truck pictures

Since I posted about the truck roll last Friday, I have been inundated by hundreds of dozens (okay, two) of requests for pictures of my poor truck. Anyway, I don't have any pictures of the truck where it rolled on its top. But I stopped by the body shop Monday morning and took some pictures.
The roof is caved in between 1-6 inches depending on where you look. The front windshield broke in the crash and the drivers window broke but didn't break up until they flipped the truck over to tow it. The front quarter panel crumpled a bit. The back window didn't break, it pushed out from its mountings when the cab crumpled down from the top. Surprisingly, none of the little orange lights broke from the top of the cab. The body shop did call and ask if I noticed that the metal plates that I use for weight in the box had punctured a hole through the inner wall of the bed. Nope, I hadn't. They hadn't noticed it until they started taking stuff out of it.

The final estimate isn't in yet, but in talking to the insurance adjuster, they won't total the truck unless they find the frame is bent or the engine is broken. I guess running upside down can cause serious problems for the engine. While at the body shop I picked up some odds and ends that had been stashed in the truck. I was very glad to see them because the sherrif that stopped out said that frequently accident vehicles are burglarized while they are on the side of the road. With the ban on towing, there have been dozens of reports of a window being broken out and the contents taken. I am surprised the newspaper hasn't reported it.




The last picture is of Kat, 45 minutes after we were helped out from the truck by two good samaritans (whose names I do not know). She didn't seem very upset by the whole ordeal.

now THAT was exciting!

I regret that I don't have any pictures to show for it, but at 10am this morning, I was on the way to take Kat to daycare and my pickup fishtailed on the road. I wasn't able to recover and it slid into the ditch where it rolled onto the roof and stopped there. Aside from being showered with the stuff I keep in the truck, pliers, jumper cables, flashlight, can of Mt Dew, I was just fine. First on my mind was Kat. She just cooed. I wish I could have seen her, suspended by the harness in her car seat. I kinda wish I had a 5 point harness, too.
When I released my seatbelt, I fell to the roof of the truck. I could see that the drivers window and windshield were broken and the drivers door was crumpled; no opening that.
I scrambled to get my cel phone out and call..... Who to call but Jill and tell her that I had rolled the truck but we were ok. First thought. Reaction. First to call was Jill. Not 911. Not neighbor with a tractor, but Jill. She took it well; she already knows I am an idiot.
Fast forward to 2pm. Dr. at hospital says I am going to be really stiff and sore. Kat is fine from the accident, but she still has alot of congestion in her lungs and sinuses. He gave us prescriptions for those. Truck is on its way to body shop and insurance has been called.
The sheriff says that we were lucky. No kidding. I didn't need him to tell me that.
All in all, I have lived a great year and wonderful life. I have been blessed in so many ways it is nearly impossible to list everything. The big things are Jill, Kat, family, health. As the new year approaches, here's to many more great years, filled with blessings... and good luck.

Kat's first Christmas

A great meal at my brothers. Turkey, potatoes and dressing. All of it VERY tasty. And DESSERT! Pumpkin pie and cherry cheesecake were most excellent!
Kat's cousin enjoyed the chance to hold Kat and pose for the cameras. They don't get to see enough of each other, so any time together is made the most of.



Then G'ma Sandy came to our house to help feed Kat bananas. Kat opens her mouth just fine, swallowing is a different matter. G'ma also found a book that Kat got that needs to be filled with pictures. "Who loves baby?" WE LOVE YOU, KAT!


It wouldn't be Christmas without a couple of presents to play with. Each gift must be subjected to rigourous endurance test that begin with chewing on them to see how they last.

No, dear.

This may be it.
I have been awake since 430 this morning. NOT thinking about work. Thinking about hunting. Friday, Kat was sick. Stay home, no hunting. Yesterday, it is so foggy that the imbecile in the red minivan was going 40 mph on the highway. I admit to myself, with visibility measured at 100 yards at best, I wasn't going to see a deer. They would hear me long before I saw them to sneak them. So I went to a buddy's house and 'helped' him work on his kitchen wiring.
Paul called last night, said lets go hunting on Sunday. The bad weather probably won't be so bad. Woke up this morning and the weather eye says "7*F feels like -17*F due to 35 MPH winds, gusting from the NE." Nope, not too bad.
All my gear is in the truck. Truck is scraped. Here I am sitting at this computer, waiting for Paul, sweating my ass off cuz I am wearing 4 layers of high technology insulation, designed to keep me warm in -17*F weather. Paul was supposed to be here at 6AM. He is obviously smarter than me. He probably looked at the weather and said to himself, no way, only an idiot would hunt in that crap.
So this may be it. The year I don't get my deer. No meat for the year, canned in jars ready to heat and eat. No justification for a rifle, shotgun, and revolver that were bought specifically for hunting. No participation in conversations about endurance, stamina, cunning, and strategy to outsmart the game.
I happened to talk to an aquaintence yesterday and he asked how I did, hunting. Skunked so far, I told him. He tells me that he got 3 and his driving team got 17. CHANGE THE TOPIC PLEASE. In fairness, I don't team hunt. It has happened when I got 2 deer in one day. But I stalk and sneak to 'catch' my deer. I cover alot of ground, sometimes crawling on the ground. I don't feel safe in a group of 12 people, shooting back and forth multible times. Read too many stories, heard too many accounts of "bullet flew over my head and smacked into the tree I was leaning against. It was great!" (Darwinism ALMOST at work)
I am tempted to hunt the deer that nest behind the garage and feed in the garden. I watched a pair of them yesterday. But they are so funny to watch, and since I treat my acreage as a haven of happiness, I am reluctant to ruin it for them. (odd sentiment for a hunter/gardener and someone that has hit a deer on a motorcycle)
Oh, well. There is always Fareway.

SHE doesn't like being sick, either!

Well, lets see. So far we have found that prednizone makes Katerina very sick. I tried to give her some last night and she barfed everything in her tummy. It just kept coming out. Tried again this morning. Same result. So no more prednizone.

Katerina doesn't like the nebulizer, either. As soon as I lift it towards her face, the arms start swinging! I have to wrap my arms around her to keep her from pulling on the mask. The instructions say 12 minutes. TWELVE very long minutes. I don't like it when she is unhappy. She is feeling/sounding better. She isn't well yet, but on the road to recovery.

A friend pointed out that I am lucky to be on vacation for another week. This way Kat being sick doesn't impact my job. Jill and I don't have to juggle who stays home to take care of Kat. Joy. Cooped up in a house due to bad weather, with a baby that either is asleep (rarely) or crying or wailing. Incessant wailing. Here's to hoping she is healthy SOON!

spikey hair

I don't know why, but every opportunity I get, I like to shape and form Kat's hair into a rhino horn. I think she is cute, it is funny, it amuses me. She usually laughs at the attention.

I don't doubt there will be some form of payback in 14 years or so. Right now, that seems to be a long ways off. It will be here before I know it.

Pictured is one of my earlier attempts.

little things add up

WARNING! WHINING/VENTING inside!
Work is work. If it wasn't challenging, they wouldn't pay me. Don't tell my leadership, but I actually enjoy challenges and solving problems. But I still want paid.
You know the saying, "Don't sweat the small stuff." The small stuff can be pretty annoying sometime.
For example, I went to Carousel VW in Iowa City to pick up Jill's little Jetta. 51,000 miles and it was due for a milestone checkup. I paid the bill, said thanks, got in the car and drove out to the stoplight to go back to work for the evening. What the heck, I thought. I am taking the next 12 days off, I might as well clean my desk and organize for my return. While waiting for the light, I notice that the CHECK ENGINE light came on. UH OH. So I navigate a bunch of left turns to get back to the dealership and go back inside the service dept. and tell them about the light coming on. The man behind the counter asks if I had left the property before it came oh. "Yes, I was at that stoplight, 50 yards from your driveway"
Oh, well then you need to make an appointment. If you have taken the car, it must be unrelated to what we did. I thought he was joking. After 20 minutes of discussion, I left. In my car with the light on. I am not done with them, but I had lost my temper and further discussion would involve swearing and not be productive. (but it would feel good)
Jill calls me and tells me I need to pick up Kat because her boss has asked her to work late. Since I am in IC, we work out a swap where she picks up Kat and brings her to work and we swap cars. I tell her what happened at the dealership. She is livid.
When I get Kat at home, I realize that she is more than just REALLY hungry. She wheezes and rasps when she breathes. So I steam her and hold her and then change her into PJs. She goes to bed and I fall asleep watching my 19" 18yr old TV, waiting for Jill to come home.
During the night, Jill wakes up because of Kat coughing. Really, it sounds like barking from a seal. Jill steams her in the shower, smears Vicks all over her chest and feet (have you seen that email flying around?), rocks her in the chair and pounds on her back to loosing her chest. Jill is up from about 1 till 455. Then she wakes me up and tells me that I better forget about my hunting trip vacation cuz I am taking Kat to the DR, be there at 8am when they open!
So I my plan is to go to the DR and hear that Kat has a cold, then take Kat to Carousel VW and discuss remedy for their actions. This all changes when the Doc doesn't say "cold", but rather, "bronchitis, nebulizer, Albuterol, ear infection, Amoxicyllon, and predinizone; have a nice day". I am still not sure what the prednizone is for, but the rest of the crap takes 2 hours to track down all over town. I got Kat home at 1130, fed her, nebulized her (which SHE likened to being gassed with pepper spray) and put her down for her nap. Sweet Dreams, kiddo!
So, tired, no hunting, still don't know what is wrong with the car, worried about sick Kat (BTW, these are NOT in order of importance), Jill still sick, still pretty upset about treatment from dealership. Of these little things, healthy family members are big things. Everything else is a little thing. But, jeez, do I need a bunch of little things all at once? Oh, well. Might as well go to work from home.
PS. as I read over this, I realize how incredibly fortunate I am. Two cars, two jobs, house, mostly healthy spouse, mostly healthy baby that is happy 98% of the time, not stranded on the road, the list is really lots longer. I got life good.