“WHAT’S COOKIN’?”

Visitors Come from Near and Far, Summer is Going

Fast

Precious, the 5 month old kitten we adopted from the Cooperstown SPCA on April 14 is growing in leaps and bounds and that is how she moves-by leaps and bounds! She has investigated every nook and cranny of her surroundings and even tries to take over Patchy’s space, which does not go over well-(they tolerate each other). She loves the outdoors, but we do not allow her out except in the large metal cage that I got at the Salvation Army in Oneonta. She is smart and has tricked me several times and gotten outside.

We have had several evenings of heavy rain with thunder and lightning. Patchy is deathly afraid of the storms and pants and shakes. Precious is intrigued and waits for and opportunity to trick me and get outside. Two nights in a row she has gotten out during a storm. She heads for the old lilac bush, swatting at lightning bugs and moths. She is definitely not frightened. I, with a flashlight, have gotten soaked trying to get her in. I was soo afraid that she head for the road. Finally Joe and I managed to get her inside. Thank GOD! Once inside, she sprawls out on the floor and cleans herself like nothing had happened. She has completely changed the course of our days.

The Fourth of July fireworks were canceled because of the terrible storm. The following night I kept hearing loud noises and finally discovered that there were fireworks over the hill, perhaps at the college. They went well into the night. As I gazed out the windows, the foreground was filled with thousands of lightning bugs. I can remember as a child, catching them and putting them in jars with caps with holes in. It was just for a little while and then we released them. It was amazing how much light they gave off. The air smelled so good after the rain.

I got a call from my niece, Bonnie Kolanda of Lewisbury, PA. She and the children are definitely coming to New York over the 20-21. They will stay with us for a day or so and then head for Darin Lake. I know I will be surprised when I see them as the last time I saw them they were taking part in my wedding to Irwin Curlis in 2003! I told Bonnie that the children could sleep in the camper and she thought they would like that. I alerted Wendy, Andy and Mark of the plans and everyone is excited about the visit.

Joe’s brother, Ronnie Rotolo of Orlando, Florida, was coming for a visit, but never showed up. After some concern that something had happened, I could to check on them. They never left and somehow forgot to call when they had unexpected company from California. They will try again in August when his nephew and wife will celebrate their 25^th Anniversary. Joe and I worked hard to have a place for them and plenty of food to eat. I froze what I could and other company helped us put and dent in the extra salads, etc. Joe had no trouble with the chocolate cake!

We got a call from Nelson Wells, Sr. of Otego asking if Joe would sight in his gun. We were all caught up for the day so I told Joe to go. Joe said, “I want you to come too.” I was a hot day and a ride was nice. Nelson was tickled to have us stop by and the two men had a ball checking over Nelson’s gun. I stayed on the porch with **** and the daughter, Sandy, drinking iced tea. Before we left **** asked us to come to the family reunion this Saturday at Neawah Park, Oneonta. It should be fun.

We had a nice surprise when my youngest son, Mark, and his buddy Stefano stopped by. I hadn’t seen him in several weeks and he was sporting a short summer hair cut and he looked good. I fixed and nice lunch while Joe gave them the grand tour. Before they left, I gave Mark some of the garden veggies from the garden. He was tickled.

Despite the extremely hot weather, the lawn keeps growing. Joe has the compulsion to keep it mowed. Of course, it looks nice!

Joe’s youngest son, Patrick and his family from Staten Island are visiting family in the Oneonta area for a few days. They stayed and enjoyed the Clarion Hotel. Everyone enjoyed the pool. On Wednesday evening almost the whole family gathered at Brook’s for dinner and chats. Just as we were leaving, a heavy rainstorm, which had been threatening, hit hard. We all managed to get to Friendly for ice cream and then spent time with grandma. As usual, the time flew by and morning had them on their way back home.

We had a nice visit with Natalie at her lovely home on the hill. The scent of freshly cut grass perfumed the landscape. It was beautiful. Her grand-daughter, niece, Sierra is here and she will be staying for three weeks! What a time they will have together.

Thought for the Week: Enjoy, enjoy ENJOY!