Thanksgiving #1 in CO

Two weekends ago, we were in Colorado for our first Thanksgiving celebration with Travis, his friend Nicole, and Jessica. We started our festivities with the Iowa-OSU football game, which we watched at Maya Cove, the restaurant where Travis and Nicole work. Even though Iowa didn't prevail, we had great fun watching the game, cheering loudly, and engaging the locals as additional Iowa fans.

On Sunday, everyone (except me, I guess) chipped in to make an outstanding turkey dinner with all the fixings. Yum. Then it was time for game playing. We worked through several games, including Apples to Apples and Quiddler. Next came Nertz, and I decided to just get out of the way and take pictures, because Nertz can be a high contact sport. Even Oliver tried to get into the action.

Travis's giant plecostomus watched from the aquarium. I swear that fish is bigger every time we are out there. Travis takes it for walks on a leash.

When Oliver wasn't playing cards, he was either begging me for food or attention.

Evidently, Jessica won.

Henry's 5th Birthday

Betsy has already posted a report on all the "birthday doings" in honor of Henry's 5th birthday this past Saturday, but allow me to add some "grandfather perspective" to the report. I begin with a sidebar story.

Without prompt, Henry recently concocted a very interesting computational device. For a long time, he has had an old keyboard to play with. He evidently decided that hooking it up to a toy abacus was the right thing to do. Naturally, I would find this especially interesting and fascinating. I want to believe that he has some innate understanding of the significance of what he has done. Why wouldn't I think him, along with all my other grandkids, one of the smartest little people around? His parents better keep pushing his math, science, and engineering skills. They are very evident to me!

I'm sorry, but this just blows my mind.

Anyway, back to the birthday. Since we were there a couple days in advance of Henry's birthday, we let him open his gifts from us early.

First, the box...

...which included this very special T-shirt. Well, I think it is special, being the Yankee fan that I am. Evidently, his father or mother have swayed him in the direction of other teams, though. He wasn't too sure about this gift.

Next came this very special case, which Grandma made for one of his gifts...

He seemed to like this one. I had fun making it. I bought the ash blank several years ago and have been waiting for Henry to reach an age where I thought he could handle it. Also, to complete the picture, we got him an official leather glove and a new ball. Later, he and I had fun giving that new glove its first oiling. We also discussed the fine points of wrapping it around a ball and breaking it in in various ways.

My wood-burning skill leaves something to be desired, but Henry didn't complain.

The next morning, as Betsy has reported, Henry had a skunk-themed pancake breakfast birthday. (Henry is very fascinated with skunks right now.) I guess the thing that most impressed me was Betsy's teacher-ability, including a special "teacher voice" and distraction skills, to handle a group of young, energetic boys. I have long forgotten the noise and activity levels that a group of more than two can generate.

I wish everyone could be this happy always!

Leaf Pile

I promised a sequel to "Dirt Pile", which was my last posting. I already have other things to post and need to get caught up. So, here is "Leaf Pile" the sequel I promised.

Every grandparent thinks their grandkids are the best in the world, and I'm no exception. For friends who have not seen this picture elsewhere, here is the entire troupe. Thanks to my daughter for sharing this picture. Getting them all into this pose proved to be a real challenge. You should see the dozen or so other attempted shots of this scene.

Two weeks ago, when the weekend weather was so nice, they all enjoyed playing in the leaf pile that Grandma quickly created with her leaf blower. I'll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves.

While his father and his cousin Henry head for the woods after a soccer ball that got away and Josey shows off her Iowa T-shirt, Anders heads for the leaf pile. He wasn't frightened at the prospect, but there was just enough breeze to give his hair the lift you see here.

Henry wasn't altogether sure about this part, in which his uncle or uncles decided that burying him in leaves might be fun. (For them or for him?)

Dirt Pile

This story begins with an explanation of why I currently have a large pile of dirt on my driveway. The blurry picture below shows the pile after about half of it has been used up.

"Using it up" means "relocate it to the roadside." Too make this long sidebar story shorter, let me simply say that I've been unhappy with my homeowners association's decision to put gravel alongside our roads. They did this because they built the roads too high and then had to come up with some way to protect the roadbed shoulder. For many reasons, in my humble opinion, gravel was not the correct answer. So, I chose to remove the gravel and replace it with dirt. This way, I can eventually have grass again from my yard to the edge of the road. Anyway, this picture will give you some idea of how I have been "using up" the dirt pile. Perhaps obvious to you, given the above picture, will be the fact that I have more dirt than I have roadside to accept the dirt.

Part two of the story involves visits this past weekend by my children and, of course, grandchildren. Though I had not seen him since his first birthday, Anders took a real shine to me this weekend, which was just fine with me.

With the nice weather we had during the weekend, it was important to spend time outside. Of course, the dirt pile was an attraction for young minds. Grandma may have had something to do with teaching Anders the fine points of dirt clod selection and pitching. Also, digging and pile climbing.

There may also be some genetic links for "dirt pile play techniques", as here is Anders' father, circa 1975, in a dirt pile. This was after his mastering advanced techniques in building dirt pile hideouts and dirt pile face decorating. (I can't explain the crossed eyes, unless this is one of those "oh no, not the camera again" moments.)

When the three other grandchildren arrived, they too were drawn to the dirt pile. Henry is trying out "king of the mountain" and the girls are busily digging away at his foundation.

Watch this space for a sequel, entitled "Leaf Pile."

Something "Iowa" Worth Celebrating

A friend shared this recent Iowa City Press Citizen editorial with me, and I think it deserves to be more widely shared and celebrated (and brought to the attention of my children and others who read this blog).

Elaine Eschman & Sarah Riley, Guest Opinion, Iowa Has a Long, Proud History of Civil Rights

Press Citizen 10/26/09

Rarely is Iowa considered a trendsetter. Traditionally, the latest fashion trends and popular movements begin on the east or west coasts and slowly work their way to Iowa. But when it comes to civil rights, how many of us realize that Iowa sets the curve?

It's true. Before our state was even born the high court of the Iowa territory established an atmosphere of equality for residents of this state.

It began in 1839, seven years before our statehood, when a Missouri slave owner attempted to seize a former slave named Ralph who had come to find work in Iowa with his permission. The Iowa justice system thwarted the Missouri slave owner's effort. Our territorial Supreme Court ruled that equal treatment under the law extended to "men of all colors and conditions." Iowa's highest court came to this decision 17 years before the U.S. Supreme Court's infamous Dred Scott decision.

In 1868, 12-year-old Susan Clark was denied admission to an Iowa grammar school -- just because she was black. Again, our courts intervened. Iowa schools were legally integrated after the Iowa Supreme Court declared, "All youth ... equal before the law." It took the United States Supreme Court 86 more years to reach the same conclusion in the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education decision.

In 1869 Arabelle Mansfield was admitted to the practice of law in Iowa. She was the first woman in the country to become a licensed attorney. In many states, laws prevented women from practicing law -- but not Iowa.

In 1873, a black teacher from Illinois was traveling by steamboat through Iowa. Despite having a first class dining ticket Northwest Union Packet denied her access to the boat's dining room because of the color of her skin. What did our courts say about such segregation? They called it "gross injustice" -- "positive wickedness." Rosa Parks had not even been born.

This month a sculpture will be dedicated on the Iowa Supreme Court grounds in Des Moines. Its purpose: to commemorate our tradition of groundbreaking civil rights decisions. The sculpture is aptly named, "Shattering Silence." It is aptly timed, too -- right on the heels of yet another landmark civil rights decision, the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Varnum v. Brien.

A precedent of justice and equal treatment for all Iowans was set by our courts 170 years ago, and it continues through our courts today. We should be proud of Iowa's leadership in the field of civil rights -- even if our decisions go against the grain. Because while we may not all be trend setters in high fashion, we have our civil rights and if history repeats itself, our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will, too.

Elaine Eschman and Sara Riley are practicing attorneys in Ft. Madison and Cedar Rapids, respectively. They are members of the Board of Governors of the Iowa Association for Justice.

What's Up!

I don't have any pictures to post just now, but I thought I might just provide a little update on what is going on with us.

It is a good thing for you that I don't have pictures of Josey to post at the moment. She is getting better, but it is slow going, and the process of healing for her wounds is not pleasant to be around. Some of the wounds were so deep that there has been lots of drainage, and there are two or three large (size of my open hand or so) areas where things will get worse before they get better. In those places, there are large patches of skin that are dying and will have to be removed, leaving new open sores for awhile. The vet says it will be Christmas or later before we even begin to see a more normal dog. Still, she is eating and drinking water, and she very much appreciates the attention she is getting.

We are in WI right now, and it is snowing this morning. We came up here two days ago. The foliage is still pretty, though the reds are mostly gone and the peak shows are long gone. We are here to button up for winter, though that doesn't mean we won't be back for some skiing or other winter fun early in the new year. The hot tub has been winterized and covered with a tarp. The canoes have been carried up from the lake and put away. This morning, a neighbor will help me pull the dock and boat lift from the water and up onto shore for the winter. Later, I intend to put some deer fences around a couple of new plantings. Unfortunately, they already ravaged our sumac and chewed up my new Japanese lilac tree. I think they will both recover next spring though. We will put mulch over our flower beds sometime in the next few days. The boat needs to be washed, as the bottom gets brown from being in the lake most of the summer. I also need to winterize the boat motor, which involves oil changes, lubrication, spraying oil vapor into the cylinders, etc. I'll carry its batteries into the basement to keep them from freezing over the winter.

We will return to IA late next week in time to celebrate Kathie's birthday and attend a football game. I've returned to woodworking projects at home and have completed making a card table for our sunporch. Three other projects are well underway too, but they are gifts, so I won't describe them here just now--maybe later. Two of the gifts gave me a chance to start working with that kauri wood that I described a couple of blog posts ago. Working with a different kind of wood is always interesting, since each type responds in a different way to being cut, smoothed, joined, glued, and finished. For example, the kauri is a bit brittle, so extra care when cutting is important to make sure that edges remain smooth and crisp and do not shatter. But it does smooth and polish in amazing ways, and early indications are that the finishing is really going to bring out that luminescence for which the wood is famous.

Finally, an interesting event took place at our favorite Hayward grocery store recently. A bear wandered into the grocery and spent some time in the liquor store area.

You can read one of the local news stories about this event here. Some of you will remember the old Hamms beer commercials that featured a cartoon bear who promoted the brand. So, some folks claimed the bear was looking for Hamms beer. I guess automatic doors can't tell the difference between a human and a bear, so they opened right up and welcomed him in when he came near the entrance. Hibernation in a liquor store!? Now that's an interesting idea.

Josey's Woes

In her lifetime, Josey has done battle with ticks and lyme disease, a skunk, several raccoons, and a porcupine. Scars on her nose already made her look like the proverbial junkyard dog. Yesterday, she added another battle to the list.

In a completely uncharacteristic way, she chose to wander into the yard of our neighbor to the south (straight behind our house)--something she has never done before. Then, to top that off, she wandered into their garage, evidently through an open door or a dog door. Therein she encountered the Husky that we have known to be a less than friendly dog, based on its having previously attacked the very small dog belonging to a different, previous neighbor, nearly killing it in the process, when it stepped briefly into the Husky's yard. Ever since, we have been extra cautious when grandkids or our children's small dogs are here to make sure they stay away from that neighbor's yard.

Kathie and I were sitting in our library yesterday morning when we heard a vigorous pounding on one of our sunporch doors. When I opened the door, our clearly upset neighbor was shouting, "Come get your dog! She was in my garage!" Josey was coming up behind her showing lots of red on her ruff and on other areas of her body. Kathie glanced at her and immediately decided to take her to the veterinarian.

Much later in the day, Josey was picked up and returned home. Kathie had tearfully called me from the vet's office to say that she was much worse than anticipated and to warn me that I should expect her not to look very good when she got home. Nearly $1,000 of medical attention found that she had been bitten all across her back, along her stomach and groin area, on each rear leg, across her throat and ears, and into each front armpit area. She has been shaved to expose areas requiring attention and has received lots of stitches, drainage tubes, and antibiotics.

I carried her into the house using her car mat as a kind of sling. Josey hasn't moved very much since, although I think she seems more alert this morning. She wagged her tail when I came downstairs and welcomed the cookie I usually give her first thing each day. Last night, after Kathie went upstairs to bed, Josey even got up to look up the stairs--she clearly wanted to go to bed, as she usually does, and to be with her mistress. However, I prevented her from trying and made a bed for her at the bottom of the steps, where she spent the night.

Here is an idea of some of the damage.

This picture doesn't show much damage, but you can see how she feels.

We don't know what the Husky looks like post-battle, and we trust our neighbor wasn't hurt badly. She said she had a small cut on one hand but that it wasn't a big deal. I believe the Husky may have suffered a bite in one ear. In retrospect, we are glad she was home to put a stop to the dog fight, or we might reporting an even sadder tale about Josey. Although it is true that she has almost never left our yard, we are guilty of having failed to keep her invisible fence collar on her routinely. I think I'll revisit that situation!

Personal Concerns and Editorials

I try to keep these postings light-hearted, but an editorial that appeared in the New York Times yesterday compels me to express some personal concerns. The editorial in question was written by Thomas L. Friedman, a gifted individual who I heard speak a few years ago at The University of Iowa. His editorial can be found by clicking here.

Friedman says it all far better than I can, but I want to say that I very much agree with his concerns about the growing divisiveness and bitterness in our country, which is too often fed by the cable news programs, various talk shows, a number of bitter extreme groups and individuals, and a certain past Vice President. I am also deeply disappointed in our elected officials and, specifically, in my own elected officials, such as Senators Grassley and Harkin. I respected that both of them would once take more centrist positions, represent Iowa's true core, and deal with issues in honorable ways. Lately, especially in the case of Senator Grassley, I hear them taking partisan positions only, distorting the truth, and misrepresenting facts. When they do this, they do not represent me. I dare say that most elected officials today worry more about their party and its position of power than they do about two important things: truly and honestly representing the people of the nation, and upholding the true ideals of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

I have begun to believe it true that there is a vast middle population that is being too quiet, that is not holding its elected officials accountable, and that fails to properly restrain those extremist groups and positions that may tear us apart. I hope we have not gone so far down this road that, like someone caught too deeply in a whirlpool, we cannot recover. I've not been good myself about writing to my elected officials or speaking out more about what I want. I think I should change in that regard. Maybe you can too. Also, I want to urge those who have opportunity to influence future generations to teach tolerance, open-mindedness, consideration, fairness and thoughtfulness. This country will not survive if we do not do this, or, if it does, it will not be the country I want to claim as my own.

Go back and click on the link I provided to the Friedman editorial and read it!

Ancient Wood

Warning: This is one of those stories about "things that Bill gets excited about but that others might not find so interesting."

Some time ago, I read the book A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats. In about its first chapter, the book discusses sources and types of wood and introduced me to a wood called kauri. Kauri still grows in New Zealand and is protected by the government, but there are ancient kauri trees (30,000 to 50,000 years old, according to carbon dating) that can be extracted from peat bogs in New Zealand, dried, and cut into lumber. The extracted trees are enormous (some as big as redwoods). Here is a little video about such an extraction:

The wood is rare, of course, but because live trees are not cut down to make it available, it is not considered a threatened species, as many other woods are. Still, I understand some New Zealanders object to its export.

What makes the wood so interesting is that when finished, it has an almost luminescent property. When viewed from different angles, it shimmers and shows dark changing to golden and back again. A Splintered History of Wood informed me that the sole source of kauri in the United States is a company called Ancient Wood LTD in Ashland, WI. If you click here, you can learn more about the company and read about kauri, see examples of things made from the wood, see a little video that attempts to show the grain and luminescent nature of the grain, and even purchase wood, if you want (it is expensive!). Ashland is north of us, in a pretty area right along the south shore of Lake Superior (very near the Apostle Islands).

So, on Thursday, Kathie and I traveled about 70 miles to Ashland to visit the company. I wanted to see the wood, see some of the projects they do with the wood, and maybe buy a board for some special projects.

Some of these pictures are a little blurry, because we weren't careful enough about letting the camera focus--sorry about that. Nevertheless, I thought you might find them interesting. To start, here I am standing alongside a 40 foot long board of kauri. The wood really doesn't give off its luminescent look until it is finished.

The company does special order projects with the wood. Many of them involve use of interesting pieces of burl from the lower area of the trunks. They often finish such pieces by covering them with transparent epoxy. This picture begins to show off some of the beauty of the grain.

This piece was in process. They had filled holes in the piece with a collection of interesting stones from Lake Superior and covered them with epoxy. In a next step, the entire piece would be covered with epoxy. Such pieces are then mounted on some type of pedestal to make a coffee or end table.

This one is going to an office somewhere in Chicago.

They call this one the Wisconsin piece.

This table has kauri in the center and seven or eight other woods around the edges. The pedestals in the background show the kauri grain quite well.

I ended up buying a few pen blanks and one board, about 10" wide and six feet long. There may be a Christmas present or two or three or four hiding in that board. Not everyone has something made from a board that may have come from a 50,000 year old tree!

Visits

Our good friends David and Donna were here to visit us for a few days recently. In addition to some fishing outings, we watched some movies (most notably, Frost & Nixon and The Reader), tried out a new restaurant for breakfast, and enjoyed evenings on the deck. We guys tried to even the score of games of Hand & Foot, but alas, the ladies managed to beat us two games to one. That was an improvement, as the first time we ever played, they beat us about a bazillion games to one or two.

David sent me this picture of us which he took during their visit.

Since their departure, we have been out fishing a couple of times. Larger Crappie are starting to bite, and so we are having some good luck with them. Our neighbor invited us out with him Saturday mid-day, and we were introduced to several more good spots for Crappie. Kathie had some luck fishing for Bass out on the river near our home yesterday afternoon, while I worked on my 5000-piece puzzle. You may recall I started this puzzle around the 4th of July. See this earlier posting for details and a picture of the puzzle just out of the box. Here is how it looks now, with maybe 5/8 of it completed.

There is a lesson in planning ahead here. I naively thought it would fit on this table, but as you can see, one of the puzzle's dimensions exceeds the size of the table. So, I purchased a thin sheet of aluminum and rigged up a sort of extension. Thinking of the extra capacity Dad sometimes added to his wagons by adding vertical boards on the wagon sides, Dad might have referred to my approach as "sideboards."

Grandsons

I don't mean to be partial to grandsons over granddaughters, but I did get to spend some extra time with Anders for his birthday and then also to see Henry as a ring bearer in Liz's wedding last weekend. So, I have to post a few pictures of them.

Sandy already posted a picture of Anders with his new blocks set, which I made for him for his first birthday. Here is another of him as he begins to play with them. At this time, playing with them seems to mean "throw them out of the box."

I take this expression to mean that he is pleased with the blocks.

But then...back to pitching them out of the box.

And here is that other handsome boy-about-town after quickly donning most of his tuxedo for the wedding. In addition to the jacket, there was a little adjusting and tucking to do, but I know you will agree he's looking good. That hunter green color was an excellent choice! Green is my favorite color.