The Visit

           OH!

          MY!

          GOODNESS!

          I missed two weeks of writing! That means I have to squeeze three weeks of jibber-jabber into one blog! Like many things in my life, I don’t know how I’m going to do that.

          “Peg!” you say. “What do you tell us all the time?”

          I know, right! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

          The highlight of my last two weeks and the reason I didn’t write is that my best old friend came to visit me and I wanted to spend my time with her, not sitting in front of the computer for two days every week.

Trish and I met in 1982 when Kevin was a baby. For the next ten years or so, we were inseparable. After all my kids were in school, I took a full-time factory job, then I moved and we lost contact. A couple of years later I met Mike and we moved to Missouri. About five years ago, I did a search on Facebook and found her again. We resumed our friendship and it’s like we were never apart! We just click.

          It’s harder for Mike and me to travel now since we have two dogs, four cats, two birds, and no RV. A few months ago, I invited Trish to come and visit.

          “I just might,” she told me. “I’d love to paint with you.”

          In early September Trish finally made plans to make the trip.

          “As of now, my departure date is October fifth,” she told me.

          I had a whole month to plan and prepare for her visit.

          “What would you like to do while you’re here?” I asked on the Facebook chat one day.

          “I just want to visit with you and paint something.”

          “Don’t you want to go anyplace or see something?”

          “I would like to see some of the things I see in your letter blog. Mostly the big houses and the metal sculptures.”

          Trish left her home in West Virginia Friday morning, a day later than she originally planned, and rolled in here around three in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

          I didn’t know what time she left her house, so I asked, “How long did it take you?”

          Before Trish could answer, Mike quipped, “Four days.”

          After we were done laughing, Trish said, “About eighteen hours.”

          In her defense, it was raining and foggy and dark and she stopped for a couple of hours to rest. Then, when she was only about seven or eight miles from my house, she missed a turn.

          She read her directions to me. “220 to Shaffer Notch Road. That’s the turn I missed and ended up in Towanda. That’s when I knew I wasn’t in the right place!”

          “It’s no wonder you missed it. Shaffer Notch doesn’t go out to 220! You’d have to get on Marsh Road first.”

          We didn’t do anything on her first day here but visit and play a few games.

          Lamar always calls when the mail is here. Tux usually barks and lets him know.

          “You wanna —”

“Wait a second, Peg!” you say. “How is Lamar‽”

You may remember that Lamar broke his ankle. When he met with the orthopedic surgeon, they did an x-ray and Lamar needed surgery. They put a plate and screws in and he has been home for two weeks straight now. Tomorrow he goes back to see how it’s healing.

“You wanna meet the Kipps?” I asked Trish.

          “I’d love to. I’ve heard so much about them.”

          Our first stop was the mailbox of our elderly neighbor. We delivered his mail to his door, then went on to the Kipps.

          “Show her all your Billy Jacobs,” I suggested after the initial pleasantries.

          “He’s my favorite,” Miss Rosie said as she got up from the table.

          “She has so many pictures by him that she has to rotate them with the seasons!” I told Trish.

          Miss Rosie showed Trish around and had to partially close one door to show the picture hanging on it.

          It’s nice to be able to show off some of your favorite things — and have someone appreciate them!

          The next day was Sunday and Trish went with us to church and met our church family. Afterward, Mike took us to Mark’s Valley View for their Sunday special, Chicken and Biscuits.  

          “How is it?” Mike asked, sinking his teeth into his Turkey Club.

          “Good, but it could use a little more gravy,” I said. I glanced over at Trish’s plate to see if hers was a little light too and she thought I was going to supplement my gravy with some of hers!

She’s resource-guarding. That’s a term I’ve learned just since getting Raini.

Mike requested, and the waitress brought me a little cup of gravy. Then it was perfect.

          The next day was nice enough that we went for a golf cart ride.

          Look at this crazy fungus!

          We checked out Mike’s yard art. There’s a whole new world growing in the old headlight.

           The pond is full!

          We went up to the gas well. We had lots of pretty clouds to look at instead of a plain (and boring) blue sky.

           The back wall of the old house has fallen.

          “Don’t go inside!” Mike admonished me when I jumped off the golf cart.

          “I won’t!” I yell back over my shoulder.

           This is the front.

           We went out to the Walker Farm. They sure do have a lot of cats! Some at the barn and some at the house. 

          In fact, there was a whole herd of cats!

         Just kidding! I know that a group of cats is called a clowder.

          How many can you count?

           Winterberry and...

          ...Snowberry.

           I told you that Trish and I played games while she was here. We sampled Rummikub, Skip-Bo, and Mexican Train Dominos, but our two favorite games to play were All Fives in Dominos and Quiddler.

          “All Fives?” you query.

          Yep. It’s a game I learned to play from one of the ladies I took care of when I was caregiving. All I’ve got to say is it’s a good thing I found the instructions online because I’d forgotten how to play it, but not how much fun it was to play.

          When my cute little red-haired sister stopped for a brief visit back in September, she added a fun twist to the way we played Quiddler.

          “You have to try and make a sentence with your words when you lay them down,” I told Trish. “That’s how Diane liked to play.”

          As the game progressed, so did our sentences, becoming sillier and sillier. Especially when you get words that are allowed but don’t have a clue what they mean.

          “Like what?” you ask.

          Like xu or xi. I’ve since learned one is a coin and the other is a Greek letter, both of which are allowed in the official Scrabble Word Finder on my phone.

          “I like making sentences!” Trish said with a big grin on her beautiful face. “You’ll have to tell Diane.”

          Diane, consider yourself told.

          The next trip we took was out to Nicholson and the Tunkhannock Viaduct.

          It was early when we left because we were going to stop at McDonald’s for breakfast.

          Clouds reflecting in the Susquehanna.

          Fog in the valleys.

          A sunbeam breaking through the clouds and a collection of road pictures.

         Halloween is coming. A lot of places are decorated.

          Including the town square.

          Mike drove out of town to a spot where we knew you could see most of the bridge at one time.

          The old train depot has recently been renovated to include a museum. Mike really wanted to see it but it wasn’t open the day we went.

          We drove around town a little.

          A parking lot we turned around in had some kind of netting over the gravel. I assume it was to keep it in place. 

          Beside the road was a wall with windows in it. We couldn’t decide if it was some weird kind of retaining wall or if it had been part of a building at one time.

          I once read that if you spend just fifteen seconds looking at a picture, you’ll find something interesting in it. The article went on to say the longer you look at it, the more interesting it becomes. Test that theory. Don’t just breeze past my photos.

          More road pictures on the way home.

           We took a side trip through the streets of Tunkhannock to look at mansions.

          Huge creatures seem to be all the fad this Halloween.

          Diane, do you recognize this place?

          It’s a funny, not-so-funny story. When Diane visited several years ago, we were doing this exact same thing, driving around Tunkhannock looking at houses. This house had a FOR SALE sign in the yard and was obviously empty. It had a covered driveway, a place where a carriage would stop and discharge its occupants and they’d be out of the weather.

          “Can we drive up under there?” Diane asked. “I’ve never been in one before.”

          At the time, there was a driveway there and Mike drove up under it for us. The next thing you know, Diane and I were out of the car, exploring the porch and looking in the windows.

          That led us around to the front door where a realtor's lock box hung. A sign in the window said the house had been winterized so please don’t turn on the taps. I tried the door and it was unlocked.

          “Let’s go in!” Diane said.

          “I’m not!” Mike was incredulous. “One of us has to stay outside to bail the other two out of jail!”

          Diane and I explored this old house, all three floors, everywhere but the attic and basement. The woodwork alone was worth it.

We were on the second floor, in an interior room, and there were windows down into a big first-floor office or study. We found the staircase and went down. There were two safes in the room and a huge mantel over the fireplace. A small safe was under the stairs and a larger one in the wall.

             Diane and I rejoined Mike.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get arrested,” he said.

“Why‽ It’s for sale,” I said.

“How do you know?” Mike asked.

“Because there’s a realtor's sign in the yard.”

“No there’s not,” he replied.

Both Diane and I would’ve bet a thousand dollars we saw a realtor’s sign in the yard when we got there, but when we left there was no sign.

          That was an adventure I’d never written about.

          After leaving Tunkhannock with Trish, I took more road pictures.

          We thought the sheep was made from silverware but upon closer inspection, I think it’s just twisted pieces of metal. 

Our next excursion also started early, before the fog had burned off. Here the sun is peeking through, trying to do his job.

We were heading to Scranton to take a trolley ride and tour the train museum. 

I often take pictures of things to see what they say. On this car it says, AND INTO THE WOODS I GO TO LOSE MY MIND AND FIND MY SOUL.

I Googled it for you and found it’s a quote often attributed to John Muir, although it can’t be found in any of his works. I never did find out where it came from.

And another message written in the dust on the tailgate of a Dodge Ram. MAY THE SLOTH BE WITH YOU.

I don’t know what that one means either.

We were first on the platform.

 Then a squirrel entertained us by scampering across the tracks.

I thought we were going to have a private ride but we were just early. As the departure time crept closer, other people drifted in.

Once we were all onboard and seated, the conductor gave us an overview of what we would see. One of those things was a mile-long tunnel.

          “You didn’t tell me there was a tunnel,” Trish said.

          “Honestly, I forgot about it. Is it a problem?”

          “I hope not!” she quipped and laughed.

          With the lights on inside the trolley, it wasn’t bad.

At the turn-around point is the garage where they work on the trolleys as well as a small museum.

A map of the trolley route hangs on the wall.

After everyone had a chance to stretch their legs and look around, we got back on the trolley for the return trip.

It’s a nice ride and the conductor is full of information about the days and workings of the trolleys as well as the landmarks we passed along the way.

          There are lots of old trains sitting around outside.

          As well as the restored Big Boy.

          I’ve written stories about the trains and train museum before so I’m not going to go into detail this time.

We went inside the gates of the train museum to see the turntable. I was hoping there would be an engine on it, but no such luck.

There was some kind of issue with the sprinkler system so some buildings were closed.

Mike did the express tour and found a seat to wait while Trish and I took our time looking at the engines in the roundhouse.

And that’s where we met Christian. He was readying an engine for the train rides they were offering, which was something new. We started asking questions.

“What would happen if it blows up?” I asked.

Christian laughed. “We wouldn’t be here.”

“Because of shrapnel?”

“Not so much that as the steam. It would shoot out and we’d be burned up.”

          “My pressure cooker has a safety valve on it,” I said. I know from experience that it works, too!

          Christian pointed to the top of the train. I guess it has a safety valve as well. Then he told us how they monitor it and showed us how he feeds more water into the boiler when it’s needed.

          I bet we spent twenty minutes talking to Christian and I thanked him for taking the time to talk to us.

          “My pleasure,” he said. “It’s also part of my job.”

          We stopped at Sam’s Club for lunch. Where else can you get three hotdogs, three drinks, and a slice of pizza (big enough for two people to share) for six buckaroos‽

          Trish and I stopped just inside the door. We were fascinated by the huge TVs synchronized with the same picture. We stood and watched as this handsome guy climbed the branch from the bottom TV and emerged on the top TV.

          My handsome mountain man made pancakes for us a couple of times. His old electric griddle lost its non-stickiness and he got online and got a new bigger one. Since he makes pancakes (and I don’t have to) he likes an electric griddle so he can set the temperature. Now he can make twelve pancakes in five minutes! I barely have time to fix the eggs!

          “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go home and have to cook for myself again!” Trish said.

          I was happy to cook for her and made some of our favorite things. Chicken Alfredo, Unstuffed Cabbage soup, grilled cheese, ham and sweet potatoes, homemade bread, cakes, and other desserts.

          One of those “other desserts” was something I saw on Facebook. It used two cans of crescent rolls, one for the bottom, one for the top. In the middle was a lemon cream cheese filling.

          I tasted it before we took it to share with the Kipps (that’s why the little square in the corner is missing).

I don’t like it.

          Mike didn’t eat any but Trish and the Kipps didn’t think it was too bad. I left most of it with them.

          The next place we took Trish was to a baptism. Pastor Jay was baptizing three of our parishioners and since we don’t have a baptismal, a neighboring church offered the use of theirs.

          Can you say road pictures?

          Mike had dropped us at the door so I didn’t get to see the view from the parking lot until we went out.

It had rained while we were inside and the droplets on my window reflected the trees.

           I missed a picture and asked Mike to turn around.

          “Did you see the little scarecrow?” I asked Trish.

          “No. I was looking at the little outhouse with the pumpkins,” she said.

          The next time we went out, we took Trish to see the metal yard sculptures.

          I have this very great obsession with picture-making.

         I tried to capture some of the fall colors for you.

          After we left here, we went on into Dushore and then up 220 to Towanda to look at the big houses. Unfortunately, I’m running out of room, time, and energy so I’m going to skip them for now. Hopefully, I can circle around and pick them up in the next issue of Peggy’s Jibber Jabber.

          The very last place we took Trish was to the French Azilum overlook and Wyalusing Rocks.

          “Stand in front of the memorial plaque and I’ll take your picture,” I told Trish at the overlook.

          She was almost where I wanted her to stand when she clutched her chest and said, “Oh kitty! You scared me!”

          “What kitty?” I asked. I didn’t see a kitty.

          She pointed. “Right there in the plants.”

          Kitty came out stretching and jumped up on the wall.

          It didn’t take long for him to let me pet him, it took longer for me to get him to hold still so I could pick a big ol’ fat tick from his face.

          Trish and I walked up to one end and looked at the storyboard and the scenery.

          Kitty was waiting for us to come back.

          I took his picture.

          “Let’s walk down to the other end and get your picture with the fall colors behind you,” I said.

          We started down and guess who followed us.

          I think he wanted in the picture, too!

          At Wyalusing Rocks the view was fabulous!   

          “Peg!” you exclaim. “You did a lot of running around. Did you get anything painted?”

          We did!

          Our days quickly fell into a routine. Trish spent thirteen days with us. On the days we went someplace, we could usually get in a couple of hours of painting in the afternoons. On the days we didn’t go anywhere, we spent more time painting. After a light supper, we’d pop a couple of bowls of popcorn and spend the evening watching a movie with Mike. Here again, we got to share some of our favorites. Sweet Home Alabama, RV with Robin Williams, The Devil Wears Prada, Rocket Gibraltar, K-Pax, and Hope Floats, to name a few.

          I painted a sign for my best old friend and Trish painted a sign for her sister.

          The signs are reversible.

          I put “GO AWAY” on the back of the one I painted for Trish and she put her sister’s last name on the one she painted.

          I think they both came out fantabulous!

          We even had time to make two scenes for her son Ben for his Gundams.

“What are Gundams?” you ask.

Gundams are model kits depicting the mecha machinery (a large armored robot, typically controlled by a person riding inside) and characters of the fictional Gundam multiverse.

We painted the space scene together.

 And decoupaged the cityscape.

Friday came, the day Trish was to leave. If it were up to me, I’d’ve kept her through the weekend so she could go to church with us one more time.

          “I think Mike is ready for me to leave,” Trish said.

          That became evident as he stood eagerly by and helped pack her truck.

          It reminded me so much of a scene in the movie Hope Floats where Bernice (the daughter) didn’t like Justin (the handyman) taking an interest in her mother. Justin was working on the porch when Bernice came out, packed up all of his tools, and sent him on down the road.

          Trish laughed when I told her.

          It only took Trish sixteen hours to get home.

          “Just three days then?” I said.

          I miss her.

          Let’s call this one done!