Christmas 2009

I love this picture like so many others I've taken of Aiden, he's really a photogenic little person who seems to express pure joy with just a smile. This year he really enjoyed Christmas. Santa (his Uncle Colin) managed to surprise him in the living room when he came home from Grammy Jean's house on Christmas Eve. Then, Santa visited again on Christmas morning. Aiden was a very busy guy opening numerous gifts from friends and family; some were toys but most were educational in some fashion or other. He especially liked Papaw's train (Thomas!).

I worked on Christmas Day and it was uneventful. I didn't get to enjoy Christmas morning but Matt and Ciara made a video that I'll get to watch. Christmas evening the adults opened their presents and Matt finally got the gift I'd been taunting him with (a "fire piston"). Aiden and Colin gave Linda and I a GPS for the car; a gift that Linda is sure to enjoy!

Saturday evening we had an "open house" type dinner party with a few neighbors and lots and lots of food and drink. It too turned out well.

Overall the whole week was a lot of fun and we managed to get some things done in the house and kitchen with Matt's help. New lighting and mounting of the flat screen TV over the fireplace. We even managed to get Aiden out to the "Festival of Lights."
I really like this family picture of Matt, Ciara and Aiden.

Let's Try to Get Up to Speed

Many events have occurred in the past 60 days so let's see if we can make note:

Ciara and Linda put a baby shower together for Rieko and Ian the first week of November. It was the first time since last June that the entire family had gotten together and we took a few pictures. The two posted above were the best ones. I can't resist posting pictures of Aiden and the most recent one of the little devil is great.

Thanksgiving was spent in Charlotte with Matt's family. He had is brother John and wife Kelly and their 3 children; Uncle Jim and Aunt Sandy with 4 of their children; Uncle Joe and his two children as well as Linda and I. Neighbors Vicki, Wade and Madison joined in for the fun. I'd like to say the weather was nice but, sad to say, it was pretty ugly most of the time although Thanksgiving day was nice. Frozen tag was the game of the day by most of the kids (and some of the more adventurous "older" kids....Matt, Wade and John). It was a lot of fun seeing how close everyone is despite only getting together at Thanksgiving for an early Christmas celebration. Linda and I really enjoyed ourselves.

The following week was spent working in the house. Linda and I plastered and painted, moved kitchen cabinets and rearranged the furniture many many times. I think we've finally figured things out and we're pretty happy with the result. We hope to be ready for installation of our hardwood floors come the first part of 2010.

That sounds strange: 2010. The first decade of the 2000s is almost gone and we're about to start the second, WOW!

Buzzy the Mechanic

I love this picture! The sheer joy on Aiden's face is almost iconic. But it also shows him doing something he truly loves: working with his dad. Aiden has demonstrated an uncanny mechanical ability that mimics his dad and Matt is the best teacher he could have. Matt is gentle, encouraging and incredibly patient with a rambunctious little boy who really wants to get his hands dirty and in a hurry!

In this picture he's working on their newest project a beat-up and misused motorcycle they hope to refurbish and sell. They're also working on a couple of "go-carts" that I'm sure Aiden will be driving by this time next year. That's after he masters the lawn tractor and tiller dad's just repaired!

Check out the greasy rag in the back pocket!

Mid October Saturday Morning

Hi Everyone,

It's a gorgeous Saturday morning. Cold and crisp; perfect October weather. It's the first time the sun has decided to show itself for days. It's 38. The weather person said that it was supposed to be cold, overcast and perhaps rainy today. Maybe they lied! Hope springs eternal.

We have 16 trees in our yard. Most of them have already shed their clothes and stand naked to the wind. But, I have two pin oaks that are now a deep maroon, a sweetgum that is turning red (it's usually bright yellow) and two varieties of maple that are starting to turn red also. The blackgums are naked but their leaves were fire red; I can only imagine what a mature tree would have looked like.

We visited Ian and Rieko in Little Rock the first weekend of the month and had a great visit. Their house is situated in a neighborhood of spectacular oak trees and other hardwood varieties interspersed with tall pine trees. The houses are small, big and in between. Some are enormous, the variety keeps you turning your head. I don't know why but the hilly terrain really took Linda and I by surprise. For some reason we just didn't expect that. The most appealling part of their neighborhood is that it was a true neighborhood of small shops and restaurants all within walking distance. The weather on Saturday was cool and very sunny. We shopped at their local farmers' market after pastries and coffee at a local bakery. Later we visited the Clinton Library downtown and then went to the Flying Saucer for beers and lunch. We couldn't have had a better afternoon. Linda and I took Ian and Rieko to a Greek restaurant in their neighborhood to celebrate Rieko's Birthday and their upcoming Anniversary. The best part was that we were able to walk to and from the restaurant! Sunday was just the opposite. Cold, overcast and rainy but dinner at their house was super. Rieko and Ian are terrific cooks.

Just a note on the drive. It's long. We're pretty use to the 500 miles and 8 hours it takes to get to Matt and Ciara's place in Charlotte but the extra 150 miles to Little Rock and additional 2 hours seems to take forever. We did have a nice drive through Western Kentucky and on the drive home saw a Bald Eagle in the Land between the Lakes area.

More later....

Buzzy Has A Cat

Homer came to the house with Buzzy on Saturday afternoon. Actually Ciara and Matt named the cat "Princess." It's not a kitten. I don't know how old it is but it has lots of fur and its a dirty gray and white. Aiden likes her.

I get ahead of myself.

Friday Aiden went to the zoo. He saw the baby Zebra, elephants, giraffes and polar bears. The rattlesnakes in the Manatee House were pretty active which he enjoyed and he got to touch a large boa constrictor (with his index finger). That was a pretty big leap of faith.

Saturday he visited Grandma Jean and got the aforementioned cat! Did I mention that Linda doesn't like housepets and especially cats?

Colin came by the house Saturday night for dinner. Of course he loves cats and wanted to take 'Princess' home with him. Aaron and Charie joined us and I cooked a boneless pork roast on the grill. It was slow roasted and really turned out well. Corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes and cole slaw finished things out. There was lots of beer, of course.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. Ciara, Matt and Aiden visited friends in Bellevue and watched the summer ending fireworks from there. I guess they got home around 22:40 or so. Linda, Charie and I went to Five Guys for burgers and fries then we watched a DVD. I guess we went to bed around 23:20 or so and Aiden decided he didn't want to sleep and got me up before I even had a chance to go to sleep. He ended up sleeping with me and Linda slept in his bed. He sleeps on top of you even in a King size bed!

I had another surprise later in the night when I rolled over and found 'Princess' the Cat curled up asleep on my pillow; nothing like a face full of fur at 02:03 in the morning! I scooped her up and took her to the basement. The only good thing was that Linda didn't enjoy that experience!

Sorry to say that this morning was sad because Buzzy left but he'll be back in a couple of weeks for a wedding. It was a truly great weekend just too short.

It was a great running weekend also. None on 1:30 minutes on Friday, Saturday was free, 1:13 minutes on Sunday and another 1:30 minutes today.

It's a Girl

Ian and Rieko are expecting a girl. So sometime in late January we'll welcome a granddaughter to the family!

Buzzy in the House

Matt, Ciara and Aiden arrived from Charlotte late last night for the long Labor Day weekend. This morning Aiden awakened papaw at the crack of dawn (06:30) and was ready to play. We hope to get to the zoo later this morning. Aiden wants to see the elephants and polar bears and crocodiles. And so it goes. On our last visit his daddy got bitten by a lorakeet that tore off part of his cuticle on a finger. It was pretty funny to Aiden and I! He says he wants to increase his insurance before he returns.

I ran yesterday at EI. I thought it would be a good run but it turned into a slog. I think there were several reasons for this. First, it was very warm and dry. The sun was shining ant I think it pushed the temps up into the mid 80's with very low humidity. Second, it was midday and I always seem to have a better run the earlier I get started. Finally, I just didn't have it in for a long run mentally, I just wasn't in to it. Perhaps I'll get something together later in the weekend. Ended up running the intermediate trail and loop 1 for about 54 minutes.

I love this picture of Aiden running. Check out how the photographer caught him completely in the air!