morrowlife

Here’s Mia at the wheel of a very important fire truck. She appears very excited to get to that particular fire. Or maybe that’s her look of steely determination. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken during our recent trip to Sonoma Valley, and part of my famous Machinery and Vacation series.

Speaking of iPhone-cams, my new iPhone 6 Plus is here! It arrived last Tuesday. Joanne and I were in San Diego for a few days, so I actually opened the box on Friday evening. So I’ve had it for a few days already. It’s very nice. I’m still struggling just a bit with how big it is, but I’m getting used to that. My old phone was pretty much a one-hand thing most of the time, and the new one just isn’t. It has an amazing camera, which I’m just beginning to explore. It will be featured here many times. Today’s Great Art, though, is from my good old iPhone 4s.

Let’s see, what else is new? Joanne and I spent last week in San Diego, as mentioned previously. We stayed at a place just south of Balboa Park the first two nights and then moved up to Oceanside the last two. Both places were very nice and we had a wonderful time. I showed Joanne our two houses on Paseo Ajanta in Penasquitos. They didn’t look as bad as the last time I saw them. I guess the neighborhood is holding up well.

Joanne started her new job today. It went well, to hear her tell. She seems excited about it. Hopes are high for great success.

And that’s it for today. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this combination food violence news and exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: peanut butter jellyfish!

See you tomorrow.

Here are my mother and me on June 28th of this year, before anybody knew she was sick. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken at Meijer’s in Canton, Michigan, and part of my famous Vacation series.

Many things have happened since my last post. My mother has died. She passed away at home on Sunday, September 7, 2014. She had been in hospice care for a few days. The last few days were really rough for her. I’m grateful her suffering didn’t last too long.

Here’s what I wrote on Facebook this evening:

Well, the day’s just about over. We buried my mother today. There was a beautiful funeral and graveside service, followed by a large luncheon and reception at my sister Julie Pita’s house. There were many people in attendance, a testament to the many lives touched by my mother. There were tears and laughter. There were memories shared and friendships renewed.

I miss my mother. I know I’ll miss her more and more as the days go on. But tonight I’m filled with love for her and my family. She gave me a happy life, encouraged me when I was down, and made me feel safe and loved. Hers was a good life.

I love you, Mom. Farewell.

That’s all I have tonight. I’m in Michigan and will go home on Monday. More later.

Here’s Thomas Edison’s workbench.  Great Art taken during my June/July visit to Michigan, in Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, which is currently located in Greenfield Village in lovely Dearborn, and part of my famous Vacation and Workbench series.

Once again, it’s been unconscionably long since my last post. Sorry about that, Loyal Readers. I don’t know how you’ve been getting along without me.

First, an update on my mom’s condition. She’s not doing well. In fact, she is at home in hospice care and very close to the end of her life. I expect to hear it’s over at any time. I have another ticket to Detroit on Thursday. I hope she’s still with us by then. I can change plans and travel sooner if necessary. I’m truly grateful to have spent last week with her and to have been able to say goodbye and express my love for her.

Sandy and Julie are taking care of our mother 24/7 at this point. I’m also truly grateful for their dedication to do that. I just don’t think I have the wherewithal to do it, although I’m tremendously conflicted about that because I really wish I could be with my mother right now. No matter what, though, she knows I love her and am grateful for the wonderful childhood she gave me and for the things she taught me. I’ll always love her.

I’ve been in Denver since mid-day Wednesday. Andy got his tonsils taken out that morning. I didn’t find out about it until Tuesday evening, so I bought a ticket right then and got here as soon as I could. He’s doing remarkably well, although he’s in quite a lot of pain. They told him to expect the third day to be the hardest, and they were right. He was taking half-doses of his pain-killer and he has upped that to two-thirds. But the discomfort is still there and he’s just having to ride it out. He’s been quite tough and will be fine. Other than the tonsillectomy, I’m delighted to report he’s doing quite well indeed. He’s been through some hard times lately, but he’s navigating life’s difficulties like a champ.

Mark’s back in school! He’s been going for a couple weeks now. Or maybe a week. No, it’s been a couple of weeks. They started the week before Labor Day. He’s doing well, although his math class is as difficult as it could possibly be. Keep your chin up, Mark! You can do it!

Joanne and I hosted fifty people at her house on the day before Labor Day. It was quite a crowd, but it was a fun party that I think everybody enjoyed, including us. We were both glad when it was in the record books, though.

We’re going to the Bay Area tomorrow for a few days. We’ll see Katie, Cliff, and Mia on Sunday and then have a couple more days to ourselves. We’ll be staying at the WorldMark Windsor resort. Joanne’s been there before and we have high hopes for a peaceful few days. Then I’m heading to Detroit, unless plans need to be moved up.

And that’s it for tonight. I need to be up at 5:00 tomorrow morning, so I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: motorcycle-attacking fugitive bull!

See you on Monday.

Here are Mark, Heather, and Andy riding the chairlift up the mountain at Park City. Great Art taken in June during the McCulloch family reunion and part of my famous Event, Machinery, and Vacation series.

I’m back! Did you think I would never return, Loyal Readers? Is anybody even out there anymore? Hello? Is this thing on?

Anyway. Lots of things have happened since my last post. We went to Park City and enjoyed seeing everybody. Mark took my car home and I rode to Denver with Andy and Heather. Spent two nights there and then flew to Detroit, where I stayed until the 7th of July. Then I flew home.

Mark went to San Jose to visit friends again on the 15th. He’s on his way home right now. Should be here in half an hour or so. I’m looking forward to having him home again. He’s starting school at UNLV Real Soon Now.

Joanne and I were scheduled to go to a big jazz festival in Ontario, California on the 19th, but the promoters canceled it at the last minute. So we took a poll and decided to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico instead. We spent four days there and then went on to San Jose to see Joanne’s son Desi’s karaoke shows. While we were there, we also saw Katie, Cliff, and Mark. On our last night there, we also went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Fun! We finally went home and life got back to normal. We’ve been out to eat at a bunch of places, been to see other things, and generally kept ourselves entertained.

And that brings us to today. Mia arrives for a five-day stay on Monday the 4th of August. We have some fun plans for her visit. Then we’re going to Katie and Cliff’s engagement party on August 16 in Emeryville. Then I go to Michigan again. Explanation below.

Now for the difficult news. My mom has been diagnosed with liver cancer. They still don’t have many details, but she’s going for radiation prep tomorrow and we expect it will start soon. She’ll get radiation for five weeks along with chemotherapy as she can tolerate it. We don’t know what the future holds for her yet, but we hope she’ll still have several happy, healthy years after this is done. So my weeklong trip to Michigan is to be there to help her get to a week’s worth of her radiation appointments. I’m looking forward to being there again and helping however I can.

And that’s enough for my welcome back post. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: meal-eating, chair-stealing thief!

See you tomorrow.

Here are Joanne and me holding up the statue of Eiler Larsen in downtown Laguna Beach, California. The guy was the unofficial town greeter and now his statue has taken over. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken by our tour guide, and part of my famous Joanne, Statue, and Vacation series.

Pretty good day today. I sent a PhotoDoc registration code to our first customer today! He paid for the program on Sunday. So I made my first sale on my birthday! Cool!

Mark and I dropped the Taurus off at the Ford dealer this morning. It needed an oil change and I had been saving up a few other things to have them look at, so it ought to be there for a couple days. I miss it. The garage looks so empty!

Joanne and I went to dinner with her friend Maria at Gordon Biersch this evening. They were having a bratwurst special. It made for a pretty good meal. Stopped at Rubio’s on the way home and picked up a shrimp burrito for Mark.

I was listening to some music this afternoon and had a moment of grief. Mark heard me trying not to cry and came into the office and put his arms around me. The tears came and lasted for a few minutes. I’m so grateful for Mark. He’s really there when I need him.

And I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: accountant-catching crocodile!

See you tomorrow.