Our Imperial Walker

Charis started walking a week before Thanksgiving and demonstrated her intermittent ambulatory skill on Turkey Day.

Grandpa and Grandma Disher were up from Dallas, OR, and stayed at Susan's.  The Thanksgiving meal sat 17 folks: Sleight's (7), Dishers' (5), Rutherford's (2), and four single ladies from church and elsewhere.

Charis and Jonathan provided the usual entertainment.  Charis discovered the joy of lying on her quilt while four adults tossed her up and down.  She quickly learned to crawl back onto it for another ride.

I bought the turkey on Friday night, an annual shopping trip I enjoy.  Nancy's overnight roasting technique again produced a delectable bird.  Jean used cranberries and unseasoned sausage (for the sake of Cynthia) for her special stuffing and it turned out well.

This Year's Range Visit

With Fridays off, I knew I'd find the time to visit Wade's Indoor Range in Bellevue before the holidays.  On the 9th, I shot seven of my handguns for over two hours.  My last trip to a range was in April of last year. 

• ♦  The three Smith & Wesson M&P9 FS, 9c, and 22lr pistols all performed well and reminded me why I had chosen them.  I started and ended with shooting the 22lr.
  ♦  I'm happy I only paid $150 for the SCCY CPX-2 (July 2017).  It's light weight made it "snappy" and uncomfortable to shoot.
  ♦  On the other hand, the new Jericho 941 pictured at the left (September 2018) was a joy to shoot.  It was both accurate and comfortable. The light trigger was something new to learn to master.
  ♦  The Smith & Wesson 686+ revolver that I equipped with a scope (April 2017) was still the most accurate shooter, which of course was due to the scope.  The Range Staff even wanted to feel its heft with the scope.  I did notice that one of the cheap mount screws would loosen up after a few shots.  I experimented alternating between .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo.  What a difference! 
  ♦  I also shot the Smith & Wesson Model 36, my .38 cal. 5-shot "Chief's Special."  Alas, the ejector rod jammed for some reason. At home, I discovered that the ejector was fine. One of the brass cases had split in its cylinder and just needed to be pushed out with extra force.
  ♦  Back in 1973, the White Front stores went out of business.  Before that, my dad had bought a supply of 22 Long Rifle ammo which I inherited.  Each box of 50 rounds was 68 cents.  I have perhaps a thousand rounds.  I shot 50 of them flawlessly.  Thanks Dad!

Time with Charis and
a Date with Nancy

Nancy and I took Charis down to Seattle Christian. I got to ride in the back seat with Charis while Nancy drove. Charis was very well behaved.

We got to see Annie's classroom.

After that, I took Nancy out to the Red Robin at Southcenter. (She wanted to use a coupon Nathanael had given her.) I LOVE their onion rings!

And on Veteran's Day, since Thomas was out of town at a conference, I spent four hours with Charis so Annie could grade papers and Nancy could make more progress working on our master bathroom. We've finally gotten past the phase where I scare Charis. Annie got knee pads for me so I could follow Charis all over. Apparently, I wore her out, because I had planned to stay from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, but she fell asleep in her high chair around 2:00 PM. Caring for Charis is also great exercise.
On a second play date with Charis, she fell asleep in the stroller as I took her around the neighborhood. Then , on November 30, I had a third morning with Charis. I watched her walk across the living room. I guess there is a very good reason to have a day off each week.