Blessings

It's hard to believe but I do think I have all my Christmas shopping done and gifts wrapped.

 This is a new thing for me. 

Our, (my) home has always been overrun with wrapping paper, gift cards, tags, ribbons, scotch tape and scissors. (It was typical of me to lose the scotch tape and scissors, plus the pen I needed to use for the tags.) I only had that problem for a short while thanks to internet shopping; it saved the day.

The internet shopping  was mostly for my daughter and her family who won't be with us. (that. . . I really feel bad about, but accept it.) I had their presents sent to St. Louis which is where they'll be for Christmas this year.   Thanks Jane and Scott for being there on that end.

 I feel a little guilty though because they're not wrapped.  I could've had the stores giftwrap the presents, BUT-  I used the money needed to wrap them and bought other gifts.  Some companies charged you $5.99 a gift, and you couldn't say - put two in one package because they're for the same person! Next year I'll try to be more savvy. I do have a Christmas club and perhaps I'll just put more money into it for store-wrapping!   I really was into the spirit but didn't think about the gift wrapping.  A saving grace - all the packages are labeled who they're for, on the outside . So they don't need to be opened except by the receiver.

On a serious note:  I've heard about packages being stolen that are left outside of homes.  Hope that isn't the case with mine. Egad.  Just another worry to have in this day and age.

 Good Lord. Life can be made unpleasant by worrying.   From here on in, I'll write about what I'm thankful for. Excuse the English.  (From here on in)

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In Chicago,  I have a lovely daughter and son-in-law with two beautiful children and are expecting a third.  Nancy will have  a baby boy in February.  That's a wonderful gift.

 Plus I have a son and daughter-in-law here in Florida living 45 minutes south of us. They have a beautiful apartment.   They're both working.  They have lots of church friends nearby.  Another wonderful gift.  We had thought Epril would be working Christmas Day, so we invited them here yesterday for a steak dinner, and an evening out with  Uncle Bob and us to see The Christmas Carol at Venice Theatre.   We heard last night that Epril will be off Christmas Eve and they'll be joining us at Bob's son, Jon's house in Sarasota.  That's another gift!

 And of course I have my wonderful husband, Paul, who gives me such pleasure all the time and for whom I'm always grateful.

 My brother Bob who lives kitty-corner to me - is doing so well healthwise.  He's still recuperating from his heart operation, but he is doing so marvelously..  It does my heart good (good pun, I had to laugh as I wrote that) to see him getting his strength back.  We do enjoy and love him being nearby.

   My cousins Alice and Carol are close and I see them every Wednesday for Bible Study at Alice's home.  That is another thing.  Alice is a gifted speaker and everyone likes to listen to her.   There were 19 ladies at her house last time I was there. 

Paul's family total twenty.  This includes all five of the siblings, spouses, and our grandchildren.  This is a special blessing to me who came from a small family.  It is so wonderful to be around all of them.  Especially to watch the ten grandchildren grow.  They're all teenagers, or older, except for Ida who is in fourth grade.  And she's as tall as me!  (Now this is a tall family. and I'm only five foot!)     But we are blessed: We will see  Sharon's family from NYS and Greg's from right here in Gainesville, Fla.   This Christmas, we'll miss three families: The Corning relatives, Jeff's family, and Brenda's in California.  It's Brenda's year to be with her in-laws same as Nancy. 

BTW Brenda had her 50th birthday yesterday (Saturday) and spent it hosting a Bunco party!  Paul called her and her company had just started arriving, so he made his wishes brief.  But she had an exciting time planned.  Congratulations Brenda!  Jeff's son DJ who got his bachelor's degree in May, is taking a year off from school before continuing on.  He's presently working in Colorado for the winter months at a ski resort.  Dorothy, Jeff and Alaina are planning to visit him the first part of January.  (He has to work Christmas of course.)

 We'll also miss Lue, Paul's sister-in-law, who will be with her family.  We're hoping to have her visit us here in Fla. some time in the next three months with her friend Ruth.   If Lue needs a little persuading,  we're up to it!  We'll also miss our good friends, Marcia and Hal, in NC.  We don't see them at Christmas, but hope they'll visit.

I didn't send out a Christmas letter this year.  I did a lot of thinking about it.   Although we were busy, we didn't do any earth-shattering things.   Except for a cruise in February.  I mentioned it to Bob and Paul  and they said - if people don't know what you're doing, that's because they're not reading your blog.  They're right.  So - I'm just sending out regular cards with a note in each to those cards we get that are forwarded from our NYS mail.  Maybe I'll just put my blog address in the cards.  Good idea.  I'm glad I thought of it.  A little late for some, but not for all. 

Guess that's all from Circlewoods.  How're things goin' in your neck o the woods?  I bet you're blessed too!

Seasoning, Holiday Style.

I don't know about you, but the Holiday Season is here at the Woods edge.  I think our Circle has the best outdoor Christmas lights.  But then, I would say that.  (There's some truth in it.  Lots of Snowbirds don't arrive til after Christmas. But we're a pretty full circle that clearly like to decorate! ) 

This year I'm letting my fingers do the walking - via the new yellow pages aka the Internet.  I found  great selections of anything I wanted to get, but  that made the decision difficult on some items.   Sale prices and free shipping helped me choose.    

Paul and I finally made it down to the pool yesterday for the third time this season.  We've been here since November 4-5? Not sure exactly when.  The time goes by so quickly when you're so busy.

 After Epril and Bill left, Paul painted the room, I ordered new mattresses, box springs and frames.  We took down the old drapes and curtains.  I washed the curtains and took the drapes to the cleaners.  We just got them back today.  It cost an arm and a leg to get them cleaned, but considerably less than new ones.  We let Epril and Bill have the bedroom suite.  So we're looking at thrift shops and furniture stores for a set for us.  Haven't found exactly what we want, but we will. 

I do have a few things to wrap here and send up to Nancy, Dan and the kids.  They'll all going to St.Louis, where they'll be spending Christmas this year.  It's funny to send some to Baby Molden, because we don't know his name.  They have a tradition of telling the child his birth name first, and then the rest of the family get to know.  Middle of February is the due date.

I haven't begun my Christmas letter yet.  But I'm thinking about it and that's the first step. 

 You can tell it's the middle of the Christmas season. All the festivities are starting.  Eating out lots!
Wait til you read about all of it. . . .

Wednesday, Alice had Bible Study, and afterwards,  the ladies  had a pot-luck luncheon at her house.   There were 19 of us, and Alice could seat everyone - She had two card tables, her dining room table, and four stools at the  breakfast bar set up.  Afterwards Carol, Alice and I had a time to chat.  I feel so lucky to have them close by.  We've always been close.  I consider them sisters of mine.

Bob came with us to Punta Gorda Thursday and we took Bill and Epril out for lunch for her 26th birthday. Epril looked so pretty in a black and white sundress and black patent leather heels. I got her a birthday cake at Walmart and some candles, so after lunch we went back to their apartment and had cake and coffee in their TV room. Since we all wanted different kinds of coffee, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way home and got some.

Last night, Friday night, we went to the Moose Club in Northport for their fish fry.  It was delicious, but I ate too much.   But thank goodness, I'm managing to eat sensibly in between these feasts.  It's gotten so that I enjoy eating right.  My nutritionist, upstate NY, helped me immensely in finding the right foods to make me feel good.  I keep a food diary.

Tonight Paul, I, Bob and Alice will be going to the Christmas dinner/dance at the clubhouse.  I peeked in yesterday when I was at the pool and it is decorated beautifully.  There are eleven round tables set up.  The food is catered and it's going to be  really good.

We went to Walmart today and got a new vacuum cleaner.  Our old one will go to Epril and Bill the next time they come by.  It's nice to have a place where we can send our  furniture and appliances that will be put to good use.  And be appreciated.  Their apartment is going to be very nice.  They have lots of plans for it.  Bill ordered a new TV and got a good buy for one.  It should be delivered soon.  I find that I wrote about the apartment floor plan in my last blog 

Epril was really worried about her family because her home town was in the middle of that horrible typhoon.   I don't blame her for being worried. It must be frightening to go through something like that. She said that the area of Mindanao that her family live in don't usually have any typhoons. In fact she cannot remember any in her lifetime. She had trouble sleeping the night before because she was so worried about them until she heard from them. They had been evacuated to higher ground.  Their house roof was damaged, but easily repaired.

We've been in contact with Sharon and Dave who are coming down to Florida on December 27th til January 3rd.  We're so excited that they're coming down.  They said that Charles (15) said he was more excited about coming down, than Christmas!  That's just great!

 They're renting a car and driving  to Noi and Greg's first, up in Gainesville.  We'll go up there and stay at a motel.  Then we'll all come back down here and Noi, Greg and the kids will stay at a motel down here. That means we'll all be together for the whole time.  We have room for guests, but not that many!   We did buy some air mattresses at Walmart this morning, so we'll have room for overflow if the kids want to stay together.

So as you can see - Christmas season moments have happened, are happening, and will happen.  As you're experiencing, I'm sure. 

So that's what's happenin' at the Woods edge.  (Please  noted the similarities between our Woods Edge and Circlewoods) This means I can end my posts the same way. So. . . .  It was meant to be.

How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

Home Alone

Hello again.

Seems like ages since I posted last. So much has happened. We had Thanksgiving at Nancy and Dan's up in Chicago, and just yesterday, Wednesday, we helped Bill and Epril move out and into their new apartment in Punta Gorda. It's been busy!

I guess I'll go in chronological order. We had a non-stop flight from Ft. Myers into O'Hare airport. We had expected a lot of traffic, delays. None of which materialized. We had some expected traffic into the city on Wednesday late afternoon. Our nonstop flight on Sunday evening left at 6:15PM and was completely uneventful and a delight. No traffic or crowds at the airport. Got back here at midnight Sunday evening.

Dan's parents, Jane and Scott, visited also, but stayed at their other son,Jeff and fiancee Nina's apartment which was close by. They'd gone to Cape Cod to visit her relatives, so they had the apartment to themselves.

Dan cooked Thanksgiving dinner. No one was allowed in the kitchen while the chef worked...for a day and a half - the dinner was outstanding. Turkey, of course, with all the fixings. Nancy made home-made cranberry jelly. Jane and I set the table with the tablecloth and napkins I'd gotten Nancy from China and her Gram's silver and Haviland china. And we all did the clean up afterwards. Except for Dan of course! The rule of the game: the cook does not clean up.

To stay out of Dan's way on Thanksgiving morning, we all (Jane, Scott, Evie (2), Vincent (6), Paul, I and Nancy) went to a place called Pump it Up.

It was a fun house filled with all kind of air jumping houses/slides, a climbing wall, riding toys. Evie and Vincent had been there for a birthday party before and when we opened the door, Evie gave out a screech of delight. We had to grab her and take her sneakers off first. She was so excited, fearless and invincible.

Jane went in some of the mazes with her at first, but soon realized that Evie was content to do everything herself. Vincent tried the climbing wall and did quite well. He also loved the other apparatus. Adults could sit on plenty of sofas, chairs and have coffee too. Nancy is in her sixth and 1/2 month, looking pregnant. There were a lot of people there Thanksgiving morning - doing the same thing we were doing - staying out of the cook's way! Lots of fun.

Epril mentioned to me that her mother, Nila, reads my blog to learn about what's happening to them, so I'm happy to report, Nila that they've moved into their new apartment as of Wednesday.

Bill and Epril had been packing up and moving things in Paul's van, down to their new apartment in Punta Gorda while we were in Chicago. The van held a lot of things and they got a lot of furniture moved. They made numerous (four?) trips back and forth while we were gone.

Yesterday we spent packing up all that was left, and in the afternoon, we drove down to the apartment to unloaded stuff. It was a 45 minute trip on I75.

Epril and I made up the twin beds with sheets, pillows , after Paul put the second one together. The first one, they'd moved beforehand and was set up. So we knew they'd be able to "fall into bed" when the time came and I helped put food in the fridge/freezer.

Their apartment is very nice - it actually seems larger than our villa here in Circlewoods. We were very impressed.

As you walk into the living room - the small galley kitchen is in the back. They have three bedrooms - master and bath with a huge walk-in closet on one side and two nice-sized bedrooms on the other side with a bathroom there. There are plenty of closet spaces to do with as they like. They have an end unit - next to them is a nice grassy area. The pool is not too far away. Looked like lots of kids around. There is a playground. There was a dog across the street barking through the screen window which could be a problem, but they'll deal with it.

Bill's office is in the smaller of the two bedrooms, and our sofa-bed and a loveseat are in the third bedroom. He spent the time in his office, getting his computer hooked up, table up.

As we were getting ready to leave, the Comcast man came to hook up the cable for Bill's computer. Naturally they forgot stuff here at the woods edge. . .Bill called this morning to list the things they'd forgotten. They're coming up Saturday to pick them up. He also said unhappily, the Comcast man couldn't get him started and would be coming back again today. So he couldn't work last night. Hope it all is okay. But that's moving for you. . . things happen unexpectedly.

What a domino effect: We gave Bill and Epril our green sofa bed, which they moved and put in their third bedroom. So- we took the sofa bed we have in the computer room into the living room. (It looks very nice.) But there's a bare wall in the computer room now where it was, that needs a sofa/futon. We stopped at a Futon store in Port Charlotte on the way home, just looking. We're going to go other places before we decide which to buy.

Paul went to the dermatologist this morning to have the pre-cancerous spot on his nose taken care of. Paul said it wasn't necessary for me to go, and I had things to do here and decided not to go with him. It didn't take long, and before I knew it he was home. The doctor suggested that he not have pictures taken for Christmas, as he'll probably have a red nose. (It looks fine now.)

Paul is in the guest room (now) painting the walls a pretty light avocado. Debbie, our cleaning lady, has been here and done her magic. We've ordered twin bed mattresses and frames for there. We'll get a bedroom suite soon enough.

Paul said he talked with Lue over Thanksgiving. She had dinner with Sharon, Dave, and the family. Sounded like she had a good time. Paul said she said she used a walker now rather than a cane because it was more comfortable. I'm glad she found something that would help her. We hope she's doing well still.

Paul worked a long time on my computer to see if he could get my e-mail up and running. It seems I could send, but not receive. It seems to be working well, so if you've sent me anything important between November 21st and yesterday, the 28th, I did not receive it. I lost all info from that time period. You may want to send it again.

There's always more to write, it seems, but time runs out. It's lunchtime and I'm hungry, so I'm sure Paul is!

That's all the news from the woods edge - how're things in your neck o' the woods?

We're settled in down here. But we leave tomorrow for Chicago.

It's been cloudy all week. I've been to the pool twice in the two and a half weeks we've been here. Such is life. November weather is great usually. This year the temp is fine. We've sat at the patio out back quite a bit for cocktails. Epril brought out her computer (yes - it was fine - because. . . . she was on Skype with her older sister, Susan, in the Netherlands.) Susan is with a nice man there. I'm sure Susan is jealous (LOL) of our wonderful weather here. Epril says she wants to see snow. I said it's fine for about 10 minutes. Only kidding for you people up North.

We've had such good news today and yesterday. Bill and Epril have finally gotten an apartment in Punta Gorda.

The rental agency told them that they didn't have a two bedroom, Darn! but they could have a three bed-room for $50 a month extra. Of course that's good! It's on the second floor, and has a nice floorplan which we printed out. They'll begin moving out or taking things there this Saturday. Not to be a spoilsport, but I suggested they take a lot of cleaning stuff as you never know what you'll find. Paul's lending them his van while we're gone and we'll use their small Kia Spectra to go to the airport. They'll be able to move a lot of stuff that way.

As I said, we're flying to Chicago tomorrow. Our flight leaves Ft. Myers at 2:00 We have a non-stop flight of 2 hours 45 min. approx. and should get there in time for dinner. There's an hour time change - we gain an hour. Can't wait to see those little ones. Bill and Epril will be taking care of Gracie for us while we're gone. They're going to John and Carol's for Thanksgiving dinner with Bob. We've packed our suitcases. Mine is smaller than last time. We're taking our winter coats, of course, plus some winter clothes we brought down here for our Thanksgiving trip.

Other good news. This is something you don't know about but we were waiting for the news from the dermatologist. Paul had a follow-up for his last year's cancer surgery. The dermatologist found two suspicious spots that he biopsied. It took about a week and a half for us to find out about them. One came back clear, and one on his nose was pre-cancerous and he'll have that frozen off. We're so happy! We would have reported whatever happened, of course, but it's so nice to not have to report a problem.

We had a really great Sunday - we went to regular church at 10:30, after breakfast out, and then kept our church clothes on because we had tickets to the Venice Theatre matinee to see "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." It was very well done. Our seats were right in the middle (it's a small theater) and we could see very well. From there we went to The Bone Fish Grill, a restaurant that opened up last year. We found it very nice. We got there before 5:00 which meant drinks were half-priced. We only had one since Paul was driving. The food was delicious and not as expensive as we heard.

So that brings you all up to date about things down here. The roads are getting crowded, but they don't seem bad near us. We took Gracie to the ice cream store this afternoon. They have tables outside, so she could go with us and have her ice cream from Paul.

So - won't be writing for a while. We get back on Sunday night. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We plan to!

Go to Curves or Post?

Guess.

It's been a beautiful time down here.  The weather has been around 75 degrees, sunny and no humidity. It was foggy this morning and it usually means a sunny day, but it's still cloudy.  Actually it's mid-afternoon now and there is some blue sky up there.   Paul went to the hottub this morning at 8:00.  There was a friend of his in it too. 

 Paul's been thinking about outside Christmas decorations.    We'll be in Chicago visiting Nancy and her family for Thanksgiving this year.  He wants to be able to come back the Sunday after Thanksgiving and just turn on the switch and see it all lit up. Sounds like a plan to me.  Of course he doesn't have to think about doing all this in cold weather, so that's nice.

Actually My Dear One went to Target and bought a small Christmas Tree  and has it decorated, and sitting on the piano.  We have a fake fica tree, in the lanaii, that has white lights on it, so it never was a meaningful Christmas tree.  But we'd  decorated that for past Christmases.  It gets lit all the time anyway.  So he's been busy. 

 Paul decided to do something different with our big palm tree out front.  He went to Walmart, bought the necessary lights, and support stuff and put it all together.  It's hard to describe, but I'll try:  He staked out a ring around the bottom and tied the lights up into the top of the trunk just below the fronds. The shape is a pyramid of colored  lights going up and down around the tree.  So when it's dark (we sneaked a look at it last night) it looks like a Christmas tree shape.  As mentioned before, it won't be lit til after Thanksgiving weekend when we get back from Nancy's.

Paul and Gracie took me to Curves in Englewood the other day.  When he takes me, he likes to stop at a small restaurant in the plaza while I'm there and sit at one of their outside tables and have coffee and a muffin. As can be expected, no pets are allowed inside. So  I went  in and ordered it for him before I walked around the corner to Curves to  begin my exercising.  As the waitress and I brought them out, I had to smile because he was surrounded by "6 old chicks"  admiring Gracie.  The waitress  got a kick out of it and said our dog was a chick magnet.  She sure is.  Paul and I also got a kick out of it.

 Yesterday morning, I finally got around to calling my hair dresser. My hair was in a bad way!  She could take me an hour later, at 11:30.   After I got there I found out she'd had a knee replacement in September and was on a shortened schedule, so I was lucky to find her in and available.   Her name is Zsa Zsa.  With that name you can picture a blonde bombshell from Hungary.  Well, about the only thing that's the same is her coming from Hungary.  She's about my age.  A little younger.  We're about the same shape. You get the picture.

  Paul drove me over and picked me up afterwards at 1:00.  He hadn't had lunch yet, so we went to the Moose Club in Venice and had a delightful lunch.  We both had tuna and chicken salad sandwiches, and a glass of wine.  The sandwiches cost $3.50.  The wine was $2.50.  What a bargain.  The place was on the quiet side, and not really busy.  Some couples were playing cards at back tables, a couple of people were at the bar, eating,  and some tables were used - but not all. 

What a difference from their crowded Friday night Fish fry. I couldn't wait to go and I looked forward to it all week! (I'd actually been looking forward to it for months!)   We invited our next door neighbors, Bob and Crystal, to go with Bob, Epril, Bill and us.  We got there at 5:15 along with many others . . and we had trouble finding a place to sit! It's quite a large room too.  We ended up  on the porch overlooking their small lake and fountain.  That's where we usually have ended up because we get there when we do.  The food was delicious, as usual, and the service wasn't long.     Oh, well.  Epril made some delicious brownies and Bill bought some ice cream for dessert.  Afterwards, we sat on our lanaii and enjoyed it. 

Bob and we went  to Trinity Presbyterian church Sunday.  We went to the 9:00 contemporary service that is held in the Fellowship hall -  it is quite large and it holds a lot of people at round tables.  They serve coffee.  Paul and our friends, Carolyn and John, who go to the Presbyterian church in Bath, have their son's family down here.  They come down every year and spend time with them.  Their teenage granddaughter,Kayla,  sings in the contemporary choir.  We saw her there, and her parents Seth and Kelly who've  joined the church.

 I don't think I ever mentioned that I've been going there for years and years before I met Paul; my aunt and mother went there before we did, my parents names,along with many others . . are both engraved at the beautiful stone Memorial area outside.  Unfortunately, they spelled our dad's name wrong. Mom had it done, and I suspect because she couldn't see well, was advanced in age, and didn't know what to do about it anyway,  didn't get it fixed. We weren't here at that time to do anything about it.  We really should do something about it now.

Epril and I just had a cup of herbal tea out on the patio.  I like that herbal tea.  I found some K-cups with it at Walmart the other day.  We had a chance to just sit and talk.  Just the two of us. She's so sweet.  I had a chance to get to know her a little better.  And vice versa.  No cell phones allowed.  Just the two of us.

Carol O has been keeping me informed about my friend, Ruth, from Bath.  She had a hip replacement on Monday.  I understand from Carol, she's okay and should be home today or tomorrow.  Good.  And many thanks to Carol for letting me know how Ruth's doing.  Carol is doing really well with her knee replacement.  I guess I can thank my lucky stars that I have all my knees and hips.  And Paul does too. 

Well - guess I'll just end for now.  Hope you're all doing well.  Hurricane Sandy devastated Bob's and my hometown.  I have to call my friend Marty and see how they did out at the end of Long Island.  Marty's also from East Rockaway just as we are.  Her sister and her husband lives there still on one of the canals.  Oh, my. 

So - I bet things are goin' better at your neck o' the woods than their neck o' the woods.

We made it! Circlewoods is aliving and kicking. . .

What a great trip we had.  It was so relaxing.  Of course, Paul drove the whole trip.  I don't know if he just doesn't trust my driving skills, which I think are quite good, or he prefers to drive the whole way.  I think it's a combination of the two even though he wouldn't admit the first assumption. 

Our first stop of the trip, the first day, is always in Pennsylvania, at Edna and Mike's for lunch.  Mike has been on oxygen full-time for quite some time. He looked well, though.  Edna did too.   Edna's soup was delicious, as usual.  We stayed in Fredericksburg that night.

Instead of three days, we took two extra days and stayed overnight at our friends Marcia and Hal's in NC.  They had a dinner party with two of their delightful friends I'd met several years ago. 

Marcia served shrimp and grits.  I know I made a faux-pas because Hal asked me if I liked Grits and I said no because I thought he was fooling.  But he wasn't.   No one up North serves grits that I know.  To tell you the truth, I wouldn't be able to tell what grits tastes like, but I thought I was adding to the joke  along with them.   Did I feel badly!  Well - it was the most delicious dinner.  I had three servings of grits that also had bacon pieces and cheese in it.  Yum. 

We only stayed overnight, but the next morning we were able to see their new (to them) boat they'd acquired.  Coda. What a wonderful name.  A coda is a musical ending that is extended to be quite delightful - just like their sailing experiences have been.  That's my definition.  Obviously.   We didn't have time to go out for a cruise.  It actually was quite chilly and windy, so it was just as well.  We said good-by from the marina and headed down to Hardeeville, SC for the next  night. 

From there we traveled on to Gainesvilleon Saturday  to stay overnight with Greg, Noi, NeeNee and Brenan.  This was a spur of the moment stay.  It worked out well because it was the weekend.  The kids and Noi were home, besides  Greg, so we had a chance to see them.  During the week, we usually would see only Greg, who works from home, and could meet us for lunch.

 As an added treat the six of us went to a very elegant restaurant.  The food was out of this world!  We sat out back on a large light beige cement terrace.  The round tables surrounded a beautiful lit, tiered, waterfountain  We got there early, and were the first to be seated, but before we left, the terrace where we were, plus the  inside area filled up. 

There were lots of people at the restaurant dressed in the Gainesville colors and tee shirts. Orange. There had been an afternoon  home game which we watched  on TV.   Brenan (16)and NeeNee (15) drove by themselves because he had a gig (sp?) to play at.  NeeNee had her SATs and had gotten home just before we got there.  She was really tired.  It started at 7:45 and went for 5.5 hours.   

We arrived here mid-afternoon after a three plus-hour trip.  Bob joined us for dinner.  He looks very well for having had heart surgery three months ago.  He's lost weight, his color has come back, and he's been walking around the one-mile circle every day with Martini.  Gracie and Martini knew each other immediately.  They play very well together.  Not that they didn't before.  But as Gracie is getting older (she'll be 3 in January), Martini is getting more tolerant.

Well, I guess that's all the news for now.  We'll be watching the Election Coverage tonight.  I hope you all voted.  We did - early last month up in NY.  May the best man win. My man of course.   It's such a close race.  It's a possibility that we won't know tonight what the outcome is. 

So. . . . . .How're things going  . . . . . .in your neck o' the woods?  You know, every once in a while I hear from someone who's reading my blog.  Thank you, Jeanne, for your advice on the K-cups.  Jennifer, good to hear from you too!

We're fine here at the Woods Edge.

It was a pleasant surprise.  We're all okay here.  I'm speaking only for us and our immediate surroundings of course and we've heard from the whole family.   Some branches down, and one old tree in the woods is gone.  We didn't have a power outage last night, but we certainly planned for one, didn't we?

As you've all heard, NYC and the surrounding areas didn't fare so well.  We kept waiting here for something other than wind and rain to happen, but it didn't.  We're getting ready to leave tomorrow for Fla.  We'll be packing today.

  Paul is putting things in the car as I write. We have those spaces under the seats that are where we stuff items that we don't need till we get to Fla. He's filling those now.    I have a long list of thing I need to do, so I need to get started, but I procrastinate.

We talked with Lue last night, and she and Greta are okay.  She'd been out earlier yesterday and went to the store and got food and did some errands.

 This morning Greg called us and so did Brenda - They're the two people who are not anywhere near where Sandy was.  (California and Florida) We also heard from Dorothy up in Ontario, NY - a few trees down, but all okay.  And Lee said that an apple tree came down in their big back yard.  The Corningites had five trees across their long steep driveway.

It's Charles 15th birthday today and tonight we're going over there for cake.  We'll take excess food to them from our fridge.  Charles has gotten so tall and grown up looking.  Then tomorrow we should be on our way.

 I'm glad we waited.  It felt right. 

Preparing for our good friend (?) Sandy.

So - here we are waiting for the Frankenstorm to arrive. 

We've battened down the hatches, and have our candles, oil lamps, nearby, the bathtub filled with water.  So we can flush the toilets.   I am assuming that we'll have electricity tonight so I can make supper.  But the high tree branches are really blowing.  Maybe I'll start earlier.   My Kindle is fully charged, as is my cell phone.  I went out this morning to Curves.  I was the only one there, but they said they were quite busy earlier.

I also stopped at the local grocery store on the way home from Curves, and got some small things.  Lots of people there.  Of course I ended up spending nearly $30.00.  It seems like that always happens to me.  I go in for one or two things and I double or triple the number. 

They happened to have  a bin full of books for sale. Oh, my.  Really inexpensive.  That's always my nemesis.  So I perused it and found "The New York Times Book of Almost Everything You Need to Know about Anything."  Or some title like that.  The cashier glanced at  the title  and said " I thought that was what a computer was for." My idea was Paul might enjoy reading it when the power went out.  So I bought it for $8.00.  When he saw it, he thought it might be good book for bathroom reading.  I think it's too big for a bathroom book.  It's almost 3" thick. It's BIG.

We have the Weather Channel on tv and we're watching Sandy unfold.  There was a weatherman at the beach at Montawk Point on the end of Long Island, which is very close to Southhampton.  Our good friends, Marty and Kevin have a second one-story home in Southhampton, on the water.  Actually, it's on a good-sized canal, and from their big kitchen window, you can see a large expanse of sandbars, unsettled land, and then the Great South Bay. Their main home is in Northport, and is situated inland about an hour and a half away.

 So I called Marty.  Kevin's home.  His office is closed for the next couple of days.  They'd been to Southhampton over the weekend and gotten some valuables out. Their former son-in-law, Jeff,  who lives in the area out there, is keeping an eye on their home for them.  He's moved a lot of their knick-knacks, etc up high.    In past hurricanes, the water's come up to the house, but they think it might come inside this time.  They were scheduled to have work done on the bulkhead next week.  Luckily,  it hadn't been done yet becase they might have had to have it done all over again.

An interesting aside - they moved two of their cars to the local IGA so they wouldn't be crushed by falling trees.  They said a lot of cars are parked up there and at other nearby store parking lots that are  away from trees.  That's something I never would have thought of.  They have one van at home (in the garage, I assume.)  They have a generator.

Okay.  Guess that's all for now.  Hope you're all doing okay.  We're glad we didn't leave today.  There was no reason for us to complicate our lives by doing so.  We'll go when it's right. 
 
How's things in your neck o' the woods?

Frankenstorm kills the best made plans

We've been hemming and hawwing about leaving here Sunday, tomorrow,  before Frankenstorm arrives or after.

 We think after seems a better idea.   After Paul had to drive through all that rain last Friday to the wedding, we're not anxious to repeat it. . . there's also a possibility of snow in the mountains.

 And besides we were to visit our friends Marcia and Hal in NC.  If we left tomorrow, Sunday, we'd have to by-pass them in order to go the safest way.  They live on the coast, near the outer-banks.  Now, even though we'll be leaving later on in the week, we'll still be able to spend a night with them.

Even though we e-mailed back and forth, I still will call them and we'll plan the details.

  Also - we're not coming North for Christmas this year, so other than our trip to Chicago to Nancy's for Thanksgiving, we'll be settled  in Venice until May. 

We heard from Bob and Bill that our next door neighbors, Crystal and Bob,  arrived around a week ago.  It'll be good to see them.

Speaking of Bill - good news!  They got approved for an apartment in the apartment complex they just loved in Punta Gorda.  There's always a matter of plans. . . . papers to sign, moving out, moving in.  They are so excited.  (As are we.)  Epril's gotten several job offers too, which makes it so wonderful.  They become renters on November 1st.  Moving in, close to that date.

Paul had a very nice birthday.  It was a little quieter than we had thought because Ida was sick and Sharon didn't want to share her germs with us.  We appreciated that, but we missed them.  The guys, Dave (coach), Lee and Charlie were at football practice that started at 6:00.  Sharon stopped by with a cake for Paul.  It was delicious. 

 That reduced our count to 6 for dinner.  Ruth P., a good friend of Lue's and ours, Lue, our Corning male relatives,  and us.   I did make the sauerbraten from a recipe on the net.  Somehow, it wasn't as strong a flavor as I would have liked, but the gingersnap gravy turned out well.  I would make it again, but try a different recipe.  I wanted one for the slowcooker, so that limited the selection some.  I had to be out earlier in the day.  The meat marinated for four days, so that wasn't the problem.   We'll have it for supper again tonight, along with the pickled beets Paul made.

Paul got a phone call from Edna, his sister, plus a card from her.  He also got a card from his sister, Bonnie too.  He heard from his brother Bob last week.  All his brothers and sisters are older than him, and he turned 78.   Howard, the closest is 80.

Friday was Dan, my son-in-law's birthday.  I sent him a card with a gift but I thought it would arrive either today (Saturday) or Monday.  So, I called him - late - 9:50 Chicago time, and woke Nancy up.  Dan's at a conference.  I knew that! But it slipped my mind when I thought he'd think we'd forgotten him and called.  So my mind was there, and it wasn't. Nancy called Paul Thursday night and Evie wished him a Happy Birthday, as did Vincent.  He was very impressed by how clearly she spoke.  I had called her for her birthday on Sept 25th and she sang Happy Birthday.  Cute.

Paul got a string trimmer and a Keurig coffee maker from me.  He wanted the string trimmer, but the Keurig coffee maker was a surprise, I think.  It was hidden in the trunk of my car.  He had strict instructions not to open the trunk before his birthday, but he used my car to get some groceries, and might have seen it.  If he goofed, he didn't let it slip.  He's such a good guy. 

Alicia and Howard had a Keurig machine.  They used it last weekend when we visited,  and it seemed like a good idea.  Paul is the only one drinking coffee nowadays.  I can only drink decaf now, so I'll have one decaf occasionally.  He likes both kinds.  Every night  I would make  him 6 cups of decaf a for the next day,  and ended up throwing a lot of it out.   Now he can make it himself when he wants it.   It'll go to Fla. with us.  Alicia gave me a website to order K-cup coffee.  It's a bit cheaper.  www.Coffeecow.com;  I'll wait till I get to Florida to order it.  I got a supply in for now. 

So - we're here till Sandy's Frankenstorm comes for a visit, and then we'll leave for the Southlands. 

How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

Potpourri of Pictures...more to come.

 

Here's a real potpourri of pictures.  It took me forever to get them up, so I hope you enjoy them!  Some may be unknown to you, but known to others.   Next time I'll try to make captions. 

Pictures - more to come.

 

This is the first pictures I've done in a long time. (no surprise there, right?)But, I'm busy.   I have a lot more to do. It's Paul's birthday and  I'm getting ready for his requested Sauerbraten dinner - Sharon just stopped by with Paul's cake.  She and Ida will not be here because Ida is suspected of having Pneumonia!  Charles just got finished having it!  Life is just so busy.  I hear that Nancy has two sick children at home, and Dan is away at a conference.  She said it always happens when Dan's away.  It isn't even Winter yet! There's a storm brewing that is being called Frankenmonster or something like that.   Anyway - I must close now to get ready for Ruth P. Lue, two Corningites, and us.  Less than we planned, but that's the way it is.  It is what it is. 

'

Will the correct Jennifer please stand up?

It's been busy around here!  We went away for the weekend for Lue's granddaughter, Jen's wedding to  Ryan.  It was  in Massachussets  in a small town between Albany and Boston. . . .closer to Boston.  It was a wonderful weekend and let me meet a lot more people on Lue's (Donna's sister)side.

 Both Paul and Lue,  have such large families.  It was fun to get to know more of Lue's family.  There were five Jennifers there, all related to Lue. 

 I did make a faux pas when I was first introduced to my first Jennifer - Lue's grandson's Robert's Jennifer.  I had thought they were the parents of Lue's great grandson: six-months old Robert. (He was there too) But no.  Jen and Robert are getting married next September. 

 I will explain why I made this goof. . . too many Jens.   There was Jen - the aunt of the bride, and Lue's daughter.  There was also Robert's Jennifer, mentioned above.  The bride's name was Jennifer.  Lue's other granddaughter Sam's girlfriend was named Jennifer.  And then there was the mother of baby, Robert . . . .Jennifer.   They started calling them by first and middle name.  If I'd been there a little bit longer, it would have helped.

Friday morning, it poured.  We started off from here in a rainstorm and it didn't let up for all six-seven hours it took us to get to   As Paul said, "we sat in a parking lot" two times for half-hour periods.  It rained and rained.  We got to Howard's home about 4:30 in the afternoon.   It was foggy and rainy the whole time we were there, but I did "see" how pretty it could be. 

Paul's brother, Howard and his sister-in-law, Alicia's home in Lebanon, Connecticut. They have a farm with 40 head of Herefords. I didn't get to "meet" the cows, which I would have liked to have done, because of the weather.

They live on the Village Green in a house built between 1860-1870.  Paul says -  Sometimes the cows get out and end up there.  There are two churches on it, walkways, jogging trail, around it, four historic sites - the War Office, an old historic house open to the public, a relatively new museum.  So it's quite a long village green with houses and these sites around it. You can see across it, but I'm not sure you can see the end of it.

Saturday morning, Howard took us on a tour of it before we left to go to the wedding.  He drove his car and we followed in ours.  Then we followed him to Route 6, where we began the highway part of the trip. We got to the church in two hours - a good half hour before the 10:00 wedding.  The wedding was in a typical New England type clapboard church.  Very picturesque.

The weatherman didn't predict such good weather, but I don't think there could have been any better than we had.  It was really perfect for this time of year.  Sunny, warm. . . . the trees were magnificent.  The grass was the beautiful soft green that you see in the early Spring or before the late Fall snow.  The area reminded me a lot of  Fall in the Albany area. (My past life.) I had forgotten how beautiful that was. 

The reception was held at the Harrington Farm.  Way up a mountainside ski area - the place was filled with mums, just at the height of their beauty, and other Fall plantings.  The cocktail time was in a tent on the grounds.  It had sofas, chairs and tables.  The barn-room where the main part of the reception was, was rustic and huge.  Very beautiful.  (I'm going to try to get pictures up.  I have such trouble with that, but I'll try.)  They had a DJ playing all the kinds of music we like. Sinatra, Bennett, WMCA. LOL  We sat with  Lue,  Jennifer and Garlen - her daughter and son-in-law, and Gail and Arthur - mother and father of the bride.  Both Lue's daughters.  Her son was also there with his family.

 There were about 200 people at the reception, and the parents of the groom invited everyone back to their house for a bite to eat that night and enjoy an outside fire in the firepit.  People rsvp'd with the wedding invitation.  We did. 

There were a lot of people. But not as many as the reception . . . thank goodness. There was a tent in the backyard, but it never would have held everyone if it had rained.  They had a barn-garage, where they served one (of many, I'm sure)  of those long, long subs, pizza, other things, but even that would have been iffy to hold everybody.  People parked in a field next to their home.  Even though it sounds like the country, the home was actually in town.

We had twenty+ people go out for breakfast on Sunday.  That sent us all off with full stomaches. . . . well and contented.  We traveled the six hour trip home through gorgeous country and got to pick up Gracie at the sitters around 5:00.  Carol said Gracie enjoyed her time and felt comfortable enough to sit on Carol's husband's lap while he watched tv.

BTW - While at the wedding  some people told me that read my blog.  It does my heart good to hear that.  They appreciated all the information I'd tell about different people. 

So - that's what we did this weekend.  How're you all doin?

Things are definitely looking Fallish.

 Or I could say Autumnish - that doesn't sound or look write.  Ha.  Autumnal. 

I opened the garage door this sunny morning, and every tree within eyesight was either orange, gold, red or green (fir trees).  Really really gorgeous.  It's a lot like Spring when you forget til it happens how beautiful the trees, bushes and flowers  are. 

 A lot more of the leaves are coming down.  Paul thinks this may be the BIG drop.  Even the slower trees in front are finally losing theirs.   Paul's been keeping up with them and mowing/picking up the ones that have fallen.  It won't be such a big effort for the last haul. 

Earlier in the year, I thought we'd be starting out for Fla. before now, but things (life) happen.  Weddings, meetings, planned and unplanned stuff.  Now we won't be  leaving til after the last  weekend of October.  Lots of time to pack.

 And we're going to stop overnight to see our good friends Hal and Marcia in NC. whom we haven't seen in a while.  We hope to reciprocate and have them visit  us at our home in Fla.
They didn't come up north this summer. There'll be lots to talk about and catch up on.

  Should be interesting to see how Gracie and their cat, Cleo, get along.  Probably won't.  Cleo's at the age where she doesn't want to be bothered by a young energetic pipsqueak, and Gracie will probably be intimidated by her.  I'm guessing  Cleo weighs 20+ pounds.

Recipes:  I looked and copied my mother's recipe for beef stroganoff for Paul's birthday, and put it in my book, but decided I wanted to look for something that I could put in the crockpot and get out of the way, earlier in the day.  I found one.

 I let Paul read it, and he said - "that doesn't seem like what I really wanted - you know the one - the beef one that is sour and sweet."  He obviously meant Sauerbraten.  So I went back and found  a crockpot one.  It needs to be marinated for 36-72 hours, so the timing is good -  With a day or two to play with.  After we get back from the wedding.

 I'm trying to think of something to get  for the  "man thinks he has everything."  His wife doesn't count (my rule) when it comes to giving him presents.  He doesn't want any. BUT -  She is allowed to do whatever she wants. . . . to let him know how fond she is of him. 

I had some business to attend to in Bath earlier this week, so by chance, I was able to have lunch with Carol O, Ruth, and two school friends, Pat B. and Sue W..

 Carol looks great.  She's going to Maine to visit a teacher-friend.  She's taking her walker, just as a precaution.  But she looked really good and feels well.  Walking with a cane.    Ruth's 95 year old mom is back in her home near Buffalo where her three other daughters will take care of her.  She had been at Ruth's house for quite a while. 

 Naturally, the five of us are all retired.

 While there they recognized a whole bunch of teachers from Bath, who came in and sat down at a long table.  Carol said - "don't they look tired?  Do you think we looked tired like that? "  Of course we did.  All women who work, at that age, look tired.  They have families to attend to, work to attend to.  Life is very very busy.  Who wouldn't be tired. 

I think of my daughter Nancy - she has two children ages 6 and 2 and is expecting the third one in February.  And she's working fulltime.  Like so many others.  Such as my step-daughter, Sharon.  

As I said . . . . Who wouldn't be tired.

On the other hand - we all looked well and rested.  We earned it, and they'll find their time will come. 

And then they'll think the same thing when they look over at a table where some young teachers are. (And remember.)

I got a note from Lue - she remembers Steven Coleman and thinks the same way as I do.  Great minds work the same.  Right, Lue?

It's been busy. . .

Today began dreary, but it's sunny out now and Paul's getting the lawn/leaves cleaned up.

 There's still lots of leaves on the front trees, especially the ones that are always late.  He said that when we left last year, the tree still had some leaves  on it.  Doesn't seem like that now.  I think we're leaving later than last year despite all the pre-planning.  Things happen! My Toyota Corolla needs to be inspected before we leave.  We both have things on the calendar that were added recently before we could leave.  Life just gets in the way of plans. 

We went to church today for the last time before we go.  Next weekend we'll be at the wedding and traveling home and the following weekend we'll be traveling to Florida.

I'm getting  close to people at this church  and it does my heart good to be recognized, hugged and talked to.  Our minister is getting to be a friend too.  She's only been there two years, but  she's doing a good job.  I would say she and her husband are in their late fifties.   When we get to Florida, we have a "home church" there also.  The minister is really good there too.  We don't know many people, but there are familiar faces.  We enjoy both services - early contemporary, or later traditional.   We like the choirs  up here and down there.

We almost had a tragedy on our hands Friday night.  We got a phone call from Sharon saying that Lee was being taken to the hospital by ambulance with a neck injury sustained during the Friday night football game.  Fortunately, he wasn't badly hurt, but it was a difficult time for everyone before they checked him out and we could breath a sigh of relief.  That's the reason I don't like high school football.  It's not worth it. It's so scary when things could go wrong. 

 "That's my opinion, what's yours?"  Remember when I mentioned that a couple of posts ago and couldn't remember the man's name who said it?  Someone answered me and said the man who said that was Dr. Steven Coleman, and he taught at Elmira College.  Not Corning Community.  I don't think he was there when I got my masters degree. I hope not.  I'm not a fan of his. 

 It's nice when someone answers me, because then I don't feel like I'm writing to the wall.   Feed back is good!

Saturday night, last night, we went out to dinner at the Seneca Lodge in Watkins Glen with our next door neighbors.  (They were the ones who took care of our plants when Sharon became incapacitated from her leg surgery.  She couldn't do it. ) The Seneca Lodge is very close to Watkins Glen State Park.  It's built like a huge rustic log cabin and there's cabins and a motel attached, so it's used a lot by tourists.   Paul was really surprised at the crowd there.  They don't allow reservations, so you put your name in when you get there. They said there'd be about a half-hour wait to be seated and it was.

 While we waited, we sat at a long table with four other people. They wanted to know where we were from, or were we from the area?   They were quite chatty - seems Paul knew a lot about the area they're from in Pennsylvania.  It always amazes me the amount of tourists we have come here for the color/wine - especially at this season.  It's nice to live in a unique area that other people come to visit and admire.  But it makes me realize that we should be doing more touristy things ourselves and take advantage of all that's around us.  Next year.

We didn't get served for a while too.  Every table was full.  Servers were working hard, rushing here and there.  We had a good food and a good time  though. 

Hey - good news!  Remember a while back when I talked about Kindle book prices and how they'd gone sky-high almost over night?  You could almost never get a Best Seller less than $9.99.  I gave my word to myself not to buy anything more than $9.99 (which I alas broke sometimes).

  It seems the Justice Department has accused the book companies of price-fixing e-books, and three of the big companies have backed down.  Simon and Schuster being one.  Amazon sent me an e-mail saying that I and lots of others in the country would be getting money back for e-books we'd bought from 2010-2012.  The money would be in our accounts this February.   How neat is that???And it also means the price of e-books should be coming down.

   I'll give you an example of how ridiculous it was/is. 

I wanted to read Ken Follett's new book "The Fall of Giants" a year ago, but it was $16.99.   It went to paperback  and they recently  reduced the e-book price to $9.99.  So I got it. It is so good.  Recently the second book in the trilogy came out so I went to Sam's Club to check on prices.  It was $21.99 for the hard copy.  When I came home, I checked the Kindle price. It was $19.99.  That made me. so. mad.  I'm hoping its one of the ones that come down in price.  I hate finishing a book that is great and not be able to read the next one in the series that you know will be just as good.

 Having a Kindle is very tempting because you really can get a book in less than a minute without leaving home.  But I'm not paying $19.99 for "air."  Nor will a lot of other people.  You wait and see. 

So - what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

Recipes bring back memories.

Wednesday is here again.   Paul corrected me the other day after I told people that we'd be leaving in two weeks.   It seems it's three weeks.  Gives us time to get things done!

 He's busy with his list of "to do's" before we leave.  I just recently found my last year's list.   It's pretty much what I want to bring down there again.  There's always something new, however.  I must remember to add them before I forget.

I had promised Paul that I would make Beef Stroganoff for his birthday, so that meant finding the recipe. 

My sister-in-law, Carole,  gave me a recipe box as a wedding shower gift, (1964) and it had been used for many many years. It was stuffed (really stuffed) with recipe cards.   I've wanted to do something more with the cards that were in there.  It was always so time-consuming to find the ones I wanted.  My mother had a recipe book - where she wrote in recipes.  I still have it.    The recipe box always reminded me of Carole and always will.

 I don't write recipes very often now.  Because, with the internet and so many sites to find really great recipes, the ones you print out can become favorites too.   Paul said to me that I can always print the ones from the internet out again, but I find I write on them - giving suggestions to myself for the next time, so I don't want to lose my original copy.

 A year ago, I went to Hobby Lobby and got a loose-leaf book with pages between plastic.  This book is just wonderful!  (It travels well to Florida too.) 

  Each time we use a recipe from the internet - if we like it - we put it in the book with all the suggestions of how to make it next time. 

Sometimes Paul uses internet recipes, and sometimes I do.   I've increased the size of my book two times so far.  There are also recipes we've used from the Sunday paper.  I've gotten recipes from friends, relatives, Nancy, Epril.  They're in there.  Also some of my mother's recipes from her book.  Plus some of Paul's relatives.  All favorite recipes. 

Anyway - Yesterday I located the recipe for Beef Stroganoff in the recipe box.  But as I also looked through it. I found others I might like use again.    Recipes can bring back such wonderful memories of people and times gone by.  I'm going to put some of these in my "recipe book".  I'll either type them out, or put them in the original form.

 I found myself making a pile.  Some need re-writing.  Some are difficult to read and I can remember re-writing them long ago, so that I could use them. Some were duplicates.    I'm going to re-write the Beef Stroganoff recipe.  It's two-sided and some of the print is small.   Print it out and put it on a page. 

In two weeks we're going to Jen and Ryan's wedding up near Boston.  She's Lue's granddaughter. We got an e-mail from the Maid of Honor requesting a recipe or two so she could make a book up for Jen.  How nice.  Good timing.

 Gracie will be with Carol and her dog Micky when we go.  She'll be so excited to see him. We're very lucky we found Carol and  that Gracie  really loves going.

Went to Curves this morning. There were lots of women there. I think Curves is wonderful for women my age. How many of us would grace the co-ed gyms of the younger generation? I can just see me next to some young chick. Ha. That would be a lovely sight. I find Curves does help my back and other aches. I've been going for ten years and wonder what I would have been like without it. 

Happy birthday to step-grandson Lee. He's 17 today. We've been invited to come for pumpkin pie tonight at 7:30. I imagine his other grandparents will be there too. October is a busy month for birthdays. Besides Paul,   Lee's younger brother, Charles has one on the 30th.   Dan, my son-in-law, has one on the 26th.  Plus there are several anniversaries.

Bill and Epril had a dinner party for two couples this past weekend.  Glad to hear that.  Their friends were from Sarasota and Ft. Myers.  So they traveled quite a distance. 

Got an e-mail from Carol O this morning.  She's using a walker to go up and down her street now so she can enjoy the fall weather.  Good for her.  Sounds like things are going well. 

Paul just said Toyota is recalling 7.34 million cars. Mine will be in it. He said it's no big deal - just power window switch. We haven't had any trouble with mine. 2005-2010. Such is life.

Lunchtime.  Must go.  So . . .

How're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

We had unexpected company yesterday!

  It wasn't actually unexpected because  we knew a day or two ahead. But our routine changed.  Plus - We wore our church clothes all day!

For six months, in 1986 (?),  Paul's family had an exchange student  from Germany.  Rebecca was a large part of their family.  They talked about her off and on, so I'd gotten to "know" her too. 

She and her mother, Christina,  came to the states for a visit.  They flew into Boston last week, and rented a car, coming to this area yesterday.  They leave Thursday for home.  They had visited Sharon's family this morning.  And then Sharon brought them here early afternoon for a couple of hours and we shared a late lunch with them.. 

They are such two lovely people! Rebecca and Sharon reminisced a lot.  So did Paul.  It was so nice to meet them.  I especially enjoyed meeting Christina.  I was impressed that she didn't look a day over sixty, and yet she was seventy-six. 

An interesting aside: One thing I didn't remember being told was how tall Rebecca was.  Sharon and Greg are the tallest in the family.  Rebecca was even taller - around 6 feet.  (I'm 5 feet.) And yet, Christina was a little taller than me.    Even though my camera didn't cooperate at first, we managed to get lots of pictures.  They had theirs, and Sharon had her brand new one with her.  It's beautiful with a lot of features.  She'd just gotten it yesterday and took lots of pictures. 

 I can remember our two exchange students being here almost the same time Rebecca was, when my kids were in high school. Nathan came first and Lene came second - the next year.  Nathan was from the Philippines, and Lene was from Denmark.  Two different places.  Two different personalities.  Still memorable and fun to think about.  So, I knew how Sharon and Paul felt.  Unfortunately, we've lost touch with Lene and have no idea where she is.  But we enjoyed her.

 They both went to Florida with us during Spring break.  Lene, coming from a northern climate, didn't enjoy it as much as Nathan did. It was too hot for her.  She saw a Big Bug in the kitchen and nearly "had a heart attack!".  Nathan felt right at home.  (I mean the climate.  And I guess actually the bugs are big over there too.)

Nathan came to Bill and Epril's wedding in the Philippines four years ago.     He hadn't changed much at all. I was just so pleased to see Nathan, I felt like hugging him all the time.

Speaking of the Philippines:  Epril is doing well in Florida, but she's still homesick, she says.  All her friends "at home" tell her it'll take a year to get over it.  Epril's an avid computer person.

 I have an opinion about all these electronics.    Having all these  available, means that their life over there is  "here"whenever they want. . . They can contact them whenever and wherever they are.  So I think it's much more  difficult to acclimate to our culture.

 It's an unfortunate part of the electronic age we're living, that people are never far from their roots and don't get to become full observers of life around them in the "Now".  Our exchange students couldn't do that then. They could call once a week, send letters.

But that's a seventy-two year old woman talking. . .  Life is not  the good old days.  I'm getting to sound like my parents.  Somehow I've got to remember that.  And you young people remember it too.  Because it will happen to you too, even when you try not to!

There  was a community college professor (I really couldn't stand him and don't even remember his name.  He had a comb-over and funny looking glasses.) He had a small segment on local tv news about politics, and at the end of his segment,  he's say "Now that's my opinion." Then he'd take his two hands and point to the tv camera (us) and say.  "What's yours?"

Paul's having his 78th birthday on October 25th.  We'll still be up here.  He has a business appointment on the 26th.  I'm planning a family dinner party on the 25th.  It's just in the talking stages. Should be fun.  Sharon's offered to bake the cake.  No gifts allowed.

So - what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

It's a beautiful day in our neighborhood...

Thank you, Mr. Rodgers! Or is it Rogers?

Paul bought some mums at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago: three for $10.  Pretty inexpensive.  They were good sizes, also, but at the time, very few of the flowers were out.  We put them on the back deck - one in a hanging basket, and the other two - one on each table.  You should see them now.  They're gorgeous!  What I like about it is we can see them from the kitchen table.  The colors are very bright - red, purple and yellow -  and most of the flowers are blooming, but there's still buds there.  When I went back to the store last week, the same flowers were for sale:  three for $12.  There's beauty in the eye of the beholder, I guess.   We saw potential, however.

 I can hear Paul mowing the lawn right now.  Yesterday, he used the leaf blower. 

  Paul just got back from getting his driver's license renewed. I've been home all morning but intend to go to Curves this afternoon. I'm still getting used to the idea of two cars. It's very comforting to know there's one here when he's out. And vice versa. I just didn't get around to going, but did some work here instead.

We had lunch with Lue, Ruth and Sharon yesterday at Chef's, a diner in Montour.  We've been going there the past three weeks instead of The Harvest Cafe, because the service at the Cafe was so slow. Fifty minutes to be served? And Sharon had to be back at work.  She's had to take her meal "to go". It wasn't the server's fault, but the cook.  Good food, high price, slow.  Now it's good food, low price, quick service.  BTW -  Lue had a really good time at Michael's.  He came in second in the tractor pull. 

Bill and Epril will not be leaving in October. There is apparently a waiting list for apartments there.   The apartment they saw and wanted was taken by someone else, higher on the list,  but they're on the list for November.  We all were very disappointed but have high hopes for November.  Bill said the lady "practically guaranteed it" for November.  He said he'd keep his eyes open elsewhere too.  But they did love that place.

  We all talk about two or three times a week on speaker phone when Bob and Martini are with them.  Meanwhile, anyway, we've got some business to take care of up here and our date for return has been changed  to after October 26th.  Somehow things work out. Almost all the time.  Not always, but most of the time. 

 This means Paul's birthday will be here, on the 25th.  78 years young.  Wow.  He says he's getting tired, that he doesn't have the stamina, but it doesn't stop him from keeping active and doing things.  He's so agreeable to anything.  Quite a guy.  You can see why I'm fond of him.

Yesterday was St. Francis of Assisi Day.  The patron saint of animals.  So our Methodist church in Horseheads, and several other churches around here, had a Blessing of the Animals.  Of course we planned to take Gracie.

 Paul gave her a bath and brushed her. ( He said she couldn't go to church without one.)    The short service was at 6:30 PM, in the pavillion behind the church parking lot.  We were done before 7. They had chairs set out in a circle.  They were filled.    I would guess there were 20 dogs there, a couple of cats in cages. As everyone knows, cats don't like things like that, so people brought pictures of cats.  I never thought I would be, but I can remember how fond I was of my cat, Ella.  She lived with me/us for 18 years.  Paul was fond of her too.

Which reminds me:

 There's an older lady, Phyllis who is in my Bible Study class.  She lives alone. And her family all live away.   Phyllis never had an animal in her life before.   A while back, she found a cat wandering around outside her apartment. It was obviously a stray.  The cat adopted her, and she now always find something to say about her cat and how she's graced her life.  I had thought she'd be there last night with a picture, but she wasn't.  I hope she's okay.  Last year I gave Phyllis a cat's Christmas Stocking we had found up in our attic as we were sorting out Christmas decorations.   She liked it a lot.

 Everyone enjoyed showing off their pups.  Several were small breeds.  Gracie enjoyed being there after she got used to it.  She sat on our laps.     All the animals settled down during the "service." There were several bible verses read, having to do with animals.  We sang He's Got the Whole World in his Hand.   Then each individual animal was blessed. And we read outloud the prayer of St. Francis.  We all brought food for the local animal shelter.

Talked with Carol O. a couple of times this week, and things seem to be getting better.   She has a lot of friends who've been bringing food for her, and checking in on her.  I'm glad.  She's an avid cell phone person too.  She and her sister do the daily "Jumble" in the paper by phone every day. They're very close.  Her sister and her family live in Rochester. .  . Patti's  been to Florida with Carol, and was here for Carol's operation and settling in at home. 

Well, I've been to Curves and back.  (I've been there 16 times in September.)  I heard that the weather report for this weekend is cloudy and rainy.  Of course.  That's because of Columbus Day and all the Fall Festivals that are this weekend.

Paul will be glad that he did all his leaf work outside yesterday and today.  But still - Yuck.

So what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

It doesn't seem possible that my last posting was Sept 18th.  That's hard to believe.  BUT believe it or not - we were busy.  (I wasn't being lazy.)  Doing what?  Lots of some little unimportant, but in my eyes meaningful things.  Which means I'm hard pressed to pin down what's been going on.  But I'll try. 

Talked with Brother Bob last night.  He's doing so well.  He's home now and going through rehab at Venice hospital.   He asked if we'd gotten the van back. 

And that reminded me that I hadn't written in a while.   YES!  Finally, that Thursday we picked it up.  It's driving very well.

We're still aggravated with the place we took it to.   We are enjoying having two cars!

 As a coincidence, though, the same day we picked up our car,  Paul's daughter Sharon was in an accident that probably totaled hers. They're still trying to get an estimate.   She's fine, thank goodness!

 She was driving alone, the car in front of her had to stop quickly.  Sharon stopped quickly.  The car behind her, with a young female driver, didn't.   She had been reaching for her water bottle.   So Sharon's car was sandwiched between the two others.  What a mess.  Sharon's in-laws are lending her their car til they get another, or this one is fixed. 

Lue's been away all weekend, but should be coming home today.  She and Greta are visiting with her son Michael and family.  They have another Bernase Mountain dog, so Greta had companionship the same size as her.  HUGE. 

Wednesday night, it was Lue's birthday.  We had her friend Ruth and her for dinner.  It was  also my granddaughter, Evie's second birthday.  So I called her and she sang Happy Birthday to me on the phone.  All two year olds are adorable, but mine is especially. 

Paul, Gracie, and I went to an apple orchard up near Watkins Glen the Sunday before yesterday.  It was a beautiful day.  Lots of families were out, the flowers were at their peak, children were being pulled in wagons that would be full of apples on the way home.  We didn't pick apples, but we bought them inside the store along with an apple peeler.

  I was really interested in making an apple pie, apple crisp.  You name it. . . I was about to bake.  I thought the apple peeler would save work, and it did for a while, but then it stopped peeling right, and became a pain.  It took most of the afternoon to get the pie done, and the apple crisp.  Everything  tasted delicious though.  We had the pie for Lue's birthday dessert instead of cake. 

My good friend Carol O had her second knee replacement last Tuesday.  It went well, but aftwards, she had an unpleasant surprise:

 When she had her first knee replacement, she wasn't 65 yet and medicare hadn't kicked in.  At that time, BCBS said she could to go to a nursing home for two weeks and get herself taken care of while she began her therapy.

 But because she is able to use a walker now, and can get around, Medicare says they'll not pay for a nursing home.   She's home alone now and trying to adjust to taking care of herself.   All I can say is yuck.    She found all of this out after she had a "reservation" at the same place, had the operation, and was ready to leave the hospital.  Sometimes life can be tough and this is one of those times. 

Luckily Carol has lots of friends nearby who can be there for her.  I wish I were closer.   Carol's sense of humor was showing when she said she put out a Halloween flag, that said "The Witch is In."

Saturday afternoon we went to a Surprise 50th birthday party for Paul's nephew, Stephen P.  held at a nearby firehall.  Lots of people there I didn't know, but it was nice. I got to "place" a lot more people in  my mind.  (Who belongs to whom and so forth.)   Lue of course wasn't there, as she was away for the weekend.  Sharon P (Paul's other sister in law and mother of the birthday guy) made potato salad for 75, plus deviled eggs.

But - it's been gloomy up here!  More clouds than sun.  And it's jacket or sweater weather.  I'm finding it difficult to find things to wear.  Makes me yearn for Florida.  It'll be here before we know it.  I just have to be patient.

Speaking of Florida: 

Son Bill and daughter in law Epril are in the process of looking for an apartment to live.  They think they may have found one in Punta Gorda which is about 45 minutes away from us.  Looks like Epril may have a job too.  Things are looking up for them and we are as excited as they are.  They've made a lot of friends in that area.  Good.   

Well, how're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

So - how've your days been lately?

It poured this morning.  It was an old-fashioned rain.  I awoke with the blinds still drawn to the sounds outside, so I peeked out.  It was really coming down.   We haven't had such rain in a long time.  I think the difference is - being a Snowbird - we're not in Fla. for the rainy season.  And we've had a pretty dry world up here since we've been here.

 I went to Curves this morning.  I found a small lime green umbrella in the back seat of the car that hadn't ever been used.  I didn't even know how to open it up correctly because it had a different type of catch on it and I had to work at it for a while to make it stay open.  It was still pouring when I left Curves to go to the grocery store.  Good thing I had the umbrella even if it  dripped a lot in the store. And it was raining very hard when I came out.

 When I came home, I left the umbrella open in the garage to dry.  Unfortunately, Paul didn't see it, and he didn't  have the green umbrella when he went to Walmart this afternoon because I forgot to mention it.  He did find a larger one in the trunk though.  Good thing.  It was still pouring.  So it worked out.   

We're still a one-car family. After seven weeks, we got some calls last week.  Now I must say, we had to wait a long time for an insurance inspection to be done.  Then they said parts were only delivered on Friday, so of course, if the parts didn't come in, you'd have to wait a whole week more for them. 

Last Wednesday we were told the car would be ready on Thursday.  They didn't call.  Then we were told Friday it would be ready.  It wasn't.  They said. . . Monday.  It didn't happen.  Today. . . Tuesday, they promised us.  Nope.  It didn't happen again.  Lots of stupid reasons to me (a headlight that wasn't put in properly, I really should have kept track of the reasons.  That one stuck out.) Today's reason was the car hood wasn't latching properly because it had been out in the wind and they needed to fix it.  I'd like to retaliate, but Paul has the cooler head.  Which is darn good. 

I'm windowshopping in my mind. . .

Perhaps we could get on  - Angie's List.  For those of you who don't know what Angie's List is:  it's a list of local businesses you can find on the internet.  People give their comments about local businesses as to whether they're happy or not with how they're treated.   It's a good place to find good people. 

Angie's list(s) are all over the country, but it only is relevant to local businesses.  Companies are not allowed to advertise on there, so it's all dependent on whether you've been treated well by a business or not.  Not happy that it's taken seven weeks so far for us to get it back.  Actually we haven't gotten it back yet, so it may be more.  That's how I see it.

I'm going to get off all this griping and complaining.  Enuf is enuf!  Yes.  I know how lucky I am. 

I am so proud of my daughter, Nancy.  On a whim, she took the two kids (age 6 and almost 2) on a plane to Los Angeles from Chicago  to visit an old friend Adi, whom she hadn't seen in 8 years! Adi had been one of her bridesmaids.   Her thinking was - Evie was not yet two, so she could travel free.  Nancy is four and a half months pregnant, and with the new baby coming in February, she didn't know  when she'd be able to travel as easily or as cheaply!

Adi has two sons and a daughter.  Now, I may get the ages not quite right, but from what I remember, Adi has an older boy (9) and another son within a couple of months of Vincent. (6) And a daughter four months older than Evie.  Nancy put a picture on Facebook of Evie and the little girl, and she thought we'd enjoy seeing mini Adi and mini Nancy coloring together.  Cute as can be!  I was pleased that Adi and her mother wanted to be remembered to me. 

So - that's what's happenin' at the Woods Edge.  What's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?