Merry Christmas!

AS IF....

There isn't already enough of me on the internet, I have joined Facebook. See if you can find me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

She's a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, a FABULOUS big sister, a princess, a tap dancer and one of the lights of our lives. HAPPY, HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY KATIE!

Disney Memories

As we walked into the Magic Kingdom on the first day, I covered Katie's eyes until we were in just the right spot. Here is the photo that captured her very first-ever look at the Cinderella Castle!

Next, she met Alice and the Mad Hatter:

Sarah and Pap-Pap shared a turkey leg:

Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo! Sarah and Katie meet Fairy Godmother.

CONGRATULATIONS....

to my little cousin Chrissie. Today, she joined the grandparent club. Her son and his wife had a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Everyone is doing fine. Welcome to the world Owen!

Bryce Crazy Daizey Golf Tournament

Last weekend (October 4) we traveled back to Virginia so I could play in this Bryce tournament. This is an annual event and a fun tournament. They move the tees way up for us and have fun things at each hole. Putt with a croquet mallet; hit with a left hand driver if you are a righty, vice-versa if a lefty; a "volcano hole" they brought over from the mini golf course....and oh the beverages! Lots of fun and laughter and some golf too. Thanks to our good, good friends Jennifer and Steve for hosting us in their beautiful mountain-top home.

Here are my team-mates Kim, Mindy and Jennifer:

Steve (on the left) and his buddy serving "Mumblers":

Jennifer shows us where to hit at the "volcanoe" hole:

The four of us at the post tournament banquet:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

He's a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a dog lover (Maddie), an RN, a golfer, and a Steeler fan living in Cleveland Brown territory. He had some bumps in his life's road the past year, but navigated them well. He is an all-around good guy. He makes us proud!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC !!! We love you.

What's Cooking Wednesday

I have really gotten behind with my blogging. I've decided to post a recipe here each week. It might be an old favorite or something I found recently. We ate some yummy apple dumplings at a couple of county fairs this summer, so I decided to look online to see what I could find. Google "apple dumpling" and you get 509,000 results! But I did find these and was intrigued by the addition of Mountain Dew. BOY HOWDY ARE THEY GOOD! TRY THEM! For those of you who don't do Dew due :) to caffeine, you could probably substitute Sprite or 7 Up with similar results.

Apple Dumplings

2 Granny Smith apples
2 cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon
1 small (8oz) can Mountain Dew
Peel and core apples, slice each into 8 slices. Roll each slice in a crescent roll and place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, stir in sugar and vanilla (sugar won't be dissolved). Pour butter/sugar mix over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream and spoon some of the sauce over top. They are good cold too!
Enjoy!

A Day Of Remembrance

September 11....how will you mark the day?

When I think about September 11, 2001 I remember the fear and worry about Ron. I knew that he was scheduled to be at the Pentagon that morning. I was driving home from a visit with my Mom in Lancaster when I heard about the plane crash at the Pentagon. I wasn't able to reach him, cell service was spotty or out completely. We did finally connect a couple of hours later. Others were not so fortunate. We drove down to the Pentagon to try to retrieve his car. Seeing that burning building was surreal, you see so much of that on TV and the movies - but to see it in real life is hard to put into words. Below is a link to something Ron wrote about his experiences that day.
http://911digitalarchive.org/smithsonian/details/437

I remember that there were American flags everywhere on buildings, on vehicles and even on people for months after. Not so much now - where did all those flags go? It is sad that it takes a tragedy to inspire us to show our love of our country.

Today, there will be memorial services and ceremonies and unending TV coverage but I will stay away from those public places. I prefer to spend some time in quiet reflection, remembering those who were lost and praying that their families have been able to find some kind of peace. I will thank God, again, for keeping Ron safe and for blessing us with our beautiful children and grandchildren who bring us such joy and make life so worthwhile. Because, new houses and boats are nice things to have but our families are what make us truly happy. Our family has been very blessed in so many ways.

Oh, and I will fly my flag today and every day - will you?

Peace

Catching Up

I have gotten a bit behind with my blogging. We picked up our boat on Friday and spent the next several days enjoying some beautiful fall weather on the local lakes. Our first trip out on Friday could have been great material for a "Funny Home Video" if we had recorded it. Getting a boat off a trailer into the lake and then back on again, well lets just say we weren't sure what we were doing and it took a while! But we didn't sink it or lose it so, as Martha would say "its a good thing". We did much better on Saturday, and on Sunday, Meghan and crew joined us. As you can see, Sarah did NOT like her life preserver and was not a happy boater:
Katie, on the other hand loved it. Could there be a better way to spend a sunny fall Sunday afternoon than in the bow of Pap-Pap's boat? This picture says it all....

Stupid People Should Wear Signs....

We are picking up our boat tomorrow and so we went shopping at Wal-Mart to pick up some needed items. PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices), docking rope, marine fire extinguisher, anchor etc. I recalled reading or hearing this description of a boat somewhere... a hole in the water lined with fiberglass into which you pour money! Oh, I digress, back to Wal-Mart. As we were checking out all of our very obviously boat related purchases the cashier said "Do you have a boat?" It was all Ron could do not to reply "No, we are just buying all this stuff in case we find one someday! HERE'S YOUR SIGN!"

The Big Guy was bitten

by the infamous Western Pennsylvania Boat Bug. A bite from this critter can lead to very serious implications. The only known treatment is to, well, buy a boat! After spending the past several weeks looking at many boats, new and used, we opted to go the pre-owned route. Today we became the proud owners of a 1990 Sunbird. She is in great condition and we are looking forward to some nice fall days out there on the lakes of Western PA. Between the boat and the golf course, we may never be home!

Now I'll have something to write about besides grandkids!!

Isn't she a beauty?

Wild Animal!!!!

On Saturday night, I was lying across the bed watching TV, and I saw out of the corner of my eye something scurrying or hopping across the floor. In a moment of panic, I realized it was TOO big to be a mouse so that meant it must be a RAT! A rat??? In my less than one year old house??? I was wrong. It was a baby bunny, no bigger than the palm of my hand. Very cute, little stubby ears and of course terrified. My knight in shining armor managed to corner it in the walk-in closet and get it into a laundry basket. We released it to the front yard. We are still wondering how it got in the house. I wish I had taken a picture......

Weekend Day Trip

Last Saturday we took a day trip up to Lake Tionesta. Had a lovely drive through Cooks Forest and an ice cream stop on the way. The lake was really nice, but not what we were looking for. R wanted to fish and it is a great lake for boaters but to fish from the shore would have involved a hike down a pretty steep trail. We did find a nice community park in Tionesta that was on the Allegheny River. We had a picnic lunch there. All in all, a really nice day. Life is good!

When people ask us why we wanted to move to Pennsylvania when we retired, we tell them several things. We wanted to live where the summers weren't so hot and humid. We like winter weather. We wanted to be closer to our family. The Muffin and her little girls live about 10 miles from us and Superman is in Cleveland, a mere 3 hours away. But here are the two BEST reasons we have:

Aren't they beautiful? Now, I ask you - what grandparent wouldn't want to be closer to this?