I found a picture of my husband doing what he loved best. I must have taken it just before he got sick, and my children haven't seen it in years, if at all. Last night I made enlargements, and I'm going to give one to each of them today. Here it is:

Alisande what a wonderful idea. I know your children will appreciate it.

Great photo, Susan.

Here's my Dad and Mom at my sons wedding yesterday.
Dad is 90 and just keeps plugging away.

{{!gwi}}

Ron

Susan, that's a really nice picture. Your DH looks so dignified, serious. When you took the picture, you probably had no idea how much it would mean to you later.

If you don't mind a question, did you raise horses, board horses, have them for pleasure?

Susan 2

Happy Father's Day to all Dads.

Mine is gone, but I will be thinking about him
today.

I have to call my dad here in a little bit. He's too far away to do anything with him, though.

Ron, your dad looks great for 90!

Susan, we had horses for pleasure. Mostly Morgans, plus a Hanoverian and a Quarter Horse. One of our first horses was a Paso Fino. My daughter Jill adored horses and excelled on the Morgan horse show circuit (English riding/jumping).

Her father adored horses, too, and although he didn't ride much he took great pleasure in being involved with them and caring for them. He was a scientist (Ph.D. chemical engineer), so the horses were a departure from his work. We had 11 horse at one time, and nine when I had to sell them. They all went to wonderful homes. I have no doubt divine intervention was responsible for that.

Thanks for asking.

Susan

My step-dad wanted to go to a particular restaurant he loves but it is closed on Sundays, so we took him out to eat there last night for an early father's day.

We had lots of fun. Dad had oysters on the half shell and his favorite, hard-to-find steak tartare. Hubby enjoyed Caesar salad prepared at the table and he, mom and I enjoyed delicious steaks too. Black Forest cake for dessert. Yum!

I didn't think steak tartare was served anymore, after all the concern about e. coli. I used to love it, too.

Although now that I think about it, I've recently had an appetizer of paper-thin sliced raw steak. The name momentarily escapes me . . .

My dad passed away Oct.28/07. This is our first Father's Day without him. Many, many wonderful happy memories.

My sister, husband, son and I took Mom to the Mausoleum to spend some time with Dad. We are Catholic and it was my Dad's choice to be cremated. The Mausoleum is so beautiful, quiet and peaceful.

We will all go out for supper tonight and have a good time.

Our daughter called to wish her Pops a Happy Father's Day. We aren't doing anything special. We went grocery shopping. Ivan is watching the car race, then will work some more on our new deck. We are trying to get everything done for our upcoming Crafters Get-together this coming weekend.

Thanks, Susan, he's a special guy. All of my grandparents lived into their 90's. He has good genes.

Ron

We all went to Chili's for lunch, then came back here and let the kids play in their pool which turned into a water fight. All had fun! The weather was great today....a perfect Dad's day!

We ate at Chili's today, too! I am so blessed to have both my parents at ages 80 and 86 in such good health. They are so active - they put me to shame. We really enjoy the time we spend togeether.

The life of my father in a nutshell.

Jodi-

My dad died when I was in college. Too bad he and mom did not live to meet our spouses and our children, their grandchildren. My kids grew up with no grandparents on either side. They missed out on something special.

Alisande, you had some nice horses. They certainly were a blessing to your family, bringing you together in many ways. You must have some great memories of the hard work and fun you had with the horses.

Susan 2