2017-09-02 - Saturday - Mom

This month (September) my mom turns 80, and mom and dad will be celebrating their 60th anniversary. To celebrate, she wanted to get the whole family together for dinner. Unfortunately Meredith couldn't get time off work, but the rest of us were there.

Stephanie, Brett, Karen, David, me, dad, and mom.

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2017-04-16 - Sunday - New cook top

I installed the new cook top on Sunday. I helped my Dad install the old on 18 years ago so I felt reasonably comfortable installing this one. I read the installation instructions twice and dove in.

The first problem I had was when I plopped the new one into the hole.

It didn't fit.

The old one had rounded corners and so did the hole in the counter top. The new on was squared off.

My first thought was that my wife was going to kill me. I had measured side to side and front to back, but never checked the corners. (It's like the refrigerator and the doorway all over again!)

I remembered I purchased a jigsaw for $15 about 10 years ago at a yard sale, so I brought it in from the garage praying there were blades in the box. There were. I cut the corners square and it fell right in --almost.

Now the back edge was sticking up about 3/8 of an inch. It was resting on the junction box we screwed to the wall inside the cabinet.

There was a sheet rock screw holding the box to the wall and of course it was at an angle so I couldn't use my cordless drill. When I unscrewed it, and unscrewed it, and unscrewed it, I found out it was a 2 1/2 inch screw.

I moved the box down a bit and attached it with a 1 1/4 inch screw.

It works and life is good.

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2014-05-08 - Thursday - Mom and Dad visit

My parents visited with us for a few days during their trip home to Pennsylvania from their winter in Florida.  I made pizzas for supper and we sat and talked for hours.  It's always great to see them and we've missed them during the last couple of trips because they couldn't stop due to scheduling conflicts.

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November 5 - Another Big Saturday, Part 2

Saturday evening I attended the Clayworks Earth and Fire fundraiser with my parents.  It was a magical evening thanks to the Clayworks organizers, the artists who donated wonderful work for the silent auction, for the raffle, and especially Hodges Taylor Gallery for letting us invade their beautiful space.

Karen, Maryann, Shannon, Greg, and Adrienne.

Our raffle captains.
Susan and Rae.

Andy brings the food.

Ralph, Pat (my mom), and John (my dad).

Ralph, Betty, Lou, and Kathy.

Chris and Lisa.

Jaime and Roy.

Charles and Karin.

Kim and Becky.

Jaime, Hal, Corine, and Stephan.

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November 5 - Another Big Saturday, Part 1

My parents arrived on Thursday and were lucky to be here during one of those Big Saturdays we often have.

Saturday afternoon we attended Meredith's horse jumping show.  It was a lot of fun and I was beaming proudly at my daughter's accomplishments.  She does a great job jumping and riding and always makes me a proud papa.

Meredith on Baron.

As you can see from her expression, she hates this.

Stephanie and Karen.

Meredith on Ona Whim.

Meredith on the ground for the ribbon ceremony.

A proud grandma and grandpa.

Gotta' love her.

End of part one.  Stay tuned for part two...
(I told you it was another big Saturday!)
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Friday - Family trickling in

Family started arriving Friday for Stephanie's graduation and celebration.  My parents and my father-in-law and nephew were here.  The rest of the in-laws were driving down from PA in a rented SUV, but my father-in-law and nephew flew so they didn't have to sit in the car for nine or ten hours.  The SUV pulled in at about 12:30 am on Saturday with a carload of people and my brother-in-law's one and a half year old great dane puppy.

Tomorrow will be a crazy day:

1. Thirteen people have to figure out a shower schedule
2. Have a continental breakfast
3. Get to the coliseum by 10:15 am for an 11:00 am graduation ceremony
4. Back to the house for a quick lunch
5. Be at the photography studio by 2:00 pm for family portraits
6. Keep a 5:00 pm reservation at the restaurant
7. Be back at the house by 7:00 pm for cake with other relatives and watch the cousins use the Batman moon bounce.

 Got that?  There will be a quiz on it later.

Dad in the kitchen.

Mom and John.

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2010-04-28 Wednesday - Golf, pottery, and old friends

The Wednesday sun rose on a gorgeous day which I spent most of on another golf course.  I played golf at Regent Park Golf Club with my Dad and my friend Tom.  The last time I picked up my clubs was 4-5 years ago when I played in Fort Mill, SC with Tom so to say I was a bit rusty would be an understatement.  Couple that with the fact that I only ever played once or twice a year before that and you get some good insight to my (lack of) game.

It was a glorious day to be on the links and with everyone at the Pro Am, there weren't many people to run into on the course.  We spent six and a half hours out there.  We took our time, but we also did a lot of hunting for lost balls.  Near the end we were just dropping new balls quickly and we need to remember that next time.

I hit a couple of 220 yard drives straight down the fairway and sunk a couple of nice putts.  It was enough to make me enthusiastic about returning despite the 273 other horrible strokes.  (I don't keep score since I can't count that high.)  I am no good at the game, but love it anyway.

If you get a chance to play Regent Park, do it.  It's a beautiful and challenging course.

Wednesday night I made a point to attend pottery class since I had a heads-up from my friend Rick that our old buddy and teacher, Doug was going to be there on a trip from his home in NYC.  I wasn't disappointed since he showed up and hadn't changed much at all in the twelve years since we last saw him.  He came in with a bunch of his pots and proceeded to sell a lot of them to a hungry crowd.  Doug is an amazing potter and he hasn't lost his touch at all.  It was great seeing him and I wish I could have spent more time with him but he had many other people to see during his visit.  We all hope he comes back soon and doesn't wait another twelve years to make an appearance.

Hole number one at Regent Park Golf Club.

Kim checking out some of Doug's pots.

Doug and Rick looking serious.

It only lasted a minute.

A new form I'm exploring in porcelain (helios).

(Thanks to Lulu and Kim.)

If I leave a pot on a wheel unattended

Ju-Ian can sometimes quietly add a frog

to it before I return.

I quite like the little guy.

2009-12-31 Thursday - New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve my brother Dave and I went with my parents to their favorite restaurant.  Ecco Domani is a small place in a shopping center near their house, but don't let it fool you.  Julio (the owner) is a wonderful chef and we've never been disappointed there.  Thursday was no exception.  We started out sharing a fried calamari appetizer and then I ordered the eggplant parm which isn't one of the more exotic dishes on the menu, but I don't get to have it very often so I jumped at the chance and it was fantastic.  For dessert we all shared a great tiramisu that's made right in the restaurant.  Later, Julio brought out some black sambuca to finish the meal.

After dinner Dave and I went to his apartment for our annual night of video gaming.  Good times.

Me, Dave, Mom, and Dad.

2009-12-29 Tuesday - Christmas at the Ferraris house

On Tuesday afternoon my parents took my brother Dave and I to the Carnegie Deli at the Sands in Bethlehem.  They told me that the sandwiches were outrageously large, but I still wasn't prepared for the size of them or how great they tasted.  I ordered a hot pastrami on rye with mustard and cole slaw.  The pastrami was easily the best I've ever tasted since it just melted in my mouth.  I didn't get a decent picture since cameras are not allowed in the casino and my cell phone pictures were horrible so I found a picture of the pastrami sandwich on the web.  We (over) ate at the deli and then played some slot machines.  I quit after spending five and winning fifteen and just enjoyed watching everyone else for a while.

Later that evening we were at my parents' house having our Christmas with them.  We exchanged our gifts and had some snacks.  Later we had the giggles while we played some Wii games that Dave brought with him.

Stephanie, Karen, Meredith (hiding), my brother Dave.

Mom and Dad.