Labor Day

I took this pic of one of the clocks at work.

11:00 o'clock isn't a big deal...unless it's the second time in the day that you're seeing it and you're still at work! That's the one part of my job I'm not thrilled to do anymore..call time. You never know how long the day will be or what's in store. (To be fair, I did go home for a bit before I had to come back)  We're a small town hospital and we have our limits...no major trauma cases, just the usual emergencies you might receive...a hot appendix, a broken bone, a hurting kidney stone, an obstructed bowel. As always, I'm glad I'm on the working end of an operating room table and I feel bad for the patients who have just had to cancel any long weekend plans they were anticipating.  So I was glad to bid farewell to 11:00 for the second time and head home. I'm hoping for a quiet weekend where I can sit in my new chair we bought at IKEA last weekend.

  I'm a traditional gal when it comes to decorating, but after Jack and I sat for a minute in this interesting chair, we had to have it.  It's very comfortable...trust me on this! It is a bit different than anything we own, but since I'm looking to change some furniture out in the future, this may be the direction to go.  Anyway, I hope everyone has a nice labor day weekend.  I hope a cook-out is in your future.  It's the final holiday of the summer and I'm hoping on this labor day weekend I'm not..laboring that is!  Oh, as a final P.S..Happy Anniversary to us...39 years!

The Journey

I feel like I've been on a journey of no blogging...I'm not an everyday blogger, but usually I'm posting sooner than this! We took a little journey this weekend and the during the past week time was filled with the everyday business of life.  The computer is still giving me fits and I'm thinking a new one is in order. But for now, I'm able to post, so here's what's been happening.  On Friday Jack and I "journeyed" to Chicago to visit family and celebrate a birthday.  Actually, we celebrated 2 birthdays. One on each end of the spectrum. 

This little peanut turned 2 on Friday.  We arrived in time to go to her pool party.  Ella, my great-niece, turned 2.  Chicago temps on Friday were cool...just perfect for us but a bit chilly for the kiddos! Can you see her turning purple? Even though it was chilly, all the kids really enjoyed the evening.

I loved this "shroom" feature! (That's Ella's Daddy playing with the camera!)

The cake was fit for a princess!

The candles were blown out..wishes were made and we hope they all come true for her!

Jack is looking the the balloons for a reason..see, he's the other birthday that we celebrated.  No Jack, the numbers don't say 60...sorry! You had to wait until Sunday for yours!

Happy Birthday Jack!  We celebrated Sunday with the 3 F's...Family, food, and fun.  That's how we roll around here!

Ribs were on the menu..and they were awesome!

Yay Baby!

Now we're talking!

This birthday cake doesn't have a crown for a princess, but it was fit for a king (Jack) and the lucky group that chowed down! Holy cow was it good!

This is how you celebrate being 60..no pool party here, just relaxation on recliners! My brother Phil is  showing Jack the proper technique I think!  We had fun seeing everyone and I kept thinking about how many parties my Mom's home has seen.  The scenes are similar....

Cousins having a soccer game.

Babies being hugged by Great-Grandma.

Faces too cute for words! But not too cute to smear some chocolate icecream on!

There were the newest projects to see...My sister built this number in the backyard..she's amazing!

This pine tree wasn't just a reminder of my home in Ohio....it's a tree I remember my Dad planting when I was little...one I used to jump over! Now it's a testimony to how time has moved quickly while so much living was going on in this home.

My Mom has been living here since 1951 when Dad built the house.  She the rock and foundation of our family and we are so blessed to still have her overseeing all festivities! I thought she look lovely on Sunday!

My sister put in a garden with a walkway that she calls her "journey" garden.  You can meander down the path and think of life and how we are all given certain trails..some smooth, some rocky, beauty in hidden places, but all with a destination that hopefully leads to happy times and close families. Whether you are turning 2 or 60 or 100...we should celebrate those times because it goes so fast and the players involved may not always be there. Happy Birthday little Ella and Happy Birthday Jack!

50 Years And A Castle

No, I'm not celebrating being 50yrs. old and living in a castle...I wouldn't mind going back 10yrs and being 50 and visiting a castle!  We helped a lovely couple from our Church celebrate being married 50yrs.

Congratulations Cathy and Steve!  Their daughter, Andrea, and her hubby, Shawn, threw the shindig and it was really nice.  Shawn used to be a chef and he knows how to cook! The food was awesome!

The venue was so pretty.

This cake was beautiful but also very yummy!

We wish these lovebirds much health and happiness!  Now I'll get to the castle part.  Shawn's parents built this place called:  Landoll's Mohican Castle.

As you walk around the grounds, you can see the many lovely cabins, statues, fountains, and sitting areas like this one:

What a great place to sit and enjoy the view.  It's very hilly in this part of Ohio. The road to the castle winds and turns through the Mohican State Park and the Mohican river where you'll find lots of tourists enjoying a canoe trip.

Here's an example of a fountain on the property.

Jack can make friends no matter where he goes! After the party was over, Shawn invited us to see the cabin he is building just down the road from the castle.  He and his wife live near there too and had these 5 acres just itching for a retreat.

I think this is really more than just a "cabin"..it's really going to be a great place to hang out and enjoy nature and peace and quiet.

This balcony over looks the property.

This view will be stunning come fall! And that's not far off!  I'll be excited to see the completed project and of course I'll have to blog and share it with you!

Stalker..In A Good Way!

Last weekend we attended a wedding reception of my good buddy Donna's daughter, Chelsea.  I did a teensy tidbit on it in my last post.  It was lovely and I was able to see a few people I hadn't seen in a bit.  One of those "people" was a sweet lady I've known from the time I moved to Ashland.  She was a  good friend of my late Mother-in-law and someone Jack has known forever.  What I didn't realize until recently that she's a "stalker" of my blog!  I won't go into any HIPA violations about how Jack knew she followed the blog.  I'll just mentioned that one day he came home from work and said that Rosie enjoyed reading my blog and Donna's too.  Oh, her name is Rosie..that's what I call her anyway! She told me to get my computer fixed so she could read what's going on at the Pines.  I told her I would do a blog post about her, if that was OK with her. Then I proceeded to snap a pic...she wasn't so sure about wanting that, but she's a good sport! So Rosie, my sweet stalker friend, this post is for you! Thanks for reading and following us here! Thanks to every "stalker" out there who just likes to read blogs and enjoy what's happening out here in blogland! (Because, we've all done that as bloggers!...just stalk a teensy bit!)

Remember Me?

Hi! I'm back..it's been painful...but I've managed to get back into blogging even though the computer is different than before. I won't go into it, if you've ever had to redo a computer than you know what I mean! It feels like I've haven't posted for a long time and I have a bit of catching up to do...first..a couple of weeks ago we finally made it to the farmer's market.

Lots of goodies and also running into good friends:

Friends like Brenda and her hubby Terry, getting her favorite flowers on a Saturday morning. As usual, the parking was packed:

That same morning we headed out for Wooster to do a service project called "stuff the bus"..or in this case, the semi, with clothes and supplies for those in need.

Many hands made short work!

It was a project that took muscle, and stamina but was filled with laughter, smiles, and a good feeling afterward! The rest of these past weeks were made up of birthday parties...Our grandson Cameron turned six and will start school next week..hard to believe!

There were other goings on but I had to snap a pic of my crazy work buddies sporting some funny glasses that Donna (Starkey Hollow) brought in for some laughs..looking good guys!

To end the week I attended Donna's daughter's wedding reception. It was a nice day..a little rain did fall..but we wish this happy couple many years of happiness...

On a final note...I think all my grandkiddos are growing like weeds, but here is little Addy showing off a few of my garden's growing goodies! 

Whew..I think I'm caught up for now!

Still Down..Sigh

There's no such thing as a small project.  Apparently that is true for computer problems too!  I'm hoping to be back by tomorrow...I have so much exciting,  amazing, stupendous events to report on here at the Pines!  Well, OK maybe just regular junk.  Hopefully old news will be good news!

Viruses

My computer is sick...So, until it's better or buried, I'm on blog hold.  I can post from my kindle but I always have pics and right now they are being held hostage by computer virus terrorists!  Ahhh! Technology...It's a love/hate relationship!