FEELING BETTER

 Hello, everyone.  So nice to see you again.  I hope you are having a great day.  Here the sun is shining and in the morning it comes right in the front window and into my eyes where I am sitting on the sofa.  That is a good thing since it lifts my spirits and makes me feel better.

I am off to Bible Study this morning.  Last night I wrote up the handout I am giving today.  It is from the YouTube channel The Bible Recap.  Although I am teaching from Matthew 11 today, I just began handing out these recaps and so today I am giving them Matthew 2.  What an interesting chapter about the wise men!  I learned some things and was reminded of others.  I hope my class finds it as interesting as I did.

When I went to print my handout and notes for the class, it wouldn't print.  It kept telling me my printer was offline.  But it wasn't.  And I couldn't find out where to fix it even if it was.  I had it on my new laptop, so I emailed it to myself and then opened the email on my old laptop that I knew would print it.  I finally got it done, but what a time!  When Joe gets up today, I will get him to help me add the printer app to the new laptop.  I'm no good with things like that.

I went to Shoprite yesterday to pick up my order that I had put in.  Because of how painful my legs are, I can no longer walk around a store and get my groceries.  But I don't want to pay the $10 charge to have them delivered, so I go to pick them up.  Usually Joe goes with me and actually goes into the store to get them.  But he isn't feeling well these days so I went by myself.  When the girl rolled out the cart with a case of water and three cloth bags (we are not allowed to have plastic bags in Philadelphia) I was surprised.  Is that my entire order? I asked her.  She said yes, so I said thank you and took it.

When I got to the car and tried to put the bags into the car I understood why it looked like such a small order.  Those bags hold a lot and she had packed them full.  They were so heavy!  They were so heavy that I actually couldn't lift them.  One was light so that went in right away.  But the other two!  I got one of them slid onto the back seat and went for the second one.  But I couldn't do it.  The cart turned on its side and I dropped the bag.  Of course that was the one with the eggs in.  Fortunately only one cracked and I was able to save it and eat it for lunch yesterday.  But I pulled my shoulder and my back.  And I still had to put the case of water into the trunk!

When I got home, I got some tote bags out of the trunk of the car and split up the order.  I would put some things in one of the bags and then lift it to see if it was too heavy.  Those three bags turned into eight bags.  But at least I was able to get them into the house.  It took me over an hour to get them all in, but I just took my time.  Fortunately my back and shoulder aren't hurting today.  Yet.  I just got up so who knows.

I need to stop at Rite Aid on my way home today.  I forgot to get bread.  I thought I had it on my list, but I must have forgotten to add it.  Well, only one thing.  I might get a few other things while I am there.  I have a coupon for 50% off hand soap.  We don't need it, but it won't go bad if I don't use it until January.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week?  How did it come so quickly?  I have to get my kitchen cleaned up this week so I can make my pumpkin pies.  We are going out to eat with some friends on Thanksgiving, but we want to get a rotisserie chicken the next day and have a little thing with just us.  But we have two friends who will be alone that day.  So we invited them to go to a diner with us.  I am just not well enough to cook a big meal or I would.

And now it is getting late and I have to be off to church.  Hope you all have a great day and I will talk to you later.

Kathy

TRYING TO HAVE A PRODUCTIVE DAY

 

Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  It is very early as I write this.  Not quite 6:00 a.m.  I am going to do my best to have a good and productive day today.  I haven't been very productive lately.  I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder which has been very bad this year.  But I am fighting it.  It gets worse and worse as the sunlight gets shorter and shorter until December 21st when we have only 5 1/2 hours of daylight.  And then it slowly gets better.  I could never live in Maine where my brother, sister and niece and her husband live.  They have even less sunlight than I do.  Now you know why I love summer so much.  Today there is 10 hours and 3 minutes of sunlight.

I am a fighter and I am fighting this by trying my best to get my home ready for the holidays.  Do any of you watch Diane in Denmark on YouTube?  I have watched her for several years.  She uses the FlyLady system to keep her home clean.  FlyLady doesn't really work for me.  Believe me, I've tried.  But I take the parts of it that do work and use them.  It does help.  So I have made myself a list for the next week of what I want to accomplish.  I think as I cross things off of that list, I will feel better.

What have I done so far?  Taken my first round of medicine (there are three in the morning and one in the evening), looked at my online advent calendar, and now I'm writing this.  But then I've only been awake for an hour.

So off to get something done.  Like getting a shower and dressed perhaps?  And picking up my groceries from the store.  Thanks for listening to me and see you all soon.  I'll let you know how I do.

Until later...

Kathy

HALLOWEEN

 

Hello, friends!  Happy day after Halloween.  I'm always sort of glad when Halloween is over.  I feel as if this is the beginning of the holiday season now. 

Halloween is not my favorite day.  Not like when I was little and it was a fun day of dressing up and trick or treating.  I am bothered by all the demonic themes attached to it.  Skeletons.  Demons.  Witches. Ghosts.  And each year it seems to get more and more evil.  I'm glad the little kids are still able to enjoy it as a fun time.

But now it is on to Thanksgiving.  While a lot of people don't celebrate the true meaning of the season (thanking God for all His blessings), it still is a lighter holiday than Halloween.

As usual we didn't get many kids around our way.  In fact, there weren't many kids out at all.  Maybe it was the freezing (and I do mean freezing) cold weather.  Maybe it was because we live on a one block long street tucked in an out of the way spot.  Last year we didn't get anyone.

This year Joe sat out on the step for about an hour or so.  At first there was no one around.  He looked so cold even with his jacket, hat and gloves.  He wouldn't let me go out because he didn't want me gettng cold.

Finally some kids came by.  Then another long wait and a few more.  We never did get a lot of kids, but I totaled them up and there were 16 kids.  Last year we got no one so this was better.

When he came in, we called and got pizza delivered.  A treat for the day.

I had stopped at the bakery after Bible Study that morning and bought some butter cookies so that was dessert.

And now on to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.  It makes me remember to thank God.  It has my favorite colors -- brown, orange, red and gold.  I love the traditions, the food, the decorations and the beautiful colors on the trees and the flowers.

Hope you all had a good evening last night.  I'll be back soon with another post.

Until later,

Kathy

GEORGE AND JACK

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are all having a wonderful day.  It is cold here today.  And tomorrow morning it is supposed to be in the 30s (F).  I am not looking forward to that.  But after all it is the end of October so we have been blessed with nice weather and warm temperatures for far longer than we usually are.

Looking back over my posts I realized that I never told you about our new kitten, George.  We got a phone call from one the guys in the Veterans group across the street from us asking if we knew anyone who wanted a kitten.  This little gray kitten had wandered into the building soaking wet from the rain and was laying in a corner.  The guy who called was going to throw him out on the street again, but the wife of one of the other members was there and started yelling at him about it.  So he called us.  Joe said he thought he could find a home for him and took him in.  

But... we couldn't find anyone to take him.  So we decided to keep him for a bit until we could find someone.  The poor thing was sick and had gummy eyes.  He was sneezing and was red hot to the touch.  We got an appointment with the vet and took him over.  They gave him medication and checked him all out.  (Unfortunately now Jack is also sneezing.)

I was surprised that the two cats got along.  And they still do.  Of course there are times when they are at each other, but most of the time they just curl up together and sleep.  That has never happened before when we had two cats.

I named the kitten George.  Why?  I don't know.  It just sounded right.  Jack and George.  He is starting to learn his name.  And as you might have guessed, Joe is in love with him and we are keeping him.  He sleeps on Joe's tummy and gives him kisses when he wakes up.  Not so much with me.  Of course being a kitten he is into everything.

But now Jack is sick.  We found out that he has thyroid disease and have been giving him medication.  But now he was diagnosed with asthma.  He is a poor sick baby.

These cats are going to put me into the poor house with all their doctor bills!

I have a couple of pictures of George that I thought I would show to you.  He is so little and soft.

And here is Jack.  My boy.

They both love Joe's recliner and are going to be disappointed the end of this week when it goes out in the trash.  It is falling apart (literally).  Joe has bought a rocking chair (like a Cracker Barrel one, but not theirs).  I told him I would put it together for him.  He loves rocking chairs.

Lunch is here.  We called out.  So I need to get off of here.  See you all soon.

Kathy

A DATE WITH JOE

 

Hello, friends.  I've been meaning to write a post for several days now, but just haven't gotten to it.  It is very early in the morning and I haven't been to bed yet, so let me write a short and quick post for you.

A couple of weeks ago Joe took me out on a date.  We went to Yamato's, one of my favorite places.  This is before I had my tooth extracted and I told him I wanted to go to a restaurant while I could still eat!

There was work being done on I-95 so we had to take the back streets.  Still, it is not that far away so we got there rather quickly.  And we got seated quickly also since it was pretty empty.  Well, it was around 3:30 p.m. so the lunch crowd was gone and the dinner crowd hadn't come in yet.

We got pork fried gyoza to begin with.  They are dumplings and so delicious!  So is the dipping sauce that goes with them.

Joe had miso soup come with his meal.  He likes it, but I don't.

Joe got a hibachi chicken bento box.  It comes with sashimi, sushi, and rice.

I got chicken yaki soba.  I couldn't eat it all and took enough home that I had it for lunch the next day.

It was so fun to go out together.  We don't do that enough.

After we ate Joe ran into Rite Aid to get a few things and then it was home.  We have decided to go out once a month even if it is just to the pizza shop a few blocks away.  It's important to spend time with each other.

Hope you all are having a good time too.  Sorry this is short, but it's after midnight and I need to go to bed.  See you all soon.

Kathy

FALL IS COMING

 

Hello friends.  Hope you are all having a great day.  Well, the day is almost over now.

I have spent a lot of the afternoon on the computer.  For some reason my computer refuses to download pictures from my SD card.  I have tried everything.  It doesn't even recognize that there is a drive there.  So Joe gave me his computer that he never uses and I have spent time getting my pictures off of my camera and making two videos for my YouTube channel.  People think because the video is 5 minutes long that it doesn't take much to make it.  Not so.  I just spent 90 minutes putting together that 5 minute video.  I also had to repurchase the program I use to make them.  Another $100.  But all is good now.

Yesterday I finally had my tooth pulled.  I went to the hospital to have it done rather than a dentist's office.  I had two dentists turn me down when I went to them to have it pulled.  And now I know why.  I was in the chair for over 30 minutes because when they went to pull the tooth, it shattered into little pieces and they had to dig and drill the pieces out of my gum.  I told Joe that I am so very grateful that God arranged for me to be in the hospital where there was the equipment and personnel to help me.

I bled quite a bit.  For about two hours.  But now I am doing pretty good.  I am in a lot less pain than I expected to be.  As long as I keep up with the Extra Strength Tylenol they gave me, I'm OK.  They would have given me something stronger, but I'm allergic to everything.  But this is doing fine.  An added bonus is it is also helping the pain in my knees.

Last week I saw my GI doctor.  Everything is going good.  He does want me to have another barium swallow test to get a look at my esophagus because I still have spasms, but that's not a big deal.

When I left his office, I noticed that the trees in the medical center were starting to change colors.  These were the first colorful trees I have seen this year.  I took some pictures of them to show you.

And we no longer have the 90 degree sunny and hot days.  Weather is cool around here.  Especially in the mornings.  I guess it really is fall.

I'm going to end for now and get something to eat.  I can't wait until tomorrow when I can start eating solid foods again.  But for tonight it's mashed potatoes and ice cream.

Have a good night everyone and I will talk to you soon.

Kathy

OUR 17TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY -- PART TWO

 Hello, friends.  Hope you all had a great day today.  I'm finally getting back to you to finish the story.  I meant to a few days ago, but things around here been hectic.  Right now I have ordered a pizza for dinner and I am waiting for it to be delivered.  Being lazy today.  I've been fighting a headache for several days so I figure I can do a lazy day.

So let's continue on.  On Sunday morning I got up before Joe and had some quiet time by myself.  It was such a nice and pretty room and I was enjoying it.  I took my medicine and looked at some stuff on my tablet.

I took a picture of this painting they had hanging in the bathroom.  I have seen this picture in other rooms that we have stayed in at this hotel.  I love it and had to get a shot of it.

When Joe got up, he got ready for church and then I did.  We were going to go get breakfast, but really didn't have time.  We had donuts and bananas with us and they made a great breakfast.

We checked out and then went to the Paradise Bible Fellowship Church.  We have been wanting to go there for awhile, but it's so far from home.  We were not disappointed.  We are friends with the pastor and he is a great speaker.  The people there were all so friendly and some of them recognized us from when we went to Annual Conference.  I wouldn't mind going there every week.

After church we went to lunch.  There is a new Sushi restaurant that we wanted to try, so we headed there.  And what a good choice that was.  It was so new to us -- all you can eat but you order it one or two dishes at a time.  You are given a small plate to eat off of and the dishes come out on small plates.

We began by ordering iced tea and California rolls.  I didn't know how it worked at first.  Joe was in the restroom so I ordered two  California rolls, one for each of us.  But then we figured out how to do it and split orders of sweet potato rolls, beef gyoza, beef with noodles, and vegetable tempura.  Everything was very good.  We will definitely be going back there again.

Then it was time to head for home.  We were going to look at some of the stores, but it was raining pretty hard and it was a two hour drive home.  So we figured we would be back later.

It was such a great weekend.  So relaxing and enjoyable being there.  I have part two of the get away up on YouTube so head on over there to see the video.  I also just found some photos of the first day that I didn't post.  I will do another post to show them to you.

And now it is time for pizza so I will say good night for now.  See you all soon.

Until later...

Kathy

OUR 17TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY -- PART ONE

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  It is really early here (around 3:00 a.m.) and I am usually awake between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.  Sometimes I sleep as late as 4:00 a.m. but seldom later than that.  Why?  I wish I knew.  When I was working, I couldn't get up for anything and was always late for work.  Now that I have all the time in the world, I keep waking up early.  Usually when I am waking up, Joe is just going to bed.  He is a night owl.  Not me.  Sometimes I feel as if we are ships that pass in the night.  Literally.

But I really wanted to tell you about the wonderful anniversary weekend we had.  Our anniversary was on Saturday, September 16th.  We had planned to go to Lancaster County for the weekend.  Actually Friday and Saturday nights.  About a week before we were going, I called the hotel to confirm our reservations.  This is something I do on a regular basis.  It's always good to know that everything is OK.  The person I spoke to said that she did not see a reservation for us.  Nowhere.  And there were no rooms available.  It just so happens that this weekend is when all the fall festivals happen in Lancaster and so getting a hotel room is hard.  That's why I had made the reservations at the end of June.  She did have a room available on Saturday and Sunday.  But it was more expensive.  Much more expensive.  So I took it for just one night -- Saturday.  Our anniversary.  I called several other hotels, but there were no available rooms.  And we really wanted to stay at the Fulton Steamboat Inn.  So that is how I left it.  I was so glad I had called and not just showed up and found out there was no room.

We were going to meet some friends for lunch that day, but as time went on I realized we would not get out there in time.  So I contacted them and told them it would have to be another day.  That was fine with everyone because I gave them a lot of notice.  We ended up getting to Lancaster around 2:00 p.m.

We were hungry, so we looked for someplace to eat.  But everything was packed with long waiting lines.  Festival weekend brings in lots of people.  We decided to eat where we were going to meet our friends, the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant.  It's one of our favorite places.  But since we had to pass it, we decided to go to the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market first.

It was really crowded, and we had trouble finding a parking space.  This picture is from a couple of years ago.  But every empty place you see here, was filled.  I think we found the last empty space in the entire lot.  And fortunately, it was next to the door to go in.

We had a good time looking around at all the different booths.  We had decided not to buy anything perishable, so we went to the jam and jelly booth first.  And boy did we clean up there.  We got Chow Chow, Tomato Jam, Vidalia Onion Relish, Jalapeno Jam (for our friend who like hot things), Mango Salsa, and Tortilla Chips.  I got a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread (so good and so much cinnamon), and a pumpkin whoopie pie for another friend.  Whoopie pies are OK but they are not my favorite.  Joe got a couple of bottles of "Joe" brand iced tea.  Really good.  I bought a couple of autumn potholders from an Amish lady I was talking to about quilts.  And finally at the produce stand we got a couple of really beautiful (and delicious) beefsteak tomatoes, a bunch of bananas, and two sweet potatoes.  The tomatoes and bananas are gone.  I had one of the sweet potatoes for dinner last night and it was delicious.

We left there and headed over to the restaurant which was right next door.  My legs were really hurting, so I opted to get a dinner.  Joe went for the smorgasbord.  I had ham balls in pineapple sauce, applesauce and green beans.  Joe had rolls and a salad, meat loaf and mixed vegetables, and three desserts:  apple pie, cherry pie, and chocolate ice cream with hot fundge sauce.  He does like his sweets.  Everything was delicious.  Such a good dinner.

Then we headed over to the hotel.  The Fulton Steamboat Inn literally looks like a 19th century steamboat.  Both outside and inside.

We got to the front desk and the guy there said we had two rooms booked and four people.  What?  Here the person I had spoken to on the phone had not seen our reservation, but there it was.  And it was for Saturday and Sunday.  The other one was just for Saturday.  One was a room with two queen beds.  The other was a king bed suite.  Of course we chose the suite, but it was more expensive.  Because of the mix up, they gave us the suite at the lower room rate.  We didn't have anyone to take care of our cat on Sunday, so we opted for the one night.

We certainly made the right choice.  The suite was beautiful.  My YouTube video is going up today, so if you get the chance, take a look (Kathy's Happy Home).  Everything was wonderful there except the room was dark.  There was only one window and it overlooked the deck on the third floor.  If you look at the picture above, the room was right behind that big half-circle and towards the right in the picture.  Other than that, everything was great.

And now I have to stop because I need to get myself together to get out of here and get ready for Bible Study.  But I will do day two tomorrow.  I hope you come back for that.

The entire weekend was so wonderful and I'm so glad we got to go away.

See you all next time.

Kathy

IT'S FALL

 Hello, friends!  Happy Saturday and Happy First Day of Fall!  And what a day it is.  We are having major storms this weekend.  All weekend.  The guy I have to mow my grass is supposed to come today, but I doubt it.  It is only 6:00 a.m. and it is already raining.  Apparently this is part of Hurricane Ophelia and is hitting the entire east coast.  Oh well.  This will be a good day to clean the house.

Yesterday I went to the eye doctor for my annual checkup.  Great news.  Everything looks great and I didn't even have to get new glasses.  Dr. Moore said my eyes had changed so little that a new prescription wouldn't be needed.  Yay!

Let's see what else has been going on.  Well, I lost my calendar that I call my life book.  I have EVERYTHING in it.  I write not only reminders and appointments, but phone numbers, receipts, etc.  I had it, called my friend to set up a time to go to her house and help her set up her computer, and then it disappeared.  Yesterday I was sitting on the sofa and felt something hard pressing into my back.  I looked and there it was.  I actually kissed the book.  Funny thing is that I had been sitting in that exact spot for a week and it never showed up.  But I am SO glad to have it back.  Now I can get the paperwork I need to get my tooth pulled.

I have needed to have a tooth extracted since June.  I have seen four dentists who didn't want to do it because of my heart condition.  I could have a heart attack in the chair.  I finally ended up going to the hospital.  They have agreed to do it there because the ER is down the hall from their office.  I am very scared to have it done.  But it is getting worse all the time so I just have to suck it up.

Last weekend Joe and I were in Lancaster County celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary.  I have to write a post on that.  We had the best time ever.  I can't wait to go back.  Hopefully soon.

I really want to write more in here.  I just never seem to have the inclination or to know what to say anymore.  Life is...  well it's life right now.

But it's fall beginning today.  I love summer and fall is a close second because I love all the colors and smells.  But we all know what comes after fall.  My least liked season of the year.  In the meantime, I will enjoy what is going on now.  Except for this awful storm.

I am going to end now and get on with my day.  Hopefully I will be back next week and catch you up with some things.  Hopefully...

Until later.

Kathy

A BUSY DAY

Good morning, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful day.  I am still in my nightshirt, watching Netflix, and waiting until I can take my next dose of medicine.  I take my thyroid pill, wait an hour, take my high blood pressure and stomach pills, wait 20 minutes, then I can eat and afterwards take my heart pill.  It's a complicated process in the morning.  Some have to be on an empty stomach, some on a full one.  So each morning I get up early and take a couple of hours to just get myself together.  After breakfast I get ready for the day and then do my Bible reading and prayer.  By that time I've usually been up about 3 hours and I'm ready to start the day.

There was so much I wanted to do yesterday, but none of it got done.  So I have to run my errands today even though it is supposed to be the hottest day of the year.  (It was really hot yesterday too.)  Going to the bank and picking up my prescription are the most important, although I want to stop in Lidl's to see what they have.  That may wait for another day though.  Oh, and I also have to pick up my Amazon order at the locker at 7-11 around the corner.  Ever since we had a package stolen from our doorstep, we have been having our items sent to the locker.

I have so much cleaning to do at home.  I'm going through everything and asking myself if I really want to keep this, or can I throw it away or donate it.  Amazing how many things I thought I really needed, but now don't.  Maybe someone else can use them more than I.

I'm also working on cleaning out the kitchen.  I decided that was probably my easiest room to clean and if I get that done, it will spur me on to do more.

I have some reading to get done also.  I have a book I borrowed over a year ago and still haven't gotten to it.  I really need to get it read and give it back.

I think I will now get off of here and get on with my day.  Hope you all have a lovely one.

Until later...

Kathy

 

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER

 

Hello, friends!  Can you believe it is September already?  How did that happen?  It seems the year just slips on by without any of us noticing it.

September 1 is a special day because it begins the end of the year.  Before we know it, it will be December 31 and another year will begin.  *sigh*   Oh well, we can't stop time.

Every year for the past 10 years or so I have made spareribs for dinner on the first day of September.  This year I couldn't afford them.  I saw the price and gasped.  So, I am breaking with tradition.  I saw a pork roast for $5 on Manger's Special and I got that.  I am going to put barbecue sauce on it and that is going to be dinner.  I need to start the potato salad soon.  Don't know what else I'm going to have, but I'll have something.

It's time to start decorating for fall too.  So much to do.  I have to clean first though.  I don't know how so much junk gets into this house.  As I am going through things, I am asking myself, "Do you want to move this with you?"  Most of the time the answer is no and out it goes.  As I finish decorating, I will take pictures and show you.

I do love fall.  I love the colors.  I love the scents.  I love the flavors.  I just don't love what comes after fall.  So, I am going to soak up today and enjoy it.  Hope you enjoy the first of September too.  What are you doing today?

Until later...

Kathy

THOUGHTS IN THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST

 

Can you believe it is the middle of August already?  Where has the summer gone?  Time seems to be flying by so quickly.

I just realized this morning how fast the year is going.  Although looking back it seems as if a lot has happened this year.  But fall is right around the corner and then the holidays and then...  2023 is almost over.

I know it doesn't seem as if it is almost over.  There are four and a half months to go.  Lots of time to do lots of things.  But I am thinking how fast my life is going.

Maybe it's because in four and a half months I will be hitting a milestone birthday.  One I am not looking forward to.  One I thought I would never see.

Maybe it's because I have seen four dentists now and still have no answer to what I am supposed to do about my tooth with the cavity under the gum.

Maybe it's because my cardiologist keeps telling me how close I am to a deadly stroke and life-threatening heart attack.  Every time I see him he tells me how fortunate I am to still be alive because I am on borrowed time.

Maybe it's because I so want to move out of this house and into one where I can get around better.  Being hardly able to do steps and living in a three storey (four if you count the basement) house is hard.  Very hard.  And very, very painful.

I want my life back.  I want the year back.  I want all of my problems to go away.  *sigh*

I guess I'm just feeling depressed today.  Because I have so very much to be thankful for.

For instance, I have a house to live in.  Some people live on the street.  Some people have nothing to eat.  I can have just about anything I want for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I have a shower to use and clean clothes to wear.

I haven't died yet.  God is keeping me alive for whatever purpose He has for me.

I can teach Bible study, attend church, and even watch a live stream on TV if for some reason I can't make it to the service.

I have family and friends who love me and care about what happens to me.  I have a husband who loves me in spite of my defects.  And I have a God who loves me so much that He died for me and then chose me before the world began to be one of His own.

Sorry about this rambling.  I just felt that I needed to write all of this down and you were the perfect ones to spill my heart out to.  Thanks for being here to listen to me.  Or read me.  I do appreciate all of you so much.

Kathy

SISTERS VACATION TO LANCASTER COUNTY DAY TWO

 

 

Hello, friends!  I'm back to tell you about my second day in Lancaster County last month.  Beware, there are a lot of pictures to show you.  By the way, I put up Day One on my YouTube channel today.  Day Two will go up on Tuesday.  Then the things I bought will be on next Friday.  Hope you go to see them.  In the meantime, let me show you some of the pictures I have.

Our room was at the very end of a long hallway.  Let me tell you, that was agony on my sore knees.  But I made it.  This picture was taken from in front of the elevator.

There were some beautiful bushes right by the front door.  And a little garden which we could see from the window in our room.

The room comes with breakfast.  There is a little eating area on the first floor.  When we got on the elevator to go down, there was another couple there.  They had been on the floor above us.  We said good morning and then got off to go eat.  I grabbed a table (there aren't very many and they were filling up) while Elaine went to get her breakfast.  This couple was looking around for a place to sit, so I invited them to sit with us.  Their names were Sue and Paul.  They were from New Jersey, but Sue was originally from right outside of Philadelphia.  They were so fun and we had a great time talking together.  I love meeting new people.

We went back to the room and got our things together to check out.  It was a short trip, but so relaxing.  We wanted to head to the Bird-in-Hand area, so that's what we did.

The first place we went was to get some money from the ATM on Route 896.  We had a hard time finding it.  It used to be a PNC bank (where I bank), but now it is one I have never heard of.  But I got the money.  I needed cash.  We passed the Sight and Sound Theater while we were looking for it.

Then we headed for Kitchen Kettle.  I took lots of pictures along the way, but because we were moving, lots of them were blurry.  We started with the plant place.  It is all new and the owner was so friendly.  I bought basil and English thyme.  I planted them in the yard the other day.  They were in bad shape.  The basil came back and is doing great, but the thyme didn't make it.  Oh well.  I use more basil than thyme anyway.

I sat down by a fountain and Elaine went to the Jam and Jelly Kitchen.  She got some really yummy things.

When we left Kitchen Kettle, we took a wrong turn and were heading away from the Farmers Market.  Elaine made a turn into a road, and we were in the most beautiful little community.  Most of the houses were Amish, but we did see some with electricity, so they were either Mennonite or English.  I was snapping pictures right and left.  A lot of them did not turn out because we were moving, but many did.  We were finally able to turn around and head back to where we wanted to be.

We finally made it to the Farmers Market.  I got some chocolate covered pretzels, a loaf of raisin bread, a bottle of Shank's vanilla bean extract, some lebanon bologna, 6 ears of white corn and 3 tomatoes.  The produce was so good.

Then we went next door to the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant for Elaine's birthday dinner.  

Bird-in-Hand and Dienner's are our favorite places to eat in Lancaster County.  I had meat loaf, sweet potato fries (which were wonderful!) and corn.  Elaine had the smorgasbord.  I couldn't eat it all and took my fries home to Joe.  He loved them too.  Elaine also got a piece of cake for her birthday.

We discovered about a week after our vacation that we hadn't taken any pictures of ourselves or of each other.  Wow!  This is the only picture I got of Elaine and it was her birthday!

These beautiful geraniums were right outside of the restaurant.  They were so bright!

And then it was time to head home.  I always hate to leave.  Maybe someday I can live out there.  I hope.

Thanks for being so patient waiting for the end of the story.  I hope you enjoyed coming along with me.  And I will see you all soon.

Kathy