Homecoming Anniversary

Funny! I started writing this blog post one year ago today, on 3rd anniversary of our arrival back home in PA! Obviously, I never posted it!

Today, I find myself sitting at home on a relaxing Sunday morning, working on my other blogs and I thought I would come here. I then realized that it was once again June 2nd!

How different the weather was on that day in 2009 when we arrived to our new home on a Thursday evening after a long day of travel from South Carolina! That journey had begun the day before with my mother, Tara, three cats, a dog and a guinea pig! It was rainy and chilly when we arrived home!

Today it is sunny and a rather beautiful morning, after 3 VERY hot days for May.

Life has changed in many ways. The dog, guinea pig and one of the cats that made the journey with us have gone across the Rainbow Bridge. The other cat, Emmie, is still living happy and healthy with the new family she joined as we could not keep four pets here! We now have two cats and a guinea pig.

RIP my sweet girl - Crossed the Rainbow Briday 1/27/2013

Kovu - still healthy and much happier than in this photo! Enjoying (at times) his new brother Jack!

Cassie (on the left) crossed the Rainbow Bridge in Nov '12. Emmie is still living happily with the Stewarts!

Jack - new kitty. He joined our family the day after my birthday on 2/23/2013. We adopted him from the SPCA.

Oliver passed away early in June '12. He was the best guinea pig. I miss his cuteness!

Beau the Guinea Pig - It is hard to photograph an all black (except for his white foot) GP!

 Tara has grown from a twelve year old pre-teen to a full fledged sixteen year old teen ager. It's been difficult year with some issues that we are working on. School has never come easy to Tara and now I think I may have missed some signs early on that might have been able to avoid the point we are at now.

Tara then - June '12

Tara now - 16 (her hair is now blonde and shorter)

I came to PA a retiree from AT&T, and now I have 3 1/2 years of work history in retail with Walgreens as a Sr Beauty Advisor. I never thought I would like retail, but I have come to really enjoy my job. I love the merchandising and 99% of the customers. My work family is just that a family. We are a little dysfunctional,bbut in the end, we've got each others backs and really do care about one another!

My mom is still doing well, she's 32 days from turning 89!

Mom - Christmas Eve 2012

Do we miss Florida? Yes, sometimes! Especially Disney. The first year not so much, but every year there after a little bit more! We need to plan a trip, but working retail does not pay what AT&T paid! We are not very good savers!

Like the song from the old sitcom says: You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have.. the facts of life!

You can also find me at:
www.momoncaffeine.com
www.marthakasper.com
@martha_tweets on Twitter
Martha Miller Kasper on FB.

Life, the Facts of Life. 

Another Day, another park - Stoney Creek Park, Lansdale

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

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!