Warm sun streaming in through the window. Lunch sitting heavily in the stomach. Quiet house. The situation is perfect for a nap on the couch in the living room.
Sally thought so, too.
Napping with Sally
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Author Archives: wfeatherston
Happy Veterans Day
A hearty thank you to the fellow brothers and sisters in arms. I read the other day that a veteran is someone who has handed over a blank check stating “payable in the amount up to and including my life if needed”. I’m thankful that I did not lose anyone close to the battlefield, however I’m truly grateful for those that did pay the ultimate sacrifice for each of us.
I am proud to be from a family of veterans. Both of my grandfathers served in World War II. My father served during Vietnam. My sister also served for several years in the mid-90s. During my 12 years in the United States Army, I served in Desert Storm. One can truly say it’s in our blood.
6th Grade Band Concert
Last night was the combined concert for 5th and 6th grade band and strings ensembles. Emily played in the 6th grade band and even had a couple solos. Below is the video of just the 6th grade band.
Great job, Emily.
http://youtu.be/v_BqwDpIduc
Homework
Each afternoon finds the Anna & Emily perched over their textbooks and worksheets – about an hour of homework that comes home each day.
However, it does pay off as they are both doing very well in school.
Hittin’ the dirt trails
70 degree weather and dry trails in November can only mean one thing – the mountain bike must be ridden. More importantly, I had just retrieved the bike from the shop several days ago after having a much-needed tune-up and replacement of the rear cassette and chain.
I took the bike to the closest trail, the Shawnee Mission Park mountain bike trails. This is a 6.5-mile collection of trails that range from easy to moderately hard. These are also the trails that introduced me to the love of dirt trails. I think back several years ago to when I had no endurance or cardio conditioning. The few steep grades would make me winded and I’d have to stop frequently. Yesterday found me cruising along with greater ease.
The weather was perfect – I just wished I had friends along with me to enjoy it.
KSU vs Texas
The last home game of the 2010 season wrapped up nicely with a 39-14 win over the Texas Longhorns. Despite their #4 ranking at the beginning of the season, Texas has spiraled out of control into a losing season. So, we weren’t the only team to beat them this year, but we have beat them in each of our last 3 meetings. Very few team can say that when talking about Texas.
Instead of our standard Manhattan meal at Hillside Cafe, we chose to tailgate. Brats, sauerkraut, chips & dip, and chocolate cookies hit the spot. It was a bit windy and almost cold, but it was excellent in the stadium. Perfect football weather. Looking forward to next year.
Dancing with my love
Linda and I enjoy dancing – we don’t get to do it very often, but we do enjoy it. Most opportunities are provided at weddings; sometimes we can dance at parties or dinners. Sometimes we get silly and dance in the kitchen.
I love holding Linda close and dancing along to slow songs. Every time we dance to slow songs, I close my eyes and think back to dancing on our wedding day.
Finally, there are few things more fun than dancing like a fool and singing along loudly with songs from the 70s and 80s. Man, that brings me back to carefree days of middle school and high school.
In the immortal words of Kenny Loggins:
Loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C’mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose
Daddy’s Got a Brand New Humidor
I obtained my first large humidor in 2007 (the one on the left in the above picture). Over the years, it has become very full. I often joke that I can be more accurately called a collector of cigars rather than a cigar smoker. I enjoy sampling the many different offerings available from around the cigar-producing world.
A very good alternative to the spanish cedar wooden humidor is a large wine fridge – Vinotemp being the most common brand used. I’ve wanted one for several years, but didn’t want to spend the money on one nor did I want to spend the money to customize it to hold single cigars.
A friend of mine from my cigar forum put his up for sale. The great part is that he lives in Topeka. Great price, already customized, and he threw in all the different accessories used to keep it humidified. We met up in Lawrence at Centro Cigars to share a cigar and make the transaction.
After moving cigars into the new humidor, I find it completely amazing that I had all my cigars crammed into the one humidor.
Halloween 2010
After many years of wanting to be evil zombies or witches or vampires, Emily decided this year she wanted to Miss America. She teamed up with best friend, Paige, and looked absolutely beautiful.
KSU vs OSU
The Cowboys came into Manhattan and took advantage of turnovers and penalties. Playing a game that we were supposed to lose, the Cats actually looked pretty good during the first half. We actually were tied 7-7 going into the locker room. The second half, however, found a heartbreaking stretch of 3 straight drives that ended with interceptions (one for a touchdown return). Final score was 24-14.
Well, one more home game (against another team in orange) to get us win number 6 for a bowl appearance.