed potatoes and salad. Simple meal.
Christmas eve I made cioppino. I have been wanting to make it for years and I really enjoyed the process almost as much as everyone enjoyed the soup. We went to midnight mass at 10:00 and as usual the choir set the mood.
And that brings us to Christmas morning again. I want to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness this season. I have had a great time cooking and eating and entertaining. And of course none of it would be possible without Mary and Nora. Mary is really the entertainer. And Nora is wonderful to have at home again.

Now for this darned blog. I keep getting reports that people are having a hard time getting in to make comments. I don't know what to say other than it's not supposed to be hard at all. I've checked my settings and they seem to be correct to allow anyone to post a comment. Oh well, this will transform from a Christmas Blog to just a regular place to post news. So look at it now and then and as always, give us a call, drop us an email or just stop by.

By the way, we're celebrating New Year's Eve eve tonight. We have a small group consisting of Mary, Rob and Nora, Carole, Henry and Pat, Dave and Gail and Karen and Joan. None other than the Frug's Barbecue Shrimp is on the menu. We have been celebrating NYE with Henry and Pat for over twenty years. We decided to bump it up a day because Carole leaves tomorrow. So Mary and I will be having a quiet NYE at home.

Hope to hear from you in the new year. May you reap the blessings you share.
Love and Peace,
Rob

We're all here and we're ready to celebrate

2006-12-22T09:50:00.000-06:00

Aunt Carole arrived late last night. I had to go to bed to be able to get up at 5:25 a.m. first I heard her voice and then I was smothered by kisses. I couldn't really talk. I tried to enlighten her on the left over situation in the fridge, but she had already scoped it out. Can't wait to see her.
Since Sean and Helen are big Rick Baylis fans, I thought a little ethnic dinner activity would be in order. So, today we will all be making tamales. I have read about and discussed the Mexican tradition for years and for some reason I am drawn to trying it with this house full of guests. I understand from my research that the more hands the merrier when making tamales. Well, we currently have ten pair. It should be fun. It will certainly be different. Here's where my recipe is coming from. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/ Of course, if you know me, there will be a liberal interpretation to this "traditional" treat. I suppose if we make it a tradition, my recipe will become the traditional one... One thing I like about this recipe is that they are not pushing using lard. Sorry, but I can't muster up the courage to even look at it in the supermercado, much less actually put it in my food.
I also bought a tortilla press last summer in California that we will use for the "encheladas". I haven't actually worked out the logistics of them yet. I have a picture in my head, but I don't actually know what they will look like when served. They will have chicken and definitely Chihuahua cheese and verde sauce. Maybe I'll try to post a picture. I haven't done that yet on this blog and it is about time. Sean baked us a chocolate pie with a roasted pecan crust for dessert. So there will be some fine eating tonight.
Hey, peace to you and post a comment, give us a call or drop on by. Dinner will be around six.
Rob

Our Guests Are Our Gifts

2006-12-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, a school night, "Amal and the Night Visitors" arrived. First there was Helen and Sean from Tennesee via St. Louis. They got in around 7:30. Then Candice stopped by for a little Christmas cheer. She didn't stay long, but we enjoyed our visit immensely. Then I went to Warrenville in the rain to pick up Nora from her friend Heather's house. And while I was gone, Sean headed off to Midway to pick up Brian, Jesse and Jordan. They were some tired boys when they came in the door. So last night we slept 8 with two more on the way. Nora and her friend Carlin picked up Daniel at Midway this morning and Carole will complete the guest list when she lands late tonight.
We are in for a busy time. But again, we have a lot to celebrate and to be thankful for.
Peace,
Rob

Tis the season to be thankful!

2006-12-19T12:41:00.000-06:00

This Christmas blog idea is supposed to be fun. And it is for me. The problem as I am seeing it now is that the original blog that came in the Christmas card was supposed to be "The Christmas Blog" but being an ongoing form of communication, that actual blog is several weeks old. I will continue to post, which gives you an opportunity to respond to any or all of the previous posts. So feel free to do so.

Now for the great news... the Zevalin is working. We saw Dr. Robin on Monday and he said that the PET scans show marked improvement. Mary is still not cleared for work so she will continue the healing process at home and not at Thornwood next semester. So thanks for your good thoughts, positive energy and prayers. I am sure they all contribute to these wonderful results.

It appears that the Christening of Caroline Grace is being postponed. We hope that's the best for Tim and Gina. I can remember when Nora was a newborn that lots of company was not what we would have wanted so soon after her birth. So, the big trip to St. Louis won't be happening Friday and Saturday which means more Holiday Spirit for us and a little more rest and getting to know each other time for Tim, Gina and Caroline Grace. Plus, maybe Mary, Nora and I can be at the Baptism when it does occur. We will look forward to that blessed event.

Now we're waiting for the advent of Hawkins...and I have learned, the new baby for Chris and Steph, Jody's son and daughter-in-law. The blessings keep on coming.
Peace,
Rob

Christmas Blog Part 2

2006-12-18T10:58:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends and Family,
This blog activity is not indended to make you crazy or anything. We just want to see your comments. So go ahead, log in and give it a try. You can comment on any or all of the posts.
In the mean time, Here's our schedule for the week:
Nora comes in with her friend Heather on Wednesday night.
Brian and the Boys arrive on Wednesday night as well, but a couple of hours later.
Sean and Helen are coming in on...you guessed it, Wednesday as well.
Daniel comes in on Thursday morning and Carole arrives late on Thursday.
Then on Friday, Carole, Daniel, Brian and the Boys and Fr. Charles all head down to St. Louis for the Christening of Caroline Grace. This leaves us with Sean and Helen for some quality time on Friday and most of Saturday until the gang re-arrives later Saturday night. And Daniel has to catch a plane to get back to be on call at Hope Hospice.
That seems like a lot of coming and going for a few days before Christmas.
More later.

Caroline is here!

2006-12-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

We welcome the newest member of the Wheeler family, Caroline Grace. The name really tugs at me emotionally. My mom's name was Virginia Caroline, my sister is Carole and Grandma Leddy was the original Caroline. What three amazing personalities. Personally, I was always afraid of Grandma Leddy. But much like an arachnophobiac who keeps spiders as pets, I keep a picture of me on Grandma Leddy's lap at Mary's computer. We had a number of formative interactions: one dealing with a banana and the peel and the other with a book from our library on Dixmoor. To learn the details would require either therapy or liquid medication.
Virginia Caroline was my mom. It will be thirty-five years at Easter that she's gone. I have been without her twice as long as I had the pleasure to be her son. The birth of a child, especially Tim's, really makes me think about "Grandma Virge". You see, Tim was her favorite grandchild because he was her first. Don't get jealous, Neffs. Favoritism didn't really mean that much with her. She loved everyone and was very generous with that love. Not a day goes by that I wish that Mary and Nora could know Mom. Mary and Mom would have had endless conversation and Nora and her grandmother would have laughed till they peed their pants. And Carole, what can I say? She's connection to all things Carole.
Welcome Caroline. Be good to your parents.
UNK

Christmas Blog

2006-11-26T14:43:00.000-06:00

Hey Family and Friends,
Unless you are new to the McNaughton Nerius Family Christmas Card List you have been receiving a newsy supplement with your card. As you know, this engaging activity which may appear to have been ripped out of a teacher's handbook may have taken the form of a crossword puzzle, a word search, a fill in the blank or even a TV Guide. We know some of you took the time to struggle through the activity to glean every bit of detail hidden within and we know some of you just looked at it, chuckled and added it to he heap of used gift wrappings.

This year, because I am, as Nora says, "all hyped up on blogs," we're asking you to participate in our annual educational activity by inviting you to view and to comment on "Our Christmas Blog." It's easy. All you have to do is get on an internet browser and enter http://www.norazdad.com/familychat read the blog and if you choose to comment, click on comment, register with Blogger.com and make add a little something to the post. We know some of you may not have internet access, so when you are with someone who does during this holiday season, ask him or her to access this page for you. We really, or I should say "I" really think this will be an interesting way to create an additional point of contact with you during this holiday. Under no circumstances is this blog to be a substitute for a phone call, a card or a drop in. It's just a way to make the internet work for us. Hey, and at the very least it's not another one of those crazy teacher activities...or is it?

So here we go. The year has been a hectic one for me. I have continued my obsession with golf. I'm still, after 40+ years of playing the game, trying to break 80. I played in DuBois, Niagara On the Lake, in Calistoga and in Mendocino. St. Andrews and Pebble Beach are next on the list. I got back into doing plays at school again. I did the tech for the spring play and for Macbeth and I will do the tech for contest in the spring. It's been really fun connecting with Thornridge's creative minds once again. I'm still the AV Guy for Thornridge and for Thornton and for a variety of reasons it's been a struggle. But it has not been anywhere near the challenges faced by the "teachers in the trenches." Oh yeah, I'm currently obsessed with blogging and wikis. I'm looking forward to our company at Christmas and for all the great possibilities in the New Year.
Peace to you and to your families and friends.
I encourage you to comment.
Rob

2006-11-22T09:49:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends and Family,
So, I'm kind of digging this blog thing. Some of you I haven't heard from for quite a while and some I see every day. A special "Hi" to Dan and Nancy in Raleigh and to Pete in Minneapolis.
I don't really have a profound post other than to discuss my plans for getting ready for the big feast day.
I plan to bake tonight. I'm going to make one pecan pie. That's not to be pronounced "pee can" as our family in Nashville often reminds us. Of course it's going to be in a gluten free crust. I'm going to put the nuts in first kind of like Sean does with the tassies. I have always thought of pecan pie as one big tassie anyway. The other is going to be a pumpkin cobbler. I know I'm going to get some askance glances when they hear it, but I'm sure it will be well received upon delivery.
Here's where the recipe comes from. http://www.recipezaar.com/114853
You know there will be some doctoring. Primarily, the topping will have to be from a gluten free mix. The question is what to use? I may just make some generic, but sweet topping from a mix like Bob's Red Mill GF biscuit and baking mix. Bob's is a very good product and is very adaptable to a variety of baking situations. Best of all, they have at "Jewels."
Speaking of biscuits, I am going to make buttermilk biscuits from another mix. I think they will be a big hit. We usually don't serve any bread with our meals and this will be a treat.
Well, that's it for now. Comment, give us a call or drop by. There's always room for another place setting.
Peace.
Rob

Getting ready for the bird

2006-11-20T10:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
So the question is, "Are you eating or cooking?"
Well, the answer here is "mostly cooking" and then some eating.
On the guest list is Charles, Amber and her husband Scott and their yet to be born baby Hawkins, Lee Talley, Karen Eldred, Mary, Nora and Rob. No Bette this year. We consider her a delicate plant that does not need to be up rooted. We will miss her but we know what's best.

The menu will include:

Karen's wonderful chicken salad and munchies
Turkey of course
With Sami's gluten free toast stuffing
Sweet potatoes and white potatoes
Cranberry sauce from the can
Probably some broccoli
Gluten free biscuits

I am going to do pecan pie and pumpkin pie. I usually do "Sho 'Nuff Sweet Potatoe Pie" which is a recipe I've baked for years, but frankly I'm tired of it. I am going to do something with pumpkin and make it a pie.

So that's it. Hope you have a great holiday and we hope to talk to you soon.

Rob

Our Baby is home!

2006-11-16T16:40:00.000-06:00

So, Nora has completed her first trimester of college at Augustana. We really only saw her twice since we dropped her off in Spetember. Mary and I went down for parents' weekend and we had a great time. We ate at one of Nora's favorite eating joints in Moline. Food was great at a great price, but better yet the John Deere Museum was just a block a way. I didn't get to go in, but there were big windows where I could see lots of machinery and several very cool tractors were outside in front of the building. Sorry, we had a wonderful time touring campus and participating in the activities. We met a world famous geologist who discovered a dinasour in Antarctica and we watch a half of a football game and we saw a presentation by Stomp Afrika which was very entertaining and informative about step dancing and its origins and how it has become a major part of Black Fraternities and Sororities. The trip to Target set us back a bit as we loaded up on dorm food and snacks.
The next time we saw Nora was when I went to Rock Island to pick her up. Nora was very upfront about her need to have her dad pick her up at college and bring her home for the weekend. We really didn't get to see much of her because she had a full agenda. As it was, the primary reason for coming home on the weekend was really to see her friend Carlin run in the Chicago Marathon. In addition to Carlin, Nora got to see her speech coach Ms. Gueltcher run as well. Nora's running mate (no, she didn't run the marathon) around the city was her roomate's little sister Ashley. They parked at the Midway El and then raced from viewing point to viewing point until they found Carlin and Ms. G. They had a great time.
Nora drove back to school with her roommate, Maria and Maria's friend Kevin. Eventhough we had agreed that Nora would not have a car at school, we let her drive back because she had access to a parking pass and she needed to come back immediately after exams on the 14th so she could help coach speech at Sandburg. And that's why our baby's home.

NorazDad

2006-10-31T10:39:00.000-06:00

NorazDad

So this could be a very interesting way to communicate to others. Email can get very cumbersome. So if you just have the people who are actually interested in what you have to say, you can publish it in a blog and they can comment or just read and go. Cool, Huh?