Retired and Loving It

FEBRUARY 1, 2008 “Tying The Knot”

Darlene Miller — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:29:57 +0000

Yes, we finally decided to take the plunge! Dave and I were married February 1, 2008. Probably no surprise to most of our family and friends. Dave and I have been living together for 6 years and engaged for two of those years. We just wanted a quiet intimate wedding at a church. We exchanged Vows at 6:00 PM in Dave’s church, LeRoy United Methodist Church, which is in his hometown. Pastor Margaret H. Kaleh performed our candlelight ceremony. She is a very warm and loving woman, which probably makes her a good Minister. Our witnesses and good friends were Pat and Ron. I don’t know who was more nervous, Dave or Ron. Both men seemed to be on another planet. After the ceremony, the Reverend took some photos of Dave and I at the Alter. We all retreated to the Social Room and talked. While Dave reminisced looking at some old photos that were hung on the walls there, I printed out some photos that Rev. Peg requested. As we headed out the church doors, the weather wasn’t the greatest.

Dave drove the four of us to The Red Osier in Stafford New York where Ron and Pat treated us to our wedding dinner. The owner of the Red Osier greeted us at the door, making us feel very special. We were escorted to a cozy table in front of their fireplace. The hostess took our bouquets, put them in a vase and set them on our table. While we enjoyed our delicious dinner several people came to our table and congratulated us. Our wedding cake was wheeled to our table by our waitress. Dave and I cut the first piece together while Ron took some photos. Dave’s eyes can’t take bright light, so many of the photos that were taken this evening were with his eyes closed.

It was a very memoriable evening for us. The various reactions were interesting when we called and surprised our family to let them know that we had gotten married the night before. Most everyone was very excited and happy for us; which make us very happy. We have received many beautiful cards. We’ve been very happy together for the past six years and look forward to many, many more years of happiness together.

November 2007 CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS

Darlene Miller — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:17:49 +0000

Even though it was depressing celebrating a 65 year birthday, it was a very nice celebration. The celebration went from October to the day of my birthday in November.

Some of the gifts from my children were more than I expected. My two daughters in Austin, Texas gave me an airline ticket to visit them and my lovely grandchildren and son-in-law. That happened at the end of October. I had a great time with them all. Lunch at the Witch-Witch restaurant in Austin, with Danielle and Allison. That’s where you order the sandwich of your choice on a paper bag, give it to the cashier, who in turn gives it the cooks, who put the sandwich you ordered in the paper bag you ordered it on, call your name to come and pick it up at the counter. You then sit down and enjoy your lunch. Cool! Huh! Seeing Danielle’s office at Enterprise was a real treat too. Allison and Danielle washed the outside and cleaned the inside of Allison’s van while we were at Enterprise. On another day we visited a huge park near Danielle’s office. There Avery and Ethan had fun playing on the multiple playground equipment and Allison, I, Avery and Ethan took the 20 minute train ride around the park. That was fun too. After the train ride, Danielle came there on her lunch hour and we all had a picnic lunch together. One evening Danielle took me to a movie where I had a latte’ and we both ordered dinner and ate while we watched the movie. That was a fun experience I very much enjoyed. I think I saw something about that on the food network one time. After church on the Sunday after I arrived, Allison and Danielle took me to an awsome brunch in downtown Austin which was a great experience. What a feast that was. We all enjoyed the different tastes. After that we went home and picked up Chris and the kids and went to the pumpkin farm, where we went through a corn maze, fed the goats, took a tractor ride, had yummy homemade ice-cream, picked out pumpkins to carve for Halloween night and then drove home. Of course we stopped at a Mc Donald’s drive through and Chris treated us to supper. By then we were all exhausted and tired. On Trick-or-Treat night, we went to a Fall Festival sponsered by Allison and Chris’s church. The kids all dressed up in costumes, participated in games and rides and then they get trick-or-treat candy at the end of each. Swimming at the the sport’s center with Allison, while Avery and Ethan went to child play time. Allison and Chris have a family membership in a fairly new and beautiful sport’s center. After our swim and Avery and Ethan’s play time in child care, we had a snack at the snack bar. Another most enjoyable event was going to Caleb’s school and being able to have lunch with him and his classmates. I really enjoyed that so much. Caleb (6 yrs.) and his classmates are so cute.

Another great birthday celebration for me was the visit of Jennifer, Terry, Eric and Justin to Rochester, New York. They arrived on my birthday exhausted and with only one and a half hours of sleep. But… Jennifer still found the time to prepare a birthday celebration dinner for me and Dave at Ray and Suzie’s house. I was really looking forward to seeing Jennifer, Terry and the boys. We had a wonderful chicken dish and sides that Jennifer prepared. Her and Terry picked out a chocolate Gnash’ birthday cake from Wegman’s, which was to die for. One of the gifts that Jennifer gave me was a silver Rosary in a tiny case with a picture of the Pope painted on it. Jennifer told me she was holding that very Rosary when she visited the Vatican in Rome and saw the Pope. It is a gift I will cherish.

On the Friday before my birthday Dave treated me, Pat and Ron to a birthday dinner out. We went to the Avon Inn. We had a most delicious meal and celebration.

All in all I had many wonderful birthday celebrations for my 65th birthday!

October 2007 Fall Trip to Pumpkin Hill Bistro

Darlene Miller — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:39:55 +0000

Our trip with our friends Pat and Ron started out one sunny Sunday. We headed for the town of Aurora, which is on the eastern side of Cayuga Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. On our way we stopped at Mackenzie Childs Art Studio and Estate. She produces mod or whimsical ceramic pieces. Very! Very! pricy; chairs, ceramic tiles, ceramic sinks shaped like a fish that you install in your bathroom, all going for the meer price of $60.00 a piece. After getting over the price shock, we decided to tour the old victorian home that was decorated by Mackenzie Childs. It was well worth the looking at.

We then decided we were hungry so we drove on to find the targeted resturante, Pumpkin Hill Bistro , and it was ausum. A small but quaint old historic house. The menu is prepared fresh daily. It is prepared according to what’s available during that season. After we ate too much, which was delicious and well worth every bite, we decided to journey home. All in all we had a great time.

COLOR

Darlene Miller — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:40:41 +0000

Color is what we are seeing here in NY this week. Dave and I went for a ride yesterday to the Southern Tier. We drove around and up and down the hills and through some to the State owned Forests. We saw a lot of color and then we saw a lot of green…weird. It was pretty though. The beginning of fall. As much as I hate to see winter coming, the falls in New York are long and beautiful. We ended our drive in my favorite little town; Angelica. Angelica is a quaint victorian town about 100 miles south of Avon. Dave parked the car and I poked around in some of the antique shops and an old country store. I bought a really old little victorian brass and Carnival Glass desk lamp, and two old blue glass Ball fruit jars. I thought I could use the desk lamp as a low light TV light and the fruit jars I will put popuri and ? in them. I also purchased two silhouette framed pictures and hung those on the wall next to the couch. After being tempted to enter the old fashioned sweet shop, I came out empty handed; much to Dave’s surprise…mine too. No, I didn’t give into temptation. Yeh! We did however take a walk through town and ended up going to The American Hotel for a fish fry. We had the half portion of fish fry with their salad bar, and then we were tempted by the delicious desert tray that the waitress so graciously brought to our attention. Dave had the decadant chocolate cake and I had the carmel apple cheese cake, which was so smooth and creamy. Can’t you just taste now. Of course we had desert because there’s no calories in desert on Friday evening. Ha! Ha! All and all we enjoyed our fall outing. Next week is the Grape Festival in Naples New York. I don’t think we will be going though because there are so many people you can’t get anywhere or see anything. We usually end up going the weekend after and can buy those famous Grape Pies at the market on main street and enjoy Naples much more. Talk to you all later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIELLE!!!

“Family 4th of July 2007 GET TOGETHER”

Darlene Miller — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 01:03:49 +0000

COTTAGE AT STAGER LAKE (or is it “The Forgotten Cottage): JUNE 30, 2007After a three day road trip, we arrived at our two week cottage rental at Stager Lake in the UP. We were greeted by the owners and given the news that they were having trouble with the stove. Dave cleaned out the burners, lit the pilots, and the Doruffs went on their merry way. They said they would call and probably return with a new stove. Of course that never happened. Dave and I noticed that the cottage looked like no one had been there before us and it looked quit dusty and gritty. I wiped off the conter tops and there was a film of black…not been cleaned in a long time. I had to dust and clean up cobwebs and spider balls in every corner and window sill. Dave vacummed, which seemed to be spueing out dust and dirt as he run it along the carpets. Of course we guessed it haden’t been cleaned out in some time. That was the beginning of the end. We had 18 family members over to our cottage the day after the Fourth of July for a chili feast. OOOH Yes…you guessed it……the stove did not work…couldn’t light it. Dave tried for some time…but nothing. Well, I guess I would have to prepare cold salads and etc.; oh wait I can still prepare the chili. It was a good thing that I brought my small fry pan with me and was able to find a working slow cooker. Our guests arrived and all had a great time eating, talking with family members not seen in some time and family members never met before.

JUNE 30, 2007

Allison and Danielle arrived late Saturday night with Allison’s little ones, to their rented cottage on Sunset Lake in Iron River, MI. Dee, John, Mom and Dad and Danny arrived to their cottage at Crystal Waters Resort. Cindy and Jackie arrived the Friday night before to their newly purchased cottage on Buck Lake, MI. They wanted to arrive in time for a good fish fry at their favorite fish fry haunt. Aunt Gloria’s son Kevin, his wife Mandy, their son and two daughters were due to arrive at Uncle Don and Aunt Gloria’s house on Stager Lake within a couple of days.

JULY 1, 2007

Mom, (Granny E.) made perogies before they came up to their cottage and invited everyone over to their cottage on Sunday afternoon for the perogie feast. Of course we all enjoyed stuffing ourselves with those wonderful tasting perogies that we all remembered from the past. It was so great of Granny to make them for us. They certainly were delicious!!!!

JULY 4, 2007

A great time was had by all on this day, the 4th of July. The weather was sunny, hot and except for one quick downpour of rain, it was perfect. Allison marched in the parade with Caleb, who was dressed up as an astronaut and Avery was Super Girl. A. Gloria marched with two of her visiting grandchildren. U. Donnie marched as a Color Guard for the Vets. Ethan, Caleb and Avery participated in the money scramble and then Caleb and Avery enjoyed participating in the relay races. They collected prize money and I don’t know who was more excited about them racing, Allison, Danielle, John and Dee, Mom, or Me. Allison and Danielle also participated in a couple of the races for their ages. I think they were reminiscing when they used to come to the UP and did this. A great deal of fun was had by all and many memories resurfaced. Of course we all got our free ice cream cone and box of cracker jacks. The fund raising pie social was a tasty event. We all found time to visit the new Alpha Museum. Mom’s painting of the old Alpha School was hung proudly for everyone to view and several old photos and memorabilia. Dad, Grampa E.’s class picture is also hanging there. Mom, Granny E.’s class picture, U. Mike, U. Donnie, and A. Gwen’s class pictures are all hanging in the new Alpha resturante, which is now in the old school building.

After the events of the 4th in Alpha were over, we all were invited to Cindy and Jackie’s new cottage for hots and hamburgers and Jackie’s wonderful sides. Of course we all ate too much. The two cakes Jackie made were to die for.

In the next two weeks we all took turns and invited each other back and forth to each others cottages for suppers. We also kept busy visiting places we remembered back when; ice cream in Florence, Pizza at Dina Mias, and pasties from Nylands. I enjoyed so much being with two of my daughters and three of my grand children and was so glad that they got to see grand parents and family that they haven’t seen in a long long time. The time went by too too fast. If only we could stop time, or at least slow it down a bit. I guess I say that because I’m getting older. I loved being with everyone and seeing everyone of our family members and would do it again in a heart beat.

JULY 13, 2007

Dave and I left our cottage a day early and headed down US2 to Mackinac Island. I have never been there and Dave granted me my wish, being the loveable person he is. We booked a motel at St. Ignas, boarded a ferry to Mackinac Island. It was more beautiful than I had pictured in my mind. We bought tickets for a horse drawn carriage ride tour when we arrived on the island. You can’t have and autos on the island. The only way to see the island is to walk, ride a bike or ride a horse drawn carriage. This is to preserve the beauty of the island. On our carriage ride we viewed the beautiful Grand Old Hotel, the Old Fort, and the Butterfly Sanctuary. There are many stately old victorian homes here. The owners of these homes may own the houses but cannot own the land they are on. It all belongs to the State of Michigan. The island has 400 permanent residents. Half of the island is a State Park. There are no large wild animals that live here. They wouldn’t be able to survive. There isn’t enough food available for them. After our tour ride, we poked around in the shops on main street, bought Mackinaw’s famous fudge and stopped for a bite to eat at a pub. After walking a bit more, we had to run back to the last ferry headed for the mainland or we would be have been stuck on the island for the night and everyplace was booked solid. We had a great time here and when we returned to our motel room at St. Ignas, we were plenty tired.

July 15, 2007

We arrived home to Avon safely and were glad to be home and sleep in our own bed again. Why does home always feel so good to be back to?

God truly gave me a great gift this July 2007.

RETIREMENT ADJUSTMENT

Darlene Miller — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:27:24 +0000

Retirement is certainly an adjustment. One has no idea what it will be like. You wake up the first morning, shower, grab some breakfast while you watch the morning news, just like you did when you set your alarm to go to work. We’re like little robots in the morning when we’re working. After about a month or two, it hits you. “Hey! I can just lay here when I wake up and think about all of the things I would like to do today.” Will I do all of those things? Maybe…maybe not. After about six months to a year you finally decide, “I think I’ll sign up for that quilt class I wanted to take”…and it’s during the day…and you can do that…you don’t have to go into work. You can go grocery shopping during the day when the stores aren’t crowded with people, like on the weekends or evenings. You can choose the best doctor appointments during the day and don’t have to wait hours for your turn. Yes, isn’t retirement grand!