Goodby 07!

The year 2007 is about to end. Nancy and I will see the old year out, and the new year in, by joining some friends for dinner tomorrow evening. This has been our custom for several years now. Our friend, Les Marr, takes care of the reservations and there are usually about a dozen people in attendance. In past year's, after dinner, all of us would go over to another friends house, Dan Sofia, to celebrate New Year's. But Dan has moved from the area and now we just say our "Happy New Year's" to everyone at the restaurant and then leave for home to usher in the new year quietly. In all honesty, I'm not sure everyone in the group actually stays up until midnight. From what I gather, some are already in their pj's and tucked in bed before the Times Square ball reaches it's destination. All of this comes with ageing, I suppose. Nancy and I are not exceptions to the dynamics of ageing, of course, but we'll still be awake at midnight. We're use to staying up late. I've not heard whether or not Dick Clark will be hosting from New York this year. Maybe not. It's been difficult for him the last couple of years.

We're eager for the new year to begin. Two thousand and seven has been great - in fact every year since retirement has been splendid. But there will be lots of interesting things happening in 08 - like the presidential election, CES in Vegas (by the way that's next week), B Street Theatre and of course, several gatherings with the guys for our monthly Friday Night at the Movies. Here's hoping that it's all good and that everyone remains healthy in the coming year. Happy New Year to All!!!

Exercise Routine

I've just started the ninth month of my treadmill exercising. The challenge hasn't changed. It's still that of finding the will power to maintain the five day a week schedule. Energy wise I've gotten use to what it takes to complete the routine. Discipline wise - it is still very challenging. I'm now doing seventy two minutes - and according to the treadmill calculator, I burn around four hundred and eighty five calories and a little over sixty carbs each session. The distance is just a little under four and a half miles. My speed is nothing to talk about, but that isn't really my goal. The objective is to maintain a cardiovascular program that will help me maintain a certain weight and to keep the quarterly lab test numbers where they should be. So far, so good.

San Francisco Zoo

Since Christmas day there has been a considerable amount of coverage given to the recent incident at the San Francisco Zoo. This is understandable in light of the magnitude of such an event. My wife and I, along with our granddaughter, visited the San Francisco Zoo some time back, I think it has been a couple of years now, and I do remember seeing the tiger exhibit during our visit. Actually, it was my first visit to that zoo. As a result of having walked around the very area where the mauling took place, it is a bit surreal trying to comprehend what a person would do if such an animal were on the loose and chasing her or him down. At the time of my visit it certainly was not something that crossed your mind while you were walking the grounds. That now, has changed.

The details of exactly what happened are still unknown, but it is pretty clear that a twelve and a half foot fence is not enough to safely enclose a tiger and still protect the public from its predatory nature. Fortunately, however, it was enough on the day we visited - and for several decades prior to that. One thing is certain though. This situation will cost the zoo a significant amount of money, no matter what the outcome.

This will be an interesting story to follow.

Movie of the Week

The best movie from this week's exercise films was "Rounder". This is a really good role for Matt Damon. If you have an interest in how a professional card player thinks and the methods that are used to psych out opponents - then this is a movie that you will like a lot. The viewer will also gain insight into male bonding and the influence that male friends have over one another.Very entertaining throughout the entire movie. A thumb up from this reviewer.

Happy Holidays from The Singing Christmas Animals

Nancy got a nifty gift when she purchased some Hallmark Christmas cards. Check out the video:

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=Hallmark-SingingChristmasDogs.flv

Christmas at Kristi's and Brandon's House

Nancy and I had Christmas dinner with the grand kids today. Kelly, Nancy's daughter and Kristi's mom, fixed a wonderful meal - turkey, ham, potatoes, dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and I could go on, but you get the idea. We had banana cream, pumpkin and berry pies for dessert. What a feast!

It was Baby Brandon's first Christmas. He had a good time crawling around on the carpet and playing with all the wrappings left from opening the presents. T-Shirts, with his picture, were worn by Kristi, Kelly and Nancy (see blog pictures) at the Christmas gathering.

Kenneth brought his ferret, Digger. He was calm most of the evening and actually napped for awhile (Digger - not Kenneth).

The traffic was heavy going to Fairfield, but not so bad coming back. Kelly made Nancy and me some plates with food from the dinner meal - you know, so we could have second helpings when we got home. We ate it all. We're stuffed - but happy! We've had a great Christmas!

Got to check the paper for tomorrow's big sales. I may have to get up early to seek an after Christmas bargain. We'll see...

Merry Christmas to All

Nancy and I had a very enjoyable, albeit rather quite, Christmas eve. That's how we like it. We watched a Christmas show that I taped several years back (2000) - a Christmas musical performed by the Purdue University Choir. It's the best Christmas musical that we've seen and each year I think we enjoy it a little bit more.

We opened our gifts to one another a little later (see blog pictures) and afterwards we just sat and talked for awhile. We'll be going to Kriste's tomorrow for the annual Christmas dinner in Fairfield. I'll be taking my Sony camera with me, so I'll be posting some Baby Brandon pictures upon our return.