Goodbye to Grampa Rudy

Rudy and Grace in 1940 0r 1941

This morning (Sept. 20, 2010) I am flying to PA for my father-in-law's (Harry Rudolph Anderson's) funeral. He was 93 years old. As I have been packing there are so many memories going through my mind. Jim and I have been married for almost 31 years which means I knew Rudy Anderson for about 33 years give or take a few months. That doesn't mean I haven't always known who he was because he and his partner, Jim Eicher were known as the local builders who helped build Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA and also built so many of the prettiest homes in our little boro. I remember when they built a friend's house. I watched that house go up day by day all the while being in awe of how quickly they worked and how nice everything was. When the house was done.....well, let's just say I was hoping someday I would have enough money for them to build me a house, too! So I have admired Rudy for many, many years.

For 31 years Jim and I usually stayed in his (and Grace's) home on our yearly trip to PA. and he was always generous and gracious. We have played a lot of cards around the kitchen table on Smith Ave. and had many conversations about "the old days". Rudy had a fantastic memory for events and it always amazed me at the detail with which he could talk about his childhood. His stories of working on Falling Water and the problems they overcame in this endeavor are priceless. The PA Conservancy loved it when Rudy would come and talk to those people touring Fallingwater. I especially loved his telling when he and his partner, Jim Eicher drove west to Taliesan to visit with maverick architect, Frank Lloyd Wright and to see the school he had there. His first hand and detailed observations and insight are unmatched.

In the last few years it has been a tough thing to see someone who was always so busy and loved to work as much as he did get to a point where he was unable to do what he loved the very most. So today I am happy for Rudy because he now has a new body and is able to walk unassisted and wield a hammer and saw like he did when he was 25 years old.

So let me just end by saying I have always felt blessed to have Rudy Anderson as my father-in-law and I am praying the Lord has a wing he needs added for Rudy is just the man for the job!

Daughter and primary caregiver, Darlene giving a tribute to Rudy during his 90th party.

Josh, Randi, and Jim playing 3/13 with Rudy....everyone's fav.

Rudy and his kids three years ago.

Rudy saying hello to great, great grand, Hannah and her Grammie, Jeanie.

Jim and Chris chatting with Rudy on his front porch. 2009.

Sophie and Grampa

Jim reading Rudy his mail. 2009.

Josh and Rudy 1985.

Great, Great Grands!

Great Great Grampa Rudy and newest Great Great Granddaughter, Grace.....all the way from Illinois.

Below: Uncle Jim, photographer extraordinaire, gets a fantastic shot of Great Great Grampa Rudy while Aunt Darlene tries to get the Samoftikins in check.

Great Great Grampa Rudy and Great Grampa Jim and Great Gramma Debbie!

Posing for pics is not the favorite pass time of two year olds....but Michael was a trooper and hung in as we got our pictures for posterity.

Josh and Katie are great parents.....they don't give the kids processed foods or sugar. Fruit is the treat of choice. They also have tons of patience. Sophie the puppy running around playing and two little ones who were curious about everything is more excitement than the Anderson house had seen in a while and Josh and Katie smiled all the while. I remember how I used to take Josh visiting relatives who hadn't seen him in a year and it would get hard on the poor little guy. We really appreciated them coming and staying for a couple hours.
What a pretty little girl Grace is! She was friendly to all of us and especially was interested in Sophie. When Sophie licked her face she cried, so Sopie had to do some jail time.

Jim is telling his sis, Darlene, about the time we drove Jeannie, Katie's Mom to Illinois when Katie had her gall bladder removed. Katie was pregnant with Grace and that was our first time to meet Michael.

GG Jim and Grace. We are tying to figure out who she looks like. Darlene said she looks a lot like pictures of her cousin Judy when she was a baby. I will check this out when I see some pictures and let you know.

Great Gramma Debbie is showing Michael how to use the magic slate she and Great Grampa Jim found for him. As we thought back to the long trips we used to make from Illinois we thought this may be something fun to do on the way. I told Katie she needed to learn to pretend to be hedgehogs in the back seat like Josh and I used to.....surely Josh remembers playing the hedgehog game ....hiding under blankets....hahaaa. So silly....what I do best..

Jim and I ran down to Olean for some groceries and also for another "beef on wick" at the Beef and Barrel. We just wanted to get one more before we left. We then stopped at Ice Cream Island where they mix the home made ice cream on a cold stone. Every day they make the ice cream fresh and you pick which flavors you want and they add them. Jim had the peanut butter and chocolate and I had the Pineapple,coconut and vanilla bean. Yummmmmy.

I asked this kid if he wanted to be on my blog.....he said, "Sure!"

The plain ice cream is put on a stone and they mix the ice cream on this cold stone with the different flavors.

The cones are also made new daily....and we though they were different tasting than ones we have had before.

Jim got the chocolate and the peanut butter cone.....it probably was a little better than mine, but I always do tropical flavors.

Home again, home again, jiggity jog.

Well, we are home after about 4,000 miles in the car! Actually, it was just me and Sophie who traveled the 4,000 miles. Jim traveled about 1,000 miles less cuz he stayed in Port Allegany with his Dad while I was a "gad about" visiting NJ and NYC. Below are some pictures of our trip......I like to have some pics so I can remember where I have been and what I did. I walked down Broadway snapping pics of everything.....that will be a different post.

Every year after returning from PA I go into a kind of funk....just cuz I know I will not being seeing many of our family members for another year....although we are talking about heading down to Biloxi to see Nephew Duane while he is stationed down there....but for the most part we are waaaayyyyy down here and a good portion of our family is waaaaayyyyy up there. With facebook and skype it isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but I still get that sinking feeling when we climb into the car for our marathon ride home. I have soooo many pics to pour through and that definitely helps. Here are just a few.
This is St. Peter's in Freehold, NJ where sister, Lori and family are members. Lori and her daughter, Hannah were confirmed into the church along with about 15 others. It was quite a service......

Lori, and Peter's Rock sang two songs on Confirmation Sunday.

This is the Assistant Bishop with Hannah and Lori....in the background is Father Gideon who is in the states from Nigeria. What a delight he is!

Nephew Paulie, attending the lovely dinner hosted by the Cuffaris and the Wittmans after confirmation. I have not had Italian food of this caliber ever!

A toast to Lori, Hannah and Izzy.....by Izzy's Mama. She is originally an Alabama girl and one of Lori's sweet "Church Chicks" friends. They recently got cool "Church Chicks" tees made.

Lori and Joe with Izzy's Dad and Grandma graced my table. It was such a lovely dinner with the best appetizers ever!!!

After the dinner it was off to Donna's backyard.....the weather was just PERFECT in the low 70's. The kids were playing and the adults were "visiting". Notice Father Gideon's suit? Well, he sewed it himself. He is so thankful to be here and is a wonderful addition to St. Peters.

Lori and more church chicks....Gayle (I am not sure of her spelling) and Deb just days before her trip to Costa Rica.

Hannah graduated from 8th grade and we were there in row 2 to cheer her on. Hannah won the Perseverance Award. Hannah is an honor roll student and works hard without complaining.

Aunt Deb, Paulie and Hannah. Paulie is headed for the 5th grade....four more years before he has his 8th grade graduation.

Hannah on the stage with 200 + 8th graders. I was right at home!!!! Such accomplished kids. There were a lot of awards given out that evening.

Mom, Lori, Hannah and Joe. Earlier that day Lori and I had gone into the city to Sloan for her appointment. She takes it all in stride and expects nothing but the best results from her amazing team of docs. She is an inspiration to so many. After graduation we headed out for Chinese with Donna and her family....you will see Donna in a minute. That was some good Moo Goo Gi Pan!

Sat. night Peter's Rock performed.....it was evident a lot of practice had gone into this concert. All the players were "on". Although the concert was suppose to be on a NJ beach, rain sent us back to St. Peter's in Freehold. We really didn't care where it was as long as we got to participate in this worship service. They were so good and I believe the Lord was truly blessed. Lori's voice is great even though her thyroid was removed just over a year ago. Her doc took twice as long so her voice wouldn't be harmed. I kept thinking ...."Thank you Doctor Washer!" as we listened to Lori clear and strong voice lift praises to the Lord! Pray that Lori is able to praise her Lord with her band for many years to come. Gayle, Susan and Lori's voices are all so good and blend so well. I am waiting for a CD!!!

Afterwards we went for some celebration....even some dancing! Fun times with fun folks. This is Papa and Nama....they even decided to dance a few fast numbers. Mom's bionic knees were working overtime that night and it was great to see Dad having a great time after not feeling well these last few months. It looks like things are looking up!

Lori and Joe ............to quote cousin, Kelley...."This picture says a lot". They are great together and they demonstate what marriage is all about.

Here is Donna, one of Lori's peeps....or more accurately a fellow "church chick" planted right between Julie's two lovely daughters, Maura in yellow and Lauren in yellow and aqua. I was so happy they came and I got to spend some quality time with them. Earlier in the day I taught them some of my secret skin care techniques much to Julie's chagrin. hahahaa... (Julie, be glad I didn't show them what I do with the pumas stone!)

Lori, Julie and Debbie....I am the oldest, four years down is Julie and then another four years is little sis, Lori. (not mentioning any of our ages.) Marcia was not there although she and Sean came to the concert and then headed back to Philly. We should have thought to get a sista pic at the church with all four.....but alas we didn't think of it until Marcia had left the building. Sorry. Marsh. I rarely get to see all my sisters all together....all the same day. They probably don't realize how happy that made me!

Here is a pic of a jam session at the Laurel Wood in Coudersport. Jim has been blessed to do this for two summers. He has a great time and enjoys meeting different players. They play such great tunes as "Summertime"....which granddaughter, Carrie, sang her smokey rendition. I had several more pics on this post and they disappeared. I had one of Carrie singing with her dad, Jer and grampa Jim I will just have to post more of our trip... cuz once the pics are in this order I don't know how to insert them....I have tried .....so if you know how to do it, let me know, PLEASE!

Andy Gabrys is just living in PA for now and will be moving soon so we probably won't see him again. He was a great addition with his Wes Montgomery like sound. You can go to Youtube and type in his name and hear him with a trio he played with in NYC. He has a CD called, Constant and we are expecting great things from this former engineer.

Jer, Jim's son is always faithful to come and keep the beat. Jer uses his brushes a lot and knows just what to do for a variety of tunes....he listens well and does a wonderful job.

Jim and his sisters, Chris and Darlene and Dad, Rudy. Rudy is 92 and still living in the home he built himself ....in his spare time after work...which was building homes for others. Darlene and her husband, Jim care for Rudy 24/7 with Chris and her husband, Rod coming on weekends. Jim is glad he can go for a few weeks to give them some time off. This year Darlene and Jim went to Biloxi to see their son, Duane and his family.

Granddaughter, Carrie and her husband Ben invited us over to Bradford to dinner. They have a new deck and other home improvements they were anxious for us to see. Thanks again, Carrie and Ben for a wonderful dinner.

Carrie and Ben on their new deck. We were very impressed with all the work that they have done in their first home. We talked about how Grampa Rudy added space to the kitchen many years ago. Jeanie and Jerry remembered him coming to stay for a week about 20 years ago. He would have been 72 then and still enjoying building. He would be doing it still if physically possible!

Daughter in law, Jeanie, Grandaughter, Amy, Great Granddaughter, Hannah with her mom, Carrie. We enjoyed sitting out on the new deck in the great weather!

Hannah serves Great Grampa Jim some "tea" in her new room. It is GORGEOUS! Jeanie made the quilt on the bed just to match. Everything is adorable!

Hannah is a busy little girl with lots to do in her new room. This is the same house that Carrie lived in when she was Hannah's age! It sure looks different than it did then...the kitchen and bath are new, too! Jeanie and Jer have been working hard helping Ben and Carrie with the house. If you look to the side of my blog at the list of other blogs you will see "Carrie and Hannah" and there are many more pics of the work they have done.

I had some other pics on this blog that were accidentally deleted.....so there will be some more of this "photo journalism" to come.

Long Time Coming.....

It has been a long time since I have ventured into "blogland" and frankly it is not like riding a bike.  My fingers can still fly across the keyboard, but my mind....well, it is rusty and I can almost hear the rusty wheels churning and grinding along....slowly.

I guess I will begin in June.  Jim and I went to PA to see family as we have done each year since we have been married in 1979. Trip to PA 2011 - Foto Recap  Since our parents have been aging our trips have changed.  Jim and I stayed with his Dad several summers to give Jim's sis and brother in law much needed time away. Jim's father passed away  Good bye Grampa Rudy and so our trips to PA have changed again and an element of sadness and a longing for years passed has crept into the mix.  While there are still family get togethers and we enjoy time with friends, the changes brought by the mere passage of time temper our visits.

This summer we left Louisiana knowing we had a mission.  Our mission was to help my parents have a garage sale at the home they have lived in since their marriage in the summer of 1969.  Forty four years worth and we knew it was not going to be easy....mostly emotionally for me, my parents...and my siblings. But our first order of business was to take my parents and travel to NJ to niece Hannah's graduation party.  Hannah (below) and her brother, Paul, are in NJ and we were thankful to get time with them and their parents. It has been our tradition to attend graduation parties ....this being the third on in three years! 

Once back to my parents house we found that my sisters had already packed a good many things and so much had been done already that it was not as tough a job as we had anticipated.  Sister Julie knows how to "geter done" and there were boxes stacked in the basement labeled "St. Paul's" (the name of the facility selected for our parents residency). Jim was put in charge of getting the garage ready for the sale and that was no small feat. He must have made a thousand trips up and down the steps.  We don't have any steps at our home, so I was surprised it managed without too many aches and pains. The fact that it rained the whole first week we were preparing for the garage sale was a bit of a hindrance, but miraculously the rain held off during the hours (both Friday and Saturday) of the sale itself and then rained later in the day.  After living in air conditioning for all of my married life....well, feeling damp for three weeks was just not my cup of tea, but really was the least of my worries.  My parents' emotional status became Jim's and my biggest concern.  Taking cherished personal items to them for approval for sale was tough and reminding them their new digs were considerably smaller and we would have to take only a few favorite items and only what was needed prompted some heated discussions.  But I am happy to report that for the most part we chugged along and those exact conversations are long forgotten. Looking back I am amazed at what was accomplished.

Also, Julie and I attended the "70's Class Reunion" in our home town.  I graduated in 1973 and Julie in 1977.  I was wishing Lori, Class of 1981, and Marcia, Class of 1968 could have been there, too. Paul, Class of 1970 didn't come because he would be coming soon for the actual moving of our parents and couldn't be away from work for that length of time. I envied all four Foster siblings attending the same reunion. It was a great time and even some of our teachers attended as well.  My biggest complaint was there was not enough time to have good meaningful dialog with all these people I enjoyed during my growing up years. So many life stories and so little time to learn them all.  I must say our high school has sent some pretty amazing folks out into the world and I was proud to be a part of that decade.

Jim's family reunion was the very same day about five hours away and we decided he would have much more fun at his family reunion than watching me flit around chatting with my former classmates.  Lots of folks were there sans spouse for various reasons and as the 70's tunes blared I knew we made the right choice.  There was not one jazz tune in the mix ;). 

We also got to spend time with Jer and Jeannie and a couple of the grands and their adorable kiddos(our greats as we call them.).  Jer had been in an accident....run over by a truck. (No, he was not in a car or truck...but was literally had his legs run over by an F-350!) He was and is recouping and so we went to Bradford to try and cheer him up.  He and Jim always "jam" and it is the main reason we carry the electric keyboard the 1,350 miles.  They did play some even though each time they played (Jer on drums), Jer's foot would turn a pretty shade of deep purple.