Memorial Day!

It looks to be a lovely weekend coming up.  My plans are to go to the cemeteries tomorrow to decorate family graves and check out an art show in Portland along the way.  Should be enjoyable.  I truly appreciate the flags on all the veteran's graves and all the lovely flowers at this time of year.  I recall that my mother used to cut peonies and iris and put in quart jars, covered with foil to fancy them up, and take to Stahl Cemetery to Grandma and Grandpa Lee's graves.  Then we'd go down to Montpelier to decorate the graves of Grandma and Grandpa Schooley.  There were more distant relative's graves that they would walk to and recall stories about the people buried there ...  Good memories.  Now we're "beyond" foil-covered quart jars of flowers you grow in your own yard; not good enough.  I've just created some pots of petunias and marigolds to take up to Wells County tomorrow.

Well, here's what I've been doing lately!  [Yikes!  Slowly getting tired of crocheting hats.  Don't know how much longer I'll last ...... ] Think I already mentioned that the knit n' crochet group I belong to has committed to making 800 hats for a senior Christmas project.  We are now almost to 500!  Yeah!!!  I figure if I can turn in at least five hats a week I've done my part.

I've visited a few antiques places near me this spring.  It's been fun, exploring western Ohio and other places in Indiana.  I'm trying my best to not buy too much.  Or not start any more collections.  (I have to keep reminding myself how much I sold when we moved here.)  But it's difficult!  I've already bought an entire set of dishes (that I don't need!).  And am now collecting cream and sugars.  Oh well...  

Here's some photos taken at a few of the places I've found:

There are two nice antiques shops in Verona, Ohio -- Baltimore House and R.S. Goines.  Both in the same family and really nice people!  Goines has three very different barns/sheds full of good primitives.  I ended up buying a couple things there.

This photo was taken in Lewisburg, Ohio, which is just a couple miles south of Verona.  (Very convenient!) They have several nice shops downtown Lewisburg.  It's an old town with interesting Federalist architecture.  This was taken in Brick Rhod Antiques.  They also have a great little bistro in the same building where I've had lunch a couple times now.  Wonderful chicken salad, and desserts to die for!  Another great shop in town is Yankee Clover, plus there's a book store downtown, too.

This was taken just a week ago at the Pennville General Store.  I've been here a few times now since we moved to Winchester.  She has great country decorator items with a few antiques thrown in.  This is the place to go for silk flowers, signs, and other wall decor.  They have some neat cabinets, too.  Not old but neat.

Well, as I said, I did buy a couple things along the way ...

I'm a sucker for little original paintings!  Why, why, why do I keep buying them!?  Here's two I found in Ohio.  I know I posted the one on here last time but just really looked at these and I see I have a theme going and didn't even know it.  Oh, well.

It's been a good week in this respect:  Went to our one and only granddaughter's graduation party.  She then graduated Tuesday night with a 3.8 grade average.  So proud!!!  Now it's on to college for her!  

Well, that's all for now.  I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  Remember to honor the people who fought for our freedom in some way.  God bless America!

So ... a year has passed.

Well, I've now been through the first whole year without my sweetheart.  Experienced birthdays, anniversary, holidays without the love of my life.  So, April 13 was a very difficult day for me.  In fact, several days leading up to and following the 13th were filled with memories and reliving things that happened and just plain heartache.  I had planned on going away SOMEWHERE, but as I told Jeff, I'd just be taking my grief with me so I just stayed home.  It was a gloomy day and I just kept the blinds closed and I really don't know what I did.  I forget.  I think I sat on the couch and just glazed over, lost in a sad reverie.  But I've just got to go forward!  I know that Wendell is in heaven with God and that is what I lean on.

Some good things have happened though!  Visited Lisa & Steve's church in Portland and found out that I'll soon be a great-great aunt (Sydney is expecting).  Spent Easter with my sister and her family which was very very nice; and it was a beautiful day too.  Tried my hand at basket weaving and that was a no-go.  Failure.  But interesting seeing all of the beautiful choices of baskets I obviously am incapable of producing!  The teacher was a talented lady but she is obviously MUCH better at making baskets than telling others how to do so.  LOL!  I've produced copious amounts of crocheted hats since I last wrote here, doing my part for the knit n' crochet group I go to each Wednesday's project to donate 800 hats to a local charity for Christmas packages (we're half way there!).  Really enjoying the hat project!  Also, I've enjoyed taking a class in quilting.  Yes, I do know how to sew/piece, but used this as an opportunity to try to perfect my piecing skills, and I truly learned something new.  We all made a small table runner, including quilting it.  And it was fun meeting some new people in that 3-session class.  Actually, I am so excited because I learned a new binding technique that probably everyone else in the world knows about and uses but I never saw before.  So you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Well, I'll see if I have any photos worth sharing.  I'm thinking not much ...

Found this little painting at an antique shop in Verona OH.  I'm a sucker for little originals!  Have way too many (though I did 'loose' a few in the auction).

This and below are the hats I've turned in the past two weeks.  Lots of generous people have donated yarn to us, so all it takes is time.  And I have lots of that.

One last thing ... when I was going through the old photos I came across this one that was taken in a photo booth.  I remember doing this; it was in the mall in Terre Haute about 15 years ago.  One photo has obviously been trimmed off.  I got a chuckle because in one I have my eyes closed, in one he has his eyes closed, and then the one we must have been practicing for! 💓  Are there still photo booths around??? Inquiring minds want to know!

Have a good month of May!  God bless y'all.