53 years in the making

This is me with my penpal (Adrienne Gelton) of 53 years. This was the very first time that we met in person. We were on the Strasburg RR in Pennsylvania when this picture was taken. It was a very hot day (7/6/10) - in the triple digits and it showed as far as I was concerned. Another passenger on the train took this picture for us. I have a ton of other pictures that we took during our three days in the Amish Country in Pennsylvania, as well as other pictures that she took to take back home (New Zealand) with her.

Even though it was 53 years ago that we started writing to each other and we had never met in person before, it was as if we had lived next door to each other all that time. We found out that we are actually very similar in many ways, i.e. the way that we think about things, the way we live our lives and the way that we were when we were kids. It has been fun and it is going to be a sad day when she leaves. We have been talking non-stop ever since I picked her up at Dullas International Airport in Virginia.

We went out to lunch today (7/12/10) with a friend of mine and had salads at Potbellies, a favorite place of mine to eat. We had a good time and on the way home we saw more sites and even more pictures were taken. It has been fun and a memory that I will have for the rest of my life. I am now very motivated to save up my money and go to New Zealand to see her country and meet her family. I can't wait and am very excited to get started.

Summer Getting Closer and Closer

Soon Spring will be over and Summer will be here. I did not think that it was ever going to happen the way that winter was holding on. We have survived wind, rain and even some early bouts of high temps and high humidity. But here we are....

As I look out my bedroom window I see all of the yardwork that needs to be done in my back yard. Trees are in desperate need of trimming and my fence is disappearing fast into the jungle of plants, vines and trees that belong to my neighbor (this will be taken care of when the trees are trimmed).

I finally managed to get all the weeds pulled in the front yard - now all I have left to do is replace the window well covers and plant flowers in my pots. I am a pot gardener because I can no longer lower myself to the ground comfortably. Once I get down there I have a devil of a time getting back up again. Thus, the reason for the garden seat that I am using this year. Will be working on this project later today after I go out to lunch, which is going to happen very soon.

I am so looking forward to having my yardwork done so that I can sit outside and enjoy my yard when the weather is nice enough. I would like to be able to sit at my picnic table with either a book in hand to read or my computer to write, a nice way to enjoy some of the days of my retirement.

MAGIC FOUNDATON and George

This is George Chmiel Jr. (the son of a former co-worker) and he is making a big splash in our little corner of the world. Last year he ran a 155 mile race in the Sahara Desert and this year he is running 155 miles in the outback of Austrailia. He runs for Luci (the daughter of a friend) who has a disease that has a long name that I can't say (see www.LuciAndGeorge.com). This site will give you info that will lead to other sites. There is also a FB site that can be accessed. This young man is an inspiration to a lot of people and I encourage any and all who may either intentionally or accidentally read my blog to follow his adventures and to donate to his cause if so inclined.

In last year's race he came in first in his age bracket, was the first American to cross the finish line and was fifth over all . Quite an accomplishment. The Aussie run starts on 4/25/10 and is going to be a grueling race. It is going to take him 60 hours to travel to the start of the race and eight days to run it. Say a prayer for him and if you manage to find your way to the www. site send a few encouraging words.

A Tribute to my Friend

George Davis was one of the three muskateers. There was him, Bill Sims and my Paul. Their favorite place to hang out was the mechanic shop down at the corner. This friendship started in 1986 when we moved to Carroll County and grew into a "family". Bill is the only one left. George died on Easter morning. It is a big loss, he was one of the good guys. He had some medical issues that were starting to wear him down and then the final blow was dealt.

He found out about two months ago that he had cancer. He had enough time to go through two bouts of chemo and one bout of radiation, none of which worked. He was tired and in a lot of pain at the end but he is now at peace. Someone told me today that he is in heaven with Paul and they are sitting around having a cold beer. I can picture them doing exactly that.

The three muskateers - they were quite a group. Theirs was the kind of friendship that is hard to find. If one needed help the other two were there no questions asked. George and his significant other, Joan, became my friends as well.

George was my "oyster stew" buddy. I have a family tradition of making oyster stew every Christmas Eve (been a tradition with me since before I can remember); however, neither Paul nor Terry liked oyster stew I needed someone to help me eat it every year. So on Christmas Eve I made it and on Christmas Day I would take a big jar of it over to George. Now I have to find someone else to share my oyster stew with - it's not the same unless you have someone to share it with. He has been sharing with me for 23 years - I have lost a good friend.

I have but one regret - I was not as good a friend to George as Paul was. I should have visited him more often after Paul died, but I didn't. George and Joan were in my thoughts a lot over the years, but it was Christmas Day before I would actually see them.

George's "gathering" is Wednesday. Terry and I will be going to pay our last respects. Bill will be there - the only muskateer left. Joanie and I will have to represent the other two members of the group. It is sad saying good-bye for the last time.

Waxing Poetic

I woke up yesterday morning to the sounds of birds gossiping about what the day is going to be like, even included the "honking" of a solitary Canadian goose flying overhead. My wind chimes were doing their thing as well. The sun was shining brightly and there was a cloudless blue sky peeking through the trees.

This morning was a repeat of yesterday, but a woodpecker added his "rata tat tat" to the mix and the trees in my backyard are displaying signs of new beginnings. Won't be long and allergy season will be upon us.

I had all sorts of descriptive words running through my brain to describe the life that is abundant outside my bedroom window, but in a senior moment when I sat down to type everything just flew away - my mind went blank. Such is my life - if I don't write things down right away they slip away into the abyss of my mind never to see the light of day.

I have been listening to the sounds of my neighborhood - kids playing, someone mowing their lawn, the guy up the street "playing" with his hot rod with no muffler - can be annoying at times - and the traffic going up and down the street.

I also sit here and contemplate all of the work that needs to be done in the yard to repair the damages caused by the blizzards of 2010. It is going to take longer than I thought to get this done because the person who takes care of my lawn had to have surgery a couple of weeks ago. He is going to have to heal before he starts all of the work. At least this is going to give me time to save up more money, but it is also going to give me longer to look at the mess. "Patience Vicki" is what I keep telling myself. Good things come to those that wait.

Looking out the window now it is hard to imagine that just a few short weeks ago we were up to our bottoms in snow and really cold temps, only to be followed by more rain than what we knew what to do with. Mother Nature knew though - things are greening up nicely and it won't be long before the grass will need to be mowed and this years crop of dandelions will be blooming away. Ah the joys of spring, summer and fall - I will enjoy they all immensely.