RichC | July 31, 2021
To salvage or toss: It is a quandary those of us who try to fix, salvage and repair things. My theory is that those of us who take thing apart as kids to see how they work, tend to be the ones doing it when they are older and collecting boxes of junk? I often […]
RichC | July 29, 2021
While reviewing and purging a few backups to stay under one of my cloud storage service’s data caps, a favorite photo popped up that was backed up on OneDrive. It was a pre-children time for Drew and Katelyn visiting his parent’s place on Lake Michigan when there was free-time for self, hobbies, tech gadgets and […]
RichC | July 20, 2021
Figured I would archive a couple leftover photos and an animated gif from a nice weekend working out in the yard. Since the concrete crew has not started the driveway project yet, I am continuing to clear brush and cut low branches (contemplating large concrete mixing trucks). Once again, the bonfire brush pile is starting […]
RichC | July 11, 2021
Brenda and I had a great week with Annalyn and Ellerie after Katelyn and Drew headed back home after the Fourth of July family weekend. It was not without challenges as our two little girls do miss their mom and dad … but they (we) survived. Thankfully we smartly took the week off of work […]
RichC | July 10, 2021
The Fourth of July 2021 has come and gone, but since we took a week of vacation this week and have our granddaughters, things like “posting to the blog” and resizing photos has taken a second seat to family. For Saturday’s post, here are a couple archived photos of the family last weekend as the […]
RichC | June 20, 2021
Received nice photo from Katelyn and Drew last week and since I included one of Taylor and Megan last week, this is one that needed to be archived on my blog. Most most personal photos nowadays are of our granddaughters as Brenda and I have long ago moved past the stage of photos our ourselves […]
RichC | June 11, 2021
When Annalyn and Ellerie were visiting in May, she helped me get out my live trap to “relocate” a raccoon or two (or more?) that has been climbing up on our house. Annalyn is so inquisitive and a real thinker when it comes to learning about something. She was so attentive when I showed her […]
RichC | June 2, 2021
Although I’ve enjoyed summertime on the beach ever since I was a little boy (we live on a beach), there is something relaxing about seeing the photo above that a friend sent me from his families rented beach house in North Carolina … it look very relaxing. The older I get, the more I enjoy […]
RichC | May 28, 2021
Our family has been burning up the highway this past month, but it has been great to get together again with our granddaughters and of course Katelyn and Drew. We’ve had this dance recital planned for a while now, along with an extra day to help out with babysitting … and didn’t want to ruin […]
RichC | May 26, 2021
As planned and mentioned in a weekend catch-up post yesterday, I’m archiving a few photos from a Sunday trip to Toledo for a 35th Birthday surprise our daughter Katelyn, thanks to her “sneaky” husband Drew (if she reads that word, I know she will smile). Everything came off without a hitch and our family decorated […]
RichC | May 18, 2021
We celebrated Katelyn’s 35th birthday this past weekend and enjoyed getting the family together at our house. Besides Katelyn growing up, our two granddaughters are a well. Taylor and Megan were up for steaks on the grill and then Taylor back on Sunday to work on his taxes. Drew and Katelyn went out for lunch […]
RichC | May 11, 2021
This past Saturday was nice, but Sunday not so much (rain). It does seem like we are having unusually cool weather for this time of May? But 30-40 degree weather aside, Taylor did stop by to give me a hand with the pool cover since I don’t enjoy horsing it around by myself anymore as […]
RichC | May 9, 2021
I probably should be quoting from Leviticus 19:3, but I can’t help but remember Ferris Bueller commenting that, “Life moves pretty fast …” when thinking about respecting and honoring mothers today. So for Mother’s Day 2021, focus your attention on your mother before it is too late … because from experience, “life does move pretty […]
RichC | May 5, 2021
Received an email from a friend who said, “hey, there are no photo of you in your last week’s vacation post?” Hm, true .. and realized that this panorama is the nearest photo I have of me relaxing on the beach. But since our vacation is now in the rear view mirror, here are a […]
RichC | April 8, 2021
With all the photos that I take, I can’t believe I didn’t snap a couple photos of the recent redwood framed games and puzzle woodworking projects I made for my granddaughters? Oh well, they turned out nice. I used my new “flat kerf” blade to make the corner miter joints stronger as well as decorative. […]
RichC | April 3, 2021
There’s not much of a question whether Annalyn and Ellerie had a good time this past week. The girls … and their mom and dad … are vacationing in sunny and warm Disney World in Orlando before heading further southwest to spend a few days with Drew’s parents at the beach. Of course I’m envious, […]
RichC | March 24, 2021
The more I think about it, the “lamer” it appears to be talking about shoes … but truth be told, the Sperry Topsider reviews and shoe insole posts still are in the top ten when it comes to blog numbers. I’m posting a photo of my newly arrived clearance priced Vasque hiking boots and previous […]
RichC | March 21, 2021
At one time I thought there might be a bit of Irish blood in my heritage mix, especially on the Corbett side, but an Ancestry.com DNA test in 2019 suggested that there was not. For some reason, I assumed the “known” Welsh family connection had some ties to Ireland, but there wasn’t even a percentage […]
RichC | March 14, 2021
Our old mailbox has lasted 26 years and considering it is cemented into a stone post that mostly matches what is in the neighborhood, replacing it with something else is not a option. A few people have repaired theirs, but it has been an expensive process requiring significant masonry work. Last year about this time, […]
RichC | March 13, 2021
Last week I need a small socket and as usual went out to the garage only to realized that even the smallest 1/4” Craftsman socket that I own was too big and bulky. Then I remembered the IFixIt tools Christmas gift my son gave me and voilà … an easy fit and fix. Thanks Taylor! The […]
RichC | March 2, 2021
It has sort of become a tradition to celebrate birthdays in Toledo with the Oostra family. We certainly enjoy getting together with everyone and regularly reflex on just how blessed we are as a family. I mentioned to Brenda that one of the greatest blessing in my life was marrying into the Howard family … […]
RichC | February 18, 2021
A couple of weeks ago I shared a 1990s photo of Brenda’s dad with a close friend Hugh Woodcock and saw another one from 1997 to archive for a Throwback Thursday #TBT. Both MomH (2017) and DadH (2013) have passed away, but since Mrs. Woodcock (Ann) commented on my “snowy February stay-at-home” post, I figured […]
RichC | February 4, 2021
I always stop in to visit with lifetime friends of Mom and Dad Howard, Ann and Hugh Woodcock when I’m close, but hesitate to even tell them I’m nearby “in the days of COVID19.” I really hate putting it off though, since one never knows how many days friends in their 90s have? The photo […]
RichC | January 28, 2021
When searching for a photo of my 1996 Toyota 4Runner (never found one), I stumbled across a couple personal photos from 1997 and will archive them for today’s Throwback Thursday #TBT. One of “professional Brenda” dressed for the office in 1990’s style (ha!) and the other of our family on an October Hawk Migration birding […]
RichC | January 27, 2021
January 2021 is already getting away from me and after receiving a cute photo from Katelyn of “Ellerie’s first pony” (tail) in a text message, I realized just how fast time is whizzing by. Before I could do the comparison, she also sent me a side by side photo with Annalyn at Ellerie’s age, to […]
RichC | January 20, 2021
While talking with a customer on the phone today and talking about when I’ll be traveling to NE Ohio again, they asked me when they could get the Covid-19 vaccine? See Covid-19 Vaccination Program – LINK. So I figured it would be appropriate to include a screenshot from an Ohio-based health care provider in our […]
RichC | January 14, 2021
While shuffling through a bunch of old scans and photos and uploading stuff to my Miami University .EDU Google Drive account for free cloud storage after downgrading my subscription to OneDrive (they refused to renew the 1TB of space at my previous 4-years of discounted service), I ran across the window sticker from my black […]
RichC | January 13, 2021
We don’t see my nephew and his family nearly enough, but a week ago, my nephew Ben, his wife Emily, and their two boys, Liev and Ellis welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. The boys baby sister, and Ben and Emily’s first daughter, Lyra Eileen Skinner was born in the morning, weighing a […]
RichC | December 31, 2020
I had lunch “out” this week with my good friend Jeff, although this routine has become very infrequent compared to previous years. Still, we had a chance to catch up, talk about politics (Ugh), the old-days backpacking in North Carolina (an old scanned photo for Throwback Thursday #TBT) … and I opened his cool gift […]
RichC | December 29, 2020
It was great that the sun was shining in the new windows the day after Christmas, but the hot-spots did make for a challenging family photo in front of the tree (we ended up too busy and forgot to take on on Christmas day with all the presents). Nevertheless, we still wanted to take one […]
RichC | December 25, 2020
Since it is now Christmas day, I will finally post a couple of the woodworking projects that I’ve been working on for gifts this year. Ellerie was my primary focus since I’ve made quite a few items for Annalyn in the past, but I’m trying not to leave anybody out either. So … for the […]
RichC | December 24, 2020
Since I expect to be busy with our family on Christmas Eve Day, I’ll prepare a post for Throwback Thursday #TBT with a few old handsaws from my families past and asked the rhetorical question to myself: “Why do you keep old handsaws that you never use?” Actually I don’t recall really needing to use […]
RichC | December 23, 2020
Marking time and happenings is sort of what My Desultory Blog has evolved into … or at least it seems that way lately (reminds me of the “Pacing the Cage” song). I have found that in hindsight I’ve been using the blog as a reference point for events and updates. It had become a good […]
RichC | December 15, 2020
It has been a challenging year to say the least with the Coronavirus still raging in the US and around the world. So many lives, businesses and plans have been forever changed. Brenda and I just feel blessed to be surviving the pandemic and able to function in a day to day matter. We hear […]
RichC | December 13, 2020
Although December is centered around Christmas and holiday preparations, it is also Drew’s birthday. As the years tick by, I’m sure he won’t mind one of two of them getting forgotten … but for now it is still Happy Birthday. (BTW, this was a great shot photo with Annalyn at the Toledo Art Museum and […]
RichC | December 7, 2020
Recognition and remembrance for those of the Greatest Generation who were killed on December 7, 1941 are compelling reasons why Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day rings loud with me … but my remembering is also partially due out of respect for my parents. For them (and my late mother and father-in-law), the attack by Japan and […]
RichC | December 3, 2020
As a ‘still listed’ page owner according to my Zillow update emails of my parents house listing in Sidney, Ohio, I realized that it will not be long before those pages and photos disappear. I likely still have the original photos on a compact flash drive card (who can still read those), but probably won’t […]
RichC | December 1, 2020
Last weekend must have been the time to start getting into the Christmas spirit? I was busy getting the wreaths and window candles up (and last of the leaves raked and hauled), Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie were on their Christmas tree outing adventure and Taylor and Megan were adding some decorations to Taylor’s apartment […]
RichC | November 26, 2020
Since I’m pre-writing this by a few days for Throwback Thursday #TBT, I realized just before post it that it will also be Thanksgiving on Thursday. Our family won’t be getting together as usual (same for a lot of families for a COVID19 resurgence), but ours was planned that way since we rotate holidays; Katelyn, […]
RichC | November 14, 2020
This was a big week for Apple who started their business selling computers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40 years, you know what a Macintosh computer is and just how important they are in living in the age of technology. Cellphones and tablets may have surpassed the personal computer for […]
RichC | November 4, 2020
Too much going on to post on the election so I’ll sit back and enjoy a couple a great leftover weekend photos from the family. First is a very happy Ellerie (Drew must have been on “hair duty” again) .. and an OSU loving Annalyn (although suspect she doesn’t watch the game?) Finally a belated […]
RichC | November 1, 2020
While pre-starting a Happy Halloween archive post for 2020 amidst a limited trick or treating year due to COVID19, I will at least start with a few photos Katelyn and Drew sent of their preparation. I’m sure Annalyn is excited to at least “beg” for a little candy (probably just close neighbors) but it is […]
RichC | October 27, 2020
Although in the “time of COVID19” things are different when it comes to gatherings, going to church, keeping a distance and wearing masks, we did get together with the Oostra family for Ellerie’s baby dedication. It seems like just yesterday we were together for Annalyn’s, but now she is a big sister. She has such […]
RichC | October 17, 2020
While Brenda and I zipped to Florida for a couple planned vacation get-away days, our family enjoyed the autumn weather change in Ohio. Taylor treated Megan to a birthday evening with a romantic evening and a fire in our outdoor fireplace and the Oostra family headed to Hocking Hills and a little hiking — Katelyn, […]
RichC | October 6, 2020
The summer has slipped away and we are finally getting around to getting our boxes and bags of books back in the library/music room. Earlier this year I built some new bookshelves for the back wall that will house a lot of our books. I’ve been tossing and slowly organizing them, but Brenda has just […]
RichC | September 28, 2020
As usual, my night celestial bodies viewing in person is SO MUCH BETTER than trying to capture the beautiful night sky with an iPhone (and older 7 model to boot) … but that doesn’t stop me from trying. Here’s a view of the rising moon, with the faint speck of Saturn about a 1/3 from […]
RichC | September 22, 2020
Since Brenda (Oma) is babysitting up in Perrysburg for Katelyn and Drew, I thought I’d archive a couple photos from her day (although the one above is from Katelyn marking that Ellerie is now 7 months old). Since I’m writing this while eating my lunch on Monday, it is likely I’ll miss any afternoon photos, […]
RichC | September 17, 2020
What kind of grandparent would I be to not include Ellerie’s first tooth on MyDesultoryBlog since I post on practically everything else? Katelyn mentioned in a phone call that Ellerie was teething and could see her first tooth the other day … so I requested she send a photo. Little did I know just how […]
RichC | September 6, 2020
I was planning to hold off posting the progress from last weekend and a few evenings putting together a swing set for Annalyn … and eventually Ellerie who is now 6 months old (the playset is sized for 3-10 year olds). I had thought Drew and Katelyn might be coming down over Labor Day, but […]
RichC | August 31, 2020
Brenda started to sing along to a song that was on in the intro or background of a movie or TV show were were watching a couple weeks ago (don’t recall the show). I looked over and asked, “How do you remember this song … it was before our time?” She replied that she thought […]
RichC | August 21, 2020
My dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk, mine for the last 5 years, has hardly been touched since it was flatbed delivered from Sidney, Ohio. I moved it once … and then covered it up with a battery tender after I noticed a pool of transmission fluid all over the floor. So on the 5th anniversary of […]
RichC | August 18, 2020
We are really enjoying the time we have to stay around home this summer amidst Coronavirus concerns … although Brenda has never stopped going to work … she works in an “essential business” — pharmacy. We certainly enjoyed having Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie to our house for a mini-vacation for several days earlier this […]
RichC | August 12, 2020
It is hard to believe, but it is that time of the summer already! Nope, not quite “back to school” time, but time to wish Brenda a Happy Birthday. In the year of COVID19 as the card front to the left says, “we can’t go anywhere, but Happy Birthday.” We’ll celebrate low-key at home since […]
RichC | August 11, 2020
With our family in town last week, it was a busy time. We enjoyed several outings, good food and plenty of pool time. Annalyn has really grown to enjoy swimming and playing in the yard. She loves the swing (Bompa needs to work on a bigger one) and riding the bike with training wheels to […]
RichC | August 9, 2020
We had a great time with Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie as they visited for a mini-vacation, as my daughter called it (family photos archived later in the week). They drove the Tesla Model3 down from Perrysburg and were able to squeeze in two car seats, their luggage and a larger stroller. Impressive! Drew planned […]
RichC | July 27, 2020
Once again, I can’t help but to revisit some music of my youth … although it helps when regularly reminded by listening to the SiriusXM station The Bridge which plays regularly from the patio Echo connected patio speakers. The top ten hit Time Passages recorded by Al Stewart in 1978 played while I was sitting […]
RichC | July 26, 2020
What kind of grandparent would I be without using my personal blog to keep track of and archive photos of my grandchildren? This past week, Ellerie turned 5 months old … yes ALREADY! She is as happy and healthy as can be, thanks to having a loving big sister, pediatrician mom and great dad. Katelyn […]
RichC | July 23, 2020
Having the comradery of social media friends who enjoy similar interests doesn’t necessarily replace face to face friendships, but at least during the Coronavirus pandemic it is a way to stay connected. There are a few of us like-minded car guys who sort of have an appreciation for the mundane cars and share stories, photos and […]
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