PICTURES AND FOOD

Since we now have our 2012 CRAP t-shirts it is time for pictures.  We decided to take pictures after breakfast.  The agreed upon time was 1:00 p.m.  Everyone gathered in the back yard around the pool.  Numerous pictures were taken, and I am not going to post all of them.  However, below is a family picture, and one of me with Brian and Kevin that I think turned out really good.   

After the picture taking session it was time to get in the pool and cool off.  It sure was hot.  And, I’m sure you noticed that a lot of us had sunglasses on.  The afternoon was spent trying to stay cool.  We usually played games on Saturday afternoon – last year was Granny games – but this year it was pool time. 

 

We had our CRAPSTOCK (Idol) after supper.  That will be a separate blog with lots of pictures.

 

I want to say a great big thank you to Kevin and Renea for the use of their house and pool.  Also, for the food.  Before CRAP Renea had baked breads and muffins for Friday morning breakfast.  She fixed french toast casserole for Saturday breakfast.

 

A little more detail regarding the food follows.  Renea had to work Thursday so I fixed a pot of “Althoefer” bar-b-q with cole slaw.  Renea had fixed macaroni salad the day before to go with supper. 

 

Friday morning breakfast, as I mentioned, was the muffins and bread that Renea had baked.  For lunch was cheese, pepperoni, crackers, etc.  Supper was hamburgers and hot dogs fixed on the grill by Kevin along with all the fixins (potato salad, macaroni salad, beans, tomatoes, etc.).  Renea also baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies.

 

Saturday breakfast was the french toast casserole.  Late in the afternoon Renea fixed cheese and chocolate in fondue pots in which we dipped bread, fruit and veggies.  Supper was fix your own shish-ka-bobs which were grilled by Rick.  They included potatoes, onions, chicken, beef, peppers, mushrooms (all the goodies). 

 

Renea baked the CRAP cake for dessert.  She even used the ty-dye theme for the sixties.  Rita took a picture, and then the cake was eaten by all.  Sure was good.

Thank you Kevin and Renea for all your hard work.

CRAP FRIDAY

The first day of CRAP started out a little different than previous ones.  Bob left early because he had a tee time with several of the guys he works with at a Robert Trent Jones Course in Opelika, AL.  Shortly after he left Rita called the insurance company to find out what they should do about their broken windshield.  They approved the replacement and Kevin made an appointment with the place where he had his windshield and rear truck window replaced.  However, they had to have the car there before 11:00 a.m.  This put them on a tight schedule.  So……they borrowed my car.  Brian, Kevin and Rita took my car to the golf course for Bob to use when he finished playing golf.  (Nothing like replacing a Lexus with a Saturn, but it got him home)  They made the deadline and Ryan picked them up at the window shop.  They were told it would be finished by 5:00 p.m. that day – and it was.  Ryan took Bob to pick it up.

 

Due to all the changes in schedules, etc.  the First Annual Jim Aker Scavenger Hunt was scrapped.  However, everyone did spend a lot of time in the pool.

 

Bob didn’t get back to CRAP until about 3:00 p.m.  Meanwhile Stephanie arrived home from  her college orientation about 4:00 p.m.  During the afternoon we had our annual meeting.  Rita was re-elected President along with Kevin and Brian as her bodyguards.  Next year’s CRAP will be held on July 19^th and 20^th.  Same place.  The theme will be THE BEACH.  Kevin mentioned roasting a pig in a pit.

Next on the agenda was the distribution of awards.  Tracy was in charge (and received a little help from Bradley).  She made each one personal.  She did a fantastic job.  Everyone was excited about their awards.  Below is a copy of my award.  As you can see I received the Greenaker Award.  I think it had something to do with all my grass cutting, especially since there is a picture of a tractor.

We also received our 2012 CRAP t-shirts from Rita.  Since we had a 60’s theme the shirts were ty-dye shirts.  They are great.  Everyone liked them.  Thanks Tracy and Rita.  They have both been awarded the same jobs for next year J

We then had a supper of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixins. 

After supper we set up for our first CRAP JEOPARDY.  It was a hit!  Everyone had a great time.  There was the usual yelling, complaining, and all that good stuff.  The three team captains were Bob, Renea and Tracy.  Each captain had five members on their team.  We tried using party horns in place of the buzzers.  Didn’t work too well.  In fact, one package that Marilyn bought didn’t make any sound.  We probably should have given them to everyone.  Before Final Jeopardy, Team Tracy was in the lead, Team Renea was second, and Team Bob was third.  After Final Jeopardy the winners were Team Tracy by one point.  It has been suggested that we do this again next year.

Another Senior Moment

The previous blog should read THURSDAY - NOT WEDNESDAY.  Time just flies when you are having fun :)

WEDNESDAY - THE UNOFFICIAL START OF CRAP

Brian, Tracy and family arrived about 3:30 a.m.  Bradley’s girlfriend, Brianna, came with them.  Kevin got up to greet them.  The rest of us stayed in bed.  The only sound I heard was Tracy laughing.  They went to their camper and promptly went to bed to get a few hours sleep.

 

Jana and David were already here.  Renea had to work all day.  Stephanie left about 7:30 a. for CSU because she had two days of orientation.  She spent the night in the dorm.  Ryan stayed home and helped with some odds and ends.

 

I got up early and made a crockpot full of bar-b-q.  Then Kevin, Brian, Tracy and me headed into Phenix City.  First stop was the bank so we could get Brian on the business account and a check card.  I also had a deposit to make.  Next stop was Office Depot for Kevin.  Then it was on to WalMart.  Brian and Tracy had some shopping to do, and I picked up some slaw and dressing to go with our bar-b-q.  We arrived back at the house, and I made the slaw and had some lunch.  Brian and Tracy put away their groceries.  Steven came over to my place for his shower. 

 

Received a phone call from Rita and Bob who were on their way.  They were on I-85 and getting close.  They just weren’t sure where they were.  However, they found the Kroger store in Opelika and then headed for our place.  They arrived about 3:30 p.m.  Megan and Andrea, Robbie’s daughters, came with them.  Robbie got a new job and he and LeeAnn could not attend.  They drove Rita’s Lexus down from West Chester, and on the way something big hit their windshield.  It didn’t go thru completely, but it sure is bad.  Looks like if you touch it, the piece of glass with just pop right out.  They plan to see if they can get it fixed while they are here. 

 

Oh yea, we stopped for ice on the way back from WalMart.  After Rita, Bob and the girls arrived Kevin sent Ryan on another ice run.  I think we will go thru a lot of ice this weekend.  It sure is HOT!!!!!

 

Meanwhile, everyone put on their bathing suits and took a swim to cool off, except Jana, David and me.  We watched.  Kevin also figured out how to get around the beer drinking situation since there was no Miller Lite in the 60’s.  He decided that in order to keep the 60’s theme everyone should just drink 60 beers.  Renea arrived home and we had supper.  It sure was good.  We had the bar-b-q, cole slaw, macaroni salad that Renea had made, and peanut butter brownies for dessert.  Then it was back in the pool and a few more drinks. 

 

The “kids” did a little of everything.  They went swimming, tossed ball, jumped on the trampoline, watched television and played video games.  Nothing was planned so it was just a get reacquainted time tonight.

 

Rita came over to my house to check out my plants.  She had only seen pictures of what I had done so far.  She gave me a few tips.  We also sat on the deck and watched the birds fly around.  Bob came over and joined us.  Besides we had a lot to get caught up on.  We hadn’t had a chance to just chat for quite a while. 

 

Everyone was tired from travelling and lack of sleep, so it was a fairly early evening.  Tomorrow is another day. 

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Not only did I cut some of the grass with the “hand” mower, I also cut the back grass with the old red riding mower.  That was the week before last.  However, last week Kevin received the parts for the good riding mower, he fixed it, and I cut all the front grass with the repaired mower. 

Kevin used the power washer on my deck last Saturday, then Anthony applied the waterproof stain.  It sure looks good.  I did move the rhododendron off the deck, and put it in one corner of the “rock” garden.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  First of all, the pot has a hole in the bottom for the water to drain.  I had put the pot on a tray with wheels, but the water even overflowed that.  It made a mark on my deck that we couldn’t get completely off.  Also, a rhododendron is only supposed to have the morning sun.  (Did you know that a rhododendron is in the azalea family?)  Anyway, I found a corner where this happens.  It looks good there.

A lot of grass had grown up in the rock garden even though I put down that black stuff.  So, I sprayed it very carefully with roundup.  The grass has died and now I am in the process of pulling the dead grass.  It’s looking better.  I still have a lot of dead grass pulling to do.

My petunias had become very sad looking.  The flowering stems had gotten really long and I didn’t like the way it looked.  I did some research and found that I could cut them back.  So I did, and hoped that I didn’t kill the plants.  Now they are coming back bushier and started to flower again.  Success.

Jana and David arrived last Monday.  It sure was good to see them.  They will be here for a month.  CRAP is next weekend, and Jana has been helping me with two of the games.  We are ready!  We’ve been shopping.  Of course, one of the first stops we made was Books-A-Million.  We also ordered a few from Amazon.  Like we need more books J

I bought a few new flowers when we were shopping on Friday.  I bought a couple of sunflowers.  I still don’t know where to plant them.  They do grow to be 10 feet tall.  I’ll find some place.  I also bought two hibiscus plants.

Tomorrow I am going to buy two big round pots to put them in and then place them in front between the azalea bushes.  I wanted to add some color to that area since my encore azaleas haven’t started their second blooming yet.  I thought they would by now.  We’ll see.  The bushes are nice and green and healthy looking.  My hydrangeas are looking good also.  I only have one bloom on one of them.  They haven’t grown a lot, but they do look healthy.  Next year will probably be better.  All four lantanas are looking healthy also.  I thought they would be bigger than they are.  But the butterflies are still coming to them.  Yes, that is a butterfly on the lantana.

I have a lot of birds, and I put two hummingbird feeders in the trees, but I haven’t seen any yet.  I’ll keep watching.  I do have a lot of cardinals and finches.  I even have a canary.  Bluebirds and purple martins are also plentiful.  It’s fun watching them. 

It’s Sunday afternoon and David is taking a nap, Jana is watching the race, and I’m doing laundry.  A nice quiet day.

We Are In Business

BKM Wood Products LLC is now in business.  Kevin made a few birdfeeders, an outhouse toilet paper holder and a planter box for us to sell at the Ladonia Flea Market during the World’s Widest Yard Sale.  Brian decided to come to Alabama to help at the Flea Market.  It was held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Renea and I worked the booth on Thursday, then Brian, Renea and I worked on Friday, and Kevin, Brian and I worked on Saturday.  We sold out of birdfeeders on Thursday and Friday.  Friday night Brian and Kevin made another dozen of the birdfeeders and we sold all but three of them.  We also sold the outhouse toilet paper holder.  We did really well for our first outing. 

I had bought us each two polo shirts (one blue and one green) which Renea took to the embroidery shop and had our company name and our names put on the shirts.  They looked great.

By Saturday night I was asleep in my chair after supper, woke up about 9:15 and went to bed.  Slept until morning when I got up to say goodbye to Brian and Samantha, then went back to bed.  I took it easy all day – took three naps and was in bed early.  Three days just wore me out!

Still haven’t cut the grass.  Kevin had to order the parts and we are still waiting for them.  I did get a little grass cut this morning with the “hand” mower and I did some weeding.  Have a lot more to do.  Would have continued, but it started thundering.  It’s trying to rain.  Not getting much more than a few drops.

Yesterday I cleaned my house, and finished up some odds and ends for the business.  Kevin spent the morning moving campers.  He put his back over by his house.  Brian’s is parked on the side of my house where Kevin’s camper was parked.  Jana’s camper is parked on the camping spot.  Brian brought her camper with him when he came down this weekend.  Jana and David will arrive next Monday and plan to stay for about a month.  It will be good to see them. 

We are now getting ready for CRAP.  I have most of my projects finished.  Just a little bit of tweeking here and there. 

My deck needs to be waterproofed/stained again.  We are hoping to get that done this weekend.  We plan to pressure wash it on Thursday then put the waterproof stain on it Saturday.  At least get started.  Renea said she will do the stain for me.  There is also one edge board that needs to be put on, and Kevin hopes to get that done after the staining is complete.

Cleopatra and her kittens have been taken to the shelter.  The kittens turned six weeks old today, and we decided we needed to get them out of the shed.  Besides, it is getting extremely hot here and we were worried about them being inside.  Since we couldn’t find anyone who wanted them we decided it was best to take them to the shelter.  I decided not to take one because I just didn’t think it would be fair to the kitten, and I am just not ready for the responsibility.  I have several trips planned to Ohio and I can’t take a kitten with me.  It would be left alone in the house while I am gone.  I know Kevin, Renea and Stephanie would have fed it, but they have enough to do with working and their dogs.  It was sad to see them leave.  I even felt a little guilty, especially since we took care of them since they were born.