Swimming in the shadow of the capitol - and just 7 degrees outside.

Gumdrop Tree

We have a gumdrop tree as a Christmas decoration, similar to this one.


Correction ... we *had* a gumdrop tree. We left the tree within reach of the labrador retriever, who eats everything.

Trouble is, the gumdrops are held into the styrofoam core of the tree with toothpicks. When the doggy helped herself to the gumdrops, she injested maybe two or three dozen toothpicks.

2 days later she's barfing up toothpicks! Yuck! Hopefully she won't have any lasting medical issues from this tasty Gumdrop Treat.

It may be hard to see, but this craft of Emmalee's says "My Mom loves cars". Does she have my number or what?

Girl in the snow

The crazy girl.

Feats of endurance. Emmalee demonstrates her tolerance for cold by taking a hundred steps in the snow in her bare feet.

Star Trek 2009

I'm way more excited about the new Star Trek movie than I thought I'd be. I felt that they had run the Star Trek franchise into the ground.

I like Zachary Quinto and think he'd make a good Spock.

But not until I saw the trailer did I say .... I HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS MOVIE.

John's mohawk gone horribly wrong. Extreme hat head.

Wind Power

Wind turbines under construction in Fowler, Indiana.

Sites about learning

Here is a list of interesting sites I've found on the subject of learning.

sunset on the dunes.

beach house in november

Carolyn walks the dog on the shores of lake michigan.

Emmalee enjoys ice on the beach.

Chess

Emmalee came very close to beating her dad in chess. it won't be long now.

John made this jewelry holder for me for my birthday. He used some Harley stationery and crafted it into a pedestal and bar to hold rings and bracelets. Note the Harley logo cut out and used to decorate the top. It was a painstaking labor of love.

I wanna be a Cowgirl

Emmalee loved the cowboy boots she get for her halloween costume so much she word them for days with a wide variety of outfits. this was actually not her halloween costume, just one of many permutations of the Cowgirl theme that led up to halloween.

John and Emmalee give Snowflake a birthday party for her second birthday. Note the birthday pepper and candle.

Snowflake eats her birthday pepper.

Landshark!

The Shark rides again.

Toured Lucas Oil stadium with Mom. Huge and amazing place.

John's coat of arms he made at school. They were to put all the different things that represented who they are. Many of them had things like sports, animals, and ice cream. John's symbols - satellites, shuttles and space capsules.

Women's weekend on the lake.

My girl.

John and Emmalee give Daddy 'the long goodbye'

john and Emmalee crowd around before i leave for california.

Emmalee greets the draft horse pulling the cart downtown.

Emmalee holds her one month old cousin Luke.

Cousins!

What Happens To Ted at Work

This Dilbert strip may not display on your browser ... if so, click on the picture for a full page view.

a family trip downtown brings Emmalee up close to a draft horse.

John enjoyed the horses and carriages too.

Emmalee was thrilled to pet the draft horses that pull the carriages downtown.

Hurt

This Johnny Cash video made its way into today's church service and it was totally awesome. 

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Hurt lyrics

I hurt myself today 
To see if I still feel 
I focus on the pain 
The only thing that's real 
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting 
Try to kill it all away 
But I remember everything 

[Chorus:]
What have I become 
My sweetest friend 
Everyone I know goes away 
In the end 
And you could have it all 
My empire of dirt 
I will let you down 
I will make you hurt 

I wear this crown of thorns 
Upon my liar's chair 
Full of broken thoughts 
I cannot repair 
Beneath the stains of time 
The feelings disappear 
You are someone else 
I am still right here 

[Chorus:]
What have I become 
My sweetest friend 
Everyone I know goes away 
In the end 
And you could have it all 
My empire of dirt 
I will let you down 
I will make you hurt 

If I could start again 
A million miles away 
I would keep myself 
I would find a way

Emmalee talks about sharks while eating french fries at Wendy's. The kids meal toy was something related to sharks. this was taken July 30 on our way back from vacation.

Emmalee hams it up for the camera when daddy comes to have lunch with her in the cafeteria.

John and a classmate discussing a praying mantis at lunchtime

John loves to play with legos

John's proud of his accomplishment.

John's lego creation

The graveside service for my uncle everett. he's buried next to his daughter, who preceded him by five years. he's maybe twenty feet from his mother, who preceded him by fourteen years.

I hadn't worn a neck tie for ten years. my sisters wedding. i had to retie it three or four times before i got it right.

mom and dad went to Emmalee's school to join her for lunch.

We also joined john for lunch the next day.

Dad, are you really taking my picture?

john checks out a dragster at the drag strip.

Jam Session

Upon reading my post "Jam Session And Tribute" Carrie contributed a photo, taken of Dan and me, surreptitiously on Friday as we played.

Jam session and tribute

After sitting quietly at the fellowship hall tables for a while, talking with the folks i knew and greeting those who seemed the least bit interested in greeting me, i stole over to the beautiful grand piano sitting neglected in the corner.

i helped myself to it . . . First playing my arrangement of 'sweet hour of prayer', then moving on to my medley of 'the love of god' and 'when i survey'. someone approached and stayed out of my line of sight . . . in my peripheral vision.

i heard him say 'he's playing my favorite song.' next thing i know he's taken a spot on my right and says 'play that first one again.' i did, and he added an embellished treble clef.

He was complimentary of my playing, he encouraged me to play more. he played for me. turns out he is the song minister for Grace Baptist Church, and i had just helped myself to his piano. i apologized, and he wouldn't take it,said graciously that i should keep playing.

Before long i was experiencing something i'd only heard about from other musicians ... a jam session. How cool is that? And it was an extra special one since it crossed any generational boundaries.

Dan played an accompaniment on the piano, his wife played bass guitar, and another gent played mandolin.

It was a blast.

He told me where he got his inspiration.... Floyd Cramer. Since I had worked at WGFA FM, which played "the older generation's" music, I was familiar with Floyd Cramer, and his style of music. I could see how it had influenced Dan. There was a trilling, a settling into a chord -- a d-chord settling into a c. I can't play it but I can recognize the style when I hear it. Dan had mastered it.

Where did I get my inspiration, Dan asked.

Moody Blues, of course, but I chose not to share that. At any rate, they didn't influence my piano playing, only my singing and lyrical composition.

I thought a while longer.

"My uncles!" I said, "Everett and Paul."

"I knew it!" said Dan, "I recognized that in your playing."

I couldn't hold a candle to Everett or Paul's piano playing, but I was still inspired, encouraged and influenced by it. The walking baseline that steps up through the notes of the chord, across multiple octaves, and then steps back down ... that was a family trait, I supposed.

I can easily conjure memories of hearing the ancient upright piano in my Gramma's house, singing and resounding with those chords. My playing is a faint reflection of that, and I'm still happy for it.

not the place i remember

After i took three pics, a burly man about thirty, sporting a tattoo on his right shoulder, and a sweaty tank top, emerged at the front door.

He was no doubt alerted to my arrival by the barking of his mean-looking rottweiler.

"Can I help you?" he said. His tone was not welcoming.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, this used to be my gramma's house, and I was just taking a picture."

He was unsympathetic.
"How long ago was that?" he asked. His tone was like, "whatever it is, mack, it's ancient history and you should get over it."

"She died in 94," I said.

He said, "Well I seen you out here taking pictures of my house and I gotta say, I don't like that."

"I'm really sorry, it didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted a picture of the house my gramma used to live in."

He said, "Well I'm renting the place and I'm using my own hard-earned money to fix it up. I took that tree out there yesterday, and I took the old siding off. It had been vacant before I moved in..."

He started telling me his story of how hard he works and how much effort he's put in to the place. I think he might've been ashamed of how it looked, and wanted to point out that he wasn't responsible for its dilapidated appearance. I knew that; I appreciated his hard work to restore it.

I'm sure my appearance didn't put him at ease. Having just come from the funeral, wearing a necktie, I'm sure I looked more like an insurance investigator, a bank foreclosure officer than a schmoe who just came from his uncle's funeral.

My mom, too, had stopped. She saw that the occupant of the house was agitated and came to my aid.

She said, "I grew up in this house. I just came from my brother's funeral and I realized I don't have any pictures of the house I grew up in."

His countenance changed. He softened just a little.

"I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." he said.

I repeated my apologies and we went on our way.

I hadn't really followed the golden rule, I suppose. I hadn't considered how it'd make me feel to have some stranger come up and snap photos of my house. I'd have to say I probably wouldn't have been thrilled with it if the shoe had been on the other foot.

Honestly, I hadn't expected him to be home. I didn't enter his property -- I took all my photos from the street.

Emmalee And Luke

Aunt Annie snapped a few photos using her camera phone when we all visited Luke in the hospital on Saturday.

Things we liked about our vacation

On the way home from vacation, Gramma Karen polled each of us to contribute to a list of "things we liked about our vacation." Here's what we came up with...

Climbing sand dunes
No pressure
Doing something fun together
Swimming
Getting together with Gramma D
Throwing children in the water (Daddy)
Walking to the lighthouse in South Haven
Digging a basement hole in the sand (John)
Falling off Daddy's shoulders into the water (Emmalee)
Sitting around the campfire
Blueberry picking
Staying up late
Having quiet time around the campfire
S'mores (John)
Fresca (Emmalee)
Meeting the people next door
Sunsets on the lake
Warm sun and sand
Being with my family
Eating at Clementines
The belching contest
Stopping at a restaurant/gas station called "Eat Here and Get Gas"

Hello, world.