We painted the camper white! Well, Greg did the painting but I helped with the prep work. It was a long and grueling process to get all of the equipment, do the prep and paint. I don't think I ever want to paint a vehicle again! It looks really good now and hopefully will not be so hot inside. Now we can get to the fun stuff on the inside.
For dinner last night I made gluten free spaghetti with buffalo meat then we rode our bikes to the Dairy Queen and had dessert. I also read a yoga magazine and tried some of it. I have tried yoga before but can never get it into my routine. I need to just start really simple and stay at it.
Yesterday was probably the best fourth of July that I have ever had. I had a ton of energy when I woke up. Work was pretty good, I ate 2 free hamburgers and a free donut. After work Greg and I went to The Park of Roses to see the fireworks. The event was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. There were food vendors and a band and people with tents. We met some friends there. The fireworks were amazing. I really enjoyed them. I just kept snapping pictures the whole time and ended up with 400 to go through. A few of them are actually good.
Today we drove around all day. We drove past Alum Creek then to Mt. Vernon, then over to Hoover Reservoir. We stopped at a bunch of yard sales. Greg bought a bike for $5 and a mixer. We had never been to The Hoover Reservoir before, it was pretty neat. There were a lot of sail boats there. There were some raccoons and a goose hanging out in the rocks by the dam, they figured out that if they just stand there and look up people will throw food at them. The raccoons were really fat! I didn't take my camera because this all started out as just going to get something to eat for lunch.
I can't even remember what else we have been up to. Comfest was last weekend, we had a lot of fun hanging out there on Friday. Comfest is a music festival in Goodale Park. We rode our bikes there and back. Who knows what else, we are always having some kind of adventure.
Today I worked on my camper all morning. It was hot and at first I was irritated about that but then I realized I should embrace the heat and be happy that I am not at work in the cooler. Things got better after that, all it took was a mind shift. I took lots of breaks for iced coffee, ice water, and a chapters of On The Road.
After I got done I took a nice cool shower. The best showers are the ones when you are really dirty, that is how it was today. Then I went to Target and actually found a bathing suit that fits! I have been looking for one for years and had kind of given up but today I found one. It is a peacock blue bikini. I am going to look pretty funny in it with my tan arms and face and the palest white a person could be everywhere else. I also got a big bag and some pajama pants. Everything I bought there today was blue and green, it all matched!
On the way home I went to the store and got some food and ate a huge salad. Greg is at his parent's house for awhile so I have to entertain myself for awhile. Lots of reading and internet.
Been watching movies. Finally got to see Slumdog Millionaire and loved it. I am listening to the soundtrack, it is awesome! I love Indian music anyway.
We finally got a new person in my department at work. He is doing ok so far but sometimes he doesn't know what I am saying because English is not his first language. He is a very hard worker though and really nice and helpful so that is good stuff.
Tomorrow is my day off but I have my own work to do. Never a day of rest for Terry. :P
Today we went to Gallant Woods Preserve for Art in the Park. We talked to a potter who makes pots for ikibana flower arranging and a really good painter who stays in Florida in the winter. We also got to hear some good folk music. We walked around in the woods a little bit and whenever I would stop to take pictures I would be swarmed by mosquitoes, so I just had to keep moving. After that we drove through taco bell and took it over to the Alum Creek marina to eat and watch the boats. We had some ice cream while we were there. We both got a little sun burn.
I feel like all I do is work. There has been a little fun thrown in though. Music and dancing and watching movies from the library but mostly working.
Tuesday afternoon, after we ran around and got some things done we decided to go camping. We packed up some stuff then went to my Mom's house to get the camper and pulled it to John Bryan State Park. The campground is really pretty but I don't know that I would camp there again because I am not a fan of pit toilets. Also I don't think there were showers there, I couldn't find them anyway. $21 during the week for electric hookups. That is how much the amazingly beautiful campgrounds in Florida cost.
We rode our bikes around a little bit and took a hike. We went to Ha Ha Pizza in Yellow Springs for dinner. When we came back we had a nice big campfire and sat in our new lawn chairs.
In our rush to pack earlier in the day we forgot to bring pillows and blankets. I found a blanket in my truck that I have had for many years and never used and we used our towels for pillows. Not the greatest sleep I have ever had but I did get some sleep.
In the morning we went to a little cafe in Yellow Springs for breakfast. I had veggie patties, red potatoes, and the best raspberry iced tea I have ever had.
Then we went back and packed everything up and hooked up the camper and drove over to Clifton Gorge for a nice hike.
For lunch we went to Young's Dairy. I had potato soup and an oreo sunday.
We took a really long way home so we could see some different scenery. When we got home I took a long nap. I feel like I could still sleep some more but I am waiting on someone to come and look at our water meter, we have a leak.
Last Monday I fixed our clock at work. That thing has been messed up for a long time. I took it apart and put it back together a couple of times and finally got it working. Hopefully it is still working when I get there today. It falls off of the wall a lot because it is in a bad location.
We went to a huge yard sale on Memorial Day in Sunbury, OH. We went through there the week before and saw the sign for the sale at a church. We thought it would just be a small sale in the back but it turns out is was huge and traffic was backed up for about a mile each way. I bought a violin for $20! I also bought 2 nice folding lawn chairs for $11. I had been looking for folding lawn chairs for awhile but they are kind of hard to find now since everyone sells crappy plastic ones or the ones that come in a bag. I am excited that I have chairs to take camping now. Anyway we did all of that and I still made it to work on time.
Tuesday we mailed a bunch of packages then went and bought strings and stuff for the violin. Then we decided to put up a privacy fence on the north side of the house. We put up one panel and painted it. We were starving by the end of the day so we ended up going to Mad Mex where nearly everything on their menu is half off after 10pm. I wish I knew of more happy hours like that around here. I had an amazing Mahi salad that ended up only costing like $5!
Wednesday we painted and put up another section of privacy fence. I was really tired and didn't really feel like working but we managed to get it done. We also strung the violin, it sounds pretty good, too bad I don't know how to play the thing, just like all of my other instruments. Later we went and got some food from Wendy's and ate it at the Park of Roses then walked over to the little pond there and looked at the little blue gill that are in the pond. On the way home we stopped at the library and picked up a bunch of movies. We watched 2 of them when I got home so I would get to relax a little bit before going back to work the next day.
Yesterday a guy from regional came to work and showed me and another guy how to check fruits and veggies for nutrient density with this little machine he has. called a refractometer. It is always fun to learn something new at work. Last night we made baked potatoes in the microwave and watched another of our movies from the library.
Somewhere in there Greg made kombucha and we played some music. We do so much stuff it is hard for me to remember what order things happen in.
Skills I learned this week:
How to put up a privacy fence
How to string and tune a violin
How to use a refractometer
We have been tuning pianos and shipping e-bay items and playing music and spinning yarn and knitting and this weekend we are dog sitting Riley a St. Bernard and Jake a Bulldog. Both very big but super friendly dogs.
After the car show we went to Dawes Arboretum. It is a really neat place! There is an old Victorian house, a bonsai garden, Japanese garden, and lots of trails. There is a cabin in the woods that they have turned into a place for making maple syrup. There is a little Cypress Swamp which was very cool. There is a super old graveyard with lots of crumbling stones and wrought iron where I found a black feather. It was all really cool, the plants have name plates so it is a great place to learn plant names.
After all of that we were starving so we went to Buckeye Lake where there is a nice restaurant on the lake with a patio. There was a band playing there so that was kind of fun. After all of that we were ready for a nap so we headed back home.
On Sunday Greg and I went to a car show in Centerburg. There were lots of cool cars there. My favorite was the Ford Galaxy. It was a huge car! I think it would be cool to have an old car but I don't know anything about working on them so I don't think it would be a good idea for me. After we looked at the cars we ate ice cream. Mine was strawberry with real pieces of fruit in it, it was delicious.
I haven't been feeling good the past few days. Seems I got a hold of some bad food the other day. I am getting better but still not quite 100%. I actually called off work yesterday. If you know me you know that never ever happens. I just couldn't imagine going to work and lifting heavy stuff in the cold the way I was feeling. I did go to work today and I felt pretty good. Kind of slow moving for me but that's ok.
The worst news is that my friend at work was fired today. He was one of our best workers but had a couple of issues recently with scheduling so he is gone. It really stinks when good people are let go for such frivolous reasons! We are already so short handed and they let one of our best people go.
Sorry about the bad news post but look at the pretty picture.
Greg is still at his parent's so I decided to walk over to the co-op to get something to eat. After I picked up some food I walked over to Glen Echo to eat. I found a nice picnic table by the water. It was nice but I could still hear the city noise every now and then. I had a hummus wrap, a red bartlett pear and some jasmine tea. I bought an orange too but didn't eat it yet. Now I am back home and I think I will do some cleaning and yard work.
This morning Greg and I hooked up the camper and I headed to my Mom's house. I took the camper to leave it there for awhile so we can mow and work on the back yard a bit. I gave my Mom a pot of hen's and chicks. They seem easy enough to care for. My brother came to her house too. We went to Buck Creek State Park for a walk up the dam and around the bike trail. My brother and I went in the visitor's center. I have been to Buck Creek a million times but didn't even realize there was a visitor's center.
When we got back John and LaDonna were there visiting. It was nice to see them. Gary cooked salmon, chicken, shrimp, pineapple, and a ton of veggies on the grill. He is a really good grill cook. I cut the pineapple. My brother brought over some asparagus that he got from Grandma's house and some brownies that he made. My brother is also a good cook.
After we ate my brother and I went for a walk in the woods. He has been doing some serious foraging this spring. Eating fish, wild onions, and mushrooms nearly every day. He found a handful of morels. I like to think I helped find them. :P We also got some wild onions. There are a lot of wild onions around my Mom's place.
When we got back they were working on planting the garden so I helped with a row of flowers. Then the neighbor's donkey jumped the fence and the dog started after it. Somebody grabbed the dog then my brother chased the donkey back over the fence. That was kind of exciting.
Now it was time to go visit Grandma. My brother and I went over and talked to her for awhile. She walked me around the yard and showed me all of her flower beds. I love her yard but she kept insisting it was a mess and needed so much work. My brother picked some asparagus for me to take home. There is rhubarb growing there too but I have never been a big fan of the stuff.
After that we went back to my brother's house where his friend was working in the garden. His friend is going to help him take care of the garden while he is on the road. Then I headed home. It was kind of a long day but lots of fun.
I am trying to be outside as much as I can. This winter gave me a great appreciation for the sunshine because I missed it so much. I was not into sunshine when I lived in AZ because it was just too intense, but I can't get enough of it here.
Thursday I had an early morning meeting. What a waste of time. I got a free shirt and breakfast but still not worth my time.
When I got home we went south to the Hocking Hills. We took a hike at Cantwell Cliffs. It was beautiful, there was moss and ferns everywhere and waterfalls. I saw Columbine, Jack in the Pulpit, and Trillium flowers. After our hike we went to a grocery store for some food and had a picnic at a little park in Athens. We ate some giant strawberries. Then we came home because I was really tired. It was nice to get out of town and play in nature!
Friday night Greg's band played at Oldfield's. It was fun to go out and forget about working in floral. Mother's Day week was really rough! I am so glad I do not have to work today! They asked me to and I said "do you want to beak my Mom's heart". I stayed an extra hour last night because it was so busy, no way am I working on my day off!
On Saturday we went to the Clintonville Farmer's Market. I totally forgot about it until I looked at the photos on my camera. :P This was the first time that I had ever been to this farmer's market, it is really close to where we live. There were lots of veggie and herb plants for sale. We got to sample some cheese curds. Greg bought some Kombucha. We also bought cookies. I had a peanut butter cookie, Greg had an oatmeal cookie. Fun times.
Greg and I went to Alum Creek last Friday. We had a good time being out in nature. We walked up the dam and there were little queen snakes up there! We saw 3 of them! It started raining as we headed back to the car. When we got home I took a nap but then the tornado sirens kept going off so I couldn't really sleep. Later in the evening Greg and his band had a show. They played really well, the best I have ever heard them play! After the show we came home and danced around the living room listening to Of Montreal until the wee hours.
The rest of the weekend was spent working my butt off! The weekends are getting harder and harder, I hope they decide to hire some more help one of these days. We are all so worn out. I took an extra day off this week to rest up. I am glad I did too because it is Mother's Day week and I am in floral all week. Mother's Day for floral is just as busy if not busier than Valentine's day! This week will require a lot of coffee! The good thing though is that I have Sunday off.
Yesterday before work I went to Hobby Lobby and found some cool fabric to make curtains for the camper. It is a pretty flower pattern, much better than the current flame curtains that the camper came with.
Sorry I neglect you guys so badly, there is just so much to do and so little time to blog.
Are you on Facebook or Twitter??
I just put a bunch of new stuff on etsy, go check it out:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=51
I have been making a ton of stuff lately but couldn't figure out a good way to take pictures of jewelry. Then I bought a cork board and pinned fabric to it, then I pinned the jewelry on. I like this method a lot!
After having a sewing machine for something like 12 years I finally learned to use it! Turns out I always skipped one very important instruction for the tension. I made a skirt! It isn't done because I need a toggle thing. I feel like this opens up a world of opportunity. Our couch cushion was coming apart so I took it up stairs and sewed it. It didn't take much time at all. I couldn't have done that last week.
Other things I have done recently: hung out with Mom, got new shoes, took lots of flower pictures,"helped" Greg build a deck, met the neighbors, played synthesizers, embroidered the pocket of my jeans.
New foods I tried recently: fiddle head ferns and ramps
The last place we stayed in Florida was St. George Island State Park. This island is a lot more populated than St. Joseph's Peninsula which I found kind of strange since they had to build a huge bridge to get to the island but the peninsula is right there attached to the main land.
We went there and drove down the long long road to the camp and we saw a little pond and there was a big alligator sitting right there, just a few yards away from the campground!
After we got the camp all set up we went to the more populated side of the island for the worst pizza I have ever eaten in my life. How do you mess up pizza? By being cheap, that's how. After we ate we walked around and looked at some of the shops. I bought a neat mood ring. I couldn't take too much of the touristy crap though because everything we had seen up to that point had been nature and so real, it just felt gross to be in shops selling t-shirts and stuff like that.
We went back and then rode our bikes to the beach. We saw a lady fishing so we asked her how it was going and it turns out she was from Westerville, Ohio. That is right down the street from us! She told us that one time she caught a 4 foot shark and she just stepped on it's head and pulled the hook out because she didn't want to loose her gear. Tough lady!
While we were standing there talking a wave came and there was something huge that came right up to the beach! I am pretty sure it was a shark because she said that dolphins usually swim in groups and it didn't really look like a dolphin anyway. Apparently there is sort of a ledge where the water meets the sand there. Needless to say, I didn't get too close the water at that beach after we saw that. I am a scaredy cat! This beach had tons of shells on it but most of them were broken. It also had some really big jelly fish and one that had red stripes on it. Next time I go to Florida I need to get some kind of animal identification book.
We rode our bikes back to camp then we were hungry again so we got in the truck and drove the long road back to the populated side. It was 9 miles, too far to ride bikes. We went to a nicer place this time. It was expensive but the food was really good. I had grilled Mahi Mahi, it was the best piece of fish I had ever eaten. Greg had soft shelled crab. I tried a piece, it was pretty good. Then we got really brave and ordered some fried gator tail. Gator does not taste like chicken. It tasted like a tough piece of fish. I don't think I would go out of my way to eat it but it isn't bad. There was a saxophone player there while we were eating. After that it turned into karaoke which was kind of amusing. There were these 3 little kids that were dancing the whole time. They were funny to watch.
When we got back to the campground we could hear people playing music so we walked over to check it out. They told us to come on over and join in so we went over for a minute then we went back to the truck to get Greg's guitar. I did a lot of clapping and snapping but then they gave me a little drum to play. They played an acoustic version of Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice which apparently everyone knew existed except for me. They played all kinds of different music including a Buddhist meditation song. It was so neat to be there with people from all around the country just hanging out and playing music.
The next morning I put on my lead foot and we headed north. We only made it to northern Georgia then it was getting dark so we decided to camp one last time. I don't like to drive in the dark in the mountains. We ended up camping at Red Top Mountain State Park. It was really pretty with lots of tall pine trees and mossy rocks. We had a little camp fire and ate some random food that we had sitting around for dinner.
In the morning we got up and got ready then drove the rest of the way home. We got home around 5pm. While we were driving through the mountains it started sprinkling and we were driving through clouds so Greg rolled down the window so he could see what clouds smell like. I don't understand why the speed limit in the mountains is 75 mph and then you get to flat Ohio and the speed limit drops to 65 mph and 55 mph for the poor semi trucks. It just doesn't make sense.
So that was the whole trip. It was one of the best times I have ever had in my life. I hope to be able to go back again next winter if not sooner. Florida, I love you!
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terryslillamb- Terry Had A Little Lamb
- Terry Had A Little Lamb
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