Sissy's Song

My sister Steph posted this over on Facebook because she said it reminded her of Mom. She's right - so here it is for the non-FB part of my family and those of you who aren't Steph's friends on Facebook.

This is for Mom and all those who left us too soon.




If the embedded video doesn't play - here is the original YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8sWwFIFlK8

Car Emergency Bag

I just cleaned out and refreshed the Emergency Bag I keep in the Element for the first time in well over a year. It got me thinking that a) I should do it more often, b) whether anyone else keeps a bag in their car and c) what they have in theirs. So here's what's in mine:

• 2 bottles of water
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• sweat socks and dress socks
• underwear
• t-shirt
• collared shirt
• sweat pants
• fleece sweat jacket
• fleece blanket

I also have the following items which some might consider non-essential:

• shorts (you never know when you might get asked to golf)
• baseball glove
• baseball hat (for golf or softball)
• knee brace (obvious in my case)
• rag to dry off ice skates

I should probably put some food in there, but need something that can take the heat/cold.

If you don't have a bag like this, you should - especially in the winter for those of us in the NorthEast. If you have one, I'm curious if I'm missing anything.

Ken Shilay, Sr. - R.I.P.

Ken Shilay, Sr. passed away today after a two year fight with lung cancer. Senior, as he was known, was my former landlord's (Ken Shilay, Jr.) dad. I got to know Senior at family parties and working with him on Junior's dream house, aka Shilay's Tara, aka The Property. Senior and I didn't see eye-to-eye on politics or some of his ideas, but he was one of the hardest working people I've ever met. He has probably been described as cranky or irascible or worse, but underneath that gruff exterior, he had a soft soft both for Monica and his grand-daughter Amanda. Until Senior got sick, he gave up almost every weekend to help Junior with the new house. It was almost comical to watch Senior and Junior argue about the house - they both wanted it to be right and, of course, both believed they alone were right.

I think the two things I will remember most about Senior are his hard work and desire for things to be done the right way. For any of his other faults, the world could use more people with those two. Here are a couple pictures of him working at the Property.

Element Sticker Update

(I know, I know - it's about time I posted)

In keeping with the tradition of posting a picture of the back the Element whenever there is a major update, here you go. Some fell off, some got removed, others that I collected over the winter were added. Big thanks to Alex P. for the RC sticker. That's about all the shade I get at the new apartment, btw.