My contest entries...

I spoke earlier in the week of turning in some of my vacation photos for a contest the "Skill Center" at work was having. The "Orange Moon", the "Malibu on the Floating Bridge and the "foxglove?" white flowers I posted yesterday were 3 of them.

There is a (longish) story behind the other 3.

Back in grade school, the one I used to walk to when I lived in this house (before we moved when I was in 5th grade), I read a lot. My "Friendship 7 Summer Reading Program" card from the summer of '62 has all the slots filled out (maybe 25 books, I haven't seen it for a while) with a little Mercury capsule stamped for each book I read, but the front of it is covered with dozens of stamps for the ones there was no room to write in. Someday I'll find it and scan it...

I don't know if it was that summer, or later, but in that library (and I remember it being that library) was one about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. I don't remember much of it, but that was my first memory of Vermont.

All these years of going to Vermont I've passed things by getting there. Niagra Falls, the Air Force Museum at Dayton along with the Wright Brothers sites that are there, the Erie Canal. Two trips ago we stopped at the Bennington Museum on the way out coming home, and even Dottie was glad we had (Bill was with us that time). Last time (2004)I tried to stop at the Bennington Battlefield Monument, but missed the closing time by a few minutes. (Someday...)

That last week before we left I looked up the Old Rhinbeck Aerodrome. I had seen it when Neil Armstrong did a PBS series called "First Flights". It is a museum to the first two decades of aviation- with flyable aircraft or replicas. Though open all week, they only fly on the weekends. It's a bit south of Troy in New York State.

The weekend was already taken by an anniversary party for Ed and Jane (their 25th), so that got demoted to someday...

I also printed some short haul rail excursions that run in Vermont and their prices. Time didn't allow for them, either...

The night before we left I googled Fort Ticonderoga, thinking of Ethan Allen, and Vermont history, etc.. I found a website and printed some things including a map and the hours, etc..

Deb and Verne, Dottie's two youngest sisters, have always been wonderful about putting up with my camera and I. In 2004 it was Deb who said "when I come home this way I get a really nice view of Camel's Hump, if there's a sunset tonight it might be perfect". It was, I shared it with you all a while back. Verne took me to Lake Iroquois; you have been there as well with me.

When they found out I wanted to go to Fort Ticonderoga they worked it out so that the day before we left, the two of them, along with Verne's husband and two sons could all go as well. We loaded our Malibu and Verne's SUV on a ferry and crossed Lake Champlain, then drove about an hour south.

The fort and the battlefield park surrounding it were amazing! There are still trenches there from 1758 and what we call the French and Indian War. The memorials to the soldiers that fell in those battles have fresh flowers on them, 258 years later!

Then after you pass the memorials and plaques to these earlier battles, you come to the fort itself.

Which brings me to my other contest entries (finally...hope you're still with me).



That may be in the half dozen "best things I've ever shot"...

You enter through a wonderful gift shop/snack bar (really good food as well). There are re-enactors, there are guided history tours...the museums that are housed in the fort structure itself have some amazing things I'll share in the next few days.



That one I actually had to let them pull because I turned in 6 prints and hadn't read the fine print, I was only allowed 5. One instructor wanted to pull the Malibu on the bridge out, but since that's what we build for a living, I told him to pull the fife and drum corps instead, and kept this next one in as well.



Sometimes you get lucky...

Our weekend plans are up in the air; we're trying to keep the 3 grandkids on Saturday night so John and Noel can have a "date night" before school starts again the middle of August. So far they haven't committed, but if we don't we have lots of things we can do. I might get a chance to visit some of you over the weekend, but most likely won't be posting again until Monday (now if you got this far you can breathe a big sigh of relief. Dottie's sisters have always complained about how long it takes me to tell a story).

Lovely weekends to each of you!

alan

A little something...

to make up for the longer post I had planned for tonight (overtime and my first day back in the gyn are catching up with me, not to mention Photoshop wasn't cooperating as I tried to reduce these, lol).

Our first Monday in Vermont, after I photographed the car on the Brookfield Floating Bridge, we had gone back to my sister-in-laws in East Roxbury. We went up the road past her house, one I've been down many times, and I ran across these flowers...



Back down the hill and in her front yard, I found these...



4:17AM, my clock is set for 10:30...

Goodnight all!

alan

Photo Sunday...

was going to be the St. Johnsbury Library and Atheneum, but I haven't Photoshopped those yet. I have been working on some other things, though, and it's almost 5 AM so I'm going to post them instead...

A while back I posted about a place I love and showed off some of my wife's homestate from 2 years ago. Among those was this one of our Neon and a Floating Bridge at Brookfield, Vermont.



The bridge and Brookfield are still as lovely as ever, though the bridge might be floating a tad lower this time. This one is a bit over 30 years old, as the last one got flipped by someone who decided to haul his dozer across it on a gooseneck trailer (way way overweight of what it's posted for).



The night shot I posted while I was gone was shot the same place as the day one I posted then...





In shooting a one minute time exposure to get the silver shine across the water I "burned out" the moon itself, which was gorgeous that night. I had shot several when I heard the car coming, so timed my next one to get the tailight streak all the way across and up the hill, and the headlights lit the end of the house just enough to make it show up nicely.

After that I put a telephoto on and shot the moon itself...thinking of so many of you like always...



I've been printing some things for a vacation photo contest held by the "Skill Center" at work, I'll share some later in the week.

May you all have a lovely Sunday!

alan

Addendum: Forgot to say (though most of you know) that the white car on the bridge is the Chevrolet Malibu I build for a living...

The Fairbanks Museum, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

A beautiful buiding in it's own right, this museum is a treasure! The turret in the "L" houses a planetarium; the current show, besides the usual nightime sky is explaining volcanoes throughout the solar system and is quite amazing!



The first floor is a natural history museum, and also houses a gift shop inside the front entrance, and at the far end is a gallery that rotates exhibits. The current one is an amazing set of images shot with an 8x10 (negative size) view camera of Vermont side-hill farms.



You'll have to pardon my attempts to convey the scope and beauty of the interior of this wonderful place. These are handheld, existing light exposures at 1/8 to 1/15 of a second, wide open aperture with my digital Nikon set on 400 ASA speed.



The second floor has an overview of cultures from around the world through the ages, along with some Vermont, St. Johnsbury and Fairbanks history. It also houses the rock exhibits that used to be in the basement before the weather station was enlarged.



The basement has a small display showing the history of Fairbanks scales and their manufacture in St. Johnsbury, and houses the weather station for Vermont Public Radio and some other affiliates.

I've been here many times through the years, the first time with my mother-in-law who could remember attending dinners in the Fairbanks family homes when she was young, before the "family fortune" disappeared and they lost everything. It was always a very special place for her, and has become one to me as well.

alan

Moving this from reply to post...

Jon-Marc; the Bennington Museum is in southern Vermont and as I drove by when I left, had signs out for a Rembrandt exhibit. I was running too late to stop, but have visited it before and seen it's wonderful collection. Art, history, a bit of everything.

If cityscape interests you, Burlington is awfully nice, especially the downtown area and waterfront. Sailing cruises, kayak or sailboat rental, a public beach, lots of cool stuff going on especially in the summer months. Shelburne is a beautiful place, and has the Shelburne Museum

To the northeast there is St. Johnsbury, a gorgeous "old city" with the Fairbanks Museum, and the St. Johnsbury Atheneum (a library and art gallery contributed by another Fairbanks decendant). (My wife is descended from the Fairbanks family, so I've been to the museum many times now; it's a beautiful building and a wonderful natural history museum, along with other collections of Vermont history. The Atheneum building is stunning in it's own right, and the paintings in the gallery have just been restored and are glorious!)

There are lots of "touristy" things to do as well, from touring Ben and Jerry's (free samples of what they're making) to riding the Alpine Slide at Stowe. I promise you that no matter where you drive in the Green Mountains, it will be one of the most beautiful places you've ever seen.

If you plan on being outside in the late afternoon, some kind of insect repellant is advisable, they've a pretty good crop of mosquitoes this year from all the rain!

:o)

alan

Home again...

finally! I love Vermont, love being there, but my own bed has much to recommend it!

I had hoped to update more often while there, but we packed so much into the days we had that getting 5 or 6 hours sleep was hard to do; some nights it was only 4. I will give more detail in the coming days...with photos...

We ate in the car on the way home, rather than stopping, to try and make up some of the time we lost on Saturday as we "shopped" our way out of Vermont, trying to find a last few items for the grandkids and such. I drove 'til 1AM Sunday and made the "halfway" point, between Cleveland and Columbus when we stopped. Up at 8, out the door by 9, and after the time change we rolled into our driveway a few minutes after 9 last night. An offer of pizza got Bill and Laura to pick Angel up at my sisters and save us trying to pick her up before bed time or having to wait until tonight, so we unpacked and I started doing laundry.

The whole time we were there, people were complaining about the heat; it was in the upper 80's and low 90's. Right now, it's 96 and the heat index is 103; they're predicting 101 this afternoon!

I miss the Green Mountains!

alan

Moonlight in Vermont

Monday night about 10:30 Eastern or so...

:o)

alan

A beautiful day...

of boating on Lake Champlain with Dottie's sister Jane and her husband. We were out about 4 hours; it was pure bliss!

Yesterday we made it in about 5AM; I had driven the whole 20 hours (I don't get to drive her Malibu very often, and loved every minute). I did finally check the mileage on the Syracuse to Albany part of the New York Thruway; it was getting 37.4. It's average since it was new is 35 according to the dash display...

After we got back we shopped for the surprise 25th anniversary party for Jane and Ed that's tomorrow; guess what chicken is on the menu, lol!

Off to bed...miss you all!

alan

Greensville, Indiana...

12:45am EST.

We finally got away at noon; now Dottie's in the shower, and I'm waiting my turn. Not a bad day for no more sleep than we got; we are east of Indianapolis and west of Dayton, and will make the rest of the journey tomorrow on more sleep!

Malibu running wonderfully; haven't checked the milage yet, the computer says it's in the mid 30's...

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement!

Tomorrow, VERMONT!!!

:o)

alan

"East Bound and Down"!

Though we were further ahead than we've ever been, it was still a 4AM morning by the time we got everything and everyone dealt with last night, the last laundry done, etc.. Up at 9, Dottie's in the shower, and in about an hour we'll be heading out for Vermont.

Not sure how much time I'll have to check in or update, but know I'll be thinking of all of you...

Love,
alan

July 4, 2006

As the final countdown to our family 4th of July begins, I remember the 4th's past...

The ones at Grandma and Grandpa's house, with my Great Grandmother; my Great Aunts and Uncles; my Mom's sister and brother-in-law and my cousins; sometimes 2nd cousins...hours of food, hours of fireworks. Grandpa striking yellow "fusees" from the railroad so the sulfur smell would drive away the mosquitos; him standing holding a Roman candle in his hand and shooting the flaming balls out across the yard all the while telling us not to hold them in our hands. After his stroke, one of his big treats for the year was to sit in a lawn chair and have us bring them to him.

After Grandma and Grandpa gave up their house and moved into a retirement apartment, they came to my Mom and Dad's. We lost the cousins then, and most of the Great Aunts and Uncles were gone by then, but it was still the family 4th, with almost as many fireworks.

Grandma got sick the night of the 4th in '79; we didn't know for a few days it was the beginning of her last round with cancer.

After we lost her, then Grandpa, then my Dad, things were a bit dampened for few years. For a while it was just Dottie and I and our boys. My sister married and moved just out of town, and the family 4th gathering moved to her house the first time she asked. Her husband's Uncle Miller came to the first few, and would speak of growing up getting a "brick" of .22 shells for the 4th and being admonished to make them last all day. He spoke of re-enacting Civil War battles they'd been told of, or 1st World War ones..."they're coming through the woods" he remembered them "hollering", lol. Then he was gone as well. Cindy moved off to Lawrence, and we gathered there until they outlawed fireworks there three years ago.

Now my sons and their families, my sister and hers will gather here this evening. 20 pounds of chicken for the grill, several hundred dollars worth of fireworks we bought yesterday...somehow it will still be the family 4th, but somehow I'll be thinking of a lot of wonderful people who aren't here to celebrate as well!

Happy 4th of July to all!

alan

As My Stomach Churns...

Since the Supreme Court ruling yesterday, I keep hearing the Shrub say he's going to protect us...!

So if there are 400 something still being held at Guantanamo, not counting the ones already released, then you count their relatives, and the coming generations of relatives who are all going to despise the next 20 or so generations of Americans (provided we're still around, of course at the present rate of our own loss of freedom)...

Factor in all of the relatives of every dead Iraqi since the first Gulf War...

Then there's that whole thing about there weren't any terrorists in Iraq...until AFTER we occupied their country...and since we're so busy with Iraq and poking our stick at Iran and North Korea, the Taliban have been borrowing from the Iraqi insurgent's manual...

Yeah, he's doing a great job of protecting us!

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

alan

Toisday...

Talia is doing well. Noel said she cried a bit when she woke up today, otherwise she was doing well. Soft diet, and she gets to pick what's on the TV and her brother's were told it's her turn, lol!

Two more shifts before our two week shutdown! I'm so (desperately) looking forward to this!

I did finally find the "export as HTML" for my bookmarks (I run Opera for a browser because no one writes viruses for it), so am transferring the HTML document and a few photo retouching programs to the laptop in a few minutes. I already loaded Photoshop and Nikon View. It doesn't have a built in card reader, so I bought a Dazzle one so I don't have to unhitch mine to take; it supposedly has a faster transfer rate than my old one, so every little bit helps I guess. I can always use the USB cord for the camera as well, but they warn against wearing out the camera port as it's where the "cable release" also plugs in; I'd rather pop my CF cards out at this point.

I've been cutting my sleep a bit short (6 hours or so) to get those things done and still have time in the gym. Monday was chest, back, abs and cardio. Wednesday was shoulders, arms, abs and cardio. Today will be legs, abs and cardio. If I'm lucky I'm going to slip back in tomorrow and do a straight 3 hours of cardio, as I don't know how much time I'll have to walk on our little excursion next week, but know I'll be eating less than healthily!

Hopefully the Northeast dries out a bit before the middle of next week, because if the New York Thruway is still closed, I don't have a "stamped" copy of my birth certificate and my wife's we'd have to get from Vermont, so cutting through Canada isn't an option, lol! Pennsylvania's in as bad a shape as New York at the moment, so I-70 might not fare any better!

Meanwhile I heard tonight they shut down some Interstate out west because of wildfires...but we haven't screwed up the atmosphere, oh no!!!

Hopefully all of you are dry and comfortable!

alan

:o)

Dottie's jury duty was cancelled; instead we have a pair of grandson's in the living room watching Disney movies while their sister has her tonsils and adenoids out! John called a bit ago, the surgery went well, though the surgeon commented on how huge both tonsils and adenoids were. Hopefully this will help Talia's hearing a bit...

I've spent the last half hour e-mailing myself links so I can open them with the laptop as I haven't figured out how to transfer them directly from browser to browser. I probably don't really need all of them for vacation anyway, lol!

Going out to mow (I didn't get it done before the party on Sunday) so the boys can swing a bit before they go home!

I'll try to catch up with you all this evening...

alan

TGIF!

We've gone back to 9 hour shifts this week, what with getting 2007's out and building the first waves of the new Saturn. Between that, the gym, trying to get some things ready for vacation, it's been fun, lol!

After 2 months of "supposed to" and "should", Angel finally got clipped yesterday. (Funny, Paul's been up to the same thing, lol!) Tuesday I came home from the gym to brush and comb her; Dottie came home that night and scissors cut everything she could, then Wednesday I got up and bathed her. Once in Selsun Blue (vets recommendation to kill any critters that she might have picked up), once in an oatmeal shampoo because the Selsun Blue dries her skin so badly she chews and licks herself raw after, then Pantene conditioner so she'll comb out again after. By the time I was done and cleaned up the tub (I didn't have the heart to bathe her outside with cold water from the hose; she's 10 now, and it just seemed cruel!) I ended up getting to the gym in time to do one hour on the treadmill (4.5 miles).

Dottie traded days off with a girl at work who's getting married this weekend so the girl could have 3 days off in a row; since she was off yesterday, after we had some "time together" (a rarity when you work opposite shifts) we spent 2 hours clipping Angel in the kitchen as it was pouring outside. Actually easier, because the dog and I could both take a break on occasion, while Dottie petted and cajoled her as I clipped. Then I ran through the shower and we took her for her annual checkup. By then it was 3 something and time to get ready for work!

Hopefully I can catch a decent photo of her now she's shorthaired and put it up for Sunday!

Today, I'm off the gym to do the "leg day" I was due on Wednesday. Since Dottie's working this weekend, tomorrow I plan on hitting the gym at 10 to do shoulders, arms and abs. After I come home and shower it's Costco, Sam's and Wal-Mart in time to come home and grill some shrimp skewers (frozen pre-packaged, sorry!) and fix some rice for dinner when she get's home around 6.

Sumday my sister is having a going away party for my nephew Brett who leaves for Wyoming Tech this next week. Since she volunteered to keep Angel rather than having us kennel her at the vets while we make the Vermont trip next month, I'm taking her along to meet Grady, my sister's collie (a purebred pup, blind in one eye; a common defect I'm told) and her 18 year old cat Chip (hmmmm). May take my bike, and after the rest of the family shows up another family baseball game is planned. Dottie is coming up after work and bringing my Mom (she can't be out in the heat all day because of her MS, and didn't want to give up church and Bingo that afternoon, but wants to come eat and say "Bye" to Brett). I'm hoping to mow that morning before I go...

Monday Dottie goes on Jury Duty, so I'm planning to hit the gym that morning, figuring she'll be at the courhouse most of the morning and early afternoon. Tuesday is usually a call-in day, and if she's not selected she'll go back to work on Wednesday. Maybe a movie if we're lucky on Tuesday (Prarie Home Compannion if I play my cards right).

The clock is ticking...hope each of you have a Friday that's as wonderful as you are! You would probably all chuckle if you knew how often you ride along with me at work, or I hear something on the radio and think "I wonder what ... would think about that?" This is quite a wonderful little family we have here, and I am grateful for each and every one of you!

Lowely weekends to all!

alan

*Addendum, 3:15 pm. Second weigh-in at 188 this afternoon, so I guess that makes "the century mark" official. 100 pounds in 16 months...34's are getting loose now, might rry on some 32's this weekend!

:o)

In my humble opinion...

Every clueless prick who voted against raising the minimum wage today should have to live on it for a year!

With no food stamps and no health benefits!

alan

Monday Monday...

Father's Day was wonderful! When I came home from work a bit after 1AM, Dottie was up and gave me the gifts she had told me she hadn't been able to find when she shopped last week...a DVD of "The World's Fastest Indian" and (does anyone else remember?) the 50th anniversary edition of "The Phil Silvers Show", alias "Sgt. Bilko".

In trying to keep Laura in bed, my nephew had lent her his new (graduation and going off to tech school present) laptop to do her homework, but needed it back on Sunday. When Bill tried to get her homework from her GTA, the teaching assistant dropped her from the class, saying it's only a 4 week class, she can't just miss a week of it.

I had been planning on buying a bottom end laptop for a very long time so I could upload memory cards from my Nikon on longer vacations and burn back-up discs of them. I was looking at a WinBook, and planning on buying it the first of July at MiroCenter so the first payment wasn't due until after Christmas. Since I could find no Epinions reviews of it, and since we already had a clear account at Nebraska Furniture Mart, Dottie had me go ahead and spring for a name brand (Toshiba) for about 1/2 again more. We picked it up on Saturday, I came home from work and started trying to load ZoneAlarm and Norton. By the time I got done, I went to bed at 6:30, and got up at 9:30.

John and Noel came by on their way home from church and brought me a card and a gift card for the new movie theatre just west of us by the Kansas Speedway in the huge shopping district that's grown around it. We also got to talk for a while, which doesn't happen often enough with their lives as busy as they are.

When I called home from work on Saturday night during my break, Dottie told me Laura had spent most of her day at her desktop computer with "the leg" propped up on another chair, playing "World of Warcraft" online. The nurse had told her that would probably be OK instead of just staying in bed like the Doctor had said...

So when we got there she immediately started loading "WoW" on my laptop, lol!

I couldn't do the stir fry, as she can't have anything with Vitamin K in it for the 6 months she's on blood thinners, at it will counteract them. So Dottie had grilled 3 packages of brats (one of Laura's favorites) the night before while I was at work, and also fixed a 3-day batch of "chicken ala king" and mashed potatoes that we took, so they are set for a few days. When we called after we got home last night she was happily lying in bed playing their game.

We got home around 10 last night, and our dinner was frozen breaded chicken breasts w/Vidalia dressing, and asparagus the quickest thing we could throw together that sounded good. We watched the first episode of Bilko (never one of her favorites, but she put up with it for me, lol) and some of the extra stuff (the 1955 Emmies when it won 8 of them, Jack Benny and Phil Silvers on Dick Cavett, etc.). She showered and went to bed: I hung up one more load of laundry and joined her. I slept over 10 hours, sorted the 1500 mails from my inbox down to none (a bit behind I was!) and then started to blog.

For a one day weekend it wasn't bad; for Father's Day it was great!

I hope all of you are having a great Monday; by the time my workday begins most of you will be home or on your way, lol!

alan

For the weekend...

Dottie's off; I work tonight and tomorrow as well, but our grandaughter is spending the night tonight and if the weather cooperates we'll be going to the park tomorrow to get her some time on her Barbie Princess bike.

:o)

Sunday being Father's Day, I plan to be in Lawrence with Bill and Laura. We had a health scare with her earlier in the week. She had a leg cramp that was relentless; it wouldn't stretch out or walk off for 4 or 5 days. Dottie tried to tell her it might be a blood clot, please go to the emergency room. That was Tuesday; on Wednesday she called our doctor and he said the same thing, so she did.

It was a blood clot, a reaction to the pill. She's on oral blood thinners for 6 months, twice a day injections for a week (my son is giving her those because they couldn't afford $300 a pop for home nursing visits), and complete bed rest for that week as well. Bill is trying to pick up her class assignments, as well as getting his professor to let him have some time off from his Master's research; my nephew loaned her his new laptop to do her homework.

These things aren't supposed to happen to 20 somethings!!!

Sunday I plan to take my wok and cook honey chicken for them...

My other thoughts for Father's Day are the 2500 kids who won't be calling home this Sunday because they died in Iraq...

May you all have wonderful weekends!

alan

Better today...

Still have the headache, but the elephant isn't standing on my innards anymore!

Slept 13 hours Wednesday, on top of almost 12 Tuesday!

Made it to the gym for a "weak" workout today; off to the shower and work now!

Thank you all for the kind words and empathy!

alan

The family flu bug...

came home to roost yesterday. Dottie was sick for days a couple of weeks ago; my grandaughter was sick last week, so apparently when Dillon came to spend the night Friday and we went bike riding on Saturday, it decided it liked me.

We thought Talia was spending the night on Monday night since Dottie was off today. I got up, vacuumed, did laundry, mowed and made sure things were ready for her to spend the night. Then it was remembered that she has vacation Bible school this week.

About the time I headed for the door to go to work, a wicked headache, my first in months kicked in. By the time first break rolled around I felt like someone was standing on my innards, just below my navel. I survived work, came home and was in bed by 2 and slept 'til 12:40 this afternoon. So much for everthing I was supposed to accomplish on her day off! Still cramping and aching all afternoon.

Knowing that they were going to be short of people at work, I went anyway. After first break I chilled and shook and my teeth chattered for about 3 hours; it took an hour to get caught up enough to go get my shirt out of my locker. Finally about 11p, that ended, and I almost broke a sweat.


I'm hoping the worst is over now, though I'm headed to bed early again. If I wake in the morning and I'm not hurting I'll go the gym; if I am then I'm going back to sleep again...

Sorry about not visiting and catching up with you all...I feel guilty every time I let a day or two slip by!


alan