Home-a-Rama

We haven't been to one of these for several years, so on Father's Day Brent and I decided to brave the great divide and take in the 7 homes on display. Besides, it's nice to see how the other half lives!

For some reason, I loved these garage doors. There were some that were even a little more barn like and I thought they looked pretty snazzy. Ours is just one big door which wouldn't suit this style at all, but I still liked it.
I really wanted to check out the bathrooms. For the most part, I was really disappointed. There were 3 that I liked, but most of them had those awful plastic molded tubs. WTH?!! These places are supposed to be spectacular. Well, I liked the different tiles and textures in this one. Of course, it had all sorts of shower heads in it too. Very cool. We have very small bathrooms, but we could incorporate some of these combo-tile ideas.

Oh man, I just love outdoor fireplaces. How freaking cool is this? I wonder what something like this would cost. I want one!

Of course, the kitchen is a big deal for me. There was really only one kitchen that totally wowed me. I liked the idea of having one area that was primarily a clean up area with the double sink and dishwasher. Then on the other side of the island with the prep sink, was the triangle with the fridge, cook top, ovens. On each side of the the cabinetry under the cook top were the pullout spice racks. I NEED these! I have one entire double cabinet that is filled with spices, bottles of vinegars, oils, sauces, etc. Oh yeah, this is a must (along with so many other things).

I'm wondering if there's room for built in book shelves on each side of my fireplace in the living room? Hmmmm. Inquiring minds want to know.

Inappropriate

We had Gwen overnight a few weekends ago. Kera was going riding so she brought Gwen over around 10 on Saturday morning. Gwen and I decided to go to the movies, so we hopped over to Regal just in time for the 11:00 Mr. Popper's Penguins flick. It was cute and Gwen really enjoyed it.

We met Grandpa for lunch at her favorite restaurant, Isaacs. She and Grandpa played a rousing game of boxes where she led Grandpa to believe there was still a free move but, as she whispered in my ear, "shhhh, I just want him to think there's still a free move left!" Teaser.

We came home and worked on her scrapbook. See previous post for those details. We had plans with a bunch of friends for dinner at the What If Cafe in Harrisburg, and it was no problem to bring Gwen along. At one point we made a trip to the ladies room. This bathroom is decorated with ceramic heads, old-time pictures, and even one nude (from the rear) of women.

Gwen: I don't like those heads Grandma, they're kind of scary.
Grandma: Yes the are a little frightening.
Gwen: And that (pointing to the nude)...that is just inappropriate!

Out of the mouths of babes!

Scrapper in the Making

I swear I'm not the one who bought Gwen the scrapbook kit. But, I will admit to being thrilled when Gwen decided that she wanted Grandma's help to work on her book.
I dug out all the pictures I had from 2010 and we started to go through them. I let her pick out any of the photos I had to work with. She decided for the most part that she didn't want 2-page layouts. She selected her photos, decided how to lay them out, then went through the embellishments that came with her kit and the embellishments I have. She layed everything out on the page making sure she liked it before she affixed anything permanently to the page.

I'm cool with her doing whatever she wants. She's only 7 after all. But, I do draw the line at hacking weird shapes out of photos so she can cut out something she doesn't like. Cutting straight lines is one thing, but hacking at them is something else entirely. Her Mom's butt shows in a picture of Gwen, posing as she sits before her piano recital:

Gwen: Grandma, can we just cut Mama's butt out of the picture.

Grandma: No, Gwen, you just can't hack chunks out of the picture.

Gwen: Can we layer (yes, she said layer) the second picture over the first one like you do in your books?

Grandma: Yes, Gwen, we can use one picture to cover up your Mom's butt.

Gwen: I come up with the best ideas don't I Grandma?

Why yes, Gwen you most certainly do. And the idea of us scrapping together was the best idea of all. I truly treasure these moments.

Celebration Sunday

June 20 marked my parent's 58th wedding anniversary. Hard to imagine isn't it? Fifty-eight years fighting, loving, and living with the same person for over half a century. Blows my mind. But darn, are they happy or what! We gave them a card. Rick wrote a verse and then handed it off to me to make the card itself. Fifty-eight years together - what a blessing.

If the folks are celebrating 58 years of wedded bliss, that must mean I'm celebrating my 57th birthday. Holy moly, time is flying by. Sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder who is that old woman. Boy, was I ever spoiled with gifts. A gorgeous amethyst ring my Dad made, 3 jackets and a purse from Mom, Chanel #5 from Rick, and a laptop from Brent. Kera and Chris gave me a gorgeous framed piece of artwork from India. It's good to be spoiled!

Why not celebrate one more event while we're at it. Father's Day. Here Rick and I pose with Dad. One look at us and you know we're all related. Is it the nose?

To celebrate 3 important events like these, we needed an equally fantastic meal which my brother supplied. He is the seafood king. Crab legs, home made french fries, and Rick's fantastic garlic bread. Mmmmmm. My Mom ordered a delicious lemon cake from Pennsylvania Bakery. It was definitely a meal to die for! Can we do this again next week?

Cowgirl Kylie Turns 5

At 5, Kylie loves horses, cowgirl boots, and did I mention horses? This birthday was all about the things Kylie loves. Starting with the "cake" composed of a dozen cupcakes, Giant did a great job of incorporating that horse theme.

Cake is good, but presents are better. Great Grandma and Grandpa Redlich got Kylie an adorable denim dress.
Travis looks on as his cutie pie opens one of the four gifts from Jessica. Jessica really nailed it with kid sized horse brushes and horse figures.

We got Kylie a number of things, but the best was a pair of real cowgirl boots from Sheplers. Oh yeah. Hot pink, silver at the toes....these boots were a big hit!

Happy birthday, Kylie!

Finger Lake Wine Country

We have talked about our family trip to wine country in the Finger Lakes for so many years, and our friends have often asked us to put together a trip. The planets all aligned, and my knees are pretty good, so in January we finally started to put everything in place for a June trip with 18 of our friends.

We drove up Friday, and oh my, what a beautiful day. Blue sky, warm weather without the humidity, just a spectacular day. We met Deb and Wayne DeWolf at Bully Hill for lunch. While I don't care for Bully Hill wine, their restaurant is to die for. I highly recommend it.

We hit three wines on Keuka, including arguably the best winery in the Finger Lakes, Dr. Frank's winery. Dr. Frank was the first to grow vinifera grapes in this region, moving away from those Niagra and Catawba sweet wines. That move really put the Finger Lakes on the map for wine.

It doesn't get any better than this. Sitting outside, taking in the view of Keuka Lake.

Brent put a lot of work into identifying the wineries to visit, calling them all and making reservations. Over the course of the last few years, the wineries are expecting buses to make a reservation before arriving unexpectedly. It takes a lot of the spontaneity out of it, and it requires a lot of guesswork and timing. Brent did a great job, and everyone was happy with our selections.

Paul, Diane, Bobby, and Carrie Soltis listen to the description of the wine being tasted.

Todd and Sandy Shenk and Deb look at the offerings and start to decide which wines they'd like to sample.

Diane and I have been drinking together for a lot of years. Um 34 years to be exact.

StaceySedesse gives the boys, Paul Sedesse and Jim Mosca a little love pat.

Kim Miller discusses the current sample with husband, Matt. Meanwhile, Matt's wondering when we'll get to Wagner so he can forget the wine and indulge in some beer.

Neil and Terri Seis from Lancaster are big wine buffs. We were delighted that Neil's company could keep him in the country long enough to come along on our trip.

This is a pretty good pic of Brent. Any pic where his eyes are open is a good one! LOL!

Todd, Sandy, and Jim debate how many bottles they will be buying!

I think Paul and Stacey found something they liked.

We had a great time and the reports I've gotten back from everyone was that they had a fantastic trip. Whew.

NYC - Central Park

Central Park is another one of those "must do's" on Gwen's list of things to do while in NYC. She always wants to see Belvedere Castle and was excited to show it to her Grandpa. It was Brent's first time in Central Park and unfortunately the castle is closed on Mondays. Gwen was very disappointed.
I'm always amazed by the size of Central Park. It's pretty incredible that you can be walking through the woods and suddenly there's a beautiful lake. It's crazy to see this peaceful lake with people rowing their boats around with the city skyscrapers in the background.

Gwen enjoyed taking pictures throughout the park. I think we'll be scrapping them in the near future!

One of the highlights, which I have no pictures of, was the time we spent on my cousin's rooftop on Saturday night. We stayed only a few blocks from Maureen and Dickie's place, so we wandered up there to visit. It was great to visit not only with them but my cousin Melody and my cousin Memory's beautiful daughter Jennifer and her boyfriend Ron. We don't have the opportunity to see them often, so we were happy they were all in town over Memorial Day.

Brent and I really enjoyed our weekend in NYC. Many thanks to Chris, Kera, and Gwen for allowing us to tag along.