More Visiting

On June 22, 1979, Ann and I went to Loyola house for a weekend retreat. It is in Morristown. We got there at 6:00 p.m. for registration, then we went to our rooms and hung up our clothes. I was on the first floor, Ann was on the third floor. At 7:30 we had supper, then we all went to orientation in the Forum room. From there we went to confession, heard mass and went to bed. On Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. someone went around ringing a bell for us to get up. At 7:45 we went for morning prayer in the chapel. At 8:00 we had breakfast. While we ate, a record was playing with stories about saints and famous people. At 9:00 we went to the Forum room to learn how to meditate. We went to the chapel to meditate for 45 minutes. We had an hour of free time before noon. We could go to the library to read, walk around the beautiful grounds or do whatever we pleased.

At noon we went to the chapel to say the rosary and meditate. Lunch was at 12:15. We relaxed from 1:00 to 2:15 when we went outside to do the Stations of the Cross. I took a lovely walk through the woods at 3:15. There was confession at 3:45, mass at 5:15, supper, open forum at 7:15 and at 8:45 night prayer, Benediction, in the chapel. By then we were tired. I went to bed and slept well.

On Sunday morning we got up at 7:15 and had the same schedule as Saturday morning. At noon we had a delicious chicken dinner. At their little store I bought a large beads rosary to remember my trip by. Then they blessed everything we bought. We all said our good-byes and left for home. We all felt we had halos on our heads and were closer to God. This was the third time Ann and I have made the retreat. I think we will try to make it next year if God wills it.

On June 30, Ann and I went to a great-great-nephew's wedding. The reception was held in Florham Park, our old home town, at the Braiburn Club. The place was very classy. The bride and groom looked very nice. They were both 19 years old. I knew some of the other guests, some I had not seen in about 15 years. They thought I looked fine. Florham Park sure has grown since we moved about 30 years ago. It is now like a different town. Progress marches on everyplace.

On July 8, Carmela, Mario, Marion and I went to Maryland to visit Denise. It took us five hours to get there. Gas was very short and prices were high. There was no trouble on the road; it was not congested. Denise's apartment is lovely. It has a large bedroom and living room, and also a large bath. There is a small kitchen and dinette. She has a balcony to sit on. There is a pond right near Denise's place. We sat on the balcony and watched the mamas, papas, and baby ducks. It made you feel that you were in real country.

Denise gave me her bed to sleep in. Carm slept on a mattress, the other three slept in sleeping bags. I slept well that night. Next morning Denise made pancakes and sausage for everyone.

Sunday afternoon we went to Washington, D.C., about 20 minutes away. We visited a few places, the Smithsonian and the Planetarium. It is a very interesting place to see. We saw all the early airplanes and then the larger ones. We also saw all the moon spaceships, models of the astronauts and all their equipment. It is unbelievable that all these things had been used in space. We had a quick lunch at the museum and continued to walk around.

We went back to Denise's apartment and freshened up before going to a fancy restaurant for supper. We took Denise home and we left for our homes. We left at about 8:00 p.m. and arrived home at 1:00 a.m. I was so tired I slept until 9:30 the next morning. I'm glad they took me with them; now I know where Denise lives.

On July 18, my granddaughter Sharon was given a wedding shower. Her sister Judy is going to be the maid of honor. She lives in California so she couldn't be at the shower. Some of Sharon's friends and all her in-laws came. We were about 25 ladies. They had a very nice shower. They served punch and all kinds of drinks. The food and cake was catered. Sharon received many beautiful gifts, such as a toaster, hand mixer, glasses, dishes, pots and pans, sheets, towels and blankets. I gave her a lovely blanket. We all bought a small kitchen article and put it in the wishing well.

That evening I went with my daughter Phyl to Tarrytown and stayed there one week. I went to the Tarrytown pool on four different days. I walked around and cooled off. Phyl and one of her girls would walk me across the pool and back again just before we went home. I would go and take a shower, get dressed and then go home. It was very relaxing. When we got home Phyl did all the cooking, the children set the table and cleared it after eating. I was a lady of leisure.

One day Phyl took me to the foot doctor, another day we went shopping and I bought a new broom and wool to make my granddaughter Joan an afghan. Dino did all the driving. I had a pleasant vacation.

On August 17, I went to Pomona, N.Y., at the Hoffbra for a day with the senior citizens. We ate and danced outside. About seven buses came to the affair, all full of senior citizens from different towns. The oldest person in the group was asked to come to the bandstand and say a few words. A 93-year-old colored lady came up and talked. She was alert. She was the mother of 12 children. She goes to church every Sunday. A few of us were sitting next to her. She told us many interesting stories.

At 4:30 we all went inside for a hot dinner. We could choose chicken, fish or roast beef. The service was good. We all had a very good day. I got home at 7:00 p.m.