The Dart aerial gunnery target, used for practice by National Guard members from Springfield, Ohio. This target was towed behind another airplane which allowed the troops to fire on it. The holes you see were caused by .30 caliber bullets.  

The B-2 "Stealth" bomber and various planes as seen from the second floor of the Missile and Space Gallery. 

The experimental zero gravity razor was spring powered and had a cloth bag attached to collect the cut whiskers. They discovered that shaving cream and a bladed razor worked even better and scrapped the whole idea. 

The Aerobee research rocket. See http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/space_flight/sf16.htm 

A stuffed monkey, representing Mike, one of two monkeys sent into space in the nose of the Aerojet "Aerobee", a research rocket, in 1952 

Okay, chocolatiers we ain't

 


The pictures above are: on the left, a true buckeye nut from the buckeye tree which is the state tree of Ohio and on the right, a homemade chocolate/peanut butter concoction called a buckeye. Today's effort was the first time my mom and I had tried to make them and we used both the old-fashioned method of sticking them with a toothpick to dip them into the melted chocolate and then tried a device given to us by Denny's step-mother which looked like a smaller version of those little whatchamacallits that you use to dip hard-boiled eggs into Easter egg dye. Once we got the hang of using the wire dipper we decided it was the method of choice. Messy but fun and no more time consuming than making a standard batch of Christmas cookies, with the added benefit of the fact that they freeze well. That's so I won't feel obligated to eat them all before they go bad. Sigh. 

Another job well done

The bedroom is done! The furniture is in place, the curtains and blinds are up and all my mom has to do is transfer her clothes back into the closet. Denny and I are down to installing a closet door guide in the basement bedroom and we're done, done, done with our self-imposed job list. Until my mom thinks of something else for us to do.

So the next project for me and Mom will be to try our hand at making buckeyes. I don't know if that's an Ohio creation or not, but it consists of a peanut butter concoction rolled into a ball and then dipped in chocolate that's been melted together with paraffin to create a coating that looks like a buckeye nut. Which is actually inedible in real life. Go figure.

Next week is my birthday and I'm going to have Denny take me to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum (the official name is the US Air Force Museum but I'm going by what I've been calling it for 50 years)as a special treat. Be prepared for lots of pictures as this is a really cool must-see place for anyone visiting the Dayton, Ohio area.

Giddy

Now that the paint fumes have cleared from my head those Christmas videos I posted are so not funny. Color my mood giddy at the time.

This really will be a travel blog again someday. Sigh.

Yet another version of the 12 days of Christmas

I stole this from my son, Darby. They aren't Jib-Jab, but it's fun.

The 12 "myspace" days of Christmas

A diagnosis

The cardiologist told my mom that she has a leaking heart valve or heart murmur. Checking online I see the more proper term would be aortic valve regurgitation. Treatment for now will be another pill for high blood pressure. I'm still having to nag her to take her first pill--so much for the "twenty-one days makes a habit" saying.

We're taking a morning break to go out to breakfast with friends before returning to finish off the walls of the bedroom. The weather forecast is for rain/sleet/snow today so it will be a good day to work inside. Tomorrow we should be able to finish painting the trim, putting the blinds up and rehanging the closet doors. Yay.

Chugging along

This morning we'll start to paint the ceiling in my mom's bedroom. I think Denny wants to paint the walls in one fell swoop (does anyone actually know what that means?) so we'll do that tomorrow as tonight we're invited to my in-laws' house for dinner. Since that means leaving here early to avoid most of Cincinnati's horrible work traffic, we won't get too involved in painting today.

My niece Elaine stopped by yesterday to pick up the extra pumpkin pie Mom had made in a burst of energy (you thought I was an only child, right?) She has enrolled in beauty college to obtain her cosmetology license and seemes to be getting her life back on track after a pretty rough period. There's lots of sturm and drang in our family dynamics as we are one of those "dysfunctional families". I can hear Darb saying now, "oh boy, Mom, are you the queen of understatement!" Enough of that subject.

I think it's about time for a break from the house. It's supposed to snow tomorrow night and Friday night so perhaps we'll drag my mom out to see the lights at Clifton Mill. And I'll attempt nighttime pictures although I haven't quite figured out how to get great pictures in the dark yet. Geez, I've only owned the current camera for two years now!

The best laid plans...

Our intent yesterday was to work on putting a second coat of Kilz in Mom's bedroom and to take down and wash the blinds after breakfast. Not to be, as a small disaster in the form of a plugged kitchen sink, caustic chemicals and a drain hose that came loose under the dishwasher all combined to make a long, long messy morning that threw off our plans for the rest of the day. By early afternoon we had the blinds washed and drying in the basement and had started painting in the bedroom but after a short while we just said "screw it" and cleaned up the brushes and rollers and put it away for the day as we'd had enough.

So it is once again Sunday, our goof-off day, and soon the TV will be turned on for Denny to watch a plethora of sports and I'll grab a paperback to indulge in a bit of fantasy. Tomorrow we drop off Mom's new/used van to have a windshield washer pump replaced and then I'll take her to the dermatologist to have that possible/probable skin cancer looked at. Wednesday is her appointment with the cardiologist to go over test results and then we're done with her doctors for a while. I have a feeling that we won't be given a solid reason for the nose bleeds and high blood pressure, but at least the nose bleed incidents caused Mom to have some tests done that she's been avoiding.

It's snowing again today, but since we have no errand running to do I can appreciate and enjoy the snowfall. I think it might be time to go make some Christmas cookies...

We have our first serious snowfall

Because Kim asked for photos of snow, here they are.

One hour into the snow fall and we have well over an inch of snow on the ground. We entertain ourselves by watching cars trying to get up the hill by Mom's house. 

We awaken to six inches of snow. Local lore says the number of days we have snow is predicated by the date of the first snow. Therefore we will have eight big snows this winter. 

Since six inches of snow fell last night, our choices this morning were to dig out the snow shovels or let Mom's wonderful neighbor, Jerry, use his snowblower on her drive and walks while we stayed toasty warm working inside. Our decision was... 

...to work inside prepping Mom's bedroom for painting. Note the original 50's blonde wood bookcase head board on the bed. Mom has finally decided to give up the set and is trying to figure out what she would like in its place. 

Ohio State Song--Beautiful Ohio

Mom, her business partner and friend Dottie and I drove to Rising Sun and then Lawrenceburg, Indiana to do a little gambling on the "boats". Due to gaming laws, both casinos are located on the Ohio River which has areas of heavy industry as well as still-wild beauty. I mentioned how pretty the drive must be in the fall as the area is heavily treed with low hills and Mom and Dottie both agreed but said they preferred the spring as the red buds and dogwoods were gorgeous at that time. Even though the skies were leaden with snow and the river steel-gray and icy with cold, I could envision how the countryside would look when the Ohio Valley emerged from its winter doldrums.

One of the songs we often sang in choir in junior high was "Beautiful Ohio", which lent itself to nice harmony. I heard it played on mandolins at a campground in Florida two years after we started full-timing and while it made me homesick, the song translated well to that particular instrument.

So I thought I'd post the lyrics this morning, only to find that once again, politicians can't leave well enough alone. They commercialized the lyrics. Sigh.

The Ohio State Song
Beautiful Ohio

words by Ballard MacDonald and music by Mary Earl
special lyrics by Wilbert B. McBride

I sailed away;
Wandered afar;
Crossed the mighty restless sea;
Looked for where I ought to be.
Cities so grand, mountains above,
Led to this land I love.

CHORUS:
Beautiful Ohio, where the golden grain
Dwarf the lovely flowers in the summer rain.
Cities rising high, silhouette the sky.
Freedom is supreme in this majestic land;
Mighty factories seem to hum in tune, so grand.
Beautiful Ohio, thy wonders are in view,
Land where my dreams all come true!

Adoption of the State Song
ALTTAG
Beautiful Ohio
Courtesy Duke University

The song, 'Beautiful Ohio', words by Ballard MacDonald (1882-1935) and music by Mary Earl was adopted by the Ohio Legislature as the official state song on October 14, 1969.

However, the song adopted in 1969 was not the same song that serves as the official state song today. The words have been changed. Thirty years after the song was adopted as the official state song, in 1969, a bill was introduced and passed changing the words of 'Beautiful Ohio' as adopted by the state. New words were written by Youngstown, Ohio attorney, Wilbert B. McBride. This is why, above and in the statute below, 'special lyrics' are attributed to Wilbert B. McBride. The original words to 'Beautiful Ohio' follow:

Long, long time ago
Someone I know
Had a little red canoe,
In it room for only two.
Love found its start
Then in my heart,
And like a flower grew.

CHORUS:
Drifting with the current down a moonlit stream,
While above the Heavens in their glory gleam,
And the stars on high
Twinkle in the sky,
Seeming in a paradise divine,
Dreaming of a pair of eyes that looked in mine.
Beautiful Ohio, in dreams again I see
Visons of what used to be.

Not only are the current words to the Ohio state song different than the words to the song that was adopted in 1969, but Mary Earl is not Mary Earl. Mary Earl is a pseudonym, or pen name, for Robert A. 'Bobo' King (1862-1932) of New York City. In 1918, he went to work for Shapiro-Bernstein Music Publishers under a contract to produce 4 songs per month. One of the songs he produced during that period was 'Beautiful Ohio'. The music for the song was adapted from a waltz of the same name.

Ohio Revised Code

The following information is excerpted from the Ohio Revised Code, General Provisions, Chapter 5, Section 9. The words are included within the statute.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 5. STATE INSIGNIA; SEALS; HOLIDAYS
SECTION 09.

We meet our grand-dog

Meet Calli, our grand-dog (that's her mom, Net, holding her). Darb, our youngest son, and his wife Net have provided us with grand-cats and a grand-dog that assuage our pet ownership urges. Like grandkids, we can play with them and get them all wound up and then walk out. Nice.

Darb and Net visited over the weekend while in town to help out Net's dad. Sunday Denny made popcorn in the afternoon as is our habit and he and Darb watched the Bengals/Pittsburgh game (what else would we be watching in Ohio?). Of course, after the popcorn was made Darb remembered that he had brought the popcorn he purchased for us at the Beavercreek popcorn festival this past fall. Sigh. Good, home grown white hull-less popcorn from Arcanum. Denny and I grew our own popcorn for two years, sitting in front of the TV in the evening after work stripping the kernels off the cob which is very hard on the thumbs but oh-so-worth-it for great big fluffy popped corn. We've looked for home-grown popcorn all over the West this year but couldn't find any so it was great that the kids not only discovered and bought us a ten-pound bag (thank goodness I brought an extra suitcase for Christmas gifts!) but also got an order form for future purchases. This kid knows the way to his mother's heart!

Net has a new job with the State of Ohio working phone lines with senior citizens answering their questions about the new Medicare prescription plan choices. The position may be a springboard to a different job later, but she's looking forward to working with folks over the phone instead of driving to their homes as a change of pace. The research grant that funds Darb's job is due to expire so his office is waiting to see if their request for renewal is accepted, otherwise he'll be looking for something new also. Since he's bright, verbal and personable (and a lesbian, he claims-don't ask) I don't worry about him as he'll always land on his feet. Which is all a parent can ask, right?

The 2005 version of the antique ornament-filled Christmas tree at Mom's. Complete with antique toys below. Note the hung-one-at-a-time lead icicles; next year I may just drizzle artificial snow on the branches as I really don't have the patience to hang individual icicles anymore. 

The Christmas Tree Challenge

Okay folks, here it is; SHOW US YOUR TREE! I've included some close ups of some of my favorite ornaments and decorations. Every year some change, but some ornaments and decorations are "must haves". These are all Mom's decorations; those I saved from our house are packed away and include a large number of Lenox carousel animal ornaments that may get slipped in one year.

Our tree in the rig is a two-foot fiber optic tree, just the right size for the dining room table. If I had room and storage space I'd have a real tree every year, just because I love the smell and the fun of cutting down our own tree. For several years we purchased a live tree that we would plant outside after Christmas and today they are huge (we drove by the old place for shits and giggles the other day). We not only enjoyed the trees that way but we also enhanced the value of our property.

But I've become acclimated to artificial trees and can even appreciate white ones with blue balls. Perhaps I should reword that last line...

One of many antique clip-on bird ornaments on the tree. 

The icicles got in the way of this blown glass candelabra; even the candles are glass. 

This ornament I call "Sputnik" and is one of my favorites. 

Early papier-mache Santa on skis 

Lead Crusader soldiers under the tree 

I call this one "Monkey Clown" due to the pipe cleaner legs and arms 

Antique figures of sheep made of early plastic and covered with a nubbly cotton material 

Geocachers can be crazy

I received a note from a fellow geo-cacher and in his blog I discovered information about the Rainbow Hydrothermal Vents cache. Are we a dedicated, determined and demented bunch or what?

As Mike and Barb mention in their blog, jestcaching, geo-caching is a terrific way to see new areas and learn local history as you search for the actual cache. We've discovered new territory in areas we've visited several times before as geocachers tend to take you off the beaten path to their favorite spots or places of beauty and quiet or historical interest or quirky information.

I can't wait to fly back to Phoenix to search for some more caches as I see there are plenty in the AJ/Mesa area. Whoo-hoo, am I ready!

The new toy arrived

As you can see by the pictures I posted yesterday, my new external card reader arrived. The pictures of the golf course in Parker were on the SD card awaiting transfer and I couldn't resist posting them since it was spitting snow here yesterday and the temperatures never got above 25 degrees. For my buddies out West, today the forecast is rain, freezing rain, and then 1 to 3 inches of snow. So ya'll can feel really smug about your weather today!

A Mom update; Thursday she had an appointment with her new primary care physician who said her lungs sounded clear even though she coughs morning to evening. Yesterday she saw the ear/nose/throat doctor who found another capillary to cauterize but found nothing else to be concerned about in that area, although he discovered (not to be gross) a horrid amount of ear wax that was so hard he couldn't scrape it out. So the good news is that she's not going deaf in her left ear as we thought. She'll be putting baby oil in her ear for the next month prior to her next appointment so he can finish the removal of the wax at that time. So Mom is thrilled that she'll be able to hear out of that ear again. She seems to have a little more energy and is enjoying the hot meals I'm making, but then who wouldn't enjoy having meals cooked for them?

We did take Mom out for one geocaching attempt on the one warm day we had last week but it was a multiple cache and we got skunked so if we have another warmish day while we're still here we'll try again and post pictures as she was kind of getting into the whole thing. Phew! I do run on sometimes, don't I? There are several multi-caches shown around this area so we'll be sure to search for those when we come back here again next summer. Shivering in the cold while geocaching is not my favorite aerobic exercise.

Mom's kitchen desperately in need of cleaning and painting. All in all the project took about a week, from taking everything off the walls, washing down the entire kitchen and everything in it, painting and putting everything back in place. But it looks wonderful now! 

The kitchen sink area before installing the mirror; we had to move the electrical outlets and repatch the walls. 

The new mirror installed behind the sink and me shooting with the flash; a professional photographer I'm not-heh. 

The "before" picture of the south end of the kitchen. 

Wow, white walls! Still missing is the antique regulator clock that is being cleaned/repaired. 

Side by side fairways at the Emerald Canyon Golf Course in Parker, Arizona. Prices are reasonable pre-December/January/February and they have a twilight rate. 

Standing on the elevated 18th blue tee box at Emerald Canyon Golf Course in Parker, Arizona looking toward the Colorado River. A beautiful, well-kept golf course that's fun to play.