No real excuse except that we've been busy. Fall just swept right past us and tomorrow is the first day of winter. We've had several little snow storms, already ... nothing to exciting unless you listen to the news. I suppose if the weather is the big newsmaker, then no one is getting murdered ..
There was a big ice storm south and east of us ... power was out for days. All is restored, now ... just in time for blizzard like conditions for the next two days.
Thanksgiving was super this year (as usual) with a visit from Brandon and Cindy; boys Perry, Bryan and Braden. Bill, Julie and Erika came for the weekend, too. A housefull of family ... wonderful! Jeff and Amanda came for the day and Chris, Kristen and Isabella came for the morning and Dad's BIG breakfast.
Christmas is coming and should be a feeding frenzy just like Thanksgiving :-)
Seriously, though .. Christmas is just a wonderful time to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our friends and family. To think that God's son willingly gave up his home in heaven to come to earth, born in a stable, lived a poor carpenters life then gave that up to teach men of His purpose for them; died an horrible death ... and he did it for us. Why? ...because men needed to be redeemed from their sinful nature and it was going to take a sacrifce. This was God's plan ... giving us free will to choose right or wrong and then providing a way out .., again, a choice.
Merry Christmas to our friends and family ...may our God reign in your heart and Jesus shine through your life.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Home from Tennessee
Bill's home from Tennessee and is just chock full of wonderful stories. He had a grand time with his Christian friends. Had no trouble fording the creek. Seems when the water was low, they poured a cement road bed. No gravel like I thought. It was trickier for him to try to turn the bike around on the rutted, dirt road when he realized he missed the little lane to the camp!
His ride was uneventful and down and back, met interesting people. Wearing one of his POFCI mission T shirts, he was asked questions and of course, riding a 79 Harley brought more questions! When he reached Clarks Summit the other night, he was ready for a good night's sleep and a 5 hour ride home in the AM ... but, after a good night's sleep, his bike just wouldn't go fast enough to ride the interstate ... something's wrong. Long story short: There was a Harley dealer nearby; Bill had towing/repair insurance; the Harley dealer was having an open house complete with free food and people to talk to; they thought they had his bike fixed, but it had problems again; Bill rented a car to come home and will go back to get his bike when it is fixed!
It was good to have him home, bike or no bike!
I am over my cold ... it was mean ... I took a day off from work to get my strength back.
Bill, Julie and Erika went apple picking and pumpkin patching. I was too sick to join them :-(
Chris and Kristen got to go away for the weekend to celebrate Kristen's birthday. I got sloppy kisses from Isabella!
Jeff and Amanda are moving to Northville .. we are very excited for them!
Grammy and Grampy are doing well. Grampy is getting some long needed exercise and gaining back some strength.
His ride was uneventful and down and back, met interesting people. Wearing one of his POFCI mission T shirts, he was asked questions and of course, riding a 79 Harley brought more questions! When he reached Clarks Summit the other night, he was ready for a good night's sleep and a 5 hour ride home in the AM ... but, after a good night's sleep, his bike just wouldn't go fast enough to ride the interstate ... something's wrong. Long story short: There was a Harley dealer nearby; Bill had towing/repair insurance; the Harley dealer was having an open house complete with free food and people to talk to; they thought they had his bike fixed, but it had problems again; Bill rented a car to come home and will go back to get his bike when it is fixed!
It was good to have him home, bike or no bike!
I am over my cold ... it was mean ... I took a day off from work to get my strength back.
Bill, Julie and Erika went apple picking and pumpkin patching. I was too sick to join them :-(
Chris and Kristen got to go away for the weekend to celebrate Kristen's birthday. I got sloppy kisses from Isabella!
Jeff and Amanda are moving to Northville .. we are very excited for them!
Grammy and Grampy are doing well. Grampy is getting some long needed exercise and gaining back some strength.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
October
October gave a party;
This was October's party
My mom taught me this poem/song when I was really little and, in fact, used it and others as lullabies. I wish I could sing it for you! Some of you already know it ... since it was sung to you when you were just babies, too! I checked online and believe the author to be George Cooper. His version is slightly different and may have additional verses.
I mentioned Ocean City, in a previous post... it was just the ticket to say goodbye to summer! A beautiful B & B, The Scarborough Inn, recommended by our friends, Lamont and Nancy (who happen to own one) was waiting for us and not only was it beautiful, clean, comfortable and served tasty breakfasts, but they also provided cookies and beverages with access to their "Butler's Pantry" ... where I was so excited to see the chocolate chip cookies, that I laid down my camera's picture card and forgot to pick it up. Fortunately, my internal memory did not have too many pictures stored and I was able to get some sunrise pictures the next day. Happily, they found my picture card and returned it to me at breakfast!
First Peek of Sunrise
Atlantic City Sand Dunes
The leaves by hundreds came;
The chestnut, oak and maple
and those of every name.
This was October's party
and everything was grand!
Miss Maple led the dancing;
Professor Wind, the band.
My mom taught me this poem/song when I was really little and, in fact, used it and others as lullabies. I wish I could sing it for you! Some of you already know it ... since it was sung to you when you were just babies, too! I checked online and believe the author to be George Cooper. His version is slightly different and may have additional verses.
Now that Autumn is here and I finally managed to let summer go (thanks to Ocean City NJ) I can say that I am really enjoying the season. The leaf colors are spectacular this year and I'm patiently waiting for our "October Glory" maple tree to turn. It's still pretty small as trees go .. might be a shade tree in another 10 - 15 years :-) but we'll be patient!
I mentioned Ocean City, in a previous post... it was just the ticket to say goodbye to summer! A beautiful B & B, The Scarborough Inn, recommended by our friends, Lamont and Nancy (who happen to own one) was waiting for us and not only was it beautiful, clean, comfortable and served tasty breakfasts, but they also provided cookies and beverages with access to their "Butler's Pantry" ... where I was so excited to see the chocolate chip cookies, that I laid down my camera's picture card and forgot to pick it up. Fortunately, my internal memory did not have too many pictures stored and I was able to get some sunrise pictures the next day. Happily, they found my picture card and returned it to me at breakfast!
First Peek of SunriseSunset and "Moonrise"
We enjoyed walking on the Boardwalk here, as well. I like it better than Atlantic City since it is cleaner and not as crowded with rowdy people. OC is a 'dry' city ... no alcohol.
The ocean water was a nice 70 degrees and the air temp was about the same. My feet were SO HAPPY being in the surf, again ... until we started splashing our way down a long stretch and found one Jelly Fish after another! They were washing up on shore and we then had to be content with walking in the wet sand. 
On the section of beach closest to our Inn, there were no Jellies so we were quite happy to run in and out of the water right there; no pictures of us dong that, though; thought better of bringing the camera into the water, what with my history of losing things...
We were able to spend some real quality time with dear friends, Ruth and Bill from Absecon, NJ. Morning worship and then the afternoon of talking and laughing; remembering old times and listening to Ruth's tapes of the wonderful music and preaching from our old church on Staten Island. Oh, to be just a few miles closer!
We took in a couple of quick side trips; One to Atlantic City to walk on the board walk (just to say we'd been there ;-) and to see the Absecon Light House. Another to Cape May to check out the light house and nature trails. Uncooperative Swans tried very hard not to have their pictures taken. The Snowy Egret was not exactly mugging for the camera, either.
Absecon Light
Cape May Light
So, it's back to Meco and the cooler temps that October brings ...
I realized that in an earlier post I mention the garden ... well, it ended up just being a cornfield and yielded a nice crop for us to enjoy towards the end of summer. I plan to tie up the stalks for decorating the front porch for Thanksgiving. The crows had some fun, trying to strip the husks off, damaging some of corn in the process. I may have to string up some shiny aluminum pans next year to keep them away. Such work for your own tasty veggies!
Bill is loving retirement! He works 2 - 3 days a week as a deputy and plays with motorcycles and tractors the other 3 - 4 days! Right now, he is on a "road trip" to Colby, TN to meet up with other Christian Game Wardens at "Beaver Dam" camp "somewhere" east of Colby .. in the woods ... He met up with these guys online over 10 years ago. Some of them supported us financially when we went out on our first mission trip to Venezuela:-)
I was quite nervous about him riding his Harley (1979) all that way .. alone .. but I had to use the faith God gave me and let him go! He called me several times each day to let me know of his progress and so far he has had only minor problems with the 'bike.' He called me this afternoon, not too many miles from his destination ... saying he did not think he would have cell service much longer and wanted me to know he was almost there. He still had to find two more roads and ford a creek ... FORD A CREEK??? Yep, that's what they told him. It has a gravel bed and the road ends on one side and you pick it up on the other. Not too much water flowing in it right now, they said. He should have no problem. Well, you can imagine my imagination! I have a mental picture of him 1/2 way across and realizing he's not going to make it. Stopping and getting off in just a little more water than he expected and either slogging/slopping his way pushing his 1000 lb Harley the rest of the way OR leaving it unattended on one side of the creek and walking in the rest of the way ... LEAVING IT UNATTENDED??? Isn't there a law against leaving "your baby" alone? SIGH.... I probably won't hear from him again until he starts for home when he gets back into cell service on Tuesday ... after he slogs back across the creek and finds his way back to civilization. I found pictures of this place and the people he will be meeting up with. I believe them to have been taken mostly by Ken who is now a missionary in Rwanda, Africa. http://www.flickr.com/photos/58111894@N00/1555353667/
Bill will be in this year's pictures and should be taking some, too ... he bought a new digital camera for the trip... AND .. he learned how to use it, too!
Well, it's time for me to "retire" (LOL) for the night. Tomorrow is a day off from work and if my cold is any better, I plan to get lots of work done. ZICAM ... gotta love it!
Here's one more poem/song from my mother, no author for this one. She attributed it to her teacher, Miss Ella Ruple, at the one room school house in either Rocktown or Ringoes, NJ. back in 1914 - 17 or thereabouts.
Oh, October, how we love you;
see the gay leaves fall,
and the pretty milkweed babies
fly off, one and all.
Oh, October; bright October
hear the fairies sing.
All the birds are flying southward;
Robins on the wing!
Good night everyone and may God bless you this week.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Bill's Retirement Video Presentation
After no less than 10 tries, we finally have Bill's retirement video presentation uploaded to this blog! Go ahead, click on it :-) It's just over 12 minutes long.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Random Pictures from Summer
OK, time for some pictures to re-capture summer ... bear with me, or enjoy them!
Technically, Father's Day is in the spring, but .... here's Papa's Father's Day gift! His two favorite little girls sitting on his Harley!
The start of summer found Erika and her Papa at Wemple and Edicks doing more than just eating icecream!
Isabella Marie turned 1 year old in July ... we think she looks like Chris' baby pictures ;-)
Erika is picking black raspberries at our house. We also went to Mrs. Cleland's to pick blueberries.
The we captured her mom using sticky s'more fingers while camping at Northampton Campgrounds!
Here's a nice picture of Erika with her cousins, Hailee and Isaiah while camping.
My sister-in-law, Beth and me after a nice swim ... Beth's gonna KILL me! No .. wait! They're on their way to the Philippines and won't be back for at least a year or two ... I think I"m safe!
Mom and Dad Pitcher, married over 65 years! We treated them to dinner at the Homefront Cafe in Altamont, NY ...a really cool place to eat!
Swimming pool fun with Isaiah and friend, Daniel.
We had a really nice campfire going, and the rainbow did a "double" and stole the show!
Grandma and Dad Chapin came to the graduation party to celebrate with Amanda
No campfire would be complete without .... yeah, you guessed it!
Congratulations ... go to Bill for retiring from NYSDEC after over 26 years of service. Erika and I painted the banner. Erika also colored some pretty neat pictures of what Papa will do in retirement :-)
Bill, Julie and Erika Pitcher were the caterers and truly outdid themselves. Pictured here is Bill grilling his face, arms, shrimp and chicken.
Julie serving up the homemade coleslaw ... everything was homemade ... and absolutely delicious!
So, we don't mess with the ones holding sharp knives :-) Erika and Julie had matching shirts with a little "Ditomarie" applique on the front. Bill's shirt was red, but minus the applique.
One Less Star offered their music throughout the afternoon ... yes, this is Jeffrey and Amanda Pitcher! A favorite song for the crowd was ... one the "old" people could sing along with: "Earth Angel!"
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What Happened to Summer?
Waaaahhhh! I want August back! I can't believe I haven't posted since July 21st .. shame on me! Summer was a blur and though it wasn't hot enough (or sunny enough) to swim EVERY day, we did enjoy our pool and watch our oldest granddaughter practice her swimming skills. She learned to float on her back and swim under water ... such a little fish! She loves goggles and swimming in the lake .. she can see all kinds of things under water! Her other Grandparents have beach rights on the Sacandaga Lake and took her there a lot this summer.
It has been wonderful having Erika close by! Her mom, Julie, ran the mini-golf course in Northampton again, with her dad coming up on weekends to give her a break. I helped out, too, and thoroughly enjoyed my duties in the fresh air on the shore of the lake. Meeting people as they come to play mini-golf is fun, too. When the Hammons' came to play, we ended up talking more than playing golf!
Our granddaughter, Isabella, has turned 1 ... what a beauty! We have the cutest pictures of her and Erika on Papa's motorcycle .. if I ever get them on here :-) Her mom and dad have sent cute ones, too ... you can see them on Isabellas page: http://www.isabellababygirl.blogspot.com/
BIG NEWS! Bill RETIRED!!!! After 26 1/2 years with NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation, the Game Warden has retired! We had a great party for him yesterday, with fine fare prepared by Bill and Julie (Erika was a big help in decorating and running errands for the cooks.) Jeff and Amanda (http://www.amandolinmoon.blogspot.com/) brought their musical talents http://www.onelessstar.com/ and played through dinner (getting rave reviews!) It was supposed to be at Northampton Picnic Pavilion but Tropical Storm Hanna took care of that and we ended up at our church's activity center, B.C.O.N. Corner in Northville. It was tight, but we had fun and several guests said it was the best retirement part they had been to in a long time ... I believe it! Everyone just laughed and talked and kids got to play "Pin the Badge on the Deputy" (which is what Bill is, now, going to work for Montgomery Co. Sheriff's Dept part-time.)
We had guests from Virginia (Auntie Barb and Uncle Bob), Watertown, Camilus, Chatham NY and local friends as well.
Bill and Julie special ordered a painting by a local artist, Emma (can't spell her last name... maybe, it's: Oburn) who specializes in nature and makes her own frames ... those who contributed to the gift were not disappointed. Bill had no idea and was quite surprised and pleased, having commented several times last year and this that he would really like one of her paintings for the wall over our sofa ... :-) Now we have to hang it!
He doesn't know it, but hopefully he'll have another one to hang in his office, if I can find the photo, and have our daughter-in-law commissioned to paint it!
Well, that's it for an update ... I have pictures to upload and order before the price goes up at midnight!
It has been wonderful having Erika close by! Her mom, Julie, ran the mini-golf course in Northampton again, with her dad coming up on weekends to give her a break. I helped out, too, and thoroughly enjoyed my duties in the fresh air on the shore of the lake. Meeting people as they come to play mini-golf is fun, too. When the Hammons' came to play, we ended up talking more than playing golf!
Our granddaughter, Isabella, has turned 1 ... what a beauty! We have the cutest pictures of her and Erika on Papa's motorcycle .. if I ever get them on here :-) Her mom and dad have sent cute ones, too ... you can see them on Isabellas page: http://www.isabellababygirl.blogspot.com/
BIG NEWS! Bill RETIRED!!!! After 26 1/2 years with NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation, the Game Warden has retired! We had a great party for him yesterday, with fine fare prepared by Bill and Julie (Erika was a big help in decorating and running errands for the cooks.) Jeff and Amanda (http://www.amandolinmoon.blogspot.com/) brought their musical talents http://www.onelessstar.com/ and played through dinner (getting rave reviews!) It was supposed to be at Northampton Picnic Pavilion but Tropical Storm Hanna took care of that and we ended up at our church's activity center, B.C.O.N. Corner in Northville. It was tight, but we had fun and several guests said it was the best retirement part they had been to in a long time ... I believe it! Everyone just laughed and talked and kids got to play "Pin the Badge on the Deputy" (which is what Bill is, now, going to work for Montgomery Co. Sheriff's Dept part-time.)
We had guests from Virginia (Auntie Barb and Uncle Bob), Watertown, Camilus, Chatham NY and local friends as well.
Bill and Julie special ordered a painting by a local artist, Emma (can't spell her last name... maybe, it's: Oburn) who specializes in nature and makes her own frames ... those who contributed to the gift were not disappointed. Bill had no idea and was quite surprised and pleased, having commented several times last year and this that he would really like one of her paintings for the wall over our sofa ... :-) Now we have to hang it!
He doesn't know it, but hopefully he'll have another one to hang in his office, if I can find the photo, and have our daughter-in-law commissioned to paint it!
Well, that's it for an update ... I have pictures to upload and order before the price goes up at midnight!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Summer's Fun
With summer well underway, I thought I would pop on here and say hi ... just in case my annonymous message leaver checks up on me. Such a friend ... checking to see if I upload anything new!
It has been great to wake in the morning and realize I don't have to go work ... for several more weeks! There's the pool to clean, the house to clean, the boxes of stuff left over from our "flood" to go through, ... hmmmm... sounds like work to me.....
This week is Vacation Bible School ... 78 kids the first night with more on the 2nd. Our church has so much fun with the kids. The junior high and highschool get to go to "pink chicken" for their lessons and then hop a school bus for a trip to Alter-Whittaker Beach for some true summer fun. The younger ones have their lessons in the church, crafts (that's me) and snack, too. Their games are out in the parking lot and usually have something to do with water or at least getting dirty! If it rains outside, they play games inside .. hopefully with no water :-)
Crafts have been "challenging" this year; not only for the kids but for the adults as well! One of them took over an hour for me to make and I had my 8 year old granddaughter helping me! Glue does not dry quickly in humid weather.
Speaking of my 8 year old granddaughter, her birthday was last week and she celebrated all week long! First she had her "kid" party in NJ complete with cupcakes which when placed together formed a beautiful horse. Then she got to celebrate it again at the Johnson Family Reunion in Northville! (Her Grandmother Worden was a Johnson.) So our "baby" is growing up!
But not to be outdone, our REAL baby granddaughter, Isabella, turned 1 just before Erika's birthday and got to celebrate as well. She is such a doll baby! With hair that reminds of Chris' when he was little ...not able to be styled :-) She loves to talk and makes the cutest noises when she plays and reads. Reading books is a favorite. She takes small steps by herself but prefers crawling when she really wants to get somewhere. She loves the cats ... one of them even lets her!
Well, times a wasting! Guests for lunch tomorrow, so must get the dining room ready. Plans are being made for Bill's retirement party in September and more crafts to get ready for VBS.
Hopefully I'll have some summer pics to post in a week or two. Catch you then!
It has been great to wake in the morning and realize I don't have to go work ... for several more weeks! There's the pool to clean, the house to clean, the boxes of stuff left over from our "flood" to go through, ... hmmmm... sounds like work to me.....
This week is Vacation Bible School ... 78 kids the first night with more on the 2nd. Our church has so much fun with the kids. The junior high and highschool get to go to "pink chicken" for their lessons and then hop a school bus for a trip to Alter-Whittaker Beach for some true summer fun. The younger ones have their lessons in the church, crafts (that's me) and snack, too. Their games are out in the parking lot and usually have something to do with water or at least getting dirty! If it rains outside, they play games inside .. hopefully with no water :-)
Crafts have been "challenging" this year; not only for the kids but for the adults as well! One of them took over an hour for me to make and I had my 8 year old granddaughter helping me! Glue does not dry quickly in humid weather.
Speaking of my 8 year old granddaughter, her birthday was last week and she celebrated all week long! First she had her "kid" party in NJ complete with cupcakes which when placed together formed a beautiful horse. Then she got to celebrate it again at the Johnson Family Reunion in Northville! (Her Grandmother Worden was a Johnson.) So our "baby" is growing up!
But not to be outdone, our REAL baby granddaughter, Isabella, turned 1 just before Erika's birthday and got to celebrate as well. She is such a doll baby! With hair that reminds of Chris' when he was little ...not able to be styled :-) She loves to talk and makes the cutest noises when she plays and reads. Reading books is a favorite. She takes small steps by herself but prefers crawling when she really wants to get somewhere. She loves the cats ... one of them even lets her!
Well, times a wasting! Guests for lunch tomorrow, so must get the dining room ready. Plans are being made for Bill's retirement party in September and more crafts to get ready for VBS.
Hopefully I'll have some summer pics to post in a week or two. Catch you then!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
It's About Time ...
It's about time I posted!
What a wonderful vacation this spring ... through Pennsylvania to visit friends who live in a quiet county with lots of Amish and no tourists; on to Lancaster Co, with lots of Amish and MANY tourists (where we enjoyed Sight and Sound Theatre); on to Gettysburg to stay in a B & B on the battlefield ... VERY interesting and a 'must do again' destination; on down through Virginia on the Skyline Drive, staying at Skylands Resort ... may need to do that again, too! Across VA to the coast to stay with Aunt Barb (Babs) and Uncle Bob ... just a super family with
endless stories! On up to Washington DC to take in the memorials ... WW2 is awesome! Police Memorial is, too! To Pennsylvania, again to visit with cousins and have lunch with them at a Cracker Barrel ...doesn't get much better than that! Into New Jersey to spend the night with Bill, Julie and Erika (who had a fishing contest .. just for fun!) and home again ... sigh! It was a GREAT 10 days.
No sooner was school out, literally, when Bill scooped me up in the parking lot and whisked me away on still ANOTHER vacation!!! Our annual trek to Maine to take in the sights, sounds and smells of York Beach, Freeport and Bailey Island. We managed to pack in a lot in just 4 days, even worked around some bad weather. Fog didn't stop us, but the rain slowed us down :-) We were able to attend church in Kittery (The Church at Spruce Creek) which is our church away from church. Enjoyed our o
pen door to the balcony just feet away from the ocean ... high tide is magnificent at night, in the dark! Our favorite breakfast place is The Goldenrod and they just happen to make the best salt water taffy! Lobster (for me) for dinner each night ... mmmm .... Fosters, Lobster Cove, Cooks ... it's hard to wait another whole year! My feet long for the damp sand and edge of the surf. My appetite longs for lobster, too ... but it just doesn't taste as good inland at The Weathervane or Red Lobster .... SIGH!!!
What a wonderful vacation this spring ... through Pennsylvania to visit friends who live in a quiet county with lots of Amish and no tourists; on to Lancaster Co, with lots of Amish and MANY tourists (where we enjoyed Sight and Sound Theatre); on to Gettysburg to stay in a B & B on the battlefield ... VERY interesting and a 'must do again' destination; on down through Virginia on the Skyline Drive, staying at Skylands Resort ... may need to do that again, too! Across VA to the coast to stay with Aunt Barb (Babs) and Uncle Bob ... just a super family with
endless stories! On up to Washington DC to take in the memorials ... WW2 is awesome! Police Memorial is, too! To Pennsylvania, again to visit with cousins and have lunch with them at a Cracker Barrel ...doesn't get much better than that! Into New Jersey to spend the night with Bill, Julie and Erika (who had a fishing contest .. just for fun!) and home again ... sigh! It was a GREAT 10 days.
No sooner was school out, literally, when Bill scooped me up in the parking lot and whisked me away on still ANOTHER vacation!!! Our annual trek to Maine to take in the sights, sounds and smells of York Beach, Freeport and Bailey Island. We managed to pack in a lot in just 4 days, even worked around some bad weather. Fog didn't stop us, but the rain slowed us down :-) We were able to attend church in Kittery (The Church at Spruce Creek) which is our church away from church. Enjoyed our o
pen door to the balcony just feet away from the ocean ... high tide is magnificent at night, in the dark! Our favorite breakfast place is The Goldenrod and they just happen to make the best salt water taffy! Lobster (for me) for dinner each night ... mmmm .... Fosters, Lobster Cove, Cooks ... it's hard to wait another whole year! My feet long for the damp sand and edge of the surf. My appetite longs for lobster, too ... but it just doesn't taste as good inland at The Weathervane or Red Lobster .... SIGH!!!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Ok, ok, ok ....
I have to learn to use this blog thing and be clever about it! I've been reading other people's blogs and am.... not exactly jealous, cause that would be sinful... so let's say... CURIOUS as to how they make them so appealing to look at! Some of you have pictures and videos and things down the side that mine does not. I tried rearraning the layout and ended up with FAT pictures. You aren't going to see ME on here if that is what happens to the pictures! I'm going to try to post a picture or two within this posting area ...using the same method I do for a forum I belong to ... we'll see. If I succeed with not too much difficulty, I may get carried away, so forgive me if that happens!
In the meantime, the snow is melting, the birds are singing ... it's still cold out, but the weatherman is "promising" us several days of nice weather. Several days in a row!!!
Bill and I attended Word of Life's Law Enforcement Conference last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was lead by Robin Oake, retired Chief of Police from the Isle of Man,
Great Britain. A wonderful Christian man, with good spritual and practical advice for police officers and their families. Having "lost" a son (police officer) in the line of duty, he spoke as a father as well as an officer. He and his wife, Chris were a delight.
We also attended a luncheon honoring Bill's (and others') years of service to NYS Dept. of
Environmental Conservation. This was very nice and each honoree was presented with a plaque and a gift. Bill will be retiring soon, so this was a nice gesture on DEC's part.
We managed to go cross country skiing at Cascades in Lake Placid, NY. Though we love to do it, we never seem to make the time for it, and the weather this year just did not lend itself to skiing after work, though our friend's Christmas tree farm bordering our property is perfect for it. Lets not forget a knee injury two years ago and the fact that we had to move to Northville for several months last winter because of our house flooding, so after a 3 year hiatus, we took to the trails.
Neither one of us fell, not even once, though our skis were so sticky in the fresh, falling snow, that we were afraid we were going to go head first down the hills instead of our "usual" side/bottom first that we fear .... fear, because we are older, now and may break easily! We trudged our way back to the lodge where Bill bought some wax for waxless skis and then we were able to glide our way to success. I wouldn't let him put a lot on mine, for fear of gliding out of control ... with bad results. We had a lot of fun and after a couple of hours, called it quits so we would not have aching legs for the rest of the weekend. Besides, the "snow showers" that were predicted were gathering rather heavily on my fleece jacket, hat and exposed hair. I think they ended up with 7 inches of snow showers that day.
With warmer weather coming, our thoughts remain on the outdoors and my garden! I should say "our" garden, because if Bill did not plow and cultivate it, there wouldn't be one! I have work to do to get it ready. Little metal fasteners to pull out of the black plastic ... plastic because I was too lazy to weed every day .... and may do it again this year, too! I'm a little skiddish of taking it up, since I KNOW there are critters that made tunnels out there. I saw the black paper sort of wiggling/flapping one day when the wind was not blowing ... it "wiggled/flapped" one way .... and then back again. I love the country, born and raised in it with all kinds of gardens and a woods to play in .. but I do NOT like critters smaller than a chipmunk. We have moles, voles, shrew and mice. They may be God's critters, but he better find a safer place than my back yard for them!
My flower garden is calling me, too .... it needs some TLC and then should be lovely and ready for a garden party this summer for some little/big girls and their mommies.
By the way, thank you for your nice comments and your emails! I know many of you don't blog, but a quick email to me to say hi was just what I needed to get me through these muddy days of March and April! I have a feeling when it really does get warmer ... and they say it will ... that I won't be blogging! Once or twice a month might be all we do this summer, but we'll have to post some pictures of Grandview Mini-Golf that Julie and Bill run. They work hard to make it pretty and it shows!
OK ... now for some picture posting .... Here's a look back about 22 years ago ... most of you will remember:
In the meantime, the snow is melting, the birds are singing ... it's still cold out, but the weatherman is "promising" us several days of nice weather. Several days in a row!!!
Bill and I attended Word of Life's Law Enforcement Conference last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was lead by Robin Oake, retired Chief of Police from the Isle of Man,
Great Britain. A wonderful Christian man, with good spritual and practical advice for police officers and their families. Having "lost" a son (police officer) in the line of duty, he spoke as a father as well as an officer. He and his wife, Chris were a delight.
We also attended a luncheon honoring Bill's (and others') years of service to NYS Dept. of
Environmental Conservation. This was very nice and each honoree was presented with a plaque and a gift. Bill will be retiring soon, so this was a nice gesture on DEC's part.
We managed to go cross country skiing at Cascades in Lake Placid, NY. Though we love to do it, we never seem to make the time for it, and the weather this year just did not lend itself to skiing after work, though our friend's Christmas tree farm bordering our property is perfect for it. Lets not forget a knee injury two years ago and the fact that we had to move to Northville for several months last winter because of our house flooding, so after a 3 year hiatus, we took to the trails.
Neither one of us fell, not even once, though our skis were so sticky in the fresh, falling snow, that we were afraid we were going to go head first down the hills instead of our "usual" side/bottom first that we fear .... fear, because we are older, now and may break easily! We trudged our way back to the lodge where Bill bought some wax for waxless skis and then we were able to glide our way to success. I wouldn't let him put a lot on mine, for fear of gliding out of control ... with bad results. We had a lot of fun and after a couple of hours, called it quits so we would not have aching legs for the rest of the weekend. Besides, the "snow showers" that were predicted were gathering rather heavily on my fleece jacket, hat and exposed hair. I think they ended up with 7 inches of snow showers that day.
With warmer weather coming, our thoughts remain on the outdoors and my garden! I should say "our" garden, because if Bill did not plow and cultivate it, there wouldn't be one! I have work to do to get it ready. Little metal fasteners to pull out of the black plastic ... plastic because I was too lazy to weed every day .... and may do it again this year, too! I'm a little skiddish of taking it up, since I KNOW there are critters that made tunnels out there. I saw the black paper sort of wiggling/flapping one day when the wind was not blowing ... it "wiggled/flapped" one way .... and then back again. I love the country, born and raised in it with all kinds of gardens and a woods to play in .. but I do NOT like critters smaller than a chipmunk. We have moles, voles, shrew and mice. They may be God's critters, but he better find a safer place than my back yard for them!
My flower garden is calling me, too .... it needs some TLC and then should be lovely and ready for a garden party this summer for some little/big girls and their mommies.
By the way, thank you for your nice comments and your emails! I know many of you don't blog, but a quick email to me to say hi was just what I needed to get me through these muddy days of March and April! I have a feeling when it really does get warmer ... and they say it will ... that I won't be blogging! Once or twice a month might be all we do this summer, but we'll have to post some pictures of Grandview Mini-Golf that Julie and Bill run. They work hard to make it pretty and it shows!
OK ... now for some picture posting .... Here's a look back about 22 years ago ... most of you will remember:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
No Joke! His Birthday is April 1
He was due on April 3rd, but God's sense of humor prevailed!
Happy Birthday to our son, Chris! I fondly remember asking the nurses if there was any chance of me having my baby in March .... they all laughed! It was about 3 minutes to midnight and I wasn't even close! At 1:16 AM, he was born ... no C-Section like the doctor thought! My supposed 8 pound + baby turned out to be 7 lb 3 oz and was quickly scooped up by his Dad. I still remember the pride in his Dad's face as he gazed down at his 2nd son... this beautiful, blue eyed baby boy with blonde hair already showing on the top of his head.
We began making our phone calls ... the first one to Mom Lester, who promptly said, "You better not be fooling me!" "Mom!" I replied, "It's 3AM! I don't play jokes at 3AM!" To which she replied, "I mean about it being another boy!" We all had a laugh and I assured her he was indeed a boy and was beginning to resemble my dad .. who had died a few months earlier. He still does!
Mom and Dad Pitcher were barely asleep, having gone out for the evening only to come home and find cousin Marie babysitting for little Billy. They were quite excited and relieved to know baby Chris had arrived quickly and safely.
Bill got to go home after 3 but I stayed in the recovery ward for a few hours and cuddled my precious new little boy. He was born on a Sunday; the Lord's Day, and I sang hymns to him as lullabies, as my mom had sung to me.
The following day was filled with well wishers coming to the hospital to see him. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, friends and neighbors. Lots of flowers from family and church graced the little bedside table. Bill came back and had a delicious dinner prepared just for us by the hospital ... Prime Rib! They also gave me a single rose to make our "dinner table" more beautiful.
We brought him home on Tuesday to the delight of his big brother ... who checked on him constantly until bedtime! At one point, he almost tipped over the empty bassinette trying to find him!
Doesn't seem possible that the years have gone by so quickly ... but now he is married and a daddy of his own little blonde haired, blue eyed baby girl! How we love them and wish we could see them more often. Time has a way of getting IN the way.
May our heavenly Father hold them tight; guard their days and every night; show them His Love and remind them of Life; the one He paid for; the one sacrificed.
Happy Birthday to our son, Chris! I fondly remember asking the nurses if there was any chance of me having my baby in March .... they all laughed! It was about 3 minutes to midnight and I wasn't even close! At 1:16 AM, he was born ... no C-Section like the doctor thought! My supposed 8 pound + baby turned out to be 7 lb 3 oz and was quickly scooped up by his Dad. I still remember the pride in his Dad's face as he gazed down at his 2nd son... this beautiful, blue eyed baby boy with blonde hair already showing on the top of his head.
We began making our phone calls ... the first one to Mom Lester, who promptly said, "You better not be fooling me!" "Mom!" I replied, "It's 3AM! I don't play jokes at 3AM!" To which she replied, "I mean about it being another boy!" We all had a laugh and I assured her he was indeed a boy and was beginning to resemble my dad .. who had died a few months earlier. He still does!
Mom and Dad Pitcher were barely asleep, having gone out for the evening only to come home and find cousin Marie babysitting for little Billy. They were quite excited and relieved to know baby Chris had arrived quickly and safely.
Bill got to go home after 3 but I stayed in the recovery ward for a few hours and cuddled my precious new little boy. He was born on a Sunday; the Lord's Day, and I sang hymns to him as lullabies, as my mom had sung to me.
The following day was filled with well wishers coming to the hospital to see him. Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, friends and neighbors. Lots of flowers from family and church graced the little bedside table. Bill came back and had a delicious dinner prepared just for us by the hospital ... Prime Rib! They also gave me a single rose to make our "dinner table" more beautiful.
We brought him home on Tuesday to the delight of his big brother ... who checked on him constantly until bedtime! At one point, he almost tipped over the empty bassinette trying to find him!
Doesn't seem possible that the years have gone by so quickly ... but now he is married and a daddy of his own little blonde haired, blue eyed baby girl! How we love them and wish we could see them more often. Time has a way of getting IN the way.
May our heavenly Father hold them tight; guard their days and every night; show them His Love and remind them of Life; the one He paid for; the one sacrificed.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Resurrection Sunday
It's the day before Easter, or as I like to call it: Resurrection Sunday! Our whole world seems to get caught up in the Spring ... Bunnies ... Chickies ... Candy ... aspect of this time of year and barely pays any tribute to our Savior, Jesus Christ. The very word, Easter, has absolutely nothing to with Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. I don't feel like looking it up but it comes from either the Latin or Greek and is the name of a goddess ... Aestre ... or something like that ... she was quite fertile and that would explain rabbits and new life for this time of year!
Sadly, I bought into the commerciality of this time of year a bit more than I should have, though it has improved. When the kids were really little, we had "Easter Baskets" with candy and toys. Then when they got older, we skipped the comercial festivities of Easter and waited until "Bunny Day." Bunny Day was an idea from our friends, the DeRitters. They would choose a nice, warm, day in April or May and having purchased all their "stuff" at half price after Easter, would proceed to hide eggs out in the yard and wherever ... the kids would know it was Bunny Day becasue they would find their Bunny Day Baskets hanging on their doorknobs in the AM.
Advantages:
1. Weather was always perfect 'cause you picked the day.
2. Kids love supspense... never knowing what day it would be.
3. Candy and stuff were cheap.
4. Your family could focus on Easter as "Resurrection Sunday!"
However, MY kids always seemed to find where I hid the candy! For them, Bunny Day ended up being whatever day they found the "hidden" candy!
Now, I just hide things around the house ... inside this year ... for my oldest granddaughter to find. I don't wait for Bunny Day since we don't get to see her that often.
So, as you celebrate Resurrection Sunday, may you carefully and reverently, meditate on Jesus' gift of salvation! The cost of that gift was everything, to Him. The price, his very life. His blood, the final, atoning sacrifice for our sins. If you have never confessed your sins before God and trusted Jesus as your Savior, now is the BEST and PERFECT time! Then I'll see you in Heaven, if not before!!!
Sadly, I bought into the commerciality of this time of year a bit more than I should have, though it has improved. When the kids were really little, we had "Easter Baskets" with candy and toys. Then when they got older, we skipped the comercial festivities of Easter and waited until "Bunny Day." Bunny Day was an idea from our friends, the DeRitters. They would choose a nice, warm, day in April or May and having purchased all their "stuff" at half price after Easter, would proceed to hide eggs out in the yard and wherever ... the kids would know it was Bunny Day becasue they would find their Bunny Day Baskets hanging on their doorknobs in the AM.
Advantages:
1. Weather was always perfect 'cause you picked the day.
2. Kids love supspense... never knowing what day it would be.
3. Candy and stuff were cheap.
4. Your family could focus on Easter as "Resurrection Sunday!"
However, MY kids always seemed to find where I hid the candy! For them, Bunny Day ended up being whatever day they found the "hidden" candy!
Now, I just hide things around the house ... inside this year ... for my oldest granddaughter to find. I don't wait for Bunny Day since we don't get to see her that often.
So, as you celebrate Resurrection Sunday, may you carefully and reverently, meditate on Jesus' gift of salvation! The cost of that gift was everything, to Him. The price, his very life. His blood, the final, atoning sacrifice for our sins. If you have never confessed your sins before God and trusted Jesus as your Savior, now is the BEST and PERFECT time! Then I'll see you in Heaven, if not before!!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Wooo Hooo! A little late, but If this works I'll be a happy blogger!
This is Isabella aka Bella/Belly/etc ... and she has a voice! She would like to tell you in her own words what she thinks about the book she is holding, and the cat that is sitting near her. She really liked her Papa's pen ... having already taken it out of his pocket, we thought at first she wanted to write an essay, but truly, she just wanted to vocalize :-)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
March Comes in Like a Lion
"If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb." My mom always said this and I believed her implicitly! I have not done the research to find out where this saying originated, but as I grew older, I realized that a whole lot more people besides my mom shared this saying ... one that seemed to prove more right than wrong! But then again, this is spring for you ... the snow and winds of winter seem to give their last hurrah in March then make way for those milder temperatures, often accompanied by rain ... but that's ok! We need the rain to soften the earth for nature's seeds to germinate and grow. Who but our clever God could arrange such a transformation we call "nature" on His own earth! Yet, we plant and cultivate and water and prune and step back and say to ourselves (and maybe to others,) "Just look at MY garden! Isn't it pretty?" MY ... just two letters and yet it can bring to mind the selfishness that creeps into our souls if we are not careful ... not prayerful. I'm speaking from experience, here :-)
So, here's to God's Garden! Be it flowers and vegetables ... or our creative and intelligent brains where God continues to plant seeds, I have to remember to give Him the glory! Now, I have to get busy and begin planting the little vegetable and flower seedlings so I can watch God work on the outside... while he works on the inside! GO GOD!
So, here's to God's Garden! Be it flowers and vegetables ... or our creative and intelligent brains where God continues to plant seeds, I have to remember to give Him the glory! Now, I have to get busy and begin planting the little vegetable and flower seedlings so I can watch God work on the outside... while he works on the inside! GO GOD!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Beginning Blogger ... that's me!
I've had a little practice on Myspace, http://www.myspace.com/stair_mom and Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500776825 but people seldom read them. Not like many people will read this either. Go ahead, prove me wrong!
I had trouble coming up with a blog address and a title ... thought of using a play on words with our last name, but I'm sort of tired of that; especially after all these years of having it misspelled and mispronounced, i.e. "Picture, Pritchard, Pritcher, Picher .. you get the idea. So instead, I chose the dearest thing to our family's heart for the title, being Proverbs 3: 6a, and an all encompassing "name" for our address!
Pitchers past would include my hobby/research in genealogy; not only the Pitcher familybut the allied families of Bill and me which include: Lines, Wier, Thayer, Haight, Jones, Sherman, Beebe, Emery, Shepherd, Quick, Alverson, Bunting/Bunton, and others.
Pitchers present would include our family of 3 boys and their families (got to love those granddaughters!); our occupations: Bill's forthcoming retirement from NYSDEC (and subsequent part-time work somewhere in law enforcement!) and my work as a teacher's aide; Our new business: Little Red Tractor Company of Meco ... dealing with mostly, but not limitted to Farmall/IH tractor parts and attachments. Let's not forget Bill's Harley Davidson ... though I doubt Bill will be writing on here any time soon! I may post some pictures as photography is a hobby of mine ... and shared with my daughter-in-law, Julie (she's much better than I!) We'll also include our Christian family! Baptist Church of Northville http://www.bconny.org/ is our church family, but our Christian family has brothers and sisters from all over! Check out the church website for interesting news, announcements and events plus the photo gallery is SUPER! We are also a part of Peace Officers for Christ International, Bill being a regional representative. Check them out at http://www.pofci.org/.
Pitchers future would include our realtionship with Jesus Christ, our Savior! Our future is in heaven, of this we are certain! No hocus pocus ... just plain God given faith! He sought us, bought us with a price, we answered his call. Are we perfect? Not by a long shot, but we are forgiven by God's grace through the saving work of Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins by shedding his blood .. an atoning sacrifce... in our place!
May our postings be fun, informative, and most of all, pleasing in His sight! Go, God!
I had trouble coming up with a blog address and a title ... thought of using a play on words with our last name, but I'm sort of tired of that; especially after all these years of having it misspelled and mispronounced, i.e. "Picture, Pritchard, Pritcher, Picher .. you get the idea. So instead, I chose the dearest thing to our family's heart for the title, being Proverbs 3: 6a, and an all encompassing "name" for our address!
Pitchers past would include my hobby/research in genealogy; not only the Pitcher familybut the allied families of Bill and me which include: Lines, Wier, Thayer, Haight, Jones, Sherman, Beebe, Emery, Shepherd, Quick, Alverson, Bunting/Bunton, and others.
Pitchers present would include our family of 3 boys and their families (got to love those granddaughters!); our occupations: Bill's forthcoming retirement from NYSDEC (and subsequent part-time work somewhere in law enforcement!) and my work as a teacher's aide; Our new business: Little Red Tractor Company of Meco ... dealing with mostly, but not limitted to Farmall/IH tractor parts and attachments. Let's not forget Bill's Harley Davidson ... though I doubt Bill will be writing on here any time soon! I may post some pictures as photography is a hobby of mine ... and shared with my daughter-in-law, Julie (she's much better than I!) We'll also include our Christian family! Baptist Church of Northville http://www.bconny.org/ is our church family, but our Christian family has brothers and sisters from all over! Check out the church website for interesting news, announcements and events plus the photo gallery is SUPER! We are also a part of Peace Officers for Christ International, Bill being a regional representative. Check them out at http://www.pofci.org/.
Pitchers future would include our realtionship with Jesus Christ, our Savior! Our future is in heaven, of this we are certain! No hocus pocus ... just plain God given faith! He sought us, bought us with a price, we answered his call. Are we perfect? Not by a long shot, but we are forgiven by God's grace through the saving work of Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins by shedding his blood .. an atoning sacrifce... in our place!
May our postings be fun, informative, and most of all, pleasing in His sight! Go, God!
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