.Well, We packed up and got away for a few days,

 we went CAMPING !!!!

.

.

Anna Mae standing in front of our New Sign

 a friend of ours made us for camping

.

.

I am sweeping up area, we sprayed with 

"Yard Guard", I got bit by a Tic 2 weeks ago and

 was lucky we found it right away, I took antibiotics

 for the bite and have blood tests to make sure 

I do not get Lyme Disease!

.

.

Breakfast was BACON, eggs and fresh baked bread

 over the fire made into toast and was delicious!

.

.

Anna Mae is guarding the BACON !

.

.

I brought the Dobro and Mandolin with us,

 I got it out and tuned it up and pretty soon

 we had people wandering over to listen to 

me play and sing.  

.

.

Evening, relaxing by the Fire and enjoying 

each others company !

.

.

Campsite all cleaned up after a great nights sleep, 

off on a walk and exploring the woods !

.

.

We walked the Trails at Whetstone Gulf State Park !!!!

.

We had a Great Time relaxing, talking, walking, 

singing and enjoying Mother Nature 

and her wonders !

.

.

I cooked supper, we had Sweet Corn cooked 

in the husk wrapped in Aluminum Foil with Garlic

 and Butter,  also 2 nice fresh ground Serloin Burgers.

.

.

Anna Mae cooked some Sweet Vadalia Onions

 in butterfor the burgers, supper was delicious !

.

.

We enjoyed the Evening Fires, calm and quiet !

.

Memorial Day has come and gone and with it

 many family and Friends who hve passed on, 

I was reading "The SHIPSLOG" and can relate to 

Jack talking about the loss of loved ones, near and far.

.

.

I am doing a Funeral for my Cousin Wayne Whitford 

from North Carolina who passed away, I did his Eulogy 

and several Hymns, His Family is all gone and I am his 1st cousin. He had the American Legion for Honors 

and Flag Presentation, our closest Military Base 

if Fort Drum, they had no one available to send to do Honors.

.

.

The above is another Funeral I did for a Vietnam Veteran

 who was Homeless and needed services so I did his Funeral and assisted with Military Honors with a Legion Post

 near where he was buried, this Cemetary was way out in the middle of nowhere in the woods.

.

Well, Time to call it a night,  Don't forget, Remember the Vets !

.

Well, my last Post was in March and we are heading into almost June.    Life is good,  Cold bitter Old Man Winter has left, We looked out at bare trees, and rain and suddenly there are leaves on the trees, grass is green and ready to be mowed, 

summer is coming.

.
It has been rather sad here, I had to go Sunday and Play and sing at the Funeral for my 90 year old 1st Cousin Lois, then On Wednesday I had to do the Funeral Service for my 1st Cousin Wayne Whitford, Wayne was a Korean War Veteran, I did the Eulogy and Prayers and sand and played 2 songs and then we did the Military Service for him with help from the Gouverneur VFW ! .
.
We went and got the Camper and brought it home, we drained the Antifreeze out of the water lines, charged the battery and filled the Propane Tanks and Water Tanks !

.

.

Anna Mae hooking up the Camper to tow it 

back to the Complex..

.

For excitement I took my savings and I purchased a LOAR Mv-600 Mandolin,  I now have Fender and Taylor 6 string Guitar, a Morgan Stanley Dobro, and Loar Mandolin.  Now if I could only Sing !!!!

.

.

Mark Thomas and I playing at the 

Nursing Home to about 15 residents 

who really enjoy our bi-weekly visits!

.

Well, hoping I stay Healthy, Gotta finish and go read "The SHIPSLOG"  and see 

what Jack is doing !!

.

.

Don't Forget, Remember the Vet !

.

.

.

Nor' Easter

Well, we have had 2 Nor' Easters storms, lots of snow,  We have another storm coming in called "Skylar",  Storm Watch from 8PM tonight till 10AM Monday ! Who knows, 

maybe another 10 inches of SNOW ?? 

.

If the snow keeps up we will have a tunnel going outside !  This is our sheltered side door !

.

I went outside before the storm and grilled some Pork Steaks out back on the grill !

.

.

.

Above is me outside just before the first storms hit our area, was nice out and this was in February !

.

.

This is the Grill now as it looks, not going to cook on it yet !!!

.

.

Road's and trees are covered and more Snow is expected, lucky we have not lost Power yet and hope we don't.

.

.

Look closely and there is a car parked UNDER all this snow !  

.

Well, our apartment is warm, we have lots of food, and I have a great companion to share it with so we will wait for spring !

.

Don't forget, Remember our Vet's !!!!

.

Road Bump

Sometimes when we are going right along we hit a Bump in the rad that slows us down,  Well, I did just that,  Going along with the flow of things on Wednesday, I went to bed at 10pm, I was having pounding heart and chest pain again, Following Dr. Ashrafs prior orders for such occasions,  I took my Metotoporol 25mg and shortly I took a Nitro Tab under the tongue.  pulse and blood pressure things quieted down, Thursday Morning I woke up called the Cardiologist like I am supposed to do and he had me come in to office.

I had an EKG and was sent to the Emergency room next door, Calls were made to Syracuse at St. Joes Hospital and I was accepted as they had an open bed on Cardiac Floor,  ambulance was called and I was rushed down to St. Josephs Hospital in Syracuse.  I say rushed but this trip by Ambulance is about a 1 hour trip!!!!

At the hospital I was put on more blood thinners, given an IV of Antibiotics, and put to bed,  My Honey was there and also settled in for the night on the couch in the room.

.

Friday morning I was taken into the Heart Catheraziation Room, Dr. Caputo and his 5 member staff of Nurses and Techs then went into the Heart with a camera thru my Arm Vein and looked for the problem.  All the heart stents were checked and other areas also.

The problem is I now have a Myocardial "Branch",   heart muscle has grown around the Lower Anterior Decending Artery, I was brought back to the room I was given a new medication to relax this area of the Heart Muscle and 8 hours later I was home relaxing.

.

Now I have to let the new medication work and take it easy. 

Sitting here in the Chair I looked out the window and standing outside watching me were 4 deer.

.

.

We have fresh 6 inches of new snow,  this is great as it is now Maple Sugar season!!!.

.

Well, time for dinner, bowl of Rice Crispies and slice of toast and Herbal Chaga Tea.

.

Don't forget, remember our Vets !

  

Cook Out !

Well, it is the last day of February so with the weather up in the 50 I coked Pork Steak outside on the grill !    They now leave the grills out all winter for us to use.   It is the last day of February so we are waiting to see how March comes in,  If March comes in like a Lion it will go out like a Lamb, or if it comes in like a Lamb, it will go out like a Lion !!!

.

.

There is very little snow outside right now, February warmed up about a week ago and we did et some nice wind and rain to knock the snow down.

.

.

This is out back tonight just before it started to et windy and rained !

.

.

This is same spot first part of February, the rock

and the stairs!!!!

.

.

We did get in a walk outside after supper before it got dark and rained.

.

Hopefully Spring is only 3 to 5 weeks away !

.

Don't forget, Remember out Vets !

.

Nice Birthday

Well, February 20th rolled around and I was blessed to celebrate my 71st Birthday !     We had a nice quiet day,  I played at the Nursing Home and entertained the residents for my Birthday !!!  

  Such a Blessing for myself and the Guys I play with.

.

.

I am Blessed, with all my Medical Issues, Heart Problems, the Stroke I am doing OK.

.

.

My Honey thinks I look pretty good for being 7 decades old.

.

We had a little get together at Church and I had about 20 of my Sunday Church Group get together for Cake and Ice Cream and music and Prayer ! 

.

Hard to believe that February 21st it was 60 degrees here, and raining and we have lost most of our SNOW!!!!!!!.

.

.

Well, Time for a Cup of "Chaga Tea" and relax !!!

.

Don't forget our Veterans, Past and Present !

Rough Morning

We are getting plastered with SNOW !  Might get another foot or more, Oh Well, can not stop it !

.

.

Tim clearing out a path to the Bird Feeders and path around the Building !

.

.

Tim our Maintenance Man with a New Snow Blower, wore the other one out !!!

.

.

Not going to Bar B Q much on these 2 grills yet nor sit at the Picnic Table !

.

.

My Honey outside filling the Bird Feeders, we got lots of Birds just before a nasty snow storm !

.

.

This is Poor Construction, Insulation is missing from the crawl space here allowing heat to escape thru the roof !

.

Well, Time for Pills and a walk and check on the storm !

.

Hope everyone is safe and warm and Don't forget our Veterans, Past and Present !

.

Under the Weather

Still feeling "under the weather",  Coughing, sore lungs, back ache and have lost some weight.  This "RSV" Viral Infection is tough,  I am home tonight and not playing at the Nursing Home tonight with our group for the residents !!
.

.

I was going thru the Clothes Closet and this was the last new pair of pants I bought 2 years ago and shows how much I have lost in weight and size!  I am down to 205 and waist down from 48 to 40 !!!!!!!

.

.

This is a picture of me back before I got sick sitting at my Desk at the American Legion !  I have sat at this desk as the Post Historian for almost 20 years.

.

.

Above is a picture of me in Franklin Virginia, I am at the Pistol Range, This would be about early 1970 and I was trying out several Pistols and Revolvers with a couple friends .

.

.

Ready to "Board a Vessel",  I have on an old Cover from the US Navy,  I have a closet of Uniforms from Marines, Army, Air Force, Navy, WW1 and WW11, Medals, Ribbons and Paperwork !

.

.

A Picture of my Brother Jim and I at the 231st Birthday Party of the US Navy at our Legion a few years back !

.

.

.

I am wearing the Pants I showed above before I lost all the weight, This was NAVY DAY  and BM1 Lenny Gillian is holding a Bottle of RUM he won on the raffle, standing behind is our Post Adjutant PN1 Bill Mastin !

.

.

.

This picture is in Norfolk Virginia for a reunion of the USS Samuel Elliot Morrison FFG-13 !

.

Well, Time to tale a walk thru the Hallways with the wife !!!!.

.

Don't Forget, Remember our Vets !!!!!!

Winter Flu

Not much to "Blab" about on the Blog, I have been hit with the "Bug",  Cold Chills, Cough, Runny Nose, Dizzy !!  Went to Hospital, Blood work, labs, cat scan, I have RSV which is worse than the flu for us Old Foggies, , if you want to see what it is just Google (RSV or FLU) !
.

.

It is a "Lake Effect" Here is a short video of it.  Snow Storm where ya can get 2 -3 Inches snow an hour !

.

Oh Well, have seen a lot worse.

.

Winter used to be lots of fun when younger,  Here is a picture of me when I was deciding that I wanted to be a Sheriff,  Got my Roy Rogers Pistol and Holster, wish I still had it !!!.

.

.

This is when I took my Dad's 8 foot long Hickory Hand carved skis and went cross country !!!!!

.

.

Well, I am going to go take some Nyquil, and lay down !!!!

.

Don't forget our Vets !

Warm, Cold, Warm

Mother Nature is trying to make up her mind if we are gonna be wintry or warmer, we have gone from 30 below zero up to 58 degrees !!!    This might be our January Thaw we always get.
.

.

This is out our window at the neighbors raised bed garden and some snow and rain and fog, this was about an hour ago, the temps were in the 50's !

.

.

Same area last week covered in several feet of SNOW !  

.

. 

I did get outside and work on filling the feeders but it was very bitter cold out !

.

.

Birds are happy, it seems when it is bitter cold and stormy the birds come in for a feast !!

.

.

We joined the Carthage retired Music Teacher and played up in Croghan at a new Church on Sunday night, we played at the Steeple View Tent Church .

.

.

We packed the Church which used to be the Adirondack Funeral Home which went out of business.

.

.

Home and stretching out the strings on a borrowed Mandolin and the Dobro as we are still playing in the Nursing Homes and Churches.

.

.

My Honey was surprised with a visit from one of her old class mates from High School who came up from Crystal Springs, Florida and they got together for lunch.

.

.

Ken and I worked together for about 15 years on the Police Force, I retired before he did !

.

.

The above picture was back about 1969, we are working the County Fair !!

.

Well time to go Eat Dinner,  Pancakes and Eggs for supper on this dark, damp night !

.

Don't forget, Remember our Vets !

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.