A visit to Santa...

We got this video from D, D &Q a couple of weeks ago.  Thought you might like to see it.

 There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. (Erma Bombeck)

Hooah

This was a one-dog night...

Just a note to my friends who are either in North Carolina or Florida, I just want you all to know that we have not had a single day since late in November here on McCartyville Road where the temperature has gotten even UP to freezing (or close to it for that matter). 

So it was not too surprising one night when, just as Pam and I went to bed, our dog (Bailey) -- who normally sleeps down at the foot of the bed -- must have had enough of the cold and decided to head up to the supposedly warmer climes at the head of the bed.  The only trouble was, that's where we were.  Well, it all worked out OK -- my snoring didn't keep her awake, and hers didn't keep Pam or me awake.  Even thou we have a king bed, it was still a bit crowded, and, as you can see from the "morning after" picture, she was quite happy being right there.

Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend.
Hooah

Thanksgiving 2010...

This year's Thanksgiving was held at Luke and Linda's house.  Linda is my younger sister (I am one of those terrible middle children).  Her husband Luke had some heart surgery earlier this fall and is now up and around.  He had had a heart problem and surgery a while ago, and had some stents.  He was recovering and played golf quite a bit this year, but must have needed some roto-rooter work. 

Anyway, they hosted the get together and we had quite a group.  My brother, Walt (older) and his wife, Carol, and their two girls (Jessica and Meredith -- both grown and living in the Columbus area) were there, as were Pam and I.  Later that afternoon, Linda's son and his wife and their two children stopped over.  That pretty much put all the remaining members of the family (except for Doug, Danika and Quinn) in one place at one time.  Glad the terrorists didn't decide to nuke the place. Whewwww!!

 

We got to talk about lots of things, watch some football, and just enjoy each others' company.  All of us live in the same state, only about an hour apart, but sometimes it seems like days.  We don't get together often enough -- holidays, an occasional golf date, a medical emergency -- not nearly enough as we are all getting older.  I think this is something I will work on this year...it's now "on the list."

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime. 

Hooah

Christmas Elf in the kitchen...

Every year about this time, Pam and I start making goodies for all the neighbors, and all the people who help us out in various ways throughout the year -- the mail lady, the trash pick-up guy, my barber, Pam's hair dresser, etc.  This year I thought I would take some pictures and let you see the biggest elf you've ever seen making these tasty treats.

We buy long pretzel rods, big blocks of chocolate and as many containers of sprinkles as we can find.  The most difficult part of the preparation is finding the sprinkles.  They are getting harder to find each year.  We may have to find a commercial vendor somewhere, because if we don't get them by Thanksgiving they are all gone from the local stores.

 Another tough part is getting everything else cleaned up so we have the room to spread out all the pretzels while they cool.  We usually make about 360 or so; it takes about 4 hours.  The clean-up is a chore -- we (I) tend to get a few sprinkles on the floor and they get all over the place. 

All in all, it's kinda fun even if it is hard on the back and legs -- all that standing, and is a mess to clean up.  Everyone says they can't wait to get them.  Oh, yeah, not all of the pretzels are in good condition in the plastic barrels.  Some of them are broken, and we've learned to take these small pieces and do them anyway -- they look like little "turkey legs" or "boneless buffalo wings."  We fill a barrel with them and sit them on the counter for snacking.

Wouldn't it be neat if we could also put the Christmas "spirit" in jars only not open them all right now...but open a new jar each month.

Hooah

A Norman Rockwell kind of scene...

Just outside Troy, Ohio, on Route 25-A, there is an old covered wooden bridge.  It crosses the Miami River and has been there for quite a while, thru storms, floods, and even time.  It is not the main crossing there as the county built a by-pass so the main road and traffic would not destroy the bridge.

I have driven over it a number of times, usually during the winter because it's kind of cool driving up into it, and as you are going thru you can look out thru the windows over the river.  Then you go out the other end and back into the snow which is usually drifted up in front of the drive and you have to put the truck in 4-wheel drive so you don't get hung up.

I remember one winter evening in particular when Pam, Doug and I went driving in a pretty good snow storm and came to the bridge.  I just had to go through it.  The one end was pretty clear, so in we went.  Then as we were just about to get to the other end, I noticed the snow was drifted up to about two feet or so.  I was in the Blazer, so "Huuuugggghhhhh (I think that is how Tim the Tool Man does it) -- bring it on.  The only thing I didn't know was that the 2 foot drift was about 2 - 3 feet for the next couple hundred yards.  Oh, well, just keep driving.  Sure would have been a long walk, but I'm not going to back out the way I came in!!  So when I hit the drift and kept going, the front of the truck actually lifted off the ground for a bit.  I was much younger then.

One other thing that is cool about that area is the river itself.  It is pretty shallow, and the bottom is rocky and the current is pretty good -- great for fly fishing.  I have been there a couple of times -- haven't caught much, but it was pretty cool working that fly rod, wading up and down the river.

The historic marker tells the story of the bridge and if you like history, it's pretty interesting. You can click on the picture and it will open in a larger frame, which will make it easier to read.  Also, note that the bridge is named for the feed/grain elevator in the background -- the Eldean Elevator.

To sit and poke at a wood fire on a cold winter night, or watch  geese fly over a snow covered field is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world.

Hooah

Cool rainbow...

For the period from August thru November, we received very little rain here.  There was some, just enough to get the crops finished up, and enough to keep the grass growing, but not enough to keep the pond full-up.  We had enough to have fun while Hank, Doy, Mike, Janet, Sarah and Ben were here, and when Doug, Danika, and Quinn were here in October.  I'll have a blog about their visit later.

Anyway, we had a REAL BIG rain storm in November, and the pond filled up with only one day's rain.  I think the way the pond is graded and the way the surrounding land is graded, and the way the drain is set helps the water levels stay pretty consistent.  We usually don't have any problems with pond scum either.  I treated it with copper sulfate the first two years ('96 and '97) and haven't had to do anything with it since.  'Course, the two BIG white emurs have something to do with it too.  The fish population consists of bass, crappies, bluegills, and catfish. We also have frogs, especially in the spring.  That's unusual because there are lots of ponds that don't have frogs.  The science teacher told me it was because of the amount of chemicals being used in fields and the run-off.  That was the problem for Grand Lake St. Mary's. 

Well, back to the rainbow -- the rain just stopped and the sun came out, bringing this very colorful rainbow which appeared to land IN THE POND!!!  I couldn't get a picture of the pond end (couldn't find the camera), but I did get the other end.  I didn't see a pot of gold lying around anywhere, but then maybe the pond itself is the pot of gold.  Hmmmmmmmmm.

A rainbow! A rainbow!  The smile of God is here.

Hooah

Beautiful Fall day in Athens...

Last Saturday (actually this was in October, but it's been in "draft" mode for a while), Pam and I made our annual drive through the hills of Southeast Ohio enroute to the Homecoming football game at Ohio University. It was a beautiful day, with multi-colored trees showing off mother nature's fall finest.

That is such a nice drive, especially since they have the Lancaster by-pass done. The road travels through some of the finest non-East Coast fall scenery there is in this part of the country. If you have ever been there, you know there is only one part yet to be done -- the Nelsonville by-pass. But there is hope -- it looks like they have made progress on that section and maybe in a few years it, too, will be completed. I only hope I still have my driving license and am still young enough to go and see it.

Anyway, it was a beautiful afternoon. The Bobcats took care of business by taking the University of Akron out behind the woodshed for a whoopin'. One of the other reasons we really like going back to Athens is to see the band -- especially when the alumni band is there. There are probably 260-275 band members there, including recent grads and some who have been coming back since the 1960s. Their sound really blasts off the hills in that natural valley and it brings back some really great memories.

I took a clip of the Band playing after the game, but I think it is too big to load because it won't come up.  Maybe if I figure it out, I'll add it later or make a link to it.

Of course, after the post-game show was over, there was the mandatory hike uptown to the college bookstore to look at shirts and hats and such. I think it's in the alumni by-laws somewhere that you have to do this, especially if you have a two-year-old grandson!!! Can't wait to send him some new OU stuff.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. (Albert Camus)

HOOAH

"Southenders" take on all comers...

Earlier this fall, the men of the neighborhoods took stock of their manhood, kissed the women and children good-bye and set off to do battle on the fields of Shelby Oaks, risking life and limb in order to defend the honor of their part of the "Hood."  That's right -- it was the "Southenders vs. the Northenders vs. the Village People I and II, vs. the Feather Folks I, II, and III vs. the Eastsiders" in a no-holds barred shoot-out for annual domination of the golfing world known as McCartyville.

This was the 3rd such outing and it has grown from 4 teams to 8.  We hold it in the end of the season (usually in October) so everyone has had plenty of time to practice and get his game in shape.  It's also nice that we have the course pretty much to ourselves, because it's sometimes hard to tell which hole a group might be on at any one time.  This is a 4-man scramble with modified rules in terms of who can hit when and how many times each player must play a shot.  Actually, there are some pretty good golfers in these groups, but there are some really bad ones too.  The rule modifications sort of even everything out and the scores are fairly close.

The Southenders won the first year, and came in second last year.  We thought this would be our year again, as all of us were playing well (individually) throughout the summer.  However, that doesn't always follow logic when you play a scramble (with modified rules).  Anyway, after the first nine, our team was 6 under and we had trouble getting in the clubhouse to get a drink at the turn (heads were a little too big to get through the door).  The backside proceeded to just kill us.  We couldn't make a birdie until the last hole.  Put that with the bogie we had and we went even on the last nine holes.  Oh, well, they always say first in and under par usually wins.  Not this time...in fact, we almost won the trophy (worst team takes home the "trophy" for the year) and ended up next to last.  The shame of it all!!!

Well, in spite of that, everyone had a good time and said they would be back next year and would kick butt.  Oh, by the way, one of the Whitefeather groups won and the Village People took home the hardware.

Arnold Palmer once said most amateur golfers could cut eight strokes off their score - skip one of the par 3s.  We might take that advice next year if it's close.

Hooah

I know it's now close to Christmas...

There are still 10 days left to Christmas, but one of the signs that it is close happened today.  It wasn't anyone coming around to sing Christmas songs, and there isn't anything under our tree.  Nope -- it was the return of the owls.

I happened to be sitting on the couch with Bailey and something caught my eye.  I looked out back and saw some birds flying around and then one of the owls landed on the big tombstone in the cemetery.  Then I noticed more of them, flying and landing in the corn field, stalking out their territory, hoping to see a field mouse or small rabbit.  There was also one in the big fir tree.  In all, there were 8 of them.

I have made note of this "annual" arrival in this blog before, and it has been about this time of year.  I called over to the neighbor's house and told them about the birds because they had told me they missed them last year.  I bet there are lots of people who have never seen owls in the wild, seeing how they hunt and work a corn field.  It's just getting dark now, and they have things pretty much under control

This is another reason why I like living out here.  I don't know where the birds are all the rest of the year, but it's cool that the "Christmas Owls" come back each year about this time. It takes me back to my childhood in Zanesville where we lived in a huge woods, trees all around.  It was Christmas Eve and a rather large white owl landed on a branch just outside our bedroom window and hooted for quite a while. I'm not sure if there is some ancient Indian story or message in all of this, but I was pretty cool -- then and now.

The question is not what you look at, but what you see . (Henry David Thoreau) 

Hooah

Fall Golf Outing at WPAFB...

 I really enjoy playing golf and will play just about any time of year.  But there is something about golf in the fall that is just so relaxing.  Maybe its nature's way of telling you to chill out -- summer is over, heat's off and you don't have to get so fired up about it.  Playing with three other retirees may also be Mother Nature's way of letting you know that it's time to chill and just enjoy the fact that you all can still play (some) and still see the beauty all around you. 

You've met Dave (Barney), Dave (a.k.a. Santa), and Bob ("TOP") before in some of the other entries in this blog.  Playing with these three is also a challenge in that they are all lefties.  One of the guys standing around the first tee when we played the second day asked me if it was tough playing with 3 lefties.  I told him "no, as long as my therapist can take me when we're done."

Actually, we had a lot of fun and it was a pretty even two days.  "TOP" and "Santa" beat us by 5 the first day, but Barney and I won by 5 the second.  So we kissed our respective sisters, raised a cold mug and said, "wait till next year."

Barney and Santa went with Chuck and me last year to the Carolinas, and will probably do so again this spring.  If you saw our respective games, you would probably wonder why we spend money going South to play golf.    But then, if you had seen our games, you would know why.  Besides, we have all reached the age now when we don't really care about the score (well almost everyone -- Chuck still does) and care more about just being able to go, walk/drive around a beautiful golf course, enjoy God's creation, get away from the snow and tell old stories -- yeah, the same ones we've all heard many, many times before.  We go over them before we forget ... so we won't forget.

In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are golf courses and old friends waiting to play.

Hooah