Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and took a few minutes to remember the real reason for the celebrations!  Boy is it tough to take pics of those fireworks!

 

Here's a couple of visitors to my back yard last night.............

 

 

And, the Tiger lilies have finally bloomed - late this year!

 

 

 

Wow - I didn't realize it has been so long since my last post!  Life seems to get in the way of keeping up!

Yesterday Sam and I went to the Pocono 400 NASCAR race in Long Pond, PA (about 20 miles from my place).  Neither of us had been before and it was on Sam's "bucket list".  I wasn't sure if I was going to like it.  I've watched the races on TV, and they get boring after a while.  Wow, is it different in person!  The noise of the cars is unbelievable, and the crowd is huge.  We had a wonderful time and are talking about going back again next year.  Here's a few pics!

 

Part of the grandstand from down in the "pits" - our seats were near the top just underneath the skybox.

 

We even got to tour pit road and stand in the pit stalls.  We talked to a few members of the pit crews, and they were very nice and willing to answer all our questions.

 

 

Here's Sam sitting on the pit wall.  In a couple of hours, the pit crews will be leaping over this wall to service the cars during their pit stops.

 

During the opening ceremonies a Brigadier General was there to swear in a group of new military recruits. 
It was a really moving ceremony followed by a prayer, the National Anthem and a fly-over of WWII military planes.

 

Here's one of the planes during the fly-over.

 

 

Tatum Channing and Jonah Hill from the upcoming movie "22 Jump Street" with the command -
DRIVERS - START YOUR ENGINES!

And - they're off and racing !!

Here's the #99 pit crew servicing Carl Edward's car during a pit stop.  Weiler Corporation, where I work, is one of the sponsors for the #99 car thru Fastenal.  Unfortunately, Carl was involved in a wreck near the end of the race - oh well, maybe we'll get 'em next time!

 

And the winner is................Dale Earnhardt Jr.!!!

Here's me at the Fastenal souvenir trailer.  Since Weiler is a sponsor for this car, figured I'd better get one picture!

 

 

 

 

We'll, my last two posts "disappeared" - the gremlins must  be visiting my computer again.  So, I'll try one more time!

Last weekend we went to New Milford, PA and spent the day with Sam's cousins.  They have a team of Haflingers, and we took them out for a run with the old sleigh.  It was a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed the fresh air!

 

We also went to Crystal Cabin Fever - an ice carving demonstration and competition at Sculptured Ice Works.  This company is run by a friend of ours, and he puts this event on every February.  Here is the New York skyline and the Coliseum in ice.  The Coliseum is 2 stories tall !!

 

 Here are a few visitors to my front yard and feeder - they are such a joy to watch when it's snowing and you're stuck in the house!

 

 

 

A little bit of a thaw today - maybe spring is coming!!

 

 

I took last Thursday off from work, and we went to the PA Farm Show in Harrisburg with a group of friends.  We had a wonderful time, but it was a really long day.  We left at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday and got home at 1:30 a.m. Friday morning - then I had to get up at 5:30 to go to work!  Good thing we don't do this too often.

 

 One of my favorite things at the show is seeing all the beautiful quilts. This is the 2014 grand champion.

 

 

Every year the show does a sculpture made entirely of butter.  This year's theme was 60 years of milkshakes at the show. These figures are each about 5 foot tall enclosed in a glass refrigerated room. After the show is over, all the butter is donated to the Penn State Extension Service to use for research on alternative fuels.

 

Saw some beautiful peacocks - their colors are gorgeous!

 

 

 

 Got to see some draft horses showing off their carriage skills - they are awesome animals.

 

 

Here's Sam and his friend Scottie - reminds me of the photo of the two little boys - "been farmin' long"????

 

These little piggies were adorable!

Ended the day with a rodeo - the first one I've ever been to.  This really must've hurt - OUCH!!

 

 Can't wait to go again next year!!!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones! 

 

Does anyone remember Grammy Robinson's old Hoosier cabinet?  It is now in my living room, and serves as a hutch and storage space.  My collection of Santa's and angels love to perch there during the holidays!

 

 

 

I've had this crèche set since I was a little girl.  Most of the straw is missing off the manger now - wonder if I could glue on some hay???
I think the figurines came from Newberry's or Grant's in Springfield.  I hate to bring up inflation, but most of them say 19 and 29 cents on the bottoms!

We had a wonderful "Saturday before Christmas" with my dear cousins from Vershire, VT, my sweetie and my Mom - love you all!

 



 

Wishing everyone safe travels and a very Happy Thanksgiving!