Catherine Palace

New Computer

2010-10-16T09:00:00.004-05:00

Several people have taken me to task lately. The problem....neglect of my blog. Good heavens, I did not realize that anyone actually read it.

My PC desktop motherboard fried on me a few weeks ago and I was faced with purchasing a new motherboard or a new computer. It was a good time to lobby dear husband for a new computer. After much research and thought and analysis of my technology needs I decided that I wanted to go Mac.

I am now the proud, obsessed owner of a 27" iMac. My genealogy software runs on Windows. No problem I just downloaded a partition, uploaded Windows 7 and installed The Master Genealogist, Second Site and a few other windows only apps. On my 27" screen I now run Windows with one or two apps open and Snow Leopard (the Mac OS) on the other side with about 10 apps open.

I do a good bit of research in my various paid subscriptions and also access all the online records that are contained in various state archives. As I research I put the data into a Windows Xcel program for analysis, evaluate the data in a Word document and put the finished result in my genealogy program. The genealogy program organizes the data and I can print many types of reports to give to my clients.

When I work I also stream iTunes through my earphones (husband has to have TV at top volume these days...he's hard of hearing), Facebook is open (need to cut back on that obsession), a calendar with alarms to remind me to quit working and stick my head in the freezer for awhile (one does have to eat), I stream a conservative and liberal news cast (need a good laugh once in awhile...the Chilean miner rescue was awesome in real time). I need a new chair! Maybe not, as the discomfort forces me to get up once in awhile and spend quality time with dear husband. For Christmas I want about 12 GB of new memory added to the computer. I do have a 16 GB flash drive attached to save files to also. I have a track pad and a mouse but wish they worked independently of each other so I ccould scroll in Windows and Snow Leopard at the same time.

So what do I do the rest of my free time? Garden, travel (just spent the weekend at a college reunion with my old buddies-no spouses. It was great to linger over memories and not have bored sighs pulling us out of our reverie.

No photos this session as I have not downloaded those into the computer yet!

Back Home

2010-02-16T07:49:00.002-05:00

We arrived back in Maryland late Sunday (Valentine's Day) and were awed by the remnants of the record snow storms.

As I am writing this we are having a "snow shower". The weather professionals insist this is just a little blip on the radar.

Our stay in Mexico was wonderful. I am most at home in the tropics.

Ixtapa Day 9

2010-02-08T18:02:00.005-05:00

My father and sister left on Saturday with the snowstorm in the mid-Atlantic raging and dumping feet of snow in and area that normally gets a dusting. Of course one of their connecting flights was to take them to Dulles in Washington DC. It is now Monday evening and I am worried sick about them. My mother always used to say "No news is good news!" but my life experience has taught me that no news means that it is bad or maybe worse than expected and they don't want to bother me because I am on 'vacation.' That makes me even more depressed and nauseatingly nervous. My mom died three years ago when I was away and I could not make it to her funeral. Because there was not enough time to book a flight. Now when I am gone I get so darned nervous that I really don't care if I ever travel again. Not having communication is the worst punishment.

We had a really lovely SuperBowl party yesterday. A beer company called Sol sent two huge air balloon bottles and about four gorgeous girls to help with the SuperBowl spirit. The big screen was in three places. After sunset we were all able to go outside and see the last half of the game on a huge screen outdoors. The chef had bar-b-que stations in three places on the grounds. It was so much fun to sit with Americans who knew the sport sitting next to Canadians, French, Brazilian and other South American countries trying to understand the game. After the game we had the awarding of prizes (at the pool earlier in the day we had to fetch as many ping pong balls from the pool and then if we had that number we could put our name on four places on the board) and then when the score for both teams matched that person won a bottle of champagne. Other games we could win t-shirts sponsored by the Sol beer company. A live band played blues, Samba, and other energetic caribbean music so we could dance our hearts out. Perfect way to celebrate. Since Carnival in Brazil is next week this party had a decidedly Brazilian Carnival tone to it.

I stayed out so late last night I was unable to see the dawn this morning. i can't believe waking up well past sunrise really gave the day a rather sluggish start and so I have slept most of the day, at the beach or in my room. Guess I am not a party person. I enjoy the dawn, the quiet and watching the wildlife go from the night critters to the daytime critters.

Tonight we have dinner at one of the speciality restaurants. The atmosphere is more intimate and we will get to sit very near the ocean. The food is some better also.

Ixtapa Day 6

2010-02-04T18:35:00.004-05:00

Another rainy day in beautiful Ixtapa. Not as bad as yesterday.....still no fun in the sun. My dad is doing lots of reading and a few rotations in the gym, my hubby is grumbling about the tennis courts being wet and my sister and I continue to make the staff laugh as we sit and chat with whomever.

Ixtapa Day 5

2010-02-03T17:34:00.001-05:00

Today is a tropical storm day. The front rolled in with a flash and bang show this AM before dawn. It has been pouring since.

So what do people do at a Club Med in Ixtapa Mexico. A bunch of kids are in the pool. The security guard is watching with his security poncho on and the moms are sitting on the lounge chairs with umbrellas. About a hundred kids under the age of 8 are in the theatre practicing for tonights kid show. It is now about 5:30PM and the kids are getting cranky. Showtime is at 8:45. I'll let you know later how that turned out. Adults are in all the nooks and crannies with books, games, some kids, drinks. The DJ has come to the LaEstrala Bar early with his music mix.

The Pacific ocean is an ominous battleship gray with rolling surf that mutes the sound of thunder. Or maybe it's not thundering. Who would know. It sounds the same.

Dear hubby has been drilling on the tennis court previous to today and wants his kids to know he won a tournament on the first day. His shoulder still annoys him and he may be seen asking the bar boy for a bag of ice, and a bourbon. My dad has settled in rather well and keeps up his exercise and my sister in typical little sister fashion always seems to get us in trouble with the staff. Not bad trouble. They just can't do their job because they are laughing at us so hard. The Chief de Village is flummoxed because the staff is supposed be making the guests laugh and have a good time. The other guests look at us and just shake their heads. I am constantly reminding people that I left the sober world of adulthood at my birthday last month. I now officially qualify for my Social Security Pension and senior citizens discounts (which by the way are the same rates as children under 12) . Therefore, I reason that since I don't have to pay out as an adult anymore I don't have to act like an adult anymore; my sister gets by saying that she is training for the day she is not an adult anymore. Life on vacation is bliss!

No Photos this time as I left the cord to the iphone back in the room.

Ixtapa Day 4

2010-02-02T18:20:00.003-05:00

OK Sorry it took me awhile to figure the computer thing out. It's all in Spanish down here. And I don't speak espanol.

Our fight took us from Baltimore to Houston where we met up with my dad and sister at the airport hotel. We left Houston on Saturday and landed in Zhuatounao (SP?) and then a cab ride about twenty minutes to Club Med Ixtapa Pacific. We are settled into the beach life and sports activities of the Club. My sister is all about getting the staff to laugh, of course I am not stopping her in the least.

Tonight is Mexico Night and we have vendors setting up around the pool (It has started to rain) and we are having a professional Mexican dance troop do folklore dancing tonight. Rain or shine the show must go on.

Enjoy the pic of my dad laying on the Pacific Beach at Ixtapa. He is loving every minute

2010 Winter Getaway Part 2

2010-01-30T07:31:00.003-05:00

Blooging today on iPhone. If I suddenly quit because my finger cramped or the program crashed.
Left Easton and 21 degree temps yesterday and flew to Houstan. Our pilot was kind enough to warn us when we were flying over or through the large weather system in the mid part of the country. Cabin stewards scurried around makeing sure we were all in our seats and just as the belted themselves in we hit about 20 minutes of bone rattling turbalance. Captain came on again and assured us the worst was over. We got to Houstan on time. The captain and cabin stewards rushed us to get in and settled when we boarded. We were good passengers and were able to leave10min early. Good job Continantal crew on flight #727

it's not exactly warm here in Houstan either. Just 56 degrees. Better than the 21 degrees with snow in Easton though.

Travel tip: hand sanitized works well as a backup deorderant.

Off to Club Med ixtapa later this AM with my dad and sis. Ixtapa is about 100 miles north of Acapulco.
pulco

Back Home and a Rant

2010-01-24T10:25:00.002-05:00

We arrived home late Friday night after a full day of travel. I got sniffed by a dog,scrutinized by Customs, partially undressed for TSA and went through their screening as my bag was whisked into something that looks like a commercial dishwasher. Passed everything this time.

Laundry is done and am partially packed for the next leg of our winter getaway which starts early Friday AM. We will be going to a Club Med on the Pacific side of Mexico with my Father and Sister.

I have been reading about tourism returning to Haiti and there is a mix of shock and disgust in view of the disaster in Port au Prince. I think this is referring to Royal Caribbean Cruise Line that resumed its normally scheduled stops at Labadee.

Labadee is a private resort beach for passengers on Royal Caribbean and sister line Celebrity. This cruise line has been stopping at this port for almost 10 years. The economic impact of this tourism in the area is huge. The company hires native Haitians to maintain the property and to set it up for the cruise ship visits. A large beach BBQ is prepared for the guests and the Haitians have access to it and to all of the food that may be left over. The arts and crafts building is filled with Haitian vendors and artists selling their crafts. All of this provides jobs and a steady income to the employees and vendors that is needed. In addition to the guest services Royal Caribbean pays port taxes and these go to the Haitian government. The bottom line here is that tourism plays a role in the Haitian economy. The current government before the quake was actively looking to improve Haiti's image and try to cultivate Haiti as a tourist destination.

In addition to the above benefits of Capitalism, there is the fact the Royal Caribbean has teamed with Food for the Poor and has in place the infrastructure in Miami and Labadee to ship and distribute much needed food and supplies to this poorest of countries. To stop tourism because of some misguided sense of propriety is just plain stupid. Haiti needs immediate aid in the form of food, water, medical supplies-the Royal Caribbean has the infrastructure in place to do this. As the country recovers from this disaster they need jobs and revenue to get their homes, schools, churches, government buildings etc rebuilt- RC provides jobs and a market for their art crafts. This recovery will take cash money to purchase the supplies the individuals and the government need to clean up the debris and rebuild- by allowing the Haitians to come to work at the resort provides cash income. To deny any Haitian a job that will help them rebuild their life and self esteem is just plain immoral. We need these people to become economically independent of relief aid. They need to become independent and productive citizens of their country. Most of all these jobs give back to the Haitians a sense of dignity that every human being deserves. So welcome to the ships and tourists to Haiti and may more cruise lines find a way to create a great vacation place that will employ more Haitians.

Jewel of the Sea Day 11

2010-01-21T06:57:00.002-05:00

Sea Day today. Hubby and I are going to relax on the ship and pack up our bags. We dock in Miami tomorrow and then fly home. Hope this earthquake business stops. I don't think the folks here can take much more. The Durbans are still safe after the 6.2 quake. But life is Haiti is becoming hard to endure. Bye for now.

Jewel of the Sea Day 10

2010-01-20T15:22:00.004-05:00

Grand Cayman. We stayed on the ship today and enjoyed the ship amenities with very few folks aboard. There are four other large cruise ships in the harbor and we have found that leads to congestion. So we opt for the relaxing day to enjoy the amenities of the ship. We have not been bothered by the earth quakes that are rocking the various islands that we visit. Cayman had a 5.3 yesterday but it did minimal damage.

Jewel of the Sea Day 9

2010-01-20T15:22:00.001-05:00

Sea Day. Calm. Hot. Pleasant. Relaxing.

Jewel of the Sea Day 8

2010-01-20T15:19:00.001-05:00

Limon, Costa Rica. A port town at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Hubby and I went on a short tour and saw Gatun lock from land side (we've gone through the canal twice). Very different perspective. Then we boarded a pontoon boat for a guided tour of Gatun Lake looking at the wild life. Very Nice

Jewel of the Sea Day 7

2010-01-19T04:25:00.001-05:00

Jewel of the Sea Day 7

Colon, Panama. Colon is the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. The most awesome thing to see are the dozens and dozens of cargo ships from around the world waiting their turn to cross into the Pacific via the Panama Canal. We did an short turn of the first lock—Gatun. It was really nice to see the lock from the land. We have passed through the canal twice. But this was a much different experience.
We then went to a dock at Gatun Lake (one of the largest man made lacks in the world) and took a pontoon ride around the lake. We had a guide that was showing us many of the flora and fauna found in the ecosystem.

Back on the ship we relaxed until we left port. The rolly polly has virtually stopped and the sea is calmer. Tomorrow is Limon, Costa Rica another of my favorite countriess

Haiti First Person Account

2010-01-19T04:20:00.002-05:00

[Below are two emails that Lance Durban sent to a group that I belong to. Lance was a college friend and we have stayed in touch over the years. He owns a business in Haiti and employees.The first note was the second we received after he saw the devastation. The one below was to let us know he and his family were all okay ]

Dear Fredonia-1970 Group,   This group does not have its main purpose as fund-raising, though if it was, it would logically be fund-raising for the SUNY Fredonia College Foundation, our common link. Nevertheless, seeing the signs of devastation all around me here in Haiti, having fielded several requests about how best to contribute, and having read that Nick Kristof op-ed in today's New York Times about giving, here is one suggestion.  We truly do not know the scope of the problem for our 470+ Haitian employees, most of whom have not returned after last Tuesday's devastating earthquake, but as one of our group members who visited Haiti years ago correctly surmised, our workers could well be among the most affected. They were not the poorest of the poor, most were not living in wooden shacks which presumably would cause less of a problem than having a concrete roof fall on you.   We have created a brief survey which our Human Resources Manager will be getting out to as many as possible to fill out... to assess house damage and the personal injury/death count. We have also established a Haiti Emergency Fund for friends and family contributions, 100% of which will be distributed to those employees most affected by the earthquake. A distribution formula is yet to be worked out, but it will be based on our best determination of need.  A number of our customers have already pledged help, and for any of you interested in contributing, please make checks payable to MANUTECH and marked Haiti Emergency Relief. Checks may be sent to our Miami address: MANUTECH, INC. 8181 NW 91 Terrace, Bldg 10 Miami, FL 33166  We will promptly acknowledge all contributions, and provide all donors with a brief report when the fund is closed out... probably by the end of the first quarter.  It has been a difficult and heart-breaking time, several people we knew were among the victims when the U.N. headquarters collapsed, and my mini-bus is today "on loan" to one of our employees with a badly injured daughter... he is taking her to a good hospital in the provinces, which he hopes will be better able to provide quicker attention in his non-life-threatening, though serious, situation. Here in the capital, we know two surgeons, who are directors of a small hospital not far from our factory and they had performed 8 emergency amputations just yesterday.  We can only hope that 2010 ends better than it has started.  Lance Durban Fredonia-1970 Yahoo! Group SUNY Fredonia Class of 1970

Port-au-Prince, Jan 15, 2010 Dear Fredonians,  It's been 72+ hours since Tuesday afternoon's earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, and I thank you for your expressions of concern. All Durbans in Haiti are fine, and fortunately we have had virtually no property damage either. Here is a quick update if you haven't already overdosed on Haiti earthquake reports.  The quake hit about 4:45 PM Tuesday as I was leaving work, and at first I thought it was a flat tire. The car quickly started swaying violently from side to side however, and then I noticed telephone wires swinging back and forth like giant jump ropes and the telephone poles themselves waving wildly back and forth. Clearly, this was no ordinary flat tire.  I circled back to the plant and was pleased to see it still standing, although everything inside had been shaken up... water coolers tipped over, computers on the floor, ceiling panels in the offices all displaced, etc. It took 4 hours to drive home that night, up a road that was full of pedestrians, emergency vehicles, whole whole families sitting in the median, lot's of small children being carried by anxious parents.   Still, it was only when driving down to work the next morning that the full scope of the disaster became apparent. We still have had only a few of our 470 employees return to work, so cannot confirm exactly what percentage will have lost their homes, but we will be doing a survey next week.  I got out to the Port-au-Prince airport today to check on cargo flights, and the place is abuzz with military and relief flights coming in from all over. There have been some 40 aftershocks now, some of them rather severe, and each one brings some degree of panic, although Nadia and I have been sleeping in the house every night. Fortunately it is a pretty solid house... we hope.  I have received a zillion e-mails from long lost friends and associates, and the outpouring of concern has been touching. Nadia's school is closed (large cracks making it structurally unsound, though it may be salvageable) so she volunteered at a makeshift hospital today, and saw plenty of serious injuries. The number of homeless people is pretty staggering, and we just wish that we could do more to help.   That's it for the moment. Will write more soon on that Easter trip to London from April 1st to April 9th. We've bought our tickets and will definitely be going.... hope to have some of you join us.  Regards to all, Lance Durban Fredonia-1970 Yahoo! Group Moderator SUNY at Fredonia, Class of 1970

Jewel of the Sea Day 6

2010-01-17T05:45:00.000-05:00

Sea Day! I was so looking forward to spending the day in the solarium, reading, dipping in the pool or hot tub. The sea was a lovely blue the sky was clear, the sun was hot. Perfect…….except the sea had gentle rolling swells from 12 to 15 feet. This means the ship was gently rocking back and forth all day. A majority of guests were in their rooms seasick. I did get a bit woozy myself but went top side and looked at the horizon, breathed fresh air. Oen of the staff brought me some apples slices and soon I perfectly fine. The apple thing is a cure the crew uses!!?!?!? Hey if it works. The pools were closed as the water was massively sloshing back and forth out of the pools. The staff finally emptied most of the water out of the pools to cut down the water on the deck which was a fall hazard.

The ships entertainment was pretty lame so I hung out in our favorite lounge with a few of the folks we have become friendly with. All in all it was a lovely relaxing day at sea.

Jewel of the Sea Day 5

2010-01-16T07:54:00.001-05:00

Jewel of the Seas Day 5

The very best day of the trip so far! It started with the strangest sunrise. There is no moon so the at night the sky and sea are one. As dawn started to creep above the horizon the sea and sky were separated by color. The sea was deep pewter, with waves roiling 8-foot swells. The sky was also pewter but much lighter. All of a sudden a coral arch appears on the horizon, not really throwing out that much light. Soon it was a large coral circle surrounded by the pewter sky and darker water.

About noon we landed in Cartagena, Columbia. We were here a few years ago and it had the appearance and feel of a much different city. For one thing it was cleaner. There were no piles of trash anywhere. In the new city there were a half dozen new sky scrappers. The city itself is being cleaned up and the abandoned buildings are either being torn down or rehabbed. There was a huge police presence and a huge military presence. The government has mandated that young men do two years of service to the country as police or military. The government is winning the war against the drug cartels. Violence and kidnapping are down by 80%. The Columbians are grateful to the current government-a democracy. Education is also free and mandatory through high school. It is a much better city today.

I did a mangrove and swamp tour and dear Husband did a Pirate Galleon tour around the bay. I was impressed with my tour. I took the same tour when I was here before. The government is cleaning up the polluted swamps and turning them into ecological preserves. There was more wildlife and fish in the tidal swamps than before. Oh by the way, the Colombian’s were very clear that we understand that they cannot stand the “idiot” next door (Venezuela). They have closed that border and
it is protected by the Columbian Army.

Our entertainment on board was spectacular. A dance troop from Argentina came aboard—Tango Buenos Aires; the show left us with goose pimples. Dick and I had been to Argentina and with each dance we were reminded of the things we saw and did. Both of us would love to go back to Argentina. The dancers will be giving Tango lessons for free today. They leave the ship tomorrow in Colon Panama. Lovely! And this is the first trip I have not brought my Tango shoes I got in Argentina!

Jewel of the Sea Day 4

2010-01-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

Jewel of the Seas Day 4

This morning before dawn we approached the island of Aruba. I was up and watched a rather unspectacular sun rise. Fluffy clouds turned a funny shade of gray and then it was daylight. The day however was beautiful—warm 90 degrees, 15-20 mph winds and a fairly clear sky.

Aruba is not my favorite of the islands. Where the others are lush and mountainous with springs, waterfalls and pools, Aruba is a dry, flat, and scrubby. Much like a desert. We opted to take a taxi to the public beach about 15 min away by car. I would love to post a photo or two but the internet is very slow and the payment for minutes is quite dear.

Oh, by the way……Aruba had a 4.3 earthquake yesterday AM. Not enough to do any damage but it did scare the folks in the high rise hotels when they swayed. I was also stunned by the reaction of the local Aruba folks. They have no sympathy for Haiti. The handful of ones I spoke with said there was a small community on the island; they are shunned by the other Islanders. Their reason being the Haitians practice voodoo. They also spoke of the Haitian bringing their suffering upon themselves by their corruption. Another theme that they all talked about is that the Haitians they know are of low intelligence….like in low IQ and they are easily manipulated. Wow!
Our driver had on a news cast and the reporter was telling how silent the island is becoming as many of the people who were trapped have stopped crying. I was not prepared by their coldness to the Haitians. I will see if the other places we stop at have the same perceptions.

I found out on FB that my friends the Durbans have all survived and that their home is intact.. There is no further information.

JEwel of the Sea Day 3

2010-01-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

Jewel of the Sea Day 3

Another sea day, which I love. We navigated the Windward Passage during the night: that is the passage between Cuba and Haiti. The Captain did a bit of a course correction. Instead of traveling close to the coast of Cuba he went more towards the passage. We felt no effects of the disaster in Haiti. At the moment we are on a southerly course off the tip of Haiti headed for Aruba.

And we are in the Caribbean, which means the air conditioning on the ship is working just fine---I’m cold. But if you find a spot in the sun it is delightfully warm. Doing a lot of pool time and pool aerobics.

Please keep the people of Haiti and especially my friends Lance and Nadia Durban who live and work in Port au Prince in you thoughts.

HAITI EARTH QUAKE UPDATE

2010-01-12T20:58:00.002-05:00

Our captain came on the intercom a bit ago and said our ship is in no danger from the earthquake. And there is really no danger from a rogue wave. We have changed course a bit. Originally we were sailing closer to the coast of Cuba. We are know further out to sea and more in the middle of the passage....or whatever. I am very worried about my friends Lance and Nadia Durban and their family. They live and work in Port Au Prince and have lived there since 1978. The live up in the mountains. I pray they and their children and grandchildren are safe.

HAITI EARTH QUAKE

2010-01-12T17:25:00.003-05:00

We were watching the news and just heard there was a 7.0 quake just off the coast of Haiti. Tsunami watch for Cuba, Bahamas, Haiti,etc. We are in the area sort of. These are our coordinates 25degrees 48' N;80degrees 15' W. Anyway, if there is to be tsunami I would rather be on the ship in the middle of the sea than sunning myself on the shore.

Jewel of the Sea Day 2

2010-01-12T10:16:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Day 1 of our cruise. We woke in an extremely cold hotel room in Miami…they apparently don’t do heat at the hotel. About 12 of us boarded a small bus at noon for the port; or more accurately 12 popsicles. Much to our drivers displeasure he cranked the heat up as requested. Boarded the ship-Jewel of the Seas- and found a comfy chair in the solarium with the sun pouring through the windows and promptly fell asleep.

Day 2 we are south east of Cuba with easterly winds 35-40 knots hitting the ship broadside to port. The seas are choppy but I can’t figure out how big the swells are because I am 10 stories up and don’t want to go outside on a lower deck just yet. I am enjoying the warmth of the Solarium too much .

Last night I opened an email account on ship and promptly lost 10 valuable minutes trying to get into my blog…..unsuccessfully. We are near Cuba and for some reason the signals are rather spotty in this area. A minutes costs .37 cents.

Hubby is out exploring the ship and I am quite content to divide my time between our lovely quiet room, the Solarium with the pool and hot tub and the concierge lounge where they have unlimited beverages and snacks and it’s quiet with windows to enjoy the sea.

Tonight is formal night and it is always fun to see people dressed up. So that is about it for Day 2.

Miami?

2010-01-10T20:11:00.003-05:00

The sign at the airport says we are in Miami. I 'm not so sure. We got off the plane and the weather was much like we left in Baltimore... Cold, cloudy, misty. Tomorrow we go to the port to pick up our cruise ship.

Packing

2010-01-09T06:49:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow we leave for what I hope is a warm trip to the western Caribbean on board a cruise ship. Below freezing temps in FL have me wondering. Need to get on my weather channel app and see what is going in. I am hving a bit of a struggle as to what to pack. It has to be a few separates that I can layer for three seasons. I think i'll tuck insome warm socks and my wool shawl. Honestly these below freezing temps and howling wind are getting on my nerves.

2010 resolution

2010-01-08T09:33:00.001-05:00

I have really wanted to post to my blog from my iPhone . It has taken me a year and an up grade to the iPhone 3Gs. Typing is much more difficult and slow as I am able to use only my index finger. May be a blessing as my finger tires faster than my brain, hence posts should be shorter. So ends my first post of the 8th day of the first month, in the first year if the second decade of thr second millenium.

Cancun

2009-02-05T12:22:00.001-05:00

I finally found my flash drive and now I see that the resort computers are so restricted that I am unable to upload my photos. I am kicking myself for not bringing the lap top. I guess the photos will have to wait until I get home.

Cancun

2009-02-03T14:23:00.002-05:00

Our weather has been windy, warm days and cool and somewhat rainy nights.

I have lost my flash drive and can't upload any photos. My dad and sister leave tomorrow morning for New York. Dick and I stay one more week.

Cancun 2009

2009-01-30T19:31:00.003-05:00

We are in Cancun. Arrived here on Wednesday. Glad of it too.

My sister and DAD are here with us and we are having quite a good time.

Went to see the Maya Ruins at El Meco, not far from Club Med. These ruins were opened to the public about six years ago. They are small. It takes about 1.5 hours to walk the whole compound. Sort of Chechen Itza in mineature.

Sorry, there are not phots yet. Stay tuned.

O Tannebaum....

2008-12-23T12:37:00.003-05:00

My tannebaum...why is it I love thee.

I love my Christmas tree-all four of them.

In fact I have loved every Christmas tree I have ever had in the past.

Last year I did not put up a tree because Dick and I took a 14 day holiday cruise on the Queen Mary II. You can read about that in past blogs.

This year my artificial tree took revenge on me for keeping it in the attic since I put it away after Christmas 2006.

First, I decided that I wanted to change where we put the tree. We had purchased the tree to stand in the front room that has a 19' ceiling. The tree was about 10'. So, I decided that I wanted to see it this year. We put it in the sun room where we hang out most of the time. That has a 9' foot ceiling. If you do the math you will see that there is a bit of a problem.

The tree has four sections and the obvious solution was to leave a section out. I had put about 4000 lights on the tree in the past and left the lights on for storage as per directions included with the tree. This is where the tree revenge comes in. A few of the strands did not respond to electrical stimulation. A few strands only half lit up. This meant that I had to take all 4000 lights off the tree.

I am still having fun because I love Christmas trees so much.

Next day I evaluate the dozens of strands and figure that I can salavage about half of them. It is off to Lowe's to buy more lights. Except that Lowe's pulled a fast one on me this year. They had their after Chirstmas 50% sale last week. No lights. I go to Target...they did the same thing. No multi colored mini lights. I go to WalMart...no mini lights. Finally, I go to Rite Aide, a drug store. It has lots of lights on sale....but the lights are on white wires. I want green to blend in witht the tree. I go to Ben Franklin sort of a local Michael's and they are sold out of lights. I go to the dollar store and they are sold out. I go to Giant, a grocery store and they are sold out. We are talking a full two weeks before Christmas! So I go back to Rite Aide and get the while mini lights.

I decide to position the tree in a corner. I want to use the green wire lights for the parts of the tree that show the most in the room. The white wire lights can be strung on the branches closer to the trunk. If you put 6000 (up I have 6000 mini lights on and 8'ft tree) lights on a tree that means even the interior branches get about two lights each.

It took about a week to get the tree lights on. But I still love my tree and I am still enjoying the process. I just don't know why retailers have to have post Chirstmas sales two weeks before Chirstmas.

A few nights ago Dick and I took down the two boxes of decorations and put them on the tree. I have collected these decorations all my life. Everywhere I go I get a decoration for the tree. Every decoration has a story. So it took us about two days to decorate the tree because I had to tell the story of each decoration. It is important to tell the story of decorations so that when I am dead and gone and my family sorts through my junk they will know that I loved my Christmas tree, Christmas lights and most of all the decroations. They will want to keep the decorations to decorate their trees and hopefully tell the story of the decoration to their children and grandchildren.

Oh Tannebaum, My Tannebaum

Why is it I love you?

Oh Tannebaum, My tannebaum

I love you because

you mean alot to me.

Generations

2008-12-14T09:00:00.007-05:00

How sweet Saturday was. My daughter and granddaughter came for the day.

We fed the horses apples.

Went shopping for cookie decorating supplies.

Visited Santa Claus.

Made and decorated cookies.

Made brownies.

Tried to take a nap.

Took a jacuzzi bath.

It was such a wonderful day.

And yes, Kait did wear out her mom and me until we had but one nerve left between us.

But isn't that what being three is all about?

Oh, how I love being with my girls for the day.

Life doesn't get any better than a visit with the kids and grandkids.

2008-12-11T08:41:00.006-05:00

Received this email from my daughter this morning "HAY THERE IS NOTHING NEW ON YOUR BLOG! YOU HAVE BEEN DOING LOTS OF INTERESTING THINGS!!! WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO READ! " Internet etiquette says that writing in all caps is yelling at me...or talking loud enough so that I can't ignore this message.

Okay, I hear you.

So I have been doing "lots of interesting things".....humph. OK, yesterday we had our Red Hat Society Christmas coffee. I am the Queen of our Red Hat group. We call ourselves the Sassy Ladies of the Chesapeake. We are a group of 25 women that have been gathering together about twice a month to share. Once a month we have a coffee at someones home. Personally, these are my favorite. I love to go to everyones home and see how it is decorated and eat lots of homemade sweets and drink more coffee than is good for me. I also love that I get to talk one on one with quite a few of the girls.

Yesterday we had our holiday coffee at Marianne's. Marianne was born in Germany and has many wonderful things in her home from Germany. Many things belonged to her grandmother. She has a marvelous collection of tea cups and dessert plates. It was fun to hold the delecate tea cups and saucers and balance a dessert plate with homemade Blake Forest Torte on my lap. She served hot spiced cider and egg nog (my favorite bottle of rum was on the side to kick the nog up a notch), coffee and tea in addition to various cookies and fruit...and of course, the homemade Black Forest Torte. Soft Christmas music played in the backgroud. I ate and drank, talked and listened. Naturally, I had to have one of everything and most often I had two, or three of everything. The cookies and torte were so delicious that maybe I had more of everything than I think. It was the most wonderful Christmas/Holiday party I have attended.

Happy Birthday to Nana

2008-10-29T10:41:00.002-05:00

Today is my Nana's 105 birthday. No she is not alive. She died in 1987. However, I came across this photo of her and thought that I would share it. I knew she liked the Halloween holiday. But it never occurred to me why. Now I think I know.

On The Road Again

2008-09-02T09:46:00.004-05:00

Dick and I are taking off again on a domestic road trip. No airplanes, boats, elephants or other unusual transportation...just our trusty Honda and our GPS named Sophia.

We plan to Attend the 4 day FGS (Federation of Genealogy Societies) conference in Philadelphia. It appears to be chock full of fine speakers...hope the presentations are just as good. Some of my good genealogy buddies will be there so hopefully I can meet up with them and chew the fat.

We then plan to head up north to visit Dick's 90 yo cousin Glen who lives on the edge of a lake next to Lake Ontario. He has a 'camp' that he lives in year round with his John Deere tractor. He heats his cabin with wood. Fascinating gentleman.

The rest of the time we plan to hunt for dead relatives in library data bases, cemeteries, etc. We also plan a visit to a town historian or two.

Labor Day Weekend 2008

2008-08-31T07:25:00.007-05:00

Gosh...has it been that long since I blogged last? No wedding update, no grandkid photos and related bragging. I have a dozen reasons I could offer for not blogging. Some of them are good, some bad and some down right smoke and mirrors.

Here is the bride and myself getting primped for the wedding. Katie had two hairdressers come to the house and one makeup artist. I must say everyone looked like a movie star.

Katie was an absolutley stunning bride. Her sister Laura looked ravishing in her dress and the flower girls stole the show. My grandson as a ring bearer proudly walked down the isle with the grooms nephew who carried the ring pillow. It was a very rainy blustery day. The showers cooperated with the bridal schedule. It rained only when the guests and bridal party were under shelter. At the moment the vows were spoken the sun burst through the clouds and the evening cleared providing the perfect backdrop for an outdoor reception. I don't have photos yet they are on a disc being passed around the family and I haven't gotten it yet. You can see some photos the father of the flower girl and ring bearer (my son) took at his web site http://www.kazimir.net/.

Here is a picture of Katie and I. I realized that the haridresser place the veil all wrong. So I had to fix it.

Here is the Maid of Honor and her daughter one of the flower girls. Little Kait was just fascinated by all the preperation for the wedding and all the little things like flowers, shoes, necklaces and all.

Just as exciting as the wedding was watching the newly married couple depart on their honeymoon cruise. They left the following Saturday for a Royal Carribean Cruise out of Baltimore to Bermuda. We staked out a choice spot at Hemingways (a bar restaurant at the east end of the Bay Bridge) to watch the ship go under the bridge. We had the patio guests and wait staff all excited and on the lookout for the ship. This was a mighty challenge because the Bay was locked in a pea soup fog. But see the ship we did-even if it looked like a ghost ship. All us folks at Hemingways cheered the bridal couple and wished them well.

Maya is now six years old and starts kindergarten this week. Ethan is four and loves his movies, puzzles and any gadget he can get his hands on. Kaitlyn is three and swims like a fish. She can swim the length of the pool and back faster than I can! Ouch! Dick's little granddaughter who is also three spent her first overnight this summer and now regularly packs her bag and wants to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We also hosted Dick's fifteen yo grandson for a weekend of beginning sailing at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I think he enjoyed himself. It's hard to tell with teenagers. I am also in the process of making a formal dress each for his eight yo and 13 yo granddaughters.

The day after Thanksgiving Dick will celebrate his 80th birthday. We will be on a Royal Caribbean Cruise with his entire family ( all 22 of us). Hence, the reason I am making formal wear for the granddughters. We discovered that their mother, the 13 yo and I all wear the same shoe size and with some minor alterations we can all fit into the same size dress. How cool! To be honest I have to take in a few stitches on the 13 yo, take in a few other stitches and let out some on the mother and let out a whole bunch for me...but it is still the same dress.

In the midst of all of this my mother's younger sister passed away 6 August. She died peacefully in the midst of her husband and all of her children. She had been in hospice for a month and had been in failing health for years. We are an Irish Catholic family so her death though sad was also a celebration. We will all miss her terribly but we also know that her suffering here on this earth has ended and that is a blessing. My mother's oldest brother and younger sister are still with us. Her older brother is in failing health but my aunt is as fiesty and full of life as ever. This is good because my aunt is the only relative that is keeping me from being the eldest surviving female of the clan. Scary thought. Here is a photo of Rita taken in the 1960's. This is the Rita I remember.

The Wedding

2008-05-29T10:17:00.002-05:00

My youngest daughter is getting married on Saturday evening. The wedding is going to be at the Smyrna, DE opera house and the reception at the grooms mother's house across the street. It should be lovely.

Most of the wedding guests are the groom's family, hence the wisdom of having it in Smyrna where they all live.

I made two bridal veils for my daughter. The one for the wedding incorporated the Alacon lace mantilla that I wore at my own 70's type marriage. We didn't do weddings back in those days. I stitched the mantilla onto a cathedral style bridal illusion and it turned out stunning. I also made her a little wisp of a veil for the reception so that she can hip hop to her hearts content without getting caught in bridal illusion. I also created a bustle for the dress. It had a train but no built in bustle. Can't hip-hop with a train either.

I altered several dresses for the bridal party. That was fun and challenging. Then it was to the most exciting effort of all. I made the little flower girl halos with lots of flowers, ribbons and glue gunned beads at the center of the flowers to make them look fancy. I loved doing all that work.

Now Dick and I are cleaning the house for our 12 house guests who will be attending the wedding. We also like the challenge of visitors as it forces us to vacuum the cob webs and sweep the dust bunnies under the carpet. Plus we get to buy all kinds of junk food for our guests. (I get to eat the leftovers--can't wait to dig into a large bowl of Fruit Loops with chocolate milk on them). If any grandkids are reading this please make sure that you leave a healthy amount of Fruit Loops and chocolate milk. You can eat as much chips, chocolate and candy as you want.

Update

2008-05-06T09:19:00.006-05:00

I see that it has been about three weeks since I visited this spot. Several of my dear readers are starting to complain about the absence of any new entries.

My excuse is very lame. I have been occupied by all the activities of daily living. Every weekend for the past month we have had the joy of a grandchild visit. Dick and I decided that taking more than one grandchild at a time was too much work and far too tiring.

Another grandkid came to visit. Dick's youngest little granddaughter is very cute and very two.She is into potty training. Exploring everything. Trying to sneak out the front door, etc. We did feed the horses the apples, had Gran'Ma's macaroni and cheese for lunch (she liked it very much--two year olds can be vicious critics of home cooking), and played with the iPhone. We went upstairs for a brief rest before she had to go home. Her dad said it was time to get in the car and go home and she says,"No. I stay gran'ma's house. I tired. I sleep gran'ma's house." That made me feel really fine. So I promised that she could set up a sleepover date in the future. She was content, got in the car and left. Meanwhile, I collapsed on the bed and took a long nap.

Besides the grandkids, we had some worrisome excitement with my dad. He woke early a couple of Wed up ago with chest pain. Went to the hospital and come to find out he had a heart attack. I flew up, my other sister drove in. Two sisters and brother live nearby. We had some tense moments waiting for tests results. Sometimes the news was good, sometimes it was worrisome. The final treatment was a stent placement. I stayed a few days after he came home. I am a retired cardiovascular nurse so my observations and advice were helpful to my dad and siblings. I find no comfort in my knowledge whatsoever. Knowing too much is sometimes not a good thing.

I am back home now and the garden needs attention. A wedding veil needs to be made. The wedding dress altered. One bridesmaids dress majorly altered. One bridesmaids dress and two flower girl dresses hemmed and the shoulder straps shortened. The wedding is the 31st of May. My peers in our over 55 community told me the best thing I can do as mother of the bride is wear beige, be gracious and keep my mouth shut! Good advice.

So it's off to the sewing room today.

Spring 2008

2008-04-15T07:29:00.004-05:00

It's spring. Which means all four seasons vie for attention on any given day. Today it is cold and sunny. The trees a leafing out. The peeps down by the creek are going full throttle at night. (old wisdom says that the peeps have to freeze three times before the warm weather sticks around). The birds have all staked out this seasons real estate and are busy looking for building materials. All is well with the world here in Easton.

My life has been busy. I am learning all about this new computer and Microsoft Vista (my opinion: I like Vista). Have had lots of overnight guests of all ages. Grandson 'Lil E', age 3, came for a long weekend. He had fun with Grandpa putting puzzles together. We bought a puzzle just for him-Spider Man. The two spent time together putting this one together. It had more pieces and was a bit more difficult that the other puzzles he has worked on.

Granddaughter 'KK' came for a long weekend also. She is 2 1/2 and it's all about potty training right now. She is doing very well and I got a happy mommy phone call the other evening saying that KK had worn panties to school for the first time and stayed dry all day. Good Job!

Then I got to take Lil'E and KK overnight at a local motel. It's a long boring story of how we got there. But we got there with no clothes, toothbrushes, only two insurance papers (aka disposable diapers). I sternly told the two of them to stay in bed (one queen size bed was all that was left at the Inn that night) while I tended to my business in the bathroom. I added for effect that if they started horsing around and got hurt I wouldn't be too sorry, as I had warned them of the consequences of horsing around. Well, I heard lots of giggles, rustling around, a large thump....and then silence. When I came back into the room they were in bed with the blankets up around their chins and their eyes closed. It wasn't until morning when I was bathing them that I noticed that KK had a rug burn on her forehead, nose and chin. They both soberly told me that they were horsing around and got hurt but that since they were naughty they had to have consequences.

I might also add that earlier that evening I let them play with my iPhone. I figured since I was sitting there and looking for UTube videos for them to watch that all was safe. At some point these 2 & 3 year old techie whizzes password locked me totally out of the phone and I had to contact the company to get the blamed thing unlocked again.

Our other guest was another child but this one just turned 45. Dick's #2 son was given a plane ticket to come and visit his siblings and dad for several days as a birthday gift from his wife and older sister. We had a lovely time. And he did play with the iPhone but was very polite about it. He did not password lock me out of the phone. We went out to a local pub for some fish. I highly recommend the Crab Soup at Legal Spirits here in Easton.

Finally, this weekend we had "A" our 8 year old granddaughter. She played with the iPhone also. That is tops on her wish list. I told her that an iPhone was something she should purchase for herself after she gets a job and pays taxes. She really got into the YTube videos and found two that are just too funny. Jeff Dunham-Achmed the Dead Terrorist is about as funny as any ventriloquist show I have ever seen. The other that has just captivated all the grand kids and some adults--Potter Puppet Pals . Where Snape hears a strange ticking sound. What "A" does not know--I can track her UTube visits. She was pretty good about staying away from questionable sites. But I did notice that she viewed a lot of 'fart jokes'. Is this a typical 8 year old thing?

So there you have it. What I have been doing instead of blogging.

Technology Woes

2008-03-19T07:34:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I have a blog and I also know that this poor thing has been neglected by me. Not on purpose though.

I have had mega huge technology problems for ummmmm......several months now.

It started when the power supply to my 4 yo HP desk top conked out. Took the tower to the repair guy in Easton and he put a new power supply in. Not cheap buy cheaper than a new computer.

Powered up the repaired computer only to have the mother board crash. New computer time.

I did my homework and decided that I needed power and memory to handle all the data, photo and video files. Plus I got an iPhone for Christmas (my old phone went caput) and decided that I also wanted to start downloading music.

Ended up with a HP media/gaming model. Nice computer. Came with Microsofts new software VISTA. I wanted a full functioning Microsoft Office and Office Outlook-not an unreasonable request. Except that the Geek Squad a Best Buy got themselves in a wad over uploading that software (for extra $).

In the midst of all this we did about six weeks of international travel. Internet cafes abound around the world and the cruise ships do have Internet (all for extra $). I am the head of a local group and needed access to email and my membership list. Enter my ISP EastonOnline. It takes at least five minutes to load the first page and then about five more minutes to get to the Inbox on my email account. Each email takes minutes to load and the response takes even longer to send---if it sends at all. This caused some communication problems with my group and one member quit because we left her off the list??!! Even though I explained my problems.

To solve that issue I have enlisted the full power of all the Google services (these are free) and have my membership lists, addresses and email account with them. I can even write documents and spread sheets and access them from anywhere. Overseas the Google pages load in a snap and upload even faster. (God Bless Google).

So back to the new computer. I brought it home. Hooked it up and started to uploaded by files (my fix it guy was able to retrieve my data). Had about three days of fun trying out all the new gizmos and features. Finally,uploaded my security software and the damn thing disabled all my drivers....aaaarrrrrgggggghhhh. Called the HP help line and had a friendly one hour chat with a young man in Calcutta India that took over the computer and reset everything.

Finally, my daughter wanted me to fax her something and I was delighted to have the opportunity to use that feature. I scan the information, upload it to the computer and go to fax.....the entire system freezes!!! @#$#@@#$#@#. Go through all the trouble shooting. Boot up the laptop to find out what I can do. Make things worse. @#$#@#$# And like a stubborn man not asking for directions, I refuse to ask anyone for help (like asking for help has helped me). So I spend about 5 days studying everything and come to the conclusion that I will reboot the computer and configure it to its original factory settings.

Viola! I was able to up load all my Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Trend Micro Security, and am now in the process of slowly uploading data, photos, videos and music. I know whats on this thing and where it is. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime, the electric garage door broke, the overhead light blew in my office-with the added complication that the lightbuld fell out of the screwed in socket when I barely touched it, daylight savings time came early and caused all sorts of technical glitches with the machines connected to clocks, and my grandkids (ages 2 and 3) played with my iPhone on the sneak and password locked me out of the thing. When we arrived home from our latest trip we discovered the battery in our 2 you Honda was dead. When you loose battery power the GPS conks out and you have to go through all kinds of voodoo and magic words to get it working again.

Technology--I love it and hate it!

Chechen Itza- Maya Ruins

2008-02-05T10:37:00.001-05:00

Here we are at one of the modern 7 wonders of the world. The Mayan Ruins at Chechen Itz. It was a 2.5 hour ride on a brutially uncomfortable bus. Howerver, our guide Ludwig (Belgian who married a Mexican about 20 years ago--he worked at Club Med) was most excellent delivering a lively commentary in both English and French. Our driver was good too except that when we started out he took us to the airport first our guide said that he goes to the airport everyday and it was just a habit because he hadn't had his coffee yet:)

Dick is standing front of the giant pyramid. It was damaged in the last hurricane and no one is allowed to go inside or near it until the restorations are complete. It is not safe right now. It just amazes me that these ruins have lasted mellinia with the sort of weather they have here.

The Mayan civilization rivaled that of Roman, Greek or Egypt. They invented the most accurate calender of all mankind. Their engineering, and mathematics were very sophisticated. They had weaving, writing, a complex religion. This pyramid is situated on a axis so that each season is marked and the time of day is marked. If you stated in from of the steps and clap the return echo sounds like a quetzle bird (a sort of parrot). The limestone blocks when struck with another stone sound metalic. Obviously the Mayas used all these properties to make thier buildings, stadiums and homes awesome. Sort of a Seng Fui in Mayan.

We saw a hube stadium where the Maya's played a form of soccer. Our guide showed us a painting that I took a photo of. I don't think they wore feather's or other decoration because the sport is pretty athelitic and somewhat violent. No more so that if you combined American football, World soccer, Hockey and LaCrosse. The King had a platform on one end of the stadium and the Highpriest on the other. The spectators stood or sat on top of the wall on each side of the field.

Super Bowl Sunday at Club Med Cancun

2008-02-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

Dick has been able to get some tennis in most days. This is his partner today. A very lovely lady from Belgium I think. They are playing doubles with a French couple.

While Dick plays tennis I wander around and do other things. I met "Lexus" the iguana near the tennis courts. He seemed rather unfazed as I jockey around trying to get a good photograph of him. Obviously he has not learned his best photo angle. Keeps turning his head the wrong way. But I was able to get the shot out of about 20.

This is where I goe snorkelying. The reefs are starting to recover nicely from Hurricane Wilma. She was the Category 5 Hurricane that devasted Cozumel and Cancun two years ago. I was able to see several types of coral, some colorful fish, a few big fish. I will probably go out again when Dick plays tennis

Finally, here is just one shot from our Super Bowl Party. The US staff dressed up as referees and cheer leaders. There were two large screens with an excellent sound system that broadcast the game all over the public space. The game was live, Fox News, and narrated in Spanish by a pair of comentators who spoke Spanish and a fellow live by the field that also spoke live and in Spanish. We sat with some Brazil and Mexican folks and tried to give a commentary on what the big "fiesta" is likie for our families at home. Everyone thinks the party idea is great and party we did. There was Corona Beer on tap, a huge buffet with hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs and chicken wings with all the side. There was about 400 of us enjoying the game and/or party. What did I get from the game? As the comentator said, " Senor Manning el passe es completo, oy, oy, oy."

Cancun-XCARAT

2008-02-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

We went to an eco village/zoo last night and had an awemsome experience.

I floated through an underground river. It was brackish water and the closer I got to the finish the more salty and greater the current. The underground river, really a river in a cave, lets out into the ocean. They have bars at the end of the tunnel so you don't get swept out to see. It was about a one mile journey. I was in a life jacket that was more like a harness. So I just sort of adjusted the straps so I could sit and used my arms as oars. Most people put on snorkel gear. They were exhauseted when they got to the end (about one mile), me I just paddled along minding my own business and was as fit and rested as could be by the time I got to the end.

We then ate ice cream and went to the most terrific show I have ever seen. It was an extravaganza of dance, music, sport, and history combined. The theme was the history of Mexico from the Mayan civilization to the present. We saw a demonstration of Mayan soccer and another exhibition of a sort of Mayan field hockey/la crosse played with a flaming ball. Intoxicating. This is a show that you have to see to really appreciate. http://www.xcaret.com/performances.php

This is Albert the resident Crocadile. He lives in the lagoon. That is where I am trying to water ski. An incentive to get up and stay up on the skis.

Club Med- Cancun

2008-02-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

Club Med has grown up with my generation, or my generation has grown up with Club Med. This is a family resort and there is a nice mix of young families, a few singles, older adults and much older adults. Pretty nice. Here are a few views from outside our room on what they call our lounge. Just like on the Princess Ship we have a corner room overlooking the best of everything (in my opinion).

Here I am trying to water ski. The operative word here is trying. I skied when I was a teenager a few times and a time or two since. So the sensation of all that power pulling me out of the water is wierd. Once I get over that fear I think I can take a turn around the lagoon.

Here I am out in the lounge area and the people are doing water aerobics. Why am I not in the pool? Good question. I think it is a bit, change that to --way too atheltic for me. My muscles are still hurting from the ski adventure earlier. Dick is playing tennis every day.

Volcanoes

2008-01-31T10:03:00.000-05:00

Volcanoes have been a interesting feature of the landscape and one of the reasons the Panama Canal is where it is. Nicaragua has too many volcanoes. In fact when the Congress in early 20th century was trying to vote (or maybe in was a commission) there was an active eruption in Nicaragua near the place where the canal would be. So here are some volcanoe photos mostly from Nicaragua and from the air as we flew over Mexico. These are all active volcanoes .

The photo of me was taken in a plaza in Nicaragua. A street performer pulled me out of the crowd to do a little salsa dancing. (Note to self-to avoid future embarrassement take Salsa lesson here at Club Med)

This parrot gave the crowd a real performance. Everyone was trying to get him to talk in every language. He would just cock his head, almost as if he was laughing at us. So finally I pipe up in my wicked witch voice and say, "Hola" He blinks at me cocks his head and lets out the same wicked witch "Hola". The moral of this story is that parrots in Mexico speak Spanish.

Cancun

2008-01-31T09:55:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Cancun two nights ago. Are now comfortably situated in Club Med. Dick is doing tennis and I am doing the beach. The night life is just below our room so we don't even have to stir to hear the entertainment. Nice.

Had an interesting question from a woman who heard about our travels. She and her husband just retired and she wanted to know what we thought was the best place, best cruise line and best resort. So here is my opinion. Thialand is hands down the best place to be. The best cruise and resort for the value is Princess Cruise Line and Club Med. Both locations have happy employees so that makes for happy times.

This is a lovely picture of Dick taken from our balcony on the Island Princess. That is Nicaragua in the back ground. I new country for Dick. He thinks his count is up to 109 countries so far. Impressive.

Leaving Alcapulco

2008-01-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

We leave Acalpulco tomorrw morning. We go to Cancun via a stop over in Mexico City. The hotel here in Las Brisas has been totally lovely. Our casita has it's own pool which I am in most of the time. It also overlooks the Bay which is stunning. Dick likes the bit that we are about 100 paces from the Sunset bar that is only open for two hours at sunset. Tonight will be our last stop at the Sunset Bar. We were able to get a good look at Cunard's new ship the Queen Victoria. She is smaller that the QM2 but her horn as that deep throaty blast that I fell in love with when I was on the original Queen Mary. Her lines while not as elegant as the QM2 are still very lovely.

Next stop is Club Med in Cancun. Wish I had my granddaughters with me. They all love the water and ocean and we could have tons of fun.

By the way I do love comments. It makes me feel that I am talking to real people. I quit praying, meditating and talking to the saints because they never could get a dialogue going with me. oh well......

Our Cruise Part is Comin to an End

2008-01-25T10:54:00.000-05:00

Visited Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatamala in Air Conditioned buses. Who knew I would need winter clothes to sit in a bus to see a tropical rain forest?

Today we have a brief port stop in Hualtco and then it's to Alacapalco tomorrow. We stay for three days at the Las Brises Resort. No air conditioning I hope.

Panama Canal Transit

2008-01-21T06:28:00.000-05:00

"The Path Between the Seas" by Daved McCullough is an excellent, accurate and readable history of the struggle by the French and the US to build the Panama Canal.

Yesterday Dick and I hung out on our balcony all day (about 12 hours) to view the passage. What an awesome, beautiful, brillant big of engineering and a testament to human intelligence and dogged perseverance.

We went through the canal in 2002 and were able to see quite a few changes. There is now a huge bridge (for those in Delaware it is similiar in construction to the one over the CD canal), the big ditch through the Culebra cut is much wider and there are new locks being built. There are also alot of new skyscrapers in Panama City and more antennas on the numerous hills.

The part that struck me were the passengers on board. All of us had red sun touched faces and arms. We all walked around the ship last night in a happy, dazed, awed, and tired .It's hard work hanging over a balcony on a ship ordering room service for breakfast, lunch and dinner, guzzeling water, toasting the canal with champagne, wave at the tug boat workers, and stare at the dozens of huge cargo ships from China , cheer the passengers on the Van Gogh a cruise shiop that went throught the canal with us. I think the most fun was at the last lock before the exit to the Pacific. A new four story pavalion has been built and each gallery facing the canal was packed with folks that came just to watch our ship go through the canal. Our ship is so huge that the crowd gave four sections of a rousing cheer to us as we slowly went past. Of course we all hooted and hollered back and it was a very festival feeling. A very sharing, happy feeling. I did my best to do an Evita Peron imitation from my balcony (that Dick captured on the camera) and I got to exercise my hoot that I perfected as my kids went through years of sport and drama, band and other activities that needed a cheering section. Dick just laughs at me with pleased amusement.

I Am At The Mercy of a Lousy Signal

2008-01-19T20:14:00.000-05:00

It has taken me a full 10 minutes from the time I logged on and answered every inane question the ship's computer could ask. Well, now I am here and so aggrivated that I forgot all the good things I wanted to write about.

We had a port stop in Curacao where I went to Mambo Beach for five hours of sunning. Dick stayed on the ship and did laundry. We then went to Aruba where he got off and walked around and I took and Island tour. The main attraction on the Island tour was a chance to see the natural bridge that is featured in post cards. Except, we get there and the guy tells us the natural brindge collapsed in a storm in 2005. But the gift shop is still there and we can see the lava rocks on the beach.

Today we sailed into Cartagena, Columbia. The first thing the guide wanted us to know was how safe Columbia is now under the new president. The gurillas and drug lords have been reduced by 65%. The sky line of the new Cartagena looks like any other big city with skyscrapers. I did a log canoe ride through a Mangrove Canal. This is a natural canal that is not allowed to be cut but the people that live there can push the Mangrove's back by hand ????? I was able to get some nice photos of the kids in the water. Saw red crabs, blue crabs, a heron, jumping fish.

We then went for a walk in the Old Town. Very Spanish, with ornate balconies with flowers and plants on them. We went by the large Catholic Cathederal that was started in the 16th century. Heard some lovely choir music. Our guide said there was a big wedding tonight. An American and a Columbian were getting married and then basically rented most of Old Town to have their reception. He told us they were very rich. We were then ushered into an emerald store where out guide said we would be given complemantary coke and water. We got the hard sell and no drinks. A few folks asked where the drinks were and the bathroom. We all used the bathroom but he only came up with three bottles of a strange strawberry 'light' drink in bottles. I did find a vendor an bought 500g of Columbian coffee and then it was time to go back to the ship. I did get some really nice photos that I can't upload because this computer is not reading SD cards tonight.

The best things i have liked so far are the sunrises and sun sets. Sitting on the balcony sunning and talking to Dick. Looking at all the expensive jewerly in the shops. Watching the shows, listening to the jazz band, listening to the string quartent and watching the comedian/juggler tonight. Tomorrow we have the all day adventure of going throught the Panama Canal. I love to see the big cargo ships and have seen more of them the closer we get to the canal. Dick and I are trying not to gain weight on this trip so we have agreed not to have desserts, more than two starches a day, include lots of fish, veges and fruits. So far so good.

Dick's Private Tour of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

2008-01-14T18:38:00.000-05:00

Our hotel is in 'New San Juan.' If I didn't have a name for this location I would swear I was in downtown Miami. Same stores, scenery, cultural mix--nothing unique that tells me this is San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Dick has been to this location many times--for work and tourism. So he took me to Old San Juan via a $14 taxi ride. The hotel staff clued us in on the fare, fare's are negotiable.

We first went to the old fort named Costillo del Morro. It was built by the Spanish. They held control of the fort for four centuries, against such noble foes as the Dutch and British. The location is totally defenseable by the meagerist, most untrained (incompetent) personnel. The fort itself has rock walls from 8 to 18 feet thick. It was built in three tiers. The first tier was to launch red hot cannon balls at the hulls of ships. The intent was to burn the wooden hulls. The second tier contained cannon capable of lobbing iron balls onto the decks and masts of enemy ships thus disabling them. The third tier was for the artillery to lob off the land invasion if it even got that far.

By the way Columbus discovered this island in 1493 and Ponce de Leon named it Puerto Rico.

We walked into town and saw the Cathederal where I sat and made a devotion to the Madonna holding the infant Jesus. The pose was very like Michelangelo's Pieta with the adult Jesus but this was about a two year old infant in the same pose and Mary had a very happy expression on her face. Nearby the Catherderal was The Conventa Hotel. Before it was a hotel it was a very lovely convent. Inside you could see an old tapestry with a biblical scene, many holy water fonts at doorways, grill work seperating the convent from the outside and and lovely courtyard turned into a cafe.

Next we went to an attraction that Dick remembered from 20 or so years ago. Called The Butterfly Gallery. Back in the day it was a gallery with preserved butterflies made into art and a restaurant. The restaurant went by the way side years ago and just the gallery remained. This part of the Caribbean and Central America is home to more butterfly species than just about any place in the world.

Our next stop was the best Puerto Rican restaurant in Old Town. It is called Restaurante Barrachina. It was founded by a Spanish chef from Valencia in the 1950's. In 1963 a noted (I forgot his name) bartender created the Pina Colada. Frozen Pina Colada's sans the rum are served to every customer. Dick ordered a baked Red Snapper filet with white wine sauce and I ordered the chef's special a Red Snapper with Shrimp and Creaole Sauce. The Creaole sauce was lightly seasoned and the spice could be added to taste at the table. Excellent food and highly recommended.

We walked off the calories by taking a stroll past the govenor's mansion still decked out for Chirstmas. We ended up at Pigeon Park. A lovely little plaza near the water that is filled, loaded, stuffed with pigeons. The cooing of hundreds of pigeons has to be experienced. It is acutally quite a relaxing sound.

Deacon Joe's Homily

2008-01-14T07:33:00.000-05:00

BAPTISM OF THE LORD
JANUARY 13, 2008
MATTHEW 3:13-17
GOD ANOINTED HIM WITH HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH POWER.
WHEN WE STOP AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND US, WE CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER AND WORRY AT ALL THE UNCERTAINTY THAT SEEMS TO BE FACING US. RECENTLY WE’VE LEARNED THAT WE MAY BE ON THE BRINK OF A RECESSION. THE PRICE OF OIL HAS REACHED A RECORD OF $98.00 PER BARREL, UNEMPLOYMENT HAS RISEN 5%, TWO MILLION PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO LOSE THEIR HOMES, THE PRICES OF THINGS WE BUY AND THE VALUE OF THE HOME WE LIVE IN --- ARE ALL THREATENED. IN ADDITION THE GOVERNMENT HAS BORROWED 9 TRILLION DOLLARS WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICIT. HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE GOING OUT OF SIGHT. OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM IS IN TROUBLE. THERE ARE MORE HOMELESS AND HUNGRY PEOPLE THAN EVER BEFORE. AND IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO WHERE THE DECISIONS OF A FEW BASED ON MONEY AND PROFIT, WILL AFFECT THE LIVES OF MILLION OF PEOPLE. ADD ALL THIS TO OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS AND WE MAY REALIZE IT IS A TIME WHEN WE NEED TO BE RENEWED, RESTORED, REPLENISHED AND EVEN RECREATED IN ORDER TO FACE ALL THE UNCERTAINTY.
IN TODAY’S GOSPEL, A FAR MORE MOMENTOUS DECISION IS MADE THAT AFFECTS ALL MAN KIND. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY, THE THREE PERSON OF THE HOLY TRINITY ARE DISCLOSING THEMSELVES TO THE WORLD AT THE BAPTISM OF JESUS IN THE JORDAN RIVER.
IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT THAT YOU ARE THERE AT THE JORDAN WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU NOTICE THE CHANGE THAT COMES OVER JOHN AS JESUS STANDS BEFORE HIM SEEKING BAPTISM! JOHN IS PROTESTING THAT IT IS HE WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED BY JESUS. JESUS IS PERSISTING, HOWEVER, THAT JOHN SHOULD BAPTIZE HIM IN ORDER “TO FULFILL ALL OF GOD’S DEMANDS.” SO JOHN GIVES IN. AFTER JESUS WAS BAPTIZED HE CAME DIRECTLY OUT OF THE WATER. SUDDENLY, THE SKY OPENED AND HE SAW THE SPIRIT OF GOD DESCEND LIKE A DOVE AND HOVER OVER HIM. WITH THAT, A VOICE FROM THE HEAVENS SAID, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON. MY FAVOR RESTS ON HIM.”
THE LINES FROM THE SPIRITUAL SONG “HE HAS ANOINTED ME” SPEAK TO THE CONDITION OF US ALL. “SOMETIMES I FEEL DISCOURAGED, AND THINK MY WORK IN VAIN. BUT, THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT REVIVES MY SOUL AGAIN.” THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE NEED TO BE REVIVED. WE NEED TO BE RENEWED, RESTORED, REPLENISHED --- RECREATED IF YOU WILL. AND WE CAN GET EXCITED WHEN WE HEAR THE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS TALKING ABOUT HOW IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO DOES THE RENEWING. INDEED, SOME OF US MAY HAVE FRIENDS TODAY WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT WHAT A CHANGE HAS COME OVER THEIR LIVES SINCE THE “RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”, OR SINCE THEY HAVE BEEN “BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT,” OR “FEEL EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.”
SOME OF US MAY FIND OURSELVES WONDERING, “WHAT IS THIS?...WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?...IS THIS GIFT MEANT FOR ME?...HOW DO I RECEIVE IT?...IS IT POSSIBLE THAT MY SOUL CAN BE REVIVED AND RENEWED AND RESTORED AND REPLENISHED AND RECREATED?
AS WE HAVE JUST HEARD IN TODAY’S GOSPEL, JESUS RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT HIS BAPTISM IN THE JORDAN RIVER. AND WHEN THE GIFT CAME TO HIM IN THE BAPTISMAL EXPERIENCE (LITERALLY EMPOWERING HIM FOR MINISTRY AS MESSIAH) IT CAME TO HIM VERY GENTLY --- SO PEACEABLY IN FACT THAT THE SYMBOL USED TO DESCRIBE THE EVENT WAS A DOVE---ONE OF THE GENTLEST OF BIRDS.
AS FAR AS THE DISCIPLES WERE CONCERNED, THEY DIDN’T RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UNTIL AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. ON THE LAST NIGHT OF HIS LIFE, IN THE UPPER ROOM WHERE JESUS WAS AT THE TABLE WITH HIS CLOSET FRIENDS, HE MADE A PROMISE: THROUGH HIM, THE FATHER, WOULD SEND THEM THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT --- A COMFORTER, AN ADVOCATE, A COUNSELOR. THE WORD FOR THIS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS “PARACLETE.” AND IT’S DIFFICULT TO TRANSLATE. BUT IT HAS TO DO WITH THE KIND OF POWER THAT COMFORTS...REVIVES
...RESTORES...RENEWS...REPLENISHES...RECREATES!! JESUS PROMISED THE DISCIPLES THAT THEY WOULD RECEIVE SUCH POWER FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT AND IT WOULD ENABLE THEM TO DO EVEN GREATER WORKS THAN HE HAD DONE:
“TRULY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL ALSO DO THE WORKS THAT I DO; AND GREATER WORKS THAN THESE WILL HE DO.” (JOHN 14:12).
THIS VERSE IS SO MIND BLOWING THAT IT JUST PASSES RIGHT BY MOST OF US. JESUS IS SAYING THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU WILL HAVE THE POWER, YOU WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DO MIGHTIER WORKS THAN HE DID.
AND WE KNOW FROM SCRIPTURE THAT JESUS KEPT HIS PROMISE. HE APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES IN HIS RISEN BODY AND HE GIVES THEM THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND, AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, IT WAS A GENTLE, PEACEFUL EXPERIENCE. BUT LATER, ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, WHEN JESUS’ FOLLOWERS HAD GATHERED TOGETHER IN JERUSALEM, THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS GIVEN TO THEM ALL. AND THIS TIME THE GIFT CAME NOT GENTLY, BUT IN THE FORM OF A MIGHTY WIND AND IN THE FORM OF FIRE. FROM THAT TIME ON, OF COURSE, THE NEW TESTAMENT BECAME THE BOOK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED THE WRITING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE HOLY SPIRIT MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THOSE NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANS THAT IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THEY WERE TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
THIS IS EVIDENT IN OUR SECOND READING FROM ACTS. IT’S A STORY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH IN JERUSALEM. PETER WAS AT THE HOME OF CORNELIUS, A ROMAN PAGAN. TO PETER, THE GOODNESS OF CORNELIUS AND THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THAT HOUSE BECAME EVIDENT. THE EXPERIENCE SURPRISED PETER. HE HAD GROWN UP IN A CULTURE THAT BELIEVED THE JEWS WERE THE ONLY CHOSEN PEOPLE. BUT, LISTEN TO PETER’S WORDS NOW. “I HAVE COME TO REALIZE THAT GOD DOES NOT HAVE FAVORITES. ANYONE OF ANY NATIONALITY WHO DOES RIGHT IS ACCEPTABLE TO HIM.”
NOW IT WAS CLEAR TO HIM!! GOD SENT HIS WORD FIRST TO ISRAEL THROUGH JESUS, BUT JESUS WAS THE LORD OF ALL PEOPLES.
SO PETER INSTRUCTED CORNELIUS. HE TOLD THE STORY OF JESUS; HOW JESUS BEGAN IN GALILEE, WAS ANOINTED WITH THE SPIRIT, AND WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD TO ALL. HE IS THE ONE. GOD WAS WITH HIM.
PETER’S EXPERIENCE IN THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS MADE CLEARER HIS OWN UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS’ LIFE AND GOD’S SAVING ACTION FOR ALL.
OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN MAKE THAT KIND OF DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE --- IN YOU AND IN ME. OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO GO FORWARD IN THE QUEST TO BECOME THE UNIQUELY BEAUTIFUL PERSONS GOD CREATED US TO BE. OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN EMPOWER US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF OUR CARING PRESENCE: OUR COMPASSION, OUR CONCERN, OUR MATERIAL AND MORAL SUPPORT. IT MIGHT BE A NEIGHBOR WHO IS GOING THROUGH A TERRIBLE GRIEF EXPERIENCE, OR A PARENT WHO’S TEENAGER HAS JUST RUN AWAY FROM HOME, OR A FRIEND OR RELATIVE WHO IS FINANCIALLY STRAPPED, OR A STRANGER WHO NEEDS A HELPING HAND, OR SOMEONE IN PRISON WHO IS DESPERATELY LONELY OR SOMEONE IN THE HOSPITAL WHO NEEDS A TENDER, HEALING TOUCH. WHATEVER IT MAY BE, YOU CAN CARRY THE POWER OF GOD INTO THAT SITUATION, IF YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT FIRST YOU MUST KNOW JESUS... AND LOVE HIM... AND LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING... AND ALLOW HIS PRESENCE TO BECOME REAL TO YOU. THEN, WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT, AND JUST IN THE RIGHT WAY --- EITHER GENTLY AND PEACEABLY OR WITH BELLS RINGING AND CYMBALS CLANGING (LIKE A DOVE OR LIKE A FIRE, WHICHEVER WAY IS RIGHT FOR YOU) --- THE GIFT WILL BE GIVEN. BUT ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS.
THAT’S THE STUMBLING BLOCK FOR MANY OF US: WE DON’T KNOW JESUS --- EVEN THE SIMPLEST THINGS ABOUT HIM. A PROFESSOR OF RELIGION AT A LARGE UNIVERSITY ALWAYS GAVE A LITTLE TEST ON JESUS AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH COURSE. HE WOULD ASK SIMPLE QUESTIONS AS: “NAME THREE DISCIPLES OF JESUS... QUOTE TWO BEATITUDES OF JESUS ... NAME THE BAPTIZER OF JESUS.” ORDINARILY, THE RESULTS WERE DISAPPOINTING AND THE PROFESSOR SAID HE BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THE MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS CAN’T ANSWER THE SIMPLEST QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY. HE SAID THE FIRST TIME HE GAVE THE LITTLE TEST, HE ASKED, “WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF JESUS?” ONE STUDENT ANSWERED “JESUS WAS AN IMPORTANT PROPHET” --- NOT A BAD ANSWER, EXCEPT THAT THE STUDENT SPELLED THE WORD PROPHET,
P-R-O-F-I-T. THAT ANSWER BECAME A LITTLE CLEARER IN THE PROFESSOR’S MIND WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THE STUDENT WAS A BUSINESS MAJOR!
NOW AS THE SAYING GOES, THE NEXT MOVE IS OURS. WHY GO ON FEELING DISCOURAGED WHEN SO MUCH MORE IS AVAILABLE TO US. REMEMBER, THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN SAID, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON. MY FAVOR REST ON HIM.” IN A SIMILAR WAY, GOD CHOOSES US AT OUR OWN BAPTISM, TO BECOME BELOVED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE MOST HIGH --- AND HIS FAVOR RESTS ON US --- AS WE LISTEN TO JESUS WORDS AND EMBRACE HIS LIFE --- IN OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER ---THROUGH THE STRENGTH AND LOVE OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT --- WHO ENLIGHTENS US AND LEADS US TO ALL TRUTH.
LET US PRAY ---LORD, JESUS, THE HEAVENS ARE OPEN. POUR YOUR SPIRIT UPON US, HELP US TO SEE YOUR KINGDOM MORE FULLY. MAKE US MORE CONSCIOUS OF YOU KINGDOM, EMPOWER US AND TRANSFORM US.
MAY THE GRACE OF GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT BE WITH YOU NOW AND FOREVER!!

Red Hats By the Bay

2008-01-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

The Hyatt in Cambridge hosted a Red Hat event this past week. It is off season on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Not exactly prime vacation time. One of neighbors who belongs to the Red Hats and works at the Hyatt has organized for the second year a lovely event for us dye hard Hatters. How about that view from my room?

For $99 we get a room and use of the hotel, a lovely buffet dinner, pajama bingo, and breakfast. At breakfast we had a hat contest with the grand prize a three day/two night off season stay at the Hyatt. Not bad.

Enjoy the photos

A New Adventure Begins

2008-01-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

This morning we woke before dawn. Our driver, Larry from a local limo company, came to take Dick, me, and our luggage to BWI (Baltimore-Washington International) airport. As daylight slowly appeared it was bleak and cold--this is January after all. And that is why we were winging our way aboard an American Airlines 757 to San Juan Puerto Rico.

Our only in flight adventure was a brief few minutes of turbulance. About as much turbulance as I have ever experienced if you take away the time I was approaching Dallas airport and hit wind sheer three times. All that happened was some sloshing of the liquids in the bottle and glass. Dick handled this much better than I. That is Orange Juice and Champagne that I am trying to keep in the glass.

We landed in sunny San Juan and our huge jet taxied up to the gate. We sat and waited for the mechanical passageway to hook onto our door. And we waited. The pilot finally told us that the airport didn't know we were there. Like, how can you miss seeing a big silver 757 slowly approaching the airport terminal?

Other than that bit of comedy, I have been very impressed by how the airport personnel shuffled plane loads--from BWI,Dulles, Charlotte--all arriving at once and getting us out of there in good time. From the time we landed (rather walked off the plane) until we checked in our hotel it was about 20 minutes. An hour after we landed I was sun bathing by the pool. Very lovely.

Our room at the Merriott overlooks the ocean. We ate dinner up at the lounge at the top of the building and watched the sun set. We then walked on the beach a bit. Inside was a very hot Salsa band. Now we are in the room Watching Football. How about that San Diego/Indianapolis game. The non football types here were even excited.

Best of all I have unlimited connectivity on the internet. Whooppee!

AARGH

2008-01-11T17:57:00.000-05:00

and double aargh! We got home if fine form, no broken furnace this time. But when I went to turn on my desk top---no power! Did all the trouble shooting that HP help and support said to. Finally got down to the box where it said to 'contact service provider.' Did that to the tune of $35 and he said nothing was wrong. Brought the thing home, plugged it in and the little green light on the back started blinking again. That means trouble. Since the shop guy didn't have a problem I called the home service guy and he said 'yeah you have a problem.' Cost me $65 to find out what I already knew.

So he took the processor back to the first guy and he said ' Yup you have a problem.' OK so fix it!. It is the power supply box that is being shorted out by the dial up modem--so take out the dial up modem as I use High speed. Well, he had another problem. He does not have the power supply box that fits. Has to order it and needs to have it prepaid. I suggested that since I already plunked down a bunch of $ for service that I should be entitled to some service. They talked to the accounts lady and she said that I have to prepay for the part but that labor will not be charged since I payed for so much service.

We leave again on Sunday for another month long travel adventure so my poor desk top processor will have to languish in the shop until 10 Feb.

I tell you all this because I haven't been lax about the blog , just technology frustrated. My trusty laptop decided that it wanted to have problems of another nature---namely memory. So I have been fiddling with the memory for the past week. I think I have things sorted out. But I am running out of time in terms of updating the old blogs while my life has gone full tilt with bunches of new adventures. Then I start all over again on Sunday with my travel adventures.

Happy New Year--Somewhere in the Atlantic

2008-01-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year. The party last night was the best. But I will have to blog about that later. We left the port at St. Thomas last evening and the Captain set a course for New York City. The entire ship partied into the wee hours and so did I--for those of you that don't know me I usually go to bed about 9 pm and read until I fall asleep. Not last night though..

Well, the ships horn sounded the noon hour. The eight bells in the lobby were struck and The Captain came on with an update on our location and the weather. I am totally excited.

We are about to enter a cold front. This means gale force winds and 15 to 20 ft. seas--according to the Capt. QM2 was built as an ocean liner and can handle these conditions with narry a blink. But I have never seen gale force winds at sea nor 20 ft waves so you can bet I will try to get as close to the action as I safely can be it in a lounge at wave level or the balcony if they let us out. Our room has a protected balcony so at least I can stand out there and enjoy the weather. Dick however, is not so enthusiastic. He related to me all his sea sick stories over a Bloddy Mary and a Golden Margarieta a few moments ago.

Tomorrow is our last sea day as we dock in New York City early on the 3rd. Should be at our home in Easton by early afternoon at the latest.

Happy New Year to Everyone. And Lance and Nadia are you Grandparents Yet??????

Dominica

2007-12-29T05:42:00.000-05:00

We I have traverler's amnesia. I have no clue what the date, day or time is. I just know that we are docking in Dominica today and I Have to be i the main lounge by 0815 to catch my tour group.
Yesterday dad's friend the Dr. and I went for a high energy, high adreline rush. We sighned up for a yatch race. Not just any yatch. The one that actually, really have done the Volvo round the world race, the Sydiney to Hobart race and big things like that. It took 12 QM2 passengers and five seasoned crew to man our boat the Martella. We raced a motley crew aboard the Athena. They were a land lubbing crew spending the holidays at a local beach resort and also signed up for this race. Worked out well as we got a QM2 vs Canada rivalry going. We yelled and hollered to support our crew and harrass the other (famous quote "Kiss my wind you bloody lubbers"). As the boat tacked we all stumbled from one side to the other to 'sit the rail" some of the more athletic folks manned the winchers. It was great fun and Martell won the race. We had a victory party afterwords.

Boxing Day at Sea

2007-12-26T10:05:00.001-05:00

Boxing Day 2007

We are in Curacao today just a 6 hour port stop. Neither of us is going ashore as we have been here before and we have a lot of tidying up to do.

60th Birthday Celebration
The day was full of surprises. Dick gave me a lovely romantic card which I shall treasure forever. Our tour of Tortola was wonderful and we saw many wonderful island sights. Aboard ship I went to the Canyon Ranch Spa for a massage, got my hair cut and styled and then it was time for dinner. Dick treated our table to wine, the waiter delivered a lovely Birthday Cake and the staff and our table sang Happy Birthday (off key naturally). After the festivities I snuck my computer up to the Kings Court Diner and ducked into an unused service area. It is one of the few areas where I can pick up the WiFi signal. As I was reading my email a lovely lady popped her head over the partition and invited me to use the table next to them as it would be more comfortable. I explained that I was quite happy in my little corner and that I was reading Birthday emails and really didn’t want to intrude on the guests as I read and reacted to the emails (as many of you know I can get rather excited and emotional over such things). We exchanged a few pleasantries and she did find out that it was a special birthday. Shortly after this encounter and lovely young ships waiter dressed to the nines came by. He said that the Food and Beverage Director (whose wife I had spoken to) invited me to the Queens Court Lounge (this is the lounge for the elite first class passengers only—meaning that it is strictly enforced) for a birthday drink. We sat in the elegantly appointed room and he asked if I liked champagne. Of course I do. He came back with a glass of the golden bubbly. One little whiff and I knew it was going to be better than any I had ever had. One sip and I knew that not only was it good but it was quite easily the best ever. So I asked what it was. With a slow smile he trilled off a double French sounding name that I could not catch and said that it was exclusive to that lounge and in fact it was from Queen Elizabeth’s own personal reserve. It was the best and most expensive champagne on board the ship. I savored every tiny sip as the Lounge director chatted me up. My dear husband planned a day I will forever hold dear in my memory. Complete with a full moon and a lovely rainbow from horizon to horizon as we left port. It was a lovely day filled with surprises, and except for the bit about the champagne at the end Dick had planned it all….well maybe not the rainbow but I like to believe he arranged that also.

Christmas Eve
We spent the day in St. Maartin. We shopped a bit and then put in with two other couples to take a taxi drive around the island. St. Maartin is French on one side, Dutch on the other. On the Dutch side there is traffic (we sat in a DC beltway gridlock for ages). Also, the Dutch side has an awful lot of contstruction going on. The French side was more rural. We saw a couple of cattle ranches. We also stopped at a beach next to an ‘optional’ beach. We could stroll on this beach but not take pictures. My preference was to sit on the other side and enjoy a Bahama Mama and sausage and look at the holiday crowds enjoying themselves.

Back at the ship the staff was in full gear finishing the last of the Christmas preparations. There was live music from all the lounges and harpist at dinner all playing Christmas music. We were kept aware of Santa’s whereabouts in the world and assured that he would find our ship. In the evening we gathered around the tree in the atrium (crowding the rails on all four stories) and sang Christmas Carols. Later the Chef delighted us with a grand buffet in the atrium. There were midnight services for both Protestant and Catholic and filled both theatres. We were told the QE2 was about a mile from our ship and Santa would visit both ships.

Christmas Day.

A festive day at sea. Santa did come via a motor boat and climbed up the gangway with about ten bags of wrapped gifts. The jazz band paraded him though the public places as the children joined the parade to the ball room. There Santa sat in a comfy chair—quite pooped and out of breath; a busy fellow with billions around the world to visit. The babies were invited up first to get their Santa gift (naturally the wee ones were terrified and Santa invited them back next year). Then each age was called. There are about 400+ kids from infants to rowdy teenagers on board. The little ones received plush stuffed animals.

Dinner was a formal affair it was grand to see everyone even the littlest boys in their tux and the girls in their fancy Christmas dresses. We had lobster at dinner and plum pudding for dessert.

It’s a small world…the couple in the center are next door neighbors to my father. They are a very kind couple. We have assigned seating on the QE2 and our table mates are the best. We have a lively chat and a good time every evening.

2007-12-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

I AM 60 YO TODAY

2007-12-23T05:18:00.000-05:00

It is about 53o am and the QM2 is starting to drop anchor in the bay at Tortola-my very favorite Caribbean Island. Day is starting to creep up on the horizon and the lights on the island are starting to shut off. How lovely.

The ship has slowly been deocorated for the holidays. Each day we wake up there are a few more lights, trees and decorations (no live trees yet). Today the muzak is Christmas music.

We have a wonderful table of six people and are usually the last to leave our section. We have heard lectures on the history of the Caribbean, visited the 9000 vol. library, went to an afternoon tea dance, ball, stage entertainment, jazz concert, etc, etc.

I have to get into my sun dress and sunscreen for my birthday breakfast and our tour of the island. It is hot and humid here--just perfect.

NY City

2007-12-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

After an uneventful drive through DE and NJ we entered gridlock as we emerged from the Lincoln Tunnel. Took us 20 min to move a car length.

We eventually arrived at our hotel-The Marriott Marquis--and Dick surprised me with a room that over looked Times Square. I saw where the ball drops on New Years Eve, and all the flashing screens and buildings that are backdrops for the morning talk shows.

We walked in the rain that evening to see Rockefeller Center. Saw the big tree and the ice skaters. Because of the weather we went back to the hotel for dinner and then relaxed and watched the view from our window--Times Square.

The next morning we left the hotel for the Brooklyn terminal to board the Queen Mary II. It took hardly any time at all to go through all the security checks and settle on board. We were greated on the gang plank my Santa and his elves. Nice

We have four great table mates and one of the wives will be celebrating her birthday on 2 Jan. That makes two birthdays at our table. The highlight of the departure was to watch the Queen neatly slip under the Veranzono Bridge. It was brightly lit and an awesome sight.

Today is a sea day and we are going to relax with books we borrowed from the 9000 volumne collection on board the ship. I think it will take us the total two weeks just to explore all the nooks and crannies of this ship.

I brought along my scrap book of my voyage on the original Queen Mary and went to the cruise office and they upgraded me to silver status. That means I get another bottle of champagne. WaaaHooo. The ships Capt. dropped by at that moment and wants me to make an appointment with his secretary so he can spend a few minutes looking at my old stuff.

Last night was one of supprises as the stewards kept coming to the room to deliver a tropical floral arrangement, shopping bag, canapes, wine, cheese, port from our Travel Agent. We also recieved a 2ft decorated Christmas Tree from one of Dick's sons. Thanks for all the wonderful treats. We love them all. The Tree is starting to accumulate Christmas packages. Santa has found my location after all. Smart Fellow.

Our Bags Are Packed

2007-12-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

...and we are headed out for another adventure in less than an hour. YaHoo. We hired a driver to take us to New York City. NYC as in downtown Manhatten, Marriott, Times Square.

It's the Holidays so the city should be lovely. This will be my first time seeing the city lights at Christmas.

On Thursday another driver is taking us to the Cunard Terminal in Brooklyn. We will board the Queen Mary II for a 60th birthday (Catherine's), Christmas and New Years Cruise to the Caribbean.

I am sooooooo excited I fell asleep at 5:30 this morning. Read the light novel that I was going to take on the trip. Oh well....the literature about the QM II says they have a large library with 2 full time librarians. I should be able to find something.

Stay tuned as the adventure begins......

For Mary FrancEs

2007-11-24T07:30:00.000-05:00

Aka Aunt Fran: For all of you who have a hard time figuring out how to tell the gender difference in the name France[i]s

Francis -- His name
Frances --Her name

Side Bar Message---
How about shipping me a few of those cookies? I know that some of your recipes are from Nana. Nana's cookies were one of the brightest memories of my childhood. If you won't send me cookies how about emailing some recipes?

To answer your question---
Replying to the blog. I will guide you though in steps.

Scroll to the end of this message.

You will see dialogue that looks like this --"Posted by Catherine at 9:51 AM 0Comments"
On this line you will also see the icon of a little envelope with a black arrow in it
Gentle guide your mouse icon over the envelope
Hold still for a moment and you will see a little box appear that says "Email Post" This means that you can choose to send an email and your comments will only be seen by the person receiving the email.
A page appears that allows you to send an email to the "friend" you choose.
Note that your message can only be 300 characters
Also note "This feature is not to be used for advertising or excessive self-promotion."
Side Bar: In an extended family that has issues with self esteem going back into the misty generations of the past, I think a little "excessive self-promotion" may be a good thing. IMO[in my opinion]

Next: Maybe you want to leave a comment for all the blogs dear readers to enjoy. I think this is best. IMO it is fun to read blogs but I would dearly love to make comments to the author. I mean how wonderful would it be to exchange emails and comments with Shakespeare or Charles Dickens or JK Rowlings?

Put your cursor over the word "comments" at the end of the blog
You will see that it turns red. Click on that
A window will appear that has a dialogue box on the right
Type your comments in the box
Choose your identity--Since you don't have a blog of your own, or an identity you need to click on the "anonymous" box
You will also have to do a "word verification". The instructionas are to type in the characters you see above the box. This is a safety feature--I guess to filter out advitixors and other guilty of "excessive self-promotion"
After all of this you can publish your post--your words are forever out of your control
Or you can preview your post

If your not comfortable with those two options just send an email to my regular email box at cathie.mack @yahoo.com [ cathie dot mack at yahoo dot com]

So I will be checking my blog and email box all day to see if you got this message.

Veteran's Day 2007

2007-11-21T09:51:00.000-05:00

Dick and I spent the day-appropriately-at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. The drive across the Chesapeake was stunning. The skies were clear, light fall breeze, blue water and lots of sailboats out for a last perfect sailing day of the year. Annapolis was lovely also in it's fall colors. The leaves were just beginning to turn golden and red and a few fluttered to the ground. The view of the Naval Academy Chapel is at right. Dick and I were comfortable outdoors with business suits on.

We had a buffet brunch at the Naval Officers Club. We attended the brunch sponsored by The Maryland Branch of The Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. We found out the requirements to join this society are a bit more lax than the Mayflower Society. Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims is open to anyone that can prove their ancestor came over in the 17th Century.

Our speaker was John Page Williams, Senior Naturalist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He spoke about the "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail." If you ever get a chance to listen to his talk it is well worth your time. In 1608 Capt. John Smith came to the New World and put together his 30 foot 'discovery barge' (looked more like big row boat with a sail) and set off with twelve men to explore the Chesapeake Bay. What an adventure.

After the speaker we walked over to the Chapel at the Naval Academy for The 39th Annual Massing of the Colors. This is a ceremony that honors the Flag of the United States and those living and dead who have struggled to preserve it. Very beautiful ceremony.

Red Hats of Chesapeake

2007-11-18T08:50:00.001-05:00

Kudos to our November Event planners CM, ER, and BR. The girls deserve a huge round of applause for planning a very delightful afternoon despite the weather.

It was a very cold, very rainy, very blustery fall day but we Red Hats donned our colors and ventured to Cambridge, MD anyway. Our first stop was the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center. All thirteen of us in our soggy Red Hats and wet umbrellas were quite literally blown in off the street by the strong winds. We saw an excellent documentary about Harriet Tubman and her work. Tubman was born in the Cambridge, MD area and finally settled in Auburn, NY after assisting about 300 people to freedom. A volunteer, a local gentleman that was born in Cambridge, gave a very interesting talk about the creation of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Driving Tour through Dorchester and Caroline Counties.

This tour is something that I will most definitely include when visitors come to the Eastern Shore to visit.

Our brave Red Hatters went back out to the unpleasant elements and drove to the Hyatt in Cambridge. The resort is huge and hugs the banks of the Choptank River. The same river that James Michener made the focal point of his book Chesapeake. The people on Dorchester County are grateful for the jobs the hotel has created.

We had a lovely lunch at the glass enclosed porch of the Waterview Restaurant over-looking the Choptank River. After lunch we treated our two November Birthday Red Hatters to a special cake and the chance to wear 'the Birthday Hat' while the rest of sang Happy Birthday.

Next month we are off to a 'Girls Night Out' for a concert at the Avalon Theater and refreshment at the Tidewater Inn at Easton, MD.

Wholly Genes Cruise 2007- The Speakers

2007-11-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

Here is the group photo of all the speakers featured at the Wholly Genes 2007 Cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess. Kudos to the staff aboard the ship for accomadating all of us and our technology. Just to let you know how wonderful Princess Staff is--the last port of call at Princess Cays in the Bahamas was canceled due to the ravages of Hurricane Noel. Princess was left with the hefty responsibility of feeding and entertaining about 2500 hundred vacationing souls. The approx. 400 hundred of us 'dye hard' genealogy buffs wanted more lectures--can't get enough of our speakers. Princess made available the theatre for about 2.45 hours of time. A side bonus--Bob Velke and Cyndi Howells also pulled off a private viewing of the 1966 Disney film "Blackbeards Ghost" featuring Hank Jones (one of the speakers). Hank gave us an insiders talk and we harrassed him everytime he made an appearance in the film...which was quite often.

Robert Charles Anderson is very beloved by all of us with Early New England ancestors. He is the editor of The Great Migration project sponsored by New England History Genealogy Society in Boston. He gave a talk on writing stories about our ancestors. My fifteen minute one-on-one gave me some hints and resources to write my own family hisotry. Thanks Bob.

John Grenham is a native of Ireland and the world expert on Irish Genealogy...which can be a real can of worms. Dick and I had a 15 min. one-on-one session and he helped us set up a research strategy for a trip to Ireland next year. Dick has the Ulster-Scot immigrants and I have genuine mud hut Irish ancestors in County Cork, Limerick, and Clare.

Sandra Hewlett
Is another speaker I did not get to meet personally. What a loss for me. Her talk on "Internet Resources for Your British Reasearch" was most excellent. She gave Dick some good ideas for going around his brick walls.

Here is Barbara, a Tech support person, but she now does the digital book thing. She worked herself to death at the conference along with Bob Velke, his wife Kathy and

Phil DiSilva.

Below is Kent Riggins and his wife. Kent does writes the charting software in the program The Master Genealogist.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (The first Smolenyak is her maiden name the second Smolenyak is her married name--wierd thing, they did the DNA and they are not related at all) is a very charming lady. I did not get to interact with her but for a few brief moments. Her husband is the 'Wind Beneath Her Wings.' Check out her blog. She recorded the very first "Genealogy Wave."

Cyndi Howells is famous for her Cyndi's List on the Internet. She makes Internet Genealogy do-able. I did not get to spend any quality time with her. Would have loved too. But she is a genealogy hero to so many I did not have time to chat on this trip. Next time Cyndi!

Lee Hoffman wrote the user's book for The Master Genealogist. His home page is short on graphics but packed with lots of users tools, tips, stuff about himself, his wife and the house he built.

Dick Eastman is the author of Eastman's Online Newletter. I learned from him that a genealogist in today's world needs to back up our data, images, videos, music in digital format and save it on a disc, flash drive, online, on the hard drive, on the laptop, desktop, my sons hard drive, and even on line storage facilities. His newsletter is absorbing. There is the free version with a sense of his opinions and then the paid version with the whole scoop.

I've already mention Tony Burroughs. I found out during the course of the week the fellow is a fantastic photographer in addition to a knowledgable and entertaining speaker.

Here is Hank Jones and his wife. Hank is on my pedistal of genealogy heros. Why? Because he did all of my Palatine research for me and published it! He has three generations of the Shaffer family in his books and even found them in the small town of Ralsberg, Germany. How wonderful is that. If you check out his web site you will see that he is also a movie star. He was featured in the movier Blackbeard's Ghost-a Disney flick that is well worth owning and viewing with the grandkids over and over. Thanks Hank for your behind the scenes stories.

John Titford is a multi-talented fellow with a most lovely (and talented) wife. I took this video at the cocktail party on the last night. John sang many songs that our ancestors would have sung through the centuries. What a treat to hear the old ballads. But the best of all was the "Mystery Band". Here is our own Wholly Genes Band in their first ever performance before the public.

"The Wholly Genes Band " Debut aboard the Caribbean Princess 3 Nov 2007

Wholly Genes Cruise 2007 - At Sea

2007-11-08T09:29:00.000-05:00

We had three full days at see with 7 hours of lecture scattered during the day. Dick and I started the day with the room steward bringing our hot coffee and tea to the room. Above you will see the endless sea and our room as it looked in the AM.
A marvelous opportunity during this cruise occurred at breakfast. We could sign up to have breakfast with the speakers. These folks are the top of the line in the genealogy world. This morning I had a scheduled breakfast with Tony Borroughs (the handsome gentleman on the right). What a fantastic human being. He gave two lectures that were open to the public. In my opinion he could get a stone excited about looking for ancestors!

Here I am with Bob Velke, the Pres. of Wholly Genes and my first genealogy hero. He created and marketed the best genealogy software database in use today. Along with a very powerful database that does what "I" want it to, there is unlimited user support. I have had the experience of stumbling into a technology problem. When I have cornered Bob-or Barbara, or Phil, or Dorothy the question is answered or if it is a bug in the software it is fixed. How is that for tech support.? Wholly Genes users are wonderful diverse sort of folk. No matter where we go in the world, support is there. If you meet another Wholly Genes user you are immediately family. And boy, do we have fun when we get together!

St. Thomas

2007-11-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

A delightful little Island. St. Thomas is owned by the United States and has a very "American" cultural quality about it. I decided to take advantage of the balcony view today after I checked that the dock was on starboard side. We are on port side, aft cabin on the 14th deck.

So this was my view for the day. Delightful.
This a view of the harbor as we left the Island about 6PM. My camera is new to me. It's supposed to have an image stabilization feature built in. Guess I need to read the manual and figure out where it is.
John Cardinal was our cocktail hour speaker this evening. What a knowledgable, nice gentleman. Take some time to wander around his web site. I wish he had some pictures on the home page. He is one of the giants among giants on this genealogy cruise.

St. Martin

2007-10-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

We arrived in port this morning a few hours later than scheduled. The past few days we have been out running Tropical Storm Noel. He decided to take the same route, in reverse, that we were. Therefore, we had to go east towards Portugal to skirt the storm. This Caribbean cruise ended up being a mid Atlantic cruise for some time. We did have some high winds and rains but nothing more exciting than that. Finally, landed in St. Maartin. I plan to spend the day enjoying the view from our balcony and getting a massage.
Did I say something about enjoying the view from my Balcony? While I was taking a shower this high rise of the seas pulled in next to us. Obstructing MY island view!
The only positive part of this annoyance was our departure. The captains got into a ships horn blowing contest. What fun!!!This only incited the rowdy folks crowding the decks and balconies to get more rowdy. Did I mention this is Halloween Night?
The atrium is all deck out in Halloween themes and the staff has planned costume parades and a Beatles party tonight. I don't feel too much in the Halloween spirit though. Warm, balmy temps and azure seas are not part of my experience with Halloween. I am missing sitting on my porch with a huge bowl of candy interacting with all the kids that would come by the house on Halloween night. I miss making costumes for the kids. I miss eating stale Halloween candy. Oh well........
As compensation the ship's staff has taken pumpkin carving and decorating to a new art form. There were dozens of beautifully decorated pumpkins.

The genealogy aspect of the cruise has been wonderful. We have 31 hours of lectures and tutorials scheduled. In the spirit of the night Bob Velke, pres. and developer of the software The Master Genealogist (This link provides a very good review of my preferred genealogy software) fit a one hour tutorial between departure party and dinner.

Rockin' and Rollin'

2007-10-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

We (Dick and I) are somewhere in the Atlantic west of the Leeward Islands on the fringes of the Tropical Storm Noel. The winds are about 40-50 mph and the seas are swelling at about 10-15 ft. This is the week that Dick and I are on our Genealogy Cruise (sponsored by Wholly Genes) aboard the Caribbean Princess. The genealogy part is great.

I have already met Hank Z. Jones and talked to him. He is the fellow that researched the Palatine immigrants of 1709. Of course our Shaffer's were part of that migration.
We left Baltimore in the rain on Sat. afternoon. The ride to Ft. Lauderdale was a bit rocky. Arrived in the rain. Spent the night at the Hyatt Regency in Ft. Lauderdale (click here and take the virtual tour)-the view from our room was lovely--the falling waters tee on the golf course. There were lots of egrets and ducks providing entertaument. Also, the fish in the pond were popping up to catch the low flying insects. In the spirit of the moment I started counting the concentric circles of waves made by the fish. In this, not very scientific survey, I determined that the circles were always an odd number.
We met about 2/3 of the 4oo cruise passengers at the hotel and never lacked for stimulating conversation. The rule is--if you patiently listen to my family stories, I will patiently listen to yours and even ask questions.

Sunday afternoon we boarded the Caribbean Princess and I went immediately to the Spa to book a massage after the boat drills. I always pay close attention to all the safety lectures on any type of transportation. I believe in Murphy's Law and if you invite him to the party at the beginning he will go vex someone else during the event. Works well so far.
Our Capt. (has a sexy Intalian accent) came on the speaker to reassure us that Tropical Storm Noel will not disrupt our vacation. "The ship can travel faster than the storm." Our room is on deck 14 (the ship has 16 decks) so we rock a bit at the higher levels. I find this motion enjoyable, Dick less so. No one seems to be getting sick so far. The skys are full of cumulous clouds and sunshine. It is humid and warm--just perfect in my opinion.

The Wedding - 12 Oct 1946

2007-10-08T12:24:00.001-05:00

He stood near the alter of St. Ambrose Catholic Church. Nothing in his life had prepared him for the wash of emotion that filled his being; not the Great Depression that dominated his childhood, not his job at IBM, not World War II. He did not notice the church decorated with white chrysanthemums, the priest dressed in green vestments or Ed Wilcox his best man and best friend standing next to him.

He looked out at the church pews and saw the stoic, sober face of his father. When he went to war his father had taken him aside for a private talk. “Be a good boy.” was all he said. Earlier in the morning his father came to him and said cryptically, “God bless you son. Take care of your family.”

His mother sat next to his father. She had a nervous smile on her face. In a private chat with her Joe learned that she was none too pleased with his choice of mate—she was Irish; but then, his mother had opinions about everyone. His nine year old sister was squirming in her seat, dressed in her best clothes and excited about the wedding. His grandmother, a midwife, who guided him into this world twenty one years before whispered words of caution into his sister’s ear. Behind them were more family and friends heads together in hushed excited whispers. Joe was about to marry the most beautiful girl in the world. The love of his life. He was filled with complete joy.

On the other side of the church sat Helen’s family and friends. Her grandmother was there, a small tiny bit of a woman; and Mary Frances, Helen’s fourteen year old sister. If truth be told she was a bit miffed that she was not part of the wedding party. Why couldn’t she be a junior bridesmaid? Father Hopkins checked his watch and nodded his head to Mr. Henry Murray, the organist, to begin the music.

It was the cue Charles Reardon, brother of the bride, had been waiting for.

At the back of the church in the vestibule all was frothy chaos. Dora, the mother of the bride, hovered over it all. She fussed over the bridesmaids, smoothed out wrinkles from the bride’s veil, adjusted hats, and gave last minute instructions to everyone. Joe, the father of the bride, stood in stony silence with a sad smile on his face. His daughter was getting married and he was about to give her to the man she loved.

What a relief to everyone when the music started. Charles grabbed his mother and walked her down the aisle. Ladylike and proud she slid into her seat next to Mary Frances. Her aqua marine hat from the finest store in town flattered her pale beauty. She was the mother of the bride and the expert on etiquette. This was her show and her daughter was the star.

The music continued as each member of the bridal party walked slowly, elegantly down the aisle. The flower girl was Helen’s adorable cousin Anne Guifoyle. She wore a pink taffeta gown and a flower tiara. The sister’s of the groom, Eileen and Eleanor wore matching pink taffeta gowns; Margorie Reardon cousin of the bride, and Helen’s roommate from school, Betty Hand wore matching dresses in pale blue taffeta. All the bridesmaids wore matching hats. Rita Reardon, sister of the bride and maid of honor, wore a pale blue taffeta dress with matching veiled Juliet cap and gloves. They all carried bouquets of white chrysanthemums and pink roses.

A silence descended over the church as the bridesmaids and groomsmen took their places near the alter. The bridal party, the priest, the groom and the congregation turned as one to the back of the church. The organist played the first strands of the Wedding March when a beautiful vision in white lace-trimmed satin and tulle appeared. Her face covered with a veil, her father whispered in her ear. You could see the bright angelic smile that was Helen’s trademark beneath her tiara of seed pearls and tulle. In her hands she clutched a cascade of white chrysanthemums and white roses. Her eyes were trained on Joe Mack the man she was about to marry. The organ music filled the church, the vision on the arm of her handsome father made even the most cynical believe that Fairy Tales do come true.

The wedding was a Nuptial Mass sung in Latin. Helen and Joe vowed before friends, family and God to love each other in sickness and health, for richer or poorer until death parted them and exchanged gold rings. The wedding mass concluded with communion, the first received as husband and wife.

Joe and Helen, excited, breathless, scared and confident skipped down the aisle under the approving smiles of the congregation. It was time to have their wedding breakfast. The bridal party posed for the mandatory photos and then drove over to the Hotel Frederick. A wedding breakfast was tradition with Catholic couples. The church ruled that one must fast overnight before they received Holy Communion. At mid-morning the bridal party was quite hungry.

It was a cloudy Octoberish sort of day. A bit cool, pleasant. Rain had threatened at any moment. Much to the relief of the wedding guests it held off until everyone was inside. Then it poured. A reception for one hundred family and friends was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall that afternoon. Music, dancing and light refreshments entertained the guests as Helen and Joe danced and talked to everyone. A four tiered wedding cake was cut to the joy of the guests. Nothing tastes better than wedding cake.

That evening Helen and Joe stepped into their car for a wedding trip to northern New York State and Canada. Each year on the 12th of October they remembered their vows. They remembered the promise to Love each other, to live by the Faith they were taught and were held together with Hope for the future. For sixty years they were husband and wife, through sorrowful times and joyful times. They raised six children and Joe became a Deacon in the Catholic Church, with his wife and helpmate by his side.

The legacy of this couple is contained in Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And so there remain Faith, Hope, Love--these three; and of these the greatest is Love.”

Wedding Shopping

2007-10-01T18:51:00.000-05:00

Saturday...we went to David's Bridal Shop in Wilmington, DE. When I got there the kindly lady at the reception desk asked me who was the bride? Of course I said Daughter #2. She then informed me "the flower girl" is already here. Mind you, the Flower Girl is only 2 yo and certainly did not get there under her own power. She belongs to Daughter #1. Who accompanied her mother (the Maid of Honor) to the appointment. I reflected how quickly we ladies lose our own identies when we become "someone's mother."

Next to arrive were Daughter #2 and two more bridesmaids. The serious fun then began.

Of course we had to look for the Flower Girl Dresses. Granddaughter #1 (age 5) and Granddaughter #2 (age 2) are the Flower Girls. GD #1 had soccer practice. So the decision was left up to those present. GD#2 was all for dressing up.

This was the first dress. GD #2 wasn't too sure about this dress thing in the beginning.

But soon she got into the groove and Daughter #1 (her Mom) kept bringing back armloads of dresses.

This one had a pretty train. The down side was GD#2 kept getting herself wadded up in the dress as she ran around. Finally she learned how to gather her skirts.

Here is Mom and GD#2 getting unwadded from the dress.

"Mommy....I think this is THE DRESS.!!"

She could run, prance, fluff and do all sorts of tricks in the dress. So we bought two. One for each Flower Girl.

This was the dress that Katie had picked out originally. The girls (not the Bride) decided it would be fun to match the Flower Girl dresses. So they all flocked to the racks and pulled out dozens of dresses.
It was a mad house. But...oh, so much fun.

This is the Maid of Honor's Dress.

These will be in Champagne to match the Maid of Honor.

The Bride (red dress far left) could not resist putting on a dress. All the dresses will be Champagne. There will be six attendants plus the flower girls and I think we might have a couple of toddler boys in the bridal party also.

The Bride called me the next morning in a fit of Bridal Anxiety. She was not too sure about the choices.

And I admit, that it is a bit hard to visualize the Bride, and the Attendants with all the dressed perfectly fitted and in the correct colors.

However, in my opinion, I think everyone will look just lovely and the Bride with be the Star of the Day. Just as she should be. (Note to Bride: I think the flower girls are going to give you some competition!)

25th Sunday In Ordinary Time

2007-09-24T07:07:00.001-05:00

Here is the homily that my father "Deacon Joe" delivered at St. Anne's church yesterday.

25TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 23, 2007
LUKE 16:1-13

THERE IS A STORY OF A PASTOR WHO GOT UP ONE SUNDAY AND ANNOUNCED TO HIS CONGREGATION: “I HAVE GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS. THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR OUR NEW BUILDING PROGRAM. THE BAD NEWS IS, IT’S STILL OUT THERE IN YOUR POCKETS.

IN OUR FIRST READING TODAY, AMOS (A MINOR PROPHET) DESCRIBES THE GREED OF MERCHANTS AND OF THE RICH, THE EXPLOITATION OF THE NEEDY, THE LUXURY OF THE WEALTHY, THE BRIBING OF THE JUDGES. THIS WAS WRITTEN TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTH CENTURY BEFORE CHRIST. WEALTH WAS IN THE HANDS OF A FEW RICH PEOPLE, WHILE THE POOR WERE INCREASING.

PAUL’S LETTER TO TIMOTHY IN CHAPTER 6:17-20 FITS IN VERY WELL WITH TODAY’S THEME OF “YOU CANNOT GIVE YOURSELF TO GOD AND MONEY.” PAUL TELLS TIMOTHY TO TELL THE RICH OF THIS WORLD NOT BE ARROGANT OR TO PUT THEIR TRUST IN THE UNCERTAINTY OF WEALTH. LET THEM RATHER TRUST IN GOD WHO GENEROUSLY GIVES ALL WE NEED FOR OUR HAPPINESS. LET THEM DO GOOD, BE RICH IN GOOD DEEDS AND BE GENEROUS, LET THEM SHARE WITH OTHERS. IN THIS WAY, THEY SHALL HEAP UP A SOUND CAPITAL FOR THE FUTURE AND GAIN TRUE LIFE.

TODAY’S LOTTERIES AND POWERBALLS WITH PRIZES WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE OPERATING ALL OVER NORTH AMERICA. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE RISK THEIR MONEY EVEN THOUGH THEY STAND A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING HIT BY LIGHTENING THAN WINNING A LARGE LOTTERY. OR MAYBE THEY FEEL LIKE – PLAYING THE LOTTERY IS LIKE HEAVING A HAIL MARY PASS, WHICH MIGHT TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES AND MAKE ALL OF THEIR FINANCIAL TROUBLES GO AWAY.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE, PLAYING THE LOTTERY IS BAD ENOUGH, BUT WINNING IS EVEN WORSE.

BASED ON INTERVIEWS, OVER THREE FIFTHS OF LOTTERY WINNERS FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY WITHIN THREE YEARS. MONEY NOT ONLY “DOESN’T BUY THEIR HAPPINESS, IT DOESN’T EVEN NECESSARILY BUY A GOOD TIME.” THE INTERVIEWS REVEALED THAT LOTTERY WINNERS “AFTER THE INITIAL FLUSH WEARS OFF” OFTEN ARE MISERABLE. ONE WINNER (WHO WON A BIG JACKPOT) THREW A PARTY FOR HER “FRIENDS”. “OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO CAME,” SHE TOLD THE INTERVIEWER A FEW YEARS LATER, “NOT ONE OF THEM SPEAKS TO ME NOW.” JACK W. WHITAKER, WON A $314 MILLION JACKPOT A FEW YEARS AGO AND HIS RECENT COMMENT WAS “I’M GOING TO BE REMEMBERED AS THE LUNATIC WHO WON A LOTTERY.” BY MEANS OF THIS AND SIMILAR STORIES AND LOTS OF OTHER EVIDENCE AS WELL AS ARTICLES – LET IT BE KNOWN THAT MONEY DOESN’T BUY HAPPINESS. TO WHICH ANYONE FAMILIAR WITH THE TEACHING OF JESUS MIGHT WELL ASK. “SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?”

OUR GOSPEL READING FROM LUKE IS A DIFFICULT PARABLE FOR MANY BECAUSE IT SEEMS THAT JESUS IS ENDORSING THE ACTS OF SCAM ARTIST. CERTAINLY, JESUS DOES NO SUCH THING, YET, WITHOUT A LITTLE BACKGROUND, THE PARABLE CAN SEEM CONFUSING.

IT’S INTERESTING THAT MONEY IS THE SUBJECT JESUS TALKED ABOUT MORE THAN ANY OTHER SUBJECT, EXCEPT, THE KINGDOM OF GOD ITSELF. THE KINGDOM (OR RULE OF GOD) IS THE REALITY OF HIS LIVING PRESENCE IN EVERY AREA OF OUR LIVES. GOD MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO COME ALIVE. OUR WILLINGNESS TO LIVE UNDER THE RULE OF GOD MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE SENSITIVE, FEELING, LAUGHING, CRYING, LOVING PEOPLE IN THE FULLEST SENSE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN. THAT IS JESUS’ NUMBER ONE SUBJECT. BUT NUMBER TWO IS MONEY AND POSSESSIONS. WHY DID HE TALK ABOUT MONEY SO MUCH? BECAUSE HE WAS PERFECTLY AWARE OF HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO US AND HOW RELUCTANT WE ARE TO PLACE IT UNDER THE RULE OF GOD.

JESUS HAD TWO WAYS OF COMING AT THE SUBJECT OF OUR MONEY: WARNING AND OPPORTUNITY. THERE ARE AT LEAST FIFTEEN PASSAGES IN THE GOSPELS IN WHICH JESUS WARNS US THAT OUR MONEY AND POSSESSIONS CAN DESTROY US.

IN TODAY’S GOSPEL, JESUS WANTED TO COMPARE THE WAY PEOPLE SHOW INITIATIVE IN SITUATIONS HAVING TO DO WITH WORLDLY MATTERS WITH THE WAY THEY TREAT THINGS RELATED TO SPIRITUAL AFFAIRS. JESUS OBSERVED THAT IN WORLDLY AFFAIRS PEOPLE ARE VERY GOOD AT MAKING THE MOST OF EVEN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS. JESUS DOES NOT APPROVE OF THE STEWARD’S METHODS, BUT HE DOES CREDIT HIS ATTEMPT TO DERIVE A DIVIDEND FROM WHAT SEEMED TO BA A BAD STATE OF AFFAIRS. WHEN HE WAS FIRED, THE STEWARD DID NOT GIVE IN TO THE DISCOURAGEMENT AND DEFEAT BUT IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO SCHEME IN ORDER TO PROTECT HIS FUTURE SECURITY.

JESUS USES THIS PARABLE OF THE CRAFTY MANAGER TO REMIND US THAT OUR HOPE AND SECURITY MUST BE IN GOD, NOT THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD. WORLDLY POSSESSIONS WILL ALWAYS FAIL US; BUT THEY CAN WORK TO OUR ADVANTAGE IF THEY ARE USED TO FURTHER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

OUR MONEY OR DESIRE FOR IT IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY FOR MOST OF US. AND WE MIGHT AS WELL ADMIT IT SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH IT. “YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY”, JESUS WARNS US.

A LOS ANGELES TENNIS PRO TELLS THE STORY OF YOUNG WOMAN WHO CAME TO HIM FOR SOME LESSONS. TENNIS WAS COMPLETELY NEW TO HER. DURING THE FIRST LESSON, THE TENNIS PRO PAIRED HER OFF WITH ANOTHER BEGINNER IN A SHORT “MATCH”, IN ORDER TO FAMILIARIZE THEM WITH THE SCORING METHOD. THE WOMAN WON THE FIRST RALLY WHICH GAVE HER FIFTEEN POINTS TO HER OPPONENT’S ZERO. SINCE IN TENNIS, THE TERM FOR “ZERO” IS “LOVE”, THE CORRECT SCORE WAS FIFTEEN – LOVE. “WHAT’S THE SCORE?” THE TEACHER ASKED. “FIFTEEN – ER – UH,” SHE STAMMERED, UNABLE TO REMEMBER THAT THE TERM FOR “ZERO” IS “LOVE”. THEN THE PRO GAVE HER A BROAD HINT, “WHAT MAKES THE WORLD GO ‘ROUND?”, HE ASKED. WITHOUT HESITATION THE STUDENT REPLIED, “OH FIFTEEN – MONEY.”

IN OUR LIFE SITUATION, IF MONEY, NOT GOD, IS MAKING OUR WORLD GO ‘ROUND, JESUS IS GIVING US MORE THAN A BROAD HINT THAT THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE DEVASTATING. IN OTHERS WORDS, MONEY CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS AND DESTRUCTIVE THING IN OUR LIVES. BUT JESUS ALSO TALKS ABOUT MONEY IN TERMS OF OPPORTUNITY. “WHAT I SAY TO YOU IS THIS: MAKE FRIENDS FOR YOURSELVES THROUGH YOUR USE OF THIS WORLD’S GOODS, SO THAT WHEN THEY FAIL YOU, A LASTING RECEPTION WILL BE YOURS.” AND WHO IS JESUS REFERRING TO? HE IS REFERRING TO HIS OWN SPECIAL FRIENDS: THE POOR, THE LONELY, THE OPPRESSED, THE OUTCASTS.

“MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL.” EVERYBODY HAS HEARD THAT OLD SAYING AND MOST EVERYBODY THINK IT COMES FROM THE BIBLE! IT MAY SURPRISE YOU TO LEARN THAT IT DOES NOT. 1ST TIMOTHY, CHAPTER 6, VERSE 10 IS ONE OF THE MOST MISQUOTED PASSAGES IN THE WHOLE BIBLE. IT DOESN’T READ “MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!” IT READS “THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!” AND THEN GOES ON TO SAY, “IT IS BECAUSE OF THIS GREED THAT SOME HAVE WANDERED AWAY FROM THE FAITH BRINGING ON THEMSELVES AFFLICTIONS OF EVERY KIND.” SAINT PAUL COMMANDED THE RICH “NOT TO BE HAUGHTY, NOR TO SET THEIR HOPES ON UNCERTAIN RICHES, BUT ON GOD WHO RICHLY FURNISHES US WITH EVERYTHING TO ENJOY.”

WE NEED TO PRAY AND ASK GOD HOW WE CAN BEST USE WHAT HE HAS ENTRUSTED TO US. WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES: “ARE WE GOOD STEWARDS OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US? DO WE USE IT WISELY TO MEET OUR OWN NEEDS AND THE NEEDS OF OUR FAMILIES? DO WE SEEK CONSOLATION FROM MATERIAL GOODS AND THUS FAIL TO KNOW THE LOVE THAT GOD THE FATHER HAS FOR US? ARE WE AWARE OF OUR DUTY TO SUPPORT THE CHURCH AND OTHER WORTHY CAUSES ACCORDING OUR MEANS? HAS GREED OR SOME OTHER GOAL MADE US SILLY? WILL JESUS LOOK AT US AND CONDEMN US FOR REFUSING TO OFFER OUR TIME, TALENT OR TREASURES FOR HIS KINGDOM?

LET US ASK GOD FOR THE GRACE TO ASSESS WITH HONESTY THE PLACE THAT WORLDLY POSSESSIONS HOLD IN OUR LIVES.

YOU CANNOT GIVE YOURSELF TO GOD AND MONEY.

Deacon Joe's Homily

2007-08-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

My father is a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. One of his duties has been to write and give the homilies occasionally at Sunday Mass. I asked my sister to send me the one that he is giving this Sunday. This is my father's legacy to his children and grandchildren. Normally he gives them at Mass and then puts them in a drawer. Now anyone can read his words and learn from his wisdom. Enjoy!

20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
AUGUST 19, 2007
LUKE 12:49-53

A MOTHER AND HER SON WERE SHARPLY DIVIDED ONE MORNING ON THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT THE SON WOULD GO TO SCHOOL THAT DAY. “I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, I’M NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY.” THE SON SAID TO THE MOTHER. “I INSIST THAT YOU GO! YOU MUST GO!” SAID THE MOTHER. “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND, MOTHER.” SAID THE SON. “THE KIDS DON’T LIKE ME. THE TEACHERS DON’T LIKE ME. THE BUS DRIVER HATES ME. THE CUSTODIANS HAVE IT IN FOR ME. AND THE SUPERINTENDENT WANTS TO TRANSFER ME.” “NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME,” REPLIED THE MOTHER, “YOU MUST GO TO SCHOOL. YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN AND YOU HAVE A LOT TO OFFER. BESIDES, YOU ARE FORTY-FIVE YEARS OLD AND YOU’RE THE PRINCIPAL.”

IN THE GOSPEL READING TODAY, AFTER JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES: “I HAVE COME TO LIGHT A FIRE ON EARTH,” JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT HIS COMING WOULD CAUSE DIVISION ON EARTH. IN OTHER WORDS, THOSE WHO WERE FAITHFUL TO HIS MESSAGE WOULD FIND THAT HIS LIFE AND DEATH WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE SO THAT THINGS COULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

WHAT JESUS IS SAYING, IS THAT EACH OF US MUST MAKE OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL DECISION REGARDING THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT TO BECOME FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS OF HIM. WHEN WE ACCEPT THE WAY OF JESUS, WE ARE GOING TO ENCOUNTER OPPOSITION AT SOME POINT IN OUR LIVES. WHEN JESUS SAYS HE CAME FOR DIVISION, “. . . A HOUSEHOLD OF FIVE WILL BE DIVIDED THREE AGAINST TWO AND TWO AGAINST THREE; FATHER WILL BE SPLIT AGAINST SON AND SON AGAINST FATHER, MOTHER AGAINST DAUGHTER. . .” HE IS SAYING IN OTHER WORDS THAT THE FINAL DECISION IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE. A MOTHER CANNOT MAKE THE DECISION FOR A SON, A FATHER FOR HIS DAUGHTER, ONE SPOUSE FOR THE OTHER. AMONG ALL THE FATHERS AND MOTHERS, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THIS WORLD, THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO WILL ACCEPT THE TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR LIVES BY GOD’S SPIRIT OF LOVE AND THOSE WHO WILL REJECT IT.

WHEN YOU COME RIGHT DOWN TO IT, THIS IS A DISTURBING GOSPEL PASSAGE. WE ALWAYS THINK OF JESUS AS COMING TO BRING PEACE, BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS COMING ISN’T ALWAYS PEACE. SOMETIMES THERE WILL BE SUFFERING, SOMETIMES DIVISION EVEN IN CLOSE-KNIT FAMILIES. THAT’S WHY WE NEED THE SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE OTHER SCRIPTURE READINGS TODAY.

JEREMIAH WAS AN HONORED PROPHET. BUT ONCE HE BEGAN PREDICTING DEFEAT, NOBODY WANTED TO HEAR IT. HE WAS BAD FOR THE MORALE OF THE PEOPLE. SO WHAT DID THEY DO? THEY TRIED TO GET RID OF HIM BY PUTTING HIM INTO CISTERN WHERE THERE WAS NO WATER, ONLY MUD AS POOR JEREMIAH SANK INTO THE MUD, THE LEFT HIM THERE TO DIE. FAITHFULNESS TO A MISSION FROM GOD CAN BRING SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. READING FURTHER, WE FIND THAT JEREMIAH’S STORY IS ALSO FULL OF SALVATION AND HOPE. HE WAS RESCUED FROM THE PLOT TO KILL HIM. THE POINT IS: GOD SAVED HIM.

IN THE SECOND READING FROM THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS, WE ARE TOLD TO “PERSEVERE IN RUNNING THE RACE THAT LIES AHEAD,” AND NOT TO ABANDON THE STRUGGLE. JESUS, HIMSELF, WAS THE EXAMPLE USED. JESUS THREW OFF ALL THOSE THINGS THAT WOULD HoLD HIM BACK; HE ENDURED THE SHAME, HE WITHSTOOD THE OPPOSITION. IF WE KEEP HIM FOREMOST IN OUR MINDS, WE WON’T GIVE UP FOR WANT OF COURAGE. THE READING TELLS US “TO KEEP OUR EYES ON JESUS, WHO INSPIRES AND PERFECTS OUR FAITH.”

IN MANY WAYS, AND MOST OF THE TIME, BEING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS IS FAIRLY ROUTINE AND NORMAL FOR US. BECAUSE WE ARE ALL BELIEVERS, OUR LIVES AND THE WAY WE LIVE ARE CERTAINLY DEEPLY AFFECTED. WE ALL HAVE VALUES AND WE LIVE IN A WAY THAT WOULD BE QUITE DIFFERENT IF WERE NOT FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. BUT BY AND LARGE IT’S ROUTINE. AND FOR THAT, LET’S THANK GOD FOR THE ROOTS WE HAVE, THE PEACE THAT WE ENJOY, AND THE SECURITY THAT DOES IN FACT EXIST IN OUR LIVES.

BUT SOMETIMES WE ARE FACED WITH EVENTS AND CHOICES THAT MAKE US KNOW THE IMPACT OF JESUS’ WORDS ABOUT DIVISION, LIFE AND STRIFE.

WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE AS TO WHOM OR TO WHAT WE WILL SERVE. CHOOSE WE MUST! IT IS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT WE WILL SERVE SOMETHING OR SOMEONE. FROM THE DAY WE COME INTO THIS WORLD, ALL SORTS OF THINGS START REACHING OUT WITH STRONG HANDS TRYING TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES. AND SOONER OR LATER SOMETHING GETS US. WITH SOME PEOPLE, IT IS DRUGS, ALCOHOL, SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, THE LOVE OF MONEY AND MATERIAL THINGS AND/OR A GROWING SENSE OF LIFE’S FUTILITY. WITH OTHERS IT IS A DEVOTION TO FAMILY, LOYALTY TO FRIENDS, A HIGH VOCATION, A WORTHY CAUSE, AND/OR A RADIANT PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE’S ETERNAL MEANING. SOMETHING GETS US – IF NOT FAITH, THEN FEAR. IF NOT HOPE, THEN DESPAIR. IF NOT LOVE, THEN SELFISHNESS. IF NOT HIGH, THEN LOW. SOMETHING GETS US. LET’S FACE IT . . . THAT IS ONE OF THE REALISTIC FACTS OF LIFE.

A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN MY GRANDSON WAS IN SECOND GRADE, HE SAID, “GRANDPA, I’VE NOTICED SOMETHING.” IT TURNED OUT TO BE AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION ON HIS PART, ESPECIALLY ONE SO YOUNG. HE SAID,” I’VE NOTICED THAT THE KIDS WHO GO TO SCHOOL AND DON’T PAY ATTENTION AND ARE ALWAYS FOOLING AROUND DON’T MAKE OUT VERY GOOD LATER ON IN LIFE. THEY USUALLY END UP DRINKING BEER OR SMOKING POT AND HAVE AN AWFUL TIME FINDING A JOB THEY LIKE. ON THE OTHER HAND,” HE SAID,” THE KIDS WHO GO TO SCHOOL AND PAY ATTENTION USUALLY GO ON TO COLLEGE AND END UP WITH A GOOD PAYING JOB, A NICE HOME AND FAMILY AND SEEM TO ENJOY LIFE A LOT MORE.”

I NEVER REALIZED IT, BUT IT DOES SEEM THAT YOUNG PEOPLE START USING THEIR OPTIONS ON REALLY IMPORTANT DECISIONS EARLY IN LIFE. THE POINT IS THAT SOONER OR LATER SOMETHING GETS HOLD OF EVERYONE OF US. WE CANNOT LIVE VERY LONG WITHOUT SOME COMPELLING INFLUENCE TAKING HOLD OF OUR LIVES.

THEN THERE ARE TIMES WE FACE DIFFICULT MORAL DECISIONS, PERHAPS ABOUT JUSTICE, HONESTY, A TEMPTING OFFER TO MAKE AN EASY DOLLAR, ISSUES OF ABORTION OR ABOUT BEING FAITHFUL TO A COMMITMENT OR A RELATIONSHIP.

WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, OUR DECISIONS AND ACTIONS ARE CRUCIAL. JESUS WANTS US TO BE FAITHFUL TO HIS TEACHINGS WHICH WILL HAVE AN EFFECT NOT ONLY ON OUR LIVES BY THE LIVES OF THOSE ABOUT US.

THE POINT IS: BEING FAITHFUL TO JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO BRING LONG TERM PEACE, BUT IT MIGHT COST. IN THE SHORT RUN, OUR FAITHFULNESS MIGHT, AT TIMES, DISTURB THE PEACE, BRING STRIFE AND CAUSE DIVISION.

MANY PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THE WORDS JESUS SPEAKS ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE. IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT GIVES LIFE, THE FLESH IS USELESS. ALL WE MUST DO IS TO WANT TO TAKE HIS WORD SERIOUSLY AND THEN PRAY TO THE LORD FOR THE CONVICTION AND POWER TO LIVE THEM OUT. JESUS IS NOT SETTING BEFORE US IDEALS TO DISCOURAGE US. HE KNOWS THAT WE LACK THE POWER TO EXPERIENCE ALL THE POTENTIAL OF THE GOSPEL, BUT WE ARE NOT ALONE. THE FATHER DRAWS US TO JESUS AND JESUS SPEAKS TO US WHICH ARE SPIRIT AND LIFE. WE NEED TO APPLY OUR MINDS TO THEM AND ASK THE LORD FOR THE POWER TO LIVE THEM. IF YOU REALLY TRULY BELIEVE AND IF YOU TRY TO LIVE OUT WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE, YOUR MIND WILL EXPAND AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE MANY THINGS THAT NOW SEEM LIKE MYSTERIES TO YOU. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL OPEN YOUR MID TO UNDERSTANDING. THE DECISION IS YOURS. MAKE SURE YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

SOMETIMES, WE MIGHT NEED COURAGE LIKE JESUS HAD. WHEN WE DO, WE HAVE HIS WORD AND THE EUCHARIST --- THE FOOD THAT BRINGS US INTO COMMUNION WITH HIM AND NOURISHES US SO THAT WE TOO CAN WITHSTAND THE PRESSURE. IN HIS OWN WORDS, HE SAYS TO US “KNOW THAT I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD.”

IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK, YOU CAN GO BEFORE THE LORD AND SAY “LORD, I PLACE MY TRUST IN YOU. I BELIEVE IN YOU, AND WANT MY BELIEF TO GROW. I WANT TO COME TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT YOU, THE MYSTERIES OF YOUR KINGDOM AND THE WAY YOU WANT ME TO LIVE MY LIFE. HELP ME GROW IN MY UNDERSTANDING AND IN MY FAITH, I KNOW IT IS YOUR WILL FOR ME TO DO THIS. FOR YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.”

Where Did The Month Go?

2007-08-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

July started out pretty normal. On the 4th of July Laura, Kaitlyn and Laura's friend Emily (Emily esq.-she graduated from law school and is currently studying for the bar in several states) came to St. Michael's to eat some Eastern Shore Crabs and watch the Easton/Talbot 4th of July Fireworks show. It was all very nice. As you can see Gra'MaMa taught Kaitlyn how to eat crabs--she loves them.
Laura was not feeling well.

A handful of days later I was back at the Gra'MaMa post with Ethan, Maya and Kaitlyn. This is the only picture that I managed to get. Chasing a almost 5, almost 3 and almost 2 year old sort of cuts into the Kodak moments with the camera. The cousins love each other very much.

Well, on 13 July my not feeling very well daughter was NOT really feeling well. (Fortunately I had Kaitlyn) and was taken to the hospital and admitted. And it has been Purgatory ever since. First, the docs didn't know what was wrong, then they thought they knew what was wrong, then they didn't know. So she was transferred to a hospital with more equipment and doctors. Bunches of Docs, residents, interns came and looked at her, they ordered every test they could think of. Bad news, surgery, lots of pain, more bad news, more pain, more tests, more doctors, another surgery, more bad news, more docs, interns and residents. Another surgery and stay in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, bad news, good news, bad news and more good news. Transfer to the regular floor. Good news, bad news, a thoracentesis under fluoroscope, good news. Poor Laura is homesick and depressed, family wants her back and are depressed, Kaitlyn misses her mom but she is having fun with her cousins.

Kaitlyn turned 2 on the 3rd of August. We had a mini party at the hospital (Laura was to have her third surgery that afternoon). Kaitlyn was as cute as could be. She carefully opened her gifts and would be wide eyed with delight and whisper ohhhhh, ahhhhhh, ehhhhhh and giggle.

We had a tiny cake and Kaitlyn blew out the candles in no time. That means a year of good fortune!

Kaitlyn was able to eat her cake but Mommy had to refrain because of the upcoming surgery. It was a very lovely party. Short, simple and sweet. In my opinion just the right sort of party for a sick mommy and a very cute two year old.

Kaitlyn now tries to hold up two fingers and says "I two!"

Hopefully, Laura will get out of the hospital soon, there will be no more bad news, Kaitlyn and Mommy can be together. The only silver lining I can find in this cloud would be Laura has had some health issues resolved and lost some weight. I can think of less painful and depressing ways to lose weight. As Laura starts the healing process she needs prayers.

Family History Update

2007-07-09T11:48:00.000-05:00

I just finished my series on Mayflower Descendants of Richard Warren of which I am a 14th generation descendant. I have applied to the Mayflower Society and am currently waiting for thier reply to my application. If you are interested check it out at:
http://thegenealogyroom.blogspot.com/

Old Friend and New

2007-07-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

In the advice column in today's Washington Post a distressed reader wrote that her husband recently made contact with an old girlfriend. I guess in that situation the hubby was being a bit secretive. This not a good move. Communication and transparency are necessary for a good marriage. I recently had the opportunity to visit with my old boyfriend and his wife. And that has led to a lovely new friendship between the families.

So here I am standing next to two wonderful people on the bow of the Patriot in the middle of the Miles River (an estuary off the Chesapeake Bay). That is me on the left with the sunglasses and cheesy smile. The fellow in the middle is my old college boyfriend and the lovely lady nestled in his arm is his wife Nadia. Lance and Nadia live and work and have raised a family in Haiti. Nadia is a native of Bahrain.

Lance and Nadia were visiting family in Washington DC and came over to our part of the country a couple of weeks ago. Dick and I gave them the 'standard' tour of St. Michael's--eating crabs at the Crab Claw and a cruise on the Miles River to enjoy the estuary and look at all 'The Somebodies' lush homes. We had wonderful conversation. Nadia and I love crabs and ate a dozen between us. We talked about being Grandmothers (she is going to be one in January), work, kids just everything. We even agreed on the qualities that first attracted us to Lance.

Here is a photo of Dick and Lance. Both men got along really well. Nadia and I have no clue what they talked about because we ran our mouths so much. I know that neither one of them likes crabs.

Dick and I have a standing invite to visit Haiti. Lance and Nadia are always welcome to our home. Nadia and I agree that both Dick and Lance have a knack for finding awesome women. They both are truly wonderful men that have left their footprint on our world and have made it a better place.

APB-Stolen Dinner Roll

2007-06-28T08:10:00.000-05:00

Last night I decided to prepare a nice supper for my wonderful husband (remember I have been away for about a week). The garden provided its first bounty....lovely zucchini squash and a cucumber. A couple of chunks of fillet, halved pear and dinner rolls filled out the menu.

I started the charcoal fire as wonderful husband settled into his chair with cocktail and chips. Lou Dobbs was ranting(that's my interpretation) on CNN. I came inside to prep the food. Sat and watched the rant a few minutes. It takes about 10 minutes for a good bed of coals to form.

So, I took out the plate with fillet, squash, halved pear and dinner rolls. Lo and behold my fire fizzled. It needed more starter fuel. It's in the garage. I wandered through the house into the garage, found the fuel, trotted back outside. I squirted some of the fuel onto the smoking coals (like the label tells you not to do). The fire was well on its way. The night was cloudy, light wind, humid. I stayed outdoors, waiting for the coals to glow.

The grill was ready, lovely husband wanted to know when dinner would be ready. I hollered about 20 minutes or so. The coals were spread using my tongs, the grill nestled in place and I reached for the plate of prepped food. There is only ONE dinner roll sitting on top of the food. Interesting! My first thought was for my sanity--is dementia setting in? Maybe. I shuffled inside to fetch another dinner roll pondering the state of my mind. Not dementia...I know I put two dinner rolls on top of the plate. OK. Where could the roll have gone?

I placed the fillet, squash and pears on the grill. I love the sizzle and pop when the first juices of the food hit the glowing coals. However, my enjoyment was hampered by the mystery of the missing dinner roll. I looked around for evidence. No dogs in the vicinity...no crumb trail....no half eaten dinner roll. Hunh! The mystery deepened as the food sizzled.

The mystery of the missing dinner roll wore on my mind. I reached for the grill cover, time to let the food steep in the charcoal smoke. And there it was! My evidence! Fresh bird poop on the grill cover.

OK fly boys! Your jig is up! Don't think your going to get a free dinner from me in the future.

Back in Easton

2007-06-27T12:22:00.000-05:00

I drove back to Easton on Monday. It took all day because I wanted to wander down some back roads in a few spots. It was a long, lovely, tiring day.

On Saturday my Dad, siblings and I all sorted out my Mom's stuff. It was an all day affair. It went really well--bittersweet. We all miss our Mom/Wife terribly. We know that losing her was inevitable and that she died with peace and the love of her family surrounding her. We all chose a few things to keep for ourselves and our kids. Her grand legacy is the lessons in life that she taught us, we taught our children, and that our children are passing on to their children.

Now I have to go out and pick Japanese Beetles off the bushes. I taught my grand nephew (age 7) how to pick beetles. With quite some authority he told me that when they are done here they go back to Japan.

Binghamton, NY

2007-06-20T07:56:00.000-05:00

Binghamton, NY has changed alot since I left home 40 yrs ago. For one thing they have Rt. 81 running smack through the town. Good thing I have Sophia-my navigation system in our car. She brought me right to the front door of Kate's house.

We spent the night looking at and scanning old photos. Here is one of 'Uncle Jim.' You will have to wait for the rest of the story.

Today I am going treking in Chenango County to visit town clerks a couple of aunts and other assorted family history related goodies.

Going to New York State

2007-06-19T06:55:00.000-05:00

As soon as the car is packed I am headed up the road to New York State.

First stop is Kate, my 1st cousin once removed. Kate lives in Binghamton and is totally immersed in the genealogy of my Irish ancestry. I suspect there will be lots of talk, visits with elderly (elderly is defined as older than me) relatives, court houses and the library. After three nights of sleeping with Sophia her cat (she owns the guest bed) I will be headed farther north and more relatives

On Friday, Doug-he is the genealogy nut on the English side of the family, and I plan hours of sharing data. I can't wait to see him. He is also a 1st cousin once removed. His wife Mary is totally delightful.

Friday late afternoon I will be pulling into the driveway of my Dad's house in Macedon. My three sisters will be there and so will my brother. I think us four girls are going to spend a night sleepover (one sister lives with dad, the other lives about 5 min. away). The oldest, that's me and the youngest are coming in on Friday. I wonder if Dad is up to the shenanigans we four girls will pull?

The purpose of the trip is really bitter sweet. We will be going through our mother's things. Each of us will have a chance to choose keepsakes and the rest will be disposed of as Dad sees fit. The hardest part of this whole grief thing is the simple fact that I just can't pick up the phone and visit with MOM. And she won't be there for marathon talking sessions when I visit. It's just so sad.

I plan to be back Mon or Tues if you need to reach me just call my cell phone.

Paris Tonight

2007-06-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

It is 10:30 pm in Paris, France. This is a live web cam shot of the Tour de Eiffel in that wonderful city.

In 1996 my two daughters and I spent a week or two in Paris with some friends. Their teenage daughter took me and my teenage daughters here. I fell asleep on the banks of a pond near the upper right leg. The girls tore up and down the tower having loads of fun. Probably annoying other tourists along the way. I had a good sleep.

Also, did you know somebody turns the lights out between midnight and one o'clock?

Rain Plops

2007-06-12T07:55:00.000-05:00

The weather forecast for the past several days (and the next couple) says something about scattered 'late afternoon thunder showers.' In my little neighborhood that usually means the pool closes about 4pm because the lifeguard hears the distant rumble of thunder and there are the fringes of dark clouds to the north of us. No rain. No storm. No afternoon swim!

Well, last evening about 4:30 the horses made a beeline for their shed. The birds and insects vanished and I looked out the window. To the north coming at us at 35mph (that's what The Weather Channel said) was a scattered thunder shower. These things do not come from the north! They come from Annapolis and skirt the edges of northern Talbot County. This little monster does not just ease us into a thunder storm with the distant rumbles of thunder progressively getting louder. No, this little guy rips up to us, no wind, no pre-rain drops, nothing civilized. This guy suddenly lands overhead and drops "plops" of rain. I thought at first it was hail-marble size maybe. Then I looked at the plop stain on the patio and it was about 3 inches in diameter. The plops looked like a hundred thousand angels had a tablespoon of water and just let them loose all at once. The plops fell for about 15 minutes. In the middle of all this The Weather Alert beeps on TV telling us to be aware of flash floods. About two inches of plops containing water fell (according to the Weather Service). Weird.

Then, we get thunder and lightening, a bit of a brisk wind and a real thunder storm dumps another half inch.

My home engineered drainage project was overwhelmed. Water an inch or more deep stood in the swampy areas of my yard all night. This morning things are back to normal and everything on my patch of earth did well. The drainage works.

The horses were just too funny after the storm. They sauntered out to the pasture and looked around at all the wet grass. I guess wet grass is not very appetizing. Thunder, the new horse, was off by himself in the part of the pasture that gets standing water when it rains. He was in there stomping in puddles of water. He would take one foreleg and then the other and splash, splash, splash. He saw me walking around and came to the fence. I swear the boy had a horse smile on his face. He gave me some horse kisses and I cooed that I was glad he like to stomp in the rain puddles as much as I do. I swear his grin got bigger.

The Red Hats Go To St. Michael's MD

2007-06-06T07:11:00.000-05:00

Twelve of the Sassy Ladies of Easton Club East donned our Red Hats and Purple clothes and ventured to St. Michael's in three cars.

Our first stop was to the venerable Crab Claw Restaurant next to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

It was very windy. Here is a shot of one of the very pretty staff dusting up after a wicked gust of wind.

The Crab Claw not only hires beautiful girls but also very handsome young men. Mike was our server for the afternoon and we all agreed he was just as nice and a cute as could be. I wonder what his tips were at the end of the day?

The Crab Claw offers a variety of fresh seafood. It is most famous for it's crabs. So my brave Red Hat sister and I ordered three crabs apiece, dark ale and cole slaw. The rest of the ladies sampled the crab cakes and other fish delicacies offered on the menu

Crabs are a messy business. Never wear your best clothes to the Crab Claw! Our dear sister here was supplied a lobster bib by one of our sisters (did I tell you that when we go on an outing someone always has what is needed for any whim or emergency). This is proof that not even a bib can keep the Eastern Shore crab slurp from dripping down the shirt. I smacked my crab with a mallet and the crab slurp hit another one of my sisters in the face or arm or something and the shell ended in her purse. Crabs are messy.

We do have a sister that is assigned to take the official photos of our outings for the scrap book. I am not that photographer. So I just snap up all the unofficial photos like the one here. We are trying to get together for the mandatory group shot at the end of lunch. It is quite an effort to get us to pose, keep our mouths shut for a nanosecond and shoot the photo. So this is what we look like before the official photos.

After lunch we sauntered about 20 paces along the pier to the tour boat "The Patriot". A fellow neighbor at Easton Club East, Larry(IMO he looks quite handsome in his 'naval' togs), took our tickets and we boarded the boat for a one and half hour cruise on the Miles River. It was amazing to see the mansions of "The Somebodies" along the river. These 'somebodies' are mostly politicians and ambassadors from nearby Washington D.C.

Some of the ladies sat port side, some starboard, some stood at the bow and got sun/wind burned and some sat midships. As one said, "This way we can see it all."

Our boat captain played the tape that gives the history of the area but would frequently interrupt with the more exciting things like Blue Herons in flight, duck blinds (he told us of the epic fight between an osprey couple and goose couple fighting for the real estate on a duck blind, interestingly enough the goose family won?),
He also pointed out this osprey nest. If you look earlier in my blog you will see the same nest with the male and female. Now the female is sitting tight on the nest and giving us the 'evil eye', the captain said there has been increased activity at the nest these past few days. However, peer as hard as we could we did not see any hatchlings.

It was a very lovely day and thank you to the two girls that planned this lovely experience.

It's Raining, It's Pouring......

2007-06-04T08:58:00.000-05:00

.....I went to bed, and read and read, got up late this morning.....
All living things in this part of the country desperately needed the soaking rain we received yesterday. What a soaking! The remnants of a tropical storm sauntered up the east coast giving all of us, from Florida to New York ( I don't know anyone in New England, therefore I don't keep up on the weather), a good soaking.

Here are views of the parched yards and horse pasture. It will take a few days for the rain to work it's magic.

The petunias look especially droopy. They are such fragile blooms. After some pruning and a bit of sun they should reward me with tons of blooms.

The calla lilies did much better. I wish they would have longer stems. It would be much easier to put them in a pretty vase and bring them inside.

Anybody have any secrets on how I can get the stalks to grow taller?

I planted 50 strawberry plants as edging around the back and side beds. Yesterday, in the rain, I saw three of the farmers chickens out in my beds enjoying my strawberries. Now, I really don't mind a visitor or two to the strawberry patch. However, I think it would be polite for them to eat the whole berry instead of sampling all of the ripe berries. This is what many of my berries look like this morning.

Big surprise this morning were the squash blossoms and the baby squash that should be ready to eat in a few days.

I am reading a book by Elizabeth Shown Mills, Isles of Canes. Elizabeth is a noted genealogist, educator and writer. So far it is a good read.

I wanted to share my Mother's Day gifts from my daughters. Somehow I did something 'fatal' to the SD card. Can't format it, download photos or anything. I am really mad about this !!#$#%. Laura gave me a beautiful portrait collage of her daughter Kaitlyn. And Kaitlyn's namesake, my other daughter Katie, gave me her portfolio. So how about you clicking on these links to see a sample of her work. Katie is a journalist, photographer and obituary writer for the Delaware State News. Story 1, Story 2.

The End of May

2007-05-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

We just celebrated Memorial Day-My dad and sister came for a visit. Dad is a WW II veteran and the stories he told of his experiences with D-Day, Hurtgen Forest, Liberation of France, Battle of the Buldge made me weep (notice I said weep, not cry). I can remember when I was very small, my dad having flashbacks while he was sleeping. My mother would gently try to wake him up by calling his name. Back in those days you just stood tall as a man and stuffed the trauma somewhere deep inside. My dad used his faith in God and prayer to banish the flashbacks. One never forgets but one can pray to God for peace and forgiveness.

Here is a photo of my dad and me overlooking the Miles River in St. Michael's Maryland. We gave dad the grand tour. Went to Oxford where we took the ferry to St. Michael's. Drove down to Tilghman Island to Harrison's Inn where you can see waterman at work (well Sunday they were taking boatloads of tourists out for fishing-aka drinking all the beer they can and concocting some good fish stories) During the week these guys go out and haul crabs. We had some down home Eastern Shore crab cakes and got to see ole man Buddy Harrison who is quite the waterman legend here on the shore. We then went on a cruise of the Miles River and saw dozens of sail boats, heard some good history, and just enjoyed the river. My sister decided to just relax by the pool and got a sunburn.

We saw an ospray nest up close.

The birds mate for life and return to the same nesting area every year. This is the closest I have every been able to photograph both the male and female.

I spent three days babysitting my granddaughter ages 4 and 20 months. No photos 'cause I was too busy playing with them or taking naps.

The most lovely time was this past week when my daughter Katie, Robin (the grooms mother) and I went bridal dress buying. Kaite found a stunningly beautiful dress. Below is just a teaser shot that she gave me permission to post. I got giant goose bumps when I looked at her. She is just so beautiful (I want to say perfect but she reads my blog and I don't want her to get a swelled head).

Robin and I also found the most perfect mother of the bride and groom dresses. No pictures of those. Sorry. We had lunch at a charming pub in Smyrna. Saturday we had our first "Bridal Meeting" with both parents, bride and groom, groom's grandma and bride's grandfather and her aunt Barbie. We have a date! Wahooo.......31 May 2008. It will probablly be a late afternoon wedding with a garden party reception afterwords. We moms are so excited-Stevie and Katie are both the youngest in thier families.

P. S. Katie just called and told me to add the rest of the dress. So here she is!

Interesting Quote

2007-05-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person? - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Central Michigan Class of 2007

2007-05-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

The pictures say it all.

Son #2 looks up at his DAD.

This is one proud father.

Roger Clemens Meet Your Replacement!

2007-05-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

OK! Here is some major Grandparent BRAGGING.

Grandson #3 is on an All Star team.
Here he is batting.

Pitching.

He has a killer fast ball.

Out field.

He is athletic, smart and handsome.

Off to Michigan

2007-05-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

At the Detroit airport this weekend I had a new experience...a shoe shine. This is something I have always wanted to do but never had shoes that would benefit from a shoe shine. Now in my 'retirement years' I own a pair of shoes substantial enough to have a shoe shine. 'Mose' was the fellow that did a spiffy job on my sturdy black shoes. The surprising part of the whole process--the very subtle and delightful message the top of the toes get as the polish is worked into the leather.

The only down side of the whole trip--the baggage handlers ripped the top handle off my suitcase. I bought a Travelpro2 set of luggage and have not had a bit of trouble until now. However, Southwest offered to repair the bag (I would have to drop it off and pick it up at BWI) which would take 4-6 weeks. Or, I could get a $50 voucher. We opted for the voucher. This morning I called Travelpro and for $12.50 including S&H they are sending me the repair pieces.

Red Hat Society May 2007 Outing

2007-05-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

Our hostesses this month did a fantastic job of planning the "Perfect Spring Outing." The day dawned warm and bright as our two Red Hat Sisters prepared for the outing. M.R. in the red shirt packed about anything anyone would need.

Her partner in planning, S.S. is in the blue shirt. The girls did a fantastic job of putting together the perfect spring outing.

There was no doubt in my mind that they are responsible for the gorgeous, sunny, warm day with a slight breeze.

We took off in three cars to Tuckahoe State Park. Here we had a lovely picnic lunch. The sandwiches were pre-ordered from Todd's Market in Easton. The Chicken Salad was devine and I had a Liverwust on Pumpernickel. Delicious. Liverwurst is one of those foods that you either hate/love. Our hostesses made lemonade, ice tea and brownies (next time girls remember that I like the corners). A bag of chips rounded out the menu.

We then piled in the cars and drove five minutes to the Adkins Arboretum . In a quote from their brochure "Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve on Maryland’s Eastern Shore dedicated to promoting the appreciation and conservation of the region’s native plants. More than four miles of paths along streams, through meadows and native plant gardens and under the shade of a rich bottomland forest attract nature lovers, gardeners, students and birders."
We had a tour of the wetlands, meadow and forest by our docent naturalist- Michelle (lady on the left without a red hat). She was very knowledgable and was able to answer every question we had!

These sisters are part of the "cane brigade." Several of our sisters walk with canes. But let me tell you that does not stop them one bit from taking a hike in the woods. At Adkins they encourage folks with disabilities to come and enjoy the trails and have a docent that will take you around in the golf cart if you have mobility issues.

We started our walk in the wetlands. This is one of the little creeks that flows into the Tuckahoe River. When we all stopped our sisterly chatter we were able to hear the birds and the faint gurgle of the creek as it flowed over a few rocks. Nice.

The May Apples were in full bloom on the forest floor. These pretty blossoms are hidden under the leave canopy. You have to get down and look under them to find the flowers. The fruit of the May Apple is especially loved by the turtles. I did not know that.

A highlight was the rare Lady Slipper. We found out that large bees crawl inside the flower to pollinate it. There is just one way in and one way out. Bees I think are very clever.

Adkins Arboretum is having a native plant sale that is open to the public on May 12 from 9am to 1pm. This is an excellent chance to buy some plants for the garden that will actually grow in our area.

Finally, it was time to leave and we all agreed that we had a fabulous time.

Gran'Kids Weekend

2007-04-30T10:11:00.000-05:00

WhoooHeee! The Gran'Kids came to visit this weekend. We told Mom to pack clothes suitable for the Amazon and Antartic-never know what sort of weather we can have on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.
Enjoy our photo essay of Gran'Girl, age 4 and Gran'Boy age 2.

Gran'Ma, Gran'Girl and Gran'Boy all went to the parade at Oxford.

We got to see fire engines, police cars, rescue vehicles, politicians of every sort in fancy cars, some of the people threw candy and Mardi Gras beads. Here is Gran'Girl looking at the community marching band. Gran'Boy is sitting in his stroller on the far right. He decided that he,"was scar'd of parade."

We ate Birthday Cake flavored ice cream for lunch and had hotdogs and chips for snack.

It was quite windy out. Perfect for blowing bubbles. Gran'Ma taught the kids how to use the wind to blow bubbles.

Gran'Ma also bought a battery operated bubble gun and we had lots of fun both shooting bubbles and chasing the bubbles floating in the wind.
Gran'Pa took us on a field trip to the Airport. Easton has a small airfield. We saw students taking off and landing in small planes.

We also went to the park.

Gran'Boy is showing off his skill at climbing.

Here we are walking on a floating bridge. Good balance kids!

Gran'Girl found a new challange. A spiral climbing structure. She mastered this new skill, twisiting carefully up the pole and then climbed onto the platform. Of course, Gran'Boy had to try and Gran'Ma always hovered.

Gran'Ma realized that multi-tasking is an art for younger adults.

We spent the time practicing more skills. Gran'Girl learned how to spell her name, we told lots of stories, ran around alot .....

And finally, best of all was NAP TIME.

The kids were happy to arrive home Sunday evening to their parents, toys and yard. We all had a good weekend.

Happiness is...

2007-04-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

...getting my desktop computer back from the shop. Vincent, the repairman at Easton Computers, had hissy fits with it. Kept it for six days! Apparently, Windows XP and Norton AntiVirus don't get along with each other.

This is Son #2 working on his new house.

Gran'Girl, 20 months, is feeding apple pieces to Thunder, the new male gelding.

Spring Weekend

2007-04-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a good one. We attended a first rate concert, a Celtic band concert, a pig roast, lecture about Chesapeake Bay, saw Son #2's new house, and visited with Daughter #1 and Gran'Girl #2.

My desktop computer is in the shop and the computer guy is having a hard time with it. I gave permission for the hard drive to be reformated and progames reinstalled. Bummer. At least I backed up all the important stuff onto the laptop computer.

Six Degress of Separation

2007-04-18T11:02:00.000-05:00

Over the past several weeks I have been trying to emotionally come to grips with my mother's death in February. She was dying-we knew that. She was at peace with her death-we knew that. She lived a long and full life. Her passing has left a void in my heart that I don't think will ever be filled. I missed her funeral because I was halfway around the world and there was no way I could make it back in time. I have accepted all of this and am grateful that I had a chance to become friends with my mother.

At the funeral a couple, Dave and Katie Read, knew that my four children, spouses, grandchildren were there without me. They made an effort to reach out to my children and I was able to thank Katie later for being there for my children when I could not be. My children were confused as to her relationship to the family. They thought perhaps Katie was my father's sister and were to embarrassed to find out who she was. Dave and Katie Read are neighbors of my parents in Macedon, NY. They were responsible for making my parents feel welcome in the St. Ann's church community. They attended bible study with my parents and have been emotionally available to my family as we adjusted to life without our mother/wife.

Yesterday I found out that they suffered the most profound tragedy that grandparents could. Their beloved granddaughter Mary Karen Read was gunned down at Norris Hall at Virginia Tech. She was 19. Now that tragedy has gotten personal. I did not know Mary. But I knew that her grandparents had reached out to my children at a difficult time. And now I am powerless to do anything for them. My heart bleeds for them and their loss. As I celebrate and mourn a life well lived (my mother) , I am also heartbroken over a life barely lived and grieving. Not only for the loss of Mary Read to her family and friends but for all the innocent that violently die each day as the evil mad human beings in our society take life and cause a huge amount of suffering among the innocent.

Mary Read is the beautiful girl on the right.

It's the Wind

2007-04-17T12:19:00.001-05:00

Another weather blog! A nor'easter blew up the coast this weekend. Here on the Eastern Shore we got some rain, minor flooding. Nothing really. My home engineered drainage ditches in the garden are working well. Several species of birds have been using the pasture and my yard as their romantic spring getaway. Even the Turkey Buzzards living in the tree canopy have partnered up and staked out a home.

But it is the Wind that is driving me crazy. The tree line is responsible for the constant jet engine roar that has been going on for a few days now. When the 40-45 mph gust come ripping through it's similar to a jet engine roaring to life before take off. If I wasn't looking at the horses, ducks and chickens I'd swear that we lived adjacent to major airport. The gusts start at the tree line and then hit the house. The vinyl siding sounds like corn popping in the microwave as it bends to the wind. The cold air seeps in around the cracks in the house causing a chill. I hate the cold. I hate the chill and I hate cold feet!

Which brings me to my Bose headphones. Which is about the best techno invention that I have in my toy chest. I totally get annoyed with jet engine noise. It's like taking a emery board to my nerve endings. We also like to travel and do most of it by plane. So, I was curious to see if these headphones lived up to their advertising claim. They do! A 17 hour plane ride is a no problem as long as I have my Bose headphones. Movies, music, my MP3 player are all enhanced with the head phones. I love them.They also have helped with the days and days of high winds whipping the tree line and battering the house. As to the chill, Dick bought me a fleece blanket engineered for air travel (I use it everywhere, all the time) and Katie (my youngest daughter) gave me the neatest pair of slippers. The insoles can be taken out and microwaved, providing about an hours worth of toasty warmth. Thanks guys for helping me stay toasty and happy.

This next bit is for my sister Mary. She has a home decor shop in Palmyra call Cranberry Cove. Her artistic sense and business acuity have made this a very prosperous destination in the area. If you are in the area I encourage you to drop by and tell her 'your big sister sent me.'

Here is my weaving and spinning studio. On the house plan this is called the dining room. Much more sensible use of space. Don't you think? This is the wall above the fire place. We had it painted a deep rich gold to show case Dick's tribal mask collection from around the world. The walls are painted a very pale tint of the same hue. That structure is 18' tall. My sons hung the masks. They did a very good job. Kudos boys! This is the 'Breakfast Nook' adjacent to the kitchen and this is where I put up some Heritage Lace curtains that I ordered through my sister's shop. The lace pattern is called 'Gala'. The valance is lace but the rest of the curtain is fringe. These photos do not do justice to the subtle feel.

Here is close up of one of the curtains. We like the transition from the outside to inside.

The sun room that is adjacent to the breakfast nook and family room also has a heritage lace pattern called 'Set Sail'.

So there you have it, Mary. How I used your ideas to decorate our house. Dick is really pleased with these lace curtains and he is not the sort that likes lace. By the way the upstairs guest bedroom is decorted with stitchery done by my other two sisters, and our mother. Come visit and enjoy!

Easter Weekend 2007

2007-04-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

Mother Nature did not play nice with us this Easter. She must be having Demetia or something because she has the seasons mixed up. At Christmas we had record high temperatures (no snow). Easter Sunday we had record cold temperatures and Easter Eve it snowed!

I do want you to notice that I time stamped these photos. This photo was taken Thursday 5 April at 7:16 PM. First, it is terribly wrong to have this much sun at this late an hour at this time of year. Our dear Federal government decided to move Daylight Savings time back a few weeks. I'm not sure I like this.
Secondly, on this evening the temperatures were seasonable pleasant. Somewhere in the high 60's. A languid low pressure system from the south was hugging our coast.

This is a typical sunset in Spring in this part of the world. Right now the sun is setting due west. That means we can sit on our patio and enjoy the sunset instead of peering around our neighbors sunroom (the sun sets further south in the winter and her sunroom blocks our view; but I dearly love my neighbor and get to see the winter sunsets from her sunroom once in awhile).

Now check this out. It is 8:58 the next morning. During the night a very strong cold high pressure system came blustering through. The clash of the titans was a sight to behold. A thunder and lightening storm that beat any 4th of July fireworks. That low pressure system did put up a fuss but was no match for the superior wind power from the northwest! The weather-man called for 2-4 inches of snow but the low pressure system hung around long enough to spare us all but a dusting of snow. Please admire my new River Birch that was just installed by my favorite nursery (kudos to Ken and Victor)

My spring flowers are real troopers. They slightly bent under the weight of the soggy snow. Bravely they held on until the daylight came and melted the snow away. However, the nasty high pressure system kicked the balmy winds to sea and now we are suffering under record cold temperatures for this time of year. This warrior from the northwest blasted the entire east coast from Maine to Florida. He has us under seige for about a week longer I am thinking.

Sassy Ladies March Tea

2007-04-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

Our Red Hat ladies have two outings a month. One is the major event-an activity with lunch and the other is a Tea. At this Tea we are supposed to discuss the business of our organization.
As you can see we take these executive sessions very seriously.

The tea is held in our homes on a rotating basis. HRH there in profile is the Queen MUM, the dear hostess this month is in the center. One of the best parts of the tea (besides stuffing ourselves with high calorie snacks) is to inspect the homes of friends. We all live in the same development (except HRH on the left holding a coffee mug). There are only about a handful of models. The joy of visiting our fellow sisters homes is to see how uniquely each is decorated. Our hostess this month showed off her big purchase of the month--a huge king size ultra suede bed that is just perfect for the room. We got to see her girly collection in the master bathroom toilet closet. We all ohhhh and ahhhhhed and envied her stylish girly stash.

Our Queen MUM is calling the business meeting to order. As she shares all the important news from the National Red Hat society we all carry on a side bar conversation with each other. Our meetings most resemble a gathering of a British House of Parliament . We agreed that a house guest could participate in our March outing and that it is quite permissible to miss an event to have a date with our husband.
We all poured over the Red Hat Catalogue of merchandise. What an industry! The selection of merchandise ranges from the conservative to the outrageous.
What a lovely hat! Our dear HRH won this hat in an Easter Egg give away. Our Queen MUM procured this hat (I never did quite get the story on the procurement, but if anything ever needs to be procured our Queen MUM is a good procurer). To celebrate the Easter spirit she had a basket full of yellow eggs. As each of us arrived she placed an egg in her basket. During the tea we each took an egg from the basket. When I opened mine I had a blank piece of paper (the giveaway gods were not smiling on me). But HRH here got the paper with "You win" on it. By group consensus we decided that this hat is perfect for her. So there you have it--our Red Hat Lady of the Month.

Look Who is Getting Married!

2007-04-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

It's our Zuzi! For those not in the know, Zuzi was the Kazimir Family exchange student for the 1993/94 school year at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, DE.

She wrote to say that her dress, pink, was made in America.

She is currently a Teaching Assistant University of Aberdeen in Scotland in the The Geosciences School, Geography and Environment Department.

We hope to see her when we are in Scotland in August. Her mother is coming in August so perhaps our schedules will allow us to have a reunion.

If you want her email or address just send me an email.

The New Horse

2007-04-03T09:04:00.000-05:00

This little fella joined the three other horses just a few weeks ago. I don't know his name but I do know that he likes my Horse Apple Snacks and he likes his muzzle scratched.

Below is a picture of me slipping treats to the new horse and his pasture buddy Story.

Dick took this photo of me digging in the dirt. Since our house was built on the earth's infrastructure (no soil, just hard clay that breaks a pick ax) I have to buy bags of the stuff in order for my garden to grow.

I probably could have truck loads of soil brought in. However, I like going up to Robin's Nest nursery here in Easton and hanging out with the staff in the landscaping shed. Usually I go up there a couple of times a week and load five bags of soil and as many plants as my little 1999 Plymouth Neon can hold. Us regulars have fun catching up on the latest gossip and swapping gardening hints with the staff.

This is what mostly grows in my yard. I like the little violas and have been transplanting them in other places in the garden. I don't especially want them in the middle of what will be a lawn.
When I sit on the dirt it gets me closer to all the little insects, worms, ladybugs and spiders that populate the soil. Last year I had no earthworms in the garden. In the spot above I found enough big fat juicy worms to fill a can. Now if I can just find the fishing pole!

The Spring Garden

2007-03-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

Spring is officially here and my garden is slowly responding to the nudging of warm temperatures, gentle showers, and glorious sunshine. This is the front bed in front of my textile studio/formally known as the dining room. Not much excitement especially from the Camellia in the far right corner. What you can't see is deciduous Magnolia in the center that is putting out tentative buds.

This photo was taken in front also. It is a veiw from my husband's study/formally known as the living room. I planted about 75 bulbs last fall. I took this picture two days ago and this morning there were about twice as many blooms. Very pretty.

This is the back yard up close to the house. If you sit on the patio you can see the neighbors horse pasture. Not much activity going on here except for weeds. The iris under the window got faked out by the December warm spell and their tender little tips are all brown. Hopefully they will not be so timid and grow tall and bloom for us. I also have lots of garden space to play with this year. This I plan to do with passion.

Here is last night sunset. Pretty average as sunsets go around here. However, the sky has been overcast since the first day of spring. This is the first spring sunset of the year and we can acutally watch it from our sun room or patio(if the weather is warm).

The Textile Room

2007-03-28T08:23:00.000-05:00

I am blogging in the The Textile Room. I have a student and our first project is to make some towels. You must be thing how insane is this. Perfectly fine kitchen towels can be purchase at Target or Wal-Mart for a couple of dollars and no hours of labor. But check the site and see why I am obsessed with the process called weaving.

Sassy Ladies March 2007

2007-03-23T09:22:00.000-05:00

These are my Red Hat Society buddies and we had a marvelous outing yesterday. We had afternoon tea and a tour of a new B&B here in Easton called "The Inn at 202".

For those of my readers that don't know about "The Red Hats" just a brief, my version, of the history. Years ago, in the early 1990's, I came across a wonderful book at a discount book store with a wonderful elderly woman done in stitchery. The book was called When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple. It was a book of poems and when I read the first entry by Jenny Joseph titled "Warning", I was hooked. The first two stanzas are:

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

Based on this poem a whole organization of budding LOL (Little Ole' Ladies) in training was born and has taken the country, probably the world, by storm. The only rules in this organization are to wear a red hat, and purple clothing when we are on outings. Outings can be most anything that is fun.

So yesterday we all dressed up and had tea at The Inn at 202 Dover St. in Easton. Here is one of our members showing off the Inn's very own Red Hat tea pot. A whole industry is built around collectibles that feature the Red Hat's.

We had a tour of the porches, dining rooms and four bedrooms at the Inn. The Inn also serves dinner and has it's own chef and wait staff. My husband and I met the owners Ron and Shelby Mitchell one evening at the Avalon Theater. After chatting with them during intermission I could not wait to visit their establishment and I was not disappointed. None of us were.

This was my place setting at the tea table. Don't you think the Royal Albert China the the Queen Elizabeth I teapot adorable?

Here is one of our Ladies demonstrating the correct way to sip tea from a saucer. We have learned many new and wonderful things from our sisters. Our little group of 20 ladies is dedicated to exploring all the nooks and crannies of our Eastern Shore Home and I can't wait for the next event.

Lunch at Mason's and http://www.art-academy.org/ in April.