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<\/a>We cut a fir and brought it home. Set up in the media room, it looks good in its Christmas regalia.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Tree decorations are largely hand made; they mix well with some purchased ornaments featuring a British theme.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>The second tree is in the guest room. (The tree is visible from the west side of the house.) Pam decorated it with clip-on candle lights and heart ornaments, and added a few characters at the base.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Pam finished the last of the Solstice cards and all have been mailed. Between that and the tree decorating we are about set for Christmas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few other tasks occupied our time as well. Pam’s new phone arrived and we went through the process of setting it up. (The old phone had never been set up for e-mail.) The biggest hassle was finding the Mediacom server information needed for processing Pam’s incoming and outgoing messages. An internet search turned up the info we needed and now Pam can send and receive e-mail on her phone. Along with a new unlimited data plan, this has made it easier and simpler for her to send and receive photos in text and e-mails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other settings, such as screen lock time, are being finalized as Pam gets more familiar with the phone. The old phone has not yet been deactivated; Pam found some accounts need to send a code to the phone number on file before allowing changes to the user profile, such as changing the phone number. I did download all the photos from the old unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other news this week involved the weather. A late-week snow started off as freezing rain before transitioning to snow.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>We received between 3 – 4 inches of snow and I used the snow blower to clean our walks and the John Deere (with snow blade) to clean our garage entrances and mail box stand. That was on Friday. We are getting more light snow this morning (Saturday) and I did shovel the walks again. Temps are forecast to get above freezing the next few days and I hope that is enough to keep the walks clear for a while. Since we are on a corner lot, we have quite a bit of sidewalk to shovel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took quite a few critter photos this week. Stirling is turning darker as he heads toward maturity, particularly on his face, ears, and other characteristic Siamese dark areas.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Vienna is also filling out but, as a black cat, has not changed color much. (She does have a tiny bit of white on her belly.)<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Elmo continues to forget his “pride in species” by sleeping with the dogs on occasion. Here he is with JoJo.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Squirrels continue to use the new outside heated water bowl. <\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Pam provided me with this photo after I used the term “Puttering” in last week’s post.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>I received a packet of documents from Mayo Clinic regarding my upcoming rotator cuff surgery. Now scheduled for January 26th, I have a series of pre-op exams on January 25th. The doctor wants me to stay in the hospital overnight so I will be home on the 27th. Unfortunately, at this point, the time of the surgery on the 26th has not been established and release time on the 27th is an open question, to be determined by the hospital staff. I am not looking forward to this event but it is necessary for my long-term health. I’m advised by someone who has gone through the surgery that pain management and physical therapy are the keys to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo Archive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Starting with a trip I took to Washington, D.C. in the mid-’80s; here are a couple photos of the Lincoln Memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n