May 13, 2005 - Carlinville, IL

Happy Friday the 13th to you!  Wonder how the superstition about that day got started.

So who has the cutest grandkids, eh?  This happy little guy is Huck.  Lives in St. Louis with his mom, Kerry, dad Doug, and sisters Robin (16 yrs old) and Holly (almost 14).  And yeah, that's a piano behind Kerry & Huck.  One of two in the house.  Robin is the pianist and Holly plays the violin.

Kerry's mom Ruth was visiting from Fairbanks, AK, and is in the background there behind Robin who is knitting a scarf.  Holly quit practicing to come hang out with us, and since Huck was the center of the universe, we were all on the floor.

Hard to tell who's enjoying lunch more, Huck or grammy Barb.

I swear, the kid will grin on command and he's only a little over a year old.

And then part of a day to go play tourist in Springfield, IL, about 50 miles north of where we are parked for our volunteer work.  The main reason for the trip was to visit a Verizon store as our cell phone was near the end of its life.  These wax figures in the Lincoln Museum were so incredibly life-like, I had to touch one just to see if it moved.  It didn't, thank goodness.

William O. Douglas (on the right) doesn't look like the kind of advocate I'd want to have as an adversary in a court of law.

The reason for Mary Todd Lincoln's rather odd pose here is that behind her is a woman tying up her corset.  And this is a picture you won't find anyplace else that isn't "official."  I quickly learned after taking this shot that photography inside this White House was forbidden. 

Shortly after Barb and I were married in 1970, we bought a little piece of land in Todd's Valley, CA, near the town of Foresthill.  It was named for Mary's father, and at that time his house and barn were still standing.  The barn blew down in a storm and the house burned some time later.

As we left the museum heading for home, we spotted this fence around a construction site.  Kind of a nice looking barrier, don't you think?

The fence was decorated with plastic strips.  Pretty nice bit of work we thought, and a nice contrast to an otherwise drab lot behind it.  Springfield is filled with great historical spots, great architecture, and we look forward to visiting it again for a full day.  This building is the court house.

Makes me wonder why we can't build buildings this nice today.  If we can and do, I sure don't know where.  The cement/glass boxes in differing shapes I see being built today might be more efficient to heat and cool, and may be safer in the event of emergency, but they sure don't hold a candle (wonder where that phrase came from) to the grand structures of a hundred years ago.

This series of shots is fun for several different reasons.  The car is a 1962 Austin-Healy 3000 that son Doug had in his shop for some carburetor work.  I had a 1961 Austin-Healy years ago, and Doug had seen a picture of me holding him when he was about Huck's age standing next to the car.  And, of course, it was another excuse to spend time with the "grinner," our only grandson.  In that last shot, Doug is honking the horn, and it didn't take Huck all day to figure out that one!

That car sure brought back a flood of memories from 41 years ago.  Doug's mom had some money from a trust created when her dad died, and we spent it on the car.  Doug enjoyed riding in the back seat, and would usually fall asleep as soon as that engine started purring and the exhaust began its sweet music.  I was in the Navy at the time and left for Wespac (Western Pacific) shortly after he was born and was gone for 9 months.  Often, his mom would strap him into that back seat and take him for a quick ride up and down Signal Hill, CA, where we lived, so he'd fall asleep and she could get some peace and quiet.  I sure loved that car, and maybe that's why Doug is so much into cars these days. Doug's website www.dougjenkinscustomhotrods.com will let you know just how much he's into them today.  We traded the car in on a '64 VW bug.  More practical, less expensive to run, probably safer for Doug and his little brother Rick, but I still wish................

This 50's era ('55?) VW is being restored to original condition.  Cost will be well over $100,000 by the time they're done with it, but it'll be well worth it.  None of these were imported to the US from Germany, and there were only a few of them built.  It has a longer wheelbase with more leg room in the back seat.  Had the 36 hp engine as I recall.

And here we are at our SOWER volunteer project.  There's me on the Grasshopper and John installing conduit, junction boxes, and outlets in a new section being built onto the Lake Williamson Christian Center here in Carlinville, IL.

Because the women get off work at 11:30 or so and the guys work until 3:30, it's easier for them to take pictures of us at work than for us to take pictures of them at work.  Here John's wife Ellie is taking a picture of him.  Since John's working on the soon-to-be chapel which is right next to the office/mail room where the women are working, he managed to get some shots of them, and I'll post them later.  I really get a kick out of mowing grass.  Particularly with this little machine.  Delicate balance between getting the hopper full of grass and jamming the system up with grass and having to pull things apart to un-jam it.  Getting stuck in the ditch is a no-no as well, so it's usually a challenge to find out how close I can get without getting stuck.  Great fun.

A quick shot of the sign as seen from the highway (SR 4) and then John, Ellie, Barb and I took off to visit Beaver Dam State Park, where Barb had heard some white squirrels lived.  Found this interesting plant/flower but never did find any white squirrels.

I'll admit it.  We're spoiled.  This campground simply didn't look inviting to us.  The bird feeders are stationed on a dead tree next to where we're parked.

The yellow finch (goldfinch) sure do like that Niger Thistle in the sack, don't they.  As many as 6 at one time will hang on it when it's full.  But it's not full for long.  About a week later we have to refill it.

On Thursday, Doug and family climbed (squeezed?) into the family car with fancy concert clothes and all, and drove from St. Louis to South Bend, IN, for a competition for the girls.  And on the way home Sunday afternoon, stopped at Elsah, IL, so Holly could play in a concert with the St. Louis Youth Symphony.  The venue was at the Principia College, where Doug and Kerry met.  Huck is trying to see if he can get the "Alert" button on my key fob to make the horn blow and lights flash on the Jeep that is parked nearby.  He did it once, but I don't think he really made the connection between his biting on the fob and the noise.  Good thing too, or we'd have had some trouble getting my keys back.

Yeah, he'll fuss, but mostly Huck likes to grin.  He looks so much like his dad did at that age, it's almost scary.

I took these shots while the orchestra was warming up.  Because of the lighting and the long lens, I had to use the tripod and didn't want to take pictures during the concert and block someone else's view.  That lovely young lady with the long blonde hair is Holly.  And I can find her in the orchestra, but you may not be able to.  She's on the left, right behind the empty chair.  And by the way, she's vying for that empty chair for next season.  Belongs to the concert master.  Currently held by a girl that is the daughter of the family that encouraged Doug and his family to come and live in St. Louis.

Holly on the left and Robin on the right just after the concert before they hurried home for a neighbor's open house.  Busy family.