WITH AND WITHOUT RON

Greetings!  Long time no blog!

Yeah, I know, I haven't been very faithful about posting things on Mushy's, but my life seems to be crammed with other things...some things not quite as exciting as a blog post, and others a little more important.

"They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time," as Joe Walsh would put it.  And, it's true, I seemed to have slipped into a less active life style of late, but that don't mean I haven't been busy.  

Let's see: 

1. I had a bad head-cold for about two weeks. 

2. I had hip pain so bad I wasn't sleeping well, so the doctor gave me a steroid shot, and required an MRI, from which I bailed toward the end!  Hate those things!

3. Had a follow up kidney CT scan, which I have every 6 months following my cancer.

4. Had my blood sugar out of control, so now I'm experimenting with a new drug.

5. Had some bladder/prostate issues, which remain unknown, but I'm taking Avodart to see how that does.

6. Went to see John Hiatt (with Gary and Charlotte) and Joe Bonamassa (with Corey) in separate concerts...one of the few highlights!  However, they were both dampened by Ron's absence*.

7. Oh yeah, there was a Princess "open house" during Christmas, and I was one of the hosts.  That project is going well, although slow to close, but that blog keeps me busy too.

8. Judy, Terri, and I went to see Les Misérables at the Tennessee Theatre...wonderful evening with dinner at Chesapeake's in Knoxville!  Their seafood is like being in Florida! (Here's a LINK back to a post about their food!) Steve missed out!

9. Then there is the work I've been putting into my new Fine Art America page.  I've been going through old photo files, massaging them, and posting them for sale.  It takes a lot of time!

On top of all that, my brother-in-law *Ron fell and shattered his hip and wrist.  That resulted in them finding that his cancer had come back...maybe in multiple places, but that is not yet fully determined, at least in my mind.  However, he is mending quite well, and even getting out for family gatherings again.  He's slower than he used to be, but he's trying.

Judy and I plan to get back to Roane State to start our exercise program again.  We were just beginning to enjoy it, and about in shape enough to walk thirty minutes at a time, and do lots of reps on the machines, when all of the above started happening.  It's a new semester now, and we're paid up till spring, so hopefully nothing else will get in the way.

We have a wedding to go to in Atlanta in a few weeks, but that is weekend fun with the family.  I'm looking forward to it too.  Our niece Becky (Steve's daughter) is marrying a great guy named Nick.  I think I've posted about them years back, but not sure.  They both are lots of fun, enjoy life, are very young and talented, and just starting to get their lives in order for a long run of it.  I'll probably take lots of photos and maybe post a few later.

We've all missed a couple for traditional gatherings due to Ron's accident, but hopefully we're about to get back to normal schedule.  We missed our normal Christmas Eve bash because Ron was not feeling his best, understandably, so we have just lately gotten back into eating out again.

Last weekend, however, Ron was again feeling low, due to a chemo round, but Neena came and met the rest of us at Carrabba's in Knoxville.  Even without Ron, it was fun being with family, but naturally it was a little more somber without him.  I posted once about "less feet under the table" and we're all praying this is just a temporary setback.  Besides, with the issues I've had over the last two years, mine, or anyone's feet could be missing first.  We're not guaranteed anything in this ol' life.

Note: Judy has her eyes closed...as usual!

So, here we are at Carrabba's.  They always set us in the back because they know how loud it can get with the Dragon's each clambering for the most attention!  Us Knights have long since become callused to the embarrassment, and we stopped sitting next to our wives; no boy/girl, boy/girl anymore either!  We sit next to each other, which makes it hard for the waitress to make up the correct checks, but it does allow us to communicate...some!

Then there was lunch this past Tuesday at Aubrey's in Lenoir City.  Ron came, which thrilled us all, but Terri and Steve were missing.  As they often remind us, "We still have to work!"

You'll note, there are no beers on the table above.  Ron and I have just about given up the foamy libation that seems to bloat us at times.  I can only eat about 2/3 of what I used to be able to eat anyway, so I certainly don't want to fill up on beer.  Instead, if I drink at all, I go for the "house scotch" on the rocks!

Ron still sticks to his chicken or salmon, while Gary went for the great looking Ruben, and Judy, and the rest of us went for Asian Chicken Salads!

For both of these outings, I used my "pocket camera", which was just returned from Nikon, after a lengthy stay.  They replaced the lens mechanism that jammed at the Hiatt concert, which is the reason I posted no photos of either concert.

So, for those of you that can't sleep without a Mushy's blog post, here's one to help you through what might be another dry spell.  I can't guarantee I'll be back frequently, and I certainly won't be back as often as I was in the first three years of this blog, but I will return.

Besides...I have to get out there and take more photos of the spring flowers that are already coming up in my yard!  I'm sure they will get killed one night soon, but it's enough to remind me that I've got to get back on the trail!

See ya soon my friends!  See you on FAA, Facebook, Flickr, Silverbacks, or on the Princess Theatre blog!