A Long Story About My Mini Vacation

I am a little exhausted tonight. I guess all that driving and staying up late has caught up with me...

I already mentioned how I inadvertently ended up in Delaware. I didn't say that I'd already turned around on 95 North to head south prior to crossing the state line, or how when I realized (in Delaware) that I should be going north, and got off (again) to turn around, that the on-ramp was closed due to construction. I had to follow a detour to find the highway again.  After crossing back into Pennsylvania, I stopped at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center for a potty break and got back on the road only to discover, after finally crossing the bridge into New Jersey, that my handwritten directions were missing. I had no idea how far I'd traveled off course, or that the remainder of my own directions, even if I did find them, were pretty much useless until I got closer to Heather's house..

I crossed the Commodore Barry Bridge from PA into NJ, and finding myself confused (and without directions), I turned south on Rt 130. I didn't go far before turning onto a dirt road. I got out of my car to look for the paper with the roads and route numbers and found it between the seat and driver's side door. I started north, felt unsure again, and took another exit to turn around go south once more, but the on-ramp for Rt 130 was unmarked and confusing. For the very first time on the trip I wanted to panic, but I decided not to. After braving the on-ramp, I connected again with Jen, turned around for what felt like the hundredth time, and started north again. I needed to stay on the highway, which soon turned to I-95, for about 40 miles before reaching my destination, from the exact opposite direction that I'd anticipated the entire trip. No wonder I was confused! Where was my trusty Road Atlas?

Heather and I had a wonderful time together. The weather was fully cooperative. We ate grilled cheese and fries at The Pop Shop  on Friday night, stopped for lunch in a diner on Saturday before making a visit to Wheaton Arts and wandered about the campus. Our favorite spot was probably The General Store, just because. We considered going to the boardwalk, but it was another hour away and it was almost dinner time. We opted to head for home and have the girls bring the babies over for pizza. Heather's daughter does foster care. (The photo is her son Davin.)

We stayed up too late on Saturday and Sunday morning arrived all too quickly. (Vacations are like that.) After the fiasco with being lost and miles off course, I was gifted a gently used Garmin by Heather's sister Jen. After years of resistance to a GPS I acquiesced and accepted the offer. Alan programed "Tom" to recognize home, but before getting on the highway north, I had another stop to make.

Grayce and I have been friends on Facebook since January of 2010. I am also friends with her sister Marilynn who I have met briefly years ago when her daughter lived nearby in East Rochester. We met through other Facebookers named Teal, some of them distant relatives. (Marilynn and Grayce are sixth cousins to my father in law.) I knew Grayce lived in New Jersey, but I didn't know where. I decided to get on my computer and see if I could locate her whereabouts. She was just fifteen minutes away! I sent her a message Saturday morning and had a reply just minutes later. We met Sunday morning and had a lovely visit. She made us a light lunch and we talked like old friends for hours before I looked at my phone and knew it was time to hit the road. I am so glad I looked her up.

By 2:45 pm, "Tom" (not to be confused with The Backroads Traveler) and I were on the road. He's a mighty fine navigator but a bit insistent if I make what he considers to be an unexpected detour (or potty stop). He also told me to "take the highway" several times, but he was most insistent when I did not keep left and merge onto I-90 on my way out of Syracuse. It was miles before he settled down and recalculated our route down 370 to 104. All in all he's a pretty good traveling companion.

Glad Tidings and Joy

I met up with Santa Claus this morning and he gave me the prettiest Christmas wreath ever! It has pine cones, apples, and lemons and looks beautiful!!! It even smells good. I only wish I had a pretty door to hang it on, but both my doors are glass and I did not find a safe hanger inside Rite Aide, so it is hanging outside the backdoor on a nail on the porch wall.

Thank you, Tom!

Monday Morning

It's Monday morning and still dark and gray. My friend Emma is gone on the school bus and the house is quiet aside from the click of the keyboard. I heard Mom make her way to the bathroom and then back into bed, Hannah has not yet risen, and I am pretty much alone with my thoughts. It's a nice moment.

I had a good weekend. Didn't do anything spectacular, but did have a chance to unwind and that is always good. I decided to keep the treasures purchased at the estate sale the other day. It's not that I am unwilling to share, it's just that I don't want to give them away. (ha ha!) So, here they are, two pieces of pottery purchased from the $10 table.

In another life, had I not been a stay at home, homeschooling, mother of many, I might have been a potter. I know what you are thinking... and yes, maybe I still can be a potter, if I ever get myself into it, but right now there are a myriad of other things that have to be taken care of. Maybe I can be content for a time to love and appreciate the work of other potters as I decide what kind of potter I want to be. And maybe I can save up some money to take another pottery class.

I am headed out to breakfast this morning. I have plans to meet a friend at the little diner in town. Don't you just love going out for breakfast? Hey! Here comes the sun!

Della and I had a very nice visit over breakfast and then we came back to my house for a little more visit. I think meeting my friends for real is great fun. Nobody got killed and I think we should meet up again sometime and invite Cheryl too.

Minnesota 3

On Thursday Kim came to get us and we went to Mill Ruins Park down by the Mississ- ippi River. (Kim kept a blog years ago but doesn't anymore. She is now a Facebook friend instead, but I still count her as a blog friend.)

We walked across the Stone Arch Bridge to the park on the other side and down SE Main Street looking for a place to eat.

 The three of us had lunch outside at Tugg's Tavern. Hannah chose the Cowboy Bob Burger with hash browns and bacon, and I had a chili dog. Kim had the Prince Street Chicken sandwich (I think). For dessert we all enjoyed a Banana Popsicle Split.

After lunch we walked back across the bridge and over to the Guthrie Theater where we were permitted to take the escalator to the observation deck overlooking the city.

We took the escalator to the fourth floor and then went up to the fifth floor where we looked out tinted windows that felt as though they might suck you outside if you got too close.

It was a beautiful day and I really liked meeting Kim and spending a little time with her. 

Minnesota 2

There were lots of fun things in Minne- sota, and one of them was catching up with blog friends. There is nothing quite like spending a little bit of time with "virtual" friends and making them "real".

On Tuesday Hannah and I went out with Kristina. She picked us up and we went to lunch at Psycho Suzi's. We sat out on the patio overlooking the river and talked over burgers and tater tots. Nothing crazy was going on that afternoon. They hadn't even lit the Tiki torches and everything was calm. We evidently missed Psycho Suzi. I didn't see her anywhere.

Kristina took us on a tour of downtown Minneapolis, skyways and all, and we took a walk through the sculpture park too. Since Hannah had been curious about the inside of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, we took a drive down there and walked around inside. What an incredible structure! It has to be the biggest church I've ever seen and is full of what I think are called "stations" with statues of various saints.


We'd hoped to tour the old Schmidt Bottling Company which is being converted into artisan's lofts, but unknown to us they'd changed the tour days to Mondays. So we snapped some outside pictures and went to McDonald's for a coffee instead. Back at Jim's we walked around the corner and found the door to the Casket Arts Community open and so we sneaked inside for a look around. Too bad I'd left my camera back at the apartment.

A Cousin Visit

Yesterday was a special kind of day. My cousin Ondra came to meet me in person for the very first time. It's only been a few months since we found each other through an online memorial site to her great grandmother, and since we both love family history, we've found meeting to be a fun adventure.

Family ties, especially distant ones, can be a little confusing and I often look for ways to simplify what otherwise appears difficult to understand. Ondra and I are third cousins and share a set of great, great grandparents. We are the grandchildren of first cousins, and when I look at that in the light of my own grandchildren and my cousin's grandchildren, the connection suddenly becomes pretty simple.

Since I'd had a busy Saturday, I didn't go crazy cleaning or baking special treats ahead of time. Instead Ondra and I shared conversation and iced tea on the back porch, and put together BLT's for lunch. She arrived with gifts (which I was not expecting); a small pot of Forget-Me-Nots, a candle in a jar, and a beautiful doily she made herself. I am blessed. I was able to send her home with the old photograph of her great grandma Hattie in France.

James was kind enough to take some time away from mowing the lawn to take our picture; first with our great, great grandfather, Garrett Shafer, and then just the two of us. It was a very nice visit and I hope there will be more to come. Maybe I can even drive out to Buffalo and meet Lisa, another third cousin who loves family history. Now wouldn't that be fun?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

I could have called this post "Martha's Day Off" because I have no small children to look after... But I didn't.

This morning Hannah and I met a friend (and her sisters) for breakfast here in town. Liz is my one and only "Pinterest Friend". Yes, we met on Pinterest, and yes, we have become friends. (Isn't life fun?) She "liked" or "repinned" my photograph of an area lighthouse and a conversation ensued on Facebook where we became actual "friends". We found that we came from the same hometown, were only a couple years apart in school, and had some mutual friends and acquaintances, and since her sister lives just around the corner from me, it seemed only right that we should meet in person, and so we did.

Today Hannah and twelve others are headed out on a grand adventure. Tomorrow morning, if all goes according to plan, they will arrive on the island of Grenada. At the moment they are instead delayed at the Rochester airport, but that is okay because their layover at JFK was scheduled to be seven hours long. A good adventure always begins with something unexpected, yes?

This evening I start my pottery class (and therefore shall miss the Webster Firemen's Parade...). It has been close to ten years since I took a wheel-thrown pottery class here in town, and I am rather excited to begin the adventure anew. Eight weeks of getting my hands dirty! When I first started blogging they gave us a question to answer, so for seven years this bit has been in my profile, 

"If mud is dirt plus water, what is clay?"

"An endless possibility! I can't wait to get started."

I don't know why I've waited so long. I wonder where this adventure will take me?

Minnesota (Part One)

Every time I sit down to write, my mind gets all jumbled and the words end up in a traffic jam before ever spilling out onto the page. My already overloaded brain doesn't quite know how to process all that I took in over the past weekend... First of all were the days leading up to our departure, which left my mind reeling and my body sleep deprived. For all the tension and lost sleep, I should have been gone at least a month!

Our plane flew out of Rochester, NY a little after 6am on Friday. We were delayed slightly by some late passengers due to the Southwest airport computer terminals being down. Half our traveling group boarded the plane late making my already frayed nerves begin to unravel. When Nate and Sabrina, and Josh and Adam were safely on board, I breathed a big sigh of relief, and I'm sure they did too.

We rented a huge vehicle once we arrived in Minneapolis and fit all seven of us (we picked up James' sister Kathy there), all our luggage, and several bags of groceries into a Suburban for the ride down to Montgomery where we cooked up a huge batch of chili con carne and green chile stew for Jim and Michele's rehearsal dinner. By the time dinner was over, my head was throbbing and, along with Nate and Sabrina, I turned into bed early and listened from the dark of the bedroom to the bustle of activity in the barn's basement.

On Saturday morning James and Kathy ran out to the store for something to make for breakfast and came back with a load of bacon, eggs, orange juice, and corn tortillas. I made a call to my longtime blog friend Kristina, and we eventually decided the best way to get some time together was for her to drive out to the farm where we could share a cup of coffee and talk or take a walk around the grounds.

Kristina arrived not long after I had stepped outside into the warm morning air (a Minnesota miracle this time of year) when she drove in. I waved and when she stepped out of the car, we each gave the other a big hug. There were introductions she'll never remember and several hours of walking about, looking through the barn, and sitting in the sun getting to know each other in person. "Yea!" Later that day I found I had sat enjoying the sun and cool breeze a bit too long and was blessed with a fine Minnesota sunburn just in time for the wedding (blush). It's now becoming a very nice tan and I have a head start on my New York summer.

PS. After my visit with Kristina, I found my headache had disappeared and all the tension had miraculously  evaporated.

East Bay and Blogger Friends

"Blogger friends" is probably a little bit misleading in this instance as I known both of these ladies for several years. They, however, know each other through blogging and a little help from a mutual friend... Heather was in town for the week and wanted to meet Sherri. Sherri was out of town for the week, but still wanted to meet Heather. I wanted to meet Sherri's new baby, Zade, who I found to be absolutely adorable! Luckily Sherri was not too far out of town. Heather and I took a ride to where Sherri and her family are taking a little vacation. It didn't take too long and it turned out to be a nice ride. (Of course, I am partial to apple orchards and anything having to do with Lake Ontario.)

I had expected to take Josh along with me, but today found me also with Simon and Lucas in tow. It was not too relaxing, but I did get to visit and drink a glass or two of lemonade between playing referee to Josh and Lucas and changing dirty diapers. I don't mind too much, really, and it did make the trip interesting. Heather helped keep Lucas from jumping off the dock and into the bay and Sherri's husband kept him from running down the boat ramp and into the water.

Josh discovered a "callerpitter" which he decided to yell at. I don't know quite what he expected it to do. It wasn't going too far with the bay on one side and a noisy boy on the other. I was surprised to find what looked to me like a monarch caterpillar instead of a woolly bear or inchworm. I didn't see any milkweed for the little critter to eat either.

It was a nice visit but I'm pretty sure Caleb and Joel were breathing a sigh of relief when I finally headed out the door and back to the van. Both Josh and Lucas were crying after a "slight" altercation at the door. Josh was afraid Lucas was going to escape and made a valiant attempt to thwart his efforts. I'm afraid that in the process Lucas may have either gotten pinched a little bit or else battle fatigue had finally caught up with him. It was more than he could take and he was still crying when I packed him into the van. Less than a mile down the road, with a Binky in his mouth, he was sound asleep.

Now the house is quiet. Simon and Lucas have gone home and Josh is off to Grandma Jo's for a few days of fun there before his mom and dad come home from Minnesota.

Praying for Dad

My telephone rang early this morning and I answered to hear my mother's voice on the other end...

The two seats three rows back on the east side of the church were strangely empty yesterday morning. My parents come to church every Sunday and are never late, but their chairs remained empty throughout the service. James suggested maybe I go out and call, but I decided to wait until the service had ended. When I did make the call, mom told me that my dad wasn't feeling too good. The doctor had put him on antibiotics for some pain and swelling in his neck, and he still wasn't up to par, but he sounded cheerful when I talked to him, so I didn't worry.

... "Mart," said my mom, "I just wanted to let you know that your father is in the hospital."

My parents had called 911 at 2 o'clock in the morning, something my father wouldn't do unless it was a true emergency. He hates being doted on and checked over, he hates being stuck in a hospital, but he was having chest pains so they made the call.

It turns out his heart is fine. It is his left lung that is giving him trouble. He has a mass in there and some blood clots in the other. I have to admit, it sounds bad, but I refuse to get worked up about it right now. That won't help any of us. Tomorrow they will put a tiny camera down his throat and take a look. Tonight I pray both he and my mom are able to sleep; he in the hospital and she at home.

I found God to be especially kind today. He sent my two nephews, Rachel's boys, to Grandma's house for the day. Rachel didn't even know Dad was in the hospital. Mike and Steve kept Grandma company while she otherwise would have been home alone. She and Mike played an hours long game of "Dogopoly" while Dad had tests done and answered questions. This evening Rachel took her to see Dad.

I went up to the hospital too, and on my way in heard someone call my name. I thought I was going to meet Stacy on the soccer field, instead the Lord saw fit to put her at the hospital when I went to visit my dad. I am amazed again that meeting a blog friend in person for the very first time can be so easy and relaxed. It truly was like we already knew each other. "Thank you for being there, Stacy. I'm sorry I missed you on the way out. They said you were admitting a patient. I'll look for you again Saturday."

Blogger Fun (part 3)

My dear husband, James, decided to accompany us on Friday's excursion with Tracy and Denis. Before heading to Rochester we stopped by the church to ask Pastor Stan where to find a good coffee house. He happens to be a coffee connoisseur like Denis, so we knew he would steer us in the right direction. Not only did he give some good locations but he offered to make both Denis and Tracy a cup of coffee right there at church. (We have a fancy cafe'.) Denis chose cappuccino and Tracy a sugar-free almond Latte. We had taken them to the right place and met up with the right man! Thank you, Pastor Stan.

Thursday evening Tracy had looked up some information on Rochester and so we set off to see what could be found. We drove up East Avenue where the rich and famous once lived and stopped by the George Eastman House. The outside gardens were quite pretty. We opted not to pay the $10 fee to get inside the mansion, instead we headed toward downtown and stopped at Brown's Race and the High Falls. Lots of history and some interesting sites. We had accidentally stumbled upon the "official" Rochester Welcome Center. Too bad I hadn't known about it earlier in the week...

Before heading home we made our way down to Charlotte, Ontario Beach Park, and the Port of Rochester. A few years ago we could have seen the Fast Ferry but it no longer makes it's home on Lake Ontario. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Harbor Hots and then walked back across the street for a frozen custard from Abbott's. Mmmm, mmmm, good!

Rachel had a BBQ planned for Friday evening and Tracy and I had a salad and a jello to finish, so after a quick grocery store stop, we went home to assemble our picnic contributions. It was a relaxed evening of good food and plenty of company. Priscilla was there with her girls, Beth and Adam came, as well as Jim and Josiah, and also my mom and Dad.

What a fun time. I am blessed to have Tracy and Denis as friends, blessed to have had them stay at my house, and blessed that we had this time to spend together. I hope they were able to find that coffee shop in Rochester on their way out of town and that they have a safe trip home to Oregon this next week. I'm looking forward to meeting again someday!

Blogger Fun (part 2)

Wednesday's trip to Sonnenberg Gardens was tough to match. The sky was rather overcast on Thursday and I wasn't quite sure what type of adventure to pursue. We had both Josh and Lucas in tow so we couldn't do anything too extravagant. I decided to take it easy on both the body and the pocketbook. After eating breakfast and watching Dave fill a large planter with an assortment of plants for one of his jobs, we packed up a stroller, 2 diaper bags, the little boys, and a very large container of sunflower seeds and headed off to Mendon Ponds Park where the birds normally eat out of our hands.

There were no hungry birds on this trip, although I did see one flashy red cardinal way up in the tree branches. There were no eager chickadees, no nuthatches, and no sparrows looking for a handout this time. There were, however, plenty of "famished" squirrels and chipmunks. If these little guys are not the healthiest critters around, they are certainly the best fed.
Since I wasn't holding the camera, there are not too many photos of Denis and Tracy at Mendon Ponds. And, where we were disappointed in the lack of birds, it was made up for somewhat in the fact that the squirrels came running down the path to meet us as though we were long lost friends. Josh thought it was great and when we would move on, he'd wave and say "Bye, Squirrel."

After a quick stop at Wendy's for a bite to eat, we drove up to the Irondequoit Bay outlet to toss some stale cereal to the waterfowl. Not a particularly exciting trip...

Later on Tracy and I did some laundry and took Denis to the Heluva Good Cheese Store in Sodus (I had never been there so this was new for me) and when we got home James cooked up some white hots for supper.

Blogger Fun (part 1)

It has been a fun week. I have met new people, gone new places and learned new things. Three years ago my sisters and I met Tracy on the blog. Now we have met both her and her husband, Denis, in person too. I'm not sure I can give an adequate recap of the past few days, but I shall make a valiant attempt.

Tracy and Denis arrived in time for supper on Tuesday and we had a wonderful few days together. On Wednesday Jim, and Rachel joined us for a ride down to Canandaigua where we met up with Priscilla and toured Sonnenberg Gardens. What a beautiful place! It was sad to see the gardens in such a state of disrepair but enchanting none the less. (I'm looking forward to a return trip in the near future.)
Around 1 o'clock we left the gardens for a lunch break at Gudrun and Gary's Rheinblick German Restaurant. It was wonderful as usual. Both Rachel and I enjoyed Reuben sandwiches. The best part was that Tracy got to meet another fellow blogger, Gudl. It was so much fun!

Here is the Blog Party at the Rheinblick where Gudrun joined us for a group photo.

After lunch we waited for Alicia to get off the school bus and she joined us for the remainder of our Sonnenberg Gardens tour.

Back at home Tracy, Denis and I decided to check out Lake Ontario and watch the sunset. It was a beautiful day!

Meet Me at the Lake

James and I went out for a drive this afternoon. The sun was shining and the lake looked so blue that we decided to drive along Lake Rd toward Webster. It was a gorgeous day to check out the snow and ice down at the beach; warm enough to be comfortable and cold enough to not be soggy.

On our way down Lake Road, I thought of my friend Sherri who has been loving the lake shore this winter. I was snapping a photo when I heard a familiar voice call out. It was Sherri and her son Caleb out to see the snow and ice too. What a fun meeting!

I found the gulls out on the ice interesting. They were quite content to sit or sleep on the balls of ice and snow on the water's edge. They were too far out for me to get a good close up. I must remember to save those old bread crusts so we can feed them if I should decide to go back to the lake.

Meeting Gudl

This afternoon I had the privilege of meeting one of my blog friends in person. What a great experience. It was nothing like meeting a stranger, more like meeting up with an old friend. We shared tea and cake while the kids devoured a box of assorted donut holes and then took turns riding M.'s pony (the kids, not us).

It was a hot and sticky day so we got in our cars and followed Gudl down to the beach where the kids had fun cooling off in the water and playing in the sand. All too soon it was time to head back toward home.