October's Dull Gray Weather; Winter Preparations; and a Fine Son

I like my daughters, too: but you'll see why I put a spotlight on my son in the headline, later.

"October's bright blue weather" is gone, again: replaced with shifting patterns of gray on gray overhead. Hardly surprising: Minnesota's weather is notoriously varied. The forecast for Friday's changed, too. Now we're supposed to expect sunshine and clouds - just like Thursday's forecast shifted from a promise of overcast and rain to "partly cloudy."

This household's getting ready for winter. My wife and kids lifted the air conditioner out of the window where it spend the summer. It's resting on the floor behind my chair at the moment. That was, if memory serves, yesterday.

My wife also put up the curtains we have at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, and between the sort of micro-hall at the bottom of the stairs and the living room. They help control drafts, and let us keep the ground floor at comfortable temperatures, while letting the second floor run a bit cooler.

I was going to accomplish things today, including getting to the Harvest Graces Mass this morning.

You May Not Want to Read This Part

Then, as I was getting ready to take that Knights of Columbus bulletin to the post office, I didn't quite get to the bathroom in time. By the time my son noticed the smell, I'd cleaned the worst of it off the floor, and washed myself in the shower - and giving the clothes I'd been wearing a first-rinse while I was there.

Disgusting. Rather.

That's My Boy!

Then my wife called. She'd come back, with #3 daughter, from driving my father-in-law to Alex for a medical procedure. The operation went well, I'm told. I also learned that she wanted me to pick her up.

No problem. I'd stay in the van, the ladies would come out, and then would carry the bulletin and paperwork into the post office building.

By the time I was walking toward the garage, I saw my son with a bucket of soapy water, heading for the bathroom. Unbidden, without prompting, and quite on his own, he'd decided to clean up what was left of the mess.

"That's my boy!"

Sunday: A Day of Rest and Grilling

This morning I sat down where I usually do, look at my laptop, and the diminutive fellow again. Except that now he's moved.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but it did strike me that it looks like he's trying to get around the screen to get at something. Or someone?

Nah. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all. It's just a little Dare Devil action figure. Holding an improvised quarterstaff.

On a more reasonable and realistic note, my father-in-law, the deacon, was back at his usual post in Our Lady of the Angels church this morning. He's been back at deaconing since sometime last week, but I hadn't noticed.

That's good news. His recovery seems to be going quite well.

After getting home from church, my wife showed me the spatula. Time to grill. That's something I enjoy doing on most weekends. For an only slightly-interminable account of my grilling experience, there's Sunday: Not So Much About Grilling, as About the Experience of Grilling, today's post from my "Easy Griller" blog.

My wife and one of our daughters had been at the horse show this morning: helping with the food service. The local Soo Bahk Do group runs the food concession at that show each year, as a fund-raiser. (I don't know if I'm going to be able to start learning Soo Bahk Do again. The replacement hips are pretty good, but not quite up to the specs of original equipment. I have to be careful about subjecting them to impact stress: which means running is inadvisable, and so are the usual forms of Soo Bahk Do.)

An afternoon of kicking back and relaxing, an evening of pretty much the same, and I'm up to the present. Good night, all.

Knee Surgery and the Fast Father-in-Law

Fast at recovering, that is. Compared to me, anyway.

My father-in-law abandoned his walker, and has driven around town, as of a day or so ago.

Not bad: at this point, I was working at getting out of bed by myself. Of course, we're comparing hips and knees, but I'm impressed.

Father-in-Law is on His Feet and Outside

Good news from the other side of Main, here in Sauk Centre. My father-in-law's recovery from double knee replacement is moving along.

And so is he.

I heard that he took a walk with a friend today, in the alley behind his place. Good news!

The recovery process brought a contingent from part of the extended family up to Sauk Centre. It's been a good chance for my wife and the kids to be with kinfolk.

I got asked how he was doing at Mass this evening, and realized that I hadn't updated this "Through One Dad's Eye." I still don't know whether he's still using a walker.

It's Friday Already!?

This week went fast, but I don't have much to show for it: a fairly common part of the human condition.

My father-in-law is still recovering from his knee replacement. As far as I can tell, he's doing pretty well. Just the same, it will be a while before he's up and back to his deaconly duties.

Meanwhile, part of my family is minding the shop over on Main, part of the extended family is at the same location, looking after my father-in-law.

There's a part of computer on the kitchen table that I don't recognize. My guess is that my son is going to be doing something with that 7/8 of a computer he's got in his room.

Now, I'd better get back to work. I may not have finished anything, but I've got a few projects-in-process.

Chiggers, the Sequel

To date, my son seems to be chigger-free.

In all the excitement of this week, and last, I'd neglected to get back to the tale of the lake, the boy, and the tiny pests.

Meanwhile, my father-in-law's recovery from double knee replacement is proceeding. He's got a contingent from another part of the family looking after him 24/7, and representatives from my family over during the day, minding the store. And, of course, visiting with kinfolk.

Cousins, Convalescence, and Transitions

Over in Glenwood, about 20 miles west of here, it got up to 98. I'm glad to have stayed inside today. Except for grilling lunch. For that, I've been known to go out when a thunderstorm is coming.

My father-in-law's recovery brought a contingent of cousins up to Sauk Centre. The bulk of them will be leaving in a few days, but one will stay here to help. (The "cousins" here are actually a subset of my nieces and nephews, but since they socialize mostly with our kids, this family calls them "cousins".)

I'll say it now, if I haven't already: I married into a great family. There's enough expertise and manpower among my wife's six siblings and their progeny to handle most situations. And, at least as important, the willingness to help. ('Manpower?' I know - but people power? person power? hesheitpower? forget it.)

Folks coming and going, thinking about Independence Day, and a task or three, kept me away from this blog for the last few days.

Meanwhile, over in the Red River Valley, my father is making preparations to move into an assisted living center in town. He and my mother moved to her childhood home when he retired. Now, decades later, she has long since required a nursing home's care. I'm proud of my father's good sense and practicality, and the care he's taking to help prepare the family for the generational transitions that will come.

Extended Family: Great to Have Around

My father-in-law is still recovering from his double-header knee replacement surgery. My wife called his home earlier this morning for a progress report.

There's a contingent from another part of the extended family staying there, and one of them reported how he slept, and how his recovery is going. He's still outdoing me, in terms of speedy recovery.

I understand that a therapist is with him now. My wife and at least some of the kids will go over, later this morning most likely. Between the two family units that are close enough, and have kids the right age, my father-in-law and his shop are taken care of 24/7.

It gets a little quiet around here when most of the folks are elsewhere, but that makes it easier to concentrate on my work.

Good News for This Family

My father-in-law is back from the hospital, and has been since Friday afternoon. He's got a pair of new knee joints, and seems to be doing well.

Folks from my immediate family have been minding the shop in his absence, and a contingent from another town has come to help him get by, now that he's home.

That means that there are cousins in town, so there have been kids going back and forth between our two houses. Actually, the out-of-towners are some of my nieces and nephews, but they're "the cousins" in this household's dialect.