The 12th Annual Fourth of July Open House

When I originally notified people about the event for this year it was also notated that this would be the last open house for July 4th. Barry had been laid off since April 1st and we figured unless by some miracle we would have to move within 9 months of July 1st (severance carried us to June 30th). But miracles do happen and my only prayer is that this is not a dream and he will not fail.  On June 29th he had 3 job offers and excepted one that he felt he most fit with.  He would be primarily working from home but traveling to Atlanta a few times to meet with the client and to King of Prussia where the main headquarters of the company is located. And if he wants to go to an office "how far are you from Bridgewater?"  What more could you ask for - no pay deduction in salary - no problem. So at least now we get to stay and leave when we want rather than when we have to.

So needless to say it may or may not be the last 4th of July but we all had a great time including the county fireworks.

The Annual Fourth of July Party

This year we held our 11th 4th of July Open House Party. It had to be the best conditions weatherwise, a nice crowd of people, and a lot of drinking. This year I was able to walk around and mingle, swim, hang out with friends, and have my esp work for a change. The biggest reason was that I have two new knees.

The food was unbelievable that arrived. Yes, we can still feed an army battalion today and probably the rest of the week. For me this year, I had a great time. Being hostess I can drink and not worry about driving. I started out with "surfer on acid" and then proceeded to skittle shots that Diane brought over ending with Tequila Rose shots/or chugs depending on who I was with at the time. However, I knew before I went to bed at 2am that I would have a hangover because I already had a splitting headache. By 4am I'm taking Tylenol. By 11am I am awake with no headache but can't walk straight so I take more Tylenol and go back to bed till 4:30pm when I can walk straight.

Everyone was saying they were glad I was having such a good time because they were too. My best friends also drank along with me and at one point when Linda and I went down to watch the fireworks, I fell, no I didn't hurt myself, and she fell next tome and we sat there and giggled through the whole show and didn't see a thing.

Debbie and John stayed the latest as we sat and talked on the deck till about 1:30am. She gave me my first foot massage and complained about my soft feet. But overall it was a great day. Sorry if you didn't make it.

A Family Member Gone

I recently found out one of my uncles passed away in 2002. I sit here wondering why I was never told. I have gone through the anger stage with my mother's family and have accepted that he is gone. I called this man, Uncle Buddy, his given name was Edward. Most of my life I was not close to him. I really don't know why, but I do remember as a child, that the size of this man scared the heck out of me. As I got older and became a member of the Eastern Star I saw him more often when he would come to the meetings. When my parents died, I was told he was in a nursing home (The Masonic Masons) and he had developed problems due to diabetes and that he wouldn't see anyone but one of my other uncles', Bruce.
So as a Memory Keeper, I search for death records and came across my Unlce Buddy's. It just reinforced my feelings that once your parents die you have no more relatives. Letters written don't get responded to and death information doesn't get passed around to the left-out family members. I was an only child growing up and I am an only child all grown up with no relatives.

Changes in Life

10/12/08
Well, if you were at my site last week you will notice it has changed. Like so many thing in life, changes are a constant. My attempt to the blog the way I want it to look is probably confusing a lot of people. Oh yeah, I also changed the name. You'll find the site under HarlwynMemories but I renamed the page The Memory Keeper. So please forgive me while I may not be done changing the look or the name.


So where did Harlwyn Memories come from. My parents. My mom's name was Harriet and my father's name was Selwyn. When they were breeding dogs they created the name Harlwyn. Yes, I miss them terribly. But then remembering them reminded me of another memory. That's where the Memory Keeper comes in. I know it was a name of a book and movie but when I look at the things I do in my life, my hobbies, my friendships - they are all memories that I want to keep close to my heart.