I published this copy of an article from the Daily Oklahoman from August 5th, 1952... It is Uncle Calvin and Aunt Agnes Siegrist wedding announcement .... and as they say ... "the rest is history!" Just wanted to wish them a very Happy Wedding Anniversary. They were married on August 1st, 1952 at Mt. Zion Church, El Reno.... Happy Anniversary Uncle Calvin and Aunt Agnes, and may you have many many more wonderful anniversaries together...  

I put this here because it mentions Uncle Calvin going on a double date with Carl.... with Aunt Agnes and Louise.... kind of cool... Carl and Louise are life long friend of the Moffat's.... and Siegrist families... 

What a very special and wonderful lady Mrs. Robinson is.... family friend for many wonderful years! And yes, she will get it done.. she is our community.... get'er dun lady.... 

BUSINESS.... HAHA.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - PAUL, AND MANY MANY MORE..... HEY PAUL, WHO'S COUNTING.. HAHA...


AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO JONATHAN AND RANDI MOFFAT... I KNOW IT'S EARLY BUT BETTER EARLY THAN LATE.. HAHA... THIS IS NUMBER 6, RIGHT???....

Some news..

Wow, how cool...

On Tuesday night, Phillip, Tammy and Austyn stopped by with some great photos that Phil had done... by emailing them to walmart.. paying for them and Tammy ran by and picked them up, within an hour.. wow.. now that is fast and it is economical too!! Picks of Austyn swimming.. When the lessons started this year he was not to excited, and could not swim much, now he thinks he is a fish!! He dives off the diving board, etc.. he loves it and you can see it in his pics too..

And last night, Paul had baseball and Heather went with him for a while... to get out of the house. She is still really weak. Ann and I kept Madison, who pulled a Kailtyn on us and cried all the time she was here... haha... TEASING RANDI!!!! smiling.. just teasing.. haha..
Madison had a tummy ache, like it really hurt and she did cry for the longest time and about the time the kids got back to pick her up she quit. The way it's supposed to be.. haha... but it was great to see them too... and Madison. She is really growing.

Heather and Madison and Andrew spent Sunday with us and in the afternoon Great grandma came over to "hold" Madison some.. "most of afternoon" haha... I think Great Grandma kind'a likes her.. haha... as she does all her grands... and great grands....

We didn't get to see Ms. Kaitlyn this past weekend. Randi and Kaitlyn ended up sick and not feeling very well.
Maybe we will get to see them soon, before she grows up.. haha.. smiling...

OK... August 7th... Kingfisher, OK fairgrounds is the Snethen family reunion... I know you will not know all the folks at this event.. but it is Great grandmother Moffat's family.. the Snethen's. This was her mother's family. It is a chance to meet "other family" and to visit amongst ourselves and show off the great grand kids and grand kids for Great grandma.. so if you possibly could make it, I know it would mean a lot to her!! There is a lunch that is served, and lots of trading of family things, and you get a chance to see some of the folks in all those photos.. the building has A/C...
Let me know if you can make it so I can start making arrangements for a bank loan to get us in.. haha....

Enjoy the day!

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.

-William Saroyan

Dave was walking about and he saw this ....

Our Canadian friend Dave was out walking this am... and this is what he ran across....

New google maps service... neat... i think?

New service from Google. I can not get to it for some reason, but I can not get to any google product. Provalue is working on it.. something to do with the tower I get my wireless from. No one on it can use google.. haha... click on the image to go to the webpage it represents to get to new service....

two more important dates.... for July....

just a reminder...

Paul's birthday is 29th and Jon and Randi's wedding anni is the 31st...

For Jake.....

Future of Confederate White House Unknown
By DIONNE WALKER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 23, 4:29 AM ET



RICHMOND, Va. - In the 1800s, the idea of a separate Southern nation seemed real enough to warrant a grand executive office — a Confederate answer to the White House that would symbolize the lasting Dixie empire. Officials chose a hilltop mansion in the Shockoe Hill section, a former doctor's home that dominated the then-sparse landscape. But what was once a Civil War centerpiece is now an afterthought.

Curators of the Museum and White House of the Confederacy say runaway development from nearby Virginia Commonwealth University has all but erased the site, cutting into attendance and threatening to elbow the landmark right out of the city.

A group of state lawmakers met Friday to discuss ways to save the 187-year-old site, including moving the entire complex.

"We are simply in their way and their expansion is simply in our way," executive director Waite Rawls III said during the first of four scheduled public meetings.

Rawls told the 11-member panel of the challenges facing the complex, including limited parking, incessant construction noise and looming buildings that leave the historical site lost in the mix.

All have contributed to shrinking museum attendance — from a peak of 91,000 in the early 1990s to just 54,000 visitors this past year.

Raised in 1818, the building was scheduled for demolition by the 1890s. Members of the Confederate Memorial Literary Society saved the home, converting it into a museum. Society members later restored it as a home in the 1980s; a separate museum housing artifacts such as Confederate flags and period paintings now stands next door.

The committee will review such solutions as relocating the museum or even the entire complex. The state-convened panel can only make recommendations for the privately owned site; the literary society has the final word, offficials said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.moc.org/

You know... I think I love this idea... haha... wow, now if Americans would get some backbone.....

rk_cr wrote to mention an Israeli technology firm which has set up a system to allow harried email users the right to reply in force. The system "batters spam websites with thousands of complaints. The plan is to fill order forms on spam websites offering pills, porn and penile health tonics with complaints about the products advertised for sale in junk messages. The plan has been criticised by other anti-spam workers who say it amounts to vigilantism."

From Uncle Ivan and Aunt Freda..... Rules from God!

Rules from God

1. Wake Up !!
Decide to have a good day.
"Today is the day the Lord hath made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up !!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at outward appearance;
but the Lord looks at the heart."
I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!!
Say nice things and learn to listen.
God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have
meant
for us to do twice as much listening as talking.
"He who guards his lips guards his soul."
Proverbs 13:3


4. Stand Up!!...
For what you believe in.
Stand for something or you will fall for anything..
"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the
proper time,
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do
good..."
Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up !!...
To the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens
me."
Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up !!...
For something higher.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not unto your own understanding.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him,
and He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up !!...
Your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything;
instead PRAY ABOUT
EVERYTHING."
Philippians 4:6



Send this to the people you care about.
I thought this was mighty special, just like you.
Pass this on and brighten someone's day, and
remember:

God answers Knee-Mail.

Solar racing "overshadowed" by clouds.....

Solar racing bogged down by clouds... kind a cool photos of the solar cars racing cross country...

This photo is an accident.. and I think most of the time... they are the best, haha!! Ok....now I I am done... 

The business end of the livestock business.... and for all future generations, this is the Bar M Ranch brand, it's an electric iron that heats up super hot.. and applied to the animal. It's quick and hurts them for about a minute.. and the smell of burning hair is something you never forget.. haha.... Ann and I registered the Bar M Ranch brand with the Oklahoma Cattlemen Association in 1972 and is brand number 8031. One evening, about three years later, Ann and I were eating dinner and the phone rang and it was a man from Pawnee who wanted to know why I sold calves in OKC that day with his brand on them... Well, that didn't set to well with me, so I asked him his brand number and it was a lot higher.. ahaha... so he had to cool his jets as ours was registered first ! He called back one more time, trying to claim my calves, and I hung up on him and never heard from him again till I saw in the paper where he died!! Ok.. enough remembering for a day.. haha... enjoy the day... 

Here you can better see the trough.... This was about 1958, when it was made. Another neat thing..haha.. is the water heater is made of galvanized metal, and is very toxic to cut with a torch.. and I cut many of them in my youth... we were told to drink milk to help rid our lungs of the posion.. you would get deathly ill for the fumes of the metal. and usually very quick...  

"So, what you going to do today?" askes the black heifer of the red steer...... While this is not an overly GREAT photo..haha... it does show a family heirloom... the feed trough was made by my Uncle Mervil Moffat who dairyed at El Reno. He made this when we moved to Yukon, and he made it in his shop on his farm, which was always very neat and orderly, and always had the latest neat tools in it, and Grandpa Moffat and I were watching him weld and cut and make it. It is an old hot water heater that was cut in two and legs welded to it. It was the latest NEAT idea in troughs for farmers who didn't have a lot of money to buy the store bought ones. We also have a square bale hay feeder at mom's that he built. He as a great man, and an awesome welder and could fix about anything. The two calves are going to be hamburger some day... and are on full feed! 

2 doves on a wire.. waiting on me to feed the calves so they can sneak up and eat the spilled grain.... 

Sorry.. got carried away with the Lilac leaves... 

The Lilac leaf waits on the sun.... 

The Lilac plant is getting ready for a second blooming, I think.. but don't know for sure.  

The beautiful Trumpet plant in full bloom. They are beautiful, but they are a "bad weed" in your yard, with sprouts that pop up everywhere... and the bees love them... but it covers our well house... 

closer... 

Here he is at a longer shot... still waiting.. haha .... 

I heard the loudest "sheak"... real long and loud... and looked to the top of the Elm Tree on the west side of our drive... and this is what I saw. I wonder if he is waiting for some of the racing pigeons that we used to race to "train" in the am... haha.. well, he won't get one of them... 

The old railroad tie just sets and enjoys the view too.... looking sw of our home.... 

Here, the sun was peaking through the trees east of our home... I was on the way to feed the fattening calves... wow... 

The morning photos.... the moon was still at it this am.... what a beautiful morning... 

for phillip....

Scrubbing Bubbles Hit the Streets Associated Press
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/planet/0,2782,68282,00.html

02:00 AM Jul. 22, 2005 PT

From catalytic converters to alternative fuels, the fight against big-city smog has for years been fought inside combustion engines and exhaust pipes.

Now, scientists are taking the fight to the streets by developing "smart" building materials designed to clean the air with a little help from the elements.

Using technology already available for self-cleaning windows and bathroom tiles, scientists hope to paint cities with materials that dissolve and wash away pollutants when exposed to sun and rain.

"Among other things, we want to construct concrete walls that break down vehicle exhausts in road tunnels," said Karin Pettersson, a spokeswoman for Swedish construction giant Skanska. "It is also possible to make pavings that clean the air in cities."

The Stockholm-based company is part of a $1.7 million Swedish-Finnish project to develop catalytic cement and concrete products coated with titanium dioxide, a compound often used in white paint and toothpaste that can become highly reactive when exposed to ultraviolet light.

This is the idea: UV rays hitting the titanium dioxide trigger a catalytic reaction that destroys the molecules of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, which are emitted in the burning of fossil fuels and create smog when combined with volatile organic compounds.

Exposure to high levels of nitrogen oxides can trigger serious respiratory problems, including lung damage.

The catalytic reaction also prevents bacteria and dirt from sticking to a surface, making them easily removed by a splash of water or rain.

Bo-Erik Eriksson, head of research at Cementa, another company participating in the Swedish-Finnish project, said the byproducts of the reaction, called photocatalysis, are benign, though it depends on what substances are involved: Organic compounds are broken down into carbon dioxide and water, while the nitrogen oxides yield nitrate salts.

Research in the field has been made possible by the revolution in nanotechnology -- science dedicated to building materials from the molecular level. The catalytic properties of titanium dioxide become active when it is applied in a very thin layer, or in microscopic particles.

A range of self-cleaning products coated with titanium dioxide, including windows and ceramic tiles, are already on the market, but the focus has mostly been on their practical value rather than the environmental impact.

In Rome, the Dives in Misericordia church, designed by U.S.-based architect Richard Meier, is made of self-cleaning concrete that helps keep the surface shiny white. In Japan, several modern buildings, including the Marunouchi Building in downtown Tokyo, are covered with photocatalytic tiles to reduce discoloring from pollution.

"Now we have to change and think of the product not just for architectural purposes, but also for environmental purposes," said Francesco Galimberti, spokesman for Italcementi, maker of the concrete for the church in Rome.

In a test in 2003, the company coated 75,000 square feet of road surface on the outskirts of Milan with photocatalytic cement. It found nitrogen oxide levels were reduced by up to 60 percent, depending on weather conditions.

A similar experiment in France found nitrogen oxide levels were 20 percent to 80 percent lower in a wall plastered with photocatalytic cement than one with regular cement.

Encouraged by such results, the European Union last year earmarked $2.27 billion for a project to develop "smart" construction materials that would break down nitrogen oxides and other toxic substances, such as benzene.

However, researchers admit they're still not sure how much of an impact the technology could have on air pollution outside of controlled test environments.

"Now we want to find out if it works optimally and economically and make sure it has a long-lived effect that does not disappear after a couple of years," said Eriksson of Cementa.

Cost is another issue. Galimberti said Italcementi's products are 30 percent to 40 percent more expensive than regular concrete, and using the external air quality as a selling point doesn't necessarily appeal to builders with tight budgets. The company's sales pitch is that self-cleaning materials will save money in the long run.

However, some scientists caution it's too soon to declare a titanium dioxide-fueled war on pollution.

"Trying to clean up air pollution seems to me to be a stretch," said Reynaldo Barreto, a chemistry professor at Purdue University in Indiana. "It doesn't mean it can't be done. But there's an awful lot of air and not a whole lot of surface."

Bears Wander Into Motels in New Mexico

Bears Wander Into Motels in New Mexico
By The Associated Press
Thu Jul 21,10:10 PM ET



Maybe it's an early hibernation thing. A bear wandered into a Raton motel on Monday and a second bear broke into a Taos Ski Valley motel a day later. The bear that walked through the front doors of the Raton motel possibly was lured by the enticing smell of fresh popcorn, officials said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"He walked in, went to the pay phones, then straight toward the pool," said desk clerk Kimbra Pacheco.

Lodgers with newspapers chased the bear through an enclosed pool area until game officers arrived. A Department of Game and Fish officer shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart.

Department officers later killed the bear, saying it had been trapped and moved from Raton a few weeks earlier and had lost its fear of humans.

The second bear forced its way through a window screen Tuesday at a Taos Ski Valley motel. The desk clerk called 911, but the bear fled before the town marshal and game officers arrived.

Officers have set a trap to try to capture the animal, which officials believe was attracted by the smell of food being cooked by lodgers on a grill outside their room.

The recent hot, dry weather in northern New Mexico may have forced some bears to search for food in different places, the department said.

The agency said people who live in bear country should keep anything that would attract them away from living areas and keep all doors and windows closed at night.

___

On the Net:

Game and Fish publications: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us

Here is the second one that's kinda cool.. the trees below the moon are southeast of the barn.. ...  

You have to look close but this New Moon shot is through some tree branches... surrounding the moon.. took about 80, this was one of the best I think.. There is one more that might be good... haha.. 

Phil has one cool photo collage on his page...

Phil took some pics of Austyn swimming on his last day .... and has one great collage on his site.. be sure and check it out!!! Congrats to Austyn on finishing up his swimming lessons and doing so great...! We are proud of you Austyn!

And Phil, if Gary England can come to Harland's backyard, he could sure find his way to yours - next summer??? or want to try for this summer???

So you think you know the news... haha.... unbelievable link has all the frontpages of newspapers everywhere on every topic!!!

One has to see this, and play with it to believe it!!

Warning: by clicking on this link, you will be able to see the front pages of newspapers around the world and all over the USA. The searches can be broken down many ways on many topics... cool huh???

http://www.newseum.org/ is really cool!! and the papers are uptodate, too!!

Last Code Talker Dies in Tulsa Oklahoma

Charles Chibitty receives the Knowlton Award during a ceremony Nov. 30, 1999, at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes in Washington. Chibitty, one of 20 Comanche Indians who used their native language as a code to transmit messages for the Allies during World War II, has died. He was 83. Chibitty, the last living code talker, had been residing at a Tulsa, Okla. nursing home but had not been hospitalized, said Cathy Flynn, administrative assistant in the tribal chairman's office. The Comanche Nation's chairman received a call about 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, 2005, stating that Chibitty had died, Flynn said. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)

Last of WWII Comanche Code Talkers Dies


OKLAHOMA CITY - Charles Chibitty, the last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who used their native language to transmit messages for the Allies in Europe during World War II, has died. He was 83.

Chibitty, who had been residing at a Tulsa nursing home, died Wednesday, said Cathy Flynn, administrative assistant in the Comanche Nation tribal chairman's office.

The group of Comanche Indians from the Lawton area were selected for special duty in the U.S. Army to provide the Allies with a language that the Germans could not decipher. Like the larger group of Navajo Indians who performed a similar service in the Pacific theater, the Comanches were dubbed "code talkers."

"It's strange, but growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school," Chibitty said in 2002. "Later my country asked me to. My language helped win the war and that makes me very proud. Very proud. "

In a 1998 story for The Oklahoman, Chibitty recalled being at Normandy on D-Day, and said someone once asked him what he was afraid of most and if he feared dying.

"No. That was something we had already accepted," he said.

"But we landed in deeper water than anticipated. A lot of boys drowned. That's what I was afraid of."

"I wonder what the hell Hitler thought when he heard those strange voices," he once told a gathering.

Chibitty was born Nov. 20, 1921, near Medicine Park and attended high school at Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kan. He enlisted in 1941.

In 1999, Chibitty received the Knowlton Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding intelligence work, during a ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes.

"We could never do it again," Chibitty told Oklahoma Today. "It's all electronic and video in war now."

Lance and hi tech...

Lance Armstrong and High Tech bicycles...

From Uncle Ivan comes this tidbit.. thanks Uncle Ivan....

Mistaken Identity

An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on
a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.

He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. "I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.

Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Isn't this priceless?

Some photos from London...

Some pics from London this am....

From Melanie Shaklee.... this neat tidbit... thanks Mel..

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe
and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV/Radio?

Didn't think so

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.
Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record,
Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid. Judge Young:
"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other.
That's 80 years. On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment.
The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've know warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal."


What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.


So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets?
We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say.
Powerful words that strike home.

God bless America.

Ann and I called Andrew to wish him happy 4th birthday.. last night..

It was kind'a cool. We were waiting for about 10pm to call... We tried earlier several times and didn't get an answer so we thought maybe they had slipped out, or were resting... so we waited.. and then at 10pm we called and wished Andrew Paul HAPPY 4th Birthday!! First thing he reports is... "I'm 4 now Grandpa!". Wow.. yelp, Andrew you are now FOUR... and Austyn will be SIX on his next birthday!!! And Kaitlyn will be 9 months old on the 23rd... and Madison will be 3 months old on the 4th of August!! Wow... time marchs on... And I am still 18... haha.. yeah... right!!!
Talked with Jon... Think they are coming up Saturday .. Cool. I wonder if I will know who Kaitlyn is.. Ms Potter with glasses.. Cool pic by the way!! Seems like we have some special days this month to celebrate.. Andrew, Paul, and Jon and Randi's Anni... wow, guess we need to be fasting for this... haha yeah, right... Not sure what the plans for weekend are...
Grandma Moffat came over for dinner last night with Ann and I. We had a great visit and I was helping her with some photos she has of her mother teaching school at Mt. Pisgah School west of Okarche, OK. There are three of them and they were taken in Feb and March of 1913. Her and Grandpa Siegrist were married on May 21, 1913... It's kind'a an old western story... the young man new in town falls for the school teacher... haha.... Heard the baler is ready, but it will have to wait till next week... too much going on that I need to finish up before getting into the hay... but looks like from next Monday on... busy busy with hay, etc..
Stay cool, drink lots of liquids.... and remember, the heat can get you before you know it!!!

OH my Goodness....

3 London Underground Stations Evacuated

LONDON - Three London Underground stations were evacuated at midday Thursday following reports of incidents, British Transport Police said. The Fire Brigade was investigating a report of smoke at one station.

Emergency services also were responding to a report of an incident on a bus in east London, police said.

This has nothing to do with much, and yet everything... haha... JC Penney always said two things....

JC Penney had two sayings... One. There is not a dime made till the last shoe is sold. If you have 12 pair, you have to sell the 12th pair to realize any profit, and the second was: The customer is always right!! So with that in mind.. here is a neat post I found on this subject this am.... I post this for my four kiddos.. who grew up somewhat in a retail business and heard Dad say this many times......

Why the customer is always right

You're hearing from a customer who isn't happy with the service or product. Either the customer is right or the customer is wrong. You have to decide which it is. Suppose you decide the customer is wrong, but the customer is actually right. You've now taken a serious chance of losing the customer, and it's possible that the former customer will tell other customers or potential customers that you suck, not only do you give bad service, but when you do, you don't make it right.

Now, suppose you assume the customer is right and you give them a new one of whatever was wrong, and apologize for the screwup, and thank them for their continued patronage. Having been given what he or she asked for, and having been vindicated, and received gratitude, the customer is glowing with a magnanimity that is greater than it would have been had you never made the mistake. You win, big.

Okay, now flip it around. Suppose the customer is wrong. They're just human, it could happen. Suppose you assume the customer is right and give them a freebie and an apology and a thank you. It's likely that the freebie didn't really cost you anything, or not very much. Cost of goods ain't what it used to be. Most of the cost is in time, and you'd spend as much time arguing with them, as you would by giving them what they want. And I don't care what you say, and apology and a thanks costs nothing. You can always be sorry and thankful. Always, no matter what, even if you're being scammed and know it. You can be thankful that this person is leaving your place of business sooner than if you argued with him.

The final case is the customer is wrong and you say they're wrong. In this case you're the most screwed. This is one angry mofo and you don't want to hear what they're going to say about you. You don't even want to think about it. Everyone in your store is going to wonder why you don't just give them what they want so they will leave and they can all get on with what they came to do -- spend money.

Can you imagine.. we can see the view as Dave did on his way to work this am.... in Vermont!

If you were in Vermont and drove to work this am... these are photos of the drive Dave Winer, internet friend.. music lover, etc.. took this am...

Some pics from last night.. enjoy the day!

I didn't want to put the one of Andrew sitting in the bed with Madison Ann... so her Mom would not get upset...hahah..... but... he was... and then he just played with her before they went to sleep last night... This was the last night with Grandma and Grandpa and tonight they will be with Mom and Dad... or at least that is the plan.. haha... right now.  

The little princess last night about bedtime.. Madison Ann had her bath and was waiting on Grandma Ann to put her to bed with a warm bottle of milk... .... 

Andrew Paul skate boarding across Grandma Ann's kitchen last night.. from one side to the other.. he can really ride it and make it go fast.... 

Marvin decided he was too fat.. so he went to the spa where he went "under the hood" and here I caught him reading the advertisments, etc... with his hood on... he did all this himself...