FOOTNOTE and ........JANUARY 21 2012.......


Just wanted to add a footnote to yesterday's blog.  We found no dragons at the castle, but did find gargoyles - several of them in fact.  Thought you would like to know.

Also, even though the gates were closed to the castle, there was, what we called a dungeon for lack of a better word, across the road and down a few steps.  Picture time!  Tammie and Bobbie were down there right now, exploring, taking pictures, laughing.  I followed and found Tammie in the dungeon, so got her picture.

Bobbie was down below on the street below, (good thing she wasn't down below on the street above) and decided to come up and have her picture taken in the dungeon also.  Just as she started up, here comes a police car, cruising very slowly, giving us the once over.

We were at the top on the upper road lickity-split (another one I learned from my parents), in the two vehicles and on our way.  We had planned to have lunch in Berkeley Springs, but as the Maryland state line was just a short distance decided to go there instead - out of Berkeley Springs police area.  Found a great restaurant in Hancock Maryland.

Bobbie and Tim have decided that traveling with me is an adventure, are planning our next trip together.  How many great-grandmothers do you know that get run off by the police?  And the grandkids love every minute of it.

As you can see, my life is never dull.  Boredom - what is that?  Laughter - all the time.  What more could anyone ask for.

Now, back to the real world.  Feeding the outdoor cats this morning was quite a hazardous adventure.  Snow, topped with ice topped with snow.  As I walked on the patio it felt as if you were breaking through ice on a body of water.

You took a step, crunch, crack, break, you foot hit the snow beneath the ice.  A really erie feeling.  Needless to say Jerry and I cancelled our appointment this morning to start looking at having custom made cabinets for our kitchen.

He informed me there was no way he was driving to 84 today.  I had to agree.  Figured if we got stuck, I would be the one pushing.  so agreeing was a no-brainer.

It is just a pure nasty, gray, cold, icy, yucky day out there and I will just stay in where it is warm and dry, and possibly continue reading a new book I just started.  Also complete some of the festival applications sitting on my desk that need to be taken care of. And deciding if I want to sign up for the 5 day bus trip to Macon Georgia in March.  By then I will probably be more than ready to go on a new adventure.  

So in closing, if you don't have to go out today, DON'T.  If you do, be careful, stay safe and God Bless.

DUNGEONS 'N DRAGONS 'N MOATS 'N STUFF.....JANUARY 20 2012.......


Sounds like something out of a horror movie doesn't it.  Seems when you think of a castle you think of all of the above.  They just go together, like peanut butter and jelly.

Today will talk about American Castles.  I will start with the newest one I have photographed - Berkeley Springs Castle.

This castle was built between 1885 and 1891 by a Colonel Samuel Taylor Suite. Colonel Suite fought in the Civil War and when he was 46 years of age he met and fell in love with Rosa Pelham, the 17 year old daughter of Congressman Charles Pelham of Alabama.

Upon his proposal of marriage she turned him down.  Upon meeting 5 years later, he again proposed and she accepted.  He promised to build her a castle.  The castle was built in the town of Bath, the official name of Berkeley Springs.  Colonel Suite never saw his castle completed, he died just before the project was finished.   His will stipulated Rosa had to complete the castle to inherit his fortune, and so she did.

Rosa went wild, hosting sunset to sunrise parties, renting entire trains to bring guests to Bath, and because of her lavish spending by the time she was 50 the money was gone and in 1909 the castle was sold.

At the present time Andrew Gosline owns the castle, and has brought the castle back to the glamour of Rosa's time.  The gardens are restored, and furnished with period furniture.

The only down-side to the story is that the castle is not open for public touring.  It can be rented - at a price tag of $1000.00 - for 4 hours, for weddings, fund-raisers and private parties. 

Does anyone out there want to have a very elaborate 4 hours?  If we had 100 people it would only cost each one of us $10.00.  For 50 people it would be $20.00.  

This is just one of 7 castle I have photographed recently in the United States.  Following are the six others:



Lyndhurst Castle New York State





Bannerman's Castle New York State




Gillette Castle Connecticut




At Boldlt Castle 1000 Islands New York




Mac-O-Chee Castle Ohio



Montezuma's Castle Arizona

As you can see, we have our share of castles, just that I have found.  Everyone is different, but so far no moats, no dragons, and no dungeons that I have located.  Guess I'll just have to keep looking.

In the meantime if you find any of the above, let me know.  Enjoy the snow and God Bless.

KIT'n'KABOODLE.....JANUARY 19 2012.....


No, I haven't lost it.  No, I am still sane.  How many of you out there have heard that expression?  How many of you know what it means?  It belongs in the "Older Than Dirt" category. 

My parents used to say "Kit'n'Kaboodle" when they meant - the whole 9 yards, everybody, everything, anytime it was more than one it was kit'n'kaboodle.   Don't know what just one was, maybe just "kit"?  Does that make two of us "kaboodle", "kaboodles"?

Now just how did I get onto this subject.  Darned if I know.  Was just sitting here looking at the computer and voila!  Kit'n'Kaboodle popped into my head.  Why - don't know.  Where-from - don't know.  Just did.  Would that be a senior moment, or a juvenile moment? Or just another symptom of "nuttier than a fruitcake"moment, and I don't know where that originated either. 

Just keep on hangin' 'round with me and you will get an education you won't find anywhere else, thank goodness. 

 If you could look into my head this is probably what you would see.  Only a nuttier-than-a-fruitcake person would end up with a photograph like this.  Now, complete "U" turn.

Am getting ready for my first photography class of the year.  Yes I teach photography.  In my spare time, whatever that is.  I have been told my classes are fun, and that is what it is all about.

My classes run 2 days, approximately 7-10 days apart.  I don't teach technical.  The camera knows technical.  I teach how to tell the camera what to do to get that one special shot.  (My camera's brain was probably spinning with the above picture).

The first part of the day is discussion and answering questions.  The second part of that day is photo-shooting, usually involving outside, inside, and portrait work.  Sounds hard.  Not so.  I try to teach little tricks that enable the students to get better pictures.

At the completion of the shoot I take the memory cards home with me.  For the next week I copy the pics to my computer, create a CD for each student, and then edit the pictures.

The second day of class everyone comes to my home and we do one CD at a time, showing the pictures, just as they took them, then going on to the same pictures after editing.  I think we laugh more than anything. 

I don't advertise that I do classes - it comes from word of mouth - because I have very little free time.  To conduct a class I need at least 4 and no more than 10. 

And so first thing Monday morning I expect between 4-6 gung-ho students, ready for the experience of a life time.  Little do they know what they are getting in to.  

Yes, I do charge.  No I do not charge a lot.  Just enough to cover costs, and not enough to discourage want-to-be students.

As with all my photography and writing, I do it because I love it, I do not do it to make a living.  I want everything I do to be affordable to the common ordinary person, just like me.  That s pretty scary isn't it?  I wonder when the last time was that I was considered ordinary.  I can't remember back that far.

So will sign off for now, and start my pre-class prep.  Enjoy your day, try to stay warm, and God Bless.

RUNNING LATE - AGAIN!...JANUARY 18 2012....


Today I will talk about our day trip while visiting the kids in Kearneysville WV.

Our first stop was Shepherdstown WV.   Specifically to see the old mill.  And old it is.  Pre-Revolutionary War old.  Quite a piece of our history.

The downside to this is that there is very little history that I have been able to track down.

This is the mill from the front.  Quite a beautiful old building.  This mill is located in Shepherdstown WV on Town Run, a stream of water on it's way to the Potomac River.  It was the water from this stream that propelled the mill wheel, which in turn propelled the mill stones, which in turn ground the flour and corn meal.

The mill was built in 1738 - you can see the date on this end of the mill - only 118 years after the landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620.  It is old.  And built by hand.  Still standing today.  What does that say about today's structures?

The next picture I am going to show is from the side-street, looking through the underbrush.  If it were summer, and the leaves were on the trees, you would not be able to see this end.  Look closely, you will see the remains of the mill wheel, which was 40 feet in diameter, the largest recorded mill-wheel.

The mill was built by Thomas Shepherd Sr. as a two story structure with a smaller overshot wheel.  The present 40 foot diameter wheel was built in 1894.  The third story of the building was added in the late 19th century.

After leaving Shepherdstown we traveled on north on Route 9 until we came to the following Mail Pouch Barn.  This is the only MPB left in this three-county area of West Virginia.

From there we traveled on to Berkeley Springs and the Castle.  That will be a story for another day.  There is a lot of history connected to the castle.

We had such a good day that we are planning another longer photo shoot, wherein we will visit Washington DC and all that stuff.  As they are both Army and stationed in the area, they know where to go, how to get there, all the good stuff that makes a photo-shoot really fun.  

Every morning when I get up there is always something to look forward to, sometimes so many things I wonder how it will all come to be, but the planning is one of the best parts.

So get up in the mornings looking ahead, making a plan, even if you don't follow through, it is fun to do the planning, and God Bless. 

RUNNING LATE and OLDER THAN DIRT...JANUARY 17 2012....


Sorry I'm running late today.  Had an early morning eye appointment - annual checkup - as my eyes haven't changed since cataract surgery 5 years ago.  Everything is the same, but got a new RX because I want new frames.  Been wearing these same old, plain, granny-type glasses for 5 years.  Since I am getting younger I wanted something younger.  Will have them in 2 weeks or less.  Can hardly wait.  Sure doesn't take much to get me excited, does it?

Came home, ate lunch, sat down at the computer, pics aren't edited yet, what to talk about besides new glasses.  So decided to check e-mails first.  Now have something to talk about sent to me by my sister Ruth.  Perfect, especially since I am replacing my granny glasses.

The title of the e-mail was OLDER THAN DIRT.

How many do you remember?Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals..

Older Than Dirt Quiz :
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about
Ratings at the bottom.

1.Candy cigarettes
2.Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes
3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5.Newsreels before the movie
6.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
7.Peashooters
8. Howdy Doody
9. 45 RPM records
10.Hi-fi's
11. Metal ice trays with lever
12. Blue flashbulb
13.Cork popguns
14. Studebakers
15. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered11-15 =You're older than dirt!

I wonder how old older than dirt is?  I guess I fall into that category, so it just reinforces my thought process that I am due for younger, sexy-looking eye glasses.

After you are done rolling around on the floor, laughing until you hurt, can't get up scenario, count your blessings and God Bless.

FROM PLANNING TO A MEMORY....JANUARY 16 2012.....

That is how fast things can happen.  Had been planing our Kearneysville weekend since December.  Now it is just a memory - and a great one at that.

When we left Saturday morning it was bitter cold, snowing, the roads were wet, slushy, salty, nasty.  By the time we crossed into Maryland (we left Pa, traveled across WV, drove a little in MD, then back to WV) the roads were dry, the sun was shining, but it was still cold, but not as much as before.  Mike's blue vehicle was ugly dirty gray/white, whatever from all the slush. You guessed it, after arriving the vehicle went to the car wash.

Am just going to it the highlights today.  Will have pics to share by tomorrow.  And what a great photo-op it was. 

Upon arrival and eating lunch we had our Christmas gift exchange.  Haleigh loved it, especially the wrapping paper and shopping bags.  She got toys and clothes, all sorts of bright colored clothes.  But her favorite - a gray dress with black polka dots.  From Grandma Tammie.

Haleigh had to have that dress on RIGHT NOW! and she wore it the rest of the day.  Even wore it when we went out for supper that evening.  I think she would have taken it to bed with her if she hadn't fallen asleep first.

Sunday morning Tim cooked breakfast for us, sausage gravy, biscuits and scrambled eggs.  Then about 11 we started out on our photo shoot.

We found all three things on the list.  Shepherd's Mill in Shepherdstown WV built in 1738, I believe, with the largest mill wheel on record.

Our next stop was the Mail Pouch barn I was hoping to find.  Bobbie loves taking pictures also, so she and I had a great time.  The final stop was Berkley Castle at Berkeley Springs WV.  What a delight.

The only down-side was the grounds were closed.  We really wanted to see all there was to see, but did  get some good pics.  Got chased away by the police, sorta, also.  Will  go into that later, and no we didn't get arrested.  But didn't stick around either.  Today is just the highlights.

Have already sent e-mail to the castle asking if they do tours.  I know they do weddings and parties, but we really really want to see the castle.  Especially as this is the first castle Tammie has ever seen. 

Arrived home about 6 p.m. - Bobbie and Tim reached their home earlier as they had less travel distance - and after dropping me off (not literally) Mike, as far as I know, went on to the Church to attend the meeting pertaining to their mission trip to Joplin Missouri in April.

Needless to say, I slept in this morning, do have my pics downloaded, and will spend a big part of the day editing.

Memories, all good.  Family, all good.  Sunday was a perfect day for picture taking in the winter, no snow down there, but blue skies, white clouds and sunshine.  A day made just for us.

So will close for now.  Hope your weekend was as good as mine was, enjoy the cold weather and God Bless.

FRIDAY THE 13th ....JANUARY
13 2012......


And what a day it is starting out to be.  As of right now it is 16 degrees, wind blowing like crazy, snow blowing like crazy, cold as the devil, which has to be pretty cold.  Just a plain nasty day.

When I went out to feed the cats I thought they, and I, were going to blow away.  Luckily I have a shelter on the patio just for the cats to get in out of the weather when they are eating.  Doesn't keep them from getting cold, but keeps them from blowing away.

Even Coco, who is my big fuzzy bear of a dog and loves being outside, doesn't want to stay out today.  Can't say as I blame him.  I don't want to stay out either.

Guess Jerry will have to get the paper and mail later today, I'm not even going to do that.  And, no, I don't walk to the mailbox, I drive.  Right.

If I walked it would be all down-hill, which is not bad, unless it is hot, cold, windy, icy, rainy, snowy, etc. etc.  Coming back up is another story in itself.  Won't go into that today.  Just going to stay in, and let Jerry do whatever.

Needless to say our paper and mail boxes are not just at the end of the walk from the house to the street, it is almost 1/2 a mile from the house to the boxes.  And you haven't even reached the street yet.  Or Road.  Or whatever.

Am I complaining?  NO!!  I love it up here, but like everything else there are down-sides, and getting the mail is one of the down-sides.  All the good stuff far outweighs the bad stuff. 

And so I can sit here in my nice warm house, and watch the wind go by, and the snow go by, what a wonderful world.

I will be off-line until Monday (hopefully, if we are not snowed in, in the mountains of West Virginia) as we leave first thing tomorrow morning to go to Kearneysville and visit the kids.

Jerry gets the privilege of feeding my cats while I am gone.  He grumbles.  He complains.  He calls them stupid cats.  He tells them to run away from home.  But he has never failed to see that they have food and water.  Guess he is all hot air.  Don't tell him I said that.

And so, hopefully it will be safe fun-filled weekend, we will arrive home safely on Sunday, and, if I am lucky, will have a few new pictures.

Stay warm, stay safe, and God Bless.

A POINT IN TIME....JANUARY 12 2012.......


Have you ever gotten up one morning and for just a second or two wondered how you got here, that particular point in time?

That was me this morning.  I was brain-dead as far as writing a blog is concerned.  I started frantically going thorough my mental filing cabinet, when the thought crossed my mind - How did I get to this point in my life.

Maybe you will be interested, maybe not.  I never in a million years as, I was growing up, thought  that I would have written and had published 5 books, along with several short stories complete with photographs published in such magazines as West Virginia and Country.

As a young wife being transplanted from the "huge" city of Martins Ferry, Ohio, to the middle of no-where outside of a little dot named West Alexander Pa., life changed completely.

I was young, had three children, a stay-at-home Mom.  I read a lot.  My kids grew up reading a lot.  Somewhere along the line I got this notion that I should try writing something.  After all I was fairly intelligent, and besides that I always liked trying something new just to prove I could do it.

I started in January of 1970 writing a journal of life in the country.  Each chapter was a month (chapter 1 January, chapter 2 February) get the drift.  As I said it was a journal of triumphs and failures, laughter and sadness, good times and hard times.

Much to my eternal surprise, and a million letters later, a publisher picked up my manuscript and BITS and PIECES became a reality.  The book sold well in the tri-state area for 2-3 years then died a quiet death.

I had proven that I could write something and someone would publish it.  Mission accomplished.

Fast forward.  In 1974 my marriage fell apart, I became a single working Mom raising 3 kids. 

In 1976 I was blessed with a new husband and 2 great step children.  My kids and his kids became OUR kids.  They still are. We were married for 30 years before Tom's passing in October of 2006.

What has this to do with today?   Back-pedaling a again. Our youngest , Rebecca, had always wanted to write.  By then she was married and had her first child.  She wrote a couple of books, one manuscript she discarded, one she tried to get published.  Even had an agent, time went by, nothing.

To bring in extra income she began editing small and large manuscripts for other want-to-be authors.  One of them after numerous rejections suggest she start publishing. Hence the birth of Double Edge Press.

Fast forward again.  In 2005 she informed me that she wanted to re-release BITS and PIECES, but there was a catch.  I had to do a follow-up journal.  Same format.  Just up-dated.

And so in January of 2006 I started my new journal entitled 36 YEARS LATER.  Why this title?  Because it was exactly 36 years after writing BITS and PIECES.

And so here I am today.  For every door that closed, a new door opened.  After the publication of 36 YEARS LATER Rebecca wanted to do a photography book.  We ended up doing a three volume set IF ONLY I COULD TALK. 

Upon completion of these (In January 2011) is when I began blogging as I love to tell a story.

 So here I stand (actually I am sitting right now) many many years later proving that anyone, and I do mean anyone, who has a dream, or an idea, with a little determination, hard work, supportive family and friends can see it through. Let your light shine through.  

Where do you think all the inventions, creations, writings, etc., etc., came from.  Nothing happens just by chance.  You are given a brain, you get ideas,  you take a leap of faith and follow through.

Everyone on this earth has a talent, if nothing more than knowing how to properly fold clothes, or cook a great meal, or listen when someone needs to talk.  You get the drift.  You have the option of pursuing this talent, or letting it lay dormant.  Laying dormant is the easy way.  Pursuing is the hard way.

And so many words later I will close for today.  Be prepared - there is snow in the forecast.  In the meantime, enjoy your day and God Bless.  

NON-SURPRISES and SURPRISES.....JANUARY 11 2012....


First - the non-surprise.  My last two grand kids that are still in high school were both on the honor roll -- again.  This has been very consistent, grade period after grade period.  Congrats to both of them!

Now for the surprises.  Maybe some won't consider these as surprises, but I do.  For some unknown reason.  Guess it is just the way my mind works.  That is, if I have a mind.  There are some out there that would question that.

But back to the gist .. whatever gist is.  Just something I heard sometime in some sort of context or another, and thought, I would have to try that on for size sometime.  So here we are.  Gist. 

The dictionary describes gist as:  substance, essence or significance. Hope this helps you, doesn't help me, but then, according to family, I am beyond help. 

I received two new applications for art shows yesterday.  These are shows I have never participated in, hadn't really thought about them, and they are both requesting that I apply.

Now that means one of two things - one, they absolutely love my work, or two, they are desperate for new and/or more vendors.  I like the first idea best, but figure is is really number two.

Russ and I are supposed to get together this week re festivals and applications, and we will decide together what we are and are not going to do, or at least apply for, and we only apply because we are hoping to get juried in. 

I start a new folder in my picture file every January, called JURYING PICTURES.  Then I go through my work, choosing 5 - 6 of, what I think, are the best of my new work.  Why do I have a JP file?  Because without it, I would probably send the same pics for jurying every year, and they definitely DO NOT LIKE THAT.

The jurors want to see new stuff every year.  So I have to have new stuff to submit.  To keep them happy.  And if selected it keeps me happy.

Sometimes the jurors change from year to year, sometimes not.  I have no way of knowing, hence the new stuff.  So hopefully after our get-together Russ and I will have some sort of game plan in mind.  Hope he remembers the game plan, because my remembering is trying to remember something I forgot, and when I do remember it, I wonder why.

At least, to date, I have remembered to write my blog before submitting it, and remember to submit when finished. Sometimes the computer argues with me, but I usually succeed, sometime during the day.

And so with all thie profound (dictionary: scholarly, fathomless, bottomless - I prefer the scholarly) information at your fingertips I will leave you to try to figure out just exactly what it is I am trying to say today. 

This is one of my bottomless - fathomless new pictures.  See, I am doing exactly what the dictionary says - does that mean I am scholarly for real?


Good luck and God Bless.

I GOT A NEW TOY.....JANUARY 10 2012.........

For Christmas, that is.  One one of my presents was a digital picture frame.  I wanted one for the business, now I have one for the business.

The last couple of years I have thought about getting one to use at the festivals .. I could have an on-going slide show of my current work.  Sounded like a good idea, but never quite got around to getting said frame.

So one of my Santas took pity on me, and voila, I have a digital picture frame.  Yesterday I bought a USB Flash Drive (this one takes flash drives, hooray!) and now have to decide what pictures I am going to down load for starters.

 







Hopefully down the road I will purchase a couple more flash drives, so they can be interchangeable during the day, or whatever.  The above are a couple of my newest ones.

Now if I could just find: 1. A tent that puts itself up, stakes itself down, and attaches it own sides.

2. Display panels that can load and unload themselves, transport themselves to their proper location, and set themselves up.

3.  Display tables that can accomplish the same thing.

4.  Storage bins - ditto.

If these four little things came to pass, why I could do festivals for the next 50 years!  But I am not holding my breath. 

However I have the digital picture frame.  That is a start. Who knows?

Anyone want to sign on as an over-worked under-paid helper.  Am taking applications.

On another note, Russ should be coming down either tomorrow afternoon, or Thursday afternoon after school (he is an art teacher), and we will get some of his festival applications taken care, get the zapplications (all done by computer) completed and in, and take a few new pictures of his most recent work to put on CD's for jurying. 

No one realizes just how much work goes in to just applying for one show, let alone 15 or so.  And that is the easy part.

But we love what we do, don't mind the work as the pluses much outweigh the minuses. 

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone were so blessed that in addition to doing what needs to be done, could find something they love to do to make it all worth while?  What a great world it would be then!

So guess I will close out for today.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  Just be glad you don't live in Alaska where one town is buried beneath 20 feet (yes FEET) of snow, and another buried in ice, and more storms approaching.  We absolutely positively have nothing to complain about.  So enjoy and God Bless.

THE END...JANUARY 09 2012...         


Of the game, of the season, of the living room decorations.  Unbelievable ending to a poorly played football game.  The Steelers have been setting all sorts of records, but I'll just bet that they set the record for the fastest over-time playoff game ever.

If you blinked you missed the ending.  Unbelievable. 

Maybe by next season (7 months away) we will have a healthy team.  Not holding my breath though.

This morning hitting the post office to mail the book order (Priority Mail), then off to get the salt and stuff washed off the van.  Right now looks like it lives at the house of Nightmare on Elm Street.  Pretty bad.

Then this afternoon will be gather up all the steeler stuff and put it away for another year.  My living room will look bare for a few days, then I will really enjoy having it back to normal.  Whatever normal is.

I guess you can't have a normal living room if the folks living in it are not normal, and we definitely are not your typical normal, every-day, all put together, bunch.   If nothing else you have learned that from my blog.  

Hard to believe that in February it will be a year since I started blogging.  Which means I am another year older.  Which means my memory is another year less, and the body another year even lesser.  It is a very good thing I don't belong to a nudist colony.  Even they wouldn't be able to stand me and I would be expelled.

I look at my picture taken in the 20's - my 20's not the 1920's - and look at me now and wonder how this can be the same person.  I looked pretty normal back then.  Not that I don't look normal now, I just look old normal.

But I can't complain. I feel good, I am busy doing all the things I love to do, I am slower, but that really doesn't matter, my friends are many, my faith is strong, my family puts up with me and watches out for me, what on earth more could one ask for?

One little funny...yesterday told Mike about my list of things to photograph over this coming weekend.  When I told him about the castle, he just looked at me a minute then told me that one time when he and Tammie were down that way Tammie said she thought she saw a castle up on the hill, and he told her she was seeing things.  Hopefully I will have the picture to back her up.

Am attaching three pictures here that I took this year - of all things - castles. Mac-o-Chee Castle in Ohio, Sunnyside and Lyndhurst Castles in New York. 

Better lock it up for now, head out on my errands, and do what I have to do today.  Have a wonderful Monday (if that is possible) and God Bless.

A LITTLE OF THIS  - A LITTLE OF THAT......JANUARY 08 2012....


Lots of little things, no major things for today.

1.  Just caught Rebecca Melvin's blog, which she wrote yesterday, but forgot to share it until today.  Me, I would probably try to share it before writing it.  Par for the course.

2.  Playoffs in full swing.  Texans won, Saints won.  See you next year Bengals and Lions.

3.  Steelers play this afternoon.  Don't know if I want to watch or not.  They always manage to make a nervous wreck of me.

4.  No wonder the Post Office is going broke.  Received a book order on Friday, yes - 2 days ago - that had been mailed and post marked November (date blurred month clear as a bell)  but the check was dated November 25 2011.  Where has this been floating around, hidden, forgotten, whatever.  Notified the sender order finally received, book will be shipped tomorrow PRIORITY MAIL.  Hopefully it will not take 6 weeks for it to arrive.

5. Grand-daughter-in-law in Arizona is home schooling her children (ages 5 and 2).  I say children because the 2 year old has her own desk and sits in on all the classes.  Big sister is definitely not allowed to do anything without little sister. 

Their mother was home-schooled, so she seems to know what she is doing, even though she is a nervous wreck that she may do something wrong.  Not to worry, she knows what she is doing.

I am impressed.  They start their class each day with a prayer and pledge to allegiance. I think they will have the best schooling of all.

6. From personal experience I know only one other family that one of their daughters home schooled her children.  That particular daughter and her husband, now that their children are adults, are in the mission field, teaching in Mexico.

7. And lastly, our Church is going on their second mission trip, (last year Nashville, this year it will be Joplin Missouri) and son Michael went last year, planning on being with them this year.  But there is one stipulation - .....

Last year not knowing what he would be involved in (they really never know until they arrive), he did not have the proper tools, and Kathy (our Mrs. Preacher) located tools for him, but they all had pink handles.  Yes Pink. I have never heard so much razzing.  Pink tools.  Pictures to prove it.

Michael has unequivically stated THERE WILL BE NO PINK TOOLS THIS YEAR, and Kathy has informed him THERE WILL BE PINK TOOLS THIS YEAR, JUST FOR YOU.

I wonder of the Church needs a photographer???

Well, time to leave for Church.  Enjoy the games this afternoon, and hopefully the Steelers will win.  Take care and God Bless.

ODDS and ENDS DAY.....JANUARY 07 2012......

And tomorrow will be do or die day - Steelers play.

Finishing up some loose ends today, business-wise, travel-wise, personal-wise and trying to pretend I don't hear two beagle dogs carrying on.

The boss and his buddies are out hunting this morning, have been since daylight.  Muzzle loader deer season still in, squirrel season is in, and the rabbit dogs seem to think that rabbit season should be in also.  Since daylight they have been running from one end of the house to the other, whining, fussing, barking, howling, whining, fussing, - you get the drill. 

They love to hunt and for them rabbit season s always in.  But they have to wait.  Winter season will be starting soon, they will go out and run and bark, ears flopping, tails held high, chasing the bunnies.  They will come in heads hanging, tongues lolling, tails dragging, barely putting one foot (4 feet?) in front of the other.  They will sleep for 2 days, then want to start all over again.

The guys are just as bad, tramping in the heat, cold, wet, dry, snow, ice, rain, starting out full of vim and vigor, coming in subdued and tired.  At least they don't sleep for 2 days.

Son Michael hasn't gotten  a lot of hunting in this fall and so far this winter as he is working every spare moment on the house he is building.  The frame work is completed, insulation in, dry wall going up.  The outside will have log siding instead of normal siding - will be a log  house, and I guess the logs are in.  He and Ethan will be picking them up in the near future.  He and Tammie have been living in a small single-wide trailer and are really looking forward to having a house. We have told him he had better have one huge house-warming party. And I AM NOT going to be chief cook and bottle washer.  

Well, enough of my rambling for today.  Don't know for sure who is going to be here tomorrow for the game, as when the playoffs start we usually have several here. 

And, so, enjoy your day - the sun is shining again, and God Bless.

  

STEELER-NATION-MANIA...JANUARY 6 2012.....


Everyone in this area knows of the Steeler Nation.  The Pittsburgh Steeler's have one of the largest followings for their football games of any professional football team.

Home games are all black and gold in the stands.  Away games, sometimes, have more black and gold than the home team colors. 

Steeler followers are in all 50 states, you can even find Steeler paraphernalia everywhere. 

So of course I catch the little tid-bits that are on the news casts.  As you all know the Steelers are playing in Denver Sunday against the Broncos.

As you all also know, the Steeler players are pretty beat up.  They are all up-beat, but beat-up.  The last few games have been very physical.

First news tid-bit I caught was that local folks could not purchase tickets to Sunday's games in Colorado.  As soon as they gave their zip code, there weren't any tickets available.  So how did they get around that?

Steelerites contacted any one they knew, even remotely, or were related to and had them purchase said tickets.  They were readily available for Colorado zip codes.

Next thing I learned - Colorado-ites that didn't have any ties to any Steeler-ites were selling their tickets to said Steeler fans.  Of course they were making money on them, but what the heck.

I'll just bet that on Sunday there will be a lot of black and gold in the stadium.   Now if they just don't let us down.  Go Steelers!

These are just a few of the things in our living room during Steeler season.  They stay, even through the Christmas holidays, until the season ends, whether losing in regular season, playoffs, or go on and win the Super Bowl.  Then all the Steeler stuff is put away until the new season begins. 

At one time we had cow-mania. That is another story in itself.  Sometime down the road.  Now it is Steeler-mania.  Jerry gets something Steeler-ish each year for Christmas. You don't realize how much of something there is until you start collecting.  Amazing!

Sun is shining, but very very windy again.  Have to go get some major clamps to tie down the covers we have on our outdoor deck furniture.  So far no matter what I have done, something manages to blow off.  So time for the heavy-duty stuff.  Hope it works.

So had better get busy.  Sam had her staples out yesterday, leaving the stable-recovery room tail wagging, and doggie treat in her mouth, which she managed to demolish before we left.  I told my friend who works in the vet's office that when Sam got home, Coco would sniff her mouth first to see what she had that he didn't.  I proceeded to receive two more doggie treats to take home with me to keep peace in the house.

Staples are gone, so are the doggie treats.  Sam's hair is really beginning to grow back very fast.  It won't be long until you would never know she had surgery.  Biopsy came back negative, all is well.  Way to go, Sam!

Nothing else new and exciting to report, so had better get cracking and do what ever it is that I have to do.  Enjoy the sunshine and God Bless.

AT LEAST IT's NOT SNOWING.....JANUARY 05 2012.....


And the wind is not blowing, and the temperature is at 32 - a regular heat wave.  Is it spring yet?

This is my slow time of year.  Translation:  my blogs will probably be boring.

What is there to write about.  Nothing happening.  Except for the weather.  Holidays over and done with.  Festivals for me don't start until May.  Hopefully will get some traveling in to break the monotony.

Kearneysville WV coming up a week from tomorrow.  Looking forward to that.  Hopefully will have some pics to share.

Then am looking at 2 bus trips (where I spend my Christmas money), one to Macon Georgia and the cherry blossom festival there in March, and one to Asheville NC to the Biltmore Estate and surrounding territory.  I can only do one, am waiting for Nancy to get back to me.  Then we will know what we are doing.

Also am spending some time each day "mapping" - not a mis-spell, it IS mapping, not napping. 

Am lining up some new festivals in new areas so I start researching what there is in the new areas to photograph.  Since Troy Ohio will be the first festival of the year, provided I get juried in, I have scoped out Champaign County, Miami County (where Troy is) and Clark County, they all adjoin each other.

I will leave a couple of days early when I go, and spend that time as a photo-shoot.  Hopefully will find lots of new interesting things to photograph.

If I do, there will probably be new interesting things to write about also.  Bet you can hardly wait!

Am attaching a couple of pics here - the American Queen when in Wheeling and the famous Wheeling Suspension Bridge.

Have a vet appointment this afternoon for Sam to get her staples removed.  I know she will be happy when they are gone.

Even tho things are slow now, I still have lots to look forward to.  Traveling, festivals, probably judging a photography show (which I have done for several years now), a wedding, and down the road there will be mowing (I may not mow this year as Jerry had to get a new mower ((I am supposedly the culprit)), and if I don't touch the new mower I can't break it).  Hope you can figure this one out.

I will still have the flowers, mulching, veggie garden and stuff. 

So had better close for now and get busy finding something to get busy at.  Have a good day and God Bless.

IS THIS JANUARY - OR MARCH....JANUARY 04 2012...


This month has come in like a lion - a big time lion.  Single digit temps, icy roads, snow creating whiteout conditions, accidents, the 40 minute drive from Pittsburgh last night for Jerry took over 2 hours. 

I thought March was the lion or lamb month.  If this is how January starts, I am afraid to think of March.  It will be either one monster of a lion, and a beautiful little lamb. 

I am not ready, to not want to go, anywhere because of the weather, but I am at that point.  I don't plan on leaving my hill top until the predicted moderation comes and the snow goes.  I had to run errands yesterday morning, part of the time couldn't even seen where I was going.  Made it home o.k., but not going out again until.............

Followed taillights on the interstate, if they decided to exit, I would still be following.  Maybe I would end up at their home -   "Hi, I'm just following you because I can't see anything else but your tail lights".

It is still 19 degrees outside, but no wind blowing, no snow snowing, so doesn't feel  all that bad.  Will check my driveway in a short time and if I think I can make it back up the hill, no problem going down, just like skiing, except in a car, but coming back up can be really tricky.  Steep drive way 4/10 of a mile long with 4 - yes I said 4 - very sharp turns.  In railroad lingo they would be called "switch-backs".  Impossible to keep up momentum.  So if not sure, I stay home.

Been scoping out things to photograph when going to Kearneysville in a couple of weeks.  Have located info about a Castle, a Mill, and a Mail Pouch Barn. Now just have to persuade son Michael to be in a good frame of mind to take these detours.  Tammie has never seen a real castle, so she will help with the arm twisting.

How do you like this Christmas tin?  Jerry received this for Christmas full of popcorn.  Will take him at least a year to eat it all.

Why am I showing you this?  BECAUSE....BEWARE....BE PREPARED... for someone out there will be receiving their Christmas gift in this next year.  Only hint I am giving IT WILL NOT BE POPCORN.  The tn is 15 inches high and 12 inches in diameter.  Jerry wants to throw it away.  I said no way. 

Maybe your present will be a gift card.  Maybe something larger.  But it will be in the Christmas Tin.  Do you want to take bets on who the lucky recipient will be?  Be my guest.

So with that lingering thought, will check my driveway, and if I think I can get back up will leave for Bible Study.  If not, will stay home.  If no blog tomorrow, I am still stuck at the bottom of the hill.  Have a good day and God Bless.

SUNSHINE and SNOW...JANUARY 03 2012..


That is correct.  We actually have sunshine, at least right now.  Also have snow on the ground.  Also only 19 degrees outside.  That is brrrrrrr cold!

Well, I can say now that Christmas is officially over.  Put the tree and all the trimmings away yesterday.  Looks pretty bare.  The holidays come and go so fast it makes your head spin.

I will be going to Kearneyville WV in a couple of weeks then Jerry will be leaving for Phoenix to visit his sister the end of the month.  Sometime in between he may have to go to Minnesota (in the winter!!! really cold) for business.  He is not looking forward to that. 

Everyone seems to be settling in for the long haul now until spring.  High school kids are back at school.  One college kid starts back this month, the other one not until the end of the month.   But he keeps busy, is working at one of our local Targets.

Looking into a couple of bus trip possibilities in March and/or April.  Don't know whether they will pan out or not, also will be going to Phoenix in late April/early May to visit the kids.  Then beginning in mid-May the festival season kicks off for real.

In-between I have a bejillion things to accomplish, my to-do list just gets longer.  Interferes greatly with my bucket-list.  Just not enough time.

Have to call the vet tomorrow and make appointment to take Sam in and have her staples removed.  She still looks really bald, but is healing nicely.  She is a tough little dog.

Whoops - as I have been writing this blog, the sun has disappeared, and nothing but gray clouds.  Starting out to be a long gloomy winter.

These are a couple of pictures from the Cass Railroad weekend last summer.  That is a fun trip.

Guess I had better close for now and get started on the do-do list, got to make some time for my bucket list.  Have a good day, try to stay warm and God Bless.

SHUTTING ONE DOOR - OPENING ANOTHER....JANUARY 02 2012....


The door has closed on 2011, one of the strangest years I can remember (that's a lot of years) and I can only wonder what 2012 will bring.

January is a very busy time for me, figuratively speaking.  I will spend most of this week closing out the 2011 business information, getting ready for - you are right - income tax time.  Got to keep the government happy.

It is also a time of preparation for 2012 business, deciding which festivals to apply for, ordering in supplies to get started creating inventory for 2012 said festivals, getting some idea of what trips I want to take - as almost every trip, whether one day, a weekend, or longer, turns into a photo shoot.  And, No, I cannot deduct the entire cost of the trip as a business expense.  A small percentage, that is it.  It is not all  a bed of roses.

As of this moment I have 4 festival applications on my desk awaiting my decision.  Three are new festivals I have never done before.  One an old stand-by that I always enjoy.

Also just found out I have a wedding to attend on July 6th.  Russ' youngest daughter getting married.  Can't miss that, I have known Jessica since before she was born. 

Our friendly pheasant visited again yesterday.  I guess he/she likes it here. 

January has started out gloomy.  Cloudy most of yesterday, and wind gusts over 50 miles an hour all day.  Today is cold, - 20 degrees -, still windy, but not like yesterday, and snow flurries.  Guess winter is here, like it or not.

Steelers won, but so did Baltimore.  Just can't get rid of them Ravens.  Should be an interesting play-off season.

Going to attach a couple of pictures from San Diego. The first is Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island, and the other is one of the water-front sculptures, which were amazing. 

Guess I had better close out for now.  Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's eve, New Year's day, and are now ready to face the brand new year with brand new enthusiasm, just raring to go and succeed in bu cu  accomplishments in the New Year.  

Stay warm, read a good book, watch a good movie, embrace the New Year with a fresh out-look, happy heart, and God's blessings.