Winter hits it's Zenith

Zenith:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenith

Tomorrow January 21st is what most consider the point historically in Winter, where we hit rock bottom{isn't that the opposite of  "zenith"?}...being on average this will be the coldest day of the year.....As I woke up a bit late this morning{isn't retirement great?} I noted 8 above zero...which in my recollection was tied for the coldest morning of the season....and if this is as bad as it gets, that is not too bad.

They are calling for 2 to 4 inches of snow tonight, which could make my drive north to Columbus Grove{not to be confused with or anywhere near the state capitol of Columbus}, and back 'interesting" again...it seems every time I get a Friday night game a long distance away, Mother Nature decides to toss me a curve ball.  I was hoping that if the snow was coming, it would come early and cancel the game...otherwise, stay the Hell away....because tomorrow early, I have to climb out and head back north for a 7th grade tournament double header at Wayne Trace....and I really am not looking forward to anymore sliding this winter, one crash is already one too many.

Speaking of icy roads....

Despite only an inch or so of snow locally yesterday, it made a mess of the streets and roads.  The inch was the small flakes of ice type, and Celina and Mercer County were slippery as it gets....heading to Convoy to work a girls double header last night, it took me 50 minutes as compared to the usual 35 or so....the trouble was strictly in Mercer, by the time I reached Van Wert County, the roads were better, and the light snow had ended.  Coming home I opted for the main roads, and despite some slippery spots, they were drivable.

The Weekend Ahead____

Patricia is pretty well ready for the coming weekend....Hal and the "K-man" are coming this afternoon, and spending most of the weekend, through Sunday afternoon, with us.  Hal's wife Lisa is joining some friends driving to Tennessee to prepare for their friends wedding in Georgia in March...so the boys are on their own, and Kasyn, just a few days away from being two months old, will spend some time with the Grandparents on this side....it's been many years since we had one that young staying here, his dad being the youngest, so make that some 27 and 1/2 years.

Hal, Kasyn, and watching the NFC and AFC playoffs is about it....the games themselves, without much interest, although I will tend to root for New England and the Giants, just because the Harbaugh brothers, coaching Baltimore and San Fran, tend to rub me the wrong way....

That's is about it for the week.....back later>>>>  

Photos- The first 3 photos are of our drive-ways in winter, after an Ohio and Wisconsin Blizzards...By all accounts, as winter, reaches it's mid point temperature and snow wise, this has been a mild one so far...compared to the top photo from 1984(the year Hal was born) when we lived out on the old Andrews Farm on Coldwater Creek...that was a winter!  As were the years living in the boondocks on northern Wisconsin, on a farm located between Wausau and Merrill....the next photos are from a Blizzard in March of 1979, I was lucky to escape with my life driving home that night...it was close.  And finally Hal and Kasyn, youngest son and first grandchild, will be staying with us this weekend while wife and mom Lisa is out of town....we are looking forward to the "K-Man" spending some time with us....

Winding down 2011.....Here comes 2012 part #2

The snow and rain took turns yesterday, but as I headed out to Convoy for a Girls game between the host Crestview team and Hicksville{yes Virginia there really is a town called "Hicksville, Ohio"....}most of the precipitation had ended....just a damp cold had settled in.  On the way home I thought about firing up a hand rolled cigar, but thought again, and decided not to stink up the van or my clothes....it's been at least two months since I had a cigar, which in a good way keeps my stock in the basement in full supply.  Don't smoke often in the winter months...just have not been one of those cold weather outdoor smokers.

Back at 2011____

After the February 5th wedding of Hal and Lisa, we returned home to Ohio to await the reception, which was slated for Dayton/Centerville some two weeks later.  As opposed to the wedding, which was just a family affair, with 15 total, counting bride and groom, in attendance, the reception at the local American Legion would see a "normal" sized crowd....I can't remember exactly how many, but somewhere between 150 and 200 is my guess, but I really wasn't counting.  Considering the bulk of Hal's friends were from Mercer County, it came as no surprise to me that we shut down the "free" part of the bar much earlier than anticipated....this Western Ohio County is well know for it's Catholic Beer Consumption tradition, and the guests did not disappoint.  It didn't matter, they boys from Hal's childhood quickly went into the pay as you go portion, without missing a beat, even the Legion bartenders were impressed.

As the reception put an end to the months of work for the bride and groom, and planning for them and parents, especially the mothers, it also marked the winding down of the long basketball season for me, and we could see the light at the end of the bitter cold and snow filled winter.  Baseball and moderating temperatures were just around the corner, as was the announcement that we would become first time grand parents by year's end. 

March and April came and went...despite much wet weather, I did manage to get most of my scheduled baseball games in...I remember some as bitter cold.  One in particular, at Defiance College, where Garry and I worked was as cold as I can remember in recent years working a game.  Early in the season, the day of the Reds traditional home opener to be exact, we worked the game in 35 degree temperatures, with a northeast wind...Garry was lucky, he was at the plate on this rotation, and got to wear the gear, making his day a bit more bearable than mine....even with the Underall winter clothes, I froze.  By the time I finished the Summer American Legion and ACME season, some cooler weather would have been appreciated.  Things warmed up considerably as the season progressed into June and July.  My spring season didn't see as many tournament games as usual, guess I didn't stroke enough egos of those making the decisions...aka Kiss Enough Ass...but if you know me, you know that will never happen.  

Summer ball, was a different story....working both multiple districts and the State Tournament here in Celina, at Montgomery Field, and also the District American Legion Tournament in Sidney....I stayed busy throughout the Spring and Summer Baseball Season.

Back to early Spring, where we usually have our Easter Dinner at sister Marty's place...{we do the same at Christmas}, it's a good place with enough room for all to move around, eat, and BS.  The newlyweds, Hal and Lisa were there, and at the end of the day, took us out to their car, and presented us with "Grandparent" gifts...announcing that they were expecting around Thanksgiving....on a Father's Day family get together, we found out the sex of the baby on a trip to Cincinnati and a Reds game...it would be a boy.  And as it turned out...Kasyn Timothy Houseworth would be born Thanksgiving evening....more on that later.  

In addition to the "Baby News",  back in March I turned 62, so I would receive a small stipend from Uncle Sam, called Social Security.  Working much of my adult life for the local and state governments{hard to believe with my political leans I know}, my small SS checks each month wouldn't do much, but it would be enough to make the payment with a bit left over for a new vehicle....so in April, Patricia and I purchased a Dodge Nitro for her.  I gave up the ghost and sold my old Jeep Wrangler to the neighbor kid, Derek, and took over Patricia's Mini Van....imagine me, drinking a "soccer mom" type vehicle...well, gotta admit, it is more comfortable than the Jeep.  Also Rick, Clint, and Rick's boys and I went on our annual Michigan Mushroom Hunt in mid May, for me it followed a two year hiatus....the mushroom pickings were slim, but I did manage to meet face to face with a Hog Nose Snake, thinking it was a Michigan Timber Rattler at first.  I got some good photos, before I dropped my camera in the stream, while reaching for a cold beer, from the bag of beers we had cooling....thus ruining it, but not the disk which included the snake photos.  The wet and mushroom-less weekend still was a good time, as it always has been.

We wound down the Summer with a trip to Wisconsin for another wedding, this one for Patricia's nephew...Hal and Lisa, would join us for this final fling of the Summer....more tomorrow as the summer turns into fall.

back later>>>>

Photos-The Mushroom Hunt in Michigan mid May, didn't yield many "rooms", but did give me a chance to get up close and personal with this Hog Nose Snake, which yielded one of my best photos in recent memory.  Turning 62 gave me a little pocket change via Social Security, enough to purchase Patricia a Dodge Nitro, to replace my Jeep and the Intrepid, the Jeep, as much as I hated to depart with it, was sold to Derek the neighbor{bottom photo}  I spent many summer morning at Grand Lake snapping photos of the glorious sunrise above our polluted lake...the lake stinks, but many photo were taken, and many came out excellent....baseball went from March until the end of July, here I am in July working the ACME District at Lima Central Catholic....and in Michigan, in addition to meeting up with the "Snake"...I finally got a chance to meet my cousin "Big Moe" Houseworth...we had talked via phone and e-mails for years, but we finally got to share a beer and a handshake.

Gonna Spend the Day...screwing around with photographs

Yesterday was a complete wash-out in Ohio and much of the eastern Great Lakes region....40s for highs with moderate to heavy rain throughout the daylight hours into the early evening.....I didn't get out and walk for the first day in awhile, and just didn't feel like dropping down the treadmill into the "go" position.  I did however lift weights in the basement for about an hour, watched the Bogart Classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" in the afternoon, fixed a supper for Patricia and me, and then settled in to watch my Duke Blue Devils defeat hated Michigan in Basketball in Hawaii, and flipped it over to watch the Ohio University Bobcats squeak out a win over the Miami Redhawks{nee' Redskins}.  This morning the rains are gone, replaced by bright sunshine and cool but seasonable conditions, with a high slated to reach 50.

Tomorrow, with Sam, coming from Ohio State, and Anissa joining us, we will pack up bright and early, and drive the 90 minutes or so to Centerville, near Dayton, and Patricia will help fix Thanksgiving Dinner for Hal and Lisa.  This will be the first Thanksgiving for us together since Hal and Lisa were married in February.  We thought perhaps our first Grandchild, name of Kaysn, would be joining us...but the little guy has yet to make his appearance, they thought, given his size, and progress, he would perhaps be born by now...but it appears he will make his appearance closer to or perhaps after his due date of November 28th, another in a long line of December milestones in our family?  Maybe, but I'm sure they, at least Lisa, would like him to come along sometime before then...we shall see.

Today, not much on the schedule...I will get out and walk, do some pushups, and get to the bank...other than that, I think I have some older photographs I need to work on....changing the view and quality, by various means with my various programs...some of the stuff from 35 to 75 years old can be "tinkered" with to make them more viewable and enjoyable, without messing with the original.  Damn for all their faults and time wasting gadgets, computers, along with modern digital cameras and their programs, are something to behold.

That's the plans....no posting tomorrow, so enjoy your Thanksgiving tomorrow, with family and friends.....

back later>>>>>

Photos-Poster and Still, with Bogart, Tim Holt, and Walter Huston, from the classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre"---Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Waiting on Kasyn....part 1

After the rain moved out yesterday, the wind picked up, and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees from the afternoon high of 60, by nightfall...it was  cool and windy, with a spit or two of snow as I drove back from Van Wert, where I attended another local rules meeting for Basketball officials...just five days away from my first scrimmage of the season on November 15th.  The long regular{lasting until late February} begins over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Waitin' On Kasyn____

Our youngest son Hal and his wife Lisa are expecting our first Grandchild this month...Kasyn Timothy is his name, and like his dad, it appears he will be a big one....3 weeks away from the due date, Kasyn is already 7 pounds 12 oz...meaning if he went full term, he will weigh about 9 pounds at birth!!  The parents-to-be were back at the doctors yesterday to make sure all was well....in addition to being in the high percentile for size, they told the couple that the boy has a big head and waist...I don't know about the waist part, but if any of you know the Houseworth men...we all have pretty good sized melons on top of our shoulders.  None of us can fit a "normal" size ball cap on our heads.  In addition to having a heavy head, Hal himself is hardly on the small size...about 6' 4" and some 250 pounds...so my guess is, there is a good chance that young Kasyn will be a big baby, size wise, and eventually a pretty good size adult.  After all, even though I'm average height at 5' 11'(or I used to, I may have shrunk an inch or so}, the boys, both Hal and Kasyn's "Uncle Sam" are pretty big guys...Lisa's dad and brothers, are more like me...average height and weights, so anything is possible, but for now, I predict our first Grandson to be a "biggie".

Anyway, Lisa is ready for child #1 to be here....and Hal and some of his Celina and College Buds posted videos on facebook, all in fun, to encourage Kasyn to "Hurry Up"...here is future father Hal: {click on links below}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXpm1NvJQE 

At least 5 more friends have posted as well including Stu "rapping" Kasyn to come out:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaKok5suF6k&feature=feedu

You can find more, just type in "Kasyn Hurry Up" on you tube and quite a few videos should pop up....

So we are all ready for the grandson to be here....I'm sure Lisa more than anybody...her first child is going to be a big boy...and it appears by all signs he is ready to join us before Thanksgiving....

back later>>>> 

Photos-{top} Hal and Lisa, when Kasyn was about 5 months along, in late July at his cousins wedding in Wisconsin....and me and Hal, back in 1986, when Hal was 2, and I was a lot younger, sitting on the Suzuki MC, when living on the farm on the banks of the Coldwater Creek.

It's a.......................!

More storms moving in from the west....as it's beginning to look like another wet period.  I know they are having a drought in the southern plains, and I sure wish this crap we have had for the past 4 months would head their way....so it's looking like storms through Wednesday at least, with heat and humidity to go with it.

Father's Day in Cincy____

Patricia and I headed south to Centerville at Noon Saturday to stay with youngest son Hal and wife Lisa.  The plans for the day included supper at the famous Montgomery Inn...there are now several, but we opted for the original location near Cincinnati on Montgomery Road:

 http://www.montgomeryinn.com/

The Ribs are melt in your mouth outstanding..... 

After dining we would head for the Great American Ballpark and take in the Interleague game between the Reds and Toronto Blue Jays...the dining was great, the game?  Not so much...we had seats in left field and high up, but they were cheap($10 each for six of us that went), and under the roof, which worked well, since there was a steady lite rain for much of the game, which ended in a 4-0 shutout by the team from Canada.  This was the second straight game I had seen the Reds shut out, for Hal it was three in a row.  Considering they are the top hitting team in the National League, that is disappointing and rare.

Before all of that however, we, the parents and grandparents to be, all headed for a private salon that specializes in mothers-to-be...our Father's Day weekend event was to join Lisa and Hal in finding out the sex of the grandkid to be.  They have resident Ultra Sound Technicians on site, and within literally a minute of being "hooked up" Lisa and Hal found out that the baby-to-be will be a boy.  So now Hal can begin, not only his new job, started last week, but the painting and the arrangement of the nursery....and hopefully all will go well, and then in about 5 months, the line of Houseworth will reach another generation.  A pretty exciting time for all, to say the least.

After the game, we headed back to Centerville, stayed the night at their parents-to-be's condo, then up early, we headed back to Celina. 

Sam spent the weekend in Columbus, working a 13/14 year old baseball tournament, which they got all the games in, even with the rain and delays....Anissa stayed at her place in Celina..  Tonight Sam is scheduled in Celina, and I am assigned to Convoy Crestview, but at this point, that is not likely to happen...I've also got a couple of yards to mow, Mom's and Anissa's but those may be pushed back as well...for now, it's shower time.

back later>>>>

Photos-A River Boat chugs along the Ohio River heading west past Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati....and the parents in waiting, Hal and Lisa in our catbird seats near the foul pole in left field.  B-T-W...I'll still getting used to the new Nikon, and some shots selections that come with it...I had some good shots, usually with the portrait mode locked in...the landscape and night modes, I'm a work in progress with those..but will get better, hopefully~

The Reception and Weekend Dartball

Our early Spring weather lasted just long enough to get us through the Wedding Reception over the weekend...now we have ice north and a freezing rain mix south, with snow on the way, maybe a few inches before morning.

We pulled out of Celina at 1pm Saturday afternoon heading for Fairborn and our hotel at Wright Patterson AFB.  When we arrived, we found a nearly empty Hope(named after Bob Hope) Hotel and Conference Center...seems it was a slow weekend on the base, so our little group, which included my friend Rick and wife Toni from northern Indiana, Andy, Amy, and their boys from the Louisville, Kentucky, area, and the Schillings from Celina, nearly alone in the large building on the grounds of the Air Force base....we had plenty of elbow room.   The rest of the overnight staying group, including sister Marty and family, along with brother Mike's daughter Lori, would stay at the Cross Country or Courtyard(can't remember which) near the AF Museum....because it had a pool.  Hal and Lisa would join our group Sunday morning at Packy's Grill at the Hope for breakfast, before we all headed towards our various homes.

The reception itself, went without a hitch....plenty of kids and their families that Hal and Lisa work with, the kids, all of them, were well involved in the festivities....Anissa had a great time, dancing most of the night.  The Celina crew, which included a dozen or more of Hal's running mates and friends like Garry and Lisa, and other members of both families managed to close out the prepaid portion of the bar by 9:15 thus turning it into a 'cash bar' until we closed shop at 11pm.  The bartender at the Fairborn American Legion, said that was the first time they had seen anybody drink down the prepaid portion...I told him, "That's because you have never seen a crowd from Mercer County".   A great time was had by all, as far as I can tell....and now Hal and Lisa can resume a "normal" life...whatever that may be or bring.  It was indeed a fun last two weeks.

As we said good bye to those with us at the Hope, the rain was falling...as we drove north towards Celina on Ohio 49 to US 127,  ice was mixing with the downfall.  Sam had came back to Celina late Saturday night and was doing laundry from his Columbus apartment when we arrived.

Dartball Tournament____

With the regular season finished, the Wabash Valley Dartball League began the post season tournaments yesterday....that tournament and the divisional regular season playoffs will run concurrently the next couple of weeks, with everything ending with the all star game on March 7th and the season ending banquet on March 14th.

In the opening round of the tournament, done with a 'blind draw', we drew perennial power Schumm....we have had some good battles over the years, but of late they have been a superior team.  This season we had managed to split the season with them, each team taking 3 games.  We won our 3 at home in the second half returning the favor of them sweeping us at Schumm back in November.  They brought 12 players we had 11....and it appeared our tournament and season(except for the 3 of us in the all start game) would be done in a quick fashion.  We struggled, getting only 6 teams hits and lost game one of the best of 3 by a score of 6-1.  Then after a quick meal and snack break, everybody started hitting for our squad...and we held on for a 9-6 second game win to tie things up, setting up the "rubber game" and deciding which team would move on to the semi-finals and a shot at the finals next Sunday.

We put points on the scoreboard in the first 4 innings of the final game and never looked back, coming away with the game 9-3, and the series by a count of 2 games to 1.  Everybody on the team contributed, most of the players had 3 or 4 hits...I lucked out and led the team, going 6 hits in 11 at bats, with 3 triples and 3 runs batter in...next Sunday we will play the league bottom dwellers, who pulled off a 2 game sweep yesterday...which is always dangerous.  We defeated Bethany 5 games to 1 during the season, and anything can and usually does happen come post season tournament.  Whoever wins that match will immediately play for the championship against the winner of the Hopewell and Rockford Methodist game.  I cannot remember the last time that both Schumm and Mt Carmel have not made the semi finals.  Of course both teams are still left in the Divisional Playoffs, as usual.  We are just glad to be still playing, with a good chance of adding another trophy to our church's case.

Down to just one scheduled basketball game, next Friday at Allen East.   Baseball meeting, clinics, and scrimmages before the regular season begins on March 28th at Paulding.

back later>>>>

Photos-Lisa and Hal pose with the Hemmelgarn's and extended family, including brother Mike's daughter Lori and the grandkids...Rick and Toni Pearson, Lisa and Garry Mosier, along with Hal's buddies"Stump" Eckstein and our back yard neighbor Derek Wenning, and the Houseworth and Mangione family...Andy, wife Amy, and boys, are from the Cleveland/Akron area and now reside in Louisville Kentucky...

Sorting thru the Photographs.....Hal and Lisa's Wedding 2/5/11