Five Years at the Beach

Here's another five year photo comparison. The top photo is from this year and the bottom from 2001.

In the lower photo we have just discovered ants in most of our bags as we were packing them in the car to go home. The ants were attracted by an open juice box that someone tried to save in their bag. Bobbie and I sat everyone down and then spent an hour repacking everything.

The top photo puts everyone on the same steps five years later. By the way, no ants this time, but someone did bring along 11 pairs of shoes.

More later...

Five Years On

Here are two photos taken five years apart. The top one was taken on September 14, 2001, the Friday just following the terrorist attacks. Like almost all Americans we were flying the flag for months after that awful day, proud of our country and angry at the attackers.

The bottom photo was taken this past Monday September 11, 2006. So much has changed. Sarah have grown, but we want all three of our children to know, understand and remember the heroism of so many that day. So when they asked why we were flying the flag that day I reminded all three of them.


September 11th is to our generation what December 7th was to our parents. An attack, a call to action, a day that all will remember who were there. I only pray that we will respond with the same dedication and spirit as our parents did.

(Now if we could only get right and left straight.)

Duplo Church

John made a church out of Duplos the other day. (Duplos are larger sized bricks made by Lego for younger children.) Even though he makes intricate and large creations using literally hundreds of Legos of all sized, he still enjoys coming back to the Duplos every once in a while.

Look in the lower left to see the pastor at the communion table. That's the organist in the upper right. Also please note that the Duplo congregation behaves just like a real one. The first row is empty!

The bottom photos is a detail shot of the organist. She's not really in a choir loft is she? Not enough room up there. John said specifically that she is playing a pipe organ, but did not say what hymn or piece of music she might be playing. That will be determined later, I'm sure. Seems to be a fairly informal crowd with Bob the Builder (center) in his overalls and an equistrian rider in the back row.

Look for more Lego creations, as they become available! 

Summer's not over yet!!!

Ballet St. Richard

Here is Bobbie and her friend Susanne dancing at the St. Richard's Church Picnic this afternoon. They performed the same Mozart Symphony #41 piece as yesterday. As you can see, it's a very different stage from yesterday's plywood. The stage was intended for the kid's talent show with an electronic piano, a stool and not much else.

Being the troopers they are, the Ballet Ladies danced on the grass. Afterwards they said the biggest challenge was keeping track of the center of the "stage" for reference.

The audience was appreciative, but I think that not only due to the quality of the performance, but also the fact that they were billed as the "St. Richard Liturgical Dancers." It always helps if people think you're part of the program.

 

Ballet Ross

Bobbie danced with the Ballet Ladies today at Ross Township Community Days. They danced an original piece choreographed by Kristy, one of their ballet instructors. The music was Mozart and the day was bright as you can see.

The ballet studio came out in force. We all saw people we hadn't seen since last spring. The dance surface was apparently a challenge. It was plywood with a lot of deflection.

Naturally a great shot of most everyone taking their bows.

Evening Fun

The past few evenings have been comfortable and perfect for a spin around on the bike or scooter after dinner. Because of the ballet schedule, Janine, John and I have spent our evenings togther having a great time.

We eat dinner about 6:30, and watch "Good Eats" on the Food Network at 7:00. Then it's dessert time, so we take our ice cream outdoors and have a ball. Sometimes the other kids in the neighborhood come around if we get out early enough.

Last night I took these photos as the sun was going down at about 8:00 PM. As the light was fading the flash took a lot out of the camera battery. So after only five shots, the low battery indicator started flashing. Then I knew it was time to go inside because it was getting far too dark to ride safely. 

Sarah Helps Out

Sarah and I installed new window hardware in the living room this past Saturday. She took one window and I took the other. Here she is applying putty to the old screwholes. She did everything other than drill the holes. We were drilling a little too close to the glass for comfort.

She has a real interest in doing most anything around the house. She does the laundry part of the time- sorting, setting the washer, running the dryer and most importantly, keeping it all moving.

Two years ago she chose two greens and a blue to paint stripes in her room. A month later when we were shopping at IKEA we found curtains and a bedspread in the same colors.

Earlier this year she fashioned a purse from an old pair of jeans later finding a similar one in a store at the mall. This window project was a little different, but still a good example of how she likes to get things done. We love Sarah no matter what and we are very proud of her. But her willingness and ability to help in so many ways is such a blessing.

Garden Tour

Saturday August 19 was Bobbie's turn for the Ballet Ladies Garden Tour. The idea of a monthly garden tour started in June with three gardens. There were three more in July while Bobbie and another lady concluded the tour in August.

As most gardener's know, August is a difficult time to insure a colorful and growing garden. The weather is usually hot and dry so most perennials are dormant. Bobbie's garden is no exception. So in order to add color, she planted a number of annuals in a new bed (top photo). Several of these are dahlias that she carried
over from last year in paper bags in the garage. This new bed is reclaimed from an old bed that featured a crab apple tree as its centerpiece and myrtle as ground cover.

One of my business partners and I cut down the crabapple 18 months ago. Bobbie cut out the stump in May. In fact you can see the stump leaning against the wall in the background of the middle photo. This is another reclaimed bed that was planted with large yew shrubs. A few annuals made it pretty for the garden party while Bobbie considers what to plant there next.

On the uphill side of the driveway sidewalk is the bed in the bottom photo. Bobbie has improved the lower section of this area by planting soggy tolerant varities. The poor roses on the side of the hill have been eaten by deer and long to be encouraged. They will probably be transplanted to a more rose friendly area in the spring. The grass path on the far right is another improvement. It used to be a mulch path that became ugly and hard to manage.

Overall it's a great job and I am very proud of Bobbie and her efforts.

New School Room

Here's John sitting at Mommie's desk in the newly remodeled school room. We will post more about this room later, but since this is September 1, it's time to at least mention school.

Classes started here at the Little House in mid-August with a daily math lesson. Bobbie adds a subject or two a week, so we will be running a full schedule next week.

The biggest difference this year so far is the room itself. The kids helped design it. They liked having their lessons on the living room couch, so we brought an old love seat up from the basement. It has worked out well so far. The school room seems more welcoming this way. They like to stay in the room longer. I love it when I see them all sitting on the love seat listening to Mommie read to them. 

That cans it!

Now that's more practical than throwing them at the neighbors! There they are, about 20 jars of new tomato sauce. Bobbie just cooked down the tomatoes this year so this will be the basis for many different sauces rather than an entire batch of a single recipe.

Bobbie likes this approach because it requires a minimum of slicing, dicing and the like.

We made salsa a few years ago. The tomato crop didn't go very far that year because we ate every jar before Christmas! This sauce will probably last for a while longer.