Friday, April 29, 2016

A Strange Week...

I know that I have written about the quaint little town that I grew up in before. We walked or biked to everything. We had parades and festivals. I will forever remember playing kick the can in the tree lined street in front of our house or watching fireworks on my front steps or meeting friends in the park. The only French fries I will ever crave are the vinegar soaked ones that the firemen made at the annual July 4th festival.

People that I grew up with still live there. If they left they somehow come back either to visit or to stay. It's the home to at least three different churches. At one time classmates of mine were teachers at either the grade school, middle school or high school. It's a mix of old houses that are filled with built ins, French doors and hardwood floors. There is a newer section of homes, too, and I think my sister told me that every build able piece of land is now gone. I am certain that there are towns like this all over the country. But this one will forever be in my heart.

So...

This week three people who at one time lived on my street died. All of them hold a special place in my heart.

Mr. Andy Bozin...this is what his son wrote about his death...

Subject: Lt A.J. Bozin - RIP

"about 21:50 hours Tuesday April 19, 2016, Andy powered up for a short field takeoff and pulled back on the yoke under divine guidance and lifted off skyward for his last flight."

Mr. Bozin would toss all of us in his car and take us fishing and then out for ice cream. My parents loved him.

Mrs. Byers...

this is what her son wrote...

"My Dears Patty and Dennis, Mom is now Free!

God Bless her, at 94—Katherine was lucid and conversant. She went in her Sleep; 20 minutes after the last of us left, after visiting. Prayers answered... Mom was tired. She just wanted to Sleep.

My Sister in Law, Jan asked her how she was feeling. Mom made a flying Bird with her Right Hand, and said... "Like an Angel of God."

She has many Angels to keep her Company... and Fans on Earth."

Mrs. Byers was my mom's church friend and mom to the four Byers Boys.

And then Cynthia...Cynthia Lee Streeter...

Yesterday a friend called to tell me my that my next door neighbor died. She no longer lived in our town...she lived in Alaska and then Spokane...she had children and a grandchild. She produced educational documentaries. She allowed me to tag along after her and her best friend when I was little. I always thought she was kind and really patient with me. In my eyes she was worldly and brave. My parents gave her the French doors from our dining room when she was building a house in Alaska. She wanted a part of our town with her always. We recently shared emails and connected again. In high school she was always the lead in plays and productions. She was like no one else I knew. She tossed aside her small town roots and amazed all of us.

Life can be sad.

Hugs,

Patty

 

 

Thursday, April 28, 2016

A Much Better Day!

I know it's vanity. I know it's ridiculous. But I am just not ready to have gray hair yet. I think I am doomed because my mom had lustrous silvery hair until the day she died. I have her hair. Not white yet but enough grays popping in to freak me out totally. And even though my salon uses a special organic color for me...if it touches my scalp I will have a reaction...and it's not pretty. Lauren...my incredible stylist...foils every section of my hair...not a drop touches my scalp. And she even supervises the rinsing and washing. She has it down perfectly. I take a Benedryl before I go but I still end up with a teeny headache. It's weird. But it's working. For now. And I drag out the time in between color...now we go every 8 weeks...and there are cool things to use to cover gray roots. This one is amazing. It has a tiny sponge in the bottom and you pat light roots away!

Started these...love them both...June is so beautifully written I can't stand it.

Hey everybody! It's Pasta Thursday!

We are having this for dinner. Everything is cooked in one pan...baked in the oven! Thank you, Chelsea from Chelsea's Messy Kitchen! It is very cool here today...we need some warm pasta. I have local sauce and spinach and kale and broccoli rabe turkey sausage for this pasta dish! Doesn't this look amazing? And again only one pan!

I am out of here! I am so happy to be at home all day today after yesterday!

Hugs,

Patty

 

 

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Today Was Hair Day!

The one hour one minute drive to Skippack is exhausting. It's over the busiest traffic, road construction, crazy driver highway ever. We actually saw a driver flip around lanes and pass a State Trooper. Unbelievable. So with appointments at 11:00 the day is shot. Plus one of our cars needed diesel fuel and we pulled into the busiest Wawa in the state. Then I always have in the back of my mind that this time I will have a reaction to color. So far so good but I have had a stomach ache since we pounded down a Shackburger at 3:00...not feeling so great. Plus I took a Benedryl and the minute we came home I took a shower and fell into bed...totally wiped out. But I have streaky hair now which helps to hide the grays!

Reading this...it's really good. Arden was 8 years old when she left her twin 2 year old sisters alone in their front yard while she went to get them dandelions. They were never seen again. Arden inherits her family home...Arrowood. And of course while she is there she is uncovering some of her family's secrets. Nothing is as it seems. And it appears as though way too many things have been kept hidden.

Off to read...

Hugs,

Patty

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Just In Case You Were Wondering?

We have not made any decesion about Bethany Beach yet. Den is in 100%. I am the hold out. I bet that surprises you?

Today we are spending the day in the basement...tearing through more stuff...we realize that we have enough stuff to almost furnish a small beachy home...that in itself is freaking me out. Because I decorate seasonally...I have summer paintings, sailboats, buoys, jars of shells, throws and more. Yikes!

Over to books!
I finished "The Girls" late last night. I did not love it as much as other reviewers. Evie...the main character was weak and sad. She is a product of divorced parents and a prime target for hanging out with a Charles Manson like cult. There were good parts and good writing but it didn't speak to me. The dirt, the mess, the drugs and the sex and rock and roll was unappealing. Evie was only fourteen when she became infatuated with an older girl and was brought by her to the farm...the cult. Again..interesting but not a book I loved.
 

Reading this...

From Amazon..."haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and secrets it holds"

Just started it so no real thoughts about it yet.

Still reading this at night on my Kindle...I really don't want this book to end!

We are off to the basement!

It is raining and dreary here today.

Hugs,

Patty

 

Monday, April 25, 2016

So...Today It's All About My Books!

Once we calmed down from all of our beachy thoughts...and once the kitties got over being outraged about being left with a sitter...we had a relaxing Sunday! We do both have Bethany Beach cams on our iPads so we can dream about the ocean and watch the ocean and contemplate life near an ocean. Our latest thought about our situation is that we still continue prepping to sell here. If we decided to buy in Bethany Beach it would not be a house we would live in full time and it wouldn't be ready until late late late fall anyway.

We are proud of this almost decision.

It gives us wiggle room.

We thrive on wiggle room.

Since I have Den hooked on Columbo,too...seriously in all of his rain coated cigar ash dripping glory...we had Columbo on in the background while we both read papers and iPads and books. Den is loving Sweetbitter. I love it when we both have a book in front of us! I just love it.

I finished this. It's the first in a trilogy and really creepily good. It's a private boys' school and secret societies mixed in with other scary stuff. I can't think of a book that this reminds me of...it is quite unique! How's that for a proper review?

Reading this right now...I just started it so I will know more about it tomorrow.

New books from Amazon and Edelweiss and NetGalley and their awesome publishers...

 

All summaries are from Amazon...

 

The Night Bell..."the brilliantly paced and irresistibly suspenseful new novel in the Detective Hazel Micallef series takes this "perfectly original" (Gillian Flynn) detective into the maelstrom of two murder cases."

The Hamilton Affair..."set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Revolution, and featuring a cast of iconic characters such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette, The Hamilton Affair tells the sweeping, tumultuous, true love story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler, from tremulous beginning to bittersweet ending—his at a dueling ground on the shores of the Hudson River, hers more than half a century later after a brave, successful life."

The Perfect Girl..."From Gilly Macmillan, the international bestselling and Edgar Award nominated author of What She Knew, comes this whip-smart, addictive, and harrowing novel of psychological suspense—perfect for fans of Paula Hawkins and Kimberly McCreight."

The American Girl..."From a bright new talent comes a riveting psychological thriller about an American exchange student in France involved in a suspicious accident, and the journalist determined to break the story and uncover the dark secrets a small town is hiding."

happy family..."Tracy Barone's mordantly funny debut, a fiercely independent woman is forced to come to terms with the family who raised her, the one who gave her away and the one she desperately wants."

That's all I have for today!

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Patty