Roof Glaciers: Seattle Thaws Out

South County -- New Year's Eve:

This recent posting by the Amboy motivated Grumpy to take some evidence photos of his own showing the Great Melt here.

Like the Bale Castle, Grumpy's abode boasts of a 50-year steel roof. Grumpy had all but ignored what might be impending disaster with the snow piling up on his roof. The other evening, however, he ventured over to the Southeast eaves to observe what might be occurring.

He first noticed a slab of snow about 18-24 inches long, dangling below the aluminum gutters. Grumpy peered up at the gutters, fearing the worst: that he would find them being slowly torn from the edge of the roof by the inexorable forces of the tons of snow sliding from the gently sloping (~3:12) roof. Thankfully, the "glacier" was jumping over and past the gutters as it gently curved downward due to the force of its own gravity. Notice the "tracks" on the bottom of the snow, made by the ridges at the seams of the roof panels. No gutter damage!!

But look how wide this ribbon of snow was! It was continuous along the full length of the roof!!

As the air temperature continued to modify in the next couple of day, pieces of the hanging curtain of snow broke off. By New Year's Eve, no more snow lies on Grumpy's roof. One, obviously quite large slab of snow, came off the Northwest eaves during daytime one morning with a loud, rather disturbing metallic "clang". Grumpy feared that it may have reached a velocity such that it flew past the property line, cleared the wooden fence and smashed into some article of garden equipment stored along the neighbor's walkway between our two houses. Close examination revealed that, instead, this large chunk of snow had hit the wrought iron railing Grumpy had installed along the stairway next to our house. No damage was done!

Our Christmas 2008

South County News -- Christmas 2008:

December 2008 was like no other that Grumpy and the First Wife have experienced in the 55 years we have lived here. Oh, we have memories of worse snow storms -- we lived through the Great Dakota Blizzard of '49 "holed up" for two weeks in a 16 x 24 cabin with Grumpy's Dad & Mom and his younger sister, Hazel. The temperature at one time was recorded officially as 56 degrees below zero (minus 49 C). The wind was from the West Northwest, blowing at about 35 to 45 miles per hour. A snowfall of 4 to 5 feet was drifted into drifts at least 20 feet deep in places along the main highway.

But here in the marine climate of Western Washington, we have come to expect snow "once in awhile", but "it never stays"! (?!) This time, when the snow came on the 18th, son Darrell helped me shovel it out on the 18th so we had a nice, bare -- even dry by that afternoon -- driveway;

and came again the night of the 21st (Grumpy shoveled it out on the next day on the 22nd, here showing his fine form at the top of the driveway attacking the last bit of six-inch deep snow there);

and then, when this snowfall greeted Grumpy the early afternoon and evening of the 23rd, Grumpy decided to just let the Spring thaw take care of it!! Grumpy later cleared two tracks up which he could drive the car -- as long as it was wearing chains!

Nevertheless, Grumpy's brother Bob and wife Adelaide came to spend Christmas with us and this post describes how we "made do"!


First of all, Grumpy "let" Bob and Adelaide drive their rental car from the motel to a shopping area nearby where Grumpy, with chains on his car, was able to drive -- plow!! -- through the snowy side roads to give them a ride back to our house where we were able to visit and have a delicious Christmas feast prepared by the First Wife. Grumpy was extremely proud of his Bride in that she was able to innovate to make a roast chicken, originally intended for just two people, stretch to feed seven, with seconds available and cold roast chicken for sandwiches or another meal another day! [NOTE: Due to Grumpy's ancient and sometimes befuddled mind, no photos are available as witness to this festive occasion; the reader just has to take his word for it!]

Bob and Adelaide arrived in Seattle about mid-day on the 24th. The snow -- and threats of more! -- had caused the long-planned Christmas party at Ruth's to be cancelled. Our first get-together was with son Jim and wife Theresa at their house on Christmas Eve. (Then a few days later, an impromptu lunch get-together at the Yankee Grill.) The Blief-able Family were at the Christmas Eve meeting. We were greeted with a feast of baked ham and all of the trimmin's, then all royally entertained by the Mermaids. [NOTE: With apologies, please see preceding note.]

Christmas morning found the youngest Grandson Ramiro opening his gifts and expressing great glee that "Santa" had remembered him despite his 13-year-old doubts. His apparent happiness in opening this wallet which he received, is due not to the presence of big money therein (there was none), but due to its "famous brand and desireable status".

The 28th found daughter Susan & Steven, with Granddaughter Rachel, coming down from Everett to have lunch with us and visit for awhile.

Finally, on the 30th, daughter Ruth came after her night shift at the hospital to have breakfast with us and visit until we also had lunch together. She and Uncle Bob discussed cardiovascular-health (wait until he gets his consulting bill!! Heh! heh!!) among other things.

So, despite the less-than-desirable weather, the Zimmerclan were able to survive and enjoy each other's company for another great Christmas celebration. All are safe and healthy with eager anticipation of another get-together "next Christmas"!

Snow! Snow!! Snow!!!

South King County -- Early Christmas Eve '08:
Well, will it ever stop?! The snow started to fall here at about 4 or 5 this morning; just a light dusting at first, with the temperature at about 29F. Then at six-thirty, with temperature a couple degrees colder, the big flakes started to drift down. Grumpy couldn't resist taking his Christmas Present [the Sony Alpha] out once more to capture the beauty of this latest snowfall.

Where yesterday this was a bare driveway (see left) -- even dry in spots! -- today's dawn will see the sight of a new blanket of white covering all of yesterday's hard work. Grumpy's back growled at him last night, complaining of long-disused muscles and ancient joints, hoping that at long last the work was done and the pain would gradually fade as aspirin and a good night's rest soothed away the memories. Now, alas! the work must be done anew. (See photo at right, the streaks showing snow-in-motion.)

But if one thinks not of the labor [whether done in vain, or performed so that the magnitude of the next task is lesser] but of the beauty of the pure, white snow gently covering everything except the vertical, then one can express his thanks to God for creating the six-sided crystalline form which is H2O after 144 BTU's of heat per pound is removed from its liquid form. It reminds Grumpy of how pure and white and gentle is Christ whose Birthday tomorrow is really what makes Christmas a Special Event. It also reminds me how thankful I am that Jesus was born just because God loves us and wanted us to be in close communion with Him. Now, if we believe that Jesus Christ is God-in-the-flesh and that He died for our sins, that reality can be ours.

Merry Christmas to all!!
And on Earth Peace, Good will to all Mankind.

Grumpy's Snow-Mobile

It is a well-known fact that Grumpy is a fanatic about motorized vehicles. So no one should be surprised that he "just had to" show off his "Snowmobile". Compare its smooth, aerodynamic lines with that of the Buried Bug recently revealed near Amboy. Grumpy thinks that form and function have come together here quite nicely.

It is street-legal and, as may be noted, is fully-licensed for highway use in the State of Washington. Top speed and zero-to-sixty times are classified top-secret.

Grumpy and the Grand Mother cannot boast of the snow depth and rooftop glaciation for which Amboy is famous, so we offer this bit of artistry instead.

Shovel-the-Driveway, Take Two

Monday, 22 December 2008:
As the air temperature showed sign of approaching the freezing point -- from below! -- Darrell and Grumpy decided to try clearing the driveway again --- before a slight thaw and a subsequent refreeze solidified the snow mass into a concrete-like layer requiring a jack-hammer to remove.

Grumpy shoveled a path to the roadway above, as usual, to permit going up and down to get the mail -- and the newspaper, if it ever comes again! This pathway revealed a total snow depth of about 6-8 inches. This comprised the snow and freezing rain combination that fell Saturday night plus another 4 or 5 inches that accumulated on Sunday and Sunday night. Any drifting seemed to confined to areas closer to an obstruction such as a shrub or the pickup parked at the top.

As the snow was removed from the black top (parking strip) and the concrete (driveway), it became evident that the ground was still sufficiently warm to result in thawing the remaining film of snow. A steady breeze from the North carried away the water vapors into the hungrily-dry air. Soon dry patches of concrete and black top began to appear.

Now, if only it doesn't snow any more ...

Cold, Snowy Weather Has its Rewards

From the Hill Country -- 22 December 2008:
While Darrell and Grumpy were busy pushing snow around, the Grand Mother was in her kitchen conjuring up delicious treats to be consumed later with a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa. From the very first taste these little squares (right) were unanimously declared "a winner". The surprising mixed-flavors of spices, and other aromas that did not trigger a memory, resulted in some questions to the Cook.

"They are a gingerbread dough, with added orange juice (one of the unremembered aromas) and the rind of the orange, -- and a secret ingredient," announced the Grand Mother.

• "Oh, then the chewy things are the rind?" queried Grumpy.
• "No. That's the secret ingredient," responded the Grand Mother.

Grumpy decided at this point that it was best if he didn't pursue this interrogation further, lest he lose more privileges -- if he has any remaining, that is! Grumpy believes, however, that the No.1 son would develop a strong aversion to this orange-flavored gingerbread treat if he figured out what the secret ingredient was.

At least no legs were found.

Darrell Shovels the Driveway --And then More Snow

Frigid King County: 21 December 2008:
Happy first day of Winter!! [What? It seems as if Winter has been here for a few days already, right!?]

Yesterday, after a day or two of no more snow, the youngest son, Darrell, volunteered to shovel the driveway for his Old Grumpy Dad. A pathway (see previous post) had been cleared so we could go up and down to get the newspaper (what newspaper -- it never came!) and the mail ("... through rain, snow, sleet or hail ... "). But, as this picture shows, Darrell really did a big job!! Grumpy actually smiled!

But as night fell, forecasts of "high winds" and 2-5 inches of snow threatened. During the night, we heard some wind -- not a lot, but enough so that when daylight arrived and a new walkway was cleared, it was obvious from the widely varying snow depth (2" to 6") that there had been some new snow, but also some drifting of the old or the new. The old snow was certainly light enough to be wind-blown and the new was as well. Sometime during the night, however, after the drifting had occurred, there was a period of rainfall: the surface of the new snow was covered with a 1/4 inch crust of ice! Now the snow became quite immovable.

The photo on the right is interesting because of the sharp line of snow formed on the side of Grumpy's Red Rocket. The demarcation is caused by the fact that the sheet metal has a horizontal crease from front to back at that level. The very slight change to vertical resulted in the dusting of snow sticking above this crease and falling past the lower area (except note the snow on the top of the door-bumper strip!).

Grumpy just had to add some "before" and "after" photos showing the picnic table on 20 April this year and again as it is this morning, the 21st of December. Not too impressive if one considers that the additional amount of snow had eight months to accumulate.

Grumpy's snow stories and snow depths pale in comparison to those posted by Amboy. And Grumpy doesn't even try to approach the tempting visions shown on "The Swede's" blog.

Where is Global Warming When You Need It?!

South King County -- 18 December 2008:

For days this week, our weather forecast kept predicting snow! The threat of snow was convincing enough that Boeing workers made the decision on Tuesday not to come to work the next day. And a luncheon with Flight Test personnel, to which Grumpy had been invited, was called off.

All this in vain: no snow came (the Grand Son even prayed for a school "snow day"!). There was snow to the North (up Everett way) and to the South (in Pierce County -- and even more in Portland and at Mt. Hood!!) But the "shadow" effect of the 8,000 foot Olympics kept Seattle unscathed.

Then today (Thursday) the snow finally came; and lots of it, nice, powdery cold stuff -- no good for snowmen or snow balls! Here is the view out Grumpy's and the Grand Mother's kitchen door. Note the bare streak along the top of Grumpy's car; a slight breeze that brought snow under the carport, blew that area clear on top of the car.

When the snowfall finally paused early this evening, Grumpy shoveled a walkway by which the occupants can go up to get the mail and, in the morning, the newspaper. The edge of this cleared path graphically shows the snow depth (5.5 inches). The driveway was cold enough such that little or none of the snow melted when it came into contact with the surface.

Now, we are anticipating a White Christmas, with the cold temperatures predicted to remain at least for the next five days. So Grumpy felt impelled to include this time-exposure (with his new camera!!) showing our Christmas lights (LED's) and the pole lamp behind the lilac bush on the right.Interesting, when Grumpy filed these photos with his others, he found this one that he took last April 20th. It seems that we have had more than our usual "share" of cold and snowy days here in the Pacific Northwest! We also recall that last Spring was cooler and we needed the furnace later, past the first of May when Grumpy usually turns off the heating system for the summer. This past Spring, however, Grumpy left it on -- until we ran out of fuel oil about the 15th of May. Alas, Grumpy should have ordered his 500 gallon tank to be filled then; instead he maintained his yearly schedule of having it filled in July when the prices have historically been the lowest. Grumpy paid $5.00 per gallon when it was filled!

Where is Al Gore and his global warming when you need it!?

New Camera and Old Lens Not Compatible!

South King County--Monday, 8 December 2008:

Alas, much to Grumpy's chagrin, the old Minolta lenses do not go on the Sony a-200 after all. Some technical guy -- probably a Mechanical Engineer who wanted job security -- made sure that a user/idiot (like Grumpy) couldn't inadvertently mount a perfectly workable lens onto the fancy-schmansy a-200 and, after manually adjusting the aperture and focus, take excellent photographs just like in the "olden" days before the automatic hocus-focus stuff came out.

But Grumpy is still happy with his Christmas present. He took several photos, trying various manual adjustments on the a-200 while in an available mode that blocks the automatic flash feature. I'll try to "stack" some samples to show what variations were easily (NOT simply!) achieved.

The photo on the left was taken with an ISO setting of 1600; the center one at 800 and the dim one on the right (corrected by adding +10 brightness, +10 contrast and +100 midtones)was at the default ISO setting of 100.

Grumpy's Christmas Present

Somewhere in South King County -- 5 December 2008:

Yes, yes, I know; it has been over a month since Grumpy posted anything new on this BLOG. But he has something to tell you about now!! Behold, a new digital camera!

Grumpy had been "looking around" for several weeks; looking for a digital camera to replace his 3mb Fuji that he has had for a few years now. What bothered Grumpy the most about the Fuji was that it didn't take the photo that Grumpy "saw" in the viewfinder -- no, instead it took the image that it found a huge fraction of a second later! Grumpy was frustrated that over and over again, good photos of mainly his Great Grandchildren, were missed because of this anomaly.

The camera that initially caught Grumpy's eye was the NIKON D-40. It is widely acclaimed as the camera for the knowledgeable amateur. Well, Grumpy may not be the most knowledgeable, but he certainly believes he qualifies in the latter category: amateur. As the Holiday season came into being, Grumpy became more watchful for the "good deal" that would deliver his dream camera for a price within his budget.

In the meantime, (noting Grumpy's frustration over the delayed photos with the Fuji and the often blurred results when the subject moved during the "exposure") the Grand Mother determined that she would make the "dream camera" her Christmas gift to Grumpy.

At last, the price breaks began appearing, beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving. The prized D-40 was offered for almost $100 below MSRP and a certain camera store in the local mall advertised "Up to $250 Trade-in for Your Old Digital Camera!". Grumpy's drooled and he and the Grand Mother went shopping. Alas, when Grumpy offered up his old Fuji (fresh batteries, three memory cards, etc) the camera store guy came back with an offer of $8.25 for this perfectly functional camera! Grumpy was insulted! The $250 trade-in offer was a classical "come-on".

Disappointed but undaunted, Grumpy walked out but as he came by another camera store he decided to "just go in to find out if they offered a trade-in" for an old obsolete digital camera. Well, they didn't, but they had the same good price for the D-40 as the other store. Better yet, the sales person at this store pointed out a better camera for about the same price: the Sony a-200. I say "better" because the a-200 uses the same lenses as my Minolta film camera -- a huge savings in telephoto and wide-angle lenses!! But even more attractive about the a-200 is that the image stabilization is in the body of the camera instead of being in the lens! Grumpy could hardly contain his joy.

How is the quality of the imagery with the a-200? Here on the right is the very first photograph taken with the new Sony a-200; you be the judge:

By comparison, on the left, see this similar image taken by the Fuji:

The Fuji photo was taken in ambient (fluorescent) lighting, whereas the Sony photo used the built-in flash. Both photos were taken with the camera's settings at about 2.5mb resolution settings.

The last photo (right below) is with the a-200, defeating the flash and correcting the resulting photo with "brightness" and "contrast" adjustments. As may be noted, the Grand Mother might be tiring of the repeated posings and requests to "smile, one more time!"

Frankly, I think the best photo is on the left above. I guess Grumpy has loved this girl for a long time now, and he isn't going to quit now. He is very happy with his new camera and maybe when he gets better acquainted with all of its capabilities, he will get some memorable photos of little, constantly mobile Great Grandkids.

A Happy Birthday -- Margaret Mitchell

02 November 2008; South King County--

One of our oldest (longest time) friends is Margaret M. She and her husband, Mitch, who died a couple years ago, had two kids who were about the ages of our older three. Over the many years of friendship, our two families had camped together, hazarded treacherous roads, fished and fought mosquitoes together and enjoyed dining together as our kids grew up. So it was a real pleasure to be able to surprise Margaret on the day before her birthday this past Sunday.

We had arranged to have another mutual friend, Lorna F., meet us at the Black Angus restaurant in Bellevue for a lunch dinner at 2 pm. Reservations were made. We picked up Marg at her home in Kent and drove through heavy rain to Bellevue. As we checked in at the restaurant, the Grand Mother was in the process of informing the maitre d' that there would be four of us, when Lorna walked in!

The "girls" did most of the talking but Grumpy enjoyed listening to their animated jabber and managed to stay out of trouble during most of the pleasant afternoon. Grumpy's picture of the three of them shows the happiness they manifested throughout the day.

The Relay Logic Module

Someplace in South King County; October 2008 --

Late last summer, the Grand Mother and I finally decided to upgrade our home heating system with an air-to-air heat pump, using our existing oil-burning furnace as a supplemental heating source (necessary when our damp outside air gets lower than about 32 degr F.). One contractor gave us a reasonable bid, but was ultimately unable to satisfy Grumpy's requirement to exploit the full capabilities of the three-speed air-mover included in our existing furnace. Thus, the development of a single-module relay logic package was conceived.

Having the advantage of access to a family member who contracts to do various kinds of electrical wiring and module manufacturing, Grumpy undertook the design of the electrical schematic of the relay logic module (RLM) and depended on the skills of his trusty son-in-law, Chief Manufacturing Engineer, to figure out how to package it into a unit that would install in a small space (2.25" x 4.50" x 7.50") within the blower compartment.

The electric input signals (32 vac, nominal) into the RLM all emanate from an electronic interface unit provided as part of the heat pump installation. The outputs of the RLM are 120 vac power, controlling the three speeds of the air-blower (fan) and powering the oil-burner of the furnace.

The photo above shows the RLM as it was received from the manufacturer. Its overall dimension is about 2.00" x 3.00" x 4.25" -- well within the maximum specified dimensions of the space into which it had to be installed. The input signal wires are contained in a seven-wire (two spares) bundle 60" long, permanently attached to the RLM. This input signal cable had to be snaked through a 5/16" hole from the blower compartment, to the electronic interface unit mounted on the outside of the hot air bonnet. The manufacturer provided 24" lead wires with mating connectors attached to one end of each; these lead wires were of #14 gage stranded wire to provide the electrical power to the three different speed windings of the blower-motor and to the furnace burner. One of the lead wires provides 120 vac power into the RLM, which the relays then switch to the appropriate output lead wire.

The last photo shows the RLM sitting cozily in its final resting space; the wires on the right with the orange twist connectors, are the connections to the three speed windings for the blower-motor. The orange twist connector just left of center is the connection for the furnace burner. The mass of wires seen on the extreme right of the photo are mostly unused, being the remains of relay and power wires installed by the heat pump contractor; these will all be removed eventually. Grumpy also intends to use cable ties to "neatenify" the multiple wires that currently are wending their way loosely about the compartment.

The manufacturer and Grumpy are considering making a standardized version of the RLM for sale to Heating, Ventilation & Airconditioning contractors who might be faced with a challenge such as was met here. We are currently looking at improvements to the design, such as time delays (to prevent the blower from starting until the heat-exchanger has gained some heat -- the Grand Mother has already raised serious, potentially LMP-limiting objections to the cold blast of air she felt when the "heat" came on in the bathroom!) and provisions for alternative motor configurations, such as capacitor-run (versus capacitor-start) type single phase, multi-speed motors.

The Frustrations by Two Grandsons

Tuesday, 14 October 2oo8 ---

It is a well-known fact [the Grand Mother reminds me] that I have 23 Grandchildren (now the Grand Mother says I have remembered it wrong!? I dunno; I have a bunch and they are all handsome, beautiful and smart!). I can't remember how many Grandsons I have, but there are two who persistently give me the most "lip" -- good-naturedly, of course, but "lip" nonetheless.

This morning, my youngest Grandson, Ramiro, was "on my case" as usual, getting me in trouble with the Grand Mother (his self-appointed mission in life, it seems) and Grumpy was trying his best to behave himself. Ramiro announced to Grumpy "You're going to drive me to school today!"

"I am? Why aren't you going to ride the bus?" Asked Grumpy, somewhat surprised.

"I don't like the bus; I don't like the driver and I don't like the other kids on the bus -- they are all 'little' kids -- you know, confused elementary students; they're just like Grandpa only he's older and gray-headed."

"You know, young man, you are just like your cousin Lief!" grumbled Grumpy.

" -- it's in the blood!" said Ramiro dismissively.

So now what is Grumpy going to do, with two Grandsons like that? Grumpy thought that he only had to contend with that kind of sassiness when he was on a cross-country back pack trip. Here it is right in the middle of his Castle.

And the Grand Mother is not doing a thing about it.

Custom Modification of Heat Pump Installation

Somewhere in King County, 25 September 2008: --

This is the tale of an old retired Mechanical Engineer, who was not completely happy with the installation of his new Heat Pump. The problem wasn't with the Heat Pump itself, but rather the way in which it was integrated with the existing oil furnace -- or should I say, NOT integrated with said furnace.

The story starts with the initial requirement that the Heat Pump (a very sophisticated, two-stage hummer) be installed to be compatible with the existing (50 year old) oil-burning furnace, exploiting the capabilities of that furnace's three-speed blower. The three-speed blower is an update that Grumpy had installed a few years back -- the original blower was a single speed. To make matters even worse, the schematics for the new three-speed blower motor were not available and the schematics on the blower door of the furnace were virtually unreadable.

To make matters very interesting, if not really worse, the problem of hooking up this three-speed blower with the fancy Heat Pump and even fancier electronic thermostat interface adapter unit, involved electrical wiring and relay logic. Now if it was just plain logic, Grumpy could have called in his philosophically-inclined logical Grandson Lief and the problem would have been solved in a trice. But, knowing he was on his own, Grumpy put his mechanically-inclined mind to work and after several trying hours and innumerable cups of the Grand Mother's coffee, he determined that he had found a solution. (Note: "a solution", not "the solution"; it is a well-known fact that if you ask two Mechanical Engineers to solve a problem, they will come up with at least four "known solutions", none of which either of them will give you a guarantee in writing that any of them will work.)

Grumpy took his "solution" to that famous local company known as BIC, Inc. Now this company's claim to fame is that they can fabricate anything made of electrical wires, complete with connectors on each end of each wire and loomed together to form an apparently fully-engineered end product. Typically, these products are custom-tailored to meet customer requirements. The company has customers who are lined up in a considerable backlog for these custom products.

After a hard negotiating session with the Chief Engineer of BIC, Inc., as well as its hard-nosed CFO, Grumpy was able to obtain a "promise to perform" in fabricating the product which is called, "Relay Logic Module" (RLM, for short). This module consists of four relays, one of which is a double-pole, double throw type. The function of the RLM will be to interface between the electronic thermostat interface unit and the oil-furnace with its three-speed blower, and to allow exploitation by the Heat Pump of the full capabilities of the three-speed blower.

The finished product is pictured here; it measures about 3"wide by 6.5" long and stands 2" high. This is well within Grumpy's stated maximum dimensions of 4.5" by 7.5" long and 2.75 " high. As soon as it is hooked up and the system is checked out, the Grand Mother and Grumpy will be able to enjoy the full capabilities of their sophisticated new two-stage Heat Pump with its ultra fancy automatic thermostat and the full capabilities of the three-speed blower!

Ah! Automatic heat in the Fall, Winter and Spring, and automatic cooling when ever necessary or desired!! No more of Grumpy's previous annual edict of "First of October, furnace ON; First of May, furnace OFF".

Don't the readers think Grumpy deserves a Lemon Meringue Pie for this? Huh?!

Vote here, vote now: (click on "Comments" and say "YES"!!)

Vote often.

A Minor Surgery -- Saturday Update! (a new photo)

October 2nd, 2008; Out and about in the County:--

This was the day that Grumpy was to have his surgery to remove a minor skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) that appeared on his left shoulder a few months ago. His appointment with the Dermatology Surgeon was set; the Grand Mother would accompany him and daughter, Nancy Nurse, would meet them at the Doctor's office where the out-patient surgery would be performed.

Presumably with anesthetic!

Or at least a rolled-up towel to bite on and/or to scream into!?!

Grumpy's blood pressure registered a reassuring reading of 108 Systolic this morning; could it be that his nerves were not telling him of the potential risks of this "minor surgery", as the Doctor has so plainly told him a month or so ago when it was diagnosed?

We all waited patiently (no pun intended) in the lobby. Finally Grumpy's name was called and he plaintively bid "Goodbye" to his waiting heirs. The receptionist, who was escorting him to the operating room, quickly assured everyone that I would return however.

A close-up picture of the affected area shows the lesion to be removed. The Doctor began his procedure by drawing an encircling line around the portion of skin that he intended to remove. A white covering was placed over my head and shoulder, with an opening in the area where the surgery was to take place. Later it became obvious why this covering was necessary.

The Doctor began by sticking me with a sharp needle through which Lidocane (a powerful local anesthetic) was injected subcutaneously all around the area. After believing that he had numbed my nerves in the affected area, he began to apply the scalpel -- OW!! -- "a bit more Lidocane, please" -- the anesthetic seemed to do a superb job of numbing the nerves between the point of injection and the areas away from my neck, but "up-stream" -- well, not so good!

After being thoroughly numbed, the procedure went quickly and soon the Doctor was suturing up the one and one-half inch slit from which he had extracted a hunk of my old hide. As he was poking his needle through the skin and pulling each suture up tight, Grumpy realized why the white cloth had been draped over my head and shoulder: it was to insure that the Doctor didn't suture my ear lobe to my shoulder!

As he was finishing the suturing, Grumpy asked the Doctor about post-operative care. Among other things, Grumpy asked the Doctor if he didn't agree that it would be advisable for Grumpy to have Lemon Meringue Pie as part of his diet to help recovery. "Yes", the Doctor agreed and the nurse who was assisting pointed out some of the benefits: "Vitamin C from the lemons and proteins from the eggs used in the filling. Both of these are beneficial for healing and infection prevention."

A couple of photographs afterwards show the neat bandage over the area and the horrified grimace on Grumpy's face when he was told, quite firmly by the Grand Mother, that she "didn't believe the Doctor and nurse had said any such thing!"

Alas, Grumpy's stories are never believed.

Even when they are true!!

A Day With Great Grandchildren

Granite Falls, 23 September 2008:--

This was one of those unexpectedly nice days of sunshine and blue skies that we have come not to expect after the Autumnal equinox here on the Wet Coast. The Grand Mother and Grumpy took advantage of the day (and an invitation to a "catered" lunch) to drive North for a visit with two of our Great Grandboys, Malachi and Amos, and our 6-month old Great Grandgirl, Elianna. Did I mention our oldest Granddaughter, Amy, and her husband, John? Oh, and our oldest daughter, Susan, and her husband, Steven.

The lunch was served in the newly-remodeled home located next door to a manufacturing firm with which Grumpy is planning to do business (more about that in another post). Grumpy admired the great amount of work that Grandson-in-law John has so far put into this house. Descriptions of its inhospitable condition before John undertook the remodeling are beyond belief. A real-estate assessor had actually declared it a total loss! Now, with much of the interior sheet-rock replaced and coated with a primer, the filthy carpets removed and new vinyl flooring installed on one bedroom, the kitchen and bathroom (wood-look-alike flooring in the bedroom), the house is beginning to look, smell and feel like a home. Yet to be done is laying wood-look-alike vinyl flooring in the large living/dining area. John is to be congratulated on a hard job well done!! Thanks ,John, for taking such care and doing such a good job for your wife and children (my Granddaughter and Great Grandkids).

Elianna, just six months old and sporting two vicious-looking lower front teeth decided to give Grumpy a chance to hold her for awhile. Her warm smile indicates that she didn't mind the respite which her Mother Amy briefly enjoyed.

While Grumpy was enjoying getting acquainted with Elianna and Malachi, the Grand Mother and Amy were entertained by Great Grandson Amos. Poor Amos is missing a couple of his upper baby teeth that got knocked out by some kind of boyhood prank -- such is the peril of little boys! It is believed that the missing teeth had nothing to do with his apparent ability to miss his mouth with a goodly portion of his food. Despite this, Amos seems to be well-nourished and able to keep his older brother properly under control. (Reminds Grumpy of his younger brother, Bob, and himself!)

Later, the Grand Mother got a chance to hold Elianna while Malachi, ever the watchful big brother looked on. The Grand Mother was also able to elicit a smile from Elianna thus proving that Grumpy did not have a monopoly on keeping this little girl happy.

Altogether, a happy and profitable day for the Old Folks. So good to get out and be able to enjoy our children/grandchildren/greatgrandchildren.