September Song

Andrea Bocelli sings 'goodnite' to Elmo!

"....AND BABY WILL MAKE THREE!"

I'm a blogger well-versed in trite, hackneyed expressions, a corny purveyor of down-on-the-farm, somewhat archaic reflections about life and the celebration thereof! Corn is everywhere! Bring it on, baby



Photo: Soakin' up inspiration!


All that having been said, let's relive the great extended family event we celebrated this first weekend of October! A Skype baby shower on Long Island for expecting (November)Varinthorn (Kay) and our son Mike living out in Portland, OR. Why Skype? Simple, we were on the east coast, Long Island, and Mike and Kay live on the west coast. Impossible to party in person. So, we all Skyped and celebrated this happy time....virtually together.

Our daughter Kelly and her husband Mike T. hosted our family get-together at their lovely home and backyard, Long Island.

Hi Kelly! Lookin' good, kid!
















An American flag flies and flutters high over Kelly and Mike's home...."Fort Tornabene"(?). Their neighbors marvel that Mike T. was able to climb and fasten their flag to the very top of this glorious 62' evergreen in their front yard. Some neighbors even stop and salute as they motor by!










The famous flag-topped tree!



















Pat and the family aunties. The 'Golden Girls'!

Back l-r: Kathy and Grace
Front l-r: Elizabeth, Pat and Barbara

A beautiful bevy of feminine pulchritude!

By dumb luck I was finally able to get the Skype program working on our laptop. Our son Mike and Kay, mother-to-be, could see and hear us. And we could see and hear them. A great way to communicate over distance. Skype (a free download) and a cheap webcam is all you need.

Aunt Elizabeth. Pat's sister. Sean and Kerri's mom. Is that Scotch, Eliz?

'Twas a sunny, early autumn Sunday afternoon. The party quickly moved outside to......'Tornabene Park'.















Why....that must be golden-haired cousin Kathleen in the foreground!

l-r: Cousin Mary, Aunt Barbara with granddaughter Adrianna Rose. My Pat. Daughter Kelly.

Aunt Kathy with cousins Kathleen and Mary.

Barbara's son Brian with wife Teresa and Adrianna Rose.

Mike T.'s pride and joy....'Tornabene Park'!

Pat with Barbara's daughter Eileen

Kathy's daughter, cousin Jennifer. Thanks for helpin' out, Jen!

Jen's daughter Princess Deirdre

....and Jen's other daughter shy Shannon

















Thanks so much, Kelly and Mike, for hosting such a great extended family baby shower for Kay and Mike C.

'Wolfie'...friendliest dog in three states. "Hey! When's dat grub comin' out!"

Our other daughter Kim with Andy. Poor Kim felt bad she couldn't be with us for her brother and Kay's baby shower. Taking weekend courses for her clinical doctorate in physical therapy. 3rd year is tough. Can't cut classes anymore. You were with us, Kim and Andy.....uh, virtually!








Friday is Mike and Kay's 10th wedding anniversary.



Congrats on your anniversary! And your soon to be seen baby boy!

SEAN and AMANDA! What a beautiful wedding!

Pat and I left Pike Creek Valley, Delaware in the early morning hours of September 17th.....we were finally on our way south to far off Tennessee (650 miles) in our rickety RAV4. At last, we were on our long-awaited journey to the family wedding of Sean Roberts (Pat's nephew, our godson) and his beloved Amanda Sheldon at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City. We motored over rolling country roads to Winchester, VA, then turned SW on the mighty Interstate 81 down thru yonder Shenandoah Valley.

I-81. Shenandoah Valley. On the horizon to our left... the Skyline Drive along the heights of the Blue Ridge Mts. Glorious! So much corn....corn everywhere! This is real Cornmeister country! And you know how anything relating to 'corn/corny/'out-of-touch'/old-fashioned' stirs my soul! At least, that's what our 3 'kids' used to tell me in their teen years....

Kelly, Kim and Mike, just kidding!

St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Lenoir City, TN. A beautiful red-roofed complex of rectory, church, cloistered square and parish center!

Somewhat dark/cloudy sky days during our visit. But I bet it's glorious on a sun-soaked September morning. Definetely has an Hispanic ambience. Why not? Ministers to a large Anglo-Hispanic population.




I would say...at least 200 people attended Sean and Amanda's wedding.

Most of us were very aware of Jim's presence among us. An awareness...not just emotionally....but thru faith!

Fr. Peter Ryan accepted Sean and Amanda's wedding vows...and offered Holy Mass to consecrate their mutual love. Monsignor Ryan is pastor of Elizabeth's parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Centerport, Long Island. He was also Jim's good friend. Thanks, Fr. Ryan, for coming all the way down to lead us in a faith celebration!






I was too shy to run around in front of Sean and Amanda to capture their beatific smiles. This will have to suffice for my, uh... humble blog till we get the professional pics on line.

Amanda's brother, Ryan, was the "Maid of Honor" (Honorable Man-Maid)...and Sean's sister, Kerri, was "Best Man" (Best Woman).

[The above imaginative designations were taken directly from the wedding program...]

Amanda's parents, Sam and Ellen Sheldon

Thanks for hosting such a beautiful-in-every-way wedding!!

These lovely people need no introduction

The Sheldon family











Hi! Amanda and Sean! Pictured here with ol' Pike Creek Pat and Chris Corn

The Stephens Girls!

Aunt Pat.....and a coupla movie stars!!

Jim's cousins and family from Ireland. Close friends to both Elizabeth and Jim. Great to see (and hear!) you guys again. So touching that you would travel that distance to celebrate with us.

[Would you please sing one of those great Irish songs again!]

This is a good pic. Would have been great...if it were in focus. I probably had one of my 'old man tremors'....again!

The Tellico Yacht Club! Beautiful setting along the shores of the TellIco Reservoir.

Take a look: http://www.tvpoa.net/

Ahhhh, sweet love!

.....and cake!

Last minute advice from mom!

I couldn't believe we didn't get any pics of the people we love so much...Tom and Grace, Mary and Tom, TJ and Emma! And we were all at the same table! Chalk it up to incipient senility. Sorry.

Arrived back in Pike Creek Mon. afternoon....after our 1,400 mile Tennessee caper. Our krazy kats....Rollo and Renee... spent five days in this window...looking and wondering where we had gone all this time. (We're so lucky we have a wonderful neighbor who stops by to feed them, play with them....and clean the litter boxes while we're gone).

Dear Sean and Amanda! Ad multos annos!

WONDERFUL MEMORIES! THANK YOU, EVERYBODY!

Alleluia Chorus

LIFE DOWN CAPE MAY WAY!

'TWAS A SERENE, SUNNY, END-OF-SUMMER, SEPTEMBER DAY when Pat and I set sail on the three-masted frigate...(frigate: no, that's not a 'dirty' word)....aptly named the 'Serendipity'! We wended our way S-by-SE down Delaware Bay toward ol' Cape May! Ahhh, smell...smell... the salubrious, salty sea! The briney deep from whence our primordial ancestors all evolved (climbed on shore) eons ago! Heady stuff, man!

(Left click this gorgeous vessel! See Pat and me holding hands under the second mainsail!)

Enuff already! Chris, wake up! Reality check!

Huh? Oh! .....well, forget the 'Serendipty for seniors'....we actually drove down to CM in our beat up ol' Rav4 to celebrate Labor Day weekend with our daughters, Kelly and Kimberly (and Kim's friend, Andy!) and our dear friends, the Dimino family. But I bet the 'Serendipity' would have been great fun! If we had some money....for such frivolity!

Some of you may be wondering at this point...what's so great about going to Cape May, NJ? We've spent most of our holidays at CM for the past 25 years....thanks to the kindness of our friends, Joe and Pat Dimino. Their lovely home is actually in Cape May Beach on the Delaware Bay side. Ahhh, the Bay sunsets are justification enough for the two hour trip from Wilmington and the holiday traffic.

Our favorite restaurant haunt is Harpoon Henry's on the Bay. Sometimes I forget to eat...so mezmerized by the view of the setting sun over Delaware Bay to the west.

"Paradise Found!" Situated directly on the Delaware Bay with sunsets to die for, at Harpoon Henry's, you'll have to agree you've found paradise! We offer over 250 frozen drinks from our full bar. A tropical delight awaits your arrival. If that isn't enough to tempt you, the food is great and the service is friendly. We have plenty of free parking and a giant sandbox for the kids!
With outdoor and indoor, air-conditioned seating for 300 and three bars, everyone has a great time at Harpoon Henry's. Entertainment Nightly! Everyone knows this is the happening place to be. [Uh...amen!]


Pat wants me to confess....I stole/borrowed this pic from Google Images. But, Pat, we have seen sunsets like this from Harpoon Henry's!

So many great 'family' memories here at Harpoon Henry's!

Disclaimer: This blog is not a paid plug for the Harpoon!

Cast of characters (and I do mean... 'characters'!):

l-r Damien Dimino, Andy Hallack (Kim's boyfriend), Joe&Pat Dimino, 'my Pepsie Pat', old man Chris, Kimberly and Kelly (our beloved daughters).

[Left click to see some ....'good lookin' people']

Joe and Pat's backyard on Lake Dimino. And that's my Pepsie Pat (Mother Goosey!) feeding her children.

Sunday nite was the funniest, most filling and fulfilling nite of our 3 at CM. A gorgeous meal at the Dimino house (I'm salivating just thinking about it!)

Then after dinner....we called our son, Michael and his wife, Kay, who live all the way out in Portland, OR....and launched into a new (for us) amazing technological accomplishment of our day.

SKYPE! We could actually see and hear them....they could see and hear all nine of us! Skype is a free download. Buy a cheap video camera ($35)....and you never have to talk into a dead phone-in-your-face again. You're loved ones and friends are right in the room with you. [Once again, this is not a paid advertisement! Altho', maybe I should give Skype a call.....]

Okay! Enuff! Thanks, dear family and friends, for getting this far.....if you have. Pat and I sincerely hope your Labor Day weekend was happy and fulfilling for you. Bye!

A TIME FOR US FROM ROMEO AND JULIET