Tuesday, September 29

Brrrr....it's cold outside. I went to the zoo today and had planned to work an inside region after I finished with the aviary diet. But the keepers asked if I would keep an eye on the newly introduced wolverine. Our new male, Rocky has been introduced to the 2 females, Kiwi and Buffy for about a week now. Rocky is doing fine but the females have a few "tiffs" now and then. Other than the cold, it was fascinating to watch the behaviors. The visitors that braved the cold today had a great opportunity to see these rare weasels actively interacting with each other. What fun! Sara called today and said they are waiting to see if a tidal wave reaches the island from an earthquake in Samoa. I told her she should pack up the dog and cat and head for high land. Matt is on his ship the Port Royal this week and I certainly hope it doesn't end up getting grounded again. It just got out of dry dock last week.

Friday, September 25

This week has been a pretty productive week. Mr. Bichler had his last appointment with his psychologist and has been released to go back to work part-time. He has all of his paper work mailed in to get put on the substitute teacher list. We learned this week that we are to be grandparents again, totally awesome news! We also have nearly everything moved into the new garage and with the exception of some heavy boxes of tools, everything is put away. Now if it just stops raining long enough for us to mow the grass and rake the leaves we will be well on our way to getting ready for winter. Hope everyone has a great week end. Go Bucks!!

Tuesday, September 22

Luke this summer!

Luke 2 years ago!

Well I have waited as long as I possibly could before writing the good news in today's post. Mr. Bichler had his last visit with his favorite psychologist. Good news, yes, but not the best of the day. While we were in for the appointment Trish called to tell us that we were going to be grandparents again. We are both jumping with joy as we thought we may have to wait for Sara and Matt before we had more grandchildren. New baby Foulk will be due around Mr. B's birthday, late April early May. Luke will be celebrating his 2nd birthday in Oct. Guess he better enjoy his single status.

Saturday, September 19

Ms. Haworth drawing a heart around the initials J.H. + R.H.


Class dismissed. They are now Mr. and Mrs. Hoy

What a beautifully simple ceremony!

The Arctic Room at the Toledo Zoo

a Hoy and his matey!

I think he smells the salmon on the buffet!

Mr. and Mrs. Hoy

After a wonderful visit with our friend Collene we headed east to Toledo. We checked in at our hotel, put on our "wedding duds", and left again to find De Vilbiss High School where Ms. Haworth was getting married. She was marrying someone that she had been in physiology class with when she was a junior and he was a senior in high school. They had not seen each other since that class until they found each other online several years ago. The wedding was so cute. It began with the sound of the tardy bell and as the wedding party entered the room they signed in on the chalk board. They were married by Ms. Haworth's nephew. When they were pronounced husband and wife the bell rang again and they went to the hallway and greeted their guests in front of the lockers. It was one of the most unique, romantic and original weddings that I have ever been to. It was so "perfect"!

The reception was held at the Toledo Zoo in the Arctic Room. As we were eating we could watch the polar bears as they moved about in their enclosure. It was casual and fun. You may not have known this but the 19th was talk like a pirate day. Ms. Haworth's new last name is now Hoy so they incorporated that into the table favors with small treasure chests full of treats printed with polar bears and sayings such as "aHoy matey". We had such a great time sharing in this very special occasion. You could tell just by watching the two of them how very happy they were. What a blessing to have found each other after 40 years! We wish them only the very best for the next 40+ years!!

Friday, September 18

Mr. B, Collene and me


Collene and Bob's new home and Coco the fishing dog.


Today we headed out for the far north. Our destination? Bryan, Ohio, home of Dum dum suckers and the "Etch a Sketch" capitol of the world. Oh and it is also home of a friend of ours that we used to teach with 15 years ago. When we found out that we were invited to a friends wedding in Toledo we decided that we would make a small detour and visit Collene and her husband Bob. We drove 3 1/2 hours northwest and found ourselves about 5 miles from both Indiana and Michigan. We attended a tailgate dinner and football game at Sherwood Fairview where Bob and Collene's son plays football. It really was a scenic drive and a beautiful night for football. We spent the night and next morning visiting and remembering the "good old days" at West Jeff. Collene taught one of the learning disabled classes but has since switched over to the "dark" side and is now an administrator (elementary principal). She showed us her school, grades 1-5 with about 500 students. We are so glad we decided to visit, we had a fabulous time and are looking forward to another visit in the near future.

Tuesday, September 15

overhead cabinets and workbench


Mr. B's oil can collection

Things have been going along pretty good here at the Bichler ranch. We finally got the work benches moved into the garage, thanks to our good neighbor Mike Hart and his construction crew. They even hung one of our cabinets and all in about 15 minutes. Many thanks! (Mike also built our garage and he fixed the HS score board and made the arch at the entrance of the football field. If you are looking for a great construction company, look no further.) Since then we have slowly been moving in 37 years worth of tools and hardware in quantities that would put most hardware stores to shame. At one point I had counted 30+ screw drivers and 15 pair of pliers and that was just in one drawer.

Today was an awesome day at the zoo. I was invited to watch a routine physical of the wolverine. It was amazing to see the size of their feet in comparison to the rest of their body. Of course that is to help them walk on top of the deep snows in their northern habitats. A member of the weasel family, their hair was a little more course than I would have imagined. I am so grateful to have had such a unique opportunity.

To top off an already fabulous day, Mr. Bichler and I had dinner at Apple Bee's with Mrs. Kuhl. It was great to hear how the year is going at school. Sounds like everyone is off to a great start! We did get down to the middle school girl's volleyball match against Fisher Catholic last night and we were very impressed at how well they played. We even saw a little of the HS girls soccer game. They were sporting their pink shirts for Shoot for the Cure in support of cancer research.

Have a great week.

Tuesday, September 8

Hope everyone survived the Labor Day weekend. We had a great time yesterday kayaking at Madison Lake despite the rainy conditions. Mr. Staffan and Mrs. Kuhl joined us as we toured around the edge of the lake. We saw at least a half dozen Great Blue herons, 2 Little Blue herons as well as a kingfisher and several cormorants. Of course as soon as we left the lake the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon. I went to the zoo today and can't believe how dark it is in the mornings already. Guess I'm not used to getting up that early every morning. After fixing the aviary diets, I worked in Asia Quest and spent a lot of time watching the baby elephant. He is so cute, all 752 pounds of him. He is learning to use his trunk to throw hay and dust on his back. At one point he had a pile on his head with a look on his face that said, "now what do I do?" Fall is my favorite time at the zoo, not too hot and a lot fewer visitors.

Saturday, September 5

Trish & Luke at Hanauma Bay

Aunt Sara & Luke

Aunt Sara bribing Luke for kisses at Yogurtland.

Went to the football game last night. Surprised at how many were there. Everyone must have come in for the Ox Roast. Thought I would share a few pictures from Oahu. Trish and Luke are visiting Sara and it looks like they are having a great time. In Hawaii, it's hard not to have a great time!!

Friday, September 4

Getting ready for the Labor Day weekend. Can't believe how busy our week was. I'm almost thinking I had more time when I worked. I really messed up on Wednesday. For some reason I thought our appointment with the neurosurgeon, Dr. McGregor was at either 3 or 3:15. I would have bet my life on it. But when we arrived at the desk, (a little late to check now, I know!) I looked at my pocket calendar and realized that the appointment was at 12:15. OOPS! Worst part, they couldn't get us in, so they made a yearly appointment for April. The next morning the receptionist called and cancelled that appointment as well and said the Dr. McGregor didn't need to see Mr. B at all unless he has problems. (I may have to invent a problem just so I can see Dr. McGregor one last time! I love that doctor!!) Thursday we had an appointment with our attorney to work on Gary's Estate and last night I took my mom to the Alzheimer's Support Group in London. And then the Browns lost to Chicago. Hope today is more fun! Trish and Luke are in Hawaii for 11 days and I'm sure they are having a great time. They went snorkeling yesterday at Hanauma Bay. Maybe I can talk to the girls about putting some pictures on the blog so we can see what they are doing. Go Riders! Go Bucks! and Go to the Ox Roast! Remember the Sunday service 9 am at the Ox Roast, the Alleluia Ringers (hand bell choir) is playing. Do something fun this weekend!

Tuesday, September 1

#10 is all smiles

1984 VB Champs, who's on top?

Amie, 7th grade captain
Lori Glock, 8th grade captain

Guess we've been kind of busy with appointments but the good new is that each time we go they tell us we don't need to come back for 3 months or longer. Today, Mr. B met with his psychologist Dr. Pruitt. He really likes going to see Dr. Pruitt as he feels pretty comfortable talking about how things are going after his brain injury. Unfortunately, Dr. Pruitt will be leaving OSU at the end of this month. We wish him luck and hope that whom ever replaces him makes the same connection. We had a great lunch at Montgomery Inn. Sadly, a former student of ours passed away on Friday and we went to the viewing after lunch. Amie had valiantly fought a 5 year battle against bone cancer. She leaves her wonderful, caregiving husband, 7 year old daughter and twin 5 year old sons behind as a testament to her stength and courage. I know one of the things I remember most about her as a middle school student/athlete was that infectious smile. In every team picture she had that same elfish grin. She will be greatly missed. Please remember her family in your prayers!