Previous Newsletters:
August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008
September 2009
Happy Birthday to:
Denise Gump on the 1 st
Nadine Atkinson on the 2 nd
Sharon Reidenbach on the the 3 rd
JR Ross on the 6 th
Jerry Watson on the 7 th
Angie Brogan on 8 th
Gaynell Tinsley ~ PennBristow ~ Justin Lisius on the 9 th
Sharon Woodbury-Herman on the 11 th
JoAnn Gurley on the 12 th
Joe Lisius ~ Glenda Flynn ~ Rita L’Herault on the 13 th
Candy Mette & Dave Eldridge on the 15 th
Art Ciancagli & Dawn Hopkins on the 17 th
Our NIECE ~ LindsayRay Woodbury & Sarah Herforth on the 18 th
Alyssa Drake on the 19 th
Deb’s “Sistah friend” Linda Piche-Hankins on the 20 th
John Foulke on the 21 st
Joan Dollinger on the 23 rd
Frank Wilson & Stephanie D’Andrea on the 24 th
Jo Moore on the 27 th
John “SweetCreek” Fachet on the 29 th
Nancy Hyman on the 30 th
“ As the seasons change thru the year so the seasons change thru our lives.
May we all look ahead to a new and beautiful season”
~ blessings for the year ahead to all of our September Babies!
As we wrap up the summer, we send a shout out to all of our friends and family who joined us in lovely Ponte Vedra beach all summer long! What a joy to have you all.
Having Andrew/Chauncey here over the last 2 months has been a special blessing as we watched him evolve into a beautiful and special young man. Allowing him a supportive, peaceful and loving environment permitted him to show his TRUE colors in the care and concern he showed for Mom/Mimaw during her triple bypass recovery time. She was overjoyed to have the help she needed as well as a continual Phase 10 Card partner to help fill the hours his summer. His ever-growing love and genuine concern for his Mimaw was great medicine! Mom/Peg is well on the road to recovery.
Andrew also worked daily with Uncle Kurt in learning and mastering his position as an additional tech assistant at our performances. On a run for Kurt that lasted 11 weeks with no day off, Chauncey and Tech Robert Kotlinski were unspeakably valuable over these summer months.
Andrew also discovered his love and ability as a percussionist over the final weeks of his stay at the house. His great work ethic is truly missed since we returned the Jkids back to PA during our trip back north at the end of August.
Aunt Deb will certainly miss Andrew’s hard work and efforts as her personal golf cart driver for errands each week – HEY who said it was crazy to get $200 worth of groceries on a golf cart???!!!! THANKS JEEVES for all your great energy, stories, laughter and hard work. Love Ya and will keep ROFLMAO!
We unexpectedly were blessed with Amy/Andrews sister Emily for extra time this summer over the month of August to help Amy celebrate her 19 th Bday. Trips to Adventure Landing Water Park and the beach were finished off with a FABULOUS day with the giraffes, birds and gators in Silver Springs Animal Park in Ocala! What a light you are in this world Miss Emily. Your talent, good attitude and loveliness are sure to take you as far as you wish any dream to carry you. Good luck in Cheerleading – sure to be a champion over and over again!
We had a terrible and tragic loss to our musical family this past month. Eric Searcy (banjo/dobro for Kurt’s band the Driftwoods) lost his 29 year-old son, when Alex perished in a spear fishing accident while traveling together in the Bahamas. We cannot find the words to express our intense grief over personally missing this beautiful boy who brought so much joy to all and to send our deepest condolences to his Eric, his wife-Debbie, their children- Matt and Andrea and their entire extended family.
It was only in celebrating Alex’s life at his wonderful memorial and military salute that we were truly able to comprehend what a loving family based on a foundation in Christs love can offer this world. Thanks to the Driftwoods for providing such wonderful and special music during the ceremony and to all of the musicians who shared their talents at the reception. www.gatorbone.com
On August 20 th, the Jkids were returned to their home in PA and the JDuo performed to sold out nights once again at our favorite PA restaurant – Cactus Grill / www.cactusgrill.net . It was such a joy to have some daily down time and share great nights of music with Mary and the Cactus Crew. Seeing our old friends each time we come up into town is a reason to keep these trips going and a ray of sunshine to what are sometimes dark and evil energies that surround the area for us. Its great to be performing and looking out into a crowd of loving and supportive friends and family ~ and the musical stylings of Elizabeth Aber and Mama Elaine Abers blueberry cake are not easily forgotten!!!!!
A Shout out to the Springfield High gang and especially to “brother” Dave English and the lovely Jackie for all the help they offer and provide on these jaunts. It was GREAT to be able to have Chauncey with us on Saturday night to add percussion work to the evening! I don’t know how we could pull off all of the things we do without you guys ~ you are IRRIPLACEABLE! Thanks for taking the time to bring Em down to Florida so that she could really enjoy the end of summer and for keeping Andrew so close to your hearts! You are a blessing to all of us and we hope that your return trips to Florida are more often and MORE PERMANENT!!
A special trip to NY City yielded a joyful reunion to Kurt and his son Eric. Eric gave a great performance in the play I Do, I Guess. His friend, writer Michael Musi and the play won best show of the Strawberry Festival at the Riant Theater and will be opening
off-broadway in the Spring of 2010! Good luck to you all – the show was HYSTERICAL and we know that Eric and Michael are headed for big things in their writing/acting careers! We enjoyed spending the evening with Eric and his friends over dinner and are hoping to be able to share more time together over the next year with them all. Facebook Eric Johnston, NYC if you want to catch his New York performances or stop in and have dinner/drinks while he is bartending.
Of course – our hearts and thanks always to the Bakers who host Kurt and I at their beautiful farm each time we travel North. You simplify our life and bring a peacefulness and tranquility that we can only find elsewhere at the ocean. Dave’s new daily devotional book – 40 Loaves of Bread first print came out hot off the presses while we were staying in PA. It was a joyous celebration of the true meaning of FAMILY when we most needed it.
Check out Dave’s amazing work at www.cdbaker.com
Niece Amy has returned to PA to reside with her family. We hope that all of you will send her your prayers and good energy to find a kick-start in their new family home! With her early graduate certificate, drivers license, time away from troubled souls and all of the hard work she has done here over the last 9 months, we have every confidence that she will do well as she faces the new challenges that lie ahead of her as a young adult. Keep to the light, our dear girl, don’t let the blackness consume you. HE is with you always, watching and waiting for you to succeed as a child of God. You will certainly be missed!
We are wrapped up the month in a quiet house and are returning to our beautiful routine of performances, church/choir attendance and days at the beach. Its the perfect way to end the summer and catch up on all of the expense of hosting everyone for the summer. As we wish Amy and our friend, Jen Taylor all good things for their relocations - we welcome our friends back to Florida who have been traveling through the summer months.
WELCOME BACK TO PARADISE!
We have both signed up for facebook, even though we are NUBES (Thanks for the expression Andrew!) to the process so you can stay in touch here, on facebook or at www.kurtjohnston.com for upcoming information.
WELCOME ----- Wayne Johnston to our Florida FAMILY!
Kurt’s brother Wayne is an accomplished and talented singer/songwriter who is an amazing guitar player and one of the best harmonica players in the country. We encourage you all to help us in networking gig work for Wayne over the upcoming months. Go out and support the work he has already secured!!
Facebook: Wayne (Douglas) Johnston for additional information or contact Wayne directly at waynedouglasjohnston@gmail.com if you have any help/ideas that you can pass along. Wayne will be returning to PA throughout the year, but is specifically looking to start consistent bookings/teaching in Florida by late October.
Kurt is now working often with The Driftwoods and the Hackers www.hackersband.com / www.thoseguys.com and has weekly commitment to his position as Assistant Music Director at PVPC Church www.pvpc.com . Our weekly performances at Casa Marina are going strong and we plan to continue through the entire year – so join us rain or shine ! www.casamarinahotel.com. Since I am only performing a few days a week, I am currently seeking work in the field of administration to supplement our income.
October and November will be bringing special performances at PVPC church, MagFest (Magnolia Bluegrass Festival) in Live Oak, Fl and Halloween in PA! Be sure to keep your eyes on the calendar and be on our mail list accordingly!
In closing ~ It certainly helps that you all support us through tough times and dark energy and continue to bring light and love to our lives. We are blessed beyond comprehension and are looking forward to the beautiful seasons of Fall and Winter here in Florida. May each of you always know how important you are to all we do and who we are able to be!
With Much love ~ Debrann