Out with the Old

Out with the old......















And in with the new:

After 15 or so years of dedicated service to the household (and we bought it used), we decided it was time to replace the old lawn mower. All of the Bennett boys and some of the Bennett girls have interesting memories of mowing the lawn with the old Craftsman, which added interest of acting like it almost almost ready to conk out on 5 second intervals to an otherwise dull task of cutting grass. Farewell, old Craftsman, hello new Toro.

A happy PS: A neighbor from down the street took the old craftsman to tinker with it, and return it to good working order. Let's hope it makes in another 20 years!

Arkansas Road Trip

Last week, Carol and I took a 3 day road trip through Arkansas. Thursday afternoon, we hunted for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park, billed as the only diamond mine in North America. Somebody must have gotten there before us. We found some nice jasper and quartz, but no diamonds, then we spent the night at DeGray Lake State Resort Lodge.



Here are some pictures of Diamond Daryl, and my most precious find.





Friday and Saturday were spent in Heber Springs, having a great time checking up on my mom and visiting with my siblings and siblings-in-law. On Friday afternoon, I swam for about 20 minutes doing easy back strokes in the motel pool, before it had any other guests using it. One of the more interesting aspects of the trip was improvising arrangements for me to sleep in firm, inclined position for my back in the motel/lodge rooms.

And here is a picture of my Sis, my Mom, and me. I have seen that look before.

Getting Back Into the Swim of Things

It's been over a month since I have been swimming (since April 22, to be exact). That cracking the back that got me hauled away to the Emergency Room by ambulance in the middle of the night on May1 - 2, really curtailed a lot of activities, foremost of which was swimming, and the pre-fracture pain had slowed the swimming down prior to that time, also. Anyway, today I made it back into the pool for a mixture of walking and easy stroke swimming. Not counting the walking, I only swam a very modest 200 to 300 meters, but it felt like a wonderful start. Hurray for swimming!

By the way, I will probably have to stay in my brace for another couple of months while the back finishes healing, but it is healing nicely. Thanks to all for your prayers and concern. - DWB

Spring Break

Carol had the week off from her job at the Junior High School, and we went to Peoria to see our kids and grandkids there. We had a wonderful time flying kites, watching The Rescuers, swimming, telling bedtime stories and just hanging out with the grandchildren, attending and visiting with friends at Bethany Baptist Church, working on the 100 year old farmhouse that is to be converted into offices for the new church plant, and, of course, getting to spend time visiting with Daniel and Whitney, and catch up with some of what is going on in their busy lives. It was also our first opportunity to meet Ellie, our newest grandchild, who arrived into the Bennett clan from Guatemala just 7 weeks ago.

After Peoria, we stopped off in Arkansas to see my

mother, and my brother and his family. The last day of winter was filled with deluge and devastation as we drove through flooding in Missouri and Arkansas, but the first day of spring was a fine morning in Arkansas, and we were able to take my Mom for a stroll outside in her wheelchair at the nursing home.

Leave Comments Here

For now, use this post for saying hi and leaving comments. Thanks. - Daryl

"A Bennett Now"

We now officially have a new granddaughter. Ellie has been issued a new birth certificate. In the words of my six-year old granddaughter who called to inform me, "She's a Bennett now." It's quite an emotion to realize that there is a little girl in Guatemala with our family name (and more) on her, waiting to be brought home. She's ours now, just waiting through the red tape. When the US Embassy there opens on Wednesday, January 2, an application for a visa to bring her home will be submitted, and I think a mid-January trip for the parents (our son and daughter-in-law) to get her is still likely. We'll keep you posted.

December Doing's

On Saturday, December 9, my sister, Carol and I went to see my Mother at her nursing home in Arkansas. We celebrated with an early Christmas, giving her clothes and things. My job was to be the tree. We had a real nice two-hour visit, then another visit at dinner time. That night, Mom had a stroke. She gave us a real scare, but rallied the next day and seems to be alright now. Here's a picture of my sister, my Mom, and me (I'm the Christmas tree). We also had a good time visiting with my brother and his family while we were there.