Category Archives: Brian

Snaps from cellphones

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I don’t think these are too bad for cellphones. I did lighten or enhance the color in PSP7 just to make them more visually appealing:
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Enhanced with Abode.
This is right near Longwood Gardens. I wanted to capture the burnt umber of the corn/wheat fields against the dark orange fall leaves:
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And our dinner at Chili’s last week for Sean’s birthday:
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Those salsa and chips are so good! And they are a bottomless bowl!
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The first few were my camera. This is Sean’s camera (more $) and I had to tweak it a lot more!
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Halloween didn’t feel much like Halloween until we saw some trick or treaters in my mom’s hometown on the way home. It’s the first year I didn’t see my niece and nephew as they were with their friends.
Working at my mom’s was very draining. It was a rainy day, but in the low 70s, so humid. She says she does things, like go through slacks she stuffed in a big black bag. I had to take every pair out and hold them up and read the size and most of them she discarded! I think we loaded up three of those bags. She loves jackets and says she has about 70! She said she would pick the 20 or so she likes best. It’s so hard to do this. My brother was running across tons of old family photos and sent them home with me to scan. Brian came along and we set up our old dining room table and we all could sit together for a change and share pizza. Brian and Don need to hang a mirror in mom’s room and hang a ceiling fan in the dining room. I have to go and work in mom’s room next.
I’ll be scanning the photos over the next few weeks. Need to make some chili for dinner soon for Sean’s arrival from Penn State.

A Day in Bucks County, PA

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A Day in Bucks County, PA
The three of us took a daytrip up to Bucks County, PA on Sunday to celebrate Sean’s birthday a wee bit early(it’s really the 24th). We thought he may have to work, but alas, he called the lady that ‘hired’ him from the grocery store and now she said they were in a ‘hiring freeze’. Very sad indeed. He is first on the list-so he hopes this is true info. The restaurant in Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, has the best Sunday brunch. Brian and I stumbled upon it 10 yrs ago when we went up in the same area to celebrate my 40th. From breakfast treats to craved meats and treats, everything is prepared (I think this is right) by culinary students. The village had a fun array of scarecrows/effigies on display from Scarecrow ‘crows’ to Michael Jackson. More are in my Flickr photo stream. It was a chilly and blustery day. My feet gave out early as I’m not use to wearing heels. I should have wore my sneakers. Sean and I plan to try and catch some of the autumn foliage in Lancaster one of these days. The leaves in Bucks were just changing a little and everything was wet looking.

I am using the larger of the two collages and I got cut out of the one with Brian. The building is the Bucks County Playhouse right on the Delaware River in New Hope, PA. This is where many of a celebrity did summer stock, even Tim Daly when he was a boy.

Photo Hunt-Anything goes

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The hubs and I had a bit of a disagreement earlier this week. I said to him a day or so after it happened, that it would have been nice to get flowers or candy to patch things up. The next day he went out in some ugly weather to present me with these (even though it was my idea). I am glad that they are for a good cause-breast cancer awareness and Research gets a cut from the sale of such marked items. I’m going for my annual visit this week and will get the orders for my mammogram which is not routine anymore since I had a biopsy a few years ago. I was good the year after, but you always get nervous, you can’t help it. Knowledge is power!

Spring cleaning in the fall

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We had a very unusual rainy spring and summer. Not ideal weather for hanging out comforters and curtains, so I’m doing it now. Brian’s been home this week painting with the help of Sean since he has some free time this year. The overhangs are finished and Sean is doing the front of the house now! I guess sometime in the future they will do the back and leave the high sides and parts on the roof for a handyman. The paint is a tad lighter in color, but it’s close enough as is Wally*World where it must be a stock color (I had the paint chip from last year and they had the same color this year). It looks nice and clean. I do wish I could have taken down the shutters and washed them. The painting of the front was a last minute thing. The shutters are plastic and we are afraid we may damage one and have to buy all new ones. I’ll have to go out with the Windex one of these days. I have a few cans of spray paint to do some wrought iron things, one of which was my table which Bri put away already.
I am also trying to get things together for a Holiday sale at the church in November. I found a great website where you can buy multiplies of goods. I have 48 memo books that I purchased to decorate the fronts with my collage art. I copied one I had made and my PSP7 program copied it to the size I needed. The site is called Dollardays.com. You have to register to use it. I also have religious pieces since it is a church sale-key chains and car magnets. I do want to hand make a few things too.
So that’s what I’ve been doing, despite having a few tummy issues (Sean and Brian were complaining too-I think it was the rotisserie chicken I had on Tuesday that threw us off-the smoky stuff just didn’t taste right).
My former classmates are hosting a get-together at the beach starting tonight through Sunday morning. I think 30+ are attending. I had planned to, but then Bri took a bit longer with the painting and now the Chestnut tree burrs are littering the side yard. We are having an evening get-together next month, so that sounds like one I can attend. It’s been fun getting to know almost 100 former classmates again (I was in a class of 486).

Home Improvement-Day 1

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So It says on the calendar that today it the International Day of Peace, though not quite around my house! This week Brian is off to do a little painting. He was outside around 10:30 and within 4 hours, got 120 feet of overhang scraped (front and back) in prep for painting. Sean and I went to Wally World and bought a couple of gallons of paint. I had matched it up the best I could as the original color was splashed on about 11 yrs ago, by student painters-about 3 of them-who had the entire house painted in about 2 full days. Sean was itchy to start painting-a tall task for an already tired Bri. They got about 15 feet done in the back (we borrowed the neighbors longer ladder) when Sean was climbing up and I think it slipped off the edge of the flagstone patio and he went through it. That was it for the day. He scraped his leg a little, but is alright. Whew! I said it was good that they started on the back as it was the harder of the two sides to do. They aren’t touching the side eaves as Bri and ladders don’t mix well, especially when you add height and he had a traumatic event of falling off one and breaking his leg as a child. Guess we’ll have to end up hiring someone in the future to do them.
Good luck tomorrow guys!

Can you see Brian?

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Taken from the garden area, that’s Brian cutting what we call ‘the long part of the yard’. It was always my hope that we do something with that piece of uneven property, like grow flowers to sell or something along those lines. The problem is that it’s far way from the house and if we had done the flowers, people may have been able to help themselves from the nearby road. Yes, the road is that close and not very private much of the time we are in the yard, even trying to lounge under the big Chestnut trees.

Sean made it to State College fine. I hope he has a great time. I saved the Hibiscus that he gave in for Mother’s Day 2008 and it just started to bloom again:

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I feel like I’m in Hawaii! : )
And some of my Nasturtiums are blooming too:
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Tying things up

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July was always the month for my grandmom Ruth-born July 3rd and my brother Dave-born on Independence Day. When he was little, he thought the celebration marked with fireworks was just for him-lol
Not to much going on here this week. I’ve had to take allergy medicine three days in a row-so unlike me! Today I am better-have ‘another’ issue that may have knocked out the allergy one. Your body makes lots of histamines which can mess with hormones. Maybe I’ll be on an even keel for a few days-lol Our Chestnut trees are dropping massive amounts of catkins-the pollen part-which are dirty and dusty and I am sure the culprit with me. The guys have itchy throats too.
Anyway…mainly been doing quiet things inside and tying up, or should I say making ‘string trellises’ for the tomatoes, cucumbers and string beans. The bean one looks a little wacky, but I hope it works! The tomatoes look good. I’m glad I skipped the ‘tepee’ ones from last year. You really need a large garden for them to work. Here’s the tomatoes:
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The main support stakes are at the end of the rows. I have a few thinner stakes in between. You go down with the string and up again, make sure to wrap it around the skinnier stakes and that the tomatoes are in the middle of the string to hold them up.
Sean is going through his books and wants me to list them to sell. He’s sold one, but I have a big pile to add to Amazon. I should follow his lead, because I do not like piles of books on the floor. I know I must have similar books too. It’s hard!
Brian was pulling down poison ivy vines which are terrible this year in the yard. While Sean and I were out in the garden area, he pointed to a thick vine growing 50-60 feet up a pine. Brian was at the bottom of it! Today he has an few blisters on his face-yikes-I hope that is it. I gingerly go around with my garden snips and do the ones coming out of bushes, etc.

Take me out to the ball game

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Happy Father’s Day to all the special dads out there! Sean is treating his dad to the day at the ball park to see the World Champion Phillies! Sean bought Brian a new Phillies shirt to wear to the game. The weather has been so iffy here, I hope the rain stays away!
Sean at the entrance to Citizen’s Bank Park.
The Phillies lost to the Orioles 2-1, they got swept by them at home. Rats!
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The World Series Flag!
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Greg Dobbs hit a homer for us!

As for me, I’ll turn the game on and try to plan some new meals. I have enough books and magazines to help. My sinuses are giving me a hard time right now too. I’ve been digging into dusty piles of magazines, etc. so that doesn’t help.
Have a nice first day of summer!

The years seem to melt away

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I’m not talking about a new kind of vanishing cream-though, wouldn’t that be nice? ; )
What I’m referring to is spending time the other night with some former classmates from my high school! One lady was in my kindergarten class-45 yrs ago! Face*book has helped me and other classmates find each other! I started a group at FB just for my class, and I believe there are close to 70 of us in it!
Anyway, this past Friday night, Brian and I got together at a beachy like place and sat and chatted with 10 nice people, 7 former classmates and two of their spouses and a member of the class under us. Our pal Ron was back in town for his son’s graduation and asked ‘yours truly’ to post an event and round up some of the group. Ron has moved to Arizona-twice-the second time this April. I can tell you he had a great time! I ordered a Cosmopolitan-it was a bit heavy on the Vodka, so I asked Bri to have them put a splash more cranberry juice in it which helped.(I hardly ever drink). I was really happy to see Meg (I was suppose to go to her house a few weeks ago) and her three pals arrive. Ron said really nice things about me and calls me ‘The Queen of Face*book’. He mentioned my photos and gardening too. : )
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Ron and another Meg! So glad she came too!
Scott added photos and I grabbed a few:
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Thanks to Ron, Meg H-M, Scott, Linda, John, Darcy, Meg B-M, Janet, Karen and Barb for a nice evening.
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The garden is all planted-about 2-3 weeks late. We plant a lot of tomatoes to mainly share with the family. Over the last few years, our garden hasn’t been producing, so we added a few layers of new top soil. Crossing fingers for a bumper crop.
Sean and I are watching ‘Twilight’. We have another hour to go. I think it’s definitely for the younger crowd.
We are having our septic tank drained tomorrow-country living folks! It hasn’t been done for about 4 years which is a long time!
Sean said he will help me plant zinnia and cosmos tomorrow. I am having some back and tummy issues, so I’m glad he can do the bending. I think I’m overdoing it!
Sean’s graduation announcements went out today with their personalized stamps-even the lady at the post office was impressed! And Zoey, your DH should expect a package in a few days-finally. I put a little something in there too.

The guys playing softball

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The guys playing softball, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

We have a long yard down to the left there, yet they chose to bat a ball around my flowers and lawn ornaments! I don’t think they broke anything-they are lucky.
We had glorious weather for the weekend. I went out and used the weed whacker today, and believe me, I had to whack and hack plenty of weeds. It’s such a helpful contraption. I also planted up a few more pots and did flowers around my gazing ball in the pond garden. I got this blue salvia-it’s almost purple, and it looks great with the blue gazing ball with the swirls of color.
Also put down some mulch in my Asian bed that has lots of Sweet William in it-about 18 plants. Love those. I bought three little solar light to line my brick path up to the house and two didn’t work. Silly me didn’t check to make sure all three were on auto.
Sweet William in bloom
Have a great week ahead!