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ON THE HOMEFRONT
And how about that Penn State football team? National champions, for sure! Funny thing...in DOWN AND DIRTY, I have several scenes take place at the Nittany Lions Beaver Stadium during the Penn State/Notre Dame game. As always, we get great pleasure from our three grandchildren. Here's the three of them this summer...Jaden, Jeffie and little Max, doing what everyone does best in this part of the country, fly fishing.
And it's not just the kids fishing either. Here's my son Rob showing off one of his Spruce Creek catches.
And my husband Robert is a big bonefish enthusiast. Of course, he tells me he HAS to go to the Bahamas to catch them.
We continue to work on our fishing cottage. My son Matt has developed a real knack for renovating. This is the new kitchen facing the stream.
And our new deck.
My husband treats the trout so good on our property that they literally jump out of the water when they sense him coming. I am not kidding when I say we have huge native trout, two feet and longer, who can be seen swimming around, just waiting for him to throw them some feed. In fact, they are so trusting of my husband that the females are laying their eggs in the clear shallow water along the edge. Need I mention that my husband does not eat trout!
My husband also has become a bird lover to the extreme. My grandson Jeffie said one day, "Pop, Pop, you have the fattest birds." I don't know how many bird feeders he has now around the cottage and on the island. All I know is, not only are the birds happy, but every squirrel, raccoon and rabbit within a mile. In fact, while we were gone recently, a neighbor reported seeing 17 turkeys, three bears and a bunch of deer on our property. We would love to see them. Snakes are a big problem out here in the country. Lots of snakes. They are usually just water or black snakes, which are non-poisonous, but Lordy, Lordy! I even ordered a snake catcher from the Internet for my husband. He believes in a "catch and release policy," even for snakes. One day he caught a huge one, put it in a trash can with a lid, then drove it a mile away before he released it. I wanted to get a picture of my daughter-in-law Bethany and myself one day trying to catch a great big one, her with the snake catcher and me holding the trash can and lid, but we were screaming and laughing too hard. The snakes were probably laughing, too. In fact, I figure the snake grapevine is probably saying, "C'mon down to the Hills. Paaaarty!" Two of my sons and their families are gardening enthusiasts, mostly organic. This is Jaden holding up one of her prize lettuces.
Jeffie is still a great pirate enthusiast. He even sleeps with his sword. And when we ask him if he is a good pirate, he says, "No! I'm a baaad pirate."
The only thing Max cares about is Thomas the Train. And I mean, he is obsessed with that character. Here he is with his favorite birthday gift from Uncle Dan.
And the dogs, well, they love being just dogs. The big-as-a-horse one is our Eli, a German Shepherd. The other two are my son Dan's Tyler (as in Steve Tyler) and Bethany's Kyra.
Sadly, we lost two members of our family this year. Eli, on the left, our beloved German Shepherd, and Kyra, my son Matt's family dog. Tyler, in the middle, my son Daniel's longtime pet, still survives, with two additions, Sky, a husky, and Sidney, a Grand Pyrennes that resembles a walking polar bear. And now we have two more additions to our "family." Two husky puppies, Sky and Zoey, which belong to my sons Daniel and Beau. Zoey is the daughter of one of the dogs which starred in the movie "Eight Below." Very pretty, both of them. YOU READERSI must tell you, I have the best fans in the world. You cannot know how much your letters make me smile, or tug at my heart strings, or just plain make me feel good that you took the time to write. One more thing. For those of you who love Vikings with a sense of humor, as I do, check out this funny spoof on Vikings. It's what would happen if Thor and Loki were college roommates. http://www.nationallampoon.com/nl/01_cc/thor/thor_board.asp SEAL HUMORTwo things Navy SEALS are always taught:
A college professor, an avowed atheist and active in the ACLU, was teaching his class. He shocked several of his students when he flatly stated that for once and for all he was gong to prove there was no God. Addressing the ceiling, he shouted: "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes!!!" The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by. "I'm waiting, God. If you're real, knock me off this platform!!!" Again, after five minutes, the professor taunted God saying, "Here I am, God!!! I'm still waiting!!!" His count down got to the last couple of minutes when a SEAL, just released from the Navy after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and newly registered in the class, walked up to the professor. The SEAL hit him full force in the face and sent the professor tumbling from his lofty platform. The professor was out cold!! The students were stunned and shocked. They began to babble in confusion. The SEAL nonchalantly took his seat in the front row and sat silent. The class looked at him and fell silent...waiting. Eventually, the professor came to and was noticeably shaken. He looked at the SEAL in the front row. When the professor regained his senses and could speak, he asked, "What the hell is the matter with you?! Why did you do that!" "God was really busy protecting America's soldiers, who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole!!! So he sent me!!" ONE NATION UNDER GOD!!! FREEBIESFree color promo materials (small posters, postcards, bookmarks) are available for most books. If interested, send self-addressed stamped envelopes (correct envelope size and appropriate postage) to:
Sandra Hill IN CONCLUSIONI will bid you adieu for now, sweet friends. Come by and visit on occasion. I will have the welcome mat out. Fondly,
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We continue to be avid Nittany Lions fans, living in Penn State country as we do. Yay JoPa!
