Posted in Christmas 2021, Christmas at Sonnystone 2017

Boxing Day

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s the Second Day of Christmas and I’m expecting the delivery of my turtledoves anytime now. Boxing Day in the UK was originally about opening the alms boxes to give to the poor, but has devolved into a shopping day. It’s also St. Stephen’s Day in the Catholic church, the day that Good King Wenceslas looked out where the snow lay round about…

Last Monday was the anniversary of my daughter’s birth and we were in NYC to celebrate. After luncheon at The Community, we proceeded to the movie theatre to see “West Side Story”. (We Loved it, we cried, we marveled…you really should see it.) Then we trooped back to the apartment to sing and blow out candles; I’m Sure her wishes can come true.

We had a super time on Christmas Eve with the Jrs. After a good meal replete with mashed potatoes and gravy, we opened presents. Then it was off to the movie theatre to see “Encanto” which was encanting…(insert punny emoji)

We called the grandies on Christmas morning; beyond that it was just us, two old kids, exchanging presents, drifting through the day, content with grazing the leftovers, amicably sharing. The Day was balmy, so we walked through the woods, planning a pruning spree next month; walked around the gardens discussing plans for the 2022 upgrades; walked down to the campfire circle and envisioned a wall of forsythia between us and the neighbors’ pond… I hope your Christmas was just as heartwarming as ours…

We may or may not have visitors from Manhattan this week, depending on Covid testing. I think Emma may have gotten caught in the blizzard out there…

Peace

Posted in Christmas 2021

The Sunday Scoop

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We drove through the fog and rain from Eville to Nashville, past trees that had been broken like twigs by that massive tornado that had roared through Kentucky just a week before. We have always lived with the threat of tornadoes and have experienced a few, but a twister staying on the ground, a mile wide, for 227 miles is mind-boggling. There was literally no escape from it. It is such a sobering sight to see the damage those Big Winds do and my heart goes out to the survivors.

We arrived in NYC Thursday evening to weather that was spring-like and I was feeling so confident that I was “safe”, wearing my mask, thrice-vaccinated, and visiting a city that is Strict about such things. Already, though, the omicron was rearing its ugly head and Grandie Emma’s school had closed a day early to avoid large gatherings. Still, I was shocked, dismayed, and disappointed Friday afternoon when Radio City Music Hall cancelled All remaining performances — we were to attend 11am Saturday.

Still, we’re together, and we just pivoted…The Jose’ fam opened their presents on Saturday morning…

It’s Luggage!

On Saturday evening, Melissa, Emma, Eliza, and I drove out to Garden City on Long Island so they could attend an “extra” Irish Dance class to prepare them for the upcoming major competition, All-Ireland’s.

You’ve seen my girls in their wigs and tans, glittering dresses and sparkly headpieces, wearing their winning sashes and hoisting their trophies, but it’s rare (especially since Covid) to see how hard they work to get there. The school that is responsible for making the grandies into champions is Doherty-Petri School of Irish Dancing. Their teachers, Lisa and Karen Petri, know how to set a high bar and help — yes, even Push — these kids to their limits. Emma and Eliza started their Irish Dancing career at another school and have only been at this one for a year. During that time, they have blossomed and grown into World-class competitors. Due to Covid precautions, parents aren’t allowed to sit in on the classes, but these kind ladies made an exception for me. I love the Rockettes, but watching these kiddos sweat and kick was love exponential.

  • Eliza and her buddy, Nora
  • Emma and her teacher, Karen

The headlines have been screaming about a “blizzard” of omicron Co-V-19 and all my confidence has eroded into a sick feeling that there is really no end to this. I truly understand that eventually “everybody” will have contracted this virus and that anti-viral treatments are becoming quite plentiful (and no, I don’t mean worm medicine or malaria pills), but the media continues to stir up panic that is hard to avoid when you are in a place that is shutting down again… I guess I’ll double-mask on the trip home.

We’ll be back at Sonnystone on Tuesday and get the rest of the presents wrapped in preparation for Christmas Eve with the Jrs.

Peace

Posted in Christmastime 2021

The Sunday Scoop

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a busy week here at Sonnystone Acres…

On Monday we drove over to New Harmony to say good-bye to a relic of my past, Main Cafe.

Back in the 1990s I worked for Visiting Nurse, providing in-home care to folks in Posey County, which includes New Harmony – also Mount Vernon, Solitude, Blairsville, Wadesville, Fairview, St. Philips, and all the farms in between. Whenever possible, I planned my day to include lunch at The Main. The place has always closed at 1pm, so I had to get there by 12:30, but as I got to know the owners and servers, they’d let me stay and do some of my paperwork while they cleaned up.

The place is a throwback to the olden days, both the building and the menu. Plate lunches and breakfast all day (back then). Real mashed potatoes with real gravy. Liver and onions on Tuesdays. Perfectly griddled grilled cheese sandwiches. Coffee from a Bunn percolator. Fresh pies. The owner was the cook and the servers were her sisters and her nieces. After 39 years, she’s now 80 and has sold the place; it will shut down for renovations on December 18. Her niece, Kim, and I had become good pals back in the 90s and I’ve always enjoyed seeing her when we’ve stopped in during New Harmony Events.

Sadly, the walls were already bare, the Rotary and Optimists Club banners having been moved to a new meeting place. The place is in dire need of repairs. The owner was not present and Kim said they were training a cook for the new owners who have promised to keep the menu the same, and she made sure he used enough butter, just like her Aunt had. Kim’s mom, now 73, was there to help wait tables.

The rest of the week whizzed by…got all my Christmas shopping done and then some. As is our tradition, Casey and I have agreed to not buy each other presents this year. He usually gets me something anyway, bringing it out at the last minute; I’m ready for him with 2 good surprises, though I’m pretty sure he suspects…

We baked chocolate chip cookies yesterday and Samantha was a Super Assistant in charge of handing me a rounded tablespoon of cookie dough. This was her first real chance to eat raw cookie dough, made from scratch, and I’m proud to have been her guide.

We’re leaving this Thursday for New York, flying out of Nashville to LaGuardia. After missing our trip last year, we’re Excited to be back at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular. We’ll have a fun-packed visit with the Jose’ Fam and I’ll share it with you as soon as I can.

Peace

Posted in Christmastime 2021

The Sunday Scoop

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a busy week here at Sonnystone Acres with a lot of dr. appointments and that Birthday on Tuesday. Slowly but surely we brought down the Christmas decorations and spread them out around the house. The weather was perfect for hanging lights on Thursday and Friday and we added a new Star… Sorry, I haven’t gotten a picture yet, but it looks good.

Yesterday we held The Official Decorating-of-the-Tree with the Jr. girls

After the tree was finished, we headed Downtown to their Christmas celebration. Nothing going on there appealed to Olivia, so we dropped her off back at her house and it was just the three of us. We had free hot chocolate, a visit with Santa’s assistant, and met the Eville version of Anna and Elsa…Lots of Fun!

I have not bought a single present and currently have no idea what I should buy…As the kids get older I feel more and more like just giving them money. The little one definitely wants toys still, and even the older ones want to open some gifts, so I may do a mix-up of presents/cash. We’ll all be happy no matter what, I’m sure…

You know how it is — every year as soon as Thanksgiving leftovers have been eaten, we all say: I can’t believe it’s Christmastime already! Thus begins the buying and the baking, decking the halls and the fa-la-la-ing. We make our lists and check them twice, and I’d better get busy!

Peace

Posted in Celebrations at Sonnystone

Happy Birthday, dear Casey!

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

He’s still younger than me, so we don’t dwell on how Old he is, but this is the 67th Anniversary of his Birth. We’re not doing much to celebrate this year, just hanging out here at the Acres, putting up Christmas decorations.

Advent is upon us, the season of getting ready. Last year we weren’t able to be with our New Yorkers, so we’re Super Excited to return to our custom of watching the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall with the Jose’ girls. We’re planning to watch a few Christmas Parades in the Eville area with the Jr. girls, too. My children and grandchildren all still Believe in Santa Claus, so the Wonder never ends…

Here’s to my husband, my companion, my partner-in-crime; Be Happy! Be Healthy! Long Life!

Peace

Posted in Random

The Sunday Scoop

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It seems like forever since I bid you adieu. It felt like a good time to step away from the entire internet thing, go outside and clear my mind of the slime. I hoped to bring myself back to earth, focus on the Now. So I did, sort of.

It was late August when I changed my ways and I threw myself into the garden harvest, as well as pruning and moving shrubs around. By mid-September we were able to pull away from it and take a trip.

Casey has been steadily improving our campervan, Goldie, so we were anxious to take her on the road and try out our new canopies and storage. The Smokies is one of our go-to places, particularly Townsend, TN, “the peaceful side of The Smokies”; it’s only a 6-hour drive and it sits at the Cades Cove Entrance to the National Park. I managed to snag a riverside campsite for a couple of nights and we tooled on down, even though we knew that it was going to rain. Rain it did, damn near the entire time we were there. Because we were able to set up during a dry spell, it was a great test of our new awnings. It rained and rained and rained some more. We spent most of our time sitting watching the Little River flowing around the rocks, changing with every downpour. We watched squirrels and birds and walked around the campground watching people when we could. The last evening the skies began to clear, revealing a full moon rising above the mountains. The next morning the sun slowly rose in the same spot.

It’s always nice to come back home even if the trip is short and we got busy with the garden again. We’ve put a rock path from our Edible Garden to the firepit. The view is still weird since our neighbor dug a pond last summer and it’s only half full. By mid-October we were done, so we traveled down to Disney for bit. It was an impulsive trip, trying out something I’d been mulling for a while. We spent two nights camping in Goldie at Fort Wilderness and then moved over to our “home” motel, Pop Century; doubtful we’ll do that again as you lose a day making the move, even though they are only 15 minutes apart. From Fort Wilderness you can take a quick boat ride to Magic Kingdom; we wanted to see the new Castle Wrap and Fireworks. We had some inside information that Disney allows 100 people to watch the show from the top of the train station and we managed to be the first people up there! The next day we moved over to Pop; from there it’s a 15 minute skyliner ride to Epcot where we rode the new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (very cool). We’d never been over to the Boardwalk, which is just a nice boat ride from Epcot’s exit. It was lovely. As we returned, the full moon rose over Epcot.

All this time, I missed the blog. I did publish some genealogy stuff and have done a lot of research (so much for staying off the internet). I started planning a comeback a couple of weeks ago, hoping to give the site a whole new life, but was feeling a little shy. This is it, though. I’ll just upgrade my media space and slowly work on deleting any unnecessary photos and Sonnystone.com ought to be good for another ten years… We’re back!

Just in time for the holidays…

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

The Final Sunday Report

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Last week I spent some time staring at the campfire and contemplating. Something inside me kept saying “I’m done” in a loop. I’d been feeling my age lately and this year’s Camp Sonnystone really brought it home as I cope with my grandies growing up in what seems the blink of an eye. But there’s no reason to think that I’m done, not at all; with so many good times to look forward to and our health still strong, I couldn’t justify that sort of morbid thinking. So I examined it more closely, listened more intently.

This blog means so much to me; it is the Chronicle of my Life. Including the defunct blog, for the last 16 years it has witnessed the birth of all my grandchildren and my evolution as a JoJo. Through two organist jobs, two nursing jobs, Christmases, Birthdays, Camps, and plenty of Disney Trips we’ve watched the grandies grow. But there were also lots of topics; I did interviews, reviewed every “Best Motion Picture” Oscar winner, went through my CD collection with comments, occasionally talked politics, often talked about Peace. There were some deaths, as well: Aunts Thelma, Almeda, and Shirley; Uncle Jr; my friends, NuNu, Lois, Chuck, and Beaver. I’ve taken you on lots of trips with us, kept you apprised of what’s growing in the garden, what birds are at the feeder, and sometimes just blathered.

Even though I upgraded my WP account, I have now very nearly filled up all the allotted media space for Sonnystone and for the garden blog, Growing Every Season, which I started around the same time. At first I thought I would do a whole lot of work to download and delete old posts, but I kept putting it off. The next upgrade costs quite a bit more money and is more for a monetized blog. I believe the voice that was saying “I’m done” meant that I’m done with this particular blog and the obligation that I feel to keep it going.

To give The News a proper send-off, I compiled a video of photos. In order to not make it an hour long, I concentrated on just the people, then had to pare it down more to mostly grandies growing up. The music that I chose is poignant; Over the Rainbow and Wonderful World by Iz, the wonderful Hawaiian artist. He speaks in one part, almost unintelligible, but he’s using two Hawaiian words: “kuleana” has multiple meanings, including “land divisions”, but represents your space or spirit; “pono” which means “to make correct” or “to make good”. So what he means is that kuleana pono is an “automatic plan”, that if you make your space, your spirit good, “stuff” is just waiting to come to you, waiting until you are ready.

It makes me kind of anxious to think of not blogging every week, so I remind myself that I’ll still be keeping up the ancestry blog, and our trips will still be recorded over at the travel blog. The fact is I need to let go and open my mind up to new things, especially regarding my writing. By letting go, I will open up my spirit for some of that “stuff” that has just been waiting until I’m ready.

Thank-you for following along with me. I have truly enjoyed your company. Now I’m taking one long look back, then turning out the light, closing the door behind me.

Peace

Posted in On This Day, Weekly Wrap-Up

Anniversary #41

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

We are camping at Brown County SP, trying out Goldie’s new amenities and relaxing.  The weather is perfect. The bacon and eggs are sublime.

Feeling 41 years of Gratitude for my husband, my partner in crime and Best Friend. 

Peace

Posted in Camp Sonnystone 2021

Camp Sonnystone 2021 : A Short Video

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

My babies are growing up. Each Camp has been precious, though every year included a new version of the children who I call my Grandies. Now ages 15, 13, 10, and 6, there’s still the Magic that being together brings, as we bask in the genuine Love that gets passed around amongst us.

(The original of this video was set to The Beatles “I Will”, but youtube put a big block on it. Verry interesting, since Disney has always let me use their stuff. Anyway, I had to change the music and I chose from their free audio.)

Peace

Posted in Camp Sonnystone 2021

Sunday Report 8-8-2021

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

There is nowhere else I’d rather be than with my grandkids, so the last two weeks have been heaven. As usual, Camp Sonnystone 2021 was a rousing success. Our Word was Believe, and our Theme was Rainbows. We ate well, swam a lot, painted, made suncatchers, sang, danced, laughed and had a few tears just to keep it real. My daughter has been making regular posts to FB, but for my WP followers, here’s a few pictures.

I’m just beginning to work on a video and hope to share that with you next week.

Peace