Day#314

We hosted ten boys for Sam's birthday party this past Saturday.  I did not plan for there to be swimming, but they decided it was a good idea. I don't even know what the water temperature was. Good thing we had a fire they could warm up by once it got dark. They also trampolined, played flashlight tag and hide and go seek, and did some Minecraft inside.  After 11pm we got the boys staying over to wind down a little and they "slept" out in the tent in the backyard but stayed up most of the night from what I could hear through our open bedroom window.  It was a beautiful nearly-full moon night; it seemed like we picked the date just right for having a camp out sleepover. I know Sam had a super fun time with his friends.

Day#313

These are the bikes that were left over from the scouts' re-bicycling effort earlier this summer. Gary stripped them of useable parts to use for their next time re-bicycling and then we drove them into St. Louis to give them to a non-profit art program that works with the city's teenagers.  I'm glad there was some place other than a land fill that they could go.

Day#312

I was switching around some pictures and frames the other day and snapped a picture of a picture of my grandpa. I think it still looks like him even though now he is 91.

Day#311

The day Caroline got spacers inserted between her teeth in preparation for braces, we went for a milkshake.

Day#310

This is a shot of the Xenia Grade School gym. Here's the Irishman I was referring to the other day, that I helped paint in 1980.  My initials should still be visible on the underneath edge of the shoe.  You can also see the 2nd place-at-state banner for boys track my 8th grade year.  We had some great athletes at Xenia and super school spirit.

Day#309

I heard a strange sound come from the kitchen but thought it sounded like Bob messing with a fork (?). Later when I walked into the kitchen, I realized the sound was actually our ceiling fan/light falling from the ceiling. It caught itself however, by the wiring. Looking further into it, Gary discovered it had been mounted using roofing nails so no wonder it didn't hold. That big glass globe is heavy!  And consider years and years of vibrations, what were they thinking with the nails?! All it took was a ladder, strong arms, screws, a shock, and tripping a breaker with a loud pop and Gary got it fixed up right.

Day#308

I wasn't even trying for a red, white, and blue anything, but here's a shot of my lunch dessert today. Jack had been requesting homemade cheesecake since summer. He's had a few rough weeks lately and feeling overwhelmed with everything he's got going on, so I thought this was a good time to try it. We all thought it was good but needed just a little more something to be perfect. Guess I'll be making another one or more until I get it figured out and it's just right.

Day#307

We spent all day Sunday working in the yard. We trimmed trees and cut up branches and stacked wood, cleared out weeds and rose bushes and burnt practically all day. It was such beautiful weather, it actually was a pleasure to work outside all day long.

I had boneless ribs cooking low in the all afternoon and they sure tasted heavenly when we came in after working hard. Don't know if they were truly that delicious or we were just ravenous.

Day#306

Saturday morning Sam had escrima class and Caroline had to be picked up from a sleepover so Gary and I hit some yardsales while en route. He bought a non-running push mower for $2 even though it started out at $5. I couldn't believe he could fit it in the car, but as usual, he always proves me wrong on this stuff.  He had it running and mowed the yard by afternoon. Of course!

The big boys and I had the Tiger Ambush band competition to work that day and evening. Sam had a birthday party he attended and Caroline had a friend over to spend the night.  Ross was over until he had to go to work. I cooked up some cheeseburgers for supper and made my first ever cheesecake. Gary changed the van and car oil and rotated their tires. All our typical weekend stuff....am I leaving something out?

Day#305

We had a full weekend but nothing new there. It was pretty fun even though very busy. Ross was back in town and later on Friday night we had a little fire and family game time, out on the driveway.  Grant does a highly energetic and realistic gorilla impersonation [is it an impersonation if it's not of a person?] and gotta say, Sam does a unique walrus.

Day#304

Our house. I was trying to upload this exterior picture to a paint color visualizer on-line to see what might look better than our dark green front door. I was never successful with figuring that out, so I bet it stays green a long time. I would really like to do away with the white storm door, but living in this climate, I don't imagine we will do that even though it would look so much better, dang it.

Day#303

I don't think I reported back on the windows!!  It is wonderful to look out of them now. I'm kicking myself that I didn't hire this done three years ago. It makes me so happy to have a clean view. The guy used a 15-foot ladder with variable heights to each leg and perched up on the steps as he needed to.  As he leaned over as far as he could reach, I was nervous for him, but he said our job was really like nothing and actually he has no fear on any job.  He had just done windows at the mansion at Grant's Farm in which his 40-foot ladder wasn't enough so he tied himself around his middle with a rope and dangled outside the closed window while his boss sat on the inside and held his weight on the rope. Add that to the list of jobs Diane could never do.

Day#302

One more...this was taken during Homecoming week my senior year showing the candidates for queen and king. It was Tie, Belt, and Hat day--how corny is that?  All I had to do for dress up days was raid my grandma's closets. That's even where my punk clothes came from. Susan and Andy, which was her boyfriend, were elected queen and king. That was okay with me because I had such a fun time that week just being a part of all the festivities. Our class won the float contest for the fourth straight year. And I got to ride on the back of a convertible in the parade which was cool until Tom Krutsinger hit the gas pedal a bit hard and flipped me backwards. Luckily, I did not hit the pavement. That was one of my best high school memories.

Day#302

One more, this was taken during Homecoming week my senior year showing the candidates for queen and king. It was Tie, Belt, and Hat day--how corny is that?  All I had to do for dress up days was raid my grandma's closets. That's even where my punk clothes came from. Susan and Andy, which was her boyfriend, were elected queen and king. That was okay with me because I had such a fun time that week just being a part of all the festivities. Our class won the float contest for the fourth straight year. And I got to ride on the back of a convertible in the parade which was cool until Tom Krutsinger hit the gas pedal a bit hard and flipped me backwards. Luckily, I did not hit the pavement. That was one of my best high school memories.

Day#301

Since we are on a 80's roll, feast your eyes on my punk outfit.

Day#300

Another old timey picture. I found this newspaper clipping from when I was a high school cheerleader my senior year.  We are wearing our practice outfit, thank goodness since this was one hot, hot day in July that we were selling brats and hotdogs on the Wal·Mart parking lot as a fundraiser. My best friend Susan is on the left and I'm next to her.

Day#299

Our 30 year class reunion just happened and even though I did not like the 30 part, I am so glad I got to go.  I still get really excited to reconnect with old friends and I don't do well at it in every day life except for the one I live with, so having the reunions really is my best chance to get or stay in touch.

Here's Gary and I our senior year. I think I had more of a mullet than he did.

1984-85

Day#298

Considering our high school reunion was coming up, I had been looking through old pictures and yearbooks recently.  This is from my 8th grade year.  I'm missing in this picture (there were only us five cheerleaders), but it does bring back memories of a very hot, scratchy sweater.  Luckily, it was paired with a super cute skirt, that is, if you can get over the green and gold combo, and we did have cool Asics shoes. I was one of the students that helped make the painted wooden Irishman hanging in the Xenia gymnasium and I guess I probably helped make this paper one too, here with these girls, but I have no memory of it. We had an impressive basketball team of tall and athletic boys that were my close friends since kindergarten and I was really proud of that. This is the first year there are no students in my old Xenia Grade School since they all go to the new building in Flora now. It was a great school and I'm glad I was there the nine years I was.

Day#297

Today's the day and I'm so rockin excited!  The dirtiest, most impossible windows ever are getting professionally cleaned, woohoo!!  There's such a layer of grime and cobwebs and I won't have to look at that a day longer.  You can not know my joy that today has finally come. Yay yay yay!!!

Day#296

Someone defiled me and my van pretty badly.  Don't believe what you read!

Day#295

The official birthdate, September 8, with a Sonic foot long and hot fudge sundae.

Day#294

You only turn 11 once but can celebrate it four different times!

Day#293

My name is Sam and it's my birthday!

Day#292

We celebrated Sam's birthday a little early while we were in Clay County for the weekend. Super fun!

Day#291

Danny snapped and sent me this prior to the Opry show last Saturday night.  It's my favorite star on the tv show, Nashville.  Chip Esten (who I used to watch on Whose Line Is It Anyway in the 90's) plays a complicated character Deacon Claybourne, or as I like to call him, Bad Boy Deacon.  Maybe someday I can stutter and stammer and giggle when Danny introduces us.

Day#290

Filling up with gasoline isn't nearly as traumatic these days. I'm hoping for something that falls in the $1 range soon. Wouldn't that be something?!  I don't think I thought I'd ever see prices like this again, but yay!

Day#289

This was supposed to be included on the last post, things that recently cracked me up. For some reason the picture didn't go, tho here it ith today. : )

Day#288

A sampling of things that just cracked me up lately.  The car one was courtesy of Ross. Hope he produces something equally hilarious on his return drive from Florida.

Day#287

As his birthday gets closer, I swear Sam is looking older every day.

Day#286

One night last week I fell over a couple stacks of lumber that have been in place there in the garage for probably a month. It was dark and I just forgot about them and waltzed right into them. I went down and it was not pretty, but I didn't end up in the ER like I felt I was gonna need when it first happened. It's been about a week and the bruises remain but it wasn't really a biggie after all.

Day#285

Saturday was a DQ fundraiser day for the high school band. We did our part by orderin and eatin. And so did Jack, who was on cookin duty all day long.

Day#284

Night time blue sky

Day#283

Our high school class reunion is coming up. They say it's the 30th but that just seems crazy and must be a mathematical mistake. I remember babysitting for my cousins when their folks were going to their 10th, maybe 15th, and I thought that made the folks, like, embarrassingly old. Ha, man, how a perspective can change. And I know down the line, I'll be wishing to go back to when it was just a 30th.

On the shirt, I'm at the end of the cross of the T and Gary's below the e.