where I talk with my inside voice
In October, I rejoined the Boeing Volleyball League after an almost twenty year absence. The first few games were rough – I didn’t have the stamina I once had, and my skills were pretty rusty. By the time we went on hiatus for the holidays, I was starting to feel more like my old self on the court. By February,...
Completed in 1890, the Samuel Cupples House is now a part of the Saint Louis University campus. Since Noah was home this week for Spring Break, I decided to take the day off work and we all headed downtown for a self-guided tour of the place. Unfortunately, the basement gallery was closed, so we didn’t get to see any of...
Another year has flown by. Our itty bitty is now a young lady on her way to college in a few months. Today we celebrated her birthday, but a couple of weeks ago, we discovered that our ignorance of the effects of humidity can ruin a guitar. The neck of her $200 guitar (that she has been playing a lot...
I hate Charter with the intensity of a thousand suns, and it was with great pleasure that I called them this week and brought our long and expensive relationship to an end. They naturally attempted to keep me with a better offer, and I just can’t help but wonder, if they can afford to tempt me at the last minute,...
Last weekend, Dixie and I attended the Blue-Tie Gala for Duo Dogs (photo below), and tonight, we went downtown to the Fete du Feather at the Hyatt. I had already bought tickets for tonight’s event a couple of months ago, and then Boeing offered us two seats at the Duo Dogs event, so we’ve been quite the social butterflies this...
In January, I received a summons from St. Louis County to appear for jury duty in Clayton. The letter itself is not surprising – the surprising part is I’ve lived in the county almost my entire life and this is the first time I’ve been selected for jury duty. I showed up around 8:15am and waited around in the assembly...
Noah invited his friend David to spend the weekend at Oberhelman, so we drove out today to hang out with him and do a little target practice. Dinner, as usual, was yummy, and we played a game of Hitster too. It was a good time.
Because of my volunteering, I was rewarded with the Boeing box seats at the Fox for a performance of The Phantom of the Opera. Because Noah wasn’t home, Josie invited her friend Selby to join us. This production has updated the set, but it is still impressive. I couldn’t resist snapping an illegal photo of my favorite number (“Masquerade”).
We had quite a snowstorm today that left about 8 inches on the ground and made it harder on the birds to find a meal. Lucky for this cardinal that Dixie provides her feathered friends a place to refuel. There’s a short video below.
The Crossroads Arts Council in Wentzville, Missouri, hosts an annual art show that showcases the work of high school students in the area. Homeschoolers aren’t explicitly invited, but they aren’t excluded either, so Josie entered three pieces in the show. She didn’t win, but we were all in agreement that the judging was, if not biased, at least flawed.
Not only was today the beginning of my two-week Christmas break, but I was also able to announce (finally!) the names of the first Mizzou students to be awarded the Pipes Family Foundation Scholarship. I hope this is the start of a long tradition, although I have to admit the selection process this year was longer and more painful than...
As per usual, we hosted the family for Thanksgiving, although the crowd wasn’t as big as some years because Laura didn’t come in town, we still had a good time and plenty of Dixie’s great food! We also corrected our mistakes from last year with the new smoker and the turkey was much better. There are a couple photos in...
Since the kids started with Rick Zelle as their piano teacher, this is the first time we’ve been invited to a recital. Josie played I’m Still Standing by Elton John, and did a great job. We are so proud of the kids and their musical abilities. A short video of her performance is included below.
I don’t know if it is actually possible to eliminate hunger in the United States – seems like if it were, we would have done it already – but after witnessing yet another government shutdown that lasted over a month and the suspension of SNAP benefits in Missouri, I proposed to the ECF grantmaking committee that we make an unsolicited...
Ever since I started working the MQ-25 program, I’ve been wanting to build a Lego model of the aircraft. I started working on this in September, and I probably spent about 20 hours in Studio refining the design. It took two weeks to order and receive all of the parts from Bricklink, but it is finally done. I’m happy with...
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