East Coast Happenings

[Diane Amberg]

Our storm visitor was a tornado. Just a little fellow by your standards, but it did some damage downstate mostly in farm country, and some damage in Marydell on the Delaware-Maryland border.

[Diane Amberg]

That little tornado here did more damage than I first heard about.15 homes badly damaged and some non life threatening injuries. Mostly in farm country so, as you have, some out buildings were damaged and some fields were scoured.
Sadly, I just found out a long time fire house friend has been admitted to U of Pa hospital in Philly and put on a waiting list for a heart/kidney transplant due to heart failure. He is much younger than I am...really makes one think. So sad...has a wife and two children.

[Diane Amberg]

My goodness, Al's Aunt Marion said she couldn't live without Uncle Lawrence and so she didn't. She died this morning while talking to her sister and one daughter.She just stopped. He died May 8th and she now on June first. So back to the cemetery we shall go. Probably on Tuesday. It's sad of course, but it does uncomplicate some things.
Today is a great day for gardening .Al was helping me grub out some overgrown stuff and runaway ground cover with wrens, catbirds and robins providing the musical accompaniment, while I potted up 20 Peruvian Daffodils that have been in the family for may years. I had about 100, but it's starting to be too much for Al to rototill their bed, put them in, then dig them up at frost time as they are not hardy. They do have a beautiful white flower and a nice fragrance. I'll try these in three big pots and see how they do.They want full sun, so I can just set the pots where ever the sun is and feed them a bit. Crabcakes and salad tonight with our own lettuce.yum!

[Catwoman]

I am sorry for your loss, Diane.  I hope that you and your hubby are doing OK, given that this is the second funeral in such a short time.  ((((((hugs)))))))

[Diane Amberg]

Thank you, especially for the hugs. It has been hard losing them both so close together....but they are together again for eternity. Knowing that helps.
Now we have another  funeral on the 11th .John Seador died Sunday while awaiting a heart transplant at the University of Pa. Hospital in Philly. His whole family have been good friends of ours for many years. Crushing sadness.
His brother Dan was an EMT student of mine long ago .He went on to become one of our career New Castle  County Paramedics, quite high in rank. John's twin sister married another of my students, who also went on to become a County Paramedic. Kept it all in the family.
Cat, It's nice to hear from you and see you posting again. Don't get too frustrated too fast.

[Diane Amberg]

Raining again.  But we were able to slide our new bath tub in my Focus wagon, so now we have the making of our "new" upstairs bathroom at home and ready to go.  The tub can rest in my vehicle until needed. (There has got to be a good joke in there somewhere.) The floor tile, tub surround tile, vanity and top, and new toilet are waiting patiently in the garage until our tile man can schedule us. Al could do it but I don't want him to work that hard. He's always so willing but it takes the stamna right out of him and he doesn't bounce back very fast anymore. Plus, he has another cancer scoping next week.Gulp.

[Catwoman]

Cat, It's nice to hear from you and see you posting again. Don't get too frustrated too fast.

No frustration here, since employing the "ignore" option.  What a great way to use technology!!!!    I haven't had the time to go back through your posts to see if you are raising a garden this year...?  I have a bunch of cherry and grape tomato plants out, along with cukes and peppers.  The peppers look like they are going to crap out on me, thanks to all this rain, but the cukes and tomatoes are growing by leaps and bounds.  My asparagus has also been growing waaaaaayyyyyy too well, much to my disgust...That crap can grow up to 7" overnight.  Thank God my mom will take the stuff! lol  I only grow it for her, to begin with.  I have never developed a taste for the stuff.

[Diane Amberg]

Yes, my garden is in, late because it was such a cold spring, but we are at 90 today for the first time and things are roaring up out of the ground. I have lots of little toms and beans are starting to bloom.We've been eating lettuce and have radishes too. The cukes are trying, but are slow, and the peppers are just so-so .
My many flower beds were getting overgrown, so we've been doing some tough love on them too.
   I was asked to work up a lesson plan for fireworks, pros and cons, for the middle school aged kids from The Delaware School for the Deasummer school program.I present that on July 10.Then the kids will have to write a paper on on whether they think fireworks should be allowed in Delaware, based on my program and the research links I will give them. I can't wait to see what they do with it. My signing isn't too great, but I can work very well with the interpreters.
That's where it is hard to explain what I do. I'm retired, but not, and am considered a guest specialist in all the schools around Newark. We're having a big open house at the fire house on Saturday in conjunction with a street fair the downtown merchants are having, one block up the street from us, on Main St.
Tomorrow Al has his three month cancer scoping again so we're a bit nervous about that. Enjoy every minute of your time off.

[Catwoman]

  Sending up prayers that your hubby comes up clean and that your summer is a joyous one!!!!

[Diane Amberg]

Thanks Cat. Every kind thought means something. Hey, I want to share some thing with you. Last night i saw a silly commercial on TV and they were playing Chicken Fat. Do you remember that song? We loved that goofy thing and I got a copy for my classroom shortly after it came out. Meredith Wilson sings it. It's a great song to get kids up and moving and get rid of the wiggles, especially on rainy days. The kids loved it and would fall on the floor in giggles at the end.Brought back good memories.Even Ross can't spoil those for me.