Philly Visit

On my way to meet Anoushka I made a stop in Roxborough for a cheesesteak and a visit with PopPop and Furball.


Look at that yummy, delicious, tummy filling steak.

Furball was very patient while I snapped the perfect picture.

On Tuesday I drove down to the airport to pick up Claire. She was flying to Albany to see her cousins and missed the connecting flight. We filled her time in Philly with:
A Philly cheesesteak - the other half of the one above.
A visit to Society Hill - Delancy St. where the pic was taken.
And time holding Anoushka - Claire loves babies.

 

 Eleanor was so excited to have a third person to take a picture of us.
Later in the day Dan took Claire back to the airport and she was on her way to NY.

Dan and Rufus relaxing.

One night Swati and I went out to a restaurant on the Delaware to have dinner. It was yummy, I had corn & crab fritters and Swati had a tomato, avocado salad. On our way out we stopped for ice cream. I had Birch Beer Vanilla and it was amazingly good. It tasted just like a birch beer float. Good thing we walked to dinner since the ice cream was not low calorie. It was however was worth every stinkin' calorie it contained!

On Thursday, Swati and I ventured out with Anoushka. We were on a mission to send me home with some of my favorite foods. At Dellasandro's I got 3 travel cheesesteaks as a surprise for the boys. The ACME had everything else - birch beer, peanut chews and TastyKakes. Thanks Swati!

Anoushka

This is Anoushka, my newest niece.
Isn't she precious?


The picture on the left is when she first came home and the one on the right is 3 weeks later. She wasn't too pleased about being strapped into the car seat and I just love the look on her sweet face! Look at how big she got, she takes up so much more of the seat now.

Dan is prepping her for future bike rides and hikes through the woods. Each night she does crunches and answers questions with a nod or shake of her head. She always answers the way Dan wants her to, hmm...that will change soon enough!

The proud Mama!!!

Such a sweet child. She is so good and mild mannered. Dan and Swati are lucky parents!

 

The quilt I made for Anoushka, almost as cute as she is.

2012 Strings Camp

This year, CJ opted to stay overnight, every night, at strings camp. We dropped him off Monday morning and didn't see him until Friday evening when his group stepped onto the stage. In that week, his voice got even deeper, his mustache got darker and he may have gotten even taller. The week was a fabulous success with lots of fun and lots of cello playing. They even got to 'hide out' in the dorms on Thursday, while a nasty thunderstorm rolled through.

I had forgotten that when Mr. Cordle is directing the cellos are in the middle so when you watch the video you won't be able to see CJ play. If you look carefully you can see his ear and back of his head behind the viola player in the pink shirt.

Enjoy.

It Did Rain!

It was a good rain, even if there were some strong winds. This time we lost a couple of branches on a maple tree. The didn't come all the way off so we are hoping the pole saw is long enough to finish the job. The electricity stayed on and we were all thankful.



It seems crazy to plant in this hot weather, but plant I did. These azaleas were only $3. at Wal-Mart and I couldn't pass them up. The weather has been cooperating a little as we have had some more rain and highs only in the low-mid 90's.

The tomato plants are loving the weather. Soon I will have lots of canning to do and I am looking forward to it. Sadly there have been only two peppers, one on each plant.

Today is July 30th and I believe that I will cut the grass this week. It has been 7 weeks since it was last mowed.

 

Hot and Dry

Like many other areas of the country this summer has been hot. We have had more days above 90 than below. Occasionally the weather forecast includes a cool front that may move in next week, only it either doesn't make it here or it just means that the highs will be under 90. It has also been very dry. Yes we had that nasty storm at the end of June. We also had a downpour this past weekend but other than that it has been dry.

This is a picture of our front lawn. Doesn't look too bad does it? The last time it was cut was June 9th, that really says how dry it is.

This is the latest weather radar.  Looks can be deceiving. The storm is moving south and barely east. And, just like yesterday I can hear the thunder but I think it is going to miss us. Just in case though, all electronics are charging and the laundry is just about done!

Clean & Organized

Somebody disregarded his mom's wishes yesterday.
Somebody then spent 3 hours cleaning, de-cluttering and organizing his room.
Doesn't it look nice?

4th of July

Our celebrations started early this year. Each year the OOHS band marches in the Orange Twp parade, as a rising freshman CJ marched in his first 4th of July parade. When we dropped he and a friend/fellow band member off at 9am it was already 89 degrees out. A hot start to CJ's marching band career!

Steve and I stopped to pick up breakfast and much needed coffee and then headed to the high school. After setting up our chairs and beach umbrella we settled in and waited for the band. It was quite a wait, but worth it.

 

They sounded great and there are so many of them!

After cold showers for all of us and a nap for me we had dinner and then headed out for fireworks. We loaded up the wagon with chairs, a cooler filled with really cold drinks and the beach umbrella (who knew the beach umbrella would come in so handy here in Columbus). While waiting for the sun we watched the progress of a storm off in the distance. Fortunately the folks in charge of setting off the fireworks were watching the storm too. At dusk, rather than dark, the fireworks started. They were sent off a little faster than normal, to beat the storm, which made the whole thing feel like a grand finale. With us this year, along with the Baxters, were our neighbors Ryan and Stephanie and their daughter Grace. This was Grace's first time seeing fireworks in person. Her giggles and excitement made the experience just that much better. Thanks neighbors for another night of great fun.

The 'Power' of Neighbors Party

Tuesday night we celebrated the return of the electricity and the power of our awesome neighbors by gathering at Cathy's house for a BBQ. We hung out well past dark, shunning the electricity so recently restored. We knew it was there and we appreciated that but we were having fun outside with our friends.

 

 

What a Storm!

After a week of warm, really warm, weather we were surprised by a massive storm. We hadn't had rain in so long that things that normally get put away have been left out with no worries. The back deck hadn't even been damp in the morning it was that dry. The first sign of a storm that Friday, was the darkening sky. Steve went out front to close the windows in the cars and I cleaned up the backyard.  After the winds started blowing the rain sideways the power went out and Steve moved the cars into the garage, fortunately the doors were open when the power went out. Then the cottonwood tree out back lost a limb that landed on the shed and the grill, it was about 15ft long and flew about 15ft before it landed. About that same time the wind blew limbs off the pear trees across the street. We had rain, hail and 85mph wind gusts. We were lucky, we only lost electricity and we have a generator. The electricity came back on Monday afternoon, 68 hours after it went out. After the storm on Friday 45% of AEP's Ohio customers were without electricity. 

We survived the heat by opening all the windows at night and closing them and the blinds when the inside temperature came close to the outside temp. The indoor/outdoor thermometer I received for Christmas was very helpful during those 3 days as were the cool nights on Friday and Sunday.

The power outage once again reinforce my love of the neighborhood. Friday night was spent on the front porch with the Baxters and the Guagentis. Saturday night Karen, Cathy and I escaped the heat by having dinner out and then going shopping. We took the car that has 3 power outlets and charged phones and my Kindle. Orange Township was amazing with cleaning up the trees. They came through Friday night and moved all the trees out of the streets and then later in the weekend picked up those trees and hauled them away. The Orange Twp. maintenance department takes very good care of our neighborhood in all seasons - Thanks!

Sunday afternoon CJ had a cello lesson and fortunately Otterbein had power. Steve and I relaxed in the lobby while CJ and Gillian did their thing. It was so cool and quiet that Steve took a short nap. On the way home we stopped at BJ's for an early dinner and some cool air. The waiter was so sweet telling us we could stay as long as we needed and since we were there in between the lunch and dinner crowds we did just that.

Monday morning Steve started the generator(again) and then headed out to work. After it ran for several hours I turned it off so that it could rest and so could my ears. Generators are loud. That afternoon I gassed it back up and attempted to start it. Having no luck I went in to find CJ in the hopes that he could start it. While looking for CJ I noticed that the answering machine was blinking and looking around it dawned on me that the electricity had come back on. I was amazed at how long it took my mind to process that information, it may have been a whole minute. After alerting CJ we did a happy dance and then called Steve and a neighbors that had been staying with a friend or were working. Later that night we were able to open the refrigerator without fear of precious cool air escaping and we slept with the air on and no hum of generators!



This leaf is from the cottonwood tree. It was stuck to the sliding glass door.

 

Father's Day

 

 

Vacation

Vacation this year was in Florida. A beach vacation in Florida was a first for CJ and I and we were not disappointed.
Our first stop was at a restaraunt in Deerfield Beach that Steve had been to with co-workers. The Whale's Rib was just as good as Steve described. Guess what CJ had for dinner, that's right - clams!
Check out that wrist - no cast and just in time for vacation!



After dinner we walked over to the beach to say hi to the ocean.

The next several days were spent on the beach. The weather was gorgeous. It was warm and sunny with an ocean breeze. Perfect beach weather. The water was so amazingly clear, I could see my feet while standing in 4 feet of water. The temperature of the water was glorious, just cool enough to feel refreshing and warm enough that I didn't get cold.

 

We were close to an inlet to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Port of Palm Beach. On Wednesday the undertow was really strong. We returned to the beach after a lovely dinner in town to find this ship very close to shore and a jetty. The ship was so close to us that we could smell the exhaust from the engines. Three tug boats arrived to help the ship get back on course. They turned it around and then pulled it far out to sea so that it could try one more time to get into port. The tugs stayed with the ship and were able to successfully guide it through the channel and safely to port.

 

Less action packed than a ship in distress, but no less exciting were the turtle nests. These taped off areas were all over the beach. It was a great feeling to be sharing the beach with Sea Turtle eggs.

We love tormenting our teenager!

Once again the beach was the scene of many battles. No turtles were harmed during these battles!

 

 

It was a great week filled with lots of needed beach time.
On the way back to the airport we once again had dinner at The Whale's Rib. This time we met up with one of Steve's coworkers who is based in that area.  On the way to the restaraunt we gave CJ permission to order as many clams as he could eat. After finishing the first dozen he ordered another, after the second dozen he ordered another. After the 36th clam he was full! CJ's favorites this vacation were the sand, the water and the clams! Love that kid.

Say Good-Bye to Middle School

On the final day of middle school CJ, his classmates and teachers spent most of the day at the local pool. While there some friends wanted to sign his cast. Since no one had a silver Sharpie and nothing else shows up on a black cast, they opted to sign his arms!

 

 

 

Good-bye middle school hello summer!
The next day started with a visit to the doctor and the removal of the cast. The cast came off just in time to start high school marching band practice and then to head to the beach.

Moochie #2

Moochie #2 is just as loved as her predecessor.

Last Middle School Orchestra Concert

On May 31, 2012 CJ performed for the final time as a middle school orchestra student. It was a night full of great music, camaraderie and yummy cake. CJ has thrived under the orchestra director, Lori Cornett. She is an amazing person who truly loves these kids. We are glad that she will be teaching and directing at the high school next year.

 

An 8th grader composed and directed the final piece of the evening. The kids played their hearts out for her. It was wonderful to listen to and heartwarming to watch.

  

After the 'stage' was cleaned up it was time for cake. Lots of cake.

So glad we don't have to say goodbye to Mrs. Cornett.