Saturday, August 28, 2010

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!

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!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

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
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!

Monday, August 23, 2010

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!

Friday, August 20, 2010

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!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

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

Thursday, August 12, 2010

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!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

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
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!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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

Hillsborough is full of quaint shops, galleries and restaurants!
Our secret...
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..
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!