It’s 9:04pm, and West Alexander (Kelly’s home) just got cleared from a tornado warning. Two touched down in Claysville which is just a few miles from their house. It was VERY close! She’s relieved they are in the clear now. So thankful they are safe – and their house, as well. Here there is a lot of bright lightening and rumbling thunder, but the rain is light. Just a severe storm watch here.

I spent the evening doing the corn from the trip to the farm. I did give about half a dozen ears to Nate and saved some out for Autmn and Noah but I cooked up the rest. It seemed like a daunting and exhausting task but I managed just fine and was glad to be busy during the nasty weather — and waiting for the ‘all clear’ from Kelly!

Early yesterday morning my friend Mary called me and she was given two tickets to a bus trip to the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh to see Guys and Dolls. She asked me to go along! I’m really excited as I’ve never seen that musical. And not having to drive and pay for parking (or anything else, including lunch!) is a super big bonus. I’m really honored that she invited me. We had to find substitute teachers for our Sunday School class – but we never do that so it’s fine for just once, I think.

Today was the Steiner reunion. There was a nice handful of people attending, but still there were a lot more who did not attend. We had lots of food, six raffle baskets, 50/50 drawing, a small business meeting, and plenty of catching up. We also had two babies and a bunch of younger kids – which is good as we know the younger generation can keep it going! I won one of the raffle baskets, and one of the teen girls won the BLESSED blanket that I donated. It was a fun day.

Ron did make it home from Florida for two weeks, and since he is very good friends with my cousin John as well as his wife’s family he opted to spend the afternoon with us. It was good for us to catch up, as well.

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TOMORROW August 13th is:

National Filet Mignon Day; International Left Hander’s Day; National Spirit of ’45 Day.

I know Gen and Ron and my cousin Mark (and my dad was) are all left handers. Probably more but I know these for sure! And I’ll celebrate my bus trip tomorrow. And tomorrow is Deb’s birthday. I’ll post that tomorrow! God bless…

Kath had an eye appointment this morning, so I did laundry and answered some emails and did some research online while I waited. We were able to get on the road about 11:30am and head to Smicksburg. We made a quick stop at Dollar General in Plumville, then at Donna’s store. She is expanding to almost twice her space, and it should be ready by next month. Sounds like another road trip to me! We stopped at one other little store on Dayton road before leaving town.

We ate our little lunch in the parking lot and then went to AJ/UC’s. They were sitting on the porch – it was such a beautiful day! We sat and talked until about 4:30pm, then heading out to the gardens. By the time we we headed back to the porch, we had two big baskets of corn, 4 heads of cabbage, two tomatoes, and a huge bag of apples!

And there was much more coming on that wasn’t ready yet – not to mention Gladiolas, Zinnias – complete with butterfly – and Mazie the dog! After hugs all around, we headed back home and I dropped Kathy off at about 6:30pm. When I left there Kathy and Paul were husking corn. I had several other things to do, so mine will have to wait until tomorrow. I did, however, have a few ears for supper. SO yummy!

The views of the country side were so beautiful. Almost took your breath away! So blessed to call this ‘Home’!

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TOMORROW August 12th is:

National Vinyl Record Day; World Elephant day; National Garage Sale Day; National Julienne Fries Day; International Youth Day; National Middle Child Day; National Bowling Day.

Records! I grew up on records! Tomorrow Kathy’s neighborhood is having a community garage/yard sale. And tomorrow is the Steiner Family reunion. I’ll celebrate vinyl records!!! God bless…

I had a lot to do this morning – some work at Pinnacle Jeannette, and then Nate’s business partner Dave came down as he bought a car in New Jersey and I had to do the paperwork. Rege and I had an intense conversation about bees… From there I stopped to help Mike P with something – but he had another deal that wasn’t quite ready. So I went to Greensburg store and did that stuff, and Mike G had dropped off paperwork… I went back to Mike P and finished his deal, then went to the bank and to the store and to check out a prescription recall and finally got home at 2:30pm. Talked to Kelly for about 45 minutes (phone), ate some soup, and decided to clean out the garage. Not sure why….

So I took everything out of the garage and off the shelves except for the Christmas decorations. They were pretty well organized already. The other shelves were just cluttered and dirty. So after I lugged everything out to the driveway, I swept off the walls and shelves and floors. Then I scrubbed them with Pinesol Lavender.

Putting things back was tricky, because I wanted to be more organized but there were just so many things to sort out. Once I got everything put back, I hosed off the driveway as it had dirty footprints all over. Now everything is at least neat and clean. Now we just have to pray that I remember when I put it all! Time for supper!

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Tomorrow August 11th is:

National Son’s and Daughter’s Day; National Raspberry Bombe Day; Global Kinetic Sand Day; National Presidential Joke Day; Play in the Sand Day.

I won’t be around sand, kinetic or otherwise, nor close to my son or daughter! I’ll look up a presidential joke. Kathy and I are doing a day trip to Smicksburg! Have a happy Friday and a great start to your weekend. God bless…

Yes!! And it WAS! And in my heart and mind, it still is. I don’t know exactly what drew me to the Beach Boys back in the 1960’s – other than that they were American’s Band! I was not a Beatles fan or a music groupie, so not sure. But the love of their music has stuck with me through the decades, through countless albums, CD’s, and TV performances. It wasn’t until 2017 that I crossed attending one of their concerts off my bucket list and went to see them at Kovalchick Center at IUP. It was amazing and I have the sweatshirt to prove it!

And I actually purchased a tee-shirt on Sunday! I’m not saving it for special occasions, either – I’m going to wear it often!

I’ve been to three more concerts since then – one Christmas and two summer tours. On Sunday night Kathy and I went to the Palace Theatre in Greensburg to see them. When the band came on stage and started singing the first song I was almost overcome with excitement! I thought I was going to cry! I think it was Surfin’ USA – all the songs just ran together. Well, mostly!

If you’ve ever been to a Beach Boys concert, you know that they SING. No jumping around the stage, no wild antics. They SING! And they do it well! Mike Love, who is 82 years old and almost totally deaf, is front and center on stage and peppers the concert with little jokes and wisecracks! The backup band is terrific and the songs sound exactly like the original group.

Beach Boys Songs!

One of the cool features of the concerts are that they continually show old, original footage for practices, concerts, performances, and just being fun in the sun! You can watch the footage, listen to the music, and be transported back to the 60’s – when life was simple and easy and FUN, FUN, FUN!

My favorite songs were (of course!) Wouldn’t it be Nice, Kokomo, Good Vibrations, In My Room, and Be True to Your School. I guess I could basically list them all! When they started playing Wouldn’t it be Nice the whole auditorium stood up and sang and clapped! I’d go to every local concert if I could! We’ll see what happens next… I’ve seen a pattern of every other year.

Today was cleaning and laundry and ironing and I pulled a few weeds – took the trash up. Now I’m going to make soup for supper! Scott fixed Dottie’s fence and sprayed for bees in her retaining wall. He also came over and sprayed behind my light fixture which was amazing! All in all a productive day!

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TOMORROW August 10th is:

National Connecticut Day; National Lazy Day; National S’Mores Day; World Lion Day; National Shapewear Day; Agent Orange Awareness Day.

Maybe I’ll give ‘lazy’ a try. I’m not a super big fan of s’mores or shapewear. I’ll just go to work and see what happens! God bless…

Teresa, Gigi, and I left Greensburg at 9am and headed to the Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens. She had been there, but I never had been. It was a sunny day but cooler temperatures and a nice breeze. I am always awed by the skyline going into the city. Gigi, however, not so much!

There were so many things to see – we did not even get to see everything. So that means another trip! Once we walked through the welcome center, we took a break to eat a few bites of apple and give Gigi a drink. We headed first up to the meadow.

Flowers in the meadow.

Next we walked down to the pond. Several ladies had easels set up and were painting with water colors. There were lots of stones, water lilies, stepping stones and a bridge. We stopped here and had lunch, and Gigi took a break.

From there we walked through a second meadow with a bookworm glen – even saw a dear run across the path.

On the way to the car we saw the little homestead cabin, and the resident chickens. There was a family with kids that were feeding the chickens.

We got home about 2:30pm and missed all the heavy Pittsburgh traffic. It was a fun day, and I’m thinking we will go back next month! Lovely day!

One last note: Safe travels to Ron who is heading to PA from Florida!

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TOMORROW August 9th is:

National VEEP Day (look it up – interesting!); National Passion Fruit Day; National Rice Pudding Day; World Calligraphy Day; International Co-Working Day; National Book Loving Day.

Well, that’s an easy one. I LOVE BOOKS! Take time to read tomorrow, all day if necessary! God bless…

I woke up to a raging micro-burst of some sort. It was blowing sideways and the rain was pounding. My lantern blew off the deck table, and the chair slid across the floor. I heard a crash and heard the neighbor’s fence go down, the other panel swinging back and forth. I KNEW I was smart not to sit there and pull weeds! She will have to get it fixed because a) the dogs might get in trouble and b) she’s putting her house on the market next week.

When I left for work, I noticed multiple trees and branches down. It took me an hour to pick up the sticks and branches in my yard. Snoopy blew down (hope he’s not dead!) so I brought him up top and attached him to the fence below the driveway. I had to pull some weeds to make room, and found a few wild strawberries. Not good enough or big enough to eat.

But as usual, when I was walking around picking up sticks I noticed that the Pinky Winkey Hydrangea was finally blooming pink at the bottom of the cone. It’s very pretty and doing well!

After lunch – which incidentally made me SICK! – I settled my stomach with some Coke and then set about washing windows. They were just so filthy. I usually do that Labor Day (it’s actually labor!) but I didn’t want to wait. So now that task is done. It looked like it was going to rain again but it did not, so the task went well and all is clean!

I will post pictures of the concert another day this week. I need to let it resonate in my brain and heart for a while, and marinate. In the meantime, I’m still bopping to my tunes!

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TOMORROW August 8th is:

National Dollar Day; National Frozen Custard Day; National Happiness Happens Day; Global Sleep Under the Stars Night; National Mochi Day; National Pickleball Day; National Whataburger Day; National CBD Day; International Cat Day (This one’s for Jen!); Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day; International Infinity Day.

I like dollars – and happiness – and stars (but not SLEEPING under them, at least outside). So have a fun day. I’m going to Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens with Teresa tomorrow. Pictures to follow! God bless…

OH! And today is Nathanael Greene’s birthday (1742). Greensburg was named after him. Happy birthday, Nathanael!

We had one student this morning, and it was his birthday. Needless to say the focus was not on the lesson! But we talked about the fruits of the spirit and Mary made a cute craft with him and it was good.

I came home to find that the three times I sprayed RAID Wasp/Hornet killer around my light did nothing. The bees are still swarming – and I’m not sure what kind they are. Not wasps, I don’t think. Tomorrow I will call Hilltop Pest Control. These bees are right outside my basement door and I’m not walking through a cloud of bees to go in and out — and would not expose my guests to that for sure!

Since today is Beach Boy Concert day I am just posting a quick few words and will recap the event tomorrow. Yea for FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!

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TOMORROW August 7th is:

Purple Heart Day; National Sea Serpent Day (Remember Beany and Cecil??); National Lighthouse Day; National Raspberries ‘n Cream Day.

Since I was doing at-home inside chores all day yesterday, today was my errand day. I stopped at Lowe’s to get air and water filters for my new fridge first, and they only had water filters — which were over $50.00! And only lasted 7 seven months! Highway robbery! But since they didn’t have both I’m going to order them on line. And this picture verifies that it was a scary experience!

Next I returned the Civil War yard sign to Hanna’s Town and dropped off the Loyalhanna Reviews. From there I went to L&L Fleatique as I haven’t been there in a long time. Didn’t see anything exciting, really, but lots of Halloween items – here are two I snapped a picture of.

I stopped at Walmart and got a few items, one being printer ink. THAT is always expensive, too – it was over $60! I came home and changed my sheets and the Crooks room sheets and did two loads of laundry. Cut the grass, but the front didn’t need done. Probably by Monday it will all need cut. For now, all is well.

I saw some very disturbing news last night on facebook. My former Doctor – James Masterson – died unexpectedly on Monday/Tuesday. There were a few write-ups about it but no date of birth, age, or cause of death were listed. The family is having a private service. He stepped away from his Family Practice YEARS ago to go into Sports Medicine and treat the local area sports teams. He was a super nice guy and I was really sad when I had to look for a new physician. I really like the one I have now (I went from Dr. Masterson to Dr. Cole), but I still really can’t believe Dr. Masterson passed away. He was ‘reportedly’ in very good health. No details were released. Very sad.

Nate and a friend has been building a deck on the back of their house. It’s super nice! They did a really good job. A roof makes all the difference!!!

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TOMORROW August 6th is:

National Fresh Breath Day; National Friendship Day; National Root Beer Float Day; American Family Day; National Wiggle Your Toes Day; National Sisters Day.

And it’s also Beach Boys Concert day! So much to be excited about. Hug your family, have a root beer float, brush your teeth, and do fun things all day. God bless…

It’s 5:41pm and it’s 83*. Every now and then I think it’s going to come up a storm, but the clouds move on and it’s sunny and bright. I just finished cleaning the house, which was in desperate need. I switched blankets around and put the colorful butterfly one on the couch. And no, I HAD these. No new blankets!!!

I had toast and tomato for breakfast, cinnamon rolls for mid-afternoon snack, and when I finish this I am going to make corn on the cob.

Today’s post is just a little different (since cleaning is sincerely boring!). Yesterday when I was coming home from work I saw a group of teens sitting on the grass under a big tree in the shade. It looked like they were on lunch break from somewhere. They plopped down on the ground comfortably and were chatting and laughing. I thought about the fact that I spent quite a lot of my time as a child and teen on the grass, playing games, picking clovers, singing songs, telling stories. Playing paper dolls.

I remember it being comfortable, and I could jump up in a heartbeat and take off across the yard. At Grama’s house we used to crawl through the tall grasses and make ‘houses’ with a dozen rooms, ‘sleeping’ on the ground and putting our dolls to bed. Or sitting in the yard for a picnic or a playdate with the neighbor girls.

It’s been a very long time since I thought sitting on the ground was fun. Getting down there is mostly a simple operation, but getting comfortable is something else entirely. What do you do with your legs? Straight out? Tucked sideways? Indian style? Or do you lean back and prop yourself with your arms? Lean against a tree or wall? Lay down on your side? Your back? Maybe your stomach and prop on your elbows?

At this point in time, I am glad for benches, lawn chairs, deck furniture, bleachers — anything that keeps me a foot or so off the grass. But those days were fun! We loved being kids, doing kid things! Even as teens we didn’t mind, as this happy picture of Mom confirms.

I’m glad – regardless of my intent to stay off the grass – that if I DID sit down on lawns or blankets I could at least get back up. So far. It might not be graceful, but I could do it. So I’ll watch the kids plop on the lawn, roll down grassy hills, and sit on blankets; sit in the lake, shade or sand. Or suitcase. And be glad that as an adult I am usually offered a chair!

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TOMORROW August 5th is:

National Summit Day; Mead Day; National Sunflower Day; National Work Like A Dog Day; National Mustard Day; Sandcastle Day; International Traffic Light Day; National Oyster Day, National Disc Golf Day; National Underwear Day (?), International Blues Music Day; National Jamaican Patty Day; National Play Outside Day.

Most people will probably do the underwear thing. Sunflowers are good, sandcastles are fun, traffic lights are important, Nate LOVES disc golf. And I LOVE to play outside. Pick something fun and do it! (Like, sitting in the grass?) God bless…

After the last 10 days or so, today’s quiet and non-noteworthy day was a welcome change. So there’s really nothing much to post about. I’ll recap my day but no pictures to speak of. But TODAY is my sister and her husband’s 50th wedding anniversary! Congrats, Kathy and Paul, to a wonderful, awesome achievement of love and faith!

I had breakfast with Kelly before I went to work – she was planning on leaving with the boys within the hour. I went to Jeannette, then to notarize something for Mike P, then to Greensburg. I had a dermatology appointment (which went well!), and then back to finish up at Greensburg. I stopped at Diane’s to pick up a few things, including an article from the Trib about the Hanna’s Town weekend. I’ll read that after supper.

After lunch and a few small in-house chores I went over to Ruth’s (LR editor) and picked up a few more copies of the Loyalhanna Review. Some I will drop off at Hanna’s Town and take some to church.

I had laundry to do and emails to answer and still have to clean the back door – lots of fingerprints! Then I think my day will be done except for my devotions and the Trib article and supper! Tomorrow I plan to give this house a thorough cleaning!

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TOMORROW August 4th is:

International Beer Day; National Water Balloon Day; International Clouded Leopard Day; National Coast Guard Day; National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.

Water balloons are a tradition! And I have the utmost regard for the Coast Guard. And of course I love chocolate chip cookies. Right now there are about 10 dozen in my freezer. God bless…