Picture of Sheila from when she was here a few months ago.
Good morning everyone. It's Friday and it looks like it is going to be a nice sunny weekend here in our part of Kansas. Our friend Sheila is coming to visit today from Arkansas. Sheila has been friends with my wife Vicki for over 34 years. Vicki doesn't know that Sheila is coming up today so it will be a real surprise to her. :) I'm sure we'll have a good time. I am planning on coking some chicken on the grill tonight for dinner and have everything else ready for company. I hope everyone else has a nice weekend.
Good morning everyone. I am just starting on my 4th cup of coffee for the day and am starting to wake up. Yesterday was a bad day for me. This past Sunday night I started to feel bad and went to bed at 10pm after falling asleep in my recliner for several hours. I slept in until 8am Monday morning, that is very unusual for me to slept that long. Yesterday I just felt like crap all day and slept most of the day. I usually sleep about 6hrs a night and that is all I usually need. I feel much better now. I hope it keeps going that way. This morning my wife has a Dr appointment so I have to get ready for that soon. I'm not sure what I will do the rest of the day, it really depends on how I feel.
My wife Vicki talked to our son John yesterday for a few minutes. His ship was underway and he just called to check on me. He was worried because Sunday morning when I was trimming a bush in the back yard I feel off a ladder. The bush was about 12 feet tall and I had to use a step ladder to reach the top. We have had so much rain this month ( 17.17in this month as of yesterday morning ) that the step ladder sank into the ground when I was standing on it and I fell off backwards and fell on our neighbors metal closeline. I have a large bruise and am a little sore for my efforts but I will be fine.:)
I am looking forward to getting a new lawn mower this week with the Walmart git card my son John got me for Fathers day. My current mower sputters and just about stops every 60 seconds or so and it takes me forever to mow the lawn. Last week when I mowed it took me 4hrs to get it done. I love mowing the yard but 4 hrs is way too long.
Good morning everyone. I want to wish my Dad and all the other Fathers out there a very Happy Fathers Day today. My Dad has always been a great father. He is always willing to listen and he gives great advice. He is also one of the smartest people that I know. If you didn't know already my Father is an astrophysicist. He also has a great sense of humor. When I was a kid my friends were kind of intimidated by my Father but he tried to make them feel at ease. I remember one time when a friend of mine came to our house and my Dad answered the door and made this face with his hands upside down over his eyes and sang "Junior Bird Man". That was so funny watching a 6.6 guy in a suit singing that. LOL I also remember another time when he had to take a trip to Florida to do something with the Navy and he brought me along. It was just me and him. That was really special. We went allot together as a family but nothing beats one on one time with your Dad when you're a kid. Thanks for all the great memories Dad. I Love you.
I hope all of the fathers out there get to do something that you enjoy doing today, as for me I am going to do some yard work today. I love working in my yard.
My sons Mike and John called me yesterday to wish me a happy Fathers day and my daughter Cindy and my son John also called this morning. Mike has to work today so he wasn't going to be able to call today, I really enjoyed talking to him.
My son John called last night to tell me that he ordered me a Walmart gift card for fathers day and that I should have it this week. I am going to buy a new lawn mower with it. Thanks in advance for the mower John, I really appreciate it, my current mower is on it last legs and sputters as I mow. There is nothing more satisfying than mowing the lawn, you go out and the yard looks like crap and then you spend a little time mowing and it looks great. It's that instant gratification thing. :)
Our Weather Forecast ( Click images for full size )
My Grilled Chicken
Our Dog Tanner waiting to see if he gets any Chicken.
Good morning everyone. I just woke up and am drinking my second cup of coffee. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today with temps in the mid 80s and no rain.
Last night I grilled chicken on my new gas grill and it turned out perfectly tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside and completely cooked but not burned. I made enough to last me all weekend. I just love having a gas grill, it is so much easier than dealing with charcoal .
Yesterday I went to Walmart and bought a whole chicken that was already cut up for less than $4.00 and added two chicken leg-thigh combos that I had in the freezer. It was a very inexpensive dinner that will last us three days. Today I am going to paint some for a friend. I love painting, I find it very cathartic and relaxing. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.
On June 14, 1777, the first American flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes or Old Glory, was approved by the Continental Congress. In 1818, after five more states joined the union, Congress fixed the number of stripes at 13 and required the number of stars to equal the number of states.
Popular accounts trace Flag Day's roots to 1885 when a Wisconsin teacher began celebrating the flag's birthday in her schoolroom.
The Order of Elks played a significant role in the day's history when it became the first national fraternal organization to adopt Flag Day in 1907. Observances became an Elks obligation nationwide in 1911.
Though former President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 establishing Flag Day, it wasn't until 1949 that a member of the Elks, President Harry S. Truman, signed the congressional act designating June 14 as National Flag Day.
"USS DOYLE – The USS Doyle (FFG 39) is the Navy team’s Fleet Honoree for the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. The USS Doyle was commissioned on May 21, 1983, and is named after Vice Admiral James Henry Doyle The USS Doyle’s mission is to provide multi-threat protection for military, merchant and shipping, amphibious task forces and underway replenishment groups. Simply stated, the crew of the USS Doyle provides a well-maintained ship, operated by a well-trained crew, ready for a variety of peacetime and wartime tasking."
Good morning all. Sorry I haven't posted much recently but I have been busy. Today is going to be a rainy day so there isn't really much to do so I am just going to relax and get some things done around the house today. Fathers day is Sunday and both of my kids mentioned it on the phone this week.
I heard from our daughter Cindy in San Diego Wednesday night. Cindy graduates Navy CIWS C-School July 3rd. Cindy said her orders have her going to Everett Washington right after graduation. She will be there in Washington for three weeks and then Fly out to the USS Abraham Lincoln to begin her first tour on her Ship. Cindy also said that when the Abraham Lincoln goes in the Yard next year that she is going to volunteer for an IA assignment in Iraq. IA is "individual augmentee (IA)". Cindy is doing well and is looking forward to getting on her Ship. Cindy sounded very positive and happy when I talked to her on the phone. We are very proud of her. :)
I have talked to our son John several times, he has been very busy lately. His Ship the USS Doyle has been busy getting qualifications. John is cranking ( working in the mess deck ) at this time. As you know John is an OS "Operations Specialist" in the Navy so this isn't his normal job. Everyone has to do a stint working in the mess deck when they first get into the Navy. John's days start at 3am and he has been getting off at 9-10pm. John is exhausted and has lost some weight but he is doing ok and sounds good. I am sure he will be doing better when he gets back to doing his normal job in a few months.
I have to tell you that I don't understand the whole idea of Cranking in the Navy. It doesn't make sense to me to send these Sailors to Specialized Schools for months to learn a technical job and then put them in a Kitchen where they forget what they just learned.
I have to say that I agree with Cmdr. Matt Brown's statement in 2001 where he said "Sailors need to be able to learn their rate (job)," Brown said. "When you have somebody who is taken out onto the mess decks, they’re losing some of their specialized training." If the site is up you can read the entire article here.
That's about it for now. Hope everyone has a Great weekend. :)
We made it through the night. With all the hype about the impending storms yesterday we were ready for something big to happen and it never did. We did get a thunder storm at about 10pm with allot of rain and lightning but that was about it. :)
Yesterdays predictions were off the chart as far as the weather was concerned and we were worried. The "Emergency Alert System" was sounded on television around 7pm telling us that severe storms were on the way and would be here in another 2hrs or so. I guess everyone was worried about what was about to happen. It turned out to be fairly mild when compared to other storms that we have had this year. I think we're all glad that the predictions were wrong for our area. Today it is supposed to be mostly sunny and 85.
EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON FROM 455 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT.
...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION...
DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 3 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 90 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS.
THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 55 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CHANUTE KANSAS TO 50 MILES NORTHEAST OF FALLS CITY NEBRASKA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION...CONTINUE...WW 461...WW 462...WW 463...WW 464...WW 465...
DISCUSSION...TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ARE DEVELOPING ALONG AND AHEAD OF DRY LINE ERN KS AND WILL MOVE RAPIDLY NNEWD INTO WRN MO THIS EVENING. VERY STRONG SHEAR COUPLED WITH 2500 J/KG ML CAPE SUPPORT POTENTIAL FOR LONG LIVED SUPERCELLS AND POSSIBLE STRONG TORNADOES.
AVIATION...TORNADOES AND A FEW SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT TO 3 INCHES. EXTREME TURBULENCE AND SURFACE WIND GUSTS TO 80 KNOTS. A FEW CUMULONIMBI WITH MAXIMUM TOPS TO 550. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23055. http://www.spc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0466.html
It looks like it is going to be a bad night Weather wise. The Weather services are calling for a very bad night with large hail, straight line winds in excess of 90-100 mph, and strong long track tornado's for our area of South East Kansas. Computer forecasting models for the day bear striking similarities to the conditions present on June 8, 1974, when 39 tornadoes touched down in the southern Plains and killed 22 people.
I have the Weather maps up on my computers and am just waiting to see what happens. Below are some on the sites that I have up on my desktops right now.
ZCZC SPCPWOSPC ALL WOUS40 KWNS 051711 IAZ000-KSZ000-MNZ000-NEZ000-060115-
PUBLIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 1211 PM CDT THU JUN 05 2008
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MID-UPPER MS VALLEY REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...
THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER IN NORMAN OK IS FORECASTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS OVER PARTS OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MID-UPPER MS VALLEY REGIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.
THE AREAS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACTIVITY INCLUDE
WESTERN IOWA CENTRAL AND EASTERN KANSAS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEBRASKA
ELSEWHERE...SEVERE STORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE FROM...PARTS OF THE SRN PLAINS THROUGH THE MIDDLE AND UPPER MS VALLEY AND GREAT LAKES. SURFACE LOW OVER SWRN NEB WILL LIFT SLOWLY NNEWD THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHILE TRAILING COLD FRONT MOVES EAST THROUGH KS...OK AND NWRN TX. A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NWD INTO THE UPPER MS VALLEY REGION.
STORMS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING ACROSS W CNTRL KS AS WELL AS IN THE WARM SECTOR ACROSS ERN NEB AND WRN IA. OTHER STORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP ACROSS PARTS OF WRN OK. AS THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES
TO DESTABILIZE...STORMS WILL LIKELY INTENSIFY IN THESE REGIONS DURING THE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. STRONG VERTICAL SHEAR PROFILES WILL SUPPORT BOTH SUPERCELLS AND LINES WITH BOW ECHOES WITH A THREAT FOR LARGE HAIL AND STRONG TORNADOES.
DOMINANT STORM MODE MAY TRANSITION TO LINES WITH EMBEDDED SUPERCELLS BY EVENING AS ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO MOVE EAST TOWARD THE MS VALLEY REGION WITH A THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WIND AS WELL AS A CONTINUED THREAT FOR A FEW TORNADOES.
THIS IS POTENTIALLY A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THOSE IN THE THREATENED AREA ARE URGED TO REVIEW SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY RULES AND TO LISTEN TO RADIO...TELEVISION...AND NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR POSSIBLE WATCHES...WARNINGS...AND STATEMENTS LATER TODAY.
UPDATE: Bulletin - Immediate Broadcast Requested Tornado Watch Outline Update For Wt 466 Nws Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 450 PM CDT Thu Jun 5 2008
Tornado Watch 466 Is In Effect Until 1200 AM CDT For The Following Locations
Allen Anderson Atchison Brown Butler Chase Chautauqua Coffey Cowley Doniphan Douglas Elk Franklin Greenwood Jackson Jefferson Johnson Labette Leavenworth Linn Lyon Miami Montgomery Morris Nemaha Neosho Osage Pottawatomie Shawnee Wabaunsee Wilson Woodson Wyandotte
My buddy Cookie over at the cook shack is trying to raise money for a "Courtesy Room" for traveling Military personnel at the Syracuse, Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY. The USO does not have a place at this airport and this is really needed. Go over and read Cookies Post on the subject to get more information.
To make your tax deductible donation by check, please make your check out to "The Marine Corps League", and please make an entry into the "memo" line in the lower left of your check, "Airport Project"....
and send your check to:
Loren Davies Commandant Emerald City Detachment #877 Marine Corps League P.O. Box 393 Chittenango, New York 13037
If you have any questions at all, you may contact Loren Davies directly at either his personal phone at (315) 359-6149
Picture of Sheila from when she was here a few months ago.
