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DEER CREEK STATE PARK

The B & B Bluegrass band will be playing at the Deer Creek State Campground from 5-7 pm on July 9th. There is no cost. Just bring your lawn chair and enjoy the music. The Friends of Deer Creek will be selling fresh pork tenderloin sandwiches, pop, ice cream and other goodies. All proceeds from the food sales go to improve the park.

Well, I made it to the big 70 on July 1^st. Had a great day. I got up early, for a change, and felt pretty good. Old Bill ask if I felt ok to go to Bob Evans for breakfast. I said yes and started to get dressed and he then asked me if I wanted to go down to Cincinnati to the gambling boat to play a little slots (love the penny slots). I said ok. So off we went to breakfast and Cincinnati. I played all day and coming home we stopped at Lone Star Steakhouse for dinner. It was a long day and I was really hurting by the time we got home. Old Bill was kind of stoved up from the day trip.

MAUREEN KRAFT also celebrated her birthday this past Thursday, July 7^th. Mo (as we call her) was Community Club treasurer for several years. She and hubby Perry were a great help in the many projects and events we had throughout the years. Really miss them as they were so much fun.

This year marks the first time we didn’t make the 4^th celebration in Ashville. I’m glad the weather was good for the 4 days. Didn’t even make the 4^th parade. I planned on going, however, when Old Bill asked me, I just wasn’t feeling up to it. Another reason for not going is that Old Bill has trouble breathing when it gets really hot. We just stayed in the air conditioning. We hope all that participated and attended, had a great time. The Ashville Men’s Club really put in a lot of effort and time putting this on for the community. Not to forget all the volunteers, a big Thank You. Keep an eye out for the Ashville News column written by Rose Jamison. She will probably have a complete write up on the 4^th. She does an excellent job covering events like this.

Well it’s time for Old Bill to get his 6 months check up for his aneurysm. It is on his aorta. Last Sunday, after Church, we went to Berger for him to get a pre blood draw (he takes Metformin for his sugar) then on Tuesday he went in for a CTA scan and then on Thursday he had to go down for a post blood draw. Then wait for his doctor to notify him if it’s ok to start taking the Metformin again. Now we have to wait until Aug 4^th to see if it has grown any. The doctor said that they don’t get excited about it until it reaches 5 centimeters. Last two check ups it has stayed at 4.3 centimeters. Pray for it to stay the same. If, or when, it gets to 5 centimeters, they will operate to fix it.

Art received a Certificate of Appreciation, on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 from the Defense Dept.--- In recognition of honorable service during the Korean War in defense of Democracy and Freedom. Through your selfless sacrifice, the tide of Communism on the Korean peninsula was halted and liberty triumphed over tyranny. The Dept. of Defense and the people of America and Korea are forever grateful. Signed Robert M. Gates Secy. of Defense. Art is a close friend of ours from Church and Knights of Columbus. Congratulations Art.

Susie, daughter of Cookie and Jerry and granddaughter of Betty Willoughby, lived across the street from us growing up and I got back in touch with her through Facebook. Her life and job career looked interesting so I ask her to give me a little info on her activities since moving away. Here is an email from her: Hi Jackie, I am still in Shanghai, China but will be back home Saturday night. China is an amazing place. I actually lived here from 2006-2008. I have spent 50% of my time here this past year. I am a Program Manager. I lead large global project implementations across the company, across the world. I lived here from 2006-2008 to implement new work processes and a new system. We purchased a company in the fall of 2009, so I got to come back to bring them into our way of working and our system here this past year. I have traveled all over China as well as Singapore in Asia. I have also spent a lot of time in Europe, and the US doing the same type of work. I have made a lot of friends here that I miss every time a project ends. The people are amazing. The Great Wall is probably one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life. The history here in China and the places you can visit date back to BC. You don't get to experience anything like that in the US. The people here are very health conscience compared to the US. It was a huge culture shock at first but after living here and being immersed with the people, I hate to leave.

That about covers it for this time. Hope all is well with you and yours. Please remember Jan in prayers as she has been ill. “There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from”. Till next time always remember to be kind to one another.