May Means Ron’s Birthday

31 May:  Mayday, Mayday!  We are running out of May days!  But, after all, tomorrow IS another month.  After breakfast, Cynthia hoofed it to Chestnut Hill Jewelers to make a deal.  She sold her pair of unmatched two gold earrings for $75.00 and bought a very inexpensive pair of earrings to replace the ones she lost.  (Silly Ron preferred the unmatched pair.)  The Smooches ate lunch at McMenamins before walking into Chestnut Hill for Ron to take a passport photo, but CVS didn't offer the striped shirt and number that he requested.  Then on to the Post Office to mail cards and return.  Cynthia is rich in steps today - - - really steppin' out.  Ron is eating frozen pineapple and mango to keep his strength up this afternoon.  Receipts tell Ron that other people joined us for dinner at Scoogi's, my guess is John and Jim.

30 May:  The rain yesterday means that Cynthia doesn't need to water her plants this morning.  We were a bit warm throughout the night, but slept well and woke up too early.  Ron is already feeling sluggish with a full stomach after breakfast.  He might have to return to the house for additional pineapple and mango sugar to perk up his personality.  First, however, there is an e-mail to send and a letter full of postcards to address.  All Done and Ron is feeling much more energetic - so much so that he prepared a forWeb version of another package.

29 May:  Another tomorrow, but we will have to await tomorrow for another day.  Eureka !!  Receipts tell Ron that we went to McMenamin's for lunch with Kim and ? today.  (Ron really needs to blog lunches while still incoherent.)  Ron has completed the Cock package that has consumed all his time for the last six weeks (823 pages.)  Only 8 more packages for the Swedish Colonial Society left to complete.  Then there is the James Lea document for Cynthia before he can resume working on the Rambo Family Tree.  There are just too many fun things to do.  Cynthia is discovering that the Forefathers Profiles require much more data entry and attention than she imagined.  Isn't it nice that we can stay our of mischief so easily?  It will be quite a respite to enjoy a hiking vacation in Vermont for the rest of the summer, and we are discussing a return to the Pritikin in September (for the cheaper rates, dontcha know.)  The rain this afternoon was intense and a tornado touched down in Berks County (nearby).  Fortunately it had stopped by 7:20 when we walked home for dinner oatmeals.  Little Miss Smoochie had spirited the flowers up to the bed and sat awaiting Cynthia with the "Let Me Count the Ways I Love You" card in hand.

28 May:  Only three more shopping days left until June Day.  Oh my gosh, I forgot to celebrate May Day.  (Editorial comment from the pulpit: Isn't Ron hilariously funny?  The tree depicted on 24 May is a Korean Dogwood, according to Nancy Drew who does DNA.)  Up early, well rested, and back to working on the new components of the package, tossing out superfluities and redacting others.  Fortunately John was here today at lunchtime, so we were enabled to walk to McMenamin's so that Ron could drink lunch - and behold, he is finally sober enough to type legibly.  Getting close to completion, but heavy thunderstorms are also forecast, and it is now 7 PM, quitting time.  Somehow the heavy thunderstorms never materialized although Pastor David said that it rained heavily during the night.

27 May:  We rested well last night and woke up refreshed and cheerful.  (Thank God we both usually wake up cheerfully.)  Ron spent ten minutes meditating about how peaceful and beautiful the campus is on a holiday before asking Michael let us into the Archives.  Ron is now back to work.  Thank goodness for time to recover after a "day of rest," spent washing windows.  Now he is editing the "final" component of the Cox package and listening to "oldies" on his headphones.  Oops, more components showed up.  Nephew Eric's RPM Coins web page (click here) is reported to have problems (easily fixed by da Geek squadette.)  Communication with cousin Angi continues to be entertaining, and she is typing tons of Dehaven information.  (We need a name, Angi, for Dorothy Bertine's Dehaven book so that I can get the word out via this blog.)  The daily walk to and from Fresh Market for salad lunch was refreshing, although Ron (clippers in hand) never caught up to Cynthia after returning to change shirts and retrieve his hat.  This evening's walk was glorious; the flowers are smelling amazingly fragrant throughout the campus.  (So we walked in circles for nearly an hour this evening.)

26 May, Sunday:  Tomorrow, rapidly approaching (just like yesterday).
Ron is funny!  RON is Funny! RON IS FUNNY!  (Editorial comment from someone other than Ron.)  We churched in the morning and enjoyed the pulpit supply minister wonderfully well.  Fresh Market lettuce lunch next, followed by a quick trip to Walmart (where Ron forgot to buy fat-free, salt-free pretzels.)  Then Ron washed windows until the rain diverted his attention to the Family Tree Maker file that Cynthia improved.  After cessation of rain, window washing resumed until after dark.  Monday morning light reveals that the windows are still streaky but much, much improved.  Two more dining room windows will be Ron's focus next Sunday.  Washing windows is a lot more work when they've accumulated crud for at least ten years and all of the sliding parts are corroded or sticky.

Impatiens.  Up close and personal.

25 May:  Tomorrow, rapidly approaching yesterday, collided with today, today. 
Ron is funny!  
Today Michael had to unlock the Brossman Center for us to be the only other souls on campus.  Ron will be compelled to invent things to say to make the text extend for the entire length of the picture beside it - - - and we made progress in that dimension.

24 May:  Nina F. from Santa Fe, NM, wrote this marvelous poem for our marriage in May 2011:  

Unto her –

This tree has marvelously snow white, squarish blossoms.
(Google doesn't find good pictures, but Cynthia says it is a dogwood.)

his eyes –
If water
was a flame –
lift and chase
the sparkle
in her veins –
Not a rock
is he –
Or a stone –
But a canyon
with a thousand
depths –
The red core’s
heart –
The lips
that taste
the marrow
in her bones.

These lilac colored flowers have a sweet fragrance.

and Cynthia blogged before I looked at my computer this morning.  Another lovely Philadelphia Friday morning, and we are at the Archives working early.  Fortunately, John showed up and we were able to "drink lunch" late at McMenamin's.  Ron has returned to sobriety and is wrapping up the Catherine Cox package at long last, perhaps tomorrow.  After a few hints for a few days, Cynthia posted photos of her new flowers and the beautiful dogwood tree recently blossoming snow white.  

Cynthia's new planted row of impatiens.

23 May:  Yes, we are still in Philadelphia at the Lutheran Seminary in Mt. Airy, still enjoying accommodation on-campus with Pastor David.  And Ron is again in the basement working on the Catherine Cox package for John Tepe.  Typical walk to Fresh Market for lunch and an additional walk at 7 PM to sniff the flowers and round out the mandatory 10,000 steps.  Ron intended to get to bed early, but it was again 10:30 by the time he hit the sack.

22 May:  Ron is again in the basement working on the Catherine Cox package, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Kim-Eric and an excuse to "drink lunch" at McMenamin's.  Cynthia is again slaving away in the Lull Lounge, adding source citations to every iota of information from The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware.  Hefeweizen for lunch was delicious; Kim and Prof. Larry also joined us today.  By 5 PM Ron had sobered enough to resume work.  Ron was delighted to see Eric there again (Eric was the hard-working busboy at McMenamin's from 2011-2015.)  7:20 we went for a lovely walk around the neighborhood after which Cynthia watered her flowers, we ate a couple bags of popcorn and suddenly it was bedtime again.  We enjoyed wonderful sleep and woke up refreshed.

21 May:  Today was chilly again this morning.  Will the weather ever make up its mind?  Err, forget that the weather has no mind.  Mid-day the weather was perfect, warm enough with a cool breeze.  The new scale declared Ron to weigh a mere 171 lbs - too little, so he needs to start eating more, poor boy.  Today we again ate leftover salads for lunch, but we have finished them now.  Ron is enjoying the frozen pineapple and mango that Walmart sells - his ice cream substitute.  The leftover salads removed the incentive to walk to Fresh Market for lunch.  In the evening we invited John and Jim to Scoogi's for dinner.  Afterward, we agreed that Scoogi's is still our favorite restaurant hereabouts (click here), in large part because it is quiet and relaxed.  The good food doesn't hurt, and Jim & John thoroughly enjoyed their desserts.  So we are under-walked today.

20 May:  Another day at the Archives.  Ron bailed out of the house early, when Cynthia began cleaning up a storm.  Blogging done, back to the Cock package.  The new flowers that Cynthia planted beside the entry sidewalk are looking quite bright and cheerful today.  Cynthia declared it too hot to walk to Fresh Market mid-day, so we ate leftover salads for lunch and walked to the Trolley Car Diner for dinner of an egg white omelet.

19 May, Sunday:  What a change, straight from winter into the heat of mid-summer in two days.  We enjoyed our walk to church in the morning and Ron exulted in the trimmed trees along the way.  Immediately after eating lunch salads at Fresh Market, we rode the motorcycle to Walmart where Ron bought a new bathroom scale.  The good news is that he weighs only 172.8 Monday morning.  (Don't ask Cynthia about the bad news - Ron is in enough trouble already.)

18 May:  Cynthia is still coughing and drowsy after using nighttime cough medicine last night - - and here it is noontime, time to walk to Fresh Market, but we have too much salad in the refrig, so we will buy bananas and blueberries instead of fresh salad.

Thanks to Britt A. for the photos taken at the Council meeting on 16 May (moved to that date below): another photo is the twos of us, the Rector blessing our marriage, and the news article published in the Swedish Colonial News in 2011. 

Happily Forever After

17 May:  Settendemai, (17 May) the Norwegian Fourth of July!  Ron was delighted to skip out for lunch with John P. at noon, but drank a light lunch since evening celebrations were on the schedule.  After a long day's work in the Archives, we Swedes (plus Norske) had a marvelous dinner party at Jansen (click here) to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary and Ron's birthday (Da Annibursary.)  Friends Jim and Joni drove from Maryland, John and Emily came from Delaware, Herb and Zofia came from New Jersey,  Mark brought Sally from Berwyn, Ed and Wu Jen live closer?, John P. came from up north in Philly, and Kim-Eric and Ruth drove from Exeter, PA.  Ron and Cynthia were given a couple of greeting cards (one hand-made by Sally's computer printer and the other signed by everyone present) and a lovely flower basket (thanks Wu Jen.)  It was a lovely dinner!!!!  We are thankful to our friends for celebrating with us!!!!  

   16 May: Ron continues working on the Peter Larsson Cock package, and occasionally decrypts another cryptic source citation.
Cynthia has entered reports from Peter Craig concerning the colonial Schaggen, Stille and Yocum's lineages into Family Tree Maker.  The rain has made many local flowers breathtaking.  Bev W. gave us a ride to the Swedish Colonial Society councilors meeting at Gloria Dei "Old Swedes" Church near Penn's Landing.  Ron and Cynthia were the Fika (lunch) hosts.  This catered, Pritikin-perfect lunch was so tasty and appealing that Cynthia received effusive thanks.  Better yet, the Rector of Gloria Dei blessed our marriage which was officiated by her predecessor at Gloria Dei eight wonderful years ago. 

The Rector of Gloria Dei blessed our marriage.

After all normal business reports were given, we delivered brief reports about our activities  Everyone was so pleased that we eventually stopped talking that we received a round of applause.  The 3 PM ride back to the Archives took more than two hours, thanks to big city rush hour, a bit stressful for Bev.  Thanks Bev.



15 May:  The disadvantage of blogging three days later is that we have forgotten if there was any notable news other than noting that the rain has ceased and the sun is shining.  Cynthia mulched the flower beds before coming to the Archives.  The afternoon was spent at the Augustana meeting with Sally in a nice nook inside the Krauth Library.  The library is unique; the art glass floors came from Harvard's library in the mid-twenties.  Archivist Lisa also come to the meeting along with (?) the librarian(?).

New Sweden's "Royal Couple," pictured on 12 May 2011.

14 May:  Another day just like the other day!  The rain has been horrific for three days.  But, thank God for the rain; the flowers blossom and bloom!  While going through receipts a month later, Ron discovered that we went to McMenamins with Kim and John today.  (Kim drinks one Victory  and John orders iced tea.)  Apparently drinking lunch is incompatible with blogging.

13 May:  Another day in the archives from dawn to dusk!  And after a week not blogging, no other memories.  It could be that this was the day we ventured out to walk to Fresh Market despite morning rain - which seemingly had ended, but resumed as soon as we started walking.  Since the color radar had indicated cessation, we kept walking and got soaked.  Cynthia began to wonder if wet feet and that soaking might be giving her a cold.

12 May, Sunday:  Hooray, hooray for the 12th of May, its Ron's annibirsary!  We celebrated the big birthday and our anniversary by driving to worship (in the rain), walking (in the rain) to Fresh Market, and working on our computers (while it rained outside).  Our friend Jane B. from Kensett, Iowa wished us a happy trifecta for celebrating anniversary, birthday and Mother's Day!  Thank you, Jane!

May 12 2011-- A toast to living happily ever after! 

Rose Miller Vold and Cynthia (note hairdo, another girl day)

11 May:  Up early, we raced off to Wally World to buy groceries, exchange clippers, and get petro.  That speedy start seemed well advised to avoid the rains forecast for later in the day - which rains never arrived.  The day continued one race after another.  Cynthia prepared sweet corn and baked sweet potatoes, which we shared with Pastor David for dinner.  Isn't she sweet?   Children and grandchildren sent her skin cream that has worked so marvelously that she doesn't look a day older than this photo at age one with her mother.

10 May: Cynthia had a girl day, a pedi, mani and girlicure day, plus a haircut, too.  Joel, Susan, and Jean C. joined us for dinner at Jansen's to celebrate Ron's birthday and our anniversary a couple days early.  Everyone enjoyed pleasant conversation, great food, and great company.

9 May:  We missed blogging a day; maybe we missed out on this whole day?

8 May:  another smooch day, and another day at the Archives.  Ron continues to make incremental progress with the Catherine Cock package.  In heavy rain last night Ron noticed that a downspout is overflowing, not draining.  Cynthia seemingly hasn't regained her energy since mulching a couple of days ago.  Ron took Cynthia to dinner at Jansen, a date night to celebrate our big upcoming anniversary #8!  

7 May:  Smooch.  And so begins another day at the Archives.  Today we didn't walk to Fresh Market but instead ate leftover salads at home.  We did walk to the garden store where Cynthia bought some plantings.  Nice day and warm in the sunshine.  In the evening we treated Pastor David to dinner at the Trolley Car Diner.  Ron has refused to order there since getting indifferent responses from server and cashier the last time he ordered no oil and received an omelet floating in oil.  The "trail maintenance" clipping trees along the sidewalk is progressing nicely although that added activity delays Ron's arrival where ever we walk.

6 May, Monday!  The (female) Tasmanian devil worked hard cleaning, doing laundry, and put out two bags of mulch before ten AM!  Apparently she exhausted herself.  Ron solved several cryptic source citation questions, worked on two family group sheet packages.  We spent another very long day in the Archives, walked to Fresh Market for lunch, got in our ten thousand steps by three thirty.  Ron carries clippers to trim low hanging branches while we walk, so he arrives at Fresh Market somewhat later than Cynthia.  The evening walk was indeed pleasant and fragrant. The lilacs and Lily of the Valley fleurs are marvelous.  The day never quite warmed up enough but was much better than the last few.

5 May, Sunday, Cinco de Mayo:  What does this mean?  FB posted a meme with a jar of Mayo in a stainless steel sink.  So look up Cinco de Mayo, it means more than tacos.  The BBC reported global Christian genocide; Lord have mercy.  It is raining in Philly and so we rode to church with Pr. David, treated him to lunch at Fresh Market, and rode home with him also.  23 people were in worship, but despite the small crowd, we sang loud.  Ron is proud of himself for donning his rain gear and washing the motorcycle in the rain.  It came pretty clean quickly.  The remainder of the day was spent on computer work.  Unfortunately, Reunion GEDCOMs and Family Tree Maker GEDCOMs are not perfectly compatible.  Several glitches will require Ron to massage the GEDCOM text files to effect a seamless transfer.  These will be most easily done with XYWrite, although Ron may decide to attempt the changes with Unix utilities that are available on the Mac.  The day stayed cool, and Cynthia became cold.  Ron still puzzles that her metabolism is so different from his.

May the 4th be with you!  (Lutherans response, “And also with you!”)

3 May:  Another repetition of Archives, Fresh Market, evening walk, and sleep.  However, winter returned for another visit.

Another photo from Longwood Gardens last Monday

2 May:  Another normal day at the Archives, with a break for lunch at Fresh Market.  Nice warm 80-degree warmth.

1 May 2019, 12 days to Ron’s big birthday!  YAY!  Celebrate his day by sending an email to rsbeatty@gmail.com.  Ron already started celebrating by drinking lunch with Kim at McMenamins.  (Why big birthday ??)

April in New Sweden

30 Apr:  Ron is in the Archives again and will blog later, as usual.  Cynthia has finished up adding source citations to the entirety of the 1693 Census.  AttaGirl, Congratulations on finishing a big job.  Ron has finished his Friend family source citation confirmations (except for materials not in the Craig Collection.)




29 Apr:  We awoke in Wilmington, Delaware.  This was another unusual day because we started riding in Wilmington to join John at the Longwood Gardens (click here).  WOW !!  The flowers are amazing, and it is another surprise that Pierre S. DuPont merged fountains, flowers and music into such an incredible spectacle.  (His organ has 10,010 pipes (click here) and can be played by a computer.)  I have to suggest a visit to my opera-afficinado friend Ed.  Flowers, flowers and more flowers.  What a perfect time of year and a perfect year to visit the gardens.  The recent warmth and rains have undoubtedly enhanced the displays.  John showed us the behind-the-scenes views of the organ, before we listened to the computer play several show tune medleys.  A light display helps the computer know which pedals to push and which keys to play - or maybe that is for the audience.  It was better for me to close my eyes, and listen to the music undistracted.  We were able to order a small lunch salad from their cafeteria.  By 2:30 it was decided that we had best depart promptly if we wished to avoid rush hour traffic.  That tactic was marginally successful although Ron wandered around enough trying to find a pleasant route that we did not arrive back to the Seminary until 4:30.

Gov. Printz and a couple of Colonial lovelies

28 Apr, Sunday:  Not our normal Sunday.  We walked to church with umbrella in hand to ward off the looming rainclouds.  Then we merely picked up salads at Fresh Market and hustled off on the motorcycle to ride south and west to the Doubletree in Wilmington, delighted to arrive there dry.  (Ron likes to quip that God helps those who help themselves, and we helped out by postponed eating until after arriving.)  We then walked through a bad neighborhood for a few blocks to the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington (click here).  There we were informed that we needed to walk another couple of blocks to our destination, Fort Christina (click here) on the banks of the Delaware, where the Swedes first landed in 1638.  We spent a couple of hours at Fort Christina, enjoying the Spring Swedish Festival and enjoyed seeing and hearing SCS Gov. John Tepe, dressed in Colonial peasant clothing, give a brief speech.  Our reason for riding to Wilmington was to join MIT alums Ed and Joel for dinner after their afternoon opera.  Ed and Joel were roommates, which added a dimension of interest to the delightful conversation.

27 Apr:  Ugh! Arising at 6:00 AM is not pleasant but Ron is committed to joining in the 5K walk with Joel.  Ron judiciously exercised, oatmealed, turned up the heat in the house before riding off on the motorcycle in a surprisingly warm 50-degree morning for the 5K Multiple Myeloma Run/Walk.  Cynthia opted out after learning the temperature was forecast to be 44 degrees.  Had she known that it was actually 50 degrees she might have braved the chill.  The walk was very enjoyable, and Ron chatted extensively with Joel's co-worker for half of the walk.  The highlight was meeting the ever-ephemeral Susan and new pup Sophia.  Annnnddd: here is the photo of the Runners/Walkers:



Ron's ride back to the Seminary was a delight.  Spring is blossoming everywhere in Philadelphia, and the chosen route was blocked off once and wrong way once so that the GPS directed Ron onto a couple of lovely streets with mansions and marvelous grounds abounding around.

26 Apr:  Rain, Rain, Rain, with blue skies in time for lunch at McMenamin’s with John P., who brought his umbrella, just in case.  We made it back to the seminary dry!   5:00 the ominous black clouds rolled in accompanied by a lightning show and roaring thunder.  A ferocious downpour lasted a short twenty minutes.  We were able to walk home dry by the usual 7 pm.

25 Apr:  Two weeks ago Ron looked out the bedroom window and was delighted to see green on the "fingertips" of the trees; today nearly everything was green.  Cynthia's transplanted iris look like they will survive the uprooting trauma.  We are told that the drain man returneth to continue repairs.  Ron has spent the morning recording receipts into his spreadsheet (so that he knows where he's been) and updating the blog.  He was delighted to find new news about Mexico Beach (click here).  Now his seat is getting sore, and he needs to move.  Movement led to salads at Fresh Market - ambience is lacking, but salads are nearly perfect, made to order by us.  And, now that the receipts are recorded and the blog is updated, Ron can return to appointed work.

24 Apr:  The Drain Man is Here! and opines that tree roots are causing the drain to back up when laundry follows shower.  Ron and Cynthia are hard at work in the Archives.  (Ron is finally recording receipts into his spreadsheet after a month of intentions.)  We took a two-hour lunch break to walk to Fresh Market.  Pastor D. Made Spaetzel with water and no salt for our dinner.  It is tasty and white, like fat rice.  Ron and Pastor added beans and lentils to theirs; Cynthia added only enough to cool hers down from scalding to warm.

23 Apr:  Repeating Monday in the Archives.  Ed R., Terry B. and Kim-Eric also worked in the Archives.  John P.  joined Kim-Eric, Ed and us for lunch at McMenamin's.  (Ron loves to drink lunch there - 22 oz Hefeweisens.)  Terry brought her own sack lunch.  Pastor David returned from his road trip to Cleveland this evening, but tells me that he leaves again on Thursday to Minneapolis.

22 Apr:  Ron spent the day in the Archives, while Cynthia cleaned and supervised both the window washers and the installer of a mini window air conditioner in our bedroom.  After Cynthia's jobs were complete, she showered and started a load of laundry.  The wash cycled fine, but during rinse, disaster struck; the kitchen floor flooded with water from somewhere.  Cynthia used a million rags or two to soak up the flood.  As soon as Ron returned and asked about the damp rags draped over everything, Cynthia told her story, and Ron immediately went to the guest bathroom to discover that the downstairs commode had also backed up and flooded that room with water and unidentified detritus.  Ron insisted that he scrub up the mess (after a bowl of oat meal, evening pills, toothbrushing, etc.) and used the last bits of the Spic & Span water to do so.  The worst part was water under the wood flooring - now drying out with big fans.  WEll! The house is mighty clean.  As Ron is wont to repeat far too often, "If this is the worst thing that happens this year, it won't be a bad year."

21 Apr, Easter Sunday:  Happy Easter!  We hope your Easter was a joyous celebration!  We walked into Chestnut Hill to the Lutheran Church, amidst springtime delight!   The dogwoods, redbuds, were bursting with blossoms, and the cherry blossoms looked like pink cotton candy!   Spring is greening beautifully, too.  The service was a very ”high church” with all of the whistles and bells. The congregation had a reaffirmation of baptism, and the choir was magnificent.  The neatest part was leaving with church bells ringing from many churches.  I felt like we should be singing, Easter Parade!  Cynthia felt like she was in the musical Easter Parade...!  After lunch at Fresh Market, we shopped at Walmart.  Once home, Ron scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors.  Cynthia transplanted flowers into the newly weeded bed; they could be flowering weeds?  If so, they look better than the weeds that were there.

20 Apr:  We worked in the Archives all day, Cynthia left early enough to prepare a flower bed next to the front entry.

19 Apr:  Yes, even on Good Friday, our work in the Archives continues.  We started at ten AM. Ron finished at eight PM.  Cynthia ordered Easter Lilys delivered and mailed Easter cards.  Dinner at Jansen was delicious.  As soon as we arrived home, Cynthia stripped Ron of his clothing!  Imagine!  She insisted on doing laundry despite having washed Ron’s clothes just last year!

18 Apr:  Joel G, an MIT alum, walked from his house to join us for lunch at Fresh Market.  We plan to join him in a 5K walk/run a week from Sat.  As usual, Ron climbed on the Pritikin healthful eating and exercising band wagon.  Thanks to a new puppy, Joel is already walking quite a lot on a daily basis.

17 Apr:  New Sweden, PA,  United Lutheran Seminary Archives.   Kim-E, John T. will lunch with us at McMenamin's. We are working intensely from 9:30 to 7 PM, taking a two-hour break for lunch; we walk to Fresh Market and back.

16 Apr:  The AC arrived; the installer arrives next Monday.  The regular archivists are working in the Archives; they need to move the shelving for their projects, preventing Cynthia from the book inventory until they leave at six PM.  We had lunch with John T. at McMenamin's and dinner at the
Trolley Car Diner with Jim Z.

15 Apr:  The massive fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame is heartbreaking.  Spring reverses once again, presenting us with a very chilly day!  And Cynthia’s air conditioner was scheduled to arrive within the hour.  But, it did not arrive.   Do we need an AC?  John T. came after lunch to help in the Archives. It was a long day’s journey into the night.  We finished work in the archives at 9:00 PM.

Dogwoods

Wisteria

14 Apr:  Passion Sunday, we walked a mile plus to Christ Ascension Lutheran Church in Chestnut Hill, and we lunched at Fresh Market afterward. Cynthia’s FB post...
Sunday Offering...
The passion story from the Gospel of Luke grips my soul with Thanksgiving. Thank the Lord, the Almighty, for the bread, the wine, the body and blood of Jesus given for me! For ME! How wonderful to worship with palm branches and sing Hosanna! How incredible to grasp the ultimate reason, the justification, for why we are Christians, played out during the next seven days of the holiest week of our lives. Do you get it, too?

13  Apr:  The landscape is changing daily.  Tomorrow we must get photos of the 50’ tall ethereal white dogwood trees!  The tulip trees are equally magnificent.  After hours in the Archives, it is exciting to see the kaleidoscope of change outdoors.  Jean C.  joined us for a lovely dinner tonight at Scoogi’s.  She looks so happy.

12 Apr:  Spring is springing again.  Walking to Chestnut Hill was a feast for our eyes.  One street was flooded with green, pink, yellow, gold, lavender, and purple flowers - plus rows of white dogwood trees floated down the street.  It was quite warm walking in the bright sunshine to Fresh Market, but we felt cooler returning because of cloud cover.

11 Apr:  Spring retreated.  Winter returned and Cynthia is NOT a happy camper.  On the other hand, this was the first day thatRon looked out the bedroom window and saw obvious hints of green on the fingertips of the trees.  However, she is now closer to God, atop the rolling stairs that allow access to the top shelves in the Archives.  Ron has written and responded to e-mails, so it is time to sign in as his alter ego, JamesLeaCobbsCreek, to continue editing Cynthia's next book.  We walked "home" to eat our leftover salads so that now there is room in the refrigerator.  (Did Philco make refrigerators?  Google says Philco started producing refrigerators in 1939.)  Ron should think about going on a TV game show.  We walked to Fresh Market for groceries, stopping for a disappointing meal at the Trolley Stop Diner.  Ron's omelet was slathered in Oil!

Gov. Printz Park in Essington, DE.
The New Sweden Farmstead relocation progresses.

10 Apr:  Larry again showed up at the Archives and we walked to Fresh Market for salads for lunch, our favorite.  Ron spent the day restoring the Yocum folders from the file cabinets to the storage boxes they fill.  Cynthia planned a birthday dinner for David including Jim Z, and our dinners at Jansen were again phenomenal.

9 Apr:  Ron attempted to help Alex, the maintenance man, by holding the plumbing snake steady, while Alex wound 60' of hose down into the drain.  Pulling the snake back out of the drain was a problem because the snake would fly loose causing Alex to cry out for help, ”Oh, Jesus!”  Ron thought it best to give up being assisting plumber.  Ron's next AM job was a surgeon.  The splinter in Cynthia’s heel became a big problem overnight.  Ron operated in the archives, with Cynthia on the floor, holding her heel high in the air.  Thanks to good lighting at the Archives, Ron was able to employ one hand to hold a magnifying glass and the other hand to the needle from his sewing kit, and worked wonders.  The patient survived despite the odds.  Kim-Eric joined us for lunch at McMenamin’s to discuss theology and political correctness.  (Ron drank his favorite lunch hereabouts.  They actually provide us a good salad too.)  John T. had just arrived at the Archives when we returned.  Cynthia turned into a sugar addict, eating an entire bag of bite-size cookies.  Ron caught her in the act of eating contraband.  John stayed late to finish adding one more forefather application to his Family Tree Maker files.  Now it is Ron's turn to consolidate all of those.  The snake was deemed successful, so we can again use the water in the house.

8 Apr:  After yesterday's rain and today's sunshine, the flowering trees are quite magnificent.  We walked to Fresh Market for lunch, returning to discover that our house has plumbing issues. The pipes are clogged someplace, backing up the washing machine and plumbing.  We are unable to use the water until it is fixed.  Who knows, we might have to go to a hotel after all.  At least, the laundry is done for this week and we returned to the archives for a fierce attack at our many projects.  Night came, we didn't have to go to a hotel, yet.  Alex, the maintenance guy is returning on the morrow with a sewer roto-rooter.   And just before bed, Cynthia got a large wood sliver of wood on the bottom of her heel.  She broke it off removing it.

7 April, Sunday, a day of rest and walking and buying groceries!  We rode the motorcycle on back roads to King of Prussia to a Walmart and were disappointed that it is not a supercenter with great groceries.  On the upside, we were delighted to re-discover a Ruby Tuesday’s Restaurant nearby in Plymouth Meeting.  YAY!  For those interested, the back way from Mt. Airy to Plymouth Meeting is the epitome of simplicity; take Stenton Ave west through its many turns, but do check it out in advance because several of the turns are unexpected..

6 Apr:  Kim and Ruth gave us a ride to the Swedish Colonial Society Forefather's Luncheon, a great success.  It was located in Essington, PA, near Governor Prinz Park, which we toured after the luncheon.  Cynthia ate contraband.  Ron was delighted that the staff found a big plate of vegetables and fruit for him.  Great job, Ron.  That evening, several seminary students joined us at David's house to celebrate Jim Z’s birthday.

5 Apr:  The great news of the day: the economy is booming, the March jobs report is remarkable, and the stock market continues its climb.  On the downside, it rained/ sleeted lightly before noon and changed to a cold, light drizzle by evening.  On another upside, Ron finished another Swedish Colonial package today about the Steelman family.  Jim Z. and John P. joined us for dinner at Jansen’s, the new restaurant in the stone cottage vacated by the Caribbean restaurant that closed four years ago.  We sang happy birthday to Jim.

4 Apr:  After the usual morning activity, we are on a roll this gorgeous day.  Cynthia's first AM  project was placing an Amazon order for a hairdryer, Fiber D’lish bars, and misc.  Her second project is working on a DNA  essay (with a shout out of thanks to a dear friend in Iowa who helps her with edits!). Two lovely archive volunteers, Linda and Phyllis, are quite a delight. We walked to Fresh Market, bringing back lunch for Jim Z.  We attended the seminary student dinner and worship service, but we didn’t stay long because of the noise and acoustics.

3 Apr:  In New Sweden (aka Philadelphia) ... slept late, stretches done, oatmealed and now getting back to work!  Ron has three projects going: the James Lea Book, the Swedish Colonial Society family group sheets, and verifying the Craig Collection source notations.  We achieved our 10,000+ steps by two PM, walking to Fresh Market in Chestnut Hill for lunch.

2 Apr:  New Sweden, PA, where the Swedes first landed, is famously known as Philadelphia.  United Lutheran Seminary is located in a suburb of 'New Sweden.'   We are back at work in the Seminary Archives, and we enjoyed lunch at McMinimins Tavern with Kim Eric.  Ron refers to our escapades here as "drinking lunch." (He orders a large salad and a 22 oz. Hefeweizen.)  Our host, David, prepared an awesome salmon dinner for us last night.

1 April:  No fooling! Negligence reigns!  We haven't blogged in a few days.  The weather forecast wasn’t fooling, either.  The ride was really cold from Rehoboth Beach on Highway 1 north to a Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant near Wilmington, Delaware.  No fooling.  Warmed with food, and with only two hours remaining to ride, our spirits were lifted.  Ron forgot DE 1 is a toll road north of Wilmington, but it was too late and too wet to change plans, so we took the toll road north until turning northwest onto I-95 until exit 8 onto US 202 north to West Chester (where we espied many familiar sights.)  Then we meandered around through Conshohocken to Mt. Airy as directed by the GPS (including Matsonford Road, Fayette, E. Elm, Apple, E. Hector, Barren Hill, Harts, Church, and finally Germantown Pike with its cobblestones.  We arrived at the United Lutheran Seminary in Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania, our home for the next few months.  We are sharing a house with another pastor.

March is Springing or Spring is Marching

Can you tell that it was cold this day?

31 Mar:  Chesapeake, Virginia to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was 169 miles of breathtaking scenery that included the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnels.  A whole lotta bridge goes over a whole lotta water.  Traveling northwards on US 13 and US 113 we enjoyed seeing Spring newly springing all over again: crocus, redbuds, dogwoods, and  cherry trees are blossoming.  The forecast rain fell briefly halfway into the day’s journey.  A covered carport, at a closed medical care center, offered shelter until the rain abated.  More, and heavier, rain fell further on, but it was brief.   We were quite happy to make it to the hotel dry (although the GPS routed us on DE 24 instead of the scenic route 1 up the coast.)  Thanks to Dean and Janina for picking us up at our hotel in Rehoboth Beach, DE so we could enjoy seeing the spectacular views of Dean’s playground, the Delaware Bay!  He is an avid surfer, biker, runner, participant in triathlons and marathons.  We saw surfers in 45 degree water, a cyclist or two, and many runners.  We thoroughly appreciated the camaraderie.  We topped off the day with a three mile hike on the Gordon Pond Trail.  

30 Mar:  Roxboro, NC to Chesapeake, Virginia, was a four hour ride on a pleasant day, pleasant roads: NC 49 east to US 58 east to I-64 to the Hilton Garden Inn.  (Ron remembered an impressive HGI near Norfolk (actually in Suffolk, VA), but Cynthia booked the HGI in Chesapeake.  Ron's memory fell short several times on this trip.  He really needs to consult his computer more diligently in the future.)  A Ruby Tuesday restaurant was conveniently located (in Suffolk) 25 miles before Chesapeake, accented by pink cherry trees that looked like giant cotton candy.  We are indeed sleepy, but somehow we managed a fast three mile walk before Cynthia compulsively tore into laundry before sleeping!

29 Mar: Roxbury, NC meant a day in the library, followed by an hour in the courthouse.  It was surprising to discover photos of the abstracts taken today were already on the computer.  But, a discovery of a needed document in the courthouse was just in the nick of time to race to the courthouse, Registrar of Deeds.   We walked the .8 mile uphill to the library.  After not eating all day, it will seem like an uphill returning to the hotel.  Our experience with restaurants in town strongly  suggested we make that return to the hotel and eat oatmeal.  On our evening walk, which took us past Brookfield Eats we checked out the menu, and the baked sweet potatoes sounded good. So did the grilled salmon.  It was delicious.  Ron is eating soft foods.

28 Mar:  We left Lake Wylie around 1 PM and arrived in Roxboro about 6 PM.  The first several hours were on I-485, I-85 and I-40, so the only redeeming quality was the Ruby Tuesday that we found near the Charlotte Speedway.  Once we exited onto North Carolina highway 119 and then turned onto NC 49 we were much more relaxed amid the pleasant early spring scenery until about 15 miles from Roxboro, when some hard object hit Ron full in the face just below his left eye.  It hit so hard that it felt like a rock, and it cut his cheek below the eye, but the bone seems OK since the swelling is not significant.  We stopped at a gas station soon afterwards and mopped the blood from the cheek.  Ron is still taking blood thinners, so we are quite happy that the wound didn't bleed excessively.  No telling whether this will make for sleeping problems tonight.  I guess time will tell.  Due to our late departure from Ed & Mary's, we arrived just after the library closed at 6 PM, so genealogy and mapping properties will have to wait for tomorrow.

27 Mar,  I LOVE YOU SMOOCH! Loris, SC onward to Charlotte, SC to visit Mary and Ed.  We again enjoyed quiet ride until we found more traffic closer to Charlotte, NC.  We were on US 701 north briefly to SC 9 west until detouring five miles west to a Ruby Tuesday on I-95 in Florence.  After that welcome salad lunch, we endure a bit more traffic on US 52 past Darlington race track.  Then traffic vanished on SC 34 to  SC 151 north towards Lancaster, SC to US 521 north to SC 5 west through Rock Hill to SC 274 north to SC 49 east into Lake Wylie.  Thus we avoided North Carolina so that Ron could avoid wearing a motorcycle helmet.  (He contends that those things cause accidents due to limited sight, additional fatigue and heat.)  It was great to see Ed and Mary in their new home, only five minutes away from their daughter Anna.  We were fortunate that Anna was able to drop in to see us, as she is studying full time for an advanced degree.

26 Mar at Loris, SC:  Today started with a bit of rain but dried out early enough that we enjoyed a fine 7,000 steps walking with Hans along the main drag of Loris.  Hans enjoyed showing us the town and naming neighbors right, left and sideways.  He is becoming quite the home town resident.  We also kept eyes out for any loose change on the ground, especially around the car wash.  Ron was delighted to find three dimes and a penny for his contribution to Hans' estate.  Hans showed us the locations of most of the public restrooms that provide necessary relief for us older walkers.  After lunch of oatmeal with berries for Cynthia and Ron, Hans drove us to sightsee at Myrtle Beach.  Hans first showed us the boardwalk, including the 187' high ferris wheel.  Then we wandered extensively through the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove (click here) with its endless displays of kitsch.  We drove by the baseball stadium, the high school, and Broadway at the Beach (click here), including its famous upside down museum, on our way to the Tanger Outlets.  (Did you know that there are 42 Tanger Outlets?)  Myrtle Beach is much larger than I had realized. We all enjoyed becoming fabulously full at Ruby Tuesdays and are now sitting comatose before bedtime.

25 Mar:  We rode from Columbia, SC to Loris, SC to visit Hans and Audrey via I-26 southeast to I-77 north to SC 768 east to US 378 east through Mulberry and bypassed Conway via SC 5/26/24 to US 701 north through Loris to Russ Rd.  It was a lovely quiet ride through South Carolina in early spring.  It is a bummer that Audrey is not home.  But we will enjoy Hans and their lovely home.  Hans enjoyed showing us around his 4 acres with all of his horticultural projects sprouting.  He plants fruits and veggies amongst his flower beds.

24 Mar:  Columbia, SC until the morrow. Ron joined our friends at Lizards Thicket for fish and grits, then he returned to our hotel for a second breakfast and to walk a few miles.  Ron spent the remainder of the day processing financial reports, then taking the records to Greg’s to gather dust, along with the rest of his stuff.  Our wonderful friends once again gathered at Zorba’s for dinner at 6:00 PM. We were an hour late because of a side trip to Urgent Care.  All is well.   The group stopped eating at the local Ruby T’s because of a poor manager,  so it’s off the list for group gathering.   We are still full from Friday night.  A hugely hilarious side Note: At Urgent Care, Cynthia got a shot and had to wait 20 minutes to be sure she wouldn’t have an allergic reaction.  The nurse asked if she wanted her husband to come back to sit with her.  Yes! She did!  What was his name?  Cynthia said, “Smooch!”  So the nurse called out “Smooch” ... tooooo Funny.

On lovely yard among many this lovely spring moring.

23 Mar:  Dogwood, Japanese cherry trees, blooming flowers and pleasant weather made this morning’s walk a joy.   On a walking roll, we hoofed it again to Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch.  Ron’s 17” Mac Book Pro 2012 might be dying, but it was fully backed up to the Airport when we left Texas.  The Steelman package is nearly complete and safe on a flash drive.   Cynthia should know Ron better than to think, "Might be time to buy a new ultralight MAC?"

22 Mar:  We didn’t get enough sleep, but we arose, did our stretches, got oatmealed, and walked 4 miles with Dick.  Cynthia went back to sleep for an afternoon nap!  Ron spent two hours opening his mail!  The Columbia gang joined us at Zorba’s for dinner.  Mary was committed to baking a very special wedding cake, so she could not join us, but sent a humongous carrot cake to lighten our disappointment.  Ron and Cynthia, being hungover from eating sugar, walked the parking lot for ten minutes after dinner to encourage a drop in blood sugar.

21 Mar:  Cynthia’s flight to Columbia, SC arrived at 9 PM! YAY!  She was expecting Ron to arrive on the hotel shuttle, but instead, he was on the bike with her heated gear.  The ride to the hotel was lit by a gorgeous super moon.  She has been wildly busy in Texas, getting one of our storage units cleared out by gifting to children and grandchildren and getting taxes done.     We are one  happy Smooch family to be together.

Cynthia loves this picture of bluebonnets

20 Mar:  Was today the first day of Spring?  Methinks so.  The trees and fleurs are bursting with color!    The bluebonnets are spectacular.
  Cynthia had an early AM 2.5  hour drive in rush hour to the Houston medical center.  All tests are good.  The ride home was only 1.5 hours.  Ron, is in S.C., helping Donna and Greg take used TVs and appliances to recycle, then aluminum cans to sell to a metals recycler.

19 Mar:  Columbia, SC:  It was another chilly night which encouraged Ron so that he slept well.  At 6:30 he came inside for oatmeal.  7:30 Dick & Clark joined him for the daily walk around the neighborhood.  Ron called Florida DMV and was disappointed to learn that they will not change or remove a mailing address over the phone.  Now he is back to work on the Steelman package.

Thank you cousin Angi

18 Mar:  On this Monday in Texas, Cynthia burned rubber on the roads (rushing to Bryan, Texas) getting lost coming and going. The directions to Corrie’s house were so simple, how did Cynthia take a wrong turn?  And returning to Montgomery, she wound up in Anderson, Texas.  Now, Anderson is a great little town, with a famous courthouse featured in  several movies.  But, that wasn’t where she wanted to be!  Yet, the day and scenery were so lovely, that it was actually a pleasant time.  Upon arrival home, delightful surprise came in the mail from Angi, our cousin of a cousin: lovely dessert plates with Swedish folk dancers in costume.  How precious is this?  THANK YOU Angi.

17 Mar, Sunday:  Top of the Mornin’ to our Irish Friends!  Love to my Irish Smooch!  On this St. Patrick’s Day, the sweet sights and sounds of spring have arrived in Southeast Texas.  Birds are singing like crazy; azaleas are lush and wild with color; boulevards are lined with blossoming pear trees; and tulips, crocus and forsythias put forth the clarion call, “The earth is alive!”  In Columbia, SC, it was cold overnight (37 degrees); Ron was chilly at 3:30 AM and came inside to finish the night at 5 AM.  After breakfast at Lizard's Thicket with Dick and Clark only, Ron and Dick walked the neighborhood for four miles.  Here too, the red buds are gorgeous, and pears, etc are blooming in profusion.


16 Mar:  Ron awakened early this morning after another long, uninterrupted nights sleep, and left this message on the blog, "Love you my little Smooch."  Dick and Clark don't walk on weekends, so Ron walked the "Mungo Trail," the repurposed golf course cart path.  He is realizing that his blog posts will be posted behind Cynthia's unless he gets in gear earlier in the day most days.  Ron is already enjoying his frozen mango & pineapple again and anticipating a nice little sugar boost soon.  Last nights short sleep caused Ron to become lethargic and eat much more often than usual.  Eventually he took another couple of long walks during the day.  Cynthia and son Jon celebrated Jon’s recovery from a week long respiratory infection with dinner at Cedar Lodge (as pictured above - Jon is great at selfies.)

15 Mar:  Cynthia took Easter gifts to Fyn and Zoe.  Later she and Julie planned a major remodeling project on Julie’s house.  Is there anything more fun than tearing out walls?  Ron is apparently not the only one in need of continual adult supervision.  Today Ron polished off the pineapple.  The spinach is still untouched in the refrigerator.  He and Donna got in gear "early" and drove the SUV full of electronics junk 20 miles to the state-mandated electronics recycling center.  On the return trip they stopped at Lowes for pretzels and salad then at WallyWorld to replenish frozen fruits & berries.  Friday evening tradition is Columbia is dinner out.  This time Mary, Donna, Ron, Clark, Dick, and Greg gathered at Zorba's for salmon, baked potatoes, etc.  Conversation at these dinners isn't quite the same when Liz is out of town.  Ron stayed up til nearly midnight walking and talking on the cell phone after working too long on the Steelman package.

14 Mar:  Meantime, in Texas, Cynthia had an appointment with Bambi, dinner with Rachel, and an overnight with daughter Julie.  Grandson Eric came home to celebrate his birthday turning into a very late night.  Ron’s renewed drivers license was not delivered to the house but was returned to the DMV, because it was sent to the closed PO Box instead.  For Ron and Donna, the big accomplishment of the day was loading defunct electronics into the SUV, starting with the old, heavy, heavy, heavy TV and continuing with a similarly old, large and heavy computer monitor, two computer towers, a laser printer, dot-matrix printer, another printer, a laptop, a scanner, and a box of assorted smaller things.  Ron was careful while lifting the heavy TV and monitor; they were "trucked" out to the car and lifted from the hand truck.  Today Ron polished off the mango.

13 Mar:  After two foggy, rainy days in Houston town, Cynthia had hopes for sunny skies, but the sun did not appear; instead, it rained heavily all the day long.  Some businesses are without internet, Jon’s is down too.  Sasha, Cynthia’s hairdresser, missed seeing Ron, and he asked, "Where's The Governor?"  He wished him a quick ‘Get Well.’  Cynthia misses Ron, too.  After running errands, she is hibernating in the bedroom because son Jon is sick with a bug that required antibiotics.  Ron has already fallen back into old habits: walking with Dick & Clark, working on the SCS Steelman package, keeping Greg & Donna company sitting in front of the boobtoob ... all the while ignoring the blog.  He has found his earphones and is happily listening to 57ChevyRadio.com again.  Similarly happily snacking on frozen mango & frozen pineapple.

12 Mar:  Ron awakened at 7:01 AM after a great nights sleep under the stars in Greg & Donna's back yard.  Unfortunately his cold has rendered his voice too croaky to understand.  Fortunately the other symptoms seem to have moderated already, perhaps from the steady diet of porridge that he is consuming now; no doubt the frozen pineapple and mango are assisting.  Dick and Clark and Ron walked around the neighborhood for 1.5 hours this morning and returned just in time for Ron's 9AM pill alarm and the call from his weefee to remind him to take his pills.  He has been steadily working on the next Swedish Colonial Package about the Steelman family of New Jersey.  As he discovered the need for a bit of internet research, he discovered a need to update the blog in February with routes and more descriptive commentary. (Thank you Smooch, from your beloved wee-fee)

11 Mar:  Ron awakened at 3 AM and was delighted to realize that he could safely fall back asleep and still get Cynthia to the plane on time.  Unfortunately he did NOT fall back to sleep, so he is now overtired.  On the good side, we did get Cynthia to the plane on time, and she has already called from Houston with delight, anticipating an egg white veggie omelet from the 105 Cafe.  Ron did manage to drag himself through packing and rode over to Greg and Donna's house where he will be for the next 10 days without adult supervision.  Greg & Donna abandoned Ron to his own devices whilst they traipsed off to visit a doctor.  Ron did send off a couple of e-mails before riding over to Wally World for foodstuffs.  'Lizabeth dropped in to see if Ron wanted to borrow a tent, as yet unfound.  He declined the offer and might regret that as it just started sprinkling.  Since the TV is showing NCIS as usual, Ron is ready to begin work on another family package for the Swedish Colonial Society.  (An aside to mee beloved: I love you.  SmoochSmooch.)

10 Mar, Sunday, Columbia, SC:  We sprang ahead very slowly this AM, relishing these mornings when we can rise leisurely.  Noise in the hotel breakfast room was deafening even to the deaf among us.  A mid morning nap was a brilliant idea, too.  Severe thunderstorms were anticipated this afternoon, but they did not materialize.  At four PM our SC friends are meeting us for dinner ... a fine, fun time was had by all the survivors: Greg & Donna, Tom & Cheryl, Clark & Liz, Dick and Mary.

9 Mar:  The ride from Lithonia, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina on I-26 was uneventful but rather boring, with a luncheon stop at Ruby Tuesday's in Augusta, GA.  For some peculiar reason, the southern Hilton properties and the Ruby Tuesday restaurants are less desirable than elsewhere.  The hotel rooms are clean enough, but they seem very run down; so, too, the restaurants.  We are simply grateful to find restaurants that have fresh garden vegetables and a baked sweet potato.  We may have been the only Caucasians in the hotel; evidently their clientele are asked to sign an agreement verifying a one strike and you are out for making excessive noise after ten PM.  The first order of business upon our arrival in SC was a visit with Ron's MIT freshman roommate, Greg and his lovely bride, Donna.  We are ensconced at a Hampton Inn near the airport for Cynthia's flight early Monday morning to Houston.

Ron Beatty and cousin Don

8 Mar:  We kissed our wonderful cousin of a cousin Angi goodbye and rode off to visit Don Bankston, a walking historian/ encyclopedia.  From Angi's house, Northside Drive winds peculiarly past amazing mansions down to the I-286 circumferential highway.  Once we got onto the Interstate, a light rain sprinkled us from time to time over the next twenty minutes until we neared Lithonia.  Fortunately the rain ceased as we exited onto smaller roads.  By the time we arrived, Cynthia was famished!  Uber doesn't deliver in Lithonia.  But there was a taxi service!  It took a few phone calls and a lot of time,  but we finally had a ride to the Ruby Tuesday's in Lithonia.  Neither one of us carries much cash, but fortunately Ron remembered having a larger bill; the restaurant was willing to give us change to pay the taxi.  The taxi driver must have been pleased because he was willing to pick us up after dinner.  We are up too late and too tired to be worth a plug nickel tomorrow!

7 Mar:  Ron and Angi are making progress, but a file or two is missing.  After another trip to downtown Atlanta, Ron discovered one missing file on the old computer is corrupted; the other one is nowhere to be found.  Cynthia walked the mall trying to reach 10,000 steps, but shopping superseded steps.  We again enjoyed a delicious baked sweet potato at Jason’s Deli.  Packing begins for a late morning’s visit to see Bankston cousin Don in Lithonia, Georgia.  Saturday the temperature is forecast to be warm enough to enjoy our ride to Columbia, South Carolina.

6 Mar:  Global freezing causes our brains to freeze, and we forgot to blog.

5 Mar, Atlanta, GA:  35 degrees this morning!  Ron and cousin Angi were working in her husband Michael’s office on Dorothy’s thirty or forty year old computers downloading old files. They dropped Cynthia off at the Lenox Mall to get 10,000 steps.  About three hours later, when she hadn't heard her cell phone ring, Ron and Angi restored to cruising the mall and succeeded in finding little golden haired Cynthia on their first go-round.  The mall security kept asking Cynthia if she needed help.  Angi shepherded us to Jason's Deli for a enjoyable lunch.

4 Mar:  We are in Atlanta, GA enjoying cousin Angi and her husband Michael.  They invited us to stay in their lovely guest house.  Ron spent the evening sorting papers at Angi’s; Cynthia planned to walk a lot, but the bitter cold front kept her inside.  She tried to exercise by marching in place.  That became quickly tedious.  After a month of serious heavy exercise, this inactivity is very hard on our bodies.  Angi prepared a lovely dinner of roast chicken and rice.  It really was delicious.

3 Mar, Sunday:  In Marietta, Georgia the March lion is roaring.  Ron and Cynthia rode on Alt. US 27 north from Columbus to Newnan, GA, but his notes didn't mention leaving town on US 29, so we rode 50 miles on I-75 to I-285 to Marietta, GA, where we are ensconced warm and feeling fat/full at a Ruby Tuesday, watching God blessing the earth with abundant rainfall at one PM.  The weather service forecasts that the rain will end at five PM.  (It ended at four PM.)  Our hosts have returned from central Florida.  We will be staying with DeHaven cousins in their Atlanta guest house for three days while Ron helps Angi start preparing deceased cousin Dorothy’s book for publication.

2 Mar:  From Quincy, FL we headed north on FL highway 267 which turns into GA 302, turned onto GA 97 N which eventually merges into US 27.  In Pensacola, FL the redbuds and pear trees are beginning to bloom and that continued along US 27 as it winds east, west and north through Georgia.  A light rain fell sporadically as we rode.  We continued to be surprised at the wide swath of damage by last October's hurricane all the way to Columbus, Georgia, where we found lodging and food!  Entire forests of trees were toppled over or snapped off at a height of twenty or thirty feet.

10 Years Ago On the CO River in the Grand Canyon

1 Mar:  We left Pensacola, Florida after shipping a box on to Philadelphia and after stopping at Jason's Deli for lunch.  Cynthia was surprised and very disappointed to lose her favorite sunglasses there.  Consequently it was and early noon hour before we headed south on I-110 towards Panama City and Mexico Beach to see for ourselves what hurricane Michael did to the area last October 10.  Unfortunately Ron hadn't checked the route closely, so we rode east on the crowded highway FL 98 instead of the much more scenic highway FL 399 that runs among the dunes on the beach.  One we arrived in Panama City we saw Devastation !!  We were surprised that the severe damage started in Panama City, and it looked like a war zone.  By the time we reached Mexico Beach we were pleasantly surprised to see so many Gulf views, apparently because entire houses are gone, either washed away entirely or the debris has been cleared.  Sharon's Cafe and Toucan's Restaurant are empty lots.  The El Governor Hotel is fenced in for construction; apparently they plan to remodel.  One  business is open... an oyster restaurant.  We were surprised to see more houses standing than we expected, although they are all damaged.  We were surprised and unprepared for the light rain that fell as we approached town and more as we left east on county road 386 (trying to skirt the apparent rain clouds north of us).  That worked well for several miles, but then we rode through drenching rain approaching FL 71.  We stopped there because Cynthia was very cold after her sweatshirt got wet in the drenching.  She put on her heated gear, which helped, but Ron hadn't packed our rain gear where he could find it easily.  We turned east at Wewahatchie on FL 20, then northeast on FL 12 towards I-10 to reach a Hampton Inn at Quincy, FL fo another unpleasant surprise ... it wasn't very clean.  Because the hotel was not near restaurants, we cooked oatmeal in the microwave.  The day was full of  surprises.  At least, the person who found Cynthia's sunglasses must have been happily surprised