Spring Has Sprung? Baby Watch 2009 continues...

April 6th, 2009
Technically spring....snowing here in Ohio....
We are getting ready for Easter as the countdown continues for the birth of our new grandchild. Due date: April 17th. I am hoping that the baby is born in the next week so I can drive to Boston to visit!

The sun has been elusive in March and early April, but this past weekend it appeared in abundance. It put us all in the mood for some Spring cleaning and just getting outside. After 3 long years of being left in the yard through rain, snow, sleet, hail, and the scorching summer sun, our grill puttered out. After extensive research, Rus came up with a winner - The Char-griller Duo! It has both a gas grill AND a charcoal grill with a side burner. The phrase, "The age of the boys by the price of their toys," came to mind... He and Dennis went to Lowe's, brought it home and spent the next few hours assembling it on Saturday afternoon finally placing it in the yard. A great bonding experience! They then decided to have a He-Man dinner - steaks! So Rus and I went down to Kroger to pick up a few choice selections. While browsing through the weekly ad, I noticed Kroger also sold grills. Of course, they were going to be more than Rus paid, right? NO NO NO!! That couldn't be the same grill we just placed in the yard FOR $100 LESS!!!!!! I nearly fainted. Lowes has that over advertised commercial touting their price Lowes-T policy, don't they? We were about to put it to the test! So we went home and called Lowes. The gal at the service desk said come on down to "discuss" it. Here we go...I thought, for sure, we would be returning the grill, fully assembled, the next day. But when he got there the store manager took him right away. He cancelled out the original sale, gave him the $100 off PLUS 10% of the original price!!! Wow! I am impressed! Guess some companies are true to their word, even in this horrid economy! We had a particularly sweet dinner that evening on the propane side of our newest addition!

Sunday dawned bright, sunny, and mild. We decided to take a break from the cleaning gig and hike at our nearest trail, Char-Mar! The forest is almost entirely dormant but the 2 mile trek brought some surprises along the way! We saw lots of birds, deer and the pond was thick with nesting geese. Then we drove to the Hoover Reservoir to walk along the half mile boardwalk to see if we could spot any osprey or eagles yet. We saw one osprey nest but not the inhabitants. People were fishing along the walkway. It was a lovely afternoon. We enjoyed a delicious salmon meal cooked on the charcoal side of the new grill! :)

Things are quiet here on the prairie so far this spring. We are looking forward to our trip to Boston to meet our new grandchild and to see his big sister, Jocelyn, of course! Till next time....hopefully soon.....