Coffee Break With Marge

07/29/2026

I want to remind parents that they can still sign their kids up for VBS at The Ranch of Hope Community Church in Williamstown NY. This years theme is Emerald Crossing, and I can tell you, they have been working really hard on the different sets. You can sign your kids up at this link, https://ranchofhope.myanswers.com/emerald-crossing/
The new kitten, Miss Lucy, has become our entertainment. This little lady, who is full of energy, can scale the curtain to the top, go across the rod and down the other side in less than a minute, then she climbs down backwards. I have seen her spring from one side of the room, to half way across it, just having the zoomies!
She’s been keeping her eyes fixed on the fish tank the last few days, a little to fixed! So I’m training her with the sq**rt bottle, this is the go to for keeping kitties out of mischief. But it turns out, Lucy thinks it’s a game and loves it! So back to square one, that’s chasing her away from the tank. The thing of it is, she climbs the closed dresser drawers to get to the fish tank. She is very agile and very determined.
Bella, she’s the oldest dog, although she’s never had any pups, she takes care of Miss Lucy, she will give her a bath and lets her sleep next to her, the boys, Sam and Max lets her sleep by them as well. They are huge dogs, so it’s quite cute to see them being nice to her.
Well, I have certainly gone on and on about our new baby, but she’s soooo cute! I’ll have a new subject to talk about next week. Oh one more thing, Bella has taught Lucy to roll over on her back for a belly rub, okay, that’s it.
Well the Williamstown Senior Citizens had a busy week. On Tuesday the 21st we teamed up with Camden Seniors and took a bus trip to the Fingerlakes. We shopped at Waterloo Outlets mall , had a BBQ lunch in Seneca Falls. Had a nice boat ride on the Canal and finished at Saunders Market! A wonderful day. On Thursday the 23rd we met at Williamstown Community Center for snacks and cards. High winners were Pat Miller and Jim Joslyn. Low winners were Donna Addington and Bob Kennedy. A busy but wonderful week!
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating theirs this week. Happy Anniversary to all of those celebrating their happy day this week.
My prayers go out to those who have lost a loved one, or need prayers for health, or financial help. I pray for God’s blessings over you!
That’s all I have for this week, take care and be kind to all you meet!

Join us at The Ranch of Hope Community Church as we Journey through Ireland in Emerald Crossing, where Psalm 23 comes to life! Kids will explore God as Shepherd, Guide, Comforter, Provider, and King through David’s story, hands-on activities, games, crafts, music, science experiments, snacks,...

07/21/2026

Boy the heat is on, so I’m staying indoors with the AC!! I love the warm weather, but this is to warm.
I remember when we were kids, we’d pop the tar bubbles on the road. Some were pretty big, and the bigger the better. By the end of the day, our feet and hands were half covered in tar. Swimming at the dam had no impact on the tar.
My brother, Mark “Beetle” Bailey, took playing in the tar to a whole new level. They were paving our road here with tar and crushed stone, first the tar, then the stone. Mark was challenged to ride his bike through the tar, and of course he took the challenge. He got on his bike, rode into the tar, he got about so far and went down. He was covered in tar, head to toe, say nothing about how bad the bike was. Him and Keith “Keeter” Burgey, went to Keeter’s house and his Dad, Jack Burgey got out a galvanized tub and had Mark sit in while Jack poured kerosene over him to get the tar off him. Lets just say, Mark didn’t do that again. We called him Tar Baby for a long time, it was funny.
Mark did a lot of crazy daring things, he was always up for a challenge, so was Keeter for that matter. What one didn’t think of, the other one would.
The good old days.

Jane Nemier shared what the Williamstown Senior Citizen’s been up to. They met for cards and snacks Thursday. The high winner were Barb Joslyn for the ladies and Jim Joslyn for the men. Low winners were Helene Bentley for the ladies and Clark DeMassey for the men. Clark is our newest member. Welcome Clark!
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing for financial help. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! Stay cool and God Bless!

07/21/2026

Have any of you ever been to The White House, inside? I have, I was about 9 or 10 years old. My Mom and Dad, my sister and brother and I took a guided tour in 1969.
We seen beautiful chandeliers made of crystal and glass. We seen the Blue room, Red room, Yellow room and the Green room, these are on the State floor where the President greets dignitaries from other countries and so on. The Red room had important American portraits. The Green room is the least formal parlor on the State floor. The Yellow Room is a formal private room.
While taking the tour, we come up to a room that had those folding wood and cloth privacy screens. And my sister, Jennie, being Jennie, took a sneak-peek behind it, and seen President Nixon talking to someone, our Dad pulled her back, but couldn’t discipline her because after all, we’re in The White House. My brother, Mark, snuck in a peek in another room, but he didn’t see anyone, he was bummed! He asked if he could go see President Nixon, that was a no. My Mom had a firm hand on my shoulder, so I didn’t dare stray off.
The chandeliers caught my eye, they were huge and beautiful! Something else we got to see was the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guards at the Tomb which is at Arlington National Cemetery. They are precise with every move, very impressive.
I remember standing in front of the wrought iron gate looking at The White House from Pennsylvania avenue (my Dad told us where we were standing). It’s walls encompass our history, where wars were ended and others started. It’s welcomed Democrats, Republicans, war hero’s, Foreign dignitaries and regular people like us. It’s our house, the peoples house!
I got a text from Patty Sams, she tells me Jennifer Tietjen has been home for a week with her parents Ben and Cherie and visiting with other family and friends.
Doug and Patty Sams, Trudy, Jim and Brynlee enjoyed dinner and a visit with Nate and Kirjah DeRocha and the kiddos on Sunday
I also got a text from Jane Nemier. The Williamstown Senior Citizens met on June 11 for lunch and cards. High winners were Edna Thompson and Donna Addington. And Bob Kennedy was highest and lowest for the men. It was a nice day. We are having our picnic July 9 at Kasoag
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing for financial help. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! Be safe and God Bless!

05/13/2026

Some of you know I’ve been feeding the birds for many years, about 46. I’ve had many different kinds of birds and furry critters come to my feeders, also known as Marge’s Wildlife Cafe.
I have had raccoon's, opossum, deer, fox, and squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks, woodchucks, skunks, one being “Prudence Skunk” and birds of many different kinds. I also have had a turtle or two stroll through, and a seagull. We think it got side tracked on the way to McDonald's.
I’ve watched them enough to learn some of their habits. The hummingbirds will dive bomb each other, and do a bit of a dance, like “swinging” back and forth from right to left. Blue Jays mimic other birds, they have a wide variety of sounds. They’ve been known to upset a few hunters by warning other animals to be on the alert.
Turkeys are actually pretty when you see the different colors in their feathers when the sun is on them. It’s like a prism, with each move you see other colors. But vulture’s are homely and always look like they just drank out of a toilet!
Robins home up in the same tree every year, and they’re not feeder birds really, they prefer worms and bugs. They will also dive bomb you when they have babies!
Lately I have had new bird at the feeders, a Pileated woodpecker, he’s a big bird! But these birds don’t frequent feeders, at least in my case. But he’s been loving the suet, and stays on it for a while, leaves and will come back. I would love to get a picture of him and the hummingbird together.
I love watching the wildlife, it’s relaxing, entertaining, hilarious, and educational. The eagle’s haven’t been to the feeder, like they could fit on one! But they occasionally will perch in a tree out here, or circle overhead, as well as hawks and osprey. You know when there’s a bird of prey around, you won’t see a bird or furry friend anywhere, and if a bird is still at the feeder, they will push up close on the post and not move, but you can see it’s eyes looking around.
I’ve had owl’s perched in a tree close to my window, at night. What an awesome sight that was. He no doubt is waiting for an unsuspecting flying squirrel. Or other midnight snacks.
When I watch the birds, morning sun rises and sunsets, two people always come to mind. My sister Jennie, and friend, Terry DeMassey. My Sis took a lot of pictures, beautiful pictures of owls, flowers, bees and bugs, anything that caught her eye. And Terry did as well, her sunrise pictures were spectacular. And I always envied her for getting a picture of the bear at her feeder, I haven’t had that happen yet. Boy I miss them both.
Jennie and I chased a skunk once, Prudence is what we named her. We were trying to get a picture, but she kept walking away! I think we did get some pics.
God surely blessed us with a never ending supply of photo opts.
I got a text from Margaret Hall last week, but I didn’t put a column in. She sent this, The Ricard Grange news Covered dish and cards is Monday May 18th at 1pm. This will be our first time back at the Grange Hall. Hope to see you then.
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing, and guidance. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! God Bless!

05/04/2026

According to Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, on May 2nd, 2026 at approximately 6:30PM a uniform Deputy Sheriff working in conjunction with members of the Utica Police Department’s Tactical Unit, conducted a citizen stop of two parties relative to suspicious activities on Chestnut Street in the City of Utica.

Upon speaking with one of the parties, the officers were informed that this individual was in possession of a flare gun, and the item was secured. As the contingent was attempting to speak with the second individual, this party began to struggle with the officers, and as this was occurring a flare gun discharged causing significant burns to the Deputy as well as one of the males that was stopped.

They were ultimately able to detain the second party and another flare gun was located.

The Deputy suffered burns to his neck and hands, while the male suffered burns to his back. Ultimately both sought treatment at Wynn Hospital for these injuries. Due to the nature of the injuries, the Deputy was transferred to Upstate Medical Center and was released in the morning on May 3rd.

Through the encounter it was learned that the stopped parties were juveniles and they were released to their care of their guardians.

The investigation is still on-going and any updates will be release as available.

Possession of these types of items have the potential for very serious consequences and we urge parents to be diligent in ensuring that youth do not own or possess these incendiary devices.

05/04/2026

Made it through another week of doctor appointments. Which brings me to my subject this week. Medical imaging.
We here in this neck of the woods, like Westdale, Williamstown, and Camden, have to travel a bit for medical test. We have to travel not less than 45 minutes to have a five minute test in a lot of cases.
We have places in Camden that are empty and could house a medical imaging center. It could house, MRI’s, CT scans, radiation, and ultrasound machines, also cardiology machines. Even a place for chemo therapy.
We’re very blessed to have our Dr’s and an urgent care here in town, and a place to get our blood work done and X rays! That alone saves a lot of travel time. But to have any of the test I mentioned above, it takes time to get there. The worst of it is when you’ve traveled an hour to get there only to find out your a day early. The other thing is, you get there for your appointment and they say they tried to call you to say they had to reschedule!
We have enough fast food, gas stations/convenient stores in Camden. I hope the powers that be will seriously think about doing something more useful for this area instead of another fast food joint! I hope you think about it at least.
I got a text from Jane Nemier, she give me the winners at Snacks & Cards on the 23rd were Pat Miller and Ed Stankiewicz. Losers were Anne Miller & David Hall.
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing for financial help. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! Safe travels and God Bless!

05/04/2026

Hello everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the nice weather we’re getting in between the snowflakes!
I’ve gotten a lot done, my granddaughter Austin helped me, or I should say, I helped her. We put a carpet down on the front porch and got it looking really nice. Now for the fun part, accessorizing, plants and flowers, nick-knacks. This is thee best and most fun of all part of it all.
The day before that, I straightened up the back deck off our room. I feed the birds out there, so it needed some TLC and added the hummingbird feeder. Doing all this in 2 days reminded me of how out of shape I am! I hurt in places I forgot existed! Took me down a couple days, but I’m good now! But I don’t bounce back like I use to. So, on to the fun part of a re-mod!
Now I will have a place to read my Bible and have my coffee, with the sweet sounds of birds and all things natural. Looking forward to this later on today.
I got a text from Margaret Hall. Here’s what’s happening at the Ricard Grange, Covered dish and cards for April is Monday the 27th at the Community center in Williamstown at 1 pm. Hope you can make it.
I would like to let you all know that The National Day of Prayer is on Thur. May 7th 2026. We need to come together and pray for our nation, our local towns, villages and beyond. Pray for those in our government, local and national. Pray for this war to end!

04/15/2026

Hello again! How did everyone do with the string of storms that went through Monday and Tuesday? I do a whole lot better with storms now than I use to.
My fear of them goes way back to when I was first born probably. I would cover my head and plug my ears, so I couldn’t see the lightning nor hear the thunder. I was so scared of them, if the weatherman predicted even a chance of a storm, I’d go into a panic. Nothing could get my mind off a possible storm happening.
My fear would intensify if I heard a rumble off in the distance. It could be extremely muggy and hot, but I would shut the windows and the doors, I’d even shut off the fans. We didn’t have the luxury of an air conditioner, but if we had, I would have shut that off too! Then I would gather the kids and sit us all down on the floor between the couch and coffee table and sit there until the storm was over, by over, I mean when I didn’t see the lightning or hear the thunder anymore.
I’ve gotten a lot better, I don’t shut the fans off, and don’t shut all the windows. But I do respect them. If one has been predicted, I don’t panic, but I do stay mindful and watch the sky and weather map for which way they’re heading. I like to be prepared at the very least. I’m sure my nephew Ernie would be happy to know I don’t clothesline people anymore that are standing, or sitting next to me during a storm. The poor kid was a victim of one of my clothesline maneuvers, he didn’t stand a chance! He forgave me though.
One thing I would like to do, is get a picture or video of lightning strikes, they fascinate me anymore, as long as I’m inside and protected.
I got a text from Jane Nemier. The Williamstown Senior Citizens met on the 26th of March for cards and Snacks. The high winners in cards was Helene Bentley and Steve Wheeler. Low winners were Norma Crossett and Jim Joslyn. A good time was had by all.
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing for financial help. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! Have a great week and God Bless!

04/15/2026

With the Artemis 2 mission to the dark side of the moon this week, I thought sharing a few moon facts would be kind of interesting.
1. The Moon has no breathable atmosphere, only a very thin exosphere.
2.The lunar day from sunrise to sunrise lasts about 29.5 Earth days.
3. The Moon rotates once on its axis in the same time it orbits Earth, a state called synchronous rotation.
4. Because of synchronous rotation, the same lunar hemisphere faces Earth most of the time.
5. Gentle rocking called libration lets us see about 59% of the lunar surface over time.
6. Light takes about 1.3 seconds to travel one way from Earth to the Moon.
7. The line separating day and night on the Moon is called the terminator.
8. Impact craters cover the surface because there is no weather to erase them.
9. Fresh lunar craters show bright rays of ejected material radiating outward.
10.Some lunar dust becomes electrically charged and may loft above the surface near sunrise and sunset.
11. Boulders on crater slopes sometimes roll and leave long tracks in the dust.
12. The Moon’s gravity pulls Earth’s oceans into two tidal bulges, causing most coastal tides.
13. Spring tides with higher ranges happen near new and full Moon.
14. The Moon’s pull very slightly reduces your weight when it is overhead.
15. The slowing of Earth’s rotation from tides gradually lengthens the day

16. Long ago the Moon was closer to Earth, and tides were stronger.
17. A full Moon looks flat because sunlight hits it straight on and casts few shadows.
18. The Moon appears orange or yellow near the horizon because Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light.
19. A 22° halo around the Moon forms when moonlight passes through high icy clouds.
20. The first soft landing on the Moon happened in 1966.
21. The first close-up photos from the surface also came in 1966.
22. The first crewed landing on the Moon occurred in 1969.
23. Twelve people walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972.
24. No one has walked on the Moon since 1972.
And finally, how many remember the Moon boots trend of the 80’s? I certainly do! My girls just had to have a pair, so I bought them some. We got home only to discover, Becky’s pair was 2 left boots, but honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference. But she could, she wore them anyways.
I got a text from Patty Sams. Doug and Patty enjoyed Easter dinner with Jim and Trudy McCann , Brynlee, Christina and Justin.
I send out Happy Birthday wishes and Happy Anniversary to all who are celebrating this week!
My prayers go out to those who are sick, in need of comfort on the loss of a loved one, or just could use a prayer blessing for financial help. My prayers for you all! Amen!
This is all I have this week! Have a good one and God Bless!