Winter has returned

About an hour ago I returned from a social event "Ladies Night Out." Delicious food and a nice turnout of 23 women from church and one friend. The temperature was about 26 or 27 degrees with a few flurries but no wind like earlier in the day. Will we have to brush snow from the car in the morning? By the time we leave for the "Y" about 8:30 the roads are usually clear after a light snowfall. An easy winter so far but colder than 2016.

After a week away, we enjoyed being back in our comfortable apartment. Ray's cousin, George and wife Sue, were expected Tuesday afternoon for an overnight visit on their way from Maine with an overnight stop near Columbus, OH. They were en-route to Paducah, KY to visit a quilt museum which, I understand, is quite fabulous. Their final destination was Florida.

The weather wasn't too cold so everyone was ready for a walk after spending a good part of the day in the car.

Ray, his cousin George and wife Sue

Ray and George exchanged memories of their growing up years and Sue and I were able to share about sewing and other crafts. 

We signed an extension for our lease and plan to spend our third year in Apartment 14. If you are in the area, we'll keep the light on. Just let us know when you plan to arrive.

Road Trip

A week ago we headed south to NOLA for a birthday party! We encountered a slight delay when our reliable car experienced a problem. We had to call for a tow truck and five hours later were on our way again, arriving at our destination about 11:30 p.m. Bart stayed up to greet us but the rest of the household was asleep.

Ray observes our car as it is winched onto the tow truck.


The next morning we presented the birthday "boy" with a card to commemorate the occasion.

The weather was perfect for a walk through Mid-City. Persephone was granted a day off school and joined us on the hike. This sculpture indicates the high water mark during the "big flood".


An interesting conversation place that we found on our hike through Mid-City.


We joined the Lafitte Greenway for part of our hike. We passed the demolition in progress (see the background) of several big warehouses. A four story apartment complex is planned to replace the warehouses.


Bart hadn't shaved since Halloween and, as part of his 50th birthday celebration, he shaved midway during the birthday celebration and then returned to the party in time for cake and to hear the band. Many of Bart's friends and colleagues stopped by to wish him greetings and several congratulated Ray and me for our part in raising him. A nice and unexpected accolade.


The next morning, clean shaven, he and Persephone are on their way to her school. The weather was mild!


On Wednesday we drove to Hillsboro, TX to visit sister Judy and Tom. This is their restored Victorian home, very impressive situated on a corner lot.


Judy, Ray and I walked the trails at their nearby city park. We traversed several muddy areas the result of recent heavy rains. Judy demonstrated the park's marimba. She could pick out the tune without a sheet of music!


As we prepared to leave on Friday morning, Tom and Ray read the morning newspaper while waiting for their breakfast.


Judy was dressed for an early morning volunteer task as a member of the Hillsboro Foundation.

Ray and I drove to Charleston, MO (near the Illinois border) and stayed overnight. We arrived home the following afternoon after 14 total hours of driving and 935 miles from Texas. Hard to believe, but we covered 2,240 miles in six days.

When we left a week ago, the temperature was 36. Leaving New Orleans was a balmy 71. At a rest break on our way home, it was 68. Not typical January days for sure.

50 years ago

As we were watching the Green Bay/Dallas football playoff game today, the announcers mentioned that 50 years ago today, January 15, 1967, the NFL played its first Super Bowl. I found the following information about that first Super Bowl on NFL.com.

The Green Bay Packers opened the Super Bowl series by defeating Kansas City’s AFL champions 35-10 behind the passing of Bart Starr, the receiving of Max McGee, and a key interception by all-pro safety Willie Wood.

Green Bay broke open the game with 3 second-half touchdowns, the first of which was set up by Wood’s 50-yard return of an interception to the Chiefs’ 5-yard line. McGee, who caught only 4 passes all season, caught 7 from Starr for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. Elijah Pitts ran for 2 other scores. 

The Chiefs’ 10 points came in the second quarter, the only touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Len Dawson to Curtis McClinton. Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns and was chosen the most valuable player.

The Packers collected $15,000 per man and the Chiefs $7,500—the largest single-game shares in the history of team sports. 

Even more interesting to me, at least, is that I was 9 months pregnant and, according to my doctor's estimate, past due. Ray and I enjoyed watching the first game never realizing that 50 years later we can say we've watched every single one since. But some 24 hours or so after the game, on Tuesday, January 17, our first-born, arrived!

Now, 50 years later, we're planning a trip to NOLA to celebrate his first 50! More on that later, I'm sure.

On a more somber note, we were shocked to hear of the passing of our son-in-law Joe Martin's brother. Jack Martin was only 54 years but had health issues that apparently were insurmountable. Ray and I went to the funeral home this afternoon for a Celebration of Life Service. A huge crowd filled the room to overflowing and we had a moment to share our condolences to his widow, Margaret, and some of the family.

But now I must finish packing and get some sleep for our early departure in the morning.

Even more interesting to me, at least, is that I was 9 months pregnant and, according to my doctor's estimate, past due on that date. Ray and I enjoyed watching the first game never realizing that 50 years later we can say we've watched every single one since. But some 24 hours or so after the game, on Tuesday, January 17, our first-born, arrived!

Now, 50 years later, we're planning a trip to NOLA to celebrate his first 50! More on that later, I'm sure.

Brrrr!

Over the last several days or maybe a week, everyone I meet has had a comment about the weather: "It's really cold." We probably didn't have a -1 F. all last winter, so we are not prepared. This afternoon we are going to be above 32 for the first time in about 100 hours. Now we are told to be prepared for rain for the next five days. I wonder how much snow we'd have if we didn't have this warm spell that is supposed to reach to the 60s by Thursday. All the ice and snow on our street and parking lot will be history! Hooray!

In the vein of trying something new with a new year, last Thursday we ventured to the senior center in Greenwood for a few hours of bridge. The crowd was congenial and we hope to return as often as possible. We only recognized one player -- someone we see often when playing Pickleball -- but now I have a dozen or so new names to memorize! Guess that will help keep my mind from getting dull.

College basketball is always lots of fun to watch and nothing could have been more exciting for the Indianapolis area than watching Butler defeat Villanova, the #1 ranked and reigning national champion. They followed up with a win over Georgetown on Saturday. Purdue was also impressive in its win over Wisconsin; Indiana finally had a Big 10 win over Illinois after losing three home games.

NFL playoff games aren't as much fun this year without the Colts in the mix. But when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, we'll have our TV tuned to the game.

2017 is off to a good start, except when I think of a tragic happening last Saturday. The lid to our crockpot shattered on our tile floor into a thousand pieces. Fortunately, a lid from a saucepan fits nicely and is a great substitute for future use of the crockpot. With icy parking lots that we've encountered lately, I can readily say that the loss of a lid, even though unfortunate, is nothing compared to a possible accidental fall and possibly breaking a bone.

Signing off as I need to get to something more important than reporting about a broken lid!

New Year's Day 2017

I've noticed that some bloggers at this time of year publish a list of the highlights of the past year. I don't think I want to spend time recounting all the high spots or events of 2016 -- in fact, I'll just refer you to the 50 posts I wrote. Good luck -- I'm sure you won't take the time to reread them all!

We went shopping for a frame for the beautiful Chicago photo highlighting the Cub's World Series win. Fortunately, we were able to find a perfect frame and didn't have to order a custom made one.

Chicago skyline photo now hangs on the wall
behind Ray just above his desk

The Kidwells, Josh, Kylie & Jayden, were in town for the weekend and we stopped by Joe & Nancy's for a short visit which also gave us the opportunity to give Jayden his Christmas gifts.

Adam Vinatieri signature football
(The football given to blood donors a couple of weeks ago.)

Everyone was soon playing with Jayden's other gift. I even took a turn and didn't bring down the blocks, but if I played very often I'm sure that would change.

Jayden, Nancy & Kylie playing Jenga

Ray tries his hand at Jenga

A few days ago I came across information about a First Day Hike at Indiana State Parks. The weather was agreeable so we headed out to Prophetstown State Park (near West Lafayette). We had a late start but managed to join a large group as they began the walk on a mostly paved trail. We saw swans (not native) and bald eagles flying so high that they were unrecognizable to me but others seemed to know. The guide pointed out the Sycamore tree where the eagles are in the process of maintaining their nest. At this time of year she cautioned that we should respect eagles. If not, they may decide to leave the area and build their nest elsewhere.

Swans

"Indiana's newest state park, Prophetstown is located where the Tippecanoe River meets the Wabash

near the town of Battle Ground northeast of Lafayette. The park's landscape has been shaped by ice

from glaciers, moving water, fire and human hands that helped maintain the vast tall prairie grass.

Native American people hunted and lived along the two rivers for thousands of years." (Reprinted from the DNR website.) The park has 900 acres of restored prairie.

Boardwalk

The boardwalk is not officially opened to the public so this group was one of the first to use it. Plans are to add railings but it was safe and no one fell off the walkway.


For the first time this season we didn't watch a Colts' game or even record it; instead we enjoyed the hike. The Colts are out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. When we got home we learned  they defeated Jacksonville with a last minute touchdown. Now, we'll be hearing all kinds of discussions about the direction the organization should go for next season.