Metal Detecting and Jill's Christmas Program

I know Mary Lynn posted a couple of pictures from Jill's program today. But, I don't have very many pictures of me taken with Jill, so I had to post this one. She just got finished making her Christmas tree, an ice cream cone coated with green icing, and then decorating it with marshmallows, gum drops and sprinkles.

I metal detected at Cox's Park today and found $1.28. Cox's Park is really loaded with a lot of garbage in the ground. Bottle caps, mainly. So detecting there is pretty hard. I ended up going to the childrens playground and detecting around the edge of the dividers and found most of my coins there. I think there is some good finds to be had there, but just too much junk to wade through.

I went Christmas Shopping yesterday...well, almost

I went to Oxmoor Shopping Center yesterday. I didn't start out to do that, but ended up going. I started out metal detecting at Cox's Park. But, it was very cold yesterday and when I got to the park I found out my gloves were still wet from the day before. So, wearing wet gloves in 37 degree weather didn't last very long. So, I decided to go to Oxmoor Mall and walk around. AMAZING! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I mean, I know it's Christmas time and all, but it was Noon, on a Tuesday, 2 weeks before Christmas! Don't any of these people work? I just walked around, what you would call 'window shopping' I guess. I've already got my Christmas shopping done, but I thought if I found something really cool, I'd buy it. Well, I didn't spend a penny. It was kinda neat though, watching everyone else spend a fortune. I saw so many people walking around with bags and bags of goodies. What's wrong with these people? Does everybody have to try to outdo everybody else in giving stuff for Christmas? If somebody gets 3 or 4 things for Christmas, isn't that enough?
No, I'm not a Scrooge. But I do think the giving is overdone. People are Nuts!
Anyway, for Kim's info.....the big Steamboat at Oxmoor is no longer there! Just a tile floor now.

Venturing close to the North Pole....

We headed north Saturday. Got pretty close to the North Pole. Spent the night in Columbus, Ohio. Well, that is pretty close to the North Pole.

Note poor Beth. She's crying because Mary Lynn and Julie are opening their Christmas Bonus presents, and Beth doesn't have any! Julie remedied that. She gave Beth one of her '26' presents as a bonus and said she'd replace it with a new one, so she will still have 26 presents Christmas Day.

Mary Lynn has pictures on her post also, but I thought I'd better put a couple of pictures of Julie's house lights from the outside. They were very pretty. I don't know why ML and Julie had to drive some other place to look at Christmas lights.

We played a game called Left, Right, Center. It was fun and a pretty good gambling game. I lost my shirt! It's a dice game with special dice and you start off with a given amount of money. You role 3 dice and either give money to the person on the left, right, or put money in the center (pot). The last person with money in front of them wins the money. It required absolutly NO skill, therefore I didn't win.

We did have a lot of fun!

The pictures taken outside were a little blurry. I didn't have my coat on and it was cold, therefore doing a little shivering.

The weather has kinda slowed me down a bit....

I haven't been able to get out to play golf or metal detect for the past week or so. It's either been too cold, windy, rainy, or all three. I thought I'd show you a picture of what I consider my 'nice' finds this past year. I don't believe there's much value in this batch, but I think it's interesting to look at. So far I've found $78.45 since my birthday in March. My goal is to top $100 by my birthday, which will be one year of metal detecting. With the weather being what it is, all I've been able to do lately is stay in and read. I tell ya, life ain't so easy when you're retired. I think I might go out and do a little Christmas shopping today, if I'm not busy.

Pearl Harbor Day

The attack on Pearl Harbor happened 4 years before I was born. Mary Lynn and I visited the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in 1968. That was 27 years after the attack, and it was 41 years ago that we visited. At the time we visited the site, I thought it had happened sooo long ago, but it doesn't seem very long ago that I visited the site. Hmmm. Time is funny. I think we look at things as happening a long time ago if it happened before we were born.
Still, on this day I always think about the soldiers and sailors that were in the service at that time. Every one of them knew that they would stay in the service until the War was over and having no idea how long that would be. I know I spent 4 years in the Navy and, at the time, it seemed awfully long. I imagine the people who had joined for a 4 year hitch, planning for it to be up in several months, and all of a sudden they've had their tour of duty extended for duration of the war. And, spending 8 or 9 years in the military, for a young man of 17 or 18, had to feel like a lifetime.
Anyway, I don't know how many Americans even stop to thing about what happened on this day 68 years ago, but I always do.

Winter Golf at Shawnee GC

I played round number 69 for the year today. I shot a 41 - 40 = 81. Not a bad round, but I had a few ugly holes with big numbers. Considering I birdied 3 holes today, the score doesn't look that good. But, I was off for almost 2 weeks, so my consistency was off a little. Getting in 18 holes this time of year is always nice, and walking the 18 is good exercise. Once again, the round won't be good enough to get me any money, but will probably lower my handicap. I had a little problem with the trees today. I hit two shots that hit trees that ended up further from the hole than my original lie. And, twice I had to chip out sideways from behind a tree. So, I guess even with 3 birdies, that kind of tree trouble could have led to a big score for the 18. So I guess I should be very happy with an 81. And, I am.

Bob's Christmas Wish List

I've finally gotten a list together of things I want for Christmas. These are in no particular order and, because this was requested, it is not fair making fun of the things on my list:

* Ear Phones with Adjustable volume for my metal detector

* B-B Rifle (I promise not to shoot my eye out)

* New Squirrel Trap

* Bird Bath (Lightweight like the one Mark has)

* CD, Fats Domino Greatest Hits (Original Recordings a must!)

* Any neat magic tricks that would amaze my granddaughters

* Ear Warmer Band that you wear with a ball cap (Has hole for cap bill)

* Peace on Earth and Good...oh wait, I'm not wasting a wish on something that's impossible.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.