By Darla Buckhannon

Happy birthday to Darlene Crocker, Anita Montgomery, Vannaise Hitt, Jeremy Townsend, Carl Estes, Dorothy Black, Billie Jo Sadler, Fimble Enderle, Debbie Totty, Jonathan Dooley, Katie Hampton, Adam Swinford, Breanna Davis, Bob Burnett, Shelby Ancell, Kari Stone, Adam Uhrhahn, Tom Burnett, Rocky Portell, Leann Carroll, Jane Swain, Margie Kielhofner, BJ Jackson, Carol Cannon, Larry Wolfe, Tyler Cookson, Dale Tierney, Tracey Totty, Paula Stidham, Stephanie Scheeter, Dorothy Margrabe, Saundra Hamilton and Simon Hitt.

Happy anniversary to Richard and Carol Hodge, Wayne and Marlys Ford, Butch and Darlene Dumey, Danny and Tammy Rains, Alan and Marty Seabaugh, John and Sheila Hahn, Donald and Iris Crowe, Chris and Rhonda Wessel, Warren and Alberta Masterson and Johnny and Gina King.

Gardens are coming in and people are enjoying and sharing their bounty.

After an exciting Wimbledon finish and British Open, sports fans were exhausted. Even the non-golfer would have had chills watching Jordan Spieth get control of holes 13 through 18 to win the British Open!

The NFL is back! Training camp started last week and many of us are excited about the upcoming season! Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals play in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday.

Been down every aisle

Few people like to cook during this hot weather, but regardless of the temperature Richard grills pretty much every evening. One thing we really miss though is tuna, swordfish and salmon on the grill. Where does one buy fresh seafood?

We've also been on the search for honey with comb. It was hard to beat Sam Crowe's honey, and we always picked it up at Diebold's. My sister Ruth likes it so much she has had it sent to her in San Marcos, Texas. After a few calls around, however, we are still honeycomb-less.

Error to the throne

Richard and I are still getting things organized. For someone who didn't have much to bring to Missouri, we have unpacked a lot of boxes. People say that getting older requires patience and a sense of humor -- so does moving! We've had our challenges, one of which was pretty bazaar. Don't you hate it when you have been using a product you like and all of a sudden, they change it? It could be skin care, lipstick, nail polish or cleaning products. But toilets?

We bought three new toilets for our remodeled bathrooms, and since we were pleased with the ones we have in Dallas, we decided to buy the same brand and model. There are certain products you just assume will work properly. We are not certain what happened, but all three of the new toilets had inefficient bowl rinsing. Richard called their customer service and apparently she had heard this complaint before because she quickly suggested taking a hand mirror and a penny nail and poke through the holes under the rim! Can you believe that? What is more unbelievable is that Richard unsuccessfully tried it on one, giving her the benefit of the doubt. I would have said no way! He returned the toilets to Lowe's where we had purchased them for a full refund and bought another brand; I would have asked American Standard to reimburse the amount we paid Rick of SureFix for him and Richard swapping them out.

Eclipse party

The Chamber of Commerce is planning a solar eclipse party from noon to 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 at Jean Whitaker Downtown Park (corner of Yoakum and Main). The Chamber is asking local businesses to close from 1 to 1:30 p.m. so their employees and customers can attend the party. Hot dogs, sodas, chips and viewing glasses will be provided. Please call HB Rice at (573) 887-3555 if you have any questions.

Alumni banquet

A big event is the annual CHS alumni banquet at the VFW on Sept. 30. It is not too early to send in your reservation, and if you didn't receive the form, you can mail your name, address, email address and class year along with your check for $15 per person to CHS Alumni Association, PO Box 172, Chaffee, MO 63740. The $5 dues are optional and donations are welcome which help fund scholarships. Last year, 298 were in attendance, and we are hoping to beat that number this year.

As always

Remember to tell those special people in your live that you love them -- those three words mean so very much.

Email your news to darbuck2@airmail.net or call (573) 887-6430 or (214) 207-7839.

And then ...

Then there was the woman who was shocked when she weighed in 10 pounds lighter on her doctor's scale compared to her home scale.