Saturday, November 29, 2008

At the Dome

Hi, again.
It’s just me.

I had a surprise call yesterday form Sally and Raquel. Raquel is a cheerleader at her high school. The school, from up in way northern Missouri (up by Iowa) was playing in the state football championships at the Dome in St Louis and Raquel wanted me to come to the game.

I did go and enjoyed being with Sally and Colton (Rick stayed home with a friend) and watching Raquel and her friends cheer the team to a 10 – 7 victory.

We went over to the Sorgea’s last night. Dick’s sister Theresa is married to a man who has a son, Chris, who is a corporate jet pilot. Chris is based in and lives in Phoenix. He is aware of the area and is familiar with Chandler.

We are anticipating getting about two inches of snow tomorrow. Christmas is coming like an express train. We will be helping Jason move the weekend before. I am finding it to be difficult getting into the spirit of the season.

Got to reminiscing about Savannah over our supper, which included FRIED POTATOES.

I spent part of the day hauling containers to the basement. I suppose that is good exercise.

Well, I find myself inexplicably at a loss for words, so that is it from Home Alone.

Love to all and be careful out there.
Dad

Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008












Thanksgiving day was celebrated in Auburn at Bill & Dawn’s home.

Dawn and Bill prepared a splendid meal with all the traditionals and a couple of new items. Linda and Denise contributed dishes and deserts, Nancy contributed a desert, and we took a desert, a pound of fudge, and a huge crock of mashed potatoes.

Denise was married four weeks ago (in Cazumel) and was joined by her new husband Dan.

We picked up Nancy at her home and I drove her van since she has difficulty in exiting lower profile cars.

We watched some football, watched a video of Brandon performing with the Auburn band in a state competition, and a video of Brooke and a classmate performing in a comedic skit for a school competition.

Three deer ran across the backyard as we watched out the patio door. We could hear some gunshots in the distance. Firearm season ends next weekend.

After dinner, we played cards and a couple of board games. Jason called twice to get the rules for Golf. He and Rebecca were in Cincinnati for Thanksgiving at a friend’s house.

We got home about 10:30. So another Thanksgiving fades into our memories. Next up is Christmas. With Jason and Rebecca moving to Louisville the week before Christmas, and the economy in a death spiral, this may not be the best of times for celebrating.

The weather here has been mild. Unfortunately we live in a burning area so the prettiest days are filled with smoke. Truth be known, only a few people burn leaves, but that is enough to make the air harsh. It is a free country and people can burn leaves, but we need a law that forces people to keep the smoke on their own property.

I am up this morning at 4:30. I wish I would sleep longer.

Took a number of pictures yesterday. Unfortunately, several were blurry. I can’t get people to be still. My limited software can’t fix blurry.

That’s all for now except for some superfluous punctuation…!..?’.

Dad

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Big Big Change


Big, big change in routine..
Guess what? Your mother put the trashcan back where it belongs, over by the basement door. No longer will I put trash in that 3-drawer chest. That puppy is now up stairs in, as your mom still calls it, Jason’s room.

And since she bought that bookcase for the family room, there is no place for the Christmas tree. Problem solved, I lose my recliner. It is in the cellar. Next I will be rooming down in the dungeon. At least the beer fridge is down there. I sure wish I still had the protection of my daughter.

I am fixated on all the news these days. It looks like bush is set to make a lot of presidential edicts to help destroy what you are now enjoying. The Grand Canyon will make an excellent landfill.

I think all development should be in Texas and Washington D.C. And Missouri.

Back to the Christmas tree; it is up and standing. Now for the agony of decorating it, my favorite ordeal.

“All right, what did you do with my snowmen!!!???”

The fudge is cooling in the garage. We are having that little lunch at work tomorrow so I opted to bring fudge.

A woman at work is giving away three kittens. I told her that when I was a farm boy, we put kittens in a feed sack and tossed them into the drainage ditch. The EPA frowns on that now, I would expect.

Well to bed and a little reading. I am half way through a book called Six Frigates, a non-fiction book about the birth of the U.S. Navy. It’s not a book to be found on Oprah’s lists.





Love to all,
Dad

Monday, November 24, 2008



These pictures are from our trip to Washington State about three years ago. Parallel with my ear and over my left shoulder, the white image coming down the mountain is an ancient glacier in the Olympic Mountains

The Millers will get to see these mountains in the Spring.

Not much is happening here at Home Alone tonight. I had a busy day, while your mom played hooky. She has taken down the fall decorations and has been eyeing the Christmas decorations, all of which is in about 342 storage containers all of which are 13 steps down into the basement.

We are talking about what to buy for our family members for Christmas. We think this is a good year to start being more frugal (along with the whole country). We are happiest when our various families spend more on themselves and less on us. Not that we do not appreciate all that our children and grand children do for us, but honestly, all we want is their love and happiness.

We are looking forward to being with Bill and Dawn and family on Thanksgiving. And we are happy to have Nancy going with us. She enjoys all table games so it will be fun.

No school here on Wednesday so the adult workers are going to do a pre- Thanksgiving potlatch. I have been waiting for an opportunity to use that word.

We have a new system of filing and personnel files to implement. We needed a day when all the employees would be gone so that we can spread these files (which are sensitive) out and get the job done. So, we will have a mini-feast to make the job more pleasant.

Well that is not a lot of news from Home Alone but it will have to do.

Oh, by the way, Jim. I got to thinking about those gullies and arroyos you have been taking MY grandkids into. Don’t forget that flash floods occur caused by rain at higher elevations; even when the sky is clear where you are walking.

Also, never, never open up a refrigerator found in the desert.

Ok, that is it… (pointless use of an ellipses) , don’t you love ‘em?

Bye,
Dad and grandpa

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Concert


Sunday morning,

Well we made it to thec oncert with 5 minutes to spare. Rebecca and Jason were running late but was not a real factor.

The concert had a large crowd in attendance. The Mozart section was lively and quite enjoyable. The featured artist on the ensemble was a man playing a concert grand piano. Only about 40 orchestra members were behind him. After intermission, the piano was gone and the orchestra swelled to over 90 members.

This section featured a composition that was completed in 1910. I guess that made it more contemporary. Anyway, the sets (right word?) were well done and, as expected, lasted about 12 minutes each. The concluding set ended with the string sections having their bows poised over their instruments. I expected a crescendo of sound, but the set seemed to whimper to a close. I suspect the composer ran out of clefts or something.

It was a very cold night and I heard complaints about the leather seats not being heated. Sorry but the last owners of that leather is long ago cold and eaten. Besides, the human butt can warm leather if given enough time.

We stopped in at Denny’s for desert. I had a club sandwich since I had not eaten dinner. My old nemesis the Earache had returned for a while. Also, my eye was really itching and I found it to be unpleasantly distracting.

We are having company this afternoon (as previously stated) and Jason has invited himself over for the soup. That’s fine with us.

Jason really looked nice last night. He has become as handsome as his brother and brother-in-law. Rebecca looked nice, as always. We are not looking forward to having them move to Louisville. Yes, I know it’s only ‘5 hours away’. I don’t consider that to be within easy driving distance.

I sure did enjoy talking on the phone with my son-in-law last evening.

Your mom is on her way to the store to finish up getting the stuff for this afternoon. She says ‘Hi’ and will do her own writing later.

That’s all the news from Home Alone.

Be safe. Don’t try to fill every hour with activity…it is perfectly fine to once in a while just do nothing.

Love all,

Dad (grandpa)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Saturday morning (early morning) and here I am doing my on line bill paying and watching that my various accounts have not lent themselves to hacking.

It got quite cold last night (18 degrees); fortunately there was very little wind so it was not too bad. Cold is good since (theoretically) it kills off all the germs in the air.

We went to Hobby Lobby last night looking for a frame for Bill’s birthday gift. No luck there so then off to Michaels, but no luck there either. I was having a low chocolate indicator so popped into Dierbergs and got a dark chocolate bar. That eased the pain.

I seem to have an ingrown hair in my eye. Sure does make my eye look evil. I wish I had a nurse practitioner in the area.

We are having some friends over on Sunday afternoon. Looks kike potato soup is on the menu. I hope I get to watch the Bears and Rams game. The Rams are dismal, but the Bears are usually fun to watch.

I have been hungry for some more variety in our meals. New England boiled dinner sounded good so I did a small roast in the crock-pot, added onions, carrots, and potatoes. That was good. Will do some pinto beans next week.

I’m going to get the big mower out this morning, and do some leaf mulching. I have a lot to do outside. A windstorm took down part of the fence last month so I need to get that taken care of. The thing that holds me back a lot of time is not having a truck. That is next on my want list.

I continue being busier than I want to be at the bus company. I do a lot of re-training. This activity if for people who have been observed not doing the job completely or safety. We have a theory that when people continually do the wrong thing, eventually some one will be hurt or killed.

Besides training, I am the safety coordinator and now have to do team building activities. Fortunately, I have a good boss (actually I have never had a bad boss) and good associates.

Being busy does cut into my exercise and walking activities. I need to mentally berate myself so I get back into the groove.

We went and looked at flooring again, again. I can make up my mind without conscious effort. However…….

Also looking for a new recliner for the family room. This is when the truck would come in handy, but then again, making up our (her) mind/s on any single item, is somewhat like me having to answer that ageless question, ‘does this make me look too fat?’

Jason got us tickets to Powell Hall to hear a concert by the St. Louis symphony Orchestra. On the program is Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, K. 459 and Mahler Symphony No. 9. This will be tonight.

The fields in this area are just now being cleared of corn and soybeans. Combining is late due to a wet spring and lingering moisture in the corn. Farmers prefer field drying since fuel costs to bin dry are so high.

The deer are starting to run now since there is less cover. And they are horny.

Well that’s all the news from Home Alone.

Love to all,

Dad

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Went to church this morning by myself. Mom was not feeling too well.
Got home and we decided to go to Target. Bought a new speaker phone. Tested it out by talking to the kids.

Called Nancy Miller to invite her to join us for Thanksgiving at Bill & Dawn,s house. Dawn has been fighting pneumonia and a fever of 104 this week. Hopefully all this will clear out with cooler weather.

Watched the Rams get embarrassed. Again. Then watched the Obama’s on Sixty minutes. Twas a very good interview. I hope the retarded rednecks in this country can give them a chance to succeed. We need a win now and then after the past eight Bush years.

Went looking at trucks today. Choice between a Ford Ranger or the Chevy Colorado. Colorado is a silly name for a truck. Same as the Montana for a SUV.

If I buy the Chevy, I’ll rename it to the Chevy Illinois. Hey, the new prez is from Illinois.

Obama resigned as a senator today. We wonder whom that twit Blagoavich will name as his successor.

Gotta toodle,

Bye Now

Pizza Place

We went to the new pizza place in O'Fallon. We went there once before. I found the atmosphere pleasant but crowded. Seating is limited.
We were a party of eight (can you have a party of one?), drank 4 pitchers of beer, and tasted each other’s pizza.
I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich. Don’t like the pizza in this area; mostly tastes like hot cardboard
Later on we went to a friends house and played cards. We play 1500 Rummy, also called Saskatchewan Rummy.
It snowed a little while we were at the Pizza place. Didn’t amount to much. I will do the last lawn mowing this next weekend; mainly to mulch the leaves.

Thanksgiving

Bought a turkey, a small one (12 lbs.), last Friday.
No family expected for Thanksgiving so will just save it for Christmas.

We will be going to Auburn for the turkey feed. We plan on inviting Nancy, unless she has other plans.
Dad