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.

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.

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, 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!

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!

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.

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.

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.)

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

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."

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.

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!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

C. J. Uible July 27, 1939

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.

news on Aunt Mary?

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

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.

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

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?

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?)

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!

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!

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.