My Blog

What I find interesting and/or want to remember

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Monday May 13, 2024

Bryan Reynolds went 5-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and a pair of singles to lead the Pirates past the Brewers, 8-6. It was the first time in his career that Reynolds had five hits in a game. The Pirates entered the game having lost 21 of 30 games after a 9-2 start. The win moves the Bucs to within 5½ games of the first place Brewers. Pittsburgh is 3-2 against the Brewers this season.

Tuesday May 14, 2024

I went to Danny’s last choir concert. So did Frank, Lue, Tari, Ron and Fran. Danny had two solo’s, a Nirvana song and the other was the last song Johnny Cash ever recorded, not long before he died, entitled Hurt. Danny did really well! Shortly before the program ended, Danny was presented with the National School Choral Award. 

Sunday May 12, 2024

We checked out of our hotel before 8 am to head to the airport. We pulled into my driveway just before 8 pm. (We had a 3½ hour layover in Baltimore.) 


On Friday night, Rick had called Missy to say they had a potential buyer for the house who was making a cash offer. They accepted it. When we pulled into my driveway, we noticed “sale pending” was added to the realtor’s sign in Twila’s yard. 

Saturday May 11, 2024

Midmorning, we drove about 45 minutes west of our hotel to the Everglades. We drove about 20 miles on a rough dirt road wanting to see an alligator in the wild. We finished the morning probably seeing a total of 20 or so gators and one rather large turtle. 


We got to the wedding in plenty of time. A Greek Orthodox wedding was a first-time experience for us. The ceremony lasted for about an hour and consisted of chanting (singing) of prayer, scripture and ritual for the entire hour. Danny and Rebecca did little but stand there for the hour. The reception was downtown, up about 40 floors in a skyscraper with a beautiful view of the city on three sides of the banquet room.

Friday May 10, 2024

Jared, Missy, Hannah and Brody drove to Miami Beach and spent a couple hours beaching. I stayed at the hotel. The temperature was 96° and mostly sunny. In the evening, we went out to eat. A week earlier, Rick and Laura had been to a restaurant named Catch of the Day. They recommended it. We all got seafood. I got the snapper. It was the first time I had ever ordered it and I liked it. The rest ordered seafood broil. 


I had talked to Gary a couple of days ago and he told me he and Karen would be going to Cleveland State on Saturday for his granddaughter’s college graduation. What he failed to tell me is that Kierston is the valedictorian of the Washkewicz College of Engineering, one of 8 colleges at Cleveland State University. 


Brianna's prom was tonight.

Thursday May 9, 2024

Jared, Missy and the kids picked me up at 11:30 am and we drove to the airport. Our flight was delayed and got to Fort Lauderdale an hour later than we expected. We rented a car and drove to a hotel beside the Miami airport with a stop at Chili’s for a late dinner.

Wednesday May 8, 2024

I got both lawns mowed and trimmed. I wanted to get them done before I left for the wedding. 


I didn’t go to Brody’s track meet at Oil City because I needed to do the check-in for our flight on Thursday. Brody competed against a lot of schools with about 50 competitors in each event. He did very well. He took third in the 100 (12.29), 2nd in the 400 (24.97), and 1st in the 400 (54.94). 


Mary Stewart is not doing well. She is in Intensive Care with blood clots in both lungs.


Ron celebrated his 84th birthday.

Tuesday May 7, 2024

I went to an appointment with Dr. Brooks. It was my annual complete blood work analysis and everything looked good as far as A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. Dr. Tim filled out a pre-surgery form to be sent over to the Laurel Eye Clinic. I may have cataract surgery in a couple of weeks but I won’t be surprised if they will want it done in the hospital as they did a year ago in February. If that is the case, I won’t be able to have it done for several months.

Monday May 6, 2024

Kroh’s roofing began work to replace the shingles on our church. Meanwhile, I had Jeff come down in the afternoon to look at my roof. He will get me a price within a day or so but he said he is currently booked out until September. I plan on getting other estimates including one from Hannold. 


I looked ahead to the weather in Miami for this coming weekend. Danny and Rebecca’s wedding is Saturday. It is supposed to have real feel temperatures near 100° with brutal humidity for the three days we are there.

Sunday May 5, 2024

The NBA has just gone from 16 teams vying for the NBA championship to 8.  In the second round it will be Celtics vs Cavaliers, Knicks vs Pacers, Thunder vs Mavericks, Timberwolves vs Nuggets.

Saturday May 4, 2024

The realtor sign is now up on Twila’s front lawn. It is listed at $328,500.


Lue brought her new car, a Jeep Compass, in to show me and get some help with some of the features. It is really nice.

Friday May 3, 2024

POGO came and fixed the paddle on the water dispenser of the refrigerator and installed a new dishwasher. 


As soon as I trimmed the yard and mowed, I started getting all the wood and small stuff off my deck that was piled up from remodeling the bedroom. Lue called around noon and said the dumpsters were there. Mark came in and we loaded his pickup and trailer with box springs, mattresses, bed and dressers, and enough other stuff to have a full load. It was very hard and very heavy work. 


When we finished and got a shower, I took Mark to Joe’s for supper. He had never been there before. He got a stromboli. I am certain that it will not be his only time to eat there. He loved the stromboli and the bread they brought out. 


Hannah went to the prom with a boy from Cranberry. Jared and Missy took her up then brought her back home. Meanwhile, Brody is seeing a freshman from Cranberry. After Hannah got dropped off, Jared, Missy Brody and his new friend had planned to go out to eat somewhere. 


As I got back home, Lue called and said she bought a new vehicle. 

Thursday May 2, 2024

For the first time since last fall, I resumed walking outside instead of going to the Y. Something happened over the winter because the hills I trek up got steeper and they seem to be longer than before. 


I didn’t return to Franklin to watch Brody. Missy said there were six or seven schools competing and they were there a long time. Brody won the 100, 200, and 400.

Wednesday May 1, 2024

I finished the mulching and mowed Twila’s yard. Rick and Laura came up to meet with Smathers meaning the house is either now on the market or will be very soon. 


I drove to Franklin to watch Brody’s track meet. I got there early so I listened to a baseball game on my iPhone. After a few minutes, I started to wonder why no one was showing up. Maybe I was in the wrong place, perhaps the meet was at Oil City. As I started to call Missy it dawned on me that Jared had told me a couple of days earlier the meet had been moved to Thursday. When I got off the phone with him and before I was able to put it in my calendar, John Fairbanks was at the door and he wanted me to look at something down at Twila’s. I was down there for an hour or two and by the time I had got back, I had completely forgotten about Jared’s call. Oh well, it was a nice drive. The Allegheny River looked really nice with all the leaves coming out and the water rather high.

Tuesday April 30, 2024

POGO called and said they cannot get the capacitor for my dishwasher without buying the entire motor. I told him I’d rather he just brought me over a new dishwasher since the current one  is already several years old. He said it would be in on time for him to install it on Friday. 


Mark came in and went up on my roof. I wanted to know if my roof was still good and how the vent pipes looked. He said the vent pipes need to be replaced immediately and it would be a good idea to replace the roof.


Mike Trout is going to be out of action again. He has a torn meniscus. He expects to be back later this season, but I have my doubts. It is more and more clear that Trout is injury prone and I have all but given up on his career.


Monday April 29, 2024

I worked outside on muching in the morning. It was a perfect morning, warm but not too warm and very nice. The peaceful sound of a spring morning couldn’t help but be noticed and appreciated. 

Saturday April 27, 2024

Janna celebrated her 48th birthday today. When I called her, she was cooking, getting ready for a party with some of their friends atthier place. She said Brianna and her plan on visiting colleges this summer, starting with West Virginia. 


The Red Sox beat the Cubs 17-0

Sunday April 28, 2024

I wanted to watch the Pirates, Orioles, Mariners and Guardians play today, rooting for these four teams. I saw parts of all four games and all four teams lost by one run. This week’s power rankings have the Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, Guardians and Yankees as the top five teams.

Can you spot the HR ball just to the right of the flag pole?

Friday April 26, 2024

I weed-eated in the morning and mowed my yard for the first time today. 


POGO came to put a new motor in my dishwasher but the capacitor wasn’t good, so he will come back Tuesday. I’ve been without the dishwasher for over a week and I am starting to really miss it. 


The Pirates continue to fall as they have lost 12 of their last 16 games. Patrick Bailey cranked a three-run home run off Pirates closer David Bednar in the bottom of the ninth inning to snap a scoreless tie and lift the Giants to a dramatic 3-0 walk-off win in Friday night’s series opener at Oracle Park. Bednar’s ERA is now at 12.00.

Thursday April 25, 2024

I ran into Dude at the Y. He is here for a couple of days. He and Rick bought some pond pebbles and filled in a couple of ditches in Twila’s yard. 


Don Dininny and I met Keith Richardson for lunch at Eat'n Park. We ate and visited for a couple of hours. 

Danny took this photo from his seat at the Atlanta ballpark.

Wednesday April 24, 2024

Danny Wilson went on an adventure today. Lue dropped him off at the Pittsburgh airport early in the morning. Alone, Danny flew to Atlanta, got an Uber up to Truist Park where he watched the Braves play the Marlins. It was Ronald Acuña Jr. bobblehead night. Danny is a big Acuña fan. Danny didn’t get to see him get a hit, but Acuña walked twice, scored two runs, and stole a base. The Braves won in 10 innings. Danny’s plans were to walk around the area for a while after the game, take an Uber back to the airport, sleep there for a couple of hours, then fly back to Pittsburgh in time to get back to school for the afternoon classes.   

Tuesday April 23, 2024

I went to Brody’s track meet. He competed in the long jump, the 100, 200, and 400. He won all four events. 


Josh Bashline won the Republican nomination for state representative, the office currently held by Donna Oberlander. The unofficial results are: Bashline 3191; Smail 2808; Kerle 2473; Kennemuth 1559.

Monday April 22, 2024

Brianna and I face-timed for a bit. She said as they are coming down the last stretch of this school year, her teachers are really laying on the homework. She decided that she would work the two jobs as she will return to the Washington Wild Things. That will begin soon.


Sunday April 21, 2024

Rick and Laura took me to lunch at Mauthe’s. They had their turkey dinner today.


I spent time researching every person on the primary ballot. Election day is this coming week but I vote by mail because I do a much better job when the ballot is in front of me and my computer. I spent two or more hours trying to find everything I can about each candidate. I even searched for information on each person who is standing for our districts’ delegate to the Republican Convention this summer. 

Saturday April 20, 2024

Clarion County Commissioner and Music Director/Radio Host at Bigfoot Legends Radio 101.3 & 94.1 Wayne Brosius heard Danny was going to begin school at Clarion in the fall, majoring in communications. Wayne invited Danny in to learn a little about the production and workings of a radio show. Wayne had Danny co-host his Saturday morning show. The two had conversations, talked about music and Danny even shared in the sports report, giving the scores of recent local games. I thought Danny was outstanding, considering how most young people would be nervous, fumbling with their speech. Danny seemed like he had been doing this for years. I think he is on the right track for a career that he will enjoy and excel.


In the afternoon, I went to Danny Walters’ and Rebecca’s wedding shower picnic at Bob and Linda’s. There were about 15 to 20 of us. It was cold out so we stayed indoors. They have a really nice home that is way out in the country, a few miles off the road between New Bethlehem and Rimersburg.

Friday April 19, 2024

I spent another two hours mulching today. 


Jared, Missy, Hannah and Brody left for Sandusky, Ohio where Hannah will be in a weekend volleyball tournament at Cedar Point. 


Well, it only took about three weeks for me to all but give up on the Pirates. Though they are two games over .500, they don’t look good to me and they are projected to take last place in their division. For the time being, the Baltimore Orioles will be the primary team that I will watch; however, I will watch some of the Pirates’ games until they fall behind. I am keeping an eye on Kansas City, so far they are interesting.

Thursday April 18, 2024

I worked a few hours on mulching Twila’s bank. The roofers finish around 6 pm. That means I can get around to mowing the yards on the next nice day.

Wednesday April 17, 2024

Today Brianna celebrated her 17th birthday. 


We got a tremendous amount of rain in a short period of time. We got a thunderstorm around 8:00 p.m. with a torrential downpour. Piney Dam reported 1.29 inches of rain today, almost all of it between 8:00 and 8:30.

Tuesday April 16, 2024

The roofing continued today but they will need another day to finish it. I doubt if it will be Wednesday, considering the forecast. Rick worked most of the day as he continued clearing the leaves from the bushes then he did some mulching. I worked about 3 or 4 hours on the mulching. I ordered another load to be delivered.

Monday April 15, 2024

The roofers came today to put a new roof on Twila’s house. Rick worked on cleaning up leaves from around the bushes while I blew the leaves off the bank and began to put mulch on the bank. I was way too tired to cook at the end of the day so Rick, Pete and I went down to Joe’s Pizzeria. 


Brody had a track meet at St. Marys and took first place in all four of the events in which he competed.

This page was last updated Wednesday, May 15 at 6:47 AM