Busy Week

Last Sunday I flew out to San Antonio, Rebecca was discharged from active duty and is now assigned to a reserve unit at Dobbins ARB in Marietta, GA.  Flying out was a new experience for me. It was the first time in 30 years that I had to go through what everyone does. Security was interesting, taking off shoes, belt, having my toothpaste "confiscated" I can see what a pain in the butt it really is now. But for a long trip, you can't beat it. On Monday the movers came to pack Rebecca out, at the end of the day she turned in her apartment keys and we checked into the Drury Inn near the San Antonio airport. Early Tuesday morning we're on the rode in her packed to the gills Toyota Corolla. We hit Houston for rush hour but moved right through. Tuesday night we're home. On Wednesday Carolyn had her blood test, her levels were good enough for her 4th chemo on Friday. Yesterday we spent the day at a Craft show in Kennesaw, GA with Ashley and Becca. Kennesaw, every male head of household within the city limits must own a hand gun! it's the law,  has lowest crime rate in the state. Not much else happening, we were skipped with the recent storms, just a little beneficial rain. Cool morning this morning with the temps in the 40s but bright sunshine.

Some pics of the "Traveler" I'm selling it for the "right" price,  planning on a building a different model.

Maybe this was a normal week?

Carolyn didn't have to go to Emory this week and is not scheduled for 2 more weeks, it was kind of nice not having to drive into Atlanta during the middle of the week even though we missed going to our favorite Chinese restaurant.
The weather is turning warm fast, we were into the 80s already and we're behind on rain for the year already.
Waiting to here if I'm in the Paddle Georgia (lite) this year, I'm starting out with the 2 day event to see how it goes before I try the full event next year.
Carolyn is past her "bad week" and will recover during the next two. We're watching closely during this round since she's shown signs of neuropathy. (sp?) Otherwise she's progressing well, her hair is slowly growing back, don't know what's up with that though this time it looks platinum white, wonder if that's because one of her chemo drugs is platinum?
The Adirondack chairs are coming along nicely, in no hurry to get them finished, I figure I hopefully have about 30 years to get'em done.   Some more old pictures....

Security Police Tech School, Camp Medina, TX  1978?

Forgot I was a "Rope", Me and Carolyn, Tech School

Morbach, Ammo Dump, guarding the bombs!

BABs... Big Ass Bombs!  

MBAFB, 1985 CI surveillance

I'mmmmm Baaacck!!!

Well when the laptop died it took me a week or so to recover all the files I faithfully backed up to another hard-drive, well, the recovery part is not that simple but I managed to find all our music and pictures. Then Blogger, for whatever reason wouldn't let me log in for a week? It works now? gotta love this stuff :)

Carolyn had last week off from Chemo, her platelets were still too low, this week they rebounded and she had her third treatment yesterday. Typical spring weather with warm days fighting the cold snaps, this weekend is supposed to be nice.
Rebecca's out-processing is going well, I'll fly out early next month to help while the packers/movers are there, then we'll drive back. I believe she has her first drill with her reserve unit in May.
Retirement is good, no complaints so far. Time to play with wood...

Here's some old pictures... Hurricane Elena, Labor day weekend 1982?

Middle of the storm, looking to the backyard.

Looking to the front yard.

A little cleanup needed for the backyard!

Our neighbors yard.

More backyard cleanup, anybody have a rake?

Ashley's swingset

Across the street.

Tree in their bedroom.

Now the runoff backing up.

Ashley the day before!

What a week!

Well this was a busy week, On Tuesday we had a luncheon for Russ, a co-worker who had decided to cross over to the US Marshal Service, he starts a shortened training schedule on Monday. On Wednesday Carolyn had a CT scan and blod test. The CT scan shows the spot they are tracking is barely visible. That was great to hear. The Chemo though is forcing her body to take a little longer to recover. So, no chemo this week. On Thursday friends and co-workers officially sent me out the door... to retired status. I received some wonderful gifts, we drank, told war stories, we drank, told more stories, and we drank.
A good time was had by all. Special thanks to Rina Patel who put it all together.
Then on Saturday my laptop died, even though I have an external hard drive backing up files, many "disappeared", so now I'm on a fancy new computer and trying to recover what I can. So far, so good.
Today a trip to Home Depot for some gardening stuff!

Associate SAC presenting me with "retired" badge and credentials!

RETIRED!

Last Thursday I went to work, looked at the calendar and wondered what I was doing there.  I called Carolyn and asked her to come get me. I then turned in the government car, and other "tools of the trade" and called it a career. Since then I've been so occupied that I've let the blog slide. Yesterday I drove Rebecca to the airport. She took a few days leave to see some friends who will be deploying soon. This has been a good week for Carolyn, tomorrow she'll have a blood test to see if her counts are high enough for round 3. Thursday is the retirement party from the office... I'm guessing there will be some interesting photos.
Here's some more photos.

Carolyn with Dixie and Dodger!

Rebecca demonstrating her push up form... pretty good!

Chessie as a puppy.

Tom, and me and Yoda, I think this is Lake Keowee, SC.

View from lodge at Amicalola Falls in the fall

 View along the trial to Amicalola Falls, southern end of the Applachian Trail.

Lost a Comrade

A close friend (Chris Collins) advised me a former fellow AFOSI Agent died recently in an accident at a firing range.
My thoughts and prayers to Jerry Weber's family.  Below is the badge we carried with honor!

The color of the badge

"One of the most prominent features of the OSI badge is its color and brilliance. Gold - gold, the color of precious metal, of something universally acknowledged as having significant value - the metal traditionally associated as belonging to the best in the field - a color particularly appropriate as AFOSI strives to be the premier investigative agency of its kind."

The lettering of the badge

"The lettering is boldly stamped in blue. Blue - the color in heraldry associated with "constancy of purpose" as well as "justice." The color, also, of the sky - the domain of the service which we serve."

The shape of the badge

"The shape of the AFOSI badge - a shield - delivers a powerful message. In its essence, AFOSI exists to protect the integrity of the Air Force."

The center of the badge

"Appropriately, the Air Force's own insignia is found at the center of the badge, protected by two unbroken, concentric circles. The innermost circle contains the name of the protective organization itself, AFOSI, and the outermost circle emblazoned with two simple, yet powerful words - Special Agent - the person who carries the shield to protect the Air Force and the values it represents."

The border of the badge

"At the edges of the badge we find the laurel wreath, throughout history the traditional award given the conquering hero."

The crown of the badge

"Surmounting the badge is the eagle, honored symbol of the nation, its lofty ideals and noble values. But note the position of the wings - not outstretched in the traditional mode ready to take flight, but spread in a protective stance, as if guarding its young against the dangers of the wild and shielding them against the base forces of nature."


Other Stuff this week...

Carolyn has bounced back again from chemo round 2. Our friends and neighbors have been too kind in their support, we've been receiving wonderful meals delivered right to our door.
Spring may finally be trying to fight her way back, though we having cool nights we're warming nicely during the day.

Ashley and Josh have been doing all kinds of work on their house, installing french doors to their patio, having the whole house painted inside and out, yard work, etc. They both are staying quite busy with that and work.

Rebecca is currently on leave and visiting a "friend". She's also at that point trying to decide whether to re-enlist, go into the reserves and cross-train, or just get out. I think if she makes Staff Sgt., she'll likely re-enlist.

Me, well.... 4 work days to go!  :)

2nd Chemo

Round 2 went well. Carolyn is feeling as good as could be expected. Since it's super bowl Sunday and it's cold outside, today will be a TV watching and book reading day. The folks in the neighborhood are just fantastic, we've had meal after meal brought to us, a caserole, ham, scalopped potatoes, brownies, cup cakes, and that's just this week. So, since I'm now trained at the gym, It's become a necessary daily workout. :)

Here's some pictures...

Goofing off on the MET Team,  DEA 12+ years ago

Lola enjoying the chair

Tom, I like my beer in a glass.... and in a can!

A young Yoda, @ 7 mos.