Counting Down the Days

 (Clicking on the picture will open it larger in a new window.)

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Six more days and Tom is scheduled for his hernia repair and we are counting the days; since, every day that goes by he is somewhat more uncomfortable. I mentioned in our last post that our planned escape day is October 26th though I am guessing it will actually be the 27th. We have decided not to count those days down until we know how Tom feels after the surgery. We are getting some extra things done around the house so that is a good thing. It is what it is and we cannot change it so we are just enjoying our time here at the house. We are slowly putting things in the Stinger "B", as we think of it, and maybe this year will not forget anything. (We can dream.)

One thing for sure is, for the most part, we are having a beautiful fall. Looking ahead the weather is going to stay pretty decent the rest of the month. Certainly not perfect but if the weather predictions are right we should only see a couple of nights below freezing through October. 

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
( In the summer of 1948, Bishop Thomas L. Noa approved a petition for a church on the north side of Escanaba. More than 300 people signed the plea. The new church, being the first established by Bishop Noa, was named after his patron saint.) 

The above information is all I could find online about the history of the parish. I do know that the school building itself opened in 1956, we were the first class to go through all eight years in the building, and it closed in 1971. At that time the four Catholic Grade Schools in Escanaba were consolidated into one school, Holy Name Catholic School.

Presently we belong to St. Anne's Parish here in Escanaba but we are seriously considering changing parishes and joining St. Thomas. This is were I went to grade school, 1st through 8th grade. I also made my First Communion and Confirmation at this parish. Our son and daughter-in-law were married at this church and had their three children Baptized here. It is also the church where all four of our parents' Funeral Masses were celebrated.

The upper left picture is what was the entrance
to the school.
Before the church was remodeled the other two
pictures are of what was the main entrance. It is
now a side entrance into the church.

The Altar

Statue of the patron saint,
St. Thomas the Apostle.

These two statues of the Blessed Mother and
St. Joseph used to be above the side altars
when I went to grade school here.

Plague in what was the entrance
to the school.

This emblem is on the floor at the entrance
we used when it was a school.
As children we were never allowed to walk on
this emblem. 
The center "shield" was the emblem
 we wore on our uniforms. 

The Family Inn in Wells, MI.
This seems to be the place we always end up for 
breakfast after Sunday Mass.
We came here with our children and now
sometimes our grandchildren join us.

Our granddaughter, Charlotte, was over and I
caught this of her. She was totally concentrating
on making, as she called it, a wiggly straw to
drink her chocolate milk.

Charlotte takes dance classes and there are a few
classes, at the beginning of the year,
that we are allowed to go and view.
Last Wednesday, October 4th, was one of them.

Top photo: She is second from the right in the front
row as they work on their tap routine.
Bottom photo: She is in the middle with her back
towards us. To end the class they are having fun
bouncing the balls in the air and onto the floor. Then
they had just as much fun scampering around picking
them up. 

So last week we had a delivery from Amazon and it was just like opening Birthday Gifts. I finally decided on what camera I wanted to purchase. You can see below it is the Nikon D3400 and the best thing is that I was able to order the instruction book, "Nikon D3400 for dummies". I have got a feeling I will need all the help I can get learning how to use it. Earlier this year when I was trying to make the decision as to what one to get I had emailed Al of "The Bayfield Bunch"  for some advice. I had noticed on the sidebar where he lists his camera equipment that he owned one. Having followed his blog since we had decided on this lifestyle I knew he would be the person to ask. If you want to see some beautiful pictures click on the link above. I just wanted to thank you, again, Al for your advice. I appreciated it and your quick response.

All the pictures you see in our blog Tom and I have taken with our Samsung phone cameras and I am anxious to be able to take pictures with a "real" camera again.

The second package was Tom's drone and it was his Birthday Gift just a little belated as I was not sure which one to get him.(I think I really surprised him this year.) With the help of Bill of "On Our Way"  I was able to decide on the one below. If you read Bill or Patsy's blog, "Chillin' with Patsy" you will know why I contacted him for advice. (Plus, we met the two of them while parked near Borrego Springs and after only spending a few days parked next to them I knew he would be someone I could ask for help.) He not only flies a drone and shares great pictures he has taken but he also flies RC Planes so I figured he was the man to ask.  He let me "bug" him a couple of times and got back to me with the information I needed and quickly. Thank you, again, Bill for your help. I really appreciated it and your quick responses. The good news is Tom was happy to get it and is excited to be able to try it out. And Bill he also wants to thank you for helping me pick it out.

My sister left yesterday morning after spending 4 days visiting. We had not spent any real time together in a while. So it was really nice to have her here. Unfortunately, neither one of us thought to take a picture. Just the same we a great time talking, laughing, and just being together.

We are glad you took the time to read our blog today. 

Comments are always enjoyed and welcomed.