A Perfect Memorial Day Weekend

What a beautiful 4 days we had leading up to & including Memorial Day! I can't remember when we had such warm, sunny weather for that many days on a Memorial Day weekend!

It was a busy time leading up to the weekend. On Thursday morning I met my sister, Romayne, at the cemetery to plant flowers on each of our relatives graves. She is so loyal at carrying on the tradition of the family of doing this. God Bless her! Bill & I went over on Sunday afternoon to give them a shot of water & those darn little critters had ate all of my rose bush blossoms off my miniature rose bush I planted & broke off several of the flowers we planted! Now I think I understand why so many people use artificial flowers!

The rhododendron in front of our trailer was at it's peak over the weekend. (Rain last evening made it look rather glum this morning). This picture was taken on Thursday, so it came out more during the weekend.
The pansies & petunias are starting to mature a little more. It takes a little time, loving care & some Miracle Gro!
A little breeze to show off our colors - American & Navy. Thank you Son for your service! God be with you & your shipmates.
On Saturday, Papa wanted to take the boys to the Russell, PA Fireman's Jubilee Parade. It was full of fire trucks, short & great. Not too long for little ones to sit & get impatient. Afterward we went to the Chicken BBQ. Yummy for the tummy. Of course, Nick didn't want chicken, so he had a hot dog & was as happy as a lark with that. But....Papa bought an extra dinner so at least Nick could have a dessert. Yup, chocolate cake was the choice of the day for those 3 boys! Grandma had a brownie with nuts!
Praise! Fellowship passed out red, white & blue balloons. We didn't loose them either.
The first of several trucks, rescues & ambulances.
I love the sign - but the music???? Naw, not like I remember roller skating! The old Russell Roller Rink (where Bill & I met & skated a couple times a week), burnt many years ago & has been replaced with a newer version on a different site. By newer version I mean......no wooden floor & no organ music. I'm not sure what they call "skating" anymore. I think it's more movement of the body parts & not the feet! LOL
Fire Rescue
Soap Box Derby - These boys are a former co-workers kids. Okay, we have to have a John Deere, after all, this is "country" that we live in.
The young man in the red shirt is another friend of ours' son, Mr. Dart. I'm not going to put a name as I can't remember!
On our way down to pick up the boys on Sat. morning to go to the parade, we drove down our old street in N. Warren. Bill had told me when he came by the other day, the Amish were cutting down the 3 big pine trees in front of our former neighbor's house. It looks sooooo different. The corner fence & flag pole was our former front yard. Looking down State St.
Swanson's (formerly Nicholson's) & Swartz's. Some BIG houses in our old neighborhood!
Monday dawned a bright & beautiful day. A tradition for us, if we are back from AZ in time, is to attend the Memorial Day services at my old childhood church & then proceed to the cemetery for the American Legion's program there.

This is my cousin Ruth & her hubby Jim's car, decorated for the procession.Renee & her 2 boys in front of my childhood church. The boys were so funny once we got inside & sat down. They said, "where are the rooms"? The only "room" addition from when I was a child is the room to your left. Think about it - we didn't have indoor plumbing! We used to have to go "out back" & you know where. This little church still does not have running water, so you know the facilities are "chemical"! Of course, the boys had to try it out before the service was over! Probably more out of curiosity than need!
Noah by the sign.
It was a little hard to get good pictures inside because of all the heads & the lighting, but I wanted to get a picture of Cleora reading the Honor Roll of those veterans who are buried in our little country cemetery. She has done this for many, many years. A tradition carried on from her family, as her mom used to do this. Thanks, Cle.
Most of the program is music & readings. This lovely young lady sang acapella - what a beautiful voice & what talent Ms. Cass.
Here my cousin, Mary, is announcing the next song for all to sing & Betsy D. is accompanying on the piano, with my brother (hard to see except a little of his head by the piano) on the drums. This is the same piano I played for many years as the church's pianist, until Bill & I married & moved to N. Warren & joined the Presbyterian Church there. Betsy's dad sang at our wedding. A voice that compares to no other & is sadly missed each year.
Outside everyone gathers & receives a flag from Cleora to walk to the cemetery. The gentleman in the wheelchair on the left is the pastor of the church, Rev. Rhodes. I'm not sure if the other is a brother or a son. The gentleman in the tie, is Mr. Bill Cass, judge & speaker of the day.
Still some very able bodied walkers. A lot of the older generation now ride/drive to the cemetery. My daughter Renee, on the far left. Grandma & the boys are hiding from the camera.
Getting ready for the service at the Fentonville Cemetery.
Gun salute. The field behind the car & little tool barn belonged to my dad. I remember that hay, oat & corn field for many years. If you click on the picture, I think you can see the old hand pump just to the left of the tool barn. This is how we water the flowers at the cemetery. My parents are buried to the right of the POW-MIA flag with the red & white cross in the front of the stone.
This is my oldest brother's grave. R.I.P. & Thank You.
The horses across from the cemetery come running up to the fence to listen in & give their respect also.
From past to present - My son, Mark, aboard the USS Cole, somewhere off the coast of Africa. Thank you son, for your 18+ years of service to our country. We are proud of you!
This is one of the pictures taken on the ship & posted on their Face Book group. Here he is trying out his new camera. Doesn't like it as it has too many automatic features he says & the flash quit working. I love his crazy hat! But it certainly looks just like him! Miss ya son.
This is one of the pictures he took with the camera. Not much scenery on a ship other than ocean, coastline & sunsets. That's what he likes - he doesn't take pictures of other people very often. He's a nature lover.
We spent the afternoon enjoying a picnic with Renee, Tom, & the boys & campground owners, Becky & Randy. Renee & Nick went to the pool, Tom & I took Noah (who doesn't like the pool) to the creek to play. We weren't there very long & it began to get black & thunder, so it cut our "play time" short. It didn't rain for quite awhile....more noise than rain. We eventually did get some & had to come inside. Just enough to wet everything.

After the kids left, Bill & I watched a Hallmark movie, then he showered & went to bed & I watched another one.

Today Bill had an appointment to get his hair cut but when he got ready to go he couldn't find his keys so he was going to take mine. Well, he found them........in the truck, in the ignition, with it turned on!!!!! He put the windows up yesterday afternoon when it was going to rain & forgot to take them out. Yup, you guessed it.......dead battery!!! He was so mad at himself he went for a walk. After Tuesday coffee, he got someone to jump the truck so he is off to get his hair cut. I think senility has set in - for both of us! Can't remember anything, nor where we put it!

Until next time..............The Traveling Cardinal's

A New Week

Well, the birthday party went off without a hitch. Except, we forgot candles. Renee & Jen made a quick trip to the store & the problem was solved. How can you forget candles for making birthday wishes with???? The weather started out great on Friday morning & got cloudier as the day went on, but NO RAIN! We made it through with a great fire & lots to eat & didn't get wet.

Here's Nick waiting to open his presents.
Noah went over & gave his big brother a big hug & said "I love you Nick, Happy Birthday". It was so sudden & quick & cute. I couldn't get a picture when he did it, so had to have them pose. Love my boys!
Everything was "Iron Man". Lots of Iron Man toys.
Of course Noah had to get a couple little guys to play with too.
Grandma didn't do too bad doing an Iron Man - thank you Google & Coloring Books. One thing about this one, once I got it drawn, I could fold it in half & cut it out so both sides looked the same! LOL I broke my new hand mixer making the frosting though. That's what I get for having 2 households & leaving the other one in Arizona! Nick looks like he was a happy boy.
Today I went out for breakfast with 2 of my girlfriends that were my former neighbors. We had a great time. Then we went walking around Warren & I found a long evening gown for one of the events for next season at our park. I think I'll need a lot of coaching to get involved, but what the heck. That's what old age is for. Who cares if we make a fool of ourselves at this age!?! The dress is really pretty & it was fun having girlfriends with while I tried it on. It was a 2nd hand store & I got a bargain for twenty bucks! Too bad I don't have some place special to wear it in the mean time! This was something I never got to do when I was a teen. Only one prom - borrowed my sister-in-laws bridesmaids dress; one wedding & I made my own dress! Always missed the trying on. Oh yes, I did do it for Renee's wedding, but I was by myself & it's always more fun with friends. Especially when it's a "cheap" store!

Today Tom had an interview for a job at Blair as a fork lift operator (just what he wanted & did before) at 2pm so Renee wanted to know if we could pick up the boys from school. We said sure. The boys had spent the weekend with us too. They still were excited when I picked them up. Tom was there when we got home & was talking with Bill. He got the job!!!!! Hurray!!! I'm so glad for both of them. Renee's is only 30 hrs. a week, but that's good for now & Tom's is full time & benefits after 90 days! Praise God. God is Good!

When the kids moved into their new house they couldn't get their queen size box springs up the stairs, so today Dad & I bought them a split set of box springs. Didn't think we'd ever get Renee upstairs to look! Tom told her I was after the boys to change their clothes when they came home from school, so she should go upstairs & change her clothes after work. She thought we were nuts, but she finally went up there. She was really surprised! They've been sleeping on the mattress on the floor.

So now Mom can sleep at night too knowing that things are working out. When do Mom's ever quit worrying about there kids????? NEVER!

Until next time..............The Traveling Cardinal's

Waiting for Birthday Party

Again, I'm a bit behind!

Last Saturday night was the Frewsburg H.S. Prom. This is the owner of our campground's son, Ryan, all decked out & ready to go pick up his date. Pretty handsome guy. He could model for Golf Pro! He looks "more at home" with the golf club his hand! I haven't talked to him this week to see if he had a good time or not. We didn't get to see his date as she was running behind at the beauty salon. You know, it's a "girl thing"!
This is a picture of my little garden. Really it's part of the campground, I just plant flowers around it & put my stuff in it & call it mine. I take care of it, so I guess it's a "shared" garden. Besides, it gives me a chance to pull a little weeds now & then so I don't miss my old home so much. I love flowers, so always like to have a little color around the trailer too.
The flags fly just as nice here as in Arizona. This picture has the US Navy flag flying. Since my son, Mark, is deployed, I said I'd fly that flag for those 7 months, then go back to "We Support Our Troops" flag. I think we have to buy another flag pole for AZ. Hmmmmm....I don't want to cart that back & forth!
Sunday afternoon we went to my nephew David's for his son's 16th birthday. Happy Birthday Justin. Some of the dining room furniture (buffet, lamp, china closet you can't see, table & one chair on the end) belonged to my mom. Nice to see them being used by family.
Tuesday evening we got a call from my girlfriend, MaryAnn, saying they had an accident right up the road by our campground, could we come up & visit with them while waiting for police. We said sure thing. A girl stopped for the stop sign, but then pulled out & hit them as they were traveling from Jamestown to Warren. Good thing he wasn't about 100 ft. farther or she would have T-Boned him. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the other girl's car was in much worse shape. Also, thankfully she was just pulling from the stop sign.

MaryAnn & Dan's car.
This week has been busy. My sister & I went shopping for wall paper for her kitchen. Found some, but was too dark so she took it back & she got some other lighter paper. Next week I'm going to help her get that done.

Wednesday I had lunch with 6 of my co-workers from WSH that have all retired. We had a great time. Yes, I took my camera & left it sitting on the kitchen floor the whole time. Found it when I was ready to leave! Can't wait for us all to get together again.

Tonight, Friday, we are waiting for Renee & family & her friends to come for a birthday party for our grandson who turned 7 today. Grandma had to make his birthday cake today. He wanted Iron Man on it. Well, now Grandma is way out of it. Thankfully, I could Google it, & he had a coloring book so we got a pretty good cake out of that. I'm glad he said just the mask/face would be good. I'll post pictures after we have the party & I download them.

We've been getting reports from friends in Oklahoma about all the tornadoes they've had & the hail. I'm sure glad I'm in NYS.

Our friend, Sandy, who has had so many pancreatic problems has been cleared by her doctor in AZ & will be traveling home to NYS tomorrow morning. We will be praying for safe travels & no problems with her health as she travels.

Tomorrow is our daughter Renee & husband Tom's 11th Anniversary. So we are babysitting after the party tonight until Sunday morning. I hope they have a great day & weekend. And many more years to celebrate too.

Right now the sky looks awful iffy. It's been cloudy all afternoon so I hope any rain holds off until after our party & wiener roast.

Want to welcome new followers "Celebrating 20" to our blog. They are planning a trip to celebrate their 20 years of marriage with a family trip to Alaska. Welcome Aboard Eric & Diana.

I also updated our Rig's picture. This is our current location - Hidden Valley Campground, Kiantone, NY.

Until next time..............The Traveling Cardinal's

A Must Watch

I just received this email from my niece, Deb. It's a must watch!

Meet_a_real_Cowboy.wmv

Another Week Has Passed

I haven't stayed up to date since we arrived at our summer campground so I thought I'd better download my pictures & get caught up.

This picture was taken 22 miles before Erie, PA on our way home. Man, I look forward to seeing these signs. Since it was Sunday (I always think I deserve a good home cooked meal on that day) & what better way than to not have to cook it ... Cracker Barrel here we come. That means we have to unhook for the night, but that's okay, we need bread & milk & if our friends, Ron & Barb, are home, we will drop in for a visit after we have our early supper.
We found our campground, Camp Eriez, in Lake City, just outside of Erie, PA around 3pm. Got set up & unhooked. Weather was a little iffy, but we didn't get rain so that was good. So off we go to Cracker Barrel. Driving down Route 5 (closest to Lake Erie) we find many, many grape vineyards. (Tonight 05-11-10, we heard they got an awful frost & lost 20% of their crops). This is a common site all along the lake.
Interesting little barn.
We drive past Erie International Airport, known as the Tom Ridge Field. Tom Ridge being from Erie, PA was head of Homeland Security under our former president.
As always, we had a delicious meal & were stuffed. I've never gone away hungry from Cracker Barrel. It's my favorite place to eat. We gave Barb & Ron a call & they were home, so we stopped at the store & headed out to their home. A beautiful home. It borders on the woods on the back side & even though they are in a developed community, it looks like you are out of town. Beautiful & big. Being a 5th wheel homeowner, it's way too big for me. I kind of like my "little home on wheels".

The next day we got up early to make sure we could get in to Boyer's to get our trailer inspected. I had emailed them over the weekend making sure they would get it as soon as they opened. Barb had checked with them to see if they could accommodate our size & since we were full timers they said no problem. Well, we called them at 8:05 - no answer. Called at 8:35 & Bill talked to them. They couldn't work us in until FRIDAY! What were we going to do in Erie for a week when we were only 1-1/2 hrs. from home??????? We said forget it. We called our normal place, Johnson's Tire Service in Weldbank/Clarendon, PA & they worked us in. Of course we had to take the old route 6 home, but that was okay. We had to wait awhile as there as a big "over sized load" came in with flat tires. They ended up changing all 8 of them. As I said in my earlier post, we made it to the campground by 3pm, which is our normal time for pulling off the road anyway. It was great to be home & the weather was perfect for getting set up. No rain! It was great to see Randy & Becky again. Love our spot! Thanks guys!

Renee, Nick & Noah came up & we enjoyed a fire & hot dogs. Great to see them! They were so excited. Since it was school the next day, we had to make our visit a little shorter than we wanted. Renee invited us for supper the next night. I was excited then 'cause I couldn't wait to see her new home in WARREN. Seems so good to have her close & in a small town environment.

This is our home town. (Well, actually, we used to live in North Warren, not Warren), but this was the city. Coming from the north into the city, this is the County Court House. The jail is attached to the back to the right of the picture.
This is looking kitty-corner across the street. I love the big white houses. The one on the left is the Women's Club & the next one is where I went to my OB/GYN downstairs & the kids went to their pediatrician upstairs. I'm not sure what is in the buildings now.
The next block is the Warren Presbyterian Church.
Across the street in the next block is the Conewango Club. It burnt a few years ago & has now been restored. They now have an elevator. When I made my friend's daughter's wedding cake, we had to carry it up the stairs. Do you know how heavy a wedding cake is?????
Now notice the beautiful scenery, then look at the traffic lights. We are in Warren, PA at the intersection of Market Street & Pennsylvania Avenue. Route 62, a truck route. Do you notice there is no left arrow to turn left????? Most streets in Warren have a "No Turn on Red" also! Now we've done a lot of traveling & this is one of the worst towns to drive through. We've finally decided it's because the United Refinery is here & they want you to burn all the gas & diesel you can sitting at a traffic light!!!
This is heading east from the intersection above. Looking across a little park aside of the old Bell Telephone Building.
This is Renee & Tom's little house on the east side of Warren. Not real big, but it is cute. They even have their own little front yard & a small back yard. Tom has worked his butt off taking out overgrown shrubs & an old tree. Our friend, Jamie, has helped them a lot with hauling the stuff away & helping them with a refrigerator. He was my son's best friend growing up & lived across the street from us in N. Warren. He has been a big help & we appreciate all he's done. He says it's payback for what we did for him when he was growing up.
This is Papa with Nick. Tom has fallen asleep & Noah is getting close. It's bedtime.
Noah giving Papa a hug goodnight.
We enjoyed our time visiting. Nick even helped Grandma with the dishes. He's a good worker. After dishes, Renee & I & the boys went for a walk to the football field & then to their school so they could show Grandma where they played at the playground.

We spent the rest of the week around the campground. I planted some flowers in my little garden, but I've had to cover them 2 nights because of frost. We've played cards with my sister & brother-in-law at their house. She gave me 2 tomato plants but I haven't planted them yet.

Sunday we woke up to cold & snow flurries. Yuck! But I had a great Mother's Day. Woke up to the phone ringing early. My son, Mark, called from the ship somewhere off the east coast of Africa. I was so surprised to hear from him. It was a great beginning to a great day. We met Renee & the boys for church in N. Warren & then Bill left to go to Clarendon VFD to pick up BBQ chicken dinners for everyone. We met at Renee & Tom's for dinner. It was nice not having many dishes. But again, Nick helped Grandma. He likes to gab as he works. He's so cute. Carrying on a conversation just like an adult.

The weather has been cold & rainy almost ever since we got here. The wind was bad over the weekend. It's suppose to give us a little break tomorrow, but then rain again in the evening & Thurs. & Fri. Maybe we'll get a good weekend. I shouldn't complain, at least we aren't having tornadoes like Oklahoma. They have had some really bad ones. My friend, Velda, sent me pictures of her hubby holding baseball size hail in his hands. Glad we got through that state!

Today we went to the first coffee & donut day at the campground. Held every Tues. morning at 8:30am. That's when we hear what's going on in the coming weeks. No, I didn't have a donut!!! If I'm not doing my Pilate's, I can't afford a donut!

This afternoon since it was raining, we took a ride to see my brother & sister-in-law, Ray & Barb, but they weren't home, so we came back & stayed in. Tonight we had company! Wow. Our old N. Warren neighbors, Peg & Frank, stopped in on their way back from Jamestown. It was good to catch up on news with them. I love it when we have people drop in. Makes me feel like we are still in a "community".

Looking forward to getting together with the girls I used to work with on the 19th. A big thanks to Toni, she got the wheels turning as soon as I hit town! Can't wait!

I guess I'm caught up. Time to put a lid on this rambling.

Until next time..............The Traveling Cardinal's