Elma, New York for the Baker Reunion

A view of the Sunken Ponds in East Aurora, New York.
This is a place I love to visit to see if  I can add any new birds to my life list.
It was such a beautiful day.
The time flies by when I come here.  There is usually no one around.
Just me and nature.  It is gorgeous.

There is a field behind the Baker farm that is full of wildflowers.
The old farm was split up some years ago into several single lots.
My husband tells me that the areas that have turned into forest were once all fields.

A couple of rain showers came through during the late afternoon.
Check out this double rainbow, and it was a whole one.   You could see the whole thing if you  were standing in the right place.  On the news later that evening that someone saw 4 rainbows at one time.  We actually could see a hint of the third one,  I just did not get a good picture of it.  It was beautiful.

A different view of the barn and the rainbows.

The highlight of the evening was Ron,  my husband, singing Elvira with his sister Bonnie, and her new grandchild, Tom and David, his brothers.  I can't say their singing gets any better each year, but they do try.
This year it felt a bit different.  Several relatives could not come because of illnesses.
There are new generations coming up through the ranks.  I think the oldest is Ron's mom at 90, and the youngest is Bonnie's granddaughter who is 8 months.
There are all ages that come together.  It is always a great time.

In the town of East Aurora, there is a great farmers market.
I was hoping to get some fresh home-grown tomatoes.
I arrived too late, bummer.

Everything looks so good, I love when the fresh vegetable come into season.
It is so good.

The Sinking Ponds in East Aurora has yield some old treasures.
My husband was not all that aware of them.  I found out about them, and started coming to them several years ago.
It is so peaceful and full of bird activity.
It sure does not take much to please me.
Since I have retired, I realize how beautiful your surroundings are.
Mother nature has created so many beautiful places.

I hope everyone is enjoying their day.
Mary

Now on to Trenton, New Jersey and my relatives.

Here we are entering New Jersey.  Part of this trip is so we could take care of some business.
I will be explaining more at the end of this post.

  Don't you just love to see the old fashioned daylilies along the roadside?

One of the fun things I got to do was meet up with some of my cousins.
Sometimes you have a family, that doesn't communicate very well.  You know, the one person that always kept the family together, is no longer there.  Relatives move, life gets in the way.  Unfortunately, that is what has happen with mine.
My grandmother Bagley, was our glue.  I remember the family get togethers at the holidays, the picnics in the summer. We all live kind of near each other.  My parents and sister and I moved to Michigan, when I was in second grade.
My parents saw to it that we got back to visit every summer for at least a week.
On the brighter note, these are my cousins.  Obviously, way younger then me.
I met Diane, the young lady on the far left 4 years ago for the first time.  She is a teacher and has 3 wonderful children.  One of them graduated this year from high school.  Susan the next one, I had met when she was a very little girl.  Now she is all grown up and running for a council seat in the district where she lives.  The third young lady, is the daughter of an older cousin of mine. Sharon has a lovely daughter, who I thought had entered college, and found out she is 15 and in high school.  We all got together on evening for dinner.  We laughed, and talked and had such a wonderful evening.  We have decided we have got to get together again.  I am going to have to come back to Trenton again.  When I do, I want to see if some of our other relatives can join us and make up for lost time. Keep your fingers crossed.

Another row, from the quilt shop in Pennington, New Jersey.

Now for the story of why we came to Trenton.  In May my Father's sister, Mary Agnes passed away.  She had been in a nursing home for several years with Parkinson's disease.  I am co-executor of her estate.  She would have turned 80 on the 20th of June. I knew going into this that she was a possible hoarder.
We had to get into the house and find the valuables she had told me were there.  I was in hopes of recovering old photos and certificates that would be records for our family history from Hungary.
We did have to get a locksmith to change the lock, as none of the keys we had would open the door.
The front windows and door had been boarded up.
This is what we were met with when we finally opened the door.
We knew the utilities had been turned off.  We could not believe what we found.
The whole house had been tossed.  The copper piping had been torn out of the walls.  Furniture had been taken, and if there had been any valuables, they were long gone.
This was a row house in a not great part of town, and was a total disaster.  

This was the scene on the third floor. I have cried and feel so very sad.  How could people do this kind of thing.  We checked with the police, and this was no surprise to them.  We have no idea when this was done.  It was probably several years ago.  They said, that once vandals realize a house has been abandoned, it becomes fair game.  They break in and look for drugs, and of course valuables.  Every box,  cupboard, and drawer had been opened and turned upside down.  

We did spend about 4 hours total, over two days trying to go through the trash.  I was hoping to be able to recover at least some pictures.  We did.  On the third floor we had some luck with finding some pictures, and embroidered linens that my aunts would have done.  After we got home I will take pictures of some of the things we did find..
I am sure my aunt would be horrified if she knew this.  I will let you use your imagination on what other things the person or persons did to the house.  It was not nice to say the least.
I am going to have to come back at some time in the next couple months. I doubt we will be able to sell the house.  May have to let the city take it.  

Ironically, the house is in this "Historic Trenton".  Think someone got their areas mixed up.

Ron is closing the house back up.  While we were there the postman saw up, and asked if we were moving in or out.  When we told him what had happened, he said he was not surprised.  It happens all over where there are deserted homes.  So, I guess this is a lesson.  Don't leave homes vacant.
What was to be an adventure, turned out to be not so.
We still have some things to take care of, so will be here for a few more days.
Talk later,
Mary

Family Reunion, Baker

It is that time of year again. The Baker family reunion.

My husband mother married Carl Baker, after her husband, Ron's Dad, passed away when he was a small child.  There is a pretty big extended family.  My own relatives in New Jersey, haven't had a reunion in forever.  It is nice getting together with such a nice family.

Some come from different cities in the state of  New York, Colorado, and  Florida.

Shirley, Ron's mother is still part of this reunion.  (Lady in dark blue.)

I know you think I don't do anything while I am on the road, wrong.  I came prepared with lots of handwork.
This little piece I finished and immediately gave it away.  The lady (Syd) has a middle name of Joy, a daughter named Joy, and knows the hymn these words come from.  Seemed only appropriate that she get this.

Here is one of our Baker families.  There is now a new generation coming along.  In my 30 years of marriage into this family, I have watched the little kids grow up and are now having their own little kids.  WOW!  Where does the time go.

Here is Mom and Dad and their two kids. 

Here is the young lady that received the little Joy quilt. She comes from Ohio.

Another family where I watched the young lady grow up and is now having children. Let's see they are from Texas.

More New Yorkers

We were at one of the relatives home outside of Victor, New York.  They have a pool that a lot got to enjoy.

This little guy is only 19 months old, and is swimming.  His mom says because they live near a lake in Georgia, she had to know he would know what to do.  Amazing,  he is a little fish.

Grilling jalapeno peppers.  So good. 

The children of the original Baker kids! 

The "children" of Stella Baker Brink.
Kathy, Dawn, Linda

Children of Kirk Baker
Jeff, Allison

Children of Carl Baker
Ron, Tom, Bonnie, David

There were even cousins from England.

Tom and Andrew, just chilling.

Must have been something good to hold their attention.

Then the rain came, and came.

Formed little streams through the lawn.

Everyone was taking their shoes and socks off, and putting plastic bags over their heads and being escorted to the house.

Shirley Baker is going to celebrate her 90th birthday on the 9th of August.

Some of the latest generation.

Shirl cutting her cake. It was delicious.

More Baker's from Florida

Nap time of some of them.  Got to get ready for the night time festivities.

Dancing in the garage, as the ground was too wet.  The tent got washed out.

Even Elvis made an appearance.

Had a little help with a backup dancer.
Even though there was rain in the later afternoon., a great time was had by all.
Love the idea of getting together.
Summer is for fun and family.
There are more adventures coming.
Mary

I am back and catching up.

This is one of 7 states and Hamilton, Ontario that we visited or just went through. We had beautiful weather the whole two weeks we were gone.



We checked out restaurants that have been on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", quilt shops, marshes, family and friends.





Attended the Winegar family reunion in Alden, New York.




The Baker family reunion in Elma, New York. These have become yearly events, and so much fun.  The families are growing.  Our little kids have grown up and are now having kids of their own.

We enjoy getting together to catch up on all the news and to eat all the great things we can't get at home. Oh, the beef on wick is to die for, the Tim Horton, Canadian maple donuts are so good, the loganberry juice delicious.

A fabulous time was had by all.
I will share more in the coming days.
Have a great day!
Mary