Kennisons' Meeting Place

Happy New Year to all. I hope that this new year brings everyone good luck and good times.

Brian sent us a link to this site last year, so when I saw preview of the Best of 2008 was posted I took a look. You can go to this link to see some amazing shots http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/the_year_2008_in_photographs_p.html . If I was as savy as Brian this link could have been just described as "here". Very good brother.

We went to town on Saturday and it was fun but the pictures didn't turn out so well. I took 55 pictures and I don't think any of them are any good. See for yourself here . Below is the best of my short videos. Oh well, maybe next year!

We have enjoyed more fall color around the city this year than anytime I can remember. The best show has been in our woods from the Japanese Maples we have planted over the last ten years. This show has been developing over the last five weeks and looks like it will continue until the end of the year. I have posted a collection from around the yard on my web albums.

This is such a great picture. Kevin, I am posting it in case people don't have the time to look through all of your pictures.

I am devoted bargin hunter, so I have looking at Black Friday Ad previews on the net for two weeks. Among other things of interest, I saw this 10' plastic kayak offered for $200.00. My first foray on Friday, however, was a different mission. I saw a good Toshiba notebook for $300.00 at Frys Electronics. They were to open at 5:00 AM and knew that people would be waiting outside for several hours, but I mentioned to Greg that I might try to get him one. His computer died (fried) in the recent lightning strike. I got up at about 5:30 and drove up to Frys at about 6:00 AM. I knew it was a zoo when I had to wait to get off the service road and into the parking lot. I entered their property and fortunately found the very first parking spot just vacated. I used this spot to turn around and escape the mayhem. As I drove around the store on the back roads I was amazed to see the cars parked parked in adjacent office park lots and people already wheeling the big screens TVs out to these remo...

On the last five Thanksgiving mornings, we have gone into South Dallas to catch the Transit Train into downtown for the big YMCA Turkey Trot. It seems that Sam and Miles said, "Not this year", so the girls came up with our own "Twin Trot". Kathy and Cait drove down to Jess' house and I rode my bike so Grant and I could do the race on wheels. When the "race" came to Kristin's she had pumpkin oatmeal panckakes for everyone. Eveyone gathered at our house in the evening for our annual Pickles and Pies. Kathy and Cait laid out about 50 dishes of finger foods. As always the large variety of olives and cheese is a favorite. Cait even did fried pickles! After the Cowboys game we started to watch WALL-E. Grant and I wanted to finish, but all of the others were ready for bed. We'll have to circulate the DVD through the neighborhood. Happy Thanksgiving.

Megan and Jason have recently begun to announce the anticipated birth of their new baby. The baby is due on May 27. Megan will have a c-section so she is thinking that she will deliver a few days before that date. She is feeling well, a bit tired. Megan, Landon, and Jason are going to Disney World for Thanksgiving. Megan is disappointed that it won't be pool weather but I think they are going to have a wonderful time! We'll all be looking forward to that update! We will be eating dinner on Thanksgiving Day in Hopewell Township with Bill's family. Hope that all of you enjoy a wonderful holiday.

Kathy's middle daughter Kristin delivered beautiful twin boys this past Sunday evening. Her water broke at home at about 9:45 in the evening. She called her Doc and then her mom. Kathy ran out the door in one minute and she and Todd had Kristin to the hospital in what seemed to be only 15 minutes. The babies were 6 weeks short of full term. Miles was 5-3 and Sam was 4-9. They will spend a few days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Center to gain a bit of weight and practice the sucking. Congratulations to Kris and Todd. We can't wait to see them home. I added a small set of photos to Kevin's Photos on the sidebar here.

Kristin called this evening and my oven timer went off while we were on the phone. I described this dish and she asked for the recipe. My neighbor Bill came over to the driveway to visit a bit last week. When he left he explained he was going to cook his favorite dish from his summertime home in Rome. It sounded so good I tried it that evening (and twice again). It's so simple it hardly deserves this explanation, but here goes. QUARTER 1 1/2 LBS. NEW POTATOS SPREAD THEM ON A NO STICK PAN WITH SLICED RED BELL PEPPER AND RED ONION COAT LIGHTLY WITH OLIVE OIL SALT AND PEPPER GENEROUSLY COVER WITH FOIL AND BAKE FOR 90 MINUTES AT 350 REMOVE THE FOIL AND BAKE FOR ANOTHER 15 TO 20 MINUTES OR BROIL FOR 5 TO 7 MINUTES TO CRISP THE POTATOS

Jessica and Kristin organized a pre-Trick or Treat party at our house last night. The girls brought chili, cornbread, and cookies. Kristin brought apples as well along with sticks, melted caramel and a bunch of treats to roll the carmel apples in. The Goodyear children were all such cute dinosaurs and Jess and Jack were the perfect palentologist couple. Todd hand painted the skeletons on their tee shirts. How about the new twins?!! They are due any day now. Laney was a reluctant goldfish to begin but she soon got into it. Kathy was a bit hit in her grape costume. Stephanie and Donny came over with Will / Batman after Will had a big evening at St. John's Fall Festival. He had a big haul on the candy and was prepared to make it disappear in one night. You can see a few more shots in "Kevin's Picture" at the link on the left side of the blog. Happy Halloween!

It was a really nice weekend and we were working in the yard (but not too hard) planting bulbs and I took a little movie that I thought I'd share. P.S. Kevin, I hope you're healing!!!!

Well, I have been having so much fun this past year on my mountain bike and my road bike. I gave up on the small undeveloped wooded city park near our home because the trails were always too rutted and possibly dangerous. A group of riders has spent hundreds of hours this summer expanding and improving the trails at Legacy Park in North Arlington. I have ridden this 4.7 mile loop dozens of times by myself without incident. I took Steve out today to show him the loop and because he was behind, I set a new personal best on the first lap. Then Steve led the second run. I called ahead to him to go the fourth bank drop at the back of the park by the river. The boys have created four levels of drops, from a little 5' sloping runout to the third that is about 10' down and you get a little bit of air on the the way out. We dropped into the fourth bowl and I quickly found that it was a double ramp. I skirted the second jump on my first attempt. Twenty five minutes later we ca...

He's trying to convince union members to vote for Barack. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95591135 Gina, I googled his name and stumbled on some photos of the Cumberland Township class of 1962 thatI though you would find interesting. http://www.geocities.com/buckeyepa/cths1962.html Jeff

I thought that some of you would like to see this. Bob is streaming his new 2 disc CD on NPR. Here is the link. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95099973 Enjoy. Kristin

This link will give a new interpretation to the ballet. http://www.sonnyradio.com/swanlake_0001.swf

Gina has had her operation and is at home. Things went very well. She has therapy starting tomorrow. She is using crutches, but is permitted to put weight on her foot. I hope that her recovery goes well and quickly.

Well it's not like we've done anything but we've had an OK summer so far. Went to the beach at Watch Hill, went to visit Corby's Dad in KY and we went on a sail around the harbor at New Haven. I've been really lazy as far as projects go. Wanted to put in a new patio but while I think I now know how to do it, I haven't dug the first shovel of dirt. Here are some pictures Watch Hill Buckhorn New Haven Harborl Saw Carey this week. He was had business in Hartford. Fun but don't have good picutures.

We're havin' a heat wave - - - a tropical heat wave. 7/27 102, 7/28 103, 7/29 98, 7/30 99, 7/31 101, 8/1 100, 8/2 102, 8/3 104, 8/4 101 This is not so bad. If you have $200.00 a month for water and $400 a month for A/C it's just like any other time. Kathy and I went to a nearby lake on Sunday where you can carry an ice chest on the boat and get out and swim, in contrast to the many proscriptions on Lake Arlington. We were out for about 4 hours and had a lovely day. I stopped for lunch this afternoon at about 1:30 and sought out my regular server to ask if I could sit on the patio as usual. He was accomodating but did mention that I was the first today to choose the patio. This summer heat can't hold a blow torch to my second summer in Arlington, 1980. I was active in a tennis club all summer and the Saturday tournaments were a treat, going 4, 5, or 6 hours. In Dallas/Fort Worth , Texas, high temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) a to...

I certainly hope that Brian has something to post when he gets back from KY. Hasn't anyone else something to post? How about you, Greg. I could post a picture of my patio, but you have all seen it. That is where I have been. Carey, what about something from you and Yo? Hope all is well with everyone.

You certainly are getting value out of your recorder. I loved the sparklers. As I said before, there is always something going on with your family. Busy, busy, busy.

Kevin, Those were the only fireworks that I got to see. Thanks for the display. I am sure that I was very impressive in person. There is always something going on with your family. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Just took a few pictures looking over the hill and thought I post them. It's short and ends abruptly ( what do you want, National Geographic?). Going camping tomorrow for two nights. It's raining now. It's supposed to rain for two days. Wish us well!

I talked with Ginny tonight. Tom took her to Pittsburgh today to see a surgeon at Prespyterian Hospital. The doctor was very frank about the surgery - regardless of any other health problems. It is a very serious operation with lots of implications. Ginny has decided not to have the surgery. She is just going to continue to do what she does every day. She calls about 10 people a day and she writes to about 12 people every week. I just sent her labels to put on her postcards for her weekly notes. She used the first ones today. She is just going to continue as she has. She still hasn't had a cigarette. She has finally quit smoking!!! Yeah!!

I just saw this today. It's called BigPicture . It's part of the Boston.com website which is the online version of the Boston Globe . We don't watch TV news (don't get me wrong, we watch plenty of TV, just not the news) so seeing these high resolution pictures helps me think about these events. Using the web also allows you to choose the big picture you want to see and how long you want to look at them. Anyway I thought I'd pass this along.

Carey came to Dallas last Sunday to meet a client. He came over to Arlington after work and he and I went right out to the lake. Carey dropped into the water and pulled on the slalom ski and just took right off for a couple of good runs. He looked like he does this every week, and not twice in the last 20 years. We sat out on the water for sunset and a visit. It was a very pretty evening. There are more photos on my albums attached here. Did you also realize that you can click on any photo posted here to view it in full size? We took the Collins clan to the lake for the first time a week ago. Will went out on the raft with his dad and immediately took a spill. They got back on had a good ride. Katie is an old pro on the raft. She tried out the new skis sized for her age and weight. You can see from her expression here that she was amazed that she just popped up and skiied on her very first try. We are looking forward to a great summer on the lake. We went out on Wednesday evening last ...

Thinking of Dad on Father's Day. Here's to all the Dads in the clan. Hope that you have a great day. Kevin

Kevin, How did you get the animation to fly across the screen? What was the song that was playing? You are so good with your video. Mother's Day seemed to be a great success. What fun. Tow Daddy was at it again!!

Hi to all, I got home last night from Ginny's. My computer would not boot and I was very worried about it. It is back up, so I will just let everyone know what is up with Ginny. She went into the hospital on Tuesday with bronchitis. That cleared up with medication. She has had an aneurism that they found 5 years ago and it has been monitored. It had doubled since her last picture of it. In trying to measure this aneurism, they found that she has another one - even bigger. She is not going to do anything about this situation at this time, but she is going to schedule a consultation with a surgeon in Pittsburgh where the surgery would take place (if it happens). That has not been scheduled yet. She came home on Saturday. I left on Monday. She is still Ginny. Her spirits are good. She is a realist. She has not smoked for 2 weeks. We will see how things go. Tom has lost his job. Things are tough.

Summer got to Connecticut over the Labor Day Weekend. One of things that is good about living up north are the summers. No real news just thought I'd post to try and do my part to keep this thing going. ;-)

My dogwoods are so full of blooms. They are terrific. Carey, your dogwood is probably also loaded. It is so much bigger than mine.

We have great news from Kistin and Todd Lewis. They are expecting twins, due this Thanksgiving! You can see the new addition to the family in the sonogram snap here. The "twinkies" are doing well and Kristin is ecstatic. We are planning a Mother's Day picnic at Feather Beach tomorrow afternoon. We'll launch the boat and light the grill, play games with the kids. I'm looking forward to a great summer on the lake. We now have tiny beginner skis, junior skis, a junior wakeboard, a kneeboard, as well as the big orange tube ... something for everyone. I describe my role as "Grandpa Towboat".

Greg is ready to retire his pretty 325i convertible. He found this really sharp 528i sedan that is 10 years newer. The 325 is going to offered for $3500 to some deserving home. I thought that I might simplify the parking situation in our drive and sell the Miata. However after spending about $1500.00 on engine repairs, new tires, and refurbished alloy wheels, it looks great and runs beter than ever. OK ... just one more year.

Well this is our grown up grandson, Drew. He's finishing his sophomore year and just turned 16. Drew is completing three AP courses and remains a kind big brother. I'm sure he's ready for summer, other than he has to find that first job. I wasn't invited to look for Drew's first car, but I couldn't seem to help myself. I drove by my favorite dealer week after week, but rarely sent a picture to Steph or Donny. Stephanie found a dealer that took delivery on a fleet of rental car return Toyota Corollas with low miles and a great price. The plan is to keep this car going through high school and college. Not to worry Megan and Landon or Jessica and Grant, but we seniors might be amazed at the insurance coverage for a 16 year old boy today. Can you come up with $325.00 per month?!!!

These two were in great form at the Derby Day party. The food was fantastic, as always. Corby certainly can plan a party!!! The friends who were at the reunion were also at the Derby party. It was a great time.

Just a quick post to a link that is very interesting if you have the time to explore and possibly discover a new favorite site. Let us know what you find. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12

They certainly have had a great 3 years and counting. Kevin, weren't you the one to post the New Zealand picture of the travelers??? They(she) certainly have a great get away planned. I hope that the weather cooperates.

We had a party at Stoney's last weekend to celebrate our old neighbor Mr. Leon's 93rd birthday. His niece and great-niece came down from New Jersey. Several of the old Stoney's regulars came, as well as a couple of longtime Mass. House residents. It really raised Mr. Leon's spirits, especially when Attila, the Hungarian bartender who was Mr. Leon's favorite, showed up.

Yo says Hi here is the horse

A lady never goes out without her hat. Derby is coming! Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittle...... Yo says hey from keeneland! A horse is a horse is a horse of course.....

Here are some pictures of my flowers. They are gone now, but they were great while they were here. Enjoy.

It's been exceptionally warm here in Connecticut. It's been in the high 70's all week (and I guess last week also). Our yard needs a lot of work (remember how I wanted to level that little bit of yard we have). Grass is a mess, but we still need a little. After you everyone left last August we had to replace the well pump ($4,000). This week the furnace went out ($3,500 to ?). Luckily it's not cold. I posted a few of the photos (and even some movies) of the Utah trip here . Have a good weekend!

We are so pleased to see the winter finally over. Kathy and I don't handle the cold very well. It takes fleece and down to get us through. This bed of "Crazy Daiseys" is truly an act of nature. Kathy planted these in another area across the driveway. They languished and finally were shaded out by the evergreen plantings above. Our neighbor planted some along the road next door and they came over to visit us. Welcome! We are finally makeing a big push to conquer the mass of wild vegetation behind the house. It has been a tangle of green briar, black berry vines and coral honeysuckle, with a good helping of poisen ivy. We have enlisted the help of of Javier, Angel, Junior and Omar, all related to our dear housekeeper, Veronica. They are pulling the vines and then covering the soil with layers of newspaper and 6" of bark mulch. Now on to the new landscaping. More crazy daiseys?

Kevin, I viewed the golf video and the music video. You guys certainly had fun in Texas. So what is new?? It is always fun in Texas.

I took this movie with my Casio camera. I've had this camera for several years but I've never tried to post a a video from it. The camera saves the movie in an AVI container with some funky format. I was able to load a Quicktime plugin Perian which lets me view it on my machine. Once I could see it I used the Quicktime Player and AppleScript to export the movie to MPEG-4. This works fine on my machine but I'm not sure about Windows. I don't have access to a Windows machine at the moment but I'll fix it if it doesn't show. I also screwed up my video editor (iMovie) so I can't edit the clip so it's coming to you raw! If you do see the image below, double click to see the movie. WIDTH="352"HEIGHT="288" CODEBASE="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab"> CONTROLLER="true" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/">

This is a view from  Promontory Point looking back at the Wasatch. So far not bad. Still cool here in Nothern Utah.

We are so happy that Carey has added Texas to his territory. He had to give up New York, but hey, look what he gets in exchange. We'll update you as the weekend progresses. Golf is planned for Saturday. We will just wing everything else. Wish us luck.

Amazing. The last to get a cell phone has done it!. Due to my friend Michele, I now have a pay as you go cell phone. It is at&t. If you have at&t for your cell provider, we can talk for free. If not, I pay using my prepaid account. I think that the iPhone people are at&t. I do not know about the rest of you. Let me know. Otherwise, only use this number for emergencies. Thanks. This is not an April Fool's day message. It is really true. 1-302-753-7032

Carey Michael commented on the 1960 Family Portrait I added to the blog last week. He wondered what happened to his kindergarden photo that mom had inserted into the frame of the larger group. Well I happen to have that shot as well. I also have the small collection of pins. medals, and awards that Eileen and Jack's outstanding progeny accumulated before leaving home. I have intended to bring them to one of the recent reunions and redistribute them to the appropriate owners, but forgot. I guess that you special people can claim them when you come to Arlington. Carey also asked about the big green Bonneville wagon. I think it may have been a 1960 model. I found this example on line. When I came home from the Army in 1970, I bought a 1967 BMW 1600 sedan. Within a few months we decided to become a two car family. I found a beautiful 1965 Mustang convertible for $1500.00. I think that dad had a little pang of ragtop envy. He and Mr. Gideon found a pristine 1967 Firebird Convertible, wi...

Kevin, Your video of the living room is fabulous. You still appreciate it even though you live there and see it every day. It is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

What a trip!!! Who are we watching in this energetic 'basketball game?' I'm sitting here smiling outloud...can't imagine how fun it was to see it!

We leave for SLC next Sat and will there for a week before heading out to explore natural Utah for another week. Anyone have favorites? food? scenery? hikes? We'll be in Canyonlands, Arches, Moab area...not sure if we'll go to Bryce (we did go there on our move from Lexington to Oakland.) Maybe Petrified Forest?? or too touristy? Friends suggested cafe at Sundance for lunch/dinner. We're thinking of spending the last Sat night in the Park City area as we don't have to fly out until 3 on Sunday....

Greg came over this evening with a Sunday Paper under his arm. He said he was called by one of his buds very early this morning to say he needed to go out and buy the Fort Worth Star Telegram ( http://www.startelgram.com/ ). Go to this link to "read all about it" http://www.star-telegram.com/arlington_news/story/543060.html I imagine that I will be questioned everytime I introduce myself, are you related that famous Greg Kennison.

Easter Advice: Make sure that all of your rabbits are chocolate before biting their ears off. Happy Easter to all of you. Do you remember our Redstone solid chocolate bunnies? Keeping others from eating your bunny was always a challenge.

17 months old