Kzinti's Kouch

Short one here. Ok, not going to lie, I totally don’t drink coffee, it keeps me awake. Having said that, Banksia Bistro seemed to me more like a local coffee and pastry place upon first inspection. Also not going to lie, I totally went there because of the sausage rolls. Ground pork sausage and fennel, wrapped in puff pastry, baked to perfection. I’d had one in Illinois, and tried finding a place locally that had them. Enter Banksia Bistro, about the only one I’ve found so far. It was basically all I was there for, and they had both pork and lamb. Very nice place, very good food. Unfortunately, I don’t get around there much to try any of the other fare, but if you happen to be around that area, definitely worth the trip to stop in.

Banksia Bistro, Kansas City, MO: https://banksiabistro.com/

It’s been a while again. Here’s some of what’s been going on in the last 2 years:

• New work schedule has me working fewer days, but 12 hours.
• On and off foot wounds due to walking several miles a day at work. Both almost healed again!
• The Missus got a cat, then promptly found out she is allergic to cats. Need a cat?
• Began breakfast outings to get out more, doing fun stuff in strange places.
• Crypto investment almost went sideways, money is safe, but the project lawyers are involved.
• Due to bad weather, this is the first year we didn’t fire up the popcorn machine for Halloween!
• Cleaned out/up two storage units. Emptied one, the other is half full. Decluttering Grade: B+
• Still selling Lego bricks online. Have sorted through maybe 1,000 pounds of bulk, used bricks.
• John Deere loader I bought: https://thelittlestdozer.wordpress.com/ is now ready to push dirt!
• Still have the RV, but haven’t used it much. Me and Marie Kondo say: “Sell it!”
• Engine went out in my 21YO truck. Facing $80K new truck or $12K new engine cost, engine won.
• Became the HOA President in a 393 home association. It’s gone smoother than expected.

To rehash, I’m sure there’s more, but those are some of the big points. Still alive, still kicking, carefully because of the foot issues. Always thinking of all my old VOX Family, hoping you are all doing well. And those that are no longer with us are in my thoughts as well. It was a unique experience in blogging, and I’m so glad I got to know you all.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it. Here’s some of what’s been going on in the last 5-6 years:

• Sold the old house, finally, and at the peak of the real estate market!
• Had foot surgery on left foot due to broken in several places.
• Fractured right foot in probably the stupidest way possible.
• Maintained my weight at 320 for the last 5-6 years!
• Invested in an NFT/Crypto project that (knock on wood) didn’t steal my money.
• Bought a soccer mom van for the Missus, traded in her 2006 Mustang GT convertible.
• Several years of Halloween popcorn madness in the new house! 300-400 visitors a year!
• Still dealing Lego bricks online. Bought 8,000+ pounds of bulk, used bricks.
• Bought a John Deere tracked loader, online, at auction, in Wisconsin, sight unseen, for $1,300. It runs!
• Got rid of one RV, still have the other. Probably be selling it this year though.
• Bought one of those huge-mongous rolls of firecrackers, and it sounded like the whole neighborhood blew up!

I’m sure there’s more, but those are some of the big points. Still alive, still kicking, carefully because of the foot issues. Not sure when I’ll update again, hopefully before the next 5-6 years. Always thinking of all my old VOX Family, hoping you are all doing well. And those that are no longer with us, they are in my thoughts as well. It was a unique experience in blogging, and I’m so glad I got to know you all.

I tweeted last night that once you have kids, you own them for life. They grow up, move out, but they are still yours. And when life happens, they call, and you answer. last night found me relaxing on the couch, waiting to watch Dirk Gently on BBC, one of my favorite shows. The phone rang, it was Middle Daughter. I never know what to expect when she calls, it could be anything. This time, she was about a half hour away with the four kids, she was in a lot of pain and having trouble breathing. Get thee to the hospital!

I met Middle Daughter in the ER, there with four kids and a deer in the headlights look. Dad Mode kicked in. I made quick plans to get the grandkids home with the Missus, and I’d return to sit with her until she had some answers. I had a good talk with the grandkids on the way home about what to do in emergencies, how things happen in life and how everything should be just fine. I left them at the house, calmly doing kid stuff, playing with bricks and watching cartoons.

The hospital did four major tests, said she presented with a possible heart attack. Folks, women can have completely different symptoms for heart attack than men, so if you are not sure, go get it checked out. Your parents will thank you for that. After hours of tests, they ruled out several heart issues, had x-rayed her back to see if a disc had slipped or something else, even performed an ultrasound on her gall bladder, as she’s had issues before with it. All came back good.

Which means that while they don’t know exactly what the problem is, they believe they can rule out the killers. Which is good. She’s scheduled for some followup labs Monday. They’ve given her a couple of meds to deal with the pain and help relax her muscles. She’s not quite out of the woods, but she can see the clearing. It was while heading home last night that I was reminded of a really bad incident from her past. There have been several.

In 2002, while I was in Chicago dealing with the death of my brother, I got a call from Middle Daughter. She’d been in an accident which totaled her car. Found out later there’d been multiple injuries, and they had to resuscitate her at the scene. My daughter had died. She’d been dead. Was brought back to life. Yeah, I was an emotional mess. AM an emotional mess. Damn kids. I only bring this up because last night, it came up among the grandkids, and things went sideways for a bit.

When Middle Grandson dropped that fact, Oldest Grandson didn’t recall ever hearing about it and got very upset, to put it lightly. The Missus had her hands full for a while. Fortunately it occurred just before Middle Daughter was released, so when I called home to update the Missus, they were all around the phone to hear that Mommy was better and coming home. Adrenaline that was running high all night faded, and the girls were passed out by the time we got home, with the boys almost there.

Take a few minutes today to hug your kids, because calls like this, while they hopefully don’t come often, do happen. Kids, they’re for life.

Life. Hahahaha. *wipes tear* So, where was I? Oh yeah… Life. Quick run down on what’s been going on for the last few… years:

• Lego brick business did well, moved to an office space, and it grew
• Fixed up house, built a deck and then decided to buy a new house
• Worked a metric ass-tonne of overtime
• Almost died, ended up in hospital and on bed rest for two months
• Bought new house while in hospital
• Moved house while on bed rest
• Dropped weight from then 450+ to current 320 LBS (was 300, but more bed rest)
• Finishing up work at old house just a year after buying new house
• Bought a popcorn machine, a big one
• Moved Lego brick business back home at new house

And that’s the big points. I’ll make up some posts about each one as I get time. Looking forward to Halloween this year though, finally in a house where we get kids stopping by. So we loaded up on goodies and I’m bringing out the popcorn machine, so we can hand out popped corn to the parents who wander the streets with their kids. Looking to have about 200 kids stop by this year.

Looking to end the year on a good note and have a fantastic New year coming in.