Last nice day...

On the last nice day two weeks ago, John took his bass and amp outside for a little impromptu concert and practice session.

A few days before when the weather was also agreeable, he played his guitar on a bench at the nature park behind our house.

Now we are confined due to snow, but John will be waiting for the next opportunity to get outside to play.

Colorado family reunion

One day late for Throwback Thursday on Facebook, so here it is one day late.

This is Sarah at age 9 when she and I went to Colorado to visit my family that summer.

It is lunchtime Mountain time, but we were up since 3:30 Eastern time to catch a flight to Philadelphia then change planes to Denver. We were exhausted!

It was a nice visit and today we have an artifact, a Ford Expedition that my sister picked up that evening for the trip.

Basement Steps

Here's our basement steps earlier today. Over the years the stringer board (upper photo, left side) had bowed out nearly three inches. This created gaps that left some of the steps supported only by nails,

To shore up the steps I cut that board then used a pipe clamp (lower photo, center) to bring the sides back together. Then I installed an extra board next to the cut one to transfer the load. However I had to punch holes in the wall for the clamp.

Still, it was worth it because it worked!

Next time I will patch the holes and paint the steps. In the meantime the basement steps are now structurally sound.

Who's who?

Here's Janine and her friend Lizzy in their Halloween costumes. They are...wait for it...dressed as each other! Yes I know it is hard to tell them apart, the costumes are that good. But that will simply have to do.

It's all great fun and a very clever idea. The study center they both go to on Fridays prohibited Halloween costumes. But sometimes restrictions focus creativity and this is one of those situations. Good job girls! Everyone liked it.

Saturday at the Warhol Museum

This past Saturday Janine, her friend Tessa, John and I visited the Andy Warhol Museum in the North Shore area across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh. This is the Silver Pillow Room, a recreation of one of the installations at the Factory, Warhol's New York studio. While we didn't see Grace Jones or any other celebrities, the photo below is our parking level reminder. I was reassured that Grace's fierce eyes would be guarding our car.

End of Summer

Here's the four of us about a month ago for Sarah's end of summer dinner out. We went to a restaurant in the Fairmont that was very creative so naturally we all had to have a taste of each other's dinners.

...just getting back into posting here. We will add more later...

Sunday Morning

It was great to have Sarah with us over Thanksgiving. This morning she shared her kitchen creativity. We had a breakfast of various cheeses, apples, toasted, thinly sliced bagette and a hash of cabbage and onions.

It all was very good, but the blessing was to spend some time with Sarah just chatting and sharing our thoughts.

Thanksgiving breakfast

Last night I assembled, and this morning I baked, a cheese, spinach and egg strada. It was very simple and tasted great. It may become a new Thanksgiving tradition. Than as I was cleaning up the kitchen sink backed up due to the 10 egg shells I put in there from last night's assembly. Once again a large number of egg shells groud to precise 1/4 inch squares makes the perfect drain trap bolus.

Thankfully this time I know spotted the problem before turning on the disposer and waste water spewed under the sink.

But I am thankful for so much today. We have been through so much this past year and a half after the death of my wife Bobbie. The Lord has blessed us with a wonderful family, church, neighbors, homeschool and acting networks, the Caring Place families and staff. The list goes on and on.

Now on this happy confluence of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving, may The Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine unto you. And make He continue to hold us all in the hollow of His hand.

School Bench

Here's Janine and crew in a Saltworks sketch on bullying and a school bench. They are performing for some school assemblies tomorrow morning and this is one of the better ones. It is a well-written piece, But, while some of it made me cringe, it ended well.

Don't tell Moses

These are two burning bushes on the north side of our house and they are at peak color on top. However the bottom looks like it has a way to go yet. These are the largest of our burning bushes, the others are in the front garden. The rest of the year these are pretty dull shrubs. But right now they sure are not.

After the game

Here's Grace after the game. DePauw won 3-2 over the College of Wooster scoring the winning goal in the last 90 seconds.

DePauw kept Wooster bottled up in their own zone for the first 20 minutes, but could not put it past the goaltender. Wooster jumped on the opportunity once they got into the DePauw zone and were ahead for most of the game.

We all had a great time sitting with the parents of most of the ladies. Many more were there because it was senior day.

Family resemblance?

Here's Janine and her Gramps in Cloverdale, IN this past weekend. Cousin Grace plays field hockey at DePauw University and we all came in for a tournament. Great to see her play, even greater to be with family.

Last call

This is the loveliest work I have done all summer. Nothing that is. Sarah bought a basil plant this spring, planted it and we have used it intermittently.

Now we have this wonderful bush of these fragrant leaves. What to make with it? Pesto? Salade Calabrese?

Whatever it might be, we won't let it go to waste.

First Signs...

The first signs of fall a seen this morning in our front yard. The top photo is a maple that has started to loose leaves a bit early. Still I like to highlights on the top.

Bottom is a burning bush that is just about to get going. These seem to be the first leaves to turn in our yard. We always know the locust in the back yard is last.

Last Day of Summer

Today, Saturday September 21, 2013 is the last full day of summer. The azaleas in front of the house are beginning to show it too. This one is a nice bronze while the other one looks like it needs to be fed!

We have all enjoyed the front garden this year. The garden was Bobbie's complete diversion. Once she got started weeding, planting, moving, building or whatever she would keep going even after dark. She completely lost track of time. Her mother liked to say she took after her father in that way. So when friends help, it really means a lot.

Special thanks go out to Andy who with some help from Mariann has kept the garden weeded and neat. It's one less thing for us to worry about around here. They let me participate by calling me in for hazard removal like poison ivy and hornets' nests. Andy, Mariann and the Ballet Ladies have been such a blessing to us over this past year.

Here's proof of the care, a cleome, an annual that is self seeing from the year before. For these to bloom in September, you have to leave them alone earlier in the year. Thanks!