It's a bird, It's a Plane...

It's the International Space Station!

We had the fun privilege of watching the

ISS fly over our house last night!

The whole flight took about 4 minutes!

I have located a web site that

lists the flight pattern in your area!

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/

I must admit  that until I confirmed it today

we were convinced that this...

was the ISS.  After doing some research,

we think this bright dot is Venus!

I'm so glad that I took the picture of both!

Venus= doesn't look to be moving

ISS= you blink to long, you'll miss it!

Speaking of strange objects in the sky...

take a good look at this UFO.

Any Guesses?

It's the Boy Scouts version of a "Big Balloon"!
Somehow they managed to inflate a tent!

This morning was our Heritage Festival here in

Mason Ohio!

A simply beautiful day for a parade!

Flags, banners, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,

American Heritage Girls,

 Little Miss Mason Pageant Winners,

Church groups, Children's Theater Groups,

Mason Idol Contestants and two wonderful

High School Marching Bands!

Your name, I think we had it covered!

Even our local Senior Citizen Community

entertained us!

I hope each of you have a fantastic weekend!

A Simple Pleasure and a Simple Treasure

I am posting to

 Simple Pleasure on Thursday 

with our wonderful host Dayle

 at A Collection of This and That.

Simple Pleasure

Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.

1 Peter 5:7

I took this shot while on our vacation in July.

We had rented a pontoon boat for the morning and had

to make a "potty" stop at the local marina.

(Several of the 7 kids aboard needed to go!)

This shot was taken in between rain showers,

looking from the dock out to the sound.

I loved the way the old rough dock contrasted

with the silky smooth water.

Simple Treasure

This is currently what is sitting beneath my cloche!

My favorite petite turquoise saucer,

with my daughter's sweet baby foot impression!

Both of these small objects bring me big smiles!

Some By-The-Way Information

Thank you for all the sweet well wishes for Wayne's Birthday.

Since school started the same day,

we kept the celebration to a minimum...

out for Pizza,

back to open cards,

and have a slice of our favorite cheesecake!

We will get to celebrate on Sunday with my extended family!

The kids seem to be off to a great start of school.

It is hard to believe that Zac is in 10th grade and

Madison 7th.  Where does the time go?

I think I've confused several of you regarding my "jobs"!

I hope this clears thing up!

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

I help my mom care for my grandma while the kids are in school.

Thursday afternoons

I finally received my Ohio State Care Provider Number!

This allows me to go back to work for the family I used to clean for.

I still clean, only now the state pays me.

This is a very special family to me.

They run a local special needs adoption agency called

the Shepherd's Crook.

My nephew was adopted thru this agency.

The family themselves have 4 biological children and

14 adopted children (most with special needs).

Friday Mornings

I teach art at a local home school co-op

 to some wonderful  1st-3rd graders!!

I was very spoiled this summer to have taken time away

from these responsibilities and spend time with my kids!

I hope each of you have a fantastic day!

Time to Celebrate

Someone turned 40 today....

The love of my life...

No,

not the cheesecake...

My Wonderful Husband!

Happy Birthday Wayne!

Today has been a big day...

not only has it been Wayne's birthday,

it was also the kids first day back to school

and

my first day back to "work"!

I hope today has been a good day for you too!

Taking Things for Granite

Well, we have finally made the decision

to have granite installed in the kitchen!

Meaning that prior to vacation I spent an afternoon

or two, 

hunting down the "perfect" granite

at the more important "perfect" price.

I am very, very frugal!

Imagine my surprise when God lead me to a

local granite fabricator, who just happened to have

enough opps/ remnant of our first choice granite

at an unbelievable price!

(They had just bought several slabs of "my" granite 

that had cracked straight down the middle during shipping.

Meaning that we got a fabulous deal!)

Now here is where the fun starts...

When we built the home 6 years ago, we had the option

of installing a high breakfast bar, or creating a low one.

After much debate, we went with the high one...

which in the end,

turned out to be too high.

So with the on set of new counters...

down comes the high bar!

 Wayne starting the deconstruction process!

Off comes the corbels...

and

Off comes the counter top!

Finally we deconstruct the wall till it is even with

the existing counter!

The gentleman from the counter top place came

yesterday afternoon to take measurements for 

the new counters!

They are set to be installed on September 8th!

Which means our next project is selecting 

and installing a back splash.

I've picked out paint for the office, now I just 

need the motivation to paint!

Still Waters

He leads me beside the still waters... Psalms 23

I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

 please take a moment and stop in to say hello to her.

and

 Simple Pleasure on Thursdays with out host Dayle

at A Collection of This and That.

Beach Secret #3

Do you see what I see?

No, not the

sand,

or water,

or even the shells.

Look closer...

Know what this is?

I keep them in a small jar on

my kitchen counter.

Need a hint?

Our favorite way to pass time

on Topsail Island..

hunt for petrified sharks teeth!

Here are some of our

 "prize" finds!

The large one on the left

was found our first year

on the Island!

This year we hit the jackpot!

We found enough to

fill our jar

and...

Overflow it!

Vacation- Secret #2

Secret #2

Our most favorite beach of all time:

Topsail Island, NC!

Topsail is a barrier island located about 45 minutes

north of Wilmington, NC!

We stumbled across this island 4 years ago,

when I literally opened a map of the United States

and found the town of Surf City.

How can you go wrong visiting a place called Surf City?

Come to find out, you can't!

The island of Topsail is about 26 miles long and

only about a mile wide!

While visiting the local bookstore, the Quarter Moon,

I found this book...

on the history of this little island!

Chance would have it that I was able to

come back to the bookstore later that week to have my

copy signed by the author!

Things we love about Topsail:

1. Beautiful, clean beaches.

2. Plenty of waves to jump and ride to shore.

3. Building sand art.

4. The best fudge you'll ever eat,

made fresh daily, in hundreds of yummy flavors

at The Topsail Trading Company!

5. The antiquated island draw bridge,

that doesn't go up....

Instead swings out from the middle

allowing larger ships to pass by!

6. The Turtle Hospital and rescue efforts

made by caring Topsail residents.

This nest was located on our stretch of beach.

Wayne and I spent several evening sitting in the dark

by the ocean side, hoping for an early hatching.

Towards the end of the week, the "nest watcher"

came and built a sand shoot from the nest

out to the ocean!

The "nest watcher" thought the turtles would most likely

hatch two days after we left.

Maybe next year!

While we didn't see baby turtles,

we did see dolphins, sharks and stingrays!

7. Relaxing with a good book on the top deck of the

beach house, with a great view of the ocean!

8. Renting a pontoon for a 4 hour tour!

Even though we hit two rain storms and

got "stuck" a couple times, it truly

was a memory!

During a "potty" break at a local marina,

we met up with some Coast Guard boats.

They allowed the kids to come aboard their

boats and explore!

Above, the gentleman was showing Zac

how they use the "gun" mounted on the front of the boat.

9. Zac and my nephew, Jon Mark, enjoyed

fishing, both on the boat and from one of the

three piers located on the island!

10. Probably on of my favorite things about Topsail,

was the time spent with Wayne and my kids,

with my sister and her family,

and with my mom and dad!

I have one more secret about one of our most favorite

Topsail Island past time!

So stayed tuned!

Our Vacation- Secret #1

For the past four years our family has made

the 12 hour trek to our favorite beach.

The name of the beach?

That is secret #2!

When we travel, we love to find places to eat

that are different than your average fast food fare!

We are also creatures of habit and if we find a place we love...

we return each year!

On the way to the beach we have found a wonderful

old fashioned drive-in root-beer stand called

Frostop Drive Inn in Huntington,WV.

How often do you find a root-beer mug on the roof?

Further south we were blessed enough

to stumble upon the historic town

of Hillsborough, NC!

Hillsborough is full of quaint shops, galleries and restaurants!

Our secret...

The Saratoga Grill!

Located upstairs from the Court Square Shop,

the menu and fantastic owner, Colleen,

 has pulled us back year after year!

For the prior three years I have order the

scallop, white cheddar hamburger!

(this one belonged to my brother-in-law)

This year I was enticed by the special of the day

Shrimp and polenta...

I was not disappointed, it was delicious!

(sorry about the flash... I forgot to turn it off)

For dessert my brother-in-law ordered

this...

Coconut cake, which I was told was yummy!

After lunch I wandered downstairs to the gift shop

and found these adorable dessert plates.

Wendy, wouldn't these be perfect for Tony's someday bakery?

Before lunch we had the opportunity to browse

the local bookstore..

Purple Crow Books!

Actually we did more that browse..

..we had a lovely conversation with the

owner, Sharon Wheeler.  One whole wall in Sharon's

store displays countless published local authors!

The kids loved her children's room which housed books,

toys and an old bathtub turned into a reading couch!

We bought the older kids books!

It was neat this year, because we were able to

stop in Hillsborough both going and coming home from the beach!

I love a small town, in which I walk back into the

bookstore on our way home and was asked "How was my trip!"

If you ever find your way to this part of the country,

I highly recommend a stop in Hillsborough, NC!