Updated Tuesday, August 06, 2002
April 30, 2002
And the winner!!!!:The final results are in, the judge has made her selections and they are ( drum roll ) Bris for the mama and Wellie for the offspring. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of a beef brisket or who have not sunk your teeth into beef Wellington you now know for what they are named. I am quite certain that there are some of you who feel that the name(s) that you proposed were as good or possibly better than those chosen, but you must remember that the selection of the name judge is final. If you think that there was any collusion, dishonesty or any other objectionable behavior by the name judge please send your concerns to me at this e-mail and I will promptly put them in the deleted file. Please also keep in mind that those of you who do complain, no matter how valid the complaint is, will be taken off our Christmas list for maple syrup. You are probably waiting to see who submitted the winning names, well here is a complete list of those fortunate individuals; Bris by John, and Wellie by Tracey. That would be John Herrick and Tracey Paxton by the way.I would like to thank all of you who submitted names to the contest. I now know who has been naughty or nice. Anybody get this one? I had to explain it to my wife! Sincerely, Alfred McVetty Name Game Chair
April 29,2002
I had an Awesome Weekend, went to Fiddlers and was greeted with applause, cut out 9 animals for Amy, went swimming in the pool, went sailing with Jim and Jackie, went swimming, and worked more on the animals! If you missed it, the key word in the last sentence was Jackie! I had called and told Jackie( an old friend from 3 years ago) that Jim and I were going sailing on Sunday. She asked how long we were going to be out, I told her that we would be out all day. She said “well I think I could do that”. I said, but I did not invite you. She: “But I knew that is why you called!” She was right but I was not going to give her that! Lets say we had a great time,, and I hope it will continue!!!
Note from Heather:
Hello All,
Michael and I have decided to go off the beaten track and come up with some real Scottish names for your new Scottish Highland Cows. We also think we should be given a head start as we can’t get maple syrup easily over here – the rest of you can buy your own!
We thought it would be very fitting to call them Flora and Charlie, after Bonnie Prince Charlie and Flora MacDonald. If you don’t know your Scottish history, use this link for a quick lesson: http://www.royalty.nu/Europe/Charlie.html.
Or, you could go for Scottish Gaelic names – Mathair (mother) and Oikan (baby), or Bo (mother cow), and Iheiy (calf).
Heather and Michael
And one from Tracey:
Hi everyone,
My submission is Wellie for “Beef Wellington”. Did anyone beat me to this
name?
Tracey
April 23, 2002
I have been dating several people, but just having fun, nothing to write home about! Ruth and I are going to the mall tonight, that is about the size of it!! Not too original, but company.
I have now made 24 sets of clackers. That is what is keeping me busy. It is nice working in my “shop”. I enjoy working with wood. Is there anything I can make for anybody? I need some orders! I am sure David could work rings around me, but something small would be fun to try. Thanks.
Note from Amy:
We went to the tulip festival this weekend and saw acres and acres of tulips
of every color, also llamas, and an arts and crafts fair!! It was so much fun,
Sarah was exhausted 🙂
Love you,
Amy
April 22, 2002
Don’s answer to Al’s post (below):
How about ‘Tar’ and ‘Jerky’? (steak tartar and beef…). (Consider the
ironic value of a blond cow being called Tar…)
Don
April 22, 2002 (from a friend)
Paul Harvey Writes:
We tried so hard to make things better for our kids
that we made them worse.
For my grandchildren, I’d like better.
I’d really like for them to know about hand me down clothes
and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches.
I really would.
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated,
and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and
mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you
a brand new car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time
you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister.
And it’s all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room,
but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you
because he’s scared,
I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie
and your little brother/sister wants to tag along,
I hope you’ll let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school
with your friends
and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride,
I hope you don’t ask your driver to
drop you two blocks away so you won’t be seen riding
with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot,
I hope your Dad teaches you
how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.
When you learn to use computers,
I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your friends
when you have your first crush on a boy\girl,
and when you talk back to your mother
that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain,
burn your hand on a stove
and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
I don’t care if you try a beer once,
but I hope you don’t like it.
And if a friend offers you dope or a joint,
I hope you realize he is not your friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch
with your Grandma/Grandpa
and go fishing with your Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral
and joy during the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you
when you throw a baseball through your neighbor’s window
and that she hugs you and kisses you
at Hannukah/Christmas time when
you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you –
tough times and disappointment,
hard work and happiness.
To me, it’s the only way to appreciate life.
Written with a pen.
Sealed with a kiss.
I’m here for you.
And if I die before you do,
I’ll go to heaven and wait for you.
April 22, 2002
I had a good weekend, went to Fiddlers Friday where I met up with Dad and Betty. They lasted the whole evening then came to my home for the night. I cooked them breakfast and they left for Darrell’s. (I guess that is what they think of my cooking!) I then went to Home Depot and got the materials for making clackers. I cut out and drilled enough slats for 15 pair.
Sunday I went sailing with Jim, we got out the spinnaker and had a great day! I went home and drilled enough dowels for 10 pair, then assembled them. I will finish the other 5 pair tonight. It costs me $1 to make them and I sell them for $5 (but I give most of them away!). I made jigs for both the slats and the dowels so the work went quickly.
Al sent a message:Dear Family Friends and those you whose names we have not removed from our E-Mail list, Stone Mountain Farm proudly announces it’s most recent bovine addition, a Scottish Highlander cow. This long-haired, blond beauty shall be giving birth within the next few weeks, so we have been told. This brings us to our current dilemma, a name for this baudaciously, beautiful bovine and her soon to be calf. You must understand that previously utilized nomenclature will not be considered. Some previously used names are; Sir for sirloin, Chuck for chuck roast, Phil and Minnie, the twins, for filet and mignon, Bob for shiskabob and the list goes on and on. You are probably wondering, ” Why should I bother?”. I’ll tell you why, you knew I would, because the person or persons who have their name chosen for this grand animal will receive a free quart of Stone Mountain maple syrup, shipping and handling extra. Put on your thinking caps and enter as often as you choose. You may enter by e-mail, fax, phone or verbal communication. I would suggest that the e-mail or fax be used because the other two lend themselves to my using the names myself without giving proper credit. I do like my maple syrup. The names Whopper and Whopper Jr. have already been thrown out by the name judge, Susan H. Big Mac and Double Cheeseburger have met with a similar fate
April 17, 2002
Message from Don:
Hi All,
News from over here on the left coast. It has been a pleasant spring for the most part. Stephanie is doing well in college and Stephen is doing well in school. I brought the kids down for a skiing and camping trip to Lake Tahoe last month. That is always fun.
Both of them are looking forward to their trip to stay with Sue and Al this summer. Stephen will be taking guitar lessons there. Stephanie will probably move to Southern CA in the fall to go to a university when she obtains residency. Jeanne is just fine. We are looking forward to Dad and Betty’s visit here next month. They will also be staying in the motorhome in the big trees area and will go on trips to the beaches, etc.
I have been having fun flying when I can. I have purchased and modified an ML320 SUV for my hang-gliding trips with friends. I call her Molly (I know, it’s a guy thing) and her picture is attached. I have also attached a picture of me with my rigid wing glider (ATOS) which I have been flying since last fall.
Last weekend we went on a gliding trip to Southern CA to fly near San Diego and LA. The best flights were at a place called Lake Elsinore where some of my friends were gliding between 11,000 and 12,000 feet for 2 hours or so. My personal best is still only around 6500′ MSL (around 4500′ AGL) during a 2 1/2 flight in November.
Jeanne and I are looking forward to our trip to Europe starting next week. We will fly to and stay in Rome for 3 days, explore the Tuscany region of Italy for a couple of weeks and spend a few days in London. We don’t have much of anything really planned and I am looking forward to the relaxation.
Work at IBM is going well. I was promoted to manager recently and I am very busy.
Happy spring to all…
Don
Molly:
Me and ATOS:
Some nice ATOS pics:
How ’bout this for an aircraft? (www.cartercopters.com)
April 16, 2002
Note from Al: (maybe you guys can figure it out, I can’t)I am sorry for not having sent you this April fools joke in time for April fools day. Living without discontent in the thriving metropolis of Guildhall. Al Just for those who may want to know what may possibly be in their Christmas stocking…. We made about 48 gallons of maple syrup this year. Don’t get too excited a portion of this goes to the other person who gathered with us this year. I ain’ta gonna tell you haw much he gets so you better nice for the remainder of the year if you want to get a portion. Of course those of you who helped to gather sap and fire the arch will get an extra share. Heh,heh,heh. That is all for now, keep Uncle Wes in your thoughts. Al
April 15, 2002
Had a good weekend, I went to FES and met a lady in the next room named Ruth. She and I had a long talk over a Coke. On Friday I went to the Devil Ray’s baseball game, then back to work until midnight creating courses for RedVector (I completed my Construction Claims series this weekend). The series will be offered to contractors and engineers nationwide to take to get their continuing education credits needed for licensure. On Saturday Charlie and I went to the University of South Florida and broke balsa wood bridges, mine broke way under what I predicted, a victim of a misdirected cut of the knife as I was building it. The knife had slipped and cut a support, I tried to fix it but to no avail. All day Sunday I worked on the courses. Then got an email from Ruth, we talked a good while last night!
Dad and Betty are preparing for their adventure next month, they will be leaving on May 16 to go north, then on June 4 plan to be at Sue’s. On June 19 they plan to fly to Manchester England and return on July 3rd. They will be returning here to Florida July 4.
Roger Bansemer sent me his first draft of two pages of his new book on the Titanic, it will be wonderful when he finishes it:
Picture of the day:
April 11, 2002 update
Response already, thanks:
The following are actual letters that Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) herself admitted she was at a loss to answer:
Dear Abby, A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher, and the other is a social worker in her mid-twenties. These two women go everywhere together, and I’ve never seen a man go into their apartment or come out. Do you think they could be Lebanese?
Dear Abby, What can I do about all the sex, nudity, language and violence on my VCR?
Dear Abby, I have a man I never could trust. He cheats so much I’m not even sure this baby I’m carrying is his.
Dear Abby, I am a twenty-three-year-old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It’s getting expensive, and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don’t know him well enough to discuss money with him.
Dear Abby, I suspected that my husband had been fooling around, and when I confronted him with the evidence he denied everything and said it would never happen again.
Dear Abby, Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against his own?
Dear Abby, I joined the Navy to see the world. I’ve seen it. Now, how do I get out?
Dear Abby, My forty-year-old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50 an hour every week for two-and-a-half years. He must be crazy.
Dear Abby, I was married to Bill for three months, and I didn’t know he drank until one night he came home sober.
Dear Abby, Do you think it would be all right if I gave my doctor a little gift? I tried for years to get pregnant and couldn’t, and he did it.
Dear Abby, My mother is mean and short-tempered. I think she is going through her mental pause.
April 11, 2002
It’s not over until the fat lady sings I guess. Denise wants more money.
I have been very busy. I lost my assistant Jason – they need him full time at our sister company RedVector, so I am trying to do his job and mine here.
I have built a model bridge for a bridge breaking contest. I am not in the contest, I am going to do the breaking and thought it would be fun to build my own. Saturday at the University of South Florida the students will be bringing in their bridges (3.8 ounces of balsa wood need to span a 15 inch waterway) for me to break. The highest load so far over the years was 605 pounds!!
Tonight is our Florida Engineering Society dinner, and tomorrow I have tickets to go to the Devil Rays baseball game. So, for the next three days I will be even busier than busy!!
April 3, 2002
It is over, Denise and I came to a final agreement last night. I gave her more money so she would go away happy and and I would not (as she put it) “have to look over my shoulder the rest of my life”.
This is a great photo:
A touch of glory
Navy Lt. Matt Williams places a hand on his 3-month-old daughter, Evelyn Williams, during their first meeting at Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia on March 27. Lt. Williams had just returned to Norfolk after six months of duty aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt for Operation Enduring Freedom.
April 1, 2002
Happy Easter everyone!
Yesterday I spent Easter with Dad and mom, dad had created a beautiful card for me and Betty had an Easter basket full of Easter M&M’s and two chocolate Easter eggs. Even at my advanced age I love to be pampered on holidays! We spent the afternoon talking and working on the computer. They had not seen Rod’s pictures of the wedding so I pulled them up and we printed out several.
Dad and Betty are going to start their trip around the world (almost) May 16, 2002.
I now have a complete home, early Sunday morning (1:15 AM) the moving truck pulled up, and for the next two hours they moved all my furniture back. I now have a dining room table, chairs, a hutch and a bed in the guest bedroom! Now when anyone comes they will have a bed, and a table to eat breakfast at!!
Someone please send me a good April fools joke!!
ANYWAY
What you spend years building, someone
could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.
Mother Teresa
| 2002 | Dad’s | February 2 wedding |
| 2003 | John’s | 1st week in May |
| 2004 | Donald | |
| 2005 | David and Jean’s Housewarming party, Pocomoonshine Lake, Princeton, Maine | |
| 2006 | Darrell & Marilyn | |
| 2007 | Dan | |
| 2008 | Sue and Al |