Grandkid Time

Betsy and her family were here this past weekend. Rob's family also joined us one evening. So, here is a collection of grandkid photos taken during that time. Since we hand't seen Henry, Clara or Frederick since Christmas, it was good to catch up. Frederick sure has grown! Here he is with his big brother.

I understand his paternal grandfather calls him Bruiser. He is quite the cute, chunky, little boy.

Henry found a special place to read his books.

And I got all three of the siblings to pose together.

The girls found a box of play jewelry, and Penelope tried on several items. When she struck this supermodel-like pose, I of course had to capture the shot. I love this picture!

I used to say I was ready to be a grandfather but that I wasn't getting help with that problem. Now, all of a sudden, there are seven with another on the way. Bring it on!

Clara and Eleanor are into My Little Pony and other tiny creatures and stories.

I taught Fritz a song about teapots, because I thought the "short and stout" part fit him particularly well. Please pardon the "Grandpa voice."

Belated Birthday Celebration

Until Saturday morning, we had not had a chance to celebrate Rob's birthday with him. With illnesses in January, traveling, and other complications, we had, in fact, not been able to be together at all since Christmas. So it was especially nice to meet for breakfast.

Penny was quite the little flirt. I like to think it was just because she had been missing her grandfather.

Eleanor is continuing to work on her detailed drawings and related stories.

Here's the whole family. (Lucky for Rob that Iowa did, in fact, beat Nebraska in the afternoon men's basketball game!)

Garbage Glitch (With Extra Added Attraction)

First...the extra added attraction. During the last half year or so, we have occasionally seen Pileated Woodpeckers near our home in Iowa. Kathie was able to collect this proof last week. Although she didn't have a telephoto lens readily available, you can make out the guy/gal on the side of the branch of one of our trees.

Then, last week Tuesday, we had a pretty good snow storm, leaving our roads covered. This is the day that garbage pickup is done. Unfortunately, the farmer who plows our roads and the garbage truck arrived at the same time. Our roads are pretty narrow. The farmer maybe didn't move quite far enough to the right for the truck to pass. The truck driver maybe thought he had some extra shoulder on which to drive. However, the truck slipped off the road and into our yard, which banks down pretty sharply from the road. Even with chains, the wheels just spun, and so the truck was stuck. I was a little concerned about it tipping, given how steep the bank is there.

The driver called another of the company trucks, which was evidently nearby, and soon we had a second truck available.

Eventually, they were able to get the first truck back on the road.

Of course, it is always necessary in such circumstances for a bunch of old guys to stand around to commiserate and offer opinions as to what should be happening during such an exercise. Here I am with the farmer and the garbage truck driver talking the situation over shortly after everything was back to normal. Not shown is me falling on my butt when I stepped on some snow laying atop glaze ice which was under the snow here and there. I thought our yard might have gotten chewed up by this mishap, but now that melting is beginning to occur, I can see that everything is pretty much as it should be.

New Do

My significantly better half decided, a few days ago, to take the plunge for a completely new hairstyle. I have always liked longer hairstyles, but recently, I've noticed a number of very attractive shorter styles and commented about them to Kathie. So when she suggested she might do this, I encouraged her. Honestly, when she came home and walked in the door, I was blown away. I think she looks terrific and thought you might want to see the results too. In fact, I immediately thought we should have a date, so I changed and shaved and took her out for a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant.

One funny story to share: On her way home from the stylist's shop, Kathie decided to stop to see her mother and share the results with her too. Her mom was playing cards with friends when Kathie walked in. She said, "Hi!" Everyone responded, but then one of the friends said, "Who are you?" Kathie said she was Jane's daughter, at which point her mother turned and said, "Oh, I didn't know who you were either!" Diminished eyesight may have had something to do with this, but I suspect this new, modern look kept her from seeing what she usually expects to see.