On the way back, Dad's car turned over 100,000 miles. Had to pull over and get a picture. Old Red is still plugging away.
Had lunch with my nephew Aaron in Dallas, and dinner with his brother Brent and wife, Michala, in Conroe, TX on the way back.
Took a long time to get back to Houston, but I wasn't in any rush. Good visits.
Note: I had a much longer post but lost it due to Google Chrome. #%@@##%@#*&^&!!!
I found these photos in my box of memorabilia to scan. This was in a book from Mom and Dad's 25th Anniversary. The first is a photo of Mom and Dad on their wedding day. The second is a photo of their car that was decorated for the big day. The sign reads: "Boone County, Here We Come."
Today would have been their sixty-fourth anniversary.
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!
Today is my fifty-first birthday. Dear Lord, how did this happen? Where did my forties go? That was quick!
I actually baled straw on my birthday. That's what I came home for, so we kicked off (my portion of) the baling season on my birthday.
Later that evening, I was treated to dinner by my sister, her husband, my brother, his wife, and two nieces. We went to a restaurant called Stookey's in Thorntown. The most awesome onion rings you will ever eat. It was a good time.
Here's a photo of the adults outside the restaurant (taken by the nieces). Thanks, guys, for helping me celebrate my birthday!
The military plaque for Dad's tombstone finally came in. It took six months, but I'm sure they've got a backlog of these to churn out. The WWII ranks are definitely thinning out.
I think Dad would have liked it.
I always liked this photo. I believe it was just following my brother's graduation from high school in May 1973.
My brother and father are moving a big block of wood that was used to place under the jack so that you could unhook from the planter. Nothing exciting, but just a farm "action shot".
Dad's farm clothes stayed basically the same throughout the years. So unless you dated the photo, you really can't tell what era it's from. Luckily, my brother's "Greg Brady" threads lets me know it was the 70s. Groovy, man.
We finally have Mom and Dad's house up for sale. Do you know anyone who wants a 4000 sq foot, 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house on a gravel road, and eighteen miles to the high school?
Yeah, me neither.
This picture measures 26" x 10". It is a photo of my mother's Grandmother and Grandfather King's golden anniversary, held at their home at 1047 E Market St, Indianapolis. It was taken May 1922. Mom remembered having to wear their good clothes and then change into their play clothes immediately after the picture was taken. The Kings had 11 living children at the time. Their son, Harry, is not in the photo as he was sent to live in a tuberculosis asylum.
Mom wrote down who's who in the photo. But now I'm finding that some of the dates don't match up to her notes. But it's closer than I could come to guessing. I uploaded this photo to Facebook and tagged all the ones in Mom's notes.
All of Mom's 11 siblings are in the picture. In the center photo, Grandma and Grandpa King are in the couple in the middle of the picture. To the left of Grandma King is Margaret (King) Maloney (my grandmother), holding baby John V. Maloney, circled in red. Directly behind Grandma King and Margaret is her husband Steve Maloney (my grandfather). In the front row is my Mom and her sister Eileen, circled in red. Mom, Eileen, and John V. were the last of the 11 Maloneys and were featured in another photo that I wrote about.
Grandma King died two years after this photo and Grandpa King died two years after her.
Here's the photo in three sections (Left, Center, and Right) and Mom's notes:
Sis and I flew from North Carolina to St. Louis. From there we rented a car and headed to Lake of the Ozarks. We were heading to my nephew's wedding. My nephew (and godson) is originally from Terre Haute, IN. His fiance Michala is from Council Bluffs, IA. They picked a point in the middle and said, "Let's get married here." That point was the Tan-Tar-A Resort.
As relatives arrived we spoke to them on the phone and the response was the same. "It's kinda confusing here." I didn't know what they meant until we got there. There were several buildings alphabetically numbered from A to E. Each had a series of numbers. So room 291 might be in a different building than 235. But once we got settled and figured out the overhead walkways, it was easy. We spent a lot of time at the pool because the heat index was over 100 degrees. It was very hot.
On Friday we had a welcome reception on one of the decks and a Mexican meal. Brent and Michala both spoke and introduced the wedding party, the parents, and grandparents. Several of the youngsters stayed on the deck into the wee hours finishing the keg of beer.
On Saturday, they had a quick ceremony on one of the patios. It was still hot, but there was a nice breeze and soon we were in the shade. It was very sweet and sentimental. Afterwards was the reception in one of the ballrooms. It was a round room with huge windows. They had a slideshow of baby pictures and school pictures of both of them. We had an excellent dinner and then the DJ kicked up the tunes for the next four hours. We had a good time shaking our groove things. It was a very fun wedding.
I drove the rental car back to the airport and then my niece, Brent's little sister, picked me up and drove me back to the farm. She then headed out east to West Virgnia taking the same southern Ohio route I took a few days before.
Brent and Michala just recently moved to the north side of Houston. I saw them the last time I was down there in June. I will be seeing more of them in the near future. I just love Michala. She's a great addition to our family! Her family was a hoot too.
Congratulations, Brent and Michala!!!
Last week I had a road trip. My sister and her husband will be moving this fall from Texas to North Carolina. They are building a home up in the mountains.
My sister packed up some furniture from Dad's house that nobody wanted and we loaded it into a U-Haul truck and headed east. We chose a route on US-35 through southern Ohio down through West Virginia catching I-64 to I-77 into Virginia and then North Carolina. It was a beautiful drive. The day was overcast and that kept the temperature down. Plus, the truck was very nice; like driving a big van.
We made good time and ate at the little town before we headed up the mountain. We both had a stromboli which was excellent and dirt cheap. It was quite a drive up the mountain, with beautiful scenery along the way. Once we got to the summit, we stayed at a friend's home for the night.
In the morning, we drove over to their home. It is mostly finished on the outside with the siding, windows, and roof completely done. The workers helped us unload the furniture very quickly. We later went down the mountain to get more patio furniture out of storage.
My sister gave me the grand tour of their beautiful new home. I picked out my room for future stays. I told her I even do windows. There are a lot of windows! I think they will be very happy in their mountain home.
Afterwards, we had to return the truck. We passed the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way. The U-Haul place doubles as a plant nursery. We ate lunch in the town. The people were so friendly. And they have sweet tea! That night, we dressed up and ate at the clubhouse, meeting some of the new neighbors.
Their home should be mostly done in September. My brother-in-law plans on retiring around Thanksgiving this year. They are sure to have a great Christmas in the mountains this year.
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