Party #1 Saturday With Family

Party #1 Saturday With Family

Jack Aidan Stops B-Ball To Check Out The Celebration Cake.

Celebration Cake

For:

Belated Mothers Day

Early Fathers Day

Joann's Birthday

Jennifer's Birthday

I Can See - I Must Not Touch

A Birthday Pose

A Lull In The Festivities

Time To Try On Grandma's Flipflops

Uh---ohh!

Here Comes Grandma Now!

I Can't Run Away Fast In These Flipflops.

Uh---ohh!

Now I'm Being Extra Good.

Time To Watch The Opening Of The Presents.

I Can Use The Boxes For

A Down Dog Yoga Box Dance.

And I Can Be The Paper Boy.

Pick Up, Pick Up!

All This Nonsense My Buddy Merlin the Cat

Takes In Stride.

The Tom and Dorothy's Clan

I love this family photo of my nephew's family!

Cool idea: white shirts and blue jeans.

Front row: Chad, little Waylon sitting on Jon's lap, and Nicole.

Back row: Samantha, Zachary, Tom, Dorothy, and Megan.

Dear Blogging Buddies, Please keep Chad in your prayers.
He Left This Week For Second Tour in Iraq With The Ohio National Guard.

News Flash: Click here on Old Lady Lincoln's Blog where you can click once more to get a patriotic message for today's Flag Day: http://oldladylincoln.blogspot.com/

Patty, thank you for posting this on your blog.

Virginia Is The New Soggy Seattle

Check it out.

Fiddlesticks!

It's Raining Again.

As Jack Aidan might say: "Again,again, again."

But I'm tired of all this rain. Jack and I have lived in Virginia for almost 30 years now and we both can never remember such a wet, wet spring. The trees and plants are getting waterlogged.
Then when it blows it is easy for a big old tree to fall over. That's what happened to that linden tree on the White House lawn this past week.

These photos are of my front door patio. I used to have a beautiful purple clematis around that light pole but it up and died this spring. Maybe too much rain is to blame. Either that or these plants just want to keep me on my toes.

In the meantime the hosta is starting to bloom. You know what that means. The deer will soon be visiting and dining on hosta blooms. I wish I was Mr. McGregor. He only had to chase away a little brown bunny. And yes, we do have those brown bunnies doing the bunny hop thru our flowerbeds. Moral of this story: If you can't fight it, try to see the bright side and enjoy it. Our water bill will be a lot less this spring and deer and bunnies are fun to watch.

The Little Rascals on Piedmont Day

Moonbounce For Three And Under
Jack Aidan
First, Mystified.
Second, Delighted.
Third, Enchanted.
Momma Jenn
First, Frightened.
Second, Surprised.
Third, Delighted.
Grandma Jojo
First, Worried.
Second, Frightened.
Third, Delighted.

End of Story: Jenn had to remove her shoes and climb in and get Jack Aidan.
The little rascal refused to leave the toddler moonbounce.

Our Very First Magnolia Tree

Our Very First Magnolia Tree
9/9/2001

Jack and I planted this Little Gem Magnolia Tree September 9, 2001. At that time it was just six feet tall. Now eight years later it is at least 12 feet tall. That first summer it only had one or two blossoms. Now eight years later it has dozens and dozens of buds and blossoms. And each and every blossom last for just one or two days. But the beauty and the scent is worth the short blossom life. Nothing to me says American South like a magnolia tree in bloom. On the White House lawn are several magnolias trees that are taller than the White House. Our Little Gem Magnolia has been developed for small suburban yards so we do not need to worry that it will outgrow its spot in yard. Final thought: notice the date, 9/9/01? I now always associate this tree with what happened on 9/11/01.

Looking Thru The Peek Hole

Looking Thru The Peek Hole.

Shhhhhhh! Here She Comes!

Surprise! Surprise!

Come In Krista!

This Is Your Surprise Baby Shower!




All These Presents Are For Noah Lee Goff

Who Is Due To Arrive August 5, 2009.

And Look, Here's A Noah's Ark Gift Bag!

Here Are The Party Favors.


And Here Are More Presents For Baby Noah!

Oh, I Wonder What's Inside Of These Boxes?

But Let's Have A Hearty Brunch First.

A Momma-to-be Is Eating For Two

So Pass Those Chocolate Covered Strawberries and English Scones.

Stop! Stop!

Don't Try To Eat That Pretty Cake!

It Is A Fake!

It Is A Pampers Diaper Cake!

Oh, My How Adorable!

Now, You May Open Little Noah's Presents

While We All Watch And Oohh And Awwww.

And Enjoy The Nice June Sunshine On The Deck.

Perfect Day.

Perfect Weather. Not Raining. Not Too Hot. Not Too Cold. Just Right.

Perfect Baby Shower.

Joann's Comment: Krista is the daughter of Jim and Joyce of Rehoboth Beach Delaware, formerly of Fairfax Station, Virginia. Jack and I have watched Krista grow up.
The lady in the black jacket in the photo above is Krista's mother, Joyce. Clicking here will take you to the blog I wrote last September when Krista and Josh tied the knot in Warrenton, Virginia:
http://joannandjack.blogspot.com/2008/09/wedding-in-warrenton-virginia-horse.html

Krista was a beautiful bride and she will be a beautiful new mother this August. And Krista, remember that we are headed to the warm days of summer and early fall so please take it easy, just like Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong are saying on my Playlist while singing that summer classic song, Summertime.

Today's Flowers = Perennials in Bloom

Purple Jackamani Clematis Amidst English Ivy

White Astilbe

Magenta Spirea

Purple Catnip and Pink Astilbe

Madame Bouchard Lavender Clematis in Bloom

Have a nice Sunday afternoon and a great work week.

Now please go visit other Today's Flowers meme blogs by double clicking here:http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Peek A Boo!

Jack Aidan Dons Grandma's Sun Hat

To Play Peek A Boo!

My Brother Carl and Wife Esther

Samantha's Very Proud Grandparents,

Carl and Esther

May 23, 2009

Russia Local High School Graduation 2009

Russia Local High School Graduation

Russia, Ohio

May 24, 2009

Samantha, My Grandniece
One of Just 27 Students To Graduate In 2009 From

The Smallest High School In Shelby County Ohio

Congratulations!
Samantha Will Continue Her Studies At Bowling Green University.

Samantha Plans to Follow the Footsteps of Her Mom and Become A Nurse.

Graduation Party

St. Remy Community Center

Russia, Ohio

May 23, 2009

No Time To Sit Here

No Time To Sit Here

Today's blog post will be an explanation (excuse) as to why I have not had a lot of time to visit my favorite blog pals and leave comments. The last four weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for us two laid back retirees. An excursion to New Jersey for four days; a quick and dirty honey do this list in preparation for a home visit of my Miami roommate of 1963; Memorial Day Weekend and on call for jury duty for the the last week of May and the first week of June. I think I have written about everything listed above but the jury duty so here I go.

Jury Duty 101

Have you ever received in the mail a notice that you have been summoned for jury duty and must report or be held in contempt of court? Well, till this spring I could have answered that question in the negative. On the other hand Jack could not say that because he has not only been summoned for jury duty in the past but has proudly served twice as forman on a jury for both Fairfax County and Prince William County. But my time finally came this May when I received a summons for jury duty in the Federal Courts in Alexandria, Virginia.

So the day after Memorial Day I was in Alexandria's Federal Courthouse Building with 120 other potential jurors for selection for just one trial. When I walked in the courtroom and saw at least 12 lawyers and 120 other potential jurors I thought this must be selection for multiple trials coming up in the Federal Court of Eastern Virginia. But no, all of us were being brought in and weeded out for just one trial. When the judge announced that he and the lawyers for the defense and the prosecution would be selecting jurors for a trial involving three members of the notorious MS-13 gang on charges of illegal gun possession, murder, racketeering and drug trafficking, etc, etc, and that this trial would last a minimum of three weeks there was a collective gasp of shock and awe from all of us. Sitting there I remembered Jack telling me that his two jury experiences consisted of quickie trials that began in the morning and reached a verdict by the end of the same day. Holy smokes!

To make a long story short let me just say that I made the cut from 120 potential jurors down to 85 potential jurors but was not selected when random numbers were drawn from a pot for the jury of 12 plus 4 alternates. Am I sorry that I was not selected? Not really. For one this was a 42 mile drive from Haymarket to the courthouse in Alexandria during the work week. The two days that I was in the jury selection pool for this trial Jack who was my chauffeur for this jury adventure left Haymarket each morning promptly at 6:30 to fight the D.C. metro traffic to arrive on time at 8:30 A.M. And believe me it took two solid hours in the rainy weather. But am I glad I had this jury selection experience. You bet. I learned a lot.

Jury Duty 101

What I Learned

1. The United States District Court for the eastern district of Virginia covers a lot of area for potential jurors. I didn't travel the farthest. I spoke with people making the commute in from as far away as Warrenton and Marshall and Leesburg. All of them had a commuting nightmare story to relate on that rainy Tuesday morning. One fellow from Leesburg told us he was too old to drive that far in rush hour traffic so he checked himself into a downtown hotel for the night. The rest of us were amazed since we knew the court was not picking up the tab for that hotel room. One person asked this man what he would do if he ended up being selected for the trial---pay the cost of spending three weeks in the downtown hotel?

2. Don't even try to enter the federal court in Alexandria unless you have been summoned as a juror, defendant, lawyer or witness. The security was as tight as going thru security at any airport. To gain entry you need your photo ID and official court summons letter, no camera, no cell phone, no electronic devices of any kind. Then on to the Xray equipment and metal detectors. (I bet they are equipped to even strip search you if you are suspected of carrying something illegal like a weapon or bomb into the courthouse.)

3. Potential jurors once thru security must report to the Clerk of the Court to register as a juror and to receive your jury number. Since 9/11 jurors at this federal court are no longer called by name but by number. Lucky me. My number was easy to remember: 0123.

4. You are weeded out if you personally know the judge.

5. You are weeded out if you personally know any of the lawyers.

6. You are weeded out if you personally know any of the defendants.

7. You can weed yourself out if you claim for some reason that you could not possibly be fair and unbias as a jurer in this case. (I didn't do that. I really thought that I would be fair and unbias. After all I'm a Gemini and can always see at least two sides to every story.)

8. When the court is hearing very famous/infamous cases like one in recent years when a 9/11 terrorists was tried at this federal court extra security measures are put in place for the reading of the verdict. In this instance many downtown city street were blocked off, concrete barriers were brought in and set up and vacant condos in the high rise buildings surrounding the courthouse were rented by the federal court and sniper gunmen were placed at the windows! Other measures were probably also put in place but not released to the public or media.

9. Each potential jurer must call after 6:00 P.M. each night to learn if they are required to report to the federal courthouse for potential jury duty. If selected for jury duty, you don't need to call because you know you are coming in for jury duty. And don't decide to skip town when on jury duty. The last man in this federal court who left town right in the middle of a trial to go be with his daughter in New Mexico who was about to have his first grandchild was fined a thousand dollars for this crime. You can also spend time in jail if you skip out in the middle of a trial. This is called being in contempt of court.

10. You are paid $40/day plus travel expenses for each day you serve. For my day and half in the selection process I received last week a check for $192. Someone who was called for jury duty and was in the selection pool said that all people who have jobs should be excused and the courts should just run a bus over to a local unemployment office and pick up some unemployed folks and have them earn some money by being on a jury. The implication of this person was that employed folks have better things to do then serve on a jury. Of course, this would not be a jury of your peers if only the unemployed and downtrodden were on the jury. And what about retirees like Jack and I. We I guess are neither fish nor fowl in this scenario. We are slugs.

Daddy's Boy: Jack Aidan Karras

Daddy's Boy

Happy Birthday Diane

Happy Birthday to Diane

Born in June of 1958

My older sister Mary Ellen and I were so happy when the first niece arrived in our family. And that was Diane. She was the third child of my brother Paul who is almost eighteen years older than me. Diane was born on my brother Carl's second wedding anniversary.

In the old faded photo above Diane wanted to be photographed with her doll collection. In the photo below you see Diane with her husband Ron and my sister Mary Ellen and her husband Jerry. This photo was taken at a family reunion in Russia, Ohio at the Golden Lantern Restaurant which used to be the best place to eat in Russia, Ohio. Alas, the Golden Lantern fell on hard times after the millennium and was forced to close. I recently read in the Sidney Daily News that this restaurant has changed hands will now become a funeral home of all things.

Diane was a farmer's daughter and in 1978 she became a farmer's wife. When she married Ron. of Cassella, Ohio she moved into this old German brick farmhouse that you see in the photo below. It is a tradition of Ohio farmers of German descent that the family farm is always handed down to the oldest son in the family. Ron was the oldest son in his family so Diane and Ron spent the year before their wedding in August of 1978 renovating the downstairs of this home with new plumbing, wiring, and heating.

Over the years Diane and Ron renovated and added on to this historic Ohio home when they were not busy farming the land and caring for 80,000 laying hens and numerous pigs. This German farmhouse that was over 100 years old in 1978 is now over 130 years old.

And back in the 1870's this part of Ohio was so remote from other towns and people that this house was built with a "laying out room" for the dead. Diane and her husband have made this room the office for their family farm. For some crazy reason that is my very favorite room in Diane's house----if only walls could talk, what stories they could tell you.

But I can and will tell you this story about Diane when she was eleven years old and not interested in either chickens or pigs. She wanted a horse to ride. She knew her father wouldn't buy her a horse. She knew her grandfather Leo wouldn't buy her a horse. So she wrote a very persuasive letter to her Godfather, Harold in Denver---please, pretty please, buy me a horse. So Uncle Harold sent a check and my father went out and found this beautiful riding horse. The horse's name was Charmin like the bathroom tissue. Charmin or TP moved into the woods on the home place and became Diane's riding horse.

Happy birthday Diane. Stop gathering, processing and packing eggs today and take time to celebrate your birthday with your husband and three children. Maybe go for a horse ride. By the way as the photo below proves, you still look like you are in your twenties!

Blog Addition: Diane in her email told me that Charmin was a wonderful horse and all the grandkids would ride her until she got this contrary streak and wanted to throw you off her back by running like mad to the low tree branches in Dad's woods. So the grandkids had to learn to duck and dodge while riding this horse. That might be when she got demoted from being called Charmin to TP!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

Birthday wishes for the following folks:

Mary Thobe, June 1'st

Angela, Abe Lincoln's daughter in Ohio, June 1'st

Scott Weibel, husband of Dickie here on the loop, June 2'nd

Diane Gariety Siegrist, Joann's niece in Ohio, June 2'nd

Little House On The Prairie Part II

Little House On The Prairie Part II

Jack Aidan: "Pa, bird, bird, egg, egg!"

Pa: "Knock, knock, anybody home?"

Jack Aidan: "Uh-ohh, uh-ohh!"

Pa: "Three baby birds.

One for you.

One for Grandma.

And one for me."

Jack Aidan: "Night, night, bye, bye."
Grandpa: "Let's close the door now."

Jack Aidan: "Again, again, again!"

Final Comment: Click twice on the baby bird photo and you will notice that the parents have plucked some of their own feathers out and surrounded the babies with these feathers to make an extra cozy bird bassinet.