My Pop had his own creative names for things. For example, he had a gardening tool that he called a "hooka-hooka." This tool was simply a hoe without a blade. The hook that the blade was attached to remained. Pop realized that the hook was ideal for precise weeding around his tomatoes and beans, so a broken hoe became a valuable hooka-hooka. He didn't like being late. If you were dragging your feet and making... Read more →
Happy Labor Day! Here's a sampling of this week Sunday Stealing questions - I liked the idea of "firsts," so here you go! Who was your FIRST date? My first official date was Charlie, who went to the all-boys Catholic high school, as opposed to my all-girls Catholic high school. I was a sophomore and he was a senior. We met on a parish Teen Club trip to Hershey Park, where I hung out with... Read more →
The day after I finished chemotherapy, we threw some stuff in a bag, dropped the cats at the vet, and jumped onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Our destination? The Omni Bedford Springs Resort, where we spent our 35th wedding anniversary. This year is our 38th, so we decided to celebrate the end of chemo and our anniversary with a big old splurge. So we went back to Bedford Springs. Our room was in the historic wing,... Read more →
I've been off work for the last week; I go back to work tomorrow. Bah. Anyway, we went down to Ocean City last Sunday for the week. Of course, it was wonderful, even though I only went down to the actual beach twice. And even then, I only went down to take short walks along the water. I didn't really swim or sunbathe. But you know what? It was fine. The weather was really hot... Read more →
Joe and I celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary today! Every year since I started writing this journal/online diary/blog, I've written about our wedding in one way or another. This year, I'm going to put down the choruses to two songs that pretty much sum the past 37 years. Happy anniversary Joe! In spite of ourselves We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow Against all odds Honey, we're the big door prize We're gonna spite our... Read more →
And so we had Christmas! Everything on the to-do list got done. Our train ride was smooth and relaxing -- orders of magnitude better than driving down I-95. Sonnyeboy picked us up and off we went to my sister's for the family Christmas Eve extravaganza. We had a great time, as usual! Afterward, we went back to Baltimore and spent the night with SonnyeBoy. The next morning, SonnyeBoy drove us back home, where we celebrated... Read more →
It's getting late, but I couldn't let the day slip away without a post in honor of my Pop's 116th birthday. Happy birthday, Pop! I love this picture of him. It's his law school graduation picture; he received his LLB in 1935 from Columbus University, which later merged with Catholic University's law school to become Columbus School of Law. And he did it without earning a bachelor's degree first! He went to law school at... Read more →
Thirty-six years ago at just about this time, Father DiNardo said "I now pronounce you man and wife!" Wow -- 1980. The olden days! No PCs, no internet, no cell phones or tablets, nope! Just family, friends, good food, laughter, dancing, and champagne! We met in August, 1979. It was a whirlwind courtship! He said, "I love you" first, but I said it back right away. He proposed in December; I didn't even realize he... Read more →
Happy birthday to my Mom, who would have been 105 today! Here she is, from just after birth to just before death. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. 1911 - just a baby 1913ish - about 2 1922 - 11 years old Late 1920s or early 1930s 1933 - wedding portrait with Pop 1942 - with my older sister 1961 - my older sister's wedding 1960s - rockin' the platinum hair 1978 - 50th... Read more →
I was hunting through the photos looking for an appropriate Christmas-themed shot when I found this one. It made me smile! So, without further ado, here are my Mom and Pop, Christmas Eve, 1984. Mom was 73; Pop was 76. When Mom and Pop moved to their retirement community, our traditional Apres-Midnight Mass breakfast morphed into a Christmas Eve dinner and present opening extravaganza. Apparently the wine was flowing on this particular Christmas Eve and... Read more →