My World

2012-02-01T15:03:00.001-08:00

Still can't believe our Linda is gone. Can't read too much about her without the tears starting. Can't talk about her without getting choked up. Whew. Really God? No, seriously... What sort of plan is that?

Heaven

2011-12-30T15:18:00.001-08:00

Trying again

2011-12-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

It's hard to write a blog.

I get very side tracked..

But I am trying again..

The heater is making funny noises, as if a tiny elf with a hammer is trying to send Morse code. Clete the heater man will be here at noon to take a look.

I am thinking back over December. Really, the angst over being ready for Christmas is so unnecessary. Everything gets done. I enjoy thinking about MaryLee's friend who celebrates Advent. She has a plan for the final few days before Chrismas, and the is no angst or worries. Sounds like a plan for me.

One day of shopping and wrapping.

One day of menu planning and grocery shopping.

One day of decorating and one for baking.

One day of cooking. All done before Christmas eve.

Then church on Christmas eve. We do appetizers and salad for an easy traditional dinner. And don't tell, but after serving at church, we went to the 11 pm mass at the Lutheran Church. Much more civilized than what we have done the past few years.

Christmas morning we do gifts, then breakfast casserole and cinnamon buns. Then the MIL and more family arrive for more gifts and dinner -ham, pineapple casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and salad. Cookies for dessert.

Makes for a wonderful day. Hope yours was, too.

cards

2010-08-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

New Cards

2010-06-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

Sara needed 2 graduation cards. Made two identical ones.

Joe and Kenny's wedding card. T0o cute, huh?

Graduation Cards

2010-05-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Took me all day but I finally finished. Lots of trial and error!

I forgot about the pressure dial and the card stock didn't cut thru.

I started too small - the first doll was 3" tall and the accessories are miniscule.

After making two dolls dressed in black gowns I went to the Kennett High School webpage to see their school colors. On the first page of the website is a photo of graduation with the boys in blue. S I had to make a blue gown!

I am using stamps for the faces so I have to remember cut with the "blackout" button on.

Inside I stamped "you did it!" and wrote a short personal note.

I used Everyday Paperdoll for the dolls, Plantin schoolbook for the numbers and letters, facial expression stamps from Peachy Keen, stamp from Stampin Up, and paper from my scrap collection.

MMmmmmmm Saturday

2010-05-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

So it's Saturday around here. Time to make some cards...

but first... clean the bathroom, straighten the bedroom, do some laundry, answer e-mail, harvest some crops on Island paradise.
Then clean up the kitchen and unload the trunk of my car.

Hopefully I will post some cards later... at least, that's the plan.

SAHM

2010-05-25T04:09:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school all we could think about was going to college and having a career. Be self sufficient! Be able to take care of yourself!!

Hogwash. I have missed so much because I am stuck at work. And now ... I love my home, I love crafting, I love cooking and my dog.... but I can't stay home. I have to go to work. Ten years til retirement.

Bleh!!

Wonderful Sunday

2010-05-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hi there.
Yesterday Len and I went yard sailing and we found a little vacuum - like a dustbuster on a stick - for $5. As soon as we got home Len used it in the breezeway and wow it did a great job. This will be our third little vacuum since we moved in this house 3.5 years ago. I picked up and put away everything that was strewn all over, and dusted all the flat surfaces and wow it looks great (if you forget about the old orange carpet and the worn out cushions...)

Which leads me to this: last week I was pondering what I like when I get home. What makes the house a cozy nice place to be? That would be everything straightened up and a clean floor.
So today during church I made a plan. I would clean - no, really clean! - the bedroom. I dusted, I straightened, I threw stuff away, and I swept enough dust bunnies to make a real bunny.
I have new sheets to put on the bed later, too.

And of course I can't stop... that's my problem... so I worked on the bathroom.... the counter, the tub, the floor... all wiped down, counters straightened.....
And the laundry is all done. And the dishes washed and put away. Kitchen counters wiped. Craft desk organized and straightened.

Tomorrow I will work on the living room. Yeah, I cant' stop. Maybe it's a good thing??

I want to come home to a beautiful clean house. I don't want to have a panic attack if someone comes over.

Birthday Card for Mom

2010-05-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here's another card using Doodlecharms.

The stamp is from Stampin' Up.

Paper scraps from my collection! LOL!!

New Toy

2010-05-14T17:24:00.001-07:00

Got a Cricut. Made some cards.

Graduation card made with Everyday Paperdolls. Various paper scraps, idk the maker.

I made this card to go along with a book called Water Bugs and Dragonflies that I am sending to my cousin. The dragonfly is on Doodlecharms and the words on Opposites Attract. And I used Martha Stewart crystal fine glitter on the wings.

I am learning, slowly. Most times I have to try two or three times to get the paper cut just how I want it.

I love it, tho!!

Tortellini Primavera

2009-01-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Made this for dinner. It's delicious!

Tortellini Primavera

2 TB butter

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1.2 c. chopped onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pkg chopped spinach, thawed and rained.

8 oz cream cheese

1 can Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes

¼ c. milk

¼. C. grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

¼ tsp. chili pepper

8-9 oz. tortellini, cooked and drained

Melt butter in large skillet. Cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic.

Add remaining ingredients, except for tortellini and mix well

Still occasionally until it boils.

Add tortellini. Heat completely and serve.

New Year's

2008-12-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

We have traditions around here although they seem to morph over the years.

My husband plays in a big band.

(the ex played in a rock and roll band)

So I am used to being home alone on New Year's. Growing up I don't remember doing anything special for new year's but my parents are not social and not drinkers so I am not surprised. When I was old enough to babysit that's what I did. Even after I was married I babysat instead of sitting home along.

So Len is gone, playing at a hotel in Avalon, at the beach. I went with him for a few years but it really isn’t much fun. Now I stay with my girls. The 20 year old is going to a house party and staying overnight. Daughter4 and I are going to a friend’s, down the street. There will be other ten year olds there, so everyone will be happy. I made a fruit salad to take along. Yum. Grapes, pineapple, cantelope and mandarin oranges.I hope to stay awake to see the big ball and then come home to my dogs and my lovely bed.

Usually the Christmas things are put away on New Year's Day, and the snowmen come out. But since we don’t go back to school until Jan. 5 I will wait until Saturday to get things moved.

Tomorrow there is a big parade in Philadelphia. It is comprised of the Mummer’s. We pretend we don’t like it, and we can’t understand why people are attracted to the bad music and silly costumes and badly executed dance routines. But we will put the tv on throughout the day to see what is going on.

Tomorrow is a special birthday party. Last year I was in the delivery room when the birthday girl arrived. So some traditions have changed! I used to wonder what to make for dinner. Seems like we should have something special to start the year off right. Now we will birthday cake!

Have a wonderful Happy New Year’s! And…..RABBIT!

The day after the day after

2008-12-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Seems like Facebook takes most of my interest these days. That and a lack of readers besides M.R. make this not so interesting to do.
But then I wonder ... why am I doing this? It's for me, silly.

Christmas was good. I wish I could get rid of the money worries. Perhaps the tax refund will help get me back where I want to be. Perhaps refinancing the mortgage will be helpful, too. I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

But in typical Karen fashion I won't do anything. I"ll just think about it.

I think about lots of things. Idaho, for instance. One day soon I want to see Idaho. Everything I read and hear about Idaho makes it sounds just about perfect.

Then again, almost anything would be better than wet and gray New Jersey.

LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW!!!!!

Wedding

2008-12-01T17:31:00.001-08:00

Jackie and John are officially married. The dresses, the tuxes, the ceremony, the flowers, the cake, the dinner, the band, the hotel, the breakfast - everything was wonderful.

We have a fantastic visit with Jasmine and Keith. Max is adorable and we quickly fell in love with him. He knows so many words. It took him very little time to know us - he says My nessa, ghampa, Mimi (that's me). If you ask him what is at the zoo he says Monkeys! Guts! (goats) and Cars (there is a gondola type ride at the zoo.) They live seven blocks from the San Diego Zoo and got a family pass. Keith walks Max over to the zoo all the time.

Max says please and thank you and welcome. He says I a good boy when he wants to get out of the tub.

So hard to say goodbye! San Diego is at least a $2000 trip if the three of us go. We will be investigating Skype.

I printed 24 of my favorite photos. First I choose them and put them in a file on my desktop that says To Print. Then I burned the file to a CD. I took the CD to CVS and made 6 copies of each. I bought 6 little brag books. At home I put the photos in the books. Keith scanned the wedding program cover and shrunk it to fit in the cover of the brag book. We gave one the Jackie. She was thrilled. One to grandmom. Nessa has one. Jasmine has one. Len has one. And I have one. It will be a while til we see the professional photos.

Tomorrow it is back to school. . But I have flowers and photos and Tuesdays are easy. So I should be okay.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

We always went to my grandmother’s or my uncle’s. Both were two hours away from home - over the river and thru the woods. Thanksgiving would involve at the least 14 people of various ages. As we got older that would increase to include the cousin’s other grandparents, various boyfriends, and foster kids.
At the uncle’s the boys had to play football. This would be after the big high school football game they all attended in the morning. Then they would come inside and put the tv on. More football!!
There were two tables. The littlies ate in the kitchen and at some point the kids outnumbered the adults. So the adults went into the kitchen. There were only 6 of them. Here we are in a photo. Must be around 1975.
My aunt would make the turkey the day before and take it all off the bone. She thought it was better that way. I don’t remember anyone carving. It was all very informal. No fancy china - plastic plates all around. And whatever cup you could grab!!
And we didn’t have wine but we did have Kahlua and creme after. Once my cousin made Cherries Jubilee. We all loved the flames.

One of my best brother stories involves Thanksgiving. We were driving in the car to grandmother's or uncle Jacob's. I know we were getting close. Of course David and I were in the back seat. I was on the left. He rolled down his window. I said what is wrong with you??? Put the window back up!!!! It's too cold!!!

So he threw up on the floor of the car.

True story. 'Course, I'm the only one who remembers. Mom and Dad have no recollection, and Dave is long gone.

I think this may be the last time we do Thanksgiving here. I have been teasing Jackie about cooking the big dinners at her house, so she and John won't have to visit their parents (that would involve four houses) John's mom has invited us for Christmas dinner, and I plan on making it so successful that we continue the tradition for all the holidays until J&J get a house.

Chili

2008-11-04T07:08:00.001-08:00

Len's favorite.

Brown 1 lb hamburger. Don't get the lowest fat possible. It just doesn't taste right.

When the hamburger is about half way cooked add half a chopped bell pepper and half a chopped up onion.

Add one package Lowry's chili mix, one cup water, one can seasoned diced tomatoes, one can kidney beans.

Let it simmer as long as you can. It is great with mashed potatoes and some shredded cheese on top.

Puttanesca's Kitchen

2008-11-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

So my friend Trish has been posting recipes and that has me doing it, too.

Here's my delicious chicken pot pie recipe.

You will need three cups of cooked chicken. You can cook three chicken breasts. You can boil them or fry them. Or maybe you have some chicken left over from another meal. Cut the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.

1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1 cup chicken broth

Cook the veggies in the broth for about five minutes.
The scoop the veggies into a bowl, and pour the broth into a cup.

Melt two tbs. butter in a frying pan. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion. Cook until soft.
Sprinkle with 2 tbs. flour and stir until mixed.

Add 1 cup half and half, the chicken broth you saved from the veggies, 1/2 tsp each thyme, salt and pepper. Stir until thick.

Mix together the veggies, the chicken, and the onion mixture. Put into a casserole dish.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Top with one sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. Bake for another 10 minutes.

This is sooo delicious!

Election Day

2008-11-04T06:42:00.001-08:00

I found an old friend, David Raimist. The internet is a wonderful thing.

Three weeks and three days until the wedding. Jasmine and Keith and Max will be arriving Thanksgiving morning and staying with us until Monday afternoon. Hooray!

I took Tuesday (25th) and Wednesday (26th)off. Tuesday I have to get Sara and take her for her final dress fitting. Wednesday the dogs go to the kennel, the wedding rehearsal is in Bryn Mawr at 5 and the rehearsal dinner in Rittenhouse Square is at 8.
Thursday is a trip to the airport and Turkey Day.
Friday is the wedding.
Saturday is the brunch and then home again.
I took Monday off, too.
It will be so great to see J&K again. And Max!

So I've been plugging away with piles of stuff,
tossing old magazines and organizing drawers. Len and I moved the living room around this morning. I like it a lot better. I have my own chair and lamp now!
Today's mission: put away Halloween stuff and get out Thanksgiving stuff. Hang hardware and curtains in Sara's and Lenessa's room. Put stuff in car to be delivered various places: shoes to school, clothes to Goodwill, stuff to school. Pay bills (ack)
Upload photos and choose prints. Just found the cord. Yeah!
Finish laundry.

And vote.

Anyway, that's it for today. May the Best Man win.

On a roll.....

2008-10-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Len was gone for four days, off playing golf with the church boys. Guess what?? I really missed him.

So I seem to be on a roll with recipes. I thought I would share tonight's feast.

Beef-A-Roni!

1 lb ground beef. (I used to buy the 93% fat free but it's too dry) $4.74
1 lb. pasta. (tonight it's Barilla Plus Rotini) $1.49
1 jar/can spaghetti sauce (I add stuff to it, like oregano and basil and garlic powder). $.99

Brown the beef. Cook the pasta. Add enough sauce to the beef to suit your family.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and salad. ($5.15 from the salad bar)

Really hits the spot on a chilly night like tonight.

Serves 6 I would guess. And something like $2 per person.

Pasta Fagioli

2008-10-13T12:51:00.001-07:00

This makes a huge pot. And it's delicious!

Cook until soft
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 t. dried parsley
2 t. Italian seasoning
.5 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Stir in
45 oz. broth (I use chicken)
30 oz. canned chopped tomatoes
16 oz. can tomato sauce

Bring to a boil and lower to simmer.

Then add
30 oz. canned beans such as cannelloni or kidney

You could add some Italian sausage.

Simmer until 10 minutes before serving. Then add .5 c. small pasta.

Top each bowl with some Parmesan cheese.
Serve with crusty bread.

What is it...

2008-10-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

with me and cooking this weekend? The full moon does tricks to my hormones that makes me domestic.
I have hung two mini blinds in daughter4's room. I have dishes washed, laundry started, bread in the bread machine, a menu for the week and groceries bought for every meal, and enough turkey cooked for the dogs for the week.
Next on the list is to make some pasta fazool. Wish I could spell it. Spell check suggests
kazoo, wazoo, and bazooka.
But I am procrastinating. My foot hurts. Feels like I bruised my arch on my right foot.
And I found this at Maria's Just Eat Your Cupcake. I love cream of mushroom soup. I'll have to add these ingredients to my shopping list for next time. I'm not sure about those mushrooms. I don't think my store carries them.

Liv's Sick Day Mushroom Soup.

3 tbsp. olive oil
3 cups of diced onions
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced (they look like button mushrooms, to me)
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
3 tbsp. brandy
4 cups beef broth

Directions

Saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat about 5 minutes until they soften and begin turning golden. Add mushrooms and saute abotu 5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add thyme and nutmeg, stirring and cooking 2 minutes more. Add brandy and stir well for 30 seconds. Add broth. Allow soup to come to a boil, rduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sara's Favorite Chicken

2008-10-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is what Sara asks for every time.

1 lb chicken breasts (I just bought a 3 pound package for 2.56/pound!! )
Cut into manageable pieces and arrange in casserole dish.
Top with
1 can cream of chicken soup (.99)
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
While it's baking, make
1 box chicken flavored stuffing (.99)

At the end of the 30 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven. Spread the stuffing over top.
Return to oven for about 10 minutes.

Serve with something green like peas or green beans.

Green Giant Baby Sweet Peas & Butter Sauce
Low fat sauce.
1.67

total cost $6.21 feeds four people for a great cost of $1.55 per serving.

Recipe - Easy Italian Chicken - $2.06/person

2008-10-12T16:53:00.001-07:00

Let me share one of my favorites. It's called Easy Italian Chicken.
Cook 1 lb chicken breasts. ($5.99)Tenderloins are great, but I buy whatever is on sale.
In a sauce pan combine
1 can italian stewed tomatoes, (.67)
1/2 c. mushrooms (or a small can)
(.69)
1/2 t. dried basil,
1/2 t. garlic powder.
Bring to a boil.
Combine 1 T. cornstarch with 1/3 c. cold water. Stir until smooth. Add to tomato mixture. Cook and stir until think.
Serve chicken with pasta (.89), top with tomato sauce.
Makes four servings.
total $8.24 or $2.06 per person

Ta-Da!!

Whoa

2008-10-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I do not want to gossip. Or be a gossip.

But when B tells me MA said that J said xyz about me, I have to go to J and ask about it. That's not really gossip, though.

But then J gets upset and sends an e-mail to MA telling her off about spreading rumors. MA goes back to B and says how did J know?

B says she doesn't know.

So know MA should be asking me. But she hasn't.

I worked with MA before. She is trouble. Actually she labeled me and 5 other teachers trouble. One of those 5 had t-shirts made for us that read TROUBLE. I am quite proud of it. I dont' like her or her methods but I can smile and make nicey-nice.

The world needs more love.

Wedding

2008-10-04T07:21:00.001-07:00

Daughter 2 is getting married. She had John have lived together since he graduated from college 6 years ago.

Wedding and reception are at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr PA.
http://www.mainlineevents.com/facilities/locations/baldwin
Wedding dress
http://www.watters.com/product.php?coll=brides&showid=576
Bridesmaids gowns are brown
(can't find it.....)
Jr. Bridesmaid gown is brown
http://www.billlevkoff.com/collections/index.asp?dress=1000
Rehearsal dinner at Square on Square
http://www.squareonsquare.com/
We're all staying at the Radnor Hotel
http://radnorhotel.com/

Wow.

2008-10-04T07:19:00.001-07:00

Just read this on another blog:

Making fun of Sarah Palin for the way she talks is PRECISELY the same as Republicans denigrating Obama by saying he is Muslim.

Peggy Sue

2008-09-27T07:26:00.001-07:00

That's my grandmother and my father, about 1950 or so. No one remembers what the huge corsage was for. It's bigger than her head!!

Last night Len and I watched Peggy Sue Got Married. I honestly don't remember ever watching this all the way thru before. Perhaps I was too young for any of it to mean much.

So Peggy Sue is at her 25th high school reunion and she faints. She goes back in time to when she was a senior in high school. She knows something is up but everyone in her life just thinks she is having a rough few days.

At one point the phone in the house rings and Peggy Sue answers it. It's her grandmom and Peggy Sue looses it.

Made me tear up. Can you imagine getting a call and it's your grandmom?

That would be wonderful. I would love to have a grown up conversation with my grandmother.

my answers

2008-09-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

one: autumn

two: having a sibling.

three: it's a secret

four: i am very fairminded

five: linda

six: idaho

Tell me

2008-09-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

tell me

one: something you love.

two: something you miss.

three: something you have never told anyone.

four: something you like about yourself.

five: someone you admire or look up to.

six: where you would like to be in five years.

be completely honest

My bad

2008-09-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

.....as my kids would say. There's so much going on and it's hard to find a moment and a subjectg to write about.

September has rolled around again and we are all overworked and over tired. I sometimes think if we didn't have all summer off September wouldn't be so difficult.

I spend the first hour of my work day at the junior high school. The aide there has been the aide for 2o years so she knows everything. I just show up and check out books.
I am having a note writing battle with the principal. She was my boss 11 years ago and here she is my boss again. We like to butt heads.
She wants kids with gym excuses to sit in the library and it's against the law and I told her so. An aide may only be alone with a student for twenty minutes or less. That is the state law. I leave at 8:30 am and the aide is the only one around for the rest of the day. So no kids can sit in there when they are out of gym!! We'll see who wins this one.

Then I go to the elementary school. I like the little kids. We have a good time. I have pretty good control - "classroom management" as the pros call it. And I get to leave early, since I start early at the other school.

Sara and I went to get the dresses for Jackie's wedding. Sara's will need just a little alteration. Lenessa's dress is two sizes too big because we dont' know howmuch she will grow before November 28. We'll have to go to the tailor this week.
www.johnandjackie.weddingannouncer.com
Sara found a dress for me. We'll go see it tomorrow. I don't do dresses and heels anymore. But I don't think I can get away with my usual wardrobe for this wedding.

I had a mammogram in August. They saw tiny calcifications. Tuesday I had them removed. It was uncomfortable but not horrible. The nurses were wonderful. The doctor was nice but he said he would call on Friday with the pathology report and he didnt'.

The weather is cooler and it feels like autumn. It is very pleasant.

Tony's Memory Test

2008-08-15T19:14:00.001-07:00

from my father in law

One Duck
Two Geese
Three cacklin hen
Four corpulent porpoises
Five dozen sets of Donna Freedee's favorite tweezers
Six limerick oysters
Seven hundred Macedonian warriors dressed in full battle array with helmets and shields
Eight sympathetic, diabetic, apologetic old men with long white beards and canes
Nine Knights sitting around the round table discussing the secret ancient rites of Egypt.
Ten attentive tenders tending on the Thames.

We don't know where this came from. Goggling it comes up with some variations, but not this exactly. We all know it by heart. Sort of a rite of passage.

Random Stolen Survey

2008-08-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Do you know how to play bridge?
Nope. Lots of other games, though!

Were you forbidden as a child a certain thing that everyone else was had?
Not that I realized at the time. Looking back, tho, there were lots of things we didn't do.

Have you been to Mount Rushmore?
Nope

What is the oldest item in your pantry?
Whole wheat flour for the bread machine, I think.

Despite many attempts, what can’t you understand?
Football. Perhaps it's because I DON"T REALLY CARE.

Can I get you a drink?
I would like a Fuzzy Navel or a Rum and Coke, please.

Have you seen someone die?
No and no thank you.

What A.A. Milne character are you?
Probably Christopher Robin.

Were you ever discriminated or turned down from a job because of who you are?
I don't think so.

Do you own a fondue set? And do you actually use it?
No.

Go back in time and tell yourself “please oh please don’t do…….”
mess with Lew.

Is there anything you are or do that you actually thought you would be doing?
school librarian...but I had no idea it that the details woudl be as they are.

Who made you smile today?
I haven't seen anyone today, but last night on the beach with Lenessa I was struck with her whole being. I smiled at that.

Edina Monsoon or Patsy Stone?
never heard of either (I think someof these questions are geared towards non-heterosexuals, perhaps?)

Bonus question –
You are on holiday. Do you
a) see the sights
b) go shopping
c) hit the bars
d) lounge by the pool
e) partake in physical activities like hiking or skiing or boating

A little of A and a Lot of D.

The Big Read

2008-08-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they’ve printed below.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read. 22 for me!!
2) Italicize those you read part of but never finished. 13 for me
3) Underline the books you LOVE. 5 this time
4) Strikethough those you hope to never read again, and sometimes wish you could un-read. Just 4. I can't figure out how to strikethr, so I * ed them.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Bible
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
*Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
*Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Complete Works of Shakespeare (The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night / What You Will, Henry IV, part 1, Henry V, Richard III, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline)
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch - George Eliot
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
Emma - Jane Austen
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
*Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
*Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Dune - Frank Herbert
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Dracula - Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
Ulysses - James Joyce
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
Germinal - Emile Zola
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession - AS Byatt
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte’s Web - EB White
The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Watership Down - Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Good Quote

2008-07-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."

George Bernard Shaw

Reunion

2008-06-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving, 1975 with The Cousins from bottom left, clockwise:
Mark, Dave, me, Barb, three foster boys, Helene, Bob, Greta, Jacob

This Thursday I will be taking my girls to a reunion with my uncle and aunt and their children. Their children as all married and have children of their own.

The reunion is in Athens, PA. It is about 60 miles west of Binghamton NY.

First we will stop in Endicott NY. Some of us who are arriving on Thursday will have dinner together. I am bringing spaghetti, sauce and meatballs. We will sleep there.

Then on Friday we will continue on to Athens for the day. We will have the typical hotdogs and hamburgers. Hopefully we will see fireworks before we return to Endicott to sleep.

On Saturday at noon we will drive back home. Sara has work and Lenessa has nursery duty on Saturday evening.

My uncle is my father's brother. Their speech and mannerisms are very very similar. The last time I saw Uncle Jacob I got all teary because he reminds me so much of my father.

Uncle Jacob and his wife have been married for more than 50 years. Uncle Jacob was a pastor of a church in Bethlehem PA.

Suzanne is their oldest daughter. She is 53. She is a nurse at a hospital in Bethlehem PA. Suzanne was married and had three daughters. She got divorced and has since remarried.
Suzanne's oldest daughter is T. She went to college and has a degree in architechture. She is married to K and they adopted a little boy.
The second daughter is J. She is not married and has two boys.
The third is C. She is not married and has no children.

Greta is the next oldest. She is 50. She and her husband live in St. Augustine FL. She runs an office that helps seniors with different things. Her husband is an elementary school gym teacher. They used to live in Bethlehem but left for Florida to start over again. I think they had to get away from some bad infuences ie: his friends. Greta has two sons both in their late twenties.

Barbara is third oldest. She is 49. She is an obgyn. She is married to a doctor. The doctor is not a doctor anymore; instead he raises beef cattle. One of the highlights of this trip will be feeding the calfs with great big baby bottles. They have three boys. M. is in college in a pre-med program. E. just graduated from high school and will be going to college in the fall. He is a football player. T. is in high school. He loves theater. They live in Athens PA

Helene is the fourth daughter. She is 47. She is also an obgyn, and her husband is a sex therapist. Barbara, Helene and Helene's husband have an office together. Helene was married and had three children - two girls and a boy (the only one of the six children who has both boy and girl children). But her husband died. She got married again. Her new husband has the same last name as her first husband. Her first daughter is E. E. has been outo f high school for a year. She was in India but came home early. She wants to study International Studies. Second daughter is M. She is in high school. She is wild. Son is B. He just finished fourth grade. They live in Endicott NY.

Jacob is next. He is 46 like me. He is very smart. He finished high school in three years and had a double major in college - russian and physics. He is married to B. who was also a physics major in college. They have three girls: A who will be a senior in high school, J. who is also in high school, and D, who just finished fourth grade. They live in Connecticut on a lake.

Mark is the youngest. He is 45. Mark is a salesman. He used to sell industrial heaters that are used to dry paper and cardboard for factories. I don't know what he sells now. His wife has a company that sells high priced baby stuff. They have three sons. MT who is a techie, and in high school, M who loves football, and Z. who is the youngest of the grandchildren. Z is about 6. They live in Kennett Square PA. MT is a hoot. When he was a baby he loved vacuum cleaners and wearing his mother's high heels.

I plan on taking lots of photos and making a scrapbook of the occasion.

Ricky Butt

2008-06-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Dave, Willie, Jimmy, Ricky Butt
Elizabeth Boltz, ?? Me, Bam Bam

First Boyfriend would be a good title for this post, too.

Ricky Butt was my next door neighbor. I don't remember when his family moved next door but they were there by first grade. The Elliots lived in the house first, then they bought the house directly across the street.

Ricky's dad was a shop teacher at one of the high schools. He was built like Archie Bunker and always had a cigar. Ricky's mom didn't work.

We lived in a split level house on a corner. I could look out the dining room window and into Ricky's bedroom window.

Once we got to fourth grade, Ricky played the clarinet in the band. I played the flute.

There are lots of Ricky Butt stories. As children he was Ricky but now, when I think about him or talk about him to my kids, he is Ricky Butt.

Ricky Butt had a little brother Jimmy. Jimmy was born on the bathroom floor. He came that quick!

Ricky Butt had the Partridge Family album. We used to put it on in his family room and run around the backyard singing all the songs.

Ricky Butt's dad had a pig roast in the back yard. He used the swingset to hold the spit. I don't know if we weren't invited or if my parents declined the invitation, but we didn't go. We could see it from our windows.

Ricky Butt had a small cannon. He would put a bottle cap on the end of it and the cap would fly off. I don't remember how the cannon would go off.

Ricky Butt and I and a few other neighborhood kids would pretend we had a very long rubber band. We would stand on opposite sides of the street and pretend to pull the rubber band tight across the street. Of course we would do this as cars approached.

Ricky Butt took apart a golf ball. It was fascinating.

Ricky Butt graduated from high school in my class and I lost touch with him. He didn't come to any reunions. About ten years ago I took my daughter3 to a piano lesson at the Elliots and Ricky Butt was there, painting their dining room. I was so happy to see him. He never got married, and lived sometimes with his mom. There was some connection with Morgantown, West Virginia, too.

I guess I can't really call him my First Boyfriend. There was no kissing or anything. I was just fascinated with him. He was, well, a boy. And not a brother.

E.A.J. and Glasses

2008-06-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

So I believe it is time to explain the origin of the title of my blog.

My first mother called me Elizabeth Ann. That was her name, and since she couldn't keep me she decided the best thing would be to give me her name. 'Course, I had no idea about this name, since the adoption agency gave my parents a revised birth certificate with their names listed as mother and father, and the name they gave me.

My foster mother called me Judy.

My adopted parents called me Karen Eileen. "Pure Light".

On my 25th birthday, with much help from the adoption agency, I met my natural mother. She had lots to tell me. After me, she met another guy, got prego again, married him and went on to have two more children: Wesley and Karen. Yep, my half sister is Karen.. My mother had no idea my name was Karen. My natural father has three other children: Dana, Jason and Shannin. Dana was born out of wedlock, too.

On another note, Ur Spo wrote about getting new glasses. Here is a photo of me, with my first glasses. I was in first grade. White plastic frames with that cat's-eye look. I still get glasses from the same optical shop. The original owner's son now owns the business.

Uncle Ronnie's Tomato Garden

2008-06-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

Uncle Ronnie was my mother's baby brother. He lived in Kannapolis NC, with my grandparents, and worked at the Cannon Towel factory. He had a pick up truck and a Thunderbird. He had a ride on lawn mower that was a lot of fun. He loved Johnny Cash and had an electric guitar. He had a scruffy brown dog he called "Sue". The dog lived outside. Uncle Ronnie never got married, and as far as we knew, didn't date or go out very much.

Every summer, for a week's time, we would visit the grandparents and Uncle Ronnie.

Uncle Ronnie had a tomato garden. I have no idea if he grew anything else. We used to pick the tomatoes right before lunch and make tomato sandwiches - white bread, mayo, a few slices of tomato, and a little salt and pepper. NOTHING tastes that good. Oh, you had to have a glass of Cheerwine with crushed ice, too.

Uncle Ronnie died in 1988. He committed suicide with a rifle in his attic bedroom. My grandfather heard the noise and ran upstairs to find him already gone. He was about 44. No note, no mention of troubles to anyone.

My father's father killed himself, too, back in 1954. He was the pastor of a large church in Boyertown PA.

I always thought my grandfather had a heart attack. I don't remember asking; this was just an idea I had from bits and pieces mentioned here and there. One day when I was in high school I came home and told me mom about a teacher who hadn't come to school in the morning. After calling his home and no one answering, a few teachers went to check on him and found him. He had hung himself. My mom said I shouldn't tell my dad this story because it would be too upsetting. Then she told me about my grandfather.

The story with him was he had horrible back pain. He asked the church to hire him an assistant but they refused. The congregation had 3000 members! And he was doing it all himself! So three months after my parents were married (his other son was married and had his own congregation by then) he took an overdose of his pain pills.

Ministers are not supposed to kill themselves. Or Uncles who attend church every week.
That's a very bad thing. God is in control and all that.

Hmmmmm.

Of course, depression is a very strong thing, too.

D. A. L.

2008-06-24T11:35:00.000-07:00

November 27, 1963. Same adoption agency. It was just a few days after JFK's assassination. Dave was born in Jersey City on September 26, 1963. He was just two months old.

Baby Davey

Old photos, finally

2008-06-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Two years ago the cousins had a reunion. At that reunion my uncle gave everyone a set of 6 CD's. On the CD's were copies of the 10,000 pictures he had taken over the years. He had given one of his grandsons all of his slides and the grandson had transferred them to CD's.

I love old photos. I could look at them for hours. I had never ever seen these photos. It was amazing to see!!

So I started bugging my father about HIS slides. I wheeled and dealed but to no avail. Then a few days ago I got a package in the mail. AH-HA!!! Daddy sent both a jump drive and a CD of the photos.

Well, not all of them. I think he must had edited his collection, because all the photos are of me and my brother. I'm sure there are other photos of cousins and grandparents and such.

But I am happy to have what I got!

Me and my dad meeting for the very first time- Feb. 16 1962 -

at the adoption agency in Oaklyn NJ. Who looks happier??

And me and my mom. She always said I looked like a "pink butterball."

I came with a t-shirt, two diapers and rubber pants.

Now, of course, I have to decide what to do with those pictures. I REALLY want to print them all out but my life is full of half baked projects, and I know that isn't realistic.

Maybe just ten at a time.......

My REAL Dad

2008-06-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Here's two photos of my dad. The army photo was taken in 1953 I believe, and the birthday one last year (2007).

You can go back to 6/19/05 and see what I wrote about him. Interesting that I've chosen to write about him twice, and haven't had the time or inclination to write about lots of other people at all.

My dad is so smart. I still call him for advice about all sorts of stuff. But he is stubborn, too, and doesn't like it when I disagree with him. But guess what - I'm just like him!!!

These are a few of my favorite things

2008-06-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

The smell of anything sweet baking.

The scent of lilacs coming in through an open window.

Sheets dried on the line outside.

Towels too.

Hugs.

The softness of a puppy's ears.

A bright blue sky.

A big full moon.

Cold water to drink.

Hot showers.

A fire in the fireplace.

Smiling babies.

Birds singing outside in the morning.

Slipping into my bed at night when I've put clean sheets on the bed.

Reading.

Listening to my daughter3 singing.

Singing in the car to a familiar song, like Sweet Home Alabama. That makes me laugh!

My husband laughing at the dog.

Flowers, any kind of flower.

And trees, I love trees.

The smell of rain.

Talking on the phone to someone far away that I love.

Field Day

2008-06-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

So, today is Field Day at my school. I don't like Field Day. I feel bad for the kids who have to participate who aren't athletic. Being outside for 5 hours is too long. And it's 84 degrees. And there's no shade!!
So I took a sick day and stayed home.
Well, not home, really......

Got the oil changed in my car, and the radio fixed. Turns out the fuse was loose. Then I took the car to the car wash. I was going to spend $14, but the manager talked me into a book of five coupons for $40 and today was free. Sounded good to me. Then I filled the car up with gas. It was $3.95/gallon, and cost me $48. Wow. President Bush WE NEED HELP!!!

I am thinking about using the train when we go to visit my parents. I have to check on the price of the tickets. It's gotta be cheaper than driving 550 miles. We'll have to rent a car when we are there, but still....

We have a new dog. His name is Manny and he is a Jack Russell. He is a very calm JR. Not at all like a certain party's. He gets very excited when someone comes to the door, but once I pick him up he quiets down immediately. The vet said he is about 8 months old. He came to us on May 20 from a woman in Mannington (Mannington - Manny - get it??)
The woman found him in the street outside of her home. He jumped right in her car when she stopped to look at him. She sent L's school an e-mail when she and her husband decided they couldn't keep him. She told me she put ads everywhere, and called all the shelters and the vets in the area and no one claimed him. The vet said he didn't have a chip.
I took him to my vet and he DOES have a chip. The vet called the chip registry, and the registry said the dog was registered to a breeder in Florida. The vet called the breeder and the breeder never called back. No one called. And, quite frankly, if someone calls now, after all this time, I' m not giving him up.
The breeder is selling these dogs for $650. Who would spend $650 for a dog and just let him go??

Manny is working on pooping OUTSIDE. He likes the fuzzy throw rugs I have in the house better than the hot or wet grass. Thank God we don't have wall to wall carpet!!

Manny and Buddy get along as long as Manny doesn't bump into Buddy. Buddy has cataracts and can't see too well. He can be a grumpy old thing.

I need to call Daughter1.

Daughter2 is coming for lunch on Saturday. Her boyfriend's family is visiting on Sunday, so we will not see her on Father's Day. Her last final was yesterday, and now she has two weeks to work on wedding stuff.

Daughter3 got a job at the mall. Thank you Jesus!!! It's only minimum wage but finally she will have her own money. She's doing the kid's summer theater program, too, but that is only about $200 and she doesn't get it until the end of the show.

Daughter4 found a missing homework assignment. Now her social studies grade is 89.84. Everything else is an A. I don't know if the program they use for grades rounds up or not. It would be so cool for her to have straight A's again.

I'm going green. Well, sort of. I've been handing laundry out. It's amazing how stiff the clothes get. Not use if I like that or not. They smell good, tho.

That's all for now. I have stories to work on for another post soon.

Almost the End

2008-06-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

The worst thing about school is "the end". Why do we have this idea that it's going to End? 'cause it doesn't, really. But all we can think about is howmany days, how may hours, how are we gonig to stand it one more day?

I am bad at posting. I'll try to be better.

Lily Rose's Dedication

2008-05-19T04:38:00.001-07:00

What Cindy read for Lily Rose
²⁷"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

D. A. L.

2008-05-06T04:08:00.000-07:00

You should read this, Mr. Spo's blog for today (May 5).
He has put into print exactly what has been driving me nuts for 46 years.
Today I will write about my brother. He died 10 years ago today so it seems fitting.

Later.

Life goes on

2008-05-03T12:02:00.001-07:00

So here it is Saturday again.

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. He is 57. (I will be 47 in August, I might add)

This evening we will have his mom, J & J, J & C & Lily Rose here for dinner.

We will have turkey burgers, garden salad, fruit salad, chips and salsa, and angel food cake with whipped cream.

My grandmother used to make Angel Food cake. I used a box this time but next time I will do it fromscratch. I have a recipe but thought I didn't have any cake flour. After the cake was in the oven I discovered the cake flour. Oh, well. Next time.

One day I will write a whole post about my grandmother.

I should also add that yesterday was my aide and good friend Be's birthday. And my boss's, too.

Gotta get busy!!

Cuts

2008-04-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

The school district I work for gave the teacher's union a 4.9% salary increase.
But the state says a school budget can not rise about 3%.
Can you guess what I am going to tell you?

Last week teachers were told their services would not be needed next year. Others were told they are moving to other buildings. A few retirees will not be replaced.

I was told that I will be servicing all the school libraries, along with the middle school librarian. The jr. high librarian retired this past January and the high school librarian was told she is not coming back next year.

I am not happy. And it's all I can think about.

Monday

2008-04-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

Didn't win the desk. Bastard bid against me in the last 15 seconds. I hope it's a piece of junk.

E-mailed the cousins and asked where Grandmother's desk is. Maybe someone has it in their basement.

Been doing weightwatchers on line since 3/22. Lost 6 pounds. No cheese! No bread! But I love cheeses and bread.
and I cheat a little, even.

Had a dream. In a car with e. He was driving fast, we were laughing. I'm sure there was some sex in there, too. Went thru a tunnel under some train tracks and the scenery was beautiful on the other side. I mentioned B finding out about us. E. said "turn over". He poked me with something sharp at the base of my neck. Then he showed me a navy blue sharpie he used to color in the cut he had made, sort of a homemade tattoo. I am his now.

weird.

Desk

2008-04-13T18:28:00.001-07:00

Soooo...... in one of my magazines I saw a desk like this.
My grandmother had one just like it.
I could keep all my art supplies in it.
Paper in the bottom drawer.
Rubber stamps and scissors and punches in the middle drawer.
Photos and glue and tape and little stuff in the top drawer.
And there's cubbies.
I have all my scrapbooking and rubber stamping stuff at the church. I hate it. I want my stuff here.
But I need a place for it. I have an old desk of a friend of mine's but it is too small.

I hope I win it! I'll know soon!

Today

2008-04-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am loving today.

Slept until ten a.m. Well, not sound sleep. just the sort of drifting in and out sort of sleep.

Went to the accountant. We're getting back a LOT of money. I hope no one made any mistakes. Spent the ride in the car discussing what we will spend it on - a Christmas trip to San Diego, a flat screen tv, a lap top for L., a trampoline for daughter4, a secretary desk for me, some for daughter2's wedding.....

Went to the bird seed store. Got some for the goldfinches and some for the others. I loaded three feeders. Only a matter of time until the birds show up.

So I am on the breezeway. The magnolia tree is in full bloom. The grass underneath is covered with fallen petals. The scent is wonderful. It's 73 degrees and cloudy and thunder is rumbling in the distance.

A perfect day for doing nothing.

Later we will go visit Nick in the hospital, then to see The King and I at West Deptford.

Perfect!

Curious Things Around the House

2008-04-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

The list is long!

1. My grandfather's high school diploma - a work of art!
2. humped back pressed tin trunk - from my great grandfather's store
3. two chairs painted pennsylvania dutch style
4. a spinning wheel again from the store
5. my grandfather's bookcase - with glass doors. Each shelf is a separate piece.
6. baby grand piano won at an auction
7. L's instruments - at last count I believe there were 22 - flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, oboe, various saxophones, my brother's french horn, a trumpet, my dad's cornet, and a violin or two. The viola is in the shop. I tease L. that when he is dead and gone and I sell all those instruments I will be rich!

Wanna know what's in the trunk? Sure you do - a Beatles board game, old cabinet style photos, three old quilts, two hand made Raggedy Andys, .....

I like old stuff. Len likes instruments.

Pancake man

2008-04-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Pancake Man

Very funny. Some people have nothing to do.

By the way, there's no Baking powder in these. I believe they are crepes.

Sunday's list

2008-04-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

Lest you think Sundays around here are boring, let me tell you what I've accomplished today, and what I plan on doing before bed:

1. Major cuddle time with L. No church.
2. Grocery store with daughter4 and daughter3. $202. About $40 of it Sara's to take back to school.
3. Cleaned out the fridge. Took trash out.
4. Coordinated daughter3's birthday dinner at P.F Chang's in Princeton.
5. Folded $150 dollar bills for her gift.
6. Travled to Princeton. Had dinner. Drove home.
7. Unfolded $150 dollar bills to be deposited in the bank tomorrow (wish I thought of that before #5)
8. Filled the car with bears and bunnies. **
9. Gave the dog a bath.
10. Washed the dishes - even tho we didn't eat here. Yeah, figure that one out. I can't.
11. Emptied dryer, filled it up with wet clothes, started another load.

Still on the list:
finish laundry. change sheets. get daughter4 in the shower. clothes out for tomorrow. bag packed for tomorrow. Funny videos and Extreme makeover home edition.

Let's see if I get this all done......ready, get set, go!!

Sidenote: daughter3's friend's father's funeral is Wednesday. He was killed when a 69 year old man ran a stop sign and plowed into him. He was in a Jeep Wrangler (ie: not much protection, IMHO) The Times says his name is Reed, but it's Mead. He was the tax assessor for Harrison Township.

**Did I post about Kohl's? To make a long story short, they gave me 600 teddies and bunnies and 120 books. I am distributing them at school all week. Soon the garage will be empty again.

5 Things

2008-04-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

I just read this over at Maddog in the City and thought I'd give it a try.

1) What was I doing 10 yrs ago?
April 5 1998 I had just had daughter4. Still on Maternity leave.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Laundry

2. Dishes

3. Groceries!!
4. Pay the bills.
5. Have some fun doing none of the above.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Dark Chocolate, Cashews, Mint Chocolate chip ice cream, Sangria.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Buy a house in Italy and another in California.

2. Pay off all the bills here, and for all the girls, and put $100,000 away for daughter4's education.

3. Build a bathroom in my library.

4. Adopt Talia.

5. Go on a cruise with L. Then go on another with a bunch of friends.

5) Three of my bad habits:
1. procrastination!!
2. Be better about my finances.
3. Try to be more patient.

6) 5 places I have lived:
1. Glassboro NJ
2. Pitman NJ
3. Kutztown PA
4.
5.

7) 5 jobs I have had:
1.Kindercare
2. Collegetown Book Store
3. Hammonton Elementary School
4. Woodstown Middle School
5. Glassboro Schools.

I won’t tag anyone but it would be fun to hear how other people answer these questions.

Saturday

2008-03-29T10:29:00.001-07:00

It's a quiet Saturday here.
I keep thinking about going back to school on Monday. If I decide I am going to have a good time and joke and tease and love the kids it makes a nice day. If I am grumpy, well, the day turns out grumpy.

We had our Circle of Friends meeting last night. Not sure if I am happy with that or not. Last night it was, well, tedious. Comtemplative Prayer is the topic. In other words, sit still and listen for God to talk to you.

This morning daughter4 and I went yard sailing with our good friends. My main goal was to find a vase for some flowers which I plan on bringing to MaryLee's. I also found3 Arthur books, a set of wind up chattering teeth, a wooden knick knack that reads L-O-V-E that looks like Mary Englebreit, and a bag of wedding scrapbook leftovers with a calligraphy set and a how to scrapbook book. That was all at the church. Then we went to Duffield's where I found a chimp puppet, an ABC book for school (for James and Jonathan - two boys from China with limited English) and a pop up Sesame Street toy we will keep here for Max, and a sun hat for Max, too.

L and daughter4 have been practicing her instruments. He says she is very good and what's more amazing is she doesn't practice unless L plays with her. Which isn't very often, maybe twice a week. They played piano, clarinet and oboe. Hopefully she will pass whatever test she needs in oboe so that she can get out of the beginner band.

Tonight we are going to John's mom's for dinner. John is daughter2's boyfriend.
John's mom lives about three blocks from here. Funny thing - we lived three blocks on the other side of her when we lived on Dickinson Road. Now we live three blocks in the other directions. Now that we will be in-laws seems like we should be friendly. So we've been invited for dinner. I want to take some photos so I can start a wedding scrapbook.

Speaking of wedding, daughter2 should be here in about an hour to make some Save The Date cards. Dinner is at 5 pm.

Laundry is being worked on as we speak. Dishes need to be washed. I want to put together 5 outfits for each of us for the week, and plan some meals. Yeah. Housewife stuff. <*&^*^*>

Survey says....

2008-03-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

I sent this to Margaret and she sent it back to me, with a comment that our answers are very similar. I'm not sure it these are mine or hers!

01. What is your favorite word? love
02. What is your least favorite word? hate
03. What turns you on creatively, art supplies

spiritually beautiful music
or emotionally talking to a good friend
04. What turns you off? negative attitudes
05. What is your favorite curse word? shit.
06. What sound or noise do you love? Kids laughing, waterfalls, waves crashing on a beach
07. What sound or noise do you hate? frightened screaming
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I'd like to own a music/book store with a cafe (yeah, like Barnes & Noble)>
09. What profession would you not like to do? surgeon or trash collector or euthenasia of animals
10. What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome. We're glad you are here.

Questions!

2008-03-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

What was on your mind yesterday? 
How much I like having OFF FROM SCHOOL
What is on your mind today? 
The week is going fast.
Do you like bonfires? 
Yes
Have you lived up to your parents’ expectations?  
I think so. No fuss, no muss.
Are we more likely to find you in a coffee bar or a nightclub?
Nightclub, but only if someone else wants to go.
Do you gamble?
nope - and we live an hour from Atlantic City!
Have you ever ridden a horse? 
Not without help.
Do you drink alcohol? 
Once in a while.
Turn your head to the right — what do you see? 
hallway to the bedrooms.
How tall are you?
5'4"
Describe your last date: 
It's been a long time!
Do you have rhythm?
Sure.
What web browser do you use?
Firefox
What time zone are you in?
Eastern
Do you wear a wristwatch? 
Yes.  I don't usually look at it, though!
Are you clumsy or graceful? 
Usually graceful.
Do you like to spy on people? 
No.
Are football players paid too much? 
Yes.
Does time always kill pain? 
No.
First kiss?
David Blew.
Are you complicated? 
Yes.
Do you believe in heaven? 
Yes, and I can't wait to get there.
Are you free with your feelings? 
No.
How much money do you have in your wallet right now? 
I don't know.  I
use my bank card for almost everything.

Bits and Pieces

2008-03-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

I realize I have a lot of saved e-mail from friends. Generally I save e-mail when there is something I want to remember, like an important website.

Jen and Corey's Magical Wedding
Great Quote:

E. T. Sullivan wrote: 
"When God wants a great work done in the world or a great 
wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He 
doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunder-
bolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a 
simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts 
the idea into the mother's heart, and she puts it into the 
baby's mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the 
world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The 
greatest forces in the world are babies."

And this is a great video:  Puppets

Spring Break

2008-03-24T05:20:00.001-07:00

What happened to the days of sleeping late, staying up late, lounging around......?

Today we are having a new tile floor installed in the bathroom. The tile place never confirmed our appointment, so we were up bright and early "just in case".
At 8 am I called and yep, they're coming.

The worst part is the toilet will be removed for a few hours. Still not sure how we will get around that. A bucket in the basement? Calling on a neighbor? Visiting the university down the street?

A few hours of inconvenience for a lifetime of comfort. I hope!

On another note, daughter2's wedding plans are progressing. We visited David's Bridal. Lenessa in a dress just took my breathe away! We came up with a design for daughter2's Save the Date cards. Hopefully we will get them done this week.

Daughter3 is back to school for at least three weeks. She is singing in a recital on April 4, and on April 6 we will visit her at take her out to dinner. Her 20th birthday is April 7.

This is fun. Cadbury Creme Eggs

What to post when your mind is blank.....

2008-03-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is the middle name meme and I stole it.

Use the first letter of your middle name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person you took this from had the same first initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Middle name letter: E
Famous artist/band/musician: Elton John
Four-letter word: Eeek!
U.S. state: none!
Boy name: Evan
Girl name: Eleanor
Animal: Elephant
Something in the kitchen: eggs
Reason for being late: ear ache
Body part: ear
Drink: Egg Nog
Something you shout: Emergency!
Something you eat: eggplant

2008-03-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Okay - here's the directions. Comment me and tell me your answers. You don't have to if you don't want to!

Four Jobs I have Had
Four Shows I have been to
Four Cars I have had
Four Favorite Foods

Four jobs:
Collegetown Bookstore - fell in love with the owner's son. We "went out" for the summer.
Out-of-business day care on High Street in Glassboro
Student worker in the library at college - had to file microfiche! Yuck!
Kindercare

Four Shows:
Elephant Man on Broadway
Elton John at the Spectrum
Pointer Sisters at one of the casinos
GoGos and the Police, Genesis, Yes, Moody Blues, Fabulous Thunderbirds, David Bowie, Talking Heads, all at the Spectrum (went with husband #1 - wouldn't have gone on my own!)

Four Cars:
Black Datsun B210
Red Ford Escort
Red Mitsubishi Eclipse
Black Ford Explorer
(also a Tempest, a Taurus, and a Santa Fe SUV and now a Hyundai Elantra) jeesh a long list!!

Four favorite foods:
shrimp
crab cakes
corn on the cob
dark chocolate

Just tidbits

2008-02-26T16:11:00.001-08:00

The best thing about my job? Giving prizes to kids. Last week everyone wrote their name on small pieces of paper and put them in my big pretzel jar. This week I am drawing names, two each day, to receive a stuffed Seuss character and matching book from Kohl's.
Oh! The joy on the faces of those who win!

Jasmine and Keith will be moving to.......drum roll, please.......San Diego. Jasmine will be interning at Sharp Mesa Vista. "As far as my placement, it's going to be very challenging and ultimately very good for my career and something totally different--a psychiatric inpatient unit. Here's a link to the site if you're interested: http://www.sharp.com/about/"
Of course, J&K are parents to most cutest child in the whole entire world, Max.

Of course we were hoping she would be chosen for one of the East Coast places..... but now we will have a chance to visit San Diego. We visited San Francisco for their wedding, and San Jose this past summer. They will be coming here for Jackie and John's wedding in November, so we will not be visiting for a while.

Jackie's fiance, John, is on a similar track at LaSalle, just about a year behind Jasmine's studies. He wants to specialize in criminal psych - serial killers and all that. He told us that LaSalle has lots of local places at which their students intern.

Talked to a guy about putting in a ceramic floor in the bathroom. The vinyl has seen better days. Still waiting for a price. The tile will look like that, above, if we can afford it. The estimate includes wonderboard for underneath, 60 square feet of tile, grout, and wood trim.
I asked them about insulated windows for the breezeway, too. That's the next project.

The weather is cold and rainy. Yuck. I'm ready for flowers!

2008-02-23T11:07:00.001-08:00

At Bullock school we've been doing Read Across America since the NEA proposed the idea 11 years now.
I'll list what we do.

To get ready I do a couple of things.
1. I buy each child a small thing - usually a pencil. http://www.raymondgeddes.com is great for this. And this year they added a free pdf file of a set of bookmarks, so everyone is getting a sheet.
2. I buy ten or so "gifts" for a drawing. In the past these have been book fair left overs, or Seuss stuff I've found in my travels. This year I have 12 stuffed toys and matching books from Kohl's - Yertle, Horton, Fox, and Pop.
The week before Read Across America I have the kids in my classes write their names on pieces of paper and put them in the RAA jar. I draw names for the prizes.
One year the local grocery store donated a Seuss cake and one class won it.
In the past I have done the drawing at the assembly (see below). Due to the nature of this year's assembly I am doing the drawing all week after our morning announcements. Besides, I can' stand to see the faces of the kids who don't win. (I'm such a softie)

By the way, I use my book fair profits to pay for the prizes.

Last year for the first time we had a door decorating contest. Each teacher did a Seuss theme. It was amazing. The principal had three administrators from other buildings judge the door. One class in each grade won a pizza party.

In my classes we watch my powerpoint and read a Seuss Story.
To see the powerpoint go to http://www.glassboroschools.us
Choose Bullock School from the drop down menu at the very top left corner.
Choose TEACHERS from the black bar.
Find Mrs. DeFrank in the list.
Click on Dr. Seuss
I have a video of Horton Hatches the Egg (Billy Crystal narrarates!) and a few others I try to alternate. A person can only read aloud so many Seuss stories before the tongue gets tied!! This year we've been watching the trailer for Horton Hears a Who at http://www.hortonmovie.com
We talk about shelf placement, too.

The week of Read Across America each day we have a special dress up activity.
Monday - My Many Colored Days - wear your favorite color
Tuesday - Green Eggs and Ham - wear green
Wednesday - Cat in the Hat - wear a funny hat
Thursday - Horton Hears a Who - Who Hair
Friday - Fox in Socks - crazy socks

In the past we have dressed up as the Cat on Friday with red and white stovepipe hat (given to us by Saturn car dealer) red bow tie (crepe paper) and black shirt and pants.

These things we do on March 2(or as close as we can get)

1. The cafeteria staff does Green Eggs and Ham for lunch. It's an Egg McMuffin sort of thing and the egg patty has been sprayed green.

2. Guest Readers visit. The PTO canvases these people. The first session is at 9 and the second at 9:30. The readers visit the classrooms and share a story. Some people read at both sessions. I think we have about 50 readers. I used to do this myself and it's a wonderful thing that the PTO does. Typical readers are the mayor and the boro council, school board members, school administrators, Little League coaches, and PTO moms.

3. The afternoon of the big day we have an assembly that I put together. We have had a variety of things for this. This year we have a professional theater troupe coming to do "Stone Soup and other Stories". PTO paid for this.

In the past we have had various celebrities read a Seuss story -
a. Reg Weaver, president of the NEA (a friend of one of our teachers)
b. the principal
c. a state senator
d. Miss New Jersey
Some classes have done short (3 sentences!) oral book reports, similar to those on Reading Rainbow.
We've cheered for reading Give me an R!! Give me an E!! Give me an A! Give me a D! What's that spell!! Very cute when you have the tiniest students hold up big cards of those letters.
We've had classes do reader's theater, recite a poem about reading, sing a song....
I have a very nice teacher who dressed up as Captain Underpants and came running thru the gym. He lead the cheering.
One year we made collected money for a group that buys farm animals for third world communities. One of my wonderful teachers made a powerpoint of the book Beatrice's Goat and I read it to the whole group.

I wish I had made a list each year and kept it. We update the website each year with new photos and the old ones are gone. It would be nice to see what we did each year.
And next year I will use www.heyteach.biz for my Dr. Seuss stuff.

Max, Crawling!!

2008-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Max, Crawling

How do I inbed the Youtube video right here, so it's not a link? Can't figure it out......

New Best Friend

2008-02-22T09:40:00.001-08:00

So I have a new best friend. His name is Dr. Jack Bondi. He is a podiatrist. My ingrown toenail, which hurt 24/7, has been fixed and is healing quite nicely.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to be a podiatrist AND GIVE PEOPLE NEEDLES IN THEIR TOES but I thank God that there are such people.

On a different note, the weathermen were right for once and it DID snow and we have off from school. We will have to make the day up by going one more day in June but for right now that is no big deal. We slept until 10 a.m. and I made scrambled eggs with sauteed onions and bacon. It was delicious. Dishes are washed, bed is made, and the first load of laundry is ready for the dryer.

And good news! Jasmine (Len's daughter in California) has been accepted to an internship program. She will find out which one - and where they will be moving - Monday morning at 10 a.m. We are hoping for Duke or Boston so they can be on the East Coast with us.

Hopefully I can upload some photos (I usually do that on my laptop which is at school but I think I can make it work here...) and work on some scrapbooking and card making.

Finally, if you have a moment, look at this: http://video.stumbleupon.com/?s=ithct48cqw&i=ufcchmyxqsuj9vwsemax

2008-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

http://glumbert.com/wii/view.php?name=womenfilm

This is amazing. Who do you recognize?

I love the music, too.

Fly Lady

2008-02-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be familiar with www.flylady.com
While I am not truly out of control, this website has given me some help in being organized and not obsessing/just doing. You know, I can't mop the kitchen floor until it is swept. And the furniture is moved. And everyone is out. And I have the right mop. And the right soap. So it never gets done.
Yeah, that's me.
So Flylady encourages us to keep a control list of what needs to be done. I have 3 sticky notes on my kitchen window to help me keep track. Here's the lists:
AM -
Shower and get dressed.
Swish the toilet and swipe the sink
Buddy - feed, water, out, shot
breakfast
lunch?
jewelry and hair
pills
water bottle

After Work -
Mail
Buddy Out
e-mail
dinner - cook, clean up, wash dishes
change tablecloth
sweep and trash
Buddy - feed, water, out, shot
start laundry
dry laundry

Before Bed -
dishes away
laundry away
Buddy out
lights out
lock doors
teeth
set clock
clothes for a.m.
charge cell phone

Now of course not all of this gets done every day, especially on weekends. Friday nights and Saturdays I don't do all this.
But I never go to bed with dishes in the sink. Nope, not me. And when I get up I make the bed, if Len is up.

It's funny to have that all written out! No wonder I don't have time to do much reading or scrapbooking when I'm home.
Damn, I need a maid.

Leave your mark

2008-02-19T04:36:00.000-08:00

If you stop to read please say hello!

Alphabet Meme

2008-02-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

The Alphabet MEME

A is for age: 46
B is for beer of choice: I have tried many types of beer thanks to my first husband and I don't care for any of it.
C is for career: Elementary School Librarian
D is for favorite Drink: Sweet Iced Tea
E is for essential item you use everyday: cell phone
F is for favorite song at the moment: can't think of the name of it but Sara will know
G is for favorite game: Scrabble
H is for hometown: Glassboro NJ
I is for instruments you play: piano and the flute
J is for favorite juice: orange
K is for kids: all together 4 girls, two son-in-laws, and one grandson
L is for last kiss: today
M is for marriage: Year #12!
N is for name of your best friend: Len
O is for overnight hospital stays: 1970 tonsilectomy, 1988 when Sara was born, 1992 gall bladderectomy, 1998 Lenessa was born
P is for phobias: gushing blood
Q is for quote: All you need is love
R is for biggest regret: a few bad decisions
S is for Shirts: ??
T is for time I wake up: 630 AM
U is for underwear: cotton please
V is for vegetable I love: Homegrown tomatoes
W is for worst habit: worrying
X is for x-rays you have had: just teeth
Y is for yummy food you make: mac and cheese
Z is for zodiac sign: Leo

Mom's Graduation

2008-02-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

I started this off by putting this photo in the sidebar. But I decided I want it to be in the posts. While I searched - again - for the photo I found my dad's graduation photo and thought I would include it.
So here we go from left to right.
Rosalie McCombs - mom's mom
Arlene Andrews - dad's aunt
Betty Chloe McCombs - mom - BS in Psychology and first McCombs to graduate from college
Leo McCombs - mom's dad
Marguerite Longacre - dad's sister-in-law
Clara Longacre - dad's mom
Rev. David F. Longacre - dad's dad
Where is Dad? I think he had already enlisted in the army.

Dad's Graduation

2008-02-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

This is Gettysburg College in 1952.
David W. Longacre - my dad
Clara Longacre - my grandmother
Rev. David F. Longacre - my grandfather
Arlene E. Andrews - Clara's sister
Betty Chloe Longacre - my mom.

Blogs I visit

2008-02-17T18:04:00.001-08:00

For those of you new to my blog, I thought I would write a short description of the blogs I like to visit.

14 Degrees is by Rob Thompson. He is from New Zealand and my cousin R.O.B> met him and passed along his site. Rob is bicycling and skateboarding around the world.
A Little Out of Tune is by a guy who is from Idaho, but is living in Australia right now.
Christinaa is my friend Bernadette's daughter, who is doing a semester in Greece.
Fine as Frog's Hair is just interesting.
Freshly Ground is by a woman who is a Lutheran Pastor. I used to be Lutheran.
Gigglepotamus is by the wife of Poop & Boogies (see below).
I Can Haz Cheezburger is silly photos.
Mo Willems is my favorite author, at least for now.
Poop & Boogies is very funny. Read his sidebar to see why it's called Poop & Boogies.
R.O.B. is my cousin.
She Looks Like Me is an interesting father.
Spo-Reflections is by a guy who is a psychiatrist in Phoenix. He loves opera and tea and making shirts.
This Much is True is a mom and a public library librarian.
Three Beautiful Things is just that. Three a day.
Tired Mummy is a mom with a challenging life. She takes beautiful photos, too.

This list is why I get nothing done on the previous post.

Catching Up

2008-02-17T17:44:00.000-08:00

Seems like I spend a lot of time creating. Or thinking about creating.
I love to scrapbook. But I spend more time thinking about it than actually doing it.
I like making home -made birthday cards.
I enjoy cooking.
I have been thinking about making a special shirt for Dr. Seuss's birthday. Ur-Spo gave me the idea. So I've been looking for a pattern, and appropriate material.
But like I usually do I will find all the pieces and never really get around to making the shirt.

And I've been thinking about cleaning up this blog. As I've said before I enjoy reading blogs. I hope to figure out how to make one of those lists on the sidebar with links to the blogs I read. That should be fun!

What have you been creating?

I don't write.

2008-01-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

I like to read. I am a librarian. I will read just about anything. I am addicted to blogs. When I find an interesting one, I go back to the beginning and read the entire thing.

I do not like to write. It bores me to tears.

But I've been posting comments and I know some one is going to wonder about me and click my photo and you are reading this.

Please - ask me a question or two so I can write with some direction.

Babies

2007-12-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

I can not figure out WHO E.T. Sullivan is, but someone sent me this quote this morning and I LOVE it.
E. T. Sullivan wrote:
"When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunder- bolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother's heart, and she puts it into the baby's mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies."

ness & the g parents

2007-12-16T13:17:00.001-08:00

ness & the g parents, originally uploaded by keltd813.

August 2007 - Chloe, Ness, David, and Jackie

Flickr

2007-12-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Where were you?

2007-12-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

I'm back.

Where were you on these dates?

Post a comment and tell me. Then I'll make a new post with my answers. It will be fun. Promise.

August 13, 1961

February 16, 1962

November 22, 1963

July 21, 1969 (Neil Armstrong walks on the moon)

August 16, 1977 (Elvis dies)

December 8, 1980 (John Lennon dies)

March 5, 1982 (John Belushi dies)

December 22, 1995

September 11, 2001

be safe - be happy - keep in touch

A year later

2006-07-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

So here I am once again. I think I may have told you I would rather read these blogs than write them.
I found Amy, an old college roommate. And my cousin's son, Rob. It's all very interesting.
I will try to pick one topic a write about it.
Tomorrow.

Father's Day

2005-06-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's Father's Day once again.
So I'll tell you about my dad, David Wilson Longacre. David for his father, Wilson for his maternal grandfather. Born August 31, 1929.
My father loves baseball, especially the Yankees. He has many stories about playing baseball - a pick-up game, I believe he called it, back in Boyertown.
His father was the pastor of the Lutheran Church in Boyertown. St. John's, with 3,000 members. He did it alone - but that's another story.
Daddy and Uncle Jacob had a museum room in the parsonage. They had all sorts of stuff they had collected, and people who knew about the museum gave them stuff, too.
Dad had to follow his big brother in school. I always got the impression that Jacob was a little more driven to do well in school, while Dad was more concerned with baseball.
He played the cornet in the school band. Somewhere I have a photo of him in his uniform looking very handsome.
Dada went to Gettysburg College and was a history major. He enlisted in the army and was an x-ray tech at Wlater Reed Hospital. He met mom at Gettysburg and they got married on August 29, 1954. They lived in Allentown PA for 7 years. Dad taught history at Parkland high school in Allentown. He worked at a bank, worked for a surveyor, and got a job at Glassboro State College in 1961 in their Registrar's Office. They moved to Glassboro, and I showed up in February 1962. Dave came along in November 1963.
Dad is well known for his shoebox filing system of all sorts of hardware. Need a paint brush? There's a box with a bunch of paint brushes in it! Glue, screws, nails, picture hangers, .... waht ever - it's there, in a box.
In 1988 he retired, and in 1998 he and mom moved to China Grove, North Carolina to help take care of my mom's father. Pop died in November, last year.

I wish they would move back to New Jersey.

Thursday

2005-06-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. Only three days of school left. On the one hand it's hard to believe, and on the other hand man, what is taking so long?
Part of my problem with this is I can't figure out my objective (yeah, I'm a teacher - everything has an objective)
Am I writing for me? Then I'll write anything.
Am I writing for an audience? then who is it?
I could I suppose e-mail all my people and tell them to read this BUT and a very big But that is it seems sort of proud to do that. But if I don't tell people about it, I am writing for Jim (hey, Jim!) and the occasional person who drops by.
So I'll write for me. you dont' like it? Sorry!

Satruday will be my grandmother's 107th birthday. Clara Beulah Andrews Longacre. Clara was the wife of a Lutheran pastor. She was the mother of two boys, my dad and Uncle Jacob. She was educated at Columbia University and was a teacher until she got married. She was a tiny, thin woman.
When I knew her she lived in Slatington PA with her sister Arlene. My grandfather had died in 1954, right after my parents were married. So she moved from the parsonage in Boyertown to Slatington. She never learned to drive.
She once told me that when her mother died an angel came to her and told her not to worry ; that everything would be okay.
Grandmother had a flower garden on the left side of the backyard. Aunt Arlene had a vegetable garden on the right side.
We would go to visit every two or three weekends, and spend the night.
I wish I was a painter so I cold paint the rooms of her house, the beautiful furniture, the kitchen, the huge pine tree in the yard, and the gardens.
My grandmother loved me. She was always glad to see me, and she never ever was cross with me.

Here we go again

2005-06-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

I can't find time to write, 'cause I am always reading other people's blogs.

Making up for lost time

2005-06-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here's what's going on.
Yesterday we made strawberry jam. We picked 20 pounds of strawberries at Duffield's and made 7 batches. It filled 47 jars! Lenessa and I help Miss Linda (her babysitter from before) Linda's daughter Jen and Jen's boyfriend Corey. Corey is the son of my former aide at school. He went to the Coast Guard Academy and is now stationed in Cape May. Jen just graduated from Trenton State College - now the College of New Jersey) with a Master's in Deaf Education/Elementary Ed. She is job hunting.
Corey was interested in learning how to make jam. Now he knows. In a few weeks we will be doing blueberries, too.
We are counting the hours left in school now. Lenessa, who loves her teacher, cries every morning when we talk about The End. She wants to stay in first grade and not have a summer vacation. It is hard to not laugh at her.
Sara had her first All State rehearsal yesterday. Students from Glassboro (2 of them) Pitman (3) West Deptford (2) and Gateway (7) went on a bus from gateway to a school in Monroe township (up by Great Adventure) She got a packet of music and a sing a long CD. She was very excited. There are 40 students for each voice S1, S2, A1, A2, T1, T2, B1, B2 so there are 320 kids. Sara knows the students from Pitman and is good friends with the girl from glassboro who is in it with her. Their next rehearsal is in September.
We will go to the concert. It's on the Friday night of the teacher's convention in November. I think we will stay over night at one of the hotel/casinos.
We are finalizing (ie: paying for) our Disney trip on Monday. We will most likely be in China Grove July 5 and 6. July 7 in Savannah or thereabouts. July 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 in Disney. July 13 and 14 in Port St.Lucie or Vero Beach. Then driving home.
Well, that's all from lovely hot and humid Glassboro.

Three posts in one day! Whew!
I'm done now. I promise.

No yearbook

2005-06-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Didn't win the yearbook. I emailed the winning bidder and asked if he would sell it to me.

Thought I would make a list of topics I want to write about.

1. grandmother Longacre
2. her sidekick, Arlene
3. Rosalie McCombs
4. Ronnie McCombs
5. Pop McCombs
6. grandfather Longacre
7. Ricky Butt
8. Living in Lakeside
9. living on Jefferson Ave.
10. high school
11. margaret
12. debbie
13. bill
14. Living at Kutztown
15. Living back at home
16. married for the first time
17. Sara's story
18. Len
19. my own apartment
20. Jasmine
21. Jackie
22. Blenheim
23. Hidden Creek
24. married for the second time
25. Lenessa's story
26. falling out/David/absent parents
27. Dickinson Road
28. Len's Dad
29. Pop
30.

The problem with numbering these list is when one realizes one has left something out. Perhaps I will use sub numbers.

Can't believe I didn't win that yearbook.

Where do I start?

2005-06-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Brother David

I have this idea in my head about writing a book about my brother. Not sure what my parents would think about it, but my kids get great pleasure about hearing about him and his adventures. Or should I say, mishaps?

Here's a short list of some of his stories:

Ticked off my mom and got milk poured over his head.
Got his head stuck between the railing in our split level style living room.
Pop's dog chased him unmercifully.
Couldn't sit thru grandparent's church service - the pastor kept referring to "Lloyd" (Lord, southern style) and we both cracked up every time.
Helped me count Aunt Althie's favorite phrase, "Don't Cha Know" - 54 in one visit.
Would say numbers in his sleep.
His Little League Team? National Fruit!
Rolled off of cot while tightly tucked in. Woke up on the floor, cot on top of him.
Would only have grilled cheese and orange soda at a restaurant.
Would only have a plain cheeseburger when we went to McDonald's.
Would fall asleep in the car almost immediately upon entering it. We couldn't go to the Acme without him falling asleep.
Rolled down the car window. I told him to put it back up. So he threw up on the floor of the car.
Went to the Poconos for vacation. Got ear infection so bad he had to have two penicillen shots in his butt and no more swimming.
In high school he went out on the porch roof, accessible from his bedroom, to smoke. Neighbor saw him and called my mother, who was downstairs in the kitchen.
Went out driving with his friend. Neither had a license. Crashed friend's mother's car.
Fell in love with a girl from Germany while working as a cook in Miami. Followed her home to Munich. Girl kicked him out. Had to call Dad to rescue him.

Miss him? You bet.

Karen

Hey there

2005-06-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hello. I thought I would give this a try.
Of course, I have no idea what I am doing.
But it all a learning experience, no?

Here are some sites I really like:
www.tumblebooks.com

www.ebay.com
I check on Glassboro, Kannapolis, Slatington, Longacre......
Someone has a 1954 A.L.Brown High School in Kannapolis NC yearbook. My mother's brother, Ronnie, is a senior in this book. I've bid a lot - $50 - and I hope I win it. I've never seen it,my mother doesn't have it, and Ronnie died 16 years ago. I hope, I hope, I hope.

www.nj.com/forums.glassboro
Interesting stuff there, too.

Thanks to Jim for his ideas on this.

G'night, for now.

Karen