OtterNonsense

2012 Cookie Baking

2011-12-27T17:22:00.001-08:00

Lucie is getting to be very good at the cookie cutting. We're all good at the cookie eating.

Brunch with Judy and granddaughters

2011-07-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ava is 8 and Kate is 7--they are sweet little girls and really enjoy being together.

2011 AirVenture Cup Race

2011-07-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sam left this morning for Dayton where they begin the race to Oshkosh tomorrow. I've lost track of how many times he's flown in this race, but I think this is 7 or 8 times. He works in sweltering heat to get ready, and every year it's right down to the wire on getting everything done in time. Go, Sam!

Sam hosted the Big Muddy Air Race

2011-06-08T09:09:00.001-07:00

Here is his report:
Sunday, June 5, 2011

Whew!

The 2011 Big Muddy Air Race is now in the bag!

Several entries scratched before the race, so we ran with a field of 17 aircraft for the 162 nm course. The winds were low, so most people stayed low. The flooding along the rivers was still apparent, but had gone down a lot since I scouted the route a couple of weeks ago. Just past Turn 2, I was over the Mississippi river about 800 feet and a bald eagle passed off my left wing. How's that for a good omen?

On Friday night we had an excellent time at the Pinch Penny pub, sucking down some Saluki Dunkle Dog beer, brewed by the Big Muddy Brewery - a race sponsor.

We had lots of support from Southern Illinois University, the student group Rotor & Wing Association, and all the volunteers. Thanks to everyone who came long distances to be here. I had fun, I hope you did too!

I came in second place in the Sprint class, with a speed of 210.24 mph.

You can see all the race results here: http://www.sportairrace.org/

And a bunch of photos on my Facebook album.

Christmas 2009

2011-01-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

I just ran across this picture from last year of Sam teaching Lucie a few chords--can't believe how much Lucie has grown in a year!

Vegetarian Christmas dinner

2010-12-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Somehow we got a bad ham. Once we took the outer wrap off to cook it for Christmas dinner, the smell nearly knocked us down. We rushed the ham onto the deck, triple bagged inside a shoe box, and there it stayed until we returned it to the store this morning. None of us seemed to miss the ham. It was probably our healthiest Christmas dinner ever. Oh, and the deck was a perfect place for chilling the champagne and wine!

Baking our annual Christmas cookies 2010

2010-12-18T10:21:00.001-08:00

Lucie

2010-10-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

October 2010

St. Louis-Chicago 2010

2010-07-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Lori's Birthday

2010-07-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

It worked out that we were in St. Louis with Lori and Taylor and could celebrate Lori's birthday with her. We went to Pi in the Central West End--best pizza ever--and we had a great time. President Obama ate there, and he has even had it flown to him in D.C. Note the dress that Lucie is wearing was Lori's from when we lived in California.

OFF TO THE RACES

2010-07-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sam is off to the Air Venture Cup race. It starts in Mitchell, South Dakota and ends at Oshkosh. This will be his sixth time that he has participated. He doesn't expect to win this year. Just to finish the race will be a big accomplishment after all the changes he has made to the airplane. Go, Sam.

Granddaughters Vacation 2010

2010-07-03T14:35:00.001-07:00

This was taken at the end of the trip when we returned Taylor to Cherish and Fisher Samuel in Columbia, MO.

Fisher at the Topeka Zoo

2010-04-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Painting Otter

2010-04-14T07:08:00.001-07:00

Four Down, One to Go

2010-03-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't want a big birthday celebration, so I am having five small ones. This was taken last night in St. Louis.

Left to right: My brother Robert Otterson II, my daughter Lori Smith Jennaway, my granddaughter, Madeline Lucille Wood, me, my husband Sam.

Birthday

2010-03-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

I prefer to let them just sliiiiiiiiiiiiide right by without acknowledgment. This year I am having one of those decade-turning birthdays. This one may mark my entry into my second childhood. I asked for a basketball and a bicycle. When I was a kid, maybe about 10, I got a basketball and a BB gun. Some things don't change that much....

Smart Fair

2010-03-11T15:39:00.000-08:00

Sam and I went with Lori and Lucie to Lucie's Smart Fair at St. Margaret of Scotland last night. Lucie's topic was Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. It was very interesting to see their work and hear them explain their topics.

Otterson Reunion

2010-02-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

My Uncle Bill, my dad's oldest brother, planned a reunion to coincide with his 92nd birthday. He said if he didn't live to make it, we could have his memorial. Well, he lived, but he fell and broke his hip a couple of weeks before the reunion. So we had a gathering at his rehab hospital. There was a good turnout to celebrate his birthday. And he doesn't look his age!

Annual Cookie Baking 2009

2010-01-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving '09

2010-01-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

We drove to Libertyville and surprised Sam's mother and family for Thanksgiving. Here she is when he surprised her.

Dinner at the Roadhouse 2009

2009-12-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

It had been a long time since old friends from my time in Chester had all gotten together, but we finally did. We had a lot of laughs and did a lot of reminiscing. Left to right are Judy Reynolds, Susan Vasquez, me, Lisa Marks, and Ellen Ranney.

City Museum, St. Louis

2009-11-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

After Grandparents Day at Lucie's school, Sam, Lucie, and I went to City Museum in St. Louis. It is an unusual and very creative place, to say the least. I highly recomend it for people of all ages. I posted a video of Lucie and Sam coming down a slide. They had to walk up three flights of stairs every time they slid down, and they must have gone four or five times each. I got a video of one time when they came down. If you want to see it, here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hbuEkoUhYM

Grandparents Day

2009-11-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Sam and I drove to St. Louis to visit Lucie's fifth grade class for VIP Day at St. Margaret's of Scotland.

Happy Days

2009-09-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

Underage Driver

2009-09-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sam and his Quickie 200

2009-08-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sam is back in the air now. He has flown 12 test flights, but he still has adjustments and changes to make to his fiberglas b**** before he can make any long flights. A friend made a t-shirt for me. On the front it says, "My husband is having an affair." On the back, it says, "But she is just a Quickie."

Martha's Visit-Celebrating birthdays

2009-08-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

D.C. trip for Dee's Birthday

2009-07-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Me, Judy, Melinda holding Ty, Delores, Brenda, James, Ginnie taken at Melinda's house on Dee's birthday.

Patrick and Melinda
James, Paul, and Dee
Judy and I took James and Ty for a "hike." We stopped and rested a couple of times, since it was hot outside and the neighborhood is hilly.

Judy, Ginnie, and I visited the World War II memorial. Luckily, we got there just in time for a tour.

Becky dropped us off and picked us up at the St. Louis airport. Here we are having lunch at the end of the trip. Well, almost the end. We still had a couple hours of driving to get home.

Granddaughters Vacation 2009

2009-07-19T12:56:00.001-07:00

We had our annual trip with Lucie and Taylor. It's always a fun time!

The first day we canoed for about four hours on the Niangua River near Lebanon, MO. Sam said we couldn't all go in one canoe and that I could steer one and he would steer the other. Since I had never done that, I didn't want to. As we were deciding whether to get one jumbo canoe, trying to talk me into trying it, blah blah blah, Lucie said, 'I have never steered but I've canoed a lot with my dad and I'll steer." We let her and the girls were thrilled to be together and on their own. They were the youngest people we saw in control of their own canoe.

The river was very crowded, which made steering harder and it was like bumper cars at a carnival, someone always bumping their canoe into someone or getting caught on the side of the river. Lucie and Taylor were a little offended when one boy called them "The Sideways Crew."

Our next night was in Branson. We rode almost all the rides at Silver Dollar City, some of them multiple times. I rode a couple of water rides and rode a roller coaster for the first time in my life. Thankfully, I don't have a photo of that. Here's a photo of me with the girls on a water ride. Click on the photo to get an idea of how much I enjoyed it...

We bought tickets for The Presley family show and were afraid the girls would turn up their noses and be bored. They weren't. They loved it, laughed a lot, and thought it was "awesome." Whew.

Before the show, we had dinner in a Cantina Loredo overlooking the river.

When we arrived back at Taylor's house, the girls obviously had a plan. They ran in and came back out where I was unloading the car. Taylor was shooting me with this huge air gun and Lucie was wearing the afro--I laughed almost as loud as I had screamed on the roller coaster.

We had a great time and hope to make many more of these granddaughter trips. Taylor and Lucie both promised they would not outgrow wanting to go with us, so we are going to hold them to that as long as we can.

We still have five hours of drive time to get Lucie back home. We stopped in Rocheport at Les Bourgeois for lunch.

Lucie in Mexico

2009-06-21T08:49:00.001-07:00

Lucie sent me an e-mail this morning with this photo attached. She is on vacation in Puerto Vallarto.

Lucie's won 1st place at Science Fair

2009-03-28T11:08:00.001-07:00

Here she is with her blue ribbon for first place at St. Margaret's of Scotland's Science Fair. She took second place with her exhibit at the St. Louis city-wide science fair. And she got straight A's on her report card the entire year. Go Lucie!

BEANS, BEANS, THE MAGICAL SEED

2009-03-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

Sandy and lots of Bills

2009-02-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

I forget how many of these paintings that Peter Max has painted of President Clinton, but you can see that there are a lot of them on display in Little Rock. The exhibit will be there through May. It's worth a trip to see it!

Sam and Barack

2009-02-23T15:11:00.000-08:00

We saw the Peter Max exhibit at Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock over the weekend. I loved the art and the libary. We had a GREAT little trip.

Ginnie and Aunt Noreen

2009-02-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Lunch in West Frankfort today with two special ladies.

Taylor's First Dance

2009-02-07T11:36:00.001-08:00

When I received this photo, I gasped and then said outloud, "Oh, wow." I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Fisher at Mickey Mouse Club Live

2009-02-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

Lori and Lucie

2008-12-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

We're off to the Fox Theatre

2008-12-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

We saw the Rockettes perform at the Fox Theatre as part of our Christmas celebration. The theatre is beautiful and the performance was spectacular. Lucie had an aisle seat and could have reached out and touched some of the dancers as they came down the aisle.

Ready to see the Rockettes

2008-12-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas in St. Louis

2008-12-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

Relaxing after Christmas

2008-12-29T09:17:00.000-08:00

We had a great holiday visit in Kansas. It is a joy to spend time with Cherish, Brent, Taylor Jo, and Fisher anytime, but especially at Christmas.

Reading the box

2008-12-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

It never fails, the boxes get as much attention as the toys!

Taylor Jo

2008-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

Fisher with his choo-choo

2008-12-29T09:12:00.000-08:00

He likes to get down next to the wheels so he can see them turn as the train goes around the track.

Traditional Cookie Baking 2008

2008-12-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

Remnants of Halloween makeup

2008-11-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Young skydiver

2008-11-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

Lucie, a/k/a Goth Girl

2008-11-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008. Thanks goodness, she doesn't look this old in real life!!!!!!

Ty & James, Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sam's Birthday Present

2008-11-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

It's easy to come up with gifts for Sam, especially since he has been doing the major rebuild of his airplane this past year. All you have to do is listen to what he is currently doing to the airplane. For Christmas last year, I offered either a new interior or a new canopy. He didn't really want to give up the old canopy, but it had a hole in it, which he had covered with a pyro sticker for the past couple of years. He finally decided on the canopy. As it turned out, he had to do a lot of rebuilding to make the canopy work and he thought it was darker than the old one and there was a lot of grousing about it. So in the end, he wasn't too thrilled with that gift.

He has been occupied all summer with getting the airplane repainted. It was a huge amount of work to paint and then had to repaint, but it is now painted and back in one piece. This week he was agonizing over whether to hire a painter to help him add the stripe or to do it himself. His birthday is coming up this month, so I offered to foot the painter's bill for his birthday present. It was a little altruistic on my part, but I couldn't stand to see him mess up the paint after all he's been through. So today we went out to take a look at the new stripe. It looks great and he definitely seems happier with his birthday gift than he did his Christmas gift.

Lucie & Coco

2008-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sunset 10/10/08

2008-10-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

Photo taken with Sam's cell phone as he was flying home from Cleveland yesterday evening in a friend's Cessna.

Oak Creek Canyon, AZ

2008-09-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

View from Airport Mesa hiking trail

2008-09-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

Lunch in Oak Creek Canyon

2008-09-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

We drove the road between Sedona and Flagstaff so Sam could enjoy the switchbacks. It was a beautiful drive and not scary like some switchbacks.

Sunset from Airport Mesa, Sedona

2008-09-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

What a perfect mesa for Sam. Even when we don't fly in the Quickie, we somehow end up at an airport. He hiked all the way around Airport Mesa, which took him around the edge of the Sedona airport. I'm a little disappointed in myself, because I felt vertigo looking down at the steep drop-offs next to the trail and ended up waiting on the mesa for him to return. An Indian lady selling jewelry told me he'd be gone for quite a while. There was nothing there to say how long the trail was, so I was glad that our cell phones worked and he kept he posted on his progress. While I waited, I had a wonderful view of Sedona below me to the west, north, and east, and I could walk around and climb the areas that weren't next to the drop-offs. A tour group came up, and I got to listen to the tour guide talk about how to experience a vortex and find your inner serenity. So I worked on that while I waited. I'm not sure if it was that or the dry weather, but I did feel better out there. When Sam returned, we drove on up to the airport restaurant and sat outside for dinner and then enjoyed this beautiful sunset.

Prickly Pear on Airport Mesa

2008-09-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Aren't the colors beautiful? Sam took this on his hike.

Prickly Pear

2008-09-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have seen paintings of the blooming Prickly Pear cactus, but this is the first time I've actually seem them in bloom. This one was outside the Mexican restaurant in Camp Verde where we had some extra good margaritas.

My shirt matches the rock

2008-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Now that is a beautiful rock!

2008-09-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

View towards Sedona and Red Rocks from Jerome

2008-09-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Jerome, Arizona

2008-09-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon visiting Jerome, which was a copper mining boom town until the 1920s, then by the 1960s was a ghost town with 50 residents. Hippies and artist types moved in, and it is now an interesting town with art galleries and restaurants, but you still have a sense of the original town and it isn't touristy like Sedona. We really enjoyed our visit there.

Montezuma Castle

2008-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

These ruins were built by Indians known as "Sinagua," who farmed near what is now Camp Verde, Arizona. They began building this five-story, 20-room dwelling early in the 1100s and abandoned it 300 years later. It stands 100 feet above the valley. Early settlers mistakenly assumed that it was Aztec in origin, hence the name Montezuma Castle. The guide we talked to said about 35 people lived in the castle. He has been up in the ruins, and he said that the walls are smoke covered. Can you even imagine climbing up 100 feet to get to your dwelling? Or worrying that your toddler would wander out the wrong door?

Michael, Matthew, Lucie

2008-08-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Oshkosh

2008-07-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Turns out Sam is going to Oshkosh. A friend of his needs a pilot to fly him to Oshkosh. It was an opportunity that Sam couldn't pass up. It's a six-passenger plane, so I could go along if I didn't have other commitments. I have been there every year since 2000, but I don't mind missing this year. The last week of my drawing class at SIU-C is that week. It is a great learning experience, and I don't want to miss a moment if I can help it. Also, Judy and Martha are turning 65, and we are going to St. Louis to celebrate that weekend. So Sam will have to go it alone this year, no Quickie and no Sandy.

Irony

2008-07-12T12:37:00.001-07:00

This article about the upcoming 2008 Oshkosh Air Show appeared in the current issue of The Auto Pilot, which our friends Nancy and Jerry sent to us. The photo from a past Oshkosh shows Sam arriving at Oshkosh in Race No. 22, the Quickie airplane which he built and flies. The story is titled "Gotta Get to Oshkosh," and his mantra for 20 years has been, "Gotta get the Quickie to Oshkosh." The irony is that this is the first time in 20 years that Sam won't be taking it to Oshkosh. His modifications in hopes of increasing speed are taking longer than he anticipated, so the plane is out of commission indefinitely. He seems resigned to not attending, but he really, really hates to miss the race and the annual Oshkosh gathering.

Patrick, Melinda, James and Ty--our hosts in Alexandria

2008-06-16T09:38:00.001-07:00

It was a long drive to D.C.

2008-06-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Actually, the girls did very little sleeping in the car and they faked it for this photo. They watched movies on DVD player, played video games on their Nindendos. It was a challenge to keep track of what was being charged when. I counted 12 chargers and converters. Here is a list of the electronics that we had with us, and I may have forgotten something.

DVD player

2 Nintendo DS

laptop computer

3 cell phones

I-pod

MP3 player

Sony radio

Satellite radio

digital camera

Palm Pilot

Chilling out at Brenda and Mike's mountain cottage

2008-06-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Bath County, Virginia

Lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn

2008-06-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

With George and Martha.....

2008-06-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Mount Vernon, Virginia

2008-06-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

George Washington's Porch overlooking the Potomoc

2008-06-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

It was a very hot day and we enjoyed the cool breeze in the shade every chance we got.

House of Representatives Cafeteria with Aunt Brenda

2008-06-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Breakfast with Congressman Gary Miller

2008-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Congressman Costello's Office--

2008-06-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Congressman Costello's Office

2008-06-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Aunt Brenda's office

2008-06-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Girls with James

2008-06-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Riding the Metro

2008-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Washington Monument in background

2008-06-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Lincoln Monument

2008-06-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Taken from Washington Monument with White House in background

2008-06-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Riding Carousel on Washington Mall

2008-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

After a long, hot walk, we were glad to take a break while the girls rode the carousel.

Sam with the Wright Flyer

2008-06-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

Out of eight days of vacationing, Sam got to spend 15 minutes in the Air and Space Museum before caving in to complaints.

James, who will be four on July 1

2008-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

James is Melinda and Patrick's oldest son.

Ty Hudson, who will be two on August

2008-06-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Melinda and Patrick's youngest.

Lucie and Ty in sandbox

2008-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Taylor, Lucie, James

2008-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Arlington National Cemetery tour

2008-06-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Waffles

2008-06-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Since it was our last day on the road, we decided to let them indulge their sweet tooth--chocolate waffles and chocolate milk for breakfast at The Waffle House on the border between Kentucky and West Virginia. They didn't eat again until a late lunch in Mt. Vernon, IL. We got a lot of miles between meals and drove through two big storms before stopping.

Lunch at Chili's--last day of the trip

2008-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

It was a great trip and we saw a lot of sights and enjoyed our time together, but it was a relief when we delivered both girls safely back to their mothers.

Lucie looking older than she really looks

2008-06-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

Nine Candles

2008-06-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lori and Melinda, California, 1979

2008-05-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Aren't they beautiful?

Lori and Melinda, California, 1979

2008-05-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with those stupid glasses!

Lori and Melinda

2008-05-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

In June, Sam and I are taking our granddaughters, Lucie and Taylor Jo, to Washington, D.C. and we will be staying with my niece Melinda. When Melinda was a little girl, she went on vacation with us to D.C. and we stayed with my sister Brenda and her family. I went searching for photos from that trip, but I couldn't find any. Maybe Brenda has some? I did find this old photo taken when we lived on South Emma Street. I am just guessing that it was late '60s or early '70s, but the date wasn't written on the back. I had an even better photo taken the same night, which I carried in my wallet for years, but I can't find it now.

Irises 2008

2008-05-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fisher

2008-04-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Taken on the train at the Topeka Zoo. He is 16 months old and has had his first haircut.