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 […]
RichC | December 23, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 13, 2022
My daughter is great at sending links to items she thinks would be great for the blog. The other day Katelyn sent an “Ohio Turnpike Name-A-Snowplow Contest” story that had some pretty creative names — well actually, like her mom, she had her husband send it 😀 (BTW, Happy Birthday Drew!). Here are the winners: Ctrl-Salt-Delete, Nicole […]
RichC | December 11, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | December 10, 2022
With inflation pushing grocery prices up, Brenda refuses to purchase store-bought croutons unless they are “on sale.” So since we had a quarter loaf of stale bread after our recent week away, I decided to cube and turn it into Rosemary, Italian seasoning, Garlic and Olive Oil croutons. After making them (bake 10 minutes at […]
RichC | December 8, 2022
The Throwback Thursday #TBT tag was just an excuse to ask the question: “How many flat tires does a person need to have repaired in their lifetime?” I don’t know the answer, but I do know that I’ve repaired A LOT. It seems I’m forever needing to add air (change in temperatures), have a slow […]
RichC | December 4, 2022
With a new Costco store opening close to home in Liberty Township, Ohio (and one in Delray or actually in Boca Raton, FL), Brenda and I have finally decided to join. My buddy Jeff has been a Costco shopper for eons … and Katelyn and Drew are always telling us about their weekend trips to […]
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 […]
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 […]
RichC | November 30, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | November 24, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | November 15, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
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 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) […]
RichC | November 9, 2022
It was a clear, still night to take a walk around the neighborhood, but not so much on the east coast of Florida. I can’t help but pay attention to the wind, rain and surge associated with Hurricane Nicole as it comes ashore tonight. Tomorrow will tell the tale.
RichC | November 8, 2022
The hurricane tracking cone is a little squirrelly, but SubTropical Storm Nicole does look at if it will hit the Bahamas as a hurricane and likely from our recent experience of enjoying the “WARM” water on South Florida’s Atlantic beaches (a couple of photos below the break from earlier this month). As of Tuesday afternoon […]
RichC | November 6, 2022
Although I have yet to open the individual components … the L-O-N-G awaited MagFast “premium charging” kit has finally arrived. The new magnetically connected kit is not yet fully complete as there are still a couple components that will be shipped later. This will probably be the last pre-purchased product I purchase after losing my […]
RichC | November 5, 2022
The sharing of this obituary news is a month late in coming … partially due to the sudden shock … and partially due to not having the right words to share on my blog … but a friend of our family and Megan’s father, Dave Schneider, passed away on October 5, 2022. He was one […]
RichC | November 1, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | October 26, 2022
Last Saturday’s project was some overdue maintenance on what was a very nice day her in SW Ohio. The temps were warm at 77 degrees and the sky clear. I took the opportunity to start draining the oil in the BMW X5 35d with 195K miles in the morning, then drove the Mercedes 300d Turbodiesel […]
RichC | October 25, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | October 22, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | October 20, 2022
Now, I’m not quite old enough to have regularly used this kind of service garage air station to fill car tires for FREE, but I have used them AND it still triggers memories: Do you remember the “bump, bump, bump” surging as air filled the tires? As I’ve mentioned twice before, one of my first […]
RichC | October 19, 2022
There was a leftover beach flyover video on my phone from our late September – early October Florida vacation so with a private family post creating registered only viewing and the first real cold weather of the season, this makes for an envious filler. I’m looking forward to warm weather and the beach again. Why […]
RichC | October 19, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | October 11, 2022
With a lot of football watching in the evening last week while on vacation in Delray Beach, our appetite was for pizza. Normally we might have ordered it from a pizza shop, but since Target had Red Baron pizzas on sale for $3.99, we opted for their Brick Oven medium pizza. Shockingly, neither Brenda or […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
RichC | September 22, 2022
A lot has happened in 9 short years … but it has been NINE years! Where does the time go? While cleaning out a few miscellaneous files and moving a few photos off my iMac’s upgraded SSHD and to cloud storage only, I noticed a few of my son Taylor after his move to Williston, […]
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 […]
RichC | September 17, 2022
Having initially enjoyed the weekly meal offering from Hello Fresh, the menu started to get a little stale as new items began to resemble previous meals. With inflation at the grocery store (and the fuel and time cost), the price was somewhat less of a gripe, but both of us started to notice fewer and […]
RichC | September 13, 2022
This content is restricted.
RichC | September 6, 2022
Having a few extra “rainy” hours over the Labor Day weekend, I decided to tackle an office closet project that I’ve been pondering. The plan was to either build in a few permanent shelves with holes for wiring to primarily hold the electronic equipment feeding the TV or add a small shelf to replace the […]
RichC | September 6, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
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 […]
RichC | August 29, 2022
Neither photo is mine, but Brenda and I were both startled in hearing the sounds of owls coming from was seemed like inside the house. Great Horned Owl Hoots After we slowly crept around inside our house, wondering where they were, we deciphered that the “hoots” were coming from the fireplace. "Hm, were they […]
RichC | August 28, 2022
Neither Brenda or I have fully retired yet (although I loaf more than I should), but there is no reason THIS couldn’t be every day during retirement IF the weather was perfect all year around. I probably take more time off during the summer than I should and having the girls for a week in […]
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!
RichC | August 27, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
RichC | August 25, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
RichC | August 23, 2022
It was a nice weekend to drive to Atlanta, even though it was only for a short birthday visit for Brenda’s sister Ann. As always, we had a very nice time together, had a great day hiking up to Indian Seats (panorama above) and our favorite part, catching up on the life of their girls. […]
RichC | August 16, 2022
Since I wear a Fitbit and monitor a few things like heartrate, exercise and daily step count, I was concerned when my resting heartrate (graph left) seemed to be rising? After talking with my daughter about it, she mentioned that it sure seemed to correspond to my COVID diagnosis. Hm??? Hopefully it will return to […]
RichC | August 14, 2022
This content is restricted.
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 […]
RichC | August 6, 2022
Well if one has to stay at home … looking at our backyard “storm is coming” pool photo … and we aren’t to be out and about, there could be worse places to be isolating? The summer storms continued rolling thru this past week and and after testing positive the previous week, I thought a […]
RichC | August 3, 2022
It is likely that I’ve used and cleaned over 100 paint brushes in my lifetime … besides the throw-away bristle and foam versions. That said, I find myself gravitating to a couple favorites that I hang over the basement utility sink. These are of the softer full-bodied brushes that hold paint well, brush smooth and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
RichC | July 21, 2022
This is part 2 (see pre-wrap-up and part 1) of our Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip, but I can tell from the start that I’m not going to get very far (late and tired … and just WAY too many photos). Still, it is enjoyable to think about and remember the great time we had […]