Thursday, June 23, 2017
How I wish I could post the Frazz comic strip for today. But alas I can't but I can post this web site so it is possible to go online to see it. A neighbor of Beth's is the comic strip writer and today he has Beth in the strip wearing a shirt that says "eat right" and riding her bike - her pastime passion.
http://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2017/06/23
Friday, June 23, 2017
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Happy Father's Day!
Sunday, June 18, 2017
As so often happens, Father's Day fell immediately after Ken's birthday so all of his special celebrations happen together. One thing about it, he knows before the weekend is over he'll hear from all his kids and he'll get to enjoy some of his favorite things.
Pecan pie is always a special item. Sadly yesterday the one I made came out hard as a rock.
Another baking failure out of our convection oven so today I tackled the job again. As I write this it is cooling on the counter and hopefully will provide him with great joy sometime during the rest of the day.
After church, Dan, Jen and the girls gathered all of the items they needed for their much planned for days of vacation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The car was packed and this time we said goodbye to them and wished them wonderful travels but we didn't leave. Instead, Ken took care of all the outdoor prep jobs for our going on the road so we can get away quickly in the morning with a minimum of effort. Storms are predicted in the evening so this will mean he won't be dodging raindrops to do those jobs.
As so often happens, Father's Day fell immediately after Ken's birthday so all of his special celebrations happen together. One thing about it, he knows before the weekend is over he'll hear from all his kids and he'll get to enjoy some of his favorite things.
Pecan pie is always a special item. Sadly yesterday the one I made came out hard as a rock.
Another baking failure out of our convection oven so today I tackled the job again. As I write this it is cooling on the counter and hopefully will provide him with great joy sometime during the rest of the day.
After church, Dan, Jen and the girls gathered all of the items they needed for their much planned for days of vacation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The car was packed and this time we said goodbye to them and wished them wonderful travels but we didn't leave. Instead, Ken took care of all the outdoor prep jobs for our going on the road so we can get away quickly in the morning with a minimum of effort. Storms are predicted in the evening so this will mean he won't be dodging raindrops to do those jobs.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Happy Birthday "Twins"
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Today both Noelle and Ken are celebrating their birthdays. Here is Ken holding Noelle shortly after she was born
and here they are today. Now who is the tallest???
The 14 year old - that's who. She is now over 5 foot 10 and wearing a size 13 shoe. We tend to feel like dwarfs when we are around our 3 Pennsylvania granddaughters.
We started out the day taking Noelle and Rachel to breakfast at a local restaurant where we enjoyed the buffet.
Then we left Rachel to shop at JC Penney for a bathing suit while we took Noelle to the second day of basketball tournament play at Grove City College. Dan joined us. He stayed for the day but we just stayed through the first game before returning to our place. I was able then to make the pecan pie for the birthday celebration in the evening. Jen had lots of running around to do and then left food started for the dinner and drove up to see the last of the 3 games today and bring Noelle and Dan home.
Here is a shot of the girls all listening to instructions from their coach
and shots of Noelle in action
Today both Noelle and Ken are celebrating their birthdays. Here is Ken holding Noelle shortly after she was born
We started out the day taking Noelle and Rachel to breakfast at a local restaurant where we enjoyed the buffet.
Then we left Rachel to shop at JC Penney for a bathing suit while we took Noelle to the second day of basketball tournament play at Grove City College. Dan joined us. He stayed for the day but we just stayed through the first game before returning to our place. I was able then to make the pecan pie for the birthday celebration in the evening. Jen had lots of running around to do and then left food started for the dinner and drove up to see the last of the 3 games today and bring Noelle and Dan home.
Here is a shot of the girls all listening to instructions from their coach
After she returned home we enjoyed the dinner she wanted: bbq ribs, mashed white and sweet potatoes mixed together, roasted brussel sprouts and then pecan pie with ice cream for dessert. Unfortunately the pie was a bit overcooked - a problem I often run into with the convection oven in the motor home (either over or underdone - just never real reliable when baking). But we still enjoyed it and sharing gifts with Ken and Noelle as well as couple with Dan for Father's Day since they will leave for vacation tomorrow afternoon after church.
Ken got the gift of Amazon Prime for the coming year which we will look forward to trying. Dan even spent some time with us after all was done just showing us how to access videos and TV shows for free via Amazon Prime. But I suspect the first thing we'll end up doing is ordering the desk he wants and getting the free shipping.
But the most prized gift of all was this picture created by our granddaughter Abbi - special for Ken who's favorite all time movie is Fantasia. Abbi has spent the last year working on her drawing skills copying (not tracing but total transfer from scratch) Disney characters working on shading and getting things to look as much the same as possible. This picture will be framed as soon as we return home and hung on our livingroom wall for all to see - especially us who will treasure it forever. Note the top row of notes on the music sheet that Mickey is standing on. Her special addition to the picture done with
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Piano Recital
Saturday, June 10, 2017
We left the campground in Virginia around 7:00 in the morning with the hope of getting into Dan's driveway in the early afternoon - early enough to get settled before dinner and Noelle's piano recital.
We arrived around 3:00 and were able to spend a bit of time with the family before heading off to the recital. Noelle played four numbers; two of which she had composed "It's Summer" and "Velvet". The other two were classical numbers with loads of 32nd notes so her fingers were really flying; "Sonatina" and "Avalanche". We sure could see some major growth in her ability even over last year when we also were able to attend her recital.
We left the campground in Virginia around 7:00 in the morning with the hope of getting into Dan's driveway in the early afternoon - early enough to get settled before dinner and Noelle's piano recital.
We arrived around 3:00 and were able to spend a bit of time with the family before heading off to the recital. Noelle played four numbers; two of which she had composed "It's Summer" and "Velvet". The other two were classical numbers with loads of 32nd notes so her fingers were really flying; "Sonatina" and "Avalanche". We sure could see some major growth in her ability even over last year when we also were able to attend her recital.
After all the students had played and received their certificates of completion for the year, we enjoyed a cookie and punch reception. She and her teacher ended up spending a good deal of time at the piano having some fun with some challenging new pieces that she will begin working on.
She now plays the keyboard with the Praise Band most Sunday mornings for worship. Last week she also played all of the hymns for the congregational songs as well as the background music during communion. She really is doing a great job utilizing her skills in meaningful ways.
An interesting side note to the day is that today would have been my mother's 100th birthday. Hard to believe it has been a century since she was born and 13 years since she died (just a few days before her birthday) Here she is on her wedding day
And here she is with her brother Don and sister Margie when she celebrated her last birthday in 2003.
Happy Birthday Mom!
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