Saving family photos from our Corbett-Oostra Christmas 2022
RichC | December 29, 2022
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Archiving our early 2022 Christmas present: A New Rug
RichC | December 23, 2022
Brenda has struggled most of the year to find a replacement Oriental or Persian Rug for our Great Room after retiring our original rug to my office. In November, Katelyn connected her with “Donald,” the decorator she is using to help with their homebuilding, and after several Facetime calls finally decided on a VERY large […]
Boring shoe waxing and updated family homebuilding photos
RichC | December 23, 2022
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My brother emailed a photo of our grandfather from 1966 #TBT
RichC | December 22, 2022
Tis the season, to reflect a bit … at least for me. I posted a few old photos last week, so when my brother sent me one of Earl Daniel Corbett, our grandfather, it seemed appropriate for Throwback Thursday #TBT. He mentioned that he came across it at a Corbett family reunion and said it […]
Archive: Old photos found from my ONU college days #TBT
RichC | December 15, 2022
First up, is a rainy photo of the second car that I rebuilt … but this 1974 Capri was really my first car since I bought it with my own money (paid $600 at a junkyard in 1978). The car I think of as my first car would be a 1967 Ford Custom 500 (link […]
Archive: Merry Christmas 2022 and have a Happy New Year
RichC | December 14, 2022
As is my December tradition, I’m including a digital copy of what once was our Corbett Christmas Letter but is now a just a “card” on my blog. Our year as a family was full of too many great times to include, but highlighted by a special event: a 40th Anniversary and trip planned by […]
Archive: Christmas trees, homebuilding and Ellerie’s big bed
RichC | December 11, 2022
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Archive: I love seeing “homebuilding” progress photos
RichC | December 3, 2022
Thankfully, even as the weather begins to cool these days, the homebuilding progress doesn’t screech to a halt as it did years ago (showing my age). With that, it is great to archive a photo or two as the walls go up on Katelyn and Drew’s new house in northwest Ohio. There is a small […]
Tech Friday: A big screen TV deal and Christmas light flashback
RichC | December 2, 2022
It is hard to believe that watching sports and movies on a 37" television just isn’t satisfactory enough these days? So when I saw a Walmart pre-Black Friday deal on a 65" TCL Roku TV for $228, I could not pass up the deal. It is very impressive for the money and a perfect upgrade […]
Our family together for Dave Schneider’s Celebration of Life
RichC | November 15, 2022
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Archive: Promedica CEO Retirement and Succession Plan
RichC | November 13, 2022
A little family hospital business … and related news to archive … as Randy Oostra (my daughter’s father-in-law) announced his retirement last month. It was something we knew was coming (mentioned to me in September), but was no doubt one of those decisions that a successful career driven person does not take lightly. I can […]
Progress on Katelyn and Drew’s house and 1995 #TBT
RichC | November 10, 2022
In keeping with the desultory and archiving nature of MyDesultoryBlog, here are a couple construction progress photo of Katelyn and Drew’s new house in NW Ohio. One with the first floor “sticks” going up and the other just the subflooring. Katelyn also sent me a walk-thru video from their property (narrated by my oldest granddaughter) […]
Archiving photos from our Trick or Treating family in 2022
RichC | November 1, 2022
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Our granddaughters’ First Ohio State Buckeyes football game
RichC | October 25, 2022
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Archiving: A trip to NW Ohio to see our granddaughters
RichC | October 22, 2022
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A beautiful pile of lumber is air drying and beach pop
RichC | October 12, 2022
The sawmill has returned Katelyn and Drew’s lumber and it’s a BIG pile (very exciting!) What Is Air-Drying? Air-drying lumber simple means to stack lumber and expose it to the outdoors. Depending on the species of wood and desired moisture content the air-drying process could take several months to almost a year. Make sure to […]
What would October be without our fall trip to Florida?
RichC | October 9, 2022
Brenda and I have been fortunate to almost always taken an autumn trip to Florida. Years ago it was often to visit my parents who would go to Panama City Beach or take a trip with the kids. After Katelyn and Taylor were in college, it was often to visit Brenda’s parents and then to […]
Archiving a photo of our 1998 Toyota Rav4 for #TBT
RichC | October 6, 2022
The old Chrysler Town and Country Throwback Thursday #TBT post triggered my archiving of another old automotive photo of Brenda’s beloved 1998 Toyota Rav4. Having own that small ute with a surprisingly large interior for so many miles (265K) and so many years (18), it may be one of the best vehicles we have ever […]
Taylor has a CAN-DO attitude that can get him in trouble
RichC | September 27, 2022
After fixing “Arthur Avenue Pork Sausage and Pepper Heroes with Melty Mozzarella Cheese and Garlic Potato Wedges” … as the recipe card states on Sunday night, which was the last of our subscription meal for a while … my son Taylor called at 8PM after getting himself “in a pickle” (a perfect place for a Shakespearian […]
Taylor’s slow move, galls autumn oak leaves and pool pump
RichC | September 20, 2022
After helping Taylor move a few larger things over to his new condominium last weekend, he sent a photo of his still bare living room, but it is coming together. The TV is working so he could watch the 2022 losing Cincinnati Bengals (now 0-2) on Sunday afternoon. He has been slowing moving boxes of […]
Leftover family weekend photos and a Mud Hens game
RichC | September 13, 2022
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Leftover Labor Day weekend photos from the Oostras
RichC | September 6, 2022
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Checking out Taylor’s place and Labor Day weekend chores
RichC | September 5, 2022
Labor Day weekend was relatively busy with chores and stay-at-home chores. We have also noticed a coyote regularly making his round again (photos above). On Friday night we stopped to see Taylor’s new condominium in Walnut Hills (Cincinnati) and then had dinner at O’Bryon’s Bar and Grill. We ate outside up on the roof as […]
Chick-Fil-A masks and Taylor has “the keys to the Castle”
RichC | September 2, 2022
We are looking forward to seeing Taylor’s new condominium in Cincinnati for the first time this weekend. He informed us that he “has the keys to the castle” a couple days early (negotiated current tenant move out date). We can’t wait. It also came on the same day Katelyn and Drew forwarded a photo of […]
My granddaughter enjoyed mowing with me on the Kubota
RichC | August 27, 2022
Along with Brenda sending me a couple of belated video clips from her phone from earlier this month with our granddaughters, I thought the one of Annalyn mowing with me was pretty special. She spent hours with me while Ellerie was taking her nap and thoroughly enjoyed driving the Kubota … thankfully missing the trees!
A quick babysitting trip to Perrysburg and a check on Katelyn and Drew’s property and house building progress
RichC | August 27, 2022
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A day of negative news and some positive: The stock market was down big, but the plus, Taylor closed on a condo
RichC | August 26, 2022
It was an ugly day on Wall Street as investors reacted to comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who indicated “that the Federal Reserve must continue to raise rates” and “hold them at a higher level until they are confident inflation is under control.” Some economists highlighted in Barron’s Magazine last week, have suggested that […]
The 2022 school year has started for my granddaughters
RichC | August 25, 2022
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Leftover travel weekend update and photos from our kids
RichC | August 24, 2022
While Brenda and I were in Atlanta celebrating her sister’s birthday, Taylor was once again at another wedding clear across the country. One of his elementary school friends (they stayed in touch) gave a bunch of friends a chance to get together in a nice location – Lake Tahoe. Of course this wasn’t the first […]
Summer 2022 at home with our granddaughters wrap-up
RichC | August 14, 2022
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A Happy Birthday for Brenda … with her granddaughters
RichC | August 12, 2022
It has been a perfect summer week with Ellerie and Annalyn and all topped off with our family together to celebrate Brenda’s birthday. Katelyn and Drew are taking the girls to Kings Island today while we recuperate and I try to get a few things done that have piled up from phone calls, emails and […]
And we have been COVID free these last two years. UGH!
RichC | August 1, 2022
Well it looks like COVID19’s BA.5 subvariant has found us … or we found it. Fortunately for us, we have been vaccinated and at least I have one of the boosters … so hopefully the more serious and severe illness seen by many can be avoided. As of my writing (over the weekend) the symptoms […]
Moving back into the home office and pondering family artists
RichC | July 30, 2022
This past weekend I started what is going to be a slow, but deliberative process of moving out of the basement and back into the upstairs home office. No window blinds yet, but we did move the oriental rug from our first floor to the upstairs (Brenda would like to get something new for the […]
Taylor is planning to own rather than rent in Cincinnati, Ohio
RichC | July 28, 2022
A bit of news from my son Taylor who has decided to buy a condo in Cincinnati rather than renting a few blocks away. He has been looking for a while now and pondered a house vs property vs urban condo or townhouse. Escalating prices since the pandemic turned and rising rates in both lending […]
A last minute trip to Perrysburg babysitting our granddaughters and to check on new home planning and lot clearing progress
RichC | July 27, 2022
Eventually I’ll get to part 3 of our family Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip (post-trip nightmare, part 1 and part 2), but for now I’ll archive a few photos from this past week’s babysitting trip to Perrysburg. COVID has made its way through the Oostra family after their trip … likely the herding through the […]
Oostra lot clearing has begun, a KETO diet and Fitbit update
RichC | July 13, 2022
Instead of starting a rant on our nightmare return trip from the Canadian Rockies flying Air Canada … I’m going to let the stress dissipate for a while. It was painful travel. So instead I’ll archive a couple exciting photos from Katelyn and Drew as their builder has started clearing the trees from their lot […]
What was I thinking about the iPhone 15 years ago?
RichC | June 29, 2022
After nearly 40 years of buying and using Apple products, it is kind of embarrassing that I doubted Steve Jobs and the iPhone publicly on my blog on June 29, 2007. Happy Anniversary iPhone! Check out this post from 15 years ago.
Wishing my son Taylor a very Happy 33rd Birthday
RichC | June 10, 2022
Taylor last weekend at the Cincinnati Zoo with Megan While typing the subject line of this post, I wondered at what “age” is respectful to NOT mention a number when sharing a Happy Birthday greeting? Hopefully not at 33 yet, since from memory those were the years I pretty much felt my best (pre Menieres!) […]
Weekend yard chores, painting and corner desk update photos
RichC | June 7, 2022
Brenda and I enjoyed our anniversary weekend staying around home, working in both the yard and for me painting on Sunday afternoon (Brenda helped out at a store short a pharmacist in Dayton). Slowly I’m making progress in painting the guest bedroom (pano photo below). Ceiling are done, walls have their first and second coat […]
Weekend Family updates: Dress-up and Taylor’s new iPhone13
RichC | June 7, 2022
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We hit a big milestone: Our 40th Wedding Anniversary
RichC | June 5, 2022
A poor quality scan of our 1982 wedding with DadH, MomH, MomC and DadC Often a 40th Wedding Anniversary triggers a husband or wife to make the comment “thanks for putting up with me” or something to that effect. Although there is truth to it, spending the rest of your life with another person is […]
Archive: A few family photos from Memorial Day weekend
RichC | May 31, 2022
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Archive: SpaceX rocket launches and successes continue #video
RichC | May 22, 2022
It is difficult to ignore the success of the private space industry and admire companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX as it launches and re-launches rocket after rocket. From satellite launching to shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station, SpaceX definitely has the potential to land astronauts back on the moon and to be […]
Archive: What was once hard work, is now much harder work
RichC | May 21, 2022
It is likely an age thing, but once upon a time, I didn’t think twice about trenching and digging. Now, I’m tired out by lunchtime (this was a Saturday (5/21/2022) morning project) and I didn’t even finished the trench for drainage pipe (it is relatively soft after the heavy rain, but has a lot of […]
Working towards my 10,000 step per day Fitbit Versa target
RichC | May 18, 2022
When the weather finally warmed up and I was motivated to head outside to work in the yard and start cleaning things up around the house, it was good for my activity level. Let’s see if this will correspond with losing a few pounds and getting a little healthier – it certainly can’t hurt (a […]
Birding outing for Katelyn with the family for her birthday
RichC | May 17, 2022
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Wishing the mom to my granddaughters a Happy Birthday :-)
RichC | May 14, 2022
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An ideal use for my MicroJig dovetail clamps #woodworking
RichC | May 11, 2022
Since I use these dovetail MicroJig clamps for woodworking in my workshop, it seemed only logical to archive a photo so I can build a "jointer jig" or perhaps more appropriately just a jig to use with the table saw for small tapers … or especially for cuts when the piece of wood isn’t flat […]
Happy Mother’s Day to a couple of wonderful moms
RichC | May 8, 2022
It is difficult not to recognize what great moms both MomC and MomH were to me … but since they are no longer here, I want to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to a couple of great moms — my wife Brenda and daughter Katelyn. They both have risen to the most important role of […]
KDAE looking at their property prior to ground breaking
RichC | May 7, 2022
It is definitely spring and as with many growing families working hard and fortunate enough to be living in the United States, ours are pursuing the American dream of building or owning a home. Katelyn and Drew sent perhaps a final undeveloped photo of their beautiful NW Ohio property on a wooded cul-de-sac. I say […]
Spring, apple blossoms, an iPhone photo & an Ellerie #video
RichC | April 25, 2022
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New 8-year Ohio Driver’s License and costly fuel fill #inflation
RichC | April 19, 2022
After filling up the 2010 BMW X5 35d with diesel … ouch … I drove to the least painful Ohio DMV location in my area according to the online wait times. Thankfully I came prepared with my passport, address verification and requested ID information. After $56.40 … I came out in less than 30 minutes […]
Two more costly projects are underway at our house
RichC | April 16, 2022
First, I mentioned pool repairs were underway earlier in the week. The tiles that I’ve been repairing are now long past due for a full replacement. So the water has been pumped out and a pool tile crew is beginning the demolition prior to making repairs and installing new waterline tile. Brenda’s comment made me […]
Great weather to be in Perrysburg babysitting our granddaughters
RichC | April 14, 2022
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Keeping the economy going by buying more stuff: Wood glue, sanding drums, Kubota maintenance items and grass seed
RichC | April 12, 2022
While ordering Titebond III glue in the 16 oz size (best choice for wood glue) from Walmart.com ($7.98) instead of Amazon, who happened to only have other sizes and bulk packaging (although gone is $67 Prime shipping), I needed to add another item to my order to avoid the shipping charges. The Kubota ZD326 zero-turn […]
Cleaning up some trash and NON-trash on my computer
RichC | April 9, 2022
Saw this “trash” can on social media the other day and don’t know if there was an R2-D2 Star Wars intent or not, but it did make me smile … ALMOST as much as receiving a photo from Katelyn and Drew while on spring break vacation with Drew’s family in South Carolina. It sure looked […]
Archive: My mom saved way too much stuff … and so do I #TBT
RichC | April 7, 2022
While clearing out a few more old boxes and tossing junk in preparation for new floors in my office (and guest bedroom) last weekend, I just couldn’t throw this 1963 “fine artwork” colored by yours truly without taking a photo and archiving on my blog. A digital image take up far less space then paper […]
Our driveway disappointment is one step closer to resolution
RichC | April 6, 2022
Our concrete driveway is not small … and if you add to our front drive to the rear paved driveway, it is fair to say that we have a lot of money invested in concrete and asphalt. So … when last year’s front driveway replacement didn’t go well, we ended up in a dispute (friendly) […]
Archive: A couple granddaughter photos and a good laugh
RichC | April 3, 2022
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Archive: Last weekend’s birthday party for our granddaughters
RichC | March 15, 2022
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Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.