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Exploring The Past Through VHS ...

Photo-A-Day #02719 After a week of last things for Andy today was their very last thing at Brennan Middle School. today was the 8th grade breakfast. Andy was able to enjoy a meal with their friends one last time at the school. Later Andy and friends went to Kimochi and got boba.  I worked at the Philly Pretzel Factory. I was scheduled from 2-4 but got a text that asked if I could come in earlier so instead I worked from 12-4. But, before that Allison and I got breakfast at The Rehoboth Baking Company. I also started a better way of converting the old VHS tapes. I'm currently converting a tape of a trip that my grandparents took me on when I was 10 years old. It was to Disney. It is wild what the place was like back then. My grandfather taped everything, whole rides and representations. To record the VHS to digital I got a simple converter cable and run it through OBS. It works great. I should be able to do a ton of them over the weekends while I'm working Tonight Allison and I ...
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Moving Up Day ...

Photo-A-Day #02718 Andy is moving up to the High School next year (pictured in the background) and today was a ceremony at middle school to mark that. Eva is on the Cape so it was Allison and I attending along with Mem. Mem came down from the Cape last night to stay over so that she could come with us this morning to the ceremony. It was a good ceremony. the school has done an excellent job with their students and Brennan was great for Andy. Andy received some special recognition for Social Studies and is also in the National Junior Honor Society. That was nice to see in the program. Andy also received some certificates. Andy with Mem Andy with Allison and Drew After the ceremony Mem went to visit with my cousin and we took Andy out for lunch at K. C.'s Burger Bar before I had to go to work. Andy also had a special dance to attend tonight. I ha to work so I did not see Andy all dressed up prior to the event but I was there to pick them up at the end.
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Andy's Crafting Desk ...

Photo-A-Day #02717 Last week when we went to IKEA we got Andy a desktop that they could use to make a desk area in their closet. We'll have to find a spot for their hanging clothes but since Andy wears mainly sleep pants there aren't many of those we need to situate. Allison took Eva down tot he Cape yesterday and whole they were there my Dad was able to cut an inch along the back length of the desk so that it could fit in the space. Today while Andy was at school I assembled the desk and put it together so that Andy could use it. When I came home from work Andy was using their painting book to paint a bird. Andy decided to limit the painting to one bird a day.
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Double Cinnamon Pretzels ...

Photo-A-Day #02716 Today at The Pretzel Factory my boos made these twice dipped cinnamon pretzels. He takes the pretzel and coats it in the butter and cinnamon like we normally do then he bakes it again and then dips it in the butter one more time and also in the cinnamon a second time. It gets an almost creme Brule type of crunch to it.
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Making Peach Syrup ...

Photo-A-Day #02715 Allison bought a large box of Georgia peaches and one of the things that were done with them was making them into a Peach syrup. Specifically Andy decided that they would like to make some Peach Syrup. When we went to IKEA Andy bought a bunch of squeeze bottles that have many uses. So in order to put them to use Andy started a simple syrup of peaches. Andy is quite excited for this to be ready. Also today was Andy's trip to Six Flags for the 8th grade field trip. Last night I set Andy up with the ability to make payments using their phone. The nice thing is that it is set up to alert Allison and I that a purchase has been made, Inside the park they could only use credit cards or load cash onto a card. It made more sense to have Andy use a credit card. They did not go overboard. Andy did have a great time with their friends.
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Father's Day 2026 ...

Photo-A-Day #02714 Today was Father's Day and I slept most of the day because of work last night. When I did get up I grilled up some T-Bone steaks that Allison had picked up as ell as some potatoes and Zucchini and Squash. Allison also made a couple of scallops from a bag of Frozen ones that I had gotten a while back.  It was a nice dinner and the kids gave me their cards and also some gifts. I giant container of peanuts and also a giant container of Almonds. I also got some grill cages for vegetables to use in the future. Both cards made me cry. The kids wrote some very nice things. After dinner they took care of the trash for me and we took a family selfie out in the back yard by the garden and grill. My favorite things according to Allison. the garden is going gangbusters and I should have my own Squash and Zucchini soon.
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Converting Videos ...

Photo-A-Day #02713 A few years ago before my Grandma Bennett passed away she had asked me to convert VHS tapes to DVDs using a combination DVD/VCR that she had. I did a few at that time. A few weeks ago my cousin found some old VHS tapes from the other side of the family and one of those tapes was a trip to Disney that Grandma and Grandpa Williams took me on. It was just after Grandpa bought a VHS camera, it was one of the first commercial ones, too. I had not seen that video since the days after returning from the trip. So I want to convert that to digital to have it. Making DVDs with this thing is so much about Trial and Error. You would think it was a one button thing but it is not. There is more that has to be done to do it right and we are learning that we don't have it right, quite yet. But we are working on it and making it work correctly. I hope.
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