Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Today President Obama announced the end of the war in Iraq. It has been a very long war and it's hard to see if we did a good thing for the people who suffered under Saddam Hussein, but at least our troops are now coming home from Iraq. To put this war in perspective for you...it's been going on since March 1, 2003....that's 5 months before Abby was born. It's a good time to pray for our military and hope we can bring them home from Afganistan also.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Cincinnati Reds...rock! We went to the game tonight to watch Cincinnati beat Milwaukee and beat them they did. It took 10 innings, but what an ending to a great game. Jay Bruce came up with 2 outs and 2 on....bang out to right field and Brandon Phillips steamed across the plate just ahead of the ball....REDS WIN! We yelled and danced and then walked back across the bridge...tired now!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Twelve years ago today....Andrew and Abby's mom and dad got married. It was a beautiful (very warm and sunny) day and lots of people came to the wedding. It was at Trinity Church and Christian and Chandler were part of the wedding party....Chloe was just 12 days old. There was a great party after the wedding and we danced and danced and ate cake! This is a picture of the bride and groom cutting the cake...yummy! Happy Anniversary Andrew and Abby's mom and dad!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

After a very long day at work for both of us....we went to the Parish Kitchen to cook tomorrow's noon meal for the homeless. After that we went to the Cock and Bull in Covington Mainstrasse for supper with the Dons and Ron and Alla. This is the Goosegirl Fountain that sits in the part at Mainstrasse. Our table was right behind the fountain and there was a really nice breeze....yum! After supper we went to the Farmers Fair in our neighborhood....that was fun and we got to see a lot of locally produced items. Now we're home and watching the Reds and Bengals all at the same time....

Friday, August 27, 2010

Friday finally!!!! It's been a very hard week for both of us, with lots of extra work at work! So tonight we celebrated the end of the week with friends who work as hard as we do...it was so nice to sit quietly at "Skinny Legs" and watch the Reds and have a beer and burger! We didn't stay too long, cause we were all too tired for a late night....but it was a good way to end the week.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

On August 26th, 1939, the first ever Major League Baseball game was televised on W2XBS (now WNBC). Red Barber was announcing for the Brooklyn Dodgers (that was before they moved to LA) in a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds. The game was played at Ebbets Field in NY. The Reds won the first game 5-2 and the Dodgers won the second game 6-1. There were only two camera (now about 15) used, one on the announcer and the other behind the plate! The picture is of a TV being sold in 1939....When I was really young, my neighbor had one just like this!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

National Banana Split Day!

What is a Banana Split?
"A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a "boat". A banana is cut in two lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. Variations abound, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup over the chocolate, and strawberry topping over the strawberry. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream and maraschino cherries." And we helped celebrate this very special American holiday at Graeters! Wishing you a very happy split day!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Have you ever had one of those days? This is what I looked like right before I left work today. I'm thinking papa/gump looked exactly the same. Computers are wonderful things, when they work....or if you don't have to do three months work in two weeks. It's been really hard couple of weeks, but maybe by September 1, we'll be back to normal...hope you don't look like this at the end of the day!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Tomatoes and basil....we know that probably none of you eat fresh tomatoes right now, and frankly 9 months of the year (in the midwest) they really don't taste that good...but then there's tomato season and there isn't anything better to eat. We get tomatoes at the Farmer's Market in Campbell County, but the basil grows in the back yard. The best way to eat "in season" tomatoes is sliced with olive oil and cut up basil. Sometimes I put mozzerella cheese on top and sometimes a few chopped up onions. Bet you can't wait to grow up and learn to love tomatoes!!!!!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

It's Dad/Uncle Dave's birthday today. He's 39 today....I hope everyone wished him a happy birthday. I'm pretty sure the A's did...and enjoyed a lot of their Dad's cake and ice cream! We celebrated Dad/Uncle Dave's birthday

by having a blizzard at DQ. It was a very nice day here in Kentucky...hope it was as nice a day in Tulsa! We hear Andrew had a soccer game...can't wait to hear the outcome.

Happy Birthday DAVE

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Today was the dedication of a new tree in the front yard of our building...in memory of Mary Ann Meiling. Mary Ann and her husband John were the first people to greet us when we moved to Governors Point 11 years ago. Mary Ann died last year and the Covington Historical Society donated this tree to us in memory of Mary Ann. It's really a lovely way to remember someone you love....the tree will grow and give shade and beauty to our home. We're very glad to have this rememberance of Mary Ann.

August 20, 2010

It's that time again....lots of excitement in the neighborhood. There were already tail-gaters in the parking lot when I walked home from work today. They play lots of loud music and play corn-hole! It really smelled good down there, someone was grilling hamburgers! Wow! The score right now is 6-7 Bengals...we're going to bed now, so we'll check the score in the morning!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Flutterby...or butterfly! Anyway you call it this one was a friend of ours on our picnic Sunday. I saved it for a "slow news day" so you get it today. This yellow and black butterfly came to visit and stayed for a really long time. I looked as if it was sucking something from one of the little plants growing by the path. What do butterflys eat anyway? I don't think they are carnavours (meat eaters) so it must have been a plant. It was very entertaining watching nature this close up. If you know what kind of butterfly it is...let us know!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I guess this is a bit hard to see, but it says "Presented to Karen J. Vannasdall in grateful appreciation for 30 years of dedicated service 2010" and a ring and earrings and a keyring...that would be me...I've been working at the same job for 30 years. That means your Uncle Mark was 13, Uncle David/Dad was 11 and Aunt Liz/mom was almost 7. That's a really long time at the same job, but I really love it and am glad to go to work almost every morning. I hope ya'll find jobs you love as much as this when you're adults!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you....happy birthday Chloe-bug, happy birthday to you....12teen! You were 1 in this picture and really enjoyed your birthday cake. We hope you have an outstanding birthday today and a fabulous 12teen year!

Monday, August 16, 2010

It's not technically the FIRST day of school...but it is the first full week of the new school year. Abby and Andrew have some cool new kicks and backpacks to start the year! Isn't that the best thing about a new school year...new shoes, pencils, crayons (for Abby) and backpacks. You guys started school pretty early...the C's don't start school until September. Make it a good year A's....

Sunday, August 15, 2010

What old people do after early church: take a really long walk. We decided to reverse our usual long walk and started over the 4th street bridge to Newport first. Then we walked along the levee and over the Purple People Bridge. As we were crossing, this coal barge came by under the bridge. It made us think about how hard it is to get that coal out of the ground and how far it was going to travel. Some day I will scan a picture of my grandfather who was a coal train driver (into the mines). Anyway, we finished our walk over the Roebling Bridge and then spent a good long time in the swimming pool. This afternoon we drove up to Augusta for a picnic...no George Clooney is sight...too bad!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Our hard-drive died...a sudden and very painful death...complete with gurgling and coughing and finally grinding to a stop. So there we found ourselves out at Best Buy with credit card in hand to buy a new one. It's actually pretty easy to buy a new computer tower...you just need a degree in Engineering from Purdue and several years of experience. We did find a clerk who spoke human and found just the right computer for us. When we got it home, I unpacked it and started to connect all the parts when I heard a little meow and turned to see I had forgotten to unpack the cat! I really think she was in there to find the mouse!

Friday, August 13, 2010

The piano on the square! It says "Play me, I'm yours". And it is real. I was sitting on Fountain Square today at lunch and about five people stopped to play the piano....some good, some not so much! I understand there are a bunch of them around town...one in Mainstrasse, Hamilton County Library and Eden Park. There is an artist who got this idea in England (I think) and thought it would start conversation between strangers. I didn't have so much conversation, but I did enjoy watching people stop and look.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

It's called "tormenting newcomers to Cincinnati". This is my friend and co-worker from New York. She was in town today for the very first time to train me on a new program for work. Since Mary had never been to Cincinnati before, I thought it was really important to make her wear a bib at every meal.....lunch at Skyline (she really liked it...unusual for a first-timer) and supper at Montgomery Inn Boathouse...another great bib event. She had chicken and shrimp....I had the ribs of course! There have been lots of fun events at the Boathouse and this evening was a good one too.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

On Sunday we bought this pottery mug from the artist at Rabbit Hash Art Festival. When I saw it, it didn't look so much like a mug to me but more like a small flower vase....well, I think I was right...here's what the mug looks like with flowers in it. I LOVE it...

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Walking on the Roebling Bridge in the summer is always interesting, but this morning I saw something I've never seen before....a giant praying mantis....it must have been about 5 inches long and just sat there on the rail. It must not have been afraid of me cause I took my good ole time getting my camera phone ready to take this picture....I'm not sure what it's there to eat, but my guess is...most anything it wants...I moved on!

Monday, August 9, 2010

IF you're a number freak like I am, today's date has been most entertaining for you. I've tried to write it as many times as possible in as many places as possible. This type of number string has been happening since 1/2/03, and will continue each year until 10/11/12.....and that's it until the next century. Now that's what I call really cool!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

It was so beautiful today, after church we put the top down on the red car and took off down the road looking for a little fun. We arrived in Rabbit Hash, KY just in time for an arts festival (of some sort). It was such fun and we bought a Root Beer and walked around the small town looking at the artists and their work. Papa/gump bought us a pottery mug to put summer flowers in when we eat outside...very cool. After Rabbit Hash we drove on down to Warsaw and had a picnic on the river....too many flies, but a fun picnic anyway. It was a very good "top down kinda day"

Saturday, August 7, 2010

It's been a lazy day in Covington. Well, that's not exactly true....papa/gump went to work and I went grocery shopping, but a lot of pool time happened this afternoon. This evening we put the top down on the car and rode out to the Yacht Club. Wow...was it beautiful out there on the river. This boat was docked close to our table...we think we need one of these..well, maybe not NEED one, but it sure looked good this evening.

Friday, August 6, 2010

The Samoyed dog takes its name from the Samoyedic peoples of Siberia

This is Piper, the Samoyed. He belongs to our friend Ellen. We had supper at Ellen's house tonight and this big, fluffy dog was the sweetest thing in the world. He has great big teeth and loves to put his head in your lap...we both came home with lots of white hair all over us, but that was ok....he's a sweetheart! Oh, and a very big dog!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Yesterday was back to work day for papa/gump and me....that reminded me so much of "back-to-school" shopping for school supplies. My favorite was always picking out just the right box of crayons. Not a whole lot has changed since we were in school in that crayon box. 24 of the very best colors in the world with really cool names....like Sienna. The thing about the crayon color sienna is that Siena, Italy really is that color! Maybe we should go through that 24 color Crayon box and see what other cool Italian colors we can find. Anyway, now that we don't have any kids here for "back-to-school" crayon shopping, we buy them anyway for the kids at school in Covington...love that!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

As of this morning, California Time....everyone has "left on a jet plane". This is a song that was popular in the '60s and it kept running through my head this morning. Yesterday most of Jessica's family, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Mark and Aunt Ann took off for home...today the rest of us took off on a jet plane from SAN and LAX. David and Jess are in Mexico, the A's are back in Tulsa, and the C's are visiting their mama and papa in Kentucky. We got back this afternoon and now maybe this song will stop running through my head!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

After a wonderful evening celebrating David and Jessica's wedding, we got to bring the C's back with us for the night. This morning we took them shopping for school clothes....wow was that fun. It's been at least 4 years since we've been out here at "back-to-school" time so we took advantage of our timing. We really had fun and the kids went back to the OC with bags of new stuff. It was the most fun and we can't wait to hear how that "back-to-school thing is going!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Wedding Day....the reason we all traveled to Temecula! And a beautiful wedding it was...blue sky, two very happy families and a bride and groom who made us all very welcome. We danced until our feet fell off...and then we closed down the winery. It was a fabulous day....best wishes to our newest addition. Congrats David and Jess!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Sunset in Temecula! We loved watching the sun go down over the next mountain as we sat outside at the Stratter's house (rented) waiting for s'mores to get finished. The hot tub was a pretty good place to stay warm while we waited. Great day with brunch with Stratter and Vannasdall families getting to know one another and ending with bar-b-que and s'mores at the house!