Hi, friends!  I have been experiencing the beauty of a town called Saratoga today.  My dear friend, Lauri, picked me up at the hotel this morning and off on our adventure we set for a time of sharing.  Our first stop was to taste the mineral waters of Saratoga.  Lauri brought along two plastic cups for the tasting party and alerted me to only use the tip of my tongue since these waters were not what you might expect....she was right.  The water was quite salty, but it's part of the history of the area....the famous mineral waters discovered by the Indians and believed to possess special healing powers! 

We also visited the Gardens at Yaddo.  Lovely and beautiful, these gardens are open to the public and were originally a farm, gristmill and tavern operated by Jacobus Barhyte, a Revolutionary War veteran who fought at the Battle of Saratoga.  Many well-known writers of the 1830s and 1840s dined at his tavern, among them Edgar Allan Poe!  At the turn of the century Spencer and Katrina Trask (philanthropists) made this a working artists' community and the gorgeous mansion located on the property (rebuilt after a fire burned the main residence to the ground) is still open only to artists seeking uninterrupted time to work on their projects.  Among those who have used this hideaway is Truman Capote and Sylvia Plath!  The name Yaddo was given the Trasks by their young daughter.

There is a fantastic rose garden located on the property that houses numerous rose bushes of every color in the rainbow.  It was noted that Katrina Trask wanted the rose garden to reflect romance, as an expression of her own life.  Ironically, the Trasks' four children left no heirs and the properties were made into a corporation before they died.  Amazing...and beautiful.

Well, you can see that I love these types of historical experiences....we also visited the adorable little town of Saratoga.  Made famous for its horseracing, the architecture of Saratoga reminds me of yesteryear that today contains various modern stores and cafes, one of which we dined for lunch!  Okay, that's the report for today.  We're off to have dinner with our friends at their new home!  More reports tomorrow....might be heading into Vermont!!  God bless, my friends!

Hi everyone!  Well, we made it....we're in New York tonight.  It was a very long ride...approximately nine hours.  We enjoyed the time together and I was very pleased to be able to read my devotions and begin a new book as we rode along the highway. 

I will be spending the next few days with a dear friend who moved here a year ago.  I'm anxious to catch up with her family news and visit her new home.  Along the journey of life, isn't it wonderful to meet and make friends and then as God moves them out into different areas of the world, we get to visit and rekindle our friendships!  I've never been in this particular area of New York, so I'm excited for this opportunity to stretch my limited knowledge of this part of the state.  Hope everyone had a great day!  God bless!

Hi, my friends.  I haven't blogged in a couple of days...whew, have I been busy!  First, the 22 mile bike ride was fabulous.  The weather was great on Friday and we thoroughly enjoyed getting into nature and riding alongside the river.  We bike the first 11 miles to a little town called Confluence, "where the mountain meets the river" and had a snack lunch.  Usually, that means parking the bikes next to the water and sitting on the riverbank for an apple, a cereal bar and a Weight Watcher cookie!  After our lunch break, we mount the bikes for the 11 mile trek back to Ohiopyle and our car.  Of course, we stop and stretch our legs, but from start to finish it took us approximately three hours.  What an exhausting, pleasurable time! 

We stopped for dinner at a little place called Braddock Inn, named after General George Braddock.who was killed during the French and Indian War.  Fort Necessity is not far from this little restaurant, so if you care to visit historical places and get a little exercise at the same time, this is your place!  The food served at the Braddock Inn is delicious and the ladies that wait the tables and prepare the home cooked meals demonstrate true hospitality.  You won't be disappointed.  It's located on Route 40, east of Uniontown.

Later on Friday night we drove to Gary's mom's house in Sharpsville, PA and then went over to Westminster College on Saturday afternoon to watch our niece, Angelica, play for the Baldwin-Wallace Women's Soccer team as they rivaled Nicholas' alma mater, Westminster.  There were lots of relatives in attendance and it was great to have this occasion to see several members of the family.  It was also difficult to cheer against Westminster after all the times I've sat on the sidelines rooting for number "3"!

Today was a great Sunday at church....the songs so uplifting and the pastor's sermon on confrontation was informative.  Gary taught a great lesson on leadership using Nehemiah as the model. 

Now I'm preparing to head out of town for the week.  I've been invited to accompany Gary to New York.  He has business meetings for three days and I have a lovely friend that moved to the same area about a year ago.  I'm excited to visit her and her husband and to learn more about this great nation of ours as I visit a new town.   I am hoping to blog each night and let you take this trip with me.  However, i will be in a car driving for nine hours tomorrow....maybe I'll have a little something to write about at the end of the day....I'm taking lots to read!  God bless, my friends!

I'm so happy it's Friday!  If you're a regular reader, you'll know that I've written about Fridays before....I just love them....and today we're off to enjoy nature!  The bikes are on the rack behind my car and in a few minutes we'll begin our trip to Ohiopyle.  It's about an hour from Pittsburgh and is a beautiful location where people enjoy various outdoor sports.  Canoe, kayak, water raft lovers use the river that runs alongside a bike trail, which for the past several years, Gary and I have biked 22 miles while enjoying the array of fall colors displayed this time of year.  Well, better head off....Gary's calling my name!!

Have a wonderful day and may God bless each one of you with the beauty of fall!

Good morning, friends.  Since this is a quick blog this morning, I wanted to give you a word of encouragement from the scriptures.  In my daily devotional I read this morning, "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."  II Thessalonians 2:16-17

I ask for continued prayers for Pittsburgh during the next couple of days (actually we could use the prayer 24/7) as the G-20 summit gets into full swing today.  The President is due to arrive around 3:30 this afternoon at Pittsburgh International Airport.  Nicholas drove around the city this morning to get to school and is staying on the north side of town tonight with friends since getting  in and out of the city is nearly impossible due to high security.  This event has impacted the entire downtown area and the roadways back and forth from the airport into town.  Please pray for safety as the protestors are wanting to get their message across and draw attention to their cause.

Continue praying for the Atlanta area....I might have mentioned Samaritan's Purse is deploying workers and supplies to the affected towns.  God bless Franklin Graham and the ministry itself!  Have a great day, my friends!

I don't know how many of you have been keeping up with the latest news.  Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, September 24th, there will be the G-20 summit meetings in Pittsburgh.  It is causing quite a "stir" in our area.  Yesterday I received an email with an entire list of where not to go and stores not to frequent during the upcoming days due to protestors who might be on the violent side.

Granted, these might be over the top warnings, but as I read the inventory of stores I was utterly amazed how this could possibly touch the lives of many individuals, most of whom aren't actively involved with this political assembly. 

Reminds me once again of how we must put our trust and dependency in the hands of the Almighty, All-knowing, Creator God.  He is our Protector and will guard us through the coming days and ages in the face of seemingly troublesome times.  God bless, my friends.  If you live in the Pittsburgh area, please be careful and if you are living in Atlanta or have loved ones there, please pray for their safety in the midst of the flood waters they are currently experiencing. 

Good morning, my friends.  I woke to rain this morning and to tell you the truth, it's a beautiful sight.  Our area is so dry that the grass and flowers are in need of a good dose of heavenly rain.  Of course, this isn't a drenching rain, but we'll take what we can get!

Isn't it ironic how we love those beautiful, sunny, low humidity days, but if we don't have rainy days, the beauty of the earth suffers.  We need a constant balance.  I would like to think that on someone's "rainy" day I can be their "sunshine" and vice versa.  After all, isn't that what the Christian life is all about?

Have a wonderful day and look for opportunities to be a ray of sunshine for someone today!  God bless!  Enjoy the new devotional!

Good morning, my friends!  Well, here we have another clean slate!  Wonder what we'll be recording at the conclusion of seven days?  I sure want my time to "count" but we always need to allow room for the Spirit to move and lead us possibly down paths we never dreamed of exploring....isn't life exciting?

Well, in case you're wondering, my bee sting has settled down.  I'm still swollen and a bit pink, but I'm okay.  When a bee sting happens I am instantly "beamed" (in Star Trek language) back in time to an incident involving my youngest brother, Dickie.  Although he'd been stung before, this particular time he had an allergic reaction.  It wasn't pretty and we almost lost him.  After that horrifying experience, I've never quite recuperated from what can happen to a person in a short amount of time.  However, God is good and today we have the opportunity to begin a new week. 

I'm finally getting out the fall decorations and cleaning the house.  It's a bit melancholy changing from summer decor to fall since this officially puts the events of "our" wedding behind us.  It was a glorious summer with lots of fun, great activties, a beautiful wedding, family visits and the adding of a new son to the flock.  Yes, indeed, God is good, now on to this brand new week. 

NOTE:  If you haven't seen the performance on UTube of the various branches of the Armed Forces singing the National Anthem before the beginning of the Patriots/Jets game, make sure you google it.  What an outstanding tribute...you will swell with pride to be an American!  God bless America!

Well, friends, it's been a beautiful weekend.  Not only was the weather terrific, but another sweet couple pledged before God their love and the two became one!  It was a lovely ceremony and reception and a bonus....Gary and I were seated at the table with our daughter and her friends!  Now, if that doesn't make an older couple happy!  Gary and I were thrilled to spend the evening chatting, dancing, laughing and celebrating with a 20-something group of delightful married couples and singles.  In fact, one of those couples will be getting married in two weeks!  Talk about fun....it was simply a entertaining evening.

Of course, the weekend ends much too quickly, but to have "all" my kids in one place for a couple of hours is a blessing.  So we look forward to being together in a couple of weeks for another blessed event of marriage.  What a year this has been and continues to be.

We also enjoyed the worship service this morning at church and Gary led a very informative lesson from the book of Ezra during the Sunday School hour.  We have so much to be thankful for it's hard to remember all the blessings!  God bless, my friends.  Hopefully, the new devotional will be posted tomorrow.  Although the weekend has been wonderful, I was stung by a bee leaving church today and the Benedryl has made me quite drowsy.  I hope to be a bit more alert and energetic tomorrow!

Today we celebrate with friends another wedding!  It's fall-like weather with warm days and cool mornings and nights....the past months have been glorious for these precious celebrations of marriage. What a privilege to be able to share these joys with dear friends.

This morning the family sat around the table eating bagels and enjoying the time together.  Kimberly and Luke arrived last night and Nicholas popped over last night and again this morning.  It's been a while since all the kids were "home" and we were able to break a little bread together.  Brings back precious memories of yesterdays and hopes of more tomorrows!  I thank God for these special times!

I slept so soundly last night....makes a big difference when the "security system" is back in place!  I woke up refreshed and anxious to spend the day with my sweet family.  I pray that all of you enjoy the day and have an opportunity to be with those you love.  If you can't physically be with them, call them by phone or drop them a line....it might just make their day and bless yours!  "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisifies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."  Psalm 103:1-5