May 2019

May 2019

PA, DE, VA, NYC

1- W- PA- I was up too early to go to brunch with Phylis, Steve and Jon.  We went to a sandwich place in a gas station in Malvern and the food was delicious.  We had to bring everything back to the apartment because the only eating space was near the gas pumps.  Later in the afternoon, I made my way to the Sculpture Gardens in Hamilton, NJ and I loved, loved, loved it.  Then I stopped by the Neshiminy Brewery for a flight of beer.

2-TH- PA- I drove to the Flick Lock Village which is a deserted area near a power plant.  However, the area was blocked off and off limits.  So I found a brewery in Boyertown, The Other Farm Brewery.

3- F- PA- It was first Friday Gallery Walk in West Chester so I wandered over to the Uptown Theatres to help out.  They were one of the stops on the Gallery Walk.  All of these artists highlighted had to produce a painting this week of a West Chester scene.  There was one artist in particular who appealed to me. But I showed restrain and did not buy yet another piece of artwork.

4- SA- PA- I was a lazy ass today.  I slept too late due to the dark, damp weather. It rained all afternoon. I did watch the very disappointing Kentucky Derby and was sorry I did because I didn't like the finally decision of the disputed decision.  Afterwords, Steve, Phylis and I strolled around town on this warm, busy night.

5- SU- PA- It's another rainy day.  I think it is Day 37 of shitty weather. So I sat in the lounge and watched the Sixers lose their basketball game.

6- M- PA- Wellsboro--the sky is blue so I finally, finally headed up to Coudersport, PA to see the darkest skies in the state.  When I got to Cherry Springs State Park, clouds had rolled in and I thought for sure I wouldn't see a damn star.  But I was wrong. After an hour, some of the clouds rolled off and filled the skies with thousands of stars and one shooting star.  It was beautiful and I want to go back there some time and spend the whole damn night.

Cherry Springs State Park

7- TU- PA- Wellsboro- I couldn't sleep at all last night and my eyes were burned as I stumbled out of bed.  I went off to see the PA Grand Canyon but was underwhelmed.  I headed home by way of Williamsport and drove down Millionaires Road for a bit of nostalgia.  Those old mansions have fallen on to hard times and they all looked sad and old.  I also went to Bullfrog Brewery for a quick flight and then headed home. It rained the whole way home.

8- W- PA- It's raining again today. I was tired today so I just sat in the lounge and held court.  I think I told my road trip story to 10 people.  At the moment, I have a few people who want to go up there with me some time in the future.

9- TH- PA- It's raining again today. John gave me a pill: THC/CBD.  It is supposed to help with pain and aid in getting to sleep.  I am never taking this pill again.  I had strange thoughts all night.  I couldn't tell if I was awake or asleep during these thoughts.  But I was dreaming in brown and white only.  Today is the 21st anniversary of my mother's death.

10- F- PA- It's raining again today. I got a text from Jaye this morning to tell me that her mother had a massive stroke and probably will not make it through the day.  When I spoke to Jaye later in the morning she reminded me that we will yet again have similar experiences: our mothers dying during Mother's Day weekend.

11- SA- NYC- What a great day.  We took the train from Hamilton, NJ to NYC. From there, we made our way to Chinatown for lunch.  We ate at a dim sum restaurant that served 750 people.  The place was jammed packed and we ate like pigs.  Food just kept coming.  Then we went off to an Off-Broadway theatre to watching Jimmy Staudt in a production of The Crucible.  The play was three hours but it was fun to watch Jim in his element.  Afterwards, we went out for a drink before we caught the train back to NJ.  It was a long, fun day.  When I got home, Jaye texted me to tell me that her mother died.

12- SU- PA- It's raining again. I spent the afternoon at the Anderkos to celebrate Mother's Day and Bill's birthday.  Mostly we lingered at the table and told stories until 6:30 PM.

13- M- PA- It's raining again today. It's too rainy to go outside.  Jon and I ran over to the Side Bar for Happy Hour because we just had to do something to get outside.

14- TU- PA- It's raining again. I spent the afternoon cleaning my apartment.  I hate to clean.  And then it was Taco Tuesday at Chestnut Square.  We had a large, loud crowd.  I couldn't hear anyone and it dawned on me that I may be a candidate for a hearing aide.

15- W- DE- The sun is out.  OMG, I thought I was going to cry when I woke up to sunshine this morning.  I got in my car and drove to Rehoboth Beach, DE.  I had lunch at Dogfish Brewery.  I sat on the beach for a whole hour even though it was a little cold and windy. I went to the Columbia Outlet store and bought two blouses.  I came back to the boardwalk and got my 5,000 steps in on my FitBit.  I had a drink at a boardwalk bar and fought off all the little birds who must have spent the winter hanging on these bar tables and are not yet willing to give them up.  I took a quick dip in the hotel pool. And then I found a restaurant that was serving prime rib.  This was a pretty good day.

16- TH- DE/PA- I didn't know how to act as the sun was out again today.  I drove around the area to get the lay of the land.  Maybe I will come down here a few days this summer.  I stopped at the Dogfish Brewery in Milton on the way home and picked up two growlers for the Beer Club tonight.

17- F- PA- I was sick in bed all day. I slept for hours. I think the weather was bad so I didn't miss much.  I finished listening to my audiobook: Everything I Never Told You.  I didn't really like this book that much.

18- SA- PA- I wasn't much better today so I spent this day in bed as well. I listened to a couple of Podcasts: To Live and Die in LA; Blackout; and The Dropout.

19- SU- PA- The sun is out and I am actually hot.  Sharon come over and we strolled around West Chester to visit with the local artists.  They all had their galleries open to the public.  Then we went to visit Sharon's friend, Mary DuPont, who is near death with a serious liver infection.  She was in a coma for four months and now she needs a new liver and a new kidney. I barely recognized her.

20- M- DE/PA- I went to Jaye's mom's funeral.  She was 94 and had been in poor health for the last couple of years.  But regardless of how old you are, its always tough to lose your mom and Jaye was broken hearted.  In the afternoon, I went to Diane Simon's house to make phone calls for her School Board campaign.  I am looking forward to her potential victory tomorrow.

21- TU- PA- it's Election Day,  I worked the polls here in West Chester and then I went over to Diane Simon's polls and worked for her as well.  Diane was the high vote getter in her election.

22- W- PA- It was beautiful and sunny but that didn't mean it wasn't a great day for the movies.  I went to see Tolkien which was a bit confusing at first until I realized I was confusing this author with Tolstroy and the movie took place in England, not Russia.  I also listened to an audio book, Looking for Alaska which I loved.

23- TH- PA- I had a quick visit to the dentist and had planned on going to the movies but a tornado warning caused me to come back and take care of things on my balcony.  The storm never came and I spent the afternoon in the lounge, entertaining people was they wandered through.  Jon stopped by with three beers which fostered my obnoxious attitude that everyone wanted to hear from me today.

24- F- PA- I was awaken by a maintenance man who said he wanted to come in to my bedroom. I was annoyed.  I then went off to see All Is True, a movie about Shakespeare.  While he certainly was talented, he led a dreary life.  I came back to my apartment to find the place filled with happy, happy people.  The pool is officially open today and all is right with our little world here.

25- SA- PA- I had dinner with my Canada travel crew.  We are going to the Celtic Music Festival in Nova Scotia in October so we got together to plan things.  I've wanted to go to this festival for a number of years.  It should be great fun.  Five of us are going and we have an airbnb somewhere in Cape Breton.

26- SU- PA- It was a beautiful day, fun of sunshine, clear skies, lots of people at the pool and laughter.  Everyone had a great time until a clap of thunder chased everyone out of the pool and  in to the lounge where I was busy, enjoying the quiet inside.

27- M- It was another beautiful day. the sun was out, the skies were blue it was warm.  It was a perfect day to go to the movies.  So Debbie and I went to see Judi Dench in Red Joan.  The main character was torn between allegiance to her country and allegiance to humanity.  I am too cowardly to take a bold position.

28- TU- PA- Phyliss had me up and out by 10 AM to go to The Three Crazy Ladies, her favorite restaurant that is closing its door on Friday. Their food is so damn good so I ordered three sandwiches to go and I will be eating them all week.  We had a terrible rain storm and a tornado warning.  So far, all is ok.

29- W- PA- I woke up to discover that we had a tornado nearby.  I missed all of the drama. Apparently, several people in the building sought shelter in the parking garage.  I was up early to day to take a woman to her cancer treatment.  I am back with the Road to Recovery Program.  This woman was so grateful.  Later I went to Jill Dougherty's school  She had day lily plants for me which I have planted and expect them to die by the end of the summer.  I got my hair cut and my head feels two pounds lighter.  I went to the trash room and found a brand new, 3 piece, nesting luggage set.  I don't need it but damn, that was a great find. I hung at the pool a little bit. Then Debbie and I went to Lemoncello for dinner.

30- TH-PA- an impromptu party started in the lounge tonight.  About 20 people just showed up with drinks and pizza and all of the sudden, five hours had passed.

31- F- VA- I drove 4 hours to central VA to watch Clay compete in a track meet but the thunder and lightening killed that event.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate tomorrow. On my ride down, I listened to the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.  I just saw the play and loved it.