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I walked past the kitchen table today where B. was working on her art project for school and boy was I amazed. I never had an interest in drawing, so I can barely draw stick figures. It's hard to believe that someone I gave birth to can draw like this (her Dad's gene pool.) I like her inpiration close by--her ipod and telephone.
Can you identify who B. is making a drawing of?
Christmas season has begun at the Mall. Whether officially or unofficially, it's here. E. and I were at Kenwood last weekend, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I began descending down the escalator at Macy's--Christmas trees everywhere!
This takes me by surprise every year. I jokingly asked E. if the mall would be decorated for holidays yet, not seriously believing that it would. Don't they usually wait until after Halloween? Anyhow, pretty lights everywhere--balls, ribbon and splashes of color. It's here!
along with Cincinnati's new Nordstrom!
I grew up believing
That God keeps his eye on us all. (Simon and Garfunkel tune, remember?) If I recall the lyrics of that song, the undertones were very bleak--the writer must not have liked his little town, but I really like mine. Here are glimpses of small town life here in the Midwest.
This big old house sits on the main drag. It's really lovely and very photogenic. I really like all of the symetry.
This is a drive by shot of Ohio's oldest inn--The Golden Lamb. It's also very photogenic and has been photographed a lot. I should be able to tell you exactly how many presidents have visited , but I can't remember! There have been several presidents who have visited though. Just last fall presidential hopeful John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin visited here. The marching band played and everything! B. took many pictures of the dynamic duo. President Bush visited here several years before that, and E. got to take pictures then as she was in the marching band that played. Mark Twain has also visited The Golden Lamb. There is a resident ghost and everything. I love to drive by in the evening and see the candlelights on the tables and people eating--again, very lovely.
This is the Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory. They make very good candy and have been around these parts for years!
I walked in this afternoon (for journaling purposes) and exited with a bag of malted milk balls. Nav. Man and I took the long way home so that we could finish them off before the kids got home from school! Good times!
The burning bushes on Columbus Avenue are alive! I like the brilliant reds of the burning bushes and I also like this shot of B. in the mirror.
This is an old home across the street from the first one. Notice the ghost and ghouls on the second floor balcony. I would love to live in a house like this!
And lastly, our church. Good Methodists have been worshiping here for over 200 years! As I was crossing the street Sunday morning, the chimes started ringing. Almost late! I really love my church home. And my little town. The End.
Red.
Green.
Purple.
Colorful.
Quiet.
Brown.
Excited!
Autumn.
I visited with Mom for a few days last week. The old barn was a welcome sight and had a beautiful backdrop of autumn colors. I photograph this old barn about every time I visit.
Mom and I decided to do a "project"--tidying up her kitchen in the log house.
Dad and Mom built this log house in the early 80's as a place to retreat. At the time they built it, Dad had not yet retired and they came back to their farm to visit and work. They found this abandoned log cabin in Kentucky and bought it from a man whose Mother had been born in it. Dad and my brother made many trips dismantling the cabin and numbering the logs to rebuild it exactly as it had been put together--a lincoln logs of sort. We made some family memories in the cabin before Dad died, but sadly, in recent years it has been used for storage. I won't show you the "before" picture, but here is the old kitchen after Mom and I called it a day.
Actually, this picture was taken in progress. Note the wood box to the right of the wood cook stove.
This old cabinet belonged to Dad's Grandma--these were used before the days of wall cabinetry.
We worked really hard and had a good time going through old kitchen items and glassware. I even brought a few goodies home. After we were through working
I slept under the new Sunbonnet Sue Quilt that Mom just completed!
G. decorated a pumpkin this week and I deem it rather cute and creative. My generation must not have been very imaginative--year after year we sliced off the top, dug out the guts, made the triangle eyes and nose and the zigzag mouth. No deviation from year to year. These kids open up magazines and get ideas and get busy creating. We've had Ariel -The Little Mermaid painted pumpkins, a Cinderella with a pumpkin coach, and a wicked witch outlined with little hold punches to name a few. For nostalgia's sake, I might have to carve a traditonal jack-o-lantern to set by this little guy!
For the past few days Nav. Man has been painting the foyer of our house. We moved into our new house 11 years ago, and gradually the rooms have been re-painted, mostly because of kid-prints through the years, and some rooms because we actually decided against the "all white" paint scheme we had going on. The soaring foyer that we just loved and had to have 11 years ago has been last on the list to get painted for obvious reasons. It is straight up wasted space that neither one of us would ever have built into a house again. So...Nav. Man told me to pick a color that I new I could live with "forever" because he wasn't going to paint this again! Sherwin Williams white is ok with me because I'm kind of a vanilla kind of gal. Everything was cool until a snag this afternoon.
Let me 'paint' you a picture of our afternoon. Since the warm air rises up to this wasted space, Nav. Guy had a big fan sitting on the floor and pointing straight up at him 24 feet in the air on an industrial extension ladder. Rush Limbaugh is blaring on the radio and I am in another room. I could've been in another house and heard the language echoing out of that foyer. Nav. Guy's roller tray broke and the tray of paint fell straight down onto the fan that is blowing full blast. We literally had pin-prick sized paint spots all over the foyer hardwood floor, the legs of the furniture in the foyer, the end table in the living room, the end of the couch in the great room...everywhere. B. Nav. Guy and I were on hands and knees forever cleaning up the mess. I'm sure that when our grand kids come to visit someday, there will still be remnants of today's painting fiasco!
This quilt belonged to my grandma, Rosa Lahrmer. Grandma made an arsenal of quilts through the years and up until she died, she was still making quilts. She never tired of looking at fabrics. In her later years, Mom and my Aunts and Uncle took turns staying with her in her home. Whenever Mom or one of my Aunts made a new quilt top, Grandma would inspect it and then want to make one of her own. Whenever Grandma died, everyone got a quilt--and this "Fan" quilt was passed to me. Grandma pieced the quilt and had her friend, Edna Simmering, to hand quilt it for her. Beautiful, yes?
I have a short list of reptiles/situations that make me a little crazy. I hate snakes and think that the world would be a better place without them. I don't like public speaking really, and did I say snakes? Really hate them. I also am uncomfortable with heights. I don't really know how that started, unless it comes from a fishing trip that Dad took Dan and I on as kids. We "jumped" from land to a locks and dam in the Little Sandy River to fish. Looking straight down at that rushing water and seeing tree limbs, tires and animals pinned up against that dam was more than a little traumatizing. My palms are sweating right now thinking about that height. Whenever I see scenes in movies with heights and someone scaling them or hanging off of cliffs or out of windows, my palms become downright drenched. Indiana Jones and Bruce Willis movies can really get to me. King Kong? Forgedda 'bout it.
Anyhow, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in our family. B. has pretty much the same genetic height thing going on too. When we're watching a movie or TV show and there's someone falling or jumping off waterfalls or falling out of buildings or anything like that, we reach over and grab each other's hands to see which one of us wins the sweaty palm contest. Which brings me to today. After school. Nav. Man has been painting the foyer in our house today standing on this REALLY TALL ladder. It's a good thing that he doesn't really mind doing this as I just don't know if I could climb that ladder to the top. When B. came in the door and saw the ladder and her Dad putting away the paint supplies for the day, she toyed with the idea of climbing it. With little thought on her part and some coaching from Nav. Man and G. she reluctantly climbed to the top. Yeah B! And even now after looking at this picture again, I need to wipe the moisture off this keyboard!
Today is one of those days that seemed 'mundane, nothing much going on out of the ordinary. Kids get up 5:30 and on the bus by 6:30. Make a latte, drink a latte. Look at the news. Start laundry. Blah blah blah. When I look back at the day though, my day probably is very different from what most people do?
I went out to clean up the garden and discovered TONS of new jalapeno peppers growing. So...I picked peppers, washed peppers and de-seeded peppers (this takes a LONG time) all the while wearing my latex gloves to avoid the burn. I carried up jars from the basement, carried up the canner and lids and rings. I washed jars, made vinegar brine and finally got the canner on with 7 pints of peppers. I put a pork loin roast in the oven this afternoon and then discovered that my peaches were ripe, so I made a peach cobbler. I dug sweet potatoes over the weekend, and made a skillet of fried new potatoes/sweet potatoes and onions. The girls got home from school and gathered eggs. After supper I started the second sock to the one I finished last week, so...another project on my needles.
As I look back on the day, the house is still messy, but it feels good to can again, even though I thought I was done for the year. There's a sense of accomplishment to take food from the garden to the table one more time, and for that I am thankful. The potatoes were delicious, but then everything tastes good from Grandma Lahrmer's skillet.
My canning tally for the summer:
I also froze about 5 pints of blackberries from the yard, and 8 or 10 quart bags of corn.
I am beginning to feel like a character from one of my most favorite TV shows--Olivia Walton. This economy/recession makes me mindful of not wasting any of my last vegetables of summer, even when I'm not in the mood to can!
