2014 Winter Ranch Halloween Costume Contest

We got into the park yesterday and thought today we would play all day, however, our golf cart decided to have a major problem and the Golf Cart Company came and took it away.  We should get it back next week.  However, we were planning on being in the Golf Cart Parade and doing the Scavenger Hunt and we didn't get to do those without the cart.  We did go down to the hall and get pictures of the people heading out on the Golf Cart Parade and also we took some pictures of the people getting the rules and regs for the scavenger hunt.  

We did dress up for the Costume Contest as Dracula and Queen of Dracula and managed to get First Place for couples this year. 

All the costume contestants lined up.

The Guy Contestants

The Winners

All of the Contestants

Visiting With Relatives at Bloomsburg, PA

We headed over to Bloomsburg this afternoon to get together with the rest of the Pennsylvania relatives on their turf!  Our first stop was at Jon and Michele's house where we all gathered.

 Peggy, Lyn, Jon and John

Peggy and John Trathen came over from Catawissa.  Peggy is Lee's cousin on his Mom's side.  Lyn and Sai came over too. 

Michele and Sai

We all sat around in Jon and Michele's living room and chatted for quite awhile and then we headed out to The Turkey Hill Brewery Company, Pub and Grill in Bloomsburg.

Jon, Sai, John, Michele, Lyn and Peggy

Michele and Jon's daughter, Isabel

Michele, Lyn, Peggy and Me

The food was great.  The company was wonderful and it is so good to get together when we can!

New Retro Kitchen at Kevin and Doris' House

After dinner, Peggy just insisted that we stop over at Kevin's house to see their new Retro Kitchen.  We didn't think it was such a good idea to stop tonight since it was the third anniversary of Kevin and Doris.  However, she made the arrangements and we went on over.  We did want to see the kitchen!

Doris had this sign hanging in the kitchen

I used to have a table like this but their chairs are nicer!

Kevin says this is his sink which is next to the back door

I just loved the cupboards and the aqua appliances!

This is a Soup Faucet over the sink

Even the microwave has some turquoise!

Isn't it something - you gotta love it!  

Here's Kevin!

I took a picture of some of Peggy's handiwork - She made this for Kevin and Doris!

We didn't stay too long because it was their anniversary and, you know, they've only been married for three years!!

Dinner at Peggy and Jay's

Peggy went all out today making a really nice dinner for us.  That's real mashed potatoes she is working with in this picture.

Jay 

The Table is Set - I love the purple dishes!

Peggy's Mom, Bernice, has her own apartment at the house

Jay helping to get the dishes on the table

Karen is fixing her salad

Peggy and Jay enjoying a moment

That's us and we are pretty much stuffed!

It was a wonderful dinner and a great time with family!

Visiting the Wasserman's

Today we set off for Macungie, Pennsylvania to visit my long-time girlfriend, JoAnn Wasserman.  JoAnn and I worked together at Iowa Electric Light and Power in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for several years.  She was my Maid of Honor at our wedding in 1980.  Right after our wedding she took off with Mark and moved out of state.  We haven't seen too much of each other since.  It was really good to visit with them and catch up on what is happening in our lives.

JoAnn and Mark

JoAnn and Me

JoAnn fixed a wonderful lunch for us and we had fun taking a tour of their home.  Then  we went for a walk and took a tour of the gated community that they live in.  It is a beautiful place to live.  After that we talked some more and finally went out to dinner at the Hunan Springs Chinese Restaurant in Wescosville.  

We had a great day and it was wonderful to see them both again after so many years.  Hopefully, we'll see them again the next time we are in Pennsylvania.

Amputee's Support Group Meeting

Jay and Peggy invited us to attend one of their Amputee's Support Group meetings.  They thought we might be interested because at this particular meeting we were going to see how prosthetics and orthodics are made. 

The meeting was held at the facilities of BOAS, a custom prosthetics and orthodics manufacturer.   The guy in green demonstrated putting plaster material on a prosthetic leg in process.  The plaster is used to build the core to the size of the patient's leg. He asked for a volunteer to try it and so one of the members of the group got up and added some plaster to the leg.  She wasn't too happy when she finished and he took it all off so he could start over!!

Here we are still watching the application of plaster to a leg.  The lady doing it was a real card!

We got to see several different types of 

products while we were there

Here this gentleman is showing us how they put the final coating on some of their designer prosthetics.  It was pretty interesting.  

Here he is mixing the hardener into the resin for the final coating on the prosthetic

The prosthetic is in a bag and he just pours the 

epoxy into the bag to cover the prosthetic

Then he smoothes it out to get all the bubbles out of it

This guy is showing us a boot device

Now they are covering the boot with a heated 

acrylic on the boot to make it look like skin

Then it sits and cures overnight

There were all kinds of interesting tools that they used and this young man is demonstrating how he shaping a fitting for a brace.

The external leg brace can be attached to any kind of shoe. This one's attached to an athletic shoe.

Here they demonstrate how a leg is attached and how well the material they use creates a suction to hold the prosthetic firmly in place.  

They have a lot of interesting designs for their sockets too.

They put designs on their boots too!