Dean Jones

RIP '60's Disney movie star Dean Jones

I think this is neat

70 years ago today the Empire of Japan signed the documents of surrender aboard the USS Missouri, officially ending a world war they began in 1937 with the invasion of China (we did not join the war, of course, until after Pearl Harbor, and the European theater erupted in 1939) A sailor aboard made these cards and gave one to each of the men present; when Admiral Nimitz asked for extras to pass out at HQ, the sailor politely declined the request.

Today I walked the kids to school for the first time this school year.

The First Day of School 2015

The three youngest are out the door. Typical first day of school: giggles, insults, arguments, tears, and threats.

YaYa us leaving for her first day of high school in literally a minute . . .

YaYa on her first day of high school!

It's ok daddy bear 🐻 - Lisa

A Good Samaritan

YaYa found a woman's purse, keys, and wallet that had been left on the bus stop. Lisa and I just dropped it off at the police station.

Yes. Yes it Does.

This goes for people who buy a house across from a school and then complain about the traffic before/after school. F@#$ you.

My Lu

3rd Grade ALREADY???

LK's first day of 3rd grade!

Some Improvements

I Prepare for Tracy, Oh Master of Home Improvement, to mock: this morning, supervised by Eric, I installed the water line for our new refrigerator. The fridge itself replaced an 18 cubic foot model we had for 11 years. It's a stainless steel side by side model with an ice and water dispenser - the first we've ever had in our lives - and is around 22 cubic feet in storage. We got it for 1/3 the cost of retail at Sears Outlet. After that Eric removed our kitchen fan and walked me through putting up a new light fixture. The old light was so dim I had to hold up a camping lantern so the delivery guys could install the fridge doors; the new one is the equivalent of 400 watts. The bad news is twofold: fully lit, the kitchen carpet looked awful and I had to steam it again, and the 125 year old plaster ceiling isn't level, so I have to figure out a way for the fixture to lay fully flush. Still, a radical and needed improvement.

Our Evening

Spent part of the evening at the home of Miss Barbara, the kids dance teacher, then treated the family to Kopp's as a farewell to summer.

The George Webb's where Lisa and I first met in the middle of the night - she was my waitress - now closes at 3 in the afternoon because of how frequently it has been robbed.

Well yeah-UH!

YOU stole their waitress dinnya?

-Fred

This should be readily available to all the disable!

I've been advocating something like this for years!

My Thoughts: Denali

Screaming against the PC storm here, but not a fan of Mt. McKinley being renamed "Denali". Yes, I understand it's a traditional native name, but since 1980 the National Park around it has been called Denali; I think that was a sufficient sign of respect and a fine compromise. 

I don't object to the new name so much as I feel that to rename the mountain now is a slight against a martyred President and a good man.

update: 

Not in protest - in "honor of".

"Your new profile picture (of President McKinley) is stupid. It makes people think you're an old man." - LuLu

The New Mailbox

I just put up our new mailbox. First new one here, if the web is right about the age of the old one, since the '30's.

Simon

Simon, the 14 year old neighborhood cat, stopped by to chill on my porch.

Tiring

I forgot how physically difficult the school year is. Work Wednesday, go to bed for five hours, spend time with the family for a minute, then a fifteen hour stretch of work and school. It ain't coal mining, but it ain't easy.

Something to Think About

Smartest comment on the web today (all year?): "All the controversy and ill will could have been avoided if they'd just made their slogan #BlackLivesMatterToo."

Wouldn't have worked. It was the exclusive aspect that made it possible to fire up the rabble. 

You just can't inspire decent riots, looting, arson and mayhem with inclusive, rational slogans.  

-Fred

The Unauthorized Full House Story

We watched the midnight airing of this Lifetime movie. I thought it was sweet and informative and brought back a lot of nostalgia about the Tanner household I visited most Friday nights. I can see why Candice Cameron doesn't like it, since they picked a very unattractive girl to play her, AND they got her wedding dress wrong: in reality she got married the same year we did, and like Lisa's dress her's had full sleeves. Details people, details!

Ouch

My oldest cat and I had a failure to communicate.

A BBQ with Friends

On Sunday my friend Tre invited the family to a BBQ for his lodge. The food was great, the weather comfortable, and the people friendly. It was his wife's birthday, so we brought along a balloon and card for her to enjoy. Thanks again for the invite!

...h

Hmm

This will sound nutty but watch it be true - that ridiculous little name game thing that everyone is doing? First of all, it's wrong. I assume if you're older than seven you've looked up the meaning of your name and know that.  Second, it claims EVERY name is of Arabic or Egyptian origin, and it assigns names meanings like "fighter", "warrior", or in some rare cases, "loyal". It has NEVER, that I've seen, acknowledged any name as being of Hebrew origin, even when they are clearly biblical and a simple google search verifies it to be so. So congratulations - I think you've fallen for ISIS's version of a prank.

The Paris Train Heroes

My apologies for misrepresenting these men as Marines in an early post - I should know better than to trust the first day's worth of any news story.  #MuchPride that these young men share my nationality. For the record, they are a Guardsman, an Airman, and a college student, and above all, heroes.

update: You doubt the media is biased? When CNN headlines a story about the 3 unarmed Americans who stopped the terrorist on that train in France, they call them heroes - but they put the word in quotes.

Ah, their editors must have got cracked across the knuckles. I just went back to screenshot the headline and the quotes have been removed. #TooLateToChangeMyMindCNN

Pointe

LuLu- since you were so excited about your new pointe shoes yesterday, I thought you might like to see a picture of your Mom in hers from when SHE was twelve! :)

Here's Lu mimicking her Mom's photo. We should have vacuumed first lol!

I remember

My maternal Grandma had a set like this one. Great memories.

Junie and Lisa at Aldi