Picture Girl

Pam set out to get a few 'candid' photos of the granddaughter.  Oops, I think she has seen the camera.

She was going to take a nap with her animals. Oh well, no nap now.

Kira with "Pink Bear".  Boy, what a smile! What a ham!

Flower Girl

Kira is making preparations for her Flower Girl responsibility at a recent wedding. Her mother's friend, Monica, may not have realized what she was starting when she asked for a 2 1/2 year old to act as flower girl in her recent wedding ceremony.

How do you keep a 2 1/2 year old flower girl busy during the wedding ceremony?

Spinning and Grinning!

Ain't it great to be the baby sitter. I recently took this video of the grandkid, Kira, while she was playing with one of her toys. Here she is on her 'Sit & Spin' doing what a kid is supposed to be doing on a 'Sit & Spin', she is spinning and grinning!

For more information on the "Sit and Spin" see:

http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/

Cleaning Up!

Kari used my computer last night. Look what I found on my computer desktop this morning as I was looking over it to clean up. Just look at all this stuff she left on my desktop:


This dragon appears to be hatching from a pumpkin in a Pumpkin Carving contest!




















Wait, who is that young lady and what is she looking at?

I think that is Witch Kira at Haloween last year and she may be watching over the Pumpkin Patch. This truly must be the Great Pumpkin to be hatching that dragon.

Recipe Wednesday #10

While looking for a recipe this week I found a sheet printed from a computer printer which was a recipe printed from a website. The recipe is printed on the page below a brief story explaining the circumstances behind the recipe, very similar to what I do here on this blog. Instead of simply giving you a recipe, I try to give you the story behind the recipe. Rather than simply reprint the recipe directly into my blog post I thought it might be interesting to simply add a link and let you follow the links to get the recipe. (As I was typing the website into my browser I'm thinking how similar this is to one of my brothers new blog sites, Links 2 Oblivion. I believe the title makes it self evident about what the site is about so I won't explain that here. You may follow that link to learn more about Web Oblivion!) Now, back to the recipe story. . . I was completely surprised when the web page came up in my browser window. What I saw was the entry page into an Adults Only website. I quickly checked back to the the recipe page and I checked the web address I had typed into my browser. I even opened a different browser to see what would happen with the site in another browser. Oh yes, the same results. I looked again at the page I had with the printed recipe. I had typed the web site into my browser correctly but, the date was printed at the bottom of the page. It was somewhat difficult to read since the printer settings had cut it off partially because it was printing near the margin. I could just make out what appears to be the date, 10/30/00. That made this original site almost 8 years old. Knowing that things may change quickly on the internet, I figured that someone else must have acquired that URL Address. Boy, what a shock for moms with their kids who may be innocently searching for a cookie recipe! Not to be undone by this shocking glitch, I tried a different approch to see if I could find this recipe at a link for you to follow. Success! As I reread the introductory paragraph on the recipe page I noted that the recipe stemmed from an Urban Legend. (Again, I won't go into that story here. Maybe my brother will do that in his new blog.) I tried a search using the words "urban legend cookies" and I found what I was looking for:

Urban Legend Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Please follow the link above for the recipe and the story. I believe you and your family will enjoy the cookies from the recipe, as well as the story about them. Incidentally, the recipe sheet I have simply titles them as "Legendary Cookies" and a brief story about the urban legend. Enjoy!

Oops! You can't do that.

One of my own items on the Summer "To Do List" for this summer is to organize and clean up some of the photos and videos on my computer. I was looking through some of the earliest videos taken and I found some interesting mistakes which have been made. Here I'll share one of those earlier problems which I didn't give much thought to at the time. A couple of years ago I gave one of those small digital video cameras to Pam for Christmas. You know how Christmas goes. You open the package and want to start using it immediately. No one has time to read instructions or look at the sugggestions for use. We really never did that as I remember and we have been using that camera occasionally to get short, quick videos at various special family events. What follows is one of those early videos we took at the Birthday Party for Quianna at her second birthday. She is the daughter of my niece, Meridith, and her husband, Victor. Take a look at this video:

Did you notice the problem with this video? I'm sure you noticed it needs to be rotated for the image to be upright. I knew that rotation of photo images was possible in several of the photo programs I currently use. Oops! It never occured to me that I would not be able to rotate video images, or at least if it is possible, I have not yet found the program which will do this. I would appreciate any comment which might help me with this problem.

Recipe Wednesday #7 - Oops, It's already Friday!

I guess this will have to be 'Recipe Friday #1' or maybe 'Late Recipe Wednesday #1' or perhaps it should just be 'Recipe Wednesday #7 - Oops, It's already Friday!'

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I apologize for the late Recipe posting. I was extremely busy with close out procedures and other duties at my place of work. Some of you may know that I work in the field of education. For those who do not know, I work at a large public high school as a counselor and some of my duties include such things as preparing student schedules for next school year as well as grade and credit verifications for all grade level of my high school students, especially for those senior students who are graduating from school. This does include the unhappy task of helping those students with the upset of failing grades and incomplete credits. These students will either not promoting in grade level or will not graduate. They must plan for summer school or some other means of recovering the grade and credits required. As you can imagine the end of the school year can be one of the busiest times of our year. For another perspective and for a look at a different level of education and how busy the school year can be for educators you might be interested in my brothers Blog post "It's Always a Learning Experience" or "The End of an Era-Sort Of". These give his "perception of the world" as another educator. He is a kindergarten teacher at his current school assignment in Central Texas.

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Well, whatever the reason for the tardiness (more than obvious reference to the classroom and education) and whichever title you prefer, here is the Recipe for today:

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Aunt Dora's Pulled Mints

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2 cups sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1 cup water, 1/8 tsp. oil of peppermint.

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If color is used, add at the first and cook in coloring. Combine ingredients. Put on stove and boil to 264 degrees F (hard ball). Pour out on marble. Cool 2 or 3 minutes. Make a fingerprint in the center of the candy and put in it 1/8 tsp. of peppermint. Fold all edges over. Pull until stiff, with little ridges. Stretch out on the edges of marble, away from the hot-spot. Cut with scissors. Leave on marble and cover with wax paper for the night. Store in airtight box. Might need to put a little butter on hands for pulling.

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Now, for the story behind this recipe. No, I don't have an Aunt Dora and neither does my wife! I was looking through one of our family recipe books for this weeks recipe. I found a piece of paper with a recipe printed on each side of it. This is not a hand written recipe. It was printed for public distribution by some individual or group. There is no other identification or reference to anyone or anything other than the two recipes. Neither my wife nor I are familiar with the recipe or the paper and where it might have come from. The cook book in which I found the paper is entitled "The Family Cookbook". I have not used this book for any recipe yet. The paper looks like it might have been cut or torn from another part of some kind of circular or advertisement. I simply thought the recipe looked good and it seemed like it might be easy to try. Please enjoy "Aunt Dora's Pulled Mints".

Grandparents - 2, or Two Grandparents

Pam and I are doing that Grandparents thing again (see my previous Blog from March 9, 2008). We have the granddaughter, Kira, for the day since mom and dad are both at work. Although it is work tending to a young child (I'm not sure we can say she is a baby now - she is growing up so fast) it is one of those things you don't mind and one might say it is even enjoyable. This is the 'Second' Blog entry for this topic - thus the title 'Grandparents - 2' but, Pam and I usually do this together as 'Two Grandparents'. I never really thought much about what these kinds of days might be like before I actally became a Grandparent. Yes, there have been some trying and even painful times going through through that 'Parenting' process. Yet, it has all been memorable and the Grandparenting thing seems to be making it all worthwhile. My brother recently entered his Blog on "Re-Looking at Re-Cycling" and it occured to me that Grandparenting is 'kind'a like' Re-Cycling Parenting.

I will occasionally Re-visit this topic of Grandparenting to share some of my thoughts and experiences on the topic.

Now for the real reason for this particular blog post - an opportunity to share with you the joy of Grandparenting:

Nap Time, No Not Yet!

Generations

This weekend I was listening to Coast to Coast AM with Ian Punnett, the weekend host, interviewing Neil Howe. While most of the interview concerned the book, The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy by William Strauss and Neil Howe, one topic of discussion which arose was the topic of 'Generations'. At first I listened only in passing, as I had never really paid much attention to the topic of 'Generations'. Sure I had heard of the 'Boomers', 'Gen-X'ers, and more recently 'The Millennials'. I had never really paid much attention to the whole topic and it had never really caught my interest. I knew that it generally dealt with the history of the culture and events which were popularly associated with the groups of people who were born, raised, and came of age during an extended period of time in history. As a former History teacher this sounded fascinating and it aroused my interest. As I listened to some of the explanation about the different 'Generations' and the contrasts and comparisons between the different groups of people the whole topic began to become more intriguing. I determined I should do a little research, see if I could get more information, and try to ascertain if there was indeed anything to this 'Generations' thing. I found the topic to be very broad and there is a vast amount of information available. I also determined that there was more information than I could cover in one writing. I will try to break it down into a few interesting topics and give some explanation and insight into what I have learned about the topic of 'Generations'.

I will first focus on identifying three 'Generations' or distinct groups of people during the last century of U. S. History:

1. The Silent Generation: Members of this group were born between World War I and World War II and they were too young to have served during WW II, although many of them may have had fathers who served in WW I.
2. The Baby Boomers: This group is constituted of members who were born shortly after World War II. This period of time in U. S. History is distinguished by a general increase in the overall birthrate. This population explosion was also taking place in many countries around the world and there was generally a world wide "Baby Boom".
3. Generation X: This group consists of those who were born between about 1964 and 1981. Most members of this generation are the children of either the 'Baby Boomers' or the 'Silent Generation' and they came of age with such things as MTV, Cable TV, and Video Games.

One fact became immediately evident about the whole topic of 'Generations'. There is a variety of sub-groups within many of the groups and there is a bit of variation about the topics most influential and considered most important in determining the characteristics of each group. Sometimes popular culture and social trends seem most important while at other times politics and economic trends become more important in determining the specific period in history and the predominate characteristics of a particular 'Generation'. I will continue with this topic in a series of future Blog Posts and I will try to make some observations about some of our current affairs as affected by these 'Generations'.

Recipe Wednesday #3

We need to get a main course meal for the weekly recipe.

The recipe this week came from a cook book we got from my wife's parents house after her mother passed away. The copyright date for this cook book is 1953. The recipe itself was not one of the recipes from the book. Instead, it was a recipe clipping from a newspaper or magazine which I found in the book with some other handwritten recipes and other papers. The date on one of these papers was May 11, 1965. I believe the following recipe was a clipping from the late fifties or early sixties which may have been found and cut out to be kept in the cook book for later use. I don't know if this recipe has ever been used by my wife or her mother. Pam did not remember the recipe either. Please try this recipe and see if it is right for you and your family. Enjoy!

Swiss Steak – Hunt Style

1 ½ lbs. round, chuck, or rump; Flour
1 medium sized onion, sliced; 3 tbsp. chopped green pepper
3 tbsp. fat; 1 can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 cup water; 1 ½ tsp. salt; ¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Pour flour into steak and pound it in with edge of plate. Cook onion and green pepper in fat until tender. Brown meat on both sides in fat. Add delicious, spicy hunt’s Tomato Sauce, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Cover and simmer about 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Your family will rave . . . and you will save!

The following is a scan of that original newspaper or magazine clipping:

Now and Then

How about some 'Now' and 'Then' photos. I'm going to try showing you some recent photos and then comparing them to some past photos. Well, well, well, this could be interesting!

Janna and Kari (with Kira) 'Now':

and

'Then' (notice what they had with them then):

Thomas, Kari, Kira, & don't forget Bruce 'Now':

and

'Then': (No, Bruce is not in this picture.)

Mom and Dad 'Now' (well, not exactly now but at least more recent than the next photo):

and

'Then':

That Teacher Thing!

My brother recently wrote to an issue in one of his blog posts. Something about the Good, the Bad – no make that the Good, the Stupid (see his blog post for Sunday, April 6, 2008 by clicking on the link). The post dealt with some recent news stories he had seen or heard concerning educational type issues and the good or bad (stupid) results which follow. I’ve noticed that my brother and I frequently do similar things and this is one of those things. I tend to focus on education related news items and pay close attention to those stories. In fact, I had heard both of those same stories in the news and had some of the same thoughts as my brother concerning the issues related in those stories. I recently read a Letter to the Editor on the Editorial Page of the Houston Chronicle. This letter dealt with a tendency among many in this country to place the blame for the failures in education on teachers rather than on any personal, family, or social issues which might be involved. Please read that letter ‘Tired of being Scapegoat’ for the entire story. In her letter to the editor the writer refers to ‘Back to School’ a previous editorial about the No Child Left Behind Act. I agree with the writer of ‘Tired of being Scapegoat” wholeheartedly!

Now I’ll get to the point of this whole story. I’m trying to figure out if this is a family thing or a teacher thing. I believe this is one of those ‘teacher things’ since I taught school for a number of years before becoming a school counselor. My brother is also a teacher and has also been a principal and administrator in some of the districts in which he has worked. My sister was also an elementary school teacher and had worked at both private and public schools. Well now wait a minute. Now this is starting to sound like a family thing! How did we all end up being teachers? Neither my mother nor my father were teachers. I do remember though that they were both frequently at school for various reasons. My mother was in P.T.A. and I believe she may have been P.T.A. president a time or two. My father always came to school any time there was an event like the Fall Carnival or May Fate Dance. That was where each class in each grade level learned some sort of dance like a May Pole dance or Square dance. Each grade in turn went out onto the playground to perform their dance for on looking parents. Wow, what an event! Maybe that is why I hate to dance but, that is another whole topic.

For more information about my brother and his family as well as pictures of my sister you may visit his Blog at Horst Household Happenings. He has a Picture Monday thing where he posts old pictures from our childhood. Some of them or pretty interesting and they are a quant reflection on past times. They show what it was like for us growing up in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Now there is the History teacher in me. Maybe it is a 'teacher thing' after all!

Blog Tag!

I was recently tagged (Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2008) by my brother on his Blog! (See Waco in the column of Favorite Places to the right).

Blog Tag? What is this all about? I give you 5 -7 unknown or little known but interesting facts about myself? Who wants to see that stuff? Why does anyone want to know somthing like that about me? If it is unknown or little known how could it be interesting? Where am I going with this? I don't know.

I guess I should get into the spirit of this thing. Apparently it goes something like this: I give you some of those unknowns about myself and then I tag another blogger to continue with the game. Well this should be relatively interesting and maybe even fun.

1. I like to listen to a popular late night radio talk show Coast-to-Coast AM.



2. My favorite music band/group is Chicago.



3. I like to read Science Fiction and Fantasy, non-fiction (history, political science, and science), and biographies and autobiographies.



4. My wife and I like to visit natural areas to picnic, hike, ride bikes, and view birds and other wildlife. See the Favorite Places links on my blog.



5. I like to watch a variety of movies. I like all sorts of action and adventure, science fiction and fantasy, popular and current drama, but my favorite movies are old soap opera classics from the 1950's and 60's. These movies were about those taboos and social mores of the times. One of my favorites is A Summer Place (1959) starring Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire. Speaking of movies . . . . .



6. I had a secret crush on Hayley Mills when I was a kid. Remember Pollyanna (1960)? Note: Richard Egan was in that movie also.



7. I once shook hands with Roy Rogers! He was the headliner at the Rodeo at the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo once when I was a kid. As he rode by on his horse Trigger, he shook hands with many of the kids who came down to the rail and leaned out. I was one of those kids! I'm not sure, but that may be my hand sticking out at the left edge of the picture. Sorry, but it looks like the photographer was more interested in Roy Rogers than me. But thats O.K. So was I back then when I was a kid. Wasn't life grand as a kid?
   
   
   
   
   
   Now for the fun part of this. I now take delight in tagging 2 of my favorite people

Janna and Kari .

Tag You are it! Now tell us a few unknown or little known but interesting things about yourself in your Blog and then Tag someone else.