Jess and Than's New York Wedding

Martha makes sure Mom and Nettie (Mar's mom-in-law) are comfy.

Netty made a speech that was very sweet, and happily, very short. Too many bugs outside!

Martha also made a speech:

THE BRIDE AND GROOM:

Before:

During:

Visit

Mike and I drove upstate this past weekend to attend a wedding at my sister's house. It was for my niece Jessica and her husband, Than. They were already married in Colorado but wanted to do something with the family. (Than is pronounced Tahn, rhyming with John.)
Meanwhile, it was also a chance to visit my siblings, some nieces and nephews, and most of all, Mom McNally. Since Mom now lives with my sister, I have 'inherited' a few things from the house she recently sold. "A few" isn't quite correct--the boxes, plus an old sewing machine, took up most of the back of Mike's car:

My sister Susan took this photo of Mom and me, the night before the wedding:

She looks good for 92! Susan and Martha both tell me she is really showing signs of her age. She is virtually blind and deaf, although if she hears you she can carry on a short conversation just fine. I don't think there's anything wrong with most of her brain. I'm still rooting for her to live to be 100.

New Babies

I was so happy when one of the raccoons stopped by last night with her 4 babies!

The crossbar on the chair is about 4 inches off the ground, so you can see how tiny this baby is!

Two of the babies sharing a biscuit.

On the Beach

This is Sunken Meadow, not Atlantic City. Mike and I took a walk along the water on Friday evening.

This is the time of day I love the beach, when most of the people have gone home and it is a little cooler. I hate crowds and heat!

We got a big kick out of this seagull, who came flying by with a crab in his mouth. He played with it for a while, but finally gave up. I guess he realized he couldn't eat it. Mike threw the crab back in the water to live another day.

Dinner in AC

On our last night in Atlantic City, we walked a little ways from the hotel and ate at the Longhorn Steakhouse. I had one of the best burgers ever! We really enjoyed ourselves and will certainly eat there again.

John Joseph has a kiss for his mom, Noreen.

On our way to the restaurant, we spotted a man playing saxophone. He had a sign that said: "all doggie bags appreciated," or something like that. So John Joseph wanted to pack up something for him to eat. Noreen things that's why he only ate half his burger.

Unfortunately, there was a big rainstorm and the man was no longer there. But it shows what a big heart my nephew has.

Mike and John.

Noreen's brother Tommy was also there.

John Joseph's birthday was coming up, and he really wanted a lizard. So his Uncle Tommy got him one from a boardwalk shop. It's an iguana and kind of cute, although who knows how big it will grow.

Here we are on our way to the parking garage. John Joseph is very happy with his lizard!

Atlantic City Again!

It's been a year since we visited Atlantic City, and I enjoyed being back there again. I found one particular slot machine that just seemed to pay out. I doubled my money several times, but we decided to put all the money back in so that we could earn a free room for our next visit. This time around John and Noreen used one of their comps for us.
It was a lot of fun, but so hot outside! I actually took a walk on the Boardwalk by myself, and was glad to go into any store for air-conditioning. The only things I bought, though, were salt water taffy, mints and 2 watches. One is purple, for me, and one is for my friend Patty, in pink. She had mentioned liking my pink watch from AC last year, so this year I got one for her. Both were only $10 each.

Here is one of the games I played:

As you can see, I won $22, on a $20 bet, doubling my money to almost $44. The funny thing is that I had luck on this machine last year, too!

I tried to space out my time on the slots by not carrying all my money with me. Having to go up to my room to get more was incentive to do other things, too, like the Boardwalk walk.

I also explored the hotel and found a nice sitting room with nobody in it, where I stopped and played games on my phone. I found a window looking down a street towards the Atlantic:

Mike and I hope to go back again soon!

Bird House Rescue

A few years ago I bought a bird house for a yard decoration. Recently I was surprised to see a tiny bird flying into it! What do you know, I look through the little opening and there is a nest!

So yesterday, I went to check the bird house and I was wondering if the top came off. Sometimes they are made like that. The trouble is the dumb birdhouse is old and rotted and the whole roof collapsed on it! 

Yes, there are baby birds inside. Tiny little things with gray feathers. So I put something over the top temporarily and hurry inside to get Mike. The two of us did our best to repair the six-sided roof with duct tape, then we taped it like crazy to the birdhouse. Meanwhile, the parents are freaking out.

I hope the house holds up until the babies fledge. They were sound asleep when I looked into the nest. I think there were 3 or 4 of them. They are barely an inch or two long. The parents are about 4 inches, maybe less. 

As far as I can tell, they are some kind of wren. But I can't find a picture that looks like them! I've never seen them in my backyard before and they aren't listed among Long Island's birds.

All I know is, I'm going to get some better birdhouses for next year; ones made with weather-proof materials. I've even heard that bird will make houses in big gourds!

TODAY: went out to lunch with Mike, John, Noreen and little John. Stopped at the cemetery first and put crocheted blue and red flowers on my Dad's grave, plus Mike Sr.'s and Marta's.

Came home and sat in the backyard watching to see if the birds are still using the bird house. I think they might be, because they are nearby. I'm just hoping we didn't scare them too much.

One of them was perched on the fence behind my house making chipping noises. The funny thing is that I stood there for a while making kissy noises at it and it didn't fly away!