It Never Seems To End

I caught something the very night of my last post. I thought and was expecting to throw up, but never did. Instead my throat became extremely sore and I was very chilled. This lasted through Friday and Saturday and is still going strong today. Saturday we did go to a clinic to get swabbed for strep-throat. Turns out that is not what I have and that would've been the thing to have to get a remedy. Whatever I have has to run its painful painful course. They said probably just over a week. If it goes for longer, I'd need to go back and get tested for mono.

At least everyone else is feeling well. Jack did throw up again last night. Not sure why, but he's acting fine today. Cara is going crazy from just being in the house for so long and battling Leesha's devious ways of finding attention. She continues to antagonize Jack. Its getting rare that he allows her to hold him. Sometimes he gets mad if she even comes near him. It's all her own doing, though. From day 1 she was in his face too much. No amount of warning from Cara and I could give her a clue. Now its Jack's screams that seem to actually give her pause. Sometimes they don't even do that.

With all of this literal down time I've been reading and watching old shows. Finally finished Edgar Rice Burroughs' 2nd book in the John Carter of Mars series - Gods of Mars.

I've also been watching old '80s episodes of Doctor Who when the Doctor was played by Peter Davidson. Davidson is a very dorky awkward Doctor. Not at all doing the right thing at the right time. He seems more flawed than most of the other Doctors I've seen. I never understood why he wore a celery on his lapel. Perhaps that will be revealed. I must keep watching...

As I watched these episodes some big Doctor Who news broke...

The official 11th Doctor. Here is a link to the article and a discussion board about it.

So all the things we cancelled on this week...

• Holiday Celebration with Mom and Dad at Greg and Mandy's
• Small Group Social with Parents
• New Years Day with Trelevens
• Work on Friday
• Gaming on Saturday
• Church on Sunday

Survivors

We don't watch TV. Well, sort of. We do watch programs that have been downloaded and watch them right off the computer. Why not? No commercials, 16x9 presentation, not quite HD, but cleaner than what would be broadcast over the air... And the shows... We pretty much watch BBC. Doctor Who, [ spooks ], and now Survivors (we do watch LOST, but that's not currently on).

Survivors is a re-imaging of a show that was on BBC in the 1970s about a breakout epidemic that wipes out 90 some % of the Earth's population. The show is about those who are left alive and how they deal with the lack of society. We've seen 3 episodes and so far it is fantastic.

According to Wiki there will be a 2nd season. The original series lasted three seasons. Its a great show.

Christmas

Yesterday was Christmas and we spent the afternoon at Cara's folks house. We had a nice quiet time there. Opened a few gifts, had a nice big dinner, installed a universal remote. It was also the usual- getting on Leesha's case to leave Jack alone, finish eating, eat with her mouth closed, not speak with her mouth full, enjoying Jack's ever-increasing vocabulary, etc. Leesha got a couple of gifts, but they were two things that she was very very excited about getting.

One was a Webkin dragon. She had been asking for this particular Webkin for a long time, long enough ago that she probably forgot about it. This was also kind of cool, because the dragon is no longer available anywhere other than places like Ebay (which is exactly where we got it).

Webkins are a fantastic marketing ploy, plush animals that include a code that you plug into a webpage and you can navigate your newly purchased animal through an online community featuring games and chats and all sorts of things like that.

Grandma and Grandpa gave her an MP3 player that she really wanted. An amazingly cheap little thing that didn't seem to work creating much drama this morning. Leesha is now with her dad and reports that she got it to work. That's good.

Tonight we finish the Doctor Who Christmas Special. We started it last night but put the 2nd half on hold because we were both fading.

Father's Day

My Father's Day was simple. I did lights for the church services last night and today. Got to hang out with Greg Wollan more than usual as he lead worship. He/they performed one of his own songs - Glorybound. That's one of the songs that inspired me to approach him which has lead to a nice friendship. The song reminded me SO MUCH of Paul McCartney way beck in 2003 at the Small Group Leadership Retreat. There was someone shooting a documentary at Woodland Hills today while we were doing the service. That stuff adds a fun energy to church service.

Cara and I came home and put Jack down for his nap. We had a small lunch and watched a fresh episode of Doctor Who! It was a creepy one. One of those good ones. Then Cara took a nap as Jack continued his. Quiet time. About the time everyone was getting up, Leesha came home.

We had our regular routine. Getting stuff done and ready for the week. Jack started to figure out his toy- the toy with four balls that get smacked into their holes by a hammer and proceed down through an obstacle course and exit again. Until today I don't think Jack recognized any purpose to the main piece, the balls, and the hammer. Now he realized the application. It was wonderful to see him working it all out.

After Leesha went to bed I took Jack to the couch and we sat and watched over the neighborhood and he fell asleep on my lap. That was the perfect way to end my father's day.

Day II of Garage Sale, the Doctor and Hiromi

Garage sales are exhausting. Not a big fan of these things. Not nearly as many kids today. Eric, Leesha, and I played 4 Square in our driveway with actually only three squares. Every time a customer came walking up the driveway we would stop and pretend like we weren't playing.

We barbecued again today, two days in a row. Today was hotter. And more humid. I was able to spend a good deal of time hiding in the dark cool basement. Keesha and Keane were here for a better part of the day keeping Jack company. Jack and I spent some time inside giving him some freedom-to-roam time. He is becoming such a clever little guy.

After Leesha went to her dad's, everything was packed up and the Pfeifers went home Cara and I had a light dinner, fed Jack, got him cleaned up and in bed. Then we watched the latest episode of Doctor Who! Not sure when it airs in the UK, but early evening on Saturday the latest episode appears available for download. This show is fresh. They just watched it over there. I was really into LOST earlier this year. LOST's finale was underwhelming, but I almost can't wait another week to see just the next episode of Doctor Who. I'm in love with this series.

Tonight's episode was part 2 of a two parter done by Steve Moffat or something like that. The reason its worthy of mention is that the episodes he writes are usually the season's best ones. Turns out the guy who is executive producing Doctor Who currently is not doing that next year and after. This writer, Steve Moffat or what ever is. The bad part of it is there won't be a Doctor Who season in 2009. I guess there'll be a special or something and then the show returns in 2010.

I've been listening to a new musician, lately. Hiromi Uehara is my new favorite. This evening I created a makeshift micro channel of her live performances off of Youtube. I invite you to see how wonderful Hiromi's music is. Please visit the forum thread here. Not only is she wonderful to listen to, she is fun to watch. This girl is really into her music.

Memorial Weekend

Friday night we went to Willis West (Greg and Mandy's house) where we grilled out and ate in. It was a very good time visiting and playing with the dogs.

Saturday we slept in. Cara and Leesha went down to Ikea with Darlene to shop. Called me and I went to down to transport a cabinate. Pre assembled. Door open so took my time going home. Stopped at Hot Comics and found Uncle Sven's which the Source recently purchased. Hans was working there. We dug out Identity Crisis and marveled at how well it portrayed Deathstroke the Terminator. Found a bunch of Challengers of the Unknown comics for $.50!

Cara and I watched the first episode of the current season of Doctor Who before she went to be and I watched SNL.

Sunday we met at Uptown Bar and Grill for gyro omelets. We picked up Darlene at her church and went to Uptown to meet Greg and Mandy and Mom and Dad.

After that Mom and Dad followed us to our house and we all went to work on Bopper's room. Had sandwiches. Leesha slept in the living room while mom and dad had her bed. We went for a walk and sat outside and talked.

Memorial Monday we had some breakfast and shortly after that, Greg and Mandy came over as well as Trelevens. We spent most of the day in our back yard.

Leesha, Keesha and the Gallifreyan Doctor

We met Darlene for church. After church we went out with Pfeifer's small group to eat. Eric gave me a great Doctor Who reference today. I'll explain what that means on Tuesday.

Leesha came home in a mess. She really isn't feeling well and this is probably why she's been acting out so much, lately. She had a bite to eat and went strait to bed.

Later, Cara and I watched my favorite episode of Doctor Who yet - The Girl in the Fireplace. The funny thing about this episode is when it was over, we decided to see what was on TV. The channel that was on when we turned was tpt (Twin Cities PBS). A movie starring the same actress was on. Sophia Myles played Reinette in Doctor Who and Lucy Westenra in a BBC production of Dracula. Kind of cool coincidents, don't you think?

Leesha, Catan and 2006

Cara asked that I make breakfast today, which threw me off at first, but OK. I made scrambled eggs with tomatoes, ham, cheese and black olives. This sent Leesha into the biggest fit I've seen her in since she turned nine. She made an absolute fool of herself over stupid olives! Much of it was due to her being hungry and some of it was because Cara was rather emotional and that made Leesha a bit uncomfortable.

Listening to Sir Paul Vol. 1&2 from my brother. I'm enjoying the 2nd disk of Paul McCartney much more. I still keep coming back to the conclusion that Bowie is much more unique than McCartney. The reason for the comparison is I've been working on a two volume mix of Bowie for him.

Cara defeated Leesha and I at a nice regular game of Settlers of Catan.

Today, Cara asked me to help her with our family newsletter. I played around with the layout and added pictures. It occurred to me that this newsletter pretty much covers a segment of time that this blog is missing. So here it is:

We thought it might be nice to share some highlights from our lives since we got married, so here goes-

JUNE 2005

• The 11^th - Our Wedding Day!

• It was wonderful! The rain started as we were wrapping up pictures and stopped before our reception at the park.

• Cara's brother and sister were both able to come with their families for the event as well as her parents.

• The 12^{th -} After our gift opening (when our nephew Nathaniel got a nice gash on the back of head from the proverbial coffee table incident), we headed over to Little Wood Lake, WI to Cara's Aunt and Uncle's cabin for a week of relaxation. Caryn and her family came up with Leesha for the last day.

Summer

• Lots of time with Cara's family.

• Lots of adjusting to married life – like Jeffry's human being nature vs. Cara's human doing nature, her desire for “us” time vs. his desire for “me” time, as well as the organized person and the not-so-organized person dilemma. But we think we've figured it out at this point.

• August – our friends Rob (Jeffry's former roommate and landlord) and Laura got married.

SEPTEMBER

• We bought the newest car either of us has ever owned (mile-wise), a Honda CRV.

• Hosted a Couple's Shower for our friends Eric and Keesha.

• Spent time with some former Rosslyn-ites (Cara's old High School).

OCTOBER

• Saw Serenity!

• Time with family, including a trip to Missouri where we visited the City Museum (we highly recommend visiting it if you've got the chance).

• Eric and Keesha's wedding.

NOVEMBER

• Thanksgiving with friends!

• Leesha's concert at the Mall of America and Craig and family return to Kenya – both on the same day.

DECEMBER

• Cara ran out of gas in the new car!

• Saw Narnia!

• KSTP party and a night at the Hilton where Cara proceeded to get a terrible cold.

• Time with family – on both sides.

JANUARY, 2006

• Jeffry's sleep study and diagnosis for Sleep Apnea. Just try and take the CPAP away from him!

• Jeffry played broomball when it was super cold out, or didn't get to play due to lack of ice (thanks to Global Warming).

• Cara ran out of gas again!

• Leesha turned 8.

FEBRUARY

• Got to watch our dog-phews Cogswell and Eddy.

• Played Settlers of Catan with friends.

• Kitchen sink at mom and dad's found to be malfunctioning resulting in a sopping wet mattress in the basement.

• Leesha had an accident at school and broke off about 1/3 of one of her front teeth.

MARCH

• Leesha got a snow day!

APRIL

• Jeffry and Cara went on a date to see Triple Espresso (another recommendation).

• Spring Break – Cara and Jeffry took an afternoon trip to Stillwater, MN and test drove a Wrangler.

• Celebrated Easter with friends.

• The 26^{th -} We had a showing at the first house we could actually “afford” and decided to sign the purchase agreement that night.

MAY

• We took classes on homeownership, etc.

• A visit from Jeffry's parents!

JUNE

• Mortgage application (ugh!)

• 1 year anniversary!

• The 15^th – learned that we got the house!

• The 23^rd – we closed on said house.

JULY

• Visit to a cabin in WI with friends – more Settlers, lots of food and fun.

• Painted, cleaned, packed and finally moved.

• Rob and Laura celebrated Oliver's birth (6 weeks early) and on our way to visit them, we got a call from Cara's friend to come get their dog since their baby was on the way!

• Dog-sat Sadie! (a highlight anytime)

• Cara turned 31.

• Fridge in new house died.

AUGUST

• Visit from Cara's mom!

• New fridge arrived! And later, new furniture!

• Jeffry trained to be a bus driver.

SEPTEMBER

• Jeffry turned 32.

• Went to the Bluegrass Festival.

• Leesha started 3^rd grade at North Heights Christian Academy.

• Cara mowed a lawn for the first time in her life.

• Leesha got her first ear infection.

• Mini-reunion with friends from Eagle River, WI (where Jeffry grew up)

OCTOBER

• Dog-sat Sadie again!

• Got more settled in to work, new house, new job, etc.

• Visit from Jeffry's parents.

• Halloween party.

• Started the approximately 280-day venture towards becoming parents.

NOVEMBER

• Dog-sat Sadie again!

• Visit from Cara's friend Anu.

• Thanksgiving with friends again!

• Leesha's dad Jeremy got married.

DECEMBER

• Jeffry told his parents they'd be grandparents again!

• Leesha performed in the school musical.

• Leesha got a bad abrasion on her knee. Due to Cara's failure to park the CRV appropriately, it rolled back down the driveway and into the neighbors yard. When it hit the curb, Leesha, who had been getting out of the car before it started to roll, was jostled out of the vehicle, but thank God for making the car stop before the tires rolled over her.

• Dog-sat Sadie again!

• Leesha got to ride along on the school bus with Jeffry

  one day.

• Time with Jeffry's family.

• "Whoever is in here will make you a big sister"

  Christmas morning - Leesha learned she is going to be a big sister.

• Vacation for all of us from work and school.

• 
  

JANUARY 2007

• Cara's parents return from 36 years in Africa and hear that they're going to be grandparents again!

• Time with Cara's parents

• Leesha turned 9.

We finished watching Rob's movie Fearless (which he thought was one of the best movies of it's kind he's seen or something like that). It was ok, but I thought Hero was much better. After that we watched an episode of Doctor Who and then Saturday Night Live.

Dungeons and Doctor Who Spin-offs

Patrick hosted today's session of D&D ran by Robert. Rob was saying that he heard the fellas at the Source saying they don't expect the Eberron Campaign line to survive based on the lack of sales they see there. This news makes me sad since I've recently thrown my D&D flag in that world. They do have 2007 already mapped out as far as releases go, so I'm thinking (and hoping) it was just talk.

I didn't go right home after the game. I explored Plato Road a bit. Found myself along the river- the other side of the river from Shepard Road. Very nice drive.

I'm pissed that I cannot find my book. I think I forgot it at Pat's house.

Cara was working tonight so I had some me time. I watched an episode of Torchwood and loved it. Torchwood is Doctor Who's younger vulgar brother. Its much more dark and they swear all the time. Paul was telling me that Sarah Jane Adventures has started over on the BBC. Sarah Jane Adventures is another Doctor Who spin-off, like Torchwood. I'm going to download the first episode tonight.

Very cold day.

Dungeons & Doctors

I'm feeling much better today.

Yesterday was pretty laid back. Went downtown Minneapolis for a nice long session of D&D with Rob, Pat and Paul. We're starting a new game run by Rob so we spent the first half building characters and just talking about anything- and we covered almost everything. The last couple of hours we actually played a little. Got the feel of our characters and how they'll work together. Rob is setting the game in AEG's publication- the World's Largest Dungeon. Should be fun. It was good time.

We all left just before 5:00. I stopped on they way home to pick up a novel. I bought the 2nd in the Eberron: Dark Dreaming trilogy- The Shattered Land again by Keith Baker (I just chatted with him a couple of days ago).

Cara was still out with her mum when I got home. After she arrived we had dinner and watched three episodes of Doctor Who. The last two of the first season and the first one with the new Doctor. Cara is really getting into this show. That pleases me.

Tomorrow is Leesha's birthday party. Not sure how that's all going to play out, but half the reason I got that book is if I'm expected to be there for a long period of time.

All in all, I'd say it was a rather high Geekflag day.