respublica

I remember those days

I'd bet every parent has one of these pictures.  I know that for years, my dad carried a picture of the mother of these boys doing the exact same thing.

Lots of hot air

I don't understand the enthusiasm so many people seem to have over those huge blow up Christmas lawn figures.

Setting up the trees

Wednesday is Collinsville's annual Festival of Trees.  Local groups decorate trees with themes of their choice on Tuesday followed by a panel of judges who choose the top three trees.

On Wednesday night the Gateway Center is alive with music, food, the Christmas trees displayed and auctioned off. 

But ahead of that, the committee in charge of putting on the Fesitval must get the trees set up and ready to be decorated.  This year Collinsville Progress and Cahokia Mounds are partnering in this effort.  As a member of Progress, I met up with a number of others this morning to wait the tree delivery.

Here come the trees, delivered at 7 a.m. by Dave, the owner of Daniken tree farm in Pocahontas.  We helped him get the trees off the flatbed and then Dave went around and chain sawed a sliver of trunk off each tree so that the water would absorb.

Then John (Tot) got up on the truck and began handing down the stands.

The stands were put next to each tree and hammered into the hole in the trunk Dave put in before he left his farm.

When the trees were taken into the Gateway Center and lined up, we realized just how gorgeous they were, full, fragrant and so fresh not a needle dropped.

We watered them all and then left so that the convention center staff could get the rest of the room ready.  Tomorrow is a big day, so much decorating to come.

Black Friday shopping results

Just as sports writers analyze how teams won or lost, news reporters are out in force the day after Black Friday shopping to analyze the minds and wallets of shoppers.

The New York Times veered off of last night's local reporting on the biggest shopping day of the year by taking some of the glow off the spending habits of the large crowds which flocked to stores and malls.

Part of today's story reads:  "Despite the improved mood, frugality has not gone out of style. Many of Friday’s shoppers seemed to stick to lists and take advantage of discounts, rather than give in to impulse purchases."

Take a look at some of the photos accompanying the story and pictures of shoppers in other papers.  Good grief, carts are full of things that people want, rather than what they really need.

3:30 a. m.

That's the time we left Rockville Maryland this morning.  3:30 a.m. Central Time.

As we walked to the car we heard Riley pawing at the door.  We got to be great pals, he even slept with us.  Katie snapped a picture just after we left, she said Riley was really unhappy we left, he went up to where we slept and cried dog cries.  Aw.

Let me just say this, rural areas of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, etc have nothing on Maryland when it comes to pitch darkness during the nighttime hours.  We were driving along seeing nothing beyond our headlights and nothing to either side.  No light at all.  Maryland towns and cities must be well hidden beyond the prying eyes of interstate drivers.

Then, about an hour into the trip, traveling north, it began to snow.  Not just flurries, but real snow with huge flakes blowing right into our headlights.  The grassy areas were covered as were the shoulders of the highway.  Scary.

We're thinking, oh boy, is this what we have to look forward to all day long.  The radio was no help finding out how widespread this weather was, just try to find live weather reports at 3 in the morning.  It seemed never to get light.  We stopped for the first time in Morgantown West Virginia and it was still dark, but Morgantown was alive with people lined up to get into stores for some Black Friday shopping.   People there were also out eating breakfast dressed in the University of West Virginia colors, ready for the big football game against Pitt even though they play tonight.

The snow kept up off and on through half of Ohio, but one thing we did notice was the huge numbers of cars in parking shopping center parking lots all across the eastern half of the country. 

The news reports tonight say that people were out shopping with exuberance.  I believe it after our informal glances at towns from Maryland to Missouri.

We're beat.  But home.  Ferdie's still at the Kennel.  He comes home tomorrow after a morning bath done by a professional.

O give thanks unto the Lord

For He is good.

And His mercy endures forever.

To everyone, a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Collinsville's Veterans Day 2009

A parade down Vandalia and a ceremony inside the American Legion on a beautiful November day.

Before the parade a number of participants met up on the Legion parking lot, including veterans on motorcycles.

The honor guard carrying the colors

WWI and the present day

The parade turned down Tillotson 

Here comes the Marching Kahoks

Have to have the drummers

This is my favorite, an old red tractor and the bikes.

Honor all who served this country.  God bless them all.

Trick or Treat 2009 version

Everyone in a good mood because there is no rain with an extra hour of sleep as the real treat.

First!

A monkey

Look at Ferdie laugh!  Click picture

They just kept coming

Wha'cha got in that bag

The littlest pumpkin and her princess sister

Getting ready for Michigan

Tomorrow we head north for our annual week on the shores of Lake Michigan.  We'll spend the night with Dale's sister (and brother) and then drive the rest of the way on Saturday.  We're heading for Arcadia which is near the top of the lower peninsula.

Sunsets are beautiful up there on the lake, but we gather the weather may be chillier than normal this year. 

The Inn at Camp Arcadia, right next to the water.

The patio.

What about Ferdie?  He's going to doggie camp at Kennelwood Village where he will have his own room complete with bed and a flat screen tv.  Plus he will have doggie day care during the week in which the dogs get to play with each other for 4 hours a day.  I think he'll enjoy this.  I hope he enjoys it.

Back to school shopping

It's July 14th and somehow we're in a back to school shopping mood.  According to the Sun-Times families will be spending about 7 percent less on back to school items this year.  Except for college student families, they will increase their spending.

I don't know how researchers know this, the paper did not say which research group did this survey, but after being in a Wal Mart yesterday, battling my way past many parents and kids who, with school lists in hand, were digging through the bins of paper, pencils, markers, notebooks, crayons, Kleenex and whatever I doubt the claim.  The bins were already half empty.

And, the story claims that over 20 percent of school families will get their school supplies in drug stores.  Drug stores?  I find that hard to believe.