Big Butt on a small wall.

 This past weekend our local Girl Scout Council held a fun event which included games, learning opportunities and a climbing wall.

Our daughter has always loved climbing walls.
And she did this one at least twelve times, trying each of the three climbs.

I think it may be her sport

Well, there comes a time in every child/parent relationship where at some point child (daughter) is going to go, "Oh, yea! You seem to know a lot about this dad, why don't you show me how easy it is!"

Trying to avoid that as long as possible, I though I better step up before the challenge was issued.

Well, I have not hauled (or had hauled) my body up a wall or been suspended by a rope for a very long time (30 plus years!). That is actually longer than the two dudes who managed the wall were old.
But I though it was now or wait till I get even older and she puts me on the spot.
So at it I went. After the first few feet I found my stride and old skills came back, and I know enough not to just count on strength alone and work with my skills of balance and finesse (two things I have loads of). At the top of the climb is a bell to ring, and in front of my daughter I got to ring the bell. I know, this photo could just be a trick. Maybe I just got a couple of feet off of the ground. But she videoed the whole thing except, luckily, my decent. I had never used one of those self belay devices before, and well, let's just say my landing needs a little work and that no one was hurt.

I told you my dad had a '57 Chevy!

As mentioned in this post yesterday.

 He must have been pretty proud of this purchase.
This would have been very late 50's or very early 60's.

They always posed my brother in front of things. Hardly ever me.
He was the favorite.
Even the rabbit got more photo time than me.

My Contribution to Sepia Sat. #289 - Beaches, not the film

Sepia Sat. Blog

One of moms favorite remembrances is going to the beach when she still lived in England.
As a child the trip to the beach would have probably been only once a year when her dads workmen group would hire a bus for the day and take families to the beach for a holiday. That would have been from the Yorkshire area. One of her favorites was Filey.
This first picture is my mom with the swim cap on with nieces and a nephew in the water.

 I don't know how people actually got in the water in the North Sea.
It seems many times it was just to go to the beach for the day, and maybe walk in the surf.
Maybe the younger ones got in more.
We were there in 2010 and the water had not warmed up much.

This photo is of my mom in the back with a sister pretending they are rowing a sand boat.
Nothing over dressed for the day about these two.

This is one of my favorites.

This is my dad, never a large man, holding my mom on his shoulders.
This would have probably been the late 40's or early 50's.

My brother at this same age could have walked right into the picture they looked so much a like.

Keeping the summer going strong. . .

Trying to get in as many adventures as we can. . . .

 Wed. evening was team picture night before practice. Daughter has her legs in the pool.

 Thursday was a trip to the National Transportation Museum.

 This one looks like a character out of 'Cars', sort of.
Waiting to be restored.

 Posing in front of Sherlock Holmes' favorite ride.

 Cool on Route 66

 Grandma use to have one of these.

 MY DAD USE TO HAVE ONE OF THESE!!!!!!!!!!!

 For Grandpa Charlie.

 Caboose climber.

 Working trolley car.
We took three rides on it.

Lots of trains.

 Sleeper. We got to walk through about five cars in a line from sleeper car to kitchen car, lounge cars, etc.

Even a small one we could ride.

Headin' home for more swim practice.

QS# 370, I think - quietly back in to the breach, I hope

Just dusting off the pencils and trying to get started again. . .

Cool Norman Rockwell site. . . if ya like that sort of thing. Which I do.

Norman Rockwell site.

Most of the time we don't think of Norman Rockwell's paintings representing the darker sides of our society. But when given the chance he made some bold statements.
(painting 1965)

The summer keeps rolling along. . . .

 Meet number three. . . 'chillin' 'tween' races.

 Rainy Wednesday to the Art Museum.

 Daughters class had spent a lot of time this past school year studying Native Americans so she found that display fascinating.

 Young artist at work studying the masters.

 Just have to get the perspective just right.

Daughters favorite, Norman Rockwell.

I love her!

 They even had crafts.

 Studying Monet.

 Wife, "Okay, in this period of paintings, if you notice, many of works will flow in some sort of figure eight."

 Daughter, "Nope, just not seein' it."

(Okay, okay, I made that up.)

 Posing partners, a Degas and a Daughter.

 No lion, no witch, just the wardrobe.

Out front.

 Namesake of St. Louis.

 Back in town, daughters first red tomatoes of the season. Just a few days after July 4th.

 Yea!

 Another day, a farmers market.

 Saturday, pool party with friends.

Sunday, the last softball game of the season.

 Yesterday, meet number four, 'chillin' 'tween' races.













I call this one, 'Sunset at Swim Meet'. We finished at eleven p.m.

Sepia Sat. #288

Sepia Saturday Blog

My Sepia Sat. contribution for this week is Stores. One that I worked at.
For about five years, from my senior year in high school till the time I took a less paying summer job, (1972-1977) I worked for a local grocery store chain.

This first picture (probably from the mid 50's) is the store I started in and worked at the most. It was also my favorite. The store is just behind the tree, right next to the marching band. This photo and the last one are both before my time working there.

The store is now part of Lindenwood College and used as an art studio.

The building that says Clay St. Motors was a 9-0-5 liquor store when I was growing up.

This would have been my first real job.

I enjoyed working in the produce department the most, but was only in that position for a short time.

I worked at this building till it closed and then moved between the chains other three stores.

Once the older store closed down. I never really enjoyed working in the business any more.  This store was much smaller than most and had a very nice neighborhood atmosphere. The chain is longer in business.



This first picture is also the store where I rode this elephant as a child. If you remember I posted that story here. It was back when you went to the store near your home, not across town.


 

The picture is from the early 60's and I only worked at this store a few times to fill in for the produce managers vacations. It is now a gym that I go to a few times a week.