OVERWHELMED

http://theviewfromclarksummit.wordpress.com
deebella7@GMail.com
Hopefully this link will take you to my new blog. If you can't please let me know, Thanks.

In the meantime I have decided that one blog is enough and I will try to copy and paste what I wrote on my new blog and put it on this loyal blog.

Ten years ago - it doesn't seem possible. When I close my eyes I can still see those awful pictures in my mind. The one that sticks with me the most is that of a young guy who couldn't decide to jump out the high window or not. He kept looking over his shoulder and then out the window. I did not see what he ended up doing but he was doomed either way. And I still remember the white hair priest that the fire hall members had for their mascot. He prayed for all of them but then suffered a heart attack and died.

What memories do you have of that day? Where were you and did you have a hard time getting home?

We are honoring all the hundreds of people that went and offered their help in what ever way they could.  I hope there are a lot of people that show up for all the events that are planned.
God Bless America and keep her safe.

School Bells, School Bells, Reading & Writing & Rithmatic

Ah, the first day of school. I've been out of school for more years then I can count, but I can still remember getting ready for the first day of school,
The excitement of setting the new clothes out, along with the leather shoes & socks and of course the new book bag that smelled just like leather.

We were not allowed to wear jeans, we did not have uniforms, so we bought our own clothes and had bobby socks with our Buster Brown shoes.  At that time we had to cover our heads when we attended Mass. On Sundays we wore hats, but during the week we wore" babushka's".  I still have a couple of  them and some of my hats that I shared with my Mom,believe it or not!

 Catholic grade school kids sat in the same classroom all day, we did not change classes. Nope, the same room, same nun and the same kids. Day after day after day. We accepted it because we didn't know any better. There were two Catholic Elementry schools, one was Holy Cross, a Polish church and they sang beautiful Polish hymns in harmony. and then our church St. Cecilia's, it was Irish and Italian. Our choir consisted of the children, us while the Polish church had an adult choir.

Attending Catholic grade school, the first subject of the day was - yes, you guessed it - Religion.
Back in those days we were allowed to pray, not have a moment of silence, but actuaally pray AND salute the flag!  Catholic school did not have any outside activities or gym class but they did have recess where they blocked off the block on the side of the school in mis moening and mid-afternoon, We walked home for lunch every day because they did not have a cafeteria back in those days, those days were the 1950ty's.We had certain rules to follow, attend Mass each morning before class, &  devotions during the week that we had to attend.  Those were our activitiesalong with music and art classes.

Today most of the Catholic schools have lay teachers and not nuns. They change classes and have outside activities along with religion. Prayer is acceptable and Religion is taught as a subject.
I taught CCD once a week, CCD lasted one hour,  they can't learn everything that we learned by attending Catholic grade school everyday. it was hard to teach what I planned in one hour. Fourth graders are great, they still listen to you, are respectful and want to learn.  I am glad I had that grade even though I did not know how the kids in the other classes acted.

If your little one is going to school for the first time, be prepared for them to fall in love with their Pre-School or Kindergarten teachers and it will break your heart to know you are no longer number one in their lives, it did mine because I was not prepared for that (lol)

No longer do I have little ones going to school, my grandchildren are all in school, but they don't share their day with me, they share it with their parents as it is suppose to be but wouldn't it be nice to get a phone call and hear one say Hi MeMaw - guess what we did in school , etc, etc, etc.

Thanks for stopping by my blog - leave a comment if you want

My Grandson Vinnie

J



Just a little bit about my grandson Vinnie. He is the cutest 8 yr old boy ever, a bundle of energy along with smiles and hugs. He loves his sister's and defends them from others when needed. That said, it doesn't mean that they don't have their spats once in awhile, After all his sisters are twins, he has to stick up for himself which he does very well!.

Thank you for stopping by,
While your at it stop by my new blog with Word Press called THE VIEW FROM CLARK'S SUMMIT.  All comments welcomed - pro & con.

  "AUGUST" - the month called the "dog days of summer". I have heard this saying since I've been knee high to a grasshopper and still don't know the definition. Do you?

AND how can it be August already?  These past few months have flown by, sure wish it could slow down a little before everyone has to go back to school. I just know August will fly by, we have birthdays and more birthdays plus our Anniversary of 48 yrs on August 3rd! Then more birthdays in September. When I was younger I didn't think about how fast time goes by, but now,  at my age I am  very aware of the time, it just keeps marching on. C'est la vie!

It's been two years since Ron & I  went on vacation. It was exciting to know that we would be going this year and to the ocean! I didn't think we could make it happen. I did the happy dance  (short version!) when it came together. For the first time in quite a long time all 7 of our grandchildren  & us under one roof for a couple of days. 

It would of been ideal if our other two sons & their girls were able to be with us. But there were plans already made and health issues to deal with. The last time we were all together was at the Outer Banks and Anna was not born yet, so about 6 yrs ago if not a little longer.

We went to Myrtle Beach this year. We were there back in 89, when we went with all of our neighbors. That would be a story in itself to write about, talk about fun and crazy times. Never knew you could have so much fun with all those people and kids.

Myrtle is just as beautiful as ever. We went to the Surf-side part of the beach which is a quiet area to lay out,  nice and not overly crowded. Not over run by rowdy teenagers or blasting music. Just young families building sand castles or covering their kids with sand like we did with some of the kids.

The only drawback was the lack of bathroom facilities. If your not staying ocean front you could be in a pickle.Thank goodness we were not - in a pickle, even tho we were not ocean front :-)  One day Jeff found a parking area that had outdoor facilities and it was a good feeling to know if we did get in a pickle we had somewhere to go .  Jeff & Erika made delicious lunches with drinks,( they are pros's at this and make a great team) so we didn't have to go back to the Condo for lunch.

On the beach we didn't worry about losing some one or being smack up against another canopy, everyone had room to stretch out.  I found it hard to read my book because of the wind plus I kept looking up to watch the kids and the ocean. I love to see the waves roll in and crash against the shore, so, OK,  they mostly didn't crash , they just rolled in and dissipated, but I liked that to (lol).

I got teased because I would not take my  Kindle, I-phone or I pod down to the beach- I was afraid of getting sand or water in it. My sons said "you have all those electronics but are not using any of them".

I said, well I have my camera and my book and don't have to be so careful. They think I'm crazy,  but what else is new? (lol) Its great to have a paperback to read,just stick it in your bag and it goes where you go just like a Kindle or Nook.

 There is so much to do in Myrtle, especially at Bear's Landing. There are quite a number of cute little shops, a bull ride to try (not real) ,ice cream to eat, fireworks to watch, merry go round to ride and good restaurants to choose from if you want to eat. The kids enjoyed it and the fireworks were one after another, each one sounded like the final finale. Loved it. Honestly, that part of Myrtle reminded me a lot of Hilton Head. It was set up almost the same way.

 It was fun to watch Ron playing Frisbee with our sons and their kids.He kept up with them pretty good. It was heart warming to see them just hanging out watching the kids at play. That's my happiness, just being around everyone. I would loved to have tried to surf and skim but even though my head wanted to, I knew my body would say -"Are you kidding or what".  It's true that your mind wants to do so much but your body rebels, at least mine does

 We were all impressed with the natural ability the kids have in doing the surf board and using the skim board.  Ha - at first when I asked what  the board was called , I thought they said the "skin" board! Silly me! It was so cute to watch Anna stand on her surf board waiting for the ocean water to take her out and she could not understand why she didn't go anywhere. She is such a doll, they all are , but she is our youngest and tries to keep up with her sisters and cousins. She did do a good job till it came to the surf board, finally she just left it and sat down and started making a damn.   Jeff had a Canopy that did wonders for keeping the sun at bay. It was a life saver for me and Ron. Ron did a lot more then I did. He is a young pup still!

The only thing we did not do was play games in the evening. I was looking forward to doing that, but I did get a kick out of watching my daughter-in-laws putting their girls hair in wraps. That is truly a lot of work. And even though I am a hair dresser, OK. a broken down hair dresser to be honest, that is still one skill I would not offer in my shop no matter how much the pay. You need patience and more patience and yes, even more patience.  It has to be a mother's love that let mom's have the patience to do this! The end result is really cool as the kids would say and as I would say, really pretty. The kids were into watching the Pirates play ball. It mostly rained in the evening and stopped us from playing miniature golf. The kids really wanted to play but it wasn't to be. On the last night we were there, (after Jeff and family left to go home) it did not rain so we went to play miniature golf. I lasted not even half way because of the sweat that was pouring off of me, so I went back to the van and put on the air.  I was the "Party Pooper" for sure.

I can understand a guy sweating but surely there is another word to use for a woman.

 A lot of families plan every year for vacations like the one we took. In fact many families book their vacation for the following year before they leave. How do people do that? How does someone book a whole year ahead of time and put half the money down without being sure what will be going on then?
Do you plan it like a wedding? I guess you sort of have to do that. Make sure you all put in for your vacations at the same time and have the money to put half down or however much they ask. Then you make it your business to go at that time. But if something comes up then the money is lost.
We have tried to do that, but not everyone wanted to commit. And it would depend on them to say yes so we would know what kind of a beach house we could afford.

Ron and I were so happy to spend time with our family, Hopefully we didn't hold them back from doing whatever. They had built in babysitters too!

Ha Ha this inserted picture was to be of our vaca - I goofed!

A QUESTION

Do I think I know a person to well?   Someone asked me that question recently. I was so ready to say yes, but stopped myself.  I actually thought about it.  Do I know my husband to well?  I know him well, but I don't believe I know him to well. Yes,  I know him as a husband and father.
I know him to well as a honest, loving, fair and fun father. I know him as a father who takes the time to listen to his sons. For never thinking twice to lend a helping hand. Seeing him melt when he is around his grandchildren  For giving when he sees that someone is in need. As a husband I think I know him more then to well and am blessed to have him.

But - - - as a employee in the work force I do not know him to well! Talking to a few people I found out that he is known as the "Guru" in his work field. Wow! I was surprised. I mean,  I know he is very intelligent and knows loads of trivia. It's evident that  he knows what he is talking about no matter what subject. He is a great musician and singer.  A excellent carpenter and handyman, but I never thought of him as the "Guru" in his field. The Computer field.

What a honor for him. I have always been proud of him, but this news made me  step back. I took  a good look - I know sometimes I tend to take people for granted. So no, I may think I know people
 to well, but realize that I don't.

SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDER IS "WAY COOL"

Well, it's past the 4th of July and the corn is far from knee high!!   The rain we had this past Spring might have slowed the process some. I can't wait to sink my teeth in some bread and buttered corn. We can make a meal out of just corn, there is nothing like a good piece of butterd corn on the cob with the butter dribbling down your chin - mmm good.
I have  put salt on my corn along with the butter since I've been knee high to a grass hopper, but in my older age, I'll settle for butter only.
My father-in-law always had to have his wife cut the corn off the cob in order for him to eat it. I oftened wondered if he missed eating it off the cob.

I would love to have daily, buttered corn on the cob, home grown tomatos with fresh Basil and  watermellon, (salt omitted) and I would definately think I was in heaven.

My tomato plants are slow growing, I am wondering if I will have any. I love picking the first ripe tomato off the vine and wiping it ever so slightly on my shirt while anticipating the taste. Biting into the juicy succlent meat of the tomato, taste better than any steak would to me..In case I don't have luck with my tomato plants, I can always go to the Farmers Market. Thank goodness for those farmers working their farms.

I have a delicious receipe for Blueberry Jam. It's easy - if I can do it anyone can. If your interested in the receipe let me know and I will send it to you.

Here is something different some of you might want to try. I found this in the Country Woman magazine. If it is as good as the Fried Pickles at Max & Erma's, than it is sure a winner.
Ready for this?

                                                                 Kool Aid Pickles

                                                  1 jar (32 oz.)          undrained whole Dill Pickles

                                             2/3rd cup                    sugar

                                          1 envelope (.14oz)         unsweetened Kool Aid mix, -flavor of your choice

      Drain pickles, reserving juice in a small bowl, combine the reserve juice, sugar and Kool Aid

     Stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside

     Slice pickles length wise or leave whole and return to jar.

     Pour juice mixture over pickles. Discard any remaining juice.

    Cover and refrigerate one week before serving

                                                          Yield - 3 cups

I plan on making this the week before we leave for vacation, so I won't be able to tell you how it

taste till after that. NOW if any of you who may be reading this wants to try it, please let me know

how you like it.

Do you like a cup of  Tea?  I enjoy having  a cup of tea on my patio in the early morning. It's my little haven, tho most mornings I share it with a little wren who's nest is just above the patio door.

She's not afraid of me at all. She just goes about her motherly chores of bringing worms to her family. I can see the worms hanging out both sides of the little wrens mouth as she first perches on a ledge a little bit away from the nest. Just when I wonder what she is waiting for, she flys faster than light up into the nest - - - I love watching her.  I can't see the little ones at all, I have no idea how many are up there or how big they are.

My youngest son and family have this beautiful white duck on their farm. We all love to listen to him quack and watch him waddle while following the chickens around. If the chickens go fast, he waddles faster,  funny to look at but cute.  He was a little fledging and we watched him develp into a beautiful duck.  We were sad to hear from Jeff that he is missing. Anything could of happened  to him, a animal might have got him, like a fox but we are hoping he went on a little trip and will be back soon.

Do you have Oak kitchen cabinets? What do you use to clean and polish them with?, I am unsure of what to use, but they need done and the sooner the better.

I hope you are enjoying some lazy, hazy, crazy days of  this summer.  I have been on vacation for two weeks, one shared with my husband and one by myself. It's been a working, relaxing and fun couple of weeks. I have another vacation week coming at  the end of July. We will be going  to Myrtle - this vacation I am really looking forward to. We will be with all of our grandchildren, I am so excited about this.

If you could keep our son's girl, Chere in prayer we would be very thankful, She had a heart valve replaced about 3 weeks ago and recovery is going slow. Also for two of our grandaughters to have a safe trip going back with their grandparents to Fla. to spend a week with them.  For a special intention of mine, God will know my special intention. For a young woman who is paying her dues and has a long way to go before they are paid, pray that she and her family have piece of mind.,  for all of those who are suffering in some way, for our men/women in the service, for ourselves and our familys. and whoever else I might not have mentioned.

May God bless you all with good health, peace of mind, and quiet of day <3

Many hugs to all

Dee, Dolores Rose, Dolores, Mom, MeMaw, Hon, Mrs.C, Dee

SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDER-- REMINISCES

Father's Day is this Sunday - 6/19/2011.  We will celebrate with a picnic up on the Farm for my husband and two of our son's. I'm sure Erika's dad will be there and I know it will be a nice day just with everyone being together. The kids playing together and making us laugh.

There is always a large void in my heart when this day comes around, I have not celebrated Fathers Day with my father, "John Carmen Mianzo" since he passed away in 1976. It was 35 years ago on April 22. He had just turned 66 on March 19 of that year-  retired for a month and so looking forward to retirement. He was diagnosed with Lung Cancer on March 22 and passed away April 22 - i month later. Unbelievable.
I know a lot of people who's dad's have passed away and I am sure they all feel bad that they can't celebrate with their dad also. But I can't speak their feelings.

My mom was 55, my brother 24, Ron & I  at 33,  my sons were 12, 11, 7 and 5 years old. So they hardly have any memory of him. The two older ones do have a few, but the two younger ones remember hardly anything.
 They grew up knowing and doing things with my husband's father. I am happy they have had that experience, but I feel bad that they never got a chance to do even an 1/8 with my dad that they did with my father - in - law.
My dad was President of Glassport No.#1 fire hall for years, maybe they could be firemen today just like him, they would of loved his Italian dishes and Dandelion wine and he would of loved knowing that they love to cook and that my youngest is a policeman - in fact he would be so proud of all of them and who knows - he is probably smiling down on all of us today.

Reminiscing is a good thing for that means we have memories - - -



I know we are to live in the moment but having memories is a good thing. And I have a lot of wonderful memories that I share but not as often as I should,  I will change that and talk more.