Overcome by Events and A Blog Name Change

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” – Benjamin Franklin

What has happened to Homer and Lucille and their owners?  Where shall I begin—my medical problems?  My daughter’s wedding?  The new RV? 

With all that’s been going on, something had to give; blogging was the loser.   I have also used this time to decide what kind of blogger I’m going to be and how frequently I plan to post; more about that in another post.

I’m going to try to condense into three paragraphs those things that have kept me in a blogging strait jacket.  Here goes: 

The medical problems involve a couple of episodes of atrial fibrillation and an arthritic hip.  Medication seems to have solved the afib, and eventual surgery—when I’m good and ready—will hopefully resolve the hip issue. 

Mindy and Tyler, our daughter and son-in-law, after getting married in a civil ceremony a couple of years ago, decided to hold a commitment ceremony at their large church here in the mid-cities.  Whatever it was, it was still a big church wedding with the substantial price tag that fathers—including this one—underwrite.  Mindy and her mother, as would be expected, jumped headlong into the whirlwind of wedding planning and I was caught up in the vortex much more often than I wished.  On those occasions when I was tossed mercifully, if only temporarily, out of this tornado, I dutifully followed the advice I was given:  Shut up and write the check.  It was a lovely wedding, and Mindy was very respectful of our budget.  She made many of the decorations herself, and we marveled at her creativity!

The new RV?  Well, thank Mr. Arthritis for that.  While we enjoyed our fifth wheel, tending it was somewhat demanding, physically, and I was getting to a point where all the hitching, unhitching, kneeling and bending was becoming a bit much for me and Arthur (Itis).  So, we bade farewell to Homer and Lucille and now own a 2006 Allegro Phaeton QDH motor home.  It is quite new to us, as we have driven it only from the dealer’s lot to our home near Fort Worth.  We will devote many other posts to our getting to know Phannie.  (Yes, the first order of business was to give her a name—“Phannie” Phaeton.  We also acquired a dinghy, a bright red 2009 HHR, that we have named “Mae,” as in Fannie Mae.  Get it?  Okay, maybe it’s a bit lame, but I’m hoping they will not acquire the infamy of their failed namesake that helped create our national financial crisis.)

With the arrival of the new vehicles, the name of the blog must also change once again.  Ergo, the reason you see Phannie and Mae instead of Homer and Lucille.  (See, there’s yet another change; you can’t get away from them!)   As if this were not enough, I’m changing the blog template as well—may as well go for a trifecta.