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12/27/11 The festivities continue, margaritas, friends, games

12/27/11
As I said earlier – we were planning on skiing with
our friend Vanessa & her sister Victoria & husband Luke.
Since conditions weren’t optimal we bagged it
& invited ourselves up the Mountains instead.
Then Vanessa & her crew decided last minute to come up
for the night. Her sister was in from the UK & her parents
were visiting from France. They’ve never been “Up the Mountains”
– at least not the Poconos!

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Rule #1
What happens at the Lake
STAYS AT THE LAKE!!!!
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Margarita mix, tequila & tacos!
We had the supplies we just needed the people
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Red Red Wine too!!
This was quite nice as well…..
Casa Nuestra Petite Sirah….mmmmm
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Georgia enjoying her Kong Toy
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Dogs DO go to heaven……..
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Let the festivities begin….
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Luke showing us his outstanding job of dicing onions
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Michael adding to the beer bottle collection
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SLOW …..old children at play….
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Celeste, Vanessa’s mom, using Vanessa as a puppet
trying to get us to guess what she is doing
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Have you ever played CRANIUM??
It’s an abundance of FUN!!!
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Luke trying on my Leopard Slippers.

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THAT’s where they get Bailey’s from???

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It is one of the blessings of old friends
that you can afford to be stupid with them.

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Tuesday 12/27/11 Walk in the woods & Breakfast

Tuesday 12/27/11

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the Daniel’s Den “up the mountains”
aka “Fortress of Solitude”
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The Holiday Lake during  my chilly a.m. walk
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lakefront house – LUCKY!
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Duck house with cat tails
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I even discovered a Pink Elephant on my walk
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Wood Carving of an Eagle
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We ate breakfast at the Chat-N-Chew Cafe
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We liked the Roll of Paper towels on the table,
that’s my style – unlimited napkins.
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“Hot Messy Mike”

one of their specialty sandwiches –
which ended up NOT getting eaten
as a sandwich b/c it was TOO MESSY!
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Me with Messy Mike
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Me with my volleyball partner Diana.
We saw her at the restaurant & I said
I wished I’d gotten her picture – then we ran
into her & her husband Dan (over her left shoulder)
when we went to the grocery store.

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It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
~John Leonard
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12/26/11 impromptu Up the Mountains

12/26/11
We originally planned to go skiing Monday & Tuesday
but conditions are quite dismal for skiing here on
the East Coast. As an alternative, we invited ourselves
up the mountains to our friends Roman & Denise’s house.

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We arrived late afternoon at Holiday Pocono.
It’s about 2 hours from Ivyland.
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The road that leads to Daniel’s Den “Up the Mountains”
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RULES!! every community has them!
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A neighboring house with Santa & Tractor
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Poco Bear greeting us
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We had this wonderful wine.
Larkmead 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Seek it out & buy ALL you can.

You’re welcome.
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I got to use one of my Christmas presents from
danny diehl – a foil cutter.
It worked superbly.
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Denise taking Georgia for a little run.
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The lake that Roman & Denise’s house is on.
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Photo opp with the lake
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We had dinner at Molly Maguires in
nearby downtown Jim Thorpe, PA
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The train station all decorated & lit up
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Me & Denise with a huge piece of Coal
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Something doesn’t belong…..

Wine20dogs
Tree Water Tasting…….

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I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar,
but I cherish the friend who for me
does not consult his calendar.
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12/25/11 Christmas afternoon, Keeney Kastle, Chinese Food

12/25/11

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after we opened all the gifts Santa gave us
we headed over to our friends at the Keeney Kastle!
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Ava in her Princess Castle
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Ava opening her gift
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Adam wearing Ava’s gift — ski helmet
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Ava trying out her new equipment
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Me trying out Ava’s new equipment
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Next stop was Brother Larry’s house….

brother Raymond with cousin Rose Mary the family matriarch.
Bene – cat trapped in dogs body…
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Ray gave this to his wife for Christmas
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Ray yodeling in his horsehead socks
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and next we were off to Chinese dinner with
Michael’s family
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I was in the mood for Edamame but all they had
was Adamame
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Michael’s family sharing a Chinese Christmas dinner
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Cara had the Peking Duck – she must have liked
it as this was all that was left
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Michael’s Mom happy to have the family together.

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dog statue outside restaurant –

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dog totem pole outside restaurant
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Christmas can be tiring…..

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12/25/11 Christmas Morning, iFamily

12/25/11

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This is why we have Christmas!
Happy Birthday Jesus!

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Weasel on a Christmas morning stroll
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Weasel greeting sister Pat coming home from Church.
What was the sermon about Weasel was asking.
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Pat got the gift she really wanted compliments of Danny.
A George Forman grill – she has big plans for it!
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Weasel checking out a book Michael got from Danny
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This should be a good read about Steve Jobs.
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neighbor Madison trying out her new bike dressed in her pj’s. remember doing this as a kid???
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Michael liked his Buddha Frog made from Lava rock
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Calendars for us to write down your birthdays
to remember to send you a card!
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danny diehl & the dogs
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iFamily

We (me, michael & pat) gave Danny an iPad.
Michael gave me an iPad.
We (brothers ray & Larry, danny, me, michael) gave Pat an iPad for her 60th Birthday which is Jan 4th.

We had to give it to her early so she wouldn’t buy it for herself.
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inscription on Danny’s as a reminder……
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my famous Huevos Rancheros to get the day started!
mmmmmm
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It was a one dog night……

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12/24/11 Christmas Eve Volleyball & shopping

12/24/11

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We started the day with THREE HOURS of Volleyball.
That takes care of yesterday’s indulgence……
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The gym had a MITTEN TREE –
I never heard of it but it sounded like a great idea!
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The Mitten Tree explained
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Spiderman was our spectator
perched upon this volleyball on the sidelines.
Not ONCE did we knock him off the ball –
probably b/c we have such great
ball control when we play…..
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We played TRIPLES today.
Me, Kathy & Mike up front.
Michael, Pete & Jim in the back.

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friend Kelli who lives in China sent me this awesome gift.
A Hello Kitty Cookie Cutter!!
woo hoo – I NEEDED this !!!
Thank you Kelli!!
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Arnold 12-grain bread

~ Neighbor Dan dropped this off to my house.
He works for the company that makes it.
I Liked it BETTER than the Pepperidge Farms one.
this bread screams: “EAT ME”!!!!

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Me with the Santa that Michael would like to have
but will NOT be getting with a $600 price tag.
Maybe if I had a “real” job?
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sister Pat bought this for me as a Christmas Gift.
We have a wall that needed a big picture.
It works perfectly in the space we got it for.

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Pat stopped at 7-11 for a water which is what I was going to get then I decided to get a small slurpee just because I hadn’t had one in a dozen years.  I could wait another 10 years before I had another one, really.  But I do like the straws with the little spoons on the end!

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I needed a new Leopard Runner for the foyer &
couldn’t find one in the stores so I ordered one on line.
They send me the wrong rug 7 feet by 5 feet
vs 7 feet by 2 feet (runner). The rug works in
the space I wanted it for & I really liked it so
I’m just going to keep it.

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Me & the dogs enjoying the Lucky Leopard Rug.

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Santa favors homes with dogs
he probably REALLY likes dogs having homes too!
Rescue a pet today!

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I can’t believe the animals would
eat Santa’s cookies….
The Vizslas would never do this……(right!)

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Dog Nativity Scene

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

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Act as though everything you do
creates the life you live,
because it does.

~Ralph Marston

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If you smile when no one else is around
you really mean it.
– Andy Rooney

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feel free to Share 🙂

Friday 12/23/11 FRIENDS!! Christmas Party (’tis the season)

Friday 12/23/11

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I knew it would be a GREAT DAY —
I saw a cardinal!!!

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friend DAVE stopped in my work to say HI.
We used to work together at the Stock Exchange.
Great seeing you Dave!!! Thanks for visiting 🙂

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After work Michael & I headed over to our
friend Little Vic’s house .
Our other friend Big Vic was up from Florida
and we always get together when she comes home.
We all know each other from volleyball & have been
friends for MANY years……
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Christmas countdown……
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volleyball friends Ron, Zaz (big Vic’s husband).
Michelle (Ron’s wife) & big Vic
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We always like to open the Sparklers
because it is definitely a time to celebrate
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I liked the quote on the bottle —
OPEN YOUR MIND AND TASTE

Michael’s mom gave me this champagne
for Christmas last year!! Always a good gift.
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PARTY ANIMALS  ….. Lucy & Scooter
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Scott & Zaz taking a break to watch the Hockey game
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Chris (little Vic’s husband) watching the Flyers LOSE!
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we moved onto the Egg Nog which is somewhat interesting…
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LUCY
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Little Vic has a cat that looks like Bitch Cat
but allegedly is NOT a Bitch Cat
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Friends for a LONG time………
Big & Little Vic, Donna & Steve
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Big Vic, Me & Little Vic

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TRUE FRIENDS……..

R
“Dime quienes son tus amigos y te diré quien eres”

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