tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256118602024-03-18T09:14:41.438-05:00The Dog HouseThe Dog House is anything about everyone. Sometimes it will be posts about travel, at times posts about grilling, and other times posts about anything on my mind. Have a question, feel free to comment on any post.John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.comBlogger459125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-27693496303276596782024-03-17T11:30:00.002-05:002024-03-17T11:31:31.469-05:00March Madness 2024 Tournament Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" target="_blank"><img alt="ESPN Tournament Challenge Picture" border="0" height="65" id="id_858d_4cc8_5ea8_a249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmcpdzjKGVqAe6rcHlz1v1mxxv9iyBK8E13bp6sHlikQxZ74xRSvhToIr8tAGdmHfYdlSxmzO9GlthyU-XlEqBwzHKCNIU-BetAw6vAZCV_ISPW4rkyeYXoqk6hcXhUFUYv3_/s400/logo.png" style="height: auto; width: 400px;" title="ESPN Tournament Challenge Picture" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>It is time create your entry for March Madness. It is Selection Sunday.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_911f_9454_864e_e5e6" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">March Madness Hopefuls</a> group is free to play and you can enter up to three entries. There is no password on the group, so hoping it will be an easy process to join your entries, encourage your family and friends to join, and be sure to come back after Selection Sunday to make your entries.</div><div><br /></div><div>The directions for joining remain the same from last year. The more people in the group the more fun it is to make your selections. </div><ol><li style="text-align: left;">Visit <a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_3e39_2a39_b6b4_79bc" target="_blank">ESPN</a> which will take you directly to the <i><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_911f_9454_864e_e5e6" target="_blank">March Madness Hopefuls</a>.</i></li><li style="text-align: left;">If you are already signed into the ESPN web site, you can immediately create your bracket. If not, sign into the site and then you will be taken to the <i><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" target="_blank">March Madness Hopefuls</a> </i>group or you can search for <i><i><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_911f_9454_864e_e5e6" target="_blank">March Madness Hopefuls</a></i> </i>to join.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Join the group.</li><li style="text-align: left;">Repeat the above process to create additional brackets. In the <i><a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_911f_9454_864e_e5e6" target="_blank">March Madness Hopefuls</a></i> bracket, you can have three entries.</li></ol><div>Be sure to submit your entries by 11:00 am CST Thursday, March 21. This will make sure you get your entries submitted and have time to get them submitted. First game tips at 11:15 am on Thursday March 21. There are play-in games starting Tuesday, but you do not need to enter your picks until the field is set following Wednesday night play-in games. Make sure to enter your picks prior to </div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.</div><div><br /></div><div>Good luck and enjoy <a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/tc/sharer?challengeId=240&from=espn&context=GROUP_INVITE&edition=espn-en&groupId=586644f5-b0f0-4dd3-bf11-b70c2d17c15f" id="id_c8a3_46b9_6fb7_5d67" target="_blank">March Madness</a>!</div><div><br /></div>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-49777437430183887702024-03-10T16:26:00.001-05:002024-03-10T16:26:26.981-05:00Finished Watching Last Four of Best Picture Nominated Movies and Made My Picks<p>We finished our final movie of the Best Picture nominees just hours before the awards ceremony will begin. We watched four movies in the past three days. A short update as the time nears for the start of the Oscars.</p><p>Reviewing my update from February 25 (see <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/2024/02/oscar-2024-nominated-best-picture.html" target="_blank">post</a>), we had the following movies to watch which we just finished today.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23561236/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">American Fiction</a><br />Carrie and I really liked this movie. I went into watching the movie not knowing a lot about it, but it was really good. No, I do not think it will win the best picture category, but it was done well. I liked the story and how the story was told.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7160372/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Zone of Interest</a><br />As I mentioned in the February 25 update, I heard about this movie on NPR one morning and knew it was going to be an interesting movie to watch. Hearing the sounds of the "camp" next door to the family was eerie as the family went on to live their lives, have their picnics, and play in their backyard that was right next door to the camp. </p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Poor Things</a><br />This was an interesting movie watching the main character, who was brought back to life, learn and explore her world. I did like the movie, but so different from the other movies in the best picture category. Cast was excellent as were the costumes.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17009710/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Anatomy of a Fall</a><br />This was the final movie we watched just hours before the awards ceremony is set to begin. I found this movie interesting although a little boring. I fell asleep a few times while watching. Again, this seems like a different style movie than the majority of movies in this category. I did enjoy the movie, but not one I would watch again.</p><p>Now that we have finished all of the movies, I make my pick and know that I have no insight into which is the best movie other than this is my opinion. I believe <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Oppenheimer</a> will win as it has won in a number of other award ceremonies. The movie I like the best after watching all of the movies was <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a>. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a> will win some awards, but I am not sure it will be selected for best picture in the Oscars.</p><p>I enjoy trying to watch all of the best picture nominees each year. Carrie and I try to watch other films nominated in other categories, and we were able to do a few this year. We caught a few documentaries nominated for awards as well as a few shorts and animated movies. </p><p>Hopefully you were able to catch some of these movies prior to the big event tonight or can watch them soon. Have a great week!</p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-61048981374375545892024-03-03T12:34:00.002-06:002024-03-03T19:06:28.346-06:00Our Trip to Big Bend National Park February 24 - March 1 with Pictures of Hikes, Food, and Wildlife. Loved Our Trip!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAXY6B" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Casa Grande" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53560578941_d85eb5fe92_w_d.jpg" title="Casa Grande" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa Grande</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie and I have been wanting to camp out-of-state for a few years at this point. All of our camping adventures have been in Kansas. A year ago, we planned to camp at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm" target="_blank">Big Bend National Park</a> and it did not work out for us to go last year. So, Carrie got us on the list to camp there this year. The spots fill up fast, so Carrie got on us on the list early. I am so happy that Carrie was able to get us on the list and reserve a spot for us months in advance. Carrie got us a spot in the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/basin_campground.htm" target="_blank">Chisos Basin Campground</a>. We are all set and looking forward to our trip.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 1</h3><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pACx2f" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Stopped at Walk-On's for Dinner" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53556787460_c1baa19bdd_w_d.jpg" title="Stopped at Walk-On's for Dinner" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walk-On's for Dinner</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">We left for our camping trip on Saturday, February 24. A good 14 hours trip with stops, we decided to break it up into two days of driving. We drove the first day to Midland, TX which was about 10 hours of driving. We stopped at <a href="https://locate.walk-ons.com/tx/midland/restaurants-415.html" target="_blank">Walk-On's</a> in Midland, TX for dinner the first night before retiring to the hotel. We had been to one of these places a few other times, so we knew it was good. We sat at the bar and enjoyed drinks and a meal while we chatted about our first ten hours of the drive for our trip. I always enjoy trying new beers when we are out-of-state, so I had a few local brews from Texas.</p><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 2</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pABfQs" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Driving to Campsite Weather Was Beautiful" border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="400" height="165" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53556537898_5cf2880261_w_d.jpg" title="Driving to Campsite Weather Was Beautiful" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamlin, TX on Way to Big Bend</td></tr></tbody></table>We slept a bit later than we had planned and got on a road should be to the campsite around 2:45. This would be a four or five hour drive to our home for the next four nights. The weather was absolutely beautiful as we made our way. The sun was shining and it was hot. As we got closer, the temperature kept going up at one point reaching up to ninety degrees. We knew that our campsite is in a lower location, so should be about ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the surrounding locations. We wanted to make sure we did not end up running out of gas as we approached as we had both read that it takes about an hour to get anywhere within the park. So, we did one last fuel up before heading to our site. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAKpaK" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Chisos Basin Camp Site Home" border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="303" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53558126825_4362698462_w_d.jpg" title="Chisos Basin Camp Site Home" width="152" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Campsite in Chisos Basin</td></tr></tbody></table>A winding road from the the mountains down into our campsite in the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/basin_campground.htm" target="_blank">Chisos Basin Campground</a>. After we had set up our site, Carrie snapped the picture to the left at one point when we were returning from being out for a day. We could clearly see our tent from above as it is the orange blob in the camp ground. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">It did not take long to get our tent set up and things ready for camping. We relaxed for a bit, enjoyed some drinks, and the scenery. The picture of the Casa Grande rock from the start of this update is a picture from our tent. Spectacular views all around from our camp site during the day and at night was even better. We had a few clear nights and I have some of those pictures later.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAvQv9" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="First Night Dinner Burgers with Bacon, Baked Beans, and Chips" border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="399" height="158" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53555480482_c228e81c4f_w_d.jpg" title="First Night Dinner Burgers with Bacon, Baked Beans, and Chips" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Night Dinner</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">After relaxing for a bit and the sun going behind the mountains quickly, we decided it was time to cook dinner. We had ordered a Coleman 2-Burner Stove for this trip. We decided it would be easier to use rather than taking our Firedisc we have used on previous camping trips. For one, we can easily do coffee on the Coleman rather than our little single burner. It did work great and had some delicious coffee each morning. It also allowed us to do a little more with our cooking than what we would normally be able to do on a camp site. More on what else we cooked later.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pACvG6" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Stars and Clouds First Night" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53556782985_26ea598943_w_d.jpg" title="Stars and Clouds First Night" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stars and Clouds First Night</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I have to share pictures of the night sky. We debated on whether to take our telescope but in the end decided not to take it as we did not have room. I realized I forgot to take a picture of our car packed up. We did not use the roof rack for this trip as we did not want to worry about items on the roof or have to worry about them while spending the night at a hotel down there and back, so we left the telescope at home. We did have a few good nights of stargazing. The picture to the left is from our first night. The stars were out and we could see them down to the mountain tops for an hour or two after darkness. Gradually, the clouds moved in and covered up the stars, but I was able to capture the picture to the left prior to the cloud cover. The camera does not do it justice with how many stars could be seen when looking straight up or down to the horizon. Incredible!</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 3</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAZF8H" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Santa Elena Canyon Trail" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53560912099_0c02fb3345_w_d.jpg" title="Santa Elena Canyon Trail" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Elena Canyon Trail</td></tr></tbody></table>For those of you that know Carrie and me, we are not hikers but we like the idea of hiking. We want to do more hiking, so our plan while in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm" target="_blank">Big Bend National Park</a> was to do as many hikes as we could possibly do. For our first full day in the park, we woke up a little later than we had expected and noticed the campsite was very quiet. We would later learn that most everyone else got up around 5:30 - 6 to get out and do their hikes. This was going to be a warm day, but we planned to hike the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/santa-elena-canyon-trail.htm" target="_blank">Santa Elena Canyon Trail</a> located on the Rio Grande River. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pB1fRF" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Hiking on the Santa Elena Canyon Trail" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53561025545_fe19b1be18_w_d.jpg" title="Hiking on the Santa Elena Canyon Trail" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie on the Santa Elena Canyon Trail</td></tr></tbody></table>We picked this trail as it was on a easier side at total round trip of 1.6 miles. Carrie had our backpacks full with plenty of water, snacks, and even a first aid kit. We made sure to take breaks to get plenty of water. Other than the heat, it was not a bad hike. The stairs were tricky but did not have any issues except for the heat.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">We really enjoy walking on trails and how friendly other hikers are on the trails. Everyone says hello and sometimes stop and talk to them as they, or we, have information to share about the trail. We enjoyed that part of hiking to connect with others on the trail, but we also experience this at the campsite too. We spoke to many of our fellow campers sharing stories and even met some that were from Kansas right near our campsite.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAYZcu" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Deer at Campsite" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53560777758_995b5d6fd9_w_d.jpg" title="Deer at Campsite" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deer at our Campsite</td></tr></tbody></table>Following our hike, we went back to our home for the week. We got back there and had some time to relax, read, and enjoy some drinks before we needed to start dinner. As we were relaxing, deer emerged and got rather close to us. They were not timid at all getting rather close to us. They were interested in finding water or grass to eat rather than anything we were doing. We were taking pictures and then as the deer roamed through the campground, others were coming out of their camps to take pictures or as people were walking by to trails, we could hear them comment and snapping pictures. It was so cool! I will note that we only saw deer and then <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_roadrunner" target="_blank">Greater roadrunner</a> were everywhere. There were exhibits every couple of miles on the roads in the park for the roadrunner although we never stopped at one to read what they said, we did see the little guys everywhere including at our campsite.<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pB1erM" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Second Night Dinner Thai Peanut Chicken with Rice Noodles" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53561020795_3e6005ca61_w_d.jpg" title="Second Night Dinner Thai Peanut Chicken with Rice Noodles" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thai Peanut Chicken with Rice Noodles</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We made Thai Peanut Chicken with Rice Noodles this night. Turned out great! Perfect way to end the day with our first hike and ready to relax. Ate we were able to finish up dishes before it got dark so we could relax. We did find that we turned into the tent earlier than most of our camping trips but this was because no open wood fires are allowed. Most everyone turns in early and this also has to do with many of them getting up early to do hikes. This night we did stay out a little later before turning in for the night. </p><p style="text-align: left;">We did have a fun routine each night that we had planned before we left as we knew that wood fires were not allowed and that we would be spending time in our tent. We had downloaded a few movies on to the laptop prior to leaving and we set up in our tent to watch movies at night. I usually had a beer or a wine bottle to finish off while we watched the movie. It was fun and cozy in our tent.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 4</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pB1do4" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Pancakes and Coffee" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53561017215_5533784d66_w_d.jpg" title="Pancakes and Coffee" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pancakes and Coffee</td></tr></tbody></table>We got up early on day four of our trip and day three of camping. We used the Coleman grill to do coffee and pancakes. Oh man, the coffee is so good on in a percolator coffee pot on the stove. Carrie used a recipe a vlog we follow that uses yogurt and they were great! We plan to use the same recipe here at home as they were perfect with a nice consistency, crispy edges, and not too thick. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Today would be another hike and one of our longer hikes for the trip. We wanted a large breakfast to give us energy to go on the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/big-bend-window-trail.htm" target="_blank">The Window Trail</a> which had the entrance right down the hill from our campsite. This trail is listed as 5.5 miles roundtrip but with the entrance right by us, that shaved off about a mile making it about 4.5 miles total round trip. We had a perfect day for this trip with a good cloud cover and a little cooler. The only thing we were concerned about is that this hike is downhill to "The Window" and then the whole way back is uphill. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAXX3E" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Window Trail" border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="400" height="98" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53560575406_93bedc2d81_w_d.jpg" title="The Window Trail" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Window Trail</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Mountains all around as we did the walk. The above picture was early in the hike where I did a panoramic picture of where we were headed and where we had come..</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pATxgA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Carrie at The Window" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53559714972_2b1c2bd024_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie at The Window" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie at The Window</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We took a few breaks on the way to The Window. This hike is over rock, stairs, climbing up and down ledges, but it was not bad. We again took many breaks and had snacks. As we made it to The Window, we took a break to eat a late lunch consisting of snacks and water. Again, I am not sure the picture to the left gives justice to the view, but it was amazing. Carrie climbed down to get a better look and then needed some help to get up from where she had slid down get close to the view. She would later say she did not need help, but another guy there insisted and pulled her up the rock. It gave us a good laugh and she said she could have gotten back up herself.</p><p style="text-align: left;">After taking a little break, we started the journey back to the trail head and to our camp. Again, the weather was good which helped as it was all uphill. We emptied two water bottles and started on our second set of water bottles. Again, we stopped a few times to talk to fellow hikers and a few that were from our campsite that we had spoken to the day before which was cool.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pAKtaJ" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Currywurst, fried potatoes, and wine for Dinner" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53558140280_33af04dc8d_w_d.jpg" title="Currywurst, fried potatoes, and wine for Dinner" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Currywurst for Dinner</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">After getting back to our camp site, we were exhausted. Our feet and legs hurt from the hike the day before and then this longer hike today. Relaxed for a bit before we started making dinner. Today the menu called for fried potatoes, Currywurst, and wine. Man that was so good! We made enough for seconds and I made sure to have a second large helping. What a good way to end the day and head into the evening hours. We took our meal to a nearby picnic bench that was not being used although close to our campsite to eat and enjoy the view. Wonderful!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Turned in for the evening to watch movies and relax in our tent. The next day we had big plans but the weather was not looking good with coldness in the forecast as well as rain. We went to bed decided we would see what is was like the next day.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 5</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pB1aRW" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Terlingua for the Day" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53561008740_211ee45cf3_w_d.jpg" title="Terlingua for the Day" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stop in Terlingua for the Day</td></tr></tbody></table>Day five of our trip and day four of camping we woke early to check the weather. Colder and rain throughout the day, we decided we would sleep in a little before heading out with our alternate plans. Instead of doing a few different hikes planned for the day with one taking us into Mexico, we decided to drive about an hour away to Terlingua for the day. We stopped at a place after arriving, doing some shopping, and had a drink before touring the area further. <p></p><p style="text-align: left;">A little shopping and we headed over to check out the ghost town. Not much of a ghost town, but it was interesting. A little more spread out than what I was expecting, but I am glad we were able to drive through the town. It was raining when we drove through and we might have gotten more out of it if we were able to walk to explore the town. </p><p style="text-align: left;">We had lunch at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/chilipeppercafe04/" target="_blank">Chili Pepper Cafe</a> which was really good. I had a Pork Green Chili which was delicious along with a few beers. We left and Carrie drove us back toward our camp site. We decided to do a few very short hikes on the way back to camp. We did one trip which was just a .5 mile hike and second one which was about the same. Still sprinkling in the area, we did not have much planned except for the trip to Terlingua.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pB1aeZ" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Us Staying Warm in our Tent" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53561006655_2ab15dff67_w_d.jpg" title="Us Staying Warm in our Tent" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staying Warm in Tent</td></tr></tbody></table>We got back to our camp site about 4 pm this day and it was much colder at our campsite. We ended up talking to a new camper that was near us who had just arrived that morning. He was a nice guy but wanted to share everything with us about his trip as he had been on the road for 125 days and working his way back home to California. We ended up talking to him for about an hour as it kept getting colder and colder. We retreated into our tent to warm up and we took naps as there was not much to do other than read and warm up.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">The rain picked up and the wind gradually picked up through the night. We did not leave the tent. We had plans to cook dinner that night, but ended up sleeping in the tent where we could keep warm. I listened to a book on tape, read another book, and did some sleeping.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The wind picked up through the evening with gusts up to 40 - 50 mph. At one point the wind pulled one of our tie lines out of the ground as the wind caught our rainfly like a sale. We could not locate the hammer, so we ended up pulling a large rock over and holding down the corner with the large rock on the stake. It worked great! Through the night we could hear the rain and the tent shaking back-and-forth. We kept nice and warm, but it was the wind that was the concerning factor for us through the night. The next morning, those around us that were primarily in trailers talked to us and asked if we stayed warm. Yes, we were very warm and had to kick off covers as we were hot. We told them it was the wind we were worried about through then night.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 6</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pABXPh" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Selfie in Front of our Tent and Site" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53556675754_3eaaf27dc9_w_d.jpg" title="Selfie in Front of our Tent and Site" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie in Front of Campsite</td></tr></tbody></table>Our final night camping was not bad. We stayed warm but we were both disappointed that we were not able to do the longer hikes we had planned for our last full day of camping. We had discussed possibly staying one more day (leaving Friday morning instead), but after the night of weather, we decided it was best to stick with our original plans and leave Thursday.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">As we were breaking down our campsite, I realized I had not taken picture of our tent or our site. So, as we were breaking down our site, I took the panoramic picture below which is where our tent stood and our view when we crawled out each morning of our tent. The selfie picture to start the Day 6 section was early in our stay and you can see our tent in the background.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pATvzz" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Our Camp Site Post Tent Breakdown" border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="400" height="97" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53559709287_5cb19f8832_w_d.jpg" title="Our Camp Site Post Tent Breakdown" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campsite Post Tent Breakdown</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">We loaded up the car, said good-byes to a few fellow campers around that we had met and left our campsite. Again, we broke the drive back into two days. We had planned to stop by Wichita Falls, TX, but every hotel there was booked solid so we ended up in Duncan, OK for the night.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Day 7</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pBjzzr" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sleepy Oliver After We Returned from Camping Trip to Big Bend National Park" border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="400" height="136" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53564600535_ab288289ff_w_d.jpg" title="Sleepy Oliver After We Returned from Camping Trip to Big Bend National Park" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleepy Oliver After Our Return</td></tr></tbody></table>Last day was only for traveling. We had about five hours from Duncan, OK to Topeka, KS. We stayed in a Hampton Inn located in Duncan, OK, so we were able to have breakfast before getting on the road. The weather was nice although we could tell we were headed north as it was colder outside.We were both looking forward to getting home to see our little Oliver.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">We got home about mid-afternoon. Oliver was happy to see us but also very sleepy. We spent the late afternoon and evening catching up on shows we had missed. Oliver spent his time sleeping in his bed but keeping an eye on us throughout the night.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Summary</h3><p style="text-align: left;">We both want to return to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm" target="_blank">Big Bend National Park</a>. It was so pretty. We enjoyed the campsite and facilities of the campsite. Camp hosts were nice and accommodating to our needs and questions. All the guests were were friendly and as I mentioned, meeting people on the trails was fun to interact with them. We liked where we camped too, but might look at a different spot within the park for a future camping location.</p><p style="text-align: left;">To see all pictures from our trip, please visit <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBg8Wr" target="_blank">Big Bend National Park Album</a> on <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBg8Wr" target="_blank">Flickr</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Thank you for reading and I hope to have a few more camping posts throughout the summer. We already have at least one spot reserved for the summer and plan to do a few others too. Until next time, enjoy the week and I hope you are able to get out to enjoy the world.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-76667664735410627682024-02-25T00:00:00.155-06:002024-02-25T00:00:00.145-06:00Oscar 2024 Nominated Best Picture Movies with Short Update on Those Watched and What are Left to Watch<p>The Oscars are approaching on March 10, 2024. I have some movies to catch up on before the ceremony, but I have watched some of the nominees. Here is a break down of those I have enjoyed and what I have left to watch.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a><br />Carrie and I watched this movie during our holiday break. We both really enjoyed this movie. The whole story and the characters. By the same director that did <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Sideways</a> so I could see some similarities, but I enjoyed this movie a lot. The character development was excellent for all the characters in this movie. This is up there for my best movie from the lot even before I see all of the movies.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23561236/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">American Fiction</a><br />I have not seen this movie yet. It is on our list of course to watch. Sounds like an interesting movie that I plan to see in the theater. It will take a lot for this movie to beat out the leader for me, but I am looking forward to seeing this movie.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7160372/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Zone of Interest</a><br />I did not know anything about this movie until I heard about it on NPR this past week. A movie about a family living next to unthinkable camps. More on this movie after I am able to watch it.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517268/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Barbie</a><br />I watched this movie in the theater along with the next movie in the list. It was good. I did enjoy the movie. It was not the best movie I have seen from the list of nominees. The cast was great, the set was just how I would see a "Barbie" set. However, it is not my favorite movie from the list of nominees.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15398776/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Oppenheimer</a><br />A long movie at over three hours. A movie that could have been maybe two hours. It was a story I was not familiar with hearing. The movie did a good job of telling the story, but it could have been shorter. A powerful film that was synced up with the prior movie with people watching both movies.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Poor Things</a><br />Another movie I have not seen yet. Carrie and I plan to watch this movie. It will be interesting to see Emma Stone in a different type of character. More on this movie later.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13238346/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Past Lives</a><br />I was able to watch this movie recently. It was well done and good. The cast did a good job in this one. I found the movie to be entertaining, but not a great movie.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17009710/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Anatomy of a Fall</a><br />Another movie that I do not know anything about. I read through IMDB on this one and it sounds interesting. More on this movie after I am able to watch it.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5535276/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Maestro</a><br />I really did not know the story about the conductor. I thought Bradley Cooper did a great job and Carey Mulligan was excellent playing his wife. Bradley Cooper throughout this movie and I found myself forgetting it was him that was in the movie. From his appearance to his voice, it seemed like a different person.</p><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5537002/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Killers of the Flower Moon</a><br />Another movie that I was able to watch during the holiday break. I did not know anything about the story until watching this movie. A long movie that could have been shorter. Lily Gladstone I thought stole this movie as Lily did a great job in her role. </p><p>The update for this week is more for myself to track the movies I have watched and what I plan to watch. I do plan to watch the remaining movies before March 10. Some of the movies left for me to watch are still in theaters, so I am hoping to get to the theaters to watch them in style.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-74766308962676828282024-02-18T12:17:00.000-06:002024-02-18T12:17:11.425-06:00Valentine's Day Dinner at Soliloquy was a Fun Experience<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pyhC8J" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Valentine's Dinner Menu" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53530269424_8f0859fed2_w_d.jpg" title="Valentine's Dinner Menu" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Menu from Soliloquy</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Valentine's Day had Carrie and I at Soliloquy for a fancy Valentine's Day dinner and drinks. We had a fun time. Carrie saw the announcement about the event on FaceBook and had sent it to me a week or two ahead of Valentine's Day. It looked good and different, so I booked reservations. The menu was already set along with drinks to accompany the meal. The picture to the right is the menu from Soliloquy on Valentine's Day. I believe I heard this was the second time Soliloquy had done this for Valentine's Day. It was fun!</p><p>When we arrived, we walked in and did not even give our name, but they seated us. Carrie and I laughed as we were not sure how they knew who we were, so we asked the waitress and she told us that she just knew. There were only a certain number of guests as the 6:30 pm seating sold out, so she knew we were one of the couples.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pyaM3z" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Fluer de Lavende Drink" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53528933617_e474c9a080_w_d.jpg" title="Fluer de Lavende Drink" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fluer de Lavende Drink</td></tr></tbody></table>Some of my favorite items from the menu included the zucchini salad. The first drink we had which was Fluer de Lavande. The Wellington took the show. It was amazing! I had never had a Beef Wellington before and it lived up to the hype. I have seen it done in movies and even cooking shows, but I had never had it before. the flaky crust with the perfectly cooked prime tenderloin was delicious. To finish the night I had the Irish coffee which was a take on the original recipe which was also very good.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pyfStd" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Tiramisu" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529927426_3c26dee5b9_w_d.jpg" title="Tiramisu" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiramisu</td></tr></tbody></table>As we finished our meal and they brought out the the Irish coffee and final dessert, we were discussing if we would do this again next year if offered. We enjoyed the experience. Some of the food was different, but we enjoy trying different things and experiencing new things. I think we would do it again. </p><p>We paid for our reservation a week or so ahead as I had mentioned. When they dropped off a card, I thought it was the bill. It was sealed with wax. When I opened the envelope, it had the menu inside. No bill, so everything was done and paid for including the tip for our table service. It was nice as we left and had enjoyed a new experience.</p><p>Carrie and I had a fun night out experiencing something different. Food prepared in different styles along with drinks. It as a fun night and so glad I was able to spend it with my Valentine. Love you so much Carrie!</p><p>Have a great week and I will talk with you next time.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-26247112361026537032024-02-11T10:25:00.002-06:002024-02-11T10:25:45.456-06:00Super Bowl Sunday and Kansas City Chiefs are in SB Again... So Excited! Let's GO!<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pxwQrs" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Chiefs Shoes for the Super Bowl" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53521725892_3f527cec5b_w_d.jpg" title="Chiefs Shoes for the Super Bowl" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chiefs Shoes for Super Bowl</td></tr></tbody></table>Quiet Sunday morning as we prepare for the Super Bowl this evening. It is hard to believe that the <a href="https://www.chiefs.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City Chiefs</a> are playing in their fourth Super Bowl in the past five years. It has been so much fun and a good reminder to never take anything for granted in life or sports. I am so excited for the game tonight, I can hardly stand the wait.</p><p>Carrie and I attended the <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Washburn mens basketball</a> game on Saturday. <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Washburn</a> lost to <a href="https://bearcatsports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Northwest Missouri State</a>. It was a good game, but came up short on a three point attempt and let the game slip away. <a href="https://bearcatsports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Northwest Missouri State</a> is always a tough game and their #22 player was hitting three point shots like he was doing layups. He had 18 points in the first half. There was a really good crowd at the game, so it was fun. Only a few games left in the season before the post season starts.</p><p>Saturday night was the <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/mbball/" target="_blank">Kansas Jayhawks</a> game who took on <a href="https://baylorbears.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Baylor</a>. Got off to a good start, but let <a href="https://baylorbears.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Baylor</a> stick around and only won by three points. After losing the prior game to the <a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Wildcats</a>, it was good to get a win. Monday night will be tough going up against <a href="https://texastech.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Texas Tech</a>. The Big 12 league is wide open this year and it is tough to win on the road so hoping we show up and ready to play Monday night.</p><p>Ok, back to the hype for the big game tonight. I shared the picture of my <a href="Kansas City Chiefs" target="_blank">Kansas City Chiefs</a> shoes that I am wearing for today. I actually got the shoes early in 2023, so it will be fun to wear them today for the Super Bowl. Looking forward to taco bar we are doing this evening for the watch party.</p><p>Have a great rest of your Sunday and a great week. Go Chiefs!</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-65556376888206293082024-02-04T00:00:00.094-06:002024-02-04T00:00:00.143-06:00Cooked Beef Stir Fry in the Rain on Saturday Night on Big Green Egg Using a Wok ... Turned Out Great!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pwaxV9" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Peppers and Onions Ready for Stir Fry on Big Green Egg" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53506256462_679248bee0_w_d.jpg" title="Peppers and Onions Ready for Stir Fry on Big Green Egg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peppers and Onions Ready</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Saturday night was time to do stir fry in the Big Green Egg (BGE). I believe this was the fourth time we have used the wok on the BGE. It had been raining most of the day, but that did not stop me from firing of the BGE and getting the wok ready. It did take a while to the fire going with the rain. I was finally able to close the lid to the BGE and leave the top open which helped and got the temperature up to around 400 degrees. I wanted the temperature to be between 450 and 500 but with the rain during preparation and then when I was finally cooking the stir fry, the temperature was consistently around 400 degrees.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pwhh1x" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Marinated Beef Ready for Big Green Egg" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53507568735_c92409f908_w_d.jpg" title="Marinated Beef Ready for Big Green Egg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marinated Beef Ready for Wok</td></tr></tbody></table>The beef was done in a sauce that Carrie had put together. Some spice, soy, and a little more spice. The beef smelled so good as it marinated and I got the BGE ready. With how long it took to get the BGE going in the rain, the beef marinated for about 45 - 60 minutes. Carrie knows that I like to have a lot of sauce, so it was nice a saucy ready for the wok. No, you cannot tell from the picture to the right that it is saucy, but it was very nice and smelled so good.</p><p>We had the veggies and meat ready to go and the fire was right. I put the wok on the BGE to let it warm up for about five minutes. The temperature was still right around 400 degrees. Added some oil and then the meat. Immediately started sizzling and a lot of smoke with the coldness outside. Carrie came out to help me and held an umbrella over us while I cooked. I cooked the meet for about five minutes and then spread it out to the edges of the wok. Now it was time to add in the veggies that I put right in the middle. Still a lot of liquid from the sauce, but it worked out great as the veggies kind of boiled in the liquid. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pwhh1N" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Finished Beef Stir Fry in Wok from Big Green Egg" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53507568750_f0caf9122b_w_d.jpg" title="Finished Beef Stir Fry in Wok from Big Green Egg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Stir Fry from BGE</td></tr></tbody></table>I cooked the veggies in the middle of the meat for three or four minutes. It was then time to mix everything together and continue starring in the meat to the veggies. For another minutes or two and then it was time for more sauce. We used a packet for the stir fry sauce that needed to thicken up a little after it was added. After about two minutes, I could see the sauce had thickened and it was time to take it inside. </p><p>Another success as it was delicious! Carrie did some rice in our rice cooker and we have enough for leftovers for us both tomorrow for lunch. We had some kimchi in our fridge that went along great with the stir fry. </p><p>Following dinner, I went out to put the BGE back together and prepare it for the night. I noticed that it had cooled down very quickly with the chill in the air and rain. Normally, it takes a few hours for the grill to cool off, but tonight it had cooled down quickly.</p><p>Another successful night of grilling with the BGE using a wok. We loved it and I cannot wait to cook again with the wok. Our plan is to do multiple wok cooks this summer so we can have leftovers of various options through the week. Rice works great, but we also want to try doing noddles with with one of these cooks.</p><p>Have a great week and I will talk to you next week for Super Bowl Sunday.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-62922198018357845092024-01-28T11:50:00.001-06:002024-01-28T14:36:31.429-06:00We Made Our First Trip to the Kansas City RV Show on Saturday to Look Around... Thinking About Future and Camping<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCHd_Fza57s84FnyEFG7CggrCLi3y8NNxwIOL94Llja0dAEYEpRm5bzbb_NJu0VXJeJlsv7MXcxyiy73wdmWXMYwQVfM-Q7-bKF81HyvBLA1Ap4j4pPSSUgEQZFF3Q_l0s7E002F65XCtRLYgN-UG_HaVVeDWr4E3W7TGGv8u9kbHA1sizsms/s1618/Image%201-28-24%20at%2011.38%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Explore 2024 NB20.3" border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1618" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCHd_Fza57s84FnyEFG7CggrCLi3y8NNxwIOL94Llja0dAEYEpRm5bzbb_NJu0VXJeJlsv7MXcxyiy73wdmWXMYwQVfM-Q7-bKF81HyvBLA1Ap4j4pPSSUgEQZFF3Q_l0s7E002F65XCtRLYgN-UG_HaVVeDWr4E3W7TGGv8u9kbHA1sizsms/w200-h148/Image%201-28-24%20at%2011.38%E2%80%AFAM.jpeg" title="Explore 2024 NB20.3" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Explore 2024 NB20.3</td></tr></tbody></table>Carrie and I have been tent camping for a few years now. We really enjoy the experience of tent camping although having a travel trailer would help us to be able to camp earlier and later in the season. We do have long-term plans to get a travel trailer, so this weekend we made a trip to the <a href="https://rvshowkc.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City RV Show</a> to look around. </p><p>We had a fun time walking around looking at the different options from small dome options to full motorhomes. It is truly amazing how much can be fit into the various options. Still, we are pulled to the direction of a travel trailer because we can hitch it to our Pilot, get to most any location, and leave the trailer while we site see or go to hiking locations.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsFWl-n5EAi9n9y0AtJOgNdoS-UUHYI0f9tu-FBeJ6jobxqG1rQYf61pT5R5uXetBCLWtJDEYc6vv0fUew_3rDyFRdHAhK6jmmA0-7tfanMSosbFY0xA3ryn56sU_AmjEHx9tnrKglWuoro3a1p7qjV3SbcoIdFNRay1_ulHMhU50DJK85h23/s2528/Image%201-28-24%20at%2011.38%E2%80%AFAM%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Explore 2024 NB20.3 Floorplan" border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="2528" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsFWl-n5EAi9n9y0AtJOgNdoS-UUHYI0f9tu-FBeJ6jobxqG1rQYf61pT5R5uXetBCLWtJDEYc6vv0fUew_3rDyFRdHAhK6jmmA0-7tfanMSosbFY0xA3ryn56sU_AmjEHx9tnrKglWuoro3a1p7qjV3SbcoIdFNRay1_ulHMhU50DJK85h23/w320-h128/Image%201-28-24%20at%2011.38%E2%80%AFAM%20(1).jpeg" title="Explore 2024 NB20.3 Floorplan" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Explore 2024 NB20.3 Floorplan</td></tr></tbody></table>The travel trailer that we reviewing is the <a href="https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/no-boundaries/NB20.3/8121" target="_blank">Explore 2024 NB20.3</a>. We are a few years out from doing anything about this new adventure, but it is fun to review and look at options. Some things we need to figure out include towing capacity of our Honda Pilot. I see it has a 5,000 lbs towing capacity, but the <a href="https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/no-boundaries/NB20.3/8121">NB20.3</a> lists figures over the 5,000 lbs. Futher research is needed to understand if our Honda Pilot could haul this device not to mention also need to get a hitch for our Pilot.</p><p>It is exciting to review and think about getting a travel trailer. We are still a few years out before we do get one though. So, who knows, maybe at a future future <a href="https://rvshowkc.com/" target="_blank">Kansas City RV Show</a> we will get a trailer once we have figured out hitch, storage, and exactly what we are wanting to buy.</p><p>As we look to camping for the spring, summer, and fall, we already have one spot reserved and talking about getting other dates selected for other camping adventures throughout the summer. We only went twice last year, so hoping to double, or triple, the amount of camping adventures this year. One day, we will have a travel trailer and be able to camp earlier and later into the season which will be a lot of fun.</p><p>Have a great week and if you are using a travel trailer, I would love to connect and discuss what you selected and why.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-38441000641626317062024-01-21T00:00:00.060-06:002024-01-21T00:00:00.130-06:00Cold, Snow, Ice, Sweaters, and Spring Right Around the Corner<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2ps213r" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Oliver Keeping Warm in Sweater" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53459322357_39cda0fbc8_w_d.jpg" title="Oliver Keeping Warm in Sweater" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Sweater</td></tr></tbody></table>Cold, snowy, and short days the past few weeks but days are getting longer. I did notice this past week when driving home from work that the sun was setting and it was almost 5:30. I had left work late and driving home noticing there was still light in the sky and pink in the western sky. It was beautiful! No, I did not get a picture taken, but I did enjoy the fact that it does mean the days are gradually getting longer.</p><p>A few times when letting Oliver out to do his business, he would stand to lift one paw and then the other. He immediately started shivering as it was sub-zero temperatures. Poor guy! Carrie would carry him out to the middle of the yard a few times just to help his little paws. He was a sweater puppy when it is cold and seems to like wearing the sweaters. We did have one day where it got up in the twenties or so and Oliver wanted to spend time outside enjoying the sun. Crazy guy!</p><p>It has been below zero multiple days and snow on the ground multiple days which is longer than I recall in the past few years. As a kid, I recall having snow on the ground for days, or weeks, but the past couple of years it seems like it will snow and be gone after a few days. Not with the latest snow falls we have had lately. The temperatures hovering around zero allow the grassy areas, and even some streets/pavement, to keep a covering of snow. </p><p>Last weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs played in one of the coldest games in NFL history. I was glad to watch the game from the comfort of a home and my beer not freezing. It was not a game I wished I was at while watching on television. I spoke to friends who did attend and it sounded miserable although they did say how they can say they were there and stuck it out to the end... well, almost the end. They left partway through the fourth quarter. Stories to tell though of frozen beers, ice for feet, and noses freezing. Good times!</p><p>Rest assured that the days are getting longer and it will soon be spring here in Kansas. The warm weather will be here before we know it and Oliver cannot wait!</p><p>Stay warm and I will talk to you next week...</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-63343469104348107002024-01-14T00:00:00.033-06:002024-01-14T00:00:00.144-06:00My Flickr Year 2023 in Review and Background on My Flickr Account Through the Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2prJsyh" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="MyFlickr for 2023 Stats" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53456094648_1c4fb9a01f_w_d.jpg" title="MyFlickr for 2023 Stats" width="294" /></a></div><br /><p>The majority of pictures posted on my site come from my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> page where I upload all of my pictures. I have been a paid member of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> since 2007. I have almost 10,000 photos on my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> account and trying to take more and more pictures each year. I often go back and look at past years through Flickr to remember what we did during a specific period of time. Of course I also often go back in my blog to review a trip or what we did during a specific week. </p><p>For 2023, my most viewed picture was from a sunset I took one morning from Washburn University campus as I was walking into work. I entered the picture in a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/yourbestshot2023/" target="_blank">Your Best Shot 2023</a> group to try and win. I did not win, but it was fun having visitors view and comment on the picture. In the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> group, there were over 11,400 members with over 9,000 photos ranging from a variety of photographs. It was the second year I had joined a group for "Your Best Shot" and had fun reviewing all of the member posts with their "Best Shot" for the year.</p><p>The picture of the sunset had over 775 views since it was posted on November 3, 2023. The majority of the views coming from being part of the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/yourbestshot2023/" target="_blank">Your Best Shot 2023</a> group. Overall, I had almost 12,000 views for all of my pictures.</p><p>My goal for 2024 is to not only post more pictures to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>, but be more active on interacting in groups, other members pictures, and the big one which I have found helps to get views is to include tags on photos. A tag is similar to a hashtag on a tweet but does not necessarily need the typical "#" for a hashtag. Those do show up, but most of my tags are simply "Sunset", "Dog", "basketball", etc. Gives another way for others to search and possibly have whatever was posted show up in their search. I also try to put a title and description on all pictures that I upload. Again, I find that this helps when looking through stats to see how people found a picture.</p><p>Brief background into the site that stores pictures I post to this blog that I wanted to share. Hopefully in 2024 I will post more pictures and have more interactions with visitors to my <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> photos.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-11925188002830834192024-01-14T00:00:00.017-06:002024-01-14T00:00:00.143-06:00My Reading Journey from 2023 with a Goal of 25 Books and I Read 25 Books in 2023... Some of my Favorites in this Update<p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="hhttps://flic.kr/p/2pr8EdK" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="GoodReads 2023 Goal was 25 Books and I read 25 Books" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="341" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53449304963_8278cf5670_w_d.jpg" title="GoodReads 2023 Goal was 25 Books and I read 25 Books" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goal was 25 and Made 25</td></tr></tbody></table>I met my reading goal for 2023. The goal was 25 books and I read my last book on New Years Eve. On November 5, 2023, I was at 17 of 25 books (see <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/2023/11/the-goodreads-2023-reading-challenge-is.html" target="_blank">post</a>), so I had to pick up the pace and read every chance I could get. Even reading every chance I could get, it was close as I was juggling multiple books.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I had a fun time reading this year. The majority of the 25 books I read with my Kindle. Some of the books, I did listen to which I know is debated as whether they count or not in some social media circles. I did find that listening to novels does not work well for me unless I am in the car driving and can focus on the audio book. I decided that audio books I listen to in 2024 will be memoirs or autobiographies as they are easier to follow when around the house and doing other things. I did manage to fit in a few autobiographies this year, so that was fun. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pre7Xf" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="GoodReads 2023 Books" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="223" height="640" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53450370452_f411e26c0a_o_d.png" title="GoodReads 2023 Books" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 25 Books for 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"> To the right are the 25 books I read during 2023. Here, I will highlight some of my favorites. Starting at the top which are the earliest books I read in 2023, I enjoyed <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56038729-come-fly-the-world" target="_blank">Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of Women of Pan AM</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7409517.Julia_Cooke" target="_blank">Julia Cooke</a>. This book entered my queue from a bookclub I belong and I found this an interesting read. I was a good book to start my 2023 reading journey and I really enjoyed the history from the book with facts I had not heard previously.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My next favorite book was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36095563-devotion" target="_blank">Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6462481.Adam_Makos" target="_blank">Adam Makos</a>. My Uncle Charlie had told me about the movie that he saw and that it was good, but it also included a sequence in the movie that was exactly what my Dad went through when he served in the Navy. I really enjoyed the book and could feel what my Dad went through in that scary moment while reading the section of the book. I was able to watch the movie this past week and it went along exactly how I remember the book portrayed the story.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My first audio book of 2023 was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57648017-the-storyteller" target="_blank">The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782573.Dave_Grohl" target="_blank">Dave Grohl</a>. This book was recommended to me by Carrie. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782573.Dave_Grohl" target="_blank">Dave Grohl</a> being the drummer from Nirvana and Foo Fighters. I loved this book! It was even better because I heard the book read by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782573.Dave_Grohl" target="_blank">Dave Grohl</a>. It was really good and highly recommend that if you want to read this book that you do the audio book so you can hear <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782573.Dave_Grohl" target="_blank">Dave Grohl</a> tell his story. Excellent!</p><p style="text-align: left;">A few books later and I was reading another biography <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57093305-the-woman-all-spies-fear" target="_blank">The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizabeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3901024.Amy_Butler_Greenfield" target="_blank">Amy Butler Greenfield</a>. Once again, an interesting book about the code breakers, women, of WWI and WWII that I found so interesting. This was one of the books I read during 2023 that I found hard to put down. Interesting facts throughout that I had not heard about before. I believe this was another book from the book club I belong, but I do not recall for sure. It was good nonetheless.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I went back and picked up two books by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/314195.C_J_Box" target="_blank">C.J. Box</a> as I continue to enjoy reading the series. I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40051930-out-of-range" target="_blank">Out of Range</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36311438-in-plain-sight" target="_blank">In Plain Sight</a>. The story continues with about 25 books in the series of game warden Joe Pickett. I will probably read a few more from this series during 2024. Easy reads that move quickly and hard to put down.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally after many years and multiple friends colleagues telling me I should read the book, I finally read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63340129-the-hitchhiker-s-guide-to-the-galaxy" target="_blank">The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4.Douglas_Adams" target="_blank">Douglas Adams</a>. Nope! It did not disappoint. I could not put it down and read it fairly quickly for my reading routine. I am so glad that I finally checked it out from the library (e-book of course), waited for it to arrive as there was a wait, and read it thoroughly enjoying the book.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie recommended I listen to the audio book of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74894304-the-woman-in-me" target="_blank">The Woman in Me</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/228521.Britney_Spears" target="_blank">Britney Spears</a>. Once again, hearing the book read by the author was a good way to "read" the book. Once again, I recommend if you want to read this book that you do the audio book to hear <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/228521.Britney_Spears" target="_blank">Britney Spears</a> tell her story. Worth it!</p><p style="text-align: left;">My final book of the year which also happened to be an audio book was <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59641216-friends-lovers-and-the-big-terrible-thing" target="_blank">Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8212643.Matthew_Perry" target="_blank">Matthew Perry</a>. Hearing <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8212643.Matthew_Perry" target="_blank">Matthew Perry</a> read after passing away not long ago (October 28, 2023) was a bit eerie but again it was good to hear it in the authors voice. To start out the book, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8212643.Matthew_Perry" target="_blank">Matthew Perry</a> says "Hi, my name is Matthew Perry, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead." Eerie feeling as I listened to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8212643.Matthew_Perry" target="_blank">Matthew Perry</a> speak this on the audiobook. If you have the chance and can get on the waiting list, be sure to listen to the audiobook of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8212643.Matthew_Perry" target="_blank">Matthew Perry</a>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Those are the highlights of my books from 2023. I barely made my goal of 25 books for the year. For 2024, I did another goal of 25 books although I hope to be closer to 30 books on the year as it comes to a close a year from now. I make it a point to read every day and so far I have been able to keep that streak going for two years straight. Even on days where I listen to an audio book, I still make sure to open my Kindle and read a page or two from one of my many books on my shelf.</p><p style="text-align: left;">If you have a recommendation for a book based on those I read or referenced above that I said I enjoyed, I would be interested to hear from you in the comments of those post. Of course you can also reach out via social media to share with me too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Enjoy your reading journey and if we have not connected on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16902255-john-haverty" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>, please follow me on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16902255-john-haverty" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-5430485646280332772024-01-07T12:54:00.004-06:002024-01-07T12:54:36.433-06:00Washburn Basketball, Movies, Weather, and NFL in this Update to Start the 2024 Year<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pqYzVv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carrie and John at Washburn Basketball Game on Saturday, January 6, 2024" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53447534499_e50e756ae9_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie and John at Washburn Basketball Game on Saturday, January 6, 2024" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and John at Washburn Game</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie and I attended our third game of the season. We have missed a number of early games in the season, but hope to make the remaining games of the season. With traveling, holidays, etc., we were unable to make games earlier in the season. We had a great time on Saturday. <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Washburn</a> came away with the win. We attended the <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/mens-basketball" target="_blank">Washburn</a> game on Thursday too and we won that game too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">While we were at the game, we decided we are going to attend one of the home track meets <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/womens-track-and-field" target="_blank">Washburn</a> plays through January. I have never been to a track meet although I have watched them online, so I am looking forward to attending our first track meet at our very own <a href="https://wusports.com/facilities/washburn-indoor-athletic-facility/317" target="_blank">Indoor Athletic Facility</a> on the <a href="https://www.washburn.edu" target="_blank">Washburn University</a> campus.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Friday night, we stayed home and enjoyed watching movies. During the holiday break, we watched a movie, or two, every night. There were a few we did not get to, so we watched on Friday night. We were able to watch <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a> and it was fantastic! We watched <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a> on <a href="https://www.peacocktv.com/" target="_blank">Peacock</a>, but I know it is playing at <a href="https://www.libertyhall.net/" target="_blank">Liberty Hall</a> in Lawrence, KS. Worth checking out as the whole cast did a great job. From the same director who did <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/?ref_=nm_knf_t_4" target="_blank">Sideways</a> (2004), <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668247/?ref_=tt_ov_dr" target="_blank">Alexander Payne</a> put together a good story that was heartwarming and brought tears to my eyes. After watching <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14849194/" target="_blank">The Holdovers</a>, we decided we would watch <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/?ref_=nm_knf_t_4" target="_blank">Sideways</a> as it had been a long time since we had seen <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/?ref_=nm_knf_t_4" target="_blank">Sideways</a>. Fun low key Friday night for us.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pqYAUD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Trees and Lights After Snow in Topeka, KS" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53447537813_cbc0cf03f3_w_d.jpg" title="Trees and Lights After Snow in Topeka, KS" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trees and Lights in the Snow</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Friday also brought our second snow to Topeka. It was not supposed to amount to much, but it did snow all day long and left the trees and shrubs looking pretty. A wet snow that covered trees, so Carrie snapped a picture of our trees and lit up snowman in front of our house as it was pretty. The forecast is for significant snow fall Monday through Tuesday, so we will see what happens. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is the last weekend of the regular season for the <a href="https://www.nfl.com" target="_blank">NFL</a>. Many teams are playing backup players to save their starters for the playoffs which includes the <a href="https://www.kcchiefs.com" target="_blank">Kansas City Chiefs</a> who are not starting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Mahomes" target="_blank">Mahomes</a> and others to keep them fresh for the postseason. So I am looking forward to watching football all afternoon although Carrie is not thrilled as she will be happy when the season is over and no more football. </p><p style="text-align: left;">A wondering ramble of topics for this week. Short week last week with New Years Day on Monday, but it was back to work. It was a good productive work week. I hope your year started out well and I will talk to you soon.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-4607677244296287712023-12-31T00:00:00.013-06:002023-12-31T00:00:00.130-06:00Happy New Year 2024 and a Look Back at Past Haverty NYE Celebrations<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/65mxgJ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Carrie and John in Early 2000 New Years Eve Celebration" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/3606/3331057260_73dbaa08ea_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie and John in Early 2000 New Years Eve Celebration" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and I in NYE 2001</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As we look toward 2024, I think back to past New Years Eve celebrations. The picture to the right is from 2001 with Shayne and Autumn. Carrie and I were dating at the time and went to celebrate the end of 2001 and the start of 2002 with Shayne and Autumn. I recall that Carrie was sick that night with a fever and not feeling well at all. She went to bed early leaving Autumn, Shayne, and I to ring in the New Year. Carrie reminds me that I kept going into the room we were staying and letting her know we were having fun, could smell some type of spirit on my breath, and then finally I went into let her know that the upstairs toilet would no longer work. I will leave it at that and note that Shayne and I had to go out and get a plunger to start the New Year of 2002. Good times!</p><p>While we lived in Lawrence, we had some epic New Years Eve celebrations where we had people sleeping on the floor in various rooms where ever they could find a spot to sleep. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of pictures, if any, from those celebrations. A lot of good memories though from various parties one including Brenda taking around "shots" that was beer and laughing while she offered "shots" to the party goers. So much fun and good memories of those parties.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/4iYemi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="New Years Eve 2007 with Dad, Jerry, and John" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/2053/2172421917_ed7b0bd9f9_w_d.jpg" title="New Years Eve 2007 with Dad, Jerry, and John" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Years Eve 2007</td></tr></tbody></table><p>On New Years Eve 2007, I have good memories of spending the end of 2007 with my family in Lawrence. We grilled steaks, drank a lot of wine, and even made Irish Coffee at some point during the evening. The picture to the left is Dad, Jerry, and I outside cooking, telling stories, and drinking wine while we cooked. </p><p>Our game of choice was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Gaming-B0966-Rook-Card/dp/B00NQQTZ5G" target="_blank">Rook</a> which I had introduced Carrie to playing when we were dating. The whole family played and we have many good memories of staying late on work nights to finish up a game before heading home. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/4j3h3E" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Dad Trying on CPAP Machine on NYE 2007" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/2157/2173211434_1d1bdc75ac_w_d.jpg" title="Dad Trying on CPAP Machine on NYE 2007" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad Trying CPAP NYE 2007</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie and I had recently moved to Topeka, so we made a trip into Lawrence to spend with Mom, Dad, and family to ring in the new year. I had recently been fitted with a CPAP machine and for some reason, we broke it out on New Years Eve 2007 for my Dad and Mom to try out. I recall my Dad was still questioning how it worked and how I would sleep with it on my head. Eventually, Dad would get one himself but never liked it and I am not sure really ever gave it a chance. Still, we all tried it on before we started playing games and drinking wine through the evening.</p><p>The next morning, as we do almost every year on New Years Day, we would have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin%27_John" target="_blank">Hoppin' John</a> that my Mom had told me about when I was little. We have had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin%27_John" target="_blank">Hoppin' John</a> just about every year Carrie and I have been together on New Years Day. The short of the meaning behind <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin%27_John" target="_blank">Hoppin' John</a> is that it brings luck for the next year and then greens along with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoppin%27_John" target="_blank">Hoppin' John</a> can bring wealth for the upcoming year. A little hot sauce and it was excellent to eat on New Years Day and a few days after as it is always suggested to make a lot so you have leftovers.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/b64gXD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="New Years Eve 2011" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7005/6620789183_dc5c7e0e33_w_d.jpg" title="New Years Eve 2011" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYE 2011</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 2011, we had a small party at our home with friends. Scott, Robin, Brenda, Carrie and I celebrated the end of 2011 and the new year of 2012. We watched movies in the living room, played games, and a few drinks to end the year and celebrate the new year of 2012.</p><p>Some of our New Years Eve celebrations have been Carrie and I spending a quiet evening at home, grilling, drinking wine, and hanging out with Oliver. We have had NYE celebrations where we are with small groups and large groups. I do not believe we have ever been out on the town for a big New Years Eve celebration with large groups of people. I prefer to be home or at a home to bring in the New Year. I am not sure why, but prefer to bring with a large group at some event space.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2ibCqhs" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Taylor, Greg, and John NYE 2019" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49347028282_2511a00b6c_w_d.jpg" title="Taylor, Greg, and John NYE 2019" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYE 2019</td></tr></tbody></table><p>New Years Eve 2019 we threw a big party at our home with family and friends. Little did we know it would be the last time we could all be together as COVID 2020 hit early in 2020. We had a good time celebrating the end of 2019 and 2020 starting the next day. It seems like so long ago as I look back and reflect on our fun that night. Games were played, drinks were had, and a lot of fun by all.</p><p>Last year, Carrie and I were in Houston, TX to ring in the New Year. We stayed a few days with Corrie and rang in the New Year at her home. I recall all the fireworks that went off in her neighborhood. It was impressive as I recall walking outside after midnight to smell gun powder in the air.</p><p>We look to 2023 coming to an end on Sunday, December 31, 2023. For 2024, I look forward to doing a whole lot more camping this year. I did a fair amount of traveling in 2023 which was good and I hope we can keep the traveling in 2024 at a high level too.</p><p>Happy New Year to you and your family.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-37746193909676790932023-12-31T00:00:00.011-06:002023-12-31T00:00:00.130-06:00Trip to Palm Springs, CA November 30 - December 4 Update... Note, we had a great time!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pjerGy" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mountains, Palm Trees, and Palm Springs, California" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53371218044_f9cfe07eb8_w_d.jpg" title="Mountains, Palm Trees, and Palm Springs, California" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountains and Palm Trees</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I did not have a chance to write up our trip to Palm Springs, California after we got back. We went to Palm Springs, CA November 30 - December 4. We met Javier and Corrie in Palm Springs. We got together a few weeks ahead of our trip to pick a place to go. We wanted to go some place that none of us had been before. This took a few messages back and forth and discussions before we finally landed on Palm Springs, California. Palm Springs did not disappoint! We had a great time! It was beautiful and we ate at some good places as well as had drinks at some good spots too.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pjKm6K" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Breakfast at Farm in Palm Springs, CA" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53377052565_560e6e2f96_w_d.jpg" title="Breakfast at Farm in Palm Springs, CA" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Farm in Palm Springs</td></tr></tbody></table>For breakfast the first day, we went to <a href="https://farmpalmsprings.com/" target="_blank">Farm</a> in Palm Springs. A breakfast spot that was amazing. The set up of <a href="https://farmpalmsprings.com/" target="_blank">Farm</a> was cool with indoor and outdoor sitting. The drinks were amazing! The Bloody Mary here was so good, I could have had a few of those. Breakfast was simple and delicious with some really good fried potatoes.<p></p><p>We wanted to get an early start to the day as we had plans to visit <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm">Joshua Tree National Park</a>, do some bar hopping, and then have dinner at a fancy place that night. A lot planned for our first full day in Palm Springs, California.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pjcQDG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sun Behind Tree at Joshua Tree National Park" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53370905026_0143e190a9_w_d.jpg" title="Sun Behind Tree at Joshua Tree National Park" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree Behind Joshua Tree</td></tr></tbody></table>During the day, we drove out to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm">Joshua Tree National Park</a> to look around. Beautiful to see it and yes it was a bit chilly. We saw people climbing the rocks and on top of the high cliffs which was cool, but mainly, we enjoyed looking at the mountains against the sky with Joshua Trees mixed in and around the area. I am so glad that we decided to go out this day instead of waiting until the weekend to get out to see the sights.<p></p><p>Early evening found us at <a href="https://www.parkerpalmsprings.com/" target="_blank">The Parker Palm Springs</a> for drinks. We took an Uber to start our evening with drinks before heading to dinner. It was a cool spot where we later learned that movie stars would frequent for an after party for an event that takes place each year in Palm Springs. We only had drinks here and a lot of laughs. It was a fun spot and glad we were able to make it there before our evening of dinner.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pjHY1T" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Group Picture at Bar Cecil for Dinner" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53376783163_c050a23cd1_w_d.jpg" title="Group Picture at Bar Cecil for Dinner" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group Picture at Bar Cecil</td></tr></tbody></table>That night, we had reservations at <a href="https://barcecil.com/" target="_blank">Bar Cecil</a> that Carrie had found and got up early a month earlier to get reservations. As I mentioned, Carrie had to get up early a month prior to get reservations. She had read some place that reservations were hard to get and they opened a month in advance, so she got up early one morning in October to get our reservations. I am so glad she did! We had a great time!<p></p><p>Palm Springs reminded me a lot of Albuquerque, NM that we have visited a number of times for vacation. The mountains, look of the homes in the area, and the weather made me think of Albuquerque. In the evening, it would get rather chilly and we especially felt the cold when we traveled up the <a href="https://pstramway.com/">Palm Springs Aerial Tramway</a> which took us to the top of a mountain to overlook Palm Springs. We had drinks at the top of the mountain while looking at the views before heading out to see the rest of Palm Springs.</p><p>To see all pictures from our trip, please use the viewer below to browser our pictures. Note, there a lot of selfies and silly pictures as we had a blast! The full album can be viewed on <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5Zwg" target="_blank">Flickr</a> at <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5Zwg" target="_blank">https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB5Zwg</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/havertyj/albums/72177720313201519" title="Palm Springs Trip"><img alt="Palm Springs Trip" height="300" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53375686807_d39e5f8c22_w.jpg" width="400" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">As you can see from our pictures and description, we had an excellent time. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, we plan to do this on an annual basis where we pick a location where none of us have been. We recognize this will become a tough task as it took us a while to land on Palm Springs that none of us had been to before, but it is a good challenge and I look forward to see where we go next year when we make the trip to the unknown.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Until next time, I hope you have wonderful travels and are able to visit some place new each year.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-67180517533666351422023-12-24T11:24:00.000-06:002023-12-24T11:24:29.737-06:00Merry Christmas 2023! Have a Happy and Safe Christmas!<p><br /></p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0sHKgUOfXj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0sHKgUOfXj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; 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font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0sHKgUOfXj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Carrie H. (@carrieloulou)</a></p></div></blockquote><p>Merry Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas! I am using a post Carrie made on her Instagram page of our Christmas tree as I thought it was perfect for a Merry Christmas greeting. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. It is hard to believe that 2023 is coming to an end as it seems like the year just started, but here we are at the end of the year. </p><p>Enjoy the day and be sure to reach out to your family and friends this holiday season.</p> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-82186560267702879032023-12-18T17:24:00.002-06:002023-12-18T17:24:31.388-06:00Back Went Out Saturday Morning and Still Struggling with Back Pain Through Monday Evening<p>A short update for this week. I did not get this posted on Sunday per normal. My back went out Saturday morning and been battling the pain. I have never had back pain like this before. I was moving a cooler to clean it out Saturday morning and my back immediately started hurting. Carrie had to help me in and out of chairs. I actually spent the night in my recliner Sunday evening as it is so difficult to go up or down stairs.</p><p>I took off work today as I can barely walk around. I did make it to the doctor today, so I received a shot for pain and prescription medication to take over the next few days to help with pain. It is a waiting game at this point to let the swelling in my back go down. I can tell a different after the shot, but my doctor warned not to get too aggressive with things as it is helping with pain, but the pain will still be there when the shot wears off.</p><p>We had a fun weekend planned in Lawrence to do Christmas shopping. Although I went in with Carrie, I ended up staying in the car for most of the time we were in Lawrence. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pmtA3b" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ichabods Soccer Rally" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396610654_d48e18ffa6_w_d.jpg" title="Ichabods Soccer Rally" width="200" /></a></div>Here I am on Monday evening writing up my post for last week. We did make it out to the rally Wednesday evening to welcome back our Ichabods Soccer team after finishing second in the NCAA Div II tournament. They had a great season and I am able to say I went to three or four of their home games thanks to my sister-in-law Erin who had a friend playing for the team.<p></p><p>That is all for now as I am going to rest some more and hopefully be back up walking around here soon. Until next time...</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-51109870880428531182023-12-10T18:23:00.002-06:002023-12-10T19:04:11.565-06:00Celebration for 90th Birthday for Our Mom... Happy 90th Birthday Nancy Haverty!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pkC5c4" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Celebration with Mom for 90th Birthday" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53386949761_a410482188_w_d.jpg" title="Celebration with Mom for 90th Birthday" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom Celebrating 90 Birthday</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Our family got together to celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday. She turned 90 on December 6. A few months ago, we started discussing and figuring out what we would do to celebrate her birthday. Mom did not want a huge party, so we knew we had to keep it small to our immediate family. However, Betsy had the idea of doing a card party for Mom. So, the announcement was sent out and people started sending in cards to Mom. I know Carrie and I sent nine cards and others also sent multiple cards. She loves it and getting cards daily for the past two weeks has been great. We read through some of them when we celebrated which was fun to do.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pkB3Hp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Group Photo" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53386749681_b26ed04124_w_d.jpg" title="Group Photo" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group Family Photo<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Betsy organized us into a group picture. We were missing a few family members that were not able to make the trip. This was the first time in a few years that this many of us were able to get together. We missed Spencer, Jack and Katie, Katy, and Donna.</p><p>I ended up taking the pictures with my phone as we had some technical issues with Betsy's Android phone to get it to do a timer countdown. I think we got some good pictures of the whole family.</p><p>See all the pictures from the celebration on <a href="https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB6uuR">Flickr</a>.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pkEWgx" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Beautiful Sunset on Day of Celebration for Mom's 90th Birthday" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53387508445_57b0b6a083_w_d.jpg" title="Beautiful Sunset on Day of Celebration for Mom's 90th Birthday" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Sunset</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Beautiful weather for the birthday celebration. Carrie snapped the picture to the right of the sunset. Amazing weather for December 9. Carrie and I took our fire pit and had it going most of the afternoon into the evening. It was nice to have a little heat to stand around while we were talking and enjoying one another's company. The forecast for earlier in the week was rain and snow, but that never happened and it was a great celebration.</p><p>A small group of us remained and kept Mom up late into the evening (midnight) talking and telling stories. Mom was sharing stories from when she was little which was interesting. Tim started the question asking and then Carrie and I chimed in and started asking questions too. Questions such as how Dad proposed or favorite meals from her childhood. It was really interesting and some stories I had not heard before.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pkFwA4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Oliver Had Enough Family Time and Went Off to Sleep" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53387623895_d6f6787c8e_w_d.jpg" title="Oliver Had Enough Family Time and Went Off to Sleep" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Went to Quiet Room</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Oliver went off by himself at one point in the evening as he had enough of family time. He did well overall, but did not like having a one and half year old try to pet him. So, we had to keep Oliver separated from Hayes. It was so good to meet the little Haverty's that attended the gathering. </p><p>So happy with how the celebration turned out. Mom had a great time and we kept it only to immediate family. I hope we are all able to get together again soon just to be together.</p><p>Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week...</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-2125719089546105002023-12-03T00:00:00.068-06:002023-12-03T00:00:00.139-06:00Share My Fantasy Football Career, Discuss Other Fantasy Sports I play, and Other Ramblings<p>Fantasy sports are fun... well, most of the time. It is amazing how quickly a "good" season can change. In one of my fantasy football leagues, I was leading the division and had won a series of games in a row. The past three weeks, I am on a losing skid. I dropped from leading the division to third place in my division. At this rate, I have a chance of barely getting into the playoffs with two weeks left in the regular season for fantasy football.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/p/chiefs-kingdom.html">Chiefs Kingdom</a> league I have been an owner since 2016. It is a great time as we do a live draft in-person at the start of the season. I have not won this league yet, but I have had some good seasons. This year, I was progressing with a good team and suddenly the wheels fell off and I am not sure where I will end up. We have had different league owners win over the years and the past two years for the first time we had a repeat winner. This league is a lot of fun and banter is shared between owners.</p><p>The <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/p/fantasy-football-gut-league.html">Beer Gut</a> league, I have been a member since 2011. This league has shrunk and grown over the years from ten teams back up to twelve teams. There have been multi-owner winners in this league. I won the league in 2014 and 2017. We had our first three-time winner with the 2022 season with that league owner winning 2012, 2015, and 2022. The league has been around a while, so it is not surprising that we have multi-owner winners.</p><p>I also enjoy playing fantasy baseball, but I have really struggled through the years in fantasy baseball. I enjoy both but I have had better "luck" in fantasy football. I am hoping to get my first win in <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/p/chiefs-kingdom.html">Chiefs Kingdom</a> this year, but it does require luck to make it to the playoffs and win. The years I won in <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/p/fantasy-football-gut-league.html">Beer Gut</a> I did not think I had a chance those years and some how managed to the playoffs and win in the playoffs to win the league. It all takes a lot of luck no matter what and all we can do is hope we put the correct players in the game to be active to earn us points.</p><p>Football and baseball are the only fantasy sports that I play. Even when my team is not doing well, I enjoy the process. </p><p>Have a great rest of your day and a wonderful weekend...</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-51385181894686906512023-11-26T12:24:00.004-06:002023-11-26T12:24:32.340-06:00Thanksgiving Cooking, Family, and Fun Plus Basketball and a Snow Storm to Finish Out the Weekend<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2phv2fP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Oliver and His Friends" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53351624615_1ce097763a_w_d.jpg" title="Oliver and His Friends" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver and His Friends</td></tr></tbody></table>Thanksgiving morning and Oliver was at the fence with the neighbor dogs. He hung out with his friends while I was cooking turkeys on the Big Green Egg. Beautiful morning to be outside and Oliver was taking advantage of the weather being with his friends. </p><p>Would you believe that I did not take any pictures of the prep or completed turkey that I made on Thanksgiving? Well, it happened again but the turkey turned out great. Had good color and tasted good. Did two turkey breasts that took about three hours and thirty minutes to cook. Carrie and I realized at the end of the day that we had not taken any pictures throughout the day. We hosted this year having a total of eight adults and two children in our home. It was a great day!<br /></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2phJtNU" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Selfie in Lawrence with Mom and Family" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53354250396_d2b2649825_w_d.jpg" title="Selfie in Lawrence with Mom and Family" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Family</td></tr></tbody></table>Friday late afternoon, we went to Lawrence to spend the evening with Mom and family. We had a great time hanging out, talking, enjoying wine, and seeing one another. We stayed rather late Friday night and I recall Mom saying that it was the latest she had stayed up in a long time. We had a fun time! </p><p>Oliver has the best time at my Mom's house. He thinks he owns the place, so when another little dog was there, there were a few times when Oliver was growling and they got into a little battle at one point. All was good and no blood was lost.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2phT9Td" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carrie and I Following Washburn Game" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53355942738_167a443ef9_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie and I Following Washburn Game" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and I After Game in Snow</td></tr></tbody></table>Carrie and I got home about 12:30 or 1 Friday night, so we slept in a little on Saturday morning. We did make it to our first home Washburn game of the year Saturday afternoon. The snow had started falling and was barely covering the ground when we went to the game at about 2 pm and when we came out, the ground was covered. It would go on to snow into the late hours of the night.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pi1vkw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Birthday Dinner" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="320" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53357377328_d851cf8e43_w_d.jpg" title="Birthday Dinner" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Dinner</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We went out to North Star Steak House Saturday night to celebrate Eddie's birthday. With the snow storm, we were the only ones in the place for most of the evening. The food was really good and we have leftovers for us to enjoy this week while working. I got a Kansas City Strip and then there was a really good dessert we all split. It was a fun night!</p><p>Sunday we have lounged around and preparing for the Chiefs game. I think we are going to bring up some holiday decorations to get ready for Christmas.</p><p>A lot packed into the past few days. It has been a fun few days off of work, being with family, and then of course eating really well throughout the last few days. </p><p>Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a fantastic week!</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-26390843538624741952023-11-19T13:38:00.007-06:002023-11-19T13:38:53.702-06:00Various Rambling on a Rather Short Update for this Week Discussing Sports, Thanksgiving, and of Course Oliver<p>We had a quiet weekend as we spent most of Saturday preparing our house for Thanksgiving where we will be hosting family and friends. We did watch the <a href="https://kuathletics.com/no-23-kansas-state-edges-kansas-31-27/">Kansas State vs Kansas</a> football game which did not end the way we were hoping. More on the game later. The <a href="https://www.chiefs.com/">Chiefs</a> play Monday night football, so Sunday is spent keeping track of NFL games throughout the day and watching my fantasy teams struggle.</p><p>It seems as though this past week that the leaves on the trees in our yard all decided to drop at the same time. We just had our leaves picked up a week or so ago which was a big cleanup and I already have another cleanup scheduled for Monday or Tuesday this week. When we first moved into our home back in 2006, I used to do the leaves. I had plans to do leaves this year, but it is just too much having to do yard clean up at least three or four times in the fall and these are major cleanup efforts with leaves up to the ankles. I went with a new company this year to do our leaves who helped with shrub trimming over the summer and they have worked out great!</p><p>Right now while writing this post, I am watching Ichabods soccer where we are playing Jennies in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Washburn soccer played Friday night and won in overtime, so it has been fun to watch. We are playing in Topeka, but I am watching the game in the warmth of home.</p><p>This is not only Thanksgiving holiday week but it is also feast week for college basketball. My sister, Dina, takes off the whole week so she can watch basketball as there are games throughout the week. Monday night is not only the <a href="https://www.chiefs.com/">Chiefs</a> games, but it is also the start of the <a href="https://mauiinvitational.com/index.aspx">Maui Classic</a> in Hawaii. I know I will be flipping between football and basketball Monday night. Should be fun and likely a late evening with <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/mbball/">Kansas</a> not tipping off until 8 pm.</p><p>As I jump around on this post, I go back to the <a href="https://kuathletics.com/no-23-kansas-state-edges-kansas-31-27/">Kansas State vs Kansas</a> game from Saturday night. We did not have our starting quarterback play, so the third string freshman did good. We started off the game getting up to lead, but mistakes kept <a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/football/schedule">Kansas State</a> in the game and we ran out of time. Disappointing to say the least and <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/">Kansas</a> has one last regular season game to play against <a href="https://gobearcats.com/sports/football">Cincinnati</a>. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pgoM3D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Oliver Found His Chicken and Carried it Around the House" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53339089645_06dd18e12c_w_d.jpg" title="Oliver Found His Chicken and Carried it Around the House" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Found his Chicken</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is not an update unless I post a picture or something about Oliver. Oliver found his chicken where he hid it at some point and paraded around the house with his chicken. He even took it outside but eventually went to the couch to take a nap with his chicken. Gave us a good laugh as we watched him parade through the kitchen to the family room carrying his chicken. Funny guy!</p><p>A short post for this week on this rainy Sunday afternoon. I hope you have a great Sunday and week. I am hoping to do another post prior to next Sunday with pictures and updates on Thanksgiving gatherings.</p><p>Until next time...</p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-61504510405451707992023-11-12T12:59:00.004-06:002023-11-12T13:08:11.823-06:00Washburn Football Won Saturday to Wrap up the Season and Disappointing Kansas Game... Plus Oliver Being Sleepy All the Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pf7JWV" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Sleepy Oliver on a Friday Evening Hanging on the Couch" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53324644297_beb57e9b87_w_d.jpg" title="Sleepy Oliver on a Friday Evening Hanging on the Couch" width="150" /></a></div><p>Last week was a busy but it also flew by which can happen when it is a busy week. The weekend consisted of going out Friday night for drinks and dinner. When Carrie and I returned home Friday night, Oliver just wanted to relax and get tickles on the couch. We sometimes say that Oliver would be happiest if we were to lay around with him all day long and pet him. When we are not touching him, he throws little fits or paws at us with his paw to get us to tickle. Poor guy!</p><p>Saturday we went to the last home Washburn football game of the season. We won the game <a href="https://wusports.com/news/2023/11/11/football-ichabods-finish-off-2023-season-with-rout-over-riverhawks.aspx">45 - 14</a> to get our second win of the season. It was a rough season, but hopeful that we will bounce back next season. I went to all of the home games this season except for one when I was out of town. Carrie went to all the home games this season with me. We had a fun time throughout the season. For this last home game, Carrie made chili and hotdogs were made by Greg that we enjoyed throughout the day. We had beautiful weather for a game in the middle of November.</p><p>Basketball season has started and the first home game for Washburn is November 18. Carrie and I have season tickets and will be attending the games this season. We have a fun time attending <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/mens-basketball">Washburn basketball</a> throughout the season as we have had season tickets now for a few years. </p><p>Disappointing <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/">Kansas football</a> game yesterday that Greg and I were following while at the Washburn game. Next weekend will be fun to see <a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/football">Kansas State</a> vs. <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/">Kansas</a>, but hoping we have Bean back in the game for Kansas. Bean went out of the game yesterday and so we had a freshman quarterback leading the Jayhawks. <a href="https://kuathletics.com/sports/football/">KU</a> lost to Texas Tech yesterday <a href="https://kuathletics.com/late-field-goal-lifts-texas-tech-past-no-19-kansas-16-13/">16 - 13</a> moving to 7 - 3 overall and 5 and 1 at home. Two games remain in the season.</p><p>Not a lot of pictures from me this weekend, but we had a good time Friday and Saturday. No <a href="https://www.chiefs.com/">Chiefs</a> game Sunday as it is a bye week for us this week. <a href="https://www.chiefs.com/">Chiefs</a> play again on Monday, November 20.</p><p>Until next time, have a great Sunday and a wonderful week...</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-91670699226859243102023-11-05T13:41:00.000-06:002023-11-05T13:41:15.697-06:00The GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge is Almost Over and I am Behind Schedule for My Goal of 25 Books<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pdQTLb" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge" border="0" data-original-height="157" data-original-width="400" height="158" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53310235662_a8b3118650_w_d.jpg" title="GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Status in GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16902255-john-haverty">GoodReads 2023 Reading Challenge</a> started and I was doing really well about halfway through the year. I was ahead of schedule on books read, but the past few months I have not read as much. My goal is to read each day which I have done, but some days I was only reading a few pages. The past three or four weeks I am trying to read a chapter a day and most days I have been meeting that goal. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pdTKkH" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="My Books Read for the 2023 GoodReads Challenge" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="370" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53310792667_540fe9b0c3_w_d.jpg" title="My Books Read for the 2023 GoodReads Challenge" width="185" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books Read for 2023</td></tr></tbody></table>Currently, I am four books behind schedule to complete 25 books for the year. I am at 17 of 25. I have read some good books this year. My favorite series remains the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/314195.C_J_Box">C.J. Box</a> author. I started reading the series last year and I was reading one after the other, so I decided to mix it up and read some other books this year too.</p><p>I am juggling four books currently although spending most of my time reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61334564-malibu-burning">Malibu Burning</a> which was a free book from Amazon that Carrie got. I am almost done with it at 80%, so I should finish it this week. I hope to get another book or two read before Thanksgiving, but I might have to find some short reads to catch up to my planned schedule.</p><p>For someone who used to hardly read at all, the past few years have been a big change for me. Reading daily for enjoyment and not because I have to but because I want to is new for me. I read when I was little, but I would not read for long periods of time; instead, I would tend to read a book and then not read for a while until I found another book sounds interesting. This could be a few months to a few years between when I would read when I was little. This changed about three years ago when I started reading daily. There have been times when I have finished a book that I could easily have stopped reading and moved on to something else, but I kept up and got through the book. </p><p>My list of books that I want to read continues to grow. I am up to 31 on GoodReads I have marked that I want to read and I know I have almost that many on my library app too. I continue to have fun and I enjoy the process of reading where I make the movie in my head. I love it when I am reading and become completely lost in the story where time seems to stand still while I read but as I finish the chapter, thirty minutes has gone by.</p><p>I better get back to reading so I can meet my goal. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week! I hope you are able to enjoy some good reading time where you become lost in the book. If you have a good book to recommend, I am always open to suggestions, so feel free to comment on this post or send me a message.</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-69812722436241099232023-10-29T14:02:00.001-05:002023-10-29T14:02:02.506-05:00Fun Week at Work with Homecoming, Inauguration, and then Saturday was Tailgating and Football<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pc6QUa" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Inaguration of President Mazachek at Washburn University" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53290519721_14ae26f05d_w_d.jpg" title="Inaguration of President Mazachek at Washburn University" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inauguration at Washburn University </td></tr></tbody></table>This was a fun past week with a lot of activity on campus. Events on campus for faculty, staff, and students to celebrate Homecoming which concluded on Saturday for the football game. This week also concluded Friday with inauguration for President Mazachek at <a href="https://www.washburn.edu">Washburn University</a>. My friend, Eileen, addressed the crowd as a representative of Staff Council and did an excellent job. It was a fun event to celebrate, officially, our new president. Since starting in February, President Mazachek has already done so much in the short few months since starting. I cannot wait to see where we go over the course of the next five to ten years.<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcx4KZ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cold Day for Homecoming Football Game" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53295440779_ff93b73a65_w_d.jpg" title="Cold Day for Homecoming Football Game" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cold and Rainy Day</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie and I went to the game on Saturday. We knew ahead of time that the day called for cold, rain, and possibly flurries later in the evening. We had a great time even though <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/football">Washburn</a> lost <a href="https://wusports.com/news/2023/10/21/football-ichabod-comeback-falls-short-in-loss-to-fhsu.aspx">31-28</a>. There was a good crowd for being cold and rainy. Carrie and I got over to our spot about 10 Saturday morning and we took the tent as we knew it would be raining starting around 1 pm. Our tailgate neighbor had an additional tent and two different heaters. At our spot, we had blankets, so I stayed nice and warm throughout the afternoon. <a href="https://wusports.com/sports/football">Washburn</a> moved to 1 - 8 on the season. We had a rain delay in the third quarter with lightening nearby and most people stuck around following the rain delay.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcx4BY" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carrie with Dolly Parton Tailgate Spot" border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="400" height="142" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53295440314_cb55bcc790_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie with Dolly Parton Tailgate Spot" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and Dolly</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Instead of a parade this year, students were encouraged to do tailgate spots on the lawn. It was wonderful! So fun to see the different spots. The winner was a saloon with working doors. One tailgate spot was celebration of Dolly Parton and reading. The theme this year was Boots, Bling, and Bods which was fun. A variety of participants in the tailgate spots and it was fun to walk through the area to see what everyone had done.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcwpcq" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Friends Stopped by to See Us" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53295311058_5f808e475a_w_d.jpg" title="Friends Stopped by to See Us" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott and I at Tailgate</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">While it was just Carrie and I hanging out in our tailgate spot, we did some some visitors stop by to see us. Scott and Robin stopped by with Davis and used our football tickets to sit in our seats for part of the game too. It was good to see Scott and Robin to catch up a little. Davis was having fun with his dad playing catch while we talked. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie and I did not make it over to the alumni tent this time but we did see a number of people while walking across the tailgate area to get to the Ichabod Shop to buy some things. Carrie had made breakfast for us to eat and we snacked on it throughout the day even during the brief rain delay. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcxxst" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Washburn University Marching Band" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53295533955_1317d1ef68_w_d.jpg" title="Washburn University Marching Band" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washburn University Marching Band</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie took the picture of the marching band to the right. She loves capturing the band playing. I was watching her and I thought she was going into the middle of their line to get a picture. She stopped short and snapped her picture. I do enjoy when the band comes through the tailgate area. Then later, when the team comes through the tailgate area is a special time that the fans enjoy.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcxxpC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Great Day at Washburn Enjoying the Day" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53295533790_4cdc66706a_w_d.jpg" title="Great Day at Washburn Enjoying the Day" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and I at Tailgate</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">I appreciate Carrie going to the tailgate and watching the game with me. She is not a big football fan, but she goes because she knows I love and enjoy the time there even when it is cold and rainy. Carrie was a trooper today and told me how much fun she was having over-and-over. While I watched the game, Carrie was reading, people watching, and glancing at the game when she would hear me yell. We had good food, thank you Carrie, drinks, and a fun spot to tailgate on a cold and rainy day. While we did not win, I will remember this one as it had not been this cold/rainy in a long time for a home game.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pcjWny" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sleepy Oliver, Carrie, and John When we Got Home" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53293074586_d25dfefb6c_w_d.jpg" title="Sleepy Oliver, Carrie, and John When we Got Home" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleepy Oliver, Carrie, and John</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">When we got home from the game around 5 pm, we were both tired. Oliver did not attend, but he was tired from holding down the house while we were away. Carrie snapped the picture to the right while I was sleeping in my chair and she was trying to nap on the couch, Oliver decided he needed to lay on her and take a nap. It is so tiring holding down the fort while we are away from the house.</p><p style="text-align: left;">We thought about taking Oliver to a game this year, but we will need to wait and see what the last game of the season has in store for us in terms of weather. We might have to wait until next year for Oliver to attend his next game.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a fantastic week!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-15155283459661994872023-10-22T17:52:00.001-05:002023-10-22T17:52:08.247-05:00Washburn Football on Saturday and Maple Leaf Festival on Sunday... Good Weekend!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2paJbLN" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Washburn Game" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53274977614_02d1c2cc30_w_d.jpg" title="Washburn Game" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Washburn Game Against FHSU</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie and I attended the <a href="http://www.fhsuathletics.com/">Fort Hays State University</a> vs <a href="https://www.wusports.com">Washburn University</a> game on Saturday. We are really struggling this year as we lost the game <a href="https://wusports.com/news/2023/10/21/football-ichabod-comeback-falls-short-in-loss-to-fhsu.aspx">31 - 28</a>. It was a beautiful day for a game and even a little warm late in the afternoon in the sun. Carrie and I were the only ones in our spot although we had a few random visitors throughout the afternoon.</p><p>Next weekend is Homecoming, so we are going to get out to our spot a little earlier to have breakfast, drinks, and enjoy the day. It is not looking like we will get another win this season. Our team is battling injuries, surgeries, and we have a lot of freshman that are battling right now. Hoping this will help us out next year with the freshman returning next year and have some experience from this year.</p><p>Carrie and I had a good time hanging out at the alumni tent this year. We met some new people and spent pre-game talking to them before heading to our spot.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2paYQaQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carrie and I in Front of Flowers" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="344" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53277834986_1296b175cc_w_d.jpg" title="Carrie and I in Front of Flowers" width="172" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrie and I at Maple Leaf Festival</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sunday, we had plans to head to Baldwin, KS for the <a href="https://mapleleaffestival.com/">Maple Leaf Festival</a> and we got an early start on the day so I could get back to watch some of the Chiefs game. We were able to take our traditional picture in front of the flowers. We ran into some tailgate friends and we had beers at two different spots. In my book, it was a great day at <a href="https://mapleleaffestival.com/">Maple Leaf Festival</a>. </p><p>We did not buy a lot this trip, but we did make have a good time. The sun was out in force and kept it warm when in the sun, but we were able to find a few times to get under a tent to see items. We ate some snacks which was really good this year. Corn, walking tacos, and regular tacos. It was a wonderful day and so glad we were able to make it as we did not make it there last year.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2pb1CVV" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sweet Corn Was Delicious!" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53278187399_cb0f861724_w_d.jpg" title="Sweet Corn Was Delicious!" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corn was Delicious</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">The corn on the cob was really good this year. Fresh and popped off of the stock. I got mine classic with butter, salt, and pepper. Carrie got hers with mayonnaise and some type of seasoning. We sat on a curb and ate the corn. Perfect!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Carrie was not looking at a lot of jewelry as she had found a lot of earrings back in September when we were at the Lawrence Art Fair (see <a href="https://blogger.haverty.net/2023/09/anniversary-weekend-in-lawrence-ks.html">post</a>). We did buy a few things from the <a href="https://soupladyfromnebraska.com/">Soup Lady</a> which had a large line to get in when we arrived, so glad we were able to get that visit completed before the good ones were gone.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2paZ9f1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Brewery in Baldwin, KS" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53277895780_66e1b1b571_w_d.jpg" title="Brewery in Baldwin, KS" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baldwin City Beer Company</td></tr></tbody></table>After finishing off the corn, we continued to walk down the street and came to a new spot for us that was not there two years ago when we were at the festival which was a new brewery. I had a few beers at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/baldwincitybeer/">Baldwin City Beer Company</a> and Carrie sampled a few of the beers I had while we were there. She did have a mimosa and we talked football while sitting at the bar. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2paYto4" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Selfie at Maple Leaf Festival" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53277765051_b027b11622_w_d.jpg" title="Selfie at Maple Leaf Festival" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie on Baker University</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">We had to take a selfie on the <a href="https://www.bakeru.edu/">Baker University</a> campus as we were leaving the <a href="https://mapleleaffestival.com/">Maple Leaf Festival</a>. A perfect day and we had fun chatting, walking around to see the vendors, and grabbing a bite, or drink, at a few spots. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Until next time, have a great rest of your weekend and I will talk to you next week. Thank you for visiting.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25611860.post-13686865457730773782023-10-15T14:22:00.000-05:002023-10-15T14:22:17.175-05:00President's Suite at Emporia State University and Cheering on Washburn University in Football<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2p9f1UB" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="President's Suite at Emporia, KS" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258164795_f4cd92c101_w_d.jpg" title="President's Suite at Emporia, KS" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President's Suite at Emporia</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie and I made a trip to Emporia, KS for the <a href="https://www.emporia.edu/">Emporia State University</a> vs. <a href="https://www.wusports.com">Washburn University</a> game. Doug, CIO for <a href="https://www.emporia.edu/">Emporia</a>, had contacted me a week ago while I was in Arkansas to see if I would be interested in attending the game. I told Doug Carrie and I would love to attend. We started off the day at tailgate by the tennis courts where they had a live band and food provided by a local brewery. It was a good start and then I was glad that we were headed to the suites as it was a little cold and I had not worn enough layers.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2p9hQcz" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Selfie in President's Suite at Emporia State University" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258714111_fd06674e4b_w_d.jpg" title="Selfie in President's Suite at Emporia State University" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie at Emporia State </td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie and I had a great time in Emporia for the game. Washburn did not win although we did score some points and had a chance to tie it late in the game, we lost the game <a href="https://wusports.com/news/2023/10/14/football-ichabods-topped-by-hornets-in-tussle.aspx">38 - 23</a> and moved to 1 - 6 on the season. I was able to clap and holler while in the President's Suite at <a href="https://www.emporia.edu/">Emporia</a>, so that was fun. The bartenders gave me grief each time I went to get a drink saying they could not server someone wearing Washburn gear. It was a fun atmosphere from the tailgate outside to being inside the suite. </p><p>We met the President for <a href="https://www.emporia.edu/">Emporia State University</a>, Ken Hush, and spoke to him a few times throughout the game. At one point, he offered to clear our plates and get us something to drink. A <a href="https://www.kansasregents.org/about/meet_the_board">Kansas Board of Regent</a>, Cynthia Lane, stopped by to say she heard there were Washburn fans in the suite. We did see some other Washburn fans in the suite as the president (Antonio Martinez) and vice-president (Tevin Asamoah) of <a href="https://www.washburn.edu/student-life/wsga/executive-staff.html">WSGA</a> in the suite which was fun. Antonio told us he felt like he was the only <a href="https://www.washburn.edu">Washburn</a> fan in the suite and we agreed that we had felt the same. It is always good to connect with fellow <a href="https://www.washburn.edu">Ichabods</a>.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2p9jCCr" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Doug and I in the Suite at Emporia State University" border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="400" height="139" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53259065409_35d3b28d84_w_d.jpg" title="Doug and I in the Suite at Emporia State University" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doug and John</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Carrie took a picture of Doug and I both wearing our respective university gear. Thank you, Doug, for the invite and hospitality of <a href="https://www.emporia.edu/">Emporia State University</a>. It was not the outcome we were wanting for the game, but Carrie and I had a great time. It was great to be able to spend time with Doug to get to know him better. He gave us a tour of his department and it was impressive with recently redesigned office space. He told me that the IT department used to be in three different buildings, but recently combined all into one area. It was really nice!</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://flic.kr/p/2p9ekTb" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Selfie with Doug in President's Suite" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="150" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53258033516_a56d2d5580_w_d.jpg" title="Selfie with Doug in President's Suite" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doug and John Game in Progress</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I told Doug that next year when we play in Topeka, I would invite him to our tailgate. Although we have seats, we rarely go into the game as we can watch the game from our tailgate spot. He liked that idea and so I will need to make sure to invite him next year. I told him I wanted to get a picture of us in front of the field to share with the other CIO's when we meet for our monthly meeting this week. Doug laughed and we took the picture.</p><p>We have three more home games and I am hopeful we can get another win. We were close yesterday but came up short. Carrie and I had a great time in Emporia and we remembering when we were there years ago for another game. Something Carrie and I have discussed a few times is that it would be fun to go to different away location for games. Whether it is for football, basketball, or volleyball, it is on our list to do and this was our first step in that direction.</p><p>Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a fantastic week!</p><p><br /></p>John Havertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00479433186691461083noreply@blogger.com0