Monthly Archives: November 2023

Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 04, 2023 by Henry
Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Craftsman Lawn Tractor

Tsai-Hong’s friend Tina had this Craftsman lawn tractor and wasn’t using it any more. She asked if Dorothy and her friends could use it and they happily accepted it from Tina. Cathy and I picked it up a week or two ago, managing to get it into the back of our van by taking the mowing deck and the rear wheels off. It was about 1.5 inches too tall to fit into the van. At first I tried letting air out of the tires but they were too stiff for that to help much. It turned out they were easily removed, however, and we were able to get it in. Getting it back out was basically the process in reverse. We got it out of the van and put the wheels back on, followed by the mowing deck. This will be a huge help in keeping the orchard clear as things start to grow again in the spring.

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Netherlandish Proverbs

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 09, 2023 by Henry
Netherlandish Proverbs

Netherlandish Proverbs

We finished another puzzle. This one is of a 1559 oil painting by the Pieter Bruegel the Elder titled “Netherlandish Proverbs”. It depicts a scene in which humans and, to a lesser extent, animals and objects, offer literal illustrations of Dutch-language proverbs and idioms. We have no idea what most of them mean. This puzzle was surprisingly hard. At one point we realized we had an entire bock two pieces to the left of where they needed to go. We had a few other incidents where we finally figured out a piece was in the wrong place and that was holding us up. Nevertheless, we finally got it done.

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Croyden Creek Walk

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 12, 2023 by Henry
Croyden Creek Walk

Croyden Creek Walk

After church and a visit with Margaret, we took a walk from the Croyden Creek Nature Center. We headed down to the creak and went downstream towards where Croyden Creek joins Rock Creek, just above where Baltimore Avenue crosses Rock Creek. Then we turned uphill to the north and followed a trail that loops around close to Norbeck Road and came back to the old cut for Avery Road, when is used to go through this way. We continued upstream from there past a small pond and returned by way of the civic center fields. It was a very pleasant walk. Most of the leaves were down, especially on the tulip poplars, which are the dominant tree in these woods. But there was enough color that it was still quite pretty.

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Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 16, 2023 by Henry
Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Sean, Abba, Cathy, and Hannah

Two of Cathy’s nieces, Abba and Hannah, and Hannah’s boyfriend Sean came for a visit. We picked them up at the airport and as usual, I took a few pictures while we were there. Abba had planned to come when her dad came back in September but at the last minute had to cancel. At the time she said she’d do her best to come, and here she is, with Hannah and Sean thrown in for good measure. This was the first time we’d met Sean but he fit right in and we had a really good time with them all.

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Dinner with Grandma

Photograph taken on Friday, November 17, 2023 by Henry
Dinner with Grandma

Dinner with Grandma

Last night Abba, Hannah, and Sean arrived from Chicago. Abba, Sean, and I had to work today. Cathy normally has Friday’s off but she had to work some, as well. Dorothy was here, though, and she hung out with Hannah and the rest of us were here, working on our various laptops. I had cooked shrimp, salmon, broccoli, and rice for dinner and it all turned out pretty well. The shrimp were a little spicy, cooked briefly in a little hot oil infused with chili peppers. We went out into the living room and Margaret sang to the cockatiels a little. We left with promises to return tomorrow.

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Visiting Grandma

Photograph taken on Saturday, November 18, 2023 by Henry
Visiting Grandma

Visiting Grandma

As mentioned in the last two posts, Abba, Hannah, and Sean are visiting from Illinois and Dorothy has come down from Pennsylvania. We had a nice dinner last evening with their grandma and we went back to see her this morning. We went outside for a bit and I took a group picture with the camera on a tripod so I could be in it. Then Abba pushed her grandma around outside but we didn’t stay out too long because it was a bit windy and chilly.

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Abba and Hannah

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 19, 2023 by Henry
Abba and Hannah

Abba and Hannah

Abba, Hannah, and Sean’s visit ended today. I’m taking directory photos at church so I had to be there but the rest all went to see grandma again. She seemed a little confused but enjoyed having them there. They sang to the birds again. They got home about the same time I did. Before we took them to the airport I took a few pictures and this is my favorite, of the two sisters. With Abba not in the Chicago area, they get to see each other more often but we don’t get to see Abba as much as we did when she was in New England.

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Thanksgiving

Photograph taken on Thursday, November 23, 2023 by Henry
Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Iris and Seth hosted our family Thanksgiving feast this year and it was quite a feast. While I confess to being indifferent to turkey and while most of the sides are high in carbs, taking them off my regular diet, it is still a meal I enjoy. That’s more for the family I’m blessed to have than for the food itself. With three little kids in the house, it’s not necessarily a time for quiet chats but it’s still good to get together as a family. We missed having George and Carmela here, but they plan to come down for Christmas.

I made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with oranges and marshmallows, and a fruit salad. Tsai-Hong also brought various fruits and amazingly, with my five fruits and her four, there were no duplicates. After the turkey came out of the oven and I could get some of drippings from that I made the giblet gravy, as well. The turkey was quite large and of course there was more than enough for everyone with leftovers to take home with us. There was dressing with chestnuts, peas, salad, bread, broccoli, and two types of cranberry sauce. Mom brought cake and Steve made both pecan and apple pies and of course there was ice cream. Trader Joe’s had a sparkling, rosé tea that Iris bought, which was really nice (but sadly appears to have been a one time thing).

It took two pictures to get everyone in.

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Cathy

Photograph taken on Friday, November 24, 2023 by Henry
Cathy

Cathy

Cathy and I took the day off work today, as many people do the day after Thanksgiving. It was a pleasant, overcast day and we drove out to the Rachel Carson Wildlife Management Area on Zion Road in Brookeville for a walk. The trail we took starts along a field scattered with American persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana). Then we headed down into the woods where we heard but never saw a barred owl (Strix varia). Eventually we reached the Hawlings River, which is nice as it tumbles over rocks. As we ascended from the river on the Greenway Trail we came upon a large outcropping of boulders which appear to be mostly quartz. This is one of a series of photos I took of Cathy on those rocks.

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Cathy and Henry

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 26, 2023 by Henry
Cathy and Henry

Cathy and Henry

A few weeks ago I agreed to take portraits of folks at church for a new photo directory. It’s been quite a while since we had one and there have been significant changes since then, including pictures with children who are now young adults. Each Sunday I set up a mini-studio in one of the offices and took three to five photos of each family, couple, or individual (generally more for the larger families since it’s more likely that there will be closed eyes the more people there are). I had Tammy press the shutter release for me to get our photos and I think they turned out pretty well. So, here we are.

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Spice Puzzle

Photograph taken on Monday, November 27, 2023 by Henry
Spice Puzzle

Spice Puzzle

We finished another puzzle last night so I took pictures of it this morning. This is one that I got Cathy for her birthday. We’ll take a short break from puzzles because we need the puzzle table on Christmas and can use it for wrapping presents leading up to that. We’ll take it with us when we visit Cathy’s mom on Christmas morning and then have it available if we need more table space when my family comes in the afternoon. This wasn’t a particularly difficult puzzle, but we enjoyed it. We like the bright colors. As for what’s next, who knows?

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