When I received an invitation to Katie’s baby shower, I thought it would be fun to use some frequent flier miles to attend the event.  I called Katie’s mom and Thom to make arrangements for airport shuttling and sleeping, and they both thought I should surprise Katie, because she wouldn’t be expecting me.

I flew to Seattle on Saturday.  Katie’s parents, Scott and Carmen, picked me up at the airport and I stayed at their house overnight.  As shower time approached Sunday afternoon, Carmen suggested that when we saw Katie’s car coming up the driveway, I should go to the bedroom and wait a few minutes, then “mosey” out and see how long it would take Katie to notice me.  It took her less than five seconds, even though I was trying to be inconspicuous.

This was the most elaborate baby shower I’ve ever attended.  I admit that it’s been many years since I was at a baby shower, but they used to be much simpler:  chairs in a circle, women friends and family members, gifts for the mom-to-be, and dessert.  This shower included a plethora of decorations, including signs, banners, decorated clipboards for the obligatory shower games, and decorated gift bags for the guests.  In addition to what’s in the picture below, there were also banners hung on the windows, decorative strings of pine cones, table decorations, and a photo wall.  Whew!

A few of the decorations.

A few of the decorations:  “Mountains” on the cabinet top, a hand-made sign for the “Don’t Say Baby” game, a handmade sign on the fireplace with a chain of mountains and clouds below it, and another handmade sign between the fireplace and the door that said “You are our greatest adventure.”

The menu included chili, chicken salad croissants, a veggie tray, a cheese and cracker tray, cake and cupcakes, and a variety of beverages.  This is a lot more than dessert and coffee!  Carmen was the head chef and did an awesome job.  Everything was delicious.

We played the bare minimum of shower games at Katie’s request.  She did not want to guess the baby food, etc.  (Thank you, Katie.  You’re a woman after my own heart.)  I counted thirty-one women present, but they kept moving around, so I could be off by one or two.  It followed that there was a huge pile of baby gifts and all of them were very nice.

Ted and I bought a few baby toys for the shower, but I decided to go mainly with heirloom gifts.  I opened the boxes of baby things I’ve saved, and I pulled out the lion quilt and the yellow knitted blanket I made for Thom.  I also selected a white blanket my mom made on her knitting machine and two sweaters she knit for my babies.  She knit the hooded striped sweater for Thom, and the white one with the matching cap for Kathy.  Katie asked for baby books instead of cards, so I brought one of Tom’s favorites:  The Read It Yourself Storybook.  Thom wrote his name on the pages (he was Tommy at that time) and, inside the book, I had noted that he received it from his Uncle Tom and Aunt Jo for his fourth birthday.

Gifts from the baby's great-grandma, its grandma, and its father

Gifts from the baby’s great-grandma, its grandma, and its father

Yes, I remember when he was Tommy, not Thom.

Yes, I remember when he was Tommy, not Thom.Katie just unbagged the lion quilt. Thom loved this quilt.

Katie just unbagged the lion quilt.  Thom loved this quilt.  Several of the women at the shower told me later that it was really thoughtful of me to give away my baby things, because we often find them hard to part with.  (If this weren’t true, I wouldn’t still have them in boxes when my baby is in his late thirties.)  They also commented on the good condition of everything.  When she saw the tiny knitted baby cap, Katie became a little bit tearful at the thought that she will soon be holding someone who is that small.  It was a very touching moment at the shower.

. . . and then it was time to eat cake and cupcakes and to take pictures at the photo wall.  There was a designated official photographer who took pictures and printed them on the spot.

Katie and the grandmas-to-be

Katie with the grandmas-to-be

After the shower, we loaded the gifts into Katie’s car and went to her house.  Thom and Julian helped unload the car and then Thom started making dinner.  (What a good thing I taught him to cook.)  After dinner, while Katie showed Thom all the gifts, I had some one-on-one time with Julian.

All too soon, it was Monday morning.  I hugged Julian good-bye when he left for school, and Thom and Katie took me to the airport before going to work.  My flight home was uneventful, and I was glad to see Ted again.  It was fun to be a part of Katie’s baby shower and I’m glad I could go, even if I was there for a only little while.  Ted and I will stay longer when we go to Seattle to meet our eighth grandchild, who is due to be born January 2–or whenever it chooses.

P.S.  There were rain showers outside throughout my short visit.  It’s Seattle.

Kathy and I enjoy meeting in Columbia to spend an occasional one-on-one day together.  We live three hours apart, and Columbia is the halfway point–about 90 minutes of driving each way for both of us.  There are enough shops, restaurants, and points of interest in the city to let us do something while we talk.

Yesterday, we met in Columbia for the first time since February.  (It’s been a busy year!)  We did most of our favorite things, beginning with a long lunch.  When we were tired of sitting in the restaurant, we went downtown and browsed in the shopping area.

The only place we spent money downtown was at the chocolate store on Cherry Street.  The owners melt and make their own chocolate, and it’s delicious.  We each selected a few pieces of our favorite varieties and then headed for the Columbia Mall for a sit-down break.  A frosty beverage, a table in the food court beside the calliope, and our chocolate, and we were set until dinner time.  When we finally felt hungry enough to eat dinner, we decided to try the “new” Shakespeare’s Pizza.

About a year ago, Shakespeare’s tore down their entire building across the street from the MU campus and re-built a newer version of it.  Most of the main floor is the restaurant; the remainder is rental space for small shops or offices.  The upper four floors of what used to be a one-story building are dedicated to “deluxe” student apartments.  The restaurant expanded into its previous parking lots, so the kitchen is larger and there’s more seating, as well as a new full-service bar.  A (literally) yellow brick path on the floor leads patrons from the seating areas to the rest rooms.

Shakespeare’s is family-owned and is always very busy, attracting people of all ages.  It’s also very user-friendly, and you’re welcome to sit at your table as long as you like.  Kathy and I had cheese garlic bread, pizza, and a beer plus two more hours of talking before we decided it was about 90 minutes from when we wanted to be home.  We went back to our starting point to pick up her car and, after hugs and good wishes, we headed home, looking forward to our next Columbia Day.

The “new” Shakespeare’s Pizza, all the way across the first floor, including two more sets of windows on the right that didn’t fit in my picture.

Still the same plentiful supply of tp in the rest Rollins, bit now it's on a new varnished wooden rod instead of hanging from a long heavy chain.

Still the same plentiful supply of t.p. in the new rest rooms, but now it’s on a new varnished wooden rod instead of hanging from a long heavy chain.Kathy and I don't know if the lights and buzzer really flash and ring, but we always wash our hands, just in case.

This sign is at the rest room doors. Kathy and I don’t know if the lights and buzzer really flash and ring, but we always wash our hands, just in case.

Pay no attention to the man behind the screen; it’s Google that is the source of all information.  As I was blogging about Ella Genzmer and adding a link to the post, I noticed that one of my menu choices was “Search Google for ‘Ella Genzmer'” so I did.  I couldn’t believe what came up!!!  This was in the State of Wisconsin Assembly Journal, documenting the proceedings of the State Assembly.genzmer-pix-e

Hingham and Gibbsville Grade Schools became a consolidated school district with Oostburg when I was in eighth grade.  To help the eighth graders from all three schools get to know each other before starting high school in the fall, we had an eighth grade bus trip together.  We visited the Capitol in Madison and were introduced to the legislature.  (Apparently, a lot of other school kids from the state did the same thing that day.)  After the Capitol, we went to the Cave of the Mounds and then toured Little Norway.  It was a great day trip and I still have a small keepsake cedar box I bought that day at the Cave of the Mounds.

I never dreamed in 1961 that my eighth-grade school trip would re-surface in a Google search 55 years later.  Is this wonderful or scary?  Either way, it was kind of fun to find this old record.

At Kyle and Lauren’s wedding, my brother Tom quoted Ella Genzmer in his toast to the bride and groom.  He interrupted the toast to ask how many people in the room were acquainted with Ella Genzmer.  My brother Steve and I raised our hands.  With Tom, that made a total of three of us who knew her.

I grew up in Hingham, WI, a town of about 200 people, and Mrs. Genzmer was a long-time teacher in the Hingham Grade School.  The school building was two stories tall and had two classrooms, two teachers and usually somewhere around 50-60 students.  (It also had an awesome fire escape from the second floor, but that’s a different story.)  At some point, the upper floor was remodeled to form a third room, and a third teacher was added.  I don’t remember which grade I was in when that happened, but there are 63 students and three teachers in my seventh grade school picture.  (Yes, we are all in one picture.)

Important people: Mrs. Genzmer (back row, left); Denny (back row, second boy from left); me (back row, 5th from right); Steve (3rd row, 3rd from right); Tom (front row, 3rd from left).

Important people:  Mrs. Genzmer (back row, left); Denny (back row, 2nd boy from left); me (back row, 5th from right); Steve (3rd row, 3rd from right); Tom (front row, 3rd from left).

Mrs. Genzmer was my teacher for five of the eight years I was in grade school.  There was an interruption in my time with her when Mr. Prinsen, the principal, left and Mrs. Genzmer became the principal.  The principal always taught grades 5-8 (on the second floor), and I was still in a lower grade (on the first floor) when Mrs. Genzmer moved upstairs.  When I reached fifth grade, I had Mrs. Genzmer again until I graduated in one of the largest Hingham Grade School classes ever–seven of us!

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Mrs. Genzmer was a grammarian.  I learned everything I know about diagramming sentences from her, and I took honors English in high school and college because of her.  In talking about her at Kyle and Lauren’s wedding, my brothers and I agreed that we received an excellent education in our little country school.

So what did Tom quote from Mrs. Genzmer?  In praising love and marriage, Tom reminded us that Mrs. Genzmer taught us “When using a dictionary, the first definition of a word is the most common use of the word.”  Tom also quoted Nietzsche in his toast.  I’ll bet Mrs. Genzmer would be surprised to be joined by Nietzsche!

Over the weekend, we drove up to Sterling Heights, MI (near Pontiac) for my nephew Kyle’s wedding.  It was beautiful fall weather for a wedding:  sunny and warm with red-gold leaves on the trees.  It’s rare that I see two of my brothers at the same time twice in a year (maybe never before), but we were together at Brandon and Maddy’s wedding in September, and again to celebrate Kyle and Lauren’s wedding this time.

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The pastor’s homily was unusual.  He gave Kyle and Lauren the chance to select one of three wrapped gifts (“Do you want Door Number 1, 2, or 3?”) and then connected the gift to the Biblical texts they had chosen for their wedding.  Their gift was a pretty crystal clock.

Kyle and Lauren Soerens

Kyle and Lauren Soerens

The wedding party

The wedding partyIt was fun to socialize at the hotel between the wedding and the reception.  Tom and Jo provided some beverages and snacks, and the conversations were lively.  The hotel provided shuttles to and from the reception, so we out-of-towners didn’t have to worry about finding the venue.  The dinner was delicious and was followed by wedding pie for dessert.  After that, it was time to talk, party, and dance.  Woo-ee!

The bride and groom sharing a piece of wedding pie

The bride and groom sharing a piece of wedding pie

Tom (father of the groom) making a toast. He quoted Ella Genzmer.

Tom (father of the groom) making a toast.  He quoted Ella Genzmer.Tom and Jo with their family

Tom and Jo with their familySteve and Joan

Steve and JoanTed and me

Ted and meThe DJ played until midnight and even included The Beer Barrel Polka.  That wasn’t enough for this crowd, though.  More beverages and snacks appeared at the hotel after-party, and Jay and AJ ordered pizzas and buffalo wings for everyone to share.  Ted and I surrendered and left the after-party sometime after 2:00 a.m., but some of the other attendees carried on longer.

We had beautiful weather and an extra hour of sleep for our trip home.  It was a weekend of fun!  I wish we knew someone else who’s getting married so we could do it again.

My advisor, mentor, friend, and India training partner is awesome.  I introduced John Henschke in an earlier post and included some of his zillion+ accomplishments.  As soon as I knew John was going to be my training partner, I knew I would be working with the best and could set aside my worries about messing up my first overseas teacher trainings.

Today, I learned that John has yet another achievement to add to his resumé.  On November 14, he will be in Orlando, FL for his induction into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.  What an honor!

Every so often, I hear that John is retiring.  When I ask him about it, he paraphrases Mark Twain and says, “The rumors of my retirement are greatly exaggerated.”  When I spoke with John last week, he told me he is retiring December 31.  I had to ask if this is the real retirement, or one more in his string of exaggerated rumored retirements.  This is the real one.

So what will John do in his retirement?  Since he won’t be teaching university classes after this semester, he sees retirement as an opportunity to have a more open calendar to schedule trainings and other activities.  He’ll be training adult educators in New Mexico the first week of December, in Tennessee the second week of January, and in India in February with me.

The best part of all is that not only do I count John as my friend and partner, but that he also counts me as a friend and partner.

Image result for john a henschke photo

My friend and partner, the awesome and world-renowned adult educator, John Henschke.

My friend, Liz, included me on the guest list for the birthday party her daughter and son-in-law hosted on Saturday night.  It was a happy group of about twenty people with delicious food prepared by Janelle (the daughter).  Hilarious stories about Liz provided lots of laughter, and a good time was had by all.

Liz and I have been friends for over twenty years.  I hope we have many, many more years of friendship.  Happy birthday, good friend.

Liz is the one with the party hat.

Liz is the one with the party hat.  That’s her four-year-old grandson photobombing our picture.

My friend, Mandy, sent this to me on Facebook because she knew I’d enjoy it.

Mandy pictured this filled with beige caffeine.

Mandy pictured this mug filled with beige caffeine. Weird.

Ted and I have been to 47 states.  We are missing Hawai’i, New Mexico, and North Dakota.  We seriously considered extending our recent visit to Ted’s sister in Nebraska by continuing north to North Dakota and checking that state off our Missing States List.  Ted researched places of interest but couldn’t really find anything that sounded worth the extra time and travel.  In fact, when we were on our 2015 European cruise, we met a lady from North Dakota.  When we asked her for ideas of things to do and/or places to visit in North Dakota, she thought about it for a few seconds and then responded by saying, “I actually think South Dakota is more interesting.”  We decided that we might have to settle for visiting 49 states, offering the excuse that we just couldn’t find a reason to visit North Dakota.

While we were discussing our travels during Dave and Cheryl’s visit, we mentioned our North Dakota dilemma.  Dave and Cheryl are making a circuit from New Mexico through Missouri, into Wisconsin, then west through Minnesota, etc.  On Saturday, I received a postcard from Dave from North Dakota.  Today, I got two more postcards in the mail.  Dave is tempting me.  Ted and I might have to go to North Dakota after all.

Yes, it says "legendary" North Dakota.

Yes, it says “legendary” North Dakota.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2016-10-ND-postcards-2-2133x1600.jpg

Not only is it Hallowe’en today, but it is also National Knock Knock Joke Day.  What a joyous cause to celebrate!  Here’s a un-knock knock joke:

Knock, knock.

Come on in; the door’s open.

And another one, just to make the celebration last longer.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Ya.

Ya who?

I’m excited to see you too.

Happy Knock Knock Joke Day to all.

A number of years ago, Ted and I bought a power washer.  It’s been a sturdy little machine and we’ve spent many hours using it.  In fact, its initial run involved 8-10 hour days seven days a week for about three weeks while we used it to strip a bad seal from our 2,000+ square feet of concrete.  (Long story.)  Not once did the power washer falter.  Our current project is washing the vinyl siding on our house and, unfortunately, our trusty power washer just couldn’t finish the job.  It died with the back side of the house still dirty.

We liked the model we had, so we went to Sears on Friday night and bought the new version of the same model.  Saturday’s forecast promised sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80s–a good day to finish washing the siding.  Ted started up the engine and water gushed out from the soap connection.  After trying everything we could think of to solve the problem, we went to Sears to ask for help.

Oh goody!  The salesman went online to look up the user’s manual for a solution.  I’d already told him that the user’s manual says “connect soap dispenser” and that’s it.  Now he believes me.  Because we’d put gasoline into the tank, we could not return the unit to Sears; instead, we were directed to take it to their nearby authorized repair shop.  We did, and we had to leave the power washer there for evaluation, etc.  Result:  the back of the house is still dirty.

Today, the service person informed us that the pump is defective.  It is missing a regulator, so the water doesn’t enter and leave the unit properly.  Simply replacing the pump would be much too easy.  First, the service shop has to report the problem to Sears.  Then Sears has to approve the repair as a warranty issue.  After the approval, the repair shop can order the part and, when it arrives, they can install it.  I guess we’re going to miss the window of beautiful weather this week for finishing up the house washing.

They just don’t make them like they used to, do they?

You were a good little machine and you worked hard. R.I.P.

You were a good little machine and you worked hard.  R.I.P.

Today, an American Airlines jet blew out a tire and had an engine malfunction at O’Hare Airport.  A fire broke out and all passengers were evacuated, with only a few sustaining injuries.  Ms. Ditz, the perky, young TV news reporter on the scene, told us an expert source had assured the media that events like this “seldomly” occur.

Adverbs tell us when, where, and how (e.g., later, inside, almost).  English grammar rules allow us to form some adverbs by adding –ly to adjectives (e.g., beautifully, softly, quickly), but who knew we had to do that to words that are already adverbs (e.g., seldom)?

Fortunately for her, Ms. Ditz appeared to be untroubled about sharing her ignorance with her viewers.  Perhaps, if she knew anything at all about English grammar, she might even be proud of inventing a ninth part of speech:  the redundant adverb.

Two weeks ago, our New Mexico friends, Cheryl and Dave, made a second stop at our house.  In August, they stopped here on the way from their home in New Mexico to their daughter’s home in North Carolina.  (Their other daughter lives in Hawai’i.  How’s that for being spread out?)  This time they were on their way to Cheryl’s college class reunion in Chicago.  We started having fun by having lunch, soon after their arrival.

D and C lunch

It was a rainy day, but we capitalized on a break in the showers to visit the Historic Main Street district of St. Charles.  Dave likes to geocache and had identified four caches in the heart of the area, so we looked for them as we walked along the street.  Clues for the first geocache indicated that the first map of St. Charles was a part of it.  I remembered seeing something about the first map when we were visiting Main Street with Julian last summer.  We were right in front of the First State Capitol/Missouri Historical Society building, so I went in to ask one of the workers about the map, only to discover all of the employees gathered around a table in the back room celebrating a birthday.  (They offered me a piece of cake.)

When I inquired about the map, one of the men asked, “Are you geocaching?”  I said no, I was helping a friend.  The man pointed to the map behind the party table and said, “There it is.  And the next one is the Peck Brothers sign next door.”  Wow!  Am I good or what?!  I’ve never geocached before and I found two before Dave did!  I shared the information with Dave and he duly recorded the finds.  We continued our walking tour of the district and then meandered down to the riverfront path where Dave identified another geocache location.  He found it without too much trouble and we continued walking.  We arrived at the final geocache location a little later but, even with all four of us looking, we couldn’t find it.

Geocache find: the Peck Bros. sign

Geocache find:  the Peck Bros. sign

Our dry weather window was closing and it was starting to sprinkle a little, so we decided to reverse our direction and circle back toward the car.  On the way, Cheryl and I went into the Little Hills Winery shop where we each bought a bottle of wine, making it a good day of shopping.

In the evening, Ted and I planned to take Dave and Cheryl to The Hill in St. Louis for an Italian dinner.  It’s well known that there is no bad food on The Hill, but when we left, there was a strong thunderstorm passing over.  We decided to eat closer to home and headed for one of our favorite local Italian restaurants, Fratelli’s.  The food and wine were delicious and the conversation was even better.  The scotcheroos at home were pretty good too.  Cheryl asked for the recipe.

We started the following cool morning with a warm beverage from Starbuck’s, then headed for the Arch.  Ted and I have lived in this area for 43 years and have never gone to the Arch in October.  It’s unlike any previous experience we’ve had.  Our skip-the-line tickets were for 11:00 a.m. and we arrived at 10:40, ready to ride but prepared to spend the usual recommended hour getting up, looking around, and coming down.  We were down by 11:05.  With no lines, we presented our tickets, walked directly to the tram cars, waited for the tram to arrive, got on, and took the six-minute ride up.  Unbelievable!  We spent some time in the tram car taking pictures.  Cheryl and I took turns so we’d all get into a picture.

Cheryl's turn with the camera

Cheryl’s turn with the camera

My turn with the camera

My turn with the camera

Of course, there was the obligatory photo at the top to be taken, so we asked a nearby person to take our picture.  He said he’d be glad to and asked where we’re from.  Ted and I said “St. Louis” and Cheryl and Dave said “New Mexico.”  “Where in New Mexico?” asked the man.  “Las Cruces,” replied Cheryl and Dave.  What are the odds that this man’s son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters had just moved to St. Louis from Las Cruces and were standing right there?  It is definitely a very small world.

D and C all arch

Photo by the father of the Las Cruces family

After we were back at ground level, it was time for Cheryl and Dave to head for Chicago.  We slowly worked our way back to the parking garage, took a few pictures of the Arch from the ground, exchanged hugs and good wishes, and went in different directions.

Today’s mail brought me a postcard from Dave, sent from North Dakota on their way home.  He knows Ted and I are looking for a reason to go to North Dakota because it’s one of only three states we haven’t visited.  He noted on the postcard that he wishes I were there and he thinks I probably wish the same.  New Mexico is another of the three states we haven’t visited.  Ted and I are looking forward to our Southwest U.S. vacation in October 2017 when we plan to attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and to visit Cheryl and Dave in Las Cruces.

Parting shot of the Arch

Parting shot of the Arch. Today is the 50th anniversary of setting the keystone piece into the Arch.

It’s time for Dillard’s to empty the trash can.  One helpful person attached a plastic bag to a straw in the trash can opening to accommodate additional trash.  Yuck!

Trash

Last summer, Jeff found a misspelling in one of my blog posts–compliment should have been complement.  I think spell check incorrectly corrected my spelling, but I failed to catch the error in proofreading, so I conceded the point to Jeff.  He immediately sent an email message to the other kids and copied it to me to announce that he had caught Mom in a rare writing error.  Now, it’s my turn to score a point on Jeff.

I have a piece of technology that Jeff hadn’t heard of.  I recently bought a new laptop computer and I wanted to copy the iTunes music from my PC to the laptop.  I have about 3,400 songs in iTunes, and when I back up my music files, it takes well over an hour to do it.  I have a home network among my computers, but that takes awhile too.  I went to Best Buy and asked a salesman what would be faster.  He gave me a box.  What I could see through the window in the box resembled a USB flash drive and, I’m embarrassed to admit, I didn’t pay much attention to it; I paid for it and took it home.

Sort of looks like a flash drive. I wondered about the cord, but oh well, . . .

This is what I could see through the window in the box.  It is definitely a USB connection, but the cord should have been a giveaway.

When I plugged the cable in, windows appeared, indicating that an installation was necessary.  Looking more closely at the box, I saw that I had purchased a wormhole switch transfer cable–ideal for working between two computers.  I had trouble getting it properly installed, so I (of course!) asked Jeff for help.  His email response was, “Believe it or not, I’ve never heard of one of those.”

Without my personal IT guru (Jeff), I had to resort to the helpline which was, surprisingly, pretty good as well as helpful.  My installation problem turned out to be a missing or outdated driver.  The help technician emailed it to me and walked me through the installation.

I have to say, a wormhole switch is awesome!  It transferred the 3,400+ songs from my PC to my laptop in 12 minutes!!!  In the hour I played with my new toy, I discovered other neat features it provides.  I can use one mouse and one keyboard on two computers simultaneously–the mouse moves from screen to screen and the keyboard follows the mouse.  I can easily work with files from either computer and I can just as easily move them to or from either computer.  I assume I’ll be able to transfer my PC picture files to my new laptop as quickly as I did the music files, but I haven’t tried that yet.

Two computers, one wormhole cable, and one mouse. Awesome!

Two computers, one wormhole cable, and one mouse.  Awesome!

I have a lot of training materials that I’ve developed over the years and saved to my PC, but when I go to India to facilitate teacher trainings in December, I’ll be taking my laptop with me.  It simplifies things greatly to have easy access to the PC files while working at my desk and putting my training materials together on the laptop.

Jeff said he really doesn’t have a need to work with two computers simultaneously, but I’m grabbing this moment.  It’s not easy to introduce Jeff to a technology he hasn’t heard of, and it’s not likely to happen again.  I score the point this time!

Jeff’s blog today touts the trivial fact that one buttload = 126 gallons.  He challenged readers to look it up, so I did.  The first thing I discovered was the amazing number of unusual units of measurement that can be found on the same Google search page as “buttload definition.”  As Jeff wrote, “It’s true. Look it up.”

To expand on Jeff’s newfound knowledge, I learned that the size of a buttload varies by country, and that two hogshead make one butt (or pipe), and two butts make one tun of wine or alcohol/beer.

Now we know.

Today was Ted’s and my annual Applesauce Day.  We started with a bushel of golden delicious apples and made this.

Cooked applesauce cooling

Cooked applesauce cooling

While the applesauce cooled, I made our annual Applesauce Day reward:  an apple pie.  By the time it came out of the oven, we had the applesauce packed in freezer containers and the countertop looked like this.

Applesauce headed for the freezer and a pie for later today

Applesauce headed for the freezer and a pie for later today

The only things left to do are to have a piece of pie in a little while and to enjoy homemade chunky-style applesauce for another year.

Huck’s has the best deal I’ve ever seen for a beverage.  Do they not know that you use either the dollar sign and a decimal or the cents sign?  Apparently not.  I think that, legally, the beverage has to be sold for the advertised price.  In reality, probably no one else will notice this error.  Maybe I could make money in an editing job like I had when we lived in D.C.  There’s definitely a market for good editors.

Yep, less than a penny for up to 32 ounces.

Yep, less than a penny for up to 32 ounces.

From which state that is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean can you call a state that is bordered by the Pacific Ocean at the same clock time during the change from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time?  (Limit yourself to the lower 48 states.)

Fact:  There are actually some “calling parties” between these two states to celebrate the one hour each year that it is possible to do this.

Fact:  This is not a trick done with mirrors.

Do you need some help?  Here’s an example:  Daylight Time ends at 2:00 am, when it becomes 1:00 am Standard Time.  Pretend you want to make the call at 1:15 am.  In which two states, bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as described above, can you make the call at 1:15 am in both states?

The answer is below the picture.  Cover the rest of this page if you don’t want to see the answer until you figure it out.

This is me relaxing in Paris while I wait for you to get the right answer.

This is me relaxing in Paris while I wait for you to get the right answer.

Answer:  You can make a call from western Florida (e.g., Pensacola, Panama City) where Central Daylight Time has changed to Central Standard Time, to eastern Oregon (e.g., Ontario), which is still on Mountain Daylight Time, at the same clock time for one hour during the change from Daylight to Standard Time.

As part of his birthday gift, we gave Sky his choice of an outing with us that included lunch.  He chose miniature golf.  This is a five-day school holiday for the boys, and I want to know why we didn’t get five-day October school holidays when we were in school!  With all that available time and the beautiful weather, today was a perfect day to go golfing.

Sky had the power to choose the lunch venue and he chose–where else?–Steak ‘n’ Shake.  Surprise!  The boys (Sky and Dylan) ordered chicken fingers and large shakes.  Just to give him a hard time, I asked Sky if he was confident that he could finish a large shake.  His response was, “It’s been done.”  Sure enough, it was done again.

From there, it was on to the 18-hole miniature golf course.  Is there any skill required to play miniature golf?  I’m pretty sure the answer is “no.”  The course is simple and easy, yet rigged with hills, ridges, traps, and grades.  Any kid who can hit a ball with a golf club can play, and any real golfer enters an alternate universe compared to a real golf course.  It was fun.

I needed seven strokes on an early par 2 hole, so we made seven the maximum score any of us would get.  There were a few 7s on our score card that were at least representative of the actual number of swings required.  Ted (who was a high school jock) scored 46, the lowest score by almost 20 points.  Sky, Dylan, and I are considering limiting him to scorekeeping next time because he’s too much better than we are.  The three of us scored above 60 on the par 36 course.  The good news is that the more strokes it took us, the longer we got to play!  How’s that for putting a positive spin on a high golf score?

At the end of the game, we all agreed that on another beautiful day we’d like to do this again.  Score for Grandma and Grandpa!

Sky reaching to retrieve his ball from the hole.

Sky reaching to retrieve his ball from the hole.

Ted going after his ball in the same hole.

Ted going after his ball in the same hole.Dylan making a putt.

Dylan making a putt.Me--the only one who shot a hole-in-one. It wasn't enough to get close to Ted's score.

Me–the only one who shot a hole-in-one.  It wasn’t enough to get close to Ted’s score.

Hurricane Matthew is affecting many parts of the country in a variety of ways.  I learned from tonight’s evening news report that there was a possibility of moving some F-18 jets from South Carolina to Scott AFB near St. Louis.  Why?  According to Ms. Dimwit, the reporter, the move would “help protect those pricey jets from Hurricane Matthew.”  Yes, she described F-18s as “pricey” in her professional (?) report.

A few minutes later, Ms. Dimwit told us that, in honor of a local policeman who was shot and killed when he responded to a call, the local football team in his neighborhood would begin tonight’s game with “a fifteen-second moment of silence.”  Who knew that a moment could last for a specified period of seconds?

This kind of reporting drives me crazy!  Whatever generation these twenty-somethings are (Gen X?  Y?  Z?), they are certainly not learning much about English grammar in school.

Ted and I took a five-day road trip last weekend and spent some time with his sister, Mutzie, and with Kathy and Annette.  We went to Grand Island, NE first and had a very enjoyable time with Mutzie.  The weather was beautiful, so we went to the Eagle Scout Park and walked around Eagle Scout Lake.

Ted and Mutzie at the lake

Ted and Mutzie at the lake

Then we went to Kearney to visit the MONA–Museum of Nebraska Art.  The displays were very good.  One room featured heroes.  John Falter, a native Nebraskan, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was commissioned to create recruiting pamphlets and posters, as well as a series of twelve portraits of war heroes.  The war hero portraits and their accompanying stories were published in Esquire magazine in 1943-44.  The portraits and stories were very interesting, but probably not found in any history books.  Each story described an “ordinary” soldier (if there is such a thing) who did an extraordinary thing simply because that’s what needed to be done.

There were some playful exhibits as well.  I especially enjoyed these two.

This is titled "Dilemma Wheel." On a dilemma wheel, all choices are unfavorable.

This is titled “Dilemma Wheel.”  On a dilemma wheel, all choices are unfavorable.

This one is titled "Pencil Box." (Duh!)

This one is titled “Pencil Box.”   (A creative “duh”!)

It was Lisa’s birthday, so Mutzie took Lisa, Doug, Ted, and me out to dinner for a celebration.  After dinner, we went to Lisa and Doug’s new home for a tour and for more conversation.  Their house is beautiful and they have plans to make it even better.  As usual, the time to leave came too soon.

It took us seven hours to get from Grand Island, NE to Kirksville, MO and it seemed like a very long drive.  We are used to driving only three hours to Kirksville.  Before leaving the state, we had to take a picture of a “Nebraska skyscraper” in Nebraska City.

Nebraska Skyscraper

Nebraska skyscraper

We had a good time with the girls too and never ran out of things to talk about.  Annette made one of her specialties and one of Ted’s and my favorites–potato soup.  It’s a winter comfort food, but it was cool and rainy and the soup was a perfect choice.  We ended the visit in our traditional way with dinner at Pizza Hut.  It was a happy ending to a short road trip.

Pizza Hut for dinner

Pizza Hut for dinner

In January, I did some tutoring in a classroom that was formerly used for industrial arts.  I commented on the variety of things that were stored in that room, including a washer and a dryer.  When I returned to the school in September for the 2016-17 school year, I wrote about the changes made in the room so that it can be used as a meeting room.  I mentioned that the room is now more attractive, and that the washer and dryer are still there.

Former "storage" decor

Former storage-style decor

New and improved classroom-style decor

New and improved classroom-style decor

Today I was working with two students in the re-decorated meeting room when a teacher came in to launder a football practice uniform.  I asked her if this was a typical thing to do and she said “yes.”  I remembered that she had given one student some Cheerios and another some saltines this morning, so I asked if she provides food as well as laundry services for the students.  She said “yes.”  I asked if there were a lot of kids in need of both and she said “too many.”

I’ve worked with many people who are poor and in need of services, and they’ve told me about their struggles.  For example, they sometimes use an extension cord to get electricity from their neighbors when their own is shut off for lack of payment.  When I wrote grants to fund the Adult Education and Literacy program that I supervised, I always had to include data on the number of students who received free hot lunch in the school districts we served.

Neither working with low-income students nor including low-income statistics in my grants came as close to reality as seeing this teacher providing direct and immediate help for some low-income students.  Today, in her classroom, two students were fed and another went home with a clean football uniform.  If they don’t already do it, maybe more schools should include an on-site washer and dryer.  Little things really do make a difference.

The washer and dryer that help meet students' needs

The washer and dryer that help meet students’ needs.

Today, Ted and I went back to our school volunteer duties.  He is working with the same teacher as last year and has two new second graders who need to improve their reading skills.  He said they are great kids and are very excited about reading with him.

The secretary and several of the teachers were so happy to have me back, they hugged me when I arrived at the Success School.  I worked with three students today and had a good time.  Ted, my student from last year, has decided to take the GED Options class.  I’m so glad!  He has several more failed classes to repeat, and will have a much better chance of graduating with his class if he spends the year preparing for his GED.

The classroom in which I tutored a few times last year got a facelift over the summer.  The washer and dryer are still there, but all the miscellaneous junk has been moved to a far corner in the “L” of the room and has been replaced with tables and chairs.  The ceiling-hung electric cords for the power tools have been replaced with arts and crafts-style colorful felt parrots hanging from the ceiling.  (I wonder who came up with the parrot theme.)  The room is now used for the daily opening assembly, among other things, and looks pretty good.

Best of all, I had a happy surprise.  As I walked toward the office between classes, I recognized the woman coming out.  It was Cat, one of my former GED teachers.  I knew she was working for the St. Charles School District, but I didn’t know she was working with the Success School kids.  We had a brief and happy reunion.  She was a very good GED teacher and, for her masters thesis, she put together a How to Get Your GED in 60 Days book with a study curriculum for each day.  Another one of my former GED teachers works as a part-time counselor at the Success School.  We GED teachers love to help the underdogs in academia.  It’s a small world, for sure, to have three of us from the SCC GED program all working with the same kids now.

A quick between-classes picture of Cat and me.

A quick between-classes picture of Cat and me.

There were lots of festivals in the St. Louis metro area this weekend.  Among them:

–The Great Forest Park Balloon Race was held in the soggy Central Field in Forest Park this afternoon.  Balloon Glow was cancelled last night, due to heavy rain (2-5 inches across the area), but the race was on today.  Update:  The ground was too soggy for the balloons to take off. 

–Schlafly Beer sponsored the “Hop in the City” festival.  For $30 advance tickets or $35 on-site tickets, attendees could taste 51 different beers and enjoy outdoor music and entertainment.

–St. Peters sponsored “Celebrate St. Peters” at the 370 Lakeside Park.  That’s the same festival where “Elvis” called me to the stage and put a scarf around my neck.

And the list goes on, but perhaps the most unusual outdoor event today was the wife-carrying contest in Eureka, a suburb of St. Louis.  Here’s all the information.  According to the report on the evening news, the winner of the contest gets the woman’s weight in beer.  Yahoo!

According to the evening news, the winning team is awarded the woman's weight in beer. Yahoo!

Today is my brother Denny’s birthday.  He died 39 years ago–twelve years longer than he lived.  He and I used to fight all the time.  We sat on the same side of the table for meals and made sure the elbow of the other one of us never crossed the crack between the two halves of the kitchen table that divided our seating places.

As my oldest brother, he was the one I sought out in high school on the day I was told our mother had been in a serious accident and was unconscious in the hospital.  A teacher was going to take me to the hospital, and I asked Denny to watch our other three brothers after school until I got home.  That’s the most serious-looking face I ever remember seeing on him.  Maybe he thought the same of me at the time.

We didn’t get along with each other while we were growing up, but we became closer when we left home.  He was stationed in California while Ted and I lived in Washington, DC, so long distance phone calls were tricky with the time difference and having to wait until the cheaper evening rate kicked in.  (Remember those days?)  We wrote regular letters to each other, though.  In fact, Denny wrote letters to several of us in the family within weeks of his death.  Was that meaningful or not?  Of course, we all wondered about it at the time.

Denny and Bev became engaged a few weeks after Ted and I announced our engagement.  Denny was a groomsman in our wedding and Ted was a groomsman in Denny’s wedding.  We had Jeff in February 1972; Denny and Bev had Eric in July.  Then we had Kathy in April 1973, and Denny and Bev had Cheryl the following January.

Today, on your birthday, I want to say I still miss you, Denny.  I have four brothers, but one–you–lives only in my heart.

Love,

Your big sister

This is the picture of Denny I carry in my mind. He just bought the car and was so excited about it.

This is the picture of Denny I carry in my mind.  He’d just bought the car and was so excited about it.

I’ve been needing some new electronic toys for awhile, so I finally took the plunge and bought them.

My Nexus 7 tablet was diagnosed by Alex well over a year ago (maybe two years ago) as having a broken accelerometer.  Translation:  When I rotated the screen, it would not rotate back.  I had to power the tablet down and reboot it to un-rotate the screen.  Solution:  I’ve just kept the screen locked in the portrait position.  In the past year, the touch screen has also become increasingly less responsive.  Solution:  Tap harder and repeatedly to get a response.  My frustration and patience finally reached their limits with this device, so I bought a Samsung S2 tablet.  It’s an eight-inch screen instead of seven, but I like it.  It’s still easy to hold in one hand and not as unwieldy as a ten- or eleven-inch screen.

Another one of my toys, my seven-year-old laptop, wore out its internet card (diagnosed by Jeff).  I’d be merrily working away and would lose my internet connection without warning.  If I plugged the laptop in with an Ethernet cable, everything was fine, but I’m going to use my laptop for the India teacher trainings, and the odds of having a handy Ethernet port are slim, not to mention how inconvenient that would be.  I bought a 13-inch Asus laptop, and it’s pretty awesome to move up seven years in laptop technology.  I like the touch screen a lot, the laptop is very thin, the keyboard has a smooth, light touch, and I got a terrabyte of free cloud storage with the MS Office suite.  The only downside is that it’s brown!!!  Really?!  Not even a choice of at least standard silver or black?!  I mean, who wants a brown laptop???  It’s a silvery metallic brown, which makes it more palatable, but still, . . .

Anyway I’m happily playing with my new toys and, after also replacing our four-year-old smart phones last spring, I should be in good shape with my electronic toys for awhile.

The laptop came with a nice carrying case. I had to buy a cover for the tablet.

The laptop came with a nice carrying case.  I had to buy a cover for the tablet.

Yup! They both work. The photo on the laptop is from the Isle of Skye ought the northwest coast of Scotland.

Yup!  They both work.  The photo on the laptop is from the Isle of Skye off the northwest coast of Scotland.

I’m reading a pseudo-detective novel and its text is liberally sprinkled with amusing sentences that make me smile.  My knowledge of French is extremely limited, but I’m pretty sure I know what this means and it made me laugh out loud.

After twelve years employed as a sewer engineer for Hydro-Québec, Huck had acquired a faint, but persistent, “l’air du poop” that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much he showered nor how many gallons of Old Spice that he put on.

Dyer, Indiana is too close to our eastern Wisconsin friends and family to pass up a chance to visit the area.  (Not to mention that it’s a good excuse to bring cheese and hard rolls back to Missouri.)  We visited with Ted’s brother, Gary, and while we were in Kiel, we went out on a limb and decided to try a different kind of cheese this time.  We went to Henning’s Cheese Factory near Kiel, did a little cheese tasting, and spent a chunk of money.  We didn’t tour the cheese museum because a tour bus arrived at the same time we did and the museum had a maximum capacity of approximately one busload of visitors.  Now we have something to do on our next visit to the area.

Cheese-y, I know.

Cheese-y, I know.  Note that we are not climbing on the cow nor on the sign.

Jake, one of my brother Tom’s good friends, lives about two miles from the cheese factory (just down Henning Road, in fact), and we’ve gotten to know him through visits to Tom’s house for various events.  Jake was at Brandon and Maddie’s wedding and insisted he would be very hurt if we went to Henning’s without stopping in to see him.  We’re so glad we accepted his invitation, because we had a very relaxing visit.

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I could get used to a view like this from my back porch.

I could get used to a view like this from my back porch.Jake in front of his cottage. He has park-like property across from the cottage and it's beautiful!

Jake in front of his cottage.  He has park-like property across from the cottage and it’s beautiful!We also spent a very nice evening with my cousin, Donna, and her husband, Jon.  We had dinner at Rupp’s–a Sheboygan favorite that Ted and I haven’t been to for many years–followed by dessert and good conversation at Donna and Jon’s home.  My Uncle Gibby was supposed to join us, but decided to visit his son/my cousin, Mike, in Menominee during the time we were in the area.  Uncle Gibby will be 90 years old in November.  Donna and Jon are planning a party to celebrate the event, but we won’t be able to attend, since my brother Tom’s other son, Kyle, is getting married in Michigan on the same day as Uncle Gibby’s party.  We’ll have to get together with Uncle Gibby next time.

20160913_184618

Settling in at Rupp’s

Driving along Highway 57 between Plymouth and Waldo, we saw a pig car.  Yes, a pig car.  Since our grandson, Teddy, is crazy about pigs, we had to stop to take some pictures for him.

A unique way to advertise a pig roast.

A unique way to advertise a pig roast.

Naturally, a pig car needs a curly tail.

Naturally, a pig car needs a curly tail.We needed some exercise one rainy evening, so we “walked” the Wal-Mart store next door to our hotel.  It took about 40 minutes to go up and down every aisle and gave us a good idea of the scope of what can be purchased at Wal-Mart.  It also showed me how people get to be such die-hard Packer fans.  In Wisconsin, they breed Packer fans, dressing them in green and gold beginning at birth!

Baby Packer regalia to get the little ones accustomed to wearing the green and gold.

Baby Packer regalia to get the little ones accustomed to wearing the green and gold–booties, bibs, caps, onesies, etc.

When the kids grow up, they can buy nearly every essential item of clothing in the green and gold they've learned to love. Adult pj pants are hanging in the background

When the kids grow up, they can buy nearly every essential item of clothing in the green and gold they’ve learned to love.  Adult Packer pj pants are hanging in the background.As long as I was picking up hard rolls in Oostburg, I took time to visit with some high school classmates.  Audie and Sally met me at an Oostburg restaurant and we had a nice visit.  Audie’s husband died two years ago and she is now engaged and planning a wedding for late October.  She looks very happy and said she feels blessed to have been given two such wonderful men in her life.  We also went through the “What are your kids and grandkids doing?” routine, which is always fun.

On our way home, we stopped in Brookfield to have lunch with my cousin Judi.  Time flew by because we had so much to talk about, so we left later than we’d planned, but it was worth the time and we’re retired–we slept late the next morning.  Unfortunately, I forgot to have Ted take a picture of me with Judi.  I’ll have to hold that memory in my heart.

I-55 parallels the old Route 66.  When we stopped for gas, we felt more like tourists than travelers in need of gas and a rest room.  Jake’s, a huge store/gas station near Waggoner, Illinois, is obviously the place to stop for everything Route 66-related.

The tempting window display to attract our interest. Everything says "Route 66" somewhere on it.

The tempting window display to attract our interest. Everything says “Route 66” somewhere on it.

Route 66 themed rest rooms.

Route 66-themed rest rooms.Any souvenir your heart desires.

Any Route 66 souvenir your heart desires.When we got home, we put the cheese in the refrigerator, the hard rolls in the freezer, and the luggage in the laundry room.  Ted checked the rain gauge and discovered we’d had 3.2 inches of rain during the week we were gone.  Now it’s back to normal life for a few weeks before we head to Grand Island, Nebraska and Kirksville, Missouri to visit with Mutzie, Glenn, Kathy, and Annette.  Good times!

My brother Tom’s son, Brandon, was married in Dyer, Indiana last week, and we attended the wedding.  It was fun to get together with family and to catch up with each other.

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The wedding was at Meyers Castle and it was very nice.  The bride and groom were going to make a last-minute indoor/outdoor decision, based on the skies.  Based on conversation among the guests waiting with us for chairs to be dried off, the wedding party were apparently some of the few who did not look at the radar before making the decision.  A huge area of heavy rain was just outside the town at the time of the ceremony, but the call was for an outdoor wedding.  We were sprinkled on a little bit, but everyone was inside before the deluge hit.  The pastor did a world-class job of including all the important information, as well as some pleasantries, while keeping the service moving along ahead of the rain.

During the ceremony, Brandon made promises to Damon (his soon-to-be-adopted son) to always care for him.

During the ceremony, Brandon made promises to Damon (his soon-to-be-adopted son) to always care for him.

You may kiss your bride.

You may kiss your bride.

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R: Brandon, Maddie, JoEllen, Tom” width=”800″ height=”600″> L–>R:  Brandon, Maddy, JoEllen, TomAnd then it was time to party!

The venue was beautiful and romantic.

The venue was beautiful and romantic.

Damon dancing with his grandma.

Damon dancing with his grandma.The winner for "most unusual wedding cake topper."

The winner for “most unusual wedding cake topper.”Ted and I had a good time, and we wish Brandon and Maddy many happy years together.

Brandon and Maddie forever

Brandon and Maddy forever

Due to the delayed swim party for Dylan’s birthday, it wasn’t long before Kari invited us to Sky’s birthday dinner.  He chose an all-time favorite meal:  ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and Waldorf salad, topped off with chocolate-chocolate cake (cake and frosting were both chocolate) and ice cream.  Yummy!

Then it was time to open his gifts and to build the Lego set he received while Ted and I visited with Kari and listened to Teddy tell us about school and how he has to do stuff with Google Docs, science, math, etc.  It was a very enjoyable evening, and Ted and I love being able to share these celebrations with our grandchildren.

Yes, he's a teenager now.

Yes, he’s a teenager now.

A nice assortment of birthday gifts.

A nice assortment of birthday gifts.  (And he’s starting to look so grown up!)Sky and Dylan were eager to build the new Lego set.

Sky and Dylan were eager to build the new Lego set.