Planet Stahl

The Ranch, From September 2009

Man!  It totally snuck up on me this year.  I swear it was turning into the nicest August/September of my life… Then cold weather starts rolling in.  Its around 60 with lows in the 40’s tonight and tomorrow.  The corn and beans have turned brown overnight!  Time to start thinking about winter???

Aiden lost at soccer again tonight…  Its a tough game for 6 year olds.  Not a whole lot of ambition in that crowd!  He did excel at goalie.  So, that was a plus.

Foot Update:  I was praising everything about the surgery for the past 2 days to anyone who would listen…  And then, tonight when I hopped off a chair to get up.  I got a major leg pain.  DAMN!!!  I thought I was miraculously healed!  Maybe with time?  I have been doing a lot.  I walked quite a bit today. 

Back to work at the end of the week.

Its was an interesting day.   I thought I would share.

It was a Friday and I wend down to the Tazewell county courthouse at my appointed time for traffic court.  I was going to ask for court supervision.  I waited about 30 minutes are so to see the “prep” attorneys.  They are like wheeler-dealers of traffic tickets before you see the judge.  I didnt do a head count.  But there was probably 100 traffic thugs like me waiting their turns. 

My turn to see the assistant district attorney (If its supposed to be capitalized, I dont care, she doesn’t deserve it) said “I cannot offer you that, we dont agree to that option with the speed you were going.”

Fair enough…

I tried to be as diplomatic as possible and said “I would prefer to give an extra fine to the county, than to an increased premium at my insurance company.”  She just hunched her shoulders in a “tough luck” kind of motion.

I told her I was going for supervision.  That meant standing before the judge and hoping for mercy.  Nothing guaranteed. 

My group was called in… The judge ran through the rules.  I sat and waited my turn while other cases went before the judge.  They make the “bad” drivers wait till the end of the easily approved supervision cases.  I got to see some REAL menaces to society! 

One gal had 4 speeding tickets this year.  She had 2 while under her last court supervision.  When the judge asked why… She said she had just broken up with her boyfriend, and was moving back home.  WOW!  She STILL got supervision… For the 2nd or 3rd time this year!  By the time I calculated what she was gonna spend in fees, classes and previous tickets… I think she is probably 2500.00 deep in speeding tickets this year!  I think her problem stems from more than boy problems.

Another guy went up with his Mom… The judge asked why she was there beside him.  She is not an attorney, and he was not a minor.  So, he has to stand alone.  She said that he might not understand what the judge is saying and needs to help him!

THESE PEOPLE ARE ON OUR ROADS!!!!   

My turn.  It came too soon…  I was looking forward to hearing more weird cases.  I was feeling pretty confident that I would escape with supervision.

I gave him the synopsis.  I was speeding.  It was not an emergency.  Unless you call Aidens planned playtime with a friend an emergency.  He might of.  The just actually had a bit of a laugh at that.  So, all was good.  he declared 145.00 and fees.  Seemed pretty good to me!

Look at the fees on that sucker!  Judicial security?  Lump Sum Surcharge?  Document storage? 

We tried a document storage fee at the dealership and people flipped out.  The only difference here is that the government doesn’t let you go somewhere else if you become disgusted with their service.  I would love to know if this is normal for most counties or states?  Are we typical?

I am not going to complain really hard.   I asked for supervision.  Better to pay for something local than to send it off to the insurance company.

SIDEBAR:  Oddly enough.  This was the second time I was in Tazewell County courthouse on 9/11.  The last time was the attacks of 2001.  I was there for jury duty.  They would not get cable.  So I set up the TV (Since I am one of only a handful of people who use an antenna for TV) in the jury selection room so that other people could see what was going on.  It was very surreal watching the events with 100 or so people that you dont even know.  (Well, I knew a few customers there)

Called the doc yesterday about getting back to work, and getting the suture out.  Well, that did not go as expected.  The nurse said they CANNOT take out the sutures till Thursday!   And they would not let me go back to work till the doctor has cleared me…  Which will be on Thursday according to the nurse.  Thats not what I was told when we started this.  Unless he was talking business days!

Now, in fairness to the doc.  I was up a good part of yesterday and went to the kids soccer game.  This morning… I had all new feelings and pains in my ankle.  Nothing biting or harsh… But it was strained, you could tell.  So, maybe they know what they are talking about???  All kidding aside.  My doctor seems pretty good.  So, I trust him.

I am still avoiding that hydrocodone…  That stuff messes you up!

Soccer is going well.  Summer scored 3 goals on Saturday.  Did I mention that before???  Not sure.  Last night she had a game, and I swear she was on auto pilot.  I dont want to be too harsh.  I want her to enjoy it.  And both her and Aiden seem to have fun playing.  They each have games on Satuday.

I am SO bored!  This time off thing is driving me mentally nuts!

I have been cleaning my office… Its overdue!  Ang said it might be nice to move rooms around this winter and let Aiden have this room.  Its bigger, and we dont really need all this space for a junk room/office. 

I have updated all my websites…  Played a million games of bejewelled blast on facebook.  Watched the Create Channel and gotten some good recipes.  Watched it rain. 

All great activities in their own right! 

Oh, that recipe want to make is for Paella.  It was on BBQU and is found here:  http://www.barbecuebible.com/blog/2005_11/01_paella_on_the_g.php  I need to make this!  Might be a good project for next week.  Actually… Maybe for Sunday?  Looks like its best when you have a large group of people to eat.

This post is also a test for my facebook linking software.  If should show up as a link on facebook.  Thanks for taking the time to read my mindless wanderings if you came over from there.

I totally trashed the site today…  It was a big “oops” on my part, but I needed to clear the directory and fix some stuff on the www.planetstahl.com url.  So, its all better now.  And we have a new look.

I will keep tweaking it as needed.

Got to remove my bandages today…  Put a little band aide over the sutures left from Monday.  All seems good.  No staff infection at this point… So, that’s a plus!  I think I am done with these Hydrocodone.  While I do feel some pain and throbbing…  Those things about made me pass out after lunch today.  So, I think Tylenol from here on out for anything discomforting.

From September 2009

I expected it to be all bloody and covered in bone bits…  So much for gore!

All is well… I can attest that pain meds make it hard to play Bejewelled.  (Not a bad side effect!).    I went in early this morning and had the surgery…  They got me in quick… But I stayed in recovery for like an hour.  I was bushwacked from anesthesia.  The leg felt pretty good.  So, I started turning it in recovery.  The nurse quickly told me that this was a bad idea and to stop.  Apparently I was still pretty medicated.

I laid around all day and did nothing but doze and play on the laptop. 

Ang stayed home today… And as luck would have it… She was sick!  She was in worse shape than me!  I think she got a cold at the horse ride in the rain.  No swine flu detected!

I have the screw they removed.  Its nice and shiny.  I half expected to see blood and guts on it while soaking in some saline.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  I am thinking about using to hang a picture or something.  I am weird like that.  I figure that screw cost 300 bucks… Might as well make the most of it!

Still groggy…  So, forgive me if this meanders.  No excuses for last night.

I will be using the next few days to update the websites and changes the templates.  Brad got me a copy of a web editor… And if I am feeling crazy enough… You might see some of that in action.  I might want to save it for a cleaner mind though. 

Also… Plan on doing some eBay selling.  Anyone want a camera?  I listed our old Pentax 35mm camera and it hasn’t even brought in a bid at .25!  Its sad that film cameras are worthless.

Ang has our camera in a suitcase somewhere from her trip…  So, no pics of the screw or my foot.  But stay tuned… They are sure to show up sometime!

I have to say… The future is great…  I can watch Sunday Night Football while I write this… On the SAME monitor as my Internet!  It kinda makes it hard to concentrate! 

I did just watch a bit of the Emmy’s… They had a Dr. Horrible skit that was great.  I sometimes feel like Niel Patrick Harris is totally under appreciated. But he seems to be popping up everywhere.  So, I suspect we will be getting overload soon!

Tomorrow I get a screw taken out of my leg from a previous surgery when I broke it.  It should be pretty quick and easy.   But, I always get nervous when I have to be knocked out for anything.  Very few “good” things happen that require you to be knocked out!  Removing this “pin/screw” should free up some movement and rid me of some pain I get from where it is coming through the other side of the bone.  I have had a few people tell me horrible stories about surgeries that went “wrong” and staff infection.  THANKS FOR THOSE!  I am confident those will NOT be me!

Ang and Summer competed at a CMO (Competitive Mounted Orienteering) event this weekend.  This morning it was raining…  And I think they were both glad to be home after a long morning looking for 6 pie plates in the woods near Danville IL.  They spend Saturday night camping out at the event.  Aiden and I stayed home, built some LEGO’s, watched a movie, cleaned and played Wii.  Big weekend all around!

From September 2009

A commercial just came on for Windows 7.  I am getting a little sick of that smug little girl who they pretend can do all that multimedia stuff.  Can she throw a ball?  Probably not!

We sent out invitations for Summer’s belated birthday party this week.  This summer would have been the best year yet for it… The weather was great!  I called and left a message for my neighbor in hopes of securing a hay-rack.  No word yet.

From September 2009

Went to the Morton Pumpkin Festival this weekend.  Ride ticket are now 2.50???  And some rides take 2???  GIVE ME A BREAK!!!  We did the 20.00 discount and got 10 tickets.  Thankfully there were lines at all the rides…  Thus, making me feel like we didnt spend our money too quickly.

I am gonna add some notable stuff here on the blog.  People may think I write this to share with others… But its ultimate purpose is to help me remember things and when they happened.  With that said… I am going to touch on a few things for my reference.

• We got a letter this week stating that St. Josephs will be discontinuing the 7th and 8th grade levels at the school.  I have mixed feelings about this.  We will be switching the children over to Midwest Central at that time.  I would have preferred to do this when they are just a bit older.  Because it means that they will have to be “latch-key” at a bit younger age that I would prefer.  Then again…  We were joking that Mom and Dad would be moving when Sylvia gets married and starts having kids.  Ang said she would move out of state if the conditions were right.  so, who really knows what the future holds?
• The neighbors dog broke into another neighbors house this week and killed their cat.  This is more excitement than we normally get on this road.  The cops showed up.  I never heard what came out of it.  I suspect that the dogs will not be roaming free any longer!  I can see where you might let your animals do that years ago.  But lets face the new world.  People are not home like they used to be.  Its not like “Ma” is home working around the house, making dinner and doing laundry all day at the farm while the livestock and dogs, cat etc are running around.   No, just like what happened this week.  Nobody was at the house of the folks who owned the dogs.  So, the police HAD to get involved immediately. 
• Summer and a friend got into an argument this weekend on the playground.  Leading to some conversations between the parents.  None of it positive.  Now, I can tell you from my newly learned experience…   When they say its never to early to talk about drugs and alcohol with a child…  That’s a lie.  They can be too young!  Leave it at that.  Also…  When things are said on the playground… I think they generally need to stay on the playground.  I punished Summer for about 5 straight days… Only to doubt that she did what I think she did.  When it was all over, Summer and her friend were over it all by themselves.

Wish me luck on the surgery.  If all goes well… I will be back to work next week.  And soon be running the Boston Marathon… In my next life!

From September 2009

The kids start soccer this week.  So, that means the next 6 or 8 weeks will be tied down with practices and games.  It starts off fun… But man, by the end… You are SO ready for it to be over!  We always do the Fall league.  It tends to be the nicest weather for running around like a crazy person.

From September 2009

Aiden is doing well in Kindergarten.  We had promised him that a successful count to 100 to get him some time at the Go-Kart track.  Above: Aiden riding at the track.  I know it seems like counting to 100 is pretty small for a kid his age… But trust me…  He has shown little interest in doing this type of stuff till we got back in school.  Peer pressure might be a good thing in his case!

Today we cleaned up the downstairs foyer.  The train table is gone!  Its hard to believe… But that room has been held hostage with toys for 8 years now!  It is almost hard to picture without a toybox. 

Plus… Since fall is coming…  I cleaned and resealed the front porch concrete to try and slow the flow of water to our basement.  That’s just in case this winter proves to be as wet as it was this spring.

From September 2009

Aiden got a new bike…

From September 2009

Went to a parade in Delavan…

From Food Pictures

Cooked some ribs on the grill.

What could be better than that???

Well, we did do a few more things. Summer was in the talent show at the Delavan Fall Festival. She didn’t win or place… But it was a tough competition… So, we were proud she hung in there.

We tried out a new bike trail. New to us anyway. The Rock Island trail was a nice find for us. Close to home and REALLY well maintained. We had to buy Aiden a new bike after watching him suffer 10 miles on it with his miniature bike. Here is a loose GPS photo. The battery was dead… And I only got it to come on for a few seconds at the start and finish. Long enough to draw a straight light between the 2.

From September 2009

Julie on a Hoola