Kids and Bikes

Oldest daughter, Sarah, just started a trip with two friends to bike across America. I got to see them off, as did many of her friends.

Meanwhile, second daughter, Sheryl, just got her M1 license, so I let her take a spin with a friend in my old Yamaha 350XT.

Smart car

We are the proud owners of a smart car! We rented one during a vacation in Italy and fell in love with it. After ordering online, we waited 14 months and picked it up in May. The two-seater runs on gasoline, getting pretty consistently 40 mpg. Its 1 liter, 3 cylinder, 71 hp engine will get it up to 90 mph but it gets blown around in the wind a bit. It's very roomy inside and has many great features. It has been a great commute car.

One of the most common questions is about the smart car's safety. The "tridion safety cell" is a reinforced steel cage that encircles the passengers and the car has earned a five-star IIHS crash rating.

Boston

We had the opportunity to go to a conference at the Fairmont in Copley Square. Siggie made friends with the hotel dog, Katie.

This photo of Trinity Church, the Hancock Center and the hotel was taken from the steps of Boston Public Library. Just down the street we saw the newly opened Apple Store, the largest in North America.

We got to play tourist a bit and really enjoyed one of the historical walking tours.

Curling in North Dakota

We went to the 2008 Men's World Curling Championship, which was held at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota in early April. We were guests of Rudi Bloomquist and the Devils Lake Curling Club and it was a great excuse to see a unique sport and visit with family out on the farm.

Aunt Alta and I couldn't resist these "rock hats" in the gift shop.

Kiely

We went to Phoenix to be with Gregory and Jeanette as they welcomed Kiely Grace to their family. What fun!


Siggie did the most to help, including some dual tasking here.


Uncle John and I got Gregory out to see the Giants play a cactus league game against the Cubs.


I got to make a special trip to Tucson to visit Aunt Liz. We went to the Whipple Observatory. See it up there?

Ethiopia

Siggie and I spent two weeks with a great local team of health practitioners, working in rural Ethiopia in conjunction with Project Mercy. This photo shows the women members of our team pointing to the area where the compound is located, southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. Project Mercy is a superb organization which provides community development to one of the poorest areas of Ethiopia. The 53-acre compound features a school of around 1000 students, an orphanage, a church, and one of the best rural hospitals in the country.


Many of the children we saw had severe malnutrition and the many conditions associated with it. In addition to treating acute problems, we distributed vitamins and "Atmit", a food supplement which Project Mercy adapted for Ethiopians.


One of our clinics was in a tiny village where clean water and a school have transformed the community. Here Siggie is interacting with the school children.


Most people in the rural areas live in one-room huts called "tuckals". This vantage point shows the Great Rift Valley, which runs through Ethiopia.

Ireland

We spent a wonderful week visiting our dear friends, Ron and Joyce Grainger, and their family. They took us to Howth Harbor, just outside Dublin, to see Mark, Rachel and Ali again, and to meet Rachel's husband, Arun.



We drove up to Northern Ireland to meet Ron's mom and brother and to explore Belfast and environs. What an incredible difference from our visit north over a decade ago! Kudos to all involved in the peace agreements!



The Graingers treated us to a night at Kilgraney House, a beautifully restored Georgian farmhouse, where we had a fabulous six course dinner. We toured through southeastern Ireland, including a stop at this splendid castle in Kilkenny.

Back on the Blog

My last posting was a couple weeks before my dad had an unexpected cardiac arrest. He subsequently passed away about a week later and I was pretty depressed for quite some time. In addition to going on with life and managing the estate, doing the blog was just too much.

Today is my dad's birthday and I've decided to resume the blog in his honor.

Go Spartans!

We went to our first San Jose State University football game, the first season under coach Dick Tomey. The Spartans played valiantly, at one point going for it on 4th and 12 and scoring a TD, but fell short in the final quarter by seven points. We had a great time yelling cheers with Sarah and visiting with an alum from the Class of '42.

Dad's heart attack

We got a call from my sister, Barbara, that my dad complained of some chest pain. She took him immediately to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, where they diagnosed a subendocardial myocardial infarction and took him right to the cath lab. They found two significant lesions in the right coronary artery and placed two Taxus stents with good result. We drove up to Redding to see him and, as you can see, cheer him up with the nano and iDog. He did well and was discharged a couple days later feeling well. The miracles of modern medicine!