Having fun

 

This is a consignment furniture and decor store that we stopped at after we went to craft show. The show had a lot of vendors , and a lot selling products..like home made dog biscuits, home mad jams, jellies, and soup and dip mixes. There as a lot of jewelry and some beautiful scarves. Our favorite booth however was the one where I bought a metal stand and a lantern to hang on it. You will be seeing it in an upcoming post.

We had a great lunch in Ashland and then headed for home stopping at world market and Tuesday Morning on the way home. We were too tired to unload the car and now will eat dinner and settle down for the evening.

Tomorrow we will go to our favorite stores.

 

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Happy Halloween

Ryan and the kids carved pumpkins last night.

 

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Guess where I am

 

 

I was needing what we call in our family a "sister fix". That's when you have a strong desire to be with your sister and she will fix anything that's wrong. All it takes is a visit to put a happy smile on my face. It doesn't natter that I have to drive all the way to Virginia, about seven and a half hours. I don't mind the long drive by myself because I know I am in for a fun filled weekend.

 

For instance, do you see all those Goodwill clear glass vases? Stay tuned...it's going to be a craft. And we will be going to a huge craft show near Richmond on Saturday. We will try to work in a movie. The new Nicole Kidman movie looks good. And there definitely be eating out and shopping at our favorite stores. Here comes the fun!

Londa's coffee bar.

 

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Fog

Have you ever been “in a fog” or in a fog? All of us have days when the old brain cells just seemed to be taking the day off.  We just can’t seem to think clearly for one reason or another. This happens when stress takes over our bodies or when we are so sick our brains are trying to make us well and don’t have time to rationalize. Sometimes we just need to take a day off from thinking.  I experienced this once when I was trying to type an email while I was very sick. I thought I was doing well until I reread it and found out that not only did the sentences not make sense but some words were mistyped.
    But another feeling is driving in the fog. It’s a little bit scary when fog is so thick that all you can see around you is a little bit of the road ahead. Driving blind like that is dangerous and you are in hyper alert mode. You anticipate that the next few seconds may show something in front of you. I’ve had experiences when I could barely find the road. You slow down to a crawl but worry about someone behind you who is coming through the fog and may not even see you there. All you can do is keep going and get to a lower elevation where the air is clearer. This happened to me a week ago when I made a trip to a nearby town.  There are two ways to travel to Olean, one on the interstate and the other, a shorter way, over the hill. I didn’t know that by the time I got on top that there would be dense fog that morning. I kept creeping along till finally I arrived at the other side and down the hill where I could once again see.  I did not take that route home.

In the mood

Yesterday morning we had our very first frost. When I looked out the window at the fog I knew it was time for a photo walk before I met the girls for coffee. I drove down the road and parked behin the Lion's Club building and tried to find a good shot.

 

 

 

Tessa requested the original shot so here it is. Quite a difference. I used Lens Flare to add in some sun. (You can't find it too much here where I live)

 

 

Then I used my various apps to add some interest. Here are some of the results

 

 

 

 

 

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Untitled

 

 

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The Todd's

 

These two old pictures were sent to me by my sister. I am in the process of writing a short picture book on the history of the Todd family. My mother was one of thirteen children who grew up on a farm in rural northeast Georgia. I love this creative process and if it turns out well I plan on giving a copy to my children and sisters when it is finished.

 

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I want a kitten

Sometimes these Youtube videos crack me up! I could watch this one over and over.

I wonder if Sadie would react this way if I brought another dog home. I've been debating about getting one from the SPCA for Sadie to play with. Sadie just needes more attention than I can give her. Maybe if there was another dog née for her to play with and focus on she wouldn't want our attention so much. Then again she is so possessive and jealous that she might be mad that we may give our attention to another dog. Hmmm. What to do?

 

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Hunting camp

 

A few years ago Don built this hunting camp for a friend of his who lives in Knox, PA about two hours south of here. Jack lives in the middle of the woods and is the true meaning of a frontiersman. He lives mostly off the land, hunting or growing his own food. He is a hard worker and what is even more amazing he has survived thirteen heart attacks. He was life flighted to Pittsburgh twice and has had a tracheotomy. He doesn't let anything stop him and has a positive spirit and a great sense of humor. Jack is also a musician who plays piano and keyboard and sings. He has teamed up with john Serra who has won Grammy awards for his guitar work and they have created CDs together. Jack is a childhood friend of mine who lived near us when I was growing up. His father, Ray Giering, was our elementary school principal and a fantastic educator. He was the one who encouraged me to be a teacher. His mother, Maryne was a second mother to me. This summer I attended her ninetieth birthday party.

Soon Don will be driving down to Jack's to hunt in the camp he still loves venison but is unable to drag a deer through the woods.

 

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Don't write the obituary yet

Yesterday was our second meeting of the Women's Literary club and as usual we had a great program. Susan Evans is a local woman who wrote a humorous book about her journey through ovarian cancer called Don't Write the Obituary Yet.

Susan began with a swollen ankle that the doctors couldn't diagnose. Finally when the tumor was discovered someone misread the numbers on the report and told her she had a 25 pound tumor instead of a 2.5 pound one. The local doctor told her husband that she only had six months to live and transferred her to another bigger hospital in Pittsburgh.

There she met by luck a wonderful doctor who ended up helping her coauthor her book. She emphasized to us that you need to be in charge of your own care by speaking up and telling the nurses and doctors exactly how you feel so they can give you the correct care.

It took Susan who was a former English teacher a year to write and publish the book. She established a research foundation and all the proceeds of the book are put in a fund to further research on ovarian cancer.

Susan approached this horrific subject with humor and emphasized that attitude makes a difference and helps in the way you handle things. This does not mean that she didn't do her share of crying. But because of her cancer some really good things happened. She is now cancer free.

 

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At Celeron Park

 

Do you ever come across a picture that is so far back in the past that it evokes strong memories for you? We have a local Facebook page called I grew up in Bradford, PA. It's a way for folks who no longer live in Bradford to keep up with what is happening here. Locals post current pictures of the area or pictures from the Landmark Society.

Yesterday someone posted this one of Celeron Park. It was located on the shore of Chautauqua Lake in Jamestown, NY which is about an hour north of us. Jamestown is famous for being the home of Lucille Ball.

PARK OVERVIEW

This overview is not a picture; rather an artist's drawing. Please note the structure in the upper-right with the Turkish style spires and long Annex ending in a bandstand -- this is the Auditorium. Also in the right of the drawing at the water's edge is the three-story Bathhouse with three toboggan slides; one of which is the camel-back slide. The Phoenix Ferris Wheel is to the left with Hotel de Celoron barely visible behind the right side of the Wheel with a flag banner protruding from its top. The baseball grounds are beyond the Auditorium. The Celoron Theater and the Greyhound rollercoaster were not yet in the park.

PHOENIX WHEEL

First operated in the 1896 season. This was the world's largest - - ten stories tall with 12 cages and a capacity of 168. 125 feet in diameter and took six men to operate. Lit by 350 colored lights. Dismantled in 1952.

BATHHOUSE

One of the original structures in 1894, it was three stories tall with three toboggan slides, one being a camel-back slide. Inside the bathhouse was a barber shop, 150 dressing rooms, bowling alley, billiards room, shooting gallery, ice-cream parlor, and a large open recreation area. Damaged by fire a fire in 1900, the bathhouse, when repaired, was three stories only in the middle and the signature camel-back slide was gone.

Don and I remember this park well. We were dating in 1962 and my parents took us up to the park. It was a big event back then to go to a special place like this. I distinctly remember he and I sitiing in a swan boat and going through the Tunnel of Love and stealing a kiss in the dark.

 

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Triple Bloom

Today my friend linda and I drove to Warren, PA, a nearby town about an hour away to attend the Warren Garden Club's ninth biennial seminar Triple Bloom.

It was a beautiful fall day. Even though it's only an hour west their leaves were still on the trees and the day was warm.

 

When we arrived at the Holiday Inn there were tables full of sweets and coffe and tea to enjoy while we waited for the first session to begin.

We spent some of our time, and money on the great gifts at the Chinese auction. Unfortunately we didn't come home with any prizes.

Our first speaker was Dan Van Gogh, a local florist who made many arrangements using fall flowers that were raffled off afterwards.

He even made some Christmas ones.

But the one I liked best was this basket arrangements using some delphinium.

Next was a little change of pace as a memory expert from Philadelphia delighted us with memory tricks and encouraged us to keep our brains active. We adjourned for lunch next and enjoyed chicken and broccoli in a pastry shell over wild rice with apple pie for dessert.

Since our speaker for the afternoon hadn't arrived we filled the time with raffle drawings and flower giveaways. Soon our guest arrived, a short, good looking man who immediately captured our attention with his impressive resume. He owns a florist shop in Pittsburgh and caters to the rich and famous there. His approach was different and extremely creative as he made five wonderful arrangements.

 

It was an absolutely delightful day. It made me want to run out and buy flowers to arrange.

 

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