Goodbye Sandy!

Well, Sandy is winding down in this area, and we have been very blessed. My heart is aching for the many who experienced Sandy's fury and devastation. You know it's an epic storm when they say that the stock exchange is closed two days in a row for the first time since 1880-something! 

The wind was loud, and it's still raining. But really, I'm quite sure we have had stronger wind gusts in thunder storms than any we had in this storm.  

So now we have plenty of batteries and freezer boxes of ice, and we won't have to do any last-minute supply shopping before we go Stauffer camping next summer!  We're stocked for survival!

And best of all, the storm passed in time for me to be able to still have my six-week, VERY necessary hair appointment, which is where I am right now. 

As I said last time, we were planning to make a quick trip Sunday afternoon to see Destiny and Sammy. It's been So LONG!!!  But when we left church it was already raining quite heavily, then we realized there were a lot of football fans leaving town, which always causes a traffic back-up on the two-lane stretch. Suddenly our quick trip looked long and more difficult than we were in the mood for. So we decided to turn around.  I felt so disappointed. 

We made up for it by stopping at Anthony and Lori's to pick up Austin. He loves taking his Sunday nap at Grandma's house. After our naps we chilled together on the sofa while Grandpa watched his football game from his recliner. I call this photo "The New Bonding."

 

My regular week and a little more

I guess this was a rather uneventful week.  I still can't think of anything to write about.  Hmmm.  We had warmer-than-normal weather, which I loved.  I got a good walk in every day, trying to be ready for next weekend when we go to Pittsburgh to participate in the Kidney Walk.  I got a nice amount of prep done for my next Music@Home DVD.  I worked at the church office, had a good practice with our praise team at Houserville, gave piano lessons, had choir practice with the Fillmore choir, paid some bills.  

Oh, I almost forgot that on Monday morning I kept Austin because his daycare was closed.  We had a fun time going to the library for story time and then to the grocery store.  But I didn't take any pictures.  

Today we went to someone's house who was advertising free bushes and grasses, and Dick dug out several of them and planted them at our place.  He's a good, strong man!

We're glad we don't have anything but evergreens as we look at all the leaves some people have to deal with.  This is our "evergreen street".

We used to have lots of leaves at our farmhouse.  Dick would rake them up and put them on a tarp and pull them behind the lawnmower down to the fence row behind the barn.  This picture is not of leaves, but of grass clippings, both done the same way, and often with a little one going along for the ride.  On this picture it was Destiny. So cute!

And now all the news is about Sandy, the frankenstorm.  We got some things ready today in case we lose electricity - batteries, water, Coleman fuel, kerosene for our kerosene heater.  Hopefully we won't need any of it.  I wish the storm would surprise everyone and go out to sea instead of inland. 

If the forecast looks like things will hold off till late Sunday night, we are hoping to make a quick trip after church tomorrow to see Destiny and Sam, Jenn, and Sammy.  We shall see.

For the Beauty of the Earth....

For the Beauty of the Earth - that's the title of an old hymn.  It also comes to my mind all the time these days.  I just can't stop taking pictures.

I made this collage to post on Facebook the other day.  It also makes a really nice photo for my computer monitor.

I'm glad God likes bright colors and lavish beauty.

Harvest Festival, baptism, praise service - a good weekend

I was so torn about what to do on Saturday.  For quite a while I have been looking forward to attending a reunion of girls who attended the church I did as a child and teenager.   But having just returned from our vacation and with so much to catch up on, both at work and at home, I just couldn't imagine taking the time to make the trip to Lancaster County.  Neither could I imagine missing it.  Lori called Friday evening and invited me to go with them to a harvest festival at a local fruit farm.  She said Austin had been asking and asking to see us.  Well, that tipped the scales! 

Saturday morning started out nice and sunny, though chilly.  Here's a picture I took soon after we arrived at the festival.

Next we went to the rabbit-petting station, but as we were there the sun disappeared, a brisk breeze picked up, and we were miserable!  Does this melt your heart like it does mine?

Thankfully there was a nice indoor area to get coffee, hot chocolate, and goodies.  

Sunday morning was really special at Houserville House of Hope.  The two special needs ladies, Fran and Juanita,  who attend our church, as well as my guitar player Kael, violin player Ashley, and female vocalist Vanessa officially became members of the church.  Kael was baptized as well.  Afterward, during the offering, Ashley sang Kari Jobe's song No Sweeter Name so beautifully.  It was a very emotional time for me.  I have come to love each one of these dear people so much.  None of their lives are easy, but I've watched them hang onto and personalize the promises in the lyrics of our songs, and I've seen the church love them to pieces no matter what until it has truly become their family. 

Fran and Juanita.

Kael, Vanessa, and Ashley with Pastor Renee.  (I wish this picture were as clear as the one above.)

 

On Sunday afternoon Austin came here for his nap, and I got a good nap too.  

In the evening we had our monthly praise service at the Fillmore church.  Pastor Calvin (new to Fillmore since July) played drums with our team, a talent we did not know he had!  His wife Trina shared her personal testimony, which was tremendously touching and powerful.  Guitar player Ross, who is a professor at Penn State, had invited one of his students (who is from India) to come to the service, and she did, bringing one of her friends, also from India, with her.  So that was really cool.

It was a really good day.

Florida Vacation, Days Six and Seven - from Tampa to DC to Home

On Tuesday morning we had a sweet time at breakfast with Sophie.  We were playing songs on the piano apps on our phones!  But then we had to say goodbye to her when it was time for her to meet the bus.  It felt really, really hard to realize that this long-anticipated time with her was already over.  

Lisa had left very early to work at the Yoga studio, so around 9:00 George took us to the studio, we got to see around it, said our goodbyes to George, then Lisa took us to the airport.   I felt like crying as we said goodbye to George and to Lisa.  They gave us such an amazing vacation and we enjoyed being with them so very much.  I told them that they had spoiled us rotten.  They reminded us that I had kept up with the dishes and folded laundry.  Lisa said, "That rates really high on my spoiled scale!" 

We flew to BWI.  I was sleeping before it ever took off, as is usually the case.  When we arrived in Baltimore, we contacted Jeremy, and he gave us directions to one of his stores near DC where he was working that day.    Here he is with one of the office girls at the store. 

We left our truck parked there and went with Jeremy to his house.  We saw this on the way!  His apartment building was just five blocks south of the capital, now the house he moved to is about eight blocks north of it.  

Here are some pictures of the house.  It's an old row home owned by his boss and he has orders to refurbish it!   There were no curtains, so the very first thing he did was make some.  And he added some art work.

He put up these shelves at one end of the kitchen to provide more storage and a place to put the bar stools.  

Dick stayed home with Molly, his dog, while Jeremy, his friend Mike, and I walked to a grocery store.  I had decided to make a pot of vegetable soup. Jeremy was just thrilled to be getting his picture taken in the grocery store.  Can't you tell??

Here's what we found when we got back.

The soup, served with crusty bread, just hit the spot for all of us.  Later we watched a movie and then hit the sack.  He has a guest room now and two bathrooms, which makes him happy to more easily be able to have people over.  

Wednesday morning I made scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, potatoes, and veggie bacon.  Dick fixed the washer, which had gone crazy when a load of sheets had gotten off balance.  Around 11:30 we left for Jeremy to take us back to our truck at the store.  And then we had to say goodbye again.  

We were in no big hurry, so we stopped a few times for lunch and rest rooms.  As we drove on 99/220 from Altoona toward State College, we decided it was beginning to look like home.

Turning into our community.

And then as we got to our house, I saw what I was dreading - my dead marigolds and roses!

I was so glad I had taken a picture before we left.  Here's my before and after collage.

But there is no doubt that the frost that killed my flowers also did wonderful things for our fall foilage.  My mountain is starting to burst with color even on a cloudy day!

And that's the end of my vacation posts finally.  Now I am trying to figure out how to catch up at work and at home and get to see Austin and Destiny and Sammy and that little Jada who is growing too quickly already.  And there's a Sunday School reunion I wish I could go to down home on Saturday and we're having our praise service at Fillmore Sunday night.  I feel a little overwhelmed thinking about it all.  Can I just go back to having vacation, please???

Florida Vacation, Day Five - the beach and the pool

Monday morning arrived too soon for all of us, but especially for Sophie who had to go to school, bless her heart.  They usually leave the house at 7 am to meet the school bus, but this morning George took her all the way to school in order to be able to leave later.  He was working in the direction of her school that morning anyway.

This was my beach therapy day.  I had not been to the beach since June 2009 when we were in Florida for Jeremy's graduation from college.  I've been looking at my friend Kat's amazing beach pictures and longing to see it for myself.  We went to Honeymoon Island, and without a doubt the sand is not as white, there is seaweed strewn about, and the water is not as turquoise as Kat's Destin Beach, but it was still the beach - the vastness, the smell, the sun, the awesome swell of the waves lifting me up and down and washing against me.  I LOVED it!  Lisa's friend Lynn and her mother from Illinois met us there, so that was even more fun.

We left on time to meet Sophie at her bus stop, and when we got home we jumped right into the pool with the dogs! They LOVE playing fetch in the pool and are so competitive!  


This went on non-stop for at least half an hour!  

I have fun in the pool, but I don't swim and I don't like putting my head under water.  That's really hard for Sophie to understand, and maybe someday she'll actually be the one who teaches me to swim!  I did go beyond my comfort zone and let her dump big cup after big cup of water on top of my head.  She gave me a mohawk!  Sorry - no pictures!  Lisa has those!

I also had fun walking around taking pictures of the house and grounds.

Later we went to watch Sophie's gymnastics practice, picked up some yummy Greek food on the way home, did some laundry, and started organizing our stuff for the next day's departure.  )-:

Here are some pics I took with my cell phone inside the house.  I'm so eager to upgrade to a phone that takes better pictures, especially since my trusty camera developed a strange new behavior on Monday - it will not turn off!  I have to take the battery out to turn it off, then put it back in when I want to take a picture!  What a pain!

How did I forget to take a picture of Sophie's cute bedroom?  Having too much fun, I guess!