Sunday May 12th through Saturday May 18th, 2024

 Church was very good this morning.                              Pastor Craig with his mother.

Every mother was given a small gift (a book of devotions) as we left the sanctuary. 
  After church, I met up with Peggy and David at HONG KONG BUFFET for lunch, which was also very good.  Then I went to TOPS to get some PURE LEAF ICED TEA.  I relaxed for most of the rest of the day.  There is a new interview of Ayaan Hirsi Ali done by Ben Shapiro and I put it on TV, and fell asleep to it.  Jan called and woke me up.  She was given two old postcards in a picture frame (for Mothers Day) and when she took them out, she found that they were addressed to FRED NIETHE.  That must be my paternal grandfather.  She is going to show them to me tomorrow.  

Megan called to wish me a Happy Mothers Day and we talked for a bit.  

MONDAY:  Ben and I talked a bit this morning and agreed on an amount they will give me to cover their use of the household utilities for the time they stayed here.  They will be here about one more week and then will move into their new house.  A technician from DRUM OIL came and checked out my new air conditioning unit.  I met up with Jan at the Y and we walked and talked.  She gave me two postcards that she was given as a Mother's Day gift.  One was written by my grandmother Niethe, she sent it to my grandfather a year before they got married in 1921.  The other is a card that my grandfather's brother sent him.  This is the card from Margaret to Fred (my paternal grandparents).

Leslie called in the evening and we talked for about a half an hour.  Her trip went well even though it did not out for her to see her brother.  

TUESDAY the 14th:

Life Group was good.  I declined going out to lunch with the others who wanted to go because my stomach seemed a little bit "off".  But as soon as I left the church and headed to TOPS (to get some iced tea), I felt better.  I purchased a frozen vegetable pizza to have at home for lunch.  I had a nice nap and made a potato salad and cut up some mini cucumbers to make pickles.  Ben and Susan were packing up to move into their new house and he gave me two hundred dollars towards the utilities.  

Lori arrived here about six thirty p.m. and I drove us to the high school in Newfane for CABARET. 

The show was pretty much a disaster in my opinion because the piano player (who must be the advisor for the Drama Club played so loud that the singers could not be heard.

   But the last three numbers were better because the guys had voices that carried.  

WEDNESDAY the 15th:  I met up with Jan at the Y at 11:30 a.m. and we walked about 35 minutes in two shifts.  We ran into Lynette and she sat and visited with us for a while.  The owners of THE CHECKERED POPPY are on vacation and she and her daughter Laura and someone else are helping to keep the store open.  Before going home, I took two bags of clothing to the GOOD WILL store and  I stopped at the library and looked at the last couple of days newspapers and picked up a book I had requested.  When I got home, Susan and Jacob were here finishing up getting their stuff and cleaning the upstairs apartment.  Susan was getting ready to go to the laundromat, so I offered to take care of the sheets and towels that they had used that go with the apartment.  So, I did that while she was at the laundromat.  When she returned, they got the dog, who was in a crate upstairs.  Susan and I talked for about 45 minutes before she left.  She told me that she has found a job, a five-minute drive from their new house, three days a week and she will start early next week.  In the evening, I worked on putting clean laundry away, it had been piling up on the bed in Carrie's bedroom.   My plans for tomorrow were to go to the Senior Social at the Y, but Michaeline called and now Jan and I are going to go with her to the Lilac Festival in Rochester.

THURSDAY the 16th:  I picked Jan up and we went to BASIL TOYOTA where I dropped my car off.  A couple of minutes later Michaeline picked us up.  We headed to Rochester, using directions that Michaelene had gotten off of the internet.  Earlier I had checked out information about parking and since there was a handicapped parking lot available, I had asked Jan to bring her handicapped parking tag.  It worked great, since we were able to park very close to the entrance.  There was nobody available that we could pay for parking, so we didn't have to.  We walked around the area with the lilacs, but saw lots of other flowers and flowering bushes. 

When we had finished and returned to the area with the food trucks and a few other vendors, we decided to have lunch.  We all purchased lunch from NANCY'S.  I had a chicken GYRO, which was absolutely delicious!   The chicken was grilled while I watched and I was able to order exactly which ingredients I wanted on my gyro.  

We shared a picnic table with these young ladies from Rochester and enjoyed talking with them. 

I cannot remember their names.  We headed back to where we were parked only stopping so Jan could buy some lilac scented lotion.  We had directions back to Lockport but messed up right away and had to stop twice to ask for help.  The people we asked were SO friendly and helpful and we found our way to 31 which took us back to Lockport.  Michaelene dropped Jan and I off at BASIL TOYOTA and my car was ready to go!  When I got home, I found a podcast to listen to, and laid down on the couch where I fell asleep.  Peggy called and told me that yesterday morning she took David to the ER when he had severe stomach pains.  He thought he might be having a heart attack, but he wasn't. Also, she has been chatting with Christa online, or maybe via text and Christa got mad when Peggy deleted some of her comments that she felt were disrespectful.  I spent the evening relaxing in front of TV.  

FRIDAY the 17th:  I met with Scott Ode at NorthWest Bank regarding moving money from SYMETRA to a higher yield product and then I met up with Jan at the Y and we walked for over a half an hour.  After that I went to DOLLAR TREE to get an anniversary card for Meg and Chris, and then to Aldi's where I purchased a few items.  I went to SUBWAY to use a coupon for a sub, but they were out of both tuna and lettuce, so I didn't get a sub, even though it was half made.  I had lunch at home.  Then I took a nap.  When I got up, I found out that my landline phone was not working.  I spent some time on the phone with a Spectrum rep. but it did not help.  A technician will come tomorrow between three and four p.m..  I am really worried about Christa.  She is experiencing a high level of anxiety/panic due to a long conversation with Peggy via text.  

SATURDAY the 18th:  Lori arrived at about ten forty-five and I drove us out to the FORSYTH TAVERN for an event called THE BELTANE FESTIVAL at FORSYTH'S TAVERN.  We arrived at eleven a.m. the time we thought it started Vendors were setting up.  After I parked and we were walking towards the tavern, a man asked us if we were vendors.  We said that we were not, that we were visitors.  He told us that originally the event was set to start at eleven a.m. but due to a problem with a food truck, they had to move it to noon.   We had a good time.  We each bought tickets for the basket raffle.  We did a self-guided tour of the tavern, and I took a lot of pictures.  We thought about buying lunch from the food truck, but the prices were high.  So, we decided to go to REID's for lunch.  Then we returned to my house where Lori changed into her work clothes before going to work.  After she left I made a four-bean salad and then I laid down on the couch and I think I dozed off for a few minutes.  The tech from Spectrum arrived a little after three thirty p.m around and spent about forty-five minutes figuring out and fixing my phone problem.  I had planned to prepare chicken and biscuits for my supper, but I decided to make some chicken nuggets instead.  I dipped them in sweet chili sauce, then into a coating of crunchy onions, bread crumbs and seasoning.  They were delicious.  

Here are a few pictures from the Beltane Festival.  

                                                                      The Tavern

                                      I love this stone wall and the steps that are behind the tavern.

The cemetery behind the barn.

Inside the tavern.

                                                         Outbuilding on the property.

I called Erica/Joan and left her a message that I cannot meet up with her tomorrow at the Apple Blossom Festival.  I have been to it a few times and I just do not feel like going.  She called back and she wants to work on my flowerbeds tomorrow afternoon, around four p.m., after she is done at the festival.  Also, she wants to do Lori's flowerbeds.  I passed Erica's phone number on to Lori.  Lori posted on FB that she got a stomach ache after eating a hot dog at Reids.