One of 54 million

I really should make a statement about how we spend our day yesterday.  We had spent the Thanksgiving days,  Tuesday through Sunday on our (almost) last trip to finish the bathroom.  I will let RM give a report on the progress there.

We left Maryland at noon on Sunday.  We then journeyed toward Ohio, sometimes at speeds of 5 mph for a few hours.  I then Googled it and found out that we were one of the 54 million people in the US who had traveled more that 50 miles from their home for this holiday.  As far as one could see, there were the white lights in three lanes coming toward us on one side and red tail lights in the three lanes ahead of us on our side.  All moving at about 5 mph, or not at all. Words cannot describe what it was like, but if I had taken pictures it would be very artistic. 

Ramblings

All I can say, is "rain, rain,and more rain".  Thank goodness I was able to mow the lawn before it started.  We have had a frost so it is not growing much.  We have become homebodies because or the rain.

I frequently say I am so happy I don't have to drive in the buggy like the Amish around here.  Sometimes you see them driving holding a big (black of course) umbrella in front of them. They are trusting the horse knows the way.

In my quest to get rid of my stuff, I have contacted several historical societies to find a home for this stove.  I would love to donate this to them. So far no takers.  This stove was in the basement of the house in Mountain Lake, Minnesota where my grandparents, then my parents, and now my brother live.  My brother did not want it.  I thought I would put it in the walkout basement of a house we were planning to build. I drove 900 miles (one way) with a trailer and brought it to Ohio.

We did not build the house were were planning to. Instead we bought the one we now live in.  So it has been in the wood room of our basement.  I really don't want to just scrap it so will keep trying. 

Loss and Grief

Today I am writing sympathy cards to two of my friends who lost their mothers .  To say I understand what they are going through is very true.  It is sobering when I realize this is another stage of  my  life.  To those who know our friends, it is Denise L and Lynn B. 

In the same vein, last night G and saw the movie "Summer 1993".  It is a Spanish movie about a six year old girl who looses her mother and goes to live with an aunt and uncle.  The acting by the six year old is great.  Much of the time she looks on in silence as things are happening, but shows emotion in her face and body.  It shows here healing in a slow way.  I would recommend the movie. 

I don't want this post to be overly sad.  In each situation there are good memories that heal.

Alabama

Gerry and recently took a trip with our new (to us) camper.  The goal was the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham.  This is the largest motorcycle museum in the world.  Pictures fail to get the feel, but I will try. This is looking out of the five story elevator. These are not models, they are the real thing.  

Truth be said, it was a bit of overload for me, but of course not for Gerry.

The next two were placards on the tables where we had lunch.

Looking into the past

Every year G goes to a local engine show.  Engines are all sizes that are imaginable.  This is how boards were made years ago.  I am sending the link to the video.  Hope you can see it. Looks like you might need to cut and paste.


https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOgGbfetCX10WK8KmlszS0-ja8C19mAtcuC6fMC   

Old cars 

Everything you could image and more at the flea market.

It was a tiring day! 

Week in CA in photos

We are completing our week long visit with family near San Francisco.  Pappa G spends quality  time with his granddaughter.  

Enjoying art in Walnut Creek.  

A photographer at work

This is one of her works.

Celebrating my 74th birthday.  

Back to normal routine

Now that we are back home from Minnesota (Mom's funeral and lots of quality time with family) it is time to "hit the road running".  As an aside, that phrase means "start something and proceed at a fast pace with enthusiasm".  Because of my Mom passing, we had to reschedule the Pig Roast which was to be that week. It involved contacting about 80 people.  It will be in about two weeks from now.  That entails making a new spread sheet of guests who are coming or denied.  We use that to make name tags and to decide who to invite next year.  You don't RSVP and you may not be invited again!!

Yesterday we mowed the lawn which was long enough to bale it for cattle food.  Luckily we don't feel we have to have the best lawn in the neighborhood.

Today I will buy locally grown peaches and make freezer jam and enjoy the rest.  I also need to renew my driver's license.  That involves looking good for the picture (ha) and bringing extra documentation.  We now have to prove who we are, our legal presence in the US, address, and who knows what else. 

Tribute to my mother

On Sunday we lost my mother.  Gerry and I are in Minnesota now, having had calling hours yesterday and the funeral today.  I am sharing her obituary. 


 https://sturmfh.com/tribute/details/6356/Ruby-Pankratz/obituary.html#tribute-start

I know this is short and to the point, but that is all I can do today. 

Road trip part 2

Lake Placid is a lake of the same name as the village.  We all know it from the Winter Olympics being held there in 1932 and 1980.  We had a tour of the grounds, ice rinks and learned of the history.  We viewed a tape of the last few minutes of the "Miracle On Ice" February 22, 1980. It almost made my heart stop and then brought me tears as I watched the video.  Don't have room here to give the details.

A small museum of Robert Louis Stevenson and the farmhouse where he lived are in Saranac Lake.

As always when I visit a museum like this, I realize how little I know about famous people in our history.  One picture stands out for me.  He suffered from some sort of disease of the lungs. So he wrote sitting up in his bed with pillows behind him - smoking none stop!! But he did not keep this from his living a full, interesting life.

Whiteface Mountain was next on our itinerary. It is 4867 feet above sea level. We drove up and then hiked the last 330 feet.  There was an elevator but it was out of order.  It was overcast but on a clear day one can see mountains in Vermont, skyscrapers in Montreal and White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Guess we will have to come back on a clear day.

Last was the War of 1812 Museum in Pittsburgh.  Again, how little I know of history other than dates.  The curator told me this was the best book on the topic, written by a non biased author. So no excuse for being ignorant of it now.

Mirror Lake is near Lake Placid.  It has a wonderful walking trail around it.

Road trip

In June my sister, Marge, and I took a road trip through the northern  part of New York state.  

It was a nice mix of museums, hiking, and just enjoying the scenery. 

  Does it look like someone is exited to go?

Corning Museum of Glass was first on our itinerary. I had not done a lot or research, just went on friend's recommendations so thought it was an exhibit  of the Corningware dishes we all use.  Instead it truly was the history of glass as well as glass art from ancient to present.

Yes, that is made of glass.

Our first hiking challenge was the Gorge Trail at Watkins Glen (800 steps and 19 waterfalls).

And going up means coming down again!

That was to prepare us for Bald Mountain. 

 The view was worth it.

 I am tired from all the hiking so will continue this blog another day.

Carpet installation is done

In order to have carpet installed in all the bedrooms upstairs (two of which are offices) and the living room and dining room we had to pack all objects except the furniture.  I with some help packed about 70 boxes and carried books from bookshelves that filled six shelves in the basement.  Just like packing to move.  

The blue carpet is an example of the old carpet.

Living room

New carpet.  The pattern does not show well on the picture.

Oh, I should mention that someone had to put hundreds of screws in before the carpet was installed so that the floor would no longer squeak. 

New flooring Part 1

We decided to replace the flooring in our home.  The house is 23 years old and was in need of an update.  This last week the hard surfaces were installed.   We chose a flooring that is made of synthetic materials meaning no wood to ever warp and is completely water proof.  It has a cork layer on the bottom which makes it comfortable to walk on.  It took the installers three days.  DH, who always wants to do projects himself, admitted it might have taken him a month.

The most work for us was to remove two  shelf unites and everything on them.  Now the challenge is to find a place for the items which were on them.  

My take is that I love it.  I say so every time I walk on it.

Face to Face

No pictures with this post ( you will shortly understand why).

A few days ago I was walking in my woods, as I love to do.  It had recently rained so when I walked there was no sound of crunching leaves or twigs.  I noticed an adult raccoon, which also saw me and ran away.  I then saw a raccoon which appeared to be half grown.  When ever it would walk behind a tree, I would walk closer.  Soon I was quite close. When it came out from behind the tree, I stood as still as I could. It came closer and closer.  While doing so, it kept sniffing.  At times it would stand on its hind legs and look at me.  Only movement from me was blinking eyes.  We  were about 10 feet apart for several minutes before it ambled away.  Obviously if I had moved to get my camera it would have been gone.  I just have a great picture in my memory.

Keeping busy

Gerry and I have been working what feels like nonstop on getting his shop organized so he can work on the tractor that has been in pieces for several years. He was given many steel shelves which he felt would help to get things organized.  He brought them home in pieces so they had to be assembled.  That took a couple of days.

And May is the month for nonstop gardening or landscaping jobs.  I have decided to no longer have a vegetable garden. I found that having that and working on landscaping around the house was too much.  Both seemed to be full of weeks. 

I am excited about the possibilities for this space. Currently this is how it looks.   There is a lot of empty space to fill.

25 of 365 Rain and more rain

Technically winter is over and it is spring.  Which brings a lot of rain to Ohio.  This is how our lawn area looked.  We don't have any fish in it yet.  In a day there was no longer streams of water. Fortunately our basement has remained dry.  Today we  had a snow shower which melted in an hour or two.  

24 of 365 Shall I call 911?

RM always says that when she goes up on a ladder she needs someone there to hold the latter or to call 911.  That was my responsibility in this case.  Fortunately all I had to do was to take pictures.

This man has a loft  where he keeps motorcycles. To get them up or down he puts a small lift on the big car lift and puts the bike on that to raise and lower it.  A video would have shown the procedure better than the pictures.

23 of 365 Does it give me joy?

I am sure I have posted in the past about editing my "stuff" using the KonKari method.  She suggests putting everything  you own of one type of item in a pile on the floor, or in this case on the table.  I decided to look at what I had in my liquor cabinet.  In my house it on the floor of a pantry.  With the KonMari method you are to pick up each item and ask if it brings you joy.  If yes, keep it.  If no, throw, sell or donate.  Well, I think you can see where this is going with the liquor.  I pick up a bottle of wine, vodka, etc. and ask if it gives me joy.   That is a stupid question if you ask me. I did empty a partial bottle of Marsala that had been open far too long. 

I do not drink a lot so it looks like I have pretty much a lifetime supply.  After inventorying each bottle I put them on a shelf in the basement. 

I know, this inventory is pitiable when one looks at the wine cellar of de-I. 

22 of 365 New Orleans

Our family spent a week together in New Orleans from March 31 to April 6. We rented an Air B & B
house.  It was close to the streetcar line so we were able to use it to get around.  There were many great restaurants within walking distance also.  This post will cover events on Sunday April 1.  K thought hard to come up with an April Fool Joke.  Finally she put tooth past on the kitchen drawers so we would get it on our hands when opening the door.

Walking down the streets, we noticed trees that had lots of beads hanging on them.  K and B started picking them.  They had help from their Dad who would hold them up to reach the higher branches.  K wore them around her neck most of the time. 

People on the street were dress in their finery for Easter.

It is the 300th birthday of New Orleans! 

21 of 365 Beads

New Orleans and beads are synonymous.

20 of 365 Living thru Bloggers

I love reading blogs of people I do not know nor will have the opportunity to meet.  I go on the blogspot.com blogs and just click on "Next Blog" to see what it will give me.  It is fascinating to read about how people see life,  and what they write about it.  Some are depressing, some just boring. I enjoy the format of bloggers using poetry to tell their story.  Stories tell of happiness, pleasure and heart break.  I' m trying to pick out things that help me understand people and life. Travel and photography also interest me. 

18 of 365 Friends

Ada and Molly seem to be friends, but it is not always so. If Molly gets too close to Ada' s food, or if Ada
just gets too close to Molly there is batting or hissing.
As RM has posted on her blog I have been here five days nursing her back to health. Maybe not so but at least taking care of dog and cat, buying groceries and cooking.
I would have left this morning but a blizzard changed my plans. Will go tomorrow.

17 of 365 Bernie gets a new home

I have had this lovely pheasant for years. It is time for it to have a new home. My neighbor, R is the new owner. He had named it Bernie. Years ago as G and I were driving along a country road we saw this bird that apparently been hit by a car. Growing up in Minnesota there were pheasants all around. So it brought back memories of my childhood.

16 of 365 Dinner guests

G and I have decided to invite several friends or acquaintance to dinner.  Usually we see these people in a large group  where it is impossible to talk on a personal level. He was in charge of doing the actual inviting.  Somehow he invited people two nights in a row.  I was not happy and complained about it.  Seems it was a good idea.  I only need to clean the house one time and I will be serving the same menu.  They, of course, will not know it.  Only G and I will be having a repeat menu.  In addition to that, the casserole (chicken, rice, peas, carrots and cheese) can be made a day or two ahead.  I will make the dessert ahead which is a bunt cake with blueberries, banana, pineapple and pecans.

.

15 of 365 Taxes done

Until about three years ago I did our taxes myself.  Well I did use software such as turbotax.  I followed their instructions as best I could.  Then we had some investments where there was depreciation and some other things.  A CPA we were working with found mistakes I had made and it cost to have a revised form submitted to the IRS. We are no longer a client of this CPA so I was back to filing the taxes myself.  I figured it would take me many hours to do it, and then it probably  would be not be correct again.   So after spending 45 minutes with an agency here that does taxes, it is done.  I think I told G six times how happy and relieved I was.   (Just a note about my posts.  I am writing them for myself as well as sharing my life with others.  I know talk about taxes is that exciting. )

14 of 365 Memories

On Saturday we celebrated the 75th birthday of a friend.  For my gift I made copies of  pictures that brought back memories of things we had done together.  I will share just two.

When RM was moving to Md to start her grad work, she had rented a basement apartment and needed her belongings.  We rented this 20 foot truck because she was bringing a motorcycle. This size was also the smallest size where three people could legally ride in the cab.  My friend, M, myself, RM and a cat (in a pillow case) made the journey together.  M commented that I always called things an adventure.

M and her husband E rode their motorcycle with G and I around Lake Michigan.  On the way we stopped in Kankakee, Ill to visit friends.  It just so happened that they were hosting a "murder mystery " party. We had not brought appropriate attire so we  went to the nearest thrift store where we found just what we needed.   Obviously the theme was of Roman times. 

13 of 365 One hand only

When a friend broke her right arm she suggested I try using my non-dominate arm as she was doing.  When I polish my nails I find they turn out much better if I do one hand, let it dry completely and then do the other. Today I recalled what my friend had suggested and took the challenge to try it. 

To open the cheese package I tried using the scissor.   Hopefully they make a left handed  scissors as I had to use a knife holding it against the counter top. Next was cutting the cheese then putting it in a plastic bag and closing it with a twist tie. That was not easy either.

I wanted to take a photo of the hand I was not using. Holding it against my body I could not look thru the view finder. So I just took several until I got one that worked.  Then removing the memory card and putting it in computer,  and downloading it so I could post it here. Finally typing this is frustrating in that I need to look at the keyboard for all the letters I would normally type with my right hand.

I have seen people who have had strokes using only one hand. They have my admiration for the things they do. Like traveling  alone by air.