We can make it to the road in a homemade boat...That's the only thing we got left that'll float..2 feet high and rising!

This has got to be the craziest weather the state of NY is facing this year. Everyone commented on the fact that I was coming back to FL in the middle of hurricane season. We (so far) have escaped any kind of natural disasters while NY has suffered a earthquake, two hurricanes and the results being two floods. The last Flood left the Southern Tier and particularly my hometown of Owego in a state of emergency....the whole town was affected. Many people lost everything.

This is Rt 17C or the road to my brother Tom's....IF you have a boat!

I am very happy Salt was not on his way home, as many of the roads he takes were either closed or harmed.

The local Walmart and Sams (Vestal, NY)

Two houses on Marshland burned. This is the road my brother Tom used to live on.

The Treadway Inn where my brother Joe worked for 23 years and where Bill and I had our wedding reception.

And this is the Hickories park where Salt and I always park our motor home on the way to and back from Florida.

You know that life's a contradiction..you can't escape the fact..you gotta take a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

I am almost convinced I should get off facebook. Reason being, it's making me lazy as far as keeping up with my blog. I am not happy with myself as the blog is much more personal and a better way to document my life.

Salt is still back in NY working but I rode to Florida with my cousin Hazel. We stopped in Elmira at her brother's hot dog stand. This Bob McConnell, Hazel's youngest sibling. Thought you would like that Bob...LOL

I have been busy since we got back. One of Hazel's friends got us tickets to see a Gators' / Rams' game.

Attended our first party at the club....It was a "Dog Days of Summer" party...weird dress required.

I finally convinced Hazel she was TOO young to be gray and offered to color her hair for her. Of course you all know it saved her about $40. Is she grateful...NO, she complains because I didn't have a "clip" for her towel like they do in the "REAL" salons. I took care of that with one of my bag clips....after adding an adjective!!!

And here she is a new woman!!

Terry and Sue have had me over to dinner a couple of times since my return. I am going to owe them big time when Salt gets back. Terry brought me a big bag of apples from PA when they drove up to take his mom back. I made 4 big apple pies and put them in the freezer until Salt gets here. Terry is still pouting cuz he can't have any until then...

One thing I didn't wait to do when Salt got here was go get a Spinach Calzone from Stavros. I think this just may be my favorite meal in Florida!!

Salt and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary on August 19. Since he wasn't in town, Hazel took me to the Red Lobster. These two waitresses were SO funny. They said they could not believe we were celebrating an anniversary since both of seemed way too happy to be married. When we told them we were cousins they asked if they could PLEASE join our family. Great fun!

Here is Emma on the first day of middle school. She is turning into a delightful young lady!

Janna has started college at BCC (full scholarship) and also made the Volleyball team. She is an official "Hornet" and looking forward to a winning season. They are off to a good start, winning their first game!

Janna...first row, far right.

Mess with me and you mess with the whole trailer park!

Leaving for Florida today....YAAAAA!

This is the park where we kept the motor home this summer....was a great way to get off the island for a few days.

Salt stayed back and finished out his summer responsibilities, while I traveled back with my cousin Hazel, who now has a house in or community.

We made a quick stop at my cousin Bob's (McConnell) for one of his famous hot dogs and a short visit.

Thelma and Louise...headed for yet another adventure....bwahahaha!! We always have so much fun traveling together.

Bob is Hazel's brother......

As soon as we arrived home, Terry and Sue had us over for dinner. The young lady in the middle is Terry's mother.

Memories are gone....I'm falling behind!

Wow I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted. Was a very quiet summer....all the kids have grown and have moved away or have jobs that keep them all busy. I spent much of my time on the mainland (in the motor home) catching up on researching Medicare supplement providers, and finalizing our move to Florida. Oh yeah, and of course I was glued to the Casey Anthony trial.... :-(

Salt stayed over on the main land one night and left early to get to work. When he went to the dock, this is what he found. Our boat was parked directly in front of the one on the right and never got a spark. Supposedly it was from faulty wiring, but I am convinced it was started from some of the many fireworks that were set off illegally the night before????

The newest addition to Grindstone Island....a grape vineyard started and owned by Mark Purcell. Will a winery follow???

Jada (Lashomb), Garrett and Greyson Field were on the island for the month of July. We stopped to see them one evening and right after Jada had Grey all dressed for the dance, he decided to cool off in his pool. He has got to be one of the cutest little boys I've seen in a long time!

Emma getting ready to hop in the tube, which she talked Pop into pulling behind his boat.

Pop decided to give her the ride of her life....check out the air she is getting!!

Pop getting a little too brave, leveling off the new beach.

I have been packing for Florida. Karen Lashomb took me out to the Seaway for a "farewell" dinner. Hazel and I will be leaving within the next few days. Betty and Emma will drive me to Elmira, NY and we will leave from there. I'm getting very anxious!

I'm not here for a long time....I'm just here for a good time...

Betty will spend the night with me in town tomorrow, as we will be leaving early Friday morning to pick Emma up from her two week stay at Dunkley's Gymnastics Camp. Here are some of the many pictures of the fun she had over the two weeks. We are just hoping she is ready to come home. One thing I can be sure of i the fact that she will be wanting to go back next year.

Day 1....getting acquainted and making new friends....

All dressed up for their skit....

They spend hours doing their gymnastics, but being right on the shores of Lake Champlain they are able to partake in many water activities as well.

I don't have this quite figured out but it looks as though they may be passing a rubber chicken with their chins.....what fun!

Just being Emma.....

This was "twin night" or in some cases "triplets".....

We will be their for their exhibition and then headed to our friend Stella's for homemade spaghetti and meatballs, a night in the hotel and back to NY on Saturday.

Down, down came the sun....fast, fast beat my heart..

Sunsets are beautiful all over the world....I do believe however, none of them can hold a candle to a St. Lawrence River sunset. Sometimes I think I have seen every color and formation possible and then something like this appears.

Fun on the river is easy to deliver.....

What a great day we had with my sister-in-law Cheryl (Karpel) and my niece and nephew, Eliza and Asa Karpel. Cheryl gifted us with a huge basket of fresh vegetables from my brother's fabulous garden which we enjoyed all week.



Uncle Salt and Asa take a short canoe trip....

Betty took her first ride in years.....she thought she had fun until she tried to get out of bed the next day....ouch. Sore arms Bet?

And what's a trip to Grindstone without a 4 wheeler ride.....

I saw the people gather...I heard the music start. The song that they were singing is ringing in my heart.

Last weekend, Betty and I took Emma to gymnastics camp in South Hero, VT. We decided to do a little sinning, so we stopped for some of the best french fries in VT....Al's! You can see how good they are by the grease on the box...ewwww.

Then off for a visit with my 96 year old friend Stella.....who ALWAYS makes me laugh until I hurt!!

These amazing driftwood horse sculptures sit out in a field in front of Dunkley's Gymnastic camp. Someone is very clever!

In order to cut a couple of hours off the trip we took the ferry from Plattsburgh, NY to VT. It's always a very pretty trip, as the lake is usually full of sailboats!

Emma will have a ball at this camp. She loves gymnastics and this camp is one of the best. They also teach skiing, sailing kayaking and water gymnastics. Lots of crafts and games. Betty went to it 31 years ago, so the owners were tickled to have a second generation camper.

Lots of huge trampolines....the best way to learn back flips without a hard landing!!

We stopped at a restaurant, and they had these cool eagles made from moose antlers, hanging from the ceiling....

No trip to VT is not complete without a stop at the "Apple" store. Apples of course are not in season, but they have all kinds of cheese, and VT products.

We spent Friday evening with my friend Sherry White and her daughters, Lisa and Heather. Betty went to school with the girls, so Sherry and I met when Betty was in nursery school. We had SO much fun catching up on a lifetime of memories.

Emma fell in love with Sherry's granddaughter's Zebra room!!

Sherry took us out to breakfast at the Clover House before we left.