Have a safe and happy holiday!
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Thursday, June 29, 2023
I like Thursdays: June 29, 2023
It's almost July! It hardly seems possible. But happily, we've been getting lots of rain this past week and the garden is looking full and lush again. You could almost hear the earth sigh in relief and the birds and bees appear happy and busy again.
Our prompt this week from LeeAnna is about county fairs. Our county fairs around here tend to be closer to the end of August and I think originally celebrated the harvest. The Kutztown Folk Festival isn't a county fair but it's one I've visited many times. Many of the old time crafts are featured. But the best part is the quilt building. Yes, I said BUILDING!
The quilts are all for sale plus there are quilting demonstrations often held there. THE BUILDING IS AIR CONDITIONED as well for those of us who mind the July heat. The quilts along the back of the room are the award winners and they are auctioned off near the end of the festival. One went for about $15,000. one year.
And speaking of Kutztown, Pa...my brother who has lived in Maryland for the last 30 or more years loves the news from this region which he says is always strange and unusual. Here's a good one for him. A few days ago, my alma mater, Kutztown University had to issue a security bulletin for the students and staff. Apparently an aggressive cow was wandering around the campus. Of course you may have already heard of this since it apparently made national news. Trust the NY Post and Fox News to bulk up the story:
‘Aggressive cow’ terrorizes students in Pennsylvania college town, police respond
Actually the cow headed off in the woods that evening despite police and the farmer's attempt to catch the cow. But wait! There's more! Cow was back on campus yesterday. The cow eluded police again. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Have a safe and happy weekend!
Thursday, June 22, 2023
I Like Thursdays: June 22, 2023
Happy Summer everyone! Well it's Thursday and I'm back to posting for "I like Thursdays." Bloggers join LeeAnna to celebrate the good in life.
Last week was just really busy but I'm back now. Here's some things I like!
Scott McGillivray's show, Scott's Vacation House Rules is back on tv and I always enjoy his humor and the banter between him and designer, Debra Salmoni.
After what seems like an eternity, PBS Masterpiece is back on our local channel. Mom and I are watching Ridley. The opening episode was okay. We are waiting to see how this one plays out.
Speaking of British shows, a bunch of my family have these lengthy conversations about them. My husband won't watch any of them so he is left in the dark. Conversations begin like "Did you see...." and end up with us trying to recall other series that featured the actors. It's our kind of fun!
We finally got rain!
The gardening neighbors were texting things like "Yahoo!" and "DANCING!" The garden feels like it's dancing too. There is no substitute for real rain in a garden and everything has perked up!
Our prompt this week is about our childhood and the ice cream truck. We didn't often get the truck in our neighborhood and I don't really recall it ever being in the city where my Nana lived (and where we spent most of our time). My husband doesn't remember the trucks being in his area much either. What we did have were lots of drive-in little ice cream places that sold soft ice cream. Hubby and I had a lot of fun reminiscing about those locations last weekend when we ourselves went for soft ice cream.
To be honest, money was tight for both our families. We were more likely to get ice cream at home than from the truck or the ice cream stand. Nana was raising her three younger children plus my brother and I and that's a lot of mouths to feed. The dessert she served most often was watermelon. Pop would pick melons up from local farm stands and it fed us and some of the neighbor kids too.
Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!
Thursday, June 8, 2023
I Like Thursdays: June 8, 2023
Happy Thursday!
Time to roll out our list of things we like! Please join us by visiting all the bloggers via our hostess, LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color!
First thing to like: my husband's rapid recovery from hand surgery. Even the physical therapist is stunned by his progress!
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Garden visitors! We've had a number of folks stop by the front garden this past week, mostly because of the impact of the Missouri Primrose blossoms! It's so funny because all of them purposely walked by our house to see the garden. One woman showed me that she keeps photos of our garden on her phone. She even remembered the Suffrage Garden of 2020!
Another couple believed they were destined to own the house. Our address was the last 4 digits of their telephone number and they considered that a sign. They lived a half mile from us but always made sure they walked by the garden.
Visitors like that are one of the benefits of having a garden. You get to meet more neighbors!
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Lana's prompt this week is about ice cream memories. We didn't have many childhood rituals about ice cream. But the best ice cream was at my Nana and Pop's house because they bought novelty things that we loved...fudgsicles, ice cream bars, sandwiches, etc. My maternal grandparents lived on Sixth Avenue; my paternal grandparents live on Fourteenth Avenue. My brother, sister-aunt, brother-uncle and I walked the long alley from Nana Betty's to Nana Elsie's to visit. We were always greeted with Nana Elsie's novelty ice cream.
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Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend!
Thursday, June 1, 2023
I Like Thursdays: June 1, 2023
Happy Thursday!
Well it's time to be share our positive thoughts as part of "I like Thursdays." Please visit other bloggers at Not Afraid of Color, LeeAnna's blog!
Best news this week is that my husband had successful hand surgery yesterday and is home and recovering. He's managing the pain with just Advil and now we just need to make sure he doesn't get an infection in the incision.
This week's prompt is what kind of ice cream do we like? Well my favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip and it's been my favorite since childhood. But these days, I've got a lot of novelty ice creams in the freezer because my husband likes them so much this time of year: ice cream sandwiches, nutty buddy cones, and the vanilla ice cream on a stick--coated with chocolate.
Other wonderful things: little Gavin (age 5) goes for bike ride (he is still on training wheels) each evening. I get a knock on my front door so he can give me a hug. Best gift of my day!
Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!
Thursday, May 25, 2023
I Like Thursdays: May 25, 2023
Good morning!
Well it's Thursday and time to share a happy post on the blog. Like many bloggers I participate in "I like Thursdays" hosted by LeeAnna. What do you like this week?
I like soaker hoses. They make my job as a gardener so much easier. The hoses save me money, time, and water the garden efficiently. We are having a wonky spring here in eastern Pennsylvania. It was a very dry April, then we got a week of gentle rain and now...two weeks of nothing again. Speaking of the garden...
Our prompt this week is "if you could go on vacation right now, where would it be?" I'd be right here in my garden. I love Italy in the fall and winter. I love the seashore in Delaware or Jersey in September. I love Maine in July. But spring and early summer is my favorite time in the garden and I just like to be here at home.
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!
Thursday, May 18, 2023
I Like Thursdays: May 18, 2023
Happy Thurday!
As always, many bloggers share what makes them happy on "I like Thursdays" posts. LeeAnna our hostess has many happy posts so visit her here for more inspiration!
Things I like:
A new baby bunny living in our garden. I got the best photo I could of the little bambino, who is much smaller than appears in the photo:
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I finished Katie's quilt top! No photo to share but sewing seems to go by the wayside during gardening season. Today my husband and I will take it to Terri, my favorite machine quilter. Katie lives next door and we have known her all her life. I'm excited to get this done as soon as possible because her wedding is in September!
Now I get to do some "free sewing" and am excited to buzz around my sewing room as we await some much needed rain!
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Our great-niece Remi had her first birthday and...she's walking!
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This week's prompt is "Have you ever had a close encounter with any celebrities? Seen someone in person, talked to them, etc. Please tell us the details!"
We live close enough to NYC that we tend to just notice celebrities and keep going (which is what most people in NY do when they see celebrities). Once I was kissed by a famous poet but for the most part, I just figure folks are folks and leave it at that (sorry, I don't get kissed and tell).
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I like fuchsia. I went to my local fabric store and on the way home noticed that one of the farms had a sign out for fresh produce. We had visited the farm before and liked their produce. I got my husband fresh asparagus and two hanging baskets of fuchsia each for under $15 (so full and mature they would have cost me $50 for each basket here in town). Score!
Have a safe and happy weekend!
Thursday, May 11, 2023
I Like Thursdays: May 11, 2023
Happy Thursday!
It's time to share what makes us happy as part of "I like Thursdays!" LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color is our hostess with the mostess as we fill the internet with happy thoughts! Be sure to visit her blog for more happy posts!
I like coffee! About a week ago, I was feeling off and even wondered if I had caught covid. I couldn't smell the coffee brewing which is how I always start the day. Turns out my coffee pot was dying. The coffee that brewed was lukewarm and weak. Not a good way to start the day at all! My new coffee pot arrived Sunday afternoon and when I made my first pot on Monday it was delightful to smell the fragrance of coffee fill our home again! Three cheers for coffee!
This week's prompt is on music. What kind of music do we like to listen to, sing along to, etc. Well I like music from the 1960s and tend to keep that radio station blaring when I drive. I like the happy pop songs of the 60s. When I travel with my brother we talk about things like where we heard this or that song...at the pool, at a relatives house, etc. These songs are the soundtrack of our youth!
I love my wonderful neighborhood full of interesting characters. We are so lucky to have such good neighbors! Today's feature on folks in our neighborhood is Molly and her menagerie. She has two dogs that she walks regularly.
Zorro and Yogi
What makes her memorable in the neighborhood is that one of her cats takes a walk when Molly is walking her dogs! Ethel follows along and everyone in the neighborhood is amused by Ethel's determination to remain with the pack :)
One day a stray cat started hanging out at Molly's house and then that cat started following Molly, Zorro, and Yogi as well. That annoyed Ethel but eventually the stray found her way home.
Wishing you a happy and safe day!
Thursday, May 4, 2023
I Like Thursdays: May 4, 2023
Well it's Thursday and time to post the things we like! For more inspirational and happy posts, visit our hostess LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color!
This week's prompt is about singing. I grew up in an Irish-American family and everyone sang all the time. I would play the piano and my father and grandfather would sing old Irish folks songs and standards from Tin Pan Alley.
I mostly just sing to babies and dogs. Each of my pups had their own song I made up for them and they all loved it! Yes, dogs do respond to singing--especially in high sing-song voices!
Last weekend I received a wonderful package in the mail. My friend Beth made this lovely cross-stitched picture and I love it!
Beth has been doing a lot of cross stitch while caring for her mother and I was surprised she had the time to do this one for me. It's a Lori Holt pattern and she knows I love Lori's work. Thank you Beth!
We've had a rainy week here in Pennsylvania and I've gotten a lot of blocks done for my next quilt. It's for Katie (next door) who is getting married in the fall. She used to play with my granddaughter and I watched all the kids next door grow-up and loved them like my own grandkids.
I'm happy that one of my favorite shows is back on tv. "Restoring Galveston" is one of my favorite shows and I love the young couple and the work they do to restore old homes.
Other than taking care of Mom, it's been a quiet week. But quiet weeks are good too!
Have a safe and happy weekend!
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