Stuff...

So... I had a couple of clients that have owed me money for over a year who finally paid up. I've been surfing craigslist "motorcycles" for 3 months (old man porn). A really good deal popped up. I happened to have the cash. It's a Suzuki 650 single. Low maintenance, easily modified, relatively cheap to work on and they make a sidecar for it in case I can talk the wifey or my dogs to get into it. Not sure yet what I'm going to do to it cosmetically. I can't just leave something "as is". But it is a good canvas to begin with.

The book project is moving forward... in "Orthodox time". Fr. Joseph and I have gotten two extensions from the publisher (so far) for the manuscript.  His recent podcast foreshadows the book. Originally I was going to just illustrate, but we've ended up co-authoring and co-editing each other's stuff. I have to say it has been a marriage made in heaven. I was gun-shy of working with a priest after being beaten down over the years by priests for DARING to edit or even suggest changes to their "Holy Spirit inspired" words. So, behold a priest in whom there is no writer's (or clerical) arrogance!

In the process, I've discovered I can't edit a manuscript on a computer screen, I have to have a hard copy that looks like a book in my hands. For some reason, I'm proud of that.

In other news, the Wifey and I both had heart stress tests done a couple weeks ago because we have insurance now through our jobs. After 30+ years of fast food, pulled pork, red meat, a cholesterol count of nearly 300 and high blood pressure (genetics), mine came out OK. The doctor was amazed. The Wifey had to go in for an angiogram, her's wasn't so good. The doctor said 1/4 of her heart wasn't functioning.

Of course, regardless of "faith", the mind travels to the worst case scenarios when faced with an uncertain diagnosis. The immanent possibility prospect of losing your friend and lover, your children's support and comfort, your grandchildren's spoiler, is a harsh rumination for a couple weeks. Mortality looms large and ordinary things shrink in importance, but you still do the dishes for some reason.

All is well, however. It turns out she has a benign congenital heart defect that gives a "false positive" on a stress test.

So we are back to normal... whatever that means in our life.