Lansdale Photo Blog

2011-12-09T12:53:00.001-05:00

I have not been keeping up with this blog, but it has too many memories during our time of transition from living in Florida to back home in Pennsylvania to delete!

Maybe someday soon we will start having exciting adventures again and I can utilize this blog to it's potential!

Happy Holidays!

Perkiomen Creek - Creek Critters Adventure

2010-05-25T17:42:00.002-04:00

Tara and I attended a Connections Academy field trip to Green Lane Park. Our first stop was the Nature Center where we really enjoyed our conversation with one of our educators for the afternoon. I have gotten really terrible with names, but I believe it was Diane! Our conversation was about butterflies and bugs, and the difference in the critters we have here in PA as compared to those in FL. You can tell that she really enjoys her job! During our conversation I even saw a HUMMINGBIRD. I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, about the time I realized what I was seeing, it was gone!

I enjoyed photographing a ladybug and a swamp milkweed beetle in the butterfly garden.

Next we headed for the Fly Fishing area of Green Lane on the Perkiomen Creek. I was prepared only to observe, and take some photos, only to find out we were going to be crossing the stream, to get to our destination. With my jeans and crocs, I headed into the calf deep water. It was actually quite refreshing and I am glad I choose to participate rather than stay on the other shore!

The students were instructed to look in the water, under rocks, etc. looking for critters (macro-invertebrates mainly. Not just of the fish type, but things I never realized were lurking in streams.

The kids found water pennies, snails, leeches, mayflies, stoneflies, dobsonflies, crayfish, minnows and I am sure there are some that I am missing. Tara helped catch this crayfish. He was pretty big!

This is a dobsonfly, one of the older students found it attached to his leg. These things can bite....

Tara and I both really enjoyed our afternoon, wet jeans and all. I was pretty proud of myself, I made it across the creek and back with my camera in hand... and didn't fall!

Oh, I saw two Baltimore Orioles (not photo, they flew over head, I saw the bright orange bodies, but when they landed in the tree, they were not in a spot I could photograph them.... you can't move very quick walking upstream in a swiftly moving creek!) We also saw a Canadian Goose family... with 13 gooslings. They have Jon and Kate beat by quite a few!

Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-11T21:40:00.002-05:00

If you haven't heard yet, the mid-Atlantic region was hit with two snow storms in 5 days. These two storms dropped significant amounts of snow on us, in total probably close to 32".

1st Storm Friday/Saturday - I worked both of these days, driving home about 2 hours after the storm had started on Friday night, and driving in a couple hours after it had stopped on Saturday. Sunday we had a birthday party, and I was dealing with a sick dog, so I didn't get too many photos.

This one was taken after the storm had moved out Saturday. I was at work and had only my IPhone, so not the greatest photo, but the colors were too spectacular not to capture.

2nd Storm - Started about 7pm 2/9 and stopped around 10pm 2/10. The first photos were Wednesday morning before the worst part of the storm arrived. Tara and I went for a walk.

These sunny photos were taken this (Thursday) afternoon. Our maintenance guys do a really great job of cleaning things up. There is a lot of snow, a lot of parking lot/sidewalk, and really only 4 guys. My car above is the white one on the right, my mom's is the big pile of snow two cars behind it. I got it dug out, and Jamal, our neighbor's awesome teenage son had already dug out mine. It really was a beautiful day, and I actually enjoyed being outside! Below is the giant 10 ft snowman that some of the residents built!

We took a little drive through town.

No Adventures

2010-02-04T18:52:00.000-05:00

Winter weather and a new routine including work has precluded any new adventures! Will update as soon as I have something worthwhile to post!

Nockamixon State Park and Friday Funday

2010-01-15T21:01:00.001-05:00

It has been over two weeks since we have really had an "adventure"! Today was a beautiful day, so Tara and I went out in search of an adventure, a Friday Funday! Here is the route we drove today
F - is home (also point A)
B - Care and Share, Souderton
C - Salvation Army, Quakertown (we also stopped at a nearby Goodwill)
D - Nockamixon State Park
E - Cracker Barrel, Plymouth Meeting

First stop, Care and Share, a local thrift store that is part of the Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Shop Network. Today was 1/2 off Friday, and it was SOOO crowded. I felt like I was at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. It is a great store, but today was not the day either Tara or I wanted to be shopping there. Tara even had some "older" shopper pull a stuffed animal out of her hand!

We continued our quest for thrift shops. We found another Goodwill and Salvation Army. Both older stores, and I think some of the merchandise has been in these stores since the Nixon Administration. Tara did find the next book in a series she is reading, which cost me only .52 cents, new it would have been over $7!

After the thrift store we headed for the great outdoors. I needed to rid my nose of all clothing and shoe smell. The very smell that has kept me out of thrift stores for oh so many years!

The name Nockamixon comes from the American Indian phrase “nocha-miska-ing” which is Lenni Lenape for “at the place of soft soil.” Several American Indian sites from the Lenni Lenape Tribe (Delaware) are documented in the park area.

Secretary of the Department of Forests and Water, Dr. Maurice K. Goddard, proposed the park in 1958. The park was developed with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers plan for development in the Delaware River Basin. Originally known as Tohickon State Park after the principal stream flowing into Lake Nockamixon, it was renamed Nockamixon State Park by the State Geographic Board in 1965. The park officially opened in December of 1973.

Tara wanted desperately to break through the ice by throwing a rock... try as she might, the ice was still too thick. It was beautiful in the early part of the afternoon. Later on the clouds blew back in.

Yes, Tara has on flip flops. In her defense, it was 53 degrees!
I could see in the distance a flock of birds on the ice, so we headed off to see what else we could find. We soon realized these gulls were on the ice in the area of the marina.

Our next stop appears to be the area where they go ice fishing - when the ice is a bit thicker! Rocks might not have broken through, but I'm pretty sure, a full grown mann would have done the job! I suggested ice surfing, but about that time a park ranger drove through!

The frozen lake was very beautiful. I am hoping we get another snow storm this year, so we can visit in the snow. They have a great sledding hill. The weather today actually had us both thinking a bit about spring. I however, am enjoying winter, and not quite ready for it to go!

On the way home we saw this sign. I've seen it before and I makes me chuckle. Today I was stopped for a traffic light and could get a good shot!

Both Tara and I were hungry, and the only thing that sounded good to Tara was Cracker Barrel which was further away than I had hoped to go for a meal, but we rarely have the chance to go there. Tara had her favorite sirloin steak, and loved it. I had friend shrimp. It was okay, I would have preferred sushi or Chinese!
Tara's "dunch" (late lunch/early dinner or "linner" if you like)

I love this hat. If I wore baseall caps, I would have bought it!

On the way home, stopped at another light, I saw this tree. I don't know, but it almost looked like it was decorated with lace!

End of Year Meme

2009-12-31T07:15:00.002-05:00

(I posted this on my other blog too, but I think it gets kind of lost amidst all the other stuff in the post!)

END OF THE YEAR MEME

I found this meme @Ramblin' with Roger, who found it @Spatula Forum and it was also part of @Sunday Stealing. So now that I have given it proper credit as far back as I can trace, on with my answers.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Drove from Orlando to Philadelphia with 3 cats, a dog, guinea pig, one twelve year old and my mom. When we did the reverse trip in 2003 to move to Orlando, we had just two cats, and 3 people.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did not make any resolutions as such. I knew it would be a year of great changes for our family, and it was. It's been exciting.

3. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? At home. A nice meal, and some yummy snacks. I hope to watch some of the Three Stooges Marathon on AMC. It starts at 7am on 12/31 and goes for 23 hours. I grew up watching these reruns, and Tara has never experienced them. It is her kind of humor! I prefer quiet New Year's celebrations. (It was a quiet night, we did watch the ball drop with all three of us together)

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not this year thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit? Just the good ole' USofA. I had not left the state of FL for 5 years, so traveling through GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, and DE were exciting for me. We also went to Ocean City, NJ for a couple days, and to VA for a weekend. Oh, and does the World Showcase at EPCOT count?

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? A new job. I retired in March, so technically I had it in 2009, but I am now looking for part time employment. Keeping fingers crossed I get an answer this week from an interview on Tuesday.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 27th, the day I retired from my career at AT&T, it was 29 years, 4 months, and 12 days long.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Getting back to PA to be close to family. We had been working on it for two years.

9. What was your biggest failure? I don't think I really failed at anything. I might have managed money a little better.... but that's the story of my life.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully nothing serious. I had the flu in November, not sure if it was swine, but it had me down a week, and not feeling myself for two. My family has stayed fairly well.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My Canon Rebel Xsi.

12. Where did most of your money go? Wow, I wish I knew. Moving expenses, getting settle expenses, I paid cash for a pre-owned car. Lots of technology - 2 laptops, 2 IPhones, 2 cameras.... like mother like daughter! Cash, cash, cash, no credit cards were used!

13. What song will always remind you of 2009? I'm not sure. Music is something in the background to me most of the time. Maybe something Brittney, Tara got to go to see her in concert and we listened to Circus all the time! - I realized last night that Boom Boom Pow came out in 2009, it seems like it's been around forever. That song I thing is definitely the most rememberable.

14. What do you wish you'd done more of? Saved money. Slept.

15. What do you wish you'd done less of? Spent money.

16. What was your favourite TV program? This is a hard one. A new show? Glee. I found this show late. Monday Night CBS shows are some of our favorites. Big Bang Theory is the top favorite there.

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No, I try not to hate.

18. What was the best book you read? Read or finished? Sadly I think I only read one full book this year. It was a book from a series about the Amish. I have six days to read a book for book club on 1/6 - Black Dahlia! Reading more is one thing that I would like to do in 2010. I just have to stay off the darned laptop!

19. What was your greatest musical discovery? I don't have an answer for this. I listen the music of so many blog friends that I really like, but sadly music is not big on my list. I mean I listen when in the car, but that is about it. I was so much different when I was young.

20. What was your favorite film of this year? We saw 24 films in the theater this year (see list below), and many more for the first time on DVD (I wish I had kept a list, that was one great thing about Blockbuster and Netflix on line!) We saw Star Trek 4 times, that was hands down Tara's favorite. Movies that I came away from saying I totally enjoyed were Blindside and Julie and Julia.

21. What did you do on your birthday? Hmm, good thing I have a blog or I would have to say I don't remember... be right back - oh, I should not have had to look. We spent the day in Magic Kingdom. Disney was giving you a free day of admission this year for your birthday. Since we had annual passes, I got a $75 gift card to be spent at Disney. We had fun, at lunch at Tony's. If you want to revisit that day you can go here, here and here. Tara got to spend her free day at Animal Kingdom.

22. What kept you sane? Blogging and photography.

23. Who did you miss? Okay, my who are our pets that we had to give to knew homes. Maia the yorkie, Daphne, and Emmie and Cassie the cats (the latter two live local, so we can visit them, but it makes me sad, and I want to bring them home!)

24. Who was the best new person you met? I've met so many fabulous new people on line this past year, the list is too long to mention, in real life, I think I would have to say our neighbor Vivian. I am just getting to know her, but she is so full of life and positive energy.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: That I really do love being close to family. When we lived in FL, I tried to tell myself that we weren't missing out on much being away from family, we kept in touch through pictures, etc., but it has been so nice being able to spend time with them all - for holidays and special occasions, and just for the heck of it! Also, that we can do with less!

Christmas Pics

2009-12-25T22:26:00.001-05:00

We had a great time on Christmas Eve hosting my sister and her family for our gift exchange.
Attending were Linda, Larry, Jodie, Jerry, Chad, Tasha, Tyler, Kier and Gavin, and of course Mom, Tara and myself. First time we had so many folks in our apartment, but it worked.

Tara wanted a Chia Pet for YEARS.

My annual Moose ornament.

Princess unimpressed by Christmas!

Oops, I forgot these photos (taken with IPhone)
Some of Tara's "stuff" - the panther painting was given to Tara by our neighbor Vivian. Tara admired it when we were looking through some paintings Vivian has for sale. This was a year of "little stuff" for Tara. She's fully loaded technology wise. She was very happy with what she received from everyone!

We went to see Alvin & the Chipmunks - Tara enjoyed it, it was cute. It was about what she wanted to day!!!

More Sights around Town - After the snow

2009-12-21T08:03:00.003-05:00

So, we had about 8-10" of snow on Saturday. It was a beautiful snowy day. I loved sitting inside watching the snow fall to the ground. It made baking Christmas cookies and watching Christmas movies seem all that more special. We even spent some time visiting with our upstairs neighbors, over a glass of wine, which was prompted by the snow. I got to know my upstairs neighbor better, and met two other neighbors who I did not know!

Tara was excited to drive around and see the snow. We really can't see much but our "own back yard", and I too was looking forward to getting out there for some photos. Once we were plowed out of the parking lot, we headed off to pick up my great nephews. Along the way, these are some of the things we saw.
First, the price of gas for my friend Matty.

Christmas decorations at Main & Broad in Lansdale.

The M&M gang greeting us as we arrived in Hatfield.

I loved this snowglobe!

Great nephew Kier, playing in the snow.

I made the kids hot cocoa from scratch, and baked them nice warm choc chip cookies.

Then it was time for them to go home.
Mickey was at the entrance to their alley to greet us

and so was Khan their dog!

After we dropped off the boys, we went for a ride. I love that the roads were in good shape. We stopped at a park, it wasn't plowed, I almost got stuck, but it was beautiful.
The sun was starting to get lower in the sky.

We headed to Green Lane
Nothing prettier than a red barn in the snow.

or the glow of the setting sun on the bare tree tops.

I was hoping to catch the sunset, but could not find the correct vantage point. I did find this one beautiful cloud in the sky!

and then near home, Corpus Christi Church looked beautiful with the lights behind the stained glass window.

Tara and I could not have gotten a better early Christmas gift from Mother Nature. I never dreamed we would have a measurable snow storm in December. It just makes our first Christmas back "home" all that more special!!!!

Christmas Lights around Town

2009-12-19T00:17:00.002-05:00

Tara and I took a Christmas light tour tonight. We loved doing that in FL, only we had to PRETEND it was 31 degrees and the eve of a snowstorm. We would grab hot cocoa from 7 -11, crank the A/C up on high in the SUV, pop in a Christmas CD and drive through the many sub divisions amongst which we lived. We always had so much fun, and the lights were awesome.

First tonight, we headed to Skippack Village to see the luminaries that were set out each Wed and Fri night from late November until tonight. I love luminaries, they have been one of my favorite things about Christmas Eve for many years.

I still recall when I was young, my grandmother coming home from having spent the Christmas holiday in Albuquerque, NM (is that not one of the hardest words to spell... I never get the first u right!) with my uncle's family, and telling us about these "paper bags with candles in them" that people put along their driveways and sidewalks. Soon after, they seemed to sprout up here and there in our area, our church lined the driveway in front of the church with them, and before too long entire neighborhoods were alight with luminaries on Christmas Eve.

Do people do this in your area? I didn't see it as much in our part of Orlando... maybe I just wasn't in the right place at the right time. Anyway, I was not as "awed" by the luminaries in Skippack, I guess too much other lighting from the busy road, street lights and other Christmas lights. Don't get me wrong it was very pretty, just the luminaries didn't stand out too much!

I liked this window.

We stopped in a little jewelry store and I bought one of my final Christmas gifts, and then we headed to see what else we could see. I picked two neighborhoods to drive through, figuring with the size of the houses.. they had to have some good decorations. Maybe they are upper echelon to have inflatables and such in their front yards. Many many elegant white lights, but not the major stuff we were looking for! These are all very nice, and about as "over the top" as we got tonight. Tara says she felt like a stalker!

We then headed to "downtown" Lansdale. (Lansdale is the small town (borough actually) which I live just outside of, we share a post office, but our location is governed by a Upper Gwynedd Township.... PA is so confusing with all of it's local governement!) Lansdale has seen better times, but they are trying hard to turn things around. I think the downtown area has improved in the six years I have been gone appearance wise, but Iggy might be a better judge of that! On a Friday night before Christmas back in the 70s (before the mall moved in), Main Street would have been alive with shoppers. On this night, I saw very little in the way of foot traffic! Our destination was "Railroad Plaza" (next to the train station) to take a photo of the Christmas tree and Menorah. It is a nicely designed spot, glowing and twinkling with tiny white lights. There is a Kugal Ball in the center (turned off for the winter).

So, that's a little of my world. We are anticipating with great excitement, the snow that is approaching. Still now sure what we will be getting. The amounts I've been hearing are 2"-10". I will take somewhere in between, enough to stay on the ground until Christmas!

Pearl S Buck House - Perkaise, PA

2009-12-15T21:15:00.002-05:00

Today, my mother, Tara and I took a little field trip to the the Pearl S Buck house. This National Landmark is located at 520 Dublin Rd Perkasie, PA, just a short trip from home. The Pearl S. Buck House was home to Pearl S. Buck and her international family for 38 years. More photos can be found here.

Today, it is only one of ten National Historic Landmarks open to the public in the US that educates the public about a woman’s contribution to society through a house with an intact collection. The original part of the house was built in 1825.

This home and I believe 50 acres of land, known as Greenhill farm, was purchased for $4,100 in the late 30s or early 40s, I thought I would remember the year.
During the holidays they have a "Festival of Trees" were local business and organizations take part in decorating a room of the house including a tree. Each visitor votes on their favorite.

The home, is beautifully, but comfortably decorated. With treasures and gifts from around the world. Her Nobel Peace prize is among the items on display, as well as a piece given to her by a very young Dali Lama. I won't however, be showing you any interior pictures because there was no photography inside. (I did get a couple in the mud room before she remembered to tell us the rule!)
This is Pearl and a small tree in the mud room

Pearl S. Buck was born on June 26, 1892 in Hillsboro, West Virginia to Presbyterian missionary parents who were home furlough from their first ten years of service in China. When she was an infant, they returned to their assignment in Chinkiang (present day Zhenjiang).

In 1910 she traveled back to the US and studied at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. She graduated in 1914 and was invited to teach psychology at the college. She did so for one semester, but then returned to China to nurse her mother through illness. In 1917, she married John Buck, an agricultural missionary from New York.

Her first novel, East Wind: West Wind, was rejected by many publishers before being accepted by John Day Publishing. John Walsh of John Day Publishing felt she had great potential for future work. East Wind: West Wind was published in April 1930 and The Good Earth was published on March 2, 1931. The Good Earth on the best-seller list for more than 21 mos. It won the Pulitzer Prize for best novel by an American author in 1932. In 1938, Pearl Buck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. She was the first American woman to be awarded both the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for literature, and would hold that honor alone until 1993.

Miss Buck had close to 1000 pieces of work published; among them 120 books. I personally do not remember reading any of her works as an adult, I did however have a glimpse of recognition of one of her children's book. I will be heading to the library as soon as I finish my book club book!

Most of her writing was done at Green Hills Farm. Miss Buck and her second husband, Richard Walsh, who was the publisher mentioned above, (the bench on which she sat the first time she met his in in the dining room of the house), raised a large family here. They were married for 25 years and raised many children, seven which they adopted, two which were considered “biracial”, which was almost unheard of at that time. Many children were fostered in their care. While married to her first husband, John Buck she had two daughters. Her birth daughter Carol, suffered from PKU, and was developmentally disabled, and lived part of her life in an institution. Miss Buck’s desire to help publicize the cause of the mentally and physically disabled was begun by publishing the story of her personal experiences in The Child Who Never Grew.

"Uplifting"
In addition to her writing achievements, Miss Buck was a instrumental in many humanitarian causes. She was a longtime advocate of cross-cultural understanding, women's rights and racial harmony, and as a means of achieving world peace. Pearl S. Buck died on March 6, 1973, she was 80 years old and as she requested is buried on the grounds of her home.

This is Pearl's name in Chinese, and was a door on one of her homes.
Long after her death, her vision for helping children lives on through the three programs of Pearl S. Buck International Inc.

PSBI helps children around the world who have been marginalized due to mixed heredity, hunger, disease, poverty or other tragic circumstance.
The Opportunity House program focuses on the plight of children who live in a state of hopelessness and strives to offer them the hope of a successful and happy future through various health and educational services.
Welcome House the first adoption agency of its kind, finds homes for special needs children and children of mixed heredity from around the world.

If you live in or are visiting the Bucks County area, I highly recommend this tour. I had never visited this before, and have lived 40 of my 51 years less than 15 miles away! Tara at 12 years old even found it to be interesting. It was nice that our tour guide specifically directed some questions to her, and pointed out things of interest to her. She was the only young person in our group.

The home is open from March - December with many events throughout the year. The cost for the house tour was $8 for adults, $7 for students, $7 for the 60+ crowd, and under 6 are free. The main floor of the house is handicap accessible, but there are two other levels which are not due to stairs. We had a group with two gentlemen in wheelchairs who joined us only for the first few minutes.

I will surely be returning in the spring/summer when the gardens are planted with the plants that are presently growing in the two greenhouses.

This Christmas

2009-12-13T14:54:00.000-05:00

This
Xmas,
I would
like to put
up a tree in my
heart, and instead
of hanging presents,
I would like to put the
names of all my friends.
Close friends and not so close
friends. The old friends, the new
friends. Those that I see every day
and the ones that I rarely see. The ones
that I always remember and the ones that
I sometimes forget. The ones that are always
there and the ones that seldom are. The friends of
difficult times and the ones of happy times. Friends
who, without meaning to, I have hurt, or without meaning
to have hurt me. Those that I know well and those I only know
by name. Those that owe me little and those that I owe so much.
My humble friends and my important friends. The names of all those
that have passed through my life no matter how fleetingly. A tree with
very deep roots and very long
and strong branches so that
their names may never be
plucked from my heart. So
that new names from all
over may join the existing ones. A tree with a very
pleasant shade so that our friendship may take a
moment of rest from the battles of life. "May the
happy moments of Xmas brighten every day of
the new year". These are my sincere wishes.

Author unknown

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2009-12-06T20:41:00.001-05:00

and this time I did not have to drive 2 hours to see it!

We had about 8 hours of snow on Saturday, it was not blizzard like, so not much accumulation, but for the girls from Florida, it was enough to make it really seem like Christmas is coming! The only snow we saw in Florida was the fake snow in the theme parks!
This is when the first flakes started coming down, but they were very sparse (a new word Tara learned!)

A little later the flakes are bigger, and you can see some snow on the ground behind her!

Princess after the first few minutes of being confused by the snowflakes, loved being outside in the snow. I hope Santa brings here a sweater!

Giant snowball!

and then, a little Winter Wonderland... ev
en with only a small amount of snow it was still beautiful!

We KNOW how lucky we were to have snow on Dec 5th.... but now, we would really love some aroun Dec 25th.....

Advent Mission Night - Gwynedd Sq Presbyterian Church

2009-12-06T20:12:00.001-05:00

Friday night, my mother, Tara and I attended a great event at the church to which my mother belongs (and the church I grew up in). It was a family night of pizza, fellowship, and working on three holiday mission projects as well as decorating the church. The photos currently in my header (nativity scenes) were taken on the outside of the church.

First there were the stockings that are for two different organization - they were filled with personal care items and other goodies.

Some of the kids (and my mother with her back to the camera) getting ready to fill the stockings. My mother cut out and sewed the stockings.

Some of the "stuff" (80 bottles of body lotion or body wash)

Beautiful hand knit scarves made by my mom and other women of the church.

In all we (children and adults) filled 100 stocking. This is just some of them.
I have to admit, I was so busy helping with the stockings, that I didn't get too many photos of the other projects.
There was the rice, 50 lb bags to be divided into 1 gallon bags for Hope Prison Ministries. The church also had names on an Angel Tree for gifts for this ministry (as well as other organizations). As of today, all of the angels on the tree were gone.

The kids from the youth group packaged hot meals (to be frozen) and delivered to a local food cupboard, Manna on Main St. I am not sure what the casserole was, but I rode down in the elevator with it and it sure smelled GOOD! I think I heard thas around 25 meals.

There was also a group decorating the church... I got only one quick shot, and totally forgot to head upstairs to photograph those who were decorating the sanctuary.
at it w
17 pizzas were consumed and a good time I believe was had by all!

Thanksgiving with Family

2009-12-01T01:28:00.002-05:00

This was the first year we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. For the six years we lived in FL, Tara and I celebrated alone. Most years we would go to Disney or the movies, or both, and if we did not eat out I would prepare a small Thanksgiving meal, not always the usual Thanksgiving fare, but what ever tempted our tummy that particular year. I realized that I did not document Thanksgiving Day very well, so this year I vowed to be better!

We started the day off going to church with my mother for breakfast and a short message. It was a nice way to start the day. I saw several members I've known since childhood. I felt good that we were able to go with my mom, and she did not have to attend alone!

After breakfast we just hung around the house.

Dinner was being hosted by Chad, my nephew and Natasha, his fiance. I didn't want to get there too early, so we planned our arrival, for 3pm, 1 hour before dinner. Tara, my mother, and Tyler (great nephew) all rode with me.
Our host and hostess

Her new BLING!

My Linda, my sister, and Larry my BIL, arrived a bit later, they live 5 miles from us, but we don't seem to see them often. My sis was a little sad, she normally makes a yearly trip to Disney starting the day after Thanksgiving, but she did not go this year. Not just because we aren't there (she visited before we moved there) but several other reasons!

We ate dinner buffet style, with two "adult" tables and a card table in the kitchen for the kids. One kid sat at the grown up table, so I sat at the kid's table with Tara. She had been saying for weeks she WOULD not sit at the kid's table. Kier (great nephew) sat with us too, and Gavin (last great nephew) was being stubborn and sat at another small table alone. It was so chaotic, and I don't really remember anyone sitting still too long, so I didn't get any "kid table picks"!
From l to r - Betty, my mom, Jodie my niece, Jerry my nephew in law, Chad

L to R -Tyler, Larry, Linda, Dean (I think - boyfriend of Natasha's mom), Nancy (I think - Tasha's mom) and Tasha

We were there for a bit by ourselves which was nice, as we had time to chat. That is when we found out about the engagement. We chatted over the veggie tray and glasses of boxed (pretty yummy) wine!

The kids
Tara (she has not seen this picture... Chad had told the kids if one of them could solve the Rubik's cube by the time for us to go home, he would give them $100) No one solved it. Tara wishe had watched her friend in FL closer, she could solve it in 30 sec.

Kier - I love this picture of him.... he's always willing to give me a smile, unlike his brothers!

Gavin - he was trying NOT to have his picture taken, but I've got a fast shutter finger!

Tyler - he didn't want this taken either... I tricked him!

It was a wonderful time. It is great getting to know Tasha better! It was nice to meet her mom as well.
Food was wonderful, we each brought something which worked out great. Less work for the hosts, and you get to try different things!

Next up Christmas... not sure what the plans are for that yet, we all need to discuss!

Virginia - Day Three and going home :(

2009-11-23T22:31:00.002-05:00

Day one is here and here. Day Two is here and here.

Sunday came so quickly! Next time we will have to plan a longer weekend! We woke to a beautiful morning, the original forecast was for rain!

Barbara cooked up a great breakfast, and Joel headed off to work for a few hours.
The kids played for a bit, and then we headed to a little park so the kids could enjoy some fresh air, and the ever energetic Tristan could burn off some energy!
Tara and Katrina LOVE climbing in trees! Mint Valley Springs is a great little park, the Barredo's enjoy it in the summer with the small lake and "beach"!

We headed back home for some lunch, and a little later went into Charlottesville so the kids could ice skate. That didn't work out, the rink was closing 20 min after we arrived! We wondered around the shopping area that is closed to traffic.
I loved the old buildings... lots of windows to photograph!

Time was flying by, and sadly it was time for us to get back to the Barredo's and on our way home. The full trip is about 5 1/2 hours and I didn't want to be getting home at 3am!
One last photo!

We were on our way a bit before 6pm, made a stop for gas, a stop to grab something at Wendy's and a "bio break" at the Maryland House, arriving home at 11:30, after 330 miles of driving. Tara watched Star Trek, Alf and Fox and the Hound 2 on the trip!

Hopefully it will not be 2 1/2 years until we see our friends again. I would love to make the trip again, the girls had so much fun being together again. The Barredo's are thinking about visiting our neck of the woods too, so they can see Philadelphia. If we can't arrange something before, there is always Hershey Park/Lancaster area this summer!!!!

Virginia Trip - Day Two/Part Two

2009-11-23T20:25:00.005-05:00

Day one is here and here. Day Two Part One is here.
When I last left off, we were boarding the shuttle bus to ride up the "mountain" to Monticello. Monticello is "Little Mountain" in Italian. The estate sits atop an 850 ft high mountain with an amazing view of the valley below. If you are not familiar with Monticello, it has been minted on the US nickel since 1938 (with the exception of 2004-2005).
This is the side of Monticello that is best known, but not actually the front entrance.

The girls holding up nickels... Excuse the shadow... not sure how I missed that! Oops!

I forget what this is called... it's a globe type thing that I am certain was used for measuring something astronomy related. (Thanks to Joannie - it's an Astrolabe)..... Among many other things, Jefferson was an astronomer.

The gardens

The view really is magnificent from the top of the hill. Jefferson knew what he was doing when he picked this for his home!

Mulberry Row - named for the mulberry trees planted there, this was the center of domestic activity for the estate.

Reflections - this fish pond was used to keep the fresh fish that were caught until it was time to use them for a meal.

Montalto (High Mount) -this is the only land which overlooks Monticello. It is 400 feet highter in elevation. In 2004 the property was purchased by the Jefferson Foundation to keep the property from being developed. I was battling the sun...

We wandered a bit more around the beautiful grounds. Even at the time of year when the leaves are just about gone from the trees, it is a stunningly beautiful place.

On the way down the mountain, the bus stopped for us to see the cemetery in which Jefferson is buried. We had to stay on the bus, so this is the best shot I could get!

We took a drive through Charlottesville, saw the Univ of VA, it is a beautiful old, historical campus. The UVA Hospital is massive, Barbara is an RN there.
We saw this statue on the way out of town, it is Lewis and Clark. (I have to admit, I did take this one from the car.. but we were stopped at a traffic light!)

The kids decided that they were ready to go home, and agreed that eating in was the thing to do. Barbara and Joel cooked and grilled us a fabulous dinner of ribs! The kids had a good time playing and hanging out. They roasted marshmallows over the fire pit and played outside until it got to chilly. The favorite indoor activity of the weekend, "sledding" down the basement steps. Too funny. I have a video I need to upload!

Barbara and I chatted about the old neighborhood, and what we've been up to since the last time we saw each other. By 10pm, we were all tired and headed to bed!

It was a wonderful day!

Virginia Trip - Day Two/Part One

2009-11-23T18:00:00.000-05:00

As I said in the previous post, we were on the road at 8am to make the last leg of our trip to Crozet. It was a beautiful morning for a drive. I totally enjoyed the entire trip, the scenery was beautiful. I didn't really take photos on the drive down.. .I would have loved to spend the whole day stopping and exploring all the old farms, vineyards, etc.

Shortly after 10 we arrived at the Barredo's. It was so good to see our friends after 2 1/2 years. I can't speak for them, but it felt almost like no time has passed. Their home is beautiful (I forgot to take a picture of that too!)

Before too long we headed out for lunch at a brand new little Italian restaurant. We had great pizza and pasta.

This is Tristan - not the greatest photos since he was in front of the big window! That's a Play Doh turkey leg he created (or was it an ice cream cone?)

The goof balls... these two girls can act so goofy sometimes! I told them to act like they liked each other at least a little!

After a great lunch, we headed to Monticello. I had forgotten that it was in the general area when we planned the trip. I was grateful to the Barredo's for agreeing to take a ride over there! I had been to Monticello before, over 20 years ago, but I didn't remember much!

Thomas Jefferson was a pretty amazing man. Some day I will have to do a post on him. There was no indoor photography in Monticello. My shutter finger was in spasm the entire time! All of the artifacts were awesome, but some of the most beautiful pictures to me were those that looked OUT the amazing windows.

The visitors center at Monticello is brand new, and beautiful. They have a movie which we did not watch, and an awesome gift shop.

From here you can take a shuttle bus or walk up the hill to the house. We choose to take the bus. There is an admission (no sure what our wonderful hosts paid this for us), and you are given a time to enter the house for the guided tour. We had a few minutes to wonder before Barbara, the girls and I went on the tour. It's not the best place for an energetic 5 yr old, so Joel and Tristan stayed outside!

Since this is getting long, I will share photos of Monticello itself in the next post!

Virginia - Day One/Part Two

2009-11-23T16:08:00.004-05:00

For Part One... go here.
After Tara and I arrived at the Hampton Inn, I called my former boss/friend Jeanne who lives nearby. She stopped by and picked us up after an appointment and we hit Wal-Mart with her, and then headed to her home/farm. Jeanne has a menagerie of 4 dogs, 5 cats, 3 horses, 2 donkeys, and 40ish goats! It was very dark (I'm not used to be that far out of "civilization" where there are no street lights) and dinner time for all the critters!
First Jeanne feed the goats - the girls are very cute, the boys are very sticky and surrounded us while we walked through the field.
These are some of the girls -(my bad, I didn't get a picture of Jeanne... that's her in the background of this photo!)

The donkey's Angel and Gabriel

Lex - he's a really big boy, but a sweetie!

Tootsie

Tara helped Jeanne groom Tootsie, and we both feed them treats. I didn't get a picture of Jeanne's other horse Sharif or her mom's two horses.
After we were done at the barn, we headed to IHOP and had breakfast for dinner. Then I nestled myself in the MOST comfortable bed I have ever slept in, and slept for almost 9 HOURS.

We were on the road a little after 8am for the last 90 miles of our trip to Crozet.
This is the Hampton Inn. I totally recommend them if you haven't stayed in one. In addition to the "heaven on earth" beds, they have free Wi-Fi, and a great free breakfast every morning!

The drive down Rt 29 toward Crozet was beautiful. Mostly rural, farm land. I saw so many amazing abandoned or old barns, I would have loved to photograph... but we never would have made it to our destination!
I forgot to add a map to my Part one post... so here is the trip we made on Friday.
200 miles, just under 4 hours. We hit lots of traffic as usual on Rt 66, and took a little detour to my town house in Centreville.

Road trip to VA - Day One/Part One

2009-11-21T07:58:00.000-05:00

Tara and I made the 200 mile trip from our home to Warrenton, VA on Friday. The road trip was fun. I really do like to drive. I know the drive well, I had lived in Northern VA for 5 years, and made the drive up 95 often. We made great time until we hit RT 66 on 2:15pm, rush hour starts early in NO VA!
This is for Iggy!

I liked this logo.... we were stopped in traffic.

After we "survived" the tunnel. Tara does not like tunnels!

My "townhouse" in Little Rocky Run, Centreville (The brown one)

In the Hampton Inn. I found out later that this was the MOST comfortable bed I have ever slept in.

Okay - the visit to Fallen Fence Farm will have to wait until later, we need to get on the road to Crozet!

Academy of Natural Sciences

2009-11-15T13:48:00.034-05:00

We made a visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia today, and met up with two local bloggers to celebrate a birthday. Today was "PN's" 7th birthday, and Stacy from Random Thoughts along with her husband brought PN to the see the dinosaur bones! PN wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up, and knows and can pronounce dinosaur names better then me!!! Blogging Mama Andrea and her two cuties joined in the fun as well! I totally goofed and didn't get any group shots!

Tara and I arrived downtown a bit early, thinking we would wander around a bit, but Tara was just not interested. We did walk over to the Scwann Fountain and I took a few pictures. It was a beautiful day, after many days of rain, as well as me not feeling well. It felt good to be outside!

They have a great butterfly exhibit. You can see a collage of some other butterfly pics here.

After we were all done, we headed out to a park bench where PN opened her gifts. She was a very happy little girl I think. We all then headed off in our own directions toward home.

Tara and I stopped at Pudge's and got the cheese steaks we have both been craving for a few weeks! It was great, except they forgot one of our sandwiches, and I had to drive back over to pick it up! One of these days I will stop being so trusting and check my order before I leave a restaurant!

Award - Over the Top (also posted @The Daily Grind)

2009-11-02T11:03:00.002-05:00

Two of my local blogger friends has bestowed the honor of the "Over the Top" award. One for The Daily Grind (Matty@MattyThoughts) and one for New Adventures (Rebecca@The Dusty Cellar). I started this post a couple weeks ago when Matty sent it to me, but I guess I was stumped as I never finished! I'm going to post on both blogs!

Thanks to both of you! Matty, sorry it took me so long to post! I love visiting both of their blogs. It is fun having "bloggy" neighbors. Maybe some day we can have a IRL blog party!

The rules of this award are as follows:
~Answer the questions below using only one word (it's harder than it seems!)
~Thank the blogger who gave it to you (See above)
~Pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers (See below)

So, on with the questions:

1. Where is your cell phone?....IPhone
2. Your hair? ......brown
3. Your mother? ......Amazing
4. Your father?.....Deceased
5. Your favorite food? ......Sushi
6. Your dream last night?......None
7. Your favorite drink?....Coffee
8. Your dream/goal? ..... Happiness
9. What room are you in? ......Living
10. Your hobby? ......Photography
11. Your fear? .....Failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?......PA
13. Where were you last night?.....home
14. Something you aren't?.....Thin
15. Muffins? .....Pumpkin
16. Wish list item? ......lens
17. Where did you grow up?...... Pennsylvania
18. Last thing you did?...... typed
19. What are you wearing? ......jeans
20. Your TV? .....cartoon
21. Your pets? .........three
22. Your friends? ......Fabulolus
23. Your life?......Happy
24. Your mood? ......Content
25. Missing someone? ......No
26. Vehicle? ......white
27. Something you're not wearing? ......earrings
28. Your favorite store? .......Best Buy
29. Your favorite color? ......red
30. When was the last time you laughed? ......Today
31. Last time you cried? .....yesterday
32. Your best friend?......Joanne
33. One place that I go over and over? .......McDs
34. One person who emails me regularly?.......sister
35. Favorite place to eat? .......Guiseppe's

I am now supposed to pass this on to six people - this is hard, so many great blogs, many of you have already received this award.
Iggy @Intense Guy
Carly @ Carly's Photography
Deb @ Menopausal New Mom
Joanie @ Joanie's Random Ramblings
Monica @ Three Crazy Monkey's
Tammy@ Queen Sized Funny Bone

More Philly Pictures

2009-10-24T09:27:00.006-04:00

Tara and I did not spend much time in Philly on Thursday away from the Magic Garden, but I did snap a few other pictures.
I love doors, and there are some great doors on the row homes in the city.

One day I am going to take a mural tour in the city. These works of art are amazing and all over Philadelphia.

This guy was dancing like no one was watching, even though there were people all around.. but I guess no one, but ME was watching! Not the best, I shot it through the windshield from a distance away!

Fire trucks and the city, they seem to go hand in hand. The guys on this truck were in Superfresh buying lunch.

We stopped in Whole Foods - something about that store wants me to eat healthier!
Beautiful red snapper

but we had flounder for dinner. (This one to be exact!)

Pretty flowers

Billy Penn on the top of City Hall... the back side

A hazy view of the skyline (shot at 55 mph on I-95)

I shared this on my other blog, as my favorite shot of the week... I just love it.

Philadelphia's Magic Garden

2009-10-22T14:32:00.013-04:00

Philadelphia's Magic Garden is located at 1020-1022 South Streeet, Philadelphia, PA

Today, Tara and I joined several teachers, students and parents from Commonwealth Connections Academy, the virtual school Tara is attending, on a visit to Philadelphia's Magic Garden.

I was not familiar with PMG, all I knew of it was what I read on the website, and I was intrigued, and I made the decision that Tara and I would be attending this field trip! I'm always ready to explore new places and an opportunity to get out with my camera!

What started as man using his art to beautify a run down neighborhood, has turned into a non profit organization to preserve and promote his works. The community came together to purchase the property when the owner decided to sell in the mid 90s.

I don't have the words to describe the visual and tactile experiences of the day! Wall, floors and ceilings covered in beautiful mosaics made with mostly found or recycled materials. Pieces of mirror throughout the designs brought life to the space. Reflecting those who were visiting as well as other parts of the gallery. There were designs within designs. Some things you need to look at close up, while others you had to step back to see the big picture, like using a macro lens and then a wide angle lens.

Here is a slideshow with all the photos I took today. While I took photos, and I am happy with them, they REALLY do not do the artwork justice.

After we visited two floors of the gallary, we headed to the gardens outside. What started out years ago as a trash filled lot is now a work of artistic genius, turning neighborhood "trash" into artistic treasures. Colored bottles reflected the sun breaking through the morning clouds. Bike tires, broken or unwanted china and pottery, toys, and so much more were embedded in these lot sized masterpiece.

The art work of Isaiah Zagar does not stop at the walls of the gallery, you will find his mosaics at over 55 mosaics around the city, as well as other states and even Mexico. Isaiah is 70 years old. This is the artist riding by us on the street. (edited to add - I'm just looking at this picture again and noticing that he is colored coordinated with the rusts and blues in the mosaic behind him!)

He portrays himself in his art as having 4 arms. He is a gifted artist, seemingly obsessed with his work. I think I would love to spend a day inside his head to see how it works.

There was an award winning documentary recently shown on HBO - "In A Dream" created by Isaiah's son. I have not seen this but will be seeking it out. I want to learn more about this man, his life and his family!

On 9/11 Isaiah was working on a mural in another neighborhood when he heard the news of the planes hitting the twin towers. He rushed back to the studio to see how everyone was doing, he then created this piece as a remembrance. He shows the 4 planes attacking the world, not just NY, DC and PA, because he felt it was an attack against the world, not just the US.

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, became incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the intention of preserving and promoting Zagar's works at the site of the Magic Gardens and throughout the South Street region.

I could continue on and on about what we saw today,however, I was so totally overwhelmed visually by what I saw today, I can't seem to be succinct enough in my words to make sense! While this was school field trip, and Tara did enjoy the day, I was certainly more emotionally moved than she!

I have a list of his works throughout the city, I may try to scan it and link it to this post in case anyone would be interested in exploring the streets of Philadelphia. I have been wanting to go in search of the painted murals that Phila. is known for, and now I have something else!

In Search of Snow

2009-10-18T18:06:00.008-04:00

I am the WORLD's BEST MOM, or at least the craziest one! I will do just about anything to make my daughter happy.

This week's quest, FINDING SNOW.

You might recall, we lived in Florida from June 2003 until this past June, missing out on the winters of 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 and 08. Tara had not seen real snow since February 2003! When she heard that there was going to be snow in the state of PA on Thursday, she could think of nothing else It did not matter that the snow would be at least an hour away.

She tried her best to talk me into driving in search of snow on Friday, but to that I did so NO! I did however agree to take her on Saturday, after all, what else would we do on a rainy "Nor'Easter" Saturday?

I was not sure where to head, but someone mentioned they heard Tobyhanna State Park had snow, so that is where our course was set! (C is home, B is Tobyhanna State Park, approx 90 miles from home)

It was rainy and about 49 degrees when we got on the turnpike. It was raining quite hard, but as we headed north, the foliage colors were getting brighter and better even through the rain.

We headed through the Lehigh Tunnel, and not too much later, the temperature was dropping closer and closer to 32! I noticed that the raindrops were getting "thicker" and suddenly, just after we noticed the temperature was 32, it was SNOWING. Tara was so excited.

Now it's hard to take pictures of the snow while you are driving, but there is one here.

We continued on and once we exited the turnpike, we stopped at McDs so Tara could get out, feel the snow and take a "bio" break. Not to self, Crocs are not good shoes for the snow. They are the only "closed" toed shoes I have (my sneakers hurt my toes, I need to find a different pair!)

Snow Smile!

The sign for the park

Footprints in the Snow

Picnic anyone?

Swinging in the Snow

If the sun would have been out (and the snow wasn't hitting the lens) this would have been a gorgeous view!

On the way home the sun actually started to come out. Those "smudges" in the photo are actually low lying clouds.

26th Annual Merrymead Harvest Days

2009-10-11T09:39:00.008-04:00

Last weekend Tara and I took you on a quick visit to Freddy Hill Farm and their Fall Fest. This week, we stopped by Merrymead Farm to see what their Harvest Days had to offer this year. Both of these local farms offer fun every weekend in October, so our initial visits have been to just get a feel for what there is to do! Tara wanted to wait to do the hayride with her cousins. They have games and such too, but we didn't go that far into the crowd!

Saturday again started off as a gloomy dreary day, but by mid afternoon it was a great day to be outside. Quite breezy, but I think that makes it seem all that much more like autumn.

Charlotte is visiting Merrymead this fall, she has spun her web over the pen of Harley the Hog. (Harley was sleeping as usual, so I didn't bother him for a photo!)

Then we spotted this witch who seemed to have had a little bit of an accident - OUCH.

This caterpiller was hanging out too. Perhaps this is Eric Carle's Hungry Caterpillar. It is so much fun to see what they can do with pumpkins.

The Great Pumpkin made famous by Charlie Brown is alive and well at Merrymead. (Since it is Fire Prevention Week, the Worcester Fire Company was there, that flag is hanging from the ladder of one of the trucks.)

Merrymead boasts a 5 acre corn maze (at $10 per person), I can get lost perfectly fine without paying $10. Tara wants to go through the maze.. hopefully her cousin Tyler will go with her!
They also have a smaller maze for those younger kids and directionally challenged! I'm hoping these are not folks that got lost in years past!

Pumpty Dumpty is Humpty's cousin, let's hope he stays put!

If he falls he will fall right into the folks serving up popcorn, cookies and yummy apples with caramel!

They have a great pumpkin corral, very popular for taking photos of kiddos as well as purchasing pumpkins! Tara was embarrassed when I asked a cute couple with an adorable baby if they wanted a family photo. We bought a pumpkin that was just a few ounces shy of 20 pounds... at .49 cents/lb! I totally forgot to take a picture of it!
Tara in the Pumpkin Corral - Oct 1997

Tara in the Pumpkin Corral - Oct 2009 (Her eyes are squinty.... I need a do over when we go back!)

I just love fall.... so many things to do!

Green Lane Reservoir Park, Green Lane, PA

2009-10-09T07:40:00.000-04:00

After a busy week with school work, and some not so nice weather days, Tara and I took an afternoon drive on Friday to get out of the house. I was not sure where we were going at first, and then I remembered Green Lane Park, and decided it would be the perfect spot for some fresh air and to check out how the fall foliage was coming along! I have to admit I was not in the best frame of mind most of the day, but just a few short minutes in this beautiful peaceful spot, turned my frown right around!

We were not disappointed.

Green Lane Park offers fishing, boating, picnicking, horseback riding trails, hiking trails, mountain biking trails, family camping, equestrian camping, tennis, playgrounds, cross-country skiing, ice skating, and ice fishing. In addition there is the Nature Center with environmental classes. The park consists of over 3400 acres and three bodies of water totaling 870 acres

"Green Lane Park 10-9-09"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Freddy Hill Farm - Run for the Oreos

2009-10-03T22:02:00.004-04:00

It's the first weekend in October, and what does that mean? Freddy Hill Fun Fest has begun! Really it doesn't get much more exciting than this, now does it? What? You have not CLUE what I am talking about? Let me tell you!

Two of our local farms in addition to dairy stores, and other attractions that bring families to their farms throughout the year, each have Fall Festivals. We got a late start to the day, so we decided to only visit one! It was also a tad bit warmer than we liked, and the ground a wee bit wet from the rain this week, so we decided to check things out and make another visit including a hay ride to the pumpkin patch another weekend!

Tara was not too happy about this, but in all my piles of pictures, I have at least one other year of her behind the scarecrow!

We decided to go into the corn maze. I was 'afraid' we would not find our way out!

At one point, I thought the only way out was UP! LOL. It was very muddy, and my flip flops kept getting stuck in the mud!

We found our way out just in time for the most fun of the day... it doesn't get much more exciting than this...

The Run for the Oreos - PIG RACE! Woo hoo! I bet you didn't do ANYTHING this exciting this weekend!
Since we were lost in the corn maze, we almost missed the race, so the only spot open along the course was at the finish. I figured I would get photos if there was a photo finish!
Heat one... they are off!

Piggy Number Three was the winner! I forget it's name. See that white bucket? It is full of oreos! Today, though they didn't seem too interested. The was the third race of the day, and the beginning of racing season!

A little smack talk at the finish line!

Race #2

Arnold... the winner! Look at the blur, he's moving so fast!

We will be heading back to Freddy Hill, hopefully when the ground has tried a bit, and the weather is a wee bit cooler!

O & F Farms. Blue Bell, PA

2009-10-01T23:01:00.007-04:00

"October's the month
When the smallest breeze
Gives us a shower
Of autumn leaves.
Bonfires and pumpkins
Leaves sailing down-
October is red
And golden and brown."
- Can Teach Songs

Tara and I made a quick trip to the mall today, on the way I noticed white pumpkins at a road side stand, and I actually remembered by the time we were driving home that I had wanted to stop. Nature's bounty, the perfect photo op for a wonderful fall day, with a chill in the air.
A hint of color change!

Pumpkins galore!

Unique hues

Technicolor carpet of mums

Colorful kernels!

White pumpkins?

PHILLIES!

2009-09-30T22:16:00.001-04:00

Philadelphia Phillies clinch their THIRD straight NL East Championship.
One step closer to another World Series!!!!

New Friends and a Fun Fair - Upper Gwynedd Carnival

2009-09-27T10:57:00.005-04:00

I have mentioned in other posts that Tara met a new friend this week at her first 4-H meeting. Katie and Tara seemed to hit it off quickly, exchanged email and phone numbers without being prompted and have spent time getting to know each other this past week via technology! They spent some time at Katie's house on Friday, and it really is amazing how much they have in common! This makes this mom very happy! I hope their friendship will continue to grow!

This weekend was the Annual Upper Gwynedd Carnival. Tara loves carnivals and rides, so I knew this was a must do (it was right down the road from us). We invited Katie to go along with us, and I think the girls had a great time!

I bought them both all you can ride wristbands so we did not have to worry about tickets, and they quickly found the first ride.
Extrem - not easy to photograph - it moved FAST, and there was always something else moving in my way!

I think this was a little more "thrilling" than either expected.
Next up (or down) the Fun Slide (this wound up being the favorite for both of the day!)

I loved watching their expressions as they came down each time (I think they did the 4x)

Next up Pharoh's Fury - Tara rode this one alone. She had been saying since we saw them setting up mid-week that she wanted to ride this!

She is a thrill seeker (she does have her limits though!)

Neither wanted to ride THIS.

Time for a little Sand Art - I love the BRIGHT colors.

They both decided to do bears.

Can't go to a carnvial without a game

Neither wanted to ride these -

Chillin' on the carousel

All of the fair food looked and smelled so good.. but we did not indulge!

Dizzy Dino's were less than thrilling!

Tara rode this once by herself, Katie was reluctant, by the end thought they both rode... multiple times!

I'm flying!

Way up high!

The Mango Men played Buffett like music. I would have loved to sit and listen!

The bears rested in the tree!

On the way out.. some superheros!

Later in the evening, much to our surprise because it was raining, Tara and I watched the fireworks... they were an hour early, so I did not have time to find the perfect spot outside of the carnival grounds, it was raining, and I was shooting through a hole in a chain link fence!

Even though the skies were dreary during the day, a good time was had by all!

Life is Getting in the Way of Adventures!

2009-09-24T20:29:00.005-04:00

Tara and I have not been on any real adventures the past couple weeks. We've been busy getting back into the swing of school and "stuff"!

Hopefully this weekend, I will get a chance to get out with my camera! Fall is upon us (except the past couple days have been pretty warm again!)

First the carnival is coming to town! Upper Gwynedd Carnival, sponsored by Merck and TD Bank. It actually opened this evening, but we will be going sometime this weekend.

Vinny's white pizza w/spinach and Eagles football, would make for a perfect Sunday afternoon.

Remembering

2009-09-14T20:39:00.006-04:00

Tara and I had an errand to run today in the Plymouth Meeting area, when we were through with our business, as I do many times, I decided we would got for a drive. I am generally familiar with the area of Plymouth Meeting/Conshohocken/Gulph Mills and King of Prussia, but I would never be able to give some one directions.

As we were driving, I realized we were headed into Conshohocken. This was the place that when I was growing up, my grandmother owned a business on Hector St. I always loved going there to visit with my mom during the summer or school holidays. I still remember my grandmother sitting in her office, she was a business woman when it was not the norm. She always wore very smart suits and drove big Buicks!

Before turning onto Fayette Street, I noticed this beautiful red door of a church.

Then another large church that always meant we were almost there!

The area where the office used to be has changed a great deal, and I was not able to find Hector St., although I knew where it used to be!
We continued across the bridge and I decided to go check out the Balligomingo Inn on Balligomingo Rd. This little bar/club was an old hang out, that at one time had awesome jazz on the weekends. I remember the jars of pickled eggs behind the bar. Isn't it funny the things we remember. Sadly, like so many things I remember from "back in the day", it too is boarded up! This road is narrow and windy, with little shoulder, so I did not stop to take any photos. It is however a beautifully wooded area through which the river runs!

We continued our journey, and I decided to take Tara to visit some family members she had never met.

This memorial garden is the final resting place of my maternal grandfather & grandmother, my father and my brother.

Fortunately I was able to locate them without having to go to the office. There is a tree that I always remember from my brother's funeral. While it has grown over the years there is something still familiar.

I don't believe anyone has visited recently, as there was a little grass growing over the edges. My family have never been frequent visitors. I worked in the area several times during my career, and would stop by occasionally.

My mother will tell you she does not need to go there to miss and remember her loved ones. I will have to go back again soon with clippers and something to clean the plaques a bit.
I don't remember my Pop Buehler. I was not quite three when he passed at that age of 64. He was a WWI vet.

I have written about my brother Robin in the past. He was killed in the Viet Nam "conflict" at the very young age of 19. I had just turned 11.

My Nana Buehler was an amazing woman. Once my grandfather passed, she ran the business he has started, until what I guess was Alzheimer's took her from us long before her body failed. I don't think they used that term back in the 70s when she first started getting lost coming home from the office she had driven to for years, when she would forget to turn a burner off in the kitchen. I was very close to my Nana, I have such found memories of spending the night at her house on many an occasion.

23 years ago, way too soon, we lost my dad. I was just 27. My father and I had a very unique relationship. I am the "baby" and I spent a great deal of time with him. I loved going on weekend errands to the hardware store, the barber, to his office, etc. I wish he were still with us to see the two granddaughters and five great grandsons born after he passed. He was a WWII vet.

I love that people use the memorial park to bike, walk and run! The geese love it there as well. All though it is the final resting place of so many, it still has quite a bit of life!

On the way home we passed some other locations that brought back memories. The bar in which I met my ex husband (Tara's father), which too has since closed, First Presbyterian Church in Norristown, and my late Great Aunt Bertha's house.

To end the day, I stopped at Pudge's and got us cheese steaks for dinner. There are none better!!

I asked Tara if she was bored with my trip down (and around) memory lane. She said no, but a little confused!

Saigon@Main, Lansdale, PA

2009-09-11T21:53:00.008-04:00

I have not done a restaurant review here before, but since there are a few folks local to the area that visit this blog, I thought along with some pictures I took last Friday night, I would give a little information about the restaurant as well.

Saigon@Main Vietnamese Cuisine is located at 844 W Main Street in Lansdale. It is in a relatively new shopping area at the corner of Valley Forge and Main where the Turbo building used to stand. This is all new since I was last home in 2005. If you click on the link, you can see the website and the menu.

We joined my sister and her friend Bobbie for dinner last week. I was not sure what to expect, I know Chinese, and some Japanese and sushi, but had never actually been to a Vietnamese restaurant. Since my sister liked the food, I figured there must be something there that would be good, she is a little less experimental with foods than I tend to be. Tara was not excited about going, but with her book in hand, she agreed to be cordial!

We arrived around 5pm, and were seated right away. We were the only ones there at that time. While we were eating there were a couple additional tables that were occupied. It was early on a beautiful Friday evening, and also Labor Day weekend. I would not judge the restaurant by the lack of a crowd under those circumstances.

The menu is pretty extensive, and to me a little overwhelming, so many new and different things. Each had the Vietnamese name, as well as the name in English and a description. Many things had fresh basil or fresh lemongrass, two herbs that I love! Some of the dishes were served over rice vermicelli, others over broken rice. (Not really sure what that is!)

Tara settled on Pho Ga (chicken soup) $7.95. When it arrived I said the bowl was big enough to bath in! The waiter chuckled. It also came with a side plate of bean sprouts, fresh basil, Vietnamese chili peppers and lime.

Mom ordered Bun Cha Gio (Spring Rolls Vermicelli) $7.95, again the bowl was quite large, lots of noodles, but a generous amount of spring rolls as well.

I orderd Bun Saigon(Saigon Vermicelli) $10.95 - it had crispy slices of spring rolls, grilled chicken, grilled pork and grilled meatballs (I think ground pork, not beef, reminded me of steamed dumpling stuffing). All of the meat was perfectly cooked, tender and flavorful.

With both of these dishes you are served a bowl of nuoc mam (vinegar chili sauce) to pour over the noodles. It had a wonderful flavor. The entire dish was full of delightful fresh flavors.

(I FORGOT to take a picture of mine. It was the last dish to come out, and I was distracted by trying to cool off Tara's chicken soup!) It was comparable in size to Mom's dish, and looked similar, just with additional meats.
I also tried Tra Thai - Thai Iced Tea - it was very strong, rich and sweet and I could not finish it. Tai tea with half & half, sweet syrup and ice. I should have known better and stuck with water which I normally drink with Asian food!

My sister had Ga Tau Xi (Sweet & Sour Chicken) $11.95, typical looking served with Jasmine Rice

and I think Bobbie had Ga Xa Ot - Chicken Lemon Grass (spicy) $10.95.

Mom, Tara and I brought some of our meals home. Tara was so so about the soup. She thought it needed salt. (She got a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut next door where my brother in law Larry works!) I finished the soup up for lunch a couple days later and I enjoyed the flavors. I added a bit of soy sauce. Both Mom and I were happy with our meals.

I thought the prices were very reasonable. I will most likely eat here again sometime, maybe for lunch with my sister or mom. I'm not so sure it is some place that Tara would want to go again!

(Matty and James reminded me I forgot a rating! I had one, but didn't like it and then forgot to retype!)
I give it 3 out of 4 chopsticks, mainly because the menu was so overwhelming to me. Had I known what was offered, I might have been sure I really got the dish I wanted.

They do not serve alchohol, but it is BYOB.

National Memorial Arch, Valley Forge, PA

2009-09-08T10:11:00.007-04:00

After a scenic drive through the park, and spotting very many deer, we headed to the Memorial Arch. It is a stunning landmark.
The United States Memorial Arch, located at the intersection of Outerline Drive and Gulph Road, was erected to commemorate the arrival of General George Washington and his Continental Army into Valley Forge.
For more history on this site, visit IntenseGuy's post from May! I was so far behind in getting these posted, I didn't go into any additional details!

Originally the plans were for two arches, each at a price of $50K. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives, but not the Senate. Later a bill for one arch at a price of $100K was passed in 1910. (makes no sense to me!) Funds were appropriated in 1911, construction began in 1914 and dedication ceremonies were conducted on June 19, 1917

From one side, the American flag is framed nicely by the arch

Tara is dwarfed by the arch, and has a flag pole growing out of her head.

Perhaps my favorite photograph of the day is this one of the back side of the Gen'l Anthony Wayne (Mad Anthony) Statues. I love the lighting and shadows.

Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, PA

2009-09-08T06:21:00.000-04:00

Tara and I took advantage of the beautiful day that was the 1st day of September and headed to Valley Forge National Park. Our first stop was the Washington Memorial Chapel.

This is an active Episcopal Church which in NOT part of the park, nor does it receive any public funding.

The cornerstone of the building was laid in 1903, and the chapel built as a tribute to George Washington and the American Patriots of the Revolution.

The tower was built entirely by funds raised over a period of more than a decade by members of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The statue depicts George Washington.

There are many memorials of note throughout the Patriots Tower and the chapel itself, which would make this post laboriously long, so I will pick my favorites.
George Washington, I share his birth date, 2/22!

These are 3 small windows that make up a larger one. The window was a memorial to a woman whose last name was Clay, but I don't remember anything else!

This is the George Washington Window in the back of the chapel itself. It has 36 scenes depicting his life.

Over the alter is the Martha Washington window, representing service through sacrifice. The scenes on this window are biblical in nature.

Washington Memorial Chapel - Windows and Doors

2009-09-08T06:11:00.003-04:00

I loved the architecture of the chapel, with many arches, windows, and interesting doors.

Another Day, another park - Stoney Creek Park, Lansdale

2009-09-05T12:33:00.001-04:00

Tara and I are enjoying checking out the different municipality parks around us, many where here before we moved, but some new ones have been built.

Stoney Creek Park, Lansdale is one of those. It is just a short drive from our home. On Saturday we had run an errand and before heading home we decided to stop by.

Tara loves a park with a good play ground, she loves her swings, and I love that at 12 1/2 she still can have fun at a playground!

There is a pond with a nice fountain in the middle. I love the cat o nine tails that surround the pond. The playground is very nice. There is also a walking trail, and on top of a little hill there is a bench and a pair of mounted binoculars. I did not get a chance to check that out as there was a couple up there taking a rest from their walk, and I did not want to intrude! I found these specs on line, I guess I need to go back and find the labyrinth. Next time we will bring the dog!

STONY CREEK PARK – 21.5 ACRES

(Located in the 100 block of E. Hancock Street)

one acre pond
tot lot
gazebo/picnic area (available to rent)
labyrinth
overlook
.6 mile nature trail
.2 mile foot path
parking (55 spaces)

I love this little sculpture.

"Round Barn" and Whistlestop Park, Colmar

2009-08-26T16:57:00.006-04:00

Tara and I decided to go to the movies on Wednesday afternoon. The movie "Shorts" was a silly movie definitely for the kids. It was entertaining enough to keep me awake (well most of the time), and something cool for us to do out of the house.

I decided to take a short detour on the way home and we stopped at Whistlestop Park in Colmar (it is right near a train station!). We had been there when Tara was young, and she vaguely remembered it. It was hot, but when we first arrived with the sun covered by clouds, and a nice breeze it was pleasant enough. Even at 12, Tara loves a good playground!

My other reason for stopping here was to photograph the "round" (actually octagonal barn). There has been a round barn on this site for as long as I can remember, but I believe the structure that is there now has been rebuilt. I love the colors of the stone and the green used for the doors and windows. They also have a great red shed on the property that really completes the picture!

There was a field with some great wildflowers and lots of tiny grasshoppers. The breeze was blowing strongly making it difficult to capture the flowers, and the tiny grasshoppers would not stay still for me!
I applied some filters in PSE to make these not look out of focus!

I loved this lone red leaf, a sign that fall is not too far away!

It was a close to home adventure, but one that I enjoyed!

Keeping Cool and Quakertown Farmers Market

2009-08-26T05:23:00.005-04:00

Tara and I have not been on any new adventures this past week. The weather has been hot and steamy, and that makes me want to stay inside!

I made a trip to Rice's Market with my sister, and we made a trip back to the Kid's Castle on Friday. My camera battery was DEAD, and it was just too hot, even the kids agreed.

Tara started reading (she's on her second book this week) the Warrior Cat series, and is really enjoying them. They are about clans of wild cats. We did visit a new bookstore to us, and then Monday we went to Barnes and Noble!

I've been spending time scanning pictures - I posted about that here and here.

Saturday we made a quick "field trip" to the Quakertown Farmer's Market. It was loads of fun, but not enough for a full post. If you like fresh local meats, produce, baked goods and lots of cheeses, this is your place. You can probably find just about anything else there too. Lots of little places to eat too. It hasn't changed much in the past 30 years, the sights and smells brought back memories of visit there with my mom and dad! They have an outdoor flea market too, but I've never been to that!

If you would like to make quick trip to Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios), you can visit my Photo blog. All of the photo memes I have been participating in the week have used photos from DHS! It's been fun finding pictures to meet the criteria!

I'm itching to get out someplace NEW with my camera, so maybe today we will go out and explore before it gets too hot!

So that's it for us this past week! I felt like I was ignoring this blog!

Doylestown - Central Park - Kids Castle

2009-08-20T15:52:00.003-04:00

On Saturday I was watching Kier and Gavin (great nephews) while my niece went to Rice's Market with her friends. She was going to take the boys along, but that is just NO fun for anyone. I had read a post on Mommy Maestro's blog about a Kid's Castle park not too far from here. We have one right down the rode, but this one looked bigger and BETTER! So, I loaded up the kids and off we went.

I loved this sculpture on the way in!

We arrived!

Huge isn't it?

Not many pics of the kids this day, they started playing and didn't stop until they were tired and thirsty

and ready to go home! (Note to self, remember water for EVERYONE next time!)

Besides the castle, there are little "sub sections" like this "pirate ship", The Black Pearl, swings, a sand

box area for younger kids, and so much more!

On the way out there was an ice cream truck parked in the parking lot. Seems like a pretty smart idea!

We indulged in some tasty cold treats!

In addition to a great place for the kids to play, it is a beautiful green park!

The End!

Philadelphia - A city walk

2009-08-18T22:24:00.005-04:00

After we had enough of the FI for the day, we decided to head outside. There are so many beautiful things to see in the city. There was a monument and a fountain I could see from the FI that I had in my sights.

This is Swann Fountain, and if you look close "Billy Penn" on the top of City Hall is in the background.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko can be found guarding the entrance to the Four Seasons

Across the street is the Bascillica of St Peter and St Paul

I zoomed in a bit on Billy, one of the visits we will get closer.

Tall buildings

and glass buildings

Old buildings

A monument for the Holocaust

This one, next to TGIFriday's I'm not so sure!

on the way home I had Tara snap a couple of pictures of Boat House Row.. she did pretty well considering we were moving, although not fast

Philadelphia - Franklin Institute

2009-08-14T19:59:00.003-04:00

Tara and I took a trip to Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute on Friday 8/14. Rather than take the train, and then the little "Phlash" bus, I decided to drive since the FI as it's own parking garage.

Once we arrived and purchased our tickets, I decided that I would "splurge" and get an annual family pass. For $99, each time we go we can have 2 adults and 4 children, and not have to pay anything additional. I think it is someplace my great nephews might like to visit!

If you live in the Philly area, you have probably been to the FI. If you ever visit, it's a great place to spend a day if you like science and such. They have a planetarium and and IMAX theater too.
I remember visiting the Franklin Institute when I was young with my family, on a class trip in elementary school, with my now adult nephew and my dad, and then again when Tara was four!

Some things don't change:

There is the giant statue of Benjamin Franklin

The Foucault Pendulum that swings in the central staircase

The Giant walk thru heart (I remember being six or so and being really afraid of this!)

The train

I am pretty sure this guy is new, but I think he's been on the elliptical too long!

King of Prussia and Valley Forge

2009-08-09T20:43:00.009-04:00

Today to get out of the house, we took a ride to the King of Prussia Mall and on the way home, since I was the driver, I decided to take a "detour" through Valley Forge National Park. We also took a quick drive through the neighborhood in which my family lived when I was born, although I don't remember living there at all, we left when I was not yet 1 year old! During my career with AT&T (Bell of Pa too), I also worked in this general area on more than one occasion.

For those of you who have never heard of King of Prussia Mall, it is the largest shopping mall on the east coast, and over the years has become very "upscale". Tara has a motive of looking for a Webkinz, so my goal was to get us near a Hallmark store. We wandered around a bit, and I was feeling TOTALLY overwhelmed. I have come to the conclusion that mall's are really no longer a place I like to be! We did find the Hallmark store, Tara got a Webkinz (Lil Kinz Mouse), I got a pair of clearance Vera Bradley Flip Flops, and we picked up a couple birthday cards. After that we decided it was time to go!

I decided to go home a different route than we traveled to get there. Where ever we go, when ever I can, I try to not drive the same route twice. This route took us toward Valley Forge National Park which is just a short drive from the mall. There are many things to stop and look at along the way, and walking paths as well, but my intention was just to drive thru as a "preview" for Tara. Valley Forge is one of the places on my radar to spend a day with Tara, as they have learned very little about American History. In the car, I had to give her a brief synopsis of the Revolutionary War. The park is beautiful, and from what I remember of the open fields, in a much more natural state (aka not mowed) than years past. Valley Forge NHP is one of the largest open spaces in southeastern Pennsylvania with 3,500 acres containing habitats for hundreds of plants and animals including 200 species of birds.

Here are a few things we saw on our driving tour:
National Memorial Arch - dedicated 1917

Baron von Steuben - statue unveiled 1915

Washington Memorial Chapel/Washington Memorial Carillon - I hope next week to be able to go to a free carillon concert.

There were several different fields in which we saw deer grazing, these were to two that I could get closest too from the car.

Kennedy Supplee Mansion - this is an old building that I drove past many many times, and at one time while it was a restaurant, I had always hoped I would have a chance to dine there, but that never happened. I took this opportunity to drive into the driveway and up to the front of the now vacant building. The pictures aren't great. Next time I will be more adventerous and get OUT of the car. While there were no signs, I felt like I was trespassing. I noticed on the way home, across the Betzwood Bridge, that you can barely see the building now with the trees grown up around it.

The Kennedy Supplee Mansion was constructed in 1852 by John Kennedy who was in the limestone business. The Victorian structure was done in the Italian villa style. The Kennedy family retained the residence until 1911 when the Supplees, a well-known local family, bought it. It was later turned into apartments and subsequent to that, vacant. It became part of the park in 1976, when Valley Forge went from a state park to a national one. In 1983, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This little excursion was a real trip down memory lane for me, and has peaked an interested in Tara to learn more about Valley Forge!

Montgomery County 4-H Fair, Creamery, PA

2009-08-08T21:33:00.004-04:00

This weekend was the annual 4-H show in Creamery, PA. Years ago this was a big event in our family as my sister was raising and showed a Guernsey cow named Helena that belonged to Oak Leaf Farm (now Freddy Hill Farm). I have fond memories of this time, and had hoped that I too would be able to be involved in 4-H, but it was never to be.

Tara has such a great interest in all things animal, that I have thought for some time that I would like to find a way for her to be involved. They have horse clubs, dog clubs, cat clubs, cavy and rabbit clubs, etc. but I have not been able to find much information out on line, so today we took a ride over to see what we could see! I think we will be able to find something(s) to get Tara involved in!
The 4 "H"s stand for Head, Hands, Heart, Health and

First we saw some very cute pigs!

Then we checked out the goats

We got some information on the Cavy (guinea pig) and rabbit club, in which Tara seems interested. Oliver would have won hands down for the CUTEST guinea pig of those that were there (if that is a category!)
There were these TOTALLY cute alpacas. I want an alpaca!

Fred Seipt is the owner of Freddy Hill Farms that I have posted about.

I liked this weather vane. We watched kids from the Rocket Club launch their rockets. Not quite the shuttle launch, but it was pretty cool!

Here is a giant cow, advertising Turkey Hill Ice Cream. We don't eat much of their ice cream, but we sure do love their iced tea!

There were lovely gardens around the main building.

Including a butterfly garden out front.
I wished I could have gotten closer to this butterfly. I need to get one of these bushes for our little flower bed...the butterflies were all over them.

but then, so were the bees.

They had a beautiful water garden. It was a very peaceful place even though just around the corner there were hundreds of people.

I had hoped to enter a photography contest they had for the general public, but I found out about it too late to get my entries to the center. I even got the photos printed and I think from what I saw that I might have been able to place in some of the categories! I'll have to get them matted and ready to go for next August!
It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the time outside. I wish we had been able to head to the fair on Friday, as that is the day that most things happen. Hopefully next year we will be INVOLVED in the fair and not just visiting!

Down the Shore - Ocean City, NJ - Day 1

2009-08-08T20:15:00.002-04:00

I traveled to Ocean City, NJ with Tara and my mother this week for a couple days to visit with my brother and his family who were in from Austin, TX for the week.

Ocean City, NJ is a seven-mile stretch of sand dunes, meadows, and cedar swamps. In 1879 four Methodist ministers chose the island as a suitable spot to establish a Christian retreat and camp meeting. Ocean City is known as a family seaside resort that has prohibited the sales of alcoholic beverages within its limits since the beginning. Ocean City possesses miles of guarded beaches, a 2.5 mile boardwalk, and a quaint downtown. The trip from our home is just under 100 miles, and approximately 2 hours (depending on Philly and other shore bound traffic!)

In preparation for this trip I had to drop Princess off at the kennel (something she has not experienced since 2005!). I felt sad leaving her since she had just been through the "traumatic" experience of surgery, but I knew she would be in good hands! Oliver the Guinea Pig was already vacationing at my nieces, and Kovu the cat was holding down the fort at home with daily visits from my sister.

We got on the road around 10:15, and most of the trip was smooth sailing. We passed through the area on the Skuykill Expressway that had been closed the day earlier due to mudslides from the bad rains. The road still showed signs of the mud that had been cleared away. Just as we got to the exit for the Atlantic City Expressway traffic inched along for about 1/2 hour. We never did figure out what that was, but I enjoyed seeing the wildflowers planted in the median.

After the traffic started moving again, the rest of the trip went quickly, without incident, and before too long we saw our exit off the Garden State Parkway.

Before too long we were going around the Somers Point traffic circle, and headed across the 9th Street bridge. We had ARRIVED! I really do love Ocean City, it is the ultimate family vacation spot down the shore. I guess deep down inside I was a little jealous growing up that my cousins got to spend their entire summer at the shore. I could easily make OCNJ my summer home away from home (if I could AFFORD it!)

We made our way to Park Place, and my Aunt Alice's house. My brother was renting the first floor for the week, while my aunt had a house full of other family and friends on the second and third floors. In the past when we had been invited to spend time with Aunt Alice, we always stayed on the 2nd floor with her. The house is fabulous and the last house on the street before the boardwalk, just a short walk to the beach. They have owned the house since the early 80s, totally remodeled it to add the third floor, only to have it burn to the ground, after which it was rebuilt as it looks today!

I didn't really take pictures inside, there always seemed to be too much going on. The 1st floor has 5 bedrooms, two bathrooms, large living/eating area, and a fully equipped kitchen. Also a great porch out front which is about my favorite place to relax! The side windows look over the beach and the boardwalk. The house is a short walk from Ove's which serves great food - breakfast, lunch and dinner!
The first thing I saw when we walked into the house was a dining room table full of DELL computers. Family vacations sure have changed. There were 10 people in the house at that time with SEVEN laptops. IPHONES, Blackberries and various other cell phones could be found charging around the house at any given time!

In addition to my brother, Bill; sister in law, Gerri and niece Kristen, also in residence for the week were my nephew (Bill's son), Patrick, his wife, Holly and my two great nephews Patrick and Austin. Patrick and his family live about one hour from us. Tara and I had not seen any of them since May, 2003, shortly before we moved to Florida.

After unpacking our stuff, we took a walk down to the beach. This week is supposedly the busiest of te summer, and looking at the beach, I would tend to agree. I had not seen a beach that crowded in some time.

Austin throwing the football - you have to get pics of him when you can. He will not willingly pose!

We stayed on the beach only a short while since it was very crowded. We walked up to Ove's and got sandwiches for lunch, and then shortly after Tara and I went for a ride. We were tracking down Webkinz in OCNJ. We found a great selection at Hoys 5 & 10 on Asbury. I LOVE that store. We got a cool new game that is very fun too called Kazink.

We then hit the grocery store, as I wanted to make a new recipe for BLT Pasta Salad, that I needed for my weekly Healthy Helpings post!
We all decided to head to the boardwalk around 7:30, all ten of us, including my mom with her new walker. She does not generally use one around home, but this gave her the stability she needed, and I think makes others who are in a hurry around her aware that she moves a little slower. It also gives her a place to sit when no other is available!

This was the sight we saw as we neared the "fun" section of the boardwalk at Gillians Wonderland Pier (6th & Boardwalk).

The kids has a fun time riding on several rides, (it was loud and crowded) and then we headed down the boardwalk in search of something to eat. It seemed like ten people all wanted something different, and after wandering for a bit, we all turned back around and settled on the Promenade Food Court at 744 Boardwalk. I don't recall what everyone had, but Tara was delighted that I ordered for her two dozen steamers (clams), which once she was full she shared with my mom and myself.

We then headed back home for the evening. The moon was beautiful over the ocean.

We all got back to the house, and sat around chatting and watching some TV. Before too long, I was feeling tired, and after a nice shower, headed for bed. I knew with the salt air, I would sleep very well, and I did!

Down the Shore - Ocean City, NJ - Day 2 & 3

2009-08-08T20:14:00.001-04:00

I planned on getting up for the sunrise on Tuesday morning, and fortunately woke up without an alarm on my own. Bill, Gerri and Kristen were getting ready for a morning on the golf course, so I just grabbed my camera and headed to the beach. I LOVE the beach in the early morning and at night. I took MANY pictures as the sun rose over the ocean, you can see some of them in this slide show.

I walked a couple of blocks up the beach and then back to the house. My ankle was bothering me from the walk the night before (I had on the wrong shoes). This did not make me happy as it made walking very painful. Tara got up and we both walked out on the beach for a bit, and then decided to go for a ride down the island, and then over to Atlantic City.

Atlantic City

I liked the colors of this restaurant

Soldiers and Sailors Monument built in 1922

Lucy the Elephant on the Margate Water Tower

Most of the rest of the day was spent resting my foot (along with some arguing with Tara who was bored...). The rest of the family went out for dinner, while Mom, Tara and I stayed in and had broiled seafood combos from Ove's which were very good. We played some Rummy and once it got dark, Tara and I walked (she walked, I hobbled) to the beach were we spent about 45 minutes enjoying the quiet and sounds of the surf.

Everyone pretty much just hung out around the house this evening, no one headed to the Boardwalk (there was no way I could have...) and Tara and I turned in around 10am. I was ready for bed, and again slept well until about 6am! No morning walk to the beach, but we did take a walk to Ove's for a cup of coffee and some Apple Cider donuts. We packed up the car, and then relaxed and visited for the rest of the morning.

I was able to get one group shot and with that we said our good byes and headed for home! Tara was ready to get back home where things were "normal". I have found over the years that she does not do well away from home (no matter who she is with, or where she is), she likes things to be a certain way.... she needs to learn to be FLEXIBLE!

Philly sky line

Philadelphia Zoo "balloon"

We laughed at this car on the Blue Route... it reminded us of some one coming out of the rest room with TP stuck to their shoe!

We arrived home around 1pm, got unpacked, and relaxed for a bit before it was time to go pick up Princess. She did great at the kennel, and did not come home totally mad at me!

Plymouth Meeting Mall

2009-08-01T15:49:00.005-04:00

We took a ride to Plymouth Meeting Mall to check out the two level carousel and check out the Webkinz selection in the FYE store. I had not been to this mall in years, (even before we moved, it was not one I visted frequently).

The drive to the mall brought back memories, I traveled some roads that I had not been on since our return. Plymouth Meeting was one of the first "far from home" places I was allowed to drive on my own when I first got my license! Back then it was such a thrill to go to the mall, and driving to the mall was really cool (it was in the mid-70s). (I decided today though that malls no longer do it for me!)

I knew over recent years that the mall had gone through some changes in anchor stores and renovations.

The original mall opened in 1966. There is a slice of a very old tree that was on the property prior to the mall hanging in the hallway that shows that the tree was there prior to the Revolutionary War (this area is not too far from Phila or Valley Forge)

This is not a big mall, dwarfed by the nearby King of Prussia Mega Mall, and on this Saturday, it was I would say moderately busy. They have built many restaurants, including a food court and entertainment opportunities (movie theater, Dave & Buster's and another large Chuck E Cheese type place), and I think this helps draw folks particularly on the weekends. I did notice that most of the spaces are occupied.

Tara didn't find what she was looking for at FYE (we had a gift card), and when she did see what she wanted, it was priced much higher than other stores we knew would have it too, so after walking the length of the mall and back, we left to come home.
This fountain was there in the "old days" right outside of the now defunct "Strawbridge & Clothiers" (one of my fav stores)

Because I LOVE sunflowers

and because I have a pic of the PF Chang horse from Winter Park, FL

When Tara was little I did bring her to this mall to ride her first carousel, but after seeing the carousel that is there now, and some vague research I was able to do, I do not believe this is the original (old) carousel, but a newer, smaller fiberglass one. It was still pretty. I love carousel horses.

Although it was a very HHH (hot, humid & hazy) day, Tara and did not want to come home, so after dropping off my mom who had something else to do, we headed back to Fischer's Park and the coolness of the creek. Click here for some pics I took there.

Fischer's Park, Towamencin Township

2009-07-27T16:23:00.003-04:00

I need to get out of the house and off the computer for a bit this afternoon, and although it is one of the hotter days since we have been back in PA, it is still bearable (i.e. no A/C turned on at home). We made a quick stop at Freddy Hill Farm, so Tara could get a scoop of Mint Choc Chip ice cream, and then we headed to Fischer's Park.

Fischer's Park is a beautiful township owned and maintained park, on the grounds of what used to be Fischer's Pool. During the summer they have outdoor concerts, and this is also the park in which the youth athletic league plays baseball.

When I was growing up swim club we belonged was on this property. I remember summer days, packing a lunch and heading to the pool with my mom to meet my Aunt Marie and cousins, Donna and Diane. Some evenings after dinner, we would head back to the pool with my dad for an evening swim after a hard days work. Somewhere around the time I turned 10, we stopped joining the pool, as we started camping, and we did not spend many weekends at home. We would also go to this pool, and the surrounding picnic groves for school picnics. Many fond memories on these grounds, but as of this writing, not one picture to share!

We did not spend too much time today, but it was enough for Tara to realize it is a great place, and she asked if we could return. It is a park with many walking trails, a shallow stream in which the kids can walk, and you can also bring dogs to the park. I think once Princess gets through her surgery this week, this will be some place she would like to romp and play!

Here are a few shots I took today, we will surely go back and check out some of the other trails, and I will take a romp in the water as well....

The rock in the middle of the photo reminded me of a heart.

Lansdale Memorial Park

2009-07-23T19:10:00.006-04:00

I know I still owe a post on the Plain and Fancy Restaurant from out trip to Lancaster, but that will have to wait.

Today was a cloudy, then rainy day here in Lansdale. With nothing really planned to do, the weather did not matter. Tara and I decided to go for a drive, and I wanted to take some pictures, so I headed to "downtown" Lansdale's Memorial Park. This is another location in close proximity to us that my brother is remembered with his name etched in stone. If you don't recall previous posts on the subject, my brother Robin, was killed in Viet Nam, 40 years ago this past March.

It was raining and breezy (which made the rain blow off of the tree leaves as well), so we stayed just long enough to walk around the path, and stop and visit the war memorial. This memorial represents those that have been killed in both World Wars, and Viet Nam that were from the town of Lansdale. Each Memorial Day there is a ceremony held at this park after the annual parade.

Also in the park is Weaver Field that is used for baseball. It was home for one season to the Lansdale Dukes that were part of the Class D North Atlantic League in 1948. They were REALLY bad, and left town after only one season. The field is still used for other baseball leagues (I'm not into local ball, so I do not know what they different leagues are called!)

Bark of a sycamore tree... I think it looks like jungle camouflage

Our Day in Lancaster County, Part 1

2009-07-18T06:49:00.005-04:00

On Thursday, we took a ride to "Amish Country". I wanted to do something that I knew my mother would be able to enjoy with us, and figured most of this trip would be driving and enjoying the scenery. She is 85, and although she still does great, she is not up for too much walking at one time.

I did a little research, and decided we would head toward Plain and Fancy, in the little town of Bird-In-Hand. This is a little less than 1 1/2 hrs from home. I have been in this area many times, but not in recent years (since we had been living in FL and all!) Rt 340 is a beautiful road to drive along!

Tara watched "Twilight" on the way, and I enjoyed seeing all the things that had changed along the way. Part of this route was my daily commute at one time, so it is interesting to note all the changes, and the "remember whens".

Once you get closer to the Lancaster area, the area turns more rural with lots of farms. This area was originally settles in the 1700s and much of the land was granted to the Amish people by William Penn. There are farms that have been in the same family for 300 years. If they were to sell this land today they would be millionaires many times over, not having to work another day in their life, but that is not the Amish way! That is not to say that they don't find ways to make some extra money.
This is what gives you the FIRST clue that you are close!

We arrived at our destination and of course the 12 yo had to be difficult and was going to "stay in the car". I told her we planned on taking a "buggy" ride, and she might have a long wait. Seems her stomach was bothering her. So there are no pics of her on this day, or my mother as a matter of fact, as she does not really like to be photographed!
We signed up for our buggy ride at Aaron and Jessica's Buggy Rides which is found right near the "covered" bridge on the property of Plain and Fancy. ($8 per adult, $5 for child for 1/2 hr. I had printed a $2 per adult discount coupon on line). To let you know, recently Tara and I went on a carriage ride through several of the historic areas of Philadelphia. We did have the carriage to ourselves, but that ride set us back $80!!!

We had to wait about 1/2 hour for our turn, but it was a comfortable day, and there is a nice shaded area to sit. We saw several horse and buggies drive by while we waited.

This was our ride, and as you can see, this is a wagon! Mike and Ike were the "muscle" that got us where we wanted to go. We were with a group of 7 from Denmark, Mom a nurse, Dad a doctor, and 5 children, the youngest a little cutie named Lukas! Also with us were a group of four from Rhode Island, mom, dad and two little girls. The three younger ones got to ride in the front with Abe our driver.

Abe was raised Amish, one of 11 children in his family. His father was a Bishop, and he said he and his siblings were raised to be examples, so they were very strict. Abe chose not to join the Amish way of life when he was "of age", which is the perogative of all Amish children. He laughed and said this means I can tell you anything you want to know!!! Because he chose not to join when he was "of age", he was not shunned by his family. Only when you join, and then choose to leave are you excommunicated. This is the only picture I have of Abe.... He was very nice and was great with the children.

Abe told us of some of the Amish ways, and some history. Having been raised in relative close proximity to the Amish, and having several family friends who were PA Dutch, we knew a bit more than the other folks, but still learned some things!

Many of the farms are predominately dairy farms. Hershey is about 40 miles from this area, and many of the farms sell their milk to Hershey for making chocolate. They also have crops like corn, tobacco and alfalfa. Yes, the Amish can smoke!

Our ride took us through this farm, but at the owner's request we were not able to take photos while on the farm. It was beautiful. One of the Amish men was out selling home made choc chip cookies, pretzels, lemonade and decorated horse shoes, as well as bottles of cold water! I don't know how many buggies go through each day, but he made $10 off of our wagon! The lemonade was fresh squeezed, and I don't know what they seasoned the pretzels with, but they were yummy too!

This is a scooter bike that the kids use to get around. Abe said these have not always been allowed, as they though the kids could get too far too fast on them! LOL

One of the reasons Abe told us that he did not join was that some of the rules (man made, not from the Bible) didn't make sense. Amish can not have electricity in their homes, nor own cars, but they are allowed to use gasoline to run generators for their barns, and they can hire someone to drive them if they need to get livestock, etc somewhere that they can't get with their buggies. They also use modern hospitals/doctors, as they do not have the education to go to medical school. Depending on the order of the Amish, these rules vary. They do not want technology to get in the way of the family!

The Amish children are still taught in one room schoolhouses with one teacher for all of K-8th grade. None of them have more than an 8th grade education. Each "district" within the community has it's own school, and all the children walk to school as they are never more than 2 miles apart. There is NO homework, as they have plenty of work to do on the farm and in the home!

A few random facts... I wish I could remember them all!

The average Amish family has 7 children.
Only about 4% choose to not join the Amish church when they are of age.
Amish can be found in 24 states, Central America and Canada.
Due to the large size of the families, they are moving into new places where they can find cheap land. Recently they have been moving to Colorado from the Lancaster area.
Lancaster has the 3rd largest Amish population in the US.

Thursday seemed to be laundry day, as we saw laundry at almost all the houses. They have a closeline that in many cases is connected to the house and to the top of the barn or other building, it is on a pully, and is pulled along so the person hanging the laundry does not need to move!

Next up, lunch at Plain and Fancy

Take Me out to the Ball Game - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

2009-07-13T12:48:00.008-04:00

It has been YEARS since I attended a Major League Baseball game, and Tara had only ever been to one ALPB (Atlantic League Prof Baseball) game when we saw the Camden Riversharks play about eight years ago.

A friend of mine had some extra tickets for Sunday's game, Phillies vs Pirates, so I grabbed the chance to go. I was not sure if Tara would enjoy or be bored.

I had not been to the new ball park (opened in 2004), and was quite anxious for the visit. Veteran's Stadium had seen better years, and was not the best for watching baseball! This park is gorgeous. I'm so glad they are no longer trying to combine baseball parks and football stadiums.

We headed down the Schuylkill Expressway about 2 1/2 hrs before game time, as I wanted to be sure we did not have to rush. The ball park is about 30 miles from home. We hit traffic in all the usual places, where we have hit traffic as long as I can remember driving/riding the Schuykill. A trip to Philly does not seem to be complete without passing by Fairmount Park, Boat House Row, the Art Museum and 30th Street station! (Traffic was heavy enough that I did not attempt any "drive by shooting"!)

We arrived in just a bit over an hour, and parked in parking lot K near Lincoln Field, and directly across the street from the entrance we needed to be near our section. I envisioned parking on the wrong side of the park, and having to walk forever, so I did my homework. Citizens Bank has a 25 year "naming rights" contract for the stadium.

Neither Tara nor I had breakfast, so the first thing we did was grab a hot dog and iced tea. I shot a few pictures from the main concurse level, and then we headed up the escalator to the 2nd level, then walked up the stairs to our section, 309. The steps up too row 19 were steep and many!

We had about an hour to kill before the game started, but I didn't mind. The seats were shaded and there was a beautiful breeze, and LOTS of people to watch.

I think someone told them it was Hawaiian Day at the park. Tara wanted to throw stuff in their hats.

Once the game started, we got right into the action, and thankfully Tara had played softball in PE, so she understood the basics. We were treated to a run, and a grand slam home run in the 1st inning. The game slowed down a bit after that, but it was still enjoyable, and we really had a great time.

The Philly Fanatic came out at one point and was shooting hot dogs into the stands. That hot dog launcher launched one right out of the park!

The crowd started thinking after the 7th inning, but Tara wanted to stay until the end, so we did. The game ended with a score of 5-2.

As we headed out of the park, we decided to look for the Build-A-Bear, and Tara got a Philly Fanatic.

It took forever to get out of the ballpark and through traffic to Broad St. I then made the mistake of getting on 76 East... I thought I was getting on West, so we made an unexpected $4.00 trip across the Walt Whitman bridge. We got home just before 7.

It was an awesome day. Tara wants to go back again! Soon it will be time to start thinking about EAGLES tickets, after all we have to check out that new stadium as well!!!

Fourth of July - Lansdale & Boulder Woods

2009-07-04T23:59:00.006-04:00

This was the first July 4th, that we have spend in PA in 5 years. The last time we flew home to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday, and now she has turned 85!

We had a nice quiet day, that ended with a great a great meal al Fresco.

Tara was camping overnight with my niece and her family, so Mom and I got up and headed out to the American Star Diner, in Lansdale. It was a beautiful day!

What better place to eat 4th of July breakfast, with the 4th of July birthday girl? I had not eaten here before, and the few (very few) reviews of any type I could find on line were mixed. What we found to be the case was a very nice, diner, breakfast dining experience. The prices were reasonable, the restaurant was clean, the staff that we encountered was courteous, and the service was good. I had my favorite breakfast when we go out, Eggs Benedict (two poached eggs, two slices of canadian bacon, on english muffin with hollandaise sauce) served with hash browns. I also had a great cup of coffee. There is something I find very satisfying drinking diner coffee out of the standard white diner coffee mugs! My mom had the special, two eggs, two slices of THICK french toast, and two sausages. These sausages were not those skinny little links you get so many time at diners, these were nice substantial sausages. Mom had cranberry herbal tea to drink. On the way out, I commented that it was Mom's birthday, and they gave her a cupcake!

After breakfast we headed to the market to pick up the things I needed to make dinner, then realizing that it was the first day of the new Lansdale Farmer's Market. Since we were driving right by we decided to stop and wander through. They had a nice turn out for the first week. Lots of local produce and some crafts, etc. Hopefully the area is not too saturated with these weekend markets, and there will be more vendors in the future. These were the BIGGEST onions I had ever seen, called Candy Onions.

In "Railroad Square" we have a Kugel Ball, A dark granite ball with slight shapes of the continents visible in it. It weighs 2,200 pounds and made of dark grey granite. (There is a Kugel Ball in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom).

On the way to the car I was distracted by some ~~weeds~~ wildflowers in the train yard, and stopped to take some photos. I have always loved the train station, even in disrepair, but I believe it has been renovated while I was gone. It was built in the mid to late 1800s.

We then headed to the market to get "fixin's" for dinner, then home to get cooking. Since those that were camping had been eating, hot dogs, hamburgers and such since Thursday, I decided to make a traditional 4th of July dish LASAGNA. Jerry loves it, and it is easy to transport. Problem was, we didn't have a big pot, so I had to cook 16 noodles, two at a time, 10 minutes each... do the math! I also baked an apple pie.

I did not bake these

We headed to the campground around 3:15. It's only about 30 minutes from home. We had a great meal together. It was nice to have eight of us together to celebrate my mom's birthday. Tara was tired and Tyler (13 yo great nephew) had had enough of camping, so we headed on home around 6pm. Tara went directly to bed, and honestly I was in bed before 9pm. No fireworks for us!

And this is why it is called BOULDER WOODS, there are boulders like these (and bigger) everywhere, left over from the days of the glaciers!

It was a great day!

Rice's Market, Solebury Twp, PA

2009-06-30T14:40:00.012-04:00

One of my favorite things to do before we moved to Florida was head out early on a Tuesday (or more often Saturday, because I was working then) morning to Rice's Market. Rice's Market is 30 acres of outdoor, retail therapy. There has been some type of "farm market" on this site for over 100 years, when Mr. Rice first started selling products from his and neighboring farms.

Rice's is located north east of Doylestown, PA. It's an easy and very beautiful drive back Mechanisville Rd (the way I go) as your drive by farms, and homes from past centuries.

Today as we were driving, even with the windows up, we were able to smell lavender that was growing at Carousel Farm which I knew nothing about until I just Googled it! Tara and I will be headed back there on a Saturday sometime soon when the farm is open to the public. I was not able to get a picture, due to the traffic on the road (the nerve of the driving public to impede my photography!).

We also passed many great houses "dressed" for the 4th of July, I was only able to snap a couple! I LOVE older homes like this, but as I am inept at home repairs, and don't like yard work, they would not be the place for me!

Soon we arrived at Rice's, paid the $1.00 parking fee, and started the hunt for a spot. Normally, I would have been out the door by 6:30am or so, as it opens at 7am. This was a spur of the moment trip since Tara was up much earlier than has become the norm! We did not leave until close to 8am, arriving around 9am. I found a great spot pretty quickly (by following folks that were leaving). It was VERY crowded.

From New Adventures in Lansdale and beyond!

You can find just about anything at Rice's, fresh produce, plants, clothing, jewelery, PURSES (everywhere there are purses), food, collectibles, cosmetics, pet supplies, and so on and so on!
We first stopped at Marie's Soap Co.. I was drawn to all of the fresh scents of the all natural soaps. Tara and I each got a bar of soap, and I got some all natural insect repellant (essential oils - Basil, Citronella, Eucalyptus, Lavendar, Litsea, Peppermint & Pine!).

We also picked up some jewelry for Tara (peace signs of course) and a birthday gift for my mom (85th on 7/4!). I was drawn to the colorful displays of purses, but I RESISTED the urge. I even got yelled at by a little man for taking pics of his purses, but I DID NOT delete the picture!

We then came upon THESE:

FRESH BAKED early this morning, PHILADELPHIA PRETZEL BRAIDS. YUMMO! This one actually made it all the way home because I wanted to make sure I took a picture! There is NOTHING like a fresh Philly pretzel... Super Pretzels are NOT the real thing!

We wandered a bit more, and suddenly, I heard a familiar voice... Paulie of Philadelphia Candles. I did not get a picture of Paulie, but Tara did get a lovely Vanilla/Spice Candle (it's still in the car and it is raining, so sorry, no picture), so I'm borrowing one off his website, I hope he won't mind since I'm advertising his wares!!! These are awesome candles, and the scents when burning rival Yankee Candles (which I LOVE as well).

By then it was getting warmer, and MUCH more crowded, so we decided to head home. We did not cover the entire 30 acres, and we did not go into the bakery, indoor food area (which is AMAZING) due to the crowd. There is always the next time.

If you are in the area on a Tuesday or Saturday, Rice's is worth your time. My favorite time of the year is a nice crisp cool fall morning!!!

Oh, and remember this post - Miles of Mules? Well, I got a picture of the SIXTH mule today!

House of Vines

2009-06-27T11:01:00.004-04:00

I do not know anything about this little house, but that it has been vine covered for as long as I can remember. It sits on the corner of Lincoln and Poplar Streets in Hatfield Pa, and it intrigues me! Had it not been for the trash can out front, I would not even have known if it was still occupied. I have never seen anyone out and about the house! (I took this through the windshield, I had to be quick.. there was a car coming!)

See the ONE little flower blooming almost in the center of the photo! I did not notice that until just now! (As always you can click for a larger view!)

Gwynedd Square Presbyterian Church

2009-06-26T00:00:00.005-04:00

On Tuesday, I went to church with my mother to help put the church newsletter together for mailing. This is something that she helps with each month. I think it is awesome that at almost 85 (on July 4th), she still stays active with things like this. I enjoyed the time, knowing that I was helping out, and filling the spot of one of the ladies who was not able to come.

I spent some time "reconnecting" with the church using my camera!

I grew up in this church, and attended very regularly for many years. I even sang in the choir. When I married, became a mom, and then divorced, I didn't feel like I "fit" with the membership of this particular church, so I attended another church, and slowly drifted away from attending all together. My mother has remained active, and kept me up to date on church news. I even "bonded" a bit through email with Pastor Dave during my mother's hospitalizations a couple years ago. Once again, I feel "at home" in this church. We will see if it is a good fit for both Tara and I. I hope it is. She will be attending VBS next week.

The following photos are some of the photos I took. You can see the others HERE.

This photo shows the original section of the church, there have been two additions over the years.

This cross hung over the pulpit in the original sanctuary.

This is the stained glass in the original part of the church.

This is a view of a wall of crosses that were lent to the church by members in celebration of the 50th anniversary that was just celebrated.

Stained glass window and organ pipes in the new sanctuary.

Doylestown Area - Miles of Mules

2009-06-24T21:09:00.003-04:00

You may remember that I mentioned Miles of Mules in my post from Sunday This was a regional art project from 2003 (just when I left PA for FL), that stretched along the Delaware and Leigh Canal Corridor. There were 170 of these mules. Many now have been sold, auctioned or from what I read stolen!

I had "discovered" three of these mules on our journey home from the movies on Sunday in the area of 611 and 313 if you are familiar with the area. I was only able to photograph one. On Tuesday we headed to Peddler's Village, and the hunt was on for any additional mules, and I hit PAY DIRT! I found the three we had seen on Sunday, and actually found three more. Five are pictured below, the sixth, I need to return to the Dairy Queen in Doylestown, as it is in front of a building right next door. I was passed it before I saw it, and didn't have time to turn around and go back. I hope in our travels this summer we might find more!
Click on the photos to see a larger view!

Peddler's Village, Lahasaka, PA

2009-06-23T06:33:00.010-04:00

Peddler's Village has been a long time favorite spot of mine, even as a teen I remember going there with my parents. There used to be a Swedish store there where you could get amazing, hand painted clogs, I can still envision a pair of black clogs with beautifully hand painted red and yellow flowers! I still have a orange Swedish Dala horse I got there as well. It is on my "My favorite thing shelf". I digress.

Lahasaka has changed over the years to also include outlet shopping on the "other" side of the road!

Our trip to PV yesterday was mainly for the drive, and to visit "Giggleberry Farms" and the carousel. I knew that with Tara, my window shopping in all of the little stores would be limited, so I went with no expectations of that!

I did however make a coupe FABULOUS PHOTO FINDS, but I will get to that in a separate post!

First, we made a little "side" trip through the toll and across the Delaware River, just because, we could! Tara loves that we can so quickly be in a different state. When you live in FL, unless you live in the northern part, it takes forever to get out of the state. We can be in NJ in several different directions in about 30 miles! I used to make this drive every day for three years when I commuted to Bridgewater every day!
Then it was back to PV and Giggleberry Farms!

The first thing you see when you walk in the door is the grand Carousel. The carousel was originally built by the Philadelphia Tobaggon Comany in 1922, and has been fully restored. The space that it is housed is not large, and is glass all around so not the easiest to photograph. I tried to get some "blur" photos as well. I rode with Tara one time, it goes pretty fast, and I don't do well on rides. Needless to say, it was a good thing she went off to play in Giggleberry Mountain, so I could sit and regain my equilibrium! I am a wimp!

Click on the collage to see larger images.
They have created an area similar to "Chuck E Cheese" here in PV. Giggleberry Mountain is a huge indoor obstacle course for climbing and sliding and much more. I did not see it first hand, as I did not want to pay the admission. Tara had a great time, and burned off some energy! She said it was fun, and would like to go back with a friend or her cousins. They have 50% off on Friday evenings (I'm guessing PV is more of an adult place on a Friday night, dinner, shopping), so we might just do that!

They also have a game room, and Tara and I had fun with $10 worth of tokens. You can get pizza, hot dogs, etc as well. There is also another section, Discovery Land, which is a hands on interactive area. Although it was inlcuded in Tara's activity pass, we FORGOT to go in!

We then headed out to go home, but made a quick stop in the toy store, pottery shop and I took a quick peek, and a deep breath in the coffee shop.

You can visit the photos from the day here as well since I choose to include collages today!

I hope to get back to PV some time soon with a friend, who likes to window shop. Many of my favorite stores are still there and I would like to revisit them, and have a nice lunch at one of the great restaurants!

A Trip to the Movies, and tidbits from around home

2009-06-21T06:30:00.007-04:00

This past week we did not get out for much exploring, instead we took care of "business" at home! I am hoping this week will be different, I have a couple things in mind!

Saturday we did make an appearance at my cousin Dean's oldest daughter's graduation party. It was a very big party, which was quite overwhelming to Tara who knew no one (even people that remember her, she does not remember since she has not seen most of them in 5 or more years!). Also, I found myself overwhelmed having to re-explain my raspy voice to each person I spoke too (I have a paralyzed vocal cord, which happened since I was last home!). I did see several of my cousins, some of their children (and even grand children!), and two of my aunts. I got to have a piece of tomato pie which I have been wanting since we returned to PA. I did not however get any photos, there were just too many people. Hopefully we will have a more intimate family gathering in the near future!

Sunday, Tara and I ventured out to the movies. Originally she wanted to see Star Trek for the 5th time, but instead we went to see Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell. This movie was pointlessly funny in true Will Ferrell style. You know going in it is going to be bad, but it still makes you laugh! I could have done without it, and in retrospect probably should have spent the money on Star Trek for the 5th time, but Tara was entertained. Some of the humor and language was a bit PG-13, but I know my child can handle it! ("Oh that is just so WRONG", "Tell me when I can look", etc).

I did however enjoy our drive to the theater. We like Regal theaters, and were very SPOILED by a 22 theater complex just a quick 5 minute drive from home in FL. Here, the closest theaters are older theaters with less comfy seats, etc. With that in mind we headed out to the Barn 14 in Doylestown. Part of the route to Doylestown were roads I had driven each and every day for 3 years when I commuted to Bedminster, NJ every day, so it was nice to "revisit" and see what had changed.
On the way home I ventured an even different route, and along the way I saw three what I believe were donkey/mule statues. Each painted differently. When I saw the first one, I didn't think anything of it, and then I saw another (pictured here) and then another (couldn't get it's picture). These were all in the Rt 611/313 vicinity in Doylestown. I have come to find out these are from a project in 2003, called Miles of Mules exhibit from 2003, associated with the James A. Michener Art Museum. There were 170 mules throughout several PA counties. I am going to have to do more research to see where any of these might still be found! If nothing else, I will have to get pictures of the other two, and a better one of the one below. I was stopped at a traffic light!

After dinner, we brought Oliver the guinea pig out on the patio so we could clean his cage. He had fun exploring, and Princess had fun watching him! At one point she had him trapped in his house, and he was not too happy with her. He kept trying to nip her nose! I think Princess thought she was keeping him safe since we had him out of his cage. She would "baby sit" the piggies for hours when we had all six of them and the babies were little!

Speaking of babies, I have been watching the Robin's nest above our front door since we moved in, and finally we have babies!

Finally as the sun was starting to set, we decided to head back inside. It was a beautiful evening to be on the patio. I have to get a small table for out there, so I can do my blogging from there! It is always shaded, so no sun glare on the screen!

Dinner with Friends

2009-06-17T19:29:00.000-04:00

I haven't been out and about much this week, getting things done at home!

I had dinner with my friends, and new employer's Steve and Leslie at Olive Garden. It was nice to get out with other "grown ups"! I should have taken a picture of them, but they are not yet accustomed to my crazy photo habits. The restaurant was really full for a drizzly, icky, Wednesday!

I am going to be working par time for them helping them with marketing for their salon "Tranquility Life Spa and Hair Design" in Hatfield. I will also be their Friday receptionist. As much as I love being off this summer, I am looking forward to working those few hours!

Around Town

2009-06-16T07:58:00.007-04:00

After our day in Philly on Friday, the rest of our weekend was pretty quiet. We spent some time at church, which was celebrating it's 50th anniversary. There was a carnival on Saturday (I forgot my memory card) and on Sunday they had a beautiful service and a catered "picnic" type lunch in the fellowship hall. I enjoyed reconnecting with church "folk" many I have known since I was a child!

Monday, Tara and I spent the afternoon with my friend Leslie. Leslie owns Tranquility Life Spa and Hair Design, in Hatfield, PA. I had gotten a hair cut on Saturday, but went on Monday for some skin care and a make over with the awesome makeup line that Leslie sells. I felt so pampered when we left, and with a bag full of new make up goodies, I am no longer going to dread the morning make up application! Tara got pampered as well with a hair wash, dry and trim! The salon is quaint and small which I have always loved. Leslie not only wants to care for your outward self, but she wants to make sure you feel good on the inside too! If all works out I will be doing some work for Leslie and Steve in the way of helping them to market the salon.

We also stopped by Freddy Hill Farms. I grew up right next to the farm, and spent a great deal of time playing there with the Seipt family children. Like me they are all grown with families of their own, many of whom work on the farm. In the 1970s they added a dairy store where they sold the milk from their cows that was processed and packaged(in plastic bags at the time)on site. They also sold ice cream. It was a frequent stop for a summer (and winter - egg nog and peppermint stick ice creams) treat. Through the years, both my brothers worked on the farm, my sister Linda was active in 4-H with a prize winning cow, Helena, that was owned by the Seipt's, and at one point in time, my mother even worked in the ice cream parlor! The farm holds an awesome Fall Festival each weekend in October, with hayrides, corn stalk mazes, and so much more. During the 90s, they added two miniature golf courses, batting cages, and driving ranges, as part of their entertainment center. I think it is awesome that they were able to make this step which I would guess has enabled then to keep Freddy Hill Farms as a working farm, and quite a bit of local property undeveloped!
The plaque at the bottom is in memory of my brother Robin.

A Day in Philly

2009-06-13T08:01:00.013-04:00

Today, Tara and I boarded the R5 and headed to Center City, Philadelphia. It had been quite some time since I was last in the City of Brotherly Love. I believe Tara was five when we last took this adventure, and we didn't much make it out of the Gallery (shopping mall that connects to the train station) when she was ready to go home!

We rushed to catch the 10:02 train, and I had to scrape together the $12 fare (I read the rate schedule wrong) because I didn't have time to stop at the ATM! With .22 cents to spare, we settled into our ride to the city. I have always loved watching the world go by from the train. I made the commute to the city for a short while during my Bell of PA career, and later would go about once a month!

Within an hour we had arrived at our destination - Market St East. I had forgotten how overwhelming the city can be. It took me a couple minutes to get my bearings and find an ATM. With that out of the way, and cash in my pocket, we headed out to the street. First we saw this awesome mural.

Once on the street, I immediately saw the "purple wings" I was looking for that designated the stop for the "PLASH" bus. This bus makes a loop around the city to the most visited tourist stops; the Liberty Bell area, the zoo, art museum, train station/shopping area, etc. You can pay $2/adult for each destination, or $5/day. I chose the $5/day per person since I didn't know how much we would be up for. My one "mistake" was not crossing the street to get the bus that was headed for the Liberty Bell, instead we got on the one just coming from there. It was a nice ride, and in my mind not really a mistake. I got to see where the bus stops for the next time, and I also got to see many things I have not seen in a very long time. I always seemed to be the one driving, so it was nice to sit back and enjoy the scenic tour. We never stopped long enough for photos, and I did not have a good seat for snapping out the window, so I have nothing to share from that journey!

We got off the bus less than a block for the Liberty Bell building, quickly moved through the line and bag check. We scanned the displays and then went to see the bell. There was a rather annoying school group there...they were "hogging" the bell, laying on the floor trying to take pics under the bell, and just plain annoying me. I just wanted 30 seconds of and unobstructed view of the bell for a photo! This was NOT the place to try and take a group picture of all the kids!

We then headed back outside and decided to take a carriage ride. This is something I have always wanted to do and Tara like the idea. Our horses name was DaVinci, and I think our tour guide/drivers name might have been Kim. We went through the historic area, Society Hill & Old City. It was an hour tour, and we learned some interesting facts. I thought it would be a great way to take pictures, and in some cases it was, but because it was "spitting" rain, she had put the top up which sometimes impeded my shot!
I personally could spend hours walking around ALONE with my camera, so many windows, doors, statues, sculptures, textures, etc to photograph. Here is just a couple!

Philadelphia has hundreds of murals on buildings, through the Phila Mural Arts Program
The ones I saw from a distance were pretty amazing. I think they need a mural tour!

Once our tour was over, we hopped on the "Phlash" bus and headed back toward 12th & Market. I was wanting some lunch, and wanted to take a swing through the Reading Terminal Market.... WRONG thing to to on a Friday afternoon! It was packed, and something made Tara sneeze. She sneezed from the time we walked in until a couple minutes after we left! I'm hopping the train early some Sunday morning and hitting it when it opens!

We both had decided we had enough of the big city for the day, it takes some adjusting to the ENERGY.
Before we left, I did catch a glimpse of Billy Penn a top of City Hall.

So that's it for our day, we caught the train and headed back home! Have to run to a much needed hair appointment!

Dinner for Five

2009-06-11T00:45:00.000-04:00

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. ~Thomas Jefferson

We were invited by my nephew Chad and his girlfriend Tasha for dinner on Thursday. I had not met Tasha before, and had not seen their home, both of which I had heard wonderful things about from my sister. Tasha really helped out when my mom was moving too, so it was nice to finally meet her!

We arrived a bit before Tasha got home from work, so we caught up with Chad, and admired the great decorating job they have done!

Tasha arrived home from a busy day at work in a doctor's office, and we promptly sat down to a great dinner of Baked Ziti, tossed salad, garlic bread and cheesecake!

They have a great aquarium, and it was fun watching the fish. Tara of course talked everyone's ear off with all of her "Animal Planet" knowledge!

We visited for a bit after, and then headed back home. I was not totally familiar with the area we were in and wanted to get out to the main road before it was totally dark!

I am hoping now that we are back "in town" that we can have many more informal family dinners, and not always wait for a special occasion! It was very enjoyable!
Here is a photo I took of Chad, Tasha, Mom and Tara

Historic Building - Masonic Hall

2009-06-10T02:09:00.000-04:00

Today's stop in Lansdale is in "downtown" and was one of my favorite buildings when I was growing up!

The building at 313 West Main Street in Lansdale was built in 1912 during the industrial revolution. It is of the Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the Masonic Temple, a meeting place for the Free and Accepted Masons. The building is now home to the Lansdale Center for Performing Arts. I think it is wonderful that that building is being preserved, and renovated for such a great use. Hopefully this will help bring downtown Lansdale one step closer to being revitalized!

Martha

North Penn HS Viet Nam "Memorial Grove"

2009-06-09T17:11:00.000-04:00

(that's my name for it, don't know that it has an official title!)
This small monument sits at the corner of E Hancock St and Church St, in Lansdale, PA, and I would venture to guess, very few people even know that it is there, or the reason it is there. Since Memorial Day just passed there are flags and a wreath, that makes this memorial a little more noticeable.

This was one of the first things I wanted to visit once I got back home. It memorializes my brother Robin Miller, and 13 other alumni of North Penn High School that were killed in Viet Nam.

There is also a grove of trees, each one dedicated to one of the fallen soldiers. The marker was dedicated 15 years ago, and I attended that ceremony, and would visit frequently until I moved away. If a ceremony is held next Memorial Day, I plan to attend!

The marker was placed thanks to a student who thought there should be something to show the significance of the grove of trees. I for one thank Ms. Fiore, and the NP Key Club members throughout the years who participate in this ceremony.

This is an excerpt from the The Reporter on May 29, 2009 regarding the monument.

A few blocks away, the North Penn High School Key Club held a Memorial Day service at Penndale Middle School, honoring North Penn School District graduates who died in the Vietnam War. Khadijah Lewis and Christina Radley, sophomores at North Penn and Key Club members, each read a poem by Nancy Byrd Turner.

Corina Fiore, a former Key Club president, said she started the ceremony 15 years ago when she was a student at North Penn.

"At the time we had just this grove of trees planted in honor of these fallen soldiers, but there was nothing listed, there weren't any markers or names."

Through fundraising and Fiore's leadership, the Key Club purchased a placard that bears the names of 14 North Penn High School graduates who died in Vietnam: Stanley S. Cope, Jr., Class of '65; Albert M. Finn, Class of '62; John A. Glorioso, Class of '66; William E. Hannings, Class of '66; James W. Holliday, Class of '61; Gregory Jeremicz, Class of '65; Eric A. Lord, Class of '68; Robin B. Miller, Class of '67; Barry A. Molettiere, Class of '66; Robert I. Moore, Class of '66; Ronald J. Murphy, Class of '66; Andrew Mark Phillips, Class of '69; George E. Shade, Class of '63; David R. Weigner, Class of '62.

Sunny Day in PA!

2009-06-06T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hello, from the now SUNNY state of Pennsylvania. It had been raining since we arrived on Thursday evening, but today is sunny and beautiful. I have had a couple good nights of sleep, but I still feel so drained, so I have not been able to get my posts together for the journey, nor our first day here! Those will come. Right now I am trying to get things moved/unpacked in my bedroom so I can put my bed together. Tara and my mom both have their rooms situated, but my room was where all the "stuff" went as it was brought in!

I will leave you for now this one picture that I took today! I know I'm back in Philly (well not the city, but you know what I mean!) If you enlarge, or look closely, you will see the Eagles, Phillies and Sixers logs. They are missing the Flyers, though!

Molettiere's Cafe
530 N Cannon Ave
Lansdale, Montgomery County, PA

Car Trek - Day Two of Road Trip

2009-06-05T02:00:00.001-04:00

Statistic for the day
550 miles driven
9:15am - 8:30pm
Total miles for two day 1,018.

After getting a few hours of sleep at the Motel 6 in Florence SC, we grabbed some cereal and iced coffee, and were on our way around 9:15. I wanted to try and make it all way to PA on this day, but I knew it was going to mean a long day on the road!

Before we headed out I had taken Princess for a walk, and saw flowers and a dragon fly. The Motel 6 was nothing fancy, but provided a hot shower, and a comfy place to rest my head! They accept pets and that was our main goal for the night! It was also very convenient to the exit from 95!

Once in the car it took the animals a bit to get settled again. Cassie who was very quiet the first day, was a bit more restless. Princess, would settle for a bit, and then start to whine. Never sure if she needed to go or was just whining, I found myself stopping about every two hours even if just long enough to get her out to go potty!
Of course, no trip up (or down) I-95 is complete without all of the South of the Border signs! I tried to get as many as possible, and of course going 70 mph, they are not always the best!

We motored along, Tara watched ALF, and at one point Tara and all of the animals were asleep. At some point we stopped at a rest area or two for health breaks all around.

Then we arrived in Virginia at 12:36.

Lunch was Subway, at 1:15

Then we crossed this cool bridge at around 2pm.

Not a great picture again, but driving in traffic at 60+mph limits that amount of attention that can be paid to ones photography. The building you can see in the center of the picture is the USMC Museum in Triangle VA. It was an impressive sight from the highway!

Shortly after this we starting running into rain showers, and they pretty much stayed with us all the way to PA.
When we got to the Springfield area, I was amazed at all of the new roadway. That used to be such a bottleneck of traffic, but we breezed right through. We also crossed the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, and then it happened TRAFFIC. Afternoon traffic on the outer loop! We never really sat still, but we moved slowly. We started looking for all the different states we could find on license plates. We did pretty well in a short amount of time, considering we were stuck in basically the same crowd of vehicles. At one point we had 17. (I need to find Mom's notekeeping envelope for all of the mileage, times, etc for the trip!)

I really don't have too many pictures for the rest of the trip, the weather was too bad, and the traffic to heavy to be distracted by the camera! (Safety First!)
I did get a picture in the Ft McKinley tunnel (Tara was not happy about going UNDERWATER) and when we entered Delaware at 7:27, and PA at 7:52pm. From here we headed up the Blue Route, the the North East Extension of the PA turnpike, exciting at Lansdale, and then headed to our new home! No fanfare or pictures, too tired, too rainy!

Captain's Log Car Date 2009156 - HOME

2009-06-04T22:58:00.000-04:00

We finally have arrived HOME. Although I had never seen our new residence until we arrived this evening, it almost feels like home already.

It is so wonderful to be back close to friends and family that we love!

I will need to write a trip report for the past two days, but that is for another day. Tonight I am just plain exhausted, and there are many pictures to upload as well!

Captain's Log Car Date 2009155

2009-06-04T02:59:00.000-04:00

After a busy day we finally were all packed and on the road at 2:15. Drove 468 miles in just over 9 hrs .
Spending night in the Florence SC Motel 6.
Will update more later.

(Posted from IPHONE!)

Car Trek - Day One of Road Trip

2009-06-03T12:13:00.000-04:00

Statistics - 468 miles
2:15 - 11:15pm - 9 hours

After the delayed arrival of the movers I had hired, we still were on the road before 3pm. 2:45 to be exact. I had hoped to be on our way by about 1pm, but this was not too bad. Just a few minutes from home it started to rain, and we drove through hard downpouring, road flooding rain.
This is Jason pulling away from the house with all of my worldly possesions. We would met up with him only once along the way when I had to give him more funds for gas! He drove pretty much straight through and arrived to his parent's home with Nemo his cat late morning on Thursday.

Traffic was very good once we got on I95, and it continued to be that way for some time, until we hit the Jacksonville area. The cats were all left out of their carriers and they calmed down pretty quickly. Princess on the other hand took some time. At one point I had to get off an exit to find some GRASS were she could "go". She really didn't have to!

I didn't take too many photos on this leg of the journey. I was exhausted, and I wanted to concentrate on driving. Tara decided she would watch ALF, which continued the entire trip (We had two seasons with us!)

We made grabbed dinner at a McDs drive thru, and we drove on until approximately 11:00 when we arrived in Florence SC, and got a room at a Motel 6. We got all the animals in the room, as would be expected they were all very confused, but everyone settled in nicely for a good rest! I took a MUCH NEEDED shower and felt a little more human.

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009154 - The Final Day

2009-06-02T23:39:00.000-04:00

Today was our final full day in Orlando, and tonight, is the last night we will be sleeping here. All of the major stuff was done, but there still was so much little stuff to do. I spent a good four hours away from the house again today which didn't help in getting things done around the house. God Bless my mom, she worked hard on packing up the kitchen. We had gotten rid of a good bit of kitchen stuff, but still needed pots, pans, utensils, plates, cups, etc. for the past few days.

I am overwhelmed by the "stuff". I have said it before, but it really is overwhelming. Little things that you may or may not need, but if you do, do you really want to go out and buy it again when you just threw it out? I am at that point though!

I had to use the loaner car (a perfectly nice 2008 Kia Sedona, but not for me!) to do my running today. We headed out to Comcast on the other side of town to return our cable boxes. We just have basic cable now, and more than one I have tried to rewind to listen to something I missed! It does not work! The Kia probably has the cleanest windshield in town, every time I would shift into park or reverse, etc., I would pull the windshield washer lever, as that is were my gear shift is in our vehicle. The Kia has it on the center console.

I did get a picture that I have been trying to get for weeks, you will have to go to my Photo Blog to see what that is!

We made a stop at a Hallmark store, and Tara was very happy to find the Webkinz she has been waiting for.

After that, we stopped at AAA to pick up a couple of books and maps, in case the internet fails me while on the road if (when) we need to find a place to rest for a bit.

I was hoping that I would hear that our vehicle was done, as we were in the general area, but our service advisor was out to lunch until noon. Tara and I headed over there and had lunch at Cracker Barrel. Of course, once lunch was done the vehicle was not ready, so we headed home.
After I sat and regrouped for a bit, I decided I would load the LAST load of stuff for Goodwill. I was not sure if it would fit but it did. I was able to make the drive there by myself which was refreshing to be alone, and quiet for 40 minutes or so.

On the way home from their, I got the call that our vehicle was ready. I had realized that my wallet was not in my purse, I had taken it out to put my new insurance card in, and didn't put it back in my purse. I headed to home for my wallet and Tara. I am so afraid that I will lose my DL or insurance card and won't be able to rent the truck tomorrow. I have them both safe and sound. I did however lose my extra set of car keys, and had that replaced today at quite a hefty price. I am sure I will find the other spare, but I did not want to be traveling with only one key!

We stopped and picked up Bacon Ranch salads for dinner, and I got back down to business. Still trying to consolidate boxes. Some smaller boxes where dumped into bigger boxes, or whole small boxes were placed in bigger boxes. I am trying to have as few individual pieces as possible! It is still alot. I would have hated to see what it would be like if we lived her longer, of with more family members!

Take it from me, if you have even the remotest chance that you will be moving from you current location, and you have not recently had a "clean sweep", do yourself a favor, and spend some time sorting, tossing and donating!

I had best get the pictures for today uploaded to this and get back to the last of the odds and ends.
This is my life, not as organized as other photos, I was trying to separate what needs to go into our new home, and what can go to storage for the time being. I would have loved to just started stacking them up outside, but didn't think that was such a good idea overnight! In addition to what is pictured, I have 1 big desk, one small kitchen table with 3 chairs, a 42" TV, two smaller TVs, a twin mattress and daybed (it can be taken apart so takes up little room), a dresser, Christmas tree, riding saddle and two bikes. I hope it all fits in the truck!!!

My neighbor is taking me to UHAUL at 7am. The junk guy could be here as early as 8:30, and at that time the family room furniture and matress and box spring from the master bedroom will be taken out of here. The moving helpers should be here between 9 & 9:30 for their 2 hours, and Jason (my driver) will be here between 10-11 to help load stuff as well.

I keep telling Tara that she WILL be inconvenienced tomorrow. She has not been the best partner in this move. Very reluctant to help, but for the most part staying out of the way! Again, I thank God for my mom (in so many ways, not just this!)

I'm hoping we can be on our way between 1 and 2pm.

There might not be an updated for tomorrow, don't know what exactly we are doing, where we might be stopping, or how exhausted I will be!

This is a final photo taken at our town center. I love the entrance to the town center, very Florida, and today there was a very dark Florida afternoon storm cloud!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009153

2009-06-01T22:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, only two more nights to sleep in this house! At one point I thought the day would never get here, and then last week, I did not think I would survive the preparations, and now, as the big day draws near, I am READY, and for the most part rested and unstressed.

I got off to a good start this morning. I awoke at 5:30am on my own, after a good nights sleep. Gosh, I love Maia our Yorkie, but looking back, I think she was part of the reason I did not sleep well. I made the mistake of not having her in a crate at night, and she was cat like in the sense that she wandered, and was in tune to every little noise outside. She also liked being up around 4:30 many mornings! I miss her silly, over excitable personality, but the house is much calmer. I think Princess might have barked once all day today!

Anyway, once I was up, I was able to spend some tweeting and blogging time. I got the trash to the curb, cleaned the guinea pig cage (he's being downsized too, at least for the trip) and went through a couple small boxes of odds and ends.

Around 9:30am, I decided to head out to Goodwill (yes, again) and UHAUL, while I waited for CARMAX to call to tell me they FINALLY had the right part for my sunroof. Goodwill must have had a a big weekend/early Monday morning, being it was the 1st of the month, as they had no yellow carts to get the stuff from my car to the building, so today I just had to stack it outside. Here is what I took today!

Then it was a stop at UHAUL. I needed a box and to put in my reservation for the truck on Wednesday. That is all taken care of, and I get to pick the truck up around 7am on Wednesday. 1800GOTJUNK is scheduled between 8:30-10:30, and the moving helpers are due between 9:00 - 9:30. Jason, who will be driving the truck to PA, will be over to help load as well! He is excited about the trip! I'm glad, as he is really helping me out.

While I was making these stops, Tara and Princess were watching the "Ugly Dachsund". I don't know why, but I really like driving and listening to movies, especially if they are movies that I know, so I can picture what is going on in my head! I think everyone will be very comfortable for the drive!

We then headed to pick up a ceramic piece that Tara painted last weekend, you can go HERE, to see the before picture. Here is the after, it turned out great. This was another sad moment, saying good bye to our friends at Painted by Hue, we had lots of fun over the past couple of years there, and we have lots of ceramic pieces to show for it!

It was then time to come home. I called CARMAX when got home, and my part was in, so I was to head there around 1:30. We grabbed some lunch, I went through another box of "stuff" from my desk, and then it was time to go. My part was installed promptly, and we were headed out when I remembered that the carpet under the floor mat had been wet on the passenger side. I had meant to tell them about it, although it had dried out on Sunday after I lifted the mat. They diagnosed the issue right away (an AC drain line that was clogged), but knew that it would not be completed by closing time, and they know they I am under a time crunch, and offered me a loaner vehicle. After a few minutes of waiting for the car and the paper work to be completed, we were on our way home in a Kia mini van (I forget the model). I do not like it as much as my mini van, but it is only for a day.

We finally got home, the wind out of my sails! I relaxed for a few, and the made dinner (chicken, couscous and fresh tomatoes), and then got back to packing. Except for the things around the house that we are using and some kitchen stuff we are DONE!

I thought I had made my last trip to Goodwill, but I found a few more things today, so there will be another trip there tomorrow.

I also have to go to COMCAST (all the way on the other side of "town"), and will have to go back and pick up my car. I still have things to mail (the last thing from my list of tasks), so hopefully I will have a chance to get to the PO after I pick up my car.

Dinner tomorrow night will be take out/delivery/or eating out, as we have just about used up everything we need to in the fridge.

I can't wait to have this part of the "journey" completed, so I can start sharing fun stuff on the road trip and once we get back home! There is so much there I can't wait to see again after FOUR years!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009152

2009-06-01T02:59:00.001-04:00

It really is happening, we are almost there. We have been wanting this for two years now, and it is just three days away. We will be on our way to PA! Back to family and friends we have missed so much over the past 6 years. Yes, there were visits, phone calls, and emails, but their is nothing like being close enough to go grab a cup of coffee, or for a hug, or to celebrate all of the special occasions we've been missing out on!

Sunday was productive, yet not stressful. I am to the point of just the little stuff.
Mom headed to church, and Princess rode along. I think she is enjoying being an "only" dog. I do miss Maia and Daphne, but the house is much calmer. We tried to go to UHAUL to buy a box for Tara's Cinderella Castle that still needs to be packed, but everyone in East Orlando must have moved over the weekend, we could not get near the place. I'm glad we are moving mid-week!

Next we headed to the car wash, there was bird "poop" on Tara's window. I like the little car washes that you drive into, but the car just sits there and the machine moves. It does not touch your car. It might not get 100% of the dirt, but it is good for those quick interim washes. I am not sure if Princess liked it or not!

After the carwash, I stopped for my morning energy. This time at Dunkin' Donuts

We stopped home, and dropped off Princess, and then soon it was time to go pick Mom up at church.
Once home, we set to the task of more gathering and packing of the little stuff. Consolidating more boxes, getting rid of more stuff when given a second glance. Most of the day was spent doing this, with some breaks for a few quick games of Bejeweled Blitz, etc.
Tara played in the pool a bit, and saw this in the sky. She made sure she told me it was there so I could take a picture!

Speaking up UP. We took a much needed relaxation break and went to see UP 3D last night. It was a great movie, but a little sad to realize it will most likely be our last movie at that theater. We have seen so many movies there over the past 6 years! Lots of fun times and good memories!

By the end of the day, this is what the "staging area" looked like!

Can you believe this is mostly stuffed animals? Build-A-Bears, etc, plus there are two boxes of Webkinz in the other pile! We got rid of lots of stuffed animals too! The wooden bench goes (it was my grandmother's) but not the palm!

That is almost all my worldly possesions in one room of the house! There are probably 10 more boxes (clothes, kitchens, odds and ends), a bike, Christmas tree, TV, big desk, dresser daybed and mattress, and computer yet to be added to the "pile"!

Monday I should be able to tie up the loose ends. It is trash day, so more stuff to the curb, another load to Goodwill (I think will be the last). I also need to go reserve a truck!

I would love to head to Downtown Disney for our last Disney experience, but I have a feeling that might be pushing things a bit!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009151

2009-05-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, my list has really gotten SHORT! I only had two "carry over" tasks, and one will probably be carried over until the very last minute.

1) ~~Go to Farmers Market~~ take earring for repair. There is a wonderful vendor that sells jewelery made from the dried acrylic from her paint palette. She has an Etsy shop too Art Parts by Sandy. I bought a pair of earrings for myself for Mother's Day, and the hook had come off. Now I knew I could probably fix it, but I wanted to make sure it was done right, so I brought it back to Sandy! She was great, apologized for my trouble, fixed the earring, and gave me a handpainted pouch! This picture is from Sandy's Etsy store, and look very much like my earrings. I love the colors, and in particular that they have amethyst (my birthstone). If you like unique jewelery, or need a unique gift of jewelery, check her out!

Tara got a fork bracelet today, I found this photo on line,but not made by the same guy, and my mom got an angel pin made from the design ends off the silverware. I will have to take a picture of that. Tara has wanted this bracelet since the 1st week we went to the Farmer's Market, but we had already spent too much. The vendor is Argyle Gifts. She also got her favorite hand made bath fizzies from Coconut Clean, she was given a 3 pack as a parting gift! That was so very nice of him.

It was so hot and sticky by 10:30 this morning, we decided to head home, but not after a quick trip to, you guessed it Goodwill.
2) ~~Trip to Goodwill~~. I was thinking it might be my last one, but I found some things I forgot, and have already added to them.

The rest of the day was spent "puttering" around, collecting odds and ends of things around the house. I went through one more box of Tara's stuff collected from my bedroom. It is just a matter now of getting all the little things around the house put into boxes, or if insignificant, trashed.

I will need one more trip to Goodwill with some things I forgot, but we are really almost ready!!!

I need to go reserve a truck (they make you pay for FIVE days for a trip of our distance, even if you don't need it that long. I think at the most I will need it four. I hope to get packed by early afternoon Tuesday, (all the boxes are gathered in one area, so grabbing two or three at a time on a hand truck will be easy, and I don't see us having more than 30 boxes), and we have only 5 pieces of furniture that I can't load, thus the "rent-a-movers" I have hired! I'd love to get 8 or 9 (or more) hours of driving in on Wednesday, and then complete the trip on Thursday, arriving home a day earlier!

I have to say, I miss Maia and Daphne, but the house is so much calmer! Maia is a ball of energy, and some days a bit much. I think Princess is loving being an only dog. I have to hope that they found great homes already this weekend. I don't have the "strength" to go check on them.....

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009150

2009-05-29T21:42:00.001-04:00

Today was a hard day for me, but I made it through, and know that there was no other way!
Here are some other details of the day.

1) ~~Back to Carmax (three mornings in a row, out of the house by 7:30), good thing is I can get my ICED coffee~~ I was there by 8am, by 8:30 I had SPILLED my ice coffee on the floor, and by 9am they were telling me they could not make the repair as they were sent the wrong part! Now I have to go back on Monday (we hope)!

2) Trip to Goodwill with "fake" plants, and any other misc stuff! Waiting for a full load, by tomorrow maybe!

3) ~~Bike Store~~ He does not buy previously owned bikes at all. I am now rethinking taking it with me. It is a great bike, and MAYBE I can ride it to the fitness center in our new complex!

4) ~~Jeans shopping~~ FINALLY, 2 pair jeans, shirt, flip flops, watch, necklace and jammies!

5) Post office - Should do while I am out too.

6) ~~Stop by pet rescue at Petsmart. Two options for "surrendering pets" have fallen through. I hope this rescue who we have known and dealt with on several occasions will be able to take Maia and Daphne.~~ This is done, and Daphne and Maia are with the rescue. It was one of the HARDEST things I have ever done. They were both part of our famiy since May 2005.

7) Finish up odds and ends of packing, things we are not currently using.
I am sure there are more.... just not coming up with any. If all moving tasks are done, then there are plenty other things still to be done! I am moving right along with this. I think by Saturday afternoon I should be DONE. ~~I cleaned out desk today, and packed p the Wii, RockBand, Gamecube.~~

8) ~~Finally brought the ladder in and emptied these shelves~~
This, now looks like this

9) ~~Went to dinner at Outback.~~ Tara's choice not mine.

We are coming to the home stretch, and I am happy with where we are. In the end I think we will have 30 boxes or left. All my wordly belongings in 30 boxes. I think that is pretty darned good (well, except for the computers, TV, and some furniture)

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009149

2009-05-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

Today was another very busy day with more errand running than actual packing. Again, I didn't pull my camera out. I forgot to photograph the pile of trash, and the additional car load of donations to Goodwill, and a box of office/craft supplies we donated to the church my mom attends when she is here.

Trash was two FULL 45 gal trash cans (see photo a couple days back), and I believe two bags.
Donation was 2 rather EX large storage containers, a "BOOMBOX" from the mid-90s (still works, just BIG), and one other box. I am totally annoyed with myself that I forgot photos. I am just so tired, and just trying to get from point A to point B!

Thursday's list:
1) Buy jeans (I tried again, the errand I ran before required an additonal stop and I needed to get hom)
2) ~~Finish packing the various boxes throughout the house~~ The boxes I was mentioning in this task have at last been FILLED, and now have the lids on them and are ready to be moved to the "staging area" (aka living room).
This was the family room earlier this evening,

Now all those boxes have bee moved to the living room. Last we visited the "staging area, it looked like this:

Tonight it looks like this (notice love seat is gone - 1800GOTJUNK!)

4) Repack Tara's books - I think they will have to be in two boxes, or it will be too heavy! For a kid that doesn't really like to read she has a lot of "favorite" books.
5) Deposit checks in my purse in the bank -Didnt go by the bank today,
7) Stop at bike store to see if he will buy back my bike I did take a picture and was going to stop buy today. the same errand that impacted #1, impacted this task as well.
8) ~~Go to "pawn shop" to see if they will buy two TVs~~ Done, they will buy them, but one will be going with us. It is bigger and newer than the TV my mom has, so she will take the one. Need to decide now if I should just take both of them.
9) del>Finish removing paritally packed/sorted items from Tara's room This will be done as soon as I am done posting this. I didn't want to FALL asleep again tonight with out posting.
10) Go to Post office - four packages to be mailed. I have all item together in a box, with all four addresses. That's a step in the right direction. I HATE the post office.
11) ~~Trip to Goodwill.~~ I took another BIG load, but TOTALLY forgot to take pictures, also took one box to church
12) ~~Daphne, Kovu and Maia to vet.~~ Maia was groomed as well!
13) ~~Trash & recycling to the curb~~

14) ~~Took sleeping bag, blanket and pillow to laundromat~~ My mom did this while I went to Goodwill and pet store.

I keep thinking today is FRIDAY. Thank goodness it is not. We basically have two rooms emptied.
One bedroom has just a bookshelf that will go with us, the other has TV, bookshelf and dressers to go, and an old desk and bedframe for 1-800-GOTJUNK.
Living Room/Dining Room are being used for packing, so there is no "stuff" from that room specifically.
Guest Room - This basically has all of our clothes and linens in boxes, and the stuff we are wearing in baskets. My mom is doing a great job of keeping this under control! There is a bed, and a small piece of furntiture to be moved in that room. Drawers emptied and only thing in the closet are mom's current clothes.
Family Room/Kitchen - This is where the majority of "stuff" is left. Odds and ends of things, plus things in different stages of packing. It is hard to pack up everything, we are still LIVING and eating here. I now in the end stuff will just be thrown in boxes with no rhyme or reason, but the majority of the stuff is pretty organized!

Friday
1) Back to Carmax (three mornings in a row, out of the house by 7:30), good thing is I can get my ICED coffee!
2) Trip to Goodwill with "fake" plants, and any other misc stuff!
3) Bike Store
4) Jeans shopping
3 & 4 WILL be done after Carmax, while I am out alone!
5) Post office - Should do while I am out too.
6) Stop by pet rescue at Petsmart. Two options for "surrendering pets" have fallen through. I hope this rescue who we have known and dealt with on several occasions will be able to take Maia and Daphne.
7) Finish up odds and ends of packing, things we are not currently using.
I am sure there are more.... just not coming up with any. If all moving tasks are done, then there are plenty other things still to be done!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009148

2009-05-27T18:29:00.000-04:00

Still here! Yesterday was a crazy busy day. I felt like I did SO much, but never pulled the camera out. Exhaustion is setting in, and there was some "tween" drama. She is BORED, and is "jealous" that I am spending so much time packing. We went out last evening for a couple hours, took a drive and went to the mall. Didn't buy ANYTHING.

Here is Wednesday's list:
1) Buy jeans (I tried again, but talked to my neighbor too long at the market)
2) ~~Car to Carmax~~ Issue diagnosed, have to return on Friday.
3) Finish packing the various boxes throughout the house - This is not done, but we keep consolidating boxes from around the house, we are getting closer!
4) Repack Tara's books - I think they will have to be in two boxes, or it will be too heavy! For a kid that doesn't really like to read she has a lot of "favorite" books.
5) ~~Go to market - need food for dinner. Fridge and pantry getting low (which is a good thing in this case)~~ Made Rice-A-Roni with Chicken thighs, broccoli & asparagus
6) Deposit checks in my purse in the bank - TOTALLY forgot about this one until I put the visor down in the car today!
7) Stop at bike store to see if he will buy back my bike
8) Go to "pawn shop" to see if they will buy two TVs
15) ~~Have Tara go through My Little Pony collection~~ - She got rid of a few, but very reluctantly. I think she is feeling PRESSURED to get rid of her stuff. I suspect that once the dust settles in PA, we can "revisit"!
16) Finish removing paritally packed/sorted items from Tara's room - Not totally finished, but I went through two boxes that were my stuff - papers, etc.
17) Go to Post office - four packages to be mailed. I have all item together in a box, with all four addresses. That's a step in the right direction. I HATE the post office.
18) ~~Trip to Goodwill.~~ I took another BIG load, but TOTALLY forgot to take pictures. The exhaustion is setting in.

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009147

2009-05-26T06:52:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was a REALLY good day, but I did slow down late in the afternoon again. Some days there is just not enough steam. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though and I think all is on track to be 99% completed by early weekend.
1) Buy jeans (I am pretty certain this will not happen again today)
2) Finish packing the various boxes throughout the house - This is not done, but we keep consolidating boxes from around the house, we are getting closer!
3) Repack Tara's books - I think they will have to be in two boxes, or it will be too heavy! For a kid that doesn't really like to read she has a lot of "favorite" books.
4) ~~"Revisit" the stuffed animal population, it is overwhelming even in storage bags!~~ Tara did great with this, we got rid of another whole trash bag of stuffed toys! I have promised her TWO new Webkinz when they come out for getting rid of 45 other stuffed todays!
5) ~~Make another trip to Goodwill. I am fairly certain it won't take long to fill the car~~

6) Go to market - need food for dinner. Fridge and pantry getting low (which is a good thing in this case) - Nope, ordered Chinese! MUST go on Wednesday!
7) ~~RETURN BOLT DVD to the Redbox. We have had it way too long.~~
8) Deposit checks in my purse in the bank - nope, all the ATM envelopes were soaked. Bank was not yet open when I was there.
9) ~~Call 1-800-GOTJUNK~~ One pick up completed, and the other for the furniture we still need schedule for 6/3. This was the BEST thing I could have done. It got rid of all the big stuff that I no longer need or want. My house was not really as cluttered as this truck load might seem. This was several pieces of furniture, patio furniture, garage stuff, etc.

This is what the garage is looking like! Lots of EMPTY boxes

10) ~~Call Moving helpers to reschedule~~ Changed to 6/3
11) ~~Call Vet for Maia and Daphne~~ Maia, Daphne and Kovu all go to the vet on Thursday morning! Should be quite a scene!
12) ~~Drop off Disney trains to Little's~~
13) Stop at bike store to see if he will buy back my bike
14) Go to "pawn shop" to see if they will buy two TVs
(This is the list that has so many NO packing, but necessary things to do!)
15) Have Tara go through My Little Pony collection - too many of these as well. - She had agreed to give them all up, but as I was giving the box to the Goodwill, she changed her mind. She needs to keep only her favorite FIVE!
16) Finish removing paritally packed/sorted items from Tara's room
17) Go to Post office - Did change of address on line, but I have four packages to be mailed.
18) ~~Returned Primo water bottles to Winn Dixie~~

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009146

2009-05-25T23:11:00.001-04:00

Time is really flying. I sit here thinking of the things that I need to do besides packing (vet, car to mechanic, post office, phone calls, etc) and realize that we have to keep moving. I think I said in a previous post, the hope is to have everything pretty much wrapped up with packing by the weekend, Saturday would be great. This would give us a couple days to sit back, rest and maybe do a couple of activities that we had hoped to fit in before leaving. First the weather got so hot that we stayed away from outside activities, and since then we have had rain, rain and more rain! I would love to get back to EPCOT, Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios one last time, but that will not happen. We might be able to make it to Downtown Disney to get our last Disney fix! One thing is for sure, as much as we have loved Disney, we will not be vacationing here anytime soon! Disneyland in California maybe, but not Disney World. There is so much I want Tara to experience in the North East, I don't think we will have to travel to far! So, this morning I was up bright and early again, only I only had about 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I fed the animals, and walked the dogs all before 5:30! I spent some time on the computer and watched the news, and then I started sorting through boxes again. We pretty much have everything emptied out, and things in piles or boxes. I have a box of scrapbooking stuff, office/school supplies, a box for my bedroom, a box of those odds and ends of paperwork that you want to make sure you can put your hands on quickly if need be. I've also got a kitchen box, a Tara box, and just odds and ends box. When I find something that belongs in one of those categories, I just drop it in the box on my way by. Depending on what is in the boxes in the end, they may or may not have to be repacked. I am sure in the end there are going to be a box or two of STUFF that has no logic place in my organizational scheme. I had boxes like that when I moved to FL, they were the last boxes to be packed when I was just too tired to think about it. The way I am feeling this time, that STUFF might just become trash! Trash oy vey, this is a problem. No trash today because it is a holiday, and we will have no bulk pick up this week, where we can put out at the curb the equivilant of one small pick up track of "stuff". I am trying my best to keep my trash consolidated as much as I can. This is the 45 gal can I have in the house. This really saves on trash bags. It is brand new, clean, not smelly, but definitely one of the best things I decided to buy in the process. It's about filled to the top, so Thursday needs to come quickly. I have another just like it in the garage right now and it is packed to the top!
Carryover
1) Buy jeans. Do we want to take bets on what day I finally do this?

2) Hallway bathroom cabinets. Not yet completed, but one side is emptied. I still need to go through all the stuff, it is all small odds and ends of toys. I have also pulled a few things from the other side, so there is very little there still yet to do!

3)~~Goodwill~~ today's load was a big one. I am totally impressed by this new Goodwill store and drop off center. The folks that work the donation area are so nice. I pull my vehicle up under the covered area, and within a moment or two, there is someone outside with a yellow bin to help me unload. Within 5 minutes I am done and on my way! I read today, when I was looking for a phone number to see if they were open today, that even if they can't use items, anything that they can recycled is recycled, and they get money back into the organization from that as well. That makes me feel better should I be donating anything that they can not use/sell. I am trying to only donate things that if I were going to a thrift store that I would want to buy (if they were not already my things!) This store is near the Univ of Central FL campus, so I suspect at some times of the year they get a good business from college students. Today's load included over 12 DOZEN hangers. 144 HANGERS - all the nice plastic kind. I didn't think we ever had 144 pieces of clothing between the two of us, but we had HANGERS. Mom has plenty of hangers back home. The black trash bag is full of hangers! Also donated games, lots of decorative stuff. I even gave up my Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls I got when I was in 7th grade (yes, a little old for dolls, but if I remember correctly, they were "popular" at that time. I had always held on to these as keepsakes, but Tara had gotten to them when she was little and the boxes were gone, and she really had not interest in them, so I SACRIFICED! I am sacrificing a great deal of sentimental items, I just need to let go!

4) I "freecycled" a Cartop Cargo carrier that we used when I moved to FL, and no longer needed, so I while I was outside waiting for the woman to arrive to pick it up, I started to work on the stuff in the garage a bit more. This area is almost done. It looks like there is still quite a bit of stuff, but amazingly, much of it is empty storage boxes. I might actually have EMPTY boxes when all this is over. I bought 10 new boxes, but had quite a few around the house, that are being utilized as well. I have two bikes that I want to see if I can get some $$$ for. My bike is almost like new, I'm just not a big bike rider. I would much prefer to walk. Tara has outgrown her bike. Other than that in the garage I have 4 completely full boxes of XMAS stuff, and one box of misc things that when added to some XMAS stuff in the house might yield two more boxes. My christmas tree, Tara's electric scooter, RIP Stick, and her saddle just about complete the major stuff out there to be moved. There is a bit that will be taken by the 1-800-GOT-JUNK truck.
Inside the house does not look I made too much progeees, but I really have. Hopefully tomorrow I will bea able to add boxes to the living room which is the "staging area" for the big move day!
5) Master Bedroom - go through my TWO boxes of stuff, and get all of Tara's books out to the main book box! I will leave this one uncompleted!
I even prepared a decent dinner, sloppy joes, mashed (very good instant potoates from Aldis) green beans, baked beans and corn.

I worked on the garage some more this evening and walked the dogs in the rain. That was about it for today. Tomorrow is a new day, with renewed energy!

I'm tired actually having trouble keeping my eyes open to type this! I probably forgot something!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009145

2009-05-25T02:59:00.000-04:00

Uncompleted tasks for Sunday and beyond:
1) Buy jeans (I have only two pair of jeans... one the zipper is broken, and the other pair are getting so thin I am afraid they will disintegrate if touched. I wear shorts around the house but not out in public.
2) ~~Pantry closet - used for storage of crafts, games, cookbooks, etc.~~ I finally tackled this MESS today. I think most of us have one of the places in our homes. This closet is about 4x4 wide, conveniently located in the center of the house near the kitchen & family room. With only two in the family, I did not buy large quantities of anything food related, so this was more of a "stuff" closet than a pantry! Cookbooks have been donated to friends. Tara has let go over over 1/2 of her games. Some have gone to Goodwill, and I put others up on Freecycle and think I may have a taker. I think we are down to 8 games, most of the more grown up than little kid games. I threw out SOOO many cell phone cords, USB cords from various cameras, etc.
Before

After two angles (not totally empty, some things are going to new homes, waiting for pick up, some things still need to be gone through.

3) Empty hallway bathroom cabinets. Linen closet already done. I did take TWO things out, and there really is not much there. I hope that most will be toss stuff!
5) Organize piles in master bedroom. Furniture donated last week, so there are piles and boxes from dresser, night tables, etc. Each time I go in there, I pick up a couple more things...
7) ~~Go through boxes and drawers in guest room.~~ This is basically done, last evening I got a 2nd wind, and went back to ask my mom something in that room. I wound up going through the boxes in the closet and consolidated from THREE to ONE!
Also completed on Sunday
8) ~~Go to ceramic studio for Tara paint a piece she has been wanting to do for some time~~

9 ~~Purchase new 45 gal trash can and it is now in my family room. Tired of filling trash bags!~~ Will add photo!
10) ~~Enjoy morning drive with Tara and an iced coffee while mom was in church.~~ I love McDs Iced Coffee, and Tara likes the NF Iced Mocha with a shot of vanilla (yes, I let my 12 yo drink coffee - she DOESN'T ever drink soda)
I got gas at a Murphy station, and they have TV monitors on the pumps... not just commercials for their mini mart, but news, weather, sports, etc.

11 ~~Put some stuff up on Freecycle~~ Some one is picking up a car top carrier that has been sitting in my garage since I moved here from PA. Don't need it with the new car!
12 ~~Several more boxes ready for Goodwill.... don't know if they are open on Memorial Day, we will find out!~~ They are open, and I will be headed there a little later
My house is getting to the chaotic point. There are boxes everywhere. You know, those that are not quite full, and you know you will have more like stuff or things for that particular room. I have a box for my bedroom, things I want to be sure don't put in the wrong place. I go from room to room collecting things for the particular boxes.

I have come to the conclusion my child has TOO much STUFF. I am finally starting to just get rid of things that I would have asked her about three days ago! I will deal with the consequences if she ever asks for it.

I think we will be done by early next weekend which is the goal, so we will have a couple days to chill-lax before the packing of the truck and the drive home!

Captain's Log - Car Date 2009144

2009-05-23T22:23:00.000-04:00

Uncompleted tasks for Saturday and beyond:
1) Buy jeans
2) Pantry closet - used for storage of crafts, games, cookbooks, etc. Games have been sorted and 1/3 donated to Goodwill. I have found homes for my WW cookbooks (I rarely cook from books anymore, I find recipes when needed on the internet!) This closet is SCARING ME, hence it keeps getting put off!
3) Empty hallway bathroom cabinets. Linen closet already done.
4) ~~Wrap tchotchkes from around the house. This has not yet been completed but they are all in one central place, and have all been washed!~~
5) Organize piles in master bedroom. Furniture donated last week, so there are piles and boxes from dresser, night tables, etc. I did sort through some stuff, but have more to go.
6) ~~Finish packing up toys in Tara's old room.~~ Also sorted through my boxes of "stuff" stored in that closet.
7) Go through boxes and drawers in guest room.
(Neither 6 nor 7 involve much stuff, maybe 1 hour if that in each room) - I was wrong #6 took more like 1 1/2 hours, and there's still some stuff to be boxed.)
ADDED
8)~~Bottom kitchen cabinets~~ This was not on today's list, but we segwayed into it after wrapping all the tchotchkes
9) ~~Trip to Goodwill~~ Cardboard boxes were things packed up yesterday other two boxes were things from kitchen today!

Saturday (and beyond list)
10) ~~Trip to market~~
11) ~~Cook yummy dinner. Steamed clams, baked salmon corn on cob, with shrimp cocktail and sliced tomatoes, avocado. Sliced strawberries and "shortcakes" for dessert.~~

11a) ~~Also cooked sloppy joes to have on hand for lunches, etc~~
12) ~~Sorted through two boxes in family room.~~
13) Missing my internet friends

Will do my best to complete the uncompleted on Sunday. Mom will go to church, and sometime Tara and I have to go to the ceramic studio. She has a piece that needs to be painted ASAP, so we can pick it up before we leave... we may have already missed the date.

Still want to get to the movies to see "Night at the Museum".

Tara had a tough day today. She is going to have to adjust to having TWO adults in the house when we move. My mom tries to stay out of it as best she can, but there are times I need REINFORCEMENT. I am so focused on getting packed, but still trying to pay attention to her. She's 12 and SHOULD understand. I want to work hard this week, so by next weekend, we are pretty much done and can relax until packing/driving day comes on Tuesday!