Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles
The beautiful weather continues. WE drove up to Auburn yesterday and enjoyed the views of the lush fields and woods along the way. My favorite area is north of Lebanon where the countryside is rolling and the grain fields seem alive as the wind ripples the tops like the surface of a body of water.
The blacktop road to past Divernon is like a green hallway. The corn is seven feet tall and closes in on the sides like the walls of a green painted hallway, then abruptly opens up with a view of the distant horizon while the clear air acts as a magnifying glass. There is beauty in the Land of Lincoln.

We spent the day with the Townsend’s. Brandon got his spanking new Illinois drivers license and was quite a happy young man.

We watched a video of Brandon performing with four other young men and one young lady as they competed in the Macoupin County fair talent contest. They came in third. Brandon has become an accomplished drummer. Needless to say, several of his gifts were drummer related.

Their home had the rich fragrance of freshly baked caked. Dawn put the frosting on as we observed her and then Brooke got to lick the spoon.

Brandon’s choice for dinner was a trip to the newly opened Golden Corral. That was the first trip to a Golden Corral for him and for his girl friend, Nicole. The food was excellent and we all made three trips back for seconds and thirds.

Back at the house, we waited for Brandon to return with Brooke and Nicole. He, of course, drove. He decided to get gas for the car and that turned out to be a small adventure involving Muslims, gasoline spills, and “drummer” shoes that now smelled of gasoline.

We had cake and coffee (there is always room) and said our goodbyes.

The drive home was begun in deep twilight and as I pulled onto the Divernon blacktop, we could see a myriad of fireflies. I turned the headlights off, drove slowly and we marveled at the light show being performed along both side of the road and deep into the cornrows.

That’s all from HOME ALONE

Detailing

Yesterday I cleaned up both cars. The Sable was a disaster. Reminded me of the days when we had a station wagon (now know as an SUV) and three kids. The Taurus was much easier work: except for ancient coffee and coke stains.

The Taurus has developed a leak in the exhaust system. It sounds like a well-tuned Harley. Cool. I have never had exhaust work on the Taurus but now that it is a teenager, it becomes more demanding of its needs. I hope it never needs braces.

We went shopping for groceries and various things for the house. First phase remodeling is about done. Which is both good (yes!) and bad. A completed job, in a woman’s mind, spawns ideas for new jobs. It is better to delay completing any home project as long as possible.

The weather is fantastic and is predicted to continue for a while. Everything continues to be green outside. Unfortunately, the weeds are exuberantly happy. And the moles and voles have developed a real urban neighborhood in the backyard. I need a dog. You would think the coyotes would be supping out back…or maybe those feral cats?

I am still working industriously on the bus routes. I have created 15 special needs routes. There are two new schools in the district. One older school not previously served by busses, has had its boundaries expanded so now we bus some of those kids. O’Fallon has added sidewalks in several areas and now kids who were bussed before, have to walk up to 1 ½ miles. Parents are complaining about that…I anticipate traffic jams at the schools as parents bring the little angels to school. I guess the parents would welcome higher taxes so the kids can ride the bus. One of the complaints I get is about timing. Parents would like the bus schedule to coincide with their work schedules. Fortunately, most people understand.

We will be going north next weekend to help celebrate Brandon’s birthday number XVI
Time has flown by – and will go by even faster from now on. Cie le vie.

Time to get ready for church. I plan to go on West Main. Several buildings have been torn down including the old Tribout building. The murals are gone.

That’s about it for now from HOME ALONE.

Dad

Little Firecracker

5 years old !!!

This is the birthday of our nation and of our youngest granddaughter.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOPHIA! (…………….xxx…………..)
I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof. It has been dry and cool for the past week; beautiful weather.

The VP fair is underway and the big parade kicks off at 10:00. Looks like it will be a wet one. Too bad since it usually is a great parade.

I like to walk the fairgrounds and see all the sights. May not happen today.

Jason and Rebecca are planning to come up from Louisville late today and go directly down to the landing to view the fireworks. Hope it works out for them.

The rain just got more intense. I mowed the lawns yesterday (here and at the school and at the church). I was surprised to see how dry the ground was already though we have had record rainfall the month of June. Many farm fields are way behind in germinating the crops. But this rain should be beneficial for the farmers.

Bill and Dawn and family will be down tomorrow. I am going to do pork steaks on the grill and also hamburgers, sweet corn, and etc. I am looking forward to it.

Been real busy at work. The boss went to Florida for a week. My associate, Kelly, and I were in-charge. Unfortunately Kelly’s husband had a heart attack and subsequently had a three way by pass. I have been getting a lot of questions about my surgery. Everyone is surprised how healthy I appear to be.

Needless to say, I have been real busy. I am developing bus routes for the fall; the most difficult and time-consuming routes are the special needs routes. The parents and schools are really pushing me to get this done, as are the drivers who will be picking their routes.

Been looking at all the pictures on Facebook. I wish we could have made it to the islands. I am glad that family is making the most of the trip.

That’s about it from HOME ALONE.

Dad