Birthdays!

I grew up in a large family with five other siblings, four sisters and one brother.  I never thought we were poor; since we had a roof over our heads and enough food to eat but there weren't funds for a lot of extras that weren't considered necessities. We learned early on what we could and couldn't ask for.

Birthdays were always a cause for celebration in our family and most always included my Dad's sister, Aunt F and her husband, Uncle B who were regular Wednesday and Sunday evening visitors to our home.  When each of us was deemed old enough to sit up at the dining room table and learn to play pinochle, we learned how to play and then were often recruited to take turns on Wednesday and Sunday evenings to be the fourth person in many games of pinochle.  Usually the birthday celebration was held on Sunday evening of the week where the celebrant's birthday fell so that Aunt F and Uncle B could join us for cake, ice cream and of course, pinochle.

The birthday party menu was always the same - homemade cake and a big 5 gallon tub of ice cream from Handy Market.  I can't remember the exact brand of ice cream in those big tubs but to me it was a delicious treat and it probably contributed to my life long love (and obsession) with ice cream.  I love all flavors except for peanut butter and if peanut butter is the only kind available, I've been known to dig in the container around the swirls of peanut butter to capture just the vanilla part.

When Mr P and I were first seeing each other, his birthday arrived.  When he came to visit that Sunday evening, there was cake, ice cream and because I was now working and earning my own money, a gift of a dress shirt and tie.  He was overwhelmed stating that his family never celebrated birthdays.  When OnlyDaughter was born, not only was there cake and ice cream but for many, many years my family was invited to partake with us and make the day special for her.  Once OnlyDaughter married and it was more difficult distance-wise to gather and share cake and ice cream, we took on the practice of always calling on the date to sing "Happy Birthday" and send our best wishes by phone.

Several years ago, a personal situation made my birthday a somewhat bittersweet occasion.  Because that was a sad day for me , I wanted the celebration to change and be different.  No more cake and ice cream; however, OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2 still called to sing (offkey) and send their best wishes by phone.  They also have to suffer and take their turn listening to our offkey singing on their special day.

It has taken me several years to decide that my birthday really is a happy day.  I have my health, everything I need to be comfortable and loads of family and friends who value me.  That said, this year's birthday was a very happy one!

The philosophy in my area at work has always been 'if it's your birthday, you supply the cake, etc.  I told the four people that I supervise that I would make their birthday treat this year as my gift to them, which I did making my first cheesecake ever for the last birthday for staff this year.  I mentioned earlier in the week at work that I would be bringing in a homemade pumpkin pie on Friday.  You know, a fall type, October type, dessert.

I was delightfully surprised at morning break when I went to set out the pie and Cool Whip to see that my staff had contributed goodies of their own.  From left to right is:  Cool Whip, homemade macaroni salad from J, my pumpkin pie, a nifty fruit creation from C, a cream puff cake from D and Auntie Anne pretzel bites with ham and cheese rolled inside also from J.  

Earlier in the week a box arrived from OnlyDaughter, OnlySonInLaw and Grandsons #1 and #2.  I waited to open it until the Big Day and opened it that morning before leaving for work. The cute card which noted the wish was for me to enjoy the contents of the box.

The package included a beautiful blue leather Filo Fax (planner) and tons of items to go along with it.
I set everything out on the table before leaving for work and was eager to get home in the evening to start checking everything out.  The large blue spotted tote is meant to house all the goodies in the boxes.

The smaller of the two boxes was chock block full of all kinds of "stuff" including stickers, note cards, colorful post-it type items, little bear clips, a large bear paper clip and oh so much more.  It has been like Christmas going through the box and ooohhhing and aaahhhing over everything.

Here is a close up shot of one of the sticker packets which OnlyDaughter said reminded her of the deer which are residents here at The Puddle Pond.  

The larger box contained inserts for the Filo Fax (2014 calendar, etc), a pencil pouch (on the left) and the colorful pouch (on the right) which was filled with lots and lots of washi tape.  I can hardly wait to use the washi tape with the pine trees on it with the deer stickums in the picture above.  There were colored erasable pens, other markers and chalk markers too.  

Here is a picture of some of the washi tape that was zipped up inside that most adorable bag.  I can't wait to get started writing, decorating and organizing.

Here is the beautiful blue leather Filo Fax planner.   The page dividers were handmade by OnlyDaugher (maybe with help from the boys?) and Grandsons #1 and #2 decorated the pages for the week of my birthday with stickers.  What a treasure!  Included in the back of the planner was a picture of each Grandson and a laminated drawing that each one made for me.  I am still sifting through everything and will have to include pictures as I use the planner and decorate the pages with all the goodies.

Mr P bought me a new Sonicare toothbrush that I had on my wish list and I received other gifts, cards and well wishes from family members and friends.  As I said, a good birthday.
It's cold here this weekend and there is a fire going in the woodstove.  The walk this morning at 6AM was walked under clear skies, a half moon and brilliant stars.
I purchased cotton yarn to make some fingerless gloves for OnlyDaughter who asked that they be made from cotton since she has had some problems with skin reactions to various things.  I will get started on the first pair this evening and can get help on Tuesday at the library if I need it.  I don't know how cotton yarn will work but we shall see.
 I  have laundry to take off the clothesline before trying to decide what to fix for dinner this evening.
Hope you are having a good weekend wherever you are.
I have some special news to post on or before November 2, 2013.

Happy Fall Y'all...

Fall has arrived in the midstate here in PA.  While in Myrtle Beach, SC, so much rain fell from Thursday through Friday of that week that there local flooding occurred in some small streams, on certain roadways that don't drain well and unfortunately in some folk's basements.  Fortunately there were no problems here at The Puddle Pond and the level of the water in The Puddle Pond rose dramatically.
The leaves on the trees also turned color and lots made their way to the ground while we were gone.
This year was the 98th Farmers Fair in the small town of Dillsburg.  As you can probably discern, the town creatively uses the dill aspect of their name.  On New Year's Eve, a large dill pickle is lowered much as New York City lowers the big ball every year.  There are also lots of events and food, most featuring dill pickles.
Now dill is my favorite fresh herb but deep fried dill pickles or dill pickle ice cream just don't sound all that appetizing to me and I have yet to try them.
Anyway, the picture below was taken on Saturday when a trip was made to check out the festivities at the fair.  The tents, and there were tons more that I didn't take a picture of, housed many, many craft booths. There was a display of antique and classic cars, tractors from years gone by, food, agricultural displays and crafts that are judged and several parades.


One of the long streets running through town served as a display area for classic and antique automobiles.  There was an unbelievable variety of vehicles.

I can't remember exactly what model this was but I loved the color and the rounded lines.

A Dodge pickup truck.  

A girlfriend for our VW, Peche.  Check out those eyelids!  Cute!

Haar's Drive-In Theater was mentioned in a post earlier this summer and here is their van.

Here's the full moon taken Sunday morning around 12:30PM.

Same glorious full moon when I returned from my Sunday morning walk at 7AM.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the trees that are almost bare of their leaves and all the leaves on the ground.

It's chilly here tonight and a wood fire has been started in the wood stove to keep the chill off the house.
Hoping you are having a good week wherever you are.

Last full day

Early morning pictures taken on our last AM walk.  We managed to pick up a few more shells during our morning walk.  I was not fortunate enough to find any sea glass which is all Grandson#2 asked me to get for him.  I did buy a bag of sea glass and will send some along to both Grandsons along with some shells.
 Beautiful sunrise, warm ocean water and friendly folks walking along as we were.

The dark objects on the water are pelicans that swam and dove for fish as we watched.

 

The fellows left early on this last full day to golf 18 holes at the Arrowhead Country Club.  I snapped this picture before J and I headed down to the pool to catch some sun and relax with a book.  

These clouds may looks ominous but they moved fast and never produced any rain.  We alternated between sunning ourselves and getting into the pool to cool off when we got too hot.  The guys joined us when they were finished with their round of golf.

 

Dinner consisted of a variety of dishes to use up the leftovers from the week followed by pinochle.  We kept count of the games played over the course of the week and the guys beat the girls seven games to six.
We were up early on Saturday and on the way back to PA by 6:45AM.  Breakfast at Bob Evans around 9AM followed by a midday meal at Ledo's in Martinsburg VA.  At J's suggestion, we came home with an 18" half-baked pizza from Ledo's to savor as a quick meal, or two in the future.
We came home to a little water in one corner of the basement as a result of 7-9 inches of rain that fell between Thursday evening through Friday.  There are also tons of leaves on the ground that Mr P will mulch up this week when the ground is dry enough for him to mow.
Today, Monday, October 14, is a federal holiday, Columbus Day so I won't go back to work until tomorrow.
Hope you are having a good start to the week wherever you are.

Thursday, Day 6

Another gorgeous sunrise and a lovely start to a delicious day.
We headed south again since the shells were more prolific on the beach in this direction.

Isn't the sky beautiful!

The ocean was warm and the clouds fluffy as they moved across the sky.

Walking along with our eyes on the beach hunting for shells.

The Mother Lode of shells!!!
 Can you see the round green object in the photo?  It's the underside of the brim of a man's straw hat and it was filled with shells.  I dumped the cache and found a special green turban shell.  It was tiny and really beautiful.  Sister J said that in all the years she had been coming to Myrtle Beach she had never found one on the beach before.
After gathering shells until we had our fill, we headed back to the resort and cleaned all our shells.  We put them on paper towels on the counter next to the sink in the kitchen to dry and then headed to the pool  for some sun and reading time.

The fellows left for lunch at Myrtlewood Country Club prior to their tee time and we ladies adjourned to the pool.  We enjoyed chicken quesadillas and I had an apple sangria and J had a Starbucks pumpkin latte.
When we return from the pool the special green turban shell must have had a creature inside it because it crawled off the counter and couldn't be located.  We looked all over the counter, J stuck her hand down the garbage disposal (yuck) in case it had fallen into the sink and we checked under everything in the condo to no avail.  "Fred" as we referred to the green turban shell with its lodger was nowhere to be found.  Maybe the next vacationers in our unit will be lucky and "Fred" will be found.  
J found a sea urchin that she gave to me.  I can't believe something so delicate was found in one piece!
We had dinner reservations that evening at The Parson's Table, a restaurant that J and B dine at almost every time they visit Myrtle Beach.

The Parson's Table was originally a church converted to an upscale restaurant and the liquid libations and food was delicious.  Mr P had prime rib, BrotherInLaw B had scallops, Sister J had salmon and I had shrimp and scallops.  There was no room for any dessert which was tempting.

I managed to get some pictures of the beach before we left for dinner this evening.

 

 

Lovely!

The final post is next.

What Day Is It ???

It's Hump Day!
Wednesday dawned lovely and warm with soft clouds in the sky.


Sister J and I took our morning walk getting in some exercise and hunting for shells.

A picture of the pool from our balcony once we returned from our walk.  A good portion of today was spent poolside.  Reading and soaking up the sunshine and occasionally cooling off in the pool was the order of the day.

Mr P purchased a "Hump Day" T-shirt and proudly wore it.
The mid-day meal was taken at  Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger Paradise.
Lunch selections ranged from cheeseburger sliders, fried fish and agave and cilantro chicken.

 

 Being busy most evenings I didn't always get a picture of the sunset but they were gorgeous.

Back again with the pictures from Thursday.

Tropical Storm Karen arrives...

The next day dawned gray and spitting rain.
Sister, J, and I managed to get a walk to the north in before the rain arrived.



The skies were full of clouds and the surf was pounding again.

Some of the shells we have found during our daily walks.  The olive shell, which we have found a number of intact specimens to take home, is North Carolina's state shell.  There are three of them laying on the toweling in the lower left hand corner next to the big gray shell.  We've found them in various sizes and colors, ranging from pinkish brown to gray.

BrotherInLaw, B, and Mr P managed to get a round of golf in early in the day before the rain arrived.  They golfed at Pine Lakes and finished in record time despite the wind which was brutal.  Pine Lakes County Club golf course was the first golf course established in Myrtle Beach.

We all traveled to a local restaurant, Filets, later in the day for happy hour.
Seated on the back deck, there was a marina on one side of us and a canal on the other side.
The bridge over the canal that you see below is manned 24 hours a day.  The person manning the little building atop the bridge, stops traffic from entering the bridge and then opens the bridge by moving it in a semi-circle to enable tall boats to pass through as they move along the waterway.  Once through, the person then closes the bridge, sliding it back in place and traffic continues on until the next boat arrives.  It was neat to watch the opening and closing in action.

 

Filets special on the afternoon we were there was $5 appetizers.  With sister, J, BrotherInLaw, B, Mr P and me, were another group of nine people.  The variety of appetizers sampled by our group was cheeseburger (and fries), fried clam strips, peel and eat shrimp, wings and the favorite of sister, J, and me --- Tiki Roll.  Tiki Roll was sushi consisting of rice, asparagus, smoked salmon wrapped in seaweed, deep fried and served with a scattering of sesame seeds and soy sauce for dipping.  As they say,  num, num!

Sunset was gorgeous and a perfect ending to a perfect day.
Hope you are having a perfect day and week wherever you are.
I'll be back soon with more pictures.

Myrtle Beach...continued

Sunrise on Day 3
Isn't it beautiful!!!
Sister, J, and I took our morning constitutional and I managed to capture the following pictures on our walk south on the beach.
The sun was coming up and the lifeguards had set up chairs and umbrellas on the beach.

Tropical Storm Karen was making her way along the Atlantic coastline making for overcast skies and an ominous looking ocean.  

Check out the waves pounding the beach and the surf.

We passed a fellow flying a colorful kite and further down the beach two little girls were trying to get their kites aloft. No pictures of their struggles but I should have because their kites were replicas of a sandpiper and another sea bird.

Sister J and I walked from our resort at 82nd street south to 65th street on our morning walk.
Ahhh!  Our resort is in sight and who is sitting relaxing on the balcony (second balcony down on the left next to the palm tree) but BrotherInLaw, B and Mr P.
Neither of them have taken us up on our invitation to join us each morning on our walk.

I'll be back with some more pictures.
Hope you are enjoying the week as much as we are.
Rain in the forecast for the next day but the fellows are hoping to get a round of 18 holes of golf in before it arrives.  I'll keep you posted.