Why do you ask?
ARE WE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???!!! Go Broncos! Been to Mexico lately?
Why do you ask? ARE WE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???!!! Go Broncos! Why do you ask? ARE WE READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???!!! Go Broncos! Reasons to fear Canada
I see the Border Wall directly south of us and I feel so safe. Those Mexican aren’t coming across our border to sell us guns and drugs and steal our jobs! But then I look north; and wonder about Canada. Where is our Northern Border Wall? What’s to stop those Canadians from selling us guns and drugs and stealing our jobs? Well, it didn’t take much research on the internet to discover that I’m not alone in my unfounded fears. Consider these facts: Ninety percent of population is massed within 100 miles of northern American border.Seems not to mind that one of its provinces has turned almost entirely French.Excessive politeness only makes sense as cover for something truly sinister. But what?Citizens seem strangely impervious to cold.Decriminalization of marijuana and acceptance of gay marriage without corresponding collapse of social institutions indicate Canada may, in fact, be indestructible.Has infiltrated entertainment industry with singers, actors, and comedians practically indistinguishable from their American counterparts.Consistently stays just below cultural radar yet never quite disappears.Parliamentary government and common-law judiciary appear to function acceptably yet remain completely inscrutable.Never had a “disco phase.”Seemingly endless supply of timber, donuts, and Scotch-plaid hats with earflaps.Keeps insisting it “has no designs on America” and “only wants peace.” And if all that isn’t enough to strike fear into our hearts, what about people from Canada that aren’t even really *from* Canada. Our German friends from Canada, the Germadians, who could even imagine what *they* might be up to? Oh, how am I ever going to get to sleep tonight?
Our work here is done
Not really. There is more I can do, but I’m going to do it from Texas. It was fun to have Judy in the office on Friday though. The Office Manager’s Office had stuff strewn all over; left abruptly. Judy spent the day sorting and prioritizing. It’s all neat and clean now. She couldn’t make the whole problem go away, but maybe it’s a simpler project from here on out. We teased that maybe that business office part of Judy’s brain had atrophied, but apparently not. It was rewarding for Judy as well. Overall, I enjoyed being in the office. It was so familiar, and what a great friendly, helpful, cooperative bunch of people. Oh, and the final problem we solved after we figured out what to do about all the Office Manager duties, was to solve the 990 preparer issue. 990s are the information returns that nonprofit organizations file in lieu of tax returns. We hired our daughter Becky! With all four kids in school, two of them in college, she was thinking about getting a job. She used to do IRS Form 990s for us when Taylor was a Baby. Taylor is now in college so things have changed a bit. The forms are different and the software is different, but Becky can train in our office until she is ready, then do some 990s as an independent contractor from home. Janis is doing them now, until Becky gets up to speed to take some of the load off her. Then we’ll train Nancy, the new Office Manager to take some of the load off Janis and Becky. With some of the Auditors doing 990s as well, we’ll have lots of capacity. It’s still going to be a difficult two weeks for everyone at the office until the new Office Manager gets here, but things should get better after that. So off we go. Up at 5am Saturday; the temperature at 19 degrees, the wind at 22, mph, and it’s snowing.
We left at 6am for the airport. Interstate 70 was snowpack all the way to Denver International Airport, but no problem. We left ourselves plenty of time. It took a while to get through the rental car return, but no problem, we had enough jackets on and still had time. When we got to the terminal, we stuffed our jackets in the bags we were checking. Baggage check wasn’t too bad. Security didn’t take too long. A train ride to the B Concourse. A walk to the gate, and son of a gun, everyone else had already loaded, but the door was still open, so no problem. Perfect timing. Everything about the morning was right on time until they tried to push the plane back. It was stuck in a snow bank. The tug couldn’t get enough traction to move it. We had to wait while they sent for some de-icer to pour on the ground so the tug could get a grip. That worked, but then we had to go to the de-icing station. It sounded like one of those drive-through car washes where you don’t have to get out of your car. I didn’t get to see how that part worked, but I have this image of a guy on a cherry picker with one of those car wash wands spraying back and forth, except that he’s spraying a 757. We were an hour behind by the time we got in the air. We missed our 1pm connection in Houston by 8 minutes. No problem; we found some nice people from Trinidad and Tobago to talk to while we waited. Judy and I both got on the 3pm flight and arrived at the McAllen Airport to 100 degrees. That was a nice 80 degree swing from what we left. We ate a Whataburger for an early dinner then picked up Annie and Henry from doggie camp. Home and happy; we’re glad to be back. We’re pooped.
We left at 6am for the airport. Interstate 70 was snowpack all the way to Denver International Airport, but no problem. We left ourselves plenty of time. It took a while to get through the rental car return, but no problem, we had enough jackets on and still had time. When we got to the terminal, we stuffed our jackets in the bags we were checking. Baggage check wasn’t too bad. Security didn’t take too long. A train ride to the B Concourse. A walk to the gate, and son of a gun, everyone else had already loaded, but the door was still open, so no problem. Perfect timing. Everything about the morning was right on time until they tried to push the plane back. It was stuck in a snow bank. The tug couldn’t get enough traction to move it. We had to wait while they sent for some de-icer to pour on the ground so the tug could get a grip. That worked, but then we had to go to the de-icing station. It sounded like one of those drive-through car washes where you don’t have to get out of your car. I didn’t get to see how that part worked, but I have this image of a guy on a cherry picker with one of those car wash wands spraying back and forth, except that he’s spraying a 757. We were an hour behind by the time we got in the air. We missed our 1pm connection in Houston by 8 minutes. No problem; we found some nice people from Trinidad and Tobago to talk to while we waited. Judy and I both got on the 3pm flight and arrived at the McAllen Airport to 100 degrees. That was a nice 80 degree swing from what we left. We ate a Whataburger for an early dinner then picked up Annie and Henry from doggie camp. Home and happy; we’re glad to be back. We’re pooped. More photos from last weekend
Boulder Creek
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers look alike, except for their size and bill length. I got both of them in the same frame.
…and a photogenic Red-shafted Northern Flicker preening for his photo.
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers look alike, except for their size and bill length. I got both of them in the same frame. …and a photogenic Red-shafted Northern Flicker preening for his photo. Who’s the Man?
They said they had to get my heart rate to 130 or higher to get a good nuclear scan. 153 would be the maximum for my age. Okay then, 154 is the goal. We spent 14 minutes on the treadmill to get me there. They injected the marker fluid at 153. I got all the way to 157 before they slowed down the treadmill. It felt great. No pain. No blips on the EKG and blood pressure monitors. Nothing but healthy on the nuclear scans. This is the best stress test I’ve ever had. I was above my calculated maximum heart rate and when they slowed down the treadmill, I still had more. I could have kept going! Everything about my heart looks as healthy as it possibly can. They sent me on my way with No Restrictions and said to check back with them in two years. Two years! Every time before they’ve told me to come back in six months, or be careful with the chest pain and remember to take my nitroglycerine. What a difference between then and now. Whatever twinge I felt last Sunday, and lightheadedness last Tuesday, wasn’t my heart. The news couldn’t have been any better. We took a while to bask in the glow before I went back to work. When I had my first heart issues I had four blockages, needed three stents, and was continuing to accumulate plaque fast. It was only a year and a half until I needed the next round of stents. They gave me a choice, basically: take a Statin drug or die. I didn’t like the choice as presented. I’ve taken Statin drugs and that’s not an option for me no matter the consequences. I did some research on the internet and found there were other opinions out there about heart health. Many people share my adverse reaction to Statin drugs like Lipitor. I filtered through the information and misinformation. I made my best guess. I settled on a regimen of nutritional supplements from a company in New Zealand called XtendLife. I take a lot of pills every day now; about 20, but none of them are prescription. All these pills aren’t cheap, and there were no guarantees that this was going to work. Anecdotal results, not clinical trials. These stress test results are so spectacular because they mean I have accumulated no new plaque in the last three years! They gave me two choices and I found a third. The supplements I’m taking might really be working. I might have found a long-term solution for my heart. Wow. We’re still stunned.