Here's the space shuttle, Atlantis, taking off on Monday, November 16th at 2:28 p.m. from the Cape. It's obvious that this is a picture of the TV screen.

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As soon as I took the above photo, I went outside and shortly thereafter (2:28 p.m. EST), the space shuttle appeared above the clouds. It was awesome!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Glad that I was here to witness it, and there were fairly clear skies to see the shuttle go up into space. Just as I took the second picture, we heard the kids at Casselberry Elementary School (behind Bergs' house) erupt in cheers. That was so sweet.

When I looked at the photos in the picture library, I noticed that the time was 1:28 p.m. That's because I haven't changed the clock in my camera. That would be waaaaaaaay too confusing.

It's another gorgeous day in Florida. They said that it's going to be 85 degrees today -- wow! Yesterday, it only got to 81 but it actually seemed warmer than that. Last we looked, it was 45 and rainy in Illinois. Glad I'm here. haha

bye for now, djb

Looking south, this tree is Jarrett's evergreen which grew wild in my front flower garden. It's amazing that sickly tree managed to live and thrive. Now, it's almost 8 feet tall. You can see the plaque on the left hand side.
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Looking north and down the hill, is Andrew's blue spruce with Jarrett's tree on the right -- in between faraway in the middle is their grave stone.
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These trees donated in loving memory of Andrew Robert Burkholder (dates) and Jarrett Berg Burkholder (dates)
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Monday, November 16, 2009 - On Saturday, I went into the cemetery planning on feeding the boys' transplanted evergreen trees. Enduring cold and damp weather, I nonetheless carried on and put three spikes in the ground for each tree which ended up being "easier said than done." They're supposed to slide into the soft earth and feed the trees slowly throughout the winter.

Actually, I pounded most of the spikes into a blue, crumbly pulp because the clay which is as hard as concrete was unyielding. But the directions said....

The trees seem to have withstood their transplantation. I can see some of the roots of Andrew's tree above the soil. If I were there right now, I'd get a bag of top soil and put it on the roots to keep them warm and safe. Maybe I can do that when I get home. Did I mention I was in Florida? haha

see ya later. Gotta go see the shuttle take off IN PERSON. bye, djb

Here's little Rachel almost exactly a year ago at the end of November when we were invited (across the street) to celebrate her mom's 30th birthday (a mere youngster).
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Monday, November 9, 2009 - Yesterday, I was out in the front yard doing some fall cleanup work when Rachel came over bouncing her kickball and saying hi. The kids don't ask me what I'm doing any more because I always say, "what does it look like I'm doing?" haha Okay, so I'm a smart-ass.

We had such a gorgeous day that I could NOT stay inside for very long. Rachel's so funny. I just love when she saunters over to see me and tosses her ball into the boys' hoop. She has imaginary spots all over the place (this is 3 and this is a 6). Reminds me of the good old days.

After I picked up my big pile of dead stalks, I asked her if she had seen the hornet's nest that fell down from the tree. No, she hadn't. So, I immediately issued an invitation to go with me to see it. When you're 8 years old, things like that are very interesting. Plus, we were pretty sure the hornets had all left the house.

She was utterly fascinated by it. How cool. I'm not exactly an expert but I knew more than she did. Actually, not all that much more. In fact, I'm going to have to go back and read about them again. After inspecting the ripped open and disintegrating nest, she asked if she could have it. Sure, why not. We put it in a box and she took it home.....

....oops.....shortly thereafter, she returned. Grandma said she couldn't have it. WHAT? How uncool is that!!! It's nature. It's science. It's so awesome. No one else has one. gee....

Whatever. Trying to salvage something good from our apian experience, I asked her if she had seen the hornet's nest still hanging in the neighbor's tree down the street. No, she hadn't.

We walked down there in the glorious sunshine and espied the nest hanging high and slowly falling apart. It was an unexpected educational experience I'm sure she'll never forget. Too bad her Grandma was busy.........BUT we had a good time.

That little Rachel is such a sweetheart....inquisitive with a good attitude -- very happy and cheerful disposition. She does inspire me to be nicer and kinder. Especially when I hear some people screaming at........well, let's not go there.

It made me realize how much I miss being around innocent, well-behaved children. C'est la vie de mia. ---hasta la vista, djb