I didn’t realize until midway through the morning that it was Friday the 13th! I guess that’s a good thing! Kathy, Corliss and I headed to Pittsburgh at 8:30am to visit the Bayernhof Museum in Sharpsburg, with Corliss driving (Thanks Corliss!). What a lot of twists and turns and hills to get up there, but it sure was worth the drive. A huge thank you to Kathy for her research in finding a fun place to explore.

The Bayernhof Music Museum

The fountain, complete with dragon and a drawbridge.

Closeup of dragon.

View from the driveway – you could drive right off the cliff!

At almost an hour on the dot we pulled up to the gates and pushed the button. The gates swung open and we drove in to park right in front of the house. I can’t begin to explain everything we saw, inside and out. Let’s just say that this huge museum of a house contained DOZENS of musical instruments and music boxes. You have to visit to really understand! And an added fun bonus was that the owner’s best friend/advisor/lawyer is in town and we got to meet him and hear his actual stories!

The gates opening.

Me with Corliss with the view behind us.

Front entrance.

Me with Kathy at the front door.

Corliss with Kathy

Kathy laughing….

Panoramic view

Beautiful view even on a foggy day.

The views were amazing – and Charlie Brown (no kidding! But not Snoopy’s Charlie!) was very rich, eccentric, and eclectic! He had rooms full of interesting items, heirlooms, collections, secrets, and wet bars in almost every room. You have to see it to believe it.

Charles B Brown III (He owned over 200 blue, button-down oxford shirts!)

Beautiful plush green carpets – steps inside front door.

Chairs around the kitchen table all had different woodland creatures carved on them.

This is a reverse painting skylight in the gambling room.

Tapestry in the gambling room.

Did you ever see a purple pool table? (That’s Lisa our tour guide)

Me with Charlie’s grandfather (Carved wooden image)

Chandelier in the public restroom!!!

Jetted remote control tub, with a built in bookcase and a phone!

Our group was small – 11 of us – and we thoroughly enjoyed the 2 1/2 hour tour, full of laughter and stories and relics. My favorite story was about Nippers the dog, who was a favorite of Charlie. He was the RCA dog that always sat beside the Victrola speaker in their ads. Nippers would ALWAYS sit at the dining room table, on a chair, with a plate, napkin, flatware and glass. The table held 14 people, and if there were 15 guests one would have to eat in the kitchen – because Nippers ALWAYS ate at that table. And no, he was not real. But he was huge.

Nippers with Lisa – He’s really big (He is sitting on the table here.)

Authentic Civil War cannonball. There’s a crazy story about this, too!

Charlie’s office – A picture of Charlie (right) with President Ronald Reagan.

They called him ‘King Chuck’ – he liked the Andy Griffith Show – see the bobbleheads?

Picture of Richard Nixon – and an ornate Grandfather Clock.

The board room with Yellow note tablets. Reminded me of Bud – he wrote everything on a yellow tablet!!

These are taxidermy birds and they move and sing!

When you sit on this chair it activates a music box!

A phonograph in the bedside light.

The third floor housed an observatory with a high power telescope and two spiral staircases to reach it. We went down a floor and into a hidden door, and there we found a wine cellar – which had an authentic West Virginia still. Corliss was eyeing it up pretty intensely!

The observatory (which totally opened and closed) and the telescope.

Corliss eyeing up the still!

When we went out of the wine cellar, we entered a totally manufactured cave, with stalactites and stalagmites and water dripping. Once we wove our way through the cave, we came out at an indoor pool, with a rainbow bridge and a water fall and floor to ceiling windows. Too much to believe!

Indoor pool with waterfall.

Corliss, Kathy and I at the pool.

If you look closely at the scene in the background – that is Maria from the Sound of Music!!!

Rainbow bridge from the caves to the pool. See the table and seats in a little separate pool area?

I feel like I don’t really want to tell any stories or share too much – except the pictures. It’s worth the trip to visit – but you MUST make reservations and it’s not recommended for children (collectibles). Check it out!

Nippers says ‘ Come see me! ‘

That was my day, but I came home and did a load of laundry, answered emails, and cut the grass. It’s 9pm and I’m finally done except for this. The ironing can wait!

My grass compared to my neighbor’s!

I found a rose growing up through my azalea bush!

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 14th is:

World Juggling Day; Donald Trump’s Birthday; National Cucumber Day; National Dragonfly Day; National Outlet Shopping Day; ARMY birthday; Doll Day; Flag Day; International Bath Day; International Knit in Public day; Monkey Around Day; National Dog Dad Day; National Pop Goes the Weasel Day; National Strawberry Shortcake Day; World Blood Donor Day.

FLAG – fly your flag. Tomorrow and Sunday are also Frontier Family Days at Hanna’s Town – I’ll be out there in the morning from 10-1 so if you can, stop out! Give Donald a call and sing happy birthday to him. I will wish miss Dottie Doll a happy birthday and that’s it for me! God bless…

It’s Thursday afternoon – I will try to get caught up without being boring! First thing is a picture of the moon late Tuesday night, after I posted on Tuesday. I know the June full moon is a strawberry moon but it looked more orange to me. It looked white last night and I didn’t even take a picture.

Tuesday night.

Wednesday was a whirlwind – nothing bad or hard. Just one thing to the next! First Renee from Mike P’s office called just when I stepped out of the shower. They had an issue with credentials for a car buyer, and it took us about three phone calls back and forth until it got solved — but it finally did. I looked outside and saw a baby bunny in the yard.

Then I started cleaning upstairs, and got the bathrooms and kitchen done when Barry from Pinnacle called me. They couldn’t deliver a car because the CVR system would not process. So I jumped in the car and drove down there. Turns out it was a CVR system error, and the Help desk was able to get it fixed and stay on the phone until we got the documents printed.

When I was cleaning upstairs I found Jesus in a chicken.

I was only home a few minutes when Autmn, Noah and Cameron stopped buy. They just wanted a visit! So we all chased Cameron around all day – or at least for a little over two hours! He had a great time, and played with dishes and dominos and foam blocks. I made them a quick lunch before they had to get to their next stop. By then it was time to get ready to go to Mary’s work for the book presentation.

They forgot BLUEY !!!!

Cameron in his apron heading for mischief!

Look what turned up! They found the butterfly stone!!!

That turned out really well. I love talking about the book, and the history and the research and sharing all the interesting items that I have. Everyone really enjoyed it all, and looked at everything and asked great questions. I even sold several books, which is unusual for that type of event. A friend that used to work at Smail’s lives in the apartments there, and she saw that I was the speaker and made it a point to come down. She bought a book too. Really nice group of people – thanks, Mary, for having me down!

Sitting around waiting for the program!

The only crazy thing was that the road was closed and I didn’t know an alternate way. I plugged the address into my GPS and it took me there, but I’m sure it was the most remote, twisty-est way there was! Thankfully I left plenty early so all was well.

When I got home I finished cleaning the house so it was close to midnight when I got to bed. I was very glad to have it done so I could be in good shape for the weekend activities. Today was the bank, grabbing food, and getting gas in the car – which, by the way, Rege switched out. I’m driving a 2022 VW Taos. Nice car!

This is my first Volkswagen.

After lunch I caught up on the emails, phone calls, and paying some bills. Now I’m posting this and it will be time to think about supper soon. For some reason I’m hungry for pancakes.

Mine won’t look like that!

Autmn stopped for the Bluey cup. Cameron was so excited to be here, and smiled for my picture. But when they were leaving he threw his hands up on his face and was wailing for ‘Mimi!’ I love that little guy.

Pictures Autmn sent me.

In the sandbox near his house

“If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair….”

Just takin’ a break.

Hitching a ride with Daddy

Cameron with Papap Jim – Autmn’s mom Jaime’s dad.

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 13th is:

International Axe Throwing Day; National Blame Someone Else Day; National Sewing Machine Day; National Weed Your Garden Day; Random Acts of Light Day; World Softball Day; National Golf Cart Day; National Movie Night; Wear Blue Day.

Chase loves Axe Throwing! I love blaming someone else — it’s NEVER my fault! I can probably weed a bit if it doesn’t rain. God bless!

Well, today went sideways and every which way! Nothing wrong, and certainly nothing bad! It was a good day all around. But it’s after 9pm and I still have a mountain to tackle before bed and a full weekend ahead of me. So I’ll post tomorrow. Have a lovely Thursday and God bless…

There were several things to do at work this morning – but I got them all cleaned up and they were all in good order. After grabbing a small bowl of rice for lunch, I headed out to the Eye Center and picked up my glasses. The change is so minimal in the prescription that I have trouble remembering which pair are the new ones! But I can see fine out of both pairs – so one pair for home and one for work.

The ones on the right are the old ones.

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Baker (cardiologist). He’s super nice, but determined to get to the bottom of why I get ‘breathless’ with excessive movement (not over exertion). The CT scan was clear, the meds are working, my heart and lungs sound good — soooo… I have to agree with my friend Amy at church. She said they keep doing tests and double checking everything because they have to meet their quota! So now I have to have a stress test on the 23rd because (in his words) ‘I could stick my head in the sand and say we won’t worry about it but I’m determined to find the cause!’ So they will check both lung and heart capacity and also the oxygen concentration. Here we go again. Or STILL!!

When I left the house it was pouring rain straight down. By the time I got to the doctor’s appointment it was sunny and dry! So when I got back home I took more flower pictures. Partly to share and partly for documentation!

Purple primrose and pink coral bells

Rose campion

Mini rose

Yellow Rose (Of Texas???? 🙂 )

I printed out my packing list for vacation so I don’t forget anything. Now I have to answer a few emails and I’m calling it a night.

Just the beginning of the list….

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

Not really scripture, but a little healthy food for thought! Credit to Karen Ursta.

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 11th is:

National Corn on the Cob Day; National German Chocolate Cake Day; National Making Life Beautiful Day; Say Hi Day; Yarn Bombing Day.

I love corn on the cob – especially from AJ/UC’s farm! My friend Jim Fritzinger (from Smail’s) loved German Chocolate Cake. We should always say hi – it may just make life beautiful for someone! God bless…

Last night, right before sunset, the sky was bright and white on the top, and cloudy and dark on the bottom. I was waiting for the angels to wave to me!

Hello up there!

Today I had several chores. I did go to work, as I had a few loose ends to clean up. I have to go tomorrow, as well, since there are a few deals for me.

Work….

Once I got home, I had to do some research for Mike P. While I was working at the computer, I looked out the door — Fred was watching me. Slowly he inched up to the door, peaked in and stuck his nose on the door, then wandered away. He’s getting braver. Ed was under the shed, minding his own business. Fred did keep watch while the neighbor was mowing – with his head stuck out from under the deck.

No, you can’t come in.

All this time, a fat brown rabbit was keeping an eye on things.

I finished up the macaroni salad for lunch, then worked on organizing my presentation for Wednesday night. I found everything I needed and got it tucked into bins in the car. Once that was finished I pulled the car back in the garage and took an iced tea break.

Presentation for Wednesday.

Sitting on the couch, sipping and reading, I decided it was time to stop procrastinating. The grass needed mowed, so I did it. It was warm but the breeze made it tolerable.

Bottom yard

Side yard

Front

Porch and front yard

Once the grass was done, I walked around taking flower pictures. Below is a hodge-podge of that.

Red Hot Pokers

Lavender

First Dianthus bud

Not sure about this one….

Stella D’oro

First Hydrangea bloom

I think the rabbit was eating this lily…

Spirea

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 10th is:

Belmont Stakes; National Ballpoint Pen Day; National Black Cow Day; National Call your Doctor Day; National Colt Day; National Egg Roll Day; National Herbs and Spices Day; National Iced Tea Day; National Frosted Cookie Day.

I haven’t had a frosted animal cookie (with pink frosting!) for ages! I use pens all the time. I like black cows better than brown. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I don’t have to call him! God bless…

I for sure slept better last night. When the alarm went off it startled me. Today has been an on again off again weather day. We even had a few tornado warnings. When the phone went off I jumped! But it went by quickly and settled down nicely. A few minutes ago it was pouring rain.

Today I will share Wayne’s communion message, which was very good. He was talking about our self esteem, or self thoughts. We’ll never be ‘enough’ on our own. But in Jesus you are an adopted child of God. We don’t have to be enough. God fills us and we are more than enough. I struggle with that a lot so it was very personal for me.

Both Kelly and Kathy called to check in – there are storms everywhere. Everyone so far is fine.

I intend to work on my presentation for my friend Mary’s senior center, which is Wednesday evening. She said they are excited and love Civil War history so I’m going to take a bunch of research material and copies of the letters. I’m using today as a ‘down’ day and just prepping.

A Quote for Today: No one ever seized the day TOMORROW!!!

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 9th is:

Donald Duck Day; Holy Spirit Monday; International Dark and Stormy Day; National Meal Prep Day; National No Apologies Period Day; National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day; Children’s Day.

Snoopy loves to write about a dark and stormy day/night. I seldom prepare meals ANY day. 🙂 God bless…

Well here I am, back to posting. I’ll do a quick recap for Friday. I spent most of the day getting ready for the Skunk Hollow Girls event here today. I made brownies, macaroni salad, iced tea and lemonade, and got games and the story ready after that.

Lemonade, two teas, macaroni salad

I also needed to grab a few things at Walmart which I did around noon. There were thunderstorms and rain and wind most of the day, off and on, and a few times it got pretty intense. I just stepped into my garage to grab my card table when it hit – It was a power surge from the lightening and it hit somewhere in or close to the house. I heard the ping, then the lights flickered, then a sizzle and a pop. I knew it got my house. I totally didn’t know what to do. I noticed that one of the overhead lights in my family room was out, and had a black spot on the cover. It was also warm to touch and smelled ‘electrical’.

I turned the lights off and called Nate, but he didn’t have a car. So I called my cousin Brian and he came over just to check what happened. I was afraid there was something going on under the light fixture and didn’t want to risk it. He checked everything out – There was no danger of fire or sparks in the ceiling, so he disconnected the light from the power source and cut the wires and capped them. Then he checked out the breaker box. Thankfully all was well and safe – ‘900%’ he assured me – so 9 times safer than 100%.

Charred cover of light transformer

My heart was racing and I quickly developed a headache, but with his assurance that I was safe and disconnected, I finished up the evening and got everything ready. I sat down with a piece of brownie and ice cream, and when I went to pick up the bowl my hand wasn’t steady — the bowl flipped in the air and landed on the floor upside down. Well, what do you expect?

Overhead light with char marks

I didn’t entirely sleep well last night – but really, all was well. And I was ready for the new day.

Brownies

This morning I did the usual Saturday chores – changing and washing the sheets and refilling my meds for the week. Everything was ready by the time everyone got here. Colleen and Karen V could not make it – and we always miss those who aren’t with us. But we gathered around, ate our lunch, and truthfully never stopped chatting all afternoon!

Karen and Holly

Karen and Holly -sisters

Beth and Holly – sisters

I read my Cabin Memorial Day Story, then we played a Bible Trivia game — as prizes everyone got little Jesus figures. The girls really loved them.

Leftover Jesus’s

Gail and Connie – deep in thought

Gail and Connie – happy!

Kathy had made a bingo game, and we all got a scripture journal when our card had BINGO. We all had a good time – lots of fun and even more laughs.

Beth and I

Journal – prize for BINGO

Kathy

Marge and Kathy with Jesus

It was 7:30pm until the last car pulled out of the driveway. Beth, Holly and Karen took a stroll and checked out the gardens before they left – Flower walk! I took some time to put food away and sweep the floors — that was all that needed done! I can tuck things away, but the fun we had and the love we shared today will be fresh in my mind for a long time!

Me in pink – left; Holly center; Karen on the steps

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

This is what we had for lunch!!!

TOMORROW June 8th is:

Bounty Day; National Best Friends Day; National Kids Day; Pentecost; Upsy Daisy Day; World Oceans day; National Flag Week.

Enjoy! God bless…

I am not going to make an official post tonight. It’s been a day, and I had a few unexpected issues to deal with that sucked up all my time and energy. But I’m organized and ready for whatever tomorrow ushers in – so have a lovely evening and God bless! 🙂

I knew I’d have deals at Jeannette, and also I had a call from Mike P. I did the deals in Jeannette but they were both puzzles so it took a while. Then Ken, Sir Regis and I had a long discussion about Ground Hogs, Snakes and tiny critters. So far I’m thankful I haven’t seen a snake! Barry saw one last week in the shop downstairs!

Since Mike wasn’t ready for me, I went down to L&L Fleatique. I haven’t been there for a while. I took them a little Jesus. I seldom find things that pull me in at these places, but today I did! I found another little Beany Baby skunk – the last one I saw was $50.00. This was WAY less.

The little one laying down – the one with blue eyes is Mr. Fresh’s girlfriend. What shall we name her?

I found a little white pitcher/vase that was on clearance, and also a Sunflower wooden sign for the Crooks room.

Mini vase/pitcher

Blessed sunflowers!

I have been looking at Dough Bowls for several years – today there was one left in the little shop, and I told myself if it was less than $15 I’d get it. And it was much less! So those were my fun purchases, something I seldom do!

Once I got home and had a salad, I changed clothes and went out to mow. That was originally to be my Friday chore, but with the impending rain I hurried to get it done this afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll concentrate on inside chores and groceries.

Front yard

Bottom yard

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 6th is:

D-Day; National Applesauce Cake Day; National Donut Day; National Drive-In Movie day; National Eyewear Day; National Gardening Exercise Day; National Higher Education Day; National Yo-Yo Day; World Pest Day.

Do you mean like my neighbor is a pest? Or maybe a yo-yo. Rege and I just had an interesting conversation about eyewear. I should maybe get donuts at the store tomorrow! I doubt if I’ll be gardening if it rains. God bless…

Today was a mix of chores and chores, and … oh, chores. I did get a lovely break in the middle of the day. Kelly brought Chase and Logan up as they had an appointment with a certification ‘officer’ to review their school year’s classes, results, and grades. The ‘officer’ will approve the portfolio and record it with the state. So now, Logan is an official graduate and Chase is officially a junior. Can you even BELIEVE that?? Once they finished their certification, we met at Chick Fil-A and had a celebratory lunch. So it was fun to visit and celebrate. Don’t they look thrilled?

Logan and Chase

The bulk of my morning and early afternoon I spent cleaning. This time of year my floors get really cruddy, as I’m in and out all day long and drag grass clippings and law debris inside every single time – door mat or no door mat!

I DO have door mats!

Once I finished cleaning and doing laundry (towels), I went outside. My first chore was to trim two big dead branches out of the lilac bush by the fences on the hill. I saw them yesterday but it got too late to tackle them. They were about 9 feet long and an inch or two thick. Luckily I have this handy hand saw that I can cut with. It’s easy to use, but truthfully I’m not good with tools. I finally got the limbs cut down and dragged them up to the driveway, but trimming them down to acceptable size for the trash was another matter. I got them cut and stuffed in a paper lawn bag, but I ended up bruising my arm (poking it with the dead branches) in the meantime.

I’m always poking or jabbing myself somehow!

Next I dead-headed the iris beds – and there are about 6 of them throughout the yard. That didn’t take long. In the meantime I realized that my recycle can was FILTHY – so I squirted Dawn in it and hosed it out. It’s clean now, too.

Clean Recycle Can

My new neighbor doesn’t keep their front flower beds very neat, and that’s fine, but there is a little mini rose bush that is getting buried under taller plants. So while I was outside I snipped a little piece off and put it in a glass jar. I’m hoping I can root it, stick it in the soil with the jar overtop, and start a new plant. We’ll see how that goes. A lot of those plants in the front bed came from my gardens!

Hoping this works….

I only saw Ed out early this morning, stretched out on his belly in the grass nibbling breakfast. Fred wasn’t out at all that I saw.

Ed – or is that Fred??

I forgot to post yesterday that my boss, Sir Rege, has a new grandson! His youngest child – Kelly – and her husband had a baby boy yesterday early morning. His name is Justin John Premich Jr. Congrats to the family!

SCRIPTURE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW June 5th is:

Hot Air Balloon Day; National Gingerbread Day; National Moonshine Day; National Sorry I Was on a Boat Day; National Veggie Burger Day; Sausage Roll Day; Thank You Day; National Ketchup Day; National Start Over Day.

No ketchup but Heinz. So there. Thank you! Kathy makes a really good gingerbread cookie – it’s Mom’s recipe. And Hot Air Balloon! When the kids were little, there was an empty field behind our plan. There were dozens and dozens of balloons that went over the house. We would hear them, jump in the car (PJ’s and all) and chase them down! The kids loved them! So, let’s start over… God bless.

Stock image.