Catching Up

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of updates. Our current routine has been in effect for a couple of months, but I apparently haven't figured out how to fit K&S Updates into it yet. Things are mostly the same here. We just completed Session 9 of 11, of the Littleton Police Citizen Academy, on Thursday night. The Academy classes have been very interesting. Two weeks ago, we had an exercise where we had to enter and check out a dark conference room, looking for a person who was reportedly hiding in there, possibly armed. It only lasted a few minutes, but I came out of it with a pretty big adrenaline rush. Too many (potentially life-threatening) unknowns in that job! Last week was particularly fun, as we drove police cruisers around a big parking lot, with lights and siren going, pretending to chase and pull over volunteer "speeders". Our neighbor Ken took particular pleasure in being "the rabbit", leading his chaser in circles around the light poles. K went on a real life police ride-along last night from 6-10.

In two more weeks, we'll get our Thursday nights back, and we'll be moving into yet another weekly routine. K goes to Dialysis MWF nights from 5:15-9:45. Sometimes she gets a ride over there from a neighbor, and sometimes I get home in time to take her. If I take her, then Mandy and I usually go for about a 2 mile walk from the dialysis parking lot, along a few nearby popular walking/biking trails. My walking isn't quite as fun lately, since my feet started hurting a bunch. I'm pretty sure, based on some research online, and emailing my doctor, that I've got Plantar Fasciitis, and am dealing with it by using prosthetic shoe inserts for now. Notwithstanding the discomfort, I still try to get out for a couple of 4-5 mile walks with Mandy and our neighbor Ken each weekend. Mandy has been doing better and better with her short off-leash sessions. We'll stop at a big grassy area, and let her run her legs off, which of course she completely loves.

Yesterday, I let her off leash as we walked through the little preserve along the Platte River, and she stayed within two feet of us most of the time. Very gratifying, that all my patient training and bonding seems to be showing results. This morning I let her off leash for a few minutes at Sterne Park, and with my encouragement, she took off across the grass, and delightedly flushed a flock of about 200 geese into the air, and then another flock of 50 a minute later. They all seemed content to settle onto the lake a few hundred feet away. We continued on to downtown Littleton, for breakfast at Cafe Terracotta. The food was yummy as usual, but it was a bit chilly (47 degrees), sitting at an outside table with Mandy. Almost everyone who walked past us stopped to say hi to Mandy, or to comment on how sweet she looks. I had to agree, of course.

The house remodel saga continues. The main floor powder bath toilet cracked and ruined the newly refinished wood floor. After some back and forth about exactly what broke and whose fault it was, we've finally got a new toilet on the way, and the floor may fix itself as it dries out, so we'll just have to wait and see. It would be good to have that done, before John and Michelle arrive for Thanksgiving! We're slowly shuffling things around in the house, as K tries to adapt to the new living space and furniture. The dining room furniture has moved to the kitchen nook, as the dining room is morphing into a reading room. We're loving our new living room sofa and reclining chairs.

K's left foot is still looking good. She's trying very hard to stay off her feet when possible, especially the right one, so she's using her crutches and wheelchair a lot. Because of that, it appears the two remaining wounds on her right foot are finally starting to get better.

Work has been crazy, with our new company's two year "IT Separation" deadline fast approaching, and the occasional launch in the midst of all that, to keep things interesting. The next Atlas V launches from both East and West coasts have slipped quite a bit, but somehow that doesn't make things any less busy for my group.

We're heading up to the Chart House for dinner tonight with our neighbors - no particular occasion, just wanted to do something nice for ourselves. It's up in the foothills, and there's a bit of a nice view of the Denver area lights at night.