Christian Photographers Community

That's so true, Judy!  I have been looking forward to it for months!  I sure hope we don't have to wait another ten years though before Janet and I get together again!!!     We nearly made it when Paul and I went to Oregon but alas, not to happen!!!

Hi everyone on this Wednesday morning.  We will attend Bible study and then enjoy a time of friendship over coffee at Dunkin' Donut. 

My day yesterday didn't turn out as expected.  Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to check the website for the Social Security Office and found they close each day at 3pm  except Wednesday when they close at noon.  As I was to pick up the Nigerian family members at 3 pm that was a no go.  I think they will have to get the two children still in grade school and high school out early so we could get to the office before they close. 

I finally got the battery for the old Android phone and tried to make it work last evening.  The battery works but the phone doesn't.  So I ordered our young Nigerian friend, Christian, a new Kindle Fire HD and an inexpensive case for it.  They are to be delivered tomorrow and Friday.  So I should be able to get it to him on Sunday. 

Carol, our church has really adopted the Nigerian family.  Hope you enjoy your stay at the cabin in the mountains.

Pat, I made myself a note to try to add Carol's new recipe to our recipe Index hear if I remember how to do it and can still get to the server. 

Jeanne, congratulations just seem appropriate at such a joyful time. 

Janet, we have developed a special bond with Christian but haven't been around the others other than to say hello at church.  Christian already calls me "Granddad" and I love it.  I hope I can be a good influence on him during these difficult years.  He told me last Sunday that he is eager to get a car and then he can come over and visit Pat and I all the time.  I understand that homeowner's insurance is a pretty tough industry and they share with each other claim information and are fast on canceling after a claim, although they probably had you pay higher rates for those three years. 

Ruth Ann, did you try uninstalling the printer and re-installing it.  I have found that often fixes the communication problem.   

I have been rolling yarn.  My hands are aching as are my shoulders, however this yarn will be wonderful when it is knitted up into sweaters, hats and mittens for my grand children and adopted grands. 

Summer has finally come to the north.  Beautiful hot days and cool nights.  I feel sorry for the farmers though they haven't had enough consecutive dry days to get all the hay off the fields.  Some is rotting where it was mowed, other rolls are only good for bedding. The farmer who takes the hay off our field hasn't finished his own, I really don't expect him to get to ours unless this dry spell lasts more than a couple of days.  Thankfully most have enough left over from last year.  I expect beef prices to go down up here because the farmers will be making their herds smaller.  Lower beef prices are the only blessing to this wet cool summer

   

Good morning friends ... I am sorry that I have not been around much but there has been a lot going on and this month is not going to be any different ... So I have either canning stuff from my garden ... helping hubby with the garden .. going to the DOCTOR to find out what is going on with my knee and come to find out he gave me a shot {steroid } and told me that I have KNEE REPLACEMENT in the near future so I am going to TRY my best to get things under control before I have to go and do that ... then I am getting ready for a well deserved VACATION to NEW HAMPSHIRE to visit my family { PARENTS & SISTERS & NEW BROTHER in LAW & also to see my BOYS & DAUGHTER in LAW } so it has been very very busy time for me ... So, { BREATHE } I wanted to just update.  So, better head off and get this morning started so I shall see you all soon ... sending LOVE to all and I will keep you updated if I do have to get surgery !!

Till next time ...
     

Hi everyone.  We had some serious rain yesterday evening and it is overcast again today.  It was a very busy day and I did go to Panera Bread with three others after our session at Dunkin' Donuts yesterday.  So it was about 2 pm before I got back home.  Today will be a lighter day as only have my regular Thursday Men's Luncheon at 11:30 and then will spend an hour with a friend when he comes over later this afternoon.  Pat had a great time at the Cheesecake Factory and brought me home a slice of lemon cheesecake, which was very good and so rich. 

Judy, you lost me as to how making their cattle herd smaller will make prices lower.  I should think it would make the prices higher, at least that is what we are seeing here in the USA. 

WinterRose,  you certainly have been busy.  Don't forget to set aside some quiet time for yourself among all the business.  When will you be going to New Hampshire and is that your home area?

OOOOOOOOOOh Larry ... New Hampshire is where my father retired to after serving 30 years in the Air Force and so I wish I could call it home but I was there for just 10 months { June 1977 - April 1978 } so my real home is here in OHIO and I have been here since June 1979 !!

Howdy, folks!    I am stopping in to say hello before getting back to the story I am writing.  I will post it here when I finish it, as it's pretty interesting.  Everybody has a story, but not everybody finds a willing listener.

We plan to go to Garden tomorrow so I can return the Cricut machine I bought the last time we went, as it does not cut; the blade never touches the surface at all!  Before we go, I will go to Pat's so she can cut, color and style my hair.  Not many more times for her to do it before she moves!  I am in the market for a new hairdresser!

Larry, I'm sure the relationship with the Nigerian boy is a blessing to you, and doesn't the name Granddad have a lovely sound?  I called both Mark and Curtis last night.  Love those grandsons!

I think Judy means the beef the breeders sell will sort of flood the market temporarily, decreasing the prices.  But then--the backlash of shortages will drive the price even higher!  When some around here had to cut down the size of their herds, because of lack of pasture due to the drought, it did not decrease beef prices at all.  And now even hamburger is $6.00 per pound!  We are certainly eating less beef these days!

God is working on me, telling me I do NOT have to work constantly; that my worth is not measured by how hard I work; he wants me to relax and enjoy life more.  I was asking Him what He wants to teach me from the book of Ecclesiastes, and that is part of what He said.  How I love getting up very early to spend time talking to Him and hearing his voice in my spirit.  I wish I had learned about journaling years and years ago!  It is by far the most wonderful adventure of my Christian journey.

I must get busy on that story, as I want to finish it today!

Janet to answer your question a few posts earlier, "No I haven't heard any thing from Sensa about the makeover or the commercial."
I have been working around here at home like a crazy woman today. I've baked a loaf of Honey Whole Wheat Bread, laundered 5 load of laundry got all that put away. Vacuumed a most of the house and cut the legs off two pr of jeans into to smaller parts to make rice bags of the animals at the clinic. I think that using denim they will last longer and I am going to double seam them so they don't come apart at the seams.

The injection I got in my back only kept me pain free for two days.  So it's back to the pain pills and muscle relaxers and they aren't helping much either. I am going to try a combination of Malic Acid and magnesium to see if that will help. 

Larry and Janet. We are looking at getting a side of beef (perhaps a quarter) from a local farmer/friend.  With the current state of hay and feed he will likely take less for his meat.  Also it is grain fed the last 3 weeks before slaughter, no hormones or antibiotics.  Melt in your mouth tender!

Well we woke up to an overcast sky again today.  More rain.  Praying for clear dry weather for Saturday as we have a large window to take out and a new one to put in!

Have a God evening everyone.

Yum, Judy!  Wish I had a juicy, tender steak off that beef!  Enjoy!

Joan Rivers just passed away.  She is remembered as saying anything, no holds barred.  Hmmm, not sure I would want that to be my legacy.

I got the story done!  Here it is:


                                 TREASURES FROM GRANT COUNTY

                                                       By Janet Damon

DEAN UNDERHILL was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 2, 1926 in Willows Hospital.  He was put up for adoption, and at two months of age was adopted by Josephine and Elvin Underhill.  His adoptive parents lived in Osborne, Kansas.  His dad was a locomotive engineer for Santa Fe Railroad, so his mother had a pass on which the immediate family could ride the train at no charge.  She got on the train at Osborne and went to Kansas City.  She went to Willows hospital and picked out the cutest baby there, even if she had to pay a little more!  The cost to adopt a baby was $25.00—but we have to remember that was back when $25.00 was a good deal of money!  Adoptions then were much simpler than they are now; no background checks, no middle-men, just choose the baby you want, pay the fee, and take your bundle of joy home.  Dean says she got a real bargain!  He said he doesn't know whether or not his mom told his dad of her intentions, or if she just brought him home as a surprise!

After living in Osborne for the first four or five years of Dean's life, they moved to Emporia, where Dean started first grade.  They were in Emporia for only a short time when the Great Depression of the 1930s hit, and his dad was put on the "extra board" which meant he could keep his seniority even if he worked as little as one day per year.  But no work meant no paycheck, so the family moved to his Dad's brother's farm in Ottawa County, near Wells, Kansas.  There was an old stone house with stones in the wall about 16" wide.  No one had lived there for many years; it was infested with bull snakes (his mom was deathly afraid of snakes); it had neither water nor electricity, so they had no modern conveniences at all.  There was a basement with a dirt floor, so that's where they kept all of their perishable foods.  His dad worked on the farm, and for his work he received milk, eggs and chickens.  Both his uncle and his dad joined a WPA crew working on the banks of a nearby lake.  For his work, his dad received $1.00 per day and some food commodities once a month.  He doesn't know what his uncle got for the use of his horses on the job.

During this time, the family had a 1926 Nash car, and they drove a mile and a half to get water, hauling it home in a large cream can, on the running board of the old Nash.  His dad taught Dean to drive the Nash when Dean was about 10 years old. His dad finally got to working more for the railroad and things got a bit easier financially. 

Of course, the family had an outhouse, complete with catalog—and the colored pages were always the last ones used!

Dean's first job was in Wells, where he had a paper route delivering Grit newspapers.  The paper sold for 5c, and he got either 1c or 2c for each one he delivered.

His mom cooked on a wood stove, later a kerosene one.  The family always sat down at the table together for meals.  With no electricity on the farm, they couldn't even listen to the radio, so they went to his uncle's house to listen to Joe Louis fights.  The washing was done in a tub, using lye soap and a washboard; then the laundry was hung on the line in the sunshine.

The cousins on his dad's side were all a lot older than Dean, and they enjoyed spoiling him, which he loved.  When he was in the 4th or 5th grade, his uncle, who was an avid hunter used to leave a gun for him to shoot.  His aunt was a beautician, and one year for Christmas she bought him new boots, boot pants, shirt—a whole new outfit!  He still remembers that extravagant gift.

None of the cousins lived close enough to play with Dean regularly, and all the neighbor kids were quite a bit older than he, but they did let him play baseball with them.  He did a lot of hunting as he grew up.

He got a brand new bicycle with balloon tires, and at the county track meet, there was a bicycle race, and he won first place.  He also won four other events, as he could run pretty fast.  "I was too little to fight, so I had to learn to run!" he smiled.  "I can only remember being in one fight, and I took second," he added.

The first movie Dean saw in color was "Trail of the Lonesome Pine."  They seldom went to the movies, only when something special was playing, he said.  They lived out in the country, so trips to town were few during his childhood.

In the 7th and 8th grades, there were only four kids in Dean's class, two boys and two girls.  "I was pretty sweet on one of the girls, so I took her for a bicycle ride and we fell off, and I broke my arm.  I didn't try that again!" he told me.

Following his graduation from 8th grade in the spring of 1940, they moved to Abilene where Dean started high school.  He soon had three paper routes.  He carried the Abilene Reflector Chronicle at 5:00 A.M. and then the Kansas City Times after he finished the first route around 6:30 A.M.  Then about 6 P.M. he carried the Kansas City Star.  He had 100 customers, and carried all those heavy papers on his bicycle.  Evenings he worked delivering prescriptions for a drug store, also working the soda fountain between deliveries.  He remembers delivering prescriptions to Dwight Eisenhower's parents.  He remembers some bitter cold nights going to deliver prescriptions, "But I had more spending money in high school than I've ever had before or since!" he smiled.

One incident he recalled from this time period was while delivering the Sunday K.C. papers.  They were large papers; they rolled them and put them in a box on the front of his bicycle.  "More than once, I would upset with them, as they were heavy.  I remember one morning delivering them in snow and we had a flood that floated the cover off a manhole and I fell into the hole, which was full of water.  I had two large bags full of papers that kept me from falling to the bottom.  When I got out, my clothes were frozen stiff."

Dwight David Eisenhower attended the same high school as Dean---but not during the same years.  Dean was still living in Abilene when "Ike" was elected President.

A favorite teacher was Ray Nonken, who taught aeronautics.  In Chemistry class, he let Dean and his buddy build a 7-foot glider which he hung from the ceiling of his classroom.

When Dean was a junior in high school, he gave up the paper routes and went to work in the meat market for A & P Food Store until 6:00 P.M. and then worked at the drug store from 6:30 until 10:00 P.M.  That same year, he bought his first automobile, a 1930 Model A Ford.  "It was slick, and I gave $150.00 for it," he recalled.  He recalls that gasoline was 7 or 8 gallons for $1.00 in the early 1930s.  He got his driver's license at age 16.  Also during his junior year, he enlisted in the Air Force Reserves, in Salina at the old Phillips Air Force Base.

Dean said his high school years were a big change from school in Wells, where he was in a class of 4 students, now he was in a class of 93 students.  He felt very green and lost, but says it was a good experience.  With all his jobs, he met a lot of people and acquired many friends.

After high school graduation, his life changed again, as he was called into service and was inducted into the Air Force on June 6, 1944, which was D-Day, when the Allied Forces put on a big push to end the war.  He and the others inducted with him were sent to Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.  They took classes five days a week, with Saturdays and Sundays off.  St. Louis is a pretty big city for a country boy, and as they were reservists, they got no salary.  But there was a very good USO where they could get free tickets to many things, Dean's favorites of which were ball games and rides on The Admiral, a river boat on the Mississippi River.  His greatest thrill there was getting to go to a World Series baseball game on Oct. 9, 1944, between the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns.

After 6 months of school at Washington University, they were sent to South Dakota Teachers College in Brookings, South Dakota.  This was during January, February and March, the three coldest months of the year, and "We like to froze!" he said.  After that 3 months, they were sent to Ft. Leavenworth to be inducted a second time, after which they received their $21.00 per month.

They were sent to Amarillo via troop train, but the base was quarantined because of strep throat, so "They worked our tails off for three days, and then sent us to Shepherd Field at Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training.  Basic was to last for 30 days, but the war was winding down and the Air Force didn't know what to do with us, so we kept going through basic for nearly five months!  They finally shipped us to Lowry Field in Denver, which was great after Wichita Falls.  They sent us to Photo School at Lowry and we took many, many pictures and shot up many, many rolls of film.  We learned to develop aerial film, which was fun.  The Air Force finally decided to discharge us for the convenience of the government.  (They probably ran out of film!)  They sent us to Iowa for our discharge.  I was on the reserve list for 5 years.

Dean appreciates the college classes he got to take, and always wanted to be a civil engineer, but by the time he was discharged, the colleges were full of returning serviceman, and he couldn't get admitted.  So he decided to go back to work, as he had to earn his living.

When Dean got back to Abilene, he went back to work at the same drug store for a short time, where he met his first wife, Leona Miller.  She used to come into the drug store with her sister and brother-in-law.  As they sat at the fountain and chatted, they became acquainted, began dating, and then married on Nov. 8, 1946.   Dean and Leona had three children:  Julie (Meier), Deanna (Turner) and J.D. Underhill.  Julie and J.D. both still live in Ulysses; all three graduated from Ulysses High School.

Leona died on July 8, 1977, at age 48.  The girls were going somewhere, she went outdoors to tell them goodbye, and suffered a sudden fatal heart attack.  (She didn't know it would be a permanent goodbye.)  Their son J.D. was 19 at the time; the same age Dean was when he lost his mother to cancer.   

On August 28, 1946, Dean went to work for Duckwalls in the fountain at the Abilene Duckwall store.  After a couple years, he decided there was not much future in the fountain business, and began to work on the store side.  The manager was very good, and kind, too, and sort of took Dean under his wing, teaching him about the business and taking him fishing on his day off.

In January of 1952, the family moved to Garden City, and then Dean was promoted to manager of the Kinsley Duckwalls store, staying there for five years, leaving there to move to Ulysses in January of 1958.  All told, he worked for Duckwalls for 39 years, retiring in 1985.

Dean hired Doloris Brown to work in the Duckwalls store, they were attracted to each other and began to date secretly, as "fraternizing with the help" was against store policy!  They were married on May 27, 1978, and have enjoyed many years together.  Deloris' children are Debbie Cole, Cindy Ellis and Chris Nuckles. Their blended family has grown to include 14 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren (and one on the way) and one expected great-great-grandchild.

Dean and Deloris have enjoyed traveling together during their marriage.  They had a honeymoon in Hawaii, have gone on one cruise, went to Mexico, and spent 25 winters in South Texas.  They also had the privilege of going on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. where they toured the capitol, the aircraft museum, saw the monuments, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns and visited Arlington National Cemetery.

They had the awesome privilege of attending Dean's 70th year High School reunion this year.  Out of a class of 93, there were 19 class members in attendance.  It was held in the Eisenhower Library in Abilene.  Now they are looking forward to the 72nd one!

They recall that the worst experience they had on vacation was seeing military tanks and soldiers brandishing rifles, just across the bridge in Progresso, Mexico a few years ago.

Dean says there are a lot of differences in the world today and none of them for the better.  "It seems our values have deteriorated quite a bit," he said.  And he says that having two good Christian wives (not at the same time!) and a good family life is the accomplishment which gives him the most satisfaction.

A lesson he would like to pass along to others is that you need God in your life.

The first thing Dean saved his money to buy was a waffle iron for his mother.  "I really liked waffles!" he laughed.

He says he considers the best years of his life are the retirement years, but he regrets having retired so young (in his 50s.)  "Things would have been easier financially if I had worked another 5 or 6 years," he said.

Dean's favorite food is a good steak with a baked potato.  His favorite holiday song is "Let it Snow!"  His favorite flower is the red rose.  Favorite comic strip is Beetle Bailey.

Dean had a private pilot's license and his scariest time came while flying in a big wind storm.  When he set the plane down, two men ran and grabbed hold of the wings to hold it on the ground and keep it from being flipped over.

He feels the greatest achievement of the U.S.A. was in space exploration.  The thing he most disagrees with the government about is their trying to legislate God out of our daily lives and government.  He says things look bad for our country; we need to keep our eyes wide open and know what kind of people we are voting for.

Dean had two uncles who inspired and influenced his life.  The one brother was shot down in the war, on his 75th mission in his bomber; (it was to be his final mission before returning home) and that was the reason Dean wanted to join the Air Force.  But he never had the chance to avenge his uncle's death, as the war ended just as he graduated high school.  His other uncle took Dean fishing and taught him to shoot and hunt.  His dad sometimes took him with him and even let him run the big locomotive.  "That was exciting!" he said.


The single biggest change Dean has seen during his lifetime is in transportation.  The first man he voted for as President was Harry S. Truman.  The worst crime he recalls is the murders of the Clutter family near Holcomb, KS.

They very seldom ate out, but he does remember getting Cozy Burgers in Salina.  That place is still in business!

Dean enjoyed playing baseball and golfing.

The biggest changes he has observed in our area since coming here in 1958 are that there were more businesses then than now.  We used to have three lumber yards and three grocery stores; now we have only one of each.

He remembers the hordes of jack rabbits and the rabbit drives they used to have to thin out the population of rabbits and spare what grass there was.  He also recalls a flood on the Smoky Hill River while he was living in Abilene.  "There was water in all the basements, and all the stores were closed, except that I was behind the drug store fountain, keeping coffee ready for the workers cleaning up the mess," he said.

Dean's parents were not church going people, but both his first wife and Deloris were Christians, and Dean has accepted Jesus as his Savior.  They now attend the Episcopal Church.

He would like to be remembered as a caring friend who has a servant's heart.  He would like his legacy to be an example of a life lived by the Golden Rule:  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  The greatest lesson he has learned during his years is that being helpful and kind to others brings rewards.

His favorite type of music is Big Band, especially the Glenn Miller Orchestra.  His favorite scripture is the 91st Psalm.  And his favorite things to watch on TV are sports and Wheel of Fortune.

I asked how he was punished, both at home and at school as a child, and he said, "Well.  I got my butt paddled!"

His pet name for Deloris is "Babe."  He says the best pet he's ever had is their present dog, Bentley.

His best decision other than accepting the Lord, was marrying a good woman.

Advice Dean would offer to an 18-year-old:  Follow God and stay away from booze and drugs.

The smartest thing his parents ever did?  "Adopting me!"

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Dean and Deloris.  I know many people know them and feel privileged to bring you his story.  Perhaps you learned something new about Dean!

Janet, another great biography.  Thanks!

I really enjoyed reading about Dean, Janet.  I found it interesting that I had some of the same experiences ...

My dad worked for WPA; we lived in a house with no electricity, and a dirt floored basement (root cellar) where mom's canned foods and apples and potatoes were stored; Mom cooked on a wood stove.... heated water in a big tub and washed clothes on a wash board.  That same tub held our bathwater on Saturday night, as well  I can remember going with my Dad, in his old pickup, to get water from a creek a couple miles from our house, and bringing it home in milk cans ... also the outhouse with the catalog.      
I went to school with my two brothers in a one-room schoolhouse.
Guess I'm older than I look after all! 

BTW, Jeanne ... I have 16 great grandkids, and I'm still trying to get used to the idea that the oldest is now a Freshman in College!!  Another one is a Senior in High School.   

Hi everyone on this overcast Friday morning.  I went to coffee at the Senior Center this morning as usual on Fridays.  I was a bit surprised and upset this morning as when I went to the drawer where we kept our collection sheet and some other things pertaining to our men's group I found someone had apparently discarded them and the drawer was empty.  We have used this same drawer, without problem for the last 18+ years.  I spoke to the city administrator and she had no idea who would have done this.  We will only be there for this month and October and then the center will be close for remodeling for two or three months.  Most of the men have paid in advance our monthly collection of $1 to offset the coffee and supplies costs that the city provides so we will collect no more until next year when we return to the center.  In the meantime we will be meeting at McDonald's. 

Nothing else on the schedule for today so will be staying home as far as I know now.  I do have things to do here at home so won't be idle but don't have to rush to get anything done today. 

Janet, I got the nicest email from our Nigerian lad asking if we would consent to having our pictures taken with him so he can show his friends his American grandparents.  It touched my heart.  I haven't heard the word granddad spoken to me for many years.  I hadn't thought of that idea on why beef prices might so down that Judy was speaking of.  That makes sense.  Janet, loved the story of Dean's life and it has been awhile since I have read one of them.  We each have a life story and are still living it. I could relate to the outhouse and the catalog. 

Marilyn, a nice project for the cut off denim and they should be sturdy.

Judy, thanks for the explanation and that should be delicious beef. 

Jane, I can relate to most of what your early life was like except my dad was a farmer and we did have electricity.  We had the wash tub Saturday night baths and a clean change of clothes each week, having only two outfits.  We did have a good well outside our back porch with an indoor pump in the kitchen.  I also went to a one-room school house until high school.

I just thought of this:  When our generation is gone, there will no longer be anyone left who can relate to these things!  Life was very different for my kids; and totally different for my grandkids!  They cannot IMAGINE ever not having TV, let alone cell phones, computers, iPads, etc.  That is one reason I like getting people's stories before they leave us.


Larry, sorry about the upset over the paper.  I'm so pleased you now have a fine lad to call you 'Grandad." I know that is a blessing to you.

Jane, I lived through some of the same things, but not all.  Someday, I will write my own story.  Do you want me to write yours?  Did you respond before, when I asked?  If so, and I messed up, I do apologize!  I would be happy to send you the questions if you want me to write your story for our BIOS section on here.  I do have a few more, but have been sidetracked now for a few months.

I returned the Cricut machine and the cartridges for it today, no problems.  They credited it back to our credit card. 

My ankles are very swollen and hurting, so I need to get my feet up for a while.  See you later!

I got some pictures!    And I've posted a couple of them HERE

Hi everyone.  It looks like it will be a bright and sunny day here in Georgia on this Saturday.  We are looking forward to today as we are having our Nigerian "grandson" (he asked if we would be his American grandparents) over this morning.  I got the Kindle Fire HD yesterday and we want to give it to him but while we a couple of hours to help him get it registered and then a quick explanation of how to use it.  This will be his Birthday present received early so he can use it in one of his chemistry class where they need to refer to some type of tables.  We will take him to lunch and then take him home this afternoon. 

Janet, you are right about the younger generations relating to when we were kids and I expect we also can't fully relate to the experiences of our grandparents or great grandparents.  It seems to me we some of us wrote our stories sometime ago for one of the discussions.  Perhaps Pat Halbach will remember or we sent it to you and you worked it up for us. 

Jeanne, what cute pictures.  Very healthy looking babies.   

Right, Larry, I sent the questions to several of you and got your stories worked up and the ones completed are on this site (under Members' Bios, I think.)  But I don't think I got a response from Jane, so was wondering if I sent her the questions.  I have a few still that I haven't done.  Life sort of interferes with our best intentions at times!    Enjoy the day with your Nigerian grandson!

Darrel and I have been packing!  We leave on Friday for Niagara Falls!  Yippee!  We will get to see Pat again, and probably get to meet Gord, as well!  Exciting!

This evening we will go to Hugoton to little Jenna's second birthday party.  Burgers and hot dogs are on the menu, I was told, so we need not worry about supper!

Pat, look for an email from me!

I have one last load of laundry to fold, so off I go!

Janet, I sure wish I could join you and Pat. 

The first of two semi-final tennis matches has just ended, in an upset.  Nikishori won over Djokivic three sets to one.  Now comes the Federer-Cilic match. 

And it looks like a storm coming here, so I'll probably be shutting down and unplugging soon.

Lovely pictures of the babies. 

We are back from the mountains.  It is always so refreshing, totally quiet and such a treat to see the animals in the wild.  A bull elk was resting right by the house and stayed about 15 minutes, checking me out but not moving.  We later saw a huge bull moose resting by the road and he did attract a lot of attention - then dozens of elk as they are beginning to form their herds.  We took a hike up a rather difficult trail with lots of rocks to look at waterfalls.  It has always been a trek but Don said this is our last time to view the falls.  He had to stop several times to catch his breath.  Otherwise, we just rested, read our books, napped and walked around the village of Grand Lake which is level.  All three lakes are up to normal water levels now. 

Janet:  We are a suburb or whatever you call it - just SW of the D city.  I did not want to move here but I am not in charge of my life ---- we have wonderful neighbors and love the church.  So, it is meant to be!   Enjoyed the life story.  That was another "meant to be" as well.  Have a safe trip and wonderful time with Pat too. 

Grandson in Maine has a really nice billet family and is happy with everything so we are all glad.  Other grandson has made friends already at his university north of here & kids from Ethiopia play volleyball with him - he is very outgoing and doing well.  Don has a VA appointment with his doctor  early Monday morning - rush hours traffic, ugh, 

Time to move to a new week's thoughts and conversations HERE