RichC | February 14, 2021
Brenda packaged up a nice box of fun gifts for our granddaughters and they connected by FaceTime with high energy and happy faces – it was fun. Both Annalyn and Ellerie are camera “hams” and seem to enjoy what to them is a normal communication medium. I’m certainly enjoying the technology connection as it is […]
RichC | February 9, 2021
Did you ever have a political discussion or receive an email that generated a desire to reply and explain? That sort of happened to me this weekend … but I decided there isn’t an upside in the one on one reply. The best approach, as is often the case when talking about faith and religion, […]
RichC | January 31, 2021
This past Christmas, Megan ordered a fancier turntable for Taylor, which arrived this past week. He was excited set up his gift and shared the photos. It looks nice. It is hard to believe millennials have gravitated to vinyl record albums and turntables in this century, but like my friend Mark, my son Taylor enjoys […]
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 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 | 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 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 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 18, 2020
Every once in awhile, an interesting and creative, but questionable, idea crossing my eyeballs. Here’s a pretty good one when it comes to the age-old tape, thread or strand of hair method of securing a door (below). Obviously the broken, and likely telltale orange Cheetos powder, would be a sure sign of an unauthorized entry. […]
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 | 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 10, 2020
As a dad who has always kept up and archived the “goings-on” with Taylor and Katelyn on MyDesultoryBlog, I realized that grandchildren steal the limelight most of the time … that is just the way it is. But … that doesn’t mean life doesn’t keep moving along for adult children in the work-a-day world either. […]
RichC | September 24, 2020
We had our first taste of cooler fall weather for 2020 last week as the hot 80+ degree days of August and early September gave way to pleasant mid-to-high 70s and cooler evenings dipping into the 40s. Brr, my body has not adjusted yet. As autumn approaches and the temperatures are more tolerable in the […]
RichC | July 30, 2020
We are a product of our youth … and I’ll never forget The Mustache Gang. After seeing my son Taylor’s photo in his Cleveland Indians baseball cap (after shaving off his beard, but keeping his moustache), I had a flashback to the 1970s and remembered the Oakland A’s of my youth. They were the World […]
RichC | July 9, 2020
While smiling and thinking about my “now domesticated son ” (HA!) after seeing a couple photos Taylor proudly sent me after updated his kitchen apartment, I realized he is now closer to middle age than living in “just out of college” bachelor pad. The pre-COVID19 days of “always going out” have adjusted to “being comfortable […]
RichC | June 25, 2020
Our family went in different directions for Father’s Day this year, but I enjoyed the text messages, ‘last year memory photo’ and FaceTime singing by Annalyn. She sang a great Happy Father’s Day song to the tune of "Happy Birthday to you" … that was very appreciated and enjoyable. Ellerie tried to talk and she […]
RichC | June 18, 2020
Last weekend was great weather for working in the yard … something both Brenda and I do enjoy when it doesn’t become a rush to finish chore. I’ve been steadily working on the area under the “now” larger pines that we planted to help shade the west side of our back porch. Unfortunately one of […]
RichC | June 10, 2020
Wishing my son a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today. I know he is getting older, but I don’t think he is THIS old yet. Yikes! A couple weeks ago Taylor sent a FaceApp photo with his college friends (a post from when they were backpacking together in Kauai). It is frightening how technology can add a […]
RichC | June 9, 2020
Today’s blog update is really just to archive a couple grandkid photos from this past weekend. We see our family enough not to have to post something every time we get together, but those with grandchildren know how fast babies grow from week to week and month to month. I’ll start the post with a […]
RichC | May 16, 2020
I commented to Brenda, “We must have done something right?” It was both a statement .. and a half question .. when reflecting on the book our son Taylor read, liked and then bought to give me for my birthday. It was definitely a very thoughtful and appreciated gift. Representative Dan Crenshaw’s book Fortitude slightly […]
RichC | May 8, 2020
My personal rule is usually only one blog post per day, but with so many wishing me a Happy Birthday yesterday it seems appropriate to say “thank you” over lunch today. The “like” button or “thumbs-up” is probably sufficient for social networks, a text exchange for friends who are phone contacts and of course the […]
RichC | April 22, 2020
The Coronavirus is doing what environmentalists and anti-fossil fuel advocates have only dreamed of doing … killing the petroleum industry. There is so little demand for crude oil that “Producers must pay buyers $37.63 a barrel” to refine their product. There is no place to store it as companies who explore and drill are dead […]
RichC | March 17, 2020
With the Coronavirus news sending the entire world into chaos, about the only thing sane to do is to hunker down and ignore the mayhem. “Woulda, coulda, shoulda” doesn’t do much now … I’m just thankful to have mostly invested in sensible companies that hopefully will weather the storm. Only time will tell. So in […]
RichC | February 20, 2020
Brenda and I are praying that all is well, but I suspect BO#2 is just a little too comfortable. Our Taylor came 2 weeks late, so a little bit after his due date does not surprise us. BabyOostra #2’s due date was yesterday and Katelyn “thinks” she is holding out for the weekend, but something […]
RichC | January 12, 2020
Being young, and someone who looked to be vying to be listed in this year’s Darwin Award, had me telling this worker, on a questionable set ladder, that he may not be as invincible to injury as he thinks? (he said to me, “oh, I’ve done this before”) We noticed a bit of water seeping […]
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 | 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 | 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 1, 2019
My son Taylor was in hot water most of Saturday afternoon trying to delay Megan from arriving early to the TV sitcom ‘Friends’ 25th anniversary birthday surprise hosted by her parents. He used the “watching college football” excuse and did everything he could to keep Megan from arriving early. Denni and Dave did a fantastic […]
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 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 18, 2019
Taylor‘s new 2019 Volkswagen Alltrack – 8/15/2019 After a fantastic week with Annalyn here in Cincinnati, Brenda and I are in recovery mode. I’ll need to spend a little time getting back to my emails and piled up work but I plan on archiving a few photos from the week (in a day or so). […]
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 | August 1, 2019
CinciTDI GTG at our house August 20, 2008 – Throwback Thursday #TBT It has been a while since posting anything on Volkswagen or to the TDIClub forums; I’m likely I’m still sore over their “dieselgate” failure and the company giving up on diesel cars in North America. Still, I’m drawn to VWs and their excellent […]
RichC | July 19, 2019
Disturbing and “creepy” (as Katelyn messaged) … although I don’t mind looking a bit younger. 😉 Photoshop in the old days was fun to play around with, but nowadays, video and photo manipulation is beginning to frighten me. Taylor sent me this age-changing photo from our weekend at Put-In-Bay using FaceApp. Although there is […]
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 | 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 21, 2019
Taylor is my millennial antagonist when it comes to discussing politics, investing and both government and personal finances. We both enjoy debating, so it’s cool most of the time. He is also a product of his generation just as I am of mine. We view the role and expanse of government differently when it comes […]
RichC | June 19, 2019
My son Taylor has a friend who runs a farm in the UK that he visited with back in 2015. Besides the bachelor pad in a barn with collectable British and Italian sports cars, he also grows and processes rapeseed oil for cooks and unique restaurants. The Duchess Oil brand is not available in the […]
RichC | June 11, 2019
We had a great 30th birthday party for Taylor and his friends on Saturday in the backyard … just as we have many times before. As a parent it is nice to know he has always enjoyed bringing friends to our house rather than going someplace else … and seemingly his friends are okay with […]
RichC | June 10, 2019
From 3 years old (photo) to 30 years old this year in 2019 … the years of watching Taylor grow up have zipped way too fast. I suspect every parent and grandparent has said that at one time or another? Birthday “year” celebrations, become “decade” celebrations, and we no long even contemplate the candles on […]
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 | May 8, 2019
While watching NBC pre-Kentucky Derby coverage last weekend, Rutledge Wood appeared a few times to cover the event and according to Drew and Katelyn, Annalyn continued to point and say, "Uncle Taylor is on TV." I’m not sure if Taylor should see this as a complement or insult … but it sure was funny. As […]
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 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 14, 2019
Throwback Thursday posts can be interesting, especially when archiving a couple of my old photos from the early 1990s and tidbit of information that is likely not saved any place else (the horse was named Gus). Here’s a little Howard family history (my wife’s side of the family): Brenda’s grandfather, Allen George Howard died young; […]
RichC | February 4, 2019
While chatting with my son Taylor over the weekend about the terrible news regarding the killing of a law enforcement officer in the county where he works (depressing), we discussed his career options again. His job is currently to his liking, but the challenge and opportunity for advancement and salary improvement is dependent on seniority […]
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 30, 2019
In an old spinnaker (sail) from our Thistle, I finally hauled out our larger than usual Christmas tree this past week. It was then that I realized I had neglected to archive the “Great Christmas Tree Disaster of 2018” story from December. Hm, how could I have forgotten … likely for the same embarrassing reason […]
RichC | January 15, 2019
With a “heavy snowfall” that amounted to about 10 inches before melting a bit, I was thankful to have put the snow blower on the tractor last week. It was about the wettest snow I’ve ever tried to blow and that’s saying something since I’ve been removing snow with the John Deere 330 since the […]
RichC | December 27, 2018
When Brenda and I were first married, we started off cooking with a cast iron skillet. It was “old school” even 36 years ago to be using our old Wagner cast iron (were made in Sidney, Ohio), but there was something great about using those big heavy “somewhat” greasy skillets in our little two bedroom […]
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 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 | December 5, 2018
My son Taylor has been putting off replacing the rear window seal on his 2008 BMW 528i for too long but before the snow starts again decided to come over after work to put it in. It was surprising that this task was easier than expected, considering just how much I dislike fiddling around with […]
RichC | November 6, 2018
This year Brenda and I voted absentee … or by mail. I knew it was an important mid-term and wanted to be sure our votes counted, but do miss the feeling of standing in line with others and waiting my turn at the polls. That said, minus the hiccup with our verification system (missing digits […]
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 23, 2018
Brenda and I had a back and forth text messaging conversation with our son Taylor, who is the Clermont County planner, regarding a new fire station in and around a developed residential area not too far from us. Although this improvement will be great for us, it does get us concerned over the impact to […]
