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Lovely Wife and I decided to make the most of this lovely early fall day and head up to the Mississippi River Town of Alton, IL. We discovered it was home of the Lincoln-Douglass debates. We also discovered about 127 antique shops. Never before had I seen such a dazzling array of pure crap. Nevertheless, we saw nearly all of it. After seeing most of the castoffs and detritus of humanity, we took a drive up "The Great River Road" to Grafton, IL. The ride was beautiful--wide flowing river to our left; sharp rising bluffs to our right. We enjoyed a nice late lunch along the banks of the River at "The Loading Dock". Grafton is near the point where the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers join. In fact, the Grafton Ferry goes right through the point where they merge. After enjoying the sights of Grafton, we took the ferry home (which shortened the return trip by half). Needless to say, a lovely time was had by all.
Well, the ol'e gal has finally done it. She has hung around long enough to be called a teenager. Today is LD's 13th Birthday!! We felt bad because Kristie overslept (that's how great these kids are. They just get up, get ready and go.) and I forgot my traditional "before the bus comes Birthday call". So we didn't actually wish her a happy birthday until she came home. After school, she opened all her presents (just from family--she'll have the party with all the firends in a couple of weeks. Yeah, gotta stretch it out.). She got many clothes (fashion show to follow), mucho mula, bracelet charms, some jewelry, perfume--mostly girly stuff. Oh yeah, she also got "The Sims Vacation" computer game. Actually it's not so much a game as a way of life, but I digress. For a look at the Birthday Dinner, be sure to check out The Kitchen. Enjoy the fashion show:
Lovely Daughter and Lovely Wife went to a "Victorian Tea" at our church. Kristie hosted a table and also invited two of L.D.'s friends along with their mothers. It was all very fru-fru.
BoyHead and I went to the Rams game today. The Rams were victorious. It was touch and go, especially in the first half. The mighty, victorious Rams were able to put their mistakes behind them and regroup at halftime. Hats off the to mighty Rams. On to week 3. Next on the schedule is Rams @ Seahawks, Sunday September 21 @3:05 p.m. Go Rams!
We have been distressed over CatHeads deteriorating health for the past several months. He has been losing weight, drinking excessive amounts of water, using the entire basement as his cat box, and walking around in a dazed state. He will be 19 this winter. CatDoctor did a few tests and he came to the conclusion: Early stages of Chronic Kidney Disease.
CatDoctor said it is in the very early stages and he believes that he can stop the progression and probably alleviate most of the symptoms. Apparently CatHead can't properly filter the nitrogen products in his body. This causes him to drink a lot of water, urinate a lot and can also affect his mental faculties. We now have him on a diet which does not produce nitrogen products in his fluffy little body. The upside: he actually likes it. The downside: it would be cheaper to take him to a fancy restaurant three times a day. We're all hoping and praying (well, some of us anyway) that this does the trick and CatHead continues on healthfully. Meow.
Here we are in the middle of America trying to soak up the last few morsels of summer. Days are noticeably shorter. Weather is thankfully much cooler. The young lovelies are back in school. After school they are out in the streets with the acknowledgement that shorts weather is quickly diminishing. Soon it will be dark by dinnertime, but until then...
Kristie and I went to our Sunday School party last night. A great time was had by all. As with most Southern Baptist functions, food was plentiful and delicious. "Gentleman Farmer" and his kind wife were our gracious hosts. The have a wonderful spread "out in the country". After dinner we played horseshoes, some went on a hayride, women sat around gabbing. The little ones had a great time playing in the yard and the barn--they have 11 cats. As it got dark, they lit a bonfire and cooked smores.
