There will be no post tonight – I’m spending a delightful evening with my friend Gen! Catch you tomorrow — God bless…

Today is Snoopy’s birthday – and he’s 74! He looks really good for being so old. I hope I look that good when I’m 74. Oh, wait….

I decided to take advantage of the cooler temps and the nice breeze. I got up, changed and washed bed sheets, and then went outside to weed whack. My intention was to do that early, have breakfast, then go back later in the day and mow. But after I took a break, I decided why get dirty twice? So I cut the grass, hosed off the mower and the weed-whacker, then hosed the white fence. THEN I came in and got a shower.

I was going to have toast for breakfast but my toaster wouldn’t work. It did that once before and the manufacturer explained how to fix it. I’ve tried several time to clean it out thoroughly but no luck. I’ll try it one more time, and then it will be switch to a new toaster. I really liked that one!

Pat (who is replacing and fixing my doors) just called me. The new door for the family room presents a pickle. If I get the same swing as I have now it will cost $300.00 more. If I get the opposite swing the door knob will be on the other side. They say when you get older you should experience things that challenge your brain. Bingo!!!

I had the last two ears of farm corn for lunch, then went for a short (very short) walk. I noticed how raggedy the Bridal Veil Bush was – WAY too big and impossible to mow around. It’s branches are prickly and kept whacking me in the face and arms. I spent about 45 minutes trimming that, and also some little lilac stragglers that were encroaching on the front deck. So now that’s done.

I want to review my Sunday school lesson again, because it’s a little deep for my 4 year old student. I need to simplify a few concepts.

Beth sent me a photo of a ‘Book’ Christmas tree. I may try that this year. I really need to upgrade from my 40 year old artificial tree!

Christina and Autmn went to a concern tonight – it was their last ‘sisters’ fling before Christina leaves for college. Nate and Jen are watching Cameron, so he brought him over for about an hour so we could play. It was a fun evening!

My blessing today was spending time with Cam and Nate!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 11th is:

Melon Day; Mountain Day; National Align your Teeth Day; National Crow Day; National Face Mask Day; Presidential Joke Day; Son and Daughter Day; Play in the Sand Day; National Spirit of ’45 Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was Sea Shell Day. Tomorrow let’s reach out to our sons/daughters, climb a mountain, play in the sand, and eat water melons! God bless…

It was a lovely Friday – weather cooperated after a morning rain. I did some reading, laundry, ran the dishwasher, fussed around in the yard, and switched out some photos in a few frames. I also got a jump on the essay for our Skunk Hollow event in October so I’m ahead of the game for that one.

I finished the first book in the Amelia Island series and started the second one – This series seems to have a lot of drama and action.

Outside I pulled a few weeds, got the mail (junk only!!), and saw that the Butterfly bush got considerably bigger. The blooms are almost all purple and white.

I noticed that Ligonier Valley Writers posted a picture of most of the published authors on their facebook page.

I finally got around to making my yellow squash for lunch, with a piece of water melon. I’ll probably have tomato and toast for supper.

I decided to switch out some pictures in a few of my frames. I don’t do that too often. But I really liked the picture of Kathy and I in the antique car at the Frick mansion in Pittsburgh so I put that in the ‘sisters’ frame and it really kind of ties the pictures together. Also put out a picture of Duke of Gloucester Street at night, taken from our Colonial House window right before our ‘ghost’ tour. The other frame was upstairs in the living room, a picture of the Biltmore and one of our Williamsburg Colonial House at night.

My blessing for today was the sunshine after the rain.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 10th is:

Garage Sale Day; National Sea Shell Day; National Bowling Day; National Lazy Day; National S’mores Day; National Shapewear Day; National Spoil Your Dog Day; Update Your Bio Day; World Lion Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Eye Glasses Day. Tomorrow – garage sales sound fun, and being lazy. If you have a dog, spoil it! God bless…

My first chore of the day was a doctor’s appointment at Latrobe Hospital. It was a follow up from a pulmonary function test I had in February. There are two other tests I need to have done – to determine treatment. I don’t really have issues right now, but I also don’t push it, either! Both tests are mid-month so we’ll see!

From there I got tomatoes at Palmers, stopped at both Pinnacles, then came home. I had corn for lunch but had a tomato for supper.

I spent a little time outside pulling a few weeds, then I took a walk. I feel like I need to get back into a routine of that. I liked seeing my house from the bottom road; right now it’s fairly neat.

My toe nails needed touched up so I just changed the color. They were blue. They are a little rough around the edges but that’s the best my hands can manage.

Di was needing to cheer up a friend, so she stopped and got a few flowers from my yard. She did a lovely job of putting together a nice bouquet!

I just balanced my checkbook but there is a mystery attached. As long as there is more money than I THOUGHT there was (and not less!) I’m ok with that! I’ll check it again over the weekend.

Today was 33 years since Stoney passed away. Hard to believe it’s been that long.

My blessing for today was my yummy lunch and supper with fresh garden produce!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 9th is:

National Co Working Day; National Book Lovers Day; National Hand Holding Day; National Rice Pudding Day; National Women’s Day; Shop Online for Groceries Day; National Passion Fruit Day; National Eye Glasses Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was Twinkly Lights day. Tomorrow let’s celebrate books! I LOVE books! Wear glasses if you need to, especially to read. God bless…

Late last night I finished the Sanibel Island 7 book series and I liked the way it ended. The books were well written, with equal parts of humor, drama, mystery, romance, and family/faith. This morning I started another 7 book series by the same author.

I spent most of the day cleaning and doing laundry. A friend of Nate/Jen’s (Pat) who is a contractor of sorts stopped by to look at my deck and my basement doors. He’s going to replace some boards, put in a new door to the garage, and re-align two other doors that do not shut properly. That will be a big help!

After Pat left, it was early enough that I was able to cut the grass. It was a lovely day, cooler with a good breeze. I managed to cut the entire yard without taking any breaks. That’s a first since spring!

Then I dug up a bunch of crab grass along the fence line on Karen’s side of the fence. It was growing up on both sides and the mower wasn’t cutting it. Now it will be better for both yards.

It’s late and I need supper so that’s it for now. Oh! I had a call from Gen today and plans are that she’s coming down on Sunday afternoon and will spend the night at the ‘Burke B&B’! I’m so excited to see her! It will be fun to catch up.

My blessing for today was two-fold: Having Pat stop and confirm that he could do these projects for me, and that Gen is coming down!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 8th is:

National Happiness Happens Day; National Whataburger Day; Global Sleep under the Stars Night, National Frozen Custard Day; Digital Nomad Day; International Cat Day; National Dollar Day; National Twinkle Lights Day; National Pickleball Day (go Logan!!!); National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto your Neighbor’s Porch Day; Odie Day; Peasants’ Day; Wear Your Mother’s Jewelry Day; Take a Penny, Leave a Penny Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Straw Day. Tomorrow – Logan can celebrate Pickleball! Jen can celebrate Cat Day, and I hope someone leaves me a zucchini or two! Have a happy day – God bless…

Kathy sent me an early email, and told me about the lady bugs that her co-workers had spread all over her office space. They like to brighten things up and make it fun. It was a bit of a surprise, then, when I found a little red ‘lady bug’ crawling around on my kitchen floor! I scooped her up and let her free outside. So today was a lady bug kind of day.

There wasn’t a lot in Jeannette, so I went from there to help Mike P with a few small things. Then I got gas for the Chevy and headed to Greensburg. There were several things to catch up since I didn’t work yesterday. I had a follow-up appointment at Forefront Dermatology and everything was fine. Since I still had work to do at Pinnacle I finished up there after the appointment and went on home. I had a few ears of the farm corn for lunch.

Diane txt me that she was taking a bouquet of flower to a friend in a nursing home and did I have anything to add for color. I sent her photos of what few things I have blooming. Not much right now but she’s going to check it out.

Finally got an estimate to have the gi-normous trees in the front yard trimmed back. It’s in the budget so looks like those guys are getting a major haircut sometime in early September. I’ll feel so much better when they aren’t towering over my house.

Another picture from Chrissy’s party – her and Cameron by her graduation banner with her senior picture.

My blessing today was a good report at the follow up appointment.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 7th is:

Aged Care Employee Day; National Lighthouse Day; National Raspberries n’ Cream Day; National Sea Serpent Day; Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day; Professional Speakers Day; National Straw Day; Purple Heart Day; Regatta Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Hat Day. Tomorrow – I’ll go with lighthouses. And a sea serpent if one splashes by… God bless.

Today was corn day at the farm. Kath and I left a little after 8am. It was a pleasant drive out, and we needed to catch up on our conversation. We needed extra snack-size zip lock baggies, so we made a quick stop at Plumville Dollar General. These customers beat us there.

When we got to the farm, Uncle Clifford had the corn picked and mostly husked, some of it already boiled and ready to cut. He sent us upstairs first to say good morning to Aunt Joan who was just getting out of bed.

We had all the corn boiled, cut off the cob, and tucked temporarily into the freezer before noon. We took a break and had a wonderful lunch, which everyone contributed to: Turkey and ham and cheese sandwiches, macaroni salad, kettle chips, fresh corn on the cob (from corn stalk to our plate in 20 minutes!) – with brownies and cinnamon swirl coffee cake for dessert.

Then it was back to work. We bagged the corn in snack sized baggies and separated them into the two coolers. Then we walked out to the garden, where Kathy and I each got a big bag of apples right from the tree, a tomato from the garden, little cucumbers, and a few ears of fresh corn in the husk to take home. Plus fresh made apple sauce.

But the best part is always family, and precious time spent with wonderful people. The time always goes too fast, and in between visits seem to drag.

We stopped at Donna’s store and grabbed cheese, then headed home. We stopped at the Blairsville Burger King – Kathy got iced coffee and I got a frozen Coke. Just the boost we needed!

I got home about 4:30, put everything away and cleaned up. Did a load of laundry, husked my few ears of corn, and am done with my day! And it was a good day!

My blessing today was spending time at the farm with sweet family.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 6th is:

Balloons To Heaven Day; Farmworkers Appreciation Day (a day late!); National Fresh Breath Day; National Hat Day; National Night Out; National Root Beer Float Day; National Wiggle Your Toes Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was pink flower day. Tomorrow for me is a doctor check up, work, and who knows what else. I still like the farmworkers day! God bless…

TODAY is Friendship day and Sisters day. My friends and support circle are amazing and I value every one of them! So sending hugs and thanks for their unfailing support in my life! And here’s to MFS (my favorite sister) – couldn’t navigate the roads of life without you, sweet sister!

Max’s family was out of town, and Jackson/Cody came for second service, so it was just Gracie for Sunday School. She is such a sweetheart and we are going to miss her quiet, sincere spirit when the classes move on in September. Our lesson was about Jesus blessing the children, and she was so fun to teach.

Todd had another very compelling lesson. It was about Jonah this week. Why do we run from God’s directions? We need to just obey, and never say no to God. He will never fail us. He brings us back, doesn’t PAY us back. My favorite thought of the whole sermon was that God reroutes us from where we ARE, not where we started. He doesn’t reject us but guides us in every circumstance. I’m glad He’s a God of second chances — and 3rd, and 4th, and…..

I had toast and tomato (my last tomato!) for lunch, then cut the grass. It was pretty hot but there was a breeze and I took several breaks. Nice to have it done for a few days.

Tomorrow is corn day at the farm, so I made macaroni salad for lunch to take. Kath and I will leave early and make a day of it, and take sandwiches and dessert for us all. This is last year’s photo from corn day!

My blessing today was actually Todd’s message, making a story that I’ve heard my whole life come alive with a new meaning!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 5th is:

Blogger Day; National Oyster Day; National Pink Flower Day; National Underwear Day; Work Like a Dog Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Frog Day. Tomorrow, of course, is CORN day! And we WILL work like a dog. Have a great day, and put on clean underwear…. God bless…

These last 2 days have been a crazy whirlwind of fun, family and friends! Kelly and I had several things to help with for Chrissy’s graduation party, which was Friday night at Mammoth Park. We spent part of Thursday and Friday getting organized. We had to be at the pavilion at 2pm on Friday. We both drove because Kelly was leaving before I was — she had to get Chase at the house (he was still coughing) and drive home late Friday night.

Autmn got to the house just as we were leaving, and we had to take time to cuddle Cameron and have some one-on-one baby time. That little guy is so cute! But we finally tore ourselves away and headed out to Pavilion 13.

When we got there – WOW! I think Jen had cleaned out Amazon’s stock on Graduation decorations! They were fabulous. She had banners and photo boards and citronella candles, and centerpieces, and balloons and snacks and table clothes and napkins and … just WOW. We spent two hours putting everything together and it looked fabulous. Only Jen…

And the view! We were right at the lake, with flocks of ducks swimming around and the sun reflecting on the water. There was a volley ball court, shuffle board, swings, and a corn hole game. And also a blue tooth speaker system that played Christina’s playlist. She did, however, sneak in a few Beach Boy songs for her Mimi!

Jen ordered cupcakes and cookies from a specialty bakery. They were beautiful and delicious! There were cheese and cracker trays, fruit, veggies and dip, pretzels, bowls of chips, and six or seven coolers of drinks.

I obviously didn’t know everyone but did get to catch up with a few friends that I knew from Jen’s rescue or Chrissy’s friends. Her ‘bestie’ Hope was there, too, and they kept jumping in the Acura and driving around the parking lot! But they all had a great time.

My friend Teresa, my Violet cousin Deb and her husband Jim, and Skunk Hollow cousin Beth and her husband Harold all came. Nate came over and sat down, and he and Kelly sat and talked with us for a long while. That doesn’t happen too often!

Cameron made his rounds, passed around to his adoring public, keep him and us entertained. We couldn’t put him down in the grass or the cement so we waltzed him around or pushed him in the stroller.

And Chrissy just loved everybody and everything going on around her. I love that girl and am so happy for her and proud of her! What a lovely evening!

This morning I started the day by stopping by the funeral home – an older lady in our church family passed away. Her daughter Judy and I were the first two to spend a week at Camp Christian from Hempfield Church back in the 60’s, and before long the whole youth group was going to camp! I also got to see my friend Patty Buschek, who was going to play the piano for the service. I was touched by the fact that she and her daughter both said they missed seeing me since they switched church attendance. I love that lady!

From there it was the Steiner Family Reunion. It was again at Altman Park in Jeannette and it’s a very nice big pavilion. Also again, so much food! I won’t have to eat for a week, after yesterday and today. We had a nice turnout and the weather stayed clean until after we were all packed up.

My blessing these past few days has been spending time with sweet, precious family and friends.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW August 4th is:

American Family Day; Assistance Dog Day; Hooray for Kids Day; National Frog Day; National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day; National Friendship Day; National Sisters Day; Single Working Women’s Day; US Coast Guard Birthday; Exercise with your Child Week.

Yesterday’s fake day was Meatball day. Tomorrow — Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! The best! Friendship day, sisters day. Near to my heart! God bless…

Well, let’s see if I can recap this day. To begin with, I didn’t fall asleep until after 1:30am. When the alarm went off it felt like I was shot out of a cannon. But I was fine all day. Starting to run out of energy.

I worked both stores, then stopped at Giant Eagle for a few things I couldn’t find at Dollar Tree or Walmart. When I got home I decided to cut the grass, even though it was fairly hot and humid. There was a breeze and that helped. I was halfway through with that when Kelly called and they were only 10 minutes away.

Kelly made a hat for me to put with the raffle basket for the reunion. She is making several – I think she plans to sell them or give them as gifts.

Once the grass was cut, all the walks, etc, blown clean, and the two trash cans scrubbed and hosed out, I went in and got a shower. Kelly needed to get some things for her projects for Chrissy’s grad party tomorrow, so after I wolfed down the last of the roasted veggies we went over there. Chase came with her, but he has a cough — and I hope he feels better quickly. We installed him in the upstairs bedroom to contain his germs and give us a little extra room downstairs.

I had a few projects today, and boiled eggs to make deviled eggs. Then we mixed up brownies for Saturday and I’ll ice them tomorrow.

Brown’s PHAC is coming in the morning to put a new spigot on the laundry tub sink. There are no shut-off valves in there so I’m assuming the main shutoff will have to shut the water down in the house. Kelly and I are going to fill a few pans with water so we can at least do a few things, like make her mac/cheese for Chrissy.

It was a long day and now I’m tired. I do want to say that there will be no Word Garden tomorrow. The party runs late into the evening and I’m sure I’ll be exhausted by the time we get done.

My blessing today is having the kids here! And we had spaghetti for supper! With garlic toast!

PEANUTS Thought for the day:

TOMORROW August 2nd is:

International Beer Day; National Coloring Book Day; National Meatball Day; National Ice Cream Sandwich Day; National Water Balloon Day.

Yesterday there was no ‘fake’ day. Tomorrow: ice cream, balloons, and coloring books! God bless…