180/365

BREATH OF FRESH AIR(PLANT)
Chrissy and I had our annual way too long conversation with the air plant lady at the festival yesterday. She became slightly obsessed with these plants awhile back and I bought her one for Christmas a couple years ago - and created a monster. She has a bunch now.  I realized that my favorite little pumpkin David got me many years ago (at Penn State Wal-Mart I think) had an air plant in it.  Where is that pumpkin?!?

I have no place to put any and keep killing mine because the light is so bad here. We were talking to the lady and she was showing us some fancy (red) ones she had that weren't for sale. I told her I had the perfect thing to put it in and she ended up selling it to me for $5.00. Wish me luck that I don't kill this poor thing.

179/365

FESTIVAL FUN
You got to love a little community festival where everyone pitches in and does their part... like Ted helping out with the garbage...

Minnie Mouse was there and she and Aunt Joyce had the same shoes on!

We went to look around a bit and I came back to this... the boys whooping it up with the ladies.

The Dad got a walking stick... thank $%$^% God.

And I verified the fact that I can't drive in the car for even an hour without wanting to fall asleep at the wheel. I'm blaming it on my medication or because I never ever sleep anymore. I actually had to stop at the rest stop 9 miles from the exit because I thought I was going to kill everyone in the car by going off the side of the road. Plus side was I got a mocha and brochures and got to see the pretty patriotic trucks.

179/365

THESE ARE DAYS
After all the planning the night was here!  Janel's graduation party. This was my little part of her display table... Her card box (thanks Pinterest) and Oh the Places You'll Go! book for everyone to sign. Congratulations J and good luck at Duquesne!

178/365

THEY SEE ME ROLLIN... THEY HATIN...
They asked me to help out at the nursing home with the ice cream outing tonight... a trip to Glen's. There were four of us and four residents and the driver... so in order for all to fit The Glo-worm had to ride in a cart (what she calls a wheelchair.) She was the only one of the four that could walk but she needed to sit in the chair because there wasn't enough regular seats because of the tie downs from the others. She wasn't too happy about it because she hates those damn things. We finally convinced her that was the only to go and she (reluctantly) agreed.

177/365

HOARDERS - DOG EDITION
I am being buried alive and it is getting to me. I had to put the call out for some help and attempted to clean up a little. The Lily Bud wanted to do her share... She went room by room and picked up some things. I found her surrounded by one of her face washcloths, my shoe, 6 receipts, The Dad's Goofy hat, her Penn State toy and the carry bag to the printer.

176/365

WHERE THE DEER AND THE ANTELOPE PLAY
Someone bought the house next door but he hasn't been there since early May.  The grass was getting (very) high so I left a note and some extra money for my cousin Vinnie to cut their front and back yard last week when he came over to do The Dad's...

I found this in The Dad's yard...

...and I was afraid antelope and zebra were going to start running though the neighbor's yard and jump over the fence and eat Lily.

The safari animals waited until the grass was cut to appear...

Ok - it's just a deer.

This deer has been making itself known to me.

In the last couple days it jumped out in front of me on the road...

... and another time I stopped and we had a stare down before he went into the woods.

Be careful, deer.

Deer totem.

Snake Totem.

175/365

AT THE MOVIES

I'm a full fledged volunteer now at the nursing home.  They asked me to help out with taking some of the residents to a movie today - it was the remake of True Grit.  Glo-worm wasn't signed up for it so I didn't even tell her about it. She had no idea I was going.   I think she was a little surprised when I got off the elevator and wheeled Jeanette, her roommate, down the hall...  Glo just so happened to be standing at the nurses station when the elevator doors opened... I was totally busted.  She just looked at me and said - were you out with HIM all day? She constantly refers to her as a him... he did this... he did that.   Her niece in Chicago texted me the other day and said that Aunt Gloria told her mom that she has a man as a roommate! She doesn't get the connection that boys and girls don't live in the same room. Lately she seems to be much more confused and having trouble with word finding. It's pretty bad.

Anyway, four residents (all ladies) went to the movie... it was at a cute little theater affiliated with one of the independent living places in the North Hills. We rode the bus (which kind of makes me a sick) and I got acquainted with the wheel chair tie downs and how to operate the chair lift.  Pretzel, who I believe is 99, goes on all the trips.  She asked me how to spell my name when we were on the bus and I saw her write it down in a little note book. She went with us to see 42nd Street so I knew what was to come. When we got back and turned into the parking lot, she started singing For He's a Jolly Good Fellow...  and then she thanked everyone by adding their name into the song - the staff and driver and volunteers. She does this on every trip.  Too cute.

174/365

THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER WENT UP THE... stay away from my dog!!!
I realized I do something. If I kill a bug I always apologize to it before doing so. I'm assuming (since everyone makes fun of me for doing that) that everyone doesn't do that. ;-)  I took The Bud out and there was a big giant dinosaur headed spider crawling on the porch.  I had no other option but to kill the poor thing.  I didn't want him biting my puppy. The last thing he heard was me saying -  I'm so sorry - I have to do this - you look dangerous.

173/365

"YOU'VE GOT (WAY TOO MUCH) MAIL"
I guess it doesn't go any higher!?

172/365

SUMMER SOLSTICE SMORES

171/365

FASHION PLATE

If you are a fan of fashionkids on IG then you'll love this one. Have you seen the Pinterest board from Tiffany Beveridge: My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter. It's gotten a lot of (well deserved) press lately.  Check out the adventures of her (imaginary) daughter Quinoa and her stylish little friends.  You can follow Tiffany on Twitter here and read her blog here.

170/365

ALL BY MYSELF
I stopped in at Glo's after an appointment...I though she was having her dreaded pasta so I brought her something else.  Turns out I was looking at the menu from last week but whatever. ;-)  Anyway, we were sitting there eating and I could hear her boyfriend talking to another lady in the hall - I never looked so I'm not sure who it was. He was saying that he hates it there... he would like to live with his daughter but she didn't ask... He made excuses for her being busy at work.. having a lot to do.  The lady said she wishes she could move in with her family and have an aide to take care of her so she wouldn't be too much of a burden.  He said he wishes he could take care of her and got a little fresh.  Playas gonna play!  It's still sad, though, your whole life and you end up like that.  I think I've said it before - I walk in there and feel like I'm walking into a dog kennel... all the abandoned dogs that nobody wanted anymore come up to the cage just hoping you'll look their way.  The dogs that they thought would be perfect  but got a little too big or made too much of a mess in the house. It's much the same. I'll stop and talk to the ones just hanging out in the hall and go into the rooms to visit and listen to their stories... I can almost see their tails wagging. And every time I get back in the elevator to leave - I think that's gonna be me.

169/365

NUTHIN' BUT A G THANG
GG...Double G... Grandma Grace... Gorgeous Grace...Gege... she went by a lot of things.

I've been getting some random spam messages via email... you know the ones that appear  to come from someone you know but when you click on the email it's just some random address... I get them from "Angela" and "Christopher" fairly often and just mark them as junk and delete them... this was the first time I got one from Aunt Grace.

It just so happened to be the day after she died.

I kind of smiled and thought it was neat and just figured she was saying hello.

At the funeral home Stephanie told me that Gege (apparently from beyond) tagged her on Facebook... it was a picture of my mother and Faye from Brother's birthday party in the mid eighties.  Maybe they wanted us to know they were hanging out together... and on the internet.  I hope so. ;-)

I always wanted to smoke because of her... because I wanted one of those sparkly cigarette cases she always had.  Gege had a nail shop and, among other things, is the reason I rocked a solid gold nail back in the day (remember those?!) and the reason I hardly ever went to school on Mondays... we'd have Sunday night dinners over there - laughing and drinking and eating late into the night.

Good, good times.

You'll be missed Double G. ♥♥

168/365

B-I-N-G-O
I haven't made it to Glo's in awhile... she was anxious to let me know what has been going on... She saw the Banjo guy and went to the exercise group and was the big "full card" winner at bingo... She has $4.25 in "gift shop money."

I uploaded a couple more "Conversation with Aunt Gloria" videos to You Tube...
Exercise class, candy and bingo...
Boys, boys, boys...

167/365

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

166/365

KNOCK KNOCK
Found all my photos I took of "The Doors of Epcot."

May your troubles be less and your blessings be more... and nothing but happiness come through your door.

165/365

TAKE MY PICTURE
If he knew how to work his phone I think The Dad would be the king of selfies...  Instead, I take them. He was forbidden to choose Golden Corral for his birthday dinner tonight. He and George were sad about that.  ;-) We couldn't get away from the buffet, though..

Yes, we fashioned a scarf out of tissue paper so he could pose with the statues.

Janel was working so we stopped in to say hello...

And The Dad ended the night watching the fights upside down in his new sleeping bag.

I think he is 72... or maybe it's just 7... or 2...

He said he's going to sleep in the backyard tomorrow night in his tent.  I don't think the groundhogs are going to be happy with that.

HBD to The Dad and Happy Flag Day.

164/365

FYI:

163/365

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP

162/365

HEAR ME ROAR
Nice Sacred Grit talk on The Too Much Women tonight... Rebroadcast here.

161/365

MOM?  DAD?
I saw this on Pinterest.  I think the one in the left corner is a portrait of Paul's long lost parents!

160/365

ONE MAN'S JUNK
The Antiques on the Diamond in Ligonier was yesterday... It was a nice day - not very crowded - you could find a parking space easily. Well, easier than festival days...    I bought some cookbooks for The Dad. You know, because he doesn't have very many. ;-0  The street vendors had some nice stuff... a little expensive.

Look at this trio of awesomeness...

And these two... OMG.

I have been looking for one of these wheels forever... Why did you have to be $365.00? FYI - You look spectacular over the imaginary mantle in my head.

We walked by the Fireman's Auction when we parked and went to it after lunch... people were surrounded by all their purchases... some things were going for 50 cents... like big pieces of furniture and stuff... It was amazing.

Ted got golf clubs for $1.00 and Chrissy got a bin of Christmas stuff for $5.00... because, you know, just like The Dad with cookbooks - she needed more Christmas stuff and another bin.

And I got a a little bench and sewing machine that's probably older than me... $5.00.

There was a really nice vanity and mirror that went down to $1.00.  No one got it.  It needed refinished but all I saw was it looking fine in turquoise paint.  I would have gotten it but we ran out of room in the car.  It broke my heart... when the bid closed and no one got it - it went right into the dumpster!!!

159/365

SHE'S GOT A TICKET TO RIDE
The 4th Annual Ride to Remember was today for the late Penn Hills Police Officer Michael Crawshaw... we heard the loudest noise ever and thought a plane was landing on then house... it was just a bazillion bikes going by. There was a really good looking orange one with a side car I think Lily wanted to hop into!

158/365

READ ME A STORY
Susannah Conway is doing a book giveaway over on her blog... I'm a bit of a book whore. I actually have over half of the ones on the giveaway list and I can say they are worth the read. Check them out!
Enter soon - closing date is in a couple days.

What was your favorite book from childhood?

157/365

HELLO STRANGER
After a really, really long time I finally got the Xterra back... I'm not sure how long it's going to stay running... I'm still a little hesitant to pull into a parking space. I still hold my breath as to whether it's going to start or not. I went to visit Glo and backed in... I'm always preparing for the possibility of getting towed!

156/365

CLASS OF...

Tonight was Janel's graduation night...

As the kids were walking out to the field and giving their speeches and receiving their diplomas you saw the same people... They had the same valedictorian... they had the same fabulous one... they had the same lovable nerd that all the girls cheered for... they had the same guy that stopped in the middle of the field and did a little dance... they had the same party girl that threw her arms up in the air while she received her high honor cords... I saw "Denise" and "Scott" and I think I heard "Andy Kim" give the valedictorian speech... There was the girl that never wore heels in her life and decided to go with 4 inch ones that day and ended her school career falling on her face... I don't think she got the memo that it was all about the wedge! ;-)

After the ceremony we went out on the field and I was taken right back to this... MY high school graduation.

It was the same night - just 24 years later.

The speeches were the same... humor and nostalgia... family and friends... hope and inspiration.  Wise young words to do what makes you proud and be proud of what you do. Talk of how everyone can be a genius - in art, music, sports - not just grades. Remember, your past is not your potential. There was honest melancholy acknowledging the fact that the people that were with you the last four years may not be with you the next four years - the pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again... We heard quotes from Charles Dickens and Thomas Edison and Dr Seuss ... words to inspire and excite and guide.

The weather cooperated for the most part... there was a good amount of sun and some dark clouds and a few rain drops. Kind of like life, I guess. Sun, clouds, rain and full of possibilities -  319 possibilities and then some.

Congratulations Class of 2013 and HAPPY GRADUATION DAY to our two favorite graduates... Janel and Sergio!!

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

~ Dr. Seuss

155/365

GARDEN OF MY HEART

154/365

RED LIGHT - GREEN LIGHT - YELLOW LIGHT - GO...
I don't even like ice cream. I can seriously never eat it again and be totally fine with it so I don't know why everything seems to revolve around ice cream these days... ;-) I don't even have a picture for this because we were taken so off guard by it but I feel like I have to document the weirdness. We were outside at the ice cream place on 286 - I don't even know the name of it - and we heard this strange noise. It sounded more like a chant of sorts..Katherine and I were kind of mesmerized by it.  With all the outside noise it took awhile to dissect the parts of what we heard. I don't know how long the traffic light was but it seemed like it was forever.  We finally discovered it was a man on a motorcycle who was stopped on the road at the red light... he kept saying - please don't let her die over and over - the entire length of the light. He finally went on his way and we spent awhile brainstorming what was going on... Was he trying to get to the hospital before his mother took her last breath?  Was he rushing to the emergency vet?  Did he just run someone over and was fleeing the scene?  We are never going to know. I really hope she didn't die.

153/365

COME AND MEET THOSE DANCING FEET...
The Glo-worm has been putting up a good fight about not going on any excursions at the nursing home. They have a lot of trips - lots of plays, monthly trips to the casino, Dunkin' Donuts, Walmart, they are going to a strawberry festival and Glen's this month...  She says she is fine in her room - just sitting there.  She doesn't want to do anything with those "old people" and is fine how she is.  The activities people have been trying to get her to do more and thought that if I went with her to something it would get the ball rolling.  I signed up to be a volunteer so I could ride the bus with them (hello nausea) to see 42nd Street at the Benedum.

I was feeling a little nostalgic. I don't know if it was the locale or the vision of the lovely and talented Joey Fatone that did it but I thought of something... not too long ago I was cleaning up Over 2 at Dixon House... for those of you that don't know - that's what we affectionately called the third floor because that's the term they used in the listing for it... anyway, I was cleaning out the file cabinets and came across the (many) playbills from all the shows we went to - here, NYC, Vegas, Toronto... we had two of everything. We decided to get rid of the duplicates.  Why did we need two?

I guess I should have kept them. ;-(

Anyway, Glo had a really good time... she remembered some of the songs and was singing along and every time a girl came on stage with a fancy dress she would put her hands up to her face like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.  It was pretty funny. We got back on the bus and I asked her if she liked it and she gave me a wink and said - when's the next one?  Mission accomplished.