Church in North Chittenden Today!

GROW!!

This post is for Josh!

Ta Da! Eat your heart out Josh! Bunky and family are here and we are loving every minute. Of course they have only been here a minute! I said let me get a picture first off so we can transmit to Idyllwild.
We also had the Bannermans over for dinner this evening. I do not have to work again until Wednesday! I feel like I am truly on vacation. Cheerio, all!

West Haven Baptist Church Fellowship Meal

We had a wonderful turnout for the end of season fellowship meal. The weather had turned cold and blustery while we were at church and so the cozy setting with a fire in the fireplace made for a warm and wonderful time. Nick Thornblade did two musical specials during church. Nick Thornblade, Bill Kuehn, Troy Felber, and Sandy Kuehn

Jan Ellis, Carol Richards, Jim Ross, and Lenora Ross
Food, glorious food!

The desserts were plentiful and very good. All the leftover pies went to North Chittenden later that afternoon.
Lee Ellis is sitting behind Sandy next to his wife Jan. I had other pictures with Katy T. in them but she would rather not be on my blog so they will not be posted! Unfortunately the only pictures with Jo-Anne Short in them also had Katy T. . .
Too soon it was time to say goodbye. Imagine 8 cars parked up in our dooryard. Barry had left his car over at McPhersons.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is a 12 hour ER day, 7am/7pm. When I get home at 8pm I have to make two apple pies and a large chicken noodle casserole for the pot luck we are having here at the house following the worship service. Barry is also making a salad or two. I was able to find someone to work Sunday for me but could not find anywone willing to work tomorrow for me so I am stuck. Now I need to turn in for tomorrow promises to be an endeavor worthy of Olympic status.

General Fall Cleaning Continues!

My quest to generally clean up and get rid of "stuff" continues. One day last week I worked on the bookshelves. I did get rid of some books. (Not to worry Josh, I did not part with any of your favorites!) I did not notice until I had posted the picture that my can of dust polish is in the lower left hand corner of the pic! Oh, well. Realism is good.

Friday in Manchester

Today was a day at the doctor's office in Manchester. I had a fairly busy lab schedule this morning but the day was not too hectic as the doctor was away for the day and the only patients were mine. We are still busy doing flu vaccines and the phones ring pretty constantly. Comcast came mid morning to work on our phone switchover and that was accomplished with only a few glitches. We have caller ID with the new system. . .SWEET.

We put service on at lunch time and snuck out for a bite to eat at a local eatery. I had a cup of delicious thick pea soup which tasted so good and warmed me up as we sat at an outdoor table and it was downright chilly!

Kim and Tracy getting everything together for our trip out for lunch. I drove and we had a hard time trying to decide where to go. My knowledge of Manchester is limited so my constant refrain was, "Just tell me where to turn!" They did a good job and I think I could find this particular lunch spot again. Tracy perusing the menu. It was really too cold to be outside in the shade, but I am sure the fresh air was good for us.

285 to 246

Tonight I challenged Barry to a game of Scrabble! I might as well have saved my pride for he whupped me as he usually does. We were nip and tuck in the early stages but when the board starts to get crowded he is so much better than I at tucking a little word in here or there and really racking up the score. All in all a fun way to end a busy day. No comments if you spot a suspect word.

Action Packed Day from Dawn to Dusk

My morning was spent washing all of the upstairs curtains. I hung them out even though the day was overcast and looked as though it might rain. Then I gathered all of our household waste. . .old oil based paint, varnish, rusty cans of liquids with no identification labels, motor oil, etc. Some of the stuff I found has been under the cottage for years. . .hot in the summer and frozen solid in the winter. . .perfect candidates for the hazardous waste collection today at the Benson dump. This eyesore is next on my hit list! I gathered up all the old flower pots and dropped them off at Westbrooke Gardens on my way with the hazardous waste. I gathered up some of the junk and filled two large black bags. Unfortunately it still looks pretty much the same but I am determined so keep checking for an "after" picture to compare with this "before" shot.
About 3pm Barry and I made a trip to the dump with our black bags and recylables and from there we headed over to North Chittenden to deliver some things to Joel and Christine. We dropped deck stain, bananas (39 cents a pound), and laundry detergent that was buy one get two free at the house and then went on up to the school to see them. It was Chittenden Day and Joel and Christine had a table set up as you can see below. Joel had also made a cardboard replica of the church, which I forgot to take a picture of! The church had a belfry with a bell and Joel had little cloth balls (called bats) and everyone that came by and was able to throw a bat into the belfry so that the bell rang was rewarded with a piece of candy! A very popular spot!!
Obadiah took advantage of all the hubbub to disappear. When found he was way down on the playground with a bunch of kids.
Joanie is an nurse in the ER. She was helping all these girls make earrings or bracelets. Hers was one of the most popular tables. Joanie and her family have begun and support a clinic in Kenya. JOPPA, PRN is the name of their ministry. Gracie is in the light blue shirt at the head of the table.

Meant to report to all of you faithful readers that there were no trees in my way yesterday morning when I drove out to work. Mentioned to Jill about the wind but she had not heard it. Later at church in West Haven Barry commented to the church folk about the strong wind that came up in the night and got back blank stares. I guess it was only here on the lake! It really was windy out here!!!!

APPLES GALORE!

When we were homeschooling , lo those many years ago, one of the poems I had us memorize was September, by Helen Hunt Jackson. I was reminded of that poem when Barry and I went up to Champlain Orchard this afternoon to pick some apples.

The golden rod is yellow;
The corn is turning brown;
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down.

The gentians bluest fringes,
Are curling in the sun;
In dusty pods the milkweed
Its hidden silk has spun.

The sedges flaunt their harvest,
In every meadow nook;
And asters by the brookside
Make asters in the brook.

From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;
At noon the roads all flutter
With yellow butterflies.

By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summers best of weather
And autumns best of cheer.
Every tree was just loaded! It took us no time at all to fill our bags, drink in the view, and enjoy the breeze from atop the hill.
Once home I made a couple of pies. Used up the old tired apples in the fruit bowl along with enough of the newer tart ones to make delicious pies.
Won't you stop by for a piece of pie???

Sunday Morning at North Chittenden Wesleyan Church

My heart will be there even if my body can't be. Welcome back Nathanael and Rachel Peck. Happy Birthday, Sarah Peck! I have so many more reasons I wish I could be in attendance today. . .

Windy Night!

Barry and I awoke a little after 1 am to such a strong south wind that all the curtains were blowing perpendicular to the windows! We lay awake for a long, long time listening the long sustained gusts and the whine of Mother Nature's fury. We mused as to whether this was an edge of Hanna on her march Northward. I wished I had taken the flag down from the flag pole and am wondering even now in the predawn darkness if "our flag is still there." I am dressed and ready to go out the door for work now at 0530. Need to leave early enough in case there is debris in my way. Praying there will be no large trees across my path. I will let you all know later what I found.

This post is for Molly!

I took a walk before dinner tonight and look what was in the hay field near the red sugar house. I was sure glad I saw him first but would have been hard to miss with the rattling racket he/she was making!

Actually, this is a picture Josh took out in California. They are way too common for them. This one had crossed the road in front of Josh's car and so he stopped to get a picture. Josh has been thankful there have been none in the campground this summer for those they have to kill.

The McCain People Have Been Asking for a Copy

Such an heirloom! This was buried in the game cupboard between Shaka Zulu and an old Barry Tarberry VHS tape. Ah, the Tate Clan secrets contained within its pages. These will no doubt be much sought after autographs some day.
It was on this basis that I was able to deny access to the manuscript.

Things the Salvation Army did not want!

They took the musty, dusty old books. We kept just enough to preserve the cottage ambiance! My car now smells like musty, dusty old books. They did not want my mother's old electrolux vacuum with its myriad attachments. Nor did they want our potty chair or diaper genie. So those items will go to the dump with BJT tomorrow. I have thrown wide the doors to the game cupboard for you to admire my handiwork. Christine has been my "Simplify" coach through this process and without her I would have wavered at many points. Dad, I have found, is not a good "Simplify" coach!
Games from broken boxes have been put in ziploc bags. Multiple games have been shared with the S. A. except for Trivial Pursuit of which we have 3 games. We also have enough chess sets of various sizes and make to host our own tournament. The catchall cupboard under the stairs has been completely emptied and is now home to our recyclables. I would like BJT to come up with a better shelving system for that space that would make it even more usable but it is a start.

Happy Belated Birthday, Lucy Gates!

A very exciting package is traveling right this very minute across this vast continent with the three gift wrapped packages you see below tucked inside enroute to one little post office box in Idyllwild. California. I thought for a brief moment of sending the packages to cpo box 1666! The packages for Lisa and Sarah came from the largesse of a deceased collector's family. This will become apparent upon opening! Each may share with the b'day girl or cherish for herself as she wishes!