Wednesday, March 30, 2016

March 2016


Gretchen continues to develop her skills.  Here she reveals her ability to be a "nap-buddy" for Rusty.

Not sure which one of these two enjoys it more.

Knowing that we were expecting company, I decided to do a little updating in the guest bathroom.  First paint, then new shower curtain, then new towels.  Yes, Uncle Jeff, I remembered to pre-wash the towels!



We were thrilled to have Felicia, Sam and Ruby join us for the better part of a week.
We went to the Pioneer Nature Center and walked on the prairie...

...checked out the bison.

...made music on trees,

...and reflected on the beauty of nature.

We toured the State Capitol.  During out tour, Gov. Ricketts showed up and talked about the beauty of the new license plate he recently approved.  If you've been following the news or reading FB, you know that not everyone agrees with the governor's opinion.

Ricketts is promoting and defending the beauty of this version.


FB suggests these improvements.
Which one would you pick?  (As if you couldn't guess, I'm not a fan of our current governor.)



Retired research geologist Bob Diffendal created a coloring book for the mosaic images on the Rotunda floor.
Ruby had fun finding and coloring the images.
Ruby in the judicial chambers.

Felicia is teaching Ruby to sew, so naturally I wanted to do a project or two with her.  Our first project was a pillowcase made from blue fleece imprinted with characters from "Frozen".  This was a sewing machine project and Ruby liked the fact that it went much faster than hand sewing.  Rusty and I had not seen "Frozen", so one evening Ruby gladly watched it again with us.



The second project was hand-sewing a tic-tac-toe board.
Learning strategies.


One evening Ruby stayed with the neighbors while the adults had Date Night.
Lovely dinner at JTK.

The weather was typical for March and we took advantage of the one beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon to ride bikes on the Antelope Valley Trail.
Ruby rode all the way from the Jane Snyder Trail Center, across one bridge, through the big tunnel, and into Antelope Park.
I couldn't be more proud of now having my third grandchild up and riding well!

"Ewww, That's Yucky" is a fun book to read.

I love having time with this beautiful young lady!

The Caviezel visit ended just before Easter, so we had to color Easter eggs.
full concentration when creating art!
Felicia and I were invited to an hors d'oeuvre party at Billy's.  Food prepared by Chef Nader.


Good Friday.

On Easter Sunday, we watched Celeste hunt for Easter Eggs.
What a cutie!

Lindsay, Celeste, Jeff.
Love this family!



Last night we attended a UNL Faculty Jazz Concert.  We heard several great pieces, but Tom Larson's "Persistence" was particularly awesome!  To our surprise, the last piece called "Rollo Returns" written by Peter Bouffard, was a reference to "Rollo's Revenge" which Peter wrote for Rusty.  How fun!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

February 2016

Any Downton Abbey fans out there?


In early February we attended a NE Chamber Players concert.
We enjoyed pieces by6 Grieg, Stanley, Persichetti, Pierne and others.


 I had fun watching Pierce and Reece play hockey in an Omaha tournament.
Reece goes for the puck.

Pierce takes it down the ice.

We hosted a dinner party for friends that was a throw-back party to the 60's.  The appetizer was sliced cheese, sliced salami and a can of mixed nuts.  A wedge of lettuce with Thousand Island dressing was the salad course.  The entree was meatloaf, mac-n-cheese, and overcooked green beans with bacon.
Great friends, great conversation!

Trifle (fancy banana pudding) for dessert.

Gretchen is about 38 pounds and 6 month old.  She is now attending obedience class with Rusty.
Gretchen still has a lot of puppy in her.  Here Rusty is re-hooking the hole in the rug chewed by Gretchen.

Valentine's dinner at our favorite restaurant, Dish.

My vote for the first woman President, Ruby Caviezel.

In late February we drove across Wyoming to join my Mom in Idaho.
The mountains bordering WY and ID on Highway 30.

Mom's residence is called Bridgeview Estates because it has a beautiful view of the Perrine Bridge.
Looking west from the trail outside Mom's back door. (bridge in distance)

Looking east from the same trail.
Rusty and I threw a 90th Birthday Party for Mom and her friends.
We had lots of balloons, cake and ice cream.

And, we played games.
I think Mom and her guests had a great time!
Rusty had fun with the helium balloons.

Happy 90th Birthday to my beautiful mother!