Posted in Sunday Report

Tiger Radio…& the Epilogue

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Last week, we broke up the monotony of winter with a couple of doctor and dentist appointments–high fliers. In other news, we’re finishing up/cleaning up Project Purge and Look what I found amongst my mementos:

It’s from 1965, our favorite local radio station, WJPS, Tiger Radio coming at us from Tiger Square in Downtown Evansville. If you’re an Evillian, you remember. The week ending August 7 shows Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction at number 1. Herman’s Hermits Hen-er-ee the 8th is number 3. >cue flashback<

Casey wanted to take advantage of the snow, so my Valentine’s Day present arrived early:

Looking out the upstairs window…

I try not to carry on about how great he is because it sounds like bragging, but I sure can’t take any credit (other than being smart enough to marry him). He’s just one of those Nice Guys that are so scarce these days. Actually, they were scarce in those days, too–47 years ago.

I’m sad to leave behind Robert Horatio and the gang, but they will stay in my heart. Thanks for following along!

Part 5 – Epilogue

If you enjoy my stories of shirt-tail relatives, you might also like the tales of my direct ancestors over at All My Ancestors – Climbing the Family Trees.

One week from today, we’ll celebrate Samantha’s 11th and my 73rd birthdays with the Jrs at the restaurant of Their Choice (they’ll make me choose)…

Two weeks from today, Casey and will be checking in at PoP Century in Disney World, ready for Birthday Week. We’ll take you along!

In the meantime, we are glued to the Winter Olympics. Olympic games, whichever season, always unite us in front of the TV, a bit unusual around these parts.

Hope you have a good week, folks!

Peace

Posted in Family Stories, Sunday Report

Weekly Wrap-up & Part 4

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Oh, my. We Evillians are not accustomed to snow that comes to stay and this 12-inches of accumulation is intimidating as it thrives on these ridiculously low temperatures. I’ve lost all sense of what day it is and the kids have been out of school all week, so they must feel the same. I’ve ventured into the outdoors a couple of times to pick up essentials, but mostly we’ve continued clearing un-essentials from the attic. Since the trash guys couldn’t do any pick-up this week, we’re filling up the shed with weeks of throw-aways. There’s another large collection for charities waiting until we can get out and about.

With all this snow, the birdfeeders are in constant use with never less than 50 birds in the mornings and evenings.

We have to chase off the blackbirds if they start bullying, but under the current circumstances, we’ve no choice but to leave everything available to everyone. I’ve tried to get you some pictures or videos, but the sunshine causes a glare that even the smart phone can’t fix.

Inside, my plants keep me company.

I’ve got several basils growing on the kitchen countertop.

Writing is another excellent distraction from the cold and glare, and I’m keeping up. On Thursday, I published Part 4 of the Robert Horatio Story over on Family Stories blog. We’re almost to the end and I’m going to miss those folks. The final episode, Part 5, will be published this coming Thursday.

Part 4 -1898-1901

I hear we’re supposed to have some melt this week, but with lows in the 20s, that doesn’t sound so great. I still have a Lot of boxes to sort through, so it’s as good a time as any to stay home. Seems like the whole USA is under a blanket of sh***y weather and there’s no place to run. I must confess that these archives are making me feel a bit on the old side, and some recollections aren’t so rosy, but my gratitude persists.

February is Birthday Month and as soon as I dig out from under these memory boxes, we’re going to start celebrating. I do like a pre-celebration celebration, don’t you? Until then, take care of yourself!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

The Purge is on! & Part 3

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Snowbound today- looks like 9 inches and still coming down. It’s a lightweight kind of precipitation that can be “easily” blown, so Casey says. He actually misses driving the plows in this kind of weather, or at least waxes nostalgic about it. Though I warn him that he’s an old man now, he will have our driveway cleared asap. Not right now, though, as it is still accumulating.

Inside, all snug and warm, is a big mess that I’ve made going through attic boxes. I’ve reduced so far from 19 boxes to 9. We’ve mostly moved out of what is technically my kids’ stuff and on to what is “our” stuff, and it should be easy to do away with.

There are some Great Stories to tell, memories that were triggered (in a good way), and I can hardly wait to get it all done and cleaned up so I can write them down.

Part 3 of The Robert Horatio Walker story moves us through those years when Robert and his kin were raising their children, years that all parents experience, but I doubt they hoarded their offspring’s mementos. I do wish they’d taken more pictures!

Part 3 – 1869-1898

Remember, you can always subscribe to this blog (or any of my blogs), over there on the sidebar, and receive an email every time I post. I know you don’t want to miss out.

This storm is a booger, isn’t it? I’m thinking warm soup, fuzzy socks and sweat pants, work on more attic boxes. Hope you’re cozy in your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in All My Ancestors

Tales of my shirt-tail relatives: Part 2

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s cooold out there and we had a dusting of snow last night that has outlined the gardens and walkways. We’re hunkered down tending the fire, keeping warm.

We’re on a mission to clean the excess out of our attic. Back in the far corner there are boxes of keepsakes that we placed there 22 years ago, full of my kids’ drawings and report cards, birthday cards, and who knows what that I would annually gather up and stuff in a big manila envelope with the year written on the outside. If they haven’t disintegrated, there should be about 18 years of mementos that I need to >sob< throw away. This will be a challenge, and we may end up just re-boxing it all.

I hope you’re enjoying the Family Stories . The Robert Horatio Walker series is being posted every Thursday through February 5 and re-blogged here through February 8.

Part 2 – 1861-1869

I’ll let you know what kinds of relics I uncover in the attic.

Bundle up! Pass around the warm hugs!

Peace

Posted in All My Ancestors

Tales of my shirt-tail relatives

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a quiet week here at the Acres. I had started to write this story back in November, completing what amounts to a five-part series. I put it away during Christmastime and pulled it back out for editing last week, and here it is now for your perusal. I hope you enjoy it and that you will return next week for Part 2.

Part 1- 1818-1860

Have a Super Week, friends.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

A little News…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

I have an announcement regarding my newest blog, “Family Stories” ! I’m getting ready to publish a series of posts regarding my shirt-tail relative, Robert Horatio Walker He is a cousin/uncle who was first brought to my attention in this picture:

The young lady in the center is my great-Grandmother. On the back of the photograph, in her distinct cursive, she identified the fellow third from the right as “Uncle Bob Walker”. Everyone else in the picture is a Kinkade, so that caught my eye.

Soon, he caught my heart, and I feel compelled to tell the tale of this colorful Civil War Veteran. The story will be told in four parts, covering 100 years of Walkers, Kinkades, and McWilliams. I will re-blog it here beginning next Sunday!

The temperatures are trending above average this week, a good time to visit the Penguins, and talk to the monkeys at the Zoo. The penguins had a baby recently, and I think we’re able to watch her now.

The Wilson Auction in New Harmony is this coming week-end, so we’ll probably go to the preview on Friday, stopping by the Yellow Tavern while we’re there. How many days do I have to fast to justify eating some of their bread pudding?

I’m headed to the library today to pick up some books for my new Reading Challenge. The first prompt is: A Food Memoir. Central Library has Anthony Bourdain’s “Medium Raw”, a highly acclaimed tome, so that’s my choice. I never went for Bourdain’s show, but it seems like he has a good story to tell.

That’s all I’ve got this fine Sunday morning! I hope you’re feeling well and staying warm!

Peace

Posted in New Year Day Special Edition

Looking Forward

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Happy New Year, Pals! Hope your year, indeed, your whole life, is filled with the magic of wonder. My Theme for 2026 is Create, as in stories, music, and Adventures, starting right off this month with a new blog series, “Family Stories”.

But today, I’m feeling lazy, so…

This poem is a traditional addition to my first blog post of the year…

New Year’s
by Dana Gioia

Let other mornings honor the miraculous.
Eternity has festivals enough.
This is the feast of our mortality,
The most mundane and human holiday.

On other days we misinterpret time,
Pretending that we live the present moment.
But can this blur, this smudgy in-between,
This tiny fissure where the future drips

Into the past, this flyspeck we call now
Be our true habitat? The present is
The leaky palm of water that we skim
From the swift, silent river slipping by.

The new year always brings us what we want
Simply by bringing us along—to see
A calendar with every day uncrossed,
A field of snow without a single footprint.

……

May our footprints in 2026 be gentle…

May our Days be filled with Love and Peace throughout the Seasons…

Posted in New Year's Eve Special Edition

Looking Back

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Here we are on the Eve of a New Year, celebrating this last day of the Old Year. We’ve got all the lucky food (Hoppin’ John, cabbage, cornbread), so 2026 is practically guaranteed to be happy.

2025 was a good one. I got my cataracts removed and fancy lenses implanted that allow me see near, far, and wide without glasses. It’s amazing. Our gardens did fine, our house didn’t fall down. We spent time with our children and grandchildren. Our health is good, able to walk six miles a day at Disney in October. I’ve heard the world is in a mess, but I concentrate on my local community and try to help where I can. Instead of politics, I obsess over the British Royal Family, so Harry and Meghan, and their fantastic failures, have made me smile.

2025 in pictures…

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Our celebration today includes watching some New Year’s Eve movies: Oceans 11 (the heist takes place on NYE) and Trading Places (goes from Thanksgiving to NYE). After eating all those beans, we’ll need to lie down and sleep it off over a movie we’ve already seen, then shake ourselves awake to kiss at midnight and go to bed. It’s a wonderful life.

As I play my rendition of Auld Lang Syne at the piano this evening, I’ll be thinking of you, bringing you to my mind, sending Peace to all of you auld acquaintances who stop by to read my writing. See you next year.

Peace

Posted in Christmas with the Sonnystoners

Christmas, 2025

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

From December 21, when we celebrated with our son and his family….

throughout our travels from Indy to NYC…

and with our daughter and her family from December 23-28…

It has been a Wonderful Christmas, full of Peace, Love, and Joyful companionship.

As we move through the 12 days of Christmas, I wish you all the happiness you can bear…

Peace

Posted in Christmas with the Sonnystoners, Sunday Report

11 days before Christmas

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

This has been the Most Peaceful Christmas Prologue I’ve experienced, probably because we’re all older and have less expectations. Or maybe I’m just at Peace… Or it could be I’ve lulled myself into a coma eating sweets and savories…

It feels a lot less hectic since I don’t have to cook for a group, and I got my shopping done early. Samantha and I have enjoyed the music at the EPO Peppermint Pops last Sunday, and the ballet at yesterday’s Children’s Nutcracker performance.

I am very appreciative of our Philharmonic Orchestra for their Classic and Pops concerts, and the Dance Theatre that worked with them to produce the Nutcracker. Eville is very lucky to have these organizations.

This week we’ll wrap up the wrapping — damn, I’m funny! — and get the place dusted and shined. I’ve got to get my hair and nails ready, and I’m still looking for boots, but no stress. Samantha will be here next Saturday to help with the baking and we’ll make snickerdoodles and roll out some dough for cookie cutters.

Oh, and my daughter, has a birthday on Saturday. We’ll celebrate appropriately…

Have a great week!

Peace