A Visit by Ben

Nothing really interesting has been going on here. True, Ben and his friend Patrick did come to see me at the CK on Monday. He asked me if I was going to blog about his visit and I said I was. So Ben and Pat came by the restaurant and were making faces at me through the window. I waved and continued my duties. They decided to hop on in and say hello. I told them to sit down and I'd come say hi when I was down at the counter. Ben admitted he had no money- only 26 cents. I waved off his comment and said I'd be there in a minute. I ended up buying the boys a drink and each a piece of chocolate. I offered them fries or a chocolate. (Nice sister, I didn't give 'em much of a choice. But hey, I didn't want to spend all the money I earned before I even left work.) They each chose a chocolate from the case- Pat, a pecan caramel patty, and Ben, tongue-twister, cumdinger, hali-o-whoozit. And the boys even left me a tip when they left! That was the best part.

Louis has Company

Well, I threw away that potato, and what do I get? Louis invites the whole neighborhood over to have a party. He's such a rebellious boy, I don't know what to do....

Okay, so he didn't really do any of that. He's a cat, right? But it was rather funny the other day when the neighbor cat, Charles, came to visit. He sat on the front porch and he and Louis just looked at each other throught he window. Louis really wanted to go out and play. But he can't beacause he's a inside cat. And Charley couldn't come in. So they just looked. They've done this sort of thing before. Louis used to sit on the window sill inside, and one day Charley jumped up on the outside sill and they sat there as close as they could get, on either side of the window pane. It was really cute. What makes it even funnier, is that they look exactly the same. Charley's owners once thought that we were taking him away when we took Louis to my parent's house one day. It's fun having the "same" cat. Both black with a little white on their chest.

I bet you guys think I'm crazy blogging about my cat... Boy, what's next?

A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut...

Anybody want some pizza? It's ready and waiting!

A Potato for a Friend

The other night, while we were sitting in the living room, Louis came through with a new toy. I had left a potato on the counter the night before, and guess who found it? He walked right by with the helpless spud in his mouth. Louis dropped the potato on the floor and began batting it around as if it were a mouse. I wish I could've gotten a picture of the potato in his mouth, but he walked by too quickly. We found it rather funny that a cat would choose a potato to play with. But then again, he is often carrying off my things. Hairclips, hair bands, garlic, slippers and now a potato. Someday he'll have to learn that what is on the counter is to stay on the counter and not to be played with.

My Past (hiccup) Week Load

Well, I'm sure no one wants to hear boring relations of my past week. But, TOO BAD!

Last Saturday I went to the mall with Mom and Hannah. We bought some clothes. That evening Adam and I went to the Olive Garden for Jim's "un-birthday." We had the waitresses sing Jim happy birthday, which was really great and made us laugh.

On Sunday, after church in the morning, Adam and I went to the Erie County Fair. I really enjoyed the time spent with Bob and Joann. We saw lots of fat pigs, a few pretty horses, fuzzy bunnies, big boats and old fire engines, wood carvings, craft exhibits, a parade, a model home, a home made inside of a Giant Redwood tree, a really tall swing, dancing Indians, old fashioned candy, a Polish exhibit (where the guy was really paranoid that I was going to break one of the stackable dolls he had for sale) and lots and lots of people. All in all in was a very nice day. And we had ice cream.

Monday I went back to work after two weeks off. I also found out that a girl I work with, Peg, who was vacationing in Europe (during the time that the restaurant was closed), was on one of the planes that the terrorists were going to blow up two Thursdays ago. She came back to work with all kinds of stories about that day. Praise the Lord that the authorities caught the terrorists before anything could happen.

Tuesday was also a normal work day, with the exception of Peggy telling all the customers of her over sea adventures. When you work at a restaurant, of course everyone is going to want to hear the story.
In the evening, we went to my parents house for dinner and then to Dave's house for Bible study. The time spent with my family studying God's Word is always a blessing.

I did something different on Wednesday and went teaching. I like to spend time with the kids that I teach, only lately I've just been going on Fridays. So this week I got to go twice. Coe, who is the oldest, is planning a special evening for his parents anniversary next week. I'm kinda like his cohort, because I'm aiding and abetting his plans. It's fun. Teaching is going very well, although I might be done soon. The girl who is going to teach over the next school year is coming back into town soon, so I might have to say good-bye in the next couple of weeks. But, I think, I will still visit once in a while. :)
I managed to make in home Wednesday evening, in time to make homemade pizza for dinner. Yum.

Thursday was more work. It was very slow this week at work. Hopefully it is just because it was the first week reopened and people thought we were still closed. I hope it's not cause they are mad at us for changing our hours from 6-8 to 6-3. Some people aren't very pleased, but I don't see why that should affect our lunch crowd. Next week will be busier.

Friday was more teaching. We must finish our books before the end of the summer! This time I brought some more books from the library. Only these ones were about frogs and bees. Requests of Joe and Noami. They all love library books. I even brought a story book called "The Red Balloon". I had to read that one twice, once on Wednesday and again on Friday. Rebecca and Katherine liked that one a lot. My siblings and I used to watch a movie when we were little called "The Red Balloon" and the book was based on that movie.
Friday evening, my parents came over for dinner. We had thought about going out for dinner, but I have had a hankering for staying home this week (could you see why with last weeks schedule?), so we had bbq chicken and corn on the cob. Yum. And Mom brought fresh veggies from the garden. (Actually I ate a cucumber not too long ago and am suffering from hiccups ever since!) We had a very nice visit and some good fellowship. We ended the evening with a trip to Brusters for ice cream.

Today I woke up late. Which was frustrating, but I think worked out best in the long run. See I had made plans to go visit Elisabeth and Carissa out in Wolcott (actually at the beach, but it was raining so we changed plans), but I had to vacuum the hallways at church before that. I raced about looking for clothes, hopped in the shower and ran off to the church. The only other people there had just finished their jobs, so that left me, alone, at the church. I expected to see my Mom, because she always cleans the Sunday School rooms, but she must've already come and gone. So I vacuumed away by myself. (These hiccups have me going mad!!!) By the time I was finished it was 11:20, so I hopped in the car, stepping in a huge puddle on the way and soaking my feet. I stopped at The CK on the way to get a breakfast croissant. I was hungry, afterall I didn't eat breakfast in the morning. Carissa called me while I was there saying she had to go to Pennyan with her Mom, so we shouldn't come over. So I ended up just hanging out with Elisabeth. Which was fine with both of us. Afterall, we have been friends since we were 10 and sometimes it's nice just the two of us. So Liz and I had to think of something to do. We ended up going to the outlet mall to go clearance shopping. Elisabeth came home with nothing and I came back with a baby outfit for a girl at church and a black shirt for work. I did try on some really cute sailor pants (which fit great) at Banana Republic, but I had gone shopping last week already, and who wants to spend $33.00 on pants? It was fun anyway and we got some good excerise. After that, we stopped at a little family restaurant for a BLT and some coffee. Then I did a little aiding and abetting for dear little Coe, dropped off Liz at home and went home myself. Adam had Jim over for steak and a little TV and that is where you will find us right now. Isn't that nice?

Anyone know where I can find a book of Sudoku puzzles? I really enjoy doing those. I finished one yesterday for the first time. I had brought the Living section of the paper home from work on Thursday, just so I could do the puzzle.

Relations of a Week

Hullo. As it is now Tuesday, I don't feel quite right going to too much explanation of what excitement happened last week. But a bit of a blow through of the week doesn't hurt.

Last Week: Part 1 (Tuesday)

Last Tuesday was a nice day in which I had nothing formal planned other than attending the family Bible study at my brothers house. This made the day very nice for things such as washing clothes and hanging them on the clothesline, going grocery shopping and cleaning the bathroom. All of which I did... except maybe clean the bathroom, I cannot now remember. Wegmans is my favorite place for groceries. I also like Aldi, but I did not go there.

Part 2 (Wednesday)

On Wednesday I met my Grandparents at the nursing home, and we sang to the residents and my Grandfather had a mini Bible study. He's been doing this sort of thing for over 30 years. I used to go with him quite often but hadn't been in ages. Afterwards, I went home with them and visited with my Grandma for a bit. We shared some lunch and after a while I went home. I made some dinner for my hubby and then went to church.

Part 3 (Thursday)

Thursday morning, I woke up bright and early to go to Grandma's house. She had inadvertently planned too much for herself that morning and had arranged to meet with someone about some problems they were having with their health insurance. The thing was that my young cousins were all going to be at my grandparents as their mothers were working that day. So Grandma had asked me if I would be willing to come stay at her house while her and Grandpa were out for a couple hours. The six of us cousins had a grand time playing together. The all-time favorite thing was playing with the playmobile house. This can get out of hand sometimes, especially when playing with two 11 year old boys. Watch out! After my Grandparents came home I met my Dad at Bill Gray's for lunch. It's always nice having lunch with Dad.
In the afternoon, I drove out to my friend Carissa's for a good visit. When I arrived she wasn't home yet, so I also ended up having a nice visit with her Mom. I like her Mom. After a while, when Carissa was home, everyone else was gone. So she and I made potatoes and broccoli for dinner (I brought the broccoli- organic from the Public Market!) and then we drove out to Auburn. She had to go to Walmart and to Loews to buy paint. I helped her buy paint because she was afraid of what colors to buy. So I encouraged her. Then we had to go home. It was good to see Carissa.

Part 4 (Friday)

Friday was also cool because I got to go to Fort Erie, Ontario with Mom, Ben and Hannah. My Grammanita was in Fort Erie visiting a friend. She lives in Nova Scotia, and since she was as close as she was, we took the opportunity to go visit. I got to drive there. All the way through Buffalo, and through customs and everything. Cool, huh? (On a side note, my neighbors are fighting at the moment. Not cool.) When we got there, we found they weren't expecting us yet. But they didn't seem to mind too much, as long as they could talk us into staying for dinner that evening. Which they somehow did. Anyway, while we were there we went to the cemetary to see graves of relatives, to Mah Way's Chinese restaurant (compliments of Gail), to the old Fort Erie where the war of 1866 was fought (or something like that), to the Ridgeway Battlefield Museum, down Teal Rd., and to another cemetary where my Great Grandparents were buried. Then we went to a store to find Aero bars. They don't sell those in the U.S. But they should. Back at Gail's house, we helped prepare for dinner. Which was tasty. Right after we ate, we started home. It was 8:00 and we still a couple hours of driving ahead. But it was worth the drive to see my dear Gramma.

Okay, I'm tired of relating last week at the moment. You probably are too.

Monday: RMSC

On Monday this week, Ben, Hannah, Mom and I went to the RMSC. We got to get in free because of Adam's work. The mastodon exhibit was quite "cool". I didn't know that skeletal remains of a mastodon were found in Avon, NY. That was real neat. Just imagine, mastodons and wooly mammoths walking the earth right here where we stand today! How cool is that. But, the dinosaur/fossil/ancient animals section wasn't my favorite of the museum. I really liked the third floor where they had miniature towns and life like rooms of 19th century Rochester. It was like walking back in time. So many old artifacts and things. Did you know that in the 19th-early 20th century, Rochester held one of the leading button making facilities in the states? I never even knew Rochester made buttons! But I really loved the time capsle on the second floor. In 1873 the citizens of Rochester put together a time capsle and had it buried in the wall of the city hall inside a copper box. It was opened in 1999, and inside was many artifacts which looked almost brand new. There were newspapers, Masonic papers and pamphlets, records of different sorts, books (which looked brand new- real cool), and an old Bible- to name a few. It was like looking into the past, which is what a time capsle is meant to be like. There was even a letter to the future mayor of Rochester (now the past mayor). It was such a beautiful letter, filled with hopes and dreams of a citizen, but most importantly a testimony, a man pointing his finger. Pointing to the Savior. Telling the citizens to prepare their hearts to meet their Maker. I can't remeber exactly what he said, so you'll have to go and read it for yourselves. But make sure that you're prepared to meet Jesus. Will He say,"Well done, good and faithful servant" or will He say, "Depart from Me, I never knew you"? Make sure that you have a relationship with the One who can give you real life. That is what the man in the letter was saying. And I too, tell you to come to Jesus, the One who will love you no matter what, and cleanse you and give you a fresh start. Who will be there to help you, as long as you lean on Him and only Him. He is my friend, He can be yours too.

So, Monday was a nice trip to the museum. I hadn't been in a while. And hey, when you can get in for free, why not go?

A Fancy Saturday and A Hillbilly Sunday

Ah, for a moment I can relax. Nothing to do for at least another 1/2 hour. I suppose that's not true as I could get up and go get the clothes off the line and iron Adam's works shirts. But hey, that can wait...

I haven't blogged a lot this week because of all the great, wonderful things that have been going on. I shall start at Sunday. No wait, last Saturday....

Last Saturday, after spending the previous night at my parents with my siblings, Adam and I (and Adam's mother, Joanne) sped off to Tonawanda to attend our cousin Jennifer's wedding. That's what the "all the happy people" picture is about. It was a medium sized wedding in a nice-looking, old church. The bride was lovely in her white satin gown, all done up with beads. And everyone looked just smashing. The ceremony, though religious, seemed rather long. Maybe it was because in all their religion, the personal touch of my Savior appeared to be lacking. Prayers were read out of a book, scripture readings were selected out of several provided to choose from (one including the book of Tobias) and there was a chance for all to go forward to take communion and be blessed by the priest. In all their religiousness, the Holy Spirit was lacking. A true relationship with Jesus Christ was not what was being sought. But despite of this, it was a nice wedding and everyone was encouraged to strive and keep Jenn and her husband, Brian, committed to one another, forsaking all others, to keep their vows for life. I found that very striking, that the priest held each one present accountable for keeping Jenn and Brian together.
The reception was also very pretty, but not too much fun. We didn't sit with anyone we knew (except for Joanne) although Adam's cousin Bobby came over to talk with us. And we did have fun with Garrett. The food was tasty and Uncle Ken and Aunt Sandy made for good conversation. The cake had creamy filling and was made with three different square layers. Pretty cool looking. We didn't do any dancing because we left shortly after they started. I always enjoy seeing Adam's side of the family. I wish they lived closer.

On Sunday, after church, Adam and I went out again. Only this time we went with Bob, Joanne and Andy to the Grizzly Festival near Nunda. We usually buy meat from Grizzly's Meat sumpin'or other and they throw festivals in the summer, like the Lumberjack Festival and the Grizzly Festival. So Bob, my father-in-law, had heard about this festival and really, really wanted to go. (He's the one who's really enjoying the chicken to the left.) Sounded fun to me. Craft sales, tractor pulls, the works. Talk about hill billies. It was pretty cool... a chain saw artist, a bandsaw mill demonstation (Dad woulda liked that), a home town type auction and good food all in one place. At the auction, they sold two little oinkers. (Seen in the picture to the right.) This one guy kept buying all the stuff. Wasn't very fair. He must've had a big pocketbook. I bought two BIG things of sprinkles. No one was bidding, so I got them for $1.00. What a bargain... although they had started melting 'cause it was so hot. Oh well, still good for cookies. Who wants to come over and help me bake?

As for the rest of my week, you must wait for that. This post is too long as it is.

MISSING: Small Black Cat

Okay, so he's not really missing. He actually is quite found. Anyway, this morning I woke up to the cry of "Mero-o-o-ow," Mero-o-o-ow." It sounded far away. I sat up in bed and said to Adam, "Where's Louis? I think he's crying." The time was just after 7 o'clock. I hopped out of bed and began to think. I hadn't seen Louis when I got home late last night. While Adam checked out in the living room and around the house I went to the basement. "Louis, Louis." I looked up in the rafters in the basement, but I didn't see him. I opened the basement door (which led to outside... there are two doors there: a big heavy one which locks and another wooden slat door which flaps in the wind 'cause I can never get it closed) and peeked through. There was Louis looking a little lost and moist from spending all night outside. He was peeking into the basement from behind the "flapping in the wind door." "Oh, Louis. There you are." He must've slipped out yesterday morning when I left to go with my Mom to Fort Erie. Good thing he didn't wander away too far. Busy roads, weird neighbors, big bugs and wild animals. You never know what might carry a small cat off into the abyss of the unknown. He ought to stick around home for a while, where it's safe.

Jenga Blocks

These pictures tell a story... Can you tell who won?








































































Uh-oh. Looks like someone knocked over the tower...

A Week of Visits

Well, I had another busy week last week. I started with visiting my friend Stephanie (see picture to the left) in Binghamton. I made the three hour (almost) drive last Monday, all by myself and without getting lost. I hadn't seen Steph since last November as she couldn't make it for my wedding and hadn't had the time to go see her in between then and now. We met at O.B.C. when I was ten and we have been friends ever since. We managed to have a nice visit together despite myself being a little under the weather. I even got to meet her boyfriend, Stephen. He's quite the character ;)

My week didn't stop after I returned home on Wednesday. Thursday I stopped by Mom and Dad's house and spent the afternoon there. Friday, after teaching my pupils for the morning, I was back at Mom and Dad's. They were going away for the weekend and Adam and I were going to spend the night with my brothers and sister. My brother's nieces were also there for a while because my Mom babysits them. Alysa and I spent some time together wandering the backyard, vacuuming the dining room and my car, and making fudgy brownies. We made a good team.
I also had the privledge of making dinner for my siblings. After looking through the cupboards and a quick run to the store for some cheese, I began making a masterpiece. My very first lasagna ever. Mom had these cool no-boil lasagna noodles in her cupboard and they worked really well. I must say I was quite impressed with my first lasagna. A little sauce, a little meat, some zucchini (sliced thin), a bit of ricotta cheese and mozarella, and some more sauce. And noodles all layered between. Mmm, good. Eventually Adam came home from work and we commenced playing a good game of Duck Hunt with the Nintendo I had bought from a garage sale earlier that week. We also played Jenga and Mario. It was nice spending the evening with Hannah. Ben had gone off to Juniors at church, so we didn't get to spend much time with him, although we did have the whole morning the next day. I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast, which weren't as good as if Dad had made them. But I have time to perfect that, right?
I'm really glad that Mom and Dad were able to celebrate thier 25th anniversary and have some time away all by themselves.