Odds & Ends

There are so many little things that I come across that tickle my fancy. Tiny moments of fun. You find yourself smiling, often alone when you noticed it, but you are smiling or sometimes just laughing out loud. Here are a few of them from my life.

First, Bailey always leaves me a grin. I have two shelves over the two closet doors in my sewing room. The shelves are strictly to hold my Beanie Babies and little stuffed animals. I'm not a huge Beanie Baby collector. But, when I have seen one that fit with something we were visiting or something I love in my life, I purchase the little stuffed animal and it is stored with its friends on one of these shelves. These toys are not just for viewing. The grandmonsters are free to play with them.

When Bailey had her sleepover, she asked for three. She loves 'groups' of things and it was no surprise the three she chose this time where birds: the eagle and my two puffins. She played with them and carried them off somewhere in the house...I thought. Several weeks later I went to get the case I carry my laptop in when I need to take it out of the house. Look what I found tucked into the straps and holders on my laptop carrier. Love that girl and her antics.

This next one is vintage Claude. I believe this is the wet-dry vacuum that is stored in the garage, but it might be something else. At any rate, when Claude was finished working his gloves were wet and needed to dry. So, maybe this is the power washer for the outside of the house. I went into the garage to get in my car and this it what I found. I was sure ET had come to visit!! Felt like, after taking this picture, I should have phoned home for ET!!

I came home last week late at night. Claude was out of town. I noticed a blob of something by the garage door. As I got closer, I realized it was a frog. I opened the garage door. It didn't move. I pulled my car in beside it. It didn't move. I rummaged through my purse to get my cell phone to take a picture. It never moved. I walked over and said hi. It never moved. I took the picture. It never moved. I needed to close the garage door. I figured that would be when it would jump into the garage or the door would come down as it moved and squash it. Didn't need either of those things to happen. I put my cell phone down and used it to shoo this little fella out into the yard. I grinned at this little guy. 

During all our 'car antics', we took the time to walk around Frank Shoop's car lot to see what he had for sale. Claude came across this lovely lime green Jeep. I took his picture in front of it and texted it to Katelyn. This is her very, very favorite color. I asked her if Grampa should buy this Jeep. Her response. "Duh!!" We did not purchase the Jeep. 

While walking across the Kroger parking lot to purchase groceries for Papa, I happened to notice the rear window of this car. It was lined with bobble head animals and figures. They were bobbling on a piece of white cotton so they would not slip around when the car was moving. This amused me greatly.  

Randomness in life gives me a smile. Hope it gave you one too.

Cars...Ours...Not the Movie - Part II

July 15th, I posted about our cars and the 'joy' they were bringing to us.  At that time my left front tire was setting off a warning light regarding air pressure when there really was no problem with the air pressure. I took my car to Frank Shoop and they fixed the computer attachment that was making that problem. When they rotated the tires the connection was done incorrectly and, once that was fixed, no more warning light. 

As of the July 15th post Claude's car was not holding a charge and even when the Jeep was off the meters were flipping from a fast speed to a slow speed rapidly. Claude took the Jeep into Frank Shoop and left it as he had no appointment. He rented a car from Enterprise for about 5 days. During this time Frank Shoop thought it was a battery issue so they replaced a very old battery. That was fine. Claude still felt like there was something in the switch and that this switch needed to be replaced. Frank Shoop was sure he was brushing it when he got out of the car thus leaving the car lights on and the battery running down. Claude disagreed and told them he wanted a new switch. Since the Jeep is aging the parts had to be special ordered. Claude ended up with the Enterprise rental for 1 1/2 weeks. Not good. When he got the Jeep, he drove it out to Frank Shoop's parking lot, got out and made sure the lights were not on. Then drove the rental to Enterprise to return it. They charged him an exorbitant amount of money. They took him back to Frank Shoop and Claude when to get in the Jeep only to find the battery down and the lights on. Hmmmm.... He went back into Frank Shoop and everyone was at lunch. He ended up leaving the Jeep again and renting a car at a greatly reduced rate from Frank Shoop. It would be almost a week before the Jeep was fixed. Make that 2 1/2 weeks of rentals plus the repairs. Yike!!

In the meantime my right front headlight went out. Back to Frank Shoop and they put a new head light in my car. Goodness...

The Jeep needed it's regular service so Claude took it in for that. 

Now my car has a slow leak in the left front tire. We refilled it twice and it seemed to hold for several weeks. I kept the portable charger in my car truck just in case I was out and needed it. But this weekend I had to again fill it with air. Time to call our dear friends at Frank Shoop and have them check that tire. There is a lot of construction on I-75 as they build the new interchange so I may have picked up something there that is causing a very slow leak in that tire. 

Yes, cars are a necessary evil. And, they do wear out as they age. 

Ball Parks...

On July 19th I posted about "Our Really Great Date" to Whitaker Bank Stadium in Lexington to see the Lexington Legends on July 13th. The 'saga' continues...

The game on the 13th we were invited to sit in 'the best seats in the house'. They were seats provided by Toyota as advertisement. The seats were leather reclining seats used in a Toyota Avalon. We very much enjoyed an appreciated this upgrade. 

Fast forward to Friday, August 19th. During that week Claude attended a meeting, I believe it was the Chamber of Commerce luncheon, and the sales/advertising person for the Lexington Legends again gave Claude 2 tickets to see a Legends game on the night of our choosing. Score!! We found ourselves again picking a seat on the third base side so the shade would get to us quicker. We purchased our dinner as we entered the stadium and took it to our seats to eat just before the game started. Ready for a nice evening at the park. When...Surprise, Surprise, Surprise...we were again asked if we wanted 'the best seats in the house'! This time we knew what they wanted us to do and we immediately said, "Yes!" We finished our dinner and then made our way to THE seats. What a great evening. It was a little cooler, not as much humidity and the shade was already well on its way to covering these seats. We stayed for the entire game in those nice leather seats. 

Then Toyota asked Claude if he wanted 8 seats in their suite at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to see the Reds play the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, August 24th. Well, of course. Claude kept two tickets for us and asked if any of the city commission wanted to go. The other 6 tickets were quickly given away. Then the four other tickets Toyota had kept were returned and so they also gave those to Claude. We ended up having a total of 12 people in the suite. Great food and a fun evening. Love sitting in the air conditioning watching the game with fresh strawberries and salads and 7-layer dip and brownies aplenty. Great evening. 

The funny part of this adventure was that Claude was in Louisville attending the Governor's Legislative Conference. I would normally have been in Georgetown taking Papa to the nursing home to provide music for the residents and then teaching an Institute class at Church. Ironically, we didn't have Institute that Wednesday evening because we were having an Institute Kick-off Event Thursday night (8-25). I took Papa to the nursing home, then took him home after and beat it like a bat out of Hades to Cincinnati. Claude finished his afternoon meeting and then beat it like a bat out of Hades to Cincinnati. We knew which parking garage we were both going to use but we decided to just meet each other in the Toyota Suite. It was nerve wracking enough driving into Cincinnati and finding the right lane to be in during rush hour traffic. The truth of the matter is, I'm usually crocheting or reading and only peek up occasionally. Claude is the one that focuses on the road. I was so happy to find the parking garage without my car getting whacked and in rush hour traffic in Cincinnati and even dealing with mega construction on I-75 at the bridge area. Imagine my absolute pure delight to driving into the parking garage, turning to the right to go up a level to find a parking spot and seeing that bright yellow Jeep sitting there. So very, very happy. I got out of my car and thought I would walk over and put a fun note inside the Jeep for when the game was over for Claude. Surprise again, he had been waiting there pretty sure he would see me when I came in. Doesn't get much better than that. Loved having this evening with my hubby.

That will be it for the ball games this season. I call all four games we saw this summer a huge success.

Marx Madness...

This year Andie will be teaching her own 4th grade class at LaGrange Elementary. There is so much a teachers does from her own pocket and with her own time to get a classroom ready to mold young minds. Their first day of school for her as a teacher and her children as students was Wednesday, August 17th. I suggested to her that I could come Sunday the 14th and stay till Tuesday evening the 16th and be an extra set of hands. I could cover the bases needed with the Mini's and help in any way she might need. Andie was very, very happy with that possibility. 

Sunday, August 14th I took Papa to Church and then took him home and visited with him till 1pm. Then I met Claude for a quick lunch as he returned from Paris, Kentucky. Then I was off, dodging rain storms, to the Marx home. When I arrived I thought Hayden was going to break my ribs with his hugs. That is not a complaint. 

Andie and Michael took this opportunity for a date night. Michael would have to work all day and then referee soccer games all evening Monday and Tuesday. They went to see the new Bourne movie and have dinner together. The Mini's and I ate leftovers at the Marx home. They had a local Church provide food for the faculty at LaGrange Elementary and Andie was asked to take any leftovers home with her. We tried to each some of them.

It was time to get the Mini's back on a school schedule so we had them in bed by 9pm. That was somewhat better than their summer schedule. 

Tuesday, I came downstairs to Michael making sure Hayden had something to eat before going to cross country practice. Pip and Percy were right there. I'm not sure if they wanted to be with Hayden or if they wanted his milk from his cereal. Love this pathetic picture of Percy looking for attention.

Andie dropped Hayden off at cross country practice on her way to her school. Bailey and I picked him up at 9:30 and brought the things he had to decorate his locker to him. Our Hayden is going into Middle School this year. Cannot believe that but it is true. He got his locker decorated and showed Bailey the practice locker so she could try to learn how to operate a combination lock. 

I suggested to the Mini's that we go to Sonic for a refreshing beverage after Hayden's morning run. They were game and we drove to Crestwood and enjoyed slushes. Bailey and I each tried the Pina Colada. Hayden tried some with two add-ins. The boy is all about trying the add-ins.

Then we took Hayden home and Bailey and I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. Each of us was in search of a type of chip we saw on a television commercial. Bailey's was a Greek flavored version and mine was a vegetable flavored Sun Chip. We found Bailey's but did not find the flavor I was looking for. There was a man stocking the chip section that did not work for Walmart. He asked if he could help. We told him what I was looking for. He assured us they didn't carry that a Walmart but we could (he said this in a whisper) find them at Kroger. We got Hayden his favorite flavor, picked up the purchases we really needed that weren't edible and headed back to the Marx home. 

Monday afternoon I did something to help Andie that was not on her list. I brought my weeding clothes and tools. Bailey went out to the front yard with me and was my legs. The hardest thing for me is getting up and down when I weed. Andie's front flower bed was in a really bad way. The grass had grown over the rocks that line the edge and were into the bed, small trees were starting to grow in amongst the plants. I determined I would get that bed weeded for her. Bailey would take my full bags of weeds and put them in the garbage and bring me a new bag so I didn't have to get up. She even brought me water once to rehydrate a bit. I had to pause for a bit when a rain storm came across. But we got the main front bed done and it looked great. Thank heavens for Bailey's help.

I got my shower and rested for a bit. Andie came home and I told her I would take them out for something to eat. Andie declined so she could get some phone calls made but requested we bring her something back. So, the Mini's and I made our pilgrimage to Dairy Queen and enjoyed a very nice meal together. Then we ordered a meal for Andie and headed back to Casa Marx. We spent the evening giving hair cuts and preparing lots of things for Andie's classroom. 

Tuesday morning, Andie was out the door early so I took Hayden to cross country practice. Then Bailey and I picked him up. Hayden and Andie had labeled his binders and folders for school the night before, so we again headed to Hayden's locker to get these items in his locker.  Then it was off to Sonic to rehydrate. This time the Mini's decided they wanted to eat breakfast. Even though it was 10am, Sonic was just opening (the Georgetown Sonic is open 24/7. We were the first in line so we had to wait for them to start their cooking process for the day. Took a bit but the Mini's were only more hungry so that worked to our advantage. They enjoyed breakfast from Sonic. Even said 'thank you'. 

We went back to the Marx home and Bailey wanted to go outside to play. I went out with her and enjoyed the nice day. Bailey found a funny looking caterpillar.

Then I heard the neighbor that lives behind them calling for Bailey to come quick. She had been out mowing their grass with a push mower. She stopped the mower as she saw something fluffy in their tall grass. It was a bunny. She was afraid there were more so she had her son, Conner, and Bailey help her look through the grass. Sure enough they found two more baby bunnies. All were transported to a safe spot and the lawn mowing continued.

Andie called when it was okay for us to come to her classroom. I took window measurements to make curtains. Then cut out things she had laminated. Hayden checked the room and gave her pointers that might help he with the kids. Andie graciously listened and told him how much she appreciated his input. Loved observing that moment. Bailey turned on a computer and played the learning games they have for the kids.

Andie only had an hour and then she had another meeting. We left and went to the library. Their library has a huge shelf full of games. We picked two and sat at a big table to play games for a bit. Nice way to fill and afternoon without screens in front of the Mini's and doing something together where it was cool.

When we got home, the cats entertained us. One of them has a top to a box tomatoes came in that he likes to curl up in. This time he managed to flip the box over and curl up underneath the box. The box didn't go completely to the ground and the cat would wrestle with himself and the box while under it. Very amusing.

Andie got home about 6pm and we finished the things we needed to cover. Then I headed back to Sadieville. It felt good to be doing good things for my kid and her family. Nice to be a little helpful for them before I get old enough they will have to be doing that for me. 

My Family Treasure...

When my mother was maybe five years old, her mother, Gramma Fisch, started teaching her to sew on an old treadle sewing machine. They lived in a home in the country with no running water or electricity. When we were little girls, my grandparents bought feed and flour in sacks made out of cotton fabric with beautiful prints on them. Gramma Fisch would wash and iron these pieces of fabric and kept them in a nice stack in one of the back bedrooms. When we would visit, my mother would carefully go through the fabric and pick out enough matching pieces to make each of us girls play clothes or dresses. I loved these moments and the clothes. Never had a problem telling others that beautiful fabric they admired was feed sacks. 

When my Gramma Fisch passed away, my mother inherited the sewing machine. It worked all the time my mother had full faculties but I'm not sure after she had Alzheimer's. While having Alzheimer's she kept a green plant on top and over watered it. There was a scarf on the top so this was never noticed by Papa. When I went to clean out their home for them to move to Kentucky, my sisters and I divided up Mom's things that we each wanted. This treadle sewing machine was something each of us girls wanted. We put names in a hat and drew out one. Amazingly, my name was drawn. We brought the sewing machine to our home when we moved my parents to Kentucky.

Claude put it in the basement. Eventually we took it apart to restore. The wood from the top was ruined an posed a problem as to what to do with it. We came up with the idea of making a new wood board cover for the top. I truly wanted to keep it as close to original as I could so it would retain some of its value. Several years went by with it in pieces in the basement not sure how to handle the restoration. Claude wanted to do it right and we just weren't sure it could be like it was originally with all the damage to the wood.

This year, Claude decided to finish what was in pieces in the corner of the workshop. He has diligently taken it further apart, replaced decorative wood that had come off and was in the drawers, sanded, stained, repaired, and tenderly cared for this beautiful antique. He even found plastic coverings for where the rollers were on each leg of the machine. He made a wood board that could be used for the top. In the end, he opted not to use this piece of wood because of the treatment he was able to give the top. 

This last Monday, it was finished and he moved it up to the breakfast room area where I have left a place for it all these years. It is simply beautiful.

I know my mother and grandmother would love how he lovingly and carefully worked on and put back together this treasure from our past. In keeping with its history, I placed a doily I crocheted on the top and on that put a beautiful ceramic bowl Claude gave me with green turtles on the outside and pine cones in the bowl. Inside the drawers are the manual, some old wooden spools of thread and bobbins. There is a wooden case of tools and parts for the machine. These are also treasures. 

I love having this piece in my home where I will enjoy it each and every day. So grateful to Claude for working so hard and making this happen. It will be a treasure for my children someday, until then, I shall truly enjoy it being in our home.