rayb

Beagles

2009-05-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

The new sister
Lucy, meet Maggie

Hmmmm. So who's in charge?

Deciding the dog way

Three days, and they're friends.

Hike

2009-04-07T20:31:00.001-04:00

Hike
Originally uploaded by rayb777

Outfitted with my pedometer, hiking stick (broken golf club) and my "bionic" leg, I join betty_b for a mile and a half hike at Battelle Darby Creek Park

From my Project 365 pictures

Oh yeah....the blog

2009-03-22T21:20:00.004-04:00

I just noticed my last post was on groundhog day. And there was 6 more weeks of winter. Which brings us here. Spring finally. Since I've been taking pictures every day for the Project 365 I have been taking a close look at signs of spring.

Groundhog Day

2009-02-02T21:01:00.005-05:00

6 more weeks of winter
Originally uploaded by rayb777

Sorry, I'm fresh out of groundhogs, so this guy will have to do. Just like Punxsutawney Phil and Buckeye Chuck, this guy (Aardvark Art???) saw their shadows.
From my Flickr collection.

photos

2009-01-17T14:51:00.003-05:00

I noticed this blog hasn't been updated in a while.

My wife Betty's Blog and I decided to participate in the Project365 group on Flickr. That means you have to post a picture to the group every day. It's certainly challenging on those days when there's nothing to shoot.

Stop by and look at my set Flickr

As an enhancement I found a new camera on Ebay

Where's my heart?

2008-11-20T22:20:00.005-05:00

In San Francisco.
OK corny, but I now understand the song.
Last month I met 6 other friends for a long weekend at the west coast.
We stayed in a small motor inn in Pacifica (pacifica motor inn). We were almost in the
Pacific.

Of course the Golden Gate Bridge

Yes it gets foggy.

I'll be back.

All my pictures are on my Flickr

Floored

2008-11-11T22:32:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile. I realize an August post of my garden was my last visit here.
I haven't even mentioned my California trip - I'll get to that soon.

My time has been well spent.
My wife Betty's Blog borrowed my Jeep a while back. A couple hours later I was unloading close to a dozen boxes of laminate flooring.

Well I'm pretty slow on projects. This one took me 3 weekends (that might be a record :)) But it's down:

Hey, How's that garden doing?

2008-08-19T22:21:00.002-04:00

That's Big Mama along with a hardware store Roma.
I'm hoping it looks as good on the inside as the out.
Herbs are looking good, although we're in a transitional stage between Cilantro and Coriander. My favorite the peppers are also producing.

Amputee Waterski

2008-07-21T19:23:00.003-04:00

This weekend I participated in an amputee water ski clinic. I was all set to blog all about it...until I saw the post my wife Betty's Blog did.
Her blog says it all. Take a look.

Betty's Blog

Let's EAT

2008-07-12T15:02:00.004-04:00

Hook up the harvester. The crops are ready.

Well, OK, 2 cherry tomatoes. But it's a start.
Along with freshly picked basil and mozzarella betty's blog enjoyed a home grown lunch.

Fourth of July Tomatos

2008-07-04T22:21:00.004-04:00

I'm excited. Today is the fourth of July. And I planted a special tomato hybrid that has fruit by the 4th. In fact here's the description:

Fourth of July Hybrid is the first tomato to ripen by Independence day. Be the first on your block to pick a ripe tomato.

OK. First clue it wouldn't make it. They didn't ship the plants until June. When I ordered, it said mid-May. That's three 3 lost weeks.

Well, we been enjoying the herbs:

Growing

2008-06-20T21:24:00.006-04:00

An update from the farm. It's growing real well.

The Herbs:

The Hardware store tomatos

How's those Burpee's?
They're on the left. You might need to enlarge the picture to see.

We just got back from Niagara Falls. Check out my Flickr page for the photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/rayb777

We're Green

2008-06-07T20:33:00.002-04:00

Burpee bumped it's shipping schedule to the beginning of June for my tomato plants.
I guess they know what they're doing. We'll see.
Three plants from Lowes are on the right with several weeks headstart.
Three of the Burpee's were just planted on the left.

Herbs are doing great. In front it's the cilantro I put in last month. Right behind it's sage, basil and thyme.

At the far end is a red pepper plant along with a couple hot peppers and the fourth Burpee tomato. Cilantro and oregano seed were put in the empty space.

Next step is to put down some mulch.

Garden Update - finally

2008-05-13T20:54:00.006-04:00

In the Ground.

Anyone that knows Ohio weather understands.
Nice days in April. But the first half of May have been wet. Plus the chill at night.

Now that Mother's day has passed, I can get the garden planted.

I have some tomato plants ordered from Burpee - still waiting on those.
This past weekend I picked up a few plants from Home Depot.
Today was nice so lets get started.

Roma, Early and Cherry tomato plants on the north side of the fence. We'll compare to the Burpees that will be on the south.

A little Basil

Along with some Cilantro and peppers.

More to grow.

Garden Report

2008-04-26T13:59:00.003-04:00

Week 2

The garden is set. The fence is up (sorry Lucy. sorry rabbits)
Herbs are growing
Peppers are popping

Garden 3

2008-04-21T20:55:00.005-04:00

We have reached the surface of the earth. Initial sod removal is complete.
Two wheelbarrows full.

A little more hoeing and it will be ready.

On the Herb front - Cilantro takes over the lead.

Garden Journal

2008-04-20T14:01:00.002-04:00

Ohio weather: Chance of rain. It doesn't.....so I can begin my garden.

Roughly in the same place as the old garden. It's going to be 4 X 18.
My assistant takes a soil sample:

And I start to dig:

Once I get the grass out, and till in some top soil, I am going to put a 2 foot rabbit (beagle) fence around it.

Stay tuned.

Garden

2008-04-19T22:54:00.007-04:00

Over the years I've had a few backyard vegetable gardens. When Lucy joined the family a couple of years ago I decided to rotate my crops - and I let it go to grass. Last year I put a couple of tomato plants into a small flower garden outside of the fence.

Well this year I've decided to set up shop again. And I'll try to journal the progress here.

Step 1 - I bought a small Black and Decker Garden Cultivator.

Step 2 - Put an order in with Burpee. So far I've received the pepper and herb seeds.
The tomato plants will arrive in May just in time to plant.

Step 3 - Start the seeds. I just noticed a couple of the Basil plants breaking ground.

Step 4 - Getting the garden ready. Stay tuned.

IKEA

2008-04-12T23:54:00.005-04:00

The Swedish superstore comes to the Buckeye state. Just north of Cincinnati at West Chester. One word to describe the store: BIG.
It just kept going. And it must have been kids day. They were all there today.
I did spend more money on gas to get there (you hear that more often lately), but I justified with a trip to my parents house, just a half hour farther.

Filled with the obligatory meatballs I proceeded to fill my cart with all kinds of junk and gadgets - nothing over $5.
Three hours later we get out the door. A nice visit with the folks and back up to Columbus. Now I'm tired but looking forward to Lingonberries for breakfast.

Skybus

2008-02-16T14:04:00.003-05:00

First Hand Report.
Everything lined up. Mom and Dad are in Ft. Myers this month. Skybus had a low-priced special (Not $10, but $20.08). A vacation was needed.

I was impressed by the operation. Very professional.
Boarding: For some reason I thought I was at an amusement park waiting to ride the roller coaster. Passengers were lined up - waiting to get their favorite seat. You could even pay a little extra to head to the beginning of the line. Wheelchairs went first.

On board in a comfortable seat, ready to go in 10 minutes.

Departing from CMH, heading south.

Crossing the Ohio River at Huntington.

Cleared to land at PGD.

Half of the population of Punta Gorda waiting by the fence.

And then a few days of sunshine (and rain) in Florida.

Return trip was just as impressive. Bad weather in Milwaukee had the airplane running late. But the crew turned around nearly full flights in less than 15 minutes. I'm back in Ohio watching for more deals.

Rabbit Hunt

2008-02-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

It's a crisp February morning. Ground Hog's Day, in fact.
It's a great day to take the hounds on a rabbit hunt.

Look. Lucy has one in it's tracks.

And Katy catches up at the turn! Alright. I better Google "Rabbit Stew"

Hold on. No I don't eat rabbits. And no, I don't hunt.
But they are beagles.
Seems this bunny likes our deck. The girls were out for their morning pee.
I hope they didn't wake the neighbors. It took three of us running around to catch them.

Carefully they fooled me at their noon "Outside".
Once we finally captured them it took a bath to wash of the mud from under the deck.
Poor Katy. This is a lot of excitement with her heart condition.

Fortunately (or unfortunately from their viewpoint), they were close, but never caught the rabbit.

Silly Rabbit

Sconed

2008-01-19T20:46:00.000-05:00

Last night my wife asked if I was going to bake something. Knowing that she would be having tea later on decided to make some scones. After all she is British*
*well, kind of. She did live in England in her teen years. And she does watch
BBC (America). And then there's the Hugh Laurie thing......
Anyway, back in the kitchen. I found a helpful site full of Scones,

http://www.joyofbaking.com/SconesIntroduction.html and choosing a chocolate chip recipe went to work.

What a Pain

2008-01-06T13:35:00.000-05:00

My wife thinks that every gadget that dave's Beer writes about, I would like. Well she's right.
I already have a smoker, a noodle maker, digital thermometer. For Christmas she gave me a French Bread pan. Yesterday, I made Crusty French Bread.

I need to work on shaping the loaf better. But it was good. Only one loaf is left as of this writing.

By the way, I have a Weber Kettle Grill on my wish list.

We're going to be rich !!!

2008-01-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

80 percent of my life I have lived north of the Mason-Dixon line. But since I was born in North Carolina - I am Southern.....y'all.

A tradition I was raised with is Black-eyed-peas on New Years and it'll be a prosperous year. As a kid I would eat the required amount.
But now I really like them.
This year is no exception. I even add a few other New Year staples: Pork, Collard Greens, Sauerkraut. Throw in some cornbread, rice, stewed tomatoes, hot pepper and onions and you have a feast.

Today my wife Betty's Blog and I visited Clear Creek Metro Park
She wanted to join a 3 mile rugged hike. I took my own 1 mile - "rugged enough for me" hike. You can read about her hike on her blog. Here's pictures from mine.

Here comes the snow and wind.

Fruitcake

2007-12-30T21:01:00.001-05:00

Fruitcake
Originally uploaded by rayb777

Generally I don't like fruitcake. That's because I don't like raisins.
The only time I like old grapes is when they're in a bottle.

Pitch the raisins and I do like fruitcake.

As the holidays wind down I decided to bake one today.
Using a tub of fruitcake fruits, a sampler bottle of Tortuga Rum from our Caribbean cruise last February, and the last of my Georgia pecans from a trip last summer, I put together a Fruitcake like I like.

All that's left is my New Years Black-eyed peas. Stay tuned.

Gingerbread Bears

2007-12-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

I started a new Christmas tradition tonight. It's gingerbread bears.
My granddaughter who turns a year old in a couple of weeks is coming to celebrate Christmas with us tomorrow.
When Brookie gets older she can help me decorate.

We have another holiday tradition to look forward to.
My wife and I just saw the Nutcracker for the first time.

picktownlights

2007-12-16T20:16:00.000-05:00

Tonight we loaded up the Jeep and headed east to Pickerington. There's a street that gets together and decorates, synchronizing to music.

Of course there's gotta be a "go bucks" somewhere along the line.

Pictures are a little blurry - it was kind of dark.

http://www.picktownlights.com/index.htm

Reflecting on my city

2007-11-26T18:45:00.001-05:00

Columbus Ohio
Originally uploaded by rayb777

It's always neat when a picture turns out better than you thought it would.
Yesterday we visited the North Bank Park. Part of the Columbus Recreation and Parks, it's a fairly new park along the banks of the Scioto River.

Where's Lucy?

2007-11-16T18:34:00.001-05:00

Lucy
Originally uploaded by rayb777

Thanks to Waldo.
Lucy loves when the leaves are raked up.

Halloween

2007-11-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

Lucy was so excited about her Underdog costume.

Sunday Drive

2007-10-21T22:55:00.000-04:00

And walk.

The average first freeze in Central Ohio is October 18.
We almost hit 80 today - perfect to see if any trees decided to put on their halloween costumes this year.
We've been talking about driving to Newark and visiting the Dawes Arboretum following it up by some Fried Chicken at Clark's.

http://www.dawesarb.org/

Then off for some wonderful fried chicken

www.clarksdiningroom.com

food

2007-10-07T22:53:00.001-04:00

When it's dinner time....

Someone is always waiting

You can imagine when we bring out the beef

Someone is always waiting

please ????

Equal Time

2007-10-03T20:45:00.000-04:00

No costume needed for this Beagle.

Katy

NEVER FEAR

2007-09-29T21:58:00.000-04:00

Underdog is Here.

When your pup looks like a movie star - you gotta go with it. While Lucy doesn't have a nose for crime she can sniff out any bunny, squirrel or pedestrian that moves within 500 feet of our house.

Golf with a dinosaur

2007-09-06T20:33:00.000-04:00

I took my son Kyle golfing this afternoon. We played a course in Heath Ohio called Burning Tree. While there was no flaming foliage they do have one claim to fame. While building the course they found the remains of a mastodon.

Click on picture for info

Here's the lake where it was found.

Kyle tried to find another dinosaur. All he came up with was a Titleist and a Top-flite.

Down by the old Mill

2007-08-30T22:42:00.000-04:00

Clifton Mill

Click on picture to visit the website

One of the largest water powered grist mills still in existence.

It's thumbs-up at RoadFood

take a look at those biscuits

Tandoori

2007-08-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

Betty's Blog and I love Indian food - especially Taj Palace

rayb's kitchen

Today I did the Indian cooking.

Tandoori Chicken
I ground several Indian spices - cardomom, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, coriander - mixed with lemon, ginger and plain yogurt. Oh yeah don't forget the red food coloring.
Let this sit overnight in the refrigerator. If you want it for breakfast go ahead and cook it now, otherwise let it sit longer. When you're ready, bake this for about half hour until done. Probably would have been better on the grill if I had gas.

Bindi Masala
Saute a little bit of that spice from the chicken (minus the yogurt), along with onion, green pepper and ginger. I chopped up several tomatoes from the garden. Add this along with a box of frozen okra (sorry but I'm southern) and a couple of hot peppers.

Andrea and Bobby

2007-08-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

Andrea and Bobby are the leaders of an amputee support group in Central Ohio (http://www.sealohio.com/index.html) .
We attended their wedding today.
Congratulations and best wishes.

Pet P

2007-07-25T21:52:00.000-04:00

Where do you think you are going?

Have they taken turn signaling out of Driver's Ed? It sure happens a lot. Are people lazy? or inconsiderate?
The only valid reason I can see to not signal is to help on the gas mileage. I believe the turn signal is responsible for at least .025 mpg. Knock out one headlight and you might save yourself a good fifty cents a year on fuel.

Pet P

2007-07-24T22:38:00.000-04:00

Just like everyone else I have pet peeves. What better place to share them. Short and sweet I'll add to the list from time to time

Bless me father for I have sneezed

Whats the deal with sneezing? Why does someone have to say "bless you" when I sneeze. Aren't there more important things that need a blessing?
And why should I be obligated to bless you? I'm not even sure that I have been authorized to bless. Is that Old or New Testament?
OK - I'm sorry you sneezed and I hope you're all right - you can even take one of my tissues.

Gotta Go

2007-07-21T14:07:00.000-04:00

Whew. It's over.
It's something I've been dreading for some time. My first Colonoscopy.

My previous post showed the warm up - self injected heparin shots to fill in for my blood thinners.
Thursday started out as a drinking contest: water, gatorade, jello etc. Guess what happens when you mix that with sodium phosphate (OsmoPrep).
OK - it wasn't that bad - (no emergencies or cleanups)

Friday - A dozen more salt pills and I'm good to go.

It's a long time until 11:15 - my scheduled time. It's an even longer time till 2:15 - my unscheduled time.
After that, everything was erased by drugs.

The good news - my colon is healthy. Now I can recommend this procedure to everyone.

Just three more days of Lovenox shots :<

Self inflicted

2007-07-18T23:08:00.000-04:00

This will make a good start to my blogging.
I'm having a fun week. As part of that aging process there's certain "procedures" we get signed up for.
I had to stop taking my Coumadin this week. To prevent a blood clot I must give myself 2 shots of Lovenox every day.
Stay tuned. Later this week I'll let you know about Osmo-Prep :{

the girls

2007-04-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

katy and lucy