Drawn like a moth to a flame.

I had this citronella candle burning while I sat on the patio under the party lights last night.  When I blew out the candle, I noticed the unfortunate moth.

While the kids were home in June, I asked them to go through some of our old photo albums to mark pictures they’d like to keep.  The plan is for me to scan the old photos and put them on a USB drive for each kid.

Going through the photos brought back lots of memories.  One of those memories was that Thom never liked to smile in pictures, as shown in the photos below from the 1994 album.

March 1994–my birthday.  Thom is thrilled to celebrate with me.  I baked my traditional Vienna Torte birthday cake.  Why is the shirt so big???

May 1994–ditto for Thom, except this time, it’s Kari’s 16th birthday.  Isn’t that a pretty princess cake I made for her?  The “16” doll on the left of the cake completed her baby-through-16 doll collection.

June 1994–Thom’s graduation.  It’s another happy day for him.  Does he have an acorn in his cheek?

2017–my birthday.  Thom is a much happier guy now.

 

I predict more photo memories coming up as I work my way through 12 albums.

In my recent Beach Boys post, I included this photo.

The big screen onstage showed 1960s video clips during the performance.  A vintage car was parked on the right side of the stage.

 

My brother, Tom, sent me an email with some information about the vintage car.  He said it wasn’t “a ’30 Ford wagon and we call it a woodie,” but might be a “Little deuce coupe / You don’t know what I got.”

Well said, Tom.

Tonight, Ted and I went out-of-state for an outdoor summer concert in Alton, IL.  The Beach Boys performed at the Liberty Bank Amphitheater on the east bank of the mighty Mississippi.  We made three major river crossings on our eastward route to arrive at the concert–twice across the Missouri because it flows north and then turns toward the south again, and once across the Mississippi.  After having beautiful summer evenings for all of our free concerts, we had drizzle on and off during this entire concert–the only one we paid for!

This is what the weather radar looked like when we arrived (left) and when the concert ended (right).  The red arrow indicates Alton, IL.  It was a damp evening.

 

I was hoping the concert would be postponed, but the amphitheater website said all concerts are rain or shine with absolutely no refunds or exchanges.  So there!  It rained more heavily in the afternoon, but decreased to intermittent drizzle during the evening.  Adding to the discomfort, the temperature was in the mid-60s all day and evening, although the normal high at this time of year is 89 degrees.  We put on jeans and long-sleeved shirts with our waterproof hiking shoes, gathered umbrellas and waterproof jackets and pants, then headed for Alton.

You’d never know it’s July in St. Louis by the way this crowd is dressed.

 

In spite of the weather, it’s summer (at least on the calendar) and the Beach Boys exemplify summer music, so here we are.

We’re in the right place–the big screen says “The Beach Boys.”

We were early enough to pick the best available lawn seats–where the hill was steep enough to see the band over the future umbrellas that would be in front of us.

That’s the Mississippi River in the background.  It flows west to east past Alton.

The big screen onstage showed 1960s video clips during the performance.  A vintage car (not a woodie) was parked on the right side of the stage.

As we looked around, Ted said the umbrellas reminded him of the Balloon Fiesta we attended in Albuquerque last October.  Compare and decide.

 

This Beach Boys tour is called “Now and Then” and features the 1960s Beach Boys’ music as well as their more current songs.  Mike Love is the only remaining member of the original Beach Boys performing with the group.  He should have quit a long time ago, because his voice is long gone and his range is minimal.  I’m not exaggerating when I say Ted would have done a better job singing the lyrics than Mike Love did–no insult intended toward Ted.  Mike’s son, Christian, is one of the vocalists, and he sounded good when they let him sing lead on one song.  They should have let him sing lead for the entire concert.

The band started playing together in 1961.  When Ted and I heard they’re still going strong after more than 50 years, we looked at each other and said, “They’re still working?”

Presentiinnngggg The Beach Boys!  Does it feel weird to still be a “boy” after 57 years?

That’s Mike Love in the center (vest) and Christian Love on the right (white jacket).

A few brave people were dressed in colorful beachwear (not swimsuits tonight), but most were bundled up.  There were at least a half dozen beach balls bobbing around all evening.

 

The weather was crummy, but the concert was good, and the beat is still that familiar Beach Boys’ summer sound.  Prior to and following tonight’s performance, a mix tape of 60s songs was playing.  As we left the amphitheater, the song we heard was “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”  The concert was good and so was the hot shower when we got home.

Tonight, Ted and I went to the free concert at Chesterfield Amphitheater to hear Dogs of Society, an Elton John tribute band.  (“So goodbye, yellow brick road / Where the dogs of society howl. . .”)  They.  Were.  Great.

This is from the band’s website, and that’s exactly what I said to Ted after the concert and before I even looked at the website.

As we headed for the concert, the weather radar looked like this.  The rain went just northeast of Chesterfield.  Whew!

Tonight was our first visit to this venue.  It was really nice.  We sat in the center front section on the fixed chairs, although we had our lawn chairs with us, just in case the limited number of fixed chairs was filled.

As we’ve seen at the other summer concerts, security was tight.  (Or at least present.)

Unfortunately, the warm-up act was “special guest” Ricky Kiel.  These guys need a lot more warming up themselves before they can be “special.”  I don’t think anyone (except their attending family members, if any) paid attention to them during the 30 minutes they played.

If the start of the dancing indicates the quality of the band (see my “Music at the Meadows” and “Music on Main” posts), Dogs of Society wins.  This guy was ready to dance 30 minutes before the concert began.

. . . And then Dogs of Society came onstage.  They played nonstop Elton John music for 2.5 hours!

 

When Jeff was still living at home, I remember having a discussion with him about how many notes it takes to recognize a song.  (Think Name That Tune.)  I said I can name some songs after one note, but Jeff insisted that was impossible.  To give him the benefit of the doubt, he was younger then, so maybe he didn’t know as many songs or hadn’t heard them often enough to recognize them that quickly.  I can recognize quite a few songs by the opening chord, and I’m not the only one who can do that.  Dogs of Society played the single opening note of “Bennie and the Jets” and then just waited for the applause to die down, because the entire crowd knew which song was coming next.

“Sir Elton” claimed he only wears this jacket when he plays Elton John’s music.

This couple wore their E.J.-style eyewear.

People started dancing during the first song, but when “Crocodile Rock” and “Saturday Night’s Alright” came up, there were so many dancers, there wasn’t room to do anything except bounce in place.  Before starting “Pinball Wizard,” the band members sent four silver beach balls into the crowd to mingle with the other beach balls already going around.  One is in the upper center of the photo.

 

What a concert!  Ted and I wanted to hear Elton John in Las Vegas last fall, but he wasn’t in town on the same days we were.  This concert was definitely the next best thing–and it was free, not $400+ per ticket for the cheap seats in Vegas.  Seriously, I think Dogs of Society could play Las Vegas.  Another great evening of summer music and the best so far!

Tonight’s free summer concert was at The Meadows, an outdoor shopping mall in Lake St. Louis.  Ted and I invited our friends, Mike and Liz, to join us and the four of us had a good time together.

The  venue was the center circle of the mall, which features a clock tower and several sculptures of cattails.

Because of the plantings around the circle, it was hard to get a good crowd shot.  The food trucks were behind the cattail sculpture in the left center and that entire street (about a block long), plus part of the street on the right were filled with people in lawn chairs.

 

Music was provided by Vote 4 Pedro, described on their Facebook page as “a St. Louis wedding band.”  Here’s what V4P has to say about themselves.  Don’t you think they ought to stick with one way to spell the name of their group?

 

Here’s the band.  None of the musicians is named Pedro.

 

They were good!  The only down time between songs was the girl singer saying “Thank you, Lake St. Louis,” before she moved into the next song, apparently without taking a breath.  Evidence of their good beat was that people started dancing on the first song, unlike Music on Main when it took an hour and half of the two-hour concert to get people dancing.

This guy started dancing when the first note was played, and he never missed a song for the entire two hours.  This is pretty much his only dance move, unless you count doing the same thing with his other foot.  He had energy, though, and smiled all the while he danced.

Raise your hand if you see a resemblance between Fletch (Chevy Chase) and Dancer Guy (above).

This little girl lip synced every song and really had some good dance moves.

We sat beside a family of 15 who brought dinner for everyone in their group.

The “dance floor” went about one-third of the way around the circle–wherever there wasn’t a lawn chair–because so many people were dancing.

 

It was another good night of summer music.  Next concert:  Saturday night.  Tune in for the update.

Ted and I think we might be living in a haunted house.  The plastic mat inside the front door has been moved twice recently and neither of us moved it.  The first time was a surprise, but having it happen twice is just weird.

This is how we noticed the plastic mat today–nicely centered in front of the door.

This is where we’ve had the mat for nearly 20 years–to the left of the door.  The teeth on the underside of the mat keep it from sliding across the carpet, so it stays nicely in place.

When we moved the mat from the center to the left, “holes” from its center placement were evident in the carpet.  None showed from moving the mat to the center.

The mat looks nice from indoors when it’s centered on the door, but it’s more useful to the left of the door when people enter the house.

 

Questions:  How/who moved our door mat twice?  Is our house haunted?  If so, do we have an anal-retentive ghost who is fixated on centered doormats?  Inquiring minds want to know.

As an Elvis fan, I find it hard (impossible?) to resist current movies about Elvis.  Now that you know that, you also know it was a given that Ted and I would see The King.

 

Even as an Elvis fan, I’d have to say it’s a (long) reach to use Elvis’ life as a metaphor for the changes in the United States over the past 82 years (Elvis Presley:  1935-1977).  Still, there were a number of good points made in the movie.  Some that I’m still thinking about are:

Point 1:  The United States is the only country that includes the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right (cf the Declaration of Independence).

Point 2:  Elvis epitomized The American Dream as it used to be:  a poor boy who made good.  It’s almost impossible to believe in that American Dream now, with an obscenely large amount of wealth distributed among an obscenely small number of people.

Point 3:  The U.S. is an empire.  We cannot call ourselves anything but an empire when we count the number of countries in which we control property for our military bases.  Nor can we defend policing other countries and/or waging wars in other countries in the name of spreading democracy unless we identify our country as an empire.

Point 4:  Any country in which political office can be bought is not a democracy.  Today’s super PACs assure that political offices are paid for by special interests to assure that our non-democracy is governed to favor those special interest groups.

My review of the movie:  It was fun to see all the clips about Elvis from his birth to his death.  The cameo comments about Elvis and about the United States from a variety of people were interesting and thought-provoking.  Most surprising of all, I have to revise my stereotypical opinion of rappers.  Chuck D of Public Enemy played a large role in the movie, commenting on the state of America.  He made me want to sit down and talk with him about his opinions.

After all that serious content and a stunning performance of Unchained Melody by Elvis, recorded live just two months before he died, Ted and I needed to lighten up.  So we went to see another movie.

 

Yes, the plot was as thin as the blurb above indicates, but it was a musical and that’s what we’d expected.

Important points made in the movie:  none.

ABBA music in the movie:  great.

Happiness factor at the end of the movie:  high.

To cap off an enjoyable day, Ted and I went out to dinner.  Aaahhh, life in retirement is good.

My aunt Ruth forwarded one of those internet emails filled with religious cartoons.  I don’t usually read that kind of email, but I caved on this one and the cartoons were pretty funny.  These were my favorites.

Tonight’s summer outdoor concert was in historic downtown St. Charles and featured Serapis, a St. Charles garage band.  They really started in a garage more than 30 years ago and bill themselves as a “classic American band.”  Wikipedia told me the cult of Serapis was introduced during the third century B.C. on the orders of Pharaoh Ptolemy I as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm.  I doubt if the band is a cult trying to unify the people.  I think in this case it means “old guys with guitars, drums, and a keyboard.”

The music included rock, blues, reggae, and cover hits and was really nice.  Because St. Charles has noise ordinances, they could only play the music loud, not at ear-splitting levels.   Personally, I liked it better than the tremor-inducing volume of Superjam last week.  The weather was beautiful for outdoor music, and the music was good, with lots of variety among the band’s different musical genres.  It was another wonderful summer evening with Ted.

This.  Is.  Serapis.  Look behind the guitarist on the right to check out the drummer’s beard.  It was more than halfway to his waist.

Two blocks of the street were closed to traffic and the entire space was filled with people–a good crowd.

At a street concert, this is what front-row seating looks like–footrest included.

Security was pretty casual.  The horse on the right probably had to rest his feet and his back after the concert.

The restroom sign pointed to the next block.  Ted thought that might mean “use the river” which borders the next block.

During the band’s break, it was time for the groupies to chat with the band members.  This is a St. Charles band–they probably all went to school together, and the band probably plays at every class reunion.

It took an hour and a half of the two-hour concert for the band (or the beer) to loosen up the crowd enough to start dancing.

When that wooden suitcase-type thing was open, it was a small picnic table with four attached seats.  Cool!

After the concert, Ted and I went out for dinner and had another summertime favorite for dessert:  Fritz’s ice cream.  Ted splurged on a banana split.

Thom and Katie are preparing to start their own business.  Thom’s last day at REI was July 3.  Katie continues to work at REI while Thom writes their business curriculum and makes other preparations to begin their new venture.  Thom’s Facebook posts tell the ending of his REI story and the beginning of his and Katie’s Ascend Leadership story.

Good luck, Thom and Katie!  Dad and I are very proud of what you’ve done and what you’re preparing to accomplish.

Dylan’s golden birthday fell on Friday the 13th this year, but I don’t think his 13th birthday was an unlucky day for him.  He chose Chinese food for his dinner and chocolate ice cream cake for his birthday cake/dessert.  He also received some very nice birthday gifts.

Dylan wasn’t the only one to receive a gift.  Dean was shopping and found a new pig for pig-loving Teddy.  The pig is soft (it even feels sort of “pig-like”) and, fortunately for a pre-teen boy, it’s squeezable with a small hole under its tail for the air to whoosh out.  This little feature was a source of delight for quite awhile for Teddy.

 

But back to Dylan . . . .  At a flea market, Dean found a perfect storage box for Dylan.  It was in bad shape, but Dean refinished it and then stocked it with goodies before giving it to Dylan.

 

Here’s Dylan with all of his gifts on display.  He wanted a compass and binoculars, so Ted and I gave him both.  He plans to use them on family hikes, but I bet he’ll also find other things that are interesting to spy on with binoculars.

 

After all the gifts were opened, it was time for ice cream cake, the birthday song, and blowing out the candles.  I hope Dylan gets his wish, whatever it was.  Happy 13th birthday to our sixth grandchild.

Ted and I decided to make this summer the year we attend outdoor concerts.  We’re off to a slow start because of my colonoscopy complications (including two flare-ups/setbacks after I came home from the hospital), but we finally attended our first summer concert this evening and have three more planned for July.  Tonight’s band was a local group from St. Charles:  Superjam.

Here’s the band in a promo photo.

 

This is the band’s mission statement (from their website).  Very lofty, very Rock with a capital R (see the first line), and complete with a spelling error in the second line.

Here’s Superjam at work, performing from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Streets of St. Charles complex.

The block-long street was filled with people walking around and sitting in lawn chairs.

To serve the crowd, restaurants in the complex served food and drinks from under tents set up along the sidewalks.

 

It was a beautiful summer evening, the music was loud and rocking, and the crowd was mellow.  (Don’t read anything into that–this is St. Charles, MO.)  Ted and I had a good time and went out for dinner afterwards.  Next outdoor concert:  “Music on Main” in downtown St. Charles July 18.

This was in the news today:

 

The U.S. State Department refused to answer a New York Times reporter’s questions, but an official statement from the Department of Health and Human Services said the resolution “placed unnecessary hurdles for mothers seeking to provide nutrition for their children.”

As Elvis said when a fan picked a piece of lint off his jacket and then wrapped it to save as a souvenir, “It never ceases to amaze me!”  For a variety of reasons, some mothers choose to use baby formula rather than breastfeeding, but how is it possible for anyone to be against breast-feeding babies??!!

There are 1,000 homes in our subdivision.  Ted and I estimate that one in ten households shoots fireworks on the Fourth of July, producing the sound of 100 fireworks shows, although distance and volume vary.  Ted and I went up to the lake (higher ground than our house) to watch the fireworks in the subdivision for about 45 minutes.  The ka-booms began around 8:30 and are sure to continue through midnight.  There was a lot of money set afire, but the show was nice and there weren’t any parking problems.  Happy Independence Day!

 

The finale.  It’s bright enough to light the lake and the entire neighborhood.

Jeff, Kathy, and Kari and their families joined us for several days over the past weekend.  It was hot outside, with heat warnings in effect, so we spent Thursday and Saturday in the pool.  On Friday, we went to City Museum.  We had a chance to use our new party lights when we sat on the patio every evening.  There was food and fun for everyone and lots of quality family time.  It’s the best of times for Ted and me when our kids and grandkids come home to visit.

We had plenty of pool time.  The water temperature was 88 degrees.

Sky fastened himself into a swimming ring with lots of noodles.  (I think the lump over Sky’s head is Dylan’s head.)

Afterward, there were lots of swimsuits and towels to dry.

Indoor games were good for cooling off in the air conditioning.  This time it’s “Exploding Kittens.”

Switching to “Settlers of Catan” was a change of pace and players.

There was afternoon time to relax and visit with each other . . .

. . . and evening time to relax and visit with each other.

Kathy and Annette gave us BevBoys so that when Ted and I relax in the pool, we can float our canned beverages in the water beside our mats.

These two guys bought shirts in Hawai’i.

Here’s the whole gang, waiting the final two minutes for dinner to be ready.

City Museum in St. Louis is a very popular attraction.  Jeff said when people find out he’s going to St. Louis, they ask if he’s going to City Museum.  To make that happen, Ted and I decided we should take the family to the museum while the kids were visiting last weekend.  While we were there, Jeff and La met some people they knew from Longmont.  (Maybe that’s why they wondered if Jeff and La were going to City Museum.)  It is definitely known far and wide–lots of out-of-state license plates in the parking lots.

Jeff described City Museum as “eclectic.”  I think another word that might apply is “odd.”  It’s not like any other museum I’ve ever visited.  Ted and I have not been to City Museum for over ten years, and it’s changed a lot.  The museum is located in a renovated shoe factory and began with displays of architectural city artifacts.  This might be where the “City” part of the name originated.  Over the years, many tunnels, stairways, caves, slides, etc. have been added, so there’s a lot of activity going on inside and outside the museum.  It is a very active museum.  (Also a very loud museum.)  Some of the throughways are very small–designed for little children; others have age/height requirements for older attendees.

Here’s City Museum from the outside.  The rooftop attractions require an additional admission ticket, but things on the level of the airplane are included with the rest of the museum.  The school bus on the roof has become the iconic symbol of City Museum.

This photo illustrates the jumble of the inside of the museum.  The kids on the right are in line for the slide that goes down to the exit.  If you take the slide, you must exit, so you’re limited to one trip down.  Use the stairs if you’re not ready to leave the building.

 

What the kids and grandkids did

Here are Jeff and Zaque going through a tunnel.

This is an entrance to a cave.  Paths–including staircases and tunnels–go every which way, including up and down.  I don’t do caves, so I didn’t get very far inside.  I talked with one lady who said she didn’t think she was going to find her way out.  It’s good that I left, if that’s what it was like!

Members of our group went outside to this level and climbed and crawled their way around.  Their report:  it was hot!  (Upper 90s.)

There were areas with all kinds of twists and turns.  You never knew where someone was going to appear because you couldn’t see the direction the paths were going to take.  Some kids found a way to get from the bottom to the top in this area.

Here’s Zaque, who found a way up to a new level from where he left us.

 

What Ted and I did

With all the optional directions to take everywhere we went, it was hard to stay in a group.  After leaving the cave, Ted and I decided to check out the museum stuff that didn’t require crawling on our bellies.

Here’s an old elevator door–one of the architectural artifacts in the museum.

How about a surprising twist from under a sewer cover?

Remember?

There’s an huge box of pencils on display–some new, some used.  Why?

Pillars throughout the building are covered in a variety of substances.  This one is decorated with shells.

For a change of pace, this tower is covered with gears.  All the round spindles on the stairway spin.  Some have messages on them; others have designs.  That’s the slide to the exit in the upper left.

The kids were having fun in the sit-and-spin area.  Why is there a net on the ceiling?

Some kind of mythical creature wraps around the staircase and the edge of a snack bar loft.

The mosaic birds on the floor continue up the wall.  Note that the bird on the wall has a pair of goggles in its beak.

We found an art gallery with unusual art.  I like the copper sit-and-spin in the back.

This man is trapped in glass.

There were two windows filled with slides encased in glass.

 

What we all did

We all had fun–even the boys who look serious.  It was time for a snack.

Jeanette was the first office staff member I hired when the Adult Education and Literacy program grew too big for me to manage by myself.  She was a treasure as an employee and became a treasure as a friend.  Although I’m blonde and she’s Hispanic, we often showed up in the office wearing the same colors on the same day–kind of surprising, given the difference in our coloring.  Jeanette and I think along the same tracks.  We could easily find each other’s files, because we filed in the same kinds of categories.  People in the office used to tease us about sharing a brain.  Jeanette retired from SCC last week, and I went to her retirement party.

Once again, Jeanette and I showed up in the same colors.

There were decorations, food, and a slide show.  Since Jeanette and I worked together for 11 years, I showed up in quite a few of the slides.  (I’m in white-and-purple in the middle; Jeanette is wearing the long purple dress.  We wore the same color again!)  That’s Jeanette and her husband watching the slide show.

The roses on the tables were pretty.  This is Jeanette’s husband, niece, and sister.

Naturally, there were gifts.  Mandy (she has my old position) presented Jeanette with a gift from the office staff–a music box that plays “Remember.”

I gave Jeanette a cut glass “window” to hang in her window.

 

I knew everyone at the retirement party–DESE staff from Jeff City, Jeanette’s family, and AEL teachers and staff–so it was a wonderful opportunity for me to catch up with lots of people I don’t see regularly since I retired.  Not surprisingly, I set up three future lunch dates with friends at the party.  We’re still having fun together.

For several years, Ted and I have talked about stringing some clear party lights over our patio.  We were stumped by how to connect them to electricity, but we finally took the Big Step and called an electrician a few weeks ago.

 

While Keith worked at stringing the lights, Jason hooked up the electric.  The window wall in our family room used to be a sliding glass door, so there’s a 3-way light switch on the left of the windows to operate the porch light, which is between the window wall and the bay window.  The other part of the three-way switch is on the right of the bay window.

Jason pulled electric power (via cords, of course) from the family room switch through the brick to the patio just below the pergola.  Because using that indoor switch is inconvenient, he attached a remote switch to his newly installed outlet.  Ted and I can keep the key fob-size remote control in the drawer beside the kitchen door to click the lights on and off as needed.  Cool!  Let there be light!

 

 

Our last celebration on this visit to Puyallup was Father’s Day.  It was fun to have four fathers with us:  Ted, Thom, Scott (Katie’s dad), and Nate (Katie’s brother).  Thom and Katie provided all of us with another delicious meal–this time from the grill.  There was German potato salad, corn on the cob, and hamburgers, plus a vegetable tray, a cheese tray, chips, fresh seasonal fruit, and beverages.  Julian made two more batches of his delicious brownies for dessert and everyone had a wonderful time.

The four fathers were the first to go to the dinner buffet.  L->R are Scott, Thom, Ted, and Nate.

Everyone had plenty to eat. Ryan and Jennifer (Katie’s other brother and his wife) were also with us and so was Nate’s three-year-old daughter, Naomi.  (You can see her blonde hair and her pink princess skirt and slippers at the left of Ted’s chair.)

Sefton enjoyed the bubble machine.  When he decided to inspect it to see how it worked, it got moved to a higher location.

We finished the evening with a fire in the firebowl and a glass of wine.  The patio lights Thom and Ted strung provided a warm glow in the darkening evening.  Good times!

June 16 was Julian’s big day–his high school graduation, including a celebratory lunch and dinner.  Katie’s parents, Scott and Carmen, joined us for a graduation lunch.  The ceremony was at 5:00 p.m. at the fairgrounds, about a half-mile from the house, so we walked and avoided the traffic and parking hassles.  After Julian was duly graduated, with all the rights and privileges thereof, we took pictures and went out to dinner in his honor.

Ted and Katie blew up purple and yellow balloons to decorate for the lunch party.  Sefton’s second favorite activity (after books) is gathering and throwing balloons.

Thom and I made German potato salad while Julian whipped up brownies for dessert.  (Julian is up to the licking-the-bowl part of the process.)

Katie made a candy bar bouquet (she’s so creative) and Thom hunted up photos of Julian to display on the table.  Julian is apparently an M&Ms lover like his Grandma Schroeder.

After all his years of hiking and camping, Julian never had his own tent, so his graduation gift from Thom and Katie was a tent and some camping supplies.  Julian loves hammocks, so Scott and Carmen gave him a hammock.  Our gift to him was money–not photographed.

The weather was beautiful and the lunch was delicious.  Julian gave it a thumbs up.

Sefton has his own toddler-size lawn chair.

 

This graduation was unlike any other I’ve attended.  The graduates were allowed to select seats at will for the rehearsal.  The seats they chose were the order in which their names were called.  There were around 450 graduates seated in four sections of chairs–two sections on each side of the podium  After all the speeches that no one remembers, two people called names in turn, bringing up a graduate first on one side of the podium, then on the other.  This really moved the ceremony along, and it was over in less than two hours.  There was a big screen on each side for a better view of the speakers and the graduates at the podium.

Here’s Julian on the big screen, waiting for his name to be called next.  Unfortunately, the screen on this side was in the sunlight, so the picture is washed out.

Even with three cameras among us, none of us got a picture of Julian accepting his diploma.  Here he is in the foreground, immediately after receiving his diploma folder–diploma to be picked up at the school next week.

This guy was the last to receive his diploma.  He got at least a two-minute round of applause and a standing ovation before his name was called.  He tapped his watch and gave the crowd a thumbs up while waiting for the noise to die down.  After his name was called, he got another big round of applause.

It’s official:  the graduates move their tassels to the left.

Mission accomplished.  The mortarboards are in the air.

Here’s “our” graduate with his little brother.

After the picture-taking, we went out to dinner.  Just inside the door, there was a sign to welcome us. It had four misspellings, but the one at the end of the second-last line was the worst.  Really?  Nobody caught that one?  Fortunately, the food was much better than the spelling.

Julian, waiting for his dinner to be served.  Congratulations and good wishes to our third graduating grandchild!

Ted and I flew to Puyallup for Julian’s high school graduation on Wednesday, June 13 and came back home on Monday, June 18.  During that time, we had three celebrations:  Ted’s and my 49th anniversary (June 14), Julian’s graduation (June 16), and Father’s Day (June 17).

Before we started celebrating, Ted and I had some time to get re-acquainted with Sefton, who is now 17 months old.  The last time we saw him was April 2017 when all of our kids came to St. Peters for my best birthday ever.  Of course, Sefton didn’t remember us, but he warmed up very quickly and was happy to let us play with him as much as we wanted to.

Sefton and me, April 2017.

Sefton, June 2018.  He’s grown so much since we saw him last spring!

The red barn book–one of Sefton’s many favorites.

A morning wake-up story with Grandpa.

 

Thom always loved Grandma Schroeder’s applesauce, made with maiden’s blush apples.  A number of years ago, Thom planted a maiden’s blush apple tree so that, someday, he could make applesauce like Grandma’s.  The tree is not yet ready to yield applesauce, but it is old enough to bear small apples, and each small apple has a maiden’s blush.

 

When Thom and Katie got home from work, it was time to go out for dinner to celebrate Ted’s and my 49th anniversary.  We decided on a nearby Italian restaurant, toasted the event with a bottle of wine, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  The waitress was an experienced mom–she brought out Sefton’s pizza before the rest of us even had our appetizers.

Ted and I are ready for the next 49 years together.

I agree with those economists who insist that “trickle down economics” does not strengthen the economy.  (Didn’t we learn that during the Reagan presidency in the 1980s?)

“Trickle down economics” insists that by making the rich richer, those wealthy folks will take the extra money and invest it in business and manufacturing to create jobs for the middle and lower classes.  Facts show that, although this is slightly true, the wealthy invest most of the extra money in their already fat portfolios.  On the other hand, “trickle up economics” posits that if the middle and lower economic classes are given more disposable income, they will spend it, thus creating a need for more goods and, therefore, more jobs as well as increased profits for the big companies (i.e., the wealthy folks).

The economists with whom I agree don’t seem to make a lot of noise, but at least one cartoon artist is on our side.  Yeah!

Back in May, when I was taking a walk, I noticed that a good Samaritan had planted irises around the rocks that border one of the common grounds in our subdivision.  We have over 70 acres of common grounds in our subdivision, and I saw no other irises or other flowers in any other areas.  I therefore assume it was not the Beautification Committee, but someone who lives in the area, who planted these just for the love of springtime beauty.  Thank you!  I enjoyed seeing these flowers every day they bloomed.  Given the hardiness and the rapid proliferation of irises, there should be even more beauty next spring.

Kathy gave us some wind chimes many years ago and we hang them on the patio every summer.

 

When I saw these cartoons a few days ago, I pondered our wind chimes for a moment.

 

After my moment of pondering, I thought:  (1) our wind chimes aren’t very loud (they “ding,” rather than “bong” when they strike); (2) it’s not usually very windy here; (3) our closest backyard neighbor is about 100 feet away; (4) there are trees between our houses to muffle the sound; and (5) no one in the neighborhood has ever brought up wind chimes in conversation.  I decided to continue to enjoy our wind chimes.  Thanks again, Kathy.

 

This is how I felt for three weeks.  I had abdominal pain that kept getting worse.  After 11 days that included several calls to the doctor and one office visit, Ted took me to the ER, where the diagnosis was a partial blockage of the small bowel due to some inflammation,.  The treatment:  rest the bowel to reduce the inflammation, which meant two days with nothing by mouth, one-and-a-half days of clear liquids, one-and-a-half days of full liquids, then a day of soft food and a discharge after six days in the hospital.

I had the misfortune of meeting two people who need to practice their IV skills.  Both had to ask someone else to put the IV in my arm, and the second person in each case did just fine with no pain or bruising.

At least if you’re only going to get clear liquids, the nutritionist makes the tray attractive–two flavors of broth, two colors of Jell-o, and two colors of juice.

When Ted brought me home, the first thing I saw was a dozen long-stemmed roses to welcome me back.  I think he missed me.

 

After leaving the hospital, I had only five days to recover before Ted and I planned to fly to Seattle for Julian’s high school graduation.  I was feeling very weak and tired from 15 days of 24-hour pain and a week of minimal food, so I checked with the airline about a refund for the tickets.  I learned that a refund was possible up to the time of departure with an email and an attached letter from my doctor.  I called my doctor and Ted picked up the letter, just in case we needed it.  Tuesday evening, I decided I’d be able to make it, so we texted Thom to be at the airport.

Wednesday–our flight day–was very long.  We had workmen at the house at 8:00 a.m. and were busy all day.  Our 7:30 p.m. flight was delayed an hour-and-a-half, and by the time we got to bed in Seattle, it was 3:00 a.m. St. Louis time–a 19-hour day.  Thom and Katie had to work Thursday, so Ted and I slept late and took it easy all day.

The weekend with Thom’s family was wonderful.  We celebrated Ted’s and my 49th anniversary with dinner out on Thursday evening; we celebrated Julian’s high school graduation on Saturday; and we celebrated Father’s Day with four fathers (Ted, Thom, Katie’s dad, and Katie’s brother) on Sunday.  Monday was another long travel day.  Thom took us to the airport at 7:30 a.m. and we got home at 9:00 p.m. Seattle time–a 13.5-hour day of travel, including another hour-and-a-half flight delay.

I’m still a little run down after being in pain from May 23-June 6, then following that a few days later with a six-day trip that included three celebrations and two long travel days, but I’m resting up this week to be ready for fun with our other kids and their families when they arrive next weekend.  I’m so glad I was able to attend Julian’s graduation, and I’m looking forward to next weekend.  I’m even happier that the last month is behind me, and I’m looking forward to a “normal” rest of the summer.

This guy has been visiting us regularly.  We haven’t seen him in the water yet, so maybe he’s only sunbathing or looking for girl ducks in swimsuits.

Ever since our temperatures got above 60 degrees and things started growing again (3-4 weeks ago), Ted and I have been busy working outside.  We have nearly all of the once-per-year work finished, and are down to planting some annuals.  Today, I saw this picture online, and it cracked me up.

When we had our backyard pool installed, we were told that the liner would last about 10 years.  Last summer (year 9) it looked badly faded, so we decided to replace it this spring.  When the pool was installed, I was at work on the day the men were scheduled to “drop the liner.”  That phrase has fascinated me ever since, so I made sure to be around to witness the liner replacement process (and to photo document it for my blog, of course).  I asked the men if they minded my watching and they said no, people do that all the time.  I enjoy watching professionals do a good job, so it was an interesting two-day process for me to observe.

Before the workers arrived, we needed to drain the pool.  That’s winter algae and dirt on the bottom.  Old pictures show this liner used to have a much deeper color.  We couldn’t drain the pool too far in advance because there’s a danger of the sides collapsing without water to hold them up.

Bruce and Dustin (B & D) are ready to make our backyard vacation a reality.

Ted and I were at Pilates when B & D cut out the old liner, so I missed that part of the process.  Poor Dustin (the apprentice) had the thrill of vacuuming every inch of the pool bottom to prepare it for the new liner.

Everything is ready to go.  You can see a little bit of the old liner where B & D cut the pool light out to remove it (right).  The cardboard box (upper right center) contains the new liner.  Check out how well I cleaned those steps so they’d look as new as the liner.

Because the vertical sides become pitted over time, B & D covered them with a layer of foam.  They cut it from a large roll, then sprayed the wall and the back side of the foam with adhesive before pressing it in place.

Bruce dampened the pool bottom and then spread a thin layer of pool-crete dust (softer than concrete) over it to fill small depressions / dents that developed over time.  The dampness wets the pool-crete dust enough to make it set up and harden.  Now we’ll have a completely smooth pool bottom again (until new dents form).

Meanwhile, Dustin located the positions of all the hardware and cut the foam to expose them.  He found the skimmer (left) and is working on the light.

All the hardware positions have been found and the bottom has a new coating of pool-crete, ready to harden overnight.  Bruce dampened the top surface of the pool-crete to assure it will all harden, leaving no loose dust (or possible dents) for tomorrow.

When B & D finished for the day, a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for our area, so they set up a sump pump and covered the pool-crete with a tarp to prevent rain splatters from marring the fresh surface.  The high wind (50-60 mph) and hard rain (0.5 inches) hit just as they were leaving our house.  Good timing!

Step One of “drop the liner” is to unpack and unroll it.  It’s important to begin with the liner in the correct position, so there are stickers on the back side indicating “deep end” and “shallow end.”

Bruce started tucking the liner into the edge to hold it in place while Dustin fed it to him, never allowing the liner to rub against the pool bottom.

When one side was partially anchored, B & D attached the other side.

Almost finished.  B & D left the open area across the steps for last.

Here’s the “shallow end” sticker at the stairs, verifying that the liner is in the correct position.

A red arrow sticker on each side of the liner indicates where the edge of the slant to the deep end begins.

The red arrows weren’t in the right places, so B & D shifted the liner around by sliding it along the groove where it’s attached.  B slid some slack ahead to D, then D held the bunched-up part while B re-fastened what they had moved.  They needed a 10-12 inch shift in position.  When they finished, both red arrows were dead-on with the edge at the top of the slant.

Once the liner was in place, a vacuum was inserted.  We had to keep that noisy thing running while we filled the pool so there wouldn’t be any air bubbles under the liner.

While the vacuum roared, Bruce started removing the wrinkles.  Option One was to kick the liner (gently, with soft shoes) toward the edge where the side meets the bottom.

Bruce “walked out” the remaining wrinkles in the center with (what else?) duct tape.  He used two rows of duct tape, releasing the far piece of tape on the side toward him while pulling the near piece toward himself to shift the wrinkle in his direction.  Then he fastened the near piece over the wrinkle and repeated the process a little farther toward the edge until he could finish by kicking it into the corner as in the photo above.  Slick trick!

All those hardware openings needed to be found again, this time in the liner.  Bruce started with the drains, . . .

. . . then the jets, . . .

. . . and finally, the light and skimmer–coming next on the left of the light.  You can see the top of the skimmer opening on the pool deck.

The jet hardware on the left is old; the one on the right is new.  The opening in the old one is bigger because it’s been worn away by the water shooting through it over the years.  Science lesson:  friction and water power in action!

Last, Bruce cut the liner so we can access the pool from the steps.

After cutting the liner away, B & D put the trim around the opening.  We have a salt system pool pump, so Bruce used salt bags (to be added to the water later) to hold the liner in place after removing the wrinkles.

Finally, we were told to start filling the pool.  Yippee!  We were directed to fill it only to the bottom of the first step so that B & D could smooth out any wrinkles that developed with the weight of the water in the liner.  They can’t do that if there is too much heavy water sitting on it.  After they took out the 5 or 6 new wrinkles, we were good to go to the top.  It took more than 14 hours with two hoses to fill the entire pool.

Today, a crew came to re-install the ladder and railings, to add the necessary chemicals to the fresh water, and to activate the pump and heater.  Houston, we are “go” to swim!

Last night, while Ted and I were eating dinner, we heard a very loud noise.  We looked outside to see what heavy thing might have fallen, but everything looked normal, so we finished eating and then decided to run an errand.  Unfortunately, the garage door wouldn’t open, although it worked fine an hour earlier when Ted put away the yardwork tools we’d been using.  While we were troubleshooting what might be wrong, we noticed something.

The door mechanism is supposed to have only one spring, not two.

 

It was weird how, just because we couldn’t get the cars out of the garage, we felt trapped–even though we didn’t really need to go anywhere.  The garage door guy came this afternoon and replaced the broken spring, so we’re free to roam again.  Whew!

Ted and I both loved Hawai’i.  We agree that, if there were only one more place that we could choose to visit, it would be Hawai’i.  While we were there, we toured a tropical flower nursery near Hana, Mau’i.  Ted apparently paid close attention to the fact that the nursery ships tropical flowers anywhere, because he ordered some for me for Mother’s Day.

This is what I found on the porch after the FedEx man left.

I opened the box and found a card wishing me Aloha and love from Ted from Hana.

Under the tissue and a layer of damp shredded newspaper, I found these flowers.

Removing more damp shredded paper revealed two more layers of flowers and leaves.

I wish I were more artistic so I could do justice to Ted’s gift, but this is my best effort.

 

We learned at the nursery that many tropical “flowers” are actually the leaves of the plants.  Because of that, they are very hardy (they feel almost like heavy wax) and last a long time.  I’m looking forward to many days of having a little part of Paradise in St. Peters.  Thank you, Ted.  I love you so much, and a gift as wonderful and thoughtful as this tells me the feeling is mutual.  We are richly blessed in so many ways, aren’t we?

When we were in Hawai’i in January, we bought two sculptures.  There were quite a few similar pieces to choose from and, because the artist created each one from hand-blown glass, no two were exactly alike.  It took repeated visits to the store to select the ones we liked best.  Recent pictures of the eruptions of Kilauea verify that the artist accurately envisioned his finished work.

Here’s an aerial view of Kilauea erupting from fissures.

Here’s our sculpture titled “Fissure.”

This is a photo of a fountain in an  eruption.

This is our sculpture titled “Eruption.”  Compare its shape to the fountain in the actual volcano.

Ted creates beauty in our yard, not only when he plants and cares for our landscaping, but even when he waters his newly seeded grass in the sunlight.

Thom took this picture of Julian flipping on the ski slopes at Stevens Pass.  Thom noted that onlookers were applauding.  Go, Julian!

You need a broad vocabulary and a good editor (not spell check) when you’re writing for print media.  I saw this in the newspaper after the Waffle House shooting.