Live From the HILLTOP Digital Command and Control Center and Entertainment Megaplex

Web Show for JoJo!

2010-03-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

minisode minis!

2009-08-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Funny!!

Webites and webolonians welcome!

2009-08-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

Fashion special!

Webshow Minisode

2009-08-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

A mini episode of of the Zoe and Addy Show...

webshow

2009-07-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

New episodes of the Zoe and Addy show...

2008-08-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

...May be seen HERE

2008-07-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

The Falls BY ZOE

2008-07-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, Wow, these are beautiful, Just like the rest of the trip!

When they say Maid of the 'Mist' they are not kidding!!

After seeing all this I had to use the restroom so bad!

This is a sign we saw at TGI Fridays , It made us feel the canadian spirit. Eh! This was the first veiw of the falls. Yep, their a beauty Eh!

2008-07-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

...just had to add these. Check out this website if you want a good laugh:

more graph humor and song chart memes

more graph humor and song chart memes

Poem for Zoe

2008-07-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well, 'Zoe who thinks she's always right':
Daddy's home in six days, so we'll find out alright.

Mommy's the one who's now running the show,
One' thing's for sure that you'll need to know--

She's the boss of the house whether I'm there or not:
She'll put you in your place or put you on the spot.

You can strut now like you're the big cheese.
We'll talk about your knowledge...

When you've got two college degrees.

Love, Dad

ECUADOR

2008-07-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

Journal:
Monday, 7/7/08
Manta FOL, Ecuador
Tanker/AWACS/Coast Guard/Navy Maintenance Hangar, Eloy El Faro Airbase
11:11 p.m.
It’s another night at work here at Manta, on a trip which has so far been characterized by an almost totally uneventful, easy-going routine of work, gym and chow hall. Taking those in reverse order:
• I have rated the chow hall here at Manta as Very Good, second only to ‘Excellent’ in the Wes Weaver Rating Scale of Military Dining Facilities. Only the quality of the ice cream (freezer burnt) and lack of Thousand Island dressing are holding it back. The government contractor – ITT – which runs the place – is very responsive to customer feedback, which is probably as much an indication of the size of the tax trough they’re feeding from as a genuine desire to please the camo-clad rabble who are their daily denizens. The Ecuadorians who work at the chow hall are friendly and eager to please, which means that this evening’s question about the ice cream has five gallon buckets of Vanilla and Butter Pecan being Fedexed from Quito right now.
• The gym here is also a monument to incidental DOD largesse, stocked with the latest equipment, air-conditioned comfort, and similarly-friendly Ecuadorian staff. I’ve run on the treadmills while watching the South American satellite feed of ESPN – more soccer, fewer Home Depot commercials, same old SportsCenter – and, curiously, a channel devoted wholly to the NBA. The fitness center’s rental equipment is showing its age, though. We were halfway through a 7-mile mountain-bike trek yesterday when Josh’s left crank fell off his bike. I backtracked and found the nut, which he fingertightened about every 10 minutes the rest of the trip.
• Things are pretty low-key at work. I started typing this while sitting at an aluminum picnic table located near the open end of a large hangar, looking out over the flightline and runway. There are Navy sub-hunting airplanes, an AWACs, but no tanker. It’s flying. Through three days, I’ve done a lot of sitting, because the airplane takes off and comes back without being broken. Behind me in the hangar is a Coast Guard HC-130, the kind that flies around looking for drug boats. Five Coasties have been hard at work on a prop change for much of the shift. The weather’s nice – cool, breezy, very nice night.
I can’t say much about the mission here, except to say that it involves drug interdiction and looking for bad people in aircraft and boats. It also involves the support of ground-based military personnel in places where, officially, there are no ground-based personnel. One of them starts with a ‘C’ and ends with ‘olumbia.’
The group of people with whom I am here is an ‘A-Team’ of sorts, composed of ‘experts’ in several different fields. Our crew chiefs – Don, Jennifer and Kris – are in charge of the general maintenance on the airplane, things like changing tires, wiping windshields, and conducting pre- and post-flight inspections. I take care of electronic and mechanical problems in several different systems, ranging from engine instrumentation to the autopilot to the flight data recorder. Along with me, one other pointy-head type, Dan, takes care of radar and radios. We’ve got an engine guy, Josh, a hydraulics guy, Matt, an electrician, Rick, and a machinist, Josh. There’s a supply girl, whose name I forget because she never speaks, and Matt, our Maintenance Operations Center guru who does…not much, really, since we’ve only got one aircraft and there’s not much coordination to be done. The boss is Larry, my roommate. ‘Laissez-faire’ doesn’t even begin to describe his rather low-key management style, which, as it turns out, is perfect for this operation.
We all get along pretty well. In any group there are those who are high-strung, those who are the butt of jokes, and those who are hard workers. Most of our conversations degenerate pretty quickly into the kind of off-color commentary that is typical in groups like ours. We make fun of everyone: the Navy guys, the Coasties, the Wackers (AWACS crews and maintainers) and generally cut up constantly.
On the operations side is Mark, the big boss. Under him is a crew coordination person, and Jeannie. I’ve known Jeannie for a long time, but I don’t have a clue what she does. Then there’s Linda, the intel operative. We’ve got a couple of flight crews – pilots and boom operators – all good guys who are a whole lot of fun. Today, for example, one of the crews bought huge sombreros over in Montecristi, a nearby town. They all wore them to the chow hall for dinner, then to the flightline to get in the jet, which had to amuse everyone but the uptight active duty people who were watching. The co-pilot, Kurt, made them all don the sombreros for takeoff. It’s hard to imagine their conversation with the Ecuadorian air traffic controllers didn’t include some colorful commentary and wacky hijinks, Speedy Gonzales style. The only Spanish words Kurt knows are ‘Hola’ and ‘Cerveza,’ neither of which would be helpful in that particular situation.
Among the other notable features of my host country of Ecuador is the plethora of smells that one must endure on a daily basis. Let’s see, there’s…raw sewage, coming from the ‘river’ at the end of the runway. There’s burning trash, 24/7. There’s nasty fish smell (a tuna cannery in town). Lovely.
TVOR

Running challenge

2008-07-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Episode 4...The SURPRISE Episode

2008-04-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

episode 3

2008-03-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

2008-03-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

2008-03-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

2008-03-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

The time has come!

2007-09-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

It's all fun and games getting ready for a trip to Cali!

Then the thoughts of driving hours on end .......

Good thing their newlyweds! Good luck Nate!

WE had a lot of fun this summer

2007-09-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

It's football time again! The girls love going to the game to meet up with their friends and cheer on the PANTHERS! GO PANTHERS!!!
Zoe and Addy had a good time decorating the campsite for Seth's birthday .
Cornhole has become the new "thing" to do at parties, so here the guys at Chelsey and Nate's going away party try to master the game.
We have new kitty's at the Weaver house -They would make an adorable pet for someone - Anyone???

Summers End

2007-09-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Isn't she beautiful! We miss you Chelsey. As we start our busy lives back to school we just want to wish Chels and Nate the best. Love you guys!
Wes and I had a great time at his class reunion.I was so proud to be with the handsomest guy there!!

2007-09-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

BE IT KNOWN:

A new comment has been added to the WEEZE's blog!

TVoR

Chelsey and Nate are starting a new life in California

2007-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am so happy for Chelsey and Nate. And I am excited for Chelsey to begin a new chapter in her life. But we will miss her terribly. So I am posting a few memories of the Chelsey we know and love.
Chelsey and Katy
Chelsey birthday #22
Chelsey's evening with friends
Chelsey and Wes during a homecomingChelsey having a great time with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim

A visit from Mandy, Willow and Bodie

2007-08-10T12:54:00.001-07:00

Abbie invited the girls over for a swim while Willow was here
The girls performed a dance/cheer for us
Bodie cooled off without a suit
Chelsey and Bodie became big buds

summer vacation fun

2007-08-03T19:34:00.001-07:00

The girls had a great time with their friend Abbie at her July 4th party

The girls were so excited to get ice cream from a real ice cream truck

Zoe and Addy love to draw roads and invent new places to travel with chalk

What happens in Destin, stays in Destin

2007-08-03T19:21:00.001-07:00

Remember, always read the fine print.

Is there any explanation needed?

What's this???

vacation fun

2007-08-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Wes, Zoe, and Addy worked hard on this Mayan Temple

WOW, What beautiful girls we have!

We were so happy Katy joined us for this vacation. She has become another member of our family

The happy cohabitants of condo 87

NOW HEAR THIS!

2007-08-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Because of the frequency with which certain comments (pointed and subtle) have been directed at the founder of the HILLTOP Digital Command and Control Center regarding the lack of timely posting on this blog, the following directives are hereby issued:

Heretofore, MRS. TVoR shall become the sole proprietor of the HDC&CC.
All complaints about said blog shall be directed to AND ONLY TO Mrs. TVoR.
Any comments directed toward TVoR shall be complimentary in nature, congratulatory in tone, and phrased thusly: "Gee, the blog looks great now that Mrs. TVoR is in charge!" or "We LOVE the blog!" etc.
Any transfer of proprietorship shall not be construed as a shift in the balance of power in the other affairs of the HDC&CC, but instead as a 'delegation of duty,' the kind of which is typical in superordinate - subordinate relationships.
The last bullet is a complete farce, of course. Any illusion of 'power' or 'proprietorship' has long deserted the hapless VoR, who is hereby consigned to the dustbin of internet blog history, never to be heard from again.
Upon special request (accompanied by banners proclaiming "Back by popular demand" and such) TVoR may return as a guest columnist to dispense wisdom. (After all, there's no use for such wisdom in TVoR's residence, it being populated mainly by beings without a 'Y' chromosome.)
TVoR reserves the right to return to this page to refute, de-bunk, and or abnegate claims made on other pages which are slanderous, libelous, false, or just stupid. (This does not apply to pages which are, ipso facto, false, libelous, or stupid, such as FoxNews.com. I just DON'T have that kind of time.)

Fondly, TVoR

Much ado about...

2007-08-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

That's it. That's all. The summer tennis series record stands at one win, one loss, for each of the combatants.
Over on another blog, you may salivating over salacious photographs depicting a certain scantily-clad OG pretending to hit a tennis ball at a hapless foe. Could that foe have been cowering in fear of what appeared to be a solar eclipse? Only the participants know for sure.
Well, don't get the wrong impression. The 'lopsided' score stands at one to one.
Perhaps this 'much ado' could be a sign that the tennis apocalypse is near for the aforementioned senior citizen, who is trying vainly to reclaim past glory before limping (crawling?) into the hardcourt sunset.
Blip, indeed.
TVOR

2007-07-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is our daughter Zoe!
This is all of us!
These are pictures of vacation!

2007-02-27T10:54:00.001-08:00

TURKEY STUFF, PART DEUX:

Here's a picture of me squishing Hodja, the fairytale character after whom my beloved temporary abode is named. As the saying goes, "It is not me who is sitting backward on the donkey. It is the donkey who is facing the wrong way."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

That's Turkish humor, I guess. The best thing I can say about my lodging is...at least it's not in Kabul.

After the somewhat smart-aleck comment from my continental sibling regarding the position that the highly-revered country of my current vacation holds among his snooty European amigos, amis, freunds, and amicos...I give you this. Where else, I ask, can you find restaurants like Pacific Med? I'll let its sign do the talking.

That's what I thought. On with the tour.

Next door to the Pacific Med is "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool." Yes, there's nothing like basking under the tin roof, sucking down cold Tuborg lagers while lolling around in a chlorinated bacteria bath! I ask, does the Rue de Montmarte have an "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool?

(Soon after this picture was taken, the construction team at Ed's completed the ambience by covering the whole front of the rooftop "porch" with chicken wire. There is argument about whether this is to make it harder for IED-toting Muslim loonies to toss explosives IN, or whether it keeps drunken GIs from tossing the aforementioned Tuborg bottles OUT. I come down on the side of the latter, having spent a couple of hours last evening at "Cheers" across the street with a bunch of Rickenbacker loonies who were holding court, three stories up, in the open air.)

I leave you with a picture of several of my compatriots and myself, hoisting a glass of the national drink (RAKI) at the carpet factory where at this very moment, in another room, well-paid 12-year old girls are weaving expensive wool and silk carpets for American consumption.

More later if I get another chance to post...

2007-02-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

TURKEY STUFF, PART DEUX:

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

That's Turkish humor, I guess. The best thing I can say about my lodging is...at least it's not in Kabul.

That's what I thought. On with the tour.

More later if I get another chance to post...

2007-02-22T03:59:00.000-08:00

Howdy from Turkey. I went on a little tour yesterday on the day off to see some Byzantine/Christian/Roman sites.

Our trip took us up and over a mountain range which is Southeastern Turkey, near Adana. So, the first part was straight up. Then, at the top there was a huge plain with mountains on all sides -- it was pretty cool. We saw the second highest mountain in Turkey, but I forget the name of it. The tallest is Mount Ararat. I didn't go there, but supposedly some ancient derelict junked his old boat there. Maybe I'll see that on the next tour.

One of our guides, Mustapha, was crazy. He would describe stuff at these underground caves, then point down a small passageway and start sprinting to the next room. Since he was about five feet tall, this wasn't difficult for him.

Me, that was another story. I had to duck-walk.

As you may be able to tell from the picture, he also sported a rather goofy toupe', and our main guide told us he was 26 years old. Right! If he's 26, I'm the ruler of the Ottoman Empire!

Anyway, I asked him what was the Turkish word for "rug." He didn't get it.

As this photograph shows, we were up at a significant elevation, and there was snow. Some idiot just wore shorts and sandals, though. I took a picture of his feet in the snow.

For the record, Japanese tourists DO NOT appreciate a good Turkish snowball fight the same way that Americans -- like me, for instance -- do. What I saw as a harmless invitation for a little multinational pseudo-conflict using nothing but frozen precipitation as a "weapon," they seemingly took as a serious challenge to their national sovereignty! Doesn't it snow in Japan? Aren't they a constitutionally pacifist country? Wow. I guess not.

TVOR

2007-02-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Zoe with her medal!

2007-02-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS!

The girls obliterated a series of Muskingum County opponents over the course of the last two days, outscoring them by a total of 186-13 in four games.

Zoe had a good time and played well, and she actually got a couple of steals today. She scored and played hard!

I'll be gone, but they play in another tournament next weekend.

2007-02-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well, for good or for ill I am now a member of Google Nation, having transitioned to the "new blogger."

I'm not noticing any major mental or emotional changes, but the hair is falling off of certain parts of my body. (Hmmm...?)

On the other hand, the hair in my ears is going through a growth period that I can only term "extraordinary." I could braid it. Seriously.

Anyway, I'll try to post some pictures this weekend of Zoe's big basketball adventure. It's been a fun season, and with my normal crazy winter schedule, we've been very busy. I recently completed a week in which I attended two boys and one girls varsity game at U-TEEK-A, coached at one biddy league practice and one game, helped coach at two traveling team practices and two games, and...I think that was it. It's a good thing I love basketball.

Zoe's team is doing well, having smacked around New Albany's fifth-grade team on Sunday to stretch their record to 6-1. It's really a talented class, and I hope Zoe sticks with it. She's having fun.

More later...I hope to post again before my annual spring trip to the lovely Middle East...(What the heck? We elected some DEMOCRATS, dang it!! What's the deal?)

2007-01-14T05:23:00.000-08:00

Zoe's game @ Reynoldsburg:

Zoe's traveling team performed well again their second win in as many tries vs. Reynoldsburg. Their record now stands at 4-1, with all their games being played vs. teams from bigger schools.

She has a good time and works really hard at it -- the kids practice twice a week, for about an hour and a half each time. Mark Caughenbaugh coaches the team and I help out.

2006-12-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

The much-awaited Zoe report card!

We hope everyone has a merry Christmas!

2006-12-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Addy's report card!

2006-12-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

Wedding pics...

2006-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Some wedding / rehearsal photos...

2006-11-24T05:41:00.000-08:00

More Thanksgiving fun!

2006-11-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving fun.

2006-11-24T05:39:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving!

2006-11-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Turkey-carving fun.

2006-11-24T05:36:00.000-08:00

Girls with red/blue highlights, compliments of Uncle Bob!

2006-11-24T05:33:00.000-08:00

Girls on Halloween!

2006-03-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Donkey Basketball
Since I am the Ass. Principal, it was only fitting that I should ride in the Utica FFA Donkey Basketball game last evening.

Cheryl and the girls went and had a good time. The kids rode a donkey.

The pictures below show me with the first donkey I rode. His idea of fun was to turn around and kick me when I tried to get on him. In the third quarter, I scored a couple of baskets when on a much-higher quality steed. We won 24-22 a thriller.

Speaking of thrillers, how about those Buckeyes?

TVOR

2006-03-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

2006-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

2006-03-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

2006-02-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Chelsey's home! She flew back to Iowa today, but enjoyed a week at the Hilltop.

2006-01-16T09:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, a basketball update:
Zoe did very well Saturday -- she didn't score any baskets, but during the second quarter that she was in, she ran the plays very well and played great defense. She defended the other team's best player and shut her down. She also started to rebound like I showed her how to do.
***
In my previous basketball post, I referred to another coach's tactics in the first game. WELL, I got to see that coach in action in the game before Zoe's on Saturday. Wow. I'm going to keep this blog/post family-friendly and just call her an IDIOT, but that's being nice. She yelled at the ref, complained about the other team's players, and screamed at her kids, constantly! She did all of this from on the floor, of course, because they allow one coach on the floor. One of the guys who runs the league told me that he thought she had played college ball and was "coaching above their heads."

To which I can only say: bullcrap. She has no clue what she's doing, but she just rants and raves. Get this: in the game, she was so incessantly loud that the referee (the league commissioner) gave her a technical foul. That's right, a technical foul. In a 3rd-4th grade game. She was awful. Had I been a parent of a child in that game, I would've walked onto the court, ask that she be removed from the gym, and threatened to stop the game until she was gone. It was that bad.

TVOR

2006-01-08T05:21:00.000-08:00

DEE-Fense ! Dee-Fense! Dee-Fense!

2006-01-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

Zoe warms up for her first game at LV Biddy League. (Addy's a year too young to play yet). The report from her mom indicates she played very well. Said Zoe: "I scored four baskets, and I used that zig-zag thing you showed me when the girl was guarding me."

The final was 30-20 bad guys (girls), but there may have been tactics employed which were not in the best interest of good sportsmanship or the rules of the league. (We'll leave it at that, and not comment on the coaching of the opposing team.)

2006-01-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

After a week back to work, we've settled back into the routine here. Some more pics:

2005-12-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

Family room!

2005-12-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

From this morning's news:

Chiefs Demoted in Pentagon Succession Line

Yeah, the secretary of the army. What does he/she know? Better to have a Rumsfeld crony at the top of the list. Another question: If your Iraq scapegoat is the intelligence services and intelligence-gathering apparatus, then why promote those people in the hierarchy?

Here's a little scorecard for the involved individuals:

Bush/Cheney intelligence guys said:

There is WMD in Iraq.
Everyone in Iraq will welcome us with open arms.
Just a couple hundred thousand troops should do the trick.
Pay no attention to any intelligence that contradicts any of the first three!

Secretaries of the armed forces said:

Sure we can take it, but we can't hold it. Our troops are trained to kill, not police.
We need to prepare (body armor, Jeep Kevlar) better before we invade.
A couple hundred thousand? You're nuts. (See Colin Powell -- gone and John Shalikashvili --gone)
The no-fly zones are working.

So...we'll go ahead and promote the first group, and demote the second. What do they know?

TVoR

2005-12-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

An addition to Bill and Pat's pad!

2005-12-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

A fondue set was a wonderful surprise!

2005-12-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

A little bigger shot of the family at 3800 Christmas morning. A wonderful time was had by all!

2005-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Is she a cutie or what??

2005-12-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas on Pleasant Chapel Road!

2005-12-23T22:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Pat and I sat on the living room couch with fragrant candles glowing, the Christmas tree lit and soft Christmas music playing in the background as we poured through several scrap book albums of pictures from past family trips. We enjoyed reflecting on what a wonderful family we have and how much we cherrish being together....with the family....and with each other. It's been a very rich life and we love each of you kids and your families.

2005-12-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

The family tradition continues with the Millers. Some shots of Santa's visit and those awaiting to see if they made Santa's good little....(well...maybe not all "little") girls and boy list.

2005-12-23T05:34:00.000-08:00

From the closing yesterday:

I prepared a little contract for the girls to sign, and the realtor gave it to them after we were done signing. It looked official, and it said "I will..."

Enjoy my new house!
Take care of my new house.
Follow mom & dad’s rules for the new house.

Adele said "Sure!" and signed it. She was only concerned about whether or not it had to be in cursive.

Zoe gave us what I only need describe as..."The Zoe look," a one-eyebrow-raised, mouth- scrunched look that reflected equal parts skepticism, mischief and knowingness. I think when she signed she had her fingers crossed.

TVoR

2005-12-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

This just in!

Adele will now be referred to as "OLGA."

That is all.

TVOR

2005-12-23T05:20:00.000-08:00

The deal is closed!
TVoR, Mrs. TVoR and the little Vs of R have a new address. As they say, "Movin' on up!" to the Northeastern reaches of Madison Township. (I can't yet say Hanov...Han...Nope, can't do it.)
Here's something funny...I was looking on MS Streets and Trips, my map software, to see if I was any closer to work at the new address. From Pleasant Chapel? 20.1 miles. From 40 Hilltop? 20.1 miles. Right down to the 1/10 of a mile! Oh, well. I'm hoping its slightly faster. Cheryl's about 10 minutes further from work, though.
Anyway, Willy will be holding down the fort here at Pleasant Chapel. If anybody needs a great little house in a fine neighborhood, this is one for you. For a mere $112,000, it's yours.
TVoR

2005-12-22T04:23:00.000-08:00

Claudia and the girls at Clifton Mill!

2005-12-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome Alyssa Jean Hofacker!

2005-11-06T23:08:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday night and I just thought I would add an update to "Live from Pleasant Chapel" site. Pat and I just finished a wonderful trip to Maine and New Hampshire. We are loving the freedom of travel enjoying the beautiful scenes God put out there for the benefit of our "rods and cones" not to mention our souls! Here are a few sights I'll share from the trip. Can't wait for Sam, Chelsey, and DT to come home for Thanksgiving time and for our new granddaughter to be born. HAPPY BIRHTDAY MEG!

2005-10-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

Halloween/Birthday Party
Even though the weather made it seem like Scotland, the party was on Pleasant Chapel Road last evening!

Addy (the Zombie) is in costume!

Chief Runamuck, from Camp Wannahockaloogey, is in costume!

Carmen Miranda (?) is in costume.

Last but not least, the Lollipop Princess is in costume, and posing with her cake.

Freddy Krueger made an appearance as well, but since I'm under an injunction from Addy to "Never, ever do that again," I'll refrain from posting his picture.

TVOR

2005-09-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

First, thanks Wes (Now 36 years old!) for inviting me to have posting priviledges on his blog site. Since the title is Live From Pleasant Chapel Road it seems like a logical place to share life with ....THE WORLD!
I can see these life sharings taking mainly 2 forms:
1) The human interaction aspects of life. It begins as it did this morning at 6:30 AM when I awakened to rain and thunder. I love hearing the rain here on Pleasant Chapel! Attached is a picture of the "Chapel" of PLEASANT CHAPEL representing the tranquility of this part of God's Creation.
Unlike many parts of the country we are relatively safe from Huricanes, flooding (except some water occasionally in the basement) or earthquakes. Things here on Pleasant Chapel are ....generally.....well....PLEASANT! Pat gets up...we exchange pleasantries...and then the action begins....when she/we get to go next door and awaken our grandaughters. Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day and they were excited to be coloring and crazying their hair for the day. When they got home from school, Wes and Cheryl were at meetings so it fell my responsibility to "watch" the girls. That meant watching them creatively turn their front yard into a maze of roads by raking leaves into winding roadways. We love having our grandaughters living next door. It has been said,"Grandchildren are the prize you get for not killing your kids!" Our kids and grandkids bring us endless delight!
I sat down with Adele to ask her to share some of her whisdom ...this time on what she wanted to be when she grows up. After pondering and processing the question in her mind she answered, "either a Doctor or a librarian." She then kind of narrowed it down to just wanting to be a doctor, "Not because of picking in people's bodies but because I care about people."
2) The second aspect of life on Pleasant Chapel is the Natural Beauty of this tranquil setting. It's what Ameica is looking for.....peaceful, rural (we probably have 50 horses grazing within a mile of here!)populated by wildlife (I saw 6 dear last night and Pat and I recently saw a bald eagle purched majestically in the top of a Sycamore tree on the banks of the Licking river).
And so you have the setting of future posts on what it means to be...truly Live...and alive...From Pleasant Chapel Road.

2005-09-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Addy's quote of the day:

"I know I'm half vegetarian, but that celery is evil."

TVOR

2005-09-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the kids laughing at your goofy post!

2005-09-13T02:43:00.000-07:00

pink is just fine, just fine. why just today i was sittin' round my crib with my pink socks on thinkin' bout how that there purple is overrated, oh ver raited... but while this was happinin' i suddenly remembered i'd left my chocolate and mayo sandwich in the toaster! so i looked in there with one eye bigger than the other and noticed it was just fine, just fine...

2005-09-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

This just in...the lovely and talented Miss Adele would like everyone to know that her favorite color is now pink, and not purple. That is all.

That's her with the kitty this summer. Addy says "It looks she has one big eye and a small eye but when she looks down like this her nose is kinda covering her eye so it looks like she has one big eye and one small eye.

People say say black cats are bad luck. They aren't."

Also, "People who like chocolate don't like mayonnaise."

2005-09-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

FRENCHY-
The Panthers are off on another run to the playoffs, I believe. Check out http://www.lickingcountysports.com/sportstalk for some chatter 'bout that. C'man, the guy who runs the site, is Shawn Shoemaker.
TVOR

2005-09-05T04:57:00.000-07:00

Last evening's production of "Sleeping Beauty" was a raving success among all who attended. Proceeds from the event are being forwarded to the Red Cross for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

This would be one of the fairy godmothers addressing the princess, I think, on the left. And that's the princess being whisked away by the prince on the right. Below is the curtain call.

2005-09-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

A new post for everyone:

I wish I had more time, but Mrs. TVOR and I are headed to the 'Shoe to take in the OSU v. Miami game. Go Bucks!

Samma-lamma: Love the blog. I'll be commenting.

Today's joke: What do they call a blog in China?

Answer: A brog.

What do you think?

From the shrub file: I saw our favorite shrub on TV this a.m., walking amongst the rubble in New Orleans. Without trying to read TOO MUCH into his facial expression, I'm pretty sure it said: "Gee, maybe we should've spent that money on the river levees instead of sending it to Iraq!"

TVOR

2005-07-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

Sacre bleu!

It appears Lance and the Discovery Channel team is discovering there's some other riders in the TDF besides them. The Ballon D'Alsace is proving to be a tough Cat-1 climb, and Lance and the peloton are dragging a little ass.

TVOR

2005-07-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

I woke up to the bright orange glow of a just-rising sun this morning. But I couldn't help but think of what Londoners were waking up to a few hours earlier.

Having to go on about one's life in the face of clear and present danger requires a resolve that not every human possesses. My own personal experience, though, is that the British have it in ample supply.

Throughout years of IRA/Protestant bombings, the Brits maintained a stiff upper lip and went about their daily lives. For every explosion, there was the promise of even more -- always unpredictable and deadly. Even now, they are taking public transportation to work in London and its boroughs. With steely determination, they prove that terror cannot suppress the human inclination to rise above powerfully negative circumstance.

Characteristically reserved and earnest, the British endured German bombing in WWII in the same way. It is common to think of Winston Churchill's gritty steadfastness in the face of Nazi tyranny, but many more residents of Britain showed their resolute nature as bombs fell on their towns every night. They buried their dead, rebuilt their churches and houses, and ploughed forward, ultimately providing the firmness that was the key ingredient in stopping the third Reich on many fronts.

I know that their actions today and in the days ahead will prove their mettle once again.

2005-07-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

So, I return from my morning ride to find that London has been the target of attacks that are presumed to be terrorist attacks. My first thought is that this must be a result of the Olympic announcement yesterday, or perhaps the G8 Summit in Scotland this week.
Isn't it remarkable how, in the shorthand of modern disaster reporting, it has become so automatic to begin talking about claims of responsibility? I expect that Aljazeera will be receiving an audio tape via brown envelope any time now.
It's important that people of responsibility and conscience everywhere fight the tyranny of terrorism at its source -- the founts of evil, fundamentalist/extremist poison that spawn violence and fear around the world.
TVOR

2005-07-07T04:17:00.000-07:00

Howdy.
Well, I'm headed out to play Lance Armstrong this morning. Just a little 14-mile ride, though. No yellow jerseys involved. I'm trying to raise the old V02 level somewhat and build strength, not to mention losing a little weight. TVOR's tipping the scales at a hefty 206 -- hefty because a person with my body structure looks pretty silly with the gut that I've been hard at work developing. Sometimes, hitting the bike is hard, but I always enjoy it when I'm on it. Around here, you've got to watch out for the rednecks on their way to work.
I'm kicking around ideas for my first column, the subject of which will be a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning. It's easy to rag on that, so I hope it will stimulate verbalization.
In the cd player this morning will be some Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs and some other assorted alternative favorites, including Blink-182. Finding workout music is a science, you know?
TVOR

2005-07-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

ONE LAST THING FOR THIS EVENING:

Lance is the shiz-nay. An animal. An absolute freak. I am in awe, even if he is a jerk. Let the EUROs fight over those silly jerseys with polka-dots (?). Yellow matters.

TVOR

2005-07-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yes. That's my mouth. Note the filling in the upper right next-to-last molar. Note the slight discoloration of the top right front tooth (sorry, dentists, about the complete lack of dental terminology in this blog.)

My teeth are crooked. But my brain is straight, and I see things that others don't see.

So there.