We lost a good friend.

We knew John for almost 20 years; he owned the barber shop in the Williamstown Amish Market and was one of a rare kind.  Always with a smile and a big presence, we had so many good times and laughs.  I can't believe we'll never have another one of those fun times again.

He had been a smoker for a long time.  He quit at 42, which got him these last few years.  But all those years of smoking took him from us now.  He had been sick for awhile, but didn't let most of us know just how bad it was.  The end came suddenly.

He left behind his wife, his son, and his very young grandchildren.  Plus all the friends like us and his partner Janet who co-owned the business with him.  They were family to each other.

When I left the barbershop today, Janet gave me a sad smile and sad, "He loved you.  He always talked about how great you and John were."  I choked up all over again.

I begged Janet to stop smoking.  We don't need to go through this again.  And she said she at last had the reason to quit.

Goodbye, John.  I loved you too.

iRecommend: Advanced Physical Therapy

I can't recommend these guys enough.  The therapists are great at what they do.  Not only are they knowledgeable and highly skilled, but they and the owner, Rob, create a phenomenal, positive atmosphere filled encouragement and laughter.  As we listened to Joe tease one of the patients, the woman next to me said, it's the fact that we have such a good time when we're there that helps so much in our therapy. 

If you need therapy for a sports injury or following surgery and you live in the Washington Township, NJ area, you must come to Advanced Physical Therapy. Nobody can beat their care.

Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

I had passed this movie off as a "Wait for Cable".  Then our drive-in theater opened for the season and we ended up seeing it.  I'm so glad we did!

This Disney movie is released in conjunction with Elton John's Rocket Films.  It's funny, VERY clever both in the characters reflecting people's garden inhabitants and in so many details in the film, including referencing Shakespeare's creations.  It also has that sweet, poignant moments we expect in these stories.  And for the people who gnash their teeth that kids won't know the real Romeo and Juliet, the film DOES teach the true story and taught it by no other than William Shakespeare himself.

The cast is well rounded and has a number of surprises.  Including...

...wait for it!

Ozzy Ozbourne in a lead, supporting role.

I don't think you heard me.  OZZY OZBOURNE is starring in a DISNEY film! (Does a nice job too.)

Last but never least, Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote several new songs that are just wonderful.  I fell in love with "Hello Hello" and downloaded it as soon as the movie was over.

One note: Disney released this under the Touchstone label which surprised me.  I didn't see anything in there that didn't warrant the Walt Disney label, but maybe that's me.  Parents be warned this movie does touch on death, as do many other animated films, and (SPOILER ALERT) the characters are alive, even the one I swore was gone.  You see him at the end during the last song.

So don't make the mistake I almost did: get out and see this sweet, fun film in the theaters when you're looking for an animated film to see.  (As opposed to Rango which I have from several good authorities that said don't bother.  And that's putting it nicely.)

Booyah! I'm moving again on Epic Mickey!

I've been stuck in one spot for a long time and got discouraged at my own inability of doing what should have been simple.

But re-inspired with my Oswald plush (who looks like he does in Epic Mickey) and having seen a screenshot of the ending animation, I tackled it again and got past that spot.  Oh yeah!  It's fun again and I want to see that closing animation for myself!

Back injections went fine.

I had the spine injections today; everything went smoothly.  It was more than I expected it to be: I thought I went it, got a shot, and left.  But I had an IV, had to change into a gown, and go into surgery etc.  I would have left my contacts out if I had known, and I certainly wouldn't have worn black lacy underwear.  That had to look pretty stupid (and quite the ensemble with the gown, hat, and slipper socks), especially with all my fat I have now.

So now I'm laying here because they told me I'm basically allowed to do nothing for a day or so.  It can take a while before I feel any better -- up to 14 days -- and the pain can get a lot worse in the 2 days, so I know it's okay.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May those who love us, love us.

And for those who don't love us,

May God turn their hearts.

And if he can not turn their hearts,

May he turn their ankles,

So we may know them by their limping.

Q--What is the definition of Irish Amnesia?

Answer--You forget everything; except the grudges.

We lost Morgan a year ago today.

I still miss her.

Sometimes, you can forget your back pain

Oswald. my Bazinga hoodie and me., originally uploaded by eblackwell.

and your lack of job for awhile when you get an Oswald that smiles at you and a Bazinga hoodie on sale.

Good times.

It's a dog's life...

It's a dog's life..., originally uploaded by eblackwell.

...got to drop everyone off at their appointments, get something for dinner...

Surprise performance

Surprise performance, originally uploaded by eblackwell.

dancers from the high school in morph suits

Someecards: great funny, free ecards!

I just found this site and want to pass it on: Someecards.com

It reminds me of when Shoebox or Noisebot takes vintage looking clipart and writes funny copy to it.  Check it out; it has a lot of categories.

And I'd like all of my friends to know:

Disneyland webcam fixed on iGoogle!

My iGoogle gadget that displays the Disneyland Matterhorn webcam (called the Mattercam) is now fixed!

In case you didn't know, the Anaheim Howard Johnsons has a webcam that revolves to show a lot of great video views from Disneyland and California Adventure.  In 2008, I created an iGoogle gadget to embed that webcam on iGoogle pages.  Last December, HoJo's changed all the coding for the webcam and my gadget couldn't work.

Thank you to Jonathan Whitehead, General Manager of the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel – Anaheim/Disneyland, for working with me to get the new server address and settings so I could update my iGoogle code.

Several people had asked that I get this working again, so I'm glad I could do this for them.  But I'm also glad to have it for my sake too; now I have my 3 webcam views working on iGoogle again, side by side: Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and the Swan and Dolphin webcam in WDW (although I wish they'd point it at Epcot again).

Pain Center Update:

I showed up for my appointment, but even though I confirmed it yesterday, they put me in the book for the 7th.  No matter what I said about them confirming it or the fact I was there made them take me today.

I was so aggravated that I wanted to yell or cry.  I was nervous about the injection, but I wanted this to happen.  I can't tell you how much the thought that this pain would be gone -- that I could sleep, move around, not have everything be ruined with this -- picked up my whole outlook.  To have that crushed and told instead that I have to wait another week... it's been months of this, I so wanted it over.