CELEBRATING CHANDLER

The Miller Family Christmas Blog (MFCB)

by Your MFCB Supporter, Jack Strap

CELEBRATING CHANDLER

CHANDLER (aka Big Furry) has been a happy, tail-wagging family member in Da Miller's households for the last 8+ years after we adopted him from the Golden Retriever Rescue in Reinholds PA http://www.dvgrr.org/ when he was estimated to be about 4 years old.  Thus he was on the upper end of a Golden's 10-12 years average life span when we really thought we were going to lose him after taking him to the Doggy Emergency Room on the the 4th of July.  He ended up getting surgery regarding which we were very concerned how he would recover.  But recover CHANDLER did in amazing fashion as he was pushing us to go for walks and with pep in his step the "big boy" was dictating the routes which were sometimes longer than we had planned for him.  Later he had fatty tumor that just continued to grow & grow & grow but he was such a Trooper despite the additional weight on his back-end.  Unfortunately the stress on his hind-legs caught up to him especially after he developed a bad sore on his foot.  We were literally having to carry him out to the backyard after which he would somehow-someway muster the strength to stay upright long enough to do his business.  This time the Vet told us there was really nothing he could do for CHANDLER and we made the gut-wrenching, teary decision to put him down on 12/21, so this MFCB is CELEBRATING CHANDLER & the eight great years he gave to our Family & all who came in contact with him (see pictorial tribute below).

OUR ZOO

It won't be the same without CHANDLER, but we still have his little brother Bradley (aka Wormy/Beany) the little cocker-spaniel/golden mix, as well as his sister cats Lola & Ellie in our OUR ZOO.  Lola is the elder and has taught Bradley to respect his elders, but she has lost weight recently and we're thinking of getting her a fit-bit for Christmas as she is constantly walking the household.  We are making a concerted effort to get her to eat more and she seemed more like herself the other day while doing her famous "Spider Cat" routine on the backdoor screen (reference picture below).

THE KIDS: BRITTY & ANDREW

Brittany (aka BRITTY) has been living on her own for awhile with her boyfriend Matt and this year they moved to an apartment in Lancaster near Park City Mall.  She really likes her Therapist job & the people she works with at Philhaven in Lancaster.  In addition this Summer she made extra income waitressing at The Waterfront Restaurant http://www.thewaterfrontlancaster.com/contact/ which Restaurant "Yelper" Jack Strap highly recommends for it's food, nice outdoor venue, and it's waitress service of course.  She also sings beautifully for the York Symphony Chorus.  Thankfully BRITTY still lives close enough to visit regularly.
 
ANDREW graduated early from Millersville with a Computer Science degree at the beginning of this year and has been working as an Applications Developer for Celerity.  He lives at home and is really an asset to the household, but to get used to the real world we still charge him a nominal rental fee.  ANDREW has his own entrance to the finished basement making it easy to regularly have friends over without them having to deal with THE ZOO (especially Barking Bradley).  He has also become a Walker like his Parents, a Creative Crafter like his Mom, as well as a Ballroom Dancer unlike both his Parents.

In addition BRITTY & ANDREW get along very well and share a love for all things Disney.  Relating to that and since they are Big KIDS now they went on a 3-nights Disney Cruise together and will be doing the same next month. 

We are very proud of how THE KIDS have turned out. 

KAREN & GLENN

KAREN is a whirling dervish of creative activity: a York Fair Blue Ribbon-winning Baker, crafting, painting custom signs (see below), knitting scarfs/gloves, rescuing furniture, gardening, etc. all while effectively caring for the Family & ZOO.  She is also a Sports Fan of The Bulldogs (i.e. Wilson & West York) Football/Basketball, Penn State Football (luvs J-Frank), and Villanova Basketball who we went to see play this year at the Wells Fargo Center, in the 1st 2 rounds of March Madness in Pittsburgh (great Floor Seats for 1st game vs. Lafayette), and upcoming a New Year's Eve Day game vs. undefeated Xavier at The Pavilion.  It should also be noted for the below VACATIONS/GET-AWAYS section that KAREN is our invaluable Master Planner.


GLENN is still working at GEA/FES, although the Parent Co.'s global transformation has really been changing things in recent months.  He got to (4) "We Are Penn State" games this year--(2) at home vs. San Diego State (with PSU Road Trip Crew) & Army (with BRITTY & Matt) plus (2) on the road vs. Temple at The Linc (with Reitzy, Diana & her boyfriend Sean who knows how to Tailgate) & Maryland in Baltimore (with KAREN & BRITTY).  GLENN was also very happy to be back playing 3P (i.e. Poletti Pool Party) Volleyball, as well as really Thanking Magnum Mike for opening up his secret indoor lair/basketball court (also Thank Swoop, Mighty, Diggetty Doug Bails, and Quick Mike for playing) so he could retire from HHI on the court rather than when previously being carried off the court with a ruptured Achilles.  This was a late night game after The Relay for Life for which our Lipper Memorial Team Poletti again raised a lot of money for the Fight Against Cancer.     

VACATION/GET-WAYS/EVENTS

As noted above KAREN is our Master Planner and she found a great house for our Miller Family Vacation to Marco Island and we took a side trip to Naples.  She also is a big Status/Photos Poster on Facebook which I'm now using to remember it all chronologically.  BRITTY & KAREN had great seats to see Dancing With The Stars at The Lyric Theatre in Baltimore on January 14.  KAREN & GLENN enjoyed The Pink Floyd Experience at The Pullo Center in York, PSU's Blue-White Game, The Temptations & Four Tops at The American Music Theatre (AMT) in Lancaster, Foghat & Steppenwolf at The York Fair, Get The Led (Zeppelin) Out at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, as well as a great concert by The Who (also Joan Jett) in Philly.  The Miller Family all saw Weird Al at the AMT.  KAREN, BRITTY, and GLENN went on a Beaver Stadium Tour.  KAREN & BRITTY reunited with The Kerns for a Fun Night and KAREN also had a longer ago reunion with her high school friends.  KAREN & GLENN went on a GET-AWAY to Boston including a stadium tour & seeing a game at historic Fenway Park, as well as a bus tour of the city followed by a crazy car ride home after our flight was cancelled.

G & K's 30th Anniversary GET-AWAY deserves it's own paragraph.  With KAREN's planning the FL Trip (Highlights noted) included Fort Lauderdale (waterway dinner with Connor Magnum & his Marist Football Buddy and drive-by sighting of Nancy Clark-Stock after Facebook notification), Miami Beach (Duck Tour), Cape Coral (Blue Oyster Cult concert with Craig & Justi), and Tampa Bay (Bucs beat hated Cowboys).

THE BIG FINISH

So for THE BIG FINISH one last shout up to Heaven to CHANDLER who has joined his predecessor--our beloved Comet & equally loved Mindy the Cat who lived 20 years to 97 in Cat Years.  That just leaves Wishing All of You a Very-Merry Christmas & a Happy New 2016 Year!  And now to the Pictures.

Chandler gets ice cream cone after getting his surgery stitches out
Chandler Shopping at PetCo
Chandler Photo-Bombs our pre-PSU/Maryland game pic
Chandler either dressed up to stop him from licking his stitches or to play some Hoops
Chandler with his long-time pal Lola
 Big Bro Chandler with Little Bro Bradley
The Return of Spider Cat Lola
Ellie says "If I Fits, I Sits"
Christmas Tree Cut-Down & Battle Royal
Family Christmas Tree Trimming Complete
Andrew & Britty before leaving on their Disney Cruise
Karen's Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs
Signs (2) for Penn Stater's Engagement

 
Marco Island House
Sittin on the Dock of the Bay (Marco Island House)
View from atop the Green Monster
Outside Fenway Park before the Game with Red Sox Greats
30th Anniversary Get-Away (Miami Beach Duck Tour)
Dinner in Fort Lauderdale with Connor Magnum
Miller Family Wishes Everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

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