Baby  Luke!

Here are a few snapshots from Baby Luke's first few days.   He is quite the cutie and is lucky to have such an adoring big sister and big brother.  He is starting to sleep some 4-hour stretches, but people are holding him much of the day since there are many loving arms around.

Baby Luke and Aunt Mel (sort of)

David and Katy

Katy and  Luke

Aunt Mel and David

Oma from Katy's Perspective (yeesh)

[Bob the Tomato t-shirt]

Father's Day, 2010!

In honor of dad, I'm posting two important things.  One is a picture of Dad with his World War II buddy, Freddie, during his Honor Flight about 18 months ago.  This great picture was taken at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.  It is a favorite of mine because it reminds me of the great respect and honor we owe our dad's and all the veterans who have fought to preserve our freedom.

Artsy Finish for an Old Chest of Drawers

My dad made this chest of drawers for me in about 1963 when we moved into the house in New Carlisle.  One of the drawers has a bottom in it that is made from a scrap of panelling from the lake cottage in Indiana.  So this has been around a while.

I used it in my room during high school . . . and painted it yellow.  I lined the drawers with some 60's kind of contact paper in turquoise and pink with big flowers.  It was psychedelic!!  Later, I painted it pale green to go with baby stuff and used the chest for my kids things.  When Emily got her own bedroom furniture, it moved to another room; and I used it to store sewing projects.  Eventually, Melanie borrowed it for her clothes in an apartment at college.  It kind of has a legacy with the family, don't you think?

Melanie brought the chest of drawers home a few months ago.  She didn't need it anymore.  It sat in the garage with it's pathetic, flat latex finish in pale green and it's ugly contact paper in the drawers.  With so much of my life in it, I wanted to keep it.  

I went to Home Depot and found a technique they call "Crackle" which looked kind of neat.  I stripped off several layers of paint and took the contact paper out.  Next came the crackling technique.  

Here's the result.  The chest is in the foyer awaiting hats and gloves and the card games we play when the family is around.  I kind of like it.  Greg is not so sure.  He can't believe I did this on purpose!

What do YOU think?

Greg's New Mower

For over 10 years, Greg has mowed our grass with an old-fashioned push mower because he hates the noise and maintenance of a power mower.  A couple of weeks ago, our neighbor, Mary, had to have surgery on her foot.  She asked Greg to cut her grass for a couple of weeks until her foot heals so she can do it herself.  Mary offered Greg her self-propelled mower since he was going to be cutting 2 lawns each time during the rainy month of May.

Well, the power mower was a lot easier to use than the push mower; and to top it off, our yard looked wonderful!  Our mower doesn't have the height adjustments that Mary's does, and the push mower was cutting the grass too short.  The higher cut (combined with the treatment service which I hesitate to mention) made the lawn look AWESOME!  Last night as we ate dinner on the deck, Greg said he had to admit that Mary's mower did a nice job and that the lawn looked nice.  He guessed he was going to have to get a power mower. 

So Greg checked the Sunday paper and found a mower at a good price at Home Depot today.  The rest is history.  I never thought I would see the day, but we own a Toro Recycler.

For those of you who don't know, Greg ALWAYS wears his "Cat in the Hat" topper when he cuts the grass.  Here he models the hat AND the mower with grass catcher.

It starts pretty easy, and it looks like I can operate it, too.  Hmmmm.  There may be a problem here.  :-)

Emily's Dress!!

Here's the dress I made for Emily to wear for Melanie's wedding.  It turned out even better than I expected.  We wanted Emily to still be in green but to have  some  "shimmer" in ivory chiffon.   So  we layered the green and the ivory for her.

Here's the view of the dress from the side/front.

This is the detail of the front.

Emily really likes it.  I can hardly wait to have her try it on.  Hope it fits.

Happy Valentine's Day to the Presidents?

We went to Columbus for the weekend.  The official mission was to help Melanie and Aaron with bridal registry and some wedding planning.  However, I forgot to take my camera on some of those outings.  And besides, you can look up the registries on Bed, Bath & Beyond or Target websites.  It won't show the tough decision-making process, but you will see the RESULTS!

Here are the few pictures I did take of the kids.  I found a hat that was Melanie's, and I washed it and took it to David.  He looks just as good in it as Melanie did!  (Not surprising, now is it?)

Katy & David in PJ's on Saturday morning.

Close up of the hat!  (Isn't he a cutie?)

Watching Dora on Monday morning . . . ahhhh, cartoons and blankets!

Heading home this morning ahead of the snow!  They were off to the mall to play with some friends!  Bye, kids!

The Great Snow of 2010

I know, I know.  I have been doing a lot more Facebook than blogging lately.  Besides, I haven't taken as many pictures since the holidays.  But this one deserves documentation.

Friday night and Saturday, we got 21 inches of snow.  It was a mess and caused the road to be treacherous, but it was beautiful.  And Saturday was actually sunny and nice for shovelling out.

Friday night . . . big flakes.

Digging out the driveway---Greg.

Digging out the driveway---Kathy.

That's our mailbox up there.  Yup!

Tuesday night it started snowing again.  We got about 2 inches between 3-10 p.m.  Then we got another 4 inches overnight.  Greg and I both worked from home today, and we got another 3 inches or so during the day.  I think it stopped now.  Maybe.

30 inches.  It's not pretty any more.  YIZES!!!

I'm really looking forward to a just plain normal winter day.  Is anybody with me here?  HUH?

OBTW, it is my brother, Neil's birthday today!  Happy Birthday, Bro!!!

Christmas 2009

Here's Christmas in a nutshell.  Oma sewed cowboy outfits for Katy and David and then ordered hats and bandanna's to go with them.  They were a big hit!  But the most fun was watching Katy learn to play "Go Fish" and playing with David's new truck on the living room floor. 

We had a great time on Saturday eating City Barbeque with Granny and Grandpa, Bonnie and Neil, Brian and Emily, and Melanie and Aaron.  I hereby declare Christmas a success!

Melanie and Aaron checking the lottery tickets Santa left.

Katy playing high-stakes card games.

David and Mommy in front of the Christmas tree.

Opa and the kids . . . . .

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is heading into a good new year!

Christmas, 2009



Family and Friends:


This year seems to have flown by even faster than last. It’s time for another state of the family letter.


We made a lot of trips to Columbus this year. Brian and Emily moved into a bigger house in Westerville in May, so Oma and Opa were around fairly regularly in the spring for David’s birthday in March and Katy’s birthday in May and then helping with the move. Then throughout the summer, we took care of Katy and David a couple of times on weekends when Mom and Dad were attending weddings. So we have enjoyed spending time with the M’s this year. They are expecting a new baby next June, so there will be even more fun to be had next year.

Oma can’t wait for Katy to be big enough to come to Pittsburgh so we can go to a Fiddlesticks Concert down at Heinz Hall. Now that she is 3, I am watching for a good opportunity that might fit the schedule. David will be 2 in March, and he likes trucks and bikes and buses and things with wheels in general. He also likes it when Opa holds him WAY up in the air so he can touch the ceiling. I think he needs a drum set, though. Music, music, music . . . .

Melanie finished raising her support and is now full-time on the staff of H2O, the Great Commission Ministries church plant on Ohio State campus. Melanie has made the transition from college student to career life very well. It has been a great year for her as she moved to a non-campus apartment with 2 of her former room-mates and experienced her first year of life without a summer break. Her job is both exciting and demanding. She is planning a trip to the Dominican Republic over spring break with the OSU students. She recently became engaged to Aaron Wibberley, who is raising his support and preparing to work with H2O in the near future. He is an OSU graduate in biology who likes snakes and stuff. (I think a conversation about pets might be in order.) Wedding plans will fit in there as well.

Matt and Mary also visited with us a couple of times. They were here in February for a cold trip up the incline to Mount Washington. Then they came back in the warmer weather so we could go to the Carnegie Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. We’ve also met up with them in Columbus a number of times, and they joined us for dinner at Brian and Emily’s house in September. It has been fun catching up with them and spending time together.

Greg and I took a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina, this fall with Mom and Dad. You can see one of the pictures here. It was a relaxing trip. In July, our good friends, Bill and Susie Antolec, moved to Chang Rai, Thailand, to be missionaries. We were actively involved in helping them disperse some of their household goods and have become trustees of some of their prized possessions that couldn’t make the trip. Thank goodness for Skype; we get to talk to them periodically in spite of the 12 –hour time difference.


I continue to do a lot of volunteer work, and I finished 2 terms as president of the board at Sojourner House in June. I thought I would take a rest, but I ended up as president of our local chapter of Zonta in August. We have been doing some women’s advocacy and education in the area of human trafficking; and I’ve added this to my list of heart issues.


We hope that this year finds you well. Merry Christmas from Pittsburgh, and may God bless you in the coming year.


Greg and Kathy

Mount Washington Dinner for Aaron!!

Aaron and Melanie came over for the weekend, and we did our customary trip up the incline to have dinner on Mount Washington.  It was cold, but MUCH better than it was last week when high temperatures were in the low 20's with 30 mile per hour winds!  It was calm and clear last night, and lots of people were riding the incline with children to show them the lights of the city.  What a wonderful evening!

Here is the customary photo on the Duquesne Incline with the 3 rivers in the background.

Our standard favorite place for dinner is GeorgeTown Inn.  We had a great corner table overlooking the skyline.

The Tree is UP!

We stole an idea from the Friedl's in our home group, and decided to put our Christmas tree up yesterday with just the lights.  It so happens that we were out of bread, and I decided to pop a loaf into the bread machine in the morning yesterday.  We brought the tree home after lunch, and the bread finished baking about 2:30 p.m.  I cannot tell you how the house smelled with the pine scent of the tree and the fresh bread.  All I can say is, this smells a lot better than it looks.

I hope your Thanksgiving was safe and happy, and I hope it is filled with great memory-making and smells from the past as well.  I have made a stab at starting my Christmas shopping, and there is a music program at the church on Friday, December 11, that I will be playing string bass with the orchestra.  All that's missing is a couple of dozen hugs and . . . maybe a brief but pretty snow to make things perfect.  But I'll settle for the plan as it stands.  :-)

Tinker Bell & David's Truck Sweater

Well, Oma got Katy's costume done!  And I brought David a new shirt and sweater vest with a TRUCK on the front.  Both of the kids were thrilled with their new duds.  It made it worth the trip!

 

BEST TREES ON THE BLOCK!

Our trees are by far the prettiest in the neighborhood!  They are gold on the inside with red leaves on the outside.  They look like they are on fire!

P.S.  There isn't a cloud in the sky . . . it's a beautiful morning.

Why I want to live at the beach:

Shoes are not required.  They're not even important.

 

Hats, however, ARE required.  Sunglasses are preferred.

 

Everyone enjoys the beach, the sand, the breeze, the sound of the waves.

Weeds are pretty at the beach.  It's called "naturalized."

There are always boats nearby when you are at the beach.  And that means you can go out on the water and see the world from a whole different angle.

G-20 and Federated Investors!

Besides the fact that the Steelers stank (?) yesterday, Pittsburgh faired pretty well with the G-20 Summit last week.  Some of you have asked me where I work and what I do for a living.  I have a pretty good "elevator speech" to answer this question; however, I'm embedding a video here of our CEO, Chris Donahue, in an interview from last Friday.  Chris is describing the economy and talking about the recovery along with his sales pitch. 

As a business architect at the company, I work with the business people who are trying to read these tea leaves and plan for the future growth of the company.  Once we get a picture of where they want to take the business, I team up with a technical architect to align the technology to make these things possible operationally.

Enjoy!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1275534459

Weekend with Katy & David

This weekend Opa and I stayed with Katy and David while Mommy and Daddy went to Chicago for Cindy and Chan's wedding.  We got to Columbus on Thursday night, and it was a wild and crazy time on Friday and Saturday and most of Sunday.

On Saturday morning, I French-braided Katy's hair.  It looked really pretty . . . for about a half an hour.  Oh, well!

We started planning a party for Mary and Matthew and Aunt Mel for Saturday night when we got there.  The party was actually dinner on Saturday night, which Opa cooked.  It was pork loin and baked potato and glazed carrots and bread.  YUMMY!  However, Katy was in charge of DESSERT.  We went to Kroger on Saturday morning to get food; and Katy picked out a marvelous Funfetti cake mix and white frosting and M&M's for decoration on our cake.  When we returned to the house, the baking and fun began!

Here Katy wears her apron and helps crack eggs and add ingredients to make the cake.  She is such a good helper!

Licking the spatula after you get the batter into the pan is part of the bakling process.  Katy particularly like this part of the process.  :-)

David was extremely helpful in the icing process.  He really likes almost anything that has to do with food.  His favorite part is eating, but he also likes to help.

After all that cooking, it was time for some romping and playing with Opa in the living room.  Nothing makes you feel better like a game of being tossed in the air or turned upside down!

Finally, the party started when Mary and Matthew arrived.  They showed Katy the pictures that Oma had brought and told her who all the people were in the pictures!  Cool!

After the party started, Katy put a bazillion M&M's on the cake for decoration.  It was a perfect party, and a perfect dessert, too!

On Sunday, we went walking with Aunt Mel in the morning, and then Katy and Opa made a run to Half Price Books.  When they came back, it was a perfect time for some Hopscotch on the driveway.  Katy is getting really good at this game!

LOOKING FOR A NEW DO?


I ran across this video while watching a spoof on Barack Obama and the economy (believe it or not).  I think it is a scream!  This is definitely something you should plan ahead for if you want to wear this hairstyle out for the evening.  Enjoy!

LIBERTY SPIKES HAIR STYLE INSTRUCTIONS!!

Catch Up on Melanie . . . and the Renaissance Festival

Melanie has been busy this summer, and she moved to a new apartment with her own room and just two room-mates instead of 5 over the weekend of August 22-23.  Last weekend she was a bridesmaid in her friend, Abby's, wedding.  Below is a picture of Melanie with Jonna (on the left) and Beth and Natalie; all of these girls were part of the group of six that lived together all last year.  Right now Melanie is working really hard to raise the last of her support for Great Commission Ministries by the end of September.  The students will be back on campus before you know it!

Today Greg and I drove down to the New Stanton area to visit the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival.   It was a beautiful day, and we got there around lunchtime and saw a mime show and then wandered around the festival.  Here are a few memorable moments.

 

Jousting was the order of the day.  The actors were good, but the horses were the real stars in my opinion.  They were amazingly well-behaved with so many people around.  Still it was a good show with Henry VIII and his court on the daise.

There were a lot of people wandering around in costumes.  Some of the men wore armour and chainmaille suits.  Not everyone had a lance, however.  (Thankfully.)

 

There were sword fights.

And more sword fights.

And the court processed in and out of the arena around every show!

There were Mad Mechanical players doing a bad job with Shakespeare.

And there were people acting as villagers and street people all throughout the festival.

I really liked the glass blowing demonstration.  This glass blower was making a vase shaped like a fish.  I would have bought one, but it was $63.  Uh, I don't think so.

Anyway, it was a lovely way to spend Sunday . . . even if some of the stuff was kind of bawdy.  But, in Henry VIII's day, it was AT LEAST bawdy and probably much worse.  Definitely a PG kind of time period.