Tripping Over Relatives Again

On Saturday Kara and crew came by to get Sam and they got on their way at noon heading to the Wright Patterson Air Force museum in Dayton OH.  We had lunch and didn't do much until it was time for church.  As we pulled up, Barb and Kevin, Ted's brother, were walking in and we honked.  They waited for us and we sat together.  Barb pointed out my cousin Paul and his wife Janet in the congregation.  It has been decades since I have seen them.  I recognized Paul but not Janet.  I caught up with them to say hello.  He and my mother were first cousins so he knew who I was when I mentioned her name.  They are both past 80 and appear to be in frail health.  Barb said Paul was a pall bearer for her father.  Westside Cincinnati is really a small town.

We went to their new house to visit for awhile.  They have a house where they can live on one floor but has a finished walk out basement for crowds or overnight company.  You just don't buy a house in this area without a basement and it provides oodles of living space.  It was a great house and beautifully decorated of course.

Megan and Greg dropped 2 year old Leo off for the night and he entertained us for some time.  He was just into everything and messed up Grandma's perfect order in no time.  We were glad to see him and his parents too if only to say hello and goodbye.  We stopped at Skyline Chili on the way home.  Now we have that and LaRosa's taken care of.  Next up, a United Dairy Farmer malt.

Ted went shooting Sunday morning and when he came back we went to Sam's for the rest of our food cravings - goetta, Skyline, brats and turtle soup.  We are well stocked now!

We had planned to go to the movies Saturday night but spent the time with his family so we went late afternoon on Sunday.  We saw The Heat with Sandra Bullock.  It was a funny movie but the language was terrible.  If you took all the curse words out, especially the F word, there would have been no dialogue.  For this reason alone I would say skip it.  The story and acting were fine and would have been a good movie otherwise.  

We were astonished at movie prices.  With the kids in Bowling Green it was $44 for 2 kid and 2 senior tickets plus 2 medium slushes!  Yesterday was just $12 for 2 senior tickets.  I refuse to be gouged with their refreshment prices but people were lined up 6 deep to pay such outrageous sums for what you get.  Oh for the days of West Hills theater where you could see a double feature, cartoon, previews and a serial for a quarter and candy was six cents, pop and popcorn a dime each.  I am showing my age!!

Today is Ted's Enquirer retiree luncheon and tomorrow I have lunch with the St. Bonnie's girls.  I hope there is a good turnout at both places.  It is so much fun to visit with these folks that we have known for so long.  Mine go back to kindergarten (1950) and Ted's to the early 60's.  Like I said, westside Cincinnati is a small town.

Wednesday we will drive to Elk Lake in KY for the July 4 celebrations and stay until Friday.  There are two more family cabins bought this past year for us to see.  Karen's daughter and Danny's son are both busy building docks at their new vacation homes.  Karen and Ron just sold theirs to their son Terry (after 30+ years) so the four of us will have to finagle places to stay from now on!  For now we will all be staying in Terry's newly purchased cabin.  Karen and Ron of course have an open invitation to stay there whenever they want.

We are attending Mass and having dinner with our maid of honor and best man on Saturday.  They just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.  This is another relationship that goes back to the early 60's.  We so enjoy catching up with them on our visits to this area.  

Then on Sunday we move on to Grand Lake in St. Mary OH for some shooting, fishing and time visiting my brother Dan and Sue.  She enjoyed our trip to Shipshewana last year so much she asked if we could go again.  So Tuesday we'll do just that.  We love visiting the Amish country.

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~ Erma Bombeck