Spirits in the Air!

This morning, I got up early and took a picture of the new little creatures invading our side garden. Bob has made more little ghosts to greet the Halloweeners when they arrive at our door tomorrow night. We are ready for them, armed with a big container of treats.

A New Creation!

Halloween is just around the corner. And so is Bob's newest creation. I went out this morning and there at my feet was the cutest little ghost. Now the first spirit has a little buddy. Bob surprises me and he likes to make the cutest decorations.

I got my Halloween outfit together this morning. I printed out a mask that looks accurate. And I got dressed in my clothes selected for the princess. Bob took a picture of my complete look. But I can't post it because you will know my identity. That's a secret until the big party on Saturday.

A Blog for Bob!

Sunday afternoon, Bob and I spend a quiet time watching football and talking. I mentioned my blogsite and he asked how do you do that. So I told him it was just like talking and letting yourself open to the world. I told him that I would put up a blog for him.

Bob learned woodworking and carpentry from his Father. He loves to create wooden art and now he has several pumpkins and a new little ghost made to decorate for Halloween and the Fall. He surprises us with his new artwork and it's fun finding the new crafts outside.

I hope that you enjoy this little blog about Bob and have a Happy Halloween!

Our Golden Anniversary - July 13, 2007!

Bob and I drove to the Lion's Club in Newry about 6PM and Alicia, our lovely granddaughter, met us at the door and escorted us into the building performing her special Anniversary Wedding Dance. Inside the building, we were surrounded by beaming faces from our family and friends and tables filled with Hershey chocolate, Fifth Avenue candy bars, cookies and a special Family Tree Cake, designed by Sue, with the trunk representing Bob and me and the branches with green leaves signifying each child's family tree. The cupcakes were the grandchildren and the tea cakes were the great grandchildren! Each cake has a photo flag on the top, made by Betsy.

Each child worked to make the party a beautiful wonderland! Bob emceed the program and decorated his family table with the Hollidaysburg Sportsman Theme. Ann created a candy replica of our old home on Fifth Avenue. She is planning on spraying it with preservative so that we can put it up at Christmas. Betsy designed a table cloth with the Family Trees of all the families with the photos and a wooden tree of our genealogy. Susie made an automobile table with all our old means of transportion and a framed picture collage of all our family photos. Jon emceed and burnt a wonderful DVD called "The Keagy Story," with songs and photos of our family in a nostalgic mode and Jennifer designed a hobby table with fun and games on it. Everyone worked together to make our Anniversary truly a Golden Day!

Our Family Quilt!

Bob and I created a King-sized quilt for our bed. Bob cut out all the squares from material that I received from friends in quilting and the "Y." Then I added photos of our 7 children with their partners, 17 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren plus our 2 cats, Greybaby and Blinky, to the white squares. We asked Father Gardner if we could assemble it in the Church Hall on tables since we didn't have the space here at home. He said to bring it up to the rectory and we could put the squares together down in the basement meeting room, that wasn't in use. It took us over 2 hours to just pin the 240 squares together. Then we brought the material home and I sewed all the squares together to make the quilt top. I bought the quilt batting and the sheet beforehand. So, all that remained, was to assemble the 3 layers and pin them together. We took 3 hours to do that in the Church Hall. Bea Cannarsa, a friend who was working up in the Church, came down to see the quilt and she helped to straighten the layers with us. We finished knotting the huge quilt and brought it home for my sewing on the machine. I completed the binding and we took it outside to take a picture. Bob and I hung it on the clothes line and Bob put 2 clothes props on it to keep it from touching the ground. Our neighbor, Don, took a picture of Bob and me standing beside it. We celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary next Friday and we can put our Family Quilt on the bed!

Feathers in the Sky!

After we buried our little bluebird, I kept thinking about his beautiful blue feathers. I didn't take any from his tail because I didn't want to desecrate his plumage. Bob said that when he saw the bird, there were feathers left in the grass. So I went outside this morning to find them. We had a heavy storm yesterday evening and branches were scattered all over the back lawn. So I started cleaning up the remnants and discovered a patch of tiny little blue feathers. So I picked them up and put them in a plastic bag to make a reminder of his time here. There were blue flecks through them; but they looked like fuzzy white peep feathers. I put them between laminating film and made a suncatcher. Mom gave me a bluebird suncatcher and I have it hung in my "Pink Paradise" workroom. So I tied and knotted a blue ribbon to the feather plaque and hung them high in the sky beside the bluebirds. It's a small connection to our "Bluebird of Happiness."

Rest in Peace, little Bluebird!

Bob went out in the yard today, checking out the lawn and flowers. He came in to tell me that he found our "Bluebird of Happiness." It was lying in the grass, dead. I went outside and found it behind the neighbor's pool. The children, playing it the swimming pool, came over to see the poor little bluebird laying in the grass. He was a blue streak, still and lifeless with his little eyes sunken in his head. I said that the bird would have to be buried. So I went inside and found a bright blue piece of velvet material, the same shade as the bird, and took it outside. Cory, our neighbor, came over to look at the little bird lying on the grass. She said that she saw it in the tree the other day. Most of the earth was dry and hard and we buried it in the soft ground beside her house. Cory dug a deep hole and I lay the bird gently into the ground. We both covered it up securely and I said a prayer that the Bluebird of Happiness would bring Cory happiness for giving it a dignified burial. It was a sad time today under the blue sky and the hot sun!

Bluebird of Happiness!

Bob told me to look outside and take my camera. There were more flowers blooming. So I spent some time snapping pictures of all the beautiful new posies. I kept hearing the loud trill or a bird; but I couldn't see any trace. Then I looked up into the neighbor's big old tree and on a high branch sat the brightest bluebird. Bob told me that they have a nest in one of his birdhouses by the grapes. So I zoomed in on the little birdie and got his picture. She had her mouth open and was telling me something important. I wonder how many babies that she has in her little birdhouse.

Grand Opening of Perfoming Arts Pavilion!

Bob and I went to the grand opening of our town's new Band Shell on Saturday, May 26, 2007 at 7PM. It was a wonderful event and we enjoyed the music of the Alumni Band and Chorus playing songs from the 40s and a special tribute to the Armed Forces. The Hollidaysburg Alumni Band started the campaign for the shell so that they could play outdoors in the Summer. It is located in the new Canal Basin Park and was funded through the cooperation fo the DCNR and all the community, especially Foundations, businesses, banks and community and area residents.

One of my class members, Sylvia Burke Drass Schraff, president of the Alumni Band contributed many hours and much money to see the completion of the project. It was a momentous evening for her when she unveiled the plaque with the names of the people who contributed and her husband's dedication of the shell to her. He gave as as anonymous Donor to see the completion of Sylvia's dream. So the name of the pavilion is the Sylvia H. Schraff Ampitheatre.

Little Jared Celebrates!

Kathy and Bob and Alyssa and friends helped little Jared celebrate his second birthday on Monday. Jared was so excited! He ran around talking to everyone and showing his toys to them. Bob took him outside and he had fun picking up sticks. Then we gathered in the dining room and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He needed help in blowing out the candles. Then he opened up all this presents. Jared had a Shrek theme for his birthday and he received lots of Shrek toys. We got him a little book with Shrek's head on the front. And he enjoyed looking at it. We had lots of fun watching little Jared at his party and he came today to play again. Bob watches him on Sunday because Kathy and Alyssa work at the restaurant. We get to see him that day; and it makes our Sundays special. I made a DVD for Bob and Kathy from pictures and movies that Bob burned on a CD. Little Jared watched the DVD and started dancing to Elmo's song, "Hot, Hot, Hot!" He went around so many times that he got dizzy and fell into the coffee table. We felt bad about that; and we will have to watch the furniture when he gets going. Kathy said that he makes himself dizzy now for the fun of it. Jared recuperated after we went outside and he had more room to play!

Octogenarian Party!

Last Sunday, April 22, 2007, the Vocation Committee and St. Michael's Parish held a party for all those in the parish who were 80 and over. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and birds singing. The parish hall filled up quickly with the happy people and their families. All the tables were decorated with bright red geraniums and red table accessories. We had a lovely brunch with egg casseroles, home made cookies, fruit salad and punch and coffee for beverages. Also, the Men's Club prepared pancakes and sausages for the birthday party. After everyone had their fill of the party food, Tom Baker gave all the 80 year olds an angel statue. We had a musician who sang and played her music for all to hear. Then I read an Irish blessing and everyone left for home after celebrating their birthdays and having a piece of the delectable birthday cake ordered by Darlene Low. Above is a poster collage that Bob and I put together to hang in
ST Michael's Church vestibule. And, later, look for it at St. Michael's website at:
http://www.stmichael-hldg-pa.org/

Altoona Mirror CU

I entered the Altoona Mirror "Spring Flowers" contest yesterday and went around taking pictures of our blooms in the yard. But we didn't have many happy flowers because of the cold, rainy weather recently. And the fierce winds blew them down too. So I looked at our Colorado Blue Spruce tree and spotted a proud branch reaching to the sky and shot it for the contest. If you go to: http://www.altoonamirror.com/
Altoona Mirror - Making It Happen For You and click on the icon for Spring Flowers Contest, you can rate my photo. The other spring flowers are a joy to the eye also.

Pop Art

Last night, I started playing with Photo Booth and discovered that I could make "Pop Art" using my picture! There can be tons of fun when I discover all the effects Apple packs in this Pandora's Box.

Easter Weekend!

In a snowy, cold day, we gathered in the Valley for the Egg Hunt! All of the children had bags and a great desire to get their loot. I went outside and took a shot of the entire group. Little Brad took off running as soon as the shutter clicked. Bob tried to hold him back; but there was no stopping him. About 20 minutes later, the children all came in with cherry cheeks and bags filled with treats. We had a wonderful time at Jen and Deb's enjoying the Easter Buffet and playing games. Even though the weather outside was cold and dreary, we had warm hearts and happy talk inside!
The next day, Easter Sunday, we celebrated with a ham dinner and all the extras. Jon brought in the kid's table and chairs and set them up in the Pine Room for the children and Ann set the tables while Jeanne, Dana, Zachary and Sarah and I went to Mass and prayed for a peaceful world and all our friends and family. Lent was over! Allelluia!

Apple arrives!

Yesterday afternoon my new Macbook arrived. It's so beautiful and Jon connected it up with a router. I still have to learn what ti do if I need to reboot the router. Jon has to show me. The keyboard has large white keys and is so easy to operate. I like the built in camera and have taken many pictures. It's going to be a challenge to learn the new programs. The software that came with it contains information on making movies and photography and music. I couldn't find a Word Program and I will need that for writing. Jon and Jeanne and Dana and Zachary and Sarah arrived Thursday around midnight. And we have been having fun this weekend. I will post some pictures of the Easter egg hunts as soon as I figure how to do it on my Macbook!

Dressing the Dolls

My little granddaughters, Dana and Sarah have American Girl Dolls and Jeanne, their Mom, requested me to make some doll clothes for them. It was a task to consider because I hadn't made doll clothes for ages since the last time my daughter used her handmade doll clothes to wipe off the chalk board. But, knowing my little Dana and Sarah, I hoped that they would like to dress their dolls more than my daughter, Jean. I started out by making a practice dress for my aged almost seventy year old doll. She has the sweetest face; but her eyes have dark spots on them, her skin contains cracks, her arms and legs are getting wobbly and her hair thin and flat. Sometimes, she reminds me of my own aging body.

After braving the first sewing, I tried making a little play suit with my own ideas. It didn't turn out the way that I pictured it; I wanted to make a 2 piece outfit. But it might look cute on the Bitty babydoll.

Finally, with the help of a master doll designer, my friend Rita, I constructed the dress that looked the best on my model doll. It was tons of work; but it was fun creating the costumes. Now I have to sew some underwear to match. My friend, Dorothy, has more scraps of material for me and my friend, Pete, has an American Doll pattern to give me. I guess that I am in business now!

Yesterday

Shutterfly had a good deal and it was only for a limited amount of time, a few days. You could send for a free poster. So I ordered a collage of my wonderful time in Disney and now I have a beautiful photo on display. Thank you to Jon and Jeanne for my fantastic time. It meant so much to me and it will be my most memorable trip. I felt like a kid again; and that means a lot! Now I can feel like 17 on my birthday! I promised to show Chris's snowman the second day of its existence. You can see what remains in the other photo. It left the trail behind. And I put in a shadow man. Bye!

March Days

March brings warm breezes, sunny skies and a ton of snow like the ingredients of our first snow man. Chris, our grandson, came to visit for a short time today. He was looking for a project to make and he found one right outside the door. So he created our first and possibly last snowman for 2007. We are happy with the little sentinel and will take another picture tomorrow to show how he looks.

Healthy Again!

For the past two weeks, I have been taking medicine and getting plenty of rest. I caught a sore throat bug while working at Jackson Hewitt and it wouldn't go away. So Bob took me to the doctor's and he prescribed Augmentin, a powerful germ killer that knocked out the bad things in me. Bob took good care of me while I was languishing on the couch. And he should have a medal for just being there when I needed him. Anyway, it's good to be healthy again. To celebrate, I went out shopping for a birthday dress for Dana. I found the prettiest Easter dress made of white eyelet with red roses scattered all over it and a bright shocking pink bow at the waist. And I thought that Sarah could look cute in that dress too. So I bought the both of them. And they just looked so bright and Springy, I hung them up to inspire me. I told Jeanne about the dresses; but she said that Dana and Sarah both took larger sizes. So, it will be another shopping trip. Hopefully, I can find the sizes that the girls need. If not, I will just give Dana the DVD of Cinderella III that I bought too. It was great just to be out looking at the new things in the store. Yeah for good health!

Staying Warm!

Last night, I plopped on the couch, covered up with my favorite knitted quilt and Greybaby decided that was a good idea. So we both stayed warm while Bob and I watched TV on our Christmas gift TV from Jon and Jeanne. We saw a wonderful program about a man who is installing merry-go-rounds in Africa that pump clean water to the people in the villages. It will revolutionize the living conditions for the people since their water supply was tainted and brought disease to the village. At the end of the program, there was a picture of Laura Bush and a group of people who contributed to the merry-go-round program. Steve Case, founder of AOL, and his wife were philanthropists to this life-saving idea. It brings joy to the children through running the merry-go-round and fresh, clean water comes to the village through the pumping action of the playground toy. What a great idea!

Fun in the Kitchen!

Urban Home on the Free Range

Laura posted a wonderful recipe for Tuna Melt recently on the above link to her blogsite. Coincidentally, Bob and I had Alfredo Fettucini with Tuna for Supper on Friday. I opened a bottle of Yuengling Black and Tan to drink with it. It was delicious; but it made so much that we had leftovers to eat for days afterwards. Bob likes Alfredo Fettucini and I might make it with chicken sometime too! I take the easy way out and use Betty Crocker's Tuna Helper. Since I worked Friday, it made a hot meal and in 15 minutes. That Tuna Melt sounded like a great idea too for an easy meal along with some soup on a cold winter day.

Today, Bob brought up 4 quarts of apple sauce from the freezer and we put it in the big roaster pan that has been in the family for years and still handles the food. I added 3 pounds of brown sugar, 1 cup of cider vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon and stirred it all together. We put it in the oven at 350 degrees and slowly roasted the mixture, stirring every 15 minutes, for about 3 hours. When it gets thick and a lovely shade of dark brown, it is ready to come out from the heat. Then we let it cool for about 15 minutes and ladle it into sterile containers, from my stash of plastic memorablia, and cover. Let it cool for another 15 minutes and place into the refrigerator. What we don't use or give away, we put into the freezer and it keeps for months. It was a great day to fill the house with the sweet smell of cinnamon and apples cooking in the oven. And now we can put something sweet on our breakfast toast!

A Birthday Tea

Helen, was totally surprised with all the gifts. She stressed that she desired our presence, not presents. But she enjoyed opening all the cards and boxes that the guests brought to the affair. Happy Birthday Helen and many more!
Melanie, Mary Kay's charming daughter, helped with the party and chatted with all the party people while Mary Kay was in the kitchen preparing the feast.
Would you believe that this is a birthday cake? My friend, Mary Kay, had this beautiful banana creme cake, made for a special birthday party. It was for our prayer lady, Helen, who turned 85 this month. We celebrated with balloons, a musical concert by Helen, and lots of good food prepared by Mary Kay--lasagna, salads, beverages including Lambrusca! Yummy!

Epiphany!

Little Jared, Bob's grandson, wiggles around when Alicia tried holding him. He had loads of fun today playing with all his little cousins. And he didn't even miss his naptime!

Alicia brought us some Christmas presents. She gave Bob really brain-puzzling challenges and she had more comfortable and inspiring gifts for me--a fuzzy green scarf and a special Calendar that I put up in my work room for inspiration. I am gazing at the wholesome hunk now!
Today we celebrated "Epiphany." Alicia came to visit us from the snowland. She brought us an epiphany of joy! Here she is reading the story of Sue and Tom's wedding ceremony told in a collage. She arrived Saturday with Betsy and little Hazen. They had roast chicken for supper and then Bob showed them his new TV. I showed them my favorite Channel CCTV. But they thought it was dorky. Alicia likes Kareoki more than the shows that were on CCTV last night. It was like an amateur show, or American Idol. We spent all evening catching up on her adventures and she explained her little kitty Herman to us. Greybaby and Blinky played shy; and Blinky finally came out from hiding for some petting.