MoMo''s and Post Christmas Shopping 12/26/16

Peggy asked me if I wanted to go DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Shopping with her and I agreed.  We set out from my house around ten thirty a.m. and headed out "the transit"towards Eastern Hill Mall.  We went to BonTon and J.C. Penneys at the mall.  We found some nice "day bags" in  BonTon which were marked fifty percent off and we were able to use an additional coupon for another ten dollars off.  I purchased a brown one and Peggy chose a black one.  We plan to use the bags when we go sightseeing in Israel in February.

I noticed MoMo's Mongolian Grill (where Shogun used to be)

across from the mall and suggested that we check it out as a possibility for lunch.  I was concerned that it would be expensive but when we found out that it was only $10.50 for all you can eat, we decided to try it.  It was a good decision.

The variety of meats, starches and vegetables (and even a couple of fruits) and sauces was huge!

After loading a bowl up, you take it to the check with the huge wok and he grills it up.  

Peg and I each had three servings.  It was fun to design our own plates and try out the different sauces and spices.  

After lunch we headed down to JoAnnes, Hobby Lobby and also went to WalMart.  On the way back to Lockport we stopped at WalGreens.  

It was a fun but kind of tiring day.  

Christmas 2016 at my house

Once again, I had Christmas Dinner at my house.  My guests were Peggy, David, Scott, Katherine Becky, Karra and Carrie.  Dinner was planned for 3:30 p.m.

I spent the morning cleaning and cooking.  The menu was
HAM (that David cooked and brought)
pineapple sauce for the ham (that Peggy made and brought)
baked beans
winter squash casserole
corn
rolls and butter
macaroni and cheese (new crockpot recipe)
raisin sauce for the ham

desert was Cherry Crumb pie (that Katherine brought)
and Strawberry Rhubarb pie that Becky brought.
plus I offered dark chocolate Christmas bark and Chex Mix

Everything was delicious.  Becky brought scented candles in small cast iron
frying pans for all the ladies.  I lit mine (vanilla) after everyone had left.

After Becky, Catherine and Karra left, Peggy and David and Carrie and I exchanged gifts.

In the evening, I called my grandkids and talked with them.  Christa called me and we talked for a while.

It was a great day!

SAVOR!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an ad in Lockport's paper for a buffet lunch at SAVOR the restaurant run by students of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute.  I told Peggy about it and she wanted to go so I made reservations for twelve thirty today.

We arrived right on time and were given a good table.  Our server was "David" and he was very good.   Every item I tried on the buffet (except for the brussels sprout) was delicious. This was my salad plate(the first course).
 The prime rib melted in my mouth.

 The huge scallops were outstanding and the roasted carrots were TO DIE FOR.

The desert table was absolutely EXCITING!!!!

There was a GINGERBREAD house contest on  display in the lobby, here are pictures of a couple:  

Afternoon with Karra

Karra mentioned that she would like to do something special for Christmas with me.  She suggested going to see SCROOGE, but that did not interest me.

We set today as the day to go out to lunch and to Mennes.  However, we could not find Mennes so we quickly changed our plans.  We had lunch at Sawyers Creek Hotel.  I assume it used to be a hotel.

and we were both happy with the service, setting and the food.  

Then we went to Pellicano's Italian Market.

 Both Karra and I purchased several items.

Then we stopped at WillCare and talked with Diana for a while and picked up our appreciation gifts, which are very nice insulated coffee mugs.  

We took a different way home.  It was a nice afternoon.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, NY

Marie invited Pam and I to accompany her to see her brother, Roger, in a production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo.  We both agreed but Pam cancelled out.  Marie had invited two other friends of hers, Jeannie and Rhonda.

Rhonda and I met up at Marie's House and we picked Jeannie up at Tim Hortons.  Jeannie had bought hot chocolates for all of us and it was delicious and just hit the spot!

We got to the theatre

a bit early so we decided  to go to the Caaret fo a hot drink.  

The four of us also shared a piece of lemon marscapone cake which was amazing!   Here is a picture of

Jeannie, Marie and Rhonda at the Cabaret.  Then we walked across the street to the theatre.  When we arrived, the Alleyway Carolers were singing in the lobby.

The play was wonderful!    I could not take pictures during the performance, but took a few right at the end when the performers came out.

After the performance, the actors wenet out to the lobby to meet members of the audience.  Here is a picture of Marie with her brother, Roger. 

I purchased a CD of carols by the Alleyway Carolers.  And then we headed back to Lockport. It was a great evening!

My complete set of pictures can be seen here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/sets/72157675888878542

CONNECT Seniors Christmas Luncheon at Faith Tab: Sunday December 4, 2016

Once again Peggy organized a Christmas luncheon for the seniors.

Thirty people attended!  We had a very nice lunch of sandwiches, salad, pizza and chips

After lunch Marie led us in singing Christmas carols.  

She did a great job.

After the carols, we had desert.  Marie's pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting was a big hit, while I brought most of my chocolate crinkle cookies home.  

We had a gift exchange which involved having the opportunity to steal someone elses gift and make a trade.  It was fun  

It was a great afternoon, filled with a lot of laughter.  

VICTORIAN TEA at Lockport United Church of Christ 12/3/16

Darlene and I reserved a table fo 15 and we had almost that number lined up, but there were a lot cancellations and we ended up with Darlene, me, Peggy, Elaine, Bonnie, Bonnie's sister Kathy and my cousin Becky.  So only seven altogether!  The tea buffet was wonderful! I ate too much.

The event was from noon until four p.m.  Peggy and I left in the middle to check out the vendor fair at Anna Merritt School.  We returned in time for the drawing for the baskets.

Becky won several baskets

and Peggy won two,

but as usual I did not win anything!

CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY at the Bond House 12/1/16

I met up with Peggy at the BOND HOUSE for CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY.  This years 
theme was old time store windows. 
 
While browsing in one of the rooms, I heard someone mention my name.  It was 
Mike Miller.  We had never met but he saw my signature in the sign in book and 
wanted to meet me because we both had written for the Lockport Star before it 
went defunct several months ago.  I introduced Peggy to him and we three chatted 
a bit.  He mentioned that some of his books are on AMAZON. 

I particularly enjoyed the live entertainment in the dining room.

id a self tour of the three floors and had refreshments, and I took a lot of 
pictures. Here are a few:  

Our greeters.


My complete set of pics is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/juneny/albums/72157677419743456 

THANKSGIVING 2017 at my house

David prepared the turkey, stuffing and dressing, and I did all the sides, the pies came from Halls.

Christa and Nik came a bit early to continue working on sorting through the bins of her stuff that I brought from Oneonta.

The guest list was   Carrie and I
                                Christa and Nikolai (and Riley)
                                Karra
                                David, Peggy and Scott
and my cousin Becky showed up at the last minute, just before we sat down to eat, so
we set a spot for her.

The menu was turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, cranberry sauce,
muffins, devilled eggs and fruit whip salad.  Everything was delicious esp the pies: apple, pumpkin (with Davids REAL whipped cream), blueberry and chocolate peanut butter.

After everyone else left, I had to say my goodbyes to Christa and Nik.  It was their last night in Lockport.

Niagara Falls,NY with Nik and Christa (including some urbex)

Nikolai said he probably had been to Niagara Fall as a young child but he could not remember anything about that trip.  Peggy took a day off from work in order to accompany us to the falls.

We left late in the morning and headed to the falls.  We viewed the falls from the lookout at Prospect Point.  I took a few pictures.

 By then we were getting hungry, but we decided not to eat in the tourist area near the falls.  We stopped and had lunch at the Olive Garden on Military Road.  It was very good.  After lunch, we went to a BED, BATH and BEYOND and I purchased three large WORKING HANDS cream,

and  I gave one to Christa and one to Nikolai.

On the way back to Lockport, I suggested we stop at the Nikei Air Base and show the remains to Christa and Nik.  We were able to go into one of the buildings, which used to be the administration building or headquarters.

We arrived home close to four p.m.  Mike called and asked if Christa was around and said yes and he asked if he and Janie could come over.  They did and we visited for a while.  After they left, I served supper (tortilla chicken soup) around seven p.m.  I gave Christa and Nik the rest of their Christmas gifts (the bat flashlight for him and vintage Christmas ornaments for her)    It was a great day

November 22, 2016 with Christa and Nicolai

I prepared breakfast for Christa and Nik (scrambled eggs, home fries with bacon, english muffins and cinnamon rolls)

We went to the geocache site (A Bridge to Nowhere) so they could see the old mill ruins, then to Upson Parks where there are more ruins, then to Grimbles, and then to see the big bridge and locks.

 I tried to reach my brother Mike at the police station but he was not there.  We went to Lake Effect Ice Cream

and then to the antique shop on the corner of Main and Cottage Street.

When we got back to my place, I laid down for a bit, and Christa also took a nap.  Nik was on the phone for a while resolving work issues.

We met up with Peggy at HONG KONG BUFFET for supper.

November 21, 2016 with Christa and Nikolai

My youngest daughter and her fiancee arrived late last night and are staying at a local hotel.  We agreed to get together at my house for breakfast.  I was getting really hungry waiting for them, but they finally arrived.

and

 we enjoyed a breakfast of oven blueberry pancakes, fruit and hash browned potatoes.  I had prepared bacon but forgot to bring it to the table.

We spent a good portion of the day going through some bins of Christa.s belongings that I brought from our old house in West Laurens.  

I had bbq pork ribs in the crockpot and pineapple stuffing for supper that evening.  

Joint Service with Refuge Temple and BUFFALO CELEBRATES ISRAEL (Sunday 11/20/16)

This morning Faith Tabernacle and Refuge Temple (a black congregation in Lockport) held a joint service at Faith Tab.  The sanctuary was pretty full.  The service was really good.  Here is Pastor Craig with Pastor Mark Sanders.

Nobody really preached.  They conversed and asked each other questions.  I was particularly impressed when Craig asked Mark about racism.  He said that Satan causes racism in order to keep people divided.  

Later on in the day I met up with Peggy and Vicky and the other Carolyn in order to go to an event in Buffalo.  BUFFALO CELEBRATES ISRAEL, at The Tabernacle, sponsored by Eagles Wings.  

Peg had arranged to use the church van to take a larger group, but several people cancelled due to the bad weather.  She decided to use her car instead.

It was a wonderful gathering of Christians and Jews and a good opportunity for Christians to show their support for Israel.

Here is Ambassador Dani Dayan, the Consul General of Israel to New York.   He was the keynote speaker.

The service ended a little after eight p.m. and we headed back to Lockport.  

Thanksgiving Dinner at the First English Lutheran Church

Once again, Bonnie invited me to the Thanksgiving dinner at her church.  Elaine picked me up and then we picked Nancy up.  We met Sue F. there.

The meal was served buffet style and everything was delicious!  Besides Elaine and Bonnie and I there was another LSHS l967 graduate at our table, and we had fun reminiscing about teachers in Jr. and Sr. High.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Faith Tabernacle: 11/17/16

Once again Faith Tabernacle held two nights of a turkey dinner with entertainment, open to the public.

I helped by cooking a turkey at home, making a HUGE batch of brownies and helping to peel potatos with the Tuesday  morning Bible study ladies, laying tablecloths and rolling silverware in napkins.

I invited Megan Fredericks, Chickie and Betty.  We met up at the church and were lucky to find a table with four available seats since the tables were mostly full when we arrived.

Craig opening the event............

The guest speaker

The meal was great, and so was the entertainment.

Volunteers Brunch at the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village

My friend Pam and I did some volunteer work for the museum this past August (The Scottish Festival on a VERY hot day).  We were invited to this event to honor volunteers which took place from nine until noon at the museum.

Upon arrival each guest was given a small gift and a ticket to put in for drawings for various items.  There were speakers and a few awards.   The Quilters Guild showed a quilt that they made, a reproduction from a l849 quilt.  Here is the original quilt

and here is the one they recently completed: 

A very nice brunch was served, and then athey drew names for the prizes.

Pam and I walked around outside and I took a few pictures of some of the buildings.   

and we looked at some of the inside exhibits.

We stopped at NIAGARA PRODUCE before heading back to Lockport. 

11/11/16 Delivering Christmas Shoe Boxes

Once again, I helped Peggy load up and deliver the Christmas Shoe Boxes to the Methodist Church in Pendleton, NY  Here are the Faith Tab boxes:

Before going back to Faith Tab, we stopped and had the buffet lunch at PIZZA HUT.