Summary coming soon for this time period

Summary coming soon for this time period

Summary coming soon for this time period

Summary coming soon for this time period

Continuing in the theme of last year (problems, problems, problems), Jim had a case of shingles as the year started out and we had a Winter with the most snow ever (105 inches total!). In February, after a wonderful Valentine's Day with Jim, I came down with an unexplained fever that I was unable to shake for 12 days!

Luckily by the time March came around, I was feeling tons better. Not only me, but a ton of my friends have birthdays in March. At Austin's party (Tara's 4-yr. old son), I got to personally meet Spiderman. WooHoo! Jim and I spent the rest of March painting. After painting DO's computer/puzzle room, we totally re-did my bathroom and kitchen. By the end of March, Jim had a turn of his luck and his little family got a little bigger as he got Baba. My luck didn't change too much though, as Aries had a severe seizure in April. But I did get to go to another concert (with Linda again), and saw the Psychedelic Furs. Before my car's water pump died in May, I had to take Randy's mom, Carolynn, to the Cleveland Clinic, as she had a severely pinched nerve in her neck and was seriously ill for several months.

Summer finally got a little better. My car still had some problems (the thermostat and the brakes); but Jim and I took several trips. We went to the Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo and canoeing down the Mohican river. We really had a summer here this year and started having a ton of pool parties. For several weekends in a row, we invited a bunch of people over and had some great cookouts along with a lot of fun in the pool. Once again, I had a camera break at about vacation time; but it was repaired and back in a week's time. We had even more pool parties as the Summer went along, and for Jim's birthday, several of us chipped in to get him another "Gilligan's Island". Although we didn't have any hail storms this Summer, we did have a tornado warning one evening, and I watched several funnel clouds spiraling in the sky right over downtown.

Even though I spent a lot of time at the pool this Summer, I was actually quite sick during this time. I woke nearly every day, barfing; but as the the day went along, I would begin to feel a little better and spent a lot of time by the pool reading. The beautiful summer weather continued on through September and we continued going into the water until about the middle of the month.

Remember, I said that my luck still really hadn't changed yet. As September came in, my cat (Sheagra) finally passed away at 19 1/2 yrs. old, as I watched those horrible images from New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane. It's been a really hard loss losing my kitty. She's been with me nearly half of my life and nearly ALL of the time that I've been living in Canton, Oh. For a while, I kept seeing her in all the shadows (where she was usually hiding out) and I still look for her on the front porch when I lock up the door at night. Just today, I opened a can and was actually wondering why she was running into the kitchen hollering like usual. :(

Not near as bad as losing my cat, but I've recently lost my cable too. It's really tough being this poor; but it's a situation that I have to deal with. As long as I'm poor (collecting the $616 a month from SS Disability), the state of Ohio covers the $4,300 cost of my medications per month. There's NO job I could get to cover my housing expenses and those kind of prescription costs, so even if I did feel well enough, enough of the time, to actually hold that kind of a job. So I work on my own, making a few extra bucks here and there when I get some ComputerTutor clients.

Again I was fairly sick during the Winter months, and by February started a new regime of medications. But that was GOOD news, since I went from about 28 pills a day down to 8. Later in March, I moved some of my computer stuff around and set up "Mission Control", where I have three monitors, and a second computer networked to "Reznoir". By April, most of the school construction next door was finally winding down as they tore down the old school building. As May ended, we were struck with a severe hailstorm that turned out to be really good news for EAC and keep them in a lot of business through the rest of Summer. However, May ended rather sadly for me, as Jim, DO, Carolynn and I attended a memorial service in Canton, and commemorated the 10 year anniversary of Randy's passing.

Summer came with it's share of problems too. Just as we were about to go on vacation, my digital camera died; but that wasn't as bad as later in July when Jim's cat, Shotokan passed away. The rest of July was pretty full though, as Jim and I went to the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, Kings Island Amusement Park, a trip to hike around Nelson Ledges State Park. We spent most of August playing in Jim's pool and took one more trip out of town. We went to Cleveland and watched the RedBull Flugtag competition (homemade "flying" machines launched out a dock).

Fall came in and continued with the pattern of problems. First my computer broke (a bracket holding the heat sink over the processor) and I had a ton of cable problems and was ready to shoot the next cable repairman. LOL Unfortunately, bad luck struck Jim again, and he lost another of his cats (Sarek) to old age. We took one more trip to Nelson Ledges and this time weren't swarmed by all the bugs, but were able to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage.

Since we had had so many problems throughout the year, this was quite easy to fool my Mom, in December, into believing a lie about having a wreck with an Amish buggy. We didn't really have an accident, but used that as a cover story to surprise my Mom with a Christmas trip back to NC. Jim and I had made everyone gingerbread houses designed to look like their own homes. Also during the trip in NC, I finally got past some of my own phobias and Jim and I officially became a couple.

By March, the snow was melting and I took a trip back home to help celebrate my Mom's 60th birthday. For my own birthday, Jim and I got brand new, nifty cell phones..

In July, I decided, since I was over a period of illness again, that it was time for a change, so I went out on a limb and started dying my hair red. LOL Speaking of going out on a limb, when Jim and I went to Cedar Point Amusement Park, we had a great thrill on the RipCord ride (they pull you up in a harness, hundreds of feet in the air, and then YOU pull the rip cord and take a while plunge, swinging back and forth several times. Luckily we left the park in time, since the whole Northeastern America was plunged into a blackout. Back home, we installed PoolCam onto Jim's roof and fixed a hole that developed in the pool liner.

During the Fall, I attended my first wedding (Tara, from Expert Auto, got married). I had problems with my boss at Waikem Motors and quit, starting up my own business (Computer Tutor) of helping people at home with their computers. Then I took a couple of trips - one to the circus and another up to Cleveland to see Duran Duran in concert (their 25th yr anniversary). As Fall changed to Winter, my father's mother (who had been in a nursing home for several years) finally passed away.

The year ended on a good note though, as my friends and family contributed to a special fund, and I bought a brand new leather jacket for Christmas.

Boy, I took a long time to get to this summary. But that's a good thing - Life has been very busy for me this last year. I got to see two of the biggest icons of the musical world - Prince and Paul McCartney. My friend Jim took me to another Car Show and an Air Show. I got a newer computer; but killed the keyboard. A dear friend of mine, Cliff, nearly died and was in the hospital for nearly 4 months. During the summer, my family got me a plane ticket home for a week(!) and when I returned I went on a mini-vacation to King's Island Amusement Park. New neighbors moved in and vandalized my fountain, so I changed it into a cement fountain which fit right in with my yard while it was in full bloom. And just a few weeks ago, my Mom flew up to visit - and just in time, since I've slowly been getting sick over the last few weeks. (Think happy thoughts for my swift recovery!)

Although Christmas is nearly here, you wouldn't believe it by the weather. At least not yet. LOL The last half of year seems to have flown by. The thrush that was afflicting me back in April, did prove to be a bad sign. I didn't get pneumonia; but blood work, that I had done at the end of May, came back with the worse counts I've ever had. So I spent the first part of summer getting sicker; and the second half of summer adjusting to the new medications.

Of course, it wasn't all sickness and meds. I made it to the amusement park, went rock climbing, fenced in the backyard, poured a new patio for a friend, spent a lot of days by the pool, got to take a trip home to North Carolina, continued working at Waikem Auto Group, started an online company newsletter, re-formatted my computer, tried to go visit Niagara Falls again (but crossing the border was iffy right after 9/11, so that trip has been postponed till Spring) and a lot of other stuff. Now my year will end with a bang, as I take ANOTHER trip home, thanks to a group of wonderful people that I work with. :)

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!

The first quarter of 2001 has been filled with just about nothing but news about the Puppies! I've got so many pictures and stories about all my pets that I started them their OWN website. You can spend a bunch of time there watching my puppies, Aries and Zeus grow up!

I have had other things happen - besides just puppies! - during the past few months. I got older!! Yikes! BUT I am still thirty-something! (for another 11 months, 10 days and 4 hrs.) The year for my birthday, my friend, Richard, gave me the best present - he took his brother (my lazy roommate) off my hands. WooHoo! Or should I say "Wahoo!", since I got to go to an Indians game this Spring?

Although the puppies have brought great joy into my life, I did have a big bout of worry and doubt here in the middle of Spring. The Friday before Easter, to my horror (and that's the best word for it) I realized that my symptoms of heartburn, and losing my sense of taste was due to Thrush. I would like to say that I was only scared of Thrush due to the mild correlation that it was one of Randy's worst symptoms; but, the fact is, every bout of illness or pneumonia that I have had has always been preceded by a severe case of Thrush. It's only been a week, but I seem to be better. :) I have decided that I should always take a trip home in March; the years I don't, pneumonia always tries to creep up on me.

Winter has been pretty dang cold this year and I've been spending my time trudging about the snow-covered car lots of Waikem Auto Group stickering cars. At home, I'm starting to get really tired of my roomie - he's the laziest, most irresponsible person I have ever met! But if you want to hear about the biggest news I have for now, surf over to www.reigningpages.com/puppies to read all about my NEW PUPPIES!!!

Summer is over half over and it doesn't even seem like it's been Summer yet. Although, they predicted drought conditions with extremely hot weather, this summer had turned out to be quite chilly and very rainy.

Even with the bad weather, my life has turned out to be pretty darned busy. Starting off with a trip to Six Flags, I also went to a foreign country (Canada), and even got a job!! I didn't mean; but it just fell into my lap and I couldn't turn down something really good like that coming around. (I didn't want to end on a preposition; but that just said what I meant. At least, I'm not dangling my participle like my newest roomie, John, suggested.)

This is the "birthday month" for my family, and I have decided to go home for a visit rather than go to the hospital with pneumonia for the third year in a row. LOL

My trip went very well and you can find pictures of my nieces and nephew in my personal log (check out the month of MARCH). However, upon my return home, I had to eat the words that I wrote in December (see the next section). Triumph was very ill, and after finding out that he had a tumor and was very, very sick, I had to have him put to sleep. Without Triumph, I am now the only one left from the family that Randy and I had. Although I still have two pups (Gabrielle and Joxer), they are not OUR dogs but MY dogs.

It's the holidays again, and I am glad that this year is almost over. Things started out badly this year and although there have been some bright spots, there has been a lot of dark ones. Next year has to be better. Unfortunately, although I just gained another dog (Joxer), I am also losing another one (Eightball). The bright side is that my oldest dog now is only 6 so I shouldn't be losing anymore for a while. (Knock on wood!)

My little ol' family has gained another member! Gabrielle's half-brother came to live with me today and I couldn't be happier. After the recent problem with Eightball, I had realized that three (or only two) dogs was too few. I wasn't in a big rush to get another dog but I had informed my friends and vet that I was looking. So life stepped in and took a hand in solving the problem for me. Gabby's father, George, has sired several litters over the years with the most recent litter this July. By the time, I had decided to get another pup, all the dogs in that litter had been sold. However, the breeder's daughter who took one of the pups is moving and won't be able to keep the dog. Of course, I was top on the list of people to check with since they wanted to ensure that the pup ended up in a good home - and who could offer the pup a better home than me, his grandma, uncle, and half-sister!?!

Click here to read more about my pack of pets and to meet the newest member - Joxer!.

Since Halloween just passed, I realized that I had never written about any of my experiences of living in a haunted house. Please take a moment, if you're so inclined, to read about my tales of some "other worldly" experiences.

Although I really wanted another tattoo this summer (sorry, Mom!),
I haven't gotten around to it yet.

This summer started off well but ended quite badly. It was even nicer and hotter weather than last year, so I spent alot of time at the pool. For a change I actually got a decent tan this year, rather than the burn I usually get. It wasn't until a cool snap came in August, that I even realized that one of my meds cautioned me to "avoid excessive sunlight". I can't say that I'm too worried though since most of the year tends to be cloudy in Ohio. I figured that based on the whole year, I'm probably still due some more sunlight even. (Oh no! I just realized it won't be too long until the dreaded sn*w starts flying!)

Unfortunately, several problems have developed as summer is ending. The car's headlight switch burned out. That wouldn't have been too bad, except that I was feeling pretty sick and wasn't able to get it fixed as quickly as I wanted. I had to put one of my dogs (Elektra) to sleep (more info below) and thought I was going to have to go through it again with another one (Eightball). I've got my fingers and toes crossed since that might still happen. :(

I was really hoping that this year wouldn't be as odd as others; but what kind of life would that be? LOL We had a ton of snow for about a month of this past winter. During one of the mini-blizzards, I was trapped into driving all over town so that my brothers and I could get my father's estate settled and the money split. I really consider the money one receives as "blood money" and must be spent wisely. (Randy received an inheritance at his Grandmother's death and we upgraded the car (got a Geo) and moved to a nicer, and safer neighborhood near friends.) And despite my best laid plans, I ran into a zillion problems spending this money: buying new furniture (replacing the 10 year old couch), a better car (This car-buying experience was a nightmare with one repair after another until I pushed the car into a filling station after the dealer ran all the gas out and still didn't fix the problem.), and even paying $1,000 onto the credit card (one declined charge took me four months to fix - getting our own server www.reigningpages.com.).

I hardly had any of the problems corrected before March roared in like a lion on my roomie, joDi (aka internetbabs) and I. Jodi's mild flu at the end of February re-infected us both, turned into pneumonia, and put the two of us into the hospital. It seems to becoming a yearly event for me to grow older (3/14) and get pneumonia. I spent 5 days in the end of last March in Mercy Hospital with PCP and spent 4 days the first of March in Aultman Hospital with strep pneumonia. I recovered quickly, although Jodi developed a blood infection and the pneumonia spread to both, lungs forcing her to spend 8 days trapped in the hospital.

Now, it is almost Christmas again and, boy, do I hate the holidays! Being 800 miles away from family at this time of year is hard. It's even harder being without Randy another Christmas. In my most depressed times (with the help of friends, these times are kept to a minimum), I often dread the thought of even more Christmases spent without Randy.

But GOOD things have happened in the last 6 months or so. I have stayed in good health (although I do find it REALLY hard to remember to take my medications every day!). I spent a lot of this summer at the pool (my friend Jim's pool), Cedar Point (a huge amusement park on the coast of Lake Erie), and Dover Lake Park (a cool water slide park- where my friend Cheryl dislocated her shoulder!). I even got a brand NEW armband tattoo.

I attended 2 concerts within the last month with my roomie, joDi (aka internetbabs), and her brother and his wife (Richard and Angie). In November, we went to the Agora in Cleveland to see GARBAGE (www.garbage.com). Then on December 7th (just last night!), the four of us plus Richard and Angie's 5 year old son (my bestest buddy - Richie) went to see KISS play the Gund in Cleveland. What an awesome show! Richie was hoarse from the singing and yelling he did and fell asleep in my lap within ten minutes after starting the hour long trip back home. I'll tell you, if I had to have a child, Richie would be the one I picked. He smart, intuitive, and, best of all, loves me!

Unfortunately, I had to take a trip back home this April for sad reasons. My father passed away at the end of April. In the process of mowing the lawn, he died and collapsed beside the house, where he laid for over 4 hours. Although he and I never really understood each other too well, we were finally talking to each other the last 6 months of his life.

Once again, I am having to deal with the problem of an aging pet. My oldest dog, 8Ball, has developed some tumors. I was forced to make a decision on surgery, similar to one I made just 2 years ago. Currently, 8Ball is recovering; from her successful surgery with only mild complications.