Better Vision, More Fondue

Here's Our Happy Fambly's 2007 Holiday Photo for All to Enjoy:
All in all, 2007 ended on a pretty positive note. By God's grace, our fambly faced no major catastrophes or health issues. In October Jess (right) became engaged to marry (they've set the date in May 2008). Having been initially apprehensive about the speed with which their engagement took place and what we perceived as a lot of "not-ready-ness," we were subsequently able to observe that she and her fiancé were approaching the matter with a good measure of maturity — pursuing premarital counseling, taking financial planning seriously, and seeking a church home together — and so Mrs. Practical and I elected to give them our blessing. (The photo at right is one of Mrs. Practical's first with her new [Christmas present] camera from — of all people — Pootie herself.)

Ben (giving Mom a "Tough Guy" look here with his new cap and wristwatch) has taken an interest in playing the harmonica, and has been faithfully accompanying me to the range to shoot our new K31 (more on that below). He has half a year of school left, during which he will doubtless begin driver training next year (oh boy!). The quintessential teenager, he eats a great deal at all hours, and remains slim and trim (just like I once did). He still reads a lot, mostly fiction these days, and plays computer games.

Nick (shown here hugging a tree — NOT his political ideology) also reads a fair amount, plays computer games (of course), and enjoys playing chess (usually more than the rest of us, whom he regularly beats). He and Ben together have taken on responsibility for some of the digital audio processing duties at church, and they continue activities with a local home-schooling 4-H club chapter.

Mrs. Practical has taken up furniture refinishing, after "inheriting" her grandmother's old desk. It's been a learning process (for HER — I just stay out of the way, try not to breathe any fumes, and help move things when needed). She remains a voracious reader, an excellent cook, homemaker, teacher, wife, and mother. These days we enjoy pleasant walks together around our neighborhood most afternoons and evenings.

APPENZELLER FONDUE X 2

We managed to score a quarter wheel of Appenzeller cheese from a local dealer at a nice discount because there was "a little mold on the rind" (which doesn't affect the cheese itself, but I didn't consider it my business to tell them that). So just before Christmas we had two Fondues with family members in less than a week. That was enough for most of the fambly, which means I'll be happily nibbling on Appenzeller (and maybe sharing some) for a few weeks into the new year.

Oh the Women in My Life — Three generations of smiles at "The Hill"
(best burgers & onion rings for miles around Bellville, Texas).

BETTER VISION(!) ... BETTER SHOOTING(!)

As reported in a previous entry here, since discovering at the gun range (rather suddenly, and with no small measure of alarm) how badly my vision had deteriorated, I've been doing eye exercises in hopes of improving my vision, for shooting purposes, if for no other reason. As part of the regimen, I've also stopped wearing any glasses at all.

Good news! I did observe a perceptible improvement over several weeks, and on New Years Eve I did my best shooting yet at 50 meters with the iron sights of the K31. I could see the target more clearly than ever before. (It was also Ben's best day with that rifle to date.)

My best of two targets (3rd and final magazine of the day) is shown at left. It's still not as good as it could be, but much better than my first experience with the same rifle over a month earlier. (The bayonet was added just to show it off in the photo — we don't practice with those at the range.)

So it appears that the Bates Method has some merit. I aim to continue with the exercises and see how much improvement I can achieve. It's a joy to be able to shoot the K31 with some (improving) measure of accuracy without the need for any vision aid.