Happy Halloween

October 31 and I'm home alone passing out candy to the 6 or 7 kids that will come to our door. Greg is off trick or treating with friends in another neighborhood and Larry is teaching.

It was 9:00 last night when an idea of what Greg should be for Halloween occured. It was then about an hour and a half to put the costume together. Making another political statement, Greg went as Harry Whittington. For those reading this who don't remember good ole Harry, he was Dick Cheney's hunting partner who got mistaken for a quail one fine day in the woods. Greg had a lovely bullseye target on his back with lots of buckshot holes that completely missed the center of the target. He wouldn't go for wrapping his head in bandages though. I think it was a coolness thing. Anyways, he was off to school this morning in costume. He was entered in the creative division and unbelieveably he won. This is the second time he has won the Halloween contest at school. His previous win was as a Florida election ballot, complete with hanging chad. He was amazed at how many people had no idea who he was or even who Dick Cheney was. A lot of people didn't even hear about the hunting accident which is old news. Greg was shocked. I guess we just have a teenager who is more aware of current events than his peers. Thank goodness for smart kids.

Well Happy Halloween to everyone. It doesn't mean the same as it used to when the kids were little and we would tire ourselves out walking this neighborhood. What great memories those are.

Windy Weekend

This past weekend brought rain and lots of wind to the Delaware Valley area. We had a soaking rain Friday night through Saturday morning and then the winds came. These pictures show what happened to our large willow tree by the garage side of the house. Thank goodness the tree isn't right next to the house or we would have had damage. Part of one branch landed on the neighbor's fence but there wasn't any damage.

This is a favorite climbing tree of Casey's and there isn't much left to climb anymore. Each time we get a big windstorm, a little bit more of it comes down. The tree is now heavy on one side from the loss of branches on the other side. Blogger is acting funny tonight so I will add more photos later. The winds have died down and it is supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow.

Halloween Memories

It’s been an interesting week. The weather here has definitely said that November is just around the corner. It has been chilly and very windy and the leaves are blowing all over the place. Thursday night Larry, Greg and I went to the Del Val Haunted House and Hayride. Larry was a judge again and we went along for the fun. The haunted house was really nice and because he was a judge we got to go to the front of the line and had a guide with us for the evening. We were with the President of the College and his wife. The students did a great job in the house and we especially liked it when the scary dude in the big clown feet came sliding across the floor right into Larry. That was funny, rather than scary. We walked down to the hayride and again, got right on. It was a beautiful night with many stars. The scenery in the woods was very well done. My favorite was the group that dressed up as Michael Jackson and did the thriller dance behind the hay wagon. The group of dancers were great. There were a lot of chain saws and screaming, but no bungee jumping from the trees. I haven’t been for a few years, and I really enjoyed it.

Saturday we woke up to this “lake” in the backyard. It rained so hard and long that the lake formed pretty quickly. The wind was howling as well.

Went to the King of Prussia mall on Saturday and believe it or not, they had quite a lot of Christmas decorations up already and more ready to be put up. We actually bought a few decorations ourselves (penguins are the theme this year). Bought Casey some Christmas presents, but not telling what they are (sorry Case).

With Halloween occurring on Tuesday night, I thought it would be fun to post these pictures of Halloween past that I found. Notice who is dressed as a pirate? Notice that Jim is dressed as a clown both years? Once a clown, always a clown!!!! Did you also notice that Joe, in the second picture, is wearing the same pants that John had on in the first picture and the hat. Mom was always very thrifty and hand me downs were a regular part of life.

I remember being so excited to go around Lincoln Village. We visited quite a few houses and looked forward to stopping at the Kneales house on Darbyhurst for hot chocolate and cider. I also remember how Dad would take the glass insert out of the front door so you wouldn’t have to open the screen door, but only open the heavy door. I hated getting apples for treats, but that usually wasn’t too many. I think my favorite at that time were the peanut butter MaryJanes. Nowadays, they would destroy the fillings in my mouth, but I sure loved them then.

Well here’s to another month is 2006 passing by. Thanksgiving is up next and then Christmas and then a whole new year. Where does the time go? Make every day count and don’t wish the days away.

Cat Fight Saturday

A beautiful fall Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania. A slight chill in the air and some clouds and sun. I spent at least 1.5 hours walking Kitty outside because it was such a beautiful day. Inside though, the cats were bored and decided to have a little cat play in front of me. This was initiated by Chocolate by Lucky quickly followed suit and joined in.
It's fun to watch these two go at it in play. Even though Lucky does not have front claws and is at a disadvantage in these battles, Chocolate never pulls out his claws in defense. There is more neck biting than anything else.


Hard to believe that another year is ending. The days just seem to fly by anymore and I don't know if I am enjoying each day enough. It just seems that I fail to just stop and be thankful for all that I have. I am thankful for everything, but I don't stop to think about it enough. Some days when I am out walking in the quiet morning, I watch the sunrise and think about how lucky I am that I am able to be out in the peaceful morning experiencing such beauty. Then I go in the house and have to do all of the daily things and I forget about the beauty of the morning.


I'm sure that most people go through these exact same thoughts and then others never ever stop and take time to experience the beauty around them. I guess I should be thankful for those rare moments that I do stop to enjoy all that I have and not lament those things that I don't have.

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away." Psalm 39:4

A Short Visit Back to Ireland

Still on Day 4 in Ireland,we left Waterford and the crystal factory and headed to New Ross to visit a replica immigration ship. The original Dunbrody was used for immigration between 1845 and 1847. It was shocking to see such a small wooden ship that was used to transfer Irish immigrants in search of a better life in America. The conditions for the lower class immigrants were horrible and I couldn't imagine the horror they endured in pursuit of a better life. My Irish ancestors came over on such a boat and I admired them even more for that. The way it was set up was that when you arrived you were given a "Passengers' Contract Ticket" that indicated what type of passenger you were. I was Mary Rodgers, 19, traveling as steerage to New York. Character actors portrayed the different classes of passengers on the ship. We learned that steerage passengers only got porridge to eat and only 1/2 hour of time on deck daily on a voyage that took 50 days. These ships were often called "coffin trips" because of the many who died on them.

That was an interesting stop but was very crowded because of the hordes of teenagers from Spain visiting at the same time. It is very common for Spain to send thousands of teenagers to Ireland to learn English for the summer. We saw them everywhere!!

After the Dunbrody, we went back on the bus and headed to Tulleroane for an evening of authentic Irish food, music, sport and storytelling. On the drive there, we passed through the town of Inistioge where the movie "Circle of Friends" was filmed (had Minnie Driver in it). It was a very pretty town.

We arrived at Tulleroane and was greeted by Frank who is the caretaker of this place. We saw a thatched roof that was built in the 1600s by the Kelly family and is the oldest thatched roof in Ireland. The house was eventually passed on to the Maegher family and Lory Maegher was considered the greatest sportsman ever in Ireland.


There was a musuem of Irish sport and Frank showed everyone the sport of hurling. Greg loved it and of course, we came home with 2 hurlers and slithers (sticks and balls). Frank was quite a character and you could tell he loved sharing Ireland with the tourists. After a dinner of cabbage, ham, spuds and pie, we headed over to the old kitchen of the house and listened to Irish music and storytelling with Paddy and Jim. They were very entertaining and the music was very enjoyable. Our tour bus driver showed up with Irish coffee with whiskey and we all shared a few toasts before boarding the tour bus for a trip back to our farmhouse. It was a very long day, but lots of fun.

Next up Day 5 and we head to Cobh - formerly Queenstown and the last stop for passenger pickup for the Titanic!!!

Beautiful Fall Day

It was a beautiful fall day today - slight chill in the air and a nice breeze to rustle the leaves. Lucky has been driving us crazy with his desire to go outside so today I took him out on the leash. He was very good while outside but not happy to come inside. Hopefully that will keep him happy for a few days!
I got most of my chores done today so tomorrow is playday for me. Maybe a trip to memory lane and Michaels for some not needed scrapbooking supplies. I have been scrapping quite a bit lately and have some creative ideas for Christmas cards. With the cooler weather and the boys watching baseball all the time, I spend evenings in my scrapbook room.

The front of the house looks nice with the pumpkin and mums. We need more pumpkins to complete the look. There is a big streak of bird poop on the door, but I creatively took the picture so that the post blocked it out. Have to get out there and clean it off.

I love this time of year - can you tell? Even though the days are getting shorter and it's dark so early I don't mind too much. Tonight when I was walking Kitty I could smell the woodsmoke coming from our chimney. I love that smell. It is definitely a fall smell.This last picture is of the hot air balloon that flew right over our roof top this morning. You have to look very closely between the trees to see it. I was outside with Kitty when it came over top of the house and Kitty freaked out. I was able to talk to the people who were laughing at how Kitty was running in circles and basically a basket case. I could see what the people were wearing - that's how close they were. I took Kitty in and brought Greg out to see it. By the time I got my camera and camera card it was not as visible.

Foray into YouTube

Free Hugs Campaign. Inspiring Story! (music by sick puppies)

So cool - love this music. A very powerful message that made me really think "would I go up and hug somebody holding a free hugs sign?". When the video started, I thought probably not, but by the end I was thinking why not.

Sunny Tuesday

Not a whole lot going on in my life lately. It seems that all I do is get up, walk the dog, feed the animals, go to work, come home, walk the dog, feed the family, feed the animals, few chores, check email and then go to bed. Not too much excitement. I need a shakeup -- something out of the ordinary. Maybe I need a weekend all to myself to just window shop or read a book or I don't know what. Even when I tell myself that I am going to have "me" time, I'm always thinking about something that I need to do. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking about what has to be done and just "CHILL".

Fall is here and the leaves are putting on their annual show. I love this time of year. The air smells of woodsmoke, the sunrises over the mist-covered yard, and the crunch of leaves are underfoot. It's been Indian summer around here, but that is supposed to change sometime this week and the temperature will drop. That's okay, the nesting instinct will take over and hopefully some major home renovations will begin to take shape. Keep posted.


Thought I would include a picture of Greg's cast as it might be going away this week. His appointment is Friday and he's hoping that it comes off then. There is no guarantee and I keep telling him that it might not happen (it's only been on 4 weeks). Anyways, here it is minus the boot which is slowly falling apart. They were enjoying a round of paintball shooting at the targets.

It's been 3 years...

since my Dad passed away. It's been 3 years and 1 month since my Mom passed away. I still miss them everyday and wish I could have one more conversation with them. I always regret that I couldn't have done more for them. I always regret that I didn't get to say goodbye to Dad. I said goodbye to Mom when I left Columbus that August - I told her that I was really going to miss her. I didn't get to say that to Dad and it still hurts.

Living My Dash

Here's hoping that I post more often in October. I don't think much excitement is going on in my life lately so I feel that I would just bore everyone (not that many people read this blog).

Today is Casey's 18th birthday. I am still surprised at how quickly the time passed. I can still remember her as a little curly top girl who was curious about everything. She still has the curls and the curiousity, but she seeks her own answers and doesn't consult me too much anymore. That's okay because I know that it means that we did our job in raising her to desire to learn and be independent.

We had a really nice visit with her last weekend. She is doing very well and enjoying college life with all of its opportunities. Oh to be young again and have those opportunities. Maybe it's all in my head, but it seems that the older you get, the less time you have for creating new experiences. I sometimes feel weighed down with the pressures of work, cleaning, laundry and all the other stuff. Maybe I need to put some of that aside and make time for real fun again. I'm rambling, but I am trying to get more joy out of each and every day. I read something lately that said when you turn the page in your daily calendar, you have lost that day and won't have the day to live over again so make it count for something. I also read the following:


I read of a reverend who stood to speak
at the funeral of his friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth,
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard,
are there things you'd like to change?|
For you never know how much time is left.
(You could be at dash mid-range.)

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be pleased with the things they say
about how you spent your dash?

Love the message in this. I think I will do a better job of living "my dash".