Farmer Jones and Family

Almost February

2012-01-25T20:00:00.005-05:00

A mild winter of sorts. We had some heavy snow the end of last week, but a rain on Sunday night pretty much took care of getting rid of it. This was our 3rd Christmas in Chicago at Harry & Teresa's. I guess that makes it a tradition now until we do something else. We had our regular talent show, Anna & George brought a karaoke machine that we used after the traditional events. Pat treated us to a ginger ale taste test. He'd gone to great lengths to collect 18 different ginger ales - some imports, some very unique. In the end, our old favorite - Vernors - won out.

The Ginger Ale Taste Testing

A Rousing Game of Candyland

Grandpa, Grandkids - Plants & Zombies

The First Really Good Snow of the Season

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T11:56:00.005-05:00

Hadn't realized it had been so long since I posted anything. Here it is almost Christmas - everyone busy, busy, busy. We had a great Saturday after Thanksgiving with the family here. A Jones tradition started by Grandma Hazel carried on with a new generation. We dined together at The Factory, then came home for "the gathering". Cousins always love being together and always a little music in the mix. Hoping my kids and their families enjoy music in their homes as much as we did.

Busy Week

2011-10-22T10:06:00.003-04:00

Mom trying out a scooter during the Apple Festival at the Manor

in Early October

A Solar Wax Melter Built By One of Our Beekeeper Club Members

Candles Made Displayed at the Beekeepers Meeting

Lip Balm Making at the Jones House

I spent the first 3 days of this week getting Mom settled into a temporary apartment. They closed the wing she was living on (they say "safety" issues but we know it was financial) and moved all those residents to other empty rooms in the Manor. We kids were upset about her leaving her beautiful apartment and going to a much smaller space that has very little to say for it - basically 2 nursing home rooms with a door between the rooms. Surprisingly, Mom was okay about the whole thing. While many residents were crying and having a hard time dealing with the move, Mom said it looked pretty good with her things in there. I brought all the dolls down after an initial smattering of dolls here and there and that seemed to make her happy. Everything else will be sealed up in her old room and stored until something else becomes available. I was so proud of my mom taking the move so easily and well.

Thursday we were in charge of our beekeepers meeting and I'd put together a video on making lip balm. Other members talked about melting wax, building a solar wax melter, and candle making. It turned out to be a fun evening.

A Record Honey Harvest

2011-09-04T20:39:00.005-04:00

The Harvest

Cole the Birthday Boy Goes First

Aunt Marleta Takes a Turn

"Am I next?" (Griff to Dan)

John does a "superb" job decapping

"Unca Bump" asks the kids what they know about bees and honey?

Hal gathering honey boxes

Allie, Hal & Dan manning the pflume boards

Harry O IV and Tyler gathering honey boxes

Before the Big Event!

The honey party gained ground this year with 23 family members and one guest here this year for the big event. We could have wished for cooler temps - the garage got up above 100, and you can't open doors or windows or the bees will come in after the honey you took from them. It was a great time with Harry IV doing his impromptu "bee class" for the youngsters. Uncle John jumped in and became the lead "decapper" - meaning he scraped the layer of wax off the honeycomb cells. George manned the line of "spinners" who cranked the extractor. Pat became the jar filler. Marleta gave us a little piano entertainment to inspire the young pianists in the group to keep up with their lessons and "practice". Some of the kids hung in to the very end with the adults and the honey processing in the garage that took about 5 hours total.

And, yes, it was a successful harvest. Our first year we had 2 hives and got about 5 gallons of honey. Last year we again had 2 hives and got only about 2 gallons. One hive died out shortly after that harvest. This year we had 4 hives and got nearly 14 gallons (168 pounds)! As Harry says, "Incredible."

Grandkid Saturday

2011-08-23T21:09:00.002-04:00

The grandkids were here Saturday. Lots of activity but the most fun for them was piling into Harry's trailer full of dirt and digging to their hearts' content.

Project Finished

2011-08-16T21:17:00.002-04:00

A hard day's work for Harry O, but the wall of the planting bed is finished.

Projects - Projects!

2011-08-16T11:14:00.003-04:00

Harry has been hard at work around the place. He dug up 2 miniature lilacs that had overgrown beside the front of the house and planted them as key plantings along the new sidewalk. Today he is working on a brick wall for a flower bed on the back side of the new garage. He's become very goal-driven and makes his list in the early morning and goes at it. I try to do the same, but seem to get more distracted and trail off into something not on the list, but at least I'm getting more done that without a list.

Don't Ever Say, "I Don't Care. Just pick something out."

2011-07-28T13:07:00.002-04:00

So here's the story. We're expecting our friend, Hugh Johnson, in this weekend and he'll being camping out with us for the next 11 months. We decided to rearrange some rooms and moved the office from the front bedroom to the basement. Harry wanted to paint the front bedroom and I agreed. As he was coming home from another appointment, he called to ask if I wanted him to pick out paint at Menards while he was there. I said sure. He said he wanted to do yellow and I only made the comment, "Don't pick anything out too bright - anything else is fine." And the very wrong statement, "I Don't Care." Here is the beginning of the paint job. Let me say only that the photo does not give you the actual brightness of the yellow hue.

Brittney's Birthday

2011-07-25T05:39:00.003-04:00

I guess I forgot I hadn't posted pics of Brittney's 3oth birthday celebration at our place a week ago.

Garage Nearing Completion & Brittney's Family Visits

2011-07-25T05:19:00.003-04:00

Highlights of the week - interior wiring for the garage, garage doors, and guttering were installed. All that's left to do is insulation, interior walls, ceiling, hookup the lighting and run the electrical to the main source. Crews worked in intense heat this week but moved right along.

Brittney, her mom Kathy and sister Lindsey visiting from Utah joined us for lunch yesterday. I guess we should call it supper since we're on the late church schedule and don't eat until 5 or so these days.

Lindsey has her learner's permit, so she practiced parallel parking with the golf cart and plastic drums as delimiters. She got really good at it.

A BUSY WEEK!

2011-07-13T20:21:00.006-04:00

The Three Rivers Festival

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!

Wyatt helping with the shed clean out - to the very end.

The start of the day

A hard-working young man

The End of Day 1 Garage Building

Dick's boys have been here for a week and Harry will make the return trip tomorrow with them. Amy's came last evening and stayed through this afternoon. I made a trip to Mom's yesterday and Harry & the boys managed to clean the shed (really needed doing). George's paid a visit last evening, so we had a good family visit with cousins (some cousins, once-removed) everywhere. In the midst of all this, the builders arrived to start on the garage. They're an Amish group and they did an amazing 1-day job and have the garage framed in. They have a little boy about 6 or 7 who works hard with them until about the middle of the afternoon or maybe until there are things he can't do. I was amazed at how the lad held up - carrying lumber and tools and being a right-hand to the carpenters. Amy's, Harry & the boys went to the Three Rivers Festival Midway this afternoon and I got a little nap in, then finished the lunch cleanup in time to start supper. I'd forgotten what a full-time job it is having kids around.

Putnam Reunion

2011-07-10T10:37:00.004-04:00

H.O., John & the boys attended the Putnam Reunion yesterday. Some photos from that event as well as the first ride for the boys in the golf cart. They're all good drivers (pretty much...). Only ran into 2 small trees.

Southern Visitors

2011-07-09T14:27:00.002-04:00

Light Sabers With Uncle Pat

Cracker Barrel Breakfast

Uncles Nate & Pat with the Boys

An All-Night Drive & Still Looking Good!

Getting Ready to Load Up for the Trip North

Our 3 nephews are visiting from Atlanta for a week (Eli, Jared & Wyatt). Harry & Pat made a halfway trip to pick up the boys yesterday in Franklin, KY. Cousin Nate made the trip with Dick & Kathy. John came from Rochester late last night and the 5 "Boys" are off to a Putnam reunion in Michigan today. Last eve after a pizza supper (all boys like pizza, don't they?), Harry and the boys gathered for the watching of "The Hobbit".

Celebrating the 4th

2011-07-05T12:02:00.006-04:00

It was a full day in celebration of the Fourth of July starting with a ward breakfast, then the Pine Valley kids' parade. After lunch we went to Kendallville to help a beekeeper who has a broken leg with her hives, then canoeing with George's at Bixler Lake. The evening consisted of our annual fireworks here at the house accompanied by rootbeer floats. Of the sparklers, let us just say, "They ain't what they used to be." In all a busy, fun day.

Summer! Summer!

2011-07-01T20:31:00.004-04:00

Lots going on of late. First, Levi's 8th birthday, then baptism on June 25. Amber & the kids came and Nolan stayed behind to spend the week with us. We had a pizza party at our house after the baptism. Glad for some time with Anna's parents - good friends.

Nolan had some new experiences with Grandpa this week - helping a sister in the Ward move, dressing up in a bee suit and looking into one of Harry's beehives, going kayaking on Bixler Lake in Kendallville, going to a local horse ranch and collecting a trailer full of composted horse manure for the gardens/trees.

Celebrated the start of a new garage. When you live in the country you either have lots of junk sitting outside, or you put up a building. We've tired of the junk outside option. Yesterday and today the footers and garage floor cement were completed. We're also adding a small sidewalk out front to get from the parking spot to the house sidewalk.

Family Visits

2011-06-17T07:35:00.002-04:00

We had visits from Dewey & Susan and Pat, Amber & Griff this week. Lots of fun. Dew & Sue were on their way to West Virginia for business meetings. A busy week with Harry called for jury duty (and dismissed). Susan & I took a trip to Logansport on Tuesday to visit an old friend. One of our beekeeper association members broke her ankle and needed some assistance with her hives, so Harry & I went to Kendallville yesterday to put extra boxes on her hives. Spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on some gardening - way too much to do out there.

Summer is Here!

2011-06-06T12:47:00.005-04:00

Last week was a busy one. Highlights of the week included a trip to the zoo with Seth and a visit to Harry & Teresa's with an excursion at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. In Teresa's words - "It's all good!"

The Chicago Botanical Gardens

Saw lots of wedding parties in progress.

Grandpa with some form of giant borage plants - "Tower of Jewels"

Lots of esplanade & unusual pruning techniques - these are apple trees.

Allie & a Japanese lantern - good fortune lights the way in the garden.

Plants are fun!

H.O. IV and V - they ran 5 miles earlier in the day (and walked an extra one).

Look at the fish in there!

A Seth Day

A Day at the Zoo for Grandma & Seth

Grandpa & Seth planting seeds in the garden

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T21:25:00.005-04:00

Friday Night Euchre Game with Hal & Tyler

Trying Out Amy's Easter Eggs - YUM!

The two littlest guys are growing up and becoming buds.

Can it be a whole year since our last egg hunt? George & Anna filled all the candy eggs this year and, as in the past couple years, George organized the hunt. It's getting harder and harder to determine who is part of the "little kids" group. Some of these little guys jump right in and find bunches of eggs before some of the older ones so maybe next year it will be everyone take off at once... This year Brittney joined the fray and helped hide the eggs. We were only missing one egg at final count (not bad out of almost 200 eggs). Uncle John joined us, so it was 100% of the family this year - fun! Enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant rather the big cook & clean affair - everyone enjoyed that, especially Grandma! Amy did her famous chocolate eggs for the family again this year. Can't say there was a clear winner - all the flavors were superior - peanut butter, cherry, and coconut/nut.

You Call This Spring???

2011-04-20T21:43:00.004-04:00

We always figure it's Spring when the little cars come out. One bit the dirt this winter - bad battery. Had to bundle up good with cold, windy weather today but the boys braved it to drive the car for the first time.

Brrrrr - Seth wrapped up in Grandpa's coat.

Sam in Grandpa's BIG red hat

Time Away

2011-03-26T20:57:00.002-04:00

Had a great 2 day outing with Pat, Amber & Griff in Columbus, Ohio. The original plan was for Pat & Amber to get a session or two in the temple while we played with Griff. Unfortunately, after plans were in place we learned that the temple was closed this week for maintenance. We then went with Plan B and enjoyed an overnight in Columbus with some interesting dining - Schmidt's Sausage Haus, a German restaurant in The German Village (a restored German community near downtown Columbus). In the evening, we braved 30 degree, windy weather and walked about 10 blocks from our hotel to Buca di Beppo.

Pat, Amber, and Griff took in COSI, a great science, hands-on museum about 3 blocks from our hotel. Gramps & I got in our afternoon snooze. On Friday, Pat's toured the Ohio State campus and Harry & I returned to The German Village. We visited a stained glass shop (Franklin Art Glass), a 32 room bookstore (The Book Loft), and returned to Schmidts for another great German lunch.

Out With the Old - In With the New

2011-03-22T18:55:00.004-04:00

Harry's Ranger pickup has served him well for the past 17 years. Finally - an upgrade and he is very happy to be in something a little newer, a little bigger. Getting old seems to make you take up more space than you used to -- why is that?

Field Trips

2011-03-22T18:51:00.002-04:00

One of Grandpa's new activities is taking grandkids to some of their Home School Group's field trips. Last week he took Levi & Natalie to Fox Island. Guess what they learned about?

A Sammy Day

2011-03-08T07:06:00.002-05:00

We had a one-on-one date with Sam yesterday and it was a good time. It started with a trip to Hobby Lobby to get paint supplies for gourd birdhouse painting. That turned into a "look at all the cool things" trip. Next stop - the grocery where Sam picked out his lunch - watermelon, mac & cheese, and a giant cupcake. Back at the farm, Sam wasn't too excited about helping paint the birdhouse, so Grandpa did the painting. First coats were still wet, so the dolphin stencils Sam picked out at Hobby Lobby will be a project for another day.

Trumpet playing and chess games (according to Sam's rules) were the other big activities for the day.

Heading Back to Frozen Indiana

2011-02-05T13:12:00.004-05:00

Polynesian Cultural Center

Flowering Tree Near Where We are Staying

Waialua Botanical Garden

It will be hard to say goodbye to perfect weather - 65-80 every day (and night) but Harry has had enough of paradise and wants to get back to "real life". Can't say I feel that way. I hate winter and cold. We have 2 more days to enjoy before the flight home.

Funny story - last Sunday we planned for church in Laie and I didn't have a pair of nylons so we went shopping for some at the local grocery. NONE. I went to church in my sandals without nylons and as I was looking around I saw not one single woman wearing them. They just don't wear them here.

We are on the island of Kauai this week and it is simply beautiful and not the hustle bustle of Honolulu. A couple towns on the southern coast have some traffic but they are not "big city" kinds of places at all. Haven't seen a Walmart anywhere here. The movie South Pacific was filmed here and we've seen "Bali Hai". They also filmed several other movies here including parts of Jurassic Park.

Retirement is Good

2011-01-30T13:01:00.003-05:00

Harry at the Luau - Polynesian Cultural Center.

Byodo In Temple (Buddhist Temple)

Ala Moana Beach near our first hotel

Harry retired the end of the year and our celebration is a trip to Hawaii. Here are a couple photos from the past week. The best part - it is WARM here!

Grandma Simpson Birthday Celebration

2010-12-12T21:03:00.009-05:00

Uncle Roy Playing Grandpa to Seth

We enjoyed a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Grandma Simpson's 95th birthday. There were 29 of us there for the big event. Not just one beautiful cake, but 4 to choose from thanks to Roy! Fortunately the cold weather didn't set in yesterday as they predicted and only rain throughout the day and for the trip home.

Natalie Loved the "Big Glasses"

A Festive Buffet

Yup! Good Cake!

Figuring out how electronic scrabble works

Thanksgiving on Saturday

2010-11-27T19:57:00.006-05:00

Grandpa teaching Natalie & Levi how to do Soduko

The traditional euchre game

As has been a tradition for a few years, our family gets together on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year we had hors doevre type foods for the entire meal - lots of finger foods and plenty of it. Teresa brought "brownie surprise" - a brownie made from a brownie mix, smashed black beans and water. You couldn't tell at all that it had beans in it. We had the missionaries for lunch and it turned out to be Elder Udy's birthday. A fun time was had by all.

George & Anna doing dishes after the festivities

Thanksgiving in Frankfort

2010-11-26T15:27:00.003-05:00

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with Grandma Simpson. Wesley Manor puts on a Thanksgiving feast that rivals any home cookin'. Marleta & Larry, Anita & Mike and family were on hand for the festivities. On the way out of the dining room, the pianist providing music for the day was playing "Send in the Clowns", a song that Rachel sings and does beautifully. We encouraged her to sing and had the pianist start over. You could hear a hush from the dining room and the lobby as she got into the song and many gathered around to listen and then to join in some Christmas carols.

We got Grandma's apartment in Christmas mode, bringing all her decorations up from her storage room and filling the place with all her favorite Christmas things.

Counting the Days

2010-11-20T20:59:00.003-05:00

Harry is just days away from retirement - 22 work days to be exact. So much is changing at his work that he knows this really is the best time to be retiring. Many employees are wondering about their future situations with some office closings likely and positions being eliminated. He worries about his colleagues and particularly his team. His guys gave him a couple retirement gifts at his team meeting this week, and he got a picture of his team at their Warsaw meeting. When he returned to work, he got his picture with his two Estimatics Coordinators.

I have been sorting/weeding things out in preparation for the holidays. Family will be in next Saturday and we will have our annual Thanksgiving "Saturday after" get-together. This year is "Finger Food" - we'll have things you can either eat with your hands or a toothpick. We'll see how that goes over. Next year I'll let someone else come up with the lunch plan, but I thought this would be fun one year. I plan to have many, many fruits and vegetables and found several heat in the oven things at "My Menu". Still looking for more ideas. Haven't decided if we will do the chocolate fountain - that is really a mess!! Sure is fun, though.

Logan Visit

2010-09-27T14:16:00.002-04:00

Grandson Logan has been here for a short visit. Since he is being home schooled, he has some flexibility in his schedule and was able to be here for the honey harvest on Saturday and helped Grandpa with some garden cleanup today. He and Grandpa found some sweatbees or some sort of bees other than honey bees digging a nest in the ground near our porch.

Honey Time Again

2010-09-25T17:21:00.008-04:00

This year's harvest of the honey crop included 3 newcomers - George, Grandson Logan and Grandpa Lyon (Anna's dad). It had lost some of the thrill for last year's participants (some of us are still excited) and they opted to ride the golf cart during part of the harvest process.

It was not as productive as last year when we got almost 5 gallons of honey. We harvested close to 2 gallons this year. Somewhere in our reading or through our local beekeepers group, we learned that we should put what was left of the honey supers (boxes with honey trays) in the yard somewhere not back in the hives as we did last year. The bees have been swarming to the boxes for the past couple hours since we put the boxes out. Supposedly, this will prevent the robber bees from getting into the hives as they did last year. We sure hope it works. It was sad to see our hive's demise last year from the robbers. They say the bees will come to the boxes and clean them up so well that we can then put them back on the hives and ready them for winter. We will start feeding them sugar water to give them plenty to build up their own honey for winter and we didn't take all of the honey - left a box on each hive to give them enough to make it through winter.

The end of another good day and season at the farm.

The Tree

2010-09-07T11:57:00.003-04:00

After a fun picnic with Pat's family and the Elwood Branch (I forgot my camera as usual), we had an early birthday celebration for George's #32 by cutting down a dead tree in his yard.

FHE - Pears

2010-08-19T10:59:00.003-04:00

The kids joined us for FHE on Monday. We picked the pear crop from our 2 trees and followed the work project with 'Smores. The most fun... no those aren't hot dogs, they're cattails - the kids had a great time picking cattails and spreading the fuzz all over the place and burning some of it in the campfire.

Sunday! Sunday!

2010-08-15T21:44:00.004-04:00

As with most Sundays, George & Anna & crew came out for dinner. Today we introduced the trumpet to Natalie, Sam & Seth while Harry and Levi went home teaching. I've picked up a few instruments at garage sales over the past couple years (a trumpet, saxophone, guitar, and clarinet - never give more than $20 for one). The kids are finally at a stage where they understand taking turns a bit better, so it's probably time to get them out and make use of them. Anna brought her flute to practice a song she will be doing for church in 2 weeks. The kids all got their turn to try to the flute and none really got a sound out, so I got out the trumpet and Sam got some decent sounds out of it right away. Natalie heard the sounds and came in to take her turn and she did a good job, too. Poor Seth doesn't have the technique of not putting the whole mouthpiece in his mouth yet so he had less luck getting any sound out. He did a good job humming into the horn, though.

We also had visitors to the back yard after the kids left. It's been awhile since we saw deer and much as we hate to think what they'll do to the garden if they become regulars, they were too pretty to shoo them away.

A Week With Grandkids

2010-08-10T10:36:00.005-04:00

We were lucky enough to have Sydney, Nolan, and Allison for a visit last week. Syd & Allie are bosom buddies and Nolan hung out with Grandpa a lot. We filled the week with lots of fun activities but I'd have to say that the favorite past-time was riding the golf cart. I didn't get many photos of the week's events but got a few from Science Central.

Fourth of July on July 3

2010-07-06T18:21:00.007-04:00

Big day on the farm with George & Anna's, Anna's parents (Tim & Mary Kay), the Fruths, Amy & Chuck's, Britney and us - a nice round 20. We had a great BBQ and then fireworks in the driveway. Only Seth was a non-participant, reminiscent of another year when Natalie was about that age and was afraid of all the noise. Grandma Lyon and Grandma Jones entertained him inside by reading books. The 4th landing on a Sunday was reason to celebrate on Saturday, the 3rd.

No Longer a Hazard Pulling In Here

2010-06-28T18:27:00.002-04:00

After much deliberation, we decided to pave the driveway. Fearing that one day we would be rearended or someone else having the same fate trying to get into our driveway, we made the big splurge to pave the drive. So - come visit!

Speaking of Anniversaries

2010-06-28T18:21:00.003-04:00

The Newlyweds & the Oldlyweds

Lookin' Good After 50 Years!

Roy, Linda, Mom & Marleta

Pat & The Gang

We attended a real 50th yesterday as Marleta & Larry celebrated their 50th Anniversary. A beautiful gathering that Dee spent weeks organizing and preparing for. We went to church in Elwood with Pat and he and his gang came right from church to attend the big event.

Remembering Camp Buffalo

2010-06-28T18:17:00.002-04:00

Harry thought it was his 50th anniversary of his first camp experience at Camp Buffalo and went to spend the night there with John & his troop last Friday night. Dewey informed him that he went to camp as an 11-year old scout, so it was actually his 51st anniversary. The new dining hall is in the background. Harry says the camp is really top-rate with an indoor virtual archery range and a nationally rated rifle range.

Purple Robe Locust

2010-05-15T08:28:00.002-04:00

Our purple robe locust has been in full bloom about 2 weeks. We planted it 3 or 4 years ago and it is already a magnificent tree.

Saturday on the Farm

2010-05-08T20:33:00.004-04:00

It was a fun day. Amy and the kids came for a visit and Amy took me to lunch to celebrate Mothers Day. Grandpa played his favorite sport - grandparenting and stayed with the kids. It was an amazingly cold day. They did a bit of golf cart riding but not much - just too cold.

Later this afternoon, we had Seth while George & Anna and the other kids went to a Tin Cups baseball game (in the cold AND rain). We don't seem to ever have just Seth and he was such fun to be around. We did a good bit of playing on the back porch. Now that we have the windows in, it's a wonderful garden and playroom. I start all my seedlings out there and it looks a good bit like a greenhouse at the moment with pots and seeds and trays scattered everywhere.

Grandpa took Seth out to cover the eggplants and green beans with flower pots to protect them from the frost we're expecting tonight. We covered our strawberries with a tarp, hoping to save them. Grandpa loves to teach the grandkids when they spend time here, so he showed Seth the grapevines and explained how they are growing up the wires.

Spring Yard

2010-05-05T21:11:00.003-04:00

Everything is in bloom, including my allergies but it's beautiful and still no regrets about moving to the country. I'm doing a little more raised bed gardening this year. I built another 5 beds - all just 1 level high this time, smaller more on the order of the 4x4 square foot gardening type. I have 3 of the 5 beds planted already and we've had spinach for about 2 months that wintered over in one of the larger raised beds at the back of the house that we covered with a heavy window over the winter. It's produced a nice crop and we could probably eat it twice a day and not run out for a month.

About 2 weeks ago we had mallards in the yard. We think they tried to nest in bushes in front of the garage. We found broken eggs on our front steps one day and think some animal (Harry blames the neighbor cat) got to the nest. We haven't seen the mallards since then.

Levi came out one Saturday to help Grandpa in the yard and Natalie went another Saturday to get dirt with him and delivered it to Sister Swing. Both kids are real workers. He was surprised that Natalie shoveled dirt like a trooper. We always knew Levi was a born worker - has always loved it and always wants to help. Last Saturday he and Levi divided and moved some hostas. So it is work time on the farm - always with lots more to do.

The Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Feast

2010-04-05T10:40:00.005-04:00

Relaxing Read on the Porch

Who Me Driving?

Yup! She'll Be Driving Soon...

Look Ma! Hands & Feet...

Amy Carries on the Family Tradition of Making Chocolate Eggs

And the Winner This Year - Peanut Butter Cream Cheese...

George Now Organizes the Egg Hunt

Interested Bystanders

Hal opts to hide rather than seek

Chicago Grandkids Visit

2010-04-05T10:06:00.004-04:00

I'm a big guy now!

We had a great time with Harry & Teresa's 5 kids for about a week. Harry & Teresa enjoyed a fantastic trip to Japan and we had a grandkid gathering here. Spent a good bit of time with the local cousins (George & Anna's 4) and then topped it off with a big family Easter which is our tradition with the Egg Hunt and dinner. We spent 3 days - 2 nights at Pokagon State Park with the Chicago & Fort Wayne cousins. They'd rented one of the bigger Inn rooms we'd reserved and gave us a very nice cabin with 2 sections and an adjoining door. It was perfect! Every day was filled with lots of activities and weather was perfect for outdoor fun - hiking, playing at the parks, etc. Our first night we found the Pizza Hut All-You-Can-Eat buffet in Angola. Buffet is the only way to go with growing boys (and girls). Days we were home during the week (usually evenings), Grandpa Harry took it upon himself to give driving lessons to Courtney, Hal and Tyler in the school parking lot and then breaking the law entirely but having Courtney and Hal drive from the school to our house on "primarily" the back roads. At least their first driving experience will not be on the busy streets of Chicago and Grandpa had a blast being their mentor. He woke up this morning saying he was ready to retire. I think he's found out what retirement activities he wants to do - GRANDKIDS....

The Boys' Table - Pizza Hut

Tyler Finds a $20 Bill While Hiking

Our Cabin at Pokagon

One Good-Looking Bunch of Cousins

FUN, GAMES & CRAFTS AT POKAGON

Spring at Last?

2010-03-05T09:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the first sign of Spring that we've seen in the yard. The first tulips and daffodils have sprung up and we're looking forward to some blooms if we can keep the deer from eating them. I sprinkled them with cayenne last evening hoping to discourage them some.

Long time since posting. Mom has been here almost a month now, struggling with a cold/cough. Isn't everybody out there fighting this upper respiratory stuff this winter? We hope she will perk up and be able to go home in a week or so.

First Snow

2009-12-20T19:40:00.003-05:00

Exciting to see the trees planted a couple years ago garnished by their first snow of the season.

Pat Graduates!!

2009-12-20T19:35:00.002-05:00

A monumental day yesterday as Pat received his PhD in School Psychology at Ball State - a long, demanding program successfully completed and topped off by an invitation to teach a class at BSU this coming semester. We were thrilled to be there for the graduation service.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-20T19:17:00.005-05:00

Here it is almost Christmas and I haven't even posted Thanksgiving pictures. Once again we had our traditional Saturday after Thanksgiving get-together with our kids. My mom came and stayed a week and we had a nice visit. Angela & Ethan's family and Uncle John joined us for the Saturday fest. "A good time was had by all."

Halloween

2009-10-30T20:57:00.003-04:00

The grandkids stopped over tonight in their Halloween costumes on the way to the ward party. Grandpa & I opted to stay home this rainy Halloween. Good to see the Munchkins in their costumes.

Fall - A Busy Season

2009-10-12T19:25:00.007-04:00

You might say we've been busy as bees - or more exactly, busy with bees. We extracted our first honey harvest on October 1. We were able to extract 5 gallons of honey and about half pound of beeswax. George created a label for the honey jars, and we processed a good share of the wax into lip balm ( a combo of beeswax, almond oil, and peppermint).

The grandkids assisted with the extraction and it was a great time once we figured out what was wrong with the extractor. We used the Northeastern Indiana Beekeepers Association extractor - a good reason to join the group in addition to meeting some fun people. We'll attend our first meeting of the association this coming Thursday night.

This past Saturday, we were involved in the Ward's Provident Living Fair and exhibited information on beekeeping along with lip balm samples and a video of Harry & the kids extracting honey.

Trips to Chicago and Lafayette

2009-09-06T20:58:00.006-04:00

Two wonderful weekends - Courtney's patriarchal blessing and Cole's baptism were reasons for travel and so enjoyed being with kids & grandkids. We were so pleased that Pat & Amber were able to stop to pick up Mom on their way to the baptism and John (alias "Uncle Truck") went with Harry, Levi, Natalie, and I. It was a great time.

More Grandkids - Visit

2009-08-14T18:42:00.002-04:00

More Grandkids

2009-08-14T05:58:00.002-04:00

We had Chuck & Amy's kids for a couple days while they took a short "no kids" trip for their anniversary. As always there's no getting around playing in the garden when you come to grandpa's house.

The Joys of Summer

2009-06-28T08:55:00.006-04:00

We've had a wonderful summer - a week with grandkids here. Levi's 6th birthday celebration. No pics, but I spent a week at Hugh & Shanna's in North Carolina with Katie & Leo while Simon underwent a successful operation to repair a hole in his heart.

Harry, Hal and Tyler did a major project of pulling up our brick sidewalk out back that was overgrown with weeds and widened and reset the walkway with a weed barrier and sand underneath. It's great - adds so much to the back garden path.

We had to do another chocolate fountain while all the kids were here and Pat & Amber brought a slip 'n slide that the kids loved.

The kids worked hard weeding & thinning the garden and we put in a good sized pumpkin patch by laying down newspapers and then covering it with good topsoil. They are up and growing already. Good work kids!

Chocolate Fountain

2009-06-01T09:39:00.004-04:00

We tried out our chocolate fountain yesterday. I bought it on Christmas clearance 2 years ago and never had the courage or ambition to try it until yesterday. Yes, it was fun and yes, it was messy but worth it. Our friend Brittney joined in the fun. Sam's comment said it all, "I happy."

Andrew and Sabrina

2009-05-24T19:58:00.002-04:00

We were glad we had the chance to go to Marquette last weekend for Andrew and Sabrina's wedding. Here are a couple of photos of the wedding to prove we ventured into the UP. It was a beautiful wedding.

Griffin is ONE - and Loves Cake

2009-05-23T15:42:00.003-04:00

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-13T15:19:00.004-04:00

As in most years, we had our annual Easter Egg hunt. With more grandkids each year, the event starts to take on new proportions. This year I numbered all of the 150 plastic eggs and George devised the plan for hiding the eggs. He, Bump and Pat had maps George had prepared from aerial views on Google (though a little outdated) and each of them had a group of numbered eggs and an assigned area to hide them in. Kids were released in waves by age (youngest first, of course) to scour the backyard for the eggs. After the tally, we were missing one "golden egg" (with money inside) and about 3 other eggs. The kids did a final search and found the missing golden egg after much hunting. Tyler came up with M2 and the $10 for his efforts. Harry gave some "rules" which we expected nobody to follow. They were not "serious" rules but some of the kids took it to heart. Things like, "If you see some eggs that are really easy to find, just leave them there so that Uncle John can find them." We had to dispel that rule and encourage the kids to pick up the ones out in plain sight by the house. Nice to see such principled grandkids. The kids were also encouraged to make up their own rules. Logan said that nobody should take eggs out of someone else's basket and all agreed that was a good rule.

Pat and Amber needed to leave Saturday late afternoon, but the rest stayed overnight and we took up a whole bench at church. George stayed home with Seth who had some major intestinal issues so we were missing a few. I would have to say "a good time was had by all." I would also say that grandpa and I were so tired that we took a 2 hour nap late afternoon yesterday after everyone had departed. I am not used to that level of activity and I guess it's a sign of getting old.

Signs of Spring

2009-04-09T09:38:00.006-04:00

The Birds Have Returned

The Gold Cart is Alive and Well

Kensi and the Crocuses

The Year of the Seed Starting

A Visit from Angela and Ethan

2009-02-25T16:06:00.002-05:00

We had an eventful weekend with Ethan, Angela, Anna and Ben as our house guests. George's joined us for pizza on Friday evening and it was fun to see the cousins having such a good time. Ben and Seth are only a month apart and Anna seems to fit right in with George's other 3.

On Saturday, Angela's friend Liz and her family (including their 2 year-old twins) visited and Pat, Amber and their group came while Liz' family was here.

Sunday, John (Uncle Truck) and Jake and Jessica Canaveral came for lunch, along with George's group. Jake was one of Ethan's mission companions in Australia, so they had a good visit and Jake brought the traditional Australian dessert. I believe they called it "slam" - it is a chocolate covered wafer cookie and you bite one corner off the top and one off the bottom, dip it in hot chocolate and try the suck the hot chocolate up through the cookie as if it were a straw. When the chocolate on the outside of the cookie starts to melt, you shove it into your mouth and eat it all at once. Delicious!

January Cold

2009-01-17T15:09:00.010-05:00

We've had near record colds this past week. The last time Fort Wayne reached 19 below as it did on Thursday was in 1972 - the year Pat was born. Harry captured the outdoor thermometer with a 20 below reading on Thursday morning.

Today George & Anna and the kids came out to try out Jones Hill for sledding. Seth stayed inside and Sam lasted only a few minutes - way too cold for extended exposure and George & his scouts cancelled their overnighter they'd planned in conjunction with the local Klondike Derby (smart move).

Last week we had granddaughter Kensi for a few days. Chuck had some ankle surgery and we were happy to have Kensi for a visit while he recouped. Here is a photo of Kensi putting out birdseed for the birds. Grandpa is orienting her to life on the farm.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T20:04:00.011-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas with dinner and caroling on Christmas Eve with George's family and the missionaries. A quiet Christmas Day with a couple of afternoon stops and caroling to a couple more friends with Levi & Natalie. We visited Marjorie Brown at the nursing home. I've been visiting teaching her for about 10 years. I think I've only missed seeing her one Christmas (either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day). This year she was not well and was in her bed complaining of back trouble. I believe Levi & Natalie's caroling really cheered her up.

On Friday our whole family gathered at the Best Western in Lafayette. In lieu of gifts this year - we had a holiday. The Best Western has an indoor waterpark really geared for the young ones. We feasted in the evening at the Pizza Hut buffet and it was amazing how well things went. We have to give credit to older grandchildren like Courtney, Hal, and Tyler who assisted the little ones during many of the weekend activities including meals. Harry said a man had been watching as the grandkids came and went from the buffet and he approached Harry to tell him how well-behaved all the children were. Harry pointed out that they all had wonderful mothers and fathers, to which the man replied - "They make you look good."

Saturday was another highlight with dinner at Wesley Manor where my mother lives in a duplex. We went to the main building there and had a lunch served in a big room in the basement. Our family, my mother, and my sister's entire family (including my brother-in-law's father from South Bend), enjoyed a great dinner together, much game-playing, and some singing around the piano. As the elder George S. would have said, "A good time was had by all."

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T08:41:00.004-05:00

All children, grandchildren, and Uncle John present and accounted for and we made it - one long table in the basement (24 + 2 babies). As in years past - the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day is the designated day for our gathering. Fond remembrances of Grandma Hazel and the many years she pulled together a Thanksgiving feast. Then as the years passed, it was dinner at Marguerita's restaurant in Rochester. I marveled that Grandma put those dinners together for so many years without seeming to bat an eyelash, but I do understand the hard work and effort that went into those many dinners -- and she didn't use paper plates!!

Weather was beautiful and I have no pictures to prove it, but do have the black dirt around the house to show that the favorite grandkid activity was playing King of the Hill on the black dirt mound. Everyone's shoes (and socks) were likely ruined.

Grandpa was nostalgic as everyone drove away and commented that it was a perfect time watching the cousins play together and just having everyone here.

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-02T20:17:00.002-05:00

We enjoyed a Halloween Eve at the church trunk or treat party. It was a 3 Ward combined activity so there was a good turnout. I'd prepared 65 treat bags and ran out, so there were a lot of kids. Some photos of our gang at the festivities.

Tuesdays with Sammy

2008-10-28T13:27:00.002-04:00

I've had a great time the past few weeks. Tuesdays have been my time with Sammy. Levi & Natalie have been in swimming lessons and for a couple hours Sam and I have done our own thing. Sometimes we hiked the Mall and rode the carousel, many times we came home and rode the golf cart around the yard, once in awhile we went grocery shopping. Today Grandpa stayed home and we had Sam together. He braved the 39 degree weather and took Sam on the golf cart while I fixed lunch. A good sign that Sam is growing up - he sits still and likes to read a book. Here is Grandpa reading a story to Sam.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T13:10:00.003-04:00

Family Home Evening last night with George & Anna - pumpkin carving.

Big Loss

2008-10-20T13:23:00.008-04:00

It's time to document some serious weight loss on Harry's part. I've managed to shed a few pounds, but Harry's downturn has been remarkable. Thanks to daughter, Amy, we were introduced to the "Eat to Live" diet (or as everyone calls their current diet - our lifestyle change) based on the book by the same name by Joel Fuhrman. We did learn that we can go off the diet now and then and not suffer drastic weight gain if we maintain the diet most of the time. We had hot dogs (turkey) and s'mores with the grandkids Friday night and no significant weight gain. In fact, Harry hit his all-time low at weigh-in this morning. I don't think he'd mind my telling statistics for him. He started at 260 on July 12 when he began living the "green life". His cholesterol was high. He weighed in at 212 this morning and after less than a month on the diet, his cholesterol was all within normal or good ranges.

Amy gave us a 1-page Do's & Don'ts and we've followed that pretty much, though we bought the book and have gotten some guidance from it. Her 1-pager is shown at the right.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Today and May 2008 - New goal... 200!

Harry and His Bees - Winter is Coming!

2008-10-05T19:34:00.002-04:00

I may have forgotten to mention in the posts that Harry is now a beekeeper. He took a course last January and started the process of building his hive. He got his bees in May and began his official hobby of beekeeping. Some time in late June or July the bees swarmed. He worried at first but was assured from the supplier of his bees that this was a good thing. He collected the bees that had nested on the ground near his old hive and put them into a box for safe keeping, then ordered another hive that came in a couple days and managed to get them into the hive. He now has 2 active hives. No honey for us this year - the bees need all they produce to get them through this first winter. Perhaps next year!

Here are recent photos of Harry with his colonies. He's helping get them ready for winter.

A Visit to Chuck & Amy's New Place

2008-10-05T19:28:00.005-04:00

We visited Chuck & Amy about a week ago as they were moving to the country. The kids are excited about their new surroundings and it looks like "kitten" will adapt after she learns not to dash into the house every time the door opens. She is now an outdoor cat and expected to do her duty catching mice.

Amy reports that they are very happy in their new place after a week of unpacking and getting things in order.

All in a Day's Work

2008-09-23T08:35:00.002-04:00

The yard is beginning to fill up with trees. I'm sure the last owner was happy to have free-sailing when mowing, but we are tree lovers and Harry keeps doing his bit to add more of them all the time. Last Saturday he planted a row of flowering pear trees along the driveway. It does a nice job of framing the yard and he did an excellent job lining them up. It's hard to see Fall and Winter coming and the end of another growing season.

Nauvoo - Pat & Amber Sealed

2008-09-07T18:34:00.004-04:00

August 30 in the Nauvoo Temple, Pat and Amber were sealed and Griffin was sealed to them. Many of the family came for the weekend including Dewey & Susan, Chuck & Amy & kids, Harry & Teresa & kids and us. We all attended Sunday church in Nauvoo, then had a picnic lunch near the Visitor's Center before heading to Harry & Teresa's for Labor Day.

Birthdays! Birthdays! Surprise!!!

2008-06-26T14:45:00.005-04:00

Our chef knows how to do all the tricks and our waitress gives Levi a big hug.

A special birthday dessert - a sundae with a sparkler in it.
Thurmans all the way from Alabama. Joe meets Griffin.

Becca outdid herself with the cake and George designed a book for letters.
The new babies in the family
Anna's Mom & Dad came to lend a hand with all the work and grandkids. Wonderful friends!

It was an eventful weekend with a major '60' birthday surprise party for Harry. Our kids took it on from start to finish and invited a few friends and fixed lots of good food. He thought he was going to a birthday party for grandson, Levi whose birthday is the day after Harry's so there was no thought that it was anything other than that. When he walked in and saw some of his friends singing Happy Birthday that was his first clue. We were very surprised to have our old friends the Thurmans make the trip all the way up from Alabama for the occasion. The kids arranged for a family photo after the party. All-in-all the best of times!

Last night we compensated for the fact that it wasn't a birthday party for Levi and took him out to the Japanese restaurant for his birthday (a day late). He had a great time watching the cooking and trying new foods and chopsticks.

A Visit to Grandma Simpson

2008-06-14T09:22:00.002-04:00

We made a surprise visit to Grandma Simpson this week to introduce Griff to her. Amber is still on maternity leave and Pat has the summer off from school. We enjoyed the day!

Dew & Sue Visit

2008-06-03T21:08:00.003-04:00

Dewey & Susan came down for the Memorial Day weekend and spent a few days with us. Dewey proved his skills once again as an expert griller. Bump & family were here for a couple days and we all enjoyed the great brats, burgs, dogs and pork chops Dewey cooked up on Memorial Day. Bump's kids were here while he and Teresa spent 2 days house hunting. Bump started his new job a week ago and the family hope to join him by July 1. Harry & Dewey and Bump's kids helped us get our garden in. They really worked hard.

Daniel became fast friends with Harry while he was here. We've never had him when his parents weren't with him and it gave us a great chance to get to know the little guy. He's quite a character.

Spring is for Babies

2008-06-03T21:02:00.002-04:00

We've been blessed with 2 beautiful grandsons this Spring. First, Seth Isaiah - George & Anna's 4th and now Griffin Talmage - Pat & Amber's first. Seth made the last post. Griff was born May 18 - about 2 weeks ahead of schedule.

Spring is Near

2008-04-14T18:04:00.005-04:00

I've neglected updates for awhile. This past month we had an Easter egg hunt here at the farm, welcomed new grandson Seth Isaiah to the family, had grandson Nolan this past week, and we are into dirt again! You do well to ask "Why do you want more dirt?" They were removing topsoil at Harry's office to do some landscaping - we can never pass up free dirt. Not only did we get that dirt, we got all the company's dirt for about 2 weeks. They've promised to move it where we want it when the ground dries out - for now it is a fixture on our driveway cement pad. Perhaps another mountain in the making??

Nolan & Levi - The Dirt Mountain

The Swingset Gets Some Use After a Long Winter

One of the first signs Harry's bulbs are coming up. He planted a couple hundred last Fall.

New Grandson Seth

Spoils of the Egg Hunt - Little Kids Inside, Big Kids Outside

Go Diego Go

2008-03-03T18:57:00.003-05:00

This news is a bit old now, but a week ago we took Sydney, Nolan, Levi, Natalie and Anna to the Go, Diego, Go! Live show at the Embassy. Fun for all and perfect for kids in the preschool / early grades - fans of Diego and Dora. State Farm sponsored the show so we were treated to free tickets.
In other news - we celebrated Pat's birthday yesterday with Syd & Nolan and George & company. Always fun when the cousins can get together.

I started a class this week through the community connection (sponsored by the schools). It's a class in audio production using the computer. After the CD recording session in December, I decided I'd at least explore the subject to see how one goes about making recordings. It may be my retirement hobby while Harry takes up beekeeping. I doubt I'll learn a lot in 4 - 2 hr. sessions but at least it will be an intro to find out if I actually could or would like to take up recording.

Pokagon Get-Away

2008-02-13T14:46:00.005-05:00

We enjoyed a 2-day getaway to Pokagon State Park for the second time this winter. They run a special 2 for 1 nights' stay at the Inn during January & February on Sun. thru Thurs. nights. It's a very relaxing place to go with hot tub, sauna, and fireplaces in many locations. The views, even in winter, are beautiful and there are birds, squirrels and sometimes deer to watch from the wide windows in several places. Thanks to our friend, Bonnie Swing, who comes and takes over with Grandma H. when we are gone, we have no worries at home. It's been a real treat.

One of our favorite spots is the library with fireplace, a wall of books, and always jigsaw puzzles set up on tables in various stages of being done - you can jump in and add a few pieces as you get the urge, then leave it to someone else when you realize these puzzles were donated and most have a bunch of pieces missing. I took my laptop along as they now have wireless Internet throughout, but I must say that it is hit and miss as yet. In fact, it is impossible to keep a connection for more than a few minutes. I suppose they'll be working on that as time goes by. One of my favorite sites is eons.com where they have a collection of "brain games" for us oldsters who need to try to improve a lot of brain functions. I love the daily jigsaw puzzle and my old favorite Sudoku so I do those most days. Gutterball frustrates me so I rarely do that one (bowling with hecklers) but once in awhile I play a game or two of that. I managed to get on the Inn network enough to do my usual dailies. No pieces missing in the jigsaws there!

Here's a shot of Harry in the library:

A snowy view of the courtyard outside our room window:

Grandma Hazel Birthday

2008-01-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was a busy one with lots of family on hand to celebrate Grandma Hazel's 87th birthday. Angela's birthday was Sunday so it was a festive weekend. Dewey, Susan, Angela, and Anna arrived Friday evening and we celebrated with Fish of Stroh and a birthday cake. Saturday Amy's, Pat's, and George's joined the crowd and we had another celebration with DQ cake and BBQ ribs. Uncle John, Dew & Sue's granddaughter Ashley from Kokomo and her friend were in on Sunday. Since Bump's couldn't be here, we did a BBQ sauce taste test in his honor on Saturday. I learned that it's hard to do a taste test - too many variables. One problem was that we cooked 4 slabs of baby backs and some were more done than others, thus the texture of the meat affected likes and dislikes to some extent. We tried 4 sauces - all either the classic or original versions of the sauces - Krogers, Montgomery Inn, KC Masterpiece, and Cattleman's. We had votes from 8 of the tasters (Susan, Harry, George, Angela, Amy, Dewey, Linda and Anna). Pat and Amber arrived later and, as everyone knows, Pat is the expert in ribs but they had already eaten and couldn't manage the ribfest. I tallied the numbers, giving the lowest number 1st place (ribs were rated 1 to 4 with 1 being the favorite and 4 the least favorite). Going by that scale the ratings came in this way:

Cattlemans
Montgomery Inn
KC Masterpiece
Krogers

Cattlemans was the number 1 pick for Harry, George and Anna. KC Masterpiece was the number 1 pick for Amy. Mongtomery Inn was first place for Susan, Angela, and Linda. Kroger gleaned only 1 first place rating -Dewey.

We decided to try the sauce itself and ratings were far different. Of the 4 people who tried just the sauce - it was unanimous KC Masterpiece was everyone's favorite while Montgomery Inn was everyone's least favorite. Cattleman's fell primarily into 3rd place and Kroger was 2nd place.

We'll have to learn the tips to good testing before we try another attempt.

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Blowing Out the Candles

2 Cakes!!
Amy, Cole & Logan
Dewey, Angela, Kensi & Anna
Anna Learns the Fast Song Dance
Kensi, Levi & Cole - Into the Fast Song and the Wiggly Squiggly Song

Grandma H. has been having visits from a physical therapist the past two weeks and we're encouraged that, in spite of a bad cough/cold, she is getting around better the past couple days. The PT is teaching us along with her how to do some things a bit easier and with less stress on the joints.

Harry has been busying building his bee brood (house) and expects to get his bees the early part of May. Did you know that bees only live 6 weeks (unless they emerge before frost and are confined to the hive for a period longer than that? Also, they are born with all the knowledge they need - there is no learned behavior. I guess if you only live 6 weeks, that's pretty important. He keeps sharing all these interesting facts about bees.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy and exciting Christmas. All of our family was here on the 26th and the house was full of grandkids - nothing makes Grandpa happier than that!

Harry (Bump as he is called by family) arranged a special Christmas treat. He reserved 4 hours at a recording studio to put together a family CD and it was the best time ever. We make no claims to perfection, but we so enjoyed the time and now have a remembrance of all the good times that music brought to our family.

Our thanks to three wonderful daughters-in-law who took charge of the 13 grandchildren while we were there and to Courtney, Hal & Tyler who entertained the young ones in our absence.

Deck the Halls with Lots of Grandkids!

And Grandma, Too

Levi and His First Preschool Program

2007-12-16T17:49:00.000-05:00

Had a good time recently watching Levi's preschool Christmas program. Levi has lots of spirit and puts his all into everything he does. Natalie and I made an early retreat as soon as the program was over and had a little date of our own - to the ice cream shop and then a short drive to see the neighborhood Christmas lights.

Harry will be in his new office on the north side starting Monday (Dec. 19). He'll be located in an office near the Dupont Hospital - 5 minutes from home so I expect will see him for lunch most days. After all these years, he finally has a prime spot in the new office. He has a corner office with windows on two sides.

We went to Frankfort on Tuesday and celebrated Mom's birthday with my sister Marleta, her daughter Anita, and my brother Roy. We had a good visit and the Manor did up a nice dinner for us in one of their small private dining room areas.

Snowball Fight

2007-12-12T16:50:00.001-05:00

Down on the Farm

2007-11-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

For the fun and fancy of some of the grandkids, we had to try the JibJab. The kids went wild over Bump's movies last weekend when they were here.

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Syd and H.O. - Way to Go

2007-11-18T20:43:00.001-05:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Plugging Away

2007-11-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple weeks with nothing monumental going on. I got into the winter nesting mode and started cleaning out closets and drawers, trying to make some space here and there and not wanting to feel trapped by excessive "stuff" all winter.

We've been excited about the prospects of two more grandkids in the family next Spring/Summer. We'll have to set up tents out back when the whole family comes to visit. Last night George & Anna came over with the kids and stayed with Grandma H. while we went to the movie, "Bella." It was a good movie, though short - not even 90 minutes but well done and we had a good time. We brought back drumsticks (ice cream type) for the kids and they dug right into them - including Sam:

Ice cream mustaches are way fun!! Just like grandparents to send the grandkids home full of sugar two hours past their bedtime.

We were so enthralled with Bump's Jib Jab movies that we had to make some for Sydney & Nolan when they were here last weekend. I'll try to post them here.

A Fall Day Away

2007-10-27T08:18:00.000-04:00

Kensi, Harry & Amy

The Boys Find a Great Tree in Their Woods

Yesterday we took off and visited Grandma Simpson. Our friend Bonnie took Grandma Hazel to Rochester for the day to visit with her nurse friends over lunch. We took Grandma S. and met up with Amy's at the Golden Corral for lunch, then toured Amy & Chuck's new place. He has plans for the sprawling ranch on 17 acres that include subdividing the acreage and selling lots and uncovering an indoor pool that was covered with flooring and made into a rec room/playroom. It's a beautiful property with lots of potential. They won't move in until Chuck's done some of the remodeling he wants to do. Always easier without kids under foot.

Amy is home schooling the boys and doing a great job of it. She is using Utah's K-12 program so the curriculum is set and it's just a matter of sticking to a schedule and introducing the subjects and motivating the boys to get their work done so that they can go do something else.

A Beautiful Sunset Tonight

2007-10-23T19:35:00.001-04:00

A Busy Week on the Farm

2007-10-21T21:31:00.000-04:00

Grandpa and Grandma Lyon visited us with George and Anna & the gang for lunch today. Sam got his first taste of pie and I'd have to say he is into it in a big way.

Amy and the kids visited last Sunday evening and Monday. We had a great time and are so happy to have them back in Indiana. She's home schooling the boys so they spent Monday morning doing their assignments. Grandpa gave them the tour of the Fort and Headwaters Park downtown to augment their history lesson for the day.

Grandma Hazel is doing better since her vertebroplasty on the 8th. She woke up Monday morning and noticed one of her front teeth was broken, so we spent a couple hours at the dentist Wednesday getting 4 teeth "bonded". In spite of that, she felt well enough that we met up with her nurse friends Lillian, Beth, and Della in North Manchester for lunch on Thursday. She's enough better that the home health nurse said she can't come and visit us anymore - Hazel is too healthy. Tomorrow will be her last day to come. We've enjoyed the luxury of not having to go to the doctor's office lately. We love our doctor but it's usually a 2 to 3 hour wait, wait, wait when we go.

The landscaper came a couple of weeks ago and got the mound seeded out front. We're excited to see it greening up out there instead of looking at a big pile of dirt. It may actually look good one of these days. We still get comments from people wondering why we have all the dirt out front. The small hill has 3 nice blue spruce trees on it and Harry got it mulched last week.

Janet's Visit

2007-09-29T21:08:00.000-04:00

Fortunately, Janet took a couple pictures while they were here so here are a couple that she emailed to us.

A Visit from Michigan Family

2007-09-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

Harry and I went to Rochester and did some sorting yesterday. We found 2 whole boxes of photos and had fun going through some of them with visitors from Michigan today. Aunt Grace, Aunt Jean, Anita, Lisle, Jill and Jane made the long trip down to see us and we enjoyed a good time catching up on news and browsing through old photos.

Here's a blast from the past. The year of the Mohawk!

Update From Oregon

2007-09-16T12:19:00.000-04:00

Janet & Lydia accomplished the near impossible. They packed Granny's china and goblets in their luggage and got them to Oregon without a single broken piece. Many prayers and lots of worrying and a miracle. The luggage had even been opened and repacked at some point because of some metal in them. All is well and they are home safe and sound.

Family Visits

2007-09-15T09:52:00.001-04:00

Janet, Lydia, and 2 yr. old Sahara arrived on the 8th. Harry picked them up at the Indy airport and took them back today (the 15th) to catch their flight back to Oregon.

Can you believe we didn't get a single picture of Janet's while they were here? Amidst doctor appointments for Hazel and Janet going to Rochester for a couple days to sort out some things, I didn't think of pictures at the times I could have actually taken some. The picture above is of John and Janet, Jill and Jane - the year of the twins. Janet found lots of old pictures hiding in the nooks and crannies when they were sorting out.

Lydia brought lots of things back here and put things up on Grandma Hazel's walls so it really looks like home in there.

John and Janet were able to celebrate their 51st birthday together Thursday night. I'm sure it's been many, many years since they were able to do that. They went to a new pancake house in Akron for dinner.

Amy and family arrived back in Indiana a week ago Tuesday and spent 4 days with us. They expect to be in Indiana for a few months and are not sure of their plans after that.

Family Fun on Labor Day

2007-09-03T21:48:00.000-04:00

Cousins, cousins, everywhere! What a great time for the cousins. Harry and Teresa, Anita and Mike, George and Anna, Marleta and Larry, and both grandmas were here in addition to all those great cousins.

We had to stay inside most of the time because of the recent invasion of mosquitoes - our first real case of them all summer.

Uncle Dew stayed long enough to see Harry and Teresa and family, then made his way back to the UP.

The Week in Review

2007-09-02T15:07:00.000-04:00

It started out as a simple project - paint the front of the house. After close examination, the cedar siding had enough rot/cracking problems that we had to have the house resided on the front. Off with the old on with the new - a cement/fiber siding. They tell us it will last forever....

This week Chad Swing spent the week off and on painting for us. Linda threw in a couple hours of painting one day, and Harry and Dewey worked with Chad all day yesterday to finish the project. We are no longer the little brown house on the prairie. When you see us now the whole house matches.

Grandma Hazel took a ride to Rochester on Friday with Bonnie Swing. She and her nurse friends (Lillian, Beth, and Della) met at Karen's Restaurant for lunch. Karen's has let their indoor/outdoor carpet on their entry ramp fall into disrepair and Grandma caught either her walker or foot on the carpet and took a tumble. Nothing broken, but she admits she really got banged up and has been resting and trying to recover from the fall.

More Family on the Move

2007-08-25T22:15:00.000-04:00

News from Amy - their house is sold in Utah and they will be heading back to Indiana in early September. She is home schooling Logan and Cole through the Utah public schools K-12 online program. She is hoping that a move back to Indiana will still allow them to use this program. It is not strictly a computer-based program, but more a curriculum directed through the computer with lots of physical materials and books that they are using.

George and Anna sold their house this week! Great news all around. Nobody likes having 2 house payments. They are getting unpacked and settled in the new place.

We celebrated our 39th anniversary today by cleaning the garage. This evening we went to see the movie Hairspray and out to dinner. All around one of our more exciting and enjoyable anniversaries.

Moving Days

2007-08-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week and month so far. Pat and Amber got moved into their new home. George and Anna will be moving this coming Saturday.

We spent today with John in Rochester preparing to get Grandma's house up for sale. It will be listed as of Wednesday this coming week. Fond memories as we go through old photos and vestiges of childhood and years past.

Harry in His Orchard

2007-07-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

What a Pair (Pear)!

(Click on Photos for Closeup Views)

Reports that dirty clothes deter deer may be true. Harry's sock in the sweet potatoes seemed to do the trick! The deer had this eaten back to a stub but it grew back after we gave it the sock treatment and no more nibblers visiting.

Saturday Picnic Down on the Farm

2007-07-22T12:19:00.000-04:00

Traffic Jam

Lots of Rainbows Where We Live

2007-07-20T21:37:00.001-04:00

2007-07-20T21:19:00.000-04:00

Saturday Visit From Ada Miller and Michelle