Throwback Thursday - Friends

This is a picture of my grandmother, Lucy (center), and some of her best friends.  She had two other good friends that I can think of that are not in this picture.  It was taken at a wedding and maybe those two didn't attend.

In her later years Nan would often ask, "Why am I still here; all of my friends are gone."  I used to say to her, "But you still have your family."  I never understood her feelings at the time, but I am starting to.  When you are young, you take your friends for granted.  You assume that they will always be there.

This is a picture of most our friends that we get together with regularly.

(This picture was taken on Valentine's Day 1993)

So far, we have lost two in our group.  

I'm starting to realize how my grandmother felt. Your family is the most important, of course.  But there is something about friends that are your age, have known you forever, and have lived through the times that you have lived through.  

In the picture of my grandmother and her friends, they were all widows.  I can only imagine how important your friends become when you have lost either your husband or wife.  It's amazing to me how many things that I remember my Aunt Dot and my grandmother saying that, at the time, I thought were ridiculous.  They make total sense to me now.

Happy Birthday Paul!

This is a picture of Paul (right) and his good friend Ralph Lathrop.  It was taken at our church, Bethany, on December 6th, 2015.  When I saw them standing in the foyer together looking like twins with their bald heads and gray goatees, lol, I just had to take their picture.

This was Ralph's first time in church since his stroke in the beginning of November, 2015.  He went to Brigham and Women's in Boston and then to rehab.

These are the scrapbook pages that I made of this time.

Ralph had been diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2012, and had been doing really well until this stroke three years later.

A few days after he got home from rehab, Ralph's brother flew up from Florida and drove Ralph and Linda down to their condo in South Carolina where they have been spending the winters for quite a few years.

He has had his ups and downs health wise but had been holding his own until this Saturday, May 6th when he had a massive aneurysm and was placed on a breathing tube until his sons could get there on Sunday, May 7th.

What has all this got to do with Paul's birthday?

Unfortunately, the day Ralph passed away was the day before Paul's birthday and the day we had his birthday party with the family.  We all tried to be upbeat for his party but there was an underlying sadness.  I'm sure, every birthday for Paul from now on, he will remember his friend Ralph.  Maybe that's not a bad thing.  Rest in peace Ralph.  The Radtkes love you!

Throwback Thursday - Saturday night dinner with friends

Another table picture! This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.  The year was 1972, probably in June.  I would have been 7 months pregnant with Kristen.

We were having dinner with our good friends, Danny and Joanie at our (second) apartment in Belden Ct in Agawam.  I would love to know what we had for dinner.  I see hot dog rolls, so probably hot dogs and beans, or maybe macaroni and cheese.  That is the bowl I used for macaroni (Kraft out of the box).  I was pretty good at that by that time (we would have been married for almost 2 years), ha ha!

The funny thing, though, was the fact that Joanie and I were in CURLERS!  I know it was Saturday night and the curlers were for church the next day.

I can't imagine going to friends' house in curlers now.  I can't even imagine using curlers now.

Times sure have changed!

Dot and her friend Jane

This is a picture of Dot and her friend Jane in the 1960's.  I think they were at Storrowton at a friend's wedding.  Friends are important to all of us but now, sadly, most of her friends are gone.

Throwback Thursday - Remembering Billy Pentz

Last week our church family lost one of its long time members and a personal friend of ours, Billy Pentz.

This picture of Billy (bottom left) was taken with his family in the 1950's.  Happier days.  

His family was close friends of Paul's family.  Paul's parents knew them from church in Quincy, MA before either family moved to this area.  

His death was unexpected, only being in his 60's.  A reminder to never take anyone for granted.

Happier Days....

Our friend, Bill Pentz, passed away unexpectedly a few days ago.  Paul and I have known him forever.  Last May, we went on a double-date with Bill and my friend Pat.  There was a budding relationship there and I thought we would have a lot more time to watch it bloom.  It reminds me, again, to never take people for granted.  We'll miss you Bill.

Throwback (Monday) - Linda and Ralph

Linda and Ralph Christmas Day 1991

Today we met some friends at Krazy Jake's for lunch to visit with Linda and Ralph who are back home from South Carolina for a week or two. 

While looking at pictures later, I saw this picture of Linda and Ralph at my house on Christmas Day 1991.  The first thought that went through my head was, "I wonder if Linda can still sit like that in a hard wooden chair."  I'm sure I couldn't.

Wow, time marches on while you're not even paying attention.

Throwback Thursday - Happy Birthday Chris

Chris and Deb, 1990

My friend Chris's 65th birthday is this month.  Her daughter sent out a Facebook message saying that she and her sister wanted to make a scrapbook for their mom's birthday and asked if anyone would like to write a well-wish, memory, photo, etc. to contribute to it.

I sent this picture and wrote the following:

Chris,


Here we are, you and I, sitting at your little white metal kitchen table having coffee. How many hours do you think we sat there, solving all of the problems in the youth group? I loved sitting at that little table. Thanks for being such a big part of my life at that time, and also for so many of our church kids. You had a way of being a role model without them really knowing it. They just thought of you as a friend they could talk to. Nothing really rattled you and they knew it, and that is why they could talk to you about things they would never talk to their parents about.

You were then, and continue to be, one of my favorite people!

Debbie Radtke

Happy Birthday Chris!  I hope you enjoy your 65th birthday scrapbook.

Throwback Thursday - Kristen and her friends singing

A few days ago Marley was humming in the car.  After a little while she asked me if I could hear her humming.  I said yes.  She asked me if it was bothering me.  I said no, that I liked to hear her hum.

It reminded me of another time in the car, many years ago. 

To back track just a little.  The picture below is of three of Kristen's friends in Junior High.  The date on the back of the picture is 7/1985 so they were all about 13 or so.


Jennifer, CT, and Lisa

 
Lisa had gone to the same elementary school as Kristen; and she met Jennifer and CT probably in middle school (6th/7th grade).  They were all in the band together.  For a while, CT and Lisa used to come to Wednesday night girls' club with Kristen.  The girls were sitting in the back seat singing, and Mark was sitting in the front with me, either going or coming from Wednesday night church.  Mark looked at me and said, "Mom, make them STOP SINGING."  I remember saying, "The day I outlaw singing around here will be a pretty sad day."

Just a funny little memory that came into my head from a long time ago!

Labor Day Picnic

Today we went to a picnic at our friends', the Hildebrandts. We have been telling the kids about their back yard for years. Carl has built a Western town back there. It is so cute!

Kris, Toby, and Marley were away for the weekend at the camper in New Hampshire, but Mark, Janelle and Mason came to the picnic. Mason was a little shy at first, but eventually opened up and had a fun time playing with the kids.

Here are a few pictures of Carl's Western town!













Thanks, Carl and Gladys, for such a fun day!

Shrub removal and lobstahs!

What a busy day today was!

I have been after Paul for years now to take out our front shrubs. They are HUGE and even when he trims them, he can't get them small enough. They were put in when our house was built in 1973!

One day last week I said to Paul that I wanted to take out all of the front shrubs and plant hydrangeas. Imagine my total shock when he said, "I'll give Ritchie's Tree Service (a local guy) a call and see if he can do it." Ritchie came last Tuesday to see what needed to be done and said that he could probably squeeze us in on Sunday.

They arrived at 8:30 a.m. and got right to it.







I think they had most of the shrubs out by 9:30. It was funny to watch the neighhbors walking by that early in the morning. It was a big event seeing that the Radtkes don't change things much!

Then they had to grind up the roots.



Paul also wanted them to take down a whole lot of vines and a small tree in the back corner of our yard.





They are also trimming the hemlocks.



In the midst of all that excitement, we left to go to Woburn at about 11:00. Stacia was having her yearly BBQ and lobster fest. What a fun time we had there.

We basically ate all day. We had four courses....first appetizers; then Stacia had two main servings trying to accomodate all the different likes and dislikes of hamburgs and hotdogs: then steak tips, Spanish rice, and lobsters; and finally dessert!







In between eating the different course, the kids and men played sports and we all played corn hole.







But....by far the funniest thing that we did was the group picture. Paul set the timer on the camera and had 10 seconds to....run down off the deck, across the yard, and into position for the picture. I think we had only two tries, but as you can see, it made for a good picture because all of us were laughing....except Paul, who was huffing and puffing!



What a busy, fun day.

P.S. Paul has since had Kristen change the timer default to 20 seconds - we all want him to live the next time we have a group picture!

P.P.S. Today marks 4 years of blogging. I started August 19, 2008.......and I STILL LOVE IT!

Last Day of VBS

Today was the last day of VBS. One of the other teachers that I used to work with asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with her and her granddaughter. Marley and I had given her cousin Zach a ride home every day so he came with us too. We were babysitting for Mason that afternoon and Paul picked him up and they also joined us there.

Tonight was the closing rally of VBS and I have to say that I was actually sad that it was over. I will really miss the kids in my crew. Yes, I'm tired but it's a good tired. I will definitely do it next year!

Valentine's Dinner

Tonight we had our annual Valentine's Dinner with friends. Sometimes we go out, but this year Carl and Gladys had it at their home. Carl (above) was the chef, cooking a wonderful prime rib!

We had a lot of fun, as usual. Thanks Carl and Gladys!

Crop at Janice's

Janice announced last month that she wanted to have two crops in February. They are usually on Saturday, but I suggested having one during the week since none of are working.

She made a nice brunch for the four of us. I love scrapbooking and I love having crops at Janice's. Thanks Janice!!!

Tom....

"The world lost a superhero today." This was what Tom's son posted on Facebook on the day of his Dad's death.

Tom was only 61. He had been battling cancer for a little over a year.

The thing that I remember most about Tom was his big smile; he always had a big smile.

This picture is of (l to r) Mark, Andy, and Tom's son Jason in the summer of 1991.



This picture is of Kristen and Toby's wedding in 1995. Tom's daughter Heather (second from left) was in their wedding.



We went to Tom's wake tonight. Some things are hard to understand. All I know is that we have to trust that God has our lives in his hands.

Dave's 70th birthday party

Today Paul went to a 70th birthday party for a good friend of ours. I wasn't able to go because I had a scrapbooking crop that had been planned for a couple of months. These guys have been friends for a long time. Happy birthday Dave!

P.S. I must have Paul trained pretty well. He knew I would want a picture, so he had one of the wives take it for me!

Dinner with Chris and Joel Oberfield

Tonight we were all invited to have dinner at Chris and Joel's house in Pittsfield.

Chris moved to Springfield in the summer of 1970. She came to help out in the Music Department of Bethany. She knew Pastor Berkey from Pennsylvania; she was from Coraopolis, and he was from Johnston. We became close friends during the late '80’s when Kristen and Mark were teenagers. Her house was always open to the kids from our youth group, and she and I spent many hours around her kitchen table.

Chris has since remarried and moved to Pittsfield. Kristen e-mailed her to get her address so she could send her a Christmas card, and Chris said she would only give it to her if we would all promise to come to her house for dinner.

So tonight Paul, me, Kris, Toby, Marley, Mark and Mason (Janelle had to work) went to her house and we met Joel for the first time. They have been married for five years. I have seen Chris a few times when she has come down to Bethany for one reason or another, but it has been a long time since we have all gotten together.

We had a great time. Chris is a wonderful Italian cook and she made manicotti with meatballs and sausage which was delicious. We all really liked Joel; they are just perfect for each other. It was nice to sit around her table and talk like old times.



Look at these cookies she made over the holidays!



One of my New Year's resolutions is to not let so much time go by again. Life gets so busy, but I want to try to remember that friends are important and we have no guarantees that they will always be around.

Lunch at Noble

Leslee had a checkup at Noble today so we (Leslee, me, Liz and Janice) decided to meet Dora and Barb for lunch today. I really miss the daily interaction with these girls. The above picture was taken of our department Christmas party in 2005.

Janice retired in 2006. This picture here is at her party.



Memories of a better time at Noble Hospital.

Facebook Phobia Class

FACE YOUR FACEBOOK PHOBIA
Monday, November 28, 2:30-4 p.m.
Baystate Health Education Center
361 Whitney Avenue, Holyoke
Your kids and grandkids are on it. Your friends are
using it to connect with friends and family around the
globe. Are you missing out? You might be. Join Jay Lord,
eHealth analyst, Baystate Health, for a discussion and
demonstration about Facebook, the popular social
media website. You’ll learn how easy it is to stay connected
and protected, including do’s and don’ts, special
features, and how to “friend.” Many of your favorite
places, like Baystate Health and Health New England,
even have their own Facebook pages, offering you
another way to connect and possibly enhance your
health care knowledge. Refreshments served. To register:
1-800-377-4325. FREE!

When my friend Leslee from work first told me she was going to this I laughed out loud. Facebook Phobia Class. Well, I decided to go with her and it was actually fun. Most of what was discussed I already knew, but you can always learn something. We told them afterward that they need to have a more advanced class too. I haven't been able to do anything like this in years. I'm beginning to like being "retired."

Leslee

Today I spent a good part of the day with my (ex)co-worker Leslee. She needed to have a little procedure done at Noble Hospital and I brought her. My other (ex)co-worker, Liz, met us there. While Leslee was being worked on, we had break with the girls that we have had break with for 14 years (!) and I also had lunch with my lunch buddies. It was bittersweet. It was good to see everyone, but also a bit sad. I have such mixed feelings. I actually like being home, but then again, I miss the people. I guess only time will help.