November 30, 2007 – Click on image for higher resolution version.
Today we had installed a new double oven to replace the approximately 22 year old single oven that was no longer maintaining an even temperature. (And yes, we do have a lot of appliances.)
Taken on October 06, 2007.
We knew that my young nephew was really looking forward to the Darth Vader balloon. As we walked down to the field from the parking lot for the mass ascension, we saw the Darth Vader balloon take off. My nephew started to cry: he had evidently expected to take a ride in the balloon, and couldn’t understand why it was leaving without him. It took a while for his Mom to console him.
The obituary for my father-in-law, John Heneghan, appeared in the Washington Post yesterday. Although I knew he had been been involved in promoting civil rights in the south in the sixties, I had never realized he had been part of the Freedom Summer in 1964.
I saw this wedding photo, taken in 1952, of my mother-in-law and father-in-law for the first time at Johnnie’s wake.
Jack signed us up to participate to keep diaries of our radio listening for a week for Arbitron. We start tomorrow. At first, I didn’t think I would be able to contribute anything but empty sheets, but Jack told me that he thought Pandora Radio qualified as Internet Radio. Pandora is rather odd since one creates one’s own channels by rating music as it is presented. I usually listen to Pandora at work when I am not on the telephone or talking to anyone.
The BBC web-site has a Sleep Profiler tool which provides advice after you feel out a short questionnaire. People who don’t know how to calculate their weight in stones might want to check the chart at Fatfrank’s Weblog. I was astonished to find that the site does not think I have any sleep problems, because I never doze off during the day.
On the door to the staff area behind the counter at the Briargate library: “Interlopers will be forced to read <b>War and Peace</b>.”
Family gatherings just won’t be the same without the card players gathering around Johnnie: (A Eulogy for John Martin Heneghan,)
My father-in-law went into the ICU of Bethesda Naval after surgery two weeks ago. This weekend he decided to refuse further medical treatment. He came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Jack, who flew in yesterday, was able to talk to him briefly last night. Early this morning, surrounded by his family, he died.
I probably won’t be posting much for a while yet.
At the grocery store today, I saw a display of these GE Emergency Lanterns on sale for $10 a piece. I bought two of them, because the package said they would give 16 hours of lighting on 4 “D” batteries. I was hoping they would be bright enough to read by. They are if you keep the lantern fairly close to the book. The light quality is much better than candlelight.
Of course, now that we have emergency lighting by which we can read, I feel certain we won’t lose power the rest of summer. We already had several hand pump flashlights, but although they are good for making sure we don’t kill ourselves in the dark, and are safer to use than candles, they aren’t good for reading.