One month down........

Well, one month is over for the Pirates so far, and they have won 11 games and lost 10. Not too bad. Not great, but they are over .500, so I am happy for that. They just finished up a tough series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Lost all 3 games. They are tied for second place, 3 1/2 games behind St. Louis. Too many injuries so far for the Bucs. Ryan Doumit got hurt, and is out 8-10 weeks. Nate McLouth has been out for the past week, and should be back this weekend. Jack Wilson is out for a couple of weeks. If they can get all of them back, they should be okay. The pitching has been very good. All in all, not a bad start.

Another Baseball Season underway

The 2009 Baseball season started last week, and I am really excited about this year. The Pirates have started the season with 4 wins in their first 7 games. Not bad! The pitching staff has pitched well, and the offense has shown some spark. They even turned a triple play yesterday! That is very rare! They have some very exciting players this year. Nyjer Morgan bats leadoff, and he has been getting on base quite a bit in the first 7 games. He is very fast, no power, but he has a lot of spunk! Freddie Sanchez bats second, and he is off to a torrid start. He had 3 doubles today, and he has already had a 4 hit game. Another batting title for him?? Could happen! Nate Mclouth bats third. He has power, and gets on base quite frequently. He also has a gold glove from last year. Very good defensive player. Batting 4Th is Ryan Doumit, the catcher. He has a lot of power. He hit a grand slam on Saturday. Should be one of our top power hitters. After Doumit, is Adam LaRoche, the first baseman. He always starts slow, but so far this year he is doing just fine. He already has 2 homers. He didn't hit his second home run last year until May. His brother, Andy LaRoche bats sixth. He is our third baseman. He is the only one off to a slow start so far. He made 3 errors in the first 2 games, and he is hitless so far this year. Hopefully that will change for him. Batting 7Th is right fielder Branden Moss. He came to us in a trade last year. I like this kid, and he has a lot of potential. Good arm in the outfield, too. Batting 8Th is our shortstop, the elder statesman of the Pirates, Jack Wilson. Everyone thought he would be traded before the season started. He is still with the Buccos, and he is off to a great start! Lets hope they can keep it up and stay close to the league leaders this year, and be one of the contenders! Lets Go Bucs!!

Home, Sweet Home

We are back home after spending 12 days in Florida. The weather was absolutely beautiful there. Couldn't ask for anything nicer. Every day was around 80 to 85 degrees. Just perfect for swimming in the pool. We came back home a week ago. Landed in Pittsburgh, and it was pouring down rain and in the 50's. Good old Pennsylvania weather! But, you know what? I missed this place. I missed our family, and our dog Teddy. Florida is a nice place to visit, but I would not want to live there. The traffic is horrible and everything is so fast paced. I will just continue to go there once a year, and get my warm weather fix!

My niece, Gabby, was out in Los Angeles this past week for the Jeopardy Kids Tournament. I have not heard how she did, and I probably won't hear anything for awhile. They are not supposed to tell anyone how they did. But it will be aired on TV the week of July 13Th. I am sure she did very well.

Work has not been too bad this week. I kind of missed being at work. Is that weird? I guess maybe it is. Well, Dawna has supper almost ready, so I am getting out of here. Will write more later this weekend.

Pics from Bradenton, Florida

Pics at Chris and Tommy's in Largo, Florida

Orange Lake resort in Orlando, Florida

Pirate day in Florida

Today was our trip to Bradenton to watch the Pirates in spring training. We had a GREAT time and the Pirates actually won! They played the Tampa Rays, and the final score was 4-1. Dawna's favorite pirate player, Jack Wilson, had 2 hits, and Zach Duke pitched 5 shutout innings. We had some rain during the game, but not enough to damper our spirits. Before the game started, Bob Walk walked by us on his way to the press box, and Dawna recognized him, not me! I then asked him if he was Bob Walk, and he said he was, and he stopped and talked to us for a few minutes. Very nice guy! Later on, John Wehner, another announcer for the Bucs walked by, and I recognized him this time. He stopped and talked to us, also. Very nice of them to do this. I also saw Bruce Kison there, and I have a few pictures of him. He was a pitcher with the Pirates back in the 1970's. He is a scout for someone now. Not sure what team. He didn't talk to us, but, I knew who he was. Was an overall enjoyable afternoon.

After the game we took Chris and her family out to dinner at a very nice restaurant here in Largo, called BJ's Brewhouse. They brew there own beer. And then Danni treated us all to ice cream at Coldstone Creamery. That was quite the experience!

The other 2 pics on here are of the girls trying to dump me in Chris's pool. They actually got me dumped because Chris helped them. No fair Chris!

This has been a very nice vacation. I think we may go check out some beaches tomorrow. Will take more pics then, and try and get them posted on here.

Visiting Chris

This is a picture of me and my sister Chris. We are staying at her house in Largo, Florida right now. This picture was taken last year during our last visit. I haven't taken any pics yet since we arrived yesterday. I promise I will take pics while we are here. I want to share them with everyone. The weather here is perfect. Chris and her family are such great hosts. Chris fixed us breakfast this morning. She didn't have to do that, but she did. We spent most of the day yesterday in the pool, or just lounging by the pool. Not sure what else we are doing today, but relaxing is very nice. My niece, Gabby, is going to be on Jeopardy. They are leaving for Hollywood, California 2 days after we head back home. I am so excited and proud of her. I am sure she will do well. She goes to a gifted school. Her and her sister, Danni, are both very smart girls.

I think we might go to a Pirates game on Monday down on Bradenton. I have never been to a spring training game down here in Florida, so that will be something fun to do. This vacation will go by too fast, I am sure of that. Hopefully we will bring back some of this gorgeous weather when we come back north.

Greetings from Frostproof

Hello one and all from Sunny Frostproof, Florida. Dawna and I are visiting Dawna's dad down here at the trailer park he lives at. It is actually a very nice park. It is for retired senior citizens. Nice quiet place. No kids! We went swimming today, and took a bike ride. Then we all went out to dinner at a very nice place called the Hotel Jacaranda. They were serving a buffet, which featured southern items tonight. BBQ Ribs, fried chicken, baked chicken, baked beans, green beans, mashed potatoes and baked apples. The food was good, and very affordable. However, we were seated right in front of a piano. The gentleman was playing all sorts of old songs, and it was very difficult to hear each other talk. Guess we can't have it all!

Dawna and I are relaxing and enjoying the warm weather, but we both miss our private time together. We haven't had much time together alone in quite some time. I am sure we will have some time together eventually, once we get back home and Randy has found a home to move to. He has put in a bid on a house on Kenmore Drive in Greenville. Hope he gets it. It needs some work, but nothing major. New carpet, paint on walls, things like that. It would be a nice home for him. We should know soon if he gets it.

We are heading up to Largo, Florida tomorrow morning to visit Chris and Tommy and their girls. Can't wait to see them all. Will blog more from their house if I find time. If not, I will write when we get home next week.

Fun in the Sun

We have been in Florida now for 3 days, and I am so relaxed right now. After the long cold winter we had, this is just what I needed. We haven't done anything special. Swim, hot-tub and lounge around the pool. That's been about it. Oh, we also rode around the River Island water ride. You basically get on an inner tube and float all over the place, round in circles, and get water splashed on you. More for kids, but, we kind of liked it! We have been staying at Orange Lake Resort right near Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Our friend Deb, referred us here, so we got a good discount for staying here. We had to go listen to a 2 hour talk about timeshares this morning. We listened, but we did not buy. They even offered us a good deal, which was hard to turn down, but I just felt that we couldn't take on another bill at this time. Sure hope that was a good decision! Anyhow, we are heading down to Frost Proof, Florida tomorrow to see Dawna's dad for a couple of days. Then we are going to see my sister Chris and her family in Largo. We will be there Friday until we leave to come back home next Thursday. I think we might go see the Pirates play on Monday down in Bradenton. That should be fun! I am taking lots of pictures, and I will post them on here when we get back next week. I will try and write on here as often as I can. Talk more soon!

Florida, here we come!

Well, it has been too long since I have posted on here. I guess I have been procrastinating way too much. Not sure how many people still read my blog. Sometimes I feel that I am writing on here and nobody is reading it, except for my wife of course! Anyhow, I am leaving for Florida tomorrow with Dawna. We are taking a much needed vacation. We are staying at a really nice resort for the first 3 days in Orlando. All we have to do is listen to a spiel on timeshares, which we won't buy, and we get a great rate to stay there. On Wednesday we will drive down to Frost Proof for 2 days to visit Dawna's dad. Then on Friday we will head over to Largo, which is near Tampa, to visit my sister Chris and her family. We will stay there until we come back home on March 26h. Should be a fun vacation. And warm!! I will take pictures and post some of them on here when we get back. Probably won't write on here again till we are back home. Hope everyone stays safe and healthy. Will talk to you all when I get back!

Happy Saturday

What a great day. I am off today! I don't normally get Saturdays off, but I did this weekend. Dawna and I are enjoying the day together. Her mothers 75Th birthday is tomorrow, so we are having a party today to celebrate her day with her. That should be fun.

Joey called me a while ago. He wants me to take him to get his drivers license permit sometime early next month. He is 18, but he has not been in any hurry to start driving. Not like a lot of teenage kids, is he? But, he is happy with everything he does, so I won't complain. We are going to have a graduation party for him on May 31st. Which is also my 52ND birthday. He graduates on June 4Th, and he leaves for Basic training on June 8Th. Not much time for him to enjoy his graduation.

Dawna and I are sitting together on our love seat as I am writing this. Listening to 70's music on Sirius radio. Sounds corny, doesn't it? We like it, and that is all that matters. Randy is going out tonight, so we will enjoy the quiet, and probably watch a movie together. It is always nice to spend a quiet evening together with my wife.

Got to go now. Will write more later. OH, and only 22 days till we go to Florida!!

Super Bowl Champions

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl this past Sunday. They beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. It was probably the best Super Bowl I have ever seen. The Steelers had a 10-7 lead with 18 seconds to go in the first half. The Cardinals had the ball inside the 5 yard line and were trying to take the lead. Kurt Warner threw a pass that James Harrison intercepted and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown. The Steelers had a 17-7 lead at halftime. That play was the longest play in the history of the Super Bowl. The Steelers led 20-7 going into the 4Th quarter. Then all hell broke loose. The Cards scored a touchdown to pull within 6 points. The Steelers then had the ball on their own 1 yard line, and were called for holding on the end zone, which resulted in a safety, which is 2 points for the Cardinals. That made it 20-16. After the Steelers punted the ball, the Cardinals scored again. Warner threw a pass to Larry Fitzgerald who scored to give them a 23-20 lead with 2 and a half minutes left in the game. That's too much time to give the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger drove them down the field and Santonio Holmes caught a pass for 40 yards to take them to the 6 yard line. 35 seconds to go in the game, and Roethlisberger threw another pass to Holmes in the end zone for a great catch, and the Steelers had won their 6Th Super Bowl! No other team has won as many as the Super Steelers. It was truly the most remarkable game I have ever seen. I DVR'd the game, and will try and keep it forever. I will probably have to copy it onto a DVD. So, what do we do until next season?? The Pirates are still a losing ball team. I will still watch them, but the Steelers are the best team in Pittsburgh!
Dawna and I are planning a trip to Florida next month. I cannot wait! I am so sick of winter. This has been the snowiest and coldest winter we have had in quite some time. Maybe a little Florida weather will get us both rejuvenated. And we can visit my sister Chris and Dawna's Dad while we are there, too. Maybe catch a pirate game in Bradenton. That would be fun!
Snowy day here today. I have the day off from work. Going to take Dawna out for lunch, and go see my mom and dad for a bit. Have a great day, and I will write again soon.

Here we go Steelers, here we go!

The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl! Can you believe it? They beat the Baltimore Ravens yesterday 23-14. Now they will play the Arizona Cardinals on Feb. 1st in Super Bowl XLIII. That's 43 if you don't know roman numerals. The game will be in Tampa, Florida. The steelers are favored by 6 1/2 pts. This should be a great game for the Steelers! We will have a big super bowl party at my Dad's house and then watch the game on his big screen TV. It will be a long 2 weeks until the game gets here. I will be singing the Steelers super bowl song every day. The Steelers will be the first team in history to win 6 super bowls if they win this one. And I have seen them all! They won Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, XIV, and XL. Used to be they said one more for the thumb. Now they need to use another hand to count them all! Lets Go Steelers!!!!

Happy Belated New Year

First of all, let me wish you all a happy new year. I know, the year is 5 days old already, so I am late. But, better late than never! We didn't do much for new years eve. We were actually in bed at 12:05. Dawna and I are not night owls. we actually were falling asleep earlier, but we got up and had a drink before the new year came in.
Evelyn went back home to her mother this past Saturday. It was sad to see her go, but, it is also nice to get our house back to quiet again. A 4 year old girl is not very quiet. We love her, and will miss her, but it is always good to get back to our humdrum life. Randy had a job interview with the Butler VA hospital last week, and has a second interview tomorrow. Sounds promising for him. Keep your fingers crossed. This would be a good job for him.
Dawna and I are still looking for a new church to attend. We have gone to Bethel Life Church in Greenville for the past 2 weeks. We will give it a month there, before we make a decision. I really like the Pastor there. He has given very good sermons for the weeks we have attended. The music has been wonderful. A little too long, I think, but overall I have enjoyed being there. The people are very friendly. We will keep praying on this, and God will put us where we belong.
The Steelers are in the playoffs, and will play the San Diego Chargers next Sunday in the first round for them. If they win, they will play in the AFC Championship game next week. A win there will put them in the Super Bowl. I will keep you posted on how they do.
My sister Chris and her family from Florida visited in Pennsylvania over Christmas. They stayed at my parents house in Jamestown. It was good to see them all. They have 2 wonderful daughters, Gabby and Danni. We may go visit them in Florida in March.
That's about it for today. Got to go watch Jeopardy on TV.

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Day. What a wonderful Christmas it has been. My son Brian came home from the hospital today. That makes it a great day! For him, and for all of us. We thought he might come home yesterday, but it just didn't work out. The doctors tried to get him home, but, he was not quite ready. So, this morning after our dear Evie opened up her Christmas presents from Santa, Dawna and I drove down to Pittsburgh once again to spend Christmas with my son Brian. We must have seen 4-5 doctors today. On Christmas Day? Hard to believe that many doctors were working today. They told us Brian has had Hershbergers disease his entire life. This causes his bowels to not function properly. The one doctor said he has had this since birth. He was amazed that no one caught this when he was a little boy. I have had Brian in to see many doctors when he was growing up, and no one caught this problem. They all said nothing was wrong with Brian, that he just would not move his bowels. They all thought it was just him, not wanting to go. At least now, we know what the problem was. And now, we can get him the help he needs. He is still going to need more surgery in a few months, but, this is all workable now, as long as he does what the doctors need him to do. So, he is now back home with Joey and his mother. Merry Christmas, Brian!
After we took him home, Dawna and I stopped at Denny's for a little dinner. We have started making this our tradition. Usually we go to a movie, and then to Denny's, but since we had to go to Pittsburgh, we skipped the movie, but still had dinner at Denny's. After dinner we went and saw Nathan and Mindie and Jim. Then we came home to a nice quiet house. Randy and Evelyn went to a Christmas party, so Dawna and I are enjoying the quiet while we can. Evelyn is a beautiful little girl, but, she does get a bit rambunctious at times. I will miss her when she leaves, but the quiet is nice right now. I hope you all had a nice Christmas today. Enjoy your families, and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

Super Steelers

Wow! What a game the Steelers played today. They beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-9, and clinched the AFC North Division title. Plus, they gained a first round bye in the playoffs this year. If they win their last 2 games they will be the number 1 seed for the entire playoffs. They should be a favorite to get to the super bowl this year. What a team! They were behind the entire game until 43 seconds left in the 4Th quarter. The Steelers completed a pass to Santonio Holms at the goal line, and it was initially ruled not a touchdown. After the refs reviewed the play, it was overturned and they gave the Steelers a touchdown, which won the game. The Steelers never give up. They are a great 4Th quarter team. They came back last week against the Cowboys and won it in the 4Th quarter. And they did it again against the hated Ravens. Next up is Tennessee. They have 12 wins, and the Steelers have 11. If the Steelers can beat the Titans and the Cleveland Browns in their last game, then they should go all the way to the Super Bowl this year! GO STEELERS!!!!

Brian

My oldest son Brian, who is 25 years old has had a very bad week. I got a phone call last Sunday evening from Joey, who told me that Brian was taken to the hospital in Sharon, because he had passed out twice during the day. I figured he would be okay, passing out didn't sound like anything that I needed to go to the hospital for. I told Joey to keep me posted, and he said he would. Around 1:30 in the morning on Monday, joey called me to tell me that Brian had blood clots in his lungs and his leg. I then realized that this was very serious and Dawna and I rushed to the Sharon Hospital. Once we got there, we got to see Brian, and he was not doing real good. He has had problems over the years moving his bowels. It has been an on-going problem with him, but, I didn't realize how bad it was until that day. His stomach was distended badly. Kind of like he was 11 months pregnant. The nurse said they were going to monitor him for the night, and gave him blood thinners for the clots. Dawna and I went home and slept for a few hours, and then went back to the hospital around noon. About 4PM, the doctor talked to me, and said they could not do anything else for him there, and they were going to life flight him to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. I knew this was bad, but, I didn't want to think what could happen to him. Dawna and I went to Kmart and picked up some things, we were not sure how long we would be in Pittsburgh, and then we were on our way, with joey and my ex-wife Denise in tow with us. Taking my ex wife was not a good idea, but, she had no other way to get there. After spending all day at the hospital, and most of the night, and the ride to Pittsburgh I remembered why I did not want to be married to her. She is a real trip! More on her later. We got to Allegheny Hospital around 6:30 PM, and I got a phone call from Sharon hospital telling me that Brian had not left yet. They could not fly the helicopter, due to freezing rain, so they had to send a ambulance from Butler to Allegheny hospital to pick up a nurse, then they went to Sharon to get Brian. This made for a long wait in the waiting room in Pittsburgh. While we were waiting, Denise's sister and her husband and daughter showed up to wait with us. Brian finally got to the hospital around 10:15PM. They stabilized him, and told us they would not do anything that night, except to monitor him. I saw no reason to stay there, while they did nothing. So, Dawna and I decided to head home for the night, and go back the next day. Denise road home with her sister, which made us happy. I don't think Dawna and I could have handled listening to her all the way home. We did have to pick her up the next morning and take her back down with us. Another long ride, listening to her whine about her cold. We stayed there till 2PM, and got to see Brian, but, they still weren't going to do anything that day. Dawna and I went home for the day, and let Denise go back with her sister again. My daughter Tiffany showed up at the hospital with her girl friend Jill. Another long story there. My niece, Sarah drove them down. We had more people there, than most people have in the hospital waiting room. Anyhow, They finally did some surgery on Brian on Thursday morning. They basically did a colonoscopy and cleaned him out. Not a pretty sight, but, they had to do this. I have not been back to the hospital since Tuesday, but I have talked to Brian on the phone, and communicated with the doctors to monitor his progress. I will be going back to see him on Tuesday of this week. He is doing better, but, he is still in CCU. He came very close to not making it through all this. He really gave us all a scare. We need to keep praying for his recovery, and for him to get all the help he needs. I will let you know more when I find out more.

OH,the weather outside is frightful.....

Yes, the snow is piling up here. It started snowing today while I was out delivering mail. And it is very cold! The wind was howling all day. I wasn't real cold, except for my face. I wear long underwear, sweater, jacket, gloves, and a stocking cap. I have a stocking cap, that covers my face, but, I really don't like wearing it. I can't see much from the sides, and I do need to watch for dogs. Anyhow, we are supposed to get 6 inches of snow tonight. I am off the next 2 days, so I really don't care how much it snows. I do need to get out my snow blower, and get some fresh gas and oil for it. I should have done that before winter got here, but I have just been too busy. I have been working way too much. I am going to enjoy my next 2 days. Tomorrow, is football. Steelers are playing the cowboys. That should be a wild game. Steelers are having a great year. They beat up on the Patriots last Sunday. They have a real good shot at going to the super bowl. I sure hope that happens. Okay, got to go watch some college football. And, watch the snow fly!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving with your families and friends. we had a wonderful day today. Mindie and Jim hosted a delightful thanksgiving dinner at their home. They really did a nice job as hosts. The house was all decorated and clean, and everyone brought the best food for dinner. Dawna's Mom and her husband, C.R. were there. And her brothers, Denny and Daryl came. Dawna's best friend Deb and her husband Randy and their daughter Olivia joined us for dinner, also. And Randy came home from Texas yesterday, so he was there, too. He is living with us, while he is home. We all had a very nice day together, and we all had a lot to be thankful for. The weather was nice, no more snow, and the sun was out almost all day. We all had plenty to eat, and their was plenty of leftovers. My parents spent thanksgiving with my sister in Florida. I hope they had a nice day with them. I am very thankful for having such wonderful parents, and for having such a loving family. I am also thankful for my wife, Dawna. She means the world to me. I hope you all have as nice as a day as we had here. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!