'Reading Rainbow' is no more

I'm really sad about this! 'Reading Rainbow' is coming to an end after 26 years on the air. I have so many memories of that show and my 3 guys sitting STILL for RR -- it was a great showcase for children's lit.
But you don't have to take my word for it . . .

The Living Room's Done!

After a couple of weeks of what feels like non-stop work (and shopping and returns), the living room is finally *almost* completed! With Charlie & Sarah arriving tomorrow, Sarah's mom & stepdad coming on Tuesday and the Gilmore clan coming on Sunday, we REALLY felt the pressure to get it finished this weekend. I felt like I was on 'Design Star' and I could hear people shouting "just 15 more minutes. . ." as we hurried to get the last drop cloth put away and the last picture or pillow in place.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out (although it still feels like someone else's room). Here are some pics:

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

It seems like I just post birthday greetings on my blog. Perhaps under the sidenote "What I blog about..." I should just put birthdays.

Anyway Charlie, I hope you have a happy, happy day! I love you!

Happy Birthday, Danny!

It's your golden birthday TODAY!!

I love you . . . and wish I could be in GR to give you a real crown. Please accept this virtual one, instead.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad would have been 90 today! All of the press about the 40 year anniversary of the walk on the moon brings back memories of his 50th birthday. We were up in Cedarville, Michigan -- one of my favorite places -- and we celebrated his birthday there and then watched Apollo stuff on TV. Cindy didn't come with us because she was getting ready to get married a few weeks later. She and Don sent a shoebox full of silly 50th, 'getting old' gifts. 4 days later, we watched the moon walk (no, not Michael Jackson's - Neal Armstrong's)

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dad, taken in Cedarville a few years before that. He looks so young, relaxed and happy and that's just the way I want to remember him! If I could have just one day to live over again, it would be one of the Cedarville days, I think.

Facebook & other stuff

I haven't updated in months! I've been sending more time on Facebook and less blogging. For some reason, I really DO care about what all my friends are doing, even though I don't think they care about the minutia of my daily life. Facebook is a great way to communicate something with lots of people quickly, though.

In March, I was able to learn about an urgent prayer need for the son of a couple we had known when we lived in Ohio. He had a flesh-eating Strep infection, lost both legs and had an absolutely miraculous return from what the doctors were saying was certain death. Blake Haxton is a living miracle & a witness to the power of prayer and an awful lot of people learned of his prayer need through Facebook. If you're interested, you can find the Columbus tv stations' and Glenn Beck's stories about him on youtube.

On the lighter side, Facebook also allows me to know what my friends eat for breakfast and when they leave to go grocery shopping.

Oh well...

This weekend we were in Cincinnati for Don's annual golf tournament. Cindy, Crit and I were also able to go with Aunt Gene to tour the living arrangements available at the retirement residence she'll be living in. What a wonderful thing to find a 2-room suite with a great view! She's genuinely excited about it and, rather than look at her broken hip and new home as the end of something, she's looking at it as a new beginning.

Our entire family got to spend time together at a cookout at Paul's house & it was wonderful to see everyone and just hang out. I hope we can do things like this more often, but since we're spread out over 4 states, I don't think that's likely.

When I get some pictures from the weekend, I'll post them.

Dance, Snowball, Dance!

Wow -- two posts in two days! If you didn't read about our very old oak tree, check out yesterday's post.

Anyway, I heard this story on Talk of the Nation Science Friday and had to look at the video. Apparently, Snowball was a youtube sensation, but I missed it (of course). Some scientists didn't, though, and decided to find out if Snowball was really dancing by changing the tempo of the music.


You can see the video results and read the rest of the TOTN Science Friday story here.

Old Oak

We've always wondered how old the big White Oak tree behind our house could be. Today I measured the circumference and, based on this chart, the oak is about 275 years old! That means that it was probably started from an acorn dropped or buried by a squirrel in the 1730s. Here's a picture of it (to give you an idea of its size, the swing attached to it is a 2-person swing -- about 3 feet wide).

Pictures from Florida

I've finally put together a slideshow of pictures from our trip to Florida. They're mainly pictures of birds taken at Corkscrew Swamp and pictures of our afternoon at the Everglades. If you're not into birds and alligators, you might be bored, but check them out anyway!

Thanks for visiting!

For those of you who think I'm a weird trekkie, here is a couple who put me to shame! By the way, the new movie opens on May 8 . . . 54 days (but who's counting).

News from Florida

Well, we're down in Naples. Actually, we're in Bonita Springs in a condo with a lovely view of the gulf -- we're about a block away. When the traffic noise dies down we can even hear the waves.

Last night we had dinner with some old friends -- Robin & Bob -- from Illinois and it was so good to see them! We were REALLY close to Robin when we lived in Crystal Lake and her son John & Danny were great friends, but we'd all lost touch somehow over the 14 years we've been in Michigan. We didn't even know that she'd relocated to Florida. We reconnected through Facebook just a few weeks ago.

We had such a good time last night -- it was like we'd never been apart! I know we could have sat & talked for hours. Reconnecting and spending time with her was just the lift I needed. We got a chance to get to know Bob better, too -- they married 6 or 7 years ago, after we had moved.

The only bad thing about catching up with old friends is that you miss them that much more and we're now about 1000 miles apart instead of a few hundred! We'll be sure to keep in touch from now on.

I remember all the gloom and doom predictions of how computers would isolate people and render them incapable of relationships, but I have found that (at least in my case) computer networking has fostered relationships and made it easier for me to keep in touch with people I care about.

Happy Square Root Day!

Have a great day & party like it's 3-3-09! There won't be another square root day until 4-4-16.

I saw a bumper sticker I liked the other day -- on a car with a big shaggy dog in the back. It was just a small oval that said "Wag more, Bark less". I need to hear that these days.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should be very logical in handling our money. . .I think he's a Vulcan.Live Long and Prosper!

The Agony of Defeat

Okay...get ready to laugh at me.

I have never liked football or understood anything about it.

After years of having a fantasy football team and watching to see how my players were doing, though, I've gotten to know some of them (like 'my' Hines Ward) and have even come to understand the game a little.

So last night I watched the Super Bowl for the first time ever (except for the year that I had to watch it because the Bengals were in it) . . . and my team LOST! I was so disappointed that the Cardinals didn't win! I really drank the underdog and wonderful-Kurt Warner-comeback-story kool-ade and now I'm very sad. I thought it was a really exciting game -- who ever thought they'd hear ME say THAT!! There were even some times that I was yelling at the TV and Unc wasn't. Strange times. . .

Snow

I like snow. We've had so much this winter -- it's like living in Minnesota! We get a little bit (1-3") almost every day or two and then about once a week several inches more. Out in the yard (where it doesn't get shoveled or plowed) it comes up to the tops of Turner's legs -- about 14-16" -- and that's after it contracts down! We're already 17-20" ahead of the amount of snow we had by this time last year. Yea!!

Check out Beldar Claus!

I Love America!

Presidential elections and inaugurations always fill me with pride and a real sense of patriotism. I know that America takes a beating from many people throughout the world (and many in our own country). It's become fashionable to hold our system of government, the principles we were founded on and just national pride in disdain. Patriotism is uncool!

We have a great country, though. The peaceable resolution of the controversy over the election 8 years ago and the transfer of power that followed was one example of that. The smoothness of the transition from the Bush White House to the Obama White House and the spirit I saw at today's inauguration are others.

I wasn't a Barack Obama supporter and will never agree with him on some of his core beliefs -- abortion, to name one. Most of the people I know aren't Obama supporters. They are, however, (and I am) President Obama supporters. I've heard diehard pro-life 'religious right Republicans' pray, sincerely & from the heart, for Mr. Obama and for his success in the next 4 years. I've heard them be sincerely pleased that racial differences here have diminished to the point that we have elected our first black president.

I watched the inauguration today and saw people who are political enemies and who were trash-talking each other during the election smiling, laughing and greeting one another. I saw everyone there in a mood of celebration at this watershed event in our nation's history. Am I naive enough to think that they've all become best friends or have stopped disagreeing (and possibly disliking) each other? Certainly not. It was, however -- as it always is -- a civil (even gracious) and peaceful transfer of power. That's remarkable, it's American, and it never fails to make me proud.

Why doesn't anyone update?

I have many blogs I check every day (mostly friends and family). None of them have been updated in a while! Where is everyone? I've updated. . . I find this mildly amusing, as I am by far the oldest person among all of us and I've updated the most lately. So much for the younger, blogging generation.

Could this mean that I don't have a life?

Happy New Year!

Well, the cookies are eaten and all the houseguests have left. . .Buehlermas 2008 is history. We had a really good time and lots of laughs, met some new people and played some crazy games of Balderdash and Mexican Dominoes (both Carla and Sarah learned how to play this week, though one of them has been playing for months).

After his Steinmetz-Award-winning Bucket last year, young Jim was given the honor of building the 2009 bucket and he didn't disappoint. While it might not be tagged 'the best bucket ever', the rockets fired and not many went sideways -- always a good thing.

Here's a photo album of the week. E N J O Y!