Who feels like a Thread-Killer? Part 5

[KimRaye]

ACK! I thought there were 2 more books? There's only ONE more?!?! I will sooo miss our .

 

[ophie]

No, just one more. 7 is the last one... 7 school years @ Hogwarts.

 

[KimRaye]

7 school years @ Hogwarts.

Welllllllll.......... (I won't say anything for those reading, or planning on reading)

It IS sad to think of it ending tho.

 

[KimRaye]

Robin, I was hoping for some pics today. Or, more details at least about your visit with Alex. You ok today?

 

[Hollyann]

Headed to work Threadkillers - I can't remember what chapter I'm on, but I'm more than half way through the book. I think I figured out who the Half-Blood Prince was around the 3rd or 4th chapter.....

 

[Dalpal]

Good Morning all,

Thank you Ann.....or should I just call you Norma Jean? ......

I am off today to get my car fixed........Its going to be in the 90s..... ...Oh well better then snow!

Have a good day everyone!.....

 

[Cruisin]

Robin, I was hoping for some pics today. Or, more details at least about your visit with Alex. You ok today?

Kim, I was okay yesterday but I was very tired for most of the day. I had tap class and then exercise class last night too.

Weekend details~~~~

We had a good trip on the highway although it took us 2 hours to get through Toronto the traffic was very heavy and moving very slowly.

Alex called several times during the day to check up on our progress

We arrived at the campground around 9pm set up and Alex came to meet us and spent 2 nights at the trailer with us.

Saturday we went out to breakfast at this really cool Pancake house that was like a big hall inside. You place your order at the counter and then sit down at the picnic table and they bring it to you. Very good food.

Alex showed us the rapids where he likes to white water canoe and then we returned to camp. Alex and Jessica took off on their own for the rest of the afternoon. Liz and I went to an old abandoned mine to look for rocks and minerals. Rick stayed at camp and had a nap.

Oh while we were out to breakfast, we left the trailer windows all wide open and it decided to pour down rain, so everything got wet . The sun dried the stuff out quickly though. It rained several times during the day with the sun coming out strong in between. It was overall a nice weather day.

We cooked supper over the campfire. Later we went into town to Pop's Malt shop, decorated in a 50's style and then returned and hung around the campsite all night.

Sunday Alex had to leave early to be back at his job for 9am clinic time. We packed up our camper and set off to meet him at Camp Walden. It was Visitor Day and families were all coming to see their campers (500 campers = thousands of visitors )

There was a line of cars waiting to get in (since they didn't let people in until about 11:30) Alex had radioed ahead to the gate and we got in early You should have seen the dirty looks we got when we drove up and went right in.

Alex showed us around the camp - beautiful, wooded place, with a crystal clear lake of it's own. Alex says that the water is supposed to be so pure in that lake that you can drink it without even purifying it

We left about noon, just as all the other parents were arriving.

We heard one building of children get "released" to visit their parents. Wow, it sounded like a heard of wild horses stampeding through a canyon somewhere

We left and drove cross country to home to avoid going through Toronto on a Sunday evening.

I will post a few pictures in a minute.

 

[Cruisin]

Pictures from the weekend

These are the rapids where Alex likes to go white water canoeing.

The abandoned mine where we went rock hunting. Too bad we didn't bring a flashlight so we could have gone further inside. There was another bigger section that you could walk right through too.

Liz being a mountain goat.

Everyone enjoying Pop's Malt Shop.

The lake at Camp Walden.

Alex's room at camp.

 

[ophie]

Did we know someone who's @ the Boy Scout Jamboree?? I seem to remember hearing something about someone going. What an awful tragedy.

 

[PrincessaC]

Hello

Thanks for the pictures Robin!

Ophie what happened at the Boy Scout Jamboree?

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Four Boy Scout Leaders Die in Va. Accident


By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM
Associated Press Writer

July 26, 2005, 9:55 AM EDT

BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- Chaplains and grief counselors were on hand Tuesday for Boy Scouts coming to grips with the deaths of four adult Scout leaders killed on the opening day of their Jamboree when a tent pole apparently struck a power line.

The four leaders who died Monday afternoon were from an Alaska troop. One other leader from Alaska and two contract workers were injured, one critically. No Boy Scouts were seriously injured.

Little detail on the incident was released Monday by officials with the Jamboree, which brings tens of thousands of participants to the Army's Fort A.P. Hill about an hour south of Washington, D.C. Army officials are assisting with the investigation.

Caroline County Sheriff A.A. "Tony" Lippa Jr. told NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday that the investigation was continuing but there was no sign it was anything other than an accident. He said he could not comment on details.

One of the dead was identified as Ron Bitzer, a retired administrative judge and assistant scoutmaster of Troop 129 of Anchorage, according to troop scoutmaster Ken Schoolcraft.

"Scouting was what he loved. He spent many, many, many hours working with Scouting," Schoolcraft said. "It was a way for him to help others."

The names of the other victims were not released Monday night. Of the three people injured, one was listed Tuesday in critical condition at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, one was in stable condition and another was discharged.

The event, held every four years, attracts more than 40,000 Boy Scouts, leaders and volunteers from around the world.

Spokeswoman Renee Fairrer said the Boy Scouts would do something to honor those who were killed. "We are family, and this is like something has happened to four members of our family," she said. "We are all hurting."

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski issued a statement offering his condolences to the victims' family members and troop members.

"These individuals were killed while serving Alaska's young people -- and I admire and thank them for that service," he said.

A message left with the base by The Associated Press was not immediately returned early Tuesday.

The deaths came a day after a Boy Scout volunteer from North Carolina was taken to a hospital where he died of an apparent heart attack, Fairrer said.

Most Scouts seemed unaware of the deaths Monday night, preparing dinner at their posts and getting ready for Tuesday's activities. An opening ceremony was scheduled for the morning.

"The Jamboree will go on," said Fairrer.

The Alaska Scouts were moved to another area where chaplains and grief counselors were made available.

The Jamboree runs through Aug. 3 with President Bush scheduled to speak Wednesday evening. Scouts ages 12-18 are to spend 10 days camping in tents and doing activities that include archery, fishing and a GPS-based scavenger hunt.

The Boy Scouts of America have held the event every four years since 1937. The next gathering is set for 2010, five years from now, to coincide with the group's 100th anniversary.

But it may not be held at Fort A.P. Hill, which has hosted the Jamboree since 1981. A federal judge recently ruled that the Pentagon can no longer financially support the event. If the ruling stands, the Boy Scouts would have to find another location for their next gathering.

A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois contends that the Defense Department's sponsorship violates the First Amendment because the Scouts require members to swear an oath of duty to God.

In exchange for getting use of the Army training base, the Scouts have spent about $20 million on base improvements that include road paving and plumbing upgrades. The Army says it uses the Jamboree as an opportunity to train personnel in crowd control, communications and other logistical skills.

* __

Associated Press writer Jeannette J. Lee contributed to this report from Anchorage, Alaska.

* __

On the Net:

http://www.Scouting.org/jamboree

http://www.aphill.army.mil
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I was just reading about that this morning

So sad, they came all the way from Alaska to VA to meet fate with a power line...I just don't get it.


YOur pictures are beautiful Robin

Your son picked the perfect place to spend his summer eh? <---noted.

The family looks great, he looks adorable with his lady.

I got pictures too...

My Crepe Myrtle is starting to bloom

Crepe Myrtle Close-Up

My Hibiscus

My BeeBumble

A dragonfly

Alice and Mika (l-r)

Some of my Marigolds

Some Parsley

One of my house trees, this one’s a gift from my ILs while traveling thru Georgia. We bordered some of the garden with clam shells.

Most of my houseplants go outside in the summer

Can you see him? NJ’s official state bird. The goldfinch.

 

[Cruisin]

Hey Colleen, nice pictures. Your garden looks lovely.

I have seen a lot of goldfinches around my house this summer. They will sometimes come and eat at my bird feeders. They are so pretty. Other than cardinals and bluejays, we don't have a lot of colourful birds around here, so I notice the nice yellow goldfinches.

Yes, Alex did pick a beautiful spot to spend his summer.... a long ways from home.... but beautiful none the less. Nice forests, rocks, water everywhere, high hills....... nice.

 

[ophie]

Wow... what a great picture day so far!

 

[Cruisin]

Wow... what a great picture day so far!

I like picture days

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I love watching the birdies eat in my yard

We plant sunflowers and black eyed-susans (sunflower like -goldfinches eat them) and hang thistle and fill our bird feeders to encourage them into our yard.

The goldfinch are hard to photograph without a massive zoom lense cause they're so skittish. I know that if I work my way into the back with my camera our bird visitors are almost used to us being back there.

By summers end I want to get a good closeup of those finches. :camera smiley still wanted:

The cardinals and blue jays hang out more in the fall when the sunflowers are fully bloomed.

 

[ophie]

Anyone need this link?

 

[PrincessaC]

Thanks Colleen...


Wow, that is terrible.

 

[PrincessaC]

Anyone need this link?

 

[PrincessaC]

Those are great pictures Colleen. Makes me want to go outside and work in my yard!!! But it's blazing HOT right now I'll wait til later to go pull some weeds and dead heads...