RichC | January 4, 2020
Our family’s 2019 Christmas celebration this year was over New Year’s eve and day, as is our rotation (currently we rotate every other year, but who knows what the future holds?) We were all able to schedule the time off together and enjoyed getting together to exchange presents. Brenda and I had a special treat […]
RichC | December 17, 2019
As has become tradition, our annual Christmas letter briefly summarizes our year and includes a quote, verse, lyric or statement. Usually, it is something that resonated with Brenda and triggered her to jot it down at some point during the year. This year it happened to be something from Winston Churchill (we watched Darkest Hour […]
RichC | December 12, 2019
Although Drew’s birthday isn’t today, I’ll post this on Thursday so as to get double-duty out of a birthday greeting and make it a Throwback Thursday #TBT post (a 2007 photo). Back then, Brenda secretly plotted, along with Drew and a friend (Sam), to kidnap Katelyn for her 21st birthday … and then take her […]
RichC | November 30, 2019
With another outstanding year for Ohio State University football fans (currently undefeated for 2019), the #2 national ranking has brought out the Buckeye spirit in our family of fans. Megan is from an all Ohio State family and a graduate herself. Taylor (Miami University, OH) has always enjoyed OSU Football and is happy to cheer […]
RichC | November 10, 2019
We had so much fun at Katelyn and Drew‘s on Saturday for the “gender reveal” of an addition to our family – A BABY GIRL and sister for Annalyn. They hosted a brunch in their newly remodeled kitchen and great room (first time for brothers and sister-in-laws to see it). Katelyn has become quite the […]
RichC | November 3, 2019
It is starting to feel like autumn now that Halloween has passed and the temperatures have dipped below freezing in the evenings. The weekend had me thinking about future projects and my current “to-do” list … which includes raking the leaves and closing up the pool. On the project list for next year is working […]
RichC | October 26, 2019
One of the more enjoyable aspects of maintaining a personal blog of desultory nature is that I’ve been able to include some of our trips, traveling and vacations over the years. It would have been nice to have had a searchable “highlight-reel” record from all of our traveling prior to 2005, but then the digital […]
RichC | October 23, 2019
The subject line is probably misleading since “vacation” and “finishing the upholstery and cleaning” probably are contradictory … but the few days at a time updates on the condo this past year needed to get finished up before our winter renters arrive. Thankfully Brenda and I scheduled a couple weeks in October to be in […]
RichC | October 14, 2019
Is it already time for pumpkins and autumn? I guess it is … especially after seeing Taylor and Megan picking out pumpkins. They sent a great photo of them on Saturday enjoying the crisper weather and beautiful weather. Supposedly Taylor’s pumpkin is heavier … but I’m not seeing it in this photo (also, Happy Birthday […]
RichC | October 8, 2019
What kind of grandparent would I be if I didn’t share a cute photo or two of my granddaughter Annalyn once in a while? It is hard to remember was life was like without this little cutie around. Katelyn and Drew sent a couple recent fall festival photos to us … one of face painting […]
RichC | September 24, 2019
It has been long enough … and I can’t keep quiet any longer. BabyOostra #2 is "in the oven" and definitely looks like a baby from the August ultrasound (Katelyn‘s baby app says the baby is the size of a chipmunk … or Drew‘s favorite, an XBox Controller). Annalyn will soon be a bit sister […]
RichC | September 16, 2019
A quick post to the blog archive with a few photos from this past weekend. Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn came down to go to the Cincinnati Zoo with Taylor and Megan on Saturday. They had a great time. Of course Brenda and I enjoyed having Annalyn around for a couple days too! She is growing […]
RichC | August 21, 2019
We have always shuffled our “fleet” (as my son-in-law calls it) and strive to keep the loss through depreciation on vehicles to a tolerable level … while still driving reliable vehicles. Thankfully our current and recent vehicles have served us well and regularly hit the quarter million mile mark before we retire them. In my […]
RichC | August 20, 2019
Last week was a grandparent’s dream as we had our wonderful 2-1/2 year old granddaughter Annalyn for the week. Of course we initially wondered if she would be a little homesick and miss mom and dad, but from the first moment when I drove halfway to make the pickup from Katelyn, I knew it was […]
RichC | August 8, 2019
While digging through a few older photos in contemplation for Brenda’s upcoming August birthday post, I stumbled across a few of our “dating years” photos (saving those for later) and one from my mom and dad’s house when we were celebrating her birthday 11 years ago (above). Wow … compared to our Put In Bay […]
RichC | July 9, 2019
The holiday weekend at our house in Cincinnati was fun for all as I enjoyed my kids stretching out my birthday celebration with a Saturday Indians – Reds baseball game (posted on Saturday). We all had a great time together and enjoyed the hot weather, pool, having ice cream at The Cone and plenty of […]
RichC | July 7, 2019
As a grandparent, I so enjoyed how technology has been able to keep our family connected. Perhaps it is not unlike remembering my mother talking with her parents daily on the “wired” telephone after we moved “so far away” for back in the day when families often remained in the same neighborhoods and cities where […]
RichC | July 6, 2019
Thanks Taylor for planning and my family for spending an extended birthday weekend over the 4th of July. We all enjoyed the great time together as a family at Great American Ballpark watching my two favorite MLB team battle it out on a beautiful Saturday afternoon – Cleveland 7 – Reds 2 final score. We […]
RichC | June 29, 2019
A week ago Brenda and I headed up to our “old stomping grounds” (idiom) to celebrate Taylor’s 30th and my 60th birthday at Put In Bay, Ohio. Katelyn planned a family gathering for us since her partner owns a house and a few rentals on the island and graciously let us stay in the place […]
RichC | June 26, 2019
The plan was to post an update on the terrific 30th (Taylor) 60th (Rich) birthday weekend celebration with the whole family planned by Katelyn on Put-In-Bay last weekend … but I’ve been too busy to get my photos and thoughts together. So this will just be a smallish update highlighting the Fitbit Versa that Katelyn, […]
RichC | May 18, 2019
A bit late on the blog, but I’m archiving a few photos from last weekend with the kids in Perrysburg celebrating Mother’s Day and Katelyn’s birthday (which I mistakenly did not post about on my blog last week). I am reminded in looking at these photos to count my blessings. We enjoyed a dinner out […]
RichC | April 28, 2019
It was the long awaited delivery day for Drew (and Katelyn) as came down from Perrysburg/Toledo to pick up Annalyn AND his new Tesla Model 3 in Cincinnati. I was pretty excited for him and couldn’t wait to actually sit in one. I love the technology and it was so impressive that it almost has […]
RichC | April 27, 2019
This week’s babysitting worked out well as Brenda met Katelyn halfway between Toledo and Cincinnati on I-75 (Sidney, OH) so we could have Annalyn stay with us a few days. I suspect the separation was harder for Katelyn than it was for Annalyn — she does just great with us. Friday was my day to […]
RichC | April 20, 2019
It is great to see our kids squeezing in vacations and enjoying all the natural beauty our country has to offer. This past week, Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn visited “another” US National Park, this time Yosemite National Park in California. It looked like a great time! Click for a larger map and definitely click for […]
RichC | April 9, 2019
There aren’t many things that makes a mom and dad prouder than realizing their parenting efforts have paid off. We are now regularly seeing our children as productive professional adults and realizing that our being positive examples, and prioritizing school and providing a college education, has paid off. Besides Katelyn and husband Drew being accomplished […]
RichC | April 4, 2019
It looks like Drew’s Tesla Model 3 will arrive just in time (he is currently waiting for delivery), in order to avoid Ohio’s additional 10.5 cent/gallon gasoline tax hike? This new increase will boost Ohio’s gasoline tax it to 38.5 cents per gallon; it is expected that Ohio’s governor will sign a bill which just […]
RichC | April 3, 2019
Just marking time with our family’s goings-on. Taylor and Megan were invited down to vacation for a week with a friend who’s family owns a home in the Bahamas. I’m not sure many of us would turn that down? It looks like they are having a great time. In the meantime, Katelyn and Drew stretch […]
RichC | March 12, 2019
We celebrated our granddaughter Annalyn’s second birthday with the family at Katelyn and Drew’s house in Perrysburg this past weekend. Like last year, her birthday made a great opportunity to get both the Corbett and Oostra families together at the same time … Katelyn could not have married into a better family as they are […]
RichC | March 5, 2019
Where has this year, and the past TWO YEARS, gone? It seems like my granddaughter Annalyn just turned ONE, and now she is TWO already! We will be celebrating with the family in a few days, but sang her Happy Birthday with Alexa’s help on their Amazon Echo Monday morning (March 4th). She is indeed […]
RichC | February 16, 2019
Another wonder day spent with the ones I love, and a little one who definitely returns the love; now that’s the way to enjoy a Valentine’s Day! Brenda and I headed to Katelyn and Drew’s in Perrysburg this past week and spent Valentine’s Day with Annalyn. I of course played the entire day, while Brenda, […]
RichC | February 15, 2019
Same photo with min aperture option and maximum. Note Bokek effect. On a recent trip, I happened to break my favorite pair of polarized sunglasses, so am using them as one last prop before tossing them in the trash … they have been epoxied and “jerry-rigged” (correct use of the term) together one too many times. […]
RichC | February 1, 2019
Ugh … still waiting for my results! One of my gifts for Christmas 2018 was an Ancestry.com DNA kit, so I quickly sent my sample in for genotyping … and from noting the delay, so did about a million others! I’m anxious to compare my results with Katelyn and Taylor (and my brother), but at […]
RichC | January 19, 2019
Brenda and I often reminisce with later-in-life retrospection as to our life vs work balance and decisions we made when having careers and a family. We have concluded, in hindsight of course, that it could not have been more perfect for us. Couples of every generation have their own struggles with finding that balance; we […]
RichC | January 11, 2019
The Amazon Echo in Kitchen/Great Room and the new Echo Dot 3rd Gen in my workshop Not a day goes by without Amazon’s Echo devices doing something for us in our home … and it is only a matter of time before “she” (Alexa) will be assisting me in the car too. It is almost […]
RichC | December 26, 2018
A few days, a few more pounds of cookies (and food) and way too many presents and good times to recap appropriately … so as the photos are fired back and forth between our smartphones, here are a few for the archives. What a “great” … and GRATEFUL … time we had with our family. […]
RichC | December 25, 2018
Every tech-loving guy needs a subject for a new gizmo … my son-in-law Drew is no exception. He set up his new GoPro-like camera (gift from Katelyn) to time-lapse our Christmas morning. His effort was a little bit too fast for me to watch … so I stretched out the MP4 clip to last almost […]
RichC | December 21, 2018
Although my intent for MyDesultoryBlog was to be just an online version of a personal journal and place to post my day to day thoughts for posterity …the analytics and comments over the years makes it clear that there are a few of you who enjoy reading my quick daily discourse … or you are […]
RichC | November 25, 2018
After an uncomfortable win against Maryland where Ohio State’s defense failed to show up … this week in the big 10th ranked OSU vs 4th ranked Michigan rivalry, both the defense and offense performed for the Buckeyes and their fans at the Shoe. Besides a few mistakes and penalties costing the Buckeyes points (fortunately they […]
RichC | November 15, 2018
Above is an early morning “daily” photo from my Raspberry Pi cam looking out back which reminded me of this past (and coming) weekend’s leaf raking, blowing and hauling from around the house and backyard … and a #TBT photo (below) that survived the basement flooding in 2013 sitting in my desk drawer (a lot […]
RichC | November 3, 2018
It is either a changing time with more parents concern for the safety of their children or we just live in a changing neighborhood? This was the first year we had ZERO trick or treaters for Halloween. While it is true we’ve never had that many, we always see a few neighbor kids stop by […]
RichC | September 22, 2018
Brenda and I sure enjoy our FaceTime moments with our granddaughter Annalyn, especially when she is eagerly looking at the screen when we answer her call. There is a part of me hoping it is her anticipating talking to us and saying "Bompa" to me … but another part wondering if it is just her […]
RichC | September 12, 2018
Keeping track of photos with so many JPGs archived on SD cards, phones, computers, cloud storage services and a never-ending variety of social media platforms makes archiving a challenge. I regularly post a few favorites to MyDesultoryBlog as a sort of timeline of events in order to remember what happened when. Post and share too […]
RichC | August 13, 2018
We had a great family time this weekend that start when "just the two of us" decided to have lunch at an area hibachi restaurant … when "surprise" … Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn, Taylor and Megan surprised Brenda for her 60th birthday. We had a great time together. The four original Corbetts (plus Annalyn) and Annalyn […]
RichC | July 22, 2018
I had fun digging out Katelyn and Taylor‘s old Little Tikes swing that is both made in and was used in Hudson, Ohio when we lived there … but the frustration part was having bought, then lost, a stainless steel nut for the cable clamp used in my set-up to attach the extension to the […]
RichC | July 22, 2018
Much of the midwest has had storm after storm roll in over the past couple of days, although at least we have not had the tornados as have states to our west. On the other hand, we have not had the beautiful weather Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn have had visiting with Drew’s parents in Michigan. […]
RichC | July 10, 2018
Now that Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn are in Perrysburg and not Wayzata, they are enjoying some of what Lake Erie’s western basin has to offer. Katelyn’s pediatrician partner has a cottage up on Put In Bay and she has entertained her med school girlfriends there a couple weekends ago and just return from a weekend […]
RichC | June 17, 2018
It doesn’t get all that much better for Brenda and me than spending some time with Katelyn, Taylor, Megan and of course Annalyn over Father’s Day weekend. Unfortunately we missed Drew as he had a medical conference in Chicago and hospital rounds upon returning to Toledo over the weekend (Katelyn took advantage of the time […]
RichC | June 11, 2018
As usual the spring pine pollen left a mess of the patios and any furniture left outside. The annual chore of power-washing and cleaning our outdoor living space seems to get tougher every year … and the moving of furniture on and off the patio heavier. Nevertheless, I completed the project after a full day […]
RichC | May 15, 2018
I can’t resist archiving a few more photos from Katelyn and Drew‘s Google Cloud after spending a few days with them last week and over the weekend at my brother’s for a small family get-together (reunion) and to celebrate my brother’s retirement from Wright Patterson Air Force Base — hard to believe he is retiring […]
RichC | April 24, 2018
The four grandparents (BR & BR — Barb, Randy, Brenda and Rich) enjoyed being with Katelyn and Drew as they dedicated Annalyn at church this past Sunday morning – April 22, 2018. Knowing that they have publically vowed to raise their daughter with the help of their church family at Waterville Community Church in the […]
RichC | April 13, 2018
A lot has happened in 5 years of marriage, on the other hand, those 5 years have flown by! Today is Katelyn and Drew‘s FIFTH year wedding anniversary; Brenda and I are wishing them much happiness and many more great years together … and Annalyn is in awe (photo). As for the milestones, they can […]
RichC | March 18, 2018
Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn are back from their busy trip to San Diego. It is great to see them taking advantage of their medical conference trips and extend them into a fun family time. Katelyn was a bit nervous flying alone with a 1-year old to meet up with Drew after his conference, but it […]
RichC | March 11, 2018
Ah yes … the stress of a mom flying by herself with a one-year-old … it can be stressful. My daughter Katelyn flew to San Diego, California “alone” with Annalyn on Saturday and reported that all her “distraction” preparations paid off … well she didn’t exactly say that … BUT that fact that she was […]
RichC | March 4, 2018
It is hard to believe a full year has passed and that “my” little girl’s daughter is already 1 year old. We’ve been looking forward to celebrating together and I’ve been tinkering with a requested gift idea – a magnetic board. Katelyn asked if I could make something that Annalyn could stick her magnetic symbols, […]
RichC | January 27, 2018
Brenda and I had a great time visiting with Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn this past week as they invited us up to see the comedian/ ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. We have all been to his show before and I believe this was Katelyn’s 3rd time? Our previous was years ago in a much smaller venue, acomedy […]
RichC | January 22, 2018
With a bit of driving coming up this week, it is a good time to start thinking about travel plans and winter weather. The heavy snows may not make it to Ohio, but generally this time of year we’ll get at least a taste of what those in the “true middle” of the country are […]
RichC | January 7, 2018
Even though we have two children, and I do remember them growing up fast, I am still surprised in watching the month to month changes in our granddaughter Annalyn. Katelyn forwarded a short video clip (below) from her 10th month “card photo” and I wanted to archive it just as the other photos and video this […]
RichC | December 30, 2017
We had a great Friday in Perrysburg, Ohio at Katelyn and Drew‘s as both Brenda and I were up babysitting Annalyn for the day. She is such a pleasure to be with and makes me feel 30 years younger (it was Katelyn who I was playing with!). Besides being there with Annalyn, we were also […]
