Lea

This is what Lani wrote for her mother. It's a good account of her life:

Lea Ann (Ward) Banner, age 61, passed away from her 9-year battle with colon 
cancer on February 16. However, cancer was never a death sentence for Lea, but 
rather, a call to live in the present and to visit Barcelona, Venice, Istanbul, 
Alaska, Panama, Costa Rica, and more, while spending the last five winters in 
Scottsdale, Arizona. Even before her diagnosis, Lea received her Bachelors of 
Arts in Education at Clarion University in 1973, and was an active member and 
president of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority. She furthered her undergraduate studies 
at the University of Valencia, Spain and soon thereafter became a member of the 
Copley-Fairlawn Schools Teaching Team. She was an educator for 35 years in the 
fields of Spanish and Computer Science, and served as a President of the Copley 
Teacher’s Association for numerous years. She also received her Masters in 
Computer Based Education from University of Akron.

Lea was also very dedicated to her family. Her parents were Rosalie (Price) and 
James Ward of Glen Richey, PA, where she was born on January 14, 1952. She was 
also a graduate of Clearfield Area High School in 1969. She met her husband of 
39 years, Larry Banner, while teaching down the hall from each other at Copley 
Junior High School. They had two daughters, Lani Banner, who followed in her 
footsteps to become an educator in the Hudson City School District, and Carey 
Banner, who is a Consultant with PriceWaterhouse Coopers in Los Angeles, 
California. Lea’s sister, Lesa (Ward) Rowles, married to Eric Rowles, was not 
only a sister to her, but also her best friend; her nephew and niece, Zachary 
and Emily Rowles, were her “third and fourth” children. Her older brother, 
Leslie Ward, married to Barbara Ward, survives her; however, her younger 
brother, Larry, passed away in 2009. Numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces, 
nephews, grandkitties, and friends also survive her.

Calling Hours will be at Billows Fairlawn Chapel/Funeral Home at 85 North Miller 
Road in Fairlawn from 4:30 to 9:00 PM on Monday, February 18th. A private family 
internment will occur at Moore’s Chapel Cemetery in Bath, Ohio. In lieu of 
flowers, donations will be accepted in her name to the Copley Fairlawn City 
Schools Scholarship Foundation at 3797 Ridgewood Road, Copley, Ohio 44321. The 
family would like to offer their sincere gratitude to Dr. John Petrus and staff 
at the oncology department at Akron General Hospital, as well as the Visiting 
Nurse Services and Hospice Care.

This picture is from our last trip together when we went to Put-In-Bay for Mom's birthday.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope that both of you were treated like the Valentines that you are today. (And every day!)

We started slowly and then got our old selves moving; your mother to Hospice and your father for a run and then to Lay's. Once we were both home we went with Bernie to wish Uncle Ro and Aunt Rita a Happy Valentine's Day. They send their love to both of you, and they sent us home with a bottle of wine!

Dinner was a bacon wrapped filet cooked on the grill with a baked potato and spinach salad. A tasty meal for this auspicious day.

Sitting here with a cat on my lap while yours (Chloe) chills (literally) in the garage.

Some pictures for you:

The last of the new cats at Lay's. Cats LOVE boxes.

Don - who always asks about you.

Joel

Color tomorrow!

Catching you up.

I honestly don't know what happened. Winter blues? S. A. D.? But I just haven't felt like putting anything up. I haven't taken many pictures and yet life has been full and it just seemed like it wasn't anything worth sharing, anything you'd like to read so . . . I apologize and will do better. Until I got your text, I didn't realize that you read this or missed it so again, I am sorry.

As I look at my planner, a concession to age, I can fill in most days, and I even took a few cell phone pictures to send your mother or sister that might fill in some of the gap. I don't know.

January ended with several trips to Lay's, well two anyway on the 28th and 29th. My original thinking on how to make the guitar that your uncle gave me more playable turned out to be the wrong way to go but with Dan's help, the neck got resized and reshaped and playing it will be much easier. A lot of the old skills apply, like using pore filler once the sanding and shaping were done on the neck. The top was/is another story as it will forever bear the scars of the previous attempts by owners before Dan and I. It's sad but true that bad things happen to good guitars and in many cases, they can be fixed and a good finish will hide the repairs. It will be close on this one.

I played chauffeur for your mother and Bernie, toted their bags, helped Bernie spend money at the Apple Store and got lunch and excellent company out of it.

We saw Akron host Ohio U. and the Bobcats were not very good that night. Akron wasn't much better but they were when they had to be and the Bobcats went down. :-(

I have managed to snowboard and if I go this afternoon, my pass will have paid for itself. Your mother has been going with me and then she gets taken either to breakfast or lunch. She reads a book by the fire while I carve the slopes. Mr. McCammon even broke out his skis and went one time with me.

When I look at the calendar it is full. Your mother's more so than mine but we are busy. Bernie has sponsored her as a prospective member for The University of Akron Women's Group, and she has Hospice, and crafts, and all of her friends and Bernie dinners and the like. As I said, it just sometimes seems repetitive; no beaches in The Philippines or anything exotic.

Cat in a bag.

One of the morning visits to Boston Mills.

The tape marks where the neck will be trimmed.

Shaping the neck.

Molly, the mother of the three new cats at Lay's.

The shy kitten.

Using a heat lamp to soften the glue holding the bridge in place.

I found a lot of holes and plugged them all.

Last Tuesday with Steve; our own private ski resort.

Test fitting the new bridge. Go back a few posts and see how HUGE the old one was.

My label.

In the booth. The top has to stop absorbing lacquer before I can color it.

Here's a picture of the target result. I will put a similar sunburst, or in this case tobacco burst on the guitar once it stops absorbing lacquer.

Every

picture tells a story or rekindles a memory.

Just before the third run of the day.

Packed and ready to ship!

Hopefully, they are always good.

Ohio U 69

Kent State 68!

Go Cats!

Snow Day

I was up early to run and then Mom and I met Carol at Boston Mills. It started to snow on the way there and never let up.

Views from the lift.

Lunch at Winking Lizard and then I shoveled all of the drive and walks. Lunch was so filling that dinner got put on hold so no food photos tonight. Disappointed?

Camera Woes settled?

Maybe, maybe not.

Capital One says it did all it could but the merchant wins. Not happy with that. They did credit us some of the money but not all of it. Not even a quarter of it but . . .

Nikon USA says they can repair the camera, maybe even at no charge, so . . . .  maybe it's a good day after all.

Let it be known to all who might care that JI XIAN D### N## is less than a reputable merchant.

On a lighter note, another night of following recipes. Bayou Chili!

Feeling Homesick yet??

Following recipes

Tonight's dinner; Mediterranean Turkey Stew with Feta.

Would we

let anything happen to this cat??? Or this one? They really don't like the cold at all. So they've been in more than out, and out consists of running to the edge of the deck and back in this house.

You could come home and take care of them.

Even less

than yesterday.

A cold run followed by my bi-annual application of liquid nitrogen and paperwork for the Chinese camera.

Mr. Obama has been re-inaugurated and let's hope for the best.

Something

is better than nothing.

Home again

No problems. Smooth flight that left early and got in early. Heather and Brian picked us up and we met Paula and Geoff at Casa del Rio for dinner.

So . . .

We weren't quite done. Besides, we were afraid they might miss us at the Home Depot.

Twelve bags of mulch later . . . done, really.

The work is done.

They know us on sight at Lowe's and Home Depot!

I climbed up on the roof today and cleaned it and the gutters. Five bags full. I had good help as Mom and Holly bagged what I blew off of the roof. I also threw a couple of bags that I filled too. Four buzzards were hanging around in case I fell! :-)

We washed all of their windows inside and out and discovered that they needed attention too so with a caulking gun and some caulk . . . they are set!

I also put new fittings on his flag pole. It's been a while since Uncle Bill could put his flag out.

The temperature is dropping but we are still going out to eat by the water. Let the vacation begin!

Too busy

to even take a picture today!

We went to Home Depot and got Aunt Ruby and Uncle Bill new porch furniture but it wouldn't fit in the car with all the things we also got like flea treatments and tables so . . . Mom and Holly sat in the chairs while I went to get the van. They got a lot of comments!

We raked up the yard, treated it, cleaned the porch, sanded the door, painted it, finished the blinds after a trip to Lowe's for more paint. Uncle Bill helped by tripping on the steps and tearing open his shin. Holly put a picture on FB.

Dinner was supposed to be Pizza Hut but it seriously burned up before Holly got there to pick them up. Good thing Panera makes sandwiches!

Back to the hotel and a shower.

Little things

We did a few things for Ruby and Bill today.

New blinds, a screen door closer, and the stuff to paint the front door. We also cooked a nice meal; the Rachael Ray Rice Pilaf and Honey Rosemary Chicken. It was a hit. More tasks tomorrow. It feels good to do things for them.

Pictures

Not as good as Meagan's beach picture but this is our view.

Ruby and Bill 2

Here you go. We cooked all day and generally were very good guests. We did manage an hour plus at the pool.

We did some minor house maintenance too. We have to talk to Holly about some more things.

Aunt Ruby and Uncle Bill

Your great-aunt and great-uncle are fine. I'll get iPod pictures of them tomorrow as the flight killed the battery and it had to charge. The flight was fine and the rental car is okay.

Here are two fresh pictures for you.

Under the wire.

Most of the day was spent with last minute preparations for visiting Aunt Ruby and Uncle Bill. I think we're ready!

After that it was up to Lockkeepers in Independence for Lea's birthday party. It was a surprise and she was surprised so all was good. Seared Ahi Tuna! Tasty!

Now a little TBBT and then it's a day.

It was bound to happen

Despite the best of intentions, I have nothing for you today. Nothing.

Stuck in Lodi again

Not stuck really but every time I go to Lodi I think of that Creedence song.

We spent a few dollars and got some needed things like pants that fit and running socks and some sweaters and other tops.

Bernie had extra tickets for Akron U. vs. Western Michigan and while Akron won by a lot, the game was pretty uneventful.

Some pretty cats for you.

Cameras

Is it better here at A?

Or here at B?

One of these pictures is with the 'new' camera purchased in Shanghai and the other with the repaired D60. I think the difference is obvious and when I think of how many pictures were taken that are all just a bit 'off' . . . . well, you can imagine.

Christmas is officially all put away and both of your rooms are clean. Planning on spending any time here soon?