High Chair Give-A-Way

This morning I put our grandchildren's high chair up on Buy Nothing North Buffalo. That is the Facebook group for giving away unneeded items to people who need them. I've used this site several times and most recently to gift our old rocking chair to a young woman who could use it. Our grandchildren have all outgrown using the high chair.

So today I had several people respond to my post and selected a young family who wanted the high chair for their parents. Well, this has been a grandparent's high chair. On my post I stated... To Give: High Chair. Ten years of occasional use for out of town grandchildren. Folds us and stores nicely. Removable washable seat cover.

It was picked up this evening and now it's gone. Reclaimed some space in a closet. 

Painting the Porch Again

Today I started painting the front porch again and it's another project. The blue paint from last Fall has been peeling away. It was just a quick temporary job back then and now it's time to do it right. So I started by scrapping off the old peeling paint and covered everything with a coat of primer. That's for both sides of the porch that had the wood replaced by Dietrich. Tomorrow I will put down another coat of primer in those two areas. It's going to rain on Friday and Saturday so I will wait until next week to put down the new Slate Grey replacement porch and deck paint. We need to get rid of that light blue which has really shown the dirt on the porch too much.

Joe's Obituary

Joe Berret's obituary was published today from the funeral home that is conducting his service. It included this photo of him. It has been very well written and tells his story. It's a shame he had such a long illness. We spent a lot of time together over the years and we all will miss him dearly.

Joseph C. Berret, of East Greenville, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2026, at the age of 78. Born in Lansdale he was the son of the late Charles and Marie (Strocko) Berret.

He graduated from Souderton High School and proudly served his country in the United States Navy. He then went on to build a fulfilling career as a supervisor at Hatfield Quality Meats, where he worked for many years before retiring. Even in retirement, Joe remained active, lending his time and skills at Haines & Kibblehouse and County Line Nursery in Harleysville.

Joe was passionate about the outdoors; an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, he served as a member and past president of Upper Perkiomen chapter of Trout Unlimited. His love for the outdoors extended to hunting for and collecting arrowheads and other Native American artifacts.

In addition to his outdoor pursuits, Joe was a classic car enthusiast. He took great pride in caring for his cherished 1967 Chevy Nova. He was also a devoted fan of Rock 'N' Roll music, with a vast collection of records and memorabilia. He co-hosted a weekly radio show at WDVR for many years, giving him an opportunity to play records from his collection. His creativity extended into carpentry as well; his hands were always busy with a project, as he never could sit still.

Joe held the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival close to his heart, volunteering many years backstage in the performer's hospitality tent, fostering his lifelong appreciation for music and community.

Most importantly Joe loved his family. He is survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Elizabeth (Emery) Berret; his daughter, Sara Berret and husband, Erik Bortz; his son, Christopher Berret and wife, Kimberly; grandchildren, AvaRue and Eliza Bortz and Courtney, Chase, Olivia and Nolan Berret; his brother, Daniel Berret and wife Mimi; and his sister, Ruth DeLoach. He is predeceased by a sister Mary Berret. He leaves behind cherished memories and an enduring legacy of love and kindness.

Glen Hansard RIP

Glen Hansard RIP. Kitchen Listening the past couple of days with some of this Irish musicians many albums in my collection. I was sorry to hear of his passing in a Dublin motorcycle accident the other day and have been playing his albums since. I'm looking forward to viewing a couple of his films again very soon... Once and The Commitments.

Rocking Chair - Buy Nothing

We put our old rocking chair on the Buy Nothing North Buffalo Facebook group. I posted it with the following comment... Wood rocking chair to give. In good condition but with one spindle with a crack that was glued and taped. Parkside porch pickup. 

Within a half hour I had someone interested in the chair. Then a little while later one of those interested persons came by after I contacted her on messenger and arranged the pick up. The chair was on the porch and I helped her get it into her car which took a little maneuvering to get it in there. She was very happy with the chair.

Garden Walk Pt. 1

Becky and I took our regular neighborhood walk this afternoon and took the opportunity to check out some of the gardens that are part of these weekend's Garden Walk. 

We were also very impressed with our neighbors garden behind their wood fence. It was spectacular.

Tomorrow we will be exploring some other parts of the city on the Garden Walk.

Dinner at Tappo

Last night we met Karen, Dave and Donna for dinner at Tappo Restaurant downtown. Our reservation was for 5:30. Since it was a Friday evening at rush hour we left our house a few minutes after 5 pm. The traffic was very crowded on the way downtown. We walked into the restaurant at exactly 5:30. The others were already sitting there waiting for us and had ordered wine. The waitress asked me and Becky what we wanted. She got an NA and I asked for a Tuscan style red wine. The waitress offered me a montepulciano house wine and said the bottle was a better deal... only $18. Dave decided he wanted the red instead of the bottle of white Donna and Karen insisted on so me and Dave split the bottle of red.

We were squeezed around a small table for five. It was actually a comfortable table for four. I felt a little out of place and seemingly closer to the people at the next table than to most of our table. Oh well, the food was good. Not great. We've had better meals at Tappo but lately they have not been up to past meals but this is where Dave and Donna wanted to take Karen. There are many other restaurants we would have gone for instead and especially on a Friday evening.

I had the chicken milanese which included a salad but it was almost all arugula because of the lettuce scare. The meal was OK but not great. I took a little of the chicken home in a box for some lunch. I also took home the bottle of red although there was only enough left for one glass. Becky had the shrimp risotto. Dave had the spaghetti meatball dinner and Donna also had the chicken milanese. Karen had a vegetarian dish. At the end of the dinner Karen grabbed the check for the table.

Overall we enjoyed the meal and the company. We were there for about an hour and a half. The restaurant was really crowded and more people were coming in all evening. 

When we were done then it was off to Hallwalls for the Member's Show reception.

Hallwalls Opening

After our dinner at Tappo tonight we went up the street a few blocks to check out the opening of the Hallwalls Member's Show where Becky had a piece on display along with probably hundreds more. We had to park a couple of blocks away and the gallery itself was massively crowded and hot too. It was very hard to see any of the artwork so we'll be going back again some other time to see the works on display. 

Dave and Donna brought Karen to the show but they only stayed a few minutes. They don't do the art scene anymore except for maybe a show Becky is in. Karen was really enjoying herself and moving about in the crowd trying to see the artwork. I talked with a lot of different people during our hour or so at the gallery. I especially enjoyed talking for a long time with Diane Bush's husband Steve Baskin whom I haven't seen in many years due to his struggles with Long Covid in Las Vegas.

Last Day... grandkids selfie

We had a great family time in the Adirondacks this past week and of course on our last night together I had to take my usual grandkids selfie pic.

Earlier in the week I did some selfies with Henry, Clara and Violet. Andrew and Autumn were with us toward the end of the week but I'll get some individual selfies with them next week when they are in Buffalo.

Kids Having Fun

Our five grandkids sure had a lot of fun together on our vacation in Long Lake. Their parents kept them busy all week and it was a little different this year in that there were no rain days that needed special indoor activities. But of course the kids did want their tablet times and Henry loves reading books. So they kept busy indoors too. The beach was a main attraction. Todd took the older kids on a mountain hike and Katie and Todd took their three kids on a canoe trip on Blue Mountain Lake. The kids insisted on going to the Adirondack Museum too even though we usually save that for a rain day.

The kids really liked being together doing things.