Retirement!!

As of Friday August 7th, Ron is retired! We have now begun a new era in our lives.

The company had a nice retirement party for him that evening.  All the kids who could get here were there.  Keith came down for the evening-stayed all night with us- and went back to Nebraska after breakfast on Saturday. Kevin and Cory were there, and Kristopher, and Kirk and Stacy. Of course Karen was in Oregon and Karl had been here the weekend before from St.Louis.

It was a very 'casual' affair with a baseball theme.  We were asked to come dressed in baseball themed clothes, and their were bats and baseball balloons on the tables and other 'ball' decorations, too.  Even a poster each from the Royals and the Cardinals. There were pics of Ron-from his early years down through this past year- on display, too.

There were baskets of peanuts and Cracker Jacks on each table, and the food was hamburgers, hot dogs or 'brats', and nachos! For dessert they brought out frozen malts like you can get at the ballpark.Several people had little 'gifts' or momentoes to give to Ron, and he had a few to give out, too. A silly, fun time with all that. The main thing he was given that night was a matted and framed print of George Brett and the pine tar bat incident and it was signed by George Brett. It was a GREAT night and a good celebrationof 38 years with the company, and Ron had a great time!

On Sunday afternoon, Ron and I headed to Branson for a week of R&R.  Did a lot of resting and reading, saw one show, did a little shopping and ate at least one meal a day out somewhere! Came home this past Sunday with a stop in Springfield to see my nephew Raymond on the way.

Now I am wondering when it is really going to hit Ron that he is retired...and NOT just on an extended vacation!!

How SAD!

I have some other things I want to tell you about...but first...I HAVE to comment about a tragedy.  It is so hard to even think about it, but maybe we need to think about it  a little.

A young man is dead. His wife no longer has her beloved husband.  His two kids no longer have their Dad. His sister no longer has her twin.ETC. ETC.

The big question is WHY???

Part of the answer we will never know--maybe all of it.  There were some clues---there was some treatment, and medication---there was a lot of love---  but for some reason he wanted life to be over.

He couldn't think it all through...couldn't see how much hurt and distress he would cause. [I'm convinced that if he could have he would not have done what he did!]

It is hard for us to wrap our minds around that fact sometimes:--They really don't --even can't-- understand how much we love them and want good things for them.

Depression is so insidious.  It causes a glitch in the thinking of those who have it!

[ Those with Bi-polar syndrome are another group of people who can not always think things through.  That is why so many of them want to get off of their meds when they are 'doing better'. They think that they don't need them anymore...that they have been cured.  If I am totally honest I have to say here that even diabetics don't always think right about their disease either.  It is easy to go into denial and decide to ignore your food plan , your need for taking your meds on time and getting enough exercise, etc.]

There are no 'easy answers'. No 'miracle cures' for depression. Each person's story is different.  The only thing we CAN do is just keep trying! Keep loving!  Keep re-assuring!  Keep nagging [in a kind way] to take their meds, see their doctors.....!  The biggest thing, and probably the best, that we can do is PRAY!, both for them and WITH them.

God Bless!!

Karl hits the BIG 40!

Karl had his birthday this past Tuesday.  It was one of those 'milestone' events we all face--the big 40!  I don't think it 'bothered' him as much as it would have a year or so ago.  He seemed to take it all in stride.

Danielle and I went to St.Louis to get him on Friday.  Today we all [the ones who live in this area] went to Truman Lake for a cookout and 'celebration' of his birthday. I found a few "Over the Hill" banners, etc. at the Dollar Store in Warsaw and Robbie and I taped them up around the shelter.  Karl had a little bit to say about that, but not so much.  I think He really kind of liked them!

Kevin brought pork steaks to grill[ I know that surprises some people--uh, not much, that is his favorite thing to grill!] Kirk and Stacy brought hotdogs and Ron and I brought hamburgers and hot dogs.  Kevin and Danielle made a fresh salsa [everything was from their garden] and Kevin fixed some guacamole, and sliced some tomatoes.  Kirk and Stacy  brought chips, too. And I made a pasta salad and some cole slaw. For once, Karl didn't get a lemon cake[there was a glitch about who was making it!?!?] but Kris and I stopped at Wal-mart and picked up and "excellent" chocolate birthday cake!  Kris also brought his famous Kristopher dip and the cream cheese, bacon and cheddar spread he makes for crackers that we all like, too.Val and Robbie brought several different kinds of cookies -homemade- that were great

Several people went down to the beach and played in the water for a while, but mostly we just sat around and visited together. and 'spent time' with each other.  Cory came down after she got off work and got to spend a couple of hours with us, too.  As we were leaving, the sun was beginning to set.  This giant orange and gold ball was reflecting on the water as it slowly sank behind one of the Ozark Hills. It was Beautiful!

Robbie came home with us and is spending the night.  Then he is going with us to take his Dad back to St.Louis tomorrow afternoon. Kristopher and I are making the trip this time.  After this coming Friday, Ron and I will be able to handle this part pf it,---but more about that LATER!

Busy, busy, busy...

Or as one of my grandkids said one time "Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy".[That is what they thought we were saying!]
It seems like we have been kept busy the past few weeks with one thing and another.
The Saturday before Father's Day several of the kids showed up for a 'work day' at our house. Ron fixed 'Biscuits and Gravy' for breakfast and after a short 'meeting' to discuss what they wanted to accomplish for the day, the work began. Kirk got his tall ladder and cleaned out the gutters [maple 'trees 'were growing in them, plus other debris that had gathered over the winter]. They had decided to take out the overgrown lilac bushes, so Kris got busy with the 'loppers' and started cutting them out. Kevin came back with his chainsaws and they also began to take out the redbud that was growing closest to the deck. It had 3 trunks coming up out of the ground and they had started to split apart so that the branches were getting lower all of the time. I didn't realize that was happening so much, just thought it needed to be trimmed,etc. When they got it down, though, you could see that it was starting to die from the inside. I miss it, and the shade and privacy it used to provide, but I'm glad they realized what was going on with it. There is a humongous, tall pile of branches and clippings waiting to be burned now! Each of the kids brought something to fix for supper and we had pork steaks and chops and weiners etc; with baked beans, salads, deviled eggs, and desserts for supper. Yummy!! [Forgot to say that I had fixed sandwich and chip stuff for lunch, including bologna salad, and braunschweiger for my kids plus other luncheon meats for the others. Had a little arguing over who got "piggy" over the bologna salad!]
A week ago last Sunday, Kirk 'borrowed' a pressure washer from his father-in-law and we started 'washing' the house. Have all of the front and the East side and half of the back done. Ron cleaned the front porch and the steps to the driveway one evening and then Dillon came and helped him do the steps up to the back deck and part of the deck floor, too. Then last Saturday Ron did most of the rest of the floor, and I finished the rest and did the railings around the deck and the seating area. It looks so 'new' now! Then we got a little carried away! Ron started washing off the travel trailer, and worked some more on a resin table he had previously started. Then I went back to the trailer and got most of it finished, cleaned off the picnic table, the yard swing, and some resin chairs. Kirk had come when Ron was cleaning the deck floor and he got in on some of that, but he spent most of his time digging up the root balls on two of the lilac bushes that had been cut down before. It is slow tedious work! Kris had worked some on the big lilac bush's root ball at the southeast corner over 4th of July weekend-in between rain storms. So we still have the West side of the house to 'wash' and the rest of the back.It will have to be dryer than it was last week when they wash the rest of the back because that is where the garden spot is and they will have to be careful and not sink the ladder in to the garden---or damage any of the tomato or pepper plants!

Dawn View;and Something Funny

The next two pics were taken from our balcony at the hotel on the morning we returned to Missouri. I'm not sure, but I want to believe that this is Mount Hood---but it could be another mountain.This is taken to the left of the last pic and a few minutes later. The sky color was a little deeper. There was a park directly across the street from the hotel. The tree tops you see were from that park. We were on the 7th floor.

This shot was just a few minutes later, and you could begin to see buildings and other structures. We caught the light rail train back to the airport right outside the hotel. We felt like we saw a cross-portion of downtown Portland as we rode along. I think it was only 20 or 30 minutes for the trip. Some areas it traveled pretty fast, but some areas [near other traffic] it was slower. I kind of enjoyed the ride!

Okay, I don't usually take a picture in the bathroom! But I just couldn't resist this one. Oregon is one of the 'GREENEST' states I know about! So they encourage Ecology in many ways. This sign is posted above the stool in the bathroom.

In order to conserve water---this sign tells you how to flush! You pull up on the handle for "liquid" waste[ number 1] and down on the handle for "solid" waste [number 2]. And now you know!!!

HUNGRY! and SO Tired!

After the Finale, we were all pretty hungry so we decided to eat at the restaurant in the hotel. Here is Erika coloring her menu /placemat while we waited for our order.

This picture "says it all!" about how tired everyone was. It was a lot of work in some regards, mainly for Madison and Karen, to get Mad to her 'appointments'/rehersals, and events on time and in the right outfit etc. And there was some 'let down' after it was all over, but I am so glad that Madison got to experience something like this. and I am SO glad that we got to be there to see it all!

Madison is coloring her placemat with Papaw looking on. We all de-stress in different ways. One of the ways Madison chooses is to zone in on some type of artwork. She has always loved to color and draw and has had great comments from her classroom teachers over how well she does with it.[If you want to see what she created for the pageant contest that won her a 'first' rating, check out Karen's blog.--there is a link to it from my blog!]

Tropies and Tears and Smiles

After the pageant we met Madison in the hall and took a few pictures. Her trophies are sitting on the floor in front of her. The biggest one is for her "First" in the Art contest, the second biggest is for her "Second" for the Resume' she wrote [all the girls were supposed to write one.] and the smallest is the one she got for being in the state contest. Each of the girls that made it to state got one of those.Karen had gone running back to the dressing room after the finale thinking that Madison would go there first. Madison had been smiling and talking with the rest of us but when she saw Karen come up to join us she burst into tears. I think it was a lot of things--being tired, relief that the stress was over,being happy that she went so far in the contest, and maybe a little bit of diappointment because she didn't win, too. But the tears didn't last long and she got her 'smile' back real soon.Erika was concerned about her tears and gave her a hug. She told her she was happy for her. Chris had found a rose on the floor that some one had dropped and had given it to Erika during the pageant. She decided that she wanted to give it to Sissy, too. So Madison is olding both roses .One last shot of them all. [ Jacob didn't come with them to Portland because he had an "End of Season" soccer tournament to play in that weekend.]