There's Hundreds of Them!

So this old lady calls her husband on the cell phone.
"Honey, you be careful out there!
The radio says there is someone out on the freeway driving the wrong way!
It's causing lots of accidents!"

The old man replies,
"One car driving the wrong way? Hell, honey - there's hundreds of them!"

ba dum dum

Busy Summer - Happy Stuff

We've had such a busy summer! Of course, Lar being retired now, it isn't as crazy for him as it is for me....we've had things almost every weekend...but thank goodness, they have all been wonderful, happy, family times. Last weekend we had the delight of driving upstate to Wilkesbarre PA for the celebration of our darling nephew and his girlfriend from college. We were really looking forward to the trip and were all the more delighted when youngest son Pat and his wife decided to go too. We did a caravan for about half the way until we oldsters had to make a "pit stop" and they didn't want to take a chance on the babies waking when they stopped the car. Traffic was horrendous, but we all arrived safely, which, after all, is the most important thing.

The celebration was at my youngest brother's firehall - he is Fire Chief there.

Brian had graduated Summa Cum Laude from Norwich University in Northfield in VT with a Masters Degree in Architecture. He also received the Henry Adams Medal from the American Institute of Architecture for outstanding academic achievement. He was ranked first in his class and won the outstanding project award as well. Needless to say, we are very, very proud of him.

The food was outstanding - having been lovingly prepared by Brian's mother, Jan, his girlfriend Noy and her mother.
Baby granddaughter Maddie received no shortage of attention from everyone and took it with great charm for a long time. When she finally had a "melt down" I wasn't surprised, as I might too, if I'd been entertaining so many for so long.

Maddie's Great Aunts Carol (my sister) and Sue finally met both Maddie and her big brother Ian.

Ian had a blast running and playing with the other cousins. It is whispered that he also fell somewhat in love with his big cousin 'Randa.

Noy had been wanting a picture of us together...so I didn't forget!

Brian's mom's sister is an artist and she did this amazing rendering of him as a gift. I am amazed at the likeness! Another amazing feature on the gift table was a framed newspaper clipping from when Brian was in SECOND grade! He had won mention for his project in an Architecture class. His proud mom still has the little house he designed! Imagine! Finding your calling in second grade!

It was finally time to say goodbye to all and set out to find a room. We had all 6 decided to stay overnight somewhere on the way. Lar had decided that it looked on line like there were rooms abounding, so no reservations had been made. (Except mine....I definitely had reservations about that!) We went out to our cars, and as we were about to set off, I called the 800 reservation number. After checking all the hotels to which she was connected, she found only two rooms available - about 15 miles or so North - the wrong way. Apparently there were a number of major events going on this weekend and everyone was booked full. It was obvious, we'd have to take them. She made the reservations and we set out. And then Pat called from their car to see if maybe we could have made them connecting so that we could chat together for a while. I hadn't thought of that, but knew that there were only two rooms to be had anywhere. Nevertheless, I called the 800 number again to get the actual hotel number. I told the person who answered that we had made reservations at the Wilkesbarre-Scranton hotel (because that is what the GPS listed it as) and she gave me the number. I called. I explained that we had just made the reservations and wondered if there was any chance at all that the rooms were connected. The young man was shocked that I had been able to make reservations...he said, "but we have no rooms!" I was barely breathing at this point. Then he checked and came back and said, "well, I guess I was wrong....you can have two double rooms and I will see what I can do about getting them adjoining. You see, we have been having a housekeeping shortage and I didn't know we had enough rooms made up." Whew!

So on we drove.

And then we got lost.

And I called the hotel again to get directions.

And the girl at the desk said, "I'm pretty sure you don't have reservations here!"

Turns out - GPS took us to the right hotel, but called it the wrong name. Therefore, I had reservations in the right hotel, and apparently they were trying to clean rooms for me in the Wrong hotel! It was incredibly confusing but the bottom line was, we got great rooms, for a great price - Pat and Amy got a suite so we were able to have the kids sleep in the bedroom and we could hang out and chat and eat pizza and drink beer and wine far into the night.

All's well that ends well.

In Case I Never Told You.....

http://www.myspace.com/thesilencekit

Have I ever mentioned son Patrick's band? Oh, yes, I'm sure I have....but if you hadn't heard (or read) our youngest has a band called the Silence Kit. They don't always play music I relate to, but Pat's so creative and so dedicated to his art I am awed by him.
And sometimes they get it so right for me!
Just thought I'd mention it.....
not that I mean to be a proud Mama or anything ;)

Who Needs the Farmers' Market?

Yep, we've had TWO whole strawberries and FOUR cherry tomatoes from our garden. We are cookin' for sure! They were delicious too.....all the more so for the strawberries which we've managed to sneak by who ever was stealing them.

Ahhhh Summer!

Sick Friends and Others

Don't you just hate it when people you care about are sick? I mean, one doesn't like to know anyone at all is sick...but when it's a loved one...well that just stinks.

If you read the previous post, you know that we spent this past Thursday and Friday with our really dear friend Bill at the shore. He was amazingly strong, it seemed...he kept us going!

Yesterday I get a call at work. "Ann? This is your friend Bill. I am home and in the hospital."
WHAT?!
Seems he's been walking around with double pneumonia for who knows how long. We were shocked.
We went to see him last night and he is in good hands, we think....maybe another day or so in hospital.
But I really hate it knowing people are sick and I can't "do" anything.
Our darling cousin - fighting her battle....and boy, can she fight! And knowing the anxiety of her mom, her brother, her significant wonderful man......so many of the family....all wanting to "do" something to help.
My good friend's mom, fighting the same kind of battle. Her daughter so torn by having to work, having to care for her girls and her hubby....at the same time wanting to "do" something for her mom.
But when it comes down to it, we'll each have our own battles....we'll be on our own....no one able to "do" much for us.....
but the Promise is, We are never truly alone. And we each have to keep that thought strong...we are never alone. But it can still get lonely.

Un-Weekend Away

So we've had an un-weekend....and still have a weekend...how cool!

Dear Buddy William took himself off for an extended stay away from the hot, somewhat lonely town to a shore site to which we have not been before. We said we'd visit for two days and when it all worked out, those two days were Thursday and Friday. But Wednesday I was tired enough for it to feel like Friday, and Lar had used the entire day getting Fios (whatever that is) with installer Mike who was amazing...."while I'm up here on the garage roof, do you mind if I clean the gutters?" and "since this nest of wasps decided to sting me, do you mind if I spray them and clean them out?" so we were both whipped and even too tired to pack for the next day.

To add to the tiredness, our house is in what some might say, irreparable disarray! After having moved everything from the bedroom, office and guest room down to the living and dining room, we had then moved all that, plus everything movable from the dining and living rooms back up to the office, guest room. So nothing was where it belonged, packing was made doubly difficult because we could find nothing!

Thursday morning ended up feeling like Saturday - we were slow getting started and never got off until about 1 PM. The drive was easy, the weather fine, and we finally got to Avalon/Stone Harbor around 3:30. I had packed my little keyboard and Lar kindly stopped at an actual 5 and Dime and got the batteries I needed on the main street in. Now I wouldn't have to lose two whole days of practice! I was set.

We had booked in the Desert Sand Resort and found Bill's place, the Windrift was exactly across the street. Location Location! Couldn't have been better.
Once we got hooked up, he took us on the grand tour of the bars, dining rooms, pools of both his hotel and of the Golden Inn. We checked out the upper deck of the Windrift with a fabulous ocean view and great breezes, and decided on some drinks and pickies for "lunch".

A seafood sampler, some 2 xs and a large portion of steamed and sea-salted endamame later, we strolled along enjoying the gorgeous weather, each others' company, and the lovely accommodations of both the Windrift and the Golden Inn.

We stopped in another bar that Bill and his dear wife used to frequent to have a respite from our thirst and watched the sunny world outside the window. We discovered they had McSorley's beer on tap and had to imbibe.

Later we were all ready for some good pasta - as promised by Luigi's. We were not disappointed! Their menu has a feature I love....4 columns from which to choose.....choose your pasta, choose your sauce/gravy, choose an addition, choose an extra. I had angel hair with garlic butter sauce and the addition of broccoli raab. Lar and Bill had their choices, we enjoyed the house Merlot, some yummy, crunchy bread and sweet butter. The men had apple pie for dessert....I don't know where they put it! I hadn't room for even air! I'd go to Luigi's again and again....gracious service and truly good food. We were so glad Bill had recommended it.

We left Luigi's and strolled a while just to try to give all the food a chance to find its place and then went into a hopping bar where we were destined to hear one of the very best live groups I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. But first, I took a short stroll after we had found some vacant seats and took a few pretty shots of the beach and such.

The group playing were The Exceptions and their sound was truly exceptional! http://www.exceptions.com/ We enjoyed their first set - but their break extended beyond our bed times, so we toddled off to see a bit more of the evening before settling in.

Our room was clean, and newly rehabbed so it was comfortable in that way...but what is it about the first night some place new? I didn't get a lot of sleep and was kind of glad when morning came around. Neither of us was in the mood for a big breakfast, so after making a cup of in the room coffee (which was really good!) we took a walk to find something light. Turns out, there are slim pickings for breakfast in the area, so we went into Bud's - a little sort of grocery/7-11 type store and got some bagels and cream cheese to eat back on our patio near the pool. On the way, we enjoyed the town's landscaping.....

Once we'd gotten our little breakfast accomplished, we got ready and drove over to Bill's hotel to pick him up for a drive to Cape May for lunch. I've never been much of a fan of the Lobster House, except for eating on the wharf. The dining room I find ostentatious and not once have I found the food to be up to the affectations. However, the wharf is fun, lots of fresh sea air, and the food has always satisfied.

That being said, I was hoping we would indeed eat on the wharf, I believe Bill was shooting for the dining room. Lar chose the Schooner American. The weather was fine for outdoor dining, the breeze was welcome...the food...well, let's just say - if we don't eat on the wharf, the Lobster House will not be seeing any of my money willingly ever again! My burger was just OK. The limp lettuce leaf and elderly tomato slice were returned with the plate at the end of the meal. Bill and Larry had ordered crab cake sandwiches, and from their descriptions, along with worried expressions, I was concerned they might not make it through the day without a visit to the outpatient! They ate very little. We left Cape May somewhat chagrined and headed back for Avalon.

We dropped Bill off at his hotel to go in to watch some of the British Open and we to attend to a couple of things we wanted to do. We got our bathing suits, towels and blanket and walked the one block to the beach. It was a perfect beach day....sunny, warm, just the right number of people and not humid. The water was a wonderful temperature....none of that usual shock at first. We sat a bit, took our traditional walk along the water and very thoroughly enjoyed watching a youngster of about 6 getting her first lessons in surfing. When she'd been instructed on the beach, her instructor took her and her board out and after three trys, she was on her sturdy little legs, arms up and victorious. We were all cheering and clapping.....it was such a fun thing to have been able to share. I took a picture of us....sorry my arms aren't longer!

In a while we returned to the motel to enjoy the pool for a bit - and enjoy it we did! It was so clean and not the terribly warm water we had feared...just right and refreshing. We swam about for close to half an hour. Then it was time for a shower and change and we walked over to meet Bill so that we could decide on the right place for dinner. With so many eating places within the one block of two hotels, as well as the one attached to our motel, it isn't easy to decide!

First we checked out the Beach Club at the Golden Inn - we'd missed happy hour, and it didn't look like much of a menu for people who'd had very little lunch. So we finally opted on the upper deck of the Windrift again. Luckily, Lar found us the only empty table in the place. The dunes make it difficult to see the ocean unless you have a high vantage and the upper deck is ideal. Our table had the double advantage of being just over the pool as well....double the view! The servers on the deck all seem to be so sweet and personable and the food is really quite good. Lar ordered an "Italian Sampler" for the table to start....I could have made that my meal! It was absolutely delicious. The men then opted for personal pizzas - huge! - and I had a turkey club. The turkey was quite thickly sliced real turkey breast. We were very happy with that meal. The addition of some more McSorley's didn't hurt at all.

After dinner we wandered to the club we'd been in the night before, but the music wasn't yet set up, so on to another bar with a piano man. We sat and listened with decaf coffees for a while until I was fighting my closing eye lids, and then we said our fond adieus to Bill and slowly strolled back to our motel.

We sat up on the moonlit deck for quite some time - I took a couple of nighttime pictures, Lar took one of me to prove I'd actually been along on this trip and then we went to sleep.

4 Days of the Fourth

Weekends like this’ll either kill you or make you stronger!
The three day weekend got kicked off by my boss letting me go around lunch time…resulting in it feeling like a whole day off - = a FOUR day weekend!
As soon as I got home we set off for fish tacos at Houlihan’s and then a fun shopping spree at the Christmas Tree Shop. We got lights and tables and lamps for our screen house, cushions and a matching tray for our wicker chairs and more, we had so much fun!
Came home and set it all up and by then it was dinner time so we went to our “down-town” Haddonfield where it was festival time for “First Friday.”
That town completely switches personalities on First Fridays. Streets are blocked, vendors are all along the walkway, musicians ply their wares, it is just such a pleasure to walk along and enjoy. Strangely, while we go to other states and even other countries and meet people we know, or somehow have connection to, we almost never see anyone we know in Haddonfield….under 5 miles away!
We found our Bistro fully booked for about 25 minutes, so went instead to what used to be Rosa’s – I never know what it is called anymore, it has changed hands several times.
Service was incredibly slow, but the food was pretty good. We took our time over glasses of red wine and chatted and relaxed.
Later – beautiful night for a stroll, listening to the music – going down the street from jazz, to salsa to a rock and roll mix. For Lar a perfect evening should be topped off with a cone. We both opted for a gelato – mango and vanilla – making it perfect for him and awful for me! Apparently, mango water ice does not like me at all!
Next morning, you need to picture this: almost everything except for major furniture pieces from our bedroom, office and guest room have been temporarily located in our living room or dining room. Saturday morning began the move for all that back to its proper place AND everything except the major furniture pieces from the dining and living rooms being temporarily located upstairs in either the office or the guest room.
Does that sound insane?
It is! And it feels even worse.
It all started with our desire to ease the painful condition of our dear house’s wood floors. Due to my asthma, we have been unable to get someone to refinish them – can’t have the dust, can’t have the smells.
And then I found Mr. Sandless on line.
Two strapping great men arrived…..did the process on the upper floors and they are beautiful again. And we could walk on them same day. I’d call the only odor detected something like yellow soap. It had dissipated by bedtime. Not a cough, not a sneeze. And no dust!
We were so thrilled. And then they offered us a price we couldn’t refuse for the dining and living room. We jumped at it.
Without thinking that all that moving, only doubled would have to be done again.
We worked Saturday for a couple of hours on it and then happily set out in the car for Easton PA to celebrate our great-nephew’s 19th birthday and high school graduation. It was so good not to have to move more than was necessary to steer the car, lift a fork, hoist a can of beer or a bottle of water! And it was fabulous to spend more quality time with much loved family.
Sunday - more sorting, moving, tossing – the recycle bin is threatening to break off its wheels! Lar fears he’ll not be able to get it to the curb. After what seemed hours of back breaking moving, we decided to take some time off at the swim club. On the way out the door we grabbed up arms full of magazines we are determined to go through and toss. We spent a short time with son Larry and his family, and then headed home for a light meal. Oddly, I had another mango water ice at the pool, and again, stomach attack! Strange, but guess I’ve learned my lesson.
I fell asleep to the pounding and thuds of the various firework displays in the area. We used to attend every year, but somehow, the magic is gone for me, and Larry was just too tired to venture out.
Nevertheless, we celebrate the freedom of our great nation, and hold such gratitude in our hearts for the efforts it took all those years ago to throw off the yolk of servitude. And we hold dearly in our hearts as well, the prayer and the hope that our children’s children’s children will still enjoy that same freedom.
God, do, please, bless America.
Monday. What luxury! One more day of “no work”. Except that we worked some more, nearly finishing what we have to do to be ready for the floor refinishers on Thursday or Friday, and then off we went to seek breakfast, or at least brunch at the new English style Chip Shop just opened in Haddonfield. Much to our dismay, they offered only fish and chips, shrimp and chips or something else and chips today-having not been properly prepared to be open today. We both ordered fish and chips. We also had a really lovely scone, clotted cream and jam – I had lemon curd. Larry had iced tea; I had a small pot of hot tea. We were quite satisfied and determined to return another time when we finally walked back out into the heat of the day.
After a short stop at home, we headed out to return to the Christmas Tree Shop for two little side tables for the patio, to Home Depot for a number of items we were unable to get, and to the market (Wegmans) for some much needed provisions.
When we got back into the car, the temperature stood at 109! 109! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It only dropped as far as 105 by the time we’d driven home. Too hot to handle!

To Ponder

"I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government"
Henry David Thoreau

High (and Screened) Hopes

Remember the strawberry jar that was burgled by critters? Well, I found I had exactly enough screen left from another project to staple around the jar and so far, so good. We have another hearty batch of blossoms and baby berries and I am so excited that I might actually get to eat one or two myself! Sure, it looks kind of goofy sitting there all screened in....but the plant seems healthier again, and although the squirrels and bunnies have oh so casually "strolled" by, no one has invaded as yet. Here's hoping!