Sunday, February 24, 2008

Wow, its been 3 weeks since I last posted. Have enjoyed many nice posts from Michael and Delynn who are vacationing for the next year and half in Germany/France/Switzerland, teaching at a school there.

I say vacationing for their week ends are filled with short trips here and there, and this last week was a really neat one to Augst, Switzerland. Some exciting photos accompany their blog, and I am very excited for them. Had hoped to join them next June but those plans are fading out due to the airlines having sold all their free seats for mileage plus customers already. Guess maybe I'll just have to spend real money and buy a full fare. Right now air fare to Frankfort from Portland is only 329.00. or maybe it was 239.00 which is GREAT.... only I'm not going right now.

Had a family day, Lou & Johns family and ours got together at a local church to just play games and bond. We already do a good job of that and when you mix in snacks and soft drinks it makes it all the better. Got to see Michael, Stephens new love. hmmmmmmm maybe she will be part of the family one of these days....

Have had great spring weather here the past couple weeks. Thats good, its getting me out and into the yard cleaning up the winters mess of seed pods, weeds and a few other things. Now if I can get rid of a black walnut log in my back yard, I can start to improve on it. Its been here too long now.

Won't bore you with lots of old news. New news is a blotched face, I have right now. Think its from taking too many prescription drugs, and I'm overloaded, anyway, have dropped all but 3 prescriptions and will see if they go away, and then see what I really need to survive to 120 years old. So, am signing off for the night, love you all who reads this.

Gpa Howard

Super Bowl Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

Yes, I know, its been a month since I last posted, and I have no excuse for that. Too much time on my hands, I would guess.

Had a disappointment the other day in talking to Julie back in Kansas. As I think I have posted before, we planned on going to Europe this next June, and now find out that all the free seats that you are supposed to be able to get to use up your mileage are all gone. They had planned on using theirs for their travel, and we have enough for one of us to use it too, so as of right now, we won't be going when we planned.

Dan's folks are also going through a transition period in their lives, moving this weekend from their home of 40 some years to an apartment which is all on one level. This will be quite an adjustment for them, and I suspect that later this summer, the kids will be getting the house ready for the housing market. That will cut into their vacation plans in a big way.

Had a dear first cousin pass on this last week. Bob would have been 90 in June. He had not been eating for some time, and I think his body was just closing down. He is special to me, for he and his buddies used to come out to the farm and sit on the front porch, and whenever my brother Harold & I would get too close or maybe pick on them, he would say "If you don't behave yourselves, I'm going to cut off your ears with my jack knife".

Now that sounds rather a harsh treatment, but I suspect that we deserved to have our ears trimmed many many times. Even this last September, he told me that again. I shall miss him. He was a soldier during WW II, involved in the Battle of the Bulge, a last final thrust of the German army to turn our troops back. Thankfully, they did not succeed. As I read some of the history books, that point in the war should not have happened, except for some poor advice given by our Upper Command Generals.

Am finishing up a good book called "Just Americans" which shared how the Japaneese-Americans were so badly mis treated during WW II, not only by putting them into the interment camps, but by the way the servicemen were treated. Makes me almost sick to read about it, but I know that there was a lot of prejudice back then. If you have a chance and like war history, grab the book and read it.

Am signing off for this time, God Bless you

Howard