The Sippy Cup Seranade

The Sippy Cup Serenade

Jack and I walked into Jennifer's kitchen the other day and saw all these freshly washed sippy cups drying on her kitchen counter. For some reason they reminded me of a choir of singers so I had to grab my camera and take a photo. Maybe a creative person could take this idea and create a children's book for toddlers. Anyone got any ideas? And who uses all these sippy cups? Why are grandson Jack Aidan who below is standing proudly by the blocks he stacked all be himself from biggest to smallest.

Good job Jack. Now sing the ABC song with Grandma.

Jack is getting to the age that I can use some of my first grade teacher concepts with him.

White Narcissuss In Bloom In House

White Narcissus In Bloom In House

Jeanine gave me the bulbs and I planted them in dirt in a glass container.

I have enjoyed watching them set down white roots and send up green stems.

They have blossomed now with these very pretty carnation like blooms.

I'll have to enjoy them this week because soon the blossoms will be gone.

Here's a peek of the white roots.

Grandpa's Birthday Last Saturday

Grandpa's Birthday Last Saturday

Little Jack helped Grandpa open his cards and presents. In the picture above Grandpa is looking at the birthday card Little Jack made for him.

Jennifer took pictures of Little Jack and Grandpa opening the presents.

Jeanine watched the action while keeping Barney the black lab on a leash so he wouldn't eat the presents. LOL! Grandma stayed in the background recording all this with her little camera. Meanwhile son-in-law Terry was basking in the Miami Beach sunshine on a work related trip.

Then after a birthday brunch at Mimi's Cafe the birthday party moved on to Jennifer's home for some road racing time between the two Jacks.

The party concluded with Jennifer showing how her first quilt project is coming along. Now you cut strips 7 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide and you sew them together to make long strips and then you sew the long strips together etc. etc. etc. Merlin, Jenn's cat wasn't too interested in the details but liked stepping on the quilt.

Friday News Flash

Friday News Flash #1: Go to my blogroll on the right and click on the first blog listed. An English Girl Rambles lives in northern Virginia and she did lose power in our recent snow storm. Her post today is called "Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention". Go take a look.

Friday News Flash #2: I learned yesterday that my brother-in-law, Jerry Thobe of Tipp City and formerly of Houston, Ohio had emergency surgery early Thursday morning for a ruptured stomach ulcer. If you Ohio relatives and friends would like to send him a card, here is his current hospital address:

Jerry Thobe, Patient

Grandview Hospital

405 W. Grand Avenue

Dayton, Ohio, 45405

Have a good weekend everyone and stay warm.

Skywatch Friday = Heavy Snow and Long Commute

Skywatch Friday = Heavy Snow and Long Commute

This recent snow in the Washington D.C. area was worse than both big blizzards last winter. People spent hours and hours stuck in traffic. It took six hours for our son-in-law to go from Fall Churchs to Haymarket. It took our neighbor ten hours to go from the DEA headquarters in D.C. to his home in Haymarket. He made it home by 2:00 A.M.!

Jack and I really appreciate that we don't need to leave home to go to work or try to figure out how to get home from work since we are both retired. We just sit in our warm home and listen to the horror stories on the local news and read about them on Facebook. Another big problem was power outages. Over 300,000 homes in the D.C. area lost power and not all the home have power restored yet. It will take several days.
It is a pretty winter wonderland to enjoy as long as you don't have to venture out in the snow.

Thank you for stopping by for Skywatch Friday. Now go visit some more Skywatch Friday folks by just clicking on the Skywatch Friday picture over on the right.

January Book Club Meeting

Above is the book the PiedmontReaders group read for our January book club meeting that was held at Teresa's house on January 14. Go to my other blogsite to learn more about this book read:

PiedmontReaders. You can find it under my blog roll on the right.

Belleau Wood American Cemetery In Eastern France

Belleau Wood American Cemetery In Eastern France

At Belleau Wood American Cemetery in eastern France are American soldiers from both World War I and World War II. "Over there....over there" the song by George Cohan reminds us that American soldiers went "Over there" to fight the Germans in World War I but this American Cemetery at the village of Belleau shows that many did not return home to America. I toured this cemetery with three other school teachers from Frankfurt American Elementary School #1 in Frankfurt, Germany in the spring of 1972.

Here is a beautiful war memorial monument at Belleau Wood American Cemetery.

And here is Gladys Madison who also taught first grade at my school. She is pointing to the gun shell hole in the monument that was caused by a later military battle right at the cemetery during World War II. Consequently there are American soldiers from World War II also buried at this cemetery. Belleau Wood is in the Champagne region of France.
So here's to all the American soldiers of both wars. And to learn more just Google the phrase "American cemeteries in France" to find out more about this cemetery as well as the ten other American cemeteries in France.

My World Tuesday = Finally Developing Roll Of Film 38 Years Old

My World Tuesday = Developing Roll of Film 38 Years Old

I finally developed a roll of film that has been lying in a box for ages and ages. It was a roll of film I shot while on spring vacation from Frankfurt-American School #1 in Frankfurt, Germany. I was touring the eastern part of France with three other school teachers from my school.

Well, after all these years I hardly even recognized myself with all that long and thick black hair. That's me in the photo above.

And this is a photo of a vineyard in the famous Champagne district of France. Now look below.

This is a statue of the monk who accidentally created the bubbles in champagne. This monk's name is Dom Perignon and this statue is at the world famous Dom Perignon Winery in France that we school teachers had the good fortune to visit and have a private tasting of Dom Perignon

champagnes. I remember distinctly the wine tasting but I definitely had forgotten my '70s hairstyle.

Please click here now to visit many more blogs participating in the My World Tuesday meme:

http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

How Is Your January Diet Going?

How Is Your January Diet Going?

I hope everyone has found the will power this January to make some healthy changes to their eating habits and have lost some extra pounds. Look at this photo. This is what just one pound of fat looks like. If you have lost five pounds, picture five of these fatty globs off your body. If you have lost ten pounds, picture a heavy sack of these globs of fat off your body.

Just looking at this fat glob that I photographed at the local cancer center last year keeps me trudging onward. That and the fact that extra weight on the body can cause those cancer cells to grow. Years ago I didn't know that fact. I just thought extra body weight was bad for your heart. But now I know that extra weight can lead to many cancers like esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc.

Post Note: It is so very cold here in Virginia and we might finally get more than a dusting of snow Tuesday or Wednesday. Everyone stay bundled up. I'm living in my heaviest sweat shirts and sweaters these days.

Jack Joined Army Audit After College

Jack Joined Army Audit After College

After spending four years at Central Missouri State University and graduating Jack started his army audit career in St. Louis, Mo. In this photo Jack is standing beside his father Jewel Shipley.

But the Vietnam War was going on and Jack was drafted into the army. In this picture Jack is standing by his mother Reva Jackson in the southwest desert near Tucson while on army leave.

After serving in the army and being stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, and Ludwigsburg, Germany, Jack returned to Army Audit and spent a lot of time on the road doing audits. In the above photo Jack is standing by a totem pole on the campus of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Here's Jack with one of his favorite cars of long ago, which

was a bright red Oldsmobile convertible.

They don't make cars like that anymore.

And they don't make husbands, fathers and grandfathers like Jack anymore.

***

Happy Birthday Jackie Lee Shipley!

Joann, Jennifer and Terry, Jeanine, and Little Jack Aidan hope you have a great birthday Saturday even though it may turn out to be one of the coldest birthdays that you have ever had in your entire life except for the snows of Alaska!

My Husband Jack As A Student At Hale School In MO

Jack At Elementary School In Hale

Jack At Junior High In Hale

Jack At High School In Hale

Jack At High School In Hale, MO

Jack's Graduation Day At Hale School

Hale, MO

Jack's Birthday This Saturday

Jack's Birthday This Saturday

January 22

Here's a picture of little Jack in his farm overalls

on his grandparents farm outside of Hale, Mo.

Doesn't he look sweet in the rose bed.

Uploaded Scanned Pics Of Carl And Esther Gariety's Wedding

Uploaded Scanned Pics Of Carl And Esther Gariety's Wedding

June 2, 1956

Burkettsville, Ohio Catholic Church

Notice That All The Ladies In Church Are Wearing Hats.

Exterior Of Church

Cutting The Cake

The Wedding Party

Spring Pastel Colored Dresses For The Attendants

I Am In The Pink Gown.

Uploaded Scanned Pics Of Paul And Iona Gariety's Wedding

Uploaded Scanned Pics Of Paul And Iona Gariety's Wedding

September 8, 1954

Egypt, Ohio

Wedding Couple With Parents

Picture Taken At Reception In A Dance Hall Near Minster, Ohio

Wedding Couple With Godparents

Paul's Godparents:

Godmother, Elizabeth Gariety Utz of Minster, Ohio

Godfather, Nicholas Dapore of St. Petersburg, Florida

Paul And Iona With Paul's Godchildren:

Joann Gariety and Frankie Dapore

Opening Wedding Presents

Who Spent A Night In This Building?

Who Spent a Night In This Building?

If you look closely, you will notice iron coverings on the window of this building. The reason for this is that this building was a jail in eastern Arizona in the small town of Bowie, AZ. According to local historians the Chiricahua Apache Indian chief, Geronimo, spent a night in this small jail after he was finally captured by U.S. army personnel. Then he was shipped back east to prison and never again returned to his native Arizona. Today this building stands empty and forlorn and there is no sign indicating that this is an historic site worth preserving.

The Apache Indians roamed freely across the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico as well into Mexico. The ghost town pictured here is in Stein, New Mexico which is not far from the Arizona border. Jack and I toured it in 2005 and learned that is had become a little tourist site with its own shop and bar. On the ceiling of the bar are lots of dollar bills that have been put there by customers. This seems to be a western tradition---to hand things on the ceiling. In Tucson there is a famous restaurant where if you come wearing a tie they will cut if off and hang it on the ceiling.

Another Uploaded Picture Or Two......

Another Uploaded Picture Or Two....

I'm working like a wild woman to get all my albums uploaded to my Twiter account. And I seem to be in an Arizona frame of mind when choosing some pics to upload to my blog. Here's Jack in the Arizona desert outside Tucson in January 2005. I love those blue skies over the mountains. This setting is in Old Tucson where many cowboy movies and TV shows were filmed in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Sometime in the '90s the studio location had a big fire but what burned has been restored and Old Tucson is still open to tourists like Jack and I.

Remember High Chaparral? This is where it was filmed.

Below is a tiny mud building in eastern Arizona. Tomorrow I'll tell you who spent the night here.

Have a good day. I'm back to uploading pics.

Another Uploaded Picture

Another Uploaded Picture From The Past

This is my little Arizona cowgirl. Jennifer Mary is wearing a German dirndle outfit that her father brought back from Germany in the summer of 1978.