October 18, 2011

It has been about a month since I posted here, so I have probably forgotten half of what I have done.

I guess I will start with the White Sox game on September 24th. The Midwest Garrison was invited by the White Sox to come in costume to the game and appear for "Stand Up Against Cancer". I had not been to the new US Cellular field yet and there were spots open to sign up, so I did. As always, we were asked to get there early, suit up and do some hand shaking and posing for photos around the outside of the Ball Park. And, as always, there were plenty of Star Wars fans to be found. We all had to wear stickers on our costumes that allowed us to go just about anywhere. Right before the game, we were part of a "parade" that took a lap around the field. I looked at all of the empty seats and thought that no one was coming to the game. I guess we were out there quite some time before the game and all of a sudden, the place started to fill up. From the first inning until the 7th inning there were lots of people to meet and take photos with. Near the 7th though, you could tell that a good number of people had been "over served" and that was as good a time as any to head for the exits. It was a unique experience to be at the ball park in Star Wars costume.

A couple days after the game, I started to get sick. I felt really lousy and was barely making it through each day. By the Friday after the game, I didn't go to work and went to the doctor instead. Turns out I had pneumonia, bronchitis, and a nasty sinus infection. Life doesn't seem to allow for being sick as I tried to continue doing things as best I could but would wear out fast.

I had set up our Mokena Making Strides Against Breast Cancer "Donation Station" at Berkots for October 1st and was not going to miss that...sick or not. So I did make it to Berkots in costume and managed to stay for the hours we were there. Thanks to several members of the MWG and NSB, we raked in $325.00 for MSABC. As always, the people at Berkots were good natured and a lot of people were excited to see us there.

Bill Biksacky was in from Utah for his sister's funeral and decided to stay here in Mokena the last night before he headed back home. We had a nice visit. It worked out good ...he was able to use my bed because I was still sleeping sitting in a chair...doctor's orders.

I started my annual fall canning like mad over the last two weeks also. I have made 3 different kinds of jam for giving to my family at Christmas as I am big into homemade gifts. I also canned tomatoes and salsa. Canning is very time consuming but rewarding. It is also one of those lost arts that I don't think should "die out". I also went out to the Barrens to pick Autumn Olive berries and made jam out of that for the door prizes for the Frozen Butts workday.

In addition to the canning, I still had a lot of garden to clean up. We had a nice stretch of great weather so I did a lot more garden clean up. I feel I am pretty ahead of the game in that department. Linda and I got out to Hickory Creek Barrens last week and did a little work and nosing around now that the contractors have begun work in earnest there.

On Saturday I turned 60 years old....ugh. It was a day I have been dreading for quite awhile. I just don't want to be 60...period. I know I am slowing down, even though I do try hard to keep forever in motion. I didn't plan much for the day because that is part of my "over 60" philosophy...I don't want to plan every minute to death. I sometimes get tired of endlessly running around. My family in the area don't really celebrate birthdays except for the "big ones". This being a big one, we made some small plans. Sister Laura and brother Jim met me at Camp Sagawau and we explored the Environmental Center there and also took a walk. We all then met up with sister Joan at Del Rhea's Chicken Basket. The Chicken Basket is a restaurant from the 40's that is positioned on what once was Route 66. It is famous for its chicken and the place has been featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" show and has also been in the local papers. Since they are famous for chicken...that is what I got. It was a very laid back day.

The next day was our annual "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk in Aurora. I fundraise and do projects for MSABC for months. This year again we had a GREAT turn out of participants in costume. One of our Stormtroopers even wore a pink undersuit with his Stormtrooper Armor. It was raining as we got ready in the parking lot...and it rained the whole first lap of the walk. We all got soaked. I have to admire our team. While the other walkers hid under umbrellas...we walked without them! This year our team came out 3rd for total donations out of 65 teams. We raised $4,779.00. My personal quest for donations put me in second place out of about 150 individuals as I was able to raise $3,220.00. Everyone did a great job on this event and I was really proud of our team...as always.

This morning I did more canning and jam making and got a few packages out to Utah for Christmas early...can't ship that stuff when the weather starts to freeze. I think I might go to the show this afternoon.