Sunday, February 28, 2010

Last day of February 2010....it seems like I just started this blog last week and we're already 59 days down! Wish the picture was clearer, but that's papa/gump at Turfway Park....it's been so gray and nasty this month, that after church today, we decided we needed to have a little cheering! Off we went to Turfway Park to cheer on the horses...and we did just that. We only stayed for a little while cause we wanted to watch the Olympic hockey game, but I won the last race on a horse named Anne's Approval....lots of cheering there! We were sorry the US didn't win the hockey game, but kinda glad Canada got to end their Olympics in such an exciting way.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

This is what we're reading this week. Gump has the book "The Blind Side" that the movie was made from. One of the men at church let him borrow it...I think he's really enjoying it because it's got a lot more football stuff in it than the movie did.

I'm reading the book "Julie & Julia" that was also made into a movie. It's about a woman who cooked all of Julia Child's recipes in one year and blogged about it. When I was a lot younger, I used to watch Julia Child on TV and maybe that's why I like to cook so much....although she cooked French and I cook Italian. So now you know what we're reading....what are you reading?

Friday, February 26, 2010

As we were enjoying our Alberto's Olive Oil this evening, I thought you would enjoy seeing the machine that Alberto puts the olives into that grinds them into a fine paste. The little white box looking thing on the left side of the bowl is the chute that delivers the olives from outside to the grinder. The wheels are very heavy and move around in the bowl until the olives are just a paste. Then the paste in removed and put on a special paper to be pressed into oil...and you know what that is like!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Funny day! Actually it was a very normal day...until this happened. I hope you can see the "thing" on the wall above my desk...I thought of offering a prize for best guess of what it is...but realized that was unfair since the picture is not very good. I wanted to get the plant and ceiling in so you could get a better perspective of the "thing". So, what is the "thing" you ask? The mail comes to my desk everyday with several rubber bands around it. They aren't very healthy rubber bands and sometimes they snap...as one did today. I looked all around my desk for the snapped rubber band and couldn't find it. For some reason, I looked up and almost fell out of my chair laughing...there was the "thing" stuck to the wall...like a worm. It was soooo weird I thought you might enjoy seeing it and get a little laugh out of the silliness of it!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It's snowing again...arrggghhhh. We have a friend, Brenda who has a condo in Florida. She just got back from a little visit and look what she brought us....a little bit of Florida sunshine! These are what oranges look like that weren't grown on a "factory farm". They taste soooo good and don't even have seeds. The one on top is a little funny shaped. I think it's going to be the best tasting one of all. So tomorrow you can think about us having a little "sunshine in a glass" when I squeeze these babies to make juice for breakfast.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy fluffy day 2 u, happy fluffy day 2 u, happy fluffy day dear grandkids, happy fluffy day 2 u. A very special day in the Vannasdall family....sing it Chloe!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Not only is today George Washington's birthday, but more importantly, it's Uncle Mark and Aunt Ann's 7th anniversary. Since all of you but Abby were at the wedding, we were wondering if you remember that they had a Hawaiin theme with beautiful leis around their necks. It was lot of fun and I have pictures of all of you dancing with your moms and dads. Give a shout-out to Uncle Mark and Aunt Ann for having such a great party 7 years ago!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Today was the celebration for Fr. Joe and Gail's retirement from Trinity Episcopal Church. We have been members of Trinity since 1995, Fr. Joe has been the Rector of Trinity since 1989. We knew a year ago that he was retiring in February, but it was kind of sad that we have to say good bye. Joe and Gail will still be our friends, but it will seem odd on Sunday mornings to have someone else up at the pulpit and at the altar...We are, however really happy that they will have lots of time together to travel and read, the two things they love to do. They will be going to New Zealand and Australia this fall...wow..now, that's traveling! BTW, we have the silly flowers 'cause we were ushers!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Abby just won 1st place overall in her age group for Level 1 Gymnastics at her first gymnastics meet! Way to go Abby and all her friends with Bixby Aerials! I'm not sure there's anything else we can say about this...we're pretty proud of Abby and hope we get to see her compete soon. 2020 Olympics, here she comes.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Hpy bdy 2 u, hpy bdy 2 u, hpy bdy Uncle Mark, hpy bdy 2 U!!!! Uncle Mark is 43 today...can you believe that? I think he must have been about 10 when he was born, cause we can't possibly be old enough to have a 43 year old son. Uncle Mark was born on a Sunday morning, just a week after a tornado hit St. Louis County. That was pretty scary. That morning before we left for the hospital, I had a big piece of homemade blueberry pie....'splains alot! The St. Louis Cardinals gave honorary contracts to all the baby boys born at Jewish Hospital in February 1967, so we got to meet Stan Musial and Red Schoendeist(?). Mark still has that honorary contract, but one of his siblings may have drawn all over it with a red crayon! That also may explain Uncle Mark's love of the StL Cards!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

I've written a lot about eating at home and cooking dinner....this is what happens after dinner...the deal is - Grandma/ma cooks and Papa/gump sets the table and then does the dishes....however, if you look back there on the stove, you'll see the pots...he doesn't do pots. We had pasta with spinach and tomatoes tonight....one of our favorites and then of course, we had to talk about our trip to Italy in June. Be sure you send us souvenier suggestions!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

It's Ash Wednesday. Those are ashes you see on my forehead. I just got back from church and we had ashes put on our foreheads...it was in the shape of a cross before I forgot and rubbed it a little! When Fr. Joe puts them on our foreheads he says "Remember oh woman, from dust ye came and to dust ye shall return". I've had ashes on my forehead since I was very small, maybe 2....papa/gump is new to the ash thing...only since 1974. You may have seen a news conference today with the President and Vice-President...Mr. Biden had ashes on his forehead too!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

This is what the chair out in our courtyard looks like. That's a 15 inch ruler stuck in the snow...that means we have 12 inches of snow sitting on the chair taking a break in our courtyard....I should have turned him into a snowman, but it was toooooo cold to stay outside that long.

Here's what we know about you this week:

Andrew has a new Facebook account (hi FB friend)

Abby has some cute new jammies

Christian is counting down to World Cups "Vivo Azzurri!"

Chandler has been watching the Olympics (but I bet not curling)

Chloe has a new YouTube account: ChloeTheArtist

Monday, Febbbbrrrrruary 15, 2010

I'm guessing ya'll would like to know what grandparents do on a snow day....

Well, there you have it...exercise. Doesn't that look like fun. Actually, first we had breakfast and whined about the snow, then we went downstairs and exercised and whined about the snow. Then we had lunch and whined about the snow. Papa/gump took a nap and Grandma/ma went back downstairs to see if I could throw more stuff away and whined about the snow. We're having chili for supper tonight and then going to watch more Olympics....yipee! and whine about the snow!

Sunday February 14, 2010 St. Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day...Christian, Chandler, Chloe, Andrew and Abby...

I'm not sure you know the history of St. Valentine, but when Claudius II was Emporer of Rome, he declared marriage illegal (he thought if men didn't get married he could have more soldiers) so Valentinius secretly married people who came to him and when Claudius II found out he had him killed...this happened a very long time ago. So we celebrate St. Valentine as someone who believed in love.

It's been a wonderful day for us....after church we went shopping for our dinner that we cooked at home. We watched lots of Olympics and cheered for all the Americans and a few Italians and one Canadian mogul skier. It's nice that there's a day to remember those you love, but we remember all of you every day and don't really need a special day to remember we love you! Hope you had a wonderful day...snow tonight...yipee!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Year of the Tiger.....tomorrow is Chinese New Year, but since it's also Valentines Day, a lot of communities are celebrating tonight. This is a picture of a Tiger mask from the celebration in New Jersey. I hope the year of the Tiger brings us all lots of luck and happiness!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics....it may be silly, but papa/gump and I have been watching the olympics every time it's been on since we were married. We love the news...the pagentry, the fireworks. and especially the ice dancing (kidding). This year will be extra special for us since it will be the first time we actually kinda know one of the athletes. Mirai Nagasu will be competing beginning the 23rd, so be sure to watch. Oh, by the way, it's also the real birthday of Abraham Lincoln.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

And your science challenge for today is: What in the world is going on here? This is a "corn plant" that lives in one of the offices where I work. The guy that sits in the office has only been with us for 6 months, and already has two apple trees growing in paper cups on his windowsill...we think he may be related to Johnny Appleseed. Anyway, this "corn plant" has been with us for about 6 years....and this is the first time it has ever bloomed...see the little blooms on the right side of the plant. Our plant person said she has never seen one bloom and doesn't know what it's really called. See if one of you can find out what this really is and why all of a sudden it decided to bloom....ALSO, it smells really strong like jasmine and leaks sap on the carpet!!!! Waiting to hear.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

This is what we saw early this evening when we went up to the sun roof. We are looking south toward Newport. Lots of snow on the rooftops and trees...not to mention the street. We're kinda tired of this weather and want to get back out and walk around the hood again. If you remember, the house in the center is the Daniel Beard House. He was the founder of the Boy Scouts...

It appears we are going to have this snow around for quite a while...maybe we should get a sled dog!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

As ya'll might know, we're going to Italy for a month in June. This is me doing what I do for every trip we take....making our own tour guide book. We talk about where we want to go and what we want to see, then we search the internet sites for information and advice. We particularly like TripAdvisor for ideas of places to eat. Then we buy a notebook, divide it into sections for each city, and tape in all the ideas. We also have train and bus schedules, important phone numbers and pictures of stuff we might want to buy.....like olive oil or a new coffee pot. We also include opening times and costs for various sites. Almost done for Italy!

Monday, February 8, 2010

The tea making! On a really cold day, when I get home from work..what I want first is a cup of tea. This is how you make a nice cup of tea (that's what my Grandmother called it). Electric tea pot to take cold water to a full boil. A cup with warm milk (not cream) and a little sugar (from a green packet), and a tea pot that has been warmed on the inside with two British cut tea bags "one for me and one for the pot". When the water is at a rolling boil, pour it into the teapot, stir once and let it sit. I like mine strong, so I let it "steep" for about 2 minutes. Pour into the cup with the warm milk and sugar....drink! Since my Father's side of the family is from England, I've been drinking tea since I was about 12. Just plain tea...not fancy flavors or chai or green, just British tea. So tomorrow at about 5:00pm EST, you can think of me busy making a cup of tea while Lucy and Ricky are having their dinner.

Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, 2010

Ok, so it's not pretty, but it is football....we wanted ya'll to know exactly, without question, who we were yelling for during the super bowl....Saints rock and then there's Drew Brees, who played college ball at Purdue! It's not UK, but it is Dave Crawford's alma mater....woohoo! What an exciting game. We had dip and chicken fingers and root beer...party at our house! We voted on the commercials and most of them rated a FAIL...especially the Dorito ones, yuck!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Hi....we had two pictures we were trying to decide between for today's blog...1 was of the city with snow on the rooftops and the other was of our dinner table tonight (which was really neat), but then we got an e-mail with this picture and decided to share it. Andrew's indoor soccer team won their division and now he has another trophy to add to the collection! Way to go Andrew. I guess that means indoor soccer is over and all that's left is the incredible Outlaw Baseball! We're not sure what position Andrew is playing this year, but we hear rumors of pitching practice and of course there's that new bat with a lot of hits built in!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy....when we got home from work tonight, we found her in her usual place on the back of the futon in the guest room/office. As soon as she hears her food can opening, she runs...tail up in the air, into the kitchen...she has really good ears, and can run fast for an old gal.

Later this evening I was cleaning out one of the drawers in my dresser, and papa/gump came in to watch basketball with me and in came Lucy...jumped into the drawer opening and stayed. The drawer is still on the floor...maybe she'll get out tomorrow when I open her catfood can!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

That's the Southbank Shuttle that takes us to Cincinnati when it's too cold or wet to walk. Sometimes I take it to work, too. We can catch the bus 3 blocks from our house and it will take us all the way to Newport on the Levee. We like to ride the bus if we can't walk....there are lots of interesting people on board . The cost to ride is $1.50. When we moved to Covington, it cost us 25 cents to ride to Cincinnati and it was a very small bus. This one is a hybrid (as you can see on the side) so it runs part gas, part electric.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

This is what we do before we watch basketball....most people would say they watch basketball after eating, but in this house I think the basketball comes first(and it's not even UK). Papa/gump wanted me to take this picture and tell you "I'm a lucky man" I think he likes my cooking...also, you can see the bottle of Alberto's Olive Oil on the table.
So here's what we know about you today:
Christian started school this week (and we hear he likes it)
Chandler is taller than his dad (and we know he likes that)
Chloe has a new tablet on her pc, so check out her drawings
Andrew has been invited to join the 4/5/6th grade 2010 Stock Market Game
Abby got a 103% on her spelling test after being off school 4 days (yipee)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Ground Hog Day....and here's a picture of Puxatauny Phil doing the "John Wall" dance. We think that's pretty funny. When we were kids, there wasn't as much news as

there is now, so we really thought that if the ground hog saw his shadow it did mean 6 more weeks of winter. Now that we have daily weather updates, I guess we know better....but it's still Ground Hog day and it still makes news and this year, it's doing the "Wall Dance" GO CATS!

Monday, February 1, 2010

When papa/gump and I were kids (maybe about Abby's age) we had black telephones that had wires to the wall and a dial on the front. We also shared a line with another family. It was called a party-line. We would pick up the headset from the base and listen to see if someone else was talking....the nice thing to do if they were, is hang up. When they were finished you could make your call by dialing 4 digits. Then the telephones lost the dial face and got touch tone (push buttons). They still had the wire from the headset to the base.,..then we lost the wire from headset to base and called it wireless (pretty original, huh) and then there's the cell phone. It used to be very big and was carried in a bag...now they fit in your ear! AND so to the pictures above. That's my iPod Touch....it does everything but the dishes and tonight I was able to talk to your dad/uncle David on an iPod. It was pretty cool and we'll be able to talk to anyone with Skype free from Italy...so get your Skype now! Technology is a wonderful thing...