Christmas Recap - What a Blast!

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Our Christmas holiday with the family was wonderful and filled with four generations and lots of food and love. Here are a few of my favorite moments of memories we made.

One of Great Grandpa's annual duties is managing the trash bag for everyone's wrapping paper scraps. Here we see him in a classic pose in his signature green pants and shirt awaiting Katy's next trip to the trash bag with scraps. We had to watch her . . . she sometimes threw away instructions and receipts and other pieces of paper that weren't destined for the garbage!


The "hands-down" hit of the family celebration were the two push toys that Great-Granny got for Gabe and Katy to ride. Besides playing music and having other sound effects, Uncle Neil provided the propulsion to take the babes on a few exciting runs across the entire length of the house. Emily got a video of this, which is a scream. I hope she posts it on Katydid!

Here we see Katy and Oma exploring the land of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" with one of her new books. Oma is continuing her push to get Katy interested in music. (I think it's working.) "Singing" books are a favorite right now.

Christmas Eve Morning . . . . Katy got some tiny gloves in her stocking. Brian tried to get the fingers in the right holes. We all remember the drill, right?

Aunt Melanie is all smiles . . . there has been a camera on her Christmas list for at least three years. Santa has been working on it. :-)

Buckeye Katy enjoys her new kid-sized rocker. She needs a good place to sit when she watches those Dora videos!

Opa, the tool using animal, investigates his pocket auto tool kit. Katy is quite interested in the pretty, red toys in Opa's kit, too.

Mama and Katy relax after all the packages are open. It is a nice morning for being lazy and just enjoying being together. Merry Christmas!

Christmas is Almost Here!

It was a really ssslllloooowwww week at work! I thought Friday would never get here . . . and every day there were fewer and fewer people to be found when you needed an answer for some question. Well, we finally made it to the weekend!

Greg and I enjoyed our usual Saturday waffles this morning and have been wrapping the last of the gifts and thinking of little things to do at the last minute.

Melanie called last night to catch me up on her identity theft crisis. (Melanie's apartment was burglarized last weekend within 24 hours of the time the roommates dispersed to go home for the weekend.) One of the things the thieves stole was her fire box with her birth certificate, passport, title to her car, and social security card. This week for her has been an all out panic of bank visits, credit bureau alerts, long phone interactions with auto attendants to get information, and such. With her Dad's help and a lot of support from friends and family, she seems to have cancelled accounts and turned on all the necessary credit alerts. Last Monday morning, I called Montgomery County to order another copy of Melanie's birth certificate because I knew she was going to need it. I dropped the letter requesting the birth certificate and the money order in the mail at the post office on Monday evening. Melanie called yesterday to say that she RECEIVED the birth certificate on Friday! Hurray for Montgomery County! It's great to see a service-oriented government agency! Great work! It has also been very comforting how many people have stepped in to help Melanie replace things and help her clean up. In spite of how much this situation stinks, it really demonstrates the love of the season that there were a number of people "standing in the gap" for her. She is truly rich in this area.

I sent my Christmas cards and letter this week, so I hope many of you have found this sight and will check in occasionally to see what's happening. I hope to have some more pictures after we get together with family and friends over the next few days, so check back.

Be sure to check out Katydid for the latest of Katy's dance videos!



And have a very Merry Christmas!

I think I'm done . . . or maybe I've just HAD it!

Well, I ventured out this afternoon to go to TWO STORES . . . both of them within about three or four miles of the house. The first stop was TSC to get some bird seed for my chilly little feathered friends. That stop wasn't too bad, but it had started snowing by the time I left. I headed south on Route 19 toward the "Cranberry Mall" area. The traffic down there was ridiculous! The snow was making it worse . . . but it was bumper to bumper and practically crawling. I got what I needed and patiently worked my way home. That's it! I'm done! No more shopping for this year!

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on my Christmas letter. If I get the stamps tomorrow on the way home from church, these should be on their way by Monday.

Tomorrow is the contata presentation of "One of Us" at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Sewickley. I'm looking forward to making music and enjoying the telling of the Christmas story.

Merry Christmas!

OSU Does Pittsburgh!


Melanie brought three friends from Ohio State to visit for the weekend, and it has been a lot of fun "hanging out" with them. The group included Melanie's boyfriend, Drew, and their friends Nick and Beth. Drew and Nick are room-mates and also members of the drum line of the OSU marching band. Melanie and Beth have similar majors and have taken a few classes together. And the whole group is part of the Mosaic church on campus. They all arrived Friday night around dinner time, and we ate Bonnie's famous Spinach and Artichoke Dip while we waited for the pot roast to cook. Those potatoes looked a lot like "O's" with their red skins and all. So Drew just had to get creative before finishing off his meal. I wonder if this one will end up on the Buckeye web site. One never knows.

On Saturday we made a trip to Target. I think this is part of "hanging out", or maybe it just made the students feel at home because Target is their favorite store in Columbus. Whatever . . . . We headed into the city in the afternoon to go to the Carnegie Science Center to see the Bodies Exhibit. (The exhibit was very interesting; it makes you appreciate how miraculous it is that everything works so well.) The Sports Works part of the museum is right across from Heinz Field . . . home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since Nick is a sports fan, we took this picture to prove that they were actually in Pittsburgh and nowhere else. It's pretty cool, don't you think?

When we finished at the museum, we crossed the Allegheny River into downtown Pittsburgh and drove through the cultural district on our way to the South Side where we parked at the foot of the Duquesne Incline. We rode the incline to the top of Mount Washington for dinner overlooking the skyline at the Georgetowne Inn. This ride up the side of Mount Washington with dinner overlooking the place where the Allegheny and Monongahela River form the mighty Ohio River is one of the best views in the country. And we had good food and great company talking about our day and enjoying the scene.

After dinner, we rode back down the incline and drove through Oakland so that these grateful Buckeyes could see the home of the Pittsburgh Panthers, who toppled WVU in football to give OSU a shot at the national championship in January. The Buckeyes were impressed with the college and especially the Peterson Events Center. While they didn't get out and shake hands with any of the Panthers, they did verbally "bless" them for their victory over WVU.

This morning we visited the Worship Cafe at Northway before Melanie and company headed back to Columbus. It was an awesome time together. I'm hoping they come back again later so Greg can join us on another excursion. He had to work this weekend, so I was hostess by myself.

This afternoon, I decided to attend a music rehearsal for a musical presentation I was invited to play for at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Sewickley. It was the first time since I have had the Chevy HHR that I needed to transport my bass. As you can see from the picture, it fits BEAUTIFULLY! And it was so easy to get in and out of the car. I'm really happy! Now the car has passed all the tests. I has the LATCH things for Katy's car seat and has worked for that. We have travelled with up to five passengers in relative comfort. And now it has passed the test for musical transportation. I think we're there.

Oh, and I found the Hallmark Christmas ornaments that I bought for 2007! Things are looking up for the rest of the month. Only 16 days until Christmas!

Christmas Decorations! We're Cookin'!

It is time to get going on the decorations, and we got our tree on Sunday and started the festivities! I am slowly getting things pulled out, and here are some pictures of the two most important elements of Christmas . . . the tree and the stockings.

As you can see from the mantle, all the stockings and hangers are on display. I even found an itty bitty stocking with musical notes on it for "Little David" . . . even though he won't officially be opening presents until next year. Emily, Melanie and David's stockings are on the left; Katy, Brian, Greg and my stockings are on the right. If you look closely, you will also notice that the Christmas plate that Melanie and I painted at Mud Pies is on display on the mantal. This definitely sets the mood.

We went back to our standard Christmas tree place down at Safari Sams' parking lot to get this Frazer Fir. It was trimmed to be a lovely shape, and it smells great! I stuck with the "Red Hat Society" colors from last year and added candy canes this year. I also bought dated Hallmark ornaments a couple of weeks ago at the mall. Sure hope I find them before Christmas. Maybe I will come upon them when I start wrapping gifts . . . they might be in a bag with something else.

Hope your holidays are shaping up to be glorious. The snow certainly might put us in the mood. I also bought a new book of Christmas songs to play on the piano. It has Silver Bells in it, which is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

The Best Recipe I've Found for a Long Time!

As many of you know, I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. This is because I need to keep food in a proper perspective in order to stay in my clothes. This week I went to weigh in after Thanksgiving to keep me on track during the holidays. The leader handed out this really simple, low-fat recipe that is so great for working people and busy moms, I just had to pass it along! It doesn't have a name, so call it whatever you like!

1 pound ground beef or turkey
Crumble it in a skillet and cook it.
Add a small, chopped onion if you like (I do)
Drain off the fat when it's brown if you need to.

Add to the skillet:
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
1 can of tomato soup
Salt & Pepper if desired.

Stir everything together and simmer until "smushed together" (my terminology). I do it about 10 minutes.

You are now finished and can serve this in a ba-zillion ways including:
Over pasta
In a wrap with cheese (fat free, of course) and sour cream (again, fat free)
Eat it like sloppy Joe on a bun.
Put it on a salad with stuff to make a "Taco Salad"
You get the idea . . . make some up yourself.

The recipe says you can add chili beans if you want. I stuck with the basics but might try this.

If you are counting WW points, the whole recipe is 6 servings and is 18-1/2 points total. Each serving is only 3 points!!!! I made mine with ground turkey, and it was awesome.

It's a Gray, Snowy Sunday in Pittsburgh

Today started off kind of damp; the newspaper delivery person kind of missed with the plastic bag. Our newspaper was soaked this morning, and Greg had to get the fan and spread the paper out on the floor in sections to dry it. He had to start reading the thin sections first at breakfast over our usual Cream of Wheat.

After church, we ate lunch at our new favorite restaurant, Passport Cafe, in the Pine Tree Plaza. They have a wonderful brunch menu with unusual dishes with an international flair; and they use the freshest ingredients from local producers of meats, dairy and vegetables. Today Greg had the mussels and I had roast quail with polenta. Both dishes were wonderful, reasonably priced, and beautifully presented. The menu changes frequently based on what is available, and there is always something interesting in addition to crepes and french toast and eggs Benedict if you are less adventurous. On the way home, we stopped at Staples to get an EASY button and Rite Aid for a couple of items. Then it was home to finish up the new coat I have been sewing for about 6 or 8 weeks.


Voila! What do you think? The coat is made of a wonderful, soft wool and cashmere fabric from Sawyer Brook that is just like a warm blanket. With the lining, it is so toasty warm. I didn't realize that my coat was such an unusual color until I tried to find a scarf and gloves to wear with it. But I settled on some dove grey gloves and a scarf that is a houndtooth check with pink and grey and ivory. I finished it just in time to wear for the holidays! My "good" black coat was purchased at Lazarus at the Dayton Mall when I worked for Lexis-Nexis. Those of you from the Dayton area know that it was a WHILE ago that you could get anything at Lazarus since they changed to Macy's. And I have lived in Pittsburgh for seven years, so that alone tells you something.


My next sewing project is a dress and a jacket that I bought fabric for a few weeks ago when Sawyer Brook sent me a mailing. Maybe I will cut that out over the holiday weekend.

I don't have any sewing patterns for little boy clothes except a couple of things with sweat pants and tee shirts for either a boy or a girl. I guess sewing is another area of expansion for me with the arrival of little David Richard. Better stock up on fabric with trains and dinosaurs after the green outfit is finished! I also have a pattern to make Greg some workout shirts that are long sleeved and long enough to meet his workout pants. We haven't been able to come up with many "talls" in the athletic wear section. I guess basketball players never wear long sleeves. Go figure . . . .

It's a BOY!!!!!

You have to check out the ultrasound pictures on Katydid! Although I really don't see that nose and lips thing, Emily!

Ohhh, the shopping!!! I've never had a chance to buy boy clothes and toys except very recently for my grand-nephew (is that the right name?), Gabe! Now I can DOUBLE my pleasure.

Off to Babies 'R Us and Toys 'R Us . . . . . . . Doo Dah . . . Doo Dah . . . (greg is gonna kill me) . . . Doo Dah!!

Six Things I Like about You . . . Katy! (Grandchildren in general.)

There are a lot of things I don't like about being OLD enough to be a grandmother; but these things have not deterred me from being really crazy about Katy and little newbie baby Mowery and any other grandbabies that come along. The me-me that Jen and Emily did last was too long and painful for me, so I am starting my own. It is the top six things I like about children . . . and especially about the cutest child on the planet (for the time being), Katy.

1) Katy eats what she likes and spits out the rest. As an adult, this is something I would like to try. To top that, I feel guilty if all I have for lunch is fish crackers and milk. Katy is amazingly free from the knowledge of a healthy diet. Her food choices are simple.

2) Life is interesting when you are a kid. Things like light switches and cardboard boxes are hours of entertainment for Katy. It is so cheap to have fun when a chair that swivels around is an amusement park as long as you have an Opa or other adult willing to spin you in a circle.

3) Katy is the ultimate "I'm okay, you're okay" representative. The grumpiest store clear will smile at Katy. Maybe its because she always smiles back or something. Do you think maybe all our ambassadors to other countries should be aged four and under?

4) When a kid gets tired, you can pick them up and put them to bed. This would be a really handy feature for some adults who seem to have trouble getting enough rest and end up inflicting themselves on the rest of us. Not only that, but a crib is a safe place to take a break from the world if it gets to be too much! Sometimes I could use a crib myself.

5) Katy has no plans. She lives totally in the present. This is what "one day at a time" is all about. Plans and regrets clutter up your life. I need to remember this!

6) Katy looks cute in anything she wears. Except for a few specialty shops, you can pretty much buy her a whole outfit for under $20 anywhere. In an age where a pair of pantyhose costs $7 or $8, it is still amazing that you can buy an outfit for ANYBODY for so little. Maybe this is why it is so much fun to shop for the kiddo . . . because it feels like you are getting so much.

I'm sure there are other lessons to be learned from toddlers, but it is getting late. In the interest of not being a grumpy adult tomorrow, I'm turning in. Ni-night, Katy!

GREG'S NEW SCRAPER!!!


Greg has not had an ice scraper for a while because he somehow lost his last winter. At the time, the stores had started to stock shamrocks and Easter baskets and all that spring merchandise we all need in spite of the fact that there is an inch of ice on our cars every evening when we leave to come home from work.

Today we went to TSC to buy bird seed and to check on a heated bird bath that my dad wants to dis-assemble to make something for the heat pump and such. And they had ICE SCRAPERS!

The ice scrapers started at 89 cents and went up to $18. Greg really took a liking to this extensible, ice chipping, show brushing, frost removing model that adjusts to three angles for the perfect leverage. Even though this was one of the more expensive models, we decided it was the one he needed. Isn't it impressive?

I told Greg that he would be the envy of all the other guys with this scraper. It won't matter that he wears lavender shirts and bow ties. Everyone now knows that he is a manly man with an ice scraper like that!!! Of course, I already knew he was a manly man. He respects my girlie qualities, and I certainly respect his manly ones.

Once again, the bold blue text of this post is to commemorate the manliness of Greg's new ice scraper which incidentally came only in blue. For some reason there weren't any pink ones . . . I don't understand it . . . .

"Doo-Dah" Days with Katy!

Last weekend Opa and I had the rare pleasure of taking care of Katy for a day while her mom and dad went to a wedding. I hope Katy had fun, because we sure did! It was so delightful to have the little princess around showing us all her latest tricks.

One of the things that we always do is sing a lot of songs. We read books and sing about the animals or whatever happens to strike us about the pictures. Somewhere along the way, Katy must have heard a song with "Doo-Dah" in it. She would just be playing with toys or walking around and start singing "Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah!" Opa and I could only think of one song with this phrase, and that was "Camptown Races." So that's what we sang every time she said "Doo-Dah!" So, Emily, if Katy takes a sudden interest in horse racing instead of her beloved "oo-baw" (football), you will have us to blame. Regardless, she was entertained by our singing; and it has made me smile for several days just remembering her "Doo-Dah's."

Opa was finishing up the last Harry Potter book this weekend (the book is in his left hand in the picture), but he still found plenty of time to share Cheerios with Katy and to fly her around the house, the yard, and even the neighborhood. He was holding her out on his arms like she was a little airplane and zooming around. After several minutes, he decided that he needed to add some upper body exercises to his workout at the gym! It was quite a workout. But Katy kept signing 'more' and dancing around his feet saying "O-paa." Who could resist?

The other thing Opa did was let Katy play with Oma's computer. You notice he didn't let Katy play with HIS computer . . . only Oma's! When Katy was finished, I had about 50 open windows and the voice capability was turned on so that every time you touched the keyboard, the computer talked. Yeesh! It is a miracle that I can post this blog message!

I posted a previous message about the John Deere tractor riding toy I found at TSC. Katy was just the perfect size for the tractor, and she spent quite a bit of time riding it around through the dining room, hallway, family room, kitchen and around again. This blog is done with John Deere green text to commemorate the tractor. The picture here was taken in the dining room on about round 49. One of Katy's latest tricks is to say "cheese" when you point the camera at her. Since she is much photographed, this was a no-brainer for her vocabulary. If you look carefully, you can see that her mouth is in the perfect position . . . she had just said "cheese" for me and the camera. What a ham!

The photo below was our tea party with the singing teapot on Sunday morning. It works best if you put cereal or fish crackers in the cups, but we also gave pretend treats to the dolly and fed her with the spoon.



Oh, I guess I am supposed to also try this me-me thing that Emily has tagged me with on the Katydid blog. I think I am supposed to list six habits. Although this seems kind of dangerous and potentially incriminating, here goes.

1) I like to shop, too, but have given up on most of the mall stores in favor of internet shopping. You can spend more in less time and not wear yourself out! :-) But seriously, my favorite shopping habit is shopping for toys that develop musical skills so that my grandchildren will grow up to share my love of music.

2) My second habit is walking. I try to walk at least two miles every day . . . preferably out of doors. I do this for myself because it improves my mental and spiritual outlook and improves my health. I think of it like eating. I wouldn't usually go a whole day without eating; so I don't usually go a day without walking either.

3) I floss my teeth every day and brush morning and evening with my Sonicare toothbrush. (Please tell Drew about this; I'm sure he will be impressed.) This is a habit that I resisted for many years as my dental hygienist lectured me about flossing. Then I had several thousand dollars worth of gum surgery . . . painful in more ways than one! I'm a slow learner, but I finally got it.

4) I call my parents every Sunday evening. For many years, we went out to lunch with Mom and Dad after church on Sunday and caught up on all the family news. When I moved away from Dayton to Pittsburgh, I started calling them on Sunday to check on their week. I think Emily used to call me from Ithaca every Sunday night when she was away in college, too. So, I think there is something genetic about this one. Sunday night = call your mother.

5) I hug people. Most of them I know pretty well, but sometimes not. If they look friendly and need a hug, I'm generous. My family gets "squasher" hugs with kisses on the end.

6) I read at the breakfast table. Greg and I pay attention to each other at all other meals, but we allow each other to read at breakfast. Greg gets the paper, but he lets me check the weather forecast and any headlines that catch my eye. Then I move on to my walking journal, my devotion book, and my Bible. Right now I'm in I Samuel . . . David just killed Goliath this morning. It was awesome.

Okay, I hope that wasn't too much information for you! I left out anything that violated health regulations, etc.

"Your Personal Penguin!"


I have been bringing Katy animals from Schleich because I found them at TSC earlier this year when Emily got a zoo membership for Mother's Day. It was a fun, small present that I could bring to help Katy learn her animals.

A few weeks ago, I brought Katy a penguin. It was a little different from the zebra and giraffe and other animals we had been working on. Here is a picture of Katy with her new penguin.

Today Greg and I went to the cultural district to see a play, and we had a few minutes to browse in the Curtain Call store where all the arts patrons hang out for cappucino before performances. I found a board book by Sandra Boynton called "Your Personal Penguin" that is actually a SONG! You can download the MP3 for free on the internet, which I promptly did. I can't wait to sing the book to Katy. In meantime, you can listen to it yourself! Enjoy!

Opa's Birthday . . . . It's fall . . . . Katy's new ride!


Today is Opa's birthday!!! Happy birthday, Greg!!! Woo Hoo!! (We say this in Pittsburgh when we like something. Don't ask me why.)

The leaves are beautiful today. Greg and I took a walk this morning, and it is a perfect fall day. I wish I could bottle this for some of those January and February days that are so dreary. There was a beautiful red-breasted woodpecker at the suet feeder this morning. The birds are bulking up, so you know the weather is cooling.

I don't intend to take the NaBloPoMo or whatever Emily was talking about on her blog. There is no way I can post every day. Besides, I spend all day every day on the computer. My evenings cannot be spent blogging. Count me out.

I went to the Tractor Supply Company this morning to replenish my supply of bird seed and to get another pamphlet for my dad so he can spec out a shepherd's hook to hang flowers on. This tractor toy has been calling to me the last few times I've been in there. And Katy is coming to play very shortly. So now she will have a riding toy worthy of her great-grandpa's genes (of which she has several I'm sure). It's a John Deere, Dad!! What do you think. The gas gauge says it has a full tank, so it should take Katy a long way.

Enjoy the last days of October! Hope you are having a great fall.

Go BUCKS!!!! Especially the band . . . .

Friday night I drove to Columbus to stay with Melanie. On Saturday morning, we walked down Indianola to Lane Avenue to join the few thousand people already on the streets for the noon OSU vs. Kent State football game. Our purpose (besides getting coffee, which Melanie didn't have) was to attend the OSU Marching Band's Skull Session at 10 a.m. This was so COOL!!! As many of you know, I am totally clueless about football. MUSIC, on the other hand, is a longstanding passion! I absolutely loved this pep rally, warm up of the band. They are such good musicians . . . but even better showmen/showwomen! It is so refreshing to see how music spans the generations like this. Melanie's friend, Drew, is a squad leader in the percussion section of the band. He is the one with the "OHIO" bass drum in the picture above. It was especially fun to watch the band when you know somebody. And Drew is a wonderful showman and musician. I was very impressed that the band was disciplined in keeping their tempo and following the director even in the face of a few thousand rhythmically challenged fans who clapped wrong and RUSHED EVERYTHING!!! What ARE they in such a hurry about?

Melanie and I left early (she had traded her tickets to the game to a roommate) and walked to Brian and Emily's house to stay with Katy while they went to the game with some friends. As always, I never get tired of playing with Oma's girl and getting those wet, sloppy kisses. She kept trying to play with my glasses . . . because Opa always lets her try on HIS glasses. We missed you, Opa. But we will have fun in a couple of weeks when we see you again.

Where did September go? The pah-tee!

This month has flown by, and here it is the last day of September! Mom and Dad came over from Dayton, Ohio, on Friday afternoon to go with us to our youngest family member's birthday party in Akron. We drove to the Akron area on Friday afternoon to a beautiful park in Medina County. My niece, Abby, and her husband Stan Boyce had a great party for their baby, Gabe, who was one year old on Monday. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm just going to post some photos and let you enjoy.

Mommy (Abby) and Birthday Boy Gabe

Gabe's New Lawn Mower!!!!!

This must be a McHenry mower. It seems to be getting a tune-up!

Uncle Neil and Grandpa talk while Katy checks out the contents of Greg's shirt pocket.

Another notable thing about the day was that I got to drive my new car on the turnpike and 1) go over 45 miles an hour, 2) use the fifth gear, and 3) try out the cruise control. Woo Hoo! My brother, Neil, said he didn't think the HHR looked much like me; he said it was too much like an armored car----but he understood that I needed to be able to carry my string bass around and needed the room. However, he also said that he was surprised to see that I got a manual transmission. This cuts me to the quick! What kind of a McHenry would I be if I didn't drive a stick shift? Besides, the terrain here in Pittsburgh really makes a stick shift more practical. Since the car is a 4-cylinder, you kind of need the lower gears to keep from crawling up the hills around the 'burgh. So, Neil, in case you are reading this, you can take the girl out of the country and give her a city job, but I can still drive a pick-up truck with the best of them, bro! Want me to come over and drive your garden tractor sometime? Love you, buddy. **

Vacation Memories.

Last Saturday we took off for Markle, Indiana, where I grew up until I was 12. Mom and Dad still own the house Dad built back in 1954 for the family, and I wanted to see the place again before they sell it. As I expected, the house was a LOT smaller than I remembered it as a child. The trees had grown a lot, though, and were amazing. We had a great time visiting with Mom and Dad (who met us at the house) and telling stories about things that happened in that house including the scratch on the floor from taking the TV out of the living room to avoid the rising water outside and the telephone pole "launching pad" that Dad built in the backyard for us kids to pretend we were astronauts and the remote controlled lawn mower. This picture was taken from the hill where we used to go sledding down into the street in the winter. Those were the good old days of sleds with metal runners and safety by "look-out" posted in the street to make sure no cars were coming before you started down the hill. The sandbox and the monkey swing were hours of fun under the big tree in the front yard.

Saturday afternoon we drove over to Huntington, Indiana, and visited with my Uncle Gene and Aunt Marcille who had never met Greg . . . it had been a long time since I saw them. We had a great visit catching up on my cousins Greg and Anne Funk and their boys Brian and Kevin. More memories of summers at the lake and Thanksgiving dinners and Grandma Elsie's house just made me promise to catch up with the family more in the coming year.

On Sunday, we drove to Columbus, Ohio, and picked up Melanie and headed down to Caryville, Tennessee, to meet up with Brian and Emily and Katy at the lake house we had rented. It was a beautiful place, and we were really glad to land somewhere for a few days. Monday morning we decided to go out on the lake after lunch. Katy fed the ducks at the bottom of the steps below the house. The drought has made the lake about 25 feet below normal for this time of year, and we had to walk on the rocks to get to the water. (The walk BACK to the house was the killer, though.) We got out on the water and were in the lake for a swim when it started to rain. The rain settled in, so we got back in the boat and headed home. The ride back was cold and loud (Katy was crying). When we got home, we ate Greg's shrimp and grits for dinner and started our marathon of watching the first season of 24 on DVD after Katy went to sleep that evening.

Tuesday morning it was still raining. Try as they might, the guys could not find a wireless internet connection! They even went out looking for a Starbucks so they could check their e-mail. Emily and Melanie and I decided to take the rainy day and drive to Pigeon Forge to the outlet mall for some shopping therapy. We took off in Greg's Nissan in the rain and headed for Knoxville. On the way around Knoxville heading for Interstate 40 toward Sevierville, we were in the left lane of three lanes of traffic and hit a pool of water. The car hydroplaned and swerved about three times as I struggled to stay in the lane, but we impacted the jersey barrier on the left head on and the air bags deployed. There were some really nice people including an off-duty policeman still in uniform who were there immediately to help. We were all okay (miraculously), but Emily was having chest pain and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the St. Marys Hospital emergency room in Knoxville. Brian and Greg and Katy were there with us, and we all headed back and got some dunch or linner about 3:30 at the "best Red Lobster in the U.S." At this point, we were really grateful to be alive and unhurt except for bruises from seat belts and air bags. The car was totalled.

Wednesday we were determined to have fun or bust! We took the boat out again, and this time the weather cooperated. We took the boat clear to the dam and saw the beautiful scenery. We swam in the lake and I rode on the tube for a good long way. We enjoyed the sun and finally took the boat back to the marina in the late afternoon. Then Brian grilled out dinner at the house and we had a fabulous meal before settling down for a few more episodes of 24.

On Thursday, Greg and Brian got a rental car to get us home and Greg settled up with the Erie claims adjuster on the car. Then our guys stayed with Katy so that we girls could conquer our shopping. It was a dry day, and Emily drove Melanie and I to Pigeon Forge Outlet Mall for an afternoon of shopping. We made it this time! I think there is something kind of sick in the fact that we still did this, but oh, well. :-) When we got back that evening, we ate at Rickard's Ridge BBQ in the park near the lake house. It was probably the best ribs and smoked chicken thighs I have ever tasted. It was a wonderful way to finish our week at the lake. We drove back to Pittsburgh on Friday by way of Columbus to drop Melanie off. It was good to be home last night.

This morning we went to the north hills to return the rental car and deposit the insurance check Greg got for the Nissan. On the way back through Wexford, I asked him if we could stop at the Chevy dealer and drive an HHR. I have been looking at cars all summer intending to replace the Taurus. And we had discussed on the way home that we would swap cars and go ahead with a "crossover" vehicle. The main motivation is that I wanted something like a PT Cruiser so I could get my string bass into it easily. The HHR is Chevy's version of this type of vehicle. The dealership had four 2007 HHR's in stock and were offering some good factory incentives for clearing out the 2007's before the 2008's arrive. The short story is, I drove home in a new car. It is a 5-speed manual transmission that is a lot of fun to drive. Greg has plenty of head room, and it is really roomy for trips to Ohio carrying presents for family members over there. It looks pretty good, don't you think?

I really hope future vacations do not include air bags and emergency rooms. But I am really thankful that this one has ended well. I am so glad to get to spend time with family last week, and it was nice to visit, to eat together, to watch TV together, and to spend time with Katy singing "Old MacDonald" and "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain." Even though the comings and goings and the not-so-good parts of this vacation took up some of the time, it is a vacation I will never forget. And it is as much because I got to watch Katy share Greg's breakfast every morning and try to eat with the spoon and crawl into the cupboard beside the TV set. We hemmed a dress for Melanie to wear out later in the month, and we drank Brian's morning coffee with him and spent a lot of quality time. I hope these are the things I will remember forever.

Life's better on the porch . . . .

For those of you who are Starbucks frequenters, you know that the theme this summer has been all about the porch at Starbucks. The games, the coffee cups, the drinks with raspberries and pictures of porch swings all represent relaxing times around home. Greg and I do a lot of porch sitting, and this is the time that I enjoy my flowers the most. They smell nice and attract the butterflies and the buzzy bees, and they generally give me a lot of pleasure. This post is just to share some of my pretties with you, and to show Dori that the plants I adopted from her are happy campers in their new home on our porch and deck.

The first one is my hibiscus, which I bought a couple of years ago at Home Depot to fill in where we took out a shrub by the front porch. The first two years, it managed to hang on and to show one or two blooms. But this year, it seems to have decided to make a home. There are about 100 buds on it, and they are opening up a few every day to impress me and dress up the yard.

The poinsettia and the hanging basket are also out on the front porch where we sit after work to read the paper and watch the neighbors coming home from work and decide what's for dinner. The rocking chairs with the striped chair pads and the papasan chair are great vantage points for all these activities. Just to the left of the poinsettia is our herb pot with basil and chives and marjoram and rosemary. This is convenient so that I can pop out with the herb scissors and snip some seasonings for the meat or vegetables when we cook. MMMMMmmmmmm!

We haven't totally abandoned suburbia, because we still have the deck on the back of the house with our table and chairs and our grill. Although we sometimes eat so much cheese and crackers on the porch that dinner is abandoned, the "real meals" we eat outside are usually on the deck in the back off the kitchen. We scare the birds away from the feeder and sit back there at our table. Dori gave me this daisy, which looks like something from a Van Gogh painting in the middle of the table, don't you think?

Happy summer! Starbucks is right. Life's better on the porch.

A busy month for Oma!!

It has been a really busy month, and I am way behind on my blogging. Melanie had a birthday on August 8! She was a great age . . . 22! My baby is a lovely young woman. Greg and I went to Columbus to see everyone and to take Melanie out to dinner for her birthday. I forgot my camera! It was unbelievable. So you will just have to imagine the wonderful dinner we had with Melanie and Drew and Brian and Emily and Katy and Greg and me at the Cap City Diner. There is no such thing as a bad meal there; and we got a GIANT piece of chocolate cake with a candle. We sang Happy Birthday and shared the cake and then went home to sit on the porch.

All summer long I have been working on a benefit for Sojourner House along with my co-chair, Michelle Reese, and a small committee of dedicated team members. We held our event at Pittsburgh's finest restaurant, LeMont, on Mount Washington overlooking the city on Thursday, August 16. It was called Jazz Explosion at LeMont because we had jazz musicians to provide music and entertainment and there were fireworks at the Pirates baseball game at PNC Park that evening. The picture here is of me with our new executive director, Joann Cyganovich, at Lemont last week. The evening was beautiful, and we raised over $30,000 for the families at Sojourner House. So I was very pleased.

On the physical activity side, Greg's boss gave us a membership to the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford near the church! Greg and I have been going there and getting fitness assessments and starting to work out with the weight equipment. That is a lot of fun and makes some of the aches and pains go away! It also helps my golf game because it gives me some upper body strength. I signed up for a women's golf clinic on Saturday afternoons for 4 weeks. The second one is tomorrow on chipping and putting. Last week was on driving, and I ended up ordering a new driver from the Internet as a result of the clinic. I don't think I can afford to buy a new club after every session, but hopefully I will learn to use the ones I have a little better.

I have a couple of sewing projects in the wings. I made a skirt last weekend and started on a pants suit that I cut out last spring and never finished. But my biggest project is a winter coat for later in the season. I got some lovely wool/cashmere coat fabric from Sawyer Brook in a lovely geranium pink. It is very soft, and I can't wait to begin this project. But I need to finish the pants suit first.

Finally, we have been having dinner with friends and hanging out with our home group. My friend, Dori, moved to Seattle and gave me a number of her plants when she moved. So I have been enjoying my new adopted flower children. The rain over the last week or so has brought out a number of blooms for the late summer perennials. And one more week until Labor Day! Where has summer gone?

Sew, Sew, Sew . . .



Here is the outfit I sewed recently from the "Potting Shed" fabric I bought from Sawyer Brooke. It is difficult to see in the picture, but the fabric is predominantly shades of green and tan with threads of pink and lavender running through it along the grain. The buttons are pearlized in a beautiful shade of taupe. I worked on this a couple of weekends ago and have worn it once. I would have worn it more, but the long sleeves have been too hot. Anyway, I asked Greg to take this picture so I could send it in to Sawyer Brooke for their web site showing creations with their fabric.

I am currently looking for the perfect wool fabric to make a simple wrap coat with princess lines. I looked last winter and never found anything that I liked. It cannot be plain or any of the "safe" colors like navy or black or camel. This coat is going to take some time, so it has to be "shazzam" fabric that is a little unusual. In the meantime, I will amuse myself with pulling weeds out of the flower beds and finishing up the pants suit I started last spring and didn't finish in time to wear before it was too hot for the jacket. Sew, sew, sew . . . .

Home from Paradise . . . Nemacolin Woodlands!


This weekend, Greg and I were able to enjoy a trip to Nemacolin Woodlands in south, central Pennsylvania to get away from the stress and pressures. Our stay was Friday night to Sunday, and we really enjoyed the great food and relaxing atmosphere. It was great to walk on the beautiful grounds and indulge in a few simple pleasures like a pedicure. The color is called "Flirt." What do you think? This picture was taken from the balcony of our room in the lodge. It overlooked the front entrance and the spa and was a relaxing place to drink our coffee and read the newspaper on Saturday morning.




Nemacolin has a beautiful art collection all over the grounds including glass works, sculpture, prints, oil paintings, and so on. I had attended a business meeting at Nemacolin a while ago, and I was impressed with the fact that they have an actual section of the Berlin Wall on display on the grounds. So this time, Greg took my picture with the wall this morning on our walk so that you can share in my amazement. It just astounds me that this was such a symbol of the cold war that is now nothing but a curiousity that kids study about in history in school. I already feel old, but this makes it worse! Maybe I am really older than dirt like the kids say that I am.


Greg was a charming companion all weekend. He even indulged me while I shopped for almost an hour in the trendy shops that are always around a resort. And when I kept going back to this one purse but hesitating to buy it, he just took it down and paid for it and put me out of my misery. Now THAT is true love! Or maybe he was just tortured by the shopping and wanted it to end . . . . But I think it was true love. :-)



Greg checked out the many statues of musicians around the grounds, but he also appreciated some of the whimsical things like the toy firetruck for the kids to pretend they were firemen. So I took his picture driving the firetruck. What this picture doesn't show is Greg trying to get OUT of the truck after the picture. That was truly a masterpiece.



Anyway, it is good to be home after a great weekend. The weather is absolutely perfect, and I need to go sit on the porch!

Oma's Girl is the Best!

This past weekend I got to spend three whole days and nights with Katy and Melanie while Brian and Emily went on a much-deserved anniversary trip. We had a lot of important things to do, and it was hard to fit them all into the three days. I went to Columbus on Friday and "took the reins" of Katy care on that afternoon. When we got up on Saturday morning, Melanie and I decided to go to First Watch for breakfast. Even though Katy had a little breakfast when she got up at 7 a.m., she went with us at 8 and ate some French toast and bananas while we chatted and Oma drank her coffee. After her nap, Katy helped me clean up the kitchen and run the electric broom. This is a picture of "Cinder Katy" helping with the housework. She really likes the sweeper, but she has a tendency to clean the same spot over and over again. I had to help get the crumbs that weren't in the center of the room. But, hey, it's a start!

Saturday afternoon, we went to New Carlisle to visit Granny and Grandpa and eat dinner with them. Grandpa got out the green swing and hung it from the ceiling. Katy had fun catching the silly old bear that we dug out of the toy box as she swung back and forth. After supper, we headed back home and made it into bed after that last relaxing bottle of the day. Melanie and I watched a movie . . . "The Queen" . . . which was actually pretty good.

Sunday morning we were lazy. We took it easy and went out for a walk on the Clintonville route after Katy's morning nap. We took some money along and stopped at Alladdin's on High Street for a little lunch. It was a nice little break; and Katy captured the heart of our extremely cute waiter (Melanie observed this), who brought Katy a plastic spoon to play with and a cup of water with a lid and a straw. Once we got home, Aunt Mel and Oma decided to make a quick run out to Easton to get two quick items. So we went to The Container Store and Williams Sonoma and then stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back to the house for some dessert. Back for nap number two and a chance to try to figure out how to fold up that blasted jogging stroller. These contraptions are much more complicated than the strollers I used to have! Good thing Emily called or it would still be sitting in the middle of the living room.

On Monday, Aunt Mel went off to work, and Katy and I once again put on our sunscreen and did the Clintonville route in the morning sun. We stopped at Giant Eagle on the way home to get more milk because Katy had been really thirsty and drank it all for breakfast. We also played in the yard with Amelia and Arcadia next door, and Katy is learning to pull weeds like Oma . . . but she likes the flowers best so you have to watch her.

All in all, I really had a wonderful time with our baby and my baby. It has brought me many smiles in the last few days to remember cute things Katy did and her small but effective vocabularly. Any yes, she does grow almost every morning when you get her out of her crib.

I'm glad Emily and Brian had a nice time, because Oma certainly had fun, too.