Vacation Mode

Sanibel Island...

a magical place!

My brain is starting to go into vacation mode.

I need the beach...

I need the salty air...

I need the waves, sun and warmth!

I need to shell hunt....

I need to just hang out with my family with no interruptions.

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We are trying to plan something inexpensive but fun and since we have family in Florida and we love the beaches down there, that is where we might be heading.

When?

I'm not sure, but hopefully soon!!

Huh???

I'm not quite too sure about this...

This has happened now two times...

I'm baffled???

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Any fellow chicken people out there know the reason behind this?

Usually we get large size eggs from our four girls but today this little tiny egg showed up in the nest. I have yet to crack the egg to see what is inside but I am hoping to get one of those egg blower things that one pierces the egg a little tiny bit. I would like to keep this egg and display it and its mate at Easter. Kind of neat, don't ya think?

Sunday Morning Run

Today I decided to run around our house for a change. I am getting bored with running my usual route so I decided to run in God's Country. I got that little saying from another fellow runner and friend Ashley.

She posted something on Facebook this morning about running a half marathon in God's Country and I thought, hey...that is right around my house. No, not seriously, but it certainly looks like it. I decided to head out after Todd and Graydon left for a boys morning adventure (motorcycle race). I knew it was going to be a hard run with all the hills but my thought was to just head out and enjoy nature.

Just a note...I did not take my camera during the run with me.

This is a shot of the first hill I ran up.... And then a big downhill.

Just in time for another huge uphill. It was perfect running weather...60's, sunny with a little wind. Great tunes and the birds singing. What more could I ask for?

Horses were a nice added touch. I tried to coax them closer as I ran by but they were enjoying their morning grass too much. After the horses I was entertained by 4 Alpacas. They also were enjoying the morning grass but were very inquisitive. As I was running by their ears were standing straight up and they inched closer too me down the driveway. That is until their owner whistled for them and they turned and walked back to the house.
Very comical!

The view from the top of Mix Road was amazing. You could see for miles and miles and it was so clear. Notice the road in the distance? That is the road I was running on and what I ended up doing at this point was turning around to run back.

Along the way back these lovelies were enjoying the sun on their back...

I was too!

I didn't get a chance to see this deer running but it was a nice little surprise when I glanced though the camera lens. After my run I decided to go check out the mileage and ended up taking my camera with me. Good thing huh?

***

I just had to share my wonderful morning with all of you.

Metal Diner

Graydon has been asking for some time to eat at a metal diner. I don't know how he got it into his head about it but I thought it was kind of neat. We have a couple of them here in Broome County and to be honest, I'm not too sure if I have ever eaten at any of them. So Thursday I offered to take him for an early lunch to the one in Johnson City and he jumped on the chance.

It was an interesting atmosphere...lots of locals that the waitress knew by name. It seemed to have the same look as what I thought it might look like with the addition to a building added off the back for more tables.

I figured out that this was a two way mirror that the cook could see everyone while he was working away. Of course Graydon questioned why there was the need for a two way mirror but I said to him that the space for the cook was tiny back there and he must enjoy looking out and seeing who he is cooking for.

We ordered our lunch and literally not even 10 minutes later our food came out. The fries were so nice and crispy and perfect. I ordered a omelet with tomato and feta cheese and it was yummy. The waitress walked by and said"How's you hot dog boy"...we both thought it was funny that she said that.

This diner has been around for years and years and I have driven past it about a million times. I wish I would have asked the waitress how old it is, but I do know that it is well over 40 years old...

A nice adventure for the two of us!!

and we will definitely be heading back there soon!

Crafty Challenge Thursday

So Crafty Thursday was yesterday...yes I know.

I had planned on posting last night but we had one heck of a thunder and lightning storm which left us a little frazzled. As we sat watching "Survivor" a huge lightning bolt hit close to our house but we didn't realize how close until my in-laws called. Apparently it hit our neighbors house and caused all the alarms to be tripped. Police and Fire we called and the bolt hit the bottom corner of their house which left some charring on the inside of their house.

How scary....everyone is OK, but I'm sure they are still shaken up about it!

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Yesterday morning I picked these welcome tiles up from the studio. I do really like how the owl plaque turned out. The green glaze is a nice mottled glaze which has bit of gray flecks through it. I can't wait to make more of these...but in the meantime I will be listing this as well as another tree welcome sign in my etsy shop this morning.

This tree welcome plaque is finding a home in Texas. My sister-in-law wanted one so it will be on its way down there next week. I'll have to have her take a photo of it hanging on her house.

Here is a couple of things I was working on Wednesday night. The top is just a smaller bowl, perfect for mixing eggs, dip or whatever you would like. The middle is a sugar/honey jar for a friend. It will be glazed in a beautiful black glaze that breaks a rusty red. She has a bunch of my pottery and it will be a nice addition to her collection. The bottom right piece is interesting. Todd's cousin is getting married in June and it is going to be a Indian water jug for part of their ceremony. I'll take more photos as I complete it. There is several more components to is and it should be fun to assemble.
***
Happy Friday everyone.
Hope your weekend is Fantastic!

Let's go....

Fly a kite!!!

What a perfect day to fly a kite...there was a strong breeze blowing and it was just calling our name to finally put together this great kite that Graydon got from the Lewis's for his Birthday last year.

The tails were a little hard to keep from winding around you during take off but once it was in the air, the kite flew perfect. The kite happens to be a Ty Fighter from Star Wars and it was a little interesting to put together. Thank goodness for an Engineer in the family. I started putting it together and it was all wrong.

Graydon had tons of fun with it....

And finally took the reigns himself.

It was a perfect day!

Weekend Review

The whole entire weekend was so beautiful I just couldn't stand it. It started off with Friday being in the 80's...80's, in the beginning of April? But, yes it was! Get out the shorts and t-shirts and start the yard work. While I worked on the gardens, Todd got the riding lawnmower all ship shaped with new blades and a little tune-up. I decided to get the girls (above) cage all cleaned so while I was doing that I let them roam the yard to feast on bugs, worms and grass. They never strayed too far from their home but they decided to park it in one of my un-attended gardens. They helped rake and weed for me...such good girls!

Martha, just had to show off her good side for the camera while the others were too busy to even notice I was taking their photo.

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Saturday was pretty much the same thing....yard work.

I have tons of gardens on our property and they need to be all raked, weeded, edged and mulched. I will photograph the process at a later date, but those of you who know about gardening, know that it takes time for the beds to look good. I have one garden in particular that I have totally neglected for the past two years. It is now overgrown with weeds and is a complete mess. I plan on revamping this garden in the near future...what exactly I will be doing, I'm not sure. I have gotten tons of magazines for inspiration so once I get in there maybe the focus will become clear.

Easter Sunday morning is always spent with my sister and her family. Sometimes we have it at her house and sometimes it is here. This year was here...we had a breakfast of bagels, quiche and Easter bread (paska) and then headed out of an egg hunt. I hope the kids always will want to do this...it is so much fun for them to get the eggs and see the surprises in them.
The eggs were hidden all over the front and side yard. The back yard is still a muddy, wet mess from all the rain we have had.

Even the chipmunk holes were used as hiding spots. Made it very difficult for the kids to find the eggs :)

The annual cousins shot...they are getting so big!

Ahne is 6 , Graydon is 10 and Shea is 8!

Even the Easter Bunny came out to surprise the kids!

Little Wren loves it outside although loud noises scare her.

Shea and Ahne enjoyed taking her for a walk around the yard. She decided to help them get some exercise.

And posed for some great Easter pics!

Here is us...the whole clan.

We always try and take a family pic like this on Easter and Christmas.

I love my family!!

Thanks for a great Easter Sunday morning!