Sarah's Japan Photo's

Just a few of the many photo's that my daughter, Sarah took in Japan during her stay there in June. There is a story behind each photo which I will go into at a later date.

Sarah in Japan

Sarah has been in Japan for a week now and is having the time of her life! We didn't hear from her for almost a week, but finally did last Monday. She really enjoyed the couple she stayed with in the first town. She also had a host sister who she really got along with and showed her a lot of the town and about the history of it to that she was in. They also helped each other out with each others language. She tried some sushi, specifically eel and octopus. She didn't much for either one, but at least she tried it. Sarah also got to wear a kimono which she said fit very tight but was fun, she also wore the traditional makeup that goes with it. She is now with her second family in the second city she is visiting who are a little more traditional, so she is having to deal with that a little bit.

Have to admit we were sitting on pins and needles for awhile until we finally heard from her, you know, typical parent worries. But, in short we a so glad that she is enjoying the experience in Japan!

Sarah's Trip

My daughter, Sarah is on her way to Japan this very moment. I am very excited for her and this opportunity to experience life in another country. She will be gone for 18 days. For me that will seem a very long time, but you have to let go at some point. I will be posting pictures of her adventure as she sends them to Cathi and I.

51

My birthday is coming around again and I have to admit that I am still dealing with the idea that I am actually a half century old now, plus one in a few days. The whole concept is very weird to me. Not sure why, could be that I am not quite where I thought I would be career wise or that I have as much grey hair as I do, well at least I still have hair! I don't quite have the energy as I did when I was younger, but I think I do pretty well at keeping up the pace. And, there's the fact that my body is "older" too. I won't go into the "fun" medical stuff I have been dealing with since I have covered that "stuff" in previous entries.

What's been fun, but amazing to me, is that I have been reconnecting with people that were special to me many years ago, we're talking 20 to 33 years ago, which makes me wonder, where did the time go? I know, very cliche, but true! But, it is fun to reconnect with these friends that I thought I would never hear from again.

Well, even though it is odd to me to be my age, and given the challenges of late, life is good and getting better. Cheers everyone!

Old time rock and roll?

So, I came up with this quiz today to have some fun at the morning meeting at work today. Now, the majority of the people at the meeting were of the age group that could of known. So, the question that they had a hard time was "What song did George Harrison write and record and was sued for plagiarism?" Tick toc, Tick toc,Tick toc,Tick toc,.........MY SWEET LORD. He was accused by The Chiffons for copying the melody of their song "He's so Fine". And, who could not recall when John Lennon appeared for a whole week on The Mike Douglas Show??? Am I really getting old????? Someone please tell me........

Our Front Door

Only my son, Nathan could take a picture of our normal unexciting front door and make it look like something ancient, foreboding and a little evil too. Amazing what he can do with a digital camera and a computer. Now, if he could only apply the same curiosity and effort to his schoolwork........

Oh, he also took the picture at the top of my blog too.

Monday in the NW

Ok, so we did really quite well yesterday, at work. Today, a totally different story. But, on the bright side the weather was very good! It got to the low eighties! Not bad for April! I mean, it is 8:26pm and I am still sitting outside! Is this summer type weather or what?! Would be great if I was downtown Eugene at the Excelsior Inn on 13th requesting another bottle of Red wine! But, I am just in my backyard enjoying the evening!

Sunday

Wow, what a day! Just finished eating 3 polish hot dogs hot off the BBQ! One to many! Have all the doors in the house open since it is 73 degrees outside and it is 8:46pm. Oh, and the cats are outside too! (Yea!) Had a good day at work, really good, still awaiting for txt on how well the store and the division I work in did.

Weekend and stuff?

So, what is a weekend? Those of us in retail don't get the luxury of having a "weekend". Well, I do get one (weekend) every third week of the year courtesy of the company I work for. Could be worst, I suppose.

Cathi rearranged the upstairs living room. And, I actually like it! Very appropriate to having company over. Tim and Karen are you listening? Time for Happy Hour!

Changing subjects, Nathan is actually cleaning the kitchen! And, I didn't even ask! Totally amazing! Sarah is in the shower, she always helps out when we ask her and is very concerned about her parents well being. So is Nathan in a more quiet way.

Today I took Sarah to get her passport pictures today for her passport which we still need to order. She is going to Japan this summer for three weeks, and is very excited about it. She will be traveling with some friends from both Eugene and Beaverton Oregon which will be good for her.

Nathan is still heavily into computer and movie making stuff. Which he really excels at. Now, if we could only get him to be that into his other subjects at school it would be a perfect world!

Nathan and Sarah

Just playing around with my camera tonight. And, Nathan and Sarah just happened to be caught in front of the lens! ENJOY!

6am

Again, I am up after a short nights sleep. I have an appointment on my next day off to see if I am a candidate for the Sleep Clinic. Pretty sure I am, at least my doctors are pretty convinced I am. Hope so, would be nice to eventually to actually sleep a full night and awake fully refresh instead still tired as I do now. Cathi went through the sleep clinic and we are awaiting the results and possible remedies for her sleep ailments. Hopefully, insurance will cover it all, we have amassed a large amount of bills to the Portland Clinic in procedures not covered 100% by our insurance. The cost of living a healthy fulfilled life I supposed. I always thought one had insurance to cover ALL of ones medical requirements. Used to, guess not anymore.

On the battle with the tufts of cat hair and the wood floor we received a new weapon via Fed-X yesterday! It is a 30 foot hose with extensions and attachments to connect to our built-in vacuum system! So we can suck up the hair of our two long haired cats instead of attempting to sweep it up, which is never very successful. Oh, happy days!

Lips disconnected

Okay, for some reason the lips, tongue, and brain were not quite connecting today. Oh, well, other than that it was a good day. No rain, traffic was light and it didn't rain on the way to work or home. Even with a mountain in Alaska erupting and spewing ash, and the economy in turmoil it was a good day. The only drawback to the day is that the NCAA playoffs pre-empted the usual prime time shows my family watches on Fridays. But, no problem, I just pulled out the DVD's of "really old" episodes of Dragnet, open a bottle of Chardonnay and we are ready to go! Oh, I forgot to mention the really excellent chicken noodle soup made by Cathi really topped off the day!

Until tomorrow!

Have a good one!

MRI and ..........stuff

Today, I had the pleasure of experiencing a MRI. Was a experience I am none to excited to repeat again for a long time if ever! Took all my courage to endure the 20 minutes of being in the "tube" with the very loud hammering and clicking noises the machine makes while taking pictures of, in my case, my back. Hopefully, this will help the doctor prescribe a remedy so I can lay off the many Advil I take to endure the time I spend on my feet.

So, on a less medical note, I now am on Twitter! So, if any of you care to follow or trade comments, feel free to look me up! Um, that is a "Is there anybody out there (reading this)" thought.

Other than that, I spent the day, starting, to organize our rather apparently massive cd/dvd collection. Never realized we had so many until I took on this project.

One of my favorite cars!

OK, If I had an extra $25,000 this is (one) of the cars of my dreams! I happen to be a fan of the seasons of Spring and Fall, so can you imagine cruising around this magnificent vehicle checking out the various wineries of the northwest?! Yes, you can! I can! And, this is (to me) just a really cool car! Check it out at Memory Lane Motors in Portland Oregon at http://www.memorylaneclassiccars.com/40lasalle/1940_lasalle_coupe.htm

Enough!

Alright! It is March 9th and it snowed again! Enough already! It's suppose to be getting warmer the closer we approach Spring, isn't it?! At least couldn't we have decent weather to distract from the rest of what is going on in the world?

Speaking of the state of the world that is, my world, which is retail. You know it is bad when people return previously purchased items that cost only $2.97! Or they come in with items they purchase 6 months ago and all we can offer them is a in-store credit and at a reduce price at that.

All I can say is, I am glad I am still employed. So, pop open the champagne and lets celebrate! Although, with continual reducing of the troops at the store and not necessarily of customers, it does make some days at work somewhat eventful.

The Cats

Here are the Hercher cats and their respective owners. Jack, who is Sarah's cat, the very vocal and wild one! He is known for these sporadic running and jumping fits at any given time. Neptune, Cathi's cat, on the other hand, is a very quiet and mild mannered cat. Although, he does have his moments too every now and then. Especially, when a neighboring cat appears at the downstairs window to antagonize both cats. That's when things get really interesting!

I survived!

It's done! I survived the colonoscopy! The anticipation was worst than the actual procedure. I have absolutely no memory of it at all. The last thing I remember is the nurse asking me to turn to my side and then waking up back in the prep room where I started. They did find one small polyp which they removed and will look at. It will be at least 5 years before I have to go through this again, and I can wait!

Afterwards I had Chinese food for lunch, and was it good! Tonight, its hamburgers and fries for dinner! Nice big juicy ones made at home! And, I will probably have a nice big ale to go with dinner too.

Today's the day!

I survived the "cleansing" process yesterday (and last night), and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Today is the actual procedure, I have to be at the hospital at 11am this morning to be prep and the colonoscopy is schedule for 1pm. I keep wondering "Why does it take two hours to prep me?" Guess I will find out shortly. All in all much of the fear has left me, I am now not so worried about going through with the procedure as I have been the past month.
After all, they tell me that I will not be aware of what is going on because they will have me totally sedated. Probably a good thing!

Cleansing Time

I have begun the regiment of cleansing in the form of pills and liquid. This morning I started the liquid diet today and will not be able to eat solid foods until after the procedure which will be late Thursday afternoon. Chicken broth is sooo good, yum! Those brownies on our kitchen counter that Cathi made the other night look REALLY good about now. Not to mention a hamburger from either 5 Guys or McMenamins. It's amazing the cravings you get when you are told you can't have something and how much you want them!

ReLaxing Time

Boy, middle age is fun! Last week I had a cyst removed from my back after going to see my doctor for my yearly exam. Now, since I have turned 50 he informed me that it was time for my first colonoscopy, and he said this with a little too much glee for me. Tomorrow, I start my laxative regiment, which I am told is the worst part of the whole experience, I certainly hope so! And, then the day after tomorrow I go in for the actual thing! They are sending me to the hospital for this experience since I have sleep apnea, I get special treatment when they put me under. So, yes, this is what I do for fun on my days off!

The Hercher Hair curse

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Ahh, Nathan is his father's son, especially when it comes to hair! His Mom (and on occasion his sister) will take the time to straighten his hair. I remember doing the exact same thing at his age but not with electrical irons, I used some stuff called "Dippity Do" which I don't recall really working. It wasn't until the disco era when afros were popular and people were spending big bucks on perms for which my natural was always mistaken for. Maybe, "big" hair will come back again and Nathan will not have to endure the flat iron.

A New Beginning

On this day, which will undoubtedly go down in history, the sky was clear, the sun was brilliant and a considerable amount of hope was thrust upon this man, Barack Obama. I know, that my oldest child, Sarah was very excited for this inauguration as I am (she text me throughout the day) , my wife is and my son is also. This country has a considerable amount of challenges ahead of itself of which there is no easy answer or solution.

In short, all I know is this, my children will be telling of this day to their grandchildren.

A good day (in the life)!

Today was a good day! Got up, the sun was bright and the sky was clear. Granted it was on the cool side, about 30 degrees, but it did manage to warm up to about 50 degrees or so. Had a good meeting with the doctor this first thing this morning, just have to undergo a "of age" test and use a little medical assistance to keep the ole circulatory system from blowing a gasket, other than that the last thing he said to me was "You're good for another 50,000 miles" which was good to hear. After fasting for the appointment, I was ready for and treated myself to my favorite sandwich, pastrami and swiss cheese on rye! Oh, enjoyed it while watching good ol' Perry Mason! That show has been in syndication forever it seems and never appears dated (at least to me). And, I rarely can remember "who did it" no matter how many times I have seen the episode.

I picked up Sarah from school and let her take over the driving of which she its getting increasingly better at. She drove us to Cost Plus, so I could pick up a couple of bottles of Cathi's and my favorite German Riesling, we then walked to the neighboring Starbucks for latte and tea. From there it was to the local bookstore, to see if anything interesting had come out that we couldn't live without, we came out empty handed. Then, she drove us to pick up Nathan from school, who boarded the bus and didn't check his phone for our repeated calls and texts telling him we were there to pick him up. Well, he beat us home anyway.

Now, I am listening to Mozart while I finish up this blog entry, reflecting on the day, with a smile. And, remember, in the words of Warren Zevon, "Enjoy every sandwich"!

Measure of Intelligence!

I whole heartily agree with this theory on intelligence and weight gain! Makes sense to me!

New "Title" picture

As you may have noticed I have changed the picture on the header of my blog. It begun to snow again this evening and Cathi took this picture of our tree next to our driveway. I really liked it, so I borrowed it. We both hope this latest snow is very short lived. The "Arctic blast" snow that just ended was quite enough for both of us, for a long time.

On another front, life at my job has been quite busy! The company decided to further reduce all clearance items even further, and running an addition sale ad on top of that, which brought out the bargain shoppers in droves! As it turn out, we were staffed for a little bit less business then what occurred, but more business better then less! But, needless to say, I am a bit worn out and ready for some time off, which I will be getting towards the end of this week. It is nice to know that I still can keep up when it does get busy beyond expectations.

This is NOT rain! Gas could not stay low, oh, no!

OK, so I woke up this morning, proceeded to get ready to go to work, I look out the window and what do I see? SNOW!! The forecast was for rain of massive amounts, there was no mention of snow for overnight, at least on the channels and websites I follow. And, when I arrived home from work at about 4:30 this afternoon there is STILL SNOW at my house!

NOW, on another topic, the price of gas is on the rise again! No! They could not leave one thing low and affordable! I stopped to fill up my gas tank and as I waited to pay my bill, they were in the process of increasing the price upward! (I did get my tank for the lower price!) For the second time this week! ARRRRGH!!!!!

Another unrelated lose persistent thought that haunted me today:

Backward ants marching forward in a sideways motion forever frustrating the legions of armies in their efforts to conquer the needs of the many while attempting to maintain the status quo!

Oh, please ignore the two weeks of garbage at the curb in the above photo, I addressed this issue in a previous rant'n rave.

What happened to the mild Winter?

So, what is up with the weather this winter? First a major snow storm of an intensity like we have not seen in thirty years. Now, nonstop pouring rain and potential flooding of the same ferociousness. All I can think, and compare it to, is the volatility of the economy, with similar instability! I will say this though, I will take the rain over the snow any day! I just find it really interesting to that it was predicted that this was suppose to be a mild winter, so much for that theory. And, it has just been announced that the length of this latest rain storm has been extended.

Loose persistent unrelated thought:

What is normal, steady and calm is ever so briefly interrupted by a momentary lapse of reason and stability, however quickly returns to quiet, calm, reflective state of mind.