Major Mike’s Musings

Hardly a girl any more our sweet daughter, Stacey, turns 40 today. You’ve given us 40 years of joy. We love you.

I see by the forecast that my family and friends out on the west coast will be roasting today. Keep cool, my friends.

Mother's Taffy Cremes

Chowing Down

One of Old Dad’s favorite (and mine, too) cookies is Mother’s Taffy Cremes. Unfortunately, earlier this year, Mothers went out of business and the Taffy Cremes are not to be found in any store. A few months ago, Old Dad sent out a photo of the very last Taffy Crème he had lamenting their demise before he scarfed it down.

However, my brilliant, talented, and sweet Daughter, found some in the Internet and bought me a package for Christmas.

They didn’t last long. Here we are (Sweet Dau, Dau’s Man Friend, and Mrs. Major) stuffing our faces with them. I don’t think they lasted more than two hours. They were so yummy!

Sorry, Old Dad, I didn’t save you any. They sure were good, though.

My little girl is 39 today. I’m really not old. Really.

Happy Birthday. Thanks for bringing us so much joy and so much life.

You make me smile just thinking of you.

On Sunday at around 3:30pm, Son Major and The Major will depart for the Tampa airport to make the trek to San Diego and the 2008 U.S. Open Championship. We signed up to be volunteers almost a year and a half ago. We will be working the Thru and Leaderboards during the competition. We have passes for the three practice rounds on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and for the Championship on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If there’s a playoff on Monday, we’ll get to see that too.

The photo is of some of the gear we have. You can see the hat, shirt, parking passes, lunch vouchers (yellow), and of course the volunteer pass that gets us in for all the activities.¹

Much to my surprise, cameras will be allowed on the three practice days, so we’ll be snapping lots of photos. I might even get another card for my camera. No cell phones are allowed on any day, and not cameras are allowed on the Championship days. (more…)

1. We also received another shirt, water bottle, and jacket [↩]

Mrs. Major passed all her tests today and is ready for her bilateral knee replacement on Thursday. (more…)

Mrs. Major gave her final pint of blood yesterday. It wasn’t the ordeal that the first one was. The phlebotomist closed her eyes, said a silent prayer, opened here eyes, and stuck Mrs. Major’s vein on the first try. No bruising, even today. Now we have the pre-op visit on the 12th and the surgery on the 15th.

Mrs. Major is really looking forward to the day when her knees don’t hurt constantly. She’s even looking forward to the hard work involved in the recovery process. Three cheers for Mrs. Major.

Mrs. Major had her family doctor’s appointment to ensure she’s in good enough health for her knee surgery. She passed. Now all she has left is giving more blood on Thursday, a pre-op meeting at the hospital on Monday, May 12 (her birthday) and the surgery on the 15th. Counting the days.

Mrs. Major gave blood for the very first time in her life today. In preparation for the bilateral knee replacement she’s scheduled for next month, she needed to donate two pints of her own blood in case they’re needed during the surgery. She has awful veins for the vampires. In fact, when she gives samples for blood tests, they have to use butterfly needles and get the blood from her hand. Today, the expert from Ocala was in town at the blood center and she drew Mrs. Major’s blood. She had to fish around a little to find the vein in her arm, but she found it. One pint down. One to go.

Frustrated with the pain and inability to get around as much as she wants, Mrs. Major decided to go ahead with knee replacement surgery–on both knees at the same time. She’s scheduled for replacement on May 15, one month from now. “Bravo!” I say. (more…)