indiana territory

MORE PICTURES

Hi, go to photo galleries to see Fashion Valley Mall - you would love it, Alison - the car wash and little people on the balcony.

posted by Jody @ 7:36 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

This is a picture taken from a bridge at Fashion Valley Mall. That's Bloomingdale's in the background.

posted by Jody @ 5:54 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

Food court

posted by Jody @ 5:27 PM 0 Comments

A PERSONAL POST FOR CRV FROM SWEETUMS

Click on my picture, now look at my face, into my eyes . . . I loved you. I love you still from where I am. You know the kind of person I want you to be - spunky, not mean, giving yourself a chance, letting people help you. I will always be in your memory, caring for you. I will always come when YOU call.

posted by Jody @ 2:23 PM 0 Comments

Pictures of PB with horses and fat lady.

More pictures in photo galleries

posted by Jody @ 5:54 PM 0 Comments

Look the at the shirts

Yes, go to photo galleries and see some SD and PB shirts. CLICKING ON THE PICTURES AT SHUTTERFLY WILL MAKE THEM ENLARGE.

posted by Jody @ 5:35 PM 0 Comments

MOUNTED BEACH PATROL

posted by Jody @ 2:50 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

posted by Jody @ 6:16 PM 0 Comments

THE OCEAN IN MOTION

posted by Jody @ 8:03 PM 0 Comments

Announcement, Announcement

San Diego pictures in two albums in photo galleries.

posted by Jody @ 12:18 AM 0 Comments

WINDY BEACH

posted by Jody @ 11:24 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

posted by Jody @ 5:07 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

posted by Jody @ 5:06 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

posted by Jody @ 5:01 PM 0 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

Cooking

posted by Jody @ 4:14 PM 0 Comments

Real store

posted by Jody @ 2:49 PM 1 Comments

Spikey arrived

Three hours late, somewhat frazzled, definitely tired, but still happy to be in San Diego, Spikey arrived last night at 2130. Having braved all the delays Delta could generate on a bad weather day and escaping being diverted to Salt Lake City, Spikey remained cheerful but inclined to rest her weary head. Today, however, is another day. She arose at 0420 saying she had articles to write and is now contemplating heading to the beach. Too bad for Spikey that the recent warm spell is over and temperatures are to be in the 60's all week.

posted by Jody @ 10:41 AM 1 Comments

You have new Picture Mail!

posted by Jody @ 4:07 PM 0 Comments

A SAD PASSING - KIM HARTMAN

Kim Hartman was Summer's first grade teacher at North Side, along with Mrs. Wallace. She passed away Saturday, March 17, 2007, just short of her fortieth birthday. She fought cancer for two years, and judging from what I have heard, it didn't win easily. We grieve for the years that were stolen from her - for the times she will no longer share with her family, espeially her children. And we grieve for them, to lose a mother so young . . . I think, however, she will always be with them - in every ray of sun, drop of rain, in every breeze and in the sky that watches over them.

posted by Jody @ 8:49 PM 0 Comments

OH

I forgot to update he IU result yesterday - perhaps because the whole house was in mourning. Yes, IU lost in a low scoring game to the dratted team for Los Angeles - UCLA.

posted by Jody @ 6:43 AM 0 Comments

IU IS ON THE COURT

So, in the NCAA tournament, Indiana University is playing and in a couple of hours people will be either very happy or very sad in the house. Alison is a big fan of IU; she and the kids are watching and cheering . . . loudly. The kids believe in "lucky" circumstances and if they are doing something such as sneezing and IU scores, they think sneezing again will bring more points. It makes for interesting listening from the other room.

UPDATE: Now they are doing the "Coke" ritual; I don't want to know and you probably don't want to know either.

posted by Jody @ 8:52 PM 0 Comments

PETFOOD RECALL

Jeez, now pets are dying in a suspected link to tainted dog food, according to the CNN web page. The food apparently causes vomiting, kidney failure and, in some instances, death. Someone mentioned terrorism to me, and I have to admit that this is a way to hit at the hearts of lots of Americans.

Sydney eats Purina One for sensitive stomachs - salmon flavor - which is mixed with finely-chopped hamburger and chicken. Yes, he gets better treatment than the folks at this house. In fact, he has his own little electric chopper to prepare his food . . . and we are going to start making him portions of steamed rice.

posted by Jody @ 3:12 PM 1 Comments

FAITH METHODIST RUMMAGE SALE - KENDALLVILLE

I almost didn't go to the rummage sale yesterday - many things on my schedule - but when I dropped Summer off at school, there it was, calling to me. The first thing I saw when I walked in was an old Westinghouse roaster, very clean and shining. It looked very much like my mother's which we use every Thanksgiving and Christmas for our turkey cooking. We put the roaster down in the area of the basement we call "the bunker" and the smell wafts up throughout the house.

Well, now I have this one and because we all like turkey so much, well, all except Hibernator, we will probably cook two each holiday. YEA!!!

I also spotted a large blue afghan . . . for $2. It was a good rummage sale day - and I left a donation because I got such good deals, it just seemed the decent thing to do.

NOW: Bag Day will start in about thirty minutes and Alison and Summer want to run over and check what is there, so better scrub my face, brush my teeth and find my shoes.

posted by Jody @ 8:11 AM 0 Comments

SECOND KENDALLVILLE CROSSING GUARD HIT

Yes, twice in a relatively short span of time, two crossing guards at the Riley St. position have been hit by cars. There doesn't seem to be anything about it in the Fort Wayne paper, although Channel 21 was up here at 3 pm yesterday talking to police at the scene.

posted by Jody @ 7:16 AM 3 Comments

ANOTHER ACCIDENT - NORTH SIDE SCHOOL - KENDALLVILLE

This is the second time I have taken my granddaughter Summer to school only to see an accident at the crossing guard station on Riley St. Summer said she saw someone being treated on a stretcher.

posted by Jody @ 8:45 AM 0 Comments

ARRRGGGHHH

I suppose it is important for young athletes to see this show, but, gosh darn, it has been shown so many times. Oh, I haven't said what "it" is; well, it's the exploding arm guy:

9:00pm - 10:00pm, TLC (36) Striving to be the man with the world's biggest arms, Gregg Valentino achieves biceps 28 inches in circumference.

The show after this one is "When Sleep Goes Bad." Great, not a show to watch right before bedtime.

posted by Jody @ 6:43 AM

CASINO ROYALE - DVD - REDBOX - KENDALLVILLE - SCOTT'S

What is nice about living close to the Scott's in Kendallville, Indiana? Ah, well, the store has a Redbox and the Redbox rents DVD's for $1 a night and when I went in, I was able to rent Casino Royale and score major points with my grandson Cameron.

Yea!!!!!! for the grandma. Actually, I love the Redbox myself and the first movie I rented there was The Omen, the remake of the one with Gregory Peck.

posted by Jody @ 3:39 PM 0 Comments

IPOD FIX - SORT OF MAYBE

Robert's ipod had a sad face last year and I went on the internet to ilounge and was advised to whack it on the side. I did that and it worked. Then the other day, I found out it was down at the mouth again and this morning I rechecked the internet and again saw the "whack it" command. I did and it is working and I am listening now to the Irish Tenors. If this remedy were to longer work, they ask, "What do you have to lose since it is no longer under warranty?" and ask you to open it up and tap or shake the hard drive up close and personal.

Personally, this seems to be such a common problem that I tend to think Apple has some responsibility.

Oh, Robert sings phrases when he listens to his ipod and after hearing a little refrain, Alison said, "Thank you (for getting the ipod to work." There was a sarcastic tone to her voice. Go figure.

posted by Jody @ 12:52 PM 0 Comments

THINGS UNDER THE SNOW

You can get used to a warm winter, sort of fall into thinking that all days are going to be drab and brownish-looking. So you figure you can leave a few things here and there - maybe you lean a rake against a fence, maybe you sit a flower pot outside and think, "I'll get it later." Then one day it snows and everything is covered up and looks clean and nice - pristine. Snow falls periodically and renews that look; sometimes the wind will take dry snow, whip it around and leave it in graceful drifts.

You get used to that look of whiteness stretching across the ground. Then it melts. The ground again assumes a browish color . . . and everywhere are the soggy things you left around. In a word, YUCK.

posted by Jody @ 5:05 AM 0 Comments

MORE BIG FAMILIES

The Jeub Family


The Heppner Family




You can read about the Jeub family HERE and the HEPPNER family AT THIS PLACE.


ALSO the Arndt Family:

A website with information on the Arndt family is RIGHT HERE.

posted by Jody @ 9:45 AM 0 Comments

DUGGAR FAMILY/POVEY FAMILY

HERE IS THE DUGGAR FAMILY.

This picture is from the MSNBC article mentioned below.


THE POVEY FAMILY WHEN THERE WERE ONLY 14 KIDS.

Rebecca, 20, and Hannah, 18, are now living away from home. Charlie and Alex could not make the photo call, but pictured for with mum and dad are, back from left, Michael, Chris, Callum; front, Ellie, Matt, Jessica, Emily, Tom, Kate, Abigail. The photo is from the Swindon News and cited below.




Well, the Duggar family of Arkansas has some competition: the Povey family of England has 15 children and the mother wants all she can have before she becomes infertile. Michelle Duggar has 16 children and is expecting her 17th. The Duggar family - in which all the children's names begin with the letter "J" - has been fodder for blog comments, columns and commentaries. Now, it will be interesting to see what people have to say about the Poveys.

The Duggar family assigns each child a chore "jurisdiction" and enlists older children to be "buddy" to a younger one, as well as having the one girl cook lunch and another dinner. They talk about God a lot and the kids are home-schooled.

The mother in the Povey family decided on a large family because she had been neglected by a mother who drank a good deal at pubs and left her daughter to her own devices. The Poveys have two grandchildren and Grandmother/Mother Povey watches one of those little ones as well.

I'm sure a lot of people will have a lot of things to say . . . HERE is a little blurb from The Globe Mail.

And HERE is site that has an artcle and picture from the Swindon News Archive. Scroll down to the article titled "Latest Arrival for Largest Family".

An article on the Duggar family can be found HERE.

posted by Jody @ 7:55 AM 0 Comments

HIBERNATOR SEES "300"

Reporting about his movie veiwing in San Diego, Hibernator reports that 300 is a little "racy" in places and, at times - such as int the battle scenes, gory. Well, it's about a BIG battle, so no one should be surprised.

What I don't know if I can accept or not is that the movie is presented in a 3-D animation format that I also do not know if I can understand or not. When I protested about this filming procedure, Hibernator replied, "It's an age thing . . . You're too old." Well, that helped; gee, I feel good about this movie.

Well, here is the review.

posted by Jody @ 6:56 AM 0 Comments

Home & Garden Show - Kendallville

Pictures from the Home&Garden Show are included up in the photogallery.

posted by Jody @ 7:43 PM 0 Comments

AT MY LIMIT - EARTHSTORM

I have a reputation for watching really bad movies - science fiction ones, especially. Last night the Sci-fi channel aired the premiere of their movie "Earthstorm" about . . . spoiler coming . . . an asteroid hitting the moon and the moon throwing off pieces that hit the earth and then scientists discover the moon is going to break apart and it will be an earth-altering event. In short, we humans will be "dinosaurs" to say the least. Now, that isn't so bad in terms of the plots of movies I have watched, or in some cases, non-plots, but the space shuttle flying trough the moon rift canyon, dodging rocks like a Star Wars fighter is right up there with the worst things I have seen. I have been known to throw a blanket over my head when watching scary movies, but this time I was tempted to do so to keep from being shocked into terminal giggles and/or groaning.

Oh, wait, I forgot the part about the demolitions expert drafted as an astronaut who turns nuclear bombs into "mag" bombs using parts of the spacecraft - you know, snip off this circuit here, that computer chip there . . . whatever. I don't know if he duct taped the contraption together, but that would have been the only sensible part if he had.

Frankly, I would much rather watch the movie about giant rabbits attacking Chicago . . . now there were some cool scenes.

posted by Jody @ 8:45 AM 0 Comments

GOING TO THE HOME & GARDEN SHOW - KENDALLVILLE

Well, I believe Summer and I will be going to the Home & Garden Show at the Kendallville Event Center this afternoon. It started 15 minutes ago but I'm not a "first rush" person. Summer may be posting some pictures to Indiana Territory - and then again, she may not; she may take pictures of her coming-up-on 60 grandma . . . yes, the one who is a little chubby . . . and they may be vetoed.

UPDATE: We were derailed in our journey to the show and we will be going tomorrow.

posted by Jody @ 10:13 AM 0 Comments

WEATHER CHANGE

Last week we went to Si Senor and I parked in a mini snowdrift; there was forming ice by the door and the wind cut was fierce. Today, I wore a sweatshirt jacket and was perfectly comfortable and the sun has turned the areas that were snowdrifts into mud patches.

Not that this is interesting.

posted by Jody @ 2:27 PM 0 Comments

SOON I WILL FEED THE DOG

Yes, it really is time to feed the dog, but today I climbed up a ladder and wiped exploded pop off the ceiling of the little entry hall from the garage and I am tired. Gee, it was fun, the neat way it dripped down on my face when I checked to see if I was getting the ceiling clean or just smudging the pop. I should have taken a picture before I cleaned - the ceiling was abstractly artistic . . . Oh, my God, I probably just put Murphy Soap to a masterpiece worth millions.

The dog is sleeping; I believe he has given up on me. Well, I guess I can manage to mix up a meal of chopped beef, chicken and dry dogfood. Maybe if I throw that on the ceiling I could have a second chance at garnering a fortune from art.

posted by Jody @ 4:41 PM 0 Comments

THE HENSEL TWINS ON TLC

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Last night I watched an update show on the Hensel girls - Abby and Brittany - from a small town in Minnesota who are conjoined twins, each controlling one-half of a body shared by both. There have been shows about them before and I remembering reading about them several years ago when a national magazine caught my eye at the local library.

I remember them being able to ride a bike, hit a baseball; now, on this show last night, I watched them drive and type on the computer. I can - in a very vague way - see how they could "feel" the coordination of walking . . . but typing, with Abby doing the jklm hand and Brittany the fdsa left side is beyond me. A lot of the things they do are beyond me.

It strikes me the TLC of "The Learning Channel" could also stand for Tender Loving Care, but I don't feel that is what the girls have experienced; I think they have had totally normal loving care from their parents and family.

Because I am a snoopy sort of person, I did not wait for a formal update on the girls to catch up with them; I knew they were high school age and lived in Minnesota and by using Google found them at a Lutheran high school. In the pictures at the school site, I thought they looked a little sad. That was wrong. The girls in the show last night were happy and bubbly and comfortable with their situation . . . and their friends were comfortable with them.

Abby and Brittany said they were making the documentary to show people who they are - a pre-emptive strike against stares and people taking pictures. The thing is, however, that the girls are so pleasant and positive, you find yourself thinking, "What is there to stare at, to gawk at, to want to photograph? They are just two people . . . " Of course, it is not that simple - you know you yourself were fascinated enough to Google them. There is their medical condition and, yes, it invites interest and questions, but, on the other hand, there are the girls themselves. Given a chance, they totally eclipse the circumstance of their physiology.

Today is the twins' birthday; they turn 17.

Update: Oh, today is the 8th - so their birthday was yesterday. (Must have been pending DST that messed me up.)

posted by Jody @ 6:47 AM 0 Comments

MITCH'S DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

I have made my opinion of DST in Indiana - and its inclusion in the Eastern time zone - abundantly clear. So I am irked by the fact that this weekend we will be doing "the clock thing" again. Great. Kids again going to school in the dark, more fog delays. Of course, my mother simply does not go on GDT - Governor Daniels' Time or God Damn Time - and that is fine. Sticking to your principles - okay, idiosyncracies - is not so hard when you are living alone. She calls Governor Daniels "that boy" . . . well, I'd like to take "that boy" out to the woodshed.

posted by Jody @ 6:35 AM 0 Comments

GADGET HANKERING

Okay, I am feeling the tugs of "gadget wanting" - that is to say I want a toy. Only I don't think I am in the mood for one that has an instruction book and/or a lot of buttons; however, I don't want it to be too easy. You see, I bought an "Easy Button" on impulse when I was at Staples and I have to admit pushing it gets old very quickly; what is worse is having someone else push it - over and over again.

We had one of those robot families - mombot, dadbot, dogbot and so forth - a few years ago but they tended to need more tending than not, getting viruses and whatever. Still, I discovered that if you stood them face to face they would stimulate each other and make many vocalizations of a language of their own. This didn't bother me, but other people found it very annoying. In fact, I think Quentin took them into another room and buried them under afghans. They just sat there for quite some time and then my mother-in-law came and stayed in the room and her movements got them talking in the middle of the night.

Over the years, I have found them around the house . . . with their batteries removed.

I could program a new ringer into my phone, but I like the one I have now - "Honky Tonk Blues". I suppose I should get a more sedate one for certain locations and times, but since I'm a big fan of Logan's Roadhouse and peanut-throwing, the honky-tonky one just seems so . . . me.

Still, I do need an alternate one - what about "Bringing in the Sheaves"? No . . . probably not. Maybe a little Mozart.

posted by Jody @ 5:53 PM 0 Comments

60 . . . maybe 70

Okay, I sitting in the chair in one of Doug Jansen's treatment room and he starts telling me a story about an old woman who went sky-diving. He says, "She's 60," then pauses and quickly amends it to "more like 70" and goes on with his story. You see, I am 58, soon to be 60 and maybe he thought I didn't catch it, but I did and I smiled to myself.

posted by Jody @ 12:08 PM 0 Comments

PUTTING CHEW BACK IN MY LIFE

Today I've got a trip to the dentist, Doug Jansen here in Kendallville, and work will be done to prepare for a spider bridge. You see, I lost a molar back in 1999 when I didn't go the the dentist after having cracked a filling. The lack of dental care resulted in the filling falling out, the tooth becoming infected and abscessed and me having it removed, leaving a gap. I have bopped myself on the head several times because of this - a little preventative care and I wouldn't have a gap in my back teeth. Rats!!! Of course, I say something stronger than that when I pop a peanut in my mouth and it gets caught in the gap, poking into the gum.

posted by Jody @ 5:58 AM 0 Comments

NEW WAWK LOGO

posted by Jody @ 2:25 PM 0 Comments

HARPER LAKE CAMPGROUND - NOBLE COUNTY

There is a new campground - with fishing I believe - around the area of Kimmell. It's Harper Lake Campground & RV Resort and they have a couple of good jokes on the website.

posted by Jody @ 11:24 AM 0 Comments

HISTORIC RADIO MUSEUM - LIGONIER, INDIANA

Recently a chance remark brought my attention back to the Historic Radio Museum in Ligonier, Indiana. I wrote an article about it some time ago and I have to admit it is one of my favorite places. It is small, located in a old filling station and garage, but it is cool - the bee's knees, which I suppose it what the kids mean when they say "sweeeet" today.

posted by Jody @ 10:58 AM 0 Comments

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF KENDALLVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Old floor at KMS.Breakthrough old wall into abandoned room that held old athletic equipment.
Abandoned and forgotten staircase at KMS.
Outside to inside . . . but, wait, we're already inside.
Tiles on walls of forgotten stairwell.

posted by Jody @ 9:05 AM 0 Comments

KENDALLVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Click on each photo and you will be able to clearly see the details on the floor plans.

First floor.Second floor.
Third floor.

If you have read this month's issue of the Kendallville Mall, you know that I did a little investigation of how the high school at Kendallville, Indiana - built in 1915 - evolved into the present day building that houses Kendallville Middle School. It was really enjoyable to pour over the floorplans and take an investigatory tour led by Brent Berkey, head custodian.

posted by Jody @ 8:48 AM 0 Comments

SUMMER VANCE

Here is Summer after getting her hair shampooed for a haircut (also a ubw)

posted by Jody @ 2:05 PM 0 Comments

MOBLOGGING FROM SI SENOR - THE NEW

YO, Here we are at Si Senor's new location across from Scott's in the new retail plaza at the corner of 6 & 3. They put a lot of work into the new place and it shows - also showing in the picture is a big white stick-like thing. That would be Alison's straw.

posted by Jody @ 1:38 PM 0 Comments

THIS TOASTS ME

Apparently, if you are to believe news stories, a lawsuit has been filed against the Army Corps of Engineers because the levee's failed at New Orleans - the Corps designed them, don'tcha know? Heavens to Betsey, the Corps should probably be taken to task for building them in the first place - put a wall around a city below sea-level in an area where the Gulf is eating up the land between the shore and the city and let people build even more?

posted by Jody @ 5:59 AM 0 Comments

HIBERNATOR AT GILA BEND

Watching military tests . . .

posted by Jody @ 1:36 PM 0 Comments

KENDALLVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

A SECRET PICTURE.

posted by Jody @ 8:11 AM 0 Comments