Scilly's Spot

Sectionals for X-Country

2009-11-07T22:36:00.005-05:00

I know this picture is pretty lousy...but it's what I have! Today was a gorgeous day! Warm, sunny...a good day for a race. It was Sectionals for the X Country Teams in the area. Allen did not run his best. He got a bad cramp in the middle of the race. Right behind him is Dominik from Arcadia. Dominik is the son of a close childhood friend of mine...so I was pleased to see him in the same photo. In the end, Dominik came in ahead of Allen...but I think it was only because of the cramp. Next year, Dominik! Next year!And here is a little team building exercise after the racing was done!

h1n1

2009-11-04T19:27:00.002-05:00

I'm finally getting around to telling you that the swine flu has come to our house. The school called me on Friday to come and get Alicia because she had a fever of 100.5. That evening the coughing started.
All in all, she had a fairly mild case of it. Between doses of acetaminophen, she happily read or played with her dolls. By yesterday she was bored and I went to the school to get some work for her. Today I "home schooled" her. She is itching to get back to school. She no longer has a fever....but the cough is lingering. I talked to the school nurse today and she agreed that as long as Alicia has not had a fever for a few days she can come back to school in spite of the cough. No one else has caught it besides her. At this point, I think the rest of us will be spared.
These pictures were taken by Allen at the NY State Fair last summer.

My Runner

2009-11-02T22:40:00.007-05:00

Get Ready! Get set!
Go! And they're off!
I have not been very good about blogging lately. Sorry. I've been a bit distracted by everything in my life for the past year. School. The death of my father. I'm going to get back on track hopefully. I'll start with a very belated post about my son on our high school's Cross Country team. He had such a great season and it is almost over. Only this week to go. Next week he starts swimming with the varsity swim team.
Go Allen Go!!!!
I have found new inspiration for blogging in my area at Bristolwood. It is a blog that I discovered quite by accident while googling images of the annual Halloween toiletpapering of Cheshire. I know...it sounds strange but check out Gudl's blog too. She's the one that got me started googling for more images! I love all the photos they take of the area we live in. Yeah! More neighbors to get to know!

The Prince Sleeps

2009-10-22T22:51:00.001-04:00

Isn't my son handsome?

Favorite Kind of Day

2009-10-18T13:38:00.003-04:00

Today is perfect! I am listening to Michael Card on CD, a pot of chicken soup is simmering on the stove...and I am working on some art work! Love it!

Mum Cheer

2009-10-16T10:06:00.004-04:00

I am glad there is still beauty in the world. These are mums that Audra, Alicia and I received at Lindsay's bridal shower. She is my nephew Scott's fiance. The bright fall colors bring me cheer on such a cold dreary day. There was snow on the ground here when we woke up. Too early in the season for snow!

Teapot Project

2009-10-12T14:29:00.004-04:00

I've been considering taking on a new painting project. Painting on china. I've never tried it before but I've seen it done. I have a very plain white teapot in my cupboard that looks so boring. I just love Blue Delft that is manufactured in Holland. Here is a picture that I borrowed from the internet. Isn't it just gorgeous? I'd love to have a whole collection of it. I've borrowed several such images so that I can get a feel for how to paint blue delft patterns onto my china teapot. I know it will be a far cry from the real stuff...but it could prove to be fun and satisfying in the end. So do you think it can be done?

My Father-original post 1/16/06

2009-10-10T09:10:00.000-04:00

Today is the memorial service for my father. In memory of him, I am reposting a post that I put up on January 16,2006.

This is a picture of my father. I just thought I'd show it to you because it is such a nice picture of him. I'll tell you a bit about him. How about 13 things?
1. He was born in 1932.
2. Is a polio survivor.
3. Can play the guitar and banjo.
4. Is an avid bird watcher.
5. Volunteers in nursing homes.
6. He loves Jesus.
7. Married to Arlene (my mom)
8. He loves reading to his grandchildren.
9. Enjoys studying the word of God.
10. Has 13 grandchildren.
11. Plays the harmonica.
12. He used to be a chicken farmer.
13. He loves me!

Little Pieces

2009-10-06T21:05:00.002-04:00

I went to my parents' house today. I'm not sure if I can ever get used to saying my mother's. I find myself walking around checking to see if the little pieces of my father are still there. His glasses on the dresser. His boots. His wallet...with some cash still in it. His banjos and guitar still hanging on the wall. I found a birthday card laying on the end table in the living room. It was for my mother who's birthday was on August 26...his signature on it with the little xxx's and ooo's he always put on.

The home hearth

2009-10-04T22:25:00.003-04:00

Sketched a little at Mom and Dad's house last Saturday. This is a sketch of the hearth there. The milk can is the can that my parents used for milk when my father worked on a dairy farm. The farmer let them take milk as part of his pay.

4/12/32-9/28/09

2009-09-28T19:59:00.002-04:00

I woke up to thick clouds and gray sky. One of those days where you know it is just going to be drizzly rain all day long. Rachel called me and told me that I had better come right away. She said, "It's different today. He's not waking up and his fingers look gray." I left immediately. It's a 45 minute drive from my house to my parent's home. I got to Dad's bedside and held his hand and the tears rolled down my cheeks. I knew he was very close to death. I prayed that the Lord would come and take him. About fifteen minutes after I arrived, he slipped away from us. At that moment, the clouds parted and the sun shone down through the window and onto the bed where he lay. I honestly believe that it was a gift from God for us.
I had stayed over night on Saturday night and spent all day Sunday with him and Mom. Yesterday he seemed so tired. He told me that there was an entire parade of people waiting for him in heaven. He started naming them...but at the same time he was drifting in and out of sleep. I know he is having the most amazing reunion with so many friends and family who have gone before him.
He will be missed so much by us.

words...

2009-09-26T04:57:00.002-04:00

There are just no words to put together about how I feel right now.

Friends

2009-09-24T21:01:00.002-04:00

I have not blogged much about my feelings or posted status updates regarding my father. I just don't even know what to say. Yesterday I really lost it. I was at CBS (Community Bible Study)...I really lost it and the women around me were wonderful. I'm just so thankful for my family that God gave me here on earth. I'm talking about my parents and siblings. My husband and children. My nieces and nephews. And I am also thankful for my sisters and brothers in Christ.

The story of two runners

2009-09-22T20:14:00.005-04:00

My husband and son are both runners. Here we have Allen at one of his high school cross country meets. He's doing very well. Today he placed 4th for his team.

Jamie was a competitor this weekend in the Finger Lakes Triathlon. He did great!
I'm very proud of both of them.

Oh but...just look at HER desk!

2009-09-16T12:34:00.002-04:00

Every year at the beginning of the school year (and several times during it) I make valiant attempts to become organized. There are just so many papers to deal with. Papers for the school health office, homework policies, Awana, student handbooks, lists of teachers and their contact information, insurance papers, bills, loan papers, receipts, school supply lists, sports schedules, invitational schedules, fund raising papers, lists of important dates to remember, baby shower invitations, letters from religious organizations, volunteer papers, church papers...I can't even list it all.

How can someone who is aspiring to be a librarian be so unorganized? Well...luckily I have gotten a glimpse of a few different librarians' desks that are a complete jumble of papers and books...and these are good librarians too I should add. (I've also seen some spotless desks...but we are not going to mention them) Somehow I find this comforting.

Through the tunnel

2009-09-15T09:12:00.003-04:00

Well I just don't know where I'm going anymore. I'm trying to be optimistic, but it is hard. I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel somewhere.

Tomorrow is Community Bible Study...that will help I'm sure.

Today I will go to the library to continue with my "volunteer work." This is rather amusing right now because no one knows I'm volunteering...including those at the library. I knew the children's department was a mess and needed to be straightened and shelf-read desperately. I went there on Friday to volunteer to do it...and no one was in the children's department save for a couple of mothers and little kids looking for picture books. So I just started in with the juvenile fiction books. I mean...who could object to someone straightening and making sure the books are in order? It took me about 2 hours to do a little less than half of the books in that section.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

2009-09-12T09:02:00.003-04:00

At the Shaker village in Canterbury, NH there was mulberry tree. It was pointed out to us by one of the workers. She encouraged us to pick some and eat them.

I will say that they were absolutely delicious, although a little messy. I had never seen a mulberry tree before and wonder if they don't grow in NY state. I think they definitely should! I would like one in my yard. I ate several of them before moving on to the rest of the museum.

I also wonder why in the nursery rhyme, it is called a mulberry bush. It was definitely a tree.

Dangling?

2009-09-10T17:48:00.007-04:00

I didn't mention to you that while I was on vacation, we got a phone call from my sister-in-law, Laurie, telling us that a tumor had been discovered in my father-in-law's colon. That was on a Friday. On Monday, I learned that my own father was in the hospital with chest pains. Later when I visited him in the hospital I learned that there was an unknown mass in his left lung. Monday night, Laurie called again to tell us that the tumor in my father-in-law's colon is cancerous. Two days later, the dreaded news came that my own father has lung cancer. The following day my mother told me that the doctors estimated that Dad has up to three months to live. Meanwhile, my in-laws are struggling with what to do about Dad B's cancer. It is stage 1, but Dad B is high risk for surgery since he is 86, has diabetes, and is in very poor health. The surgery alone may very well kill him.

I knew that I needed to postpone my grad work. I set that in motion on Friday, a week after the first of the bad news came in. There were emails to send, phone calls to make, and forms to fill out. Everything is so uncertain now. Just a week earlier I had been enjoying a mountaintop experience in New Hampshire with my family...and now I feel like I am left dangling on the edge. Vicky, the wife of one of my second cousins gave me a little food for thought that was comforting. She left it on the wall of my facebook account. She wrote:

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” Corrie Ten Boom

So I guess I'm not really dangling on the edge...it just feels and looks like I am. Kind of like Jamie here on the top of Firescrew Mountain in New Hampshire. It only looks like he is dangling precipitously over a three thousand foot ledge. Actually, the rock gently slopes downward and he is practically laying on it.

Peace that transcends all understanding

2009-09-08T19:00:00.002-04:00

By now I am sure most of you have heard that my father has terminal lung cancer. I thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I have taken a leave of absence from school for the semester. Several times this week I came to my blog...but just couldn't manage to put into words all of my thoughts and feelings.

He is home now and is doing pretty well. He does not seem any different than he did before we knew...but we know now that there is cancer in his lungs that will take his life. However, the cancer cannot take away his eternal life! I had the privilege to spend over 24 hours with my parents yesterday and today. He is completely at peace about the entire thing. His peace spills over to the rest of us. I am amazed at the amount of scripture he has memorized. He quotes it often. I am thankful for my entire family and the love that is so evident!

Went to New Hampshire

2009-08-31T12:11:00.003-04:00

Hello! Just got home last night from our New England trip. On the first day, we visited a Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. It was very interesting...although I am fairly certain I would not want to be a Shaker. There was this gigantic tree there. The girls are demonstrating just how big it was in the picture. I don't think their hands could touch on the other side.
New Hampshire was beautiful. I saw a few "Moose Crossing" signs and intended to get a picture of a sign...but did not succeed at that. Did not see any moose at all, but did see a porcupine. We stayed in a hotel in Tilton, NH because Jamie had accumulated many points so we could get a pretty amazing deal.
Grad school officially starts again this week. I'll write more about our trip in a couple of days.

Bad blogger!!!

2009-08-08T14:58:00.004-04:00

Well....I've been bad about blogging, but I have an excuse. I took a grad class this summer. I just finished it Thursday night! So I have 6 more credits towards my MLS than I did in May. In the fall I will take 2 classes...and then I do my final internship in the Spring. I can get a job after that. So...a year from now I could be anticipating a new job at a school in September.
In the meantime...I have 3 weeks to relax before classes begin again. In a couple of weeks, we have a family vacation. Part of that will be spent traveling to NJ to visit relatives (a family birthday party we are showing up at). We are trying to decide what else to do on a limited budget. Jamie wants to go to NH to visit some places they always went to when he was a kid. We'll see.....

Cool Birdhouse

2009-07-06T13:48:00.003-04:00

Alicia and I have been busy with a fun project. My father made me this birdhouse last summer. I thought it would look cool with a piece of tin nailed to the roof. I wasn't sure where I'd get a piece of tin...but then found a piece on Saturday while walking the dog along the railroad bed near our house. When I used the tin snips from my grandpa's old tool box (he passed away 10 years ago and we inherited some tools), I found the little wrench. My husband said he didn't care about it, so I glued it on the front of the birdhouse.
Alicia and I thought it needed more stuff on it. We walked to two nearby antique shops and bought some other items for pretty cheap. We arranged and glued them today.
While we were at the shops we started planning our next birdhouse. We'd like to make a kitchen tool one, and a chunky jewelry one too.

Back to the Books!

2009-07-02T15:38:00.001-04:00

Tonight I start another grad class. Back to the books!

Isn't my niece's daughter cute? In January she is going to be a big sister!

More Sonnenberg

2009-06-13T10:50:00.006-04:00

More fun pictures from Wednesday. This one reminds me of Mr Tumnus from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Here is a picture of Tracy and Denis. They are wonderful people and I feel privileged to have met them personally.
And last, Alicia in the perfect climbing tree.

Sonnenberg Gardens

2009-06-11T21:04:00.003-04:00

It is our turn to meet Tracy and Denis. Yesterday we had a good time exploring Sonnenberg Gardens. We also went to lunch at the Rheinblick. (Don't forget to send a picture of that, Rachel) Tomorrow night we will have a barbecue at Rach's house.

Partway through the day, I went home to get Alicia off of the bus. She joined us for the rest of the visit to Sonnenberg. When she and I visited the Japanese garden, she amused us by placing her juice bottle in Buddha's hands. I guess he looked thirsty.

More pictures to come!