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Morning Observations from the Mountains

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It's another summer day here in the Poconos. As usual I got up early to go for a walk before it got too hot. Thankfully the temperature here at 5:00 in the morning was only around 66 degrees.  Today is supposed to be a little cooler (but not that much) than it has been over the past several days where temperatures came close to hitting the triple digits. Not at all what you want in the mountains in the summer! (It’s SUPPOSED to be cooler here!) As a matter of fact, it was so hot and humid that are pest control company rescheduled our maintenance appointment due to the heat. However the heat didn't stop the company that asphalted the driveway at our next door neighbors. Are they crazy? Hot asphalt on the nearly 100° day? Glad that's not what I do! (And I really am glad that my son is working in retail. Yes there may be annoying customers, but at least he's inside and an air conditioned building.) Anyway, here are some of the things that I saw, smelt, and heard at this ea...
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Who Was John Kilbury?

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  Since America has turned 250 it's been a renewed interest in those who served during the American Revolution. I have known for most of my life that I was a descendant of a man who fought in the revolutionary war. His name was John Kilbury. (And no, that's not him in the photo above...You should all KNOW that would have been impossible.  It is  however a photo of my grandfather,  Clinton Kilbury, who is the reason I am related to John.) I know all of this because I am a member of  the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). I joined as a young woman (perhaps even a teen I can't remember), because my mother told me I had to. Yes, I did what my mother told me I had to do.  My mother was a member and also served as a chapter secretary because her father's sister (that would make my mother’s aunt), Bertha Kilbury Latham did all the research and became a member of the DAR. So I guess I owe a debt of gratitude to great aunt Bertha!  I never met the ...
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Dear Bishop Budde,

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  I am not brave.  I want to be brave, but I am not. I have read  Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love  first because I couldn't find a copy of  How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith.   (I did eventually get a copy and read it.)  I read both books slowly and contemplatively.  They are not one and done books.  I go back and review parts of them when I feel them calling me. But I am not brave.  I have been inspired by what you have written, but I am still not brave. My desire to be brave is held back by my nervousness, anxiety, and general fear of the unknown. I don't know if I'll ever be able to conquer that.  On Sunday July 12th you will be speaking at All Saints Episcopal Church in Bay Head, NJ. That is a church that my father attended pre-COVID during the winter months when his "summer" church (St. Simons by the Sea) was closed for the season. I've never attended a service there. I would like to hear you...
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The Importance of July 9

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  On July 10th, 2021, we celebrated the 95th birthday of our dear friend and "Aunt" Julie at the church where she had been so many things...a member, a chorister, an associate pastor, a mentor...the list goes on.  Her actual birthday had been the day before, but it was a big party and so it was held on a Saturday.  My mother, who had long been a friend and "adopted" Julie into our family when she discovered that she had no family in town to celebrate the holidays with (she has plenty of actual family, just not NJ) came up from the NJ shore, where she and my father had moved, to celebrate and give a fond farewell.  "Aunt" Julie was moving back to her hometown of Waynesboro, PA, to spend the rest of her years where she could view "her" mountains and truly be home.  She had retired (or perhaps I should say that Covid had forced her to retire) from her position as Children's Chaplain at St. Joseph's Medical Center (Hospital) in Patterson, giv...
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Joys of Home Ownership

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Owning a house can bring you much joy. Owning a house can give you a headache. Owning more than one house, what can I say? It can be challenging. I currently own and live in two homes. Not simultaneously of course! Let me tell you challenge is just the tip of the iceberg! Most days I don't know why the heck I'm doing this. Then I remember that my son really wants to live in our home in New Jersey, which was purchased by my grandparents back in 1924. I remember how my mother gave me the opportunity to live and rent that house. I want to give my son that same opportunity. But it isn’t easy! To start with, the house in New Jersey is over 100 years old. It has many challenges, as homes of over 100 years do. There are plenty of cosmetic issues that I've been willfully overlooking for the past 20 to 30 years. There's the plaster that comes off the wall. There's peeling wallpaper in the bathroom. There's the driveway that is cracking. They should all be fixed. I ha...
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powerless

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No today is blog post is not about political or governmental power. When it comes to those entities we will always have power. It may not feel that way and they may not tell you that, but the power of the people is something that will always go on. We may be told that we don't have power, but we do. Don't ever forget it. Don't give up.  What today is blog post is about is actual powerlessness. Meeting no electrical power. The thing that we all dread the most when the temperatures are in the '80s, '90s and even higher and humidity is through the roof or when temperatures are in the 20s and below and no matter how many blankets you have you can't get warm. I posted yesterday late morning/early afternoon about what I was doing for the holiday.  I spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to make my own red, white & blue version of a Blue Spoodle (a drink served at the long gone Spoodles restaurant found at Walt Disney World's Boardwalk Resort). The drink h...
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July 4, 2026

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It's the 4th of July. It's hot as blazes and been that way for most of the week.   This year the fourth it's in a different way. Our country is 250 years old. That should be a reason for celebration. However I'm not feeling it. It seems like most of the things that my ancestors fought for, (and yes, I have an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution), is being destroyed. (While I am grateful to my ancestor John Kilbury being a Patriot, I also recognize that he, and those other ancestors who came before him, did some horrible things. This beautiful land that I am walking on, does not belong to me. It was taken from the people who lived here for thousands of years and that needs to be remembered and reflected upon.)   For much of my life I spent the 4th of July at the Jersey shore. I was at the Jersey shore as a child on July 4th 1976. We watched the ships on the television sailing in to New York harbor. There was so much excitement. There was so much celebratio...
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