family photo Sunday

Cousin Amy's baby boy Easton must be a happy boy!

He is almost 3 months old (born June 3rd)

photos from our trip to WI in July

I finally added photos to the kodakgallery from our trip to Wisconsin in July, shortly after Ethan was born.

Click to view

a little humor helps

For more political humor, check out varvelblog.com

picking cherries is fun

Meredith was a big helper when it came to picking cherries from their tree in the back yard.
























And I really enjoyed the end result!

Charlie T's first tube ride

Thanks to our friends, the Terrells, for sending this photo of Rachel and our soon-to-be-born grandson - "Charlie T" - taking his first first tube ride at their lake home in Florida.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mother!

My mother will be celebrating her birthday today, August 26th. I hope she has a wonderful day - and hopefully the card I mailed her will make it there on time :)

my son married a buckeye, so this is for you, Rachel!

determined to pick berries, rain or shine

One thing that I will always remember about our recent trip to Wisconsin was Cindy's determination to find a blueberry farm and take the grandkids to pick them. Our local "U-pick" farm was out of berries before we left town, and we even stopped in Tennessee and Illinois on our way to Wisconsin trying to find fresh blueberries. Finally, the day before we had to drive back to Georgia, we drove to the closest farm we could find, (just west of Madison) to pick berries. By the time we arrived at the blueberry farm it was pouring rain. Leah had to stay in the van with the baby and Sophie. When the rain became a light sprinkle, Natalie and Sophie were able to pick some blueberries and raspberries! Mam-ma was very happy!(See more photos below)

family photo Sunday

My cousin Dianne Pettit and her daughter Miranda had their pic taken at a rodeo in SC. It reminded me of the old song, with a little change in the lyrics - "Rodeo girls (Buffalo gals) won't you come out tonight?" from "It's a Wonderful Life".

(photo posted in August on her Facebook site)

special desserts for summer in Wisconsin

Natalie and Meredith were quite the little helpers in the kitchen as they joined in the fun with Leah and Mam-ma(Cindy) making zucchini bread from scratch! I think the zucchini came from Grandma Johnson's garden.



Also during the week, Leah and Natalie and Meredith picked cherries from their tree in the backyard and we were treated to a homemade cherry pie. (more cute photos to come)


Cindy and I bought fresh peaches at an orchard in Dix, IL on our drive up to Wisconsin. So at my request, she (and Leah and the girls) made two peach cobblers using our friend Bonnie's special recipe. I was in charge of adding the syrup so I went to the Recheck grocery store and bought a bottle of "Aunt Jemima's Syrup" - following the instructions on my voice mail from Florida. I drizzled the syrup over the top of the cobbler before we put it in the oven. But for the first cobbler I did not use enough syrup and for the second cobbler I used too much. But, they were sooo good!

family photo Sunday

Our granddaughters really enjoyed their visit to the Pirate's Cove at the Wisconsin Dells in June.

Natalie, Meredith and Sophie (all seated) and Brielle at top right.

first tropical storms of the season

After I posted this blog Saturday night, I awoke Sunday morning to find another Tropical Storm had formed off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. Claudette is expected to make landfall later Sunday night and may have increased to 60 mph by then.


It is not even Labor Day yet but the first tropical storms of the season were named as Tropical Storm ANA and BILL have formed in the Atlantic. One or both are expected to become hurricanes. I thought it was strange this afternoon as storms moved into the Atlanta area from the east instead of the west, hmmm. . .

(the five day forecast tracking maps for ANA and BILL - click to enlarge)

college football season just around the corner

There seems to be more interest in the college football season this year than ever before. Maybe because three great quarterbacks are returning to play another season when many predicted they would choose to go to the NFL early - Colt McCoy, QB for Texas; Tim Tebow, QB for Florida; and the Heisman trophy winnner Sam Bradford, QB for Oklahoma. I just happened to catch the end of the CBS NCAA preseason review today and one analyst predicted the championship game would be between Florida and Texas. Another guy predicted Florida and Oklahoma. I think it is way too early to predict who will play Florida for the National championship!

Hero's homecoming for Commander Scott Speicher

As the first casualty of Operation Desert Storm and one of our hometown boys in Jacksonville, Florida, it is with mixed emotions that Commander Scott Speicher will be laid to rest tomorrow. We are sad that he was not really "missing in action" for the last 18 years, but we are happy that his body was found in Iraq recently. A special public ceremony will be held near the Veterans Memorial Wall beginning at 9 AM Friday morning, near the sports complex. click to view details of the procession

Governor Christ has directed all State and National flags shall be flown at half-staff in Duval County, Jacksonville FL, and at the state capital on Friday click to read the proclamation.

the Rush diet

Rush is featured on the calorie count web site today. He has lost 80 lbs on his diet since March 9th, good for him! I started my diet using calorie count to keep track of what I eat on May 1st and so far I have lost 12 lbs. I posted this response to the blog about Rush Limbaugh's diet:

franklybaggs - Aug 13, 2009 11:07 PM

Yes, we men can lose weight a lot quicker that women, sorry I guess that is the way we are made. I have a diet from my doctor (from the 1980's) and the diet limits your intake to 1000 calories per day. All carbs are off limits, some protein, lots of fruits and veggies. I lost 80 pounds using this diet twice, but it is really hard to continue eating this way and I gained it all back plus some. Both times. But using CC I am losing weight slowly, and I think it will stay off this way. I am watching what I eat and limiting myself to 2050 calories per day, but if I treat myself to Big Mac at lunch, then I have very little calories left for supper. So far I have lost 12 pounds (since May 09) and my realistic goal is to lose a total of 50 pounds. People like Rush inspire me to keep at it. Also the emails I receive from CC remind me everyday to keep watching what I eat. Today my foods rated A- for breakfast and lunch, and CC is a great way to keep track of it!

The Rush Diet - click to read the article online

Rush Limbaugh told American Superstar Magazine that he’s using a diet plan from Florida-based Quick Weight Loss Centers, and he said he is eating about 1500 calories a day of real food with a couple of supplements they provide. The 80 pound loss occurred between March 9th and July 31st, but I can’t seem to make the math work no matter how hard I try.

Concord CA Blue Devils win DCI World Championship

The DCI World Championships took place in Indianapolis last week and my favorite corps won again! The Blue Devils from Concord, CA, won the gold medal coming in 1st place with a score of 99.05. The 2nd place silver medal went to a much-improved Carolina Crown with a 97.50 score. Coming in 3rd place this year, the Cadets of Bergen County, NJ, won the bronze medal with a 97.20 score. Click to read more results from Saturday night.

To read more about marching bands and drum corps, check out this link to Halftime Magazine. This magazine is the only publication that presents the sights, sound, and spirit of the marching arts. The website includes links to full articles from each issue back to the premier issue of July/August 2007.

family photo Sunday

Brandon and Rachel having fun in Orlando (photo taken in 2008)

changes in the air

As we traveled the interstate through Illinois recently, we saw these new windmills producing energy on a "wind farm" near Paw Paw, IL - in the middle of the cornfields, of course.

These are called wind turbines now (click to read more.) I added the picture of the older windmills below- the one that you probably have in your memory just to compare.

video - for back to school inspiration

I am posting this video for all of you teachers and students that are gearing up for a new year of school. This is a very inspiring video produced for the Starkville Mississippi School District.

the Cross

One of the unique sites we passed while traveling through Illinois recently was a huge cross in the middle of all the corn fields near Effingham. After a little research I found the website with more info at crossusa.org. The Cross was completed in 2001 and since then a Chapel and a display of the Ten Commandments have been added.

Video:Coach K interview on The Big Idea

if the video does not play, try this link to dukeblueplanet

Slideshow: August Family Birthdays

family photo Sunday

Our newest grandchild, Ethan, at 2 weeks old in his "baseball player" outfit and with the Atlanta Braves blanket that we bought for him.