Foraging for food has become more of an adventure lately. What aggravates the situation is the fact that I am very much a creature of habit and somewhat lazy. Unlike my more thrifty friends, I do not go from store to store comparing prices. Price is not the most important criteria when I shop. As a matter of fact, you could say that I don't shop at all, ... I buy. I know that different items are on sale at different stores but my theory is that in order to really comparison shop you would need to go to several stores twice, ... once to learn the prices and the second time to buy the item at the lowest price. That also assumes that I would remember all the prices and that is not likely. When I go foraging for food, I make a list and go to the Jewel where I am familiar with the brands and the location of the items I want. An added benefit, for me, it that the Jewel is conveniently located. That is, ... until recently. We are in "remodeling mode"! They started slowly and now it is utter chaos, making the term "foraging" the operative term. I have even had to resort to the bane of all men, ... ask someone where they are hiding the cashews this week.

So, I have a little adventure in my life. It is only a temporary situation and, from what I see so far, when it is finished I'll be happy with it.  An unexpected benefit of my foraging on Friday afternoon was the fortuitous discovery of a "Gopher"  It was in an isle of the store that I wouldn't have traversed in normal times. I had often been exposed to the need to have a means of grasping items which are just out of reach, either too high or to low to reach comfortably. I have been taking my walking stick out with me to get my morning paper so I have something to boost myself upright when I have bent down to pick up the paper, Now I will be able to use the "gopher" to grab it without bending down. I would have named it a "grabber" but what the hell, ... it works. (except on Sunday when the paper it too heavy.)

An adventure of another kind was presented to me when I went to the card shop before going for groceries. It is not easy to find a birthday card for a sister when you have only recently discovered you have sisters. It is a unique experience for me and most cards are simply not appropriate for a brother and sister who had not known of each other's existence for all this time. But I did find one that did not refer to "our childhood together" or other equally unfitting sentiments. I have just learned of the birthdates of my Copeland brother and sisters and so ...
I'm so glad to have found you and your siblings and to be getting to know about my father and the rest of the family. You guys are great and I wish I had known you all my life.

Anne Marie and I talk every day. She talked to her mother every day and now it's me. She calls me. If I were to call her, I would interrupt something important. She is the busiest person I know and I really don't know how she finds time to breathe. But, she can call me any time she finds the time because whatever I am doing, if anything, can wait until we get through talking. When I got in bed Friday I realized that I had not talked to her. Well, it was too late to call her and besides, she must be extremely busy. Saturday when we talked, she said that she realized what had happened. She read my web site on Friday and later in the day, thought she had talked to me.

That is how, for the most part, I stay in touch with friends and family. The problem is that it is most often "one way" communication. You know what is going on in my life and what I think but you are a mystery to me. My friend Grandpa Schober sends an email to all his friends every morning relating the details of the previous day. You could do that. Grandpa Baboo now has a current events page on his web site which he updates every week. You could do that. What! Do you mean to tell me that everyone doesn't have time, or inclination, to write a blog and send it to everyone they know! I sometimes wonder about those who are on my list of "Family & Friends" and am delighted when I get a brief message from one from whom I seldom hear with just a remark or comment ... like the one I recently received that concluded... "Love from Liv, your friend in Norway" .Occasionally I'll get one that asks me to remove them from the mailing list. That is OK and I am not offended. I know that you all have worlds of your own and I would rather have you do that than be irritated by my unneeded email.

Often it is the "forwards" that we get that put us in touch with friends. Sometimes they are inspirational, or items of interest, or humorous, or political. I wonder if people consider that what they forward reflects on their personality and character? I got one that shocked me last week. The content was bad enough but the real shocker was the identity of the person who sent it. After I cooled down I had to respond. This is part of what I said:

You will note that my email signature usually includes
"Use the internet responsibly".
I really try to do that. I also try to live a life consistent with the face I present in church on Sunday. I don't always succeed, but I try.

I got a second call from Anne Marie on Saturday. She had to tell me that when Joe went to Sears for his delayed interview, a member of the "Loss Prevention" group (It used to be security) saw him come into the personnel office, (oops, I think they call it human resources now) and judging by his appearance, told his superior that he may be worth talking to. He was hired for that department and will be what ever they once called "a store detective" for the holiday season after some training sessions.  Yes, first impressions are important. It also adds to grandpa's pride when they see a grandson of his walk in the door and immediately say "He looks like someone who we want working in our department."  Good go, Joe.

I have been wanting to do it for a while and finally got around to it. I went through my digital photos and assembled a "slide show" for the Digital Photo Frame. For a year now I had lived with just a bunch of random shots from a holiday gathering plus some photos that just happened to be on the camera's memory card. Now the frame is on the new shelf next to the planters and it sequences through a gallery of family ... my parents, those who gave me life and those who nurtured that life ... my siblings, all seven of them and a photo of Anne and I from our Odyssey cruse. I like that picture because it reminds me that life is an odyssey, a journey of unexpected and sometimes strange ports of call, all on the way to the final destination. The photos of my mom and dad are vintage photos, their younger days, as is the one on my mother. My father's photo is one from his later years, cropped from a snapshot, the best one I have. Those of my brothers and sisters are recent ones, again, cropped from recent snapshots. The two exceptions are that of Ken and that of Jean, the two who have been born to Eternal life and their photos are from their youthful years. I sit and watch in wonderment as the random display introduces and reintroduces me to my family. I am so RICH!

I am trying to decide if I want to add my children, their spouses and their children to the parade of images. I think it would be too much, ... I think. Maybe another Digital Photo Frame would be better. Something to ponder.

I had noticed the new stained glass windows on the church during the week and the effect from the inside was even better. They were omitted to lower costs in the original construction and parishioners have recently been invited to contribute to a fund for them to be added. These first two are in the windows behind the statues of Mary and St. Julie on opposite sides of the building. The effect is very good, greatly enhancing the statues and providing dignity and decoration as well. Hopefully they will also provide impetus to people's generosity now that they have a sample of what the addition of the stained glass will do to enhance the space.

The second enhancement of the morning came in the Homily. Are you fortunate enough to be old enough to remember Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen ? Well, Fr. Bill Burke, a retired priest living at our parish, could be his reincarnation. They look alike and have the same mannerisms and quality of voice. In addition Fr Bill posses similar insights  into the scriptures and their application to life. His Homilies are usually a treat but this Sunday's was exceptional. We are so fortunate to have him here. I will not attempt to repeat any part of this exceptional homily ... I could not do it justice . You just had to be there. By the way, the link I provided for Archbishop Sheen will bring you to a web radio recording of one of his homilies. There will be a short religious commercial ... bear with it, it will be worth it. The homily itself is not a short snippet, ... it is full length, so allow some time to listen ... again, it will be well worth it.

There was an additional treat for me when I arrived at Mass. The friend who sent the "Ghost of General Patton" email and I exchanged (((Hugs))). We didn't need to say anything because we had exchanged emails after I sent the one quoted above. I had been correct when I knew he was better than the email he had forwarded.

Sunday continued with yet another treat. I hosted Dinner & Cards with the Halford's. Even Biscus was delighted, sporting a fresh new bright red bloom in honor of their visit to the Plefka domicile. There are a myriad of buds in various states of development so I will be enjoying it's flowers for several weeks. Dick and Jan were surprised to find Biscus blooming since it always seemed to avoid their visits. After a few minutes of our usual conversation to bring each other up to date on the happenings since out last get-together, we were off to Chef Paul's Steakhouse in Mokena, just a few minutes away. After the complimentary appetizers of pickled beets, kidney bean salad, cottage cheese and vegetable tray, along with the warm loaf of bread, I opted for a salad while my cohorts each sampled a different soup. I had the Prime Rib, always a favorite for me and one of the house specialties. The generous before dinner drinks lasted through the meal and there was no room for desert. We each brought home large portions of our meals.

Back home we settled in to several spirited hands of cards, a most enjoyable evening. They had been to St. Louis the previous week to visit their son Joe. All are in good health, relatively, that is. There son-in-law, however, is troubled by perplexing medical problems. After they left I settled down to watch a bit of TV before retiring, at the end of another great day. Sleep came quickly and except for a brief interruption to let Mikey out at 6:30, lasted 'till 8 AM.

Getting a late start I dallied over my breakfast and newspaper and when the morning news on TV spilled over to Oprah, I left it on. I was rewarded with an exceptional program featuring Celine Dion. She is not only an exceptional entertainer but an exceptional person with her priorities in the right place. Moving on to my morning visit with my favorite people, Anne and God, the Oprah show had put me into a different level of awareness. I always start these reflections with a bit of reading, currently the words of C. S. Lewis, which this particular morning seemed very much in concert with my thinking. But, I find that I always agree with his concept of God and life. But what really was different was when I read from the little "Prayer for the Day" booklet. I had always considered the prayer for Monday as not being very profound or even meaningful to me but that morning it was as if it was entirely new and it touched me deeply. Even the old and familiar brings something new when a different approach or perspective is encountered. As a result, I spent even more time than usual in my reflections.

There was little left of the morning and that was taken with reviewing my email and responding to several. One was from Cheryl, a fellow pilgrim on the trip to Italy a few years ago. She spoke of her mother. See the Prayer corner above and join us in praying for her and other family members.

At about mid afternoon Monday the door bell rang and I was surprised to see the UPS truck outside. What was in the small box on my porch? I was not expecting anything from UPS. Surprise! It was the power adapter for my scanner. Curious! But, Mikey was asking for his dinner so that was my first priority after which my next step was to plug in the adapter. The scanner immediately jumped to life and is now functioning perfectly. I then checked the confirmation email from the vendor of the adaptor. Yep, there was a tracking number for FedEx with a promised delivery of Tuesday. I had checked the tracking number and was afraid of a problem because there was no entry except for the "Nov 7, 2007 2:30 PM - Package data transmitted to FedEx - Anaheim, CA " I sent off an email to let them know that I had my order in case they were wondering. "All's well that ends well."

It hadn't been used in many years, one of those antique items that moves from shelf to cabinet, to box and wherever, ... useless, ... somewhat an oddity, and too valuable to throw away ... even though a crucial part is missing. Jan Halford has a lot of antique items so I gave it to her and it is now displayed on a shelf in her kitchen. I remember when it was used ... attached to a bracket on the wall in our pantry. Do you remember walk-in pantries? I think it was last used when we lived at 41st and Montgomery and when we moved in 1944 the bracket was left on the wall. It was a tall heavy glass jar in which you put ground coffee. The heavy metal top had a rotary valve which functioned like a revolving door and when the jar was turned upside down it fit into the wall bracket and became a dispenser which measured out the coffee as mom turned the knob.

Recently I started buying "Fair Trade Coffee" ( see Just Coffee )  I get it in a resalable plastic bag, ... not very pretty on the kitchen counter. At first I just poured it into a coffee can with a plastic lid. But that was dishonest because the contents were not as advertised on the can. I looked for an air tight canister but couldn't find anything suitable. (I didn't really look all that hard.)  What I really need is that old coffee dispenser but with the bracket ... long gone. Google to the rescue ! I just looked for "Coffee dispenser"  and sure enough there was the modern counterpart of this ancient device ... sans wall bracket. The modern ones are plastic with a white or chrome base, attractively styled, that sit on the counter. The handle includes a trigger which measures out an exact scoop (1 tablespoon ) of coffee. The information has been transmitted to my kids along with the names of a couple books. As Anne Marie said, "....isn't it fun to think of things you would like and not have to go get them yourselves when the elves can bring them to you!" Yes indeed.

I stayed out of the way while Barbara cleaned on Tuesday. Later I took a little walk out in the garden with the temperature in the low 60's. There were a couple plaques and some wind chimes to be brought into the house along with the outdoor clock. The day lilies that we planted this spring still have flowers even though we have had a freeze and the foliage has turned a brilliant yellow. They simply won't give up and are beautiful. When I brought the few items into the basement I found that Barbara had ironed my summer shirts. I had hung them off to the side and forgot to bring them up. They are "wash & wear"  and I always hang them up damp and that is it! I really appreciate her help because when she sees something that she thinks needs to be done ... it is done! I am truly RICH!

Miracles & free merchandise ... (part one)
Well not exactly but it seemed that way. When I got my new glasses after the cataract surgery back in March of this year. Medicare denied the claim. Since they are supposed to cover the cost of one pair of glasses after cataract surgery, I asked the provider to re-submit the claim, which after several requests, they (reluctantly) said they would. I had already paid them for the glasses on the basis that they would reimburse me when (if) they got paid from Medicare. Tuesday a claim report came from my supplementary insurer which informed me that Medicare had paid their part of the approved amount and they had sent a check also.  Wow! I'll get a nice chunk of change from the provider of the glasses.

Miracles & free merchandise ... (part two)
Well not exactly but it seemed that way. Several years ago my son Dan won an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) at a golf outing and gave it to me for my computer. I had been using it and on many occasions it has saved me a lot of grief when the power has failed. A month or so ago the UPS failed and I have been operating without this electronic insurance. On Wednesday I had just finished some work on the computer and after saving it was reviewing my email when the power failed just long enough to cause a re-boot of the computer. I need my UPS! I went on line, reviewed several options and placed an order. This is the way I like to shop. On the internet I can research various products and compare prices. I find the item that meets my needs and my price range as well. The only drawback is that there is usually a shipping charge and a wait for delivery. But wait!.  ... there is another way. I ordered it using "Local Store Pickup"! In a short time I received a confirmation email followed a half hour later with a notification that my order was ready. Now, this is the way I like to shop! I went to the store where I was directed to a counter near the door, presented identification, signed the receipt and left with the package. No foraging (I had done that at home), no waiting in line to pay (I had done that at home) no fuss, no bother! In - Out! A Miracle! And since I was getting a refund of the money I had paid for my glasses back in March which more than covers the cost of the UPS, it is like free merchandise.

An explanation may be in order here. In "part one" above, I mentioned that "they (reluctantly) said they would." (resubmit the claim). When I asked her to resubmit the claim for the glasses she replied, "I submitted it right the first time ... I know what I am doing, I have been doing it for years!" I had not suggested that she had made a mistake, I just asked that she resubmit the claim. A mistake was made and I assumed it was the government agency or insurance agency that handles such matters that was in error. In September I finally had to bring the matter to the attention of my eye doctor who said he would look into it and apparently did. Some people are just too "thin skinned" and take offence when none is intended, Their reaction makes the situation worse. I try not to be offended. If something is said to me that could be perceived as offensive I like to assume that either I deserved it or the other person didn't mean to offend me but has some problem that has nothing to do with me. If I realize that I deserved it, I will try to suppress my ego and to rectify the problem. If, after consideration, I don't think I deserved it, I will try to forget it and it usually disappears. But, in that case, sometimes, ... it may be necessary for the offender to try again. It could be very frustrating to a person who is really trying to offend me.

I decided that before I connected the new power supply for the computer I would clean up the mess of wires. There were two "spider" adapters plugged into the outlet behind the computer and a couple extension cords as well as a power strip with surge protection. The first step required a trip to the store to get a particular kind of adapter. The outlet at my computer desk is split with one half controlled by the switch at the door. There are two lights connected to it via one of the spiders. The "hot" half feeds my base unit for all the cordless phones in the house (5), the computer, monitor, printer, scanner, cable modem, and wireless network adapter, all through another spider and the maze of cords and more spiders. Wow!   The plan was to go the the Home Depot store, buy the split six outlet adapter and come home. It turned out to be a foraging expedition. The only ones they had there included surge protection and the UPS unit that I have should not be plugged into a surge protected outlet. So, I went to the hardware store in Tinley Park. They have everything. But ... not this item. From there I went to a place I have been avoiding ... Wal Mart. To my surprise, I found that they had cleaned up the place with wider main isles. The electrical department had just what I wanted.

After lunch I shut everything down, disconnected it all and started in. The new six outlet adapter replaced the wall plate and the desk and floor lamp were connected and tested. The new UPS unit has a surge suppressor for the cable connection to the modem and so that was connected. It has four surge protected outlets that are not backed up by the battery and the printer and scanner were connected to two of them. There are four outlets that have surge protection, voltage regulation and battery backup. The computer, and monitor were connected to two of them, as well as a short extension cord to feed the power adapters for the cable modem and wireless network adapter.  The remaining UPS outlet was used to feed the cordless phone base unit. Now I have battery backup for my phones as well as the computer. The last step was to plug in the UPS and the computer, phone and everything else came to life. It was like doing successful open heart surgery! Well ... almost.

However, when I went to install the power management software I discovered that my mouse didn't work! Curses! I no sooner crawled under the desk, to check the connection on the mouse cord extension than the phone rang. It was my son Tom. I had to crawl out from under to answer the phone and with my body mass and lack of mobility ... well you get the picture.

One of the reasons I don't cook is that it can be dangerous. If not the cooking itself, the cleanup can present hazards. Wednesday night, Diane was washing the crock pot when it slipped out of her hands, hit the sink, and shattered sending a shard of crockery into the palm of her right hand. The cut was deep. Her mother, who lives across the street, took her to the ER at St. Francis Hospital. After an hour wait with little promise of help any time soon, they left and went to Palos Hospital where, after another wait she received medical attention. Thursday morning she saw her GP who sent her to a hand surgeon to make sure that there was no ligament or nerve damage. He determined that exploratory surgery should be done but that it could wait until Tuesday since Diane and her sister have plane reservations to go to Denver over the weekend to visit their brother. She will be a friendly traveler, constantly waving, because she must keep her hand elevated. In the mean time we will say a couple prayers that there is no serious damage or if there is, the surgeon will have no trouble making repairs.

Thanks to Tom's call, and his suggestion to re-boot after checking my mouse connections ... my mouse returned to life. The power management software was quickly installed and I am a happy camper. Based on the equipment I have connected, the software has calculated that there is 23 minutes of operation available if the power fails. I have configured the unit to do a controlled shut down when there is 8 minutes of battery power left so I don't completely deplete the batteries. Along with providing emergency power. the UPS filters the fluctuations that normally occur on power lines, boosting the voltage when it dips and clipping the spikes when they occur thereby providing a regulated power to the computer. That prevents many of the hardware and software glitches that would otherwise happen. The software also allows me to schedule regular shutdowns and restarts of the system according to the schedule I select. However, since I have the phone system connected to it I will not use that feature avoiding the need to reset the clock on the phone's base unit.

When the mail arrived on Thursday it was like Christmas! There was the check for the reimbursement of the amount Medicare paid for my glasses. There was the disks for my 2007 income tax software. But best of all there was an envelope from Jack and Judi Woodards with some family photos. I must share them with you. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them.