Jimmy the Geek

Prayers and Thoughts Needed!

As many of you know, my son Bill (30yo) has been fighting brain cancer for nearly five years now. He has a Grade Two astrocytoma that covers much of the right frontal lobe of his brain. It looks very much like a web and therefore is inoperable. He went through successful radiation treatments and all has been well for several years.

In the last couple MRIs, we've been watching a 7mm spot (1/4 inch) for signs of growth. Last week, the MRI exposed two much smaller spots very near the 7mm spot. It is somewhat controversial as to when to treat tumors like this, but we've decided to go ahead with oral chemotherapy, Temodar. His doctor agrees with the decision.

He has a week's worth of the chemo (Temodar) and will start on October 1. The treatment will be re-evaluated and continue for as long as it may take. He'll be on a 28-day cycle... 5 days of Temodar, then 23-days before another dose.

Please pray for Bill's recovery and his ability to deal with the side-effects of this dangerous drug.

Roxy went to the Beauty Parlor!

Well! Roxy finally got her haircut... she was a mess! Her long soft hair was a perfect target for the Bugsy and Sammy to play with and lick. It got very matted from the other dogs playing with her and she was pretty much one big hairball!

Continue to see before and after pictures:

Isaac's First Baseball Game!

Wow!  I'm so proud of my grandson, Isaac!  He had his first baseball game this afternoon and he did soooo well!  We were all excited for him... He was so tickled and proud... he was ready to play ball! Click on the pics!

My Family!

We had a family photo taken a couple weeks ago.

Top Row: Joe (son-in-law), Bill (son), Jayson (son-in-law), Jamie (daughter)

Middle Row: Sarah (daughter), James (me!), Shelley (wife), Maddie (granddaughter)

Lower Row: Kyra (granddaughter), Caity (granddaughter), Isaac (grandson)

Halibut!

What I learned this weekend...

Hauling a 56-pound Halibut from 300+ feet off the ocean floor is HARD work!

My son, two son-in-laws, and I went out on a Halibut fishing charter over the weekend.  Just the four of us and Ken, the skipper.  What a blast!  All of us had been wanting to do a trip like this for some time.  So I decided it would be a great Christmas present for all.  The hard part was waiting from Christmas until July 8th when we were scheduled!

We launched from the Neah Bay Marina located on the Makah Indian Reservation at 5:00am and cruised for two-and-a-half hours to a spot about 35-miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean called The Halibut Nursery.  We were fishing in 300-350 feet of water in Canadian waters off Vancouver Island.

The boat limited out with ten halibut.  We had at least three in the 50+ pound range, with the rest thirty to fifty pounds.  At first we were a little discouraged with the size, but after a half-hour fight hauling each of them in... we were definitely OK with it!

We also got a couple Ling Cod, which make great fish and chips.  I pulled up a Black Cod, but gave it to Ken.  They are super oily and the only way to prepare them is to smoke them.  Ken told us that it's dangerous to smoke them because the can actually catch fire!

The trip definitely wore us out, but is was well worth it.  The seas were not bad, although there were constant swells and rollers that made it difficult to keep your balance while trying to reel in a fish that doesn't particularly like the idea of surfacing.

Good eatin'!

Summertime...

...and the livin' is easy

We are having some amazing weather in the Seattle area right now.  It's been hitting the mid-eightys and the extended forecast calls for  even more nice weather!

Kyra's taking advantage of the shade on the back deck and lounging like a princess.   

She and her dad have been working hard today getting the pool clean.  We're late gittin' 'er done this year, the water's still a little cloudy but it should be clear tomorrow... in fact, Bill and Kyra are jumping in as I write this.  They just couldn't wait...

From the sounds of it, the water is feeling pretty darned good.  I guess the pool is ready now!

Earlier, Bill threw a few brats on the barbeque.  I splurged and decided that brats could be on my diet for today... life is good!!

Ahhh... Magnolia, would you be so kind as to bring me another mint julep?  I do appreciate it!

PhoneCam Photo - June 10, 2006

Master's Degree!

Congratulations to my niece Elizabeth  for earning her Master's Degree in Education.  Beth is the first and only one in our family to accomplish such a feat.  Her Mom and Dad are very proud of her.  I am too!

Beth has been teaching reading skills to ninth and tenth graders at a local high school for a while now.  She told me that it's a huge reward for both her and her students when they are finally able to read at high school levels.  Some of the kids come in reading at a third grade level. Wow...

Good job Beth!  Congratulations!