End of an era

Well, thanks to everyone who rallied around and lent us their muscle- we have done what I once thought was nigh unto impossible!

Everything is gone!

On Friday, Susan & Ian came down, and in 96 degree heat, Ian and Tom loaded up a U-Haul (twice) and took all the boxes and furniture that we moved to Cortland to the apartment. Good job guys, getting my beloved pillowtop mattress up those stairs!! Susan helped me pack up all the last-minute odds and ends, and we ran the moving sale for one more day. When they left for the day, Susan's car was full of boxes headed for storage in her attic!

On Saturday, we had more folks shopping at our sale, and Towhee & Alex came to help us pack up the leftovers to donate to the Salvation Army. Towhee took this picture for us, and the chair that you can see in the dining room was all that was left in the house. It is now gone as well. Judy had asked to have it, and she came to get it Sunday PM.



One of the last items left in the sale was this doll house that Tom made for Erika. Luckily today we found a good new home for it- a very nice gentleman took it for his niece. And the books...well, they will be donated to the Groton library.


And so we have closed out this chapter in our life, and we are looking forward to a European adventure with lots of grandchildren & great, great nieces & nephews scattered throughout the world so that we can indulge our love of travel and adventure!

A Week Well-Spent

What a week we have had!

We can back up to July 4, which we spent very pleasantly at a friend's cottage down the lake from us. Their summer home doesn't really qualify as a "cottage", as it is larger and more beautiful than many people's year-round residences. Anyway, they had invited a large group to celebrate the 4th with them, so we went by boat, and had a great time giving everyone tours of the boat, swimming, eating, etc. We ended with a bonfire, and we then cruised home in the dark under a canopy of fireworks that were being launched over the lake from many sites, guided by the annual "flares around the lake" . It was great!

Erika arrived on Saturday, and immediately went to work organizing the dismantling of our home. We had moved everything out of our attic already, but Erika helped us look through every box and bag and sort all our belongings into "sell", "store", or "take" piles. She also had pre-wedding bridesmaid duties to attend to during this time, having managed to convince her friend to get married at the same time we were preparing to move! She also managed to keep in touch with her office.....

On Tuesday we hosted the Hollister side of the family, who met at the lake for a bit of sun and sustenance before going to the house to reclaim some of the ancestral treasures I have been holding.

On Wednesday & Thursday we prepared for a massive garage sale, filling the entire porch and the two front rooms of the house with items for sale. Erika was the driving force in organizing everything, as I was tending to pick up an item and then walk in circles trying to decide what to do with it. She got us on course, and created the layout of our impromptu store. Here we are, hard at work!

Oops - wrong pic!

Mike arrived on Friday, but we didn't have much time to enjoy his company as he was needed for the actual wedding events, beginning with the rehearsal dinner Friday evening and the wedding itself on Saturday evening. He did bring our grandpuppies, and it was fun to have dogs in the house again. They were very well-behaved towards all our customers, and willingly remained upstairs most of the time we had the sale open.

Karen & Denny stopped by to pick up a Victorian etagere from Tom's family, and we had an opportunity to apologize for missing Denny's 50th birthday bash. Seems Tom told me the wrong weekend! Tom told me it was July 12, so I planned the sale so that we could shut it down & have time to get to the party - but we missed it by a week!

Rich & Diane gallently came again on Sunday to take some of our items for storing, and also took some items to sell in Diane's store. Susan & Rob are offering storage space as well, which we will take them up on next week, and we have plans for all who said they would help us move! We just need to settle on a moving date, see who will be available, and we will be one step closer to to our goal!

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL!!

Where Tom spent last week

Tom was the "official" photographer for this year's Vacation Bible School program at our church. This is an amazing endeavor that draws 80 to 100 kids from the neighborhood and other churches for the week-long program.

This year's theme was Friendship Trek and featured an out-doorsy theme, complete with color coded bandanas to designate the groups, furry forest friends (stuffed, of course) scenic mountain backdrops and other camping props. It was amazing to see the number of adult & teen volunteers who led the classes, helped with crafts, taught songs, appeared in skits, served snacks, and made the week an enjoyable experience!

The catch-phrase for the week was "Friends Forever". Looks like these two are in the spirit.

The story tent....

Little ones on the move....

The fearless leaders- pastor Rob Foote and director Paula explaining the mission project for the week. The kids not only donated money to be given to the American Red Cross, but also shoes for a mission in Kyrgyzstan.

The goal was to collect enough shoes to line both sides of the aisle all the way to the back of the church.

Here's a little video of part of the closing program. These kids love to sing!

I think Tom enjoyed this assignment!

Ice Cream Social

The city of Ithaca hosts free fireworks for the 4th- usually a day or two before the actual holiday. When the city moved the fireworks location from the stadium at Cornell to the hills of Ithaca College a few years ago, our church realized that it was perfectly situated to provide a great view of the fireworks, without having to negotiate all the traffic. And what goes better with fireworks than Purity ice cream?

So the church invites all members, neighbors, and friends to a free ice cream social. Since we have about 4 acres of land and two awesome playgrounds, it is the perfect place for families to gather with their kids to enjoy a beautiful evening. This year we served about 200 folks.



Some folks come early to get just the right spot.





After being in Prague for New Year's, these don't quite make the grade, but we were intrigued by the diversity of folks our little party draws.




Oohs & aahs are much the same in any language!