Michigan...

The plan...to see Aubrey as Cinderella in her High School play "Into the Woods".  

Alas, the play was moved because the football team was in the playoffs. It was moved to a weekend we could not travel.  So, being the great parents/grandparents that we are, we headed to Muskegon anyway and stopped in Chelsea on the way home to see all the Michigan branch of our family tree. 

As Claude and I drove through Cincinnati, Claude sings "I'm living on the air in Cincinnati..."  We look in the sky for flying turkeys. I say, "Oh the humanity!" Claude says, "Honest, I thought they could fly!" Then we both break out laughing. 

This all comes from an old sitcom on television WKRP in Cincinnati.  The radio station in this television show was doing a Thanksgiving promotion where they were going to give away free turkeys.  For some reason, the turkeys were put in an airplane and flown over Cincinnati and dropped for people to get as the flew down.  The problem, turkeys don't fly. 

I posted Claude and my comments and laughter on Facebook and asked, "Anyone remember that delightful moment on TV?"  Our friend, Dave Rennick, reminded us of the line, "The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement!"  Sent Claude and me into peels of laughter again. Delightful way to start our trip.

At another point in our drive, Claude commented that he felt tired. I assured him he could take a nap and I could drive for a bit.  He told that would not be necessary, he could keep driving.  I told him I had driving this particular drive several times by myself and really could do it.  He said, "I know.  You are a strong woman of the 90's." Really.  The 90's.

Late we passed a white car with red duct tape down the entire driver's side, front to back. Claude looked at it and said, "Is that just to hold it together or are they going for a racing stripe.

We passed the funniest billboard.  It was for Meijer.  The caption was Rock this Thanksgiving.  The picture was a beautifully roasted turkey with those paper things on the ends of the legs.  Some of the ends of the fringes of the paper were turned down so that the turkey looked like it was making the hand gesture for 'you rock'.  That is one clever bit of advertising.

The forecast was for some snow.  We drove most of the way with clear skies and were so very grateful. About Lansing we started to alternate between thick snow showers and sunshine.  Nissa sent me a text saying that was the lake effect snow she enjoyed in Michigan.  

Then we got to Grand Rapids.  It was white-out conditions.  Claude slowed way down and kept going.  I focused on staying quiet and not moving so he could focus on driving.  We drove like that for half the distance between Grand Rapids and Muskegon.  Then the skies cleared and we were able to get back up to speed and get on into Muskegon.  When we got there, Claude said he was very happy we were doing that during the daytime.

We got to Muskegon and I hurried into the hotel to check us in.  When I got back to the car, Claude and I started to get the things out of the car we wanted to take inside.  I looked in the back seat and realized I had no coat.  I wore a sweatshirt with a turtle neck under it so I would not have to put on my coat to run into the gas station or restaurant on the way up.  It was only at this point I realized I left my coat and gloves on the sofa in Sadieville.  Yike!!

I knew I was warm enough to just go from inside to the car and back to inside again. But Claude was very concerned in case we had car trouble or an accident and had to be in the cold for a while.  Our next stop was Walmart.  I found a wonderful red coat with a hood with fur around the edge of the hood.  I told Claude it would be my Eskimo coat.

Thursday night we had dinner with Todd and Nissa.  They took us to Hennessy's Pub.  This is a traditional Irish pub. We had a wonderful dinner including Irish soda bread.

Friday we picked up Paul for the morning.  We purchased him a pair of shoes, then went back to our hotel room to visit till lunch time.  At lunch we picked up Nissa, who would have the afternoon off, and ate lunch at the Pita Place.  Then we went back to Nissa's home.  Katelyn and Drew joined us.  I gave haircuts, we played the piano, Aubrey came home from school and joined us.  When Todd came home, we ordered pizza for dinner.  It was a good day with family.

Saturday we slept in as there was a forecast for freezing rain.  We allowed them to treat the roads before we got on them.  Jake found a new deli in Chelsea were we had great soup and sandwiches and a quiet place for conversation.  Then we took Jake home and headed to Sadieville.

Here are a few pictures of family.

Katelyn, Paul and Sandi (me) enjoying a musical moment.  I asked Nissa, my daughter, to take this picture.  I'm the photographer in our family.  My girls are also the photographers in their families.  This simply means you are not in the pictures very often.  Thank you Nissa for taking this for me.  Love music.  Especially when it is our family making the music.

Katelyn and her boyfriend, Drew Roper.

Aubrey Anne snuggling with her Grampa Claude.  All the grandmonsters love to snuggle with Claude.  I can't blame them one bit.  

I asked Todd and Nissa to put their heads together for a picture.  The first one I took was this one. I honestly like it best.  I love that Todd is looking at Nissa and that happy look on his face just makes me happy.  

This picture is a real keeper.  When we cleaned out Papa's garage he had a couple of small tool boxes full of tools he will never use.  We brought them home and Claude went through them.  We made a good tool box for Papa's apartment to aid in any quick repairs we might need to do while there.  The remainder of the tools Claude went through and melded into his tools.  The extras he used to put a tool box together for Jacob.  Jake had a couple of basic tools but this will get him off to a better start.  Claude put them in his first red metal tool box.  

As Claude was talking to me about this process, he started to laugh.  He couldn't stop laughing.  I tried to get him to let me in on the funny but he couldn't stop laughing enough to tell me anything.  After a bit, he showed me the tool he felt it was time to give to Jacob.  It was a tool his father had given to him.  A treasure from Claude's childhood. 

Saturday, we stopped in Chelsea and had lunch with Jacob on the way home from Muskegon. When we took Jacob back to his apartment, Claude got the tool box out to give to Jacob.  He opened it and explained some of the tools he was giving him.  One was a socket set I bought our first Christmas for Claude with my tips as a beautician.  That was 44 years ago.  Jake asked about the one larger odd tool in the box.  Claude started to laugh again.  He was able to get out that it came from the ranch in Utah and Evan gave it to him.  The light began to dawn and Jacob also started to laugh.  I raced to the car to get my camera to take this picture.  The tool is used to castrate horses or cows.  Yep...that is a true treasure to pass from father to son.  Now...you may laugh as well.

This was a quick trip but so good to be with family who won't be able to come for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It was a very nice way to begin this holiday season.

First Snow...

Snow came early this year.  We woke up Monday, November 17th to a beautiful layer of white covering Sadieville.  There was a time I would have bundled up and put on sturdy shoes to hike around the neighborhood and take pictures of this loveliness.  Maybe I'm just aging.  Maybe I'm not wanting to fall on the messy road.  May I'm just getting lazy.  But staying in my warm home was my choice for that morning.  My pictures would be taken from my front porch and the deck over the back yard.  I was up early enough to get these pictures before the snow had tire tracks and foot prints on them.

This little bush is really bright red and located in the front of our home where the drive-way curves.  

This plant is found in our front flower bed.  I think this looks like white broccoli.

 Claude's weather center gave up the ghost.  

The next three pictures are views of the back yard. First looking north, then moving south along our hill.

 

This final picture is the corkscrew willow on the property line between our neighbor's home and ours.  It's trunk is really in their yard but it kind of drapes over into our yard.  For some reason, I just love this tree in every season of the year.  It is perfect for birds to rest in and for grandmonsters to play under.  I just think it is stunning covered in snow.

While our snow was beautiful and managed to close schools in Scott County for the day, Buffalo, New York is literally buried in snow.  Feet on top of feet of snow.  Homes are absolutely covered in the snow that fell there.  It makes me appreciate our beautiful little snowfall even more.  I care not to live in Buffalo.  I'll take our Kentucky snow anytime.

Election 2014...

It occurs to me I could put a little more current events in my Blog.  To correct that, I'll let this Blog post be about this year's mid-term elections.

First, Claude was on the ballot as Mayor of Sadieville.  He was not opposed.  We both voted for him. He won the election.  Yeah Big Guy!!

Then there was the contest for U.S. Senator from Kentucky.  Mitch McConnell again Alison Lundergan Grimes. Big contest here in Kentucky and noised about in the country.  Mitch McConnell has been a senator since January 1985. He has been the Senate Minority Leader since January 2007.  Lots of experience there.  I have heard him speak several times and always been impressed with his understanding of how things were working in Washington DC.  Alison Grimes has been the Secretary of State of Kentucky since 2012.  Claude and I sat with her at a dinner once.  She seemed like a nice person.  I voted for Mitch. I have serious concerns about things in our country and feel a man with Washington know-how is the best guy to vote for at this point in our nation's history.  Mitch McConnell won and will now be the Senate Majority Leader.

My amazement with this piece of the elections was the millions of dollars spent by just this race.  Millions I tell you, millions.  It just seems so excessive to me that elections cost that much.  We tire of the incessant ads, the negative ads, the calls requesting donations, the calls requesting your vote, the calls wanting you to participate in a poll.  I don't know that the answer to those things.  It just seems every election get more expensive, more intense with regard to calls and ads.  

I did hear on NPR that the negative ads give you a better feel for what the candidate has done and will do than the positive ones.  I found that logic interesting.  They said the positive ads are usually telling you what a good family person the candidate is or someone gives a testimonial about some nice things the candidate did for them.  The negative ads tell you what the candidates opponent sees wrong in the things the candidate has voted on thus telling you more helpful information to help you determine who to vote for. Wouldn't it be great if all the candidates published a list of their voting records (I know we can get those ourselves) if they are or have served as an elected official.  And if that document also contained what they wanted to accomplish if they were elected and where they stood on the issues.  We could study that out, listen to them speak, and then we would know how we wanted to vote on election day.  Much simpler, less expensive (all that money could go to so many other causes), less advertising and not all those phone calls.  It just doesn't work that way.

Papa gave us a chuckle as they pestered him regarding the election.  Someone came to his door to talk with him about how he was going to vote and persuade them to vote for someone in particular.  I don't know who it was and Papa can't remember.  But Papa told me he just stopped their pitch at his door and told them, "Look, I don't know who any of your people are.  But my son-in-law and daughter do.  They will tell me who to vote for and that is how I will vote!"  Whoever it was, Papa told them Claude Christensen was his son-in-law and this person knew Claude.  Claude and I did get a chuckle out of it. 

Claude was sworn in, in October as the 2nd Vice President of the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC).  The Mayor of Bardstown was sworn in as the President.  The Mayor of Williamsburg was sworn in as 1st Vice President.  The Mayor of Midway was the current President.  To be an officer in the Kentucky League of Cities you must be an elected official.  The swearing in took place before the election.  The new President, 1st Vice President and 2nd Vice-President each had to be re-elected to continue in their sworn in positions.  The Mayor of Bardstown was not elected meaning there was now not a sworn in President.  Claude and the Mayor of Williamsburg were elected.  The past President was not running for another term.  Needless to say, as the election results came in, the staff at KLC was busy sending out texts to Claude and the Mayor of Williamsburg.  He would now be the President, serving a longer term, and Claude was bumped up to 1st Vice President.  That was a little bit of surprise and excitement.

Our city commissioners all had to run for their offices.  We have four city commissioners and a Mayor that form the total city commission.  Claude was unopposed.  We had five people running for the other four city commission seats.  The two ladies that previously served were re-elected, Detta and Judy.  Kim was also elected and has never served on the city commission before.  The two men that served previously ended up in a tie.  I asked Claude today if it had been determined which of them would be the remaining city commissioner.  He said it hasn't been determined yet.  There was talk that the proper way to do that would be a coin toss.  I couldn't believe that.  A coin toss.  That would sure solve my frustration with all the money spent to campaign.  Everyone puts their name in and we just toss coins to see who wins.  Quick, easy and practically painless!!  Goodness.

That is enough on politics for 2014.  It is an interesting process.  Most of the people Claude and I wanted in were voted in.  There were a few exceptions.  Now, we can just pray for those who were elected that they will use wisdom and good judgement as they serve. 

A Vivid Veteran's Day...

At the close of this Veteran's Day as a huge change in the weather approaches, I sit in my warm home and reflect on this day full of emotion.  

Today was a much looked forward to day-at-home.  My plan was to accomplish as much as possible on that always long to-do list. 

My day started with preparing a lesson that Claude and I team teach on Sunday evening. After two hours of study, my outline was in my laptop, the quotes were ready to be printed, and a picture was ready to be printed.  Something went wrong when I started to print and my laptop was hung up.  Thinking I saved everything, I closed Word.  Then reopened Word.  Word did that lovely thing it does and offered me an emergency copy of the last documents I was working on when Word closes unexpectedly.  I printed the picture.  Then something else interfered and I had to close Word again.  Word asked if it should save those emergency copies for when I opened Word again.  I told it no as I was sure I had saved them while working on them.  Alas, went I came back to Word and tried to open the documents, they were very, very incomplete.  Just a little at the top of each one.  Two hours of work gone.  Frustration.  That is what I felt.  Foolish and frustrated.  I have not done that in a very, very long time.

Our City Clerk sent me an eMail while I was preparing this lesson requesting pictures from Sadieville in September for the city's website.  In an effort to salvage my now less-than-productive morning, I started to send those picture via eMail to Cindy three at a time.  While they were loading, I would prepared for other things I wanted to do today and also cleaned up some items in my sewing room.  

After completing the sending of the pictures to Cindy, Claude and I loaded some cleaning supplies in the Jeep and he took me across the creek to Sadieville proper.  My next task was to clean the caboose.  The last few years the Scott County Library has held 'The Polar Express' in Sadieville using our caboose as the reading room.  Since today would be the last warm day for several weeks, it seemed best to clean the caboose on a warm day. Claude unlocked the doors and we opened the caboose up and I started to clean while Claude headed to City Hall to play at being Mayor a bit.  That fresh air flowing through the caboose was exhilarating.  My head cleared and I realized I had already prepared that lesson once so the second time typing an outline and preparing the visuals to print would probably go a lot more quickly.  

My grandson started texting me so I would pause and visit with him between cleaning sprints.  That was very nice.  

Then my phone made its dripping noise alerting me to an eMail.  This eMail was from a BJ Fisch.  At least that was what the eMail address indicated.  While I don't know an BJ Fisch, my mother's maiden name is Fisch.  It is spelled with a 'c' in it, which is not quite the norm. Mom had a brother names Clifford who had a son named Burton.  Could this be Burton Fisch?  My curiosity was piqued.

The eMail from BJ Fisch said he saw some pictures on the Internet of Clifford Fisch and was wondering I had any more.  Clifford Fisch was his grandfather.   Pause to digest that information.  You see, as one gets older, mentally we keep thinking we are still young.  It is often only when we look in the mirror that we realize we aren't in our 20's anymore.  Or if we sit on the floor and try to stand up.  I had to process my Uncle Clifford not being the young man I remembered driving my sisters and my cousins through the woods where there were no roads in his Jeep with no top.  I knew my mother was a great-grandmother when she passed.  But Uncle Clifford, her brother, was, in my mind, still that young father of elementary school kids.  This information meant this had to be Burton's child as Uncle Clifford's other two kids were girls and married with different last names.  I realized I had not seen Burton in over 40 years.  Wow!!

I sent a reply to verify if my reasoning was correct.  It was.  Burton's son, Clifford's grandson, found my Blog, saw some pictures of his grandfather, my Uncle Clifford, and sent me an eMail.  I was so happy I was about to burst.  Gratitude can't begin to explain the feelings I had for this great-nephew (I think that is correct.) whom I never met taking the initiative to send me an eMail.  If he had not done that, I would never have known him.

Claude and I were married when I was 19 and he was 20.  After a year of marriage and the birth of our first child, Claude was transferred to March AFB in California.  I left Louisiana and would not see Burton anymore.  I would see Sue and Jean, his sisters on a visit to Louisiana when my eldest daughter was around a year old.  I would also see Jean another time when I visited my parents in Louisiana.  That was the last contact with my mother's side of the family.  Her parents died and I was not able to travel from California for their funerals.  Uncle Clifford died when I was in Junior High School and Aunt Billlie also died while I lived very far away.  Contact information changed and we just lost track of each other.

I ached for this loss.  These cousins were lots of fun.  Playing at our grandparents home in the woods was pure joy.  I loved Uncle Clifford and Aunt Billie, his wife.  It felt bad not to have contact information for them.  Now I had a link back to them.  How great is that?!?!

I sent a message to BJ and told him I was not at home.  However, when I got home I would send him some pictures of our family.  He was happy about that.

After cleaning that caboose, Claude took me to Wendy's for lunch.  It was so very nice to sit and visit with my Big Guy on Veteran's Day.  This morning I posted on Facebook pictures of him when he served in the Air Force.  These picture are all without a beard or mustache.  While in the Air Force, after we were married, Claude did grow a mustache.  As soon as he got out of the Air Force he grew the beard.  Only once since then has he shaved it off.  That was as a fund-raiser at Church for the youth program.  When Claude was in the Air Force he worked in the Reconnaissance Technical Squadron at Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases.  The Air Force was good to us.  We were poor as church mice but we managed to use the GI Bill to pay for a college degree for Claude and a VA Loan to purchase our first home.  Our three children were born in Air Force hospitals.  We had a steady income as we started our married life and for all those things and more, we will be eternally grateful. 

As we left Wendy's, I asked Claude if he could feel the difference in the air.  It just seemed more full of energy.  My assumption is the coming changes in our weather were the reason.  The wind was blowing, the clouds were forming, the temperature had not begun to drop the 30 degrees anticipated but you could just feel it was coming.  Left me feeling more full of energy and, combined with the knowledge of my new found relative, just down-right happy.

Upon arriving home, I headed to the basement where my sewing room is located.  I would spend the couple of hours eMailing pictures to BJ.  It was pure joy getting those pictures loaded into eMails, typing a little explanation about them and a little history for some of them.  How good it felt to share this with BJ.  Family.  I was able to send him pictures of his father, grandfather and grandmother, great grandfather and great grandmother, and even two great-great-grandmothers and one great-great grandfather.  Family.  Amazing.

At one point I received another eMail from BJ.  He attached a few pictures for me.  These are my cousins!!  Jean, Burton and Sue.  What a treasure, an absolute treasure.

After all this picture exchanging, I buckled down and and re-created my lesson outline and visuals and got them printed.  Success.

Family is so important.  Warts and all.  A since of belonging is so important and our families offer that.  Didn't finish nearly as much on that to-do list.  Don't really care.  My day was full of family.  That is much more important.  I am happy.  

Thank you BJ for reaching out.

Happy Birthday!!

It was a little early but sometimes birthdays need to be spread over a few days or even a week.  Hayden's birthday is in a few days but he wanted a family time and this weekend was the time Claude and I could connect with the Marx family. So, after we finished with a baptism at Church this morning, we pointed that red Buick west in search of grandmonsters.

Hayden was okay with waiting until time for presents.  But Miss Bailey really wanted her brother to open one present before we had lunch.  She asked Andie and Andie said it was okay, if Claude and I were okay with that.  We both said it would be fine.  

Hayden picked a small gift out of the bag and opened it first.  It was a small Lego set from the Ninjago series.  Hayden had given me a very long list of possibilities and we seemed to have gotten it right.  He immediately set to putting it together.  Bailey and I played some board games while he did that.

We ate a wonderful fish taco lunch prepared by Andie.  Then Bailey was sure Hayden needed to pick another gift and open it.  We agreed so he took the large gift out of the bag and opened it.  It was a Lego Chima series set which Hayden really, really wanted.  He was ecstatic.  Right to work he went putting it together.  This allowed the adults some time to visit while he worked and Bailey played on my Kindle and then Claude's Kindle.

After Hayden finished that Lego there was one other small item in the bag.  He opened it and found his Girl Scout cookies. 

Here are some pictures of Hayden putting his Lego sets together and Bailey playing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to Hayden.  Cannot believe this has gone by so fast.