Steel drum, hot dogs, apple pie, and ......

Ok, so I stray from the normal saying of 'baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.'

Never a dull day in our lives. Never a free day. Oh, what I would give to have 24 hours of absolutely nothing to do. Unfortunately, it does not usually work out that way.

Today was fun, however.

Special celebration at Mass where we sang a few songs in Swahili....then onto the Annual Parish Picnic!

Today's theme: The Caribbean.

Jam packed. So many people showed up, it was wonderful to see.

As parishioners entered the grounds, they were serenaded by a Steel Drum Player....and the sweet smells of hot dogs & hamburgers grilling, beans and rice, and too much food for any one person to ingest in a sitting.

It was a family affair with many members gathering for lunch....and finally giving my niece her long overdue birthday gifts!

Then off to the Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Chicken Dinner!

So soon after lunch?

Well, we'll get takeout and savor the fresh barbecue in the confines of our own home!

An absolutely beautiful, sweltering summer day --one of the waning days of summer.

A relaxing drive....a spin around the grounds to see if there are any crafts to buy.....pick our fresh apples, maple sugar candies, apple pie and then our fresh barbecued ribs and chicken dinners!

Home just in time to watch the Indians and the Browns......and then eventually delve into another amazing meal which we did not have to cook!

Ah, the life!

A weekend to remember!

I hate to keep going back to the whole sports theme, but I must! We are in the midst of exciting Olympic action which can not be ignored!

Addicted...

Do you know that the Olympics come on very early....go much of the day on three stations...non-stop on the web.....come back on at Prime Time and then come back on after the late news until about 5am. Magnificent!


I think the stat that 40 million tuned in to see if Michael Phelps could win his 8th gold medal is quite chilling! Speechless. I know I will dedicate an entire entry to Phelps and his Mom. There was a 'goose-pimple' interview at the top of Prime Time Sunday night with Michael and his Mother that deserves some more props!


This was also a local weekend to remember.


Yet another jam-packed weekend with hardly a chance to sit down and recuperate! I guess that's the way of the world, the way my life goes day in and day out!

It started as quite a nerve-wracking weekend as I felt a cold coming on Thursday but could not get sick in the midst of one of my busiest singing weekends. I was singing a wedding Saturday. I could not let the happy couple down by bringing my 'b game.' Then we hosted the 40th anniversary celebration of the Apostles of Jesus at my church. These priests serve as chaplains at Charity Hospital, St Augustine Manor, Holy Family Cancer Home, and Lakewood Hospital. They also assist parishes, including ours, when needed! OLP, in honor of their momentous anniversary, held a day long celebration including quite a festive 11am Mass (with special main celebrant Bishop Pevec in attendance)...where I sang the entire Mass but also solo'd 'Ave Maria' in Latin and Swahili. I could NOT be sick for this event.

And by the grace of God, Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and the Holy Spirit, it went off without a hitch! Thank you, Mary! WOW! What an accomplishment as a singer!


Factor in the Hall of Fame weekend at Progressive Field. Exciting Cleveland Indians Games including Cliff Lee getting another win, and Jeremy Sowers with a great performance.....Saturday was turn back the clock to 1948 where they wore throwback uniforms and announced like they did back on 1948. They also had the scoreboard system and organ music from back on 1948.

The cherry on top was the Feast of the Assumption on Murray Hill --the authentic Italian food, atmosphere, the tradition of lighting candles for special intentions, and just enjoying a remarkable and imporant part of my heritage!

Exhaustion settles in after a completely satisfying weekend.......as I gear up for another week of Olympic Memories from Beijing!