Birth of a Fireplace

Mixing the mud to be used in assembling our fireplace.

As an adult I know just how much easier it is to do your job while people watch you.

This guys job is going to be real easy.

Mom and Dad went with a color additive to make the mortar black.

Chad liked the looks of the work so much he decided to jump in and help.

You can tell he is a novice because he needs to show a little more of his backside to really be working.

Three boys watching his every move.

"Why did you pick that rock?"

"Can we stick pennies in it when your done?" and other fun things thrown out at him while he works.

For as many time as were were told that "This is the messiest I have ever seen this living room!" I point my parents back to this picture and say "No this is the messiest it had ever been.".

The performer and his audience.

Seems like I remember that on our way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and this guy was there too.

We sat at the booth next to him and we watched him eat.

Almost finished.

Completed!

You can tell we have had a fire in it to test out the fireplace.

We see Monroe hanging proudly over the mantle.

Our story closes with Brett sitings on the coach watching T.V..

Home sweet home.

Thanksgiving 2009

Hang on to your hat!
This will be a whirl wind trip of our Thanksgiving weekend.

Megan and Elaine prepare our diner.

They cook while we snack on the goodies on the table.
Levi is looking at our favorite book about thanksgiving which tells about the Pilgrims journey to America.
I don't remember the name of it right now.

The boys went deer hunting that morning and then picked up Hope.

Scooby is waiting for one of us to be sympathetic and throw him something to eat.

The girls were doing MacGyver cooking since our stove is out.
So Megan made brown and serve rolls in the toaster oven.

Elaine made the turkey in the crock pot! It was delicious!

My family getting ready for prayer.

My family always smile when we pray.

Friday we went to Elaine's parents for Thanksgiving but I forgot the camera.
So just imagine food, fun and family here.


I remembered the camera Saturday when we went to my parents house.

Dad loads up a plate full along with Joel and Kye.

Most of the gang chowing down.

Each of us told what we were thankful for and lingered at the table swapping stories.

Brett's son, Kye, brought The Beatles Rock Band to play.

The gang rocking out.

Two part harmonies.

Levi, Hope and Joel getting down.

Even Elaine grabbed a mike.
Brett's family was kind enough to let us play a lot that night but they all still sang along.


While some rocked out others played Sequence.

That's cousin Sherri on the left. (See is in the rear-view mirror with us)

While playing the game I noticed Monroe over in the corner.

I took a moment to pose with this very photogenic deer.


Mom says we have the same smile.

This reminded me to ask to see our pet bird Budgie.

So like any normal family would we went in to the kitchen while Mom got Budgie out of the freezer.


Budgie died during the blizzard of 78 and has remained in the freezer ever since.

Good bird!




Mom got the salt and pepper shakers out for her biannual cooking event.
Seen before HERE

Brett's wife, Tracy, decided it was time to Rock and roll on out.


The cousins club posed for a picture before departing.

So did me and my little brothers.


A pose with the parents.

I hope you all had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did.

Monroe, The rest of the story.

Things changed for Monroe when my brother Brett's boy, Blake, was little.

(These first two photos are not Blake but my brother Chad's boy Zachary.)Blake would often want to touch Monroe. Sometimes several times a day.

So one day Dad took Monroe down from the wall and something happened when he hung him back up because Monroe fell and broke off the tips of some of his antlers.

So the next time Blake visited Dad took Monroe and wrapped his lower half in Blake's blanket and placed him next to Blake.

So Blake watched cartoons with Monroe. Blake shared his snacks with Monroe.

Monroe sat in the seat next to Blake in the car when PaPaw would go to Hardees.

This is not the typical life for a mounted deer but Monroe must have liked it.

He began to be used as a prop in my Mothers photography.

No longer content with being in the background in OUR family pictures he showed up in other families Christmas pictures and senior pictures.


(These next few pictures are of Blake with Monroe.)


Blake still hangs out with Monroe and as a matter of fact Monroe came out and sat with us at a recent family wiener roast.

Don't you dare judge us!

Monroe, Part 3

This is Monroe sneaking in some pictures over the years.

He held his spot on the wall with pride for many years.

Then he found he really liked the attention and was no longer content to stay on the wall.

More tomorrow.

Monroe, Part 2

Sorry ladies this deer slayer is taken.

Dad was proud enough of his buck that he decided to mount Monroe's head for future generations to enjoy.
To have a deer head mounted is expensive and who could he trust with his prized kill?
The answer? No one.
Dad bought a taxidermist bible and ordered his own supplies.
No internet or Youtube for help either it was hands on and follow directions from the book.

Monroe is prepped and ready to be preserved.

Dad skinned Monroe and tanned his hide. (Us boys took Dad's threats to tan our hides seriously after this.)
Taxidermy is a very slow process.
He placed the hide in different baths that smelled like the bags waiting to be picked up by the diaper service.
We waited and waited.
He ordered the Styrofoam in the shape and pose he wanted.
We got glass eyes in different shapes, colors and sizes too.
He finally finished his creation and I must say that he did a very fine job.
Monroe looked great and was ready for the wall.

Stay tuned for more.

Monroe, Part 1

My Dad shot his first buck in 1973 in the county he grew up in, Monroe County Kentucky.
That is where this deer got his name, Monroe.
I can't think of to many times that I have seen my Dad smile as big as he is the first slide.
He was proud of this deer.

These slides were taken in front of Pick's Motel in Tomkinsville, Ky.
My Dads sister and brother in law owned it and we would say there when we visited town.
My Aunt Trixie and her husband Mattie Lamont were fun people to visit and I have good memories of staying there.

Nice to see our old green station wagon too.

These are the first pictures of Monroe.
His life may be over but it has really only just begun.

This deer who roamed the country side of Monroe County, in the Center Point area, has now traveld to Indianapolis, Indiana in this slide.
I see our garage behind Dad so this is in the alley behind our house.


Monroe with his head still attached.

This story starts out so normal and it would be a normal story for many years to come until my parents had grand kids.
Then it gets weird even for our family.

Here is what I mean by that.
If you came to our house for a visit in the 80's before you left you would probably have visited our freezer.
In the freezer we would have shown you Budgie our pet parakeet.
He died in the winter and since we couldn't bury him we put him in the freezer and he is most likely still there today along with a nameless rabbit.
Fun party props for us.

Then there is Monroe. So stay tuned for the rest of his story.

Three Brothers

1973
Can you feel the brotherly love?

How about Motherly love?
Three boys wearing matching clothes, posing for a picture and smiling?
We do look young enough though that we wouldn't care if we did have matching clothes on.

I don't remember caring what I wore until middle school.

I also notice Monroe up on the wall behind us.
Look for his strange story in future posts.
No deer has ever had as much life as he has had.

Can you all help me out too?
How much should I charge when AT&T approaches me to use this pictures in their ad campaigns?
For those who need help with my humor watch this. Click HERE

Christmas At Our house 1973

Christmas at our house with Uncle Jerry, Aunt Laura and Monroe the deer.
Monroe did become more than just Dads trophy,
he became a member of the family but I will go into that in a later post.

Me, Shari, and Brett digging our presents.
•
I also noticed some of Mom's candles in the bottom corner.
A Nativity and a snowman.

More pictures of the candles HERE.

In this one I noticed a Rip VanWinkle decorative bottle,
up on the mantel,that Dad received as a gift.

It did have whiskey in it but the seal went unbroken for years
until we had a get together.
Dad spotted the broken seal after our guests left, so he must have saw them drink it.
We asked "What did it taste like?".
Dad said "Nasty" but this didn't satisfy our curiosity and we didn't stop asking the question.
So Dad had us drink some vanilla extract and that stopped our questions.
Nasty was right.

His hat unscrewed.

I also noticed someone playing with Tarzan

I posted some better pics with him HERE.

It also got posted on the site MEGO Museum which is dedicated to these toys. HERE