Merry Christmas to all.

From my house to yours, Merry Christmas!

I know it has been a while since I updated my blog. Unfortunately, I have had to work on Saturday a few times to make up for what I would loose in my check. Many of you can relate to what I am saying with the economy the way it is.





Well, what has been going on. Work is very rewarding. I am enjoying my job very well. My supervisor has changed my job in hardware from taking care of compressors and air tools to all of the hand tool bays. Basically, she has increased my duties and responsibilities to take care of more merchandise. It usually takes me all day long to get through my area, but I am learning about many tools we carry, and of course, customer service is number one, so taking care of the customers is top on the list. It has been a really bummer having to work the extra time because of not being at HD for 90 days yet. I would have been at Covidien 10 years in January and had 4 weeks vacation.





With it being Christmas, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Click on this link for a gift from me. http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0212320003.





Christmas was different this year, no snow, 80 degrees and sunny. Christmas eve was strange for me. Usually my family would spend the evening together and open gifts to each other, have finger foods and enjoy each others company. This is the first year in 52 years that I did not spend it with my family. This holiday holds special meaning for me because it was my moms favorite holiday and she always made it special. I now have a new life and must make new triditions. I still miss the family at this time of year, but life must go on.





The house is coming along slowly. My friends Diana and John were down with the dogs to visit for a week. It was so good to see them again. They were looking for a house down here and found a few. They can not really move until they get their home sold upstate. When they left last Friday, they headed right back in to a storm. They left sunshine and 80 degree weather here to go back to the snow. It was the first vacation they have had in a very long time, and I think they really enjoyed themselves. Diana unfortunately broke her nose from a fall, but she was a trooper and the week went on. They hope to get the home sold soon, we will see. I have some pictures of it on the blog site so take a look. If you know anyone who is looking, send them Century 21's way. I think they are asking 215,000 for it, and it is worth it too.





I hope everyone plans a special day with the people you care about. Let all your friends and family know how much you care, the will be a day that comes and you will regret you did not say anything to them.





I wish every one a Very Merry Christmas and thank you for being part of my life, you truly are a blessing to me.

As always you all remain in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay safe, healthy and happy.
Love to all, Jo

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is going to be a quick message today.

I would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to let you know that you will all be in my thoughts through out the day. I wish I could be with each and everyone, but that is not meant to be. I will be spending my Thanksgiving with 2 special people and will most likely stuff myself as usual.

Please stay safe. Thank you all for being part of my life.

Joanne

Happy Cool Sunday Morning

Hello all, hope everyone is safe and happy. I miss you all and wish you were able to come down and spend some time.

Well, last night a cold front came through. We got down to 60, sorry those in the north. I know your weather is not even close, 20's and 30's from what I can see. I am thinking about you though. The weather is going to be cool here today 64 for the high. I am going over to the house this morning and get laundry done and hung out to dry. The dew point is going to be about 40 degrees, which means that it will dry quickly.

I took Angelica to the vet on Saturday. She has a upper respiratory infection that she got from the shelter. It is in the beginning of it, so we caught it early. She walks around like queen of the hill. Annie comes out to sit on the chair with me and of course Angie is already there. I coax Annie up and Angie starts to hiss at her. I tap Angie on the nose and say no, that her sister was here first. No hissing aloud.

I heard from John, he sent photos of his new plane to me. It is way too cool. I can not wait until he is able to fly it. Have not heard from Nan in a while, will have to call.

Sue is doing well. I do talk with her often. Have not heard from Diane, so I don't know what is going on there. Amy called to see how I was doing, and all is well with her and the family.

Work is going well. I just had a long week, a lot of traveling. This week is generally in Palm Bay and Melbourne, but in Sebastian and Vero at the end of the week. I am so much enjoying my job down here, it always something new everyday and learning something new on a daily basis. Our MET team is having a competition for the Hardware Department against other MET teams. Wish us luck in winning it. There is a lot involved in order to win, a lot of work ahead of us. Wish us luck.

I am planning on working on the house all day today and hopefully getting the Kitchen and my bath done, along with laundry.

Well, have to get going. Please drop me a line and let me know what is going on. It kind of keeps me in touch with home.

As always, please stay happy, healthy, and safe. You are always on my mind and in my thoughts.

Good Morning All

Happy Veterans Day to all the service men and women who have and are serving our country.
Thank you.

Good Sunday morning to everyone. I am sorry I did not update last week, it has been so hectic here and trying to get the house ready to move in has been top on my list. There have been some unexpected costs, like for the refrigerator to get it to cool, and the ice maker, the plumber to fix the water valve for my washer which was leaking, just a bunch of unexpected, that's taking care of a home I guess. I love the extra space I have, and the girls are finally coming out, except for Tina, she still hides in the closet. Jo and Annie are out from under the bed. Annie is exploring the outside of the room, which is great. I hung my first official load of clothes outside, and they all dried!

I cleaned almost all the kitchen, the stove was yesterday, man what a mess it was. I went to get a burner for the stove along with the spill trays at Home Depot. The trays fit, but the burner was bent and unable to use, I need to take it back and see if there is one not bent. Thirty dollars for one of those burners. I need to clean the cabinets down today, so I can get the kitchen set up finally and get the boxes out of the living room.

I got the curtains up in the bedroom, and they look great, blue of course. I put on my dark blue bed spread and it looks sharp. The bathroom in the master still needs the shower to be scrubbed, which I may do this morning and then it is done. The people before me left things in the drawers everywhere and in most of the cabinets. I blew through all of them and everything went out for the garbage. I feel sorry for the garbage men that is for sure.

Work has been going great. Something new every day. What a change from the same old thing everyday, like we did in Hobart. I am learning so much about tools and pneumatics. I am assigned the compressor and pneumatic sections of the hardware department. I sold one on Friday up in the North Melbourne store. It makes me feel proud to be able to help some one out. I know I am not making the money I use to, but with the travel time and mileage, it kind of makes up for some of the loss. The cost of living down here is a lot better than NY, that is for sure. I got my first pay check and it was a lot more than I thought it would be. I am on a biweekly check schedule, and it is taking a little getting use to.

I finally got my licence and registration changed over to Florida. The registration cost me $183 dollars for a first time registrant in Florida, a bit of an ouch. Now it will be about the same as NY was. Hopefully I will be getting back the money I just paid for the registration I just got in April up there.

Well, I went and did it. Ron and I went out to Home Depot, Lowes to look scaffolding, Publix, and then he took me to the animal shelter. He likes to look at the dogs there. He was dragging me through the lobby, and in the corner, I spotted a white cat. What a mistake to see the cat, I fell in love with her immediately. She looks so much like Angel did, except for she has blue eyes. He kept saying forget the cats, come and see the dogs. I looked at the dogs with him, which were mostly pit bull mixes, something I would not even entertain. There were a few mixed breeds of labs, boxers, even a weird Sheppard mix. Then we found one that was small and just melted our hearts, mostly Ron's. I went back to see the white cat, and he fell totally for the dog. Me, I fell for the cat. I put in a application for adoption, which was excepted, and on Monday she will be spade, then I can pick her up on Wednesday, since they are closed on Tuesday for Veterans Day. When I found Ron, he was outside with her and had already called Jen, which she came over and fell in love to. They did adopt her and she will be spade on Monday or Wednesday next week. We all found our new babies and are over joyed. I named my new baby Angelica, Angie for short. It is kind of filling the void that Angel left when she passed. I still miss her so, she was my special baby. Angelica is a very loving cat and she cuddles. They say she is 3 or so, but she is teething, which makes her about 4-7 months. She is still a kitten by my estimate. I will be taking her for a well check at my new vet. I met her when I was down, I think it was in March at a gathering at the house. Ron and Jen use her for all their animals, which makes me feel secure about the decision to use her.

Well, that is all for now. I need to go with Ron to get something from the tool place. I love and miss you all. Please drop me a note and let me know how everyone is doing.

Please stay happy, healthy and safe. You are always in my thoughts and prayers.
Love Jo.

Very Sad Weekend :(

This is a very sad weekend for me. I lost Angel May on Saturday morning. I had her to the Emergency Vet Hospital in Melbourne on Thursday night and they told me she had a urinary tract infection as well as being dehydrated. They sent her home and between Jenny and I, we took care of her. On Saturday morning when I went to get her for a vet appointment, I found her under my bed, she had just passed away. After a lot of crying, Ron came over and he, Jenny and I buried her under Jenny's rubber tree. I miss her so much it hurts. There are still tears flowing at times, but I know it was for the best. I think that the stress of the move, her in the car for so long, and something else going on with her happened. She was about 12 1/2 years old, and now she is with Snowball, April, and Tammy along with being with mom who will look after her for me. There is a big empty hole in my heart right now and it is going to take some time to get over. The other girls are doing OK and I need to spend some time with them and keep them safe too.

The house is coming along slowly. With getting up around 3:30 or 4 in the morning and by the time I get out at 2:45 and get to Ron and Jenny's and change then get over to the house, I only have a few hrs a day to clean. I have to be back for dinner, then it is to bed because of getting up so early. So it is taking some time to get things done. The kitchen is about half way done. Cabinets and stove need to be cleaned, then it is complete. I want to set up the bedroom and Florida rooms next along with the master bath. the Florida room is not to bad, but the master bath, that is going to take some scrubbing. I did find out, Florida does have some really large bugs, which I am in the process of taking care of.

Went for a traveling day yesterday, I think it was a way of keeping my mind off Angel. Ron and Jenny took me to some different stores, out to lunch at Chili's, which has some great food, and the library. They had a special dinner for me in honor of Angel. Just thinking about it, make my eyes tear up. I was so glad that Jenny was there with me when I found Angel.

Alice, thank you so much for my Birthday/home warming gift. You know it is going to come in very handy, that is for sure.

Sorry to hear that the weather is not going so well up there, snow and snow showers? It has been nice down here, around 80 every day. We had some rain yesterday, but not for too long. It was overcast all day though.

I am looking forward to hearing from every one soon, I hope. Just drop me an email and let me know what is going on.

Love and miss you all.

As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay safe, healthy and happy.

Love Jo

Hi everyone, another week done!

Hi all, I finished my first week at work, it has been a long one. Being a DYI person, I am so enjoying my time at Home Depot. I started out in orientation all day on Monday and Tuesday, a lot of computer work. I did get certified on the cherry picker and the electric ladder. The cherry picker, for those who I use to work with, it is the lift truck that warehouse uses, the stand up one. I am so tired, every day the time was getting earlier and earlier. I am getting use to getting up early again. I now work 5:45 to 2:45 pm, and travel to a different store every day. I am going to be in the Palm Bay store on Monday and Tuesday to finish up with some of the orientation on the computer, get certified in the radial arm saw cutter and the circular saw cutter, along with making keys and cutting chain and rope. It will be off to the hand power tool trade show on Wednesday and Friday. On Monday November 3, I will be on the floor as a member of the Merchandise Execution Team or MET team.

I did have a bad night on Thursday night. Angel May got sick and I had to take her the the emergency hospital vet, who said she was dehydrated, had a UTI, and was constipated. They filled her with antibiotics, fluids, and an enema and sent her home. It was all a result of the trip down and all the changes that have happened over the past 2 weeks. I have to take her to the vet on Saturday, the vet is the one Jen takes her animals to, and I met her on one of my trips down. She is so nice but the the Hospital cost me $270 that night, and I can not wait to see what this is going to cost, but she is worth every dollar spent. Jen said that she is very reasonable. Please say a prayer she is going to get well soon.

Well, I am getting very sleepy, I did not get to bed until after 11 last night and had to get up at 3 to go to Titusville this morning. I will write over the weekend and catch you up on other things. Love to all

You are in my thought and prayers always
Jo

Hey Everyone!

I finally made it! I packed until 2:30 am on Wednesday morning. I then got up about 7 in the morning. I had every intention of leaving by 10 am, but that did not happen either, I did leave by 10:30 after many hugs and tears. I was a little late in picking up Ron at the Scranton airport. He really enjoyed the trees and the colors throughout PA. He did not enjoy the cow, horse, and skunk smells on the way down. With every fill up, we switched the driving chores. I had my first experience driving a truck with a dolly behind it, different.

We arrived in Palm Bay about 8:10 am. We had no rain or any other type of weather while driving down, we were very lucky. Ron is just dictating that he got better gas mileage than I did, but he did not remember that he slept most of the way down either. I could not sleep in the truck, it was too uncomfortable. I unloaded my girls, which did not exactly enjoy the trip at all. They are just now coming out of hiding off and on. I think Angel is finally getting her sea legs, she was actually eating and drinking while I was working at the house. I finally found 2 of the other girls, who were hiding amongst the boxes and furniture. I was really worried about them, because I had not seen them in over 24 hours. I unloaded the rest of the car and we went over to Ron and Jenny's after I got my girls settled. It took a total of 20 hrs and 20 minutes to get down to Florida. We made very good time. When arriving at Ron and Jen's, we had every intention of crashing for a while, but by then I had my second wind and was raring to go. I had to go and see the girl from HR at Home Depot to get papers signed. That was another 45 minute trip back up to Titusville, north of Palm Bay.

I did explore when I got back to the Palm Bay area and went to a bunch of different stores. Thank goodness for the TomTom I bought myself for my birthday, it came in so handy! I use it where ever I go to find my way around.

On Friday I had every intention of getting my new drivers license, but that was not meant to be. On October 1st, Florida changed it so you have to have a Birth Certificate and a second form of Id to get the license. It took me most of the day to locate the birth certificate, too late to go to the license office or even the DMV to have the registration changed over. I did get my insurance changed over to Florida though, one down and a bunch to go.

On Saturday, I had to go and get some things from Home Depot, get a new checking account set up and then over to the house to sort through everything and do some cleaning. I got a lot done and found Jo Lynn and Annie hiding amongst the boxes in the living room. I brought them in to the bedroom and under my bed they went, an old familiar place. Had to go to the store to get some chicken wings for dinner tonight, but Ron worked all day and everyone was tired, so we are trying to decide where to go for dinner tonight, then home to bed!.

Well, that is all for tonight. I will write again tomorrow and let you know how things are going.
Love and miss you all, please keep in touch with me.

You are all in my thoughts and prayers. As always, stay safe, happy and healthy.
Jo

Another week closer

Well, it is another week closer to moving. Boxes being packed still, and many more to go. I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive. Your support has been a great comfort to me knowing that you understand why I need to do this. I am scared, but can not wait for a new chapter in my life. New job, new home, and new friends, but missing family. I never realized how much junk one person can accumulate over the years. I have been throwing away many things I have not used in years, giving family the opportunity to go through what I do not want to take and the rest is going to the thrift store in Davenport so some one else can use it. Everything seems, I hope, to be falling in place. It seems like there is so much to do and not enough time to get it done.

I did a real stupid thing on Friday, I left my cell on top of the car and drove off. Needless to say, when I found it on I88, it was in many pieces. It looked like a truck or car ran over it, with no hope of Resurrection..... Thank goodness I still had my old phone, which I reactivated. A new phone would cost me well over $200 and right now I can not afford it. The only problem is that it is not blue tooth and the wired ear port in the phone is broken along with the speaker phone button. I did order a new phone off line at a lot less in expense, and it should be in at the end of the week, I hope. I will be using my cell as the primary phone when I move down, thus the reason to get a newer phone that is dependable.

John, Nan and I went down to Chris and Kim's for Kiersten's birthday. We got started a little bit late do to my losing my phone, but we finally went down and had a good time. Kiersten's party was a lot of fun from what I could see. A lot of screaming little girls having a great time. I am so glad they were having such fun. Kiersten got a lot of nice gifts and Kim's cake was extraordinary as usual. A few little mishaps, but the cake worked. I helped out by hanging things up for Kim and some light housekeeping. I really enjoyed myself, thank you so much. I am going to miss not being able to be at the special occasions, but OOVOO is available and we intend to make good use of it.

Shelly is very anxious to start driving her car. I have not heard what has been going on over at Sue's, but I know she has been keeping busy.

We have had some major changes outside. The state is getting ready to put in the temporary bridge and have cut down many trees that buffered the sound of the road. It looks so different out there, we are so wide open now. More dust and noise.

The trees are so beautiful up here. Many of the trees are so many colors. I wish everyone could see how nice it looks. I will have to take pictures and post them.

I am going to say goodbye for now, I have a lot of work to do and sitting here typing is not getting it done. I hope everyone stays healthy over the coming winter months.

As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay healthy, happy and safe.

Another Beautiful Sunday

This is a photo taken at the Oneonta warehouse during inventory. It is not the best photo, Light colored shirt and the harness I had to wear is not flattering at all. I thank him for taking it as a memento for me.

Here it is Sunday again, where did the weekend go? I have been busy packing and getting rid of things I have not used or seen in 6 months. The packing is going well. Things are getting set for the move. Utilities have been scheduled for turn on, on the 13th of October. I am getting excited for the up coming move, but there is still so much to do. I have 24 days before I leave for Florida.

I found my dishes, silverware, some kitchen towels, and many Tupperware of all kinds including glasses. Now all I need is pots and pans, microwave, toaster, the smaller things. I have to get the stuff for the bathroom as well, especially a shower curtain so I can take a shower, which I will get when I go down I guess.

Work has been keeping me busy lately. I come home and pack some more. I never realized how much junk one person can accumulate over the years. Now since this is a new chapter, time to get rid of the junk and start new. My will has been made along with the living will for medical. Now all I have to do is get it signed and notarized.

I have sent out new address cards to everyone, if I forgot you, I did not mean too, my address book was lost when my computer had problems so please let me know by contacting me at joannboman@stny.rr.com or give me a call on the house phone. Just a heads up, I will not have a house phone for a while when I move, I will be using my cell phone. If you have Verizon wireless, all calls to me on my cell phone are FREE and I can be called anytime. Otherwise, you will only hear from me on the weekends, where I can call for free to any phone, or after 9 pm at night during the week, but at that time I will be sleeping, because I have to be at work at 6 am. If you have the Internet and an video conference ability, I have a service called OOVOO. It is free and I can talk with you any time. You can download it for free at http://www.oovoo.com/.

I do have the ablility for other services including skype.

Shelly has finally driven on the road. I let her drive my car from her house to mine, she did really well. Now she needs to get her car on the road, practice, and get her license. She needs to have confidence in herself, she does really well.

Elizabeth has stretched to 25" long and a little over 10lbs. She is now 4 months old. She had to go to the Dr. this past week for her shots. Now Amy and Jason can start to feed her cereal by the spoon, which is a good thing they say.

Diane had surgery on her elbow on Wednesday, she is doing very well. Mary is helping her out.

I did here from Alice this past weekend. Joey is in Japan, stationed at the same base as Uncle Alan was. This is great news for the whole family. Everyone is doing well on the Island from what she told me. She sounded happy for me about the move, a little shocked that it was actually happening, but happy.

Well, it is back to packing again. Everyone stay safe.

As always, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers. Stay healthy, happy and safe.

The time has come.

Well everyone, I have done it. I was offered a job in Florida and I accepted it. Yes, you read it right, I will be moving to Palm Bay, Florida on October 15th. I know it will be a big shock to a lot of people, but I decided I needed to do this for Joanne. It is time that Joanne starts to enjoy some living. I have new friends that are my age and I enjoy their company as they do mine. I will be 52 this year and it is time for changes, basically, to start a new chapter in my life. I have prayed every day that this would happen, and it did. The opportunity presented it-self, and I went for it. I am ecstatic, yet scared! So many emotions running through my head all at once, so many things to do, especially packing.

I will miss the family, but everyone seems to have busy lives now and they are always on the go. Family, extended families, etc. I will miss Christmas most of all. I so enjoy watching everyone open their gifts and watching their faces. Photo's taken of all the events that day and on Birthdays, Anniversary's, etc., I will miss all that. I will NOT miss the cold, shoveling the snow, and being charged to live in NY via taxes, and high prices for gas. I will miss the friendships I have forged over the years and the special friends that have forged a special place in my heart. I will have to enjoy these events now via OOVOO. It is a free video service. I can actually see peoples faces and talk with them live. I suggest that everyone download the program. I also have skype and a few other video services.

I hope everyone will wish me well on this adventure. I welcome you to come down and visit. As details roll in, I will keep you apprised of what is going on. Everyone stay well and safe. Please stay in touch and let me know what you think. More information will follow over the weekend.

As always, I will keep you in my prayers and thoughts. I hope to hear from you all soon.

Love Jo

Good Morning Everyone

Well, it has been a while since I last wrote, I apologize for that. Nothing has really happened here to write about, but I will try to catch you up on things that have happened during the past week. The leaves are turning here rather quickly. Does this mean that we are going to have a early winter, it sure does look like it. The apple trees are so full, the limbs are breaking.

As I wrote in the last blog, Chris and Kim celebrated their anniversary last Saturday. John and Nan were down for that, I could not go because I was taking care of Diana's (my girlfriend) mother. Her and her husband finally had a chance to get away for a few days and asked me if I would stay with her, which I agreed. Evie and I had a good time and watched old movies.

Tuesday was Mackenzie and David's birthdays. Mackenzie was 6 and David 4. They are getting to be so big and grown up already, where does time go. I remember when both were born, and it doesn't seem that long ago. I did not get to talk with either of the kids, but sent gifts. I know David had a party with all his friends, and they all had a great time. Mackenzie had a bowling party on the past Saturday, I did not hear how that went. I hope she had a great time too. I would have went, but as I said before, I was babysitting.

Mary is going to go back to school for her GED. Diane has made arrangements with BOCES and the school district, along with NY, to get her back to school. If things work out, she will also be taking Culinary Arts also for the next 2 years. Please, everyone say a prayer that there will be an opening in the Culinary Arts class so she can start it in September, rather than in January. At any rate, she will be going to the GED classes starting in September. I wish her the best of luck and hope she takes it seriously.

Amy, Jason, and baby Elizabeth are doing great. Sue and Roger saw Elizabeth for the first time last Sunday. Sue says she looks just like Mom. I think she looks like Amy, with a little of Jason thrown in, but there is a slight look of mom in her. She is now 10 lbs. and growing like a weed.

Shelly is training to be a supervisor at her job. She is working "40" hours a week, I think she is learning what real work is about. She had been working about 24-28 hrs a week for the past year, so the full time is a shock to her system. LOL. She is doing it though. To get the position, she needs to get her drivers license. I hope she is working on it, she really needs to learn to drive, but is scared to learn for fear of making a mistake. Good luck Shell, love you and hope you start to take this in stride.

Sue and Roger are doing well. Sue is working hard as usual. They had some friends over last night, and watched the race.

Me, myself, are as usual, work, work, work. It seems to be a never ending thing in my life. I have been reading a great series by Catherine Coulter, it is the FBI series, thanks Jenny for turning me on to it. I am up to the fifth book called Riptide. This one is a little harder to get into, but I am plugging along. It should be as good as the others. Today, Sunday, is my reading and laundry day. I did go to the movies by myself yesterday. I went and saw Momma Mia, what a great movie. I recommend it if you remember ABBA and their music. The movie is not about ABBA, so don't worry, but their songs fit the movie fantastically. I really think everyone should "take a chance" and see the movie, it is really worth it. When you do go, stay through the credits, there is more and you will get a great laugh out of it.

Florida has been hit hard with rain this past week thanks to Fay. Ron and Jenny sustained water damage to their home. With 19+ inches of rain that fell, they had rivers for roads and still today, have a moat in front and on the side of their home. The company that put the roof on their home before they moved in, did a poor job and used inferior materials for the ridge cap and the bull around the chimney, this is where most of the leaks were. One sky light has some leak, which I question if they used ice shield around it? The pool was over filled, and it has still been raining there every afternoon, like they really need more. I really miss being down their and can not wait to see them again. I told Ron that I would give him a hand with repairs when I get down next.

The Baseball camp is finally over by us. The last group has left on Friday, thank goodness. The traffice by there was horrible, but it is finally over. YEAH!

Well, I have clothes to hang out to dry, birds to feed, plants to water, and a book to get to, so I will say goodbye for now. Please drop me a line and let me know if you want to see anything else in the blog or if you have any news to add for all to read about. Please let everyone know the blog address so they can keep in contact with us too. I miss you all and wish that you could all be here, or me there, but all our lives have taken their own paths, so this is the only way to get hold of everyone to let them know what is happening.

Everyone take care of yourselves and stay safe, happy and healthy!

You are all in my thoughts and prayers always.

hello there....

This is another beautiful cake Kimberly made for an Anniversary Party. Isn't it a beautiful cake!

Another week has come and gone, the time seems to be slipping by so fast now. The weather is getting cooler each week, and the days are getting shorter too, if you notice. Today it is only going to be in the upper 60's, and rain of course. We seem to be getting September weather now, in the 70's during the day and around 50 at night. I noticed that on my way to work, the leaves on Gunhouse Road are starting to change, a sign of fall. Where did the summer go? Did we really even have a summer? It seems like winter just got over in May and now we are going into fall already.

School will be starting soon for all the neices and nephews. School shopping is well underway in all the stores. Every where I shopped this and the last few weekends, all the parents are buying the supplies and clothing. I am glad I do not have to worry about going to school any longer. I have been enjoying reading lately. Jenny turned me on to Catherine Coulter's FBI series of books and they are great. If you get a chance try the first book, the Cove, and see what you think. I know you will really enjoy them.


Joe called this week, he will be attending Ashworth University for his Associates Degree in Computer Information Management, then going on for a BS in more computer things, I am not really sure what it is going to be. I know he talked with me about a networking degree a while ago. I wish him the best. Love and miss him. I wish him the best on the Cisco exam.

Tomorrow is Nancy and Mary's birthday. Please if you see or talk with them, wish them a Happy Birthday!

Chris and Kim will be celebrating their anniversary on Saturday. Wish them a Happy Anniversary when you see them.

Elizabeth went to the Dr. this week and is growing by leeps and bounds. I think Diane said she was 9 lbs 8 oz. I could be wrong, but close. I don't remember how long though. The whole family is doing well.

Diane, Michael, and Mary are doing well too. Dianes garden is growing like weeds. Mrs domestic, who knew.

Me, I am just taking one day at a time. Work, work, work, as usual. News this week is not very interesting, but I caught you up on what is going on that I know about. I am missing Florida, and wish I was there with Ron and Jenny and all the other friends I have met, but right now it is not ment to be. Hopefully soon though.

Well, everyone enjoy your day and please stay safe, healthy, happy, and remember to tell those you care about, how you feel.

As always, you remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Morning Everyone

Another weekend has come and gone. They just seem to go by so quickly now. Just think, we are in August already. Soon school will be starting.

I went to the movies with Shelly yesterday. We saw the new Mummy movie. It was pretty good, but they really needed to have the original Evie back again, that would have completed the show. Overall, the movie was worth watching. It was also good to spend some time with Shelly. It has been a long time since we spent any time together.

Nancy and John are at Nancy's reunion, up at Ginnie's house. I was invited, but I had some things I needed to get done and spent some quality time with Shelly. I so appreciated Ginnie asking me. I hope all went well, it was suppose to rain off and on all day long, which it did here. I did get some grass cut, which was needed badly. I still have some more to cut, but it looks like it is going to rain again today. If it does, a book will be on today's menu along with hopefully the race.

I saw Diane and Michael Thursday, they both look well. She came to pick up a TV I had for her. They stayed for a while and we talked. It was good to see them again. They were going to babysit for Elizabeth on Friday night so Amy and Jason could go out to dinner and the movies.

Elizabeth is doing well, she is rolling, cooing, laughing, all the things babies do. Diane said she is very smart for her age. I have not seen her in a few weeks so I can not say on how she looks. Amy calls me and lets me know what is going on with her. Amy is also doing a new blog spot that will have pictures available to all. She will be using blogspot.com, it is the same as Joe's and mine. As soon as she gives me her new blog address, I will pass it on so all can see the new photo's and download them if you want, with out worry of virus's.

Ron and Jenny have been keeping me up on things going on in Florida. He was going to make these wings for a gathering yesterday. If you could just taste them, they melt in your mouth and taste fantastic. It was a new recipe that he tried on Jenny and I a few times before he would try it out on anyone else. He is very hard on himself if it does not turn out just right. I wish he would have some faith in himself, he is a VERY GOOD COOK! I wish I could have been down there for the gathering, it was with good friends, and they all wanted me there. I miss them all so much and can not wait to see them again, hopefully soon. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.

Not much is going on with Sue and the family. They are in the middle of Demolition Derby season. Today is a big derby at the Otsego County Fair. Roger's car won its heat and will race today for the Otsego County Championship. If the car wins, it will qualify his driver to run at the state fair for the State Championship. I am not going, but will get the scoop from her tomorrow or tonight when she gets home. A lot of time has been spent on building and painting the cars. Sue paints the graphics on the cars, she is really good at it too.

Well, not much else is going on here, so I will bid you all a goodbye for now. Please stay happy, healthy, and safe, and remember, tell those around you how much they mean to you, you never know what will happen.

As always, I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.

Good Afternoon Everyone!

This is a photo of the corner of the driveway. I planted these and they are doing very well as you can see. I hope you enjoy the photo.

Hi everyone. What a beautiful day it is up here. We are expecting some showers this afternoon late. The Brickyard 400 is about to start, and it should be interesting.

It is hard to believe that the weekend is almost over again, where does the time go? Weekends never seem to be long enough. I have been doing the usual chores this weekend. The only thing I added was to put tire tubes in the front tractor tires. Of course I had to take them off, which I was hoping I would not have to, but I did. I looked like I was working on a car engine all day, but it is done.

We had an unexpected thunder storm last night with heavy rains. I know we need the rain, and still do, but wow, did that come down heavy. Angel does not like the thunder, so she spent the night either by my head or under the bed.

Spent a few hrs with Sue on Saturday, which was nice. It has been a long time since we spent any time together. She has her family and her life is usually hectic, so I do not get to see her often.

I heard from Diane, she and Michael are doing well. They had a good anniversary.

Amy, Jason, and Elizabeth are doing well. Elizabeth had her first shots this past week, and Amy said that she faired very well with them. She is up to 8 lbs 10 oz. I wish the family well and please keep them in your prayers.

I sure do miss Florida. Ron and Jenny have been keeping me up on everything that is going on. I so long to walk on the beach, and have Ron's chicken wings. Jenny, I miss going shopping and spending time with you and can not wait till I see you again. Keep your fingers crossed I will see you soon.

Not much else is going on here, so I will wish everyone a good week.

As always, you all remain in my thoughs and prayers. Stay happy, healthy, and safe.

Air Show Fri, Sat, and Sunday

I went to the Air show today. It was for scale RC planes. What a great time, but warm and windy. I have posted my photo's of the show on my gallery, take a gander and enjoy them.

Not much else is really going on here. I hope you all have had a good and safe week. Miss you all and hope to talk with you soon.

As always, have a health, happy and safe week. You all remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Well, I'm home again.

I took great photo's of the trip to and from, including some storm clouds we flew over on the way back to PA. I hope you all enjoy them.

I went in the pool the other day and John was playing with his destroyer. I took a movie of it with my camera and posted it in the photo gallery.

Work has been the same, attitudes continue as usual. I really wish people would be happy they have a job with the way this economy is right now. I go in happy and and the attitudes just bring everyone down. You would be surprised how a smile can brighten your day along with a hello.

I made it home again. I really had a great time down there. I look forward to returning again soon... I am hoping that some time, I can move down. Having a job would be the only way I would move unless another solution comes along. I felt so much better down there. The temperature does not swing like it does here in NY. Since coming home, my joints seem to be screaming. Well, for right now, I will remain here in NY, even though I long to be back in FL.

My diet is getting back on track again after vacation. I only have 1 more pound and I am back to were I was before vacation. Everyone's encouragement would be very welcome.

Well, I will keep everyone in my thoughts and prayers, especially Jenny. I hope she finds the job she seeks. The job she has right now is taking a really big toll on her. Please say an extra prayer for her to get the job she is seeking. Good luck Jenny, love and miss you.

I hope everyone is well. I have been thinking about you all often. Please stay healthy, happy, and safe. You will always remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Hello from Florida

I hope everyone had a good 4Th of July, I know I did. I hope all those traveling home, have a safe trip.

The time has gone by too fast for me. I am enjoying myself so much, I really do not want it to end. Everyone said that I would not like to weather because it is so hot down here. I know it is not the summer heat yet, but from what I have experienced so far(it has been in the 90's), I have really been comfortable. I think that the aspirin a day is part of the reason, but it is so nice not to hurt in the joints like I do in NY. Jenny was able to get a 4 day weekend, so we got to spend quality time together, all three of us, just hanging around the pool and enjoying each others company. Jenny and I did get out to the stores and did some window shopping. Ron took me along the river and what homes I saw, seven figure ones that is. I met some new friends, Pam and Skip. They are really nice people and I am glad to count them as friends. Debbie was over one night for dinner along with Skip and Pam and we enjoyed the dinner, laughter, and good company.

Fireworks were great here, and we did not even have to leave the house. Jenny, Ron, and I sat out on the corner of the house and we had beautiful fireworks all around. I wish I had taken my camera out and taken a few pictures, but when I sat down, I did not want to miss any of them. Ron went in, and Jenny and I continued to watch for about 25 more minutes. I was really glad we did not have to go anywhere. The next door neighbor had quite the display too. There were so many people out walking and standing in the streets watching, I was glad we just stayed home.

I have been threatened to be kidnapped and not returned to the airport tomorrow. LOL! Ron and Jenny really want me to stay, and I want to stay too. I told Ron and Jenny that I would stay if I could, but the need of being able to pay bills is the bummer. I would not mind moving down here at all, but the need for a job is the one hitch.

Shilo has become so affectionate since the last time I was down. She just loves to be hugged and kissed, and she loves to do the kissing too. Mojo was so happy to see me too, and I her. I really do miss my girls too, but Shelly has been taking care of them for me, Thanks Shelly.

I heard from Amy and the baby is now taking juice and cereal, with the Dr's. approval. I am so glad that all is coming together with their family.

I was so sorry to have missed Joe during the time he spent up in PA/NY. I have not seen him since Christmas, and that seemed forever ago. Joe, just know I miss you and wished I was there. I hope your birthday turned out to be great too. Everyone was so excited to plan that knight party for you. Joe drove his motorcycle up, just please be safe in driving home, I can not wait to see you again soon.

Well everyone, I just want to say hi. I will be doing my next post from home next week. Sorry there have not been too many photo's this time around, but that is just how things turned out. Love and miss you all, see you soon.

As always, please stay happy, healthy, and safe.

Happy Sunday!

This is one of the photo's I took at the beach last Thanksgiving. It is looking north up the coast. I so miss the ocean.

Good morning everyone. Well, today Elizabeth is going to be Baptized at St. Mary's in Oneonta. She will be Baptized at 10:30 mass along with another small one. I have the pleasure of being asked to be her God Mother along with Jason's brother as God Father. Please say a prayer for her to keep the lord always in her life.

Next week Joe comes. Everyone is getting very excited here. I am going to miss him though. I will be in Florida during his visit, bummer. I hope he has a safe trip, he is riding his new motorcycle up. Love and miss you Joe. Pray for his safety during his travels.

Thursday is John's birthday. I will be missing this as well. :( I hope his birthday is very special for him. I wish I was here to celebrate with him. Love you John! If you see him this day, wish him a Happy Birthday!

Sue has been sick with that bug that has been going on. She even missed work, which is not like her. I saw her yesterday and she seems a bit better. Please say a prayer that she continues to get better everyday.

Now it is 4 days left until I arrive in Florida. I can not wait. I have been so looking forward to this trip. Shelly will be taking care of the girls for me. I have so much to do today after the baptism, I hope I get most of them done. Monday and Tuesday will be busy at work so those days will go by very fast and I leave Wednesday after work for Chris's house. I have to come home Wednesday, get gas, print my tickets, make sure the girls are set until Shelly comes Thursday, pack the computer up, and pack the car up, then head out to PA. Kim will be taking me to the airport at 5 in the morning, so it is hit the bed early on Wednesday. I don't know if I will be able to sleep well that night in anticipation of the trip in the morning. Please say a prayer for a safe trip for me. Look out Ron and Jenny, I will be there soon. I can not wait to see you!

My next post will be from Florida. I am hoping I will have lots of photo's to post with the post. Keep an eye on the gallery for new photo's of the trip. I am keeping all of you in my prayers.

As always, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay healthy, happy, and safe. To all those with travel plans, please be safe!

Happy Father's Day!

This is my dad. He passed back in 1986. This is a photo of him in his Captains Uniform for the Fire Department.

Hello everyone. Sorry I did not post the past 2 weeks, but we had lighting on Saturday the 31st and it took out our cable modem. We were not able to get a new one until Monday the second. Last weekend just got away from me.

Yesterday was Flag Day and I hope everyone flew their flags in honor of our country and the freedoms we all enjoy.

John spoke with Alice and found out she was in the hospital. I am glad they finally found out what was causing all her pain. Please say a prayer for her to recover quickly.

It was an interesting weekend last week. It was so hot, Sue actually went out and bought a small pool. She asked me to come up and give her a hand. The pool was set up on the best spot, when the man who stays on Rogers property, moved the pool and messed everything up. She said that she would deal with the pool the way it is for this year and fix it next year. It is not a big pool, just enough to get wet in. We are working on getting it cleared up right now.


I worked out in the yard all day yesterday, it looks nice. Diane bought Elizabeth over so I can see her. Diane was on her way to pick up Mike from his brothers house. Elizabeth looks just like her mom, I can see her dad in her too, but she is the spitting image of Amy. She went to the Dr. and is now 7 lbs 8 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. I got to hold her for about an hour while Diane and I spoke. Diane took some photo's which are in the photo gallery if you want to see them.




Next weekend on Sunday June 22ed, Elizabeth is being baptized at St. Mary's in Oneonta. It will be at 1030 mass. I was honored to be asked to be her god mother and Jason's brother is going to be her god father.

Joe will be coming home on the 28th and staying until July 5th. I am so sorry I will miss him. I am leaving on the 26th and will not be back until July 7th. I hope everyone has a great time and lots of pictures are taken so I can see them when I get home. I love and miss Joe. Please everyone say a special prayer for his safe travel both to and from the northeast.

Vacation is getting ever closer, thank goodness. Only 11 days left until I arrive at Orlando airport. I need to make a list of all the things I need to bring with me. I am planning on taking as many photos as I can while down. Lots of plans are in the making right now. I just can not wait to see Jenny and Ron again, as well as Shilo and Mojo and the birds.



Ron and Jenny, I want to wish you a Happy Anniversary. Their anniversary is on Tuesday June 17th. Hope you both have a great day together.









Today is going to be a paperwork day for me. I have a lot to get done before I go away and need to spend some time to get it done. Of course I will have the race on.

I hope everyone has a great Father's Day! Please remember, give your dad a call or say a special prayer for those who have passed. They are special, if it was not for them, you would not be here and be the special person you are to all of us.

As always, you are in my thoughts and prayers always. Please stay happy, healthy, and safe.

Happy Memorial Day

Does anyone recognize this photo? It is the memorial at Pearl Harbor. The photo was taken by Kim and Christopher while they were in Hawaii.

Today is Memorial Day, not just a day off from work or school, but a day to remember those who not only served, but those who lost their lives in the military. As you know a lot of us have had someone in our lives fight and lose their lives during the time of war, even just being in the military service they have earned the right to be honored today. They are protecting us and protecting the US, so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. If you see someone in uniform, or even someone you know who has served, tell them thank you.


Ron, thank you for serving our country with honor. To the S.O.F.A. group, thank you for serving our country with honor. Joey is in the Marines right now, say a prayer for his continued safety.



This weekend, we celebrated Kimberly's birthday. It was so much fun. It was so good to see everyone again. Both David and Kiersten met me at the door when I arrived, great big hugs and lots of greetings. It was a good party and Kim received a lot of nice things. Her birthday is really on Tuesday, but had a family party on Saturday.


Today I will be cutting the hay field (my yard). The grass is long and needs to be cut badly. I need to cut it this morning, we are suppose to have rain this afternoon. Maybe a little grilling of chicken for lunch and shrimp for dinner, then I do not have to worry about getting wet in the evening.


Amy, Jason and Elizabeth are doing very well. She lost some weight, which is usual, but is putting it back on as the DR expected. Elizabeth will be going back to the DR for a checkup the first week in June.


Jenny and Ron, I miss you guys and I am looking forward to seeing you on June 26th.

Not much else is really going on, so I will let everyone enjoy their day. Happy Memorial Day again to everyone.


I wish you all a great weekend. As always you all remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Well, here she is.....

Family and Friends, I would like you to meet:

Elizabeth Eleanor Rose Bathen

Elizabeth Eleanor Rose Bathen

Born May 17, 2008

At 1816 (6:16 pm)

7 lbs 1.8 oz.19" long

How she got her name:

Elizabeth was after my moms middle name. Eleanor was after Jasons grandmother. Rose was after my Aunt Alice. These names were chosen after very special people, which makes Elizabeth a very special girl.

I would like everyone to wish both Amy and Jason the most sincere congratulations on the birth of their first daughter. Please say a special prayer for the entire family that God watches over them and guides them through their future life together as a family.

I want to wish all a good day and please stay happy, healthy and safe.

My thoughts and prayers to all.

IT'S A GIRL!

It has finally happened. Amy and Jason have had their baby girl!

Elizabeth Eleanor Rose Bathen
Born May 17, 2008
At 1816 (6:16 pm)
7 lbs 1.8 oz.
19" long

It was a beautiful and quick birth.

Pictures will follow tomorrow, I forgot my camera. I did not expect to be there when the baby was born, but much to my surprise, the baby wanted me there.

love to all

Happy Mothers Day!

This is a photo of my mom and grandmother. God bless and keep them close to our hearts even though they are no longer with us.

I would like to wish all a "Happy Mothers Day"! It does not matter if you have just children, but those who have "special" children (cats, dogs, birds, etc.), they are also to be included in this day. The reason I feel this is, because my 4 my cats, are just like my kids and I love them to no end. So please, wish all those women in your life a Happy Mothers Day.

I also want to wish Alice a special "Happy Mothers Day", because since mom has passed, and even before, she has always been as close as a mother could be. I love and miss her and wish her my best.

Please wish Alice a Happy Birthday on May 16th.

Here is a poem I came across that applies to all of us.

My Mother

For as long as I can remember

you have been by my side

to give me support

to give me confidence

to give me help

For as long as I can remember

you have always been the person I looked up to

so strong

so sensitive

so pretty

For as long as I can remember

and still today

you are everything a mother should be

For as long as I can remember

you have always provided stability within our family

full of laughter

full of tears

full of love

So much of what I have become

is because of you

and I want you to know

that I appreciate you, thank you

and love you

more than words can express

-Poem by Susan Polis Schutz

I hope you all enjoy this poem, it kind of says it all.

It has been a quiet week here, nothing really happening. Amy is still waiting to have the baby. She and Jason are staying with Diane and Michael until the baby is here. Jason does not want her left alone just in case the contractions start while he is at work.

Everything is status quo with Sue and the family. John and Nan are still down at Chris and Kim's house watching the grand kids. Chris and Kim are due home today. From what I understand, they should be home about 5pm. Please pray for a safe journey home for them.

Me, not much is happening. I filled the car for the second time and am getting 35.5 mpg. That is good, considering that it is new and not broken in yet. I spoke with the dealership mechanics and they said that when it does break in, I should be getting 40 with out a problem. I am just glad I am not getting less than I got with the Cavalier. I do love the Vibe, it is so roomy, a lot more than the Cavalier was.

A special hi to Ron and Jenny. Happy Mothers Day, Jenny. I am sure all your babies wish you that as well. I so look forward to seeing you again in June. Miss you both.

As always, I keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay healthy, happy and safe.

Hello Everyone!

This photo is from an e-mail I received, hope you enjoy it!

It is now Saturday, and the weather is holding out from raining. The sky has been mostly overcast, but the sun has been out about 45% of the day off and on. I really thought it was going to rain all day, but Mother Nature has blessed us with warm sunshine. I was able to get some of the sheets and blankets washed and hung out in the fresh air. With the wind and the sun going in and out, they dried pretty quickly.


I also washed the car, it was really dirty on the sides and back. I brought it home and wiped it down, now it looks new again. I did find some things that Otsego will need to care for when I bring it in for its first oil change. There is two small scratches (not deep) on the driver side back door and also on that door I found scratches on the window. I am very happy with the Vibe and would recommend it to anyone looking for a crossover vehicle. Ted Vernon was my salesman and he is very knowledgeable in the GM/Pontiac cars. He just made Salesman of the month.


Amy's contractions have stopped. She is having contractions infrequently right now. She and Jason are kind of ready to get things over with, but the baby will come when she is ready. Please keep them all in your prayers.




I have been thinking about Florida a lot lately. Warm weather, beaches, pool, sand, and times with good friends/family. I am missing Ron and Jenny and the times we spent together. I am so looking forward to vacation on June 26th. I have a count down going on my desktop, which is now at 7 weeks, 4 days, 12 minutes, and 23 seconds. It seems so far away, but hopefully the time will fly by.


Say a special prayer for Chris and Kim, they are on vacation and John and Nancy are watching the kids for them. Keep them in your prayers for safe travel, and bringing them home safely. Kiersten and David will have a great time with grandma and grandpa there with them.


Everything is getting green up here. The tree's are finally getting their leaves and the flowers are getting ready to bloom. I understand it is suppose to be warmer this week, keep your fingers crossed.


Well, it is time to let you go. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope the information keeps you informed on what is happening here.


I send my love to all and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

New Play Toy!

Well, I got a new play toy. This is a Pontiac Vibe. I love it. I traded my car in for it, and it is well worth it. Thanks to all who supported my decision to get the car. It has a lot more room, I can use the back seats now, and the trunk in the car can not beat the room I now have in the back of the Vibe. I thought long and hard (4 months) about this. I was not going to trade until next year, but the deal I got made it worth it.

I have posted the photo's of the car in the photo gallery. Hope you all will continue to support my decision in buying it. Love and prayers to all.

Joanne

It's Friday, finally

Yes it is, Friday again. I only work half days on Fridays, so it is a really good day for me. Today at work our forklift went south. The motor burned out again and we were unable to complete our work, oh well, next week is another day.

Today I worked in the gardens. I pulled weeds, cut stalks off plants, put up little fencing around nan's bushes, and picked up my mess. The little garden by the driveway looks pretty good, now that the grass is gone out of it. The snow blower is finally put away as well as air conditioners being uncovered and ready for a work out. The weather has been good here, in the upper 70's, next week does not look as promising, I saw a 46 in there.

Update on Amy, she is experiencing back pain full time now. The Dr. says she can go anytime. She is due around Mothers Day. Please keep her in your prayers.

I have made it point to be out walking when I get home from work. I forgot how nice it is to just walk and see the trees coming out, as well as the benefit of the exercise. Everything is getting so green finally. Even the buds for new flowers are coming up.

I have been thinking a lot about everyone and hope everyone is doing well.

As always, you remain in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay healthy, happy, and safe.

Good morning

This is one of Jenny's birds. Isn't she beautiful!

This is Saturday morning and I am getting ready to go to Christopher's for his birthday. It is hard to believe he is going to be 33 years old. He has grown in to such a wonderful man with a beautiful family. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments. You will find photo's of the birthday on the gallery site. Everyone wish Chris a happy birthday.

Less us not forget, today is moms birthday too. I miss her so much, it is hard to believe it has been 8 years since she passed. Everyone please say a special prayer for her.

I just heard yesterday that Kimberly's grandfather passed. She has been so busy preparing for Chris's birthday, that this came as such a shock. I am not sure what her plans will be about the funeral, but I will find out when I get down there. Please say a prayer for her and her family to get through this time.

Yesterday it was warm out. It was 83 degrees and very sunny. I was able to get out and take a really long walk, clean out my gardens to let the plants start to get the warmth of the sun. I see that the bleeding heart bush is already coming up through the soil. I still have my little garden by the driveway to do, I see that there is quite a bit of grass that has grown through. Nancy's garden around the stump on the side yard has daffodils ready to bloom and the tulips are up. It looks so nice to see the plants finally starting to bloom again.

The birds are having a field day out in the front yard, I fed them yesterday. Soon it will be time for the humming bird feeders to go up.

Amy wishes to thank everyone for their beautiful gifts. She told me to tell Alice that she received the gift card and is putting it to good use as she suggested. Thank you to all who took the time to wish her and Jason the best for their baby. She is having a girl and the name is going to be: Elizabeth Eleanor Rose Bathen. Amy is due right around Mothers Day. Please keep her in your prayers for a safe delivery. I will keep you all advised as to what is going on.

Well, it is time for me to go, I have a long trip ahead of me. Everyone enjoy the beautiful days ahead. It is nice that the weather has finally broken and the sun is shining. I send my love to all and wish everyone to be safe, healthy and happy.

A special hi to all my Florida family, I can not wait to see you again, I miss you guys so much. Ron, thank you so much for all you have taught me so far, I am definitely hungry to learn more from you. I never had the clinical for my classes with hands on computer work, and now, I am learning so much from you about computers and fixing them. You may not think you are a good teacher, but you are, do not under estimate yourself, you are a good teacher.

I send my love and best wishes to everyone. Please stay safe.
As always, you all remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Jo

Amy's Baby Shower

Today was Amy and Janson's baby shower. Diane put on a good spread and it was a lot of fun. There were not a lot of people there, but she received a lot of very nice gifts. I have posted the photo's in the gallery for all to see and enjoy.

Not much is really going on here, so I will keep this post short.

Weather has been good, in the low 60's, and sunny. We are expecting snow tonight, but the ground is so warm, I really feel it will not stay very long. We only need to put up with the cold for 2 days and then we return to the 60's again.

I am going to close for now, I wish everyone remains healthy, happy, and safe.

As always, you all remain in my thoughts and prayers.

Hi

Returning flight just before landing in Albany.

Hi, everyone! Well, vacation is over. It seems like it was yesterday when it started. I had a great time, saw many wonderful sites, met wonderful people. I just had an all around great time!

On Tuesday, I met a wonderful woman and her daughter. Ron and Jenny invited Debbie and her daughter Chrissy over for dinner. We introduced ourselves and enjoyed a wonderful evening, talking and laughing about many of our life experiences. What a wonderful and very honest woman she is and her daughter Chrissy, what a beautiful girl, very well mannered, she should be very proud of her.

On Thursday, I went out to a S.O.F.A (Senior old fars Association), luncheon with Ron, Jenny was working. After the luncheon, Ron showed me around the shore. I saw million dollar homes, Jenny's old house, the house where Ron grew up, and his old condo. We visited with some friends and I saw the place where Jenny works. That night, Jenny, Ron, Debbie and I went out to dinner. We did a lot of talking and laughing, everyone seemed to be have such a great time.

I did do some swimming while I was there. The pool was in the mid 70's, but very comfortable. I even had company in the pool, mojo (Ron and Jenny's dog). She loves the water so. We played for quite a while. Friday, Ron went in after he and Jenny gave Shilo a bath, I followed and we convinced Jenny to join us. We all had a good time and spent the whole day together enjoying each others company. Friday and Saturday was so special, Jenny was off and I was able to visit with them both for 2 days.

Saturday was a great day too. I helped Ron build shelves in Jenny's office. You will never know how happy she was to get the shelves in for her books. It was so much fun! I really love to do things like that, especially when you see how much someone really appreciates it!

I was sad to leave on Sunday morning. A lot of tears were spilt and hugs I did not want to ever end.

Made it home uneventful. There are some photos of the flight home posted in the gallery.
Sue and Shelly picked me up at the airport. I was glad to be home, the girls were angry with me for quite a while, but I must thank Nancy and John for taking such good care of them for me. I was happy I did not have to worry about them. Thank you again Nancy and John!

It was back to work on Monday, same o, same o, wondering why I came back to the cold north and left the warm weather.

Saturday is Amy's baby shower at 1pm at the Fire House. I can not wait to see what she gets!
I will take lots of photo's and post them in the late afternoon so everyone can enjoy the party.


It is getting late and I am really tired. I will post over the weekend. Meanwhile, I bid everyone a safe and happy week.

Any one needing my email address: joannboman@stny.rr.com

As always, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay healthy, happy, and safe.

Love, Jo

Hi Everyone

This is for all those fine Navy gentlemen I met over the weekend. Thank you for the great company. S.O.F.A is a great group of men! (and Ladies)

Here it is Monday morning and 2 1/2 days of my vacation are completely gone. I have been having such a great time, you could not know. I have met some really great people over the weekend I hope will remain friends.

It has been an interesting set events leading up to me arriving in Orlando. I had to stay over night in Albany Thursday do to the snow we were getting. Sue does not like to drive in it to begin with, so when she called me on Thursday, I already was thinking about getting a motel room and shuttling to the airport. She was happy to here this I am sure. Sue and Shelly drove me up and it took an hour and a half for her to get home.

I woke up in the morning to snow falling and snow on the ground, any surprise, I think not. I took the shuttle to the airport and there was a long line for security checks, but it went quickly. Needless to say, I boarded with out a problem, but do to the snow, the plane had to be deiced, not once, but twice.... this led to sitting an hour on the tarmak.

I arrived in Philly and ran to my next connection, and as I arrived, they changed the gate to the other end of the complex which ment running to the next gate to catch the flight. It just happened that when I arrived at the departing gate, they delayed the flight by a half hour, and the luck continues.... I had to call Ron to let him know about the delays so he would not be sitting at the airport and waiting for long. We finally took off 45 minutes late. The weather was so so in Philly, but no snow in sight.

I finally arrived in Orlando and Ron met me out side. It was so good to see him again, I did not realize how much I missed him and Jenny until I saw him. I got a great big welcoming hug, which I greatly appreciated. The weather could not have been better, it was 84 and SUNNY! Off to the stores for some last minute things, then home. The girls were so happy to see me and I them. I was talking with Ron, and Jenny came home, it was go great to see her, I missed her something fierce! Our hug just seemed to go on and on, both of us saying how much we missed each other and how glad we were to see each other again.

Saturday and Sunday were full of excitement, fun, good food, and new friends. Saturday was Rons S.O.F.A. party. This was a gathering of retired Navy men and their wives. Every one brought something, stayed for a long time and just had great time! I was taking pictures of everyone and they most appreciated it. The photo's are being forwarded on to all of the group. Ron received a lot of emails of thanks from all who attended. They all really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Sunday was great too. Jenny and I had lunch with Rosa. This was a girls luncheon and we had a blast! We plan to get together again some time this week. When we got home, some other friends I met back in November were here. It was good to see them, we also had a good time, dinner was great along with the company.

I must say, I really needed this time. I am having a blast and will be very disappointed when it comes to an end on Sunday, when I board the plane for NY. Jenny and Ron have been so great, love them both.

On to other things. Joe's bike ride, a clip from the ride can be found on his blog site, was fun. I was wondering if he taped his camera to his helmet. I was having a great time riding along with him, occasionally looking down at the speedodmeter. Joe, great job, I really enjoyed the trip.

I really want to thank Nancy for feeding my girls. It is so good to know that they are being taken care of and loved. I worry about them and miss them badly. Thank you again Nan.

I went for a walk on Sunday morning, it was so peaceful. I was going to go this morning, but we are having morning showers. Right now the sun is starting to break through and it is looking to be another sunny day.

I am going to say goodbye for now. I will try to post again soon.

As always, you are all always on my mind, in my thoughts and prayers.
Take care,
Joanne