Fourth of July

It's a spectacular morning here in Independence, Kentucky. The sun's out, the skies are clear but you get the feeling it's going to get very, very warm. The humidity is creeping up and if we're really lucky we won't get any rain. That would be a nice change of pace.

Colin came out the house and joined Ciara, Matt and Aiden for a cookout. We had a dinner of mashed cauliflower, brocolli as a complement to pork spareribs, chops and t-bone steak. The pork was kind of tough but flavorful; the steak was marvelous. The real treat, however, was the Skype session after dinner with Ian, Rieko and Rosemary. They just returned from Japan. They're jetlagged and trying to get back on schedule. Rosemary is just beautiful and quite the showoff. She likes the attention.

Today we'll join the Muehlenkamp clan at Ryland Lakes C.C. for the annual 4th of July party. There will be 4 generations present with my mom and dad being the oldest, I guess, and Aiden probably the youngest.

Ciara and Matt plan on leaving for NC tomorrow and Buzzy will get to spend 2 weeks with Mimi and Papaw! He's excited right now; we'll see how he feels about that tomorrow morning when he realizes that mommy and daddy are leaving him here!

A Year 1/2 Over or is That Beginning

Ok, Ok.

I haven't posted in a looooong time but now I feel the need to restart. So...perhaps its fitting to begin in the middle and bring my "readers" up to date.

Ian and Rieko and daughter Rosemary are in Japan but should return to LittleRock this coming weekend. Ian will have a few days to recover from jetlag before returning to his old squadron and taking up a new assignment. I can't wait to see how big Rosemary's gotten. She's now what? 5 months old? She'll be walking and talking before we know it.

Colin's meter reading and losing weight. He looks great. School's going well. Let's hope he keeps it up.

Matt, Ciara and Aiden are planning a long weekend here in Independence and if all goes well Buzzy will spend two weeks with Mimi and Papaw.

My plan is to update my profile and blog and get things better together as the day and week gets on. Perhaps pictures too.

Finishing out a Year and a Decade

What a ride!

2009 has come and gone and the first decade of the 21st Century ends tonight. Wow!

I've been reflecting on the past 10 years. A lot has happened and it has really been kind of neat to think about it. When I look back perhaps the best is the arrival of Aiden so you can imagine how I'm looking forward to starting this new decade with the arrival of a Granddaughter next month.

Over the next couple of days maybe I'll post about some of the other things. I'm starting to keep a list because I really want to remember.

I've also started my running up again. I'd kind of gotten out of the habit. It feels good to get back on the roads and I'll get on the trails again soon enough. I'm going to figure out some goals for the year and look forward to perhaps doing the "pig." We'll see.

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....