where I talk with my inside voice
My family indulged me in a little road trip to Lebanon, Missouri today to visit Whirlwind Ranch. They have been raising alpacas there for 25 years and I’ve always thought they were cool, so we went to see them and to buy some yarn. We stopped in St. James on the way home for lunch. It was a good day.
The first quarter of this year has been a complete blur, but I'm glad that winter is almost over. Today we celebrated Josie's 10th birthday. Talk about a blur. How has it been a decade already? She's really into greek mythology right now and so that was the theme for her birthday. I also promised her I would get her...
The kids started with a new piano teacher this year, because our old one got married and moved away (without even asking us first!). They had their first recital tonight and they did so well! Especially their duet – I was so proud of both of them. Josie played We Three Kings, Noah played Carol of the Bells and then...
Today we witnessed quite a spectacle, along with millions of other Americans. I’ve been waiting since 1979 to see a total solar eclipse, and my opportunity to see one in 1999 was thwarted by overcast skies, so I was overjoyed to actually see the awe-inspiring show in the sky. Dixie was pretty excited to see it too, as were the...
We finished framing the chicken run this weekend – Noah and Josie both helped me. Aurora looks on wondering when she can move in. Soon, my fine feathered friend. Soon.
Noah and Josie took the chicks outside for the first time today. I think it was a lot for them to process – they just stood in a small huddle the entire time. We also completed stage 1 of the coop construction. A couple more weeks and we can evict them from the basement.
One year ago, we got rid of our chickens, but the plan was always to start over with new chicks. This weekend we added 8 new members to the family. Say hello to Aphrodite, Aurora, Luna, Selena, Emma, Miley, Claudette, and Petunia. Now I have to get started on building a new coop!
Where does the time go? Next month, our little boy will crossover to Boy Scouts and say goodbye to his years as a Cub. Last night was his last Blue and Gold Banquet. He received his Arrow of Light badge and a really nice plaque. I am looking forward to seeing all of his achievements in the years ahead.
We spent Friday afternoon at the St. Louis Foodbank boxing up over 13,000 meals to be shipped to senior citizens across Missouri. The kids did an awesome job and we are so proud of them!
Parts of 2016 were a blur. The highlights for me were our trip to California to drive the PCH and finally publishing my book. This was a surprisingly hard year on celebrities – Prince and Carrie Fisher, to name a couple – people I grew up with, and who left us too soon (57 and 60, respectively). The election was...
Christmas was good this year. The kids got Airzookas, Legos, Mathsharks, and a bunch of other stuff. Dixie and I got Legos too, so we all spent Christmas day at the dining room table putting our sets together. Santa also brought me a 3D printer, so I spent some time learning how to use it. I even created my first...
It’s been almost a year since I started my Notre Dame cathedral in Minecraft. Here is where I am as of today. Roughly half-way, I’d say. Still quite a bit left to do on the rear end, and a lot of stained glass left to do. So far so good.
A couple of days after Christmas last year I went to Lowes and stocked up on lights that were on clearance. This year I’m liking the results.
I certainly have a lot to be thankful for in 2016. We hosted the family again this year for Thanksgiving dinner. We also made a trip over to Eric and Mary’s on Friday morning to see Abby, who was home for the weekend from VMI. Then, in the afternoon, we made our annual trek to Meert Tree Farm to find...
Wednesday seemed like a good day to take off work and go to the zoo. The weather was cool, but not uncomfortably so, and we were about the only people there, so there were no lines for the train. We got to see some of the critters more active than usual – like the new polar bear – and Josie...
It was pretty exciting on Tuesday this week to finally publish my first novel. It’s been an embarrassingly long time coming. I wrote the first few chapters in 1999. When Dixie and I met, there were plenty of other things to occupy my time. I continued to play around with it for years, but it wasn’t until the first year...
