I almost pulled the plug on this blog. Instead I’ve decided to pull the plug on Facebook. I’ve grown disillusioned with the Facebook experience. I’m not closing my account but I’m not going to actively use Facebook any longer. The blog will continue but I envision shorter entries.

I would love to post longer fiction on my other blog, but I have to force myself to complete some of the many drafts I have laying around; maybe some older work as well. It remains to be seen.

Craig and Victor's Granddaughter

Bob, Victor and I had a cheap meal at Arbys thanks to the coupons. Sara is Victor’s daughter and also one of my web customers. Myron is an engineer with hobbies of Ham Radio and Photography. I decided to take a really long lunch. Victor and I joined Sara and Myron at the kitchen table. We talked about radio towers and photography. Myron showed me his new flash bracket. We took some photos. Myron was disillusioned by Smugmug- it doesn’t pay to have unrealistic goals for online commerce. Unless you’re really going to work hard to develop a business out of photography it is better to share everything for free and get paid up front for weddings and other events. Myron handed Vivian to me. She has striking blue eyes that were staring at me. She was also fascinated by my chin growth.

After supper Sean started playing with Tim, it devolved into wrestling, also known as ‘roughhousing’. I tried to break it up but neither boy was interested in taking my advice. It is certainly natural for two brothers to start wrestling or fighting. (At one point Sean and Tim were Indian Leg Wrestling.) I kept my eye on them so no one got hurt and the house stayed in one piece. Interesting that Tim is almost as aggressive as Sean. What surprised me was how quickly Clare threw herself in the mix. She may only be two years old but that doesn’t stop her from joining in the fun.

Paul Tossing The Dough

Suzanne, Sean and I dropped off Paul, Tim and Clare. Then we went shopping for iPod Touch accessories. Sean is looking for a case and screen protectors. I suggested Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Wal-Mart because I haven’t been in the new super center- it is much smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside. I looked around at Best Buy. Sean picked out a red case and the protectors- I didn’t think he needed either. Suzanne stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. It was cold enough outside, “I’ll pass.”  I helped Sean place the protector on his Touch without bubbles.

When Ray and Char arrived we started the Christmas day festivities starting with the opening of Christmas stockings. Paul was dressed in his new chef’s uniform. I thought he should wear the hat too. He was busy in the kitchen making prime rib and fresh bread. Paul was spinning the dough in the air like a pizza.

Sean got some ‘Fire’ Slim Jims. He dared me to eat one. It was ridiculously hot. Tim had no trouble with his. Sean offered me another. I shouldn’t have eaten the one I did!

The sun came out; the sky was a deep blue and the light golden on the horizon. I went outside and photographed the Dobbins home and the snow that had drifted around the house.

Dobbins Home at Sunset with Moon

Paul served up a slab of Prime Rib that was huge. I should have cut it in half- even then it would be too big. I ate too much. The candles were lit and “Happy Birthday” sung to Sean. I had a big slice of cake and ice cream. I was painfully stuffed. I thought a movie and time would settle my stomach. I brought “Yes Man” with me on Christmas Eve in case we got stranded at the Dobbins. It remained unviewed, so now was the perfect time to view. I did realize Suzanne wanted to see it too. They were watching some odd Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel upstairs while we were in the basement watching the big screen TV.

Christmas Meal

My stomach was getting worse not better. I took a break and headed to the bathroom. One, two, fingers down my throat but nothing would come up. I hate vomiting but I really needed to. Sean and Tim were concern by the sound emanating from bathroom. “I’m okay, just trying to puke.” Sean was kind enough to pour me a 7-Up for my stomach. It didn’t help. Some minutes later I went back in the bathroom. Something the size of a pea came up. I kept at it: a tablespoon, then a cup, and then most of supper. I felt much better.

I gave Sean an iTunes card, which was the perfect gift for someone in love with his new iPod Touch. I also reviewed all the game and application picks from the last year of Mac Break Weekly. There is so much to pick from this would help him find what is really good.

Paul handed me his new Dell Inspiron 15″ laptop. I was to clean off the crap and install Office, and try to get ProChef on it.

Monday (12/28) I looked at ProChef, which I could barely run on my Windows XP machine. I didn’t even try to port it over. Paul mentioned there is a newer version. Last time I looked that wasn’t the case. But Paul was right. I downloaded the demo for version 10. Windows 7 required 300 mb of updates, so it was good that I brought it with me.

It snowed all day Christmas Eve, but it didn’t seem too bad, even late that night. The wind is rather calm in the city, but fierce out in the country or the edge of town i.e. the Dobbins’ home. That evening the wind picked up and the snow kept falling. By morning there was no travel advised anywhere in the city. The Interstate highways were closed. Sean called all day desperate to get his iPod Touch set up. I downloaded all the software for his Touch and Paul’s Inspiron but there was no way to get there.

Late in the afternoon, I was a little bored. I decided to blow out the driveway. There was no wind, so I wasn’t too concerned about it drifting back in. I have a small Murray snow thrower and I am worried about getting accumulations that the Murray can’t handle. We weren’t going anywhere so I did not clear the snow in the street or the edge of the driveway- the snowplow will come and fill this in no matter what I do. Our neighbor Doug Smith was out with his snow blower. The neighborhood was filled with the sound of snowblowers and shovels- there was nothing else to do. Mr. Ridgeline swung by to check on the house. He had a flimsy shovel in his truck bed. He dug a path to the door and then left.

Saturday (12/26) It was still snowing but much slower. I was bored and ready to clear snow but I kept waiting for the snowplow to come by. It was quiet all day. Around 3:30 PM I heard three plows, one after the other- first our side of the street and then the other. (They cleared a narrow path down the middle yesterday.) I couldn’t wait to put on my snow pants and fire up the Murray. I hurried down the driveway and the sidewalk. I didn’t have much gas left in the Murray and couldn’t get out to get more. The plows left about three feet of snow in the driveway and street. I don’t like clearing the street but I have no choice. I switched to a shovel and carried the snow out of the way. Our other neighbors seemed to have a house full of guys. They came out in gangs to shovel before, during and after the snow plows came by.

Sunday (12/27) I was out clearing a little snow with my shovel. Mr. Ridgeline drove up with his son(?). The son didn’t look dressed for the weather and they had two cheap shovels. They looked to be crappy plastic shovels. They dug a path to the door and left- hopefully to get reinforcements. After I left Mrs. Ridgeline arrived at our door to borrow a shovel. Char said, “If my son was here I’d send him over with the snow blower.”

Snowy Stump on Christmas Eve Morning

I printed up a new set of Funtime Cards, with a green back ground this year. I changed some of the conditions for 2010.

Sean's Craig Brand Funtime Card

Ray and Char were ready to go. I loaded up the van with gifts and food. We headed to the Paul and Suzanne Dobbins for the annual Christmas Eve festivities. I took some photos using my new flash. Suzanne announced we could get started opening some gifts, which made Sean, Tim and Clare very excited. We took breaks to partake of the food and treat plates. As I get older this is getting to be one of my favorite parts of the festivities. Mom is a great cook and has lots of very good Christmas treats. Paul and Suzanne are equally talented so I’m very spoiled. My teeth hurt from Tuesday’s dental work, so I had to be careful what I ate and how.

Tim poses with his gifts

There were lots of gifts to exchange. It takes a long time, but with the breaks it wasn’t too bad. Suzanne had used reindeer names as placeholders to keep the snooping down. She also repackaged, and removed certain items to really confuse the boys. Highlights…

Clare: (Dasher) received a doll stroller, she could wait to put her dolls in it. She was rolling them around all evening long. She was excited to open gifts, but once they were open, it was back to the stroller.

Tim: (Dancer) wanted a suit so he could dress up like his father at church.

Sean: (Prancer) opened an iPod Touch and it didn’t leave his hand for a solid week. The Apple iTune Store gift cards went for Game Applications on the Touch.

Paul: (Vixen) got a 15″ Dell Inspiron laptop computer, with a built-in web camera for sing-along movies featuring Clare.

Suzanne: (Comet) got a number of books, much like in previous year.

Craig: (Cupid) as asked for socks, underwear, and t-shirts and wasn’t disappointed. Suzanne got me a subscription to NetFlix, which I’m really looking forward to. (Old Science Fiction, Concerts, and Classic Movies.) I also got a Toshiba DDDDD- this turned is a very good machine. Now I can throw out my VHS tapes and VCR, but not before I transfer my old tape collection.

Char: (Donner) gushed over a porcelain origami nativity set.

Ray: (Blitzen) can now watch television in the kitchen with a 15″ Polaroid flat screen TV.

After the presents were open, dad was feeling tired, so we ate one last time, loaded the van with our goodies and took our leave. In my haste I forgot all my camera gear and iPod. That evening the snowstorm increased to a blizzard. I would not be able to recover my gear until Sunday.

When I arrived, the Dentist said, “Hello” and went out the door- probably for lunch. I was a few minutes early but this isn’t a good sign. It must have been a short lunch as he was only 20-minutes late. There was a salesman from Patterson Supply, which is the primary supplier of dental supplies in the area. I was tempted to engage him in conversation as he walked by. Give him a ribbing for the high cost of porcelain. This is the second time I brought my iPod but even with the long wait I didn’t take it out. While I’m being worked on I don’t want to be distracted. It seems I’m very motivated to know exactly what is going on.

Dr. Brant numbed the gum with a swab before hitting the nerves with Lidocaine, or whatever they’re using now. There was another patient in the station near by ready for an inspection after his cleaning. Rather than attend to him while letting my anesthetic take hold, Brant started up the drill and went after #14. This was okay. He got a bigger drill and went after #18: this was a problem. I signaled my discomfort with a loud moan. Brant gave another injection. Again he didn’t wait long before he was drilling. I signal more discomfort. I got another injection. He returned to the drilling. I returned to the moaning. I relaxed when he drilled and molded the composite fillings for #14 and #15. I tensed up when he returned to #18. Either he was drilling on the tooth, or spraying crap that seemed to head straight for the back of my throat. I was in a constant state of gagging, choking, or pain. I was thankful I had my wisdom teeth removed.  The assistant said, “this is the worst tooth. Because I’m on your left side I can’t get a good angle on the tooth. It is so far back that everything has a straight path to your throat.” Brant had photographed the remainder of #18 and modeled the replacement. It was currently milling in the Cerec machine. Once Dr. Brant got the replacement bonded in place, he finished with #14 and #15.  He apologized for the ‘discomfort’ #18 caused. “I’m concerned about this tooth. I gave it three loads of anesthetic, which is enough for an extraction. It suggests the nerve was in an excited state.” I was too polite to offer up my theory, “You didn’t want long enough to it to take affect.”

They didn’t honor the price quote, which I got in the mail just a few days earlier. I wrote the check, happy to get out of the office alive. When I got home, I checked the quote and called them on it. They said they’d check and get back with me, but they didn’t. I wasn’t surprised when all the teeth on my left side started to ache once the anesthetic wore off. I wasn’t prepared for the discomfort in my jaw and gums. My jaw ached for a day or two. My gums were swollen and painful for two weeks. I came back on January 7th to have the #18 Onlay adjusted. It was blocking my flossing. As of 1/10/2010 #18 doesn’t ache any worse than my other teeth. I’m hoping #14 calms down or I’ll have to go back and get that fixed too.

Before and After Photos

I told Bob, “There is nothing to eat in the house. Come early and we can go for pizza.” Bob was early but it was still after 2 PM before we got to Godfathers. I ordered a Golden Crust for a change.  I rented “Inglourious Basterds” on Bob’s recommendation. (B+) ” we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only… killin’ Nazis.”

Then we watched the Vikings lose to the Panthers. The Vikings didn’t play well at all.