Photos from the Big 85th Birthday Party

And an extra one that was taken at Morgans' house.

The reason for the problem pictures is more complicated than it is worth explaining.

What do you mean I have to go outside? - It is below 72 degrees.

Possibly the last time Jean Wallace Ballantyne Uible was photographed in the snow.

Time flies

The 53 Places to Go in 2008

Check out #14 - it scored higher than Detroit! Link is in the title and here.

Today's Arizona Republican paper

Roberta, did you see the review of Line Thai? It was an okay review.

There was also an article about today being the 5th anniversary of the NW library branch in Surprise.

New Jeans

I bought some new blue jeans (7 for all Mankind brand) today - they look sorta like the jeans below - except the pockets have a much more intricate design. The below are available at Nordstrom's for $246.

Mine were considerably cheaper and bought at the new Surprise Goodwill. Although I susupect that mine are not this year's style.

Newest links on the right

Please note the newest links on the right - one to Catherine's photo gallery and one that will take you directly to KC's photos.

KC at his birthday party

These are two of my favorite photographs of the ones that Catherine sent, although the sleeping one was cute, too. These two photographs must have been taken after we left. He opened three presents, Wendy put him down to pick something up and the birthday boy fell asleep in the middle of his party.

Weather Forecast in Phoenix for December 11-12

I just checked the weather forecast for Phoenix area for December 11-12 - high around 74 degrees. For the same time period, southern Ohio forecast is for 29 to 40 degrees.

Grapefruit from the backyard

I was talking to the next door neighbor and he mentioned that he hoped that I didn't mind that they had taken some grapefruit. I said, "Oh, they're ripe? You're certainly welcome to them." He said the grapefruit from their tree is not yet ripe, but that we'll be welcome to have some of that.

By the way, MV, it is a pink grapefruit tree and, fortunately, the fruit seems a lot sweeter than I remember - although still not quite as I would like - although now edible out of hand.

The photograph was taken on the back porch on the seat of the exercycle.

Christmas Cards

Mary, we got your Christmas greetings today. Great pictures! Thanks. It has gotten cold here -- in the 40s -- and some people, including Wendy, have their decorations up. Personally, I'm not in the mood.

Book choices

Sometimes I like to read holiday books this time of year, but don't think that will be the case this year as I have too many other ongoing book reading projects -- see list below. Anybody else got any good books in process?

• Faulkner -- on #3
  
• Patrick O'Brian's Master & Commander Series -- on #4
• Guardians of Ga'Hoole - a youth animal fantasy series -- on #5
  
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
  
• an occasional adult non-fiction -- just finished a biography called Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat about Haiti, very moving
  
• an online youth fantasy book discussion group

Grapefruit and Orange Trees in the yard

Above are photographs of the orange and grapefruit trees in the yard. The grapefruit are on the bottom and the orange tree is on the top (obviously). None of them are near ripe yet.

Thanksgiving meal

I've got about six loaves of bread rising - two Healthy Bread Kids Will Like, two Holiday Pumpkin Bread and Challah. I may offer some to Roberta to take to her gathering, if she wants.

Pat is coming over about noon with a salad and then shortly thereafter, Catherine and Gerry and we leave for Ken's family's house.

MARIE SIMPKINS

Reading Level

Skip the turkey - eat fruit

Being a lover of fruit, as well as anything related to the WPA, this caught my eye today. Hope you all will be eating fruit as well as turkey on Thursday! Here's a blurb about the poster:

According to Fruit From Washington:

The Federal Art Project sponsored by the Work Projects Administration produced color silkscreened prints on posterboard which have been collected by the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division."

War genre, patriotic posters have an important place in our cultural and social history. Here are a few examples on an agricultural theme that FruitFromWashington has gleaned from the National Archives.

Sid and Roberta cycling on Alta Loma

Well, actually, they are only sitting in the driveway in these photographs, but they did cycle over and back, I assume.

Thanksgivings past

While waiting for Roberta's Ireland post, and thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, here's a few unrelated Thanksgiving thoughts:

• Our reunion in 2004 (?) in Newark to see Kate in the Nutcracker
• The successes and occasional meltdowns of Thanksgiving dinner preparations
• The parade of guests through the New Vienna dining room -- Eloise Simpkins, and Miss Letty being two I remember well. Help me think of others....
• Grandma & Granddad's leaving for Florida right after Thanksgiving (or did they go before that?) I know they often came home on/around Easter.

Roberta

No newsy post about Ireland yet? Is Roberta not feeling well? Perhaps she overdosed on ice cream last night and couldn't write?

Back in Dublin

Hello, we walked and walked this afternoon after arriving here from Limerick. I want to remember some of the limericks we were told. It is getting cooler here, but still I cannot see my breath. I am checking though. Had a seafood chowder tonight, but the bread was the best part of the meal. I don't drink in the restaurants, the tea was $2.75 euro so I drink the free stuff in the room. More later, this is costing me. Hope this finds everyone doing well...... Roberta the walker and Serena the editor

Veteran's Day (Observed) 2007

The veteran in our family -- Gerry -- spent part of his day helping Wendy do some odds and ends around her house, with the side benefit of being able to spend time with Wendy & KC. There's a stand-up toy that KC can push and walk behind. He walks quite quickly in short spurts as he can only go in a straight line and then has to be re-aimed in a different direction. The other cute thing he is doing now is walking in place, almost more of a march, while holding on to the furniture. They have winter grass (rye) planted in their back yard which is nice and green and also a new picket fence around the patio part of their back yard so the dogs can be contained on one side of the yard of the other. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside with KC in his high chair and fed him his banana and apple babyfood. He now also eats small amounts of regular food like cereal, rice, bean burrito, squash.

checking in from IRELAND

Did this work? I can't seem to get the caps right. More later. Will hope to check tomorrow. I am fine. No rain yet. I want to keep carrying my umbrella that I got when Grandma and I did the Mississippi River trip in 1980 something.

Roberta (this cost me 2 euro for one hour on slow computer down the street from hotel. At the hotel it is 2 euro for 20 minutes.)


Above is slightly edited version. Below is Roberta's original:
dID THIS WORK? i CAN'T SEEM TO GET THE CAPS RIGHT. mORE LATER. wILL HOPE TO CHECK TOMORROW.....i AM FINE, NO RAIN YET. i WANT TO KEEP CARRYING MY UMBRELLA THAT i GOT WHEN gRANDMA AND \I DID THE mISSISSIPPI RIVER TRIP IN 1980 SOMETHING. rOBERTA (THIS COST ME TWO EURO FOR ONE HOUR ON SLOW COMPUTER DOWN THE STREET FORM HOTEL. THERE IS WAS 2 EURO FOR 20 MINUTES.


edit added much later: According to Google,

2 Euros = 2.9396 U.S. dollars

Harold Uible Pillar of Republican Party

Uible honored as pillar of Republican Party
Harold H. Uible, left, was presented a plaque by Roger Bennett, right, former executive chair of the Clinton County Republican Party. Larry Droesch, current party chair, is in center.

ROSE COOPER County Editor
A long-time pillar of the Clinton County Republican Party, Harold H. Uible, was honored at the Central Committee’s annual beef roast Monday night at the Wilmington Savings Bank/Clinton County Senior Center.
“We want to take the opportunity to thank you and those individuals in the county who have made contributions over their lifetime and made an impact on the Clinton County Republican Party,” said Larry Droesch, executive chair of the party.
Clinton County Republicans have had some tough times and have had ups and downs, Droesch said. “We’re still powerful and we still make a difference. We’re well-known all over the state for being a very good and powerful Republican county.”
Roger Bennett, immediate past executive chairman of the party, presented Uible with a plaque. “It is an honor to have Harold H. Uible here,” Bennett said. “I’ve worked with him. He’s been a first-class individual.”
After the presentation, Uible said it was some 50 years ago when he became a Central Committee member. “That was one of the best things I ever did. The party has done much more for me than I will ever be able to do for the party.”
He called the Central Committee “the key to a grassroots organization.”
Also attending the dinner was Uible’s wife Jean, and two of their five children, John Uible and his wife Julie of Newark, and Mary Uible Crowson of Dublin, Ga. Their other children are Catherine Morgan of Glendale, Ariz., and Roberta King and Serena Uible, both of Sun City West, Ariz. Also seated at the family table was GG Walker who has worked for Uible for many years.

Jean Uible Honored

Long-time members recognized, new board sworn in at CMH Foundation Auxiliary general fall meeting
WILMINGTON — Thirty members of the CMH Foundation Auxiliary were recognized for 10 years of service or more and new officers were sworn in when the CMH Foundation Auxiliary held its fall general dinner meeting recently at the Wilmington Presbyterian Church.
Auxiliary membership co-chair Joanne Chamberlin named the 30 members who had earned service awards and helped recognize those in attendance with a pin and flower with the assistance of Betty Rice and Janet Perkins. Those with 25 or more years of service are Margaret Briggs, Georgia Chaney, Helen Conner, Virginia McGuire, Mary Jean Patton, Thelma Settlemyre, Rosalie Smith, Jean Uible, and Barbara Vance.
Those with 15 to 25 years of service are Lois Allen, Esther Combs, Doris Conley, Marie Cowman, Wilma Croghan, Grace Fite, Bertha Hadley, Dorothy J. Hayes, Ruth MacDonald, Jo Miller and Betty Rice.Kruszka presented Rice with a special gift from the auxiliary in appreciation of her dedication and leadership to the organization during her presidency.

Traveling around

Thought I'd better post something about our trip before Roberta takes off for her more distant destination. We did indeed have an excellent time -- enjoying Birmingham, Memphis, and our stops in between, being Tupelo, where we spent the night, and Oxford, where we walked the square and then toured William Faulkner's home.His novels are almost all set in the fictional town of Jefferson based on Oxford.

Our three days in Memphis included tours of music studios where Elvis (and many others) first recorded, and listening to some good music in the evenings in places with names like the Rum Boogie Cafe, Club 152, and BB King's Blues Cafe. We did NOT go to Graceland. We walked along the river and saw the ducks at theh Peabody Hotel.Other than raining the whole time we were in Tennessee and during our accidental side trip to Arkansas which resulted from trying to follow internet directions to get to our hotel, the music/tourist scene seemed "hopping". Beale Street reminded us of New Orleans.

The highlight in Birmingham was unexpectedly the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame where we paid a dollar extra ($3 instead of $2) for a personalized tour. Our tour guide was himself a member of the Jazz Hall of Fame, Frank "Doc" Adams, who told personal stories about the music scene in the south during the 30s and 40s and the impact of his High School music teacher, Professor "Fess" Whatley at the then all black high school in Birmingham, who instilled a sense of perfection and professionalism in his students and had I don't know how many go on to musical careers. "Doc" (he got his doctorate in music) played with the Duke Ellington band. He played clarinet for us. In this picture he is playing for the Ambassador from Hungary with a picture of "Fess" Whatley in the background.

KC at not quite 11 months

KC at dinner at Rosie's Italian Restaurant in Sun City West - right off of Meeker on Camino del Sol. Photograph was taken by Pat Odom.

Javelina Pig

In case anyone was curious about what the javelina pigs looked like that Sid mentioned in last night's email. Perhaps Roberta should capture a few and then freeze the meat for when MV arrives. Here are some recipes. By the way, the night you're cooking or eating javelina, I'm busy. If Roberta is doing the cooking, I'm really busy. If you're interested in more information about the lovely animals try Wikipedia.

Remember the pig roast at Cris's wedding?

Surfing while Bicycling

Saying I recently heard and the weather

"You can write it on a block of ice." Sounds like something Grandma would have said. I remember her telling us about ice being delivered, etc.

When I first got on the computer this morning - about 45 minutes ago - it was about the same temperature in New Vienna and Sun City West. Although projected high today for New Vienna is 66, projected high for Sun City West is 93.

Ginny in Steel Magnolias

Ginny finishes her second show in two weeks tonight---Last week they presented Disney's "High School Musical" but I think she enjoyed Steel Magnolias more. Wish you all could have seen it! :)

Ginny singing solo 10/21/07

A Cake for the Crowsons

The link is in the title or here.

Paradise Bakery and Sun City history

Roberta wasn't feeling well last night so Sharon, Sid and I went to Paradise Bakery. The food was very good - I had a half of a vegetarian sandwich (Roasted Portobello mushrooms, red pepper hummus, jicama, avocado and Havarti cheese, sprouts, lettuce and tomato on multigrain bread) and a cup of fire-roasted tomato soup. Food was quite good. We think that Mom and Dad would quite like it - the one we went to is over near Sprout's on Bell Road. I'm relatively sure I've been to a Paradise Bakery before, Gerry said it wasn't with them.

Internet connection was down last night for some reason, but seems to be up and running this morning.

Sharon and I went to see the first Sun City house/museum yesterday - it was a big step back in time - early 60s. The house's original price was $8500 - two bedrooms, one bathroom - fairly small, but the kitchen was, relatively speaking, a good size. The house, particularly the kitchen and the bathroom had a lot of pink in them. Originally, air conditioning was an extra $600. Might be a nice little stop from Mom and Dad when they are out here - they're open 1:30-4 Tuesday through Friday, I think. Also, a number of maps of the Sun City/Sun City West areas back in the 60s.

The latest from CNN, but did you all see the news about Medtronic and think of SID?

June 26, 2007 -- NANCY Grace is revealing that she was secretly married in April-and that she's expecting twins in January.
"I'm finally not keeping it a secret anymore," she told The Post.
Grace says she still hasn't told CNN that she's pregnant. She'll officially make the announcement tonight on her Headline News show, "Nancy Grace."
Grace married David Linch -an Atlanta investment banker she has known since they attended Mercer College together in the late 1970s.
"We've been in touch all these years and a lot of time we were separated by geography and time," she says. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married. I told my family only two days before [the wedding].
"We got married in April in Atlanta with just my family and his family there," she says. "It was a simple ceremony conducted by my longtime pastor from a little Methodist church in Macon.
"I walked down the aisle to my favorite song, 'Moon River,' and I did my own vows. I read from the Book of Ruth and I wore my sister's bridal veil.
"I never thought it would happen like this," she says. "I thought 'mother' and 'wife' was just not part of God's plan for me.
"This is such a blessing, and I just can't believe that, at my age, I would find such happiness."
She declined to say if she'd had fertility treatments in order to become pregnant at age 47.
"But you tell women out there that there is hope," she said.
Time will tell if motherhood and marriage mellows the cable news channel host's pit-bull disposition.
But her personal news does answer questions that arose when she left Court TV last month.
"I knew something had to go, and that [something] was Court TV," she says. "I was firm that I wanted out of my option, but I didn't reveal that I was carrying twins."
So how does Grace think CNN will react to the news? "They'll be thrilled," she says. "I don't think they'll be angry at all."

Waking up time

IT appears some folks are up before I am for the day! Great pictures......thanks for posting! We are off for our favorite meal out, and then to buy a garbage disposal, I thought ours was just on strike, but even the repairman said it has died! More later of our exciting life! We were at Walmart yesterday, I still don't understand what the fellow in the WSJ was saying when he said people were staying away from Walmart because they were too crowded......Roberta the poster

Mom & Dad - June 2007

Carolyn (Vanzant) Brown sent me this picture which she says was taken at a graduation party for Jerica Keplinger. Great picture, lovely setting!

Among the animals

Wendy got a zoo membership for her birthday and has taken KC several times already. We went with her last Monday to celebrate Columbus Day. KC especially like patting the goat (pictured next to him, and one under the bench he and Wendy are sitting on also) in the petting area.

Only 3/4 school year remains

Glad to report that we have made it through the first 9 weeks and between the two kids only 1 B on the two report cards (I nearly flunked Chemistry so I can't say anything about a B in it!). Today is homecoming at school with the big football game tonight but no school sponsored dance. Does Grace Baptist (or whatever the school name is) have homecoming festivities?

Double Decker Chair in Black and White

Fat Cat and Skinny Cat do reside on Ballad Drive. This is one of their favorite chairs in that residence. I decided to make photo black and white since the chair and the decoration behind Fat Cat were the only really colorful places in the photo.

Libraries

I thought some of you might get a kick out of this Google maps mashup. It can display US public libraries on Google maps. You can check out where the libraries are near a particular zip code. Neither Sun City nor Sun City West libraries though are on the map.

It doesn't show academic libraries, so if one was looking for, say, University of Cincinnati library, one would have to ask Roberta - or a passing stranger.

Click on the title of this post to see the libraries near 85375, including Catherine's. Northwest Regional is also on the map, but as a central library. Has anybody been to Peoria (AZ) library?

By the way, you don't have to know the zip code, you can just move the map around until you get to the area in which you are interested.

Fat Cat and Skinny Cat

Fat Cat is photographed under the front lanai table. She loves being outside. I had an even better photograph of her last night sitting on one of the lanai chairs, but it was too dark to really see very much. Skinny Cat's photo is in the living room - the photo is compromised by the fact that that I had to lighten it so much due to not enough natural light. Skinny Cat does not like to go outside too often and when he does, he doesn't stay out very long. Perhaps I should learn to use the flash on the camera - assuming there is one.

I sent a copy of another of Fat Cat's photos to Pat to say "Hello" to Dinky.

Cool temperatures in SCW

Last night I actually closed the windows as the air was too cool - low 60s, I think.

With all the excitement of the big lunch out on Thursday at Persian Garden, I forgot to ask Catherine about the big San Diego trip. By the way, Pat called to tell me she had a wonderful time.

Busy day in Glendale

A parade and carnival in downtown Glendale today in honor of fire prevention week and a Family Fitness Fair at the library are among the happenings in Glendale today. We're also busy at work processing first grade library cards for our annual push to get all first graders a special Ready Set Read library card which enables them to get "prizes" the first three times they use their library card as well as follow up prizes at the end of first and second grade.

Hope family members on the road today have good journeys as the easterners head west and two of the SCW contingent head east. Looking forward to our vacation later this month!

Other family members' sayings

Do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on?

It is spelled like "Bible" - U-I-B-L-E, that's the name for me.

You're paying for colored water.

You only need to see the bill if you're paying it.

As they say, "You've got a great voice inside of you, 'cause it sure isn't coming out of your mouth."

Homework before TV

Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

You'll go and you will have a good time.

Say "MONEY" [as we looked into the camera].

Smell the money [as we passed "fragrant" farms].

Mother's favorite sayings

There's no point in crying over spilt milk. (Although one time when Roberta dropped a full glass gallon of milk, there did seem to be a point to yelling about it.)

Six of one and half a dozen of another.

Little pitchers have big ears. (Although for years I thought it was "pictures" which didn't make much sense.)

Wait until your father gets home.

Get the yardstick. (if you were in trouble) Go outside and get a stick. (if you were in bigger trouble) Go outside and get a big stick. (if you were in BIG trouble)

If it was a snake it would have bitten you.

If I told you once, I told you a thousand times.

If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all.

No elbows.

Aunt Cora is alive in you. (in reference to anyone who just plopped into a chair)

No boarding house reach.

What do you say? or What is the magic word? (if you failed to say "please")

It is before the at. (When you said "where is it at?")

If I wanted you to just yell for your siblings, I could have done that myself.

I know you CAN, the question is whether you MAY.

Salt of the earth.

The problem with kittens is that they grow up to be cats.

Smile like you mean it.