Pins & Needles

My co-worker, Jordan-Rama and his wife have a 7 month old Miniature Schnauzer named "Milli", A.K.A. Mill-pup, Millville, Millicent, Millburn, Milli-Vanilli, Mill-doo, or Millster. She is generally well-behaved, but can be a bit mischievous at times. Last week she somehow got into the sewing shelf and managed to ingest a 2.5" sewing needle! They noticed that Milli was a bit lethargic with some gastrointestinal discomfort, so they took her in to the animal hospital.

The X-Ray told the whole story of a large needle somewhere in her belly! Given the size (and sharpness) of the needle, it was obvious that it would not pass by itself - at least not without doing some serious damage! So they scheduled her for emergency surgery the next morning. While completing all of the pre-op paperwork, the vet gave Jordan a written detailed "estimate", itemizing each and every swab, needle and band-aid, with the grand total coming to $950-$1,596, depending on the length and complexity of the surgery. After picking his jaw up off the floor (and changing his shorts), Jordan went and got a second opinion, which resulted in a much lower estimate of about $600.

The surgery went well, and they successfully removed the needle from somewhere between the stomach and small intestine.

Milli just had her stitches removed and is back to her old rambunctious self.

She is on antibiotics to prevent any infection, and seems to be healing just fine.

The final bill came to $651 - much better than $1,596, but still one expensive needle! Keri said we are lucky that Clover didn't have a similar experience after chewing on our Christmas tree lights!

97 Years Young

97 year old Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, passed away at 7 pm on Sunday January 27, 2008 in his Salt Lake City apartment, surrounded by his family.

He served as the Lord's mouthpiece on earth and special witness of Jesus Christ for nearly 13 years. Funeral services will be held Saturday in the LDS Conference center.

Utah Governor Huntsman ordered all flags be flown at half-staff in honor of his passing, until his interment on Saturday.

I will always remember the chance opportunity I had to briefly meet and shake his hand on July 22nd, 1997. President Hinckley was addressing over 50,000 people at This is The Place Monument in Salt Lake City, as the commemorative wagon train had just arrived. I happened to be part of the security detail, posted just off to one side of the stage. Following the ceremony, I could see that he would pass right by me. While maintaining as much vigilance as possible, I could not pass up the opportunity to extend my hand and shake his, feeling of his great, humble spirit.

I also remember seeing and hearing him speak at a general conference session in April of 2006 with our entire family.

Without prompting from Mom or Dad, Josh wore his Sunday best clothes to school today, along with many other high school aged youth, to honor President Hinckley.

A great part of his legacy, among many other things, is a generation of youth who have grown up knowing him and feeling of his love and guidance. He authored a number of books, writings & statements, including "The Family: a Proclamation to the World" - which will live on to help countless people of any, all, and/or no religion make their way through the struggles of earthly existence.

President Hinckley's legacy also includes the building of numerous worldwide temples, which will stand as monuments and reminders of his great service.

He was behind a tireless effort to "bring the temples to the people", including the Rexburg, Idaho temple. Having personally overseen every last detail of this temple, which was dubbed his "baby", the dedication ceremony will be postponed one week to allow for the funeral and memorial services.

President Hinckley truly was "the People's Prophet", as he logged thousands of miles traveling to all areas of the world, reaching out to people and touching lives wherever he went. He made himself available to the public press and media, helping to build a bridge of understanding.

I am saddened by his passing, but I mostly feel happy for the profound effect he had on me and countless other people of many faiths. Although he will be missed, I am certain that his work continues on.

Click on the following link for more coverage: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=104759&nid=288

Covered Wagon Cuisine

Saturday evening "the gang" got together for an evening of good food, fascinating conversation (isn't that true, Keri?), and hang gliding "war stories" at the Prairie Schooner steak house in Ogden. http://www.prairieschoonerrestaurant.com/home.htm It was definitely the happenin' place on a Saturday night, but thankfully Cody had made reservations. The Schooner is a western-themed restaurant, complete with a wandering guitar-strummin' cowboy crooner,

campfire dioramas with stuffed coyotes, bobcats,

and rattlesnakes, surrounded by covered wagon tables with dimmer-switched lanterns and a star-covered sky/ceiling for ambiance.

The food (steaks, seafood, bread, soup, salad, potatoes) and service were great, and they didn't even throw us out when we got a bit loud and raucous! We spent some time praising our spouses for their impeccable hang-driving skills. We eventually closed down the place getting re-aquainted, reviewing the past year's whacks, wangs, and memorable XC flights, landing in "hostile" territory, planning this years hang gliding road trips, and hammering out the details of the "Cody Cup". - Is it Spring Yet?!!

*Thanks to Bruce's camera (and our server) for the group picture - the other pic's I pirated off of the Internet.)

Hace Mucho Frio!

Okay, I'll admit it. When it dips below zero degrees I'll concede that it IS cold. For newspaper delivery this morning it was (officially, at the airport) -7 degrees. For the ride to work it was -15 degrees! It was a bright, sunny day, but the high temperature was a whopping 5 degrees above zero!

This is a picture of the hubcap on my work van (my personal vehicle is not a Ford!). The slush, sand, & salt mixture on the streets froze into a sunburst-like pattern of radiating icicles from the centrifugal force while I was out on deliveries. It doesn't take much to fascinate me, eh? How much longer 'til Spring?!

In the Sun He Melted...

...actually, he just kind of, lost his head.

We returned home to discover that Mr. Snowman had fallen in half :-(
So maybe that means that Spring will soon be here :-)
Actually, it's just the warm before the next storm :-(
Clover noticed the "change" in the snowman and was barking madly from inside the front window, suspecting a new intruder to our front yard.

So we let her outside and she quickly went to check for a pulse.

After losing interest, she ran off to play with Roscoe. *(Click on Images for full-sized pic's!)

She tried to sneak up on him...

But despite her stealth, was soon discovered.

So she played it cool, did her best "T-Rex" imitation, and then ran on by to chase down a stray leaf!

Clover has been too much of a baby to go out with me on paper delivery in the mornings lately, with the near-zero temps. Today she got out and enjoyed bounding through the snow, which in some places came right up to her stomach!

Three!

Landon gets an assist as Ryan banks it in for three! (I heard him call "backboard"!)