Once again. Pat and I headed for yonder Pennsylvania mountains
to soak up the Autumn splash of color and beauty. Three whole days on the road. Almost 400 miles. Up, down and around. Stimulating. Yet, calming. A great experience for us ol' folks.





Look, Pat! This here old road is as old as me!





Our walk along the Tuscarora Trail was the highpoint of our....uhhh, Autumnal venture.

No, Pat! This here water's too cold for swimming!








Cobalt blue skies! Classic Fall color everywhere!

Don't know the name of this lake along the trail. Very peaceful.















Here's one of the little outbursts of color -- one among many -- on our trek thru the woods.

Got home Monday evening. Great purrrs of welcome from Rollo and Rene. Great to go. Great to return home.

A JAW JOB!

Hi, y'all! If I remember correctly, a few days ago I shared a medical update with you. You know...the LUMP! I woke up about 3AM to this stabbing, jabbing pain in my neck. A trip to the bathroom. And voila! I had a lump the size of a baseball on the right side of my neck.

Luckily, Doc Connolly, my ENT jaw doc, saw me a few hours later and diagnosed a "hefty" parotid cyst. He then proceded to drain lotsa unmentionable crap from this ..."baseball on my neck". Great! For about 12 hours!

Then, the whole thing came back with a scream! Even bigger! (Little kids saw me at Acme and ran screaming to their moms!)

Ol' doc Connolly saw me again today, Fri., and took a more radical approach to my "baseball" problem. He inserted, jabbed a scalpel into the affected area. Drained more crap. Then inserted a medical drain into the affected area for the next 3 days. Lordy, hope this works!

At this point you're probably wondering why I'm sharing all this depressing, negative medical stuff with all of you. Easy! Each of you is a cyber-relative or a cyber-friend. As such, we share! Right! Thanks!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2011

'TWAS A MEMORABLE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!.....when the ten of us, both family and friends, gathered at Cape May to celebrate. Cape May?? You know...that great Summer partytown on the southern tip of New Jersey.


Celebrate? Yep, a first birthday for l'il Rome and two marital engagements! So you can see....we had a lot to celebrate. And we did, indeed!

A big bash at Harpoon Henry's Restaurant....featuring seashore fare and a glorious overview of the Delaware Bay.
A gastronomic holiday highpoint!

As usual Pat and Joe Dimino hosted all of us at their home at Cape May. Joe...like...why are you wearing your hat....sideways.... Napoleon style?

l-r Pat C., Pat D. and Shannon fussin' over Shannon's little guy, Rome!






Damien doing some first birthday bonding with his son, Rome.



Hi, daughter Kim, wife Pat, future son-in-law Andy and son-in-law Mike .

A small lake adjoining Joe and Pat's property at Cape May. Always full of ducks and geese....and also mosquitoes on any given Summer night.


Damien and Shannon giving Rome a first birthday hug!

Mike inviting Rome into the poker game.


Our daughter Kelly introducing Rome to his birthday presents.



Ah yes, it truly was a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Thanks, Joe and Pat, family and friends for making it all happen.

Gladdens my oldman heart! Amen.

ONCE UPON A TIME....

....ahh yes, once upon a time there were two little girls who lived in a far off land called...... Long Island. (Hey, Pat and I retired from L.I. 15 years ago....that's 'far off'!) L'il Graduates l'il Kerri Roberts and l'il Kimberly Christopher are cousins. How 'bout that!




l-r: Mikey, Kimberly, Mother Pat, l'il Kerri Girl, Kelly, Mother Elizabeth and Sean Boy! Pat and Elizabeth are sisters!
Pic: somewhere back in the 70's!


Yes, dear family and friends, once upon a time l'il Kim and Kerri were indeed....little. And now, suddenly, they are all somewhere in their '30's! AND....Kerri just received a Master's degree in psychology from Catholic University in Washington!

Kerri and her dear mom, Pat's sister, Elizabeth! Great pic, huh!

Kerri with her brother, Sean, and his beloved wife, Amanda!

And now, for the Christophers! Daughter Kelly with Pat and me...honoring our beloved daughter Kimberly. Uhhh, Doctor Kimberly. (Kim received her doctoral degree in physical therapy from Mercy College in NYS).

Melts my heart...

Kimberly and her beloved Andy!


l-r: Aunt Elizabeth, uhhh...Dr. Kim, Pat and our beloved daughter Kelly!




Ahhh, there's nothing like ...family living! What if I were still back in my monastery...and Pat in her convent! The very thought gives me an emotional ache....of loneliness!

Thanks, dear Lord, for your loving Providence!

FUN IN PHILLY

Yesterday morning we fed the cats. Then, jumped in our ol' RAV4 and tooled on up to Philly. "Why?", you ask. Well, of course, it was time for our annual trip to the Philadelphia International Flower Show at Convention Hall. An annual highlight in these years of our retirement! Yahoo!

The theme this year: Paris in the Springtime!

Ahhh, merci, mes amis!

We were greeted at the door by an iconic French clown. No talk. All artful mime and friendly getures.

Characteristically, Pat melted into the flowers....and they kinda hugged her in return.

Tres bien!

Fancy French table setting. Ooo-la-la!

Magnifique!

Lost in a sea of flowers

Daffodils! Spring is in the air!

Yeah, I used to look lovingly at young women.....now at 80 I ogle the flowers. Life evolves....

Caladiums? I dunno. But a whole red sea of them. 100's...if not 1000's! Tres beautif!

Another red sea. By the 100's, 1000's....whatever!

This staff lady's chapeau ensemble matched her personality. In your face. Flamboyant. Ultra friendly.

This guy was about 5' high. So colorful. But you didn't want to get too close.

Hey, daughter Kelly, master's graduate from UD! Your team won an award! Congrats!

Hey, Warren (Chris) 'n Pat! Sure I look tired. You would too....if you had been standing here for 3 days!!! Answering silly questions from Delawareans....like you!