Deer Deer

Last night while on the deck, we watched nature in action. There were two deer in the little valley behind our home cleaning each others necks. They were there for a long time so we watched them. Here's is a short video of them. They were a bit far for my digital camera to get a clear shot, but this will give you the idea anyway.

Yesterday Dee went to see her mom, and I guess she was doing well as she drank two glasses of water while Dee was there. And she was in good spirits. Dee also went to Contours to exercise. I was went to work for 3 hours as a starter/ ranger at Treesdale from noon to 3PM. It's a fun job so I didn't mind, however, it was a good thing I called them because I was thinking it was to be today instead of yesterday. Also I got my new schedule for July. They've given me more hours - 3 on Fridays and 8 on Saturdays. That'll be fun.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Joann Fabrics where Dee bought a new sewing machine. Nothing fancy, but adequate for her needs. (That's what she decided to do with her part of the "economic stimulus" money from the government. I got the Sony home theater system with mine. And Donnie is planning to come down and install it with the wiring already in place at the house.) We ended the evening watching movie called "Fluke" about a guy and a dog. We like dog stories, and this one was cute. We're getting one month free of Starz and Encore movie channels.

While on the deck I'd also watched the birds in flight and I spotted a red-bellied woodpecker. He posed on a branch so I could get a long look at him and compare him to the picture in the bird book. Beautiful - another first.

Deck With A View

This is a short video of the greenery behind our house now that summer is here. Also you can see the new building of 4 homes that is nearing completion behind our house. Although it's not complete yet, some of the owners are bringing some of their stuff to the houses. I pleasantly discovered that my second digital camera (Although it takes fuzzy still pics) seems to take better videos than my other camera. I'm pleased it can upload to this blog easily.) You'll be seeing more video clips in the days to come, I'm sure.

Dee and I went to two farmer's markets today and bought some fresh veggies. We had a nice lunch at Sorrels farmer's market as they have a place to sit and eat. The sandwiches we had were made with fresh ingredients and were quite tasty. I called my mother today and talked with her for a little bit. She continues to go to teach line dancing at the senior center in Donora two days a week and then she goes there another day for lunch. I notice that lately she talks about the same thing each time I call. I told her Kerri made a dress with her newly purchased sewing machine. She seemed real pleased to hear that. She still gets confused about altering my shirt sleeves. We talk about it each time I call, and she's not ever gotten to it. I continue to encourage her to complete them. We'll see.

We had a nice dinner on the deck. The sun doesn't shine on the deck after about 3 PM, so it's usually very nice there then. We had a quiet afternoon on the deck. I watched the birds some. It seems we have several types of woodpeckers in the area - downy, pileated and a third type. I also think I saw a Baltimore Oriel, at least that's what my bird book indicates. We closed out the evening by going to a"concert in the park" that was candelled because of rain storms. So we went to Barnes and Nobel and hung out, did some reading and had a nice frappiccino beofre heading home.

Bogmeister's Quartet sings at Yankees Game !

Last night I went to the Yankees vs. Pirates game to take pictures of our quartet (I'm not in it.) singing the National Anthem. There was a near record attendance at the game (3rd highest in that stadium for a Pirate game.) So it was quite an honor for our group's quartet to sing.

Here are some other pictures I took of the quartet. Here you see them before, during and aftr they sang.

After the game we stopped at Atria's right next to the stadium for mild and cookies. We met Johnny angel of "Johnny Angel and the Halo" fame. It was a nice time although the musical duet was a bit loud for my taste. Fortuately we ate outside so that helped with the sound.

Earlier in the day I'd gone to the Rotary Club meeting and made an announcement about their singing at the game, and I also put in a plug for our July 25 Open House and July 11 singing for Cranberry Community Days. I also picked up the sign that was used at the golf tournament because I can still get use out of it to advertize the Open House. Just have to get permission to place it in a high traffic area where people will see it and take note of it if they are interested.

All in all a memorable event. And I'm thrilled that I got to post the video on this blog. It's the first video I've been able to post. I took it with my little digital camera set to video mode. Even the sound came out well. Cool.

Puzzle #6 is Done !

Yesterday we had breakfast with Donnie (third meal in 3 days) and Donna before Donna left for NC. (A ten hour drive.) It was good having her visit with us while she got to see her mom several times. (This is a pic of Bob who came in on Saturday for a day with his mom Donna, Dee's sister.)

We took several walks with Bonz, and sunned ourselves on the deck and read. I practiced some of my music for our next "sing out" which will be for Cranberry Community Days on July 11th. It would be nice to know the words and music better by then. My little electronic pitch pipe makes it nice for me to hear the notes when I need them so I'm in pitch. Otherwise it's hard to know if I'm singing the right note.

In the evening we played cribbage on the deck (Dee skunked me!) and then completed the "Fabulous Fifties " puzzle given to us by the Thomases. Here's the completed puzzle which if you've been following along with the blog, you'll note we began about June 9th. (So that's 16 days to complete it! Whew!)The box says "more than a thousand pieces."

Rotary Golf Outing

Yesteray was the Rotary Golf Outing at Treesdale. Since I decided to NOT golf in the outing, I chose instead to volunteer to help with set-up, registration, and then I did my ranger thing during the actual outing (tournament). It enjoyed it and connected with most of the 120 golfers at some point at least twice. The weather was beautiful and a breeze was blowing a little through out the day. Then of course the rains came and stopped everything. I'd left after the second siren alerting golferes that a lightning strike had been sighted within 5 miles. However, all in all it was a great experience and I'd made the right decision to donate a golf-tee sign and ranger (without pay) for the day. Lots of fun.

I reconnected with Dee and Donna later in the day. They'd gone to see their mom, and then Donna went to connect with her granddaughter, Danielle. Later they all came to our place for dinner along with Donnie and Veronica. Six of us in all. Very nice. I had Bogmeister practice at 7 and had to leave. Practice went very well. I learned some things, and got to sing in a pick-up quartet for one song. We're working as a group on Amazing Grace and Hush for a church service somewhere in August. When I got home, Dee and Donna were looking through old family photos that Veronica brought down from Butler. We scanned a few for Dee. Here's one of them. It's of Dee's three sisters. The one on the left looks a lot like Kerri did at that age. Amazing! Here is another one of Dee's mom a bazillion years ago.

Don and Veronica Drop By

Yesterday we visited with Bob and Donna in themorning before dee and I went to Monroeville for the Sunday service there. We had a good time at the FB Church and got to reconnect with the Dursts before and after the services. The people were very gracious and seemed to like my approach to the sermon. It's nice to be affirmed in what you do. Then we had a nice lunch at the China Palace, an asian restuarant we used to visit a lot when we were living in the area. Still very good.

Bob and Donna went to see Dee's mom, and while they were there they met with Don and Veronica, and Ruthie and Veronica's mom. Later they went to lunch and then Don and Veronica came back to our place for a nice visit all afternoon. the we had a nice dinner on the deck. Dee had made some meatballs and pasta and I cooked sausage on the grill. Home made potato salad rounded out the menu and banana cream pie for dessert. The weather was just right and we were in the sade in the afternoon on the deck. Bonz did well with the company. Later, it got cool, and so we went insidee, visited nd then played the Wii. Dee won the bowling again. Donna had never played the Wii, so it was fun watching her get strikes and spares. We all visited while we played. A nice evening together.

Donna and Bobby Arrive

Kerri sent this picture of their trip to the Grand Canyon. They flew in a helicopter over the Canyon and then had lunch at the base of the gorge. She took the picture with her cell phone.

Yesterday we spent the morning polishing the wood floors in the living room, dining room and kitchen. It's a lot easier if two people do it, so we took our time and got everything nice and shiny. Then went to lunch at Applebees. I love their pecan encrusted chicken over a salad. Then we returned the patio umbrella we'd purchased about a month ago. The pole was cracking or looked like it was and we didn't want to keep it. Then we found another one at CVS that will do the job just fine.

In the afternoon we did some reading on the deck and I reviewed my sermon for today at FBC Monroeville. Dee's sister Donna decided to drive up from NC to see her mom and Bobby, Donna's son drove over from Ohio as well. Dee and Donna spent the evening looking through old pictures that their mom had collected over the years. Bob and I visited about the Pirates and sports in general.