Beauty and the Beast

I usually don't have the date on my photos...I really think it makes managing them very difficult. Sometimes the date causes an editing nightmare and many times the best part of the picture is under the date. We activated the "date" on the camera to take pictures of meteorites Ron was going to be showing at the Tucson Rock and Mineral Show. So it is with mixed feelings that these pictures are so embellished. The date is there for histories sake but detracts at the same time.


The storm was strange because it started with freezing rain, followed by only about 2 inches of snow. The kicker was the return of freezing rain that covered the top of the snow with about half an inch of ice. That's when everything literally collapsed.

Trees and branches snapped. Power lines down.

Yet the sun made an effort to shine through all this white and ice.

Even in all its destruction the ice was a beautiful as finest crystal.

And then there was the glow of the magnificent kerosene heater that would heat my water for tea. In all this we were without electricity from our provider for 5 days. Had Ron and Roy not been courageous enough to travel to Terre Haute in this to get the generator we might have had a quite different "adventure." We were fortunate. And we are grateful to God that there were no deaths here as a result of the storm.

I would ask you to pray for the people of Western Kentucky as even now there is an entire county without power. They have to replace 125 poles that were snapped before electricity can be restored.

Wishing you all a grand weekend. As COLD and miserable as it was last weekend here, today the temperatures are supposed to be in the 50's. We''ll be cleaning up here.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!
I hear birds chirping outside my window!

Who'd have thought...

First Class

Ron and I have traveled some in our 40 years of marriage, though not extensively and it has mostly been to visit family. So when this summer's vacation itinerary was adopted we knew it would be exciting and challenging...

The first trip to MT started off a little rocky with a storm delay in INDY that caused us to miss our scheduled flight out of Minneapolis. Northwest took great care to make sure our flight and plans were not disrupted to dramatically. As a matter of fact, when we got off the plane in Minneapolis they already had our tickets to Billings available to us and much to our surprise we were up-graded to 1st Class.

The next trip was to the Stubbs Family Reunion in Santa Fe. All went well in our travels until our flight home. It seems the American Airlines plane that arrived the night before from LA had smoke in the cabin and it needed to be test flown to make sure it was safe to carry passengers. We were going to be late leaving Albuquerque by about 1 1/2 hours. American was great and had our flight to INDY scheduled without too much delay. When we arrived in Dallas, Marianne noticed that there was an earlier flight to INDY and so we decided that since we would not lose our seats if we chose to fly stand-by we'd give it a shot...Well, we made the stand-by flight and much to our surprise and delight we were again seated in...YES, 1st Class.

Knowing this may never happen again, Ron and I have laughed and shaken our heads in delight. It will be known as the Summer of 2008 Keller's Great Travel Adventure that began and ended in FIRST CLASS!!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

The Trek of the Meteorite Apprentice

A Cluster of Meteorites

I thought as I posted this picture, it almost looks neolithic. They are not beautiful or glamorous to me, but to Ron, "the earthbound astronaut" they rank up there with bars of gold bullion.

Today he begins his quest to learn how to process them for sale. You see he wants to turn his love of space and its specimens-come-to-earth into an opportunity whereby retirement, when it comes, will not bring boredom. There is a gentleman in Syracuse, NY who has cut and etched meteorites for 25 years and Ron is going there to learn the process from the master. So the truck is loaded and ready to go, and just like a kid he can hardly wait to get started.

So it is that I wish the star gazer and meteorite lover a safe journey, patience, and a continued appreciation of the wonders of God's creation along with the prayers offered for a safe return.

***

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened.
Genesis 1:14-15

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Thanks be to God!!

A Vera Bradley Weekend

This is a tale of what can happens when one experiences a faux paux. This is the 2nd Annual Keller Girls Day Out. In other words, shopping and lunch. It all started last year when I wanted to have Kellie spend time with us "bigger" girls because she is older than her other cousins and younger than the rest of us. Last year we went to the art museum (culture), had lunch and shopped. This year we eliminated the culture and went right straight to the shopping.


And so, the Vera Bradley tale begins. We had been shopping for a while and some of us were thirsty. Marianne and Annie got fruit slushes we shared. While in one of the shop, Marianne, holding her Styrofoam cup by the bottom inadvertently pushed her fingers into the cup causing a small spill...most of which ended up in her purse. Off to the bathroom she and I went to see if there was anything to be salvaged. We cleaned off the pager and keys, and the wallet was okay. Not sure how much damage has been done to the cell phone, but the purse went into the trash.

As we were walking toward another shop Marianne spied a shop with purses in it. Well, she and I succumbed and we both bought Vera Bradley bags. Later that afternoon, we went the the Vera Bradley store at Metropolis, Plainfield, IN and Laura and Kellie both got their purses there. Cannot tell you how much fun it was, and to have an excuse (?) to purchase a Vera Bradley. Well, I guess Marianne is the only one who had an excuse, but the rest of us all had sympathy for her and had to help her feel better, right? Annie is the only one who came away unscathed as she already owns one.


Well, we did indeed have lunch. We were joined at Brinkleys by Dad, Wes and Eric. We had a wonderful lunch. And you have to know that even though they are only 3 and 4, Lindsey and Ainsley are seasoned shoppers. It was such great fun. Maybe next year the "Charlotte" Kelly can join us on this great adventure.

Oh, as an aside, there seem to be no duplications in the Vera Bradley patterns chosen so there will be no mix up at family gatherings. I understand Kelly Keller has chosen a red pattern.

~*~*~*~*~
And so in gratitude for his great love for us all,
I say, "Thanks be to God!!!"