way to long between posts. I finally have internet that works as I subscribed to at&t's dsl connection. and it works great, as great as charters never did. also, i reset my laptop to the way it was the day i bought it. i had been thinking of doing it for quite a while but was nervous about having to reinstall programs. turns out it was the best thing i ever did. my laptop was taking up to 10 minutes to boot up and i could not watch video or listen to music. now i can do both while surfing other sites as well. i finally have it going the way i want it to. hopefully i will get back into blogging and posting photos the way i used to. my wife's illness sure put a hold on everything i enjoyed doing. but now that she is home and feeling pretty good i finally have time for me again. got my blood sugar under control finally so very soon i will have my eyes checked and get some new glasses. today my insurance went into effect at my employer so they will pay $130 max towards glasses. i cannot wait as i sit 8 inches from the monitor to do my work. but it is ok as i don't have too much eye strain and i can see the screen clearly. so much more to write but this is a start in returning to regular posting.

It's been too long...

since I have done regular posting. I now hope to start again as I have really missed putting my thoughts, ideas, and opinions in writing. I am finally getting my blood sugar levels down to a manageable level and as a result I have more energy and desire to do things. Also, with Tammi becoming more independent it is releasing me from so much responsibility and allowing me to do more for myself. My schedule has changed as I have been assigned the 10am-7pm shift. Since I did it for four years at my last employer it has not been a big adjustment and actually I am happier with this schedule. Everyone leaves @ 5pm except for a few of us so it becomes very quiet and peaceful. It also allows me more time in the mornings to help get Tammi ready before we leave.

Grilling,

After 10 years of strictly gas grilling, I took my first shot at charcoal grilling yesterday. And while it was a modest undertaking for my first time, it turned out quite successfully. Having given away my gas grill when we moved last summer, I had not had the opportunity to cook outdoors since then. Actually, I had grilled only once in the past 2 1/2 years and I really missed it. I have done a lot of indoor cooking, including grilling on this electric grill, but it was just not the same. So yesterday we purchased an inexpensive grill and a chimney starter and I started my learning process for charcoal grilling. It took a while for the briquettes to light, maybe it was the quality of charcoal or that it was a bit of a windy day but once they did light I was going. I grilled us some hamburgers which of course is not too difficult. What did surprise me was the thick pork ribs I also laid out on the grill. For what I thought was a small amount of charcoal laid out on the grill the ribs cooked wonderfully, not too fast so that the interior cooked without burning or drying them out. Long after I was done cooking the charcoal was still quite hot (too hot to touch the grill) and if needed I could have left the ribs to continue cooking. We are making it a weekly thing to go over to Mom & Dad's on Saturday evening to cook. It is the smallest of things I can do for them after all they have done for me, including dealing with my daughter. I so look forward to it now as I get good time with them and I get to cook, something I really love to do.