21 Jan 2009 - A lot of the snow had melted by four PM yesterday, but patches of snow remain along the road to Irmo. The little pond on St. Peter's Road is ice covered and the spa (heated to 98 degrees) had a sheet of ice on the cover. This morning's photo (left) shows a few of the ducks outside our lake house braving twenty degree temperatures for an 8:00 AM swim. Ron isn't a wiss either: he is walking with Dick and Jim clad only in four shirts with hiking pants sans jacket and quilted down underlayers.On another note: Someone was surprised on Monday when she looked into the shower of one of the other bathrooms and spotted bags of trash left over from the party. The discovery gave rise to much merriment at the dawning realization that the items were hidden by the recycling addict that lives in this house, too. The guilty guy was greatly relieved to bring his treasures out into the light of day so they could be washed and readied for recycling. Have you ever watched a true environmentalist/recycling addict at work? Can you even imagine washing greasy aluminum foil? This morning someone found it hilarious watching the foil, soda cans, glass and plastic bottles get soaked, rinsed, washed, rinsed again, dried to glistening perfection and hauled off to be recycled. Obviously, this was not a job to be entrusted to Someone known to use copious amounts of hot water and soap.
20 Jan 2009 - Rainfall turned into snow last night creating a lovely winter wonderland. A gentle snowfall has begun once again; it does not snow often in South Carolina making the morning scene even more enjoyable. One inch is predicted causing schools to close and travel concerns. With the cold temperatures of the last few days the ducks don't come to the harbor to feed until later in the mornings; a family of ten dark gray ducks and from 2 to eight white bigger duckies return again in the evening for more food providing endless entertainment for us. A few days ago a large blue heron perched on a rock in the harbor for a long time; we waited hoping to see the bird lift off in flight but it did not happen on our watch. All things considered, progress proofing the book (Rambo Family Tree Genealogy: http://sites.google.com/site/rambofamilytree/) is about twenty pages on a good day; this means the fourth volume is about half finished with great hopes of completion by mid-February. We extended our stay at the lake house through the month of March to get the final and last volume proofed and off to the publisher before traveling again.
11 Jan 2009 Hey - Mike O'Dea, are you aware of my blog?? I'll find your e-address in my files one day before the end of the year; I'd love to hear from you. Party was a huge success with 19 attendees including Kim, the neighbor here. Snow's Texas BBQ was well received & the fixings were highly complemented by all, YUM. Even my cardboard & styrofoam was tastier than usual with the addition of no-fat potato salad topped by Dave's Insanity Sauce. Sadly, none of the beauties present felt moved towards the jacuzzi, SIGH. 42" wide screen TV has SVGA input & computer talks to it nicely, so everyone got to see pictures of Ron & Smooch Smooch in several places & seasons. Let's hope that the larger area can be used to good effect in genealogy proofreading process (which is today's project). The pool table and air hockey table were very popular with the "boys," although several of 'em expressed frustration with errant shots. (Imagine that.) Latest partiers went home at 2am - we are talking about Y'all: Vince & Mary & Ed, Tom & Cheryl, and Greg & Donna. Surprisingly, all the usual culprits arrived on time for the 8am traditional Sunday breakfast at Lizard's Thicket.
10 Jan, Sat - Nice (cold) walk with Dick this morning. Party supplies requires stops afterwards at seven places, so there is no genealogy progress to report except that surface mail arrived from Kansas City this morning with corrected galley proofs of the second volume (of The Rambo Family Tree by Beverly Nelson Rambo & Ron Beatty). BBQ Party preparations created anxiety and terrific food.
9 Jan, Fri - Nice (cold) walk with Dick & Jim this morning. BBQ Party tomorrow evening, a few preparations today, most tomorrow. The jacuzzi is awesome but has a tiny leak. Genealogy progresses, but maddeningly slowly. Nice to have a call from Lupe yesterday (Hi). Apparently I'm delinquent correspondent again, both via e-mail & via phone - apologies to all. Dinner at Zorba's was again pleasant.
8 Jan, 2009 - Happy New Year (again). Notice updates to Jan 1 blog. Have you been remembering 2009 when writing checks, etc? I'm so proud that I've done well in that regard. No word yet from Dick, so I assume that he is still in NC and not walking locally (and loco-lly). Dinner again this evening at Ruby Tuesdays with Greg & Donna; Ruby Tuesdays serves the best salad bar, my only good choice for this cardboard & styrofoam diet.
7 Jan. - Donna & Greg were due home hours ago from visiting their daughter in MPLS. Ron is twiddling his thumbs [pronounced as "doing Sudokus"] in Columbia, waiting to pick them up in Charlotte, NC, but the plane hasn't left the tarmac as of 6: 50 PM. They were in flight once for forty minutes and then returned to the airport with mechanical issues; now they are in flight again, due to arrive about 10:05 PM. Charlotte is 90 miles N of Columbia on Interstate 77; by the time he picks them up, gathers baggage, and returns home it will be after midnight. After de-plane-ing Greg & Donna no less than two (2) times, Northwest finally found an aircraft that worked and flew them into Charlotte at 10 pm, six hours late. Adding insult to injury, the airline didn't bother to feed them during that delay.
6 Jan - We are enjoying a pleasant stay in a vacation house on Lake Murray in South Carolina through the end of February. The intent was to have a serious work environment but distractions abound: flat panel television sets with computer hook-ups, pool table, air hockey, hot tub (bring your bathing suits if you plan to visit). Oh... yes, there are kazillions of Sudokus for the bathrooms. Ron arises after the coffee pot kicks into gear at 5am, drives 20 minutes across the Dam, edits genealogy, feeds the neglected kitties, and walks for an hour with Dick (& Jim). After returning to the lake house, genealogy continues non-stop (well almost non-stop). Weather permitting he can sit outdoors on the deck with his laptop. Otherwise, a chair in the living room provides a good view of the lake. The lake is quite lovely and restful with lots of squirrels, ducks, waterfowl, and critters in constant motion. The sunrises and sunsets are lovely; it is a peaceful place despite being so close to Columbia. The house is available off season for a very reasonable rate.
1 Jan 2009- Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Mary and Vince hosted another grand party. It was said the chocolate cake, apple pie, brownies, and other thingies were incredibly delicious; lucky guests always extoll Mary's gourmet delights. Ron remembers although his cardboard and styrofoam diet allowed nothing more than a Kroger's $1.99 (manager's special) veggie tray with heaps of home made sourdough bread to sop up the wine (unsuccessfully). It is said that Mary and Cheryl egged him into proposing marriage, although God only knows the date. Be reassured that all friends will be adequately forewarned when God tells us. One friend has awaited for this and encouraged Ron for decades. A good time was had by all of the survivors. (Don't you just love that expression?)
