I'm Back

It’s been a while. Sorry. Time just flies out the window ...

I hope you didn’t think something awful happened on our trip to Kentucky last summer – nothing happened, the week went very well and we worked hard and had a lot of fun along the way. It was so nice to visit with Brenda, and Pete and Stephanie and their children, and make some new friends among the church volunteers from Pennsylvania and New York who were working that week. Our wonderful friends Karen and Doug drove down with us – both of our pick-up trucks were loaded to the gills with donations for the thrift store - and they were able to stay for a couple of days. They very quickly fell in love with the area and the work that’s being done at E.C.C.O and SWAP. Chris led a team of volunteers during the week, going out to do home repairs in a couple different locations, while I stayed back at ECCO and helped Stephanie with meal preparation for the 25 or so volunteers. I did go out with him on Thursday to the home where they were working, since Thursday is usually a half-day of work, and a half-day of sight-seeing. (Not that’s this area is exactly a vacation wonderland, let me tell you!) We drove out to the coal mining museum and toured the coal mine that afternoon. I can surely appreciate the hard lives of the men who work in the mines, day after day, year after year. Dark, cold, damp and depressing work, for sure.

The remainder of the summer went quickly: 4th of July fireworks with friends, a day trip to Lafayette,IN to be with our friend Minnetta and her husband Dick, for the funeral of her Dad; numerous Sunday evening drives to try out new ice-cream places with Doug and Karen; we said a sad good-bye to our beloved 20 year old cat Lucy; our daughter was in a car accident in which her car was totaled (and thankfully nobody was hurt); we all moaned and groaned about the heat and the drought that seemed to last for weeks on end in July, August and September … and then finally came the fall.

Our son became employed again in September – that was good news! – as he found an entry-level job as a Pharmacy Technician. He also moved in with us for a short period of time as he and his wife have decided to part ways. He brought his cat Melvin (who is a very cool cat, by the way) and our granddaughter Tara also spent some time at our house. We made a second (3-day) trip back down to Eolia in mid-October taking the remainder of our donations for the thrift store – our basement was finally cleared out for a “minute.” Karen and Doug drove down with us again and we spent a wonderful couple of days roaming around the area – hiking, driving Little Shepherd trail, visiting Kingdom Come State Park, and we found a great little family restaurant where we ate 2 nights in a row. On the way home we took a small detour and visited Natural Bridge State Park in Slade, KY. We had a fun cook-out on Halloween at a friends’ house, trying to stay warm as we huddled around a portable fire pit that Celia set up in her driveway. We did a hot dog/ hamburger giveaway and passed out candy – it was a popular stop for all the trick-or-treaters, adults and children alike.

The holidays came and went quickly with lots of good family time and visits. Nothing eventful, all good. Every year I find myself more and more thankful for low-key, low-stress holidays. Keeping it simple is definitely the way to go, and “time spent” is the best gift of all. We were blessed to have Tara with us quite a bit in November and December, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – she is so much fun in her toddler stage! I’m glad she feels so at home with us. She keeps us smiling even when life all around us might otherwise be quite messy. We also said good-bye to another of our faithful felines just after Christmas. Beanie had become ill and there wasn’t much we could to except to keep him comfortable for his last few weeks. (For those of you trying to keep track, we’re now down to 2 cats and 3 dogs.)

Anyway, here it is 2011 and I still have more to catch up on, many pictures that I could / should be sharing. Oh, that reminds me, I've upgraded my camera (at my husband's suggestion) - it's the newest Canon Rebel with an awesome lens. Don't know the specifics, ask him. I just use it! We're shooting a wedding in June and knew we needed to kick it up a notch, so we both got some new equipment. Fun! Too bad I rarely have time to sit down and edit through the 100's of pictures we take... and as you can tell, Tara is the subject of so many of them!

More later. Yes, really. I'm going to get back in the groove again. I must.

Getting Ready

I don't know if you can see this map of Kentucky very clearly, but we're getting ready to go down to Letcher County, Ky. this coming week. It's all the way over in the southeast corner of Kentucky, bordering on Virginia and adjacent to Tennessee (colored in green, between Harlan and Pike Counties). We'll be visiting Eolia, a little town in the midst of coal-mining country, in the heart of the Applachian Mountains. It's a beautiful corner of Kentucky but very poor and with very many needs. We love the friends we've made there and can't wait to see them again.

My mind is swirling with all the things I need to do before we head out ... instructions for our pet-sitter, water plants, finish laundry, groceries we need to take, and for Pete's sake I can't forget to pack the earplugs and our medications. Not to mention sweat bands, cameras, cell phone chargers and GPS (though cell reception down there is very iffy). We've got an enormous pile of donated items to load onto the pickup truck tonight - our friends have given clothing, household items, toys, books, bedding and more - so we're praying for no rain overnight, since we'll be packing up 2 pick-ups with donations. (And we'll still have a lot left in our basement that won't fit this time - another trip later in the summer?)

We're praying for safe travels and a wonderful week! Pictures and posts will follow!

Wordless Wednesday (Pretty in Pink)

Butterflies, Bees, Baths

On a very warm summer Saturday I caught sight of this beautiful butterfly visiting every.single.one. of my coneflowers. So of course I had to take a couple of pictures - he was posing, I swear. I would too, if I were that pretty.

Nothing says "SUMMER!" like tiger lilies!

And bumble bees.

It was bath time for 2 itchy scratching dogs this evening. They don't love their baths but they manage to stand still for a good lathering and rinsing. The hardest part is waiting the 10 minutes for the medicated shampoo to do its work. Ten minutes is a loooong time to hold onto a slippery sudsed-up dog who wants nothing more than to SHAKE himself off. Ugh.

So now our house will smell like wet dog for the next day or so. Yummy.

Then we tackled Beanie, our 20 lb. cat, who also needed a good shampoo. Boy, can that cat put up a fight. He's strong and hates a bath (like any cat would) and will do anything he can to claw his way out of the laundry tub. It took 2 of us to wrangle him and get him bathed. That boy can yowl like he's being murdered - oh, he hates a bath. And so now he's skulking around the house looking like a drowned rat, trying to "wash off" the bath.

Now we're off to do some night time photography - we went out last evening to Devou Park which has an amazing view of downtown Cincinnati (looking from the Kentucky side of the river over into downtown). Who knows where we'll end up tonight??

Before, During and After

A local landmark for the past several years, visible just of I-75 near Monroe, Ohio, was struck by lightning on Monday evening during a thunderstorm. This enormous statue was often referred to as "Touchdown Jesus" and its fiery demise has created a lot of discussion and controversy. They're promising to re-build it "bigger and better" but many (including myself) think the hundreds of thousands of dollars could be better spent by serving the needs of the community.

Sweet Pea ~ Puppy Love ~ Wild Child

Not to mention Soul Mate and Baby Girl and For Ever.

This is what happens when my sweet tooth acts up and there are limited options. I'm eating leftover Valentine's Day candy from our break room at work. It may be 4 months old but fortunately, this kind of candy never goes bad. The blues ones are the BEST!

Losing Their Minds

I have two older sisers - twins - who are about 18 months older than I am. When we were younger, we would fuss and argue and fight and not always get along so well. In high school, they were in the popular crowd, had boyfriends, went to parties, all that. I was the geeky little sister, not so cute, not as popular, hung around with my friends in the band but still had fun in my own way. Thankfully, as we've grown up, we've become much closer and are in touch with each other all the time. We live in different parts of town, but there's always some reason we're talking or texting or visiting one another.

One of my favorite things to do in recent years is to tease them whenever I get the chance, that they're "becoming our mother." Now that's not a bad thing, no, not at all - we love our Mom to pieces and work together to take care of her and check up on her. It's just that there are times, you know, when all of a sudden you see a "Mom" expression on the face, or hear a "Mom" kind of comment - that kind of thing. And sometimes they're forgetful, or remember an event so differently than I do (seriously, sometimes you'd think we grew up in different houses, with different parents and vastly different childhood experiences) - so I tease them.

Here's a good example from sister Rose, this evening as we texted back and forth:

Rose: "What was the instumental group that Mom uswd to have their record? It was kind of a little bluesy ..." (She can't text very well either.)

Me: "No idea!!" (Complete blank - what could she be thinking of??)

Rose: (A while later) "Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Margy knew. :)"

Me: "OK First of all it was dad who liked that."

Me: "And 2nd that is Latin music. Not blues or jazzy! You are so confused!"

Rose: "Oh I didn't remember that part."

Rose: "That's me very confused about music!"

She cracks me up. Especially the part where Margy "remembered" and was just as confused as she was.

This is Margy. Rose looks just like her since they're identical. Execpt they both dye their hair from time to time, and can look different because of that. HA! They're so gray (and I'm not, na-na-na-na!)

Wordless Wednesday

** Photo by Emily **

Eleven Years

Eleven years ago tomorrow, we were married. We had had our first date at the beginning of August, 1998 (dinner at Outback and then a movie - "Saving Private Ryan.") We got engaged on Labor Day weekend, and began planning our wedding shortly thereafter, choosing May 29th, 1999 for our big day.

It was a picture-perfect spring day for our outdoor wedding. There were only about 40 guests, mostly family. We had a potluck meal (yes, seriously - everyone brought a side dish) and we hired someone to grill out. There was a wonderful cheesecake for our wedding cake, a little 3-piece band for some music and Wayne, our fired-up preacher who performed the ceremony. We wrote our own vows, and had our guests gather in a circle around us as we were married.

We look so much younger in these pictures! Chris had much more hair and I weighed a lot less then .... that dress would never fit me now! As you can see, the florist went wild with my bouquet - it was supposed to be much smaller. I had asked that it look like someone walked through a spring garden and picked all sorts of flowers. So they got that part right, anyway.

Matt and Kelly were 12 and 9 years old at the time. Wow. They were little kids when we got married! All grown up now (well, that's sometimes in question...) and out of the house. And a grandchild to boot.

Us with the parents. My dad has since passed away, and our folks have definitely aged a lot in the past 11 years. My mom is 88 now, and Chris' parents are well into their 70's.

And so today, my sweet husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Because he remembers how special that day was, and so do I. I think it's safe to say "Yes, we would do it all over again" without any hesitation!

Wordless Wednesday

Planes, Trains and Taxis

Flew to Chicago Sunday evening, got back last evening – a fast 48-hour trip to our corporate offices for some training and meetings. It was chilly, windy, gray and not at all spring-like in Chicago – I noticed so many people in winter coats and gloves walking down the street. Yuck.
I really dislike flying, and being away from home and my own bed. I’m one of those people. All I can think about is a fiery airline disaster while I’m in flight, and hotel rooms give me the creeps. That’s what comes from an over-active imagination.

Interesting things about my trip to and from: I sat in exactly the same seat (9A) in exactly the same aircraft, coming and going. What are the odds of that? It was a dinky little 50-seat plane with a one-seat row, and then a 2-seat row. I know it was the same plane because a) it had the same flight number and b) it had the identical scuff marks on the ceiling by the overhead compartments. Seriously. I notice details like that when I’m nervous.

Did you know they charge $3.00 for a bag of snacks on the plane now? Outrageous.

Did you know that O’Hare has runways that cross the highway on bridges? Freaky.

Did you know that when you arrive early to your destination they have “remote parking areas” for the aircraft, where you just sit and idle until your gate becomes available? We had to sit there for 25 minutes, watching the other planes taxi to and fro, take off and land, while we waited. I started getting claustrophobic but just in time, they let us taxi to our gate. Couldn’t get off that plane fast enough.

And here’s a funny thing – on the flight home, we were pushing back from the gate, and many of the passengers were gazing out the windows, like they do … watching all the busy people and vehicles buzzing around, servicing the planes. Several of us noticed just ONE suitcase left all by itself on the tarmac – right where they load the suitcases into the plane. Everyone was wondering why it was there – did it get left behind on purpose, for some reason? Or was it accidental? Everyone was laughing saying “Well, it’s not mine…” So, if you own a dark purple suitcase, it’s may still be at O’Hare at the gate in Concourse L.

Had a crazy taxi ride from the airport to the hotel with a nice enough cab driver, but he jabbered on the phone in a foreign language the entire ride, weaving in and out of traffic like a mad man. Though from the looks of it, that’s the way everyone drives in downtown Chicago traffic.

The hotel was nice, kind of modern / eclectic, and my room was on the 12th floor. I had a delightful view of a rooftop and various other high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago. City noise wafted up all night long – sirens, honking, trains. Even though the room looked nice, and seemed clean, I still wore my socks on the carpet and in the bathroom. (Am I the only one who does that? I can’t be.) And I wonder how long it’s been since they put on a fresh clean bedspread and when did they last clean the bathroom … all those germs lurking, I just know it. And I think about bed bugs and lice and other disgusting things. Then I had a moment of panic when I went to look for a hair dryer and couldn’t see one. Thankfully I noticed a fancy little cloth drawstring bag on the shelf of the closet – voila, the hair dryer was in a bag.

I came home feeling like I'm getting a cold - and I haven't had one in eons. Must have caught some cooties on the plane or while in the hotel room.

So now you know that I’m a paranoid traveler … what bothers you about planes, taxis and hotels??

"Your Wish is My Command"

So said my wonderful baker friend Celia, when she showed up on my doorstep a few minutes ago, cake in hand. I had made a comment on my Facebook page a bit earlier today, she read it, and she delivered! I had said that I wanted "yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Right now."

So people, I'm here to tell you that birthday wishes do come true sometimes! All you have to do is ask. Politely, of course.

And it's gluten-free so I can chow down and eat every. last. bite. of it, with a big glass of milk.

Life is good.

Yesterday

This wonderful little girl had her 1st birthday!

She's incredibly sweet, busy, curious and silly.

She is a blessing in our lives and we're thrilled to be her grandparents.

Can you tell we love her so much?

Monday Musings

It was another fun but fast-paced weekend. We had the amazing TR for an overnight visit on Friday, I went thrift store store shopping with my two sisters on Saturday, and enjoyed a busy Mother's Day yesterday.

Friday evening started off with a bang (sorry, had to say that...) when the hubster was involved in a 4 car accident on the highway, on his way home from work. Thankfully - SO thankfully - he was not injured nor was anyone else. The air bag did its job well. Our van is another matter, though - the whole front end is pushed back almost to the windshield, with the hood all buckled up and the engine exposed. We're guessing it's going to be considered a total loss. Which leaves us with a car dilemna ... just when we thought we had a plan .... for the time being, he will drive the pick-up and I'll stick with the Mazda. Though he did say maybe we should get a rental car for the short term while we figure this out.

As for the shopping with my sisters - well, let's just say they're hard core veteran shoppers from way back, and they were determined not to miss a thing. Every single item in every single aisle was scrutinized, and they'd periodically track me down and show me the deals that were piling up in their carts. They take their bargain hunting VERY seriously. Me, I take it serioulsly, but after about 1/2 hour I've had enough. But they spent over an hour at each store, gathering up shiny things and clothing that caught their eye. I was exhausted by the time I got home. And from what I understand, they kept going for another 3 hours after we parted ways. Crazy ladies, they are.

Mother's Day was relatively low-key for a change, with visits to both Mom's and dinner at the Olive Garden with my sister and mother. My wonderful husband gifted me with a gorgeous ring that's both a Mother's Day and birthday present - isn't it beautiful? Simple, sparkly and so "me."

We took the dogs to the park for a run twice over the weekend - well, actually, the hubster took them once while I was out shopping on Saturday, and then we went together on Sunday afternoon. It was a chilly windy weekend - perfect for walking. Unfortunately, we realized that it's already flea and tick season (or, as I sometimes say by accident "tea and flick season") when the hubster found a disgusting little tick in our bed on Saturday evening - must have climbed onto the hubster at the park and somehow let loose onto the sheets as he was crawling into bed. Gross, gross, gross. I've had close encounters with ticks (and a leech once, on our honeymoon, oh yeah!) and I freak out. Ever since then I've been feeling my scalp and checking myself for little bumps that don't belong on me... shudder....

Thankful Thursday

This song has been on my mind today, reminding me that I have so very much to be thankful for in my life. I have a Father who will always love me, no matter what; and all that I need HAS been provided. Always has been, always will be. Period. I have a wonderful family and the most incedible friends, a roof over my head, cars to drive and a job that I like. Life is good. Great is His faithfulness to me!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

(Oh, how I love this song!)

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Musings

They're getting ready to hang new wallpaper in the hallway outside our office. A couple of guys are slapping on a good thick coat of sizing (whatever that is) to prep the walls. It smells SO bad. Really bad, like they must be getting high out there because there's zero air moving in the hallway. I didn't think it was good to hang wallpaper on top of existing wallpaper. Am thinking this is a bad idea. Must be a cost-saving idea. And the fumes that are probably seeping in under the door may be why I have a headache today.

Lovely daughter is taking her car into the shop tomorrow for diagnostics. We're hoping and praying that it's an easy and inexpensive fix that the hubster can do, once they tell us what exactly is the issue. Cars: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Have to keep her car going a long, long time because she certainly can't afford a car payment. Though she is going on commission !! at her job this month, so her income should go up quite a bit. Thank you, Lord.

We both need to go and get our new glasses adjusted at the eye doctor this evening. Tried to go 2 other times recently and they were closed. Yes, closed on Friday and closed on Saturday. That's the price you pay for going to independent family (husband & wife team) eye doctors. Even though I disklike the one-hour places in the mall (you know who I mean) at least they're open 7 days a week, all hours. Hubster hasn't even been able to wear his new glasses since he picked them up 2 weeks ago - now that's a problem. And mine were (literally) falling off my face when I was out working in the garden a few days ago - every time I looked down, off they came.

Hubster and I car-pooled today - figured we'd try to ride together a couple of times a week to see if we can lower our gas consumption. This week we're going to try for Monday and Wednesday. Only problem I can forsee is that I'm not so much a morning person (slow to wake up) and the hubster bounces out of bed and starts talking as soon as his feet hit the floor. Not so good, for a person who likes her peace and quiet in the morning. I always say that I get an extra half-hour of sleep on my way to work every day. I know that's not good, being comatose while driving, but it is what it is. I'm a zombie. And when I get to work, I like to be left alone for 15 or 20 minutes while I get situated. Know what I mean? I'm sure there are others like me out there.

This is the first post I've ever done without pictures I think. Wow. Just a bunch of miscellaneous thoughts running together.

Thankful Thursday

A couple of specific things I'm thankful for today...

First of all, pancakes.

I just ate several hot, buttery, maple-syrup covered pancakes.

And in spite of the fact that they were gluten-free they were wonderful.

And I mean really, really melt-in-your-mouth tasty.

And this comes from a very picky eater.

Yes, it's about 10 p.m. and yes, that was my dinner.

Some nights, that's just the way it works out.

So that's my plug for Kinnikinnick Pancake and Waffle Mix.

I'm thankful for a gluten-free food that tastes so awesome. I'm officially a fan.

And the second thing I'm thankful for is the sale at Home Depot this week - - 5 1 qt. perennials for $10. One can never have too many perennials. So I bought some pink salvia, blue delphinium and a couple of pincushion flowers. All sun-lovers, all for my back garden area. Can't wait to get my hands in the dirt. I'm so very thankful for all things flowering!

That's it - good night all!

Wordless Wednesday