OK, so it's been awhile!

I'd say I've been busy, but it's probably more like lazy in getting my next entry onto this blog. Sorry about that! It's been an interesting couple of months. September was a time to re-evaluate what my priorities are with this new investment. The funds to spend on this place pretty much depleted, I am just collecting items here and there until I collect enough to get Brandon out here to do a day's work and get a bunch of projects done. I still need to get the rest of the outlets changed out - I've tried to electrocute myself a couple of times already. My boss gave me a gift certificate for $250 for helping to do some selling at work, since "technically" I'm not allowed to earn spiffs, bonuses or anything of the sort for sales. Anyway, I'll be using that to purchase a vanity for my bathroom, and hopefully get that thing operational by month-end so I can have my own "bathroom" space again.

My nephew Kiel moved in with me on September 29th when I picked him up at the airport. He flew back from Orlando, where his mom and he went after a mere few weeks in Morgan City, LA. They left that place right before Hurricane Gustav's eye went over the town , right on the gulf coast. Kiel doesn't like the humid climates so much and couldn't get the rest of the money he needed for school, so guess he decided to come back, get a job to save some money and get a car and make the rest of the money he would need for his "underwater welding" school. He gives money for rent, but sits around the house too much right now - all he does is watch TV. However, if I give him something to do, he gets it done without question (unless its "how do I do that?"). All around he's a good kid - he has things to learn, so we still have some work to do.

The most significant thing that has happened within the last month is the death of two friends. One was expected, but one was WAY too sudden. My friend Stephanie's dad was diagnosed with cancer of the liver this past spring. Once that diagnoses happens, it is inevitable that the person will not survive. I've known and heard of many people passing anywhere from 1-3 months after that type of diagnosis. He really outlived what the doctors likely predicted. I didn't know Charlie really well, but talked with him many a time when they came down to Denver to visit Steph. A nice guy with strong opinions about politics and life. He and Kay (Steph's mom) were avid hunters - Kay apparently getting the biggest of any elks between the two of them. They had the opportunity to go hunting one last time around a week before he passed away - but didn't get to stay out long as Charlie was getting weaker and weaker by the day. At least he had the opportunity to enjoy his love of the outdoors one more time. I went to that funeral on Oct 10th.

On October 2nd, I learned that my friend Kim was in the hospital via a phone call from our friend Connie. I got there and was told that she had cancer, albeit at the time it wasn't known how bad it really was. She had a mass on her spine and one on her lung. Kim went into the hospital that Monday evening because she couldn't move her leg and her back was hurting so bad that she couldn't sleep. Her daughter Kyrie, who was living with her, took her to the hospital. Apparently, Kim had been having problems for a couple of months; however, she was on Kaiser insurance, so her doctor just sent her home with painkillers and that was all. I guess they did an xray at one point, but the positioning of the masses and how they were taken didn't show anything, and the doctor didn't try to go after it another way. At the hospital, they did a CAT scan and MRI to find the problem. They started her on radiation Thursday and Friday, but since those folks don't work on the weekends, she wasn't going to have treatments then.

I called Kim that Friday to see how she was doing, and she was OK at the time. I traveled to Grand Lake for the weekend with the people I work with to have a relaxing couple of days - I would highly recommend the Rapids Lodge to anyone that decides to go up there, its a great place and inexpensive compared to all of the other places. I took a few hours by myself and traveled past Kremmling to see Monika and Tom Carey. Wow - what a view they have from their home! It's a small place, situated on a hillside next to a grove of aspen trees. They have HUGE windows all the way around the house, so you can really see everything around them - a valley and a beautiful mountain range. I can't imagine what it must look like when its snowing - that has got to be just the prettiest place when there is any type of weather going on.

When I headed back down the mountain that Sunday morning, I encountered a combination of sunshine when leaving Grand Lake to cloudy and snowy going over the pass (and then sunny again) downhill from Winterpark. There wasn't more than a dusting of the white stuff on anything, no accumulations as was originally predicted. I stopped by the hospital for a couple of hours to spend some time with Kim - she was having a hard time breathing, gasping for breath constantly. While I was there, her "main" doctor (he called himself the organizer) told her that the mass on her lung was stage 4 cancer and inoperable. They would still do the radiation if she wanted to see if they could keep shrinking the mass. She had to mull over it. I had to go, since my mom was in town and coming to my house that evening. Kim had told me earlier during my visit that she didn't like being along, so I felt bad for having to leave at that time. I came home, did some cleaning and got my mom settled in. No more than a few minutes after we got home from having a quick bite to eat (around 7pm), I received a phone call saying that Kim had gotten worse and that I should come back to the hospital. I went down there and stayed with the girls and Connie and visited with Kim until around 11:30pm. I had taken Monday the 13th off, so I was back at the hospital by 7am that morning. Kim's mom and sisters flew in during the early hours of Monday morning, so I had the chance to meet them. Several things took place during the day that were hard to deal with. . . a lot of tenseness between Bob (Kim's soon to be ex-husband) and the rest her family. I stayed until around 7pm that night then went home to spend a little more time with my mom. I went back immediately after work on Tuesday - they had moved her to the hospice area of the hospital. She was pretty much out of it, having difficulty sleeping comfortably, but still sleeping the entire time. Bob's mom got in that night and spent some time with her, and Kyrie decided she was sleeping next to her mom and not leaving her side for the rest of the time she was in there. Kim passed away about 2:30am on Wednesday morning, almost exactly 12 hours after Charlie died. Wow - hadn't had that ever happen before. I met Connie and Kim's sisters and mom at the hospital that morning - they were going to have a "last goodbye" with Kim. I couldn't bring myself to do that, it's not the last thing I want to remember about her. So we went to breakfast and then I went back to work.

Now I take something that Connie told me to heart - live like you only have 7 days left on earth. I can't say I've been good about doing that, though, but I keep that saying with me and work slowly to aspire to it. Everyone should.