Category Archives: Family

March 24, 2023 · 22:48

Dealing With Tragedy

The phone call.

Why is my sister calling in the middle of a Friday afternoon?

The unreality. Who? How? That makes no sense! HOW?

What can we do to help? Of course, I’ll call my other brothers and sisters…

And always back to the unreality. This can’t be happening. (You’ll tell yourself that a lot in the near future, I’m sure.)

So few details. So many questions.

Tomorrow will be another day. But they’ll never be the same for my sister. Or the rest of us, but especially, of course, for her.

What can we do to help?

I wish we could make it go away. To make it not be real. But that’s not the way it works.

Forward. Tomorrow. Then the next day. Then the next week. One step at a time. One day at a time.

What can we do to help?

Hug your loved ones tonight. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Be good to one another. Tell each other you love them. Be there for each other. Don’t put it off until tomorrow.

That’s how you can help.

It won’t be enough. But it’s all we’ve got. Each other.

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December 24, 2022 · 22:32

Christmas Lights 2022 – The Tree

We’ve seen the outside lights – of course, there’s also a tree inside.

There might be another theme to our fall and winter decorating… Sorry, subltety isn’t one of my strong points.

As always, our tree decoration “theme” is “NO STINKIN’ THEMES!” Colored lights, white lights, bubble lights. Sporty’s annual aircraft ornaments going back almost 20 years, ornaments from when the kids were small, annual ornaments from when we’ve traveled after the kids have grown up and left. The star that has the motorized airplane towing a banner. You name it, we’ll throw it up there someplace.

It’s us.

I hope all of you have a wonderful and enjoyable Christmas tomorrow!

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Filed under Christmas Lights, Family, KC Chiefs, Photography

December 23, 2022 · 23:23

Christmas Eve Eve Hot Dogs

As I come into the kitchen to fix my plate I find the hot dogs already in the buns, with a whole smorgasbord of condiments laid out.

From the living room, she shouts, “Your hot dogs might be a little bit…charred. Put lots of stuff on them!”

“They look fine! Wait…did you put them in the buns already so that the charred side is hidden?”

“Of course, how stupid do you think I am?”

She probably learned that from my mother. At a very young age I realized that Mom would often leave one side of a grilled cheese sandwich a bit more “well done” than the other. That side was always on the bottom as the sandwich was served. By my teen years I would get the sandwich served still hot on the spatula with the top side visible, then plopped and flipped so that the other side could be seen.

Mom’s been gone for a while now, but somehow that family tradition continues on. I’m pretty sure I served grilled cheese sandwiches to my kids that way back when they were still at home.

Christmas Eve Eve. It’s been a heck of a week, lots of little victories, a couple of big ones, and still a ton of things to get wrapped up (see what I did there?) before the jolly fat guy slides down the chimney tomorrow night.

Hot dog powered, I will prevail.

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Filed under Castle Willett, Family, Photography

December 11, 2022 · 21:30

Poor Life Decisions Were Made

On the one hand – YOLO!

On the other hand – you’re HOW old? That  first drop is HOW high? There are HOW many loops?

Those cars do WHAT? You spin HOW MANY TIMES?

Yes, you did this a lot when you were forty years younger. You’re no longer forty years younger.

Please, for the love of god, use some common sense!

Yeah, right. Have we actually ever met?

YOLO!!!

Suffice it to say, poor life choices were made.

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Filed under Family, Photography, Travel

November 24, 2022 · 23:29

Thanksgiving 2022

It’s Thanksgiving Day 2022. We had the pleasure of celebrating the day with family where a wonderful day with, as is the tradition, way too much food. Tomorrow the Christmas lights and decorations start going up and there will be leftovers a go-go!

I hope your Thanksgiving (if you’re in the US) was just as wonderful. If you’re not in the US, I hope you had a great Thursday and your upcoming weekend is filled with fun.

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October 27, 2022 · 20:41

A Night Out With The Family

At least, a bunch of them! We’ve got something special going on Saturday, so as long as folks were coming into town…

So far it’s been a great game, the Kings up 3-2 after one period.

Time to scrape that ice!

And let’s start the second! Go, Kings, GO!!

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June 27, 2022 · 23:43

No Context For You – June 27th

One thing that came out of some reflection on the nature of the world last week was that I’m not using any time for recreational reading.

That seemed to be a serious problem. Since most days it seems like I’m skating on thin ice to begin with, what harm could it do to MAKE that time for myself to read for a half hour or so?

So I am, and it seems to be working. Not every day, but most days. With the Hugo Awards coming up and voting due in August, I’m working my way through this year’s nominees, and where necessary, the previous works in a series that lead up to this year’s nominated work.

This is a good thing. I highly recommend it.

The other thing, of course, is wishing a happiest of birthdays (it’s one of those) to the long-suffering wife. I hope you got what you wanted for the day and it didn’t suck.

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May 8, 2022 · 23:44

Skyscapes – May 08th

Some days you have pretty clouds and skies and trees and you just have to allow yourself to sink into the combination of them all while listening to the birds.

Better days ahead, worse days ahead.

Hopefully far more of the former and far fewer of the latter!

Either way, you have to take them both.

Some days it sucks, but that’s sort of how the game is played.

Yes, the game is rigged that way, but if you didn’t have the bad, how would you know how wonderful the good is?

Maybe you got to spend some good time with your mother today, either in-person or electronically. Good for you!

Maybe you couldn’t, but you got to remember her and talk to her anyway. Maybe she talked back. Good for you!

Maybe you’re a mother yourself. Good for you!

Whatever the circumstances were, I hope you had a good weekend and are ready to kick Monday’s pathetic ass.

Make Monday your bitch! Report back in here afterwards to sing the songs of your battles and tell of the glorious downfall of your fallen foe.

(No, I haven’t had anything at all to drink. Why do you ask?)

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Filed under Deep Thoughts, Family, Photography

December 18, 2021 · 23:51

Time-Warped Christmas 2021

Merry Christmas! It was a wonderful day for family, a huge dinner, and opening presents!

What’s that you say? Yes, today actually WAS Christmas Day, at least in our house!

Or just the latest domino to fall in our quest to cast aside the normal time constraints and conventions.

  1. Not going to Worldcon in DC this week meant that we could go see the Chiefs-Chargers game two nights ago…
  2. Which meant that the kids were in town to go with us…
  3. But they have to get back home and to work, can’t stay a whole week…
  4. So we declared Christmas to be TODAY, not next Saturday.

Let it be written! Let it be done!

First time we’ve all been together for Christmas in at least a dozen years. It was a great day. I hope that your Christmas next week is as wonderful for you.

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Filed under Castle Willett, Christmas Lights, Family, Photography

December 17, 2021 · 23:58

Is It The Weekend?

And does it matter?

Between my work schedule (there have been a LOT of really critical deadlines and all of the work involved, but so far we’re hitting them, even if some of them are by the skin of our teeth) and “life” and the holidays and family and that football game last night, the last two weeks I’m having serious issues keeping track of what day it is.

Life isn’t counted in days of the week and weekends – there’s no difference, they’re all pedal to the metal. I don’t count days to the weekend, I count hours to the next critical deadline.

That’s not quite over yet, but I think all of the REALLY REALLY critical deadlines are over for the moment. This weekend we’re doing Christmas a week early since all of the kids are here, our first full family Christmas in a decade or more.

I hope tomorrow’s Saturday.

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