Ah, Tis Good to be Home!

This was our home away from home...this time, we were parked not in the shade, but more like in a field. Although the shade is great, this area was nice too, as I wasn't constantly crawling on the floor, cleaning up pine needles, dirt, sand, and whatever else!

Late yesterday afternoon, we had to put the awning away on the camper, as it was so windy, the thing was flapping about, bringing to mind old episodes of The Flying Nun! The camper began swaying, so we decided we had better roll it up!

Now, mind you, I was not suffering at all from *brain freeze*, but instead, from *brain MELT!* I should have taken so many more pictures, but I was just exhausted from the seemingly scalding temperatures. It was so hot, you could have cooked a roast in the sun!

Anyway, when we arrived late Friday morning, there were very few campers there. By Friday night when we came back after the laser show, the campground was nearly filled to capacity. There were class A's, fifth wheels, tow behinds, pop-ups and even many tents! And, my oh my, there were campfires galore!


By 11 AM yesterday morning, this was the scene! Nearly everyone that was surrounding us was gone!

The place looked so deserted, except for the little covering thing down next to the bathhouse.

And there we were...off in the distance!

Mark decided he wanted to just drive around a little yesterday. We stopped by a Dairy Queen, which is a treat as there are none near our home. I stopped at Wegman's and bought goodies to make shish kabobs and a Greek salad for dinner.

Because my brain was in total *brain MELT* mode, I did not photograph the beautiful kabobs! They were so colorful and drat!; they would have been such a nice photo! Ah well...I made them with marinated chicken, red pepper, purple onion, yellow pepper, and mushrooms. They were so pretty!

Since we had the entire campground basically to ourselves, we played outside for quite some time while the food cooked, then ate outside at the picnic table. It felt so cool to look over this huge expanse of field and see no other people within eyesight! Oh, and as soon as the sun began its descent, the temperatures cooled off so nicely!

This morning, we got up and decided to hitch right up. The kids have the system down pat, so Mark and I need only to double check on connections. Off we went, back towards home. As always, when we pulled up the driveway, I wondered to myself, *why* do we ever even leave
*here*? I mean, with all the beauty that surrounds us, we need only go out the front door to be in what many folks actually pay money to see!

Of course, there are other people to consider, eh? I mean, what do the kids think?......

Ayup....there is *no* place like home!

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day is not one of my favorite holidays. Oh, I know, we must honor the memory of those who fought and served our country. For that, I am extremely grateful and I do want to remember.

But, eight years ago, on the day before Memorial Day, Mark came into the living room, collapsed on the floor, and instructed me to call 911. I will never forget that day. I ended up calling neighbors, and their daughter, who was pregnant, offered to stay with the kids. As Mark left in the ambulance, my neighbor told me that he sometimes suffered back pain that could be relieved with a muscle relaxer. I remember teasing and joking, never dreaming of the nightmare that lie ahead.....nor, the life-changing events.

All of Sunday night, Mark was on a gurney in the hospital, writhing in agony and pain. He was given shots of pain relievers, even morphine, but received no relief. I stood beside him, or sat on a chair as they wheeled him off for x-rays, a CT Scan, and then a milogram. I don't know when I felt so helpless, or so alone.

Finally, in the breaking hours of Memorial Day, another doctor was dispatched to have a look. He read through the results of the tests, then took Mark in for surgery. In his mind, he was semi-sure that when he saw Mark the next day, he would get up from the bed and be OK. But, such was not the case. Instead, Mark was sent to the spinal cord injury unit of another large teaching hospital to learn how to live as a paraplegic. Mark was 38 years old at the time.

When I think about this and this strange odessy we have been on in the past eight years, I cannot help but feel a sadness....sad, because I see a certain look in Mark's eyes as he watches the kids and I know that he is aching inside to be able to do more with and for them. He had built this house we live in from the ground up, with some help from my father and brother. To think of this rugged sturdy man living his days in a wheelchair seemed so foreign.

This morning, we decided that we would visit my father-in-law's grave. We put flowers on the grave for the summer on Memorial Day and we needed to get this done. There is another sadness because no one else sees fit to do this. My father-in-law was always a giving, caring person who loved his family so deeply; the fact that no one puts flowers on his grave just breaks my heart. But, on the other hand, I am happy to do this, as I know it would please him.

We stopped at Michael's to pick up the flowers, as they have good quality flowers that last well.
My father-in-law's grave is located in the Korean War Vets section, so we put a red/white/blue theme on the grave.

After buying the flowers, we drove right to the cemetary. I had bought several sprays of various flowers, and I dumped the contents of the bag on the ground and began to arrange them. As I worked, Mark noticed a couple with an older man.....the older man was walking funny, with his belly thrust forward. Suddenly, he fell onto a bench. As Mark commented on this, I saw the man's head moving strangely, indicating that he was breathing erratically.

At this point, the man that was with him hollered to lower him to the ground. I got up, wondering if the couple needed help, and yet, not wanting to get in the way. Within seconds, the man yelled, asking if anyone had a cell phone! Mark immediately gave me his and I ran to the couple.

The older man was lying on the ground, his face quite red. The younger man had called 911 and was talking to the dispatcher as his wife went off to get blankets. Another woman appeared with a pillow for his head.

The older man seemed very coherant when I arrived; apparently, he had lost consciousness for only a short time. I stayed with the couple, learning that they did not know this man...they met him over at a monument. The wife saw him walking strangely, and told her husband she was afrraid he was going to fall down. He had told them that several of the names etched on the memorial were friends he had gone to school with as a youngster. Although it was sunny out, it was not swelteringly hot, so it hardly seemed like the heat caused the man to pass out.

As we awaited the arrival of the EMTs, the elderly man told us about himself. We learned his name, he asked that we call his sister and tell her, and he felt so funny lying on the ground in the cemetary. The last time he had been lying on the ground like this was in Korea in 1952! He was a total delight. He said he had no medical problems, and then giggled as he said that the EMTs will be surprised to see a LIVE man lying in the cemetary!

As I became a little tired, I looked at the little bench where he had been sitting. There was an inscription on it....it was dedicated in the memory of Dr. J Bruce Iuppa. Dr. Iuppa was the name of the Dr that delivered Michelle. I felt the tears burning in my eyes, but was able to fight them off. What an emotional moment that was.

When the medical team arrived, I went back over to my family and finished arranging the flowers. My father-in-law had picked the most wonderful area for his grave.....under a pretty tree with a bench nearby. He had told us how wonderful this place was, but we never really appreciated it until his death. He certainly picked his final resting "place" very well!

Here is a picture of the grave with the arrangement.

And, the back side of the arrangement.

After checking out the elderly man, the EMTs filled out what seemed like mountains and mountains of paperwork. Since the man had driven by himself to the cemetary, his sister had told the EMTs on the phone that she would drive him back to her home. The man had declined a trip to the hospital, as this is the first time that anything like this had happened to him.

When the man's sister arrived at the cemetary, the man arose from the bench, walking towards her. They embraced, sharing a kiss on the cheek, then walked over together to speak to the medical people.

Although this started out as a rather unusual adventure, I somehow felt as though my life had been made just a little better, meeting this warm and wonderful Korean veteran at the cemetary!

Happy Memorial Day!

Pretty Columbines!

I took a couple of pictures of Columbines the other day. I love the purple color...they remind me a great deal of the vibrant purple Irises I remember from my childhood. The other plants are ones that I planted many years ago, when we first built the house....




I do have one or two other varieties of Columbine that have not flowered yet. Not sure of their colors, but I also have a variety in the front of the house that I had never seen before. They look like pink with white snowballs! They are quite unique. When I bought them, I thought because they were so cool, they would never make it. What a surprise to find that they are taking over the plantings in their beds!

As I was walking along the stream bed, I noticed a bumble bee on the ground. I couldn't understand what this bee was doing....it moved sporadically, landing on rocks and burying itself in the ground under piles of leaves, then reemerging again!




May you enjoy this weekend! If you travel, please do so with great care....not everyone on the road is considerate! May you enjoy good company, good food, and good conversation. In the midst of the fun, please take a moment to remember those who have served this country and those who gave their lives that we might enjoy life as we know it!

Here in the Bristolwood

This morning, I decided to take a little walk in the woods. I left the kids and the boys (Scotties) behind, as I was so hoping to perhaps see a little fawn in the woods. I have come upon fawns two or three times while walking, so it is a rare and treasured occasion. Unfortunately, I found none this morning. I did spot Doe, Re, Mi, and Fa grazing out in the front woods, but no babies there!

As I walked about in the woods, I was drawn to the areas of bright green foliage. The woods is filled with all sorts of new growth....grasses, ferns, (as pictured above) as well as mosses. The floor of the woods is mostly covered with brown leaves from last year, so the bright greens stand out, almost like neon colors.

This is the stump from an oak tree that Mark cut down several years ago. Just prior to our purchase of the property, this area suffered from a rather severe ice storm; there was 3/4" of ice built up on everything. (This was in March of 1991) Many of the trees on the property fell over as the weight of the ice uprooted them. Mark was reluctant to cut the trees, but they were dangerously teetering in the air. Mark decided that since he had to sever the trees from their stumps, he would make a mill to cut the first 10' of the trees into lumber. This way, he didn't feel so guilty about harvesting the trees. Using them in their entirety for firewood struck him as almost sacrilegious. He and our neighbor fashioned a great sawmill (our neighbor is a gifted welder!) and Mark set off to work! Thus, we now have many, many board feet of red oak!

As I made my way down from the woods, I spotted my one of my little Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds on the feeder. I have been trying to get a picture, with no luck. I raced into the house and stood in front of the window, hoping against hope that I would be able to catch the little hummer. If only I had a telephoto lens with a smaller f-stop! Ah well, you can certainly see that this is a hummingbird, and you can see the white ring around its neck!

Yesterday, we celebrated Mother's Day by meeting my parents and my brother at our favorite restaurant. We had to stand in line for more than an hour for a table, but as always, the food was so wonderful, and well worth the wait! The picture above is my Mother's Day bouquet from Mark and the kids. The "vase" is a mug with the Buffalo Sabres logo on it. Which leads me to say....I have not spoken about round three of the playoffs as the Sabres are behind in both games played thus far. The first game, the other team (Ottawa) really did outplay us. It was as though the Sabres just didn't have their feet! The second game, in my opinion, was won by Ottawa because of poor refereeing. I know, one might say I am biased, but so many people felt the same way as they watched the Sabres take illegal trips and punches. The Sabres are known for being a small and fast team. Unfortunately, most other hockey clubs look like giants, comparatively speaking...