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Published: September 3rd 2022
Yes, folks, it’s that time of year. There is a coolness in the air more often. A few leaves have fallen to the ground. Others are just beginning to change color while still clinging to their branches. The golden rod is flourishing in the fields. In the distance, we hear a call: “Come back, Come Back to Tropical Palms! Your concrete pad is waiting for you!” Ooooo….concrete pad….. nice. Who wouldn’t want to get back to a concrete pad as fast as they could? Cory is revving up the motor…..Start Your Engines! So we are giving you a heads up to start packing. We don’t want any stragglers. We will be pulling out of our Shongo location this Wednesday (7th). Not sure what our arrival date at Tropical Palms will be…just when we land on our concrete pad. Your seat has been saved, though. It’s a tight fit but we were able to get all of you in. Sorry….no six feet apart seating available. Some will have to sit on anothers’ lap. I’m sure some of you will like that…..depending who Lulu partners you with. Please sign up with her. Lulu said she would do the attendance roster again. Thank God!
She is slowly starting to become her old self. She was like a Princess shut up in a dungeon cell. Not sure why the sudden change. She hasn’t been kissed by her prince. She has just slowly emerged like a beautiful butterfly from its cocoon. Like a miracle. We’ll just see how long it lasts. She very fickle and can change on a dime! Capricious…..that’s Miss Lulu!
Our summer has been a busy one. One of fun and festive times with friends and family. Interjected with medical and dental visits….we are healthy and have clean teeth. One primary gathering place we go to is the Texas Hot restaurant in town. We met our two wonderful daughters, Lory & Kim, there for a nice lunch. Definitely some of our favorites: our daughters and Texas Hot Dogs.
Weather here has been perfect for a swimming pool….we don’t have though. Rats! Lory and Kim do so they have really enjoyed theirs. Mostly hot, dry weather. On the occasions when it did rain…..it really rained….like torrential storm downpours with high winds. We thought we were back in Florida, Toto. One storm knocked down several trees right around us. Fortunately, we were unscathed.
Lulu went out to check the fallen tree at the church next door.
When the sun was shining and the weather was hot, we took advantage of driving around the beautiful area we live in. So what if that the price of gas is ridiculous! Boo! The scenery is gorgeous on a summer day. I borrowed a few photos but we have traveled the same roads and seen the same landscapes. When we say we live in New York….this is the part of New York we live in. Far from the big city! And sadly, far from a Walmart….my favorite store.
Because of the occasional rainstorm, Cory decided we needed a new gutter system put on our lean-to roof (attached to the polebarn). The old gutter was disgusting. Since we collect rain water in a barrel for use in our RV, we needed something nice and sanitary. So….handyman Cory put on his tool belt and went to work. Lulu assisted best she could….she is quite limited with sawing, holding boards and gutters though…..you all know why! After much time and several trips to Home Depot, Toolman Cory got the job done. Perfect timing, too. Another major downpour came
through. He did have to run out and try to readjust his downspout in the soaking rain. Rain, Rain Go Away….Little Cory wants to “stop working on his gutters.”
We have to face the fact that we are getting up in years. Egads….we are old as dirt! Cory had his 60th class reunion that we attended. One of his classmates, John Bernes (Ray & Sara Shaffer are polka friends of him) has a party house (in Pennsylvania) where he hosted all his classmates at this fun gathering. He even provided the entire banquet meal for everyone. It was delicious….just like the Golden Corral. Cory was so thrilled to see his old friends again….they are a wonderful group of people. One sad thing about growing old, not as many folks show up at the reunion. Main reason is they are dead. Oh, my!
I had a craving for homemade ice cream…..NO…I’m not pregnant even though I’ve gained weight so you might think that. Remember…..I’m old!! Anyway, I saw an add for a country place in Pennsylvania where they were selling many flavors of homemade ice cream. Oh, yummy! Perfecto. It was in a town not too far from us.
HAH! Our GPS took us up and down and all around one hill after another. The roads were narrow and winding. On and on Cory continued to drive Miss Daisy (me). Finally, going from a dirt road to a dirt path, we came to our destination. It was a small building on a big farm. I skipped with joy inside…..anxious to be served my homemade ice cream. Whoa there, girlie! There’s no clerk AND no seats! Whaaat? It’s a self serve little room. The ice cream is stacked in containers in one freezer. Eggs and other farm produce are in other coolers. We sign the book as to what we bought and pay the box on the wall. Interesting. I’d have to wait until we got home to taste this frozen delicacy. Cory couldn’t believe where we were and then the real shock set in. As we pulled along the side of the building, there was a herd of dairy cows under a roof attached to this small building. Talk about fresh ice cream! Right from the cow into the container! Wowhee. We took a different road leaving and found our way home much quicker and on better roads. P.S.
The ice cream was stupendous! Worth the adventure to get it.
Seems like all we have done this summer is EAT! It’s been great but I had to buy a bigger size in my clothes or go without. Yuck….no one wants to see that! Friday fish fries are a must with us. Always haddock…..nothing else. We found a new place to try one …..near the town of Alfred (SUNY Alfred and Alfred University). Oh, yummers! It was a very good fish fry. Speaking of fish fries. We just went out to dinner last night with Lory and Jay….their treat. We went to the restaurant just down the road from us and had a haddock fish fry. So tasteeee. So glad to be with Lory and Jay. We have spent our Sundays together cause I’ve been doing our wash at their house. Cory has been obtaining our water from them for our RV holding tank all summer. Remember, we have electric and septic here at the polebarn but no water. We use rain water and the water that Cory hauls from Lory and Jay’s house. Remember, Cory likes to be called Gunga Din when he does this chore. I just
call him “Gunga” for short.
Speaking of septic…..Cory decided we needed our septic tank pumped. We had it put in when we sold our house in 2019. Don’t you love the phrase on the back of the septic truck!! It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. Thanks, Dave! Lulu was glad she couldn’t help….we all know about her limitations.
We were fortunate to be able to get together with a couple of our friends who we haven’t seen in a year or so. DeAnne and Les came up from N.C. for a visit. We were able to join them and our other friends, Kate & Barry, for a Friday Night fish fry at the Beef Haus. A wonderful evening spent together. Then, we drove to Elmira and saw our forever best friend, Sue. We met she and her Les at the Olive Garden…..no fish fry but still a terrific time together. I wish you could meet Sue. She is the sweetest, kindest, most sincere person in the world. Don’t be upset…All of the rest of you are sweet, too….she just happens to be at the top of the list for sweetness.
We visited our
grandson Ryan, Amber and great-grandson Henry. They planted hundreds of sunflowers on their property. A beautiful sight to see. They have a pond with Koi and other fish in it. Henry was busy throwing rocks into the pond and picking sunflowers. He will be two years old next month. What a cutie he is! We are blessed.
Lory had a celebratory gathering at her house a few weeks back. It was a combo birthday party for our grandson, Al, and granddaughter, Sara. Of course, our great-grandson, Luke, was the center of attention. He is just as cute as Henry. We are blessed. They both could win “Cutest Toddler Contest”….it would be a tie.
Our son, Tim, and grandson, Conner, came by for a brief visit. They were returning from a baseball game in Pittsburgh. Conner hooked up one of our TVs with a fire stick. Now we have access to all movies from all streaming sources. We won’t be coming out of the RV ….. we’ll be so busy watching movies 24/7. If you want an autographed picture of us to put on your mantel….just let me know. We don’t want you to forget us even though you
won’t be seeing us anymore. Popcorn anyone?
Our son, Cory, has been so busy this summer. His job for Corning Glass has had him spending more time in N.C. and Virginia than here in the Corning area. He still has 4 more months to go when he will be home for 2 weeks and back in Virginia for two weeks until his project is done. He will be glad when it is completed and so will Penny. He has had more of a chance to see his two sons, Fox and Shenen, in N.C. That has been a plus to his travels. Our grandsons have grown up into such handsome men. Cory just had his Corning home stripped and re-stained. That was a big job! He treated himself to a new motorcycle. Penny has her horse and he has his bike. He sold some of his motorcycles but was happy to make this purchase. Rachael keeps in contact with us through social media. We miss seeing her but she is well and happy. She loves when she can be on a horse!
We were able to catch Cory on one of his days off. We had some soffits
on the polebarn coming loose. The father (Cory) is too old to climb ladders anymore so he asked young Cory to lend a hand in getting the soffits back in place. He got the job done! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! He also climbed up on our RV roof. Every now and then, I could hear a loud “snap” sound on the roof. Whaaat? Was it cracking? Oh, God! What can it be? He got up there and looked around. Said he didn’t see anything wrong….all looked good. Great! We may never know what the “snap” sound is……unless you have an idea. We aren’t under a tree or anything so it’s not something dropping on the roof. Oh, I forgot to mention. While up on the ladder Cory slipped and fell to the concrete. Oh, God no!! Please be okay, dear son! His father tried to help but got tied up in the ladder…..maybe this happened because they were both indulging in drinking beer! What a team! P.S. I’m only kidding…he didn’t fall but after the work was done….they did drink beers.
It’s Hard to Say Good-bye to Summer……but in a few weeks we are all going
to have to do this. Autumn is on the horizon. We have had a great summer, mostly because we could spend it with our family. Now we shall say “See You Again” to them and start rolling our house down the road. Hopefully, opportunities will arise that will bring our family down to Florida for a visit at some point before next summer. They are always in our hearts with us no matter where we are. And you are always with us in our blogs…..and hearts, too, if you want to get all mushy. Remember…19 photos to see so just keep on scrolling, just keep on scrolling.
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DeAnne McKay
non-member comment
Packing up
Safe travels and stop if you’re in the area!!! D/L