Winter Ice...

This morning, we awoke to a world of frosted ice. I'm not sure what the meteorological cause is (fog that froze to the ground?), but this afternoon I grabbed the camera and tried to take some photos. A good deal of the frosty ice on the trees had disappeared by then, but enough remained to take some photos around town. It was kind of a foggy, overcast day. Not much color at all. The following photos are in color, though on a couple I played with increasing the saturation.

This observation tower is behind our house on the hill...

...part of the Plummer House...

Another view of the "sniper-tower" as some call it...

A line of trees...

The IBM employees park...

A line of frosted trees...

Where I work...

Assisi Heights...

More Assisi heights...

Trees frozen in place at Assisi Heights...

The sky was not blue...

...I cranked up the saturation so you could see some contrast...

...notice the cellular tower at Assisi Heights...

How Sammy's Santa Photo Became His Mug Shot...

While doing some cleaning today while Sammy is napping, I came across this photo we had misplaced from this past Christmas.

Minutes after this photo was taken last December at the mall, our son Sammy made an escape attempt. When attention was momentarily diverted, he dashed into the crowd. Mall security was called in and shop attendants from all stores manned their entrances. When asked for a recent photo of Sammy, guess what security was given?

The fugitive was eventually found a couple of football-field lengths away at one of the exits/entrances in about 10 very tense minutes.

People who approached Sammy said his reply to where are your parents: "Visiting with Santa." Sammy eventually told us that the reason he stopped at the door is because he's not supposed to go outside without one of us holding his hand. Apparently, we had neglected to tell him that he was not to dash away on us at the mall immediately after having his photo taken with Santa.

The suspect was released to the custody of his parents, convicted, and sentenced to an appropriate punishment. He is now on probation.

Note: Check this link to see blog entries with Sammy's Santa photos through the years. It's always been the same Santa guy.

Sammy D

aka

Sammy the Fugitive

Halloween Friends and Family...

Mike, Mayo Brother #1, Mayo Brother #2, and Mark...

...we took them on a tour of the Mayo...

...Mike text-messaged his manager back East...

...his manager asked what he was doing at the Mayo...

...Mike replied, interviewing...

Mike and Mark with the obligatory corn cob portrait...

Pocahontas bailed on us and didn't go trick-or-treating...

Anne figures out Cathy's costume...

Diane's secret ingredient...

Sammy, Shannon, and good eats...

...and a ghost that only appeared in the photo...

Princess of the Night (Brianna),

The Dark Knight -- up way past his bed time,

and Tigger (Becca)...

Smile Diane, you're on Candid Camera!

Halloween Treats

Michele planned a ghoulish gallery of gastric grub for Halloween. We had over family and friends from as far away as Philadelphia (sadly, they aren't Yankees fans!). Michele put a lot of planning into it--and it showed. Diane helped quite a bit as well.

NutterButter cookies covered in vanilla candy with chocolate-chip eyes...

Bones made from Pillsbury bread stick dough...

Spider cupcakes with marshmallow scleras and M&M pupils...

Ghoulish brownies...

Olive monster eyes on mozzarella scleras and tomato slices...

Tomato soup, mozzarella/olive eyeballs, and bat croûtons...

Trick and Treat w/Shannon

The same as last year, this year Sammy went trick or treating with Shannon. Batman and Tuck the Turtle (crafted by Tom himself) braved the cold winds and hit the houses in our neighborhood.

Superheroes were rewarded for protecting the city...

A giant bumblebee gave gifts to our heroine and hero...

Support your local superhero...

Tom, Linda and Shannon...

...and Tom's Halloween costumery...

Sammy's Day Care Halloween Parade

This year, our Sammy was...

The Dark Knight

Anyone remember H.R. Pufnstuf?

The *Brave* Man in the Yellow Hat...

Stories...

Front row from left to right:
GI Joe, Fireman, SpiderGirl, Fairy, Dark Knight, Harry Potter, Raven Girl
Second row:
Barb, Monkey, Pam, Grandma Sherry, Kathy

Krauthammer and Choices...

"Among these crosscurrents, my thesis is simple: The question of whether America is in decline cannot be answered yes or no. There is no yes or no. Both answers are wrong, because the assumption that somehow there exists some predetermined inevitable trajectory, the result of uncontrollable external forces, is wrong. Nothing is inevitable. Nothing is written. For America today, decline is not a condition. Decline is a choice. Two decades into the unipolar world that came about with the fall of the Soviet Union, America is in the position of deciding whether to abdicate or retain its dominance. Decline--or continued ascendancy--is in our hands."

-- Charles Krauthammer

Pumpkin Hunting 2009...

Today we went hunting for pumpkins. Sammy is still in his "super-hero" stage, so he wore his red rain boots, Superman shirt, and cape to pick out pumpkins.

Faster than a speeding bullet...

more powerful than a locomotive...

and able to choose a pumpkin in 30 minutes...

Sam prepares to take flight...

Sam selects one of the final candidates...

He's Perpetual Motion Man...

Swimmin' Sammy...

Sammy keeps growing and growing. Each day he learns something new. He's started swimming classes now. Here are some photos of him at the pool this week....

Dožínky Festival at Sonny's...

Last night we went to Sonny's house in New Prague. He and his wife Barb kindly invited us and Paul's sisters to come over for the Dožínky Festival (25th Annual Czech Harvest Festival). Sonny made some tasty Czech food and we went over to watch the classic cars parade which Sammy thoroughly enjoyed.

New Prague is a great town...

Barb attending to guests as Sonny works his kitchen magic...

Like going back in time...

Sammy recognizes a VW coming along...

It's Herbie!

Marty McFly: Doc, we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
Dr. Emmett Brown: Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads.

A Buick Skylark...

...similar to the 4-door sedan Paul's grandfather had...

Sonny making candy...

Time to dust off our copy...

It seems Saul Alynski's book "Rules for Radicals" continues to gain popularity in the past year. Here is a good article to read. Looks like it is time to dust off our copy that we bought a while ago (first edition from 1971) and start reading it.

From the dedication of the book:

"Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgement to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins -- or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom -- Lucifer"

Granted there are far more admirable activists than Alynski and Lucifer (Mother Theresa comes to mind...even Jesus)...but it behooves one who wants to make a positive impact in the world today to understand how the left operates.

We have our copy...

...do you have yours?