Old photos

Bobby had brought up some photos he had from when we were growing up on Penobscot Street which I'd like to share here.

 

Baseball ran in our "jeans".  I was probably around 3 or 4 when this was taken.

When I was in second grade, my mother made these Halloween costumes for Bobby (who was then in 4th grade) and me. To this day I still marvel how she came up with the idea to make me the autumn princess, and how time consuming it must have been to sew all those fall leaves on the dress.  I can still remember the gentle rustling sound it made as I walked in our elementary school costume parade.  Many years later when Bob and I went to a Halloween party at the Rotary Club in Bonita, I attempted to duplicate the costume, but was not nearly as successful as she.  For one thing, I had to use artificial leaves, not having any real ones in south Florida (although my cousins Adele and Carol attempted to supply me with some via the mail) , and there was a lot more dress to cover!

Bobby and Joe in their little league uniforms standing at the back door.  My father had enclosed the porch and also made the Adirondack chair in the photos.  The boys were probably 8 and 10 when this was taken.

Bobby, our Pop, and Joe in the front of our house in  later baseball outfits.  Bobby said it looked as though Joe was stretched having grown so tall.  They were probably 12 and 14.

Thanks for the memories, Bobby

 

 



 



And here's the company! April 8 - 10th 2017

My brother Bobby and wife Valerie had driven up from Largo, Florida, stopped for two nights in Tucker, GA, to visit with his daughter, Jennifer, and grandson, Owen, before coming to our house Saturday morning.  Brother Joe and wife Bev from Michigan, also came that day on their way home from their annual family spring vacation in Kiawah.  Joe and Bev stayed at a motel, and left late Sunday afternoon.  Bobby and Valerie stayed in our guest room Saturday and Sunday nights and left Monday morning to explore north Georgia before returning to Jenna's for Easter, and heading back to Florida. Niece Jennifer and grand nephew Owen drove over Sunday morning and spent the day with us.  Jennifer had not seen her Uncle Joe and Aunt Bev in over 9 years.  Bobby had been widowed and recently remarried, so this was the first time Joe and Bev met Valerie.  We celebrated an early Easter with kielbasy that Bobby had gotten at a Polish deli in Largo and his home made pierogis, and Bob and I had made kapusta soup (sauerkraut and mushrooms which is usually made for Christmas Eve) for our first course, followed by spiral ham and turkey breast.  We ate a lot, laughed a lot, reminisced a lot, and made lots of new memories, too.  It was a fabulous weekend.  We all wished we weren't so far away from each other so we could get together more often.

The chalkboard wall made a great welcome mat

Joe and Valerie, and her dog, Honey

Bobby and Bev.  Bev is still recuperating from knee replacement surgery.

It didn't take Honey long to make herself at home. 

Valerie and Owen

Jenna greets Joe as Bob goes to meet up with Bev

Joe & Bev gave Owen a baseball bat and balls as part of his Easter treat.  It didn't take long for the action to move outside.

It's hard to see, but Owen belted the ball toward "third base" near Joe's car.  He then ran imaginary bases, except he did it from third to second to first to home!

After that, Bob set up the bean toss game.  Joe commented that the boards were smaller than he was used to and the bean bags lighter, but he still was the best of the tossers and his team won all the games.  Bobby and Bob started as partners against Jenna and Joe.

Then  Jenna teamed up with her dad, and Bob with Joe. Owen was keeping score and was sure to give "Mommy" all the points no matter who won the toss.

Valerie joins in when Bob had to stop to grill the London broil.  Owen doubles as "bean bag boy"

The games were called because it was time to eat.  After another feast, Bobby and Valerie took Owen out back to feed a carrot to Oklahoma.  Owen was going to give him the baby carrots we had, but we told him that would not be a good idea. 

All too soon, it was time for Joe and Bev to leave.

So long for now.

 

 

Coming together...first week of April 2017

The house furnishings are finally starting to be completed.  Although Spartan, hopefully it is enough for our much awaited guests.  I told everyone to wear blinders, just in case!

 



Love seat and Bob's recliner in living room to the left of the front door.  I later made tie backs for the drapes. Bob took down the old ugly blinds,  and installed new faux wood blinds in all the rooms.

View of opposite side of living room with my lounge chair and couch. There is another end table on the other side of the couch.  All of the pieces  recline and are very comfortable...come and check it out for yourself!

Wine cart between our lounge chairs which we will use as an eating space plus place to do jigsaw puzzles when it is just the two of us here so

Bob can watch tv at the same time.

The fireplace entertainment stand that Bob put together on the wall opposite the wine cart.  Easter bunnies on each end are awaiting Owen's visit.

Guest bedroom view from bedroom door.  The foot locker is the one I've had since 1968 when I left Clifton to go to California.  Talk about antiques!

Another angle of guest room. 

Dining room table and extra folding table which will serve as a buffet for the weekend.

The walls look blue, but are actually a light green.

Sideboard which serves as  liquor and wine cabinet and place for special items reserved for when company comes.  Now all we need is the company!

 

 

 

Moving forward - April 1, 2017

We continued to clear out the big trailer and campsite and work on organizing the new house.  In addition to our deadline at the park, we are preparing for a visit from both my brothers and their wives and our niece and grand nephew next weekend...our first houseguests!

 



 To be on the safe side, we had the septic tank drained and a raised cap put on it to make it more accessible.  Bob arranged to have our shed moved from the campground the back yard on the side of the house.  One of the satellite dishes is from the previous owner.  The other is the Direct tv dish we had installed.

As if he doesn't have enough to do, Bob decided to paint the foundation that was stained.  He said he wanted the house to look good for the company.  He is next to the crawl space opening that we could use in case of a tornado, although I think I would try to find some other safe spot in the house rather than getting into that.

A major glitch arose when Bob was trying to close up the big trailer.  One of the slides, which had malfunctioned when we were trying to leave Bonita, broke again.  He was able to get it back in enough to move the unit to a vacant site, but the slide will need to be repaired before we can sell it.  He researched how to repair it on line...not too bad except for having a special tool...this crimper that he was able to order.  He will probably move the trailer to our house and fix it there after family leaves.