Former Wheeler Home Destroyed by Fire Wednesday-April 11th

On Wednesday the former Wheeler home on Port Street was destroyed by fire. Jim and his brothers and sisters grew up in this house and it was in the family until 5 years ago when it was sold. There are a lot of memories associated with this house.

Verizon Coming

The past few months we had noticed that Verizon was laying cable south of the State Park and North of Route 13. This week they are running it between the park and Rt. 13. We now have Frontier for phone and internet and I don't know if we'll switch but it's nice to see some competition in the area and at least have the option to change.

Easter Sunday- April 8th

Today was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 60's. We hosted dinner for 20 of the relatives and had a delicious meal and great conversation. Some of the kids played outside for awhile after dinner.

Jennifer's Birthday

On Sunday we celebrated Jennifer's birthday which was actually last Monday but we were still in Ohio so we had to put it off a week. She requested her usual menu of Chicken ( Chicken Marsala this year) , potato salad, corn, baked beans, rolls, and black olives. For dessert she always chooses chocolate cake with Boiled icing. All the kids except Jim and Cathy and the boys were here to celebrate with her.

Mythbusters Show

Last Wednesday, Jim, Jennifer and I went to see the Mythbusters Show held at the Civic Center in Syracuse. It was a really good show with tons of audience participation.

Jim's Trip to Alaska

While Jim and I were in Ohio Jim took the trip to Alaska that  he won through a photography web site. He was in the Wrangall-St Elias National Park and Forest Preserve where he and four others ( 3 more winners and their guide) spent the week in a cabin with no running water or electricity. They melted snow on the stove for cooking and washing and cooked all their meals there too. The stove was a Yukon stove which is a 55 gallon drum laid on its side and it has a door in one end where you load in the wood. He had a wonderful time seeing the wildlife ( a moose, a Lynx, and more) and hiking to nearby and not so near by areas for photos. They drove to Valdez one day as well as some other areas. On his last day there, once back in Anchorage, he rented a car and did some sightseeing around the area before taking the red-eye home.

Jennifer's Trip To Houston

The week Jim and I were in Ohio Jennifer had a business trip to Houston, Texas for the yearly Microsoft Convergence Conference. She had a great time and learned a lot. She had some free time while there so the first day she took a trip to the Zoo and then she stayed over the last day so she could see the Johnson Space Center before returning home on the evening flight.

Trip To Ohio

A week or so ago Jim and I went to Ohio while Jim was in Alaska on his photography trip. We really enjoyed spending time with Cathy and the boys and helping out where needed. We did some shopping and sightseeing during the day while Cathy was at work and the boys where in school. After school there was some homework as well as some walks around the neighborhood where there were houses decorated for Easter and even some free-roaming chickens. We decorated Easter eggs, played some board games, made cookies and had lots of fun. Jim returned home on Sunday with lots of pictures and stories. We celebrated his birthday too , a day early , and Cathy's mom was able to join us. On Monday we headed back home after an enjoyable week with the boys.