Time for Blueberries

July 2nd - Friday Warmer and beautiful blue skies with low humidity

Here came July and with it came blueberries that are ready to be picked, Lou and I spent the last two mornings picking berries, sorting them and today froze some of them. So far we have picked about 10 quarts and they are turning very quickly. They are about two weeks earlier this year than last year.

Now to back up and catch up on our week since Wednesday. Square dancing went really well. I danced with some very seasoned dancers and they were very good at pushing me or pulling me in the direction we were to go. Yes, I did remember how to "load the boat" and we also learned a new call and it is "relay the ducie", that took some working for all of the new members, but think I can master that better than the last call. Barbara and Joe along with Spike and Kay are really good to help me along and I so appreciate their help with no scolding. The couples that come here each Friday evening are very special to me as they give of their time each week to spur me along. Lou was already very close to these folks and they have been so very accepting of me and we are really having a lot of fun together.

Thursday, we spent most of the day and afternoon with the blueberries, which took us by surprise, but we are off to a good start.

Lou's sister had an accident with her car, so she is without a car, so Lou and I have loaned her our Buick to drive until she can work out something until she can either get a new car or have hers repaired. Thankfully, God was watching for her and she does not have any serious injuries. This is the second incident with car accidents in our family this week. Steve also had an accident with the company truck and thank God his injuries were not serious at this point and he has been cleared to go back to work.

Today, we did laundry and hung all of the bedding on the line and set out for Lou's house to pick more berries. We got home about 2:00, had a quick lunch and we tackled our yard work. Lou used the riding mower and I used the push mower and did the weed eating. Just as I was about finished, I hit a rock and it got lodged between the blade and the mower and I used a rock to try and dislodge it and was successful in my task, but managed to smash both of my thumbs, one popped open and isn't nearly as painful as the thumb that just turned black under the nail. Lou thought he could poke a hole in the nail to let the pressure off, but I was a little antsy with him burning the hole in the nail, so hopefully, tomorrow it will be all better. As far as DH is concerned, that thumb will be perfectly healed!!!

Lou had to order new tires for his push mower, and they arrived today so his goal for the morning tomorrow is to get them installed, and I want to get my house cleaned up in the morning and then we are off to The Bark Peelers' Convention for the afternoon and then tomorrow night we will take Estee and go to the fireworks in Mansfield. Sound silly to take the dog, not in the least, she has watched the fireworks from the time she was a puppy. The Fourth of July was one of our favorite holidays, as Krista and Steve always had a lovely display of fireworks and my late husband loved to watch them and looked forward to seeing them in his own back yard every year, and of course, where ever Al went, as did Estee. She would sit on his lap and watch every explosion and get excited watching them. Never a bark, just nodding her head in the direction of the pretty light.

Along came Lou and Estee found a new best friend. My dad once told me to look for a man that loved animals and was good to his parents and one other thing, that none of us can remember. The first time Estee met Lou, she did not even bark at him. He sat down on the sofa and she was in his lap and to this day, when he sits down, Estee is right there. We all joke about Al spoiling Estee, but he didn't hold a candle to the way Lou treats her now. How could I have been so lucky to find another man that Estee and I could love. God is good.

Happy Fourth of July to all.

Joys of Climbing the Mountain

June 30th - Wednesday - 39 degrees at 7:00 am

We should have known yesterday morning when we got up it was going to be a special day and indeed it was.

It started at breakfast, as Lou and I were sitting at the table chatting, we were looking at our wonderful view from our kitchen table and we saw a flock or turkey, that were just picking their way across the hillside, then we spied a red fox and he was wandering across the hill also; however, he did not seem to be interested in the turkeys and meandered his way across the hill.

After breakfast, Lou asked me if I wanted to take a little walk and I suggested going across the creek and up on the hill, but he thought he wanted to walk up the hill across from our home. The last time I walked to the top of that hill was when I was a teenager and still living at home and I walked it with my brother and I also remember when we came back we told Daddy we had a deer run right in front of us and Daddy's remark was you could tell if the deer belonged on that side of the hill, as two legs were shorter, as the hill was so steep.

Well, let me tell you we climbed and climbed some more straight up and when we finally reached the top, we could see most of Catlin Hollow from up there and almost to Middlebury Center. As we stood at the top and looked out we could see the two gas well that are being drilled in our area and off to the right we could see what we thought was water. I had not remembered any water, we we walked down the side of the mountain and came to a small pond where there was a deer drinking from the cool mountain pool.

We continued on out into a meadow and before our eyes were the most butterflies we have ever seen in one place (in the wild). The air was aglow with a very sweet aroma which we soon found to be milkweed in bloom, along with brown eyed Susan, sweet clover, daisies, crown vetch, trillium, paint brush and other unidentified wild flowers. It was a very memorable morning. By the time we returned home, we had walked over two hours.

Once home, we quickly fixed lunch and left for Lou's house to work out the problem with his lawn tractor and the bagger. I weeded the flower bed by the house and watered the flowers and helped Lou finish his job and by the time we arrived home it was 7:30, so another late dinner. Our goal was to be over dinner in time to watch NCIS. That didn't happen, but we did get to enjoy a movie on Hallmark.

Today, I had an early morning hair appointment and Lou went to Mansfield for a haircut along with a stop at his house to check on the water in his basement. Tonight is square dancing and I will get to see if what I learned on Friday night has stayed with me.

We are now off to the garden to get beet green for dinner this evening.

Garden and Lawn Work

June 28th - Monday 80 degrees - Cloudy and humid

We were awakened this morning by a series of phone calls and after all of the details concerning them were taken care of, and breakfast out of the way, we decided to take the plunge and see if we could locate the part that was needed for Lou's friend's tractor.

If you remember this has been a long going process and after nearly three hours on the computer with several "live helps" we found nothing. The part has been discontinued by the Onan company, so the only hope we have is to be able to locate an used part someplace. Lou called a neighbor that had a tractor like his friends at one time to find that his neighbor had sold two of them to an unnamed person in Covington on Canada Road, so Lou has set out to drive Canada Road in the hopes he can spot a gentlemen that enjoys restoring old tractors. Lou also needed to cut his grass, as the scheduled lawn cutting for last week did not materialize; therefore, DH is off taking care of obligations that keep popping up.

I took advantage of the situation and took steak from the freezer to marinate for dinner, made a large potato salad and have fresh bread rising to bake just before dinner. I decided that onion and dill bread would go good with our steak. I have a fresh cooked strawberry pie prepared for dessert. This is a recipe that one of my friends in Ohio always baked and remembered that it was delicious. Lou told me that his father preferred the cooked strawberries in shortcake, so Lou found this an interesting recipe. The crust that is used is a sweetened pie crust that is patted into the pie dish and then bakes. Wednesday night is "strawberry night" at square dancing and thought this would be a different recipe to use.

With dinner taken care of and the laundry out of the way, thought it would be a good time to trim our shrubbery around the house, was a wonderful afternoon to accomplish this job, as the skies were cloudy and it wasn't so hot that I could enjoy the challenge of making the shrubs look good. Sue had given me electric trimmers several years ago and after I learned the lesson to be careful of the cord, I have found them the perfect tool.

When we met at dinner tonight and compared our afternoons, it looked like my afternoon was much more successful than Lou's. He was not able to find the gentleman that bought the tractor and when he tried to cut his grass, had problems with his lawnmower. Thankfully, I was able to get the shrubbery trimmed and the mess cleaned up and hauled away.

Dinner was wonderful and enjoyed by both of us and we enjoyed a great movie from Netflex tonight. Tomorrow will offer an opportunity to accomplish was not able to be done today.

A Few Days Closer to Winter

June 27th - Sunday Hot and Humid - 87 degrees

With the passing of June 21st, Lou is always sad, as he thinks we are getting closer to winter. I had never thought of it this way, as I am very fond of fall and was always a huge fan of winter, until I started with Raynauld's Disease and found that my extremities did not handle the cooler temperatures as well. I have learned the hard way, that when the temperature is below 32 degrees, I can not be outside for longer than ten minutes at a time. Lou, Krista and Dr. Nespola have impressed this fact on me many times, and after nearly loosing several toes, I am a believer.

I can not say that I enjoy these hot humid days, and am very content to stay in and find things to enjoy in the central air conditioned house. I have also noticed that DH seems to enjoy the less humid days as much as I do.

Monday found us going back to Sayre for testing and a doctor's appointment. We were fortunate to get in for the appointment on time and were back on the road by 10:30 AM. We wanted to do some shopping, but really preferred shopping in Williamsport, so used the new GPS in our car and drove route 220 to Williamsport. I pulled out the map to see where our new system was taking us and found that we would pass very near Eagles Mere, so I asked Lou if we could make a side trip and he was only too happy to satisfy my longing.

In 2002, I read a wonderful book written by Heather Trexler Remoff, called February Light. She later recorded an audio book by the same name as a gift of hope, encouragement and support to cancer patients and their families. She was a victim of cancer and she tells her story of the ups and downs of her year and with her personal fight with cancer. She was from Eagles Mere and described the area with such finesse, that one could not read or listen to the book without visualizing the wonderful country side that she described, with the seasons that surrounded her "lake" and mountain home. The personal goals that she set for herself and how she was able to succeed in all she set out to do. It certainly was inspiring to me and to several of our patients at that time. One of our patients was so taken by the book and the music that David Vaughn wrote for the audio book, that she got her husband to promise her, if she recovered from her cancer he would take her to Eagles Mere so she could witness first hand the beauty that Mrs. Remoff so aptly described. That dream came true for our patient and she came back to Wellsboro and right to our office to tell me how inspiring the day had been for her. I felt the same way as Lou drove, ever so slowly, through the beautiful country side, so I could visualize the beauty of summer in Eagles Mere. I had my camera with me; however, never took the first picture. I was so engrossed in the beauty and trying to file my pictures in my brain in the proper sequence that I did not think until we were almost to Williamsport that I should have snapped pictures. The pictures I have in my memory and the special day that Lou and I experienced will be with me forever.

On Tuesday, we awoke to rain and high humidity, that Lou suggested we do some research on televisions. We were viewing our programs on a Quasar television that was purchased in 1990, and we were ready to progress to a more modern appliance. After a day of research, through Consumer's Report and many web sites we decided on a 26 inch Vizio.

That prompted a drive to Montoursville to purchase the television. So far we have been very satisfied with the performance. We found it very easy to set up, as we had laughed on the way home, that it would probably be a very late night.

Wednesday, we both worked outside all day, we tied up the green beans, put Miracle Grow on all flowers and the veggies, we found it was soon time to shower and leave for square dancing. Lou and I had worked on me learning "load the boat" for dancing and I was sure I had it correct and the first time the call was called out, I goofed and that blew the whole night for me. This has been a real task for me, but I am determined I will learn these 60 some calls, it is just going to take some time. I know that missing three months of lessons was a huge hindrance.

Thursday, I realized I had been in the heat and humidity too long on Wednesday and stayed in for the majority of the day. Lou took his walk by himself. I fixed a roast pork dinner and had Shawn, Maegan and their four girls in for dinner. By the time we were ready to eat dinner, it had cooled down and we enjoyed our dinner outside on the picnic table. We all made our favorite ice cream sundae for dessert.

Thursday also brought bad news for Krista and her family. She received a phone call that we as wives, mothers and such hate to hear. Steve had been in an accident with the company truck and had been taken to the hospital. After many studies were completed it was revealed that he had a concussion, however, no broken bones, but many bruises of which he realized the next day were more prevalent then than before. They are firm believers that these things happen for a reason and they are looking for those reasons and to learn from them. We wish him a speedy recovery and a return to normalcy.

Friday morning, I baked a blueberry dessert that Sue had told me about and cleaned up the house in the morning, so I could help Lou with the lawn in the afternoon. Our square dancing friends arrived at 7:00 for an evening of square dancing in the garage. I served the blueberry dessert and it was a hit with everyone. Two of the girls took the recipe home with them. I do believe that I have conquered "load the boat", will know better on Wednesday night. Lou and I look forward to our Friday nights with our friends, it is really a good time for all of us and the evening passes so quickly.

Saturday, we awoke with the feeling of relief, nothing planned for the day, the house was clean, the lawn finished, we could take our time and enjoy the day. At 11:00 we fixed brunch and went out on the deck and enjoyed the scenery and our food that we had prepared together. Around 4:00 we decided we would drive to Coolidge Hollow Church and partake of their Strawberry Festival. I think half of Tioga County was in attendance. We met many friends as we were walking up to the church that had already been served and when we entered Fellowship Hall, there were many other folks that we knew, we enjoyed our dinner and chatted with friends until almost 9:00 pm, in fact, we had to hurry to get to the grocery for a few items before they closed.

This morning, we attended church and heard Pastor Keith's last message for a month, as he left for Washington, DC after our service and will be attending school there for a month. We shall miss he and his wife, Kathy, they are such a blessing to all of us. Sandi Hempker will fill his vacancy while he is away, and she also is a wonderfully talented person and we will enjoy her inspiring messages in Pastor Keith's absence.

This next week will bring us July 4th celebrations, and we plan to attend the Bark Peeler's events in Galeton on Saturday. We want to go to Mansfield for the fireworks. Normally, we are involved in a SMART camp out, but their theme was Christmas in July and Lou and I both love the patriotic theme that comes naturally with the 4th of July so we chose not to participate this year.