DEBBIE-DABBLE BLOG: A Farewell Dinner, 2026

I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was 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 so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love 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!!!!!!

Saturday, June 6, 2026

A Farewell Dinner, 2026

Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!

I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

Blogging has always been a stress reliever for me along with an avenue to share my passions which are my home and my garden.....

I feel it is a personal Journal that, hopefully, someday, my Twin Granddaughters will be able to look back on to learn about who I was....

I will be posting 3 times a week on MONDAYS, THURSDAYS and SATURDAYS....

As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....

PINTEREST

If you would like to Pin my pictures, please click on them to enlarge them to do so....

A NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS

I enjoy reading your comments and will return the favor by visiting and commenting on your blog or reply to you directly here if you do not have a blog but I do have my comment section set to Moderation due to spammers and hackers so your comment will not appear immediately...

And since I have a very busy life, like most of us do, it may take me awhile to return your comments but I promise I will....

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In my last post, I shared how I decorated my Dining Room Hutch using vintage Moss Rose China for the Summer....

Click HERE if you missed that post!!

And now for a few Personal Notes...

For the New Year, I am trying something different with my 3 times weekly posts....

On THURSDAYS, I will feature what I cooked and ate during the week, showcasing local cuisine and a few recipes for things that I actually made...

I decided that on SATURDAYS, I will showcase What I Have Been Up To in the past week, sharing events and places I went to, if any....

On MONDAYS, I will be featuring What I Have Bought or Been Gifted Recently, if anything...

I lost power from 3:45 am til 6 pm on Friday and my internet and cable did not come back on until this morning....

I had not even started today's post when this happened so I put together this post quickly this morning....

Since it is SATURDAY, I am sharing what I had been up to last week...

Last week was a busy week with my family Memorial Day Dinner on Tuesday, my great niece's college graduation on Thursday,,,

And then the Farewell Dinner for my parish, Saint Maria Goretti's, priest , Father Alex....

I helped plan the event and picked the colors of deep red and gold as they are the colors used in our parish's Insignia for Saint Maria Goretti, as you can see on the mug I received as a Christmas gift from Father.......

Since we were given only a 4 week notice that Father was being transferred and would be serving as

Rector of the newly formed Saint Pius X Propaedeutic House of Formation in Scranton for new Seminarians and would continue as Diocesan Secretary for Clergy Formation and Director of Seminarians, we had to work fast....

I made up 2 simple centerpieces for the dessert and buffet tables.....

Michele, director of Religious Education, part time parish secretary, fellow Community Group member and my friend, took care of the catering , which was done by Anthracite Cafe, the same restaurant, which is owned by a parishioner, that we use to cater the Senior Social Club events...

She also ordered deep red and gold tablecloths in our Parish colors....

And more of the little vases and flowers we use for other occasions.....

Joanne, Jeff, Jonathon, Danny, Michele and I decorated and set up the Parish Center on Saturday morning....

I ordered this set of decorations, in red and gold, from Amazon.....

We decided to just decorate the bar area.....

2 different kinds of beer was served at the cash bar....

Along with white and red wine....

When you walked in from the church, after checking in with either Michele or myself, we had set up a table with these 2 boxes that I made on it....

There was no charge for the event but we were accepting donations to help offset the cost....

And the Gift box was for Father Alex as many brought cards and some brought gifts.....

Some of the children made him cards....

I also thought a poster board where people could write well wishes on would be a good idea...

It was a big hit!!

When you walked into the parish center, we had this board that the CCD students made for Father Alex on display to the left....

Michele had made up a slide show presentation using pictures of Father Alex over the last 4 1/2 years that he was with us....

To the right was the dessert table......

Michele ordered 2 of these cakes from Price Chopper.....

Auguri means Good Luck and Best Wishes in Italian, that Father is fluent in having studied for 2 years in Italy....

I placed a table decoration that came in that set from Amazon in front of the vase....

I ordered a cookie tray from Sam's Club and we also served both green and red grapes....

Over across the hall, 2 buffet tables were set up....

This table decoration was on the table....

Since Father Alex is a Vegan, all his favorite dishes were honored...

Red pizza squares

White pizza squares

White pizza squares with broccolli

Eggplant parm

Penne pasta with vodka sauce

A fried veggie medley

I apologize that I did not get to take any pictures of the food as we were at full capacity and even had to turn a few people away because of Fire Codes!!!

270 in attendance!!

And finally, the Man of the Hour!!!

That is Michele to the left of the screen....

It was a wonderful evening and I think Father was very pleased with it all....

Even though our parish is heart broken, his new assignment is truly where he needs to be as in the 6 years since he has been Vocation Director for the Diocese of Scranton, he has brought in 18 Seminarians, which is more than we have had in 4 decades!!

I will never forget everything that he did for us when my husband Joe became ill and passed away...

He was a huge comfort and support to my family but most of all, he was a good friend to me.....

March Family Breakfast , 2024

Dressed as a "Ceiling Fan" for 2024's Trunk N Treat....

Cash Bingo, 2025

Fall Festival, 2025

Dressed as Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park ( one of his favorite movies) 2025's Trunk N Treat...

Easter Egg Hunt, 2026

I said my Good Byes to him on Sunday morning after 9 am Mass....

His last Mass was the 11 am one which was the Baccalaureate Mass for Graduating Seniors....

After which he rode off on his motorcycle to his new assignment....

I wish him the BEST this world has to offer....

Yes, it was very emotional, I kid you not, because I feel that I am losing yet another person in my life....

But that blow has been softened....

Yesterday, I went to morning Mass and had the pleasure of meeting our new pastor, Father Michael, who is 36 years old and has this sweet dog....

I am looking forward to meeting his dog....

Father Michael is coming to us with stellar reviews and my friends that have met him and spent a bit of time with him this first week, really like him.....

They say the only constant in life is change and I think this one will work out just fine.....

I hope you will stop by to visit again on MONDAY for my next post....

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

And try to find JOY in every single day!

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......