Catching Up

 

September's Table Topper

October

November

Three more to go and this series of table runners for each month will be complete (I started with March earlier this year). I'm pretty confident I'll get through them, but not so sure I'll remember to use them next year. Anyhow, I'll have a nice collection. I'm so wary of cutesy quilty things that I hesitate to make or use anything less than a full bed-sized quilt. But, I'm also getting to a point where it is difficult for me to manage the bulk of a large quilt. So, I see a future of wall hangings, table runners, baby and lap quilts. Be warned.

Football and marching season are extended this year because of an amazing winning season for the Ozark Tigers. Last night's first playoff game was another rout -- 42-7 with Ozark scoring all their goals in the first half. The JV got play time again and Logan was in on defense for the last two plays. The grandma in the stands has learned pretty well how to buffer the cold and scarcely minds sitting in her warm layered cocoon while the game unfolds and the band marches on. The band is performing well this year -- placing higher in competitions than in previous years and bettering their ranking with each performance. It's a really young band -- 50% freshmen -- so they should see lots of success in the coming years. The percussion section (including Ben) scored best overall percussion performance in the last competition -- the first time they have scored a first in Ben's high school band career -- nice way to finish.

The next playoff game is Monday evening. I have a wee bit of ambivalence about all of this -- it's fun to win, but I am ready for the season to end. I'd love to have all of us home at the same time so we can have dinner together in the evening. During the season, Logan has practices after school and doesn't get home till 7 -- Ben has practices in the evening and leaves the house at 6. So, I run a taxi service and a short order restaurant.

Because we weren't home for last night's trick or treaters,  I left a huge bag of candy on the porch with a note to take three pieces each. I estimate there were 500 pieces of candy, so that should have been enough for around 165 kids -- I think we typically get somewhere close to 100. When we got home, the bag was predictably empty, but I'd love to know how long it lasted and how honorable the kids were. I'm thinking about repeating the experiment next year, but staying at home and observing on a game camera.

A stomach flu virus swept through the house and our bodies last week. I am not a good nurse, nor a patient patient. Ben missed a day of school for only the second time in his high school career. Logan was also out one day -- his first high school absence. They were both back in full swing within 24 hours, attending school, practices, and scarfing down what ever they could find to eat because you can bet I wasn't leaving the comfort of my bed (and nearby bathroom) to fix for them. I lingered for three days before I felt human. I'm still dealing with dental woes and have had an eye virus. I'm sick of all this!

While I lay abed last Thursday, Ben was inducted into the National Honor Society, with Grandpa Steve attending the ceremony. I wish I could have been there, I'm so proud of him.

Game Time

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Grandpa Steve and Julia walk with Ben on his "Senior Walk" during the pre-game ceremony at tonight's football game. The announcer kind of stumbled over Ben's announcement: "Benjamin Maples, son of uh, grandson of Melody Moore and Steve Maples." No mention of Julia who was walking with him. I sat in the stands, freezing to death while trying to coax a reluctant camera to perform; I never did get the key moment shot. 

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The star marimba player awaits the downbeat for the Star Spangled Banner. It was very cool, "the rockets' red glare" was accompanied by fireworks and a second blast occurred at the finale. That's pretty fancy for a small town.

Here's the certificate Ben received. I couldn't be prouder of him, but sometimes his school embarrasses me.  The wording on the certificate makes no sense, Ozark High School This certifies that Benjamin Maples Senior Night Award for the 2011-2012 School Year. Besides making no sense, the year is wrong -- we are in the 2012-2013 school year.

Here's the football Logan presented to my walker. Normally, I sit at the top of the stands in the handicapped area. But tonight, I left my walker in that spot and walked all the way down to the field level so I could take a picture of Ben and the Senior Walk. I had not returned to my walker when Logan came looking for me with this memento. In case you can't read my blurry photo, it says: "Ozark High School Tigers I dedicate this game to you. Dear Grandma, Thank you for all you do. Love, Logan P.S. Make me some cookies when I get home. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a girlfriend else the football would have gone to her instead of me.

I lasted until the Ozark Tigers scored their first touchdown against Nixa and left when the score was 7-0. I just can't take the cold and 41 degrees is cold when it's damp and windy.

Reunion, part 2

This second phase of my California reunions reaches back to my high school days. I get to spend four days with three of my high school girl friends. We're staying at the place owned and run by the family of a fellow classmate and his wife. The gorgeous Little River Inn is an historic Inn (built in the 1860's as a dairy farm) overlooking a beautiful cove on the Mendocino coast.

We arrived at Little River Inn and sat on the verandah watching, listening to, smelling the ocean, and feeling its cool salty dampness on our skins. It wasn't cold, just serene and calming after our six hour drive from Sacramento through the Napa and Sonoma Valley vineyards, the Anderson valley, the redwoods, and finally to the coast. We saw the best California had to offer and driving in the company of dear old girl friends made it perfect. Only with all women in the car were we able to turn around and go back to the In N Out Burger I had zipped past. A man would have kept driving to the "next" place. In fact, I zipped past it a second time, but arrived at the right place on the third attempt. And it was worth it! I haven't had an In N Out Burger in years, didn't even know I missed them, but boy, was it good! 

Our host and classmate invited us to be his guests at dinner that evening at the Inn's fabulous restaurant. It's hard to beat the combination of great food and wine while celebrating and reminiscing with dear old friends. Laughing, "do you remembers," confessions of high school hijinks and crushes, and all the "what ever happened to . . . " made the evening pass all too quickly. But by around nine o'clock we were sufficiently sated (and just a bit drunk) to toddle off to our rooms and get ready for the next day.

We eased into our first full day together by starting with room service breakfast on the verandah. We moved through the morning very slowly and then went off to Fort Bragg for a bit of exploring and picking up a few necessaries.

And a perfect day ended with another perfect meal, this time at the home of our host and his wife. He and his wife prepared wild salmon with home or locally grown veggies and served wonderful local wines. He is a trumpet player and friend Janet is a pianist, so they entertained us after dinner with an impromptu concert.

And now, we're ready for yet another day of revelry!

Kickoff Time

 

The band played the Star Spangled Banner while the football players and the audience stood and saluted the flag. It's Ben's last band season and Logan's first season to suit up and stand on the sidelines as a member of the Junior Varsity. When it hit me that both boys were out there doing something they love, something they have worked hard for, I could not hold back the tears. It was just too much, the beautiful weather, the music, the flag, the uniforms, the joy, and all the work and love that had brought us to that moment swept over me and I lost it. I fought to muffle sobs, wipe my face, and tried to explain to myself why I was crying. I still can't explain it, nor can I recall that moment without crying all over again --  just as I'm doing right now as I try to write about it.

This is the first year with the new band director and the show looks good with recognizable music from Pachelbel's Canon, the Beatles, and Green Day. The band is not yet in uniform, but I like the way they look in their black tee shirts and khaki shorts. Uniform fittings are next week and I'll be busy altering pants for a couple of weeks. The band is young this year -- about half freshmen -- so there will be lots of work to do.

The football team had a great day playing against Saint Joe Belton. The Ozark team won the toss and ran the opening kickoff  back 88 yards for a touchdown. When the other team got the ball, they immediately fumbled and Ozark recovered, scoring another touchdown. Four minutes into the game they scored for the third time. And so it went. The final score was 69-13 and everyone on the sidelines got a chance to play. Logan was thrilled when he got in on the last play of the game. So was I! The weather remained pleasant until after the game and then the skies opened and watered our parched landscape.

Ben spent the evening watching a centipede eat a fly. I joined him long enough to snap this picture and observe just how fast those little buggers can move! I didn't like that part.

Today we celebrated Grandpa Steve's birthday with a midday dinner prepared by Julia and some killer chili made by Ash. John showed us his photos from his recent mission trip to India where they installed water filters in people's homes. He got a great perspective on village life in that part of the world.

Season Finale

In the middle of this picture, the red-headed section leader of the front line plays his part on the vibes. Because I was at ground level when I took the picture, you can't see the drum line carrying on behind the keyboards. It was a good show, but not their best -- wait till next year!

Saturday's show was the season finale and regional championship competition. Drum corps' from all over Missouri and parts of Kansas descended on our little town and left behind several thousand dollars to sweeten the coffers of the Ozark High School Band and to fund much of next year's activities. This one day effort sure beats selling Christmas wrap and frozen cookie dough! And it was very well executed thanks to some great parent and student volunteers.

With Winter Drum Line and Speech and Debate season at a close, my taxi service goes into semi-retirement. The trio of activities demanding after-hours practice remaining on the calendar -- off-season football training, the spring Chorale Concert, and Woodwind Symphony (Ben plays tympani) -- have yet to wrap-up, but for the most part we have begun the long gradual slide into summer. Then we'll launch into band and football camps and summer school. Hopefully, by then we'll have a second car.

Today's gorgeous weather means I have to make a trip to Lowes' for weed killer. Everything green thing in the Ozarks has erupted during the past couple of weeks of warm and wet weather. Mowing season is back with us, bird nests are all over the place, and the bugs have returned. Ben hates the mowing and weed-killing -- he sees it as the destruction of insect habitat. I like it for the same reason!

Spring Break -- Not!

The boy (initials LAM) who won't allow his picture to be taken by his doting grandmother went off to a district-wide speech tournament this morning. As usual he was a gorgeous hunk in his dark blue suit which is getting just a bit tight in the chest and shoulders; after all, it is a year old and he is still a growing fifteen-year-old. When it came time to put on his jacket, he insisted it was NOT his jacket. According to him, his jacket did not have a vent in the middle of the back, did not have chipped buttons, and fit much better in the chest and shoulders. Never mind that the jacket in question was the exact same fabric and color as the pants, from the same store, and from the same clothing line. He left confident that someone had mixed up his jacket with theirs at the last speech tournament. I wish him well as he takes a difficult-to-defend position in this debate. I'm betting he'll be wearing the same jacket when he returns to the debate tournament tomorrow.

Winter Drum Line competitions have eaten into Ben's spring break. Last Saturday they competed at Nixa. They haven't done very well this year. I feel some of the enthusiasm of the group has been dampened by the departure of their band director, Brian Perkins. He was put on a leave of absence around Thanksgiving last year and finally resigned in February. Rumors swirl around his departure, but none of them seem to indicate any horrible misdeeds, and there have certainly been no charges filed against him. Whatever the reasons, the whole situation makes me very sad. Mr. P. gave unstintingly of his time and energy for the band and contributed greatly to Ben's development as a musician and a person. He allowed Ben to take a leadership position in his section, and gave him lots of time for practicing and learning outside of school hours. The band also provided Ben a framework for his social life and the opportunity to develop trust in a male role model. He has spent many hours in class, rehearsals, competitions, and road trips so the relationship went far deeper than that of any other teacher. It has been unsettling to have Mr. P. just disappear from his life with no closure and no understanding of the circumstances. It makes me very sad for Ben's loss and for whatever has happened in Mr. P.'s life. I wish him and his family strength and success as they reshape their lives. I am left with unexpressed gratitude for the contribution he has made to our lives.

While Logan is debating, Ben and I will be farming. Tomorrow is our "work share" day at the farm. I hope they have an easy grandma-type task. In the past, I have sorted seeds and started seeds in little soil clumps. I have great enthusiasm for gardening in the spring; problem is, it fades by the time summer heats up. This year I'm confining my efforts to herbs and flowers in hanging pots on the deck because we may be moving this summer (if our house sells). I don't want to sow anything I won't be around to reap! So, I'll limit my sowing and focus on sewing. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Music to My Ears

Ben sings in the Chorale's spring concert even though a black lightning bolt is about to penetrate his skull. Unaffected by lightning and unlocatable in this photo is cousin Nick Cronin, also a member of the chorale. The music was amazing and Ben loves singing, it does something wonderful to his soul. In his audition for next year, he qualified for Varsity Singers -- the elite choir in the high school -- composed largely of seniors with some exceptionally (ahem) talented members of other classes. However, he won't be able to join them and will remain with the chorale one more year because of a schedule conflict with some other class he also wants to take.
The point of all this bragging is to say, he loves to sing and he does it well. And that makes my heart sing.


He also likes playing in the band. The two musical organizations form the backbone of his social sphere. (Block that metaphor and try to imagine a sphere with a backbone!) In this picture he is hiding behind a music stand, playing a mallet instrument of some sort, and is about to be struck by a bolt of orange lightning issuing from Mr. Perkins hand.
As a percussionist, he rotates among several instruments called the "front line" in marching season. In symphonic band they form the back line and he is playing the tympany in this piece (he's on the far right).

These pictures were taken with my new iphone -- I really do need a decent camera!

Also music to my ears was the news that my air conditioner was easily repaired by removing an ant's nest from its innards and replacing a wire chewed through by a mouse. Ah, the Missouri wild life!

Black and Blue

The winter drum line was all decked out in black and blue, the theme colors for this year, for their parent preview/dress rehearsal performance last night. What you can't tell from this photo is the mat they are standing on is black vinyl with blue striping. You also can't tell there are nineteen kids in the group, all wearing the t-shirts I cut the sleeves out of and hemmed (a labor of love, even though I hate sewing t-shirt material). They have blue Under Armor shirts under (duh!) and a blue stripe has been ironed on the t-shirts. Pretty snazzy looking, IMHO. Of course, Ben with his tall slim body, beautiful posture, and wide shoulders is a perfect model (naturally, I'm 100 % objective!). Their performance has improved steadily through the season and they should be in top form for today's show.


The drum line is hosting today's competition and season finale. No more mid-week evening rehearsals till next fall -- dinner at home with the family -- and grandma can have a glass of wine with dinner if she chooses because she doesn't have to transport kids in the evening. And next year, he will have a driver's license and won't need me to haul him around -- a thought that induces joy and terror simultaneously.

Logan is spending this rainy Saturday afternoon hosting his own music festival. A couple of friends are coming over to work on their version of a garage band (in our case, a John Deere room band).

It's So Nice to Have a Man Around the (Green) House

Ben climbed the ladder to dismantle the satellite dish so we could return the component you can see sticking out. Dish Satellite graciously (?) allows us to keep the dish, but we are required to return the other gizmo or pay $150. Now, what are we supposed to do with a disabled satellite dish, pray tell? We had to package up a bunch of equipment and send it back to them. They left it up to us to dismantle the equipment and package it and pay for shipping. They make it real hard to disentangle from their services (the reason we now have a new phone number, grrrrrr).
With both feet on the ground, Ben is filling our basket with our allotment of winter vegetables, either from storage, or grown in the hoop house.
Stuffed in the basket is the biggest Chinese cabbage I've ever seen -- it must weigh close to ten pounds. But, it's very tender and mild. We ate a bit of it last night in a mixture of ham and potatoes. It was pretty good -- Logan complained at the mention of it and then enjoyed it. There's also a mighty big turnip, about the size of a softball, to the right of the carrots. Greens, onions, butternut and acorn squash, potatoes, and a bell pepper round out the share. Our farmer and his wife welcomed a new baby girl over the Christmas holidays. This is the fourth girl born to them and they have four foster girls, all under eight years old.

I Love Winter Because . . .

• The possibility of a SNOW DAY hangs in the air. Yes, of course we know you have to make it up at the end of the school year, but it's worth it! Up early with a long full day ahead and no school! The kids are out to the local sledding hill at first light and back within an hour with red cheeks, hands, and snow crusted feet which shed all over the entry hall. And for Grandma, no obligation to go anywhere, everything is canceled because it's TOO DANGEROUS to drive. Crank up the gas fireplace, gather up the warm throws, stack the books on the end table, and settle in, no obligation to go out, so I have a hot toddy with the evening news. We haven't had a snow day yet this year, but the season is young.

• The bare trees reveal secrets they've shrouded all summer. The true shapes of the trees are revealed making it much easier to distinguish hickory from sycamore, ash from oak. Empty birds' nests safely hidden while holding eggs and cradling chicks, are now in plain sight. I wonder how some very large nests high in the slender branches that must belong to either raptors or small mammals survive the 50 - 60 mile per hour gusts we often experience. The bald eagles return for their winter visit and can be seen high in trees near the water, scouting for their next meal.
  

• ICE! The very word strikes fear. One slip and you could end up in the hospital! Cars spin out all over the place, into ditches and into each other. But it fascinates me. Ice storms bring down trees, power and telephone lines, but they also gild every surface with silvery beauty that glistens in the bright sun that follows a storm and turns the whole world into a magically beautiful place. I love watching to see if the river has frozen and to watch the confused ducks walk on the surface they expected to swim and fish in. At the beginning of the season, I set a pan of water on the deck at night to see how thick the ice forms. I keep a steady eye on the thermometer, watching for lowest readings of the season.

• Warm weather food. Cozy smells, cinnamon and crock pots full of all the veggies left in the refrigerator. (Favorite recipe: half pound of small-cubed chicken or pork, half pound of sliced any kind of sausage, a box of chicken broth, a big can of diced tomatoes, a can of cannellini beans, leafy veggies [bok choy, spinach, tat soi, chard] and root veggies [turnips, carrots, potatoes, beets] and maybe some acorn or butternut squash. I just clean out the refrigerator until the crock pot is full.) The kids used to grumble a bit, but if I serve some fresh hot biscuits, rolls, or garlic bread, they love it! And I can't believe they eat turnips without a murmur. I have learned to tolerate them and even like the milder Japanese variety. Molasses/ginger snaps, snickerdoodles, apple pie, home made apple sauce fill the air with cinnamon goodness.

• Christmas. All of it. The excess, the gifts (giving and receiving) the home decorations, the food, the music, the company, the parties, the traditions -- both religious and secular. Advent calendars (couldn't find any this year!) Next year I will make quilted "permanent" ones with pockets to be filled with goodies for each December day. Advent candles -- this Sunday will be the last candle -- symbol of Joy. The Christmas programs at school. Ben's madrigal last night was magnificent. Could only have been better if I had been able to see him well enough to get a decent picture. But with a couple hundred kids on the stage, it's hard to pick out one special boy who looked great and sung his heart out. I'm always struck by the thought that singing is so good for one. I'm convinced it promotes good health and clear thinking. And brings Joy to the World!
  

Deer in the Headlights

On the far left, Ben totes a marching marimba. He was surprised to see me in the area where the parade was forming, hence the startle reflex. I found a spot that allowed me to sit in the car and read my magazine after taking this picture. I've seen enough of the local Christmas parades. They are long on old people in old cars, and pretty young girls freezing to death while perched on the top of the back seat of convertibles. Then they hurl hard candy at you, hard. It hurts. I am too old to think it is fun. And OMG, the traffic. They come from miles around to see this parade -- the population quadruples for a couple of hours. I don't get it.

Fortunately, it is still fun for Ben. He was so enthusiastic about carrying the marimba for this occasion that he practiced by marching a mile yesterday while carrying the marimba on his front side and his 50 pound backpack on his back. He thought it would toughen him up for the parade this evening. I guess it worked. He said the march tonight was much easier than yesterday's drill.

And speaking of drills, the driving lessons are going well. We go out every day and he is now driving on the road, he's mastered the route to and from school, is gaining confidence, and I'm unclenching a little.


Here's a table runner I made from fabric left over from another larger project. I'm calling this piece "Stars Over Ozark" and it is going to be a prize awarded to the person who sells the most raffle tickets for the quilt (Stars Over Mozambique) I donated to the church as a fundraiser for the Mozambique mission project.

And the Band Played On

This blurry grainy image was captured just before the battery died on my camera. Ben is playing vibes -- the blisters on his fingers caused by playing with four mallets have turned into callouses, but, the season is drawing to a close, only one more game, one more competition, and the Christmas parade before the uniform goes into mothballs till next year. And then we gear up for Winter Drum Line and the Spring Concert Band followed by Summer band trip and camps and so goes the merry-go-round.

We spent a quiet weekend even though we were hosts pro tem for foreign exchange student, Lars (from Bremen, Germany). He's very low maintenance, so put no extra demands on us -- keep him fed with bread and water and he's happy. Friday night he was honored at the football team for his participation on the swim team. It's his first year ever on a swim team and he has been consistently beating his own best times. He's a very nice and bright young man; it was a privilege to have him here.

And Tomorrow! Tomorrow Valery arrives! We'll have a very busy week and we both already wish she were staying longer. Her plane comes in around five and I'll rush her off to Logan's last game of the season.

And He Can Sing!

Is it just me, or is this the best-looking 15 year old red head you ever saw? Too bad the white tie doesn't show up too well in this photo -- he looks wonderful in his tux.



And he ( and 99 others) sang well, too. Ben is in the front row just to the right of Ms Jamison's right shoulder. "Cousin" Nick Cronin is in the back row at the far right.

Rushing the Season

While shopping at Sam's Club in late August, Christmas displays assaulted my sensibilities. Christmas lights, lawn decorations, gift wrap, cards, and teetering towers of cookie tins and chocolates had knocked the Halloween candy and Thanksgiving trimmings back four aisles.
I dashed home and assessed my own state of preparedness:

Quilted table runner complete?

(Detail of table runner showing "broderie perse" applique in the center of the block -- a new technique for me, but a very old one in the history of quilting.)

Kitchen cabinets decorated?

Reindeer at their posts over the living room fireplace?

Piano top display arranged?

Tree up and lit?

Nutcrackers ready to go to work?

Christmas is at my house. It always is. I'm stubborn that way about my favorite holiday. I have a hard time understanding people who prefer Halloween, or Easter, Thanksgiving, Independence Day. Don't they get it? Christmas has it all! Religious significance, music, pageants, parades, presents, decorations, friends, family, food, good smells, winter weather you haven't yet grown tired of, traditions, parties, excess -- YES!!! So, come to my house this year -- you're invited!!!!! Now, I have to go bake some cookies.

Brag, brag, brag

Sometimes I think I spend a lot of space bragging, but it's my blog and I can write whatever I want! To continue along that path, here's the completed quilt for the Springfield library made by my Applique group. We made it as a token of appreciation for the meeting space the library provides. The quilt will be displayed on rotation to all the local branches. I made the blocks located at A1, B3, C2, and D1 on the quilt. It was fun and nice to see it finally completed. A group project takes a lot of coordinating and consensus.

Yesterday evening we attended Ben's year end band banquet and he received his block letter. I am always amazed at how lucky we are to have such a good school. I love the social framework the band provides and how kind the kids are to each other. I look forward to three more band years, and so does Ben.

Expect more bragging during the next week -- school is winding down and award assemblies are coming up. Be forewarned.

Party On

Kevin and Rachel came to town yesterday (braving torrential rains). We continued the celebration of my birthday with dinner at home and a show in Branson. Our friend and hairdresser, Holly, sang and danced in the show. She was great! When we came home we enjoyed a birthday strawberry cheesecake prepared by my next door neighbor. She's been baking me a birthday cake for the past several years. Sweet!

This morning, Kevin, Rachel, Ben, Logan, and I went to brunch at Hemingway's in the Bass Pro shop. I had never been inside before and it was every bit as scarey as I'd feared -- stuffed dead animals everywhere. The brunch was pleasant and I meant to get a picture of all of us, but I forgot.

This evening we went out to dinner to celebrate cousin Nick's 15th birthday. I couldn't get any of the older boys to stand still, so could only get a good picture of Adam, who is predictably cute in photos. Then my camera's batteries died.

Upbeat

The best looking boy in the band plays the marimba in competition. This drum line of 20 kids competed last Saturday. Too bad they were evaluated for their performance and not looks. On the same day Logan participated in his first competitive speech event. He performed two pieces -- a comedy dialogue and a poem. Did well on the first and according to him he bombed on the poem. I salute him for being brave enough to do it at all. He is looking forward to the next competition on home turf. I am so proud of them (can you tell?).

Where's Ben?

Can you find Ben? He's singing in the High School Choir concert this past Thursday evening. It was fabulous -- couple hundred voices led by an enthusiastic, energetic, charismatic director and an equally equipped assistant director made music that rivaled any choral concert I have ever heard. The program's pace was perfect -- the logistics of moving around so many kids were handled beautifully with the director filling in the silent (as silent as could be with scores of teenagers climbing off and on risers) moments with witty comments. I hope these kids know how privileged they are to work with such a talented teacher. The music ranged widely: classical Christian music sung in Latin, a Hebrew hymn, Negro spirituals (or the more politcally correct term that no one recognizes: "antique gospel music"), African a capella (well, not entirely a capella, there were a few rhythm instruments -- like Ladysmith Black Mambaza), women's a capella in the style of Eastern European Women's choruses (think Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares), and love songs. An ambitious program under any circumstances and astounding so early in the school year! The concert occurred on Robin's birthday; I saw it as a tribute to her.

While the choir sang within the comfort of the auditorium, the storm raged without. Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in a 12 hour period, much of it during the concert.
The road was closed to traffic, but I was able to park near the mill and walk out onto the bridge.
This shot is looking upriver into the flooded park. The water extends all through the park and across the road .



Looking downstream from the bridge, the dam has been completely overwhelmed by the flooding waters. It sounded like the roar of the ocean. Notice also, the beginning of fall color.
Looking upstream to the left of the bridge you can see that all the private docks are now midstream; none of the homes were threatened.

Good Parents Take Lots of Pictures

Ben is the small red head second from the left in the back row. If he played the flute instead of the drums, I might have been able to get a decent picture of him while he was performing at the band competition held at the College of the Ozarks last week.

Logan is the blond blur in the middle of the back row singing at the spring concert. He is not in the choir, but does have a vocal singing class, so they put those kids in the choir for this concert. He has a very good voice, and if he were a female soprano, I might be able to get a decent picture of him performing.

Because school is winding down and the weather is warmer, lots of field trips and concerts are scheduled. Today Ben's class went to play Lunar Golf and tomorrow Logan will go to Silver Dollar City.

Strike Up the Band!

Ben's school band is going to appear in a Public Service Announcement on National TV. The Bob Woodruff Family Trust funded the filming of a spot featuring the band playing at the town square. The square was chosen as being typical of mid-America. The PSA will run the week of Veteran's Day and I wouldn't be surprised if it aired on ABC (Woodruff's network). For more information see the article in the paper and the Woodruff Foundation website
This picture was taken last year; this year Ben is playing the quads (four drums).