Kalib golfs, vacuums, gets under the weather, goes to the doctor, reunites with Royce; Various and insundry Wasilla scenes

Ever since Kalib moved out, the house had been a quiet and empty place. After he returned, he resumed his golf game. This made life in the house much better.

And then he vacuumed the floor. It really needed it and we were grateful.

Kalib and his vacuum cleaner.

It was a foggy day. I took only a very short walk - not because of the fog, but because I left at 11:45 AM and I had a phone interview scheduled at noon.

I hated to take such a short walk. I guess I should have left earlier.

After I hung up the phone, I wanted out. Caleb was awake to watch Kalib, so I took Margie to lunch. Along the way, we passed by this guy walking the shore of Wasilla Lake.

Regularly readers will instantly recognize this as the intersection that provides an excellent view of Pioneer Peak above the maddening traffic of Wasilla's main thoroughfare. But you couldn't see the mountains today.

We ate our lunch in the car, as these ravens flirted with each other nearby.

As we ate, this was the view through the windshield. The tower rises out of the Wasilla Police Station. I was a little worried that someone might come running out of there, think we were someone else and try to arrest us, but no one did. 

The radio was on and a restaurant reviewer was talking from Cleveland. He had moved there from the East Coast, where he said he had been a food snob and had not expected to find any good food in the Midwest.

Boy, was he wrong, he said. The dining in Cleveland was the height of gourmet sophistication. Not even New York City could beat it.

I thought maybe I should start doing reviews on all the sophisticated, gourmet, dining to be had right here in Wasilla, Alaska. I could start here, in the parking lot alongside Taco Bell.

So... Taco Bell has a new item on the meno called a cheese roll, or something like that. It is a flour tortilla rolled around a glob of melted cheese. I bought one, tore it in half, gave half to Margie and ate the other myself.

"What do you think?" I asked Margie.

"It's okay," she said.

"I find it quite excellent myself," I told her. "Nice, sophisticated, piquant, gourmet taste."

She said nothing more at all.

I also had two original crunchy tacos. Indeed, they crunched very well and, after I squeezed a packet of mild and another of hot sauce into each one, had just the right touch of spice to add a decent kick to the meal.

I also had a bean burrito with green sauce.

These are superb when done right, but this one was too damn salty.

The Pepsi was just right - not too sweet but pleasantly carbonated, so that I could be assured of a little burp later, the flavor of which would remind me just how excellent the meal was - except for the bean burrito, which could have been better.

Back at the house, Margie sits with Kalib, who was once again feeling under the weather. While we had been out, Caleb had observed something that frightened him terribly, as Kalib seemed to be disoriented and frightened. Kalib had reached for Caleb where Caleb wasn't even standing. Margie called Lavina at work in Anchorage and she made a doctor appointment for Kalib here in Wasilla at 4:30, but we were advised to bring him in a bit early.

We left the house at 4:00, but stopped to go through the drive-through at Metro Cafe to get Americanos. No, I don't buy Latte's and Mochas everyday.

We continued on toward the doctor's office. As you can see, Pioneer Peak was now visible in the twilight sky.

Lavina had driven up from Anchorage and was already there to meet us.

The rest went inside, but, as I had much to do, I headed back here to my office, slightly worried but pretty confident that Kalib was okay. Lavina would bring them all home.

This is what the Talkeetna Mountains looked like as I drove home.

I passed by a fence decorated with large, candy canes wrapped in green and red lights.

Kalib was fine - but better to be safe. Here he is, reunited with his buddy, Royce.

On March 20, a big rain fell in Wasilla; Margie's latest orthopedic visit; contemplative barista

Not March 20, 2009, but March 20, 2006. It was a really big rain, the biggest that I ever saw in Wasilla. I wondered how high the Little Su had risen, so I drove down and saw that the Schrock Road bridge was under water - the road must be at least 15 feet over the river on a normal day, maybe even more than that.

Now it was under water. But the water over the road didn't look to be too deep, so I drove across. A bit later, I drove back. That was when these kids came pedalling toward me. The bridge is a ways around the bend behind them.

They enjoyed the flood. I enjoyed their enjoyment.

This morning, I had to drive Margie in for her latest checkup. Dr. Black took a look at her knee. He said for her to keep doing as she has been doing, and scheduled her for physical therapy, beginning August 28. 

Little Miller's, just before 5:00 PM, where I just ordered a mocha frappe. I wonder what she was thinking about?

The moose that scared me - Caleb practices his swing as he waits for spring - Kalib stacks cans

I passed through the marsh toward's the end of today's walk and I was not looking at anything, other than the images in my mind. Suddenly, I heard movement to my side. I looked, and saw this moose, looking at me. I am not afraid of moose. I see moose all the time. I give them their space and try not to get between a mom and her calf; I respect them, but I am not afraid of them.

But suddenly I felt fear. I don't know why. I just did. I felt like I needed to move away promptly. I quickly raised my pocket camera, shot this frame and moved on. I knew this shot would be blurry. Normally, I would have stayed, shot a few more images, but today I didn't. I put my camera back in my pocket and just moved on.

I left the marsh and approached the house through the back yard. As I drew near, I saw the silhouette of Caleb through the back door window. He was practicing his golf swing, as he does everyday. He is waiting for the snow to melt, so he can smack a golf ball for real.

He and Tiger Woods.

I found little Kalib stacking cans. He built the stack to three high and it fell over. Yesterday, Lavina took him to the doctor. The doctor asked her if he could stack blocks three high.

"I don't think so," she answered.

Kalib does not usually stack blocks.

He stacks cans.

Soon, he builds the stack back up. Carefully, he places the third can...

...he gets a sense of satisfaction from this...

..."careful... I think I've got it..."

He's got it!

After all that work, Kalib needs a drink. He swigs one - a big one.

Then he knocks the stack down.

Hey! I just went back into the house to eat. As I sat on the couch, eating my mac and cheese and green beans, Chicago napping on my lap, Royce against my shoulder, my camera out of reach - Kalib stacked the cans five high!

That is the kind of toddler that he is!

After the visit to the ER, Kalib is left to ponder a different side of life

Kalib plays with a toy in the waiting area to the emergency room at the Mat-Su Regional Hospital.

This is how it happened: At about 11:00 PM, I headed back to my office after taking a short break. To get there, I had to pass through the living room, open the garage door and then walk a few feet to my office door. As I passed through the living room, I saw a pleasant scene, almost idyllic. 

Lavina was sitting on one couch doing something in her laptop computer. His back propped against a chair, Jacob was sitting on the floor reading out loud to Kalib from one of his many books - perhaps one that he had gotten for Christmas or his birthday; I'm not certain.

As Jacob read, Kalib crawled about the immediate area, exploring things to the sound of his father's voice.

I quickly passed through and sat down at my computer. I had not been there for more than a few minutes when Margie stepped in, Kalib in her arms. His eyes were wet with tears and I saw the scratch marks fresh on his face.

I immediately rose from my chair.

Kalib studies the mechanics of the toy.

Margie informed me that Martigny had scratched him, and that Jacob and Lavina were on their way to the store, to purchase an antispetic cleanser that would be mild enough for a baby. I went back into the house with the two of them, and then I cleaned the scratches as best I could with just warm water.

Kalib protested, howled, jerked and twisted throughout the process. When I finished, I could see that the scratch on his upper lip was quite deep. So I called Lavina and told her and we decided to take him to the emergency room.

As I later put the story together, even as Jacob read to him, Kalib crawled from the living room into the kitchen. Suddenly, before anyone discovered that he had crawled out of sight, the peace that I had witnessed only minutes before was destroyed by the sound of something crashing to the floor and a sudden, loud, cry from Kalib.

Martigny then dashed out of the kitchen and hid.

Kalib had been scratched. I think Martigny, who had always been so good with Kalib, was caught by surprise by the falling object and Kalib, who had undoubtedly caused it to fall.

In panic, she lashed out.

It is a very difficult thing to keep your eye on a toddler 100 percent of the time when he is awake and about, but it only takes seconds for a toddler out of sight to get himself into true trouble.

After his name is called, Kalib gets weighed.

The nurse checks his vitals by attaching a high-tech device to his toes and pulling his sock over it.

Kalib in the arms of his mom, just before the doctor begins his treatment.

Can you imagine how hard this is for his dad, to have to hold down this little son whom he so adores?

The doctor does his work. He does not stitch but rather glues the separated sides of the deep wound back together. We are instructed to just let the glue wear off naturally. When its job is done, it will be gone. The smaller scratches are expected to disappear in due time.

The deeper gash on Kalib's lip will leave a scar, but if we keep the sun off of it, it will be less of a scar and in time may hardly be noticeable. Right now, there is little sun to keep off of it, but we will be in Arizona soon. That means sunscreen, and a big hat.

After the repair is done, a sobbing Kalib is comforted by his mom - who, I must say, is as loving, caring, and dedicated a mom as I have ever seen. She is a wonderful mom, and a great daughter-in-law. I love her dearly.

The same goes for his dad. His dad is a much better dad to Kalib than I was to him. Up until this happened, Kalib had never experienced any hard physical contact; I don't think he had ever even been scolded. No, nary a voice had been raised against him and he had been subjected to no physical discipline.

And now, all of a sudden, he been scratched by a cat that he had hung out with. His grandpa had washed his wounds while his grandma held his arms as though she were a straight jacket, then he had gone to the hospital where the people who had always been nothing but loving and gentle with him had ganged up on him along with a stranger - an old man with white hair and white beard and the nurse and had not only restrained him, but had inflicted pain upon him - for his good, yes, but could he know that?

He was left with much to ponder.

Yet, he has forgiven us all. He still greets us all with a smile and he laughs, but he seems a little quicker to cry and to get upset, and a little slower to calm back down again.

The days now begin to lengthen; after the colonoscopy

Oh, hell - I stated that this blog is on hold until after the New Year, but I had a colonoscopy today and I got starved, medicated, dazed, and miserable and then stuffed and miserable. I lack the energy to work on my big project. So I post two photos here.

It won't hurt anything, even if no one comes back to check.

I took this picture yesterday, Winter Solstice, mid-afternoon, somewhere between 3 & 4, going down the ramp to Wal-Mart. Now the days begin to lengthen.

Hallejuah!

Although, if my tentative travel plans hold up, for me personally, the days will yet get much shorter; in fact, daytime will soon disappear altogether, save for the hint of dawn-dusk at the hour of true noon. 

But right here in Wasilla, the short, dim, day has now begun to lengthen.

This is my physician, Dr. Natalie Beyeler, explaining what she found during the colonoscopy and the EGD. On the EGD, they run a tube with a camera attached down through your throat, Esophagus and stomach. You know where the tube goes on the colonoscopy.

Once again, I am faced with lifestyle changes. If it can be consumed and it is something that I enjoy, then I need to cut back or even eliminate it. If its bland and doesn't bring me much pleasure, then I can eat or drink all I want. No problem.

Dr. Beyeler is an excellent physician and I would recommend her to anyone.