RichC | November 30, 2025
Thanksgiving “return home” weekend travel look dicey in some parts of the midwest and could snarl air travel for those who might be flying. Thankfully for us, KDAE are traveling home on Saturday and not Sunday, but will likely face a little weather (since I’m writing this after they left our house on Saturday). It […]
RichC | November 27, 2025
Earlier this week, I heard Thanksgiving prayers and greetings from several with different backgrounds and religions … all were U.S. based, except the one from Israel. It struck me as somewhat unique in how those outside America respect our holiday of Thanksgiving. I’ve even heard that it is a growing trend for other countries to […]
RichC | November 11, 2025
Each year on November 11th, our nation pauses to honor the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day traces its roots back to Armistice Day, first observed in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I — the “war to end all wars.” The armistice between the […]
RichC | September 11, 2025
Each September 11th, we pause to remember. We remember the lives lost, the families changed forever, and a nation that was shaken to its core. For me, the memories are still vivid. That morning I was glued to CNBC while getting my son ready for the bus and off to Independence Elementary School. We both […]
RichC | July 6, 2025
If you want to know what Brenda and I did to celebrate the 249th birthday of our country, my answer would be … not all that much. I ended up spraying our lawn for those sod webworms that has become a recent problem (the last 5 years) and then relaxed in the pool with my […]
RichC | July 3, 2025
As we head into another Independence Day tomorrow, I find myself pausing on this Throwback Thursday #TBT to reflect not just on America’s history, but also on the digital trail now spanning 20 years that I’ve been leaving here at MyDesultoryBlog. The Fourth of July has always been more than fireworks and barbecues for our […]
RichC | May 26, 2025
Although Memorial Day posts have generally been focused on honoring and remembering on MDB, I’m breaking the tradition and will include a Music Monday song titled “18 Summers” from the Christian artist Matthew West. It so happened that my daughter sent his YouTube video and a comment regarding college and her girls (still a decade […]
RichC | May 11, 2025
Because my mom loved birds and Brenda loves the beauty in nature, for Mother’s Day this year it is not flowers or a card, but a technology assisted Happy Mother’s Day with a beautiful cardinal. Of course this isn’t the first time he or his friends appeared on our Wyze Cam (they come every year) […]
RichC | April 20, 2025
RichC | March 21, 2025
Have you ever wondered how the yearly floating date for Easter is determined … or why it is so late this year (April 20, 2025)? Almanac.com had a great article, but since I’m thinking about Tech Friday today, here’s what Grok3 AI has to say about it. 😉 The date of Easter Sunday is determined […]
RichC | March 5, 2025
We received a fun message last week as Taylor announced that he was invited to be the Easter bunny for the families in Batavia Township. We saw a photo of him trying on the head from the costume and our family had a good laugh. He will be a great bunny and has the perfect […]
RichC | February 15, 2025
We have been enjoying our time together in Florida this month. The weather has been near perfect after a little “expected” cooler, damp, jacket weather that Florida received in January. Next week could be different … according to my weather and tides watcher — report courtesy of Brenda. 😉 Our daily walks are getting easier […]
RichC | December 27, 2024
It will likely be busy in our household this weekend (as we’re having a belated family Christmas) … but saw this Friday Filler photo on social media and thought it was interesting enough to share (I’m not sure it is real or AI — click for larger)?
RichC | December 25, 2024
Wishing all who stumble on these pages (or choose to click on MyDesultoryBlog) a Very Merry Christmas, safe travels and a warm and wonderful celebration of Christ’s birth. May you and yours enjoy time together with family and friends. Weather? Check to see if the Old Farmer’s Almanac is correct this year (below).
RichC | December 24, 2024
As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season reaches its crescendo, it is all too easy to become engulfed in the whirlwind of commercialism and festive preparations. However, Christmas Eve offers us a moment to pause and reflect on the true essence of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ. This pivotal event in […]
RichC | December 23, 2024
It may not be the “best” … or even a “favorite” Christmas song … or even a thoughtful Music Monday song that puts us in the snowy, wintery, Christmas spirit. Still, Jimmy Buffett’s “Christmas Island” from 1996 seems about right this year since the decorations are minimal and I’m already thinking about warmer weather. It […]
RichC | December 17, 2024
It is that time of year … time for Christmas photos … with children and pets? Well a “dog” in the case of Megan and Taylor, but our granddaughters in the case of Katelyn and Drew. In both cases these 2024 photos belong on in the My Desultory Blog archive. Here’s one of Gigi with […]
RichC | December 10, 2024
With early November and December winter weather showing up somewhat early, there’s no better time for Megan’s employer to have a holiday gathering at Kings Island. For their business, it is time to promote WinterFest with 7-million lights and some ice skating. Both Megan and Katelyn learned, and then taught, figure skating for the Queen […]
RichC | December 6, 2024
The annual Corbett Christmas Letter has been reduced to the ubiquitous Christmas card printed by one of the many card producers (below). This year’s card was ordered before our Thanksgiving famly get-together and unique Google “Add Me” AI feature used in the photo above on Drew’s new Pixel 9. Very impressive — hey, Apple, get […]
RichC | November 28, 2024
First off, Happy Thanksgiving 2024. I hope you can be as thankful as the pilgrims were at that first Thanksgiving in 1621. “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four […]
RichC | September 2, 2024
Happy Labor Day 2024! It’s a great day (weekend) to listen to No Shoes Radio on my AfterShokz Aeropex bone conduction headset. For those unfamiliar with them, I’ve been a fan of the “open ear” headset concept since 2017 as they’ve been super helpful in returning “some” vibration hearing back to my deaf right ear […]
RichC | June 16, 2024
Today has me thinking of the two dads in my life (DadC and DadH) as well as the father of my two granddaughters, Drew. I thank them for being great mentors … by using the stern hand of guidance when it was required … with an abundance of self-discipline … and always being the provider […]
RichC | May 27, 2024
Each year Memorial Day holiday often brings out the best in Americans. Those I know, at least give “thought” to the service men and women who fought and died to protect and preserve our country, our freedom and way of life. It is of course, will never be enough appreciation from those of us who […]
RichC | May 12, 2024
While picking out a card for “the mother of my grown children” this year, I couldn’t help notice how inflation has impacted the price of greeting cards. Perhaps when I was in the business of putting ink on paper, the price per sheet as it were, I wasn’t really given too much thought to each […]
RichC | May 8, 2024
Late spring yard work and continued Kubota diagnosis and repairs continued over the weekend, but on the 7th, another year for me is in the books; can’t say I’m feeling all that different? But THANK YOU to my family and friends for wishing me a Happy Birthday … and some doing the traditional Howard family […]
RichC | February 15, 2024
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RichC | February 14, 2024
After subscribing to PeacockTV in order to watch one of the NFL playoff games this year, Brenda and I found a new but older television series call “The Office.” We are not so disconnected from popular TV entertainment to not have known about it, but just never spent time watching television when it was in […]
RichC | January 9, 2024
This may have been the third year in a row that I’ve “pruned” the dry Christmas tree apart in the house rather than yanking it through the back door or having another disaster. Why didn’t I do this in previous years? Brenda and I also made a trip to visit Katelyn, Drew and family in […]
RichC | January 7, 2024
Just a bit of Christmas and New Year’s Day holiday cleaning up humor found on X.com.
RichC | January 3, 2024
While grilling “bacon wrapped” steaks (bacon was the problem) over Christmas this year on our Weber Grill … I “over-cooked” (or perhaps “fried”) the meat probe for the Weber iGrill temperature monitor. I knew when the plastic caught fire that it wasn’t good, but thought perhaps the braided wiring and probe itself might still be […]
RichC | January 1, 2024
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RichC | December 27, 2023
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RichC | December 25, 2023
Pre-posting a Christmas day blog update as I’m expecting to be busy with our family … and for the record … I am finally getting in the spirit and correct mood to celebrate Christ’s birthday. Since this is a Music Monday, it is appropriate to include the most popular Christmas song in America … BUT […]
RichC | December 24, 2023
It is becoming more and more difficult to remember what I’ve added to the blog and what I have not when it comes to woodworking projects? I had thought I might have mentioned a few of the steps back in November regarding doweling a couple of unique joints when building a Puppet Stage for my […]
RichC | December 20, 2023
Ok, so I’m not focused this year on “the reason for the season” (or frankly even the secular celebration of Christmas) … therefore it is really time to do something about it. We didn’t even write our Corbett Christmas Letter! Thankfully turning to Truth For Life and Alistair Begg’s teachings and message “It is HIStory” […]
RichC | December 9, 2023
This would be a great photo of Brenda and Taylor, but for being a blurry selfie (click to see larger). Oh well, I enjoyed seeing the two of them out for their annual mother and son Christmas shopping and evening dinner. I hope they were successful? While they were out, I did my annual the […]
RichC | November 23, 2023
Thanksgiving traces its origins to the 1621 harvest celebration held by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This historic gathering marked a season of abundance and marked the beginning of a tradition that would become a cornerstone of American culture. Thanksgiving serves as a universal reminder to thank our Creator for our […]
RichC | November 11, 2023
Yesterday was the 248th birthday for the USMC (my X or tweet below). They have an amazing history and those who serve or served (once a Marine always a Marine) have a good reason to be proud. Their bravery and sacrifice was cemented for me earlier this year after listening to the audiobook by Eugene […]
RichC | July 4, 2023
Here’s an afternoon post for the 4th of July … our U.S. Independence Day. Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons […]
RichC | June 18, 2023
It was an end of the week “Safety Town graduation” and garage sale for Katelyn, Brenda and the girls (and Saturday sale for Drew) as they “unloaded” some stuff before having to move it. They did well and on top of it was a great time to be together (from what I’ve heard). All in […]
RichC | May 29, 2023
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RichC | May 14, 2023
Blooming love’s embrace,Mother’s heart, radiant grace,Forever cherished. While listening to a news program a couple of weeks ago, the morning hosts talked about receiving too many long, overly wordy interoffice emails and notes; I assume journalists can be longwinded? A Haiku challenge ensued. Haiku (俳句) is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. […]
RichC | May 5, 2023
Last month I switched my LTE iPhone 7-plus to USMobile, a budget-friendly wireless carrier, and have been satisfied with the trial. Since I will likely stay with the service after making the cumbersome switch from Mint Mobile, I started to think about switching Brenda’s iPhone7 — ugh! So after a little discussion with her about […]
RichC | April 9, 2023
Easter is a time for celebration, a time to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and a time to rejoice in His victory over death. It is the day that we Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ; His resurrection is the foundation of our faith. The crucifixion of Jesus was a sign […]
RichC | February 14, 2023
It is not a Throwback Thursday #TBT post, but the Echo Show photo below is from a previous year. Happy Valentine’s Day! The REAL Valentine’s Day story … (yikes!) The Catholic martyr St. Valentine was beheaded on that date in the third century, supposedly for breaking a Roman ban on performing marriages. Now in Dublin […]
RichC | January 1, 2023
I would like to wish everyone visiting MyDesultoryBlog.com a Happy and Healthy New Year … and after seeing this “black ice” social media shared video from last months deadly winter storm … safe traveling in 2023. Whew … very frightening. https://mdbav.s3.amazonaws.com/DangerousBlackIce2022.mp4
RichC | December 29, 2022
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RichC | December 25, 2022
Merry Christmas to all … and may your next year be a healthy and happy one. Here’s a little (very little) cowboy humor as a filler post for the day. 😀
RichC | December 24, 2022
Jane Wells has been a reporter for CNBC (“Janie” as the late Mark Haines called her) that I’ve followed for years while watching business news channels (or should I have said, “is a ‘has-been’ reporter?” – hopefully a little humor that she would appreciate!). Anyway, I always smiled when watching her “quirky” stories and reporting […]
RichC | December 17, 2022
We have had a relatively mild, although gloomy, couple of weeks this December 2022 so far … unlike it was in 2010. BUT … this could change by the end of next week as the forecast is for a winter snowstorm to hit much of the eastern half of the U.S. According to forecasting yesterday, […]
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 […]
RichC | December 1, 2022
With Thanksgiving behind us, I’m wondering if Brenda is adopting a new-to-us December holiday tradition? Perhaps or most likely not … but I do see something that looks like a Seinfeld-like “Festivus” pole in our foyer. For those familiar with the the long running television comedy Seinfeld, you will recall immediately the 1997 episode call […]
RichC | November 24, 2022
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RichC | November 11, 2022
Although there are many who serve or served our country we can think about on this Veterans Day, I’ve opted to reflect on my late father-in-law, Frederick Howard, who navigated B-26 bombers over Europe in World War II. He was definitely part of the “Greatest Generation” and volunteered immediately when he came of age and […]
RichC | November 1, 2022
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RichC | July 4, 2022
According to a little American Revolutionary War reading this past year, our Declaration of Independence was celebrated on July 4, 1777 with a 13-gun salute in the morning and 13-gun salute in the evening (13 for the 13 colonies). Interestingly, many historians suggest that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on July 2, 1776 and […]
RichC | June 19, 2022
I enjoyed a very nice Father’s Day on “Saturday” yesterday with Taylor, Megan and their long time friend Meredith, who was “dog-sitting” her sister’s dog “Chase” (below). They enjoyed the nice weather around and in the pool while I busied myself with a few projects … one of which was adding the additional pipes to […]
RichC | May 30, 2022
This Memorial Day reflection is a bit different than previous posts. Instead of an overall encompassing remembrance on all those who died in armed service to our country, it is a combined Music Monday twist that is a little more narrowly focused on those who fought and died in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). At the […]
RichC | May 10, 2022
Depressing as it may be, our vacation in Delray Beach is over, but it was a perfect and needed rest and relaxation trip. Our old 2002 Honda Odyssey is still surviving … although I did pondering a new Florida vehicle after having to jumpstart and fidget with the flakey AC. Yet it still didn’t convince […]
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 […]