Boy or girl?

Samantha and Brandon want to do this "baby thing" the old fashioned way and be surprised by boy or girl at the birth. There have been several ultrasounds and they have closed their eyes or turned their heads. By my observations, the odds of "Bean" being a male child are great in the Dieterich family, but Mimi would really like to know. Have you shopped lately for baby items that aren't blue or pink? There isn't much to choose from.

Guess I will just have to settle for yellow or green and continue to wait..... :)

The Maze

Greg umpired softball Saturday night so I went with Brenda, pesky brother-in-law Tim, and their family to West, Texas to visit the Kaska Family farm. They have cut a maze through six acres of corn, most of it over six feet tall. There is a regular maze and a haunted one. We got there just as it was getting dark. We had a lot of fun acting silly and scaring each other.

Maria/Lucas and Katie/Ryan about to go into the maze. I wanted to get one last shot in case they didn't find their way out..... :)

Ryan and Katie leading the way.

Pesky brother-in-law Tim and his twin brother, Tony. For real.....they are twins, identical....and eternally kids during October......and they are pretty scary WITHOUT their masks!!

Tim, Maria, and Lucas on the hayride.

Katie and Ryan on the hayride.

A fun time was had by all!!!

Photography Class Week 3

Since I got sent out of the grocery store while trying to complete my assignment for class, I had to rethink what I was going to do, which was take a picture of something hot. I gathered up the small limbs from the tree cutting in the front yard, intending to make a fire for my shot. But the wind didn't cooperate and we are dry here with a burn ban. Next idea was the gas stove. So Sunday evening I got the tripod and went to work. We are to use only manual settings on our cameras, not automatic stuff. So needless to say, I took a lot of pictures. This is the one I took to class tonight. I was trying to be artsy again. The teacher seemed pleased with the shot, I wished I had cleaned my stovetop!!!!

It finally rained a bit today and when we got to class, they were all outside taking pictures of the rain running off the building. We were to try to stop the action of the water. This is the best I could do but it is pretty cool that you can see the water droplets and the stream of water.
Our assignment for next week is take several shots with different apertures and shutter speeds.

Thursday, part 3

First floor of the courthouse.

My office. This seal is done by folks in the penitentiary.

I was trying to be artsy with this one, on the way up the stairs to my office.

Thursday, part 2

New Chamber of Commerce building

Old Raleigh Hotel, now being remodeled for office space and restaurants

McLennan County Courthouse

The King of Hearts, just saw him peeping at me through the window of a flower shop

A local student's depiction of downtown

Thursday Morning, part 1

We were out of the house at 6 AM yesterday morning to drop off the motorcycle for a new tire, then back home to pick up the truck, then off to work. On my way, I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks, which has newly opened a kiosk in the Hilton. It was not quite 7 AM when I came out, camera around my neck, and saw the sun starting to rise. It was a beautiful morning and I decided to make the most of it taking pictures.

This is the best shot of the Suspension Bridge. I was experimenting and changing settings all around.

This is the bridge that drew me to the river in the first place, an old railroad bridge.

I was clicking away. Got in the car and began to drive to the office. I continued to stop along the way to take pictures.

Finally reached my destination, the Federal Courthouse. Home sweet, home. It wasn't so bad to get up early if you get to take pictures....... :)

After the Starbucks mocha latte on an empty stomach, and a couple more cups of coffee once I got to work, I was pretty wired. I was jittery until well after lunch.....

Roses

Just so the grocery store manager wouldn't think there were any hard feelings, I forced myself to buy a dozen roses before I left....and three Honeycrisp apples. I love fresh cut flowers in the house and treat myself occasionally.....it is one of my few splurges in life and I figure I deserve them.....

It was hard to make a choice but these were large, firm buds, with an unusual color......

My first impulse is to try to smell them but we watched a documentary about roses and the fact that they genetically altered the smell OUT of them on purpose but that so many people had missed the "rose" smell that they were working to put it back in. These didn't really have a smell.....such a shame for such a pretty flower.

My Photography assigment for Monday: HOT

Who was to know that the manager at the grocery store would get twisted up because I took my camera in to get some pictures of jalapenos, tabasco, and picante sauce??? This was the only shot I got off before he caught up with me......

Look who I found downtown this morning!!!

Local Stuff

I stopped last Friday morning at an HEB in Waco to pick up some things. Then I headed to work. I had to pass Floyd Casey Stadium on the way and I just happened to have my camera. I stopped the car and took this picture. ....Then I turned and took this one. This is where the beer is had on game day, not on the premises of Baylor Stadium.....

Then I drove off and saw this shot, so stopped, walked through the mud from the sprinkler system, and got this shot of the stadium. We really are quite lucky to live in a college town....

and it is a great place to go to school!!! Sic 'em, Bears!!!

Saturday

Our Saturday started with a borrowed chain saw and finally getting rid of the dead tree in the front yard. Yahoo!! We decided we would ride the motorcycle to the Robinson football game that was to be played in Saginaw (Ft. Worth) Saturday evening at 6. We left early enough to possibly eat out or just see some things in the area. We went straight to the stadium to make sure we knew where it was and then were going to go see what was in the area. When we were driving slowly in the parking lot of the stadium, we heard a funny noise and Greg had me get off the bike and look at it. Needless to say, a big knot on the tire the size of approximately a tennis ball was NOT what I wanted to see. There were other small knots on it as well. It was very scary thinking that we had been driving interstate speeds to our destination. Greg decided that he would leave after watching the band at halftime and see how far he could get, leaving me to find a ride with someone heading back to Robinson, which I did. Thank goodness he made it back home safe and sound. And we are taking the bike tomorrow to get a new tire to replace the one that is on it. Not a good thing to have a tire that does that on a trip!!!

Football team roster.....

Morgan and friend.....

Waiting for the team.....

Go Rockets!!!

Robinson won so it was a good game.

Sweet Baby Jonathan

Percy Medicine

The camera is with me nearly all the time now so I am always looking for photo ops. This building is a few blocks from my work in downtown. I have seen it all my life but hadn't researched it until tonight.

In 1898, young Albert Percy was traveling with his family from New York to his new home in Waco, Texas. Along the way, he developed an upset stomach. The family stopped in Kentucky where his father found a doctor who offered a liquid remedy. Soon, Baby Percy was feeling much better.

After arriving in Waco, Albert's father asked a pharmacist to prepare the Kentucky recipe to help the baby with another bout of stomach upset. The results were so good that druggist W. S. Merrick asked Albert's father to join him in producing Baby Percy Medicine. The company was officially born on January 1, 1904. It continues making the elixir to this day.

Percy Medicine (re-named in 1938) is the only product produced at the factory at 8th and Webster in Waco. It is mixed and bottled by hand and contains a secret formula of bismuth Subsalicylate, alcohol, calcium hydroxide, potassium carbonate as well as rhubarb extract, sugar, cinnamon and orange flavoring.

Apples

These are the best apples!! A friend from bunko first shared them with us last fall. I was hooked. I have been looking for them at the grocery store ever since. I am an apple snob. I want a firm, crispy apple, not one of those that looks good on the outside but has a mushy flesh on the inside....you apple eaters know what I am talking about. Found them at the store on Saturday. Was told they are only available in the fall, then that is it. They are called Honeycrisp. But be prepared......I paid over $7 for three apples......maybe it is a good thing that they are only available once a year!!!! But if you see them at your local grocery, give one a try!!

5th Grade Newsletter

"Someone" volunteered me to type/organize the 5th grade newsletter for Greg's cluster of teachers. The first one was needed the next day and was just the basics. I wasn't very pleased with it. Jeremy showed me a publishing program that would help me get the effect I was looking for. The second newsletter is ready to go to print tomorrow. Click on it and it will enlarge enough so that you can read it.

Photography Class

Me and the Princess from work are taking a photography class at the local community college on Monday nights for the next couple of months. The instructor is very experienced and knowledgeable. I think he might just be able to teach us how to take some nice pictures. Our assignment for next week is to go out and take pictures the way we usually take them, ie settings, etc., and bring to class ONE picture to discuss with the group. I had the camera with me on Monday morning since I would be attending class that night and it was a strange, low lying fog when the sun came up. I took several pictures and this is the one that I like the best. But I don't think it will be the one that I take to class....

Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Not sure about this look. I think I know where Jonathan got his wrinkled brow.....
Happy 31st Birthday, dad-to-be!!

Have a great day!! We love you!!

Mom, Greg, and Morgan

Working Hard

Mr. Kelly, 5th grade teacher, getting caught up on his paper grading this weekend.....

Guess which apples in the bowl are real and which ones are Memorex...I mean, fake.......

Happy Birthday brother in law John!!

Please forgive me, John, for missing your birthday on the 6th. I have been remiss in looking at the family birthday list......hope you had a terrific day!!

The Gremlin Bell

Our motorcycle riding friends, Doris and Steve, gave us this bell one of the last times we were able to ride with the group. Legend has it that a small bell attached to your motorcycle, close to the ground, catches the evil Road Spirits. The Little Gremlins live on your motorcycle causing all kinds of mechanical problems. The cavity of the bell attracts these Evil Spirits but the constant ringing drives them insane and they lose their grip and fall to the ground (have you ever wondered where pot holes come from?)