Before I start Day #3, I’ll recap today at home. Kelly and Chase came about 9:30am, and after unloading the van headed to Norwin to meet with the verification person for their Homeschool Certification. While they were gone, I made a huge pot of cream of potato soup. Kelly and I picked up a few items at Walmart after they got back, and after a quick lunch we started on our kitchen marathon. We made a huge pot of chicken soup (her favorite recipe and a request), iced cinnamon rolls, brownies, and a frozen pizza for Chase. It’s 6:38pm and we just finished cleaning up. Glad she was here to help me; the kitchen isn’t my favorite place to be.

Back to Newport! It was sunny and comfortable Tuesday morning, and we crossed the two bridges and drove to Bellevue Avenue and straight to Rosecliff. This was the home of Herman & Theresa ‘Tessie’ Fair Oelrich, and was completed in 1902 at the cost of $2.5 million. Tessie was a silver heiress and loved to throw grand parties and events. Rosecliff had the largest ballroom of the mansions, 40 foot by 80 foot. The Great Gatsby was filmed there, and today parties and weddings are often held there.

The Elms was just down from Rosecliff so that was our next stop. The Elms was owned by Sarah and Edward Berwind, built in 1901 at a coast of $1.4 million. It was pattered after the Chateau d’Asnieres in France, and was one of the first homes in Newport to have electricity installed. Mr. Berwind made his fortune from the coal industry. When his wife Sarah died, his younger sister Julia came to live at the Elms and lived there until her death. Julia was well known in the neighborhood, and often invited working-class immigrant children to the house for milk and cookies. We learned that the Somerset County, Pennsylvania, town of Windber was named for Edward Berwind. (Look it up! It really is!). Here are some photos of The Elms:

We also learned that once automobiles were added to the household, the chauffeur had not mastered reverse. He had so many fender-benders that a turntable was installed in the garage so he didn’t have to back up…

Part #2 of Day #3 will include our supper on the wharf and our fun Ghost tour after dark. See you then! Here’s a sneak peak:

June 27 – Tell abut a bike you had. “I bought my first bike when I was over 60 years old. I rode it a few times but I couldn’t get the hang of it. It has flat tires now.” She had to already be living in Albion then.

Calendar Inspiration – Explore your own special corner of the world and discover something wonderful. Not sure if Newport is my corner, but close enough. It was wonderful!.

TOMORROW June 28 is:

• National Alaska Day
• National Insurance Awareness Day 
• National Logistics Day
• National Paul Bunyan Day

Tomorrow is my day to teach VBS classes. My lesson is about the birth of Christ, and how Herod the King tried to kill him. Sanctity of life. Kelly and family are going to a friend’s house for supper. Have a great day! God bless…

Before I start with vacation I want to catch you up on the tree, the one the neighbor is having cut down? Well, it’s down! There is still a stump, and I don’t know if he’s going to get it ground out or not. But let me tell you; the back of my house is SO HOT in the mornings without the shade from that tree. I am looking into getting shades of some sort for the kitchen. My bedroom already has them. It really made a big difference to my yard and the view.

So – back to Newport! After we toured The Breakers we went down Bellevue Avenue a few houses to tour Marble House – so named because of all the marble used in building it – 500,000 cubic feet of marble. It was built in 1892 with 50 rooms. William gave Marble House to Alva for her 39th birthday. He made his fortune in the New York Central Railroad. Basically Marble House is a family home – the summer home of William and Alva Vanderbilt. Alva spent $11,000,000 to make the cottage the way she wanted it. Alva was a trend setter in an unusual way, in that she did not put up with her husband’s ‘antics’ or unfaithfulness (which was very common) and filed for divorce, the first of their set to be brave enough to do that.

After the divorce, a year later, Alva married Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and moved to his home, Belcourt, also on Bellevue Avenue. She basically kept Marble House for storage and to do laundry, because that house had better facilities. Alva was a strong advocate for women’s rights and made a huge impact with her campaign. Here are more pictures of Marble House.

When Alva married Oliver and she moved to Belcourt, she had to insist that his horses stay outside. He would ride them up the steps and into the house and let them stay there all night as the first floor was entirely stables. He was a huge horse lover and also a fan and supporter of the Belmont races.

By now it was close to 5pm, and we had to find our way to our AirB&B, Lafayette Place, about 20 minutes away. Although it was neat and clean and quaint and quiet, it was very, very small. Once we got used to it and settled in, we were fine. We went out again and had supper, got gas in the Kia, and bought a few items we needed for our breakfasts. Bertha settled in as well, and Kath and I went out on the patio and wrote out our postcards. It was very relaxing and a great way to end the day.

Tomorrow we will start at Rosecliff. Can’t wait to share it!

June 26 – Describe a few of the favorite hair styles of your youth. “The one most girls liked was the Page Boy. I couldn’t get my hair to go into the smooth, under-curl. I sometimes wore my hair pulled up on top of my head. We all went through the turban phase. Some of us tried wearing the fancy ‘snood’ – (hair net).”

TOMORROW June 27 is:

• National HIV Testing Day
• National Ice Cream Cake Day
• National Onion Day
• National Orange Blossom Day
• National PTSD Awareness Day
• National Sunglasses Day

I love sunglasses. I’m so thankful for them. I have three favorite (but very inexpensive) pair. Tomorrow Kelly is coming up for a few days, with assorted sons. Not sure who is coming but it’ll be fun anyway. Have a wonderful day and a great week. God bless…

Kathy and I have a little tradition that we pass Suzie Squirrel back and forth for our birthdays. The challenge is to outfit her in something creatively different each time. Since we are such huge fans of the HBO-Max mini-series THE GILDED AGE Kathy dressed Suzie up as Bertha, one of the main characters. We took her on the trip with us, thinking she’d like to go visit Newport again. Most of the show was filmed in Newport and we heard lots of details about which rooms in which houses were used for which scenes. It was so fun, and Bertha loved it! More photos later. Kathy – of course – made her outfit!

We were up early on Monday morning – had a quick continental breakfast at the motel and were on our way. We pulled over to the scenic lookout for Mystic, Connecticut, to stretch our legs and take a few photos of the harbor. This is the port where The Mayflower comes for repairs and refurbishing – it wasn’t in port so it must be at Plymouth.

We pulled into Newport about noon and could hardly decide where to go first! We checked which mansions were open, and opted first to re-visit The Breakers information center. We could upgrade our tickets – for a very minimal amount – and see all the houses we wanted and even become members of the Newport Preservation Society. We did it! We had lunch in the café where we split a huge turkey sandwich on very yummy bread, then we walked across the street to tour the mansion.

The Breakers was the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, has 70 rooms, and was built in 1895. After downloading the app on our ‘smart’ phones (smarter than WE are!) we used our headphones to go from room to room and learn about the house, the family, and the staff. This is the most prominent of the surviving mansions. Several homes are still closed or have limited admission so we missed seeing five that we had hoped to visit. But the Breakers is breath-taking! Here are some of the photos that I took (except for the first three, which are from a brochure):

There was so much more – but we had other places to be. I’ll share Marble House tomorrow. Yesterday’s ‘teaser’ photo will be part of that.

June 25 – Did you go barefoot in the summer? If so, relate an experience about stepping on something. “We were allowed to go barefoot as soon as the first dandelion bloomed. I stepped on many yucky things but the worst thing I stepped on was a big black water snake. Uncle Edd was with us & that was the end of that snake.” I believe that might have been the end of ME! Yuck!

Calendar inspiration – This was brought home to us over and over again – we had a wonderful time and a safe trip.

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TOMORROW June 26 is:

• National Barcode Day
• National Beautician’s Day
• National Chocolate Pudding Day
• National Coconut Day

Wow. Barcode day. What a celebration! Well, today is 6 months until Christmas Day and I’m certainly not looking that far ahead. I’m still trying to get a grip on tomorrow. Have a blessed day in the house of the Lord! God bless…

To make this manageable and also a comfortable length, I am splitting our trip into numerous segments. The first one will be sort of short – just getting us to our motel.

Kathy parked her car at my house, and we left my driveway at 1:57pm, 3 minutes ahead of our anticipated departure time. Yea! We had a quick prayer for safety and blessings, and set off toward our first stop, which was Budd Lake Super 8 Motel in New Jersey. We were driving a little more than half-way, 308 miles (5 hours or so). We also booked a room in the same motel for Wednesday night on the way home. We were comfortable with the location and knew the motel was clean, safe, and convenient. It was a good plan and we anticipated arrival at 7pm.

The day was sunny and bright and beautiful. We went up over the scenic mountains on Route 22 East, and swung over onto Route 220 North, a three-lane, high speed truck-laden highway. I strive to be a careful, alert driver, but I guess no one can anticipate everything. About two hours into the journey – stuck in the middle lane with vehicles on all sides – I looked up to see a huge chunk of a truck tire directly in front of me. I gripped the steering wheel and prayed. I could not stop or switch lanes or swerve. I just keep going. The thunk was horrid and I felt sick. I was shaking all over and my heart was racing. Had we been in a sedan and not an SUV I don’t know what would have happened. I checked the gages and the steering and brakes and everything was ok – but about 10 minutes later we heard a horrific clank and rattle.

I did not know if I should pull over or try to find an exit. The sound sort of came and went, so we kept going, with me watching the gages every second. I was still shaking and didn’t know if we would have to turn around, cancel our trip — it was terror for me. But we took the next exit, and tried to check the car. I could see a small piece hanging down about an inch, between the front wheels, but had no idea what it was. A very nice man pulled in beside us and asked the trouble. He checked everything out and said it was just a plastic shield that came loose and nothing was wrong. We might have to live with some noise but we were safe to travel and not worry. Kathy was rejoicing but I was still a wreck (pardon the pun). We drove about 5 miles and the noise totally quit.

It took a long time for me to settle down to a normal heart rate, but thankfully we had nice weather, traveled in the daylight, and kept the noise at bay. I truly believe God put an angel under that car to hold the shield in place and keep it quiet for the entire rest of the trip. We heard it once the whole trip – in the exact location on Route 220 South where it happened but coming home – and it was only for a few seconds. That little angel probably had dirt on its wings and a crumpled halo, but we were certainly thankful.

We played Christmas Trivia to keep occupied Sunday afternoon as I drove, and listened to some music and tried to come up with an agenda for our time in Newport. I was so thankful for Kathy’s support and calm, confident encouragement. I was never so glad to pull into a motel in my LIFE! I was so exhausted I was able to sleep, and we started out in the morning with sunshine and blue skies. I was still not relaxed but confident we would be able to carry through. God is good, all the time!

But – tomorrow IS another day, and starting tomorrow will be the fun and the photos and the fantastic time we had!

June 24 – Did you ever make mud pies? “Yes – we would make the mud pies & lay them up on a tin roof. They would get as hard as bricks. We knew where the best ‘dirt’ was to dig & mix up for our mud pies and cookies.” Doesn’t sound appetizing to ME!!! 🙂

The vacation destination posted on Father’s Day was Amish country, mostly Smicksburg PA. My dad LOVED visiting the Amish and had many, many close friends. Here are additional photos:

I took the last two….

Calendar Inspiration was so very appropriate for today’s post:

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Vacation Destination – I will be posting photos starting tomorrow of our OWN vacation, so I won’t be posting other destinations for a while!

TOMORROW June 25 is:

• National Catfish Day
• National Leon Day
• National Strawberry Parfait Day
• Summersgiving

Tomorrow’s plans are up in the air. I have plenty to do so I’m hoping for a calm day! God bless!

It’s 7:25pm, and I am still doing laundry and putting things away – and trying to decide what to eat before it gets too late.

We had a marvelous time (despite one bump in the road!) and was wishing we would have stayed another day like we originally planned. Makes us want to go BACK!!!

I will post pictures and reports of the trip starting tomorrow and catch you up.

June 23 – Did you ever go skinny dipping? “No – we didn’t have a very good place to swim. When we went to Little Mahoning creek to swim we had a car full & we never thought of taking off our swim suits.”

TOMORROW June 24 is:

• National Pralines Day
• National Take Back the Lunch Break Day
• Take Your Dog to Work Day

If I had a dog – and if I worked on Fridays – I would take it to work! Have a great Friday! God bless…

Our Sunday School lesson was about Jesus calming the storm. Max & JJ took turns making the waves higher and higher. They loved it, of course. Then for snack time Mary brought in a small cake, and they sang to me. I let them blow out the candles. It was a great morning.

Today will be a tribute to fathers, and to the fathers in my life. First are my two grandfathers – Jess Crooks and Lloyd Steiner. To me, Jess was quiet but firm, and sang army songs all the time. I didn’t spend a lot of time with him but he was a wonderful man. Lloyd was stern and also firm, but he was wonderful to me, and read me Weekly Readers. I loved them both.

My dad, Cliff Steiner, loved people (and horses!), loved to laugh, and was a very giving and generous man. He taught me a lot, from learning to ‘listen’, to learning to drive, to learning to be a faithful witness.

My step-dad John Graves loved our mom and loved the Lord, was a hard worker, and provided well for mom. He was always kind to Kathy & I.

Stoney was …. even tempered, reserved, and a great golfer. And was always whistling! We DID have our moments!

Matt Hancher is a great man of faith, a good provider, and loves his family. He will do anything for anyone that he can; he is honest and caring. He CHOSE my daughter, and he loves her. And the boys!

Nate Burke loves peace (no conflicts!); he loves his family. He is honest and kind and fair. He also is a hard worker and willing to sacrifice for others even if they don’t realize. He loves his girls; and he helps his Mom!

Love and honor and peace to all the fathers out there. Don’t ever give up, and look to God to direct your lives and your family! Blessings!

June 19 – Tell a favorite memory of your father. “I loved it when our cousin Helen Hemprich would come to visit from New Kensington. She would play the piano & Dad would sing the songs he sang when he was a young man.” See! I knew he loved to sing!

Yesterday’s vacation destination was Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. My favorite vacation spot, and the picture posted was Great Hopes Plantation and the windmill. Here are just a FEW other things to do and see in Williamsburg. I’m ready to go back! Our Skunk Hollow cousin Beth is there now with her family. Have a wonderful time, Beth!

I could go on and on – there is SO MUCH! I love this place….

Calendar inspiration – What was the best advise you got from your father? It would have been this: My life and my actions are my witness.  People are watching me even when I don’t know it.  Let people see the best ‘me’ that there is, so they see God in my choices.

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TOMORROW June 20 is:

• American Eagle Day
• International Nystagmus Day
• National Hike with a Geek Day
• National Ice Cream Soda Day
• National Kouign Amann Day
• National Vanilla Milkshake Day

No vanilla milkshake for me! Either chocolate or I’ll pass, thank you. This will be the last post until I return – so probably at the end of the week. Thanks to all who are faithful readers. Love to all – God bless!

The day started out to be pretty chilly, but I was upstairs in the tavern from 11am until 1pm so I was warm. By the time I started my turn in the food booth it was comfortable. This was my first year working with the food – it was easy, but that crew is – at the very least -entertaining! Great bunch of people.

There were several demonstrations of the militia which were very well done, and court was in session twice. They did six different trials which were well received by those attending. I love the special programs; they are informative and fun and the people are great. Below are some photos that I took today.

When I got home, I changed clothes then cut the grass and trimmed a few straggly limbs from the lilacs by the fence. I noticed that a crew has been working on my neighbor’s tree. Here are the before and after (so far) pictures.

June 18 – Where did you go swimming? “We had a deep spot in the little ‘run’ that came through the neighbor’s field. That is where we went to “Splash” in the water. When someone had a car we would go to Little Mahoning Creek. I would ride in an innertube up and down the creek for a hundred yards or so.”

Yesterday’s vacation destination was Apple Valley Ohio and the picture posted was Honey Run Falls. Here are other things in Apple Valley:

Calendar Inspiration – Remember and be thankful for the helpful guidance in your life.

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TOMORROW June 19 is:

• Juneteenth
• National FreeBSD Day
• National Garfield the Cat Day
• National Watch Day
• Father’s Day
• Turkey Lovers’ Day 

Tomorrow is a tribute to fathers. And destination Rhode Island! Enjoy your day — God bless.

Moving day – a long time coming. I think it’s been like 10 years for my sister. Hoping it all goes well and they settle in happily contentedly. They had the moving team at their house about 9am, and by about 11am they were headed to the new place. Sarah was helping and it was a big help. I had to run down to work but was home in time to meet them at the new house.

I did a load of laundry early, and threw in a dirty potholder. This is what happened. Anyone want a brightly colored hand-made potholder? Assembly required….

The movers were very efficient and had the truck unloaded, the beds and furniture put together, and everything where it belonged by about 1pm. We stopped for lunch, then the movers left and Paul took the truck back. Sarah, Kathy, and I worked all afternoon to unclutter as much as possible. The main bedroom is pretty organized, and the furniture in the living room and dining room are good. There are still boxes to unpack, and my cousin Mark was to stop over and connect everything after work so they have TV, internet and phone.

Kathy and Paul went to get the kids at daycare, and Millie was excited to see the new house. When I left she was having her snack on Paul’s desk, while Paul entertained Wyatt. I came home and cleaned up the remnants of our lunch and finished making a list for tomorrow and Sunday. Still a few things to do. But it was a good day and a lot got done!

June 17 – How did you learn to swim? “I never learned to swim.” That being said, Mom liked the water. They put a pool in at the Shady Lane house, went to Keystone Park all the time, and spent untold time at Presque Isle and Lake Erie. So she didn’t let it intimidate or frighten her!

Yesterday’s vacation destination was Olympic National Park in the state of Washington, and the picture posted was Hurricane Ridge. I’m reading a book set in that area and the author (Tammy L Grace) described it beautifully. Other sights in the park are:

Calendar Inspiration – Taking it easy is a state of mind, not a particular activity.

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TOMORROW June 18 is:

• National Go Fishing Day
• National Splurge Day
• National Wanna Get Away Day

Tomorrow I will get away to the 18th century! It will be a fun day. Stop out at Hanna’s Town and see what it’s about, and you’ll have a great time. God bless…

Another very hot day – but a tiny breeze is saving things. I worked at both stores and ran errands after – including picking up the lunchmeat to feed tomorrow’s movers and stopping at Diane’s to get some excess food from the food bank. She gets excess from a friend and there was so much that she called me to help distribute. I have a few people that welcome the extra, which is good because with leaving on Sunday I could not utilize the fresh food.

Sir Rege switched out my car this morning – a 2021 Kia Seltos. It’s a very nice little SUV, and I’m really excited. There will be plenty of room for our 4,375 items (???) to fit in the vehicle, plus it should be fairly good with gas mileage. It’s very comfortable, as well. Thank you, Rege! YOU are the best!!!

I made macaroni salad after lunch (for tomorrow) and plan to help Kathy this evening – so this is the extend of my post. Tomorrow will be busy but I’ll post what I can.

TODAY is Barry Freger’s birthday (one of Pinnacle’s owners, whom I have known since the early 90’s or before) and also would have been Ron Buschek’s birthday. He was our first youth pastor at HCC and I was stricken with a huge crush on him. He was a special guy and I was glad to have called him my friend. Thinking about both of these guys on the celebration of their birth.

June 16 – Relate your happiest memory as a youth. “I think it was being grown up enough to be allowed to go out with the older boys & girls to just do what young kids do best. NOTHING. We had fun & we didn’t spend money because we didn’t have any to spend.” It would be interesting to see today’s kids buying into that mindset!!!

Yesterday’s vacation destination was not a destination. It was ‘jokes’ or things that make you laugh. Here are more:

Calendar inspiration – There is quiet beauty in even our hardest chores.

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TOMORROW June 17 is:

• Global Garbage Man Day
• National Apple Strudel Day
• National Cherry Tart Day
• National Eat Your Vegetables Day
• National Mascot Day
• National Stewart’s Root Beer Day
• Wear BLUE Day
• National Flip Flop Day

Tomorrow is moving day – and Kathy LOVES flip flops. So join me in celebrating my SISTER! And have a piece of Apple Strudel while you are at it. God bless…

It’s 92* here with a heat advisory – feels like 99*. It’s been a very long time since it’s been this hot. I was glad to be inside, although I did spend about half an hour pulling weeds. The rest of the day I spent cleaning, doing laundry, and working on my ‘to-do’ list. I need to take the trash up to the road and also get the mail. Next on the list.

I printed out my parking pass for Hanna’s Town on Saturday – Frontier Court Days. I will be working the top floor of the tavern from 11am to 1pm, and then was snagged into the food booth from 1pm to 5pm. Never did the food booth – I’m more into the history aspect – but I’m sure I’ll catch on. I have noticed several people stopping to snap photos of my yard sign and I hope it entices them to come out.

One of the little side projects I got distracted with was to frame a gift bag from a purchase. I think it looks cute in the gold frame, and I have it sitting on the Secretary in my living room. It’s the little things…

Thanks to a recommendation from my friend Liz Bromke, I found a fun author to follow. Tammy L Grace – and she writes no-nonsense Beach books set in Washington State. I’ve read a few other books set there, but her descriptions are marvelous. I just started book #1 – Beach Haven – and am really enjoying it. I just finished a book by Tracy Rees – The Little Christmas House – and it’s set in the UK. Very different from most of my reads, but it was cute and rewarding and left me wanting to read more. It was, however, a stand-alone novel. Other books were set in the same town, but the characters are different. I do recommend Tammy Grace’s book. Makes me really want to visit Olympic National Park…

Last night I attempted to take photos of the Full Super Moon – but I’m not the best photographer. It was cool standing on the deck, watching the bright orange moon slip up above the trees until it was fully visible in the night sky. I’m sure there are beautiful photos posted on facebook! The supermoon for June is the Strawberry moon…

June 15 – Share a childhood memory about a death that affected you. “When Becky Sink’s baby died. She lived with her parents & her brothers & sisters. They put pennies on the babies eyes so they wouldn’t open. Becky was Ruth Sink’s older sister.” That would be a hard thing to witness.

Yesterday’s vacation destination wasn’t a real destination. It was a scene from Anne of Green Gables, and the picture was what Anne called ‘White Way of Delight’ – and Matthew called ‘The Avenue’. Here are more scenes from the movie:

Calendar Inspiration – Peanuts’ Lucy:

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TOMORROW June 16 is:

• National Fudge Day
• National Career Nurse Assistants’ Day

Ooooo. Fudge! I don’t think I’ll come across any fudge tomorrow but I can dream. Seems more likely that I’ll have Macaroni Salad… Have a happy Thursday. God bless...