eagle

I was outside this morning and spotted this huge eagle. It's not unusual to see Bald Eagles in our area, but this was larger than a Bald Eagle and with quite different markings. I zoomed in as much as I could with the camera and created the insert with PhotoShop.

Christmas Photos

Marley, Tara, Jenna

Dorothy's brother Bill and his wife Karon

paroramic view Christmas evening.



Our annual pj pic

 

Merry Christmas

The holidays around here mean people and food.



All the girls feel Tara's baby move





Egg nog custard, pecan, pecan/chocolate chip/cheese cake, pumpkin streusel



More photos later

jenna

quote of the day

A University of Maryland study found that those who watched significant amounts of Fox News were more likely to believe widely discredited information.

-- Harper's Weekly

back yard birds

male Cardinal



female Cardinal




Cardinal watches while Chickadee feeds



eight years old

Hunter didn't want a cake so Grandma, always one to oblige the kiddies, stuck candles in ice cream.



Look at Hunter's face. This is his expression upon unwrapping a box from a girl's clothing store. His expression changed when he discovered  something "good" inside.



Hunter posed with Nana and the food she cooked especially for his birthday, fried chicken and hot rolls.

saturday morning breakfast

I woke up this morning to the smell of bacon frying and cinnamon rolls baking. Ah, sometimes it's the smallest things that make life worth living.

marley and jenna's Christmas program

Marley did a great job singing her part

Jenna  helps sing Away in a Manger

dorothy's cake

Dorothy got a cake order similar to the one she did a few months ago. Once again she enlisted my help to cut the train parts out of rolled fondant icing.

what I'm reading now

Beyond Theology  by Alan Watts takes a look at Christianity from the context of Hinduism. It contains a clear explanation of what Christianity teaches. This book ties together his earlier works and later writings. His thinking over the years evolved from the Anglican view of Christianity to the Eastern philosophies embodied in Hinduism and Buddhism. You'll find some valuable psychological insights in this small, easily read volume.

quote of the day

People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.  Intellectual myopia, often called stupidity, is no doubt a reason. But the privileged feel also that their privileges, however egregious they may seem to others, are a solemn, basic, God-given right. The sensitivity of the poor to injustice is a trivial thing compared with that of the rich.

--John Kenneth Galbraith, The Age of Uncertainty  1977

sam 22

Samantha prepares to blow out 22 candles. As you can see, Jenna is excited because she is going to help.

what i'm reading now

The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux was published in 1983 so his report on the people and culture found along the sea coast of Great Britain is almost 30 years old. It's a picture of the British people at a time when there was high unemployment, coastal cities were all but dried up, and there wasn't much potential for things to improve. During Mr. Theroux's walking/bus/train tour the Falkland War started and Prince William was born. It's an interesting read. As I read through the book the coast and towns came to life as I used Google Images to get a glimpse of what the author saw on his journey.

thanksgiving photos

As always we had a full house and lots of food.



I patched this picture together to get everyone in.

 



The finished deep fried turkey




Burk lowers the Creole butter injected turkey into the hot oil.


 In addition to Burk's turkey Dorothy baked one that had soaked in brine over night, plus we had ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, hot rolls, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and green beans wrapped in bacon, broccoli rice casserole, plus fruit salads, a peanut butter cake and pies (pecan, custard, pumpkin, and strawberry rhubarb.

The counter I made held lots of food, but.......




.....we had an extra table and some dishes were left on the stove top.

After spending the day cooking and looking after the needs of our family Dorothy and Kelly left at 7:00 pm to get an early start on black friday shopping. Dorothy came back home at 8:30am Friday morning with a car full of stuff the purchase of which, she assured me, saved us lots of money.

autumn evenings

Autumn evenings provide the most spectacular light shows.

pipe dreams

One huge pipe + five kids = a long afternoon of play

quote of the day

Beware the fury of a patient man

--John Dryden 

school lunch



I ate lunch with Hunter at his school. Here he is at the head of the chow line.



After school we picked up all the kids and went to the ice cream shop

stool specimen

Here it is

another project

Dorothy's been thinking about Thanksgiving and how we're going to serve all the people that will share our table.  She's been wanting a built in counter top with cabinets below in the dining room I built three years ago. (Has it been that long?)  So, I made something that we can make do with until we can have that built.

We'll have a couple of crock pots on this counter plus several other dishes and the line will form at that far end and proceed into the kitchen. I think we'll have enough room. I still have to do some sanding and painting.  I'll take another photo when it's loaded with food.

quote of the day

Too many parents raise their kids to go to school, earn good grades, and get a good job. This not a formula for living rich. The rich teach their kids to be owners. The middle class teach their kids to be employees.


--David Bach

quote of the day

Champagne, if you are seeking the truth, is better than a lie detector. It encourages a man to be expansive, even reckless, while lie detectors are only a challenge to tell lies successfully.



--Graham Greene

almost done

Here are the pieces glued and screwed.



I added these hinges along the bottom edge of the step that meets with the stool.




Then I attached the hinges to the corresponding part on the stool.




Here's a wider view.




This is what it looks like when it's not in use.




Need something on the top shelf? Simply flip the step down and step up.

Now I'll sand and paint and apply non-skid tape to the top of the steps and it will be done.

project progress report

Here's how far I got today. By tommorrow the glue will have dried and I can continue to sand, put a few more parts together and it should be paint ready in a couple of days.

quote of the day

The foolish man seeks happiness at a distance. The wise grows it under his feet.


--Robert Oppenheimer

project

The other day Dorothy mentioned that she would like to have a step stool. She is vertically challenged and it is hard for her to get to the top of the cabinets. I've been meaning to make one for her for a long time.  I have some  scraps of 3/4" plywood that should have been added to the burn pile but I salvaged them and started  the project.

The last couple of days I've been measuring and cutting and sanding.  Here's the project so far. I'll post a new photo of my progess every day or so.