July 2010 Archives

Awake: 6:37am      Temp 69      sleep 6+25     partly cloudy      overnight @ Nicktown.

My 1st cousin, Flossie, joined our KK this morning & amongst the many discussions, he got our attention when he talked about a 4:00pm Mass @ Saint Patrick Church @ Cameron's Bottom this afternoon.

Established early 1800s, this small church recently had the altar restored to the original when the church was built. K & I agreed to attend Mass @ this church & so did Barry.

After our KK meeting, K & I & Debbie worked out for (1.5) hrs in the community center's gym. Later, Kathy motored to Barnesboro to pick up a book @ the library & do some other errands.

Mid afternoon, Barry called & offered transportation to Cameron's Bottom in his car along with his wife, Bonnie. During the 50's, in my teen yrs, Flossie & I mowed the grass in this cemetery & around this church. Here is my buddy Barry with the church in the background. And now a look inside to see the re-produced original altar. (20) min later, this church was packed; standing room only. Counting Flossie, there were (7) of us KK members who experienced this church & attended Mass.

Dinner: Italian sausage (from Cunninghams) with peppers, onions, mushrooms, & tomatoes plus fresh fruit.

I really liked this sausage; too bad the store is so many miles away!

We finished watching the movie: "My Reputation" with Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner Anderson, Lucile Watson, etc. Well mounted soaper with Stanwyck excellent as a long-stifled recent widow who causes scandal in her conservative community when she begins dating Major Brent. 1946. Interesting, but those were the good ole days.

Lights out: 12:18am.

Awake: 7:05am     Temp 69      sleep 6+56      sunny overnight @ Nicktown, PA.

Kathy called Theresa & asked her to substitute for her as Eucharistic minister as we would be traveling today & not be available.

After our hardy breakfast, we left @ 8:35am & motored to Cranberry Township, (88 mi) from Nicktown. We arrived @ Hillmon Appliances about (2) hrs later. We were notified that Hillmon AP has the most up-to-date units from Europe: Asko from Sweden, Fisher Paykel from Australia, Miele from Italy, etc. From USA: Sharp, Jenn Air, etc., & they are within our reach.

Greg, our sales person, has over (20) yrs of experience here @ Hillmon. Kathy had her notebook & I had my camera. We looked, talked, asked questions, gathered brochures, & took photos as Greg led us thru the vast showroom of appliances.

Not only does Greg know his stuff, but he also is a good cook & gets to do some cooking right in the store to check out the latest & greatest appliances. Here Greg is showing us a Sub-Zero refrigerator. The most computerized oven we've seen yet;Jenn Aire. Greg's finger could be doing the cooking. Amazing enough, we finished seeing what we wanted to see & did not feel overwhelmed.

From here, we motored about a mile & topped off the Suzuki @ Costco & then shopped mostly for groceries @ Costco.

We took a different route back to Nicktown which was more country & more scenic. Along our route, we stopped at Cunningham Meats, perused their wares & purchased some Italian sausage to try it out. We returned to our MH @ 4:40pm.

Dinner: Flounder, mixed rice pilaf, asparagus, cherries, grapes, & peaches.

Evening movie: "My Reputation." We watched ½.

Lights out:12:12am. 

Awake: 7:36am      Temp 66      sleep 7+19      fog....sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

Kathy left early from the KK meeting to BAG noodles; this will be the final bagging for this year.

After our breakfast, we motored to the Foote Castle & spent about (5) hrs with the boys & some time with Kevin & Melissa. Most of our time was spent doing things in the backyard.

Matthew had made a paper airplane so he & I did a little flight testing until Kinley ate the plane.

Kevin had previously cleaned & organized the outside storage bldg, but today, most of the vehicles with wheels were scattered around in the back yard. I decided to line up all the bicycles, tricycles, etc; almost everything with wheels save for the adult vehicles. One might think that this family is well off having such a distinguished collection. Well, not so! All of these items have been given to the Footes over time, save for (1). Also, all of the units fit into the storage bldg.

Other activities this afternoon: cleaning the inside of the Toyota Sienna Minivan. 1st Melissa & Andrew cleaned & vacuumed & then Kathy & Nathan took over. After the cleaning, Matthew drove Andrew, Nathan, & Kathy on a long pretend trip in the Mini Van to Wash., D.C. with several rest stops & even an overnight at a motel.

After that long pretend trip, Matthew & Andrew were obviously worn out, so I gave them a calm but short & bumpy wagon ride to wake them up a little. Even Gregory enjoyed his bumpy wagon ride. Next, out came (3) boys wearing just their under shorts (Melissa already had their swim suits packed). It was water works time. Each boy sort of had a turn with the hose & spraying any person was off limits; of course, there were times that the hose accidentally pointed in a wrong direction: Oops! Somebody is getting hosed! Here we have Nathan & Gregory filling up the sedan with water for a long trip across the desert back yard. Kevin went into work a few hrs early this morning so he could get some things done later today. 1st, he rode his bike to the Ford dealership to pick up the Ford Van, & then he took Kinley to the dog kennel for the weekend. Then Kevin transferred the necessary car seats from the Toyota Sienna to the Ford Van.

The Foote family will be motoring to Washington, D.C. early tomorrow morning for a weekend of visiting Kevin's sister, Billie & her husband. Meanwhile, I will drive the Toyota Sienna to Nicktown &, next week, take it in for inspection & if need be, they will fix a few glitches. We wished the Footes a bon voyage & a fun time & we each drove our respective vehicle back to Nicktown.

Then we changed clothes & each picked a good sized bowl of blueberries.

Dinner: Beef stew on rice, bread, Bing cherries & cantaloupe slices.

Lights out: 12:09am.

Awake: 7:08am      Temp 68     sleep 7+08      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

We played hooky from the KK this morning & motored to Duncansville, PA (approx 33 miles) to get started with Jill @ Showcase Kitchens in further designing Kathy's kitchen. We spent about 1.5 hrs as Kathy & Jill discussed the desired appliances & how to possibly fit them into the space allotted by the architectural drawing. Next, we motored further east to Blair Mill Outlet in Hollidaysburg where we perused Bamboo Flooring, both solid & engineered, & various kinds of tile. We also drove to downtown Altoona & visited Long's Tile Company. From here, we made a quick stop @ 5 star Suzuki where I ordered a new dip-stick for our Suzuki. The plastic handle broke on our current one.

Then we back-tracked west & south to St. Michaels & looked over the choices of brick @ Ollinger Brick & Tile. Richard did a good job explaining the differences in brick in his warehouse. In route to Nicktown, we stopped & shared a tuna salad with blue cheese dressing & Shock-Top beer @ Off the Rack in Ebensburg.

Afterward, Kathy wanted to drive thru my brother's neighborhood & check out some of the brick patterns & colors used throughout the area. When we stopped & parked to get a good photo of this one brick-cased house, the owners Vince & Delores, came out & talked with us about their brick & other items of interest. During our gab session, of all people, my brother Don & his wife Josie were walking the neighborhood & spotted us as we spotted them. The gab session suddenly grew larger as Don & Josie know Vince & Delores.

Making our way slowly to Nicktown, we toured the Emerald Estates & found one of the homes that Bernie built a few yrs ago. We both felt good about getting started on "choices" of things that need to be finalized in due time.

Lights out: 12:17am.

Awake: 5:05am    Temp 66    sleep 4+55    fog....heavy rain (at 7:40am)     overnight @ Nicktown.

Kathy left the KK early to help make noodles for the last time this season. Due to rain (heavy @ times) John gave me a ride to our motorhome from the KK.

@ the motorhome, I talked at length with Gary & Rosemary about our meeting with Bernie last evening. We discovered that our builder will be doing things a lot differently than the builder they had...just (5-6) yrs ago.

Dinner: noodle soup with a mixed salad, Bing cherries & cantaloupe slices.

Lights out: 12:01am.          

   

 

Awake: 5:13am    Temp 67    sleep 5+12    early rain (7:00am) overnight @ Nicktown.

Debbie, Kathy & I exercised for (1.6) hrs after our KK meeting. Following that, K & I picked blueberries for over an hr; then had brunch. Next Kathy did (2) loads of laundry.

Mid afternoon, Chuck visited & gave us some delicious onions, peppers & cucumbers fresh from his garden. We thanked him profusely. 

@ 6:00pm, we visited Bernie just outside of Nicktown; he gave us a tour of their home, which was very, very nice & then we spent about (2) hrs in their basement scrutinizing our house plans, asking & answering questions. Bernie has been a big help in tutoring us on how to read the architect's diagrams correctly.  

Late dinner: leftover ratatouille, pasta, Bing cherries, bread & tomato slices.

Lights out: 12:10am.

 

Awake: 5:52am    Temp 69     sleep 6+19    early rain, then sunny     overnight @ Nicktown.

Casual morning for us; we were saving our energy for when we join the Jake & Lucy annual reunion at noon time today. My mother, Martha, & my Aunt Lucy were sisters; my Uncle Jake & my father, Freddy, were brothers. So are we 1st + 1st cousins or what?

I had (5) uncles & aunts in our neighborhood when growing up. We visited each other's homes many, many times. Here @ the Pavilion, a Hollywood star 1st greeted us upon our arrival, my 1st cousin Lucille; she is not Mexican. Next, we had to pass thru the security guards before lining up for the homemade covered dish luncheon. How many Kirsches attend this reunion each year? This is (1) row of tables out of (3) & they just keep on multiplying. Besides the delicious covered dishes & dessert, some of the talented wine makers displayed their wares with exuberance. Timing is everything: before clicking this photo, I had asked these fellows to: "show me your teeth!" There were games for the young people, like breaking the Piñata, plus a train ride & hay ride from the park, etc & a Chinese auction for all ages, plus the bean bag horseshoe pitching. Kathy bought a few chances at the Chinese auction & won Tim's homemade bird house, & by golly, she won another prize: A holiday basket filled with all sorts of goodies.

We were at the pavilion for a good (5) hrs, mostly catching up with my 1st cousins & 2nd cousins, & down the line.

After saying our goodbyes to the people who drove long distances, we motored to Ebensburg for needed groceries from Wal-Mart & West End Market.

Lights out: 11:56pm.

Awake: 5:51am      Temp 66     sleep 5+24      partly sunny     overnight @ Nicktown.

Steve & Dave (excavators) arrived @ 6:50am; Bernie arrived @ 7:00am sharp. All of us spent about an hr walking & talking & measuring to identify a suitable area upon which to build our house. It will be close to a month before the excavators bring in their machines.    

Next, K & I motored to Nanty Glo, PA & met up with Don, Josie, Adrianne & Les for breakfast @ the Niner Diner. We'd never been there before but Don & Josie frequent the place often. Hey, that Corsair prop is spinning; this is my kind of place: . Les & Adrienne are in town for (2) days mainly so Adrienne can attend her high school reunion. Most of these collectables are very familiar to us; the 50's & 60's were the best! After some good talk & good food, we said our goodbyes for now.

K & I toured downtown Nanty Glo a little; I browsed the largest hardware store I've been in for years while Kathy visited the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift store.

Back @ our motorhome, I got a glimpse of someone riding the Grizzly but it wasn't Chuck. Not that I am nosy, but I am curious. Sure enough, the purring Grizzly has been sold, just this afternoon.. That was Chuck's plan: "when the Grizzly is healthy again, we will sell it & start looking for a new one" he told me.

K & I walked to church & attended vigil 6:00pm Mass & afterward, mingled with the Kirsch cousins in front of the church. Tomorrow they are having their annual Kirsch reunion nearby & invited K & I to join them. I let them know that we will highly consider the invitation.

Dinner: beef stew over pasta, Bing cherries, & bread.

Late evening storm (more heat lightning & regular lightening than we have ever seen before)....followed by high winds & rain.

Lights out: 11:33pm.

Awake: 7:08am     Temp 66      sleep 6+39      overcast rain later     overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, K & I worked out for (1.4) hrs, then I changed clothes & started picking blueberries. Dark clouds were moving in but I tried to ignore them ....that was until the wind message before the rain. I barely made it back to the motorhome before the clouds opened up. That was @ 12:18pm.

@ 3:20pm, Bernie knocked on our door; he brought us a large set of the 1st submission drawings for our house plans. The main floor....Looks like a flying wing, huh! He also informed us that the excavators would arrive tomorrow @ 7:00am to properly pick out the spot where our house will be located. Bernie said he would be there @ the same time. The basement floor. Then we called Gary & Rosemary to wish them a "Happy Anniversary" & to wish Rosemary a "Happy Birthday."

Next heavy downpour was @ 3:40pm.

Dinner: Ratatouille with pasta, a mixed salad, & Bing cherries.

Evening movie: "It Should Happen to You" with Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon, Michael O'Shea, etc. Holliday is Gladys Glover of Binghamton, N.Y., who has come to N.Y.C. to make a name for herself....and does so, by plastering her moniker across a Columbus Circle billboard. Judy is radiant in this charming romantic comedy satire. 1954. Cute story & quite entertaining.

Lights out: 12:27am.

Awake: 6:29am      Temp 65     sleep 6+57      fog...then sunny     overnight @ Nicktown.

We received an e-mail from Bernie this morning indicating he has a full set of house plans & would like to get together either tomorrow or Saturday...to look @ our land & select a site for our building.

Meanwhile, we joined the KK meeting & greeted Judy, a special guest from Mesa, Arizona, who is visiting the Cambria County area for a few days. After the meeting, Kathy had a Dr.'s appointment to complete her female exam for this year. And back on our property, I picked quite a few blueberries from our bush. They are very tasty in our cereal bowls!

After breakfast, I called Chuck & talked about the Grizzly's electrical glitch that Jim mentioned yesterday. Chuck told me that Jim will be coming over @ 1:00pm to see what we can do about the weird electrical faults. When I arrived, Jim showed me that when he turns on the key, the caution light for low oil comes on; "that's not right" he said.

Then Chuck got involved: he remembered an electrical problem several yrs ago....when a few wires got so hot on the left handlebar, they melted thru their insulation. 'But that happened yrs ago & I had a guy fix it," he said.

Jim suggested that we get into that bunch of wires to find out what's going on. Well, I have to applaud Jim on that one, as it didn't look that bad on the outside of the bundle, but about 50% of those wires were messed up! It's amazing that it ran as well as it did & for as long as it did with so many burnt wires melted to wires.

Fortunately, I had some wires that were just a tad heaver than what was messed up. So I volunteered to re-do the bundle & gave myself an hr to do it. The further I opened the cover, the more melted wires were exposed. It took more than an hr but I soldered each connection & wrapped it with tape. Now it looks a little better....lets hope it works a lot better. Chuck insisted that we have a beer before we even considered replacing the bundle & checking it out. OK, ok, we succumbed to his wishes.

And by golly, that renewed bundle made all the difference for the Grizzly. Everything worked as it should have & WE were all delighted.

K& I had an early dinner of fresh spaghetti over left over zucchini cakes.

Then we joined (30) other people in the church hall for an Estate Planning Seminar presented by the "Pennsylvania Elder Estate Advocacy Services. Something we will eventually & seriously take care of.

We snacked on healthy nuts, Bing Cherries, olives, Triscuits, etc. upon our return to the motorhome.

Lights out: 12:29am.

Awake: 6:18am      Temp 64       sleep 6+30       partly sunny        overnight @ Nicktown.

K & I attended the KK meeting, exercised for (1.5) hrs & then had our brunch. Then Kathy motored down to the big city of Spangler & bought some more South Carolina peaches from Bi-Lo.

I had most of this day off; no Grizzly talk or fixes, so I kept myself busy reading some of my aviation magazines, doing a few x-word puzzles & spending some time on the computer.

Occasionally looking out our window, I could see Chuck comfortably mowing the alley with his relatively new riding mower. That was our deal; I help get the glitches out of his Grizzly & he will mow the alley for us. Just look @ that landing field...well, maybe just for VTOL(vertical takeoff or land) machines. When Kathy returned from shopping, she went to the church hall to gather the noodles from yesterday's making. Unfortunately, many were still not dry, so the noodles were left to dry for another day.

K & I attended 6:00pm Mass & afterwards, we had some social time with Theresa while we each had a Shock Top beer @ the Nicktown Bar.

Dinner: leftover filled peppers, bread, Bing cherries & cantaloupe.

Lights out: 11:52pm.

Awake: 6:32am    Temp 66    sleep 6+31    mostly overcast    overnight @ Nicktown.

Kathy left the KK meeting early to help make noodles in the church hall. After my breakfast, I called Chuck & discussed the plan for fixing the Grizzly one more time! He didn't know when his son-in-law, Jim, would be over so he asked what time would be better for me; I selected noon time.

When I arrived @ the not-so-organized garage of Chuck's, Jim & Chuck were ready to go ahead on today's plan.

Earlier this morning, they had bought a new starter Solenoid & a gas filter. It took me less than (5) min to install the gas filter but the starter Solenoid needed (2) metric screws & star washers in order to attach the unit correctly.

While I checked my metric bolt supply in my tool box (which is about a dozen) Jim drove to his workshop & did the same thing. Neither of us had the required nuts & washers to do the job. We checked with the local Krumenacker Hardware & they couldn't help us.

Then, on a whim, it was either Chuck or Jim that said: "I think Bobik's in Spangler has a metric section, why don't we check it out?" They had a vast selection & we found what we needed. It took maybe (10) min to replace the starter Solenoid.

As a subject to think about, Jim mentioned that....there is still something a little weird going on with the electrical system on this Quad. I have no schematic to troubleshoot with so I had to pass on that challenge for the time being.

Chuck told us he was going to have grandson, Casey, take the Quad over to his father's (Jim) place & clean it up a bit with a pressure washer, etc.

Kathy got back from noodle making @ 1:30. About an hr later, heavy rain kept us indoors for the rest of the evening.

I can't remember what we had for dinner tonight besides having popcorn during the watching of our political programs; that is, the ones that we recorded. There was a lot of precipitation falling.

Lights out: 11:48pm.   

 

Awake: 6:43am    Temp 64    sleep 6+30    overcast    overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, Kathy & I exercised for about ½ of our normal time; Debbie came in a little later & exercised with us until our specified time was up.

My goal today was to get our grass mowing done before the rain moved in. I even skipped brunch & got right into the mowing. During my mowing time, Kathy did another load of laundry. Then she volunteered to do some of the mowing while I pulled some tall weeds out of our circular drive.

I started @ 11:00am....then Kathy had to leave @ 12:50pm. Dark clouds were everywhere & then some precipitation began to fall; I was using Chuck's wheelbarrow & figured I might as well return that before it got too wet. I pushed my luck & continued mowing a little more & slowly, ever so slowly, the clouds began to break up & go their separate way.

By golly, I was able to finish the rest of the mowing by 1:30pm. It rained very little here in Nicktown, but we've heard later that Ebensburg got quite a downpour.

Then I ate my late brunch. Shortly after finishing, our doorbell rang. It was Chuck & Jim. Jim told me the Grizzly had a problem once more...& asked if I could help. "We think the carburetor is messed up again because it's dumping fuel & now the starter solenoid is locked as well, he said." "Oh my gosh, I'll get some tools & be over in a few minutes" I told them.

Walking across the lawn I was reminded that this carburetor has been opened up (3) times that I know of; twice I found contamination & the other time was when I left a few parts out. Plus, this carburetor had signs of being operated on before me. I think what this machine desperately needs is A FUEL FILTER.

It takes a good (30) min to remove parts to get into the carburetor, & like clockwork, when I opened that carb, right inside a passageway was a piece of contamination blocking the fuel movement.....plus there were signs of contamination in other areas.

So, using Q-tips, wire & needles to check those small passages, that carb was finished in about (45) min. We checked the starter solenoid with the Fluke meter & sure enough, it was shot!

So, Chuck & Jim agreed wholeheartedly to buy a fuel filter & a new starter solenoid tomorrow. My job on the Grizzly today was done. We will continue on this project until the Grizzly is a healthy bear.

Chuck said he would mow the alley way for us tomorrow....since I've been helping him on the Quad-runner.

Dinner: Stuffed peppers, leftover beans, leftover fruit salad, fresh cantaloupe, Bing cherries & a peach.

Lights out: 12:01am.  

 

Awake: 6:50am      Temp 59      sleep 7+09      sunny overnight @ Nicktown.

After 8:00am Mass, K & I had breakfast @ the church hall & joined Bernie & Lori @ their table to discuss home building & a few other topics. These church hall breakfasts are usually the same but the social opportunities are different each & every time.

Back @ our motorhome, I vacuumed the inside of our Suzuki & cleaned the battery terminals under the hood + added a smidgen of water to the battery.

Kathy did (1) load of laundry before we left to visit the Foote Family. When we arrived, like clockwork, Kevin was busy making dinner & the rest of the family was on the 2nd floor where each was playing with something, save for Melissa; she kept a sharp eye on everything that moved.

It wasn't long until the gang proceeded to the 3rd floor & there the sweet donuts the boys ate after Mass in the church basement, may have started the eruption? Matthew was tired due to attending a play last night & didn't get to bed as early as usual; Andrew was doing a little overacting whenever Matthew did a little tiny thing that Andrew normally would have ignored... & Nathan, I have never seen him act so wild & scream so loudly. Guess what boy was the calm & cool one? Gregory of course! He remained the calm & cool one throughout the day. Melissa solved the ruckus upstairs by taking Matthew & Andrew downstairs & reading them a few books. Kathy & Nathan continued to play on the 3rd floor a little longer. After that, except for Nathan who remained a bit hyper, things went much smoother.

Kevin called for the light dinner meal of eggs & toast & chocolate peanut butter smoothies; we chose to have small bowls of homemade potato cheese soup with our smoothies.

Then it was out to the back yard where Melissa & Kevin had rigged up their sliding board & pool so that the boys could go soaring into their plastic pool. I thought it was a cool idea, especially during a hot day. My small contribution to all of this was to give each boy, not Gregory, a water balloon to cannonball, not each other, but down the slide into the pool. Regardless of a few minor fusses, we still enjoyed hanging out with our grandchildren & of course, Melissa & Kevin.

Back @ our motorhome, we Skyped with Nick for (53) min. Most of the topic was spent on Nick's description of a house for sale that they had toured today in Queen Anne. Eriko said it was the best one yet of all the prior houses they looked at so far; but she is not ready to buy.

Late evening movie: "The Wizard of OZ. We watch ½.

Lights out: 12:13am.

Awake: 6:05am Temp 64 sleep 6+17 mostly sunny overnight @ Nicktown. After brunch, I shot a few photos of the Foote Microwave unit that, in my spare time, I may or may not repair. Same goes for the Sandlot Slugger baseball game; I don't have the proper tools in our motorhome. Late afternoon we motored to my brother's place where we were having a farewell celebration for our sister, Corinne, who will be moving on Wednesday the 14th, to Pittsburgh for her new job as Parish Social Minister. Here she is with her favorite brothers. Josie brought out the French fries, Don grilled the white chicken meat & Kathy brought the mixed fruit salad. Of course Josie & Don made sure there was a little libation for us along the way...except for Corinne, she's much too young!

We also enjoyed individual three berry dumplings with Cool Whip. And so, another good gathering for us sponsored by Josie & Don....thanks guys, & thanks to Corinne for taking the time to join us on this special occasion. We are happy for you & we know you will enjoy your new home. Back in our motorhome, we finished watching: "Paris Blues" with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Diahann Carroll, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong, etc. Film improves with each viewing; offbeat account of musicians Newman and Poitier in Left Bank Paris, romancing tourists Woodward and Carroll. 1961. Unless you're an avid Jazz fan, don't even think of watching this movie.

Lights out: 11:41pm.

Awake: 6:02am    Temp 71    sleep 5+59   partly cloudy, then rain    overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, Kathy, Debbie & I worked out for (1.5) hrs, & after brunch, I picked some blueberries on our property.

Rain started around 3:35 pm & continued off & on for most of the evening. We could not record our political programs & Jeopardy due to the rain.

Kathy called her good friend Marge in Grand Junction who had tried 3 times, unsuccessfully, to reach Kathy to wish her a "Happy Birthday."  They enjoyed a long conversation of catching up on each other's lives.   

Dinner: Zucchini crab cakes with broccoli soup & leftover tuna casserole & a peach.

Katrina called mid evening while returning from her week at the Royal Family Kids Camp, where she had volunteered as part of the camp staff. This residential summer camp is for children who are overlooked & neglected within social services & in most cases, in foster care. She gave us a pretty thorough explanation of her activities & how much she enjoyed the kids & the staff.  

Evening recorded movie: "Paris Blues." We watched ½.

Lights out: 11:48pm.     

  

Awake: 6:02am      Temp 66     sleep 6+08     sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

With permission, K & I skipped the KK meeting this morning & motored to Carrolltown where we both had our annual physicals. We are both fine.

From Carrolltown, we motored to Lilly & visited Corinne for about (45) min. She is cleaning & organizing her things in preparation for moving to Pittsburgh. She will be having a free flea market tomorrow (11th of July) @ Our Lady of the Alleghenies, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm.

I did my share by retrieving (1) of our old rocking chairs from our homestead that Corinne was using. We will use it whenever our home is built; for the time being, it's in our motorhome living room & Kathy uses it when doing some needle pointing. The afternoon is hot in Nicktown; our thermometer in the shade read 90-degrees. So we kept our cool by staying inside.

Dinner: Tuna salad on spinach, olives, & cantaloupe.

Nick Skyped us after dinner for an hour & (22) min. He & the family just returned today from Nagoya. To begin with, Eriko, Jerry & Momoko were napping, but during our talk time, everyone woke up & we were able to see & talk with them all. Here we have little Momoko with her parents as seen thru Skype. It will take a few days at least for them to make the time adjustment. Jerry, although hesitant to begin with, really enjoyed attending the Japanese pre-school. He was fluent in Japanese before but is even more so now! It's good to have them back so we can Skype them more often.

After watching our political programs, the lights went out @: 12:03am.

Awake: 5:42am     Temp 68      sleep 5+44      sunny     overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, Kathy, Debbie & I worked out for (1.5) hrs; Debbie did leave early as she had exercised yesterday & didn't need any more sore arms.

Early afternoon, I called Chuck & asked him when would be a good time to give that carburetor its necessary parts back. He told me that Jim was not available right now (the phone company was trouble shooting his phone & Internet system). "Do you think he'll be able to work with us later today" I asked. Chuck wasn't sure. Do you think you & I could start taking that equipment apart & maybe he would show up later & give us a hand? "It's worth a try" Chuck said.

Would you believe that Chuck & I took the same equipment apart as yesterday in a swift (1.5) hrs... but we had the advantage of déjà vu.... & Jim did show up... just in time to hear the 600-Grizzly's engine purring like a Grizzly? Of course, we were all delighted....especially Chuck who took the Quad for a ride down to the blueberry patch & roared back up the trail @ about (30) mph.

Kathy & Shirley joined Jim, Chuck & me having a celebration beer on their back porch. Lesson learned; be organized. Whew!

Dinner: Chicken stir fry, rice, mixed salad, bread, a plum, & a peach.

Lights out: 11:54pm.

Awake: 5:46am     Temp 67     sleep 5+40     sunny       overnight @ Nicktown.

After brunch, I called Chuck & asked about his Quad-runner. He responded: "My Quad still has a problem; it will start but then shuts itself down." "How about I come over in an hr & see what we can do," I asked him. "I would like that" he said.

Meanwhile, Kathy took the Suzuki to the big city of Northern Cambria to do a little shopping: groceries, thrift stores, library, etc.

By the time I rounded up a few tools & walked over to Chuck's garage, there were (2) other fellows scrutinizing the Grizzly-600 Quad-runner's engine. Reginald is a brother of Shirley (Chuck's wife) & Jim, a son-in-law, is married to Chuck & Shirley's daughter.

No offence, but I got the impression that Reginald was not too savvy on small engines but Jim had some interest & was hinting that he would like to help his father-in-law to get that Grizzly moving again. Jim had brought his tool box with him so he had a few sockets that I don't carry in our motorhome.

The 1st thing I wanted to try was: the old spark plug in lieu of the new one that Chuck bought. Jim had the proper socket & in no time @ all, that engine started right up......& then, shut itself down. UGH! There went my theory on the plug gap.

After that, Jim & I were both in favor of attacking the Grizzly's heart (the carburetor). Between Jim's tools & mine, we managed to get all the screws, bolts & nuts loosened to be able to perform intense surgery on the Grizzly's heart. However,  I must have made 4 or 5 trips over to my toolbox for tools that neither Chuck nor Jim had.

During this surgical operation, we realized that the Grizzly had some open heart surgery performed on it before, so this was not the 1st time. Hmmm. Some of the Philips screws were mutilated so much that we had to use the heavy vice grips to get them loose.

Finally...we were able to open the heart; yes, there was evidence of some impurities in the (heart) float system. Chuck provided the Q-tips & carburetor cleaner while Jim held the unit upright (taking the carburetor completely out was prohibited by law), that would require a few more days work.

I was unaccustomed to having a crowd (of 3) looking on during this surgical work; plus, keeping track of the parts removed (screws, nuts, bolts, etc) was not easy. Using a thin needle & hopefully cleaning any or the entire residue that might be in the arteries & veins that could clog the system, we began the sewing up process, hoping that we'd done the right thing & recovery would be quick and successful. Amazingly enough, we had no parts left over, save for putting the seat back on. Kathy returned from her big city touring & stopped in to see our progress; she took a photo of most of us smiling. Jim & I were optimistic & somewhat excited to, hopefully hear that strong heartbeat of the Grizzly again... & so was Chuck. In the meantime, Kathy had to leave & get her groceries back in the freezer while Chuck got ready to start that engine.

Are you ready! We had about (4) hrs labor in this project so far. Ok, Chuck climbed onto the Grizzly, put the gearshift in neutral, set the brake, & then turned the key & ......the engine turned over & over & over? "Wait a minute" said Jim. "The gas is turned off." Oh, now the gas in on.

Chuck turned the starter key again & .....the engine ran & coughed & sputtered & oh my gosh, what have we done! That's it guys, let's go & have a beer & relax on the back porch. I was so disappointed in myself. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I couldn't help thinking...where did we go wrong? I know we were all disappointed.

After finishing my beer, I apologized to Jim & Chuck & suggested that maybe tomorrow....we could do this again. They didn't seem too excited about that. I gathered my tools & started walking across the field to our motorhome; when emptying my pockets of a few tools, there was something down deep in my right pocket...but when I brought it out: ....oh my gosh! Most likely, that's why the Grizzly did not purr an hr ago. Both of these parts belong in the carburetor.

Early evening, Chuck paid us a visit & gave us a fresh bundle of onions from his garden. Then I told him what I had found in my pocket. He smiled & agreed that we should go into the carburetor again.

Dinner: Spaghetti with Marinara sauce, spinach salad, an ear of sweet corn, peach & a plum. Oh what a day!

Lights out: 11:58pm.

Awake: 6:22am      Temp 65     sleep 6+18     sunny     overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, Kathy, Debbie & I exercised in the community center for (1.5) hrs.

Next, K & I had our brunch & then motored to the Foote Castle. When we arrived, Chef Kevin was in the kitchen making dinner, the boys were in the backyard splashing water in their small plastic pool & Melissa was busy monitoring the boys sharing of the water hose. They were happy to see us again & that makes us happy. Of course, we kept our distance because we hadn't planned on getting a shower yet.

In time, we all moved away from the water works & spent some time in the alley picking delicious raspberries. Some of those raspberries never saw the storage cup.

Shortly thereafter, Master Chef Kevin called us for dinner & what a meal it was. Compliments to the chef as always; this meal was to be our 4th of July treat, just one day late, but still memorable.

Matthew has been enjoying making Origami creations & today he gave Kathy an Origami flower & a monkey in a tree. He also gave her a perfect 5-pointed star which he made by folding paper in a particular manner & then only making one cut (Katrina taught him this little trick on her last visit). I had exposed our activity for the day to the boys before lunch...maybe that was a wrong choice as most of them ate very little,,,,, just wanting to get with the next exciting activity...called: "the balloon fest."

Ok, so Matthew & Andrew followed me down stairs to the work shop, found the 12-volt battery charger & the small 12-volt air compressor which we took to the back porch. We plugged the battery charger into the outside outlet & then used the battery charger clips to fasten onto the air compressor's wiring.

For the next hour +, over (25) balloons, large & small, were blown up, tossed around, kicked, hit, sat on, pawed by Kinley, & broken. Only a few were saved & they were hidden in a closet by Matthew.

Then, it was shower time; 1st Matthew, then Andrew & only Nathan & I were left on the porch. Nathan did learn to bounce a balloon up in the air & either catch it or bounce it again in lieu of purposely popping it. The balloon fest always goes over well with the boys.

We stayed for the snack & read time for the boys & another special treat: strawberry-blueberry cream pie made by Melissa. See why we have to exercise! Thank you Kevin, Melissa & boys; it was another nice visit & a fun day.

Lights out: 12:06am.

Awake: 7:00am     Temp 62     sleep 6+16      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

During our movie last night, we could hear fire works going off in several local areas; I was tempted to check it out...but the hour was late & Kathy was so beautiful....almost falling asleep! So: "Happy Fourth of July" to you out there, wherever you may be.

Early afternoon, K & I walked to the Pavilion outside the Community Center & joined other interested people to witness Boy Scout Troop 66 conducting the ceremony of: Burning old worn out, torn & decrepit U.S. flags.

Zack, who is close to having his Eagle Scout award, advertised locally for (1) month & collected (129) old flags that were no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country. There were about (30 +) attendees @ this ceremony. Look closely to see all these flags folded up as outlined in the ceremony procedures. Not intentionally, but Zack turned his back on me as I shot this photo...& I overlooked getting a better photo of him as he went through the proper measures of burning the worn out U.S. flags. According to the book, they used charcoal to burn the flags in the barrel. Before the flags could be burned, they had to be folded again in the proper manner. Zack & the boy scouts of Troop 66 did a fine job at this 1st time ceremony in Nicktown. Dinner: we ate early: leftover Sirloin tip steak, baked potato, yam, fresh corn on the cob & fresh mixed salad + some cantaloupe.

Evening movie: "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball, Desi Armaz, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, etc. Pleasant vehicle for Lucy and Desi, on honeymoon with cumbersome trailer that creates havoc for the duo. Plenty of slapstick. 1954. The movie itself was not that terrific, but since we've trailered & motorhomed, we could identify, appreciate, & definitely laugh at some of the situations they got into.

Lights out: 12:04am.

Awake: 5:45am    Temp 52    sleep 5+37    overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, K & I worked out a little more than usual this morning (1.5) hrs & guess what! After brunch, I got sleepy doing a x-word puzzle & took a (30) min nap. Actually it felt good. 

Then we both went out on our property & picked only a few blueberries & raspberries. The berries are taking their time ripening. Next, Kathy did (2) laundry loads.

After a little computer time & X-word puzzle time, we attended the 6:00 pm vigil Mass & then I fulfilled a birthday suggestion I made earlier this week: "take Kathy out on the town for a nice meal;" Nicktown bar pizza with a beer & ½. But wait, there's more;  then a movie: "To Each His Own" with Olivia de Havilland, John Lund, Mary Anderson, Roland Culver, etc. Well-turned soaper of unwed mother giving up baby, lavishing love on him as his "aunt" without revealing the truth. De Havilland won Best Actress Oscar. 1946. Touching story & well acted.

Lights out: 12:44am.

 

Awake: 6:50am     Temp 48     sleep 6+20     sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

K & I made a brief visit to the KK & then left early & motored to Carrolltown for blood work to get ready for our annual physicals next week. En route back to Nicktown, we stopped @ Ken's Lawnmower business trying to find a side chute for our Snapper mower but to no avail. We were also in the market for a battery, reasonably priced, in order to use the electric start on the Snapper. Ken said he would call when he found one at a sensible price.

We also stopped in Spangler to peruse a yard sale; Kathy found a toy dump truck very reasonably priced & suitable for the future. Upon our return to the motorhome, I discovered a mass of gray feathers just below our front wheel & the bird nest. Using a mirror, I was sad to see those young birdies we've been watching were no longer in their nest & no signs of life. Kathy & I were both sorry this happened. Mother Robin & her companion were extremely watchful from the beginning.

Since I had to abstain from eating this morning, I had my coffee around 11:00am.... & then, brunch. This afternoon, I finished repairing Al's leaf blower; due to the factory not having any parts available, his leaf blower will now perform as: OFF....FAST in lieu of OFF...SLOW....FAST. Dinner: Tofu/veggie stir fry & brown rice with Quinoa.

We finished the movie: "Love with a Proper Stranger" with Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Herschel Bernardi,& Tom Bosley. Nifty cynical romance tale of working girl Wood & trumpet player McQeen. Much N.Y.C. on-location filming, nice support from Adams. 1963. Definitely not for children...even though it declares a good message at the end.

Lights out: 12:08am.

Awake: 6:11am    Temp 45    sleep 5+30    sunny    overnight @ Nicktown, PA.

After brunch, I called Chuck & asked him why I hadn't seen him riding around on his Quad runner today. He replied: "because I can't get it started & I think it has an electrical problem." "Is this a good time for me to come over & check it out" I asked. "If it's good for you, it's certainly a good time for me" he answered.

Using my Fluke, I checked the wiring leading from the battery to the starter solenoid & the voltage was low. There was quite a lot of mud covering this connection; once moved & tightened, the regular (12) volt power was found. Why this problem came up all of a sudden is a mystery to me.

However, one thing I had to bring up was....Chuck's selection of a replacement spark plug. When I compared both the old & the new, there was a shortage of length on the new plug by at least 1/8^th of an inch. The person he bought the new plug from told him that he had the same quad runner & that's the plug he used. Well, so far...since the new spark plug has been in the engine, we've had trouble starting that engine. I will encourage Chuck to get another spark plug as recommenced by the owner's manual.

Dinner: Sirloin tip steak, yam, broccoli & corn on the cob.

Evening movie: "Love with a Proper Stranger." We watched ½.

Lights out: 12:30am.  

 

     

Awake: 7:25am      Temp 46       sleep 6+38      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown.

After our KK meeting, K & I worked out with Debbie for (1.2) hrs. Next, we had brunch & then motored to the Foote Castle. We found them all, but Kevin, on the 3rd floor making things of Lego parts from the (4) drawers full of Legos; Matthew's machine shop....Andrew's truck & trailer...no picture yet. Nathan was busy running a train around the long Brio train track pattern that was built previously. Then we joined Melissa, Katrina & the boys for a walk on the Campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (I.U.P.) This walk with the boys, like the alley walk, has certain stops & things to look for along the way: i.e. fish and/or ducks in the creek, getting into the water just for fun, steps to climb, watching heavy equipment working on more student housing, etc. By the way, this was the 1st time Kinley was brought along for the walk, thanks to Katrina, who did a fine job of handling her; otherwise she would have stayed inside the house in her kennel. Before reaching today's destination, Melissa stopped @ a shaded grassy spot on the campus & brought out a picnic snack of healthy granola bars, cold strawberries & grapes, peanut butter sandwiches, etc. The trees provided a casual, cool place to relax before we arrived @ "The BIG sand box."

The big sandbox is really a volley ball court with lots of good sand for the boys to play in since the university is on summer break with only a few classes in session, the volley ball court is mostly idle. I opted to talk with Katrina in lieu of getting into the sand to make magnificent castles & 4-lane highways; I wanted to get some personal talk time with Kat before she leaves us tomorrow.

After about an hour, we headed back to the Foote Castle, tracing our previous route with many of the same activities along the way. I like Melissa's trail adventures with the boys; they & us are still learning about nature & environment, etc. 

Kevin greeted us & we spent some time in the back yard as Melissa began calling the boys for their showers. After their showers & snack, Kevin brought out what was left of the famous ice cream birthday cake for all to enjoy.

We said our goodbyes & bon voyage to Katrina + thanked her for the nice visit & also thanked the Foote family for their generous good meals & fun activities.

Back in our motorhome, we listened to my sister Corinne's message: she got the job she was hoping for; she sounded exceptionally happy & we are most thankful. We watched our pre-recorded political programs.

lights out: 12:41am.

Awake: 6:17am     Temp: 64     sleep 6+18     sunny     overnight @ Nicktown, PA.

"Happy Birthday" to Kathy; @ 68 yrs, she doesn't look a day over 50! On this special day, Katrina drove in from the Foote Castle & joined our KK for the 1st time. Quite a few of our guy members were absent today & Katrina was a little disappointed. Not only did Katrina get to spend the day with her mother; she also got to join the ladies @ the church hall to help make noodles. How lucky can you get! So her KK time was shortened but her noodle time was lengthened.

After my brunch, I called Chuck & volunteered to work on his Quad-runner this afternoon. He was delighted! Chuck's Quad is about (12) yrs old now & like the rest of us, feeling its age.

Symptom: motor would crank but not start. So, 1st we replaced the old spark plug with a new one; then loosened the fuel line to confirm fuel flow & also cleaned the air filter. After that, we did get the motor to run but, while idling, it shut down & was a little contrary about starting up.

Meanwhile, the birthday girl & Katrina returned from noodle making & relaxed in our motorhome. @ this point, I thought perhaps I should join them but Chuck wanted to show his appreciation by both of us having a beer on his back porch.... & that was nice of him.

By the time I returned, Kathy & Katrina were about ready to leave & motor to the Foote Castle in Katrina's rental Cube. They both enjoyed their time together in the motorhome catching up on each other's lives & activities face to face. But before they left, I held a mirror so Katrina could see the (2) baby chicks resting in the nest. Katrina enjoyed driving the Cube I told them: "I will clean myself up & be a few minutes behind you." By the time I arrived @ the Castle, Kevin was close to finishing the grilling outside & my sister Corinne had arrive to help celebrate Kathy's special day. By the way, have you seen how close Gregory is for walking? Dinner: Grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, some with blue cheese inside, French fries, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, corn on the cob & a fruit dish with grapes..........another really good meal.

After the meal, Corinne had to leave as she continues to clean out her room in Lilly to be positively ready for a potential job transfer.

Maybe (1.5) hrs later, after the boys' showers, the dining room table sported a yummy, homemade ice cream birthday cake with candles made by Melissa & was ready for a song; Note Matthew in the background holding a circuit board which he built that plays a "happy birthday" tune just for Gramma Then blowing the candles out...they huffed & they puffed .... but they just couldn't keep those candles from burning again What a nice celebration for Kathy! And that birthday cake: crushed Oreo cookie bottom heaped with mint chocolate chip ice cream, covered with hot fudge, & topped with Kool Whip, worth every calorie.

Following a sugar high, it was bedtime for the boys. We enjoyed some adult talk time before heading back to our motorhome.

Meanwhile, Kathy received several cards in the mail for her birthday, quite a few phone calls & a few e-mails. Zack called while walking to work & Nick sent 2 or 3 messages & finally talked to Kathy late evening for us....as he was getting ready to board a plane in Beijing flying to Tokyo.

Lights out:12:47am.

Awake: 5:45am   Temp 69    sleep 5+38    morning rain    overnight @ Nicktown.

Al's youngest brother Leroy joined us @ the KK meeting this morning. He's currently living in Kansas & enjoys it.

Kathy, Debbie & I worked out in the community center for 1.3 hrs.

@ the motorhome, Chuck called & told me of woes about his Grizzly  600 Quad Runner. I let him know that I'd be available tomorrow to check it out.

Meanwhile, K & I motored to the Foote Castle, arriving @ 4:30 ....nobody home. A note on the door read: "gone to Giant Eagle." We walked toward the G E grocery store to meet & walk back with them. Melissa was pulling a wagon of groceries with Gregory in her sling, Nathan was walking, Andrew was riding his tricycle, & Matthew was riding his bike.

We spent some time with the boys in the back yard; here is Andrew practicing chin-ups while his trainer Katrina,  watches carefully.

Next,  tough guy Nathan convinces trainer Katrina...he can do better?

& then, (1) by (1), the boys began disappearing; shower time. Then snack time with book reading & (1) by (1), up to bed.

We had some talk time with Kevin & Katrina &, when they started getting ready to go on an exercise run with Kinley, we took that as our clue to leave. Just as we stepped out the door, heavy rain chased us to our Suzuki & our windshield wipers were on most of the way back to Nicktown.

We watched our recorded political programs..... & then,

lights out: 11:59pm.  

 

 

 

Awake: 6:45am     Temp 67     sleep 6+32       partly sunny    overnight @ Nicktown.

Today Nicktown is having a picnic & Classic car show. Our good friends, Gary & Rosemary, joined us for the occasion as well as the Foote family + Katrina. G & R arrived about 11:45am; Gary is the rightful owner of the Motor-Generator & wanted to load it into his truck before walking to the picnic. He is very happy to have his generator working again & so am I. Gary & I walk to the community center where the Classic cars, tents & pavilion are located. When we arrive, I introduced local people to Gary that he might know just by having heard their name mentioned from us. Kathy & Rosemary joined us about 1.5 hrs later. We casually waited for the Foote family & Katrina to arrive ....so we mingled amongst the scattered crowd, introducing G & R to a few more people. From right to left: Joyce, Flossie, Kathy, Rosemary & Gary. The line for a chicken dinner was fairly long & somewhat slow moving. In time, we agreed to merely have hamburgers in lieu of a meal but still: no Foote family or Katrina yet!

Finally Kathy couldn't take the hunger strike any longer & ordered a hamburger... of course, I had to follow. The Footes & Katrina arrived around 3:20pm...they were simply enjoying their friends & donuts after Mass.....& then relishing the family walk back to their home. @ the picnic, the boys enjoyed hot dogs..... ....and Ice cream you gotta eat the ice cream fast; the sun is your competitor Then the battle of the water jug begins; Matthew was a serious fireman battling against a sweet...... & lovely firegirl; our serious fireman won. but it was nearly a washout And I forgot all about touring the classic cars until it was too late; from a distance though, there appeared to be a comfortable amount of interest that kept the crowd looking.

All in all, we enjoyed the day very much. The Footes left around 5:15pm.

Back in our motorhome, we finished the movie: "Life with Father" with William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn, ZaSu Pitts, Jimmy Lydon, etc. Rich adaptation of long-running Broadway play (by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) based on Clarence Day's story of growing up in turn-of-century N.Y.C. with his loving but eccentric father. Utterly delightful, and a handsome production as well. 1947. They said it best; you'll enjoy it too.

Lights out: 11:53pm.

Awake: 6:12am     Temp 61      sleep 6+08      sunny      overnight @ Nicktown, PA.

After the KK meeting, I purused our field for blueberries & strawberries. Turns out, the wild strawberries are about finished for the season & the blueberries are not quite ready for picking. We do have a few strawberries frozen however. Kathy did 2 laundry loads late morning/early afternoon. Then a phone call; it was our youngest daughter, Katrina; presently she is driving thru Pittsburgh, PA en route to the Foote Castle.

We didn't realize she would be arriving @ the Foote residence mid afternoon so we changed our plans for today: 1st a visit with 1st cousin Bernie in Kirschtown; he is doing ok & spends quite a bit of time outdoors when possible. Next we motored to Indiana to attend the 4:00pm Mass @ Saint Thomas More University Church & then drove over to spend some time with the Foote family & Katrina. Our change of plans worked great & when we arrived @ the Foote Castle, the boys were lined up in the back yard for hair cutting by Melissa. 1 @ a time; even Kevin had his ears lowered a little. The only complaint I heard was from Gregory; he fought having his blond hair trimmed. Then Katrina entertained the boys on the 3rd floor for quite some time, joining them in their Lego building/Brio train track laying process. Later, after the boys were in bed, we adults had a good chat in the living room until around 9:40pm & then we headed back to Nicktown & watched 1/3 of the movie: "Life With Father."

Lights out: 12:13am.