Hi,
On March 22, we said good bye to Joan and Tom in Linesville(difficult to leave them as they always make us feel so at home with them) and headed to Andrews Air Force Base to begin our adventure with George and Pat to Europe. We had great billeting at Andrews Air Force Base. On the 23rd March, we took George's car to the long term parking at the military terminal where we parked it for the 3 months we will be traveling. We took a cab to Washington-Dulles Airport.
We left Washington Dulles on Wednesday evening and arrived at Heathrow in London Thursday morning about 7 AM. British Air is a great airline to travel on. It took us about an hour to go through and have our pass ports checked and then on to pick up our car. Pat and George and Tom and I settled into our car and all the luggage fit in the trunk for our trip to Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds about 2 hours or so from London.
It was decided that Tom would drive while here in Great Britian and Ireland as he makes driving on the "wrong side" (by American Standards) look easy!
We arrived at "Kate's Cottage" here in Stow to find the lovely little cottage that we had rented to call home for the next two weeks. We got settled and walked just down the street to the square and had a look about. Had a lovely lunch at a little cafe and did some grocery shopping. We decided that would have an early evening as all did not sleep on the plane.
Friday, we took a ride to Burton on the Water and Burford. It was a perfect sunny day to walk around Burton on the Water. There were lots of families having picnics at the park and milling around. We then spent time at St. Michael's Anglican Church in Burton that was built in 1721 and had fish and chips before we headed back to our cottage. Saturday, we slept in again and then went to Bristol as George was having some issues with his I PAD. Today it was pouring rain all day.
We drove down to BATH......since it it holiday here too....many people and cars... We spent about 30+ minutes trying to get in and out of a car park so decided we would come back to BATH during the week.......
I have put a first load of wash in the WASHER/DRYER here in the cottage....will see how that goes.
We are to have rainy weather the next week but we brought our raincoats and are with our dear friends so what could be better.
I still need to figure out how to add pictures.....
A JOURNEY IS BEST MEASURED IN FRIENDS , RATHER THAN MILES~~Tim Cahill
We are keeping you all in our daily thoughts and prayers as we travel. Please keep up in prayer and good thoughts for safe travels for us and those who pass us by.
Love and Hugs,
God Bless
Tom and Maryann
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
17 March 2016. Happy St. Patrick's Day
We arrived safely in Linesville to spend time with Joan and Tom before we leave for Europe. As always we were treated with Hugs and Loves. Tom and Joan are in the process of moving to their new home near Bellefonte, PA. We have been able to help them a little with packing for the move.
We drove up to Bellefonte to see the NEW HOME and leave our Lexus there while we are in Europe. Their new home is just beautiful in a nice little neighborhood just outside of Bellefonte.
Tom is feeling much better and with the use of the antibiotics, prednisone and inhalers lungs are clear again. Maryann's stomach still not back to normal but seems a little better every day. Still has nausea and body aches but that also is somewhat better. Just needs to get strength back now. All the test and scans etc. have been normal so just have to be patient....and hopefully "tincture of time" will help.
Of course the days are cooler here...so winter coats for Maryann.
Pat and George, our dear friends who will join us on our adventure in Europe will be here on Sunday. They arrived in Ohio to spend time with family and will be here in Linesville on Sunday. We will leave here and go to Andrews Air Force Base on the 22 March to spend the night before we fly to Heathrow in London , England on the evening of. 23 March. First stop will be 2 weeks in the Cotswalds countryside west of London.
Of course we miss all our Tucson Family....especially our grand girls. We talk to them frequently and thanks to FaceTime and Skype will be able to see their beautiful faces and expressions!
We will keep you all in our thoughts and daily prayers as we look forward to our new adventure.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers too for safe travels.
"WE TRAVEL NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE, BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE US..."
Hugs and Loves,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann.
We drove up to Bellefonte to see the NEW HOME and leave our Lexus there while we are in Europe. Their new home is just beautiful in a nice little neighborhood just outside of Bellefonte.
Tom is feeling much better and with the use of the antibiotics, prednisone and inhalers lungs are clear again. Maryann's stomach still not back to normal but seems a little better every day. Still has nausea and body aches but that also is somewhat better. Just needs to get strength back now. All the test and scans etc. have been normal so just have to be patient....and hopefully "tincture of time" will help.
Of course the days are cooler here...so winter coats for Maryann.
Pat and George, our dear friends who will join us on our adventure in Europe will be here on Sunday. They arrived in Ohio to spend time with family and will be here in Linesville on Sunday. We will leave here and go to Andrews Air Force Base on the 22 March to spend the night before we fly to Heathrow in London , England on the evening of. 23 March. First stop will be 2 weeks in the Cotswalds countryside west of London.
Of course we miss all our Tucson Family....especially our grand girls. We talk to them frequently and thanks to FaceTime and Skype will be able to see their beautiful faces and expressions!
We will keep you all in our thoughts and daily prayers as we look forward to our new adventure.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers too for safe travels.
"WE TRAVEL NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE, BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE US..."
Hugs and Loves,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
7 March 2016 On the road again
Here we are "on the road again". We left home on 7 March heading to Pennsylvania to meet up with George and Pat Cannode for our travel adventures to Europe. Always difficult saying good bye to our Tucson Family. Yesterday we arrived in Springdale Arkansas to go out and about with Tom's Aunt Marilyn and Aunt Lois who we love so much and always have so much fun with them. It was even nice to see cousin Steven. When we got back to the hotel, Tom fell asleep on the chair and then started coughing and had some shortness of breath and had a fever. So we headed to the ER and were seen right away. The symptoms had just started so quickly..they tested him for flu and sure enough he had Influzenza A. So was given Theraflu and we were home by 1230 AM.
I was thinking we would stay another day in Springdale but Tom felt good enough to move on.
We arrived here at Scott Air Force Base for the night.(10 March). Tomorrow Dayton, Ohio and Maryann is going to try to get seen for some stomach symptoms. THEN on to Pennsylvania to Joan and Tom's (Maryann's sister"s) to wait for Pat and George to meet up with us so we can head for Washington Dulles Airport to head to Europe for our 3 month dream vacation. Pat and George had come to Tucson in December for a week and we had such a week planning this trip that we have talked about...actually it was to be a few weeks in Normandy, France and ended up being a 3 month visit!
We are also so excited to go to State College with Tom and Joan to see their new home before we leave.
Please keep us in you prayers as we make new memories.
Sending love and hugs to each of you.
God Bless.
I was thinking we would stay another day in Springdale but Tom felt good enough to move on.
We arrived here at Scott Air Force Base for the night.(10 March). Tomorrow Dayton, Ohio and Maryann is going to try to get seen for some stomach symptoms. THEN on to Pennsylvania to Joan and Tom's (Maryann's sister"s) to wait for Pat and George to meet up with us so we can head for Washington Dulles Airport to head to Europe for our 3 month dream vacation. Pat and George had come to Tucson in December for a week and we had such a week planning this trip that we have talked about...actually it was to be a few weeks in Normandy, France and ended up being a 3 month visit!
We are also so excited to go to State College with Tom and Joan to see their new home before we leave.
Please keep us in you prayers as we make new memories.
Sending love and hugs to each of you.
God Bless.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Cocoa, Florida to Tucson August 2015
We arrived home safely on 25 August 2015 after an amazing summer visiting family and friends!
We spent the last few days watching trees being taken down with Bill and Charlotte. Now one can see the sky more clearly while sitting on the screened in porch watching the birds and squirrels. What fun to watch such big trees being taken down especially when Charlotte's wonderful cookies were eaten for snack as we watched. The team of guys who were working also were thankful for the snacks. Tom and Charlotte also spent time together in the Kitchen cooking for Bill and I! Of course we had to go back to a couple of our favorite restaurants before we left too!! Always difficult to leave this home away from home too.
We packed up and headed back "on the road" on August 21st. We traveled north on the back roads that we had not taken before to Panacea, Florida to spent a couple days with Mary and Andre. Maryann and Mary went to Nursing School together in Washington D.C. (1966-1969) Not only did they feed us with the best homemade foods but also took us to Wahulla Springs State Park. We took a river boat ride on the spring waters where we saw alligators, turtles, beautiful birds and manatees in this deepest and largest freshwater spring in the world. Also went to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge where we explored the coastline and lighthouse before having a late afternoon picnic lunch. What a treat for us to meet Mary and Andre's daughter and her husband and their daughter Awana. Awana certainly gives great hugs!! Their home is right on the river so were able to watch a spectacular sunset together . Definitely a beautiful area of Florida that we enjoyed. Once again Mary and Andre welcomed us into their life and made us feel right at home!! We even watched an old time movie together...just like home!
After a hearty breakfast, we headed up the road about 4 hours to Niceville, Florida area. It is always so good to see Ann and Jim. This time we even got to see Ann's daughter Kathy. We had not seen Kathy since she was about 7 years old. Kathy and Mikey used to play with Kelly and Carrie who were the same ages when we were in Germany. Also got to meet their friends and had a great dinner "walking down memory lane"!! We decided to go to Destin, Florida for a night and check out the Destin MWR Army Villas for a future family trip. Very nice accommodations on the Choctawhatchee Bay, just minutes from downtown Destin. This area of Florida is called 'the Emerald Coast"....beautiful white sands and deep blue and green waters. From there, we headed just up the road to Niceville, Florida to spend time with Joe and Sandy and Hope and Lizzie Grace their adorable Shih Tzu family members. Once again Hope and Lizzie Grace were at the door to greet us with tales wagging! Sandy and Joe took us to a new German Restaurant in Niceville. The food and service at Helga's was so good, we thought we were back in Germany!! If you are in the area...it is a must! Tom was also glad to be able to get back in the kitchen and do some cooking for all of us! We were also able to take them back to Destin to show them the MWR cabins. We also checked out the Maxwell AFB MWR area near the Mid-Bay Bridge on the Eglin side before you cross over the bridge. Also took a detour to the Emergency Room in Niceville as Tom's leg began to get more swollen and red again. More IV antibiotics and instructions to follow up when we arrived home the next week. We think that Joe and Sandy were meant to live in Niceville as each time we visit, we feel that NICENESS ...but may want to check with the Chamber of Commerce and change their address to Absolutely Wonderful-ville!!
Now it was time to travel to Spring, Tx. to spend time with Fred and Belinda, our friends that we met when we lived in Austin, Tx. Maryann and Belinda met while attending orientation at Breckinridge Hospital where they worked together...and as it was meant to be our families became family!! We just spent the time being together .. Fred and Tom cleaned the pool and mowed the yard while Belinda and I went out and about. We had not had a pedicure together...so we did!! One more item to put on and take off the "bucket list"!! Lots of talking, getting "take-out" and even watched a movie together in our short visit. Just being able to do the "everyday" stuffs with our friends makes our visits so special...and eating of course. Of course Fred and Tom discussed sports!! We also discussed our plans for future travels together in the near future!! They treated us to a wonderful brunch at a "must return to" restaurant before we headed West! We stopped in San Antonio to eat at Magnolia's before we headed home to Tucson. We were really surprised and happy to see how green the mountains and vegetation was in West Texas and New Mexico and even along I-10 into Tucson.
We have been home for two weeks now and are getting settled back into our Tucson life. Of course, we have seen our grand girls...and do they give some GRAND Hugs and Kisses. This past weekend we had Samantha, Kirsten and Emme for sleep over.
Molly had a function for Girl-Scouts so could not join us so was so good to see her on Sunday. We had all over for dinner on Sunday to catch-up with all our Tucson Family and their summer activities.
Update on Tom's leg injury from 2 July. He was seen by his primary care doctor on
1 September and then by Infectious Disease on 4 September. His leg is finally on the way to healing. He is to continue on the two antibiotics for a couple more weeks and then will return to the Infectious Disease doctor for follow up. We look forward to seeing you all again and make more memories maybe traveling together!!
Just let us know when you want to come and spend time with us here in Tucson...we have the light on!!
God Bless and loving hugs,
Tom and Maryann
~Don 't think of the things you didn't get after praying. Think of the countless blessings God gave you without asking~ AND...we count each of you as our special blessings and thank you for having us in your life.
ALSO
~No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until they come home to rest their head on their old familiar pillow~
We spent the last few days watching trees being taken down with Bill and Charlotte. Now one can see the sky more clearly while sitting on the screened in porch watching the birds and squirrels. What fun to watch such big trees being taken down especially when Charlotte's wonderful cookies were eaten for snack as we watched. The team of guys who were working also were thankful for the snacks. Tom and Charlotte also spent time together in the Kitchen cooking for Bill and I! Of course we had to go back to a couple of our favorite restaurants before we left too!! Always difficult to leave this home away from home too.
We packed up and headed back "on the road" on August 21st. We traveled north on the back roads that we had not taken before to Panacea, Florida to spent a couple days with Mary and Andre. Maryann and Mary went to Nursing School together in Washington D.C. (1966-1969) Not only did they feed us with the best homemade foods but also took us to Wahulla Springs State Park. We took a river boat ride on the spring waters where we saw alligators, turtles, beautiful birds and manatees in this deepest and largest freshwater spring in the world. Also went to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge where we explored the coastline and lighthouse before having a late afternoon picnic lunch. What a treat for us to meet Mary and Andre's daughter and her husband and their daughter Awana. Awana certainly gives great hugs!! Their home is right on the river so were able to watch a spectacular sunset together . Definitely a beautiful area of Florida that we enjoyed. Once again Mary and Andre welcomed us into their life and made us feel right at home!! We even watched an old time movie together...just like home!
After a hearty breakfast, we headed up the road about 4 hours to Niceville, Florida area. It is always so good to see Ann and Jim. This time we even got to see Ann's daughter Kathy. We had not seen Kathy since she was about 7 years old. Kathy and Mikey used to play with Kelly and Carrie who were the same ages when we were in Germany. Also got to meet their friends and had a great dinner "walking down memory lane"!! We decided to go to Destin, Florida for a night and check out the Destin MWR Army Villas for a future family trip. Very nice accommodations on the Choctawhatchee Bay, just minutes from downtown Destin. This area of Florida is called 'the Emerald Coast"....beautiful white sands and deep blue and green waters. From there, we headed just up the road to Niceville, Florida to spend time with Joe and Sandy and Hope and Lizzie Grace their adorable Shih Tzu family members. Once again Hope and Lizzie Grace were at the door to greet us with tales wagging! Sandy and Joe took us to a new German Restaurant in Niceville. The food and service at Helga's was so good, we thought we were back in Germany!! If you are in the area...it is a must! Tom was also glad to be able to get back in the kitchen and do some cooking for all of us! We were also able to take them back to Destin to show them the MWR cabins. We also checked out the Maxwell AFB MWR area near the Mid-Bay Bridge on the Eglin side before you cross over the bridge. Also took a detour to the Emergency Room in Niceville as Tom's leg began to get more swollen and red again. More IV antibiotics and instructions to follow up when we arrived home the next week. We think that Joe and Sandy were meant to live in Niceville as each time we visit, we feel that NICENESS ...but may want to check with the Chamber of Commerce and change their address to Absolutely Wonderful-ville!!
Now it was time to travel to Spring, Tx. to spend time with Fred and Belinda, our friends that we met when we lived in Austin, Tx. Maryann and Belinda met while attending orientation at Breckinridge Hospital where they worked together...and as it was meant to be our families became family!! We just spent the time being together .. Fred and Tom cleaned the pool and mowed the yard while Belinda and I went out and about. We had not had a pedicure together...so we did!! One more item to put on and take off the "bucket list"!! Lots of talking, getting "take-out" and even watched a movie together in our short visit. Just being able to do the "everyday" stuffs with our friends makes our visits so special...and eating of course. Of course Fred and Tom discussed sports!! We also discussed our plans for future travels together in the near future!! They treated us to a wonderful brunch at a "must return to" restaurant before we headed West! We stopped in San Antonio to eat at Magnolia's before we headed home to Tucson. We were really surprised and happy to see how green the mountains and vegetation was in West Texas and New Mexico and even along I-10 into Tucson.
We have been home for two weeks now and are getting settled back into our Tucson life. Of course, we have seen our grand girls...and do they give some GRAND Hugs and Kisses. This past weekend we had Samantha, Kirsten and Emme for sleep over.
Molly had a function for Girl-Scouts so could not join us so was so good to see her on Sunday. We had all over for dinner on Sunday to catch-up with all our Tucson Family and their summer activities.
Update on Tom's leg injury from 2 July. He was seen by his primary care doctor on
1 September and then by Infectious Disease on 4 September. His leg is finally on the way to healing. He is to continue on the two antibiotics for a couple more weeks and then will return to the Infectious Disease doctor for follow up. We look forward to seeing you all again and make more memories maybe traveling together!!
Just let us know when you want to come and spend time with us here in Tucson...we have the light on!!
God Bless and loving hugs,
Tom and Maryann
~Don 't think of the things you didn't get after praying. Think of the countless blessings God gave you without asking~ AND...we count each of you as our special blessings and thank you for having us in your life.
ALSO
~No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until they come home to rest their head on their old familiar pillow~
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Cocoa, Florida 11 August 2015
Good Morning,
We have been here with Charlotte and Bill since 28 July.
We left Fr. Bragg and spent the night at Ft. Stewart Army Base in Hinesville near Savannah, Georgia. We checked out TRIPADVISOR for a local restaurant and chose Rosenhof German Restaurant in Hinesville. We thought we were back in Germany as the food was so good. We actually thought about staying there a couple more days just to go back and eat a few more times.
The next morning we got up to go on to Jacksonville, Florida to check out a museum that Tom wanted to visit...but his leg was more swollen and looked like cellulitis had set in. SO we bypassed Jacksonville and came on to Charlotte and Bill's here in Cocoa. Charlotte and Bill took us to Viera Hospital ER. And indeed they did diagnosis Cellulitis and took a culture. Tom was given more antibiotics and told to make "staying off the leg a priority". Tom does listen to his sister!! Saturday evening when I changed the dressing on Tom's leg, noted that there was pus like material coming from the wound. We got up early and went back to the ER. The culture that they had done on Tuesday results were MRSA ( a contagious and antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria) so the antibiotics the Augmentin Antibiotic he was taking and that had been given IV twice in the ER's was not working for the wound infection. Now he is on Bactrim so hope to see improvement in a couple days. Our days are always interesting!! We have just been spending time at home and going out to some favorite seafood and Italian restaurants. Charlotte and Bill took us out to another of their favorite seafood restaurants for our 44th Wedding Anniversary. So now we have yet another favorite restaurant here! We have been so blessed with our years together.... and hope for 44 more!!
Charlotte and Bill have a screened in porch so we spend lots of hours enjoying the outside in the morning and evenings. HUMIDITY is really bad during the day.
Tom'a leg seems to be healing. Apparently the Bactrim is taking care of the MRSA infection. The area is still red but the wound is nearly closed now with minimal drainage...and no signs of infection.
In the past days, we were able to visit with friends that we know in the area. Met Nancy and Chuck in Orlando. We were stationed with Nancy when we lived in Japan from 1971-1975. We have been so glad to be able to visit with Nancy and Chuck every couple of years when we travel. Then we went up to Orlando and had lunch with Bob Gibson and his wife Yoko. Maryann was stationed with Bob in Vietnam and then he was stationed in Japan with us where he met Yoko.,,and had not seen them for 43 years!! It was so good to catch up with them. Charlotte and Bill also joined us so got to meet both our AF friends. Yesterday, we traveled to Silver Springs, Florida and went to the little park there where they have natural springs. The highlight of the day was taking a scenic ride on the Glass Bottom Boat. Unique to be able to see the fish and the spring caverns.
Today we have been entertained by the Tree Cutting team who is taking down some very TALL pines that need to be removed from Bill and Charlotte's yard. What fun and amazing to view this process.
We have front row seats....however due to the humidity decided to stay inside this afternoon.
Of course, we have been keeping up with our Grand girls in Tucson and all of our Tucson Family...
Molly, Samantha and Kirsten are getting settled in school. Molly is in Band. Samantha and Kirsten are now in Karate. AND of course, since Kelly is their Girl Scout leader they are all busy with Scouts and back to religious education at church. Emme had her last visit with the visiting Nurse who has visited her for the past two years. She is still just over 19 pounds but is right on for all of her other mile stones. What blessings. YEAH EMME!!!! Carrie is TDY this week so her friend Jess, who Emme loves is taking care of Emme.
We will be here until this Friday until we start our trip home and plan to be home in 2 weeks after spending more great visits with friends in Northern Florida and Houston, Texas area.
I still have not been able to sync my pictures so will do a picture blog when we get home...and settled into our Tucson life!!
Please keep us in prayer for safe travels home.
~Wherever you are, it is your family and friends who make your world complete~
Love and Hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
We have been here with Charlotte and Bill since 28 July.
We left Fr. Bragg and spent the night at Ft. Stewart Army Base in Hinesville near Savannah, Georgia. We checked out TRIPADVISOR for a local restaurant and chose Rosenhof German Restaurant in Hinesville. We thought we were back in Germany as the food was so good. We actually thought about staying there a couple more days just to go back and eat a few more times.
The next morning we got up to go on to Jacksonville, Florida to check out a museum that Tom wanted to visit...but his leg was more swollen and looked like cellulitis had set in. SO we bypassed Jacksonville and came on to Charlotte and Bill's here in Cocoa. Charlotte and Bill took us to Viera Hospital ER. And indeed they did diagnosis Cellulitis and took a culture. Tom was given more antibiotics and told to make "staying off the leg a priority". Tom does listen to his sister!! Saturday evening when I changed the dressing on Tom's leg, noted that there was pus like material coming from the wound. We got up early and went back to the ER. The culture that they had done on Tuesday results were MRSA ( a contagious and antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria) so the antibiotics the Augmentin Antibiotic he was taking and that had been given IV twice in the ER's was not working for the wound infection. Now he is on Bactrim so hope to see improvement in a couple days. Our days are always interesting!! We have just been spending time at home and going out to some favorite seafood and Italian restaurants. Charlotte and Bill took us out to another of their favorite seafood restaurants for our 44th Wedding Anniversary. So now we have yet another favorite restaurant here! We have been so blessed with our years together.... and hope for 44 more!!
Charlotte and Bill have a screened in porch so we spend lots of hours enjoying the outside in the morning and evenings. HUMIDITY is really bad during the day.
Tom'a leg seems to be healing. Apparently the Bactrim is taking care of the MRSA infection. The area is still red but the wound is nearly closed now with minimal drainage...and no signs of infection.
In the past days, we were able to visit with friends that we know in the area. Met Nancy and Chuck in Orlando. We were stationed with Nancy when we lived in Japan from 1971-1975. We have been so glad to be able to visit with Nancy and Chuck every couple of years when we travel. Then we went up to Orlando and had lunch with Bob Gibson and his wife Yoko. Maryann was stationed with Bob in Vietnam and then he was stationed in Japan with us where he met Yoko.,,and had not seen them for 43 years!! It was so good to catch up with them. Charlotte and Bill also joined us so got to meet both our AF friends. Yesterday, we traveled to Silver Springs, Florida and went to the little park there where they have natural springs. The highlight of the day was taking a scenic ride on the Glass Bottom Boat. Unique to be able to see the fish and the spring caverns.
Today we have been entertained by the Tree Cutting team who is taking down some very TALL pines that need to be removed from Bill and Charlotte's yard. What fun and amazing to view this process.
We have front row seats....however due to the humidity decided to stay inside this afternoon.
Of course, we have been keeping up with our Grand girls in Tucson and all of our Tucson Family...
Molly, Samantha and Kirsten are getting settled in school. Molly is in Band. Samantha and Kirsten are now in Karate. AND of course, since Kelly is their Girl Scout leader they are all busy with Scouts and back to religious education at church. Emme had her last visit with the visiting Nurse who has visited her for the past two years. She is still just over 19 pounds but is right on for all of her other mile stones. What blessings. YEAH EMME!!!! Carrie is TDY this week so her friend Jess, who Emme loves is taking care of Emme.
We will be here until this Friday until we start our trip home and plan to be home in 2 weeks after spending more great visits with friends in Northern Florida and Houston, Texas area.
I still have not been able to sync my pictures so will do a picture blog when we get home...and settled into our Tucson life!!
Please keep us in prayer for safe travels home.
~Wherever you are, it is your family and friends who make your world complete~
Love and Hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Camp to leaving State College 26 July 2015
Hello from Bethesda, Maryland
Finally I am going to update our blog...thanks to George for reminding me!
We left Linesville on 17 July and headed to Joan and Tom's camp about 25 miles from Karthaus on
Keating Mountain. We stopped and saw Joan's son Adam and Reese and left our car with them while we were at camp. We saw several deer and a couple elk. Joan and Tom mowed the grass for several hours while Joan's Tom hog brushed. A hog brush is a rotary mower that is pulled by a tractor and can mow dense brush. I stayed at the cabin and made sure dinner was cooking properly!! Yes, I did have the better job...but I did volunteer to do mowing. It was really a hot day too. We ate dinner and took a ride in the car as had air conditioner... When we came home, we played some games before we went to bed. We got up early the next day and went back up the mountain and picked up our car at Adam and Carrie's and got to see Alexis and Reese again before headed to State College. We did stop in Karthaus and saw Aunt Liz and Vicki and Aunt Ethel, Diane and Vonnie and Maryann's friend Janet.
Wow...was it ever nice to be at Roseanne and Jeff's and have air conditioning. The Shomo family were at the beach so we had the house. Tom had fallen while onloading the carrier on the Lexus on 2 July and had punctured the skin in 3 areas when he fell on the stepstool he was using. He went to the ER under duress after the fall and they stopped the bleeding and took xray which showed that no broken bones. The leg continued to swell but he decided HE did not need to be seen as the leg grew larger and redder. (Thank goodness Maryann does not have a medical backround to be able to tell that he needed to be seen....hmmm) Sunday afternoon, Tom decided that his leg that he had injured on 2 July was not doing as good as he thought as was swollen nearly twice the size and his foot was swollen. When they surgically opened the area, it was full of several clots of blood. They gave him IV medication and oral antibiotics to take and cut into the leg and removed several large blood clots.
The next day, Tom did spend most of the day resting. I went to lunch with 10 friends that I had graduated from highschool with in 1966. It was really nice catching up. AND of course spending time with my friend Janet is always great.
We spent time with Joan and her Tom and Roseanne's mother and father-in-law having a fun evening and afternoon playing cards and dice. We also all went out to lunch together. We always have so much fun and so many laughs when we are together. We are certainly blessed to be able to spend time with them too.
It was really difficult to leave Joan and her Tom on Friday morning. We are so blessed to be able to spend such good days with Joan and her Tom. They say "laughing is the best medicine"...so we get lots of medicine when we are all together.
We stoppped in Lancaster on our way here. We were going to stop and see our Aunt Annie but she had plans for the day. We did do some shopping at the Old Mill store in Lancaster..always find something we NEED. We were able to spent time with Peggy as Larry was at work. We gave our hugs and left Peggy. Just as we were going to get on the interstate, Larry called and said he was heading home from work and so we turnned around and went back to their home. As always it was good to visit with them both.
Tom and I arrived at the Navy Gateway Inn about 8 PM. I had not been in Besthesda since 1969 and could not believe how had grown. We are just staying down the street from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As we stay here we remember and honor all the soldiers that are just up the street being treated for wounds for their sacrifices for our country and their families. God Bless our men and women in uniform...past, present and future...and thank you for our freedom.
Tom woke up this morning and the area on his leg had opened up and we could not get the bleeding to stop so went up the street to Walter Reed Hospital to get checked out. They checked him out and found that he was getting blood clots again so put some "wicking" material in the wound along with Mediplex with silver foam that helps kill bacteria. They also gave him more antibiotics. It seemed that they gave us anything we would need to do wound care. We saw them take care of other vets and their wives with such care and seemed that they left with what they needed to take care of their medical issues......no need to stop at CVS to pick up supplies!! Thank you Walter Reed Staff for taking care of on of this veteran!!
Today was to be a day of rest so worked out great so Tom could rest his leg. We did find a neat Cafe in Bethesda where we had a late lunch before going to Saturday Mass this day.
I did not get this finished last evening so will finish now.
We are at Ft. Bragg this evening. Found a unique BBQ place for lunch. Tomorrow we will go to Savannah for the night. Tom's leg seems to be draining nicely today.
So until our next post...we will keep you in our prayers and thank you for keeping us in your prayers for safe travels.
Love and hugs,
Tom and Maryann
~~Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not~~
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Finally I am going to update our blog...thanks to George for reminding me!
We left Linesville on 17 July and headed to Joan and Tom's camp about 25 miles from Karthaus on
Keating Mountain. We stopped and saw Joan's son Adam and Reese and left our car with them while we were at camp. We saw several deer and a couple elk. Joan and Tom mowed the grass for several hours while Joan's Tom hog brushed. A hog brush is a rotary mower that is pulled by a tractor and can mow dense brush. I stayed at the cabin and made sure dinner was cooking properly!! Yes, I did have the better job...but I did volunteer to do mowing. It was really a hot day too. We ate dinner and took a ride in the car as had air conditioner... When we came home, we played some games before we went to bed. We got up early the next day and went back up the mountain and picked up our car at Adam and Carrie's and got to see Alexis and Reese again before headed to State College. We did stop in Karthaus and saw Aunt Liz and Vicki and Aunt Ethel, Diane and Vonnie and Maryann's friend Janet.
Wow...was it ever nice to be at Roseanne and Jeff's and have air conditioning. The Shomo family were at the beach so we had the house. Tom had fallen while onloading the carrier on the Lexus on 2 July and had punctured the skin in 3 areas when he fell on the stepstool he was using. He went to the ER under duress after the fall and they stopped the bleeding and took xray which showed that no broken bones. The leg continued to swell but he decided HE did not need to be seen as the leg grew larger and redder. (Thank goodness Maryann does not have a medical backround to be able to tell that he needed to be seen....hmmm) Sunday afternoon, Tom decided that his leg that he had injured on 2 July was not doing as good as he thought as was swollen nearly twice the size and his foot was swollen. When they surgically opened the area, it was full of several clots of blood. They gave him IV medication and oral antibiotics to take and cut into the leg and removed several large blood clots.
The next day, Tom did spend most of the day resting. I went to lunch with 10 friends that I had graduated from highschool with in 1966. It was really nice catching up. AND of course spending time with my friend Janet is always great.
We spent time with Joan and her Tom and Roseanne's mother and father-in-law having a fun evening and afternoon playing cards and dice. We also all went out to lunch together. We always have so much fun and so many laughs when we are together. We are certainly blessed to be able to spend time with them too.
It was really difficult to leave Joan and her Tom on Friday morning. We are so blessed to be able to spend such good days with Joan and her Tom. They say "laughing is the best medicine"...so we get lots of medicine when we are all together.
We stoppped in Lancaster on our way here. We were going to stop and see our Aunt Annie but she had plans for the day. We did do some shopping at the Old Mill store in Lancaster..always find something we NEED. We were able to spent time with Peggy as Larry was at work. We gave our hugs and left Peggy. Just as we were going to get on the interstate, Larry called and said he was heading home from work and so we turnned around and went back to their home. As always it was good to visit with them both.
Tom and I arrived at the Navy Gateway Inn about 8 PM. I had not been in Besthesda since 1969 and could not believe how had grown. We are just staying down the street from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As we stay here we remember and honor all the soldiers that are just up the street being treated for wounds for their sacrifices for our country and their families. God Bless our men and women in uniform...past, present and future...and thank you for our freedom.
Tom woke up this morning and the area on his leg had opened up and we could not get the bleeding to stop so went up the street to Walter Reed Hospital to get checked out. They checked him out and found that he was getting blood clots again so put some "wicking" material in the wound along with Mediplex with silver foam that helps kill bacteria. They also gave him more antibiotics. It seemed that they gave us anything we would need to do wound care. We saw them take care of other vets and their wives with such care and seemed that they left with what they needed to take care of their medical issues......no need to stop at CVS to pick up supplies!! Thank you Walter Reed Staff for taking care of on of this veteran!!
Today was to be a day of rest so worked out great so Tom could rest his leg. We did find a neat Cafe in Bethesda where we had a late lunch before going to Saturday Mass this day.
I did not get this finished last evening so will finish now.
We are at Ft. Bragg this evening. Found a unique BBQ place for lunch. Tomorrow we will go to Savannah for the night. Tom's leg seems to be draining nicely today.
So until our next post...we will keep you in our prayers and thank you for keeping us in your prayers for safe travels.
Love and hugs,
Tom and Maryann
~~Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not~~
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
State College to Cape May New Jersey 10 July 2015
We certainly enjoyed having Carrie and Emme spend time with us in Karthaus and State College.
Emme was able to see her Great Aunt Liz and her daughter Vicki and spent time with Kenny and Julie and family. Emme even caught her first fish at the pond with help. We spent several days with Joan and Tom at Roseanne and Jeff's home in State College. 4th of July is a special time at Jeff, Roseanne and Maddie and Camyrn's home. What fun days we all had with them! We had a great 4th with lots of food, fireworks and their family and friends. Emme was able to spend time with Joan's Adam and Carrie and Alexis and Reese and Sara and Adam and Ethan and Emma too. Emme was exhausted after spending the days and evenings trying to do everything her cousins were doing...and they were all just so good with her. The first couple days Maddie and Camyrn just took over making sure Emme was occupied. In fact we laughted that "Emme grew another pair of legs..as Maddie carried her everywhere". This is our second 4th of July with Roseanne and Family so was good seeing all their family and friends again. Their home is just the spot to watch the Penn State Fire Works show too!
Carrie and Emme left the next morning at 5 AM and had safe travels home. Emme did much better on the flight home to Tucson as she was well rested after a good night's sleep.
Sunday the 5th, Tom and Joan and us left for Dover AFB, Delaware where we spent the night. We left Dover and took the 1015 Ferry to Cape May. We always enjoy taking the car ferry...took about an hour until we docked in Cape May. We have been staying here at the Coast Guard Station in one of their cottages. We just have to walk about 1/2 mile to the beach or drive up to the gazebo and were right on the beach. AND what a nice beach and most days we are the only ones on the beach or just have a couple others join us. On the mornings we went to the beach early, we were entertained by several dalphins playing in the waters. One evening we went down to "our beach" and sat on the life guard stand and had about 20 or so dolphins entertain us.
Never did get this completed while on Cape May... So will catch up... We had relaxing days at Cape May...when not at the beach, we traveled to several small villages north of Cape May. Walked on the boardwalk at Wildwood...was not like when we visited years ago...more like a carnival atmosphere.
The guys visited the War Memorial Museum at Cape May. We spent an evening at Sunset Beach in Cape May. Each night from Memorial Day to Labor Day, they honor a fallen American soldier with a flag lowering ceremony on the beach. They read about the soldier and have his or her family members there and participate in the ceremony. There are over a 100 in attendance each evening...now this is what needs to be on the evening news. Sunset Beach has a beautiful sunset. We just enjoyed spending time together ...playing games, just talking and being together. Oh yes, forgot about all the laughing!!
We decided to drive back to State College to Roseanne's and Jeff's home to see some of the country side vs.taking the ferry back. We relaxed at the fire pit in their back yard that evening and again just enjoyed being together and talking and more laughter.
After sharing in the birthday lunch for Jeff and his Mom ( Roseanne made great homemade Stromboli) we left to come to Linesville with Joan and Tom. We were happy to also meet Jeff's brother and his son. Of course Maddie and Camyrn always make us feel welcome. Thank you Maddie for once again letting us use your bed!
Since we have been here in Linesville, we have taken a trip to Erie and visited some of our favorite places here. Each evening it is fun to look out in the fields for deer. Each evening there has been four small bucks come in the field and yard to eat the apples from the tree.
Tom enjoys doing yard work when there is grass involved...so he was happy to help Tom mow the yard. Always enjoy seeing Joan's Tom's brother Bill too.
Joan and Tom have been feeding us very good..also nights playing cards and dice and just having fun being together.
We will all be here until Friday when we leave to go back to Roseanne and Jeff's in State College.
They are going to the beach so we will house set with Joan and Tom until the following Friday when we will leave to head South to Florida.
Continue to know that we are blessed and keep you all in daily prayer...
~"We haven't been everywhere, but it's on our list"~ Susan Sontag
Love and Hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Emme was able to see her Great Aunt Liz and her daughter Vicki and spent time with Kenny and Julie and family. Emme even caught her first fish at the pond with help. We spent several days with Joan and Tom at Roseanne and Jeff's home in State College. 4th of July is a special time at Jeff, Roseanne and Maddie and Camyrn's home. What fun days we all had with them! We had a great 4th with lots of food, fireworks and their family and friends. Emme was able to spend time with Joan's Adam and Carrie and Alexis and Reese and Sara and Adam and Ethan and Emma too. Emme was exhausted after spending the days and evenings trying to do everything her cousins were doing...and they were all just so good with her. The first couple days Maddie and Camyrn just took over making sure Emme was occupied. In fact we laughted that "Emme grew another pair of legs..as Maddie carried her everywhere". This is our second 4th of July with Roseanne and Family so was good seeing all their family and friends again. Their home is just the spot to watch the Penn State Fire Works show too!
Carrie and Emme left the next morning at 5 AM and had safe travels home. Emme did much better on the flight home to Tucson as she was well rested after a good night's sleep.
Sunday the 5th, Tom and Joan and us left for Dover AFB, Delaware where we spent the night. We left Dover and took the 1015 Ferry to Cape May. We always enjoy taking the car ferry...took about an hour until we docked in Cape May. We have been staying here at the Coast Guard Station in one of their cottages. We just have to walk about 1/2 mile to the beach or drive up to the gazebo and were right on the beach. AND what a nice beach and most days we are the only ones on the beach or just have a couple others join us. On the mornings we went to the beach early, we were entertained by several dalphins playing in the waters. One evening we went down to "our beach" and sat on the life guard stand and had about 20 or so dolphins entertain us.
Never did get this completed while on Cape May... So will catch up... We had relaxing days at Cape May...when not at the beach, we traveled to several small villages north of Cape May. Walked on the boardwalk at Wildwood...was not like when we visited years ago...more like a carnival atmosphere.
The guys visited the War Memorial Museum at Cape May. We spent an evening at Sunset Beach in Cape May. Each night from Memorial Day to Labor Day, they honor a fallen American soldier with a flag lowering ceremony on the beach. They read about the soldier and have his or her family members there and participate in the ceremony. There are over a 100 in attendance each evening...now this is what needs to be on the evening news. Sunset Beach has a beautiful sunset. We just enjoyed spending time together ...playing games, just talking and being together. Oh yes, forgot about all the laughing!!
We decided to drive back to State College to Roseanne's and Jeff's home to see some of the country side vs.taking the ferry back. We relaxed at the fire pit in their back yard that evening and again just enjoyed being together and talking and more laughter.
After sharing in the birthday lunch for Jeff and his Mom ( Roseanne made great homemade Stromboli) we left to come to Linesville with Joan and Tom. We were happy to also meet Jeff's brother and his son. Of course Maddie and Camyrn always make us feel welcome. Thank you Maddie for once again letting us use your bed!
Since we have been here in Linesville, we have taken a trip to Erie and visited some of our favorite places here. Each evening it is fun to look out in the fields for deer. Each evening there has been four small bucks come in the field and yard to eat the apples from the tree.
Tom enjoys doing yard work when there is grass involved...so he was happy to help Tom mow the yard. Always enjoy seeing Joan's Tom's brother Bill too.
Joan and Tom have been feeding us very good..also nights playing cards and dice and just having fun being together.
We will all be here until Friday when we leave to go back to Roseanne and Jeff's in State College.
They are going to the beach so we will house set with Joan and Tom until the following Friday when we will leave to head South to Florida.
Continue to know that we are blessed and keep you all in daily prayer...
~"We haven't been everywhere, but it's on our list"~ Susan Sontag
Love and Hugs,
God Bless,
Tom and Maryann
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)