Party room- a place for fun, pity, commiserating, or any other thing you come up with

[Mark N]

Julia, I am glad you are stubborn so that you could get back here. I have talked to my family about the end of my life [hopefully another 30 or more years] as with this pain and lack of life it isn't worth going through doing everything to save me if it is unlikely to be able to cure. If I have something that could kill me but has good chance of being cure then I will be stubborn and not give up. On the other hand I am not going to go through extreme efforts to save me. It has been a good thing to talk to my family about as they know the amount of pain I go through each day but like my son said he would prefer I do everything possible to get cured IE some cancer, but he understands why I would go through all the chemo and radiation for some cancer that has a low chance of being cure. I love your picture and yes we have a great group here.

Mal L thanks for adding a few words. Feel free to tell a story about yourself or about anything as if we get more postings then we may get more people posting again.

[Mark N]

I hope everyone is hanging in there since I haven't seen any postings lately. Our son got in tonight as he was released from the Army due to a force reduction. It is good to see him once again as it has been a year since we last saw him. Now it is time for him to find work and decide on a direction for the future rather it will be college or some trade he is interested. He seems to be leaning towards computer sciences again so we will have to see how he does with a new mature approach to life. We are having the grandkids and their family over on Sunday so they can visit with Tyrel.

I have been dealing with increased lumbar pain for a number of weeks now and last week it got really bad. I seem to have turned the tide though as my lumbar pain is getting back to the levels I had before. I am not our of the woods yet but I appreciate any improvements.

[HellBoundTroll]

Hey, Mark:

Can't write much at the moment, but thanks for the reply to my post about the lower back. Made lots of sense. Am trying to prepare to go see my son for a few days. I will have some time on Sunday and will try to post a bit then, but at the moment, just wanted to let you know that despite the low response rates on the board lately, I did see your post and do have a few things I would like to say...now, if anyone wants to read what I say, that's a different dog. LOL>
dave

[Mark N]

Dave, at least you know a few of us want to read what you have to say. Have a safe and good trip getting to your son's place. We had the granddaughters over as our daughter and SIL came over to visit with our son that just got back home. The 1.5 yr old is a live wire and she wears grandpa out but I am glad she is so inquisitive and active.

Weather report: snow again today as we seem to be in a pattern of snow every 6 or 7 days the past month. It sure makes things look nice outside and it is good we only got a couple of inches this time.

[Mark N]

Thought I would stop in and give an up-date on things around our household. The big news is our son is home from the Army as he was caught up in the force reduction; he had had enough already so he didn't fight it. He has a plan to work 2 part-time jobs for a year and figure out which school and degree he will work on. By then he will have his GI Bill eligibility to help with school. Our daughter's family is doing fine with both girls growing like weeds. The youngest one is non-stop and gets into everything; she wears grandpa out but I love her inquisitive mind and energy. The older one is going through the phase that these are mine and the little one can't have them.

My pain levels are still elevated and my lumbar still hasn't recovered yet. The past massage treatment seemed to make some improvement. It helped out with my upper and mid back spasms so that generally my muscles are pretty loose and now we are focusing on the lumbar and hips to loosen those muscles up.

Happy Valentines Day everyone.

[Mark N]

Another weekend gone by. We kept our youngest Granddaughter Friday night while the other three went to the HS basketball game. She wore me out but it was fun being with Audyn. I couldn't sleep that night so I slept all day Saturday so my son suggested he, Penny, and Emery go our for a hike at a local lake and trail. It ended up that Audyn and the parents went too and it sounds as if they all had a great time enjoying the 60 degree weather. Emery had a blast throwing rocks in the water trying to get them to skip. Penny came home with sore thighs from the hiking so it was good exercise for her. Today we cleaned the house and had two family meals which was nice. I fixed steaks [fish for Penny] for lunch and then we had Chinese carry out for dinner. Not much else happening although Tyrel starts his job Monday which could give him his second job if the owner is happy with his work,

I hope everyone had a good week and weekend and will report in with some news of what is going on on your end.

[Mark N]

I see it has been a couple of weeks so I thought I would see if anyone is around. The weather here is warming up although the upper two thirds of the state are looking at another snow storm. The granddaughters came over Saturday evening and what a treat it was. The 1.5 yr old is non-stop activity and she wears grandpa out but I volunteer to be the one to keep and eye on her and entertain her. She is a bundle of joy while the 3 yr old will find an activity to focus on [I know at home she runs all over the place too but not at our house]. Penny is in the process of starting a new job but is waiting on the background check before she can put in her two weeks notice. I am concerned about a change with insurance and 401 plans but as long as she enjoys work more it will be worth it. I hope to get outside and start preparing the planting beds this week but I will have to wait and see.

[Mark N]

This past week has had a lot going on. We celebrated Emery's 4th b-day several times this past week. They came over to our house twice and those girls are so much fun. Emery takes a while to warm up to the situation but her 1.5 yr old sister is a live wire and the cutest thing I have seen. She has so many funny mannerism and wants everyone to be part of her fun. We went over to their house for the big party that had grandparents from both sides of the family along with other family members.

Penny started a new job and new AD which has really put her in a good mood. It has been a joy to hear her laughing again and coming home from work in a good mood. I have been doing some outside work but trying to do just a bit at a time. Two weeks ago I ignored the warnings and raked the leaves from the flower beds to clean them up and let plants sprout up. I paid the price for a week and a half but finally have my lumbar back under control. Overall it has been a good start to our Spring and I hope others have been having a good start on Spring too.

[jimac]

Hi Mark!

Hi Mark,

How time flies. Your family has gotten larger, older and better. I wish you the best that the world can offer.
Good luck trying to keep up with your grand daughters.

Have a great spring. God knows we all deserve some warmer weather after the brutal winter.

Jim

[Mark N]

Jim, I have given up with keeping up with the girls and just enjoy the time I can spend with them. They bring some joy into my life just by the way they see the world at their young age. I wish I could be more involved with life but I guess after so many years of pain and spinal issues I am thankful for the things I can still do. Have a good Spring yourself and enjoy the better temps.

[Mark N]

Another weekly update if anyone is around. We had the family and granddaughters over for our Easter dinner Friday night. I grilled out and then after finishing the meal my wife and son went down to the park and hid Easter eggs while we were getting the girls ready then walking down there. The 1.5 yr old was so excited she kept pulling away from her mom's hand as she was wanting to go faster than we were. Once we got there both girls were excited looking for the eggs [plastic ones with candy in them]. It was fun watching them be so excited and running around trying to find the eggs. The rest of this weekend my wife and I just worked around the house doing some Spring cleaning. I worked on the planting beds so we could be ready to plant some annuals to add color for the beds until our perennials bloom. I hope everyone had a very good Easter.

[Mark N]

Another week trying to keep this post alive. I had another great day with the whole family including having the two young granddaughters over. It was a fun afternoon and with the nice weather their dad and I took the girls for a walk around the block trying to tire them out a bit. The two had so much fun walking around the block and it was so much fun watching them run and laughing. We turned the final turn going back to our house and the 1.5 yr old turned into a house [not our house] and I said this isn't our house but she pointed to the American Flag we fly. I had to tell her another house has a flag too. The wildest time was when a cartoon network show named Peepa Pig, which the girls love, came on. They were dancing around in circles and the youngest one was saying in the loudest voice "Peepa Pig" but it wasn't easy understanding what she was saying other than to know the last word said very loud PIG. They went round and round until they got dizzy then settled down to watch the show.

Yesterday my wife and I planted our annuals out to add some color to go with the perennials. We now have our flower beds all set up and just have to keep them maintained. I don't worry about them but my wife feels so much pressure because everyone wants to see how nice they turn out this year as our flowers beds are seen as one of the best in the town. I had to get a new mower and got a cordless electric mower. With such a small yard I didn't want to mess with gas or oil any more plus it is quieter.

I hope a few people pop in and let me know how you and your family is doing. Take care

[Mark N]

Memorial weekend and around here along with the remembrance ceremonies the big thing is the INDY 500 race. The weather cast is looking like it will be a great for the race and the 350,000 fans at the track [I will listen on the radio]. Not much we are going to do because my wife came down with the illness my son has had the past week. We were going to celebrate our daughters b-day but that will be pushed back. The worst thing is I don't want to put the granddaughters in danger of getting the illness so I can't be with them. Our local American Legion has crosses for all the 135 county men and women from this county that were killed in wars. They put them in the City Hall park and my son and I will go down and see them again this year.

I hope everyone has a good Memorial Weekend and take a few minutes to think of the military people that laid their lives down for our freedoms.

[Mark N]

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day and I have been thinking about how different the world would be if D-Day was a failure for the Allies. We would have totalitarian gov'ts and very few freedoms [much like radical Islam] with a few elites telling the rest of us how to live and if we could continue to live.

We are going to have good weather this weekend and my wife is going to a lake with our daughter and granddaughters. I wish I could go especially because my wife still can wear a string bikini and I love watching young kids play in the sand and water. I think I may grill out on Sunday. I am sleep deprived right now so I don't know what day will be taken up by sound sleep.

Our planting beds are doing well and the little bit of lawn we have is really looking good. I am still waiting for the Crepe Myrtle bushes to bloom yet which also means the day lilies will be blooming along with the other flowers. I am caught up on the weeding and trimming so I can sit back and enjoy the nature show once all the flowers bloom.

[Mark N]

Another Friday evening and I am beginning to think I am the only one here and I should let this thread die a peaceful death. I hate to do it because it has run so long and helped so many of us out when we weren't doing very good but could come here and have friends pick us up with some story or starting a party.

We went out to our favorite Mexican eatery on Father's Day. I was dealing with a case of severe gout in my left foot along with some of the worse pain I have had in a while. Thankfully by the time we were leaving my pain evaporated and I only had to deal with the gout [there was some other pain but not bad]. The youngest granddaughter was quiet. The 4 yr old is coming out of her shell and was telling my wife and I all about their weekend and the time at mama and papa during the week. She will start pre-school this fall, is has already been accepted. Not much else is going on, I hope everyone is doing okay.