Christmas highlights

Santa came to visit the church. HO, HO, HO! Santa gave our pastor, Pastor He (pronounced Huh) a hug for Christmas. She is a miracle cancer survivor. The lady with the Christmas tree is Joanne. She helps manage the group home for women. The Christmas season is a bitter sweet time for most of the women there. There were two overdoses there, one Christmas Eve, the other Christmas Day.

Colorful...

Wished it were so...Gramma just finished raking AGAIN. This photo is from last year. The wind carried everything away so quickly..didn't have time for a photo. There's a bunch of acorns this year (none last year) but there are very few squirrels to eat them this year.

Retreating...

Grampa's off to retreat this weekend...Gramma's got her own retreat :0

It's windy...ewww...leaves everywhere. The color change came so quickly and the wind is making it impossible to enjoy.

Done...

Gramma's finished her Jury Duty with the NY Supreme Court. Gramma told some of the jurors that she would see them on "60 Minutes" someday. Stuff like that creeps out Gramma! A quiet life is a blessing.

Who said...

Who said court duty is fun? Not me!! I just want this to be over...pleeezzze!

Always something to do...

Grampa spent Saturday helping with Habitat for Humanity House in Belle Port, NY. Everyone came back happy with the work they did. Plenty of sore muscles, but grins to bear it. (See photos on Face Book)
Gramma, on the other hand, spent the day putting together Stewardship packets. This too is a labor of love, but no photos to prove it.

Safely home...

Grampa and Gramma made it home safely from Bridgewater, NJ. The workshop was very good. We gained a new perspective on Moses and excuses. The staff is in our hands!

And so it is...

We've "suffered" with our cable TV. The HD box was booting, rebooting, and then rebooting again. Grampa disconnected the box and switched to direct feed on the TV. And then..it was getting very hard to remember which one of the four remote controls did what. And then...we actually had to get up, go over to the TV, and switch it...arrrgh. Now comes the "real" story. The breaker in the garage gave up it's power...it quit...dead. With hindsight, that was the problem all along. Grampa plugged in the "entertainment center" into another wall socket....voile...it all works fine. Now we have to get the electrician out here again because we have another orange cord powering the family room. Good thing we have plenty of orange cords in THIS house.

Bible study singers...

Singing from the heart....

It's a bargain...

Gramma selling jewelry... at 50 cents a pack ... $104 sales.

Anniversary gift...

Grampa gave Gramma what she always wanted..an attic fan that works. The old one squealed so badly, the whole neighborhood could hear it...that was over a year ago. The only way to quiet the thing was to throw the breaker in the garage. Of course, that is the breaker that powers EVERYTHING in the bedroom including the lamps and TV...so, Grampa using his great electrical wisdom, stretched an orange outdoor extension cord from the hallway to power the bedroom. Now Gramma has mellowed over the years, but this was enough to push her WAY OVER the edge. But all is well now. We can use the plugins in the bedroom again. Thank you, thank you!

And so it is...

Grampa's truck broke down on the Expressway. Bummer. Grampa phoned the mechanic and they decided when to work on it...at least to diagnose the problem. So after much discussion with Gramma about "who would lose time from work," Gramma said,"why don't you (Grampa) take a day off?" Sounded good at the time. Grampa's phone hasn't stopped ringing and Grampa's "boss" was sending someone to pick Grampa up...they just NEED him. But the mechanic called, and they thought they would be done with the truck sooner rather than later. That's a good thing...Grampa needs his truck!!!! no matter how much it costs!

No Ho Hum here...

We are awaiting Hurricane Danny for the weekend. Mostly rain.
Tonight, we have another concert. This will be an operatic performance with contributions to the local Alzheimer's organization. Grampa did the handouts...they look great. We get to help with the reception that follows. WooHoo.

Texas Trip...

As you can see with the pictures below, we had a great time with Annabelle! We gave her the pink hat and pony. I told Justin, "I know it is the last thing you wanted...a pink cowboy hat for Annabelle, but she's got it now." He nodded his head. But, if Annabelle enjoys playing with it, that's all that counts.

Annabelle took a photo of Grampa...

Face book...

Sorry about not staying faithful on the page...but I joined facebook. It is an insidious creature...facebook...it traps you quickly...first it's at home, then at work, then you can't wait to find a computer to see what is happening. But I do like the photo format here. Not many pic's lately...getting ready to go to Mexico...errr...Texas. Can't wait to see Annabelle and Mommy and Daddy!

Ho-Hum...

Get up...go to work...go home...just glad to have a job! Grampa is going to Nashville on Friday for a few days to attend the Men's Gathering for the church. They anticipate 5,000 men there. Grampa is attending with two other men from our church. They should have a great time.

Our church will be 175 years old next year, so early planning is started. So far, there is talk of a parade. April 13, keep that date in mind...just in case there is nothing else going on.

Grampa and Gramma are planning a short visit to Texas in August. Are you ready, Annabelle? Keep the airconditioner on!!!

More to do...

A week ago, Gramma helped with a puppet show at the church. The puppets, Lizzy and Freeman, were pretty good at their presentations. The church received over $1000.00 that day for our apportionment to the Conference.

This past Sunday, Father's Day, Grampa and Gramma gave presentations about our Conference visits. Grampa really gets going...he yelled, "God is Good!" Several confused faces stared back. Of course the response is, "All the time." Then there is a reversed repeat, "All the time," "God is Good." That's something that our energetic Bishop interjected any time we were not singing.

We are trying to get our church services recorded for the home-bound and hospitalized members. Grampa is happily learning about the new gadgets. I am sure there is something brewing in that hair challenged head.

Tonight is council, Saturday is choir party, Sunday is church, July begins Bible study. I'm not sure what we would do with free time.

We're off to see the Bishop...

Collecting medical supplies...

World wide missions...

The Bishop gave $50,000 to mission groups...

Grampa surrounded by Lay Speakers...

The Chartering of a new church...

Like good Methodist everywhere..Grampa and Gramma went to Conference. The highlights were the missions (top three pics), Lay Speaker recognition (do you see Grampa?), the chartering of a new church in the City, and Bishop Wilke (yes, from Kansas Wilke) who gave the sermon during the ordination service. Very inspiring...all of it.

landscaping...

Just planted...we still have some bush removal along the fence, but this is the basic change. I guess the landscaper thought we needed more color.

Just cruisin'...

Grampa and Gramma went on an evening cruise to Connecticut and back. We were accompanied by 300 other fun seekers. The ferry was converted into a party ship for a few hours.
Here's some of our photos.

Grampa's Baritone...

Here it is...Grampa's moment of fame...no fortune...but lots of fun.

catch up...

The talent (?) show was a big hit...and Gramma's been editing, rendering, and burning that DVD. Of course, the first DVD had problems...it stopped several times...so re-render and re-burn. (I hate when that happens)
Saw the ENT (ear,nose,throat) specialist Monday. He did a deep double cauterize on the trouble making vessel in Gramma's nose. He said "no more noseblowing....ever." He gave Gramma instructions...sprays, gels, procedure, etc. Now Gramma really wants to blow her nose...more than ever. Giving up another simple pleasure. :-(
We went to the final "Films and Faith" series that the church sponsors. Last nights movie was "The Visitor." Although it was very good with a deep human meaning, Grampa and Gramma were still talking about "Lars and the Real Girl" (the second movie in the series). So I guess some movies create bigger impact than others.
Hope the Texahomans (Texas-Oklahomans) make it back safely. Luv ya'll.

on with the show...

This is the big day of the pasta dinner and talent (?) show at the church. Gramma begged off performing with the autoharp (the cauterizing didn't work). Grampa is playing his baritone horn and the Music Director will accompany him on the piano. Autoharp and piano are distant relatives...they both have strings ;-) Gramma can help by video taping some of the show with the Handycam. (Oh no, the long video syndrome...all the editing.) As they say, "no pain, no gain."

Mother's Day...

Thank you, Annabelle, Mommy, and Daddy. Gramma loves her new shirt. We were remiss in getting cards and flowers out this year. Sorry! Too much to do, too little time to do it. Our thoughts were with all of you!!!!

No, Grampa isn't cheap...these are the flowers that we gave to the church... each one in memory and in honor of the mothers and women in our lives. There were two large communal vases containing 100 flowers. Annabelle, the pretty one is for you!!!

UPDATE...

Wednesday-
a large oil tanker rolled over at the main hiway intersection here in town. The
cleanup consisted of tons and tons of sand which spread everywhere imaginable...and of course it was raining....so BIG mess getting home from work. Sand and more sand everywhere.

Thursday-
Grampa sat with Gramma in the ER from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. Gramma had another nosebleed. Since the nosebleed started while Gramma was singing at the church, we decided to head over to the hospital....to finally get something resolved. This young girl (the doctor) cauterized inside Gramma's nose. Don't let anyone tell you that it doesn't hurt!!! Now Gramma has a very white face with a very black nostril. Ughh! Grampa nearly jumped out of the ER when they drew Gramma's blood (twice). Grampa is creeped out with needles. We're both doing fine!

Need for more speed....

Surprize, surprize, surprize. Grampa needed more speed on his computer. Gramma knew the "old dog" computer just wouldn't cut it for Grampa's webbing. So off to Best Buy we went. Grampa was not wanting VISTA, but that's what he ended up with. Gramma did manage to convince him that 64 bit was better than 32 bit. After several frustrating attemps to get connected, Gramma found the magic button on the keyboard (who knew?), and wah-lah...

speaky english....

Gramma loves talking with Annabelle on the phone. Annabelle, you are a doll!!! But Gramma's two-year-old-english is not good yet...so you'll have to keep trying until Gramma gets it right.

Early dawn...

This was the view from the parking lot at work at 5:50 am. I love having light in the sky when I get to work....and especially when I go home from work.

downloading...

For some reason...all the computers in the house are challenging our sanity. Grampa had to "retire" the kitchen system since it loaded only in SAFE MODE. Of course, it's the system that we keep our banking and checking on....go figure. Grampa doesn't want to switch to VISTA...go figure....so he brought the old slow XP from upstairs down to the kitchen. My laptop...well....I downloaded Internet Explorer 8....it doesn't like some of my software...go figure. Maybe the old timers had it right...pencil and paper....go figure.

Nothing GRAND about it...

I had to report for grand jury duty today...of course I deferred because I don't get paid for the thirty days of required attendance. I petitioned for petit court. At least with petit jury, there is a chance of not serving. And, if I do serve, there is a chance it would be only one day. Once having served, I would be deferred for 6-8 years. The secret to avoiding jury duty is....move often and never vote.



Annabelle, Gramma has a doll too!! Her name is Dolly. Grampa and Gramma love you sooo much!

Grampa's new shoes...

Not sure what the attraction for vintage tenni's...

Okay, I see....it's the name...

stressss.....

Okay, the stress level at work got so high, the owner brought in the Dale Carnegie team to help settle the stress. Of course, it was stressful deciding if we could take the time away from work to go to the stress management workshop.

Congrats to the Mooreon's on the sale offer on their house! Watch out Texas!!

EASTER MORNING...

This was a beautiful Easter Service today. Grampa played his baritone horn and sang with the choir. I played one of the three women in a skit about finding the tomb empty. And...of course, the best is the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus.

Finally done...

Well, finally, the long video is done. It actually looked pretty good on the TV. Of course, we can't watch it here at home because we are not rocket scientists...which you have to be to hook up the vcr with the hd cable box. It sounds easy when you read the internet solutions, but it ain't so.

Bummed out...

This is one of those awful weeks at work. Do this, do that, no-no-this, no-no-that. We gotta have this, no-no-that. Okay, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing or I won't get anything done. Stress overload is not healthy!!!

Busy weekend...

Grampa went to the Bishop's Luncheon with four other men from our church on Saturday. They had a really great time. Grampa said the speaker at the luncheon was a terrific speaker.
Gramma, on the other hand, was still working on that long video....while the video was rendering, Gramma was cleaning house.....the cat was thrilled.

Need for speed...

Finally, after waiting and waiting, the Company switched out my system to Windows XP Professional x64 (64 bit operating system). Somethings fly....like the web browser. I'm spoiled now. Of course, the real work still has its long haul processes...but the waiting is less.

The multi-church Lent laity service was at our church last night. Grampa lead the service. The theme was reconnecting with the Wesleyen tradition. Since Grampa is a Wesley fan (can't find those everywhere) he was willing and able to sort through 12 Wesley sermons to come up with five topics for the service last night. We have two more services in the series before Easter and those services will be at the other two churches (yeah!).

Getting along...

Just letting everyone know that Grampa is over his "cold." Gramma is plagued with editing a very long video for the Music Director at the church. I guess this is one of those things that I should have said "NO." At least, life would be much easier without this task. We have church committee tonight and Lenten Service tomorrow. I will have to tell the Music Director tonight that I have to cut 20% of her video....it's just tooooo longgggg for DVD.

Look what I found...

You know how it is....I was looking all over the house for something...and I found these pics. Annabelle, do you recognize this man?

So ready...

We are so ready for this weekend. The stress of ice and snow, work mania, church services and meetings...on and on and on... has worn us out.

Let it Snow...NOT!

We managed to go to work...but this is what we dealt with when we got home. It isn't going away very soon.

Birthday Celebration

You only have one 60th birthday...(that's what Grampa said), so you can celebrate...and we did. We stayed at the Michelangelo Hotel, we ate supper at Gallagher's, we saw "Jersey Boys," and outside of a little rain, the evening was perfect.

ASH WEDNESDAY

This is the beginning of Lent. The multi church service was at our church starting with Soup and Bread Supper, imposition of Ashes, and Holy Communion. We will attend five more Wednesday services before Easter. The gathering of churches is a deeply meaningful time of sharing.

Didn't get many photos....too busy working.

Grampa's weekend: cookin' , goofin', and watchin' March Madness.