Saturday With Dad

Stanley C. F. Hayes and daughter Wanda Jean Hayes Eichler
April 6, 2013 -- At the Wisconsin farmhouse

Our family gathering this weekend has been a great success. On Saturday we all converged on my Dad and had lunch with him. There was a polkadot birthday cake with ice cream for Dad and Baby Val. You will remember that Dad's 92nd birthday was Thursday and Baby Val turns one this coming week.

For several hours, the house was filled with family, including grandchildren in their teens and four great grandchildren (all pure Michigan kids) from one to eight. Then the gathering cleared and things became a tad bit quieter.

Stan with son-in-law Ed Eichler

Ed and I fixed supper with Dad and enjoyed some quieter time in the evening. Dad and I googled some of his seminary buddies and were so pleased to find word of Duane and Lucile Lenz of Nebraska. Duane and Dad went to Evangelical Theological Seminary together in the early 1950's and served EUB (Evangelical United Brethren) churches in southwestern Wisconsin on the weekends while going to school.

I like to say that that was back when being evangelical was the real thing. There was a strong social gospel preached but you had to live it and you cared deeply for those around you and far away from you who were poor, hungry, sick, lonely and downtrodden. The gospel was lived out day to day and not worn on one's shirt sleeve. That's what Dad has always preached. Be the gospel.

Enough preaching. I might be a chip off the old block.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

April? Really?

A coating of snow brought a conundrum to eastern Wisconsin this morning. If April showers bring May flowers, what does April snow bring?

Once again I am reminded of the many things in life that we cannot control, like the weather and the price of gas.

I will try to smile more today. At least I can control the smile factor. Wink, wink.

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Happy Birthday, Aunt Nieta!

Yesterday was my Aunt Nieta's 98th birthday. Since Nieta is six years older than Dad, we can say that Dad shares his natal day with Nieta.

Nieta lives in Colorado with her daughter Karen. In this photo my sister MB, on the left, is visiting with Nieta  (center) and Karen at one of our April birthday gatherings several years ago.

Thanks to the wonders of SKYPE, we will be video chatting with Nieta and Karen this weekend at Dad's party on Sunday via laptops and other devices.

Nieta grew up on a dairy farm in the same neighborhood as my parents did. Her husband, my Uncle Marvin, was my Dad's older brother. Marv served on the local school board for years and always, always welcomed our visits to the milking barn. Those were good times to be a kid, when you had really cool aunts and uncles and cousins on farms.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Happy 92nd Birthday, Dad

Happy 92nd birthday to my Dad, Stan Hayes! Ed and I will be in Wisconsin this weekend for Dad's birthday party which he is sharing with our youngest grandchild, Vallanee Rose Eichler, who is named for my mother. We have a big shindig planned for Grandpa Stan and Baby Val on Sunday afternoon.

Here is a photo from Dad's birthday celebration six years ago. We had a spaghetti dinner at the farm and enjoyed the company of Kelsey Olson Berg, Ed and Wanda, MB and Pat, and, of course, Stan, the Birthday Boy!

I don't want to forget my Great Aunt Nieta who also has a birthday today, so I will write about Nieta in tomorrow's blog.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Stuffed Daybag

My daybag was filled to overflowing on Monday. Sunglasses, reading glasses, knitting, notes for a new knitting pattern, art supplies, and some reading material joined my wallet and Kindle and other usual stuff.

Max said today, "Oh, I get it, Grandma. It's your daybag because it's the stuff you need today."

Looks like I'm quite the packrat, doesn't it?

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Learning How To Spin

Finn got acquainted with the spinning wheel this week. First he learned how to run the treadle by pushing down and then letting his foot ride the treadle up. He started the wheel, pulling on a spoke with his finger and making the wheel turn clockwise.

Then, using a bent paper clip, we threaded the end of a skein of yarn through the orifice, over the hooks and on to the bobbin. The next step was to hold the yarn, start the wheel, and treadle. We set the brake with a touch of drag and the flyer turned, pulling the yarn onto the now revolving bobbin.

We had to stop and start a few times, but Finn and his brother Max, both got a good sense of the wheel's action in a short time. Next time we'll have some unspun roving and use this lesson to learn how to spin fiber. This first experience gave the boys a good idea of how a wheel works.

Spinning wheels are so old fashioned. It is good to see the boys go between their devices with the little glass screens and the spinning wheel with its wooden parts and human powered mechanics.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Charging the Chevy Volt, Free (No Fooling)

Credit card in hand, I pulled up to a double charging station in Rochester Hills one day last week. Usually I have to run my credit card through a card reader, choose how many hours or kilowatts the car needs, and plug in my Chevy Volt.

Lo and behold, this station, sponsored by Detroit Edison, is free. When I returned to get my car, another Volt was beside mine, also charging, at the free station.

I picked up 29 miles of range, just from three hours of charge. In a way, that's like getting almost a gallon of gas free.

Now there are not a lot of plug in electric vehicles (PEVs) on the road yet. And the cost of such a car is high for those of us who are "early adopters." So, it is a pleasant surprise to have a free charge when I stop at this particular parking lot (corner of Adams and Walton Boulevard, west side of Villages at Rochester Hills).

Thanks, Detroit Edison, for providing the charging platform for electric vehicles. I know it's only one place, but it is good to see times changing in the automotive world. No fooling.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler