Road Trip Day Two ...

We slept in late this morning ... PLUS due to the time change (daylight savings time ending), we even got an EXTRA hour too! It was nice to not have to rush around to go have fun! We ended up leaving Cedar Rapids around noon...but FIRST we had to stop at a Good Will Store that showed up on the GPS. The Good Will Stores there don't open until noon on Sundays, and there was a line up of people waiting outside. I figured it MUST be a great store since so many people were waiting, but NOOOOO... it wasn't at ALL! Just junky stuff... so we left without my Good Will fix. *L*

But, what a great day to go for a loooong drive... bright, sunny and it got up to 73 degrees (F) too! We didn't stop much along the way today, we were going to head to Branson, MO, but changed our mind and headed for St. Louis instead.



Along the way (I have no idea where we were), we saw a casino and decided to try our luck, hoping to hit it big!! No such luck.. ended up losing the money we saved the night before on our hotel room...(one of Kasey's friends got us discount coupon friends and family rates on hotels along the way)...ohhh well... at least we had fun TRYING to hit it big for about an hour and a half..*L*




And then it was back on the road again....



Kasey and I always sing to the songs on the radio when we are driving... kind of like Road Trip Karaokee..*L* Kasey had the idea to tie the camera to the bottom of the rearview mirror and turn on the video portion, then, as we drove down the road, we'd have a video mix of some songs we had sung along the way.




It was so fun to do that, because the camera would sway back and forth and even though the road wasn't real bumpy, it sure looked like it was. I combined all the songs clips and some other clip art into a short montage of Road Trip Karoakee. I won't show the video here, but here are some fun clips from us singing..*L*




We reached St. Louis about 6 p.m., and of course it had already been dark for about 40 minutes (I hate it when it gets dark so early now that DL Savings Time is over).
One of Kasey's friends had told her about a Blues Club downtown, so we went to see where it was before finding a hotel. The entertainment there didn't start until 9 p.m., and we were told the food was great there too! So we found it and figured maybe we'd try to find a downtown hotel to stay at. But when I pulled into the parking lot of a White Castle less than half a block away, so we could check the GPS listings of hotels close by, Kasey decided to run in and use the bathroom there. No sooner had she left the car when an older woman came out of nowhere and was knocking on my drivers side car window. I didn't roll down the window, and asked her if she needed something? She said, "Yes". She said she was pregnant with twins and was hungry and would I give her money for food. But, she also had a hand shaking problem, and red eyes, and she appear to me to be about 65 -70 years old, a bit old to be pregnant, and she scared me. I told her, no, I wouldn't be able to help her, and she left and proceeded to 2 more cars, probably asking the same thing, and being told no by them evidently too.

Kasey came running out, jumped in the car, and I told her I wasn't going to be comfortable going to that Blues Club, with the neighborhood people near here, and it didn't appear to have any parking available except street parking. So, we decided not to chance having our car broke into and to find a hotel someplace else. Since the downtown hotels all looked like they were more than we wanted to spend, we headed out of town about 10 miles and found a nice hotel on the outskirts of St. Louis.




We also found a good authentic mexican restaurant nearby, ordered some dinner to go, had some liquid libations while we waited for our order, and headed back to our room where we ate (waaay too much!), edited some photos, and decided to call it an early night again.

Soooo, this is the end of day two... looking forward to day three and exploring St. Louis tomorrow!

Road Tripping with My Daughter....Day 1

I am officially on VACATION!! My daughter and I have made a road trip together an annual tradition the last 3 years. We explore places we've never been before, stop at ANYthing that looks interesting, odd, unusual, unique, and have a GREAT time!



We both love taking photos, seeing sites and are SOOO looking forward to this year's trip. We've taken more days off for it too .... so, here is just the beginning of day one...




It was a great sunny, but cool day... nice for a drive. We headed west toward Galena, IL to see some shops downtown before heading to Dubuque, Iowa (20 minutes away) to visit my nieces and newphew (who Kasey had never met before, and I had last seen Amber about 25 years ago). We had a fun time visiting with them for a few hours before heading back down the road.

More photos of that time here later... waaaay too tired after a good dinner (Red Robin in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)..we are SO going to sleep good tonite!

Photos and More of Day One To Be Continued here later...
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UPDATED WITH MORE PHOTOS FROM DAY ONE....




We stopped along the way (just a few hours into the trip) at a quaint old antique store that had a TON of stuff, hanging on the walls, in the aisles, in cases, from the ceiling and everywhere! My kind of store!



This lady was rather snooty ..*G*... and the LOVE TESTER was interesting..*L*
Jesus is watching!! *G* ... He really gets around too eh?


We stopped in Galena, IL ... these were at an art museum of design as we came into town. (Did you know the average human head weighs 8 lbs? - shades of Jerry McGuire..hah! - these were above average human heads I guess?)






Tire art outside .... this design museum was a lot like MIAD inside. (Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design).

Downtown Galena... lots and LOTS of shops... too many to see in the short time we stopped. But I was able to find a wooden hand at an antique store... yay!




After lunch at a sports bar and grill in Galena, and watching the WI Badgers win... we went on to Dubuque to see my nieces and nephew... WHAT A GREAT VISIT!!









It was so nice meeting them, and Lily is such a doll!! *S* She reminds me of granddaughter Jorden.

It was a fun visit, and we hope to be able to get together again soon.

Then it was time to head down the road .... God painted us a beautiful skyscape as we drove out into the west... breathtaking!!

Our Squirrely Friend ... waiting for his mail?

Kasey took this photo today of this squirrel on the porch railing. She said he was hissing at her as she sat on the porch.

Wonder if he had some package coming from the Buddy Squirrel Nut place that he didn't want her to get? *L*



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All the bookkeeping is done for all businesses... clothes drying, groceries bought, house clean?..well, not too bad at least, ... and the countdown continues... 9 hours and 10 minutes until take-off. I better get some sleep, eh? *S*

Can't wait for the road trip with my daughter to begin!!

Thankful that hubby is holding down the fort while we're gone. *S*

Sure to be photos to come along the way....

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Busy, busy, busy .....

This last week has been hectic, but for a good reason....

My daughter and I are leaving on our annual road trip soon, lots to do for both of us before we go since we are taking double the amount of days off to explore odd, unique, interesting places. This years trip will take us to see my niece in Iowa, then down the west side of the Mississippi river... to St. Louis... then over to Memphis, and back up to Wisconsin... (and all places inbetween).



Should be a fun trip... still a lot to do for work before we leave, and some exploring of the internet for odd and interesting places to stop along the way too.. can't wait to leave!

Countdown to take off... about 26 hours!

All Hallow's Eve

Halloween, October 31
The word Hallowe'en itself is a contraction of "Hallowed evening". Hallowed is an old English word for "holy" — as in "Hallowed be Thy Name", in the Lord's Prayer.
Why is this evening "hallowed"?
Because is is the eve of the Feast of All Saints — which used to be called All Hallows. Like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and the Easter Vigil, the Church's celebration of her greatest feasts begins the evening before. (This follows the ancient Jewish practice of beginning the celebration of the Sabbath at sundown.)





This afternoon was our town's annual trick or treat time. We had all sorts of costumed kids come to our door, and we almost ran out of candy! This was all that was left fron two huge bowls of candy!



It was fun seeing the grandsons too in their costumes.




I set out some of my torsos on the porch as "decorations", had some fun music going too... Monster Mash, Ghostbusters, Flying Purple People Eater and some creaky door sounds... and watched as the kids (and parents) danced to the music as they came and went. *L*

Giving From The Heart ...

It's that time of year again... usually each Fall, the Church Budget Committee meets, and goes about making their first draft of the annual budget for the next year. It's then looked at by the Vestry, prayed about, tweaked here and there, cut in places as well, and there is also the annual STEWARDSHIP drive.

Stewardship isn't just about finances, money, and budgets ... it's a way of life. If we truly believe, (and I do), that all we have has been given to us in some way, shape or form, as a gift from God, then our response to that is what our stewardship is. Our thankfulness should come from the heart, not from the pocketbook, or checkbook, imho...although, the result of that thankfulness is often lived out financially because it's the Church (the body of believers with Jesus as the head) that are the arms and legs to help further the kingdom of God here on earth, to help others when we can, to share the love of Jesus and more...and that does take financial resources, as well as the time and talents of each of us.


So, I had made this assemblage with the Stewardship Drive in mind, part of my offering, my thanks...with hopes that it may bring others closer in seeking Jesus more in their lives too.

This assemblage is hanging in our temporary site space, along with the explantion, that I believe tells what I was thinking, feeling, and hoping would be conveyed from it.



Here is what the sign above it says...

~ GIVING FROM THE HEART ~

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21
When we treasure the things of the earth, our heart is drawn to the earth. The heart is subject not only to gravitation, but also to attraction from on high, the wings express that the heart reaches upward, toward heaven - toward God. The wings also symbolize freedom - of choice. We can choose to love and follow Jesus, or we can choose not to.
"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

The offering plate focuses on giving to God, through the Church, as the Body of Christ. Focusing on the sacred heart of Jesus, we can have Christ's heart and His love for humanity. And we can express our own love for Jesus, the lover of our souls.

One Body, Many (Spare) Parts...

An assemblage artist friend had posted a link to an unusual photo shoot that featured this cool oddities shop in Naples, Italy. I googled the shop, L'Ospedale delle bambole (translated as The Doll Hospital), and found a short video of their shop. Check it out!




And, I also decided to gather some of my odd doll parts and put them into a cabinet, I have a whole lot more than this, wish I had a large windowed cabinet, and space to put it upstairs to hold ALL my spare parts..*G* That would REALLY freak out my sister Chellie... heh heh.

Anyway, I'd love to go to Italy someday and see this shop and others like it!

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PENSIVE JESUS ASSEMBLAGE



While I was putting stuff together, I pulled together a fast assemblage using parts of different items I'd found just recently. A candle holder shaped like a shelter with rock walls and roof, that I set on a stone base that is actually a revolving server (lazy susan), and added a "Pensive Jesus" figure inside the shelter. This one didn't really take much talent from me, it was almost finished before I even started putting the pieces together..*L*

International Viewing ... Awesome!

Wow... this is pretty cool... my blog has had a lot of hits lately from people from ALL over the world... it amazes me to see where people are from who might look at my blog, even if only for a minute or two. THANK YOU to anyone who takes a look, please feel free to comment on some of my art, or posts, even if you don't like it!

Whoa... the gales of November came early .. Hurricane force winds in October...

The news reports for today and tomorrow are calling for hurricane type winds, and sure enough, this morning has seen some big wind gusts...the weatherforcasters say they may be as high as 70 mile per hour winds. We've already lost one umbrella to the wind, time to batten down the hatches and the deck furniture too.

Some of the weathermen were comparing these winds to the same type or worse winds that took down the Edmund Fritzgerald, as related in the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fritzgerald", by Gordon Lightfoot.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

Jorden's Here!!

Jorden came for a visit this weekend, and is here until Monday afternoon. I picked her up on Sat. morning and we've had a lot of fun so far exploring outside, going for some early trick or treating, and trying on some cute clothes we found for her too.





It's always nice to have Jorden here, she grows up so fast in just a matter of weeks.

xoxoxoxox

So High, I Almost Touched the Sky...

Well, maybe not the sky, but I did touch the very TOP of the ceiling in our Church Nave. I was able to go up to the top of the scaffolding (3 stories high), to get photos for the newsletter and the viewing screen at the temp. Church site.

It was definitely cool!! Here are some photos I snapped from there... the first one is before all the scaffolding was put in, and shows how high up the ceilings are.






They are working on painting around some of the windows, doing a kind of 3-D thing around some to make it look like a wood frame, then doing decorative painting around other windows.