Dogs | Peaches Prattlings

{February 23, 2025} A whirlwind weekend in NYC!

Is there any other kind?!

After work on Friday, PSM and I jumped in the Jeep, well, climbed in is more like it, for me, at least! PSM is not as vertically challenged as I am! I digress…we got into the Jeep and headed for the big city, the Big Apple, the big NYC, sensing a theme here?

We were making good time and decided to grab some dinner and stopped in Easton, PA, at at Pop’s Kitchen and Taproom. It was an interesting place, as in, it was part of the gas station parking lot, and when you walked in there was a convenience type market on the left, the counter/kitchen straight ahead, and to the right was a bar with some tables, and the beer cooler right behind it.

It’s an eclectic little place, had a few people in when we got there, two people at the bar, and as time went on, the place filled up, some regulars, and some passing through like us. I really liked the decorations, definitely a tap room, especially with all the beer taps hanging from the ceiling!

Back on the road, we parked and made it to the hotel by about 930p, definitely made good time, let dad know we were safe and up we went, to the 12th floor. Our room was right in between two elevators, but…it wasn’t as loud as you might think! The only time I noticed the elevators was when I was in the shower and heard the gears, it took me a minute to figure out what the noise was!

We were having a lazy morning, but it was time for some grub! We walked right by my sister and dad’s hotel, literally next door! We went to two places that had a long wait, NYC is full of places to try, and we found the Brooklyn Diner, nostalgic, yet, not inexpensive…as evident by the price for one single pancake…$15! Let’s just say, the experience and food were worth it!

We sat at the counter, one of our favorite places to sit, and shared a frittata, potatoes, challah, a cup of coffee for PSM and hot tea for me. We almost always share our breakfast, we enjoy it! The food was good, the company even better, and the atmosphere was buzzing. You could tell some of the folks were regulars, by the way they were greeted and chatted with some of the staff.

Our waiter was great, very friendly, as we chatted, we found out he was from Mexico, so we chatted about our shared love of Mexico, my time spent there as a kid, and the trip PSM and I took 2 years ago. The manager was another character, very nice woman and we hit it off like gangbusters! Go figure!

After breakfast, we headed towards Central Park, which was only a few blocks away, we were going to stroll through the park to The Met, apologies, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for those not in the know! That’s where we were going to meet my dad and sister.

The walk through the park was wonderful! It was about 35 degrees, maybe it got up to 40, can’t remember, but the sun was shining and it was lovely! There were so many people about…horse drawn carriages, reminded me of my trip with SDL and Miss A almost 2 years ago, there were pedicabs, people walking, running, jogging, strolling, walking dogs, pushing strollers, playing frisbee with their dogs, visiting the vendors selling stuff, waiting for the Zamboni to finish so they could lace up their skates and take a turn on the ice at the Iconic Wollman Skating Rink. What more could you want?!

We walked through the park to the museum, isn’t it iconic?! I love this museum, so many fond memories growing up and spending time at the museum. We went in and found my dad and my sister, that took a little doing, only because the museum is huge and there is very little to no signal in a few parts of the museum, so if they moved…Marco… Polo!

After the museum we got a knish, NY pretzel, and some drinks, y u m!!! Then we got in a taxi, how very totally NY of us! and headed to The Village for a celebration of life for a family member, which I will tell you in a separate post. I will tell you that the celebration was just that, there were a few tears, but so much love, joy, life, and love, did I say love, in that room, you couldn’t help but smile.

After the celebration, we got in two taxis, you couldn’t fit us all in, so it was the girls in one cab and the guys in another. We headed back towards the hotel to find food and take a breather before we went to the theater. Near the hotel was Serafina, an Italian restaurant that could take 7 of us without a reservation at the moment, it was about 5p, it hadn’t filled up yet. Most of us had eaten at a Serafina before and liked it, this time…not so much.

Aside from smelling weed the entire meal, we think it was coming from the building next door, which was connected by a door that didn’t seem to want to close, the food was just…bland. PSM ordered an Old Fashioned and said it wasn’t very good, I asked to taste it, as I always do, and let me tell you… I did not make a face, I could not taste the alcohol and all I tasted was sugar, and you know how much I love sugar, this was not one of those times!

So… unfortunately, in addition to the drink, which they remade, the food was bland, I’m not sure if anyone truly enjoyed their meal. The bruschetta was good, that was the saving grace. Look, not all meals can be winners, but, for me, I don’t think I’ll be going to another Serafina any time soon, and it’s ok, there are plenty of other Italian restaurants to try!

After dinner, we went back to our respective hotels to take a breather, get off our feet for a few before we went to the theater, and when I say for a few, I meant it! We had just taken off our shoes and it was time to put them back on. Unfortunately PSM wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed behind and I met everyone in the lobby of their hotel to walk to the theater. As my dad would tell you, PSM didn’t miss much!

We walked to the Ambassador Theater to see a production of Chicago, now you may know it from seeing it on Broadway starring Bebe Neuwirth, who played multiple characters, Paige Davis, Sandy Duncan, Joel Grey, and one of my favorites, Jinx Monsoon, literally just to name a few! or a local theater near you, or maybe you saw the movie Chicago, starring Rene Zellweger, Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Queen Latifah, and Chita Rivera. Maybe you just know the score.

The premise: Roxie Hart, a chorus girl, kills her lover after he tries to end their affair. Velma Kelly, a nightclub star, kills her husband and sister after finding them in bed together. The two women compete for the attention of the press and a lawyer named Billy Flynn.

There are some great numbers: All that Jazz, The Cell Block Tango, my favorite When You’re Good to Mama. There is a bonafide story there, truly there is. The problem we had with this production, in our opinion….there was no set, not a big issue, I’ve seen many shows without sets, maybe just a block here and there, but some pieces of set, besides a few chairs would be helpful. The orchestra was on the stage, so that took up most of it, even though there was an entrance in the middle of the orchestra, I thought the orchestra, while very good, was loud and drowned out some of the players.

The show opened with All That Jazz, then went into the next number, and the next, there wasn’t a lot of dialog that wasn’t sung, and without a story/backstory or some context, if you don’t know the show, you would probably be lost, or bored, as my nieces were. We thought it would be a good high energy show for them, which it was high energy here and there, but not enough for them.

The singing and dancing was good by the players, Dylis Croman was great as Velma, had the moves, motions, dance, vocals, character. Nakiya Peterkin was a powerhouse as Matron Mama Morton, Max Von Essen was good as Billy Flynn, Greg Hildreth was great as Amos Hart, and R. Lowe was fabulous as Mary Sunshine, the reporter.

The one actor we couldn’t get behind was Erika Jayne as Roxie Hart. You may know Erika Jayne, or not, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She could sing, but her movements weren’t fluid, they were a little stiff, especially compared to the rest of the cast, we didn’t really get behind her as a lead. I just realized I said get behind twice, sorry!

Overall, we were happy to hear the music and sing along, sort of, but overall, not the best theater experience for us, well, when you have a favorite performance, you compare all others to that one and that happened this time, oh well…we still love going to the theater, won’t stop us from maybe seeing another performance of Chicago somewhere else!

After the show, it was back to our respective hotels. We enjoyed the walk together, discussing the show and reminiscing about our favorite shows. Dad and I made plans for tomorrow, PSM and I would drive him back home, an little extra time to spend together, bonus!

The next morning, we got up, showered, packed, went to a local diner, had a decent breakfast, back to the hotel to finish packing and go to pick up the Jeep. On the way, got to see and say goodbye to EJS and MGS, then back to pick up dad and drive to Staten Island. We got to the house and hung out for a while, then we hit the road, but not before stopping at Heartland Bagels to pick up supplies, and by supplies, I mean bagels, bialys, spreads, and a few sweets, NY bagels, what more could you want?!

We were then officially on the road, back to PA, listening to the next few chapters of the Jack Reacher book we’re listening to. We stopped to pick up groceries and then… the puppies! We were back early enough on Sunday to pick up the pups instead of tomorrow. The house is now intact, everyone is home!

Ok, that was quite the weekend, I think I need a nap, what about you?!

{January 30, 2025} Ten years ago today, my world changed

Absolutely for the better, best! Today I went out on a date with a new guy that I had only emailed with for a week. Who knew…that first date would become the longest first date ever! We’re still on it!

January 30, 2015, well, January 2015, was a crazy month in the world, the weather, friends, the weather! That was the year no one went to school, work, or flew on a Monday in January in Boston! They called it snowmaggeden! ‘Nearly 95 inches of that winter’s snow fell between Jan. 24 and Feb. 22, completely burying the previous snowfall record for a 30-day period, which had been just 58.8 inches. The unprecedented month included four consecutive weeks of storms that dropped between 16 and 24 inches’.

I happened to be living with my sister’s family at that time, it was after I left Denver, before I got a place of my own in Boston. I know I’ve told you some of this story, but I’m going to tell you again, and more, maybe! My sister and her friend AT, who I knew, were talking and since everyone I knew in Boston, except for one friend from high school, were my sister’s friends, they thought…PSM and I were both single and we might get along.

Let’s see…we both love to travel, ride motorcycles, computer geeks, love movies, and skiing. Yeah, that’s about right! So… they gave us the other one’s emails and I honestly don’t know who sent the first email, but it went from there! We made simple chit chat, then our emails grew, a little longer each time. I will say the first email I sent, I waited…and wondered…and after a few emails, it was like we’d known each other for a long time, even though we were still getting to know each other!

I think I told you we started sending each other pick up lines, but not just any pick up lines, I sent him science-y pick up lines, I knew he had a background in bio-chemistry, and I think I told you…I still don’t understand some of them! ha ha, and in turn, he sent me computer-y jokes, they were hysterical! Luckily, he’s a techie, really smart and actually understood some of them! ha ha

After a few emails we decided we would get together the following week, yup, we emailed for one week and went on our first date, he came up with six ideas for a first date, what guy does that?! My fella, that’s who! We decided on an Irish pub, I had just gotten back from Ireland a few weeks prior, so that would be perfect!

He picked me up from my sister’s house, he came to the door and held my arm to get to his vehicle, made sure I didn’t fall or slip on the ice, held my door open, and away we went. We talked, laughed, got to know each other, and ended up closing the pub down, now…that’s a good first date if I do say so myself.

He took me back to my sister’s house, we were remiss to end the date, but it was late and I think one or both of us had something going on in the morning. We said goodnight with the promise to talk tomorrow. And we did, we talked, we texted, we talked, we texted. Oh! I forgot! During our first date…I told him there was a murder mystery dinner theater happening at my sister’s synagogue, which was not far from her house, and would he like to go with me? I know you know he said yes!

The murder mystery dinner was the following Saturday, he met me there and…he was wearing a suit! LOVE that!!! Oh, and get this…at one time in his life, he actually lived up the street from where my sister lives and…he used to go to the synagogue my sister’s family belongs to and where the murder mystery dinner was!

After the show, he and I went to a local pub to continue talking and getting to know each other and at some point I said…”so, when are you taking me skiing?” And his response…funny you should ask me that, I was going to see if you wanted to go next weekend?! How could I refuse such an offer?!

So…we talked and texted throughout the week and Friday came…it was Valentine’s Day weekend, and guess what was delivered…a dozen red roses, yes indeed! I was touched and felt a little spoiled! Let’s just say…when the women in the friend group found out…the guys started calling, not his fault he was making them look bad! ha ha!

He picked me up on Friday and we drove to his house in New Hampshire, I’ve told you about the ski house before. So it was PSM, his dog Mollie, and me. He did tell me not to wear black, great…everything I have under my ski gear and apres-ski…black! Mollie was a big white dog…go figure!

So…we went to New Hampshire, we skied, we apres-skied, hung out, got to know each other and we’ve been together ever since. You’ve been with us on this journey, on some of our trips, the good, the silly, the adventurous, and who knows what the future holds, but…

here it is January 30, 2025, ten years, how many trips and countries, three home states, three dogs, several motorcycles later and we are still going strong. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us, but you know I’ll be sharing it with you!

We try to wish each other happy anniversary on the 30th of every month, well, not February, of course…but I just want to say…happy anniversary PSM, I love you. Here’s to our 10th year of dating, looking forward to the next ten, and the next!

{January 19, 2025} It’s Sunday…Club Breakfast, Java Journey, Snow, Football, Movies

The day started with no alarm, my favorite! It was about 10 degrees so it was feed the dogs and open the back door, no walk, sorry…less than 25 degrees, I’m hiding under the covers!

We got moving, slowly, but we got moving, headed to the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club clubhouse for breakfast, there weren’t a lot of people there, but it was most likely because of the weather, it was coming in! We were there for about an hour, had some good food, as BTK said, her favorite breakfast is one that someone else cooks!

After breakfast we headed to our second stop on the Lebanon Valley Java Journey. Oh no! I forgot to tell you the Java Journey has started and I picked up our cups yesterday! If you recall, from last year, the Lebanon Valley Java Journey is a fun event, or as is quoted on the front of the passport ‘An experience in every cup’! Isn’t that great! Basically, you purchase a cup for $10 and you get a passport with 15 coffee houses and cafes on it, last year it was 12, we’re up this year! Two of the coffee houses has two locations, and they added three new places and one of them is a mobile coffee shop, we’ll have to search to find it!

So… it started on Thursday, January 16th, who starts things on a Thursday, oh well…well, we didn’t have the time to get to one of the locations to get a cup on Thursday, so Friday, we met up at City Watch just before they closed and they were sold out! What?! Last year, so many places had extra, I think they ordered just enough. Turns out, they were sold out before they closed the doors on Thursday, ugh!

Saturday morning, I told you, I was in NYC at my dad’s, so PSM went to Timber Creek Coffee, they were sold out, what?! That’s two down! After we got off the phone, I looked up Timeless Cafe and called and they had plenty! And they agreed to put two aside for me, thank you! So…on the way to the IMRG lunch, we stopped at Mill 72 Bake Shop & Cafe and got our first two beverages and stamps! Weehoo!

Back to today! After breakfast, we went to Swatara Coffee in Annville, I really wanted to show BTK the Whirling Dervish Bakery, but they’re only open Thursday-Friday 7a-11a and Saturday 8a-12p, very convenient hours! We got our stamps and drinks, I told another group of people about the Java Journey, you should have heard me selling it yesterday! PSM said I should work for them! HA HA

After coffee, we went back to the house, the snow started while we were having breakfast, but it was really coming down now. Back at the house, we hung out, there was football to watch, I did some other stuff and when there was a break in the snow, I went out and did a pass over the driveway, to give us a starting point. BTK was planning on heading out tomorrow, so we wanted to be sure she could.

There were a few football games on, BTK and PSM were enjoying them, I was upstairs doing other things, then I came down and made a salad and pasta for dinner, we enjoyed the time together, more football, then PSM went upstairs and BTK and I settled in to watch some movies. We started one she hadn’t seen, followed by one neither of us had seen because it was a new release.

We started with Hidden Figures, the story of three female African-American mathematicians, or as they referred to them, computers, at NASA, amazing, powerful, emotional, fantastic, followed by The Six Triple Eight, the retelling of the story of the all-Black Women’s Army Corps, WACs, who were tasked with sorting and delivering years worth of backlogged mail. I will tell you all about it in another post, but wow, just wow. I am awed and amazed by what those women did for the army, the soldiers, the families, just wow.

When all was said and done, it was about 2 or 2:30am when we finished, off to bed for us! Guess who stayed up a little later because they couldn’t sleep?! No matter what, a good day was had by all!

{January 19, 2025} Just another Saturday…what did you do?

Saturday started crazy early, I was at dad’s house to help him get LaLa to the airport. Her flight was at 745a and I was driving them to the airport and he was going to go in and help her get where she needed to be.

When I say crazy early, I mean crazy early! 330a to be exact! I got up, then fell back asleep, but was up and out the door by 415a, we got to the airport, dad and LaLa went in and figured out where they needed to go. The nice part, I got to wait outside and no one asked, or actually, told me, that I had to move, so I got to hang out while they were in the airport.

Dad came out with some hot beverages and we drove back from Newark Airport to Staten Island. We decided we needed some breakfast and went to Z-One, they were closed, what?! It’s a diner! It was about 6am, not sure when they were supposed to open, so I looked at my GPS and there was another diner I found that said open, we got there and….yup, you guessed it, closed! What is going on?! Oh, duh, that was Mike’s Dakota Diner, the one that was open was Mike’s Unicorn Diner, back not far from Z-One! Duh!

Back to Mike’s Unicorn Diner, breakfast and good conversation, and the hottest bathroom on the planet! It was so hot, the soap was hot! That’s hot! Most restaurants keep the bathrooms relatively chilly, I think so you don’t spend a lot of time in there, well… this place missed that memo!

After breakfast, we were heading to Stop-n-Shop to pick up bagels and some more bialys, but stopped by L&I’s house, and IB just happened to be outside taking the trash out, we stopped and I got a hug, and a quick catch up!

Then on to the grocery store, I picked up a few things, then it was on to Beyars for sandwiches, something for dad to have later, something I might eat on the road or at least have at home. Let’s just say, really good sandwiches!

Back to dad’s house, I packed up my stuff, loaded up the car, podcast queued up, and headed out, I had about 2.5 hours to go. Nice and uneventful, only one stop for gas and bathroom break, drove as the snow started coming down and made it home…just in time to give the pups some lovin’, put our gift together, and back out into the cold!

We got in the Jeep, put in the latest Jack Reacher book on tape we were listening to and headed to the Lyndon Diner to have our holiday lunch with our IMRG friends. It was fun, we had good conversations, good food, and there was a gift swap. We ended up with a bottle of Crown Royal, I tried to keep the purple bag, but PSM wasn’t having any of that!

After a few hours, we headed home to chill out, while I did some last minute tidying up and getting ready for BK, PSM’s first cousin to come for the weekend. She had taken her son, JK, to Washington, DC to get settled in for his semester internship, then she was coming to spend the night with us and head to the next friend’s house for a few days, then another friend for a few days.

Tomorrow, we’re taking her to the LVMC clubhouse for breakfast, then we’ll see where we go from there before she takes off to parts unknown! Well…she knows where she’s going! Well…we’ll see if she does go tomorrow, the weather is coming in, who knows if the weather forecasters got it right! I’ll let you know tomorrow!

She got a tour, we hung out and talked, snacked, they watched some football and I did something else, and of course, she got some major puppy love, which was great, because she was missing her dog Lucy something fierce!

So… you know, just another Saturday around here, what did you do!?

{January 17, 2025} Is she not the cutest?!!! O M G!

I know I talked about and loved on Bee the other day, well, I’m going to do it again! She’s so cute!

I still call her a puppy, she’s 9 this year, but still a puppy to me, probably because she’s a smaller dog. I wish I had a picture of her doing the yoga pose, up dog, so cute! Ya got the beagle belly, the beagle head tilt, what more could you want?!

I’m pretty sure I’ve share the beagle singing, the way she sits up tall and her head goes back and she just sings or howls to the moon, you can tell how happy she is! I know I’ll share again sometime, but just imagine it! But now… just watch her reaction to me talking to her, the way her head just goes back and forth based on my tone. Yeah, it’s just cute. That’s all.

Enjoy! I do, repeatedly!

{January 11, 2025} Seriously? A big, giant, duh! HA HA HA

Ok, so…having a moment and I cannot stop laughing!!! Let’s just say take two from my post last night!

I came up to my office to get some stuff done and I thought about the tubs of t-shirts in the wall of the closet, so I decided to figure out a way to get the shirts out, hopefully without cutting the tubs. I thought that if I get them out, I’ll just leave the tubs there.

I pull, and twist, and turn, I take the lid off, then manage to flip the tub on its side and I just pulled the shirts out, chunk by chunk. Then, just to get to the next one, I threw the shirts on the floor in a pile, knowing I would get them up when I was done.

I get the shirts from the two tubs and one was full of race shirts, road races I have done and the other was full t-shirts and pieces of t-shirts that I had already prepped to be made into a blanket. I look past the two I just emptied and it looks like there’s another! What?! Seriously?!

Then…I see another and then I see one of the snow people I put out at the holidays, then I look a little further…it is not a hole in the closet…it is one of our attics! What?! HA HA HA. Let me explain…we have one attic that is above our bedroom, you know…normal attic above the house. This attic, however, is not…I can’t remember if I took you on a tour of the house when we moved, but it’s on the same level as the 2nd story of the house, it’s basically above the living room!

You access it through a door that you pull down in the hallway and when you pull it down, those you can see into the space. It’s not big enough to walk around, but it’s not a crawl space! The door has wooden rungs or steps you walk up to get into the attic.

And there you have it…this was not a case of tubs falling out of the attic, they are still sitting in the attic! Well…now…I don’t have to go looking for those two tubs for the t-shirt quilt pieces! O M G!

Even better…meanwhile…as I’m doing something, I turn around and what do I see, but Bee doing her circles to make herself comfortable in the new pile of t-shirts that she must think is another bed. She does that when she gets on the bed, circles it, I don’t know, 50 times, and then settles in for a nap. Just look at her!

She circled, settled in, but doesn’t she look so confused?!

And then we had to circle again!

I couldn’t not stop laughing when I was telling PSM what happened! Just proves what he always tells me…I’m not wrapped right! And who am I to argue with the man!? sigh… HA HA HA

{August 18, 2024} Mother Nature, what’s up?!

Alarm was set, yes, I know, it’s Sunday JJ, why?! Well, I’ll tell you…

The alarm was set for 7a, I got the dogs up and fed, I didn’t have enough time to take them for a walk, I’m sorry to say, and the weather later, didn’t encourage an evening walk either. Got them fed and settled in the crate, I got dressed, jumped in Annie, the beetle bug, and headed out, got about half a block and realized I didn’t have my phone, what?! Turned around, went back, got my phone, then back on the road.

Top on the car was down, it started sprinkling, but I didn’t get wet, it’s the magic of a convertible! I made it to the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club clubhouse on time, about 750a. There was a ride today and that meant breakfast and lunch and I was taking orders for breakfast, second time I’ve done it. They start serving breakfast at 8am, you need to be there before 8 to get set up. I wasn’t cooking, so I didn’t have to prep food, I just had to make sure the till, or money drawer, was open and had money in it, I had to make sure I had order slips, a highlighter, and a pen. I also had to know what the specials were, good thing they were on the board!

People started coming in about 8am, not many, the bigger rush was about 930a. I was going to ride today, but yesterday, the weather app said 68% chance of rain, then this morning, it said 15%, but I looked at the sky and nope, not taking a chance! I messed a few orders up, but then I got the swing of things again and I was good to go!

It’s fun taking orders, you get to hang with other members in the kitchen, get to know them better, get to know the members coming up to place orders, a bunch of them know me, well, know us, of course, we’re some of the newbies, so haven’t been around that long, when you join, people remember you, I’m getting there! Turns out, people have their own coffee mugs in the stack! I have a lot to learn!

Breakfast is decent and reasonable. They have set orders, you just have to ask particulars, like how do you want your eggs cooked, what type of meat, toast, do you want the special? The special today was 2 peach pancakes, eggs, and meat for $8.00, that is a good deal to me! Everything is made fresh to order and comes out relatively quickly. All the money goes back to the club.

I’m glad I didn’t ride, it was ok where we were, but some areas, deluge! Confident in my decision! Breakfast is usually done with they run out of things, like the pancakes. So…I helped a little with the cleanup and set up for lunch, said my goodbyes and headed out.

I went to CVS to pick up a prescription, then the grocery store for some supplies, then back home. I made myself a very good breakfast burrito and then as I was taking care of stuff and all of a sudden the sky opened up… yup, there it was. So I went into the living room, got onto one of the dog beds and the two fur beasts curled up with me. I think I’ve told you, Ruby does not like storms, she is freaked out by thunder, she can hear it from a few miles away! I thought my hearing was good!

The rain came down in sheets and buckets on and off for the rest of the evening. I was going to go to a movie, but I did not feel like getting out in that! So, the girls and I hung out together and now I’m talking to you.

Not an exciting day, but a good day. And now… I bid you g’night!

{August 17, 2024} Thank you Mt Gretna Arts Festival for making my garden grow!

That was a mouthful, yes indeed! Today, it was supposed to rain all day, and it rained in the morning, then let up in the afternoon and after talking to PSM, I decided to head to the Mt Gretna Arts Festival, turns out they were celebrating their 50th year of the festival, perfect!

I thought about taking the bike, but I wasn’t sure if the rain would hold off, so I dropped the top on Annie and headed out. I went to where the parking and shuttle buses were and decided to keep going to the festival itself. I got there, Mt Gretna is not a very big place and I didn’t have $10 for parking, nor did I wish to pay the $10 for parking, so…I turned around and went back to where the shuttle buses were, parked for free and hopped on the big yellow school bus with the rest of the folks, and back to Mt Gretna we went!

It felt like a very long ride, it was nice, through the woods, but seemed to take forever, especially when compared to coming back to the car, it was about a 5 or 7 minute drive back… they dropped us off and I was trying to find the crafter vendors, but I wasn’t sure where they were, those are the less expensive artists and creators, those that probably weren’t up for paying the more expensive booth fees to be in the festival, so I paid the $15 and went in.

Last year, we stayed outside and just walked around the crafter vendor section, this time I was on the inside and it was lovely. There were food tents, alcohol tastings and sales, the local shops were open, and the artists had their creations on display. The nice thing was, since it had rained all night and some of the morning, the temperature was very comfortable, as opposed to last year! It’s mid August, after all!

I strolled up and down the aisles, it wasn’t a huge arts festival, so I think I made it around in about an hour, maybe hour and a half, and that’s not stopping at every booth, I looked, but not everything is my jam, so I moved on from those. I was a bit peckish and happy to find the Oasis food truck with their terrific acai bowls! I remember them from last year and acai bowls make PSM and I homesick for Hawai’i, PSM even said when we go back, that’s all he’s having for breakfast every day!

If you don’t know what an acai bowl is, it’s like heaven in a dish. It’s healthy and you feel like you’re getting something bad, let me ‘splain! An acai bowl has frozen acai berries on the bottom, it’s more like in sorbet form. Then it’s topped with some goodness, traditionally it’s fruit like, well, what I had, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, granola, and honey. I also added some peanut butter. Let’s just say Y U M! The hard part is getting to the acai at first, and it’s frozen, so not easy to get into, but…once you get to it, after eating some of the fruit out of the way, you can start scooping the acai with the fruit… yeah, just yum. And filling!

Ok, back to the festival. I was eating my acai bowl, listening to Broadway musicals, walking in and out of some booths, being careful to not spill or bump into anything or anyone while I was eating! I really enjoyed myself, Mt Gretna is so pretty, I think I told you about it last year, but if not… it’s this cute area, in the woods, or at least a wooded area, the streets are narrow, the population is about 200, if that, and some of the houses are residences and a lot of them are rentals. It is so charming to just walk the area, the houses are decorated just so, there are statuary and installations in peoples yards, it definitely lends to the atmosphere for the arts festival.

There was also a band playing here and there, the No Last Call Street Band! They were so much fun! Have a listen!

I didn’t buy much, just a few things, can’t tell you all of them! I did buy a t-shirt from the festival, but what I did buy… we’re adding to the flower box! I bought a metal sunflower, sorry PSM, from one of the shops, and then from the artists, I bought a dragonfly made from steel with glad beaded eyes, a flower made from spoons, and a beautiful glass flower. What I love is that I’m making my garden bloom and there is no chance I’m going to kill any of these flowers… unless Mother Nature has her way and blows them down, but…I think I got them in the flower box pretty well. I hope you like what I’ve grown, I walked by in the evening and the way the sun was hitting the flowerbox, everything really…well… it makes me smile, I hope it does the same for you!

And with that…I bid you farewell, gotta pretend to go to sleep, work in the AM! The dogs are waiting to snuggle, sigh. G’night!

{July 11, 2024} What are your daily walks like?

It doesn’t happen every day, but it happens often enough! I take the dogs for a walk every morning, then, as long as it’s not blistering hot, I take them for a walk in the afternoon/evening. They are ready to go about 5p, that’s when we were taking them, just after we finished work. And when you’re working remotely, it’s easy to keep to a schedule!

Now, they don’t nudge as much if we don’t go for a walk at 5p on the dot, but… they know, after the walk, it’s either a treat or dinner! Very smart individuals! So…I take them for their walk and all is fine and dandy and all of a sudden, the play fighting/wrestling begins. The first time I saw it, it scared me, if you recall, I grew up with cats, yes, they could fight, but it didn’t sound like this! Now that I think about it, cats have their own screech and attack sounds!

Well… they start doing this and there is no stopping them! They do it in the backyard, go for it, they do it in the house, go for it! When we were living in the hotel last year while house hunting, their favorite time to do it, not just the parking lot, but as we were walking into the hotel, ‘can we please move so people can come in/get out?!’ or, my favorite, just in front of the elevators! ‘can you hold off, just until we get to the room, then you can eat each other’s heads if you want!’ sometimes that worked, sometimes I just have to say ‘Ok, STOP! Not here!’ does that work? um… what do you think?!

Now, on our walks through the neighborhood, the road we live on is a main drag and people treat it like a thoroughfare! They drive 50/60/70 miles per hour or more, it’s not a place, when it’s crazy busy, that I even like trying to get across the street to get the mail. Yup, I live in a place where the mailboxes are on one side of the road, new to me too! I do my level best to stop them when they want to do it on the main drag, when we’re on one of the other streets…like in the pics and video below…have at it! I will even let go of the leashes so they can have fun!

Check out the video, they sound vicious! Especially Ruby, but… you’ll notice that Bee is on her back, exposing her belly, she wouldn’t if she wasn’t into it and do you see her jump up and ‘attack’ Ruby to keep going?! Then the kisses at the end?!

What’s your morning walk look like?!

And her is our afternoon walk, we’re on the side road that people treat like another speedway, that’s why you can see my grip on the leashes. They really do love this!

Ruby looks so vicious when the video starts! But you can see how much they love it! Bee instigates, then Ruby instigates, then Bee, then Ruby, then…

And your afternoon walk?

These two crack me up! We got so very lucky with them, they are strange ducks, but they’re our strange ducks and we love them very much. And you know what…we wouldn’t have it or them any other way!

G’night!

{May 12, 2024} Happy Mother’s Day

Do I just write about Mother’s Day or do I write about my day.

How about both? Today I tell you about Mother’s Day and tomorrow I’ll tell you what I did today. Sounds like a plan.

Mother’s Day happens every year, as it happens, imagine that. A day dedicated to mothers, moms, mums, mummies, mommas, mamas, ma. And that’s just in English! Mothers are an amazing lot, there is so much that encompasses being a mother. We are not just the person who gave birth to you, we are the bonus mom, or step mom, who married your dad, your mom, we adopted you, you adopted us, we are also aunts, and I have to tell you, aunts do not get enough credit.

There are some aunts who help raise a child, who might take over raising a child, adopt, you name it, or we just step in when mom and dad aren’t around, either at the moment, for a bit, or however long. I appreciate it when someone acknowledges us.

I love the expression, The best moms get promoted to grandma, or grandmothers, or mimi, or mawmaw, mimaw, granny, glamaw, you name it, there’s a title, even like, say… JJ. Grandmothers are in a class all their own, they have lived a life, have experiences, raised their kids and now it’s time to have some fun with the next generation. They can be tough, kind, silly, happy, loving, strict, impetuous, frustrating, helpful, but no matter what, they love their babies, the ones that call them mom and the ones that call them grandmom.

I have to tell you, I am all of those things rolled into one. In 1996, oh brother, I met TYL and her brother, WCH, and the day I met them, I became a mom. I know my title eventually and officially, would be step-mom, or bonus mom, but in my heart, I became a mom. I called it new mom syndrome…I think I told you, the second they started staying over, I didn’t sleep like the dead anymore! I would hear them roll over in their sleep, I would listen for the sounds of breathing. The weirdest one…my feet grew half a size! I had been a 7/7.5 since I was about 11, I am now 25 and my feet are a size 8! What?!

And my heart expanded, I could only love them more if I had given birth, I love saying I have all the joys and none of the stretch marks! They gave me joy, they gave me headaches, grey hair, laughter, tolerance, tested my patience, came to me when they didn’t feel well, asked me to read to them, craft with them, they taught me a different kind of love.

Then, I became an aunt. Lots of kids call me aunt/auntie, which I am honored by the title, you’ve heard me talk about some of them, especially SDL and Miss A, oh boy do I love that kid! and I love hearing to this day. My sister had a baby and I didn’t know that kind of love, it was different, in a wonderful way. I had a lot to teach her, and then her sister, most good, some bad, hey, that’s my job, but all of it special. I got a mother’s day card from my sister’s family this year and it had wonderful messages from my nieces. I have stories and photos that I love to share with anyone who will listen! Watching them grow up, even living with them for a while, I wouldn’t change that experience for the world!

Then…I’m still a mom, still an auntie, and now…I’m a JJ! I was about 42 years old and I became a grandmother, huh? Yeah. Not once, not twice, but I am the very lucky JJ to 7 amazing kids who I love dearly. I get videos and messages, and sometimes I even still get pictures that they drew, you know those are framed and on my walls! I love telling stories about them, you’ve heard some of my stories, it’s hard not to, I’m a typical JJ, so proud of all my loves!

I couldn’t end this post without a nod to the fur-baby moms, seriously! We are mighty and proud! Some folks think of their pets as family, as their children, and that’s just fine, hey, I’m a dog mom to two very goofy dogs, Ruby & Bee, maybe you’ve heard me talk about them once or twice. I was a cat mom and I’m a cat auntie, yup, people call me auntie to their pets, who am I to object!

I was going to just talk about Mother’s Day, but then I started talking about my favorite subject, my loved ones, and here we are! Sorry, not sorry! No matter who you are, how you identify, what your role is, embrace it, love it, revel in it. Whatever type of mother you are, I say to you Happy Mother’s Day.

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