Jube's new "do" and other assorted news

Jubilee had a little spruce up over at the Lucky Paws Resort Salon.  It's a fancy place but the prices are reasonable and she looks good.

Lots of good stuff there - blueberry facials, conditioning massages.  I guess it's a girl thing.  I got a box of cookies that Jubilee is especially fond of.

 This is Jubilee from one side (performing tricks for one of those cookies) ...

 ... and this is the other side.  Nice.  (Her allergy problems are much improved here in PA)

Meanwhile John went to another beer festival at the local hangout, The Mad Mex.  It's definitely a guy thing.
This is the list of beers that he had so that Eric can see it and drool.  (Click on the photo, Eric, so that it will get larger and you can read it.)

Then, somehow I got talked into going back to the Mad Mex for a Pig Taco.  Oh my gosh, that dried out dead pig was so disgusting I'm embarrassed even post it to the blog.  As you can see, John is pretty happy about it all.

volunteering

Today I volunteered.  I'm not really a volunteer-er, but I wanted a way to connect with local people.  So I went with a group from the local Catholic Church to a place called "World Vision".   It was a warehouse up on a hill near Pittsburgh.  For 3 hours we opened boxes of books (donated by the major stores) and sorted them according to language and type, and then re-boxed them and coded the boxes.  It was tedious, robot-like work.  After 3 hours on my feet my back hurt and I wondered whether children in Africa needed books that no one in America wanted to read.  (They were 90% Christian devotional books, none of which interested me.)  But I did feel a lot more connected to the people I volunteered with, and empathy for the people work in factories all day.

somewhat rainy; somewhat cooler

It was a somewhat rainy weekend.  We went to a neighbor's birthday party and hiked around in Knob Hill Park.  John and I both agree that it is about the sweetest little park we've found in all the USA.  Where else can you be virtually alone, walk with your dog unleashed, and feel embraced by wilderness all while not getting off the beaten path?  Plus, as John notes, the shade takes 10 degrees off of a hot summer day.

Wildflowers are still blooming.

 I liked this imprint of Jubilee's paws on the rock.

 Looks like a lot of people are tuning 60 these days.  We were honored to be invited to a neighbor's party.  We're "local" now!

Though it looks like leaves are falling in places, it is more from a mold that is growing on the leaves than cold.  But it is getting a little cooler.  Sometimes it is in the 50s in the morning so that I need a light jacket.

Phipps Conservatory - Pittsburgh

This afternoon we went into Pittsburgh to the Phipps Conservatory - a botanical garden and greenhouse.  It felt and looked a lot like our backyard in Florida!  Many of the plants that were celebrated were things that we had considered nuisances. 

Lovely lavender all around.

 A lot of glass art interspersed with the foliage.

 A beautiful collection of orchids ...

 A butterfly room ...

 Did you know that butterflies drink with their feet?

 This bloom was really strange.  Like Christmas tree lights?

 I need a cheat sheet like this for identifying all the wildflowers I see!

 A Japanese garden ...

 Lots of large bonsai ...

 And some strange scapes ...

 This one looks like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

 Even a desert room.

August

This is how things are looking over in the woods this week.  Late summer.  It's still very green, but there are signs of things winding down.

It's still warm during the day, but cooler in the mornings and evenings.  I think next week the mornings will dip into the low 60s and the highs during the day will be in the 70s.  And then things will start noticeably changing again!

Weekend in KY - Aunt Louise's 97th birthday etc

I didn't take as many photos as I thought I would, probably because the weather was bad during much of the driving (raining) and I was caught up and overwhelmed with all the talking and socializing with my many cousins.

Though we went through a little bit of West Virginia, most of the drive was across the expanses of corn fields in Ohio.  Wildflowers were thick along the highway.

Coming through Cincinnati ...

And crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky ...

 Then the weather turned very dark, and the rain came down in torrents as we made our way through Lexington and into Bardstown.  John did get this photo of part of a horse farm near Keeneland.

 We made it just in time for Aunt Louise's party.  Lots of people there, many of my 44 cousins whom I haven't seen in ages.

 Held at My Old Kentucky Home Country Club, the very same place where John and I had the reception after our wedding way back in 1973.  Same old place.  The food was wonderful Kentucky fare - salad, mashed potatoes, green beans, some kind of gratin casserole, prime rib and pork chops.

 This was our table, John, my cousin Shirley and her husband John, my cousin Mike and his wife Mary Ann.

 Harry Bill said that Jesus might have served 5000 with a few baskets of bread and fish, but he never knew what Kate Hudson could do in a kitchen!  I loved the way he made a point of honoring all the people who were serving us.

 This is what 97 years old and 100 years old looks like!  (Aunt Louis and her friend, Catherine Wycoff in the photo below).  Two Kentucky beauties.

 The next morning we celebrated the 25th anniversary of Harry's ordination.  Which meant going to Mass at the same church where I was baptized, made my First Communion, married, and from which we buried both of my parents and almost all of my other relatives.

 This is a better look at the altar.

I didn't think I recognized anyone, but a lovely woman came up to me after Mass and told me she was my kinfolk, that she was "Aunt Regina's" neice.  Aunt Regina was my mother's stepmother who died in 1963!  Another woman came up to me and asked me, "Do you know who I am?"  She gave me the hint that we had gone to school together for 12 years.  I guessed "Mary?" (Many of the girls in my class were named Mary something) ... But I was wrong :-(.  Her name was Donna S.  I was very charmed that she remembered me and took the initiative to greet me.

From there we went to the Keene cousins' house for another celebration.  This house is about 2 houses away from where I grew up.  Again, pure Kentucky fare - country ham on bisquits, and champagne drinks that crept up on you.

 Aunt Louise with one of her great grandchildren...

 Aunt Louise with cousin Julie and cousin Lucy behind her.

 My sister and I before our old home.  Looks like some trees have been taken down.

 My sister and I and cousin Mary Lou before our old house.

 From Bardstown, we took a little detour to Dayton (the University of Dayton, from which John graduated in 1972) on our drive back to PA.  This is John before the "Alberta Street House" where he lived when I met him in the summer of 1971.

 I remember climbing out this window to the little roof to smoke a cigarette during hot summer nights.

 Me before the dirty deli, a very popular spot in the neighborhood.

 Walking around the campus I became interested in the Marianist roots of this university.  I loved the stained glass in the chapel.

 We stayed in a hotel where we had a view of the Bell tower.

 Had dinner at a fine Thai restaurant...

 The bell tower was where we kissed on the first night that we met.  We kissed there again!