Rain, Rain...Go Away!

"Tis the season, I guess. Rain storms, funnel clouds, and uprooted trees.

I am located half way up the hill and the town is in the valley below, but we have been spared the tornadoes right here, but just a few miles away you can see where the wind had destroyed large forest areas, and took out trailer parks. Then, of course, came the rains and washed away the top soil and low lying vegetation.

Back in the early eighties, the road between Alamaguselum and Titusville was just devastated, and the winter that followed was harsh. We had ice floats that threatened downtown and did damage to our Pizza Hut. So far this year, we have had quite a few uprooted trees, and my poor garden, has lost a lot of top soil.

Today the rains have decided that my Kitchen needed watering. That is nothing new, as I need some roof epairs done, but there is always more "to-dos" than money. My little hovel, is my solace, but the repairs are a mounting problem. The house hasn't been painted in decades, but the interior needs to come first, as it is still knob and tube, and runs on four fuses, Reminding me of Green Acres, where you unplug the toaster to plug in the coffee pot. Part of the kitchen had been rewired, but again, othr things took presidence.

Romeo, Oh Romeo

Hi, Everyone, I'm Romeo. As you can see, I am quite the handsome lad. Hard at work protecting Mommy and the house.At the top, you can see MY yard, where no animals are allowed, and the yard behind belongs to Sherman and Hagris. They are two mastiff lads who have had some small fame in the local papers, but I'm better looking! Mom said I got a comment on here, so I thought I would drop a line and let my "fans" know I appreciate their comments.

HOMETOWN HIGHLIGHTS

2008 Pool party/cookout

Because of the way my skin reacts to the sun, I opted out of getting into the pool, and instead, remained on the deck, under an umbrella. That darn ol' sun is a tricky devil, and he caught me unprepared and hit me hard on the shoulders and right hand. Last night was spent applying cream to the sun poisoned areas, and not being able to find a comfortable position to sleep.

There was plenty of food and fun, and great conversation to go around. And unlike normal family gatherings, there was not a single fight, argument, or even a mini-disagreement to be found. Maybe, since we are all getting older, we're mellowing out.

I got to see friends I haven't seen in ages. I am always amazed to see how the kids have grown. Glory showed pictures of her girls, which I haven't seen since they were under three feet tall
(back in the late eighties) and the youngest is expecting. Most, no, all of "the LALA's" are grandmothers.......EXCEPT ME! But I have 2 grandpuppies.....somehow that's not quite the same.

As you can probably tell, we are all good cooks, and except for a couple of the ladies, None of us will be blown away by anything short of a class 4 hurricane. The men seem to be enjoying the advantages of the good food, too.

June has a way with plants, and I always admire the lovely flowers and greenery she has all around, especially since I have the ability to kill (with kindness) ivy. My brown thumb had to have been inherited from my father's side of the family tree, since not only my grandmother, my mother and my daughter are plant people. Luckily for me, my neighbor took pity on me and actually did the planting in my front garden. So maybe with that as a first step, I'll have a nice looking garden net year

Here we go again

It is hard to believe it is another 4 day weekend. The LALA's are planning a cookout on Saturday. Finally, something on my day off, and I can attend. With my crazy schedule, there is not much chance of aligning my schedule with theirs.

This always is a time of good food, good friends, and pleasant conversation. We meet at June's and everyone brings a dish. You never know ow many deserts, main dishes, or bottles of wine, we will consume, but you always know the time will be full of stories and laughter. The one sure thing, since we are all good cooks (as you can tell from the photos) is that nobody goes away hungry.

These pictures are from last year's fall cookout, and we were all having a good time enjoying June's new firepit and fountain .

This spring, she had the pool moved and a deck added, so the early cookouts offer the chance of a ton of fun.

You never know who will show up, and you are always glad to catch up on everyone's lives. We are a diverse bunch, and we are survivors. Through sickness and health, pauverty and good times, since wealth has never darkened our doors, we stand tall in friendship and hopefully, one day one of us will hit it big, and we can all sponge off of her. LOL

The rest of the bunch love to gamble, (not me) so the big vacations are usually set around the slots. Some of us are into jewelry, some or should I say most are into sports, we are all Steeler fans, and always plan cookouts at game time.