Bogmeisters Sing Out

Friday began quietly as we enjoyed breakfast and watched the birds at the feeder on the deck. Then we eventually went to the Cranberry Community Days at the municipal building. Our Bogmeisters sang at noon and then later at 5PM.

There was a nice turn out as people ate their BBQ chicken and listened to us sing. The local Rotary clubs of Cranberry cooked 1300 chickens for the occasion and sold them all 1/2 at a time.

Here is a video that Dee took of the group of part of one of our songs.

In between the musical presentations, Dee and I had lunch and then I took my car to the Saturn dealer to have the garage door button fixed. By the time that was fixed it was time to do our second "sing out" at the municipal building. Our friend Carol Jean was there and seemed to really enjoy the Bogmeisters singing. I had invited her last week after church at Franklin Park. We finished off the evening by eating salmon patties on the deck and then reading until it got dark.

Odds and Ends Day

Yesterday we got some things done around the house in the morning. Dee went to Contours in the morning for exercise. I did some work on my sermon for Sunday and ran the vacuum. I talked with my sister about how it was going with my mom since she was staying there for the week. Mom is forgetting things (like taking her meds, etc.) and where she put things in the house. Jan is good at organizing, so she's trying to get matters more manageable plus give the house a real cleaning. Dee got lots of nice sympathy cards from people in our Seaview Church in NJ and had a nice talk with Ellen McKee on the phone in the afternoon.

In the afternoon I went golfing with Russ Geibel and his friend Bob from work. We played 9 holes at Saxon Golf Course after they finished work. Teed off about 2:30 PM. The course was in good shape. We walked the 9 holes and had a great time. I shot a 48, which for me is good. They get together every Thursday and try different courses, so I thought I might join them next week. I thought I might invite my friend John to make a foursome. We could play either 9 or 18 but we'd ride the 18.

After golf, Dee and I tried a new restaurant we heard about called Hoovers on route 8. They have daily specials that are reasonable. Our food and service was good. We'd been by the place many times but never stopped in. Dees friends recommended it so we gave it a try.

When we got home, it was cool enough to sit on the deck and read and bird watch. Then, I finished the evening watching Ratatoullie on TV, while Dee talked with Kerri on the phone.

Today I wing with the Bogmeisters for Cranberry Community Days at the municipal building on Rochester Road at noon and 5 PM. (All are welcome.) and then get my car worked on at 2:30 PM. It'll be a busy afternoon.

Bird Feeder # 1

Yesterday Dee went to Contours and I went to Rotary. The Rotary program was about a local outdoor camp for physically and mentally challenged people called Woodlands Camp. They even have a handicap accessible golf course tht accomodates wheelchairs. They do a lot of good for the community and have volunteers from the pittwburgh Symphony orchestra as well as other notable people. They do arts, sports, music and even aquatic activities. Great program. It's in Wexford, PA.

Later in the day it stopped raining and actually got pretty nice. We went looking for some bird feeders and hook poles that attach to the deck to hold the feeder. We found what we wanted and bought one. I decided to start by feeding the birds split peanuts. They are to attract certain kinds of birds. The salesman said it might take a couple of days for the birds to find the feeder. As it turns out our first bird that came and sat on the top of the feeder (but didn't eat) was an Easter Phoebe. And the first bird to actually dine on the nuts was a White-Breasted Nuthatch. (It seems they like to eat upside down.) Cool. We also had somekind of swallows or swifts in the area. They soared up and down the valley behind our house and would swoop up and the kinda "stall" and then dive-bomb down. I think the were catching insects out of the air and the book said they like dragonflies. I'd seen a couple of them during the day, so that must be what they were after. The back yard looked like a busy airport.

We read on the deck for the early evening and enjoyed the nice breeze. I practiced my music for our two performances tomorrow (Friday at noon and 5 PM at the Cranberry Community Center. (All reading this are welcome to come. The local Rotary will be cooking chickens and so a nice chicken dinner is available as well.) I still don't know all the words, so I need to review them and the notes. I'd like to be an asset to the group. That happens when you get more comfortable with the words and then can get into "selling" the song with facial expressions and bodily movements... It'll come.) Bonz got his usual walk. Here's a picture of him lounging under our picnic table in the shade. (A common site when we're on the deck.)

Then we closed out the evening with a nice time in our hot tub. Just what we needed for a good night's sleep. Ahhhh.

Mini Reunions

Yesterday we drove to the airport to pick up my sister Jan, from Chicago. En route we stopped at the Air Guard base near the airport and visited with some people at the 171st Air Refueling Wing. That's where I was as chaplain before moving to NJ. We were able to see Debbie Krall. I used to work with Debbie, as she was my admin for about 7 years. She's retired from the Air Guard, but works there now full time in the Family Services section. We were good friends and it was great seeing her again. I told her about my involvement with the Strong Bonds Seminars for the Air Guard at Willow Grove and offered my services should the need arise. She indicated she too had the training to help lead such seminars, but she didn't sense her unit had any urgency about providing the training for their troops as of yet. Later I met the commanding General Uptegraph. He remembered a time when we shared a tent together during an ORI. I mentioned the Strong Bonds Seminar to him, and he said he'd just read about the one we did at the end of May for Willow Grove. Cool.

After we left there we went to the airport, and since Jan's plane was late, we just hung out. Then I remembered that my other chaplain (Fr. Jack Fitzgerald) was the airport chaplain. Sine we were just hanging out, I got his number from the info desk and called him. He sought us out, and we had a great reunion there while waiting. I haven't seen Jack for about 13 years. He's now the head chaplain at the base. I told him and Debbie that if they needed an auxiliary chaplain some Sunday's to let me know. Great reunion times.

Jan arrived and we took her back home. Our visit was great with her. Very relaxed and upbeat. She and Dee came over to our Bogmeister practice about 8 PM. They seemed to enjoy hearing us practice as we continued getting ready for our two Friday (Noon and 5 PM) performances at the Cranberry Community Center on Community Days. Later we all sat on the deck in the dark and chatted the night away. Today, I showed her where I work at Treesdale, and Dee met Jill (Dee's cousin's daughter) who works in the pro shop.

We had a nice lunch at Costco (their hot sausage sandwiches are great! with the peppers and onions. Back at the house. we explored Jan's video cam for her computer. She uses a program (free) called skype that allows her computer to become a telephone, and with the video cam, she can see the people she's talking with. However, both computers have to have the skype program installed. We installed it on mine and now I can do that, but I don't have a video cam to see the other person, or so they can see me. Some day.

When the door bell rang, it was a florist who brought two nice arrangements. One from the congregation at Seaview, and the other from a family at Seaview (planter). Here are what we received...

Later we took Jan to Monongahela where she would spend the rest of the week with our mother. Evaluating how she's doing. While there I plugged in the downstairs tv, and showed them how to use the VHS portion of the new TV. Mom was delighted to see the videos of people doing line dancing steps. Hopefully Jan will be able to coach her on how to use the new TV and remote. Whether the coaching takes hold is another matter. A severe thunderstorm was predicted for the area, so we left and then ran into it about half way back to Mars. The trip is about 70 minutes and 60 miles one way. It was good to see mom again. My shirts were not yet altered, although she had gotten to one sleeve on one shirt. I showed them to jan, and let her know which one was to be used as a model for the other sleeves.

Some Photos

Here are a few of the photos from the recent family gatherings. Included are Kerri and Pat; Donna and Don; Dee and Donnie; and Ryanne and Jeremy. Click on the photo and it will enlarge to fill your screen.

All in all yesterday was a quiet day from noon on. We did some reading on the deck and enjoyed the nice warm weather. Walked Bonz, read the paper, talked with Faye on the phone and watched a little TV. Then we went to an amusement park here in Cranberry. It has a mini roller coaster, kiddie rides, a water bumper boats with water guns, a batting cage, lots of picnic benches and pavillions, a large arcade with video games and basketball hoops etc, food concessionstands and more. It was only about 6 miles away and a nice place to walk around in and see the families and kids having fun. When we got home I started working on my sermon for next Sunday. I plan to do one that uses the video clip from "Facing the Giants".

Ah-mennnn.

Well, much has happened since I last wrote here. Dee's family all got together on the evening of the 4th of July in Butler for a time of re-connecting, storytelling (all about Valora, of course). It was a good time and much needed by everyone there. I enjoyed seeing all Valora's grandchildren and great grandchildren. We sure laughed a lot. We walked down the street to see the Butler fireworks in the distance. Our vantage point was poor and so we didn't see much, but it was nice to be with the family. Here are a photo and video I took of Pittsburgh's fireworks (with my lettle digital camera)from last year when we were at the 50th wedding anniversary of the Gilbreath's at the La Mont Restaurant on top of Mount Washington.(turn on sound)

On Saturday, Donna's good friend, Charlene and Bill Stevenson had the family to their home for a brunch prior to the service and viewing at the funeral home. Again it was nice to have everyone together. By then Bobby and his family had come into town and Ruthie and El were on hand as well. It was very thoughtful of the Stevensons to have the brunch.

The viewing and the service seemed to go well for Valora who was born on January 19,1915. People shared lots of nice (and some times funny stories) about how much she impacted their lives. There were about 75 people in attendance. I found out that Dee's cousin has a daughter that works in the pro shop at Treesdale where I am a ranger. I know her but had no idea of the relationship. In fact, she helped me pick out Dee's birthday blouse earlier in May. (small world) Saturday evening we decided to have pizza at the newly opened Pizza Hut (Wing Street) a mile from our house. It's a different kind of Pizza Hut with a full bar and a full menu. We ordered a large Supreme pizza but the waitress brought us a medium sized one. When I asked if that was a "large" she looked at her bill and realized she'd made a mistake ordering the smaller size. She asked if we wanted another medium and she said it would be "on the house" because the mistake was hers. So of course we said "sure." It's a nice family place, with up beat decor and lots to choose from. I'm sure we'll be going back there often. There are about8 other stores to open in that strip of newly built stores. This is the first one finished.

It was good to have Kerri and Patrick here, even if it was for only 2 days. They headed back home after the funeral was over.

Today I preached at Franklin Park Baptist Church and reconnected with a couple of people I knew before we moved to NJ. It was good to worship there. It's about 8.5 miles from my door. (The closest place I've preached yet.) I continue to be amazed that people seem to prefer to sit in the back of the sanctuary when there so many good seats up in the front pews. Also, I've noticed that people tend to dress casually for worship. There are maybe only 3-4 neckties being worn in the congregation. (That's been the case for the last 3 Sundays.) I, of course, prefer a polo shirt with a jacket, as I used to do in NJ, but as the "guest" speaker my sense is that they "expect" the preacher to wear a dress shirt, tie and jacket.

Dee went to have breakfast with Donna and Don, Bob and Mlaine and Ryanne and Jeremy as they were enroute to NC. (About a ten hour drive.)