Presentation by Taylor and time with our granddaughters
RichC | March 26, 2023
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Catching up on family photos from the previous week #TBT
RichC | March 23, 2023
As is the norm for most of today’s families, sending text messages and photos is one way we stay connected. Last week Katelyn sent a photo of the girls snacking out of the back of her Volkswagen Tiguan and it reminded me of the times we did the same with our kids … and also […]
Started a side-table woodworking project this past weekend
RichC | March 14, 2023
Over the weekend, I started a woodworking project that has been buzzing around in my head. There is no hurry to this side-table (mentioned previously), but wanted to use recycled hardwood rather than the particle board in the mass manufactured tables. This required a different design that I patterned after our antique octagon foyer table and […]
Archive: The Cornhole woodworking project was a success
RichC | March 7, 2023
For years now, I’ve been planning to make a set of Cornhole boards for the backyard when entertaining in the summertime, but never really wanted to just slap together construction grade 2 x 4s and plywood. So when thinking about a project gift for my granddaughters 3rd and 6th birthdays this year, who are now […]
Combined Birthday celebration for our granddaughters
RichC | March 5, 2023
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Student loan forgiveness, the Supreme Court and an old post
RichC | March 1, 2023
With student loan forgiveness in the news again as the U.S. Supreme Court looks at the Constitutionality of President Biden’s authority with a stroke of his pen to be able to forgive student loans. Common sense would question the question of this extraordinary power, but past presidents have paused payments due to emergencies … so […]
Archive: Leftover family and condo photos from the past week
RichC | February 26, 2023
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Music Monday: “Happy Does” and Happy Birthday Ellerie
RichC | February 20, 2023
My youngest granddaughter turns 3 years old today … WOW! Happy Birthday Ellerie. We wish we were spending it with you, but we will be calling you on your way home from Michigan (photo above on Sunday) and celebrating soon for your combined birthday with your sister. For Music Monday today, I was thinking about […]
A few more family homebuilding photos and using rehab as an excuse to take a winter trip to Florida
RichC | February 15, 2023
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Happy Valentine’s Day to my special girls
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 […]
Archive: Saving a couple family update items to the blog
RichC | February 1, 2023
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Music Monday: A Little “Just Keep Livin” reggae by Mishka and Brenda’s hip replacement surgery and physical therapy update
RichC | January 30, 2023
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Routing corner splines on a woodworking project with a jig
RichC | January 29, 2023
Instead of painting the entire woodworking project that is currently underway in the workshop, I want at least to be able to naturally lacquer finish the frames of the Cornhole game. Partially it is to show off the miters and walnut splines in the frame corners and partially because I didn’t want to use any […]
Our Echo Show continues to remind us of family
RichC | January 28, 2023
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Workshop Wednesday: Circle cutting with a router
RichC | January 25, 2023
Over weekend of snowy Bengal – Bills playoff football, I was able to get down to the workshop and continue working on a joint granddaughters’ birthdays present. The project required larger holes than I have a hole saw for and cutting it with a jigsaw would have left an imperfect hole. So … I used […]
Woodworking: A new project and lumber prices are out of sight
RichC | January 21, 2023
There are two projects sitting semi-started in the workshop this winter (delayed with Brenda’s hip fracture), although I’m still struggling to accept the VERY HIGH lumber prices. To be fair, I’ve always complained about buying lumber as no matter where it is purchased, it always seems far to high. But nowadays with inflation raging, it […]
Amazed at the mobility improvement so soon after surgery
RichC | January 15, 2023
Brenda is making remarkable improvements (in my opinion) in her mobility after having expedited full hip replacement surgery on Monday afternoon at 4PM. As mentioned yesterday, she was released from the hospital on Wednesday night and after a semi-restful day on Thursday, began physical therapy on Friday. Katelyn came down from Perrysburg and was wonderful […]
A whirlwind medical week for Brenda (3 weeks of pain actually)
RichC | January 14, 2023
Prior to Christmas, Brenda was moving furniture around in our carpeted bedroom in order to clean behind our king size bed and headboard. She knew at the time it was too heavy, but continued to push and pull with her legs and hip. When I got home, I noticed the bed and nightstands were out […]
Tech Friday: Installed Wyze Doorbell and temp probe grilling
RichC | January 6, 2023
It is hard to resist loving gadget gifts and this past year for Christmas I was excited to receive a Wyze Doorbell from Drew (and Katelyn – Thx!) Although the previous year in 2021, I will admit that I was intimidated … and still am … by the fancy double temperature Bluetooth and WiFi Weber […]
Recipe reminiscing, the lost art of handwriting and longer days
RichC | January 5, 2023
A little bit of recipe reminiscing for Throwback Thursday #TBT this week. Over New Year’s Day, I enjoyed a “Bean Soup” recipe conversation with my daughter Katelyn. We discussed using the ham bone and pieces of ham from our Christmas dinner. I opted for a delicious Ham and Potato soup and froze a couple smaller […]
What a difference 90-days can make when #homebuilding
RichC | January 4, 2023
It has been about a month-and-a-half of steady construction on Katelyn and Drew’s #homebuilding project (the hashtag is how I’ve tagged their home construction on MDB). Since the Oostras were together on January 1st, they enjoyed a drive out to their Whitehouse, Ohio property as a family to check on the progress. It was shocking […]
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 […]
Keeping an eye on the weather for Christmas week travelers
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, […]
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 […]
Happy Birthday Drew and creative names for snowplows
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 […]
Archive: Christmas trees, homebuilding and Ellerie’s big bed
RichC | December 11, 2022
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Homemade Croutons: My mother would have smiled
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 […]
How many flat tires does a person repair in a lifetime? #TBT
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 […]
For the record, we joined Costco with the rest of America
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 […]
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 […]
Archive: Some family time with our granddaughters
RichC | November 30, 2022
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Thanksgiving 2022: “Out of the mouth of babes …”
RichC | November 24, 2022
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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 […]
Remembering Lt. Frederick Howard on this Veterans Day
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 […]
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) […]
Nice night in SW Ohio, but not in South Florida
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.
Weather watching as SubTropical Storm Nicole approaches
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 […]
The long awaited MAGFAST pre-order has arrived, multiple trailer loads of autumn leaves and watching the 2022 World Series
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 […]
Belated Obituary: David George Schneider (1952 – 2022)
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 […]
Archiving photos from our Trick or Treating family in 2022
RichC | November 1, 2022
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Weekend BMW X5 35d Eurol Oil 5W-30 and Filter changes
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 […]
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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Things that were better in the “Good Old Days” … free air! #TBT
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 […]
With the first freeze in SW Ohio … I’d rather be on the beach
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 […]
Katelyn and Drew’s pile of drying lumber gets a tarp
RichC | October 19, 2022
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Red Baron Brick Oven Pizza and beach pigeons …
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 […]
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 […]
A few years ago, Taylor moved to Williston, ND #TBT
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, […]
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 […]
The enticement emails from HelloFresh.com worked
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 […]
Leftover family weekend photos and a Mud Hens game
RichC | September 13, 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.