Party Time!

We have experienced a beautiful week here in Upstate New York that is reflective of this season of rebirth, "Spring". Bright sunshine most days with the promise of showers today. Crocuses are blooming in the front yard and if one looks closely you can see evidence of buds on the trees. Even the grass is beginning to "green up" a bit. Most of the area "Drive-Ins" have opened and you can see the survivors of this harsh winter standing outside these establishments licking their ice cream cones.

I walked in Saratoga Springs Park earlier this week. The landscape was still dotted with mounds of snow piled high by the plows and some of the trails were still icy. The Kaydeross Creek was very high and a few trout fisherman were pulling some newly stocked fish from the stream.

Wherever I wandered this week everyone's face reflected the promise of Spring with smiles of relief that the cold and snow had finally retreated. Though we escaped the most severe days in Florida I could still relate to the excitement that folks were feeling. On Monday the weatherman reported that we were experiencing temperatures in excess of 60 degrees for the first time since October. This news confirmed my long standing belief that we experience six months of Winter in this part of the country.

On Tuesday we invited daughter, Suzie, and her family over for our first cook out of the season. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and salads, "Oh My". Our joy at being outside reminded me of the Robin William's quote that I posted above.

Doctor appointments took us to Albany two days this week so I had the opportunity to walk at "The Crossings" in Colonie. Ducks and Koi were swimming in the pond, the trails were busy, and the playground resonated with the voices of many children exalting in the warm sunshine. I find that this "Spring Joy" is contagious and realized that those who live in places like Florida miss out on this unique experience. This seasonal change is a reminder to me that life is always evolving, moving from times of struggle and darkness to joy and light and of course back again. Spring also represents the promise of new experiences, new life.

AND baseball is back! I have been a Mets fan since their inception. I remember rooting for them as an underdog team when I was a teenager. However, as a working adult with a family, I never really had time to watch the games. Since my retirement from full time ministry, 7 years ago now, I have been able to watch most of the games on SNY. Unfortunately they have not been a very good team these last 7 years and have missed the playoffs each year. Like the season of Spring, this season looks very promising as the Mets are now in first place in their division. Of course, my rational mind reminds me of how many times they have showed promise early in the season before only to fade dramatically in the second half of the season. But the "promise" is exciting and I know, I know, that my hopeful heart may well be broken once again but right now I am enjoying the "party".

We also ordered our 6 game package of tickets of the local minor league team, The ValleyCats. Can't wait for the first game on June 25th. 

No Place Like Home

Arrived home at 3 pm on Monday, April 6th, to the consequences of frozen pipes back in February.

• There was a painter in my home office who almost had a heart attack when we surprised him by yelling, "Honey, we're home" when he thought he was in the house alone. All the furniture in the office was gathered in the middle of the room as he worked around it.
• Mary's sewing room was filled with everything from the hall closet, bathroom, and office which had been removed to dry rooms out and do repairs.
• All the clothes from our bedroom closet were piled on our bed so that plumber could work on pipes.
• Downstairs bathroom torn apart for renovations with toilet laying on its' side.

Welcome Home!

I immediately went to work in master bedroom and soon had clothes hung in closet and painter helped me re-install closet doors and door to bedroom. We also swept and organized kitchen which had some linoleum removed from floor.

On Tuesday I gathered boxes from neighborhood stores and packed up all my books from the office. Carried bookshelves to garage. Took apart computer desk and carried to garage. Office/den now painted and ready for new carpet. We also continued unpacking. Downstairs bathroom painted and put back together,

All of Mary's clothes which had gotten wet were returned from the cleaners. Most clothes were bagged and on hangers. Other clothes and items are in boxes. I boxed up misc. items from office that were piled in Mary's sewing room. Mary and I met with floor covering guy at his store in Mechanicville. We picked out the vinyl for hallway and kitchen and carpet for office/den.  In the afternoon Suzi picked up Mary and John and they went to Suzi's home for supper with the grandchildren. Sarah stopped by to visit and then went with me to have supper with the Organic Faith gang.

Thursday I took a break from the house chores to write a sermon for Sunday when I will preach at St. Andrew in Glens Falls. In afternoon I watched the Mets play Washington.

On Friday Mary went to Albany to file taxes. I stayed home to meet with the floor covering guy. We tore up a small piece of kitchen linoleum to test how difficult it would be to remove. It came up easily and we discovered that the floor was wet underneath. We decided to remove all of the linoleum so the floor would dry out. It was very wet and we fear there may be some mold. I put window fans to work and Mary contacted Quick Response, QR will come tomorrow morning with the big industrial fans and check for mold. It is much drier now then it was so we are hopeful it will be ok. New floor coverings will not be installed until mid May.

Tonight I am watching the Mets take on Atlanta. So far this year they have been fun to watch. Maybe this will be their first good year since I retired and can watch the games.

Missing "Mud" Already

Day two traveling north was very pleasant. Clear skies and sunshine with the temp dropping as we head ever closer to home. When we stopped for lunch we noticed that 60 degrees in North Carolina felt a lot colder then 60 degrees in Florida. We departed from Waynesboro, Georgia around 9 am and drove through the remainder of that state and the Carolinas arriving in Virginia (is for lovers) mid-afternoon.

We are staying the night at a Sleep Inn in Dublin, Virginia. We are thinking a lot about our time in Weeki Wachee, Florida and how much we love the rental we stay at. The owners call the property "Camp Mud" and we appreciate all the things that make it a unique property. Here are some pics that I took on our last day there.

view of house from street

 view from canal side

 view from side yard

Beautiful cactus with our car in background

 Tool shed

Tire swing

 Camp fire circle with canal in background

 Our picnic area overlooking canal which runs into the Mud River which leads to the Gulf

 Our Tiki Bar

 Yes, we occasionally see manatee in the canal

 mail box

Until next year!

On The road Again

It is April and once again our "winter sabbatical" in Weeki Wachee, Florida has come to an end and it is time to return to Upstate New York. Our gracious landlord gave us a couple of extra days this year so we did not have to depart until April 2nd. There tends to be a mass exodus of "snowbirds" driving north on April one so delaying our departure will help a bit with traffic.

The other blessing this year is that we were able to pack and clean all day on Thursday and then drive just a half an hour north to stay overnight with Dewey and Elizabeth in Hommossasa. We arrived at their beautiful rental after 4:00 pm feeling exhausted and a little (?) grumpy. Thanks to their amazing hospitality we were soon talking and laughing and sitting down to a wonderful meal of scallops, shrimp, and smoked chicken. After a good night's rest we began driving northward in earnest.

It was a good day's drive and we are now at a Best Western in Waynesboro, Georgia. I avoided almost all of the northbound traffic by staying away from the interstate highways, especially I95. The only traffic we endured was going through Starkville on U.S. 301. Once we passed through that town it was clear sailing all the way to our overnight stop. We experienced two good meals today. Lunch was at the Cedar River Seafood Restaurant in Callahan, Florida and supper was a short walk from our motel to Taylor's BBQ. This is a small and authentic bbq and soul food restaurant that was filled with locals. You step in the door and face a long cafeteria line from which you choose roast chicken, fried chicken, pulled pork, bbq chicken, smothered pork chops, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, greens, etc. The three of us ate for under 20 dollars! Simply amazing.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/44/996009/restaurant/Jacksonville/Cedar-River-Seafood-Restaurant-Callahan

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/149/808807/restaurant/Georgia/Taylors-Barbecue-Waynesboro

70th Birthday Week

In our family we have a tradition of celebrating birthdays for multiple days. This usually happens because there is a "immediate family celebration" and then a "extended family gathering" and finally a "friends party". Well, this is how it happens with the grandchildren and it is modified a bit for us adults. The important thing is that we are all given permission to celebrate for about a week with special meals, sometimes gifts, fun experiences, and extraordinary gatherings.

My celebration began on Saturday, 3/21, when our first born, Carla, flew into Tampa International, rented a car, and met us for lunch at Sam's on Hudson Beach.

Below is Carla and Mary at Sam's

In the evening we drove over to Pine Island, only three miles from our rental, to watch the sunset.

 John and Carla

Sunday morning we were all treated to a boat ride on the Hommossasa River with our great friend's,  Dewey and Elizabeth. 

We then stopped along the river for lunch. 

That afternoon Carla traveled over to Orlando for three days of training for her job. This worked out great as I rented a house in Kissimmee and invited all the children and grandchildren to gather there for a birthday celebration. Two sons-in-laws and one granddaughter could not come (we sure missed Todd, Morgan, and Ted) but 16 of us were able to come together in the sunshine. The house has 7 bedrooms and 4 1/2 baths and a screened in pool with a hot tub.

The entire house is decorated in a Hollywood Rock and Roll theme.

 On Wednesday, 3/25, my actual birthday, Mary, John, and I drove to the Orlando area and checked into the house. Within the hour, Carla and her children; Kaylyn and Brendan, arrived and they took me out to supper at a Texas Roadhouse where the staff had me sit on a saddle while they wished me a happy birthday. I was so embarrassed! Later in the evening the rest of the children and grandchildren arrived and settled into their themed bedrooms.

The Hollywood Suite with huge King size bed, private en-suite and 40” internet TV
The Rat Pack Suite with Queen size bed, private en-suite and 40” internet TV 
The Superstar Suite with Queen bed, 20” TV & DVD player 
The Guitar Hero Suite with Queen bed, 20” TV & DVD player
The Divas Boudoir with two Twins, 20” TV & DVD player
The Cyber Zone with two Twins, 20” TV & DVD player
Hogwarts Hideaway (Harry Potter themed room) with 4 Bunk beds and 20” flatscreen TV

We spent three wonderful days in this house swimming, playing ping pong, eating, card playing, laughing, and talking. Having everyone together in such a neat setting was the best birthday gift ever.

 Kaylyn and Hannah giving the birthday boy a hug

 John and Joshua performing

 Elizabeth and Suzi performing a "messy" skit with the help of their husbands behind them

 Elizabeth and Dewey singing an original and witty song

 Noah, Jacob, and birthday boy

The oldest grandchildren

On Thursday evening my friends, Dewey and Elizabeth, joined us for dinner, birthday cake, and a talent show. A grandson did magic tricks, others danced and sang, two of the children and their spouses did an old camp skit that I loved. Elizabeth shared research and reflections on my name and Dewey performed a song which he also wrote. The lyrics of the song and some great pics are at http://deweysroadtoflorida.blogspot.com/2015/03/chucks-birthday-party.html

Friday was another day filled with family love and fun. A special treat was that Brendan, our oldest grandson, and I played two rounds of mini-golf and played three games of ping pong. Before leaving on Saturday many of us were able to play mini-golf and then share lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Mary, John, and I arrived back to our house in Weeki Wachee late that afternoon feeling exhausted and very happy.

On Sunday, 3/29, we concluded my "birthday week" with breakfast at "The Country Feed Store Cafe". 

That evening we found ourselves back at Pine Island for a drum circle that takes place every other week at sunset. John brought a drum that he had purchased earlier in our trip and played drums for over two hours. The drum circle is made up of talented, joyous, positive people gathered in a beautiful setting. 

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It was the perfect ending to a most wonderful week. I am very thankful for all of my family and friends who wished me a happy 70th.

CHUCK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY as reported by the magnificent Dewey!

GOING, STAYING, LEAVING: HOMOSASSA: CHUCK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY: Chuck's kids and grandkids met in Orlando at a great house with lots of bedrooms and a pool and Jacuzzi.  There they celebrated Chuck t...

Spring Time Baseball

One of the wonderful signs of the season is Spring Training Baseball.

We have three teams doing Spring Training within about an hour-hour and a half drive from here. They are the Yankees, Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays. In addition to those teams, the city of St. Petersburg hosts International Baseball where teams from around the world can play against prospects from the Major Leagues. A couple of years ago Dewey and I had the opportunity to see the team from the Netherlands which had won the tournament that year.

Last week Dewey and I drove down to St. Pete to watch the Canadian National Team take on major league prospects from the NY Yankees. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and temperatures in the low 80's. On the way to the game we wanted to stop for lunch and (much to Dewey's surprise) we stumbled upon a "Sweet Tomatoes" where we had a delicious and healthy meal. The games this year were not at the downtown stadium where we had gone in the past but at a baseball complex where many games could be happening at the same time. http://www.stpeteinternationalbaseball.com/index.php

We arrived at the complex, paid our five dollar admission fee, and began to look for the Canada-Yankee game. We saw parts of four other games before finally locating the one we wanted to see and not arriving until the third inning. The scoreboard indicated that the score was 3 to 0 with the visiting team on top but we did not know which team was designated the visitors. The P.A. announcer was no help as he would announce every half inning that it was still a 3 to 0 game. Finally, in the 6th inning the Yankees scored making it a 4 to 0 game and we started rooting for the underdog Canadian team. In the eighth the Canadians scored a run and according to the announcer "it is now a 3 point  game. I suddenly realized that the guy on the P.A. had never announced a baseball game before as he persisted in referring to runs as points. Canada gave the Yanks a scare in the ninth when a fella hit a home run (when the batter connected with the ball Dewey immediately said "that ball is going a long ways") with one on making it a one point game. But, alas, the Yankees went on to win.

On the way home we stopped for ice cream at http://hudsonbeachicecream.com/

Hooked on Baseball and Movies

Over the past 10 days I have read two non-fiction books about individuals with an addiction. Silver Screen Fiend: learning about life from an addiction to film is a memoir by Patton Oswald. Mr. Oswald is an author, actor, and stand up comedian.

Between 1995 and 1999, the author spent most of his nights in a dark theater watching classic films and the occasional new release. He watched every genre; horror, romance, comedy, suspense, and adventure. When he wasn't absorbing film, convinced it would help him to become a great director some day, he was honing his stand up comedy in comedy clubs, coffee houses, bookstores and wherever else they would let him onstage. 

"It took me a few years, though-and a lot of nights at the Largo (a comedy club) and a lot more nights in movie theater seats-before I learned that just because something was "indie" and "underground" didn't automatically give it value. I also had to learn to look for the moments of substance and impact in the everyday."

Finally, after four years of spending half of his life in the dark watching others live on film he experiences two things which "pull the needle out of my cinephilia, for good. They peel me forever from the projector sprockets." In recovery his "love of watching movies has turned into a love of savoring them. And the flirtation with becoming a filmmaker abides, and has stayed fun." His advice to others who share his fascination with film is to "take what you need from them and get out of the dark once in awhile."

The second work of non-fiction is I Don't Care If We Never Get Back: 30 games in 30 days on the best worst baseball road trip ever. The authors and masochists who subject themselves to this ordeal are Ben Blatt, a sports analytic genius and lover of baseball, and his friend, Eric Brewster. Their friendship, health, and sanity are all under siege as they race across the country in an effort to see every pitch of 30 games in all 30 baseball parks. The adventure begins in Yankee Stadium and "exactly 29 days, 20 hours and 22 minutes" they witness the final pitch in the 30th game. It was the 8,913th pitch they had seen. They drove more than 22,000 miles, received five speeding tickets, suffered sleep deprivation, Ben ate 30 ballpark hot dogs, and Eric collected 30 foam "We're #1 Foam Fingers". Every day they sit in a ballpark, sometimes two in a day, for 3 plus hours and then sit side by side in the car as they drive 7, 12, 15, even 20 hours to the next park. 

The story becomes a nail biting suspense thriller as flat tires, rain delays, extra inning games, faulty alarm clocks, traffic jams, street parades, side trips to the home of the Little League World Series (twice) and Canada Day all threaten to keep them from arriving at games for the first pitch. At its core this is a story about friendship and fanship and the limits and strength of both. "Eric hated every day of it, the 15 hour drives past the Grand Canyon......the mad dashes to witness a first pitch while not caring in the least who was pitching and who it was being pitched at. Eric hated the trip's fundamental premise, the quantity over any semblance of quality, the snapshot we-were-here mentality that left no time to read the inscriptions on the monuments with which we posed. But he was here. Every day he was here."

Both of these books took me deep into worlds that I had only dipped my toes in before. Sure, I've sat in darkened movie houses and attended baseball games but I would not want to follow any of the authors into their obsession-addictions but in a way, I guess I did.

Lovely Florida Weekend

This was one of those lovely Florida weekends that we cherish. On Saturday we attended the "Will McLean Music Festival". This is an annual event held at a youth ranch about a 30 minute drive from Weeki Wachee. It is a three day gathering of folk musicians, many who camp on the property during the festival. We always try to go on Saturday. The festival has three stages and there is continuous music on all the stages with featured performers changing every 30 minutes.

We arrived shortly after noon on a day filled with sunshine and temps in the 80's. The first group we heard was "Mindy Simmons and Hot Pockets". They sang a beautiful song titled "Love in the Water" and one called "Ain't Florida Neat". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P247AnYOWeQ

For the next seven hours we enjoyed  talented musicians of every age. 

We were very impressed with a brother and sister duo called "Promenade Action". 

We also enjoyed "The Anderson Brothers". 

On Sunday we enjoyed "Art in the Park" in Brooksville. It is a juried show with over 130 artists displaying there work in a beautiful outdoor setting. There were also crafts like these beer bottle night lights.

We had a light lunch at "Coney Island".

After lunch we drove to Inverness to attend a huge book sale that they hold each spring in an auditorium. Here's a pic of some of the books that we purchased at bargain prices. 

This evening we had planned to drive over to Pine Island Beach and have John participate in the twice a month drum circle that takes place as the sun sets. Unfortunately, when we arrived there we discovered there were no available parking places remaining. So this evening I built a campfire and John played his drum, harmonica, and spoons. After awhile Mary and John went back inside the house and I remained by the fire listening to Marianne McPartland's Piano Jazz on npr. http://www.npr.org/series/15773266/marian-mcpartland-s-piano-jazz

Just a beautiful and relaxing weekend in Florida.