where I talk with my inside voice
We have spent the last several weekends going over to my parents’ house in O’Fallon and going through everything we find there to see if there is anything worth keeping. Certainly there are plenty of things, like photo albums and books and other mementos, but I am somewhat surprised that there isn’t more. We have brought home three truckloads of...
This was a rough week. I got my dad moved down to El Dorado Springs. He has moved in with his sister Marlene, for which I am grateful because I’m not sure how much longer he can actually live on his own without help. So it’s nice knowing that he has someone else there in case of an emergency. He’s...
We are truly blessed. Sometimes it is easy forget that. So today I wanted to take some photos of Dixie and I with our new cars, so we don’t forget how lucky we are – and also so we could look back on these decades from now and remember that there was a time when we were still cool. The...
Last year, the poison ivy was a bit out of control in our yard, and Dixie wanted to move the garden away from the back fence so that we didn’t have so many vines growing through it into the garden. So we spent the weekend creating a new bed, by moving the rear bed to the front – leap-frogging the...
Our little girl had another birthday, and now she is officially a “tween.” She helped make her birthday cake this year, and I’m so proud of the young lady she has become.
The St. Louis Symphony’s annual Christmas Concert never fails to get me in the Christmas spirit. The choices of songs are always so festive and this year they had the entire audience sing along with a medley of carols. At last year’s concert, I saw several people wearing the LED light necklaces, so I had to order some for us...
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...
More
