Rainy Day Fun

Saturday, October 3, 2015
It rained all night and most of today causing many to change plans especially since the temperatures stayed in the 40's all day as well.  The hurricane Joaquim is going up the Atlantic Coast though many miles from the shore and causing huge quantities of rain to fall in the south - especially South and North Carolina so it along with another very wet front is bringing lots of rain to the entire east coast including us!!  We were suppose to have spent time at a local farm enjoying fall activities including a hay ride, picking pumpkins, etc.  BUT it just meant an opportunity for inside fun instead.

I experimented with a couple of new recipes I'd discovered on the web including a vegetable turkey meat loaf that with some adaptations would be ok for Abbi to eat.  (and it was delicious)  In addition, I finally tried making little appetizers of zuchinni with parmesian cheese that were baked in the oven. Meanwhile Jen was busy making applesauce with apples we'd picked a few days ago at the neighbors. And Abbi was trying out a pumpkin cookie that her mother had discovered on the net that fit her diet. AND this being Saturday, Abbi was busy making blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes for the family on a brand new ceramic covered grill which required a bit of experimenting.  Jen also created cauliflower rice and fried purple potatoes she'd found at a farmer's market for our dinner. Truly this was a day spent in the kitchen warming up the house as well as being creative.

In the afternoon, Rachel and Noelle came over to our place and we played all four hands of Hand and Foot after much reading of rules and reremembering how it should be played.  It has been ages since I've played and the girls had only done it once a long time ago but decided they'd like to try again. We had a great time and gave Rachel's phone quite a work out since that is where we were getting the rules along with scoring information.  In the end, Noelle won mostly because she hit the jackpot in the first round making lots and lots of points and leaving Rachel and I with a handful of cards.  But each of us "won" at least one of the rounds by either going out first or having the most points for that round.

After dinner, Ken and I took Noelle shopping to find a frame for a beautiful drawing she'd done as a gift for a friend of hers who was celebrating her birthday today.  Noelle planned to take her the gift tomorrow when she sees her at church.  It took us three stores before we'd completed the shopping expedition that also included picking up some ice cream for the family to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Dan, Abbi and Rachel were busy watching a movie that was required for a film class that Abbi is taking this year.  Abbi had connected via computer with one of her classmates and they "watched" it together.  It sure is intriguing watching how they do their classwork.

Family, Touring, Dining, and Walking

Friday, October 2, 2015
All the rain we've been having has brought in much cooler weather.  Today the prediction was for a high of 52 and I'm sure it wasn't much better than that but it didn't change the fun we had!!!!  In the late morning we drove to Portersville to pick up Noelle at her school (she is trying a real school this year rather than homeschooling) and then headed to Mill Run two hours away to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright designed home Falling Water. It was wonderful just having all seven of us together for the day!!!

Our drive took us into the Laurel Highlands in elevations over 1000 feet where color was definitely coming into its own.  Unfortunately it was raining so getting pictures through the car windows was impossible but it sure gave us pleasure just viewing it.

The beautiful architecture of this home (while not done by Wright) begins in the parking lot.  We'd seen this same idea in Columbus, Indiana at a church.  The plantings separate each row of the parking area almost hiding the cars from view once you move away from the lot.

The Visitor Center was quite interesting with a canopied center area where we checked in and then "arms" out from it leading to a cafe, gift shop, restrooms and display area. Each was somewhat hidden too because of the way this was created.

When our tour group was called we met at a board walk off of this area where we each picked up a green umbrella supplied by the center to take a half mile walk along old driveway to the house.  It took us though a heavily treed area and an open green with some flowers but on the whole most of it was kept natural.

We were met at the front corner of the house by a guide who then took us on an hour trip through the house beginning with time spent just viewing it from the front corner where you could see some of the Bear Run Creek that the house is built around.  A waterfall is at the back near one of the patios so you can hear the falling water no matter where you are.

Stairs from the first floor off of the living room lead down to the water with a wide platform where the owners could sit and put their feet in the water - very cold mountain stream water.  But something they really enjoyed. Outside patios on each of the three floors provided lots of spots for them to enjoy the out of doors and delightful views of the trees and bushes that surrounded them as well as a view straight down to the falling water.  This is what that stairway to the water looks like from the living room.

The stairway is behind the beige cushioned chair to the left of this photo.

To get to the living room you need to pass through the entry way with a little fountain

Photography is not allowed in the house so it is impossible to show some of the views of the water fall itself but I did find a few pictures on the net to use to illustrate some of what we saw.  Much of the furniture is built into the walls - mostly long benches with cushions - and lots of shelving with no visible braces for hanging them.  This fireplace in the living area has a huge pot to its left that is part decoration and part useful as it swings to the fireplace to heat the water and then has a spigot for serving it when it swings back out and becomes decorative again.  The stone base of the fireplace is part of the huge boulder/stone block that the house is anchored to with part of it outside and part of it inside.

And this is the dining area(in the center of this photo) part of that same room with a table that can have extra leaves added to it to expand it out to seat a crowd.

This room plus several others have huge outdoor suspended patios making the outdoors a major part of the living area of the house.  Both of these patios provide views of the falls which are right below so you only need to stand at the edge and look straight down.

The bedrooms were quite small with low ceilings but lots of window providing wonderful views of the trees. This one is in the guest house which is above the house itself so larger with a view of the swimming pool out on the patio.

This is the pool filled with more of the same mountain water and built so that it simply flows in from the stream and flows back out down into the stream headed down to run by the house below.  That means the water is around 55 degrees but was loved by the residents.

The garage is at the end of this drive we had walked on from the Visitor Center and passes the house here on its way up the hill to the top floor.

This is the outside of the garage with the residence for the help above it

The walk up to the garage from the house is canopied that "flows" appearing to cascade down.

It is hard, in fact impossible, to photograph the full house because it is surrounded by woods which hide various angles no matter where you stand to look at it.  It truly is "hidden" and made part of its surroundings.

But we were able to take a walk down hill where we could get a view of the waterfalls and the house

And here is the whole family in front of this spot with all of Dan's family wearing their Ledford Academy sweatshirts that we gave them last Christmas. We thought that was an appropriate thing for them to wear when on a "field trip" that would become part of their schooling.

We then took the hour plus drive northwest to Pittsburgh where we enjoyed a meal at our favorite restaurant bd Mongolian Grill before heading north for home.

What a delightful day for all of us!!!
NOTE:  Our son in law Dean Thayer wrote the following after seeing our picture that was posted on Facebook about our visit to Falling Water.  Just an interesting side note:
o.... for extra credit google Alden B Down and the Dow Gardens both in Midland Michigan. Alden B Dow was the son of Herbert Henry Dow (The founder of The Dow Chemical Company). Alden B Dow was an architect
who studied under Frank Loyde Wright and was famous, at least within Michigan, because of his style. Due to Frank Loyd Wrights influence on Alden B Dow, many of the homes he designed took on the style of a Writght home. There are dozens of Alden B Dow homes in MIdland, in which many are just short walk from my parents home (a museum on its own for other other reasons!). These homes are beautiful, and most of his homes are summarized in a book available on-line or at the Center For the Arts in Midland, which also was designed by A. B. Dow. He also designed many UofM buildings, but I can't remember which ones. His personal residence the Alden B Dow home is similar to Falling Waters as it is built on stream/pond, and part of the home is below pond level with views of the pond under water. Attached is a photo. The home is open for tours occasionally. Sadly I have never been in it as it still was the personal home of A B Dow when I was younger. He died in 1983. On many occasions in my adult life when I tell someone that I am from Midland, I get a response of sympathy because I grew up in a chemical town, full of pollution. This is further from the truth. Although HH Dow founded the Down Chemical Company, his true love was horticulture. The Down Gardens are his personal gardens full of unique floura much of what he planted himself. It is a beautifal place and has been open to the public for decades. When I was a young child I was mystified by the gardens when my mom took me there. So, for an A+, we are all going to vistit both places someday! Dean

Also, when in Midland, notice that every home has a wooded park behind it. HH Dow believed that everyone should have a green space behind where they lived and and therefore, much of the city is built this way. I have fond memories as child building forts, ice skating, climbing trees, and more recently, hitting baseballs with my boys in the park behind our/my parents home......

I have to end this with a sign we found on Facebook today - it came from the doctor's office reception area of a friend.   We did what it said today -- a fair amount of walking :-)

Birthday, Boating and Basking

Wednesday, September 30, 2015  
It hardly seems possible but it was 19 years ago today that our first grandchild was born - Jackson MacRae Guilfoyle.  I had just arrived in Florida and gone to the care center where my mother had just been moved following a stroke. when the phone rang in her room.  It was Sue calling to say he had been born.  What joy at the same time as sadness.  It was my mom's first great grandchild and the prognosis was not wonderful.  I wondered if she would even live to meet this little guy.  She did get to see him once when Sue made the trip down for my Dad's funeral four years later.  It put a smile on her face despite all the sorrow and her poor physical condition.  Happy Birthday, Jackson!!!!  (here he is with his mom)

Meanwhile, Ken and I enjoyed a boat trip on Lake Arthur at the Moraine State Park here in Pennsylvania.  We joined thirty 55 and up members of the Over the Speed Limit group at Dan's church, Westminster Presbyterian, for the two hour tour of the lake that included lunch and a running commentary about the vicinity and things we were seeing. (Dan enjoyed the afternoon with all of us)

It was a gray day after two days of continuous rain.  The temperatures had taken a bit of drop but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm!  This lake was created back in 1969 when a dam was built allowing five creeks to flow in and fill a huge area that had once been farms and the small town of Isle.  (Below is the earthen dam with a spillway going into Muddy Creek)

The buildings were removed except for the church on a hill that still stands today and is the only piece of private property in what is now the 5th largest state park in Pennsylvania.  The lake itself is seven miles long with arms stretching in a variety of directions creating 42 miles of shoreline.

A couple of people on our trip remember when it was being created and watching the old 422 highway slowly being covered over by water as well as land they had grown up traveling on.  There was alot of controversy over this partially because of the loss of farms that had been in families for many years. The guide told us about a couple that had been on this same trip awhile back when celebrating their wedding anniversary.  They had been married in the church that remains and had traveled the road that was slowly being covered by water to get to their reception.  The pastor who left well after the rest of the party got stuck in the water and had to be rescued.

There are now several marinas, a couple of beaches, and miles of bicycle paths plus lots and lots of trees attracting all kinds of wild life life including a variety of birds.  A pair of eagles have made their home here along with lots of ospry, heron, turkey vultures, ducks and geese.  Corcomants use this as a stopping point as they travel south in the fall and return north in the spring. Below is a blue heron heading for shore.

The colors of fall were just beginning to pop up in a variety of spots adding to the beauty of the landscape

Ken and Noelle went to the church in the evening for choir practice while I stayed home and played a game of Qwirkle with Rachel.  Then when they returned the girls again enjoyed watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with us before heading back into the house for bed.  What fun it has been having the girls come for visits - we truly are basking in the joy of being so close so we can spend time with them like this.  Abbi is starting to feel a little bit better so we hope we'll be able to get in some good visit time with her too before we leave.

Apple Picking and Super Moon Lunar Eclipse

Sunday, September 27, 2015
After worship and Sunday School we enjoyed a pork roast dinner with purple potatoes and tossed salad as we discussed the sermon and Sunday School experiences.   Then after an early afternoon rest, Jen, Rachel and Noelle went to a neighbors home to pick apples from his five loaded trees.

I walked over, took pictures and got some of the apples that the girls dropped in the process of picking them. Here is Rachel in her favorite spot right up into the tree reaching out with a picker.

While Noelle was reaching them from the ground

The goal is to make lots of fresh sugar free applesauce that we can all enjoy mixing the different varieties that they picked.

After the evening worship service we set up our chairs in the backyard where we could get a clear view of the sky and watch the lunar eclipse.  Unfortunately there were lots of clouds so it was a bit of a challenge but we did get to see the full moon

before it all started and several times clouds moved out of the way

so we could see the full eclipse progress.

About the time it was fully covered the dark clouds began to drop rain so we came back in pleased we'd at least seen part of the big show in the sky.  It is not due to happen again for another 18 years.

This particular moon is referred to as the blood moon and the lunar eclipse is better described in this clip I found:

A total lunar eclipse will share the stage with a so-called supermoon Sunday night or early Monday, depending where you are. That combination hasn’t been seen since 1982 and won’t happen again until 2033.

When a full or new moon makes its closest approach to Earth, that’s a supermoon. Although still about 354,056 kilometres away, this full moon will look bigger and brighter than usual. In fact, it will be the closest full moon of the year, about 48,000 kilometres closer than the average distance. (The moon’s orbit is far from a perfect circle.)

And this tells more about a lunar eclipse:
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow). This can occur only when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned (in "syzygy") exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can occur only the night of a full moon. The type and length of aneclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes.

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can be viewed only from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place, due to the smaller size of the Moon's shadow. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full moon.

Portersville Christian School Fall Festival

Saturday, September 26, 2015
I've skipped writing for several days because we've truly fallen into a relaxed state with little special happening.  I did go to the Thursday morning exercise class at the church and Friday Jen and I attended the Presbytery Women's Retreat at the Marriott Hotel in Cranberry after first enjoying a dinner at the local Panera.  And Ken has done some more taxiing of the girls too.  But mostly we've just enjoyed reading and doing some little jobs around the motorhome.   I've even had a chance to play Skip Bo with Noelle and she and Rachel have come over most evenings to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with us.

Today, Ken tackled the cleaning of one side of the motorhome (he has done the front and back on other days) and I began putting together the hardanger placemats I stitched.  This being a first attempt at iron on heat bond and spray glue I've been a bit slow in the process feeling my way along.  Now I need to cut binding and stitch it on to finish the edges.

This is our "campground" with the beautiful shady area for our chairs where we've been able to sit and read and simply enjoy the gorgeous weather and temperatures we've been experiencing with low 50s at night and highs around 80 in the day.

This afternoon we drove out to the Portersville Christian School where Noelle attends 7th grade classes.  They were having their fall festival and fundraiser so we spent time checking out the vendors selling their wares as well as all the donated baskets in the Chinese auction.

We each bought tickets to drop in bags by various donated prizes with the dream of winning and the girls enjoyed a hot dog and drink.

Ken put every one of his 25 tickets into the bag for a couple of Red Wing tickets for the end of the month game but alas he didn't win them.  However, Jen did win an hour of heating and cooling service and Noelle won a 5 pound Hershey chocolate bar as well as some French pastries.

This evening we enjoyed a pizza supper with the family before Dan got back to work polishing off the two sermons he needs to deliver tomorrow and Jen spent time surfing the net trying to find a refrigerator by taking advantage of a Sears sale that ends at midnight.  The girls came over to watch the two game shows with us - we had two nights worth to watch since we missed both Thursday and Friday.

Settling In

Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Last night our son told me that a new aerobic and stretching class for seniors was starting at his church today, so this morning after doing some wash and taking care of a few other little items I took off into town to check out the class.  It was great!!!! But it did challenge me a bit.  Just a reminder I haven't been so good about regular exercise.  But now with this and the other senior classes they have on Monday and Wednesday I will be able to get myself back in shape - ready for all the stuff we do in Florida.

Ken got the front of the motorhome all polished up again as there are always lots of bugs to clean up after a trip.  Then he helped out a bit getting Abbi to a babysitting job and picking up Rachel from her swim team practice.  Our taxi service is back in swing :-)

Jen and I discussed some possible plans for the couple of weeks while we are here and then did a bit of shopping at the local Farmer's Market before she created one of her delicious soups for dinner. Meal planning is a bit more of a challenge now that Abbi is on the very very strict diet to try and get her Hashimodo's (an autoimmune disease involving the thyroid and her body's inability to absorb many of the vitamins and minerals it needs)  So we were especially checking out a variety of vegetables that she can have including kale, parsnips, collard greens, cauliflower, and broccoli. There are many she cannot have such as tomatoes, peppers, peas, corn, and white potatoes.  In addition, she is limited on fruits that she can have - they must be low on the glycemic scale and be limited to one a day.  And she can't have eggs, diary, seeds, nuts, grains, sugar or beans.  Life is truly a challenge but she is doing a super job and learning to create a variety of things.  I'm eager to spend a little time with her checking out some of her recipes.  Since Ken and I have been trying to eliminate all grains, sugar, and white potatoes from our diet we too have been challenged with variety and coming up with some interesting foods to take the place of those we have always loved.  It has really made a difference though as Ken is off all but one of his diabetes medications now and hoping to get rid of it and I've eliminated a lot of my pain.  And of course we've lost a lot of weight and are finding keeping it off a lot easier.

Both Rachel and Noelle came over to our place after finishing their homework to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with us before heading to bed.  Ken is already there and I'm headed there shortly.

It's been a good day!!!

On the Road Again

Monday, September 21, 2015
Yesterday we enjoyed a day with Beth and her family who first sat with me in church (Ken was singing in the choir).  Then Beth and Scott joined us on a shopping trip to COSTCO taking advantage of our membership to get items they needed for home.  Then we were all off to Scott's School of Rock Concert Beastie Boys vs Beck.  For us it was a day of saying goodbye to our friends at the church and our daughter and her family.  Our time in Michigan came to an end.

Today was spent traveling to our son's home in Butler, Pennsylvania where we will now stay in their drive for three weeks.  We arrived about 6:00 PM just in time for a delicious dinner of chicken, vegetables and salad and lots of conversation.  It was great to see them and we look forward to participating in a variety of activities with them and friends in this area.