Thursday, August 31, 2006

More old photos, etc

Should I email the old photos I have to you, Serena? If so, in picasa or jpeg? Used the new scanner tonight to put in Mom and Dad's wedding picture and was amazed how easy it was to use!
Should I send some Crock Pot recipes? Haven't cooked since the Kings left...might need to refer to them myself! Tonight was "tv dinners"...

Crockpots, Computer Use, and Roberta

Roberta wanted me to point out that there are periods of time when she does NOT check the computer obsessively. That is true, for instance she doesn't use the computer when she is driving or eating at the table.

Also, in honor of Mary Virginia and the Georgia trip we are using the crockpot for supper - ham and navy beans.

Well, the crock pot and crackpot Roberta are ready for dinner.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Photos, bike ride, etc.

Just back from my morning bike ride - got off to a very late start. I only went about 10 miles - to the far end of Sun City West, then back to the other end (Bell Road) and then to Roberta's. Now I know how to get to Safeway, $.99 store and Bob's hardware/general store. I did slather on the sunblock, wore a hat and made sure I was back by 9a.m. - still got very HOT. Glad I have a lot less hair than last week as even that was soaked with perspiration. (Or as Mother used to say - "pigs sweat, men perspire, ladies glow". My hair was glowing.)

Roberta, Sid and I went through some old photographs last night. Roberta did throw out a bunch of pictures of people we didn't recognize (like John's widows on the Middle East trip) and scenery pictures with no people. She even decided that perhaps she didn't need EVERY single picture of Beethoven, except when he was especially cute - which was still quite a few.

Sid and Roberta seem suitably worn out from the big trip. I've heard about how very nice Crowsons' house is, the nice neighborhood, Christian's walk/escort trips with his elderly aunt- so she wouldn't get too lost and how grown up Ginny is. Also, heard a lot about how great the food was - and how much of it there was.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Quiet House

We were very glad to have Sid and RUK visit us although it went much too quickly! Would be glad to have them return or to welcome any/all of the rest of the family at your convenience. They seemed to enjoy the balmy August temperatures but Georgia is much more tolerable in the winter to me!

Hope all the Drs appts go well tomorrow and be careful driving home, mother!! Will call to check on you both tomorrow PM.

PS Roberta, our computer actually sat idle a couple of times this evening! I'm sure the blog suffered from lack of activity today. LOL

Monday, August 28, 2006

Monday, Monday

We had a busy weekend at the library with kids back in the homework mode needing books, computer time, etc. And in between I got mostly caught up on the piles on my desk and the unanswered emails so I'm ready to face Monday morning not being too far behind and with a 3-day weekend in sight in only 5 days!

Public Libraries in Madras, Redmond, Bend and Salem were visited during our vacation but we only used the internet in Redmond. Salem uses a reservation system and didn't have one available for over two hours when we were there so I persuaded the desk clerk at the Travelodge to print off our boarding passes for the return trip home.

Very much enjoyed our vacation, especially Central Oregon and visiting friends there. Oregon Caves National Monument was somewhat disappointing. Very remote location made it appealing but also made me think about the possibility of a forest fire (several were currently burning in Oregon) and being in the middle of the woods in a wooden historical lodge. The lodge from the outside fits beautifully in the surroundings, but the inside is in definite need of refurbishing. Big giant wooden beams, surrounded by a multitude of particle board walls. We heard not much had been to restore it after a massive flood in 1964 destroyed much of the interior.

The caves themselves were impressive but more in a "this should be preserved" way rather than a "wow this is spectacular" version. Kartchner Caverns in southern Arizona are much superior as far as the "wow" factor.

Time for breakfast. Have a great week!

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Vacation From Computer Continues

Quite an impressive array of blog postings and pictures! I'm not quite back up to speed and am not in a rush to get there, either. So until then, continue to think of us as "on vacation."

Roberta the Blogger

I told RUK tonight that I don't know what on earth she did for entertainment before we had the family blog a month ago. I believe she has been on the computer as much (or more) than all 5 of the rest of us combined today! You can see by the time of the posting how long I had to wait to get the computer (maybe I exaggerate just a little).
We did have an excellent dinner tonight---totally different menu than when Mom and Dad were here. The waiter tonight was the owner's son who will be going back to Germany in 2 weeks to complete his high school and then contemplate college. Ginny is hoping to return to eat BEFORE the guy leaves in two weeks. Hopefully she is not holding her breath!
Will be interesting to see what RUK and Sid think of the 9:00 service tomorrow morning; the youth band (Ginny's group) will be playing (their volume settings start at loud and go up from there) but Don's preaching will certainly not be that loud.
Time for bed both here and Arizona time. Sorry to miss talking to the folks today but we will try to call you tomorrow.
From the blogger listed on the posting!

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Wendy Jean Morgan - a collage of cuteness


Wendy Jean Morgan - in her various stages of cuteness - with her great aunt and father, with her cabbage patch doll, her cousins and grandparents and being tortured/entertained by her mother. Posted by Picasa

Mary Virginia protecting her dinner


This is Mary Virginia with the famously friendly dog. Picture was probably taken at Roberta's house . . . 25 years ago? I don't quite remember the dog's name, but I do remember how friendly he was. And what a difficult time Roberta and Marian had giving him away. Posted by Picasa

Meow

Since Roberta is missing her "children" . . .

Neither of the current living residents is as friendly as Beethoven, but then neither has gotten on the kitchen table to take a sip of my iced tea either, at least not while I was sitting there watching.


(Actually posted by serena, not Roberta.)
Posted by Picasa

Friday, August 25, 2006

Glacier National Park



Remember this auspicious occasion --- As I recall, it was 8/8/96? We had celebrated Aunt Mary and Don's birthday at dinner that night and then took endless family pictures....I'm sure Serena will remember the exact date and details and can fill all that in. Must be time to go to bed...Roberta has been looking over my shoulder, tutoring me on how to blog. She really does need to get out more often!


What a beautiful baby! Anyone recognize LUSCIOUS in her baby booties? She wasn't born a Uible but certainly has been a Uible longer than anyone except Dad in the family! My husband says it's one of the few pictures he's ever seen where Luscious wasn't blocking her face. ;)

cat pictures

RUK requests pictures of her cats be posted on the blog because everyone surely wants to see them/concerned about their welfare. Her instructions are that the pictures are somewhere in the "guts" of her computer.
MV per RUK

MV says, if they're not there, don't sweat the small stuff.

Peach Fresca

In RUK's honor we have stocked up on Diet Coke and Peach Fresca---the Fresca is very good. We have been taking it easy this morning reading both yesterday and today's papers and I made a trip to Kroger. We will be showing the Kings the grand tour of Dublin (take all of about 10-15 minutes) and then have lunch at Brian's subs (Mom and Dad may remember the boisterous guy from NJ at the sandwich place).

RUK is on her second Diet Coke of the day so we better get moving. SERENA the muffins you sent were excellent. I tried each flavor this morning! AND RUK said that they have come to expect their coffee and tea upon waking. Will not happen until Wednesday next week!
MV the hostess of the bloggers

Sid's bit

This is Sidley of Sun City West, now enjoying the Southern atmosphere of Dublin, Georiga. It was an uneventful trip from Phoenix despite the heavy rain showers along the way, including the trip to Dublin. It looks like we will have an enjoyable sunny day and to start out this wonderful day we just enjoyed a Georgia peach (though if you read the fine print it came from South Carolina) Signing off for now, HSK the new blogger

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Look familiar?


The below is all quoted from the Clinton County History site, the same site that has the above photo.

Hotel Fealy

The below is all quoted from the Clinton County History site, the same site that has the above photo.

What we think of today as a simple trip by auto from town to town was, in its time, an arduous journey leaving man and beast exhausted. And for extended travel, say, from Clinton County to Cincinnati or Chillicothe and back, one bought a train ticket.

Consequently, nearly all small towns and villages at the turn of the 1900s had at least one establishment for weary travelers. Sometimes nothing more than a rooming house or inn in the 1800s, as travel grew and business with it, the rooming house gave way to substantial structures, often turning into one of the larger buildings of the county's smallest towns.
One such example was the Hotel Fealy, pictured here, in New Vienna at the corner of Main and South. Built in 1883, it faced the railroad, strategically placed across the corner from the train depot. It was owned by William Fealy from 1883 until about 1906 when the family moved to Columbus.

While the hotel is no longer in operation, the building remains, having been remodeled and expanded into part of the Wells Toy Manufacturing plant.

Oh, and I should add that Roberta Uible-King was the one who actually found this picture/article online, not me. Roberta has a story about words written in red, but I'll let her tell you.

You might want to also check out The Curator's Corner and From the Archives.

Roberta and Catherine approximately 1958


My interpretation:

Catherine is thinking: "My life would be so much better without those pesky little sisters torturing each other. And why is my shirt so gaudy and frilly?"

Roberta is thinking: "How long do I have to sit here beside the perfect sister before I can go torture my younger sister? And why is my shirt so plain and colorless? "

Serena is thinking: "How come I only get hand-me-downs? At least I have a few minutes alone to leaf through my picture books without pesky Roberta bothering me."
Posted by Picasa

Welcome to Uible.com!

Welcome to Uible.com!

Must be seen to be believed.

Message from Blogger.com

Message from Blogger.com:

Hello,

Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and cleared for regular use so that
it will no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and
sign back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your
patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team




So . . . it SHOULD be easier to edit posts, etc. Any post that you have written can now be edited by just clicking on the little pencil directly below the post which will take you to the edit page.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Vintage 10 cent Jacks in Original Package by Wells

Click on the title or here - Vintage 10 cent Jacks


Thought you all might be interested in this picture.

other Uibles

Serena, I thought you'd be interested that I heard from David Uible (one of our Cincinnati cousins) who came across the Uible blog on the internet. He is the youngest son of Richard and Verna (9 children) and AKA the Buffalo Rancher. He would remind you an awful lot of John with same build, mannerism, soft spoken, etc, but lots of black hair! We love your bald head, JB, so don't take offense!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Just checking

A note to say that I have been checking, and have not noticed if any one has been checking......so I am just checking to see if this is read. Roberta the blogger

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Gladys Hiestand Uible at home


Photo of Grandma (Gladys Hiestand Uible) at her home when she was in her 80s or 90s. Since we were having some issues with the photograph, I decided to just post this separately.


Posted by Picasa

Serena - 1961


Serena in 1961 - 6 years old - happy not to have Roberta or John torturing her for the moment at least - either that or happy because she has thought of some way to torture them.

Uible Family - The Kinda Early Years June 17, 1962


Who is in the photo (as copied from back from of photo), written by Jean Ballantyne Uible
Cris Joe Marianne Catherine
Bill Mary Mother & Daddy U. Aunt Serena Reynolds Jean Harold
Robbie Serena John Roberta

June 17, 1962
Posted by Picasa

Prayer by Grandma (Gladys Hiestand Uible), in her handwriting


Posted by Picasa
Prayer courtesy of Roberta - in Grandma's (Gladys Hiestand Uible's) handwriting. It is amazing what she has unearthed during her search of files . . . looking for other things (some of which she has found).

Local library recognized for thrilling toilets

Local library recognized for thrilling toilets - this is the what Dad had recommended that I see when I was downtown at the Peoria Public Library, but, for whatever reason, wasn't on when I was there. Roberta and I saw the piece on the morning news yesterday. They interviewed a number of people - some of whom thought it was a great thing, some of whom had never noticed it before.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Update from Catherine and Gerry

We are in sunny Central Oregon where the weather may be cooler but the traffic seems FAR worse than our local Glendale neighborhood. Have had nice visits with our friends in The Dalles, where we spent the first night; Madras, the second two nights, and now in Redmond until Tuesday morning when we head for Oregon Caves for two nights. Weather has been down in the 40s at night (like winter in AZ) but today is supposed to be up in the 90s. Haven't found too much good vegan food but we are surviving. Madras, actually has a health food store/cafe where I had a good salad. And yesterday we had lunch with our friends from Sisters at the Pine Tavern in Bend. Mom and Dad may remember we ate there on January 29, 1979, in honor of my 30th. Glad it was warm enough yesterday to sit out on the patio. We do NOT plan to visit here in the winter ever again so will have to find somewhere else to celebrate in 2009. Thanks for the updates email and blogs! We'll be home again on Friday and back to work for me (and Gerry too probably) on Saturday!

Pine Forest UMC Music Ministry


Posted by Picasa

Gerry, Catherine, Ken and WendyJean

Gerry, Catherine, Ken and WendyJean

I'm pretty sure this was taken somewhere near First Watch - right downtown Phoenix - on Sunday. Posted by Picasa

Friday, August 18, 2006

C. J. Uible July 27, 1939

Posted by Picasa

C. J. Uible is the man in the picture on the right.

Since the picture is too small to read the fine print underneath. I have typed the words below:

"I congratulate you on the excellent program you put on. It was the best of all the salute programs we have broadcast," wrote L. B. Wilson, president of WCKY, in a letter to this newspaper regarding the Leesburg-New Vienna program, broadcast over WCKY, last Thursday night.

Henry Pausch and Dr. L. E. Wilkin were interviewed on the Wilknit Hosiery Co., and on the enormous amount of mail sent out from Leesburg. John Dewey told something about the Leesburg plant of Dewey Bros., which is 50 years old this year.

C. J. Uible told of the new municipal building at New Vienna, and Mrs. Harry Curtis about the proposed library there. Mack Sauer acted as master of ceremonies.

Pictured above, left to right: Mack Sauer, Announcer Joe Graham, Henry Pausch, Dr. L. E. Wilkin, John Dewey, C. J. Uible, and Mrs. Harry Curtis.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

news on Aunt Mary?

Was talking with JB tonight and he mentioned something about Aunt Mary falling? Anybody know any details?

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

latest development

Serena being modest may not tell this, but someone called me today with a computer problem and wanted to know if I could come over and solve their computer problem. After a quick second, I told them I had a sister who could no doubt help them! Long story made bearable is that Serena was able to solve this lady's problem in less than an hour! The lady wanted to pay, She was so thankful to have her computer "back" but Serena refused, so when I got there, I was quick to tell her that instead of paying she could feel free to refer others to Serena, to that she said her neighbor had been wanting help with his computer. Being the entrepreneur (meaning business person!) that I am I see a great future, as soon as the word gets out!

We are off to a music program and a stop at Wendy's as in Dave Thomas first. Has everyone had a good day??? Roberta


with a few spelling corrections by Serena

Sweating in Phoenix

The association's painters are coming sometime soon. Roberta's neighbor gave us a "helpful" update - the painters are coming sometime after August 15. That update came this morning. Anyway, they are going to paint the outside of the house, I guess. So, anything and everything that comes in contact with the outside walls has to be moved or removed or whatever. So started early this morning with some clippers which was fine for tiny twigs. Then Roberta joined me and introduced me to the Black and Decker small tree chopper. It does make for much faster work.

I've been going out for about 15-30 minute intervals and then back in for 30 or so minutes to cool off. It is HOT work. I think most of the trees and large bushes, etc. are pretty much done. I'm still working on that little tangle of vines. The tops came down with no problem at all. The lower part . . . is a whole 'nother story. It is like the difference between cutting a thread and cutting through hundreds of threads that have been knotted together and then superglued. It can be done, but it takes some work. Plus I really gotta find another hair band to put my hair up - or just take the tree whacker and whack off all the hair, too. The back of my neck is like a furnace.

Last night Roberta was working on a project that I put it on my computer because it was in Excel (a spreadsheet program that she doesn't have on her computer) and then I provided the clerical support as she worked. It was good for me to get more practice on Excel - although I think the whole project would have been much easier to manage in Word since there were no numbers anywhere on the sheets we worked on.

We did also go swimming/water walking. More people in the swimming lanes than usual - two people other than me. I accidentally kicked one of them when I had my back to them doing the sidestroke and I was trying to avoid hitting the people they were chatting with in the walking lane. On the other hand, it seems to me there are safer places to chat than standing in a swimming lane. I never did see them actually swimming, but I tend to do my laps and then get out of the pool.

We assume that Catherine and Gerry got off okay since they were dropped off three hours before their flight at the Southwest door and we didn't get any messages to come pick them up again.

Oh, and according to Forecastfox (my Internet meteorologist) at 10:00 a.m. it was 91 degrees and felt like 97 degrees.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Pam's Cats

Pam Bleakney, who went with us to Santa Fe, and also did that wonderful DVD with all the great photographs and special effects, has a website.

The name of the site is Pam's Cats. You may recognize her work from Chez Nous or the West Valley Art Museum, Boswell Hospital or the Del Webb Hospital. Also, there is a Bleakney hanging in Chez Uible-King.


Serena's namesake??

Was just reading through the Wilmington NJ online which includes Joann Collins obit. Among her grandchildren is SERENA Collins....might want to check it out!

Caught the changes..............

Serena, I did just catch the changes and corrections you made to the Brunch with a bunch.

We have been chasing around tonight, hopefully now have ALMOST all the food we need for the Hawaiian meal on Thursday at work. We ended up going to the COSTCO at Christown, for special chips (Hawaiian) and a pulled pork dish that I sure hope is good!

Did I mention on the blog about the main office marketing folks sending out 850 "special" invites for the return of the hot lunch on September 1. The only problem is that we can only take 75 total, and we had 65 total on Friday the day the invites were sent out. So today two of us were fielding the calls, and saying, "sorry all full" which most people could not understand! September 1 is going to be quite exciting, there will be a drawing that day for many prizes, the top one being a free meal for one weekly for one year! Samples of future desserts, free samples (like Costco!) and and and.

I just tried to work the spell check here, but without success..............off to set my alarm, see some of you at the Morgans at 7:30 or so.................Best of Tuesdays to one and all..........Roberta the blogger

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Call from Mom and Dad

I am talking to Mom and she said they are are in Chatauqua....staying at the Ecumenical House this week and then next week at the Methodist house. They attend 2 lectures in the mornings, at night concerts. Dad was trying to open a CD (?) that you had sent on their laptop, Roberta? I was trying to walk him through it but didn't know if it was pictures, DVD or what...Anyway, they sounded good they probably have called or will call the rest of you....their cell phone needed charged tonight.

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Name
Date of Birth
Date of Death
Andrew Nathaniel Uible
7/18/1998

Catherine Uible Morgan
1/29/1949

Cecil J. Uible
1/7/1883
1/13/1969
Christian Crowson
12/11/1997

Cris Weals Horton
4/9/1951

Dee Morgan
4/12/1968

Don Lee Crowson
8/8/1958

Gerry Morgan
12/17/1943

Gladys Heistand Uible
06/22/1892
11/??/1993
Harold Heistand Uible
10/27/1925

HH and Jean Uible Anniversary
4/3/1948

Irene Virginia Ballantyne
8/12/1914
??/??/1983
JB and Julie Uible Anniversary
8/11/1991

Jean Wallace Ballantyne Uible
12/11/1922

Jessica Louise Lopez
12/26/1989

John Ballantyne Uible
10/4/1957

John David Uible
9/10/1997
9/10/1997
Jonathon Dixon Hunt
9/29/1997

Joseph Ashcraft Uible
3/26/1996
3/26/1996
Joseph Uible Horton
6/25/1947

Julia Elizabeth Ashcraft Uible
11/10/1964

Katherine Elizabeth Uible
5/6/1993

Lucie Sarah Brown Ballantyne
05/23/1880
??/??/1957
Marianne Horton Kintner
4/4/1949

Mary Uible Horton
8/8/1913

Mary Virginia Uible Crowson
2/28/1964

MV and D Crowson Anniversary
5/12/1990

Nathaniel Wallace Ballantyne
12/22/1968
5/??/1949
R and S King Anniversary
12/31/1983

Robert Brown Ballantyne
2/18/1910
3/4/1956
Robert Heistand Horton
6/9/1956

Roberta Uible-King
5/14/1951

Serena Uible
1/20/1955

Sid King
1/21/1920

Virginia Katelyn Crowson
6/29/1992

Wendy Jean Morgan
9/23/1977

William Horton
1/31/1913
8/6/1994




This is a list gleaned from Catherine's notes in Book of Days: Celebrating Art in Children's Literature. If anyone wants any additions, subtractions, corrections, etc., let me know.

edit added later: Thanks to Mary Virginia for corrections, additions and website address.

Brunch with a Bunch, including Roberta, Catherine, in-laws and future in-laws

We had a very nice brunch with the big group - there were 15 of us. The First Watch location (Roberta's suggestion) was excellent - we had an entire room to ourselves so we could make plenty of noise and move around some without difficulty. Parking was somewhat difficult because of all the downtown street construction.

Catherine was there with her husband Gerry and their daughters WendyJean and Dee Lynn. Dee's children were there - Jonathon (aged 9) and Jessica (aged 16). Roberta was there with husband Sid. Kenneth Charles Counts was there with WendyJean. His mother (Marsha - also WJ's boss's boss), her father Tom and Ken's two sisters - Sarah and Stephanie were also there. Oh, and Katie, Sarah's 4 year old daughter was also there. There were many topics of conversation - including a planned trip with Katie and her
great-grandpa, grandmother, and mother to Ogden, Utah to take a picture of 5 generations . . . and I assume to visit with Katie's great-great-grandfather, too. There's only an eighty year difference between the oldest and youngest generation.

I did get the scoop on exactly where WendyJean works - Capitol Bancorp, along with her future mother-in-law and two of her future sisters-in-law. KennethCharles works at Water Engineering Services. (Not quite sure what he does there, but he has a company truck to get there and Wendy assures me he can count. Although maybe she was referring to his name, not his job. So he may be a truck driving accountant . . . or not.)

The food was very good - Roberta and I split some wheat germ pancakes and a Greek Omelet (spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes and olives). The conversation and company was lively and pleasant. I didn't get any reading done.

edit added later: Okay, I think I've made the requested corrections regarding family relations and age . . . or at least tried. Still not quite sure how to spell Jonathon's name. At least KC3 will be easy to spell. And added a few lines to see if anyone notices - "Hi WendyJean!"

After the Walk

Catherine and I left about 6:30 a.m. and got back a few minutes ago. Gerry has been busy washing the car and Catherine is now busy calling WendyJean and a couple of First Watches to see where would be the best place to fit in 13 people at 11:00 - both for parking and eating.

We walked up to Cactus and then caught a bus going south. We did have to flag it down as the bus was a bit early and we were a bit late and even with running we couldn't make it to the stop in time. I told Catherine I wasn't sure which would be worse - sitting in the heat for an hour for the next bus or walking 3 or so miles in the hot sun. Fortunately we didn't have to make that choice.

It looks like we are going to the First Watch right downtown - easier parking and fewer crowds since it is Sunday. There is some sort of sporting event in that general vicinity in the early afternoon, but we should be gone before the crowds hit. I'm assuming it is maybe a baseball game, but I don't really have any idea.

Not sure what we are doing the rest of the day - Catherine has the day off. I'm guessing maybe we'll see what the game plan is for the rest of the group. Last night we watched part of some movie and some baseball game that somebody was winning. I got more of my book read.

HERE

Serena, this is much easier for me to find! Can the HERE be on the side, always easy to find???? You were missed last night at church, Serena. There was lots of wood showing in the pews.
We are planning on making the First Watch scene, that is once we know which location, a minor detail! Will stop at the Ranch grocery on the way back. I used to work at the Ranch House in Delray Beach, some people called it the ROACH House! We are off on a bike ride, but first a high calorie drink for Sid. I used the orange jello salad that never set in it along with other surprises and he drank it all! Enjoy your Sunday one and all and we look forward to seeing the Morgan delegation today! Roberta

Morgans, etc.

Will write just a few words because I'm just too tired to write much more - had a nice evening with Jessica, Jonathan, Dee, Wendy Jean, Ken, Gerry and Catherine. We got take-away from Wei Pei.

Roberta, the grocery store that I think you should check out is Ranch Market. On the website you can kinda tell that the aisles are rather busy, but in reality, they are REALLY busy.

More later . . . even though we're not going walking until late - 6:30 or 7:30, I can't remember which . . . still comes up sooner than one would think.



Chatauqua

Did Mom and Dad leave today? Did they get the room thing worked out for 1 or 2 weeks?

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Brunswick Stew and Stripping

Wallpaper, that is! We have had this hideous wallpaper in our bathroom and a small "powder room" and this winter I did the bathroom but just now getting around to the powder room---it is SMALL--as I can stand in the middle and touch everywall as well as brush my teeth or open my closet door! The first layer of wall paper was easy. The second (probably original) must have been put up with super glue and is quite stubborn. Will go after it again tomorrow and hopefully finish the stripping next week.
The birthday dinner was excellent---although I can't say I learned to make potato salad in my growing up years! It is an acquired taste I realize but a pretty standard staple in the south. Roberta and Sid, there was PLENTY of Brunswick stew left over and I froze a goodly amount to pull out for your visit in 2 weeks. Hard to believe you will be here that soon!
Tomorrow afternoon Christian has a birthday party to go to (with swimming), then Ginny has a birthday party to attend tomorrow night for a friend who is turning 14 on the 14th. They are going all out with renting a hummer limo, taking she and several friends to Macon to a Japanese steakhouse, etc, etc. I told Ginny NOT to get her hopes up for her next birthday...Mom and Dad, you will remember the Lovett House downtown across from the Library and Page House B&B? This girl is the only child of this branch of the Lovett family....
Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Children's and Youth choirs start Sunday night....where did the summer go?!

Did it!

Just wanted everyone to know that I am now creating my own blog post, or I mean not commenting on someone else's! I do have some news I can say. We just got back from a hot walk, it was dark and we need to walk earlier, but then it would be that much hotter! Perhaps we need to do our walking in the early AM hours!

Sid is working on his email, so I will save the news for him to tell! I just thought I added a picture, but not sure where it went! Must be where my Cold Water Creek gift certificate is hiding!

Enjoy your Saturday, however you spend it! Roberta the blogger (did you know that blog is not a known word in my speller?)

Friday, August 11, 2006

Happy 15th Anniversary, John & Julie!

Hope John and Julie are having a great day to celebrate their anniversary! Since we did not get to their wedding, I'm unable to provide any memory of the day in 1991 but do remember hearing they like to go to the Granville Inn sometimes to celebrate.

Happy Anniversary and
May your marriage be
Blessed with love
And companionship
For all the years of your lives!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Phoenix Public visit, fruit day, WJ, etc.

Well, after escaping the rising heat at 12834 had the Senior Breakfast at Coco's - although I wasn't old enough. Roberta said that I was old enough by association . . . or contamination or something. Then Catherine picked me up after a brief stop at 8819 and GPL, we headed toward downtown.

We stopped at some market - name of which I've forgotten. It was pretty interesting. Wednesday is fruit day - all kinds of great buys - bananas or peaches $.25 per pound, mangoes 6 for $1.00 and lots of other good looking fruit and good prices. There were LOTS of people there - mostly Spanish speaking. Thursday is meat day, but I really didn't look at the prices. Would be a fun store to look around some more, but (1) the store was really crowded and (2) we were limited on time as we were on the way to Catherine's meeting. We probably bought at least 10 pounds of fruit plus a dozen of eggs (for me - $.69 for dozen). Catherine carried everything in her bag up to library meeting so that everything wouldn't dry up into a mess in the car.

I walked up to the fifth floor to see the view and architecture, etc. - quite interesting. Then I went to the restroom to see the wall lights that Dad said just had to be seen. I didn't see anything even vaguely remarkable. Walked down to the 2nd floor (where the other restrooms are) and still didn't see anything remarkable. Well the sinks/pig troughs were sorta cool. Then looked around some more on the first floor. Towards the time I was meeting Catherine I walked back up to the fifth floor to check to see if my eyesight had improved any since first look. I still didn't find anything of interest. I did finally ask a librarian and she started rambling on about the solstice, the windows, blah, blah. And we walked over to the bathroom. Then she said, "Oh, they don't seem to be working. I'm glad you asked about them. We probably ought to let somebody know about that." So, in summary the great lights weren't on when I was visiting the library, but I did get some good exercise in. Don't know if Catherine needed to use her new 20 pound weights yesterday after her fruit workout.

Oh, also used my laptop at PPL, got an okay wireless connection.

Then went to somebody's house with Roberta and Sid where we celebrated somebody's birthday and wished somebody well who was going back to Zimbabwe. We ate fruit, pizza and salad. A few faces looked familiar, but names escape me.

Tonight may or may not be a different story. R&S and I are meeting Gerry, Catherine, WendyJean, KC2 for supper. Catherine told WJ she was welcome to invite the Counts (as in KC1, etc.), I'm betting that WJ wants to put off them meeting certain members of her mother's family as long as possible . . . namely, Roberta and me. I have my list of questions ready though.

We have found a lot of old photos in Roberta's paper closet, including quite a few of WJ - maybe we should take a selection to pass around the dinner table.

Only did about 14 miles this morning on Roberta's bike. It is rather confusing if one is just riding around - I think I saw the same golf course (same spot) at least 10 times. Early in the ride (7:15ish) did see a lot of cars clumped near one house. I thought maybe they had a big party last night and people stayed overnight or big breakfast meeting. Turns out it was an estate sale. Life in Sun City. You never really get lost . . . or get anywhere at all.

Oh, and it is MUCH cooler at 12834 today.

Burton Barr Library

Serena went with me today to Burton Barr (Phoenix Central) Library as I attended the first meeting of the county-wide 2007 summer reading meeting. Committee meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month August-May, then in June and July we "do" what we spent the previous ten months planning before. This having been my 19th year of doing this in Glendale does give each year a special cyclical similarity -- probably similar to a teacher in that respect except we don't get the two months off, the nature of the job just changes! Read more about Burton Barr in Serena's report!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

season starts

had my first rehearsals for the 06-07 season today---Sr. Adult Choir, Chancel Choir and Praise Band; over the next 2 weeks we'll add in the rest of the rehearsals. The only break is Labor Day and Thanksgiving until Christmas. Christmas musicals start 3.75 months! Will call mother tomorrow but as I recall she said she had another test to do for Dr. Gick?
DAD...thought of you tonight when I watched on the food channel a new mini-series called FEASTING ON ASPHALT. This weeks installment stopped in Bowling Green, KY, Evansville, IN and then St. Louis. Anyway...it's all about "road food" and he was talking about automated/vending machines and talked about (and showed pictures of) the Automat in NYC as well as Horn and Hardart.

Report 8/9/06

Just talked to Mother - sounds like her appointment went very well and encouraging preliminary report.

Roberta, electrical whiz, has gotten the air conditioning going again. It went out last night about 8:00 p.m. - it was a warm night. About 9:00 this morning an electrician fix-it guy came and diagnosed the problem - a new fuse was needed . So we went to Coco's for breakfast and to get into the cool. Catherine picked me up there and R&S went off in search of the right fuse. I just recently talked to Sid and he said that due to Roberta's great skill in replacing fuses and flipping switches, the house is again cooling down again.

We're leaving soon for GPL. Catherine and I went downtown to Phoenix Public Library. More on that later . . . gotta run as my ride is leaving soon. And then off with Roberta and Sid to some going away party for someone I don't know.

What I get paid to do

I guess that I could have just commented on Mary Ga's (not a typo the GA is for Georgia) post but I thought you might all be interested in my career. As of June 19, 2006 I am the Team Lead for the Adjustments and Research Department of Capitol Bancorp Limited a bank holding company. CBL is a bank holding community which has the unique position of owning the most individual bank charters in the United States. We currently have 47 banks across the country and more in the works to open. Two are in Georgia: Sunrise Bank of Atlanta and Bank of Valdosta. There is also a bank scheduled to open in Ohio this year: Bank of Maumee. Anyhow my department handles all the check adjustments and collections for our banks. So if say a check paid twice or was encoded for the wrong amount - we step in and fix things. We deal alot with the Federal Reserve Banks - and let me tell you some of the people there are real idiots. Anyway I am learning a lot and still have lots more to learn. My degree definitely helped me get the job. Highly emphasizing my communications background helped me to land the Team Lead position. Also as Serena may have mentioned - Ken's mom is my boss's boss (she's the vp of item processing). Both of Ken's sisters also work for the company. Stephanie works in Exception Item Processing (they handle return items) and Sarah works at Camelback Community Bank which is right down the road from me. And I do like the job and the people but it is quite stressful at times. Oh yeah and being pregnant is kind of stressful. And I think I may have broken one of my toes tonight but that is a different story.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Made In America

Don appreciates all the birthday wishes and had a good day...he's been getting up between 4:30-5:00 to leave for work at 6 to be at his spot by 7. Was telling mother that he got permission (after 3rd try) to leave his scooter chair at the front gate until Vocational Rehab approves the lift for his car.

Watching the Travel Channel's MADE IN AMERICA and it is one of the better episodes---highlighting Frye boots (Great Neck NY) made by hand which was fascinating---followed by Josten's Classrings and Martinelli Juice/Sparkling Cider. Following this is a show on Top 10 National Parks to see wildlife which sounds good. Dad especially would enjoy this show if they get the travel channel. After watching them make class rings, I'm amazed that they don't cost more than they do!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday

to

Don Crowson

and

Mary Uible Horton


I'd mention how old they are today, but the last reference I remember hearing about Don's age was when Ginny was about 6ish and she asked her mother. Her mother's reply was "He is older than dirt." So I guess he has gotten a bit older since then, as has Mary Horton, as we all have.


I was going to include a picture of a birthday cake and a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream for Aunt Mary, but Blogger seems rather slow today about adding pictures and I don't feel like going the longer way around to add pictures. Also, since Senior Uibles have a telephone modem hookup, any page that includes pictures takes a LONG time to load. I also changed Blogger to show only the last 5 posts on the front page so that it would load faster for Senior Uibles.

Anyway,


Happy Birthday

from all the extended Uible family

to both

Don Crowson

and

Mary Uible Horton

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is the next family birthday . . . Wendy Jean Morgan? She will be soon be 30! Well, not this year. And her birthday is somewhere between the 23rd and the 25th . . . or thereabouts, and I'm pretty sure it is in September. I'm also sure that she will object to being referred to as almost 30 . . . but on the other hand, I'm almost 60, so I'll write what I want.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Family History

I make a motion that with all of Serena's computer skills, not to mention good memory, a family history/memory book would be an excellent idea. The anecdotes are humerous not only to us but invaluable to our offspring. When should we look for the first draft?

more questions

Serena and Wendy, please be sure to read my comments on the blog re: my (and Wendy's) age. Now that we know what ACH is, maybe the more appropriate question is where are you working these days? Are you using your college education? I have used parts of mine, but other parts were pretty much useless, although required by the college. There are a lot of things we learn along the way (true of any job) that they DON'T teach you in college that at times are invaluable to job performance, etc.

There is a run-off election here tomorrow in GA and the local prediction is that there will be 5% turn-out. If the polling place weren't at my work place, I don't know that I would spend my gas to vote.

I, too, spoke to Mom this evening who gave me the same update that Serena rec'd. I tend to have more questions when going to the Dr. and would like to find out the results of the pathology report, but glad that it is "minor". Any surgery seems minor until it's your own....

Winter Home

Did see the winter vacation spot - it is very nice. Nice size, big enough to have some room to move around, but not so much room that it will take a lot of upkeep.

The place is completely furnished - furniture, dishes, pots, pans, silverware, sheets, towels, lamps - the whole and caboodle. You'll need to bring clothes and buy food once you get there, but that is about it. There are two good sized TV sets and if one gets tired of TV, there is a nice view of the golf course and the little lake on the golf course.

The bathroom is very nice and the bath/shower is easy to get into - very low threshold and there is a seat so one can really relax while showering. We did take some pictures, we'll have to share later. We're off to the swimming pool.

Mother is alive and well and plans to stay that way

Not that it is particulary news that she is alive and well and plans to stay that way, but nice to know.

She is having surgery on Wednesday about 12:00, but, of course, has to have those pretests tomorrow. The doctor did say that it is okay for her to plan to go ahead to leave for Chautauqua later this week.

Dad was off at some church meeting, but Mother seemed to be in very good spirits. She said that Dad probably knew more about the whole medical scene than she did. She did emphasize that she is alive and well and that she plans to stay that way.

ACH Testing

ACH stands for Automated Clearing House aka electronic payments. Direct deposit and debit card transactions. I'm taking this for work not for giving birth. Hope that answers your questions Mary Virginia - you aren't that old or maybe you are - I will be 30 next year and you seem to remember my birth very well!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

August 6, 2006

Greetings from the Southwest! Sid is typing up his latest email, Serena is in the kitchen cleaning up, so I thought a good time for me to check the blog! I have to admit that it is easier for me to read the new posts than to read the comments! Though I will say that all are read, that is the ones that I know about! We have had a busy day here, starting with and ending with a bike ride. This morning Serena was on my bike, doing figure 8's around Sid and myself on the double bike. Tonight Serena rode the newly acquired bike from Ken (thanks Wendy and Ken)and I was on my bike, and we rode to the heart of SCW!

I can't get over that Ginny can post pictures, when I don't know how to do that yet! But Serena assures me she can teach me! What is the test you are studying for Wendy Jean? We are having a focus group tomorrow on FOOD at work, thankfully no test scores there, not even a pass or fail grade!

We will be going so Serena can see the ideal place here for the folks to rent. More later, Best of weeks to everyone! Roberta

SERENA

Just talked to John on the phone and heard you are thinking of staying on in Phx? More details, pls.

ICE CREAM

Thought of you all tonight with our ice cream social at church...there were 5 different churns entered and 5 different flavors....the prize winner was the chocolate; my favorite was the peanut butter, which must have been made with chunky PNB as there were actual nuts. Want to get the recipe for that one! By the time I went through the line, the milky way flavor was gone (made with melted milky way bars). There was still vanilla and key lime as well (which had graham crackers you could garnish with. If someone is going to the trouble to make ice cream with all the good ingredients, they might as well make it some form of CHOCOLATE or chocolate +++++ I don't know that any of them were hand churned the way we used to do it; come to think of it, I don't know anyone who still owns an old fashioned crank churn. I did get (as a present) an ice cream maker attachment for my kitchenaid mixer but have never used it.

Don requested Pork BBQ and brunswick stew for his birthday this week....anybody ever tried this? It is definitely a regional thing; not my taste, but very unique. It is a tomato base with corn, lima beans, pork and chicken. not a vegan recipe! Do you vegans ever crave meat? dairy? It is beyond my imagination voluntarily giving up those foods.

I hope you're all happy

Uible Family: A Blog I'm not sure I'm doing this right but hopefully I am. I should really be studying right now for my ach certification class - but I'm not. There are only 4 more 3 hour sessions - they last through Thursday and then we have the test next month. I had Ken quiz me yesterday with the practice quizzes we were given and I did pretty badly so I really need to be studying but am definitely not in the mood. Ken's sister Stephanie is also taking the class so hopefully we will study together before the big test - you have to get 80% to pass!

Anyhow - we went to IHOP today for breakfast. I had the big bacon omelette and pancakes and some of Ken's pancakes. I'm really loving pancakes right now! Then we went to Sam's Club and bought (hopefully enough) laminate wood flooring to finish the house. Thanks Dad!!!!!!! Ken is going to do the baby's room next weekend with help from our friend Bobby. We also bought some ribs to make for dinner and lots of produce: a pineapple (which I have to figure out how to cut up), raspberries, spinach, tomatos and cole slaw mix. I still have to go to the regular grocery store though since you know some stuff you just don't want to buy in bulk.

The baby is doing well - he has been moving a lot but not enough yet where Ken has been able to feel anything. We went to a Diamondbacks game on Friday night with Ken's Mom (Marsha), Uncle (Jeff), Grandpa (Tom) and four year old niece (Katie). It was lots of fun and Ken's mom got the baby a cute little Dbacks outfit and bought us both hats. So tomorrow its back to work at 7 a.m. sharp. And that is all that is going on in my oh so exciting life. I would post pictures of the ultrasound but don't have any just the dvd.

Editing posts, etc.

Just for everyone's information, I do once in a while edit others' posts if I see obvious typos or something that is too confusing. For instance, MV's post last night was originally titled "Uible Family: A Blog" and then had a link back to the blog to which she was posting which would just take one back to the same place as one was before one clicked on the link. I just thought it was too confusing to have an entry with the same title as the blog itself.

And I've caught two typos - one of my own and one from one of my sisters - I corrected both of them.

I've also been playing this morning with a Flickr account for Roberta. Flickr stores photographs and is pretty easy to use. There are free accounts which are probably fine for most people - people with lots of photographs, like Roberta I would probably recommend the upgraded account which is, I think, $25.00 a year which allows one to add a lot more photographs and some more features. Flickr has lots of instructions for novices which is also helpful.

Sid and the Guacamole


100_0652, originally uploaded by togethr.

Fresh! Our first night in Santa Fe. Road trips agree with Sid.

Dad Gardening


100_0497, originally uploaded by togethr.

Dad walking down his favorite grocery aisle.

Mother Exercising Her Shoulder Muscle


100_0534, originally uploaded by togethr.

Willowbrook Church: Home


Willowbrook Church is Roberta's church - where we attended a service late this afternoon.

Yes, Roberta, there is a website for your church . . . as indicated in the bulletin.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

about Uible Family: A Blog

Serena, so impressed with all the pictures and stuff---WOW! I wondered why I hadn't gotten any emails (maybe I am adopted?)....lol
Anyway, you should look for a job in IT or something (if that's the direction you want to go). I had not seen Joe's website and will have to check out the other ones as well. Thanks for keeping us so up to date.

Glendale, AZ - Parks and Recreation - Sahuaro Ranch Park - History



Glendale, AZ - Parks and Recreation - Sahuaro Ranch Park - History

Thought of Oscar Johnson when here, especially when we saw all that old farm machinery. I told Catherine that the peacocks reminded me of Hale Hospital where the peacocks used to roam around. She said that she doesn't remember the peacocks being there - at Hale Hospital, not the Ranch, of course.

Well, we are off to go swimming.

Yes, Catherine, I think the photo of Velma Teague photo was from the city site somewhere - I looked it up on Google Images. Roberta didn't really recognize it, but (a) Roberta doesn't recognize many libraries and (b) I must say the photo doesn't scream "Velma Teague" even to me.

Well, we went to church somewhere east of here at some United Methodist Church. Oh, met Roberta's handyman earlier today. We got talking and I found it he grew up in Newark. He knows where Church Street is and Park National Bank and everything. His name was Bob B . . . something. He didn't know any Ashcrafts, so he must not know many people in Newark.

Well, Roberta will be out momentarily with her bathing suit on and we're not on Joe time.

Glendale without Serena

Glad to read Serena's long post complete with pictures. Glad at least one of us is posting regularly -- Thanks, Serena! Had a busier day at the Main Library today after yesterday's shift at Velma Teague. Made me glad (again) that I didn't get that manager job down there two years ago. Of course if I had I'm sure I would be telling you how glad I am to be there. I can remember being told as a child to "hope for the best, expect the worst, and make the best of whatever happens" and that is a good saying to live by in my opinion! Thanks, Mom & Dad!

Shopping, shoes, libraries, books and other stops in the desert



Roberta, Sid, Pam and I went shopping this morning. We hit about 6-7 shops. I got quite a few things - a Lands End dress, a shirt, pair of slacks and FIVE pairs of shoes - including three pairs of SAS shoes. I spent a total of about $15.00 - of course - everything was bought at thrift shops. One of the best ones was one that Pam suggested - the Lutheran Thrift shop. One store had like 8-9 pairs of size 11 Narrow shoes - I might have bought all of them (at $.75 per pair), but some of them just didn't fit well enough . . . even at the price. As Roberta said, "Probably the same woman donated those shoes because she doesn't need them any more." Or more accurately, her surviving relatives probably donated them.

Then we headed back to Ballad Drive and had a meal of leftovers - Bacon and tomato sandwiches and lots of fruit, especially strawberries (from Costco).

Catherine and I had a nice day yesterday. We started out with a walk, of course. I got a slightly earlier start as I had wanted to do a stroll up (and back down) the stadium stairs - then Catherine and Gerry joined me and we walked through Glendale Community College and the Sahuaro Ranch. Of course because of the time of day those roosters are all crowing like crazy - and there are a lot of them. I'd like to tape them to send to Mary Virginia so that she can use it for Miss Ginny as a reveille. Anyway, then we walked south and around and eventually ended up back on 63rd Drive.

Catherine and I went to Velma Teague Branch Library in the afternoon as she was filling in there. The branch is certainly much smaller than Main where Catherine normally works, but quite busy. I did find quite a few books to check out.



Oh, after Roberta and Sid picked me up last evening we went, among other places to In-N-Out - a place I had heard recommended by, among other people, Julia Child. It was quite interesting - they have a very simple menu, but they really had the business last night. Very different from




the delicious ethnic and vegan food at Catherine and Gerry's, but delicious in its own way. I made do this morning with raw oats, Cheerios and strawberries - didn't have all the whole grains, nuts, berries, green tea and twigs that I have when Catherine fixes me a copy of her breakfast. Whenever a food calls for more than about five ingredients, it is just too confusing and I simplify.

Oh, speaking of confusing. We went to Costco last night. I have looked at yeast in all the grocery stores and it has been outrageously expensive. Like, $7.95 for 8 oz or $2.75 for those three tiny little packet deals. Finally bought it at Costco for $3.75ish . . . for 2 pounds. That doesn't make sense to me, but anyway, guess I better bake some bread soon.


Items from Uible photo album