I will usually start my blog posts by telling you where I am. Today will be no exception. I started my day going to see my cousin at the local outlet mall, we had some lunch and shopped a bit. Now I am sitting on Rt 209 North on my way back to our CG home. I’ve been sitting her for no less than a half hour. The car is in park and I have not moved. Since we have a terrible signal at the CG, I figured I would use this time to get this at least started. I do want to mention that even though I sit here, some poor soul – maybe more than one – is having a worse day than me, multiple police cars and an ambulance have gone by. Hope it’s not too bad.
We had a wonderful time seeing our son and his fiancé and some friends while in Lancaster. Bill also completed a long waited for project – the drawers in my pantry closet!
Before – we actually have a nice amount of space – it was just difficult to access what was in the back
empty shelf
Bill’s friend, Ken, had invited him over to do this project at his house. He has all the proper tools available to get the job done easily and quickly.
this one is from the kitchen area, came with the rig, but since it holds all our glass stuff (plates, glassware, bowls, etc.) Bill decided it needed reinforcement
completed drawers – ready for install!
installing the slides
assembling the slide mechanism
first drawer done and installed – one down – 3 to go!
new drawer all full of stuff – I can see all what’s in there – even all the way in the back!
the slide mechanism attached to the back of the closet
all done – each drawer can hold up to 100lbs – not that I would put that much
After a long day of working on the drawers, Kens wife, Nancy, invited us for dinner! She served yummy dinner of marinated chicken, corn, potatoes (made in a packet with onions and BACON!), and zucchini. Nancy is a great cook – and we all ate too much!
I want to take a minute to talk about Nancy and Ken’s yard. Nancy works for Longwood Gardens, the DuPont Conservatory, and is an avid gardener. Her yard looks nicer than some professionally done yards I’ve seen. It is so peaceful and serene there – it is so nice to just walk around and enjoy the beauty of it.
see what I mean?
surprises at every turn
huge beautiful blooms
my daylilies never got this big!
one last peek!
Since they had us for dinner, we wanted to reciprocate, so Ken and Nancy came and we enjoyed a nice quiet dinner and showed off the finished drawer project. After dinner, it was nice and cool so we decided to go for a walk around the CG. The Circle M Campground is surrounded on 3 sides by the Conestoga River, which was up high, considering how much rain there had been recently.
Ken and Bill
Nancy – sporting a beautiful scarf!
The day Bill went over to Ken’s to start the drawer project – I had gone to Reading. My old stomping grounds. I was having breakfast with my friend, Cherie and getting a haircut with my fav stylist, Jamie.
my fav breakfast at Effies.
In between breakfast and my haircut, I had a bit of time, so I went to check out my fav raspberry picking spot. It is in a cemetery behind Bills’ old job. I’ve picked there and on the property of his (former) job for years – always picking plenty for the freezer and jam. This year I was a bit late and there wasn’t as many as usual, but still better than none.
Lisa and Matt also came to see us. Neither of us took a pic – but here’s one from last year
.
Renee had looked into some free or near free things we could do while in town. Near where she works at Park City Mall, there is Long’s Park, and on Sundays they have free concerts. Off we went! It was a gorgeous evening, and we really enjoyed the concert. The band was sort of jazzy, sort of new-age, reminded me of Yanni, who is one of our favs.
walking to the concert
people filled the huge lawn
the stage
beautiful sky!
One of the nicer days, friends of Billy and Renee showed us a hike they’ve done many times and enjoy. It was warm but the trail was shaded, so not too bad.
very old cemetery
We also hiked up to to this great view of the Susquehanna River
my son
After all that hiking, we all wanted a treat, so off to a local dairy we went! We got more treats than expected – the ice cream was fresh and delicious! I got 2 kiddie scoops, black raspberry and cookies and cream, two of my fav’s. The extra treat was the baby cow that was born the day before! What a cutie!
Billy and Renee got here for their dairy items
This little baby was born the day before we visited. I asked the guy why they take the babies from the momma cows, what might seem obvious to some that they even do that, I was very surprised. Evidently they believe it is better for the baby cows b/c it protects them from infections and contamination of manure from the momma cows teats to the baby. Poor things!
you can see the date on the ear tag, this one was born 6/12/15
their tongues feel like a larger rougher cat tongue
Renee and I spent the morning at Central Market in Lancaster. It reminded me of Reading Terminal in Philly – only smaller.
Renee choosing treats for her kitty, Binx
Renee’s parents, Paula and Ken, had us over for dinner and we played the Game of Life. The steaks Billy cooked on their grill were from Kens parents farm. They were yummy! Bill and I had stopped for fresh picked Lancaster sweet corn on the cob – we actually had it a lot while in the area. After I kicked everyone’s butt at Life – her Mom serves us each a delish piece of homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. What a great ending to a great meal! Thanks again!
everyone is so serious
Bill and Billy went and played golf at the course at the campground. It’s 9 holes and free for Thousand Trails members. It isn’t a “real” course, but was nice enough for them to putt around for a while. Billy got very excited when he got a hole-in-one.
very happy guy!
Another day, we spent a bit of time in the campground game room, and played some mini-golf.
air hockey
Billy plays to win
DDR
one of the trickier holes
this hole is a bit morbid
it was a pretty basic course, not a lot of fancy decorations or anything, but was actually quite challenging.
Reading Outlets
Reading Outlets
another building of Reading Outlets
our favorite kitchen store – perfect place to get our new Kitchenaid hand-held mixer and a few other items
I would not be able to end this post without this pic of some serious tent campers, some might say red-neck camping. Whatever you call it – they totally get points for creativity!
seriously?!
We are now in Newton, NJ, after spending a week in East Stroudsburg, PA. I am a bit behind b/c we have had a horrible Verizon signal, in Lancaster, East Stroudsburg and now Newton, so while I have a good signal (visiting at my friends house) I will get this posted.
Thanks everyone for reading, I’ll post again soon!
