When we got back in town Sunday afternoon we immediately noticed the corn was taller and had tasseled. We also noticed everything was dry -- really dry. When we walk across the yard the grass crunches under our feet. Our pleasant weather is gone for a while as the last half of the week has been dominated with triple digit highs.
A SHORT TURN AROUND. Jenna only had a short time at home as she was scheduled to leave with our youth group to Mission-Fuge the next morning. For her it was unpack, do laundry, and repack. We had her at church bright and early Monday morning for her to roll out on the bus. Our group included 84 people who represented Friendship Baptist, Hopewell Baptist, and our church. This year they are doing mission work in Appalachia and are based from the University of the Cumberlands at Williamsburg, Kentucky.
Jenna has had a great time all week. The really neat thing is that we’ve been able to talk to her every night. This may not sound like anything special as everyone seems to have a cell phone these days, but Jenna does not. Jenna saw where they would have free internet so she took her iPad. This has allowed us to talk to her face to face. It’s really made us think about what life will be like around here when she’s in college. (Vicki went in Jenna’s room to put some things away the other day and spritzed some of Jenna’s perfume because she missed her.)
Jenna was assigned to a track where they did some construction, painting, and yard work. She helped with painting the side of a thrift store, cleaning up the landscaping at a local ministry, and helped a couple clean their house after a house fire. We get a full report from them at church next Sunday.
TRASH & TREASURES. The weather did not help our annual Trash & Treasures event this weekend. The heat predictions seemed to scare a lot of people away and rightly so. There were only a few brave souls poking around after 10:00 yesterday, though there were more people today. By the time I got home yesterday afternoon my thermometer had recorded 103°F for the day’s high. Thankfully the humidity was only 40% (when 80-90% is more of the norm). Today was a slight bit cooler at 102°.
I should note here that the Tennessean reported that the temperature reached an all time high of 109° yesterday, breaking the record of 107° set in July 1952. I don’t think I’ll need to mow for a while.
In spite of the heat Vicki and the boys came up and helped us with the hamburger stand that the Heritage Commission had. Nate was great help assembling hamburgers and hot dogs while Ben got some experience working with customers and making change. I am proud of both of them.
AN OLD STORY. This is a story I meant to share in past editions but fled my mind whenever I sat down to write up our news. This happened pretty soon after school was out and I was beginning to get settled into my shop. I tend to keep a few pieces of scrap wood around because it comes in handy for fixing things. Ben noticed the pile of this in the corner of the shop and began to wonder what he could build with it. Eventually he nailed together three short pieces of 2x6 to make a small stool and then he took more scrap lumber and nailed together a short podium (sized about right for a toddler). It even has a strip of wood to keep your papers from sliding off. I was impressed with his work.
Nate was also inspired by Ben's creativity and decided to nail something together himself. We are not really sure what it is, but it looks nice. Nate insists that Vicki use it in VBS somehow.
ANOTHER OLD STORY. This story happened while Vicki and the boys were away at CentriKid. Jenna and I went to visit Mom and Aunt Mar one evening while Larry and Tommy Pinson (father and son) were planting soybeans in the recently cut wheat field behind Aunt Mar's house.
We noticed the planter was being pulled by a Case International tractor which is really odd because the Pinsons have used John Deere equipment almost exclusively for as long as I've known them. That red tractor pulling the green planter was an eye catcher.
As Jenna and I were leaving we stopped and talked to Mr. Larry about this and he confirmed that the unbelievable had happened, they had defected. They had gone to purchase a new tractor but the people at the John Deere dealership didn't seem to want to talk to them so they went to H & R Implements where Greg Keith works and he sold them on red paint. Mr. Larry said it has taken some getting used to but it seems to be a good tractor.
Greg, you may recall, is a cousin of mine and I last wrote about him when he and Cathy married last year. He's been selling tractors for a few years now, but now that he's sold the Pinsons a Case I'd say he could go ahead and retire as he's done the impossible and reached the pinnacle of his career in tractor sales.
Joe
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
It’s Bavaria, Y’all
Last week we took a much needed vacation. Both Vicki and I were quite ready to leave town. Vicki has had a full plate for the last two months as she's worked to finish up Awana for the school year and then immediately dove into getting ready and going to CentriKid. This trip has been a nice respite for her as Vacation Bible School is right around the corner.
THE GEORGIA ALPS. We headed out on our vacation last Monday morning. Our original plan was to leave midweek to visit Will, Darice, and their kids but we decided to leave a couple of days early and check out Helen, Georgia.
Helen is a small Northern Georgia town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It lies along the Chattahoochee River. A little over forty years ago the town decided to revitalize by recreating itself into an Alpine village to draw tourism. They've done a good job of creating the atmosphere though it is a bit odd driving through rural Georgia and coming around a bend in the road to see Bavarian architecture all around.
I was about Helen like Nate was about CentriKid. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was very nice and I would go back. I keep comparing it to Gatlinburg in my mind which is good and bad. Helen reminds me a lot of how Gatlinburg was when I was a kid and before the area exploded into a major tourist destination. I like Helen for that. What I miss are the mountains. Helen is in the middle of the mountains, but they are shorter and don’t crowd the city, hemming it in on all sides, like they do further north in Gatlinburg.
While Vicki and the boys were away week before last Jenna and I got online and reserved a cabin a few miles out of town and near the Unicoi State Park. We were so far back in the woods that one of the trees about ten feet from our back deck had a sign denoting the National Forest boundary. We enjoyed the seclusion.
Oddly enough, we also got there before their peak season started so there was no traffic and plenty of parking. (We were told Helen hosts 2.5 million visitors a year.) We also enjoyed excellent weather with perfect temps and little humidity.
As I said, we headed out last Monday and took the interstate about half the way. The rest of the trip wound along state highways through Tennessee and North Carolina before we got into Georgia. The Tennessee leg of this took us past the Ocoee River where we saw lots of white water rafters paddling by. (This was also the site for the white water sports during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.)
Upon arriving and checking in we found the Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizzeria for supper. We had spotted the Alpine Mini Golf course on the way through town so after our meal we drove back and enjoyed a round of golf after supper and capped it off with ice cream from the parlor next door.
Tuesday we ate breakfast at The Meeting Place, did a little shopping (Jolly's Toy Shop is cool!), and took in the huge HO model railroad layout at Charlemagne's Kingdom before going tubing on a two and a half hour down the river through town. We skipped lunch, but we did enjoy supper at the International Cafe where we watched other tubers drifting by. After supper we browsed through more shops.
Wednesday ended our time at Helen. After checking out of our cabin we ate breakfast at Hofers of Helen before doing some last minute shopping and visiting Goats of the Roof (yes, there are real goats on the roof and we payed a dollar to feed them).
The boys really enjoyed the gem-mining which we finally got in before leaving town. They found a number of interesting gems and Nate asked me how much I thought their gems were worth. All I could do is ask if he had fun. Given that he likes to pick up pretty rocks it was good for him.
VISITING FAMILY. After leaving Helen we drove over to Athens to spend time with the Jones family. As always we spent our time just hanging out at the house. The weather was perfect for swimming. The cousins also have a new ping pong table which was a huge hit. I think Scrabble may have even taken a back seat to old table tennis rivalries.
READING ON THE ROAD. Vicki and I take turns driving and when she's at the wheel and the road is fairly straight I sometimes read a book aloud. This time I read Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the Coyote Invasion. The boys, Vicki, and I all enjoy Hank and were in tears with laughter at the scene where Hank was upchucking after eating too much birdseed. (Yes, this sounds absurd, but you just need to read the book.)
Jenna, on the other hand, doesn't get Hank's humor at all and stays plugged into her iPad. Some people have no taste.
Joe
THE GEORGIA ALPS. We headed out on our vacation last Monday morning. Our original plan was to leave midweek to visit Will, Darice, and their kids but we decided to leave a couple of days early and check out Helen, Georgia.
Helen is a small Northern Georgia town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It lies along the Chattahoochee River. A little over forty years ago the town decided to revitalize by recreating itself into an Alpine village to draw tourism. They've done a good job of creating the atmosphere though it is a bit odd driving through rural Georgia and coming around a bend in the road to see Bavarian architecture all around.
I was about Helen like Nate was about CentriKid. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was very nice and I would go back. I keep comparing it to Gatlinburg in my mind which is good and bad. Helen reminds me a lot of how Gatlinburg was when I was a kid and before the area exploded into a major tourist destination. I like Helen for that. What I miss are the mountains. Helen is in the middle of the mountains, but they are shorter and don’t crowd the city, hemming it in on all sides, like they do further north in Gatlinburg.
While Vicki and the boys were away week before last Jenna and I got online and reserved a cabin a few miles out of town and near the Unicoi State Park. We were so far back in the woods that one of the trees about ten feet from our back deck had a sign denoting the National Forest boundary. We enjoyed the seclusion.
Oddly enough, we also got there before their peak season started so there was no traffic and plenty of parking. (We were told Helen hosts 2.5 million visitors a year.) We also enjoyed excellent weather with perfect temps and little humidity.
As I said, we headed out last Monday and took the interstate about half the way. The rest of the trip wound along state highways through Tennessee and North Carolina before we got into Georgia. The Tennessee leg of this took us past the Ocoee River where we saw lots of white water rafters paddling by. (This was also the site for the white water sports during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.)
Upon arriving and checking in we found the Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizzeria for supper. We had spotted the Alpine Mini Golf course on the way through town so after our meal we drove back and enjoyed a round of golf after supper and capped it off with ice cream from the parlor next door.
Tuesday we ate breakfast at The Meeting Place, did a little shopping (Jolly's Toy Shop is cool!), and took in the huge HO model railroad layout at Charlemagne's Kingdom before going tubing on a two and a half hour down the river through town. We skipped lunch, but we did enjoy supper at the International Cafe where we watched other tubers drifting by. After supper we browsed through more shops.
Wednesday ended our time at Helen. After checking out of our cabin we ate breakfast at Hofers of Helen before doing some last minute shopping and visiting Goats of the Roof (yes, there are real goats on the roof and we payed a dollar to feed them).
The boys really enjoyed the gem-mining which we finally got in before leaving town. They found a number of interesting gems and Nate asked me how much I thought their gems were worth. All I could do is ask if he had fun. Given that he likes to pick up pretty rocks it was good for him.
VISITING FAMILY. After leaving Helen we drove over to Athens to spend time with the Jones family. As always we spent our time just hanging out at the house. The weather was perfect for swimming. The cousins also have a new ping pong table which was a huge hit. I think Scrabble may have even taken a back seat to old table tennis rivalries.
READING ON THE ROAD. Vicki and I take turns driving and when she's at the wheel and the road is fairly straight I sometimes read a book aloud. This time I read Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the Coyote Invasion. The boys, Vicki, and I all enjoy Hank and were in tears with laughter at the scene where Hank was upchucking after eating too much birdseed. (Yes, this sounds absurd, but you just need to read the book.)
Jenna, on the other hand, doesn't get Hank's humor at all and stays plugged into her iPad. Some people have no taste.
Joe
Sunday, June 17, 2012
CentriKid 2012
I feel like a dispatcher. Ever since our summer break has started I’ve sent people out and received them back home. Last week was no different.
ANNIVERSARIES. Nineteen years ago this evening I proposed to Vicki. I caught her in a weak moment, however, I think it’s turned out well as we will celebrate our eighteenth anniversary tomorrow.
If I am not mistaken it was twenty years ago tomorrow that I flew out of Nashville on my way to Seoul as a summer missionary. Vicki and I had only been dating a couple of months at that time, but she, along with Mom, Aunt Mar, and Bro. Bill, took me to the airport and saw me off at the gate (it was a different day for security back then).
CENTRIKID 2012. Vicki has been taking the kids at church to a CentriKid camp for the last several years and last Sunday 29 kids and 7 chaperones left for camp This year they attended camp at Campbellsville University which is about two hours away in Kentucky. This was a new campus for them and I think they liked it.
This was a big year for Nate as he was finally old enough to go. He has really been looking forward to this. Both Nate and Ben said they enjoyed CentriKid. Everyone came back saying it was a wonderful experience. I asked Nate if it was what he expected it to be. He said it wasn’t, but that it was still a lot of fun. (I don’t think it failed to live up to his expectations, but that it just wasn’t what he had imagined from Jenna and Ben talking about their trips.)
CentriKid is a church camp put on by LifeWay so the main emphasis is spiritual, but the kids do get two track times that focus on other interests like sports. Nate got basketball and weird science for his track times and Ben got tennis and swimming. Jenna was excited to learn that Ben got tennis and wants to take him on now.
On a more important note, four Mt. Carmel kids became Christians while at camp. The kids led our worship service at church today so they could tell about their trip and it was obvious they had fun and had a powerful experience.
ON THE HOME FRONT. Jenna is too old to go to CentriKid so she stayed home with me. (She will be going to a mission focused camp with the youth group at our church in a couple of weeks.) Jenna made a big to do list for herself while Vicki and the boys were gone. A lot of that list involved cleaning the house. I don’t know about you, but when my abnormal 14 year old daughter says she wants to clean the house I get out of her way. She got a lot done.
(Jenna disagrees with my assessment of her normalcy, but I’m standing my ground. She then told me, “It takes one to know one,” to which Ben added, “True that!”)
Jenna also did a little cooking and mastered Aunt Mar’s hamburger quiche. She made quiche for us Monday night and then again on Wednesday (along with a homemade carrot cake) for us to take to one of my co-workers who had hip replacement surgery two weeks ago.
I had to work some this week, but when I was off I enjoyed my shop. I decided to make a picnic table to try to sell at Trash & Treasures which is coming up in two weeks. I am hoping to sell that one and take some orders for more tables so that I can buy a miter saw or drill press. If any of you that live locally are interested in a picnic table that seats eight let me know.
CATS. The kittens at Aunt Mar’s house are growing healthy and strong and are playful. They are keeping Mom and Aunt Mar most entertained. I think Aunt Mar has spent a lot of time watching them from the den window.
Last week Kenny found a lost kitten out in his orchard. He assumed it was part of the litter at Aunt Mar’s house and returned it. It appears to be about a week older than the four kittens they already have but has simply become part of the family now. The momma cat even allows it to nurse along with her own kittens.
ANOTHER POEM. Aunt Mar ran across another poem of hers the other day so I’ll share it in closing. It looks like it was a work in progress as the line “people to love, people who care” is written at the bottom of the scrap of paper. There are also some words above the tenth line that I cannot read.
ANNIVERSARIES. Nineteen years ago this evening I proposed to Vicki. I caught her in a weak moment, however, I think it’s turned out well as we will celebrate our eighteenth anniversary tomorrow.
If I am not mistaken it was twenty years ago tomorrow that I flew out of Nashville on my way to Seoul as a summer missionary. Vicki and I had only been dating a couple of months at that time, but she, along with Mom, Aunt Mar, and Bro. Bill, took me to the airport and saw me off at the gate (it was a different day for security back then).
CENTRIKID 2012. Vicki has been taking the kids at church to a CentriKid camp for the last several years and last Sunday 29 kids and 7 chaperones left for camp This year they attended camp at Campbellsville University which is about two hours away in Kentucky. This was a new campus for them and I think they liked it.
This was a big year for Nate as he was finally old enough to go. He has really been looking forward to this. Both Nate and Ben said they enjoyed CentriKid. Everyone came back saying it was a wonderful experience. I asked Nate if it was what he expected it to be. He said it wasn’t, but that it was still a lot of fun. (I don’t think it failed to live up to his expectations, but that it just wasn’t what he had imagined from Jenna and Ben talking about their trips.)
CentriKid is a church camp put on by LifeWay so the main emphasis is spiritual, but the kids do get two track times that focus on other interests like sports. Nate got basketball and weird science for his track times and Ben got tennis and swimming. Jenna was excited to learn that Ben got tennis and wants to take him on now.
On a more important note, four Mt. Carmel kids became Christians while at camp. The kids led our worship service at church today so they could tell about their trip and it was obvious they had fun and had a powerful experience.
ON THE HOME FRONT. Jenna is too old to go to CentriKid so she stayed home with me. (She will be going to a mission focused camp with the youth group at our church in a couple of weeks.) Jenna made a big to do list for herself while Vicki and the boys were gone. A lot of that list involved cleaning the house. I don’t know about you, but when my abnormal 14 year old daughter says she wants to clean the house I get out of her way. She got a lot done.
(Jenna disagrees with my assessment of her normalcy, but I’m standing my ground. She then told me, “It takes one to know one,” to which Ben added, “True that!”)
Jenna also did a little cooking and mastered Aunt Mar’s hamburger quiche. She made quiche for us Monday night and then again on Wednesday (along with a homemade carrot cake) for us to take to one of my co-workers who had hip replacement surgery two weeks ago.
I had to work some this week, but when I was off I enjoyed my shop. I decided to make a picnic table to try to sell at Trash & Treasures which is coming up in two weeks. I am hoping to sell that one and take some orders for more tables so that I can buy a miter saw or drill press. If any of you that live locally are interested in a picnic table that seats eight let me know.
CATS. The kittens at Aunt Mar’s house are growing healthy and strong and are playful. They are keeping Mom and Aunt Mar most entertained. I think Aunt Mar has spent a lot of time watching them from the den window.
Last week Kenny found a lost kitten out in his orchard. He assumed it was part of the litter at Aunt Mar’s house and returned it. It appears to be about a week older than the four kittens they already have but has simply become part of the family now. The momma cat even allows it to nurse along with her own kittens.
ANOTHER POEM. Aunt Mar ran across another poem of hers the other day so I’ll share it in closing. It looks like it was a work in progress as the line “people to love, people who care” is written at the bottom of the scrap of paper. There are also some words above the tenth line that I cannot read.
God knows best about every thingJoe
That is why he gave us
Winter
Summer
Fall
And Spring
The flowers that bloom and birds that sing
Good times
Also bad
Cause happiness always follows sad
That is why he sent us to you
To help us out when we’re blue
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Start of Summer Break
I think I simply shut down when school ended this year. It wasn’t a smooth landing and I was glad to get on the ground. I’ve not been motivated to sit at the computer but it’s past time to catch up.
SCHOOL’S OUT! The kids had just two days of school left when I wrote last. Ben has now officially ended his career at East Robertson Elementary. All three kids are excited about having two months of downtime.
Jenna went home with her friend Mackenzie for a slumber party with friends on the last day of school. We laugh because every time Mackenzie invites Jenna over she asks Jenna to pack her copy of The Phantom of the Opera. This time was no different.
WEEKEND GUESTS. We enjoyed a quick visit from the Cotter family over Memorial Day weekend. They arrived two weeks ago today (the 25th) and left the following Monday morning (the 28th). They enjoyed our Florida like weather with unseasonable temps approaching 90°F. As a matter of fact, I called Dianna last Friday to tell her how much they lucked out as we were having unseasonable temps in the other extreme -- it was overcast and cool with the high barely breaking 60°F. Vicki even turned the heat on to knock the chill off the house which is really saying something when she does that.
We all enjoyed our visit with Jim, Dianna, and the boys, but I was especially glad Aunt Mar had a good visit with them. We ate supper at Aunt Mar’s both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was extra special as the Bradley-Dee branch of the family joined us. The kids enjoyed playing in the yard with each other, the kittens, and the large plastic balls that Judy brought. We (kids large and small) also got several corn hole games in.
MEMORIAL DAY FLAGS. One Boy Scout tradition is to place flags on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day. This kids and I participated in this at the National Cemetery in Madison three years ago, but we have not been able to do so the last couple of years since I have been out of town for the 73rd Bomb Wing Reunions. (I couldn’t fit in this year’s reunion, which was held in Washington, DC, with the 313th Bomb Wing.) This year we decided to help out at some local cemeteries and since Alex and Chris are Scouts they brought their uniforms and went along with us. There was a large group of us placing flags and we covered two cemeteries in a little over an hour.
INDIANA JONES. After the Cotters left, we were trying to decide what we could do for some fun on Memorial Day. Vicki looked in the paper and saw where the Belcourt Theater in Nashville was ending it’s run of Raiders of the Lost Ark that day so we loaded up in the van and headed out. It was fun for me and Vicki to see it on the big screen again and a rare opportunity for the kids to even see it in the theater. From there we did a little shopping and ate out before coming home. It was a fun afternoon.
CAMPS. All last week the boys attended basketball camp in White House. Being boys they didn’t come home saying a whole lot about it, but I think they had a lot of fun and polished up a few skills along the way. The camp was held at White House Heritage High School which is a local rival to East Robertson. They got “Heritage Basketball” teeshirts, but I don’t think they really want to wear them out in public.
This week Nate is going to Cub Scout Twilight Camp. This is the evening version of Day Camp. This has kept our evenings pretty full even though Nate has been carpooling with other scouts from White House. He has come home every night talking about all the neat things he has done. I know he’s played a different sport each night: kick ball, flag football, soccer, and volleyball. This year’s camp focused on science and he did a lot of activities toward geology, forestry, and astronomy. He even got the once in a lifetime opportunity to see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun (the next occurrence is in 105 years). All in all, he’s had a very full week.
BOTTOMLESS PIT. Nate is our bottomless pit. I don’t know what our food bill will do when both boys are teenagers, but if Nate’s appetite is any indication, Lord help us. The other day he got up from eating breakfast, skipped putting his dishes in the sink, and headed straight for the pantry. When Vicki asked him what he was doing in there he said, “I’m looking for a snack!” Needless to say, his snack had to wait a while.
A CLEANER HOUSE. Since I’ve had a little time off and some pleasant weather to go with it I decided to clean out the red house. (This is the old building with the shed attached where we park the truck and van. It still has a hint of red paint, hence the name.) Both floors of this building had accumulated over 40 years of junk and garbage since Mom and Dad lived here and I thought it was high time to do a little cleaning. Fortunately most of it was stuff that could be recycled like scrap metal (mostly old stove pipe), cardboard, and magazines. After that there was very little to take to the dump. The worst part was all the rubble from years where the plaster had crumbled and fallen to the floor as well as stuff critters had brought in while seeking shelter.
Jenna has been a real trooper on this project as she’s helped out for practically all of it. She cut a four day job in half for me and I’m glad to get all that mess out of there.
By the way, in reference to the story about my great-grandfather’s roller skates I wrote back in September 2008 (see http://swannfamilynews.blogspot.com/2008/09/five-years-and-counting.html), I didn’t see any scars on the floor from skates. Of course, I think some of the original house was torn down long ago, but there’s no remaining evidence of skating on the existing upstairs floor. There is, however, an old loom up there which made me wonder how much cloth was made on it back in its day.
Joe
SCHOOL’S OUT! The kids had just two days of school left when I wrote last. Ben has now officially ended his career at East Robertson Elementary. All three kids are excited about having two months of downtime.
Jenna went home with her friend Mackenzie for a slumber party with friends on the last day of school. We laugh because every time Mackenzie invites Jenna over she asks Jenna to pack her copy of The Phantom of the Opera. This time was no different.
WEEKEND GUESTS. We enjoyed a quick visit from the Cotter family over Memorial Day weekend. They arrived two weeks ago today (the 25th) and left the following Monday morning (the 28th). They enjoyed our Florida like weather with unseasonable temps approaching 90°F. As a matter of fact, I called Dianna last Friday to tell her how much they lucked out as we were having unseasonable temps in the other extreme -- it was overcast and cool with the high barely breaking 60°F. Vicki even turned the heat on to knock the chill off the house which is really saying something when she does that.
We all enjoyed our visit with Jim, Dianna, and the boys, but I was especially glad Aunt Mar had a good visit with them. We ate supper at Aunt Mar’s both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was extra special as the Bradley-Dee branch of the family joined us. The kids enjoyed playing in the yard with each other, the kittens, and the large plastic balls that Judy brought. We (kids large and small) also got several corn hole games in.
MEMORIAL DAY FLAGS. One Boy Scout tradition is to place flags on the graves of veterans for Memorial Day. This kids and I participated in this at the National Cemetery in Madison three years ago, but we have not been able to do so the last couple of years since I have been out of town for the 73rd Bomb Wing Reunions. (I couldn’t fit in this year’s reunion, which was held in Washington, DC, with the 313th Bomb Wing.) This year we decided to help out at some local cemeteries and since Alex and Chris are Scouts they brought their uniforms and went along with us. There was a large group of us placing flags and we covered two cemeteries in a little over an hour.
INDIANA JONES. After the Cotters left, we were trying to decide what we could do for some fun on Memorial Day. Vicki looked in the paper and saw where the Belcourt Theater in Nashville was ending it’s run of Raiders of the Lost Ark that day so we loaded up in the van and headed out. It was fun for me and Vicki to see it on the big screen again and a rare opportunity for the kids to even see it in the theater. From there we did a little shopping and ate out before coming home. It was a fun afternoon.
CAMPS. All last week the boys attended basketball camp in White House. Being boys they didn’t come home saying a whole lot about it, but I think they had a lot of fun and polished up a few skills along the way. The camp was held at White House Heritage High School which is a local rival to East Robertson. They got “Heritage Basketball” teeshirts, but I don’t think they really want to wear them out in public.
This week Nate is going to Cub Scout Twilight Camp. This is the evening version of Day Camp. This has kept our evenings pretty full even though Nate has been carpooling with other scouts from White House. He has come home every night talking about all the neat things he has done. I know he’s played a different sport each night: kick ball, flag football, soccer, and volleyball. This year’s camp focused on science and he did a lot of activities toward geology, forestry, and astronomy. He even got the once in a lifetime opportunity to see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun (the next occurrence is in 105 years). All in all, he’s had a very full week.
BOTTOMLESS PIT. Nate is our bottomless pit. I don’t know what our food bill will do when both boys are teenagers, but if Nate’s appetite is any indication, Lord help us. The other day he got up from eating breakfast, skipped putting his dishes in the sink, and headed straight for the pantry. When Vicki asked him what he was doing in there he said, “I’m looking for a snack!” Needless to say, his snack had to wait a while.
A CLEANER HOUSE. Since I’ve had a little time off and some pleasant weather to go with it I decided to clean out the red house. (This is the old building with the shed attached where we park the truck and van. It still has a hint of red paint, hence the name.) Both floors of this building had accumulated over 40 years of junk and garbage since Mom and Dad lived here and I thought it was high time to do a little cleaning. Fortunately most of it was stuff that could be recycled like scrap metal (mostly old stove pipe), cardboard, and magazines. After that there was very little to take to the dump. The worst part was all the rubble from years where the plaster had crumbled and fallen to the floor as well as stuff critters had brought in while seeking shelter.
Jenna has been a real trooper on this project as she’s helped out for practically all of it. She cut a four day job in half for me and I’m glad to get all that mess out of there.
By the way, in reference to the story about my great-grandfather’s roller skates I wrote back in September 2008 (see http://swannfamilynews.blogspot.com/2008/09/five-years-and-counting.html), I didn’t see any scars on the floor from skates. Of course, I think some of the original house was torn down long ago, but there’s no remaining evidence of skating on the existing upstairs floor. There is, however, an old loom up there which made me wonder how much cloth was made on it back in its day.
Joe
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