What a Happy Baby!!!

Here's a brief video Kerri sent of Kate's "responsive smile". Something she's just started doing in the last week.

Dee and I were able to use the hot tub the other night after the rains subsided. It was nice out and we enjoyed getting to use it again. On Friday we went out for breakfast and used a certificate they'd sent us in the mail. I love the omelets at Freedom Diner.

Afterward we picked up a couple of items we needed and headed home. We enjoyed sitting on the porch and having a cookout on the grill (chicken) and I made risotto. I really tasted good. I stirred and stirred and stirred. We learned about it at the "gourmet getaway" back in January. In the evening I read some more of my WWII book "An Army At Dawn". Fascinating stuff.

Today, Saturday, we both worked (I finished rangering at Treesdale at 3 and she finishes at 6:30 PM.) So we decided to use the "birthday gift card" Red Robin emailed us for her birthday. That'll be nice because we like their food there. I'm working a golf outing on Monday which should be interesting. It's supposed to be big and involve about 6 of us rangers. As it stands now, it looks like the schedules we wrote for ourselves will continue and I'll be working most Saturdays of the summer. (except for the 6th and 13th when I'll be gone.)

Golf and the movie ANGELS AND DEMONS

Kate and family are doing well. Here's another picture of her.

It's Friday morning and raining. Fortunately I got in 9 holes of golf after Rotary on Wednesday, and then 18 holes yesterday. Yesterday I golfed with two other rangers at Treesdale. I was very pleased with my round. I actually got 2 birdies (both on par 3 holes)! I haven't had a birdie in over a year, and yesterday I had two! Amazing, and in front of witnesses to boot. God is Good.

Today I'm returning some "woods" to a company called Warrior. They had a deal for a free hybrid golf club if you'd try their 1,3,5 woods. And have a money back guarantee. Today they go back. I had to get a "return authorization number" before I could return them. Getting that number was a trip. They offered to let me keep the clubs and return half my money, then they offered to send me a "free" set of irons if I kept them. I was insistent that I wanted my full refund. (I did all this on the phone, just as the movie was starting at Showcase Cinemas.)

I had stepped out of the theater to go to the bathroom and my cell phone rang. It was the customer service department of Warrior. They'd left a message. I returned the call right then because I wanted to get that authorization number and had only been dealing with phone operators. So, for the next 20 minutes I talked with the guy about my refund. (Dee thought I'd gotten sick from the popcorn and came looking for me. I assured her I was okay and that I was trying to get the authorization now that I was actually talking with a person.) Although I missed the first 20 minutes of ANGELS AND DEMONS I did get the refund code #.

Since I'd read the book, I knew the plot of the movie, and enjoyed the rest of the movie. It's a MUST SEE flick. Good stuff. Great mystery. Dee and I hadn't been to a movie theater in a long time. We decided to go, and then discovered that our Cranberry theater closed! So we went to the Showcase Cinemas on McKnight Road. As it turns out Wednesday is seniors day. All people over 60 get in for $4.50 all day! Cool. We even used the coupon they gave us for a discount on drink and popcorn. Very nice.

On Sunday I read an article in the Post-Gazette entitled "They Died for You" by Rick Atkinson. It was about WWII. The things every American should know about WWII. It was a great article and I was motivated to buy his book "An Army At Dawn" (the first of three books about WWII).

I'm clueless about that war and this writer is a good story teller and packs in loads of facts. I'm 100 pages into it and am enjoying it very much. I didn't realize WWII had been going on for 27 months before the United States got into it. Nor did a realize that 1,150 men died every hour in it - for 7 years! Atkinson is working on the third book in the series. This first book is about our invasion of Africa; the second book is about Italy and the third is about France and Germany I think. Good rainy day reading.

Nice Picnic!

Well the "coming out picnic" for Kate is now history. The weather cooperated and we had a blast. There was plenty of food and 26 people in all (three of whom were children). Thanks to John and BJ for cooking the burgers and dogs and to everyone else who brought delicious side dishes and desserts. Dee's pulled pork went over very well. (We decided not to have chicken.) We even had halushki and cheese cake! Our friends from our very first church, Mooncrest Community Baptist Church, Chuck and Betty Werme, were able to come and meet Kate. (Betty had saved a newspaper photo of 34 years ago when it published a photo of me, Dee and a brand new baby named, Kerri. She recently sent it to Kerri and we thought it would be nice for Kerri to meet the Wermes.) Here is a picture of Kate in her debut dress. Also one of Kerri holding her in a "wrap", and of Grandma Dee with Kate.

Our visit with the Julians went very well. Kate slept well doing her regular feedings on time. We never even heard her during the night. And when we went to church and out to eat, she just snoozed away. Folks at Church were happy to see her.

I started back to work at Treesdale and worked a few hours on Saturday and on Memorial Day (after the Julians left for VA.) The weather was sunny buy not real hot, which made of a nice afternoon of riding in the golf cart and watching people golf, and picking up a few lost golf balls.