My Awesome Brother-in-Law...Scott Shafer

 I wanted to share this article which was featured on the front page of Syracuse's newspaper, The Post-Standard, this morning.

My sister, Missy, married a truly amazing man.

Of course, she is pretty wonderful herself!

http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2013/08/syracuse_coach_scott_shafer_ho_1.html

 

 

When Missy told me Scott and Obama were both on the front page of their paper today, I had to smile because she mentioned Scott's name first...of course.

 

Our entire family is so proud of Scott and can't wait for the football season to begin!

~Go Orange~



My Fall/Winter Wardrobe

Yesterday I headed to Mansfield for a bit of shopping and was thrilled to find my entire fall/winter wardrobe at Macy's for 35% off everything!

I will be wearing sweat pants, mock turtlenecks, sweat shirts for very cold days...and outer vests for outside purposes!

I love being home in my studios where the only thing I have to think about when it comes to clothes is comfort!

The orange shirts at the bottom of the one pile are for Syracuse Football Game Days...

 

Now to go upstairs and go through ALL my clothes and seriously send the many articles of clothing I don't wear to Goodwill!

~Wish me luck~



Time Consuming

I LOVE rughooking, but it sure takes a LOT of time!



A Little Project

It's amazing what you can do with a very inexpensive little tin from Goodwill.

 

Now Princess Sofia has a world of her own!



Wynken + Blynken + Nod = Abe

From The Bumper Book...

 

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head.

 

~Sweet Dreams, dear Abe~



The Happy Hooker

I am back in the hooking business and feel as though I have just reconnected with an old friend!

~LOVE~



Words

Lewis has a favorite word...YELLOW!

 

Lewis loves that word because it is the name of his beloved and cherished color.

 

Words can evoke a range of emotions.

The word which has been causing a strong reaction from me lately is the F word.

When I was a youngster, the only people who uttered that word were "guys" and never in the presence of women and children. It was the ultimate profanity a human being could use and when it was used, the occasion that caused someone to actually say the F word was extreme.  Of course, that was some 60 years ago.

Times have changed...The F word is used by people of all ages and is heard on cable television and can be found in many modern movies, books, magazines, song lyrics, radio shows, and now is quite prevalent in social media.

 

I have been known to utter a "mild" swear word here and there, but have refrained from using the F word.  There is something about it that makes me inwardly flinch...I ask myself why that is...After all, a word is just a word.

 

Or is it?



Verizon Woes

Because we live out in the country, cell phone reception can be a bit inconsistent.  The Verizon people told me a network extender would do the trick in solving the reception drops and I ordered one...I did tell them we had a dish and HughesNet was our provider...NO PROBLEM I was told.

The extender arrived last night and after 5 hours of installation and tech assistance, Joe and I were asked about our internet provider again and when I mentioned HughesNet, the tech went crazy!

We should NEVER have been sold an extender as we have a satellite dish!

So...the extender is on its way back to Verizon Land.

I did speak with someone at our Verizon store this morning and he profusely apologized and explained they had no idea the extender wouldn't work with a dish.  He admitted the staff needs some education and was going to make the appropriate calls to make sure they get it.

 

It's all about communication...and that is Verizon's business.

If we can learn something from unfortunate experiences, the time was not entirely lost.

That's what age does...It mellows you.



A Potpourri Kind of Day

Today has been a day for being.  My mind has been quite busy, but my creative hands...not so much.

 

I woke up thinking about my grandson and what a joyful little being he is...and how blessed I am to be his grandmother.

 

I finished reading this fascinating book based on women photographers of days past and their interesting, bohemian lives.

 

I downloaded this classic to my Kindle app and can't wait to read it!

How did I ever miss it?

 

I discovered the British literary sensation, Samantha Shannon, who is just 21 years old and being hailed as the next J. K. Rowling.

I am not sure if I will enjoy her futuristic fantasy, but I might give it a try.

I read some of her blog and was fascinated by her thoughts on world building.  I have done that with Hittyville, but want to take it a step further in writing and pictures...

J.R.R. Tolkien was a master of world building with his Lord of the Rings.

 

I am in an old movie mode and watched this 1944 film which was REALLY good!

 

And then this afternoon I walked and thought about one of my favorite subjects...the imagination!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally...

 

I am so blessed I was born with a happy heart.

I consider it one of God's greatest gifts to me...



Loving Eccentricity

I absolutely LOVE this movie!

 

Frank Capra's classic is all about the eccentric Sycamore Family.

 

The message of the film is to be happy with your life choices and TRULY do what you WANT to do...

 

The Sycamore Family reminded me of Hittyville's very own Culpepper Family.

 

Ontario Culpepper is an extraordinary watchmaker who is teaching his daughter, Lenci, his watchmaking art.  The father-daughter team pay no attention to time...oddly enough...when working on watches and often miss a meal so as not to be distracted.

 

Olna Jane Culpepper is showing her dear Friend, Gypsy, the new astrology chart she has just made.  Olna Jane also takes creative movement classes and is in the Teacher Training Class when not consulting her charts.

 

The Culpepper Twins, Daphne and Delilah, have not gotten very far on their Great American Novel.  The sisters agreed to write alternating chapters, but Daphne's setting is in the Lake District of England, while Delilah has put their characters on a tropical island!

Hopefully, after their violin-making afternoon, the girls will figure it all out.

 

Olna Jane's sisters...Helga, Eva, and Jewel...are booking passage on the first Hittyville Queen cruise with Captain Harlan.

The sisters spend 99% of their time traveling the world. The other 1% of the time they reside in Hittyville with their family.

 

The Professor and his wife, Jillian, met the Culpeppers on an archaeological dig years ago and have been inseparable ever since.  The two couples hold chess matches every afternoon and play bridge every evening.

The couple is being instructed on some innovative bridge techniques from Peter Jensen, a world champion bridge player.

 

Miss Arabella is a seamstress and has lived with the Culpeppers ever since she made Olna Jane's wedding dress.  When she is not sewing for the family, Miss Arabella spends her time birdwatching.  She has actually mastered the songs of at least 100 different kinds of birds.

 

 

Families come in all shapes and sizes and being a bit eccentric makes life just that much more interesting...



The Dawn of Realization

Don't you just love it when scattered thoughts all come together and suddenly make perfect sense?

That's exactly what happened to me when I noticed the early morning sun "pouring" its beautiful light into my teacup!

 

I have spent the last month watching Brooke and Noah ready their classrooms in anticipation of another school year.  For over 38 years, I prepared my own classrooms and loved every minute of it.  Maybe that is why I felt the need to join Program 60 at OSU and create a fall schedule.

But then...I started thinking about my "classrooms" of today...my studios!

 

I have TONS of wonderful projects to work on...

 

 

The only classroom I really want to be in is this one...and I have lots of preparing to do!

 

I think it was definitely meant to be I was bumped from my classes...

Those two full days away from home would seriously have cut into my painting time!

 

After looking through my textbooks, I did return them to the OSU bookstore yesterday.

I found my own Children's Literature book and a Cultural Anthropology book of sorts much more interesting than the EXPENSIVE textbooks assigned to my classes.

 

And speaking of Children's Literature, I think I need to go through ALL the children's books I do have and catalog them.

This is just one of the MANY bookshelves in our home.

 

 

And as for that rughooking class I was going to take...I discovered my allergy to wool is still a problem...and then there are my own unfinished hooking projects I am doing with blended yarns.

I discovered I don't want to be tied down to a scheduled time to hook.

 

I think I may have been trying to recreate past experiences, when in reality, the present is where my heart and soul are most happy...

But I am glad I got a pair of saddle shoes out of the adventure.

 

As I watched the sunrise on this peaceful morning, I felt my own sense of purpose and joy return.

What I was looking for always right here...on our blessed farm.

 

~Life is good~



Acceptance

Late this afternoon, I received a message on my answering machine from the OSU Program 60 Director.  She was very apologetic, but told me I was being "bumped" from the Children's Literature class due to last minute enrollment changes.  Classes start on Wednesday.  I was surprised because I was told to go ahead and get my books last week as I was definitely "in".  My afternoon class may also be in jeopardy, and I really don't want to spend more time driving than attending class.

So...I am no longer a Buckeye.

 

I must say I accepted the news with remarkable calm...disappointment...but calm.  There is absolutely nothing I can do about it and maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

 

There will be other adventures...There always are!



Historic Roscoe Village

Lewis and Hitty Rose are so excited to be visiting Historic Roscoe Village on this beautiful Sunday.

One of Lewis' lifelong dreams is about to be realized...He is going to take a ride on a canal boat on a REAL canal!

 

 The Friends started their adventure at the Visitor Center and watched a short film about the history of Roscoe Village.  From the mid 1800's to around 1913, this village was known as an Ohio-Erie Canal town.

The coming of the railroad and a major flood ended the heyday of Roscoe Village...but the story of that time period is preserved in this historical setting.

 

 

 Hitty Rose looks at some exhibits in the Center and wonders if there might be some woven rugs for sale.

 

 

At the Haycraft and Learning Center, Lewis was quite taken with the YELLOW brooms. He learned they are quite difficult to make and is glad he can get one ready-made in this day and age.

 

 Hitty Rose found the Print Shop most interesting and wants to set up her own printing press back in Hittyville.

 

 

Hitty Rose hopes the Village Smithy is in his shop.  She is looking for something for her homestead.

 

 Lewis is thrilled to see what a life-size replica of a three-cabin canal boat looks like.

 

 

 Hitty Rose wants to take a quick look in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum.

She knows Lewis is only interested in going on the canal boat ride.

 

 

 Lewis had to admit the old fashioned bathtub was interesting.

 

 

 Time for lunch at The Warehouse Steak n Stein...

 

 

After a delicious meal, it is time to take the mile walk to the boat landing.

Hitty Rose calls to Lewis to say hello to this darling chipmunk.

Where is Lewis?

 

Lewis is standing before the towpath and is so overcome with emotion, he can barely move his little wooden legs.

 

 The Friends explore an abandoned lock which was part of the canal system.

 

 

 Getting closer...

 

 

 Finally!

 

 

 Hitty Rose and Lewis are on the canal boat and watching their new Friend, Robin, guide his horses down the towpath.  The horses have no trouble pulling the canal boat and seem to be enjoying the walk...but not as much as Lewis is LOVING his first canal boat ride!

 

 

 It just doesn't get any better than this.

 

Back in Hittyville...

 Hitty Rose has two gifts for Vicki's Rainbow Makers classroom...handwoven rugs from Roscoe Village!

Vicki can't thank her Friend enough and asks Hitty Rose to come and speak with her little students about her Canal Boat Adventure next month.

 

At Hitty Rose's Homestead...

 Hitty Rose is SO glad the Village Smithy was able to make her a Good Luck Horseshoe for her home!

 

Meanwhile...

 Harlan Hubbard has just finished the canal boat he offered to build for Lewis.  Harlan knows how much Lewis loves canal boats and wanted to thank him for all the work he has been doing on the Riverboat.

Lewis thinks this has to be just one of the BEST days of his life!

 

Back at Lewis' Homestead...

Lewis has a special souvenir from Roscoe Village...a wooden nickel!

He tells Monk he is going to keep it forever as a reminder of this most awesome day!

 

~A Postscript~

Joe and I have also always wanted to take a ride on a canal boat down a REAL canal.

We were happy Lewis and Hitty Rose could accompany us...

 

~It was a VERY special day~