Taking Time Out to See Beauty

Happy 21st Birthday Casey!

Fall Has Arrived

Fall is my favorite time of year. The days are a bit shorter, the air a bit crisper, and I start thinking about winter projects to tackle. Unfortunately I have quite a bit on my plate right now so the winter projects list may not be very long.

I made a quick trip up to Maine for my aunt's funeral and being in Maine around family again was very nice. My brothers and I really have to try to get up there again next summer. I also need to focus on genealogy as time is passing by and I am not updating like I should. The good news is that Sue M. and Steve G. are both avid genealogists and we plan to share some data. I just have to organize what I have and then fill in the blanks.

My plan is to start taking more pictures so as to keep Casey in the loop of what's going on at home. She is back at school for her senior year and I'm missing her company quite a bit. Not that I'm lacking for company, but missing our walks and talks.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

Wow, it's been 7 years now since we last celebrated your anniversary and my birthday on this date. It still isn't easy knowing that I won't hear you wish me Happy Birthday as I wish you Happy Anniversary. Maybe someday again we will be able to do that. Until then, Happy Anniversary.

Boot Camp Session Ending on Friday

Mixed feelings about this session of boot camp ending because I have really adjusted to the exercise routine. I have lost 20 pounds since July 8 and it feels great. It is very real to me when I'm lifting a 22 pound cinder block or dragging a 17-18 pound tire by a rope around my waist. Casey and I plan to continue working out for the 2 weeks before the next session begins. Casey will do the first week of the next session before going back to school but I will do the entire 4 weeks. It feels so good to be both physically and mentally stronger.

New Season Coming Up and A New Attitude

With all of the upcoming changes in my life (approaching 50), MIL moving in with us, another 17 year old in the house for the school year, and Casey back to school, it is time for me to start making some changes in my life. About 4 weeks ago I started doing Weight Watchers once again. With a new attitude I have lost 14 pounds already. It has been very helpful to have Casey doing this with me (although I have much much more to lose than her) and she has been very supportive.

We have been talking about some exercise program and Casey wanted to get back in great physical shape before going back into her regular routine of martial arts. She brought up doing Adventure Boot Camp and worked on talking me into it. It took some time, but I finally agreed to do this for 3 days a week (rather than 5). We started last week and have already completed 4 mornings of boot camp. We get up at 5 am and are ready to exercise at 5:30 am for an hour. It has been a great experience so far and I am already feeling stronger both physically and mentally. I am definitely pushing myself each day to complete the running, dragging a tire, lifting cinder blocks, and much more. I can't say that it has been FUN, but I can say that I am feeling such an exercise high from this that carries me through the day. Who knows where this will lead, but I do know that it is making me feel better about myself. More to come on this!

A few vacation pics!

Well once again it has been way too long since I've updated. I don't know if anyone really reads this, but if you do and have been waiting for an update, I apologize. June saw us going to South Carolina with my brothers John and Jim and their families. We had a ball as usual. Vacation pictures will be uploaded as soon as my computer decides to read my camera card.

First picture is Greg with his cousin Andrew. Andrew loved Greg and Greg had so much fun with him. The second picture was taken on the boat ride around the coastal area. It was a great trip where we saw a sunken Civil War ship, dolphins and much more. The third picture is my brother John and sister-in-law Laurie. It is always so much fun with them around.

The fourth picture is of my brother Jim and his son Andrew. Every time I look at Jim he reminds me so much of my dad. The final picture is of Ivan, Casey, and Casey2 as they finish a night of Thai cooking with a hot pepper eating contest. That contest was won by my brother John!!!

Almost an entire month gone by

It has been too long. Greg finished 11th grade, Casey finished her junior year, Greg turned 17, Casey has a summer job, flu hit the house and rain and more rain.

We are off on vacation soon and hopefully more posting will be done in July.

Memorial Day Fun

Well the unofficial start of summer began last weekend. Casey's friend Kevin came to stay for the weekend and we feasted on Thai food and other wonderful treats. Greg surprised us all by entering into the Mixer tournament at our tennis club. He had a great run and surprised us by getting into the finals on Memorial Day. Unfortunately he and his partner lost but it was a very good final and we were very proud of him.

This has set him on a path and he is playing in a clay court tournament this weekend. I know what he will spend his summer doing!

Casey is working full time at the orchard and we were lucky to have fresh picked strawberries last night. What a treat compared to the ones purchased at the grocery store. We look forward to many more and Casey and I already plan to make freezer jam and much more.

Garden updates to come later this week I hope.

Tennis Season Ends Today

Today, after 9 straight days of rain, Greg will end his junior year of tennis. They have a home match against Solebury School and then are done. He had a great year. It started off with being named a captain of the team. He had hoped to play singles but didn't get the opportunity this year (maybe next year). He ended up playing 3rd doubles (not where he wanted to play or SHOULD HAVE played), but it was fine as he and his partner went undefeated for the entire year. They even beat the state champions team both times they played them. Even though the team as a whole lost, Greg and Ryan were victorious. So all in all it was a great year for his 3rd year on varsity.

Laundry Basket Kitty

Spur of the Moments can be lots of fun

Wednesday afternoon and I am minding my own business trying to get my work done so I can leave early to catch Greg's tennis match and Larry calls. Tracy had tickets for the evening's Phillies game courtesy of RJ Swindle. Unfortunately Larry had to teach so he asked if I would be willing to take Greg to the baseball game. Of course that was a no brainer. So I hurried through my install so that I could get out by 3. By the time I left at 3:30 I learned that Greg's tennis match was rained out (even though there was no rain) and we wouldn't have to rush to the baseball game.

A little back story is that Tracy teaches at Delval as an adjunct professor. He is also a sports agent. Through Larry, Greg met Tracy and for a graduation project did a statistical analysis of RJ Swindle's career stats. Tracy then used this information to shop RJ around during winter baseball meetings.


Greg and I met up with Tracy and enjoyed an exciting but cold baseball game. Greg was in his joy talking baseball stats with Tracy. After the game, we went to the player's family meeting room and met RJ's parents. They were very nice people. It was only about 20 minutes later that RJ came down and Greg got to meet him. He was recently called up by the Milwaukee Brewers and then this opportunity came up for Greg to meet him. It was an incredible night and one I know that Greg will remember for a long time.


The first picture is of the Harry Kalas memorial that was erected outside the stadium after his death last week. It was touching to see all of the memorabilia and the transistor radios. The second picture is a view from our seats. Next is the picture of Greg and Tracy and finally is a picture of RJ and Greg. I'm so blessed to have been a part of this fun night for Greg. Another high point of the evening was when Tracy asked Greg to do statistical research on another hot prospect that he may be shopping around for a team for him.

Spring Photos

We had some beautiful weather recently and used the time to work in the yard. As you can see, the yard is in full bloom. The forsythias look stunning as do the trees.


I was going to include the photos of the 3 tomato plants that were planted in the fence garden. However, I don't want to bring up the fact that we strayed from Casey's garden plan again. We were experimenting to see if the deer would eat them but so far they haven't. May have to just leave them there.


As for my little seedlings, they might not be doing very well after Crosby (or is it Sydney) decided to sit on them. No matter how many times we took her off, she got right back on. Guess that she liked the sunshine and warmth.

Another Inspirational YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Everyone is talking about this one!!!

Quick Update

Okay Casey, this picture of Lucky is for you. He got some quality time in the courtyard over the weekend when it was in the 60s. Of course the time he spent outside was cut short when he started his trot to the porch where he can get over the fence. However he did get to spend about 30 minutes out there. If only he would learn that going over the fence is not a good idea!


Greg and his tennis partner are undefeated this year. They won both times against State Champs Lower Moreland. That was quite an accomplishment. Today is the Holy Ghost match and should be a tough one.


You can tell from these pictures that Greg is pretty tall. After all of those years of being shorter than everyone else, it is nice to see him tower over other people.

Quick Update

Casey, this picture is for you. I'm quite the computer nerd aren't I. See what I mean by my "command center". I took this picture when I was talking with you today. Do you like the desktop picture? NO SNAKES!!

March Weather

Well this weekend was gray, cloudy, and cool - typical March weather. When I woke up this morning, it was starting out as a gray, cloudy and cool Monday. However, when I stepped outside the smell of spring was in the air. The birds were singing loudly this morning and the air smelled of fresh earth. Spring is definitely in the air and it should be as spring arrives on Friday.

As for the geese, they showed up one weekend and walked all around the backyard honking very loudly. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. It is likely that they didn't like sharing the yard with a dog!

Crosby is at it again!!

I don't know what the attraction is, but Sydney and Crosby hate when a printer spits out a printed document. Here's Crosby trying to prevent the paper from coming out.



And her failure to do more than wrinkle the paper!!

March Winter Scenes & Sydney

More Thailand Day 3

Our third day was a very busy one and after our riverboat trip to Temple Wat Arun, we met up with Ali and he took us to the Grand Palace. Once again, with his cell phone number in hand, we were off. The Grand Palace was quite beautiful but very crowded. We purchased our tickets and off we went.
Once inside the grounds I was amazed at how gold everything was. There were mosiacs everywhere and the beauty was unbelievable. We got separated but eventually found each other as we walked around the perimeter looking at the beautiful mural.


We removed our shoes and entered into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The buddha was perched in a glass box high above us. We could barely see it. We walked in and knelt on the floor with everyone else. It is interesting that the Buddha is dressed in seasonal clothing and has its costume changed for the summer season, the rainy season, and the winter season.


We spent quite a bit of time walking around but it was dreadfully hot. Unfortunately the vendor had sold out of water and Casey and I settled for a mango fruit juice. We quickly went through the rest of the grounds and then found a restaurant so that we could get some cold water. We called Ali to meet us out front and only wanted to head back to the hotel and go swimming. Ali kept trying to talk us into taking us shopping but we kept saying no thank you we have already done plenty of shopping and only wanted to go swimming. Finally we convinced Ali that the hotel was the only destination that we wanted.
It was a long day so after swimming he had dinner at the hotel and headed to bed early. We had been up since 5:30 am and were quite tired.

Sydney and Crosby Entertainment

These two have an unusual fascination with the copy machine. They can be anywhere in the house and if they hear the copy machine (or a printer) start to work, they come running and try to get as close to it as possible. They will try to stop the paper from coming out and stick their paws into the tray. It is quite a sight to see.

Thailand - Day 3 Continued

Warning: Very picture heavy post!

Following our stop at the Temple of the Golden Mount, we got back into the nice air-conditioned car and headed to the pier to catch a riverboat to Temple Wat Arun.
The boat ride was very nice. Casey and I were the only people on the boat and it cost about 3000 baht for the ride. I think it was worth it as the temple was quite beautiful. Upon arriving at the pier in front of the temple, we had to pay a landing fee so that we could go to the temple. There wasn't an admission fee, just the landing fee.

The temple itself is incredibly beautiful. The ornate design was so enjoyable to look at.
From the website of Temple Wat Arun - "It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. The Wat had a brief period as host of the celebrated Emerald Buddha, which now resides in nearby Wat Phra Kaew."

The steps up to the first level were steep but the steps to the second level were impossible for me to navigate. Casey headed up there but she held tightly to the rail both up and down.
The view from up high was beautiful and we were able to look out and spot our boat driver. After walking around a bit, we met the boat at the pier and headed back out on the water for the ride back.

One thing about this trip to the pier and the boat ride was that the locals were relentless in their attempts to sell us trinkets. They would crowd in very closely and invaded my space which angered me. Once we were on the boat I was happy. However, our boat driver stopped the boat in the river and allowed a riverboat with a peddler to approach us to sell us more junk. That didn't make me happy.

However, I do understand that this is their livelihood, but they were just annoying as possible.

I would imagine that the river life is very difficult and the tourist trade is an important part of their livelihood.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My beautiful mother would have been 80 years old today. I miss you Mom and wish we had had more time together.

Thailand - Day 3 - Temple of the Golden Mount

On our second full day in Thailand Casey and I decided to go visit some temples. Not realizing that there was a tour service in the hotel, we decided to ask at the transportation desk for a taxi to the temples. We thought we would taxi everywhere, but instead we hired a driver for the day. Our driver, Ali, met us out front so that we could start our adventure.

Let me just add, that the car that Ali drove was a very expensive black sedan (similar to a Lexus). Casey and I felt a little pampered as the day was very hot and we were driving around in nice air conditioning.

Our first stop of the day was the Temple of the Golden Mount or Wat Saket. Ali dropped us off at the bottom and said he would meet us when we returned. Casey and I started climbing.
I just read that there are 318 steps to the top cupola. Casey and I walked all the way up and then done.

All along we would stop and look at little shrines and things tucked into the hillside. At the top, we removed our shoes and went all the way to the top. We found it interesting to look out over the skyline and see temples intermingled with skyscrapers. One picture shows in the distance what looks like some winged creature ready to take flight. The views of Bangkok were incredible if a little bit smoggy.
I just read on the linked page that this was a dumping ground for thousands of plague victims. It was a good thing I didn't know this ahead of time!

Next up - a riverboat ride to the Temple Wat Arun.