This looks like some kind of strange double headed mythological creature!

These two can't decide if they like each other's company or are encroaching on each other's space.  One night they'll be like this, the next night fur flies! Haha.

The babies are ALWAYS squirming!

 

I’m proud of Ian and his testimony.

I'm proud of Johnny's part in this too.  He was able to take Ian's initial concept and formalize the design that would look good on a shirt.  It's nice to see the collaboration among our young adults.  Good job guys!

You can check out his info and get the shirts there too:

 https://linktr.ee/ian_leighninger

The store: https://anewnarrative.store/

This is a great scene Andy made with a little lighting and lego creativity.

The babies are starting to open their eye. So cute.

 My nephew is quite a bit more experienced and trained.  He puts it through its paces here!  The crazy thing is the 45 MPH grinding gravel crash in the middle of the video.  We dusted it off, gave it a quick test and kept right on flying!  In full disclosure, I am flying with the arm bracers installed.  But this thing is proving to be quite a bit more robust than the haters are letting on I think.  I am happy with my DJI FPV so far.

Music credit to Kenny Loggins from the Top Gun Soundtrack - Danger Zone.

The aftermath of a day of flying :)

It's important to keep the batteries charged up for the next nice day!

Andy and I made a quick stop for garlic burgers and shakes!

I’m scaring myself now! Speeds, maneuverability, and DANGER are quickly increasing. Haha

 

Oh my gosh! The huddled nest of Julie’s current crop of squirrel rescues!

Sometimes it doesn’t go as planned when you are flying FPV… ;)

Fortunately, you can dust it off and keep going!

 I’m trying to learn some of the finer point, without the safety of altitude…

It doesn’t always go as planned when you are in full manual control, but THAT’s what turtle mode is for.  It can right itself.  This sometimes saves you from tracking it down to flip it by hand.  Haha.

What a cute little itty bitty kitty.

Just a nice afternoon tea with some of my mother in-laws stash I inherited.

OK, I am taking off the training wheels for the first time…!

 Right after the flip at about 1:15 I go full throttle and hit over 85MPH! Fun, cray and quite frightening.  You can see rolls, flips, and flats spins.  You can also see I had plenty of altitude before going full acro mode.  Enjoy the evolution of the combo of my skills, bravery and stupidness… haha.

This is kneeling I can get behind…!

I took Andy and Hannah to the rodeo last weekend.  This was how they started the competition, AFTER the national anthem.  The guy that owns the whole ranch gave a mini salvation message and closed with a prayer for all in attendance.  

Yum! One of my favorite and easiest meals!

Julie's dad loved them too and could usually tempt me over with a fresh pot of beanie weenies!  Johnny and I each had a helping last night and remembered the good ole days.  This batch was especially yummy with Big Red Smokeys for weenies!

It’s cute watching the little babies eat and grow!

The thunking in the background is Chungus running laps in her cage! 

A nice way to end the day.

A little drone fun and a pretty sunset.

It’s kind of fun to hold a squirrel baby that’s in a milk coma! Haha.

Percy comes out to get his pets after Andy leaves for work each day.

 

Julie’s starting on another batch of squirrel babies.

None of her pinkies made it.  The rehabilitators always say they get the "broken toys", so it's an uphill battle.  This crop are much stronger, a little older and seem to be doing well.  they are pretty cute at this age.

Just another shot of Julie’s “new” ring.

 We’re waiting for the jeweler to finish sizing and repairing the band that had thinned out.

Percy loves to come out and get his petting for the day!

The fireplace is an important aspect of it somehow.  Something about the grippiness to counter the petting I think.

I think these two are figuring out how to get along!

I almost can't tell if that's one or two cats...?

They sure make a cute pair!

Nothing like a rodeo to improve your dating life!

Torturing the youngins with a night out... haha.

You know it's bad you when you take your date to the local gas station for dinner...!

The Shred...

I thought the pile of paper and credit card shreddings made a cool shot :)

Silly kitties playing hide and seek with the covers...

 In the end, Pepper decided sitting on top of Itty Bitty was the best solution... haha!

This is what happens when your girlfriend needs a drowning victim...

...and you realize at the last minute that you forgot your swimming trunks! Haha.

Happy Anniversary to us!

This is kind of a long story, so you'll have to bear with me, but it might bring a smile to your heart if you have the time to read it.  I'm not even sure in which decade I should start.  But here goes...

I guess I will tell the story from my perspective and fill in the gaps and background along the way.  I first noticed this ring on Janice's hand when Julie and I started dating in the late eighties.  I always thought it was quite beautiful and asked her about it.  I remembered it as being her grandmother's ring.  Fast forward a few years, and Julie and I are married as are Josh and Stef.  Of course we start making plans for first houses, wills, etc.  We were always joking around about who would get what from an inheritance standpoint.  At some point along the way, Julie made the comment that as long as she got the ring, Stef could have the rest, including their house in Beavercreek.  It turns out, Julie always liked the ring a lot too.  As a young teenager, she'd always seen it on her mom and thought she'd like to wear it some day too!  

Speaking of wills, the joke was on Julie and me!  At one point, early in our marriage, Steve and Janice drafted a will that basically said, we would share assets between Julie and Stef, but that WE GOT STEF in the deal!  Haha.  She is ten years younger, so at that point she was in her mid-teens and they would have needed someone to care for her in the event of their demise.  THAT would have been interesting to see play out...  Luckily, Josh ended up inheriting Stef so we dodged the bullet!

Anyhow, back to the story.  Fast forwarding a couple decades, we've all settled into homes we love.  Josh and Stef in Bellbrook, our in-laws and us in Waynesville.  All of us are satisfied with what we have and where we are in life.  As sometimes happens as our parents age, they start talking about dispersing or at least designating some of their heirlooms.  Steve talked about his workshop and me having it someday.  He gave josh a saw from it.  Janice started passing out some of her decorations, sewing machines, etc.  We even worked out what we would do with the house.  At some point Janice and I were talking and we thought it would be really awesome to give Julie the ring for a Christmas present or something.

BUT...!  The ring needed some work to secure the diamonds so I asked Janice if I could take it to a jeweler to have it fixed.  She started looking for it and realized, to her dismay, that somewhere in the process of all their construction around 2015, she had LOST THE RING!  Now we (Julie included) were ALL fretting.  It became something in the back of all of our minds. We were always on the lookout for it.  It could be in the yard, in a planter, in a drawer, dropped in a heating vent, in a bucket of sparkle or paint, dropped in a wall or even just gone forever.  After four or five years of this, we finally gave up.  

Janice died earlier this year and we've been through every square inch of everything she owned.  Literally EVERYTHING.  Even every page of every book, every drawer, every box, every overflowing container.  She had a habit of tucking things away for safe-keeping.  Julie found all kinds of family memories, trinkets, heirlooms, and history in the process.  In the back of her mind, she has always been hoping she'd stumble on the long lost ring...  After getting through everything we finally gave up.

That brings us to present month.  It's our anniversary time again.  We've been married for 28 years, and we have everything we need and most things we want.  It's hard to impress each other with gifts.  Many years, we're content to just eat a nice meal out and enjoy our memories.  The past couple years have been pretty rough for us losing Steve, Janice, the boys getting ready to move out, etc. So I think we both wanted to do something nice for each other.  I had been eyeing a new drone, but knew I didn't need it and couldn't even come close justifying it.  But Julie bought it for me anyhow, what a nice surprise! However, a week later, I am enjoying it, and she says to me, "You better do something really nice for me this year too!"  She wasn't serious, that's not how our relationship has worked all these years, it's more about the joy of giving.  But it got me thinking again...  I had been wondering if I could somehow recreate the ring close enough she would like it...  We had found the replica that had been made somewhere along the way, so I would have something to use as a reference...  I made up my mind to give it a try.

But THAT VERY EVENING, the same night she said that, I realized God had other plans... You see, Andy and I had started working together to get some of his stuff ready to move.  We were walking out of his room and a glint of gold caught my eye...High on a small shelf, above Julie's line of sight, behind a chipmunk figurine and tucked under the edge of a candle holder...  There is a ring...!  Is it THE ring?  You see the ring she liked all those years was actually her GREAT grandmothers, Buddy.  When buddy had gone into the nursing home, they made a fake ring to wear and we found what we assumed was the imitation in Janice's stuff too...  At this point I am shaking and maybe even crying with joy.  Julie's been pretty down from everything with her parents and this would be a nice boost.

So, Andy and I look up several techniques for testing diamonds.  I try scratching the mirror (it does) and a few others.  So far, so good.  The next day, I take it to the jeweler we've frequented our whole marriage and sure enough, IT'S THE REAL ONE!  Praise the Lord!  It looks like I found the PERFECT anniversary gift for Julie!  I have the jeweler clean it all up, check the mount and get it ready to give Julie by putting it in a new box.  Then I force us all to flex our schedules to go out to dinner.  The boys knew the importance of it as an heirloom and were about as excited as I was.  Julie suspects something is up, but has no idea what...  Finally, after we've ordered our food, I pull it out and say "I hope I found you something that will even the score, happy anniversary?!"  She exclaims, "Where did you find it?!" And we proceed to share the whole story.  What fun!

It turns out, she hadn't given up and was STILL looking over everything carefully, hoping she would stumble across it.  Imagine if she had just reached up to dust that shelf with the vacuum cleaner she's been running all over the house!?

I am so glad I found it and could have fun in presenting Julie her mom's and her great grandmother's hundred year old ring to her! 

It turns out it was actually Buddy's husband's (Daddy Hubs') first wife's ring.  Probably from about the 1920 era!  She bought it as a splurge one day even though she didn't really have support from Daddy Hubs.  She often kept it in her pocket so as not to force the issue with her husband.  After she died, Daddy Hubs had it fixed up as a wedding ring for Buddy.  After Buddy died, Janice inherited it and wore it for many years before she placed it on that shelf for safe keeping during all the construction then "lost" it by not remembering she'd done that...

So crazy, and so glad the lost has been found...!  So happy for Julie.  I love you girl!❣️Happy Anniversary... and thank you for being mine and the happiness you bring us!

Our two cats playing their silly little bedtime games.

 Itty Bitty rolls out, catches Pepper’s attention, then rolls back in if Pepper starts heading her direction,  It was driving both of them nuts!

The good ole days...

We were going through some of my in-laws things and found these credit cards.  I fondly remember Sunday afternoons of rushing over to CompUSA to get a look at the latest electronic gadgets.

Not to be missed is the nostalgia of these store brand credit cards.  Check out the dates on BP (1976) and Sears (1968)!  That's when they were getting married.  It seems like nothing stays around that long any more these days.  Can you even get a Sears card any more?  It brings back memories of the Dayton mall, Friday nights, and the old credit card machines with the big lever that they used to imprint your card number on the carbon paper (carbon paper, what's that?!).  Haha.

These two are roosting in the ladder on Andy’s top bunk like a couple of chickens. Haha.

Now I’m trying manual mode.

 You can see how much higher, slower, and more sloppy my flying is...!  I hope to slowly improve with practice.

Johnny and I each giving a try at flying this little beastie

Ride along with me for four minutes of swooping around the neighborhood.

 I have improved, but I am still cheating for most of these flights.  I’m not in full manual mode yet, so it still helps me coordinate the turns.  I do reach speeds of about 60mph in some of the open straightaways.  For reference, the shots down the driveway are about 25mph.  The last thirty seconds or so, I was in manual and you can see I stay a lot higher, the turns are a lot slower and less stable.  I’m trying to slowly work my way up to speed.  

Well, I’ve ventured outside and powered it up.

I guess I better take off with this little speed drone...?!

I’m helping Johnny layout and make his oak claymore sword

It's one of the biggest swords people used in the 15th to 17th century.  

From Wikipedia: A claymore (/ˈkleɪmɔːr/; from Scottish Gaelic: claidheamh-mòr, "great sword")^[1] is either the Scottish variant of the late medievaltwo-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword. The former is characterised as having a cross hilt of forward-sloping quillons with quatrefoil terminations and was in use from the 15th to 17th centuries.

The word claymore was first used in reference to swords in the 18th century in Scotland and parts of England to refer to basket-hilted swords.^[2] This description was maybe not used during the 17th century, when basket-hilted swords were the primary military swords across Europe, but these basket-hilted, broad-bladed, swords remained in service with officers of Scottish regiments into the 21st century. After the Acts of Union in 1707 when Scottish and English regiments were integrated together, the swords were seen as a mark of distinction by Scottish officers over the more slender sabres used by their English contemporaries: a symbol of physical strength and prowess, and a link to the historic Highland way of life.

Andy’s making himself at home...!

This is me flying my new drone in the simulator.

 I’m using the remote and goggles to fly the app on my phone.  Hopefully I can learn enough to get a little more comfortable.  At the moment, it kind of feels like trying to balance on a beach ball while blindfolded...! Haha.

I’m far from great, but not terrible either.

A yearly tradition for Johnny and me.

We managed to find time between work and classes to make a quick yun out for lunch and Shamrock Shake™

The sunrise was about an hour later than normal yesterday ;) It was worth the wait!

All powered up and ready to fly...

I should probably take it outside first, and a little practice on the simulator is a good idea too.

This boy can put away the food!

His boss sent me these pics of Andy hard at work and later reaping the rewards. :)

Thanks for cleaning out the fridge, Mom!

Andy and I went hunting for night crawlers after the rain a couple nights ago. Julie didn't really appreciate it given that she had just finished cleaning the fridge... haha. We found a sealed container to put them in later.

This thing is a little frightening when it first powers up...!

 It oscillates the motors to make that sound...

This is the kind of stuff that makes Cognex a fun place to work.

We had a nice eighties themed party for our annual meeting. It's was also the celebration of our 40 years of business.

I like the mood lighting for the cat pillow.

Ant Man cometh...

I thought I would give first person view (FPV) flying a try again... I can't decide if this look is an improvement or not...?! Haha. I hope NOT!

I’ve been making myself some really yummy avocado chicken salads for lunch!

It’s nice to see the signs of life in the yard. Babies, blooms and bumble bees.

One week later, and my advise is still the same...

Don't brush up against the hot muffler of the tractor you are trying to strap down to your trailer...!

Who knew a cat would go so crazy for the remains of an avocado?!

Shadow decimates them! She leaves little bits of the peel all over the place.

Some of Andy’s things being moved...

It is a bittersweet time. He and I carried some of this things across the street last night. On the left, things to take. On the right, stuff to put away from a bygone era. It's exciting to see the new stages of their lives beginning, but we are really going to miss them at the same time!

These two are quite the laugh...

They've been trading places under the covers and playing little games of hide and seek. Eventually, Itty Bitty settled down under them and Pepper proceeded to pit-pat and laid down right on top of her!

That red glow on my watch is kind of ominous.

I think it's either cooking my blood, or checking for aliens. Haha.

I finally had some time to fly my drone this weekend.

With all that had been going on with Janice and work, the last time I'd flown was August! It was nice to capture the cows and sun on the property behind ours. A nice country scene! :)

Andy’s a list maker.

He's definitely cut from the same cloth I am...!

That’s pretty cute, Itty Bitty peeking out from under her favorite furnace vent spot

Andy manages to wear out professional grade equipment in his job!

Luckily he has a dad that's good at debugging and fixing... Somehow, the circuit board and switch had broken free of the tail ring retaining cap. A little solder and then grinding and it's all back and working order and off to another day of lighting up crawl spaces in the plumbing trade. I love the silly caveman style note that he left me. Of course, Daddy David jumped at the chance to help him out.

Depression era glassware.

My Waynesville antique ladies sure love these! We found a few more pieces that Julie's mom, and probably her mom too, had saved.

Can it really be true that the boys are starting their move out...?!

It's exciting for them, but we are going to miss the constant joy, laughter, fun, noise and presence they bring to each day. Andy started packing things up and organizing for the move. Julie's still working at their new place getting things emptied out and organized. It's a team effort and we're enjoying the prep. We're admittedly a little sad too, but we I feel like we've given them the right tools to survive. We're proud of what both the boys are accomplishing. 

It's fun that they're going to enjoy some of their college dorm days together. We've enjoyed seeing their relationship develop.