KaBOOM Playground Build

Today's Pep Band gig was a long one, but fairly rewarding. We met early at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, and played for the children in the Day Care. Some of the children tried on uniforms, while everyone got to try the different instruments. Later, we had a little parade, with the musicians in front and the kids trailing behind. Shortly before 2 pm, cheerleaders arrived, and started to entertain the kids. Then, the players came in! Coach Harbough, Todd Heap, Joe Flacco, Kelly Gregg, Derrick Mason, and Jarret Johnson we among the few who represented the Ravens. We then went to lunch, while they entertained the kids. After lunch, Poe arrived. Around, 4:30, we headed out to the playground, and performed the Fight Song for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Playground Area - Before

The Playground Area - After

The Players, with the Kids

Dad's Gone :-(

Well, Dad left this morning. It's sad to see him go, but he might be back at the end of the month. We talked a little before he left, and it was nice. Afterwards, I headed to Huber to work, and when I came back, Tom and I planted a couple of trees along the property line. All of this planting is getting to be fulfilling. We only finished two trees before I had to go to Tidewater for the evening, but I think Tom planned to plant at least one more after I left.

Dad's Third Day

Today, Dad went to go visit Donnie. They participated in the Wine Festival at the National Harbor. Afterwards, Dad stayed to watch the hockey game. I, on the other hand, stayed home with Tom, and we planted some bushes and shrubs. Most of the time was taken up by planning and arranging where things should go, and I only actually planted two things before I had to go to work, but Tom got the rest of them done - another 13 plants. They look good.
Before all of that, though, I was able to work on more charms for the Things with Wings Charm Swap. I feel good about them. I even put together a charm, and am considering that to be the finished product. I'll confer with Wanda before deciding.

Sneak Peek - Part 2

Special Olympics 2009

Tonight, I took Dad to a Pep Band gig that's usually pretty interesting - the opening ceremonies for the Maryland Special Olympics Summer Games. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as interesting as it has been in the past. It was raining outside, so they canceled the Parade of Delegates. It's kind of like the regular Olympics' Parade of Nations, only by county. The ceremony itself was disjointed, with things being stopped (like the introduction of the Delegates), and other things being inserted in the middle (in this case, the introduction of the Color Guard units), and then the other thing being restarted. The Judges', Coaches', and Players' Oaths were separated, when in the past they followed each other in succession, which makes more sense to me. The raising of the Special Olympics flag was started, then something happened, then a little bit later it was restarted. I don't know what happened, but the "pretty cool" function that I dragged Dad to turned out to be not as cool as advertised.

Dad's Visiting!

I had received a phone call from Dad while in Ocean City, letting me know that he was coming to the area, and that he'd be staying over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Day One of the visit has gone fairly well. It was raining most of the day, so when I got a phone call from the restaurant, asking me if I'd like to be cut for the night, I jumped on the offer. I then called Dad and Tom to let them know that I'd be off, and I went home and fixed dinner. While dinner was cooking, I started to talk to Dad a little bit about our financial situation, and then Tom came over and talked about it. We ate dinner, then watched the Penguins beat the skates off of the Red Wings. During the game, I worked on my charms for the Things with Wings Charm Swap, and feel good about the sense of accomplishment. After watching a little more TV, Tom went to bed. I stayed up a little bit longer, finishing up what I was doing, cleaning up, then I talked to Dad about the financial situation for another hour or so. It felt good to let Dad know about what's going on here, and I hope some of his questions were answered.

Sneak Peek - Part 1

And even though I forgot to call, Happy Birthday, Wanda!

Tidewater Flower Pictures

Money Matters

Today, I took another money matter into my own hands. When we returned home from Ocean City Saturday night/Sunday morning, there was a credit card bill in the mail that I thought should be addressed soon. And then, after rifling through another stack of bills, I found a doctor's bill that hadn't been paid for a couple of months. I took care of them today. I went to the doctor's office and paid that one, then set up an on-line account for the credit card, and arranged for a payment to be made. Getting all of this bill stuff straightened out is not easy. I think I've accomplished a lot since I decided to get involved, but it's slow going.