Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow day...again















The snowplow has been through just once. It plowed the middle of the street leaving a car eating drift in front of my driveway. That means I have to shovel 7 inches of snow x 7 feet. Factor in that it will be hard as concrete and it reminds me I have never made friends with the teenage boys in the neighborhood.
Its getting light out now; I think I will go out and get started shoveling. Yes, I will be careful. Small shovel loads, frequent, rests, and avoid thinking about the forecast for the rest of the week. If I am lucky, I’ll find the newspaper.




Yesterday someone drove through the snow in my yard and the neighbors yard, knocking down my mailbox. The timing and other clues led me to believe it was the paper delivery guy, although the circulation supervisor called the driver and asked him out right if he did it, a real skillful questioning tactic. He denied the incident, but later on two guys in coats and ties came by and set the mailbox up. I did not see them, but Amy next door did see them doing the repair. Maybe the paper guy remembered I gave him a nice check at Christmas time.
It is 7:30 AM now, so I am going to suspend this for now…back in a little while with pictures of the snow. I hope it doesn’t get windy and start drifting the snow.
8:20 I am taking a break. Driveway is 1/3 cleared.



I just looked at Jason’s album on Facebook. An ice storm is always more impressive than a snowstorm.
It is now 9:00 and time to shovel.
10:00 and all done. No wind on a bright sunny day under a pale blue sky and I feel good. Breakfasted on oatmeal, whole-wheat toast, and coffee.
I am going to take your mom to work since the roads still have a lot of slushy snow, especially at intersections. I will probably have to guide some tailgaters to safety, but I am always honored that they put so much faith in me.
That’s about it from Home Alone.

Dad

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Eagles and Such

























































We have cherished the time we have been with Savannah this week.
We picked her up at Grandma Millers house on Thursday night. The four of us went to the Olive Garden restaurant to observe Judy and my 41st wedding anniversary.

Savannah had the morning of Friday all alone in the house. She enjoyed a few hours of solitude. Naturally, she watched movies.

In the afternoon, Grandma took her shopping. We went to Cutters for dinner but couldn’t get in; it was packed. The Illinois ban on smoking in indoor areas seems to be a plus for all but 17 percent of adult Illinoisans.

We opted to go to Papa Vitoes for pizza. Then home to watch a movie about a girl playing soccer on a boys’ team, ‘Gracie’. We enjoyed that (along with popcorn). Today (Saturday) I suggested we go up along the Mississippi to watch the Eagles fishing along the river. We first tried to go out on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, but that is a fairly long walk against a biting wind (17 degrees air temp) so we gave up on that after about 20 minutes.

The second choice was the Great River Road up towards Alton and across the Clark Bridge into Missouri. We only saw a couple of Eagles so decide to go on up to Grafton, Illinois. The sandstone bluffs along the Mississippi River, which was choked in many areas with ice, were impressive in the winter sun under a beautiful, clear blue sky.

We frequently encountered areas where cars had pulled over onto the bike paths so as to watch and photograph eagles perched in trees on top of the rocky bluffs.

In Grafton, we had lunch at the Mississippi Half Step restaurant (http://www.mississippihalfstep.com/restaurant.htm ) . We have dined there before and it has nice atmosphere and good food at reasonable prices.

After eating, the next stop was in two of the touristy stores to browse among the antique and crafty items for sale.

Before heading home, we made several stops along the river to take photos (several of which are in this post). In addition to the eagles, we saw groups of deer at three different locations. The pelican migration has not started yet but we saw one early bird coming in for a landing. As usual in the locks area, and around the dams, the gulls were too numerous to risk us looking up at the sky.

Savannah and I went to the theater off Hartman Lane to see the movie ‘Bride Wars’ , rated PG,. It was funny and entertaining. Grandma stayed home to do laundry and to get Savannah's things together.











Well that’s all from Home Alone.

Love to all,

Dad

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Not So Alone For A Few Days:


Not So Alone For A Few Days:

Friday morning dawned very cold and clear. Temperature was –4 degrees as I left Belleville for Peoria, a 3.5-hour trip. There has been very little snow here but north of Springfield I began to see snow on the fields. By the time I arrived in Peoria, many cars at the airport were covered in snow, and the aisles were piled up with snow by the plows. The temperature, as I arrived at the airport, was –17 degrees. Peoria had experienced a record low temp of –21.

The Plane was on time and I was admittedly a little emotional when I saw my girl.

We had a long wait at the baggage claim and the area was very cold due to the doors opening and closing. The bite of the wind on Savannahs face caught her by surprise. I did bring her an Illini coat to wear and a scarf so she was safe for the walk to the car.

She chose to eat at Steak and Shake in Peoria. She seems to have grown some and is very pretty.

When we arrived at the house, she walked all around, touching things and told me she just wanted to know it was all still the same.

The soccer game was fun. The coaches and the players greeted Savannah warmly. She played a total of 30 minutes, had three assists, and two shots on goal. She worked up a good sweat.

We stopped at PapaVitos in O'Fallon for pizza. They have added an enclosed atrium, so it is much roomier.

Her grandma took her shopping yesterday for a new coat and then off to Laura’s. She was truly looking forward to her reunion.

While she is visiting, we had the Jacksons over for cards a chili. I made the chili, but I have to go easy on the heat since your mom cannot tolerate it too spicy.

Tomorrow is King’s birthday so there is no school here on Monday. The inauguration is on Tuesday and I am looking forward to watching the events on the TV.

I watche dth Cardinals game tody. Everyone in this arae is pulling for Kurt Warner. And now he goes the next step to the Super Bowl. Good for him.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Counting Down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 !!



Yesterday we went shopping (again) for a recliner. Carroll House Furniture was the choice since we had never been there before. The store in Maryland Heights was the choice for shopping. Finding it was easy since Emily, our GPS unit was very explicit with directions. She is very patient and doesn’t seem to mind when I disregard a turn or two.

We found a chair! With free delivery even, so I do not have to buy a truck after all. Delivery in 6 to 8 weeks (other than the floor model, they did not have one in stock) which works out ok since we will need that much time to get all the Christmas decorations into the basement.

I treated your mom to the quarterly visit to the Ameristar Casino. No winnings, of course, but got an opportunity to fill my lungs with side smoke. We could go to the Casino Queen that (thankfully) is smoke free but it has few amenities such as a sports bar. At the Ameristar Sports Bar, I get to find a low level table below most of the smoke, eat wings, and watch football.

We were home bound at 10:00 when we ran into a huge traffic jam due to a wreck at the entrance to the express lanes. All traffic turned out to be exiting at the Good Fellow exit. What a mess. I had Emily on, and she frantically tried to get me to go back to I-70. I turned the temperature reading (on the dashboard) off (28 degrees), and selected “compass reading”. I am not familiar with that area of north St. Louis, so I figured the SE on the compass reading would get me to the Arch. The roads in that area were very good so we cruised along for about 10 miles, enjoying the view of all the businesses with iron bars on the windows and doors.

Near down town, Emily wanted me to get back on I-70 but I deferred and turned at Washington St. That area is starting to bloom with a score of new restaurants, and bars. There are a number of occupied lofts in the area so there is a rising vibrancy to the street.

Choosing to cross the Mississippi via the Eads Bridge, we noticed that the Casino Queen boat is gone. I miss that since it was a colorful part of the East River Front.

We got home in time to watch Saturday Night Live. They are having as much fun with Rod Blagojevich as with Sarah Palen. If you missed it, they likely will have it on their website.

Well that’s all from Home alone,

Love to all,

Dad

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Icy Morning

Icy Morning – no kidding (%^&$(###!!)

After glancing outside at 5:00 AM and seeing that it looked wet on the sidewalk and street, I went out for the paper, it having been tossed on the lawn by our dependable and on time newspaper guy.

After stepping quickly onto the sidewalk, I want down like a dropped hockey puck and slid out of control for several feet. I could not stand so I rolled over into the grass (which was crinkly with ice)stood up, grabbed the newspaper, and gingerly walked on the grass to the safety of the porch.

My arm and shoulder was hurting along with my leg and hip, but I was totally ambulatory (and verrrry lucky). I scrapped my hip and caused the skin to lift and bleed in a patch about an inch square. Repeat, I was verrrrrrrry lucky.

I turned on the computer to check school closings and there were just four (including Edwardsville and Triad), which was odd since those schools do not normally lead the pack in closing.

I went ahead and got ready for work, then checked the computer again. By 5:45 all the schools were closed. We have a snow tree at work, a calling list to alert people, so I called my required members and alerted them not to come to work.

Your mom is doing well. She cannot do a few things with her right hand such as opening a coke bottle, but was active taking down decorations and boxing them. The tree is stripped of ornaments so I will get that down today.

With all the hiking and climbing you guys are doing, I would expect there is not much fat on the Millers. Looking forward (understatement) to seeing our girl. We plan on nothing special other than going with the flow. Oh, there will be bacon and American fries, that is understood.

Well that is all from Home Alone and Banged Up.

Dad

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Two Oh Oh Nine

Here we are in 2009. The Langoliers have taken care of 2008.

I had a discussion with a couple of people at the party last night about the double ought used throughout this decade (the party was dragging a little). We will be relieved to see 2010 pop up because to say 2010 (or 2011, etc.) will be much more concise than saying, for example, two thousand and nine. Twenty ten or two thousand and nine, what do you think? Or care?

It was very cold at night these past few days; high teens, then upper 50’s in daytime. Bizarre weather even for Illinois. Your mother loved the leather seats when we first bought the Sable. Now she wants a remote starter so the car is warmer and the seats are more comfortable. I think not.

I had a boss back when I was selling funeral insurance at a time when the funeral industry got a lot of publicity about devious practices. I spoke to him about the bad publicity. His reply was that “no publicity in business is bad”. That being the case, Illinois has certainly received a lot of good publicity lately.

The party last night was fun. Jeannie and Dick put out a lot of food. They love to host. There was a new couple there last night visiting from South Carolina. Formerly were New Yorkers (upstate) and were nice to get to know.

I have completed a list of new years resolutions for your mother. As usual, she tosses them into the trash.

I am taking on a new assignment at work. That’s in addition to all else that I do. It is not a wise thing to do when one makes one self an integral part of a machine. I wanted to take yesterday and tomorrow off but it isn’t working out.

We are so looking forward to being with our girl. I hope the time goes by slowly during her visit. It has always amazed me how easily and deeply we love our grandchildren.

Today is football-watching day. I suppose your mom will start having me go up and down the stairs to get boxes for all her decorations and I will miss critical events. Three Big Ten teams are in different bowls.

We watched the Illini beat Purdue last Tuesday in overtime at Purdue for the conference opener. The Illini are for real this year. We would like to get the Big Ten Network so we can watch more games, but Charter refuses to carry it. Charter is in trouble financially, so if this message ends abruptly, it is likely that they have gone under.

Time to wrap this up. Love you one and all,
Dad