January 31, 2017

Over these past several days, our household has been very busy, to say the least. Amazingly it all came together and we were able to get up to Livermore to pay our respects to the Ferea family, as they had to deal with the death of Ron, the head of the family. Jason was able to get some time with one of his closest friends, Matt, and I think it was really good for both of them. We also spent a little time with Margie, Ron's wife, and their daughter Megan. Linda and I (mostly Linda) had a special relationship with the family, as both the kids, Matt and Megan, were in Linda's child care, and then Megan even worked for Linda for a couple of years. Matt and Jason were in Scouts together, so that was another connection and we seemed to always have things going on with them. Ron will be missed by many.

We flew up to Livermore, courtesy of Veteran Airlift Command (VAC), in a Pilatus aircraft, and it was a very smooth flight. After we landed, Jason made the comment that it was much smoother in the plane than on the ground (In the ground's defense - there was a great deal of construction going on). We had a rental van from the Oakland Mobility Center, and they provided us with a wheelchair accessible van at a low rate. It too, was comfortable and large enough for all we had, plus the two dogs. A great big thank you, goes out to George and Jane Bowen for being there to go pick up the van and bring it to the airport for us. It would have been a very difficult situation otherwise.

We stayed up in Livermore for just the one day, and came right back down. We did get to see a couple of friends and do a little visiting, which gave Jason a chance to connect with a couple of folks he had not seen in awhile. Linda and I think that it would be good to get that same type flight and van so that we could visit for about a week. We talked to the pilots and they said it shouldn't be a problem, just need to coordinate with the folks at the VAC.

Tomorrow Jason and I will be heading to Balboa for his regular Wound Care visit, and attempt to get a few other things done, like get the Mustang in for service. He is also making some progress with his mead production. Maybe "production" is too strong of a word, as he really isn't making that much. These are more like experimental steps at trying to figure out how to make it taste the way he wants it to taste. He does have a name - Wolf Head Mead - and a business card (His brother Sean helped with the logo, a wolf's head). I see it as something he is doing and he enjoys doing it, so it is good.

I will do my best to get some pictures up tomorrow, but for now you'll have to simply enjoy the text. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.