Grand daughters

Yesterday was our middle grand daughters third birthday. Her mother had her party today and there was in attendance eight or nine little girls, all three and under. Fortunately for us "old" folks they all got along fine and a good time was had by all. Aurora is very into the Disney Princesses so that was the theme of her party. All the little girls were provided with Princess hats and gloves.

This was one of only two times we have had the previledge of having all three of our grand daughters in the same place at the same time. Pictured here are Aurora, age 3; Cadence, age 2; and Emma, age 3 1/2. Without trying to be a bragging grandpa I must say these are three of the most fantastic little girls we could have ask for.

Without bad luck we'd have no luck at all

If being laid up with pneumonia was not bad enough we got to call out our local fire department tonight. After dinner we had settled in to a relaxing time in front of the TV and some computer time. Joanne had built a nice fire in our fireplace/insert. In a little while she heard popping from outside and on investigation we found our chimney on fire. Flames were pretty much roaring out the top and a thick black smoke was falling over the neighborhood. After observing it a while I decided I'd better call the fire guys. I closed the dampers on the stove insert immediately. This did snuff out the fire in the box and did not continue to feed the roaring fire in the chimney.

The benefit of living in a small town, even though we are almost completely surrounded by Oklahoma City, is the reaction time of the local officials. By the time I got out in the front yard our local police were there, all three cars that were on duty. Right behind them was the Warr Acres Fire Department and they were soon joined by the Bethany Fire Department, our adjacent town.

The fireman did a quick job of putting out the fire and checked out the house, including the attic, to insure it had not spread. They then spent the next couple of hours cooling down the chimney to insure it would not flare back up. Normally in a situation like this they would pull the chimney down or, at minimum, pull most of the outside brick off. These guys did a great job of keeping the damage down and only removed some of the mortar between the bricks so they could spray water inside. After they left it was hard to tell they had even been here. We did get a little water in the living room, that came in under the stove, that got on the carpet. It should not be a major problem to clean up.

Our chimney opening is very large. Jo's dad, who was a retired brick mason, said it was the largest flue he had ever seen. Due to this it was almost impossible to clean with normal chimney cleaning tools. Due to that it has not had a good cleaning since we have lived her, over 19 years. Since we use this fireplace/insert to augment the heat throughout the winter months there has been a lot of wood burned in it over the years. The creosote buildup finally got to the point of causing the fire. We'll now have to get out a professional chimney cleaner to take care of it. We do have a local company called Mary Poppins Chimney Sweeps we can call.

All seems to be well now but the two hours I found myself standing out in the cold, night air was not good for my lungs. We'll have to see if this causes any setbacks in my recuperation.

Being sick sucks

Well, here I sit, can't sleep due to clogged sinuses and continual coughing fits. Started getting a head cold last Tuesday evening. With everyone coming to our house for Christmas I just chose to suck it up and get through the holiday. By the time everyone left our place on Christmas Day I was going down hill fast and went to bed about 8:30pm. Not that it did much good. Have not been able to sleep for more than an hour or so at a time since then. Also, when I lay down my sinuses clog up so bad I can't breath. I've pumped so many medicines down me that my stomach started to revolt last night. Now I just got clogged sinus and a terrible sore throat.

I don't get sick very often and when I do I'm a terrible patient. I think Jo would just as soon go stay with her mom than have to look out for me. Also, during the few times I have been sick with a cold, flu, etc., I've never had them hang on this long. Guess my first thing to do after daylight hits is call the doctor's office and see if I can get in. Being sick really does suck, especially when you are a whiny-ass male who becomes an invalid.

Christmas Day

The gathering of the Stone clan finally arrived. Was up fairly early, at least for me, to help set up. We decided to have everyone eat in the living room instead of splitting folks up between the dining room and the kitchen. This arrangement worked out well.

We wound up with 13 for Christmas dinner. In addition to my parents all three of my older brothers and their wives were there. Of the next generation we only had my oldest son, Alex, and one of his cousins, Jason. All the rest of the "third" generation were at their respective in-laws houses for the day. As has become a tradition since the passing of Jo's dad, her mother also joined us.

We did have several other visitors drop by throughout the day. My Dad's sister came by early to see him and pick up some pictures she was going to take to their brother. Later in the day, after we had eaten, my youngest son, his "girlfriend" and their daughter, Cadence, came over. This way I got to see all three grand daughters over Christmas. We have not had the opportunity to spend as much time with Cadence, who will be two in February, as we have with the other two girls. She is always pretty shy at first but tends to warm up after a while

In the afternoon, about the time most of the family was leaving, Carrie and JJ came by. She wanted to make up for the previous evening and exchange gifts with us and her grandmother. JJ, short for John Jr., is also kind of shy so he and Cadence were fun to watch as they got to know each other.

Everyone seemed to have a good time this Christmas and we look forward to next year, although it will be one of the other brother's turn to have everyone over.

Christmas Eve

Joanne and I spent our first Christmas together 21 years ago. At the time we found it interesting that her family had traditionally celebrated on Christmas Eve while my family usually celebrated on Christmas Day. I took this as a good omen and proposed soon there after. We have now spent 20 married Christmases and this arrangement has worked out well.

This Christmas Eve was a bit quiet and was not what we had planned. Original plan was to have Jo's mom and her niece, Carrie, and her family join us for dinner. At about 5:30pm Carrie calls to say that when she got home from work her two year old, JJ, was ill and they would be unable to come. I hung up the phone about the time Jo was returning from picking up her mom. So we had a very pleasant evening with just the three of us. Dinner and an exchange of gifts. This is also when we open the gifts that had been sent by Jo's brother and sister-in-law from up in Duluth, MN.

Overall an enjoyable evening but less than we expected.

And Christmas Continues

We had our first of the three planned Christmas gatherings. Our middle grand daughter, Aurora, spent the afternoon with us while her mother was at work. In the evening the rest arrived and we had a great lasagna dinner. In addition to Aurora we had her mother, Maegan, our oldest grand daughter, Emma, and her mother Shelley and sister Lily. This is the proud grandpa with Aurora, who will be three in January, and Emma who turned three last July.

My oldest son, Alex, also joined us for dinner and a good visit. Now, we still have two more gatherings/meals at our house this week. It is great when we are able to spread Christmas out over the whole week. This really works well with the young people needing to be able to see all their extended families.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It appears Christmas is about to arrive. We've got the decorations up and the house ready. We'll have three family Christmas gatherings at our house this year. Tomorrow evening, Sunday, we will have two of my grand daughters and their families plus my oldest son for our annual get together with them. The evening of Christmas Eve, Wednesday, we'll have our traditional time with Joanne's family. With her brother and his family living in Minnesota and her sister not speaking to the rest of the family, it will just be Jo's mom and her niece, Carrie, and her family joining us again this year. On Christmas day the Stone clan will be gathering at our house. Since my parents moved to an assisted living center my brother's and I have elected to pass the Christmas setting around and this year is our turn.

Hopefully this finds all who may read this well and in the holiday spirit. Joanne and I want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Last trip out in the coach for the year

We have been out with our local RV club, the Birds of a Feather, this weekend. This is our final meeting of the year and is our last time out in the coach. We actually are only about ten miles from the house at Twin Fountains RV Park here in Oklahoma City. We came over around noon this past Thursday and got set up in our site. My oldest son, Alex, works just a few blocks from here so he came over Thursday night and went to the Oklahoma County Line bar-b-que restaurant with us for dinner.

Friday morning started off with coffee and donuts with the club members in the clubroom provided by the RV park. Later we ran some errands and made a trip back to the house to pick up some things we forgot. In the afternoon we joined the other club members for a trip to the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum and Memorial here in Oklahoma City. This is a wonderful place that has been put together by retired firefighters from around the state. We have been meaning for some time to make a trip over there but had not gotten around to it. This was a fascinating tour and is highly recommended to anyone visiting the City. They have had to enlarge the museum a couple of times over the years as more fire companies donate their antique equipment. During the evening we all met at a Golden Corral restaurant for dinner. Before this we made a run back to the house to pick up some more stuff we forgot and then picked up Joanne's mother to join us.

Saturday stated with coffee and donuts again and then we pretty much relaxed for the day. In the late afternoon the group all got back together for our traditional end of the year/Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we had a game of Dirty Santa as our gift exchange. Later we moved into the main part of the building, which had a nice fire place, and most of us watched the Robin Williams movie "RV". A few of the guys sat off to the side and watched the Oklahoma State/Colorado game on television. Another fun weekend with the Birds and a good way to close out the camping year.

Another year, another birthday

Well, another year in my life has passed as I celebrated my birthday yesterday. I had received a coupon, via e-mail, for a free gourmet burger at Red Robin. We recently discovered the local Red Robin place when they sponsored an on-line game I've played. After our first visit I had signed up in their customer appreciation club. I have twice been e-mailed coupons for free food, once when I first registered with the site and then for my birthday.

Anyway, this birthday was one of the big ones. I can now claim full senior citizen status as I turned 62. Already signed up for Social Security and received the approval. Am scheduled to receive my first check in January. Not sure if I should feel any different as an official senior citizen since I've been getting the senior citizen discounts for some time. Most places offer the discounts starting at age 55 or 60 but with my gray beard very seldom does any one even ask if I'm eligible, they just give it to me.

Halloween

Halloween was a little different this year in that we had more trick-or-treaters than usual. With so many churches and schools having activities on this night most of the kids go there instead of canvassing the neighborhoods. We also had visits from two of our grand daughters. First Emma, our oldest, came by with her half-sister, Lily. They are both a joy and we like having them around. Emma was dressed as a butterfly but had grown weary of her large wings by the time she arrived at our house.

A little later Aurora, our second oldest, came by with her cousin Tye. Aurora was dressed as a Pirate in a really neat costume. All the kids were pretty tired out by the time they arrived but were also hopped up on sugar from the candy they had been eating. They did settle down to relax in our entry way for a little bit. Our dog, Buddy Joe, really enjoys when the grand daughters come to visit but he prefers they come one at a time. When we get several together he kind of stands back. Also, we didn't get to see Cadence, the youngest of the three, tonight.

Our grand daughters are Emma Dawn, who turned three this past July; Aurora Marie, she will be three in January; and Cadence Rae, who will be two in February. As stated, they are a joy but also a handful for us older folks.