I am a Victorian Soul, live in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion, with my Hubby Joe, who is a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am LOVING Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Joe's Trip to Pittsburgh, 2021






 Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

 
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!
 
Just a reminder, I will be posting on Wednesdays and Sundays every week so be sure to check back on those days to see a new post...... 
 
Today, I will be sharing pictures of Joe's trip to Pittsburgh in September to see a Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Game.......
 
This will be the last post on this blog until January as I will start posting over on my Christmas Blog on Wednesday.....
 
I will provide links to each Christmas post here on this blog so you will be able to find it easily on my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas....
 
 
 
And now for a few Personal Notes...
 

 Before I go any further, I am shocked and devastated by the loss of my good friend and neighbor for close to 30 years, Debby....

She never woke up on Saturday morning....
 
 
She was 68 years old, ran her own Medical Billing Business out of her home and was President of our HOA, living across our court from us...
 
Her SO, Dave, owns the Landscaping business who put in our Retaining Wall in front of our townhouses ( that was how they met) and plows our Courts in the Winter.....
 
Dave and Debby were together for well over 20 years...
 
We spoke on the phone at least several times a week and she helped me get through many tough times especially over the last few years...
 
She was the first person I would call when I had to "tell Someone Something"
 
Her loss is going to have a huge affect on me that right now, I can not even comprehend...
 

 And it has shaken me to my core....

I wasn't even going to post today but Life does go on for those left behind.....
 
 

Some new things....

I bought another rug for our Living Room at Ocean State Job Lot that matches the ones I already have but is a slightly different pattern.....

 
I have 2 others in the same size and you can see the difference in the pattern.....

 
I placed the new one where you walk between the Living Room and Dining Room....
 
 
Joe did a bit of dumpster diving....
 
He found this large vase in our dumpster.....

 
It was in great shape....

 
And perfect for these red leaves that Joe also found thrown in a dumpster after the Furniture Store, that was destroyed by the Tornado that hit the shopping centers next to us, ended their Tornado Sale and threw the remaining things away...

 
They are half velvet like and crystalized and were wet from rain so I dried them out and they sat in a box down our storage shed for the last 3 years as I had no idea what to do with them.....
 
 
 
 They fill an empty space behind the round table to the right of our front door.....

I may leave them there for Christmas.....


Joe was noticing that Turkey Breasts, which I cook for Thanksgiving instead of a whole turkey, were a bit scarce in the stores this year....

He found 3 in Price Chopper and grabbed the largest one!!

 
Of course, he would!!
 
This is one of the largest ones that we have ever had.....


I now have him on  the lookout for a 6-7 pound one for Christmas Day Dinner as we do not need such a large one because I also serve ham and kielbasi for Christmas.... 
 

On Fridays, Joey treats us for Dinner....

This Friday  it was a Cheese Steak Pizza from one of our local eateries, Serpico's....



The one thing NEPA is noted for is the abundance of local Pizza places!!!
 
 
Saturday morning, I made a great big pot of Chicken Bone Broth from 2 of the Sam's Club Rotisserie Chicken bones.... 


It's a good thing because I need some comfort food....
 
 
 
That morning, I could not figure out why 2 police cars and the ambulance was in our Court but they were not taking anyone out of my neighbor Debby's house...
 
 
Until I spoke with my neighbor Anne Marie who lives next to Debby....
 

 
On a much brighter and HAPPIER note, after 23 months, we FINALLY got to see our good friend Anne Marie, in person!!!!

She came down for a visit after work during the week and got to meet little Faye ....

We enjoyed some pizza and some banana and zucchini bread that I had baked....

She gifted me this charming ceramic Tree!!!

 
I love it!!

 
We plan on getting together again for Christmas and more often and you can rest assured that I will make good on this promise of this....
 
I have this sweet Tree on top of the refrigerator until I pack away Fall/Halloween in the Kitchen...

Thanks so much Anne Marie!!

Love ya!

If you would like to see Anne Marie's home all decked out for Halloween.....





Click HERE 
 
You will not be disappointed.....
 
 
 
In September with the start of the NHL and AHL Hockey Seasons, Joe once again received 2 free tickets for one of the Pittsburgh Penguins Exhibition Games as we are Season Ticket Holders for the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins......

After missing a year because of the Pandemic, Joe and Joey were itching to make their annual trip to Pittsburgh.....

They did ask me if I wanted to go but this is Father and Son time that I did not want to intrude upon and it was also a "vacation" for me, giving me some much needed "alone" time....

Joey is a huge Horror movie fan which I have always attributed to me watching the movies Halloween 1 and 2 and The Shining and Friday, the 13th when I was pregnant with him....

On a previous trip to Pittsburgh , they visited the Monroeville Mall, where George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, was filmed.....

The Living Dead Museum, which they have also visited before, was moved back into the Mall and is 
a themed attraction that akes fans through a visual history of zombies in cinema and pop-culture.
 
They have a nice Food Court , which is where they ate lunch on their way to Pittsburgh....


 
This is where they purchased their food from..

 
The following pictures are all from inside the Living Dead Museum!!


 
Night of the Living Dead still is an Iconic Horror movie and inspired the whole Walking Dead TV genre which Joey and I are huge fans of....

 
I remember the first time I watched this movie when I was in high school....I got sick to my stomach!!!








 
George Romero is a native of Pittsburgh....



Joey loved being able to visit here....

They stayed at the Cambria Inn, which is located right next to the PPG Arena and is the official Hotel of the Arena and Penguins....

There is our car to the right of the picture....


When staying here, all they have to do is go through that door in the parking structure ( looking down from their Suite) and that leads to an elevator that takes you right into the Arena......

 
The following day , before the Game, they had planned on going to the National Aviary but it closed as one of their eagles had escaped!!!!
 
So they decided to go back to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium which they visited a few years back,,,,,
 
Joe said this was the longest escalator that he ever rode on to get into the Zoo!!

 
The Zoo was sporting an Asian Lantern Festival and there were huge "Lanterns" all over the Zoo....
 
These are pictures of some of them.....




 
Debbee, over at Debbee's Buzz, also did a post on the Zoo featuring the Lanterns lit at night which looks spectacular!!

Click HERE if you would like to see Debbee's post!!
 
 
The following are all pictures Joe took at the Zoo......
 
 


























 
These were taken at the Aquarium......


 
Penguins!






 
And there is Joey petting a sting ray!!




 
They had a great time at the Game that evening.....




 



They had planned to stop once again at the National Flight 93 Memorial to see the Tower of Voices 
which was not built the first time they visited the Memorial but it was pouring rain and very foggy so they tabled it for this year and hope to visit there next year.....
 
God willing.....
 
On Wednesday, I will be sharing some Christmas Buys over on my Christmas Blog, A Debbie- Dabble Christmas 




 Remember to Live Life to the Fullest....


 I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


I am linking up to these parties:
 

 

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

21 comments:

  1. Debbie, I love all of your finds and the dumpster dive find is perfect!
    And the new rug! Your floors look like they are in amazing shape!
    I am so happy you got to see your dear friend. Social connections are important! xo laura in Colorado

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Debbie,
    I am so very sorry to read of your dear friend's passing. My heart breaks for you as learned the sad news, and miss her in the days ahead.
    But how nice you (and Little Faye!) had a wonderful visit with Anne Marie. You both have a treasure in each other.
    The pictures of Joe and Joey's trip were fun to see.
    May God surround you with His love and strength in the coming weeks.
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda,
      Thanks so much for stopping by!! I can not beleive my friend is gone....
      It was so good being able to see Anne Marie....something we need to plan to do more often!!
      Have a great weekend!!
      Hugs,
      Deb

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  3. So sorry to read of the death of your friend Debby. Lots of positive thoughts and vibes being sent your way and to her family. I'm taking a short hiatus from my website, got to sort out some issues with the site certificate and SSL.

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  4. I am sorry for your loss. Great pictures. Blessings.

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  5. I am so sorry for the loss of your friend and neighbor. I am very close to three of my neighbors who are all very close to my age. What devastating news. It sounds like she was an industrious and busy woman, especially while running her own business. I am sure the neighborhood is just shocked by this tragedy. (hugs).

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  6. Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your friend, I completely understand your sorrow.
    I love that candy corn tree! Joe’s photos were just great. Im looking forward to seeing you over at your Christmas blog.
    Blessings to you and yours, V

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    Replies
    1. V,
      Thanks so much for your condolences....I keep going to pick up the phone to call her....I started posting on my Christmas blog...There will be links to each post provided here on my regular blog...Thanks for visiting!! have a great weekend!
      Hugs,
      Deb

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  7. I am truly so sorry to hear about your friend Debby's passing. She was not that old. What a great loss. I'm glad you finally got to spend some time with your friend Anne Marie though. I love "night of the living dead" we watched it many times growing up. We also watched "children shouldn't play with dead things" I adore that candy corn tree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your condolences...I too am thrilled that I got to spend some time with Anne Marie and we promise to get together more often....Thanks so much for stopping by!! I really appreciate it!I hope you have a great weekend!!!
      Hugs,
      Debbie

      Delete
  8. Debbie - I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend Debby. It is so true that we really never know when our time is up here on Earth and to Thank God for each day. My deepest condolences to you and Debby's family.
    Joe and Joey's trip looks like a great time and it is nice that they have this Father/Son tradition.
    I can't wait to see what you have on your Christmas blog starting Wednesday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lynda,
      Thanks so much for your kind words...I still can not believe that she is gone...Thanks so much for stopping by again!!
      Hugs,
      Debbie

      Delete
  9. Hi Debbie, I am so very sorry to hear of your friend passing,I will pray for her to rest peacefully, as myself and all readers we love your blog, especially the holidays so I thankyou for all the inspiration over the years. It's great your husband shops, he got a turkey which is good, does he also cook I'm wondering. Love seeing the photos of the trip, Joey for sure is lucky to have such great parents as you and Joe. Looking forward to Christmas with Debbie Dabble
    Lisa @Sweet Tea N' Salty Air

    ReplyDelete
  10. Joe's trip looked terrific and so much fun. I'm glad he had a terrific time.

    But I was deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Debby. She sounds like a wonderful friend and I believe that losing a dear friend can sometimes be more difficult emotionally than even a far-away or more out of touch family member. What a hole she will leave in your life.

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  11. I am sorry about your friend. It is hard when you loose a good friend. I had to befriend my mother's friend. It was difficult but she really needed someone.

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  12. I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. Looks like your husband and son had a great trip. Our family went to our local zoo last month for their lantern festival too; it was so neat!

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  13. I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend, Debbie. What a shock that must have been. I enjoyed all of your tidbits of life. The ceramic tree is so cute. We had the lantern festival here in St. Louis, several years ago, and it was amazing.

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  14. Sending lots of love your way Debbie, and we'll totally understand if you take some time off to adjust. Take care and thanks!

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  15. So sorry for the loss of your friend Debbie. Happy though to see a happy visit to my home town. We love our zoo and enjoyed a romantic evening visit for the light festival that I shared on the blog. And, those penguins always bring our adult sons home for playoff games. We are planning to celebrate youngest son's Christmastime birthday with a family night at the arena. Sending you big hugs!

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  16. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your neighbor. That is way too young! Looks like Joe had a great time in Pittsburg. As for the ceramic Christmas tree, I use to work at JoAnn's Fabric and Craft and every Christmas people would come in asking for replacement bulbs for those trees. I never had any, but it made me think "Geez, they must be popular".

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  17. Debbie, so sorry for the loss of your neighbor. :( Thanks for sharing Joe's trip highlights at Vintage Charm!

    ReplyDelete

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