Jethro's World http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/ ...marching to the beat of a different drummer en Copyright 2008 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:51:14 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Our Back Yard, 2008 Edition Now that we're officially into summer, I've finally caught the bug to get my yard whipped into shape. Here's some of the progress... click photos for larger view:


Emily, playing in the back yard with her buddy Morgan.


Steph did wonders with a bunch of rocks that our neighbor was giving away.


This year's garden... it didn't care for our cool June temps.


Steph's Day Lillies in full bloom.


The roses didn't seem to mind the cool weather at all.


]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/our_back_yard_2008_edition.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/our_back_yard_2008_edition.html Gardening/Yardwork Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:51:14 -0800 Thyroid Update... Steph had her appointment with the ENT surgeon today. He confirmed that the pathologists are very good at interpreting cells from biopsies, and since her report came back as suspicious, there is a very, very high likelihood that it is indeed cancerous. So they will proceed on that assumption, and remove her thyroid.

The surgeon's first comment upon examination of the 'nodule' was, "It's not very big"; which is most definitely good news. He said that she didn't need to cancel her August vacation plans, and recommended having the surgery in the next two months or so. The end of August was all booked up, and they hadn't started booking September yet, so we won't have an official surgery date for a few weeks yet.

Please keep us in your prayers in the next few months leading up to this, as there is still some anxiety despite everything we've learned about this. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during the last week... it really means a lot to us.

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/thyroid_update.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/thyroid_update.html Health Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:53:44 -0800 Scary Diagnosis For those who don't know, my dear wife Stephanie was diagnosed with papillary cancer of the thyroid last week. We are now over the inital shock, and feeling much more at ease after hearing from many sources that this is a very treatable form of cancer. Our spirits have also been buoyed by all of the well-wishes and offers of support... thank you! And for those who offered the support, be prepared; because we might just take you up on it. :-)

Here's an excellent link (originally posted at GRS) that explains a lot about this particular form of cancer: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association.

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/scary_diagnosis.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/07/scary_diagnosis.html Health Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:17:02 -0800 One of my favorite things about Emily... When I get home from work, Emily always greets me with a big, warm, snuggly hug and tells me, "I lud you, Papa". :-)

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/one_of_my_favorite_things_abou_1.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/one_of_my_favorite_things_abou_1.html Emily's Tea Party Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:10:28 -0800 Pre-School Graduation Tonight was Noah's graduation from Little Blessings Pre-School -- it was an exciting night, but it was sad too. Noah is sad because he won't get to see most of his friends at school next year, and we are sad to think that our little guy is actually going to start kindergarten next year...

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Noah, leading the gang down the aisle (in train formation, of course).

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Noah, with his lovely assistant, showing off the diploma.

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/preschool_graduation.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/preschool_graduation.html Noah's Playhouse Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:58:16 -0800 One of my favorite things about Noah... When he comes to visit me at the box factory, he usually gets a package of Grandma's Cookies from the cafeteria. He always brings them back to my office, takes both cookies out of the package, and gives one of them to me. :-)

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/one_of_my_favorite_things_abou.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/06/one_of_my_favorite_things_abou.html Noah's Playhouse Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:13:13 -0800 She's a warm one oat there, eh? It's 37 degrees in the middle of May. 37 degrees Celsius, that is -- it's 98.4 Fahrenheit, according to my fancy-schmancy little weather station. It's nice that the cool, rainy weather is finally gone, but a few 70 degree days in there would have been nice before the big jump towards the century mark!

At least this will finally dry my back yard out good... :-)

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/05/shes_a_warm_one_today_eh.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/05/shes_a_warm_one_today_eh.html Weather Fri, 16 May 2008 14:18:08 -0800 April Kid Pics OK, so these are actually from March... but who's counting? =D

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Emily with one of her babies.

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Noah decided that Dorothy the Fish was 1-year-old on March 24th. :-)



]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/04/april_kid_pics.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/04/april_kid_pics.html Kids Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:30:37 -0800 Crazy Weather Swing Saturday, April 12th, greeted us with unusually warm temperatures, with sunny skies and a high of 82F (28C). So we took advantage of it and spent the day at the Oregon Zoo...


Noah thought the Elephants were pretty cool... especially when they did tricks.

Saturday, April 19th, only a week later; greeted us with a totally different scene. It was downright chilly, with snow in the hills... a brief sun-break sent the temp soaring to 45F (7C) before a cold shower with pea-sized hail pulled the mercury back down to 37F (3C) in short order. Here's what it looked like...


What a difference a week makes, eh?

Maybe spring will arrive next week... :-(

[Click on photos to enlarge.]

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/04/crazy_weather_swing.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/04/crazy_weather_swing.html Weather Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:54:52 -0800 New Pictures for Grandma Sandy OK, enough about my brother the writer... I'm expecting an anonymous comment anytime now requesting new pictures of grandkids. So, here are a few random ones from the last week or so...

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Noah getting creative with his Legos.

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Em helping with Mama's birthday cupcakes.



That's it for now... maybe we'll get some Spring weather here soon and I'll feel compelled to post more... about my BBQ. :-)

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/03/new_pictures_for_grandma_sandy.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/03/new_pictures_for_grandma_sandy.html Friends & Family Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:50:32 -0800 Mi Hermano Es L33t H4X0r!!!!!!!!11111111111 My brother is king of teh intrawebz. :-)

If you haven't already done so, you really should check out Get Rich Slowly. It's his full-time job now, and I wish him continued success... so go grab a cup of coffee and read a few of his posts.

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/03/mi_hermano_es_l33t_h4x0r111111.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/03/mi_hermano_es_l33t_h4x0r111111.html Friends & Family Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:21:50 -0800 Happy Birthday to my favorite Little Ham! Sure, she can be cute and cuddly, but most of the time she's...

EmBrushing.jpg

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...a complete ham! She's ornery and feisty and every bit as stubborn as her mother (if that's possible), but she's sure got her Papa's sense of humor -- which she and I find to be quite hilarious, thank you! :-) She can be a bit of a drama queen at times, but she's still my little baby girl... and now she's a two-year-old drama queen, so watch out!

Happy Birthday Little Em!

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/02/happy_birthday_to_my_favorite.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/02/happy_birthday_to_my_favorite.html Emily's Tea Party Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:54:05 -0800 A Ray of Sunshine This past Saturday brought with it a ray of sunshine...

After a winter full of wind, rain, cold, and snow, it was nice to feel the sun on my back and temperatures up in the mid 50's again. It was so nice, in fact, that I simply couldn't stand spending the day inside with the kids (as much as I love doing that), I just had to get out.

I was able to spray the invading onslaught weeds and [attempt] to kill the moss growing on our driveway. Time will tell how effective the moss treatment was, but hopefully it will at least make things a little easier for my annual Spring pressure-washing. Don't tell Steph, but I also did a little Round-Up edging... she hates it, but things are just too muddy right now to do any real edging, so Round-Up it is. I'm sure Grandpa Dougie would agree with me on this one. :-)

We've had some crazy weather this winter, which is great for a weather geek like myself, but I'm ready for a few more days like Saturday...

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/02/a_ray_of_sunshine.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/02/a_ray_of_sunshine.html Gardening/Yardwork Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:55:05 -0800 Snow! SnowKids.jpg

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Click on photo to enlarge
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]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/01/snow.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/01/snow.html Weather Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:03:58 -0800 Element One of my first tasks associated with the hiring of the new sales/customer service rep. was to find a new company car. We needed something that could haul samples and small order runs, would be maneuverable around town, and get better gas mileage than our Chevy van. Well, after a week of online research and real-life test driving, I think I have found the perfect little 'box' for our needs... the Honda Element.

Since I picked it up on Thursday, we've been putting it through its paces to make sure it doesn't have any bugs or factory defects. It has already hauled a few large samples and made a Costco run for the business; hauled my tools, a 6' step-ladder, an 8' step-ladder, and Noah (all at the same time) on Saturday; and it even made an Ikea run with Steph on Sunday.

This thing is so incredibly versatile that I was tempted to go trade my pickup in on one! But then I remembered that we need a 6-seater for when Doug & Sandy come down, and it's Steph's turn to get a new vehicle, not mine -- and it actually isn't even her turn until my pickup is paid off!

Here is a PhotoShop rendition of the logo, etc. that we want to put on it (thank you Tony!)...

ElementWeb.jpg

So there you have it. A box to sell boxes in. Perfect. :-)

]]> http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/01/element.html http://www.foldedspace.org/jeff/2008/01/element.html Custom Box Service Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:07:21 -0800