Henry's 3rd Birthday

Betsy has reported on the series of birthday parties Henry had last weekend. Although it probably doesn't qualify as another party, I did make a trip to see Henry last Tuesday so that I could deliver birthday presents and spend a little time with him and his parents. When I arrived at the house, Betsy was just ready to drive to Poko Loko to pick him up, so I rode along. It was fun to see how excited he was at the opportunity to show off his day's activities and to hear him describe the observance of his birthday during the day (it was his day to bring birthday treats, to be sung to, and to receive a specially decorated birthday visor that he proudly wore).

Before we got back to the house, he announced that he wanted to play, so we spent the time prior to his Dad's return from work playing with new toys and games. Henry loves the Wiggles and decided to play one of their CDs while we played. When a song called "The Flap" came on, he immediately got up to demonstrate the dance that goes along with the music. This picture attempts to capture some of his moves, although his mother and I wondered if he had been watching a few too many Mick Jagger performances.


When his Dad arrived, and before we went out for a yummy sushi dinner, which Henry thought was a great choice, I gave Henry his gifts. This year, I chose to restore two old toys of mine for him. The first was my Flexible Flyer sled, and no, I didn't call it Rosebud. It had badly rusted and had several broken boards, all of which I repaired and restored as best I could.


I explained to Henry that you could lie down on the sled and steer it down hills, so he gave that position a try.


The second gift was a wooden puzzle of the U.S. that I must have received when I was about five or six. That was prior to 1959, of course, when Alaska and Hawaii entered the union, so this puzzle only shows 48 states. Two of the tiniest pieces had gotten lost over the years, so I made new ones with my scroll saw and painted them to match as best I could. Grandma made a nice slipcase to keep it in, so we hope the puzzle will stay intact now. Before we went out for sushi, Henry succeeded in putting the puzzle together for his first time. I hope he enjoys, as I did, learning all the names of the states, their geographic locations, where the Great Lakes are, and many other things that make maps so interesting.


I'm a very lucky grandfather!

Happy Birthday to My Best Little Sister

Today is my dear sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Paula!


Finding gifts for each other as we grow older can be a real challenge. We tend to already have everything we will ever need. So, this encourages one to find something really, really, really special to mark the occasions. This year, I learned of an artist who specializes in making one-of-a-kind bobble head dolls. Naturally, the idea of presenting Paula with a doll in her own likeness was just too good to pass up. The artist who makes them needs months of lead time, so I committed to the production of a doll in June. This morning, Paula called to let me know that the doll had arrived safely. Her laughing and funny comments indicated to me that I had made an excellent choice. So now that Paula's birthday is here, I can safely share the results with you too:

Travis's New Puppy

After weeks of waiting, Kathie was today able to drive to Stuart, IA to pick up Travis's new English Shepherd puppy (a male). Here is Kathie with Darlene, the person from whom the puppy was purchased. The puppy was born September 12th.


Kathie took an immediate liking to him--what a surprise! The puppy (name yet to be determined) does not appear to be so sure about this transition in his life.


Here he is at a rest stop along the way back. The plan was to deliver him to United Airlines Cargo in Des Moines for an immediate trip to Denver and to meet there his new owner, Travis. However, United has some silly rule about not allowing pets to be delivered to a location where the temperature is below 45 degrees, and it just happened to be 42 there today. So, Kathie had to bring him back to Iowa City for the night. She returns to Des Moines tomorrow to try again.


Although not shown in this picture, he is sporting a new Hawkeye collar. There is a new Hawkeye leash to go along with it. He must never have worn a collar before, because he frequently scratches at it, much like he is doing here.


In the car, he learned that the armrest between the two front seat passengers worked well as an attention-getter.


The upside of his not going right to Denver was that Grandma Novy has had a chance to meet the new puppy. As you can see here, she decided to try our red laser light with the puppy to see what would happen. Our dog, Josey, begs us to get out the light and allow her to chase it. Guess what? The puppy is equally fascinated!! It has been suggested to Travis that he should acquire a light too.


Evidently, the puppy is a highly cultured being. As you can see, his favorite spot at our house is near the glass artwork that we bought in Italy last year.


He really likes it!! I don't think it has ever been so clean.


Right now, he is racked out beside it--sound asleep after a new and trying day.