Our updates for all of you

Yeah, it's been a long time readers. I had been working on various draft posts on my iPad2 while traveling and at home and then with a recent 'app' update, the updated app apparently now has issues with iOS5 and all was lost as the app will only "force close" every time I try it. The developer has replied to me that they had submitted an update to Apple and it should be available 'soon' but over a month later and still no update makes me think it's time for a different blog app! But I actually BOUGHT the app, so I guess I'll give them a little more time. And next time I'll save all post drafts as online drafts instead of 'local', losable, drafts! So here it is December 8th and while last month seemed like winter was going to be a 'bear' this year it has settled to mainly just cold and dry- so far! Much of November had been cold with some snow fall but only traces, and never sticking much. Then about two weeks ago we had the ...

I just haven't had the time to get the posts done! I had saved this as a draft several weeks ago and haven't had the time to finish and post it with all the work paperwork lately. My catching up starts here with the eulogy I had written about my father for his funeral. After my week long trip to Missouri in late August, he had again beat the odds and had lived just about a month longer than we were told he would. But finally his body gave out and he passed away on September 25, 2011.  We just weren't able to return to Missouri for the funeral but our daughter Laura did attend for us. I wrote the following which was read at the funeral as were comments from all the brothers and sons. I was given the audio of the services and a copy video collage used. It was very nice, and we really wish we could have attended. In Memory Of My father So here I am, the oldest son, yet I probably knew Clifford, my dad, the least amount of time then most of the people here. I started...

Sunday September 11th, and we're waiting in last nights room for the staff to get the room we'll be in for the next few nights cleaned for this conference. Obviously the day is about remembering ten years ago. And we did remember how Monday, September 10th, 2001, we had driven up from spending the night in the Salt Lake City area to the Coeur d' Alene area on our way to Bonners Ferry, to see the property we'd gotten in 2000 but had not been able to drive up to see yet. We'd made it to the Coeur d' Alene KOA, no longer there, and had spent the night at the KOA to make the two and a half hour last part of the drive the next day, the eleventh. That morning, ten years ago today, was a Tuesday. We had gotten up and I was having breakfast and was listening to a local radio station in the 5th wheel trailer and Stacy was doing some cleaning. As I was listening the local DJs were talking about a plane hitting a building in New York. I recall they were talking like it was...

OK, so I got in late in the day Sunday after a rather long delay due to detours around still flooded areas along the I-29 near Council Bluffs, that took me, and many others, miles away and then down to Kansas City. So what's it like being here? Heat I really haven't had to be in since moving from California. Heat and humidity. Awkward as well as depressing family moments, that kind of stuff. To me my father has seemingly rallied again from low spots, or at least from the lows I had been told and had read about on Facebook. Actually that is just a bit of the problem for me. Yes he isn't doing as well as before, yes he will be dying soon. But I kept being told, he wants to be 'involved' in everything that pertains to his end of life and funeral. OK, but I also feel that there should easily be a time that wether he wants to be involved or not, certain information should be "edited" for consumption and not continually talked about with him sitting right there ...

So yesterday wound up being 637 miles, today around 540, I think. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 500 to my destination. Overall a better day and about 11 hours long driving. I deducted a little over an hour for a couple of stops I made a long the way. First was to a small museum in the town of Garry Owen, Montana. Stacy and I have stopped several times at the Little Bighorn Battlefield site, but never at the museum I visited today. I enjoyed taking a look at the artifacts on display from Custer's Last Stand, and a bit more from the indians view. The town is actually located on the spot where the over 4,000 indians were encamped when the attack and subsequent massacer took place in June 1876. Second stop was a place we had stopped to see back in 1996, a site of an old fort near Buffalo, Wyoming. Other than that it was just drive. Temps were 93 to 98 all daytime to dark, and I did get some rain near Rapid City, South Dakota. Still a lot of motorcycles around from the Sturgis...

So, I'll drop these little ' notes' as I travel to Missouri. Story is yesterday morning I had a voice mail appear on my phone from my brother Mike. Now he was still in China at the time and I had no idea when he would have sent it, but the message said he was on his way back to the USA and then to Missouri. It would take him 4 or 5 days to get there. With all the news that Clifford was going downhill fast, he thought, if possible, we should try to get together with him. So at 7:40 this morning I was on my way. Stacy could not go with me because one girl is on vacation at work and Stacy will cover for me on a Court case on Tuesday. So after a rather long day of driving, I made it to Hardin, Montana. I'm in our Chevy truck which I'm not complaining about!  I am remembering why I don't like Summer trips, hot, hot, hot. At least I'm in the air conditioned truck. I had thought about driving the Solstice. But honestly, even though I really enjoy the car,  it ca...

In case you, the reader, hadn't noticed, I have found out the problem I often read about on other blogs I follow or in podcasts I listen too, keeping up with them!!!!!!!!!!! You'd think it wouldn't be so hard, just writing something noteworthy or not, every so often and press the "Publish Post" button. But with this blog it's been most of the summer since the last, not even full, blog post! So to my friend Robin, thanks for the call Sunday to ask why I haven't posted lately! Well, so what have Stacy and I been doing since our return from the Dude Ranch week in June? First off it has been a fairly busy summer work wise. Stacy has been traveling from once to three times a month to Boise and for two days to a week for state level meetings. She also had her week in Boise at the Police Academy as an Instructor and found out she'll have to take another class, this time only one week long, for Supervisor next month. It is really too bad they wouldn...