Christmas is officially over; my house is again empty. Mom & Dad, Laura, and Grampa came here to visit this year, and just left this morning. Laura drove up here from Oklahoma through the worst snowstorm ever; she was supposed to drive up here on the 23rd (an all day drive) but only made it as far as Springfield MO the first day, Springfield to Decatur IL the second day, and here (at last) on Christmas afternoon. Most of the drive was through white-out, and she lost count of all the cars in the ditch on the way. The weather channel kept showing a snowfall map, which consistently showed the heaviest snowfall exactly on her path from Oklahoma to Indiana. I drove to Chicago to pick up Mom & Dad & Grampa at the airport and the roads were dry, clear, and as close to empty as I've seen. Since the same drive last summer (see 6-23-02) took almost 4 hours I allowed plently of time, and got there in 2 hours 10 minutes. We had clear weather until Christmas eve, and had maybe 6-8 inches overnight. We had our family present exchange after Laura got here. The 26th Beth and I went up to MI for her family Christmas and back that night. The rest of the week we watched some DVDs (Fellowship of the Ring again), saw The Two Towers, did the Village at Winona Lake, and played the 20th anniversary Trivial Pursuit (really hard!). Yesterday Mom, Laura, Beth & I went to Fort Wayne for Beth's ultrasound, and the doctor reversed his decision (see 11-18-02) after further review. Now, it looks like we're going to have a little girl. We went to register for the baby shower at Babies R Us afterwards. Laura went up to visit a friend in MI yesterday and is headed to West Virginia for an interview after taking everyone back to the airport in Chicago. She'll be back in a couple days. Tonight Beth and I are going to a Komets hockey game in Fort Wayne with friends and will have a party afterwards.

I'm finally on Christmas vacation from work. It's Monday, but the weekend doesn't count since I went in to work for about 4 hours both weekend days to finish some validations on machines that it's hard to get time on during the work week. Yesterday was also the children's Christmas program at church. I help out with directing. This year we did a neat show where some kids acted out the Christmas story in pantomime behind a curtain, so all the audience could see was the shadows, while another person narrated. It went really well except for the 9-foot tall wise man we had because one of the kids forgot to stand close to the curtain. We had movie night early this week, Friday night, so we could watch "LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring" on video before all going out to watch "LOTR: The Two Towers" Saturday afternoon. I was really impressed with 2T; I think it may have been better than Fellowship.

I missed work Monday being sick, sick like I was all last weekend as well. Now on Wednesday I still feel bad enough to call in to work, which I didn't. I went to the doctor today and he gave me some antibiotics. Beth had a raging case of flu last weekend. Must be getting close to Christmas. Last Saturday I had to drive Mom G back to Michigan without Beth. I drove her up to Ann Arbor becasue one of her sisters died last week and the service was Saturday.

Last night was the deacons & elders Christmas party. The church has a catered dinner at one of the banquet halls in town. We all have dinner, then play the white elephant auction. Everyone brings one present and puts it under the tree, then draws a number. When everyone has drawn, we go in order of the drawn numbers, picking a present. You can also steal one that someone else picked, which allows that person to choose another new one, or steal someone else's. the thing is, some of the presents are nice (Beth got a pretty painted blown glass snowman) and some are gags (I got a plastic tray labeled 'mixed nuts' that held a collection of old rusty nuts (as in bolts) and some pictures of Don, who is also kind of a nut). At the end, #1 can exercise an option to trade presents with anyone. Lots of fun.

It's a pretty good Thanksgiving weekend so far. I worked through Wednesday ( which was an early day) then Beth and I took off for Michigan that night. Dinner on Thursday was at her sister Pam's. Ric & Nickie, Ryan, Sam, Stephanie & John, Julia, Pam & Marve, Mom G, and Beth and I all had a very nice dinner. Everyone else went to Chicago the next day to visit the Shedd Aquarium except Beth & me, because Beth didn't feel up to a 2-1/2 hour drive, walking around all day, then another 2-1/2 hour drive. We took Mom G home with us instead on Friday. We had somewhat of an ordeal getting two new tires on the Saturn at Sears right before we left, including "OK Mr. Knight, you're all set" after 2 hours, when I could see the car hadn't been moved from where I parked it. Today we went to see "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which I really enjoyed. I wonder who will play Dumbledore in the next movie since Richard Harris has died. Bowling was next. I had one of my best games (182) followed by struggling in the next (114) and a near average (138) in the third. Beth is still able to bowl around the baby (85-104-120), but maybe not for much longer.

Beth had another ultrasound today with an OB/GYN specialist in Fort Wayne. We didn't get any new pictures to keep, but the doctor did tell us he was 70% sure that it was "outdoor plumbing." We have another appointment with him in December, at which time he says he'll be able to give us a guarantee (don't paint anything, he said this time), but for now it looks like we'll have a little boy.

This past week I spent two days in Chicago with a group from work going to the Pack Expo. An exposition of packaging machinery may not sound really exciting to some, but there was a LOT of really cool stuff there. It was at McCormick Center, so you know it was huge. I was looking mostly for powder filling and ampule handling equipment but I also found a heat sealer that I plan on buying next week. After the first full day of walking around looking at machines, the group headed for the hotel, which was an adventure in itself. I was the only one in two miniwan loads who knew how to get around in Chicago, but do I get to drive or even ride shotgun? Noooo. Anyway, we were looking for the W Chicago Lakeshore hotel, which is on Lake Shore Drive, but the driver thought it was called the Lakeshore Hotel so that's what we were looking for and trying to call information for a phone number...no luck. Anyway, we drove around in big circles around Lake Shore drive, Ontario Street, Lincoln Park, and Michigan Avenue trying to find the place, even stopping to ask directions at this other hotel before finally figuring out the correct name of the hotel about 3 or 4 loops later. It turned out to be the one we had stopped to ask directions at. Then of course, my room (and one other guy's) wasn't ready, which puzzled us since it was about 7 pm. It took so long for them to get the rooms ready the gave us two free drinks at their bar, which was staffed by three people, one of whom looked like she must have been the house call girl, which was fitting because the room itself looked as though they were expecting me to bring a hooker there. Black ceiling, lots of wicker, shutters going into the bathroom, big fluffy bed with lots of pillows, etc. We all went to the Chicago Chop House for dinner, which has been voted the best steak house in America 3 years running. The wait for a party of 9 was 2 hours, but if we were a party of 4 and a party of 5 it was only an hour, so most of us went across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe for drinks and appetizers, bringing a cell phone so another guy could call us when the table was ready in about an hour. He called us before the drinks and appetizers had arrived. We tried to cancel the order but it was too late. I ran over to help get the table because I hadn't ordered a drink, but the others stayed to pay. It was about $45 for scarfed nachos and gulped drinks. Nobody wanted to stay out after dinner so we went back to the hotel and retired. (Up to that point, being in Chicago with 8 other guys from work had reminded me of being in a port of call in the navy)

Beth's been feeling a little stir crazy lately, what with being home sick for so long (She had a double ear infection, sinus infection, and pharyngitis until about 4 or 5 days ago) and me working so much. Last weekend I spent full days at work both Saturday and Sunday so we didn't have much of a weekend, so Friday night I took her to Fort Wayne for dinner and shopping at Babies R Us. Yesterday we had a men's jewelry party (for men to buy Christmas presents for their wives...not men's jewelry!) which went pretty well, about $300 in sales. She has another party today, 8 this month altogether, I think. We bought the van to pull the camper next spring. It needs a trailer hitch and new tires, otherwise it's really a nice vehicle. And this year I couldn't bring myself to pay any attention at all to the World Series. Just didn't care.

Mom and Grampa came to town this week in Grampa's truck, pulling his camper, which he had decided to give to Beth and me. We're blown away. We have wanted to get a camper for a while now but didn't have the cash for it at this time...AAAAAAnd it just so happens that a friend at work is selling his old van for under $3000 so we're going to buy that and use it as a tow vehicle. I just wish it was the beginning of summer now. Oh well, we need to do some cleanup and maintenance on the trailer anyway. Mom and Grampa stayed until Wednesday before heading for Oklahoma and a stay with Laura before on to Phoenix. Quite a road trip.

We went to visit some friends camping at Chain O' Lakes State Park today, then had league bowling. A pretty pathetic day of bowling it was for both of us, too. I bowled 126-138-120 and Beth 135-90-118. Neither of us were very good today.

Beth and I just got back from Maine yesterday. My step-grandmother died last Thursday and we went for the funeral. We made some last-minute arrangements on Trip.com and found two round-trip tickets from Chicago to Boston on ATA for $550. I forgot about the little penknife on my keychain and got busted with it by airport security in Chicago. The flight to Logan was...cramped...but only a couple hours, and my pregnant wife did fine. I picked up Mom and Laura in Manchester NH on the way (they flew Southwest) with a rental car (I was concerned at first because the rental reservation said economy car...and said 'comparable to Chevy Metro or Hyundai Accent' which might have room for 4 people or their luggage, but not both...but I got a Dodge Neon which was plenty big enough). The first night there was some confusion about where we were going to all sleep, which ended when Grampa volunteered to sleep in his recliner. Laura, Beth and I refused that offer and got a motel room. Motels in Lewiston ME seem expensive (Super 8, $79...Motel 6, $59 but only smoking rooms left...Ramada, $110...Maine Motel, no check ins after 10 pm. We took Super 8). If only we'd known about it, there were beds in relatives houses available, but there was some confusion as to where. The rest of the visit Mom & Laura slept in a camper and Beth and I at my step-aunt Marlene's. The visitation was Sunday and the funeral Monday. Tuesday, Mom, Laura and I drove Laura back to the Manchester airport, stopping on the way to visit Mom's old college roommate, while Beth stayed behind and helped clean the house with my step-aunts (didn't want to be in a car all day). Wednesday Beth and I came back home. Mom stayed behind to help Grampa take care of things, then they're going to drive Grampa's truck to Arizona. They'll stop here on the way.

I went caving yesterday, again down in southern Indiana, with the SJVG. By far it was the most extensive and challenging cave I've ever done. Originally we were going to do some surveying (in two groups of two) but first myself and another caver were going to look around for some missing surveying equipment that was lost in the cave last week. Anyway, it takes over two hours to get to the unsurveyed parts of the cave, and by late in the day I was literally worn out to the point of barely being able to push my pack along as I crawled on my belly through a foot of cold water with two feet of head space. (I've come up with a long list of equipment I'm going to need to go caving as extensively as I want: better knee pads, a smaller pack, neoprene socks, polypropylene coveralls, and a wetsuit. The latter two I borrowed yesterday.) But our search for the missing instruments took long enough that there wasn't time to survey. We entered the cave at about 10:45 am and exited at 6:15 pm. By coincidence the other team exited within 5 minutes; they got a few hundred feet surveyed. Today I am sore all over. I did promise to come back when we can get some more surveying done. The others are a lot faster at moving around in a cave than I am; several times I had to call ahead "are you still up there?" to make sure I wasn't lost and going the wrong way.

I just got back last night from three days in Detroit at a training class for robot programming. I'm the engineer for a department that owns a robot...and now, the only one in that department who knows how to program it. Seems that everyone who did know gradually trickled out of the department until there were none, and the programs needed adjustment, and nobody knew how. While in Detroit, I also hung out with old friend Mikey, went to see a Tigers game at the newish ballpark, ate at Hockeytown Cafe, etc. Comerica Park is nice enough. I hate to admit it but it's a lot more attractive and the seats are much better than old Tiger Stadium. The Tigers, however, suck. They got their collective butt kicked last Wednesday and looked like a bunch of amateurs. Anyway, some weirdo in the parking lot tried to sell us $35 tickets for $10 (scalping is hard when there are 50,000 empty seats) but we turned him down, opting instead for the $8 bleacher seats and moving into empty $35 seats after a couple innings. There were 5 others in the robot class with me, from a food plant in Tennessee, who all went to the Tuesday game and had better luck than Mikey and me. Someone GAVE them 5 $35 tickets free, they stumbled into getting invited into the Tiger Club (invitation only-type dining, for sportswriters, politicians, etc, with an amazing buffet from what I hear), one of them caught a foul ball, and the Tigers won. Go figure.

The softball tournament is over. We started out the game day by playing for the loser's bracket championship, against the team that kicked us into the losers' bracket. We went into the seventh trailing 14-13, then ended it on a two-run double, final score 15-14. Then we played the champs of the winners' bracket, jumping all over them early and holding them off 10-4. Then came the final game, winner take all. We fell behind early, then chipped away and chipped away before blowing it wide open and winning 19-6. Against all odds and discarding the baggage of a regular season record of 3-11, my softball team won the tournament last night.

World Pulse Festival was Saturday (see also 8-21-2001) and we went with some friends, John & Stephanie & Julia, and Mikey from Detroit. I was concerned about a repeat performance of last year weather-wise, since it was mostly cloudy all day, but it never rained for more than a few minutes once during the day and it was sunny enough for me to pick up a couple sunburned legs. The concert itself was fantastic. Andy opened the show again this year, followed by By the Tree, Mark Schultz (absolutely fantastic show), ZoeGirl, the Newsboys (also a great show), and Michael W. Smith, who Beth has wanted to see since 1984. Overall it was just an incredible concert. Sunday, Beth and I were planning to go to Michigan for Ryan's 4th birthday party but were too wiped. Mikey had stayed with us since the middle of last week (he wanted to get out of town until the Woodward Dream Cruise was over) and he stayed until Sunday afternoon since we didn't go to Michigan as we'd planned. Last Friday was Beth's first doctor's appointment. All's well so far; the early results say the due date is April 16.

The magical Cinderella run for our softball team continues! We won two games today, by scores of something like 22-12 and 18-13. In the first game, we fell behind 11-1 after the third inning and came back. The first game was at 6:00 and we had to wait until 9:00 for the second, so I went to Dollar General for a pack of cards and played Euchre with some other folks. The second game was a win over the team we beat last week. So, we're tearing up the loser's bracket. If we win 3 more, we're the champs (we're playing pretty well, but don't hold your breath)! I myself was 4-4 in the first game and 2-4 in the second. Overall for the season, by my calculations, I'm batting 32-66 (0.484). 2-for-2 in the next game gets me up to 0.500 again.

Beth called me at work today to give me some big news...she's finally pregnant again! A definite positive on an EPT. She was pretty stressed about it because of an ambiguous test she took Saturday, which seemed to indicate she wasn't pregnant, but she was still almost a week late. I bought her a dozen roses on the way home from work. She sees the doctor on Friday this week. Pray for us. On an unrelated note, deer ate most of our cherry tomatoes right off the plants. I'm mad enough to go hunting. We were just starting to get several a day and there were tons of green ones on the plants. I'm so peeved I could spit.

It's been a busy weekend. Almost like I didn't have one, it was so busy. Friday Beth and I had the Johnsons over so Beth could close Rachel's jewelry show and we were going out to dinner afterwards. While the women were working, Jack came over (family out of town) to see what was up. So we all went out together, and ran into the Gosnells at the restaurant and we all ate together. Euchre afterwards with Jim & Rachel. Saturday we went up for the day to Amish Acres' artsy-craftsy faire, which was artsy and craftsy, dry & dusty & hot. We went because Jim & Judy and Pam & Marve and Ric & Nickie & the kids were going and we wanted to spend the day with them. Beth and I only spent a couple hours before heading back to get ready to have them all over for dinner. Burgers on the grill, slaw, that sort of stuff. I think Sam is finally starting to warm up to me (it takes a while). Today (Sunday) was our church's annual picnic (your typical potluck fare) and the weekly movie night afterwards with the usual gang, tonight it was "Aliens" which Beth had never seen, and didn't dislike as much as she thought she would.

The softball team had entered the postseason tournament (every team gets in). Unlike us, however, we won the first game rather easily before dropping a close second game, which means we advance. In the loser's bracket, but still. In the first game, I was about the only one who wasn't hitting the ball...at all...until late in the game. I was 0-for-4, when I came up with two on and hit a real live inside-the-park home run. Admittedly, it might have been a double if it had been played right, but I touched 'em all anyway. A hard liner down the third base line that almost decapitated our runner at third, then the left fielder couldn't catch up to it before it hit the fence, then she couldn't pick it up cleanly, then she couldn't throw it as far as the infield...so I ran all the way around and scored standing. Good way to break a slump! I think it's only my second extra-base hit this year, and it's definitely the first homer of my life. I was 3-5 in the second game (all singles).

Friday we went to see "Signs" with the Johnsons...and Jim liked it! It was the first movie we've seen with them that he liked. I really liked it too. All those who complain about the wimpy aliens or the "dumb ending" just didn't get it. I imagine they wanted to see another "Aliens" and were mad they didn't get it. M. Night Shamalamadingdong is a master of using what you don't see for building tension. I really enjoyed it, I must say. Saturday Beth and I went up to South Haven with Pam & Marve and Stephanie & John and Julia for the Blueberry Festival...which is actually next week, so we didn't see many blueberries. I did run into Mr. Nemecek in South Haven; hadn't seen him for years. I spoke with him for several minutes. Sunday was movie night..."Notting Hill."

My boss gave me four tickets to go see a Wagon Wheel Theatre production last Saturday. He gets season tickets and couldn't go this time, so Beth and I went with the Johnsons to see "Charley's Aunt." A pretty good production, but their line delivery was as rapid-fire as a high school show. Sunday we went out on Lake Wawasee with the Schneiders and Johnsons on Dave's dad's boat (very nice). Overall, it was a pretty busy weekend. And the baseball players may strike again? I hope the baseball players strike. I hope the series gets cancelled again. I hope we get to listen to the players whine about how hard it is to get by while on strike like the basketball players did a few years ago. Heck, I hope all the baseball teams get contracted. It's boredom with a score, anyway. It's very very difficult for me to make myself care.

My boss gave me four tickets to go see a Wagon Wheel Theatre production last Saturday. He gets season tickets and couldn't go this time, so Beth and I went with the Johnsons to see "Charley's Aunt." A pretty good production, but their line delivery was as rapid-fire as a high school show. Sunday we went out on Lake Wawasee with the Schneiders and Johnsons on Dave's dad's boat (very nice). Overall, it was a pretty busy weekend. And the baseball players may strike again? I hope the baseball players strike. I hope the series gets cancelled again. I hope we get to listen to the players whine about how hard it is to get by while on strike like the basketball players did a few years ago. Heck, I hope all the baseball teams get contracted. It's boredom with a score, anyway. It's very very difficult for me to make myself care.

Yesterday was my birthday. 33 years old doesn't feel a lot different than 32, really. Beth and I and several friends went out to dinner at Teel's in Mentone for their all you can eat seafood buffet dinner, which includes crab legs. For Indiana, they're pretty good. The buffet as a whole is, however, not like Captain George's in Virginia Beach. We all played Catch Phrase at the Wilhite's afterwards. Two of the kids from the accident were with the group; one (Lindsey) was hurt pretty badly but is doing much better except for still being very sore in her knee. The day before (Thursday) was Lindsey's 12th birthday so we stopped by for her birthday party. One of her presents was a lava lamp, just like the one that her friend Catlyn (the girl who was killed in the crash) had gotten for her birthday about two weeks ago. That's going to be a very special present for her forever, I bet. She also got some finger paint so everyone who was at her party could put their handprint on her bedroom wall and sign it on her birthday. That was really cool. Wednesday Beth and I babysat for Scott (the children's minister) and his wife Jennifer while they went to group counseling. Tuesday our softball team lost again, but almost won when our best longball hitter nearly got one out on the last at-bat of the game. Had he hit it 10 feet longer, we would have won, but we lost by something like 13-11. I was 2-3 in the game, and am now hitting 20-43 (0.465) on the season. If I hit 3 for 3 in the last game I can get to 0.500. Long shot with the slump I've been in (the game after the one my mom saw, I was 0-4). Monday was Catlyn's funeral. Two other guys from church and I put together the video slide show for the family and I ran it during the service. I was happy I could do something for them, but man was it emotional. The whole church family has been through a lot in the last couple weeks.

A few days ago there was a collision between our church's van and a semi. The driver (our children's minister) and several 10 and 11 year olds were injured and one girl was killed. It's been a hard week

This was the first year in quite a while I didn't do anything fireworks-related during the week of July 4th. I had plenty of other things to do though. I had Thursday and Friday off. Wednesday night (7/3) I drove up to Michigan to spend the rest of the day with Beth (she's been going up there a lot to be with her mom, who was still in the hospital) and Thursday (7/4) we drove down to the South Bend area to spend some time with friends from church who were camping at Potato Creek State Park. A whole bunch of people were there, similarly to camping at Chain O' Lakes State Park over Memorial Day a while back. We also went to see Men In Black II with them while we were there, then returned to camp for hot dogs and smores. Later that night I headed home while Beth drove back up to MI. Friday morning I set out for southern Indiana to the St. Joseph Valley Grotto campsite, since the grotto was having a weeklong campout there. As it turns out, the campsite is located on private land and is leased from the landowner. There's a big field with a woody area with a clearing in it (and a sinkhole), the campsite is in the clearing. Anyway, I got there at about 1:00 pm on Friday. I didn't know what it would be like or who would be there when I got there, but the place was deserted, so I just went about setting up the tent. Picture if you will and old movie entitled "The Three Stooges Set Up a Tent in 94 Degree Heat" with the parts of Larry, Moe, and Curly all played by me. People began to trickle back in from caving a couple hours later. Another guy who was arriving for the first time that day (many others had already been there for days) and I got a little caving in; he and I and his son and nephew went into Elrod cave for a while because we were itching to go and the kids had never been in a cave before, and they were antsy. After a trip in (which we weren't really prepared for; we were just going to walk around a little and come back out, but would up going in quite far, and anyway hadn't put on our coveralls or pads) we went back to camp and did camp stuff (sit & talk around the fire, eat hot dogs, etc) until later. I found out that our nice expensive air mattress has a leak in it because I woke up sleeping on the ground the next morning. The next day we went on a caving trip through Lost River Cave, in which I bashed my shin pretty good while walking through waist deep water. I stepped on a rock that moved. (Big cut, lots of blood.) I had to make an into-town run for bandages and peroxide. I stayed at the campsite until after dinnertime, because one of the grotto members was making her famous jambalaya for everyone for dinner. I drove back Saturday evening. Anyway, I hope to get in on some surveying in the Lost River Cave soon. It's a cave that the grotto members discovered just a few years ago and are still surveying; 16 miles so far and no end in sight. More leads are found every time they go surveying.

This weekend there were three big events: I finally had the big rotten stump (the 12 foot high one) cut down and the stump sawed out, which already makes the house look a lot better; Beth had her first $500 jewelry party; and the computer had brain surgery. Actually, more like brainwashing. I finally got sick of the slow beast grinding and chugging on everything so I gave it the ol' format c:. I do however have the important stuff backed up on an Iomega drive. Anyway, I fought with the carcass so much I came close more than once to just driving to the Gateway store in Ft. Wayne and getting a new one. but I persevered, and it seems to be running all right now. Lots less garbage on the hard drive.

Busy week and busy weekend. A week ago last Friday Mom Knight flew in for a visit. I left work early so we could go pick her up at Midway airport in Chicago...next time we'll have her go to Indianapolis because the airport is so much easier to get to. The drive from the highway to the airport took almost as long as the drive from Warsaw to the outskirts of Chicago. Anyway, we had a very nice visit. We really didn't do anything special but had some good quality time hanging out. Mom also drove up to Kalamazoo to visit old friends there for a day and extended her visit by a day so she could go to my softball game last Tuesday, which turned out to be as good a game as she could have gone to since I was 3-for-4 with a good show defensively, and my base hit started the late-inning rally that won the game for our team. BTW I've clawed my average back up to 0.500 (16-32). I took Tuesday and Wednesday off, Wednesday so we could drive her back to the airport. I also took last Friday off because it was Beth's and my 10th anniversary. We went on a mini-vacation up to Nappanee. We stayed in a nice B&B for 2 nights but we probably won't stay in Nappanee again because there's not much to do when the antiquey and Amish things get old. We drove up to Mishawaka twice for something to do and a place to eat. We exchanged presents at Olive Garden Friday night. She got a very nice anniversary band, and the people the next table over thought I was asking her to marry me and applauded and congratulated us. Beth got me a nice watch. We looked through campers at a place up there, Elkhart is full of them. We came back today, I spent 4 hours at work catching up, and we had the usual Sunday night movie at our friends' house. Tonight it was "Memento." I think I need to see it again.

This past weekend was Zimmer's annual company picnic at Indiana Beach amusement park. This picnic thing is a great deal! Admission and all rides are free all day, plus $6 in coupons to spend on food or gifts any way you want to. Free admission to the water park (which was nice, but the water was kind of cold). All in all a great deal and a very nice time. Roller coasters to boot, which were good considering how small they are (Indiana Beach ain't Cedar Point or Busch Gardens). After the day at the park, we got home a something like 10 pm and I got to see almost an entire hockey game. I tuned in just in time to see Brett Hull score the tying goal, and stayed up until the triple-overtime game was over and the Red Wings go up in the series 2-1. Tonight they go up 3-1 on another Hasek shutout. The Stanley Cup is practically in the bag.

I've never before gone to a friend's house to watch a hockey game, but did tonight for game 1 of the Cup finals. And the Red Wings lose in OT. Oh well, we'll get 'em. Beth was doing a jewelry show in MI tonight.

Sam's 1st birthday party was this Sunday. Saturday Beth did some gardening while I watched, then we went from the garden to the Mentone Egg Festival Saturday. The festival was just about over and pretty well in the process of shutting down, but we spotted a camper we want, a 23' 1996 model 5th wheel for sale on someone's lawn. They want $6500; it might as well be ten million. The other day I spotted the truck I want to pull it with, a 2002 Dodge Dakota quad cab 4x4 V-8, jet black. It's $23500, might as well be a billion jillion skillion.

Beth and I just got back from camping at Chain O' Lakes State Park over near Columbia City. We went with a group of people from church; apparently it is a tradition at church that a group goes somewhere to camp over Memorial Day weekend. We stayed with friends in their 5th wheel overnight. Overall I think there were 6 campers or 5th wheels all parked in lots pretty close together. It was a lot of fun. The park has a bunch of lakes all connected by narrow channels, hiking trails, nature center, playground, etc, everything a state park needs. It was very relaxing, I tell you, just sitting by the campfire, playing volleyball or card games (or Spider-man on Jim's xbox), or doing nothing, or something. I also find that camping makes me hungry. Everyone seemed to eat a lot more than normal. And something about camping makes hamburgers and hot dogs really really good. And smores....can't beat 'em.

Last Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning) I went to see Episode II at midnight for the opening show. It wasn't as big a deal as Episode I in Virginia...not nearly as many dress-ups (although we did have a Jedi master and a Darth Vader) or as many other things like a pre-show SW character imitation contest. The show was on 4 screens (out of 6) and all were sold out. I was pretty wiped Thursday morning at work. The movie was...well, disappointing. I agree largely with Roger Ebert, except I think the show was visually excellent. But the script....awful! The love story...abysmal! The acting... terrible! Oh well, at least Jar Jar was only a very minor player this time. The cough finally petered out a while back but the rib still hurts. Not as much though. It actually is getting better except if I try to sleep on that side. I went caving for the first time in about 10 years last weekend. I went with the grotto trip (4 other guys from the Elkhart area) down to Langdon's Cave and Mauck's Cave down near Wyandotte Caverns not too far from Louisville. I'll put up some pictures soon. It was a lot of fun. I hope I can get out caving more in the near future. I need some rappelling gear though. A couple of the other guys went down a pit I couldn't because I don't have the gear. I also need some neoprene socks. They made things so much more pleasant. The final X-Files is tonight, which means I can't watch the final episode of Survivor: Marquesas tonight. Beth and I are going to a friend's house for an X-Files party, which mostly means we're going to watch the show and eat dinner in the forms of Hot Doggetts, Potato Skinners, Scully Snacks and Mulder Munchies. Ought to be fun. The softball team won a game last Tuesday! Big time, too, 21-6. We're 1-4 overall now, and I'm 7-of-17 batting.

That sick thing I posted about a month ago is still there, only completely morphed. I've been feeling well for a few weeks, only with a cough I can't shake. And today I was in serious pain in my ribs. So, I go to the doctor again, and I have a cracked rib! Yay. From coughing so much for so long. Maybe I'll be completely better someday. Bowling is over; Beth and I got free bowling balls for being first-time leaguers. The alley where we bowl does that. Nice balls, too. I wound up bowling a 188 the second to last time out and that was my high score, Beth's was the 156. And now that bowling is over, softball is on! We've had 2 games so far, lost both (get used to that), and I've gone 3-for-8, 1 run scored, 2 rbi so far. Not real impressive, but I've had some bad luck too. Clobbered the ball just a wee bit foul two different at-bats, both times with 2 strikes, which counts as an out in this league. Still haven't gone caving yet, but I bought a helmet and headlamp. The kitchen is finally put back together. A friend from church came over last Saturday and helped me put the cabinets back on the wall. Beth is so happy to have that done. The kitchen is so much better laid out now, the fridge can open all the way, and the recessed lighting I replaced the fluorescent light with is soooo much better. Saw Spiderman...it was good but no better than that. I'm really looking forward to Episode II. It looks so good! I'm psyched. Laura rescued a stray dog.

Today I went into work for about half a day and it wore me out. I have been so sick for the past 5 days I could barely function. A nasty little bugger case of the flu, with an opportunistic case of pharyngitis. Each and every symptom you can think of. Cough, aching all over, 102.8° fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, night sweats, loss of appetite, chills, disorientation, phlegm, bloody nose, head and chest congestion, cramps, and a throat so sore it felt like ground chuck. Saturday night I woke up four times during the night, each maybe a hour or two apart, soaking wet with sweat every time. I'd change my shirt and shorts, put down a towel in bed, and it'd happen again. And since it burned like hellfire in my throat to swallow, there was a pillow soaking problem too. Overall a most unpleasant few days...I went home from work Wednesday at noon and wasn't back until today. In other news, our tenant in Virginia has decided to renew her lease for another year, so even more house selling worries are gone. I have about 20 old CD's of mine up for auction on eBay. So far I've made about $35 in closed auctions and current bids. My bracket in the NCAA tournament was trashed after the first round, despite my correctly picking Tulsa and Kent State opening round upsets, since I missed all the others. And Indiana...who knew? I finished up with a pathetic record of 36-28, same as last year. The bowling season is almost over...last time I bowled 133-146-115 and Beth simply outdid herself with a 84-125-156. I've been working on remodeling the kitchen a bit for the past few weeks before I got sick. The refrigerator was in a spot where the door only opened about halfway because it would hit an opposite countertop, so I'm moving the countertop beside the fridge so the fridge can go to a clear open spot. But...work like this always means more than you thought, so I've had to remove the cabinets, finish the drywall behind them which was never taped at the corners or mudded, move a phone jack, move 3 light switches, remove a splashguard, discover what the splashguard was covering, replace the drywall behind the splashguard, remove a fluorescent light, install recessed lights, level the floor under the moved cabinets with some underlayment and stick-on vinyl squares, paint the walls. and switch the hinges on the fridge. The cabinets are still off the wall now because I got sick in the middle of things.

The Arkansas house is indeed off my hands. I've cancelled the insurance, put all utilities in somebody else's name, and sent my last mortgage payment on it. It cost me over $4000 to get rid of it but it's gone, some 9+ months after putting it up for sale. It's been gone for about a week now. YAY. At this house, a tree in our backyard fell last weekend...and I didn't hear it. Baby news: the bad news is Beth miscarried last week, but the good news is that means we know that everyone's plumbing does work. We didn't even know she was pregnant. We have also finished decorating the future nursery here, done the same way we did the room in Arkansas...see 3-16-2001. We went to Michigan last weekend but only stayed Saturday afternoon since it started out raining, then heavy rain, then hail, then sleet, then driving snow by 6 pm. And again it is time for my favorite time of year...March Madness! My Spartans are only a 10 seed this time but I have them beating NC State and UConn to go as far as sweet 16. Long shot, yes, but worth taking. I picked Duke to win it all, and picked a few upsets, which I'm never right on, but here goes: Pepperdine, Tulsa, and Kent State to win opening round games and Kentucky to beat Kansas in elite 8. Final Four: Duke, Maryland, Kentucky, Cincinnati. We'll see.

We finally have some good news about the house. A couple weeks ago we got our first offer on it. It was a crummy offer, but an offer nonetheless. They offered $70,000 but they wanted $2000 for "any necessary repairs." Where did that come from? It seems someone "just looked under the house and thought there was structural damage." An actual inspection by an actual inspector? NO. Just some redneck trying to rip me off. Anyway, we countered with $71500 and $1500, which I thought MORE than fair, and they counter-countered $70,000 and $1000. I was ready to tell them to take their crummy offer and shove it but decided to make a final offer of $70,000 AS IS, again which I thought more than fair. My agent tried to get me to give them something for repairs but I said absolutely not. So, they took the offer anyway, and all the inspections they subsequently had done showed nothing wrong anywhere, and the house will be off my hands for good within the next week. About freakin time. The only good news is that there should be a tax write off or something for selling a $85000 house for $70000. I have joined the local grotto of the National Speleological Society. It meets in Elkhart, and someone goes caving about every weekend. I'm going to get back into a cave for the first time in 10 years as soon as I can swing it. Next week there's a grotto trip to Kentucky for a Mammoth cave clean-up weekend; I'm going to try to go. In baby news, nothing new, except I found out this week that my company no longer has an adoption assistance program (I think it used to be a $5000 grant). I can't believe how expensive it is to adopt! There's got to be a way to put the cash together but I don't know it now. Anyone know anything about adopting? Beth had her best series of bowling ever tonight, a 98-130-128. I had a 122-150-127 tonight, so no, I'm not getting any better. We've been playing cards with friends a lot lately. Funny how when we lived outside of Indiana, nobody had ever heard of Euchre, and now, everyone wants to play it. I have killed two mice in the past two days: one we caught on the kitchen counter and one in the garage. The one in the kitchen was only caught by the back leg in the trap so it was still alive (presumably in some serious pain) when I came into the kitchen Thursday morning. I just picked it up by the trap and tied it into a plastic bag and threw it into the garage until I was ready to leave, then stomped on it until the tail stopped thrashing. Cold hearted me, I guess, but if he wants to poop on my counter he's going to pay a price. The one in the garage was caught by the neck and very dead when I found it. And finally, I bought Beth her anniversary present last night but she can't have it until June. A nice diamond anniversary band (She can't have it until June so I have time to pay for it).

The realtor in Arkansas told us last week that she has 3 people who are looking at and interested in the house. I've learned enough realtor-speak to know that means nothing. She also says she thinks it'll sell in the next few weeks. Again, that means nothing. In baby news, it seems that the getting pregnant right away thing isn't happening yet. And Beth was sure this time, said she felt just like she did the first time she got pregnant. Maybe next month. We were thinking about international adoption but I found out that you have to spend about $17,000 to adopt a baby from, say, China or Russia. I don't know if we could swing that. We were going to go to a seminar on int'l adoption this week, but unfortunately it was in Schaumburg on a Thursday so we couldn't make it.

I'm bummed the Rams lost the Super Bowl, but that was a pretty good game I must say. I would have bet on the Patriots anyway if I was inclined to do such things...I was sure they could cover a 14-point spread, but...win? Nah. We had a very successful Super Bowl party at our house, with a grand total of I think 36 people here for at least some of the time. Many were kids, so we did well there too with only 2 pop spills, 1 torn window insulator film, a spot of cheese dip on the carpet, and a 911 call. 911 called us back wondering if we had kids about, since they didn't hear anything on the line but giggling. We had just tons of food ready. We were so worried about not having enough and wound up sending a LOT home with people. In baby news, Beth had a uterine x-ray about 10 days ago, which is apparently unpleasant to get, but the doctor says a lot of women get pregnant right away after them because it kind of flushes everything open. We'll see. We're thinking about starting adoption proceedings. In house-selling news, I got nothing. In bowling news, my goal is no longer to hit 200 this season but to get back to 150. I'm doing so bad I can hardly believe it sometimes. Last Saturday I bowled 120-143-121, and that was my best score since November.

Interesting week at work. I was out sick Wednesday, and during the night we had an ice storm. As a result, Thursday the plant was shut down due to lack of power. The lights didn't come on again until about 2 pm. So I got another free day off work. Unfortunately there are problems when a cleanroom air handling system loses power in the middle of a room validation. Set us back almost a week having to redo stuff. Beth has been gone all this week and last, up at home with her mother, who just had knee replacement surgery (and got a device from a competitor of Zimmer). Her mom's doing very well though. Two days after surgery she was in less pain than before surgery. That knee was bad. But her rehab is going very well and she'll be home before she knows it (she's with Pam now). While Beth was gone I took advantage of the opportunity to paint some of the rooms in the house (we've got a LOT of wall space). I got the guest room and the kitchen finished so we can finally decorate a least those rooms.

We've seen some movies lately: Ocean's 11 (really enjoyed it), Lord of the Rings (really enjoyed it), Harry Potter (really enjoyed it). And we rented Moulin Rouge (I can't say this strongly enough...I LOVED it!!!)

I've made a new year's resolution to keep up with the website updates. Let's see if I keep it. Well anyway, the holidays are over, and we had a pretty busy one. Lots of travel, and the Saturn hit 100,000 miles just as we were pulling into our driveway back at home. I've put the holiday news in today, much after the fact, below here.
12/21/01: headed out after work. Made it to Nashville, where I had bought a $25 motel room on Priceline. Cheap, but right near a rail yard with screechy boxcars late at night, and with a bunch of noisy and prank-calling college dorks.
12/22/01: ran out of gas just before hitting the Alabama state line. Cell phones: good. Roadside assistance: good. Got the rest of the way to the Gulf Coast in early evening about an hour ahead of Pam & Marve. I came down with something.
12/23/01: I was pretty sick and stayed in bed all day while the others went to church and dinner and stuff.
12/24/01: I was still sick and in bed most of the day but was well enough for the Christmas eve service and a party at Jim & Judy's friend's house afterwards.
12/25/01: The family present exchange. I got an electric screwdriver, Beth got some girl stuff.
12/26/01: Shopping for bargains at the Pensacola Mall (bought an ornament, cheap). Ate at McGuire's. Shopped for seafood at Joe Patti's.
12/27/01: Shopping at an outlet mall. Got some shoes for Beth and a present for our house sitters. I went with Jim and Marve to Jim's friend's house to watch Alabama rip off Iowa State in some dang bowl game or other.
12/28/01: Saw "Ali" which was just OK. Beth & I moved to Judy's friend's house since the folks who owned the condo we were in came home. Ric, Nickie, John, Stephanie, and the kids arrived in the evening. Went down to the condo pool/hot tub later. (They have an outdoor pool and hot tub too. Did you know that if you sit in a hot tub, then go stick your legs in a 40-degree cold outdoor pool, then get back in the hot tub, it's like a thousand knives in your legs?
12/29/01: Present exchange with the kids. Played with Ryan on the beach. Had a late dinner at a seafood restaurant. Beth began to get very sick.
12/30/01: Beth was very sick and couldn't make it to church, or dinner at Lambert's Cafe (home of throwed rolls) at all. We later drove all over trying to find a doctor, then I drove all over trying to get prescriptions filled.
12/31/01: Beth was down sick all day again. I went shopping for souvenirs and fireworks with the kids in the day. In the evening the party was at the kids' condo, including lots of food, football, and fireworks. We played Pit a lot too (one of my presents).
1/1/02: Beth was feeling a little better, well enough to go to breakfast with everyone to Waffle House. We then went to Judy's and watched/played with Ryan most of the day while the kids went to the outlet mall. Beth napped a lot. Fancy dinner at Judy's.
1/2/02: All went to the IMAX theater at NAS Pensacola. Ryan loved the naval aviation museum. Ate dinner at Flounder's. Beth went home, I watched the Orange Bowl with the guys.
1/3/02: Beth finally feeling a little better. We drove to Mountain Home and stayed with friends. Watched Survivor.
1/4/02: Hung out. Checked on our house and took some of our old vinyl flooring and paint from the garage with us. I found a drill bit I'd lost when we moved. Took our friends out to Reel-Em-In fish house for dinner.
1/5/02: Laura came over to visit. Unfortunately not a lot to do in MH AR in January. The pottery place was closed. We hung out, played Pit and Catch Phrase, and visited with some more old friends. Laura drove home in the p.m.
1/6/02: Long drive home.
1/7/02: Nothing.
1/8/02: Back to work :-(