Red Riding Hood and Guitar Man

Happy Halloween

 

This Halloween morning Bridget was the first one up, but before long a silent Batman walked into the kitchen. He's a serious guy. Later I went to Library Story Time with Sleeping Beauty and the Hulk. Exciting day for me!

We talked to our other grandkids. Tonight they are Katie Little Red Rding Hood, Stephen Guitar Man, Anthony Screaming Blood and Alex Batman!

Morning Light

We did get to the movies on Tuesday. Our choices were Beverly Hills Chihuahua which we already saw, High School Musical 3 which didn't interest us, Religious which mocks relilgion - we didn't think so - or Morning Light. So, we saw the light. This movie by Disney is really a documentary about 15 youths training and sailing from California to Hawaii in a race. We enjoyed it!

October Snow

 

Yesterday was almost like summer and today we had our first snow. Although it snowed for a couple of hours the snow didn't stick. Northern areas of NJ got up to 4 inches. The tv news meterologist said this happens about every 15 years. Why aren't you impressed?

Porches

 

 

 

My handyman Bill finished the back porch a few weeks ago and it looks great. And I finished scraping and painting the railings of our wraparound porch this week. that was a bigger job than I expected. Scraping is the tough part. Next step is painting the porch floor. We'll work on that together!

852 Stone Road

Last weekend was a very busy weekend for Bill and me. Besides Andy and Mary's anniversary party, a 50 year grammar school luncheon, a birthday party for Andy and Art, we stopped at 852 Stone Road, the house I grew up in. The present owners bought the house from our family in 2002 after our mother passed away. They added an attached garage to the back of the house and took down the old garage. They also added a side porch and door. It looks great and I believe my parents would be very pleased to see the house being taken care of so well.

We were very pleased to be invited in to see the house. The kitchen is still the same as it was in the 50's. They plan to rennovate it. Upstairs they removed a wall between two bedrooms. The rooms have all been painted and are nicely decorated. I had left a copy of my father's autobiography for them when they bought the house. She said she appreciated it and told me that Mr. Whitman had stopped to see the house. After visiting the house he wrote a 3 page autobiogrhy about living there. He also sent them the above photos of his family. She let me borrow both the autobiography and the photos. He was drafted in 1941 and his father sold the house in 1945 while he was in the army. While living there they had a barn with 3 cows, pigs, a horse and chickens. Seven adult children lived in the home and there were three weddings in the living room. He wrote that his family loved 852 Stone Road. They were a gregarious family, very happy and hard working. They lived a Christ centered life. In fact, two of his sisters married ministers.

Our family also loved the house. That evening I learned that Mary Kay and her brother knew the Whitmans. Their parents had been friends with them. So now I am also a former resident of 852 Stone Road and I am glad.

We are St. Charles Girls

We wear our hair in curls.
We are too old for toys,
But we're just right for boys!

Here we are 50 years later - Judy, Mary Ellen, Barbara, Diana, Carol, myself and Norma from the class of 1958! It is the strangest feeling to get together with old friends of 50 years ago! Norma is the only friend I kept in touch with through the years. You look at each other - you remember voices and the years disappear. I felt as if each one of these girls was my best friend. I especially want to thank Carol for doing so much to reunite our class. Most of the class was contacted, a memory book was put together, there was a reunion picnic during the summer, a group went to the cemetery to tend to the graves of the deceased sisters who taught us, and a DVD with pictures and music was put together by Norma's husband Ron. Also, thank you Norma for having us at your home and for the wonderful lunch you provided. I think the class of 1958 was some class!

An Invitation

 

50th Wedding Anniversary

 

 

 

 

My brother Andy and his wife Mary Kay celebrated their 50th anniversary. I was one of the bridesmaids. Andy and Mary prepared the food and it was delicious. Of course, their kids helped. They renewed their wedding vows - this time leaving out the word "obey". It was a great celebration!

Cause for Celebration

Our daughter, Christine, has wanted to be an author since she was a child. As a teenager I remember her writing about a wealthy girl named Kate and her adventures with her friends at a boarding school, which included being kidnapped. First copies of this were hand written. Later she had a computer for the many revisions. Christine enjoys writing and she persevered. She joined two writing critique groups on line and met others like herself - some had books published. She has done a lot of historical research. Well, yesterday was her Big Day. She received a letter from a publishing company saying they had read her recent manuscript, liked it and are offering her a contract. The title of her book is When Mike Kissed Emma although this could be changed. It is a young adult romance novel. We are so proud of our daughter. She has persevered and accomplished her dream!

A Party

 

This weekend Leo and Kristen invited the family to their new home in Pennsylvania for a barbcue. The weather was unseasonably warm - about 75 degrees and the leaves were gorgeous. Since we were together we decided to suprise Kristen with a baby shower. It was great day!

Promised Land

The following day we went with Leo and Kristen to The Promised Land State Park. I love that name! The leaves were at their peak. There we took a mile long walk on an island before leaving for home. Travel time home was 2 hr 45 min.

Celebrating a Golden Anniversary

 

We were so fortunate today. We got together with our old neighbors the Wheelers and Marucas. The weather was perfect and after a stroll on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant we celebrated Betty and Ray's 50th wedding anniversay with an excellent dinner at Baker's Wharfside Restaurant. During dinner we confirmed our plan to take that Alaskan cruise next year. We will have a blast!

Stephen's Box

 

 

As his wife I know it's nice being related to Handyman Bill. He's always ready for a challenge, except perhaps climbing on a roof, and he's a hard worker who keeps on ticking. In the spring he built shelves for Stephen's room. Stephen had the idea of a special box and since grandson is a pretty good relation, his box was delivered!

Whitesbog

 

 

 

 

The Master Gardeners watched as cranberrys were reaped in the historic company town of Whitesbog located in the pine barrens of southern New Jersey. On our bus tour we learned some interesting history of this area. Our tour guide was proud to let us know that she was a 6th generation cranberry farmer and also that her uncle was the Jersey Devil. This area also is known for its blueberries.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

This movie is about a pampered Chihuahua named Chloe who is left in the care of the owner's niece. The niece decides to go to Mexico with a couple of friends and there Chloe is dognapped, escapes with the help of other dog friends and tries to get home. It's a good family movie with a lot of laughs although near the end I was ready for it to be over. Bill thought it was ok but more of a kid's movie. By the way, the dogs all talk. Drew Barrymore is the voice for Chloe.

Mary Zarinko - 65 years

Mary Zarinko, the wife of Bill's cousin Tommy, passed away on Friday Oct. 3rd. She and Tommy had been married 44 years and had 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Their children were in the same age range as our kids and years ago we saw them every Easter at Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Jack's house. In more recent years we seem to see them only at weddings and funerals and now this time we gather at her funeral. Mary died from acute leukemia which was only diagnosed four months ago. Mary was a friendly caring person who loved her family so this is a difficult time for them. However, they do have faith. Lord, welcome your daughter, Mary, into your kingdome. Amen

Taking Down Trees

 

Jr's Tree Service was here this afternoon taking down two large trees from our side lawn. These trees were too large to be so close to our house. We also have had a problem with roots in our sewer line. Jr's did a fine job and left us with plenty of firewood but I feel a little sad to see the trees gone. It looks so bare. Perhaps some bushes?

Nights in Rodanthe

We saw a terrific movie last night - Nights in Rodanthe - a romantic drama starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. The setting is the Outer Banks of NC and the photogray is beautiful. There is a storm and passion and the unexpected. The movie which is based on a book by Nicolas Sparks keeps your attention right to the very end. Bill thought it was good.