TIME FOR A HAYRIDE AND A FEW HOT DOGS ON THE FIRE.

We recently had our annual Hayride at Mike and Esther Krajacic's farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Mike and Esther are members of our church family at CMA church in Upper St. Clair. They are both in their mid 80's and still farm a large parcel of land and raise feeder beef. Mike travels around speaking to churches and sharing his testimony. His travels have taken him to Russia and many other countries as a Christian Farmer speaking to those nations. As are many of our members they are warm caring family and Mike has attended several of my Sunday School classes, sharing his background and contributing so much to the church ministry in Upper St. Clair. Rita and I skipped the hayride this year but we had a lot of fun with the kids and our church friends(and the food was good too) Fall is approaching finally and it looks like it will be a beautiful one again this year. Below are several of our shared photos just to give you the feel of the Farm and friendly folks.

CMA CHURCH FAMILY AT THE FARM

LIFE GOES ON...

I find myself not working so much now. As you may not all know we were in an accident the end of June and a lady hit us quite hard from the rear. Her car was totaled and had to be towed away but we were more fortunate,in our Beetle. We had more minor damage due to the great construction of the Beetle. Unfortunately, the doctors said Rita had a good whiplash as well as myself and I have a herniated disk in my lower back. We have been going to Physical Therapy and doing all the other things necessary to get well and we are both doing OK at this time and almost finished with our PT. My back gives me the most problem but surgery is not a consideration and the doctor said I should get better in time, but I do take it much easier. Unfortunately, I found it uncomfortable to work fulltime at the VA and decided to leave my position and go back to part-time work and I limit that to certain facilities. The VA has been calling me and they would like me back but I don't know if I want to work fulltime, especially since some call is required. I will have to think on that carefully. Rita is working fulltime still and she seems OK with that. Those darn cars, they are good for us but people don't always watch where they are going around here and we now tend to be a little more vigilant in traffic these days, although there was nothing I could have done about this lady who decided to hit us. Fortunately, she did not seem to be injured so that was good for her also.

One thing I enjoy the most is to get out to the campgrounds, especially near us. With Rita working full time and responsibilities at home and PT, we have to be inventive. We often take trips and I stay at the campground and Rita comes and goes back to work, or rather I take her back and forth to work from the campground on certain days. If you mix these with weekends it allows us time to relax and still have the camping feel. We are fortunate living in Pittsburgh as there are many great places to go with our motorhome. One of our favorites is Keystone State Park about one hour from our home and maybe 45 minutes from Rita's work. Here are some pictures from Keystone and another lake campground taken early this summer and hope you enjoy them.

Our Camping Spot

Pennsylvania Lakes

REUNION 2008

What a nice surprise we had this July to see my brother Chuck arrive in Pittsburgh on July 16th. He had decided to come to the Fisher reunion, held in Hadley,Pennsylvania on Sunday July 20th. Chuck said he had a good trip flying into Pittsburgh, but you could see he was tired from the long trip, getting up early in the morning in Santa Rosa. Rita and I were glad to see him and after spending the first few days resting and visiting with us he was off to the Sharon area where we were raised, in his rented car. We met Chuck at the reunion on Sunday and he followed us home, with his rental, for two more days of sightseeing in the Pittsburgh area. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather and the only rain we had was for an hour or so at the reunion, which didn't stop all the visiting and eating. Our visits in Pittsburgh allowed us to take Chuck around the area and show him how Pittsburgh has changed the last many years. We took a short cruise down the rivers to see the stadiums and the skyline views from the water's edge. Chuck also had a chance to see the City from high above on Mt Washington, overlooking the city and than he and Rita took the Incline tram down to the water's edge where I met them to continue the sights. We had a good lunch at Whooley's Fish Market and walked along the Strip District near the river. Tours though the University areas, where Rita and I work and late night rides through the area kept us going. In fact I think Chuck wore us out, he had more energy then we did(adrenaline flowing, I guess) I believe Chuck took the opportunity to talk to everyone he met that he was from California and all the events going on there. After each place we went he soon became the representative for Pennsylvania. He was most active telling everyone what they should see and passing on local facts he remembered or learned on this trip. Rita and I enjoyed his stories of his growing up in PA, some of our relatives and their remembered comments. My brothers lived a different life here than I and have different memories of Pennsylvania and it is fun to compare. After the reunion Chuck and I took a trip down to Falling Water and the Laurel Mountain area. Falling Water is Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous home design and it is a beautiful State Park area. I think this is where Chuck did get a little tired walking through the home and pathways, but he said he was really glad he saw the home. After a great lunch at OhioPyle along the Youghiogheny river we toured one of the famous resorts in the area, NemaColin Woodlands Resort, a 3000 acre luxury, luxury resort. Wow! what a place and very interesting for both of us as it was the first time I had been there. Chuck, I am sure will tell you all about it. Anyway we had a good time and few mishaps. All in all I am sure Chuck enjoyed his trip and we were glad to spend the time with him. Below are some of the pictures from his visit. Look forward to our next visit by friends and relatives, come on over and see us, we would love to have you.

July 2008/Brother Chuck at Fisher Reunion and Visit to Pittsburgh and Falling Water State Park

OUR SPRING TRIP

Before going to work at the VA the end of May, we knew that we had some friends coming from California, The Dalays from Rocklin. Lidya, Yosiah, Elizabeth & Kristy have been our good Christian friends since Rita and I were married 17 years ago. Lidya was in a Christian fellowship with Rita, in Jakarta, Indonesia when Rita lived there as a student. Lidya married Yosiah and they had two wonderful girls. Elizabeth is in college now and Kristy turned "sweet sixteen" this year. We met them in Lancaster in mid June on a very nice weekend. Rita and I took the time to journey back to Gettysburg and Lancaster(for an evening dinner with our friends) and then after a good nights rest at the Hampton Inn in Harrisburg, we met everyone in Hershey the next day. The Dalays thoroughly had a good time during our visit and we of course were glad to present them with good weather in Pennsylvania. This was the first time we went to Hershey and what a pretty town, with the cows grazing in the fields and all the attractions of the Hershey enterprise. We met them again on Sunday in the Hershey rose gardens, which Lidya enjoys, as she gardens in Rocklin in their backyard and enjoys the flowers and plantings herself daily. We toured the Hershey factory and attractions and had a good lunch before returning back to Pittsburgh. We are looking forward to more friends and family that may come this summer. My brother Chuck is coming in July and we look forward to that visit. I guess I had better get our house in order for visitors. Below are some of our pictures you can view for your enjoyment..Hope everyone is staying in good health and of course we continue to enjoy those who BLOG!