The boys taking a holiday nap on the heated throw.

A miniature manger scene.

Merry Christmas to all. Les deseo a todos una feliz Navidad y un prospero año nuevo. Here is my little tree.

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The beautiful, historic main street in Ridgway, PA.

A civil war era canon in front of the courthouse in Ridgway. PA. I went to a firehall 10 miles from here to get my H1N1 vaccine. It was given at no cost for PA residents.

Susan Boyle on Dancing with the Stars Nov. 10, 2009

Susan Boyle is brilliant singing "I dreamed a Dream" on Dancing with the Stars, Nov, 10, 2009

Lost and found cat

My cat Obie, the stray that has been residing with me for almost three years, got loose last week from my apartment. He was so traumatized that he basically lived under a porch nearby and would not come out except late at night. When I tried to call him, he would run from me. I was heartbroken and worried sick all week; especially since the mercury dropped to freezing and lower on a few nights. I had nightmares of finding him dehydrated and starved to death.

The other night, I said a prayer and went out just as dusk was setting in. I was lucky to spot him under a porch as I got down on my knees to peer into the darkness. I saw his red heart-shaped tag around his neck. He was only 5 to 6 feet away from me. I feared that he would dart out and run from me so I made up my mind to talk to him quietly and calmly; telling him how much he was loved and missed and that he should come home. I even brought his favorite can of food with me and opened it.

After about 20 minutes, he came to me on his own; not for the food, but to be with me. I picked him up and carried him lovingly and grateful to God that he was delivered safely to me.

Since then, he has changed. He is around me all the time and much more loving and needing of physical contact.

Losing a pet for any reason is like losing a family member and is very painful!
I'm glad Obie is back home, safe and sound.

Bobby in his homemade costume as the wicked witch.

My sister and I had fish and chips at a new restaurant. Very good fish indeed. Indoors, there was a large aquarium with huge varieties of fish in it. We had haddock, although they had cod and many other varieties including clam strips, raw clams, oysters and other seafood. Fish and chips with a nice, generous portion of chips, served with malt vinegar, came to abouu $5! Not bad at all! The only negative aspect was there was no washroom if one needed it. Maybe that will be forthcoming. The restaurant is virtually take-out, but one can eat inside if one insists. There are tables, but they are basically for one to wait for the order.

This is a unique shop! It is a cupcake bakery where any type of cupcake can be found. You can have them custom made as well.

One of Friewdrich Olmstead's parks in the Elmwood Village. This park is on Bidwell Parkway.

One of my favorite cafe in the Elmwood Village in Buffalo.

One of the renovated buildings with shops in the Elmwood Village in Buffalo, NY.

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The boys are enjoying the view out trhe door on trhis Indian summer day in late October.

An old house in Nile , NY with an old tin roof.

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St. Andrew Episcopal Church and rectory in Friendship, NY. I hope to attend at 9 a.m.

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We are in Cuba, NY at a camp for the weekend. Here is the town of Friendship, noted for its dairy products. We went to a local cemetery to get some tombstone rubbings from this 150 year old landmark.

The boys now sleep together when they are not in bed with me. Oscar, the younger one, adjusted immediately to the household.

We got a second, used car: A Toyota Rav 4, year 2000 in excellent shape. With the winters in the area, we will be using the 4-wheel drive quite a lot!

The two boys love the new screen door. They love to gawk at passerbyers. It,s amazing how well the two get along. I made a great choice and gave a congenial stray a home.

Pooch Saves Boy Lost in Wilderness

Pooch Saves Boy Lost in Wilderness

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helping out an old friend and a sweet reunion

I shed a tear today, but for a good reason. An old friend of mine whom I've known since I was 17, who is originally from Toronto, but ended up in Pittsburgh, PA; where I also lived for many years, needed to see her father who is near 90 and failing. I haven't seen him since I was 17. Now I am 54! Imagine!

My friend does not drive so I got on the Internet, found out a schedule for greyhound and opened up my home in Niagara Falls for her to stay. As my partner was in the Falls for a few days, he drove her over to St. Catharines, Ontario to visit her dad. It might be the last time she sees him as she doesn't get to do so too often. She works two jobs!

After 35 years, I saw the two together, which brought a tear to my eyes.

Getting back to Pittsburgh was no easy task for my friend. There were no busses to Pittsburgh from Buffalo in the afternoon and she could not miss work the next day: capitalism for you! I got on the computer from Warren, Pa, where I am, and called her in Pittsburgh to tell her that she could get to Pittsburgh in the afternoon via Cleveland. The trip would get her home in 5.5 hours.

Well. she visited her father , thanks to Robert who drove her from Niagara Falls, and was able to make the afternoon bus in Buffalo to go home. The picture says it all.

I helped a dear friend and reunited a father and daughter maybe for the last time! God only knows!

By the way, Robert sent me the picture on his cellphone to Warren, where I sent it to my e-mail to post it to the blog! Technology isn't all bad!

The two boys junped up on the window sill for a look at the outside. It made a cute shot.

The two cats Obie and Oscar are getting along fantastically. They chase each other, clean each other and are virtually inseparable. Here they are looking out of the new screen door. Oscar, the one on the right, sleeps with me every night.

I learned something new today about a "Inukshuk". It is used by the Inuit people of Canada as markers to show where Inuit people lived or where other important hunting or other sites are.
It is in the shape of a person.

Click here to see a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQ97rOwBH0

We finally took in our cute little stray who has been coming to see us everyday and hanging around. He would greet us in the morning with a meeow and also at night. With no apparent collar nor with any neighbor who seemed to want him, we finally took him in for good when we found out that he had been sleeping on a neighbor's porch. His personality won us over. We named him Oscar. Now we have Obie and Oscar.

A gloomy evening with a modern building in the foreground and the turn of the century towers of the State Hospital in the background.

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We went to Olcott Beach on Lake Ontario for the afternoon, but the beaches were ordered closed by Niagara County due to recent rains and high bacteria count. The area has some cute boardwalk shops and lovely parks. There is a historic carousel as well.

As I was sitting on the porch enjoying the fresh air, my little feline visitor who comes to see me everyda y showed up, jumped up on my lap and took a nap. It's the first time he has done this. He is a very personable cat. If he does have a home, shame on the owners for not giving him a collar. He could get injured and no one would know whom to call.

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Today, we went to Chapman State Park for a dip in the lake. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has sunk millions of dollars into the park with new shelters and camping facilities. The last few days have been horribly humid and hot. We are supposed to have relief in a day or so.

Lilydale, NY

After going to Lucille Ball's grave, we went back to Lilydale, the largest Spiritualistic community in the world. It is situated in Cassadaga, NY on Cassadaga Lake. We had lunch at the Pagoda and then walked the Victorian streets to the wooded area to the Pet Cemetary: no relation to the novel!

Lucille Ball's grave

My sister Mary came down to stay with us from Niagara Falls. We traveled through Jamestown and stopped at Lucille Ball's grave in Lake View Cemetary. If you look carefully at the bottom of the picture, someone placed a little red-headed doll at the base of the tombstone.

Today I decided to do all my remaining laundry by hand and hang it up like most of the world still does. It is such a basic human need and made me feel quite good that I did not have to rely on a machine. I used my Mexican bar of soap "Zote" and a washboard from Mexico. In about a half an hour, I finished a whole load and hung it up. Now I know how the Amish feel!

This is a view of swollen Conewango Creek. There has been so much rain that the little islands you see in the picture have been swollowed up completely.

We left today from Warren to in back to Niagara Falls. We passed through an Amish area en route. Finally the weather is wonderful.We have had nothing but rain every other day all Summer.

This is one of the neighborhood cats we aren't sure has a home or not. I just gave him catnip. He rolled around a lot and meowed. I caught a euphoric meow.

This is a picture of Fourth Avenue in Warren. A thunderhead passed by us earlier this afternoon. I borrowed an old bicycle with only one gear and took a three mile spin. Other than that, just a lazy day.

Our two feline visitors have returned. We are not sure if they are strays or not. We are going to keep an eye on them. It is irresponsible of them not to have collars. They could be injured or get lost. My cat Obie is happy at home and we always know where he is.

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We went to Dunkirk yesterday afternoon after Robert went to the emergency room with heart attack symptoms. After five hours and extensive tests, we found out he has some acid reflux problems. We took a little trip to celebrate not having a more serious issue.

After yesterday's heat and humidity, it got quite cooler. All next week will be in the low 70's with nights in the 50's. Our humble 2.5 room apartment is cozy enough. We painted and found some bric a brac to decorate it from second-hand stores and yard sales. It isn't like our home in Niagara Falls, but it is our second home. Our garden is coming along nicely with the marigold border in the front. We left our cat Obie in Niagara Falls for a few days while we are here in Warren, but are going to go get him tonight. We cannot leave him alone, even though he has friends and family looking in on him. He is too much a part of us. We note the absence with sadness.

Just a lazy day on the porch on a breezy, cool day in Niagara Falls.

Just a lazy afternoon. I got out the hose and squirted off the porch to clean it to get ready for painting it. Today, it hit about 80 degrees with moderate humidity. It is just lovely! This is the view I have from the porch while relaxing on my wicker armchair.