Josh and His Studies

Thank you, again, for praying for Josh after he lost his job at the nuclear plant. He’s feeling assured that pursuing a masters degree at the University of Central Florida was the right new direction to take. He’s particularly interested in power generation and is learning about turbines, heat transfer, and more.

For one of his finals in December, he had to do two engineering problems that took him all day to figure out and six pages of equations! He had quite a feeling of accomplishment figuring out these solutions and earned an A in both of his classes. Continue reading “Josh and His Studies”

Thanksgiving 2012

We enjoyed having the entire family together for Thanksgiving week. Ben, Bonnie, and Patrick drove down from DC while Josh and Jenn had several days off from studies.

Bonnie had never been to Kennedy Space Center, so we spent one day 0n the Space Coast.” Unfortunately, it was a damp, drizzly day, not the warm and sunny day we enjoyed on our visit in June. Continue reading “Thanksgiving 2012”

Josh Is Working on a Master’s Degree

If you’ve been following our family news, you know that Josh was let go by Savannah River Nuclear Solutions in early 2011. Josh had just completed all his nuclear materials on-the-job training, but (for economic reasons) the company let go of 25% of their employees.

After more than a year job-hunting, Josh’s friends recommended he switch gears and apply to get his Master’s in mechanical engineering. This past August he started taking classes at the University of Central Florida here in Orlando. Josh is also a research assistant, working in a laboratory with a group of graduate students who are investigating turbine and energy generation, including biofuels. Continue reading “Josh Is Working on a Master’s Degree”

Ben and Family Visit – Oct. 2012

Ben, Bonnie, and Patrick came to visit for four-and-a-half days. Here’s a few highlights.

Good friends of theirs were getting married in St. Petersburg, so we were Patrick’s  babysitters Friday night while they were gone. (Check out our photos!)

On Saturday, family friends dropped by to see them and to play games. What a fun day! We played Kubb, Settlers of Catan:Traders and Barbarians, and Big Taboo.

Sunday afternoon, we all went to Stetson to take Jenn back to school.  We decided on Tony’s New York Pizza for dinner, which was delicions! Afterwards, Jenn gave us a walking tour, stopping at the fountain in the center of campus.  Patrick was fascinated by the splashing and changing colors.

Continue reading “Ben and Family Visit – Oct. 2012”

Fall Migration: Mead Botanical Gardens

Veery by Sheila

I discovered that Mead Botanical Gardens, not far from Rollins College in Winter Park, is a hot spot for fall migrators, especially warblers. I had a great morning about two weeks ago with neighbor and friend, Sheila. We joined an Audobon Society guided walk and saw lots of birds (the last walk they’ll offer for the fall migration is on October 27th). Continue reading “Fall Migration: Mead Botanical Gardens”

My Thoughts on Turning Sixty

“Make new friends, but keep the old;

One is silver. The other gold.”

~ a Girl Scout campfire song

 

Today’s the day.

I’d anticipated “the big 6 -0” for at least a year now, but hadn’t really pondered what that meant to me. I hope I can express this in just a few thoughtful paragraphs. Continue reading “My Thoughts on Turning Sixty”