Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Hello!

 Wait, what??? It was September when I last posted!! Oh my.

Well, I'm still alive and still kicking, just not as high ☺️ I had a sweet resident at the nursing home where I worked say that. She always would laugh as she said it. Nice memory!

I'm not going to take a lot of time to catch you up tonight but wow, is there ever a lot of life that's happened since SEPTEMBER! 

Might be a bit more time to blog just now. Ellen tested positive for the C and since I have been around her the most, I will also keep distance from the rest of the family to be on the safe side. So far I'm not positive. Ellen isn't feeling very sick other than a cold, thankfully. 

I feel like I should include a picture or two (or three)....


Ellen on Christmas morning.
New flooring, new paint in these rooms...
that happened in November.
Now new flooring is going in, almost fished,
 in our lower level bedrooms and living room. 
No more carpet and that's the way we like it!


Pretty snow yesterday.



I snapped this one this morning.

The snow might stick around for awhile...it's really cold!

See you soon! 



Sunday, September 17, 2023

More August Fun

 It's September, mid September at that, and I will go back to more fun days we had in August.


Ellen's Birthday Getaway

Sunday, August 27 our Ellen celebrated her 29th birthday!

Gifts waiting for her to open.


She seems to be a bit excited =)


Ellen really needed a new backpack purse.
So many times she would say we needed to look for one.
BUT, I already had one
I knew she would love!
She just had to wait for the correct day to find out about it.
She's pleased!

Later that day we drove to the historical town of Jim Thorpe, PA.
It was the first time we have ever been there
and weren't sure what all we would do other than ride the train.
Ellen loves trains and that was a big reason for visiting.


We got on the last ride of the day!
It was a lovely ride in the open air car.
Got some coffee in a shop as we walked to the train.



The scenery along the ride was gorgeous!


Lots of cars including open air,
regular cars, dome cars.



Hoping to see an eagle but none sighted .

We got some ice cream before heading back up the street to our cute apartment.

We loved staying here and would again in a heartbeat!

Jim Thorpe is all hills...

our apartment was pretty far up the street so we got exercise a-plenty!



Had dinner at Roadies,
a restaurant out of town and on a hill, of course!
The views were stunning.
Had to take a picture of the sunset as we were leaving.
I love a pretty sky!


Ellen's birthday dessert.
She brought it back to the apartment to eat.
Her pajamas were a birthday gift!

Monday morning Ellen slept in till 11.
Our goal this day was to take the trolly ride.
We booked the next one and had time to check out the area around 
this part of town.

Train Station/info center, trolly ride area...
was a beautiful shaded area to relax.


Didn't get a picture of the trolly but I did take a selfie with Ellen!

We thoroughly enjoyed the trolly!
It took us all over the Jim Thorpe area.

Jim Thorpe statue and burial place.
The history of why he is buried here
and why they changed the name of the town
is super interesting!

Could still catch a tour of the Asa Packer Mansion.
But first we had to walk up a steep hill and lots and lots of steps!

Was worth it to see this historic home!

Looking down to where we walked up.
It's a lot steeper than a picture shows!
Should have taken a pic of the steps.

No pictures were allowed of the inside.
It was breathtaking!
Everything was preserved
including artwork and original furnishings.



That porch 💕

By the time we were finished with the tour
we were tired and very hungry!!

Stopped for pizza about halfway up the hill to the apartment.
We could have easily spent more days here but we only planned for two.

Tuesday
Had to say goodbye to this charming town and apartment.

Ellen standing in front of the colorful building
we called home for two days.
There are several apartments in this house.



Beautiful flowers along the side street to the parking area.

Next stop,
Bushkill Falls!

More walking, more steps, more hills =)

But the gorgeous views!


Some of it is boardwalks, some is not.


Peaceful!


Had to watch where I was walking...!


We call this our sweaty selfie 😀
We were indeed sweating.


Aw yes, worth it!!


Gotta get a picture with the bear!


More ice cream before heading to the hotel.

Our hotel was not the nicest but for one night it would do.

Found a fabulous place to eat though. 
Alaska Pete's did not disappoint!

My big salad..
it was delicious and I ate the whole thing!


Ellen enjoying her burger.


Wednesday
Time to head home again.
Ellen thought we should go back to Bushkill for another hike first...
nope, my knees were done!

Stopped for ice cream on the way home...
our girl loves ice cream!
(her parents do too!)

We don't often go past this little place anymore,
therefore it was a stop that had to be!


Ellen got a milkshake.


Dale and I enjoyed soft serve ice cream.

Was nice to get away and so nice to be home again...
no place quite like home 💖