AND OUR WINNER IS................

CONGRATULATIONS

ANNE NEVIN

As soon as MC and I realized that our winner was LOCAL.......We had to make it special.
And so.............

THE PRIZE PATROL
PRESENTED ANNE WITH HER WINNINGS

What fun and what a surprise that we had our WINNER so quickly........this is a FIRST!!!!

Now..............onward to 20,000...........WHO WILL BE OUR NEXT WINNER???

WE HAVE A WINNER

YES, A WINNER.......WE ARE OVER 15,000....

RECORD TIME.

WILL POST MORE LATER.......STAY TUNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AL GONZALEZ

WE HAVE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR ON OUR STREET..............



A few weeks ago, I learned that our neighbor, Al Gonzalez, was in the midst of having his first book published. Not only was I surprised, but I was taken back by the content!!! Al has accomplished miracles in his life!! This book reveals how he did it ....AND.... how everyone can..................

A MUST READ...

WHO WANTS to be SOMEBODY?

He has four book signings in the next few weeks......one here at Sun City Peachtree. I definitely plan on attending that......I want my "SIGNED" copy....SIGNED in PERSON!!!!

To read more about Al and his unbelievable success, here is a link to his Publisher.

www.southpointepublications.com

I have two pictures to share .....until that upcoming Book Signing at Sun City Peachtree. One is Al standing in front of the delivery of 2500 books. The second, is Al signing the first orders. He has sold over 100 the first week the book has been out!!!!!




CAN'T WAIT FOR SUN CITY PEACHTREE'S BOOK SIGNING.......

A very interesting week. Apparently ......the Talent Posts have created a lot of interest. That is GREAT......

It appears we are very close to having a WINNER of our 15,000 POST.

THE EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING......

RUSS.....ADDITIONS....

THESE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST........ON PAR WITH THE FIRESCREEN!!!!!!

Definitely worth the day's wait. Judy and Clay Davis are the PROUD owners of two of Russ' best pieces.
The Flag with the Eagle was in the Silent Auction at the Holiday Tour of Homes. The Davis' bid put it in their gorgeous home!

ENJOY...........





I am hoping to have a surprise Talent for tomorrow......
Look for the Bucket List Update email......

RUSS KELDORPH

WOW....HE IS GOOD!!!!!

Russ is someone you must meet.....He is one of our dearest friends. He would do ANYTHING to help you, has a heart of gold......and I'm not even going to try and explain his fabulous sense of humor!!! Those who know him, know what I'm talking about!! He is one of the WALKING TRIO. The three crazy people that walk the 6 miles of this community at 6:15 AM every Tuesday and Thursday...weather permitting.

Well..... with all that going for him, he also is very, very talented. He does the most beautiful Stained Glass work I've ever seen. His ART is displayed in many of our homes, since he is very generous and gives most of his talent away as gifts to friends and family. His work is also displayed Internationally!!!! An adorable clown with colorful balloons is hanging in a window...(Isabelle's) in Seoul, Korea! The Sun City Logo he did will soon be hanging at the Sales Center here in Sun City Peachtree!!! and some of his works have been donated to raise money for charity........

A GEM !!!!

Now, please enjoy his TALENT.............

SUN CITY LOGO

THE BIG APPLE

GREEN FROG

OWL

FIREPLACE SCREEN

ANGEL

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

RELAY FOR LIFE (GLASS IS PURPLE)

What did I tell you.......there are a few more pieces that I hope to be able to post later this week......

CONTEST DATES BY THE MONTH

MARCH

ANNE NEVIN....................................MARCH 31

APRIL

CARLA DELGIORNO........................APRIL 6

ERICA DOUGHERTY.......................APRIL 16
PAT WIHNYK..................................APRIL 23
PATTI MCDONALD..........................APRIL 30

MAY

CARLON BRIDGES...................................MAY 11
BOBBY WIHNYK......................................MAY 14
LINDA WILEY............................................MAY 15
HELEN MILLER.........................................MAY 17
CAROL WHELLER.....................................MAY 18
CLAIRE WIHNYK......................................MAY 23
ALLISON AND ROGER STONE ................May 24

JUNE

MAGGIE MCDONALD.......................JUNE 1
MARY KATE WIHNYK.....................JUNE 5
JAN GONZALEZ...............................JUNE 6
HENRY WIHNYK............................JUNE 7
BARRY MILLER..............................JUNE 10
BOBBY DELGIORNO....................... JUNE12
JIM MERCURIO..............................JUNE 18
ROXANNE BRIDGES.......................JUNE 22

JULY

SUE WIHNYK..................................JULY 1

ROBERT DELGIORNO.....OUR SON...." BOBBY"

TALENT- TALENT......EVERYWHERE.....

Bobby, our son, is very much his Dad! Bobby's life has followed MC's more than one would imagine! Career wise, yes, but also in hobbies and interests.

For a number of years, Bobby was spending a lot of his spare time making models. I never knew the extent of his talent until recently.

1970 OLDS CUTLASS

On our 50th Wedding Anniversary he made a model of the car our family traveled in all over the country...........rarely for vacations .......mostly, to move from one Air Force Base to another. From Tacoma to Florida, and many other places in between, we "motored" in our 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Mom and Dad in the front and the three "Angels" and our Miniature Poodle, Sam, in the rear. These adorable "Angels" remember the voyages somewhat differently than we do!!!! They love to relate "stories", that while cruising at 70+ miles an hour on Interstate Highways, we never opened the windows because we didn't want the other cars and their riders to know we didn't have air conditioning!!!! In reality, if one thinks about it, we didn't open the windows to prevent them and their "toys" from blowing out of those windows!!!! The one truth we will admit to, apologize for, and regret...........is that Mom and Dad did smoke during these migrations. Remember, it was in the 1970's and smoking was considered OK!!!!! Enough said!

Getting back on track.....Bobby has sent me pictures of his collection of models. I am amazed at the detail of each piece! This is one talent I would never have the patience for. Again, he takes after MC in that department!!!!

A WORK IN PROGRESS..USAF A-1J SKYRAIDER ("SANDY") VIET NAM

USAF F-105G THUNDERCHIEF ("THUD") VIET NAM

CAMIONETTA SAHARINA..WW II ITALIAN SCOUT VEHICLE

WW II GERMAN ASSAULT GUN

WW II GERMAN STUKA JU-87 DIVE BOMBER

Thanks, Bobby, for sending me these pictures......You do amaze me!!!

PS...THE LONG AWAITED ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Yes, we are in CONTEST mode once more.....We have exceeded 14,000 hits !!! My old readers know what that means, but for you new followers, let me explain. When we get close to a milestone in the number of hits, I run a contest to see who can guess the DATE we will reach this number. AND...........as is known......there is a HUGE PRIZE for the winner!!!
The prize has become something everyone strives to win.......A CHECK FOR $25 ...BUT.....even more valuable.......IT'S SIGNED BY ME!!!!

So everyone send me your guess. Just click on the email notice of this blog the date you think we will reach 15,000 hits!!!!

You can keep track of the "hit" numbers yourselves by scrolling to the bottom of the Blog Post. The number at the very bottom is the number of "hits" the blog has received.

The first one to choose a date gets that date. In other words, only one person per date! I will keep a running list of the contestants and the dates they have chosen.

CUT OFF TO ENTER IS APRIL 1, 2011

GOOD LUCK.... AND
LET THE FUN BEGIN...

ROBERT WIHNYK.....MY BROTHER "BOBBY"

YES............. ANOTHER TALENTED MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY...........

Bobby, has had a love affair with the camera since the early 1980's..... possibly even earlier! His company, Focus Media, which produced Educational Film Strips for school districts all over the world, was formed from a shopping trip he took to buy a simple camera!


Bobby was also the "Family" photographer for many of our family events! Thanks to him, we have beautiful wedding pictures from our Daughter, Patti and Mark's wedding, and our Son, Bobby and Carla's wedding.


Focus Media no longer exists, but his talent and love for the "camera" never went away. He started experimenting with his computer and has done fabulous photographic .... ART. He takes pictures.... "plays" with Photoshop on the computer....and creates WONDERS! Bobby has a great eye and sees things no one else could imagine!!! His success has been so great that his art was featured at an Art Show at the Town Center in Pelican Preserve, Ft. Myers, Florida!

ONE OF MY FAVORITES

A RAIL CAR IN AUCHWITZ, POLAND...NOT PHOTOSHOPPED

(TAKEN WHILE IN POLAND IN
WITH BROTHER HAPPY)

SEASHELLS

THIS WAS INSPIRED BY A PRINT WE HAVE HAD FOR YEARS.
BOBBY MERGED THE TWO PHOTOS SHOWN AT THE TOP TO PRODUCE THIS.

BOBBY'S DISPLAY AT THE

PELICAN PRESERVE'S ART SHOW

Thank you Bobby for sharing your work........

TOMORROW.......ANOTHER "BOBBY" WILL BE FEATURED !!!

AND

A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT................................

THE CRACKED POT

THIS STORY RELATES TO WHAT TALENTS WE ALL POSSESS


An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full..
For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water..
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'
The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

RISA MUSER

THIS GAL IS TALENTED......

The second you enter Risa and Ed's home, you know you have stepped into a very special place! Her talent is everywhere, totally taking you in!! Risa's beautiful world is created in ...... Purple and Pink..... ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!

This mirror weighs hundreds of pounds.....Was installed by a very strong crew! It was custom made for Risa for her Atlanta home.


Soaring above the 15 + foot foyer is this fabulous glass chandelier. Our camera was unable to show the actually beauty!

Continuing into their home, you are in the Dining Room. This past week, Ed hung this marvelous work of art. A Chandelier to TOP ALL CHANDELIERS!!!
It has 350 individual crystals hanging on wire from the ceiling. Ed hung each and every one of them.......one at a time. The camera again, doesn't do it justice. Each crystal is actually PINK!!!!




Risa is a very talented artist and does fantastic photography! One room in their home is dedicated to these works. Risa is inspired by the famous artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. She interprets the artist's work in a beautiful way.


Risa's photography has been primarily taken during her travels all over the world.....Spain, Israel, and Paris are some of the places she has captured in wonderful photos!!!

RISA AT HER DESK IN HER OFFICE

The talent doesn't stop here, their bedroom is a Romantic setting to beat all.....who says this is a Senior Community!!!!!


The Kitchen wasn't left out......They had this area rug made especially for the space!



I'M NOT FINISHED........................

There's more......we have only seen the first floor. They have a fully finished walk-out basement!!!!

RISA'S STUDIO

Ed has his special space that captures his personality to a TEE!





Ed refers to this area as his GRAND HALL......He is collecting photos and will have it filled soon.. There is a great shot of him Freezing in Dallas at this year's Super Bowl!!

and................when he wants to escape for a nap..............

After the picture taking was finished Risa and Ed served us wonderful drinks and snacks.


To really appreciate Risa and Ed's home you must see it in person.....
And............the lucky ones that live here will have the opportunity to do so. Their home will be on this year's Sun City Peachtree's Holiday Tour of Homes.

DON'T MISS IT.....YOU ARE IN FOR THE TREAT OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!!

PS.....I'm dressed in purple today!!!!

Henry Wihnyk.....MY BABY BROTHER

Oh What An Actor!!!

Happy, Henry, has been acting in the Gainesville Community Playhouse for a number of years.. Some of the productions I have seen him in have been My Fair Lady, 45 Seconds From Broadway, Shakesphare in Hollywood and the funniest of all Funny Money!!!






What a great show. I have never laughed so much in my life.
As an interesting side note. Since that show, last May, Happy has lost around 75+ pounds......He looks fantastic. Hope he does another show soon. It would be fun to see the New Man!!!!!

He has received a number of "Apples". That's the Oscar for the Theater Group! He is fabulous.........................