Life According to Jan and Jer

Happy Veterans Day

2009-11-11T01:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our men n women who served this country. God Bless the U.S.A

How's your Day going

2009-11-09T01:51:00.000-08:00

Our most gracious Hostess this week is our friend Grace. and she wants to know...

Your Day: please describe to us your typical weekday, from when you wake up until when you go to bed, what do you do to get you up and going, how do you wind down in the evening and what happens in your life in between those times. For some of us, the drama is in the mornings and evenings and for others, it is during the day.

Well now...since I am retired most of my mornings are about the same...I like to rise n shine around 7am....my hubs is always the first one up and he makes the coffee every morning. I get out of bed, go potty, splash my face with cold water to get the sleepy man out, and head downstairs for my first cup of coffee ...this is my favorite time of day. Did I ever tell you what a great coffee brew my hubby makes everyday. I never know what blend it will be, he likes to mix it up.. he uses regular and mixes it with different flavored coffees like hazelnut, vanilla, pumpkin spice, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel swirl, just to name a few. After getting my coffee, I sit n stare at the t.v. watching the Today show and slowly wake up while sipping my delicious brew. Two cups is my limit...by now I am wide awake and ready to take on the day. I get my lap top and check...email...go visit my blog buddies...check face book and tend to my farm (farmville) on face book. I then start laundry and have my breakfast, which is usually cereal. My Hubs makes the bed everyday also (am I lucky or what!!!) I clean up the breakfast dishes and then I will make my daily phone calls...most of the time to my two daughters or my sister or friends. Next, I look at the clock and say OMG its 11am already and I am not even dressed. So I get dressed and get myself to the gym for my daily workout. This is when I run errands also. When I get home, I will have a lite lunch finish up laundry, watch Dr. Phil n Oprah and then its time to start preparing dinner. On days I watch my youngest grand daughter I clear my calender so I am prepared to spend quality time with my sweet little angel. I am pretty flexible so lots of my days vary according to my plans. We eat dinner most every nite at 6pm...clean up dishes and now that its dark at that time...I watch the evening news, read my mail.. play on the computer, get my shower around 8pm and settle in to watch my favorite shows for that night. I head on up to bed anytime between 9pm n 10pm. Most nights its lights out and time to get some zzzzz's by 10 pm. Now go see how the rest of the crew spends their day. Thanks for hosting Grace!

The Last Bloom

2009-11-07T01:58:00.000-08:00

I just happened to notice this one lone bloom on my clematis vine. Very unusual for November.

Vermont...The final Chapter

2009-11-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

On Day three of our trip we visited "Hildene" the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln..

His father was born in a log cabin and called from the humblest rank in life to preside over our nation during the most momentous period of its history. One generation later, Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood, became chairman of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing corporation at the turn of the 20th century. He built his Georgian Revival mansion in 1905 in the scenic village of Manchester in The Shires of Vermont. It became home to only Lincoln descendants until 1975, longer than any other Lincoln residence. It is an example of the “Great American Story” and the story of the Lincoln family’s love affair with Vermont. An historic home, gardens, trails, woods and farm set on 412 preserved acres of quintessential Vermont landscape.

The view from the garden

Our next stop was the.............

BENNINGTON BATTLE MONUMENT
The tallest structure in Vermont commemorates the Battle of Bennington, a battle that lead to the turning point in the Revolutionary War.

Soaring more than 300 feet above the lovely streets of Old Bennington, a striking stone monument marks the site of a critical military supply depot.

"There are the Redcoats;they will be ours or tonightMolly Stark sleeps a widow."

General John Stark

In the late summer of 1777, the Continental Army beat a hasty retreat toward Bennington. British and Hessians pursued, but were badly in need of supplies.
The Americans, carrying what is believed to be the first American flag into battle, defeated them before they could reach the supply depot at Bennington.
The British were forced to proceed to Saratoga without the supplies, where they met a stunning defeat that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War

Moose Art

All you Teachers out there....here is a little trivia for you....notice that the Vermont flag is flying at the same level as our American flag. Normally this would be unlawful...the American flag should always fly higher than your state flag......well..here is the part that blew me away....Vermont can fly their flag the same height because they were at one time their own country. Yep, that's right...they were a country for 14 years...who knew! That was a fact well hidden from the history books. I guess because they petitioned the continental congress to be the 14Th state and were rejected. They said the Heck with you...we will become our own country...and they did. How do you like that little bit of trivia!

Our last stop for the day was ...The Apple Barn

More Moose Art

The owner jumped on our bus and took us up to the apple orchards for the most spectacular views

After returning to the barn for homemade apple pie, we headed back to the Inn for our last dinner and entertainment for the evening. A magic show left us all scratching our heads saying...How did he do that!

Early the next morning after breakfast, it was time to board the bus for our long ride back home. The entire staff came out to say good bye. Everyday they would come out to wave to us as we left for the day and were always there to wave to us when we returned...it was such a nice feeling. As they were standing there waving goodbye for the last time, I actually got choked up...they were so nice and accommodating during our stay..it made you feel like family.

Maybe one day we will return...

A Halloween Party

2009-11-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

Our Blogging Buddy "The Church Lady" Hosted a Halloween party on Saturday and here are the results...A good time was had by all!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Wishing n Sharing

2009-11-02T01:03:00.000-08:00

FUN MONDAY

Our friend Mariposa volunteered this week and here is her challenge.........

(1) Share something which you wish your readers would know about you. It could be something you feel you might need to clarify/ share, etc.
(2) Ask three questions to your readers, and I mean all readers, whether participants of Fun Monday or not. The questions should be generic so that all your readers can answer them and that it will help you get to know your readers more

The one thing I would like to share with my readers is....to let them know how much I appreciate them coming to visit my blog. I feel like you are all my friends even though I have not met you face to face. SO HERE IS A BIG THANK YOU AND HUGS FROM ME TO YOU!

The three questions I ask of you is...........
1. what color are your eyes?
2. what do you love to do with your spare time (besides blogging)?
3. what is your all time favorite song?
Can't wait to see your answers!
Now scoot on over to see what other questions are being asked...Thanks for hosting Mariposa!

Vermont Adventure Part 2

2009-10-30T01:19:00.000-07:00

Day two of our trip we headed to Stockbridge Massachusetts to visit the renowned Norman Rockwell Museum and hometown.

This photo below features Norman Rockwell's' second wife(on the right) holding their first grandchild. The neat thing about it is...she had died two years before this child was born and Rockwell painted them together. He always had meaning in his paintings..mostly it was very subtle. We got to see all of Rockwell's original paintings and all of the 350+ covers of the Saturday Evening Post. This man painted real life.

Our tour guide Mike was so full of information and history of Vermont. We really learned a lot from him. He was funny too, had us laughing all the time. You could tell he lived in Vermont..always running around in shorts, when most of us were in long pants and jackets.

This photo is taken in front of the Red Lion Inn on Main street. Rockwell depicted this street the idea small town, in his painting of Christmas on Main street. It remains the same after all these years. Rockwell lived just around the corner.

We had a delicious lunch in the Red Lion Inn...very nice atmosphere and fine dining. It was a very special treat and enjoyed by everyone.

There were interesting sculptures all along main street by local artists.

I thought this was a quaint setting

Our next stop was Chesterwood.. This was the home of the famous sculptor Daniel Chester French. He was the creator of the Lincoln Memorial that is in Washington D.C. Very interesting facts that we never knew.

After a full day in Stockbridge we headed back to Vermont which was a two and a half drive.

The weather was gorgeous and the views were superb. Stay tuned for part 3 and final chapter.

TRICK OR TREAT

2009-10-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a big deal here in Hanover Pa. People decorate with pumpkins, ghosts and witches and lots of other scary stuff.
Our church kicked off the festivities with a costume skating party on Sunday evening. Check out the many faces of the Church lady!

On Tuesday our township has trick or treat nite for the kids. Check out Roxy the biker chic, complete with red wig and leather jacket, does she look familiar? Her friend Deanna is a die hard Ravens Fan.

Casey was a cute Bumble Bee, Katie was a nurse, Samantha was a Reeses cup and Carley was GI Jane.

Click to enlarge so you can read the back of the Resses cup, too funny. Very creative!

After trick or treating in the drizzly wet night for about an hour, the girls came back with their bounty. They proceed to dump and trade.

Not a bad take for only an hours work!

Saturday, we are going to a Halloween party hosted by that party girl "The Church Lady," I can't wait to see what she dresses as that nite. We have our costumes all ready...sorry..can't reveal what they are..stay tuned next week for a complete report of the fun filled night. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Natures Beauty

A Vermont Adventure part 1

2009-10-27T01:47:00.000-07:00

Jer and I arrived at The Horizon Inn on Tuesday evening at 5pm. It was a long trip and we had enough time to check in unpack and get to the dinning room at 6pm. This set the pattern for the next 3 days. On Wednesday we hopped on the bus and left the Inn at 9am, we headed to Townsend Vermont for our first stop on the tour. We arrived at the Frisians of Majesty farm for a show and tour of the stables. These horses are absolutely beautiful and they are as gentle as can be as well as very smart. The horse below is 17 hands high...if you know anything about horses, you know this is a very large horse.

The stable they are kept in is bright and very clean as you can see in this photo. The horses loved for you to pet them!

Our next stop was at the Scott Covered Bridge...it is the longest covered bridge in Vermont. We walked across it and took lots of photos...even though the fall foliage was past peak, it was still a beautiful setting. We lucked out also, because the weather was sunny and in the 60's that day.

Time to board the bus and head to the Vermont Country Store...If you have never heard of this place...its a trip down memory lane. They carry all the old time toys, candy and gadgets that we grew up with.

This photo was taken just up the street from the Country store. The whole town was so very quaint!

It was time to head back to the Inn and about half way there, someone on the bus yelled..there's a Moose...the bus driver stopped, turned around and there he was a big male standing there in among the pine trees. He was nice enough to come out into the open field for us to take his picture...it was very exciting. The photo is grainy because I had to take it through the window, but you can see it is a moose. I think that made every body's day!

Stayed tuned for our Vermont adventure part 2 at the end of the week.

What are You Wearing

2009-10-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

FUN MONDAY ONCE AGAIN

Gattina our Belgium friend is hosting this week and here is her challenge.....
What are you wearing when you get out of your bed on a Sunday morning. Of course I want to see a picture of what you wear, with you inside or out.

Well my friend...I could not show you what I wear when I get out of bed because we would be arrested for nudity. But...I can show you what I put on as soon as I get up.

This photo pretty much shows what I put on in the winter months, only its two piece...a sweat shirt and sweat pants. If I have to run out to get the paper or to the mail box in the morning..I appear to be dressed. Sometimes if I am not going anywhere during the day, I will keep this on, its so comfy and warm. Gotta go now and see what everyone else is wearing. Thanks for hosting Gattina.

Where is Jan and Jer

2009-10-23T01:51:00.000-07:00

So its friday and Jer and I are on a trip to Vermont, this is where we are staying.. here and this is what we are looking at and taking photos of...

more breathtaking photos (I hope) to follow next week. Oh I forgot to mention...its our 2oth wedding anniversary special celebration.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

A Modern Farm

Bad Hair Monday

2009-10-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

Sandy is our fun hostess for this week and she wants us to share some bad hair stories.

My first bad hair story takes place about 25 years ago. My hair is very fine and has no body what so ever...so After years of having to mess with rollers in my hair and teasing it for body, I had enough and I got me a perm.....Well this is the first time I cried over my hair!!!! It was so frizzy and curly I looked like I stuck my finger in a light socket! Now this was right around the time when curling irons were becoming popular(thank God) this is what saved me. I thought I could just wash my hair, air dry and be on my way...NOT! it took the curling iron to tame it down. I have since learned when I get perms to have them roll it with larger rollers so I don't wind up looking like George Washington!

My frizzy mess

After many years of perms...I decided to just let my hair be short and straight...this is the second time I cried over my hair! I must have gotten a girl right out of beauty school...she whacked my hair bad......my usual is to get 1/2 inch cut every 4 weeks...my hair grows fairly fast..when I got home and really took a close look, it was sticking straight up in the back at the crown of my head...I looked like a rooster. Well my good old curling iron came to the rescue once again. I was able to bend it a little and comb it over to the side and blend it in with the rest of my hair. After about two weeks of growth it finally laid flat.

Let me outta here

Now go on over and read some more hair raising stories! click here!

Nasty Cold Weekend

2009-10-16T07:38:00.001-07:00

Its a cold wet weekend here in the Northeast. Some parts of Pa. got 7 inches of snow last nite, here in Hanover we are just getting rain. The temps are way below normal which is in the mid 60's for October. Forget about any outdoor activites...looks like we are all house bound for a few days! So this is what I intend to do .....first I am making a pot of chicken noodle soup.

Next I am going to build a raging fire in the fireplace to warm my bones...........

And then I am going to watch some old movies on the boob tube and get caught up on my reading. Sometimes it takes bad weather to slow us down. What do you do when bad weather hits your area???

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-14T01:36:00.000-07:00

Gods Art Work

Gadgets Gadgets Gadgets

2009-10-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

FUN MONDAY

Our new friend wendishness has agreed to host this week and here is her challenge.....

This week it’s all about gadgets! I would like to know what gadgets you can’t live without and those you could get rid of. It doesn’t matter what part of your life or house they dwell in, whether it’s the kitchen, your desk, shed or any other place but what works well for you and what doesn’t? I would prefer you take photos but I know for some that’s not always as easy s0 do whatever works for you.

The first gadget I could not live without is my trusty camera. I have always loved taking photos to preserve the memories of special occasions with family and friends. Here lately I love to capture the beauty of nature all around us. So my camera has become my steady companion.

The other gadgets I could not do without are...my laptop for working on my blog and communicating with friends and family. Of course "Google" for information. The next thing is my garage door opener....I admit it...I am spoiled...we are lucky to have a two car garage and it is like heaven to be able to pull into your garage when its pouring cats n dogs! Not to mention bringing groceries in. My Ipod is also at the top of my list....it has all my favorite music on it and I love to walk after dinner while listening to my Ipod. Last but not least is my cell phone...although to be honest...I could most likely live without one....I do feel safe having it with me when I am on the road..but really don't like to talk on it....especially when I am in the store...I really don't think other people like to hear my conversations. That is all the gadgets I own and use. The only other one I can think of is the TV remote which makes life easier and lazier, but I think it's safe to say that we all love our remotes! Now go see some other popular gadgets. Thanks again to Wendishness for hosting.

Looking Back

2009-10-11T01:23:00.000-07:00

Just a review of our Fun Summer! So Sad to see it end.

Out of the Mouth of a Two Year Old

2009-10-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hey leave me alone...I'm watching my favorite Barbie Movie!I think I will play with my Barbies now

I Love Barbies!

It's always so interesting to sit, listen and run after a toddler. My two and a half year old gran-daughter Holly, keeps me on my toes at all times. I have been watching her quite a bit for my daughter while she works and let me tell you...it tires me out but it's a happy tired. She cracks me up with some of her vocabulary....here is a short list

1. yemin-yems---- m&m's
2. decussing..... disgusting

3. BPa .... ....granpa

4. work ....... look

5. wheel-wi ....... really

6. melmo .... Elmo

7. gross...... gross

8. I hate...... I hate...(some things are learned from older sister).

9. gourl ..... girl

10. JJ...... GJ ( that's me)

She is such a joy, I wish I could keep her at this age forever!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T01:47:00.000-07:00

Harvest Moon

What I Love About Fall

2009-10-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

FUN MONDAY

Hoosier Girl asks us to do this fun challenge for this weeks Fun Monday...
Show us or tell us what you love about fall - images, smells, sights, activities.

Wow, what don't I love about fall...nothing like the cool fresh clean air, the smell of smoke from a fire in a fireplace, the beautiful color of the leaves on the trees, pumpkins, mums, apples and pies, halloween and trick or treat, tea parties with friends. I simply love everything about fall! One of my very favorite things to do is decorate inside and out for the season. Also at this time of year, I love to host a tea party for my friends and family. View the slide show below to see some of my fall favorites. Thanks to Hoosier Girl for hosting this week.

Whats for Dinner

2009-10-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

Where's the Fish?

Here they Are, in my neighbors pond! Thanks goodness they have netting over it to protect the many huge koi that are living there.

A Special Gift

2009-10-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

This award was just passed on to me from my Georgia blogging buddy Thena. I have been blogging for a year now and this is my very first award. I have been visiting Thena's blog now for about 7 months. When Jer n I head south for the winter this year, I hope I can arrange to met her. The rules for this award is to post it on my sidebar and pass it on to 15 other bloggers. I am going to bend the rules a little and offer this award to all who come to visit my blog. It means so much to me when you take the time to leave a comment. So feel free to grab this award.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-30T01:46:00.000-07:00

Whose Your Character of Choice?

2009-09-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

Ari is our host for Today. Here is Fun Monday's question: If you could click your heels three times, and change lives with any character from any film, who would it be and why?

At first, I thought, wow..this is going to be hard. But after I gave it a little thought..this is the first thing that came to mind. If I could change lives with any film character it would be Ginger Rogers. Even though she was in her prime a little before my time, I admire her talent. Ginger and Fred Astaire were a match made in heaven for dancing together. Tap dancing is so much fun to do and watch. Way back when...I took dance lessons and tap was my favorite. I was very good at it, but I quit after a few years and never went back. This has been one of my regrets in life. Who knows where it would have taken me...maybe I would have gone on to be a Rockette and dancing at The Radio City Music Hall.

The announcement of the Astaire-Rogers screen partnership - from the trailer to Flying Down to Rio
Rogers was most famous for her partnership with Fred Astaire. Together, from 1933 to 1939, they made nine musical films at RKO Flying Down to Rio (1933), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Swing Time (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), and Carefree (1938), The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) and a tenth The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) was made later at MGM, and in so doing, revolutionized the Hollywood musical, introducing dance routines of unprecedented elegance and virtuosity, set to songs specially composed for them by the greatest popular song composers of the day. To this day, "Fred and Ginger" remains an almost automatic reference for any successful dance partnership.