It's Camp Tecumseh Week!

Second Post of the Day

Our second round of summer family visiting began this past week. 

Cole arrived on Thursday to pick up his dad and take him on a trip to Maine!

They're having a lot of fun together

and I hear that the lobster rolls in Maine are the best!

The pups are great company for me here at home

although Tammo has been laughing at my noodle-armed frisbee throws.

Cole brought Henry and left him with Lisa. (She has a doggy door and a fenced in yard; I don't.)

A very proud and happy Henry after he won a three way tussle with Nash and Rosie for Squeaky Dragon.

Emily and the girls were in Michigan last week visiting her sister's family and they are coming here today to spend the week with us.

I did a Walmart delivery yesterday afternoon in preparation for their visit.

This is an annual tradition - Julie, Kate, and Susie come up from Tennessee to attend Camp Tecumseh with Ian, Mila, and Lukie.

Camp T is a world-class facility on the Tippecanoe River just north of us.

Kids from all over the world come, some even spending the summer there.

Flags of the kids' home countries are hung in the indoor arena.

We are fortunate to live so close and to be able to host the cousins during their camp week.

Emily and the girls roll in around noon and then Ian and Julie (who are doing the overnight camp) will be driven up to camp and dropped off today around 2:30. 

The other four kids (who are day campers and will start tomorrow) will hang out here and play games or head over to the park. Pepper, Tammo, Nash, Rosie, Henry, and Gus will get some walks and then charge around the living room until they all are exhausted and collapse onto the random dog beds that are placed around the house for them.

Lisa is making us all chicken teriyaki for dinner, and we'll all pitch in with sides and a dessert or two. I can hardly wait - I love Camp Tecumseh week!

BreyerFest-wise today, I won't be online today at all. There just won't be time. I do hope to hear what the theme is for next year as I'd like to begin thinking about possibilities for a seminar for next year. (If Breyer invites me back. I hope so but it isn't a sure thing.)

Camp T week can be a little crazy so if I miss a blog post, you'll know why. But I'm hoping to keep up with that.

Stay 'tooned!

Tornado & Bad Weather Continues

First Post of the Day

Cole and Emily really were lucky Sunday night. Their home is the blue circle. 

We had been FaceTiming with Cole earlier that evening and he said he was being cautious because bad storms were approaching and so he was keeping an eye on them.

Good thing because he had enough warning to get his family into their safe spot.

The Spring Hill tornado was on the ground for twenty minutes, touching down at Mount Pleasant and ending at Spring Hill. Rated an EF 1, it lifted just before it would have plowed into Cole's neighborhood. Grateful, grateful, grateful.

That weather system continued into Monday. Here in Indiana, we had high wind warnings and blowing snow with whiteout conditions.

Soon our patio, walks and driveway, and street were icy and slick.

Numerous accidents were reported all over town - we had only expected a coating of snow and had not prepared for what we got.

A view from Leslie's car as she and Rick drove in the blowing snow.

The winds kept howling late into last night.

I was sitting on the sofa with Pepper snoozing next to me and recorded the wind on my phone. (Got some of her snores, too! LOL)

This morning it is COLD. 

And icy and slick. 

Leslie has texted me and asked if I'd mind packing the trailer tomorrow instead of today. Mind? I'm relieved! 

Ethan just posted a weather report for Kalamazoo this coming weekend. Looks much better than now.

Fingers crossed that this storm is winter's last hurrah. 

Stay 'tooned!

Tornado!

First Post of the Day

Nothing like a text around midnight from your son asking for prayers because a tornado is bearing down on his home and family.

Nighttime tornados are extremely dangerous - they happen when people are asleep and may not know that a tornado is approaching. More injuries and fatalities can happen as a result.

This storm was moving at 50 mph and Cole and Emily only had 3 - 5 minutes' warning to get to safety.

Fortunately, Cole had been monitoring the weather and was able to get his kids out of bed and into their shelter. That circle of arrows is the tornado's rotation approaching Spring Hill.

"I think we're clear," Cole soon texted. "It went right over us." (Gives me chills.)

It's very early morning and still dark in Tennessee as I write, so I don't think he has gone out to check for any damage yet. I do know he had some trees weakened by an ice storm earlier this winter and was worried that any strong winds would bring them down.

Last April a tornado hit Spring Hill, but luckily it had not yet touched down when it passed over Cole and Emily's home.

Spring Hill seems to have a target on its back. Keep your eyes open and on the weather reports, Cole!

Yuletide Challenge: Wildlife!

 Second Post of the Day

Today's Yuletide Cheer prompt is, "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal! Wildlife."

Aside from a few Breyer elephants, the wildlife portion of my collection is mostly found among the clinkies.

First up is my Lomonosov porcelain cheetah. I always give a second look to animal figurines when I am out thrifting, but I usually don't buy them. This one was different - it was heavy and felt like good quality.

I flipped it over and saw a USSR stamp - it was a Lomonosov piece from Russia when Russia was still a communist country. 

Cole had lived in Yekaterinburg and Siberia for two years while serving as a missionary. (Note 1 - yes, that is a spot of frostbite on his cheek; Note 2 - why do guys always get the long eyelashes!!)

Home with me that cheetah came as a reminder of his time there.

While A Christmas Carol is my favorite teaching unit of all that I wrote, another favorite was Oceans. During that unit we would study octopuses culminating with a Gyotaku project.

Of course, I had to add a Hagen Renaker octopus to my collection, one that was orange - my favorite color.

This last unusual piece is by Kristina Lucas Francis. She was at one of Nancy Falzone's gatherings in 2017 and had brought some to sell.

Kristina called it an "okaptopus" and the color is purple orchid.

A fantasy cross between an okapi and an octopus, it is signed and numbered by Kristina and is #5 of only 6 made.

I think it is beautiful!

I skipped yesterday's prompt about the Grinch because I do not have any models I didn't like when I bought them. For tomorrow, the prompt is stocking stuffers/little treats. 

Stay 'tooned!

More on Curt's Birthday

I was clearing out my cache of photos on my phone and realized that, while I had shared about Curt's surprise birthday party with his friends, I hadn't yet written about our family celebration.

Cole came up from Nashville to surprise Curt. We were so happy to have him here for the weekend and held a family gathering Sunday evening.

My nephew, Eric, lives in Lafayette and he and Curt get together a lot, so he dropped in for a BBQ and cake.

Lisa made the birthday boy a Skor cake liberally topped with carmel sauce and Skor chips.

Er, I didn't have any candles (oops!) so Curt had to pretend to blow them out when we finished singing.

Afterwards we gathered around the dining room table and played games.

I don't shuffle cards well, but I have a mechanical shuffler which is always fun to use. Except that it was on the fritz and throwing cards, flipping them, and leaving some unshuffled. Everyone else shuffles well, so when it was my turn to be the dealer, someone else shuffled for me. Hah!

Some of us also watched the Packers game. I tried but 1) someone was in my seat, and 2) that someone was also blocking the view!

At the end of the evening, Curt thanked me and then sent me a meme that he keeps handy. "This always makes me think of you, Mom," he said, "so I have kept it."

Thanks, Curt. I'm glad you shared it and I love it, too. And Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Craig, Cole, & Kyle!

First Post of the Day

Last November I started a series of birthday posts for all the adults in our family - and then let 4th of July activities keep me from acknowledging three of them. So, here they are - the July birthday boys!

Kyle, Craig, and Cole (with Kate; her birthday is at the end of July so we included her in the family celebration, too.)

Craig - July 13

Affectionately called "Boompa" (or just "Boomps") by the family, he is a man with a big heart and generous nature.

Playing a game with a quarter with Lukie.

A West Lafayette High School alum, he captained the football team and was named an All State player for Indiana his senior year. We do Friday Night Lights every August through November, following his team all over Indiana. Lisa and Craig are there for the games; I just enjoy being outside and with them. (Oh, and going out for dinner beforehand. LOL)

When the school celebrated its 100th year of football, Craig was named to the 100 Year Team as one of the best players of the century.

He was rather sheepish when asked to march in the celebratory parade, but he did tip his hat at me when he passed by!

Happy Birthday, Boomps!

Cole - July 13

The youngest in the family, Cole shares similar traits with his dad and brothers of generosity, helpfulness, kindness and more. He shines at planning ahead and being prepared financially. 

As a child, he used to attend live shows with me - cherished memories!

Dancing with him at his wedding reception.

Cole also gave me some of the most stressful times in my life. He served a two year mission in Russia and lived in Siberia. This photo shows a bright white spot of frostbite on his cheek and the rhime of frost on his eyelashes and eyebrows.

He was often in dangerous situations, but he came home safely despite the extreme cold and the antagonism toward Americans. (He speaks very well of the Russians that he spent time with and knew.) 

An animal lover, Cole and our Springer Spaniel, Duffy, were especially close, and it is no surprise that Henry looks remarkably similar to Duffy.

BreyerFest 2019 - I went to Friday's activities and then slipped out Saturday morning and drove down to Nashville to celebrate his birthday with him.

Happy Birthday, Cole!

Kyle - July 16

Kyle is our oldest son and is very like his dad when it comes to kindness, generosity, and having a full and tender heart. There is no one who is more forgiving and loving than Kyle, and he is a wonderful human being, be it as a son, a brother, a father, and more. 

He has his fun and goofy side. As do his brothers. (Really, boys? When I am setting out Thanksgiving dinner you do this?? LOL) 

At eight or nine, Kyle was nearly blinded in his left eye when he got a stick poked into his eye.

Seeing that very visible slash across his eyeball was THE scariest moment of my life. Luckily, his eye healed and he is fine now.

There may have been alligators in those waters, but if there is an emergency, Kyle steps up and helps. Here he is working on disaster relief after Hurricane Irma in Florida.

He's beloved by all the kids in the family, and with good reason.

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

Stay 'tooned! 

Cole's Tornado & Musings

Second Post of the Day

If Music City Son Cole could have another profession, my guess is that he'd be a storm chaser. Since he was little, storms have fascinated him. And yes, I did drive him around a couple of times to follow storms when he was in his teens. I share his fascination.

During the huge storm breakout in the Midwest this week, Cole and Emily had a tornado (not yet on the ground, thank goodness) pass right over their home in Spring Hill, Tennessee. 

This is the tornado that went over Cole and Emily's home. The video was taken after it had touched down in Spring Hill.

(The following pictures are all taken from Spring Hill social media sites, news outlets, or were sent to me by Cole. I left credits on them if they were there.)

Tornados form as spinning tubes that are horizontal to the ground and then, if conditions are right, tip and become vertical. (See video below.)

Which probably saved their home from being destroyed as this was an ugly tornado when it was on the ground.

Once it touched down, it was huge. (Thompson Station and Spring Hill are twin cities.)

Here's a quick video that shows how a tornado begins as a horizontal tube that becomes vertical if conditions are right.

Tornados are a fact of life if you live in the Midwest. You get used to them, but you also have to be alert and cautious, too. Like they did to our friends in Indy, they can pass right next to you and not cause any damage.

A direct hit, however, can be devastating.

In 2016, a friend in Illinois lost her home to a direct hit from a tornado. (Read about that here.)

And my father's home in St. Louis was hit when he was a little boy. He was upstairs and one of those windows blew in on him. 

I was heading out to the barn to see Abby one afternoon when a small tornado unexpectedly dropped onto the ground in the field next to me. I learned during that experience why you see cars driving past tornados because I did the same thing.

Pony Pals Ian, Mila, and Lukie's elementary and middle schools took direct hits and the elementary school was closed for a year and the middle school for two. In this blog post, there is a link to security cameras inside the middle school that filmed the tornado destroying the building. I still get chills as I watch the walls peel off the gym or the roof cave in on the hallways (where kids would have been sheltering for safely.)

I've seen many tornados, but fortunately I've never been in a spot that took a direct hit. I will always find them fascinating, but I have a very healthy respect for them and the damage they can do.