Two Pilots & an LSW: Catch-Up

I think it's a good thing that Kaylee was gone all week for her DI thing, because we've had a crazy week of our own, and I haven't really been home before midnight any night since Wednesday!

She's doing fine. She's on her way home now from their event in Knoxville. The leader posted about a dozen photos of the kids doing their various events, and it looked like a good time was had by all. Kaylee got to miss school and everything for this; I hope they made the kids do their homework there so they don't have to do it all tonight. She got her dress made out of duct tape, and she did a pretty impressive job with it--way better than I would have done. I had a hard enough time finding all the stuff to buy for it, let alone designing it and then making it happen. Steve isn't fond of it because he says it looks too grown-up. It's black and red duct tape so it looks a little like black leather, but she is fully covered. Dad. :) The Duct Tape Ball they went to (and that's "dance" ball, not a giant ball of duct tape) looked huge. They were in some major auditorium. I'll stick a picture of that up at the end. I don't know how they did on their "Challenges" yet. I'm pretty confident in saying they wouldn't win at Globals, but I'm guessing it was a good experience in creativity, presentation, confidence, etc.

Steve said today he was enjoying watching me do the dishes and laundry on our anniversary. :P We went out to dinner last night as our anniversary celebration. Nineteen years today. We decided that it felt longer and shorter at the same time. In a good way, of course. ;) We went to Bonefish Grill, and we still tried to behave ourselves on food, so we skipped our favorite appetizers, had grilled fish and vegetables, but by golly I had that Macadamia Nut Raspberry Chocolate Brownie and that was all she wrote. That thing was half raw, cocoa powder, very chocolately, and major bliss. Steve had Key Lime pie. We brought a little bit of the dessert home, to still try to be good with our food. I didn't have much left of mine, he did better than I did. I couldn't stop. Mmm. I'm going to go finish that off this afternoon. Decadent. That's the word. And the rest of the food was excellent as always too. I had grilled char and snow peas, Steve had sea bass and French beans...now aren't you hungry?

Richard is currently at St. Vincent's Heart Hospital in Indy, where they are taking very good care of him. Ann is with him, and this hospital is more like a hotel than any hospital I was ever familiar with. The menu and food is great, they have a place for Ann to be able to sleep there as well, and a person to help her with her needs too. The nurses are attentive and caring, and they've been on top of his medical needs from the beginning. He started having trouble on Thursday, and during his Friday morning doctor appointment, after some hububub, he was transported down to Indy, and he's right where he needs to be for now. All prayers for him and Ann both, as well as the doctors and nurses for their care and wisdom, would be appreciated.

Flying stuff. Friday I had another photo imaging job to do. It was supposed to start at 7, I made it 7:45 to make it slightly more palatable for me. Because of fuel truck problems and other issues, I didn't get off the ground until a little later, but finally we were on our way. I took Steve C with me so he could practice it a bit too, and we went up to DeMott, Indiana in the 172. He did most of the field, then had trouble finishing it up, so I finished it and we went back home to top off. That took us two hours, and I still had two areas to do. The fuel truck was broken so we had to go to the self serve pump, and Steve decided to do other things the rest of the afternoon, and I was going to have to cancel my next student, JH, so I asked him if he wanted to come along on this second set and get some flight time that way. That round took 3.5 hours, and by the end of it, after 5.5 hours flight time and a couple hours on the ground, I was all done with it for the day. I had JH fly a couple of the patterns, but he was having trouble getting it, and I was needing to get down and find out how Richard was doing, so I finished the fields and then had him fly us home. It was warm, and bumpy, and a fair amount of yanking and banking and yawing and turning, and I realized at 1:30 pm I hadn't had a thing to eat and I was getting bleh, so I grabbed the peanut butter cheese crackers I'd brought along and a water bottle, and needed that. I felt sort of beat up after I got done. Need to pay more attention to water/food when I'm doing that.

Yesterday I took photos of a pretty neat urn. The father-in-law of one of our pilot friends passed away. He was former Navy and worked on bombers. His family had a cylinder from a big radial cleaned up and hollowed out, and his ashes inserted into it, then mounted on a thick varnished wooden base, with a plaque on it that had his name and info and "He was a true gentleman." I took some photos of it for the people who did it, and the pilot friend, as they were sending it to Ohio to be with his wife. A neat legacy.

Steve and I went flying in the PT-26 one day recently, he flew it from the back seat. He's not supposed to touch it at all, and he's not supposed to be in it without a signed consent form. He felt that with what he was providing, they could kiss his butt, I believe were his words. I'll probably give them the form at least--I can forge his scribble. ;) Yesterday a few of us went up in Gumby for its maiden public/group flight, over to lunch at Muncie. A bumpy day, but it was nice to get up and out and enjoy. I sat in the back and took a few photos.

Kaylee is in Kentucky eating a late lunch, and then they're back on the road to home. Richard had a heart x-ray today, results unknown yet, but presumably one of the tests they want to run prior to determining options for his valve. Steve is working on outside projects, doing things like locking himself out of our yard on the wrong side of the gate, haha, and I'm still doing laundry, photos, and this. Not an exciting Anniversary Day, but...we celebrated yesterday, and besides, we're here together, and that's what's important. Even if I'm making him watch old tv movies. ;)

Steve flying the PT from the back.

Us.

Walter's Urn. I just grabbed the first photo I took rather than look through for the best one, but you get the idea. Isn't that neat?

Nathan finishing up putting the prop back on the T6

Reflections of Gumby for the next few photos. You can see Nathan hanging his arm out the open window.

More reflections--going by Muncie Tower.

Reflections in the air. That was really cool, you could see yourself in the engine cowling too.

Nathan and Jerry were up front, turning base to final for home.

The kids being super heroes with costumes made in part with duct tape. Except Kaylee whose whole dress was duct tape. Harley Quinn is who she was. Cat Woman there, Magneto, Batman, Scarlett somebody...can't remember the other girl.