outback indiana

Dad's 80th

2011-11-14T11:53:00.001-05:00

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Rocco - 7 months

2011-08-02T17:51:00.005-04:00

He sure is cute!

Enjoyed the 3 E's Jr. over the weekend.

New Floors

2011-07-25T21:52:00.008-04:00

BEFORE

in the front hall and Aussie Dunny........

BEFORE in the dining area....

AFTER....Tada....

new honey oak laminant floors. Note also the freshly painted Dunny....olive green, and the hall....something 'wheat' colored.

Kitchen AFTER....

Dining....AFTER.

I am thrilled with the results. Next I will redo the carpet. I suspect we will be in this house at least until Joel graduates from Purdue...so I figured we may as well get some enjoyment out of new flooring.

Rocco

2011-05-30T08:01:00.005-04:00

Rocco is almost 5 months. He sure is cute!! Kevin and I went to Columbus to visit for the weekend.

Happy Birthday Eli...21 years old

2011-05-29T21:00:00.002-04:00

We took cupcakes and gummy fish to school on Friday for Eli's birthday. His friends in the classroom, as well as teachers, gathered to sing happy birthday and enjoy treats.

Below is Eli's friend Maria.....

And Eli's friend Sasha. These two have became good friends this year.

Sasha is sweet with him. She is a-verbal s well - or maybe has a few words.

The group signing Happy Birthday...led by Mr. Chauncy - one 0f the gym teachers that takes the Life Skills Class for gym twice a week.

Mr Chauncey and Mr. Doug.
Mr. Doug has a classroom with hearing impaired kiddos - but the classes share some activities together - so Eli knows and likes Mr Doug as well.

Eli's friend Danny....he rushes up to the door to greet all the visitors.

More friends - Terry on the left and Raphael on the right.

Cards and cake to celebrate Eli turning 21.

HaPpY BiRtHdAy tO KeViN

2011-05-23T21:05:00.004-04:00

Kevin plays a gig once a month at a restaurant called "The Loft". It is located on an organic farm with a dairy and creamery. The menu changes seasonally and they always have fresh, local, organic meats and vegetables. The band provides some dinner music that picks up a little in tempo as the evening goes on.

During a break we had cake and candles for Kevin.

I collected some fans to celebrate Kevin's 50th - Paul and Kathy, Maureen and Mark, Jay.

It was a nice evening.

Kevin's 50th Birthday

2011-05-23T20:35:00.011-04:00

We celebrated Kevin's 50th birthday (May 19th) by going to Nashville, Tennessee for a long weekend. A fun city with a lot of live music and fabulous food.

Kevin loves rivers and river boats - so we took a lunch cruise on the General Jackson Paddle boat. It was quite impressive and at least 4 times bigger than the boat we took the cruise on in St. Louis

We enjoyed fish and chips at an Irish Pub.

Nashville is a beautiful city with parkland and artwork.

Downtown Nashville...

With all the rain we have had the river is up 10+ feet. You can see the river lapping at the walk along the river front.

A fun birthday celebration weekend!

Joel's Fleet

2011-04-24T08:24:00.003-04:00

Joel has added to his Fleet. Now he has one BMW 318is, the incoming Honda VFR700 motorcycle, and the outgoing (up for sale soon) Kawasaki Ninja 250.

He got the VFR from friend's dad who gave him a great deal - the VFR was actually cheaper than the ninja, and the sale of the ninja should pay for the VFR with a few hundred in profit.

Washington DC

2011-04-23T19:55:00.014-04:00

I had a 2 day conference - AMGA (American Medical Group Association) in DC and Kevin and I went 2 days early and stayed an extra day to see the sites. Kevin had a great time at the Smithsonian while I was in conference. Our first day we went to the Library of Congress where there was an exhibit of Thomas Jefferson's Library. He was a great book collector and reader. We thought of Garry - he would have been like Kevin - salivating.

The Library of Congress

The White House

We went on a 4 mile self-guided walking tour of the monuments and memorials. Below is the Jefferson Memorial.

The Korean War Memorial. The granite wall has 'ghosts' carved in the stone. The sculptors reflect in the wall as well. Beautifully designed.

The Vietnam War Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial

The WWII memorial in the foregound - looking to the Washngton Memorial int heg background.

4 days in Vero Beach, Florida

2011-02-27T17:51:00.015-05:00

We had a great 4 days with Russ and Sara at their winter home in Vero Beach, Florida. Vero Beach is on the east coast of Florida - 'The Atlantic Side' about 60 miles south of Cape Canaveral.

The temperatures were in the high 70sF (18-20C) with mostly clear blue skies. We really enjoyed meeting Sara and Russ's lovely neighbours and temple friends. We can see why they have such a nice time when they are in FL and why they are anxious to get back each season.

Enjoying lunch at Squid Lips right on the water.

Then beach time with a nap or bird watching......

Russ was listening to NASA for the countdown.

Here are the GREATS....Great-grandma Sara and Great-grandpa Russ....or The Greats for short.

Many gathered to watch the final launch of Discovery. Unfortunately it was cloudy so we only saw a couple of orange specks through the clouds. It was still an enjoyable afternoon on the beach.

Friday we visited MeKee Botennical Gardens with beautiful tropical specimens. It made me homesick...MANY things that were either native to or proflic in SE Queensland. Beautifully maintained - for the middle of winter!

'The Sleeping Tree'

It was knocked over by a Hurricaine and continued to grow horizontally.

A fork in the palm forest.

Friday night we went to Temple with Russ and Sara. Here we are outside their cute little pink home, affectionately named "Sadie".

Celebrating Jay's 50th Birthday

2011-02-15T21:36:00.006-05:00

Friends out to see Kevin play

2011-02-13T09:58:00.005-05:00

These will be some familiar faces for Mum and Dad......Valerie, Healther, Mark and Neil joined me last night to see Kevin play with The Paul Holdman Band.

2011 Indy Ice Storm

2011-02-13T09:42:00.007-05:00

Every 20 years or so Indy is hit with an ice storm. This is a different phenomena to a regular winter snow storm - everything is covered with a sheet of ice. It is beautiful to look at....difficult to live with! You will see below the driveway has been covered with 2" of pure ice for 10 days - I can get my car over it, but I can not walk on it lest I go down (on an already injured buttocks!)

My herb garden in February!

Rocco David Esmailzahdah

2011-02-13T09:25:00.007-05:00

Rocco was born 1-11-11 at 9lb 4oz. We have had 3 trips over to Columbus, Ohio (3 hours) to visit and help the new parents out. We are LOVING every minute of being grandparents.

Kevin playing with The Great Paul Holdman

2011-01-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

Kevin says, "Sometimes when the horn player for the Doobie Brothers just happens to be in the audience, you really must ask him to get up and jam....."

Check out Kevin on the drums...

Frozen Pond - Winter Images

2011-01-10T15:35:00.007-05:00

There are 12 shivering gold fish in the pond. It is amazing on a warmer day with some thaw how they will be moving around....but definitely slower! See photos below for there usual winter conditions.

Joel and Eli's dog Max.

Cold January Day - high temp around 25F (-4 C) but sunny. The pump continues to run in the pond so the fish have some moving water and O2. The pond was frozen (except for the middle where the pumps gurgles) but we had a fresh snow fall on the ice. It gives a layered appearance.

The next morning...evidence of a critter. Black was not out but I doubt he would venture out on ice anyway. I believe it was a possum or raccoon.

2011 - the year of the photographer

2011-01-09T16:15:00.007-05:00

It's a new year....and check out my new toy - thanks Santa Kevin :)

Following are some photos I have taken - just experimenting with stuff right now and learnign the camera - but so excited to learn new things about photography!

Blue Man Group - Gum balls & Marshmallows

2010-11-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

While in Vegas we went to see Blue Man Group. They are a funky group of 'Blue men' who do a theatrical/percussion/visual ensemble thingy. Not a word is uttered by the Blue Men. they have some messages that are blasted overhead with neon signs. It is very entertaining. We were in row 6 - and were provided with plastic ponchos as some of the paint sprays into the audience.

Kevin LOVED it. I bought him the original creation of a painting made by the paint balls from the Blue Men. I will send a separate blog post with a photo of that .

SW Trip # 3 - Sedona, AZ

2010-11-17T21:13:00.010-05:00

It is called Red Rock Country. About 100 miles south of the Grand Canyon. We had a beautiful drive through a mountain range and down an incredible canyon with red rocks and Ponderosa Pines (Flagstaff south on 89A). We were in elevations of 7,000' at the Grand Canyon, 8,500' north of Flagstaff, 6,000 at Flagstaff and then 4,000 in Sedona.

The red rocks surround the entire city of Sedona. There are dirt roads just outside of town with wonderful views of the rocks.

Below is Cathedral Rock.

Enjoying breakfast with a view.

Amazing rock formations of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Below is one of the off-the-beaten path roads we took. The red dirt is REEEDDD!!! Wouldn't want to put kids in white socks here.

The rock formations are often named. Kevin thought this was quite interesting and being the creative soul he is, started naming some rock formations himself.

Below is Dual Face Rock - in the center Buddha is looking toward the sun with his eyes closed; on the left edge is Chief Red Rock's profile.

Below, Kevin identified and named Resting Camel Rock.

And of course......the ever intellectual, latin speaking Kevin named this one

Penis Rock.

SW Trip # 2 The Grand Canyon

2010-11-15T21:39:00.016-05:00

Truly a magnificent sight!

Here we are at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona. We didn't plan well for the temperatures! As we drove towards the canyon we were in a snow shower. Neither of us had packed appropriately....we were cold!!! 7,000 ft elevation and a cold front. We had a comfortable, warm room and there were 2 nice restaurants that we enjoyed dinner at each night. The second day was clear, with blue skies but cold temperatures. We spent several hours driving the south rim and stopping to capture some of the glorious views below.

Watch as light in the canyon changes throughout the day - above and below are morning light.

Colors get richer as the sun gets higher. The above and below are mid-day light.

The next two are at sundown...the shadows are long and colors muted.

Most of the photos capture the canyon at about 8-10 miles across - but at the widest it is 17 miles across.

The photos do not begin to express the vastness and the magnitude of this wonder.

Even though it was cold, it was a great to be in 'nature' - a total juxtaposition to the lights and noise of Las Vegas.

The view from our room - morning after a light snow fall.

We stayed in the National Park where there is beautiful wildlife . This deer was eating some clover outside the lodge.

And Mr Elk appeared both evenings we were eating. We joked he was on payroll there because his entry was definately a crowd pleaser. After dinner we saw him at a different spot with another crowd of tourists. There were signs around the park saying it is 'Unlawful' to approach the animals.

Southwest Trip Blog 1

2010-11-14T21:50:00.007-05:00

We spent 2 days on the Vegas Strip - staying at the New York New York Resort. The view from our hotel (below) of the Res Rock Canyons enticed us out for a drive through the canyon one afternoon.

The geological interest had Kevin amazed. It was beautiful....especially only 20 miles from the center of Vegas.

Then we drove over the Hoover Dam (and the new bridge behind us) into Arizona.

We passed through Williams - and drove on Route 66 for a stretch.

Still looks like an old west town.

Check in tomorrow for the next Chapter....2 days at the Grand Canyon.

Fall in Indiana

2010-10-23T17:56:00.007-04:00

Halloween is upon us....pumpkin carving is in the air. Hannah visited for a day and she and Kevin carved a pumpkin.

We took a day last week and drove down to Brown County and Nashville, Indiana. Mum and Dad and Colette will remember it well. This time of year it is a beautiful drive.

We have a "Day driving trips in Indiana" book and it took us into very rural and quiet remote areas. It was a fun adventure. We had lunch in Nashville and an early dinner in Bloomington. We were home by 8:30pm. I nice day trip.

Next we have winter.......

An announcement

2010-09-09T19:49:00.002-04:00

Joel off to Purdue University

2010-08-21T09:19:00.007-04:00

Thursday was a momentous day. Not only was it Joel's 18th birthday - it was also the day we took him to Purdue and moved him in to his new home. It took 3 cars - Joel's car with his bike on board (freshman are not permitted to have cars on campus unless they have regular off-campus appointments for a doctor or dentist....Joel still has his braces, so got permission to take his car! This will make him very popular!) In my car were clothes and some groceries/laundry stuff, Todd drove with the floor rug, the fridge, printer and microwave.

Joel and his room mate Luke Wilson (a friend from Heritage) unloading the cars at the loading dock at the back of Shreve Hall.

Joel entering his room - No. 604. Note they put the boys names outside their rooms on cars and firetrucks!! Isn't that cute!

Here are the boys in their room. Joel ordered a loft - meaning his bed is up high and he has storage under it. The fridge, TV, microwave and printer are going under Joel's bed. Luke ordered a loft (too late for installation upon move it) which will be arriving in the next week and under his bed will go a futon so they have a place to sit and if they have any friends stay they can crash on the futon. At the foot of their beds they each have a desk and behind the desk they each have a closet and chest of drawers/mirror. Pretty close quarters. The bathroom is down the hall.

This is Shreve Hall. Build in 1978. This is the boys wing - in the middle is the common area (lounge area(with a grand piano), study rooms, rec room, TV lounge and office with mail room and 24 hour attendees) and on the other side is the girls wing. Shreve does not have a dining hall - but the dorms on both sides do - so not far to walk for meals. The boys also have a supply of microwave and freezer meals in their room.

Joel is on the 6th floor (there are 8) and is the second room from the end - so you can actually see his room in this photo just to the right and above the smaller tree.

Across the road from Shreve is the Marching Band practice oval......the first morning Joel was woken at 7am with the marching band playing Revelry. I'm sure the band loves waking all the sloths in the dorms close by!

The boys are all settled in and ready for classes to start on Monday August 23rd!

House Painting Complete

2010-07-30T21:25:00.007-04:00

Kevin and his Dad, Russ and I worked on painting the exterior of the house. The siding is vinyl so we only had to paint trim. The front porch was the biggest job - but not the most treacherous. The trim used to all be vanilla - the same color as the siding. We painted the trim a khaki color, and the shutters and door a Terra-cotta. We also painted some of the porch the same vanilla color so the 3 colors were still all blending.

Painted the accent the same colors....

The top of the chimney was a challenge! But is all complete now.

Task done for another 10 years!

IMM - Building Successful Practices

2010-07-19T20:28:00.001-04:00

Chicago III - there and back

2010-07-05T09:59:00.007-04:00

Northern Indiana has developed an energy alternative in Wind Farms. From the interstate you can see hundreds, probably thousands of these enormous wind catches that convert to energy. It is an amazing and somewhat futuristic looking scene.

We have seen the propellers being transported before - takes an extra long truck - but appears the bases are made on site and then the propellers lifted up onto the base.

On the way back from Chicago we stopped into the little town of Kouts, Indiana. Not much going on in Kouts, Indiana!

Kouts Liquors and Kouts Gift Shop and More. That was about it for kouts. One stop light...but it was flashing :)

Chicago II

2010-07-05T09:44:00.008-04:00

We spent some time at Millennium Park where the famous 'Cloud' sculptor sits. It is referred to as the 'the bean' - a very fun thing to stare at on a beautiful sunny day. Lots of great photo ops.

You can see us in the refection above.

We went to the Chicago Art Institute....I don't usually care for art museums - but this one was worth it! The largest display of Monet's, Renoir's and Van Gogh's in the world and an incredible display of miniatures made by a lady in the early 1900s. 80 rooms made to scale - amazing detail! Can't forget the incredible gardens - probably my favourite...go figure!

1st in a Series of CHICAGO 2010 Adventure

2010-07-04T01:23:00.016-04:00

We just had 3 days in Chicago athe annual Taste of Chicago - a 10 day food event that attracts 3.5 million people annually. We stayed down town in the charming old Congress Plaza Hotel on Michigan Ave.

On our way to Chicago we stopped in at a famous Hamburger joint in Lafyette on the Purdue campus. Fabulous hamburger and Root Bear.

We walked miles in Chicago - there is so much to see. Mum - you will remember the River Architectual Tour we took in 1997 - we took it again - such a facinating city archetectually.

We had 3 perfeft weather days....beautiful clear skies, no humidity and very pleasant temperatures.

We walked along the river to Nacy Pier.

This was the view from our room window - looking west across the city with the famous Sears Tour dominating. No longer the tallest building in the world.

The Chicago Sun Times Building. A landmark in the city. See next photo for the architectual wonder.

Joel receives National School Choral Award

2010-06-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

Joel Conducts HCS HS Choir

2010-06-19T09:41:00.000-04:00

May Garden - Draycott Drive

2010-05-31T14:35:00.012-04:00

The following are a selection of photos of the garden at the end of May - late spring. Mum - these areposted for our discussion purposes. There ae some things I want to point out to you.

The Draycott Drive Garden Journal could become a regular, recurring topic for the Outback Indiana blog site.

I am trying bogonias again. I have hadno luck in the past -maybe water them too much? They seem to rot at the soil.

Boring looking entrance right now - the annuals need to get growing and providesome color. Today I trimmed the Ivy on both sides of the garage to below the light. Kevin and Russ are getting ready to start the outdoor trim paint and are repping with a power washer. The Ivy trim was prep before the prep.

Beautiful Lambs Ear.

The garden beside the patio.

The pond. Looking good.

Mr. Black comfortable having his afternoon libation. Note wine glass.

We have at least 7 frogs in the pond. Various sizes from tiny (See below and look back at the pond picture above for the scale of the Toad House) to medium to large.

This guy is about the size of an Aussie 50c

Big Black posing for his chance at fame.

I forget the name of these - I think Baptisma Plant?

Eli is 20 !!!

2010-05-26T19:43:00.004-04:00

Hard to believe it has been 20 years.

Leisa 20 years younger! and sweet little Eli less than 1 hour old- what a cute baby.

Granny - 20 years younger!

Memories - Australia 2010

2010-05-21T12:31:00.015-04:00

Open House to Celebrtate Graduation

2010-05-17T21:15:00.012-04:00

A very American Tradition.....an Open House for family and friends, teachers and school administrators, other students and their parents. For a school like Heritage with a very family focus, these open houses are lovely occasions to celebrate the graduates. The Bosma's graciously invited Joel to share a combined Open House with their graduating son, Chris.

The boys wanted a luau...so the theme was tropical. Chris's Mom arranged everything. It was a such a nice event....the boys had fun and lots of people came.....I had many people come up to me to "brag on" Joel - I am very proud of him!

Below are some photos....

Left is David (Sam) Sampson. Sitting in front of him is Eli looking at Gayle Sampson (in the yellow). On the right of the umbrella are Mark Melvin and Neil and Mark and Heather's son - Drew.

The Sampson Clan. David, Joel and Todd. Seated - Joshua, Eli and Gayle.

Paul and Kathy; Beth; Joel; Carol and her daughter Ellen

Front right....Don Lanteigne(Brenda's husband)...always looking bored...NO MATTER WHAT is going on. Behind him the coffee and milkshake bar!!!!

Jeremy and Eli. Eli REFUSED to wear one of those stupidflowery things around his neck. He kept yanking it off.

Beautiful decorations and a lovely spread of minature pork BBQ sandwichs, fruit, vegetables, coconut and chocolate desserts. The flowers were magnificant

Chris Bosma, Sash Blevins and Joel. Best friends.

Joel's Graduation

2010-05-14T21:41:00.006-04:00

The Heritage Christian High School Class of 2010 held their commencement exercises tonight. Strange term...but literally means sending the graduates off to "commence" their lives. Probably an old tradition. 90% of the 124 graduating seniors are going on to a four year under-graduate program -much higher % than public schools.

Joel was recognised as receiving the National Choral Award. He was the soloist for the only music in the ceremony. He did a GREAT job. I will try and get the video or see if someone can put it on U-Tube.

Joel is far left, third row down from the back....in a blue cap and gown.

I am so proud of Joel! Wish you could have all been here to see it all. Brenda and Don, Todd and Eli and I were there. It was held at E91st Christian Church.

Pond Re-Build

2010-03-28T13:47:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, albeit 40 degrees, Kevin and I replaced the pond liner. After last year's total overhaul we must have had a hole in the liner as it would lose water very quickly.

We took out the fish - 12 survived the winter - and put them in temporary housing (see tin bucket in forefront). We also found 3 frogs - still sluggish so perhaps not actually awake from their winter nap!

Pumped out the water, removed all the rocks. Put in a new liner and and replaced all the rocks, re-filled and put the fish back in. It is a much easier job with 2 sharing the work! We were able to get the whole project done in a few hours.

Tada!

In Memory of Shiva....a good dog

2010-03-28T13:09:00.006-04:00

The three red car family....

2010-03-22T21:57:00.008-04:00

My new car.....on the right.....a 2010 VW Jetta.

Next to me is Joel - 1991 BMW 318 and behind him Kevin - a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser. The Charger is still in the garage until I turn it in next week.

My new car! 5 cylinder, 6 speed, leather seats with warmers.

Plenty of room in the trunk for Eli's folded chair. Plenty of room for Eli! In fact Todd bought a Jetta 12 months ago so it has been 'Eli tested'.

The offical color is 'Salsa Red". It has a black leather interior with seat warmers. When I drove off the VW lot it had 9 miles on it.

I put the Aussie flag on the back the day I brought her home.

Joel in school musical - Singin' in the Rain

2010-02-15T22:04:00.003-05:00

I finally got an electronic photo of the Heritage Christian School 2009 Musical - Singin' in the Rain. Joel is far right - R.F. Simpson.

Not much other news from here...I could post MORE photos of snow.......more snow....more snow....we have all had enough snow!

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-07T10:01:00.007-05:00

We had a beautiful 6" snow fall on Friday. Jay and Maureen came over and we played in the snow. Kevin looks a little like a winter Arabian terrorist!

The morning after.....

Joel and Shelby - Winter Banquet

2010-02-02T20:40:00.004-05:00

Heritage Christian School held their Senior Winter Banquet (Heritage's version of a prom) Saturday night.

Joel picked Shelby up at 4:30 and they went to one of the kids homes for photos - it was in my neighbourhood so they stopped by my house for photos too.

The event was held downtown at the Historical Society. The kids had a great time - after Joel dropped Shelby off (10 minutes early!) he headed to one of his buddies houses where 5 boys spent the night.

Dichotomy.....Winter.....Summer

2009-12-27T19:31:00.005-05:00

We had a couple of inches of snow today......

the landscape is so beautiful covered in snow......

The landscape if so beautiful covered in flowers.

Portraits of Eli

2009-12-26T16:30:00.002-05:00

Memories of Christmas past

2009-12-24T17:44:00.009-05:00

1973

1978

1978

1979

Family Portraits

2009-12-13T21:21:00.002-05:00

We had portraits taken yesterday - Eli; the boys; me and the boys; and Todd and the boys. Here is a preview.

Photos will be in the mail soon.

Get-away to Florida

2009-11-22T19:04:00.003-05:00

Kevin and I just got back from 5 days in Florida at Vasili's place. It is as gorgeous as ever. We had cloudy days, with some sunshine - but it was still wonderful. The best and worst thing was the dozen oysters I had from Crabby Bill's Wed night. I have always read the disclaimer on the menu: Warning - consuming raw or undercooked seafood may cause illness. I vomited for two days and had a pretty rough flight home today.

We did manage to have a couple of outings.....brunch on The Pier at St. Petersburg Marina.

Family News November, 2009

2009-11-14T16:59:00.003-05:00

My university studies are OVER! I now have a MNUR with a minor in Management. Kevin and I are flying to Florida on Wed for a 5 day mini-vacation/celebration!

Eli is in the midst of diagnostics for the seizure he had Oct 26th. We had an EEG last Wed and have an MRI with general Anesthesia on Monday. Will let you know if Dr Walsh wants to put him on seizure meds.

Joel is playing R.F. Simpson - Studio Owner and Producer in HCS's performance of Singin in the Rain. Kevin and I are going to the closing night tonight - I went to opening nigth and the show is FABULOUS! They even have real rain for the Singin in the Rain number - then a 20 minute intermission to dry up the stage before the second half. Joel has done an outstanding job in his role - wish you could see him. He is quite a natural...but then look at the genes (on my side!!!)

Big Black is a sad critter this week. He developed a nasty ear infection and scatched the hair and skin off his ear - so is now wearing the cone of shame.

13 days and counting......

2009-10-17T12:12:00.003-04:00

Until I am finished with USQ and will have completed my Master's in Nursing.

Wahoo!!!!

I am working on my final assignment - a 4000 word paper on the Potential Impact to physicians in in U.S if the proposed health care reform bills are adopted.

Joel 007

2009-09-20T18:07:00.005-04:00

Look closely at the reflection in the glasses - it is Joel leaning on his car.

A tradition in the U.S. now is for kids graduating from High School to get a series of "senior pictures". Joel had his portrait "shoot" on Saturday morning. I found a lady who does this out of her home - she is very good and has competetive prices. We met her and her husband at a park with a covered bridge to take outdoor shots - including some with his car. The we went to her studio/Home and did some "controlled lighting" shots. She posted this one to her Facebook - always does that after taking a shoot..great marketing as all the kids are interestd in seeing each others shots. There is some very creative photography.

Joel turns 17

2009-08-19T09:29:00.003-04:00

Joel turns 17 today. We went to O'Charley's for dinner last night and Joel's wallet is feeling a little more padded after he opened his Birthday cards. I am buying him new motorcycle tires.

Hard to believe it has been 17 years....I vividly remember the day he was born!!

Draycott Drive Music Hall

2009-08-12T21:32:00.004-04:00

Kevin has had one of his bands rehersing here this week in preparation for a gig Saturday night. This is the Cuban Band - Mumbai Taxi.

They started rehersing at 6pm - so Eli got to enjoy an hour of live music right in his own living room! The bongo player is Tony - a native African. He loved entertaining Eli.

Joel's news and Mum's lament

2009-07-23T21:04:00.006-04:00

While I was away Joel ( with Todd's permission) purcahsed a second hand motor-cycle with some of the money he earned from his summer job. Joel reminded me that I said "if Dad is OK with it then I guess I am OK with it"....never thinking Todd would allow Joel to have a motorcycle.
It is a Kawasaki Ninja 250.

GUESS WHO??????

New York State Vacation

2009-07-20T19:57:00.019-04:00

We drove to Coumbus OH. to drop the dog off with Hannah. Saturday morning we headed north east to the Fingerlakes District of Western New York. Take a look at a map of Western New York State and you will see the "Finger Lakes" - 11 long skinny lakes that were created at the end of the last ice age when glaciers decended from Lake Ontario. These lakes have a created a micro-climate in a short growing season climate that makes them perfect for growing grapes. Close to 100 wineries in the area. There are also waterfalls everywhere! The flowers were incredible - must be the great soil and the climate.

The first 2 nights we stayed in the cute little village of Hammondsport on the south end of Keuka Lake in the Tavern Inn.

We drove up the side of the lakes and the views were incredible! Vineyards and hay fileds, flowers and 2 century old farmhouses. The architecture was incredible because this area was settled in the late 1700, early 1800's and it was spared the destruction of the civil war.

We ate well!!! Stopping at wineries and restaurants for fabulous gourmet meals paired with local wines. Here we ate lunch at the Bully Hill Winery. Incredible views of the lake and rolling vineyards.

We drove between lakes and enjoyed beautiful, peaceful, scenery and visited Watkin's Glen Waterfall.

We took a long climb...see the staircase to the left of the falls.

Another falls....Taughannock Falls

Graet accomodations......Geneva Rowhouses.

The Belhurst Castle in Geneva. This was the best place we stayed. Built in 1885-89 now converted to a restaurant and lodging. Our room was the round turret in the front and above the portico.

Belhurst has it's own winery and we enjoyed a lovely complimentary wine tasting and access to the wine spigot on the second floor.....free flowing wine...right outside our door!

We drove back through Rochester, New York...looked at Lake Ontario, then drove to Buffalo, New York and took a quick look at Niagra. Kevin has not been there since he was a little boy and I had great memories of when Joel and I were there in 1999 with Granny and Pa.

Next stop was Cleveland, OH and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A museum of the history of American and British Rock. Kevin enjoyed seeing the museum - I did as well.

From Cleveland we dropped down to Columbus and picked up the dog, then headed home to Indy. Total mileage 1550. 6 days

A great vacation!

Summer Garden

2009-07-06T20:45:00.010-04:00

Happy Yellow Daylillies

Big Black watching over his domain.

Bright red bergonia

Rose of Sharon

The garden is bursting with colour and life! There are 12 -14 fish and 2 frogs living in the pond. Several hummingbirds have been sighted. We've had nice rain and mild temperatures.

Kevin's Band - Mumbai Taxi

2009-06-21T20:41:00.002-04:00

Kevin' latest musical undertaking..... a Latin Band.......Mumbai Taxi. From left - Larry - keyboards.....used to play with The Temptations in the 1970s; Kevin , drummer and percussion; Phil - Lead singer and guitar - school teacher(Spanish) and karate instructor;Tony, bongos; Bill, Bass guitar. Bill and Kevin play in the Country Band Stockwell Road and the Blues band Partyline together and Bill is a 6th and 7th grade orchestra teacher and baseball coach. Lots of talent amongst all these people.

This photo was in the Indy Star today with a brief write-up. The band is playing at the Midsummer Music Festival next weekend.

Visiting Our Heritage - Winter Family 1907

2009-06-13T17:54:00.004-04:00

I was delighted recently to read an email Mum passed on from Eean with some further clarification regarding the Winter family details. I hope Valda, Lesle, Eean, Bev and Fay will contribute further with any informaiton they know of.

You guys are the last of the informaiton sources related to this generation!

I believe this portrait was around 1907 - judging by Dorothy's age. The four children - Norman, Dorothy, Ivy and Fred. Fred was born in 1906 and Stan was born in 1908 - so Spohie may have been expecting Stan in this portrait.

Hail Storms in Indiana

2009-06-13T17:44:00.004-04:00

We have had a couple of doozy hail storms in the last 2 weeks. This one shredded a lot of my garden. Another one put dints in Joel's car and Todd's brand new car. Insurance will repair. Maureen had a guy come and check the roof to be sure we didn't have roof damage - but she did not, so I assume I am good too. It was much worse north of here.

Generally a mild late spring temperature-wise and we have had a lot of nice rain. I have only needed to water my potted plants so far. No tornado activity around central Indiana.

Hail dmage to my Lamb't Ear and Hosta's. The hydranga was destroyed - only very early tender blooms. More are already popping up. I have not been able to get my hydrangea to bloom for years - and this year I was putting it on a special diet and giving it TLC to get a bloom....but I fear it was scared bloom-less!

A classic - Hills on the move 1945ish

2009-05-23T10:13:00.003-04:00

Now here's a classic.........urban myth has it that this is the Hills family move from Warwick to Toowoomba. Pa (Fred) Hills in on the right. There are so many fascinating things about this image...from the technique used to stack the "stuff" to the guy sitting on top.

Upon further inquiry it seems that perhaps this is not the Hills family move to Toowoomba -Pa Hills worked for a moving company in Warwick and the man on top owned the furniture which was being moved from his farm to Warwick. We will continue the urban myth.....makes for a good story when explaining the photo.

Visiting Our Heritage - Winter-Bolton 1936

2009-05-22T17:46:00.003-04:00

Pictured here are Spencer Winter (1919-1936) sitting on the ground with the two dogs, behind him in the wheel chair is Mervyn (Joe) Winter (1912- 1961) and in Joe's lap - Brian Bolton (1935-1987).

Joe was born premature at seven months, resulting in a wheelchair bound handicap (suppose C.P.). Apparently Fred Winter(1879-1933), cabinet maker, was in his workshop when he had a terrible accident with a saw. When Sophie Winter (1881-1964) pregnant with her 7th child, saw the blood, the shock put her into labour and she delivered Mervyn, nicknamed Joe.

Mum has shared many stories of Joe and the joy he brought the family. In this photo you can see his legs crossed on themselves and Brian perched upon his knee. Brian was born Aug 26th, 1935, so if he is six months old in this photo this must be early in 1936.

According to records, Spencer died in 1936. Such a sad story as he is such a handsome, healthy looking man in this photo. He took his own life at age 18. I recently asked Valda and Lesle about their recollections of the stories told about Spencer.

Of course this was in the middle of the depression. Times were tough. Fred Winter (1879-1933) passed away 3 years earlier. Valda's recollection:

We got our information from Mum(Dorothy Winter-Bolton) Spencer must have died not long after that photo was taken. Apparently he was deeply worried about the financial state and Nana (Sophie) was putting him through an electrician apprenticeship which was another financial burden. I remember Mum(Dorothy) telling us that she found his bed still warm and they found him - had hanged himself in a back shed.

Lesle:

Lesle had a slightly different story about how Spencer was found after he died. She thought he was found in his bed. However, that is family info and no one will be able to clarify it now. She also said that Spencer had just sat his final exams and he thought he had not passed. As it turned out, his results came the day after he died and he had passed.

It is so fascinating to think about the lives of our ancestors, and tragic that once a generation passes, much of the detail of there lives passes also. Hopefully in generations to come this will not be the case with digital photos and achieves.

Garden Gallery...Spring in Indiana

2009-05-22T17:18:00.012-04:00

A part of spring in Indiana.......baby birdies.....

This nest has been there for several years. I wasn't sure a bird would nest there again - especially if a human has been "pruning" around it. It's to the right of the garage. I almost ripped it down this March when I was cleaning up the Ivy and I left it....a Mama Robin did lay her eggs and has been sitting on the nest for weeks. Every time the garage door goes up - Mama robin flies off. Today I noticed three beaks - and upon closer look see that there are 3 baby robins.

Mum and Dad Robin are very close by - but there is no more room in the nest for them!

This must be the "big brother" - the other two are under him.

Below are some photos taken today of my garden - coming along nicely - we have had lots of lovely rain and perfect temperatures for spring growth. Mum and Dad - thought you might especially enjoy knowing you contributed by taking down the perennial growth in September. That made my spring much easier!

BTW...I have been looking everywhere for my garden gloves this afternoon....and now I spot them on top of my chimnea (Mexican fire pot).

Visiting our Heritage

2009-05-05T21:33:00.004-04:00

Hills-Hackwood 1942

I recently rearranged my Heritage Wall art into 2 collections (see two posts ago) - the smaller frames are now on the wall going up the stairs. This allows for one to study the photos closely - what a delightful snapshot of time and history. I have clarified some of the details of the photos with those still living (namely Mum and Dad, Lesle and Col) and thought I would share for historical preservation.

Check out the long faces in the back row. Looks hot and life was probably pretty tough in the middle of a war, right after a depression. I presume this is somewhere in South East Qld - probably Warwick or Toowoomba?

Instead of "The Sullivan's", it's "The hackwood's"

Initially this photo was labeled 1949 - but Raymond William (very front with slouch hat on) looks to be about 11ish. Mum and Dad confirmed it was about '42 and provided this further commentary:

The group photo is -
Top from (L) - Aunty Mel (Vercoe), Nana H, Aunty Bebe (Donovan), Aunty Rita (wife of Aubrey Hills), Grandma ('Ma') Hills
Second row from (L) - a bit hazy here but we think the kids are Aub and Rita's -Audrey on far left, Doug (next to Pa), Janny on Uncle Aub's knee and their eldest Bobby.
We don't know who Pa is holding. Dad said it would have been about 1942.
Pa was in the Air Force from 6/1942 - 10/1945 and served in Australian air force bases as ground crew. He did not go overseas.

Joel attends Junior-Senior Banquet

2009-05-03T17:50:00.003-04:00

What a handsome boy.....

Joel attended the Jr-Sr Banquet on Friday Night. He didn't take a date - but ran sound for the event. The tradition at Heritage is that the Juniors(Grade 11) put on the banquet for the Seniors(Grade 12). They had the event at the Children's Museum which opens to formal evening events once the museum closes. They had a dinner and then went into the theater for a series of skits and speeches. There were several "after parties" and Joel went to one and was home at Todd's by 1am.

Heritage Wall has new home x 2

2009-05-03T17:48:00.004-04:00

Pond complete

2009-04-12T12:17:00.004-04:00

The pond is rebuilt. We picked up 700lbs of rock from The Stone Center and rebuilt the grass side (see below). Kevin dug the pond out another 4-6 inches and we used that dirt to fill the wall. I finished up the landscaping by transplanting some hostas and re-mulching. Four fish survived the rebuild by living in temporary housing - and now are exploring the new caves of their new home. I have not spotted them since they are home.

See also the shiny new grill. I am roasting a lamb on it today.

Citizen Leisa

2009-04-09T18:52:00.011-04:00

The Citizenship Oath was today at the Indiana Southern District Federal Court House in downtown Indianapolis. There were 53 new citizens who took the oath today. The court was presided over by Judge Kelvin. The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes. We were sworn in by Judge Kelvin and had to agree "I do" to the pledge recited. Our names were read out and we received the Certificate of Naturalization. There were a couple of speakers offering congratulations to us as new citizens - representatives from Senator(IN.) Richard Lugar's office, and other government agencies. The judge said some nice words about being "American" and that the melting pot of America continues to blend.

Joel and Sarah and Russ and Kevin were there for the ceremony. My friend Carol Hoppe also came.

Major Pond Reconstruction Underway

2009-03-22T08:39:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the first full day of Spring here. Spring dawned at 7:44am on Friday March 20th. The first brave bulbs are blooming and yesterday was a sunny, clear day - so I began the pond re-building project. The water level kept dropping at the end of the fall last year - so I suspect a leak. It has been seven years since I put this lining in - so considering the extreme temperatures of seven winters - it has done good service.

The plan is to take the lining out and dig the pond a little deeper. The retaining wall on the side by the grass needs more height. The plan ALSO includes Kevin or Joel digging!!!! Then I'll put a new lining in and replace the rocks (which you can see I removed and put on mesh on the grass to clean - seven years of pond scum!). There are at least two fish I have spotted that made it through the winter - so I will try and catch them and put them in a container to wait until their new home is finished. If they don't make it they are only 25c each at the pet store!

I'll post photos once the project is completed.

Approved for U.S. Citizenship

2009-03-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

I had my Citizenship Interview yesterday with Officer Gieler. She went through my application, asked a few questions - like how many children I had born in the U.S. , how many times I have been married, whether I have ever been arrested. Then she asked me 10 Civics questions (I had studied all 100), had me sign some documents and indicated she would be approving my application for citizenship. The whole thing took about 10 minutes. Next step is to get notification on the next Oath Ceremony (she said I'll receive notification in 2-3 monhts) and once I take the oath - I will be a U.S. citizen. I will, of course still have my Aussie citizenship - so I will be dual.

One step closer......

Updated fireplace tile

2009-02-28T15:02:00.003-05:00

BEFORE

The tile installed around the fireplace when I built this house was cheap and "vanilla" looking. The hearth was narrow and several years ago Joel had a log roll out of the fireplace and scorch the carpet. I have been wanting to re-tile for years and Kevin and his Dad - Russ, have the tools and skill.

I love the new look! It makes the fireplace stand out much more and makes it a feature in the room. We extended the hearth which has made it appear to be in a better scale. I am still undecided on whether to paint the mantle a different color and what to do with the Heritage Wall. I think i am going to move it and put something different above the fireplace.

....AND AFTER

Weekend to refresh in Florida

2009-02-21T21:48:00.003-05:00

I had a great long weekend recharge in Florida. Left Indy 6am Friday morning and returned Monday afternoon in time to get Eli for dinner. Friday and Saturday were beautiful clear blue sky days - 75F. I had so many memories of our week there in September. Visited the beach at Fort Desoto. The picnic tables are in different places on the beach - but I couldn't help smile at the infamous "nap on the beach" photo. I sat on the beach Saturday a.m. and got a bad burn on my chest and neck and shoulders - so covered up after that. Sunday was actually cloudy and rainy and mid afternoon a huge fog rolled in - a "sea mist" I suppose.

I read and napped a lot, watched TV at night and went to bed early. I went to Crabby Bills Friday night and had a dozen oysters on the half shell - $5.99!! Can you believe it? The atmosphere was busy and loud - nice to see people enjoying themselves in these tough economic times. The oysters were from Louisiana and were HUGE. They were so good I went back Saturday for another dozen for lunch + a Bloody Mary, then went to Billy's (close to Vasili's place were we had the Lobster) that night and got 30 Peel-and-eat shrimp - basically prawns that you peel yourself. 30 sound like a lot - but they are fairly small.

Sunday, lest I break out in boils, I decided to have just a half dozen oysters for lunch......3.99! as well as the steamer bucket - more shrimp and mussels and clams.

Oh......I forgot that Friday for lunch I went to the Hurricane - the lovely restaurant we went to the first night we were there - with the balcony and sunset views - and had a Grilled Grouper sandwich - their specialty and fresh from the Gulf.

I didn't take my camera and there really wasn't anything photo worthy...but I did have this postcard on my fridge. Mum and Dad - you may recall the big pink palace - "The don Cazair Resort" in the bottom left of the postcard. Crabby Bill's is up the beach just after the green space.

Hannah & Jason's Wedding

2009-02-09T19:26:00.005-05:00

Saturday was a perfect day in every way! It was casual, yet elegant. Hannah and Jason are a lovely couple. They were married by a local Judge in Jason's parent's home. They had tables and chairs brought in and all the food was catered except for Kevin's special beef tenderloin which he had marinating Friday night and cooked at the Esmail's. There were 23 guests + 1 dog !! Kevin did really well considering his daughter was getting married!

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-28T18:27:00.004-05:00

We had 12.5" of snow last night - the third biggest one-time snow fall in history. We were snowed in today - school was canceled - I emailed my team to stay home. I thought I'd get a lot done - but with everyone snowed in, LOTS of emails to deal with and I didn't get any special projects done.

Oh well...we are all safe and have plenty of food in the house. It took Kevin 3 hours to drive 20 miles last night from the south side. Rather than another 1-2 hours on the road to get home, he stayed here. Joel and Jeremy went sledding today. Joel tried to get out of the neighborhood, but we were still snowed in so Jeremy had to pick him up in a tall 4-wheeler.

I cleaned the snow off the bird feeders for the hungry birds - see Mr. Finch on the table above having some breakfast.

Joel participates in All-State Choir

2009-01-25T17:19:00.005-05:00

Joel was selected to be in the All-State High School Choir again this year. There are about 325 of the best highschool choir students selected by audition each year. They have several practices at an area school, and then they all converge downtown for 2 days of rehearsals with a renowned Choir Conductor, Dr. William Skoog, from Bowling Green State University, culminating in a performance at the end of the weekend for all the choir teachers around the State. Their performance was awesome.

You can see Joel's head poking through in the upper right corner, 5th from the left. There was a set of normal risers, and another set of risers behind it, which is why you can't see him very well.

Here he is while they were filing on the stage........

After the performance.......Joel, Todd and Eli. Eli alwasy loves to see Joel sing, or play piano or violin.

Coldest temps in 12 years

2009-01-17T09:52:00.000-05:00

News here - yesterday the coldest day in 12 years - when I left the house yesterday morning it was -11F (-23C) and warmed up to a balmy 7F (-14C). This morning we work up to a VERY cold house.....and realized the furnace had gone out. I called a repair man and he was able to be here within 30 minutes. The blower on the furnace is out - so it is still making hot air, just not blowing it into the house. We are sitting by the fire in coats and hats. The repair man had to go to the supply house to get a new blower and will be back. It is going to be an expensive day!!!! Of course the furnace would go out on the coldest day in 12 years!!

Aussie Money Redeemed

2009-01-05T20:56:00.003-05:00

Thanks for redeeming our pitiful $20bill Granny! This is Joel's Aussie $$ collection. The display turned out nicely. It is on the wall in his room.

Christmas in Columbus,Ohio

2008-12-28T10:23:00.008-05:00

We had a great day in Columbus, Ohio celebrating Christmas with Kevin's daughter, Hannah and her fiance, Jason - they are getting married Feb 7th. We had the important task of couriering the rock from Indy to Columbus - the ring is gorgeous.....

We spent the day at the Jason's parents home... Boric and Judy Esmailzadeh. Boric is an Iranian Jew who has lived in the U.S. for 35 years. He has a very interesting (and top secret) position with the U.S. government in middle-eastern intelligence. Lovely family and we had a great day. Boric cooked lamb, turkey, beef and all the side dishes that go along with such a feast.
I met Hannah's Mom, Glenda and her husband John. Hannah siad this was a dry-run for the wedding! Everyone got along just fine!
When we arrived with the ring .....

Hannah with Jason and her Mom and Dad.

Blemished Beamer

2008-12-21T10:02:00.002-05:00

Joel was in a little fender this week. A lady ran into the back of him...so it wasn't his fault....but his baby is blemished. Don Lanteigne took him to a repair guy who can fix it AND give the whole car a new paint job. The insurance may right the car off - but Joel will still get a check to repair it, even if there is a little subsidy of money. The good news is no one was hurt, and the car is still drivable.

Lesson Learned: don't iron Aussie $$

2008-12-07T13:13:00.002-05:00

As you will remember Mum and Dad, we have been trying to find a way to display Joel's Aussie $$ collection. I found a frame that will take all the bills - similar to the one you found for us at Castleton Square Mall, but larger so all the bills are displayed.

The $20 was a little crumpled - so I thought I'd give it a quick press before framing it. Ha!

Will a bank take back a maimed bill and trade it for a new one? If so - I'll mail it to Mum for an exchange. If not, I'll send some US$ and we'll trade at Valda's International Bank of Australia.

Eli is home.

2008-11-07T22:31:00.003-05:00

I arrived at the hospital this morning for my 24 hour shift with Eli and to relieve Todd. Eli had all his IVs out, his catheter out and was sitting on the fold-out couch for parents to sleep on. You can see Eli's bed to the far left of the photo.

I was amazed at how good he looked. Todd said he ate a good breakfast. He is tolerating his pain meds orally. The doctor said there was no reason to keep him in the hospital - so he sent us all home. We had a hospital bed delivered at Todd's and the home health nurse visited.

He is doing so well. He doesn't seem to be in any pain and Todd said he was crawling around tonight and didn't really want to be in the bed. We will continue to give him some pain meds - especially at night.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! God has his hand on Eli.

Eli doing well.

2008-11-06T18:56:00.001-05:00

Eli is such a trooper! He came through surgery very well - textbook according to Dr. Bellflower. He was very stable post-op so they decided to send him to the regular hospital surgical floor rather than the ICU. I stayed with him last night. He is comfortable and sleepy. We haven't seen a smile yet.......that will be the sign that he is OK with life again!

Todd will spend today and tonight with him - and I will go back in the morning. I have been in touch with Todd by phone and he reports he has eaten a few bites and had a few sips of juice. He had 2 IVs- both have come out in the last 24 hours - just his restlessness. Dr Bellflower visited and is happy with his progress. Changed his dressing and thinks his incision looks good.

Hopefully we will get to come home on Saturday.

More news as it is available.

Surgery date Nov 5th

2008-10-28T21:26:00.002-04:00

Just an FYI that Eli's surgery has been scheduled for next Wednesday, Nov 5th at 1:45pm. We will be in the hospital 5-7 days, but I hope we are home by the end of the weekend. I will stay home with E a couple of days the following week, and then we hope to have home care for the rest of the week and the following week. Hopefully he will be strong enough to return to school the week of Nov 24th - which is Thanksgiving, so only a 3 day school week.

I am anticipating his recovery to be similar to the last back surgery - and he did so well. Hopefully this time will be the same!

More surgery for Eli

2008-10-24T16:49:00.004-04:00

Here's Eli visiting with Granny and Pa at school the first week in September. While he is leaning right in his chair, you can see that his shoulders are square.

A couple of weeks later I noticed his right shoulder was really drooping. Todd brought it to my attention as well so we thought we'd better take him for a check up with Dr. Bellflower, the orthopedic surgeon.

To all of our shock and amazment (including Dr. Bellflower...perhaps mostly Dr. Bellflower), X-Ray shows that he has broken one of the rods in his back. Apparently there must have been one spot on his spinal column that did not fuse - while the bone above and below that spot did fuse, so there were 2 solid counter measures bending with each one of Eli's movements. The rod was like a stretched out paperclip that was bent back and forth, back and forth and finally snapped. The other rod looks like it could completley snap at any time.

So...back he goes for another surgery. This one won't be as big as the initial surgery - the incision will be 6-8". They will put "sleeves" on both rods at the breaking point and they put some kind of protein accelerator on the bone at the weak point to encourage the bone to fuse. He will be in the hospital 5-7 days. We will get a date for surgery on Monday.

Thankfully Eli doesn't seem bothered by the snapped titanium rod in his back! Apparently this is usually very painful, but he has not shown any signs of distress.

Bless his sweet little heart.

Fall beauty

2008-10-17T19:02:00.007-04:00

There is no question that these Northern Hemisphere temperate climate Hoosiers are on to something in the fall. The changing leaves produce incredible bursts of colour that almost make one's heart stop. Too bad it represents nastiness ahead in the form of winter.

All of these shots are at the pond at the entrance to Ft. Ben State Park - where we had family portraits done in 1993. Just 0.8 mile from my home.

This will look familiar to Mum, Dad and perhaps Brad. The old Fort HQ is in the back ground - now converted to a restaurant and B&B.

Fall Day "leaf watching"

2008-10-11T15:18:00.002-04:00

It is a gorgeous fall day in Indiana. Kevin took me on an impromptu road trip along the country roads of eastern Indiana. We had lunch in Oldenburg, close to Brookville, at The Pearl Street Pub and continued through winding roads enjoying the country side and beautiful colors of fall.

Day(s) of travel

2008-10-02T18:54:00.002-04:00

Mum and Dad were safely deposited at the Indianapolis International Airport with baggage checked all the way to BNE.

At this moment in time they are almost landing in St. Louis. On to LA in a couple of hours, then leaving LAX at 2:30am my time. Landing in BNE 6am Saturday Aust. time - 4pm Friday my time.

Boggles the mind!

I am sad, it is always so bitter sweet - bitter because we have to say good-bye, sweet because we have created such wonderful memories!

Wednesday Oct 1

2008-10-01T19:38:00.004-04:00

We enjoyed a day downtown at the Indiana State Museum. The temperatures dropped today - chilly for the tropical guests, but actually quite delightful for those of us who have to live through the next 5 months.

The museum opens onto the canal - which has memorials and many art and cultural interests along the way. This pendulum is facinating - with it making a full rotation turn every 40 hous or so.

The museum houses one of Indy's IMEX 3-D movie theaters - so we enjoyed a 40 minutes film on the Grand Canyon. Incredible photography....and of course the need for the 3-D glasses - below.........

Pa going for a drive with Joel

2008-09-30T20:33:00.003-04:00

It's not as bad as it looks! Joel and Pa went to the Diary Queen to get soft-serve ice-cream blended with Heath Bars (chocolate wrapped caramel).

Today we enjoyed an authentic Mexican lunch at LaHacienda with Kevin and a relaxing day of doing some last minute American shopping and such.

Tonight the good-byes started with a good-bye between Eli and Granny and Pa and Todd and Mum and Dad.

I am off work the next 2 days - Mum and Dad leave at 6pm Thursday evening.

Family Portrait

2008-09-29T20:32:00.003-04:00

After work today we had an updated family portrait taken. Kevin was the photographer and out of about 25 photos we unanimously decided on this one.

Mum and Dad were able to join me today for our monthly birthday celebration lunch at work. There were about 18 of us - no photos were taken - :) - celebrating September birthdays in my office. It was a nice opportunity for Mum and Dad to meet my work mates. I then took them on a quick tour of my office. Mum and Dad enjoyed an afternoon at Walmart.

Sunday Brunch

2008-09-28T20:57:00.003-04:00

Maureen had a "Girl's Brunch" on Sunday. We had sausage egg casserole, Dice and Fried Potatoes, Fresh Fruit, cookies, cakes and mimosas (champagne & OJ). The girls are friends of Maureen's and Leisa's.

Saturday Sept 27

2008-09-27T17:48:00.002-04:00

Today was a great day for me! A new ALDI opened a couple of weeks ago just around the corner from me, and at Granny's prompting, we checked it out this morning. I am sold! I will definatetly be stopping in there to shop - at least for some items.

We also had Eli for most of the day as Todd went into work. Trying not to count down...but only another 5.3 days to enjoy together :(

Yet another fabulous meal.....

2008-09-26T19:06:00.004-04:00

Dinner with Vasili & family

2008-09-25T17:25:00.005-04:00

Wednesday evening we were invited to dinner and a view! This is my friend Vasili's Indianapolis home. We stayed at his unit in Florida. Obviously he loves to be on the water. This is the view of the Indianapolis Sail Club, which is on Geist Reservoir. This is Indy's water supply - which is alive and well at present!

Enjoying a libation on the patio.

Vasilis has 4 daughters - here are the 3 youngest - Alexandra, Anna and Chloe. We had a delicious meal of grilled salmon and a huge Greek salad.

Granny and Eli

2008-09-25T17:23:00.003-04:00

Granny and Eli got to spend a little time together.

Monday in Indiana

2008-09-22T20:49:00.005-04:00

This evening Granny and Pa, Eli and I walked in our beautiful State Park - just 1 mile from my house. I went back to work today, Mum and Dad stayed home and did a little gardening and mowing and Granny cooked Cheese and Tuna for dinner!

Joel, the newest license holder (got his Driver's License last Thursday) is driving himself to choir practice tonight....bitter-sweet. Great that I don't have to run him around, but a little anxiety-producing about him being out on the open road!!

Brunch at the Kouts'

2008-09-21T21:15:00.002-04:00

Today we enjoyed brunch at The Kouts'. Sara and Russell Kouts are Kevin's parents. From left to right....Sara, Joel, Jason and Hannah (Hannah is Kevin's daughter(21) and Jason is her boyfriend, then Russ, Bill, Valda and Leisa.

Brunch consisted of selected meats - sausage, ham, pork, corn casserole, quiches and stewed apples. We also enjoyed mimosas - orange juice and chamagne. A lovely day.

Florida in Review

2008-09-19T19:02:00.008-04:00

We had a fabulous week in St.Petersburg, Florida. The weather was incredible - temps 75min - 90max degrees F with clear blue skies. This photo is on the Pier at Ft. DeSoto with the mouth of Tampa Bay in the background. The Skyway Bridge is in the background. This is as big as the gateway and allows the water traffic to enter Tampa Bay, a large port. We drove over the Skyway another day and visited the city of Sarasoto.

Below is St.Pete Beach and a couple of snappy looking tourists.

Ahhh......a hard day at the beach.

There was much seafood to be had. Above was A Bucket of Seafood from Crabby Bill's which we enjoyed after we shared a dozen oysters on the shell. The bucket had Alaskan king crab, shrimp, mussels and clams. This was a great birthday celebration!

Here is the water-side view of the condo - the pool is between the water and the units - to the right where the white umbrella is. The water temperature in the pool was 31 degrees C. all day! It was wonderful - like bath water. The sea water was calm and we were taken out on this boat with a couple from the units we met by the pool. A retired USAF Colonel and his wife. This view is us berthing into the slip after our boat ride. We enjoyed a libation by the pool each afternoon for Happy Hour.

We visited The Pier at St. Petersburg - a long fishing and boat pier with restaurants and shops. The pier is surrounded on 3 sides by Tampa Bay, which is an enormous body of water.

We ate well all week! Here we are enjoying another seafood meal of Lobster, crab and shrimp. We also had Grouper - a local delicacy of white, sweet fish andTalapia - an Atlantic fish

Saturday

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Granny helped joel with his car on Saturday - he was taking Granny for a test run when Todd called him on his cell phone to tell him they had forgotten to tighten the wheel nuts!!!

Saturday evening we had Paul and Kathy for a wonderful Greek meal cooked by Chef Kevin. We started with spanakopita (spinach and feta in filo dough) with a tsaziki sauce (yogurt and cucumber) and had Exoheko (pork, tomato, carrot, celery and oregano in a sherry sauce with filo dough), lemon potatoes and greek green beans (with garlic, oregano, tomato and onion). We had fresh fruit cocktail for dessert.

Granny helped joel with his car on Saturday - he was taking Granny for a test run when Todd called him on his cell phone to tell him they had forgotten to tighten the wheel nuts!!!

Friday Report

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A quiet Friday here. Dad was planning on a walking tour of the war memorials downtown, but aborted, due to a beautiful soaking rain. Today has been an inside day. I worked and had an infusion this afternoon, Mum, Dad, Kevin, Big Black and Shiva had a quiet day at home reading.

Thursday 9-11

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Of course today is a day of remembrance in this country. There were remembrance services across the country.

Mum and Dad and Kevin and I had a nice relaxed day of driving around some historical Indy neighborhoods and discussing local history. We had lunch at Hoaglin's - a very nice gourmet sandwich kitchen on Massachusetts Ave, downtown Indianapolis. Photo below.

Wednesday I worked, but I dropped Mum and Dad off at Bob Evan's Restaurant for the Rise and Shine Breakfast Special. Then they walked across (a very busy) road and spent the morning shopping at Walmart.

Day 8 Con't....a visit to Eli's school

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Granny and Pa visit Eli at school where he shows them a computer program he is working on. He drives the bus around the screen to pick up all the students and drop them off at school.

Eli took us on a tour of the school - which is the daily home of about 2,500 teenagers ages 14-17. He can navigate his way around and stops at all the security stations, nurse's office and main office and the mail room to give a high five to whoever is manning at the moment. One of his jobs is to deliver messages (accompanied by an aide) to these various offices.