Sunday-Sandy Run-Shopping-Snow

On a whim today we decided to have lunch at the club and then go to the new outlet mall in Limerick PA. We lucked out and got to the club in time for Sunday brunch - lots of yummy food. After a relatively fast lunch, we stopped in the pro shop and then headed off to Limerick. What a novel idea - put a big outlet mall at the base of 2 nuclear reactors! As you can see from the pictures, we were right there by them. Good thing no alarms went off while we were there.

Greg scored quite a bit there, mainly because there was Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Lids, and other sporting goods apparel stores. I got 2 pairs of jeans and we picked up some cereal bowls to match the pfaltzgraf dishes we put away over the holidays. We are bringing them back up to the kitchen because they offered more flexibility than the ones we were using.

Anyways, it was a lot of fun and I was thinking how lucky we are that Greg still wants to spend the day with his parents even though he is 15. We got home with plenty of daylight left and kitty, Greg and I spent some time outside in the snow. Yes, that is snow on the ground. We got about 3-4 inches on Friday and a layer of ice on top. It makes it hard for kitty to walk as she isn't heavy enough to crunch through the ice layer.

Have to include a Sydney and Crosby picture too. They love to sleep curled up in each other's paws. It's so cute!

Painting

This post is mainly for Casey. The wallpaper in the family room is finally gone. After a little over a week of work we have finally taken our family room out of the early 90's wallpaper period. The walls are a beautiful sage green that look perfect with the sofa and carpeting. We still have to repaint the ceiling but that can wait.

At the same time, Larry decided to paint the lower half of the dining room. I picked out the paint color and I have to admit it looks fantastic. It is a blue-green paint that picks up the color of the rug in there. I can't believe that he finally agreed to paint that room as he has always liked the color white. Having this project list for him for the year has been a very good idea. It's amazing how much he accomplishes when he has a list posted. Next up is to have the trees taken care of that were damaged by the winter storm. Hopefully we won't lose the willow tree.

Finally, we try so hard to keep cats off of the kitchen counter. It's just taking a little longer for the kittens to follow the rules.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today would have been your 79th birthday Mom. You probably would have said that birthdays aren't such an event these days and it just means more wrinkles. But to me you were always such a beautiful person, inside and out. I miss you so much and there were so many things unsaid and undone.

Coolest You Tube Video

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today we should be celebrating your 87th birthday Dad. Unfortunately we are still mourning your passing over 3 years ago. The pain has lessened somewhat, but I still miss you everyday. I hope that you know how much you are missed and how blessed I was to have you as a father. Your love for your family was so strong and we knew that. Thanks for all of those wonderful memories and those wonderful trips to Maine.

According to our worthless weatherman

"A small snow event, mostly rain". HA! We are at about 3 inches already with it still coming down. I was listening to the local news on my 50 minute drive home (usually a 20 minute drive), and they were still saying it wasn't sticking and the road congestion is due to the evening rush. HA! I almost slid into the car in front of me twice and I had left plenty of stopping room. The roads were a mess. They really should have contacted someone in Bucks County to find out what was going on here because THEY WERE CLUELESS!!!!

Another troubling problem is that the car alarm in my car continues to go off randomly. The other day I was checking out at the library and continued to hear this car alarm going off. I started towards the parking lot and realized it was my car. Same thing at work 2 days in a row now. This really bites. I park my car where I can see it at work and just leave it unlocked. I have removed anything of value in it, but it still bothers me. Don't worry, Casey, it is scheduled to go in for repair next week.

Home from the vet

Today was the day for the kittens' first doctor check with Dr. Drew. I barely got them in the exam room when the technician took them out of the cage and proceeded to walk around the office showing everyone that "Lucy" and "Ethel" were visiting and to show them how cute they were. Sydney and Crosby (their real names) were content to be their cute selves. They checked out just fine and I learned that their brother was adopted and their other brother (who came in somewhat later and looked just like them) was also adopted. Hard to believe they are already 17 weeks old. They are growing just fine and have super long tails. My guess is that they are going to be long and thin. Yesterday, they discovered how to climb on the trashcan to get to the counter so that they can get to their food faster. We are having trouble keeping them off of the counters.

Mid-January already and there hasn't been any measurable snow yet. They called for 3-6 inches the other day and we got squat, nothing, nada. Those weatherman are idiots.

Mini Year in Review

All in all I have to say that 2007 was a pretty good year. We all maintained our health, our kids did well in school, and we had a nice family vacation to South Carolina.

January - Started WW yet again and lost 21 pounds this time around. Unfortunately it didn't stay "lost".

February - Went to visit Casey at Dartmouth and enjoyed snowboarding (Casey and Greg) and ice skating (all but Larry).

March - Greg goes out for the tennis team.

April - Master Kim died. Greg makes varsity tennis team

May - Greg and Larry go to Phillies game. Spent Memorial Day in Columbus and met Andrew for the first time.

June - Casey home for the summer!!!! Went to South Carolina and met up with John and Jim (what fun!!!)

July - New job for Joan - left FB (YEA!!!) Dani C.'s baby shower - saw Christi and Nathanel; Creating Keepsakes convention (I volunteered and Casey went with me) on the spur-of-the-month.

August - Started new job. Katie D.'s wedding in NYC. Celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Larry and kids to Illinois. New roof on the house.

September - Casey back to school (sophomore year). Greg back to school (sophomore year). Greg plays fall ball. Casey volunteers with Joe Biden campaign at the NH Democratic debate.

October - Greg takes PSAT. Apple picking. Dani has her baby - Evan.

November - Kitty to vet - lo and behold we ended up with 2 kittens. Sydney and Crosby join our family and Kitty loves them. The verdict is still out with Lucky and Chocolate.

December - Casey home. Christmas. Made lots of buckeyes.

I'm sure that I am missing lots of events and I will add them as I remember them. But for now, enjoy the cute kitty pictures.

Happy New Year

A long overdue update, but a very short one. I am working on a year in review blog entry for tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of Chocolate:



He is in serious need of attention.

Stormy Sunday

Eleven hours without electricity - I wish I had accomplished more during that time other than feeding the fire and checking the generator. The grass looked like glass all around the tree.

Have to include a kitties picture as well.






Eleven hours without electricity - I wish I had accomplished more during that time other than feeding the fire and checking the generator.

More Cat Pics and Holiday Preparations

Check out the size of these kittens. Yes, that is a post it notepad next to them. They are still so tiny.




Made these rolls for Thanksgiving and boy were they a hit. The recipe came from a blog that I frequent. The recipe made quite a bit so I even made cinnamon rolls from the same batch of dough. Here's the recipe:

Bowles Rolls
Scald: 1 1/2 cup milk
(Scald=heat until hot...not boiling)
Add: 2 cubes butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Set aside to cool.
In a medium-sized bowl, dissolve: 4 Tbsps yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
Set for 10 minutes (yeast will expand. Make sure it is in a large enough bowl to do so).
Beat 4 eggs and add to milk mixture. Add 4 cups flour and mix well (by hand with a wooden spoon). Add yeast, mix well. Add 3 cups flour, mixing after each cup. Let rest for 10 minutes, then stir. Cover with a towel or saran wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk (approximately 1 hour). Punch down and let rise 10 more minutes. Section dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece out separately into a circle and brush with melted butter. Cut into triangles like a pie. Roll up each piece like a crescent roll. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-13 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Feel free to shape dough in whatever shapes desired (simple round, etc.). These rolls are to die for. Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen rolls. Good for cinnamon rolls as well.


Friday after Thanksgiving and we selected our Christmas tree. It's hard to believe how grown up the kids are. I remember when they were so much smaller than the tree! More holiday pictures to come.

Fun Friday

Looking forward to having a nice Thanksgiving! 4 days until Casey is home!!

Lest We Forget

Happy Veteran's Day Dad! Thank you for all that you did.

http://www.terry-kelly.com/pittance/pittance_en_video.htm

Last Baseball Game of the Season

Last night fall ball ended for another season. This was the best season we have ever had in Fall ball and it is due in large part to Greg's coach Mark. What an awesome coach and great baseball enthusiast. His team grew so much together in that even Greg said this is the first year that he knew everyone's name on the team and something about them outside of baseball. You could see it in the way they interacted when both winning and losing.

They finished the season 6-5-2 and Greg had a fantastic season mostly catching and playing 3rd until his coach found out that he could pitch. In his first outing he pitched 3 innings of no-hit baseball and only faced 9 batters (he picked the kid he walked off of third).

Watching how Greg was such a team leader made me smile every time I went to a game. You never saw him being negative - only wanting to play his best. The final game was no exception when it came down to bases loaded, 2 outs, full count on the batter with Greg behind the plate. The batter swung and missed at the ball in the dirt thus striking out. However, the ball skidded past Greg to the backstop. Greg hustled back to get it to underhand to the pitcher covering home plate for the out. The pitcher wasn't there!!! So what does Greg do? He full out slides head first into home beating the runner and sealing the win for his team. It was unbelievable, but just a final exclamation point on the outstanding season he had.

By the way, the temperature at last night's 8 pm game - 42 degrees. Boy was it cold!!

Autumn Love

Loving how our front entrance looks this year. The scarecrows were made by Kevin and Casey in early September and the pumpkins were picked out by Larry and Greg later on. The mums look better now that they are getting regular water (it's been pretty dry up until last week). Loving the new glass doors. I have wanted to have storm doors on there since the time we moved in (17 years ago). Now we have them and every chance I get I open the doors to let the light in.

A Quote I Like

"Embrace this right now life...take your bites with bravery and boldness since the learning and the growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because soon it will be very different."
-----Jill Scott

Today's Sunrise

Getting up and out by 6:30 am every morning has made me remember how beautiful the sunrise is. This morning I grabbed my camera (actually Greg's since mine died), and captured a few pictures. I have stopped using my ipod in the morning because it is very dark and I want to be able to hear what animals are lurking in the yard. Yesterday, Kitty and I came upon a herd of deer on our sand mound. Of course, Kitty wanted to follow them through the evergreens, but my fear of getting stomped by a buck stopped us from following them.
I have to learn how to take good pictures in the dark. I haven't figured out the settings on Greg's camera and I probably won't since I know I am getting a new camera for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I started my Holiday planner today so that I can really enjoy the season without too much stress. I just have to keep it from prying eyes. I want to try some new things this year (recipes, crafts, traditions) so I need to start sooner.

Also, I am trying to find my "passion" in life. I am passionate about my family, but I'm not so sure what else I'm passionate about. Those early morning walks allow for lots of time to think about this. I'll update if I find out what my passion is.

So Lucky They're Mine

Before Casey went back to school in September we celebrated her 19th birthday. About a month before, Larry and I were in Superfresh and decided to order her a pirate birthday cake. She had seen it before, but never in a million years thought we would get it for her birthday. So the night before she left for NH we had a special dinner, opened some of her presents and had cake. This was probably the richest cake I have ever had - but boy was it delicious. The icing as about an inch thick and being that icing is my favorite, I overindulged. The left over cake was taken to school with Casey and enjoyed by her and her friends (even though it didn't travel very well in the heat and was dropped in the parking lot[in the container]).


Casey is back for her sophomore year and I miss her. We had a nice trip up to school and worked hard to get her dorm room all set up. I think her room was full of character and a nice location.
Since the beginning of September we have been busy going to Greg's baseball games. This is about his 5th year playing fall ball and I have to say one of my favorite coaches. His coach Mark is such a nice guy and thinks the world of Greg. Of course, Greg is so coachable and willing to play any position and play it well. Mark has had him mostly catch and play third, but last Friday he had Greg pitch. Greg pitched 3 innings allowing 0 hits, facing 9 batters, and only throwing about 33 pitches. A fantastic outing. Mark was shocked.

The next day they had another game and Greg caught the entire game and played exceptionally well having many plays at the plate and catching a popup to end the game with a victory. He pitched again last night with less success, but his team's defense did not help him at all. He had 2 singles and a triple (which once again Larry missed because he got there late). The game ended in a tie, which was fine for as hard as both teams played. One thing that was so nice about this was that I was trying to take pictures of Greg through the netting and the other team's coach at third offered to take them for me. I passed the camera to him and he stood there taking pictures of Greg. I thought that was so nice.

I Miss You Dad

Hard to believe it's been 4 years. I miss that smile of yours and how you were always puttering around the house. Whenever, I work in the garden I think of all of the gardens that you planted and how you took such pride in it. Those years after your stroke must have been so hard on you when you lost something so dear to you - your ability to be out in the yard and the neighborhood.

This picture was taken when Dad was stationed in Japan. If you look closely at his shoes, they are Japanese slippers. The picture folio it was in is full of Japanese writings.

A long overdue update

Boy does life ever have a way of quickly passing by. September draws to an end and I haven’t even recorded what I have spent the month doing. Greg started his sophomore year of high school and was surprisingly happy to be back at school. I think it is such a social thing for him that he misses his friends over the summer (everyone is off to camps, working, etc.). He has a full course load once again, but is already saying that it is too easy for him. He loves AP Stat and Chemistry and is even taking Journalism. He is working for the school paper, mainly concentrating on the national sports scene. He signed up for fall ball in Flemington once again and is enjoying that. It just isn’t the same without our friends, the Mercolinos, but it is still enjoyable sitting in the cool evenings under the lights watching baseball.

Casey enjoyed a quiet early September before heading off to school last weekend. Her boyfriend came for a visit and we went apple picking and made scarecrows (something we haven’t done for a few years). She won the Common Knowledge – Jim Kramer Mad Money scholarship contest and earned $500 towards college tuition. Just a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps. Her and I enjoyed a nice weekend taking her back to school and getting her dorm room set up. I miss having her around – not only was she a big help to me, but we enjoyed nightly walks together.



In wrapping up the summer projects accomplished, we had our new storm doors installed yesterday and what a difference it makes. I just wish we had done this much sooner. Lucky likes to sit and look out the doors.

This weekend I am busy stocking the freezer in order to have quick prep meals during the week. My recipes include homemade pizza sauce (made from the bounty of tomatoes my neighbor gave me), Cincinnati chili, beef stew, chicken and broccoli fettucine, roast chicken, and cookie doughs. I am trying out some new recipes and using some old favorites. My plan is to spend every other weekend doing some cooking prep so that we always have something to pull out of the freezer. We’ll see how long this lasts!!! Maybe next weekend I will make Dad’s spaghetti and meatballs in his honor.

Yes, it is that time of year when Dad and Mom’s death hits me pretty hard. Even 4 years later, it still hurts to believe that they are gone. I remember Mom asking me to pray for her and Dad and I’m happy to say that I do that every night. She also asked that I keep on top of the family history. I haven’t done too much of that unfortunately. I did resubscribe to the Rumford paper in the hopes that I can keep track of those family members. I can’t beat myself up about this, but I know that I should be doing more. I think it just overwhelms me at times.