The Cortland Connection

We've spent two holidays in a row at the in-laws. I think that is a record!

I did some major shopping at my favorite store, Quilter's Fancy and met a new MySpace friend there. Also did some damage at Patcatans.

We holding some gorgeous beaded fringe from France. I bought a little for a Victorian purse I'll be making.

As we were out and about, we saw this telephone pole that has been abused. I wonder if I should start a "save the poles" fund?! We visited Dad at his craft show at Yankee Lake on Sunday before leaving for home. The dogs love to play here and get more than enough attention. Zack found a new friend in Denise or is it the other way around?

Glenn and Denise helped with clean up after the meal. Denise brought two pies for our Thanksgiving dessert pleasure.

Christmas weekend was spent doing more of the same...more shopping, more eating, and more playing. Denise renewed her friendship with Zack.

Keith continued his job of chauffering Cindy to her favorite stores. Cindy spent a lot of time uploading products to her new online store at http://shadesetc.ecrater.com/. We leave today, Sunday morning as I have to stop in Erie at a potential customers and also in Findlay Lake at Beth's to get a candle.

Jan made this for mom. It's on her table in the front hall.

I know this is real chopping writing. I'll edit it if I have time tomorrow, my blogging day. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas from Cortland.

I'm adding a Picassa slide show on the blog right of the family.

My New Victorian Home

So has anyone seen this house anywhere? This is my dream home. It is on the cover of The House on Honeysuckle Lane by Carole Gift Page. I think the first thing I would do to it is put on vinyl siding in green or blue and get rid of the ivy going up the porch. Other than that, I love it.

A Quick Trip

Here we are at the Quality Inn on Aviation Road. Zack has found himself and doesn't know who he is! He keeps looking at that other dog and barking and saying "come on, let's play" but all the other dog does it copy him.

Mom and Dad joined us for dinner at 99s. They had steak; Keith had the seafood trio and I had broccoli, ziti, chicken dish. It was delic. After a nice, filling meal we came back to the hotel and Keith showed Dad the article that will be published about Keith's workshop in the Wood Magazine on January 13th. I showed Mom pictures from the anniversary party on my laptop. She enjoyed seeing them. Isn't this a nice picture of them?

Family Visit

Dad's sisters, Beverly and Bonnie, visited Hudson Falls! They stayed in Whitehall and visited Katie and Sandy and Mom. Mom and Dad took them to a dinner in Hartford. They only stayed overnight but everyone was pleased to see them. Wish I could have been there too.

What's Up?

Just a post to say nothing much is happening in the family. Ha!

Janine was in a car accident. She is okay but the car isn't. It wasn't her fault. She was making a left turn and someone ran into her driver side and pushed her car. She drives on the opposite side of the car as she is delivering mail. Hopefully the PO will pay for the damage. Janine is okay but has whiplash.

Jonathan says, "I have been working like crazy as the semester comes to an end, spending a lot of time with friends, not sleeping enough, going to a lot of events, and going to coffee shops a lot."
He says he's drinking hot chocolate. I wonder if he knows that there is a lot of caffeine in chocolate too!

I just returned from a piano concert with two of my students. I hope it inspired them to practice. I know it did me.

Happy Birthday, David

So David just had another celebration of his birthday and his wedding anniversary. I think he is 47 now. He must be approaching 25 years of marriage too. I'll have to ask him next time I see him. He is a grandpa now since Claire had Addison. They just celebrated his first birthday. Claire says she is moving back to NY with Addison and Adam. They will be living with a friend until they get jobs and find a place of their own. Not sure how that's all gonna work out, but it will be nice for David to have his "little girl" and grandson close by.

Sophie Joy Lathwood

And here are the pictures. We are "greats" again!
Sophie was sick for a while.
But she is better now and at home.
What a cute family. Jo3 was so excited to have her home. Is he really old enough to be a dad twice? This is the little boy I held in church at Gospel Lighthouse when Sue came home and Keith and I came for a visit?!

She got the idea now!
Such a happy boy......now. Just wait until she grows up.
Yup, you did good Joseph. Congratulations!

New Great Niece

Sue tells me she is a grandmother again. This time it's a girl, Sophie Joy Lathwood was born on Wednesday to Joseph and Sarah and joins her brother Joseph III. I hope they will send pictures so I can post here.

I've finished an order for Pfaltzgraff City Market teapots and canister lamps and am shipping them tomorrow to Miami.

I also delivered this teapot to Gaye at Chautauqua today as a thank you gift for putting my lamps her store this summer.

Happy Birthday, Zack!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Balloons Over Chautauqua Ride

We did it! We went for a balloon ride over Chautauqua Lake for Keith's 50th birthday present. Karen is my witness. She came to see us off. I didn't really think about what day it was until now...September 11, 2008.

We arrived at the Lakewood park at 5:45p.m. and watched them fill the balloon with air using two big fans. Then John, the pilot, turned on the gas and it went upright. The crew had to hold it down while we climbed in. The basket was waist high and felt safe.
Keith brought his camera and took this picture of the lake using his fisheye lens. It was quiet and felt like we were floating, which in fact, we were. We were 1400 feet up. In case that doesn't sound like much, look at this...high enough for me!
This picture doesn't really show how big the balloon is inside; but you can see the beautiful colors and the flame (light in the middle left). I would guess it was 100 feet high but I'm probably wrong. As we were coming down on the other side of the lake in Maple Grove, we saw this perfect shadow of the balloon on the ground.
John looked for an open field with short grass to land in which brought us to the Pembridge's. (Tom had called me last year regarding piano lessons for someone in his family.) The crew of six met us there. The balloon bumped lightly a few times as we were landing. I think that was the scariest part.
But John is an experienced pilot of over 20 years and knew what he was doing. He said he went to pilot's school to learn how to fly. He got into the business because he thought having a balloon would be good advertisement for his Remax real estate business. People started asking for rides and that was that.

Before we could officially land, the crew had to get permission from Tom which he gladly gave. After the balloon was packed up, which took about 20 minutes, we had a champagne/grape juice toast. John told us the story of the first balloon ride and why they have the traditional toast when landing; something about Paris, France, animals, and aliens. Interesting.

The ride was about 40 minutes long and awesome. It is a memory we will never forget.

50th Anniversary Party!

We did it! There were about 70-80 people in attendance on Saturday afternoon. We arrived around noon to decorate with stars and set up the slide show. Sam did an awesome job of putting the show together (with Sandy's help) and then he kept the music going for the four hours. Great job, Sam!

We set up Janine's cake and it looked great (and tasted great too according to those who got a piece). Mom and Dad had fun cutting the first piece and serving each other.

Keith was very busy taking photos of everyone. You can see the slide show at the top right. He took about 300 and Katie took about 200. Soooo, there are a few to see.

It was great seeing people we hadn't seen in years like Mrs. Canterbury. I heard she is at least 90! Wow, what an honor that she would come to be with us. My cousin, Ted, and his wife, Kelly, came from Connecticut. That made Dad very happy. We are looking forward to getting to know them better.

All seven of us kids did a "remember when" talk. David's was the funniest remembrance with his making sounds (burps) into the tape player when he was supposed to be reading a psalm into it as part of his discipline for something he shouldn't have done. Josh's remembrance was the most touching as he talked about my parent's influence on his decisions. Several people other than family also spoke and told stories. It was an interesting and fun hour of storytelling. We also sang Mom's song, Sing Forth the Praise, as a family.

Mike is pretty good at hosting and "thinking on his feet"; must be why he is a preacher.

The grandkids sang "Catch a Falling Star" which was the song Mom and Dad sang to each other when they were dating.

The food was very good. We started with fruit and cheese appetizers followed by salad bar, roast beef, ham, potatoes and a vegetable.

I think Mom and Dad felt loved and honored. What a great way to do this. Why do people wait to honor others after they are dead?

Family Party

Happy 50th Mom and Dad! We had a great time at the cookout last night. David's family was the only one not there; however, Claire came with Addison. I got to meet my great nephew for the first time. He is one heavy little guy!

The worship service was great and a surprise to mom and dad. Aunt Eva and Uncle Tom were there also.

We decided to have pizza instead of cooking on the grill as all the grills were being used at the camp grounds. The kids had a great time on the four-wheelers and the play area. The dogs had a great time running around, chasing kids and balls.

Keith did a wonderful job taking pictures. Check out the slide show at the top right.

Count down

So here we are two days until the party. We still have some things to do but it is looking good. 85 people have responded out of 200. I guess that's not too bad. I just finished making the box for the congrats cards to go in. Now we need some star decorations and I think that will be it for the party. We still need to call the Cornerstone Soup Kitchen to see if they can take any left overs. I'm not sure what the rules are for that, but I think dad and mom would like that.

The immediate family is getting together on Friday for a cookout/bonfire. It will nice to see Claire and my great nephew. I haven't met him yet. Actually I haven't met Joseph's son yet either. I hope that happens before he is too old!

I won't be able to blog about the party now until it is over as I don't think Jim has a wireless connection. Maybe Mike does. Anyway, the next blog should have lots of pictures!

Party Count

I'm excited because we now have 62 people who have responded that they will attend Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary party next week. I still have a lot of people who have not responded but maybe more will come in before I leave on the 28th.

Sending Jonny to University

Mike, Sandy, and Jonathan were here this weekend. They stopped on their way to Evangel University. Jonny is entering his first year at my old alma mater! They stopped at Niagara Falls before dropping down to see us. They said Goat Island was beautiful with streams and places to sit. They took the Maid of the Mist ride also. Soooo...they arrived around 8p.m. and we had a cookout with hamburgs and hotdogs. No s'mores. Jonny isn't eating sweets and we were all full. Even too full for Keith's birthday cake.

Mike was relaxing and enjoying a shoulder rub after a long, tiring day and week of work.

Jonathan saw Keith's workshop for the first time.

He sure is growing up fast. We talked about our trip to Boston when he was just a year old, even found some pictures. Such a cutie!

Sunday morning they shared my birthday surprize for Keith's 50th. We are going for a balloon ride over Chautauqua Lake once we return from Mom and Dad's party. After eating a big breakfast of hash browns, eggs, bacon, toast, and juice, we prayed and they were on their way for another four or five hour drive.

Now it's time to take Keith for our Sunday ice cream drive!

50th Anniversary Responses

It's getting exciting to see all the positive responses coming in for the 50th anniversary party. People I haven't seen in about 30 years will be attending. What a wonderful day this will be for Dad and Mom. We even had someone call and say "Can XX come too. They would like to be there." What a wonderful way to honor my parents.

Invitations

The invitations are in the mail! Wow 90 of them went out yesterday. Would be cool if they could all attend; however, most of them are in other states and have no other reason to go to the Adirondacks. It will be fun anyways with my family. It always is when the 30 or so of us get together. Never know what will happen. We can always count on mom for some laughs.

Welcome to our world

I thought I'd start this blog as a way of keeping track of everything that is happening in our families. With Cindy's parent's 50th anniversary party coming up, I thought this might be a good way to keep everyone informed.

Don't they look great! and happy too! We are only 28 days away from the party and 85 invitations will be going out on Monday. It was a great experience for me because I got to talk to Aunt Beverly and Aunt Bonnie and Sharon. I haven't talked to my Aunt's since I was an early teen. Now I can communicate with my cousins on Dad's side. The party will be on Saturday, August 30, 2008 at Rainer's Gourmet. I'm hoping that a lot of friends will attend as well as family. I know it would mean a lot to mom and dad. I'm excited about Janine making the cake too. I've heard she does an excellent job and I love her ideas that she has shared with me so far. Two of the grandchildren, Sam and Katelyn, are supposed to be working on a picture slideshow for the party also. Mom and Dad's song is Perry Como's Catch a Falling Star. That's all for now.

Cindy
www.shades-etc.com
www.cindyspianostudio.com