My World Tuesday = Chanticleer Gardens in PA

Last Friday our hosts in New Jersey took us to Chanticleer Gardens in King of Prussia, PA.

Enjoy these photos of Chanticleer Gardens in Mid May.I admit I got carried away and took over 115 photos.Here are 27 photos of the gardens for your enjoyment.

Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of the gardens. Now go and visit some other My World Tuesday memes by clicking here: http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Chad Gariety Returning to Iraq

Chad Gariety, son of Tom and Dorothy Gariety and grandson of Carl and Esther Gariety will be returning to Iraq in June for his second tour there with the Ohio National Guard. Right now Chad is training with other Ohio Guards at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Camp Shelby is the largest state owned training site in the nation. With Chad in this photo is his girlfriend, Amy Rigby, who I am sure will be glad when Chad returns next year from his tour in Iraq. Please say a prayer for Chad and all the other Ohio National Guards who will be making Iraq their home for the coming year.

Heading Down The Highway Part I

Heading Down The Highway Part I

Heading down the highway. (VA SR #15)

Crossing the Potomac River and heading to the Point of Rocks.
Stopping in Frederick, Maryland and noticing the murals on the wall
while walking to Brewers' Alley for a brew and a bite.


Enjoying the atmosphere of this building that has changed from opera house to
brewery and restaurant.

Taking time to check out the ceiling of the former opera house before getting on PA SR #30 to

head east for Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Smelling the fresh country air in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and getting into

a little traffic jam caused by all those Amish horse and buggies.

Heading down the highway. (Interstate #76)

Getting into a very big traffic jam while passing the Philadelphia Art Museaum

and thinking of Rocky.

Checking out the skyline of downtown Philly and noticing that

two of those building have matching ears on top---must be Mickey and Minnie!

Crossing the Delaware River via the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to go from

the state of Pennsylvania to the state of New Jersey.

You don't have to pay to get to New Jersey.

But you do have to pay to get out of New Jersey.

Every bridge heading to NY, PA or DEL has a toll.

Heading down the highway. (NJ SR #30)

Reaching our castle away from home in Berlin, NJ.

And here's the master of the manor greeting us.

Here's Hairy Harry!

And finally looking at the grand table set for us at this manor house.

Yes, Harry lives well here and we did too while being his house guests.

Story to be continued Monday evening.

Russia Local High School Graduate 2009

Russia Local High School Graduate 2009

Samantha L. Gariety

Another Gariety relative is graduating this month from my alma mater, Russia Local High School.

This is Samantha L. Gariety, the daughter of Tom and Dorothy Reithman Gariety and the granddaughter of Carl and Esther Leugers Gariety. Samantha will be continuing her education at Bowling Green University in Bowling Green,Ohio. My brother Carl Gariety who married Esther Leugers in 1956 has 16 grandchildren so expect to see many more Russia grads in the years to come on this blog.Congratulations Samantha! Have fun at your graduation party on May 23 in Roo-shee.

Jack and I have a busy weekend planned so I probably won't be blogging till Monday. But do come back here on Monday to catch a photo of Samantha's older brother Chad who will be going back to Iraq this summer with the Ohio National Guard.

Carl, I don't know how you keep up with 16 grandchildren. I'm having trouble keeping up with my one and only grandchild Jack Aidan and here you are with 16 teens and young adults to pamper and enjoy and spoil.

Guessing Game: What Is It?

What is it?

Lettuce coming up in my garden pot. Planted in pot to foil all the wild brown bunnies that hop thru our yard looking for food.
What is it?
Chives growing in my lion planter.
It is starting to bloom.

What is it?

A robins' nest in the overhang of my black rose trellis.
Can you spot the nest?

Mrs. Robin is sitting on the eggs these days and she gets quite upset when I go by the trellis.

What is it?
The bird feeder station near our breakfast room window.
And look at the little yellow finches!
They have returned this spring to our yard and are eating at the station.
One is on the left feeder up high while the other is on the right feeder down low.
Oh, the yellow finch on the right climbed into the outer birdfeeder!
The one on the left is still getting birdseed from outside the outer birdfeeder.

What is it?

The funniest blog post on very early morning lovemaking by the birds.

Someone is not a happy camper. LOL!

Click here to read her warning to the lovebirds and her readers comments back to her.

One commenter says he is a bird and he knows just what to do to her.

http://alstanfill.blogspot.com/2009/05/memo-on-noisy-avian-lovemaking.html

My World Tuesday = My First Cousin's Memoirs

My father Leo came from a very large Ohio family---twelve children. I have just recently discovered that my first cousin, Edna Wise, who I believe still lives in or near Fort Laromie, Ohio wrote and self published two small memoirs of growing up as a farmer's daughter during the Great Depression. Edna Wise was the youngest child of my father's older sister, Alice who married Ben J. Poeppelman on December 23, 1928. Alice died unfortunately of cancer at the very young age of 36 and she left her husband Ben to raise with the help of hired girls and then his next wife her six children including Edna Wise. Edna was her mother's youngest child and she was under two when her mother died.



I never had the opportunity to meet Aunt Alice but I certainly do remember as a young girl visiting Uncle Ben and Aunt Genevieve who was Uncle Ben's third wife. (Uncle Ben's first wife also died quite young. ) Anyway Aunt Genevieve was a widow with children and Uncle Ben was a widower with children so they married and blended their young families.


Uncle Ben and Aunt Genevieve owned a farm in Shelby County that was at the end of Schmitmeyer-Baker Road. Whenever my Dad took me to visit Uncle Ben and Aunt Genevieve he said we were going to the Laromie Reservoir and that we would probably have some fish for dinner there. In those days people didn't call to say they were coming for a visit after church on Sunday. You just showed up and the people were expected to provide you with dinner. Well, for one thing a lot of folks still didn't have phone service yet and if they did, it was one of those wood boxes with a hand crank that was attached to the wall. Party line too!) Can you imagine doing that today. No way! And if you did show up at someone's house unannounced, you know what would happen. There would be a quick call made to the local pizza joint for carry out pizza.


So I remember Uncle Ben's farm that was just several hundred feet away from the Loramie Reservoir. In her memoir Edna Wise says that the reservoir was actually right behind their barn. I also do remember Uncle Ben as being a very nice and kindhearted gentleman. I know he was one of my Dad's favorite brother-in-laws. But honestly what I remember most about Aunt Genevieve is that she was built like Dolly Parton in the upper torso. In fact, she looked like Dolly Parton on steroids if you can envision that! Aunt Genevieve was a fine cook. She could take those fish that Uncle Ben caught and cleaned that very afternoon and fry them up so that they were scrumptious. Of course she had plenty of baked potatoes and garden vegetables to go with the meal.


You will not find Edna Wise's two books on Amazon.com since they are self-published and printed. You need to know someone who lives in Ohio who knows someone who knows Edna who can get you a copy of a book for eight dollars! My contact for the two books was my only sister, Mary Ellen who lives in Tipp City, Ohio but who has high school friends near Fort Laromie and Minster who helped her get her copies and my copies. Thank you Mary for sending these to me!


Here are the titles of the two memoirs:
Memories of a Farmer's Daughter During The Depression, by Edna Wise


What I Forgot the First Time, Sequel to Memories of a Farmer's Daughter During the Depression, by Edna Wise.



Soon as I heard these book titles I knew I had to get copies and read them. It seems like what goes around comes around again like the Great Depression. I enjoyed reading these books very much. They are written in the folksy style that Old Man Lincoln sometimes uses in his blogposts. And what intrigued me was the similarities of experiences Edna and I had growing up on an Ohio farm even though we were close to 17/18 years apart in age. Here are some of the topics Edna Wise writes about in her two books that I could really really relate to:

Gathering eggs from the chicken house in hem of skirt or apron.

Having a hen who wanted to peck your hand when you went for her eggs under her. Ouch!

Killing and cleaning a wild rabbit for fried rabbit dinner.

Memorizing poems in school.

Having Catholic catechism classes in a public school.

Using the outhouse after dark.

Spending the summers weeding the garden, picking wild berries and canning up fruit and vegetables from the big garden.

Cooking and baking on a big black wood coal stove and using a pot-bellied stove to heat the entire house.

Digging out a cellar for the existing farmhouse.

Using the corn crib in the summer as a playhouse.

Feeding the hobos that infrequently stopped by for food.

Knowing that all the neighbors could listen in to all your phone calls on the party line.

Being extra good when Dr. McCorkle, the Superintendent of Shelby County Schools, visited our classroom unannounced.

Finding sassafras root bark in the woods and using it to make sassafras tea.

Not sitting with our parents in church but up front under the watchful eye of the nuns.

Butchering hogs in the late winter and hanging the hams in the smoke house.

On butchering day having blood pudding made from the pig's blood.

Creating corn shocks after husking the corn in the field.

Keeping fish in the cow tank by the barn to grow larger before killing and eating.

Hearing about driving a team of horses down the road. Both my Mom and my older brother Paul did that. Now it sounds like a scene from that old TV series Little House on the Prairie.

I hope I didn't bore you with my Ohio farm stories of the 20'th century. Now please go visit some My World Tuesday blog memes featuring what's happening right now around the world in the 21'st century by clicking here:http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Happy Mother's Day 2009

Wishing Every Mother, Grandmother and Greatgrandmother

A Happy Mother's Day

2009!

News Flash: I know that some of you are birth mothers and some of you are foster mothers and some of you adoption mothers. Good moms are good moms no matter their legal/technical status. Why even men can be moms in the truest sense of the word. To understand what I mean run don't walk over to this blog site to see the cutest human interest mom story for Mother's Day. It stars a one legged dove and some orphan little bunnies. Click here to learn the rest as Paul Harvey would say:http://anenglishgirlrambles.blogspot.com/

Skywatch Friday = Grey Rainy Skies

Skywatch Friday = Grey Rainy Skies

This has been the weather pattern for Northern Virginia all this week.

Good for the grass.

But its hard to mow when it keeps raining, raining, raining!

If I didn't know better, I would say this week I'm living in the Pacific Northwest.

Rain, rain go away.

Little Joann wants to play.

Have A Great Weekend Everyone!
Now click here to go to some other Skywatch Friday memes: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Ohio Prom Photos 2009

Marissa in Green Prom Gown

Marissa is the Daughter of Jeff and Debra.

Marissa is Also the Great Niece of Joann.

The Bradford High School Prom

Saturday May 2, 2009

Samantha in White Prom Gown

Brooke in Lavender Prom Gown

Samantha is the Daughter of Tom and Dorothy

Brooke is the Daughter of Greg and Connie

Both Girls Are The Great Nieces of Joann.

Russia High School Prom

Saturday May 2, 2009

Brooke and Josh Ready For the Big Dance

Russia High School Prom

Saturday May 2, 2009

Aunt Joann's Final Comment: I dedicate the first two songs on my Playlist to all of you. They are Frank Sinatra singing first THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT and singing second MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU.

My World Tuesday = Reston, VA

Reston is a planned community founded by Robert E. Simon who envisioned in the '60s a place where folks could live, work, shop, eat and play in one community that was connected by biking/walking trails. Reston now has over 60,000 residents but it is not a small city or town but a place. In 1990 the Reston Town Center was built and this is what you see in the above photo. By the way Robert E. Simon is still alive and active and just celebrated this past month his 95'th birthday. Robert E. Simon's family once owned Carnegie Hall in New York but when his family sold it he used the funds to begin the planned community of Reston.

Saturday the NARFE State Conference for Virginia was held across the street from this place at the Hyatt Regency. Jack and I attended the conference and discovered that the Reston Town Center was hosting a Pet Fiesta. There were dogs of every breed and persuasion and we had fun checking them out on our lunch break from the conference. And of course I had to pull out my camera and take a few photos.

Here a pug, there a pug, everywhere a chubby little pug. I love those dogs. They look like human babies to me. And there sure were lots and lots of pugs at this event. I guess this is becoming a very popular breed.

This banner explains the dog event.Tails on Trails Dog Walk is mentioned in the banner. There are over 50 miles of walking trails in the seven villages of Reston. The oldest village is Lake Anne. We discovered that there was a doggie fashion show scheduled as well as a rock band playing for both the dogs and their masters.

The outdoor cafes were crowded with both two legged and four legged customers. I spot several black and white English spaniels and a little tiny terrier in this pic. Do you? By the way what is your favorite type of dog? I think that they all are cute in their own way except I think whippets are too darn skinny. In my opinion they are anorexic. Click on photo to enlarge it to see the whippet standing on hindlegs wearing a floral pink cape. I think she was begging for food from the table.

There were lots of big, big dogs there too: golden retrievers, St. Bernard's, collies, etc. One big black dog was bigger than a miniature pony! All the dogs big and small were very well behaved. I didn't even get to see one dog fight. But there was a lot of meeting and greeting and rearend sniffing. Well this is my dog story for today. I'll have more dog photos for you to see tomorrow if you like dogs.

Now go visit other My World Tuesday blog memes by clicking here: http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Big News Flash: Some foxhound dogs from the Fairfax Hunt were at the Reston Pet Fiesta on Saturday!

Read about the Leesburg blaze and the foxhounds recovery by going to the Washington Post's Metro section. You can click here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/metro/

One of the dogs, Sapphire, even competed in the doggy fashion show.

White Paw Is Stepping Out

White Paw Is Stepping Out.

Where are you going with your friends?

Are you heading to the White House to see little Bo Obama?

If so, wag your tail and you'll get thru the Secret Service Security Gate.

Everyone falls under the spell of a cute puppy dog.

Dog Gone and Dog Gone

Dog Gone and Dog Gone

It will be raining for the next several days in Virginia.

The green oak tree pollen is still giving Virginians allergy problems.

Dog Gone and Dog Gone

This Bouquet

This bouquet is for my brother Carl Gariety who is still recuperating at the Versailles, Ohio Health Clinic. Listen to the nurses and the therapists and do all those leg exercises so you can soon get back home where you belong with your family. God bless you.