Christmas Piano Concert

We went to Erin and Jill's Christmas Piano Concert last night.  They each played two songs and did a fantastic job.  You could really tell they spent a lot of time preparing.

 

                                                        Pretty and professional.

 

Erin's last Cross Country Season with Chance School

We went to the last Cross Country Meet of the Season yesterday at Woodford County.  Erin, being a 5th grader now, this was her last Meet as a Chance Charger.  She really ran well and finished in the top 100, which is pretty good  in this large Meet.

 

 

She finished strong, passing several girls in the finish lane.  Of course, Jillian ran well, too, but this is about Erin's last race.  After the race, of course, she cried, and wanted to celebrate.  So, we went to Uncle Madio's for pizza and Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen.  Erin has never been one of the top runners, but she's always given her best effort and supported ALL her team  mates.  And, I've loved watching her run.  And, of course, was very proud of her.

Starting out the year, she set goals for the season.  One of them was to win 3 medals while at Chance.  She fell a little short of that, by 2 medals, but I believe she was still satisfied with her season. 
Now it's on to basketball!

Watching Cross Country

I love going to the Cross Country Meets and watching the girls run.  I'll have to miss the last one this weekend in Woodford County because I'll be playing golf.  I've got one picture to post.

Jillian is running here and about 2/3 of the way through her race.  Look at the support she has!  Mary Lynn and Kevin on the left, and Erin and team friends on the right running along and cheering her on.  This picture really shows the support these runners have, not only from parents, but team mates.  The team lines the course to cheer on their fellow team mates as they run their races.  These girls not only get good exercise from this sport, but build a special bond with each other that they just can't get from anything else.

Reducing the tools I own has been difficult

Over the past 5 weeks we have been de-cluttering.  This has  meant getting rid of things we don't need or haven't used for a long time.  Of course, this also includes my tools.  And I had a lot of tools.  I'd say so far I've gotten rid of 90% of the tools I had pre-de-cluttering.   Of course, I've gotten rid of ALL my yard tools, as I won't need them any longer.  But to show you the amount of tools I have amassed over the years, I found a small tool box on the bottom shelf of my workbench, way in the back.  I had overlooked it when getting tools out for yard sales.  This was a tool box I had filled with screwdrivers that were extra.  Just screwdrivers.

This is just a sample of the extra tools I had on hand.  I know I sold 10 hammers at the yard sale.  So, I had multiples of each type tool, plus many one of a kind tools. Plus an amazing amount of hardware.  Nails, screws, hinges, nuts, bolts, springs, etc.   Well,  I forgot this box.  Anybody need a screwdriver?

Cross Country and Vietnam

Erin and Jill had a Cross Country Meet in Frankfort this past weekend.  It was held at the State Capitol Vietnam Memorial.

I love watching the girls run, and both of them did a great job this weekend.  Between races, I visited the Memorial and had to look up some of the names of people I know who were killed in Vietnam.

Ronnie Alvey was a classmate of mine at Flaget High School.  I found 3 names of people I know, and was surprised to see that all three of them were killed during the year I was in Vietnam.

 

Just above the shadow is the name of Robert Harris, brother of J. R. Harris who I play golf with all the time.  13 lines above his name is Carl Shirley, who I grew up with on McCloskey Ave. in the 1950's.  Over 58,000 U.S. Servicemen were killed in Vietnam.  That's a lot of young men from one generation.  I was informed by those that attended our last Flaget Wednesday meeting that Flaget High School lost more former attendees in Vietnam than any other school in Jefferson  County.

Amazing new Orangutan Exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo

This new Orangutan Exhibit opened at the Indianapolis Zoo on Memorial Weekend this year.

In this picture, the near tower is clear so you can see the Orangutan climb up to the top.  There is an opening in the top that he can climb out onto a platform.  Each tower is connected to the other by ropes. 

The Orangs can go from tower to tower on the ropes way above the crowds below.  The glass tower, and one tower on the other end are the only ones the Orangs can go down.  All the towers, except the two end ones, are out in the crowd around the zoo, not in any enclosure.  Of course, if the Orange falls it would be killed.  But, in the wild they spend their entire lives in trees high above the ground.

 

The bottom platform of each pole has electric wires to keep them from climbing down.  Only the two end poles that are enclosed can be used to exit the upper wires.  Pretty neat to see an Orangutan climbing on ropes right over your head.

How many family gatherings over the years?

We only have a few short weeks left in this old house.  How many family gatherings has it seen over the 45+ years we've been here?

Christmas, Derby Day, 4th of July, Easter, Birthdays.  So many memories to take with us to our new house. 

We moved into our house in May of 1969, 2 months before Mark was born.  So, all three of the boys were born while we lived here.  One of the first memories I have of this house, other than Mark being born, was sitting on the front porch, (Wood, screened-in front porch) with little baby Mark, early in the a.m. watching the first moon landing and watching Neil Armstrong step out onto the moon. 

Looking back through the family albums, 4 out of 5 pictures are taken in this house.  Old house, we'll miss you, but it's time to make new memories in our new house!

If things go well the rest of the way, this is where we'll be moving.

Residential - Condo/Patio Homes

	List Number: 1398111 Address: 1412 Eagle Run Dr Louisville, KY 40222 Area: 09-Anchrg/Glnvw/Lyndn/Prospct Sub Area: A Total Living Area:  1,621 Basement: None Total # Bedrooms: 3 Disclosure: Yes Style: Patio/Garden	Status: Active Above Grade Finished: 1,621 Total Baths: 3 Sqft - Total Unfin: 0 Nonconform SqFt Fin: 0 Nonconform SqFt UF: 0	Listing Price: 194,900 County: Jefferson Subdivision: EAGLE CREEK Baths - Full: 3 Baths - 1/2: 0 Age: 17 Year Built: 1997 Stories: 1 1/2 Story
	Open House Info:
	Directions: Westport Rd to Ormsby. Left on Eagle Creek Dr. Drive over bridge. 1st right to street.

Wonderful 3 bedroom, 3 bath condo in popular Eagle Creek. Newer hardwood floors in great room and dining room. Tile on kitchen and laundry room floors. New carpet in bedrooms. Furnace and air 2-3 years old, roof new. Master closet done by Closets by Design. All appliances remain. Monthly maintenance fee includes master insurance, water, sewer, trash, landscaping and snow removal. Eagle Creek is in a great location and is a great place to live!!

Room Name Room Level Width Length Room Remarks Great Room 1st Floor Eat in Kitchen 1st Floor Master Bedroom 1st Floor Master Bath 1st Floor Bedroom 1st Floor Full Bath 1st Floor Laundry 1st Floor Dining Area 1st Floor Bedroom 2nd Floor Full Bath 2nd Floor

(Fin) (UF) AG 1,621 0 BG 0 0 NC 0 0 Total 1,621 0 SgFtSrc: List Agent

Basement: None Construction: Brick; Vinyl Exterior: Patio Foundation: Slab Fencing: None Heating/Cooling: Central Air; Gas Heat Incl. in Maintenance: Exterior Maint.; Groundskeeping; Mstr Ins; Sewer; Snow Removal; Trash; Water Garage/Parking: 2 Car Garage; Attached; Entry Front Roof: Shingle Sub/Condo Amenities: Clubhouse; Guest Room Utilities: Electric; Fuel:Natural; Public Sewer; Public Water M Struct Flood Plain:  No

Total # of Rooms: 6

First Floor MBR: Yes

Laundry Level: 1st

# Closets Level 1: 5 Level 2: 1

# Fireplaces Level 1: 1

Lot Dimensions: <1 acre="" td="">

Lot SF Source: PVA

Acres: 0

HOA Fee: Yes

Assumable: No

Sold As-Is: No

Condo Features:

Location In Building: 1&2

Building #: 1412

Maintenance Fee: 275

# Building Floors: 2

# Condo Units: 1

Farm Features:

City Tax: .36

County Tax: .90

Deed Bk: W0534

Pg #: 0045

Block: 2958

Lot: 1412

Sub-Lot: 0000

DOM/CDOM: 30/30 Listing Date: 08/08/2014 Basically, this is considered a Condo, rather than a patio home, but it's built like a patio home, on ground floor, nobody above us.  We're anxious to get everything settled and get moved in!

Clearing out the clutter

Those of you brave individuals who have been in my basement will see how much we have reduced the clutter.  Yes, there is still a lot of things stored down there, but this is the first time I've been able to walk through my basement area without twisting and turning, ducking and sideways stepping just to get through.

We have the house ready to put on the market now.  Mary Lynn has done a fantastic job on the rest of the house while I was working in the basement.  There are still a few things to be done before we move, but the house is ready for showing.  Depending on the type house we move to, I'll be able to get rid of all or most of the yard tools and reduce the rest of my tools.  Boys, I'll bring you over at that time and we'll have a pick and choose!

Getting rid of 45 years accumulation

Mary Lynn and I have talked about it since I retired over 6 years ago.  We knew we needed to eventually move into a home we could manage a little easier.  That is, smaller, or 'no' yard, little, or no steps, etc.  We still want a place that we can have the family over and have enough room. 
But right now, it's downsizing our possessions so that we can fit into a smaller place.  This has been a real job and we've only been at it for a little less than two weeks.  The boys have been great.  A lot of help.  The yard sale was a success, and what didn't sell was sent to Cedar Lake Lodge.

Now we have my Coke and Derby collectibles.  Coke on the left, Derby on the right.  Brian gets all my Coke stuff and Kevin gets all my Derby stuff.  They may not want it, but they've got it! Mark got all my coins, but he got them a few years ago.
Today I sold all my old LP albums.  I don't listen to them anymore, so it wasn't hard to do.  I took them to Half Price Books, and got a whopping $20 for about 130 albums.  I took about 60 golf clubs and 5 bags down to Shawnee GC for the First Tee program.  I've taken one carload of scrap lumber over to the Louisville Sanitation collection Center, plus a TV and 2 old VCR's.  Garbage day was yesterday, and we had a full can since the first time in I can't remember when.  Tomorrow I'm taking a load of hazardous material to the HazMat Collection Center on Grade Lane.  Things like oil based paint, yard chemicals, etc.  I'll still need to take another load to the Sanitation collection Center.
But, all in all, we're getting there.  The basement actually has some storage space now, and we need to move some things from the upstairs to the basement to reduce the 'cluttered' look.  We're hoping to have the house on the market on September 2nd, Tuesday.  Of course, that's if we can get done the rest of the things we need to do.  I need to get the grass cut, and weed around the walkway out back.  The weather is not cooperating at all.  It's just been miserably hot to try and do anything outdoors.  I'm just going to have to suck it up and get those things done.  Mary Lynn has been like Superwoman!  Or, the Energizer Bunny.  She just keeps going and going.  She puts me to shame.  I've done a lot, but she's done twice as much as I have. 

My Sweet Rosiepie is 10 years old!

Unbelievable!  It just seems like a couple of years ago I saw that little girl for the first time just minutes after she was born.  She was alert and awake and looked up at me.  I told her then she was the sweetest thing I've ever seen, and she still is.

 





Here's the birthday girl!  What a cutie!  My first grandchild is now 10 years old.  This little girl has stolen my heart.  Well, little girl is not exactly right, she is a little lady.  So mature for her age. 

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She got a lot of nice presents for her birthday.  Of course, Jilly was just as excited opening them as Erin was.  Here, she is looking through the book we made for her of our vacation to Pensacola.  Erin and Jilly.  Both of them are my sweet girls.

Vacation in 'Florida

Wow!  What a great week!  I won't lie.  I wasn't looking forward to it several weeks ago.  But, with a little Doctor visit, and some new medication, I found I was sleeping better and feeling better, and actually was glad to see the week finally get here.  I had nice time, but the best time was watching the girls, Erin and Jillian, having a great time.

Here Erin and Daddy do a little Body Surfing.  Erin and Jilly loved the waves.

They played hard, but also knew how to relax.  We had two roof covered porches to sit on and one open deck on the roof.  It was a nice relaxing place to sit and watch the ocean with a nice cool breeze.  Looks like Jilly knows how to relax.

And, the best ending ever to this trip, the biggest hug I ever got from Jillian and Erin.  I sure do love those girls.

This is a Blog about golf, mostly, so here's another golf post

More times than I can count, I'll be in the middle of a round of golf when all of a sudden my playing partners realize they're playing with the same type ball.  They find this out when they've hit their shots, and when looking for their ball they both think they've found their ball when they find one ball.  They didn't mark their ball before starting.  A necessity many of my playing partners fail to do.

All golfers should carry a Sharpie in their bag and mark their ball before teeing off.  This will prevent confusion at a later time.  You're ball can be marked any way you like.  Use your favorite color.  Draw a face, use your initials, or just use a dot or two.  This way, you can recognize your ball no matter what type ball your playing partners use.

Big Game Hunting in the Tabler Household

A large fly somehow got into the house and was buzzing around.  It was one of those that when it was flying around, you could hear it.  So, I went and got a rubber band and starting hunting.  Mary Lynn laughed and even posted it on Facebook.  But.......

After a little stalking, and quietly moving into position, I unloaded on the pesky pest.  And........Bob 1, Flies 0.  Here he is on the Kleenex I picked him up with.  I didn't practice shooting rubber bands all through school for nothing.

Annual 4th of July/Birthday Party Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest

I''ll try and show all the entries if I can download them to this blog.  So many nice entries, but only 3 can finish in the money!  The Theme for the contest was "National Monuments".

The winner!  Jillian with her entry of the Statue of Liberty got 20 points!

Erin also depicted the Statue of Liberty and finished tied for 2nd with 16 points.

Also tied for 2nd place with 16 points was Mark Tabler's depiction of the Washington Monument.

 

4th place and Honorable Mention goes to Mark Wagner and his drawing of the Capitol Building.

This was one of the 'also rans'.  Kim Tabler's drawing of Sleeping Bear Dunes.

After looking through the pictures I found I didn't have an individual picture of Brian's drawing, so this is the only showing.  Also, I can't remember what his subject was.  Sorry.

 

Zion National Park By Judy Bowman, another also ran.

Kevin Tabler's "Golden Gate Bridge".

Mary Lynn's entry of Erin, Jill and Andrew's house.

And last but not least, my entry of the "Gateway Arch".  I thought it was a strong contender, but only garnered three 3rd place votes for 3 points.

 

 

 

 

Teaching Class about Animals

As a Louisville Zoo Docent, one of my main jobs is teaching classes.  Sometimes we teach these classes at the Zoo, and other times we take it on the Road.  A couple of weeks ago I had the oppertunity to go to Chance School Summer Under the Trees Summer Camp.  Most of you have seen the pictures, but I thought I'd show a couple.  This class was titled "Experiencing Animals".

This was the first class for the younger kids.  It was a half hour class.  Here we talked about the Orangutans, how they lived in the trees in the Rainforest.  This young lady, along with 2 of her friends, volunteered to try on the Orangutan Coat, showing how long your arms would be if you were an Orangutan! 

This was the 2nd class which was 45 minutes for the older kids.  Here, we talked about snakes and showed the Corn Snake "Dougie", that each one got to touch.

 

On an "Outreach" Class we are allowed to take along 3 animals, plus a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach if we want.  The cockroach doesn't count as one of our animals.  So, we usually take one along because they are so interesting to talk about and let the kids touch.  Other than animals, we also bring along many "Biofacts".  These are things such as an elephant tusk, snake skeleton, piece of giraffe hide, many types of animal pelts, plus many pictures.  We teach classes on many topics, but usually this class is taught to the younger ones. 

As a Docent, Outreaches are one of my favorite things to do.  I also help with School at the Zoo, Set up outside exhibits and talk to people about the animals at that exhibit, and take animals to meet and greet party's or meetings at the Zoo.  Plus a few other duties. 

ART CONTESTS

Many times when the girls are over here, we have an art contest.  Sometimes it's outside with chalk on the sidewalk, and other times it's inside with markers and crayons.  One person is the judge and comes up with the 'theme', and the other are in the contest, draw a picture, and submit it for judging and criticism.  Jilly was here today, and we had a contest.  I was the first judge, with Jill and Mimi drawing a picture with the theme "Zoo Animals".  They had to draw four animals.  Here are the results, and the names have not been changed to protect the innocent:

 

 

Jill won first place Blue Ribbon.  I liked the penguin, hissing cockroach, emerald boa, and zebra.   Very good variety of animals and all of them drawn very well.

Mimi got an  Honorable Mention with the above entry.  The Critics thought she did a good job with the elephant, nice job on the giraffe, and were really impressed with the furry gorilla.  However, she lost a lot of points when we had to ask what the animal was in the lower right hand corner.  Mimi was then informed that parakeets don't have 4 legs.

AFTER MANY MONTHS.....A GOLF POST

I haven't posted my golf rounds this year.  Mainly because I've been playing poorly.  But, we've also been playing a "Shamble" On Thursdays, and, I've always just counted and posted the rounds that I play my own ball.
Today we played Shawnee GC.  I played well for the first time this year, or since last fall when I had my second hip replacement.  When I got down to Shawnee today, I saw we had a large turn out.  I mentioned to several people that it would be a good day to play well.  The prize money would be pretty good today.  Well, I played well, but I left before I found out who won.  I shot a 40-39 = 79.  With my 14 handicap that gave me a 33 - 32 = 65.  I sure would hate to shoot that well and not win any money.  I've always hated to waste a good round.......lowering my handicap and not winning any money in the process.  However, I know the weather was hot today and that there should be a lot of good rounds shot today.  But, at least I have a horse in the race.  I'll keep you posted with a comment when I hear something.  It may be Thursday before I know, especially if I don't win.

GRAMPY TRIPLE CROWN SPECIAL

 Whenever I add a little something to a mix when I make it, I get to name it whatever I want.  During the summer I make lemonade, but when I pour it in a glass, I put a shot of orange juice with it and a Maraschino Cherry.  Usually, I make this for Erin and Jill and call it a "Grampy Special".  Now they ask for a "Grampy Special" and love them..
Derby Day two years ago I accidently put a Banana Nut and Blueberry Muffin Mix together, so they became "Derby Muffins".  Later, I added 3 blueberries to regular blueberry muffin mix and they became "Triple Crown Muffins".  One of Jill's favorites.
Today, Jillian came into the living room with a full glass of Grampy Special.  However, she said this was a "Grampy Triple Crown Special".  She had put in THREE Maraschino cherries!

The Teeing Ground

I play golf with a lot of different people.  I bet over the course of a year I play golf with 50 or more different people.  That is a lot.

 

 

I would bet that MORE than half the people I play with tee the ball up IN FRONT of the tee markers.  Usually just an inch or so, but without a doubt, in front of the markers.  As you can see by the illustration, you are allowed to go back as much as two club lengths.  From one marker to the other, and two club lengths deep.  That is the size of the 'tee box'.  You can go back as much as two club lengths, but NOT one inch in front!  That's just one more thing I see on the course that drives me bonkers!

After 35 plus years, my wallet finally gave up

I don't really know how long I've had this current wallet.  I know well over 30 years.  A wallet is one of those things you have, and they seem to last forever.  At least, that's the way men look at it.  I mean, they don't have to look nice.....just be functional.

 

But this one didn't last forever.  Almost....but it fell apart on the ends and wouldn't hold my cards.  So, I had to retire it.  Now, the funny thing is, I bought a wallet about 20 years ago at a yard sale and have been saving it for when this one wore out.  So, I had a replacement ready to go.  You can see the  wear, but you can't really tell how it fell apart on the right side.
So, I have a new wallet.  I'm sure this one will last me the rest of my life.  It's got a little breaking in to do. 

50 years ago we graduated from Flaget High School

This past weekend our 1964 graduating class of Flaget High School had our 50 year reunion.

These six guys were the attending St. Matthias Grade School representatives.  This as also the nucleus of a very strong baseball team.  The six, l to r:  Dub Jansing, George Pearl, Duke Corey, Jim Livers, Bob Tabler, Mike Sills.  All but Jim Livers played baseball.  Dub and Mike were our starting pitchers, George our catcher, Duke 3rd base, and I played Center Field.

 

 

We had a great turn out for 50 years.  Of our 132 graduates we had 52 show up, with about 82 people total.  I can't show everybody, even though I think I got a picture of all of them.  In the front right of this picture is Charlie Pate.  Charlie went to school with Mary Lynn at St. Columba, Flaget with me, and we were also in the Navy together.  Charlie is the guy I hitchhiked home with from Memphis, TN.  That was one adventure. 

 

We tried to play golf at Woodhaven Friday but were rained out.  But the Sunday at the track was really fun.  Everybody seemed to have a great time and it was fun seeing so many old friends that I hadn't seen for many years.

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Strings Concert Stars

Mary Lynn and I went to Chance School for their first "Strings Concert" yesterday.  Of course, you know who the stars of the show were.....at least in our opinion.

Now, I know you can't hear them play....but can you argue with the fact that they were the stars of the concert?

More metal detecting

I metal detected the grass lot beside the  Zoo parking lot today.  This is the lot on the West side, where the Zoo race started and ended.

I found another ring.  This one has been in the ground a little too long and was somewhat corroded.  I also found $1.12, which brings my money found metal detecting up to a whopping $155.12.  However, I accidently ripped out the cord of my earphones, so I'll have to get me a new pair.  I wish I had more places to detect, I would feel better about having to spend money on equipment.

The ' Golden Apples' ran a soggy but excellent race through the Zoo!

It was a soggy morning, and the race was delayed 30 minutes because of lightning, but the Golden Apples Runners were ready to go.

Jilly didn't run because she was one year too young....but wait till next year!

Here they are at the start on Illinois Avenue beside the Zoo.  You can see by the puddles that it was a very soggy day.

After the race.  A lot of hills and everybody was soaked....but a great job by all of them!