THE FOG

A Walk In The Pleasant Chapel Fog....

Yesterday was an absolute gorgeous morning here at the homestead. When I woke up the whole area was blanketed in fog. I grabbed my camera and tripod and decided to scrap the "to do" list I had and photograph the beauty I was seeing instead. Right after I went out the door my dear friend Chris Linder called and asked Pat if I had seen the beauty outside....I may want to blog it.....I HAD ALREADY BEAT HIM TO THE PUNCH!

....right away I became intrigued with the interplay of light and fog and horses.....and caught these shots.....

......our house is located at the base of the distant hill in this picture. I love the Pleasant Chapel Valley. There are probably 100 horses within three quarter of a mile. ...and so....I BLOG....

...end of walk...go home and blog...

Fall Is Beginning To Show Here At The Botanical Gardens

Dinner Out For An Office Party

We were invited over to Seth and Heather's last night for an "Office Party." They fixed chicken quesadillas and we brought a corn and bean salsa (receipe courtesy of our friend, Jenn). Thanks to their Mother....all three of our boys and our daughter are good cooks. The occasion was the first show of the season of a TV favorite, The Office.

Here's the cutest future nurse around preping for the feast....

.....and here I am checking out the salsa...... mmmmmmmmm good!

It's Late....But I Must Blog!

I just got done spending 2 hours visiting the whole round of my favorite blogs. What inspiration I draw! Real People....Real Friends and Family....sharing two main elements......life as it is and the fact that each shares it with me and others via blogging! Your families...your trips....your interests....your inspirations and heartaches.....YOUR LIVES! I once took over a year of Sundays studying with a young adult group the topic of love. It all started when I went into the hospital for a knee operation and thought I would pick up a book to read at the library on the way to the hospital. The title of the book by Leo Buscaglia was simply, Love. Leo at that time taught the most popular class on the UCLA campus by the same name. His class started out of an incident that happened when he was teaching freshman English (Can you imagine freshman English at UCLA!). There were hundreds of kids in one class. He felt he was boring and thought the class was disinteresting.....until he discovered one girl.....focused....making eye contact with him....writing down everything he said.....
He started preparing his lessons....FOR HER! He pictured her taking it all in as he prepared. He so wanted to meet her expectations......and then.....she wasn't there.....several classes went by....he didn't even know her name....and then he enquired of the students who sat around her.....and found out the sad news.......she had committed suicide!
......his guilt was horrific.....he never told her what she meant to him.....

I want to tell you what you mean to me!!!

YES YOU! ....each of you who take the time to check in...to comment....or to just be interested....I LOVE YOU!

Football On My Mind

Last night I stood with son Wes in the endzone of Randy Baughman stadium watching the Panthers put one on the Heath Bulldogs 41 - 0. Why do I so look forward to Friday nights?? It's a combination of things......

- Not just a winning team but a winning program that is fashioned by a team of coaches who prepare kids physically and mentally year after year. They consistently make the playoffs and were State Runners Up several years ago. THIS COULD BE THE BIG YEAR!
- Watching Storm Klein (shown in these two pictures) ....currently one of the best players in Ohio who last night racked up over 200 yards in only 11 carries.
- The chance to interact with my son and his "Administrative Colleagues" about football, school administration and life in general.
- To reconnect with former students, parents and players I have coached.....(including Wes!)

...through years of playing and coaching I admittedly have a competitive nature which finds it's expression in many ways (as followers of this blog have observed!).

Go Panthers....
Go Bucks!

The Hostess With The Mostess....

Our dear dear friend Jennifer invited us to a cookout with the church worship team.
Fun, food, friends.....

....Brian, Carolyn, Debbie, Pam and Shawn were great company.....

.......hanging out with John and Julie....

.....and then....the volleyball Ballet begins....

Granddaughters!

I spent this evening with these two. What a hoot! What joy they bring to our lives. Addy has recently been sewing (pillows) and Zoe just started blogging! You can visit her at zoetothemax.blogspot.com

...they are just so much fun! They have been raising and "Mothering" three new kittens. The kittens are in the garage and present quite a challenge for those (Mom, Dad, Grandparents) visiting the homestead. One must be quite aware of where they are at all times. Wes described getting to his car a 5 AM this moning only to have te kitties on the loose and a raccoon eating at the kitties food bowl.

......life ain't all easy when you're raising kids who ae raising kitties!

Thanks To Sam......

.....Thanks to Sam who recommended this book which I found interesting reading particularly in this beautiful Yellowstone setting.

The book is a practical guide to living green.....or "greener."

It offers a rationale and practical steps for being a smart consumer and being kinder to the planet.

One tiny suggestion for we "earth inhabitants" is to recycle as much as we can. Pat has done this for years including hunting down this local recycling center to deposit our trip recycleables.

.......our Brother (Bob) and Sister (Claudia) have a section of highway they keep clean and have been excellent examples of reducing litter and having an attitude of planet care!

Wyoming/Montanna Scenery.....

.........would not be complete without these shots of "ranch life."

....for those who have asked if we think we might stay.....the answer is YES!

....We found this little "fixer upper" of a resort that Pat has some great decorating ideas for. We can't wait to fix and decorate and install a waterfall and have you all out for a visit.....

.......OK.....OK.....just kidding!