Welcome to Kristina Ann Harron

Congratulations to Tim and Katie who became the proud parents to their daughter, Kristina, at 3:21 this morning.  The newest Harron arrived at 6 pounds and 18 inches.  Kristina and her parents are doing great.  She will be home tomorrow morning to be greeted by her brothers Jake and Justin.

Leaf peepin' road trip

Mom and I took advantage of a beautiful fall day to roadtrip to Guttenburg with a return trip through Balltown.  And of course a stop at Breitbach's Country Dining.  They recently re-opened after rebuilding for the second time in two years because of fires. After all the rain it was a great day to be out. We took a nice long walk beside the Mississippi at Guttenburg.  We stopped at the overlook outside Guttenburg and Mom bought some honey and jams from the vendors who are there every fall.  After lunch at Breitbach's Mom stopped in their wine cottage and bought a couple bottles of Stone Cliff wine. We each ordered a slice of pie to take with us so we have a delicious snack for tonight.  Now it is time to get out and start raking those blasted leaves I posted on the last blog. Here are a few photos from our jaunt.

Fall on Graham Court

After three and one half inches of rain in two days the

leaves are pouring off our maple tree.

All with a rake are invited on Saturday, which is

the only day before the rains return.

Devil's Lake Remembered

I was skimming through some photos and they brought back memories of the yearly visits to Devil's Lake.  This family shot was taken in 1983.

And here we are in 2009.  Sorry Tracy and Jenny, you were really missed. Someday we will get together with all the Dolans, Jenny and the newest young lady from North Aurora.  Of course we will need to look for a much larger rock.

And then we have the original rock photo.

Thanks for the memories. 

Love, Dad

Power failure in the neighborhood

We had a power blackout for two hours last night. Here is a photo.

Well even though we had snow forecast for yesterday and it did do some rain, sleet, icy thing... there is nothing on the ground this morning. The committee of robins which are gathering in the yard everyday seem to think it's spring. One has gone crazy flying at Dad's suet feeder which is rare for robins; at least, I have never seen it attempted before. The robin flies up, flaps his wings like crazy to hold his position while he pecks at the suet through the wires of the feeder. Now that is determination to get one's breakfast!

We are anticipating Terry's safe arrival tomorrow night from Colorado... say a prayer! And say one for Tim who starts his new job today I believe. And one for the rest of us for a good Holy Week. Come on, you expect a shout like that from your Mom every once in awhile right? Have a grand day everyone! Here is what it looked like at sunrise... love, Mom

Square Root Day

A rare event is upon us, touted by math fanatics as Square Root Day.

The holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday this time — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

The last such day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, which coincided with Groundhog Day. The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016.

I am aleady looking forward to it.

Skype call from Tyler

Mom and I were sitting at the kitchen table having our Saturday coffee when we received a Skype call from Tyler. He really enjoys using this way to check up on his Grandma and Grandpa. We are always ready to answer a call anytime. Hint! Hint!

The snow is gone - for now

Judie thought she would enjoy a coffee on the deck while enjoying our February thaw. All the snow is melted except for a few isolated spots on the north side of our house. At least for one day we won't be hearing how much warmer it is in Colorado. Right Tracy?

Let's all give a big Happy Birthday shout out to Tyler who will be three on February 13th. Tyler will be celebrating at Happy Joe's on Friday night. He will be joined by his Mom, Dad, Grandpas and Grandmas and Uncle Tim and family.

Tyler would also like to remind everyone that Saturday is Valentine's Day.

So what is on my agenda for the week you ask... a busy Monday visiting parishioners at the hospitals, and a BeFriender meeting in the evening. My brother Jim is moving to a new home after selling his home on JFK road. I will be making van runs Tues through Thursday to help him and Beckie move in before their closing on Friday. They will be living near the Mines of Spain with lots of wildlife on their acre of property. How exciting is that... speaking of excitement say your prayers and light your candles... Kelly will add a baby to their family any day now... everyone is expecting a little girl... so cross your fingers and think pink! Promising to keep my blogs short and to the point... I am over and out! Happy weekend to all!
Love, Mom/Grandma

Oh no, she didn't!!!

Watch out kids and grandkids! Mom/Grandma is "on board" the View from Graham Ct. now, so I will be adding "brief" stories along with Dad/Grandpa.

The "oh no, she didn't" story is as follows: No, I did not cut my own hair! But I did ask your father to teach me how to start the snow blower. We got about 6-7 inches of new snow and I wanted to give it a try. So I did... and it never occurred to me until after I finished, that this job might be added to MY to do list... now that's a scary thought!

We talked today to the North Aurora Harron's who arrived home safe from Jamaica... check their blog later for photos. That's all for now... I promised to be brief... so happy weekend to all. Love, Mom/Grandma