Post Thanksgiving Notes and Thoughts

Unable to get back to sleep after Patricia woke up for work, I crawled out of the sack at 6:45 or so this morning....showered, put some coffee in a Styrofoam cup, and headed towards the lake....I was running late and arrived just as the sun was peaking up over the tree lined southeast side of the haze covered water...it was actually a pretty nice site.  The waterfowl were flying in great numbers, and you could hear the shotgun blasts of the duck and geese hunters in the distance.  I grabbed the Nikon, left the Nitro running and walked towards the shoreline, with just enough time to snap maybe a dozen and a half photos...most came out pretty well, I guess because I didn't have time to think about it.  I used a small variety of settings, from Automatic, to Dusk/Dawn to Sunset/Sunrise...I was on my way back towards home within 20 minutes.

Post Thanksgiving_____

The Thanksgiving weekend, in a nutshell, was a good one, that moved by in a quick fashion. 

On Turkey Day, we went to sister Marty and her husband Pat's{yes, like Mike, Pat is the other most common of names in the family and extended family} place....we had a good three hour get together with Mom and other family members...we will do the same come Christmas Eve.  We were home by night fall and football and basketball viewing were on the agenda.  Friday went by, and frankly, other than watching some football on the tube, I can't remember much about it.....Saturday would be more clear in my mind.

Saturday was the big game....like always, the Ohio State/Michigan Football Game is the big happening around these parts in late November.  Ohio State on probation, won 26-21 after trailing by 21-20 at the half.  OSU has now won 9 of 11 and Urban Meyer's team went 12-0...sure they can't go to a bowl game thanks to former coach Jim Tressel and his merry band of cheaters, lead by super thug, Terrelle Pryor, but undefeated, beating Michigan and the Big Ten pretenders is still a pretty good season.

Youngest son Hal, his wife Lisa, and Grandson Kasyn were at the house to watch OSU and to celebrate the "K-Man's" first birthday...sure we had the big party in Centerville last Saturday, but this Saturday was his actual birthday and we had a big gift for him...amazing kid, and not just because he's my Grandson.  He had the playhouse figured out with little help within 30 minutes, and was on it like a pro.  Now longer satisfied to crawl, he was everywhere and anywhere he could get to....a great afternoon.

Once the game was over, that part of the family went over to see Great-Grandma who had a present for Kasyn....meanwhile I changed and headed north to Ottawa for my first regular season game of the year.  A JV Girls contest between O-G and Miller City...that went smoothly, as my sore foot and ankle, still not near 100% held up.  I headed the 55 miles south to home, and once I had showered, I grabbed a couple of beers and watched my favorite basketball team, The Duke Blue Devils, remain undefeated by winning the tournament in the Bahamas by defeating #2 ranked Louisville....it got better, sports wise on Sunday as the Bengals stayed in the NFL playoff hunt by whipping former Bengal QB Carson Palmer and the Oakland Raiders 34-10...that topped with a upset win by the Browns over Pittsburgh, keeps Cincinnati firmly in the Wild Care picture.

So, all-in-all the weekend turned out pretty good...real good in fact and I begin a new week.  Dartball tonight, and then basketball officiating tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday, after this the weeks, except for a few days off over Christmas week, will be filled with roundball until February starts to close out.  My plans are to eat healthy, stay fit, and keep my feet as protected as possible....

back later>>>>


Photos-Grand Lake this morning didn't look much different that it does on a calm day in July...but 40 or 50 degrees colder makes you appreciate the hot coffee more....and Kasyn on his first birthday figured out the play "house" pretty quickly, and celebrated a Buckeye over Michigan win with his Dad and Grandpa....