Post Thanksgiving celebration

We had a great time at Judy's yesterday.  It was good to talk to Kathy and to Chris.  I guess today we will be trying to get things back to "normal" or what passes for that!  We are very happy to hear Cathy and Chris' news--very very happy!  What a blessing.  And John had his very first Thanksgiving too!  It was a big holiday weekend for all of us.

VERY Thankful!

Welcome to this wonderful family, John Gary O'Brien! I am so thankful the new branch on our family tree has arrived healthy and safely!

I remember Thanksgivings as a kid being a day of spending time together and football on the TV, of course! I don't remember there being alot of extra people around. It was Mom's favorite holiday, or at least I remember her saying she preferred it to Christmas. She liked the idea of spending time together as a family and enjoying a good meal without all the hassle of gift giving, a tree, and decorations.

Mom must have gotten up really early to start the turkey cooking because you could smell it from the minute you woke up Thanksgiving morning.

I like thinking about what I am greatful for, it reminds me how lucky I am. I'm lucky to have a great family and support system. I'm greatful for my children and hope to pass that on to them. I'm VERY thankful for my grandchildren. What a great gift from life to look in their little faces and see the future of our family! I love you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

DEER HUNTING AT PATTY ANNES!

HEY, PATTY ANNE AND JIM, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT THE DEER WHERE IT WAS. AFTER THE COYOTES GOT TO IT IT WOULD ONLY STINK FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. NO BIG DEAL.

WOW!

First of all, WTF was Chris thinking? Look at that outfit!!!!!

DON'T READ "SECOND OF ALL" YET IF YOU HAVEN'T READ PATTY ANNE'S MOST RECENT ENTRY!

Second of all, WTF were you two thinking??? Please tell me that someone confirmed that the deer was dead BEFORE you dragged it across the lawn. Has either of you heard the 911 call asking for a bambulance? That was the first thing I was thinking of when I started to read this. I thought it would end in a trip to the ER.

I am going to try to find that 911 call online (not even sure if it is real, but it is funny as hell) This took me less than one minute to find online. Click the link below. You do not want young children around for this.

http://www.squidoo.com/funny911lcalls#module10687134

Glad that no one got hurt.

I think that the Dalpiaz family can collectively consider themselves animal lovers now.

Happy Birthday and Happy Hunting

This is post number 400 in my blogging history!

First of all, Happy Birthday Chris!  It's a beautiful day today and I hope you enjoy it. Whoa---this was a fashion statement!

And since it's also the first day of hunting season, I have a little hunting story to tell (sort of).  As you may or may not know, I came home one day last week to have Jim point out that we were the proud caretakers of the dead deer in the backyard.  Indeed, he pointed out a large looking; dead looking; deer looking animal lying at the edge of the property pretty much where the tire swing used to be.  

Now, I know you all have met us and already are aware that this area of expertise is not in our frame of reference.  Jim had called the DEC (no answer); the town (no help) and the county--who told him that they would pick up dead deer at the side of the road but not on personal property. After conferring with his hunting and outdoor experts Ron and Glenn, it was decided that the best thing would be for Jim to drag the deer down to the roadside for the county to take care of.  

By now it is beginning to get dark and Jim is trying to figure out the details of how this might go.  He had the chain and the garden tractor and figured he was set.  He wanted to use the Lincoln to illuminate the area, but fortunately for me Glenn arrived just about that time.  I was worried that the weight of the deer sliding down the hill behind the tractor could out-race the tractor and drag Jim down the hill instead of the other way around.

I was giggling to myself at the silliness of this all and really wishing it wasn't so dark so that I could document this event for future generations.  Ryan called and I was explaining what his dad was doing while trying to peer outside and get a better view.  As is typical, it seemed Ryan was only about half paying attention to what I was saying (in this case that was fair because I was only paying half attention to him) and I could tell that he was texting while on the phone with me.  He was asking random questions peppered throughout the conversation about the size of the deer, did it have antlers, how many points etc.  He noted a friend nearby who might be interested in the deer.  OK OK I was thinking as I wasn't really giving it my full attention.

Glenn and Jim decided to drag the deer down themselves by its heels to the roadside.  Just in time to meet the truck that Ryan's friend drove over to pick up the deer.  The guy found the gunshot wound and determined he could use the deer for whatever and happily loaded it up and carted it away.  All before the 6 o'clock news on a random Monday night in November.  Only in today's connected world can a phone call from Cortland result in driveway to driveway carcass removal services before it even had a chance to settle itself again!  

What an interesting experience!  Jim counts this as his first "kill" and the neighbors have some extra venison in the freezer--thanks to texting.  And no one got hurt (well, except the deer who was apparently shot illegally).  So, as they say.....here's your sign!  You might be a redneck if.........you find a dead deer in the yard and drag it to curbside like a to-go window at McDonalds.

Here's a little story I found about Weenie that I thought you'd enjoy.  I think if you click the picture it will enlarge so you can actually read it-we're all over 40 now, so enlarged print is our best friend.  Here's a picture of the team they are talking about

The newly minted Hawaiin is in the back row second from left.  Can you find Weenie?  Maybe this will help

Isn't this a great shot?  He looks really happy and comfortable with a baby in his lap. He would have been about 27 during the baseball season; married just short of two years.

I guess the story helps me see some of what attracted Mom to Dad.  They say women marry men like their fathers.  Do you have any idea how scary that is when you see the truth in that little idiom????

Anyway, Weenie's on my mind because today I learned that a phone call I made to Lisa Louise Cooke, a genealogy podcaster, about Weenie as a Leatherneck was selected as one of her favorite gems in her 100th episode celebration!  It was the only listener phone call selected as one of her favorite moments over 100 episodes!  Nothing less than he deserved.......

Happy Birthday and Blog-aversary!

This blog is 3 years old this weekend!  When I started it in 2007, this was the first picture I posted.  It had been taken on the trip to Gloucester we had taken a few days before:

And this is how that little family has grown in the last 3 years from a picture I took just a few weeks ago:

I thought this was really cute.

Happy Birthday this week to Uncle Tim!