Classic Cars at the classic ice cream stand!

Maeve and I went out for ice cream last night, and noticed a lot of "vintage" cars driving by, including these two that actually stopped in for ice cream! Above, and two below, a 1951 Studebaker Champion.

I'm not sure what the car below is, or if it is totally a fabricated car, but it is very cool. The couple driving it were my age - 65 +/-. There are no doors! They lifted the canvas top, and climbed out! The steering wheel swings aside to allow the driver to climb out.

Click on car pictures to embiggen!

I missed the moment of climbing out, but below is the "top up" shot.

By the way, Bruster's Ice Cream is classic 1950's, and the best ice cream I've ever had! Free ice cream (baby cone) if you are under 40" tall, and I'm not sure if it is still true, but they used to give you an extra scoop for free if it was raining? On Thursdays you get a half price Banana Split if you bring your own banana! They are in 21 states, so chances are there might be one near you? If there isn't one near you, you can start your own..... upcoming franchise seminars in Pittsburgh and Atlanta. (This is not an endorsement of their franchise program, but the ice cream is great!)

Surprise Box

Closed - above. Push the black handle to the right, and the inner piece pops up. Spring provides energy for movement. Push the "Surprise" piece back down and it catches - ready to surprise someone again.
Problem with design? Some people don't notice the arrow reversed out of the little lever on the right, and just don't seem to know what to do with it.

Early Surprise Box from Don Olney on Vimeo.

Mercury gets a pedicure?

Originally standing atop a smokestack at the Kimball Tobacco Factory in Rochester, NY, Mercury was moved to a new location in 1973 - now on the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company in downtown Rochester. Today Mercury was the object of some attention by a couple of workers swinging on a big crane. I'm not sure if it was just an inspection, or maybe some cleaning? Repair? If I find out, I'll amend this entry! Click the link above for more info on the Kimball Tobacco folks, and on the statue and it's history. Click on the pictures to embiggen!

New Father's Day Camera

My new Father's Day camera does panorama shots which I would have thought was pretty much impossible in a hand held camera, but they actually look pretty good! I'm back on my bike only 10 weeks after getting my new hip. These shots were taken on today's 7.5 mile ride. Both shots are in parts of Genesee Valley Park. That's the Genesee River below, near the intersection with the Erie Canal! Click on each picture to embiggen!

Maya and CJ Wednesday

A great day of playing in the sprinkler, and playing in the water flowing down the driveway.... alternately referred to as the "ocean" or the "flat bathtub"! What better way to spend a hot summer afternoon!

Cheerio or Cheer10???

Either way it creates a good feeling!

Maya and CJ Wednesday

Kids love to climb! Above - CJ at the top of his slide, and below, Maya trying to keep up with the 4 year old neighbor girl!

SUCCESS!

Maya and CJ Wednesday

Four weeks ago today I had a new left hip installed. Thus the gap in posting. I won't go into a lot of detail, but I'm up and about, walking down the block and back with a cane, and my physical therapist even showed me how to get on my stationary bike yesterday so I can start working on getting back to my bike riding on the canal soon?

Cheryl brought Maya and CJ over to the house today. The worst part of this has been missing my regular Wednesday babysitting the grand kids day, but they have been over to visit regularly! I'm hoping to get back to doing my share of the babysitting soon - maybe next week?

I did get outside to get these pictures today as they left for the playground!

Thank you!

Rest In Peace

Our friend Al Claeys passed away last night. He was a good friend to my Mom while she was in the nursing home a couple of years ago, and they remained friends after she came home. We visited him often, and talked with him on the phone regularly. The past month or so has been hard, with a bad bout of pneumonia, some time in the hospital, and then back to the nursing home for comfort care. We spent time with him most every day the past couple of weeks, and he seemed pleased that we cared even though his ability to communicate was limited.

Rest in peace Al..... we're glad we knew you, and we're grateful for your good spirit that helped Mom through some difficult times. I hope we did the same for you.

Maya & CJ plus Wyatt!

Wednesday's with Maya and CJ are always pretty much perfect, but this week we got to add Wyatt (our nephew) to the mix. He has been with us for 4 days, and as always, he adds his own special presence to time spent with him. Maya loves her big cousin..... CJ is not so sure! A picture with everybody just wasn't in the cards! By the end of the day CJ was showing Wyatt some of his toys though. Too bad Wyatt isn't around more.

Maya's Valentine Gift

Most little girls get a princess or something for Valentine's Day. Our Maya got a toy truck - Mack, and a toy car - Whitney McQueen, from "Cars". She was thrilled.... this picture fails to capture that - more interested in the candy right now.

"Cars" is a great movie. Great animation - Great story. I've seen it about 8 times now with Maya, and I love it more every time!

Check it out - "Cars"

Great snow sculpture!

This is outside a Dentist office That is a toothbrush tail!

Handcrafted?

"Special glazing technique makes every piece unique!"

They sure all looked alike to me, but for $2.46 each who cares?

I do!

Walmart strikes again!

CJ's new hair!

New hair above.

Old hair below if you don't remember!

My Lord, What A Morning wall group

These new wall pieces feature our new figures based on a "Praise Dancing" movement. I posted a couple of days ago about the individual figures - 22" tall. http://louisesdaughter.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-lord-what-morning.html

Here is a 22" tall wall panel with three smaller figures and a "sun" greeting the morning. These new figures and wall pieces are being introduced to the public tonight at a trunk show at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. A quite extensive exhibit of our work will be in the lobby of The Kennedy Center before and after the weekend performances of The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The work can also be perused and purchased during intermission at all 4 weekend shows, as well as before and after the performances. After being pretty much totally snowed out last year, we are hoping for a much more successful sale on this our fourth trunk show at The Kennedy Center. Our work is for sale at the gift shop on a year round basis, but during this weekend each year, we mount a special show of all our dance related work. As always, you can order any of our work in any size and in your own choice of colors.