My son John called tonight

My son John called tonight, he was standing on the flight deck of his ship, the USS Doyle right outside the two helicopter doors. He had a very hectic day trying to get there. When he got to the airport in Chicago yesterday and picked up his ticket it was for the wrong destination, his ticket had him coming home. After spending some time on the phone with his base in Great Lakes he was able to get a new plane ticket to Florida. He was glad that he finally made it there. He is amazed at how big the ship is. He said he loves it. Everyone has been very nice so far. He said that the ships Mess ( dining hall ) is called the Seaside Cafe. He sounded very happy. He is going to sleep on the ship tonight and then move to the barracks tomorrow while the ship is in dock. He gets to sleep until 6am and was excited about that. He hasn't slept past 5am for the past 6 months.

Hulu TV and Movies

Dragnet playing in the left monitor and the hulu library on the right monitor.

I received my beta invitation to hulu.com yesterday. I was busy last night so I tried it out this morning. Hulu offers several current and past TV shows and a few movies online. All are free to watch with limited commercial interruptions. I watched The Blues Brothers movie and an old episode of Dragnet and enjoyed both. The video was good quality and the commercials were short. The playback was flawless on my end. Overall when they increase their content I think I am going to like this. Go on over and sign up for the private beta at http://www.hulu.com and check it out for yourself.

My son John goes to Florida today.

My son John called last night at 10pm. He leaves Naval Station Great Lakes today for Mayport Florida. As of last night he still didn't have his plane ticket. He said that when he checked yesterday that it was not ready yet. He is going to have a busy day today. He had to get up at 5am and have a room inspection, then a uniform inspection wearing his dress blues, then go see if they had his plane ticket ready. When he gets the ticket he has to call his Ship to let them know when he will be arriving in Florida so someone can pick him up at the airport. He will take a bus from Naval Station Great Lakes to the airport today and then change into civilian clothes for the flight ( regulations ). After he gets to Naval Station Mayport he has to check in with the Quartermaster on Base, and then the Ship, go through indoc, get a room on base, a tour of the Ship, and a bunch of other stuff.

John mailed out a box of stuff Tuesday to us that he didn't want to take to Florida with him. In that box is a digital camera. We got John a new digital camera for Christmas last year and ours stopped working. We sent his to Great Lakes after he finished Boot Camp and have been without one since. Now that John won a new one over Thanksgiving he said that we could have his old one. Thanks John. He has his sea bags all packed and ready to go.

Update: John sent me a message online from McDonald's at Naval Station Great Lakes and said that he got perfect in his inspections this morning and that they still didn't have his plane ticket ready. He said that after he eats he will keep checking on the ticket. We probably won't hear from him for a few days because of his busy schedule. He is going to call us as soon as he gets settled in at Mayport.

Update: John got his plane ticket, he will be in Florida around 8:30pm tonight.

Need some cooking tips? ( Video )

With Thanksgiving just past and Christmas just around the corner there are many first time cooks out there that are wondering how to cook their holiday meals. Thankfully there is a site called Foodtube.net to the rescue. FoodTube aggregates cooking videos from sites like YouTube and Google Video by recipe to give you visual step-by-step instructions for preparing a dish.

Roast and Stuffed Turkey

My daughter Cindy sent some pictures

Cindy ( FCSA CWIS ) with the dog

Doug ( ET3 )

Cindy ( FCSA CWIS ) with Alex the dog again.

My daughter Cindy stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes sent some pictures that she took over Thanksgiving. She spent the day with her boyfriends family. Her boyfriends name is Doug and he is also at Naval Station Great Lakes. Cindy said that the dogs name is Alex. :)

My son John called us this afternoon

Our son John called us this afternoon. He is leaving Naval Station Great Lakes for Florida Thursday. Someone from his ship will pick him up at the airport when he gets there and take him to the base. He gets leave for Christmas Dec 17th and is planning on coming home to visit us then. He will know more once he gets down to Naval Station Mayport and gets settled in. He will be serving on the USS Doyle (FFG-39). Congratulations John.

Thanksgiving and now some snow.

My wife Vicki and I saw it snowing before we went to bed last night and it's still snowing this morning. I know we won't get much, the weather channel just said an inch but it gets me in the mood for x-mas. My parents had a nice Thanksgiving and sent a bunch of pictures. I tried to talk them into sending some Turkey and fixings packed in dry ice my way but they just laughed. :) They had 14 people for the day and two tables set for dinner. One table was in their Florida room and the other was in their dinging room and all served buffet style. The food looked great guys.

Click on the pictures to see the full size images.

That's my Mom

My father ( green shirt ) , Uncle Alden ( orange shirt ) and my Mom.

My Grandfather

My Grandmother Cassie

Dining Room Table

Florida Room Table

Dinner in the dining room

My grandmother Cassie and my grandfather ( left and center )

Dinner in the dining room

Left to right Charlie, my Uncle Alden, Cousin John, and my Dad

Dinner in the Florida room

Dinner in the Florida room

Dinner in the Florida room

A Day of Thanksgiving ( Video )

We have allot to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving

Good morning all. I just got off the phone with my daughter Cindy at Naval Station Great Lakes. She called me to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving. :) Thank you Cindy. She is going to go to her boyfriend Doug's family's house for dinner today. Cindy said her orders are kind of up in the air now so things could change on where she goes this year when she leaves Great Lakes, Cindy said that she would let me know as soon as she finds out.

My son John is spending the day at Naval Station Great Lakes and is off today. He is going to eat Thanksgiving dinner on base at Pier 525 on base. When I talked to him he was waiting in line for dinner and it was snowing. He said that he would send a picture of the snow later. He also plans on going into Chicago a few times over the next several days during his time off.

This is the advertisement for the dinner that John went to.

"Free Thanksgiving Meal!

The MWR Department ( Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department ) is providing a free Thanksgiving meal for those active duty sailors still on base and without plans for the day! A wonderfully, delicious traditional thanksgiving feast is planned at Pier 525-inside Club Nitro (Bldg. 525) on Thurs., Nov. 22. Servings will begin at noon and will continue until 3 p.m., or until the food is gone! The menu includes turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the traditional favorites, even pie! In addition, sailors may watch the football games on the Pier's "big screen." Come join us for our Naval Station Thanksgiving Feast on Thurs. Nov. 22 at Pier 525."


( Update ) My son John A won a digital camera today in a Trivia contest on base from the Great Lakes USO, it is a Sony Cybershot DSCW55 7.2 mp . He said dinner was great and they had lots of turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, and home made pies. He was going to go play ping-pong for a while. Overall he said that he was having a good day.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC - W55 7.2 mp

Sony Cybershot DSCW55 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) at amazon.com

My Mom sent this picture today

My parents are having several people over for dinner in sunny Florida today. When I talked to my parents this morning they had a 20lb Turkey in the oven. I really miss their Holiday dinners.

Host and Hostess: ( Mom & Dad ) Joy and Ken, making the Turkey.

Guest List:

Sharon and Mike

Kathleen and Alden ( my aunt and uncle )

Daddy and Cassie ( my grandparents )

Carol and Vince

Steven

John Michael ( my cousin )

Nellie and Charlie

My wife Vicki and I are just spending a quiet day at home today.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Sailors, Soldiers and Service Members everywhere. We are very Thankful for what you are doing. God bless you.

Cindy & John went to Chicago yesterday

John ( OSSA ) in Chicago.

Cindy ( FCSA ) and her boyfriend Doug ( ET3 ).

My two kids in the Navy stationed Naval Station Great Lakes went to Chicago again yesterday. They went with Cindy's boyfriend Doug, he is an ET3 in the Navy. I have never met Doug but John says that he is very nice and if he makes Cindy happy that is good enough for me. John leaves there on the 29th of this month and Cindy will be going to Dahlgren Va sometime before Christmas. Right now John is scheduled to come visit us on the 29th but is trying to go to his ship ( the USS Doyle ) first.

Amazing Home Remedies

For Gods sake Please don't try these... My wifes friend sent these and we had a good laugh this morning. Enjoy.

Amazing Home Remedies:



1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.

2. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. High blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.

Easy FREE Home Heat! ( Video )

With Winter just around the corner I might have to try this. I'm not sure how good this will actually work. I think the heat from the light would already be in the room, but for $10.00 it's worth a try.

Passive Solar Heaters not only save you money, but are very eco-friendly. Learn how to make your own for less than $10!



Easy FREE Home Heat! - The funniest videos clips are here

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN

We want to say Happy Birthday to our son John. Hope you have a wonderful day. Love you, Dad & Vicki

My son John went to Chicago again today

My son John went to Chicago again today. He went with Airman Recruit Reid this time. They went all over the place and toured the Chicago Art Institute while they were there. My wife is so jealous. They also went to the Sears Tower and several other places. John said that they had a great time. This will be the last time he gets to see Chicago before leaving Naval Station Great Lakes this week to report to the USS Doyle in Mayport Florida.

As with all the pictures on this Blog just click on them for full size versions.








Chicago at Night

Airman Recruit Reid taking a drink.





























Van Gogh self portrait








John with an officer of the Chicago Police Mounted Unit.


John standing in front of a giant Rat...

Airman Recruit Reid



Breakfast

John trying to figure out how to order everything on the menu. You wouldn't know it to look at him but he can really put the food away.





Airman Recruit Reid waiting for John




From the top of the Sears Tower