Saturday, July 31, 2010

My Saturday Sky

The Bell Tower on the Congregational Church across the street.
A spectacular day from my front porch - well, I had to cross  the street to get this.  Our view is obstructed due to all of the trees.  Today the temperature is in the mid 70's with no detectable humidity! I am enjoying this day, it is true Bliss!
I am linking up with Summer Sunday

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Plus-sized Model? No Way!

Crystal Renn appeared on the 'Today Show' this morning.  She was making an appearance because she was outraged that her photo had been photoshopped to make her appear as if she was a size 2.  

The thing is, Crystal Renn says she is a Plus-Sized Model.  She wears a freakin' SIZE 10!

The average size for American Women is size 14.  That's right, size 14.

What is wrong with a few curves?  Does every woman and girl have to be a stick?

According to the media, anything over a size 2 is not pleasant to the eye.
No wonder young girls and women are literally dying to look like the models of today.

Sorry, I'm just amazed and outraged that she could take up valuable news time with such phoney-baloney.

Excuse me while I go exercise, diet, and do it all again.  Nah, I don't think so...I'll just eat some cake.










'

Ceredo Petroglyph

This huge rock has drawings all over it, done by the people who lived in the Ceredo area 3000 years ago!
It is a petroglyph and was taken out of the Ohio River near Main Street.
The drawings aren't actual words, but pictures carved into the stone.  According to Wikipedia, petroglyphs were an important means of communications between prehistoric peoples. 

Before the floodwall was built, my grandfather had a garden on the bank of the Ohio River, near where the petroglyph was found.  He found lots of fossils and arrow heads while plowing.  The river wasn't nearly as deep or wide as it is today (thanks to the flood control dams on the river) and to think that this area was populated as far back as 3000 years ago is just mind-boggling to me!

Fun to think what the pictures might mean...do you think it might say Killroy was here?!? 
If you know anything about this petroglyph, I would love to know more! 
 
Petroglyph is in the Ceredo Museum, 601 Main Street.
Hours Tuesday and Thursday 9 am to 4 pm

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Ceredo Historical Museum part 1

Photo of an oil painting by the conservator of the Ceredo Museum, Carroll Conners.
She worked from a photo to recreate this lovely scene.
The location is what the area near my house looked like over 100 years ago.

The 3 houses shown are still standing with a few changes.
The yellow house now opens to the 'long' side , and to my knowledge which is limited has been passed down through the same family since it was built.

The white house is still known as the Wright House.  It now has a wrap-around porch that was put on with great care to match the architecture of the house.   The Wrights were a wealthy family who owned the General Store in town, one of their many endeavors, and had several children. 

The house beside the white house is known as the Old Parsonage.  Until recently, each minister of the First Congregational Church would move into the house as part of his salary.  The church is right around the corner, making it handy for
us kids in the neighborhood to aggravate him both the minister and the members of the church.

The horse-drawn wagon is picking up the trash.  This is a tradition that has continued, as I think Ceredo is the only town around that picks up garbage twice a week and trash on Wednesdays!
Anything except old tires, that's another story.

If only these houses could talk!

I spent an afternoon at the Museum, and picked up many facts that I will try to pass on in a way that won't put you to sleep as maybe this did.

This lovely painting hangs in the Museum, which is a real treasure for a town as small as ours. 
It is packed with information and items from the Revolutionary War right up to today. 
All of the items have been collected or donated by citizens of Ceredo, and there is a wide variety of things to see - from a 3000 year old petroglyph to the yearbooks from our now defunct beloved C-K High School and Buffalo High School.

The hours are  9 am to 4 pm Tuesday and Thursday
601 Main Street
Ceredo, WV





Sunday, July 18, 2010

from my porch

This took place Saturday in the Church yard across the street from my porch

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Happy 4th Birthday to "Sew Many Blessings" Quilt Shop

I had this ready early, but Blogger threw it back...was it because it wasn't grammatically correct? or just poor content? Hmmm..

Today and Friday (July 15 and 16) is the 4th birthday of my local quilt shop "Sew Many Blessings".

They always have a huge sale to celebrate their birthday, and this sale is a good one!
 Heidi and Winona stock the most beautiful fabrics, so their sales are always jammed packed with shoppers.

Be prepared to wait, as you stand shoulder to shoulder with other fabricholics shoppers to get your fabric cut and purchased.  This is a good wait, though, because you see your fellow quilters, and talk about new patterns and different fabrics.  The time spent waiting just flies by!

Knee deep in empty bolts, full bolts and partial ones, Heidi and Winona are friendly and helpful as always.  Refreshments are served, and a good time is had by all.  In fact, there are some of us who look forward to and plan for this sale.  

Most quilters will start their Christmas projects soon. 
I don't, because I am a procrastinator (there, I said it).  I will be the one at the sewing machine on the night before Christmas, working at lightning speed and making mistakes because I didn't take my time and start in July.

If you are in Ceredo today, swing by the Plaza and visit the quilt shop, you will enjoy it!
They also offer loads of wonderful classes.  I seldom take one because of my panic disorder, but the classes offered and the teachers are excellent!

An added bonus is I can walk to the Quilt Shop! 

Gotta go,  I'm going to the sale!



Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The heat, oh the heat

 So hot, the river looks like it's steaming or as we call it here...Hazy! This was taken a few days ago.

Today, it is raining!  Raining hard, even.  We need it badly.  The ground is parched and cracked.
I need it too, to have a break from the humidity.
I am also parched and cracked from the heat.
All I seem to do is sweat profusely.
And complain.  Let's not forget the complaining.
I am exhausted.
I think the heat is slowly killing me.
Did I mention that I complain?  Complain a lot?
My poor family.
Today it is raining, though.
I won't complain about the rain or the storms.
 I will enjoy it!
I'm going to go out and take photos of the glorious rain!




Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Family Furry Friends

Chalupa
Maggie

 Cletus Boudreaux
 
Earl Boudreaux

How would life be without dogs?
I often wonder about people who don't like dogs.
What do they do with their spare time?

The top dog, Chalupa, is the top dog!  His person is my father-in-law, PT.
Chalupa, a chihuahua,  thinks he weighs at least 100 pounds, and rules his yard and house.
His person is his world, and if PT is in the hospital, Chalupa will not eat or play.
He is devoted.
Maggie is our new grand-dog.  She had a rough time before coming to live with us.  
She is the princess.
She does mind Chalupa when she goes to visit.

The next two dogs consider me to be their person.  They are litter mates, and have not been separated since birth.  I held and fed Cletus when he was only a few days old, and fell in love!
I had no intentions of getting two tiny puppies at one time, but, who could resist?
They are my Wayne County Red Dogs, so lovable! 
I've decided that their breed is  Peke-a-Bee,  we know what kind of dog their mama was, but the daddy was a traveling salesman...
They are very sheltered very gentle little dogs.  

I love them all.

photos from my motorola droid phone



Monday, July 12, 2010

A Squash is Born

My tiny little garden

My small container garden was planted late, and is just now starting to grow and produce vegetables  a vegetable.  One tiny squash has started to grow-what a thing of beauty!
Our container garden consists of one sweet 100 tomato plant in a five gallon bucket, one habanero pepper plant, globe basil in a terra cotta pot, and 4 zucchini plants all in mop buckets from the dollar store.
The plants don't seem to realize they are planted in unusual containers, and are growing right along.
I planted lettuce, basil, yellow summer squash and tomato seeds yesterday . The plants should produce before cold weather, according to the research I've done.  Hoping on that, anyway.
I love love love squash.  I could eat it 3 times a day fresh from the garden (and some days I do!).
So, if the squash continues to grow, I will have 1 in a few days.
I'm excited.

It doesn't take much these days


 .

Saturday, July 10, 2010

An Evening of Cornhole

A great evening with best friends, best food and best fun!
Our friends are newly wed, and this is the first time we've been to visit them.
They are wonderful friends to us, and have the most charming home.
I was introduced to the Cornhole game, it is fun to play!
Two of the players (I won't mention names) are serious players participants,
and since I had never played, I pretty much messed up the score.

Cornhole is a simple concept, but it is hard to get those square beanbags in those round holes.
I'm sure, with practice, I could maybe get close to the board.  We will see!
My son bought the lumber and hardware to build a set. 
So we enter the world of Cornhole.
Wonder who thought the name up?
Wonder who thought up the game?
I'm pretty sure alcoholic beverages were involved.

Thanks for having us over!

photo straight from the phone

My son picked up a turtle from the middle of a busy road, and it now resides in our friend"s pond.  

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Random Thoughts and how do you upload pictures?

I'm having real difficulties uploading pictures from the computer, my droid phone and from Picasa.  
Can anyone give me some pointers on how to upload correctly? 

Ceredo-Kenova Little League Baseball Stadium, an excellent refurbished field, will be the host stadium for a tournament next weekend.  Many people spent many hours working on the stadium and field last year, even the groundskeepers from the Cincinnati Reds came and helped get the grass perfect! 
I will have more details tomorrow on the games and the states playing. 
It is quite interesting, hundreds of people come here from different states to see their teams play.  If the temperatures are more moderate, we will go to a few games, otherwise my family will go without me.  Big Grin there!

It has been so hot and so humid...its the humility humidity that bothers me so much now. I wonder how I was able to work in such sweltering conditions month after month?  I guess age is catching up with me!  
I get up early, water my plants and then I'm back in the house till late evening.
Even the dogs are eager to get back in the house, usually I have to coax them in from the yard.

Today I even did some much needed and much dreaded housework!  
My sewing area is 'calling' me, a quilt is pin-basted and ready to machine quilt.  It's been that way since March, sad isn't it?  Depression sets in and that's it for me for a while.

Maybe if I talk about it here, I will start working on my unfinished projects.  There are several more tops ready to be quilted,  and so much fabric waiting to be sewn!
I do love to sew, and when I get my self together, I will share the things I like to sew.

Tomorrow, the seeds will be sown for fall crops.  I was late getting my plants out this spring, and I've read up on starting the same seeds for fall.  The soil has been moistened and is ready to plant.
Container gardening is new to me, but so far the plants seem to be doing well.  A few of the plants have tiny zucchini on them, now keeping my fingers crossed that the dreaded cutworms don't attack.

If I haven't lost you yet with my random thoughts, thank you for reading !

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

A Busy River


 Train on the railroad bridge, tugboats ready to push barges of coal
The train is crossing from West Virginia over the Ohio River into Ohio
The closest bridge for cars is 5 miles away


The conservation officer going to check boats for safety equipment

A tugboat going to hook up barges

It is so very hot today, I thought I would feature a few pictures taken by my son of the Ohio River.
These were taken in a small park where the Big Sandy River empties into the Ohio River. 
You can see three states from the park. 
It is a well-kept park with a large gazebo to sit in when the heat becomes unbearable.   
We go there to watch the personal watercraft-speed boats, jet skis, fishing boats- and watch the many tugs and tows that travel both rivers.  
Both banks of the Ohio are lined with barges full of coal or oil by-products.
 
Doesn't the water look so inviting?  
It would be nice to be able to float around and cool off this evening!   
How warm was it in your part of the world?
It only reached 100 here today...






 

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!

 

Happy
4th of
July!

My grandmother, whom I dearly loved, was born July 4, 1899.  
She was a pistol, and I wish I had more pictures of her.  It seemed our family seldom took pictures.  I guess that is why I try to take lots of pictures for any occasion.

Vausie, my grandmother, was a seamstress and made clothing for many of the women in town.  I had a new dress several times a week, and when I walked home from grade school for lunch, my mom (grandmother) always changed my dress and brushed my hair.  She did the same for my mother when she was in grade school too.

She was a tiny woman, barely 5" tall.  She wore a pill box hat with a veil and white gloves when she went out, as did her friends.  When she was home, and had spare time, she smoked Pall Mall cigarettes, drank Cokes in the small glass bottles, watched westerns on TV, read western novels, gardened, and spent time with her friends. She measured her words carefully until someone made her mad.  Then, she was quick to let that person know exactly how matters stood.  That happened a lot to my father.  Now I laugh about it, but I doubt he ever did!

She also had a wide front porch that had a solid front.  She and her friends would sit on the gliders and talk. It seemed for hours, and the kids in the neighborhood always knew all the of the news/gossip. (It always aggravated our parents when we knew more 'news' than they did!)
It was a great porch to play tricks on other kids and the newspaper boy.  We used to lay in wait for him to deliver the evening paper -who has that now?- so we could shoot him with our water pistols.

I stayed with my grandmother most of the time, as my mother and father both worked at least 2 jobs each.
Life as a child was spent with my beloved Mom.
The stories I could tell of me and the other children in the neighborhood who also spent lots of time with  their grandmothers!
I'll save those for another time.

Hope your Fourth is filled with good friends, good food, and lots of fireworks!




Friday, July 2, 2010

Senator Robert C. Byrd

  Our beloved Senator Robert C. Byrd 


November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010 

In office
January 3, 1959 – June 28, 2010

May he rest in peace

Volumes have been written about him
all I can say is 
He will be missed

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Welcome to Adventures in Ceredo!  Mine and my son's pictures and my words about life from my front porch.

The picture is one of several "Welcome to Ceredo" signs.  The sign is placed in a lovely tiered rock garden with a water feature in the center.  The water feature was built by my brother, who is a wizard when it comes to figuring out how things work.
The wall behind the garden is part of the flood wall, which was built to protect our pretty little town from being flooded by the Ohio River.  

On the other side of this wall, there is another large garden and another one just across the highway.  These gardens are tended by the Town, who also put out beautiful planters on each corner. 

It is with much trepidation that I start a blog, even though I love reading a large variety of blogs and gain much information from them.  Whether the blog writer writes about the area they live in, share the hobbies they adore, share photos or just write, each has a story to tell.  I'm not so sure about having a large enough story to share, but I will try!

We live in a house built by my grandfather when I was born.  I lived here until I was twelve years old, then moved to the 'country'.   The house stayed in the family, and we were able to purchase it about fifteen years ago.  When we remodeled, we added a wide front porch.  It was one of the best decisions we made, as we sit on our porch every day. 

We have lots of interesting conversations as we sit on the porch, away from the TV and computers.   The porch is shaded by three large trees, making it so much cooler than the usual hot summer day, and I love to sit outside watching life go by..it is amazing what I see while sitting there!

So this begins my blog..so far, a jumble of disjointed sentences. I hope to find my balance soon!

Thanks for stopping by!