Swim Meet

 Bode had a swim meet today over in Pensacola.  This was the first big meet since Covid, and there were a lot of precautions.  Parents were escorted in and out of the building, which actually worked out great.  We went inside, watched Bode swim, and then let the next group of parents come in to watch the next heat.  Overall, it went very well.  I took some pictures.  First, we have Bode and Ashley.  I can't believe how old he looks in these.

Bode swam three events.  The first event was the 100-IM; he swam about the same time as his entry time, so no PR for this event.  Still, he swam great, especially since he said his legs were sore from running the mile in gym class for time yesterday.  Also, Bode was in the "fast" heat for this race, but he just turned 13 a couple months ago, so he is racing against 13- and 14-year olds.  We do think he needs to work on that breast stroke ;-)  He is in the second lane from the left.

Next, he swam the 100 freestyle.  His best time coming in to the meet was 1:12; he swam a 1:05.  I took some pictures, but none came out very well.  Ashley has a movie on her phone, and if I get that, I will post here.  There were only three (3!) heats between Bode's 100 freestyle and his 50 butterfly.  He said he was still winded when he got on the blocks.  Still, he did amazing, swimming in 32 seconds--his previous best was 36 seconds! Below is a movie--he is in the far-right lane.

After the meet, we went to Jersey Mikes.  Ashley and I split a 7.5-inch sandwich.  Bode ate a 15-inch sandwich on his own.  Crazy how much food teenage males eat!

The carriage house is done!  All work is finished, and we even got a final bill.  Here are some photos.  First, the garage interior where I am setting up my gym.  Note the climbing rope!

Next, we have the upstairs.  No real changes here, but we do have a bed up there and are trying to figure out the right size for a couch.

We moved Ashley's framing gear into her shop and mounted the cutter on the wall.  She's ready to get back into the framing business.

Finally, here is an exterior shot--note the numbers on the carriage house.

We don't have any major plans other than relaxing.  The weather is a little cool here--in the 50's which feels like sub-zero to my thin-blood.  Joey is doing well.  He has started his chemotherapy with Auburn University.  He gets a couple pills every other day, and on the days he's not taking chemo, he takes a steroid.  He seems like a perfectly healthy dog--huge appetite, happy and playful.  We will hope the chemo can do some magic, but we also understand the factors Joey has working against him.  Still, we won't give up hope!

Happy MLK weekend to everyone!

Sub Tropical Plunge

 As has been the long-standing McGuirk tradition going all the way back to the 1850's (more like 2019), Bode and I did our version of the polar plunge.  Even though the air temperature was in the 60's, the water was still quite cold with the newspaper saying the Gulf temperature is 62.  I don't know how people do this into water that is near freezing because 62-degree water felt like ice.

Bode and I posed for the traditional pre-plunge picture showing off our Covid physiques.

Sadly, Ashley failed to get an actual movie of the plunge.  She was taking the movie, but then for some reason didn't think we were going to jump, so she stopped the movie, at which point we both jumped into the water, so she then tried to start again, but only got Bode jumping up in the freezing water.

One of these years we'll get Ashley to do this with us.  We told her that Auburn lost today in their bowl game because she didn't do the plunge with us; I don't think she believes us :-)  Happy 2021 to all!

Final Post of 2020

 It what seems like the longest year ever, 2020 has finally drawn to a close.  I wish I could say it was a great year, but I think we all know otherwise.  Still, we had some great times together and some wonderful experiences which I won't delineate here.  As always, we will show Bode's school picture to mark his progress through the years.

We were a little disappointed that neither of us remembered to tell Bode to not wear his zombie shirt on picture day, but despite not having on a nice shirt, the photo is a pretty good one of the kid.  Bode is now just a scosh taller than Ashley, and he's tipping the scales at just over 135 pounds--he's a very solid young man.  He's really starting to look like a teenager--he's no longer our cute little boy; it seems like only yesterday that Bode was in kindergarten...

If you are looking for a good book to read, I did self-publish a book I wrote on Amazon.  It is available for Kindle and you can also order paperbacks on demand.  You can get to the Amazon page using this link.

I guess it wouldn't be 2020 if we didn't end the year with some somber news.  Joey has multiple tumors in his abdomen and on his skin.  One is on a kidney and another is on his lymph nodes.  Obviously this is not good news, and the prognosis is not great.  However, we are not giving up, so yesterday, Ashley took Joey to the Auburn University small animal clinic oncology department.  He spent the day undergoing tests and other things.  They took samples of the tumors and once we get the pathology results, we will hopefully have a treatment plan.  Until then, Joey is getting spoiled and a lot of love from all of us.  He even got a new favorite pillow.

Like most, we will hope 2021 brings better times and catchier rhymes.  Happy New Year to all!

Happy Christmas

 Christmas has come and gone, and we had a wonderful holiday.  A couple days before the big day, Jon, Meghan, and Bridget came for a visit.  They were the first visitors to stay in the carriage house, and thankfully, they survived the night no worse for the wear.  We had a lovely day with them and managed to take some pictures before they headed back to Orange beach.

We (Ashley, Bode, and I) went miniature golfing the day before Christmas Eve.  Amazingly, Bode got another first shot into the snake's mouth while neither Ashley nor me could repeat the feat.  We lazed around the next couple days eating too much and watching movies.  Then, on the big night we listened to Christmas music (well, I listened; Bode played his computer while Ashley read), but we were together and that's what matters.  We put out cookies for the big man and I snapped a picture of the tree.

Despite all the Covid restrictions, Santa found our house and left tons of loot.  Before the carnage, we snapped some pictures.

We received tons of great gifts.  Bode got a burrito blanket from the Albuquerque clan which he's wrapped himself in for warmth due to the chilly weather here.

Ashley got a really cool painting of the Tiger Walk.

The big present was a new gaming computer for Bode.  Here's a movie of him unwrapping it.

We all got so many great presents and we had a wonderful morning.  After the gift carnage, we then cooked a big meal for lunch.  We had Ashley's parents and her brother and his family over for dinner.  We made ribs, pulled pork, chicken wings, and everyone brought sides.  We ate until we burst and then ate some more.  We did take time to grab a picture of Ashley with her parents.

We also watched Wonder Woman 1984, which was quite entertaining.  Today, Ashley and I moved stuff from our garage out to the carriage house.  The great migration has begun!  And we (well, Ashley did most of it) found time to do a puzzle.

Obviously, it was a 1980's movie theme.  We've no big plans for the rest of the weekend other than more food and maybe try to go running.  Pleasant day to all.

Award Winning Decorations

 After months of campaigning and charges of illegal votes being counted, the Poquito Bayou Homeowners Association has awarded our house for having the most whimsical theme for the 2020 holiday season.  How exciting is that!?!  I just wish I knew what it meant.

We woke up this morning and found the below sign in our front yard.

We figure the port-o-pot had to have clinched things for us :-).  I took a movie of the light show for our house.  I don't know if the movie accurately presents the whimsicalness of the decorations.

There is this one house in our neighborhood that went crazy with the lights.  I'll have to take a picture of it, both in the daylight and in the evening just to show the sheer density of their decorations.

Carriage House

 I believe it is done! Sort of.  There is just some touch-up painting that needs to be done, as well as some other tiny things, but as of yesterday, we started moving things from our current garage to the carriage house.  We are very pleased with how it turned out.  First is a shot from the front.

We are very pleased with how the driveway entrance turned out--the brick looks fantastic.

Next are some shots of the garage interior.  We had the floor stained grey, and we think it turned out great.

The stairs look very cool.  Ashley and Tim (the guy that did the finishing) came up wit a real neat idea for the railing.

Not much has changed with the upstairs; all we need now is some furniture.

This is Ashley's work-shop.  She hopes to restart her framing business, and this will be the headquarters of what will soon be a global framing operation.

We did go out today and get a bed and mattress for the upstairs, so we should be ready for visitors.  All are welcome to come anytime you wish :-)

Final Performance

 The Youth Symphony had their final performance of this year.  They were at the Destin Harborwalk, and it was a very lovely venue.  

Here's a shot from above when the orchestra was getting ready to warm up.

I think the music stands are really nifty with their lights.  The concert was the same as the concert a few weeks ago, but I did record the songs.  First is a song with just the strings from the orchestra.

I also recorded March of the Dwarfs, which is the name of the Harry-Potterish song from the first concert.

It was a beautiful concert, and we are all very pleased Bode opted to participate in the symphony this semester.  He wasn't big on wearing masks as the practices, but Aaron (the conductor) helped convince Bode everything would be fine, which it was.  We look forward to the spring concerts, which should be much warmer ;-)  However, we are also looking forward to some down time to just relax and hang out.