End of a visit/Imaginations

My granddaughter and grandson have returned to Colorado. We had such a fun time with them while they were here. My DIL's family also lives in Ohio, so there is alot of family time going on. On our last day together we went to the Columbus Zoo. My daughter-in-law made the cutest video of the cousins at the zoo. I can't seem to show it to you. You can tell by my pictures, or lack of pictures, that I wasn't up to par. The headaches turned into a stiff neck and it was painful. So I didn't take many pictures. I am not feeling the photo shop thing this morning so some of the pics are on their side.

I got pictures of the reindeer and the flamingo. Also pictures of the new Sting Ray Bay. You got to touch them and feed them. The kids thought that was fun.....except for Mabel. She would rather be on Uncle B's shoulder.

Don't know who the boy in the flowered shorts belongs to.

Goose is still so impressed with loosing her first tooth. This was a brand new hat with the rip built in.

Loved this flamingo. He was so friendly. I don't think I ever petted a flamingo. This one kept rubbing the zoo keeper's neck.

The Colorado kiddos.

Uncle B and Mabel.

When we were looking at the reindeer, Patrick started asking me about the reindeer, Rudolph and Santa. We discussed how Santa must have dropped him off at the zoo for the summer. Another little boy came up and was asking his parent similar questions.

Patrick also was talking about my fairy garden. He asked if I ever put food in there. It took me a minute to realize he meant "for the fairies". I thought that was the cutest thing.

The pain in my neck is going away and I think I will try to do a little painting.

Hope you all have a sweet week.

(((((HUGS)))))

Ms. Vertigo and Ms. Migraine

What happens when you put someone that has vertigo with someone having migraines.........some wild times. Actually, probably more mellow than usual. Yesterday I went to see my friend Sue (Sullivan and Murphy). Not only were we totally unaware of what time it was.......also the day. When I got home I asked my husband why he had the trash out. He looked at me a little funny and said because tomorrow was trash day. I said no it was only Tuesday. He then had to explain that it was Wednesday. I laughed and said that I had asked Sue if it was Tuesday or Wednesday and she told me Tuesday.. Yes, people we were out and even driving in this condition. We went to Tipp City to get some Annie Sloan paint and wanted to go to a couple other stores. We walked in one and they said they were closing because it was 5 p.m. Well we weren't the only ones that didn't know what time it was, three others came and and couldn't believe it either.
This brings me to a subject of customer service...........
When you are a storekeeper and you have 5 ladies walk in to shop do you tell them you are closing? Would you wait for them to look around? This was a consignment vintage antique kind of store. I would let them look around.......what would you do?
Now another customer service questions........You walk into an adorable handmade soap store with intentions of buying some soap. There are two store owners and two customers that are engaged in conversation. Do you totally ignore the two new customers that walk in. (That would be Sue and I) Never a hello, can I help you, can I take the picture of both of you since you can't seem to get a good picture, or thanks for stopping by. Okay, folks, not one word of acknowledgement. None. So........we went outside and tried to crawl into their bathtub to take a picture. That didn't work well.......but we got a picture. (Sue I couldn't download your edit so I did this one) Just wondering.......maybe this is why I am not a storeowner, he he. (Not the picture but the service)

Anywhoo.....we made our own fun. Never a problem for us. We just needed a bit more time. And ladies, look out as we got our paint........let the fun begin.
XO

Little changes around my house

This is a little bedroom that I call the sleeping room. We have this bed, a toddler blow up bed and a pack and play for when we need them. See the stars and the moon around the window. Well the stars are on their way out. I changed the bedding to be a little more girly. The quilt is from my grandmother. She purchased the quilt in Amish country many years ago. The two end pillows are from Brenda at http://cozylittlehouse.blogspot.com . The Minnie dolls were gifts from my friend. The curtains came from Ikea. I still have alot of things, like paint the walls, I want to do in this room but this is a start. Got any ideas for a paint color. The pillow case is vintage......he he, as it was a wedding gift in a sheet set some 43 years ago. See I am vintage as well.

Remember the spool shelf that I wasn't happy with. It was very dark and I attempted to paint it. I didn't like how it came out. So, I took my Rustoleum Heritage White spray paint and gave it a light coat. I had no idea if the paints I had used would be compatible. I knew I could start all over if I didn't like it. Just a fine coat and a little more distressing and I love it now. All of the little things on the shelf is the result of my blogging. Antique markets and barn sales that I have enjoyed . Blogging exposes you to new adventures for sure.

I love old cameras and globes. I just found this little bank globe at the Goumas Candyland where Polly and Keeley have their wares. They finally were able to open up after all the outages. It's a must stop for those of you in Central Ohio.

Yikes this picture is nasty. This was my first attempt at using Pic Monkey. All of these pictures I tried to edit. Sue will be so proud of me for finally trying to edit. The JOY banner was a giveaway that I won in December. When I received the package there were two beautiful pillow covers. Oops I got the wrong package. So I sent the package to the person it was intended. Then finally in February the person that made the banner contacted me that she had forgotten all about it. I know it is Christmasey but it I needed something under this poster size picture. The poster was also in a giveaway that I won in December. I just now hung it. The glare distorts the picture. It is similar to the one on my side bar. But in this picture only the t-shirts are in color.

We watched two of our Colorado grands. They had so much fun with these blocks. I furnished two pre-schools and my own with these giant Lego boxes that used to have baby wipes in them.

So my friends.......stay cool.......and I hope this is a good week for you.

Three Cheers and REMINDERS

Three cheers for the lineman that have worked in this heat for 10 days. Our county is almost totally restored.......or supposed to be tonight. As we were driving home tonight there was a sign stating that their was a worker rest station ahead. There was a port a potty and what looked to be a cooler or maybe someplace to wash their hands. Then there were signs that said "Thank you for your service." These guys in this picture were working on the streets during our village' Fourth of July Street Fair. They walked by and we thanked them. Everyone clapped for them. They went and got something to eat and drink and headed back to their trucks. We were told that the lineman from Alabama did most of the work to restore our power. It is so wonderful how one electric company helps another during these outages.......and go to other states. It says something about our country doesn't it?

Okay these guys REMIND me of my father. My father was a lineman and then a manager of a rural electric company for many years. Happy Birthday to my father today in Heaven. He has been gone for 8 years now. It seems like forever since I have seen him and then again it seems like it couldn't have been 8 years ago. I miss him terribly but I have such a peace in my heart about his passing. He had Alzheimer's for 10 years before he passed.

And that REMINDS me of my mother-in-law. We drove to our home town to see her today. My SIL met us there and we talked about what will happen next. She has Alzheimer's or dementia.....and is failing. Since her hospitalization she can't feed herself, walk, or communicate. She doesn't make eye contact and was so hard to wake up. But she seems peaceful. When she did talk (which surprised my SIL as she hasn't talk much lately) we asked her how she felt and she said"good". That was comforting. We talked about closing her assisted living apartment in the same building as the nursing care wing that she is currently in. It is so sad seeing her decline. The three of us shed some tears. I am just hoping that if she isn't to get better that she remains peaceful like she was today. She sleeps alot and that is good I think. God has plans for all of us and we just have to be patient. We do feel that the end is probably near for this sweet little mom of two, grandmother of 6, great-grandmother of 8. Hope that she feels the love that we all have for her.

Okay, if you have made it this far, I will leave you with something my sweet 3 year old granddaughter, Mabel said to my husband. Grampy gave her a kiss and she wiped it off. She said that Grampy had poppy seeds. She meant whiskers. Hope that this puts a smile on your face. Please don't feel sad for us, we know that this is just life. ((((((HUGS)))))) and thanks for listening to me.

Family Fun

We ventured downtown in the heat for the 4th of July festivities. Our small town looks like a Norman Rockwell painting during the 4th. But this year it was different. The downtown was without power. No banks, no restaurants, no drug store. Many people are still without power, including my son and his family. Instead of greeting some one with ,"How are you?", it was "Do you have power?" Even Goose was asking everyone. There were power workers downtown working during the fair. There were alot of people not happy that the 4th went on while they didn't have power. Anyway, it was blazing hot while we were there. The Colorado kids could hardly take the heat with the humidity. They aren't use to the humidity. We really worked hard keeping them cool. Afterwards we all went to Bob Evans. It was open but deserted. We were wild and crazy and laughing and a bit too loud. But it was fun. So much fun watching the cousins interact. My son and family are coming again today and spending the night this time. So it will be wild and cray again tonight. Hope you are all staying cool and safe in these temps. Supposed to be 100 today and tomorrow. I want winter.

See Hope's hat. She gave all the money she had to a dog and cat rescue called, "Stop the suffering." They gave her the hat. She loves dogs and can't have any because of her mom's allergies. Her bedroom has huskie dogs as the decor. She saw one in the 4th parade and cried. Grammy gave her some money later because I was so proud of her for doing what she did.

Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth to all of you. I hope you are having a safe and "cool" holiday. We are blessed to live in this country. Thanks to all that fight for freedom and keep us safe.

My office, hah, the little bowl says Cherries on it. The dog always moves the pillows around or pushes them on the floor so that he is comfortable.

Guess who came to visit. Two of my Colorado grandchildren. (computer cords and some one's feet as well)

So nice to have A/C. Our village is still in a blackout.....day 6 for them. My son is still out of power. Roads are still closed.

My mother-in-law is doing okay. The transfusions helped her anemia. A kidney infection may have been pat of the renal failure. So she is stable now. Thanks for your concerns and prayers.

(((((((HUGS)))))))

Well this has been fun

Just to let you know, we are okay here. We had power restored yesterday. 3 days of terrible heat, no A/C and no water. But we are lucky. My son is still out of power and all the nearby towns.....just shut down. They are saying the 8th of July. We are on rural electric and that must have helped. I was ready to pack up and leave with the dogs in tow. Hubby work is open but that is 45 minutes away.

These storms were unreal. There was no warning. The sky was dark in the distance but not where the winds were. They are saying straight line winds with a bow effect. I was actually out of town checking on the moms. I ran across 4 lanes of road in the wind. Seriously thought I was in a tornado. Dust hitting my body and stinging. Signs flying and trees falling. My mom was in the car and had no clue. We drove to an area where there weren't trees. Surprised my car didn't end up like my neighbors. (This is my next door neighbor's car)

We have trees all over that were uprooted. Main streets still shut down with trees and wires still in the road. We had to drive out of town to get water and there still was no ice. Yesterday I had to drive 45 minutes for ice and then got home and had power.

We are lucky. The other picture is our yard. But we didn't have any damage. Lots of rotten food.

Even the cell phones were not working. Towers were down. I stayed at my Mom's the first night trying to check in on my husband's mom. (The moms live 2 hours away) The day after the storm, I found her seriously ill and not responding. She is in an apartment in a nursing home. I found a nurse and the squad was called. She is in the hospital still with renal failure and receiving blood transfusions. But she is stable.

But home I am, and glad to be cool. I don't like the heat and never had. I can only take so much heat. Yesterday was my breaking point and the power came on.....thank the Lord. It almost makes you feel guilty when others don't have it. I have invited anyone that wants to come over to do so.

So today I hope to stay put and hope that my headaches go away. They aren't too bad, just from all the heat, I'm sure. So thankful . It is just so sad when things like this happen and out of no where. So many stories.

My son and his family are in Ohio, here fromColorado, and we are hoping they can come sometime this week-end. My son was with me when I found my MIL in such bad shape. That helped alot. Then I stayed til Hubby could get to the hospital and his sister returning from the beach. So glad that I was there to get her to the hospital.

Okay rambling here.

Hope you are all okay. I know this was widespread. Going to try to catch up on some reading here today. Many ((((((HUGS)))))