SATURDAY

It has been a week since I last written.   I have been so busy at work.    We have a unending supply of people who need surgery.   The newest part is the cath lab and  EP STUDIES     We are doing open heart now we can to cardiac cath and studies associated with them.   Note, if you need a cardiac catherization be sure to go to a hospital that is able to do cardiac surgery.   If an emergency occurs they can take you directly to the OR, the alternative is to get a helicopter and take you to a center that does.   

I am looking forward to decreasing my days.   We have a few things that need done around the house we would like to do before retirement.   The first was a privacy fence between our house and the one next door.   The people next door have two  yappy dogs that would aggressively come under the split rail fence and try to chase whom ever was walking by.   They were on leashes and would be able to come about three feet in to my yard.    The fence is in place and now they can not do it.  The thing that was irksome was the owners knew about and chose not to do anything.  Guess they did not see it as a problem as the potential dog bite victims.  The fence is up and looks good.   Next we want to have the brick wall replaced along the drive way and some other concrete work.   Redoing the bath and some other things along the same  lines. 

Thursday was a bummer at our house.   We both leave about 05:15 in the morning.   I was just pulling into the hospital and I get a phone call, that is not good news in itself.  It was Chuck, seems he was just getting on the interstate when he heard a loud bang in the engine and a sudden absence of power.   The Corvette had died.   He was able to pull over in the work area and get off the interstate.

His phone call consisted of needing the phone number and member ID of the AAA.   Second phone call 4 minutes later, “What is my phone number?”  I actually laughed at that request.

A few hours the car had been towed to the local Chevrolet dealer and the consensus of opinion was the engine died.   Well, he really had that figured out with in the first five minutes of the trouble.

Chevrolet wanted 10K for a new engine and Chuck question how much more would they need as they add on the costs.   Chuck searched for engines, and one can be had for 5K to 6K.   This would take months for him to install it.   The car repair shops estimate how long it will take to do a job and charge accordingly.   If they estimate the job will take 5 hours and only takes 2, you are billed for 5.   they also bill for the time to do things twice.  For example is you need new brakes and when they get them off you do additional work in the break area they will charge for taking off the brakes twice.   Sounds like double dipping to me.  

So the continuation of the story, a fellow I work with recommended a local engine rebuilder.   Chuck had the car towed to the engine rebuilder and the saga will be continued with in the next month.    The rebuilders cost was about 5K but he is going to rebuild the engine and that included labor too.    TO BE CONTINUED……….

Felt like flowers today…..I am waiting for the Fall Slower Show, but that will be in a few months.   Although August starts in a week.   The weather here in Pittsburgh PA had been one of the coolest ones I can remember.   Usually the AC is on, but the usage has been low.

 

Sunday, Sunday

This has been a very mundane Sunday. I spent most of the day searching for dead people, my ancestors of course......

I was able to find the baptismal certificate for my great grandfather Thomas and one for my great grandmother Ellen. I had it narrowed down because they were the only ones born in the particular year for their counties, not only child born but rather with their names.

Just two more to go and they eternally back farther....

I was the only person to comment on Emilys blog, but, she did have 65 hits on her profile. A lot of somebodies are looking, guess she has to write more in the blog.

Remembering

I just have received a alert from the New York Times that Walter Cronkite had died. Did you ever feel like a bit of history or your childhood is gone? What do I remember most about him??? I remember when I was in school in 1963 and President Kennedy had been assassinated.....he was giving the report and had tear and his speech was broken.......I hope I never hear or see such an event as the assassination of a President again in my life time. It was heart wrenching and unbelievable at the same time.


The kid has started a blog. Please visit and comment, she likes getting "mail."

See the link on "My Blog List."

http://wakeupem.blogspot.com/

STILL WAITING

I had to check back with my Blog to see when I had sent for my obits.   It was June 27, and today is July 16, so I am getting impatient.   This is nothing new because I expect instant gratification.  

Today I was on the Irish Family History Site and got two records.   One was for my great grandfather Thomas Dowd.    I knew his birthday to be 14 March 1860.  Since Thomas was the only one born (with that name) in County Mayo in 1860 this is a pretty sure bet.  It has listed the address as Rathbane and Parish/District as Backs/Knockmore…   It is a church Baptism record and the date was 24 April, 1860 and his parents are Thomas Dowd (no surprise there) and Cate Sweeney.  The two sponsors are  Andrew Dowd and Cate Dowd.   MY THEORY is that Andrew is my gggrandfathers brother, but is Cate Andrew’s wife or sister.   Do not have a theory on that yet.    With the Baptism date about one month after the birth I feel that this is the RIGHT family, so another generation added to my list.

I had found a listing for Ellen Mortel (Mortell) she was the only one for the year 1851 in County Limerick, the Baptism was 7 April 1851.   Ellen had listed 1852 as the year of her birth, but Patrick (as listed on her death certificate in PA) is listed as her father.   Joanna Condon is listed as her mother.   Address is unknown but Parish/District is Effin/Garrenderk.   Now  I had posted a few weeks ago about a Patrick Mortel with Ellen as a newborn in England’s 1851 census, with Patrick as father and Mary Mortel as mother.   Is Joanne and Mary the same person???   Is the 1851 English census accurate??? Are they my people?

Each answer begets another list of questions………

I ran a search on Patrick O’Rourke and Bridget Naughton but there were too many to determine.   I know the names of both sets of parents, what I need is a Reverse Search Option.  Where I can put in the names of the parents to find out information.

 

END OF TRIP DIALOGUE.

Our trip home was on Thursday……… The trip down was hampered by rainstorms, accidents (not mine) and fog enshrouded mountains. Knowing that there was a better way to go home I studied the maps and decided to go north on NC State Route 18, it was wonderful, winding two lane country roads and it took about 30 minutes, then another 20 minutes on SR NC 421 which attached to I77. This saved about 1 1/2 to 2 hours off my trip. The weather was perfect and roads were dry, we actually drove with the sun roof open during the morning.

While heading north we saw a sign for a Farmers Market so we stopped to stretch our legs and do a little shopping. We bought spices and fresh fruit and veggies. I like to stop about every 2 hours just to stir up the circulation and prevent blood clots.

Mountains on the drive up RT 18.

The rest of the trip was up I 77 thru Virginia, West Virginia, and then in Beckley we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel and then on to the infamous Rt 19 in WV. A few towns along that road have a main income provided by speeding tickets. SOOOOOOOO, if you EVER go on that road, set your cruise control and WATCH the speed limit signs.

The main attraction is the New River, which ironically is one of the oldest rivers in the world. It flow north and the New River Gorge National Park is a wonder to behold. The first introduction is the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette WV.

New River Gorge below, popular with white rafters.

To get an idea of it size and length of the span, you will have to check out the links and it is awesome. The pictures on the links must have been taken from the gorge below, I could not get anything close to what has already been taken.

If you are into thrills and perhaps having a death wish Bridge Day October 17, 2009 may be of interest. This is where dare devils will bungee and base diving will jump off the bridge. Personally, I would not do it even if someone paid me a million dollars.

Near the upper end of Rt 19 is a scenic overlook.

You can see how the mountains were moved to make the road 4 lane about 15 years ago.

We then got on I 79 and saw an interesting sign near Weston WV Weston Asylum Tours. Thought we would come back and make it a day trip. This Mental Hospital just closed in 1994. It is a two hour drive from Pittsburgh, I think the kid and I will go.

Addendum: I found out that there is no longer bungee jumping from the New River Bridge since someone got killed a few years ago.

ASHEVILLE NC

A trip to Ashville, North Carolina was on the agenda for Wednesday. It is about an hour and a half drive from Lenoir. The weather forecast said it was to be sunny and high of 92 F. Well, it really was overcast and the temp was in the high 60’s. When I had visited Asheville a few years ago my friend Ruth and I had visited The Biltmore. It is the largest house in America and was owned by the Vanderbilt Family. It is truly amazing and worth the stop if you happen to go that way, but you will need at least a day to explore. There are also Other things to do while you are there.

The Biltmore has its own winery and they wines are excellent. You can buy them at the winery on the estate or in the gift shop which is outside the attraction. You need not pay for the tour to buy the wine. You can buy a case and have it shipped home or order it on line, EXCEPT for the antiquated laws in PA. To buy wine it has to be shipped to the Wine and Spirits monopoly and then you come and get it and pay the outrageous tax that has been levied on your purchase. PA had the second strictest laws governing liquor sales with only Utah being first. It is time to give it up, but the governing body in PA does not want to lose control. The shop outside The Biltmore. They also had the usual things for sale as well as salad dressings, and condiments for cheese dips etc.

Entrance to The Biltmore Estate.

Gargoyles for sale, if you would want that sort of decoration.

After our brief stop we went into the City of Asheville. We found a garage near the shopping district. To my amazement the parking for all day was $4.00, if any one comes to Pittsburgh the all day parking will cost you about $20.00, if not higher. Instead of controlling cost the powers that be in the City of Pittsburgh raise taxes,the city if fraught with nepotism and they would not consider laying off some relative .

Back to the story. There are many shops and by now it had started to drizzle. After Mondays soaker and all of us getting wet I had brought two umbrellas. One of the first stops was the Woolworth Walk which was formerly a Woolworth 5 & 10 store. (now how many remember what the 5 & 10 cent store is ????) There are vendors of local artist who display and sell their wares. I bought some dark blue pottery pieces, one being a pie plate and the other a covered casserole bowl. The pottery pieces now made ca be used for baking. The only requirement is to place them in a cold oven and at 10 to 15 minutes to the cooking time.

We found a candy store where they made the delicacies right before your eyes. The The Chocolate Fetish was worth every calorie and they ship to all 50 states. I only bought one but I could have eaten one pound.

After all that shopping, it can be quite exhausting, I asked one of the women at the Woolworth Walk where was a good place nearby to eat. She had suggested The Tupelo Honey Cafe. The food was outstanding and I had the best Black Bean Burger ever made. I had to pass out samples to my daughter and friends and they all agreed. Emily had ordered a cup of soup and a grilled cheese said she wished she had ordered it too. So, being the nice mom, I swapped half of my burger for half of her grilled cheese. I WISH I HAD THAT RECIPEE.

In some of the shops I felt like a time traveler to the 1970’s, it is really true that what ever goes around comes around again. Silk scarves of many colors.

The last shop of the day was The Grove Arcade which was the precursor to the shopping malls of today. I was fascinate by the architecture of the steps as shown below.

The really last stop of the day was for Tapas and Sangria at Zambras. There are no tapas bars in Pittsburgh that I know of, Zambras sold tapas and only paellas were the main dish. The pitcher of sangria was spiced with the flavors of cloves. This restaurant was next to the parking garage and then homeward bound were we.

Tuesdays Adventure

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny.   Our schedule was to revisit Lenoir because of the closed stores on Monday.   We went to a knitting store Chix With Stix  Emily bought some yarn and I bought some so Emily can make me a hat.   Hats and scarves generally take one skein each.   It need not be done till it is cold.   We perused also books stores and some antique stores and a few galleries.   

Then lunch at a delicious, an inexpensive Mexican Restaurant and then on to meet Jane, a friend and coworker of Sarah’s.  We went for a short drive and found quite a interesting place.   The shop it self was in a large metal building.   This was a no frills place but inside it was filled to the brims with antiques stored as collections.   We spent a long time there, Jane was looking for old metallic tins that she used in making jewelry.

She sells her jewelry at Etsy and a boutique in Richmond.    Jane said right now it is fun and she doesn’t want it to become work.

Things for sale.

Emily found pillows, I bought candle sticks, and Jane found more tins.   I

think someone found something to buy.

Our last stop of the day was for ice cream at Udderly delicious.  It was the best I have tasted in quite awhile.

I especially like the planters:

After the ice cream it was enough for the day.

North Carolina Trip

After the goat farm we went to look at the town of Lenoir to do a little shopping and have lunch.

We had to wait till Sarah got home and take a shower after goat tending duties.  There are a number of shops and we had sandwiches at F Futs, while is inside of Hog Wallers Outfitters.  In addition to the outfitters and restaurant they also sell antiques which were reasonable priced.

 

While we were eating the overcast sky became a full fledged storm and we had to wait till the rain ended.   We perused the stores and to my amazement most of them were closed Sunday and Monday.  We had planned a hike but did not go due to the rain.  It was raining to hard to take pictures. 

With the hike cancelled we decided to go to Boone, North Carolina  this is where Sarah taught and her husband James attends grad school at Appalachian State University.  The trip up the mountain was interesting.   It is a two lane mountain road that at one time had passing lanes so the cars could move ahead of the trucks.   But in the past 10 to 15 years it was decided to make the road four lane.  (What were they thinking???   Two companies have gone bankrupt and the passing lanes have disappeared. 

They had to destroy mountains of granite, you could see the stone and it is very dark black, and used the parts of ruble to fill in gaps to make the road.   No one knows if it will ever get finished.   On top of the mountain was very scenic, due to the rain I did not take any photos.  At the end of the road trip was dinner and sleep

 

 

 

Free range chickens at the goat farm.   The eggs are also sold there.

Mondays Adventure to the Goat Farm

 

On Monday we got up early and a trip to the goat farm was planned.    The farm in on a meandering old two lane country road.   It is located in a small valley between two mountains. 

The first stop was the milking parlor.

Each goat needs to be milked two times a day.   A box with their food is placed between the bars and the head is held in place.   Then the udder is cleaned with an antiseptic wipe and the teats are cleaned with Betadine.  A quick squeeze to clear the ducts and then the suction apparatus is attached.

 

The suctioning is very quick an the udder is emptied in a matter of a few minutes.   The goat is then released to do their goaty business.   The goat herd is about twenty nine females and a few billy goats. The billy goats are separated from the  and look longingly at the females with a lusty interest. There are also the kids that were born in the spring and are now adolescents.   The females will be old enough to be bred in the fall.  The males are neutered at about five weeks of age and sold for meat this will happen when they weigh about seventy five pounds.

Records are kept about who had mated with whom to prevent any in breeding and prevent genetic mishap.

 Faulkner the goat admiring the ladies.  Goats do not have upper teeth and their pupils are rectangular which will give them a panoramic vision as opposed to our central vision.  They will be able to see an enemy coming.

The goats are well treated and the farm is very clean.   The milk is then collected and put in a pasteurizer and then collected in cloth bags to drain the liquid.  After it is then made into cheese.   The cheese is feta, and a type camembert to brea, and cheve which is a creamy cheese with the consistency to cream cheese.   The ones I purchased were dill and basil with sun dried tomatoes.  

The farm is Ripshin Goat Dairy.   Unfortunately they do not have internet sales but the farm is spotless and the cheese is excellent.

This is Fritz the farm dog, he is a Great Pyrenees and his job is protector of the goats.   He guards the herd and is on alert for predators such as coyotes.  He goes into the pasture with them and sleeps in the barn with the goats.

DRIVE TO NC

When I went to the AAA on Thursday I questioned the lady about how long the drive would take.    About 6 hours was the reply……well, let me say that the drive morphed into a ten hour trip..

We left at 7 am and then we stopped for breakfast, then it was alternately raining, drizzling and then dry.    The windshield wipers had been streaking and were replaced on Saturday.    I must admit the worked extremely well and it was like a clear slate.

We had a few other stops, one for Tylenol, one for gas and one for lunch.   About in Wytheville VA my friend called and wanted to know what was our progress,  then after consultation we were informed that we still had about three hours to go… ARGGGGHHHHH.

After lunch we continued southward and we had come upon a few fender benders which tied up traffic for a while and then in a section down some mountain which I have no idea what its name is it was completely enshrouded in fog.   The traffic this time was going about ten MPH.

So, after leaving at six we arrived about five in the afternoon.  The county side is so beautiful with the mountains.   I hope to take some more pictures tomorrow.

Wytheville VA with the clouds enveloping the mountains.

 

EARLY MORNING THOUGHT

Facts for the 4th of July from the US Census Bureau.

 

Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

- Benjamin Franklin

 

A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it all away.

 

Thomas Jefferson.

OFF TODAY

An advantage to working in an Operating Room is that most people do not want to have surgery close to a holiday.   The ones that do usually have an issue like  1) insurance running out, 2) did not want to take days off from work so they can recoup during the three day holiday weekend, 3) to irk their relatives so their holiday is ruined (Honestly I have seen that) and 4)  want to take time off because they couldn't get summer vacation or wanted more time off.  I have thought about that one myself.  I have about 121 hours of sick time but I have to get sick to use it and it will be lost when I retire.

So, due to the light schedule I am off today and do not have to go back to work until July 13.   Emily and I have a bit of things to do.   Tomorrow is a party at my friend and former co worker Pauline's.    She has a house that overlooks the Allegheny River and it is a Million Dollar View.   I have to make something to take everyone brings a covered dish.    I have noted that when ever you have a covered dish party you get such a wide variety of foods and rarely the same thing twice.    Do not know what it will be yet.

Saturday is the 4th July Concert of the  Johnstown Symphony.    Rehearsal is tonight and the part I like is the weather should be great, no rain and in the 70's.    The exciting part is the 1812 Overture where the cannon blasts with the music and fireworks.  

Then on Sunday she and I travel to visit my good friend Ruth in NC.    Pictures to follow.  I think she said we will go to the goat farm where her daughter works.    I guess the important thing to remember is not to bend over.

Chuck will stay behind at the Cat Ranch when next week he will be come the cats BFF.  (Best Friend Forever)  He will take over my job as the food and litter box person.   WOW, what an honor for him.