GETTING READY FOR CAIN PARK ARTS FESTIVAL ..... JUNE 30 2011

Any time you do a new festival you are on pins and needles.  Will I get lost?  Will I do well?  Will I like the promoters?  Will I like the location?  Will I have a happy face or a sad face? 

I am driving up on Thursday and spending the night in the area. The festival opens at 3 p.m. on Friday, and my scheduled time for set-up is 7 a.m.  Since I have to put up my own tent, it takes time, and the help of anyone willing to take the time to help.  I have never had anyone refuse to help me yet, but there is always that first time.

Am starting to print pictures to be matted and/or framed for this festival, as I sold out of so many of the popular ones at Boston Mills, so am behind in the ball game at this moment.

In addition to all this, am going to a 4th of July party on Sunday July 3rd, and am having a 4th of July party on Monday July 4th.  That leaves me Tuesday and Wednesday of next week to finish all preparations.  Sometimes I have to agree with my kids - I really am nuts to be going through all this.  But I do have fun.

I really don't know what I would do if I were not involved in all that I do.  I think that is what keeps me going.  I always always have something to look forward to.  Sometimes when I look backwards, I wonder why?  But then I know why.  I love what I do.

The weekend after Cain Park is the Dublin Ohio Art show, and the last Saturday of the month is the Barnstormers picnic.  August will be here before you know it, and July hasn't officially arrived yet.

All of September, October and November arts festivals are in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  Can't show favoritism, so try to spread myself around, but Ohio has the most quality shows, especially in early summer.

So off to the printing, matting and framing.  Looking forward to each festival, catching up with old friends, and making new ones..  I wonder what Cain Park will bring?

RED TAILED HAWK

Have a great day and God Bless.

PLAYING WITH PICTURES .... ie IMPRESSIONISTIC PHOTOGRAPHY ... JUNE 29 2011

For the most part I am a traditional photographer, what you see in my pictures is what you would see if you went to where the picture was taken.  BUT, I have a 1% selection of what is classified as Impressionistic Photography. 

The impressionism is created either in how the picture is taken, or how the picture is processed.  I do both. 

Today will be photography 109 - processing impressionistic pictures.  This picture is of a bright pink hollyhock, one of the old fashioned type.  This is how it looked for real, the one on the right.

The picture of the hollyhock on the left as how it looked printed as a color-reversal adding sepia-tone.  Same flower, but not what you would see if you went there.

The next picture is how it would look with the original picture being printed as a sepia-tone rather than a color print.  It is amazing how one little thing can change the effect so completely. 

Now for the question - which one do you like best? 

Another way to achieve impressionism is to photograph through textured glass, such as found in shower stall doors  There are many different types of glass and each different type will give a completely different look.  Below is one of my pictures through the glass I prefer.  You can see what is close to the glass is very clear, but what is further away becomes very impressionistic.

Please ignore the gaps.  For some reason I have had a lot of problems today with uploading the pictures, placing them properly, and trying to type where I should be typing.  The hazards of computers.

So guess I will close for now.  Sorry I am running so late, but this has been an on and off job all day, just to get this far.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Enjoy your lesson and God Bless.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOSTON MILLS .......JUNE 28 2011

Boston Mills is a ski resort located near Peninsula, Ohio.  The Boston Mills Art Festival is celebrating their 40th year in 2011 - and is considered one of the top art festivals around.

Arrived at my hotel early afternoon on Thursday, checked in, then went looking for things to take pictures of.  I shared two of them with you yesterday.  Upon returning to the hotel met up with friends Russ and Kay, and we had dinner, caught up on everything, then called it a day.

We were at the resort early Friday morning for set up.   It takes approximately 4 hours to unload, scope out our assigned area, and figure out how we can use it to the best advantage.  Then it is placing display panels, tables, chair, etc, then comes the fun part of unpacking and arranging the display.  Of course we take frequent breaks, but we get it done.

At 4 p.m. the Festival head honchos had an Italian buffet for us poor, tired, over-worked, starving artists.  Salads and pastas and meat-balls, and stuff.  It was really great.  Then at 6 p.m. on Friday the gates opened for the Artist's Reception.  The patrons attending paid $50.00 per person just to walk through the door.  There was wine, and cheese, and fruit, and stuff for them, and not only did they have a great time eating and drinking, they had a great time shopping.  There were a couple of categories of my pictures that I sold out of on Friday evening.

On Saturday returning to the festival site, both Russ' and my GPS got us lost, telling us to turn left instead of right.  I have decided that my GPS girl had too much wine the night before, and didn't know what she was doing  But we arrived, and a good day it was.  Russ and I are set up next to each other, and directly across from us was an artist couple (she is the artist, he is the do-er) and, like happens so many times, we all hit it off right away, and laughed and talked the entire weekend.  A couple of new folks to add to our growing list of  festival family.  And what a family it is.

Sunday at the close of the festival while we were all packing up, loading up, and getting ready to head for home, Wendy came over and gave both Russ and me one of her Prints.  Her medium is "gouache" - I hope you can pronounce it, because I sure can't.

Her particular style is done on rice paper using opaque water colors, and the effect it quite stunning.  To learn more about her work go to her web-site http://www.wlwilkerson.com/  I know I will treasure the print she gave me.

A new art form for me.  I have never seen this particular type of art before.  A new friend, full of laughter, sense of humor, Russ, Kay, Wendy and I laughed a lot, it was a good weekend.

Tear down is always a three ring circus.  Everyone is jockying for a parking space as close to their location as possible, and it never ceases to amaze me at how fast tear down and loading up happens, especially compared with unloading and set-up.  With in 2 hours of closing time I was leaving the area on my way home, tired, but satisfied. 

The kids from Arizona had arrived Saturday night and I was anxious to see them. 

the up-side of any festival is having good sales.  the down-side is that now I only have a couple of weeks to replenish my stock of rapidly selling prints.

I guess we can't have it all.  But I would rather it be this way, than not having to replace anything.  A lot of what I sell I do not replace as I am always adding new pictures, but other just keep selling and selling.

Well, enough for Boston Mills.  I have to get in gear and get started, getting ready for the Cain Park Arts Festival in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  This festival is the weekend of July 8-10.  One thing for sure, I don't run out of things to do.

Have a great day, do what you can and put the rest on the back burner.  There is always another day ahead of us.  So enjoy your days and God Bless.

SMILES or NO SMILES ..... JUNE 27 2011.......

I believe I mentioned last week, that hopefully I would be going to the bank.  Well guess what - I'm not.

No, the world didn't come to an end.  No I didn't get lost (even though the GPS tried to lose me a few times), but I do have a happy face.  All my sales were either cash or charges (I do take Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover), so no special trip to town for the bank.  All charges were run through this morning and approved.  Hence the happy face.

In addition - a bonus - I found a mill and a mail pouch building to photograph.

This is the Smith Mill, and is located near Massillon Ohio.  It is a very well kept mill in a beautiful setting.

Now for history 103. Or is it 104?  Whatever.

This mill originally built in 1820 and functioned as a gristmill and flourmill into the mid 1800's.  The mill was directly in front of the Ohio & Erie Canal.  In the late 1900's it was converted into a brewery, known as Massillon Brewing Company.  In 1910 the brewery re-located into Massillon, and later that year the original mill burned.

In 1925 the original foundation stones were salvaged to build the present mill.  Lumber from an old mill was used to construct this new mill.  From 1925 through 1973 the mill functioned as a cider mill, pressing apples into cider.  This mill would, at times, produce up to 200 gallons of cider a day.

In 1973 the property was sold.  The mill is no longer functioning.  It has been, though, well maintained.  The interior is no longer accessible.  The foundation stones are a sandy color, making a nice contrast with the darker brown sandstone used for the upper part of the mill.

This next picture is of the mail pouch building (shed? garage?)  As it was located on private property, and could not be easily photographed from the road, I pulled into their driveway, hoping to get permission to take the picture.

A very nice woman came out and asked if she could help me.  I told her what I wanted to do, she laughed and said she got folks there all the time to take pictures.

She walked with me as I went to take the picture, talking all the way, it was so enjoyable to listen to her.  She and her husband had painted the building themselves.  She told me they had sent for the stencils for the lettering, and how much fun they had doing it, and how many people now stop by to take pictures.  She did mention that she would have to trim back one of the hostas, as it was covering up some of the lettering.

There is never such a thing as a dull or boring day.  I meet so many folks, hear so many interesting stories, and the icing on the cake is being able to get a picture that I can add to the business.

I hope your days are as interesting as mine, and that you can laugh a lot.   Enjoy what is available and God Bless.

FRAMING, MURALS, and OTHER STUFF.......JUNE 23 2011

I got everything done yesterday except for the framing.  I actually did find my bed, and boy did I crash.  So this morning, after finishing this blog, I will do my framing, and then head for Peninsula, Ohio.

I will be off-line until, hopefully, Monday morning, hopefully on my way to the bank, hopefully with a big smile on my face.  Time will tell.  The one thing I am looking forward to is the Friday night Artist's Reception.  Only folks over 21 are invited, they are having wine, cheese, and all the good stuff. The folks coming will have to pay $50.00 to enter, enjoy the wine and get a preview of the artists work for sale.  Should be an interesting evening.  Then Saturday and Sunday are your everyone is welcome days.  Will be a new experience for me.

Now that I've covered framing and other stuff, I will talk about Murals.

I assume you all know what murals are - very large pictures, painted on walls, buildings, woven into tapestry, that sort of thing.  I have a category (in my personal photo files, not in the business) of Murals, and thought I would share some with you.  They are amazing.

Steubenville, Ohio has the reputation as being a "City of Murals".  There are many many beautiful pictures on the different buildings as you drive through the downtown areas.

This particular mural is commemorating the steel workers, as Steubenville, like Pittsburgh Pa, and Martins Ferry Ohio, and many other towns were at one time steel towns.

At the time I graduated from high school, the boys in my class that were not going on to school to become doctors, or lawyers, or some such thing, knew they had a sure thing life-time job in the steel mills or coal mines.  Many of their fathers and grandfathers, etc. worked or had worked in these two industries.  They would have jobs forever.  That was in the past.  Those sure-fire jobs have disappeared, as so many other things have over the year.  This building is another of the Steubenville murals.

And then there is Route 30, or the Lincoln Highway as it was, and still is, known. 

This is a beautiful barn with the mural completely covering the one end. 

Murals are not new.  Murals go back to cave dweller times, their paintings on the rocks and cave walls.  Primitive, but still murals, depicting a way of life.  As we today are still using murals to depict our way of life.

Along Route 30 even the gas pumps have murals painted on them.  When is the last time you have seen something like this.

If you would like to know more of the history of the Lincoln Highway, as told from one of the murals point of view, you will find the story in Volume 2 of my IF ONLY I COULD TALK books.
The barn picture above is telling the story of the building of the Lincoln Highway and the painting of the murals.

I probably have around 40 different murals in my collection - I don't go out specifically to photograph murals, but when I come across any that are interesting, or unique, or just pretty, I try to take the time and photograph them.

So, history lesson 103.  I wonder what the next history lesson will be?

So am closing for now, have much to do before finding my friends in Peninsula later this afternoon.  I hope you all have a great weekend and God Bless.

WILL I EVER FIGURE OUT ALL THIS STUFF?.......JUNE 22 2011

It seems as though as fast as I figure out something to do (this is about computers, of course), another something bogs me down.  Just a simple request from a friend, I follow all the said steps laid out for me, but the computer always comes up with something and I don't have a clue as to what the computer wants.  I really really really hate to admit that the computer is smarter than me.

Today is just a little of this and a little of that.  First on the agenda - food preparation.  Daughter and son-in-law flying in from Phoenix on Saturday.  Of course I will be in Peninsula, Ohio at the Boston Mills Art Festival.  So getting some basics prepared, chilled salads, home made coffee cakes, and anything else I can think of so Jerry won't have to panic on what to feed them over the weekend.

Second on the agenda - clean the house.  And it really needs it.  This time of year, what with festivals, yard mowing, vegetable garden hoeing, flowerbed  cleanups, I feel as if I am going around in circles.  So No. 2 is clean the house, at least the spare room and the bathroom.

Third on the agenda - finish framing pictures that need framed.  Have all the printing and matting done, but this is left to do.

Fourth - run down to the Highlands for last minute grocery shopping, prescription pick-up, and printer ink.

Fifth, fix supper for Jerry and me - am making Salmon Loaf and creamed peas.  The salmon loaf will make enough that I can take it with me tomorrow in the cooler when I leave for Peninsula.  I like it cold as well as hot. 

Sixth - get the van loaded so I can leave in the morning.  Have several things I am going to look for on my way - (a photo op sort of), then meet up with friends doing the same festival, and staying at the same hotel as I am, comparing notes, and getting ready for early Friday morning set-up.

Seventh - collapse in a heap in the middle of the floor.  Sooner or later I hope to find my way to the bed.

And you think you are having a busy day.  Enjoy and God Bless.

HOW MAIL POUCH ADVERTISING BEGAN ...and other stuff...June 21 2011

Before I begin the Mail Pouch Sign history, I have a couple of things to share first.

Got an e-mail yesterday from a friend living in the City.  I am going to quote that e-mail here:

SEARS IS LOST!

I have been sitting here in my chair in the living room for a little over an hour.  At one point I noticed that the large delivery truck from Sears had been past several times.  It kept circling and I counted 15 times in the same direction, in addition to all of the times that I did not count.

The truck is now circling in the opposite direction.  It has done that 7 times and counting. 

I wonder if they are looking for a place for your old refrigerator?

If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will.

One of the neat things I would like to share regarding Harley Warrick (The Last Barn Painter), was his humility, and his willingness to share.  He was an unique, like able person, and I feel much richer for having known him.

I remember, more than once, when I would be at a festival, there would be a 4 x 8 panel on sawhorses.  Harley would be at that particular festival, and he would paint a Mail Pouch sign on said panel, demonstrating his "art work" and talking about Mail Pouch.  But the neatest thing of all, whenever a customer would purchase one of my Mail Pouch barn prints, Harley would autograph it for said customer.  How many "celebrities" do you know that would take the time to do that?  Usually these panels were either auctioned off, or went into a permanent Mail Pouch display.

Now for History 102.  (In case you don't know, History 101 was yesterday)

The sign first began appearing on the barns around the turn of the century (19th into the 20th, or 1800's into the 1900's - just making sure you know the right century) and CHEW MAIL POUCH - TREAT YOURSELF TO THE BEST has become a prominent part of the nostalgic Americana, found only within the 600 mile radius of Wheeling.

In the early days the farmer was offered his choice of being paid for the advertising space with money, tobacco, or magazine subscriptions.  However this became quite complicated when barn ownership changed, and the farmer is now paid in money on a yearly basis.

When the program began, the copy was designed by Mr. J. A Block, requiring a wide yellow border with  black spots in the center of the yellow border, spaced 12 inches apart.  Why the black spot.  Because the painters were paid by the square foot, and a picture of every sign was required to be sent in with their expense accounts.  This picture, primitive as it was, served as a source of information, determining how many square feet each sign consisted of so the painters were paid properly. 

MAIL POUCH barn signs are the original and oldest method of road-side advertising, and the one that is now known nationwide.  The story is told about an English celebrity, who, upon arriving at a New York airport, was asked by a reporter what he thought America was most famous for.  His answer "Good looking women and MAIL POUCH TOBACCO BARNS".

In the beginning the work was given out to local sign painters as transportation was limited.  In later years the paint contracts narrowed down to only a few, and in 1933 this work was taken over by the tobacco company.  The last two prominent barn painters were Maurice Zimmerman from Cambridge, Ohio, and Harley Warrick of Belmont Ohio.

Mr Zimmerman has passed away, but still has relatives in the Cambridge area.  When Harley retired, the tobacco company discontinued the barn advertising.  Harley passed away in 2000.

The Barnstormers is an organization founded to help preserve this piece of our local interest and heritage.  They are doing a great job of making people aware of the history of Mail Pouch, and they also help with the restoration of mail pouch barns.

I found this barn in Greene County Pennsylvania.  Not too long after I had photographed it, a storm came along and finished the demolition job.

Another piece of our history is gone, along with so many others. It is truly sad.

In 1968 the Highway Beautification Act forced cancellation of a large portion of the barn painting, because a sign within 600 feet of an Interstate or primary highway was in violation of the act.  Harley worked as the only barn painter for many years, retiring in 1995.  Since that time the program has been completely cancelled, but I have it on good authority that property owners with the Mail Pouch Barn sign still receive their annual check for $10.00  I found the next barn in Randolph County West Virginia.

Only in West Virginia are the barns preserved, well painted, and propped up with posts to keep them from falling over the hill.

I will conclude this history lesson with a few MAIL POUCH TID-BITS.

DID YOU KNOW?

That the barn owner was paid approximately $10.00 per year per side.

That during the depression years it was this guaranteed income per year that was the difference between keeping or losing your farm?

That a lot of older signs done prior to WW II contained a tobacco pouch and some even contained the name of the tobacco company - Block Brothers - in the sign?

The barn painting was discontinued at the start of WW II?  At the close of the war it was resumed and it was in that time frame that Harley Warrick was hired.

That in some instances the design of the sign was quite different than what we see today?

That Harley, at random, would deliberately mis-spell or mis-place one of the words on a Mail Pouch sign, and then sit back and wait to see how many phone calls the tobacco company would get about the mistake?

I hope you have enjoyed this.  The next time you are out riding, see if you can find a MAIL POUCH BARN, and God Bless.

A RAINY GOOD MORNING...AND THINGS YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW!!!!!

I was going to do some more work in the flower beds, but it is really, really wet out there, so instead I am going to share some of the history of Mail Pouch advertising with you.

First of all, I am not a smoker, never have been a smoker, am not trying to make smokers out of you readers, just want to share a very interesting part of our local history with you.

For background, in the early 1980's as I was advancing into some of the larger art shows, rather than the grade school stuff, I began having requests from potential customers asking if I had any Mail Pouch Barn pictures.  Mail Pouch Barn - what was that?  I started trying to get answers.  Some time later I happened to see a very small article in the newspaper that at Belmont Technical Branch in St. Clairsville, Ohio, there would be a program presented about Mail Pouch Barns, and one Harley Warrick would be the speaker.  As St. C was only about 40 minutes away, guess what?  I was there.

What a wonderful program and speaker.  Afterwards I introduced myself to Harley, told him I was trying to find and photograph as many Mail Pouch Barns as I could, and he volunteered to help in my travels.  A few days later I received a packet from him, listing, by state, then county, then route, where the MP barns were located that he had painted.  I still have these papers.

I was hooked, and have never completely gotten un-hooked.  Through him I got an appointment with the tobacco company, and they in turn supplied me with more of the history of the barns.

Talk about a steady seller.  I have regularly been selling my barn pictures for thirty years.  And, thanks to the tobacco company I have a very unique picture in my library of pictures.

An interested person mentioned to me that he had worked for the tobacco company and in their warehouse there hung a great sign.  No one actually knows where it came from, just that at one time as they were cleaning out a portion of the warehouse, this sign was found buried with other odds and ends of lumber. 

Where the sign was originally, how it came to be in the warehouse, the story behind it, I do not know, and do not know of anyone who does know.  If anyone out there has the info, I would dearly love to have you share.

So much for my involvement with the Mail Pouch barn history.  The following information I am going to share has been compiled from several sources.  I have made it as accurate as I possibly could, based on the info I have received.  A lot of the info came from the tobacco company itself.  I hope you will enjoy your history lesson.

MAIL POUCH BARNS

A PART OF OUR HISTORY

This advertising sign was only painted along the roadsides within an approximately 500 mile radius of Wheeling WV, where the tobacco company was located.  The reason - as the original "barn painters" traveled in horse-drawn wagons, they would be on the road for 6-7 months at a time, staying with the owners of the barn they were painting.  Hence the limitation of area.

HOW WAS MAIL POUCH NAMED?

In 1879 two brothers - Aron and Samuel Bloch - owned a dry goods (general store) in Wheeling West Virginia. On the second floor of this building they employed women to roll cigars (stogies).

The ends of the cigars were clipped for smoking.  The clippings were bunched together and left in a pile.  One of the brothers got the idea of mixing these clipping with a type of flavoring and placed in a jar in the store for sale as chewing tobacco.  As licorice as the main added flavoring of this era, it was used to sweeten the taste of the tobacco.

The tobacco sold quickly, and it soon became hard for the brothers to keep up with the demand.  They began to ship the material to wholesalers as business picked up, and the wholesalers would package  the material with their own  brand names.  By 1890 the brothers decided they wanted to package the tobacco themselves and ship it nationwide.  BUT - they needed a name for the product.  To decide on a name they held a contest at the general store.  Different names were written down on paper and put in a jar by the customers.

It is important to remember that during this period of time there were no automobiles nor telephones.  The only way for communication over long distances was the U S Mail.  The main social activity for people during the late 1800's was to congregate at the general store.  The mailman would often bring stories of neighboring towns and villages as well as mail for the people of the community.

Needless to say, it was the mailman who entered the suggestion MAIL POUCH CHEWING TOBACCO, and it was due to his importance and popularity in the community and the country that it was chosen.  The name was based on the mail pouches in which the mail was carried as it was being delivered by horseback.  At that point in time everyone in the country could relate to the choice of MAIL POUCH..

And, so in 1890 the BLOCH BROTHERS TOBACCO COMPANY was founded, manufacturing WEST VIRGINIA MAIL POUCH chewing tobacco.

Enough for history today.  Tomorrow, if there are no earth-shattering events to dwell upon, I will continue the story of Mail Pouch, and how the advertising on buildings came to be.

And now, since it is too wet to work out, I will begin the process of matting and framing my new work for the Boston Mills Art Festival at the end of the week.

Enjoy your day and God Bless.

A DAY OF RELAXATION -- A DAY OF INSANITY ....... JUNE 19 2011

The day at Georgia's, what a wonderful, relaxing, good food day.  We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and I think we all needed a day off just for fun, as everyone is so busy right now, our heads spin.

This is part of the group, son Michael, Dan, Georgia's husband, friend Vicki, Georgia, daughter Rebecca (owner of Double Edge Press), her daughter my granddaughter Shelby, son Jerry, and grandson Coleman.

Mike's wife Tammie, my grandson Garrett, and Georgia's mother Arlie were inside the house looking at some of Georgia's paintings.  The only one missing was Pastor Linda from Pittsburgh.  Wish she were here.

This is a picture of their farmhouse.  You can see, they are about as isolated as we are, and love every minute of it.  They are also on a dead end road.  Almost to the end, there is one other family beyond them.

Neither one of us can imagine living anywhere else.  I guess you could say we are the lucky ones.

Dan tried planting potatoes again this year.  Last year he decided to plant some, and whoever he talk to told him to plant them at least a foot (12 inches) into the ground, and cover with fertilizer or manure.  So he did.  So no potatoes.  Nada.  Nothing.  What didn't get burned up from the fertilizer were buried so deep they didn't have a chance.

I grow potatoes every year.  Usually have enough for us and to share with family and friends.  I think potatoes are my favorite thing to grow, each hill is a surprise, you never know what you have until you start digging.  Dan asked my advice, I told him I did a shallow trench, then drop the potato pieces in to the trench about 12 inches apart, not deep, and then just cover them with dirt. 

He did that this year, and actually has some pretty good looking potato plants. Hopefully he will get a return on his investment.

A lovely place to sit and relax.

Georgia been experimenting with flower beds, she has some very unusual plants coming into bloom this year.  Will be anxious to see what actually materializes.  Some of the things she has found at nurseries I have never heard of. 

So, this was the day of RELAXATION.

Pastor Linda definitely did not have a day of relaxation.  Her's was the day of INSANITY.

She had to cancel going with us yesterday, as her doctor wanted her to have some blood work done Saturday morning, and possible other tests.  There went the day, so she called Friday night, cancelling.  The rest is quoted form her e-mail received this morning.

After I talked to you last night, the painter called and asked if he could stop by on Saturday afternoon.  I said that would be okay, especially since I would be stuck here by myself when I really wanted to be with you.

I went for the blood work at 7 and did not need the tests.  If I hadn't told the painter to come I would have called you and headed to West Alexander.  The painter NEVER came.

I have had a lousy day.

The neighbor (these neighbors are sort of nutty, you never what they are going to say next) complained that one of my cats had a litter of kittens in her yard.  I am MOST certain that none of my MALE, INDOOR cats did that.  Most certain.

Then again, the Soviet Union may have been a building in Oakland after all.

Pastor Linda attended Pitt, and she received a phone call the other evening from a student at Pitt, doing a sort of assignment, calling the OLD ALUMNI and asking them questions about their time at Pitt compared to now.  The question was - what class did Pastor Linda like the best.  Her reply was the opportunity to study in the Soviet Union.  (She spent time studying in Russia when it was still the Soviet Union).  After a moment of silence the Pitt student replied that she DIDN'T THINK THAT BUILDING WAS STILL ON CAMPUS.

Another phone call from the neighbor complaining that "MY" birds are still flying over their yard.  I have asked them to stop, but they do not listen.

Definitely a day of insanity. 

Now I am asking a no-brainer - which do you prefer, a day of relaxation or a day of insanity.  Whichever, have a good day and God Bless.

SUNSHINE, STORMS, and OTHER STUFF......JUNE 18 2011

Had beautiful sunshine yesterday.  Got a lot of work done in my flower garden, pulling weeds, rearranging mulch, dead-heading flowers, just general clean up.  We still haven't had a chance to get our new mulch this year, will probably do that within the next week to 10 days.  Really running late this year.  We use the black mulch, really looks good with all the colorful flowers.


A whing-ding of a storm came through last night about 10:30 p.m.  We were completely surrounded by lightning, the sky never had a chance to really darken up, just light light everywhere.  Then the rain hit.  It didn't just hit, it pounded.  I don't know how much it rained, as our rain gauge starts over again at midnight, but there was a lot of water came down.  And the wind blew, of course.  Blew chairs over on both patio and deck, no damage though. 

Hopefully today will be nice as this is the day of Georgia's bar-b-q in Sardis.  Will be leaving here about 10 a.m., as it takes a little over an hour to get from our house to her house, they also live on a farm in the country, with a beautiful old (1800's) brick house, painted a beautiful shade of yellow.  Will have some pictures to share with you tomorrow.

Got my bean salad made yesterday, which will be my contribution to the dinner.  Love cook outs.  Also got phone call yesterday from another friend reminding me of their annual 4th of July picnic held on their farm about 1/2 mile from us, one of our "closer" neighbors.  They put up tents in their yard, have more food than you know what to do with, lots and lots of family and friends, and end the evening with a neat fireworks display.  Jerry, Debbie (our friend having the picnic) and Linda, Jerry's sister in Arizona all grew up together, and Debbie really tickled when I told her Linda would be home and at the picnic with us.  Made her day.

You all know I have mentioned the Barnstormers, the Mail Pouch Barn organization.   In addition to their annual picnic in Belmont Ohio in July they put out a quarterly newsletter, usually 8-10 pages.  In the issue I just received earlier in the week, they featured one of my IF ONLY I COULD TALK stories, told from a Mail Pouch Barn's viewpoint.

I found this barn several years ago near Lancaster Ohio (I believe Fairfield County), and the neatest thing about it was the slate roof.  Very unusual where the barns are concerned, especially the ones with the Mail Pouch signs.

It used to be you saw these barns everywhere.  Today there are fewer and fewer left to photograph.  Many of the barns have been torn down to make room for "progress", many farms have been abandoned and the barns are gradually falling apart, but some are being preserved as it is a part of our local history.  One of these days, when my mind is blank, I will share the history of the Mail Pouch barns with you, it is quite a story.  I think you will enjoy it.

After all, I am a story teller.


Well, had better finish up here and get cracking.  Hope you all have a wonderful day (I know I will - because I always do) and God Bless.

TEARS IN MY EYES.................JUNE 17 2011.......

First of all, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daughter Rebecca.  And a beautiful day it is.

Secondly I want to share something with you that I received from my friend Betty in Belmont Ohio this morning.  Please watch it all the way, I know you will be greatly impressed.  I was.

This young man is a true inspiration - - worth a watch! 

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KDWKD7NX&utm_source=GodTube%20Must-See%20Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=06/08/2011

I am very picky about what I send on through outer space, you never know who or what out there is watching.  Possible the little green men in their flying saucers.  Who knows. 

I receive many many e-mails from friends and family, some funny, some sad, some heart-warming, and some special.  I pick and choose what I will forward.  So today, instead of trying to forward, I thought I would share it with you in my blog. 

Now on to other things.  Boston Mills Art Festival is less than a week away not, have gotten all my picture printing finished, now to do the matting and the framing.  None of this is hard, just time consuming.  Then the labeling.  I put two labels on my work, on the back of each picture.  These labels are - first the title of the picture, and the location. Everyone wants to know where the pictures were taken.  Secondly my business name, address, e-mail and web-site. 

As I said, nothing is difficult, just time consuming.

In between I still have some flower bed work to be done, and some vegetable garden work to be done. 

Also today I have to make a large bean salad as we are going to a bar-b-q tomorrow in Sardis Ohio.  It is nice to be the one attending instead of the one preparing.  So you can see nothing will be done around here tomorrow.  I get to party!!!!!

I hope you take the time to watch the above video.  After you do, count your blessings and God Bless.

PS - I hope the web-site of the video comes through o.k.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS - TELL A STORY....JUNE 16 2011

Do you ever have a day when there is absolutely nothing NEW to talk about?  The only OLD news I have is - I finally have a working refrigerator, as of today.  It was delivered yesterday.  It fit in its hole.  It is cold and is making ice.  Does anyone want to take bets on how long I will have a fridge this time? It will probably last forever, because what we really wanted wouldn't fit in our hole as they are making them bigger than before.  Bummer.

So, since I am a story-teller, guess what, I'll tell a story.  This is one of the stories that is one my "IF ONLY I COULD TALK" series of books.  I hope you enjoy it.

DON'T MESS WITH ME!

I AM a cat.  You should be able to see that, but just in case you think I am a LION, I am not, just a cat.  But I'm not any run-of-the-mill cat.  Oh, no!  I am the BATHROOM POLICE.

And the STAIRCASE POLICE.  And sometimes the BEDROOM POLICE   Don't try to get past me, you WILL be sorry.

I have lived with my family for 13-14 years.  I have lost count.  But it has been a long time in cat years.  I am sure the lady of the house thinks these are the longest cat years she has ever seen.  I think I have a few good years left in me.  After all, I have a lot of policing to do.

You can go anywhere in the house, but do NOT venture into my territory.  On the upper level I have chosen the bathroom as my No. 1 Territory.  The bedroom is No. 2, and the staircase is No. 3.



DON'T I LOOK GREAT!!!!!



I love my bathroom, all the neat, cool places to lie, and play, and sleep.  It has lots of nooks and crannies to hide in.  I sure get an education in there.

I remember one day when the lady had overnight guests.  She should have known better than to assign them MY territory to sleep in.  That will never do.

Those poor people thought they had it made, with bedroom, a private bath and a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.  I decided I would see that they had a trip they would never forget.

Their suitcases had been deposited in MY bedroom.  One was open.  Let's see what is in there.  Oh, boy, all kinds of neat stuff.  It didn't take long for me to pull most of the stuff out and string it all over the bed and on the floor.  I sat back and surveyed my handiwork, then decided to just sneak under the bed and watch.  I must have fallen asleep.

I was awakened with the lady guest yelling at the man guest, asking him why he had dumped her suitcase all over the room.  Poor man, he didn't have a clue.  I am laughing and laughing, and then just for icing on the cake as the man is trying to explain he hadn't touched the suitcase I JUMPED out from under the bed, hissing and yowling and screaming at the top of my voice.  Last thing I remember is the lady screaming,the man yelling, and the lady of the house running up the stairs to see what had happened.

Boy, was that fun.  It made my day.  Well, time for another snooze.  One of my favorite spots is inside the bathtub behind the shower curtain.  What a neat place to sleep.  I was lying there peacefully when I heard someone approaching.  I sat up just as she pulled back the shower curtain.  Of course, I went into my police mode, hissing, screaming and clawing at her.  I couldn't reach her, but she didn't know that.  More screaming.  More running up the stairs.

My lady grabbed me, told me to be quiet, and lugged me downstairs, all the time apologizing to her friend.  I actually behaved myself the rest of that day.  There was always tomorrow.

The next morning I waited outside the guests' bedroom.  When she opened the door heading for the bathroom I ran past her, got there first, and wouldn't let her in.  You guessed it:  more screaming, more running, more everything.  After that we play the game "who gets there first" every time the guest wanted to go to the bathroom.  I must say by the end of her visit, she was running a whole lot faster than in the beginning.

And then there is the staircase caper, as I call it.  I love to sit very innocently on one of the steps about half way up.  I just sit there, looking important.  When one of the guests starts up the steps, I start growling and hissing.  They would move to the right, I would move to my left, which was their right, if you get my drift.  When they moved left I would move right, hissing and striking all the while.

The lady I live with was fit to be tied, the guests didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and I just sat back and enjoyed the show.

Well, the guests finally left.  The lady wasn't real happy with me for a time, but she got over it.  She always does  After all, we have been doing this for 13 or 14 years.  You would think she would be used to it by now.

I did have to laugh, though, when my lady got a letter from her guests thanking her for her wonderful hospitality.  They said it was a vacation they would NEVER forget,and asked her if she thought that Abby the Tabby missed them.

One thing for sure, whenever we have guests they don't get bored, and they really have stories to tell about the Cat that thought she was the Bathroom-Bedroom-Staircase Police Cat.

THE END

I hope you got a chuckle out of Tabby's story.  If you enjoyed this, each volume of my IF ONLY I COULD TALK books has 20 such stories, along with pictures.

Just remember, if visiting this particular person, be sure to ask for a DOWNSTAIRS bedroom.  Have a good day and God Bless.

WHAT AM I GOING TO WRITE ABOUT TODAY..............JUNE 15 2011

That was my first thought when I got up this morning.  My mind was blank.  I guess because it is dark in the rabbit hole, maybe it's not really my mind.

I checked my e-mails and there was one from my sister Ruth.  It COULD NOT have been more appropriate.  I guess she read my mind, what there is of it.

LIFE IS A PIECE OF "GOD's" CAKE

This was not the title of the piece, but it fits.

Sometimes we wonder, what did I do to deserve this? or why did God have to do this to me?

Here is the explanation.

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong.  She's failing algebra, her boyfriends broke up with her, and her best friend is moving away.

Meanwhile her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack.  The daughter says absolutely Mom, I love your cake.

Here, have some cooking oil her Mother offers.  Yuck answers her daughter.

How about a couple of raw eggs?  Gross Mom!  Would you like some flour then, or maybe some baking soda?  Mom, those are all yucky!

To which the Mother replies:  Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves, but when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!

God works the same way.  Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such BAD and DIFFICULT TIMES.  But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for the good.  We just have to TRUST Him and eventually they will all make something wonderful.

He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.  Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.  He can live anywhere in the universe and He chose your heart.

So, maybe today, I'll get out of my rabbit hole, look around, and realize everything is o.k. after all.

Now, on an entirely different level, I had mentioned that I added a couple of new pictures to the business after my Granville trip.  I think I will share them here -something bright and cheerful to look at.

I was looking for a mail pouch barn that I had on my to do list when I passed this barn.  Being on a back road has its advantages when photo opting.  You can stop and take pictures.

I just couldn't by-pass this scene.  That is the fun part of what I do, you never know when you are going to find something special to photograph.

This is the Gregg Covered Bridge on Frampton Road near Fallsburg in Licking County Ohio, built in 1881.

This bridge was on my list.  I do not photograph everything I have on my photo-shoot lists, as they are all not worth wasting time on, but the ones that are worthwhile are usually great.

Lastly I found this Mail Pouch barn, or shed, I'm not sure which.  It was in Hanover Village in Licking County, and WAS NOT on my list, it was a bonus.

I do not always find everything on my list, as, especially in the case of the MP barns, so many are gone, torn down, fallen down, whatever.

But my lists give me something to look for.  Every time I go anywhere I make my list, and my information comes from the OHIO BARNS website, maintained by the Barnstormers, whom I have mentioned in previous blogs. 

So enough for today.  Maybe my piece of cake will be ready to sample by the end of the day.  Enjoy your cake today, and all days, and God Bless.

THE RABBIT HOLE CAVED IN - HOW DO I GET OUT?...................

JUNE 14 2011

I was really looking forward to getting home fron Granville Sunday night to see a real working refrigerator.  I walked into the kitchen - and here is the beautiful state-of-the-art refrgerator -- sitting in the middle of my kitchen.  Why is it in the middle?

It is in the middle because it is less than 1" too tall, and about 1/4" too wide.  I had my "where the refrigerator would go" dimensions, was assured it would fit.  Talk about being deflated.  And down came the hole crashing on top of me, burying me forever, never having a working refrigerator again.  This one works, but not in the middle of the floor.  Especially when the kitchen is not the largest one on the block (since I don't live on a block, I guess in the neighborhood) no room for said fridge.  My nerves have had it.  My system went into overdrive, then crashed, and the rabbit hole came ate me up.

So Monday morning off I go to Sears, sales slip and dimensions in hand.  Talked to a really nice Sears Manager, he told me no problem, they would remove the new, never installed, refrigerator and replace it for me.  Which one would I like.

And I found out that what I liked, what the old fridge had been like, when it worked, were no longer being made in the size I needed.  Everyone wants bigger and better, so the fridges are getting bigger - I don't know about the better as I have no way to compare the bigger and better with the older and not working.

After almost an hour of looking, the manager using his tape measure, I found two that would work (supposedly) in the empty spot in my kitchen.  My preference, when checking the computer, was being closed out, there were none available, the one on the floor was black and all my other appliances are white (which is what I prefer)  So scratch that one.  The only other one is another Kenmore (I have found out all Kenmores are made by LG) and it has the desired bottom freezer bin that pulls out, just like the one I had.  Only the top part is one door instead of two, there is no water dispenser, and, guess what, one is available in the warehouse, could be delivered today.  Goody!!!!!

So the manager calls the department that schedules the pickup of returns and the delivery of the new stuff, talks a few minutes, gives them my phone number, and then tells me that they will be calling me within 24 hours to take care of the financial details and schedule delivery.  Have a good day!

This was at 10 a.m. yesterday morning.  The 24 hours have come and gone.  I have not had a phone call.  I have heard nothing.  I don't even have the telephone number the manager called so that I can call them.   I have an empty spot in my kitchen.  I have a beautiful fridge sitting in the middle of the floor, laughing at me.  And you wonder why I am definitely not normal.

10:15 a.m. today.   I called Sears, got a different manager.  Went through entire scenario, she was actually very helpful, had me on one phone, the service department on another.  They had the paper work, but had never gotten around to processing it.  Too late for delivery today.  Delivery should be tomorrow - said with tongue in cheek.  SUPPOSED to get phone call this evening telling me what time tomorrow. 

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I think I will just stay in my rabbit hole,  as I am getting it arranged to suit my mentality, and being down here I don't have to contend with the real world.

Let me know when you see the sunshine and God Bless.

GRANVILLE and ME..........JUNE 13 2011.........

It is an easy drive from home to Granville, Ohio, and after checking in to my motel, went to the festival site to unload (ugh!) set up the tent (double ugh!) and prepare for the next two days.

I always manage to find a couple or more willing folks to help put up the EZ-UP tent that one person can do.  Ha Ha Ha.  It takes at least three, better four. Should be called EZ-DOWN - you can do it yourself in less than 5 minutes.

Tent is up, a beautiful day, panels in place, tables in place, then the debate.  Should I or should I not hang my pictures, etc.  For some reason decided against this, and as everything is in plastic bins, just placed the bins and boxes (also plastic) in the tent under the tables.  Better safe than sorry.  Would have plenty of time Saturday morning to finish up.

Had time to spare, so did some photo-opting.  Something I always do, saw 2 covered bridges not seen before, a mail pouch shed, and a barn with a huge American Flag painted on the roof.  I think I will have 2 new pictures for the business after editing, etc.

Friday night tremendous storms blew through.  Columbus was hit very hard.  Granville not too far away, and I wondered what was happening at Bryn Du Mansion grounds, where the festival is held.  Nothing I could do.  Saturday I would either finish my display, or pick up what was left and head for home.

Saturday beautiful, hot and humid, but the festival grounds escaped the worst of the storm.  A couple of tents had their tops blown off, otherwise no damage.

Finished my display, sat back to wait.  It was a good day, sales were brisk even though the weather was humid, folks love to look at pictures and hear the stories behind each photograph.  The day went fast.  Saturday night it cooled down, Sunday was perfect weather, around 70 degrees and sunny.  Surprisingly even tho the weather was better sales were less.  But by the end of the day I did have a big smile, it had been a good weekend.  Got together with some old friends, met new, interesting, vendors, and just enjoyed myself.

I guess that is what it is all about.  Only takes me a fraction of the time to tear down and load the van compared to unloading and setting up.  I was home by 9:30 p.m., and that included stopping for supper.  A good weekend, and hopefully a good start for the 2011 Festival Season. 

In two weeks will be at Boston Mills Art Festival in Peninsula Ohio.  Only bad thing about this past good weekend, have to "bust my butt" to replace my fastest selling pieces so that I have a good selection for BM.

Wish me luck, and be sure to tune in tomorrow.  Will have a sequel to DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE. 

Have a great day, what is left of it, and God Bless.

HEADING OUT FOR GRANVILLE OHIO......
JUNE 10 2011...........................

I'll be leaving for Granville shortly, will be setting up for the first large art festival of the season.  I wonder how many really important things I will forget to pack.  You lose track of all that you need when it has been 6 months since the last major festival, I know I have my tent, my panels, my pictures, but what little things do I need I don't have.  I guess that is why there is a WalMart everywhere.

Yesterday morning I worked in my garden (flower this time), then shopped for necessities for Jerry so he would have easy stuff to eat while I am gone, then in the evening loaded the van. 

Right now, with mowing under control, weed whacking caught up, flowers blooming, the place looks pretty darned nice. 

This is my iris garden, as seen from our patio, which opens off the dining room / kitchen area. 

The pink flamingos were a gag 50th birthday gift for son Jerry last year, so I have two in the Iris bed, the second one is on the other side.  They and my goose keep guard over the irises.

This is from our dining room window.  The three tier flower bed is in the foreground, our patio is just to the right, and what you see is part of my back yard.  It goes from the trees on the left to the trees on the right, and stops at the "farm" part of the farm. The brown you see is where field corn has been planted for cow food this winter for Tim's cows.  The green on either side is hay and will probably be mowed and baled when I get home, more cow food.

Also this week I spotted more turkeys dancing in our orchard, on the left side of the yard. Since I don't have any pictures of them, had to take some.  No wonder my computer groans every time I connect the camera to download.

We have apple, peach and pear trees in the orchard, along with grape vines, and my vegetable garden is below the orchard, closer to the house. 

Everyone always remarks on how nice our place looks, but no one has the remotest idea of the amount of work, day after day, it takes to keep it looking nice.  Hours and hours of mowing, whacking, pruning, mulching, cleaning up -- but the result is more than worth the work involved.

Now to change gears.  My good friend, Pastor Linda, who lives in Munhall (a piece of Pittsburgh) has cats.  One of her cats doesn't know it yet, but he is going to become a famous cat.  His name is Napoleon.  He is a white long-hair.  He is sporting his summer hair cut right now.

When Linda lived in West Alexander this cat just appeared one day, nasty disposition, hissed and spat, you name it, he did it.  For some reason he latched on to Linda, and began staying on her porch, so of course she had to feed him.  Over time he became what you see now.

Why do I say he will be famous?  As you all probably know (if you didn't you will now) that I have written a three volume series of books entitled IF ONLY I COULD TALK.

Each book contains 20 short stories, written from the subject's viewpoint, what I think that particular subject would say if it COULD talk.  Volume three is scheduled for publication this fall, and Napoleon is telling his story.  And quite a story it is.

All my stories have pictures accompanying them, and the books are listed on my web-site.  I usually have one or two at festivals also, kids love the animal stories, adults like them all. 

Photography and writing - two of my favorite things, next to my family, my friends, my traveling, my gardening, The Phantom of the Opera stage play, along with several others I have seen throughout the years, having holiday meals, cookouts, cook-ins, CSI, NCIS, CRIMINAL MINDS, HARRY'S LAW, and a whole slew of other TV shows, surprise parties, and not so surprised parties.  I guess I could go on and on. but running out of time.

Better gather up my last minute stuff and hit the road.  I won't be blogging on Saturday and Sunday, but will touch base on Monday morning, hopefully with a big smile on my face.  And a new actually working refrigerator.

Time will tell.  Have a great weekend and God Bless.

I THOUGHT I WAS OUT OF THE RABBIT HOLE.................JUNE 09 2011.............

I worked in my garden (vegetable one) yesterday morning, then came in for lunch, before spending the afternoon mowing.

Went to get ice for my iced tea.  Frost free freezer full of frost.  Refrigerator temp 50 plus degrees. 

Call Customer Complaints.  Was informed that because we had filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, they would no longer service any appliances at our address and telephone number.  Can you believe that?  It is nuts!!!!!  When asking to speak with someone else, was informed that I could talk to their legal department.  I told them to connect me.  Put on hold.  Then told someone would return my call shortly.

Next thing I did was e-mail the BBB, asking them if this was the way it was done?

About half an hour after my phone call to customer complaints, the phone rang, and it was a Sears representative.  She informed me she had gone over all her records, and that they would give me a $500.00 credit toward a new refrigerator, my choice, and wanted to be sure I realized we would be responsible for any charge over the $500.00.  They would deliver new one and take away old one free of charge.

WOW!!!  DOUBLE WOW!!!  TRIPLE WOW!!! WHY DIDN'T THEY DO THIS WAY BACK WHEN?

I also told her about the non-service conversation and she literally flipped.  She had never heard of such a thing, they would definitely look into that.  I was not to worry, I would have the same considerate, timely, awesome, wonderful, did I say timely? service that I have had in the past.  I don't think I'll ever get out of this rabbit hole.

I asked her if she could call me back within half an hour, that I had to touch base with son Jerry (after all, he is the one paying the bills) to make sure it was o.k.  After some deliberation he said to go ahead and accept their offer.
So the waiting game was in progress again.

Within the half hour I got my return phone call, she wanted to know when I wanted to go pick out new fridge.  Told her as soon as I hung up the phone.

We really didn't want to buy another appliance from Sears, but $500.00 is $500.00.  They only had two in the store that fit our needs.  We didn't want the icemaker in the door, as you lose all that shelf space in the refrigerator.  Just a water dispenser. 

The only one they had meeting my requirements was another Kenmore, just like the one we had - but they were all on back order (probably having to rebuild the entire line) and it would be 4-6 weeks before delivery.  I think by that time I was talking "just" a little louder than normal, I did notice passers by slowing down, listening to the conversation.

And it was an interesting conversation, with the Sears appliance salesman, the store manager, and a couple more employees, doing busy work in the area.

I found a Whirlpool, meeting all my requirements, except for the water dispenser in the door, but it was just inside the refrigerator, which would work.

Delivery could be made as early as Sunday.  Whoopee do!  Seeing as how yesterday was Wednesday, only had to wait 4 more days. How lucky can I get!

They started the necessary paper (computer) work because this was a replacement fridge, not an outright purchase, even though money was involved, and I was then informed that even tho delivery of new fridge and removal of old fridge would be free, I would have to pay a $10.00 delivery charge as it was being delivered on the weekend.  More conversation, just a little louder, ended up getting a $510.00 discount on the fridge.  I think by that time they would do almost anything to get rid of me.

Needless to say I didn't get any mowing done yesterday afternoon, but did get the front yard mowed last evening.  Since I will be away Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (you heard right, Jerry gets to play catch me if you can with the Sears people over the weekend) and hopefully when I return Sunday night there will be a new working refrigerator in my kitchen.

And people say life is boring.

On a different note, Jim and Dianne's house still standing, completely surrounded by flames, firefighters standing by, keeping the house hosed down.  The beautiful mountain view they had is completely gone, just charred ruins.  They are getting the smoke as far away as Phoenix.  I am having a very hard time comprehending the enormity of this tragedy, and I really don't know how I could handle such a situation. 

The Good Lord willing, I will never have to face some such thing.  But you do what you have to do, you either fall apart, or pick up the pieces.  Either way, life will never be the same again.

My prayers go out to J and D, and all the other thousands of people facing all the you name it, it is happening things world-wide.  Be grateful for what you have and God Bless.

CATCHING UP and LOOKING AHEAD.......
JUNE 08 2011

I guess today is let's play catch-up.  How the "re-modeling" of the shop/machine shed building is progressing, getting caught up on the mowing and weed-whacking, and preparing for this coming week ends coming art festival in Granville, Ohio.  I might even, if I am lucky, get the house vacuumed before leaving on Friday morning.  But am fast running out of time.

This is Herb inside, and Bob outside.  They are framing up this hole in the wall to make it a hidden doorway, so Jerry has access to the inside.  As the new roof is built over top of the old roof, there is quite a nice area between the two for storage. 

I don't know about you folks, but we never seem to have enough storage. The more we make, the more we need

Herb is a contractor friend, he has helped us with lots of work over the years, and Bob is Jerry's first cousin, who is temporarily staying with us, while he is waiting for the new home he is buying to pass inspection so they can schedule the closing.


Here is Herb, getting ready to exit the new storage area. 

Jerry likes for things to look nice, he really doesn't like clutter, so for the 6 years we have lived here on the farm, there have been many many changes taking place.

I do have to agree with him, the changes have all been for the good, good for us, good for the appearance, and the first look folks get of our place as they top the last rise in our driveway is making quite a good impression.  But you would not believe the amount of work that has been done.

I have it made.  I pretty much "supervise", and manage to stay hidden if there is something I think they might want me to do, like hand up boards (I have done that and dropped them on Jerry's head and on his fingers), hand him the wrong screw driver, ask dumb questions, and just generally get in the way.

Jerry and Bob here are re-arranging the ladders so they can place the false door over the opening. 



You can see how nice this looks as Herb and Bob are putting on the finishing touches.  Jerry is telling them how to do it.  I guess since he is the owner, he gets the boss' hat.

Where they are working here is the back side of the building, facing the shady garden.  The next pictures will show the end, which faces the driveway as you come over the crest, and you can see how nice it is going to look.

Getting close to being finished.  I think it makes a nice welcome to our hilltop sort of thing.  We have a beautiful sign that Georgia has painted for us that will be re-attached to the two posts on the left, welcoming folks to 16 Bushko Lane.

The sign was removed so it would not be damaged during the remodeling.  The flowers have all survived and are blooming.

Here you can see the driveway on the far left, the house in the background, and the shop in the foreground. 

When this is finished Jerry can mark one more thing off of his "to do" list, but the list doesn't seem to get any shorter.

Enough for this stuff. 

Talked to Linda in Phoenix twice yesterday.  Last word was that Jim and Dianne's house is still intact.  The firefighters have been trying to save as many homes as they can, clearing all underbrush away and using flame retardant on the buildings.  There was fire all around the house, and unless flying embers land in just the right place at the right time, possibly their house will be spared.

The landscape is a different story.  It will be a long time before the vegetation again takes over.  A sad reminder of what can happen, when a campfire is not properly taken care of.  All we know about Tiffany's parents is that they have evacuated, but not sure as of yet just where they are.  Again the waiting game.

I don't know what the Arizona Mountains will look like as things come back to life, but several years ago when visiting Alaska, we were in an area where the wildfires had burned hundreds of acres of vegetation.  It was awesome to see the recovery.  Alaska has a plant known as FIREWEED, called that because after a devastating fire, the fireweed is the first vegetation to return.

You can see what I mean from this picture.  Everywhere we looked, it was covered with this beautiful plant.

I have seen the living proof that life goes on, regardless of what happens.

There is a reason and a purpose for everything on this earth.  It is not for us to understand the reasons and purposes, but to go with the flow

This is a closeup picture of a fireweed. 

As I said, I don't know what will come back first in the Mountains of Arizona, but I rather imagine it will be something just as beautiful and spectacular as the fireweed. 

I believe the fireweed is the rainbow following a fire.

Now, out to hoe in the garden for a while, then after lunch will start mowing yard.  The grass should be dry by then from yesterday's rain.

When feeling burned out, remember the fireweed and God Bless.