Whoooeee! 47 years and counting

It was a bit later in the day, but 47 years ago, Judy and I were married at Talbot Park Baptist Church, in Norfolk, Virginia. The reception was held at the Officers Club at Naval Station, Norfolk.

My squadron mates all were involved. My "roomie" in FORRESTAL, Don Dudrow, was best man, and the rest of the officers were either ushers, sword arch or guests.

It has been a great union. The years have sped by, and we have been blessed with 3 daughters and one son. We have lived in 5 states, moved 12 or 13 times, endured various separations due to military and airline requirements, and are presently proud grandparents of 6 boys, and one grand daughter.

Holiday Blitz

All holidays are kicked off with food. Feasting seems to be the national pastime, and this Christmas was no exception. We had a massive standing rib (boneless) roast on Christmas Eve. I'll spare you the images of turkey, ham and other comestibles that were on every ones Christmas table.
The ladies produced a beautifully prepared roast of beef, done to a turn, and there was plenty of rare, medium rare and even some almost well done on the roast. Daughter Wendy and son Brad were absent, spending Christmas Eve with in-laws. Holly and her boys arrived on the 18th, Kari, Wayne and Carson on the 21'st from Virginia, and Mike, Holly's husband, arrived by air from El Paso, on the 23rd. It was cozy in the house, the three bathrooms were popular places.

Holly and the boys brought an intriguing new toy with them, and Momo was instantly absorbed in trying to find the various items inside. Yep, we even got Momo her very own at the Great American Toy Company. They made neat gifts for a couple of family members.

Zach and Will received several interesting items, these DVD's seem to hold their undivided attention.

Carson was excited by all the packages, and delighted us with his exuberance. He assumed the job of passing the various gifts to the recipients.

At 21 months of age, Peyton was quick to discover the easiest way to unwrap his gifts. What a joy all the grand kids are, and it's such a pleasure to see them open surprises.

Holly, mike and the boys left on Friday. When they stopped at the cabin in Ruidoso, they found that some considerate soul had kicked in the door to the cabin. They managed to repair the door so it would close, and made it back to El Paso by 5 pm. We will make our annual February trip the first weekend in February. We usually time it so we can celebrate Zach's birthday, but this year, he is involved in practice trial. His team has a chance to make it to the state finals.

B-r-r-r-r-r!

The weather guessers finally hit one out of the park. They forecast today would be bright, sunny and warm----until noon, and then the refrigerator door would be left open. Yep, at noon, when we got out of church, it was 64 degrees. By the time we got home (usually a 10 minute drive) the temp was down to 45, and at this time, 5 pm, it's hovering around 27. So that means I finally close the bedroom window tonight, probably put on a pair of shoes to get the morning paper, and watch the dogs hunt for a warm place to pee.

I have several old, I mean really old photos of the kids that I managed to salvage with my new little scanner. It converts 35 mm negatives and slides into digital images, and those can be used for all sorts of embarrassing events. When I manage to "heal" the glitch in my computer, I'll post some of the choice ones. Watch out Kari, Holly, Brad and Wendy! Oh, I even have a few of the grandkids that I have been hoarding!

Well, gotta go light the gas log, Judy is getting chilled.

Later!

New toy!

Well, it came in yesterday! I noticed an ad for a small scanner that would convert old 35mm negatives to digital, and it finally arrived! It's about the size of a large cup of coffee, and it's a breeze to use.
One of the first film strips I found was some I took of the "Fall of the Wall" back in November of 1989. It is strange to think that this all happened 19 years ago! I was living in Berlin at the time, flying the corridors as a pilot with PanAm's Inter German Service. This is a photo of the Brandenburg Gate on the 11th of November, 1989. Those guys on the Wall are East German Volks Police.

This photo was taken on the return leg from Istanbul back into Berlin. We would takeoff just before the curfew of 10 pm, and return after the end of the curfew at around 6 am. The cockpit of that old 727 was COLD! The insulation had been removed years before, and it was icy up there until the sun came up.

Just another view of the Brandenburg Gate. The crowd was ecstatic! And the place was crawling with TV crews from all over the world. CNN and NBC had crews just to the left of my spot.

Yeah, I had to peck on the Wall for some chunks for the folks back home. There was a major shortage of hammers and chisels for several weeks. I was beating on the Wall here with another lad from Amarillo, Gary Boyd. Gary passed on a year of so back.

I'll be careful when I add photos from my old stash. I don't want the kids throwing rocks at me when I post an oldie of them picking their nose, or some other blunder...

Thanksgiving Dinner

Every family in the country probably had turkey for the main entree for Thanksgiving Dinner. We were no different, here's the evidence. Oh, it didn't come with feathers!
Also, it didn't come ready cooked. Judy roasted it in her roaster for about 6 hours, and it was done to perfection.

This was the finished article, before the slicing and dicing began, I'll spare you the image of turkey bones and other such refuse...

However, the diners were thankful and hungry. This was Peyton's first attempt at forks.
Hayden managed to stow away his share of the goodies, now, he's waiting for PIE!
After heavy feasting, things get a bit drowsy. Hunter didn't really get that interested in football.
Hannah managed to charm her way through the menu, if she has never tasted something, it has to be inedible No amount of cajoling or pleading will get her to try new and tasty offerings.
Well, Thanksgiving 2008 in a fresh memory now, some of the family made Black Friday forays into the Christmas rush traffic, but Momo and I just enjoyed having the three Blankenship grandkids for the evening, breakfast and lunch. Great kids, great fun.

The whole Amarillo family is looking forward with great anticipation to Christmas. We will have a crowd here at the house, us, the George family, Wayne, Kari and Carson, and the Fields clan, Mike, Holly, Zach and Will. We have 5 bedrooms in this house, but only 3 bathrooms. It will be cosy! With the 9 of us in the house, I expect long lines at the bathrooms. We can manage, this is what family is all about.

Just had to show this photo....

Once again, Judy has shown that she is a better photographer than I am. Of course, she did have a fantastic subject. Clik on it to make it larger.

One way to spend Sunday

Well, as usual, I got the cart before the horse when I loaded these photos. This is the result of a couple days work by a tile setter. He's almost finished tiling Judy's bathroom (carpet was a major mistake 11 years ago) and later, you will see the tile setters best side, at least that's what he said...
This is a new concept, multitasking in the bathroom. I don't think it will be a permanent solution, nor does it save water...

This the tile setter, doing what he does. He's a hard working guy, and has an assistant to cut the tiles to his specification.

Even after a few days with temperatures in the twenties, there are several plants that still have blooms...here's one

Here's another. The leaves on the cottonwood trees are all gone, but the red oak will hold on to it's leaves until after Christmas. I have to leave the bird net over the pond until oak leaves drop.

This is Thanksgiving week. We will celebrate with Wendy's family and Brad's. but dinner will be a late affair, probably around 6 or later..Meanwhile, here's wishing all of you a Happy Thanksgiving feast....

KINDER CHURCH

Last night (11 November) was the dress rehearsal for the upcoming opening of our children's wing of the new church addition. Following are a few photos of the facilities for the birth to kindergarten kids. There is another wing (upstairs) for the first thru sixth grade kids. We open this coming weekend! Several of the volunteers and nursery workers brought their kids to try out the security system, and to see if the planned procedures are workable.....
The main attraction is the indoor playground. This is HUGE! The bigger kids come here right after check in and get to play until the start of services.

This room is gigantic! I think you could drop a couple of houses in here and have room left over! The kids really gave it a workout.

There are dedicated spaces for each age kid. Comfort and security are paramount throughout the facility. This room is for the 2 year old kids.

This is one of the rooms dedicated to the 18 month old crowd. Lots of chairs for snacks, and there is another room just like this next door.

Colorful murals decorate the halls and the nursery rooms. There are two larger rooms in the kindergarten and 4 year old kids room that have stages!

While the big kids get to play on the slides and jungle gyms shown earlier, this is the toddler play ground.

The main sanctuary won't be open until February. It is also gigantic, seats over 4,000, and will be theater in the round. I will post photos of that when available...

Our grandkids will be able to attend here. Hannah and Hunter will be upstairs with the big kids, and Peyton will be down stairs with the infants thru kindergarten.

Security is always the first consideration in a facility such as this, especially after the episode in Colorado Springs, last year. Entering the facility where the kids are is allowed only with the badge made at check in. There are only two doors in, one upstairs and one down, and both of these are controlled by security.

First haircut

If having children and watching them grow up is deeply satisfying, then watching your grandchildren grow and mature is a quantum leap above satisfaction. Today, we watched our youngest grandson, Peyton Gresham Sanders, get his first haircut. The barber is a close and dear friend of Brad's, and calls himself Peyton's Uncle David. Since David's shop is basically a beauty salon, barber chairs are not in use, and Mama Paige got the privilege of holding our squirming little guy.
Since we have 6 older grandchildren, 5 boys and our only little petunia, Hannah, this was not really a "first" but still it was a very moving day. I made a short video that I wanted to post, but alas, it is a huge file, and after 30 minutes of trying, the blogosphere balked, and I had to resort to stills.

Probably due to Peyton's familiarity with David, it was fairly easy. There were no tears (at least from Peyton) and he seemed to enjoy the attention.

Yes, we saved lots of those little locks for his baby book. His granny (MoMo to him and all the other grandkids) stuffed several nice bunches in an envelope just for such use.

This is why it's called FALL!

Every October, we rig the bird net to keep the cottonwood leaves out of the pond. You can imagine just how big a mess it would be if I had to dip these leaves out of the water. It would be an impossible task! This is before using the leaf vac.....
More evidence of a healthy cottonwood, and the presence of our trusty bird net. It works!

Now, you can tell how well the vacuum works. I had to empty the bag three times. We use the bagged leaves, now about 1/10 the volume, as mulch in the various flower beds bordering the lawn.

Even the deck and my outdoor kitchen are clear. Nope, I know it won't last. I'll have to do this again next week, probably keep vacuuming leaves into February because the red oak waits until January or later to shed.

Here it is, the second of November, and the temperature hit 78 degrees! Normally, we would be wearing heavy jackets, a scarf and fur hat. Today, we went to church in shirtsleeves! I am still feeding the fish since the water temperature is still in the 60's. Weird weather, but I'm not complaining. Indian Summer! What a glorious Indian Summer! Fantastic weather, I have never seen it so mild this late in the year.

Indian Summer Days

Indian Summer is defined as those warm days after the first frost. Our first frost was last week, killed all the veggies in the garden, whacked a few of the more tender flowers, but the leaves on the cotton wood over the pond are still hanging on. The bird net we put up is doing it's job, but we really haven't had a lot of leaves drop yet.

I made the move to winterize old truck (96 Ford Supercab with 156,000 miles) and ran the Suburban in for a quick oil change and antifreeze check. So far, things seem OK.

The days have been fabulous! Night temps may drop as low as 35, but the daytime temps climb to around 70 and even higher. Next week, we are forecast to have temps nearing 80! I don't relish scraping ice and rime off the truck on mornings, but those mornings are around the corner. Some of the older locals tell us that this will be a fairly mild winter. I hope so. Dolly and Max don't like cold weather but Indian Summer is a big favorite with them too.

Last evening, we held a prayer vigil for the election next week. We had about 32 or so prayer warriors and the horns of the altar got a pretty good workout. I don't think the country is ready for a socialist commander in chief. Having to endure the Wicked Witch from the West as Speaker of the House is stomach turning enough.

Last Saturday was the celebration of two friend's birthdays. Ralph Benge, a member of my Lion's Club turned 90! He's the only founding member of our club left around. The other celebrant was Mayetta Parr, a neighbor lady, good friend, fellow church member and charter member of our Saturday Diner's club; she turned 80. We joined her and about 40 or so friends for dinner at the Country Barn. Sunday dinner was at our house, but Wendy brought a toothsome brisket and all the local family was present. Sorry, no photos.

Fall Cleanup, Winterize

Every autumn, we are faced with the problem of what plants to save, when to rig the bird net (nope, we aren't bothered by the birds, but we want the leaves to stay out of the pond) and trimming some of the wild undergrowth that our TLC and Mother nature have provided to the trumpet vines, grape vines and neighbors morning glory. The pergola over the pond has been covered heavily with trumpet vine and morning glory, so we decided to clean it off. It looks sorta bare now, but hopefully, next spring the clematis planted each side, will cover the pergola (after we replace the lattice) and bloom heavily like the clematis in other parts of the yard.
It's hard to see the bird net, but it's there. We have to leave access to the pond for Dolly and Max. We do feed the fish until the water gets below 50 degrees, and both dogs consider the pond their water dish. It is also a trap for squirrels and small birds, so we leave an escape hatch for them.

Gonna build an ARK!

It has rained for oh I can't remember when it started, but I sure would like for it to stop! As you can tell that's 3 inches in the guage, and I think it started on Saturday. That was the second week in a row that we had to slosh through ankle deep water in and out of church. Hopefully, some of this moisture is making its way to lake Meredith, that forms a reservoir for most of the high plains and even as far south as Lubbock! The lake has been on a decline for a few years, and the cities that draw water from that body are going to see a major cut in available water. About the only good thing about the rain is that it is RAIN and not SNOW! I can't imagine how deep the drifts would be if we had this much moisture as snow!

Grandpa sittin'

Last night was a special night for the girls. Paige turned the corner at the big four oh, and Judy was tied up at a ladies function at the church. I took Judy to Trinity Fellowship Church about 6:30, and expected to pick her up around 9 pm. Brad had called earlier to see if Peyton could stay at our house while he took Paige out for Shushi (I did tell him that there were other ways to get intestinal parasites, but he wanted her to have bait) so he dropped Peyton by about 10 after 7.

Peyton and I talked about his likes and dislikes, his girl friends, his pals, how he was doing in school, his favorite cars, how the expected the Colts (he's a Colts fan, better than a Redskins fan I guess) and generally how his week had progressed. He really likes to talk, especially when it's his favorite subject, like the Colts, or cars. I found out that he really likes chicken. He's a lot like his dad when it comes to liver. He does have a weakness for certain other foods, but generally, he's not a picky eater.

We talked politics, and how sick we both were of the endless political ads and how much we both disliked how the media was so biased. He said he probably was going to be independent this election. He didn't like Obama (one of the few young people who don't I guess) and he agreed with me that John McCain had really changed from when I knew him back in the 60's.

He wanted to watch a little TV, so he turned on the History Channel, and we enjoyed a little of America's past. He commented that some of the History had been edited so that it really didn't mean much anymore. His comments on the Constitution were lucid and pointed, and we both agreed that the congress needed to get back to basics and quit trying to amend that historic document. It was a pleasant evening, and I think we will do it again.

Gettin' Ready for Old Man Winter

Shorter days and cooler nights have stirred Judy to start planning for the really cold days ahead. She and Darin potted a bunch of the plants around the pond, and I knocked a bench together, Darin and Judy brought them in and now we have a "Green" room (well, it's our dining room, green paint, you know green paint, green plants oh well, forget it, bad joke anyway) Now if she can just remember to water these old friends, and the littlest grandson doesn't pull them off the bench....



The other evening, I was surprised to see this spider web attached to the post light in the front yard. It sure looks like this old guy picked a good place to trap bugs. Those are gnats and small flies in the web. He also gets the night traffic.

An open and shut case (uh, well, sorta)

Friday afternoon, Mike was holding the garage door opener, with the door part way down. He had a puzzled look on his face as if to say "How did I do that?" We just could not raise or lower the garage door! Being a little brighter that the average bear, we decided to muscle the door open, and leave the cars outside! Holly and Mike had to make an early get-away back to El Paso on Saturday, so that's what we did. I was worried that we would not be able to get someone to come out on the weekend to replace the door opener, so I called around and found a guy who works on weekends! He promised to have someone come replace my old opener on Sunday. OK, so far, so good.

On Saturday, Brad needed to cut some plywood on my table saw, so we muscled the door open again, and Brad said "You don't need a new opener, your spring is broken." Sure enough, the photo below shows the broken spring. To bring things to a close, the young man came to the house at 1 pm on Sunday, replaced both springs, cleaned things up, and we have an operating garage door again! HOORAY!

We probably still need to replace the opener, but now we can do that at leisure, and not have to sweat the weekends.

Oh, we had a nice little rain last evening, gentle Texas rain, sideways, of course, not like those boring vertical rain showers in Virginia. Here it always rains on a bias, sometimes as much as 45 degrees, depending on the wind. It rained more this morning, and the weather guessers say we may have more this afternoon, and tomorrow.

Birthday Celebration(s)

October is a big month for the Sanders family birthday wise. We have a granny, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and a grandson all with October birthdays, and a son with a late September birthday. This time, we celebrated ALL of them at one time.
Chuck and Diana James, old PanAm friends were on hand, and Wendy was busy trying to get nephew Peyton to eat. He's ailing with a double ear infection, so he was a tad cranky.
OK, Judy turns 68 on the 14th, Mike is 51 on the 21st, Wendy is 40 today, Paige is 40 on the 10th, Brad was 41 on the September 19, and Will is 12 on the 6th.
The huge standing rib roast Judy cooked is almost a memory!
We only put 12 candles on the cake, if we had put candles for every birthday, we would have had a major fire!
Will managed to get most of the candles out. (with a little help from his friends)

We all had fun! The meal was great, the roast was done to perfection, and the company was almost complete, missing Kari, Wayne and Carson. It was a very pleasant evening. We even had a call from Holly's brother-in-law, Nick Makrides, and Zach called from Manassas, VA. too!

Holly, Mike and Will had to leave this morning. They managed to get underway around 10, with a quick stop at Toys R Us so Will could pick up a couple of necessities. Zach returns to El Paso tonight after a couple of weeks in DC and Manassas.