Sunday August 21

Yes, Preston (from your 08-22-11 FB message) I had just listed some topics and had not fleshed them out, let alone edited them. You sort of caught me with the outhouse door open and sitting with my pants down... in a literary way. I had "posted" rather than "saved as draft"
BTW, We all can't wait to see you.

Spencer and Leila at the Ross County Fair:
Since C was still laid up from the emergency appendectomy, Spencer and I ventured out to a Wednesday at the Ross County Fair.  I gave him carte blanche to any activity there.  We spent the entire time at the midway, lunching at Uncle Al and Aunt Gretta's Lion's Club Diner.  Kid Day at the Midway was one price for all afternoon.

Big Drop!

Admittedly, with more time we would have checked out more farm related displays, but he wanted to exercise his new found bravery on the rides... at 9 yrs and 11 months old he has discovered that spinning and bumping and whirling around is FUN!  On a few previous outings he had ... well, lunch didn't always stay down.

After about an hour we ran into neighbor Connie and her granddaughter Leila.  Together those two kids rode every ride they liked, mulitple times as Connie and I people watched.  We walked out at 5pm when the passes ran out.


Dixie Bus:
On Thursday the 11th Colleen was given the green light on camping by Herb Sinning (her surgeon).  No lifting, no running and lots of rest. So I got to do all the packing and prep on the trip to Rustic Knolls Campground just outside of Mount Vernon and DixieBus '11.   Suffice it say that I forgot a few things and I appreciate her normal job of doing the packing more than ever.  We had sandwiches without mustard and salads with borrowed dressing.   No one starved.  We didn't run out of beer.   C enjoyed her birthday relaxing!

Camper Girls: C, Pam, Fran, 'nother C and Nellie

The weather was perfect for camping with warm sunny days and cool nights in the valley where the campground lies.  We shared the weekend with nearly seventy other VW families, including Ty, Jen and Paisley along with the Prudhoes (our long time camper friends from BayVillage OH).  Lots of VW talk and good times at the campfire.   The regular campers ( you know the type... 40' rigs with bump out rooms) all paraded past our sites, ogling the "hippy rigs", almost always stopping to say "Hey,  there's a modern one" at ours.  Saturday night we had a garage band from the host's neighborhood.  We really enjoyed their enthusiasm, if not their volume and timbre.  The kids all got to join in playing tamborine, etc.   Spencer, while dancing the whole night, became quite proficient with the oversized Hoola Hoop®.

Tomatoes and chillies have dominated my gardening and cooking venues.

  

Ditto

The Temple:  bathroom and plumbing projects at Temple are showing good progress.  The ADA compliant men's room is very much needed for our aging group.  I will post before and after pics as soon as we wrap it up.  A leak out of an apartment drain has vexed me for over two weeks.  At first, just before the campout I thought I had a toilet seal gone bad and took care of that.  It wasn't fixed and the storeroom for Susies' Gifts got a shower over that weekend.  RATS!  After cleaning up the water mess and moving enough boxes of kitschy goods to choke ten horses, I was able to open up the tin metal ceiling to start analyzing the problem.  BTW, I didn't know it before this project but the building was completely lathed and plastered  BEFORE the stamped metal plates were attached.  Now imagine the debris from a long time leak onto century old plaster held up there for who knows how long by top quality metal sheets expertly installed (providing quite a good seal).  I had rigged a scaffolding-like platform above the nine foot tall shelving to be able to reach the 20 feet high ceiling tins on my tip toes.   I was able to see, very happily I will add, that the leak was gray water from the kitchen sink above and NOT the brown water from the toilet.  Making a long story a little shorter, after allowing the whole thing to dry I was able to avoid the knob and tube wiring just below the cast iron piping to replace the drain with PVC.   YEA!!! After two weeks of messing about....It's done.
My Rube Goldberg scaffolding held and I never fell the twenty feet, not impaling myself on the pointy, fake garden gates below.  Nephew Jeff and I will soon tackle a real brown water leak that has been drying out for 5 weeks; I am hoping to get it done just before the Lodge reopens from summer darkness in two weeks.

On the 18th I was FINALLY promoted.  I have to be the longest serving acting LT in the department's 150 year history having been on the list for over seven years.  Hopefully, this will be a short term Lieutenancy, as two of the three captains are due to retire early next year.  I would like to be able to finish out my last years in the department in charge of a unit and not an outstation.  But it won't ruin my day if I can't.

John, Ty and I in Athens post Pelotonia.

Ev and Heather were very nice to pick us up.

After cooling off at Ellis' pool.

Pelotonia:  On the 20th I was able to ride in the third Pelotonia out of Columbus.   You can best learn about the amazing workings and structure of this multi-million dollar cancer fighting fund raiser by web searching "Pelotonia".   Ty had formed a team from the Columbus Chapter of the US Green Building Coalition.  On Thurday he learned that his riding partner couldn't make it and he suggested that I fill in.   He also asked John P to join us.  The ride was clearly a memorable one.  The quality of the organizing of the stops, the cross road traffic control and the food was top notch!  BUT the most special point was the constant roadside crowd in each community that we passed through.  Bell ringing, well wishers and applause was somewhere at every mile.  Ty started out in Columbus at 0700. We met him at Amanda-Clear Creek School at 0900.  The route took us through Hocking County and some good climbs.  In all Ty did 102 miles and we did 62.  That was his longest ride to date and I believe he has broken the 1,000 mile mark for the year for the first time.  Congrats, Ty. After the ride we met up with the boys' Uncle Jack and Aunt Suzie for a very welcome dip in their pool.

Sadly, our riding companion and friend Marsha Tootle, passed away as we finished our Pelotonia ride.  She had fought ovarian cancer for nine years often appearing to have miraculously beaten it, only to have it come back.  She bore the chemo and radiation with a smile especially when she was able to get out on her bike.  She often credited her long term recovery to her miles in the saddle.  She was an angel on earth and one of the nicest people I've ever known. Rest in peace Marsha, Godspeed.

At last Friday's cabin time, Evan mentioned that one of the guys had a connection to used golf carts.   Most of the Creek dwellers have and use them as local jitneys for enjoying the road at a slow, quiet pace.  I commented that we could go in together if we found one and the subject was pretty much dropped.   Two hours into Pelotonia, as we prepared to climb the biggest hill on the ride ( Starner Hill Rd just outside of Clear Creek Metro Park) Evan caught me in a spot where cell coverage wasn't blocked by terrain.  We had just bought an EZGo cart.   Not yet out of breathe I told him to get it to the cabin and he did.  It is a nice addition to our life at the creek, unlike our mowers and tractor it is purely for pleasure. C has made me promise to not let Spencer on the road for "quite some time".  "Yes, Dear".