AUTUMNAL ANTICIPATION….

 

AUTUMNAL ANTICIPATION

Farewell Summer, Oh, I’ve had fun,
But FALL is what I love!
Bright new colors catch the sun,
Crisp, clear evenings have begun
And ..Oh, those Harvest Moons above.

OK, Jack, bring on your frost.
We’ll have a campfire every night.
And fallen leaves the trees have lost
By chilling winds they’re gently tossed
As flocks of geese begin their flight.

Oh, Fall, I relish all you bring,
As yet another Summer ends.
And different birds begin to sing
Oh, I’ll be loving everything!
I welcome you, my Autumn friend!

D.Cave 08/30/2011

My Own “Veggie Tales”, Superman, and a Wasted Trip to Naperville.

  OK, I realize it has been nearly one week since I have even THOUGHT to sit down and try to be creative at the computer.  Why do I seem busier now than when I was in my 20’s with 3 kids to chase?? Seems I am either trying to keep the weeds down, the house decent, the laundry done, the truck washed, the Hiker washed, and the kitchen from being closed by the Health Dept.  Not to mention my trips to the foot Doc, Physical Therapy twice a week, grocery shopping, garage sales, (hey, I gotta have SOME fun), and a random trip to the “special” shoe store in Naperville.

  Let’s start with my trip to the shoe store in Naperville, which shall remain nameless for it’s own protection. It is suppose to have assistants to assess your foot problems and suggest what shoes would be good for you, alleging to take about 1/2 hour of time.   For me, (after I finally got a sales person’s attention), it only lasted about 5 minutes. The minute I said “I don’t guarantee I will buy a pair of shoes today”, they ran, not walked , away from my poor old feet.  Hey, I wanted to be totally honest with them, right?? I wasn’t about to be pressured into buying shoes just to give someone a commission..Sooooo….I left…and as I did I muttered under my breath “Won’t ever go back there again!”.  I do have to say that Naperville is a lovely town, albeit way to busy and “high end pricey” for me…

Notice the very NARROW streets…Me, driving the GMC down with them with oncoming traffic, was about as scary as McGuyver taking our Hiker through downtown Vegas. …maybe MORE scary… Naperville itself has some very fancy and fine homes as you drive out of town…

I took all of these photos from the driver’s seat of my truck…I was afraid that if I got out and starting photographing in this neighborhood I would have the Naperville Police squad asking questions…like… was I casing the place for a robbery…I ask you, am I so strange that I look like a robber???….never mind.

On the way back to Sandwich, I did a drive through Plano,IL to see if I could get any pictures of Kevin Costner or Russell Crowe at the Superman filming…As you can see…I couldn’t get NEAR…

…I almost got my camera confiscated taking this shot.  Sheesh, I was just wanting a glimpse…hoping it was some “movie star’s” trailer….Alas, only in my dreams… Last Monday it looked like the town of Plano was burning, with billows of smoke coming from downtown and helicopters flying around…Turns out, they were blowing up a fake 7-11 store on the movie set….Dennis said he saw 3 helicopters go over his friends business on the edge of town, and they were very low…so low you could see guys in camouflage standing out on the edges….part of the filming…It doesn’t take much to entertain us Midwesterners,does it?

  My tomatoes are suddenly quite prolific, and I think I have a Suma Wrestler tomato in the mix, what do you think?

 

I don’t know what got into this one, but he definitely had “4 BLTs” written all over him.  I also picked a few of the smaller ones for some Salsa….

 

 

 

 

Oops….something is definitely missing from this recipe besides a fresh lime (which I did add)…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…..I found this little Mr. Jalapeno with a cute nose growing on his hot little face…..He jumped into my Salsa too…..

 

 

 

 

Looks like I have my own little cast from the kid’s movies “Veggie Tales” (vegetables that talk), and this one is masquerading as Jimmy Durante.  If you have to ask who Jimmy Durante is ….you are probably not a child of the 1950’s or 60’s….”Good Night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are”….Bet I gotcha on that on too, eh??

Thanks for taking the time to check in with me.  I will try to get in more than one blog in a week…

“Ha Cha Cha Cha”…..Jimmy Durante

Tag Team Babysitting

  The Wolff clan arrived last Thursday evening from Zionsville, Indiana…They pulled into our drive about 8:45PM with 2 tired little boys and 2 equally, or MORE, tired parents…They can’t leave town until John gets home from work at 5:30-6PM and it is about a 3 1/2 hour drive…Make that 4 hours with potty stops, diaper emergencies, McDonald’s drive through and I-65 traffic. It’s a challenge even without the two little guys…

I snuck in and took the photo on the right in some low lighting and no flash…They were both “cashed” on our couch that night by 9:30PM…..I wonder why…

 

 

Maddox and I had the same idea…let’s get into our jammies…Needless to say, I had mine on at my usual 4:30PM.. I even beat Maddox. OK, OK, I know that surprises absolutely NOBODY!!

Madds ( what I call him) had been pretty sick with diarrhea and stomach troubles the few days before they came. He also had a boil -like nasty thing come up on his little cleft chin..but it was healing.  Luckily, he was feeling better the day before they came…Sick little kids make me fearful when I am “in charge”…

 

  Friday, McGuyver, Chris and John, Tom and Leanne, and Kelly and Cindy all went golfing at our local Country Club, Edgebrook, which just happens to be a mile down the road from our house.  The got a pretty good deal..9 holes and a cart, plus 2 beers for $20.00 each.  (Throw in a bottle of wine and I would have driven their cart!) Actually, I don’t golf.  Trust me, it’s just as well …Putting an iron stick in my hand and having me try to hit a little white HARD ball off the ground could be considered endangerment with a lethal weapon for all involved…I chose to babysit…But I  had some  much needed help from Terrie’s 3 kids….LOTS of help..

No problem finding the “center of attention” here….I think Madds was overwhelmed!

Friday evening we hung out around outside with some snacks and a few cocktails…

Bottom left…Is McGuyver holding court???

Kelly’s and Cindy son, Dylan,(bottom right photo), stopped by to say good-bye..He leaves for college this week as a new freshman…studying aviation….Kel said he would be actually flying in 3  weeks…NO, REALLY??.. You can’t even get a driver’s permit without 6 weeks of study…YIKES!

Kelly had a few words of advice for Dylan before he left…

DON’T SCREW UP…STUDY HARD…DON’T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE!!

No, there is no money being exchanged here….Kelly and Cindy have donated enough already!

Maddox has this cute little blue foam seat that they put him in so he can begin strengthening his back to sit on his own…

…John Wolff finds another use for it…He makes a mother-in-law proud, yes he does…LOVE THAT GUY!!

 

We cannot let Maddox get ALL of the attention!!!

 

Maddox Isaac Wolff…YOU FOUND YOUR THUMB!! I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND MINE YET!!

We had a great weekend…Chris and John left for Chicago Saturday morning.  They were invited to one of John’s Perdue University old frat brother’s wedding.  Plus..it was Chris and John’s 6th wedding anniversary, so they booked a room at The Palmer House and spent the night in the city…The bride at this wedding was of the Hindu faith, so they had a very unique traditional Hindu wedding, complete with the groom and guests dancing down 4 Chicago street blocks to Hindu music..This was followed by the groom climbing on a horse and riding horseback (dressed in traditional Hindu Bridegroom garb) to the temple to receive his bride…Only Indian  food was served at the reception. No, not buffalo and deer meat, the OTHER Indian)….I’m not sure that kind of meal would have been to my liking…too spicy..and what the Hell IS Saffron, anyway??!!

The Heiser kids were sooooo much help for ‘ol Mimi (that’s what the Wolff cubs call me, without the “ol). And my tired feet needed a few more sets to run around…They kept Aiden entertained while I did the diaper duty, formula fun and cereal debacle with Madds….

On the left, 6:30AM Sunday, the three Heiser kids all asleep in our living room...Madds and I were up, oh yea..Photo on the right has Papa deflating the bed, which, as you can see, was a HUGE attraction for the kids….and me…That thing is amazing….

MY BACON, SAUSAGE, EGG, CHEESE, BREAD BREAKFAST CASSEROLE WAS GOING FAST..

OK, so by Sunday evening, after making a sweep of our house for hidden cookies, suckers,  soggy cheetos, Power Rangers, X-box games, ( I actually DID find one in our couch cushions), game chargers, race cars wheels, pacifiers, wipes, burp rags, drink stirrers…oops, those were mine from Friday night…, McGuyver and I were alone again…All was quiet…kinda boring, but…well deserved!!

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”  ~Jane Howard

PREPARING FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF “CAVE GRANDKIDS”..

  OK, I made my grocery trip for ice cream, pizza, mac and cheese, chips, juice boxes, pancake mix, burger, buns, fries….and Exedrin.  Chris and her hubby plus the 2 boys are coming into town tonight for the weekend.  McGuyver and I are babysitting her boys Saturday night while they go into Chicago to celebrate their 6th Wedding Anniversary.  However, we are cheating somewhat.  I have invited Terrie’s 3 kids to join us and stay the night too.   NO…I’m not nuts! I have an ulterior motive…That being the fact that Taylor, at almost 13, babysits a lot…and I think she will be a HUGE  help to me….

…Not much else is new here…I have been attending my physical therapy sessions like a good girl..Mike, my therapist, says that PT stands for “pain and torture”….I do believe he is right.  I told him it should mean “pity and tolerance”… I have a Doc appointment next week….I could be his worst nightmare..

Dennis bought us a new Kodak Easyshare Max Z990 camera with full HD 1080 video, a 30X wide angle IS, 12 mega pixels, an evf.lcd button, an on and off button, a dial with a P,A,S M, SCN,HDR, a paint pallet, and a couple things I can’t figure out, also has a T and W button, a flower button, a share button, an OK button ( that one I know I’ll like), a DISP button, a lightening bolt button, a sparkler? button, and a garbage can button (bet I’ll use that lots!). Oh, yeah, it has a flash and lens cap…THERE…I WROTE DOWN EVERYTHING I SEE ON THIS CAMERA …AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MOST OF IT MEANS YET.

  You may be getting some really weird photos from me shortly…But..What else it new?

I gotta welcome a couple new people who were brave enough to tune into this blog…Welcome to meowmomma and her hubster…You have an iron constitution to jump onboard… HANG ON TIGHT!

OK, that’s it for now…It’s cocktail hour and I need to get my strength up for this weekend…I will give you a full report..I hope I can figure out that new camera so I can post photos…It’s hard to teach an old dog…blah blah blah…..

 

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”….Aaron Siskind ..(I have no idea who that is either)

UNCLE CLARENCE (JR.), OUR HERO, IS HONORED.

  Sunday we spent most of the day in Montgomery Illinois to be there as Uncle Clarence (Jr.) Bark was honored as the Grand Marshal of Montgomery-fest.  Uncle Jr., as I have said, is a WWII veteran, and has also served the village of Montgomery, IL as part of the planning commission for more than 30 years now. He and Aunt Jeanette built their home there in the 1950’s, and have lived there ever since. He joined the Navy at age 17, in September of 1941..3 months before Pearl Harbor.  When Torpedo Squadron 8 was almost wiped out in the Battle of Midway (only one crewman survived), Clarence was part of the new Torpedo Squadron 8.  He served in the South Pacific Theater  on 2 different Aircraft Carriers, and saw  more islands than he can remember.

  He and Jeanette went together 9 years before they married. He will be 88 years young this month, and Jeanette will be 96 in September…I gotta tell ya, in their day, they could really dance up a storm…Everyone loved to watch them when they hit the dance floor and made everyone else out there pale in comparison. They will be married 52  years this fall….never had children (not that they didn’t want any), and have been each other’s soul mate and best friend these many years past.  As  you will notice, Aunt Jeanette knows how to dress up for any occasion, and she loves anything having to do with the Southwestern style…They owned a home in Sedona, Arizona for a couple years, but only went there occasionally because they were both still working. They have since sold it, but what a spot it was!

So, we had one Heck of a great day yesterday…and I will share some of the pictures I took…(I warned you!)

Above, left…on their screen porch before the parade…Right, getting ready to line up…

 

Left is Uncle Jr. with the Mayor of Montgomery…     Here Jr. is rubbing elbows with Jesse White, Illinois Sec. of State…

McGuyver had no idea he would drive them…They were the lead car (after the firetrucks,) and then Den stopped in front of the viewing stand, where I was waiting to help Dennis get Jr. and Jeanette from the car, up the steps to the viewing stand…They are not very sure on their feet, and there were a few steps to navigate, but we got them settled and McGuyver took the car back to the line up area.  Then he walked back just in time to see most of the parade…Jr. and Jeanette sat with the Mayor in the viewing stand…Three honored VIP’s getting their kudos and watching the parade.

Dennis and I stayed close by the viewing stand to we could help them down when the parade was over….

Left is the Honor Flight Car, 1929. Uncle Jr. usually rides in this at parades with 2 other Vets, but this time he had his own special “honor car” as the Grand Marshal. The photo on the right is the Kaneville HS band, and their leader saluting Uncle Jr. in the viewing stand…I almost cried..Oh, Hell..I DID cry, alright?

When the parade was over, Den and I took Jr. and Jeanette across the street to the VFW, where everyone certainly knows them…(after a potty stop for all of us,which took another 1/2 hour…as I said, they don’t move too fast these days..neither do I!)

Those 3 goofy people in the distance, with beers in their hands are Ronnie, Den’s brother-in-law, Leanne, Ronnie’s daughter, and Tommy, Leanne’s hubby…They were anxiously awaiting us to bring Mr. and Mrs. Grand Marshal over for a beer.

 

There was quite a few family and friends at the VFW, and we had a good time partying with the “VIP”S.  Even Jr.’s 92 year old sister came up with her daughter and son-in-law.

 

Let it never be said that this family doesn’t know how to party…You see?? We inherited that “Yahoo” gene…

 

 

 

It was hard to get a word in …and if even “moi” couldn’t get one , then you know darn well there was a lot of gabby family there..People from all around the room were coming up and shaking Jr.’s hand…We managed to clear out about 5PM.  McGuyver and I drove Jr. and Jeanette back to their house and stay a little longer to get them settled…..and of course, Jr. insisted we stay for “uno mas” drink…WHEW!…I seriously cannot keep up with these two! What fun we all had!!

….Right, is Hershel…He is a Vietnam Vet and was Uncle Jr’s Guardian for the Honor Flight he took to D.C. 2 years ago….

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

"Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few."
- Winston Churchill